Goings on......

Wow, I can't believe it's almost been a week since I've posted!

Well, we are in the process of house hunting. Who knew it could take up so much of my time. When we aren't out looking at houses, I'm online looking for houses.

We haven't decided if we want to renew our lease where we are at, or go ahead and bite the bullet and buy. It's a great time to buy, but we are having a hard time finding what we want in our price range. I know it's got to be out there.

Starting Monday, I am going to start babysitting again. I really miss having a little one in the house. The little one I'm keeping is so sweet. He's 18 mos old and is just a joy to have around. I'm sure my schedule will have to be tweaked a bit.

Today is supposed to be my grocery shopping day, but I'm having to put that off since we went house shopping today. Let's just say....we're gonna keep looking.

We have really been enjoying the fall like weather and I hope it doesn't end. Ready to toast some marshmallows! Hubby is gearing up for duck hunting season and has been spending his days getting his boat ready.

I did write out my grocery list and menu for this coming week and the new menu is posted on the side.

Hey...I know this post is mostly random stuff just thrown together...hopefully, I will do better and have more interesting stuff to write about soon.

Have a blessed Friday!!!

New Weekly Menu Posted

Yesterday was such a glorious day that I didn't want to do anything but be outside. Can you believe that the temp here was only 80 degrees and NO humidity....in August!

Yes, the windows were up and I was enjoying the fresh air blowing throughout the house.

This type of weather makes me yearn for fall. It's absolutely my favorite time of the year. I love the colors it brings and the smells associated with it...like cinnamon and pumpkin spice..mmmm!

I know...we still have a ways to go before it gets here, but I'm enjoying the fall like weather for now.

As promised, I have made out my menu for the upcoming week and have posted on the side. Just let me know if you want any of the recipes.

Have a blessed Sunday and go out and enjoy the glorious day that the Lord has made!

Way Behind

O.K....so I'm a little behind.

We have had a lot going on here and I haven't been able to stick to my normal schedule.
Usually, I will make out my grocery list and my weekly menu on Thursday and do my grocery shopping on Friday.

So, here it is Friday night, no groceries have been bought and I haven't even made out my grocery list or my weekly menu (as you can see from the right hand side).

No worries, it will all get done tomorrow morning. Hubby will be asleep and Blake will be at his dad's for the weekend, so I have all day to get things done and get back on track.

Once I get it written out, I will get back here and post the menu on the sidebar, which I will try to do every week. If there is something that you want the recipe for, just leave me a comment and I'll post the recipe.

With that being said, our little "project" will be taking up some of my time, so I might not have as much time to blog as I would like.

And oh, my camera is on the fritz...so no pictures right now....sorry.

Have a blessed Friday (and weekend)!

Whirlwind Days

This weekend went by so quickly! With my 3 stepkids here, plus two 5 year old twins I was babysitting, I was in constant motion all weekend. My sinuses kicked in on top of that and felt I was in bit of a haze this weekend. Even though it was extremely busy, I loved having all the kids here!

Yesterday started off rough....I woke up still feeling sick. Woke up and noticed my son hadn't left for work yet (he has to be at work at 6 am). He was having car problems....but his boss came and picked him up. Got up and got Blake off to school, took some medicine which made me sleepy and went back to bed.

I must have really needed the sleep because I didn't wake up until 10:00 !!!! Wow, that really threw my schedule off. Hubby had already come home from work and left and was back from the chiropractor. Son called and asked me to pick him up from work...so off I went. We came home and then had to turn around about an hour later so I could take him to the cardiologist for a check up. Then rush back home so I could pick Blake up from school.

Dropped Blake off then left to run some errands....came back picked up Blake and went shoe shopping (it's been awhile since he had new shoes).

Came home started dinner....it was done about 6:30. After that, I was done....Blake and I watched America's Funniest Videos...hubby woke up and ate dinner and then I was in bed at 9:00.

Whew!! That make's me tired all over again just reading it.

Have a blessed Tuesday

I'm Not Superwoman

So, I was reading another blog this morning. She was saying that she had a friend that was discouraged after reading so many blogs from women who seemed to have EVERTHING under control ALL THE TIME. This friend had just had a baby and felt after reading from others that if she wasn't superwoman, that there must be something wrong with her.

So, let me be the first to tell ya...I'm not superwoman. Sure, I've had plenty of people tell me, "Wow, you are so organized"..or "How do you always keep your house so clean?"

I wish I was more organized...just open up some of the cabinets and you'll see how unorganized I truly am. Truth is if there was a club called Procrastinators Anonymous, I would be a member. Procrastination is truly my downfall. I make lists not just to be organized, but if I don't make the list....stuff just wouldn't get done!

There are days when yes, gasp...there are dirty dishes in my sink! Somedays, I might not get the laundry put away....and yes, there have been times that I thought...please no one open the microwave door and see how dirty it is.

I don't bake soaked whole wheat sourdough bread...tried it and guess what - my family didn't like it! But I do try and make my own bread along with baking a lot of other stuff as well. I don't make my own laundry detergent...I can buy a box that will last a long time for a little over $2.00.

I wish I could garden more, but lets face it - I just don't have much of a green thumb. I'm blessed to have my two tomato plants living! (and producing...an extra bonus!)

I get up every morning with a game plan and sometimes it works and sometimes life just takes over and my plan has to be put on hold.

That's just all part of it.

I just strive to be a good wife and mom and keeper of my home and do the best that "I" can. So, I'm not anybody else, I'm just me. You should be just you and not worry about trying to be someone else. Just do the best that YOU can.

Have a blessed Thursday!

Feeling a Bit Tired

The above picture says it all. I'm so tired and sleepy. Want to take a nap, but have no time. This may be what I look like at dinner tonight...my head in my plate.

I think I'm coming down with a cold. They always wear me down. Stuffy head that feels so heavy I have a hard time holding it up.

We've been contemplating our housing situation lately. Our current lease expires in November. We've been trying to decide if we want to stay here, or try and buy somewhere else. I love my house here, but not sure this is where we want to stay. Ahhhh....decisions, decisions. Lots to think about and try and put in order no matter where we decide to go.

I know....short post today. Gotta run and finish cleaning the kitchen floor before I have to pick Blake up from school.

Have a blessed Wednesday!

Public School Adventures

Here it is Tuesday (sigh) and I find myself missing our old homeschool routine. Blake started public school last Wednesday. It has been quite a change...for both of us. The day starts at 6:15 when we both get up and start to get ready. He leaves for school at 7 am and school lets out at 2:20 and I pick him up.

He only has 4 classes this first semester...Auto Tech; Wellness; Chemistry; and World History. Of course his favorite class is Auto Tech..he loves cars and racing, so this is perfect for him. His least favorite class is History - no surprise there. He didn't much care for it either when we were homeschooling. The history class is covering the exact same things we covered last year minus it coming from a Biblical point of view.

I was worried about his organizational skills, but he has proved that he can be organized...so that's a good thing.

He is learning that I do teach differently than the teachers at school. For instance, when doing answering questions at home, I always insisted on using complete sentences. I felt that this would help when studying and also helped me when checking over correct answers...not to mention improving English skills. However, his teacher now tells him NOT to answer in a complete sentence that all he wants to see are just the answer on the paper and that by doing this it will help them be able to study better.

In one class, they have been told that they can use their notes at test time. Supposedly this will help improve their note taking skills...but what about their study skills?

Some of the teachers do not have a handle on keeping the classroom under control and the students will just keep on talking. How does this promote a learning environment?

Also, here it is the second week...and still no lockers. Everything has to be toted around in a backpack. My son's pack is so full and heavy that there is no possible way anything else can fit into it.

O.k....enough of the negative. I know that this experience will be good for him. He loves his Auto Shop class and this is what he wants to pursue in the future..so this is a good thing...right?

He is getting a good dose of what it is like in the school system and will be able to make up his mind if he wants to continue with this next year. By the way, next year, if homeschooled, he will actually be old enough to dual enroll in college. That way, not only will he get the high school credits, he will already be earning college credits as well!!

I miss homeschooling...my days are quiet. Blake is at school, son Brian is at work, hubby Brian gets home from work and goes to bed in the morning. Sigh....I should be getting so much done...just don't have the motivation sometimes.

With that being said, I have done the following today:

Hung a load of clothes out to dry
Swept kitchen floor
Loaded dishes into dishwasher
Cleaned shower in master bath
Cleaned counter, mirror, and floors in hall bath
Put a roast in the crockpot for dinner tonight
Swept the dining room and living room floors
Called ALL around town getting pricing for tires and oil change
Made breakfast for son
Changed trash in bathrooms


I still need to clean the toilets, take Blake to get his hair cut, cut up veggies for dinner and take care of anything else that pops up (you know something always does)

Well, I've rambled on long enough - time to get busy!

Have a blessed Tuesday!

Yay!! Blog Fixed

I worked on correcting the problem to my page this morning. Don't know exactly what I did, but just glad whatever it was worked.

I'll get a regular post up shortly.

Blogging Problems

I don't know why, but when you visit my blog...it automatically directs to another page to which this is not related.

So, please bear with me. I have notified blogger and hope this issue gets resolved soon.

Simple Pleasures

Do you ever just stop and truly enjoy your day. Sometimes I hit the floor running in the mornings thinking of everything that I need to get done during the day. I tend to get caught up in trying to get everything done, that sometimes I fail at just enjoying the "now".

Here's some simple things that I enjoy during my day.


Hanging clothes out on the line to dry. Our dryer broke down a few weeks back and I've been hanging everything outside on my patio. It's just a peaceful time for me while I'm outside hanging clothes. You can (usually) feel a breeze and hear the birds singing. I find myself singing too!


Watching and caring for our tomato plants. There's just something so satisfying about watching something you planted and cared for grow and produce. While we have only picked a couple of tomatoes, we have about 20 something growing on them right now.


Watching the kids and hubby playing board games.


Just driving around town with my husband. We don't have to spend money, but we do like to go window shopping sometimes or just take a drive out to the country.

What simple things do you enjoy?

Have a blessed Thurdsay!!

All I Ask of You from The Phantom of the Opera

I finished watching Phantom of the Opera again yesterday. I am just in love with the music. Unfortunately, for my family, when a piece of music gets stuck in my head, I tend to sing it over and over and over again.

Here's the song that I'm stuck on now. It's just simply beautiful!

School days, school days....

Another school year has begun, but this year is quite different. After homeschooling for the past 9 years, my youngest child (the only one who is still school age) is off to public school for the first time! It's hard to let go, no matter what age your child is.

Here's a picture of him I snapped this morning before he left.


He's in the 10th grade this year. This is what he wanted to do...ya know just to see what school is all about. I'm excited for him...but a little sad for me.

We went to new student orientation last night and met his first semester teachers. This school operates on a block schedule. They take 4 90 min classes the first semester and then 4 different 90 min. classes the second semester. This gives you a total of 8 classes or 32 credits by the time you graduate.

The first semester he is taking Auto Tech, Chemistry, Wellnes, and World History. The second semester he is taking Honors English, Accounting, Spanish I and Algebra II.

School starts at 7:15 and ends at 2:15. He was up at 6:15 this morning...the earliest he's been up in a LONG time. He didn't get much sleep last night..nerves and all. I'm sure he will do great today and will be ready to get to bed early tonight.

I will be sitting on pins and needles all day today waiting for him to get home so I can hear how it went.

As for me, I am looking to do childcare and tutoring again. I have some leads that I'm hoping will come thru. I might be keeping a 19mth old 3 days a week and maybe do some tutoring the other two. I'm also going to be keeping 5 yr old twins every other weekend. I met them yesterday, a little girl and little boy. They are so cute! The extra money will really help out as well.

Well, gotta go. Hubby will be home soon and today is his birthday!!

Have a blessed Wednesday!

Just Passin' Time....

Hope everyone had a good weekend. We had my husband's kids here this weekend until today, so it was a busy house with 5 kids to cook, clean and do laundry for. I will probably miss the hustle and bustle come tomorrow.

Today, I managed to get a couple of loads of laundry done (the weather has been a little more cooperative). I have sheets hanging outside right now. Don't you just love the smell of sheets that have been outside - mmmmm!

I tidied up the kitchen after breakfast and moped the floors. Our cute, sweet kittens are making such a mess of the floors! I need them gone - NOW! We have 6 kittens that are now 6 weeks old and are ready to find their new homes. Gotta get them out before my hubby becomes to attached. He's already named one Tuna. I love kittens...I even like cats. I don't like, however, having to smell and clean a litter box. YUCK!

I would also like to find a home for my sweet pomeranian, Mitzi. She is a doll...but poms are notorious for their yappy barking. And since my husband works nights, and sleeps days....the barking has become a problem and is disrupting my husband's sleep. I've had Mitzi since 2004...(longer than I've had my husband - LOL).

I'm just ready to go back to one pet...that's all I can handle.

On another note, wanted to pass this along. This is a great schedule to use to read thru the bible in one year. I try to do the reading on a daily basis, but must admit, I have slipped in the past. But it is a great tool for keeping me on schedule. I keep it in a notebook and use a highlighter and mark thru the passages as I read them. On a separate page of paper, I will write down verses that I want to remember. And then, on another sheet of blank paper, I will write down my prayer requests.

Anyhow...here's the link. Bible Reading Schedule

Oh....sorry no pictures this time. Need to get my camera hooked up. The boys did something when they were trying to get the wireless network up and running.