Goodbye Snowy February. Can't say I'm sad to see you go.

Ah, dear Greta, it's good I love you so. It thunderstormed most of the night last night, so you know what that means. I'm EXHAUSTED today! I did OK for most of the day, but around dinnertime it hit me. Like I had been up with a baby off and on all night. One who tried to climb onto my pillow, sit on my neck, crawl over me, and sit on me all night long! :) She was so afraid and for some reason, she feels safest up near my head/pillow/neck/suffocatingly close. And she got to sleep all day to catch up! Although Jeff did threaten to call every half hour and say into the answering machine, "Hey, Greta! You wanna TREAT?" Just to get even with her, ya know.

We thought maybe we had missed a memo at school because we were the only ones there at 8:40am, but we set up our tables, etc. and Abby checked my email. April had sent a message that their basement had flooded, and something with their septic system too. Yucko! So she didn't make it today, but the kids did.

We had a pretty good day. I was disappointed by the papers that were handed in for history though. Apparently not a lot of effort from half the class. So, I sent a couple of parent emails during my break after lunch and after talking to Karen to get her input. Sadly, one mom asked if there was a syllabus for the classes. Um, yeah, it's almost halfway through the second semester, and she doesn't know if there's a syllabus. Hmmm...now I'm seeing the problem. At least I could say, Yes, and I follow it very closely. Maybe that will help.

We went to the banks after school to get our paycheck money to fill our envelopes and to switch money to Katie's account so she'll have money in France.

I got to skype type with Katie for a while this afternoon and to see her pictures she's thinking about for her hair. Very cute! Very different from what she has, but very cute!

I made meatloaf for dinner with garlic noodles, sweet potatoes (for me), peas, corn muffins, and salad. It was great to be filled up with real and nutritious and tasty food. And I made brownies for our treat during Chuck--they had walnuts and choc. chips in them too.

And now I am so very tired and having trouble thinking straight even though it's only 9:22pm. I always think of all these exciting things to blog about when I'm alert and awake, and then if I don't blog until evening, they all go away....Or I can remember them, but I'm just too tired to put the sentences together.

Lots of things are coming together for Abby today--she got her ACT score--great job! And her driving school stuff, and it sounds like Jeff may be taking the Honda to get the horn fixed so she can schedule her driving test soon. Another girl growing up right before my eyes!

Jadin at BOW lost her first tooth yesterday, so she was so excited to show everyone today! Her mom said, "She looks so different! She's getting so big." Indeed. Just you wait! She also reminds me of the little girl in the YouTube video who wants to get a job before she gets married, but Jadin just has a plan to marry Jacob (who's a senior in high school) and to go on a honeymoon to Hawaii. She doesn't seem too concerned about a job! By the time she's old enough to get married, Jacob will have saved a lot of money and she won't have to work! :)

OK, tomorrow is another day, and now I think this day must come to an end--at least the part of it when I'm awake. Tomorrow is March 1, and I don't think anyone will be sad to see February go this year! If it had been March 1 today, we could definitely have said that March came in like a lion--so weird to have a thunderstorm and tons of rain on top of all that snow. It did melt the snow very quickly. Mr. Jeff and Mrs. Melissa, the snowpeople, are all fallen over in a heap of snow, sticks, and earmuffs. Ah well, I never did like snowmen who hung around too long. And thankfully, our basement stayed dry. Jeff and Randy's drainage system they did last year has held up wonderfully. And now it's cold again...

So, until March 1 dear readers!

Catching up on the weekend

I've had a couple of days off, and since I talked to Hannah a little on Saturday and knew Katie was in Paris this weekend, I took a break from blogging too.

On Friday, I cleaned the house in the morning, but then I read, listened to Dave Ramsey in the afternoon. It snowed/iced over Thursday night/Friday morning, so no one had school on Friday--not even colleges AGAIN! In my years at college, we might have had one day off in all four years, but I can never remember a year that colleges were closed so many days. But everyone said it was really bad on Friday if they had to be out driving. So, I was very thankful that I got to stay home. Abby was going to go to Katie F's play on Friday night, but it got canceled--hopefully just postponed. She didn't have to babysit either, so we were home all day. Jeff still had to go to work kind of--he was giving a tour for "Engineer for a Day" and they still had it even with the snow. I said all the kids were going to be mad since they probably were excited to get out of school for the day, and then they had to go do something when everyone else got the day off of school. He did say that several of them didn't show up even if they had signed up to come. Can't blame them!

So, Jeff and I decided to go out for dinner at Panera, and we had a Frontega chicken sandwich (Jeff) and a BBQ chopped chicken salad (me). It was good--but so expensive--don't know how people eat there regularly. We stayed from about 6-9pm in the back corner booth (just so Hannah can picture where we were!). It was nice to get to chat. I made Jeff be my career counselor and ask me questions and help me figure out the next step in my life.

I told him that I sometimes feel like there are so many things spinning around in my head and it would help to know what the next thing to DO is. So in discussing many options, we are thinking that when Jeff gets his bonus he will "invest" in my interest in doing the BeCentsable class idea. It would be something I can do over the summer and even next year in addition to teaching because I can make my own schedule more than working in another kind of job. I really like the idea of teaching people how to save money--that is an interest that I have had consistently for over 20 years. Many of my interests have come and gone, but that one remains! And with the economic situation we have been in for a long time, I think that people are looking for new information.

So, that could be next week (that Jeff finds out about his bonus), and then I can start the online training, and I'll see what happens from there. Part of me is excited about a new thing--I tend to like starting new things. Part of me is scared to try something new and totally untested. Well, by me--but apparently it has worked for others! And as long as I do around 30 or so people in classes, I will earn back any money I invest. I can at least do that! Lord willing!

So, that was Friday--a nice, relaxing day and ended with a date with my hubby. Abby was watching The Sound of Music when we got home, so we finished watching that with her. It's a LONG movie!

Saturday, dear Abby did a practice SAT all morning, and I made sloppy joes for lunch for the Karen girls. We went to pick them up around 12:30pm. Ehne Thau went to Texas or something according to the girls. Be Bin said she went to help pick up her mom. I don't know if her mom went to TX to see her dad and they were going to get her? But driving to TX? ET in the car for that long? I wouldn't want to be in that car! She is such a busy bee! I'm sure we'll hear all about it.

So it was Be Bin, the 3 Eh girls, and Hser Ler Moo. We ate, and then they went outside to play in the snow--made a snow man (Mr. Jeff) and a snow woman (Mrs. Melissa), but I had a top hat and Jeff had earmuffs! So cute! Ehler and Hser Ler didn't want to go out, so they watched Mr. Magoo and I went for a walk. It was pretty warm and I had missed a day of walking on Friday. No one missed me. They went sledding a little too, and then came in and finished watching Mr. Magoo. We had planned to watch "The Tale of Desperaux" but then they just wanted to play spoons. That didn't last very long, and we still had an hour and a half before we needed to leave, so I had given them some old Lucky mags to take home, and I suggested they make collages. After I explained what that was, they were very enthusiastic and made some very cool things. Eh Dah Po made paper dolls and a little stage for them, and she put up little walls in front of the stage that were made of perfume samples so they smelled good. She was working on making an audience when it was time to go. Very creative.

Eh Dah Doe made a whole little book of her favorite clothes and shoes that we three-hole punched and connected with brads (those little gold metal things). Ehler was finding dresses that she wants to learn to sew. She was really excited when she got here to tell me her good news. She got a babysitting job for Mr. Jeff (at UV) and his wife's kids every Friday from 6:30-9pm and she'll get paid $10 a week. That was exactly what she needed! She will do a great job, and it will give her confidence and some spending money, and best of all, a huge boost to her self-esteem! Then she also said she is getting a trophy in her preschool teaching class--something about her classmates voting for her and perfect attendance. It sounds like she has a really good teacher too. She said, "She keeps talking to me even though I don't really talk to her very much." I said she could probably tell that Ehler is a really nice girl and is just shy.

EDD had to be at UV at 6pm for a birthday party for one of the Matthews boys, so we took her there first then to the Eh's and Jeff went in to see why Ehler's new laptop wasn't connecting to the internet. (It was the wireless button, and thankfully, he found it in a few minutes.) Then we took the others home and went to church for the "beat the winter blahs" night so that Abby and Jeff could play some music. I didn't really feel like going--as Hannah so accurately said on Saturday afternoon when we skyped with her a little, I would beat the blahs by curling up with a book and my blanket! But we went and there were apparently many others who felt like me! It was mostly just the people who planned it. I think maybe they think people are wanting more activities than they really are. But we chatted with Janice and Lisa J. and came home.

I was really tired by 9:30pm so I went to bed early. Still tired this morning, but went to church and loved hearing about the Honduras trip! It was really interesting, and I could see Abby making plans in her head to go whenever she has the chance! Hannah and Kaite would love it too. All except for the bathroom part. Mike didn't talk about that in the service, but he said later that was the worst part. And the food tended to bother their stomachs a lot too. They all were still having problems today--got home Saturday at 2:30am. And they couldn't drink the water--he said everyone drinks Coke or Pepsi all day--the natives drink it for all three meals. Yuck! And there weren't many vegetables--lots of meat instead.

Alan said that they stayed with a host family that was the "Honduran Yackleys" because they had three girls. They hosted all three of them and the whole family slept in one room to give them the other rooms. They had a pretty modern house and all, but no real hot water. You can see the video on the website and lots of pictures that Annette took.

We took a walk today--sunny and warmer 50s. Abby went to 620 at 4pm, and then to Hartville to hear a worship band with Brandon, et al. So Jeff and I went to Giant Eagle to get a newspaper, and then to Marc's for some veggies. And home to eat frozen pizza.

I got everything ready for school and now need to work on the grocery list and eat the ice cream that Jeff just got for me for a treat. Since this is a very long post, I'll be done now. There's always time for more tomorrow. I was glad that Katie had a great time in Paris, and that Hannah has decided about her roommate situation for next year. OK, I'll really be done now! Until later, dear readers!

I've had a day off! At least mostly.

OK, so I just have been having a restful afternoon of reading The Element. And he has some really exciting ideas about fixing education--Katie and Hannah would LOVE his ideas, and apparently there are actual schools using some of them too. You should check out Reggio schools (there's a school in Dayton and one in Pittsburgh that are affiliated--they started in Italy), and A+ schools which started in North Carolina and is big in Oklahoma. There's another interesting school in Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire, England--Grange Primary. All about avoiding the standardized testing and actually TEACHING the children and not the SUBJECTS!! How amazing is that? So, there is hope, girls, of finding a way to use your education to teach children, but not having to be in the rat-race of standardized tests. They use all kinds of art, drama, interesting things to get kids excited about teaching. Oh, yeah--a lot like homeschooling! :)

I did laundry today, and Abby had driving from 9:30-11:30am. I made some jewelry because I COULD! I had time! I listened to Dave Ramsey while I worked, and it was truly enjoyable. I could get in "the zone" making jewelry if the laundry and the dog would allow. I was thinking about what that lady at the Hartville women's thing said about teaching classes. Maybe I should work on some jewelry to see if there's a craft show I could go to this spring, and then see if I could teach some beginning classes if there was enough interest. I have no idea if anyone would pay me to teach them the little I know, but maybe...Something to think about anyway.

Abby got home and did some school reading, then we ate lunch. I walked, and it was pretty nice outside--cloudy, but 40 degrees and very refreshing. At least not raining or snowing or sleeting. I was very thankful for being able to walk on the sidewalk in my tennies and not worry about slipping and sliding. It makes it so much easier to pray when I don't have to think about where I'm walking. I prayed a lot for my dear family and all that my girls have going on. We all have so many future questions that I have plenty to pray about every day!

I had a quiet time after I got back, and then when Abby went to babysit, I got my book and started reading again. Jeff said I could...lie on the couch and read a book. I got permission! :) So there! :) And that reading got me thinking about education, etc. Maybe things will really be able to change--at least in some places in some schools--and maybe eventually the success there will spread.

I'm making Tuna Alfredo tonight for dinner, so I don't have to start until 5pm. Another way I almost get a day off. Amazing how having a snow day on Tuesday with UV allowed me to do extra work then, and have a day off today. It's been lovely--another installement of the rest and recovery program. I guess it should be called "A Balanced Life" and become a regular event.

Aww...you should see Greta right now...She is curled up so sweetly in the middle of the chair on her blanket sound asleep. She was wild earlier, so I guess she wore herself out. We've been letting her outside without her leash since it was iced over, and she usually stays pretty close, but today I couldn't see her. I think she was under the deck, but I called for her, and she came trotting out. We may have to go back to the leash if she gets too adventurous. It's so much easier to clean her off now that I cut her hair.

I heard on DR today that only 1% of college students get a full-ride scholarship that includes tuition, room and board, books. He said it's so rare that they call it a "Miracle." I'm thankful we've experienced a miracle plus most of another one! :) Good job, girls! Thank you, Lord!

Well, now that I really have enjoyed an afternoon off, I should go and start the easy dinner I have to make. I know Katie won't be sorry to be missing Tuna Alfredo :), but Hannah might :)

Until later, dear readers!

A quick little update

So, let's see...today I felt like I actually had time this morning to do what I needed to do, and then to have a quiet time AND read some of The Element before school. It was a nice morning and part of my "rest and recover" program to not just FIND something to do, but to take advantage of some free time to do something I enjoy. Novel idea--though The Element is NOT a novel for the record. :)

I went to school and get my stuff together for science. Ate lunch with the moms. I'd love to have a mom's social time to actually get to just talk and not always be watching the clock. Taught my class, and I think it went OK. I gave them some extra help in knowing how to prepare for the test, so we'll see how those tests go. I need to grade the last ones that they handed in today.

We went to the bank and then Giant Eagle after school, home to unload everything--so thankful to have Abby's help--she's a great "muscle woman!" Especially when she's talking in a "Roosian" accent--which she did quite a bit today. See what you started, Katie!! :)

I went for a walk this afternoon, and it was actually quite pleasant. Sunny and 40ish. I felt tired though and kind of like I was dragging myself around the neighborhood. But it's probably because I missed a few days of walking over the weekend. So, I just kept walking, just kept walking, just kept walking, walking, walking...And I'm glad I did!

Then I put some rigatoni in the oven that I had taken out of the freezer since it was just Abby and me for dinner. Jeff went to the calling hours for Peggy--Paul's wife who was a friend of the family in Millersburg--in Mansfield after work. We ate and then we went to the Falls bball game. It was actually an interesting game. The Falls players shot an amazing amount of 3 pointers and were really accurate. By half time they had over 50 points! It looked like they knew what they were doing! And the girls did a great job dancing. I did a lousy job of videorecording. I turned it on, but it didn't record--who knows what I did wrong, or didn't do right? But they did very well.

Jeff said the number of people at the calling hours was truly remarkable. He waited in line for 2 hours to talk to Paul, and the line was twice as long when he left as when he got there. She was a special person and apparently affected many people. So sad.

We watched AI tonight, and I am off to bed soon. I feel like I'm fighting something because my throat is sore and my joints are a little achy. Aww...now we're watching the news and they are saying we might get some freezing rain and snow again in the next 2 days. Abby is supposed to have driving again tomorrow morning--her last one. It got canceled on Tuesday because of all the snow.

Ooh--ugh--there was also just a thing on the news about bedbugs--so gross. OK, Kaite, when you travel, keep your suitcase/backpack zipped up when you aren't using it. That's another thing you DON'T want to have to deal with. And I'm sure your host family would appreciate you not bringing them home with you! :)

So, nothing really earthshattering today, but good day overall. Not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow while Abby is driving--I have some jewelry I could make...we'll see. And I'll tell you what I end up doing then! So, until then, dear readers!

A snow day--I've lost track of how many!

Another snow day today! No school at Akron Public Schools, so no UV. Also, no bball game for Abby to dance at. So I worked on school prep for tomorrow and next Monday. I got a lot done and then went for a walk. We got about 8 inches of snow, but it was close to 40 degrees today, so anywhere that it was shoveled, the snow melted and dried up fast in the sun. Our deck is super-deep, but many people had snow-blown so the sidewalks were amazingly clear.

It was good to get outside. I hadn't walked since the lovely weather last Friday, so this was different, but it was really pretty if I could fully appreciate it and didn't just want it to be over. It was the kind of snow that coated all of the evergreens to make them look like they had thick white frosting on them.

I need to make dinner soon, and I'm not sure what to make since I hadn't planned anything with expecting to be at UV and all. Abby says she's not tired of quiche yet, and we always have stuff to make that so....it may be quiche night again.

I am hoping to get to read more of The Element tonight, but last night I read our chapter for EHS this week. It was called, "Going Back in Order to Go Forward" about families and the power of our family to affect how we think and live our lives. Even going back several generations according to the Bible. He talked about several areas that families have good or bad affects on--like money, conflict, anger, family, relationships, attitudes toward different cultures, success...Just how every family has views on those things that are passed along--sometimes stated and sometimes just felt.

He talked about how we kind of need to leave our family's negative affects like the children of Israel needed to leave Egypt. Even after they left, they carried with them a lot of Egyptian culture and thinking. But they needed to rewrite their thinking to be in line with God.

I thought this was good: Discipleship, then, is the putting off of the sinful patterns and habits of our biological families and being transformed to live as members of Christ's family. Also: We honor our parents, culture, and histories, but we obey God.

I can think of many things I have had to overcome from my family growing up that were even well-meaning at times, but that weren't really what God wanted from me. Probably a lot of my over-achievingness came from trying to make others happy. I can't really say that I ever felt like anyone wasn't happy with me--I just didn't want to risk it, so I always tried to do the best I could! Or maybe I took little comments to heart and as criticism or something.

And I'm sure that Jeff and I have done things that have not been the best for our family even though our desire was always to do the best for them. We aren't perfect though, and I'm sure that even our well-meaning intentions didn't come across right, or things that we still don't realize about ourselves that are sinful have bled through. It's enough to make you afraid to be a parent! But since we already are, and our girls are almost all grown, just let me say: I'm sorry for things that we haven't done right, and if there are things you need for us to apologize about at any time, please let us know. We've always really tried to do the most loving thing for each of you, but we may have missed the mark along the way.

One encouraging thing though was something called "The Beaver System Model" which I don't think has anything to do with actual beavers. There are five levels of family health based on how they understand their boundaries. Level 5 is a really severely disturbed family--not us--whew! By the grace of God!

Level 4 is a borderline family--dictatorship, black and white rules, rigid, no one can disagree.

Level 3 is rule bound--feeling loved depends on everyone obeying the unspoken rules--invisible referee with rules of the system more important than the individual.

Level 2 & 1: Adequate and optimal--ability to be flexible and to cherish each individual, valuing a sense of closeness, good feelings, trust, teamwork.

What distinguishes 1 from 2 is delight: level 1 families truly delight in being with one another.

Ahh....I think our family really, truly does delight in being together. And for that I am really, truly thankful. We may have done some things wrong along the way, but I am grateful for the love and relationships within our family that we delight in. All by the grace of God I know!

And now, I must go and make dinner for my family who is here and will be hungry in about an hour! Until later, dear readers!

All I have to say is, AGAIN? REALLY?

More snow? Really. And not just a little. INCHES and INCHES! What is the deal? Did the earth feel naked after being uncovered for a couple of days? We so enjoyed seeing the ground--the brown dirt and kind of green grass. Now everything--and I do mean everything--is white again. It would be pretty if I weren't so tired of it.

I did make the mistake of complaining about a lack of a Sabbath yesterday because we had so many things to do, so Sunday wasn't very restful--maybe God is giving me the afternoon/evening--maybe tomorrow too--off again. For that part, I am thankful. Jeff and Abby didn't have to leave for Abby's Mandatory dance class. Mandatory because they are supposed to dance at the Falls bball game tomorrow night. But if Amy doesn't want to let Abby dance, oh well. Not worth risking life and limb, as they say. Abby just said that Amy is still having jazz--crazy!

Abby and Jeff came in from shoveling and said they just gave up. It was covered before they finished! I haven't seen a snow plow out yet either--it's too bad--even the snowplows are staying in! :)

Well, let's see, we had a lovely, but short weekend with Hannah--it always goes too fast. But she and I got to go to Target for coffee which was a highlight! We also got to skype with Katie on Sunday afternoon--all together--which was great too. But I have to admit, that it made me wish for summer to come faster. I can't help it! I just love to have my whole family all together! What can I say? So, I miss my college girls, but I can be patient for spring/summer.

We left around 4/4:15pm and took Abby to the Hares for a ride, went to pick up EDD so that she could go with us to Kent so I could help her with her essays for some kind of scholarship/college programs, then we went to Kent and dropped Hannah's stuff off in her dorm. We ate at the Hub--Hannah treated us! EDD had said she had eaten at home, but she just wanted some FF. Then when we were there, she asked if they had shrimp--sure enough, so she got a shrimp dinner at Arthur Treachers and ate everything except the hush puppies and cole slaw. I think she even ate the tails--I was going to say something, but then I remembered that they eat things that we throw away!

We then dropped H off at Bowman and went to babysit at the Franks. I expected to have only Brooklynn and maybe Mason, but the Slack kids came too, and Eva left Micah, but no Mason. So we ended up having more kids than expected and EDD and I really had to work on her stuff. There were applications for two things to fill out, and I had to read through a lot of it to explain it to her. And THEN we had to write!

In the meantime, Jeff was playing the Pied Piper and watching all of the kids--Brooklynn, Madalyn, Carter, and Micah. He just handled them all all evening so that we could work. It was amazing! HE was amazing! EDD kept saying, "I didn't know Mr. Jeff was so good at babysitting!" She mentioned it many times. I told her that he is a good dad, and he had a lot of practice when our girls were little. So, thanks, Honey!!

We dropped her off and picked up Abby at the Hares--sounds like they had a good time at IMPACT. So we got home about 5 hours after we left. Whew! Then I had to look over my stuff for Monday, pack it up, and get to bed! It was messy driving home last night because of freezing rain/snow too, but not like today!

When we went to school today, it was fine thankfully. One of the moms sat in my classes with her younger son who may be coming to BOW next year. It was good to get some feedback about what she and her son (in my class) didn't understand from the homework, so we went over it at the beginning of class. But I hope she saw that we really do go over things a lot, but her son doesn't always catch things. I think maybe she'll be more likely to just email me if she has questions now. I hope so.

I felt a little better when Karen came to my door right before the first classes started and said, "Don't you love to teach a class that no one wants to take?" I told her how I felt last week like my words were just sliding down over the kids without them even absorbing things. She said, "Yeah, it's like they're covered in Teflon!" She was talking about Chemistry--I guess we don't have a lot of science-lovers!

I got all of my grading done before lunch which was awesome. We had a good lunch made by the cooking class--some kind of stew-like thing with black beans, kale, spinach, potatoes, corn, carrots, spaghetti sauce. And April made more fry-bread--some very unhealthy Native American bread that is literally fried in oil. Tastes more like a little donut.

For SAT, we started math and did some online practice. This was when the snow was really coming down. Our drive home went OK, but I did slide some once when I had to brake at a light. Thankfully, I had much room between me and the car in front of me and it was OK. I just went very slowly down Moore Rd. so that I didn't have to brake a lot to get into our neighborhood. And, thankfully, Jeff had left early and got home soon after we did.

We listened to DR and rested until I made dinner at 5pm--smoked sausage, potato pancakes, broc, salad, and oranges. It was cleaned up at 6:15, so a pretty quick meal!

So, now I guess we get to watch Chuck all together! Yay! And it's only 7:10pm now, so I might be able to read a little before that. Still working on The Element.

So, that's the update here. Until later, dear readers!

Fast post!

I have a little time before I have to put food in the oven for small group, so I will blog fast!

Hannah got home around 10:45pm--I was in bed, but still awake and talke for a short time until my eyes wouldn't stay open anymore. All that work and fresh air, you know.

Today I slept in a little, then Abby left for the Celtic Ball practice with the Joneses. I made two pans of rice and bean stuff for tonight--I was only going to make one, but then I thought about how many people were coming, and how few other things we have--tacos, and chips and salsa, dessert and drinks. Yeah, I made two. We want to have some leftover so that Hannah can take some back to school with her. And if we have LOTS left, that's what we'll have to eat this week. I also decided to make a fruit salad to add some variety and well, fruit, to the menu. Alycia is bringing toppings for the tacos, so that will have some lettuce and tomatoes probably, but...

Then after Hannah was up and took a shower, and I was done making food, we went to Target, got her some shower gel, and went to Starbucks (in Target) and chatted. It was good to talk about all the options she has in the world and all the things she can think about doing if she wants to--she started reading The Element this morning too, and it gives one much to think about. Finding what makes you be in your element, where you work in the "zone"--where you get so involved in what you're doing that you lose track of time and really enjoy it. Ideally, that's where you should be working--in that area. But there are many options... The Element goes on the "Required Reading List" for summer 2011 here at the Yackley house!

We came home and ate lunch late--at 2pm when Abby got back from practice. I looked over my chapter again for small group, did the meal sign-up sheet I needed to do for KerryLynn who is having back surgery, and made the power point for the announcements. I'm getting better at that!

Now it's 4pm, and Abby is leaving in a few minutes to go out for dinner to Olive Garden with the Joneses before the dance. They are leaving plenty early I think, but that's good so that they won't be rushed or miss the Grand March!--OK, took a break to help Abby find a sweater, to take pictures, to say good-bye. In the midst of that, Angie called and said that Derek fell down the steps and then threw up, so they are taking him to Children's to be checked out, but they dropped off the meat and taco shells on the way. How sweet of them! Hopefully, he'll be fine and they'll stop here on their way home. Whew!

OK, now I only have 20 minutes until people are supposed to be here, so I must go and get ready! Until later, dear readers!

Another spring-like day. I'll take it!

So, we had another B-E-A-U-TI-FUL day here in Ohio! The thermometer still said 60 degrees, but it was sunny all day which made it feel so much warmer! I cleaned the house quickly so that I could go for a walk, so I was done by about 11am. Then I walked, and I was going to take Greta since she seemed to want to go, but then at the corner, she wanted to come back home. So, I brought her back because dragging a dog all around the neighborhood would put a damper on an otherwise lovely walk.

Then when I got home, I decided to wash the Honda before lunch--it was SO dirty, and I knew today would be my last day to do it. THEN, since I was in the car washing mode, and the van was really dirty too, I went ahead and washed that. As I was washing, I was thinking that I was doing "February" car washes. Not as thorough a job as I would do in April or May since I know that it will be dirty again very soon. But still, in the middle of the winter, it was awesome to get the dirt and salt off.

I also swept out the garage and promptly closed the door because it was very windy and the leaves were blowing right back in.

I talked to Hannah for a little bit, and she is coming home tonight! Yay! We are planning to go to Panera for coffee tomorrow to talk about life. I called the Dr.'s office today to make sure they would be open tomorrow so that we could go in and Hannah could get her second Hep A vaccine. They had told me before that it was just a nurse visit, so we could just come in whenever. But today, they said tomorrow isn't a good day. The nurse said we couldn't come in. It would take all of 5 minutes. I said to the fam that I would be glad to give it to her if they'd just give me the stuff! :) So we'll have to wait until she comes home next.

Then, after lunch, I decided that poor Greta needed a haircut and bath. So I tackled her too. Almost literally. And then I had a quiet time after talking to Mom for a little bit. And then I made RedHot chicken and mashed potatoes and peas for dinner and for leftovers for Hannah tomorrow. And I made the pb pie filling too. We ate, and now we are watching "Edward Scissorhands" which is an exceedingly weird movie. It's a trifecta of weirdness: Danny Elfman, Johnny Depp, and Tim Burton.

It felt really good to get so much done today, but now I am very tired. When I sat down to eat dinner, it hit me. And now my eyes are feeling heavy! I guess it's good that I wasn't sure what I was doing today last night when I posted, or I might have been very overwhelmed! But when the sun is shining and you know it won't last another day (it's supposed to be colder tomorrow), and suddenly you have all kinds of energy and motivation, it's good, and it doesn't seem overwhelming!

So now I guess I will go and get treats for everyone. I need to put the Cool Whip on the pie and the extra pb crumbles, and we still have three scotcheroos left from last night. Decisions, decisions. Delicious decisions!

So, until later, dear readers!

A spring-like day in February!! Finally!

Well, I guess our weekend plans have changed a leetle beet. It sounds like Hannah won't be coming home until later on Friday night after her leadership community/life group leader apprentice meeting or on Saturday morning--whichever she prefers. She has a test on Monday, so it didn't seem like a very good idea to have the Karen girls over right after she gets home or first thing in the morning, and then have small group in the evening if she has to study for a test and needs some down time. She said she's been saying "yes" to everything lately, and I know the need to slow down for a couple of days and have some time to think!

I facebooked EDD and Ehler and told them the change in plans. I feel a little bit bad since they have Fri/Mon off of school--it will be a long weekend for them, but I'm sure they will find things to do. And then Ehne Thau just called--she knows how to get me. She asked if they could come over for a sleepover tomorrow night, and when I tried to explain all that was going on, she said, "I guess you just don't like us very much." Kind of in an ET joking way, but still--stab, twist! I assured her that I did like her very much, and we would try again next weekend to have them over. She was laughing and telling me about UV after that, so I don't think she's very heartbroken; she just knows how to say what will make me change my mind if anything will. :)

Abby did talk to Kayla, and she and a friend are coming to babysit for small group. That's a relief, because I know it means a lot to the parents to have a few hours to talk without having to worry about what their kids are doing. And, I really didn't want to stick Hannah with it--she needs to rest! And babysitting isn't really her thang...But she can help if she wants to. There will certainly be cute babies to play with and hold! The twins are SO cute! And of course, Eliana continues to be a beauty. And Emerson is a bundle of smiles--he gets around pretty fast for a little guy!

So, I was reading the rest of my chapter in the EHS book for this week's discussion, and I was surprised and rather disturbed to see this: I realized that what Rumi said was true, "Inside you there's an artist you don't know about. If you are here unfaithfully with us, you are causing terrible damage. If you've opened your loving to God's love, you're helping people you don't know and have never seen."

This was to prove/support his point that we need to be who God made us to be. That doing anything else, trying to copy someone else, is not only hurting ourselves, but others. Nice idea and probably true. OK, but to quote Rumi?

I wouldn't have known who he was if I hadn't just read that article in Reader's Digest about the Muslim woman who said that we best accomplish God's mandate by accepting one another, not by trying to persuade others to our religion. She quoted a "beautiful" poem by Rumi (a Muslim mystical poet) which said something like, "God is an ocean, and all religions are like rivers that flow to the same place." Yeah, definitely NOT true.

So, how can we accept "truth" from this Muslim mystical poet even if it is to support what may very well be a true point Biblically? Why do we need him to make God "more true"? We certainly don't. God is true, and He is the only One who is true truth. And I don't mean Allah. I mean God the Father, God the Son--Jesus, and God the Spirit. The One True God. You know, Jesus? "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

So now I have a very suspicious feeling about this author. I was expecting to really like him, I felt a connection to him somehow, having walked by his church in Queens, but I am concerned about his choice in that situation. There is a fine line between "mysticism" and contemplative worship, etc. I think we all need to reflect, to be quiet, to deal with our emotions before God, to listen to God, and I hope to learn more about that. But I still feel leery about it--it's tainted. Maybe I'm being too black and white about it. But truth is something that needs to be carefully considered. There's just so much grey-ness in the world today. I guess we'll see what the rest of the book is like.

I worked on preparing for history and language arts this morning, Abby had driving from 9:30-11:30am, and we had grilled cheese for lunch. Then I worked on SAT prep, went for a walk, had a quiet time, and made quiche for dinner again. Plus banana cc muffins. It's been a regular on the menu for several weeks!

I was trying to save a sweet treat for at Linda's tonight at Bible study--I didn't eat M&Ms today--trying to give my body a break from sugar for a day. But then right before dinner she called and said the others had cancelled, so we did too. But that meant I wouldn't have a yummy treat. So, I made scotcheroos! Only a half-batch. And I made an extra pie crust so that I can make pb pie tomorrow. Abby was wanting that for Valentine's Day, so since we weren't home together all week, and Hannah is coming home, we decided to have it this weekend.

Hannah: if there is anything you want to eat this weekend, let me know!!

The weather today was amazing! 60 degrees and sunny this morning, cloudy this afternoon. I walked with my "spring" coat. Lovely! And I can't believe how much snow melted in the past 24 hours. Truly amazing. And it might rain tomorrow which would certainly speed up the rest. I think by Saturday, it's supposed to be back in the 30's but back up to the 40's quickly.

We're watching American Idol--it's better than I thought it would be. There are always the interesting personalities, the people you want to keep going. And the judges aren't half bad.

Tomorrow I plan to clean, and I don't know what else, so I guess you will have to wait to see! So until then, dear reader!

The saga continues...

I called this morning about the Celtic Ball, and she said Abby could come--Karen graciously offered to pick her up for practice, take her out for dinner before with Carrie and maybe Adam, and take them to the dance. I offered Jeff to pick them up--nice of me right?--since Karen doesn't like to stay up late, and we needed to help out in some way--and Jeff doesn't mind going out later. So that's taken care of--except finding a babysitter or two for small group, but Abby is talking to Kayla about that.

I forgot to tell you my funny (Dave Ramsey-inspired) story from last night at the basketball game. Actually, I should probably give the credit to Jeff because he would totally have done the same thing long before we heard of DR. Anyway, Amy had said we would have to pay to get into the game even if we were just coming to watch the girls dance. But when I went up to the ladies, I said, "Now, I need to pay even if I'm just here to watch my daughter dance at halftime, right?" The one looked at the other and said, "I don't know...what do you think?" I could tell she didn't really want to make me pay. The other said, "We made everyone else (at which point I started to get out my wallet and say OK)...so just don't TELL anyone, OK? We'll come and find you if you do!" (We goin' find you, we goin' find you! So don't you run and tell that, run and tell that!--I didn't realize they were so ghetto in Woodridge!) So I got in for free, and then another mom came in later and sat with me and said, "It's a bummer to have to pay to just come to watch the girls, isn't it?" I said, "Yeah, it is..." I wasn't going to take any chances!!

Abby did a great job too, by the way, in case I didn't mention that last night. I kind of forget that this is her first year in jazz--she does it so well!

So, this morning I had to scurry (that seemed to be a lot of kids' spelling word yesterday at UV--I answered a few questions about what it meant.) to get everything done before I had to leave. I sent an email to all of the parents of kids in the physical science class because I wanted them to know what I was going to talk to their kids about today so there wouldn't be any confusion. What I was expecting, how to get full credit for assignments and problems, how I was going to give them a chance to re-do what they were supposed to be handing in today if they felt it wasn't their best work, and they could hand it in next week, etc. And to reassure them that if their student isn't in high school, that this is very challenging material, and they should just do their best and not worry about the grade--just try to learn as much as they can. They'll get it again in high school. Very teachery of me.

I don't know what the kids thought of my little talk, but I tried to communicate what was expected so that there wasn't any confusion about that--by now they should know, but it doesn't seem like they do. I guess I kind of go with the idea that they don't KNOW it until they DO it. And I hope they saw my little reprieve as just that--an opportunity to make SURE their work was complete. I know if I were them, that I would have kept it and just checked it over once more to be sure and handed it in next week.

I'm trying, but I know I'm not the best science teacher. I didn't feel like I had enough time to prepare, and some of the concepts were hard for me to explain--like centripetal force--in ways that they can fully grasp--mainly because I'm not sure I fully grasp it myself. We did a good experiment, but it took a long time, so I didn't get through everything I had planned. Well, there's always next week to review, and in the meantime, maybe I can think of some other ways to say the same things. Thankfully, Karen has good powerpoints, but like I told Abby, sometimes I think they just hear words, but the concepts don't sink in.

After school, we went to the library, to the bank, and to GE, then home to unload everything--which is a LOT on Wed.--and then, I went for a walk, had a QT, and Jeff came home to take Abby to her new Bible study at GVUMC. I was going to make grilled cheese for dinner because I ran out of time to cook, and I was too tired to start anything big. He suggested getting something out, so he's picking up Subway after dropping off Abby at church and a book at the Eaton's. That will be very nice. And now I have time to blog as a result.

I got two new books at the library that I had put on hold. One is The Element--about finding your passion. The other is called The Brazen Careerist--suggested by the Debt Free U guy about new ways to look at careers. I'm excited to read them and may start tonight as Jeff has to work on his sermon for Sunday. Mike, Annette, and Alan leave for their mission trip to Honduras on Saturday! Very exciting!

I have school stuff I could/should be doing, but I also am tired, and I am trying to listen to myself when I feel like I need a break from work. I can still do productive things, but it helps to do something different sometimes. Tomorrow morning Abby is having another driving lesson, so I will work on school then.

Hannah is planning to come home this weekend! Yay! I am planning to have Friday night be just low-key and relaxing because I think we could all use that. Then we'll probably have the Karen girls over for the late morning/early afternoon before small group. They don't have school on Friday or Monday, so they wanted to do a sleepover, but EDD is going to a concert with UV on Friday, so that means we can just do Saturday which is better I think. We have school on Monday too, so that eliminates Sunday night.

Really, the title of my post would make you think that there was some more drama that occurred today, but mostly I was just following up on stories from yesterday that were to be continued. Nothing too dramatic--thankfully!

I had a dream last night that I was sitting with Hannah, Katie, and Abby all smooshed together on a couch watching a movie or something, and it made me miss having everyone all together. I'm looking forward to being all smooshed together again soon!

The EHS book chapter that I'm reading is talking about knowing ourselves so that we can know God better--dealing with emotions in a positive way--acknowledging them and not trying to stuff them all down and ignore them. Talking honestly to God and allowing Him to heal, change, comfort all of those emotions we have. It is sad to think that many people think that because they are Christians, they shouldn't feel the full range of emotions--only happy, happy, good, good. That just isn't realistic in this world we live in. Journaling is a wonderful thing for dealing with emotions with God. I've said for years that it's a great form of "cheap counseling." It just takes time and sometimes that is hard to come by--enough to really think, feel, and then work through things. But it's always worth it!

So, Jeff should be home soon with dinner, and I should probably turn on some lights around here. When I sat down, it was still fairly light, and now it's getting very dark! But it was lovely today! Much warmer--probably in the 50's though our thermometer said 60 at one point--and it's supposed to be even warmer tomorrow! Yay! I walked in a lighter coat, with only a scarf and no gloves or earmuffs! It gives one hope!

So, until later, dear readers!

There were some frustrations today...but it was good overall.

So, I had called Mary about the Celtic Ball info yesterday afternoon, and she hadn't returned my call this morning when I was getting ready. I was feeling a little left out of the group, and I was telling Jeff how odd it was that she was telling everyone else at BOW about it, and Abby was standing there, and she didn't even mention anything to her. And I was wondering to what lengths I should go to find out what to do to register--if there was even room left. And why we didn't get invited in the first place--were we "blacklisted" from the Ball? What did we do? Our girls' dress straps were two inches!! :)

It was a total high school "out of the clique" feeling, and I decided it was very emotionally immature to let it bother me, and I should just try my best to find out for Abby and not take it personally, and just see what happened. Then Mary called and apologized for not telling us about it yesterday, because Karen had said that Carrie would hang out with Abby, so Mary thought Abby was already signed up and didn't need the info.

She explained how strange the whole ball thing is this year and how hard it was to find out the information--had to call the church, who wouldn't give her the woman's phone number, but had the woman call Mary back. Then, she wouldn't email Mary the info, and was hesitant about too many people coming. There was no contact info on the invitation--just the address to send in the registration. "Very stealth" as Mary put it. But apparently there is still room for more people.

When I called the church today to go through the whole thing again, the woman 1 there said they were talking about whether or not they were still having it since there weren't enough people signed up. Ya think? If you don't invite them, they will not come!

Long story, but woman 2 called me back (woman 1 only knew her phone number, even though she wasn't doing the registrations), and gave me woman 3's number. I was waiting to find out it Hannah wanted to go, and so now I will call her tomorrow and hopefully get Abby signed up if there is still room. She picked out a dress from the closet that Katie wore that is burgundy and very comfy, so that is all taken care of! Now we just need to figure out what to do about babysitting for small group on Saturday night if she's not here. Wouldn't have planned that if we'd have known. Oh well....

And Dad called about Abby's last two driving lessons, and he called us back tonight, so she's doing one of them on Thursday morning.

Then I started working on school stuff this morning, and I thought grading my kids' science tests would be easy since it was an open book test. WRONG! Because many of them got many questions WRONG! Worse grades than on closed book tests. It was physics problems, which I know are harder for some, but they could use their BOOKS! Oh my. It made me feel more justified in "scolding" them last week for not listening. I have a very long speech prepared for tomorrow's class about what they need to do to improve, what's expected from a high school level science class--like reading the chapter and studying on their own and paying attention to details. Since some of them aren't in high school, I plan to tell them not to be upset by lower grades since this is harder stuff--but they DO need to put in some hard work.

That meant I barely got prepared for tomorrow's class before I had to leave for UV, so I didn't get to walk in the beautiful sunshine which was a bummer. But it's supposed to be even warmer later this week, so maybe I'll make up for it and walk twice one day!

UV went fine, and I took Abby to Woodridge for dancing at the halftime show. Woodridge is so much like the hs I went to--same kind of gym, smells of popcorn, small school, but everyone is at the game--parking lot was full--I had to park on the side of a driveway-thing.

We got home around 8pm, watched Chuck again with Jeff and Abby, and read some of our EHS book for this week. Good stuff. Talked about "differentiation" which hs girls mostly do NOT have--"They need continual affirmation and validation from others because they don't have a clear sense of who they are. They depend on what other people think and feel in order to have a sense of their own worth and identity." Abby found that out with all the angst about dancing one song in front of a few people. Not her angst, but other's.

So, I need to go to bed and be rested for another day tomorrow. I missed talking to Hannah today because when I was free, she was in class, having dinner, or doing a study group. And when she was free, I was at the basketball game watching Abby dance. We'll try again tomorrow! So until later, dear readers!

Valentine's Day

Oh, my! Chuck starts in 15 minutes--I got involved in reading Katie's blog and lost track of the time! But I will still do this!

So, I didn't blog on Sunday because I talked to Katie that day, and Hannah on Saturday, and because I just kind of ran out of time. Let's see...

We went to church as usual, ate lunch, walked in the sun--warmer but windy so still coldish. Then Abby went to YG at 4pm and after that went with Brandon, Erin, and KTF to another worship night in Hartville until 10pm. So Jeff and I ate some leftovers for dinner--beef stew from Saturday night which actually did get done in time to eat it at dinner time on Saturday! I worked on some school stuff and then we went to get Blizzards at DQ kind of as our Valentine's Day treat. We watched a new show--Mr. Sunshine--which has a Hiland HS graduate in it. Then we talked about our busy week ahead, and it was time to head to bed to sleep so we can do all that needs to be done.

Today was school which went fine. Sierra brought cupcakes for Valentine's Day which was a nice treat. For the SAT class, it was a chapter on vocabulary that was very short, so I had them go online and do FreeRice and SAT flashcards Abby found on dictionary.com. I also took snacks so that seemed like a more fun class. I took fruit snacks, pretzels, black bean and salsa chips, candy bars...

There is this very adorable little girl with long blonde ringlets at BOW who is maybe 5 or 6?, named Jadin. She apparently follows the Kosher foods rule because she came in during our class when she saw Jacob (whom she loves) and snacks, and looking at the fruit snacks, asked, "Do those have pork in them?" MMMM....pork-flavored fruit snacks which I guess would be "pork snacks!"

We told her she better ask her mom, and sure enough, there was gelatin or something in them and they weren't kosher...so "no fruit snacks for you!" But she did manage a few pure mini chocolate bars and then asked about pork in the Jolly Ranchers. I wasn't worried about pork in them--they're all sugar, but about choking hazards. She asked her mom though and she said OK. Such a funny little thing! So cute!

Also, I asked the kids in Language Arts to write a story using 10 WW vocab words, and one boy wrote about a field trip to a chicken hatchery. He described the way the eggs came in and hatched, then they had to remove any extra shell. Then they traveled on a conveyor belt to the next spot, but "a few of them have a very dismal outcome because they fall off the conveyor belt. While on the conveyor belt they were sprayed with a vaccine that turned them an exotic red color. It was red because it makes them want to peck it and they peck at each other." It just struck me so funny--great, but so funny! A dismal outcome... :)

So, after school, I came home and put some pizza dough in the bread machine and went with Jeff to the post office to mail Kaite's package. We had done all the research and figured out which box to get, and then they didn't have that box in the post office--had to be gotten online. The mail guy didn't even know the box existed. So we improvised and mailed two small boxes instead. Unfortunately, we had to leave some things out or spend a lot more money. So, hopefully it will all get there in a short time and all in one piece--or two pieces.

Then we had heart-shaped pizza for dinner. We had frozen pizzas on Friday, but homemade is different enough that I didn't mind. And now we have lots of leftovers for the week! Yummy!

Abby and Jeff had to go to Abby's dance class again--she dances at halftime at Woodridge with the jazz classes tomorrow night. Never been to Woodridge HS before, so we'll see how that goes. At least she'll get home earlier than usual on Tuesdays. We'll all be glad to go back to dance once a week. All month she'll have Monday and Tuesday classes because of snow and bball games. Then we can all watch Chuch together again. Awww...Chuck and Sarah are so sweet! What a good show! (It just ended, in case you couldn't tell!)

So, Abby just found out last week that the Celtic Ball is this Saturday, the 19th. We never got an invitation, but people at BOW found out somehow and today had the sheets and were making copies. So, I called one of the moms this afternoon to see if she had the number of who to call--because apparently, they are not as strict about deadlines or something this year. Someone new is doing it. It's weird that they wouldn't just invite everyone who was there last year at least. It will be a stretch for her to go, but Karen said she would drive her with Carrie, and finally Abby would have friends from school who are going, so I guess we'll see. Most likely, it'll be full--but maybe not if they haven't invited people? Hannah is planning to come home this weekend, and we were going to have the Karen girls over, and we have small group on Saturday night, so it's not the greatest weekend for Abby to be gone all day Saturday. But it IS the Celtic Ball, and she could just wear a dress from another year.

I think this week I might finally be able to change my routine and not have to wear boots everywhere and mulitple layers of wool clothing. I said the other day, I just want to be able to wear cute shoes again, and NOT have to wear wool at all! It's supposed to be around 50 later in the week. Our driveway is pretty much clear now--Jeff got some very large ice chunks on Saturday--very satisfying! But it was very windy today, and very gray. Sleepy day.

I loved Katie's post today as always--I can just imagine her bargain/window shopping in France. It's always good to check things out and see where the prices are best! Just in case! Mike talked about not storing up for yourselves treasure on earth yesterday. He did a good job of addressing the issue of saving for the future vs. loving money and being consumed by material things. We can err too far on either side--giving up all material stuff and focusing too much on it. Money is not the evil--Love of money is. Finding our security in stuff rather than trusting in God to provide for us. God is a good provider, and we are thankful!

Well, I guess I will go and read some of the book we are reading for small group now--Emotionally Healthy Spirituality--good title but such a mouthful! And then head to bed early. It's 9:15pm, so Jeff and Abby should be home soon. He'll probably eat the last piece of chocolate pie (I already had mine tonight), and Abby has some Blizzard we left for her in the freezer for her treat. So, until later, dear reader!

Here's what's happening...

Yesterday my time to blog got eaten up by helping Jeff chip away at the ice on our driveway. We were having small group at our house last night and needed to make a way for them to walk on the driveway without needing ice skates. It was hard work. Made me think of a book we read in school about men/boys who had to cut through the rocks to make a tunnel or something. Can't remember the name, but remember the feeling of the description of sore shoulders/hand/backs.

We got some cleared and then I made frozen pizzas for dinner: buffalo chicken and supreme. Pretty good stuff! Had small group with only Lisa's daughter Taylor for Abby to watch and started our new study called "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality." In the introduction DVD, the couple who wrote the book talked about how it came about and their struggles with unhealthy spirituality. He started a bilinual church in Queens, NY, and it was so busy and difficult for many years. They showed a video of the church, and I said, "Hey! I think we saw that church when we stayed in Queens!" They had showed a picture of "Queens Blvd." before that or I might not have even thought it could possibly be. Jeff of course rewound and we looked again, and then he looked it up (yes, during the video at small group) and sure enough, it was just down the street from the PanAmerican, and we walked past it every day on the way to the subway! How cool is that? If only we had known, we could have tried to go to church there--yeah, it would have been difficult, but ya never know.

Yesterday I cleaned and took down all remnants of snowmen, because I AM TIRED OF SNOW! So, I decided to rid my life of the snow I can control. :) It was very encouraging to me to have things back to "normal." Even though I like to decorate for holidays, I really like to have the regular stuff back up. I also took a walk before helping Jeff with the driveway.

Abby is finishing up the ACT now, and Jeff went to pick her up. She'll be wiped out! We've prayed hard, she has prepared, and it's kind of good to just go and take it to see what the real thing is like. The Barron's test she did was so different from the Princeton ones that it wasn't very helpful--asked about weird things that the Princeton book never mentioned. But we still went over a few things that hopefully will be helpful. I told her that taking the ACT/SAT is kind of like packing for a spy mission. In the last episode of Chuck, Sarah told Chuck that he always overpacks for a mission. He said, "I just never know what kind of mission it will be--a shooting mission, a dancing mission, a shoot-dance mission?" So, I was thinking that what you have to do to "pack" for the ACT is to take the things you know you'll need for sure, and then try to take as many little things that you can just in case, and then hope you can find them and pull them out of your giant brain-suitcase when you need them. Of course, there will be some things that you can't find at the moment and then come across later--"Oh, THERE you are!" I know she'll do her best, and that is the very most anyone can do!

This morning I made lunch for Eric's Intervarsity group at U of A. Eric is a friend of Chris and Rosie's from IV, and he's been coming to GSCC for church--very encouraging guy. He has a leadership meeting on Saturday with students and tries to provide a homecooked meal for them. He asked us to do it this week, so I made cheesy potatoes with ham, a loaf of bread (I gave them Katie's strawberry jam too--hope that's OK), banana cc muffins in little Valentine's Day cupcake cups, fruit salad, and some little bags of candy for Val. Day/dessert. I was going to make scotcheroos, but ran out of time, and since there are only 4-5 of them, they had LOTS of food! And since they have bread and muffins, the muffins can be kind of like dessert.

And I put some beef stew into the crockpot for dinner, but I used a recipe that I've only made in the oven before, so it may not be done until dinner on SUNDAY, but it looks good if only it will get cooked! I guess it will eventually!

So, now my cooking is done for the day, and I need to go to Target to get stuff on a list that has been accumulating. No Karen girls this week. EDD has quiz team and is going to a ballet tonight. Since we had small group last night, we decided to take this week off. And since Abby will be tired after the ACT. With only the three of us here now, we all have to be "on" when they are here to entertain everyone. But I feel bad because Ehne Thau called last night to see if they were coming over and said, "I need help with hard homework we got today. It's due on Monday, and no one will help me with it." Ouch--that's when I feel really bad about saying no. I certainly want to help her, but I just don't feel like I can. I suggested asking Ni Doh, and she said, "No, he doesn't know it either." She couldn't tell me what subject it was in. Oh my. Why in the world a teacher at an Akron school would give hard homework when kids aren't at school to get help (over the weekend) is beyond me.

Sounds like they're home, so I'll go and hear all about it! Until later, dear reader!

I did not freeze to death! Yay!

No, I didn't freeze to death and therefore not post...I just had a busy day on Wednesday, and therefore I did not post. Thankfully. :)

Thankfully, my husband IS Superman and IS able to do all things through Christ Who gives him strength, and gives him understanding, and gives him the internet to find information. Thankfully, he got the furnace fixed before I fell completely asleep on Tuesday night. I had almost drifted off with the space heater on, but I knew that Jeff might be up very late working on the furnace, and I couldn't sleep soundly worrying about "What if the space heater overheats from being on all night and starts a fire?" I know--that's a "grandma" thing to worry about. But I just didn't want to be sleeping, dreaming of sitting by a crackling, roaring fire to wake up and have it be in my bedroom for real! Not helpful in sleeping well!

So soon after I got up and turned it off, Jeff came up and said the furnace was working! YAY! After my initial YAY! (which I couldn't fully express because I was drifting off to sleep) my next thought was, "Rats! Now I'm going to roast in these fleece pajamas and extra socks." But, it really didn't bother me, and I slept well! If not long enough...

Wednesday was school--Abby's ride to Spanish class had car trouble so Jeff had to take her at the last minute--they texted her, but she can't receive texts. It worked out OK. I was busy all morning getting ready for school. I had to hard boil eggs for a science experiment, do some bank stuff, pack lunch, and any number of other miscellaneous activities that can take up a whole morning!

Got to school and made copies and gathered science supplies. I wasn't sure if we were going to make it through a whole module or not. It seemed like we could, but we had 3 experiments to do. But with a snow day last week, we could stay on track if we did the whole thing. I could have stopped at 1:30pm vs. 2pm, but then next week there wouldn't have been enough to do, and since they weren't listening very well, I wasn't feeling the most generous about rewarding that behavior and letting them out early. It's a hard time of day, but I was hoping with the experiments, that it would be less just sitting and listening. There's only so much I can do!

So after school, I took Abby to the library, and I went to the bank and deposited my money for all of my purchases of late (Arbonne, Oriental Trading, and my hair appointment), and then to GE for a much-needed trip. I didn't go at all to GE last week since there was a snow storm. And I was rewarded for my diligence in keeping track of my running total, because at the end I thought it should have been $128 and it was $134. There was about $1.50 tax, but that was more off than I usually am.

I hadn't been able to watch her scan everything at the beginning since I was the only one in line and was putting stuff on the belt, so I checked my receipt after I was done, and sure enough, she had scanned 3 frozen pizzas instead of the 2 I had gotten. $5 too much. YES! So I went to the customer service counter and told her and she gave me the $5 back! YES! It pays to pay attention! Or it COSTS to not pay attention!

Then home and unloading everything. We have so much stuff on Wed. with school, library (I did go back and pick Abby up at the library, never fear--you looked worried!), and groceries. But we got it all in and put away, and then I pretty much had to start dinner.

Abby was skyping with Katie though, so I got in on that for a little while. So great to talk to her and SEE her and hear about all the amazing conversations she's having with seekers! A sweet aroma! Kinda like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, or maybe Cinnabon, is Katie to them, I'm sure. Can't resist getting a little closer and seeing what's up with her life. I know they are really seeing Jesus in her--not sure what aroma He is, but it's irresistable eventually, I hope to them!

I made RedHot chicken, fried rice with leftovers from Saturday, and brocolli/broccoli--I can never decide which is the right way to spell that, and I always just abbreviate it on grocery menus as "Broc" so that doesn't help! Anyway, after dinner, Jeff and I went to a leader's meeting that was small but productive.

We decided to do "Extreme Makeover Hope Edition" for the three weeks before Easter--sermon messages, some job finding help/seminars, money saving seminar, and some home fixing-up projects for people in the church and out too. Sounds like it will be a good thing!

Today I went over to Angie's house and chatted with her. She has so much going on--I'm hoping we can help them as one of the people for "EMHE" because they have several house projects that they don't have the time or money for at the moment. Or for several months/years! We'll see.

Then I made egg salad for lunch--April makes it often on Wed. for lunch and lets me have some--it's just really good. Now a blog and more laundry and helping Abby with ACT stuff. And then a quiet time and making dinner. I think I actually have quiche on the menu tonight which I didn't think about when I ate eggs for lunch! Oh well, I'll just have all my cholesterol in one day and live it up! :)

Sadly, I have not been able to walk this week except for Monday since the temp. has been so cold. It was a big fat 0 this morning. And it really only is up to close to 20 now. But by Saturday, it's supposed to be around freezing which will feel WARM! And close to 40 on Sunday/Monday. Now I am just praying that when our icicles do melt along with all of the ice in the gutters, that it doesn't leak up into our roof and into our house and cause water damage. Always something to pray for! The house was making these loud creaks and cracks overnight and this morning. Weird...

So, now off to laundry...and ACT...and dinner....So, until later, dear reader!

Trials. WHAAAAAT?!

Why, oh, why did I have to go and write about trials?! :) Kind of :), but kind of not.

Well, let's see, today was fine--sunny and cold and I worked on school stuff all morning until I had to go to UV with Abby. UV went fine too, and I went to Marc's during Abby's ballet class. Got some fruit and veggies. Took Abby to dance and came home. Unloaded groceries and thought it felt cold in here after getting everything in.

Sure enough, the thermostat was set at 68 degrees, and the temperature was under 65. The furnace wasn't working! Yikes! Especially on a night when the temperature will be in the single digits. And Jeff wasn't home yet (7:30pm), but I called him, and he was only at GE getting gas. So he was home in a few minutes. He looked at it and did the usual sandpapering of the part that needs it every so often. I only got really worried when he said, "Better start up the space heater."

Um, yeah, I just don't think that would keep us warm tonight somehow...but he kept looking at the furnace and found the part that is broken. It's now 8:50pm and he went to Home Depot to get it, so hopefully it will be easy to put in and it will work! And of course, Abby needs to be picked up at dance at 9:30pm. That man is like Superman! He walked in the door and hasn't stopped since.

I was thinking about what I would do if I were a single mom--just because I was reading about single moms who homeschool and how hard it is for them. Things like this would cost so much if you had to call a furnace guy after hours, or the other options aren't appealing either--freeze or leave. Makes me VERY, EXTREMELY thankful for such an awesome husband who will try to figure things out and almost always does! And makes me more mindful of trying to support and help single moms--homeschooling or not. It's a hard thing.

So, I will hopefully be able to report soon that the furnace is running and warming us back up, but for now...many blankets and my coat and the space heater.

Ah, yes, trials...though I have to say that as I was looking in the yellow pages for "furnace" parts suppliers, I noticed that right before that was "funeral homes" and it reminded me to be thankful that our problems are really quite small in comparison to what many have to deal with. It made me thankful to be looking at the "furnace" entries!

I liked Katie's comments on my last post--so cool to see how "thinkings" of people can connect and coincide and be more meaningful together. I need to re-read Little Women--I liked her comparison of my seeing that my girls are growing and becoming even more beautiful for the things that they are learning and going through to when the girls' father came home and saw those things in his girls. Some of it is hard, some is happy and fun, and some is just new and different. But knowing it's all from God is what makes it the best!

Well, I think I'll go and get Abby so that Jeff can keep working on the furnace. So, that's all for now. Maybe more later, or definitely tomorrow. Until then, dear reader.

A few thoughts on trials

We're watching Chuck right now, so I'm writing during commercials. I'm not getting much done though!

Let's see, we had school today and all went well. I took my earrings for April and she bought three pairs--two for gifts and one for herself. That was nice. Just came home afterward, Abby didn't have to babysit, and I went for a walk. I shoveled after my walk and came in with soaking wet hair. The snow was really wet, and it was kind of warm out too. I was able to scrape a top layer of slush off the driveway--don't worry, Kate. It should be clear by the time you get home in April! :)

I made Planet Burgers for dinner--veggie burgers--and sweet potatoes for dinner. Healthful and yummy! In celebration of Abby's one year anniversary of blogging every single day! Woo Hoo, Abby! Good job!

Abby read Katie's blog to me while I made dinner. Nice and long and descriptive and wonderful! Sounds like a fabulous weekend! I was sad to hear about the disappearing wallet though. That is such a bummer--just annoying not to be able to find it, and to have to go through everything to get new cards, and not having money. But, I have had things like that happen before, and I know the sinking feeling when it happens. Glad Jeff could help her with all of the details of getting new cards. I wouldn't have been much help with that, I'm afraid!

I was encouraged by Katie's attitude though of realizing that everyone makes mistakes--and in this case, it's not like she did anything wrong on purpose. During my quiet time after dinner, I was reading 2 Cor. 2 and Paul says that he doesn't want this person he's speaking of (who apparently did something wrong--and it sounds like on purpose, not an accidental thing--and needed to be forgiven) to be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I would never want Katie to be overwhelmed by feeling bad about something like this. When we sin, sometimes we do need to be truly sorrowful and repent--but even then, not to be overwhelmed and excessive about it. And especially when it's not sin, but we are human and make mistakes or just have trials that God allows in our lives, we need to not allow it to overwhelm us and ruin the good life that we have. Must keep it all in perspective, deal with it, accept grace, and move on.

I also thought it was a good reminder that we need to do this "in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes." Satan would like nothing better than for our trials to overwhelm us and take our eyes off of God and onto us and all of our weakness/frustration/etc. But we need to be aware of that, and not let him take advantage of us in that way.

Verse 14-16: But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing....And who is adequate for these things?

God always leads us in triumph IN CHRIST! Not always in us, or our circumstances, but always in Christ. And as we walk in that triumph of knowing that our days are ordained by God, that He always loves us, then we are a fragrance to God and those around us--a sweet one at that! And thankfully even that doesn't depend on us, for truly, who IS adequate for these things? No one apart from Christ!

When I think of "trial by wallet" in Katie's life, I can see how Satan would try to discourage and distract her. She is walking faithfully with Jesus even in a different country with not as much support, and as she goes about her day, she is listening for when she should talk to people about Jesus--using many opportunities to do that in class, and even when she's on a sightseeing trip to Paris. She's making the effort to find fellowship, and I'm sure in each of these situations, she is a sweet aroma of God to those around her.

And I can see how this is an opportunity to respond right to trials in her life. As Abby and I were talking about it, I said that unfortunately, this too is part of being a full-fledged adult. Dealing with trials as they come up--and they are never convenient or easy. But thankfully, they are no more than we can manage, because even though God allows them and uses them, He always helps us and limits them too. So, welcome to adulthood, Kaite! It comes with the territory!

And I think she is doing an awesome job of responding right. Of course there is that initial "oh no!" but then she did what she needed to do to deal with it (a non-adult might have just hoped the wallet would turn up, and ended up with many more problems to deal with!). And she went to God for encouragement--isn't that really the most important lesson? David strengthened himself in the Lord. We all need to learn to do that. Get human help, yes, but go to God to really meet that heart-need for comfort in our souls. I think God must be smiling at Katie even now as she sleeps after a challenging day!

And I've also been encouraged at how Hannah is learning some of the same kinds of lessons at school--getting human help when needed for assignments, but learning to go to God and get the courage and encouragement we need on a daily basis. Sometimes I think a college degree is mostly about learning to deal with difficulty, growing that steel core of determination to persevere inside of us, and depending on God for help in new ways than ever before. All more valuable than anything professors can teach!

Abby too has been tackling hard things with preparing for the ACT. Again, that is an area where learning to keep going when it's hard, being mentally and physically tough to endure is necessary to succeed. So, no matter the score, I see growth in those things, and that is more important than the score any day!

Yay, girls! You're doing great, I love you each so much, and I am so proud of each of you as you walk with God and obey Him. Couldn't ask for more!

And with that, dear readers, I will go to bed thankfully knowing that God is good and that He loves us and will take care of us. What a great thing to go to sleep on!

The quick Sunday night post event

Quick post before bed and another week begins! Last two minutes of the Super Bowl which has actually been a pretty good game.

Had a great time with the Karen girls. They are sweet and funny, and we always enjoy seeing them.

We had grilled cheese and leftover pizza from Donato's from Friday night for dinner on Saturday night after taking the Karen girls home. Not extremely well-balanced, but the pizza did have veggies on it. :)

We watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button last night. Very strange movie. Kind of slow-moving, but always intriguing so that you didn't want to ever look away! Odd....

Today, I was supposed to be in the nursery, but there were no kids in there, so I got to go to Sunday school. Then we had the "State of the Church" address where Mike, Dick, and Jeff gave us an overview of what was up with the church. It was good--they are very funny together! We had a "Souper Bowl" party after church with the youth group. French onion from the Coopers and broccoli/potato/cheese from the Marshalls. Then a discussion about the sermon on the mount with Andrew. He's doing a great job coming up with topics and preparing and everything.

Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl! Woo Hoo!

We came home and had about half an hour before Abby went to her second youth group event, Jeff and I took a walk, and then we ended up eating cereal (Jeff) and fruit and yogurt (me) for dinner. Not very Super Bowl-ish food choices, but we had lived it up at lunch!

OK, Abby is waiting to print out a paper for school, and I need to get to bed because I had a hard time falling asleep last night and so was very tired this morning. Just wanted to send a quick post out to my dear readers. Katie's post was exactly what I needed to hear. She had a great time and is home and safe and happy. Yay! Can't wait to hear more, but know life is busy again as a new week starts. Until later!

A snowy Saturday--again!

I didn't blog yesterday because I forgot until later at night after Jeff and I got home, and since I know Katie is in Paris and not reading, and I got to talk to Hannah, I decided to wait until today.



Let's see...Thursday night Bible study was good--just Linda and Jemma and me because Carol had something at work. We finished the book of James and will start the Gospel of John next time. In preparation for Easter. That'll be good.



Friday I cleaned the house. I almost tackled the basement storage issue when I couldn't find the regular bathroom rug in the packed up stuff from decorating for Christmas. But after cleaning the house, I was too tired. I had lost my pep for tackling a major project. I've realized that I don't like to start a big project when I know I can't finish it. Put that on the list of things I know about myself in thinking about jobs/careers, etc.



Then it was lunch time, and we ate, and I went for a walk. In the sunshine I could almost feel a hint of spring. Someday, someday... I had a quiet time, talked to Hannah, Abby went to babysit, I ironed while listening to DR--yes, I actually got the whole ironing board clean off! It's empty!! THAT hasn't happened in a long time.



I then proceeded to order my yearly Arbonne order. Ouch! It hurts to hand over that much money, but I sat and thought about it for quite a little bit, and I decided that I only order it once a year really, I would have to buy something if I didn't buy that, and anything else I would buy would just disappoint me. For me, this is a case of spending the money once on something that works, and not wasting money on what doesn't. Plus, I had the cash from jewelry sales, so before I actually ordered it, I went and got the money out of my envelopes, made sure I had enough to cover my hair appointments for the rest of the year, and then finished the order. I'm so thankful to have made enough to allow me to buy the things that matter to me in my own vain kind of way. I don't care about buying designer clothes because I can find great clothes at the thrift store, but I haven't found bargain hair or skin care stuff that works. Maybe someday I will, and I'd be HAPPY to switch if I did!

That took until Dad and Abby got home. I made Abby some eggs for dinner--so she wouldn't call child protective services on me--I had promised her that I would feed her, and I had to keep my promise! :) Or else! :)

Jeff and I went to Donato's for dinner. He had called ahead, so our pizza was ready when we got there. Very nice! Veggie with chicken. We went to Marc's after that and then to DQ for B1G1Free Blizzards. DE-licious! Then home. We watched this Barbara Walters' special about her open heart surgery--David Letterman, Robin Williams, Barbara, and guy I can't remember his name, and Bill Clinton. Very interesting actually.

Today, I didn't feel like making soup and rice again, so I just pulled some chili out of the freezer that I had saved from another week, made some rice, and also made rigatoni. We went to get the Karen girls around 12--just as it was starting to freezing rain/snow. Glad Jeff goes with me, otherwise I wouldn't have had the guts to go. We ate--they mostly ate the soup and rice of course, but that was good because it used it up. They went sledding all except for Ehler--we worked on OGT math stuff she had brought. Then hot chocolate, drying all the wet coats, gloves, etc. and watching Coraline which is really kind of weird, and I hope it doesn't give anyone bad dreams! The younger girls are working on Valentine's Day cards, and we'll probably take them home soon. Now that the movie is over though, we should try to skype to with Hannah before they leave.

I read this really good article in Reader's Digest from the Harvard Business Review that I'd like to write about, but I think I'll save it since the movie is over and I should come out of my laptop cave now! So, more later, but that's the scoop for now, dear reader!

What a difference ANOTHER day makes!

It's sunny again today! Like Monday, but with a layer of ice and snow all over everything. At least the sun is nice and is helping to melt things a little bit.

We babysat this morning--thought it would be fairly short, but ended up being three hours! The kids were good, but Emily got tired and fell asleep--Abby's a master of putting her to sleep! The boys were getting tired and hungry too. They were here from 9:15am-12:15pm. Time for lunch and naps--for all of us! :)

I did some laundry while they were here and somehow Abby got some school done too. After lunch, I figured out the Discover bill and went to the bank to get our money for the next couple of weeks, and to move some money around. Then I went for a walk which was a slight challenge since the sidewalks were snowy and icy and the streets were partly clear and partly covered in slushy stuff. I went back and forth between the two depending on traffic. But even though I couldn't just mindlessly walk, I did feel refreshed afterward.

Came home and had a quiet time and now blogging and then dinner and going to Linda's house for Bible study. I like BEING there, but I don't like GOING out in the cold and snow. So, that's my day in a nutshell.

Katie's blog was awesome! So much happens in a day in France. Most days, so little happens here! Or maybe what happens here just isn't as interesting and new as France. Oh well, I'm just so happy that she is doing well, and meeting such interesting people, and getting to talk about her faith with them, and trying new foods, and getting to go to PARIS this weekend! How cool is that? And how cool is it that it's supposed to be warm there? Or warmer at least. Yay! I can't wait to hear all about that too. What a great experience! Love you, chicky!

Planning to have the Karen girls over this Saturday, and maybe Hannah is coming home? She is thinking about it.

OK, I need to go and figure out dinner--what to eat tonight? I didn't go to the grocery store yesterday since the weather was bad, and so I don't have all the things I was planning to have. Not a great situation at almost 5pm! I made tuna noodle casserole last night instead of making tuna alfredo from a box. Not as good, sadly, but healthier. So, here I go to find some food for my family tonight! Until later, dear reader!

Grounghog Day, 2011

Groundhog Day--didn't see his shadow--early spring--yeah, right!

Today, spring seems very far away when we're trapped in the world of snow and ice. However, it has allowed us to have more time off--wow, God must really want me to KEEP resting. I have had a good couple of days off and have gotten things ready for school next week. Good thing because Angie called tonight asking if we could watch the kids tomorrow while she takes Hailey to an appointment. She had another plan and a back-up plan, but they fell through. I was hoping to go to Goodwill for the 35% off day, but helping Angie is more important. Really I was just hoping to get out of the house since it's supposed to be better weather tomorrow, and I haven't left the house for two days!

So, let's see--obviously, not much has happened since yesterday except a lot of ice and some snow. I am very, extremely thankful that we never lost power or had any trees/branches fall. It sounds like farther south they had a lot more of that. So, I'll take kind of boring!

I worked a little on coming up with what I would put on a resume today. I've decided that it would be good to have one ready, and that the process of putting it together is a good exercise in thinking through what "transferable skills" I have. I'm becoming more confident that I really do have skills that I can use to do a job that I will actually enjoy doing! It will have to be an interesting one though--not able to just walk in and get something because of my degree/experience in a field. But I'm sure that God has something in mind, and He'll tell me when it's time. All of the thinking about it has been good though--even just to be able to go into an interview and not feel like I'm unworthy of a job, have done nothing that people will understand or value, etc. I really have done valuable things--and not just to me personally--but I have gained skills in doing what has been important to me that I can use in new ways. And Dan Miller does remind me that 85% of success is from personal qualities that I have been trained in by my job in the last 22 years! Ya'll need to read this book! Maybe we need to buy it!

Also, later in the book he mentions driving through Holmes County, OH--oh yeah! Why would he be there unless he grew up there? Huh? Probably a distant relative of mine! :)

Oh, save me! American Idol is over, and now Jeff and Abby are watching "Minute to Win It"--a game show--I don't know why I dislike them so much. Maybe it's the "get rich quick" mentality, or the overly excited fakeness, or just the mindlessness of it all. I think I'll go back to reading afterward. Of course, they are talking about using the ideas for youth group games--somehow that makes it OK? :)

Well, I guess that is about all I have for tonight. I could ramble on, but that is all it would be.
Tomorrow is babysitting, laundry, Bible study tomorrow night. So, until later, dear readers!

What a difference a day makes!

Indeed! Yesterday it was sunny and cold, but still pleasant. Today we are in the midst of another storm--mostly ice/freezing rain and less snow here, but schools were canceled--even Kent State and U of A. So, no UV or dance. It stopped this afternoon, but started again this evening. So Akron Public Schools are canceled already for tomorrow, so I'm guessing that means no BOW. I spent the morning working on science for tomorrow, but I may be off the hook. That Sir Isaac Newton was some guy! He described gravity, did the experiment with the prism to see that light is made up of different colors, AND developed calculus--all in less than 18 months! What have I done in the last 18 months? :)

When Greta went outside today, she could walk on top of the snow because it was so frozen. Her leash was frozen into the snow on the deck, so I had to let her go without it. Good thing she doesn't take off anymore! She was a lot less snowy when she came in too!

I also sent out emails to all of the parents giving them the updates about what assignments their kids were missing this week. I should really just learn to use Thinkwave, but I haven't yet, so I'm doing things the slow way. But it's good to communicate with parents I think.

Some time in there I ordered some stuff from Oriental Trading too. I have been needing more of those little bags for jewelry, so when I got an email from My Points about getting 500 points with an order, plus free shipping, I decided now was the time. However, after I picked out what I wanted (which takes a while to find), and put in my free shipping code, it didn't work. So I called and she said I needed an order of $59 to get the free shipping. Since shipping is $10, and I had about $30 in products, I looked around and found some good silver spacer beads that I can use and have a hard time finding around here. All said, I got free shipping and $5 off, so I spent around $53, but it will just come out of my jewelry money, and I'll have more stuff to use! Whew! That took way too long to do in real life and to describe in blog-life!

I worked on cutting coupons and doing the grocery list and menu after lunch while listening to Dave Ramsey. Then I made quiche for dinner again. It's very satisfying, quick to make, fairly inexpensive if you don't use fancy stuff, and Jeff and Abby like it. Plus it makes 6 pieces so we each get one for dinner and one for lunch the next day. If I make it when everyone's home, it'll be easy to double things and make two! I also balanced the checkbook after Abby brought in the mail. Don't know why, but I like doing that!

Abby went to have coffee with Katie F. this afternoon, and stayed down there to chat for a while. Jeff and I finally got a Roth IRA set up--we've been talking about it for a couple of months. But then we realized that it was good we had budgeted the amount to put in it and then waited because we needed a lump sum to start it. Another baby step down! Still working on the college one! Why weren't we smart a long time ago? We could have saved so much more...

I made chocolate pudding after dinner and after doing Roth IRA stuff, so we ate that while watching Chuck. That was one good show! I won't say too much, but it was well done! Bravo!

Then I read some more of 48 Days and the Sunday paper a little. And now it is 10:10pm and I am tired. Even though it looks like a snow day again tomorrow, I think I'll head to bed at the regular time and not stay up late!

But, I must say, that it was great to read Katie's blog and hear about her shopping expedition. And to see Hannah on skype a little bit too. Didn't get to talk to her--only see her since Dad was using the headphones, and I was making pudding.

So, now, as Katie's sometimes do, my eyes are wanting to close, so I shall say good night, dear readers! Until next time!