Jul. 24, 2009 - ..........and this is how it went......

Our house, 1 p.m. today:

Daughter was going to vaccuum but I think I have too much hair clogged on the roller because the belt was making "that smell". We decided we'd rather have dirty floors than a stinky house.

Son mopped with the swiffer sweeper. I was thinking about letting "mopping" be his daily chore for this next school year but after today, maybe not. Mopping requires a tad bit of effort and pressure to do any good and frankly, son had the excitement about mopping that squidward usually has about work.

I dropped the kids off at 2 (thanks, grandma) and went to the clinic. (sponsored by a local church, I get my blood pressure medicine there for free...but the wait is a headache)

They had built a new waiting room. You have to wait IN LINE (in order of arrival, in other words) for quite some time before the main waiting area is opened to us. I got there 3 hours before time for the doctor to be there and yet the waiting room was CRAMMED and there were NO chairs and I was squished in a corner with a nice black man and a severely obese woman who wasn't wearing nearly enough clothes.

The woman kept complaining about how sick she was. I was thinking "Lucky me, I get to be squished up next to someone who may be contagious with who knows what". But then........

......................then..............Oh dear, it was bad................then........................she started passing gas!

She was just standing there and we had been having a conversation about her job at McDonalds and about how sick she had been and then she just starts letting her rip!

Really, how do you make conversation with someone like that? What do you say? I said nothing. I pretended I was deaf and didn't hear (or smell) a thing. I worried that the other 50 people in the room would think it was me! (me=the  obese woman who IS wearing enough clothes! too many clothes, actually, for the hot waiting room)

Anyway, the lady ended up going home before she even got to see the doctor.

***(changing subject)***

I ran out of hairspray. Today my hair looked like it did in 5th grade when I got that bad perm. *sigh* I didn't have my hairspray to tame it! It's my own fault, though. I was waiting for a good sale to come along. Since I've started couponing, I almost refuse to pay full price for things. Instead, I run out of things and go around looking like a goon. LOL (I did break down and buy some later in the day...at a cost of $1.79.  I could have cried.  You wait and see, it will go on sale next week.)

Speaking of being cheap>>>>>>I showed up at the clinic at 2 and realized that I was going to be there for HOURS and that I didn't even bring a drink. I don't dare leave, though, else I lose my place in line. So, at 7 p.m. when it was all over, I was SO THIRSTY and hungry.

The only money I have right now is the money for the house payment, so I knew I *had* to be thrifty (as if the sheer thrill of saving money wasn't enough motivation). I went to walgreens because I had a $5 walgreens register reward which spends like cash there. I looked at the soda. $1.79 for a 20 ounce! and I was so thirsty I could down 3 of them. BUT THEN....I saw that the 2 liters were on sale for 99 cents! (nevermind the fact that they were hot and I had no cup with me to pour into). Yep. I did. I got a 2 liter and drank straight from the bottle in the parking lot (after looking around to see if I was being watched) and I also drank again at a red light (I was SO thirsty!).

So..........if you saw a large lady in a mini van today....and she had frizzy wild hair and she was drinking from a 2 liter.....then you probably saw me! Wave next time! ;)

Jul. 22, 2009 - "Do what you want to do" day

Aaahhhh......the lack of structure has turned him into a zombie! LOL

"Being messy makes me happy" says Abby. LOL

*********

We have no water! whoo hoo!

Well, apparently the city is working on the water lines because we have no water right now. That means I have a good excuse to not do dishes or laundry! whoo hoo! ;)

I am ignoring my "to-do" list today and just doing what I WANT to do.....such as organizing my kitchen cabinets.  I haven't even brushed my hair. oh well. I don't care. Today is "do what you want to do" day.

I will have to wake to reality around 3 p.m. and iron our church clothes and if our water is still off we will go to grandma's for showers.

UPDATE at 4:20 p.m........    The water is on, so we can shower at home.   I have enjoyed my day.  I organized my kitchen and bathroom cabinets. I did ZERO housework (except I did make the bed...without thinking LOL) I sat in my chair and read a book.  I looked through my coupons.

The kids are painting on posterboard (that I got at walgreens for 9 cents this week!). I am about to do 5 minute cycles of dishes/ ironing/laundry and start the baths and getting ready for church process. aahhh....its been a great day!

Jul. 22, 2009 - I love my life.

Many times, I complain.  But tonight I am feeling content.

Truly, I am blessed.  I take it for granted.  I shouldn't.

I am blessed to be in a good church that is "in the middle"....not too strict and not too loose.  Moderate.

I am blessed to have my husband, who loves me in all of my imperfection, who is faithful to work to support his family, who loves his kids and plays with them, who is committed to church and God and is patient and longsuffering.

I am blessed to have my son, who makes me laugh, who thinks up the silliest things, who is still quick to hug even though he is as tall as his dad, who says "Mom, you just don't know how much I appreciate you" several times a week.

I am blessed to have my daughter, who mirrors me in action, who is happy to have less so that someone else can have more, whom is a peacemaker.

I am blessed to have friends in Alabama who haven't forgotten me even though I am far away, friends at TOPS who somehow saw a leadership trait in me and are nurturing it, friends at church who call me "Sister Curtis" instead of "Sister Amy" even though I am 45 years younger than some of them, and friends who are family, who I am blessed to live near again.

I am blessed to be able to homeschool and to live in the state that has the greatest homeschool laws in the nation.

I am blessed to live in a nice house and have my own vehicle. (even if the payments ARE killing me!)

I am blessed to be able to sit at the computer at midnight and listen to the locusts chirp and eat soft batch cookies that my mom gave me and feel content.

Jul. 10, 2009 - One hour and 35 minutes later.....

(see previous post for the before pics)

I cleaned out the bottom cabinet of the china cabinet and stored our homeschool stuff that is not used often there.  I would still like to get the clear plastic tub off of the floor (we use its contents daily) and maybe rearrange the furniture.  :)  Even if that doesn't get accomplished, it looks better!

Jul. 10, 2009 - Redoing the school corner

This is today's project.  We do school at the kitchen table and as you can see from these "before" pictures, that corner of the kitchen really needs some organization!  I will post the "after" pics when it is complete.

Jun. 30, 2009 - tired

I'm tired.  Can I just tell you about tomorrow's "to do" list?

Get up, cook breakfast and drag and prod the munchkins until they get presentable enough to leave the house.

Make a grocery list and meal plan for the next 2 weeks.

Drive 10 miles to "town".

Drop something off at my sister's house.

Go to the bank. (payday! yay!)

Go by gamestop and dollar tree so the kids can spend their allowances and yard sale earnings.

Run in Fashion Bug to pay my credit card payment. (warning: if you are ONE day late on your payment, the late payment fee is like $25!)

Go to walmart (that always takes forever....I anticipate that this is the point in which the kids will start whining)

Go to walgtreens (they are having a great sale and I have coupons)

Go to homeland (again, the double coupon thing makes it worth it)

(by the way, for those of you who are wondering, there is a newspaper carrier in our church and she gives me about 6 bundles of coupons every week! yay! I try to keep her buttered up with some free stuff LOL)

Hubby wants me to find out about getting him some inserts for his work boots.

Probably will grab lunch out somewhere because by now it is probably way past lunch time.

Go home and put all of the stuff away.

Everyone needs a bath.

I need to iron church clothes for everyone (are they even clean? probably not)

Pack hubby's stuff (he is leaving on Thursday to visit his dad in Texas for 2 or 3 days)

snack so we won't be hungry during church (we always have supper AFTER church on Wednesdays)

Everyone get ready for church and out of the door by 7:00.

church

Back home...eat supper

Are hubby's work clothes for tomorrow clean? I try to think of this early in the day but it usually doesn't cross my mind until I'm about to get into bed.

yada yada yada............you get the drift.........busy busy busy

It's a good thing it is summer! I'd hate to throw school into that schedule!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On a completely unrelated note, my aunt is in need of a new housekeeper and she has asked if I would like the position.  I said I would answer in 2 days.  I would begin by working 3 hours, once every 2 weeks. She said it could eventually work up to 2 days per week.  She pays $10 per hour cash.  My kids would have to stay with my grandparents while I am there.  What do you think? Should I take it?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jun. 30, 2009 - Ten Dollar Challenge

I found myself with an hour and a half of "kid free" time today and I really wanted to coupon shop when I had the ability to think (because of the quietness of lack of munchkins). However, I only had $10 to shop with and I still had to buy my supper too. (the kids were eating at moms and hubby was just going to fend for himself)

Here's what I bought:

Holly Hobby battery operated toothbrush (put up for dd's birthday) Regular $7. On clearance for $2.50. After coupon= .50

Dry idea deodorant. On clearance plus coupon = .50

Pb crackers.  On sale plus coupon that doubled= .67

Tea bags. One sale plus coupon that doubled= .37

Can of dog food. Free. (and I don't even have a dog! but I will give it to my mother-in-law...for her dog, not for her LOL)

Brut deodorant. Clearance plus coupon= .40

Chinette cups. After double coupon= .43

2 Nesquick (one choclate and one strawberry) After double coupons= .19 each

Reach dental floss= free after coupon

Kraft ranch dressing= free after coupon

Listerine breath strips= .17 after coupon

pickles (reg price $3 something) .50 after sale and coupon

infusium shampoo. clearance and coupon = .90

I love this kind of shopping! I even had enough of my $10 left to get something from sonic for supper!

Jun. 26, 2009 - Bargains, Recent deaths and library

Jun. 16, 2009 - Still alive and saving money! ;)

Wow, I know some of you thought I died or something- I haven't blogged in so long! Well, I'm still alive! Life just got busy (er).  I will try to catch up with my blogging and let you know what all has been going on in our neck of the woods.  But for now, let me show you my latest "hobby".

These are the items I bought this week.  Retail price is $83.82 and I only paid $21.05!  That is a savings of $62.77! (I'm sorry I'm sounding like a commercial. I'm not going to sell you anything, I promise! I'm just excited because I love a bargain!)

However, normally, I don't buy John Freida shampoo (retails for $7 per bottle!).  I normally buy shampoo for $1 or $1.50.  Most of these items I bought are NOT the kind I usually buy.  I usually buy generic. (squeak squeak, can you tell I'm tight?). 

So, I looked at what I bought and figured up what I would have spent on these items if they were my normal brand.  In my brand, they would have cost $37.71 (yes, I put way more thought into this than the normal person would LOL).  So that is still a savings of $16.66! (yikes, there's three 6's in a row...good thing I'm not writing on my forehead at the moment *wink wink*)

I found a couple of good websites that tell about couponing and that is what got me hooked.  It really helps that a sister in our church is a newspaper delivery lady and she is giving me the Sunday papers that don't sell from her rack for the coupons! AND our local library has a coupon swap box-- take what you want and drop off coupons you won't use.  It is a win win situation!

Below are links to my 2 favorite coupon websites. 

http://www.centsiblesavings.com/2006/07/current-deals.html

http://athriftymom.com/

Thanks for reading and I will try to post again soon!

Mar. 7, 2009 - Can you believe...another FIRE???!

We met our pastor's family at the church at noon today and my family and theirs were going to drive to Oklahoma City to a special church service.  We all load up in the van and get not even a fourth of a block down the road when smoke starts POURING from the vents into the van.  It was on FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We all *jump* out of the van and the men raise the hood.  FLAMES!!!! I'm thinking "it's gonna blow!" so I call 911.

 Well, by the time the 3 police cars, ambulance, 2 fire trucks and seemingly million other emergency people get there, pastor had already found the fire extinguisher from the church and put the fire out. 

 So we then had the emergency people out blocking the very busy road in front of our church and there was no fire and I felt like a goober.  Oh well.  If she would have blowed, I would have been glad that I called 911. 

P.S.  We don't know what exactly started the fire except that we saw a squirrel running away from the van and we are blaming it on him.

(please don't be offended at this picture...I found it online and thought it fit my post well....plus, it's hillarious)

  Lots of plastic stuff on the van melted and it smells terrible (and we didn't smell so great ourselves).

So, what happened in your neck of the woods today?

Mar. 5, 2009 - School, modified

First I must say that 2 out of 3 pictures in this post will have nothing to do with what I am saying. LOL

Oh.....I am going to enjoy this day.....even if I have to force myself.

I am still sick.  But I am sick of being sick.  I have spent 2 days sleeping, being a grouchy old lady and letting the kids fend for themselves.

Today I am forcing myself to push a little more and get over this thing.  Here's my "to-do" list for today:

Wash hubby's work clothes for tomorrow

Go to the grocery store (milk, bread, supper, pudding, marshmallows)

Take the kids to McDonalds to play and eat. (because Abby wants to go and because a Big Mac sure sounds good)

Redeem the kids' pizza hut book-it coupons (they can eat pizza later for snack)

Call the insurance company.

Cook supper.

Have the kids read to me.

Wash dishes.

Make hubby's lunch for tomorrow.

So....what do you have planned for today?

By the way, we normally "do school" everyday......but I am just not up to it with this silly cold...and we will catch up quickly.

Feb. 27, 2009 - Abby- a good mama in training.

Abby, age 7, leans down to see after her baby

while riding home from vacation.

Feb. 25, 2009 - FIRE!!!

Remember when I was complaining about Eureka Springs being closed for the winter? Well, had they not been closed, we may have stayed there another day and wouldn't have been home to see this fire!!!

I was on the computer, feeling very sleepy and had just said "I'm going to go take a nap."

Abby was outside playing and ran in all hyped up about something....Pete looked out the kitchen window to see what she was talking about and..............

...fire!

Abby was the first one to see it.  It started from the electric line in the alley between our backyard and a field.

I yelled "go to the front yard" to the kids, called 911, and started digging through the garage for our water hose.  Pete went next door to tell our neighbors.  

 We attacked it with water hoses, buckets of water and a wet towel.  We managed to keep it off of the gas meter, our storage shed and the neighbor's fence. 

The fire department was probably there in 3 minutes but it felt like forever.  I even called 911 back and said "Have they not left yet?" in a not so nice tone of voice.  oopps. 

 I probably should make them some cookies or something to apologize about that.

I was so full off adrenaline.  All I could think of was that fire getting on the gas meter or into the gas that was in our shed and blowing everything to pieces.

I wasn't the least bit sleepy after that.  :)

Feb. 24, 2009 - Vacation pics part 2

May I go ahead and get the frustrations out of the way? These were the "not so great" moments of our trip:

We drove over an hour to go to the space and rocket center, just to find that it was closed that day.

So we drove some more to go to the children's musuem............which was also closed.

Our car got backed into and it broke our light and tore up our bumper (which is still not painted $$$$).

On our way home, we drove waaayy out of our way to go to Eureka Springs, to find that (A) all of the attractions are closed until March and (B) the town had really gone downhill.  It was also about 20 degrees that day.

Ok............now I have that out of the way. :)  Below is a pic to go along with the above "frustrating" paragraph.

Ok,  let's quit complaining and just ride this chair around the table a few hundred more times.

Ok..now on to some good things.  The W family invited us over for lasagana and we had the best time.

We bought a digital camera and I enjoyed playing with it.

It was neat getting to see how everyone has changed in 2 years.

We ate out a lot.

We went back to the Space and Rocket Center on a different day and had fun exploring there.

Hum.................read this while you can....I've got a feeling this is one of those posts that will be heading to the trash soon. It sounds so blah.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post, which will be titled "FIRE!!!"  It will be interesting.

Feb. 23, 2009 - Vacation pictures

We went on vacation to Alabama to see friends.

Here's the church we attended from 1998-2007.

While on vacation, we lodged in the fellowship hall. The kids entertained themselves with this chair on wheels, which they "rode" around and around the tables. In this pic, Josiah is repairing the back of the chair, which kept coming off.

Abby helped keep herself entertained by teaching "Sunday School" to her baby.

.......more pics in the days to come.

Feb. 13, 2009 - *vacation!*

The Curtis Family....................

.....is vacationing in Alabama.

Feb. 11, 2009 - The numbers are in.

Oklahoma Homeschool Capitol Day 2009: Just the Facts

45 – Capitol Day Volunteers
107 – Students who participated in Future Statesmen
472 – Home Educators pre-registered for Capitol Day
487 – On-site registrations
1,111+ - Home Educators at the State Capitol
2,640 – Cookies delivered to Oklahoma legislators (220 dozen!)

Out of 48 Senate districts, 43 were represented by home educators on
site; 73 out of 101 House districts were represented. We haven't yet
calculated all of the records set at this year's event, but early
indications are that many prayers have been answered, many contacts
were made and the voices of Christian home educators were heard loud and clear.

Feb. 11, 2009 - capitol day and tornado (please read!)

Yesterday was Oklahoma Homeschooler's Capitol Day.  If you have never been to your state capitol, I suggest going. It was really neat!

I was hoping our tax return money would arrive before our Oklahoma City trip.  The kids had asked to go to ChuckECheese, which we do almost every year after getting our tax money. I also wanted to do some shopping.

However, yesterday morning I checked and our money hadn't come in yet.  It was okay. I had asked God to let it come in when it was SUPPOSED to come in.  I had enough money for us to go to Oklahoma City but I didn't feel like we could splurge just yet, so the Chuck E Cheese part of the trip was called off.

Mom had warned me that the weather was going to get bad.  We finished up at the capitol around 2 p.m. and it was very cloudy but not storming yet.  We went to Mardels (christian bookstore) and it poured while we were in the store but had stopped by the time we came out.

Next we went to Krispie Kreme. (You may remember the earlier post about that being a "rule"... you MUST NOT leave Oklahoma City without going to Krispie Kreme)

By now I am getting concerned about the way the sky is looking. I am trying to decide if we should eat in Oklahoma City or if we should drive through somewhere and drive home.  The kids are wanting to eat in OKC.  Josiah is wanting to eat buffet.  During this conversation, I have missed my turn and I am in the process of finding a place to turn around to get back on the right road.  Out of the blue, I say "I wonder if Oklahoma City has a Cici's pizza."

 Now, if OKC did have a cici's pizza, I had never seen it.  But as the words were leaving my mouth, I pulled into a turning lane to head back the right direction and THERE, right in front of me, was Cici's pizza.  I though "hum....that was just a little too weird.......maybe we are supposed to stop here." So, we did.  There was a weather alert on the tv in there, and it was showing that another part of OKC was in a tornado warning! If we wouldn't have stopped to eat at Cici's we could have been driving into the tornado area! 

Oh....and remember wanting to to go to Chuck E Cheese, but God said no by not letting us get our money yet?  Well, while we were in Cici's pizza, the tornado was at Chuck E Cheeses.  It blew out the windows and a wall of Chuck E Cheeses collapsed. 

Thank you, God, for intervention!

Feb. 9, 2009 -

I had a meeting to go to tonight and was using the alone time in the car on the way home to talk to God.  All evening long I felt ___________. (I'm not sure what the word is for how I was feeling.)   Anyway, I was feeling sorry for myself and while in prayer I realized that nothing was wrong, I was just looking at things from the wrong perspective.  And then this song came on the radio and it basically summed up what I was needing to say to God.  So, I thought I would copy and paste the lyrics here:

Todd Agnew - In The Middle Of Me
From the album Reflection Of Something

Need a little more sunshine
In the middle of rain
Need a little more joy
In the middle of pain
Need a little more color
In the middle of this plain jane

Chorus:
Cause I looked as deep as I can see
And I think I need a little more of You
In the middle of me

Need a little more patience
In the middle of stress
Need a little more beauty
In the middle of this mess
Need a little more substance
In the middle of this emptiness

Chorus:

I need more of You and less of me
More of You and a little less insanity
More of You and a little less complexity
Cause I looked as deep as I can see
And it seems more of You is better for me

I need a little more rhythm
In the middle of this rhyme
A little more spontaneity
In the middle of this grind
I need a little more truth, not music
In this world of life

  P.S. We are going to Homeschoolers day at the Oklahoma State Capitol tomorrow.  Please pray for a special blessing to rest upon us tomorrow.

Feb. 9, 2009 - Flylady anyone?

Do you do flylady? Do you even know what flylady is?  It is sure making a difference at my house and I highly recommend it. ;)  Have a productive week, everyone.

http://www.flylady.net/