Funky Finds: Coming Together... Sorta

I went and picked up hangers, dress forms and a few other items Monday at American Fixture store in Dallas and ordered the dress form I really wanted that was not in stock. Thursday my dress form arrived and I am very happy with it! Saturday morning we had an Etsy Fort Worth Meeting to wrap up any loose ends for the Funky Finds. That afternoon I picked up my table, I got a six foot table that will be used for my machines when the FF is over. All was going well and falling into place until I woke up around 3:00 am Sunday morning with tons of stuff racing in my head: accepting credit cards, accepting checks, how much change do I need, what about my business cards, I still need more stock, what about walls, the tablecloth still needs made and yes, I DID still need a sign.

I crawled out of bed quietly and went into my studio and tried to figure some stuff out. I made of list of the items I most want to get made and included color and sizes, I decided no checks, credit cards I am checking with my bank today to see what they offer. I thought about paypal but they do not offer a credit card scanner and I am not sure about writing down all the info and then entering it in later. I looked at my business card again and made a few more changes and now feel ready to get them printed today, I should be able to get same day service if not Wednesday at the latest. Around 8:00 Sunday morning I came up with a great idea for a sign and it is almost done! I am so excited about it!!!! It will be reusable if I decided to do more shows later and can be changed quickly plus it is making use of a frame I have had sitting in the laundry room for years. I got part of the inspiration from a fellow Etsy Fort Worth Member, Original Youth.

Some of the things in my set-up needed some minor repairs and I needed to buy some "stuff" for my sign so off to Home-Depot we went. The next few hours were spent off and on working on my display and sign then the after a much needed nap I got to sewing again. I finished 22 headbands and one dress and bloomers set. I got 5 bonnets and 10 aprons half done before Ray convinced me to take a break and watch Monk on DVD with him. By 11:00 pm I was more than ready to fall asleep. I am not sure if it was just being physically tired or having some things finished but I slept pretty well and feel much calmer today. I am ready for a great week!

Daily Bread

If you enjoy making bread and are looking for new recipes or want to start making bread be sure to stop by my other blog. This week I will be featuring a new bread recipe everyday. I just added day two, Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread

Self-Employed: Not For the Faint at Heart

I am sorry I have avoided this blog and my other one. We have just had so much going on here at home I have not had the time or energy to put together much.

My husband like myself is self-employed and with the economy lately that has had more downs than ups. In November he went six weeks without work and then for the last four he has not had any work. We have gone round and round about what to do and tried to have faith that God was in control, and He is, but it still has been tough!

We finally made the decision he would look for regular work with a company and at the same time if any jobs came up he would do those. I know the idea of giving up his company was not easy for my husband and I am thankful he is willing to do so. He has had some interviews, all promising to let him know something in the coming weeks. He does have a job that will take 4-6 weeks starting Monday and we hope that by the time it ends someone will call him about full time work.

I can tell you that over the last 6 years that we have both been self-employed off and on I have learned somethings that I think can make a big difference for any self-employed person. In no particular order here are my top tips:

1. Have a good support group. When things get hard this will make all the difference. For me it is God, my family and friends.
2. Save money during the times of plenty and do not touch it.
3. Check out Dave Ramsey! Paying our house off a little over a year ago has made a HUGE difference for us along with his other principles.
4. Live within your means; I honestly believe you should live far below them but within them at the very least.
5. If you use a credit card pay it off every month. You never know what the next month may bring. I think a debit card is best but I know that is not always practical.
6. Keep good records
7. Keep your personal and business money separate
8. Keep up with your taxes, Keep up with your taxes, keep up with your taxes!
9. Network and get your name out there.
10. Do not let your business take over your life, you need to make time for your family and for yourself
11. Believe in yourself and do not give up
12. Know when to walk away. I know this may seem like it contradicts number 11 but there does come a time when you know you have to do something else. It may not be for financial reasons but you need to know how to recognize it and even have somethings already written down as signs for you.



I have written a little more about what is going on from a more emotional view point on my other blog if you are interested.

A little Behind

I know I promised some post on marketing and have yet to deliver them but right now we have some stuff going on that needs my attention. I hope things will resolve quickly and I can get back to posting and other things.

For those of you who read blog and pray we would appreciate your prayers.

Cat Attack

No this not a formal post more of a blurb or unloading of sorts.

You see I had some great quotes marked in a book to share in a post and a few minutes ago when I went and grabbed the book from my nightstand I found all the little post it flags out of the book and on the floor with kitty teeth marks on them!

Can I scream? Silly me for thinking I could leave a book out. All too often I forget that she thinks the entire house and all the contents in it belong to her.

Fireplace Drama

Well I woke up Saturday morning and the house felt cold but I figured it was just because it was cold outside so I turned the thermostat up and went about my morning routine. A few hours later Ray mentioned being cold and then Scott said that he had not heard the heater turn on lately. Thermostat read 65 degrees despite being set to run until 70 degrees. I turned it off and then back on, nothing. Being the great heater repairman I am I announced that heater was just tired and probably needed a break. Scott quickly informed me that they do not work that way and that we would need to call our repair service.

I call them up only to find out it will be mid afternoon before anyone can get to us. I decided the best thing to do would be to go about my morning just knowing that by early evening all would be fine.

I tried to sew Saturday morning while we waited but my hands just could not function with the house now at 55 degrees. He arrived around 1:00 or so and told us the blower motor had gone out but he had the part on his truck, yeah!!! He starts putting it in and finds that another part was also damaged and it was not in stock and could not be gotten until Monday, yuck!

Thankfully we have a fireplace so we all spent the day pretty much piled out in the front room by it. That night we slept out there and around 1:45 am a log rolled out of the fireplace and landed on Vincents blanket. We heard it rolling and within seconds I was yelling and Vincent was jumping up. He was fine and other than a small mess of embers to clean up nothing happened to anyone or anything. I have to tell you though after that I had a very hard time going back to sleep!

Sunday morning the house was 5o degrees and we were all cold, achy and tired. We stayed home from church in order to keep the fire going in the fireplace, we were worried about the house getting colder and the pipes freezing plus we were all just too achy to do much. The one thing that still causes my back to ache is the cold.

My mom did bring us two little portable heaters Sunday afternoon that she uses when she goes camping and they made Sunday night much more comfortable. However Sunday night would not be without incident either. Scott and I made Vincent sleep further away from the fireplace, put smaller logs in the fireplace and then off to sleep we all went. I am not sure what time it was but I heard Scott put another log on and then heard him sweeping the hearth like he always does when he puts one it. Well I guess he hit an ember and did not notice it; he hung the little broom back up and laid back down. He said he kept smelling something burning but thought it was just the wood and knowing he had to work today kept trying to fall back to sleep. Suddenly I heard him jump up and I noticed that smoke was pouring out of the broom, he had caught it on fire! Praise God again other that needing a new broom nothing was damaged and no one got hurt!

I could hardly wait for the repair man to arrive today! Our house is now warm and toasty, no fire in the fireplace to worry about and we will all be able to snuggle into our beds and get a good nights sleep!

Away For a Short Time

I will be on a short unavoidable blogging break.

This last week has been busy trying to get the new bedroom and sewing studio in order and then this morning our heater broke down and the part will not be in until Monday. My computer is located in the coldest room of our house so I will probably not be on until Monday afternoon.

Never fear though I am getting ready to go sit by the fireplace with our laptop and work on some post however it does not have wifi and we took the connection port out of the front room last week because I said it was not needed. Alas I will type and dream of being online.

Have a great rest of your week-end!

God Provides for the Need

Our former preacher once told us God always provides for the need before we even know the need. When he first said that I truly doubted it but over the last few years I have come to believe it and even count on it!

You know you get a rebate check or your insurance goes down and you get excited, who doesn't like extra money? Then a few weeks later your cars needs a new battery. Your upset and wondering why God is not providing; well he did a few weeks back when you got the rebate check. One that we often have is I get lots of sewing orders but then work slows down for Scott. My extra orders even out his missed work or I find lots of great deals on groceries and toiletries allowing us to reduce or grocery bill or stock up for the leaner times. The week before Christmas Scott got overtime that covered the two days he did not work over the holiday. God is always watching out for us!

Well a few weeks back our kitten jumped over a candle and singed some of her leg fur. It did not do any skin damage, not even any redness so I did not worry about it. Then over the last few days we have noticed more and more fur falling off. I got worried because she goes outside thinking that maybe she had picked something up, my biggest fear was mange! Of course I knew that was unlikely because she still has no redness and no sores, just hair loss but who wants to take chances like that?

So I went to bed praying last night that she would be ok and asking God to provide for the cost of the vet and that it would be nothing serious. Around 3:00 this morning God answered part of my prayer, I woke up and remembered that I had seen this free pet exam offer. I instantly started thanking God; you see he had me stumble across that knowing Izzy would need to go to the vet today. He met a very real and serious need before I even knew it existed! Then when we took her to the vet she told us that Izzy was just stressing out over the incident and her licking the area is what was causing the hair to fall out. She gave her some medication to help calm her and keep her from licking and wants to see her back in 2 weeks just to make sure the fur is growing back. There was the rest of my prayer, she was fine just a little stressed! I know to some a sick pet is nothing but our pets are part of our family and God knows my love for them and need to take care of them.

You see God is a God that delights in meeting our genuine needs and answering our prayers. He loves his children and wants to provide for them! One thing that helped me see this in a very real way over the last year is a blessings journal, I kept a little notebook and every time I saw God provide for a need I tried to write it down. It gave me a real and tangible way to see how he met our needs. Without writing them down it is easy, at least for me, to forget all the great things he does on a daily basis for us.

My goal this year is to keep the notebook out and on my desk and try to write in it daily. How do you keep track of all the great things God has done for you?

Last Week of the Year

Can you believe this is the last week of the month and of the year? Where did 2009 go?

I hope each of you had a great Christmas, I know we did. I got to talk to Sydney late that night and had to cut it short because of phone issues but I got to talk to her and that was wonderful. The boys liked everything they got, we had a yummy dinner and enjoyed watching some new movies that Ray got Scott for Christmas. I even got to spend several hours with mom!

So.... any plans yet for the new year? I have some exciting things coming up that I will be sharing with you in the coming weeks that I hope you will all enjoy.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from The Smith Family

My Grandma

This spring my grandmother passed away and my mom mentioned she did not have any pictures of her mom other than snap shots. While we were in Ohio for the funeral I got to make a collage for the memorial service. We pulled out lots of photos from a trunk and as we did I took pictures of them.

When I got home I decided to work on some for my mom. I got some lace from some things of my grandmas and a silk scarf of her to use for the mat. I cropped the picture and tried my best to get rid of some stains that were on it, all in all I think it came out great and I am sure my mom will love it.


I did not get a picture of it once it was mounted on the scarf and framed before wrapping it but I think you can get an idea from the above picture. If I think about it tomorrow I will take a picture of it when she opens it.

Have a safe and happy Christmas Eve.

We Have Snow

I am so very excited, this afternoon it started snowing and it is actually sticking. The boys went out in it for a few minutes as did the dog. Izzy our cat stayed far from the door!

I ran to the grocery store this morning for some last minute items and then this afternoon before it got icky we went to Whataburger and enjoyed using our free whataburger coupons.

I finish up my last two gifts today and am ready for a break from sewing and crafting.

Christmas Tree

A Christmas Tree

One little star at the top of the tree
Two little presents underneath for me
Three silver ropes twisted around the tree
Four colored lights shining prettily
Five shining lights flowing silvery
Oh, what a sight for us to see!

Moms Are Heroes

My daughter shared this with me this morning. I have tried several time to get the video to show up but I not working so you will need to either click the link or copy and paste it into your browser.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CeEEMRQjW8


I will warn you it is very touching and with my daughter just leaving for college it made me cry!

Great Works

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.

Quote by Samule Johnson 1709-1784

Work Hard Play Hard

We had a great week-end and got lots done!

Scott and the boys played on their pc's together and then went out and started cutting down a big tree in the back yard. They worked hard for several hours and that area looks much better now. I think it will open up lots of sunshine for the grass and for my clothesline.

I finished up all but three orders that have to go out by 5:00 pm tomorrow so I will be up late tonight and early tomorrow. I have taken lots of pictures of my work lately and hope to make time to get them off the camera this week and on here.

Church was great and when I got home Sydney called me!

The dog got a bath and I made a big batch of soup that despite how it looked was very yummy.

I could not have asked for a better week-end; well having my girl home would have just made it perfect but I will see her this spring and till then I have to be content.

Virus

So much for my grand plans for the December daily. My computer had been acting weird but neither Norton or spybot found anything so I figured it was a hardware issue and kept using it. Then on Wednesday morning while using it my screen turned bright lime green and flashed I had a virus in purple lettering. Instead of running Norton I unplugged my network cable and restarted it. Much to my dismay every time I entered my log in info it would act like it was going to load and then take me back to the screen to enter my log in name and password again. I tied for hours to get into it but nothing worked.

After much frustration and even a little crying I called my husband to hear what I knew was the only option: FORMAT. I hated the thought because despite having a server I am very bad about backing my stuff up and I lost a lot! Pictures, tax files, my website, legal documents, scrapbook stuff, e-books the list goes on and on. My biggest fear was I had lost my photos from our recent trip to Ohio and the ones I took of Syd and the boys right before she left. I had scanned a bunch of photos from my grandmas childhood and my moms and the thought of loosing those made me sick. I debated on rather or not to even go to church that night. I just wanted to be alone to sulk. The boys came in and knew how upset I was, they instantly went to work making me laugh and trying not to think about my loss.

When Scott came home he got to work on my pc and we headed to church. He stayed home from church because he had gone into work at 4:45 am and worked until 3:00 pm. He set the OS to install and then went to bed; by the time the boys and I got home he had it formatted and almost everything reinstalled.

I went to bed that night still upset over the loss of so much but in the middle of the night I remembered making a cd of my grandmas pictures and of the ones with Syd and the boys. I was so excited I could hardly wait to jump out of bed and make sure. When I did get up I got the disc loaded it onto my pc and then the server. Seriously, I have backed up to the server nightly what ever I have worked on that day. I still have a lot more to go and do not even want to think about reentering all the receipts and business stuff for taxes but a little at at a time and it will get caught back up.

Ready For 2010

I went to Office Max today and picked up my 2010 day planner. Normally I get refills for my Day Timmer but this year I wanted to go with something that was thinner, would fit in my purse but still have nice big squares to write in and look cute.


I probably spent 30 minutes looking through the different styles but I kept coming back to this one. I love the black and white design; feminine but not flashy.

It opens flat and has nice easy to flip pages, a notes section, contacts and dates to remember.







The other must I had decided on was that I wanted monthly and weekly calendars. It is nice at the start of the month to glance ahead and have an idea of what is coming up including birthday's and such.





My favorite part is each days squares are 2" X 4". Plenty of room for lots of details and to accommodate my big messy handwriting!

I have already started filling in appointments, birthdays and craft shows! I think this is the most excited I have been about my calendar in a long time. Weird what age will do to ya.



As for my schedule I got my coupons done, bills sorted, and invoices started. I am pretty behind in logging receipts into my spreadsheet for taxes but once I get going it will go pretty fast. I also managed to finish an order, grade some school work, pot some plants, straighthen up my bedroom and give the dog and cat their flea treatment. They were none too pleased.

Tommorow I am going to work on grading more school work, take the boys to the library and work on receipts a little more.

The Secret Of Getting Ahead

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret to getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming task into small manageable task, and then starting the first one

Mark Twain

Getting Myself In Order

I thought I was getting caught up on sewing orders but I got a few more yesterday. I enjoy sewing and seeing my shop grow but I do wish I had a little more time to make some things for my family. I got a couple of cute skirt patterns a few months ago and some fabric but still have not found time to even cut out the pattern. I had also wanted to make bean bags for the boys before Christmas and finish up Sydney's quilt but I do not see it happening unless I figure out how to clone myself.

I just can not get it all done with the way I have things set up right now.
Over the past few months I have misplaced some of the same items multiple times, forgot appointments or gotten myself so over committed I could barely keep up. I kept telling myself next week, next month then finally it was at the start of the new year I would do something about it but it has become painfully clear that the time is NOW.

After I got home from a meeting this afternoon I spent most of the day cleaning my sewing/craft room and getting it organized. Tomorrow after church I plan of working on bills and invoices and then Monday I am going to get my planner cleaned up and set goals and a schedule for myself.

When I was working outside the house I kept a very detailed calendar and had everything planned out including laundry days. I know some may think that is crazy but it worked for me. Even when I first started working from home I used Flylady and kept things pretty structured and planned with a little wiggle room but not too much.

I honestly have no idea how or when I got so "fly by the seat of my pants" but I do not like it! I think when my back really started acting up the end of last year early this year was when my schedule went out the window. I mean really you do not have to plan out and schedule staying flat on your back. Then once it was healing after the surgery we had so many things take place that I did not feel like I could plan anything. Every time I turned around we were in the middle of something else. Anyways no matter how or why I let it get to this point I am done. I NEED STRUCTURE! I am not going to fight it or be embarrassed it is who I am and how God made me to function best.

I do feel very fortunate because the house is clean, the pantry and freezer are stocked and aside from a load of jeans laundry is caught up. The major thing for me will be setting some boundaries for work, reevaluating our daily schedule and then getting back into a daily routine.

To be honest I was feeling overwhelmed but as I typed this I began to get excited and am looking forward to not feeling frazzled! It can be very liberating to accept your limitations and work inside the boundaries so to speak that God gave YOU to function best in.

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalm 139:14

Call a Doctor My PC is Sick

I am going to try to get this to post but who knows if it will.

My pc is sick and I have no idea what is wrong with it. I am lagging soo bad, nothing loads right, pages time out and overall I fear my pc is dying.

I have ran Norton, ran updates, made sure I have plenty of room on my hard drive other than throwing it out the front door I am not sure what I am going to do with it.

I need it for e-mail and website work and do not have time to be without one. I am backing up my files with a lot more regularity to our server and I even made Cd's of all my pictures and word type files. I can just see me loosing all our IRS stuff.; not a pretty thought.

A Christmas Poem: As a Baby Jesus Came

As A Baby Jesus Came

As a baby Jesus came

From His home above

He left His throne and who He was

To teach us how to love

As a baby Jesus came

Wrapped in swaddling cloth

Willingly took on humanity

Though He was one with God

As a baby Jesus came

To one day grow to be

The saviour of the human race

People like you and me

As a baby Jesus came

As God’s eternal light

That will never be extinguished

But forever shine out bright

As a baby Jesus came

The hope of eternal life

Reconciling us back to God

Giving meaning to our lives

As a man Jesus died

his blood poured out for all

Cleansing and forgiving us

For to this He was called

We thank Him that He came a babe

And grew to be a man

And for His sacrificial love

His nailed scarred feet and hands

Through it all we can live on

With Jesus Christ our Lord

The babe that came that first Christmas

Is what we thank Him for

© By M.S.Lowndes

Wrapping Gifts and Not Enjoying it!

I usually enjoy wrapping gifts but today as I wrapped up Sydney's and started putting them in her box I honestly felt sick. I love sending her boxes but the idea that these were her Christmas gifts and that I would not be able to see her open them made my heart sink. I am hoping that the friends she spends the day with will take some pictures so that I can see her open them.

I knew her going away for college was going to be hard but I had no idea how hard it would hit me at the most unexpected times.

I will say that despite how much I miss her I am very proud of her! I knew she would do good and that God would take care of her but watching it actually unfold is incredible. My mom used to say you will understand when you have kids all the time and she was right. The feelings that my children invoke are like no other. I feel so humbled that God let me to be their momma.

Silent Night

I had this set to post yesterday but for reason it did not work.

My brother was born totally deaf and the very first song I remember learning to sign was Silent Night. Our Sunday School class was going caroling so my mom taught everyone to sign Silent Night and Jesus Loves me so that Jon could sing along too. I can still see her signing with him snuggled up against her shyly.

Silent Night

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon Virgin Mother and Child

Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ, the Saviour is born

Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, love's pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth "

December Daily Day 3

Catchy title huh? I am sorry not be more creative but right now all my creativity is going into craft stuff. Even my meals are a little boring right now; tonight is hot dogs and Fry's.

Today was another cold day. Tomorrow we have a chance of a light dusting of snow but this is Texas so who knows. The pipes are wrapped, plants brought in and everything is out of the garden for the most part.

For today post I thought I would share of my favorite craft & scrap booking sites and a few noteworthy projects I have found.

The first is one I am planning to make is with/for my Wed. night kids at church. It is a nativity scene from Denise's scrap booking room using Sure cuts a lot and the cricut expression. I plan to enlarge it and put it on one of the walls.

Next is from one of my favorite places for SVG's: SVG Cuts This year I am giving lots of gift cards for Christmas so this gift card holder is perfect!

Last but not least is Bella the pirate from My Scrap chick. Sydney is attending Park University and they are The Pirates so she and I thought this would make a cute dorm door decoration. When you buy a design from My Scrap Chick it comes in several forms so you can print it or cut it out with a variety of programs or on different cutting machines. She even has a Freebie Friday you can sign up for!

December Daily Day 2

This morning we woke up to big fluffy snow flakes. Of course this is Texas so they fell to the ground and melted but they were pretty coming down.

We spent the day hanging around the house until it was time for church. The boys played on their computers and did school while I sewed, trying to catch up on orders. Sometimes I think I will never catch up.

Tonight at church we only had three kids in our class but it was still lots of fun! We started our Jesse tree and the kids seemed to enjoy the idea of coloring it and then slowly decorating it each week.

Instead of using a regular Christmas tree we are using a three foot drawing that the kids colored in. The room I am in is used for other activities so I felt like a drawing would get the point across, give them something to color and of course not take up nearly as much room as a real tree would. The ornaments we are using are from here. If you are not familiar with the concept of a Jesse tree you can read more about it here or of course just google it! I forgot to take my camera with me to get pictures of it hanging but I will try to remember to get some next week to share with you all. Overall the concept is to hang an ornament daily or in our classes case seven each week to represent events leading up to the birth of Christ. Tonight we only hung two since today is the second of December. We hung a world representing creation and we hung a serpent with an apple to represent the fall of man.

Next week we are going to work on our tree some more and make hand prints in plaster for them to give their parents for Christmas. It is messy but the kids like it and it gives the parents something they can cherish for a long time.

December is Here!

I can hardly believe it is already December; this year has flown right by! I hope each of you had a great Thanksgiving. Ours way different this year but still fun.

This was my first Thanksgiving with out my grandma and this was Sydney's first Thanksgiving away from home. I did much better than I thought I would, I woke up and cried some especially when it hit me I could not call my grandma like I do every year.

I talked to Sydney a couple of times, once in the morning and then again in the evening. She went to some friend’s house and for the first time in about 10 years she did not help cook on Thanksgiving Day. I am so thankful to all her friend's that so lovingly have her over to their homes and allow her to be part of their "family".

This year Ray cooked the pie and Vince and he helped with the side dishes making the day cooking much easier on me! Ray is really turning into a pretty good cook!

On Friday we went out to Brazos de Dios and spent the afternoon looking around and getting more ideas for our garden. The day was beautiful and it was fun just to walk around and see the crafts and sample the food. Ray did mention several times that we do or have done much of the stuff at our own home which made me laugh. I guess we are weird I really should have been born about 100 years ago. For instance, we home school, bake our bread, garden, collect rain water for the garden, have had chicks (for about a week or so), have dipped candles, ground wheat, made butter, tried to make cheese, make quilts or at least try to, sew clothing, dehydrate our herbs and can vegetableles, beans and soup. Of course we have never raised a barn or kept bees but who knows what the future holds :)


There my first post in the December daily! I hope to share our Jesse Tree with you tomorrow and a few of the things I have been working on. For now I need to go and clean up my sewing room and try to catch up on grading some school work

December Daily

Susan, at By Grace is hosting a December daily again this year. Last year I was too chicken to try it but I am going to give it a whirl this year; especially since she said posting a photo counts!

If you have never read Susan's blog you have got to get over there! I know Susan from our former church and she is just as loving, gracious and Godly in real life as she is on her blog.

Cricut Items

I am so excited! We now have a selection of Provocraft items listed on our website including the new Gypsy!

I have had so much fun with my Expression, the few carts I have and Sure Cuts A Lot. The one big downside is that it can get expensive and sales are few and far between. With that in mind when I did my pricing I tried very hard to keep my prices low and right now shipping is free on all orders over $200.

We do have lots of cartridges, most for under $30 but the page is not working. If you need those send me an e-mail and I will get you a price quote.

So... if you need some Christmas gifts for family, friends or yourself head on over and get your shopping done early.

We also have modest clothing, dress up clothes, kitchen items and American Girl books and crafts.

Menu Plan Monday 11-8-09

I have spent the last few weeks making double batches of most of our meals to stock up the freezer and plan to do that with the Hawaiian chicken, calico chili and enchiladas this week. It is so nice when we have something come up to be able to relax about meals because of my menu or because I know I can grab something from the freezer.

Monday- Hawaiian Chicken, scalloped potatoes and corn

Tuesday- Tacos, Spanish rice and beans I am making a triple batch of rice to freeze and for Saturday. The beef is already cooked and seasoned in the freezer.

Wednesday- Calico Chili and rolls (in crock-pot)

Thursday- Quick Lemon pasta, tossed salad and French bread The chicken is already cooked, seasoned and in the freezer

Friday- Three pepper pork chops, mashed potatoes and green beans (skipping pizza this week, not sure how that will be received)

Saturday- Enchiladas (beef and chicken) and Spanish rice

Sunday- TBA


Three Pepper Pork Cutlets
1 pound pork tenderloin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried whole thyme
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried whole oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 large garlic cloves

1.Trim fat from pork. Cut pork crosswise into 8 slices.
2.Place between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten each slice to 1/4" thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin.
3.Combine paprika and next 9 ingredients; stir well. Rub pork with paprika mixture.
4.Place on a rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a shallow roasting pan.
5.Broil 5 inches from heat for 5 minutes. Turn pork over, and broil and additional 4 minutes or until done.

Want to find more menu plans and recipes? Visit Organizing Junkie

Black Bean Soup

Tonight we are having one of my favorite soups! Black bean soup with warm tortillas! The recipe comes from one of Rachel Ray's first cook books and although I am not a big fan of most of her stuff this soup is simple, tasty and cheap to make.

The recipe calls for serving it with tortilla chips but we always serve it topped with a little cheese and warm tortillas.

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 dried bay leaf
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped I use either green chillies or bell peppers
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 celery ribs with greens, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 15 oz cans black beans I use homemade black beans
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
salt and pepper 1 qt chicken stock
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

Directions
Heat pot on medium high and add extra virgin olive oil
Add bay leaf, jalapenos, garlic, celery and onions. Cook 3-4 minutes
Drain 2 cans of black beans and add.
With 3rd can pour in juice and half of beans
Mash up remaining beans then stir into pot.
Season with cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and 2-3 tbsp hot sauce.
Add the chicken stock and tomatoes, then bring to a bubble
Reduce the heat and simmer on low 15 minutes
Top with crushed tortilla chips if desired!

Free Digital Scrapbooking Kit

I was digging around on Creating Keepsakes blog and found this cool kit. You can download it here. It is called echoes of Asia and the papers are very beautiful and could be used in a lot of different ways maybe even for some cute cards or stationary.

While your on the site be sure to look around, they have lots of free downloads!

French Stew Recipe

We made French stew again last night and as always it was great. The recipe came from a favorite cookbook: Once a Month Cooking. This recipe is so easy because for the most part you chop it all up, put in the pan and forget about it!

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 (2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup white wine you can substitute it for water or broth
2 cups chopped carrot
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
16 ounces of peas canned or frozen
8.5 ounces of green beans canned or frozen
1/2 cup less-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes (we left those out last night)
1 bay leaf

Preparation
Preheat oven to 300°.
Heat oil in a small Dutch oven over low heat. Add garlic; cook 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add beef to pan; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add garlic, beef, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
Cover and bake at 300° for 2 1/2-3 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve with fresh French bread.

Note: To make in a slow cooker, prepare through Step 2. Place beef mixture in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.

One Month and Counting

Sydney left for college a little over a month ago. This month has seen lots of tears for me but surprisingly lots of laughter and smiles too!

The day I left her there in Missouri or misery as the boys and I call it was truly one of the hardest days of my life. I am crying now just thinking back on it. Feeling her cling to me as we hugged bye was so very hard, I truly did not want to leave! I have no idea how I managed to drive all the way home.

I cried a lot the first few days, everything reminded me of her and the fact that she was not here. The first church service without her was incredibly hard despite the fact that a week had passed. We sang it is well and as soon as we got to this part: When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul. I thought of my sorrow but I also thought of all the grace, love and compassion the Lord have given me the past week, all I could do was stand there singing and crying. Luckily we sit in the front so I do not think many people noticed. Of course about the time I got myself together the special that week was by a large group of the churches young ladies. There I went again. I kept thinking of how much I wanted Sydney to be there, I love to hear her sing!

As the month has passed things have gotten easier, I still walk by her room and half expect to see her but I do not burst into tears! I can shop at Joann's and can actual handle when someone ask when I will get to see her again. We are very blessed to have great cell phone plans so we talk almost daily and use face book and e-mail also to keep in touch. I do wish she would post more pictures but I am pretty bad about getting our camera out too. I am having fun putting together boxes for her and try to send one weekly.

Someone asked what the hardest part of her being gone is and I would have to say aside from just not having her here it is not being able to take care of her. She got sick a few weeks ago and it was horrible not being able to help her. Each time she called and I would hear her cough I wanted to load up the truck and go take care of her! Then today when she and said her car battery was dead and she had a flat tire I hated knowing that I was here and she was there. I offered some advice over the phone mainly do not panic first you need to find out what is wrong. Like most of us when our car breaks down we start seeing $$$ and worry often before we know what is wrong. She called student services they helped her with the battery and tire. She was able to get to a tire shop and only needed a plug in the tire that had gone flat but the mechanic found that one of her other tires was badly damaged and he could not believe that it had not blown on her. He did not have a tire that would fit so he checked her spare and found that it was a full size tire and put it on for her and fixed the piece of metal that had caused the damage to the other tire. There you go without me she handled it and was able to get all taken care of. What a great God! It is such a blessing to watch her mature and rely on God in a way that cannot happen when mom keeps stepping in and fixing everything, not to say that it is easy because it is not.

Well this has gotten longer and longer so I am going to just close it with what has helped me the most: "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7, KJV

Happy Labor Day

I hope each of you has a great day and enjoys the extra day off. Our family does not have much planned. The boys have the day off from school and will probably hang out on the computers after chores are done, Scott is going to the church to work with another person in the sound booth and I am going to start some laundry, sew and clean up my patterns some more. Somehow they always seem to get mixed up.

Later today we are going to watch a movie and then I may challenge the boys at a game of Risk, the game I love to hate!

Sydney has been sick but sounded better last night when I talked to her. Of course she has the day off from school and Monday is her normal day off from work so she said she planned on sleeping in and trying to rest today.

However you plan to spend the day today enjoy it with the ones you love!

Button Button Who's Got the Button

Like most people who sew or craft I have a stash of buttons, ones that fell off clothes, came with clothes and many that I bought because they were just to cute and I knew I could use them on something. I still have some little animal shaped ones I bought when Sydney was about 7 or 8. I also have a jar of buttons that is filled with dainty antique buttons that I will probably never use but love looking at.

I got to thinking about all these button a few days ago when I was at Joann's picking up some fabric. While at the cutting counter a lady was discussing how she wished making buttonholes was not so hard, then maybe she would actually sew more and wear the things she made. She said her machine had a setting for it but no matter what she did they came out just awful. As she spoke I thought back to the many times I thought the same thing. When Sydney was little I made her a dress, I think it was her 6th birthday, I got so frustrated trying to do buttonholes by hand, my machine did not do them, I sewed on snaps then placed a button on top to hide it. I am so ashamed to admit that but that's where I was.

My current machine does have a buttonhole feature and after some practice I learnt how to use it and now days I hardly think twice about making them. They do not always come out perfect but I am not ashamed to have someone look closely at them either. One of the best resources I found on making them was this pdf from You Can Make This. It is a free e-book from their site that includes lots of tips and some practice sheets and lots of pictures.

Don't let something as small as a buttonhole keep you from creating beautiful clothing!

Ladies Devotional

The September devotional is up on the Fairpark website. It is entitled A Cup of Cold Water. I think that it has a great message for all women but especially to wives and moms.

Also the study sheets that go along with our monthly meeting are now available on the site here. I think it is wonderful of Mrs. Hymer to provide these study sheets to us so that we may be better prepared for the lesson. Having them on the website will allow us to print them even if we miss a meeting or miss place ours.

Happy Birthday

Yesterday was Vincent's 14th Birthday! This post was scheduled to go then up but for some reason did not.

Happy birthday to my youngest, Vincent! Vincent is a wonderful son and brings such joy to the family. He almost always has a smile on his face and a joke to tell.

Vincent plays the violin and enjoys online gaming. He also enjoys watching YouTube videos of Charlie the unicorn and then quotes them to us, all the time. He remembers almost everything he hears even the most random stuff that most of us do not even notice.

Vincent is very compassionate and has always desired to please his family.

I am very grateful that the Lord has allowed me to be his mom!

Happy Birthday Vincent, I love you!!

Getting Ready For School

It is that time again, I have two weeks to finish up lesson plans and make sure everything is ready for the new school year for my boys.

We are using a hodgepodge of things again this year but mainly Sonlight for literature and history, Bob Jones for Bible, English and science and then this year instead of using Bob Jones for math we are using some Dvd's I found. The teacher is a math professor, he is very direct in his teaching and Ray prefers that. He seems very bothered when he feels his time is being wasted. Mavis Beacon for typing and some sign language DVD's for their foreign language.

We will also be doing lots of SAT prep with Ray this year, an area I failed to help Sydney with enough. She did fine on the test but I think if we had practiced more earlier and even let her take it a few times she would have felt more relaxed about it. None the less she did fine and is in college.

I stocked up on school supplies the last few months every time CVS had things "free" after ECB's. I do not think they will need anything else for the year except for a scientific calculator, Sydney took the only one we had with her.

One thing Ray especially is excited about is playing sandlot softball this year. They start this coming Friday and I think it is going to be lots of fun and give him a place to use up some of that energy he seems to always have.

Vincent will start violin up for the 6th year again next Monday and he is ready. He has been working on something his teacher gave him all summer and he thinks he has it down.

As for me I am ready to get going and excited to see what this new school year holds!

Back Home

We are back home from taking Sydney to school, we got home Sunday night around 11:00. I was so exhausted both physically and mentally! All day Monday I was pretty useless and cried at the drop of a hat, the last two days have been better.

Going to church tonight without her was very strange and as I saw her friends pass by I wanted to cry but managed not to. I am very thankful to everyone who has prayed for us and offered me encouragement, it has helped.

Syd and I get to talk several times a day and she seems to be doing well. Her biggest obstacle seems to be learning her away around town.

She was able to transfer to a Joann's fabric store there and will start work on Tuesday and for that we are very thankful. Also classes start on Monday so this coming week will be a very busy week for her as she gets settle into her new schedule.

I plan to start school with the boys August 31which is a little later than normal for us but I need the time to work on lesson plans and getting the rest of their stuff ready.

Quilt Pictures

I really did plan on putting these up sooner but Sydney has been taking her camera every where trying to get last minute photos with friends. So without further ado here are some of the pictures we have taken.

Squares Cut

You can see more here.

Quilt Pictures coming

Well first let me say it is not done and probably will not be done by Saturday when we leave but I will get some pictures of what is done up later tonight. Problem is we took the pictures on Syds camera and I have no idea where her cord is and we use different usb cables and cards in our cameras. Not to mention she often has her camera with her.

Quick Update

I am here and trying to find time to blog and such but to be honest I am trying to spend as much time as I can with Sydney before she leaves. We are having fun and trying to get everything ready but despite starting early we both feel as though we will not get it all done.

We packed up almost all the rest of her stuff tonight and I have to say it was the hardest thing I have had to do in a long time. I am so very proud of her and excited to see what mighty plans God has for her but the thought of her not being here is very hard for me. I find my self constantly praying and asking God to give me strength and the ability to keep my emotions under control. I can not even begin to describe how it feels to help your daughter pack up her stuff to leave, tears come so much easier than words!

I keep telling myself that it is only eight hours away, that is less than a day. Not to mention we have cell phones, e-mail, facebook and good old fashion pen and paper but It is just not the same. You prepare your child to go out and fulfil Gods plan for them, to witness to lost souls, comfort others and to find joy in the Lord in their own life and knowing that God has allowed me to be a part of her life is so humbling but a part of me wants to keep her here with me forever! Selfish I know but it would hardly do any good to lie.

Our plan had been to take her on the 12th, the day before orientation but today that changed to the 8th so we have even less time than we thought. I am hoping she will make early next week her last week to work so that the last week she is here we can spend relaxing and having fun.

Sydney put a post up on her blog in regards to how she is feeling about leaving if you are interested you can find it here.

Mother Daughter Quilt- Memories in the Making

When Sydney first announced last week that she wanted to make a quilt before she left, which is in about a month I thought she was crazy. However it sounded like fun and I knew it would be another great opportunity to spend time with her and make some precious memories for each of us. So my next few post will most likely be quilt updates and include some tips or things to avoid that you may find useful.

So far we have bought our fabric (minus the backing) and cut our squares. For fabric we bought 25 fat quarters in bright colors of Syd's choosing.

To cut them we lined up stacks of 4-5 and used our cutting mat, rotary cutter, ruler and a homemade cardboard template and simply started cutting. We divided it into two cutting sessions and split the cutting so neither of us wore our hand out. It went very fast with the rotary cutter!

Sydney is currently working on the pattern. I wanted her to lay it out since she will be the one cuddling up with it each night.


Tip: Always use a cutting mat when using a rotary cutter and line up your fabric. Being off even a small amount can change how every thing lines up.

New Apron

We have a new apron in our Etsy shop. It is made from some super tasty looking fabric! Every time I see it I instantly want mint chocolate chip ice cream!

My goal at the start of the month was to make an item a day and although that has not worked out I am happy with the items I am getting in there including a cute little sundress made from white fabric and accented with pink and blue flowers.

Here a little there a little. Are you working on anything special? If you have time leave a comment and tell us about it or leave a link so others can visit your shop.

Digital Scrapbooking

I may have just found a new addiction... digital scrap booking. For months now I have been collecting layouts and embellishments with the hope of playing around with it.

So this morning I finally had a few minutes and did a couple of pictures. Not an actual full page but I had fun and got to try out a few things.

I became interested in it when we were working on Sydney's graduation invitations; I had so much fun with the layers and thought it would be cool to play with some pictures before printing them to put in her scrapbook. The coolest thing I think so far is the idea of being able to do a page and then print it off three times, one for each of the kids.

Often times while I was buying paper and embellishments for Syds I would go ahead and buy three of each thing if it also pertained to the boys. It got fairly expensive quickly! With digital scrapbooking I buy the set and can use it over and over for FREE plus I have found lots of sites with "freebies". The only problem I foresee is that Scott may have to give me a little more space on our server for files.

Laurel took this picture of Sydney last week at VBS and the instant I saw it I fell in love with it. Sydney has the biggest smile naturally and I love it!

Laurel does beautiful work so if you are in need of a great photographer in the DFW area stop by her site, view her work and then I am sure you will want to contact her.

So if you are wondering how I plan to spend the holiday, aside from Friday when we work on Sydney's car, I will be indoors, under the AC, playing on my computer.

Worthy Of Our Calling

That is the title of our newest devotional in the Ladies Fellowship section of the church website. It is very well written and inspirational as are the other ones we have. I hope if you have time you will stop by and read it.

Each of the devotionals you see up has been written by different ladies of our church. If you have been reading my blog long you will recognize January's because it was written by me and on my blog at the start of the year. April-June is missing because as I told my husband last night life was busy going on. Truth be told that is when I was dealing with my back surgery, planning Syds graduation and the death of my grandmother and the two ladies who were scheduled to write were also going through some major health issues with family members; I was not going to stress over it nor did I want others to.

I pray you enjoy reading them and that the Lord speaks to you through them; while there be sure to check out the rest of the site.

Car Wreck Equals SALE

Well Sydney got her car a few weeks ago and last night on the way home she was in a wreck. She is fine and so is the gentleman who hit her however he was in a fairly big pick-up so as you can imagine her car is not ok.

Since Syd is working hard towards college and staying out of debt I want to try to help her and you at the same time so I am having a sale. I have listed lots of new items in my Etsy shop and on e-bay and for the next week if you purchase two items and mention this post in the payment section I will give you FREE shipping. If you buy three items I will give you free shipping and a free gift. I have given Sydney permission to use any and all of my fabric and trims so what she makes will be total profit towards her car. All together Sydney needs to raise about $1,500; I feel confident with some hard work she can do it. She is a great seamstress and knitter and as I type this she is hard at work making some darling pinafore and mop cap sets for toddlers so you will want to be sure to check out our shops over the next few days. Here is a link to her Etsy Shop. You can also see a preview of her work in my sidebar.

Also we would appreciate your prayers as we try to get everything handled that goes along with a wreck. This is her first one and she is a bit shaken so if you have time stop by her blog and leave her some encouragement!

Skirted Culottes

I just added skirted culottes to my Etsy shop! I have had these on our website and sold them to friends but for some reason had never gotten them listed on Etsy.

I have the skirted culottes with a zippered waist or for little girls I have an elastic waist option. This is extremely helpful for little girls who want to dress themselves and for potty breaks.

If you have never seen skirted culottes you have to take a look. Unlike traditional pleated culottes these look like an a-line skirt in the front and back and have modest slits that make doing everyday activities a breeze. When you run or participate in sports these do not fly up.

My daughter Sydney loves these especially in the summer and she even wears them to work! The pair in the picture are made from a light weight denim fabric and match everything just like a denim skirt.

If I Were You.....

If I were you I would...... If it were my child I would..... If it were up to me I would..... How many times have you heard that from someone? How many times have you said that?

I cannot count how many times in the last six months I have heard the above. Some of the time from well meaning people but other times it is just from people who think their way is the only way.

I have to admit it is easy to think our way is the best way but honestly it is not always the best way for everyone. Gods plan for each of us is so different that it is useless to try to put everyone in the same mold and say "this is the only way, this is the right way".

As I have gotten older I have found that there are too many things that we as Christians try to make right and wrong that the Bible does not specify. The most recent thing that has caused some hurt and confusion is my daughters desire to go to college. Sydney has always enjoyed school and been a great student so she had our full support. In fact from the time she was little we encouraged her to go. Then about a year or so ago Sydney had read some blogs, books and after speaking to some friends was not sure it was right to go to college aside from correspondence courses. I told her I did not see anything wrong with it nor did her dad and I hoped that she would really pray about it and seek Gods will not others. When things like this happen I try to remind our kids that God will lead them but he will also lead us as their parents and if he shows them something that in the past we have be opposed to he will change our heart too if it is His will for them. God is not a God of confusion and I do not believe he will leave a family in confusion and chaos.

Sydney continued to pray and wait on God and he eventually made everything very clear even which college to attend. Not being one to wait she immediately started making plans and almost as quickly people started coming to me with worry and opinions. Not because they had any great insight based on knowing Sydney, in fact many of them knew little bout her. They simple looked at their life or someone they knew and immediately decided it was wrong.

I have had mothers ask me why she doesn't want to marry or have kids? What does going to college now at 18 have to do with marriage and having kids? Sydney does desire to marry and have kids someday and when the time is right, Gods time, she will. Other mothers tell me horror stories about girls they knew who went to college and were ruined. Well, I know women who went to Bible college and are wonderful missionaries, wives, mothers and a few that are all the above. I have people tell me about all the dangerous things that might happen, guess what they can happen here too and the best/lamest one people ask me , do you know how expensive that is going to be? Hmmm, yes her dad and I do and we serve a mighty king who can supply for it!

When these "well meaning" people get going I try to bring them back to Jesus, He loves Sydney, and as long as she is in His will He will watch out for her and He will supply her needs. Her father and I will continue to love and pray for her just like she was living here in the house.

I could allow these peoples fears to overwhelm me, I could try to discourage Syd, I could even forbid it but what good would any of that do? The safest place for her is in Gods will and we know that for now that means going to college. Am I jumping up and down that she has chosen a college out of state? No! Am I going to miss her? Of course, she is my daughter and a friend but I truly want her to be happy and the whole point of being a parent in my opinion is to raise your child to seek Gods will and fulfil it. God is setting people up right now in MO for Sydney to witness to that only she will get to witness to, that only her journey in life will get through to them.

I guess the whole point of this post, beyond venting, is to say; stop and think before you give advice. God does not want or need cookie cutter Christians and His will for your child is not going to be the same as His will for my child.

Store Sale: Bosch Mixer and Nutrimill Grain Mill

I usually do not mention our online store on my blog but this sale is too good not to.

Through July 4th you can get a Universal Plus mixer, the new MX3 blender, and a copy of the Sensible Cooking cookbook for only $429.98.

The Bosh mixer is wonderful for mixing large batches of bread dough or simply mixing a cake.

We also have the Nutrimill grain mill on sale for $239.99

Coupon Giveaway #2

Giveaway Over

As I started organizing my coupons last night it did not take me long to realize I had a lot that I would never use before they expire and many for items that we do not use. I hate to waste so I am giving them away.

The Give Away will last through next Wednesday, 6/17/09 at noon. The winner will be selected at random and will be mailed the coupons.

You may enter once by leaving a comment and then again if you mention it on you blog come back and leave a link for you second entry.

Please leave a way for me to contact you if you win

Also if you or someone you know is in need of coupons for baby items be sure to enter my other coupon giveaway.

Coupon Giveaway #1

Giveaway Over

I have found myself with several coupons for baby things including formula and I don't have a baby anymore, my youngest is 13.

The Give Away will last through next Wednesday, 6/17/09 at noon. The winner will be selected at random and will be mailed the coupons.

You may enter once by leaving a comment and then again if you mention it on you blog come back and leave a link for you second entry.

Please leave a way for me to contact you if you win.

If you are in need of coupons for other items be sure to check out my other coupon giveaway.

Physical Therapy....DONE!

Yesterday was my final physical therapy session. I still have to do my daily stretches and walk but I can do it from home. I used HealthSouth for my physical therapy and would highly recomend them. Each of the therapist I got to work with were friendly, caring and knowledgable. They pushed just enough to challange me but always let me stop when I got nervouse or needed to. They even let my daughter watch a couple of times.

I also had my check up today with my back doctor and he said that I am doing fine and can continue to increase my activities over the next month and by July 15th I should be doing everything I use to do! I am also planning on joining Curves next month, once our schedule settles down for the summer.

I still have some very light pain occasionally but it goes away with a couple of Advil. My Achilles tendon response is still absent and may not return but Dr Guyer has assured me that it will not be noticeable in daily life. I also do not have to return to see him unless I need to.

I am so excited about how well everything turned out with my back, I truly feel blessed.

Day In The Sun

Actually morning in the sun but I'll take what I can get. This morning we went out back to the garden and I didn't want to head back in, it was just too pretty out.

Vincent mowed the back area, Ray swept the porch, Sydney helped with the water hoses and I moved some wondering cucumbers back to the trellis. Then the kids just played around while I took pictures. Even the dog and cat joined in!

Missing In Action

I have so much I could write about that I have no idea where to start. Have you ever had one of those days that turns into one of those weeks, then months. Well that is how life has been this year.

I have so much I want to share but much of it is hard to deal with and even harder to put into words. Have you ever looked at a picture and not been able to sum it up, that is how life has been lately. Each time I think things are about to calm down and return to normal something else comes up. Thankfully the Lord has showed me many things lately and although I have liked very little of what has taken place in my life I am learning from it and hopefully becoming a better person because of it.

I will try to get on here more often and share what is going on, that is kinda the point of the blog huh?

Happy Mother's Day

Happy mother's day mom!
I love you and am very thankful for
the time we get to spend together.

New Toy

There are so many things I could have done this evening and instead I watched craft videos with Syd and then we played with my new toy.

I am so excited about it, it is a Cricut Expression. I am hoping it will allow my scrap booking to be a little more creative and help me save money because I love to but die cuts and such.

So far we have not "made" anything but we sure have cut a lot of paper! Anyways it was a blast. To be honest a few months ago I would have been hard pressed to spend time just cutting paper and talking but God is showing me so much. With Syd about to possibly leave for college I am seazing every moment I can.

Up and Moving..Sort of

Well I am sort of up and moving again. My surgery went well and my incision is healing without any complications. I only had to take the pain medicine for about 1 week and not nearly as often as prescribed.

Today was my first post operative visit and my doctor felt like everything was going great. He took off the steri strips and said I no longer have to keep it covered unless sunbathing. I had to chuckle at that one. I honestly can not remember the last time I wore anything that exposed that much skin outdoors. Oh well, he is just doing his job. I can drive again, bend with my knees to pick up things, bathe myself, and slowly start sitting and standing longer. I also get to slowly start doing light housework, however Scott and the kids have done an awesome job of keeping things clean and the laundry caught up. The plus to that is that I will not have to play catch up.

I start physical therapy either late this week or early next week. I will do that 2-3 times a week for 4-6 weeks. To be honest I am really looking forward to it. Over the last several months I have lost a lot of strength in my left leg, stomach and back. I get tired so very easy right now and look forward to getting my strength back.

I plan to go slow and follow all the doctors instructions to avoid re injuring myself. I truly fell 100% better. So many people told me not do the surgery, they told me horror stories that their family members went through and such but this truly has been a blessing for me.

Our entire family is so very thankful for every ones prayers and help. We honestly could not have made it through this as well as we did without it. God truly answered them and for that we are so grateful!

Happy Easter

I am still sore from my surgery on Thursday but wanted to stop in and wish all of you a very Happy Easter!

Surgery

I met with the surgeon on Tuesday and he agreed I will need surgery. He seemed to think it would be very straightforward with no complications because of my size, health and the severity. Since the disc has totally ruptured and is one big blob resting on my sciatic nerve he will be able to make a small incision, grab the mass, pull it out and close me up. In some cases the mass separates into several areas; this causes less pain for the patient but more work for the surgeon. So... as he put it, it is a good thing that if I was going to mess myself up that I did it so well.

My surgery will be on April 9th and if everything goes as it should I will go home the following afternoon. I went in today for my preop clearance. I had to have lab work done and an EKG. On April first I go in for one last appointment with surgeon so he can go over my test results, answer any last minute questions and give me some of the postoperative instructions since I will probably be a little sore and distracted the day after and it will allow us to have an idea of what to expect and how to plan for the weeks preceding surgery. I already know I will not be able to drive for two weeks. Ugh... two weeks of staying home. I really do like my home and enjoy being here but for the last several months I have been here 24/7 except for doctor appointments and the very occasional trip to the grocery store, I am ready to get out! Plus psychologically, at least for me, I want to do what I know I can't. Crazy I know but how many times do you look when someone says don't look?

Well, since we know I will not be able to go to the store at least for two weeks and that I will be limited in what I can do I plan to do as much ahead of time as I can. I want to try to make things as easy as I can on Scott and the kids. I know I will rest easier if I feel like I have done my best to take care of them.

I am starting to hurt so I am off to bed and I will try to finish up another post I have started later tonight.

Buyer's Remorse No More

Don't you just hate it when you buy an item and then the following week you find it on sale? I use to, but not any more. One of the things I have had to come to terms with is the fact that sometimes I will miss a good deal for one reason or another. I use to get so upset because I would get to CVS with my list and find they were out of everything I "needed". You know what though, we have never gone without toothpaste or toilet paper, God has always supplied all our needs.

I am very thankful for His provision and try not to take it for granted, part of that thankfulness means being a good steward. So... that takes me back to my first question. Don't you just hate it when you buy an item and then the following week you find it on sale? Despite watching sales, keeping a price book and comparison shopping it is bound to happen to all of us at some point. However in some instances you can fix it.

Last year Scott and I went to Target to buy him some clothes, this man hates to buy clothes so I was more than excited to go with him. We found a few deals in the clearance racks but most of what we got was normal price. Then the following week I was looking through the ads and noticed that the pants and shirts we had bought were now on sale. Since I had to make a trip by there anyways I stopped in to see if there was anything thing they could do, to my surprise they gave me the difference. It was close to $30, enough to pick up some groceries we needed.

Then last week was Scott's birthday; the kids bought him The Dark Knight on DVD and split the cost. This week it is on sale for $10 so tonight when I take Syd to work since Target is right down the road I am going to go in and have them adjust the receipt. The kids were very excited when I told them and it gave me one more practical way to show them how to be a good steward now and in the future.

Back Pain Update

Just a quick update on my back pain, first thank you to everyone who has prayed for me. Second thanks for the e-mails and tips.

I tried the yoga video for several weeks and slowly began to feel some improvement however I could still feel that something was not right, I kept feeling like one hip was higher than the other and despite my attempts to realign it with yoga my hip had decided it was staying put. I hem hawed around for days and tried to tolerate pain but then this past Sunday it again was back to being more than I could tolerate. I was considering taking the Flexaril because Advil was no longer cutting it. The only time I felt any relief was when I was flat on my back on an ice pack, and you just can not live like that!

So... I called the doctor who made the dvd I bought and asked her if she had changed her insurance policy; she had not but she did suggest a female chiropractor who did accept insurance and was willing to do all the filing. Like Dr. Rollins, Dr. Harris believes in treating the whole body and believes in allowing the body to heal itself when ever possible.

I called her office and she was able to get me in Tuesday afternoon. I was a little anxious, I always am in new places, but once I met her staff I felt at ease. Dr. Harris is very friendly, warm and caring. At first I was told my initial visit would only be X-rays and a treatment plan however after looking at me and discussing my pain she offered to start treatment immediately.

She informed me I was correct, my pelvis is rotated, I have some upper disc out of alignment and possible sciatica. Dr. Harris worked out my treatment plan that will involve probably 12-16 visits. Yesterday she manipulated my rotated area slightly, my muscles are very tight from the pain and did not want to move, and popped my mid and upper back. I did leave yesterday feeling a little better but still in pain.

I iced my back last night and again this morning and then went back to her office this afternoon. She started me on decompression therapy and then I used the roller bed. Oh did that feel good! Next was the manipulation and boy did things pop today. Don't you just hate the sound it makes? I sure do, it freaks me out every time! My pelvic area is still rotated but it is getting better and I am feeling much better! I can walk without much pain and I have been able to sit up and type. I am a little nervous about church tonight and may go into the transition room and watch from there so that I can get up and move around if needed without disrupting anyone.

Anyways I go tomorrow for more decompression therapy and manipulation and then on Friday I go in for a deep tissue massage and then the physical therapist is going to work with me on stretching. For now I am not allowed to lift heavy objects, sit or stand for long or exercise.

In a Rut

I am in such a rut meal wise! I am so thankful that today is Saturday, no thinking or planning. Saturday always equals pizza. However I have a strange feeling that my family is going to expect meals the rest of this week and I just do not know what to make.

I am trying to keep meals nutritious, tasty, kid pleasing, simple to make and relatively inexpensive.

I have had a stack of cookbooks sitting on our table for three days now, I move it to eat and then put it back. I have every intention of just "getting with it" but somehow no meal plan is evolving. I have spent the last hour or so visiting my favorite food blogs and cooking websites and have a few ideas but I still feel..... STUCK!

Be sure to stop back by here Monday if you want to see what I come up with. I promise to share recipes, pictures and links.