Proverbs 31:22

WIN a Christmas Tree Quilt & Support Wounded Warrior Lance Corporal Brian Felber

2011-11-23T11:01:00.010-06:00

I work with this young man's father-in-law. He was injured during active duty in Afghanistan, losing both of his legs. His story has brought a lot of perspective to my life. When I want to complain or grumble, I just think about Brian. His life will never be the same in a way that few of us can even comprehend. You can read Brian's story at the links below:

http://timesdaily.com/stories/Local-Marine-injured-in-Afghanistan,183996

http://timesdaily.com/stories/Injured-Florence-soldier-improving,184472

http://timesdaily.com/stories/Injured-soldiers-rehab-going-well,184502

His Facebook page is here and has more information on supporting Brian directly.

I recently started stitching a Christmas Tree wall hanging quilt for myself. I don't like to put up an actual tree, so I thought this was a nice alternative. But once I started stitching it, I knew I needed to donate it to be raffled to raise funds for Brian and his young wife, Ariel.

(this is the quilt top on my design wall before quilting)

About the Quilt: This is machine pieced and hand quilted by me (so it is not perfect :-), made with 100% cotton fabrics and 100% cotton thread. The batting is Warm and Natural. The finished dimensions are approximately 36" x 44". There is a convenient rod pocket sewn to the back, so it's all ready to hang on your wall this holiday season and for years to come.

This would make a lovely addition to your home holiday decorations or would make a very unique gift for that special someone in your life. But most importantly, you will be helping to support a wounded warrior in a very tangible way.

There is a link to the right of this page for you to purchase tickets. They are $5 each or $20 for 5 tickets. Please include your telephone number so you can be contacted if you win. The drawing will be held December 16, 2011, and the quilt will be shipped out that day. Please note that I am not responsible for a damaged or lost item. I will ship it Fed Ex, which has the highest rating for delivering quilts successfully. Oh, and shipping is on me. :-)

Another Free BOM

2010-01-07T12:55:00.000-06:00

http://www.floridacabinfever.com/
It's called scrap happy.

Free BOM

2010-01-07T12:42:00.002-06:00

Check out this free BOM for 2010. I think it is just the cutest thing. I love snowmen. And how appropriate on today, when it's snowing here (something it rarely does).

Dining Room Table Shopping

2009-06-13T19:20:00.005-05:00

We sold Kimberly and Dewayne our dining room table for their new place. Kimberly liked the style of it. I no longer did and it was way bigger than what our needs are now. Michael and I shopped today and we found one we are considering. We knew we wanted the leather cushioned chairs and were leaning toward a counter height style. The only thing I'm not sure about is the top of this one. It is made of marble and while I really was drawn to it in the store, I'm not sure if it is something that I can be free with in terms of wall paint colors.
Here's a pic of the top.

Would I be safe painting a wine color with this? That's the current color of our dining room here. I may change that when we move. But I want OPTIONS. I mean, I know I could do a pretty green or other earth tones, but what if I want to go another direction?

Here's a shot of the table itself. We'll be pairing it with the leather chair to the right in the pic.

I'm also a little hesitant because of the care. My Martha Stewart Homekeeping Book is packed up so I can't go to my "source" for information. I searched and read a little online.

Also, will I still like this YEARS from now? I guess it's no different than picking a counter top and I could definitely see myself picking this for a kitchen counter top.

The only other option we saw today that we really liked was a round table that we could squeeze 6 around. But this table with 8 chairs will be a mere $100 more than the round with 6 chairs.

Decisions, decisions!

Finally!

2009-05-24T20:17:00.003-05:00

After months and months of periodically looking for a new bed covering to replace the too small one that was about 10+ years old, I finally found THE ONE today at TJ Maxx. I truly don't know why I don't visit that store more often because I love all the housewares.

Even the back is pretty. I took this pic with my cell phone just to send to my daughters and thought I would do a post here with it. I absolutely love this quilt. I realized after I put it on the bed that I have several other items in our room with this same color scheme--robin's egg blue, pink, and lavender. I had to take down the burgundy curtains, of course, so I'll have to replace those. I'm thinking something lacy and white. This quilt goes good in our current room, which has lavender walls but it will also enable us to use different colors in our next house.

Yes, we are still in the process of trying to sell our home and buy a smaller one in town. After 6 months with one Realtor, when our contract was up, we switched to a different one. That was about 2 1/2 weeks ago and we haven't even had a showing yet. We went again today to look at the house we want to buy. The owners called to let us know that they had opened the pool and so we went to look at it. It's nice and the house is still the one we want. I can so see us living there, entertaining there, Nathan playing there. When I dream, it's usually either of Nathan and/or that house. Silly, I know.

House Search Update

2009-04-03T16:23:00.004-05:00

We're STILL trying to sell our house and move back into town. I'm having a hard time being patient. We did the work that needed to be done in our crawl space so hopefully we'll get a bite soon.

Last week, we viewed a For-Sale-By-Owner house and it's "the one!" We just hope it stays on the market until we have a buyer and hope they'll except our offer, which will be lower than what they are asking. The house is in a perfect location -- right in the middle of our jobs, 2 minutes from a supermarket, the bank, and (most importantly) the quilt shop :-), 5 minutes from the YMCA. It is the perfect size for us -- around 1,900 to 2,000 square feet -- not too large; not too small. The kitchen was redone about 3 years ago and it has the double wall oven I've always wanted to have. The cabinet color is a little light for me and I would prefer a gas cooktop instead of electric but at least it's a smooth cooktop, which is what we have now and prefered over the coil type. The kitchen has TONS of drawers, which is also a desire of mine. There's a good size laundry room off the kitchen with space to add shelves for a pantry. (It will be SO nice to have everything on ONE level instead of a laundry room upstairs and a kitchen downstairs). There are built-in bookcases in the living room as well as an entertainment center with doors that hide the television and a gas fireplace. There is a huge dining room plus room in the kitchen for a small table. The bedrooms are good sizes. There are 2 full baths and the hall bath has TONS of cabinets and drawers for storage. The master bedroom has two closets -- a regular type with sliding doors and a small walk-in closet. There isn't any carpet anywhere in the house. There's a two-car attached carport with attic access. The house has really nice curb appeal and is in a very quiet neighborhood with lots of elderly neighbors.

The BEST part of it all, though, for me is the outdoor living space. There is a huge covered patio on the back of the house that overlooks the inground pool. We have really missed our pool at the rent house we lived in before moving here. There is a beautiful dogwood tree in the backyard. There is an attached storage room off the patio and then another workshop building with a workbench for Michael. It's a little small so we might want to convert it to a pool house one day and build him a larger workshop on the other end of the yard. The yard is a good size, too -- not too large, not too small. (I'm starting to sound like Goldilocks!) There's room for a swing set for Nate when he's older or a club house.

The utilities would be cheaper, the insurance would be cheaper, the property taxes a tad more. Not to mention gas saved in the car running so far out here from work every day.

The current homeowners are building a new home and their house won't be ready until later in the year. They have a place to move before then if they get an offer, though. I called the wife yesterday and told her that we *want* to make an offer but we're just not going to do it now when we don't have a buyer for ours. I told her to keep our number and please call us if they sell so we will know to cross it off our list. She said they would also call if they had someone else who showed a real interest in it. (So we can pray HARD, I guess!)

There really aren't many things we would change about the house and NOTHING that would immediately NEED to be done (besides maybe painting rooms but even that can wait). It's not in the neighborhood I wanted to be in, but neither Laikyn or Michael are sold on Lakeside anyway, so I decided to let that desire go....

Keeping our fingers crossed and praying that God works it all out (SOON).

Tatted Bookmarks

2009-04-03T16:12:00.004-05:00

I started making tatted bookmarks during the Christmas holidays to give to family and friends while we were visiting in Louisiana. I ordered some hand-dyed thread and have been using it to make bookmarks for co-workers' birthdays. Here are two I made recently for my SIL Mary who gave hers away to a friend. I made an extra one for her other friend, too. The pattern is from a needle tatting book I bought at Hobby Lobby.

I can do some shuttle tatting, too (at least I *think* I still know how), but I MUCH prefer needle tatting. I haven't tried any big projects yet. I'm loving these bookmarks that go together super fast. (You can click the photo for a more close-up detail look at the thread).

Table runner for spring

2009-02-22T13:56:00.006-06:00

After looking at my Valentine's theme table runner for a while, I decided yesterday I needed to make a table runner for springtime. I used stuff I already had in my stash and a pattern at Clothilde. If you want the pattern, click on the link ASAP. They are only up for a limited time, so print it while you can. I left the tassels off and I switched up the colors a little as well as some of the instructions.

Anyway, this is the finished project:

I like the color combination a lot. Laikyn helped me choose which green to use for the blocks and which to use for the binding. I was torn between the two. I'm glad she liked the lighter green because I think it's lovely with the pink and the floral fabric.

Beautiful Day

2009-02-09T07:44:00.007-06:00

Yesterday was a beautiful, spring-like day. The temperature was perfect and the sky was oh-so blue. Kimberly and Nathan came over for the afternoon and after Kimberly dyed Laikyn's hair, we loaded everything up in the Vitara and went to Tuscumbia's Spring Park.

I am so eager for the day when we can bring Nathan here to feed the ducks and geese.

For now, though, we had fun pushing him in a swing for the first time. He didn't laugh or giggle, but he did crack a smile. The kid is really serious most of the time. While, I can't post a picture of his face on here (per his parents' request), I *can* post this cute photo of his feet.

Trying to Get Back...

2009-02-09T07:33:00.003-06:00

...into the swing of things. After a few months of adjusting to working outside the home (after a 2-decade hiatus from that lifestyle), I'm trying to add back some of my old routine. Just trying to take it slowly so I don't get overwhelmed. I was sick last weekend, but this weekend I felt well so I spent some time Saturday morning in the kitchen. I baked a loaf of freshly-milled whole wheat bread, some rolls, and a pizza crust. I made some biscuits to have for breakfast during the week. I made a batch of pancake batter to put in the fridge for use during the week. Pancakes hot off the griddle are so much better tasting than ones reheated in the microwave.

I finally got up the nerve to ask for permission to swap out one 1/2-day Friday each month for a 1/2-day Monday so I can attend my quilt guild meetings. I knew that it would be something I *might* have to give up and I, of course, was willing to do that in order to keep my job. ;-) BUT I really was hoping it would be something I wouldn't have to give up. I asked last week and they said yes!! My guild meeting is today so after I dropped off Michael at work after our workout, I came back home until meeting time.

That's why I have a few minutes to blog, which is something else I want to add back to my routine. I don't know how often I will post, but hopefully it will be more often than once a month or less!!

House Disappointment

2009-01-25T09:09:00.003-06:00

When we woke up Thursday morning, the appraisal on our house was scheduled to happen that afternoon. Before lunch, Michael called me at work and said that the buyers had rescinded their offer. When we bought this house, there was foundation work that had to be done at the seller's expense. It was damaged by waterborne fungus. The workers removed all the water-saturated insulation from in between the floor joists; they installed a drying fan; and they repaired (or replaced) rotten joists and put some supports in. End of story, so we thought.

On inspection for this sale, they found standing water and more damage under the house. When the buyers set up the appointment Thursday morning to come back with the foundation specialist, we thought they might ask us to pay for repairs, installation of a sump pump, etc. We never dreamed they would withdraw their offer, but they did. They are first-time home buyers and the damage scared them.

Needless to say, Thursday was a depressing day. I had a hard time focusing at work. I had to leave early that day for a retina appointment anyway, so that was good, I guess. I don't think I would have been able to keep going the rest of the afternoon without breaking down.

I'm better now, but we need to make some decisions about what to do. We don't have the money to fix the damage without borrowing it. It would be nice if we could get a buyer that would allow us to fix the damage with the proceeds from the sale. (Even though this also will be bad for us as we were going to use the proceeds to pay other bills off.)

We, of course, had to rescind our offer on the house with the really nice kitchen. Somehow I'm not as disappointed about that as I am about ours not selling. I really loved that kitchen, but the house wasn't in the area of town I'm hoping to live in (not a bad area, just on the west side of town instead of the east side). However, that was the top house out of all the ones we'd looked at so far that are still available. Since we had to pick something because ours was selling, we picked our favorite to this point. We could always move into an apartment, but we really don't want to do that if we can avoid it. It's a moot point anyway now. :-(

House Hunt Over!

2009-01-17T10:50:00.012-06:00

Well, except for the long process of actually purchasing and moving. We had an offer on our house this past week that was satisfactory to us (after a little negotiating). So, we had to make a decision on the ones we have seen up to this point. Remember the one I posted a kitchen photo of last time? That's the one we made an offer on. I snapped some photos when we were there taking a second look at it. The power is off so some of them are on the darker side. Also, the present owner still has a lot of junk (and some really beautiful antiques) in the house (even though he's not currently living there).

All the bedrooms are a good size. There are 2 larger rooms on one end of the house away from the living area. This will be what we will use as the master bedroom.

This is the master closet. Not the biggest, but we'll have to add organizational things to it because it's really just an empty box (except for the shelving unit the current owner has in it). We've looked at houses with much smaller closets. I think with the right organizers in it, we can fit a lot in here.

This will be Laikyn's room. It's right next to what we will use as the master. I think the bedrooms are the same size, actually.

However, this one has a slightly smaller closet.

And an attached 1/2 bath. (Yes, we are giving Laikyn the room with the attached bath. Aren't we so nice :-).

This is the hall bathroom. Can you tell yet that these people were not afraid of color? While I am not afraid of it either, these colors will have to go eventually.

While I'm not too crazy about the pedestal sink (because of lack of storage), there is a nice closet in the bathroom.

Here is the third bedroom. It is on the other end of the hallway from the other bedrooms. It will be used as a guest/sewing room. I love the antique bed. It reminds me a good friend of mine back in Louisiana who had a bed like this one.

More storage space.
This is looking into the living room from the hallway entrance. The living room is nice and long. While I like the color on the walls, I'm pretty sure it will clash with our bright red sofa and love seat. I guess we will paint the walls the same yellow color we have now in our current living room. We asked the seller to include the round table and 6 chairs at the far end but he refused. It's an antique and he said it's an heirloom. I can certainly understand him not including it, but man! did I want that table. It would have been the perfect spot for playing cards or doing a puzzle or scrapbooking while the family's watching TV. I'm sure we'll find something to put in its place that will serve the same purpose.

This is looking into the living room from the other end (from the dining room/kitchen area. We asked for and got the curtains in here. I think I will move them into the dining/kitchen area.

Now for the best part --- here is the view from the living room into the dining/kitchen area.

Here's the dining area. I have dreams of adding pantry-type cabinets along the whole wall in the picture below. We priced some last night. We might have to buy some unfinished ones and stain them ourselves to match the kitchen cabinets. We also talked about doing a finish that is totally different from the kitchen cabinets. What do y'all think?

The color in the dining/kitchen area is nearly the same color that we painted the dining/kitchen in our former rent house. So no painting necessary here. There's plenty of room for our table -- even with the leaf in it. The ceiling fan has got to go! I have a beautiful Tiffany-style light fixture that Michael and the girls bought me for my birthday one year that we excluded from the items included in the sale of our home. There is a matching straight-line fixture that we could buy for the kitchen and then hang the pendant-style fixture we have over the dining room table.

This kitchen is SO nice! I love it. It was redone a few years ago and the cabinets are a light pickled finish. After all the houses we looked at over the last 3 months and 99% of them having kitchens that needed updating terribly, I'm so excited that we are getting a house that has a nice, new kitchen with nice cabinet doors that close completely and drawers that slide in and out smoothly. The ONLY negative about this kitchen is the fact that there is no pantry but as I said above, there is plenty room to add pantry storage in the dining room.

This cabinet is a broom closet. (Not sure why the brooms aren't in it!) All appliances are included in the sale of the house. The refrigerator is a little small but the space is large enough to add a larger one eventually.

One of the comprises we made with choosing this particular house is that the laundry room only has an exterior entrance. This is a shot of the patio off the dining room and the entrance to the laundry room.

We plan to eventually enclose this entrance somehow. Poor Laikyn will have to tough it out for a while, though, until we do. Here's the inside of the laundry room.

There is room (if we shorten the shelves) next to the dryer to put our upright freezer. It will be so good not to have to walk all the way out to the barn to get meat to defrost for supper.

Another compromise we made was that there is no shed/workshop (unless you count the plastic one in the photo below). With the money we are saving by buying a smaller house and paying off some other bills, we can save for about 3 months and be able to purchase a workshop/shed from Lowe's or Home Depot.

Okay! That's the tour. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go through all the steps involved in selling ours and buying this one. Our contracts have closing on or before March 15th so that's our goal (hopefully sooner, though).

House Hunt

2008-12-07T04:19:00.010-06:00

I am so disappointed (and appalled, actually) that the house we made an offer on earlier this year in Lakeside Highlands is now owned by a family who could so totally trash a home and yard!! We finally got to see the house they have put on the market. It was so bad, our Realtor said, "I won't let you buy this house!" It was disgusting and had so much junk still in it and it was in horrible shape on the inside as well as the backyard.

One of the four we were scheduled to look at yesterday had to cancel. We will reschedule because it looks really nice (even the kitchen). Here's a photo of that kitchen taken from the MLS listing.

So, we looked at three yesterday. The one is Lakeside is definitely off the list! There was one in our 2nd neighborhood choice, but it also didn't make the cut. The remaining one made the cut, even though it is on the small side. The house has been beautifully redone, with awesome moldings and a pretty (but small) kitchen. I snapped some photos of it.These are all the cabinets in the kitchen. Not much. However, there is space out of view in this shot (on the right) to add some more cabinets. We probably would have them add some pantry-type cabinets rather than the upper/lower/counter top type.

Here's a close-up of the detail in the kitchen.
You may have to click on the photo to see the detail in the edging molding that is above the beige rectangular backsplash.

Here is a shot of the dining area. Our table would fit with the leaf in it but it would be a little on the tight side. Of course, we wouldn't need the leaf in it very often. Even when Kim and Dewayne come over, we can fit around the table when it's small.

Here's the living room. I love the windows across the front (all the windows are new, btw).

Here's a look from the living room into the dining room.
I love the "columns" with the fluting at the bottom. Again, the molding detail is just so beautiful. It is carried out throughout the entire house. Here's a close-up of one of the door frames.
I didn't take a picture of it, but the master bedroom has dentil molding around the ceiling. It's the only room that has it. It would be nice if they added it to the other rooms, too.

Positives: beautiful details in the trim work; kitchen is sparkling new; separate nice-sized laundry room; three bedrooms; 2 baths; beautiful hardwoods everywhere except the kitchen/dining and baths; very central location; the exterior is brick and new siding so maintenance would be easy; good indoor storage with three hall closets (although one of those may have to be downsized/removed to add the pantry to the kitchen); covered parking (although it's only a one-car carport); fenced backyard.

Negatives on this house: no outbuilding for a workshop (it does have a storage room located off the back patio with shelves and space to add more, but we would still have to add a workshop); the neighbors are really close (but they do have a nice backyard with lots of bird feeders ;-); small square footage (that could actually be a plus when it comes to cleaning and caring for it); small kitchen; bathrooms are in good shape but partially dated (older tubs and tile, although they are in good shape; newer toilets and sinks); the closets are just empty boxes (that could be a plus as we could tailor them to our needs); the master is small (but we could let Laikyn have that bedroom and en suite bath and we could take the larger front bedroom and use the hall bathroom); priced a little high per square foot; no refrigerator.

So even most of the "negatives" could be viewed as positives or worked around. So many things to weigh out.

I'm sooo disappointed about the house in Lakeside. What a shame! Our Realtor told us she would knock on doors if we found one we liked in Lakeside. There is a bungalow that we have always loved on a corner lot. We'll see....

House Hunt

2008-12-06T09:54:00.003-06:00

We are looking at 4 more houses today. The one in Lakeside Highlands finally came on the market. It's not a great sign that there are NO photos of the interior of the house. But, we'll see. It does have an in-ground pool. That's a plus. It's in Lakeside Highlands. Another plus. It's small, though. A negative (perhaps).

Several of the ones we are looking at today actually have nice kitchens (very unusual in our price range; of course, they are at the upper end of our range). One of the new ones we looked at last weekend had a nice kitchen, too. It was a nice house, but when we went into the back yard (with no fence) the dogs in the yard next door barked ferociously at us. We would have had to park one car on the street. Michael really liked it, so it may still be on the list even though it was priced a little higher than what we really want. It's only been on the market about a week, so negotiating power might not be so great at this point.

We have scratched the one with the wrap-around front porch off our list. The one near the hospital is still on the list of possibilities, though.

The lady that we have been expecting an offer from on our house came this week to look at it again. Don't know if that is a good sign or a bad one.

Adjusting

2008-12-06T09:38:00.003-06:00

This past week was my first FULL week of working outside the home. It is definitely the adjustment that I knew it would be. I come home pretty exhausted. I don't feel like doing anything much. Hopefully, my body will adjust soon and I will be able to add some fun stuff back to my schedule.

I like the work environment -- except that we (the transcriptionists) aren't in our normal office space. About 6 weeks ago, the medical offices above our normal office space had a sprinkler malfunction which poured water on our offices. The carpet was changed on Monday this past week and that is all they did to fix the spaces. The area we are in temporarily is off a rather noisy hallway. There is a delivery entrance into the hallway and we are right there with no doors or walls separating us from the hallway. Not the most ideal spot for transcribing audios.

Everyone in the office is really nice. I hope they decide to keep me.

The terminology is getting more familiar every day. I have bought a reference book to read at home and also pulled some little flyers off the shelf at the nurse's station to bring home to read to educate myself on heart disease and treatments. I like to think that I am daily preventing Alzheimer's Disease. :-) I still have lots of improvement to make as far as speed goes. I know that will come as the terminology gets more familiar.

The doctor that I have been transcribing for is the busiest doctor in the practice. As soon as I make a small dent in the backlog of work, she sees that many more patients and the dent is gone!

One of the coolest things is that drug reps often provide lunch for the entire office. It is a nice perk that is rumored to be on the way out because of government regulation of the drug companies.

General Update

2008-11-27T07:07:00.004-06:00

This was my first week at the new job as a medical transcriptionist in a cardiovascular clinic. My brain and body are SO tired! I came home each evening just exhausted.

Even so, I am surprised to say that I really like the job. Everyone in the office is nice. The lady training me has been there for more than a decade. She is retiring in October 2009. On my first day, she really surprised me by saying, "You're the first one they've tried that I've been hopeful about."

I don't have any training in medical transcription. I did do one file for a doctor while working for Internet Transcribers. It was a conference call for parents of children with ADHD. After that one file, I said, "I don't want any more medical stuff!" Really, that one was a piece of cake because it was mostly meds that I had to Google to find spellings on. This job is definitely a lot more than meds.

The most difficult part is actually being able to distinguish what the docs are saying on the dictation. Sometimes they speak very clearly and if I don't know the spelling, I can Google it and find it pretty easily. However, they often slur their words together so there is NO hope of Googling it. That's where Linda comes in. She checks all the dictations I type and helps me figure out what they are saying. Yesterday, Linda had the day off. I worked anyway. She'll check the files I had questions about on Monday. But I did complete some files on my own with no problems. Yay!

This is still on a temporary basis. They have to like my work before they decide to keep me. I don't know how long of a temporary basis it will be.

We had an offer on our house. It was $15,000 under our asking price and they wanted us to leave several personal property items in the kichen and they wanted to close by December 15 and have us out by December 18. We countered with an offer only $2,000 under our asking price and a closing date of January 5. They withdrew their offer. They want to be settled before Christmas. Yikes! We haven't even found a house to buy yet. We really didn't want to be rushed into buying something if we aren't sure about it. We also have a trip back to Louisiana coming up the week after Christmas. It would have been nice to have all this done with, but I think we made the right decision at this point in time.

Of the two houses I wrote about before, the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards the one I didn't think I would learn towards. There are so many negatives about the one with the wrap-around porch that they are pushing it down in my mind's list. We would have to finish the fence in the backyard. We would have to add stairs out the back door, which are missing right now (and it's a LONG way down). The kitchen is small and there isn't much room to expand it with the breakfast nook having one entire wall of windows. There isn't a place to easily add a bathroom if we decide we need/want to. No third bedroom/dedicated craft space. A pool we don't really want and would have to find a buyer for. It needs some work done on the floor in the bathroom. The positives it has: larger bedrooms, charming character, good location, great price, a basement for storage and workshop space.

The one near the hospital has a kitchen that is large enough to make a really nice work space. It has a pantry already (it just needs shelves). It has a room that can be dedicated to a crafting space as well as another (small) bedroom. The backyard is completely fenced. There is space to easily add another bathroom. There is a dedicated laundry room. The negatives: priced about $10,000 more than the other one; not a central location; smaller bedrooms; no workshop space. It's been on the market for over 3 months, so maybe they would be willing to negotiate on the price.

Now that I've written it all out, I still don't know. I'm torn! Just the lack of kitchen space is a big thing for me. The kitchen could be larger in the one with the porch but the owners added a laundry closet in the kitchen space. I am not sure where it was located before and I don't know where we would move it to make more space. I have not liked having to walk up and down stairs with laundry here; I don't want to do it again. It would probably be good to get a contractor and ask his opinion on things like where we could add a bathroom, etc. Maybe we should go on HGTV's Hidden Potential!!

We are STILL trying to get an appointment to see the one in Lakeside Highlands. I still prefer that neighborhood over anything else. The owners have moved into the house that we made an offer on, but they still aren't ready to show their former house because "it's a mess." Well, get it fixed and let us see it!!! Or don't fix it and let us see it. Whatever, just let us see it. Can you tell this is making me a little impatient??? ;-) It would be nice to know if it's something that is an option or not. Of course, at this point when we're looking at 2 bedroom/1 bath houses, what wouldn't be an option?

We do have appointments set for Saturday to see the two "possibilities" again and also to look at 2 new ones. When we looked at the two "possibilites" the other day, it was after work and dark. We want to look at them with Michael during the day so he can really get a good look at the basement of the one with the porch and at the yard of the one near the hospital.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T06:55:00.002-06:00

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving Day!

We are headed out to Kimberly's in-laws' house for the day. I'm about to go downstairs and make some chocolate creme pies, fruit salad, and bake a ham glazed with honey and brown sugar.

My baby brother comes in tomorrow for the weekend. I can't wait to see him. He hasn't visited us since Kimber graduated 2.5 years ago. Laikyn and I spent a few hours with him in Atlanta last December on our way to visit my nephew in South Carolina.

Oh, and tonight, Kimberly and the baby will spend the night here with us!! :-)

Discouraging Weight Loss Update

2008-11-21T09:43:00.002-06:00

I cannot believe the tape measure today! :-( Even though I lost a pound since last month's weigh-in, I've GAINED 6.5"!!!

That is just downright discouraging.

Since 6/18/08, I've lost 5# and 10".

Job/House Search Update

2008-11-20T07:28:00.003-06:00

Lots going around here lately. I haven't had time to blog much.

As I wrote before, I took a seasonal, part-time job at Sears because it was the only offer I had. I started a few weeks ago. I don't hate it, but I don't really like it either. Does that make sense? After 3 times of working with someone, they had me scheduled to work alone this week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. First thing Tuesday morning, I started making mistakes and having to call for supervisors. When my immediate supervisor finally came around at lunch time, I told her that I really wasn't comfortable being on my own. She graciously understood and sent someone over to work with me the rest of the day. Jessica was awesome and she taught me a lot.

On Tuesday, I had a call from one of the staffing agencies I applied with. They had a position for a medical transcriptionist open. I told her that I didn't have experience or training in medical transcription. She relayed that to the administrator, but he said he was still willing to give me a try. I went for the interview yesterday morning. The job is in a cardiology clinic, so the terminology will be minimum. Whatever terminology there is, it will be repeated over and over again. It's not like a general practitioner who is making different diagnoses on throughout the day. It will be the same diagnoses and medicines over and over again.

When I went to lunch yesterday, I had a message from the staffing agency to call them to report on how the interview went. I called and started talking about the interview and ended by saying, "I'm not really sure how I did." Kaytrina said, "Well, you must have done well, because you got the job!"

I was so excited! Especially when Kaytrina mentioned the fact that I can spend the holidays with my family; I won't have to work the day after Thanksgiving, etc. I start the job on Monday. When I got back from lunch, I was more nervous about telling my supervisor that I had another job than I was when I interviewed for the job! I will finish out my shift today and I won't have to go back there again, except to shop! :-)

Now, for the house search update. Laikyn and I looked at another round of houses on Monday. We looked at about half a dozen and there was only one that we want Michael to see. It's has really cute curb appeal and the inside is nice, except the kitchen. It isn't horrible, but it would need updating eventually and it doesn't have a dishwasher or pantry. We would have to buy a refrigerator.
It has a breakfast area that we could use as an office and add more storage there, but there are a lot of windows that would hamper how much storage we could add. (I'm not complaining about the windows, though!)
The price is very tempting.
It has a full unfinished walk-out basement that would allow Michael plenty of workshop space and we could store stuff down there. I'm just so tired of stairs. I really would prefer something that is all on one level.
The biggest negative is that it's only 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.
It's so charming, though. It's definitely my style. It has a nice porch that wraps around one side from the front door, which is slightly off-center. Laikyn and I sat on the swing out there and it was so nice!
We would need to add privacy fence across the back of the property and also replace some stairs out the back door. There's an above-ground pool, which we've already experienced and don't really want again. We can always sell it like we did with the one here last summer.
It's in a central location in town.
It has a one-car detached garage that would need siding added to it. They are in the process of siding the house, so they made side that as well.
We'd have to pull up carpet in the bedrooms, but there are hardwoods under it. Not sure what condition they are in.
The bathroom has a jetted tub/shower combo. Nice!
I have some things in my mind that I want to check when we go back tomorrow to look at it with Michael. I want to try to imagine the rooms without all their furniture and put my pieces (especially storage cabinets) instead. They have really massive furniture; we don't. The bedrooms are both 14x14, which is a good size. I just don't know if I could fit my office/crafting stuff in our bedroom too.

After we look at that one, we are going to look at one that Laikyn and I looked at when we first started this process. Michael said he didn't want to be near the hospital, but I will now be working near the hospital. I could walk to work from this house if I had to, which may be nice since we are a two-car family with three people working. It may be too far on the other side of town, though, and not centrally located enough for us.
However, I have already been thinking about this house again the last week or so before I got the job at the cardiology clinic. Since we looked at the one I wrote about above and it only has one bathroom, I started thinking about this one again. It also only has one bathroom. It has more space, though, inside. It has covered attached parking. It has hardwoods under the carpeting as well. It has a nice size kitchen (still would need updating eventually). The kitchen has something I have ALWAYS wanted -- a double drainboard porcelain sink. (Both my grandmothers had those and I just LOVE them.) The kitchen has room to add more cabinets, both upper and lower. It doesn't have a dishwasher, but all the other appliances stay. It has a laundry room right off the kitchen and then in that same area, there is a huge room that just needs shelves to turn into a walk-in pantry!!! I'm salivating just thinking about it.
When Laikyn and I walked through the front door of this house and entered the living room, I got goosebumps. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I just keep thinking about the house and how that happened when I walked in the door and how it hasn't happened since.
When we first looked at it, we thought of ways we could add a bathroom. The space is there to do it right off the dining room in a room that the woman used as her crafting space. We also thought about turning the dining room and the craft room into a master suite and moving the dining room to the bedroom that the homeowner uses as a sitting room right off the kitchen. None of this would have to be done before we move in. It could all be done down the road if we want to. We may find we can live with only one bathroom and leave everything just as it is.
The house doesn't have a basement, which is a plus for me. It has a completely fenced backyard. It does lack on workshop space. There is a small metal shed in the back and that's it.
It may be too close to the neighbors for Michael's taste. On the plus side for him, it has a fig tree. My husband LOVES figs.
The price is better than most we've looked at, though.

Okay, folks! That's the rather long update. I'll try to post on the results of our Friday showings over the weekend.

My Birthday

2008-11-09T11:50:00.010-06:00

As I said before, we went to Huntsville for my birthday yesterday. We fixed some of our favorite gourmet-style chicken salad, packed the picnic basket and ice chest, and started loading up the car. While we were running around loading things, Michael stopped me and said, "Do you want to bring this?"

"Bring what?" I asked.

He grabbed a blue shopping bag off the chair and put it down on the floor at my feet. It held my birthday present/anniversary present/Christmas present -- for the next two years! I was TOTALLY floored to find that the bag held a Nikon D60 Digital SLR camera!!! A few months ago -- before the recent cutbacks at work -- I had told him, "I want a Digital SLR camera for Christmas; make it happen." Of course, after recent events, I was no longer holding him to that request.

I was a little suspicious during the week when he pulled the Best Buy circular out of the garbage can and looked through it, but with all the activity this past week, I honestly didn't know he'd even had a chance to go buy anything at all. My first response was, "How are we paying for this??" His answer was, "The same way we always do."

I have a lot to learn about photography, but we used the camera yesterday to get some awesome shots to use for Laikyn's graduation announcements. Of course, I snapped a few of Nathan, too. :-)

It was a beautiful day, even if it was a little colder than I'd hoped for. Here are some of the shots we took at Monte Sano Park.

We went to IHOP for supper and oh my! Their current menu item called Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake Pancakes are to die for!! They are SO delicious, I will be dreaming about those pancakes for some time to come.

It was a very good day!

Got a Job!

2008-11-05T13:33:00.005-06:00

I had job offers from two places yesterday: Sears and K Mart. Since I didn't have any other offers on the table, I took the job at Sears, even though it is only seasonal. Of course, there is the possibility of it turning into a permanent job after the holidays. I'm still looking, though, since retail isn't my first choice. I'd much prefer something in an office, but for now, I'm taking it! It's only part-time, but it offered the possibility of more hours than the job at K Mart. I should start next week.

When I first got the offer from K Mart (in the morning), I called one other place that I had applied at because I knew they were conducting interviews this week and I wanted to know the status of things before I accepted K Mart. This was for a part-time office assistant job at a saddle company. I was totally floored when the guy told me that they had received well over 100 applications (!!) and they were only choosing 5-10 to call for interviews. Yikes! How is a person supposed to stand out in a crowd like that??? Needless to say, they didn't call me back for an interview.

Another thing that floored me was at one of the staffing agencies I applied with yesterday. The girl who interviewed me looked like she was barely out of high school. She has been with the staffing company two weeks and they just promoted her to manager of one of their stores. That is a really hard pill to swallow for someone like me who can hardly get a interview with any companies.

This morning I got a call from one of the staffing places for a temporary position tomorrow and Friday, but I had to turn them down since my orientation with Sears is sometime this week. They had originally scheduled the orientation for today at 3:00, but then the orientation person called me saying not to come in, because they need to run the background check first. Michael wanted to know what I thought would happen when they find my rap sheet. :-)

One of the other staffing agencies I applied at yesterday was Manpower. They are the most professional one that I've gone to. Lyons HR was a close second, though. I need to go back to Manpower and take their Word and Excel tests. Since Excel is not my strongest computing skill, I spent some time online this morning with Microsoft's tutorials. I learned a lot, so I hope it helps. What I liked about Manpower was that they gave me a business card and told me to call if I needed anything. What a concept for a business!! Only one other staffing agency did that, but I didn't get a good feeling about them. The guy made me feel like he was promising me the moon.

Anyway, I'll be glad to get some "real-world" work experience on my record after a 20-year hiatus.

After that full day of applying for jobs, I actually made it to Pilates class after an entire month of missing classes. I could feel the difference in my muscles after skipping for that long. It felt good to get back into the routine and I feel the tightness returning to my powerhouse!!

It's so pretty right now here. We've been having really gorgeous weather and the leaves are at their peak. My birthday is Saturday and we are finally doing what I said I wanted to do two years ago for my birthday -- we're going to Monte Sano Park in Huntsville for the day. I hope the weather holds out. It's supposed to rain the latter part of this week, but it's *supposed* to be dry again for Saturday. It just might be a little cooler than I'd wish it to be. I hope not. Mid 70s is what I'm hoping for. The only disappointment is that my friends aren't able to make it. They're making up for it by taking me out to lunch on Friday. Woohoo!!

Job Search

2008-10-29T13:38:00.002-05:00

I was on the phone earlier with our Realtor and had a call come in. I didn't answer it, because Deidre and I were discussing things about the house sale/search. When I hung up, I checked my missed calls and it was from Waste Management. The interviewer left a voice mail saying that they had filled the positions. Even though I really knew that was the case, I'm still so disappointed. :-( I don't even have the heart to call back and ask her to critique me.

Yesterday while in town shopping, I dropped off about a half dozen applications at different places that I had picked up from before. This is so discouraging.

ALL this stuff -- house sale/search; job cutbacks for hubby; financial pressures -- is weighing on me heavily today.

In Loving Memory

2008-10-26T20:26:00.002-05:00

13 years ago today, my mother, my best friend, passed from this world into the next and left a huge hole in my life and the lives of my children and all who knew her.

Love and miss you, Mom.

Hooked on House Tours Blog Party

2008-10-24T07:08:00.013-05:00

Julia over at Hooked on Houses is hosting a tour blog party. It's raining here today, so I was thinking, "Well, today wouldn't be a good day to take pics." Then, I was looking through previous posts on Hooked on Houses where she mentioned fuzzy MLS photos, and I thought, "I can use the very good photos Deidre took for our MLS listing for the tour!" Well, I just looked at the first photo that I saved from the listing and they are tiny. So, now I'll have to scour my computer finding photos of our house to share. Oh, well.

I found this cool picture of my sil Judy at our first meal in our new home on New Year's Eve 2005. My favorite food is boiled blue crabs and my in-laws drove up here with an ice chest full from S. Louisiana to help us move. Aren't they so nice? :-) In this photo, you can see what our dining room looked like when we moved in. The top of the dining room walls and the entire foyer had this hideous red and green magnolia wallpaper. Uck!

Here's the front of our house. I always say, "We live in the big white box with the circle driveway." It's just a big rectangle. We have added some pretty potted Mums since this photo was taken. The door is also now painted blue.

Here's what it looks like as you're walking through the blue front door into the foyer. This was actually taken a year ago so I had my fall welcome sign up on the door. I haven't done any fall decorating this year. Too busy working and loving on the new grandbaby! You can just see the edge of our "family picture wall" in this photo.

Here's the rest of the wall.

This shot peaks around the corner of the foyer and catches the stairs (which had carpet on them when we moved in) and the edge of the dining room.
Now, even though I KNOW I've taken shots around the house to blog about, I can't seem to find any on my computer. So, I'll have to take some new ones. I probably could have taken some new ones, uploaded them, and be done with this post by now instead of scouring my computer for old ones! :=0

Here's the dining room now. It looks so plain with no artwork on the wall. But, it looks so much better than that hideous wallpaper. We added white bead board paneling to the bottom of the walls. I love that look.

Here are two shots of our kitchen. I had to get the first one in to show the finished laminate wood flooring that Michael installed. SO much better than the cracking ceramic! I sooo want to paint the bottom cabinets white, but since we had just redone the kitchen in our rent house before moving here, I haven't wanted to tackle cabinets again. Now, before long, hopefully the house will belong to someone else and they can paint them whatever color they want OR leave them just as they are!

Off the foyer is the downstairs bedroom. It used to be our oldest daughter's. Now that she's not living here any longer, we are staging this room as a possible 2nd master bedroom in order to sell our home. The quilt on the bed was given to me by my grandmother. Her sister made it.

Here's the living room. You can see what is currently my personal office area at the far end of this room. We only use 1/2 of the large room as an actual living room. I love the red and yellow color combo and I've recently decided that I would love to add some blue and white accents in the form of toile drapes and some blue and white china. Maybe in my next house?

At the top of the stairs is the library/family office. What drew me to this house in the beginning were these built-in bookcases. Since we are a homeschooling family, we have LOTS of books. Of course, we are nearing the end of that journey, but I bet we'll still have a lot of books, just 'cause I love them so much!! Enlarge this to see the funny Zelda calendar photo hanging near the desk. It's Zelda with a milk carton with a hole cut in it for her face. The caption says, "Missing You!"

Here's Laikyn's very cute bathroom. When we move into a new house, she and I will most likely share a bathroom and I can't wait to call this shower curtain partly mine! ;-)

Here's one of my favorite rooms in the house, the laundry room. Not because I love to do laundry, but just because the room is so fun.

Here are two shots of the master bedroom. In order to more effectively stage the house for selling, I recently moved all my craft stuff out of the room and moved the dresser into the room. The dresser was in our very large closet (pictured below); now the craft stuff is in there instead. Makes it look more like a bedroom.

That's the tour. I sure hope I win the prize after all this work. I HATE the way Blogger handles photos. That's about the only negative over Typepad, but it's not worth $5. a month to have easier photo insertion.

Head on over to Julia's place and check out the rest of her blog, too.

Still No Word

2008-10-22T14:45:00.002-05:00

I have still not heard anything on the job I applied for on Friday. I even called yesterday to find out something, but I just got the interviewer's voice mail. I left a message, but she hasn't returned the call yet. Maybe she's out of the office for a few days??? I'm trying to be patient, but most of the time, I have to admit that I am anxious for word. One way or the other, I really want to know if I have this job. Of course, I would prefer that the answer would be "yes." But the not knowing is a little nerve-wracking.

Especially when Michael came home earlier this week and said that he was told absolutely NO overtime. This is devastating news for us. We are strapped financially already. We hope something happens soon. Selling the house will help us pay off about four bills, which help tremendously. My bringing in a good second income will also help us not to go under. We also could use the benefits that the job at Waste Management offers. The insurance that Laikyn is covered under now isn't the greatest and we really need to have her knee checked out by an orthopedist. Waste Management's insurance would take effect for us 91 days after I start there and pre-existing things like her asthma would be covered from that first day.

I really hope to get something soon. I have applied at several places over this entire year and Waste Management was the first place to call me in for an actual interview. I've always felt that God was just closing the doors. I hope He doesn't close the doors on this one, but I truly am desperate to have something!

Measurement Check

2008-10-22T14:33:00.005-05:00

I'm a few days past my monthly measurement/weight check deadline. Oh, well.

I actually GAINED 3# this month. That's always so disappointing. :-( To date, I have lost 4# since 6/18/08.

Inches wise, I lost 3.5" overall this month -- I lost in every area except my thighs, which I gained an inch apiece on. I lost an inch in my bust and another inch in my waist. I lost a half an inch each in my upper and lower abs and my hips. To date, since 6/18/08, I have lost 16.5" overall!! Yippee!!

With all the house hunting/selling stuff going on in our lives right now, we have skipped more days this past month at the gym than we have in any other month since we joined. I haven't been to Pilates but one time this month so far. And we will miss again tomorrow as we have showings scheduled to look at the houses with Michael. I really feel it. I'm having a 15-minute massage today while Laikyn is getting her adjustment at the chiropractor. I've been doing a lot of typing/transcribing work lately and it's been several months since I've had a massage or an adjustment. My arm and neck are hurting, so I figured I'd better part with my $15 and get something done for my overworked arms and neck! I really wish I could afford $15 every week, because I know it would help some of the pain I have.

House Hunt

2008-10-19T20:28:00.004-05:00

This past Thursday, Laikyn and I looked at four more properties. One of them was in Lakeside Highlands and it made it onto the short list out of these four (mainly because of the neighborhood). One other one made it as well and it's in my second choice of neighborhoods (Edgemont). We are scheduled to look at both of them on Thursday with Michael.

Out of the two houses, I would choose the one in Edgemont. The one is Lakeside is nice, but it would need new flooring and new appliances. The one in Edgemont is move-in ready. One downside to this house (besides it's not being in Lakeside) is that the kitchen only has a few cabinets.

click any photo to make larger

These are the ONLY cabinets in the kitchen. There is a china hutch, though, that comes with the house that would be good for storing dishes, etc.

There is also plenty room to add more cabinets, and the kitchen would not need to be gutted like so many of the other houses we've looked at.
This photo is looking from the space we would use as a HUGE dining room into the kitchen. The doorway across from the cabinets is a large walk-in pantry (yay!) This has been a missing item in nearly all the houses we've looked at. The opening next to the pantry door is a refrigerator space. It would limit us on the size refrigerator we could put. It may be large enough to hold a large frig, but it might not be. I don't know. We have to measure it when we go on Thursday. The area near the door with the glass off to the left would be the perfect spot to add some more cabinets.

This is the living room with a pretty fireplace and built-in bookcases. I love the big picture windows in this room and the pretty laminate floor.

This is the outside of the house. It has more of the stone like what's in the living room.

This house has four bedrooms. We would have enough room to have an office/craft room as well as a guest room. Don't really need four bedrooms, but it's okay to have the extra space. It's still downsizing from the square footage here (by about 1500 SF). The bedrooms are a little small. Or least they seem so. We haven't measured. Sometimes these things are deceptively small looking when there's no furniture in the house.
The house is in danger of going into foreclosure. The price has been reduced several times since it's been on the market, but it's still more than we're willing to pay. We might just wait until it goes into foreclosure if the other one in Lakeside Highlands doesn't come on the market before we sell our home. If we make an offer, it will be about $20,000 less than the current asking price.
The other negative of this house is that the shower in the master bathroom is like a cave. It's a tile, enclosed shower with no light. But at least it's a second toilet and sink. The hall bathroom is nice and bright, recently re-done. The master bedroom has two closets. There is a large laundry room just off the kitchen. There's also a huge walk-in closet in the hallway that houses the HVAC unit and hot water heater and also includes more storage area. There's a workshop attached to the carport with built-in workbenches. The outdoor space features a cement patio surrounded by a brick retaining wall. It's not covered, though.
Laikyn really likes this house because it's "spacious and clean." She also likes the "quiet neighborhood."
The house is in a nice central location.

Today

2008-10-19T20:18:00.002-05:00

Today, we had Kim, Dewayne, and Nathan over for the day. We also invited a young man that Laikyn works with over. He has expressed interest in spending time with her and we have already gone to a football game together.

It's a little awkward to explain to someone our views on dating. We don't allow unsupervised contact for our daughters and young men. It's also different for us because Kimberly and Dewayne's courtship happened entirely over the telephone, long distance from Colorado.

But, Michael did explain somewhat what our views are and why, and Michael (that's his name, too) seemed okay with it. He said he understood and seemed willing to do this however we deem necessary.

Nathan is just so precious. He's smiling and cooing now and it's just so sweet. He's nine weeks old and weighs 16+ pounds and is now 25" long. He's gained nearly 8 pounds and grew 4" since his birth. He's a little bruiser!!

I'm a Little Rusty

2008-10-19T19:59:00.003-05:00

On Thursday, I applied online for a data entry clerk position with Waste Management. The corporate office for this market area called me about an hour later and said they were going to be conducting interviews next week and they would call me.

Well, I got a call on Friday morning from the local office asking if I could come in later that morning to interview.

I have not worked outside of the home for the last 22 years! I feel that I did really horribly in the interview. They seemed concerned that perhaps I am not ready to make the transition from working part-time from home to working full-time outside the home. After I left, I wondered about that. Like the rest of the time (when I'm not working from home), I'm just sitting around watching soap operas and eating bon-bons. Is that what they think? And why didn't I think to point out the fact that I often work more than eight hours a day even if I'm not getting paid for it??

I tried to be as honest as I could when they asked me about this. I know that it will be an adjustment for our family, but I also know that this is a time in life when I can more easily work outside the home because my girls are both grown.

With the recent reduction in Michael's hours at work, we really need the extra income. The work-at-home stuff is great, but it's not a steady amount. I can quadruple what I make a month if I get this job at Waste Management.

One thing that seemed to be in my favor during the interview is that I can start immediately. That's the only positive thing I can say about the interview. Like I said, I feel that I did pretty badly. Still, I'm so hoping that they call me tomorrow and say, "Can you come in Tuesday? We're starting training." They had recently hired someone for this position, but the person was convinced by her current employer to stay on with them. Waste Management was scheduled to start training on Tuesday. Of course, they expressed doubt that they would be able to go ahead with that schedule. Hopefully, that will be enough to tip the scales in my favor.

I know that I can do well at the job, but I don't know that I convinced them that I can do well at it. I'm REALLY rusty at this!!

At Our House

2008-10-15T20:14:00.002-05:00

Here's what's been happening at our house the last week:

At the suggestion of our Realtor, we are replacing the ceramic tiles (1/3 of which were cracked) in our kitchen to make our house more marketable.

We listed our house with Deidre on Friday, and on Saturday, we had an offer! All before the first person looked at it! We counter offered and then they counter offered just slightly under our counter offer. However, they have since lost the person who was going to lease their home in South (or is it North?) Carolina. They are still interested in buying our house, but they won't reinstate the offer until they have someone firm to take theirs.

Since we are replacing the floor and our house now looks like a bomb exploded in it, we are holding off showings until next week. We listed now, though, because the cut-off date to be in our local Showcase of Homes publications was the 14th. We wanted to be sure to get in the book for November!

Our own home search will resume tomorrow.

House Hunt Continues

2008-10-06T15:13:00.003-05:00

I spoke to the Realtor this morning about getting our earnest money check back on the house on Lakeside Drive. While we were on the phone, she told me what the other house that's coming on the market this week will be set at price-wise. It will be out of our range.

BUT, she did tell me that she ran into someone at a garage sale this weekend who just happened to be the woman who made the offer that the owner on Lakeside accepted. (She never met the lady because the buyer used a different Realtor to see the house.)

Her house isn't on the market yet because she doesn't need to sell it first (must be nice). They want to do some work on it before they list it once she moves out. It also is in Lakeside Highlands. She did say that it only has 1.5 baths, but we had already decided that that was okay; as long it's not only 1 toilet, we're fine with it. (Of course, we liked the fact that the one on Lakeside had two full baths.)

Anyway, the Realtor asked her why she was selling and moving. She said that she has an elderly mother (or grandmother) living with her and she keeps falling or almost falling into their pool. The Realtor asked me, "Would y'all want a pool?"

I told her that we had a pool in our rent house in Lakeside and that we really missed having the in-ground pool since we moved here with only an above-ground pool (which is now gone, by the way). Even though a pool wasn't on our must-have list now that we've joined the YMCA, it's not something we would mind having again as long as it's in-ground. In fact, I think we would really enjoy having one again. We used the in-ground one a lot. The above-ground one not so much. (An above-ground pool doesn't hold the heat like an in-ground one does, so it was often too cold to swim here. That's why we sold it.)

Over the weekend, I used a Realtor site that had a map you could scroll through to see what properties are available in certain areas. The one other area that we would like to be in is somewhere around the YMCA in the vicinity of Darby Drive or Helton Drive. All the properties that came up in that area were WAY out of our range (by about $40,000 or more).

For myself, I am fixated on Lakeside Highlands. I don't know if I want to move if it's not in that neighborhood. I guess I would if I found the absolutely right house for us and it happens to be somewhere else. Michael doesn't want to live downtown; the homes near the Y are too expensive; the area near Huntsville Road is too iffy. Other neighborhoods in the city limits are pricey as well.

I am going to contact the Realtor that we decided to list with today and tell her that we are ready. We have not had any more calls on our house since when the paper first came out.

So many details and so many timing issues. If I think about it too much, I get nervous. Thank God that HE'S in control and orchestrating it all.

Today

2008-10-03T20:25:00.004-05:00

The Realtor called today and said that the owner of the home we made an offer on decided to take another offer. :-( I'm disappointed, but not overly so. We all are disappointed. She did tell me about another house in the neighborhood that is supposed to be coming on the market soon, though. So, it's back to the drawing board, so to speak.

On a brighter note, K&D&N came over for supper today! They had visited a friend before they came here and Nathan soiled his clothes while they were there. They borrowed a shirt of their friend's grandchild for him to wear. It was a size 3T and it was only a little big for Nathan. The kid is a chunk-a-munk!! Michael said Nathan's thighs are as thick as they are long. He has so many creases, it's crazy. And the little dimples where his knuckles will be are soooo adorable.

Kudos to Laikyn

2008-10-03T09:34:00.004-05:00

With all the talk of moving back into town, Laikyn has been considering finding a job in town once we move. The job she has now at the Lynn's horse farm is out here in the county near where we live now. Once we move, her commute will lengthen quite a bit.

This week, Laikyn's boss asked her about this. Mrs. Lynn told her that while they know she will not always work there, they aren't ready to lose her as an employee just yet. She's a hard worker, dependable, and fast at her job. They offered to pay her gas bill to get back and forth to work if she will stay! She decided that she will stay. They pay her well and she knows that another job in town won't match the pay she has at the farm.

I'm so proud of her. She is all those things that her boss said about her. She has inherited her dad's awesome work ethic!!

Nathan Smiled!

2008-10-03T09:27:00.003-05:00

While we were at the house on Lakeside doing a third look-see, Kimberly and Dewayne and the baby came to look at it with us. Laikyn was holding him sort of face down over her arm. Michael stooped down on one knee to talk to him and when he saw Michael, he broke into a big smile!!

He's been smiling when he sees Dewayne's face, too.

This child is so precious to me! The Realtor was talking about having grandkids while we were there. She said that you don't think you can love anybody as much as you love your kids, but then the grandchildren come along and you discover you can. The love for my daughters hasn't diminished any, but there is something so totally different about loving a grandchild. I don't know what it is, but it is different.

Kimberly sends me a photo on my phone every day or so and I take my phone out at least 10 times in a day just to look at his picture that I've set as my wallpaper. I have it pretty bad!

Latest on the House Buying/Selling

2008-10-03T08:57:00.004-05:00

We ran an ad this week in a local paper for our house. It really hasn't generated any more call volume than the yard sign did. We did show it last night, though. It would be so nice to have someone come along who was pre-approved for a loan (or had CASH) and who didn't need to sell their home first. God can do it! But, will He? I hope and pray He will. I'm okay if He doesn't, though.

We went back to look at the house on Lakeside Dr. on Wednesday. Kimberly and Dewayne (and the baby) met us there. I wanted their opinion on it as well as another chance to make sure that it was adequate for us. We really like the house. Kimber and Dewayne liked it as well. The house has many more positive things about it than negative things.

The negatives are:

less counter space in the kitchen than here
no built-in bookcases like here (Michael can build them)
the overhangs in the back need painting (the front looks great, though!)
the third bedroom is a little small (but still adequate for a craft/guest room)
carpet in the bedrooms
no pantry (have to buy one)
older a/c unit

The positives are:

more drawer space in the kitchen than here
the type of cooking appliances I have always wanted (cook top and wall oven)
a large dining space in the same space with the kitchen
doors to close off the kitchen/dining from the living room
less house to clean than here
less yard to keep up than here
a large hall bathroom with a storage closet and plenty of drawers and cabinets (Laikyn and I will share that one)
a coat closet
a hall storage closet
a large (for this size house) master bath that Michael can have all to himself!
the rooms are equal to or greater than the spaces that we use in this house for those same rooms (I might need to explain this one. The living room we have here is HUGE, but we only use half of it as a living room. The space we use here is 206 SF; the space there is 266 SF. Our master bedroom here is also HUGE, but part of it is used as my crafting space now, which will go in the guest room there. The area we use as a bedroom here is 186 SF; the master there is 196 SF.)
an outdoor living space (this is a huge plus for us; we have so missed not having that here)
counter space on the side of the stove - something we don't have here
a workshop/storage space that is sturdy and close to the house
covered parking and place to park a future boat or small RV
laundry/mudroom off the carport
all on one level (no more stairs)
of course, nearness to the water
nearness to shopping, etc.
1 year warranty
the roof is 2 months old
the field lines were replaced in 2005 and routed to the front of the property so that the backyard can be improved on (like with a pool or larger workshop) with no difficulties
a quiet neighborhood

23 to 7, the positives win!

That little exercise of going through the list in my mind and on "paper" really helped me. I think that when buying a place and making a commitment to something this huge, it's natural to think, "Is this place really right for us?" Going through and making this list reassured me that even though we are downsizing a great deal, it will be more than adequate for our needs. We really do have a lot of unused space here that we are having to take care of and pay for. I keep thinking about how fast housecleaning will go in the house on Lakeside! :-)

House Hunt

2008-09-28T19:36:00.006-05:00

We heard from the Realtor on Friday. We are pondering whether to negotiate more on the price on the house we made an offer on last week. We offered him his full price, but asked him to pay the closing costs. He didn't like that. We might meet him halfway; we're still thinking about/talking about it. I was fully prepared for Michael to say that we needed to just walk away. I even told the Realtor that on the phone. "I think we'll probably just have to walk away." But, Michael said, "We'll think and pray and talk about it and make him wait a few days."

Today, we went to visit Kimberly, Dewayne, and Nathan and figured out that moving to Lakeside Highlands would cut our driving time to them in half. That's a BIG plus.

We've only had one more call (today) on our house. Still no appointments to see it, though. We are running an ad in a local paper this coming week. We will see what happens with that and then make the decision on listing with a Realtor.

Laikyn and I went into town yesterday to get some curtains for her room. She did have some sheets up on the windows to keep the light out on the weekends. While in town, we rode to a new park in Florence. It is a very pretty park and while there, I realized something. When we first moved to Florence, we did a lot of outdoor activities. I realized that we haven't done even half of what we used to do since we've moved out of the city limits. A lot of times, we just can't justify going to town and using that gas up. Especially now with the gas prices!! If we do go to town, it's usually to take care of some business, etc. We don't go much to do recreation type of things.

While we are not a family who thrives on busyness and going, going, going, it did make me a little sad when I realized how few things we do outdoors now. We moved out to the country because we thought we would love it, we wanted to have a piece of property, etc. Now we know that the country life isn't for us. However, if God says He wants us to stay here, I'm content enough to do that. Although, I will say that we have been seeing things through different eyes lately and often when that starts to happen, it means that change is coming for us.

We'll see what happens.

House Hunt Continues

2008-09-24T21:38:00.002-05:00

We made an offer on the house in our old neighborhood yesterday. We haven't had any word yet from the seller.

We put up a for sale sign for our house on Sunday. We have had three calls, but no appointments set yet. We are deciding if we want to list with a Realtor.

I know that if the seller refuses our offer, then it's God's will. But I'll still be a little disappointed. Even though the house is really nice, my disappointment will come from something else. We drove by the house on Sunday again. While in the neighborhood, we drove down to the community park and boat launch. I had forgotten (or didn't realize) how much I missed living near the river. When we lived on the other side of Lakeside Highlands, we were around the corner from Veteran's Park, which is on the Tennessee River. We often walked to the park and down the river when we lived there.

Even when we were living through the difficult months of Michael trading online from home, we would walk down to the park and God would bring us such peace there.

While we were at the community park Sunday, I was enveloped with God's peace again.

Being near the water again is a big selling point for the house we put an offer in on. It's like having waterfront property without having to pay for it!

Finally!

2008-09-20T20:15:00.006-05:00

I finally get to post a picture to my blog --- because it's only of Nathan's hand. Isn't it adorable???

For those of you who aren't yet grandparents, I have to tell you --- you are in for such a treat!! I have never been so in love. :-)

September Weigh-In

2008-09-19T16:46:00.005-05:00

Well, I'm plugging along, still going to the Y for 2 hours Monday-Friday. The results this month are less-than-stellar. I seem smaller when I look in the mirror, though.

No change in the weight on the scale this month. I've lost a total of 7# since June 18.

This month, I lost 4.5", which is better than the measly 1.25" last month! That brings me to a total of 13" since June 18. Woo Hoo!!!

Some days, I feel like I can increase the weight I lift on the machine with no problem. Then, there are days like today when I feel absolutely drained and I have to bump it back down to get through the workout. I feel the most increase in muscle in my quadriceps. That feels great!

I have been able to do more strenuous walking on the treadmill, though. When I first started, if I tried to walk too quickly, my knee would start to hurt and I'd have to slow down. I've been slowly increasing the intensity and my knee usually doesn't hurt.

Laikyn and I are still taking Pilates classes and water aerobics, each two times a week. I feel like I could benefit from more frequent Pilates classes, but our current vehicle situation won't accommodate it. No matter how much I stretch, I can never seem to rid my lower back of its tightness. It's chronically in a knot.

The Dreaded Asthma Struck Again

2008-09-19T15:10:00.002-05:00

Laikyn has been doing so well lately with her asthma. She has hardly had to use her rescue inhaler. Yesterday, we were at the Y working out and she came to me on the treadmill and said, "I'm having trouble breathing. I just did my inhaler." I told her to go get some hot coffee. She did and then came back a few minutes later and said, "I drank the coffee, and it's not getting any better. I'm starting to get light-headed."

I got off the treadmill and we rushed out and to the doctor's office, which was just around the corner. When we got to the counter and I told the receptionist Laikyn was having a severe asthma attack, she said, "I don't have a doctor. They're gone at 4:30." It was about 4:40.

I said, "Is there a nurse that can give her a breathing treatment???"

She said, "Let me check."

We sat in the lobby and Laikyn said her hands were starting to tingle. The nurse came and got us and brought us to the back, stopping to weigh her on the way!!! (Sometimes I wonder what these people at this doctor's office are thinking; I think I should look for another doctor for her.)

They put her in a room and took her blood pressure, etc. All the while, she's struggling to breathe and nobody is getting the breathing treatment ready. Finally, another nurse came in and asked the one attending to us what the doctor had said. The attending nurse said, "He wants y'all to get the treatment ready." ARGH!! BTW, the doctor was there still. :-0

As the nurse was finally getting the machine set up and the medicine poured in, etc. I could tell Laikyn was starting to panic. She looked like she was about to pass out. She started crying. I started tearing up. I hate this stupid disease! Is there anything more scary than not being able to breathe? Is there anything more frustrating than to see your child not being able to breathe? So absolutely helpless feeling!

She said later that she started to panic because everything was starting to go black.

The breathing treatment helped, as it always does. I finally got him to write a prescription for us to get a machine for home. We picked it up today. It will go in its little travel case along with a power converter and in the car with us whenever we go out anywhere.

Both times this has happened this year (back in May and this week), we've been really close at missing the doctors. I had no idea what time they left the office, so I drove there instead of the hospital since it was closer. What if they had been gone for the day? She probably wouldn't have made it to the hospital.

Last time in May, it was very early in the morning. She was at work, so I had a co-worker drive her to the doctor's office and I met them there. I had no idea if the office was even open, but it was closer than the hospital from work. I tried calling, but you can never talk to an actual person when you call there. All I got was an option to leave a message for a particular doctor's nurse.

Why is it so hard to make the decision to look for another doctor? I don't think about it until things like this happen and the professionals there infuriate me with their lackadaisical attitude. They aren't all that way, but NONE of them should be that way.

I also hate the thought of all the steroids she has to take. There has to be something natural that will work. I've read about salt inhalers. When we were considering a trip up to some caves in Kentucky last year, I wondered if it would be dangerous for her to go in the caves. I researched and found out that there are actually speleology treatments for asthma sufferers. The air in the caves is good for them.

The Search Continues

2008-09-17T16:38:00.009-05:00

Our house search has heated up this week! :-) Laikyn and I looked at a total of 6 houses Wednesday. The gas has been eating us up driving to look at only a few each day, so I decided to spend the day in town looking at numerous ones. (We did look at only one yesterday. We didn't look at any today. I'm worn out!)

After the last tour was over, I called Michael and said, "I just looked at a house that I want you to see and I seriously want to make an offer on it."

It's in the neighborhood we first lived in when we moved to Florence. We would like living there again. The neighborhood is 5 minutes from the main shopping area of our city. It's also right around the corner from Veteran's Park. Plus, there is a neighborhood boat launch and park that residents can use for an optional fee of $35 a year. Michael is already planning to take Nathan down there to fish. (And Dewayne, too!)

The house is very nice, and the best part is that we wouldn't have to do much in the way of fixing, changing, etc. Really, the things that are wrong with it are minor issues. At least, what we can see on the surface of things. The other properties we've looked at have, for the most part, been fixers. There are three that we've seen that wouldn't need a lot done to them. This is one of them.

It has really nice curb appeal.

It's on a corner lot and the lot across the street will never be built on. It's just woods across there. (Translation for me: BIRDS!!)

Here's a shot of the dining room, but the picture really doesn't do it justice. All three of the houses that are real possibilities for us have a dining space. That's really important to us. If a house doesn't have that, it doesn't score high in our book.

We took Michael to look at it last night and he liked it as well.

The square footage is around 1600, but it feels larger. I guess the layout is right. For a house this size, it has a large master bathroom as well as a REALLY large hall bathroom. Michael said he thought the master bath was small, but Laikyn and I informed him that it isn't. Most of the houses we've looked at in this size and prize range either don't have a master at all or only have a 1/2 master bath.

The downside to this house is that it's listed slightly above what we wanted to spend. The guy seems pretty firm on his price. Someone made an offer on it this week a little lower than what we're planning to offer, and the owner countered with an offer only slightly lower than his asking price.

However, we have crunched numbers and we know what we HAVE to sell our house for in order to bring that note down far enough to make the move worthwhile for us. So, I am confident that we can make an offer high enough that he will accept it, contingent on our selling our home, of course. If we don't get the offer on ours that we need, then we'll just have to let this house in Lakeside Highlands go. :-(

I would hate for that to be the case, but we want to be where GOD wants us most of all.

Anyway, all this running around and not sleeping well at night has worn me out. I slept good until about 3:15 last night, then I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep until around 5:00.

We had a realtor come to do a market analysis on our house and the news was really good. We have room to negotiate with people on the selling price and still have enough to put down on another house to make our monthly output low enough for more comfort in our finances.

I had written before that we weren't opposed to getting something that needed a little fixing. Well, I found out this week that with the current housing/mortgage crisis in our nation, lenders aren't so apt to give "rehab loans." That means we would have to find something that only needs minor updating that we could do as we go along. We won't be able to look at anything that needs major work, because we won't be able to borrow anything over the sell price. One good thing about that is that it made our focus a little sharper.

House Hunt Continues

2008-09-11T22:16:00.006-05:00

Laikyn and I viewed 4 houses today--the two that I showed pics of the other day plus two others. The green cottage was SOOOO cute and I absolutely LOVED it, but the kitchen was tiny and the washer and dryer were in the tiny kitchen, too! The dining room was small also. I was trying to think of things we could do to remodel, but the price isn't really conducive to our remodeling it as well. Of course, we could make an offer for lower than what they're asking, but for now we're just going to keep looking.

We aren't opposed to getting something that needs some updating *IF* the price is right, because it would allow us to make the home into what we want.

The stone cottage also would need some adjusting of the layout. I didn't love it enough to even seriously consider it and it also was not at a price conducive to remodeling.

On the way to one of the other houses we looked at today is a yellow ranch-style house that I commented on each time we passed by it. It was really cute and I LOVE yellow houses. Well, today when I got the new home finder book, the yellow house was in it!! I was so excited!!! The neighborhood was one that we really liked the feel of and it was a house that caught my eye each time I passed it. I never noticed a for sale sign in the yard, but the other one we looked at on the same street didn't have one either. I immediately called the realtor, and to my great disappointment, it has sold already. :-(

One house we looked at has serious settling problems, so it was nixed! It is owned by what the realtor called "an eccentric fellow." He wants to sell the house and all the contents and move to Las Vegas. There was SO MUCH stuff in that house!! So much storage in it, and almost every closet we opened was filled with nice, plush, white bath towels!! Funny!

The other one was really a LARGE house, but it needs updating terribly. The owner wants an offer, though, so it's one to consider. The realtor is checking on what is under the carpets. If it has hardwoods under the carpet (which a lot of these mid-century homes do & it just KILLS me), then the floors wouldn't have to be replaced, maybe only refinished, maybe only uncovered. The kitchen needs to be gutted, though. The bedrooms were all HUGE and each had TWO closets!! There was a nice-sized laundry room with lots of cabinets for storage. The living room was enormous and there was a large-sized dining room off the kitchen. It has a lot of potential, but it didn't scream, "I'm it!" to me. ;-0

I've spent most of the evening looking through the new home finder book and on the computer at realty sites. I requested appointments for several properties. One excellent thing taking place through all this is that I'm finally learning some of the areas in our very-spread-out town. I still have barely scratched the surface, but I'm learning what areas are acceptable and which ones aren't so when I look at property addresses, I can make a judgement call about it without having to drive by most of them to check it out.

As a side note, does anyone else INSIST, like I do, on spelling "judgement" with an "e"? I know the spell-check says it's wrong, but the dictionary says it's an acceptable spelling. "Judgment" just DOES NOT look right to me!!

21

2008-09-10T07:18:00.005-05:00

Kimberly turned 21 yesterday!! I honestly don't know where the years have gone; they have flown past.

I gave her a table runner "in progress." With making Nathan's dedication gown, I didn't start her table runner early enough to have it done by her actual birthday. Hopefully, it will be done by the end of this month. I am hand quilting it. I'll post a pic when I'm finished.

She and Dewayne and the baby came over for supper and cake last night. She requested homemade cake, and I tried to comply. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but rarely do my cakes come out of the pans in tact. These were exceptionally terrible, so I had to revert to a boxed mix made into a sheet cake that stayed in the pan. (Yes, I butter and flour my pans!)

At least the icing was homemade. The icing was like nothing I'd ever made before. It was from a Betty Crocker Chocolate cookbook and called "Marshmallow Frosting." It had the consistency of some merinque cookies we make. Since I'd doubled the recipe to ice a two-layer cake, I have a lot left. I am going to bake it up like we do the merinque cookies.

I was told by Laikyn and Michael that the homemade cake was better than the boxed cake. Too bad the layers didn't come out in one piece! One layer actually came apart nearly in half --- half out of the pan and half in!

Dear Mr. Obama

2008-09-10T06:57:00.001-05:00

It always peaks my interest to hear a soldier's take on the Iraqi War.

Adjusting & Contemplating Change

2008-09-07T17:12:00.008-05:00

Kimberly, Dewayne, and the baby moved out late last week. I'm happy for them because they now have MUCH more room than they did here in Kimberly's old bedroom, but we sure do miss having them here. They came for a visit today. Laikyn said it looked like Nathan had gotten fatter in just a few days! :-)

He's got a double chin and rolls on the back of his neck. Too cute! I'm soooo in love!!!

Since we now have two bedrooms more than we need here, we are contemplating moving into a smaller house (with a smaller note) back inside the city limits of Florence. I, for one, have really missed living in town, closer to shopping, etc. I've missed having the services in town, too, like curbside recycling and large trash pick-up (limbs, etc.).

Laikyn and I spent yesterday morning and part of the afternoon driving by some properties for sale. Even after living here nearly five years, we still don't know all the different neighborhoods. We have appointments to see two properties tomorrow. Here's one of them:

Here's one that I am most eager to see later in the week.

The street that this one is on has another house for sale that we will also see tomorrow. The street is a cute, quiet cul-de-sac that is very wooded. That means lots of birds, which is right up my alley!

Please remember us in your prayers if you think about it and the Lord leads you to. We pray that everything falls into place --- for us to sell our home, find something else in the right place, at the right price and right size.

Dedication Gown

2008-08-30T15:09:00.012-05:00

What does this:

Plus this:

Plus a good portion of this:

Equal?

In this case, it equals this:

This was the first time I tried my hand at lace shaping.

Here's what the yoke looked like after I'd shaped the lace

and sprayed it well with spray starch.

This was also the first time I'd used a pattern out of Sew Beautiful magazine. I have to say that I was less than impressed. None of these laces and entredeux are cheap and the pattern underestimated nearly every item on the list. I had to go back and buy more fabric, more entredeux (both ones called for). I also thought the directions were lacking. Even though I am an experienced seamtress, this was the first heirloom project I've done. I chose this ones from the ones that Kimberly listed as her favorites because it said it was for beginners. There were several things I did wrong because the directions were not clear (or perhaps because there weren't enough diagrams). I realized after I had finished the steps, Oh, I actually was supposed to do this.

I couldn't find any ivory-colored Swiss embroidery insertion, so I made some myself using a decorative stitch on my machine.

The only thing left to do is the buttonholes and buttons.

Things I've Never Done

2008-08-30T09:41:00.002-05:00

Niki, over at Pumpkin Country, posted this list on her blog today. I thought it would be fun to join in.

10 Things I've Never Done:
1. Traveled in an airplane (will if I have to, but it's not something I desire to do; I like to see what I'm traveling by)
**2. Had a son (unless the one miscarriage I had was a boy)
3. Been able to whistle
4. Been snow skiing (tried to water ski, but that was a disaster)
5. Been able to roller skate
6. eaten raw fish, nor do I care to
**7. traveled out of the United States
8. sang in public; I have spoken and acted in public, though
9. been able to appreciate snakes (at least I don't scream and run when I see them anymore, though)
**10. knitted

The ones with ** next to them are things that I would like to do one day.

Surfin' Saturday: Biscotti

2008-08-30T08:56:00.007-05:00

I tried my hand at making biscotti yesterday. It was really pretty easy. I got the recipe from Giada de Laurentiis on Everyday Italian. Here's the link to the recipe. These are delicious with the almonds and lemon zest in them. Two of my favorite things are lemon flavor and almonds!

Here's a little interesting information on biscotti from Wikipedia:

The word "biscotti" in Italian is the plural form of biscotto, which applies to any type of biscuit, and originates from the medieval Latin word biscoctus, meaning "twice-baked": it defined biscuits baked twice in the oven, so they could be stored for long periods of time, which was particularly useful during journeys and wars. Through Middle French, the word was imported into the English language as "biscuit".

If you want to read more of the article, click here.

I already knew it meant "twice-baked" because Giada shared that little tidbit on her show. I like how she shares stuff like that and things like why dishes are made certain ways, why particular ingredients are added, cultural information on Italy. She is my favorite cooking personality. Why? Because when you watch Giada, you know she really loves what's she making. You know she really loves food period!!

The Many Faces of Laikyn

2008-08-20T20:00:00.014-05:00

I've been using Laikyn's camera lately and when downloading some recent pics, I found these funny ones she took of herself a few months ago.

Laikyn is our "baby." She will be 18 in a few months. She recently received the study-at-home materials to get certified to be a Personal Fitness Trainer. She will graduate in December of this year from high school.

One of the coolest things I love about Laikyn is that she's always wanted the "costume" for everything. She wanted (and I made her) a Pocahontas outfit when she was little. She also had a Little House on the Prairie dress and bonnet. She had the whole camouflage Army outfit at one point, too (complete with BB gun).

When her study materials came in this week for Personal Fitness Trainer, she was looking through the material and said, "Ooh, I want a t-shirt!" I just had to laugh. She said, "What?!" I said, "You've always had to have the costume to go with whatever you're doing. I think it's so cool and so funny!"

Laikyn's favorite things:

track and field
Celine Dion
fitness
pink
cars (she can tell you what make and model a car on the road is)
cute guys
Giada de Laurentiis
movies
pasta (or food in general; she's always hungry)
malls
Nathan (she said he's toward the bottom of the list only because he's so new that she didn't think about him at first!)
the Summer Olympics

Another Bulletin Board Project

2008-08-20T19:38:00.005-05:00

I liked the bulletin board in our kitchen so well, I decided to do other bulletin boards in the house. I have paper for three of them, but I've only completed one so far. ;-)

I did the one in my office over my desk with the MOST gorgeous paper from Hobby Lobby.

(click on the picture to make it larger)

When I shopped for the paper, I looked and looked through all the bins waiting for "the one" to jump out at me. When I saw this one, I *knew* it was it!! I wish that there was fabric like this. I'd have to make a bag or something from it!

Progress This Month

2008-08-19T20:49:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was the day to weigh in and take measurements after another month has gone by. (Where does the time go???)

The results weren't as dramatic as last month's, inches-wise anyway. I only lost 1.25". Even though I say "only," I'll still take it! It's better than nothing. I did lose another 3 pounds this month, though. That's a total of 7# in two months. The total inches lost in two months is 8.5!! I have noticed an increase in muscle tone, especially in my legs (quads).

I also achieved the first level of FitLinxx points at the YMCA. At 15,000 points, you earn a water bottle with the YMCA logo on it. Now, I'm working towards the 30,000 mark and a workout towel. It's something fun to see the progress and count the points.

He's Arrived!!

2008-08-17T10:16:00.003-05:00

Nathan Flynn Broyles has arrived! At his parents request, I won't be posting any pics of his face on my blog. Mom and baby are doing well. They came home from the hospital yesterday.

I cannot explain how I feel about this child. It is totally different than the emotions I experienced with my daughters' births. For example, when he cries, I think it is the most amazing sound. When my daughters cried, I stressed out, wondering what was wrong with them. Is it just maturity and having gone through it already and knowing that all will be well in the end? Or is it that I'm not responsible for him that makes me enjoy his cries?

Another neat thing about his being here is that now not only do my daughter and I relate mother-to-daughter but also mother-to-mother. Having Nathan has done exactly what having Kimberly did in our lives --- it has changed them. Nothing will change your life like having a child (except maybe having a grandchild!)

Decided

2008-08-07T20:40:00.002-05:00

I decided that I am moving back to Blogger. I also decided that I'm not transferring all my posts from Typepad to here. I seriously doubt that anyone will be looking for my old ramblings anyway. :-)

Little Home Improvement Project

2008-08-07T20:34:00.004-05:00

This month has been a SUPER CLEANING month, which means we deep clean in each room. (Maybe it should be called DEEP CLEANING month??) This week, the upstairs room that got a deep cleaning was the library. Sorry, I don't have any before and after pics. :-( You'll just have to take my word for it that I weeded out a lot of stuff (this is our last year of homeschooling, after all) and made what was left more organized. The only things that are still hanging around in the room that don't belong here are the boxes and baskets I have set aside for our book sale on Tuesday hosted by our cover school.

Whew! I said all that to say that I had my hubby take down a HUGE bulletin board from the library and put it up in the kitchen in place of the small one that was in there. Here's what it looked like after he hung it in the kitchen:

The one with all the papers on it is the small one that was hanging in that spot.
Yesterday, I picked up 12 sheets of pretty 12x12 scrapbooking paper from Hobby Lobby. I removed the "schoolish" border and yellow paper and put up the pretty paper this morning. Here's the board in its plain state.

Here it is with our important papers on it --- gift wish lists, cleaning schedule, voter registration forms (Laikyn votes this year!!), calendar, and honey do list.

I'm saving all that room at the top for Grandbaby Art. Do you think I'm thinking ahead or what???

Trying to Decide...

2008-08-07T08:28:00.003-05:00

...if I should come back here to blogger after all Typepad's recent "improvements" that have made posting a pain.

So, I guess this is a test post.

Let's try uploading a photo.

Pretty easy and it even let me automatically select if I wanted to center this photo (one of my mom and Kimberly one Christmas with "Betsy"), which is something that Typepad doesn't do --- and I can never seem to remember what the html code is for centering an image!!

I just played around with changing the font type and the size. Also pretty easy compared to the "improvement" Typepad recently made, which would somehow decide to only change a paragraph even though I had selected ALL THE TEXT in a post.

Let's see, what else do I need to check?? Here's a link to my Typepad blog: http://livinglovingandlearning.typepad.com/. That was ALSO easier than the new way Typepad has it --- you have to type text and then highlight it and then click to insert a link. Okay, sometime that works, but what if I just want to insert a link in it's entirety? Do I really have to type or copy and paste the entire link, highlight it, then type or copy and paste it again? Who needs that?

Okay, I'm seeing that blogger has more pros right now than Typepad. The only thing I need to check now is the layouts.

One negative I see is that there is no place to just click on a category for the post. Perhaps there's something in my account settings I can turn on. I'll have to check that, too.

I've Moved

2006-11-22T00:02:00.000-06:00

Check out my new blog over at:
http://www.livinglovingandlearning.typepad.com
(Sorry I can't figure out how to make this turn into a link. One more reason to leave blogger. You'll have to copy and paste it. I put it on a line all by itself to make it easier for you! Also, if you click on the title of this post "I've Moved" it will take you to my new blog.)
Hope to see YOU there.

All the Shelley Michels

2006-10-30T21:18:00.000-06:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
6
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Sweet 16

2006-10-13T09:23:00.005-05:00

NOTE: This post was originally written on October 12, 2006. I found it in my list of drafts here on Blogger, so I thought I would publish it. My baby is now about to turn 18 in just a few months!!

Today, my baby turned 16! Where did the time go? I can hardly believe that’s she really 16 years old.

Michael and I gave her a suit for her birthday, but she had to pick it out. So today, we went shopping along with the Woodis gals. Laikyn hobbled along and we drove to each store at the mall to help her stay off her feet as much as possible. You see, a horse kicked her several days ago in both knees. We had her go online last night to do some preliminary shopping to decide which stores to go to. She finally found something she liked at the last store we went to - Kohl’s.

We went to Wal-Mart to get a birthday cake and they just happened to have one with a plastic decoration on it that said “Sweet 16.” It was so pretty and they added her name in a pretty pale pink color.

She wanted to go to Olive Garden for supper and it was absolutely wonderful there. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal and we all had leftovers to bring home. That was our first visit to our new Olive Garden which opened in July.

After supper, we all came to our house and watched Annapolis. Halfway through the movie, we stopped and had the cake and some punch. The Woodis daughters spent the night with the girls. Even though everyone could tell Laikyn wasn’t feeling her best because of her knees, we all still had a good time together. As we were all sitting around the table at Olive Garden, I couldn’t help thinking how blessed we are to have the Woodis Bunch in our lives. We were like one big family sitting around the table enjoying the good food and each other’s company, celebrating the beginning of Laikyn’s 17th year. Amazing!

Learning Transcribing

2006-10-03T09:13:00.000-05:00

I have recently started taking a transcriber class. I listened to the first class call last night. I have some homework to do, which will include practicing transcribing a previous call and brushing up on grammar. Even though I just listened to the call last night, it actually took place last Thursday and I did some practice transcribing last week. At first it was a little overwhelming, but I practiced again last night after listening to the call and it was a little more comfortable. The company offering the class is owned by an acquaintance of ours who lives just north of us in Tennessee. She owns Internet Transcribers (I.T.), which is the company I will be trying to get a job with after I finish the class in 3 weeks. I will be able to work here at home and bring in extra money. The class instructor works for I.T. and is a homeschooling mother like me. As an example, last week she took four transcribing jobs over a four-day period and earned about $250, while running her household and teaching her children and all the responsibilities that go with that. In other words, she was able to do all the normal stuff of her life and still bring in $250 over a four-day period. Previously she was managing I.T. until it became a full time job because of the company’s growth. She couldn’t do that and still be a homeschooling mom, so she went back to transcribing only. Transcribers who work for I.T. are able to decide how much or how little they want to work. I also have the option of working on my own and getting my own clients, but I want to start off working for I.T. Then if I decide to branch out on my own later, I can. I think it is something I will enjoy doing, and the neat part about transcribing for I.T. is that the majority of what gets transcribed is audio from business seminars, so you are learning business without having to pay to go to the seminars—you actually get paid for listening and transcribing! I.T. just recently lost one of their transcribers because she learned so much from listening to the business tapes, she’s opened her own internet business.

Monday is Errand Day

2006-10-02T09:04:00.000-05:00

Today is errand day. I think L has decided to stay home, though, so it will just be K & me doing the shopping and errands. I’ve done my calisthenics this morning already, but haven’t ridden the bike yet. We usually leave about 10 and it’s 9 now. I guess I should get on the bike and start! I usually go right from the calisthenics to the bike, but this morning I ate in between and while I was eating, I decided to check my e-mail and blogs, and.....

I guess I could be worse things, huh?

2006-09-13T17:52:00.000-05:00

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Dishcloth Cotton.You are a very hard worker, most at home when you're at home. You are thrifty and seemingly born to clean. You are considered to be a Plain Jane, but you are too practical to notice.
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Where I've Been in the Good Ol' US of A!

2006-09-07T09:27:00.001-05:00

Oops! See the next post instead for my map!

Where I've Been in the Good Ol' US of A!

2006-09-07T09:27:00.000-05:00

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

What Kind of Cookie I Am

2006-08-23T17:19:00.000-05:00

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting.

You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

God's Extravagant Provision

2004-09-03T08:57:00.000-05:00

I had a revelation last night after an early evening swim. The house we are renting has an in-ground pool in the backyard. I don’t know how common it is to be able to rent a house with a pool, but I don’t believe I ever thought it would really happen that we would rent one. It’s been a blessing in our lives, and I’ve even seen the hand of God in it because our daughter’s chiropractor recommended swimming for her muscle-related scoliosis after we moved in. When we came to North Alabama back in November 2003 to look for a house to rent, the pickings were pretty slim. We looked around for one day in the Huntsville area first, but we all agreed we didn’t want to live there so we came back to our first goal—the Shoals area. We looked at a few other houses besides this one, but really none of them were adequate—too small, too junky, questionable neighbors. There really wasn’t a whole bunch available in our price range and in our time frame. Even this one was more than we wanted to pay, but it being the only real option, we took it. It was just icing on the cake that it has a pool, which is something our family has always desired and dreamed of. My revelation last night was this—if there had been a cheaper place that was an option to us without a pool, guess what we would have chosen? That’s right, the cheaper place without the pool. God is SO good! We would have missed out on an awesome blessing from Him if there had been other options for us. Not only has the pool been a blessing, but the park practically next door, our elderly neighbors who just happen to know all the homemaking skills we want to learn, being five minutes from anything we could need (even a mall!); the list goes on and on.

I am glad that God arranged circumstances so that we ended up here, but it’s sad to me that we have to be “forced” to receive His blessings sometimes. It is disappointing to me that so many of our decisions are based on financial concerns and not necessarily what the Spirit would lead us to.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about all the times through the years of married life that we have needed to purchase something that we felt that we just could not afford. It used to be basic things—like shoes for our daughter, clothing, etc. But it has also been things that aren’t really necessities (the Bible says those are only food and clothing). I can feel so guilty, so un-frugal when I buy something--anything--it’s really ridiculous. My daughters and I recently went to the mall and shopped the sales racks. There was a cute pants suit for $25, and I thought that was too much. It had embroidery on it and was made of linen. Always in my mind is the thought, “We can’t afford that.” But as I’ve pondered this lately, I’ve realized that all those things we have needed (or wanted) that we thought we couldn’t afford and have gone ahead and purchased anyway—well, not one of those things has made us go broke, left us without money to buy food, brought down the fiery wrath from heaven, etc. We’ve always been provided for, we’ve always had what we needed for each day.

Skills and Maturity

2004-08-10T10:14:00.000-05:00

My almost 17-year-old daughter has been working the last few days on a purse for herself. The purse looks like a bustier. (While I have wondered if this is a good choice for her, I consider it best that she has a purse like one than to wear one as clothing!) In pursuit of this project, she has worked on her own. She asked me when cutting it out about how many layers each piece needed. Because she was looking for it on the pattern instruction sheet, she didn’t see the amount on the pattern pieces. Night before last she came to me and said, “I have a problem with something on the purse.” It was the end of the day and my mind had had all it could for one day, so I told her it would have to wait. (I’ve learned the wisdom in putting things off when I’m tired because I know working on something when tired only leads to more problems, not solutions.) Yesterday after a long day of errands, I asked her about the problem. She said she did the strap like the pattern instructed—made a tube to be turned right side out after completion—but when she tried to turn it right side out using their method, the material raveled. I told her my method of making things like that which doesn’t involve having to turn it right side out. Her response was, “I’d already thought of that, and that was my plan when I work on it again.”
For Mother’s Day this same daughter worked secretively with her younger (almost 14-year-old) sister on a gift for me. They found a piece of material I had in my stash that had a teddy bear pattern printed on it. I have an unfinished one in my project bucket. These are NOT easy things to sew. But they did it and did a beautiful job on it, too. They did it all without any help from me or their dad.
In the past, I have had the idea that my daughters should know all the skills of a homemaker at a young age. I have had my eye on a book called “Training Our Daughters to be Keepers at Home” for many years now, but the cost was prohibitive so I haven’t purchased it—not because I didn’t think the book was worth it, but because I thought I wouldn’t get my money’s worth out of it because my daughters are getting older. In my mind, they should have learned these things earlier. Through the two independent sewing projects mentioned above, God has shown me that I have been wrong.
Yes, other children have learned skills like this at young ages. I commend them and their mothers. But, is it right for me to expect the same from me and my children? Don’t get me wrong—I have worked on some sewing type projects with my daughters before. They have had some experience in this area, but now I am seeing the wisdom in waiting for maturity (and interest) to come. When maturity is there, the skills come more easily. I have had to help very little on this latest project. There has been no frustration on my part because she doesn’t understand what I’m trying to show her. There has been no frustration on her part because I’m forcing her to do something before she’s ready.
This is not only true in sewing, but in academic areas as well. My oldest daughter--the same one who has been working on the purse--HATES math. This is my fault. I gave in to pressure to have her learn things before she was ready to. I pressured her to learn them too soon, before the maturity was there. I almost visibly saw the light go off in her head one day when she finally “got math.” By then, though, the damage was already done in her relationship to this subject. John Taylor Gatto says, “The truth is that reading, writing, and arithmetic only take about 100 hours to transmit as long as the audience is eager and willing to learn. The trick is to wait until someone asks and then move fast while the mood is on.” This is staggering! Our children go to school for twelve years learning things that are only supposed to take 100 hours. Okay, add some extra hours in for science, history, etc. Still, the time doesn’t come close to twelve years. Of course, my goal is for my children to learn for a lifetime, but here I am speaking of the basics in education. If we will but wait until the child’s maturity is there, how much more enjoyable and meaningful learning will be to them (and to us).
The maturity comes at different ages for everyone. Just because the youngest a child has ever learned a skill is X years old doesn’t mean my child will learn it at that same age. We are all individuals, are we not? But this mentality starts when our children are first born. We read the baby books and their charts which say baby should turn over by this month, crawl by this month, walk by this month, etc. What if baby doesn’t? Even if we are at peace with baby’s timetable, there is always someone else who will say, “Oh my, shouldn’t baby be walking by now, potty trained by now...” Our lives and the lives of our children will be so much more peaceful if we will learn to shut those voices out.
I once read that Sir Isaac Newton did not excel academically until the age of 17. No one would argue against the fact that this was a brilliant scientist. But if he lived in our day, he would have been labeled “learning disabled” or some such non-sense. If he had been so labeled, would he have had the confidence to excel even at 17? Would he have just given up on learning altogether? How many children today are labeled something or other when they are really just “late bloomers”? Of course, if they are in the public or private school system, then they are required to fit into that system. But what about those who are educated at home? What can parents do for their children to accommodate their personal maturity rates?
I think the first thing we must do is to seek God to renew our minds on these issues. We cannot act upon ideas we don’t possess. We need to seek the truth not only on issues we perceive as “spiritual” but things we may perceive as “worldly” as well. As Christians, we need to lose the mentality that our lives are separate compartments—the spiritual stuff over here in this slot, the worldly over here in this one. Every area of our lives should be surrendered to God. Isn’t that what it means to be a Christian in the first place? Does God have something to say on the issue of our children’s maturity and education? I believe He does. Seek Him for these truths for your particular children; search His word and even let Him lead you to other sources to renew your mind with.
Secondly, we must learn to operate in the wisdom of seasons. Sometimes we are guilty of trying to do everything all at once. This only leads to burn-out for Mom and for the children. We all need time to digest the things we are learning. We may have a season of intense learning or activity, but that needs to be balanced by a season of reflection and solitude if the learning season is to have its full effect. There are also seasons of interests on the parts of our children. My child may have a keen interest in a subject one year that wanes as time passes. I need to allow for this to happen. I also need to allow for an interest that doesn’t wane. If my child has a passion for something, I need to allow that to develop and grow. It won’t if I am constantly distracting her with other learning pursuits. As a Christian parent, I must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He can show me when something is out of balance—when, if ever, the other learning pursuits need to interrupt her interest. We must learn to pace ourselves in life, not trying to accomplish all that is available to us in one season. Perhaps there is something I really want my child to learn, but maybe the season is just not the right one. If I am wise, I will wait until the season is right—when the interest and maturity is there. If I am unwise, I will forge ahead and destroy any possibility of there being joy in the learning. I can even do damage to the point that when the right season does come, the joy is still not there—like I did with my older daughter and math.
This leads to my last point—we must learn to be patient in waiting for our child’s maturity to come. We must accommodate their pace. Author Cindy Rushton uses the story of Jacob meeting his brother Esau again to illustrate this. When Esau invites Jacob to journey with him, Jacob responds, “Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.” We must not lead so quickly that our children get left behind or get discouraged with themselves. We must learn to back off from unrealistic expectations. If a child feels like she cannot keep up, she will quickly get discouraged and quit trying altogether. As parents, it is our responsibility to adjust the pace according to our children’s maturity levels.
We can rest peacefully in this approach, knowing that the maturity will come. And with the maturity, will come the eagerness and ability to learn the skills we want our children to learn.

Remembering...

2004-07-28T10:13:00.000-05:00

          I remember spending so much of my childhood with my paternal grandmother. All of my memories from a young age of 3 and 4 are of being with her. She was 65 years old when I was born; I only realized that when she died at the age of nearly 93. I can remember sitting on the back doorstep from her kitchen onto her porch with a little orange bowl that was my special bowl filled with Cheetos. I have a few memories of her husband, my grandfather, who died before I turned four. I remember him peeling pecans for me to eat. I remember when my mom and him would go run crab traps in his boat, and Grandma and I would get our lawn chairs, walk up the levee across the street from their house, and wait for them to return.
          I remember sleeping with Grandma in the years following Grandpa’s death. I was always afraid she would die in her sleep. I remember staying awake just to be sure she kept breathing.
          I remember one night when I was sleeping with her and I sleep-walked into her closet and shut myself in. I woke up and couldn’t figure out where I was or how to get out. Screaming or banging on the door would do no good with Grandma because she took her hearing aid out to sleep and was deaf in the other ear. But I must have made some noise anyway, because my cousins, who were awake in the next room, heard me and came to let me out.
          I remember sneering when Grandma would go around singing hymns to herself. Now, those are some of MY favorites—“This is my story, this is my song; praising my Savior all the day long”, “What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.” I remember Grandma and I walking to church together—Immanuel Baptist, the church SHE named because she said, “If we start this church, we need God to be with us.” I remember sitting in the pew next to her during the invitation time, my heart pounding inside my chest, thinking, “What will He do with my life if I give it to Him?”
          I remember all of Grandma’s birthday parties that were really family reunions. We got to see all the cousins and aunts and uncles we didn’t get to see often, as well as those we saw all the time. We got to see all the little ones, then next year they weren’t so little any more. There was always good food—barbecue or boiled seafood—and plenty of beer to go around if you were old enough for that, Coke if you weren’t.
          I remember passing by Grandma’s coffin when she died, with my sick mother behind me. I remember laying my head on her chest and sobbing, not because I wouldn’t see her again, but because I would miss her so much until I did.
          I remember several months after my own mother’s death, seeing a vision of both her and Grandma Hattie dancing around the throne in Heaven.

Metamorphosis Metaphor

2004-06-24T21:54:00.000-05:00

Last year, my daughters discovered a unique white wooly caterpillar on our front porch. We never could identify it; the closest we came was some kind of tropical rainforest caterpillar. South Louisiana is hot, but it isn’t quite tropical rainforest. Anyway, we put it in a jar with a twig and some leaves and watched it spin its silky cocoon. A truly amazing phenomenon! This was the first time we’d ever done anything like this, so we were totally in the dark as to what processes would take place, what, if anything, it would need, what amount of time it would take, etc. We knew absolutely nothing! We watched and watched while the caterpillar stayed in the cocoon and shriveled to what appeared to be nothingness. Long weeks passed and still there were no signs of life; quite the opposite indeed—it looked positively dead. One day as we were cleaning house, I decided that was the day the experiment would be thrown out. I grabbed the jar and to my great surprise, there was a white moth! By no stretch of the imagination could I have dreamed that anything living would come from that cocoon that looked shriveled and totally incapable of holding life. With the video camera rolling, we released it from its prison jar and rejoiced at its freedom.

This caterpillar/moth made me think about the transformation we as Christians are told happens to us. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” As I said, the cocoon with the moth in it, shriveled and looked flat and dead, like nothing alive could be within. Yet, afterward, the new creation came out. I thought about how I need to become dead to self for Christ’s life to be lived through me. I need self to appear dead, shriveled, nothing in order to allow the life of Christ to come forth. Now, the scripture states this death as a fact, as something that has already happened. Romans 6:3-9 says, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with (rendered inoperative), that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.” I think the problem comes when I don’t reckon it as something already done. Just as I had to acknowledge the fact that Jesus died to saved me before His salvation became a reality in my life, I have to acknowledge the fact that I died with Him, was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with. In Back to the Cross, Watchman Nee writes, “From these verses (and others could be cited), we gather that in God’s eyes, believers were crucified with Christ. We may not know this fact, and so we try to crucify ourselves. Daily we try, but daily we fail to be crucified, not knowing that we are already dead in Christ. What we need to do is not to crucify ourselves but rather to use faith to draw upon His death, reckoning His death as our death…This reckoning is the work of faith and not a looking at ourselves as dead, for this we could not do. We may look from dawn to dusk, but are we able to see ourselves as really dead? The more we look, the more alive we are: how we are prone to sin, we even love to sin. Only by ‘reckoning’ in faith that we are dead in Christ—that His death is our death—do we come to the experience of co-death with Christ.” He goes on to say, “Whatever God has done is perfect and complete. His way with mankind is to accomplish all the works for men and ask them to draw upon all of His work with faith, without resorting to any human method. For He now treats men with grace, and therefore it does not require men’s work (Romans 4:4 “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace by as debt.”).”

Renewing the Mind

2004-06-23T16:10:00.000-05:00

For the past three years, I have been undergoing a renewing of my thoughts on what true education is. I get so excited to learn about it, that I can never get enough. Even though I may have read some things over and over again and say, "Yes, I know that truth", I still love reading it again, letting it sink into my soul and take root. I have been greatly influenced by the writings of Marilyn Howshall, Cindy Rushton, John Taylor Gatto, and Chris & Ellyn Davis. (Links to their websites are off to the left of this page.) If you've read their writings, you may hear their voices in what I have to say.

James 3:13-16 says, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven, but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." Isn't this what "school" is about--competition to have the best grade, selfish ambition to advance yourself. James 3:17 says, "BUT the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." Does this describe any school we know of today? Are the children pure (morally clean)? Are they peace-loving? Are they considerate? Are they submissive (to their parents, to those in authority over them)? Are they full of mercy and good fruit? Are they impartial (not favoring one person or group over another) and sincere (without deceit or dishonesty)?

Please understand that when I speak of these things it is not my intention to downgrade the people involved in the system. It is not the people, it is the system that breeds this. You'll see the reason it does below.

Colossians 2:2-3 says, "My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Think about that last part. It says that in Christ all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. If this is true (& I do believe it is because Jesus said in John 17:17, "Your word is truth."), how can a system that denies Christ give knowledge when that treasure is hidden in Him? It's impossible. God says that there is a way that seems right to a person, but the end of it is death. (Proverbs 14:12) It may have seemed perfectly right and normal to us when we were all part of the system of public schooling, but the end of it is death to true learning. True learning has something beyond test-taking and grade-making for its goal. It is meant to lead us to our God, to His destiny for our lives. I thought I was being educated when I was in school. I found out later, though, that it didn't prepare me for the real world; it certainly didn't give me a vision for what God wanted to do in my life, what HE wanted me to be (a wife and mother), quite the opposite actually. I thought I was being educated, but I was really being schooled. They are not the same thing. The goal of "schooling" is to conform students to the world's image. God's goal is to conform us to the image of Christ, which brings us full circle back to where all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.