4 Wheeling in Sedona

Friends of ours are sort of letting us share a jeep and she said to go use it and try out some jeep trails with it - so we did. Tim, Adam and I drove to Sedona and had a great time! We're trying to do things to get Adam to be more involved with the family. He generally has been a "loner" all of his life, but realizing how few years we have left with him before he's out on his own, we want to create some family memories before it's too late. He had a good time.

A Successful Saturday project!!!

As I mentioned, with my 2 youngest gone, I have uninterrupted time to complete cleaning projects that just otherwise would never get done. Today I tackled the small storage area under the stairs. The doorway is only about 18" wide or so, which makes it hard to keep stuff organized. It's barely as wide as a storage bin or box. Most things get thrown in, on the floor, literally!

Today I pulled out everything, went through every box and bag. Found better places for a lot of it, threw out what I didn't need, and then vacuumed the floor. The blue shag carpet is what we had in our living room before we put in wood floors.

The last step was to put back the things that really needed to be stored there, which turned out to be nothing but my photos and scrapbooks. That's all that's really important anyway, right?

now MY summer vacation begins!

This is the 3rd summer in a row where some, if not all of my kids, head to Nana & Papa's house in the White Mountains of Arizona. Up there, it's cooler, the air isn't polluted, and their tap water tastes better than bottled. There's lots of space and the boys have their own rooms for a change.

This week, Logan & Jordan left for the summer. They won't be back for 6 or 7 weeks (they'll get back just a week before school starts in August). Adam could've gone, but he's got a job here at Chick-fil-A so needs to stay. That means he gets his own room too, plus space for a friend to stay over.

So with two gone enjoying themselves, MY vacation begins. This is the time of year I plan and figure out the next school year for all three of them, I catch up on my scrapbooks and family heritage stuff, I read lots of books that I want to read (instead of just having time to read what the kids are reading for school), I get to swim laps in the pool when it's convenient for me, I write, and get to spend some time with friends.

It's also a time to clean the closet under the stairs, rearrange furniture, throw out the last year's worth of clutter, donate old clothes, clean the house - no, I mean REALLY CLEAN the house, and without interruptions, I actually enjoy it and look forward to getting it all done.

This year, I'm also going to try to eat more organic and healthier than ever before since I only have to cook for three. Adam & I don't eat much - I live on mostly fruit and salads - and Tim wants to try some new mealtime habits - so we'll be able to afford to eat healthier.

How will the end of my vacation wrap up? With a week-long trip back to New England to see friends and family. As for Tim & the kids, they get to go camping. I'm sad to miss out on that, I love camping, but I'm happy to have my trip, too.

Trying to get healthy!

I made an appt. with a new doctor recently. My old one closed down a while back. The first appointment went smoothly, she ordered a few xrays and blood work, an appt. with a specialist, and a return appt. a month later to discuss it all. Here's what happened:

1. I first scheduled the specialist appt. They said on Monday, can you make it here Thursday morning? I said yes, they said I was all set, first thing Tues. morning I get a call saying I was supposed to be there. Had to reschedule for 3 weeks later.

2. I got Xrays done. It was to see if I have rheumatoid arthritis in my right thumb. Everyday tasks are becoming difficult and my bottom knuckle is double the size it should be with more "bones" than it should have. I get the results back from the dr's assistant and she says, "Good news. It's not broken. Keep taking your medication." I explained I didn't do xrays to check for breaks and I have no medication. She just told me to wait a month to discuss it with my doctor.

3. The lab blood work was set up in the computer at the original appt. They'd said just show up and it'll be in the computer so we'll print out paperwork then and you'll be all set. I show up on the right day and I'm not in the computer. I had to wait an hour just for the doctor in the next room to say, "yes, do it."

4. I get to the specialist. The appt. was made just to talk about what tests may or may not be necessary, what they involve, and how soon to do them. The doctor there said nothing to worry about immediately, I could wait a few months if I wasn't ready. Then I get home and the pharmacy's going crazy because I didn't pick up my prescription and they want to know why I'm not already scheduled for the procedure.

5. The day I'm supposed to return to my original doctor, the lab calls and says they need me to redo the test. It's labeled as "lab error" in the computer. No explanation - just that I need to have blood drawn again. When I told her I was ordered to fast 12 hours or more first, she said it didn't matter, I could still do it today w/o a problem regardless if I ate or not.

This is state-funded health care. I pay my monthly amount, but this is what Canada goes through? No thanks! I'll take a zero! If we had more money to afford a better doctor, I'd at least like that option. Not forced into a system like this.

A Touch of Color

For a long time, we, well, actually "I" have wanted color in the living room area. I hate white walls - it says "cheap, rented apartment", not "home". Anyway...I had originally planned on painting the angled wall behind the TV as an accent wall, but out here in the southwest, all walls have what they call "orange peel" on it. It's a texturing spray under the paint to supposedly hide defects in the wall. Actually, it hides nothing, and makes repainting a nightmare. Like painting on stucco.

I had a leftover can of brown paint I never used after repainting our upstairs bathroom and thought, maybe if I just painted our stair railing, that would add a touch of color. It'd be easier than the wall, in the same general area, would break up the white on white walls, and the railing needed repainting anyway.

Tim started with a wire brush, Logan & Jordan hand-scraped (mostly Logan) the railing, then I primed and painted it. Where was Adam? He slept through the process. Anyway, the first coat made the rail look like it was made of wood. Logan & I wanted to keep it that way, but realized it would just look unpainted to those uncreative people around us. I added the second coat and touch ups.

Now we have a touch of color in the living room area. Glad we did it.

Radishes

A few months ago, I decided Logan could use a hands-on science project - and if it taught patience, too, that's even better. I decided on purchasing a Root View Farm kit. You plant seeds in dirt they give you, and using rope wicks, water gets absorbed through the bottom, up to the roots, and grows your root-type vegetables.

Typical Logan, he didn't follow directions. He planted all of 1 kind of veggie instead of the 3 different ones they supplied. We had to put in some carrot seeds after the fact. He also didn't plant them next to the glass for viewing, so we have no idea if our 2 carrot plants are all greens or are actually growing.

Either way, we did end up with a few radishes after about 60 days. The largest one was sort of dull-tasting. Maybe it stayed in the dirt too long. The others were spicy and good. We had them in our salad that night.

As for the 2 carrot plants, only time will tell if they'll turn out okay. Either way, I think we're going to do all carrots next time around.

Saguaro Lake

Yesterday was the best day I've had in a long time. The whole family went to Saguaro Lake, we had the place almost to ourselves, and everyone got along without arguing. I got to just sit under the shade tree holding hands with Tim, enjoying the cool breeze, looking out at the sun shining on the water, and watching the hawks flying near the mountain tops. It was a very good day.

Sleep America company picnic

We had a good time tonight. Tim's work had a company picnic near us. Free food, games and time at the indoor wave pool and waterslide. Here's some photos.

Easter baking

Although I love to cook and hate to bake, I find myself attempting baking projects so much more since I worked at Abbey Gardens. For Easter, I made pastel-frosted cupcakes and cookies (from scratch), we dyed eggs with regular old food coloring, and I baked something called a Cottage Pudding Cake with Lemon Glaze. It was more like cornbread with Lemon Curd on top - but it's gone, so it couldn't have been that bad, right? Next time I'll add something to make it more moist.

As for food, we don't do pork, so we had turkey ham, Tim's awesome mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, peas and rolls. The best part is that there were enough leftovers that I didn't have to cook Monday night.

What a roller coaster of a year!

Ever have a time of trials that just keeps getting longer and longer? Yeah? Me too! This past almost 12 months now have been horrible. It started with having to change churches, then for me to get a job when I've been a stay-at-home, homeschooling mother for 17 years, then the place shut down, I tried to plug into several groups at the new church and all attempts failed, we're down to one car and one motorcycle now and that has to go away in just a few months, then my husband's grandmother died, then my cousin found out he's got cancer at 37 years old, now our home-based business is growing, but so much slower than the little money we have is going out.

The highlights of the last year have been...well...hmmm...let me see.....my friends from bible study gave me a great Christmas gift, a wonderful gift and going away party at the end of our last study together, and some of them took me to lunch for my birthday and gave me cards and gifts, too.

Thank God for good friends, huh? They really help you get through the rough spots.

But I'm done with the downhill already! It's time for some mountain peak experiences again!

I couldn't have said it better...

What more can a mother ask for her firstborn child?

Appreciating warm winters...

It's been almost 6 years since we moved here from the cold winters of New England and I appreciate it here more and more every year. This winter seemed to be especially hard on my friends and family back east this year. It seemed like they had snow almost non-stop, every week, for months! This is March - Spring! Snow season should be over, shouldn't it?

I appreciate the beautiful sunsets we get during winter and early spring (from all the moisture in the air), wearing short-sleeves and sitting in the sun throughout the winter, taking walks in January without a coat, good road conditions, and maybe even wearing shorts a few times before March ends.

I'm thankful every day that I'm not waking up to the sound of the snowplows scraping the ground at 5am anymore. I'm thankful I'm not sitting in my car waiting for it to warm up while my spine shakes so hard it hurts. I'm thankful that I'm not soaked to the bone shoveling the ice pack from the bottom of the driveway the city plow caused. I'm thankful for not having to shovel out the mailbox just to get bills!

I know snow is pretty - and if you have time and money, a snowmobile or even sledding can be a treat - but really...snow is something I'd rather visit, or see off in the distance on the mountain tops of Payson. I appreciate every day I live here, but especially in the winter and early spring.

What are you thankful for this season?

Carport Sale

Last weekend we had a 2-day carport sale. Everything we put out was something we just wanted to get rid of. There were about 3 items we needed to get some money for, but the rest we would've thrown out just for the space. If we made nothing, we wouldn't have lost anything - not even time - since it was a nice morning to be outside and meet the neighbors.

I made about $60, which paid for shoes for Jordan, a business lunch for me, Tim & Adam to strategize our business, and a few other things we needed.

Logan sold some stuff I never thought would sell, yet he made almost $20 on unwanted old toys and electronics taking up space. Now he can buy the 2nd controller to Adam's Xbox so he can play too.

Jordan did the best of all. She sold a Barbie 3-story dollhouse for $50, jewelry, perfume, and books. She made over $50! She's getting a Littlest Pet Shop toy, and probably saving the rest.

Tim didn't have any real guy stuff to put out except a set of expensive golf clubs, so he didn't do much with it.

So Money Tip of the week: Yard sale!
You never know what you have laying around that people might want. I recommend a yard sale to people when you need a little extra cash to get you through. It's also a great way to get rid of unwanted stuff and give you more breathing space in your home.

Grocery Strategies in tough times

I had a few people ask me how I can feed a family of 5 on under $100/week without eating pasta and macaroni and cheese every night. Here's what I tell them:

1. I check the flyers of the 3 or 4 stores I usually go to. I don't even look at the 2 or 3 others that are more expensive consistently.

2. I circle the items featured that I know we buy pretty regularly, or that I want to buy that week.

3. I compose a grocery list, by store, of the brand and size, sale price and how many I want. This way when I get to the store I know I'm looking for say, Ocean Spray juices, 64 oz., 2/$3, and I want to buy 2.

4. I then plan when to hit each store. Sometimes it's all in one day in a circle since they're all pretty close together. Other times, I may plan to stop in on my way to something near there.

5. I shop only what's on my list, saving the non-sale items I need for the last place I go, because I know they're consistently the cheapest on most non-sale items anyway.

6. When buying non-sale items, and even compared to sale price items, I buy the store brand of everything unless the sale truly is cheaper. I can get groceries, including meats, dairy, and fresh produce, for a family of 5, for around $75 a week.

7. By keeping groceries to $75/week for 3 weeks, every 4th week (or so), I may spend an extra $50 or so to catch up on staples we've run out of, or stock up on a really good deal, or refill our meats in the freezer, etc.

8. I don't cut coupons, I find it's a waste of time for us since we buy the store brand. As an example, I can buy a $3 item with a 50 cent coupon, so it's $2.50. Or I can just buy the store brand for about $1.50 and save a dollar just on that one item! Store-branded stuff is just regular brands in the store's private label. All of it! This way the store can charge less by not paying the advertising fees.

For example:
If you really hate one store's brand of ketchup, they usually offer a great return policy, even if it's opened, then you can try another store's ketchup instead til you find one you like. Some may use Hunts, some Heinz, but it's all branded stuff in plain packaging.

9. I recommend to overspenders to try to bring cash, or withdraw that amount from the ATM first. This way you have to keep track and only spend what you have. If you happen to go over, you can still use your debit, credit or check, but you'll be over by a few dollars instead of spending $50 over.

10. Eat before you go! There's nothing worse than going shopping on an empty stomach. If you shop while you're full, or even sometimes just chewing a mint or cinnamon gum, you aren't as tempted that you "want it right now".

11. As far as non-food or junkfood is concerned...I don't buy chips, cookies, ice cream, cakes, or candy. If it's in the house, we'll eat it, and more than we should. I try to teach my kids that you should have to go out and get stuff like that, it should be a treat, not a regular staple item in the house. If you want it bad enough, you'll go get an ice cream, and if you don't feel like going out to go get it, then you've saved yourself empty calories, bad chemicals entering your body, and money!

So I hope that helps somebody out there. I know there's coupon games and stuff out there, but unless I buy branded stuff, it doesn't work as well as my system. Sure I can get a free toothbrush, or a protein bar for free, but I'd rather save $75 a week consistently, on stuff I buy every week, without filing through coupons at the store, or checking for expiration dates, or making sure I bought 4 to get $1 off, etc. Good Luck!

And so it begins

My middle child just turned 13 and spent his birthday with his girlfriend. She lives 3 1/2 hours away, so it's not more than phone calls right now, but he is head-over-heels in love with her. I try to give him advice as he goes along, like:
"let her talk, listen to what SHE wants to talk about" and
"if you throw yourself all over her, she's going to take off running" and
"she's sat next to you for an hour without taking her coat off, you're making her uncomfortable, back off".

And so it begins...

The Family Visit

I love when the family gets together...here's 4 generations of the Cross (and Tower) family:

Grammy & Grampy Cross, my mother-in-law's parents
Tim & Bonnie Tower, my in-laws
Jamie Powers, my husband's cousin
and our family

The Cardinals Made it to the SuperBowl!!!

Well, it's been a long, hard season for the Arizona Cardinals. They survived all the usual pitfalls - losing in the last quarter, never quite getting their game going, too many injured players, coming in last or 2nd to last place in the NFL - they fought their way to the Divisional Championships, then the NFC Championships and even made it to SuperBowl 43 in Tampa Bay.

Although they lost (we won't even get into how that last play should've been reviewed and the pass WAS incomplete!), they did better than most expected they ever could, and they proved to themselves they ARE a first-rate team if they work at it and try hard enough.

We had a good day here, mostly just me and the kids til Daddy got out of work. We made signs, decorated the living room, made SuperBowl party foods, and had the warm day of 70 or so, so we had the doors open. It was still fun, let's see what next year bring!

Let's Bring Back the Picnic!

So many of us are stressed, running around the hamster wheel, and not taking time for friends and family. Some of us have time but no money to do too much these days either. Here's a solution to take us back to a simpler time - Let's bring back the Picnic!

I think sometime in the next week, I'm going to pack up a picnic basket, grab the kids, a blanket to put on the ground, and surprise my family with a picnic. There's so many parks available, and it's going to be warm this week, so why not? What's more important than getting fresh air and exercise with my kids? The dishes? Laundry? Vacuuming? I don't think so.

What to pack...maybe some turkey and cheese sandwiches, grapes, some lemonade, and maybe some crackers. I wonder if I can pick up a Frisbee before then? If not, there's always lots to do with a soccer ball, football or basketball. It'll be a nice change of pace for us. Oh, and I better not forget the camera.

My first onion soup

Yes, I'm still experimenting with recipes I've never made before. When Abbey Gardens closed down, I got a HUGE bag of onions that would've been thrown away. In fact, I thought they had been tossed til I got home and found out they'd been put in the van for me. So what do you do with 20 lbs of onions? I made onion soup. It was interesting since I've never even TASTED onion soup, I've only seen pictures of it. I made it with organic beef broth, I took an hour or more to slowly sautee the onions to perfection, and the toast and cheese on top really topped it off well. Even "Middle Child" who claims to hate onions tasted it and said, "Well, I guess I can't say I don't like onions anymore."

I can't wait to see what's next! Maybe something with that odd food I saw at the store called "jicama" (HICK-a-muh)?

The End of an Era...

It's the end of an era...for the past 11 years, Abbey Gardens victorian tea parlour and gift shop has been the best place to get away, hide, do something girly, and celebrate with your best friends. This past weekend it had to close its doors. The economy is killing people. You know how I know? Because I worked here. In spite of right decisions, lowering costs, and offering top-notch service, people just weren't coming through the door like they used to. The good news is that, at least for now, I'm able to be home with my kids after 6 months and get them, their schooling, their attitudes and the house all back up to where they should be - and I can rest my aching body for now.

If I could send a message to all my customers, I'd tell them how much I enjoyed the challenge of being a blessing to them every day. I'd pray for them to feel loved and appreciated when I was serving them, and they'd end up making me feel better in the process. There's so many I'll miss. As for my boss, I hope things turn out better than he expects and he finds prosperity just around the corner. He made going back to work after 15 years a joy by running the business and employees with character, integrity and Godly principles.

I don't know what our future holds without me working, but whatever happens, I'm sure it'll turn out okay anyway.