random musings of a person who should be at the beth moore retreat but is instead at home with a tummy ache.

Now. Before you think I am sick again, please know that I am most likely not actually ill. Here are my best guesses for this current situation:
1. the antibiotic I am taking isn't "agreeing" with me,
or
2. I ate something last night that didn't "agree" with me (but then wouldn't a whole lot of other people be sick since there were like 148 women at the retreat?),
or
3. I have the current "stomach bug" that is going around (which would, in fact, make me technically ill).

I just don't know. I sent my sweet hubby out for some acidophilous and I'm hoping it will help. Since I can't go to the retreat today in this condition, I will play with the October Afternoon papers I got in the mail yesterday. Oh, my. I love "The Thrift Shop." I love "Fly A Kite." Lovelovelovelovelovelovelove. Love. Them.

I am going to make wallpaper backgrounds with these new papers for my phone and switch them out every day so I can see them even when I'm not home. (Thank you, October Afternoon, for making the best papers ever! Sincerely, Stacey)

Yesterday was Finish-It Friday. I don't think I finished anything, but I did make a huge, gigantic dent in the pile of coupons I had that needed to be sorted and filed. I am almost finished and then I will go shopping. And I will save lots of money while stocking up on stuff we will use throughout the year. I love walking by items in the store, knowing that I have a big pile of it at home and that I paid less than half of what it is regularly. I love when someone in the house runs out of toothpaste or shampoo and I give them another from my stash that I paid almost nothing for. It's so much more fun than putting it on a grocery list and having to pay full price! The only way I have found to do that is to have the coupons and buy when the items are on huge sale. (I'll get off my soapbox now, sorry.)

Today: Suffocation Saturday. Truly, I need to rename Saturday. It sounds a bit...deadly. But that is what clutter and chaos are to me - deadly! I'm not up for doing much garage organizing today, which has been my main focus lately. But I might work on labeling my paper drawers while I do my scrappy stuff. It needs to happen and it feels to good when it's done!

Next week: the garage. I am on a bit of a timeline with the garage because if I wait too long, it will be hot out there. And there will be mosquitoes. And there will be humidity. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. In this part of Texas, we have mild winter (forecasted highs in the 40's next week), super-short early spring, then very warm (refuse to say HOT yet) mid-to-late spring. So the garage needs to get organized before mid-April, for sure.

Oh, and there's the attic. It is part of the garage, you know. And it's hot up there after about April 15. And it's pretty full. I have wondered if anyone's attic has ever caved in on their house. I'm not talking about when I put my foot through the attic floor/kitchen ceiling, but just stuff getting too heavy for it. Does that ever happen?

[Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. Proverbs 21:9]

thrifty thursday.

As far as fruit goes, we eat what's on sale.

Oh, happy day, grapes are on sale at Kroger!

I was there on Monday and I saw that grapes were $3.99 a pound and I said to myself (but out loud, apparently), "Who's going to buy grapes at $3.99 a pound? Not me."

I refused.

And this man who was standing not too far from the grapes with a large selection of red grapes in his basket said, "Three-ninety-nine a pound? Maybe I shouldn't buy these..."

And he puts his hand on his grapes cautiously.

He hadn't noticed the price (or probably had no idea what the price should be) and seemed to be conducting a back-and-forth debate in his head (why didn't I keep mine in my head?) about whether it would be okay to put them back.

I didn't get involved.

Later, I saw him wheeling those grapes around in his basket, so I assumed that the people-shouldn't-put-produce-back-after-they've-put-it-in-a-bag part of him had won the debate with the thriftier no-one-should-pay-$3.99-a-pound-for-grapes part of him.

There could have been other factors involved, as well. If it was on his grocery list and that list was made by his wife, those grapes would have had to have been pretty expensive before he would have considered not getting them.

I could tell.
He was that kind of husband.
Follow the list.
Get the stuff.
No questions.
Do not think,
just follow the list.
He was definitely trained.

I wonder if his wife hit him over the head with them when he got home with what looked like $12 worth of grapes.

That was Monday.

Yesterday I went to Kroger for a pill splitter. What a contraption! I thought I'd be 85 years old before my hubby sent me to the store for a pill splitter. They had been out of pill splitters, but the pharmacy called him when they got more in this week, and I went to get it. 42 years old, that's what we are. It's not normal.

So when I walked in the door at Kroger, the very first thing I noticed was that grapes were on sale for $1.99 a pound. I said, "Oh, happy day!" and grabbed a basket because I know myself. I might have been able to walk in and buy a pill splitter and leave the store without needing a basket, but if I'm getting grapes, too, I'm going to end up with a basket full of something!

When I got to the grape section in the produce area, I found a picked-over, almost-empty table. The grapes that were left were icky. I was not the only person excited about the lower price.

I didn't want old, cheaper grapes, just cheaper grapes. I asked if there were fresh ones in the back, and sure enough, the boy brought out a wagon load of beautiful, juicy, plump cheap grapes.

It was a good thrifty Thursday.

[By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Matthew 7:16]

little boy love and weighing in.

Corey pulled up a chair next to me tonight and shared his blanket as we snuggled and I cut coupons.

It sounded so sweet until that last part, I know. But I was making my way through a mountain of newspaper inserts and he wanted to sit on me. We decided it was just as fun to sit right by each other for tonight and so he went and got his blanket and a chair, parked next to me, and spread the blanket over both of us.

When he opened up his blanket, a beanie wolf fell out and I said, "You had a stowaway!" He didn't understand, so I explained how a stowaway is someone who wants to travel but can't afford to pay for the trip so he sneaks on the boat (or plane or wagon or whatever) and rides and then sneaks away. He absolutely loved the idea of a stowaway and he told everyone who came through the room about his "ummmm......what's that word again? The one who sneaks on the boat?" He must have asked me six times. "Stowaway" is not an easy word to remember.

Oh, the cuteness.

Then he tells me how much he loves me. (I am fully aware that I just switched verb tenses and would not tolerate it in a student's paper, but it's my blog and there are no grades, and I am not fixing it.) And I tell him that I love him more than he loves me. This is a daily little conversation, but then he changes it and tells me not to love him too much. I think he's going to say I need to make sure and love Daddy and the other kids too, but he says, "You need to love God the most." So sweet.

So we talk about how we have lots of love to spread around and that God can have all our love and we still can love each other and how loving God actually gives us more love to share with each other. Then he says, "Mom. I have 280 pieces of love." And I acted like I was extremely impressed because I am pretty sure it was the biggest number he could think of.

So I wrote that part down so it wouldn't get lost forever.

Okay, the weigh-in. I weighed at the doctor's office yesterday. His scale weighed me eleven pounds heavier than the one I have at home! It was a little sad, but I happen to know that I did not gain 11 pounds in 6 hours, so I'm not going to worry about it. It is better to only pay attention to the one scale I weigh on consistently, I know.

I am already feeling so much better. It's amazing what a bunch of bacteria can do to one's health...

Tomorrow is Hair Day. Haircut and color. I am planning to take a picture before I go so I can document the white line down my head that is the roots of my hair. White. Just like my sweet dad. White. Almost completely white. I just cannot be white-haired at 42 years old. Hence, Hair Day. (I taught transition words in Writing today.)

And now, I will abruptly end this post. Thrifty Thursday tomorrow...although I won't feel very thrifty after Hair Day. Maybe I'll get all those coupons sorted. That's thrifty.

Good night!

[Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life. Proverbs 16:31]

quick ten.

1. I got an antibiotic. It is ginormous. Not exactly the thing for a girl with a really sore throat. I will expect to be feeling significantly better by tomorrow night.

2. Dayna, if you're reading this, I remembered the letters. But I bet you aren't.

3. I talked to three of my favorite scrappy people today. Tif. Kelli. Kendra.The coolest thing about the internet is the friends. Thanks, Al Gore. (I should link those girls, but I'm too tired. Just Google them.)

4. I looked all over the house because I didn't remember taking the NyQuil capsules that I got out of the box. But I can't find them anywhere and I'm about to conk out, so I guess I have my answer.

5. The card above is one I did for the Prism blog. It's one of my favorites because I love that orange and the Harlequin background stamp (from Fiskars).

6. No crazy-weird dreams tonight, please.

7. If you have been waiting for me to ship you something, I am so sorry. I just replaced the printer, so now I can print the label. Apparently going to the post office never occurred to me.

8. My 2010 calendar came today...I took pictures because the shipping box was so cute. I'll post them eventually. You have to see.

9. I did not pay almost $3 for a Rice Krispy treat in Barnes & Noble yesterday. No way. It would not be thrifty . That would be ridiculous. I wouldn't pay that much for a whole box of Rice Krispies, so of course I wouldn't buy a ridiculously overpriced Rice Krispy Treat just because I had to drive all the way to B&N and I felt terrible.

10. I did. I bought that Rice Krispy Treat for $2.95 at B&N. It was yummy.

[I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8]

how they make markers by corey k.

Here is another layout I made for the Prism blog last month. It was a challenge and I was supposed to use at least three yellows and one orange. I think I used five yellows and three oranges. The title is just me cutting out letters without drawing them out first. I don't make them like that very often, but I kind of like it. :)

(End of scrappiness for today.)
----------------------------------------

"Mom, I think I know how they make markers.
They take a crown (crayon) and put it in a thing and then they let it sit in the car. Or no, they let it sit on the beach, some place where it's real hot.
And that's how they make markers."

It was such a cute little speech.
Corey, January 22, 2010
(I inserted the punctuation because it really sounded like one long, run-on sentence.)

I know. It's Monday.
Menu-planning Monday.
Here's how it went down:
I drove a million miles to countless activities.
I decided to go get a strep test tomorrow because I still feel awful.
We had oatmeal, cereal, and pepperoni rolls for dinner.
The pepperoni rolls were from lunch - my in-laws sweetly brought them from Double Dave's.
I felt too icky to eat a pepperoni roll at all today, which is pretty darn sad.
I didn't plan any meals.
I have no plan for planning meals.
I am not modeling good meal-planning habits this week.
Sorry.

And my poor husband has this blood clot in his leg for which he is taking intense medications and giving himself injections in his stomach which have turned him purple from the bruising and he has been in constant (although finally, diminishing) pain...and I, his help meet, his lovely (in theory) doting wife...I have been moaning about my headache, sore throat, yada, yada, yada for five days. What a story. If we made it into a movie, I'd have to find someone really whiny to play me.

Oh, hey, and I ordered Beth Moore's new book from Amazon, So Long Insecurity: You've Been A Bad Friend To Us. It looks so good. (Please pretend I underlined the title of that book.)

[The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Psalm 34:10]

resurfacing.

Since I haven't posted anything scrappy since I got back on my blogging wagon, here's a layout I did for the Prism blog that was posted on January 20.

I use these colors often for my vintage (are the late 1960’s and early 1970’s considered vintage?) photos. I love this combination of Suede Browns with the Mystic blue for older photos. These rich colors are still subtle enough that they don’t overpower the slightly desaturated-looking photos I have from my early childhood.

I take multiple photos of everything my kids do (digital photography is wonderful, isn't it?), but my parents didn't have that option. So for layouts of my early years, I often have just one photo of an event (and I am very thankful to have it!) to use for a layout. Since these old photos are usually square, I like to use this square, layered frame design to highlight the photo.
(End of scrappiness for today.)
---------------------------------------------------

You can always tell when I'm starting to feel better because I wander into the kitchen and clean the countertops and bleach the sinks. My family has done has admirable job of feeding itself for two-plus days and even cleaning up afterward...but they don't wipe the counters and they leave the sinks looking spotty. I guess it's okay because it makes me feel needed. So, anyway, I just cleaned the counters and my sinks are soaking in hot, soapy, slightly bleachy water. It feels good.

My head is still stuffy. My throat still hurts. I still have a headache. But. None of it is as bad as it was. When it's time to take more ibuprofen, I'll just take it. I don't want to know how much it's helping. I just want to keep feeling better. (smile.)

So. Since nothing much has happened, I'll give a random "ten" list:
1. I love to play "Words With Friends" on my phone. If you like to play, email me and I'll give you my username so we can play a game. Sometimes I am slow and only play at red lights or when I'm waiting to pick up my kids from something, so if you play with me, plan for it to be a looooooooooooooooooong game.
2. Did you know that Bazzill Basics Paper has acquired the Prism Prismatics Cardstock? Here is a list of the colors they will be offering. It's a beautiful array of colors and I'm happy to say that they are still going to have all of my favorites! More details.
3. If I had some of the new October Afternoon "Thrift Shop" or "Go Fly a Kite" stuff, I'd be making something with it. I'm just saying.
4. I think even a sick-but-getting-better person can make Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie. Right?
5. Corey's cute quote from yesterday (he was talking to Cody and watching Revenge of the Sith) - "I wish there were sixteen Star Wars movies. But that would be impossible, wouldn't it? Luke would be old, old, old." Who could make this stuff up?
6. Doug's quote from yesterday (he was talking about his 2nd grade basketball team) - "I felt like I was talking to an ant hill."
7. Oh, my stars. Sometime during my NyQuil-induced haze this weekend, a box arrived on my doorstep, jam-packed with the new Fiskars clear stamps (I think I counted 44 sets with up to 31 stamps in each set), new inks, and Limited Edition Spring Punches. A box of cuteness, to be sure!
8. I am running out of motivation for this list.
9. Abbey Road "Whirlybird" from My Mind's Eye is sweetness itself.
10. Who ate all the sunflower seeds and left the other food in my bird feeder? I'm glad to feed whoever it is, but I want to watch.

[I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13]

why i missed my first finish-it friday of 2010.

I'm sick. A lot sick. Like my-throat-is-so-swollen-and-sore-I-don't-know-how-I'm-gonna-swallow-that-ibuprofen sick. This is why I didn't do Finish-It Friday yesterday. And I'm sure I won't do it today.

Maybe tomorrow.

Here's a "ten" list for what today is looking like:
1. Sore throat, headaches, all-over achiness, and pain.
2. Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate ice cream.
3. Ibuprofen and Extra-Strength Tylenol.
4. Cold water.
5. The Proposal. (I have been wanting to see this, but I never sit long enough to watch a whole movie, but now I don't want to move, so I'd say this is the perfect time for a movie.)
6. Chick-fil-a lemonade. (Jolie and Doug brought it to me and I didn't even request it.)
7. Sleep.
8. Catching up on my Google Reader.
9. Making a to-do list for next week.
10. Feeling a little (or a lot) better by the end of the day. (Optimism never hurts.)

[Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. Matthew 12:13]

weigh-in wednesday.

I took this picture yesterday when I was getting that quickie to-do list photo. I noticed my shadow and thought how nice and tall and straight I looked...it's almost like the carnival fun house mirror that distorts an image and makes people look tall and thin. I do enjoy that mirror.

I just weighed in for the first time since before Christmas. I was a bit nervous. To be honest with you, I cannot tell when I have gained or lost by how I feel. I think if I gained 10 or 15 pounds, I'd notice, but a few up or down is hard to notice. When I was at a healthy weight, I was pretty sensitive to fluctuations of just 2 or 3 pounds. This is probably why I gained that extra weight over the last couple of years (well, that and Doritos). I didn't weigh myself and I couldn't feel the weight coming on. I did wonder why my clothes were shrinking, though.

So. Anyway. I got on the scale and was down 3 pounds! I was thrilled because even though it's been 5 weeks since I weighed, I distinctly remember eating a few non-weight-loss-friendly things over the holidays. I didn't just pig out, though, mostly because the healthier foods make me feel so much better. It's not fun to eat junk and feel bad when I know how good eating healthful foods can make me feel.

Tomorrow morning: appointment with Doug at the coumadin clinic. I'm hoping to learn a lot about his treatment and be encouraged somehow.

The verse today is from 1 Thessalonians, which Corey pronounces "Sethalonians."

[Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 1 Thessalonians 3:7]

tackle-it tuesday.

I think today would have been more appropriately titled "Taxi Tuesday." I drove almost all day! While I was dropping Jolie off at the dance studio this morning for the class the assists in, I took a picture of my to-do list with my phone, and here it is.

I usually make the list on Monday night because Mondays are so busy with homeschool co-op, piano lessons, and dance that I don't get much accomplished besides feeding everyone, playing scrabble on my phone, and maybe some little errands between drop-offs and pick-ups. If I would make my list on Sunday night, I might be able to tackle some of the errands on Monday...hmmm, I'll work on that. Tuesday is still the day that I really feel like I can tackle all those to-do items.

The idea behind my to-do list is to write down pretty much everything I need or want to get accomplished this week in sort of a brainstorming fashion. I leave plenty of space to add to my list and I don't worry about making it pretty or neat. Sometimes if my life is really overwhelming me with activities and deadlines, I will make four sub-lists: House, School, Work (usually just creative stuff), and Project. The project category will have all the things I need to do for whatever I have overcommitted to at the moment like a working a fundraiser, teaching a class, or hosting an event at home. I'll also use that section if there's a holiday coming up and I have several things to get accomplished.

As I brainstorm, I think of things I want to do but know I won't get to this week. Those things go in a little section I call "planning mode." It's funny, but if I actually write those down somewhere, knowing full well that I will not get around to them for days or weeks, it still puts them on my "radar," and I start thinking about them and jotting down ideas as they come to me. If I don't write down the "planning mode" projects, they stay jumbled up in my head and make my thoughts more cluttered, which makes me feel less on top of things.

I will often write an estimated time next to a task because it helps me to know what I can cram in when I only have 5 or 10 minutes to get something done (this is usually the "low-hanging fruit" - tasks that are easyeasyeasy to get done and crossed off - and I wonder, "Why in the world do little tasks have be written on a list to get done??"). This also helps me because when I see "45 minutes" next to a task, it reminds me that this is not an all-day project and I can limit myself to a certain amount of time to complete it. Sometimes I think I treat myself like a child, but it does seem to work...

The other notes I make on the list are checks and initials for delegating tasks. (I love delegated tasks.) The checks help me to know that just because I haven't crossed something off, doesn't mean I am not making progress!

On Friday (Finish-it Friday!), I will look at the list and focus on finishing anything I haven't completed throughout the week. I do have to be careful not to leave too much for Friday, though.

Oh, my. Is anyone still reading this? Bless you. But I enjoyed going through this process with myself and maybe it will motivate someone else to make a list. I am thinking it might be fun to save my lists in a folder. I never have, but it might be interesting at the end of the year to look back at them. I'll look at this week and think about how it was the week we found a blood clot in Doug's leg and we were collecting things to send with Haiti disaster relief teams. It hasn't been the best week, I guess...but I am sure I'll be able to look back and say that I can see God's hand in every bit of it.

I'll share more about Doug's medical issues when we know more. Right now it's just doctor's visits and medication and self-injections and lots of pain and too much waiting. What a week. But when I look at the photos of the devastation in Haiti, I am reminded that we are so rich and our access to medical care is such an amazing blessing.

Back to the Tackle-it Tuesday list...if you decide to post yours on your blog, let me know. I want to see!

[My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:15-16]

menu plan monday.

I love when new people leave a comment on my blog because I find new people to ohh and ahhh over in Blog Land. I just added Christi Snow to my google reader. I love her cards and layouts...I think I'll be visiting her often for inspiration. (smiles)

It's pretty hard to plan meals when I don't have a calendar. No, I mean I really don't have one. I couldn't decide which one to use this year, so I have been flying by the seat of my pants so far in 2010 because I haven't been able to commit to a calendar. It hasn't been pretty. We've missed some stuff. That's embarrassing for me, disappointing for the child whose event was missed, and just silly because I just needed to have my life on a calendar where it belongs so I don't miss stuff.

I'm printing out a blank calendar this very moment from WinCalendar so I'll have something to work with until the calendar I ordered (um, will order) arrives. The one I am finally committing to is the same calendar I used last year from Erin Condrin. I loved it so much, but it's not the cheapest one around, so I thought I'd get something different for 2010 (different = less expensive). I got a little money for Christmas from someone who wanted to get me a purse but didn't know how to pick one out for me. Now she has gotten me a calendar instead. (smile)

I need to plan meals whether I have a calendar or not, so here's my attempt. I may have to make changes based on evening activities, but I think it will work out fine and it's definitely better than nothing. Eventually, I'd like to plug breakfast in, but for now, I'm going with this:

Monday
Lunch(between piano and Latin in car) pigs in a blanket, juice, spinach, and fruit)
Dinner - Crock Pot Chicken w/potatoes, carrots, green beans; Bread

Tuesday
Lunch - Soup, salad, crackers, fruit
Dinner - Lasagna, etc.

Wednesday
Lunch - Mac n Cheese, salad
Dinner - Church Dinner? (Possibly take sandwich stuff)

Thursday
Lunch - Breakfast for Lunch :)
Dinner - Chicken Tortellini Casserole, salad


Friday
Lunch - Homemade Cheese Pizza (kids), Veg soup (me)
Dinner -

Saturday
Lunch -
Dinner -

Sunday
Lunch -
Dinner -

Aaaaaaaargh!! I am stumped. No wonder dinnertime is such a mess. I can't think of what to cook.

[So heap on the wood and kindle the fire. Cook the meat well, mixing in the spices; and let the bones be charred. Ezekiel 24:10]