Happy New Year - 2012!!!

Happy New Year! And it really is, because 2011 was such a disappointment. We went months without any kind of steady income, Tim's job with the company he was starting with his father fell apart when they discovered support and stability wasn't backing the software platform. Then there's the hope of buying or renting a place of our own that fell through. My Grandmother passed away in the fall, and we seem to have more snow than usual here for December - we've already burned through half the winter's wood in just over a month and a half!

Okay, now that that's out of my system, here's the blessings of 2011 - the ones I remember at the moment, anyway...Tim got a job and it pays more than minimum wage. I got a laptop for Christmas. I got to spend Spring Break in the valley with the kids for a whole week in March. I made new friends at church and through the Concho Farmer's Market. I made hundreds of dollars selling scones, lemon/lime curd, and dessert platters. I paid cash for Christmas and got the kids what they wanted. This was the first year in so many years that Adam appreciated what he got, participated in the Christmas festivities, and admitted this year was better than last year. I was able to buy a pair of glasses to fix my left eye vision problems. Adam found a job as 2011 was just getting started, and although he ended up quitting and hating it - it paid him thousands for stuff he wanted and his share of the bills, and made him feel better about himself and his surroundings. Adam got his license this year - a HUGE help to me and freedom for him. Logan got his permit this year. I learned how to save lots of money with coupons and in turn, teach others to do the same and it's making a real difference in their lives. My faith is on the grow again, FINALLY! Tim and I both want the same things for 2012 (to move, for him to get his CDL). Jordan's schooling getting better and better. I'm back in touch with my cousin Tracy and my aunt Jane again.I can scrapbook through the winter with just a few minor purchases. We're affording our Monavie every month, so keeping the RA/arthritis and migraines to a minimum. Tim & I renewed our vows at the Festival of Marriage weekend in Glorieta, NM. So although there were many disappointments and lots of stress - there was also much to be thankful for.

As we head into 2012, here's a few Resolutions I can share publicly:

1. I'm going to rewrite my Genesis bible study into a format I can sell.
2. Once we decide where we're moving, probably Show Low (Tim's not thinking Payson nor the Valley right now, but only God knows what's ahead), we'll either join FBCSL as members, or find a new church in Payson, or return to MVC in Scottsdale - depending where the trucking job leads (or whatever else God may have planned for Tim through WalMart).
3. I will be teaching coupon classes all year - and getting my out-of-state Couponing Info website out there for customers to sign up.
4. I'll finish scrapbooking all of 2011.
5. I'll be spending January following the Maker's Diet - organic, healthy, natural foods only. Last year I did it for 90 days and looked and felt great.

Have a great New Year's. Stay safe.

Almost 2012!

It's been quite a while since I've been on here. Mostly because our computer died on Thanksgiving and we can't replace it yet. For Christmas Tim tried to buy me a laptop at his work, but they're sold out temporarily with no idea when they'll be back in, just that it'll be "soon". He paid for it and got me the gift card for it, but I still have to just wait.

Christmas was pretty good this year. We chose to do everything in the late afternoon/early evening since everyone's working weird shifts lately. We had a great dinner with the 7 of us, beef roast, potatoes, gravy, veggies, garlic cheddar biscuits, coconut cream pie, pecan pie, and peppermint stick ice cream!

I got a bunch of scrapbooking stuff from Mom (exactly what I was thinking I wanted), the gift card for the laptop, and Adam got me a nice light up angel decoration. The kids got clothes, money, gift cards, soft blankets and more. Tim asked for movies (live-action superhero ones) so we got him 8 of them! That should keep us busy while we wait for the computer and order Netflix.

Although it's snowed a lot already this winter and has been very cold, including below zero nights, the past 2 days have been warm and sunny. That's important for me to get through these cold winters again. I do miss palm trees and warm winters more than anything!

Adam took his first solo trip to the Valley during vacation. He drove the 200 miles down, will stay for 2 weeks, then drive home again. I made him promise me he wouldn't go anywhere New Year's Eve unless it's with his friend Tim's whole family. Other than that, he'll make good decisions, so I hope he has a great time.

Hopefully, the computer will come in soon and I'll be back on here more regularly, but for now, the library countdown is ticking so I have to go.

Thanksgiving Day

Today is thanksgiving. Mom & Dad are on the east coast, we have no friends or family that live near us, so I guess it's just the 5 of us again. Could be worse, it could just be the 4 of us. With Tim working at WalMart these days, he easily could've ended up working today - so I'm happy he's home today. He won't have to do a ridiculous Black Friday shift either. He won't go in til 10pm after the madness is over, the shelves are depleted, and hopefully, that should make his new inventory go up faster.

We're staying very traditional this year. I'm roasting a turkey, making homemade stuffing from scratch, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, and since the kids never had them, I bought King's Hawaiian sweet rolls instead of making my usual garlic cheddar biscuits. For dessert, I made a simple pumpkin pie and pudding pie with Jordan. We had some phyllo cups left over from a previous event so we filled those with pudding too. Maybe we'll put those out at noon with veggie sticks, crackers, cheese and dip.

We'll eat around 3 or so, plenty of time to work off what we eat - though I don't remember ever going back for seconds on Thanksgiving - just not my thing. I wish we had football to watch - I hate TV so I almost never miss it - except Thanksgiving, and NFL playoffs, and of course the SuperBowl.

My family isn't big on sharing things to be thankful for, so instead of being disappointed when my expectations for family bonding doesn't happen, I'll just go into today unexpecting. Just being with my family will be enough. This may be our last Thanksgiving with Adam for a while, since he wants to move to the valley as soon as possible. I'll just enjoy today with a casual, relaxing plan of having no set plans.

Maybe, if I get lucky, we'll have a few games of darts, ping pong, or find a movie we can watch together - minus Adam - he'll come out to eat, then go back to his room, but that's okay. That's how he likes it, that's always been his personality. I don't get frustrated because I can't change people to do what I want or be like I want them to be.

It'll be a good day today.

Fall 2011

Logan went to his first dance, Homecoming at St.John's high with his friend, Justine King.

Halloween night Jordan dressed up as a gypsy (at the last minute) to pass out candy. We only had 14 kids total this year.

We had a Prairie Hawk on the back deck yesterday morning - they're so beautiful.

My "Babci", (grandmother in Polish) passed away in October. I have lots of great memories with her. She'll be sadly missed.

Not many pictures in October - been really busy with the couponing site and stuff for about 3 months. Hopefully my Winter 2011 pictures will be more interesting, and there'll be more stories to tell.

New Coupon Site

I miss having this blog for family and personal stuff that I don't want to necessarily share on Facebook, so I created a place for all my coupons info. to be shared, to teach others to save tons off their grocery bills, and share deals. It's kept private, and for a one-time signup of just $15 (introductory price for the rest of 2011), you get a private invitation to view it and use it yourself! After 2011, the price will go to just $20, with no renewal fees. I plan on improving the site on-going to include links to coupons, member testimonies of savings, great deals, hard-to-find coupons, and more. If you're interested, just get in touch with me and let me know you want an invitation. You can mail me a check and I'll grant you access to the account.

From here on in, posts will not be about coupons.

Best Shopping Day so far...

I went to Safeway and got $39 worth of stuff for just $8 but they handed me back $2, so I guess I got it all for $6.

Then I went to CVS, bought $29 worth of stuff, used my coupons, paid for it with only about $7 worth of extra bucks, and $1.39 in cash - then they handed me back $4.25 in more extra bucks, so I guess they actually paid me to take the stuff off their hands?!

Best deal:

Revlon age defying makeup stuff - normally $15
On sale for $10
Had a $5 off coupon from the Sunday paper
There was a $2 instant coupon on the product itself,
It only cost me $3, which I paid for with Extra Bucks, then they issued me more extra bucks for buying it, so it was FREE, plus I now have extra bucks to spend like cash on a future purchase.

Changing habits

As good as I've been able to do shopping lately, I think I can make it a bit better. We've only got Safeway and Walmart's superstore available to us on a regular basis. We went to Walmart the other day, trying to save money, and even though there were a few lower prices on stuff we regularly buy (Safeway's prices, even sale prices, are higher than normal right now), because there's no flyer for groceries to plan with, no card to swipe with pre-loaded eCoupons, and paper coupons are only worth face value (Safeway raises all coupons under a dollar up to a dollar), I ended up hardly saving anything at all, even with the lower prices.

Our new habit is that instead of shopping on Wednesdays when we go to town for banking and other errands, we'll shop almost exclusively at Safeway - but on Sundays after church. Here's why:

Safeway runs regular Wed. through Tues. weekly ads like most stores, but they also run mini sales on items "Fri - Sun only". Sometimes they're items on sale throughout the week, but they're even cheaper on the weekend. For example, we went on a Wed. a few weeks ago. I needed shredded cheese for something and it's almost $4 when it's not on sale. That week, it went on sale for $2.99. On the weekend, it was just $1.99 - now cheaper than Walmart's price of about $2.29 or so. If it happened to be a brand with a coupon, like Sargento, then I can use a 50 cents off coupon, which they'll raise up to $1, and now the almost $4 cheese is just 99 cents. Half the price of Walmart's cheaper product.

Safeway also runs a 3rd mini sale with it's own flyer almost every week. It's for items "Sun, Mon & Tues. only". I know it seems strange, but I guess it's so they can offer low prices but for a shorter time than a week. I'm sure many people think to themselves when shopping, "I have to get _________ because it was in the flyer for a great price," only to find out when they get to the store that price isn't until tomorrow, or ended yesterday, but since they planned on getting it, they buy it and pay a little more.

We'll shop there this Sunday instead of Wednesday, which allows us to take advantage of all 3 sales on the same day. That should maximize what we can save. As for Walmart, we'll go there once in a while when we have to save on something, but it won't be part of our regular weekly shopping trips.

By the way, CVS & Walgreen's are new additions to our weekly errands. I have found you can peek at their sale flyer a few days before it's published, which gives me time to prepare. I figured out that although in the beginning I have to pay cash at CVS for a few things, they offer a bonus bucks back type of reward on many items that also carry coupons, so after a short while of smart shopping, I'll be able to use my "bonus bucks" to pay for the personal care items I need, and use coupons (both theirs from their flyers and my paper ones), and will get to walk out with products without cash out of pocket for most of them. It's more time-consuming to plan and track, but worth it when you've got so little income to stretch.

I'll keep you posted on what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and what I matched. Take what you can from my experiences and make them work for your family. Good luck!

Couponing - Week 4

Today, I did better at Walmart, Walgreen's and CVS I think than at Safeway. Although I got to use store coupons + eCoupons + paper coupons all on one item at Safeway, if they're starting price, sale or not, is SO much higher, it's still not worth it. I chose to save my coupons for another day, and instead of getting what I planned on getting, I found good-priced products & food, then hunted on my coupon list to see if I possibly had an ecoupon or paper coupon for it. If I did, then I got those instead of what I originally had on my list. Our family doesn't really care if I buy frozen fish sticks one week and chicken patties the next - or vice-versa.

Here's some deals I found:

WalMart, I went in just to check prices on health & beauty items. I wrote in those prices next to the same item on my coupons list so I could enter them in a price book or on a price sheet later. I found Suave deodorant for 97 cents. I looked on my printout of coupons (alphabetized) and saw I had a coupon for .75 off ANY Suave deodorant. I only paid 22 cents for it (plus tax)! That's a great deal!

Walgreen's, I found Dawn dish detergent that's regularly $2.49. I clipped a store coupon from their flyer right there in the aisle for $1 off, so now it was $1.49. I had another paper coupon of my own for another $1 off. I paid 50 cents for it.

I saw Brut deodorant is normally $2.99. Last week they were sold out but I got a rain check to preserve the price at $1.50. I got one yesterday for the $1.50 plus used a paper coupon for another $1 off, so I paid .50 for that too. (With 5 of us, 3 hard-working guys, and living 30 miles from a store to buy more, we don't want to run out of deodorant). This was a great deal.

I also got 2 boxes of Garnier(?) HerbaShine hair color. It's always $7.99. I got a coupon for a FREE BOX by liking their Facebook page just a few weeks ago, and they mailed me the coupon. I also printed online a coupon for $3 off a box of the same product. My hair is long, and it usually takes 2 boxes, so getting a deal on 1 box but paying a lot for the 2nd is no fun. Yesterday I bought 2 boxes, used both coupons, and instead of paying $16, I only paid $5 for BOTH boxes, or just $2.50 a piece. Another great deal in my book.

Crest mouthwash - the largest one I've seen, is usually around $6 a bottle. After using the Dollar Tree version of mouthwash, that price seems ridiculous. Anyway, I happened to find it in Walgreen's on sale cheaper than the smaller bottle - it was $3.99. I had a coupon for $2 off a bottle, so I got a large $6 bottle for just $1.99. When I figured out the difference, we got MORE mouthwash per ounce than if we'd spent the same $2 at a dollar store, so that was also a great buy!

CVS - not really a coupon thing, but their flyer had VO5 shampoo & conditioner for just 77 cents, no coupon necessary, so we got a few of those.

Okay, now on to Safeway...

I found Eggo muffin tops (like frozen waffles), these normally sell for $3.69 each, but were on sale for $2. I had a store coupon for $1 off 2 and an eCoupon for another .75 off 2. I ended up paying just $1.13 each.

Yogurt - Greek yogurt cups usually range from $1.39 to $1.79 each. I can't pay that much for just 5 - 6 oz of yogurt, even if it is good. I had a lot of coupons on these:

I bought 5 Greek cups (some Yoplait, some Dannon Oikos). They were on sale for $1 each, so that's already a savings of about $2.50 on the 5 of them. Then didn't have any eCoupons on these but I had a paper coupon for a FREE cup, and 2 more coupons that let me save $1 on 2 cups, so those were like a Buy One Get One FREE coupon. I paid $2 for all 5 yogurts, just .40 each!

Also I happened to notice an "introductory price" sale sticker on Tampax Pearl Compak 18 ct. boxes. They're $5.49, I had an eCoupon for $2 off a box of any "Pearl" box. Then I had a paper coupon for Buy One Get One FREE on the exact same product up to $6.49. I got 2 boxes and paid a total of just $2.49 or only $1.25 each!

My biggest lessons learned this week:

1. You really can get better quality and spend less than for the store brand or dollar store brands by using coupons carefully.

2. Don't use a coupon just because you have it. If the store price, even on sale, is too high to start with, don't waste the coupon.

3. Pairing coupons - store flyer clipped ones + eCoupons + paper coupons = amazing savings!

Good luck on your own shopping! If you're interested in coming to a class at my house on Nov. 8th at 1:00pm, I'm hosting Kara, the one who taught me how to do this. For just $5 a person, you too can learn how to save BIG on groceries and household items. If you're not in AZ, I'm working on an East Coast program for you. It'll take some time to get to know what stores you have, their coupon policies, etc. But when it's done, I'll make it available on a blog for you.

Couponing - Week 3

This week I did well, but not great. Safeway didn't have too many great deals and with WalMart, you never know what you'll find for prices until you get there when it comes to groceries. I did manage to start at $184 and pay just $98, though. Not bad, saved $86.

I have a hard time figuring out by the receipt what's a store coupon and what's a manufacturer's ecoupon, but here's what I can tell:

1. I bought 2 boxes of Yoplait Gogurt. They were $2.00 ea. on sale, so that's $4. I used an eCoupon for .75/2, so now I paid 3.25 for 2 boxes. Then I used a paper coupon for .75/2 but Safeway matches the difference so it's like a $1/2 coupon. Now I paid $2.50 for 2 boxes, or just $1.25 each. That's a great price.

2. I bought Axe deodorant. They were priced at $3.99 and I got 2, so that should be about $8. I had a store flyer coupon that said I got them for just $3.49 each, so that's about $7 for both. Then I had an eCoupon for .50 off one, so now total cost is $6.50. Then I had a manufacturers coupon for $1 off 1. Now cost is $5.50. I then had another manufacturer's coupon for Buy One, Get One Free (up to $5.99). The cashier, Chris, our favorite, gave us the full $5.99 credit instead of just the $3.99 sale price. Final cost...NEGATIVE 50 cents! They paid me to take 2 Axe deodorants home! Can't beat FREE!

3. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls - I got 2. They were on sale for $1.99 ea. (so $4 total). I had a flyer coupon to get them for 1.69 ea. so now cost is down to $3.38. I used an eCoupon for .50/2, so now we're down to $2.88 for 2. I also had a paper coupon for .50/2 but Safeway matches to make coupons up to $1, so it became $1 off 2, so final cost was 1.88 for 2, or just 94 cents each. I used this same combination for 2 Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls too. I paid a grand total of $3.76 for 4 rolls/cans.

4. Toaster Strudels, $2.50 each, I got two, so $5. Flyer coupon made them just 1.99 ea. so now I was paying $4 for both boxes. I had an eCoupon for .50/2, so total cost was down to $3.50. Then I had a paper coupon for .50/2 which became $1 off 2, so now I paid $2.50 for 2. It was like Buy One Get One Free, or just $1.25 each.

5. Wishbone Dressing was $3.79. I got 2. What should've cost $7.58 (which I'd NEVER pay for 2 bottles of dressing!), got reduced immediately by the paper Buy One, Get One FREE coupon I had, so cost was back down to $3.79. I also had an eCoupon for $1 off, so now it was $2.79. Then I had a paper coupon for $2 off any bottle, and since I was paying for that 1st one, I got to use this coupon too. Now cost for 2 bottles was down to 79 cents. Final cost...just 39 cents each for the big bottles!

6. I was heading out of the store and saw my kids' favorite gummy snacks in the Clearance cart at 50% off. The clearance price made them .99 each. I had a paper coupon for $1 off 2 boxes, so final cost on those was just .50 each.

7. At checkout, I also received 2 - $1 off your next shopping trip coupons because I bought the fruit snacks and there was a buy more, save more type of program running.

I also got some okay deals, like Almond Milk for $1.99 instead of $3.69. I got SnackWells 100 calorie snacks form $1.75 a box instead of $3.79, their regular price.

Oh, I forgot, on the way to get groceries, we stopped at Walgreen's. They had Edge Gel on special for just $1.49 and I had a paper coupon for $1 off. I paid just 50 cents for the big 7oz can. I had to get a rain check for another brand of deodorant that they had on sale. It was on sale for .99 ea. and I have coupons for $1 off so they're FREE when they replenish their stock.

Not bad for a week without great sales to start with. Ready to come to a class in November to learn how you can save too?

How I Saved with Coupons - 2nd week in

My total was $215 - I paid just 89.92 for groceries, and although I put over $16 worth of non-food items in my cart, that only came to $3.46! That's less than just the bath tissue alone!

The register printed out 2 receipts which confused Chris, the cashier. He gave us 1 of the 2, but gave me the wrong one. This one doesn't show all the coupons redeemed for each item, just a long list at the end. I'll try to figure out how I saved so much.

1st: My Safeway card gave me all the sale prices for stuff in the weekly flier.

2nd: The Safeway card then credits my balance with all the pre-loaded 3-coupons I put on the card.

3rd: I handed Chris the Safeway flier coupons - they read that you get that price "with card AND coupon".

4th: I handed Chris the manufacturer coupons - both paper ones from Sunday's inserts as well as ones I had printed out. 3 of the dozens I used wouldn't work because it printed in draft and the ink was too light, it couldn't be read by the scanner at checkout. My FREE pasta ended up costing me .79/lb. , which is still a good price, and I only bought 2 boxes. Also 1 of the 2 Pillsbury coupons didn't go through, but a $3 was still 1.99. I wouldn't have bought it normally, but I was okay with it. It was 9:00 at night, I was tired, and didn't care. The kids will enjoy them.

First the weekly ad deals - looks like they totaled: about $56 roughly.

The e-coupons totaled: about $10 or so

I also got $5 off instantly because Safeway's special was to spend $15 in frozen foods, get $5 off.

At this point, my balance went from $215.75 down to $135.80. I don't know exactly where or how, but that means on just e-coupons & weekly sale items, my total dropped by $79.95! There's another $9 or so in savings somewhere, not sure where, maybe just in produce sale prices or something.

Now the paper coupons from the weekly ad I clipped, about $18 of them:

My balance went from $135.80 down to $125.53. Only about a $10 savings there, but remember, this was an additional $10 off after I already got the sale price on stuff.

Example: Bath tissue, normally $8, on sale for $6 if you have their shopping card. I already got the $2 off for the weekly sale, but the store flier coupon dropped it further down to $4.88.

Next, manufacturer coupons brought it down from $125.53 to just $105.67. Another $20 saved.

I also noticed a coupon I got credited with I had no idea I was getting and not sure how it works. It seems to say on the receipt that I got $10 for spending $75. That brought it down to just $95.67.

The non-food items I kept separately, I love to track everything, and what should've been well over $18 (at sale prices, mind you), totaled just $3.46. Less than just the bath tissue - so I must've actually had cash back from a few items that was put towards this balance.

Now to figure out to the best of my knowledge, with the wrong receipt, what I ended up paying for what items - I know some were free and many ended up being under $1.

Oh yeah, I also a gas reward for .10/gallon off too!

Last week before school starts

Is school really starting in just a week? Usually summer goes by at a good pace and I'm anxious to get back into our routine, but this year was different. It seemed like summer went faster than usual and we didn't really get to do much. I was creating the social media sites for LMT, writing the curriculum for our History multi-age class for this year on the 1800s, I was baking & cooking & selling at the Farmer's Market, and we managed to get in a few trips to the valley in June & July. Other than that, every day has been filled with just household and computer stuff.

This is the last week before school starts so what will I do these last few days? Maybe take a nap? Go for a walk? Read more? Relax and watch a few movies? I don't know, but I better rest now - this year looks to be very busy and intensive compared to previous years.

Back in the Valley

Here we are back in the Valley again for a week. We're here because it's the weekend of the Homeschool Convention, one of the last chances for the kids to be with friends before school starts, and it gives Tim a chance to touch base with his reps and potential clients in the city.

I really like the spring and summer in the mountains. I enjoy the daily showers that pass through, how a lot of the brown turns green, the Scottish thistles bloom, I enjoy working down at the Farmer's Market on Saturdays, and the people at our new church are very nice and supportive, still...

My heart feels so happy when I'm back in the valley. I don't miss the close houses, the traffic, and the extreme heat during July & August (although I do love the heat, so I don't mind that too much). What I do miss is the palm trees, the pretty sunsets this time of year, saving money because there's so many places to buy our necessities here that competition keeps prices super-low compared to "up on the hill". I love that there's always something cheap or even free to do. I like being reunited with my dear friends from here. We've shared some incredible journeys together, and to see that all of us have had things turn out for the best is just heart-warming. I enjoy how happy my kids are when they finally get to spend time with friends they've missed so much. And I enjoy that at night, I get Tim to myself - he's not working til all hours of the evening, no one interrupts our time together, he has a pretty normal 8 - 6 day, then the nights are for strengthening our marriage and family. That's something we never had before because of his late-night sales jobs, he always had to work weekends, and when he was off, he was too tired to go anywhere or do anything. At home up on the hill, he gets more texts, calls and "I need your help"s because he's there, he's convenient. When we're here, it's like no one intrudes, or he's more willing to put his cell phone on silent to go somewhere with our family.

I appreciate being able to live in the mountains during this period of changes and transitions, but my heart won't be really happy until we're back in the valley again, at least through the winters. I spent 30-something years feeling like an outsider in New England. When we moved to the Valley in 2003, I knew I was finally at rest, at peace, "home". I can't wait to get back "home" again. Hopefully it'll be a year from now and no more.

Where's your "home"?

July

July is one of my favorite months. It always has been. I love the fireworks, parades, swimming (although this summer we haven't done that yet), green grass, flowers, sunny hot days and cool nights (well, not in Phoenix), lots of summer activities going on, I get a break from teaching to gear up for next year, and I get time to read what I want instead of what I have to read for school.

This summer is half over and it started late up here. Winds that are usually gone by early June lasted into July. Rain, gardens and flowers just hit this week instead of a month ago. I'd like to think that means summer will be long, just delayed, but I know once September comes, the nights are colder and days aren't as hot, and it'll be here before you know it. I better make sure our family gets out and enjoys the summer these next 5 weeks or so before school starts up again.

I did make it to the 4th of July parade in town, but all fireworks were cancelled around here because of the wildfires and extremely dry conditions, it was too dangerous. I got to visit the Lavender Farm with friends this year - the cooking demo. is where I learn the most.

Next week the kids are at camp through our church. I hope they have a good time. Jordan's never slept away from home more than 2 nights unless it was with family. She's never slept at camp with strangers. She'll only know one friend there and her brother, and they're separated much of the time.

The following week should be fun - we head back to the Valley! I know, it's going to be around 115 degrees, but I like that more than 8 months of cold weather. We'll try to go to the free family roller skating night, the dollar theater, our old church, and our old bible studies. We'll finish off the week at the homeschool convention in Phx. I've been twice before and enjoy it very much, but this year, Tim will be with me. That's exciting. I'm looking forward to catching Ken Ham's classes (Answers in Genesis, Creation Museum in KY, Apologia Science curriculum). Maybe we'll catch a class designed for the guys too (or at least Tim might).

Jordan's birthday is that week, so hopefully we can do something to celebrate that. It'll depend on how much I can manage to sell at the Farmer's Market the next 2 Saturdays. That's going to be our "spending money". She'll be bringing a friend back with her for a few days too, so that'll be kind of special.

Can't wait to take the kids swimming at some point this summer, if we can get a time when it's not too cold.

Outside her comfort zone

Jordan is very strange sometimes. She complains that she's lonely out here - and to be fair - there isn't another girl her age that lives within walking distance that she knows. I would have thought that being so lonely, she'd take opportunities when she got them, like making friends with my friends' kids even if they're younger, or meet the kids somewhat close to her age at church, etc. But she doesn't introduce herself or try to talk to other girls her age when she can. Instead she plays shy and leaves without making new friends.

Today she's in our kitchen baking with a friend! I've been selling baked goods at our local farmer's market on Saturdays and another homeschooling family that's there every week has a daughter about a year older. If she was younger, I bet Jordan never would've even talked to her.
This girl is a farm girl. She out-works most adults! She's thin, blonde, blue eyes, really pretty, but that's about all that's girl-y about her. She likes carrying a pocketknife, loves camouflage, sword fighting, tae kwon do, and thinks nothing of doing 10 hours of physical labor in 90 degree sun & heat, while carrying 50 lb bags of grain, and never stopping to complain.

Jordan on the other hand is VERY girl-y! She likes long nails, long hair, lots of makeup, lacy & sparkly things, stuffed animals, computer games, nail polish, purses and oh, the SHOES!!!

Today she'll be just beyond her comfort zone to find things to talk about. The girls only common ground (besides homeschooling and selling at the Farmer's Market) is baking. They're making brownies and Moni's Fudge Balls (they're amazing!). It's been about 2 hours, so far so good, but there's still another 5 1/2 hours to go. They agreed on pizza for lunch - that's a good start.

Not sure what they'll be doing the rest of the afternoon, maybe watching a movie or two so her friend can relax on her only day off from hard work for a long while. They're family works all the time!

Maybe her friend can help Jordan to learn some new things, and maybe Jordan can learn that you don't have to have everything in common to be friends.

A Whole New Week Lies Ahead

Life has just recently gotten exciting for the first time in a few years. Here's all I'm working on:

1. Making lemon & lime curd (and scone samples to try it) to sell at my local Farmer's Market, and I'm making $20 - $50/week when it's slow.

2. I'm designing facebook business pages, twitter accounts, and blogs for my family's and friends' businesses. I'm self-taught, so it's pretty exciting.

3. I'm in the process of trying to launch a tutoring center this fall. Not sure exactly how I'll get customers, but I'm doing a lot to get the word out.

4. Tim & his father are growing their mobile media company LMT. I'm not actually in the sales or management of it, but I'm supporting them with my social media help, and acting as Tim's personal assistant as needed - and I really enjoy that.

5. My faith is on the grow, and so is my middle child's, that makes everything better.

6. I'm trying to get back to writing a bible study on the book of Genesis.

7. I'm making new friends at church all the time, and will soon be in one, if not 2 bible studies. I may be teaching one of them too!

8. Jordan & Logan are going to camp in just a few weeks, so lots to do to earn the money for that and make sure they're prepared.

9. I'm tutoring Jordan in Spelling, Handwriting and Math this summer.

10. I'm hoping that some of my friends from the valley will come up for a few days this summer.

Can't wait to report the results of this week, hopefully making lots of these come together!

Heading back up the hill

It's been such a fast week. We built a web presence for Tim's company, updated all my social media accounts, attended Gangplank events, attended a casual seminar on public speaking, spent time with old friends, prayed and shared with other friends, Tim hiked up Piestewa Peak, went shopping with Moni & Gloria, had a nice dinner at home with the girls, and now we pick up the motor home and drive home, which should take about 4 1/2 hours with gas-ups and stopping in ShowLow for groceries.

Tomorrow we get up really early for the church's Men's Shoot. Tim & Logan will be competing against other men, women and kids for a chance to win the gun everyone's firing. I'll be there to socialize and take lots of pictures.

This next week, I'll be working on improving my sites, creating the LMT blog site, as well as creating Moni's sites. I really enjoy the creativity of that - like scrapbooking with purpose.
Well, gotta shut down to pack up the computer.

I'll be back.

A Perfect Day

I'm down in Phoenix this week enjoying helping Tim grow his business, taking in some public speakers, working on improving my own business social media, spending time with friends, and getting some time here and there to just relax with Tim, uninterrupted.

When people asked me over the years, "What's your perfect day?" I would talk about being on a family trip or cruise, the bills are paid, maybe we're doing something new with those we love, but you know what? You can learn to be just as content where you're at today.

Yesterday was pretty close to A Perfect Day. I'm in the valley, where lately, I've figured out is more my home than the mountains, although I really enjoy some aspects of it - especially in the summer. I also realized how much I miss our old church, the friends there, and fulfilling my purpose helping women through issues from a biblical perspective. I had a great dinner with friends we used to meet with regularly. We did life deeply together and grew together back then. I even got to sit through a whole movie with Tim without phones ringing, and people walking in to interrupt us.

It was a perfect day - we aren't anywhere exotic, our savings definitely isn't where we'd like it to be, we weren't experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, but it was perfect. Simple. Warm. Heart-filling. Joyful. Peaceful.

What more could I expect than that?

Because I like organized lists...

What am I up to now that my homeschoolers and our Bible study groups are on summer break?

1. Now is the few weeks a year I get to read non-school related books and magazines - just for me.

2. I plan on visiting the valley as often as possible. I know it's about 110 degrees most of the summer, but I still miss many of my friends.

3. I'm teaching myself the whole social media thing. I've created a Facebook page for my tutoring center (that I hope to open in the fall), a Twitter account, a new blog for the tutoring center, a Google alert system to stay on top of what goes on in the internet that applies to my industry, and I still have 2 more sites to work with - then figure out how to effectively link them all together.

4. If they let me, I'm going to make lemon and lime curd and sell it at my local Farmer's Market. I don't grow the ingredients, so I need approval first.

5. I want to take the kids to one of the nearby lakes to go swimming this year. If that doesn't work, there's the pool at St. John's and the aquatic center in Show Low.

6. I'm going to make more time for tea with friends.

7. I'll host another tea in my home for friends (maybe 2 if there's time).

8. I'll work with Logan so he can learn the social media thing and turn it into a possible career with companies later on as their Social Media director (or at least one of their staff).

9. I'll take time to be quiet and enjoy early mornings, hummingbirds, campfires, sunsets, and rides on the quad and motorcycle with Tim.

10. Sleeping past 7 am would be nice for a change, too!

Where is the time going?

I have such a hard time believing that 3 weeks or so have gone by since I posted those pictures! Here we are half-way through May already! What's happened so far?

1. Spring has come, lots of days in the 70s, but it snowed just last week for a little bit too (no accumulation, thank goodness!)

2. We drove to the top of Cinder Mountain for the first time this year and drove down the front of it in the jeep again.

3. We had a nice Mother's Day family meal together. My kids got me movies, pink jeweled sunglasses and pink slippers and Tim got me a new tea kettle.

4. Easter was nice. We went to our Sunday School class, church service, then had a family meal together.

5. Logan disected a frog to end Biology this year.

6. We're just about done the school year and I'm in the planning stages for next year.

7. I hosted a Ladies Tea for my Sunday School group. There was 10 of us enjoying tea together here with a Tropical menu and beach theme while the guys went shooting on Cinder Mountain. It was a really fun day.

8. I'll be heading the the valley next week for a few days. I'll get to visit with a few of my friends, and soak up some sun, and get warm again, but Tim will be working and using the car most of the time. Hopefully we'll get to a movie for our 19th Anniversary and shop at Sprouts for organic and healthy foods we can't get up here on the mountain.

9. I had a really enjoyable 3 hour conversation with my mother on the phone just before Mother's Day.

10. I'm in the middle of reading all kinds of good books that aren't school related. I only get a few weeks a year to do that because I'm always busy reading the kids' books for school.

Here's some pictures:

April 2011

This month has flown by! We've had spring start to show up in lilac blooms on the bushes behind the house and had a few days that were sunny and in the 70s. Adam went to the Junior Prom with Ashlee. I've gotten lots of scrapbook pages done (I was so behind!), Tim got his Katana motorcycle going again, I'm in the process of planning a tea for a dozen women or so, and we just celebrated Easter. Tim's spent the last two weeks here with us but now it's back to Phoenix for work. The time has been flying by, but we're almost done school - then it'll be time for summer.

Here's a few photos from April:

Sooooo Ready for Spring

I don't know if there's anyone else out there like me, but I can't wait for Spring. I know lots of people feel that way around the beginning of April, but I can't wait because I really hate winter...I don't just "not like it", or it's dragged on too long, I absolutely HATE winter. I hate the cold, the clouds, the snow, the dampness, the dry air (dryer than normal at 6300' in the high desert), the dry skin, the short days,...ALL of it.

I had it pretty good for the past 6 years living in the Phoenix area. Winter was great, it was warm and sunny, there were palm trees and snow was just something you watched from a distance on the mountain peaks far away. This last winter in the mountains? I thought I'd never make it.

Last week was a great week. Saturday was warm and sunny here, in the 70s, and I was able to lay out in the sun in shorts and a tank top. It felt great! Even on Tuesday I was able to do the same thing, plus walk about 3 miles and enjoy it a lot. Then Saturday happened...it was only in the low 40s and it snowed all day long. It covered everything with white. How can you be slightly sunburned one day and just a few days later, you're back to heavy coats, wearing mittens and everything's white? It's just not right. I know the snow's gone in a day or so, but still, it feels like going backwards and not making any progess toward better days.

Today brings hope again. It's windy, but it's in the 60s heading for a high of 70 degrees later, and it's sunny. I hope to catch a little bit of sun on the front step while reading my book without the wind whipping my hair all in my face. Actually, all this week is supposed to be in the 60s and maybe hit 70 by the weekend.

I'm sooo ready for spring!

Finally! I get to see the Las Vegas strip!

I've been to Las Vegas about 4 times in the last 2 years, but only going directly to the hotel, enjoying our business convention, then leaving. Never have I had the chance to go down the Las Vegas Blvd. strip to see all those famous hotels I've seen in movies my whole life. I didn't have any desire to actually get out and walk it, or to go into any of the casinos/bars/etc. I just wanted to drive down and get pictures so I can say that I've seen it, and show the pictures of the beautiful hotels and lights to the kids. This trip, I lucked out.

This particular trip happened to fall just before my birthday, and Tim knew he'd be gone on the actual day because of his new job, so I asked if maybe, as an early gift, he could just drive down after the function and let me get the photos. I was so surprised when he said yes, he would!

I saw some barely dressed early 20-somethings looking for attention, casually dressed partiers, formally-dressed casino goers, a costumed (all in white from head to toe with no skin showing)jester/street performer. I even saw 2 people dressed up in oversized, Disney-like Woody & Jessie costumes, you know, from Toy Story 2. The lights were amazing! It was better than the best Christmas light show in any neighborhood I've ever driven through.

I did manage to see the Phoenician, Treasure Island, The Golden Nugget (although it was down a side street), MargaritaVille, NewYork NewYork hotel, complete with a statue of liberty and full-size roller coaster running around the building and street. I saw the waving cowboy, the Sahara, MGM, Tropicana, The Venetian, Palazzo, Hard Rock Cafe, Flamingo, Planet Hollywood, the Harley Davidson cafe, Paris - complete with a mini Eiffel Tower and Arc d'Triomphe, the Bellagio, Trump hotel, Caesar's Palace, CaboWabo, Bally's, the Mirage, The Forum Shops (beautiful architecture), Vince Neil Ink, Gucci, Louis Vitton, Prada, Harrah's, the Wynn and Encore hotels, Circus Circus, the Riviera, lots of little chapels to get married, and lots more I can't even remember! It was a great memory to make and I'm thankful to Tim for taking the time to show me, even though it was about midnight when we got started!

Highlights of Spring Break in Phoenix

We had a great time in Phoenix for Spring Break! It was nice to thaw out, smell the orange blossoms, swim in warm water in March, and listen to the gentle breezes as they ruffle the palm leaves. Here's a few highlights:

1. We found a hotel room in a safe neighborhood with nice "neighbors" for just $210 for the whole week.
2. We got to attend our old church in Scottsdale and see so many of our old friends again.
3. We went swimming in a pool that was as warm as bathwater.
4. We got to lie in the sun and feel its warmth again - it's been so cold at home.
5. We walked around 2 malls and lots of stores, can't do that at home.
6. We visited with more friends on Monday.
7. We saw friends again when I attended the Ladies' Bible Study I used to belong to.
8. We went to the movies and saw Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, for just $2 each!
9. We found the largest candy store in Arizona.
10. Logan found a whole store that sold nothing but LEGOS - every shape, color, size and kind.
11. The kids got to go to Youth Night at church with more friends while I had time to unwind by myself for 2 hours.
12. The kids got to stay over at friends' houses and have sleepovers.
13. I had the hotel room to myself for a night.
14. I went out to eat at Panda Express with 2 wonderful friends I've been missing.
15. Went to the movies and saw The Green Hornet with friends.
16. Went out to eat at Pita Jungle with a friend from almost 20 years ago and had a great conversation, nice atmosphere (except for the spider than jumped on me, then him), and the best Mediterranean Chicken Tabouli salad.
17. I got to say goodbye to good friends while helping them load their moving truck.
I'm glad I got to see them before they moved out of state.
18. The best highlight was that Tim came back and we got to spend time alone together. He'd been in CA for 2 weeks and was so sick 2 weeks before that that we hadn't kissed in almost a month!
19. Tim took me out to breakfast the next morning.
20. We got to come home together.

It was the first vacation that felt like a relaxed vacation. Usually I pack so much in that time flies by too quickly, I feel there's so much I didn't get done, and then I'm tired when I get home. This time was perfect. The only thing that could've been better would've been if Tim got back sooner.

Looking forward to Spring Break

I'm so happy! In another week, I'll be able to spend Spring Break in the valley where we moved from almost a year ago. We've got a great hotel suite for a whole week! Most vacations for the past 20 years have been 2 or 3 days long, with my only week-long vacation in NewEngland in '09 to see my Grandmother.
Tim will be out of town for the next two weeks, so being gone for one of those weeks while he's away on business with his father makes the time not tick by quite so slow. I'll be taking the kids with me.
I won't get to see much of Adam. He'll get dropped off at his friend's house the day we arrive and won't want to be picked up until the day we head back home. I'll have to get by on just his phone calls and text messages.
Logan & Jordan will be with me most of the week. They may sleep over their friends' house for one or two nights, but the rest of the time, we'll be together. We'll visit our old church, spend time with friends we've missed, they'll get to go to youth group with their friends, and maybe we'll even get to a movie or hang out by the pool together. It's probably going to be around 80. Compared to the 40's and low 50's here, it'll feel like summer!
They're looking forward to just watching television for a bit. They haven't been able to do that in nine months! I'm looking forward to being warm, wearing shorts, laying in the sun, and not having to spend hours every day on teaching, planning, grading and preparing for school.
So although we'll miss Tim, we'll be doing okay.

Adam got his Driver's License!

He did it! Adam got his driver's license Wednesday! I'm so glad he got it on the first try. Here's a summary of how this all came together:

16th BDay - doesn't have money for a car & insurance, so no interest in driving yet.
5/10 - we moved, he was depressed, no interest in driving, had last paycheck in bank
6/1/10 - money ran out, "this sucks", wanted to get his permit (mostly to drive himself back to the valley to see his friends), new interest in getting a job
7/10 - Adam begins driving off just the golf course roads. He's a perfectionist, so he over-corrects and gets really stressed over not driving perfect. Has a chance to drive in the valley for about a mile and realizes at the stoplight, he's never driven up to one because we don't have ANY in town or in St. John's.
8/10 - skills improve, drives to town and pulls over before getting into the heavier traffic areas.
10/10 - Job hunting continues with no luck for 2 months, drives us either to or from church and sometimes while going to town to run errands.
12/10 - Lucky Break! Someone at church hooks Adam up to get a job at KFC in Show Low, the nearest town to get a job, 27 miles each way - VERY interested in getting his license to cut down on gas. He has to pay for the car to go there and back twice (to drop him off, come home, and go pick him up 7 hours later, and come home)
1/11 - He drives everywhere now, parking is still difficult but he's become a good driver. He even dodged a last-minute elk on the side of the road at 11:30 at night without even flinching.
2/10/11 - Adam turns 17 and wanted to have his license by now but they only do testing 2 days a week, we've all been taking turns being sick, and he works 4 days a week.
2/23/11 - We practiced parking in left and right hand spaces until he got it, practiced parallel parking a few times, drove around (they closed for lunch), and he went on his test. He passed first try - and he did it in a MINIVAN!

This is a great accomplishment that Adam should be proud of. Although Tim and I both passed our tests on the first try, I realize that's not always the case. I know lots of people that had to take it 2, 3, or even more times before they passed. We didn't have the money for Driver's Ed, but since we homeschool anyway, we taught Adam driving like it was a class for school - with lots of detail, information, practice and testing. He's actually a very good driver, as long as he doesn't get distracted changing the CD or anything. He already opposes texting or taking calls while driving, so I'm really not that worried about anything but late-night elk.

He's 17, got a job, got his license, carrying Honor Roll grades in 11th grade, and although I'll be sad when he moves out, I trust he can handle it when the time comes.

Adam's 17!

I can't believe I have a 17 year old! It's not like I was a teenage mom or anything. I didn't get married until I was 23, we waited a year before trying, then it was almost another year waiting for him to arrive. Am I really that old? I'd rather think that instead of getting older, I'm getting better or more experienced. Anyway, enough about me.

What an amazing 17 year old Adam is! He's smarter than most adults (taller than them too at 6'1"). He's true to himself, although I don't know if he's found his true self yet. He doesn't change to suit the people he's around. He doesn't always know why he likes or does what he does, but he'll stay true to that instead of always trying to fit in. He's the one his friends go to for advice, even ones that are 5 to 7 years older. He manages to figure out the best course of action for others. It's not always so easy to do that for himself, but he has a gift of insight when it comes to helping others through life. Even though he acts like he's the lone rebel, I know by the advice he gives people that his heart is right and his head's on straight on the things that really matter.

He's determined to get into college and have a career rather than just jump from minimum wage job to another. He wants to take the business route. Not sure what field yet. He's had business classes, leadership classes, read dozens of business-related books on everything from motivation to running a company. He's had accounting, personal finance and even Teen Pact government classes where he spent a week learning the whole process of legislation at our state house.

I'm proud of who he's becoming. He takes his job seriously and once he finally sets a goal, he goes after it until he gets what he wants. He's learned not to take anything for granted anymore, and at least with me, he's more appreciative than he used to be, even just 6 months ago.

I'm so thankful I've homeschooled him all the way through 11th grade so far. It's helped us develop such a close relationship. He's willing to open up and talk to me because I've learned an important secret: Don't JUDGE what your kids say, don't CRITICIZE their ideas. Just hear them out, ask questions that make them give plans more thought, and let them know that whatever they decide, you'll still love them - but there will be consequences if they choose poorly. Kids don't often realize the repercussions of their actions before-hand. It's our job to offer a warning, experience and examples, then you have to let go and let natural consequences or rewards happen. Take that away to be controlling, or in the name of protecting them, and they won't learn anything. Life and experience is a far better teacher than scolding and nagging. They don't listen that way because they think they know everything already, right? The best you can do is offer your perspective and let go.

In just over one year, he'll be out on his own, an adult in this world. Do I think he'll make mistakes? Of course. Do I think he'll do things I'd never allow under my roof, yes, but I don't see him taking the path of smoking, drinking, messing around from girl to girl, taking drugs, or anything else along those lines. I'm not blind to his weaknesses. We've just talked about these things and I know HIS perspective on them. He's smart enough to sit back and watch others make mistakes like these, and then learn NOT to follow what they did. It's a wise way to live.

I'm very blessed to have such a great young man for my first-born son.

Logan's 15

For those of you with small children, stop what you're doing right now and really enjoy them. Hug them, hold them, play with them (you're not too busy), laugh with them, read to them, watch movies with them, and if you're fortunate enough to have a baby at home, smell their little powder-smelling heads! Time goes faster than you can imagine. People told me that for years but when you're in the day-to-day of changing diapers, picking up broken pieces of toys and doing mountains of laundry, you don't believe it - but it's absolutely true!

The first few years, Logan, or "Bear" as we called him, was a chunky little truck. He put everything in his mouth, and never wanted to listen when we told him the word NO. He hated to sleep, loved to play, and would've lived outside if we let him. He didn't need toys as long as he could find sticks and rocks.

In grammar school, he turned out to be not only creative, but smarter than I could've expected. He spent the first 5 or 6 years of school in class with his older brother two years older than him. He developed quite an out-going personality, a natural born salesman.

In Jr. High, he found ways to express himself and get his energy out. He was involved in a Kids' scrapbooking class (mostly girls, he loved it that way), football, soccer, and especially Drama class. I lost count of how many plays he did. It amazed me that he was so willing to stand on a stage in front of 100+ strangers and act, sing, shout and all those other things I would've been too afraid to do.

Now he's in high school as a Freshman. He's really changed this year. He's a lot more respectful, responsible, focused, and he's turned into a good, hard-worker. We never imagined that would be in his future because he had such a fun personality. He's still fun, but he's figured out when that's appropriate and when it's time to settle down and get the job done.

I'm so proud to have a son like him. I've always had people compliment me on Logan, especially his heart for people, his helpfulness, and how he takes time to make people (especially younger children who may otherwise feel neglected) feel special and important.

And God's not done with him yet.

If Everything Went Smoothly, It Wouldn't Be an Adventure

This week completed 5 weeks of Tim's preparing, training, and practicing for his new career. He was hired by a new company to open a sales office in the city, get it up and running with 30 or so guys making money consistently, and a great manager in place, so he can then go do it again in another city. The potential is there and he's doing great, but putting our lives on hold for over a month, and not pursuing any other type of vocation in the meantime, it's got us financially holding our breaths again. Will it be like this forever?

Tim has faithfully invested 8 to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week to getting ready for this. He's studied scripts, spent a week in CA with the owners, gotten in real in-the-field data, responses and sales so he can teach from a realistic point of view. He's done everything right from where I sit, but still we're in a sort of waiting game.

Next week he'll be traveling to the city to look at real estate, meet with potential hirings, discuss details with a potential office person he wants to hire, and hopefully, he'll even manage to get a few sales of his own while he's down there.

I know once things are up and running (just a few more weeks), the money will come, the schedule won't be quite so hectic, I'll be able to go with him once in a while (the kids too), and things will be great. It's a good product/service, at an amazing price, and it's truly something that can help businesses bring in more customers, therefore, increasing sales. It's win-win for Tim and the business owners.

I just hate the waiting part...

Cold & Flu Season

Year after year we've been blessed with good health. Logan hasn't been sick with a cold in almost 10 years, Jordan doesn't get sick very often, Adam usually only has allergies, Tim usually just has allergies, and with my auto-immune disease, I haven't had a cold in 15 years! I've had one day every few years where I begin to get cold symptoms but it's gone before the next morning.

This winter, it's our first time being in such constantly low temperatures in 7 years and now we're all sick but Adam. Logan's been sick for 7 days now, I'm on day 3, Jordan's having an awful day today, Tim woke up with a non-stop runny nose - only Adam is still healthy. He's hiding in his room all that he can.

I have to say, although tempers can be short when we're sick, and we're too exhausted to get all of our chores done, for me, there's a bright side...my auto-immune system is finally back to normal!!! It's taken years of changing eating habits, losing weight, getting healthier with Monavie's products, and lots of prayer, but I finally think the scleroderma and associated problems are gone!

As for the kids, I'll just do what I can to take care of them as best I can. Lots of chicken coup, I guess! I'm sure we'll all be fine in the next week or so.

Can't wait until February!

2011 has gotten off to a slow start for me. I have lots of plans for this year but it seems most the things I want to implement are on hold waiting for something else to happen first. The one thing on track is my weight loss. I'm down 19 pounds since the beginning of November, not bad for just 2 1/2 months. Hopefully soon things will start happening so I can work my way down my Resolutions list.

Another reason I can't wait for February is that it starts to get warmer up here. It's about 23 right now, granted it's 5 a.m., but the nights are still in the teens/20s and although we had a couple of days in the 50s, most of the time it's only in the high 30s/low 40s. Once we hit a few weeks into February, we should be in the mid 50s most of the time. The nights will still be cold in the 20s, but the single digits and teens should be over.

The best reason for February is that it holds my two boys' birthdays. One turns 15 and one turns 17 (and should have his license by then). That should give BOTH of us some more freedom. As much as I'm trying to treasure every single day with my boys, I'm not one of those mothers that doesn't want their kids to grow up and go out into the world. I want the best for them, and keeping them babies forever isn't what's best for them. I can't wait to see what career path they follow, who they'll marry, what kind of fathers they'll become, and what mistakes we made that they learned to avoid. I'm so proud of both of them. They're both so smart, they're hard workers, and they care deeply about their friends and family (even if a 17 year old has trouble expressing it like an adult would sometimes.)

I didn't forget about my daughter. Although she's growing up fast, 12 1/2 now, I know that I still have 6 years to teach her, another 6 or more before she moves out, and so much still to experience. I don't feel rushed to savor every single moment in the same way that I do the boys. I've only got 1 year left with Adam before he goes off to college (if he can find the money), Logan may stick around longer, but if not, I've only got 3 more to teach him all I can to survive and thrive in the real world. Jordan has lots of time to shadow me and learn what to do. She seems to love sewing, cooking, and baking. She's hates school work. The best I can do is train her up to be a great wife, mother and keeper of her home - and continue to encourage her in her academic and potential career pursuits.

Maybe I'm not in SUCH a rush for February to come after all?

Glad he's back

I think it's only fair after posting why I had a good week with Tim gone, that I should now post why it's so good that he's back home with us.

1. I really enjoy sitting on the couch at the end of the day and watching a movie or an episode of Law & Order. We have no television here so movies are all we have. We watch movies and boxed sets of tv shows that have been given to or borrowed by Tim's parents. I watch movies with the kids, and by myself, but when I'm with Tim, it's better. We hold hands, or lean into each other, or sit close under my favorite Mexican blanket if it's really cold in our living room.

2. It's nice to know that if I need something done that's too hard for me, or if I don't have time to get done before I have to leave somewhere, Tim's always willing to help me, or do the job for me. He doesn't complain about it at all.

3. It's great to have a second driver when it's an hour and a half to take Adam to work and back - or to pick him up at 11:00 at night so far away. He never complains about getting the late driving shift.

4. He came home with a very positive, excited attitude about his new corporate position he was offered in CA. It's great to see him looking forward to setting up, running and supervising such a large operation - and knowing he'll have the flexibility to do it his way (for the most part). He's smart and now he'll have a chance to prove it, while providing an excellent income for us.

5. He's really come a long way on his journey. In bible study together on Sunday, I was realizing how well he knows his bible, how he "gets it", and how he understands how to apply it to our lives here in this day and age. All that is very important to me, but up until now, we never were in the same bible study together except for a small group with friends. That was great too, but it ended years ago when we all had to head in different directions.

There's probably a long list of other reasons why it's good that he's home, but in the middle of all I'm doing today, these are the ones that really come to mind first.

He seems a little more willing to try not to stress out the rest of us, more calm, more patient...I'm sure we all hope it lasts as he embarks on his newest adventure. If it's successful, it'll give us more options, and more visits to the valley, and more fun times to share with the kids. God only knows how much they've had to deal with because of our financial difficulties. I can't wait to share fun times, vacations, and rewards with them!

What a good week!

This week, Tim & his father are in CA on business. That gives me quite the reprieve. Don't get me wrong, I love that Tim works from home now and is here when we need him, but here's a few reasons why I also enjoy this week:

1. I have a perfectionist personality. I want things done the way I've thought it out and planned and decided is the best way to get it done. I'm not always right, he often is, but when he does something that's not my way, (especially in "MY KITCHEN"), I get frustrated and stressed. It's like me telling him what to do in HIS workshop area, right? It's my problem more than his, I admit that, but still...this week, I'm neither frustrated, nor stressed.

2. I'm sleeping the best I have in years! Tim tosses and turns, and if he wakes up in the middle of the night, something in him says, "Quick! Stand up and go walk around!" He doesn't even know why he does it. Sometimes it's just a quick trip to the bathroom, sometimes in the kitchen for a snack or just a drink of water, but it wakes me up, and then I'm up for hours trying to fall back to sleep while he passes out immediately. This week, I'm in bed at 9 if I'm not picking up Adam. 12am if I am picking him up. Then I sleep right through until 7 or 7:30! In the past 18 years, I've slept in 45 minute to 2 hour intervals - it's so nice to sleep straight through!

3. Food. When Tim's here, I never know when he'll eat, when he won't, when he'll have his RVL shake, when he's starving...it's hard to plan around him. I end up making too much, or not enough (and feeling guilty), etc. This week, I only worry about me. The kids take care of their own breakfast and lunch, and with Adam working nights, I only have to prepare for 2. No being around food all day long. No temptations to snack as I make other people's meals every two hours because no one follows the schedule for eating I planned (see #1).

4. Time. I try to be the best wife/mother/teacher/housekeeper I can be (again, see #1). When Tim's here, I feel guilty any time I sit down to read, journal, relax at the computer, watch a movie before 8pm, etc. With him gone, I'm free to go through my day working on those important but not urgent things I want to do more often but don't take the time to do. Again, Tim doesn't make me feel guilty about this, I do. Without him, the pressure's off.

5. Kids. When Tim's around, especially in conjunction with Dad, often they walk around all stressed out, or leaving trails of their Alpha Male personalities all over the place. It stresses the kids out. Typical American teens, the kids assume if they make eye contact with either of the men, they'll be assigned some physical labor, so they spend lots of time out of sight. This week, they've been around more, bedroom doors open, more talkative,...it's been great. It feels like we're so close these days. Again, I don't want you to think badly of Tim. It's just that teens will do anything to get out of doing "extra", right?

6. Schooling. Because there's a low-stress factor going on this week, and Tim's not here to run loud YouTube videos during the kids' reading & school time, they're more focused this week, more reading's getting done without so much prodding, and the kids are retaining more than usual. Tim doesn't do anything to distract them on purpose, it's just that he doesn't like headphones, I guess. And to be fair, if I ask him to turn it down, he either will, or will then put on headphones, or even go upstairs to use the computer there. He's almost always willing to do the right thing. It's just nice not to have to make him feel bad by asking.

I think my next post will be all the reasons why it's not so good that Tim's gone. Wouldn't that be the fair thing to do?

Memories

This has been a good week. I've had lots of moments to reflect on memories of my kids. Adam's been busy between school and his new job, and being a typical almost 17 year old, I've only spent time with him on the drive to/from work, and in our History discussion at school.

Logan & Jordan on the other hand...I know they're 12 and almost 15, but this week was a week of reminiscing. They did things they haven't done for years. Maybe out of bordom, maybe because neither have friends that are close enough to come over. Anyway, this week they watched the oldest Veggie Tales videos with me. If you haven't watched these, you should. They teach important lessons to kids but there's one-liners thrown in to amuse the adults as well. Being older, my kids caught lots of the jokes they never did when they watched as younger kids. I think even they were surprised that they remembered the words to the songs.

I also heard them playing hide & seek one day. It's a big house, so you really can play a good game here. It made me think of how they used to play in NH. Because Adam was the oldest, and his personality makes him quite the loner, Logan & Jordan were the two that always played together once Adam hit about 10. It was fun to hear them playing games and laughing together again.

I also caught them sitting together on Logan's floor building things out of his enormous Lego collection. No fighting. No bossing each other around like usual. Just two siblings, playing side by side, sharing time together.

I'm so thankful for the chance to reflect on a simpler time in our life when they were younger. Although I homeschooled and never missed a moment of their growing up, it still happened too fast and I often wish for the chance to relive a few days with them when they were younger.

Hang onto every moment with your children. Soon they'll be moved out and you'll wish you had. Appreciate the blessing while you can.

Time for Tea

I love to just sit and talk with the most special people in my world, accompanied by a cup of tea. Not the tea bag grocery store stuff - real loose-leaf tea. There's something about it that makes even just sitting and talking seem special. Yesterday I got to do that with Tim's Mom.

You would think living in the same house, we'd all be sick of seeing each other by now, but the way the house is laid out, there's sometimes DAYS that I don't see Mom. We each are a blend of 2 personalities, and one of those two, we share. That allows us to understand what the other feels in different circumstances, why we responded or reacted to it the way we did, why certain things get on our nerves, and what things mean the most to us. We spent two full hours just relaxing, getting caught up on the latest news, sipping a decaf. vanilla tea from our special teacups and saucers. We talked by the fireplace (the only warm spot in the house these days). I bet she spent lots of time just sitting and talking with her Mom a while back - now it's my turn to sit and talk with her. Sometimes we invite Jordan to join us, and she was only a few feet away on the computer, but it was good to have adult conversation without the constant interrupting of a 12 year old pretending to understand all we're discussing :-)

It was the great event of my day, until her cats began racing overhead (we talked an hour past their usual feeding time). When we stood up, we gave each other a hug, hopefully both feeling a bit more relieved and relaxed, and for the rest of the day, I felt like I'd done something special and memorable that day - and it didn't cost a penny!

Down 16 pounds!

Today is a happy day! In about 8 weeks, I've lost 16 pounds and still going! I don't have to kill myself at the gym, give up taste, or starve all day. It's the new product line RVL from Monavie that's really making it drop off fast. I'm only using half the system (and some days I miss taking my shake because we aren't home). I'm eating healthy around the shake, and when I eat my "sensible meals", I'm following The Maker's Diet, which isn't a diet, doesn't restrict calories, just avoids sugars, preservatives and processed foods. I can eat 2 eggs, scrambled with onions, peppers and mushrooms, with an ounce of goat cheese, and turkey bacon. Then for lunch I can have coconut-mushroom soup, a generous salad with homemade dressing, with any kind of meat in it I want (but not nitrate-filled deli meats), and a shake for supper. With RVL, I can either snack on bars that are part of the system, or a Special K 90 cal. bar, or berries with some organic plain yogurt and a dab of honey.

The only exercising I get lately is walking around the house (about 1 1/2 to 2 miles a day, according to my pedometer), going for a walk (3 miles) outside when it's warm enough, and walking through grocery stores & WalMart when I'm in town.

This is the best thing that's happened to me in a long time - and you know what? - Tim's down 39 pounds so far and almost to his goal! He weighs less now than when he was a young teenager! It's the lowest he remembers weighing.

If you want to get healthy too, you should consider the RVL program.

Skype

I'm a person who hates the telephone. I would much rather text or type on Facebook chat with someone. I'm not sure why, maybe because growing up there were so many bill collectors that when it rang, my mother would say, "Don't answer that!". Yes, that was before the world of caller-ID.

Anyway, I've always been especially close with my sister, Alana, but I haven't been with her in a year and a half. Today we were able to use skype to not only talk, but to see each other. She talked to all the kids first, said hi to Tim briefly, then we got to talk. It was so nice to see her expressions as she talked, it helped us understand that Boston accent we've been away from for so long!

It wasn't perfect, it got all pixel-y, we lost sound quality towards the end, only picking up about every 10th word. Good thing I read lips pretty well. Anyway, it was a lot more fun than a phone call, and I hope I get to do it again soon. I usually walk away after a phone call getting back to what I was doing. This time, I really feel like I spent time with her.

Thank you Skype for bringing me closer to my sister.