Sunday, January 31, 2010

Ice Ice Baby!

This is what we woke up to yesterday morning.

That is ice on the trees and power lines(!) in case the picture is not very clear.

It never really got above about 29 degrees so I actually took these pictures this morning. Because we only get about 2 of these a year, I love to be "snowed in" or in this case iced in. It's especially nice when you don't have to go anywhere. We rented a couple of movies since we knew that this was a very real possibility for us, and I can now say I have seen all 4 Indiana Jones movies. This is the joy of having boys around, and I know one day my daughters will be better wives because of this. (Sorry, I digressed.)

About two years ago on a morning we quite like this we found out something that led to this announcement. Don't worry - we have no announcements this time. We also experienced this snowfall back when Hannah was 4 and I got to sled for the first time ever. Yes we really had a foot of snow. I may never see anything like that again so I will always cherish those times. Then there was the snow fall of last year and my personal favorite - the snowfall 10 years ago the week Hannah was due.

Most people either love or hate the winter weather. I love it - in moderate doses and I'm hoping I will have one good snow this year to share with everyone before this winter is over. We really are "due" for one.

In the meanwhile, here's a few more winter weather shots!






Sunday, January 17, 2010

The Trouble with January

The trouble with January is that it follows December, which had plenty of blog worthy material. January is both a let down and a relief. I love Christmas and we keep our schedule moderate during that time. We don't have parties all the time, just a few, and a half dozen school programs, but Christmas eve, Christmas and the weekend were all rushed. Hence January is a nice calm month. Because of year round schedule, the kids were out til the 11th and have off Monday, so it's been nice to have some extra time to enjoy their new toys.

January is also a time for a new start. This part of January I like. I have "plans" this year. Plus I have plans for my plans, at least in my head. I decided not to call the resolutions, because those are soon forgotten. I may be splitting hairs here, but for me it's psychology. My plans are to continue on my diet, get organized, read the Bible through, and stick to a budget.

The diet restart has gotten off to a slow start, but I think I am finally back on track. Limited sugar and carbs (as in almost none), low fat, in short - rabbit food. I am hoping to use the Wii fit for my exercise program until I can get out and walk when it warms up.

I am feeling much more successful in the organizing part. I have spent some time purging around here but trying to become a "minimalist" is not working for me. For those who aren't familiar with that, here's my working definition: people who throw away anything they haven't touched in 3 days. Those folks aren't usually sentimental either so they don't keep all the junk their kids do. I am learning, however, to be really selective here, because junk times 4 is just crazy. I feel like we are busting at the seams in this house and that should not be. Even though there are 6 of us who live here, we have a decent amount of space. I have read Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's book though (they have 19 kids, so I put a lot of stock in their advice) and they made a good point. Her philosophy is that you need as much storage space as you do living space. So my "plan" for this is for Donnie to build a storage building. He We have hemmed and hawed long enough. Hence every time I have to dig something from our tiny attic, I have to repent for what I said when I banged my head on the rafters. So my plan is to clean out and encourage stongly urge demand to have a storage building. I have been promised the top floor and I am already dreaming of how I would like to organize it. (Does this mean I need counseling?)

As far as my Bible reading I am up to Genesis 40 something. Pretty cool stuff. I have never read the whole book of Genesis much less the whole Bible. Another cool thing that I knew but never really thought about is this. My friend Kevin is one of our pastors and he spoke Sunday. When he speaks, I get IT. He has a wonderfully simple way of explaining the very complex. Sunday he pointed out that every story in the Bible points to Jesus. Yes, that includes the Old Testament. Every. Story. Plus I am fascinated by the Isrealites, so I have enjoyed my reading thus far.

For budgeting help we bought Quicken and so far I like it. I have had to enter my data manually which is a pain, but it tells us where we spent our money. I know how much I spent on groceries, what percentage of our income my house payment is, and how much I spent at Walmart (I may not like that one before this is all said and done. It might get me in trouble). Anyway, it's very cool.

So there ya have it, my plans for the year. I am sure there are a ton more I should have, but if I get these accomplished, hopefully other things will fall into place too.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Home Improvement Projects


We have done two minor home improvement projects around here, but they have made life a little easier, in a sense. We first installed a baby gate across the doorway to the kitchen. This is not Jon Tyler's favorite, and he stands at the gate and cries while I make supper and empty the dishwasher without his assistance. Sometimes I prefer his assistance over his incessant screaming, so I let him in anyway. Okay, so this happens more often than not. So I probably spent $30 for nothing. But never fear, I'm sure I can get $5 for it at my next yard sale, hence the reason I hate buying anything for kids brand spanking new.



Our second project is my favorite. When we renovated our house, I insisted on a regular door to the laundry room instead of a bi-fold because I liked the look of the regular door. Note to self (and anyone reading who is renovating) - go for practical over pretty. The door worked great until we got a freezer, then it wouldn't open enough for me to get in there with a clothes basket. So we took the door down and have been dealing with a laundry room in constant disarray that everyone can see. Now we have a handy folding door. It slides out of the way very compactly and was a nice $24 at Lowes. (That endorsement was free, by the way). I was so very excited when my sister in law came the other day and I got to toss everything in the laundry room and shut the door.

Now that the New Year is in, I'm sure I can find a few more projects that need to be done, but by the time we get to them I will have forgotten what they were.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

New Year, New Bed

Allie has been sleeping on my 20 year old daybed for about a year now with a full size comforter draped over the back of it. So Santa brought her a new comforter set, but she still had the same old creaky bed. We could hear her move every time she rolled over. It was that loud. I'd been meaning to look on Craigslist for a twin bed but hadn't gotten around to it until last week. I found this cute little bed that was just what we needed and nothing we didn't. It came with the box springs, which I didn't have, but no mattress, which I did have. It was in Charlotte and emailed and the people still had it. I couldn't believe it! Usually I email and the item is already sold. They were only asking $30! So Sunday afternoon I went to pick it up. I think it looks great and is a neat way God provided in the new year for Allie-cat!

Here's her new bed all fixed up.


By the way, I'm giving away the other bed. If anybody knows someone who needs one, let me know.