Misc ramblings.....

My temporary, seasonal job has been extended indefinitely. That's good news for our budget. It's bad news for my sanity and health. I am exhausted! It's only a 20 or so hour per week job, but I still have all of my home duties. I'm still the carpool mom. I'm still the chief cook and bottle washer. My family has been amazing. When I work an all day shift, hubby will cook and the kids will do the dishes. I appreciate that. They just don't do other tasks like: laundry, grooming dogs, dusting, sweeping, clipping coupons, grocery shopping, ironing etc. When I work the evening shift, I clean all day and prepare dinner ahead of time. My family just needs to reheat.

I need a nap.

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I went to Target yesterday, and I left with these items and spent $1.06!

How? oh so easy. There was a coupon, in the paper, for $5 off of any two frozen snack items. I found Taquitos and green bean fries on sale. I had a coupon for $1 off of a purchase of $1 or more of fruits. I also had one for $1 off veggies. I had a coupon for $1 off of 1 Morningstar item. I had a Target cpn for $1 off of Barilla pasta as well as a manufacturer cpn. {stacked them} I also had a store refund card in the amount of $7.37. So, I saved $18.98! My kiddos were pretty happy about the frozen foods, they don't get them very often.

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This is the kale that I have been roasting into kale chips. You have to be very careful not to over cook them. They won't taste very good if they are brown. You want them to remain green, but with just a slight crunch.

I also am behind in my daily devotions. I barely have time to read the cooking directions on a box of dry pasta. I'm still looking for a new home church. I really need that fellowship time. I miss weekly Bible study groups. I miss ladies' retreat weekends.

I'm going to have to re prioritize. I need to find a way to take care of myself before I "crash and burn." I find myself still doing chores at 10:00 PM. And to top it off, I seem to have a touch of insomnia! Oh geez.

I did it!!!

I started out 2011 with the goal of reading the Bible in a year. I have studied books of the Bible, in a small group, and have studied Bible stories during church and independent study. I have tried before to complete this task, but life sometimes gets in the way and I fall behind. It's a real commitment, to say that you are going to read the Bible every day. I will be the first to admit that I don't remember or have time for daily devotions.

I have an hour left in 2011, and I just read the final book, Revelation!

I'm so proud of me.

Happy New Year!

Year end wrap up

All year, I've kept running totals of the debt that we were trying to eliminate. This is located in my side bar. I've also logged our savings goals.

Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to reach our 2011 goals. I was pretty bummed over this. I had this amazing scenario planned, where we would wake up, on Jan 1, 2012 and have no debt beyond our mortgage. {happiness, merriment, confetti...}

We have had A LOT of unplanned expenses. Auto repairs, vet bills, careless spending, home repairs etc. We are most likely going to be about $2000 short of the projected goal. {if only the trees didn't need work....}

I want to throw a tantrum. I won't.

I will pull up my big girl panties and move on.

We will plan a new budget for the new year. We will rejoice in all that we have accomplished.

God is good. We are blessed.

talking about God

This weekend, I spoke with an acquaintance of mine. She had recently interviewed for a job that she really wanted. I was caught up in her excitement and told her that I would add her to my prayer list. She was quite pleased that I would do that for her. I don't know her well enough to know if she's a Christian, I just felt like telling her I would pray for her. It's nice to have someone be open to me lifting her up to our great Lord.

I have had someone become quite agitated that I would suggest such a thing. That person was Wiccan. She did not believe that any Gods existed and was offended that I would offer to add her to my prayer list. She was someone very close to me and going through rough times. When a hospital chaplain left her room and said "may God bless you", she was angry and responded with "my goddess bless you". I think that was her way of saying F*** you to him. She was pleased with her remark and said something to the effect of, that will teach him.

Yikes, with a response like that, from someone close to me, it's no wonder I was nervous about offering to add my coworker to my prayer list. Luckily, it turned out well. I don't think I have the heart of someone that could witness to others. Rejection is hard. How does He handle that? ☺

Want to know what is really cool?

When your kids, and some of their friends, post Bible versus on their Facebook pages a few times per week.

That's really cool!

The "end times"

I just finished my devotional reading for the day. I am still using my "read the Bible in a year" reading plan. This puts me in Isaiah right now. In my study guide, the author talks about the end times. This got me thinking. The end times were supposed to be on May 21st this year. That didn't happen. Now it's actually going to be 2012. (you know, because you can predict this sort of thing...ha ha)

So, after reading about the end times, what was my first thought? I hope He gives me enough time to grab my scrapbooks and the pictures off of the wall. I don't want to leave without those! ha ha ha

It's not like it's a flood coming and you can save your priceless treasures. Oh my goodness. I just had to laugh at myself over that one. I am such a mom sometimes.

But seriously, do you think He will let me at least take the scrapbooks?

Reading the Bible in a year

I am currently following the read the Bible in a year program. I have studied each book individually, but can't remember ever
reading the entire Bible in order.

Does it make me a bad Christian to say that the New Testament makes me sad? Does admitting that I have skipped verses, due to the violent content, make me a bad person?

Can I still say that I followed the entire reading plan, if I have skipped a few verses?

I hope so.

I can hardly wait to get to the New Testament.

Old Testament is a bit depressing

Since starting the one year Bible reading plan I've rediscovered how sad and depressing the Old Testament was. So much anger and violence. So much death. I feel really sad after each daily reading.

Come on New Testament! I can't wait for the good news and rejoicing!

New Years goals

So many people are talking today about their New Years resolutions. I don't like to say resolutions. How long do resolutions last anyway?

I make goals. I seem to keep up with my goals. {somewhat}

I am keeping track of some of my goals on my side bar. I have my financial and some personal goals.

For financial goals, I really hope to pay off student loans this next year. I am going to look for a part time job to assist this goal! I really want them to go away. Badly! Next year, we will attack the mortgage.

For personal, I hope to get in even better shape than I am now. I lost 18 pounds recently, and hope to lose 5 more. I also want to run a 5K or 10K. I walked my last 10K. It felt great, but I want to at least run a 5K!

Spiritually, I aim to read the entire Bible this year. My church is emailing us the daily scriptures to read. Having someone there to remind me should help keep me on track. {I've tried this before, but life got in the way and then I was so far behind that I gave up} I also plan to spend 20 minutes per day on my devotionals. I want to really strengthen my daily walk with the Lord.

I wish for everyone a very happy new year!

God's Promise

What a great way to start my day!