Monday, December 31, 2007
A Quiet New Year
For dinner we are just going to throw a couple of frozen pizzas in the oven, and watch a movie with S. Maybe we'll play some board games. (Have I said that my husband and I are two of the most boring people you'll ever want to meet? Well now you know.) We will watch the New Year festivities in New York on TV and will be off to sleep by 11:05 our time. See, we are boring. It's a good thing we both like it that way.
What are your plans for New Years Eve?
Saturday, December 29, 2007
A New Start
I am realizing that I need to make a change. Not a "New Years Resolution" type of change, but a way of life kind of change. I got the book Discipline The Glad Surrender by Elizabeth Elliot for Christmas and reading through it I am finding that what I need is to be disciplined. I need to be disciplined in every area of my life.
First I want to start by being more consistent in my devotional life. I think I need to get my spiritual life in order and then move on to the other areas of my life.
So that's it. I want to make a new start in my life. Anybody else want to make a new start?
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Etsy Advice
- What do you find sells best?
- How do you decide on prices?
- How do you decide on shipping charges?
- Do you get many custom orders?
- Do seasonal items sell well?
OK, thats all the questions I can think of right now. I would love to hear from you all with any advice you have! Thank You!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas
K & S goofing off.
K hugging her new turntable.
J with his new guitar. He found out quickly that playing a real guitar is a lot harder than playing Guitar Hero. I think guitar lessons might be in order.
A little extra gift for me.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Random Thoughts Before Christmas
My husband and I did the last of our Christmas shopping last night. What a relief!
Oh yeah, I have to wrap presents today....or maybe tomorrow....or at the latest, Sunday.
After getting over the absolute terror of having your kids get their drivers licences, it is actually rather nice. The other day, K (16) took S (8) to do his Christmas shopping. One less errand for me to do. She also actually enjoys running last minute to the grocery store for that one ingredient that I forgot to buy!
S's wound on his arm is healing nicely. It isn't "gaping" anymore. I haven't heard from the Dr about the lab culture testing for a staff infection, so I figure no news is good news.
I am going to take a little break from blogging for a few days. I will try to be back on Wednesday.
I hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
A Great Party and A Gaping Wound
So, you're asking, forget about the party, get to the "gaping wound" part! OK, OK. S has had this weird bump on his arm for weeks. I have kept meaning to take him in to have it looked at, but never got around to it. At first, we thought it was a bug bite that he was scratching, then it didn't go away, and we thought it was a cyst. So, yesterday afternoon I noticed that it had gotten a lot larger and looked very inflamed and infected. I called and made an appointment with the Dr. for this morning.
In the mean time, S had picked a little bit of it and it was bleeding slightly, so I put a band aid on it. Later in the evening, he took the band aid off and.....lets just say there was some drainage. Lots. I got a cloth to clean it up, and that's when I saw the Gaping Wound. OK I may be exaggerating a little, but honestly, there was a HOLE in his arm! This merited a trip to Urgent Care, which I had to do by myself because my husband is in Mexico on business. Fortunately, when you bring an 8yo boy with an open and oozing wound in to Urgent Care, you get seen rather quickly. He is now on antibiotics, and seems to be healing well.
When we got home from Urgent care, the older boys were quite impressed with S's wound. Apparently, according to my 18yo, "Chicks dig guys with scars"
So atleast he's got THAT going for him.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Wedding Shower
Here's S being his typical hammy self!
I am hoping that all goes well. I'm not sure if she has any idea about this. It is quite hard to get a group of 23 8yo's to keep a secret! The school secretary is going to call the teacher to the office during afternoon recess so a few other moms and I can set up for the party. We are serving cookies and juice, and have a few games planned, and I made up an activity packet in case we run out of things to do.
Anyway, I will let you know later how it all went!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
I Survivied The Mall
In other news, My wonderful husband took me out on a date last night! (One of the great things about having teenagers in the house is that they are free babysitters for the 8yo) We went to our favorite Italian restaurant. Its a great little place run by a wonderful couple. They have fantastic pizza! Now, I am from Chicago. We are serious in Chicago about our pizza. I never had much hope of finding fantastic pizza in Wisconsin, but this place has great pizza. Turns out the husband if from Chicago....see, that explains it!
Anyway, it was a wonderful to spend some time together, especially since he leaves Sunday night on a business trip :(
Now I'm off to catch up on laundry and such. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Confession Time
So, If you think about it, say a little prayer for me, for I will be at The Mall (((shudder)))
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Day 8 of the Challenge
Making Your Home A Challenge: Day 8
Today for Crystal's Challenge:
Refresh Your Spirit:
Did this first thing this morning. I am really starting to enjoy waking early and spending time with the Lord. I did my usual Psalms and Proverbs reading, then 2 chapters from Genesis. Todd Friel over at Way Of The Master Radio has been challenging his listeners to read Romans 6 every day for the rest of the year, so I read that too. I spent a while in prayer, praying specifically for my dd as she is struggling with some tough choices today.
Do Your Morning Routine:
I am in the middle of this. I just have to finish the breakfast dishes and make the bed.
Take Time To Plan:
Here's the list for today:
- Finish morning routine
- laundry
- Go Thrifting!
- Clean master bedroom
- Volunteer at S's school
- Bake cookies for A's homeroom
What's On The Menu For Dinner?
- Salisbury Steak
- Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Green Beans
- Bread
Project Of The Day:
Work on cleaning up the Master Bedroom. I have my craft area and sewing machine set up in my bedroom, so I will have to organize that too.
So, I'm off to work on my To-Do list! Hop over to Biblical Womanhood for more information on this challenge!
Sideshow Bob
"Max McLean sounds like Sideshow Bob"
And I can guarantee you, this they will always remember.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
WFMW
Head over to Rocks In My Dryer for more WFMW!
A Sauce Extravaganza!
Then I went to CVS and got $35 worth of stuff for $1.45! I didn't take a picture of that.
I guess we'll be eating Italian food for a while!
Boring Post
Anyway, I'm off to do some Christmas and grocery shopping. This was a really boring post......sorry.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Snow Day Fun
And yes, that is wooden furniture out on my patio. Weathering gives it character. Either that or we have just been too lazy to put it in the garage.
Making Your Home A Haven Challenge: Day 7
1) Clean out, declutter, and organize a drawer, shelf, or closet.
2) Tackle a project you've been procrastinating on for too long.
Or, you can do both!
So, I am going to tackle the Master Bedroom closet, and work on a sewing project I want to finish. Maybe I'll post pictures later! Until then, I'm going to enjoy a lazy day home with my kids!
Head over to Biblical Womanhood for more on today's challenge!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Making Your Home A Haven Challenge: Day 6
- morning routine
- laundry
- clean kitchen
- run errands
- clean bathrooms
- bake cookies for Campus Life meeting
4 - What's On The Menu For Dinner
- Turkey Tetrazzini
- Corn
- Bread
5 - Project of the Day
Today we are to straighten up main living areas and clean up the kitchen. Mine really needs it. Here's the before:
It needs a good clean. You know there's a boy in the house when you find a toy gun on the kitchen counter.
So, I'd better get going! I have my work cut out for me. I'll try and post the after pictures tonight! Check out Crystals blog Biblical Womanhood for more ideas for Making Your Home A Haven!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Sunday Scripture
Friday, December 7, 2007
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Broccoli Cheese Soup
6 C. chicken broth
1 C. chopped celery
1 C. chopped carrots
1 C. chopped leeks
1 C. chopped broccoli
1/2 C. chopped green onions
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 C. shredded Havarti Cheese
1/2 C. half and half
dash Cayenne (optional)
Heat broth to a boil. Add vegetables & simmer for 5 minutes. Mix butter with flour until smooth. A flour mixture to broth and simmer until slightly thickened. Add in cheese and simmer until melted. Stir in cream. Serve with warm sourdough bread. YUMMY!
Hope you enjoy it! Head on over to BooMama's for more great soup recipes.
Making Your Home A Haven - Day 5
As for right now, I'm exhausted! Remember yesterday I said that I had to sew buttons and snaps on shirts for show choir? Well, I stayed up until 12:30 working on them, and got up at 5:00am to finish the last one. I do not do well on 4 1/2 hours of sleep. So, excuse me if this is short, but I'm off to nap!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Making Your Home a Haven Challenge - Day 4
For today's challenge:
- Refresh your spirit
Continued reading in Psalms, Proverbs, and Revelation.
2. Take time to plan
After planning my day, I'm to plan something special for my family this weekend. I'll have to think about that. My Daughter will be at show choir practices all day every day this weekend, so it will be busy. As for my plans for today, I have to take snaps and buttons off of 5 shirts and sew them on to 5 other shirts (Why you may ask? Well, its another show choir thing. Since they do costume changes for the show, the boys need their shirts to have snaps, and of course they got new shirts this year.) I need to clean my kitchen (AGAIN! It never ends!) I need to wash towels, and work on the notes that I didn't do yesterday. And I'm at the school this afternoon. I think that's enough for today. Dinner will be Broccoli Cheese soup (recipe to come tomorrow) and sourdough bread. Yum.
3. Do Something
Today we are to keep up with the rooms that we've worked on the last two days, and tackle the bathrooms. We'll see if I get to that.
Check out Crystals blog for more details on Making Your Home A Haven Challenge!
Thrifting Thursday
Check out this fabric:
Oh. My. Goodness. I LOVE IT! And, there's 2 yards of it!!!!! I think I'll make a new tree skirt out of it. Wouldn't that be fun?
Anyway, the sled was $1, the magazines $6, and the bag of fabric was $2.50! That's less than $10 total! It has been a happy thrifting day!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Day 3 of the Challenge
Forgive Our Dust
Making Your Home A Haven: Day 3
Well, we are on to day 3 of Crystals Making Your Home A Haven Challenge over at Biblical Womanhood. I didn't get very many things on my list done yesterday. But, today is a new day so I'll just go from here.
1 - Refresh Your Spirit
I read Psalm 3, Proverbs 5, and Revelation 2 this morning. Then I spent some time in prayer for my kids and husband and that I would be more productive today. And I prayed for a family around the corner from us that had a house fire last night. I don't know the people at all but I guess the house is a total loss. (if you think about it today, say a little prayer for that family. I don't know them, but God does)
2 - Take Time to Plan
Here is my to-do list for today:
3 - Do Something
Today we are to catch up on our laundry. My laundry area is in my basement and its a mess! I can't believe I'm posting pictures of this. Maybe this will motivate me to clean it up. The storage bins that I need to organize are in this area too. Stay tuned later today for some after pictures! (hopefully!)
So, there you have it. I have my work cut out for me today! Check out Crystals blog for more homes becoming havens!
Update - Oops, I forgot to post 3 things I'm thankful for!
- Jesus Christ
- My wonderful husband and kids
- My home (especially after the house fire in our neighborhood)
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Making Your Home A Haven Challenge: Day 2
Today for Crystals challenge we are to 1-Refresh your Spirit. I did this 1st thing this morning. 2 - take time to plan. Today we are to plan out our day so here is my to-do list:
- laundry
- vacuum 2nd floor
- clean tubs & shower
- clean bathroom mirrors
- do daily chores
- run errands
- clean out purse
And for 3 - Do something. Today we are to clean up our living room. Here are the before pictures.
The living room wasn't too bad. Its important to my husband to have that room clutter free, so all I did was straighten up, dust, and vacuum. Here's the after:
So, there it is, day 2 of the challenge. This is exciting! Making my home a haven for my family has really been on my heart recently and I so appreciate Crystal for taking the time to put together these challenges. Head on over to Biblical Womanhood to join in!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Making Your Home A Haven Challenge
- Do morning devotions & prayer time
- Make family breakfast
- Clean up kitchen after breakfast
- Make lunches for kids
- Make bed
There, that wasn't too hard! The hard part will be waiting to get on the computer until that is all done! Now I'm off to clean and de-clutter my entryway. That shouldn't be too hard since its not that bad today!
Run over to Biblical Womanhood to read the details of Crystals challenge and join in!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Lazy Sunday Morning
So, it is quiet right now with only me and S awake. Its kind of nice sometimes when we are forced to stop everything and just stay home. I do feel bad about missing church, but since our pastors sermons are posted online, I can listen later this week. I think I'll start a fire in the fireplace and curl up with a cup of coffee and a good book!