Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
"Best Sleep Over Yet..."
Saturday, January 23, 2010
The Great Backyard Bird Count
| Start: | Feb 12, '10 |
| End: | Feb 15, '10 |
| Location: | http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ |
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/
Friday, January 22, 2010
Fridays Are Fresh Days...1/22/10
I'm so glad Friday is here and the weekend can begin. Not being scheduled to work on Fridays anymore has really made a difference in my stress level. I have this one extra day to catch up on all we've missed during the week before the weekend begins.
The cut in hours does mean my paycheck is smaller, but I have to trust God will help it all work out. We may have to begin dipping into savings, but that tax refund is just around the corner and that will help us buy more time until DH can find work.
The news on the broken car- it was a stuck caliber and brake work. Bad news is that means $400, although I'm grateful it wasn't a transmission problem. I was thinking it was going to be thousands, so the $400 hurts much less.
Today we're using our movie gift certificates we received from DMIL at Christmas to see Avatar in 3D. Going to a movie on a Friday, in the middle of the day feels like playing hooky! It's going to be great, even if the movie isn't.
Tomorrow we'll have the birthday sleep over. 7 young men in the Mancave, eating pizza, drinking soda, staying up all night playing video games. My only responsibility- make homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next morning.
Sunday our neighbors across the street are having us over for supper and football. I'm looking forward to garden planning with my mentor as well. My neighbor friend is a long time master gardener and with her guidance, I have decided to chop up most of our lawns to grow more organic veggies.
Monday DS10 turns DS11. I do have to work that morning, and we have an appointment in the afternoon, but we're hoping to still take him out for supper in honor of his official day. Last night DH & I already began reminiscing about how quickly our son has grown. I think I'm going to have to pull out the baby pictures and get that scanning project going.
Hope you all have a great weekend!
The cut in hours does mean my paycheck is smaller, but I have to trust God will help it all work out. We may have to begin dipping into savings, but that tax refund is just around the corner and that will help us buy more time until DH can find work.
The news on the broken car- it was a stuck caliber and brake work. Bad news is that means $400, although I'm grateful it wasn't a transmission problem. I was thinking it was going to be thousands, so the $400 hurts much less.
Today we're using our movie gift certificates we received from DMIL at Christmas to see Avatar in 3D. Going to a movie on a Friday, in the middle of the day feels like playing hooky! It's going to be great, even if the movie isn't.
Tomorrow we'll have the birthday sleep over. 7 young men in the Mancave, eating pizza, drinking soda, staying up all night playing video games. My only responsibility- make homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next morning.
Sunday our neighbors across the street are having us over for supper and football. I'm looking forward to garden planning with my mentor as well. My neighbor friend is a long time master gardener and with her guidance, I have decided to chop up most of our lawns to grow more organic veggies.
Monday DS10 turns DS11. I do have to work that morning, and we have an appointment in the afternoon, but we're hoping to still take him out for supper in honor of his official day. Last night DH & I already began reminiscing about how quickly our son has grown. I think I'm going to have to pull out the baby pictures and get that scanning project going.
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Thursday 13 - Broken
13 Broken Things I Wish We Had The Money To Fix
1. My Vibe- :( It started making a loud noise when I go over 55mph - thought it was the muffler but as I parked tonight, it made another awful noise and now I'm worried it has something to do with an expensive transmission.
2. Water softener - Noticing our water seemed a little on the hard side, I reminded DH to add salt to the softener. We discovered it was still full of salt even though we haven't added any in months. Now that we think about it, we can't remember hearing it run for quite awhile, but we did have it set to recycle at 3:00am.
3. The exhaust fan in the boys' bathroom is not working at all
4. The exhaust fan in our bathroom is broken too. It runs, but makes an awful racket.
5. Trying to plug Christmas lights into an outlet in the dark, I pushed too hard on a polarized plug and broke the outlet. It still works, but there is no resistance when you insert a plug. That can't be good.
6. Our teeth - I could use a few crowns and DS soon to be 11, needs braces
7. The recessed light over my kitchen sink. It would be much more pleasant to see how clean my dishes can be.
8. My camera. The USB port no longer works and lately its taking cruddy photos.
9. The graphics card needs replacing on the downstairs computer.
10. The internal cooling fan is broken on that computer too.
11. All inside doors in our house do not close or open well at all.
12. No real lock on the boys' bathroom door. We busted it years ago when DS fell in the shower and we feared he had a head injury. Our improvised lock is just a hook, since we have to replace the entire door frame now.
13. MY OUTLOOK!! The financial strain we're under is taking a huge toll on me. I'll go to bed now and hopefully things will look brighter in the morning.
1. My Vibe- :( It started making a loud noise when I go over 55mph - thought it was the muffler but as I parked tonight, it made another awful noise and now I'm worried it has something to do with an expensive transmission.
2. Water softener - Noticing our water seemed a little on the hard side, I reminded DH to add salt to the softener. We discovered it was still full of salt even though we haven't added any in months. Now that we think about it, we can't remember hearing it run for quite awhile, but we did have it set to recycle at 3:00am.
3. The exhaust fan in the boys' bathroom is not working at all
4. The exhaust fan in our bathroom is broken too. It runs, but makes an awful racket.
5. Trying to plug Christmas lights into an outlet in the dark, I pushed too hard on a polarized plug and broke the outlet. It still works, but there is no resistance when you insert a plug. That can't be good.
6. Our teeth - I could use a few crowns and DS soon to be 11, needs braces
7. The recessed light over my kitchen sink. It would be much more pleasant to see how clean my dishes can be.
8. My camera. The USB port no longer works and lately its taking cruddy photos.
9. The graphics card needs replacing on the downstairs computer.
10. The internal cooling fan is broken on that computer too.
11. All inside doors in our house do not close or open well at all.
12. No real lock on the boys' bathroom door. We busted it years ago when DS fell in the shower and we feared he had a head injury. Our improvised lock is just a hook, since we have to replace the entire door frame now.
13. MY OUTLOOK!! The financial strain we're under is taking a huge toll on me. I'll go to bed now and hopefully things will look brighter in the morning.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Our Weekend Update...(3rd in 2010)
Weekend lunch date with DH was sweet. Thanks to a coupon, it only cost us around $10 and we had plenty of leftovers to munch on for supper. We ordered our usual- pesto cavatappi for me and buttered noodles with shrimp for DH.
We decided to move the computer desk in the Mancave, but that meant we had to complete two giant clean up projects first. One of which was moving our home school storage lockers. Years ago, DMIL bought us a set of lockers from a university surplus store. They are amazingly deep and hold tons of stuff, and when I say tons, I really mean tons.
We had to go through 18 lockers full of almost 10 plus years of homeschooling resources. It was an exericse in homeschooling anthropolgy. I uncovered evidence of the early days when I thought we needed packaged curriculum, to the more current favorites of unschooling magazines and art projects. Now I have a box of stuff to donate and a box of stuff to try and re-sell. Would we be true home schoolers if we didn't have a little bit of purchase regret? We all do it! It took me a few years to realize I didn't have to shop the curriculum fair at the yearly home schooling conference.
Now that the computer desk is moved, we have more room for more bodies in the man cave. We are preparing for this coming Saturday's gaming sleep over, in honor of DS10's, coming 11th birthday. I discovered we have a few air mattresses we can inflate, not that anyone will be sleeping on them.
I just hope my clutz curse if over by then. For some reason, I've been injuring myself in stupid ways. Reaching for the soap in the shower, I drove my fingernail into my razor, slicing through the nail and into the nail bed. Now I keep catching it on everything. I can't wait for it to grow out, but everytime it catches on something, it rips down a little further. Keeping a bandage on it is not an option for me because I can't stand not washing my hands and wet bandaids gross me out!
Movie wise we discovered a few weeks ago we have the RTV channel, which I think stands for Retro TV. We now look forward to watching cheesy monster movies on Wolfman Mac's Chiller Drive In Theatre. We also discovered we get the "THIS" channel and this weekend they had on Killer Klowns In Outer Space with extra scenes! This is one of our favorite cheesy scary movies. On Sunday night we introduced the boys to another Alfred Hitchcock classic on BBC America, Vertigo. The boys did not see the twist coming at all. Last week we introduced them to The Birds.
Weather wise it never really got up to the 37 F they promised, but we did have freezing fog, which is breathtaking. I really wish I had a decent camera. All the trees and surfaces had frozen ice crystals growing on them. Our world looked like it was covered in powdered sugar.
The warmer weather is bringing stray cats back to our yard. Every night Yumi gives us heart attacks when she begins to yowl at the window. The past two nights we noticed it wasn't any old Tom cat, but Mojo from last year!
Mojo is the cat we tried to take in last year at this time, and after constantly trying to escape out the door, he was successful. We lost sight of him, but he must have a home somewhere in the neighborhood, and this was why he kept trying to get out.
Yumi was not happy to see him though. They have a boxing match through the glass door every time he comes to say hello.
We decided to move the computer desk in the Mancave, but that meant we had to complete two giant clean up projects first. One of which was moving our home school storage lockers. Years ago, DMIL bought us a set of lockers from a university surplus store. They are amazingly deep and hold tons of stuff, and when I say tons, I really mean tons.
We had to go through 18 lockers full of almost 10 plus years of homeschooling resources. It was an exericse in homeschooling anthropolgy. I uncovered evidence of the early days when I thought we needed packaged curriculum, to the more current favorites of unschooling magazines and art projects. Now I have a box of stuff to donate and a box of stuff to try and re-sell. Would we be true home schoolers if we didn't have a little bit of purchase regret? We all do it! It took me a few years to realize I didn't have to shop the curriculum fair at the yearly home schooling conference.
Now that the computer desk is moved, we have more room for more bodies in the man cave. We are preparing for this coming Saturday's gaming sleep over, in honor of DS10's, coming 11th birthday. I discovered we have a few air mattresses we can inflate, not that anyone will be sleeping on them.
I just hope my clutz curse if over by then. For some reason, I've been injuring myself in stupid ways. Reaching for the soap in the shower, I drove my fingernail into my razor, slicing through the nail and into the nail bed. Now I keep catching it on everything. I can't wait for it to grow out, but everytime it catches on something, it rips down a little further. Keeping a bandage on it is not an option for me because I can't stand not washing my hands and wet bandaids gross me out!
Movie wise we discovered a few weeks ago we have the RTV channel, which I think stands for Retro TV. We now look forward to watching cheesy monster movies on Wolfman Mac's Chiller Drive In Theatre. We also discovered we get the "THIS" channel and this weekend they had on Killer Klowns In Outer Space with extra scenes! This is one of our favorite cheesy scary movies. On Sunday night we introduced the boys to another Alfred Hitchcock classic on BBC America, Vertigo. The boys did not see the twist coming at all. Last week we introduced them to The Birds.
Weather wise it never really got up to the 37 F they promised, but we did have freezing fog, which is breathtaking. I really wish I had a decent camera. All the trees and surfaces had frozen ice crystals growing on them. Our world looked like it was covered in powdered sugar.
The warmer weather is bringing stray cats back to our yard. Every night Yumi gives us heart attacks when she begins to yowl at the window. The past two nights we noticed it wasn't any old Tom cat, but Mojo from last year!
Mojo is the cat we tried to take in last year at this time, and after constantly trying to escape out the door, he was successful. We lost sight of him, but he must have a home somewhere in the neighborhood, and this was why he kept trying to get out.
Yumi was not happy to see him though. They have a boxing match through the glass door every time he comes to say hello.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Anyone Know How To Get Blood Out?
Getting ready for work at 5:00am, I walk into the kitchen and find Yumi sitting innocently, staring up at me. Directly in front of her is a little, although chunky, ball of shivering fur.
"Get it Yumi!! GET IT!" She still just stares at me.
I'm afraid to move for fear the critter will sprint. I call out to DH & DS. The three of us stare down waiting for either Yumi to pounce or this mouse to run. Yumi casually walks around the mouse to where her treats are kept.
"Aren't you going to feed me?"
I'm amazed the mouse doesn't run. DH grabs a towel and throws it over the poor thing. It still doesn't run. He carries it outside. Its shaking but still doesn't try to get away. I head off to work hoping the critter will eventually scamper away.
I come home at lunch and to my dismay, there is now a frozen mousicle in my front yard.
In the daylight, we could now see the blood on the carpet. Yumi must have had a good old time with that poor mouse before we even got up. No wonder she just looked at me, wanting her breakfast. She had her taste of mouse sushi and decided she'd wait for dry kibble instead.
I'm hoping this is the same mouse we saw last fall. One morning I had gotten up to discover little beatie eyes staring at me from on top of the curtains. Yumi must have scared the poor thing up the drapes and onto the curtain rod.
DH & I tried to capture it, but it jumped in the wrong direction, falling to the floor. It then scampered across the kitchen floor, and my fat cat couldn't keep up with it. It ran under the stove. We took the stove apart trying to find it, to no avail. We set out a trap with chocolate and peanut butter, but it never took the bait.
On the plus side, I've never seen droppings so "Jerry" must have been living where we couldn't see him, until our "Tom Girl" Yumi found him. I just hope Jerry didn't have roommates, or we'll have to switch to hard flooring. I'm having trouble getting the blood out from the carpet.
"Get it Yumi!! GET IT!" She still just stares at me.
I'm afraid to move for fear the critter will sprint. I call out to DH & DS. The three of us stare down waiting for either Yumi to pounce or this mouse to run. Yumi casually walks around the mouse to where her treats are kept.
"Aren't you going to feed me?"
I'm amazed the mouse doesn't run. DH grabs a towel and throws it over the poor thing. It still doesn't run. He carries it outside. Its shaking but still doesn't try to get away. I head off to work hoping the critter will eventually scamper away.
I come home at lunch and to my dismay, there is now a frozen mousicle in my front yard.
In the daylight, we could now see the blood on the carpet. Yumi must have had a good old time with that poor mouse before we even got up. No wonder she just looked at me, wanting her breakfast. She had her taste of mouse sushi and decided she'd wait for dry kibble instead.
I'm hoping this is the same mouse we saw last fall. One morning I had gotten up to discover little beatie eyes staring at me from on top of the curtains. Yumi must have scared the poor thing up the drapes and onto the curtain rod.
DH & I tried to capture it, but it jumped in the wrong direction, falling to the floor. It then scampered across the kitchen floor, and my fat cat couldn't keep up with it. It ran under the stove. We took the stove apart trying to find it, to no avail. We set out a trap with chocolate and peanut butter, but it never took the bait.
On the plus side, I've never seen droppings so "Jerry" must have been living where we couldn't see him, until our "Tom Girl" Yumi found him. I just hope Jerry didn't have roommates, or we'll have to switch to hard flooring. I'm having trouble getting the blood out from the carpet.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
We Love Having G-Ma Visit!!
She always brings us Infusino's take and bake pizzas!! They are so yummy!! We can't live in K-town because we would be eating too many of these. We enjoyed a rather nice visit, and cousins came over with bread sticks too! G-Ma read our tarot cards after we ate.
My reading dealt exactly with what I've been dealing with. It didn't tell me anything I didn't know and it didn't necessarily predict my future, but it gave me hope that if I continue diligently working through my stress, I will come out blessed. I must stay strong, and have faith God is going to see us through this and onto something better.
DH's reading was spot on as well, dealing with his unemployment stress. Plus you could directly see connections between both our readings. It was very cool and cosmic. It affirmed that we have a strong marriage, but we knew that. :)
We introduced G-Ma to Wii Sports Resort, and she brought back our Wii Fit Plus. I'm looking forward to giving it a try now. Gold's Gym is great, but I need variety or I get bored quickly.
Speaking of boredom, I'm getting cabin fever big time. Its been so bitterly cold, its unhealthy for me to be out in it. We broke down and turned up the heat from 60 F to 64 F. I'm sure I don't want to see our heating bill, but hopefully we'll find a way to pay it.
I'm pouring over garden magazines and catalogs, planning for spring. Our beloved next door neighbor is fighting cancer and together we are planning more organic gardens. I'm ready to go bigger and better, and with her help we will. Together we're both saying we don't care if we have any grass left in our yards! It can all be organic gardens!!
G-Ma also found mad money rolling across a parking lot. She treated us to lottery tickets with it. We dreamed about what we would do if we won.
I personally don't need a big house or furnishings. All I want is land and lots of it!! I would grow, grow, grow everything from veggie gardens, to berry patches, to apple orchards and pumpkin patches. I'd have a Christmas tree forest along with wild land for critters of all shapes and sizes.
I'll have to wait longer for that dream. We only hit a few numbers, but it was enough to buy us lunch!
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Rambling, Thinking It Through.....
Crazy night last night, literally. I was such a mixture of emotions. Its unsettling how one moment I can feel calm, cool, collected and the next, my world is falling apart.
I tried to find my balance but by the week's end, I had lost it. Interestingly it was when I had scheduled in free time that it crashed around me. I guess when I don't have to have my game face on, it is safer to let go. I'd rather spend my free time in a happier mood though.
It was the typical "I can't do it all" demon. Wife, mother, worker, within these roles lie so many responsibilities, and each one I want to give my best to. Why is it easier for me to look at what I didn't get done, instead of what I have accomplished?
I do think its better to continually examine myself and question how I can do better, but why do I have to beat myself up in the process?
Today is a new day. I have another chance to get it right.
I tried to find my balance but by the week's end, I had lost it. Interestingly it was when I had scheduled in free time that it crashed around me. I guess when I don't have to have my game face on, it is safer to let go. I'd rather spend my free time in a happier mood though.
It was the typical "I can't do it all" demon. Wife, mother, worker, within these roles lie so many responsibilities, and each one I want to give my best to. Why is it easier for me to look at what I didn't get done, instead of what I have accomplished?
I do think its better to continually examine myself and question how I can do better, but why do I have to beat myself up in the process?
Today is a new day. I have another chance to get it right.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Monday, January 04, 2010
First Day Back To Reality
I can't say I was looking forward to going back to work after spending two glorious weeks at home, but DH made it a little easier by going out at 4:30am and starting my car for me. We're currently having bitter cold, single Fahrenheit digit temperatures so this small gesture was actually quite huge. He did not have to get out of our warm, cozy love nest to do that for me.
When I got to work, I knew I'd have a pile waiting, and I knew I would not be getting out at my usual time, but all that work did make the time go by quickly. Still, I'm grateful the rest of the week, I'm working closing shifts. Don't let my name fool you. I'm not a morning person.
It was great coming home to have lunch with my family and after a little digesting, I managed to throw a few punches in Gold's Gym Wii. I've decided now that I'm not working a crazy flip flop schedule anymore, I have no excuse not to exercise.
I did a little more onion research. The layers are really leaves.
I tried to get into Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but 7 chapters into it, I'm still not hooked. I can't stop comparing Jane's brilliant writing to Mr. Grahame-Smith's, even though I remind myself to have a sense of humor. I'm really hard to please though when it comes to fiction.
I'm hoping I can convince my family to brave the cold this coming weekend and do a little eagle watching. Its about an hour's drive from us, but I need to make a nature connection. I miss our forest hikes. Its easy to hide away indoors when its this cold, but you reach a point where cabin fever starts to make you a little stir crazy. I know watching bald eagles plunge into the river will lift my spirits.
Also on the agenda, I need to take some time and write down goals. I'm working my way through 48 Days To The Work You Love by Dan Miller. (If my boss is reading this- don't panic. I'm mostly reading this book for Sean.)
I've also just finished Secrets Of A Buccaneer Scholar by James Marcus Bach, and I have to say, its made me an even better unschooler. It reaffirmed everything I felt to be true.
When I got to work, I knew I'd have a pile waiting, and I knew I would not be getting out at my usual time, but all that work did make the time go by quickly. Still, I'm grateful the rest of the week, I'm working closing shifts. Don't let my name fool you. I'm not a morning person.
It was great coming home to have lunch with my family and after a little digesting, I managed to throw a few punches in Gold's Gym Wii. I've decided now that I'm not working a crazy flip flop schedule anymore, I have no excuse not to exercise.
I did a little more onion research. The layers are really leaves.
I tried to get into Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but 7 chapters into it, I'm still not hooked. I can't stop comparing Jane's brilliant writing to Mr. Grahame-Smith's, even though I remind myself to have a sense of humor. I'm really hard to please though when it comes to fiction.
I'm hoping I can convince my family to brave the cold this coming weekend and do a little eagle watching. Its about an hour's drive from us, but I need to make a nature connection. I miss our forest hikes. Its easy to hide away indoors when its this cold, but you reach a point where cabin fever starts to make you a little stir crazy. I know watching bald eagles plunge into the river will lift my spirits.
Also on the agenda, I need to take some time and write down goals. I'm working my way through 48 Days To The Work You Love by Dan Miller. (If my boss is reading this- don't panic. I'm mostly reading this book for Sean.)
I've also just finished Secrets Of A Buccaneer Scholar by James Marcus Bach, and I have to say, its made me an even better unschooler. It reaffirmed everything I felt to be true.
Friday, January 01, 2010
Happy New Year!
We stayed in last night, enjoying the nest. The boys had friends over, gaming in the ManCave until supper time. DH & I feasted on pizza while the boys decided to use their free McDonald Value Meal coupons, so everyone was happy. The boys went back to gaming while DH & I became couch potatoes.
They joined us in time to watch Travis Pastrana jump his rally car. Watching daredevils on ESPN on New Year's Eve is becoming a tradition now.
I barely made it to midnight. Took flack for that. We did two countdowns. The first was on Fox I think, and then DH turned on MTV and one minute late, they were replaying the ball drop. I'm surprised there is no local coverage. I can remember growing up around Chicago where WGN always did a countdown.
I'm not making any resolutions, but I am dreaming up plans for 2010. Of course the obvious dream is the end of unemployment/job stress and continuning health improvements, but I'm also focusing on on life's little pleasures. I want to go bigger and better with our garden this spring, along with purging and organizing the Sleepyhouse. I have to get back to some kind of creative outlet.
I know I should avoid endeavors that require money, but I'm really hoping we can start traveling. The boys are at an age now where this would be so great for them. I know we will find a way to make it to my husband's family reunion this July, but there are so many other places I wish we could travel to.
I'll keep praying and we'll see where the Lord takes us. For now, I can count my blessings and stay positive looking forward. Its within our power to make this a Happy New Year.
They joined us in time to watch Travis Pastrana jump his rally car. Watching daredevils on ESPN on New Year's Eve is becoming a tradition now.
I barely made it to midnight. Took flack for that. We did two countdowns. The first was on Fox I think, and then DH turned on MTV and one minute late, they were replaying the ball drop. I'm surprised there is no local coverage. I can remember growing up around Chicago where WGN always did a countdown.
I'm not making any resolutions, but I am dreaming up plans for 2010. Of course the obvious dream is the end of unemployment/job stress and continuning health improvements, but I'm also focusing on on life's little pleasures. I want to go bigger and better with our garden this spring, along with purging and organizing the Sleepyhouse. I have to get back to some kind of creative outlet.
I know I should avoid endeavors that require money, but I'm really hoping we can start traveling. The boys are at an age now where this would be so great for them. I know we will find a way to make it to my husband's family reunion this July, but there are so many other places I wish we could travel to.
I'll keep praying and we'll see where the Lord takes us. For now, I can count my blessings and stay positive looking forward. Its within our power to make this a Happy New Year.
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