Goodbye January

In a few hours January 2009 will be gone. By now you're either used to writing '2009,' or you've been so good up to now that now you've let your guard down and find a stray '2008' here and there. At any rate, most have abandoned their New Year resolutions (others, like me, have yet to get them implemented) and looking for the next motivational occasion to look forward to.

On to my next random thought...

Dinner this evening was at one of my husband's favorite restaurants; Outback Steakhouse. A few things caught my attention while there... My kids' steaks were larger than mine and they ordered off the kids menu. It seems we all ordered 6-oz sirloins but because mine was cooked well-done and theirs medium - well, I ended up with the puny steak.

Speaking of eating out...The big topic of conversation (and concern) these days is the economy, and rightly so. There's plenty to talk about. In an effort to keep costs reasonable, business owners have to get creative. On a recent dinner to Cracker Barrel I noticed my entree was about half the size it used to be. Now I'm not a huge eater (i.e. quantity at a single sitting) but I generally have enough food left to cover my lunch the next day. Hmmm...not that day. Now we're out of town on business and having to eat out and a similar situation caught our attention tonight. The salads were much smaller than they used to be and when our dinners came I was shocked at how small the potatoes were. Our whole potatoes tonight were smaller than the potato halves used to be. So, while our bill was close to the same as always, we got a lot less. I should note, however, in the interest of fairness, that dinner at Applebee's last night held no surprises - I received the same large portion as usual - but didn't have any place to keep the leftovers at the hotel.

While 'people watching' at Applebee's last night we saw a good number of fathers out with their kids. I'm assuming, as dangerous as I know that is, that they were divorced dads with their kids for the weekend. At least the folks we saw seemed like they were enjoying their time together and were engaged in lively conversations.

A great place for people watching is the zoo, and amazingly enough, that's where we were for a bit this afternoon. As homeschoolers we usually go to the zoo during the week. We hadn't counted on how busy they would be on a Saturday; particularly a Saturday in January. It was a beautiful sunny day with a light breeze - just enough breeze to keep us just a touch colder than we were comfortable being. Ken walked the zoo with the kids and I took the time to read from a book I brought along. With no jacket with me I was getting pretty creative trying to make my knitted scarf do jacket-duty. Just when I would have it in a good spot for my neck, arms, and hands, it was time to turn the page. At least I had on long sleeves. Plenty of people were walking the zoo in short sleeves. I know 'cause I was watching them!

And finally...
For a brief moment yesterday I thought I was at the beach. Bright sunny day, gentle breeze and seagulls everywhere I looked. No, we weren't at the beach but in the parking lot of a strip-mall in Columbia, SC - the midlands - the center of the state. Someone said they follow the river and we were close to the river. Frankly, I think we'd both be happier at the beach!

Have a Super Weekend!

Scattered Thoughts

Tired but can't sleep. Too many thoughts playing out in my head like a bad filmstrip. Good, bad, and incredibly ugly - all just a hodge-podge.

Milestones... last week marked a few family milestones. Kaitlyn is now 6 months old and sat up on her own - also lots of teething action going on... Zachary is now 4 months old and enjoying new things like vocalizing and reaching for (and playing with) interesting things and even a few toys... Abbey is now 8-years old and is the sweetest 8-year old I know.

Missing my husband - work has been keeping him very busy lately and even when he's home he's often troubleshooting work problems.

Matthew (3) called over the weekend. We all miss him so much. Sure wish Texas wasn't so far away.

New daily routine...having morning coffee with Elisa. I love having that time with her!

Darrell is really doing well in school this year. He's also been a big help to me with the kids. Now if I could just get him to see how sweet Trudy really is! You know the old saying...'love me, love my dog.'

Praying that Josh finds steady full-time work. Thankful he has the part time job he got to supplement their income. He and Shannon are feeling the stress that loss of employment can bring.

New Year, new insurance coverage. New wrinkles to be worked out (no, I'm not talking about cosmetic surgery). New out-of-pocket payments for items we have 100% coverage for (sigh). Hopefully worked out next week.

My dad is still having trouble following his bout with "flu" more than 3 months ago. He may have more tests this week. Hoping he gets some answers and praying it's something easily cured.

Elisa told me that Zach really laughed for the first time tonight. Seems our little guy is ticklish.

I'm so thankful for our church family.

A dear friend has surgery tomorrow - praying all goes well.

Someone I love is going through such a painful time in her life. My words are weak and inadequate and we live states apart. I hurt for her, I pray for her, I hope she knows how much I love her and her family.

My women's Bible study starts back next week. That time among friends is wonderful and I've missed it. Ditto for Life Group. This is a new group and I'm really looking forward to the study and the fellowship.

Christopher, along with his cousin (and best friend), Andrew, attended their first Boy Scout meeting this evening. I can't believe how excited he was (before the meeting) and how much more excited he is now. In his mind he's scaling mountains, camping, eating around a campfire, tying knots and making lifelong friends (Boy Scouts of America has a great website!). His excitement is contagious!

We have a long weekend with Ken this weekend. Yeah! We've all been staying so busy lately that we're not having as much home-base time as we'd like.

Trudy (Dachshund) is recovering from a recent scrap with Izzie (large lab/chow mix) in the back yard. Trudy was the aggressor, but in the end didn't fare well at all. I don't think she knows she's a small dog.

Grandmommy is back home this week. It's never quite the same around here when she's away.

We have a meeting with Abbey's speech therapist this week. We can either get her speech therapy or move to Boston...

I'm really enjoying my newest hobby of loom knitting. I've made multiple scarves and am currently working on an afghan.

Attempting to quiz my cousin on family members I never really knew. Hoping she can fill in some blanks and I get a better feel for my extended family.

Time to try and sleep. Tomorrow's another day and a chance for new adventures.

January 16th - I Give Up!

I was in better shape than I realized on the 4th!

Since then I'm often away from home 10 hours a day (for the first time in 7+ years). I'm not getting the things done I need to, but I'm still homeschooling my youngest kids and taking care of my grandson, Zachary, while his parents are at work.

And...
I'm still smiling - even if I am a little more tired than usual.


Stay warm this weekend!

It's Only January 4th and I'm Already Way Behind...

Happy New Year! ahem....HAPPY NEW YEAR! oops, ok, sorry.

You see, this whole New Year thing has blindsided me. I really thought we just finished up the Thanksgiving leftovers and now, I'm sitting here writing this at 11:00 at night on the 4th of January, 2009.

I don't know where December went. I mean I do remember my brother and sister-in-law's 25th wedding anniversary on the 3rd. I lost a friend's birthday card (and only found it 2-days ago), and vaguely remember Ken and I meeting at a local Mexican restaurant for a quick anniversary dinner a week later on the 10th. We were both exhausted after hectic and stressful days. A few days later we had a nice evening celebrating our nephew's 11th birthday at Texas Roadhouse.

I'm sitting here guiltily trying to remember Ken's birthday a few days later but not having much luck. I do remember, however, that I still haven't gotten around to making his cinnamon-sugar pecans like I promised and I didn't have to make his pecan pie because our sister-in-law made one and gave it to him. Ahhh...that's it! We all met at Ryan's for a Saturday morning breakfast buffet birthday get-together. That explains why I was having trouble - I was trying to remember where we had dinner and we didn't do that this year. Phew...I feel a little better anyway. I'd hate to think I forgot my husband's birthday celebration.

So, somewhere along the line our Christmas tree was put up and decorated. Food cooked and presents wrapped (thank you Abbey and Kenneth!) Some cookies baked and even more dough made - just waiting to be baked.

Christmas church service the Sunday before was beautiful but we didn't make it to the candlelight Christmas Eve service we usually attend. It was moved an hour earlier and we just couldn't make it work. Christmas Eve/Christmas Day were both wonderful. Time spent with family is when I'm happiest.

I know we haven't had any snow yet, but really, everything is a blur as if seen through the gentle haze of falling snow. It doesn't matter if I get to bed early or late, get up early or sleep in - I just keep feeling like I came in during the middle of the movie and can't figure out what's going on.

So, with all that said, is it any surprise that I am still not prepared for my New Year resolutions? I don't really call them that, but hey, you can fool some of the people all of the time or all of the people some of the time, etc ...

Not all is lost (yet), though. I am 'preparing' for my projects. Let's just say they include a lot of fruits, vegetable, whole grains and a woman known as FlyLady and a "control journal." (That sounds scary, doesn't it?)

Normalcy may not be forever lost, though. The kids and I get back to our studies tomorrow morning and that will be a relief. I'm always most comfortable when I have that time with Abbey and Christopher. Most of our activities pick back up this week or next and, we have to get used to Kenneth being back at work after vacation. We have been fortunate to have a good bit of time spent with Zachary. He's so wonderful! I love seeing Abbey and Christopher with him. They are so proud to have two nephews and a niece. Me, I just have to keep the 'mommy' vs 'grandma' roles straight. It's a juggling act - but like most things, it gets easier with practice. We also got to see Kaitlyn over the holidays and that girl has a smile that just goes on and on. She lights up brighter than a Christmas tree!

During our time off Abbey and I started loom-knitting. It's only been about a month and I've already made 9 scarves. Out of those I really only messed one up (I kept that one for me). It's a good confidence building hobby because it's easy to learn and fun to do. Plus I like the idea of making something for others that 'hugs' them and keeps them warm. (At this point Elisa would call me a dork and text me a :-) for my korny efforts.

Anyway, I really got on here to jot a "I'm way behind" sentence and let it go at that. You see how far that went.

So, on that note I will end this entry and call it a night. Maybe I'll get caught up tomorrow...or maybe not.

In any event, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!