Front Porch Tea Cafe

So this is where I work on weekends now. It used to be the location of Abbey Gardens Tea Parlour, a Victorian, formal tea house. Now it's a more casual, country cafe where you can go for tea without all the formality. We still do a full tea, with the little sandwiches, scones, petite desserts, lace tablecloth and centerpiece, and organic loose-leaf teas. The charm of it is that it's more male-friendly so families can gather here now, or couples, and the men can get coffee or good tea without having to be surrounded by pink, lace, and fine china. (There's even a men's room now.)

The new owner is really sweet. She's part of the team to get the job done, and has a heart for people that really draws others to her. The other employees are mostly her old friends, so it's a different environment than if a bunch of strangers got together to work their own agendas. I'm a server and the chef is my friend I worked with when it was Abbey Gardens. We can help implement systems and routines that help things run smoother, while being able to shed the old familiar saying "we do it that way because that's how we've always done it". The changes are good, although a few women don't want to see the place full of guys, they say. But I think as word gets out, it'll be a great little place. So far, we've had back a handful of our old customers and they plan on becoming Front Porch's customers.

Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving alone, just our family. We tried inviting people over but they all had plans. Usually we get to spend it with my in-laws, but this year it just didn't happen. They had to be up north, and we needed to be here to work Wed. & Fri.

We had a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole with those fried onions, corn, and garlic-cheddar biscuits. For dessert we had homemade apple pie, double layer pumpkin pie and eggnog - yes, I make my own eggnog, too.

I guess it worked out for the best - Jordan got some kind of mild sickness Wed. afternoon and it's good we didn't need to be anywhere. She spent most of the past 2 days on the sofa. Logan got to see some friends while they were off from school, and Adam did what he enjoys the most...playing RockBand on his Xbox.

Tim took a nap, spent time surfing the web, etc.
I got almost 100 pages read in my new library book...that makes it a good day, right?

A New Job

Last week was interesting. I got a call from the new owner of the tea shop located where Abbey Gardens, (where I worked last year), was located. She asked me if I'd consider working weekends for her, at least through the end of the year, then we'll re-assess in January. I wasn't looking for another thing to do, but we need the money for Christmas, and maybe the people there will end up in Moni's Monavie business, under us. I started this past Saturday.

The new place is called Front Porch Tea Cafe. It's very different than the old tea parlour. Instead of cluttered Victorian, it's wide open with a strong country casual feel. It's not about white glove service, it's about making guests feel like family visiting on the weekend or something. It's not lacy and girly like before either (although I didn't mind it a bit). Instead, it's actually male-friendly, painted in cranberry and other bolder colors - although the ladies' bathroom is pink.

The prices are lower, the menu choices are fairly different, and the atmosphere is kind of exciting because of the newness of it all. Having had 3 owners before in that location, there was always a struggle with "that's the way we've always done it", even if no one knew why. Now is the time for innovative new ideas and making contemporary changes.

The crew is like a small little family, and although I'm "the new kid", everyone was very welcoming and friendly. I don't want to work as badly as I want our business to take off - but in the meantime - I think I'm going to like it there.

I like that it was my choice, and I could see God's hand in all of it. It's nice working with Moni again, too. I'll have to grab some photos when I work this weekend.

Halloween Night at Life Community Church

A few years ago, we found a local church that puts on a free Halloween night celebration. They offer free hot dogs, caramel apples, popcorn, snowcones and cotton candy. They have free paintball target shooting, rock wall climb, gyrascope, pony rides, bounce houses, face painting, and a ton more, especially for littler kids. They usually have a pretty good Christian rock/alternative band playing too. After enjoying 2 years in a row there, they weren't able to do it last year. We were looking at a community calendar page online this year and realized just a few hours before it started, that they were running it again this year. We drove over and really enjoyed it. I wasn't feeling well, but we went anyway and Logan & Jordan had a ball. (Adam was at a friends' house for the night.) We only got to stay for an hour because we were meeting Tim, going out to eat to plan our holiday gift-making ideas and holiday plans, then met friends at Mountain Valley Church for the Hallway of Horror. (That's for another post - best scary event EVER, and at $5 for unlimited admission - best value I've found this YEAR!)

Anyway, here's the photos of the free event - the cutest thing was the petting zoo. It had baby goats and baby pigs that were just FOUR DAYS OLD!!!

Helping out at a local Food Pantry

Jordan's part of a group called God's Girls. They're 9 - 12 year olds who are homeschooled and belong to the same homeschooling group. This past weekend, one of the Moms concluded a month-long canned food drive for a local food pantry. Since I don't have anyone's permission, I won't share names, or the other girls' photos, but Jordan was certainly just one of the many who participated. They unloaded the food, listened to all the food pantry does, how they work to service the community, then they stocked the shelves, and learned about how boxes are made up for families. We had a great time.

Jordan has her own food drive she's been running for a month at Mountain Valley Church to benefit the Phoenix Rescue Mission, but we'll be bringing that food down this week - last week just didn't work and I was really sick for a few days. I'll post those when it happens - also, we're considering volunteering at the Mesa food bank, through the United Way, just a few hours a week, but times that by the 5 of us, maybe we can help make a difference.

Adam tried bowling

Recently we joined a nameless local group of homeschooling teens looking for social, fun stuff to do together. Their first meeting was in a park and it was awkward, as expected. The guys played basketball and the girls walked around talking...typical, right? So today, they all tried their hand at bowling. The little kids, and the teen girls had "bumpers" on their lanes to avoid gutter balls. The guys toughed it out. They averaged a score of around 80 per game, but Adam (and only 2 other teens) broke 100.

Vegas Trip

Moni and I went to Vegas for our Fall Convention with Legacy & Monavie. We added a day in Concho on each end to really ease in and out of "the bubble" you're in during those events. Here's some great photos of our adventure.

The Little House Series

This year, we're combining history with a lot of other things for Jordan by centering it around the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This is more unusual than you might think. You see, I'm a city girl, and this series is about as strange to me as aliens living on another planet. I've never lived in the middle of nowhere, watched as my family built a house, hunted for food, I didn't even grow up with my siblings. When my brother was born, I had already graduated high school. When my sisters were born, I lived with relatives instead of at home - then when I moved back home, they were only about 1 and 2. I moved out when they were so little.

Anyway, a strange thing's happening as we're digging into the second of the series...I think it would've been a bit boring, but kind of nice, compared to the rushing and stress and pressures of today. Life was an adventure! There was always the threat of bears and wolves attacking, Indians showing up unexpectedly, being stranded with no way to get help, nor anyone to hear you cry for help. Neighbors were people that lived miles away, if at all.

They made their own tools, food (like butter and maple syrup), clothes, homemade Christmas gifts, and inventive playtime fun. Being with family was so important, for socialization, but also for safety, and survival. Being with extended family and friends was such a special treat, you dressed up in your best clothes and talked about it for months afterwards.

Jordan's made homemade butter and a log cabin so far, but there's lots more to go in the rest of book 2 through book 9.

Maybe a simpler life would be nice for a change.

ESE Kickoff

We recently attended the East Side Explorers kickoff event. ESE is the new homeschool group I joined recently. Although most of the kids in that group are Jordan's age (which leaves the boys out quite a bit), I'm hoping for a chance to help, assist or mentor the newer homeschooling Moms who need it. I had experienced Moms to help me when I was just starting and their confidence, assurance and insights were invaluable - that's why I want to give back to others like that now.
My goal is to make the biggest impact for as long as we live in this area, which is likely to be only another 4 to 10 months. Adam was with us too, but the only picture I got of him didn't come out. We had a pretty good time getting to know new friends and hooking up with our dear friends, Stephanie and Jessica Radomski. Even Tim found a great guy to make friends with. Hopefully, we'll see him and his family again soon. It's going to be a great school year.

Gotta love free!

In these tough times, we're thrilled to find places giving away free stuff. Here's 2 of the kids waiting in a 50 person line at Chick-fil-A on Labor Day. If you wore anything with a sports team name or logo, you got a free original chicken sandwich. The place closest to us was nice - they included whole wheat buns, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes - also free.

Back where I belong

Last week I was able to rejoin the ladies at Mountain Valley Church for Tuesday morning bible study. I've only been gone for one study on the book of Esther, which I took at Central here while they did the same one there. Our new study is called Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed: A Study of David. There's 3 authors this time, so I'm excited about that. I know this will be a great study at this point in my life.

The best part is that I get to see my dearest friends again. I've missed them so much. They're very humble, and give me credit for more than they should. They have no idea how much I learn from them and how much they help me. I've watched many of them grow from bible study newbies to amazing women of God. I'm honored, thankful, and priviledged to share my Tuesday mornings with them. Their friendships mean everything to me.

The New School Year Begins

Our schoolyear started this week. The kids are in 10th, 8th and 6th this year. I plan on putting together a yearbook for me, and maybe one for each of them. I think I'll scrapbook 8 X 10s for them: High School for A., Jr. High for L., and Middle School for J. I have last year's stuff not scrapped anywhere yet.

Here's their beginning of the year photos:

Palm Springs, CA

I recently took a weekend business trip for our Monavie business. I went to Palm Springs, CA to a beautiful resort. It wasn't your typical motivational "rah rah" weekend that I was used to. It was full of actual, practical, how-to methods to grow our business faster, more secure, and with full confidence in the leadership behind it. I went in with pretty low expectations for any real "meat" but left not excited, but head-ready to make it happen. I can't wait to see what unfolds in the next 90 days or so.

Friends & Family in NewEngland

Trip back to NewEngland

I spent 8 days visiting from Maine to NewHampshire to Massachusetts. I had a good time, in spite of the bad weather and cold, and some plans not falling into place.