I have been attempting to use more natural products. I made diluted mix of vinegar and tea tree oil to clean the house and I add lavender essential oil to mellow out the tee tree smell.

I love Doctor Bronner's lavender scented castile 18-1 uses soap. I love the fresh scent and the natural ingredients. I use it as shampoo and body wash. I follow it with a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse.

 I also like Doctor Woods Shea Vision Black soap for my face. It has lessened my break outs and the smell is fresh. 

I tried...

It works. The bottle says 24 hours but with all the working out I do and this Florida humidity it wears off for me around dinner time about ten hours.

Getting Out of My Rut.

Summer is flying by so fast. The children go back to school in a month. I need to get my but in gear. I have not hit the treadmill or anything else since July 4th. I have been so obsessed with sewing moved working out way down on the list of things I need to do. It is right above laundry. I am still counting my points though and staying on track with my eating and getting in my good health guidelines.


I had to go to the E.R. Monday night. I was sewing. (surprise!) What I was working on got stuck in the feeding teeth and I was trying to work it free without any damage to the fabric and D.D. was talking to me and I must have put my hand in the way of the needle while the presser foot was down and the needle went right through the top of my finger nail and broke off. I had the needle poking out right below the tip and the thread sticking out of the my finger nail.It was not too painful. We were going to pull it out with pliers ourselves but thought better of it being as we were not sure if it was broken in pieces inside my finger and I needed a Tetanus shot. We arrived at the E.R. at 10:30 P.M. and left at 4:45 A.M. I was not surprised at how long I was there. I was surprised when the Doctor gave me a pain pill instead of Novocain. His words were "why give a needle to remove a needle?" I am sure that would have been fine had I not been waiting long and my finger was swelling a bit plus scabbing over.The needle was not budging and he was pulling on it pretty hard.  Lets face it if that was all he was going to do I could have stayed home Had a little rum and Made D.H. pull it. I had to ask for demand Novocain. I am still sewing. I think I might want to open an Etsy shop.

I Am Obsessed!

There are a few things I do that totally are the most important brilliant things that everyone must love because they are so great and I love it and am amazing for doing them and letting them take over my life and interfere with my house work and all other activities and are so worth all the money I spend and room it takes up because it is as necessary as food. I have been doing some of them for years steadily (taking pictures of my dogs) and I have had many obsessions that while all consuming at the time they did not last too long, depending on who you talk too. Quilting, knitting , crocheting, workout DVDs, bread making etc. (In all of them I have mediocre ability.)   I have a new one. It is a Doozy.

Any way, I am officially minus 30 lbs thanks to Weight Watchers and exercise I feel great.I also have a tan kind of. Yoga was Great. I have not been since the kids summer vacation started but I plan on going back when the kids are back in school. I have gone to the gym a couple of times and that was cool. I think I want a membership but that might not bee in the budget. I love over night oats.

I am getting a tattoo for my birthday. Still not sure what I am thinking hibiscus and roses.

Instead of buying tons of cloth menstrual pads I have been on a sewing kick and making a whole lot of them myself. I really am having a good time with it.I just wish I was better at it. I am going to have a sewing lesson at my local sewing store. Did I mention my new obsession?  I am behind on my laundry. I also need to clean the garage and make work space for the tile man that is coming to re-tile and put a new bath in the hall bathroom. We were supposed to paint the outside of the house this week while D.H. was on vacation. That did not happen. We slack.

Publix subs are amazing!

I Just Have To Keep Moving

I seem to have lost my momentum. My goal is to lose 2 lbs. a week to reach my goal in October. I was doing great from the end of January until April. I am still counting my points and exercising. (sort of). The push is not there. Groupon was running a special for Metabody fitness centers, 30 classes for $20. I am going to try one yoga class. I have never been inside a gym and the last exercise class I took was Jazzersize with my sister in the very early 1990's. Hopefully that will get back to working hard. I also plan working out to one of my many DVDs 4 times a week. I do not like being uncomfortable. There are many areas in my life that I want to work on and change. That is a whole mess of uncomfortable. I need to plan dinner better and put my dinner points in at the beginning of the day I think that will help me make sure I have the points for a satisfying meal.

One of the activities that I allowed myself to get distracted with to avoid working out is sewing. I have been making cloth maxi pads. I have tried a few different patterns and have ruled a few out. I need to find one that  works with my limited skills. I am not to worried since no one will see what they look like when I am wearing them. The switch to cloth pads was not for any selfless reason like saving the planet or being green. Nor was it a desire to lessen my exposure to harsh chemicals. It was not to save money, all of witch great reasons to switch. The reason I made the switch was all of a sudden at 35 years of age I was having an allergic reaction to every brand of disposable pads. And how does one save money when one is buying all sorts of fabrics and do-dads to make them.

top

bottom

folded

another blog about nothing.

Wow I have not shared on here for quite a long while. YEARS. I am either real busy or very boring. Lets face it I really did not have much going on. I think I am going to start fresh. This is a new blog more like a semi public journal that has the potential to get read by someone but has no purpose or value for anyone not even me. It might even  be another two years before I write an entry. I am going to make a short list of things I want to write about stuff I am into for now.

Menstrual cups
Cloth Menstrual pads
Weight Watchers
Jogging for beginners
recipes
natural hair care
Food, recipes, restaurants,
Health and fitness

Food Temptation UHG!!

Every time I open my cabinet to get a dish out I am staring down the barrel of a bag of crinkle cut potato chips. They are left over from the diet break my DH took this weekend. It was quite a break. DH went to Orlando on Saturday with a few friends, a good time was had by all. If I go to Orlando, or anywhere for that matter I would definitely not be counting calories. I am Happy he enjoyed himself (only a tiny bit jealous). The problem I am having right now is that last night was the WWE Royal Rumble and he and his friends had some chips and dip. There are some left. So while I was making my tuna salad with fat free sour cream I noticed the chips. OUCH. If I could have just one I would, But I can not.

My meal plan for the week

lemon chicken pasta toss w/ baby spinach

vegetable bean burgers

pork loin

garlic lime chicken with olives with greek potatoes

steak chili (prob. over pasta)

The picture above is the lemon chicken pasta toss. It was very easy and quick, very low in calories and fat. I liked it but next time I might add some hot peppers or wasabi to give it a kick.I am not sure how I am going to do that loin. I think I might do it pulled with BBQ sauce. we will see. I took it out of the freezer yesterday and it is still frozen solid.






I forgot to mention DH and I are tracking our diet and exercise on livestrong.com. It has lots of things to help you keep track of food, fitness and goals. There is also diabetic resources and support. Also if you want to quit smoking there is help for that too. wish I new about it in November

Happy New Year ! Yes I Know it is a Month in.

I hope everyone has a happy and blessed New Year. I hope every one had a joyful Christmas too. We had a quiet day together enjoying my husbands lasagna. My children were happy with there gifts and treats, probably because daddy did most of the shopping. Although my husband enjoyed all the gifts I gave him.(even the slippers). The first year in ten that there was not a clunker, and there have been some doozies, the butter bell comes to mind as a big one. I always felt so bad for him because I love everything he picks for me. This year it was a cook book. "The Take-out Menu Cookbook" that was my favorite. I love it! More importantly my family loves what I am putting in front of them. The biggest hit so far is the goulash. My goal is to try and make one from each nationality each month. I am so great full I do not have a picky family.

DH and I quit smoking the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It was not pretty. Fast forward to the end of January we are still not smoking but I have gained 20 lbs. I have to say it was really painful to quit this time. I think I might have gone into a depression for a while, I am only now starting to feel normal again. It probably had more to do with the junk food I was putting into my body. We ate out so much in December and January. So now hubby and I are on the right track, counting calories and making better choices. Meal planning is important for making sure I stay on track, and I am helping keep my husband on track too(left overs= his lunch). It helps us stick to the grocery budget also. I even got off my butt and played on my Wii fit. I have a great workout game EA Sports active that really kicks you in the butt and I need to just get up and do it. DH is talking about getting the Kinect for his Xbox. That would be good for us both but I will believe it when I see it.

The great thing about all these little goals is they tie into the one huge goal we are working towards, STICK TO THE BUDGET. Not eating out so often, meal planning saves money too and we save $52.00 a week by not smoking. Our goal is to pay off our credit card dept and live within our means. Again. There was a time in the beginning of the decade we paid off the car and credit cards.That was very relaxing. We are fortunate enough that our tax return this year combined with the bonus DH gets from his job will cover it. Paying it off in one swoop would be ideal but we have a few things around here that definitely need repairing. We might pay off most of The card and use a couple grand to do that. I am leaning towards paying it off and building up the savings with all those payments we don't have to make. Being a home owner there will always be something that need fixing, isn't that what savings are for? Now if I stick to the diet though that will blow the budget out of the water. I will need a new wardrobe.

We have been very busy around here this month. we rearranged the house so now I have an actual dinning room. WooHoo I wanted this to happen since we moved in but I had to wait for it to be DH's idea. ;) We moved the futon and kids T.V. with the Wii and DS' Xbox into the office. The office was consolidated down to one desk. you know what that means? DH and I are sharing a desk. It has been about two weeks and we are still alive... I mean happily married what ever. So any way back to my dinning area. We bought curtains and some wall decorations. All picked out by me. DH picked out something too, a small television. Yeah I said it. It is like having a new home. And we did not spend oodles of money. Our next project is my bed room. If I find it under our laundry.

trying a new app on this phone. I love the internet!

the kitchen

Our kitchen is finally functional! I am enjoying cooking real food for my family. I Made a batch of chicken stock last Monday. It is so nice having the freezer space to fill with home cooked food. Yesterday I made a huge pot of Italian wedding soup and french bread rolls from scratch. I have been trying to be more frugal with our meal planning and our shopping. I am hoping to cut our grocery bill by 20% to start with. Hopefully My husband will support me as we do the shopping together. I recently purchased two books to help. Funny I know, spend money to save money.

Family Feasts for $75 a Week: A Penny-wise Mom Shares Her Recipe for Cutting Hundreds from Your Monthly Food Bill
Mary Ostyn

$3 Slow-Cooked Meals: Delicious, Low-Cost Dishes from Both Your Slow Cooker and Stove
Ellen Brown

Both have tips on saving at the store and tons of recipes. Hopefully I will be able to utilize the books . My goal is to be a better steward of the responsibilities God has Given me.

I have so much to look forward to this month. One of my favorite holidays is this week. I love making a huge pot of corned beef and cabbage and soda bread. Also on Thursday I will be married to the most wonderful man for TEN years. The following week My mother , twin brother, his wife,her sister their three children and my husbands sister are coming down from New york for a visit. This former new yorker plans on making a huge country breakfast for them. The weekend they will be here is also the rhythm and ribs festival down town and we all love the award winning BBQ served hot and fresh. I might even try a fried twinky this year!!

I guess it is time to start facing my laundrey.

All this stuff we are doing

It has been a great year so far. We have been getting ready for the kitchen remodel that is finally under way. We bought all our appliances and got a great deal at appliance direct. My husband and I had a great romantic Valentines day.

Our kitchen was torn out yesterday so no home cooked meals this week which also means no dirty dishes!!!! I am still behind on laundry so I need a new system this one is not working. sadly I think I am going to have to pack away my sewing area... I do not sew enough to warrant taking up so much living space. My dilemma is all the fabric I have, where and how to store it or give it away.

In our plans for the kitchen is a pantry off to the side. My husband are not certain we should put it in the space planned for it move it or just not have one put in. I am super excited but worried I will regret the decision we make.

holiday

I have been baking all week!!! I made pecan-walnut balls, coconut sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, plain sugar cookies and rugelach. These treats are gifts to be given to friends neighbors and teachers.

I have been doing more knitting a crocheting. trying to teach the wee ones around here to, it seems like the blind leading the blind. I have I mentioned my lack of eye hand coordination ;). I am thinking if I start after the new year I can make wash cloths as gifts instead of cookies.

I have all the gifts for my husband wrapped, I can not wrap the kids gifts because my husband put my gifts in the same spot so in order to get to them I would spoil the surprise . The children have been rehersing for a performance at church and are looking foward singing in front of the whole church.

Things have been wonderful here and the weather is so nice and warm. Christmas break starts today!!! yay!! Have a great holiday!!!

Knowing is Half the Battle

Knowing is half the battle. Now that I know what I am dealing with I am so much happier and at peace. the enemy can not attack me in these areas any more. I have not fully overcome but I am getting there. Though I might take a wrong turn I see the spotlight in my heart pointing to what is right and good and fight my way to the right path.


Things have been going real well for the Stuart clan. My marriage is blessed and happy, my husband and I are closer than we have ever been. My children are doing well in school. There are some issues with my son who is almost a teenager and has adhd but nothing we can not work out. I am taking on a new role at church as the teacher for the stars girls group which my daughter is in so we can learn and grow together in Christ. I have Good friends. best friends even. We are getting ever closer to starting the remodel on our kitchen. I spend my days with a beautiful happy funny toddler who brings nothing but joy. I am a very happy blessed person. But deep down I am full of fear and dread. crippling fear.


I also think I figured out the root cause of what makes me unhappy and has been hindering my walk with Christ, my lack of a prayer life, and my inability to be truly close to anybody.





I have a secret... I HATE MY SELF.



I have always felt UN deserving. Not only of Gods grace and love but also not worthy of any kind of basic human consideration. To the point where I sabotage ALL of my relationships. I have acted out in the most horrible manner against my husband in the past because I wanted him to leave me. I thank God every day that my husband was too stubborn to do it. I did it with budding friendships and long standing ones too. stop calling, gossip, selfishness.





One more thing. I have always wanted to die.



I have never had the guts to try. not in a real way anyway. Even today knowing Gods love the thought pops into my head once in a while how much better off every one would be if I was gone. I even without knowing it have kept my children at arms length. I always feel like the worst mom and wife in the world and sometimes I let that show in my actions. I used to take advise from people who I knew were not coming from a good place. My childrens childhood is a blur to me I do not even remember thier first steps or words. But I do remember waking up sevral times a night for years to make sure they were still breathing and still there. My biggest fear was and is that something would happen to my children.

Fear of losing has clouded what I treasure most.


Family and friends have always marveled at how I do not offend easily. I myself have always thought it was a good quality to have, especially in my family ;) But how much of it is because I feel I deserve the wrong doing. Or that the offender is a better person than I, so I keep silent.





When ever a friend asks How are you doing, My response is Great, awesome never better. In truth I am. I am happy with my life. I love my family. but deep down I am always on the verge of tears or meltdown. Is it pride that keeps this all inside or maybe the fear that I am right that no one truly cares about or loves me.( I live a surface life doesn't everyone?) truth be told I would not know what to say or how to say it. My life is almost perfect.








So what do I do with this info. I know that these have been my feelings for a long time. since child hood. They have shaped every decision I have made.





I am having a hard time pin pointing what I am trying to say. I am jumping from subject to subject in an effort to purge this out of me.





I know turning to God is what I should do. It is what I want to do. But This problem is also what has been keeping me from God.

Or maybe I am just crazy.

Where Did It Go?

There are lots of new and exciting things going on here.

I am now babysitting my girlfriends 11 month old son on a full time basis. It is real nice having a baby around the house again. It is pretty nice to hand him back over to momma at the end of the day too.

I stepped on the scale the other day and it seemed off 13lbs. I checked out the bottom and it was missing 1 of 4 springs that have some sort of function not so sure what but why take chances. My husband picked up a new scale for us on Sunday when he was out and about. It is electronic with a weight loss tracker that can be set up for 4 people. I set the thing up programed all the do-dads and step on it. Well... I had lost 13 lbs. without really paying attention. I was only watching portions slightly. We did not need a new scale. I have so many little do hickeys for exercise, heart monitor, pedometer, workout bands, a gazelle, DVDs. I really need to get my butt in gear and use them.

I do many things to honour my husband but I can do more. There is one thing my husband has asked me to a few times and I mostly have told him no. It is a silly thing to not do for your husband I do not know why I do not want to do it. He takes salad to work every Wednesday and Friday. The night before he breaks out the salad spinner and goes to town, adding feta cheese or grilled chicken sometimes he even makes his own salad dressing. Why is it that I would refuse him. I guess now that I am aware of this I should offer to make his salad for him. God has been really hitting me in my stubborn head. I also switched on the Christian radio station to day and caught the end of a message about our(my) tongue and our heart. It is a message that i need to be reminded of all the time. Not to mention the In Touch devotion for today definitely stuck home. I need to really get back into The Word and chew on it, not just read a verse in passing not meditating and taking it into my heart.

My mom is coming down from N.Y. for my d.d. birthday this month it is a surprise. My baby is turning 8. I do not know where the time went. I haven't gotten any older;)

Have a Blessed week.

Looking Ahead

Now that the holidays are behind me, I find myself wondering what it is about the time between Thanksgiving and the New Year that makes me throw all the meal plans cleaning schedules and and goals for the past year out the window.

We had a wonderful holiday. The new year is off to an emotional rocky start though with one of our friends facing the possibility of losing a parent, another losing her marriage, and yet another friends child developing a serious illness. God does hear our prayers though and we all know that he will work all things for good.

I am surrounded by Rubbermaid bins containing our Christmas decorations some organized and some not, but my sink is empty :).I stopped using the dishwasher, it(I) made me lazy and gave me an excuse to let things pile up. Our washing machine was broken for the week of thanksgiving. I was caught up with the wash when I came down with yet another real bad chest cold (on Christmas) and was out of commission for a good whole week. so I fell back behind. Yes it did take me most of the month to catch up. I had allot of bedding and comforters that I put off and my dryer is kinda crapping out so I could only dry 2 loads a day.

Menu:

Monday: Creole black beans over couscous

Tuesday: Hamburger soup

Wednesday: Baked chicken pieces with potato

Thursday: Homemade pizza

Friday: Spaghetti

Saturday: Kids choice

Sunday: hubby's choice

Reading back over this blog I realize it sounds like my world (and home) are falling apart and I am miserable. let me assure you I am very happy and full of hope and peace. I only think about this stuff when I am trying to use it or write about my daily ins and outs. well I am off to hit a hot spot.

God bless and have a great weak (month year).

So Much to do

I have had a chest cold for quite a while now. This cough will not go away. I have had to miss church. I did the bear minimum around the house, plus we had a flood in the kitchen so stuff is piled all over. Today I took care of the piled up dishes. I also am going to work on the counters(my hot spot)

This is a pic of my house before it was mine. we have painted and do not have carpet. We still have that counter though, the first thing you see when you walk in the door. Also the dumping spot for everyone in my family(myself included). I struggle to keep this counter clear.

this is the same too. only it seems to be imploding. first the leak in the faucet hose, causing our cabinet floor to disintegrate. Then the hose to the ice maker burst, ruining the sheet rock behind the fridge. And a separate cabinet door falling off. And the counter that the dish washer is screwed into became so degraded from years of steam that it will not hold the screws anymore. so when I open the dishwasher the weight of the door tips it. We were already planing a remodel in the spring anyway. I only have to deal with it for a few more months.

Anyway here is my list for this week.(FIL. coming for a visit next week)

wash guest sheets

get cobwebs from ceiling

wash the walls

sweep and mop the whole house.

clean both bathrooms

clear my desk off

dust.

definitely doable!

God Bless and have a great week

So Many Changes To Enjoy

I want to thank Brenda at The Family Revised( http://familyrevised.blogspot.com/ ) for recommending flylady.net. I have already made changes in my daily schedule. My home is defiantly benefiting. Right now I am so inspired.


Something incredible happened this weekend. I found my first grey hair!!! I could not wait to call all my sisters to let them know I was on my way to being OLD like them :). I told my son I was going to name it after him because it is probably from all the worrying I do about him. He got a kick out of that.

the menu for this week
fiesta skillet spaghetti
cream of chicken vegetable soup
leftovers
weight watchers sweet and sour pork
mac and cheese

We are heading down to Lakeland this weekend for my Husbands best friends wedding. He is the best man. It will be a casual wedding but I still need to get shoes. I can not wear flip flops to a wedding even if it is casual. I hate shoe shopping. Maybe I will get a dress too, that will make me feel better about the shoes(I hope).

That is all for today. time to get flying!!
God Bless

Getting Things Done

Things that Need to get done today:
Dishes
floors
fold laundry
clean office
organize greeting cards
make a schedule that works for me

Long term goals:
Start a fitness plan
make a monthly meal plan
lose 80 lbs.
start to journal regularly


I enjoy having a clean house. I love pleasing my husband with a clean house. I love all the things that my JOB entails. So why do I have to force myself to do it. I use every distraction that comes my way to avoid doing the dishes or folding laundry. I would blog more if my desk was not so cluttered. All this eats away at my self worth. I also feel guilty that I have been given this great gift and I am wasting it. So just a few more things before I go.

We just started a new bible study in our woman's group "How to Hear from God" by Joyce Meyer. I was a little disappointed that we were doing another Joyce Meyer book, having just finished "Battle Field of the Mind". But we all took a vote and this book won. I can definitely benefit from this book.

I am still reading "The Shack" and loving it . I sent a copy to my mother in N.Y. and bought a copy for my friend at church. I also am reading "How to Keep a Spiritual Journal"By Ron Klug. I have made many starts in the past but have not kept it going. I am hoping this book will inspire me to make it a part of my daily routine and prayer time.

Great news: a 13 year old girl started hanging out with all the boys who skate in front of my house (my son included). My daughter (7) has really taken to this girl. She walks about 2 miles to get here every day after school. She is much older than my baby so I keep an eye out. My baby invited her to church with us on Wednesday and she came. She had never been to any kind of church before. She accepted Jesus. She came to church on Sunday and brought a friend on this past Wednesday. I am so happy and excited for her. My hope and prayer is that her family will see her life transformed and be encouraged by her to come to church also. I also pray she does not become discouraged by any naysayers around her.


That is enough for now. Time to get motivated. Any Ideas or suggestions on how to organize my time are welcome.

God Bless

Meal Plan

Currently ReadingThe ShackBy Youngsee related
meal plan
We made a few changes around here. we moved some furniture around to make some of our space more functional. The need to change came in response to almost having a fire in the house due to a bad outlet. God is so good if not for Him we would have lost everything.
Starting in August we stated having two meatless days a week. I decided it was the best thing to do, not only for our health but to even out the extra money we are spending on the larger amount of fresh produce we have been buying as part of our effort to eat healthy. Anna at http://ccostello.blogspot.com/ had a wonderful post on the benefits of soup , so I will be making soup a once a week meal. Last week was split pea soup. For $1.98 i bought 2 lbs. of smoked pork neck and for 2.49 2.5 lbs. of raw pork neck. Both of which I split up into 2 portions one to freeze and one to use. I made a large pot witch we all enjoyed and the children and I had left overs the next night. Counting the potential soup from the frozen meat and what we had already I spent $8.00 on four nights of dinner for my whole family(not counting the loaf of bread). The next soup I make will be a combo of chicken/turkey. I bought a pack of turkey wings for $2.00 and for $3.00 a large pack of chicken gizzards adding to the frame from the chicken we will be having tonight. I am hoping to make a huge pot.(hope there is room in my freezer).
I have been reading this blog allot lately http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/ It gave me a few ideas on reducing my wastefulness.
God has put it on my heart to be a better steward of the blessings he has given me. I need head out so......God bless.

This and That

THE KIDS:
Andrew and Hannah are doing really well in school. So far Andrew is getting mostly A's and 1 B. His teachers say he is well behaved and a pleasure to have in class.
Hannah is passing all her spelling test and getting the bonus words for extra points. Her reading level is above average too. Although she is chatty in class. (like mother like daughter).
FUN STUFF:
I am having fun using my new sewing machine. Hannah is practicing her sewing too. we are working on place mats for our tea parties. I bought 3 clothing patterns for myself and hopefully will figure out how to use them:).
AMAZING:
I have read "The Shack" all the way through once. I am reading it again pen in hand to get the full scope of how this book can help me not only relate to God in a more personal way but also to help me accept His love and grace so freely given. This is the most amazing story of Gods love and willingness to meet you where you are . If you have not read this book please do.
LOOKING FOWARD TO:
I can not wait to start my holiday baking!!!

End of Summer

We had a great summer around here. We gave Andrew a Skate board for his birthday in June. The scrapes on his legs are healing up just in time for him to start middle school. My F.I.L. came down for a visit to celebrate the fourth of July with us. We always have fun with grandpa.


We had a fun and relaxing five days in Tampa for our family vacation in August. My birthday was spent at a water park, Thia food for dinner

kids gave me a hard time about it at first, but my birthday my choice. They ended up loving it. We also went to Bush Gardens where Andrew road many roller coasters, and Hannah Fed some birds. The yingleng brewery was next to the hotel we stayed at so we took a tour of that and had some free beer. Wen we got home I spent my birthday gift $ on a new sewing machine. Replacing the 1951 singer that was given to me by my Mother In law. It is a beautiful piece but such a chore to work with that I did not enjoy sewing with it. I am enjoying the new one so much I put together a quilting square on a project I have not worked on in 2 years.


The children are back in school. I now have most of the day to myself. Time to start the de-clutter plan I have been wanting to work on.My husband and I are both on diets. He is a little grumpy, and we are both hungry. Been keeping busy catching up on the laundry picking up all the stuff that keeps getting left around the house.

Andrew is enjoying middle school so far. He is in advanced classes which makes me very proud. Hannah loves being in school and I know she will do very well this year.

Enough procrastinating! Time to get to work on this house. I love being able to be a house wife. and I love my husband for working so hard to make it possible.