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.

Ratatouille

I don't bake, so I don't experiment with too many baking recipes - cooking, that's different. I saw eggplant was on sale for 50 cents each so I bought a couple and figured I'd look for a new recipe. The kids don't like Eggplant Parmesan so much. I came across a recipe for Ratatouille (yes, like in the Disney movie) and thought I'd try it. It takes about an hour to make and cook, but it was so much better than I expected - and a LOT better than it looks.

I sauteed an onion in olive oil, cut into rings, until they were clear and carmelized. Then I fried 3 garlic cloves I grated, along with 2 green peppers cut in strips. Then I turned up the heat and added the diced eggplant (you sprinkle it w/salt, let it sit for 1/2 hr., then rinse and pat dry before cooking). After a few minutes, I added Italian squash (the recipe asked for zucchini but they didn't have any where I get my produce). The last step is to add 2 fresh, firm tomatoes cut into wedges, or half-wedges. Then you reduce to a simmer on med-low heat and let it all come together for about 40 minutes.

It was sweet and delicious. The kids ate it all with no leftovers and they hate most of the ingredients! You can eat it like the vegetable stew that it is, or you can add it to tomato sauce and ladle it over pasta for a filling meal.

It's easy, cheap to make, and tastes great - especially on a colder day.

Today, I'm making a 10-bean soup with chicken and maybe some rice.

A New Year, and a time to make big changes!

I love New Year's Resolutions. I know lots of people make them and quit, or hate them so much they don't bother, but I love them. The new year is a clean slate, a new start, a chance to drop bad habits and start new ones, a time to get rid of what's not working and begin working on improving situations in my life. I admit, sometimes I forget a few of them and find my list of resolutions about halfway through the year, but then I get back on track, and even if I only succeed at half of them - I'm better off than if I'd never attempted to do anything, right?

Here's a few things I'm optimistic about in 2009:

Our growing business will grow to the point I can leave my job and be a full-time, homeschooling mom again.

I'm already down close to 40 pounds this year, so 2009 should end with me healthier and happier.

I've already got a little bit of money put aside so I can visit my Grandmother this summer. So far I only have enough for 1 ticket, but I'm hoping to earn and save enough to pay for 5 tickets by then.

Thanks to my sister's generosity, our family will finally get to see CA and the Pacific ocean around the end of March.

I've been at a new church for about 5 months since Tim switched us from Mountain Valley to Central. This year, I'll join their ladies' bible study so I can meet some new people and not dread going to a place with so many strangers. I'll finally get to worship among friends again.

I'm determined to finish my Ferguson heritage scrapbook album. I've got the great-grandparents done, the grandparents, the aunts & uncles. Now I need to do the pages for the grandkids and great-grandkids in 2009.

If I can get out of the job thing, and the money's there, I'm also looking forward to visiting FL and TX to be with my family I haven't seen in years! I also would like to get to AK, but that may have to wait til 2010.

...and I've got lots more, but these are the top ones for now.

Mmmm...Gelato....

If you've never had Italian gelato...OMG, you're missing out on one of life's hidden treasures! It's not ice cream, it's better. Ice cream is around 50% fat, this is more like 8 - 10% fat, less calories, able to be eaten by lactose-intolerant people, and you've never tasted such strong natural flavors. Imagine eating banana ice cream, only denser, and sweet but not the typical "sugary" taste. Each bite has all the flavor of a real, organic banana.

It's healthier, more filling, more satisfying, and more tasty. In the Northeast, there's a place on (or near) Merrimac Street that serves it (google search?), and I know Boston's "Gelataria" in Faneuil Hall is amazing. Here, they just opened a store called Angel Sweet. It's so amazing. It's my new treat when I've been good and got all my work done.

You've gotta try some!

WE DID IT!!!

We started a Monavie home-based business March 1st of this year. In just 9 1/2 months, we made it to the following levels:

Star
Star 500
Star 1000
Star Maker
Bronze

Not only that, but in our group, we've got 2 personal 1000s, 2 personal 500s, lots of Stars, and that's just the ones we've personally put into the business. Only 2% of distributors that sign up in Monavie ever hit the level of Bronze. Here's what we've found:

My migraines are permanantly gone - 100% of them!
My rheumatoid arthritis in my right thumb is better when I'm drinking the juice.
My auto-immune disease - scleraderma - is in remission and it's almost gone.
I sleep better.
I'm more rested, even on nights I get less sleep.
I don't have chronic fatigue anymore (no more crashing on the couch asleep at 3pm)

AND THE MONEY'S REAL !!!!! We make over $500 a month in our business now. And if we get it to make $2000/month, I'll be able to come home and be a stay-at-home Mom again. My goal is to leave the workforce by June 30th, 2009.

It's real...and if you're looking for a solution to your health issues, or income issues, you've got to at least TRY this!

Looking Forward to Rest

As busy as the last 2 weeks have been, the last 2 weeks of December should be a time for more rest. I normally have Sun - Tues off from work. That gives me the time to teach all day Monday, do my Tues. bible study, drop kids off at drama class and make it to the Tuesday night business meeting.

Well, Christmas week we're closed Christmas eve and Christmas day - Th and Fri. That gives me Sun - Thursday off! My in-laws will be here by Tues. afternoon, but that's not hectic. I enjoy their company and the kids get to hang on someone else for a change!

The week after, we're closed Sunday through Thursday again! So I'll have another 5 days off after the holidays to rest, sleep in, play with the kids, get caught up on stuff, and get back to playing drums. I actually expect that by the time those days get here, I'll have filled them with stuff to do, but at least it'll be stuff I want to do instead of going to work.

Oh...to sleep past 6:30am for just one day!!! It's been 6 months since I could do that!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

I was feeling a little restless on the last night of my 3 days off, so Tim and I went to walk through the outdoor mall down the street. They've got 2 great sitting areas with outdoor furniture, heaters, fireplaces, waterfalls, Christmas lights, a huge tree, lights that look like falling snow, etc.

I love this time of year. People act, do and give their best - and make things look as pretty as possible. Having Thanksgiving so late this year makes this season fly by. I hope I can take as much as possible in before it's over.

A Good Thanksgiving

It took a lot of planning and lots of running around before-hand, but I made it a good thanksgiving. I cooked (with Logan & Jordan's help) roasted turkey, cornbread stuffing, turkey gravy, homemade orange-cranberry sauce, mixed vegetables (real ones, not frozen or canned), real mashed sour cream & onion potatoes, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, vanilla cheesecake, homemade thumbprint cookies and fudge we'd made last week and frozen.

We played cards, ate together, laughed together, Tim took the younger two for motorcycle rides, brought Adam to a parking lot to practice his driving (can you believe he's almost 15?!), we looked through past Christmas' scrapbooks, made homemade ice cream with the kids, went to church the night before, started filling out Christmas cards, and even found time to relax and watch the football game. Oh yeah, we put up the Victorian tree too!

Now we begin planning Christmas. It's definitely going to be low-key, peaceful, and not some commercial whirlwind of complaining. We're focusing on what we want to give, not what we want to get. The kids are catching the vision.

Lots of baking still to do, and shipping boxes to find.
It's going to be great.

Mid-Week...how are we doing?

So far:

I baked a few things with the kids (the fudge came out really good, especially since I never made it before).

I had time with both Cathy and Marina.

I listened to Christmas CDs.

I bought Christmas cards (we'll take a family photo Monday to put in them).

Tonight is our church's Thanksgiving Eve service at 7.

I'll try to pull out the Christmas tree and ornaments tonight after work, before church

After dinner tomorrow, we'll probably decorate the tree and make ice cream with the kids.

Thanksgiving week hopes

This year, I'm hoping to make the holidays less commercial and more meaningful, even though I'm working. Here's a list of my Thanksgiving Week hopes:

1. bake with the kids
2. make homeade ice cream with the kids
3. introduce the Advent Wreath and it's meaning
4. attend a Thanksgiving Eve service at church
5. set up my Victorian Christmas tree
6. listen to Christmas CDs (TransSiberian Orchestra's rock, and Manheimm Steamroller)
7. buy and start filling out Christmas cards
8. go out to eat Friday night with the family - my treat
9. have lunch with both Cathy and Marina this week
10. help the kids make gifts for my in-laws

I'll let you know how it goes.

Neil Simon's Fools

Adam was in another play tonight, Neil Simon's play FOOLS. It's about a village that believes it's under a curse that makes them stupid. OMG it's such a funny play! Adam played the magistrate who was in charge of marrying the main characters.

It's possible this may be his last play. It's not cheap to be in drama, and it's a lot of time and money if you've only got a tiny part.

I've watched Adam in so many shows, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Cinderella the Musical, Antshillvania, The Music Man, and now Fools. I'm always so proud of him (and Logan when he's in a play too). Moezart Productions has been such a blessing to our family, especially for bringing Adam out of his shell and giving him back his self-confidence. We've been so fortunate to have found (by accident) a Christian Production Company run by a homeschooled, missionary woman who loves kids as much as Sharon does.

I have to admit, the "Drama Mamas" I've met have become some of my closest friends, too. I'll really miss them if we're through with drama. Logan has interests in learning technical sound & lights stuff from Sharon's husband Steve, so maybe we'll still be around behind the scenes.

State Fair Photos

It's hard to match up wording to photos since blogs sometimes shift order so here's some basics:

We took photos from the biggest ferris wheel (and the sky ride), you can see the city's skyline in the background in a few pictures. Jordan loved her ice cream, she's spent 3 weeks trying to drop a few pounds to fit into a new shirt she has with a monkey on it. She did it, so I let her get a small cone as a treat. Logan went on his first roller coaster today - all by himself. The kids loved the hydro slide, it's a smaller version of Canobie Lake Park's Boston Tea Party ride back in NH.

Adam stayed home to work on school and babysit (his choice, I begged him to come, and he gets paid to babysit 2 girls Jordan plays with).

What else can I tell you? Oh, the strange photo that's first is looking straight up through the ferris wheel's spokes. I think it's the biggest one I've ever been on, but I don't know how tall it was.

ENJOY!

The State Fair

This is the time of year we have our huge state fair. I went with Tim when we first got married back in 1992. We've lived here for years now and never brought the kids. It runs for a few weeks, but it's either too expensive or not convenient, but this week, we're going to try to go on my day off. Their last experience was the Rochester Fair in NH. It was small, very "country", had a tiny petting zoo, a few rides that were expensive, no music or entertainment, not much to do. It's okay when the kids are little, but with them being 14, 12 and 10, it takes more to amuse them these days.

We'll hopefully get to see things that will expose them to the surrounding cultures in this part of the country, maybe they'll get to try new foods (no, we won't try deep-fried CocaCola or anything too unhealthy), maybe they'll even see an entertainer or two.

Anyway, with them getting so big so quickly, I really hold every moment with them as being very precious. I'm looking forward to spending the day with them playing. I don't like our only interaction to be school or chore-related.

If we make it there, I'll post photos.

The Holidays are Coming

This week was the week the Holiday season was introduced. I saw ads for Kmart lay-a-way plans for Christmas, and we put out all the holiday decorations we'll be selling at work. This weekend is our Harvest Tea when we have menu changes to include pumpkin and other fall foods.

Even though this year we won't be putting up a tree (where would we put it?) and won't be spending on gifts (one family gift this year instead - money's too tight), I'm still looking forward to it. Maybe without the pressure of spending, we'll figure out how special the holidays really are. Maybe this will be the year the kids will finally learn to be thankful for all that we have in spite of how broke we've been. Maybe this year they'll make each other gifts, or better yet, focus on volunteering to serve others.

There's lights to see, parades, church pageants, and so much more to do for free here that we can still enjoy the holiday season without going deeper into debt.
Maybe my next post will have to do with things I'm thankful for - in advance of Thanksgiving.

Not a bad two weeks...

In spite of a few minor setbacks, the last two weeks have been extremely productive for me. I've managed to put 3 new people in our business in just 14 days, and got 2 inactive people to become much more active (that credit goes to Tim's Dad). Also, when I started working at Abbey Gardens we were 5th in the state according to a popular website - and the last 4 comments were made by my customers - and we moved up to 4th, then 3rd, and we now sit at #2 in the State for tea rooms. The number one spot is held by a place that isn't a tea room at all, it's more of a Starbucks for tea, no food, no atmosphere, not an experience, just a place to buy tea in take-out cups.

Also, we've made it through the rough spots of Honors Algebra I and Spanish with my oldest, we're working on more responsibility and accountability with our middle child, and the youngest is really progressing in her Math and Science classes.

Tim's also having some great days at work, and my customers have been wonderful, especially in their tipping. So we're caught up on bills instead of falling behind (lowered gas prices and deals on groceries really has helped lately too).

So all in all, life is good and progressing forward.
We're even planning a trip after the first of the year and it looks like we'll be able to pay cash for it. We've been consistently making a few hundred bucks a week with our business. Our goal is to earn $2000/month with it so I can come home and be a full-time, homeschooling Mom again. Then the kids can participate in more stuff because I'll be available during the day to take them.

Life is good.

What an amazing day!!!

Yesterday afternoon, a bunch of us from our Tuesday morning Ladies' Bible Study went to the home of Pastor Phil Toole and his wife for a baptism. There were over 35 people who made the decision to declare to the world that they will follow Jesus in obedience and choose to be baptized as he was.

Growing up Catholic, we were baptized as babies, and that was taught to mean you "made it into heaven". As I got older and read the Scriptures for myself, I realized what it really said, that only by believing Jesus already paid the price for your sins (the wages, or cost, of sin is death) will you go to Heaven. Baptism is a personal choice you make, often as an adult, but also as a child or teen who understands. It's like "coming out" where you're telling the world you want to follow Christ, obey him, be more like him.

In the picture are my friends: Diane, Cassandra, Sallie, Laurie, and Tracy. There were another dozen of us or so that came to cheer them on and be a part of this special ceremony with them. We are family. Sisters in Christ.

I Have New Recipes!

Working at my favorite restaurant, which happens to be an elegant, Victorian tea parlour, has been great for adding new recipes to my family's meals! Check these out:

Tropical Scones
(Cold) Strawberry Soup
Chicken salad in a cucumber boat
Mimosa salad (with oranges & strawberries)
Turkey sandwiches w/Rasp. Cream Cheese

...just to name a few...

I really do enjoy cooking for my family when I'm home long enough! Tonight no one was really hungry, Adam & Tim weren't home, so I whipped up Caprese salad and Strawberry Soup. Light, sweet, healthy, and easy!

Next I may branch out to some of the desserts, which scares me since I'm a cook, NOT a BAKER. There's a huge difference! I'm going to try to make either the Lemon Bars or their Black Cherry White Chocolate Bars...when I get up the nerve.

Saguaro Lake

Here's our recent 2 trips to Saguaro Lake. It's about 1/2 an hour from here but never found it before this year. Here's Jordan after a mud fight with Logan, Logan making hot dogs in a solar cooker he built, Me & Tim (but the sun was in our eyes), and Adam with a large reed he found and made into a Tiki Torch. He looks so tribal. His sense of humor is so funny.

This place is great. For just a $6 day pass per vehicle, you can bring stuff to grill and make a day of it. It's nice to get away to hidden places like this. It's our new favorite swimming location because it's got a soft bottom where most others you need to wear sneakers in the water because of all the rocks.

It always seems that the kids are nicer and play together better when we get away to spots like this.

It's Getting Better

I've been working for about a month now, the money's pretty good, the people are great, it's a good "team" environment, but yes, it's still a job. I miss being with my kids when I'm at work. I really enjoy teaching when I have a day off. I've got Mondays and Tuesdays off for now. That works out perfect because I get to start off the week teaching the kids what they need to do the rest of their week's work. I still get to go to my Tues. morning Bible Study. Without that, I'd never have the support and strength to get through everything else all week. Adam gets to stay in drama on Tues. afternoons (he pays for it). And if someone wants to attend a Monavie Team meeting, they're on Tues. nights so I can go to those too.

I realize by my aches and pains that I'm older than I realized, but I think the addition of so much walking at work is good for me. I'm losing weight consistently, so that's good too. I just get really tired these days. I used to deal with chronic fatigue, but since my scleroderma has been reversing itself, that's not really a problem. However, I have a new problem...I can get sick now where before my never-shutting-off immune system prevented that. I've been sick with a bad cold for over a week now, constantly struggling to breathe clear, and I can't stop blowing my nose.

It's an adjustment, but at least it's only temporary.

She's coming!!!

I've waited for over a year now for my best friend to move here from Boston. I've known she was coming and the waiting has been so hard! We talk on the phone for hours every time - what'll it be like when she's finally here? We have so much catching up to do. The last 15 years we've been apart trying to build a life for ourselves, figuring out how to be good wives, etc., now we can learn and grow together.

I'm so excited to meet her husband again too. We met him briefly around 5 years ago, but it was the last weekend before we moved here, it was at a family and friend gathering where I'd been away a long time and he was fairly "new", so we didn't talk too much. We probably were thinking the same things that day, though. My friend is forever telling me how wonderful and intelligent he is, how much she respects him, and would do anything in the world for him. That's so refreshing to hear in today's "me-me-me" society. I'm sure I'll learn to love him like a brother. She's been my long-lost twin for most of our lives: we think alike, finish each other's sentences, enjoy and respect the same things, married very similar men, have identical thoughts (and words) within 24 hours of each other, even though we're 3000 miles apart. It's going to be the best thing for me to have her in my life again. I barely can come up with words to describe how much she means to me. The weekend I last saw her, before our move, I cried my eyes out at the thought of not seeing her again. I never cried saying goodbye to my family, friends, church members, neighbors, but with her, I was so scared to let go of her. We've been through so much together. Now we can go through EVERYTHING together. My kids already call her "Auntie ________ " when she calls.

I pray that she'll be here as soon as possible. It's less than a month to go now.