A Bit of This and That

Weather

2010-02-06T06:58:00.002-06:00

Despite our January thaw and the milder start to February, it looks like we will be back to frozen pond fountains and water dishes. I read a few weeks ago that February's weather is supposed to be more like December. By the time we hit February, everyone is ready for winter to be done and spring to hurry up. I don't suppose an unusually cold and wet February is going to help anyone's mood. I am thankful that February is a short month and we can get on to March soon!

Some Freedom

2010-02-06T06:51:00.002-06:00

Despite having a newly licensed driver, I have not felt the need to research life insurance quotes! He is actually a really good driver and I feel comfortable with him driving himself and his sisters. I am enjoying the little bit of freedom it has afforded me. Even though we are still sharing a vehicle, he is able to get himself to and from school and practice several days a week. Soon, he will have his own vehicle to drive and I won't have to worry about being his chauffeur. It will be a really good thing!

Spam

2010-01-17T12:43:00.002-06:00

My email inbox has been flooded with all sorts of spam since the first of the year. I have gotten everything from bogus offers of interest free loans and sweepstakes winnings to the best quick weight loss tips and breast enlargement pills. I am not sure what is going on but the amount of spam has been massive. I think that the start of a new year has precipitated this. I am sure that it is mostly people trying to exploit the tendency of folks to make resolutions and life changing decisions in January. I hope to see a slowdown in the amount of spam I am getting as we get farther into the year.

Diet?

2010-01-17T12:11:00.002-06:00

If you are searching for diets that work, look no further. I have the perfect one for you. All you have to do is kill your fridge. When you do that you have to farm all of your food out to whoever has some room in their fridge until you can get a new one. This means that you are really limited on what you can eat. Yesterday we all went without lunch because there just wasn't anything here to eat for lunch. We ended up eating an early and big supper, though. So maybe it isn't the best diet in the world! But it sure does make you cut back on a lot of things you would normally eat.

Walking

2010-01-17T11:47:00.002-06:00

I believe it is time to break out the thermogenic fat burner and start doing something. This week I plan on getting the treadmill space cleaned and the treadmill dusted off. I want to start a walking program by week's end. My plan is to start small since I am so out of shape. Maybe 20 minutes a day at first. I really am not so much about losing weight as I am at just getting back into shape. I want to just feel better. Hopefully losing weight will go along with a consistent walking routine. But if I can start feeling better then I will be happy, too.

Vegetable Day

2010-01-15T11:58:00.001-06:00

I have been feeling like I have been running around like crazy since the kids went back to school last week. In fact, I have been finding myself feeling worn out. Maybe I just need hgh supplements to get me going again. Nah. I really just need a day of nothingness to recharge my psychological batteries. I think that I will get that today. I don't think that, as a family, we have anything pressing to do today. We have to move our dead fridge out to make room for the new one. Other than that, I think we will just live in the living room today.

Blah

2010-01-14T07:57:00.002-06:00

Have you ever felt so wrung out from life that there is nothing left? Like you have just experience the ultimate colon and body cleanser? I am on the verge of that today. It feels like everything around here is breaking. We have had to pay so many repairmen in the last few months it is mind boggling. I hate that everything breaks at once. Today's broken thing could be fixed by Tom if he were here. But he is not and it needs fixed quickly. And I hate being the only grown up here to deal with it.

Small Steps

2010-01-13T13:51:00.002-06:00

Well, its the start of another new year. I am once again thinking that better eating and exercising habits are in order. I wonder if this will be the year that I actually stick to it or not. Maybe I should add the best muscle building supplement into my regime to get me going. Nah. That probably would not make any difference in my stick-to-it-ness. I am just going to have to set my mind to it. Make small, reachable goals instead of getting caught up in the end goal. Fight battles instead of wars. Maybe just worry about losing 5 pounds at a time is the way to go. Small steps, right?

Brrr

2010-01-10T20:03:00.002-06:00

Oh my word! These past few weeks have been sooooo cold! It is supposed to be in the 30's this week. It will feel like los cabos after the negative temperatures we have been having. I am really looking forward to being able to go outside to do chores this week. Maybe the chickens will be up to leaving the coop to sit in the sun for a while. Those poor things have not been outside for 2 weeks. It isn't that they haven't had opportunity. Their coop doors have been open nearly every day. They just don't want to leave the relative warmth of their coops. I can' say that I blame them!

Whirlwind

2010-01-04T06:52:00.002-06:00

I survived the holidays and didn't have need for my whole life insurance. That is a good thing considering it was a whirlwind. We spent 2 days in our hometown for Christmas. That is about 5 days shorter than usual. So we crammed as much as we could into those 2 days. Then we spent most of the week between Christmas and New Year's Day driving daily an hour each way to a tournament. As soon as that was over, we started painting. We also squeezed another basketball tournament in this weekend. Oh, and a party New Year's Eve. Whew. I am so ready for a break!

Painting

2010-01-04T06:46:00.000-06:00

I have spent the last 3 days painting. I am just about sick of paint at this point! I have a little more detail work and the cleanup left to do today. I will be very glad to move on to deciding about window coverings and rugs. I actually love to paint but by the end I am so glad to be done with it. This particular project has been fun. We have been talking about painting Clint's room in a Cubs theme for a while. It is great to finally see it done (or almost done!). We are waiting on some FatHeads to arrive to finish things off. Cannot wait!

Rant

2009-12-21T16:31:00.002-06:00

Have any of you ever tried any allergy bedding? Karly seems to suffer from allergies year round and I wonder if it isn't partly her mattress. I have seen those mattress covers that zip on like a pillowcase that keep all of the dust mites away from the sleeper. I would love to try one of those for her mattress and her pillow but they are so darn expensive! I don't know why things like that are so expensive. It is the same with the really good carseats. They are cost prohibitive for a lot of families. How about companies with really good products figure out how to make them more affordable to the general public? M'kay?

Repair Woes

2009-12-21T16:16:00.002-06:00

You know what is worse than a Philadelphia job search? Trying to find somewhere to fix your van the week of Christmas. Tom has been working on our van all day. It has some sort of problem that we thought was the alternator. It turns out to be some other do-hickey that Tom cannot change out. So off to the dealership it goes tomorrow. I pray that it is not a really expensive fix. I also pray that it is something that our regular mechanic finds out he can change out. I would rather pay him and pay less to get it fixed! We have to get it fixed by Wednesday or we will be staying home for Christmas.

Western Governors University

2009-12-13T20:11:00.002-06:00

It is hard to believe that in a couple of years we will be helping our oldest to get ready for college. I have no idea where he is going to decide to go. If he was interested in education, business or technology, I might just steer him toward an online degree. Western Governors University (WGU) is one of the online universities that offers these degrees. They are fully accredited with fairly low tuition. It appears that WGU is on the up and up and not a fly by night online university. I have a cousin who got sucked into one of those and ended up with a worthless degree. This does not seem to be the case with WGU. It would be a perfect fit for someone who has established themselves but would like to go back to school.

Winter is Here

2009-12-13T07:19:00.002-06:00

If you live in the midwest, you do not need to consult any web directories to know that winter has cast her cloak upon us. We have been slammed with snow, strong winds, freezing rain and cold temperatures in the past week. We went from the mildness of late fall to the dangerous conditions of winter all in a weeks time. I wish we could do that more gradually. For some reason, it happens this way every year. You would think I would be used to it by now! I do enjoy the winter though. The sparkling snow is so beautiful. It just makes me happy inside.

Finishing Up

2009-12-13T06:54:00.002-06:00

Today I will be finishing up my Christmas shopping. This year's shopping has been easier than sending out communion invitations. I have whipped through my list pretty quickly with the help of Amazon. I just love to do some online shopping! The few things that I have left are all things that I need to get locally. Tom and the kids also have some shopping to do. Its nice that they are actually doing it before Christmas and not after. You have no idea how often I have not gotten anything under the tree. Generally the shopping for me is done after the holidays. Oh, well.

Who Needs 'Em

2009-12-07T10:47:00.002-06:00

Who needs best weight loss pills when you have to drag 10 gallons of warm water outside to water the chickens in the winter? Come to think of it I wonder how many calories I burn on a winter morning hauling water, breaking ice, spreading around straw, stomping through the snow and filling feeders. All I know is that by the time I finally get back inside I am usually worn out! If we all lived like this all the time, diet pills would not exist. Its too bad everything is so automated in our world today.

Christmas Shopping

2009-12-07T07:14:00.002-06:00

Surprisingly I am almost done with my shopping! I am quite sure at this time last year I had not even started. In fact, I think I was probably whining about not being able to shop at all. However, last year we decided to to do something akin to jumping on a franchise opportunity. We started a Christmas club account. That has got to be the best thing we have ever done! Putting away that tiny bit every week really helped with the shopping this year. So I have a few little things to pick up and I can say that I am officially done. Yay!

Cash Only

2009-11-23T07:06:00.002-06:00

The holiday rush has begun! I have done a bit of shopping but I am holding out for the stellar deals. I have also decided to pay cash for as much as I possibly can. I am hoping that it will provide a bit of identity theft protection if I don't use my credit or debit cards. I am not sure how effective that will be but it makes me feel better. I also want to pay with cash so I will be more apt to stay within our Christmas shopping budget. Since this is the only time of year I really get to shop anymore it is easy for me to get carried away. So cash is the way I am going this year. Wish me luck!

Solution

2009-11-16T11:11:00.001-06:00

Well break out the AED machine! I have discovered a way to help us afford a new vehicle and pay off a few debts. It is not the best solution but it is better than slogging along like we have been. I took out a loan against my life insurance policy. This will give us a little wiggle room and hopefully help our credit score, too. Like I said it isn't the best solution since we will have to pay it back with interest. However, I feel like this might give us the boost that we need to get back on track. I sure hope so!

Travel

2009-11-13T08:21:00.002-06:00

My inbox has been full of emails touting new york city hotel deals or cheapest flights to Las Vegas. I know there are a lot of folks who travel over the holidays but I am not one of them. So those emails are just lost on me. However, it would be fun to be able to book a trip somewhere. We have not been anywhere in a really long time. And by anywhere I mean farther away than 250 miles. It would be great to see the Grand Canyon or visit Wirsing, PA again. Right now is just not the time. I guess I will get to travel when I am no longer parenting a passel of kids.

Holiday Prep

2009-11-09T07:36:00.002-06:00

The holidays are barreling toward us at a frightening rate! I am looking forward to the hubbub of the holidays like I always do. Well, until I feel like I am behind the 8 ball and wishing I had a dip machine, 12 maids and a chef. I always have a list that is far longer than I can possibly accomplish by myself. I am going to try to take advantage of my kids as much as possible this year with some of the cleaning and organizing that needs to be done so that I don't turn into a person that I don't like. I hope it works!

Remembering

2009-11-09T07:08:00.002-06:00

A long time ago in an animal physiology class I had to learn how to take a person's blood pressure. For the life of me, I don't remember why that was a necessary part of animal physiology. I learned a whole lot in that class but obviously it hasn't all stuck with me. I might have learned about conjugated linoleic acid in my animal nutrition class but I don't remember. I think that if we could remember just a very small fraction of the things that we forget we would all be geniuses. And why is it that we forget the things we want to remember and remember the things we want to forget? Crazy, I tell you!

Realization

2009-10-16T13:13:00.002-05:00

The other day it really hit me that soon I my oldest 2 will not be under our roof. It won't be long and they will be worrying about ACT and LSAT prep. I just about cannot fathom not being able to touch them every single day. Having them sit close to me on the couch and tell me about their day is one of the best parts of my day. And soon I won't have that with those 2. Now I know how my Mom felt the fall I left for college and my older brother married and moved out. I know that is part of raising them up but does it have to happen so soon?

Weird Combo

2009-10-16T13:09:00.002-05:00

I bought prenatal vitamins today. I also looked at weight loss pills and whey protein powder. I know it is certainly a strange combination of items! I am not pregnant. Jasmine was complaining about her nails. I told her that prenatal vitamins are great for your nails. I picked up a bottle today. I think I will take them, too. I also looked at whey protein powder for Clint. He is in weight training and is supposed to be drinking protein shakes. Walgreens did not have any. However, the diet pills were right next to that sort of thing so I looked at them. Oh, my! There are all sorts of OTC pills a person can buy. (I think I'll pass.) See, perfectly logical explanation for all of those things!