God Has A Sense Of Humor

My husband and I went to a fundraiser banquet for Show Choir last night and I won something in the raffle!

Take a look at what I won:

Cleaning supplies.

In a laundry basket.

If you don't think this is funny go read yesterday's post.

If Life Is Like Doing Laundry, I'm On Set On A Perpetual Spin Cycle

One of the things that I bought with my recent winnings was this book. It's by Dawna Walter, who was the host of a show on BBC America called The Life Laundry. Sadly, the show isn't on anymore. (Do you want to know how boring my husband and I are? Our favorite night of the week used to be Saturday night. Not because we did anything special or go out or anything, but because we would stay home and watch Life Laundry, House Doctor, and Location Location Location on BBC America. We looked forward to it all week. These shows aren't on anymore. I still miss them.)

Anyway, in this book there is a quiz called "The Life Laundry Survey" It's a series of 56 questions designed to help you figure out just how out of control your life is. I scored 354, which evidently means I'm a total slob. Here is what the book says:

251-400 points

Your life is in a downward spiral and you are unable to
concentrate on getting things done. You have difficulty in finding things
and have a bad time-management skills

You have a hard time letting go of the past and have periods
of depression. You may find that your physical health has started to
deteriorate. It is time to take action to get your life back on
track.

It fits me to a "T". My life is in a downward spiral, I do have the worst time-management skills, and I do have periods of depression!

Case in point: Yesterday I posted about my library book drawer. When you looked at the picture it seemed that I was a very organized and tidy person. Here is what my desk looked like when I took the picture yesterday:

Here's what it looks like now, and honestly, it usually looks a lot worse.

Here is my kitchen at the moment:

I haven't touched the breakfast dishes even though we ate breakfast over 3 hours ago.

What is the point of showing you all this? I just wanted to document how my life is now and how I want it to change. I want so badly to be a more disciplined homemaker, not for myself but for my family. They deserve to live in a warm, welcoming, and organized home. And I know that in living this way I am not being the wife and mother God wants me to be. (I have been so convicted lately with all the verses in Proverbs that speak about being a sluggard!)

I know that I can't make this change myself. I know that reading a book and taking a quiz won't make me change. I've read just about every book there is on cleaning and organizing and it hasn't changed a thing. I know that the only way for me to change is for the Lord to make a change in me. I need the Lord to continue His work in me, and I need to rely on Him to make these changes in me because in the end this will glorify Him!

So, time to stop blogging and tackle those dishes!

WFMW - Keeping Track Of Library Books

One of the things that always used to be a problem for me was keeping track of library books. Finally I came up with a solution that works for us. We now use the large drawer in the desk in the kitchen as a drawer for all the library books.


As you can see the drawer is full of books that would usually be littered all over the house. This is one thing that really works for me! Check out more helpful hints at Rocks In My Dryer!

I Won!

Yea! I won a gift card to Amazon for this post during the Big Bloggy Move!

A big THANK YOU to Christy for such a wonderful prize! I love Amazon, and it was so fun to be able to get a few of the books on my wish list!

Thank You again Christy!

Untiteled

Last week was S's school conference. In the packet of papers the teacher gave us was this little gem. The assignment was Writing With Voice.

Untiteled

There was this game called Brawl. I heard it was realy cool. My brother had it. I said, "Please let me play? Please?" After I said please the 30 billionth time, he let me play. "Sucker..." I whispered.

My 100th Post!

It's here! This is my 100th post!

And to celebrate I am opening my new Etsy shop! My shop is called MindySue and here the items I have for sale so far:

I will be adding new items often, so stop by MindySue and check it out!

Sunday Scripture

By steadfast love and faithfulness

iniquity is atoned for,

and by the fear of the Lord

one turns away from evil.

Proverbs 16:6 esv

And The Winner Is....

The winner of cellphone case in my Big Bloggy Move giveaway is:

Jules at Casa de Jules!

Congratulations Jules!

And stay tuned, because I will be opening my Etsy store soon!

Really.

I know I've been saying that for weeks now, but I will open it soon.

This week.

Yes..... this week.

Maybe Tuesday..... or Wednesday.

But soon.

I promise.

My Girl Is 17!

I was told from day one of my second pregnancy that the men in my husband's family have boys. My husband has four brothers (and one sister) His two oldest brother's had all boys. "Don't even think about having a girl," they said, "the men in our family have boys."

But I had a feeling. I really felt that this baby was a girl. I had an ultrasound. The doctor thought that it might be a girl, but it was too early to tell for sure. And still everyone said I wouldn't have a girl.

I went into labor on Valentines Day. I was really hoping to have a Valentines baby, but she had a mind of her own. After a twenty hour labor, at 11:30am on February 15th, I heard the doctor say "It's a girl!"

Today she's seventeen.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!

She's having a sleepover tonight with her friends. There will be lots of giggling, singing, junk food, makeup, girly movies, chinese food, and candy...... and very little sleeping!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my hubby's and S's birthday! Believe it of not I could not find a recent picture of the two of them together, so I'm posting a few pictures from last summer. These were taken at a Milwaukee Brewers game.

Here's my man with his rallycap on. It didn't work, the Brewers still lost.

S looking cute with a little help from his brother.

Oh, and it's this guy's Birthday too.

Happy birthday to my boys! You too Abe!

The Big Bloggy Move

To celebrate my whole new look, I'm participating in The Big Bloggy Move over at After A Cup of Coffee! Isn't my new header fun? For me it's a touch of spring here in snowbound Wisconsin. I have to thank Stacey again for her giveaway, and Loud Mouth Logos for my new design!

And, after the fun I had during the Bloggy Giveaway a few weeks ago, I decided to give away another cherry print cellphone/Ipod case! Just leave me a comment and you will be entered to win. I'll be drawing the winning name on Friday February 15th.

Stay tuned because I'm planning another giveaway this week for my 100th post!

My Busy Week

Well, it is here again, my busiest week of the year. This is what is going on this week:

Monday

• Shopping for upcoming birthdays and valentines day.
• A has play practice after school.
• Go to school with K to register her for her Senior year. Yikes!
• Take kids shopping for upcoming birthdays.
• Bake treats
• Decorate for boys birthday.

Tuesday

• My husbands and S's birthday! They're 41 & 9!
• Send treats in to work and school for birthday boys.
• Go grocery shopping for the week.
• Bake birthday cake for birthday boys.
• A & K show choir tryouts.
• Dinner out for birthdays

Wednesday

• A has play practice after school (hey, this is my one quiet day!)

Thursday

• Valentines Day!
• Volunteer at S's school.
• A has play practice after school.
• Cook special dinner for family for Valentines day.
• Decorate for K's birthday.

Friday

• K's birthday! She's 17!
• K & J have no school.
• Prepare for K's birthday party.
• Bake a cake for party.
• She's having a sleepover with 4 of her friends.
• Feed everyone dinner. Most likely it will be pizza.
• Try to get some sleep with 5 giggling teenage girls in the house.
• Count how many times I have to go downstairs and tell them to keep it down because the rest of us are trying to sleep.

Saturday

• Wake up and make girls breakfast or better yet, send husband out for donuts.
• Go to A's Solo and Ensemble competition. It's at a school an hour away.
• Go shopping for tomorrows party.
• Clean house for tomorrows party.
• Start to prepare food for tomorrows party.

Sunday

• Go to church.
• Prepare food for party.
• In-laws arrive for party at 1:00.
• Enjoy party.
• Collapse after in-laws leave.

All this on top of various repairs and decorating projects I'd like to get done before sunday, including sewing and hanging curtains in kitchen, touching up paint around the house, and painting chalkboard paint on my pantry door.

I think I'll have to just take it one day at a time. Keep me in your prayers this week, I'm going to need it!

Sunday Scripture

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,

Jesus, the Son of God,

let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,

but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are,

yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace,

that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16 esv

How Do You Like My New Look?

So, what do you think? Isn't my new look fun? I actually won this from Stacey at The Truest Thing during the Bloggy Giveaway! The wonderful people at Loudmouth Logos came up with this design for me.

Thank You Stacey, and Loudmouth Logos!

Snowstorm of '08 - The Aftermath

Here's a large snowdrift over the front door.

The snowplow knocked our mailbox off its post.

This is the mound of snow on our corner.

Another view of the garage.
My husband cleared a path for the dog.

In all we got 18" of snow. The kids are home again today. My husband is working from home because the highway is blocked this morning. The news said that up to 1000 cars were stuck on the highway between the Illinois state line and Madison last night. They are still working to get that clear this morning.

I am so thankful that my husband made it home safely from work yesterday. He left work at 1:30, but if he had left any later he could have been stranded all night on the highway.

More Snow Pictures

This is the snow drift coming off our garage.

The three teens in the snow. Yes, J is in shorts and a T-shirt and he's barefoot!
All four kids and the dog.

We have gotten over a foot of snow. Rumor has it that the schools are having another snow day tomorrow.

The Weather Outside Is Frightful

We have over 12" of snow and it's still snowing. This is the view out my back door. Mugsy can't get through the snowdrift so he can go potty. Poor doggy, I should go dig a path for him. Maybe I'll send one of the boys out to do it.

The Man Knows What I Like

My husband made it home last night about 8:00 and we are all sooo happy to have him home! He came home with bags of stuff for me and the kids. This was what he brought home for me. Eight British home magazines, fifteen fat quarters, a lovely floral mug and a cute tin of German chocolate.

I didn't get pictures of the t-shirts, key chain, mugs, more candy and all kinds of other goodies he brought home for the kids. They just don't get my need to take a picture of everything so I can blog about it!

We are in the midst of a huge snow storm here, (the kids have a snow day) so I think I'll make some coffee and settle down to enjoy my magazines!

Welcome Home Honey!

Hurray! My husband is coming home today! He has been in Europe on business for nine days. I can't wait to see him! I also can't wait to see what kind of European goodies he's bringing home. He has already told me he bought me some British magazines, and some fabric. Is he a great guy or what? He knows me so well.

I'm hoping that he gets back before the snow hits. We are supposed to get as much as a foot of snow tonight and tomorrow. They are already saying the schools might have early dismissals today and no school tomorrow.

This has been the snowiest winter I can remember for a long time. Phil says there will be six more weeks of winter. I hate Phil.

Two More Winners!

The winners for my second giveaway are Shane and Ginny! They both wanted the cell phone case, so I'll be sending those out this week.

Congratulation girls!

And, I am working hard on items for my new Etsy shop and I am hoping to have the shop up and running within the week, so check back soon. I will have both the coasters, more cell phone cases, and lots of other fun stuff!

Sunday Scripture

Why are cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

Psalm 43:5 esv

It's A Major Award!

I'm so excited! Sheila over at Who Can Find A Wife Of Valor? has given me a bloggy award! Thank you Sheila! If you've never been to her blog, go check it out. It has been such an encouragement to me!


I am now supposed to award ten other bloggers. Hmmm, how do I choose? I read so many blogs, (I've got a little bit of a blog addiction going on) but these are some of my favorites:

1. Musings of a Housewife -dcrmom just cracks me up! She has a great mixture of fun, fashion, food and faith.


2. Biblical Womanhood -Thanks to Crystal I've been able to astound my husband with the deals I've been getting at CVS. She is an inspiration to me not only on being frugal, but as an example of true biblical womanhood.


3. Money Saving Mom - This is Crystal's other blog. Oh, and Crystal has a whole host of e-books that are just fantastic!


4. Cherish The Home-I just love Mrs. B's attitude toward being a stay-at-home-wife.


5. Rainy Day In May-Misty has been my most frequent commentor. As a new blogger it's so encouraging to know that she's out there reading my blog! Thanks Misty!


6. Unless The Lord- Tracy's blog is so sweet! I really enjoy seeing what she has in her Etsy shop too! One of these days I'm going to buy me some of that soap!


7. Mindy Said-I just started reading this blog a few days ago, I found her through the bloggy giveaway. I have really appreciated her Fight For Your Marriage posts. And, she was the first person in bloggyland to learn that my name in the real world is Mindy too!


8. ohamanda-Outside of having just a fantastick blog, she gave me my first giveaway prize. It was a Harry Connick Jr Christmas CD. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Amanda Rocks!


9. Like Merchant Ships-This is another blog that has inspired me to be more frugal. I also love seeing how she uses all her thrift store finds.


10. Cherry Hill Cottage- This is just the prettiest blog about the prettiest house I've ever seen.

We Have A Winner!

The winner of the Valentines coasters, mugs, and chocolate is Amanda!

Amanda, I've sent you an e-mail!

My other giveaway is open until Sunday.


Congratulations Amanda!