Nov. 23, 2009 - Lately...

Another long gap between blog posts.  I really should get better at this--would like to make it a priority again, but haven't gotten around to it.

In bullet points:

*Getting back into a school routine.  Only 8 weeks left of Core 3 Sonlight.
*Last week, my husband had meetings in Grand Rapids.  Since he was driving, we got to pack up the school books and go along.  The weather was nice.
*Highlight of the trip--my sister and her husband came up for the day.  We went to the Grand Rapids Public Museum.  It was awesome!  A place to go if you're ever in the area.
*Back home, no snow on the ground yet.  It is an absolutely gorgeous day today, and the frost patterns on the top of the van this morning were beautiful!
*I'm getting a new camera--an early birthday present.  When one's birthday is in January, it makes sense to shop the pre-Christmas sales.  I got the camera and memory card both on sale at a price almost as good as Amazon in the States, and I don't have to pay shipping. (It was also less expensive than the same camera in a store in G.R.)  I'm very excited about it, as the current camera is getting worse and worse.  It should arrive tomorrow.  (Perhaps I should plan time in the schedule to figure out how to use it....hmm...)
*Time to call the kids in from the sunny outdoors to get back to the books.

Here are a couple of the latest photos from the old camera.  These didn't turn out too badly.  I really like the one with the red and gold leaves together.


This one is a farm just on the edge of town--an early morning shot.

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Nov. 22, 2009 - Pampering Favorites

Sometimes you just need to take some time to pamper yourself.  Today, I thought I'd share a few of my more recent pampering favorites:

Fall is here and one of my favorite things about fall is the scents associated with the season - baked goods, spices, etc.  I don't always have time to be baking (and I'd weigh about a million pounds if I did!), so I like burning candles to get those yummy-smelling aromas in my house.  At a local craft shop, I found a really neat brand of candles that are poured in regular canning jars - what's neat about them is that they all look the same - the jars are covered with a bumpy brownish paint, some gauzy fabric, and a brown paper label.  This is cool because you don't have to buy candles based on color anymore - these fit any decor and you don't even see the candle inside.  Plus, they are long-burning.  Alas, I don't see a brand name listed on it anywhere, so I can't share a link with you (if I had a camera, I'd take a picture).

Another great candle product that I've been enjoying is the Sugar Cookie Soywax pint-sized candle by Homestead Originals.  These are available in various sizes and fragrances, are hand-poured by my friend and co-worker, Lisa Barthuly, and smell awesome! 

Another awesome product from Homestead Originals is their Handmade Lavender Wheatberry Heating Pad.  I ordered mine without the lavender because I'm not a fan of the flowery fragrances, but this thing is just so wonderful!  Lately, I've  been having a good deal of back pain and this feels so good when I heat it up and put it behind my lower back on the couch.  Also, after a long and tiring day, this feels great around my neck!  The website recommends using it as a bed-warmer, and I am SO going to be trying that this winter.  Talk about some major pampering!

With the cooler weather, comes  dry skin.  I haven't had much trouble in the past, but this year my hands have been unusually dry (right around the knuckles).  Just when I thought I was going to have to break down and purchase an expensive lotion, they started getting better.  I had recently opened a new container of dish soap - and it's been a lifesaver.  Dawn Hand Renewal has been surprisingly effective. The bottle  says that it improves the look and feel of your hands in just 5 days, and I'm here to attest to that fact.  It sounds kinda silly to consider dish soap something of a pampering product, but I'm sold on this stuff - it's a miracle worker.  On Wednesday, my knuckles were like sandpaper; today they're soft and smooth. 

Winter is the time for long, hot bubble baths, so I also ordered some of my favorite bubble bath from Avon.  Curling up in a hot tub filled with bubbles, reading a good book, and smelling a yummy candle - sounds pretty great to me.

What are you doing to pamper yourself?  Any great products you can recommend to me?

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November 22, 2009 - It's Thanksgiving Week....

I can't believe it's Thanksgiving week.  We bought a 25lb bird this year, so I had to put it in our fridge Saturday , which is way early for me.  But it just made me realize how close Thanksgiving really is.  I'm going to make a list today of all the things I want to get done this week.  I usually bake my pies on Wednesday, still have to practice cookies with Sarah, that will probably be Tuesday.  It's things like that I need to make a list for, otherwise I'll forget the things I need to get done, and only do the things I want to do. 

I will be finishing up our Christmas cards today.  Well, the cards are done, pictures developed and yearly letter printed out.  I just need to sign the letter, put the kids ages on the back of the pictures, then put it all in the envelopes.  Maybe I'm a little optimistic on getting that all done today, but it's my goal.  We also have a bible study tonight, so we'll see how much I get done.  I just made a mental list of all the things I need to bake this week, I'm tired all ready. 

We finished school already.  We have this whole week off, makes things easier for me.  But the kids doubled up on their school work on Thursday, and had Friday off too.  Which was nice.  I helped out decorating our church last Thursday, it was lots of fun.  The kids were so good, and finished all their school work while I was gone.  (Proud mama here). 

Friday was a great day.  I went to a new woman's bible study I'm going to on Friday mornings, and it was such a blessing.  Then in the evening the kids both had homeschool outings to go to, so Paul and I had a date night.    We went to the Olive Garden, and had such a nice time.  We haven't had a date in a couple of weeks, it was very nice.

Saturday we decided to brave the stores and do our grocery shopping on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.    It was a bit of a mad house, but it was fun.  The hardest part was the cold, blowing wind.  We all just wanted to get home.  I thought I had gotten everything I needed and wouldn't have to go back out to the store before Thanksgiving, I was wrong.    I forgot to get a big thing of cool whip for a fruit salad I'm making.  Can't make it without it, so I guess I'll be running back to the store real quick on Monday.  Then I won't enter a store again until after the weekend sometime.  I stay clear of them all during this time of the year.    We don't do the black Friday shopping, and I just read today how they limit those 'specials' anyway.  Like those tvs or something big on sale.  Only 4 can be sold from the whole store!    Only four people will get that big deal.  Ugh, so not worth it to me.

What we do the day after Thanksgiving is put up all our Christmas decorations.  As most of my regular readers know, we put up our decorations the day after Thanksgiving, and take them down the day after Christmas.  But we really enjoy setting them up.  We eat Thanksgiving leftovers, drink eggnog, and watch It's A Wonderful Life.  My kids really enjoy that movie.  And it really is a fun, relaxing day.  We are pretty mellow with our decorations, so it only takes a few hours.  Hanging the Christmas lights in the kids bedroom takes the longest, but it's what they love the most.  Falling to sleep with their Christmas lights on.

Well I should get going and work on the Christmas cards.  It's snowing pretty heavy out right now.  We need to go out tonight, I hope it lets up soon.  But it is so pretty.

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Nov. 21, 2009 - Want a new computer for Christmas?

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Nov. 21, 2009 - Sherwood Pictures Presents . . .

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Nov. 19, 2009 - Hurry Up and WAIT!!

I don't think waiting is all that hard for me.  I usually find ways to fill my time, even if it is just a good book to read.  But these past two weeks have redefined waiting.  After my last post, I did have to go to the ER, and was diagnosed with a kidney stone which was lodged in the ureter.  I followed up with my urologist, the only one in the area, and scheduled a lithotripsy (sound waves blast the stone into tiny gravel that are easier to pass).  Since I had come down with a bad cold and had lost my voice, he also prescribed an antibiotic to make sure I didn't develop any other nasty bugs before the procedure.  Unfortunately, I had a severe reaction to the medication and ended up hospitalized.  Since then, my heart has been racing.  And racing, and racing.  While I was in the hospital, the doctor placed a stint to make sure my kidney could continue to function.  Lithotripsy was rescheduled, and home I went.  The tachycardia did not go away, though, and a subsequent EKG proved abnormal (inverted T waves), so lithotripsy was cancelled again. 

So here I am.  Two weeks and I still have a stone.  Thankfully, oh so thankfully, I have no pain.  My pulse seems to be returning to normal after 1 1/2 weeks of racing.  Hopefully, I will find out soon what the new plan is.  And hopefully, we can wait until after thanksgiving.

As to our Thanksgiving study--we finished Leif the Lucky and started Columbus today.  We should finish Columbus tomorrow and next week we will read Pocahontus and If You Sailed on the Mayflower.  We are also using a globe to trace the routes that Leif and Columbus took and a dictionary to look up unfamiliar words.  And The Usborne Book of World History has been a great resource with this unit study.

When December comes, we will begin our Christmas study, which always includes reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

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Nov. 19, 2009 - Carolina Pad's Ghostline Products

OK, I admit it, I'm a total school supply junkie!  I'm a sucker for notebooks, folders, pencils, etc.  We don't even have to need them - sometimes we just WANT them.  Yes, I say "we" because I've passed this fascination/addiction with school supplies on to both my girls, who are constantly begging for new pencils, notebooks, etc. 

Carolina Pad is one of my favorite school supply companies!  I can always count on them to have great-looking products that are fun to use.  One of my personal favorites these days is the Kendall Collection.  I've got this lapbook bag (which I think is just too fun!) and these folders and dividers (which make my homemade organizer for work and home look very put-together).  Another favorite pattern/collection is the Hot Chocolate collection.  I've got several notebooks from this collection, and Ashley has a binder.

I was recently asked to help Carolina Pad celebrate the 13th birthday of their Ghostline products.  I received a selection of Ghostline products to review and was beyond thrilled!  You see, in addition to my obsession with school stuff, I'm also a stickler for neatness (otherwise known as a "paperwork perfectionist").  I so wish these products would have been available when I was in high school and was making posters for pep rallies!  Why?  Because the Ghostline products have very faint gridlines on them, making it amazingly easy to write and keep things straight! 

I used the large display board kit to make this memory board for Ashley's 16th birthday:

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Nov. 19, 2009 - Ashley is 16!

It's so hard for me to believe that I have a 16-year-old!  Wow - time really does fly when you're having fun - and we've had 16 VERY FUN years with this girl!  I don't mean to brag, but she is just THE BEST and has put so many smiles on my face over the years. 

I'd love to share pictures, but they're all saved on the other computer.  If you want to see them, check out my Facebook page - I've loaded several of them up there.  (If you're not already my friend, just request and I'll accept! ) 

We had an all-day Open House (on Sunday from 1-8).  I thought it would go in spurts with the guests, but we had a steady stream of visitors during the entire day.  There wasn't one time, during the 7 hours, when there wasn't someone here.  It was so nice to see all the people who love and care about Ashley and to be able to spend some special time with them.  (I'm still eating leftover dip, though - and am sure I'm going to turn into a bowl of dip by the end of the week!)

I realized, after all the festivities were over and the gifts were put away, that we didn't get a single picture of Ashley with Brian & me.  We took her picture with all of her guests, but none with her parents or siblings. 

Now, she is looking forward to a visit from a good friend from NY this weekend! 

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November 15, 2009 - Happenings in my life.

OK Jeannie here is my entry.    I have been meaning to put an entry out here, but I am doing a complete overhaul on my website, Watered Garden Web Creations (no changes are out there yet ), and it's been taking a lot of my time.  I have prayed, talked with my husband, and prayed some more about what direction to go with my website.  I just haven't felt the desire to make it a 'business' anymore.  I really enjoy web site design, I truly do.  But I don't like having to put together the templates, colors, layout etc...  I guess I'll always be a computer tech at heart.  That's what I did when I worked outside the home, and I like the technical aspect of putting websites together, just not the artistic.  So with that, and much prayer, I have decided to turn my website more into a hobby website than a business website.  One of my issues is that I'm always looking for ways to bring money in the home, but that's not what the Lord wants or my husband.  My husband constantly tells me, even if I get any money it won't go toward the bills or anything like that, it would be mine.  The Lord provides through his job, and that's the way Paul wants it.  I submit to that, and I truly am ok with it, but there is always a part of of me that thinks that I should help bring in more finances.  But see, that's all selfish on my part.  Because all our needs are met, when I want more money, it's because I just want more things.  So the Lord and my husband are totally right, I'm completely wrong.  Anyway, sorry, I digress.

Paul really encouraged me in my discouragement, and so now my site is going to be a big blog type site, similar to this site.  I'll have a craft page, homeschool page, photography page and some other pages.  I've been working on it, but my biggest stumbling point is I just can't find a template I like.  I'll work on it more today, and hopefully I'll be announcing it soon.  But don't worry, even when I do have my website set up, I'll still be blogging here.  This is my first blog home, and you are my dear friends.  My website will be things I'm working on, crafts I'm doing, and normal life things.  This blog will continue to be my more intimate thoughts.  This is where I open up more than anywhere else.  So don't worry, I won't be leaving. 

I've also been very busy making our Christmas cards.  I'm just about done with them.  Actually after I post this entry, I'll finish them up.  I'm still working on our yearly family letter, and our pictures won't be developed until Tuesday, so they won't be ready to mail until Thanksgiving week.  But printing and stamping the cards has taken the most about of time, and I'm glad I got them finished this weekend.

I've been kind of putting off finishing our yearly letter because I'm praying that I can add an update there soon.  My twitter friends know, but I'll put it here too for all my other friends, my hubby is looking for a new job.  We always knew working at our church was not going to be a permanant thing.  Long story, so I won't go into it all, but during the summer we started praying about things.  See Paul's employment background is mainly in production/manufacturing.  In Illinois, that is huge, out here, not at all.  So we had to come to some decisions.  Do we move back to Illinois, do we move to another part of Idaho, does Paul go back to school, or does he change his area of employment?  After much prayer, we knew we wanted to stay here, and truly, though he's been in production for years, his strong point is customer service.  He is such a people person, and he loves helping others.  Any job he had that was customer service oriented, he has just loved.  So he is going to change his area of employment and go for a more customer service oriented job, trying to find work at Wal-mart type stores, or the big grocery stores out here.  There is one he really wants to work at, and it's a great company to work for.  The general manager of the store goes to our church, and though we never knew him, his wife is a teacher at our churches school, where Paul works.    Yep, the Lord works everything together.  So Paul has talked with him, filled out the application, took an on the phone interview type thing.  He'll be going in Monday or Tuesday and see what next step he needs to take.  We are still not sure if he will get hired or not, and if he does what position he'll get, but we leaving it all in the Lord's hands.  If it's not this store, then another store.  But I do ask for your prayers that if this is the place for him, he'll get hired, and soon.  I also pray, more of a selfish prayer, that he will not get the night shift.  The store is open 24 hours, and I know we homeschool, and can change around our schedule if he works different days.  But I am truly praying that he doesn't get a night shift.  This post is already long enough, so I won't go into all the details why I don't want a night shift, but I really don't.  So prayer he doesn't get a night shift, and if he does, if that's the Lord's will, then the strength to deal with it.

Ok, well now that I have written a book, I really need to finish our Christmas cards.    Hope you all have a blessed day.

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Nov. 11, 2009 - a postcard from God

A few weeks ago, my friend Jodi posted on her blog about a "postcard from God".  She shared it because, not only was it special to her, but she felt that God was prompting her to share it with someone who needed it.  I felt that it was meant for me - I needed it right then - and I need it right now. 

Jodi was sweet enough to share the postcard with me so that I can share it on my blog:

Awesome, isn't it?

Maybe it's just what YOU need today too.

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