what i did today

How’s that for an SEO-friendly title?  I just know someone is googling for people’s weekend recaps.

So hi. 

I’m still here.  I still love blogging.  I love writing.  I love you.  If you’re still out there.  I guess you are if you’re reading this.  And if no one does, I suppose this is like me talking to myself in the middle of the woods.  It wouldn’t be the first time I talked to myself, so I may as well keep going.

The last two weeks have been hard emotionally for me.  Lexi has come unraveled a few times and it’s led to some glaring issues and things that need to change, a lot on my part.  I’m trying my best to spend as much quality time with them as I can.  I’m having to say no when I don’t really want to say no. I’m having to bite my tongue.  I’m having to pay attention.  Really pay attention.  In other words, it’s been taking a lot of my time and exhausting me a little.  But in the most wonderful ways.  This parenting gig is something I happily signed on for and while hard, the good is so good it’s worth it. 

In super duper good news, I’ve been working from home a lot more lately.  I’m SO thankful.  It’s such a huge answer to prayer and could not have had better timing.

We stayed in Friday and ate pizza and watched TV together.  Saturday I took the girls to the Nature Museum, Moe’s and the library.  For whatever reason they really latched on to the rocks and minerals at the museum and most of their books were on those.  Kids surprise you sometimes.  Lexi was scared to death of the big bears and elephant.  I embarrassed her when I started praying over her right in front of the monkey display.  We were all alone in the whole hall but she still said, “Stop, Mom, you’re embarrassing me.”  I think it was the first, but certainly not the last.  The library we went to after that has this wonderful spiral staircase.  My parents used to take me and my sister and I loved that thing.  We were climbing to the second floor and Emma was complaining about so many stairs but it was one of those moments of passing down a tradition that is part of what makes parenting so fun.  After that, we went grocery shopping and came home to wash laundry and have dinner.  Exciting times, I tell you!  I heard someone once say that the more bored the parent was, the happier the kids were.  I really think that’s true for my girls, at least.

Today we went to church, had lunch with Scott’s family, went shopping just the 3 of us, spent some time at my parents’ and then came home to an evening of leftovers and wrestling.  Church, shopping, family.  You know it’s a good day.  In fact, I might have to do a haul video on all the stuff I got at Old Navy.  I honestly don’t think I’ve bought myself anything outside of a few shirts for Christmas since the end of summer.  Today I didn’t spend more that $5 for a shirt and most of them were $3.50 so it was GOOD.

Beyond that I’ve been reading some good stuff on adoption (and getting scared to death) and eating better (and doing absolutely nothing about it) and watching Elevation’s revival services (and getting some wonderful words).

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

I’m not a new year resolver.  But there is an ongoing list of skills that I wish I could learn to do.  Some skills need to come naturally and they just don’t.  Others I don’t have time to tackle and still others I have absolutely no reason not to tackle but I just haven’t yet.  And here they are:

1. Sell something on etsy.  Anything.  It’s a few-years-long dream of mine.  I wish I was super crafty and my days were spent crafting something up while customers anxiously awaited new items.  If there was an item on this list I’m considering, this is it.  I just have to come up with that brilliant idea of a craft I can actually do.  Ideas accepted in the comments.
2. On that note, I wish I could sew.  It’s really sad I don’t know how to as my mother does it for a living.  Plus, she sent me to sewing classes.  I did learn how to sew a straight line.  Or, wait, I think there was a curve in one of those lessons.  But I don’t own a machine and don’t have the time to sit and practice or learn to sew from a pattern.
3. Can food.  This is ridiculous as I’m sure I CAN can.  I remember my great-grandmother canning all kinds of jellies and veggies and storing them in her cellar.  But every time I look at instructions there are jars and special tong thingies (did you just read that as “thongs”.  because I just did during a read-through). and rules about temperatures and it’s just overwhelming. 
4. Write a song.  But not just a song, a great song.  I’m always in awe when someone can write a smart song, particularly with a play on words.  I just haven’t thought of anything smart yet.
5. Write a novel.  I actually tried that once and am pretty sure it’s not meant for me.  But I wish it were.
6. Own chickens.  Seriously I think those little houses are so cute and the idea of having fresh eggs is pretty amazing.  But the mess.  And the smell.  And the inability to turn the chickens “off” turns ME off.
7. Run.  I completed the Couch to 5K and really WANTED to like running but I don’t.  But hey, I HAVE done the 30 Day Shred for 10 days.
8. Quit work.  I wish I were a Stay at Home Mom and had time to learn and do all these things.  No surprises there.  However, being in debt is NOT on this list.
9. Floss every day.  Please don’t tell me you do this or I’ll have to kick you in the shin.
10. Love to pretend play.  I love to spend time with my kids.  I really do. I can bake, color and play Monopoly with the best of them. But I don’t, and haven’t since I was 8, liked playing with Barbies, babies, American Girl dolls, etc.  With the exception of running the toy cash register, I have to force myself in the playroom.

OK, so that felt a little whiny.  Sorry for the whine.  If you do any of these well, I would love to hear it! And list a few tips on how I might actually add one of these to a real task list!

This post was linked to ohAmanda’s Top Ten Tuesday. 

We had a wonderful Christmas weekend.  Scott worked all weekend but we made it work.  Friday evening the girls and I went with Heather to watch Dolphin Tale.  Great family movie.  Emma walked out and said, “See, that taught us it’s important to take care of hurt people.”  I was just telling my aunt (who is also a nurse) I wouldn’t be surprised if she became a nurse. 

Saturday afternoon we enjoyed a Christmas Eve service at church.  I loved the opening video and they finished off with a great a capella version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Saturday evening we had Christmas Eve at my parents’.  The kids got lots of American Girl and art supplies.  Mom gave me a bunch of stuff for the house.  Mainly, the hardware and fabric for the curtains in our bedroom and a new bench for our bathroom.

Saturday evening I decorated the living room while Scott was at work.  Last year I put up some snowflakes but I decided to step it up.  Since our plans were to wake up the girls super early so Scott could get in from work and get to sleep, I knew it would be dark so I decided to string lights across the living room and hang the snowflakes from there.  I loved it so much I sat out and read in the recliner late that night.

Christmas morning the girls were up as soon as they heard the front door squeak.  They normally sleep right through Scott coming in from work.  They were shocked by the lights and had a great time opening their gifts. Lots of American Girl this year.  I was ecstatic to be able to give them a set of baby dolls we thought were out of stock everywhere until January.  I found them on eBay just last week.  I had hoped they’d give me a YouTube worthy reaction.  They were happy but we’re not going viral with it.  Still, I was happy to give them what they wanted.  Scott surprised me with a 24” monitor which I’m currently enjoying while I type this.  Do you know how many Pinterest pictures fit on a 24” screen??

We wrapped up Christmas Eve by watching Yes, Virginia and having some Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate.  I’m telling you, this stuff is GOOD.

Sunday afternoon after Scott was up we went to his parents’ for Christmas.  We had a yummy steak dinner and enjoyed opening presents.

Last night we took it easy since Scott was working and watched Soul Surfer with Heather since she’s never seen it.  The kids were exhausted after being up at 5:30am and were out like lights as soon as it was over.

It’s been a great holiday season.  We’re so blessed with family, friends, wonderful presents for each other, health and time with each other.  God has been so good to us and I’m so thankful.

Busy packing

Appreciative of Zicam for keeping my cold to a minimum

Grateful for the lady who retrieved my checkbook from a parking lot

Also to the JCPenney worker who recognized our street as her sister-in-law’s and called us right away

Beyond thrilled that eBay saved Christmas for my girls.  Remind me to give Deborah in West Virginia a big hug when we get to heaven.  I just know she’s an angel.

Overwhelmed with drama from my girls

Soul-satisfied with the maturity I’m starting to see in Emma

Proud of how she helped at a service project this weekend

Missing working from home full-time

Loving that presents are bought and wrapped

Jaded by social media

Wondering if we’ll ever find the right fabric for my bedroom

Frustrated at food

Annoyed that I couldn’t keep up with Truth in the Tinsel

Disappointed that my book hasn’t sold any books in a few weeks

Feeling the winter blues. 

And PMS.

We’ll return to the regularly scheduled program soon.

The thing I really wanted to blog about yesterday but just did not have the time is my experience with the Salvation Army yesterday.  As part of our job at work, we get a set number of hours to volunteer in the community.  It has to be one of my favorite perks.  I’ve blogged about a local garden I worked with back in the summer.

Yesterday we spent 3 hours at their Charlotte Christmas distribution center at an old Walmart location.  First, I have to say that this was the Walmart that Scott and I used to go to when we were dating.  Years ago neither Fort Mill OR Rock Hill had one and we’d have to go to Charlotte.  So being in this building was a little nostalgic for me to start with.  It still had the carpet laid out where the clothes were.  The “Back to School” emblems were still in a few places on the floor.  The bathroom signs were still up.  But besides that, everything was ripped out.  But still.  It was still our old Walmart.  And it’s silly to be nostalgic about Walmart but whatever.

So when we went in they had rows and rows of these placecards and bags.  How it works is the Salvation Army takes on 14,000 children as angel tree participants, representing 6,000 families.  Every single one of those 6,000 families had a spot on that floor.  Those place cards were actually labeled family bags.  After someone in the community took the angel and bought the child’s toys, they’d bring it back in a smaller bag.  It’s labeled with the child’s name and the family’s number and then people like our group were responsible for putting the child’s bag in the family bag.  That’s what we did the first hour or so.

Now.  There are thousands of children’s angels that are never picked off the tree (oh my heart).  But there are loads of toys that are donated to the Salvation Army.  My work has 3 bins available to drop toys in and I’m sure you can find them near you.  So, for those, they gave us print-outs of the rest of the angel tree wish lists.  Each box on the sheet represented one child with their clothing sizes and a list of 4 things they wanted.  Based on that, we got to “shop” in the ToyLand they had organized with the donated toys.  Then, we would organize those bags in the family bags.  Let me tell you, there were some mixed feelings doing that. 

I felt a great responsibility picking the child’s ONLY three gifts that they would open.  I tried really hard to match up their wish list with the toys we had available.  My favorite was packing an American Girl for a little girl that wanted a doll.  Or, maybe packing a little Lightning McQueen car that I happened to find in a pile for a little boy that wanted “anything Lightning McQueen”.  Oh, it makes me so happy knowing they will have those!

I felt such great sadness at the kids who weren’t going to get anything on their list.  Yes, some of them listed things like iPods and xbox games but other little girls that wanted something specific like Dora and I could not find a single Dora toy.  Also, it killed me when the kid asked for a bike and helmet and there were no more to go around.  Killed me!  I wanted to go buy a bike and deliver it myself!

I can’t quantify or label this feeling but I just wanted everyone to know that their deal is legit.  Salvation Army seems to be so easy to dismiss as they are everywhere.  But the toys really are going to Joseph, or Daniel, or Kirsten in your community.  And not only that, that the toys we give MATTER.  These are kids and they want the same things that our kids want.  I’m not pushing commercialism and materialism but buying brand names matter.  When we were picking these gifts, the dollar store rip-offs just didn’t seem like ENOUGH for a kid that was only getting 3 gifts.  I do realize that some families are consciously only giving their kids 3 gifts this year or maybe even none.  But that is something you as a family can decide.  These kids’ families are asking for help and I just wanted to give the BEST.  I hope that makes sense without seeming materialistic. I mean, no lie, I’ll be stuffing my kids’ stockings with Dollar Store treats so don’t get me wrong on that account.  All I’m saying is these kids matter and while packing I just wanted to imagine that they knew they were very loved and got exactly what they wanted.

So all that to say I hope you support Salvation Army when you see them out this year.  I know yesterday really changed my perception of what they do and I hope I gave a glimpse of that. And there’s still time to donate toys (a bike!  a Dora toy!)  For those in the Charlotte area, here are the drop-off locations. 

Ok, so tell me just one thing on YOUR wish list!

We started the weekend off with a bang. Or should I say kick?  Lexi tested for her green belt Friday night.  I had video of her breaking her board but just as she was breaking it, my phone ran out of space so I didn’t get it filmed.  But she did great and I fully expect her to be presented with her green belt during the next class.  She’s serious about getting to that black belt and I have no doubts she’ll do it!

Saturday morning I got some much needed rest.  The kids spent the night with Scott’s parents and Scott went out for a bike ride first thing Saturday.  Even if I had laundry waiting on me, I just couldn’t make myself do anything with an empty house. 

We were out before lunch though to see our hometown parade.  The Nation’s Ford band, one of the high schools in town, marched in Macy’s a few weeks ago and it was great seeing them.  The kids had a blast and it’s a great tradition they love.

Saturday evening Emma ended up staying with my sister-in-law all evening so it was just the three of us.  We did a little Christmas shopping and had a nice steak and potato dinner. 

Sunday was church and then we took it easy at home.  I had some major, er, stomach issues for the afternoon so I was no good to anyone.  This is when I’m thankful the kids are a bit older and can entertain themselves if I’m in the bed sick for an hour or two.  I was soon up though and we went to the mall for a bit so Emma could spend some birthday money and I picked up another Christmas present.  My family came over for the evening to spend some time with the girls and we worked on my bedroom a bit deciding on fabric as I think my mom is going to make some curtains for me for Christmas.  I think we’re going to go with the fabric from my dining room.  I am nothing if not consistent.

There was no 5:30 wake-up for me this morning.  I think I was still catching up from last week being so tired.  But I’m ready to start the week.  I can’t believe it’s December and in just a few weeks it will be Christmas! 

Today I’m posting along with The Gypsy Mama. Her word for today is tired. It’s hard to blog coherently when you’re tired so excuse the rambling…

GO

I just told a coworker this morning how tired I am. Every day this week I’ve been consistent at actually waking up when the alarm goes off at 5:30 and snuggling in bed with my iPhone to read my 12 pages of the Bible in 90 Days plan. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love that by 6:15 in the morning, I am done with my reading for the day and don’t have to think about it anymore. In fact, I love even more that I usually have time to listen to the audio at some point later in the day. But this week I’m also doing the Daniel Fast. I haven’t had sugar (ok, maybe a little in some Balsamic Vinagrette I had at Chickfila on Tuesday) since Sunday afternoon and I think I’m finally feeling the effects. I feel like if I could just drink a tall White Mocha that I’d feel a little more, oh, I don’t know, energy. In the meantime, between the early rising and lack of sugar, I’m tired.

But there’s more tired going on. I’m tired of working and juggling and and having a bad attitude because I’m in a hurry just so I can fit it all in even though I’m not fitting it all in. I’m tired of feeling like i don’t do enough with the girls while I’m attending to work. And yet, I feel like God is calling me to continue working right now so I don’t know how to not feel tired about it all. And honestly, I’m tired of being tired of it all. If I’m to continue for now in this job, then I want to enjoy it and be ok with the station I’m in right now.

STOP

I knew I soon as I read this post I wanted in!  TheNester did A Favorite Things party with her friends where they all bring one of their favorite things for each person.  LOVE!  At the end of the post, she invited everyone to virtually share a few of their favorite things under $30.

Now, before I start, I have to preface my favorite things by saying I always say something is my favorite.  My list is ever-changing.  But I kept it to five things that I’m pretty sure will never change.

TIGI Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo

Every person with hair needs this.  Seriously.  It has saved many a bad hair day.  I did a review on it awhile back.  Still so good.

Mary Kay’s lip gloss

I have no less than 5 tubes of this in my purse and a few more in my bathroom.  I love this lip gloss.  And I’m not just saying that because I’m a Mary Kay consultant.  No, I’m a consultant because I need a discount for my own lip gloss obsession!

And I have my top 5 favorite colors, in order.  No joke:

1. Gold Rush
2. Pink Diamonds
3. Beach Bronze
4. Cream and Sugar
5. Fancy Nancy

Pioneer Woman’s Cookbook

This cookbook was life-changing and I don’t say that lightly.  Mine has fallen apart but I refuse to use the nice new copy that Ree signed for me.  And did you see that her new one is available for pre-order.  Oh Em Gee!

Reese’s Peanut Butter Trees

Maybe because I’m in the middle of the Daniel Fast but I just love these things and it seems appropriate since it’s Christmas time.

Friday Night Lights DVD Set

Every single person should watch this series.  I just hooked my friend Carolyn on it finally.  I’m so enjoying her emails saying she’s spent another night until 3am watching and how much she loves Coach and Tami and Riggs and Matt.  *sigh*  Every. one. of you needs to watch it.  I’m cheating on the $30 price limit but if you must, Season 1 is my favorite and obviously a good place to start.  But you won’t be able to stop.  Promise.

So basically what I’m seeing is…cook some dinner, fix your hair and makeup for some Riggins face time and eat a Reese’s cup for dessert to top off the night.  Yep.  That works for me.