Blessed by Twins

A New Start?

2011-12-29T17:03:00.002-05:00

October??? Really? Wow. I didn't think it had been that long. I'm not sure why, but the last 3 months of this year or so, I have become very disorganized and flat out lazy. I won't go into details, but let's just say, things have to change. I have to become more focused and less distracted during my work day and more on top of things around the house. We're back to being a one-car family, and so I'm driving the kids back and forth to school, which isn't helping either. But I'm determined to get, as Dave Ramsey would say, gazelle focused on a more orderly household in 2012.

My goals from last year were very hit and miss. In June it looked like I was on track to be debt free in four weeks; then both cars needed major repairs. In October, one of the children had an accident, and "their" car was totalled. DD refuses to drive the van, so her license is on hold for who knows how long. I have 3 bags sitting in the dining room, waiting transportation to Goodwill, and I am hoping to have several more join them in the next week or two, so decluttering has been acceptable. I did get 12 books read and am on track to finish reading the Bible in a year on time. Four household projects got done, not the 12 I had hoped for. And while DS is helping me more in the kitchen, I suspended the goal to teach the kids a meal each month. DD was not interested at all, and so I just take advantage of the opportunities when they arise. I'm not sure if I will set goals this year. I'm still thinking about it.

I'm also not sure how much blogging will get done. I do enjoy getting things down on "paper," so to speak, so I would like to get back into it. We're heading into the last year and a half of high school, and that means college visits, prom, senior pictures and all that. I believe it will go much faster than I want it to.

Homecoming

2011-10-03T12:21:00.001-04:00

My kids went to Homecoming this year for the first time. DS took his girlfriend, and DD went with some friends, and a good time was had by all. :-) DS and I went to pick up DSGF and brought her back here for dinner. Then I played chauffeur for the evening out to the high school and back.

As I sat in the car waiting for them to come out after the dance, I had an interesting time watching the girls and their dresses. As a parent, I can't imagine letting my daughter were something with cleavage down to there and a hemline up to here. Thankfully DD is a naturally modest girl, but even if she weren't, I can honestly say some of those dresses wouldn't have even made it into the dressing room, much less to a school function. This is DD's dress. Very sophisticated and will get a lot of use the next couple of years with honors assembly, senior breakfast and the like. She looked amazing in it, and we were able to get it for less than half the regular price. :-)

One day after shopping for the dress, we were talking about prom dresses and how we will need to start looking early for something to fit her short, petite frame in case it needs to be altered and that I will start budgeting for the dress now so she won't have to be worried about cost. Bless her heart, she brought up that there is a charity in town that helps outfit girls who can't afford prom dresses, and maybe we could try that. **sniff sniff** 'Bout made me cry! But it also made me more determined to get my debt eliminated and my financial picture in a better place. A teenage girl shouldn't have to worry about that. Should she learn to work within a budget? By all means, yes! But worry? No.

Anyhow, they all had a good time at Homecoming. I heard stories for several days afterward (which I *mostly* enjoyed! There's always a few..... haha), and I think they will be telling their kids about going to McDonald's and Burger King at midnight because they were staaaarving! My babies are growing up......

Time Flies

2011-09-30T07:19:00.002-04:00

Where did September go? I'm having a hard time processing that tomorrow is October 1. Seems like the kids just started school last week! At this rate Christmas will be the day after tomrrow! haha

We've had a busy month, on the go during the week and most weekends. My daughter and I have gone to her first Ohio State football game, we bought a membership to the Ohio Historical Center and spent an afternoon there (and didn't see everything so will be going back soon), and oh yeah, my son has a girlfriend (DSGF) and Homecoming is tomorrow! And that's just the highlights of the month! :-)

October doesn't look like it's going to be slowing down much, by the looks of the calendar, so it's time to get intentional again and plan out the next few months of activities with the kids and also get back to posting. I feel like I'm so far behind on everything. How far? I've been making a to-do list at the beginning of each week, and nothing, NOTHING, is crossed off yet this week. I've been lucky to get dinner on the table on clean plates :-) and to get my Bible studies done each night. And I now have a ton of stuff to get done before DSGF comes over for dinner before the dance tomorrow. Time to prioritize and get moving. :-)

Growing Up Boys and Girls

2011-09-10T11:16:00.000-04:00

My kids are definitely growing up. Not only are they *upperclassmen* in school and driving, but now they are planning college visits, babysitting, and, gulp!, DS has a girlfriend! My kids might be twins, but they have very different ideas on how and when to date. DD has a few guy friends but has specifically stated she does not want to date until college because she wants to focus on her classes in high school and doesn't want to be "that girl" who can only think about her boyfriend.

DS, on the other hand, has tried to get to know girls in the past and has been rebuffed...until the first day of school this year. DSGF (DS' girlfriend) is in his culinary class, and they hit it off right away. He could not have found someone more like him, mannerisms and all, if he had intentionally tried. They text each other and talk on the phone for hours every day after school. He has been to her house twice and went to a local fair with her and her parents last weekend, and she has been here twice and went to the local festival parade with us the other night. DSGF got to meet the kids' uncle and 10-year-old cousin, and she really hit it off with the cousin, which isn't easy to do! She has also come to youth group at church the last couple weeks, and she and her parents have been in church several times, too. Unfortunately I have been in the nursery both times they were there and have not met them yet, but I understand they are coming again Sunday, so hopefully we will meet then.

I knew this time would come, when one of the twins would begin a relationship with someone. Am I a little scared? Sure! You never know if this will be a lifelong high school sweetheart thing or if hearts will be broken in a few weeks. I've always been open with my kids about dating and what is expected of them to do and NOT to do, but at some point, you have to let them go and experience things and the consequences (good or bad) on their own. Thankfully we have several "protective services" in place, at least for a while. I'm glad DSGF feels comfortable here and doing things with us and vice versa for DS and her family. I hope they will continue to want to spend time here. One of the benefits of twins is that there is a built-in chaperone! haha DD isn't afraid to call him out on something she has seen or heard. And DSGF isn't allowed to ride with him solo in the car yet until he has had his license for 6 months, so we have a while yet of family activities before they are on their own. But most importantly, both have been raised in the church and have been taught what God expects of them in a relationship.

I'm happy that DS has found a girl with whom he has so much in common. I truly believe God has had a hand in this. Will they be together 10 years from now? Only God knows that, but I pray that He will use this relationship to show these 2 very young people that He is in control and that they will see His hand and listen to His wisdom as they go forward.

Tuesday Blessings

2011-09-06T07:11:00.001-04:00

1. Clean carpets
2. Freshly mowed yards
3. The local joint vocational school fixing the door of our car for no charge
4. A clean and freshly organized pantry
5. DD gaining confidence with night driving

Goals Update

2011-09-01T07:51:00.000-04:00

I haven't been real good about posting goals the last few months because, well, basically I feel like I'm not going to accomplish the ones that were really important to me, namely the financial goals. My Visa is definitely not going to be paid off this year (thanks to some auto repair bills), and I highly doubt I will get my savings goal met. I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying on those 2 issues and am going to have to re-do what I have been doing. More on that later.

My other goals, reading the Bible, reading books and finishing projects are going so-so. I'm behind on my Bible-in-a-year reading but am working hard to catch up. I need to take a new inventory of what projects need to be done and get back into that. My book reading is really the only thing I have kept up on, having finished 8 books. Reducing clutter is also going okay. I don't think I've done a bag a month, but a bag is continually being filled, and I'm working on weeding out stuff from the basement now, so there will be several bags going at once. DS is more interested in helping in the kitchen and DD is getting a little tired of her pasta-only diet, so there is hope yet in the "teaching meals" category.

I'm just discouraged by what I haven't accomplished, and the financial goals - all 2 of them! - seem overwhelming and like they will NEVER get crossed off. I'm reading a little financial book by the late Larry Burkett and will re-read at least the beginning of Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover to hopefully re-jump start my motivation. Can't hurt, that's for sure!

"Little" Things

2011-08-29T07:29:00.000-04:00

I've been struck lately by how happy having some little things repaired has made me. For instance, a few days ago we had the carpets cleaned. I bit the bullet and called Stanley Steamer. We've been in this house 10 years and have never had the carpets done professionally, and it was time. I knew they wouldn't be able to restore the carpets to a brand new appearance, but, boy, they sure came close! I had them do the living room, dining room and kids' bedrooms. The plush carpet in the living room and bedrooms really does look nearly brand new aside from some wear (to be expected)! The berber in the dining room is not quite as nice, but it's also a cream color and has taken the brunt of a lot of animal stains from when we had cats. In any case, it still looks a ton better. It's been so nice to look at the carpet and smile and feel like we can actually have people over and not be embarrassed by the carpet! (now, if I could only replace the living room furniture.....!!)

Our vehicles.....both the van and the Ford were in the shop at the same time earlier this month. The Ford is 18 years old, and the folks we bought it from had done an excellent job in maintaining it, but there was just 1 itty bitty problem that needed repaired. The windshield wiper mechanism. Our friend had rigged up a switch that was working fine....until the switch went out. He tried a different switch, but it got to the point that every bump or pothole we hit, the wipers went on and stopped halfway up the window - right in your line of sight! So with the kids driving and DD stressed enough just getting behind the wheel, I got it fixed. Boy! Is it nice to go over a bump and not have wipers suddenly blocking your view! :-)

The van....oh, the van....! It has this little "service engine soon" light that just churns my stomach! haha It came on right after I left the Ford in the shop. Of course! Turns out there was something with the gasket or valve at the gas cap that needed replaced. No big deal, but while checking it out, they found something in the front suspension was cracked. I kinda figured something was wearing out up there because, again, as we would go over bumps or potholes, there was a squeaking, and as long as the thing drove, I didn't really want to spend the money to find out! (yeah, I know, ignorance is not always bliss, but I was keeping my fingers crossed!) So, since that's kind of a safety issue and, again, since the kids are driving and DS drives the van occasionally and it's the vehicle we usually take on longer trips, and now that I knew what it was and could no longer ignore it :-) , I got it fixed. I do have to say, it is really nice to go over speed bumps and railroad tracks and not hear squeaking! Makes me smile! :-)

My nature is to replace things rather than repair, even though I know repairing is usually cheaper. I also know that getting rid of something that could be fixed and continued to be used is not being a good steward of what God has given me. So I'm working on the fix-and-not-replace attitude and am happy to see the benefits. Now if I could just work on the procrastination aspect, we'd be good!

Back to School

2011-08-27T09:59:00.002-04:00

Well, both kids are back to school and getting into the routine of early mornings and schedules and homework. This will be a very different year for us because for the first time ever, from preschool until now, the twins are in different schools. Different buildings, different classes, different classmates and, gulp!, different calendars! So far things are gong well. DS is driving this year, letting his sister off at her school and then picking her up after he gets out. Once she gets her license, we'll have to work on a car schedule so that it's "fair share," but as of right now, he has about 40 minutes to wait for his classes to start in the morning, and she has to wait about 25-30 minutes in the afternoon for him to get her. She actually could ride the bus home and be here before he could get to her at the high school, but it's so not cool to be a junior and still riding the bus. :-)

Besides the logistics of 2 different schools, it's apparent right away that their days are very different. DD has 6 accelerated academic full classes this year. Right now she is also a library aide one period and next semester will be taking a fun elective - Food for Life. She had wanted an art class - Jewelry - but it didn't work in her schedule, so hopefully she will get that next year. She has been in school 3 days and has had homework for all 6 classes each day. Her chemistry intro letter home stated that students should plan to spend 6-10 hours outside class every week on chemistry and that forming study groups or having a tutor would be a good idea. I didn't take chemistry in high school, so this will be completely new territory for all of us. She needed enough 3-ring binders for her classes this year, that should she need to bring them all home some night, they will not fit in her backpack! I think I spent $25-30 to get her supplies that first day.

On the flip side, DS has been back to school for a week and a half and has just 3 academic classes at the joint vocational school (JVS) he is attending - English, math and science. The rest of the time he spends in the classroom for his field of study - culinary - or in the kitchen. He wears his uniform to school every day, consisting of a school T-shirt or sweatshirt, his chef pants and work shoes and wears his chef coat and hat while in the kitchen. We qualified for financial assistance with his uniforms, so I spent around $100 for that back in June when we pre-ordered, and all he needed otherwise was a 2-inch binder and the usual paper and pencils, and that totalled around $6. So far he has not brought home any homework, and I'm sure he won't in the future if he can help it! His school is also providing each student with a notebook/laptop type of computer to be used in conjunction with schoolwork, so he's looking forward to that.

It's hard to believe they are juniors already. We've celebrated each "survived the first week" by going first to the root beer stand for dinner for DS and to Dairy Queen for ice cream for DD. Each time they have compared notes as to what classes are like and who is in what class that they might know.....and what colleges they want to take visitation days to and how at this time 2 years from now they will be getting ready to move into dorms.....I was okay until that last part! haha These last 2 years are going to fly by, and all I can do is pray, encourage them to work hard and leave the rest of up them and God!

How Much Do They Need To Know?

2011-08-18T10:38:00.003-04:00

I struggle with this question on a daily basis....finances, neighborhood goings on , my work issues, just my plain issues!.... How much do I tell my teenagers? What do they need to know and what don't they need to know?

The struggle came up again 2 nights ago in the neighborhood category. I live on a corner, and the lady who lives on the other corner beside me is our mail carrier; thus, she is privy to a lot of what is happening around us that I wouldn't normally know unless she told me. We're not an overly friendly neighborhood (or maybe it's just me), to the extent that I have been here 10 years now and don't know the names of the people directly across the street, 2 houses down or the lady catty-corner behind me who comes over every once in a while to see if I have seen one of her cats, all of whom have been here longer than me. Anyhoo, back to the subject at hand. J, the mail carrier, calls to me as DS and I are unloading groceries to tell me that there has been a rash of break-ins in the neighborhood the last month or so. She had her back door kicked in while she and her son were at home getting ready for bed. Other people have had break-ins through the back door while they were at home late evenings. It's apparently a group of older male teens, hopping fences and then taking lawn mowers, bikes or anything of value from the yard and trying to get in the house and grabbing what they can before getting caught, if someone is home. If no one is home, they go through the house to get stuff. So she wanted to warn me. And DS overheard.

Now my kids are 16 and old enough and savvy enough to know that this goes on. They know the people right beside me are drug dealers and are in and out of jail and have no business having the 5 little kids in the house that they do. They know I replaced our flimsy, original, 90+ year-old basement windows with glass block windows when we first moved in because of security issues. They know our doors have deadbolts and multiple locks because of security issues. They know we don't live in the best part of town and have to behave accordingly. But I struggle with wanting to protect them from thinking "oh my gosh, we're going to get broken into tonight!" because odds are, that won't happen. DS especially struggles with feeling safe. As a younger child, for a long time, he was "in charge" of making sure the doors were locked every night because he was afraid someone would break in and "steal one of us." For a long time - and he still might, I haven't checked lately - he slept with a steel crowbar under his bed, just in case. And for several years, since the drug dealers moved in (and they own that house, so they aren't going anywhere - except jail - anytime soon), both he and his sister have been pestering me about getting a gun. Uh, not gonna happen until they go to college at the earliest. Last thing I need is someone hearing a noise and a horrible case of mistaken identity.

Anyhoo (again!), I wish DS hadn't overheard and that he didn't feel the need to share this information with his sister. I have told them that we have multiple locks for a reason, that I am a light sleeper and will definitely hear someone coming over our fence (my bedroom looks out over the backyard and we have a 1-floor house), that the dog next door will bark his head off if someone comes in our yard (he barks at us until we talk to him and he recognizes our voice), that our fence top is spiky and can do damage to a fence hopper, that our fence is in not-the-best shape and will probably crash down and hurt the offender if they try to jump it, AND that I have been praying for many years that God will surround our house with His angel to protect us. I wish I didn't have to explain all this. I wish DS didn't feel the need to give me one of his golf clubs to have by my bed and a hammer on my desk, and to have another golf club by his bed. I wish DD felt able to spend a few early evening hours home alone, and I wish they could go back to sleeping well at night.

I wish I could just reassure them enough that they will feel secure again in their own home and that they could have the bliss of relative ignorance about this. But it will just have to take time, I suppose. And lots of prayer. Prayer for protection and security of house AND mind and prayer that the police will catch whoever is doing this. And mostly prayer that I won't have to "share" again more information about neighborhood goings-on that I would rather the kids not know.

To-Do with Teens

2011-08-13T08:35:00.003-04:00

Somehow it's already the middle of August, and DS starts to school next week, DD the week after. There were so many things I had wanted to do with the kids this summer. I knew June would be busy, but how did we get here so fast??? :-) And while we've been busy, not much of my original list was accomplished. So I borrowed ideas from 2 people - my friend in Cincinnati and Amy's Finer Things, a bucket list, written out.

I made a list of what I wanted to do the next 4-6 weeks and things I knew were scheduled and called a family meeting. We got the calender off the wall that we never use (I use a day planner on my desk) and started planning. Trip to Amish country - check. Visit to the Ohio History Center - check. Trip to the Neil Armstrong Museum - check. Visit to the root beer stand - scheduled on DS's first day of school. DD gets the trip to the local ice cream stand for her first day. OSU football game with DD - double check! All scheduled and written on specific dates on the now family calendar, where everyone can see and the kids can hold me accountable.

We've done so much since school let out in May - the kids have been to camp, Jamaica, Cincinnati; we've seen Kutless and David Crowder Band in concert, gone to the Ohio State Fair (for the DCB concert), Malabar Farm and Young's Dairy; DD has completed her formal in-car driver's ed and is getting closer to her license and DS has his.....yet it's nice to have a plan on what is coming next. It's also nice to not have to answer the question, what are we doing?, 10 to 12 times each week! In fact, we're headed out the door here in a few minutes to head over to Amish country. I'll never give up my day planner/organizer, but it's good to get back to using the family calendar too.

Tuesday Blessings

2011-08-09T06:53:00.001-04:00

1. Witnessing an ordination service for our pastor with more than 40 friends in attendance.
2. Having fun with friends and a good talk on the way to the ordination.
3. Rain.
4. A small yard that can be mowed on my lunch hour.

Tuesday Blessings

2011-07-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

1. Reconnecting with a friend after 18 years of separation and falling back into conversation like it was yesterday.
2. Air conditioning.
3. Ice cream with a friend.
4. Attending a Kutless concert with the kids.
5. Healthy teenagers.
6. Snuggling with babies in church nursery.

Driving -- Will It Ever End????

2011-07-22T12:37:00.003-04:00

One down and one to go. DS got his license last month before they went to Jamaica, and he has done very well (from what I can tell) in his solo driving outtings and with his sister in the car. Insurance has, of course, gone through the roof but not as bad as it could. The funny thing is, my insurance will DROP by $200 a year once DD is insured. It seems that when you have more drivers than you do vehicles, the children become "occasional" drivers instead of "primary," which is a different rate structure. Needless to say, DD is now doing more driving to order to get her licensed ASAP. I don't care if she doesn't drive at all after she gets that license, but by golly, she's getting it! haha

She actually starts her in-car driving next week. This will be interesting because she refuses to drive in our hometown. She will drive in the country. She will drive on 2-lane highways. But absolutely will. not. drive. in our town. She doesn't want anyone she knows to see her when she doesn't think she's doing a good job. (insert rolling eyes here!) I've tried to assure her that she is a very good driver, but she's a perfectionist and obsesses over every little thing. Which behind the wheel can be a good thing, but not if it paralyzes her to the point where she won't drive at all. So tomorrow we are going to a similarly-sized town to get some practice. She's not thrilled, but as the instructor told us with my son, the paid-for driver's ed is not to actually teach them how to drive; it is to teach them how to pass the test. *sigh* I'm pretty sure we will have to renew her temps. I don't think she will be finished with her in-car driving before they expire, and I know for sure she won't have her night driving finished. At least with her it will be a little easier to go out after dark because she's such a night owl, unlike her brother.

Hopefully it won't be much longer before she's got her hours in and feels ready. She knows she has to drive certain places here in our town with me before she can test, and I'm hoping that the time with the instructor will improve her confidence as it did DS.

Something To Think About

2011-07-09T12:46:00.003-04:00

While the kids were gone on their mission trip, I had the opportunity to get together with a couple different friends. So one night I met up with a gal from church whom I consider a friend but had never really spent any one-on-one time with before and really only know her in the church setting.

I'm not sure how we got on the subject or why we stayed on it for over an hour, and other than being blunt, I'm not sure how to say this, but basically I was told that my kids and I are too intertwined and that it's not healthy for my kids or me to be together so much. Hmmm. Over the course of the conversation, she tried to brainstorm ideas for the kids to be away from home more and for me to be out of the house more by myself so that we are less dependent on each other, whether that be volunteering or getting a new job. She specifically thought my daughter was "a momma's girl." THAT was a surprise, because DD is the independent one! (A little background: This lady is single with no kids. She has a successful craft business from her home, but the majority of her day is taken up caring for her terminally ill father. Not an easy task by any means, but I wonder if her own background wasn't part of the basis for how our evening went.)

I really tried to figure out how she came to this conclusion. I work at home specifically so my kids have a parent at home with them. I think this is just as important for a teenager as a toddler. My daughter sits with me at church instead of with the teens (where my son sits) and helps out in the nursery, especially on mornings when I'm in there, but she is also on the schedule independently, so we are usually together. DD sits with me at potlucks and other church functions because our friends are family friends, and we all tend to sit together. The kids are looking for jobs, and DS has recently got his license, so the apron strings are being loosened, but that's an "earn the trust; get more freedom" type thing. It doesn't happen overnight. And in the last 4 weeks, they have spent 5 days at camp, 10 days in Jamaica and 2 days in Cincinnati, so it's not like they are afraid to be away from Mom. Personally, I didn't have much of a social life before I got married; I didn't expect that to change after the divorce, and frankly, I've got more friends and pleasant church activities now than I did then. (Before and during the divorce I was involved in the "business" side of our prevous church - not a pleasant church activity. Never, ever again.)

I've told 3 close friends about this conversation, and specifically asked the two who have known me since before kids about whether or not there was any grain of truth in what was being said. I didn't think there really was, but sometimes we're blind to the truth and I wanted to be sure.

So this is my take: My kids and I are close. They know that they can talk to me about anything (and they do, although DD more so than DS; go figure ;-) haha), and we generally enjoy being together. Outside of church youth functions, my kids rarely have the opportunity to spend even 1 night away from home, and while they love youth retreats and camp, they otherwise prefer to sleep in their own beds or to travel with me. Personally as a kid, the only time I spent away from home was 6 nights at band camp every summer in high school and the occasional sleepovers with a friend who lived here in my hometown when we lived elsewhere. And I think I adjusted to living away from home when I was a young adult just fine. Part of why my kids went to Jamaica was to get the experience of being away from home for more than 2 or 4 nights. And they did wonderfully and can't wait to go back! Were they ready to come home? Of course, but so was everyone else. Is there going to be an adjustment for all of us when college time comes? Absolutely, but we expect that. It's normal. It will be a time of growth for all 3 of us. I have a list of things to look forward to when the kids leave the house, but it's not a "I can't wait" type of thing; it's a "I'll have time to fill" type of thing. There's a difference. :-)

We are who we are. I'm grateful that at 16 my kids still want to spend time with me and aren't the type that want Mom to be 10 feet or more away at all times. haha I treasure this time because I know how short it will be. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to examine our family dynamic and make sure that we're (usually!) doing okay.

So Many Plans....

2011-07-06T08:26:00.003-04:00

The kids are back from Jamaica...kind of. They were home less than 48 hours when they got invited to spend 2 nights with friends in Cincinnati and jumped at the chance. Hopefully when they come home-home tonight, they will be here long enough for me to finish up their laundry! hah They had a wonderful time while they were gone. Worked hard and played hard and had experiences they will never forget.

I had a list of stuff that I was going to do while they were gone, food to fix that they don't particularly like, places to go, things to do in the evenings.....and not much got done! First, I kind of misplaced my list. (insert embarrassed smiley face here!) Then, without the kids, I didn't really have much motivation to do things in the evening around the house. I did clean up the house and mow the yard, but that was it. No sewing or cross-stitching or quilting my lap quilt. Didn't get the fabric cut out for the quilt-in-a-day that has been on my to-do list for 6 months now. Didn't even read much or do the blogging (obviously!) I had planned. I did meet friends on a couple of occasions for dinner, and that was nice. And I did go to Amish country one day and had a very good time. I'd been before but never as the driver, and it has been probably 14 years since my last trip over there. It's less than 2 hours, so I don't know why I put it off....actually I do - too many temptations to spend money and blow my budget! I could have easily spent much more than I did, but I got some Christmas presents and a few craft supplies, so it's wasn't too bad. And I have plans to go back at least twice this summer, once with the kids and once with a friend and our daughters. Anyhoo, perhaps if I find my list, I can still get some of those things done. It was an interesting period of time with several topics of reflection for me while the kids were gone. Hopefully I won't lose that list, because I really want to get my thoughts down on them. The best of intentions/plans..... :-)

Halfway There....

2011-06-28T12:38:00.002-04:00

Well, we are past the halfway point with the kids on their Jamaican mission trip. Facebook posts from their youth pastor indicate they are working hard during the day and playing hard in the evening and having a wonderful time. I've had my "emotional" moments of missing them, but it definitely makes it easier to see the pictures and hear what they have been up to on any particular day.

I haven't quite been as productive as I would have liked to this point, but I guess that's okay. I've cooked a few meals with enough leftovers to last several days, so I haven't had to resort to cereal! haha I must admit it's nice to have a clean house that lasts for more than a few hours, but it is definitelly too quiet. The kids want a dog badly, and I have joked with them that I would probably get one after they left for college so I wouldn't be alone. Only now I'm thinking it isn't so much of a joke, and depending on how my finances look in the next year or so, it may happen before then, but shhh! Don't tell the kids! haha Actually I'm looking for a "police dog flunkie." And I've found a few websites for them, too. They are dogs trained for police work - rescue, drug sniffing, etc. - but for whatever reason don't quite pass muster. They are fully trained in a foreign language, housebroke and excellent guard dogs and pets, everything I'm looking for in a dog. But that's for another post. :-)

Anyhow, I'm anxious to meet the kids at the airport Saturday afternoon and hug them and hear all their stories and see the pictures they took. I have a feeling I will have 2 different kids from the ones I sent off last week.

Watergate What?

2011-06-22T07:12:00.000-04:00

*sigh* It is becoming very apparent that my kids are lacking in their knowledge of recent American History and world history. Yes, both passed their history graduation tests, and both actually do very well in history. (It's DS's favorite subject.) Unfortunately neither of them, in 10 years, has gotten past the Vietnam War. In fact, DD said this year they skipped the Korean War to get to the Vietnam War before they had a field trip to the local American Legion and a day on Vietnam. Desert Storm? Never heard of it. Watergate? Only know a bit because of watching 60 Minutes with Grandpa. The Challenger? Um, they think it has something to do with NASA. Neil Armstrong? No clue. Anwar Sadat? Anwho? *big sigh*

So guess what we're doing this summer? Yep, we're homeschooling recent American History. Not with workbooks or a formal curriculum, but we're doing something. While the kids are gone, I'm going to check into videos from the library and see what sites around Ohio we can visit. The Neil Armstrong Museum immediately comes to mind, for one. I bought a couple books from the recent library book sale, which DD has already looked into. I asked her if she learned anything, and she said only that she knows even less than she thought she did.

While it's definitely not a good thing that my kids have not learned anything from 1950 forward save Vietnam - they have very little knowledge about anything relating to Civil Rights, the first flights into space, the fall of communism, etc., etc., etc. - this will give us a focus for the rest of the summer. Although I'm not a teacher and don't have any illusions of comprehensive lesson plans or completely covering 60 years in 2 months, hopefully they will know a little more come August than they do today.

One Trip Down....

2011-06-18T18:53:00.002-04:00

It's laundry central today, trying to get camp clothes washed before they become mission trip clothes, and story day. While I pay attention to everything the kids tell me on the day they get home from a church youth multi-day function, like camp or convention, I've learned it's best to wait until they get a good night's sleep and then retell everything they couldn't remember telling me the day before because they were too tired! Clear as mud, right? :-) DD especially gets a touch cranky and pessimistic when she's tired, and this year she didn't fell well at camp all week. Bad enough she felt like she wanted to come home but didn't think to ask to call. And then felt sad that (yesterday) no one seemed to care. Today she told me that several people towards the end of the week asked her if she was feeling better, so it was nice to know that a few girls did care. See the difference a night's sleep in your own bed makes? :-)

Anyhow, our attention is now turned to the mission trip to Jamaica. DD is starting to feel better, and we're hoping to avoid a last-minute doctor visit before they leave Wednesday. Suitcases are being aired out, and toiletries restocked. DS has his letter from the doctor to have his EpiPen on the airplane and a full new bottle of antihistamine. Things are progressing. We have an information meeting tomorrow after church for final details. Hopefully the youth pastor will have booked tickets home by then! He told DD at camp that they are flying actually to Canada on a prop-type plane (!) and then to Jamaica because it's $100 cheaper per person. If they come home the same way, they will have an overnight lay-over in Canada. If they can come back through Atlanta, they will have a long layover there too, but not overnight. Just long enough to do some sightseeing. One student has already backed out, deciding that 10 days is too long and too far to be away from home, but my kids would have been ready to go today. Me, I'm a little nervous. :-)

I know they will have an amazing time, will put in a lot of hard work and have their eyes opened in ways they never imagined. I'm just praying that they will be safe and will be Christ's hands as they spend these 10 days doing His work.

Deep Breath.....

2011-06-09T08:20:00.002-04:00

Now that we are past the crisis, and past the realization of what could have been......This past weekend we discovered DS had allergies - lifethreatening allergies - the hard way. A fellow from church hired the youth group guys to help move hay from the field to the barn last Saturday. I joked on Facebook that afternoon that 30 minutes throwing hales bales equaled 2 hours in Urgent Care and that farming would not be a career option for DS. Within 48 hours, I would learn that DS had only been in the hay loft for about 5 minutes, had gone into anaphylactic shock and was so allergic to various grasses (including hay!) that he will need to keep an EpiPen with him for probably the rest of his life.

I am still stumped as to how this allergy came on seemingly so quickly. He has been around hay before and has been mowing our small yard for 2 years now. In fact, while he had nasal allergy symptoms as a young child, he seemed to grow out of those the last 6-7 years and hadn't had any symptoms until about 10 days ago, when he started with runny eyes whenever the windows were open. (Come to find out he's allergic to trees, too.) How allergic is he? Saturday when I picked him up at the farm, one eye was swollen shut, the other eye nearly so. He had hives 2 to 3 inches long and incredible sinus and eye congestion and possibly trouble breathing - he was never really clear on that. I'm a low-key mom when it comes to getting medical care. I believe most things clear up with time, and I rarely panic about stuff until after the fact, so we went to Urgent Care. In hindsight, we should have gone to the ER, but we didn't. Urgent Care should have sent us to the ER, but they didn't. DS was treated, felt and looked better and later that afternoon, we went home. Monday at the pediatrician, we were told, from his symptoms, that DS had been in anaphylactic shock and that with any further exposure to the hay he very likely would have had his airway close off. We were given the EpiPen in case of future accidental exposures and sent to the allergist. Tuesday the allergist confirmed the grasses and tree allergies. How severe? DS started reacting before the nurse finished placing the skin tests. The line of skin pricks with the grasses and trees was still visible a day later, even after cleansing with alcohol less than 10 minutes after allergen placement, even after 2 cool showers, even after an oral antihistamine and Benadryl cream. Poor kid!

So what did we learn? Allergies can come on without warning. Urgent Care is okay for DD's ear wax issues, not allergic reactions. DS will have a lawn care service when he has his own home. But most importantly, we re-learned that God is watching over my kids whether I'm with them or not. Too many things happened, some I've written about and some I haven't, that could have resulted in a terrible outcome. Instead, DS is preparing for camp next week and a mission trip the week after. God is good.....all the time!

The Summer of Iced Coffee

2011-06-02T19:53:00.003-04:00

I love iced coffee. To be more specific, I love McDonald's caramel frappes. Their french vanilla iced coffee is a close second. The problem is, my wallet doesn't like the frappes. I try to keep it to a once-a-week thing, but every time I drive past the yellow arches, they just call to me and my vehicle ignores my pleas to go the other way and turns into the drive-through! haha It's done a number on my budget, let me tell you, and I have a definite love-hate relationship with these drinks. So....I've been collecting recipes to try and make something similar here at home. Most of the recipes I've found are for mocha coffee drinks, and I'm not a chocolate coffee person. Caramel coffee? Yes, please. French vanilla coffee? Sure. Almond amaretto? Oh definitely! Chocolate? No, thanks.

Thankfully I've found a recipe and tinkered with it just a bit, and it is "the one." :-) It isn't the crushed ice version, but now that we have gone through several batches, I don't have the urge to drive through Mickey D's every day. I started with this recipe from Lynn's Kitchen. I switched the chocolate milk to regular 1%, left out most of the water and adapted the coffee mix to my 4-cup coffeemaker. In the end, this is what DD and I will be living on the rest of this summer:

I put 1/3 c coffee in the coffeemaker and brewed it to 4 cups. While it was brewing, I put 1/2 c sugar and a small can of sweetened condensed milk in a 4-quart pitcher. When the coffee was done brewing and was still very hot, I poured the coffee into the sugar-condensed milk mixture and stirred until sugar is dissolved and everything is mixed well. It didn't take but a minute or two. Then I added enough cold milk to fill to the 3-quart line and stirred well. It should be cool enough to drink right away, but obviously keep it refrigerated. Very simple but very delicious!

I made ice cubes from some of the iced coffee as I found regular ice cubes to delute the drink too much, but really, the drink didn't last long enough in my glass to really need any. :-) And this recipe can be easily switched to include chocolate milk if you like. I have yet to try flavorings such as french vanilla or a caramel syrup, and I haven't added whipped cream yet, but perhaps I will yet this summer. I haven't done an exact cost analysis, but considering 1 frappe from McDonald's is $2.29, and I can get a gallon of milk on sale for $2.50, I'm betting my wallet will be very happy with the above recipe. My waistline....now that might have a different opinion!

Interesting June

2011-05-28T11:25:00.003-04:00

We have an interesting month coming up mainly because the kids will be gone for nearly half of it. They leave for camp in about 2 weeks, are gone 5 days, come home and leave 5 days later on a 10-day mission trip. It will be interesting to hear all their stories and see pictures. It will be interesting to see how they grow while they are gone. It will be interesting to see the effect their absence has on my budget. It will be interesting to see what preparing for their absence will have on my budget! lol And it will be interesting to see how all 3 of us handle being apart for that long.

It's actually the last part that has me most concerned. It has been 5 years since the kids have been gone longer than 4 nights in a row, and that was to a camp here in Ohio at The Wilds. We all did okay then, so I'm praying we all do okay now. The twins are older and will be with a group of people they know pretty well, and I have faith and confidence in the youth pastor and young couple that are leading the mission trip. They will be fine, I'm sure. It's just that.....I just don't like being completely alone at night! This is the first time in 27 (oh my gosh!) years that there has not been a critter in the house to blame noises on. No cat, no hamster, not even a goldfish! I live in an old house in town, so there are going to be noises. It's just being realistic and mature at 2 AM that might be a problem! haha :-) Anyhow, I'm sure we will ALL be fine and happy to be back together. And IF I can get my act together and get back to posting more regularly, they might actually be recorded in the written form! :-D

The countdown is on....now, where to find cheap, petite junior bermuda shorts that will hold up for 7-8 days of concrete work? And how do we fit in a reunion, graduation parties, Father's Day, driving and more driving and a neighborhood yard sale into the 3-1/2 weeks (that soon???!!!) before they leave for the mission trip?

Bragging on My Kids :-)

2011-05-17T08:09:00.002-04:00

Good news twice for the kids yesterday. First of all, their passports arrived in plenty of time for their trip next month to Jamaica - yay! DD has already started planning all the places she wants to go and all the visa stamps that she hopes will one day fill the pages of her book. Another step into the world of adulthood!

Second, it is an advantage sometimes that DD is very competitive with her brother. She is constantly comparing grades, how he does versus how she does in something, etc. Constantly. So as soon as the excitement over the passports died down a bit, she brings out this notebook and asks her brother how he did on the tests. My ears perk up because they aren't in the same classes and only share 1 or 2 teachers this year. Turns out Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) results were released yesterday. There are 5 sections of the OGT, and students must pass all 5 sections in order to graduate. Tests are administered every year to sophomores, and if you don't pass a section, there are opportunities to re-test at various times up until the summer after your original graduation date. Anyhow, BOTH KIDS PASSED ALL 5 SECTIONS THE FIRST TIME! We are ALL so happy! Between our district's track record - we tend to have the lowest pass rates in the county - and DS's handwriting - he should be a doctor! haha - I wasn't sure if they would pass all 5 sections in the first sitting. The tests are taken over 5 days - 1 section per day - and by Friday, I'm sure DS was sick of hearing me harp on him to be careful with his handwriting. He has failed or gotten low marks before on papers because the teacher couldn't read it. Not all the time, but when he feels pressured or is in a hurry, like on a timed test that determines whether you gradate or not! And DD had me a little worried when she would come home each day and say how easy the test was. I remember walking out of tests that I thought were easy and finding out later that I bombed, so I was hoping she was right. And she was. :-)

It's such a relief to have both the passports here and the tests passed. Each bring the kids one step closer to adulthood, to being off on their own and doing their own thing. It's definitely an exciting time!

Grocery Budget Problems....Again

2011-05-16T08:43:00.002-04:00

DD and I did the grocery shopping Friday night, and I went overbudget. Again. *sigh* I know that prices are increasing, but I'm just frustrated that I can't keep within my grocery allowance. I've checked out a couple books from the library for a "refresher course" in lowering my food bill and to kick-start my motivation to work at this harder. It doesn't help that the "manager specials" at Kroger no longer seem so special. I can rarely find red meat for under $3 a pound now except for hamburger, and that will be $3/lb very soon, I'm sure!

So what to do? First of all, I need to re-think my menus. Simple recipes with common ingredients will be key for me. We like to try new things, and we still can; however, I don't believe I will be making the new-to-us chicken recipe that calls for a $7 bottle of almond butter anytime soon! There is also a discount grocery - Save-A-Lot - in town that I have only been in once. It's now time to check it out again and see if there are any savings to be realized there. I'm not anxious to add yet another store to my usual 4-store trip, but it is on the way, and if there is a decent savings, it will be worth it.

Finally, the kids will be gone for a total of 2 weeks in June, and my grocery costs should decrease significantly while they are gone. After all, I don't think I will be going through 5+ gallons of milk each week all by myself! haha! I am going to challenge myself to cut my budget for that time period by a little more than half - $50 instead of $125, and I don't think that will be a problem. The savings, I'm debating what to do with. It will either become the kids' spending money for Jamaica or I will use it to stock up on red meat. Maybe a bit of both.

Anyhow, it's time to hunker down and squeeze this budget even further. I hate the idea of having to increase my budget, but with the kids home for breakfast and lunches here very soon, that might be my only option. But it won't be without a fight! haha

Gardening Baby Steps

2011-05-10T09:04:00.002-04:00

Way back when, when we lived in the country, my ex-husband had huge gardens. As in easily larger than our present backyard for the main garden and several specialty plots - one for strawberries, one for potatoes/onions, etc. I'm not a dig-in-the-dirt kind of girl, but I loved going out and picking the fresh produce for dinner and freezing what we couldn't use right away for winter. I've missed that. Unfortunately our current backyard is 95% shade. There are 1 or 2 spots that might, might, get more than 4 hours of sun, but not a big enough spot to grow a whole lot. Plus, the location is rather inconvenient - one is about 2 feet away from the fence gate! I've thought about container gardening in pots, which could be easily moved when mowing, to a more sunny spot if I find one, etc., but haven't really done anything about it. Until now.

This past weekend was our annual Mother-Daughter banquet at church, and the theme was on servanthood. As in the past, a number of ladies did centerpieces for the tables which were then auctioned to help cover the cost of the food for the banquet. This year, the centerpieces were to be things from the kitchen. (I did a basket full of quick breads.) I usually bid on one or two that I like but have never won before. But this year I did, and I won an edible salad bowl. It has several different lettuces in it. You snip off the leaves, leaving about 2" behind, and keep reharvesting. It may seem silly, but I'm so excited! haha I have it elevated on one of our old grills until determine if any critter is going to try to make his own salad. :-) Once I determine it's safe, I will probably put it elsewhere.

Now that I think we have put most of the 30-degree nights behind us (hey, I live in Ohio after all - we could still have 30-degree lows in June!), it's probably safe to proceed with the rest of my container plans. The grill that is holding the salad bowl now will be turned into a small patch of mint. Mint grows and spreads like crazy, so it needs a contained spot. I love it in ice water and iced tea and am looking forward to trying it on a few desserts. I also want to do a pizza pot. One tomato plant and some basil and oregano in the same pot. We have a kettle grill that we no longer use that I'm thinking about for that, but I need to make sure it's deep enough. Otherwise I'll just use one of the gardening pots in the basement.

Maybe someday I'll live somewhere that I can have a larger garden and be able to eat fresh veggies and put some up for fall and winter, but for now this is a start. Hopefully it will be a successful one!

First Hair Cut

2011-04-26T08:00:00.005-04:00

Before

DD got her hair cut last night. This normally wouldn't be big news, but this is the first time in 16 years she has had more than an inch or so taken off for just a trim. She wanted to go to the specific stylist that is making a donation for each hair cut to the the Jamaica mission trip she and her brother are going on in a few months, and I think she has found her permanent stylist! You can tell by the back view what a difference the cut made, and it has turned her from looking like a preteen (people couldn't believe she was in high school, much less driving!) to very much a young woman. *sigh* My baby is growing up.....

15-16 inches later....

My Current Dilemma

2011-04-22T10:33:00.003-04:00

Every year our church holds a Mother-Daughter banquet, and while the men do the cooking and cleanup, the some of the ladies do the decorating of the tablets. The woman in charge does an excellent job every year of coming up with themes and then carrying that theme through the whole evening. Those of us who "do" a table are requested to come up with a centerpiece that is auctioned off to help cover the cost of the banquet and a small favor for each place setting. Last year the table was to reflect your talent - I did a dozen Christmas ornaments attached to grapevine trees and a small ornament as the favor. One year I did a cake (no favor needed).

This is year we are to do something from the kitchen; the exact name of the theme escapes me at the moment. My first inclination was to do quick breads, specifically banana, strawberry, chocolate chip, poppy seed and lemon breads as the centerpiece with small individual loaves as the favor. The problem? My oven is not the most reliable. The thermostat is off by approximately 25 degrees one way or the other once you get past 325. I am going to attempt the banana and strawberry breads this weekend as a trial run using an oven thermometer and see how that goes.

If it doesn't work out, I need option B. So I've been thinking of something from the kitchen that doesn't require baking. One thought was a basket of mixes - brownie mix, cornbread mix, soup mix, etc., with a cake-in-a-mug mix for the favor. Very easy and simple to do. My other thought was to do a pizza garden - the centerpiece would be a pot with a tomato plant and basil and oregano planted in it, with perhaps an apron, hot pads and a pizza dough mix. Favors could be mini pots of basil - even if you don't cook with it, it is supposed to ward off flies. I'm thinking that would be very different from what everyone else might be doing, and I have plans to do one for myself anyhow, but it might get a little expensive mainly with the pots. (And seeds - have you seen seed prices lately??? I looked in Wal-Mart last night and nearly fell over. $1.87 for a packet of basil seeds? Seriously? We had better have a lot of pizza this year! haha) With the herbs, I would probably need to get those started NOW to have them even popping out of the soil in 2 weeks or else buy already-established plants, which I would probably do for the large centerpiece pot. Or decide on a different favor - a potholder or mini whisk maybe? Anyhow, this weekend will be full of baking, although I do not have high hopes of reliable success. Can you tell what I'm leaning toward? Is it something anyone but me would even want? Wish me luck!

Busy Week Ahead

2011-04-18T08:41:00.003-04:00

This has got to be one of the busiest weeks we have had since Vacation Bible School last summer, and I don't think life in general is going to slow down any time soon! This is what we have on the schedule this week: Monday - deliver the last of the candy eggs that the youth at church sold in their fundraiser, I have an appointment to update my will at the attorney's office at 4:30 and DD has to be at the high school to serve dinner for the honor society at 5:15. I also cannot forget to go to the bank to pick up my old will from the lock box on my way to taking DD to her grandpa's so he can get her to the high school since I'm not sure I will be done at the attorney's in time to take her. I'm also planning on doing some grocery shopping, although most like just an "absolute necessities trip" since I have only a partial list and no menu plan done yet. Tuesday - the kids have a history day at the American Legion not far from here instead of a regular day at school. I've adjusted my work schedule since they don't have to be there until 9 AM, not out the door at 7 AM as usual. If it is raining, I will need to drive them; otherwise, it is close enough that they can walk. And we can't forget to pack a lunch. Which I probably will. At 6 PM, DS and I have a welcome dinner for his acceptance into the local JVS for the next 2 years. Wednesday or Thursday - Experience the Cross at church. This is a walk through the last week of Jesus' life. I'd like to go Wednesday because of my Thursday schedule, but actually Maundy Thursday would be more appropriate. Thursday - Bible Study Fellowship in the morning, which pushes my work schedule back as usual. We'll go to Experience the Cross tonight if we didn't make it Wednesday. Friday - No school but we will attend the Good Friday service in the evening. Sunday - Easter! We have to be at church at 8:45 for DS to practice for the skit he is in, in both services. DD and I are attending the first service and doing childcare in the toddler nursery for the second service. Once we get home, we have nowhere else to go - Grandpa is attending a family party (that once again, the kids aren't invited to, but that's not for this post!) - so we won't be going there for Sunday night pizza, and my Beth Moore Bible study will not be held this evening. I have a huge nap scheduled for this afternoon! Sometime this week, I need to do laundry, catch up on my Bible reading and Bible studies, catch up on cutting coupons, make a better grocery list and menu plan, pay the bills, go through my piles of paperwork to make sure I'm not missing something, decide for 100% sure what I'm doing for the Mother-Daughter banquet on May 7 and inventory what I have for the kids' Easter baskets. I know I need to stop by the local candy-maker and get chocolate crosses for their baskets and I need to get a wallet for DS, but I think that's all I need. It's easy to get overwhelmed when I think of everything that needs to be done in addition to work and the usual daily activities. I just need to remember to pray that I get done what God wants me to get done and not worry about the rest. If I let Him prioritize my day and pay attention to what He's telling me to get done, all will be good. :-)

Stretching Their Wings

2011-04-16T11:02:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we applied for passports for the kids. They are both going on a mission trip to Jamaica this summer with our church and will be gone 10 days. I'm proud of them for both wanting to go and help and being so enthusiastic about it, but I'm a little anxious, too! The longest we have been apart has been 6 or 7 days, and that was way back in grade school. DS was enthusiastic without question right away, but DD was undecided for a few days about going. She wanted to be sure she was going for the right reasons, which I have no doubt she is. But while we were talking about it, I told her I needed to have my priorities for this trip as much as she did. It would be very easy for me to say, no, you can't go - too much money involved, too far and too long to be away from me, going to a foreign country at a young age, etc. - but I told her I knew that it was a good thing for her and her brother to do. It will be a good thing for them to be the hands and feet for Christ, first and foremost. It will be a good thing for them to experience a different culture while under the supervision of godly and trustworthy adults. It will be a good thing for her to have to eat something other than pasta and Cheerios every day! And it will be a good thing for both of them to start to learn to live, even a few days, away from home. As for me, I'm trying to get a few ideas of what I could do while they are gone. I will be working, of course, but I will have at least 1 full weekend and possibly part of another to fill. I already have a short list of home and away ideas, so I think I will get through it. haha I just don't really like being home by myself overnight alone. I told my one friend I may be "borrowing" her dog for the 10 days the kids are gone! haha The other issue that concerns me, of course, is finances. It's approximately $1500 per child to go. That doesn't include work clothes from Salvation Army or Goodwill, a lightweight bed roll or passports. I've prayed that if this trip is God's will for the kids, He will provide the funds for them to go. The first confirmation of that came yesterday when the kids' dad paid for the application fee for the passports. I had to pay for the passports themselves, but I hadn't considered at all that he would volunteer to pay for anything, so that was a definite blessing! And I'm sure there will be more confirmations to come. As an aside, yes, their dad was with us to apply for the passports. I wasn't 100% sure if he needed to be there or not. One spot on the government site said both parents had to be there in person if the applicant was a minor without specifying an age, another spot said both parents had to be there only if the applicant was under 16, and another spot said if one parent had sole custody, the other parent did not need to show if there was proof of custody. Kinda confusing so as long as he was being cooperative, I thought it best if he was there. And they did have him sign the forms and took his ID copies and such, so that was good. And the kids seemed to enjoy talking with him, which was very good. They talked about all sorts of things, and it was only when he was talking about doing "12-ounce curls" for upper arm strength and telling the kids that some day they may enjoy beer, that I had to bite my tongue. Other than that, he behaved. :-) He even said he would be making a donation for their trip fund - again, another confirmation. So off they go in a few months. It's time for a short flight from the nest before they leave for good in a few years.

And Yet Another Conversation.....

2011-04-12T08:09:00.004-04:00

I have a very strong-willed son. He does not give up until he gets the answer or result that he wants. Which can be a good thing, but it can also try his mother's patience! His focus currently is finding me a new husband. Via internet dating. (insert giggle while rolling eyes!) He hasn't tried to set up a secret profile for me or anything, but it is a topic of conversation at least once a week. He has good intentions. He knows he and his sister will be leaving for college at the same time in about 2-1/2 years and doesn't want me to be alone. But while he also knows that I would like to remarry at some point (in God's timing, which apparently isn't my timing and is the subject of another post at another time!), I'm not too keen on the idea of meeting someone online (or having to pay to do it!). *sigh* It doesn't help that my niece met her current boyfriend (and he looks like he could be "The One") on a dating site and suggested getting me a membership for Christmas! So what's a mom to do? I'm getting tired of repeating my reasons for not being interested in sites like eHarmony or match.com, but he will not give up. You'd think by now, after 16 years, he'd have some idea that his mom is just as strong-willed as he is! haha So I guess if he can keep this up over the next few years, so can I. :-)

Judge Ye Not....

2011-04-08T09:09:00.003-04:00

"Judge ye not lest ye be judged".....it's part of a Bible verse (Matthew 7:1) that has been used and misused in so many different ways. Does it mean we are never to judge other people? No. It means that you will be held to the same standards to which you hold others. If I'm talking to my kids and point an unacceptable behavior from them, I had better make sure I'm not doing the exact same thing! But that's not really the point of this post. I have very thin skin in that I take a lot of stuff personally and get my feelings hurt very easily. I try not to, but it happens anyway. I also am my own worst critic. I can say something at 8 AM with the best of intentions, starting thinking about it several hours later and by noon I'm kicking myself because the other person *may* have not taken it how I intended it, been offended by it, how I could have handled the situation better, whatever. I'm not a perfectionist, but I do have high standards by which I hold myself accountable. Too high maybe? In more sane moments :-) , I'm sure 90% of the time, people don't think twice over whatever I'm beating myself up for, or they are judging themselves for their part in the interaction. For example, I post on Facebook and delete those posts an hour later because they could be taken "wrong" or because I shouldn't have joined someone else's thread. But the worst is, I always have felt as though people judge me by my children's actions. Those kids arguing 3 minutes after church service ends Sunday morning before we're even out the sanctuary doors? Yep! They're mine! Good job, Mom! *insert eye rolling emoticon here* That's actually one reason why we left our previous church. Everyone else's kids behaved perfectly and siblings got along like best friends and mine didn't. I felt so guilty that I was doing such a poor job and didn't have the savings available for when my kids would need therapy as adults for their terrible homelife as kids! Thankfully there are more "real" families at our new church home, ones without perfect kids. *sigh* Anyhoo....yesterday I was reading the notes we get each week at Bible study, and there was a statement in there about how Christ died for our sins, AND He died for our guilt. I have no need to feel guilty for every word that comes out of my mouth (not that there couldn't be less of them coming out!) and every action. I don't need to feel guilty for what I perceive other people judging me or for what I judge myself. I DO need to examine my words and deeds and ask the Holy Spirit for conviction when I DO do something that needs repaired, but as an imperfect creature in an imperfect world, I have to understand that will happen occasionally, just not necessarily as often as I think it does! And it's a good thing that when I repent, that God doesn't keep rehashing all my mistakes. He doesn't continue to judge me on that. It's gone - the offense AND the guilt have been wiped away. I would do well to remember that more often. Does this all make sense? I know I'm too sensitive and consider too much about what other people think. I just want to be a good witness for Christ and for my words to honor Him, and I don't want people to judge Christ by my words and/or actions, and I don't want to hurt anyone else's feelings. *sigh again* And you know as soon as I hit "publish post," I'm going to be questioning myself over whether that was a good idea or not...... (and yes, I've already posted and edited!)

April Goals

2011-04-05T08:51:00.003-04:00

I know, it's been a while. I've been so distracted lately, it's been all I can do to get work done, much less post anything. Spring fever maybe? Anyhow, I did pretty good in March with my goals, distractions and all. I made my extra payment to Visa, did a savings deposit, read a book, got the storm door down, filled a bag for Goodwill and purged the bathroom cabinets. That distraction thing has interfered with my Bible reading, so I need to get back in that habit again this month. Actually, I have been reading my Bible daily, just not following the Bible-in-a-year plan that I need to be. So here are my goals for April: 1. Catch up and keep up with my reading-the-Bible-in-a-year schedule. 2. Extra payment to Visa. 3. Savings deposit. 4. Read a book. 5. Unfinished project - cut fabric for quilt! 6. Bag to Goodwill. 7. Deep clean of living room (purge stuff, sweep out sofa, clean ceiling fan, etc.)

Potato-Leek Soup

2011-03-10T11:53:00.002-05:00

This is one of my daughter's favorite meals, and considering how picky she is, that's quite a complement! :-)

1/2 stick margarine or butter
1 onion, sliced
2-3 leeks, sliced
4-5 Russet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
3 cups chicken broth
dash pepper
dash or 2 of Morton's Nature's Seasoning Blend
8 oz. sour cream

Melt the margarine in a large stock pot. When melted, add onion and leek slices and cook over medium heat until they are soft. Add potatoes and chicken broth, bring to a boil. Season with pepper and seasoning blend to taste. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are cooked through and mash easily, 30 minutes or so. Remove from heat and mash until smooth or desired texture. (We like a few chunks!) Add sour cream and stir until blended. Equally delicious warm or cold, and leftovers heat up well, although you may want to add a touch of water when reheating in the microwave as soup will thicken when refrigerated.

Meal Plan Re-Do

2011-03-07T08:38:00.002-05:00

The last few weeks the kids have been in driver's ed, which runs from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. That has kind of been messing with meals so we've been turning more to fast food, frozen pizza, that sort of thing. This week isn't going to be a whole lot better, but I'm going to try a little harder to avoid the drive-thru's. Also throwing a kink into things, DS has announced that other than bacon and ham occasionally, he has decided not to eat pork. It's never been his favorite to begin with, but apparently they had a discussion in Biology about pork and pigs, and that kind of cemented his distaste for the meat. The problem is, I have 2 or 3 meals' worth of pork chops in the freezer. Guess what I will be eating when the kids go on youth retreat later this month! :-) Anyhow, here's the meal plan (and I use the word "plan" loosely!) for the next few weeks. Yes, there are lots of carry-overs from the last plan. :-)

Mondays
Chicken and broccoli rollups (thawing for tonight)
Chicken potato pie
Roasted chicken

Tuesdays
Chimichangas
Enchiladas
Beef au gratin

Wednesdays
Breakfast souffle
Stromboli
Tuna melts

Thursdays
Leftovers

Fridays
Potato-leek soup
Pizza wraps
Farmhouse chicken

Saturdays
Dinner out in Columbus
Onion soup
Sloppy joes/hamburgers grilled out (depending on weather)

Driver's Education

2011-03-04T08:47:00.002-05:00

The kids are nearly done with their classroom driver's ed class. They just have 1 more class next Tuesday, and then it is on to in-car hours. I'm going to schedule DS first because he will definitely be going for his license before his sister. It may not be as soon as he would like (it will be based on MY comfort level, not his!), but he will test sooner than she does.

I had been been kind of irritated with myself, thinking that I should have signed them up sooner in their learning-to-drive process. Waaaaay back when I took driver's ed (it was a semester class in school), you took classroom first before ever being allowed to get your permit, and so I was thinking that maybe DD especially would have been more comfortable had she gotten "professional" instruction at least in the classroom prior to hitting the road. Wrong! Apparently you don't take driver's ed now until you are ready to test for your permanent license as the kids were told by their instructor that the class they are taking is specifically to prepare them for the test. (Yes, another school teaching to "the test"! Don't get me started..... lol) It's not a class to teach you how to drive on the road as a beginner; they assume you have already had at least half your required hours (25) before signing up with them. So wouldn't "driving test preparation class" be more accurate than "driver's ed?" Just wondering.....

Anyhow, they've enjoyed it so far. They've learned all about street signs and the importance of insurance and have even seen the graphic, gruesome, this-is-what-happens-when-you-drive-distracted/drunk/high-and-crash-and-die films. Then came last night.....Another accident discussion. The instructor starts out by talking about a student he had last year...who was from a specific county school (no, it couldn't be).....who blew a stop sign last summer (could it?)....speeding (what school does he go to again?)....with too many unrelated kids in the car (oh no)....and killed a woman and injured 3 others, two critically (it is!). The un-named young man the instructor was talking about was the kids' cousin. *sigh* And discussion for the next 10-15 minutes centered on what this teen did wrong, how he could have prevented the accident, the lifelong consequences of the accident for the teen and the family of not only the woman who died but also the friends in his car and the baby in the other vehicle who were severely injured, etc. My kids did speak up and say he was their cousin, which hopefully prevented too much bashing, which had started. (It's one thing to use an accident as an example; it's another thing to bash.) This accident had affected my kids last summer, DD especially, and it really brought home the serious responsibility you have when you are behind the wheel back then, but it was definitely reinforced last night. (Their cousin has not been charged yet in regard to the accident. For some reason the Ohio State Highway Patrol tends to take months - 9 or 10 months sometimes - to bring charges in accidents that cause a death. )

So it has been an interesting 2 weeks for them. DS is pushing even harder to drive more and more and is anxious to get his in-car driver's ed hours started. DD has started to show some interest in getting behind the wheel again, although she still says she would rather be a passenger. :-) I know I need to loosen the apron string and let them have their independence (I well remember when I was 16 and wanting to drive!), but it sure is hard! Just trusting in God to protect them!

March Goals

2011-03-03T08:48:00.003-05:00

Last month was another month with mixed results. I didn't finish any books, and neither child is cooperating with me in learning how to make meals. :-) The books I'm keeping on my goals; the "teach a meal" is not! I was, however, able to make a huge payment on the credit card, cutting my balance by 2/3, and I'm finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel there. (yay!) So here we go in March:

1. Keep up with Bible reading.
2. Extra payment to Visa.
3. Savings deposit.
4. Read 2 books.
5. Unfinished projects.
Cut fabric for quilt
Take storm door down
6. Bag to Goodwill.
7. Purge bathroom cabinets.

The front entrance storm door is hanging by half its hinges and not closing, so it needs to come down before we get a storm that catches it and really damages something. Storm doors are on my replacement list anyhow, so I just have 3 doors on the list now instead of two. DD figured out how to stop the leaky bathroom faucet without replacing the washers, so I appreciated that. And both kids are really getting into taking a bag to Goodwill every month. So far it's been 2 large trash bags. Not sure the bags will be large ones each month, but even a small bag counts!

Driving, Driving, Driving

2011-02-21T07:31:00.001-05:00

On the road again.... now that the weather and the roads are improving, it's been time for the kids to get back behind the wheel. I had full intentions of having them do more bad weather driving, but unfortunately the bulk of our bad weather had ice involved, and I was NOT enthused about driving in it myself, much less teaching 2 teenagers! What we have been doing is getting the night hours in for DS. That and driver's ed are all he needs before he can test for his license. He needs about 5 more night hours, and driver's ed starts this afternoon, so in about 2 months, we will be finding ourselves scheduling the test and increasing my insurance bill! haha DD is also taking driver's ed but just the classroom part right now. She will only drive if her brother is not in the car now, so we're getting her time in, just slower than what he did.

This weekend's adventure was interesting. It kind of started as a joke but then DS decided it would be fun to do. Both kids are balking at learning how to read a map. In their opinion, they have Mapquest and online direction programs and will want GPS systems in their cars and so won't need to know how to read a map. I've told them that I won't let them go for their license tests until they prove to me that they CAN read a map. After all, it's not like Mapquest is ever wrong! ;-) Anyhoo, I told DS that one day I was going to take him out to the middle of nowhere and make him find his way back home. On his own. And he thought that would be great! He even wanted blindfolded! The only resource he used was the sun. And he did quite well getting us home. It was definitely the scenic route, but we made it. It took him about 1-1/2 hours to get home, usually an hour or a little less), and he thought he was more north than he was, but all in all, he did very well. DD isn't sure she wants the same challenge, though!

Once we get map reading down and night driving more comfortable (for Mom at least!), I need to bite the bullet and let DS drive to our favorite mall in Columbus. He has driven to Columbus once, but that was on Christmas Day, and traffic was definitely sparse. Not sure I want to let him go in full traffic, but I know I have to. My mom never let me drive in a town larger than our hometown, and even that she wasn't too happy about, but I knew I was capable of it. Of course, that was because she didn't like driving in large cities, but I don't mind it. Anyhow, that's coming. And since we didn't get much bad weather driving in this season, informal driver's ed will be continuing into next winter. But that's where we're at. Won't be long at all before they fly on their own.

Overwhelmed in a Good Way, For Once!

2011-02-16T13:26:00.003-05:00

Usually when I'm feeling overwhelmed, it's not good. Typically it's because of the whole single parenting thing, sole income thing, teenage siblings thing all coming together at once, and it's not pretty! But Sunday was different, and I'm still feeling it today.

Let me start by saying, my kids' grandpa (Papa) is amazing. It's a testimony to his grandpa-ness that my 16-year-old twins still love to spend time with him and do things with him. Even nearly 10 years after the divorce, he still refers to me as his daughter-in-law and rarely declines to help us out when he can.

When I was going through the divorce, it was because of a loan from him that I was able to purchase this house, and I only have a few more months' of payments until that loan is repaid. Or I should say, "had." That's because on Sunday, he gave me his copy of the loan agreement marked "paid in full." *wow* I wasn't expecting that! But he insisted that is what he wanted to do. It wasn't a huge monthly payment, but to have it finished is a huge weight gone. Then he hands me a check. Huh? He said he is giving both sons (my ex and his brother) a check for the same amount to do with as we wish. He said he realizes one son has taken advantage of him over the years and that he wants to so something to even that out. He hopes these checks will be yearly occurences, though the amounts may vary, and he knows that with college expenses looming and increasing costs of raising kids, that this money could come in handy. No strings attached. Spend it as I please. *double wow!*

But wait! There's more.... Then he says, he is not sure if I have an updated will, medical power of attorney and living will or not, but he has arranged for all 3 of us (again, my ex and his brother) to have wills and any necessary documents drawn up at his lawyer's office, at his expense. I know he has been worried about my ex-brother-in-law's health for a while and what arrangements would be made for my nephew should something happen. And I have known that I need to update my documents considering my mother was my main decision-maker, and she passed away 3 years ago, and my brother, who is no longer speaking to me, was my back-up. So I will be soon making an appointment do that. *triple wow* And oh yeah, I'm to bring my payment book for DD's braces so he can resume those payments. *a hundred wows!*

My head was spinning and still is actually. DS can now start official driver's ed as soon as he gets the classroom part done and test for his license. I can now accelerate my debt repayment and hopefully be completely debt-free by the time school starts back in August. What a blessing Papa is to all of us. A simple thanks doesn't seem enough, but I have no idea how to begin to let him know what this means. Earlier Sunday morning in Sunday School class, our teacher said to never deny someone the blessing of giving. I pray that Papa is blessed through these gifts and that somehow we can show him the love of Christ that he is showing us.

Adventures in Groupon

2011-02-15T08:25:00.002-05:00

I've had the opportunity to use 2 Groupons in the last couple weeks. Groupon is a website that offers deals of the day based on your location. The deals are usually limited in number, offered for a limited time (usually just that day) and some must have a limited number purchased before the deal is actually good. (If the minimum isn't purchase, your money is refunded.) Different Groupons are offered in different markets, so if you live in Dayton, your offer will be different from Columbus, which will be different from Cincinnati, etc. You can buy a Groupon out of your market; just be sure to read how to redeem it before purchasing. You don't want to purchase a Chicago Groupon that must be redeemed in person if you live in Houston! Anyhow, sometime late last fall, they were offering free gift codes, and I was able to snag $35 worth to apply to my account, and recently there were 2 Groupons that caught my eye.

My first purchase was from Purely American, which is actually an Ohio company that does business online only. I was able to get a $40 credit to the company for $20 (which was deducted from my gift codes). They also included a $7.95 shipping credit. The company sells specialty soups and baking mixes, spices and nuts. I love this kind of thing but can never really justify spending $6 or $7 on a mix! I was able to get 5 different mixes plus 2 pounds of Virginia roasted peanuts and only spent 95-cents out of pocket. Because I ordered during a stretch of really bad weather (my kids had 3 days of school off in a row!) and I knew where the company was located was probably iced in, I knew shipping would probably be delayed, but my order arrived within about a week. I haven't made much from the mixes because of our schedules but look forward to baking this weekend. And the peanuts are really, really good!

My second purchase was a $20 Barnes and Noble Groupon that only cost $10 (again, deducted from my free credits). We went to Columbus on Saturday, and I bought "The Everything Freezer Meals Cookbook" and a bar of Godiva chocolate. :-) My total came to $20.06, so I only paid 6-cents out of pocket! It was kind of funny because when I went to check out, as the cashier was ringing up my purchase, I started to say, "I have a Groupon..." and he said, "Oh! a Groupon!" This particular Groupon was available for 4 or 5 days nationally instead of being a local deal and was obviously very popular!

I still have a $5 credit left on my account, and I'll keep my eye out for something to use it on. ($5 Groupons do come up occasionally; usually they are more in the $10-$20 range.) I would probably purchase another Groupon with "real money" if it was something that I used regularly or could give as a gift toward the holidays. A lot of what is offered in my market seems to be for restaurants and yoga/spa deals, which I wouldn't particularly use. I would probably try more things that I wouldn't normally wouldn't (see my first deal above!) if they were to give out more credits, but I would be surprised to see that happen again. Anyhow, it was fun splurging over the past few weeks without really spending any money. A girl needs that once in a while!

February Meal Plan

2011-02-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

Well, part of February anyhow! I have discovered that even if I only go 2 weeks between meal plans, I like the flexibility and options that planning out to 3 weeks gives me. That's why some of the meals listed below are carry-overs from last time. That and a couple of the recipes I just really like and want again! And as always, Thursdays are leftover days, and Sundays are pizza-with-Papa nights.

Mondays
Rotisserie chicken (shopping day)
Chicken-broccoli roll-ups
Chicken cacciatore

Tuesdays
Beef chimichangas
Beef au gratin
Enchiladas

Wednesdays
Beef stew
Spaghetti pie
Breakfast casserole

Fridays
Pork chops paprikash
Tuna melts
Onion soup

Saturdays
Potato-leek soup
Farmhouse chicken
Hamburgers

February Goals

2011-02-03T12:25:00.004-05:00

I did okay with my goals last month. Not great, but okay. Good enough to encourage me to continue. And what I didn't finish is being carried over into this month, namely cleaning out DS's closet and fixing the leaky faucet in the bathroom. February *should* be a much quieter month, so I will have no excuses for not meeting these goals.

1. Keep up to date with Bible reading. (So far, so good!)
2. Extra payment to Visa.
3. Savings deposit.
4. Read 2 books.
5. Unfinished projects:
Fix leaky faucet in bathroom
Hang new smoke detectors
Cut fabric for quilt
6. Teach a meal.
7. Bag to Goodwill.
8. Clean out and organize kitchen linen and junk drawers. (These are driving me nuts!)

January Reading

2011-02-02T07:13:00.000-05:00

I came across The Cheapskate Next Door in the library's new book section. The author interviewed many self-described cheapskates to see what set them apart from everyone else in regard to saving and spending. I didn't really learn anything new that I would want or be able to implement, but I did learn that I'm already do a lot more than the the non-cheapskate-next-door!

Black Friday is a novel about a teenage newspaper intern and her friends, who uncover the dark side of the abortion industry. As a parent, I appreciated that the consequences of some of the teens' choices were not minimized or easily dealt with. I do believe the book was written more towards the teen/young adult reader as I would have appreciated more depth to the story and characters, but this is a suspensful book my daughter would read and perhaps be drawn to other books in the Soul Survivor series.

Salvage Stores

2011-02-01T07:10:00.003-05:00

We went to our first salvage grocery store over the weekend, Dings and Dents in Plain City. I wasn't sure what to expect actually. I knew the merchandise would be banged up a bit but that the prices would be good, and I was kinda right and kinda wrong. :-) A salvage grocery is one that sells items that couldn't otherwise be sold in your mainline stores. The boxes are beat up, the cans have some major dents, bags of wrapped items have been torn and taped up, etc. The food is good, quality has not been affected, but if you're looking for perfect packaging, keep on driving. You'll never know what will be in stock because it changes every week, depending on what they get in with their shipment. Think Odd Lots, only less fancy. :-)

I was right in that a lot of the products were not going to win a beauty pagent. I would say 70% had packaging defects, but not everything. We got a large box of Kellogg's Pops cereal that was in perfect shape for $1.50, a jar of Wyler's beef bouillon cubes for $0.99 and a jar of their chicken cubes for $1.49, and all of those had no defects at all. We also got a few baking mixes where the boxes were crushed, all around $0.89 to $0.99 each, but those are some really good deals! I debated about the baking chocolate; it was marked down to $0.99 but each box was missing 2 squares, and I decided to pass, and I didn't really need any canned goods, so I didn't take mental note of those prices. Candy bars were marked at $0.25 each, and DD quickly snapped up 4 Lindor and Reese's cups. On the flip side, some of the household and personal items I thought were not as good a deal. I didn't look at expiration dates of the batteries but at $5.99 for 8 AA size, I passed on price alone. There were a few perishables, but not many, and the only meat available was sausage. We weren't going straight home, and I didn't bring a cooler, so I didn't even look at those items. Bread was available for a donation.

Plain City is about an hour from our home, so I wouldn't make a special trip to the store, but if we are in the area and they are open, I would definitely stop again. There are other salvage stores in Ohio, and in checking this list, I see others within that same distance. (This is a national list; scroll around for other states.) Some salvage stores sell things past their *sell by* dates; the only things here I saw that were past dates were on a specially marked table, specifically noting that. Everything else was well within a usable timeframe. It's definitely nice to have another option in grocery shopping.

Sweet 16

2011-01-21T07:26:00.000-05:00

My babies turn 16 today, and I have mixed feelings about that! haha I'm very proud of them, of course, and the young man and woman they are becoming, but shouldn't they really still be in kindergarten? We'll be celebrating low key today. DS wants roast beef and apple tart for his birthday dinner. DD wants her usually macaroni and cheese and a cookie dough/cream cheese/pudding/whipped cream/chocolate chip dessert that she loves. Monday she is having a few friends from school over in the afternoon for cake and ice cream and a movie, and then next weekend we are meeting with friends for a celebration dinner at the kids' favorite restaurant and then heading to The Ohio State University in Columbus for WinterJam, a Christian music event.

It's fitting that there is snow on the ground today, just as there was 16 years ago when the twins were born during a snow storm, yet so much else has changed. I'm just very, very thankful that we love and serve our Heavenly Father, who is in control, no matter what, because I'm sure there will be many more changes in the years to come.

Finally.....Cinnamon Chicken

2011-01-20T19:14:00.002-05:00

We finally had cinnamon chicken yesterday. DS offered to cook Monday, so this got put off a few days as a result. Anyhoo, the results were mixed. DS didn't like it. Started out as "not his favorite" last night and proceeded to "I didn't like it" today. DD wouldn't even attempt it. (No surprise there!) I really liked the subtle cinnamon flavor of the chicken. The chicken was very moist, and it reminded me of a Mediterranean dish. The funny thing is, I usually avoid cooked tomatoes at all costs and love onions no matter how they are prepared, but with this recipe, the tomatoes were awesome, but I hated the onions! So I'm not sure if this is a dish I will try to tweak or if it's one of those "I'm glad we tried it but I doubt we'll have it again" things. This recipe is from The $5 Dinner Mom's first cookbook.

1-1/2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt and pepper
2 whole garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, quartered
1 - 15-ounce can stewed tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

Place the chicken pieces in the insert of a slower cooker and add 1 cup of water. Sprinkle the cinnamon, salt and pepper over the chicken pieces. Place the whole garlic cloves, olive oil, quartered onion pieces, drained stewed tomatoes and Italian seasoning around the chicken in the slow cooker. Set the cooker on low and cook for 8 hours.

I used bone-in chicken breast because that is what I had in the freezer. It was still frozen when I put it in the crockpot, so I cooked it for about 9 hours, and the meat was very tender. Let me know what you think!

Flexibility

2011-01-18T08:38:00.003-05:00

I used to be a lot more flexible. I'm not talking joints and physical positions and twisting and turning my body; I mean change-of-plans flexible. It used to be that if I woke up with one set of plans for the day but something happened and a whole new set of plans presented itself, whether voluntarily or by circumstance, it didn't throw me - I just went with it. But not so much lately, and I don't like it. One of the reasons I work at home is so that I CAN be flexible. If I need to schedule an appointment for the me or the kids during normal work hours, I can do that and make up my time later in the afternoon or evening and not take formal time off. If I have a repair person coming over, I can still be productive work-wise while waiting for them to get here. If I have to leave in the middle of the afternoon to go renew the license tags for my car before they expire because I've put it off for the last 30 days instead of getting it done and over with, I can. Things like that. But lately I've really noticed myself becoming resentful of interruptions to my day and my plans. Nonimportant interruptions. Like DS asking if we can have something different for dinner instead of what I have planned. Like DD making plans with a friend for a school project without clearing times with me first. Nothing that is going to matter in the overall scheme of things even a few days from now. I'm not sure what the underlying problem is, whether I feel a lack of consideration from other people (not just my kids) or whether the urgency I feel to get work accomplished when it's available during this slow period is becoming too overwhelming or I feel a lack of control in my life or if I'm just getting old and set in my ways. All I know is I don't like how I've become. In just a few short years, my children will be off to college, and I will have all the time in the world for my plans without interruption. Until then, I need to change, start saying "yes" more often and work through the meaningless anxiety and resentment that has no place in a life with twin teens.

3-Week Meal Plan

2011-01-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

DD helped me inventory the freezer this weekend, and as I thought, we have more than enough food for meals to carry us through the rest of this month. Here is what I have planned:

Mondays
Cinnamon chicken
Chicken tortilla soup
Chicken-broccoli rollups

Tuesdays
Beef wellington
Tacos
Flaky beef pie

Wednesdays
Italian beef stew
Chicken teriyaki
Spaghetti pie

Thursdays
Leftovers

Fridays
Pork chops paprikash
Asian pork chops
Beef fettuccini

Saturdays
Potato-leek soup
Chicken cacciatore
Birthday dinner out

Sundays
Pizza with Papa

I do need to make a list of lunches to just keep on hand. I did that during Christmas break, and having a plan really relieved a lot of stress while I was working. (Amazing, huh! ;-) ) I've had a mental list before, but having it written out and on my day planner right in front of me seemed to make the difference.

Eat From the Pantry Challenge

2011-01-07T11:54:00.003-05:00

Life As Mom is hosting an "Eat From the Pantry" challenge this month. The idea is to use what you have on hand for meals and snacks and to limit your grocery spending. This is coming at the perfect time for me as I know my next paycheck will be small, and the grocery budget is one of my few non-fixed budget items. My goal is to cut my grocery spending in half and use up a lot of what is in the freezer (or at least enough that the bag of chicken no longer wants to fall out when you open the door!). To cut my budget in half will leave me with $31 a week to work with, and if I focus (notice a theme this year?), it is definite do-able. Even though I spend $10+ a week on milk. And only milk. Some days I think a dairy cow would be cheaper. :-)

To accomplish this, I intend to do a freezer inventory either today or tomorrow morning and then go through my recipes and cookbooks and make up a rough meal plan for the rest of January. I'm not going to plan to the specific day, but I am going to plan to the day of the week. A few months ago I started with a theme meal plan. Mondays we have chicken, Tuesdays beef, Wednesday a freezer or crockpot meal, Thursdays leftovers, Fridays pasta/pork/pizza and Saturdays a meal that might be more labor intensive than I want to tackle on a week night. This has actually worked out real well, and at first I was planning menus for a 2-week period. Then in December, I decided I wanted to avoid the stores those last 7 days before Christmas and planned out a 3-week menu, listing 3 options for Mondays, 3 for Tuesdays and so on. That worked REALLY well! And thanks to leftovers, I still have probably half that menu still available for the rest of January.

Once I do an inventory and make up my menu, I'm going to post it to keep myself accountable. Another area that needs to be cut back this month is our fast food. We traveled over New Years and spent way too much, as usual, in the drive thru. Our Sunday morning tradition is to stop at Tim Horton's for doughnuts on the way to church (spending less than $3 here lately since I've started eating breakfast at home before we go), and apparently it's *tradition* that we stop at Arby's for my son and McDonald's for my daughter after each orthodontist appointment, so those 2 habits won't stop, but I would like to avoid the drive thru entirely for the rest of January. THAT will be a major accomplishment if it happens!

So anyhoo, the pantry challenge is on, and the fast food challenge, too, I guess. Hopefully succeeding at both of these will help my budget this month, and, by eliminating fast food, help my waistline too!

January Goals

2011-01-05T07:15:00.000-05:00

Here are my January goals. A lot of them this year will be carried over from month to month, but I think I will need to do that to stay on track, and I am going to try to be more specific in what I need to do. My financial monthly goals will be harder to hit this month because work has been slow the last few days, as in pretty much nonexistent, and therefore the paycheck is going to be scary small, but I am going to put my trust in God to supply what I NEED. Not necessarily what I want, but definitely what I need. :-)

1. Keep on date with my Bible reading and not fall behind. (I'm using the Wendy Pope online study with a friend from church.)
2. Extra payment on the Visa. (It may only be $2 or 3, but there will be an extra!)
3. Make a savings deposit. (Again, it will be small.)
4. Read a book. (I am going to finish "The Cheapskate Next Door" and then read "The Twelfth Imam" by Joel C. Rosenberg.)
5. Complete a project. (Fix the leaky bathroom faucet.)
6. Teach the kids a meal.
7. Take a bag to Goodwill of unused items.
8. Clean out DS's closet. (He has been asking me to help him for a while now.)

Goals for 2011

2011-01-04T13:59:00.002-05:00

I really debated about goals this year, or at least putting them on paper. After my fail of 2010, I wasn't sure it was worth it, but in looking back, a large part of that failure was that I didn't break my yearly goals down into monthly goals. So I'm going to try again this year and make yearly goals AND monthly goals. Maybe that will make a difference.

Goals for 2011
1. Read the Bible in a year.
2. Pay off Visa.
3. Increase savings to a specific amount and make monthly deposits.
4. Read 12 books.
5. Finish 12 projects.
6. Teach kids to cook a different meal each month.
7. Reduce clutter and unused items and take a bag to Goodwill each month.

These are all attainable goals, as long as I keep focused and don't procrastinate. Hopefully 2011 will be more successful than 2010!

How Did It Get To Be December 30th Already?

2010-12-30T16:09:00.002-05:00

Seriously, it should be illegal for the calendar pages to be flipping by this fast! I don't have my 2010 goals even close to being met, the Christmas tree is still up, we are way behind in driving hours for the kids and I have absolutely no clue how we will be spending New Year's Eve tomorrow! If we could postpone the new year for another month or so, that would work! haha

We had a very nice Christmas with my brother here for 2 nights. It was awkward the first year or two he stayed with us after it became apparent Mom was no longer up to overnight guests (and then went into a nursing home the following year). He works 3rd shift and when here would alternate between being grumpy on the couch, snipping at the kids to be quiet, and following me around constantly. A couple years ago, it dawned on me that I could CHOOSE to be kind and loving to him, regardless of how he acted, and that I NEEDED to CHOOSE to be kind and loving because my not-so-nice attitude toward him was rubbing off on my kids. The next year, I was very deliberate in taking time just to talk with him and spend time really getting to know him better. He's 10+ years older than me and even though we're only 2 hours apart in driving distance, we rarely see each other more than once or twice a year. That visit went so much better! And then last year, he told me that he on days he works, he does not go to bed to sleep, that he can't sleep during the day when it's so bright out and there is day time noise. Well, gee, that might explain his grumpiness if he's going 3 or 4 days without extended sleep! Understanding that has also changed my attitude and helped the kids understand why if he's snoring, we could give him the gift of being quiet for an hour or two. So this was a nice visit, and we actually talked about him coming up for a weekend this summer to spend with us.

I know these next few weeks are going to fly by, too. We still haven't finalized New Year's Eve plans, which I really need to do in the next couple of hours. Do we stay home and try to stay awake, well, do I try to stay awake? haha Or do we go to Cincinnati and spend the night with some friends? We need to get back to Columbus to have a mini Christmas with my niece, and a friend from church talked about coming over tomorrow or Saturday to show the kids how to change a tire, check fluid levels in the car, etc. Work has been super-slow this afternoon and promises to be slow tomorrow, too, so I also debated about trying to get my shopping done before the after-work crowd hits the stores. We'll see, but I'd better decided something, anything!, here soon. If we don't go to Cincinnati this weekend, we're going next weekend. Then we have a couple kids' 16th birthdays a couple weeks after that. And I need to meet up with my best friend from high school for our annual after-Christmas dinner in the next week or two. Somewhere in there I need to shop for said birthdays and try and get a semblance of a meal plan going so when DS comes home from school and inevitably asks what's for dinner, he does get "I don't know" every day! Is it sad that I'm already looking forward to a nap on January 23? :-)

Stocking Stuffers for Teens

2010-12-18T09:17:00.002-05:00

Gone are the days when I could go to Big Lots or the dollar store and fill a stocking for the kids in under $10. I don't recall exactly how much I spent to fill stockings last year, but I do remember, when it was all said and done, that I promised myself to never spend that much again. So this year I set a goal of $20 per child to fill the stockings, and I have been keeping my eyes open all year for stuffers with pretty good results.

Both kids are getting candy, bought on sale with coupons and CVS Extra Care Bucks/Walgreen's Register Rewards. They are also both getting T-shirts. DD's is from her favorite Christian band, Kutless, bought during a summer sale for $5 and free shipping. DS's is a graphic Christian T, bought for $6 on sale from the local Christian bookstore. Not only are they inexpensive gifts, they serve to take up some room in the stocking! They will also get a book that I got for free off Paperback Swap.

DD is also getting Eos lip balm, her favorite. This normally runs for $3-4, but by getting them when Walgreens was offering a $3.99 Register Reward, I consider them free. She's getting all 3 varieties. She is also getting 2 bottles of nail polish, which were $0.99 total after clearance and ECBs at CVS.

DS is also getting a small hack saw to add to his tool collection, $4.99 at Wal-Mart (the only thing I bought full price so far) and a mini Joy of Baking kit, as he loves to bake cookies, bought on sale after Easter at Borders book store.

I still want to pick up tire air pressure gauges for both kids, which I've seen for about $2 around town, and then I should be done. All in all, I will have spent less than $20 per stocking. The kids will be thrilled on Christmas morning, and I'm thrilled that I kept within my budget!

Another Conversation I Didn't Want to Have

2010-12-01T13:04:00.003-05:00

One thing about being a single parent is, you definitely get your share of questions that married parents don't get. In the car last night, DD asked me again why her dad and I got divorced. She has asked this in the past, and I've been able to give a generic yet true answer, but last night she really pushed. She said that now that her dad has decided to be back in their lives, she thought she deserved to know why he walked away in the first place. I tried to answer her in honest yet vague replies because, frankly, there is no way on this earth that I will ever, ever tell her the main reason we split. No. Way. (I can count on 1 hand the number of people who know that, and that includes my brothers and best friend, and I plan on keeping it that way.) Well, that didn't satisfy her. She accused me of thinking she wasn't mature enough to know the truth, and I told her that actually it was just the opposite. I feel she is mature enough that with what she already knows, she should be able to figure out why we split. After talking a while, she still didn't like my answers, even when I confirmed some of her suspicions, and said she would "just have to call Dad and ask him." I don't think she was expecting me to tell her that was fine, but I did! I told her I'd get her their number whenever she wanted to call. (She hasn't asked for it yet.)

This is a no-win situation. She is persistent, and nothing but (what she thinks) is the whole truth will satisfy her. I gave her a little more information when we got home, but immediately regretted it. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes! Not that what I said was bad or a lie, but it just really didn't need to be said. Anyhow, as I said, it's a no-win. She's not going to be happy because I'm determined not to give more information unless I have to clarify something she has heard from her dad or other people, and I'm not going to be happy because I don't think this is the end of the topic for her. I told her that I try hard, and don't always succeed, to try not to talk badly about her dad, that I did what I had to do to protect her and her brother and that I did not want them ever in a position where they felt they had to "choose sides." I did try to make a mini learning lesson out of this in that, while I'm so very glad to have her and her brother, our marriage was not in God's will since He specifically says not to be yoked with unbelievers, and she reiterated that that won't be an issue for her because she is only going to marry an evangelical Christian! *sigh* Only time will tell where this leads. Hopefully she is satisfied for a long while. This is not a conversation I'm anxious to have again anytime soon.

December Already???

2010-11-30T16:18:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that tomorrow is December 1! Here I was, feeling pretty good about Christmas preparations, and that calendar goes and messes it all up! haha

Over Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, we had our annual "what to do in December" conversation. For a number of years right after the divorce, we were gone every weekend in December, doing activities, seeing friends, etc., and it was really stressful, not to mention, we were so busy doing "stuff" that we weren't focusing on Christ. So for the last 3 years or so, we have cut our traveling back drastically the last month of the year. We reserve one weekend to see our friends in Cincinnati and choose one other out of town (ie, 1/2 hour or more away) activity, but other than that, we stick close to home. How that's going to work this year with a son chomping at the bit to drive every weekend and a daughter who reluctantly takes her turn ;-), I don't know! I'm thinking we might be doing more right-after-school,-in-town driving this month. Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly. We'll see.

Anyhoo, I made up a list of things that need to be done yet before Christmas eve, and it's not too overwhelming. If I can stick to this and not add 100 other things, we'll be fine. :-)
1. Finish shopping. (I only have my brother and a few stocking stuffers left.)
2. Wrap gifts. (Can easily be done in a couple hours)
3. Christmas cards. (Usually I have these done before Thanksgiving, but again, will only take a couple hours one evening.)
4. Decorate the house. (Kids will help so will only take an evening.)
5. Get a tree and decorate it. (We get a live tree, so this will wait until 7-10 days before Christmas. We'll put it in the stand on one night and decorate the next.)
6. Cookies. (This is the biggie. It usually takes 3-4 hours to do our cut-out cookies and then several more hours to ice them. Sometimes we split it up into 2 days; some years we do a marathon and crank them out in one day. Just depends on the schedule and my mood! This is done the weekend directly before Christmas. Any earlier and there are no cookies left by Christmas Eve.)
7. Trip to Cincinnati. (I'm thinking the 3rd weekend of the month.)
8. Attend our church's Christmas play. (2nd weekend of December; the kids usually work the After Cafe, serving desserts to raise money for camp.)
9. Out of the area activity. We've actually already done this. We went to the Columbus Zoo Wild Lights this last weekend and had a very good time.

DS also thinks we need to make buckeyes, fudge and something else that I've forgotten, but we'll see. That may need to be a week-after-Christmas or New Year's Eve activity. I also need to get to the bank and start my 2011 Christmas Club account before it's too late. It's such a blessing to have that discipline of putting that money aside and be able to have a cash Christmas.

And I think that's it. At least I hope so!

Piles, Piles, Everywhere....

2010-11-20T09:45:00.003-05:00

These last few weeks, I feel like I have been running around being so busy yet at the same time accomplishing nothing! I did get the bushes trimmed out front last week, for the first time this year (yeah, not the best timing, but at least we don't have a forest in front of the porch now!) and got poison ivy in the process. In November. *sigh* And we've had food to eat, we've been spending our Saturday afternoons out driving, I've been finishing my Bible study, there have been a couple of doctor/eye appointments, but it seems everything else has slid to the back burner. I'll write about some of that later. But today, until DD wakes up and off we go in the car, I need to concentrate on the piles of STUFF scattered here and there. I have 5 piles of papers and ads and "to do" just here in the dining room! That doesn't include the 2 piles of "to do" in the bedroom or the "I don't know what to do with it" basket in the living room or the *kinda small* stack of dishes or the 4, maybe 5, sorted laundry piles that have to, have to, HAVE TO get done today! I'm also praying that I can start being a better steward of the time that God has alloted to me each day. I know me. I know I through through phases every year where I'm on top of stuff one week and the next week there is absolutely no motivation to do anything, but at my age :-), I need to learn to push through those "no motivation" times. Hopefully today will get me back on track!

Booking It

2010-11-09T18:32:00.009-05:00

I love to read, and I'm blessed that my children do too. In fact, last week my 15-year-old son walked out of the library with 13 books, half of which have been read and are ready to go back! (And that's with us being gone most of the weekend, too!) So I have been reading LifeAsMom's Booking It series posts and intending to post pretty much every month but haven't until now. It's kinda like an informal book club, only you get to read what you want and you benefit from being introduced to new-to-you books that other readers post about.

In October, I didn't really read many books. I read the paper every day and my Bible almost every day for my BSF Isaiah study and our Romans study in Sunday School. I read some magazines, but unless we were waiting somewhere, I didn't pick up many books. I did, however, finish Terror by Night by Terry Caffey. It's the true story of a man whose wife and two sons were murdered, he himself seriously injured and his daughter accused of plotting the whole thing, and his faith journey through the following year or so. DD now has this on her to-be-read pile.

I recently started The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths by Pat Brown. I like crime dramas, and so far this has been very interesting to see the difference between "TV" and "real life." I'm about 1/5 through and this will be one that won't wait for waiting room-only reading!

Lastly, I am reading a book that DS asked me to read, H.I.V.E.: The Overlord Protocol. He loves fantasy/science fiction, and while that's not really my preferred genre, I generally read whatever my kids ask me to. :-) This is about a school that teaches teens and preteens who have shown a propensity for, um, illegal activities how to be better at their, uh, specialty. It's very top secret, and, of course, a secret mastermind behind the whole operation. This is the second in the series, and again, it's not something I would have chosen for myself, but it reads quickly, and it's easy to get interested in the students, and, most especially, it makes DS happy to share his favorite books with his mom. :-)

Christmas Gifts for the Older Folk

2010-11-08T17:53:00.002-05:00

My kids only have 1 grandparent still living. Papa is in fairly good health aside from some arthritic issues and a slowly declining memory. He's independent and still gets out and about, does activities with the kids and gets what he wants when he wants it. It can be a challenge to get him something for Christmas that is useful and appreciated. The kids usually make him something, but I usually like to do something a little more tangible. So what do you get the older gentleman (or lady or couple!) who doesn't really "need" anything?

Experiences! Papa loves to get gift certificates for things he can do with the kids. Even though they are teenagers now, they love to go hit a bucket of golf balls, attend concerts at the local theater house or go have dinner on special Papa-grandchild days. Putt-putt golf, bowling, grandparent zoo passes (generally allows 2 grandparents and unlimited grandchildren for cheaper than a family pass) are all welcome ideas. Even if you have a grandparent or older friend who isn't all that active, just a note of committment that you will take them to the kids' school plays, concerts, activities would be a gift of an experience.

Cleaning! Grandma Jo always took care of the cleaning, and since her passing Papa has done a decent job, but I doubt he's ever washed walls! haha Four hours or a day of deep cleaning or lawn work is sure to be appreciated by an older person who takes pride in their home but just can't quite get it done like they used to. It may be something you and your family wish to do, instead of hiring someone. Giving a visit from Stanley Steamer or another carpet cleaning company would also be appreciated, I'm sure, as would detailing the car, an afternoon of seasonal home maintenance or even just cleaning out the gutters.

Pet Care! When my mother was alive, one of her greatest pleasures (outside of her family!) was her kitty. Unfortunately Tinker Bell weighed a lot more than my mom could pick up and wrestle into a carrier, and the cat would not let anyone else near her. What Mom could do was "trap" the cat in the bathroom, where one of us could catch her, crate her and get her to the vet and then back home again. It was such a relief to Mom to be know that Tinker was still able to get medical care. We also have a vet in town who will make house calls for the elderly. Arranging for either a trip to the vet or a visit from the vet would warm the heart of any pet lover.

Food! My kids like to make Papa dessert-type gifts, but he needs to eat "real" food too. It's not hard to make up 10 or 12 homemade frozen meals to stock his freezer. He's learned to cook a few things, but it's always nice to have something different. A homemade "gift card" announcing that you'll bring over a meal or some type of goodie every month or even every week - and then following through - means not only a meal, but also a visit from you, which will mean more than anything.

These are just a few ideas. I'm not sure what I'll do this year. I'm leaning towards filling Papa's freezer with meals, unless he comes up with a "you know what I could really use..." hint in the next few weeks! I'm so grateful that not only do my kids have their Papa but also a few other older folk who love them very much, and it's an honor to be able to do and/or give something they will really use and appreciate at Christmas.

This and That

2010-11-02T10:15:00.003-04:00

The kids had a good time with their dad Saturday, for which I am truly grateful. They were gone about 9-1/2 hours, and when he left, he said he would be taking them target shooting sometime, so we will see if that happens. He has made promises before that he hasn't fulfilled, so I, at least, am taking things with a grain of salt. He has yet to call me back about an appointment with DD's physician about her weight, so again, we will just wait and see. Right now, all that matters is that the kids had a good time, and they have a memory of a fun day with their dad.

We are having issues with our kitty, Ash. He seems to be having an adjustment reaction to the loss of our other kitty, Joey, a few months ago and is urinating on soft items such as beds and now the couch. The vet gave him a "relaxant" shot for his bladder a few months ago, and we solved the bed issue by shutting bedroom doors. Unfortunately last night he urinated on the couch, and I found another spot this morning. So he will be going back to the vet today for another shot (these only last 2 months or so) and then back into the bathroom (a confined space) for litter box retraining. Ash is 7+ years old and has been using the litter box until yesterday, so hopefully the shot and retraining will do the trick for another few months. If he stays off the couch, I'll put the shot on the calender as a routine thing. If he doesn't, I'm not sure what will happen.

Work has been slow the last week to 10 days. It's 10:20 in the morning, and nothing is available. It was slow this time last year too, and it doesn't really make sense. I do medical transcription at home, and being the start of cold/flu season, it shouldn't be this slow. I tell myself to just focus on getting *enough* for today and not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34), but it's hard not to be a little concerned. I need to get my pile of "desk work" assembled so I can be close enough to check for work availability but still get other things accomplished that would normally wait until evening. Maybe I'll start on my Christmas cards today!

Finally a Cooking Day!

2010-10-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

With the kids gone today, I've decided to do some freezer cooking. We've been gone nearly every weekend since the kids got their driving permits, and I've missed getting some meals ready and into the freezer. At first I had only planned to do a few things, but that last has grown over the past 12 hours or so!

Hopefully by the end of tomorrow, I will have several each of chicken and turkey pot pies, flaky beef pies, spaghetti pies and stromboli in the freezer, along with a supply of pizza crusts. I may also try Life As Mom's red sauce and pizza sauce. I've had a different recipe for pizza sauce but haven't been too crazy about it. If I get to it, I'll try one batch. If it's a keeper, it will be easy enough to make more later. I have 2 roaster chickens ready to go into the pot. I had planned to roast them in the oven but forgot to get roasting bags, so they'll do just fine on the stovetop. They will be shredded, some used in the pot pies and the rest divided into 2- or 3-cup portions to freeze for future use. I'm also debating trying to make my own chicken broth. I have some carrots and celery that need to be used soon, so I think this might be the day. And why all the pies? I dislike the idea of making my own pie crust, but I hate the idea of paying for premade crust! It's actually okay once I get into the actual making of the crusts, but I just dread the thought of doing it. So by doing these all in one day, I get them done all in one shot. I will also probably go ahead and make a few crusts to have in the freezer for pumpkin pie and DS's favorite apple tart so that I'll have to do is thaw and roll.

I had originally thought I'd spend a couple hours in the kitchen and then do some sewing, but I doubt I will have the energy after completing my list and doing up the dishes. Hopefully this will be a very productive day and will allow for some evening sewing time in the coming weeks.

New Territory

2010-10-29T20:48:00.003-04:00

Having my ex back in our lives is new territory for us. I honestly cannot tell you when the last time was that I spoke to him before this week. Sometime last year, at least. It's like the kids and I have been cruising down the interstate, things going fairly smoothly, a few bumps in the road - but hey, they're teenagers! - and wham! all of a sudden we're detoured off onto a county dirt road, being thrown all over the place.

We've all kind of figured that D (the kids' dad from here on out) had some kind of alterior motive. His wife is the product of a divorce with an uninvolved family, and while she has no desire for any sort of shared custody, she has always wanted him to be a little more involved. Well, yesterday I found out. I called DD's physician to make a routine appointment to get her asthma meds renewed, and they informed me that her father has been calling to get information and wants an appointment to talk to her doctor regarding concerns he has for her health. Huh. News to me! Because the kids are on their dad's wife's insurance (sorry, they don't know her well enough to call her a stepmom), he knows when they go to the doctor. It turns out he has gotten her medical records and is "very concerned" about her weight. DD is very petite. She was 5 pounds when she was born and is now a whooping 80 pounds and 4 feet 11-1/2 inches tall. (Boy, does she want that last half inch!) Anyhow, he says he has been concerned for several years now, and even though he doesn't see her very often (his words), he is concerned that she has depression because she is moody and doesn't talk much and obviously not eating. Golly, did he ever think that maybe, if she has depression, that it could be because her dad CHOOSES not to be involved in her life? I told him as much. And as for being moody, I told him, A. she's a teenage girl :-) and B., she's pretty mad at him for basically deserting them. He didn't particularly like that last part, but hey, it's what I hear straight from her. So, to make a long story short, he is making an appointment for him and I to go see her doctor and talk about his concerns. He thinks the doctor isn't treating her appropriately. Personally, I think if he is going to continue to be in their lives (and I have no clue as to whether he is or isn't), then a few sessions of family counseling will be of the most benefit.

Sorry to go off on a rant, but I can't exactly vent here at home. :-) I have been praying for a while that if God desires D in the kids' lives, then He will convict D's heart. D is reappearing for a reason, and now my prayer is that we see that reason. If there is truly a health issue that we're missing, then I pray that God open my eyes to that. And I pray that my words and actions and attitudes towards D be pleasing to God. As far as I know D is still an agnostic, and I feel partly responsible for the stall in his spiritual life that he hit when we were still married. I don't want to do that again! Anyhoo, by this time tomorrow, I would think they would be home. Then I will have a better idea of where we go from here.

7 Years

2010-10-28T07:46:00.002-04:00

Seven years....that's how long it has been since the kids' dad has called and voluntarily asked to spend the day with them. So you can imagine our surprise to come home yesterday after an orthodontist appointment to find a message on the answering machine from him, asking if they wanted to spend Saturday with him and his wife. The kids are excited; I'm cautious. While I don't think he will back out or not show up, I'm not sure? curious? hesitant? about how the day will go. The last time he spent more than 2 hours in the same building as them, they were 8 years old, and they spent a day with his wife's family at a water park. He doesn't know them any more, and they don't know him. We all live in the same town, yet it's been 7 years since he's had a conversation with either of them.

Like I said, the kids are excited. I told DD that she has to be nice, polite and actually speak to her father. She hasn't talked to him other than a few words at Christmas for about 2 years. She's stubborn enough that if he doesn't speak to her first if we bump into him somewhere, that she won't talk to him. She says he's her dad, he's the adult, and he should be able to at least say "hello" to her, and she's right, but this time, I've told her to at least try. The day is pretty well all planned out, and the activities are all things the kids will enjoy. I'm not sure what I will do with a Saturday to myself! I usually have one weekend of "alone time" a year - when the kids are on retreat with their youth group, so this will be a different experience for me, too.

I think I'm glad for the kids' sake that their dad has called. I just hope it's a positive experience for them and that he doesn't get upset if his preconceived notions of how they should behave are incorrect. (They're good kids; he just tends to have unreasonable expectations.) There will be a lot of time spent in prayer the next few days, for safety and wisdom and an enjoyable day. After all, it will be hard to tell if it will be another 7 years before he calls again.

Meal Plan for the Week

2010-10-23T11:20:00.003-04:00

I've been trying to go through some recipe books that I haven's used very often, if at all, to see if they are worth keeping around. I've mainly focused on two Gooseberry Patch books, Gifts for Giving and From Grandma's Kitchen. Found a few keepers, a few thanks-but-no-thanks and a few surprises that I didn't think DS would like, but he did. I still have a few more recipes to try, but I don't think there will be enough keepers to keep either book around. I've also been pulling recipes from $5 Dinner Mom's book (definitely a keeper!) and my accordian file of recipes I've cut out over the years from magazines and newspapers. And in the next week or so, I'm going to mark dishes to try from my 2 Mennonite cookbooks, Mennonite Community Cookbook (the first cookbook I ever bought!) and Mennonite Country-Style Recepies (a gift at my wedding shower). I will probably keep at least one, if not both, of these books as they each have a lot of basic info plus just some really interesting items, like a menu for a barn raising (115 lemon pies, 3 gallons of applesauce, 50 pounds roast beef!), homemade laundry soap using meat scraps or meat grease and lye, little tidbits today's kids (and many adults!) would never know.

I'm also still having success with how I changed my grocery shopping and staying within budget, which is making me very happy! I haven't been able to decrease my budget, but I think that will come.

So here is what we're having this coming week:
Monday - tropical chicken on the grill
Tuesday - beef and fettuccine au gratin
Wednesday - leftovers
Thursday - roast chicken
Friday - tuna noodle casserole
Saturday - beef stew under cheddar crust

These are all oldies but goodies that I've missed while trying out new recipes. I plan to roast 2 chickens on Thursday, one for eating and one for shredding. And I may switch Monday and Tuesday's plan depending on the weather. Rain is in the forecast, and that is not very conducive to grilling out!

Gee, I "Saved" a Whole 9-Cents!

2010-10-19T14:06:00.007-04:00

This past weekend was hectic. Other than sleeping, I was home maybe 6 hours? So in the midst of all the running here and there, I ran through the drive-thru at Wendy's for a quick lunch. They've been a promo about their Pick-2 offer - you pick a half salad and one other side/drink for $4.99. That's more than I usually spend, but I was hungry and in a hurry. :-) It was after I got home that I looked at the receipt. The half salad rang up at $3.90 and the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger at $1.09 for the total of $4.99. The thing that got me riled up a bit was the fact that a whole salad (I got the BLT Cobb) was listed on the menu for $3.99! For 9-cents more, I could have had the whole salad, not just the half size. And the cheeseburger rang up at the regular menu price. Lesson learned? It pays to check prices EVERYWHERE, especially when in a hurry! What sounds like a decent deal isn't necessarily so, and when you're rushing from one place to another, it's easy to just "grab and run." Not a smart thing when you're pinching pennies.

Nine Years

2010-10-15T12:42:00.003-04:00

Early this week was the 9-year mark of my divorce. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Oh, the divorce itself was necessary, and I don't regret that. I regret the circumstances that brought it about, I regret my disobedience to God in my part of the marriage failure, but the marriage becamse a situation in which I could no longer let my children live.

What I still get hung up on, and definitely should not be, is how different my life is from what I thought it would be by this point. No, that should be, what I WANTED it to be like by this point. When the divorce was finalized, I had this picture in my head of my "happily ever after," and a huge chunk of that dream hasn't even had a whiff or a glimmer of happening. I didn't want to still be living in this house in town, but I bought it with the intention that it was big enough for the 3 of us yet small enough for me to care for should I still be here in my 60s or 70s. I didn't want to still be single at this point, but here I am with no hint that that will change anytime in the near or distant future. I had plans for my financial situation that certainly didn't include the economy tanking and my being further in consumer debt than I started out.

I've been struggling with contentment for a long time. Not for stuff, but for my circumstances. In my BSF Bible study of Isaiah, God warns Judah of their idol worship. We think of that as false gods, of making money, status, stuff more important than God. But in our lecture, our leader warned of us the idol of expectations. It was a knock in the forehead for me. That's what I have a tendency to do - hold onto my expectations and get really, really down and depressed because what I want to happen, doesn't. Some days I'm more content than others, but I really have to work on being content all the time, no matter what, no matter where. I've been trying to pray that God will make His desires, my desires and His expectations for me, my expectations. It's not easy, but I have to, have to, have to remember that He is in control, and it will be much better if I just let Him be and not try to insist on having my own way. That was a problem in my marriage - I wanted my own way - and see where that got me? (No, the marriage failing wasn't all my fault [we shouldn't have married to begin with], but I certainly could have done things differently.) Anyhow, I'm trying to remember that I'm in a fight against the idol of expectations every day. Hopefully that will make a difference in my life before this time next year.

So Far, It's Been a Day of Blessings!

2010-10-14T16:13:00.002-04:00

I almost hate to say this out loud! :-D But it's only 4 PM, and it has just been one blessing after another today. I checked my email this morning as my work programs were starting up and found out I had won a tote bag from a giveaway from $5 Dinner Mom. Then I went to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and had a *lightbulb* moment where I got the correlation of some symbolism in our study of Isaiah. (Unfortunately we had already passed this question, and I really want to go back and share, but it was too late. ) I don't usually *get* symbolism until someone explains it to me unless it's really, really basic, so I know that this was a gift that God gave me. Then, just a few minutes ago, I got an instant message from my editor at work. She had nominated me to for Employee of the Quarter, and I was selected! As a reward, they are mailing out a $100 Target gift card. Wooo hooo! haha That is such a blessing, first of all, to be recognized at work (especially when working at home and it's kind of out-of-sight-out-of-mind-unless-you-screw-up haha), but also to receive the gift card just in time for Christmas shopping. God knew a needed an uplifting day, and I am so thankful to Him for what He has done, not just today but every day!

Inexpensive Day Trips with Teens

2010-10-12T13:32:00.006-04:00

We love to travel. When the kids were younger, we were gone more Saturdays than we were home because there were so many places to go and things to do. But around 3 years ago, that started to change. First of all, gas prices started going through the roof. Second of all, the kids became teenagers, and when kids turn 13, in the eyes of most establishments, they become "adults." Or at least, they're old enough to be charged adult prices. Whereas before "The Birthday" we could find a lot of inexpensive (under $10 for the day) outings, once they hit the official teen years, it became downright difficult to find fun things to do that I could afford.

So now that we are out driving pretty much every weekend, it's become my mission that, if we're going to be out and about, we might as well have fun. Inexpensive fun. Cheap fun. Fun that costs less than $10-15 for the 3 of us, not including gas. Preferrably free fun. :-) You get the idea.
This past weekend, we drove up to Lake Erie for the Lighthouse Festival at Marblehead. We've gone before, but it's been several years. The festival marks the last day of tours of the lighthouse, where you can climb to the top and catch the view of what we Ohioans call The North Coast. When we were there last, it was free to climb to the top, and this year there was a $2 charge per person. We got our tickets and browsed part of the craft show while we waited for our ticketed time to climb the 77 steps to the top. DD really surprised me. She has issues with heights, but she has climbed this exact lighthouse 4 times before (we went up twice one year and were actually the last people down the steps before it closed for the season) and only had problems the first year we were there, when she was 7 or 8. This year, however, she only made it half way up before she was promising "never again" will she climb the lighthouse! In fact, I wasn't sure she was going to make it down! The open steps might have had something to do with it, but I was really surprised. There was an Amish lady climbing behind her who really encouraged her, and she found some comfort in the fact that there were several others in our climbing group who promised the same thing - "never again!" when they got to the top!

The view from the top of the lighthouse

We spent some time on the rocky shore, and I truly think this is my kids' favorite part of coming to Marblehead. The last time we were here, both just stood at the shore as the tide came in, absolutely mesmorized. They love just sitting or standing and watching the waves.

DD on the shore

This trip cost us $14 - $6 for tickets to climb, $4 for roasted almonds and $4 for an orange smoothie drink. Both kids got in over 2 hours of driving time, and we have a ton of memories.

80 Days Until Christmas!

2010-10-05T09:07:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe it's less than 3 months until Christmas, yet I'm a little later than usually in getting things organized. By now I usually have a little more shopping done, but this year I've been waiting for my Christmas Club account to mature. I do, however, have some things accomplished. DD has already specifically requested an iPOD nano as her gift, knowing it's not only basically her only gift but also part of her birthday. (How can something so small be so expensive??? Yeah, I know, name, name, name....) I feel kind of bad that that will be her only present, so I've been ordering books off Paperback Swap so she will have a surprise or two under the tree without blowing my budget. I have a few books already for DS that I got with 40% off coupons at Borders a while back, but he keeps changing his mind on what he wants and doesn't want, so it might be a surprise to everyone on what shows up under the tree for him! haha

One thing that I've been struggling with the last year or two has been stocking stuffers for the kids. I've spent way, way too much money in years past and so have set a budget this year of $20 per stocking, but being teenagers, I have a harder time finding inexpensive things for their stockings (and for Easter baskets, for that matter). I've been trying to keep an eye out all year long but haven't been overly successful. DD is a little easier. For example, this week at Walgreen's they have her favorite lip balm, Eos, on sale for $3, getting back $3 in Register Rewards, effectively making them free. Free = yay! :-) I also stopped in CVS and picked up Revlon nail polish for her. It was $3.99 a bottle, receiving $3 in Extra Care Bucks back. I also had a $1 coupon, and found a color she would like marked on clearance for $1.25. So for $1.25 I got 2 bottles of nail polish and 2 Eos balms. A while back I also purchased a Kutless T-shirt for her from their web sale for $5 (and free shipping). This not only is this a really good deal but it will also take up some room in the stocking! DS's stocking so far will have a Christian T-shirt I found for $6, a bike lock that didn't make it into the Easter basket ($2), a mini cookie cutter set - he loves baking cookies - $3 and a book or two, again free from Paperback Swap. Last year I added some tools to his stocking, and I need to sneak into his room and make a list of what he has so I can add to his tool supply if I find a good deal. I may add tools to DD's stocking, too, actually. Girls need hammers and screwdrivers too! Of course, each teen will get some candy; you can't have a Christmas stocking without candy, and I'll continue to watch sales. Stockings has been my biggest Christmas budget buster, so if I can come in at or even under budget, that would be a huge financial win!

And More Driving......

2010-10-02T11:05:00.002-04:00

Y'all are probably tired of hearing about this! haha But it is a major focus (obsession for some? :-) ) in our household as of late. Both kids are doing pretty well out in the country and on relatively low-traffic highways. We have not attempted a major highway nor have they done much in-town driving. DD is still pretty nervous, and while she does quite well once she gets going, she has to be really encouraged to get behind the wheel. DS, on the other hand, wants to drive everywhere all the time. So we really need to start working on in-town driving.

Last week we went over to an Ohio Heritage Festival about an hour from home. DS drove over; DD drove home. One thing that DS does that drives me nuts is, he does not give parked cars or objects on the right-hand side of the road much room when he passes them. His theory is, as long as he doesn't hit them, he's okay. Well, let me tell you, a couple times I'm not sure how he HASN'T hit them! That little concern is the only reason he hasn't been driving more often in town, and I'm not sure how to practice that. Once our neighborhood has paved streets again (we've had road construction going since the beginning of May and still are dealing with dirt roads - grrrrr), then we can start driving around here and hopefully, HOPEFULLY!, correct that issue.

In a few weeks, the kids will be doing a defensive driving class through Mid Ohio Sports, a race car course in Lexington, Ohio. I'm really excited for them to be doing this and learning how to drive on ice and wet road conditions, react when the unexpect happens, etc., from someone who is a professional. This is only a 2-hour class (versus their normal 6-hour class), but it is free through AAA (versus $350 per kid for the 6-hour class), and after it's over, we'll get a credit towards the full class, should I decide to have them do that at some point in the future. It's also time to start thinking about driver's ed classes, and I'm leaning towards winter for that, as I think they will benefit from a 2nd opinion (other than Mom!) during that season.

It's supposed to rain off and on this weekend, so I think we'll be sticking relatively close to home, driving through some smaller county towns nearby to help with in-town driving. Baby steps, baby steps..... :-)

Goals Update

2010-09-27T07:51:00.000-04:00

1. Establish emergency fund and not be below 50% of the goal amount by December 31, 2010 (barring an emergency at the end of the year). Funded 2/5/2010
2. Pay off Mastercard. Done!
3. Start and maintain a price book. Started 1/17/2010 but haven't touched since
4. Finish 2 large unfinished projects. Painted DS's room 8/2010
5. Finish 2 small unfinished projects New showerhead 2/2010
6. Complete 2 cross-stitch projects. Finished one 7/2010
7. Establish an exercise routine. Uh, not yet
8. Purchase either a refrigerator or hot water tank with cash. Not likely to happen

Well, this isn't really as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'm not sure the emergency fund goal will be fulfilled at the end of the year, and I'm pretty sure I won't be purchasing the refrigerator or hot water tank this year. Every time I think I'm starting to make headway on my financial goals, it's a 1-step-forward, 2-steps-back sort of thing, which is discouraging. I did purchase a used Ford Taurus from some friends of ours with cash, so maybe that can be substituted for the refrigerator? :-) I've kind of given up on the price book. I pretty much shop the sales anyhow and don't really have room for a huge stockpile, so other than target prices for meat, I'm finding it wasn't as much of a help as I thought it might be. I should be able to finish the three goals regarding different projects -- it's just a little harder to find time now that most of our weekend afternoons are spent out on the road so a couple kids can get some driving hours in. haha Maybe I should go back to monthly goals that are a little more fluid over the course of a year!

Meal Planning Update

2010-09-25T10:38:00.002-04:00

So far, my new method seems to be working quite well. Granted, it's only been 1 week, but so far, so good. I have stayed under budget with my grocery spending, we did not get fast food for dinner once this week (yay!) and my son has been quite happy to get a specific answer to his daily "what's for dinner" question instead of the usual "I don't know yet." I would like to be able to get a better handle on leftovers, either being more proactive in freezing them, reusing them in a different meal or not making so much to begin with, so that is also something I'm working on. This afternoon I'm going to get a head start and work out the meal plan for the following 2 weeks since I get paid later in the week and will be hitting the stores either Thursday or Friday. I've been bad about putting off making a list and getting coupons together until the last minute this summer, and I'm working on getting more organized again with that, too. I'm hopeful that I've found a system that will work long term, or at least until the kids "fly the coop" in a few, all too short years!

Meal Planning, Take 3,560,983

2010-09-17T07:41:00.003-04:00

Well, at least it seems like I've tried this 3,560,983 times! I'm trying something new-to-me that many other people do, I'm sure. In reading $5 Dinner Mom's book, she mentioned how each day of the week has a theme. Monday is chicken, Tuesday pork, etc. I've keep thinking about it, and it seems like that would be a smart thing to do. Not only will it help with not being bored with meals, but I'm hoping it will cut down on the grocery bill a bit too. Not that I've been going over budget or anything. Nope, not at all! haha

Anyhoo, this is what I will be attempting over the coming weeks: Monday = chicken; Tuesday = beef; Wednesday = crockpot/roast/one-pot meal; Thursday = leftovers; Friday = pork/pizza/pasta; Saturday = new dish/longer prep meals; Sunday = pizza with Grandpa. My shopping list this time was much simpler and shorter. I picked out 2 recipes for each category, and really other than some basics that we're low on after my baking spree last weekend, we just need chicken, hamburger and a few "buy every grocery trip" items.

I'm also attempting cash-only again, so we'll see how that works. My goals here are to keep the grocery budget under $250 a month and to simplify meal planning and grocery shopping. Hopefully this will work out better for me and there won't need to be an attempt #3,560,984 for a very long time! :-)

I Think We're Becoming Foodies!

2010-09-01T14:54:00.003-04:00

Us? Foodies on a budget? I have to laugh at this. :-) We love shows like Top Chef, Chopped, Iron Chef America, if nothing else but to see what weird culinary preparations they come up with. Now 95% of the time, we'd never even think of eating the dishes these chefs prepare, but we are becoming more adventurous (for us) in trying different meals.

We did the bi-weekly grocery shopping last night. Having both kids with me ensured that I would blow the budget right out of the water, and that I did. I can't be too upset, though, because the majority of the overage was spent on different fruits that they wanted to try. Candy and junk food I can say "no" to quite easily; fruits and veggies, I can't. Papayas are new to us, and I'm going to attempt guacamole for the first time with fresh avocado. Not too outrageous but a little more variety than the usual strawberries and bananas. (I did buy those; only the bananas actually made it home - DS ate 16 oz of strawberries in the time it took us to drive 1/4 mile from Aldi's to Wal-Mart. Not that he's a growing boy or anything!)

But what really convinced me that we are becoming foodies is when I picked up a bottle of balsamic vinegar and calculated in my head that this is the 6th variety of vinegar I now have in my pantry - white, red wine, white wine, cider, fish and chips and now balsamic. Five years ago, I'd only used white, cider and fish and chips vinegars and probably never even heard of balsamic! I also bought fresh basil leaves and pearl onions. These are definitely not ingredients that my mom would have used. Makes me wonder what ingredients my kids will cook with in 20 years. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll have to go google a recipe to make and use a balsamic reduction. haha!

Back to Meal Planning

2010-08-27T13:26:00.002-04:00

It has been so hot this summer that I haven't even wanted to think about cooking anything, much less planning out what to cook. We've been pretty much eating whatever we can throw on the grill, hamburgers, the occasional hot dog, chicken, pork chops, etc. It helps keep the house cool and the electric bill down, but it gets a little old after a while.

The last few days it has really cooled down. In fact, it was 48 degrees this morning when the kids walked out the door to catch the bus. So I've been getting back into the mood to start better meal planning and cooking something more than a hunk of meat and a side of fresh veggies. Coupled with this, I've been thinking about thinning out my cookbook/recipe mini collection. I don't really have that many books, only 13 :-) , but basically only use a couple recipes out of a couple books, the $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook being the exception. So my plan is to go through the rest of the books and mark recipes that look interesting and cook from a book a month. If a particular book has more recipes marked than I can use in a month, it's a keeper for now. If I find just a handful of recipes, I'll copy them and get rid of the book.

September I'll start with actually 2 books to cook from: From Grandma's Kitchen and Gifts for Giving, both Gooseberry Patch books. I didn't mark many recipes from either book, so we'll see if any are worth keeping. Of course, this weekend it is supposed to heat up again, with highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s, so I won't want to heat up the kitchen too much, but I am anxious to get cooking again.

Can We Drive Today?

2010-08-26T07:27:00.002-04:00

Four little words guaranteed to strike terror in the heart of any parent of a teen! My kids got their driving permits a short while back, and ever since, this is pretty much all I hear. "Huh? Huh? Can we? Pleeeeease? Can we?" Here in Ohio, a teen can get a permit at age 15-1/2. They must hold that permit for a minimum of 6 months and need 50 hours of driving experience (10 of that at night) in the car with a parent or legal guardian. Do the math - that's 100 hours in the car for a parent of twins, 20 hours of that after dark. In 6 months. That's approximately 4 hours a week. That only I can do with them. *sigh*

They really aren't bad drivers for their level of experience, but I have power issues with letting them be in control of the vehicle. Last Saturday, my son even asked, "Why don't you trust me?" Um, because you've have 1-1/2 hours of road driving experience, and you're flying down a country road at, oh, 58 miles an hour! One warning for speeding - the next time I see it, and you pull over and let your sister drive. I want one of those driver's ed cars with the extra brake on the front passenger side!

We started out in the church parking lot, so they could get used to the sensitivity of the brake and the gas pedals, practiced a few turns, etc. Then we progressed to the local cemetaries. They are good for practicing 4-way stops, turns, assured distance on the sides of the vehicle, and you can't really go very fast! The last few weekends, we've been going out on county roads. The only problem is, I only have the patience for about a 1/2 hour of each of them driving right now. That's not helping the experience build up very quickly. It's funny how each of them have their own issues. He is almost too confident and has avoidance issues with the brake. Uh, dear, when I say "stop" because I think you're going to hit something, I mean STOP. RIGHT NOW! He wants to slow down slowly, but you can't always do that. She, on the other hand, is paranoid that she is going to go off the right side of the road. "Am I over too far? Am I over too far? Am I over too far?" The first time she drove in the county, she literally repeated this over and over without taking a breath! Yes, dear, I'll tell you if you're over too far. Believe me, I'll tell you! haha

They did get a reality check several days before testing for these permits. Their 16-year-old cousin was the at-fault driver in an accident in which another driver was killed and several people seriously hurt, including an infant who is still in the hospital now, a month later. This has made my daughter especially very nervous about driving. Their cousin wasn't drinking or under the influence of anything; he had 3 friends with him (a driving violation - you can only have 1 nonrelated person in your vehicle if you're under 18), was speeding and ran a stop sign, T-boning the other vehicle. One blink of an eye and lives are changed forever.

I do feel better since we were able to buy an old Ford Taurus from some friends of ours. DD especially feels much better driving it than our old Pontiac Montana van, but DS would rather drive the van. They'll get experience in both, but the Taurus will be their main vehicle. It's smaller, gets better gas milage and will be a good car for them to use once they get their permanent license, but it will be hard to let them drive off alone no matter which vehicle they use. I guess this 50-hour requirement is for parents too - to get us used to the idea that our kids are growing up and becoming more independent. I'm not sure I like that, but it's a journey that we all must take. I just hope to come out on the other side with sanity still intact!

What's in a Name?

2010-08-12T08:26:00.002-04:00

This wasn't a conversation I'd ever really thought I'd have with my kids. I'm not even sure how it came about. We were spending the weekend in Cincinnati with friends, getting ready to head out to Faith Day with the Cincinnati Reds, with a MercyMe concert following the ball game. DD and I were in the family room, and I don't remember how it even came up, but she asked me why I never changed my married name back to my maiden name after the divorce. In all honesty, yes, I have briefly thought about it but never seriously. Unless God surprises me and I remarry, changing my name is not something I feel I need to do. I like the fact that I have the same name as the kids, and I don't have that many bad connotations to the name that I want to be rid of it! And that is what I told her. Then she says that she's been thinking that when she turns 18, she wants to legally change her name so that her last name is my maiden name and asks her friend, who is in the room with us, which name she likes better. Woah! Wasn't expecting that one! Why? I asked, and she said that she likes the sound of my maiden name (a Scottish name) much better and that she had no sentimental attachment to her birth name. She did then clarify that she would probably want to wait until her Grandpa was no longer with us for fear of hurting his feelings, but she wants to see what costs and procedures would be involved. Granted, she is only 15, but knowing my daughter, come her 18th birthday, I wouldn't be surprised to see her looking more closely into changing her name.

It's yet another step I see in her moving away from her dad. He has not exercised his visitation rights in at least 7 years, and DD refuses to speak to him unless he speaks to her first, which he usually doesn't do on the rare times they see him. For example, the kids were at Grandpa's house to spend Father's Day with Grandpa, and their dad showed up, as he usually does on a Sunday. DS told him Happy Father's Day, but DD said she didn't say a word to him, that in her opinion, he didn't deserve recognition on Father's Day. Changing her name would be just another layer of separation. It's sad and shouldn't be that way, but it is.

Summertime, Summertime

2010-08-04T17:11:00.003-04:00

I'm not a summer person. I much prefer fall and winter with the cooler temperatures and shorter days, not to mention leaving daylight savings time behind! But I try to make the best of it. Short of moving to Alaska, I don't have much choice! haha This summer has been a bit of a trial, however. It's been 18 months since my company stopped paying for time off - that means no paid vacation, sick days or holidays; therefore, I have only been able to take off 1 or 2 days a year, and I really miss being able to take off the occasional work day in the summer to do fun stuff with the kids. Plus, it has been in the high 80s/low 90s temperature-wise more often than not, and our streets look and feel a war zone with the new sewer system they are putting in. This all means I have been cranky, short-tempered, burned out, bored and not very joyful. In fact, there are days when it's been hard to see the joy in anything.

So it's time to count my blessings. Actually the summer hasn't been THAT bad. We have central air to escape from the heat. We've gone to the Columbus Zoo (on one of those 90+ degree days!); seen Despicable Me in 3D with friends; spent a weekend in Cincinnati with friends there, where the guys went to the Cincinnati Bengals training camp while the girls went outlet mall shopping and pottery painting, and then we all went to a Reds game, followed by a MercyMe concert; DD and I volunteered for VBS at church this summer; and my kids have gone to church camp and recently (today actually!) obtained their temporary driving permits. No, we didn't spend time in a hotel, and we didn't go anywhere real fancy, but we have made a lot of memories nonetheless. My job has plenty of work available; I just have to get motivated to do it.

Technically we have 6 more weeks of summer. School starts 2 weeks from today, OSU football kicks off in a month and there will be advertisements for Christmas sooner than we think. Time will fly by, and hopefully with the change in seasons, my attitude will improve. In the meantime, I'll continue to pray for a change of heart and look for the blessings wherever possible.

Tropical Chicken with Grilled Pineapple

2010-07-22T08:23:00.005-04:00

Up until the last year or two, my grilling experience consisted solely of hamburgers and hot dogs and the occasional corn on the cob. Not that I didn't want to do anything different, I just never really thought about it. Then I started to get serious about cutting utility costs, and running the oven in the summer while AC was going didn't make much sense. I mean, purposely raising the temperature in one part of the house to 350 degrees while simultaneously cooling the rest of the house to 78 degrees? :-) Anyhoo, I think I can count on 1 hand the number of times I have used the oven so far this summer when it was hot enough for the AC, and we have definitely moved past just hot dogs and hamburgers. This recipe comes from Ladies Home Journal (June 2010) and was immediately pronounced "a keeper" by DS. To make it into a freezer meal, combine the marinade, add chicken and freeze. The chicken will marinate as it thaws. Enjoy!

Tropical Chicken with Grilled Pineapple

In a zip-top bag or a nonreactive bowl, combine 1/2 cup soy sauce, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 T grated ginger, 2 T lemon juice, 2 T brown sugar, 2 t red pepper flakes and 2 T oil. Marinate 8 pieces bone-in chicken (breasts, legs and thighs) in the mixture in the fridge for 3-8 hours. Heat grill to medium and discard marinade; grill chicken skin side down over direct heat for 5-6 minutes. Turn and cook 6-8 minutes more.

Slice 1 peeled pineapple (I cheated and used canned sliced pineapple) into 1/2-inch rings and sprinkle each with 1/2 t sugar. Grill, turning once, until marked and just soft, about 3 minutes; serve alongside chicken. Serves 6-8, unless you have a teenage boy, in which case you might only be lucky enough to snitch a piece for yourself. :-)

Christmas Already?

2010-07-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Yes, we're thinking about Christmas already. It's either plan ahead or lose my sanity in December....Anyhoo, both kids are seriously thinking about asking for an iPod iTouch for Christmas. Not like it's an expensive gift or anything. ;-) DS had the use of one during the school year for the tech program he was in, and he's hooked, and of course, if he gets something that cool, his twin thinks she needs the same. They both know that if they were to get one, it would basically be their entire Christmas from me. And they know that if they want one, they need to let me know now, so I can start looking for deals and no changing their minds 3 months from now. (Not that they ever do that or anything....lol) I have checked Amazon, and an 8 gb version is, gulp, $178. New at Apple, it would be $199 new, $149 refurbished. Not sure about refurbished. That's a lot of money to throw at something that is *pre-owned.* But on the other hand, if I could save $30-50, why not? It was so much easier when they were little! Fisher Price toys and clothes, and we were set to go.... $150 *toys* are just another sign they are growing up too fast!

Catching Up

2010-07-17T12:36:00.003-04:00

After 15 years, you would think I would know that the week of Vacation Bible School at church means fun for a lot of kids but complete chaos here at home! And I didn't even do much for VBS this year, just registration! So today is a day to play catch up....the kitchen is a mess, laundry needs done, meals need planned, that bathroom needs cleaned, the checkbook needs caught up, and I've already put in a few hours at my paying job to catch up at that. Add to that the fact that DD may be needing a trip to Urgent Care when she gets up, and I'm tired just thinking about it! (Why yes, I AM exclamation-point happy today!! ;-) )

But it is all worth it? Most definitely! To see 70+ kids fired up for Christ, that's worth a little chaos at home! :-)

914/1140

2010-07-12T08:51:00.003-04:00

914 out of 1140 requests - that's my position on Paperback Swap for "Artesian Bread in 5 Minutes a Day!" I love Paperback Swap. It's a free book trading site where you start by listing 10 books you want to trade, and in return you get 10 credits to pick from books other members are offering. Right now I have about 30 books listed for trade and 50 or so that I'm looking for, but I've received and traded many more than that. (The only cost involves is shipping, usually around $2.50 for media mail, which is a great bargain.) Some books I will probably receive over the next six months, and others, such as the Artesian Bread book, I should probably add to my Christmas list! It's kind of fun to go over my wish list every so often and see what progress, if any, I've made. Some books I want have never been listed (for example, books on temari, a type of needlework, some Christian reference books), a few last listed more than a year ago (again, Christian reference and some cookbooks) and some are listed multiple times a week (books my kids want and Glenn Beck! haha). Anyhow, each time I see my position in the waiting list for the the Artesian bread book, I just have to smile. Hopefully I will receive it while I'm still able to bake! :-)

Two Months, Really?

2010-07-08T21:29:00.002-04:00

Has it been that long? Golly! Every day I think I'll take a few minutes to post something, but I guess that never happened.

Well, the good news is, I got the Mastercard paid off! It took a little longer than planned, but it is at a 0 balance, and I intend for it to stay that way! I haven't rewarded myself yet. DD got took me purse-shopping for Mother's Day, and between church camp fees last month and the house insurance due this month, I haven't felt like it was appropriate.

The bad news is, I'm addicted to McDonald's frappes. :-) I love their carmel drinks and have been having waaaay too many of them. I'm trying to limit myself to one a week. Sometimes that works; other times, not so much! It's definitely not helping my budgeting or my waistline, I can tell you that. So that is something to work on in the coming weeks.

I do have a prayer request, if anyone is reading this and feels so inclined. I received some disturbing information about some people that have been staying with the next-door neighbors (the ones who are in trouble with the law and arrested nearly every other week, it seems). Anyhow, prayers for our safety and wisdom on what to do this information would be deeply appreciated. Also, peace for the kids. They overheard the first part of the conversation before I could stop it, and one is a huge worrier when it comes to safety. Is is bad of me to pray for these people to put their house on the market and move immediately?

It's hard to believe it's July already. Maybe I'll get into some sort of posting routine again before the summer is out. I hope so.

More Information from Monday

2010-05-12T13:10:00.002-04:00

In talking to the financial planner Monday evening, he also gave me some welcome information about what the kids can expect for financial aid when they start college in a little over 3 years. (yikes! didn't they start preschool last month???) First of all, financial aid will be based on my income, not mine and their dad's combined. I'm the custodial parent and claim both kids on my taxes, so their dad's income will not come into the picture (as long as the rules don't change before then). (This is another financial blessing that comes from that long-ago decision to request to take both kids on my taxes and not split them between me and their dad. Thank you, Father!) This was a question I had had for a while because if aid is based on both incomes, the kids would not qualify for much need-based aid, and I do not expect their dad to contribute to their college expenses. If I can get him to continue to carry them on his insurance during those 4 years, that will be a major victory! Anyhoo, based on my income alone and the fact that I will have 2 children in college at the same time, they should qualify for a ton of need-based grants. That's good news. (Well, kinda. I hate to be considered as low-income, but it is what it is, and we might as well take advantage of what's available.)

Second, I can continue to claim the kids as dependents until they are out of college and on their own or until the age of 24. This is also a huge blessing as I was looking at taking a major hit in income between the loss of child support and losing their deductions on my income tax. Hopefully by phasing in my loss of income over a few years, I will be better able to adjust and not have to worry so much about finding a 2nd job as soon as they graduate high school.

He also asked if they were going to private or public schools. My son hasn't expressed a preference, but my daughter wants to attend a Wesleyan school, and they all have a per-year tuition that is more than my annual income! She is working very hard on her grades to be eligible for as many academic scholarships as she can, and we have a small amount in the Ohio Tuitition Trust, but that will only be a drop in the bucket if she goes to her first choice, especially since she is dead set against taking out loans. The planner said, though, that with grants and scholarships, private school can actually be more affordable for the low income student than a public school. I guess we will find that out over the next 1-2 years.

So, it was a very informative meeting with all I learned about my retirement funds and college aid. I try to hold to God's promises that He will provide, but it's hard not to worry. He's taken care of us so far, and I need to remember that He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, so why wouldn't He continue to do so? The meeting Monday was just another step of reassurance in God's faithfullness.

CVS Trip

2010-05-11T07:17:00.003-04:00

I love it when CVS shopping goes better than expected! :-) I'm not usually one of thos people who buy things they don't need to get the ECBs (Extra Care Bucks), unless I know I'll be giving it to someone who can use it, so I limit my deals to what we need and can use. This leads me to pass up some deals and occasionally even "burn" my ECBs - that is, use them on items that don't give me ECBs in return. But last night was a good night. I not only got things we'll use but got paid to shop! Here's what I did:

Carefree liners - on sale for $1 (used $1 coupon) free!
Lindor truffle candy bars - on sale 2/$4 (used $1/2 coupons) $3
Crest ProHealth toothpaste - on sale for $3.50 (used 75-cent coupon) $2.75
Kotex U tampons - on sale for 4.99 (used $1 coupons ) $3.99

I rolled over an ECB for $4.49, and after tax I paid $5.87. In return, I got ECBs for $4.99 (Kotex), $3.50 (Crest) and $1 (Lindor), for a total of $9.49 ECBs remaining! So in essence, I got paid $3.62 to shop last night. That makes couponing worth it!

Retirement is How Far Away?

2010-05-10T19:38:00.002-04:00

I like dealing with money. I like helping people come up with ways to cut their budget and save and spend wisely. I like balancing the checkbook, and I like seeing my savings grow and my debt decrease. In fact, back in high school, I thought I'd someday get a job in a bank, although that never happened. What I don't like is dealing with investments. I understand the basics - what mutual funds are, bonds, conservative versus aggressive investments, etc. - but I don't understand enough to make really intelligent decisions about where to invest my retirement savings, and I don't find it fascinating enough to do a whole lot of study about it. So I've kind of played it safe, so I thought, with my retirement funds. I have a rollover from a previous job and a current 401(k) for which I'm responsible. Not that there's much in there, but right now with the state of Social Security, it's all I got.

I've not been happy with either one, really, for a while. The 401(k) from work only gets a 1% match, but hey, every little bit helps, right? After a few years of not doing well (like everyone else), I'm finally seeing a little growth. The rollover I had invested in an IRA in a local bank and then invested it with a group that was represented by some folks from my church. The folks from church I trusted; turns out it was their superiors that I shouldn't have. In the first year, I lost nearly 50% of my money. I understand that this is during the time that the stock market was not doing well; what I didn't know is that the fellow at the main office responsible for the actual investing was a thief. Whether that contributed to my losses, I'll never know. Anyhow, my representative moved, and for the last 1-1/2 years, I've had no one to contact regarding my account.

So it's time to take charge. This evening I met with a Dave Ramsey ELP (endorsed local provider) to get my money (and my future!) in a more secure place. Hopefully there won't be any problems with the rollover transfer, and I've already made the suggested changes to my 401(k). This is a little more aggressive approach than I was doing on my own, but I'm comfortable with it, and I now have a local financial planner to contact. Now if only the stock market will cooperate! haha

Gasp! I Bought Something for Me!

2010-04-20T16:45:00.003-04:00

Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time buying anything even remotely a "want" and not a "need" for myself. There are a couple reasons, I think. First, as a mom, it's hard to get something for me when I have very likely just told a child (or two!) that I won't buy them something. Second, while I'm digging out of debt, I feel guilty spending money that could go towards extra on a credit card. Dave Ramsey and most other financial folks agree that you need a little spending money in your budget to have fun with, but I usually limit that to an iced cap from Tim Horton's or a caramel frappe from McDonald's, and even then I occasionally feel guilt over spending less than $3!

So buying something that wasn't a true "need" was a major deal yesterday. And even though I didn't spend a penny out of my pocket, I still feel kinda guilty! (It's a childhood thing - love my mom, but she was the queen of inflicting guilt.) Anyhoo, I have been saving my Amazon.com gift codes that I have been earning through Swagbucks and MyPoints with the expressed intent of using them for a digital camera. Yes, I'm still in the 20th century with my film camera! I had been hoping for a Canon, which Consumer Reports rated pretty high; however, as my codes have been piling up, I've been getting kind of impatient. After all, a Canon isn't exactly cheap! :-) My daughter has a Kodak, and when I started to read the reviews on Amazon, the Kodak was actually getting better ratings. So I looked at them again yesterday and determined I had more than enough in gift codes to get a 10 Mp Kodak. I still can't quite believe I ordered it, but I did! I even have about $10 left over in codes, which I will continue to accumulate.

Now the next question is, will I save the rest of the codes I earn this year for Christmas shopping on Amazon or get an MP3 player? I don't need anything fancy, and my swagbucks have been adding up quickly the last few months, so maybe I can do both. Tune in later this year to find out! lol

Freezer Cooking for One or Two

2010-04-19T17:20:00.000-04:00

I post a lot of my freezer cooking on my Facebook page, and invariably I have people talk to me at church and remark how they could never do freezer cooking. It's usually a single person or an older couple, and many of them remark that they don't cook at all – it's not worth their time to cook for "just me." I understand completely where they are coming from. In my single days, it was so simple to buy a week's worth of frozen meals or just make a small pot of spaghetti or have a bowl of cereal for dinner (but I love to cook, so I ended buying "cooking for one or two" cookbooks at secondhand stores). If I had only realized then that freezer cooking would be just perfect for me….and for them now!

While we are a numerical family of 3, DD is very picky about what she eats, and most nights she has only a portion of whatever meal I fix (ie, sweet potatoes that were fixed as a side dish). So I truly only do freezer cooking for 2 – DS and me. Some recipes we love so much that we look forward to the leftovers (if they last that long! haha). Some recipes we really like, but to make the full "serves 8" recipe would be way too much. This is where freezer cooking comes in. As an example, the last time I had a freezer cooking night, I made lasagna, only instead of making an 8x13 pan, I made 2 loaf pans. Last week I took one from the freezer, partially thawed it and stuck it in the oven. It was the perfect size. DS and I each had generous portions, and there was plenty left over for my lunch for several days. If I had wanted, I could have refroze the baked lasagna in single servings on microwavable plates for my own homemade frozen dinners. I do the same thing with marinades. I make the full 8-serving marinade but divide it into 2-serving portions, usually in quart-size bags, and add 2-serving portions of the meat and freeze. Do this for 3 or 4 recipes, and you already have quite a stash!

Most recipes can be divided and/or be made into multiple different meals. Have a favorite meatloaf? Make mini loaves, make up leftover meatloaf sandwiches for lunch or to freeze, or make your own "TV dinner" – put a slice of meatloaf and a serving of your favorite vegetable on a microwavable plate, wrap with a layer of plastic wrap and then foil, label and freeze. Love chicken? Roast a whole chicken, slice some for dinner that night, make sandwiches, shred some for other recipes, cube some for salads, and make a few frozen dinners. A single person could easily get 8-10 freezer meals from a whole chicken with only an hour's work.

Don't have the energy or physical health to spend a big chuck of time in the kitchen? Spread the cooking out. Roast a chicken Monday and divide up meals on Tuesday. Next week, cook a beef roast on Monday and divide up on Tuesday. Within just a few weeks, you'll have a wide array of homemade meals in your freezer.

Freezer cooking can be adapted to nearly anyone's situation. It's all about finding what works best for you to save you time and money without sacrificing quality.

Changing Tastes

2010-04-13T08:26:00.003-04:00

I've noticed over the past 6 months or so, that my preferences in blog-reading has changed. When I first started reading various blogs, it was all money-related, get out of debt, save money, change how you shop. I still read a few of those (MoneySavingMom, Mommy Snacks), but I've stopped reading a lot of them. There are only so many posts to read regarding cutting out lattes and shopping around for lower insurance rates. :-) I now find myself drawn to cooking and homemaking sites (Once a Month Mom, $5 Dinners, Life As Mom) and a couple general "my life" blogs (Scribbit, The Finer Things in Life).

Why have my tastes changed? I'm not sure. I still need to save money and spend wisely (or not at all). I don't have young kids, like many of these blog writers do. I'm kind of a hybrid stay-at-home mom, in that I work a full-time job in my dining room and don't homeschool. And sometimes, these blogs spark a bit of guilt. I mean, I enjoy reading all these sites, but oh how I wish something similar had existed back when my children were young! So many times I wish I could go back and have a "do-over" but life doesn't work like that. Perhaps sometime I'll find a similar site dealing with parenting teens. (I'll probably find something about the time my kids go off to college! haha)

I wonder what I'll be reading this time next year. Tune in then to find out! :-)

What to do, What to do.... :-)

2010-04-09T14:08:00.002-04:00

The kids are leaving in a little while to go on retreat for the weekend with their youth group. It has been since last June when they went to camp that I have had more than 3-4 hours to myself (not including school days when I'm working). So what to do???? haha I really want to go to Columbus, but my bank account is discouraging that. I could go to the local home and garden show, but that would just make me want to get moving on some house repairs/upgrades that, again, my bank account would discourage this year. (Next year will be a different story!) So, I think, after I finish work, that I will get the house cleaned up, living room picked up and swept, dishes done and a quick bite to eat. It always makes me feel better to have the house cleaned up when the kids are gone. Tomorrow morning, I'll catch up on email and listen to a sermon online from when we were gone a few weeks ago. The rest of the weekend will be devoted to stitching. I've got just a few weeks left to finish my auction piece for the Mother-Daughter banquet, and this will be the perfect time to make some progress. Not exactly the most exciting weekend, but I will definitely enjoy it!

Decluttering

2010-04-07T08:34:00.002-04:00

There are a lot of decluttering posts going on out there in the blogging world, MoneySavingMom and Life as Mom, among others, are both sponsoring month-long decluttering campaigns. Amy from Amy's Finer Things is going a step further and pledging to get rid of 720 items from her home this year, an average of 2 things out the door every day. I've been in the decluttering mood this year also. I always get this way around the New Year, but it usually only lasts a few weeks. Not this year. I've gone through nearly all the drawers cupboards and storage areas in the house, and the kids have even gotten in the spirit. Between us, we've taken 3 large trash bags and 2 grocery bags to Goodwill so far, and I have 2 more bags in my room, waiting to go. All that is left to purge is the basement. I'm waiting for it to warm up a tad down there before I tackle that area, but every time I go down those steps, it's just begging me to get started on it, so I won't be putting it off much longer.

Why Goodwill? I find holding a garage sale to be a pain. Perhaps if I had someone else to go in on it with me, it wouldn't be so bad. The first sale we had here went great. I made over $200, and it was well worth it. The second (and last) sale we had, I actually lost money after paying for the newspaper ad. I hate keeping things around, piling them up until the sale, too. I'd much rather bag them and get them out of here. And Goodwill is a good cause. I feel I get much more in return by donating our things than by selling them.

The decluttering will continue. I haven't kept track of the exact number of things that have gone out the door, and I don't think I'll match Amy's goal of 720 items that find a new home, but I'll be happy whatever our total.

Goals Update

2010-04-01T07:01:00.001-04:00

1. Establish emergency fund and not be below 50% of the goal amount by December 31, 2010 (barring an emergency at the end of the year).
Fully funded 2/5/2010
2. Pay off Mastercard.
3. Start and maintain a price book.
Started 1/17/2010.
4. Finish 2 large unfinished projects.
5. Finish 2 small unfinished projects.
New showerhead installed 2/9/2010
6. Complete 2 cross-stitch projects.
7. Establish an exercise routine.
8. Purchase either a refrigerator or hot water tank with cash.

The Joys of Homeownership

2010-03-22T20:52:00.003-04:00

I had it planned. It was on the calender to call on June 1 to make the appointment. That would be 18 months since the last one. I wasn't going to get caught again and have to have an emergency service call. Nope. Nuhuh. *snort* yeah, right!

The sewer system in this house hates me. Christmas Eve 2008, I had a plumber here, reaming out the line on an emergent basis. Can't exactly have the sewer backing up in the house over a holiday and not be able to use the toilet! At that time, it had been a little over 2 years since I had the sewers reamed out for tree roots, and I thought I'd catch it "early" and have it done at 18 months the next time. Unfortunately, Saturday night it started backing up as I was doing laundry. At least I caught it before it started to flood, but still.... On a Saturday night?? Come on! So I called the plumber again for ANOTHER emergency call. $135 literally down the drain. *sigh* Just how I wanted to spend my Saturday night, in the basement, talking basketball with the plumber as he snaked the pipe.

I now have it marked on the calendar for March 1, 2011, to call and get the line taken care of. I really don't want to have to do this on an emergent basis again!

Everything Times Two

2010-03-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

Oh, the joys of twins! 95% of what they do, they do together. Youth retreat? Fee x2. Camp? Fee x2. Driving permits? Fee x2. Class rings? Cost x2. I've known this time was coming, when expenses would rise faster than my income, but it hit home this past week. Class ring information came home last Wednesday and information on 2 youth retreats arrived a few days later. Total cost? Around $450. I gave the kids a budget on their rings, and if they went over, they had to cover that overage. DS chose a less expensive ring than the $328 one he really wanted, but DD covered the extra $35 out of her pocket. DS is going to both retreats; DD only wants to go to one. Next up? Camp and then temporary driving permits. DS should have his camp fee covered since he didn't go to the convention earlier this year, but I'm thinking I will need to cover at least half of DD's camp fee. And I suppose I should check into how much permits will cost so I can plan for it, too. Next year will bring driving school and increasd insurance and who knows what else. Just another huge reason to get out of debt ASAP!

Combat Pay Please

2010-03-09T19:50:00.003-05:00

I do medical transcription both for native English dictators and those who speak English as a second language. Most people think it's the latter who would be the hardest to listen and transcribe, but honestly, it's usually the former! Bad grammar, speaking softly, speaking 90 miles an hour, eating, talking to the staff and dictating at the same time...don't these professionals realize they are dictating a legal document? One that could be presented in a court of law some day? I just spent 2+ hours trying to decifer a letter from an American dictator, and it was near torture. For a good transcriptionist, typing something verbatim (exactly as dictated) from a doctor who apparently failed basic grammar is like fingernails on a blackboard. I would have been happy to have had complete sentences that actually made sense, but alas, it wasn't to be. Para (within) or peri (in between)? To which Dr. Smith would you like a copy sent? Are you sure the patient had a baby 3 years after you said she had a hysterectomy? It's times like these when I'm glad I'm just a number at the bottom of the report and not a full name. lol When the kids are grown and out of the house, I would love to travel and teach doctors how to dictate properly. But until then, some doctors deserve combat pay, and it would definitely be appreciated!

Tropicana Night

2010-03-08T19:28:00.002-05:00

We've been in a rut. We have our favorites for lunch and dinner and haven't been straying much for those few recipes. It's gotten boring. We've also been lax on including fruits and vegetables in our diet. So I'm making a focused effort to try new recipes and foods. We can't expand our culinary horizons if we don't actually try things! The other night I made Honey Lime Chicken, and boy, was it good! The recipe was from All You magazine and quite easy - combine 1/2 c. honey, 1/4 c. soy sauce and the juice from 3 limes, or 6 T juice. Marinate boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I did 4) for an hour and then bake at 375 for 40 minutes. A salad on the side and mango chunks for dessert, and we had a really good tropical dinner. Even DD liked the mango, which really surprised me. I'm planning to try one new recipe a week, and one new fruit and one new vegetable per shopping trip. As a cook, it's such a good feeling to try something new and it becomes an instant hit. As a mom, it's a double good feeling when your kids find something new and healthy that they like!

Debt Payoff Plans

2010-03-08T07:32:00.000-05:00

Now that Mr. Mastercard is down to a level where a payoff is in sight, I'm trying to plan how to do that without cutting things so close that I have to tip into savings orm *gasp*, dig out Mr. Visa. I had figured that by cutting things bareboned, I could get it paid off in 2 months, but I think a more realistic figure is 3 months. If it's done in 2, awesome! Otherwise, I'll be happy with 3. We have no birthdays or other gift-giving occasions aside from Easter until the end of October. (Actually the kids have Mother's Day and Father's Day, but that comes out of their budget.) I have a few things already for Easter and can likely finish out the baskets in under $10. I have my tire rebate still coming back, and that will go directly to the Mastercard, along with the check I have sitting here from Ebates from Christmas shopping. That will decrease the balance by $100!

I've also decided that I need a reward when this is done, something to movitvate me. Nothing much, but something. And I need a new purse. :-) Really, the straps on the one I have are cracked and and ripping, and I need a new new purse! I've looked at Goodwill and Salvation Army but haven't found anything I'm happy with. My favorite purse store is Kohl's, and if my payoff is on time, I should be able to coordinate paying off the Mastercard with the Mother's Day sales on purses. That would be nice!

So that is the plan right now. Hopefully it will work out.

Tax Refund is Here

2010-02-11T07:51:00.000-05:00

I love filing my taxes online. You get your refund back so much faster that way. In fact, I already have my refund back and half spent! I feel that God blessed me with this return, and I was able to take advantage of a couple 2009-only deductions which helped increase my refund, which was a blessing. If you own a home but don't itemize your deductions, you can claim your property taxes up to $500, which I did (use schedule L). I also was able to claim the Making Work Pay credit on my refund. I don't have federal taxes taken out, so I didn't get the increase in my paycheck that most people did, but I did recoup it in the end (use schedule M).

Now comes the fun (kinda!) part. What to do with the refund? Well, the first thing I did was transfer over my tithe to my savings. This will go in the Easter offering at our church. Second, I fully funded my emergency savings. Third, I paid my real estate taxes for the year in full, and fourth, I paid for the shower repair and a roof patch repair. And tomorrow, I will be making a huge payment on Mr. Mastercard. If it weren't for the shower repair, I could probably squeeze pennies and get it entirely paid off this month, but I'm so thrilled with the shower, I think I can wait a month or two to say good-bye to the Mastercard bill.

No, I didn't do much fun with the refund this year. I did get a new pair of jeans and a shredder and a cool mist humidifier, though. I would have gotten them eventually, but it was good to just go and buy them and not have to worry about covering them in the budget. And I'm not too upset about not being able to use some of the money for a trip or tickets to Kings Island or splurging at the cross-stitch store. This debt needs paid off, and the satisfaction I'll get from that far outweighs the "fun factor!"

Why Didn't I Call Sooner?

2010-02-10T09:21:00.003-05:00

We've been in this house 8-1/2 years, and the shower fixtures in our only bathroom have leaked since day one. First it was just a small leak, 90% of the water coming out of the shower, 10% out of the faucet, but that slowly increased until recently when probably 70% of the water was going down the drain and not out of the showerhead. I had a couple guys in to look at it and see what it would take to repair it, and the concensus was that they would have to rip out part of the shower surround to fix the problem. I had been hoping to wait to do that until I was ready to pay cash to replace the surround, something that is definitely in my bathroom remodel plans, probably next year or 2012. Then last week, my son asked if he could take his showers at his grandpa's from now on due to the low water pressure from the showerhead. Gulp. Guess it's time to get it fixed.

So I called a fellow from church, and he came over last Friday. He tried replacing washers and a new pipe from the faucet to the water line, but that didn't work. The old fixtures were just worn out. So he was able to get new fixtures, install them, and that did it! We now have 99.9% of the water going through the showerhead when we take a shower! It's heaven, I tell you! :-) Our showers are shorter, use less water and definitely use less hot water. (It was the hot water that was going down the drain.) He didn't have to go through the surround; he was able to go in through the access panel in my son's closet. I didn't have to pay for a new surround before I was ready, and should I decide to wait longer to replace the surround, I don't have to worry about the fixtures or water damage from them leaking. (I can't even begin to explain how badly the old fixtures were installed and how ill-fitting they were. Even I know not to use a gas line pipe for a water fixture!!) Anyhow, I'm thrilled that we have a normally working shower again. And as you can see, it doesn't take much to make me happy. haha I just wish I would have called him sooner.

January Financial Update

2010-01-27T15:28:00.003-05:00

It's been a mixed bag this month. Both paychecks were on the small side, and I had a roof repair and 2 birthdays to cover, among other things, but God has blessed me with different resources.

DD went to the orthodontist, and yes, she does need braces. No surprise there. Grandpa graciously is covering the cost that insurance doesn't pick up, so she will be going in for molds and x-rays next week to get things going. I was able to cover the roof repair and birthdays with savings, and that will be replenished in 10 days with the income tax refund.

Ah, the income tax refund. :-) It was a bit more than expected, so that was a very nice surprise. After tithing, it will cover refunding the emergency fund, the property taxes, a couple small things (less than $100 total) that I've been putting off buying, and should pay down about 90% plus of my Mastercard. I'm going to crunch some numbers and see what I would need to do to pay it all off with the February payment. Hopefully I can do that and be down to just 1 card. I have played around with my spreadsheet, and if I can pay off the Mastercard in February and be faithful in my snowball, there is an outside chance (barring any disasters) that the Visa could be gone by the end of the year. It will take strict discipline, but it can be done.

Tuesday's Blessings

2010-01-19T08:47:00.001-05:00

1. Getting unexpectedly paid for trying to set up a computer for a new account, only to find out the computer's motherboard was bad right out of the box. I presumed it would be "lost time."
2. Lots of snow!
3. DD's sincere apology and taking responsibility for something. (It was a minor thing, but the apology and taking responsibility bit was big!)
4. A cat who likes to play fetch!
5. God bringing to mind a number of things I can be doing when work isn't available.
6. DD making me tea most afternoons.
7. DS pronouncing Friday night's dinner as "amazing."
8. A heating pad.

Price Book

2010-01-18T10:50:00.002-05:00

One of my goals for 2010 is to start and maintain a price book. Last night, with the help of a friend, we both got our books started. We spent several hours drawing columns on paper, writing down prices from receipts, trading tips and bragging about our *great* deals. Free deodorant - woo hooo! ;-) lol DD now knows that her mom is not the only one obsessed with saving at the grocery and drug stores, and while she thinks we're both a little crazy, she did have fun joining in on the conversation and helped keep us "old folk" awake. (Our sons were at a church function until 11:30 PM.) She made a couple of remarks and I told her that I was trying to set a good example so she could be an even better home economist in 10 years, and I think that made a little sense to her. She's used to couponing and does some herself, so this is just the next step.

So the book is officially started. The key now will be to maintain it and start looking for cycle patterns over the coming months. In the meantime, we're still working on the eat-from-the-pantry challenge and doing quite well. I'll be totalling up receipts here in a bit and hopefully will see some savings!

Getting Things Accomplished

2010-01-12T10:14:00.004-05:00

I had written a different post, complaining about being bored but erased it. God has brought to mind too many things I could be doing to be bored! Work has been extremely slow. It's to be expected around the holidays with doctors taking vacations and offices closed, but it's not been THIS slow before, where I couldn't make my line count. I've been doing lots of paper work, cleaning out emails, spending waaaaay too much time on Facebook haha, that sort of thing and starting to feel sorry for myself and bored. But as I look around, I know behind the bookcase door are several years' worth of photos that need dated and organized. There is a price book that needs started on the table. There are books on the bookshelves that need entered into Paperback Swap. There are sermon notes that need organized and BSF notes that need typed. I may not be earning an income doing all that, but they are things that can be done so I'm not wasting time, and the price book and Paperback Swap are tools that definitely save me money. And hopefully, once the new computer comes for my new 4-hour account, things will pick up. (Did you know that a new computer can have a fried motherboard before you even take it out of the box? I know that now!) Anyhow, there's too much to do before I can complain about being bored. I'm glad God opened my eyes!