Merry Christmas . . .

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday season.   We have a couple Christmas traditions I would like to share.   We go to our Christmas eve Lovefeast service at Church and now that Sprat is a Diener (someone who helps serve Lovefeast) it makes this service even more special.  I am very proud that Sprat has taken this leadership role in our Church.  The hubbs and I were Dieners when we were first married.
When I was growing up we did not have a Christmas Eve service at out Church.   We spent the evening together as a family and then opened our gifts from each other after dinner.  I have lots of fun memories rushing everyone through the evening meal so that we could open gifts.   I was always the first one up on Christmas day, usually about 4 or 5 am.  I could not sleep on Christmas Eve because I was so excited about Santa.   Christmas day, we drove up to my grandmothers and spent the day with aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I remember the dessert table especially, it was full of the most fantastic cakes, brownies, fudge, and pies.  I come from a distinguished group of phenomenal cooks and bakers.
The hubbs and I have some traditions that are unique to our family.   We have a Christmas pickle.  This is a German tradition, the ceramic pickle is the last ornament hung on Christmas Eve, there is a special gift under the tree marked "the pickle".   When the boys come down on Christmas morning the first one to find the pickle gets the extra "pickle" gift.  This is supposed to make the kids appreciate the beauty of the tree and each ornament before they dive in and start opening gifts.  
The boys have been getting Christmas ornaments each year from their grandparents and some they have made at school.   When I am decorating the tree I set those ornaments aside and they put their own ornaments on the tree.  I hope they appreciate the ornaments they have been given, my tree might be naked when they leave to make their own homes.
The hubbs likes to decorate right after Thanksgiving but he also likes to take everything down by January 1st.  I personally like to enjoy my Christmas decorations a little longer.
These are just a couple traditions we enjoy during the Christmas season.  I would love to hear about your family traditions.
Stay tuned lots will be going on in 2017, I will have a high school senior and a freshman.

Alarm Clocks. . .

During our power outage while I was at home with my sister, our alarm clock was blown up.  Grrrr!!  I really liked this alarm clock, it woke you up to ocean sounds.  Once I was home I went out to find a new clock.  Alarm clocks are not as easy to find as you would think.  Everyone uses their cell phones as their alarm clocks these days.  I prefer a real alarm clock.  I knew I was going to need one when the hubbs went to New Jersey for sales training because I do not just wake up.   I finally found one and it is really neat, it has a setting so that you can set it for two different alarm times.   Days I work I get up at 4:45 days I do not I get up around 5:50.  It is nice that I do not have to keep changing the alarm time.  The new clock also has a setting for ocean sounds and this one the alarm comes on and then gradually gets louder.  I thought that was a really cool feature.  Monday was the first time I used the alarm part and when they say it gradually gets louder, it is a lie.  This alarm went off and I had the ocean screaming in my ear.  This is going to take some work to figure all of this out.  I think once I figure it out I will love it.  It also has a projector, so that you can project the time on the ceiling, the hubbs did not like that feature he thought the glare would keep him up.  I love this feature so I have had it on since he has been gone.  I did make the mistake of having it on one time and moving the clock to the pillow while sweet Basil was on the bed and she completely freaked out.  I am not sure if it was the fact that it was on the ceiling or if it was that it was moving across the ceiling that bothered her but I have not used the projector since then.  This clock also has a radio and a USB port for charging other devices.  I thought that was pretty handy, especially since the two goobers that cut our power and phone line in November are back out here fixing the other houses they cut phone lines at that same time.  I called our phone provider and and told them how upset I was that they brought these same two goobers back out to fix what they messed up to begin with.   I am just anticipating the power outage.  I explained to the phone company that our temps are supposed to drop into the teens tonight and that I would be very upset if I lost power again due to these two inept contractors.   Fingers crossed.

Everyone is Learning. . .

I learn something new about myself every day.  The other night I learned, I am not a night person or an all night person.  I worked the night shift.  Kudos to all of you that do, it is not easy.
It probably would have helped if I had gotten a nap before my shift.
God puts amazing teaching moments in our path every day.   As I was leaving the house, Sprat said, where are you going mom.  I told him I had to work.  He replied, now?  I said yes, this is the other shift at my job.   Someone has to be there 24/7 to answer the phones.   We take calls from 102 hospitals across the state.  We help make organ donation  possible.  I feel good about what I am doing, I  feel like I am making a difference in the world.  There are so many waiting on those transplant lists and our job is to make donation happen.  I know I  jumped the topic but just a little plug for the organ donor registry.  I put the little heart on my license this year when I renewed.
I know, as parents, we all want our kids to grow up and be good people.  I hope  I am setting  a good example  for them.
The hubbs has been in New Jersey for sales training this week and the boys have really stepped up in their game here at home.  Ahhh, another teaching moment in our house.  Sprat has been driving Big T to school and bringing him home.  He has also been helping out with their evening meal time.  I hope this is bringing them closer together and I hope they see how much they need each other. They have also been taking care of Sweet B too.   Must take advantage of all the teaching moments thrown at us.
I am learning that my very sweet babies are growing up and becoming independent whether I like it or not.  Hard lessons for mom this week. 

A Little Giggle to Start the Day. .

If you read my blog or know me personally,  then you know I have goofy moments.  Here is one of my latest goofs.   I use to work in a doctors office and sometimes they saw infants and we all know the drama of changing that odorous diaper in public.  The doctor's office is no different.  This particular office had this great spray called Ozium and it had a very faint orange smell.  You could spray this after a stinky diaper episode and you would not even know a baby had been in there.  It was not strong and over powering either.  I found this spray at a local drug store and bought some for my house.  You know I have two very stinky boys.  Every time I saw this spray I would buy it.  You never know when ya might need it.  I started carrying one in my purse, they are small bottles so they fit perfectly.  The one I had picked up most recently was still in my purse, I had not used it yet.  I went in my laundry room the other day and was over taken by gym socks and stinky gym clothes.   I went to my brand new bottle of Ozium still in my purse and sprayed it in the laundry room.  I closed the door to let it do the magic.  I went back in the laundry room and it had a weird smell.  It was not the faint smell of orange it was strange and I could not put my finger on it.  I went to my purse to read the bottle, and I was shocked again.  The flavor on the bottle read, new car smell.  Yes, now my laundry room had that wonderful new car smell every woman dreams of for her laundry room.  Who knew they had more than one scent in this fabulous doctor's office spray? Who would have dreamed they would make it in new car smell?   

I have again made the point you should always read your labels, you never know what odorous spray you might come home with.  

Updates Galore. . .

My sister is doing well after her knee surgery, lots of physical therapy in her future.  Her hubby and her beautiful girls are taking very good care of her and all of the animals.  My hubby finally got his company car and is able to go out in the field.  He is getting ready to go to sales training and then he will be officially employed again.   To recap, it took him six months to get another position after being laid off.  It took me three months to get a job once I started looking.  I guess what I am trying to point out is that if you get laid off or fired or even if you just quit do not treat that as a vacation, start looking because you do not know how long it will take to find something new.  
I am still working, and in my six month probationary period.   The twelve hour shifts are very hard to get use to.  I have gained a whole new respect for those that work the twelve hour shifts, they are not easy at all.  I am getting more accustom to the shift work.  I hope they will keep me on once my probation is up.  I do think I can make a difference in this job.   Big T is getting ready to start a new instructional lacrosse league with a local University, he is really excited about it.    Sprat is glad football season is over and he is enjoying the fact that he does not have any after school activities right now.  That will change soon, he is going to try out for the high school lacrosse team.

Mom Went Away, Only For a Day. .

My sister had knee surgery the other day and I went home to try and help out.  I also just wanted to be there for my  sister.  I post about her all the time, she is my best friend, and I do not know what I would do without her. 
I shared that to explain why my very sweet hubby is having to take care of our kids by himself for a couple of days.   Bless him because he had some trouble yesterday.  He was unable to get in touch with our oldest after school.  He did not text like he is supposed to do when he is on his way home.  I was busy with what was going on with my sister and I did not realize he had not text.  He has a bad habit of forgetting  to text me some days.  The phone company was out in front of the house and they accidentally cut our phone line and that means no WiFi.   The hubbs was pretty upset because they did not even know they had done it.  They were working to install in a house down the road.  Still no word from the oldest.  The hubbs informs the phone guys of their error and they of course do the it's not my fault dance for him.  They finally see their error and attempt to fix it and cut our power.   Now he has no WiFi  and no power  and by this time the oldest has come home so you can throw two grouchy teenagers in that mix with no mom is sight.  Hey I think that could be a Christmas song.  ~~~☆☆☆On the first few hours mom was gone away, no text from the oldest.  On the second few hours mom was gone away, WiFi has failed.  On the third few hours mom was gone away, the phone is gone too.  In the next few hours mom was gone away, the power went away too.  ☆☆☆~~~  Now there is the aroma of scented candles; pine bark, cinnamon, cranberry, and maybe vanilla.
Oh my poor sweet hubby.  Two hours later all is restored and harmony is in view.  Ha ha ha ha.  Meanwhile mom is giggling  just a little, at a safe distance.   My mom says I willed that on them but, I really didn't.   Stay tuned for more Christmas fun with my clan.

Happy Thanksgiving. . . .

Just a quick post today to share how truly thankful I am for my family and friends.  We have been blessed this year by many prayers.  I am not sure we would have survived this year with out prayer and the good Lord above directing our path.  He does move mysteriously, sometimes he takes things away from us only to give us something better and make us realize that we still need Him.
Thankful and looking forward to what 2017 holds for our clan.
Stay tuned for we do not know what the future holds, but I know who holds it.
Happy Thanksgiving!!

I Can do that, I've Seen Mom do it. . .

I can do that, I have seen my Mom do it a hundred times.  This is the the thought that bounces around in my head right before something goes horribly wrong in the kitchen or anywhere really.  Case and point, I grew up watching my Mom make gravy for Sunday lunch and here come those awful words...  I can do that, I have seen Mom do it a thousand times.   Those were the words that I uttered right before my first attempt at making gravy after my sweet hubby and I were married.   Just because you have seen it done does not mean you can do it.   My first attempt at gravy was very sad and bless my dear hubby for trying to eat what I had made.  We could have spackled the walls with that concoction, it was very sad.  I just knew I could make gravy, like I said, I had seen Mom do it a thousand times at least over the years.  There is an art to making gravy though, I am proud to say that after twenty three years of marriage I have perfected that art.  My first successful gravy was, chip beef and gravy, and it was very good and it was many months after that disastrous attempt.
At my first job after the hubbs and I were married, I was always the first person at the office in the mornings.  My boss asked me, since I was the first one in, if I would start the coffee.  My reply was, sure I can, I have seen my Mom do it plenty of times.  I did not drink coffee at this point and I do not drink it often even now, so I really did not know how to make coffee.   I would not dare tell my boss no, that I could not make coffee.  That first morning for my new task was disastrous as par for the course.  They never asked me to make coffee again.
I told you all that to share another coffee catastrophe at work yesterday.   A new co-worker was asked to make coffee, actually he volunteered to make coffee.  I saw him struggling with the pot so I approached to help out.  I still do not drink much coffee and I do not make coffee at all so I really did not know how to help my co-worker.   There was water coming from everywhere and pouring out on to the counter and we could not get it to stop.  It was the blind leading the blind, but I could not just stand there and let him drown in hot water.  (no pun intended)  After almost half of the water had gushed out he realized he had not put the part that had the coffee grounds back where it belonged.  Once he did that every thing was fine.  We both laughed and he admitted that at home his wife made the coffee and I admitted I did not make coffee at all.
I guess today is a tribute to my Mom and all the things I thought I could do because I had watched her do it a million times.  This should make for some very interesting conversation over Thanksgiving.
What does your Mom do well that you thought you could do just because you watched her do it so many times?

More on Giving Money. . .

I thought this topic deserved another post.   I have written a few times about the letters that I am writing to my boys and adding a little cash in each one.  Those stacks of letters will be given to the boys when they graduate from high school.    I saw on Pinterest where someone took a pizza box and had put dollar bills of varying denominations spread around to make a fan, I thought that was a neat way to give money to a teen or young adult.  These were suggested for graduation gifts but I think they could be given for birthdays and Christmas too.  I also saw a wreath made out of dollar bills to give as a Christmas gift.  I think that would be more appropriate for a girl than a boy though.  I cannot see my boys wanting a Christmas wreath, even if it was made out of money.
Here is one for someone that likes gift cards, you could buy a cheap box of playing cards and take them out and put an assortment of gift cards in the box instead.  I may use this one for Sprat, he has asked for gift cards to a couple different places.   He does like his playing cards too.    I like the Visa gift cards I give those a lot to my nieces, that way they can use them wherever they want, they are not locked in to one store.  
Would love to know how you give your family money as a gift.  Let me know what you think.

Clever Ways to Give Money. . .

I always hated giving money to kids as gifts, this was before I had kids.  I felt like I was being lazy as the gift giver.  What I did not realize, was that sometimes kids really want money because they really do not know what they want.   My hubby and I were married for six years before we had kids so we were giving nephew and niece gifts before we knew anything about kids.
This particular year my hubby started in November telling his niece and nephew that all they were getting from him were a bag of nuts.   I took walnuts and cracked them open and took out the nut part and folded, very tightly, a dollar bill and put it inside the nut and glued it back together.  Walnuts crack very easily and equally so that you can glue them back together and you could not tell they had ever been cracked.  We did this for five nieces and nephews that year.  We gave them the nuts in a stocking with a nut cracker and an ornament.   I did put some real nuts in their stockings, I did not want to make it too easy for them.   The hubbs family was the first stop on Christmas morning and his niece and nephew were not impressed with the stocking full of nuts and neither were their parents. My hubby knew how to tell what nut had money in it and he snatched his nephew's stocking and proceeded to crack open a nut with a dollar in it.  It did not take them long to figure this one out.  We had a good laugh about it.
Sprat's first Christmas the niece and nephew got a very special present from Sprat.  I need to preface this by saying my husband's family is a little warped anyway so I do not recommend this for everyone.  You really have to have a special sense of humor to appreciate this one.  My nieces and nephew did not get this gift.  My hubby took the money we were giving and put it in a ziplock bag and tapped it inside a clean diaper, then he made chocolate pudding and slathered it over the baggie.  He then folded the diaper as if it had poo in it and we put it inside a grocery bag and tied a knot in it just like you would if you were disposing of a dirty diaper.  We then placed that in a gift bag with pretty tissue paper and all.  I know this is unbelievably gross but it was also very, very funny!!
Yes, we are that aunt and uncle and now that mom and dad.  I believe I shared how I filled the heart chocolate box with money for Valentines for the boys this past year.
If you have given money in a unique way I would love to hear about it.   Stay tuned for more Christmas ideas.

What to Give A Teenage Boy for Christmas? ?

Trying to think of gift ideas for the boys for Christmas.   I have teenage boys so, I know at their ages the gifts get more expensive.  They rarely ask for things so I have to play the mind reader game.  Three months ago we thought Christmas would be slim, yes I have my Christmas envelope, but it still looked bleak.   Today I feel like we have already  celebrated Christmas because we have been so blessed.  I know that will not fly with my boys and I would not expect it, they are still just kids. 

Now, what do teenage boys want for Christmas?  Don't  say teenage girls,  because that is not happening.   This is what I have been thinking about:  pj's (lounge pants), t-shirts, fluffy blankets for TV watching,  food gift cards, playing cards, money given in an unusual way, sweatshirts, ear buds, phone case, Google Play $$, auto accessories for Sprat, movie tickets, and concert tickets.
Can you guys come up with any different ideas?  I would love to have some feedback on this one. 
Tomorrow I will  tell you how to give money in a most unusual way.  Stay tuned.  

Feeling Accomplished. . .

I am feeling accomplished today.  It has been a long week but I feel good about myself, my job, and my family.  There were several days in these last seven weeks or so that I felt completely overwhelmed.   I am a little ashamed to admit that I also felt like giving up a couple of times too.   I felt like; what am I doing trying to go back to work after thirteen years?   I must give huge thanks to my sister, my mom and my very sweet, loving, and supportive husband.  I am very serious when I say if it were not for their support and confidence in me I would have given up on myself.   My sister reminded me that God was working in my life and that I should walk in Godficance (confidence in God) and that is what has gotten me through to this point of thankfulness.   I am also very thankful to my friends that have kept us in their prayers.   I have renewed my relationship with God on this journey and that may have been His ultimate plan.  I have really leaned on Him as well through this tumultuous time in our lives.
The hubbs is back at work with his old job and we will not be as naive as we were the last time.   There is no trust there anymore with job security for either of us.  We are saving for the kids college and paying off our house as fast as we can.  In true Dave Ramsey fashion we are also padding our emergency fund for when this happens again.   Based on our experience, I suggest you shoot for at least a six month emergency fund.   It took my hubby exactly six months to get his job back and it took me three months to find my job.   I talk an awful lot about Dave Ramsey but, we are a prime example of what can happen and that Dave's plan does work.   You do not have to trust me check it out for your self do your own research but, make a plan.  As Dave says, it will rain and you should be prepared for that rainy day.

Still Climbing

It has been a busy couple of weeks.  The boys are winding down their grading period and I am continuing training.  Twelve hour days takes some getting use to.  I am learning new things every day and I enjoy that. 
Football season is almost over and lacrosse  season is fast approaching.  Sprat is going to try his hand at lacrosse  this year and Big T is ready to get back at it.  Big T has been in an instructional league this fall with a local University team and their coaches.  Big T loves lacrosse, I hope Sprat will like it as much.   
We are adjusting to me working again and the hubbs is starting back this week too.  We are very excited and feeling very positive for our future.  We are each still learning how everything is going to fit together.  I know we are on the path that He has laid for us, so we take comfort there.
Stay tuned, when we reach some normalcy in our lives I will be posting more routinely. 

Confession Time. . . .

Ok, so I am going to confess a few things today.  I have been excited about the possibility of going back to work but I have also been terrified.  This is a completely terrifying adventure, I have been out of the workforce raising my children for the past thirteen years.   Many things have changed since I worked and I am feeling a little overwhelmed.
I have always questioned if I have made the right decisions raising my children and I guess all parents have similar questions.  Should I stay home and raise my kids?  Can we afford for me to stay home with the kids?  These are all the questions my hubby and I asked before I decided to stay home. I do not regret my decision to stay home with my kids, I feel very blessed that I was able to stay home with the boys.  I went back to work too early after Sprat was born but he went to work with me.  He stayed with me for the first eight months of his life and then he went to an in home daycare.   There are little things I regret about sending Sprat to daycare, I regret that he had to go at only eight months old and that I missed out on some of his milestones.   Both the boys went to preschool and that I do not regret, it got them used to being around other kids and learning how to follow the rules.  I also believe my kids benefited from being around other adults and learning how to get along with different people.
With all of that out I will share my biggest fear.  What if I cannot cut it with this new job?  I am a little depressed because I am not at home as much with the boys.  I want to be a good example for the boys.  I want them to know that it is ok if when they get married their wife wants to stay home after they have kids or if she wants to go back to work after having kids.   It is a personal choice for each family and no two families are alike.  There is no one answer to fit everyone.
Stay tuned as we make this transition.

Thank You. . .

Thank you, two words that are not used nearly enough in our society today.  Today I would like to thank the teachers that have had my kids.  I am thanking all of them, good and bad.  The good ones, and there have been more of those than bad, because they encouraged my kids to shoot for the stars.  They encouraged my kids at times when they were struggling and really needed a positive word from someone other than their mom and dad.  Mom and dad can only do so much in the encouraging department but when that encouragement comes from an outside source it really reinforces what mom and dad have said all along.  I also want to thank my teachers especially my favorite science teachers; Mrs Waters and Mrs. Proctor.  I know I would have never majored in biology if it were not for Mrs. Proctor.   She encouraged me and gave me confidence in my knowledge and abilities.
Ok, enough about me, both of the boys are struggling right now in different areas of their education.  I know that these struggles are shaping them but it is very hard to watch, knowing you cannot help with certain situations.
I am thankful for those bad teachers because they did teach my kids a valuable life lesson about how some people will try to keep you down and that they will face road blocks in life.  I am thankful but also disappointed in these adults that think that demeaning a child in front of their peers motivates them.   It makes me angry to find out that an "adult" (I use this term loosely) believes that they are motivating someone by putting them down and being ugly to them in front of their peers.  This is not motivation even though it has taught my son a valuable lesson.  It is teaching him what not to do as a teacher and what not to do if you want to motivate young people.  It is also teaching him that no matter how much you try to please someone, some people will never be happy with you because they are not happy with themselves.  In order to lead young people you must encourage them not bully and demean them.  In order to lead you must lift others up in front of you not push them down and behind you.
It is hard to be thankful for the bad things but those bad things make you appreciate when you find the good ones.  I am thankful for good and bad today.  I am praying for all of those facing these issues both adult and child.   Love, hugs, and prayers to you all this week.

Feeling Blessed. . .

Waiting for everything in writing from the hubbs job offer.  Feeling very positive this week.  I am enjoying a couple days off and trying to get over this nasty cold my lovable little infectoids, I mean my wonderful boys brought to me.  
I am loving my new job, I am learning something new everyday and that invigorates me and my brain.  I am in an office setting with a wonderful lady that handles the front office.   So far she has made us (the people in call center) chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and last week when it was chilly she heated up apple juice for everyone.  I had never had heated apple juice before but it sure was good and it helped my sore throat.  It was kinda like spiced cider minus the spice.  I feel very lucky to have found this position and I am praying it will all work out.  I am in a training/probationary period right now so, only time will tell.  I am enjoying my new adventure.

BIG NEWS!!!!!!

My very dear sweet hubby has his old job back with a generous raise!!  Praise the Good Lord above and a big thank you to every one that was praying for us and who have inquired about how we are doing.  We are very excited!!!  He is slated to start November 1.    I guess he will be hanging up his apron, much to my dismay.   

Stay tuned lots of new adjustments to our family with us both working.  This could be very interesting.  

We are very thankful and feel very blessed.  

The Little Things. . .

While at work one day this week my sweet hubby sent me a text.  It read, "OK, I am cooking something.  I hope it's good.  We had all the ingredients in the house."   My hubby is a very good cook I have posted that many times.  The part of this that scared me was the fact that we had all the ingredients and that he had been on the internet looking at recipes.  You remember the post about the sour kraut?  Same kinda feeling came over me.
I called the hubbs when I was on my way home and he said he had already fed the kids and that he had my food still warm and waiting.  Am not the luckiest girl in the world?   I could hear my sweet Big T in the back ground saying, "yeah, mommy it was good chicken."   I was pleasantly surprised that not only had he fixed this amazing meal but he had also cleaned up.  Again, how lucky am I?   After I had changed clothes he fixed me a plate; rice, chicken, and cornbread.   It was really good, when I get the recipe I will share it with you.   The chicken cooked in the crock-pot all day and he made a sauce out of the juices to go over the chicken when he served it.  The main ingredients, the ones that we had in the house already, were:  lemon, chicken broth, chicken, oregano, and garlic.
I do not have the specifics or where to give the credit for the recipe but I will find out and post it later.  Work is going well, still in training and learning a lot.  No news on the job front this week but, we are still hopeful.
Stay tuned for updates and maybe some recipes from the kitchen of my very sweet hubby.

What I Have Learned. . .

I worked my three twelve hour days this past week and I learned how truly hard that is.  Friday was exciting, I had a lot to do and I learned a lot too.  
One of the most important things I have learned, is that I am married to the greatest man on earth.  He has really stepped up in his stay-at-home daddy role.  My mom reminded me of this, this morning how lucky I am to have such a very dedicated husband.  He gets the boys up and fixes their breakfast and packs their lunches.  He is a trooper and I am very thankful.
The hubbs will be talking with his old boss this next week via a telephone interview.   The hubbs is also doing a telephone interview with two other companies this next week.  We are very hopeful about the week.
I get to do some travel this week to our other offices and that is exciting.
I think in these next few weeks I will better adjust to the schedule. The boys seem to be adjusting to me not being here all the time, even though I am not.  

Stay tuned, this is going to be another wild week.   

What to Eat and What to Wear????

I will be working twelve hour shifts and not able to leave our building for lunch or anything so, what should I take for lunch and snacks?   My first week I found I eat all the time, I was hungry all day.  My first twelve hour day I got to go to lunch with our CEO so I only had to pack snacks and maybe something to eat before I went home.  I have been trying to put together a list of easy to carry items to snack on but still semi healthy.  I can ill afford to gain weight at this job.  I am also having some difficulty in what I should wear and what will be comfortable.  Personally, I think pajamas would be a great idea but my manager frowned on that idea.  We are supposed to dress business casual so, I am trying to be professional but still comfortable.  So far, I have worn dress pants and a nice top and skirts and tops.  We do get to wear blue jeans on Fridays or something more casual.   I only own a couple pair of blue jeans so that will limit my casual days.  I saw something on Facebook yesterday; a girl said when she was out and about she was either really well put together or she looked like she was homeless.  That is me to a tee.  There is no in between and I kind of feel that way about casual Friday.   I am either going to look professional or I am going to look like I just got out of bed.
If you have any advice please, please comment below.   Also if you have any ideas about what to pack for lunches and snacks I would love that too.  I will be sharing more on both of these as I go through this schedule adjustment.
This is all new territory for me so stay tuned. . .

Quick Update. . .

I survived the first week.  In this next week I will be on a routine schedule for this group.  They work twelve hour shifts and this is new for me.  I worked third shift in a lab my first job right out of college.   It was not that bad and I met my sweet hubby in that job.  
My adventure began yesterday and boy was I tired.    

Funny thing happened on my first day of work after thirteen years of being a mom, my sweet hubby's old boss called him and asked him if he would come back to work for them.  Ha Ha Ha!!!  If that does not prove that the Lord works in mysterious ways I do not know what will.  God's plan all along may have been for me to get back out in the workforce.  Our plan has always been for me to go back to work once the kids were more self sufficient, I just did not think they were quite self sufficient enough just yet.  I was thinking maybe when they were both in high school.  According to my hubby, I have been pushed out of the nest.  The hubbs job offer is not solid just yet, there are still some things that have to be ironed out but we are hopeful that it will work out.   

The boys seem to be adjusting well to me going back to work, we will have to see as my hours adjust.  I am part-time but, during my training period of several months I will be full-time so that my skills I am learning will stay with me.   There is even hope of working from home if the need arises.   I went to lunch with the new CEO yesterday and I have to say, I like that personal touch.  The CEO took myself and the other new hire out to get to know us.  That says a lot to me about how the company feels about it's staff.   They are really intent on their employees learning their job well before they handle live cases.  

I will be posting more as the days go by so please stay tuned.  I think I have found my new home in the business world.  

First Week of New Job. . .

Very excited to be back in the workforce.  I am also quite exhausted, emotional,  and somewhat afraid.  This is such a new journey for me and my family.  I am so lucky that I have such a very supportive hubby and kids. 
My posts may get back to a normal schedule sometime but for right now it is going to be sporadic.  My hours are all over the place for the next few weeks due to training.  I am doing a lot of reading and refreshing on my medical terminology.   Like I said I am excited for this new avenue in my life and I love learning new things.  Once my schedule gets a little more routine I will be able to get my posts back on schedule.  

The one thing I have learned about myself this week is that I eat all the time.  At home I did not realize I did this but since I have been in this office setting it is very clear.  During one of my meetings my stomach growled so loud and I was so embarrassed.   The good news is that it is ok to eat when I need to.  We took a little break and I was able to get a snack to tide me over till we had lunch.  The funny thing was, I was not the only one snacking so I felt a little better.  I am very thankful for a relaxed office setting rather than a strict and straight laced one.  

Lots of learning ahead and I feel a new energy about me.  Stay tuned and please stay with me as our clan makes this incredible adjustment.  

Excitement and Change. . .

We have a car, my mechanic said the same thing I said about buying cars from rental people.  You can be pretty sure they are well maintained and my mechanic confirmed that for me yesterday.  I have never bought a car and paid for it in full, it was a really good feeling.  We also got an awesome deal on this car and the rental folks filed for my license plate just like a dealership does.  I was not sure about that one when I went over there.
Starting to get a little anxious about Monday.  I have not been in the workforce since my sweet Big T was born, thirteen years ago, and it has been even longer since I have worked for anyone.  There will be a big period of adjustment but I do believe this job has the potential to be very rewarding.   I hope that I will be able to encourage others to sign up to be organ donors, my license renews soon and I am going to sign up to be a donor and add that little red heart to my license.  I was reluctant to be a donor but when I started reading all of the literature I decided it was the right thing to do and there really is no reason not to be a donor.  There are medical conditions that would exclude you from donating certain organs and you can read more about those here at organ donor information.

Used Cars. . .

We have been looking for an inexpensive used car for me to drive when I start work, since Sprat is driving mine to school.  I have looked on every internet auto list there is, or at least it feels that way.   I found something interesting along my journey to a car.  Did you know that the car rental companies sell their cars for a really good price when they can no longer rent them out?  These are the Enterprise and Hertz rentals places.  On a whim last week I drove by one of their used car lots and walked around.  They have some really great deals and the real plus is that you can be pretty sure that these vehicles have been properly maintained with oil changes and tire rotation and things like that.  This would be the ideal place to look for your kid a vehicle when they get ready to drive.  If we did not already have something for Sprat to drive I would most definitely go here over a dealership.
I am taking the car I am looking at to my mechanic today for a once over and if it passes my guys inspection I will have another car.   I am sticking to Dave Ramsey's plan, we are paying cash for this car, I refuse to go into debt with our job situation and we had to have another car so I have a reliable means to get to  work.
I start work on Monday and I am really excited and really nervous.  I am going to have six weeks or so of training so my schedule will be all over the place.  I do not think this position will ever get monotonous and since I will be part time I will be able to still be around for my kiddos.
A lot of things going on at our house this week.  Stay tuned still waiting for feedback on a couple phone interviews for my dear sweet hubby.  I told him to keep the faith that God's plan may be to keep him home till we have made this transition of me going back to work.   It is all happening in His time not ours.

A House Husband. . .

I got my schedule for my first two weeks of work and oh boy am I going to be doing a lot of studying.  Our life is about to get crazy!  My dear sweet hubby still has not found a job and is still looking but I think, him not having a job will help our family with this crazy transition of me back to work.  It seems like a catch twenty-two, right?  I would not be going back to work if my dear hubby had not been downsized, the Lord has a plan and he does work in mysterious ways.
Sprat is driving to school now and I think he likes his new found freedom.   We are looking for a car so that when I am at work the hubbs is not at home with no wheels.  Hey if my job works out the hubbs may become a house husband.  Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!  He is all for that.  I am somewhat afraid of that.  He is threatening to clean. . .  This is not good, when my husband cleans he just throws everything away.  He once took a large tin that I had ALL of Sprat's baby things in; his arm band, his baby hat, the mask that my hubby wore during surgery, the Polaroid snap shot of him right after birth, and my arm band.  He dumped all of these things on the kitchen table and threw away the tin that was holding them.  Now I ask you, what is the purpose of him throwing all of that on the table to toss the tin in the trash.  I do not understand what goes through men's minds when they are doing these type of things.  I love my hubby to the moon and back but I cannot let him clean my house.  
Stay tuned for a work update as things begin to shake and shimmy.  

My Fridge is too Advanced for Me. . .

I shared with you last week that we had to get a new fridge and how new fangled it was.  It got even more advanced than we ever thought this week.  We were going to celebrate Sprat's birthday on Saturday night so after the hubbs and I had worked cooking breakfast at Church we picked up an ice cream cake for after dinner.  We came home and I put the cake in the lower right side of the freezer section of this super techno fridge.  After dinner I went to get the cake out so that it could thaw a little for our dessert.  When I picked the box up the cake was leaking out of the bottom, it had completely melted.  Let me describe the way this fridge looks;  it has four doors, the top two are the refrigerator doors and the lower two doors I thought were the freezer doors.  Apparently the right side of the freezer can be adjusted so that it is either a:  soft freeze, chill, or freezer.   We had inadvertently set this lower right door to chill (refrigerator temp), I had not put anything in there other than that ice cream cake so I had no way of really knowing that it was not freezing.   We figured out how to change that temperature and it is now a freezer in both lower doors but, how cool is it that we can add more fridge space if we need it.  I kinda like that.
Sprat drove himself to Church yesterday, that was his first trip alone since he got his license.   He drove to school today too.  I made him text me when he got to school so I would know he was safe.   I also told him he had to text me before he leaves to come home after football practice.  I am still adjusting to this convenience of having another driver.  He did not take Big T to school though, I do not think he is ready for that responsibility and neither am I.  I am sure once the hubbs and I are both working there may be a time when he will have to drive him to school but for right now he does not.  It is going to be another interesting week here at our house, so stay tuned and hang on.  

Happy, Happy Friday. . .

Well, I have a job after thirteen years, not that I did not work during these last thirteen years but now I will get paid and I will be helping my family.  Very excited today.  Sprat did get his license yesterday and we are thrilled.   The hubbs had a job offer yesterday and he has another interview today that we believe will end with another offer.  The wheels are moving on this train to employment. 
I am going to be working with our local organ donor center.  Lots of new things going to be happening in our house.  We will be adjusting to new schedules and new responsibilities for the kiddos. 

We will be celebrating birthdays and employment!!!  God is good and we are very thankful!!  

I start work in two weeks and between now and then I will be doing a lot of studying about organ donation.  If you have any questions please post them in the comments section and I will find your answers.  The one thing I did find out that was very interesting is that most religions do not oppose organ transplant and donation.  

A friend and former co-worker of my hubby just donated a kidney so that his wife could receive a kidney from someone else.  It is a program where if your loved one is in need of a transplant and you do not match, you can give your organ to someone else that you match up with and they will find another candidate for your loved one in a similar situation.  They did a big news story on this couple and it really was good.  Awesome to see and hear great stories like this one.  

Hopeful, thankful, and very grateful. . .

An Even Keel. . .

I am going to say this very quietly and please do not repeat it, I think everything is finally starting to fall into place.  Shhhh!  I do not want to jinx this.   The one thing that is looming on the horizon, other than my hubby and I not having jobs, is Sprat will go to get his drivers' license today.  I cannot believe I said that out loud, that may just counter act everything else.   Sprat will also turn seventeen this week, where has that time gone.  I am really starting to feel old.   Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I will have a teen driver in my house by noon.
Since we have only two cars and the hubbs and I both are going different directions these next few weeks, he may not get to drive by himself for awhile.  He will at least have his license so when our lives do settle back down he can drive.  He does not see this logic just yet, so he is pretty bummed that he will not get to drive immediately.
We will be cramming birthday celebration in between lots of Church activities this weekend.  If you see me I will be the one running around with my hair on fire.

And the Wall is Wet. . .

We did get our new fridge, but it was touch and go there for a while.  These new fangled appliances that have all sorts of bells and whistles need a several hundred page instruction book.  I mentioned yesterday that we bought a floor sample.  This was a special order that the customer changed their mind on.  We got a great deal since it was a return.  I asked the guys that delivered it why the customers changed their mind and they said the customers said it was too loud.  I was a little confused because how loud could it be.  Had we made a huge mistake by purchasing this after it had been returned?   The delivery guys said it sort of sounded like an aquarium.  I am still not sure about that, it does make a little noise but who can hear anything in my house between the boys and the dog all yelling and barking all the time.  I will welcome an aquarium sound.  Don't they sell really expensive gadgets that make that sound on purpose?  Hey we really did get a good deal, we got a two for one.
I did not notice any odd noises last night but this morning as I was in the kitchen cleaning up after sending the boys off to school I did notice a little bubble sound.  I then noticed my wall was glistening, my walls do not normally glisten.  I stuck my hand down beside the fridge and my counter top was damp and then I could feel a little bit of a spray.  Panic then begins to set in.   I had just got everything back where it belonged from having the refrigerators switched out and I had to clean everything off again and pull this monster back out and try to figure out what had happened.  I called the store and tried to explain what I thought was going on and they said they would send someone out to check on it.   I continued to clean the fridge off so I could pull it further out from the wall to clean the water up off of the floor.  Once I pulled the fridge away from the wall I could see what the problem was, I guess I called the store too soon.  I had a very small hole in my water hose that was going from the wall to the fridge and it was spraying a fine mist all over the wall and the cabinet.  I called the store back so they would not have to send anyone out for this.  The hubbs or I could go and get a hose to replace this one.   When the hubbs got home after dropping the boys off at school he went to the store to get that much needed replacement hose.   Fingers crossed, and hopeful that everything will be ok now.  
We have a couple interviews this week so stay tuned.  

Appliance Break Down. . .

Sunday morning trying to get ready for Church, I noticed our refrigerator temperature acting odd.  My freezer temperature was going up and so was the refrigerator temperature.   My Sunday mornings are crazy since I am trying to get two teenagers moving for Sunday school plus trying to get myself ready.   I now know my plans for after Church, start fixing food that is thawing in my freezer and then go find a new fridge.  

The hubbs and I went fridge shopping and each one we looked at and liked they did not have in stock.  It was going to take seven to ten days to get it in stock.  We ended up buying a floor model but, the good news is we got a nice fridge at a nice discount.  We should get it sometime today, so for now I have three coolers siting in my kitchen with ice and what is left of my refrigerated items.  Luckily we have a big freezer in our basement so my freezer stuff went there.  

The good news is I got rid of a whole lot of stuff I should have thrown out a long time ago.  Funny how things work out.   Maybe I can keep this fridge clean and neat.  Bahahahahahah!!!!  

We did not get the fridge with the TV or the one with the cameras, I am not that tech savvy or tech needy.  Technology changes so fast and obviously refrigerators do not last like they used to.   

Stay tuned to this roller coaster we are on. . . 

 

Youth Is Not All It's Cracked Up to Be. . .

Exhausted after my interview yesterday.  I have not interviewed for a job in twenty some years so I was very nervous.  I must have been extremely tense too, my neck and shoulders ached last night.  I have always held my stress in my neck and shoulders.
I thought I had a good interview but then at the end as I was leaving, I was not that sure at all.  It felt weird and I cannot explain it.  I am my own worst critic so, I am always questioning should I have said something different.  I have gone over my interview a thousand times and I am just not sure anymore how well it went.  I will not know anything for a few weeks because they are interviewing other candidates.  I liked the manager and I liked the facility, I think I would fit in there but who knows how they perceived me.  I am older than most of the other employees there, at least the ones that I met, and that may not go over well.  They may see me as a liability, who knows.
Staying focused and trying to stay positive in this uphill battle to find our path once more.   My dear hubby is beginning to show signs of wear and tear from this battle.  I am very worried about him, he thinks he is letting our family down because he does not have a job.  As a wife and friend I am trying to keep his spirits up and to encourage him but I know that this is weighing heavily on his heart.  He is blaming himself and I can assure you just based on his work ethic alone he is not responsible.
It would be nice if employers still valued loyalty in their employees and actually appreciated those that had stuck with the same company for a number of years.  These days employers see their employees as mere expendable commodities and to me that is sad.   I think if employers would show just a modicum of appreciation for service and loyalty they would get so much more productivity from their employees.   My husband felt loyalty to his employer unfortunately for him they did not feel the same.  
Stay tuned, the hubbs has more interviews to come and of course the kids are knee deep in their sports.

Favorite Subject, Lunch. . .

Big T had a great first day and is psyched about his last year of middle school.  The hubbs and I enjoyed a great first day of school /peace and quiet.   Sprat had a pretty good day yesterday too, he likes all of his classes and is thrilled he has lunch with all of his friends.  He is even excited about getting to drive himself to school this year.  All in all it was a good day and our clan feels blessed.
Went to my beautician magician for an update on my hair style before my interview on Wednesday,  she gave me a little color and some style.  She even sculpted my brows, I was truly pampered.  

The hubbs and I did our dry run today on where I am going for my interview.  I am very excited and very nervous, I have not been on a job interview in twenty years.   I am going to ask for your prayers for tomorrow, not that I get the job but that God's will be done, also to calm my nerves and give me peace.  

I know that I can do this job and that it would be very fulfilling to my life and to others, it just feels right.  That is all I will say for now about the job.  

The hubbs is still looking and I will also ask for prayers for him.  This is getting more frustrating every day.  My husband is very knowledgeable in his field and he has a tremendous work ethic that is not found today in anyone.  For my dear hubby I pray for peace and comfort in knowing there is a plan and in due time everything will fall into place.  

Thank you and stay tuned for more to come. 

Ready or Not, Here Comes Monday. . .

Sorry for the lapse in posts, it has been  a little hectic around here as I am sure it has been for all of you.  We are trying to get the boys ready for school.  Football is already going strong with two wins under their belt. 
We had meet the teacher for Big T and I have some reservations about his group this year.  I will be sending up prayers for everyone going back to school this year. 
I have big hopes for my boys and their future as I am sure all parents do. 
Picked up school supplies and some new shoes for the boys.  I used my "school" envelope money for school supplies and school fees so that these things did not derail our budget.  I used our "clothing" envelope money to pay for shoes so they did not derail our budget either.  If you are doing the envelope system and have children I recommend you add these two to your envelope categories. I use the school money for their lunches through the year and for field trips. 
I budget a certain amount for these envelopes through the year and I do not pause during the Summer. Using the school envelope is how I am able to cover school supplies with no problems.  I am still adding money but nothing is coming out for those three months, my school money is gaining momentum through the Summer.
I honestly do not know what I would do without my envelopes, especially in our current situation.
This week is going to be crazy; the kids start school, I have an interview,  and the hubbs continues to look for his new career.  Hold on to something it is going to get bumpy.   Oh, and did I forget to mention Sprat will be driving himself to school in a week. 

No pictures this morning, I will have to do day two of school pictures for the boys tomorrow.  The hubbs and I enjoyed our annual first day of school breakfast date too.  

Sweet Peppers from My Sweet Hubby. . .

A tribute to my wonderful husband.  Being downsized after almost twenty-four years with the same company will affect everyone differently and for some it might be a big blow to their ego.   He was devastated that day but he has been determined to get back to work as soon as possible.  All of his buddies were telling him to take a few months and relax go on vacation and things like that.  I know some that did just that, they enjoyed their severance to the very end before they began looking for other employment.   That would not do for my husband, he began contacting friends for advice and their contacts to get him started to find a new job.   He has not stopped looking either, he has had several interviews both phone and face to face since this adventure began.   Through all of this he has stayed up beat and positive and he has been a huge help around the house.  The hubbs is not one that can sit still, he reminds me a lot of my Dad in that respect.  He has been doing my grocery shopping for me, yes that is a little scary but he has actually kept our grocery bill down.  There are plenty of men out there that would not dare volunteer to do grocery shopping but not mine.  The hubbs has been a huge help around the house since his displacement.  He has also been cooking more too, that part I am also enjoying.  The hubbs is a great cook.   He has made salsa at least four times this season and his salsa is the best.   Our peppers are really starting to come in now and last night he fixed this amazing pepper dish for our dinner.  He found this recipe online at Italian Food Forever I am going to share this recipe because it was so good.  I fixed some couscous to serve it over.

Fried Sweet Peppers with Balsamic Vinegar

6 large sweet peppers  (we used red, green, and orange)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves (we pressed ours)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup fresh parsley (we did not have any so we skipped this part)

Wash and dry your peppers remove your seeds, stems, and membranes
Cut peppers into 1 inch strips

Heat your oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet and add the peppers, stirring well to coat in the oil.  Cook the peppers over medium heat until they begin to soften and brown.   About 10 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook another minute or tow until fragrant.
Add the balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Cook another three to four minutes until the peppers have absorbed all of the vinegar.  Toss with parsley and serve.
We served ours over couscous and it was wonderful.  I see this in my future since our peppers are really coming in now.

This and That on Monday. . .

I posted a Brazilian recipe last week that I really like.  I tried another one later in the week and it did not taste as good.  It was a meat and rice dish and my meat was very tough and for all the spices I used it was not very flavorful so I will not share it.  Just remember that I share only the recipes that I like I might tell you about the ones that I did not like or that did not turn out very well but I will not share them.   This one looked and sounded really good on paper but it was so very time consuming and like I said the flavor was just not there.  

Sprat had his first varsity football game on Friday and we won.  Yayyy, he got in at the end of the game and he did well.  Both of the boys are getting ready for school to start and Big T is a little nervous.  He will be in the eighth grade this year.  My how the time has flown, Sprat a Junior and Big T an eighth grader.   Sprat has been driving more and he will be getting his license very soon.  I am very nervous about this one.  These kids do not pay attention when they are behind the wheel.  They are goofing around with whomever is in the passenger seat or playing games going through the parking lot.  Parents I beg you, please remind your kids how important it is to be focused on the car and the road while behind the wheel.  I watched a boy in a huge truck, too big for him to be driving at such a young and inexperienced age, almost hit my Sprat because he was turned around and looking behind him as he showered down on the gas.  I have talked and talked to Sprat about the importance and the responsibility that comes along with being a driver.   These next weeks will probably be the most stressful so far for me as a parent.  

Prayers to all the parents preparing your kiddos for the new school year, prayers for the kids too as they face new adventures in learning.   

Friday Full of Prospects. . .

Feeling a little nervous today, I have a telephone interview this morning.  I have not interviewed for a job in many, many years.  I dare not tell how many because then I would be giving away my age. The hubbs had a phone interview yesterday and we are hopeful one of us will find something soon.  We have lots of folks that have been praying for us and I am very thankful for those prayers.
We still have not told very many people that my dear hubby was displaced and I am not sure why.  I tell myself I do not want anyone to pity us but there may be some pride issues in there too.   Several people have found out about our job situation at our Church and I do appreciate the love and prayers that they have shared with us and the very kind words.  It is very nice to know that our Church family loves us so very much.  
To prepare for my phone interview I went to Google and searched for help.  There are many sites for this type of thing.  I have found through my dear hubby searching and interviewing for jobs that the phone interview is the first stage and sometimes the last too.   It is a way to weed out people before they actually start bringing candidates in for the face to face interview.  I know that in our technology driven world that this is the wave of the future but I am not sure how helpful it is.  I am sure it is helpful to the employer but I believe it is detrimental to some of the prospective employees.  There is not a whole lot you can garner from a phone interview other than the persons voice quality and general biographic information.  This is just my opinion of course and we all know what folks say about opinions.
On another note:  my oldest has his first varsity football game tonight.  Asking for prayers for all.

A Taste of Brazil. . .

I have posted before about my book, "The Brazilian bikini body program" by Regina Joseph.  I have no intention of ever wearing a bikini again but I love this book.  It has such great recipes in it and since our garden is still producing I cannot resist trying some of these.   The Brazilians, according to Joseph, do not practice a diet of deprivation but a sensible approach to delicious food.   I would like to think that is what I am trying to do these days.  The hubbs and I have been eating lots of peppers and onions with most every meal.  They have the best flavor once they have been sauted just a bit.  They are not too hot for me to enjoy a very generous portion either.
I love lentils and they are a staple in the Brazilian diet and are a symbol of good luck in Brazil.  One of their customs; on New Years Eve as the clock strikes midnight they throw lentils on the ground and step on them, then they serve a dish similar to the one I am going to share with you today.

Lentil Salad

1 1/2 cups small green lentils
1 tomato finely chopped
1 onion chopped fine
1 green pepper seeded and chopped finely
1 red pepper seeded and chopped finely
1/2 cup pitted black olives chopped


Dressing

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar

Rinse your lentils and cook until tender, about twenty minutes in boiling water with a bay leaf.  Drain and discard your Bay leaf and run the lentils under cool water.  In a separate bowl mix with the chopped vegetables.  In another bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, mustard, soy sauce, and sugar.  Toss your veggies with your lentils then pour your dressing over the salad and serve cold.

Dating: Boys Vs. Girls. . .

I had Sprat locked in for a bit on the way to Church the other day.  He was driving and I thought this would be a great time to discuss dating.  ha ha ha ha ha!!!  I have to grab my chances when I can.  Sprat has not been that interested in girls yet and I am totally cool with that.  I would prefer him to focus on sports and school work and not be distracted by girls.  I told him how his dad and I met and fell in love.  My hubby did not start dating until he went to college and it would be fine with me if Sprat did not date until he got out of college.  I, on the other hand, was completely boy crazy and dated a lot in high school and in college. I will not lie, I enjoy being pampered and taken care of what woman would not.  I am not bashing my own sex but I know how we can be and how much trouble we can cause and I do not want that to happen to my boys.   It seems like the girls are getting more manipulative at earlier ages these days.   I have seen this just watching some of my friends kids dating and hearing their stories.  It is sad that people just cannot be honest with each other, that they have to play such childish games with another persons' feelings.
I would like for my boys to meet someone that is funny, attractive, smart, likes sports and is not afraid of getting dirty.  I have seen these boys with these Barbie doll types and watching from the sidelines you just know that it is not going to work out.  I told Sprat the reason I picked the above qualities is that when the beauty fades you need something to fall back on and intellect and a sense of humor will last longer than looks.  I fell in love with my hubby because he knows how to make me laugh, especially when I am upset.  Yes, he is usually the one that causes me to be upset 98 % of the time but his sense of humor has and will probably always pull his bacon out of the fire.
These are my random thoughts for today.
Stay tuned, tomorrow I will be talking about some yummy Brazilian recipes.

My Hubby the Farmer. . .

With no job offers on the table at the present time and lots of backyard just sitting there, my dear sweet hubby has it in his mind to expand our garden.  I am in big trouble!  Our garden is huge now and we can barely keep up with it and now he has decided he wants to grow more peppers and tomatoes.
Our garden has been a huge blessing to us this year, if it were not for the kids the hubbs and I could live out of the garden.   The hubbs and I both have enjoyed our veggies.  I am also very thankful to my brother-in-law for the peppers he started and cultivated so that we could plant them in our garden.  I will share a picture of the peppers that my hubbs picked on Saturday.   He sauted these with some onion for our lunch on Saturday.  I love it when he cooks, there is nothing sexier than a man that knows his way around a kitchen and likes being there.
We had some new peppers this season and they are so good.  I love the orange Popsicle the new ones were:  Jimmy Nordello (long red), Biscayne hybrid,  sweet heat,  and jalapeno.  The jalapeno is the only one that is really hot, the others have a little heat but great flavor.  We used some of these in our salsa.

Friday and Finances. . .

Since it is Friday and I try to talk about finances on Friday I am going to talk a little about them today.  You all know how much I like Dave Ramsey and I will start by saying if you have not read his book or at least looked at his website, Dave Ramsey, I highly recommend it.  You may not agree with everything he has to say but he does make a lot of sense about money matters.  I do not agree with everything, but there are areas that he really helped my family.
I would suggest you also check out his "Tools" section on his home page.  He has what he calls "ELP's"  this is an endorsed local provider.  This is a real estate agent, insurance provider, or financial adviser that follows the Dave Ramsey plan but is located in your area.  The hubbs and I looked up an ELP to help us move our kids 529 plan that we had set up years earlier and just to talk to someone else that followed Dave Ramsey.  They have helped us for the past ten years and they were one of the first folks I called when my very sweet hubby was displaced.  We knew we were going to have to move his 401K and possibly his pension and a few other benefits.  We had no clue how to proceed, thankfully these guys knew exactly what we needed to do and they made this part of our displacement very easy.  
One other thing I will point out that was a big benefit to us is Dave's debt snowball.  This helped us get out of debt except for our house and helped us get our emergency fund in place.  That emergency fund is really important because, should the worst case scenario play out, that will pay our bills.  The funny thing is, since they stopped contributions on his 401K and his HSA his severance pay is actually more than when he was actually working.  This has allowed us to add to our emergency fund and to add extra on our house.  I am also still using my envelopes just as I did before our displacement.  The envelope system is great and I encourage you to check it out too.  The envelope system helps you stay with your budget and helps you save for specific items like:  vacation, a car, college tuition, or the braces your kids might need.  I have an envelope for each one of those myself.  I put my college on hold when my dear hubby was displaced but we used my tuition money I had already saved to buy him a new laptop and a printer.  That money did not upset our regular budget because I had already saved it in my envelope.  If you are going to use a particular envelope's money for something other than what it was intended it is very important that you and your partner are in agreement on that move.  A budget and the envelope system only work when both parties are in agreement and work together.
The most important thing to remember is that a budget is a living organism, it grows and changes with each month or even week depending on your life style and where you are in life.   You must look at it each month to make sure you have everything covered.
Have a good weekend!

Drum Roll Please . . . Salsa . . .

I am not sure where my hubby got this recipe but, he is just like me and tweaks it each time.  He knows it by heart and he seasons to taste.   We have made three batches this year already.  Our tomatoes are really doing well.  We have used roma tomatoes in the past because they are supposed to have more meat in them.  This year we planted celebrity tomatoes and they are really doing well.   The celebrities have a lot of meat and a great flavor.
This is the hubbys baby, he does all the work on this, all I do is work the blender for him and zest the limes.  Here we go, now remember, this recipe has been tweaked and please feel free to add your own taste to yours.  We always add our own zip.

Twenty or so tomatoes
3-5 peppers varying varieties (a few for heat, a few for flavor)
1 medium onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
2 limes zested and then juiced

Boil your tomatoes, when the skin pops they are done, remove them from the water and let them set.
Boil your peppers until they are soft, let them set.  Press and saute your garlic until fragrant.  Chop onion and saute until translucent.  Chop your cilantro.
Once your tomatoes have cooled and you can handle them easily peel the skin from them.  We put ours in a strainer over another bowl.  This way you get the meat and not so much juice.  Once the tomatoes are peeled my hubby like to mash the tomatoes with his hands to get a little more juice out of them.  You do not want your salsa to be too runny.  Chop your peppers.  Now depending on how hot you want your salsa you can leave all of your seeds with the peppers or you can seed a couple of your peppers.  The seeds are where the heat is in your peppers.  The hubbs left a few too many seeds for my taste this time but it is still good.   We used some hot peppers and some mild peppers.  I zest the limes into the cilantro and then they are ready to juice.
We use a blender, like you are making a smoothie.  I put a couple scoops of the tomato mush, some of the: garlic, onion, cilantro, peppers and then the hubbs juices half of one lime.  Then I blend this together, once it is blended I pour it into our eight cup mixing bowl.  We repeat this until all of our ingredients have been blended together.   This gives you a beautiful reddish brown mixture.  The hubbs then proceeds to add his seasonings to finish this up.

1 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp Mexican oregano

He may also add more lime juice if needed.  Keep in mind he juiced two limes during the blending process.
This is really a good recipe and in my opinion could rival any authentic salsa from any restaurant.  I am biased of course.  The hubbs has said that at least one of the boys must learn to make this recipe so that it can be passed down to the next generation of our clan.
Enjoy!

Meatball Sub. . .

Made my amazing meatballs the other night and I make amazing meatballs, if I do say so myself.  I added a new trick to preparing the meatball sub.  If you already know this trick kudos to you, if not you should try it.   I use sub rolls and slice them open and put them in the oven at about 275 until they are a little crispy.  I peel a clove of garlic and after the sub roll comes out of the oven I rub the garlic over the bread.  Sounds simple, right?  It makes the sub so yummy though.  After the garlic rub down add a little sauce to the bread and then your meatballs.  I slice my meatballs in half, it just makes the sub easier to eat.  I add cheese, sometimes Swiss and sometimes mozzarella I will leave that choice up to you.  I then put the sub back in the oven just to melt the cheese.  These are amazing subs and amazing meatballs.  I think I have given the meatball recipe recently but I will share it again because they are that doggone good.

Meat Balls
2lbs. ground beef
1 cup of bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp milk
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp garlic powder

Mix together and make into balls

Sauce
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
2 cups beef broth
2-3 Tbsp tomato paste (I like the kind that comes in the tube)
1 Tbsp ground dry mustard
2 tsp thyme

Place the meatballs gently into the sauce try not to stack them on top of each other.  I use the crock pot because I think the slow cooking makes a big difference.  I cook them on low for at least eight hours.

I cook when I feel stressed so I may share that salsa recipe this week too.  We are on our third batch of fresh salsa.

New Week, Trying to be Positive. . .

Hard week last week, the hubbs did not get the job that we thought he would get and we go back to the drawing board this week.  I know that God has a plan for us and that he is moving us in the path that he wants us to follow.  It is just very hard to watch the person that you love go through such a difficult time.  I pray every day for peace for him and I have asked my family to pray also, for some reason we have only told a few friends and I do not know why.  It is so frustrating to know how truly talented and passionate someone is and nobody else sees their value.  I guess this week is going to be hard too.
Why is it that employers see that someone has been with the same company for almost twenty-four years and they assume they  are old and all used up?   My husband was loyal to his company, and for what?   He did not take any vacation after he had fallen and hurt his knee and had to be out for so long on disability.  He said he felt guilty for even asking to take vacation after all of that.  His company has not felt any guilt when they  told him he did not have a job anymore.  These employers need to wise up and realize that this age group are the very ones that have an intense work ethic.  These are the people that can teach the younger generation about hard work.  So many people today are trying to do as little as they can and still get paid.  Not many have the work ethic of my hubby's generation.

Our sermon at Church yesterday was fabulous.  It was about God calling Moses to be his messenger. Moses did not think he was the right person to be God's messenger.  God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.  Those are not my words but I am not sure who actually said them.   Most Sunday's I feel like our preacher is speaking directly to my heart.  Yesterday was no different.

I am feeling very scattered today so please forgive the random babble.

Back to Square One. . .

We were so hopeful that this would be the one.  The hubbs had two face to face interviews this week with this company and we were so sure an offer would follow.  Sadly, he got the we are going a different direction phone call.  Back to square one. 
The hubbs took Sprat to a concert last night as an early birthday present.  Big T and I went for some back to school shopping.  I was very down after finding out that my very sweet husband had been dumped on again.  At about 9:30 last night I asked my 13 year old if he wanted to go get doughnuts.   He of course agreed, what little boy would turn down doughnuts.  He asked me on the way what was wrong.  I told him nothing was wrong, mommy just wants a doughnut.  I remember making runs for milkshakes or pizza or whatever I had a craving for when the hubbs and I were first married and when I was pregnant.  

I remember one weekend when the hubbs and I were first married I had a craving for crab legs and we packed up and drove to the beach for the night.   Those crab legs were the best I had ever eaten.  I miss the days of being able to just pack up and go.  We are so tied to our schedules these days and it has taken some of the fun out of things.  Maybe this is why the Lord has put us in this position, to reclaim some of that spontaneity that we use to have.   I do believe we have become, if you will pardon the expression, old farts.   I feel like I am still spontaneous and maybe I can interject some of that old feeling back in our family.    

The Ghost Tour. . .

I was looking for inexpensive things to do around town and found a ghost tour.  We have done a couple over the years, Big T is big fan of true and historic ghost tells.  Our first ghost tour experience was at the beach and it was a ghost/pirate tour, it was fabulous.  I love the ones that incorporate some history in them and the one we did on Monday night did just that.  It also helps to have a good guide that knows his or her stuff.  As I was finding the information to get this tour scheduled I was very sad to find out they would no longer be doing them.
Sprat asked one of his good friends to go along and the hubbs even went a little reluctantly.  It is always interesting to meet the other people in your group too.  We were of course very early and were just hanging out on the street corner talking and Sprat and his friend were playing Pokeman Go.  We met the people that run another ghost tour in an adjacent city and they invited us to come and do their tour some time.  Their tour involves a lot of Revolutionary war and Civil war history.  Our guide for this tour was very interesting and the reason he is leaving is that he is moving back to his home town.  He was a great orator and he really got into character with his actions and clothing, he knew his history of our area too.  We also had a lady and her two daughters from out of town in our group too.  I did not know it at the time but apparently the young girls were attracted to the boys, there was one Sprat's age and the other was around Big T's age.  According to Big T and my hubby the older girl could not keep her eyes off of Sprat and his friend.  Ahhhh young love, found on the ghost tour.
This was a walking tour and we went around this one particular neighborhood.  There were several tells of accidental death and hauntings by ghosts that did not realize they were dead.  One in particular was the haunting of a bed and breakfast that my hubby and I stayed in when we were newly wed.  I was so glad we did not know that story when we stayed there, I think it would have changed things just a bit.
One story involved a young man disobeying his father by taking his father's car to go on a date.  The age old tale of young love and wild abandon that ends in tragedy.  This one ended with a bit of a mystery and that bothered Sprat, he wanted to know the end of the story.  Our guide told him it was a mystery and we moved on to the next corner and the next tale.
We ended our tour back where we had begun and our guide asked if there was anything more that we wanted to know.  Sprat piped up and asked about the story that had caught his fancy before, and the guide obliged the best he could.  Come to find out that story was actually a compilation of a couple of different stories but the end was fact and was more recent than the other stories.  Our guide also shared that the trio that was with us for our tour from the neighboring town will be taking over this tour when he leaves.  I was very glad to hear that, I just hope that they take as much care in telling the true historic stories that our guide did.

This is our tour guide

This is the bed and breakfast

Another shot of the B & B

Lots of Possibilities this Week. . .

Positive things happening this week at our house.  The hubbs is on his second face to face interview with a company he thinks will be a great fit.   I get to be a mock juror this week for a local law firm.  I am so excited!!  If you do not know what a mock jury is, here is what I learned in my criminal justice classes last semester.  When a law firm has a big case and is not sure how a jury might perceive their client they will enlist the help of a mock jury to run their defense strategy by and see how they react.  This is going to be very exciting, I am like a little kid the night before Christmas.  I also applied for a couple jobs myself other than the mock juror position.  Now I have not been in the workforce since Big T was born and he is thirteen.  I got my first, I am sorry you do not fit with our company the other day.  I must say, I was a little hurt.  I sort of thought the "I don't fit" was a little odd, are they trying to stuff me into a container.  I know that God has a plan for us and in His plan I may not be working so, I am going with the flow.
I have been searching indeed jobs for what I think I would like to do, I have also looked on monster jobs.  These are two very good sites to check out when looking for employment.  If you are looking for more professional positions I would highly recommend Linked In.  This is where the hubbs has found all of his contacts and prospects for jobs.  He has also connected with some of his old college buddies and past colleagues.  A friend asked me the other day if anyone goes to the employment office anymore.  I told her I was not sure but, I think indeed and monster would be more help than the employment office these days.  I guess if you are filing for unemployment reimbursement then you would have to go to the employment office periodically.
Looking forward to a wild and crazy week.  Praying for the hubbs and that God's hand will be in what ever offer he receives.  I know He holds us in His hands and for that I am truly grateful.
Stay tuned for tells of our adventure we took last night. . .

Recipe of the Day. . .

I love a good devotion and throw in a good recipe with it and that is like having your cake and eating it too.  No pun intended.  One of the hubbs nieces gave me this book for Christmas, I know that I have posted on it before but I thought I would share one of the recipes.  This is Hotcakes and Hallelujahs by Stacey Roberts.  I was reading a devotion from it this morning about giving thanks in all situations and how true that is.  The hubbs was downsized in May and he still does not have a job but we are not destitute just yet.   Because they let him go they had to true up all of his bonus for his quota attainment which was a lot.  We were able to add to our emergency fund for the emergency his company created.  I keep telling my very sweet hubby that God wanted him out of that situation and that God has a plan for our family.  We are not privy to his plan in advance we must trust him and have faith.  We are trusting Him and I am trying to get my hubby to take advantage of  this time off and enjoy his family.
Here is my recipe for today, these are Sabbath Day Spice Muffins

1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

Topping
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven 325.  In a large mixing bowl cream shortening, sugar, and egg.  In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.   Add the medium bowl to the shortening mixture slowly along with milk.
Grease muffin tin and fill with batter bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.  Let cool for a few minutes
Topping:  combine sugar and cinnamon.  Roll warm muffins in melted butter and then in the sugar mixture.  
This recipe says it makes 8-10 muffins.

I am going to try this one today.

This and That. . . .Random Thoughts. . .

The sweet B is going to the Vet today for her check up.  She loves going but she hates being probed.  She absolutely goes to pieces when we walk in the door, she is all wiggles and squeals.  When the Doctor gets in the floor to see her, she backs up into him and licks him under his chin.   She is the most loving and sweet dog I think we have ever had.  Our sweet Frito loved the hubbs and I, and she tolerated the boys but that was about it.  Cainie and Jake our labs, I guess they loved everyone too but they did not go completely to pieces like the B.  I miss all three of those babies, it seems like they took a piece of each of us when they left.
Nothing ever seems to go as I try to plan.  This Summer has certainly followed suit this year.  I have tried to plan a beach trip and another trip no where near the beach and neither one has worked out.  It has just not been in cards for us this year.  I do not necessarily have to go anywhere away from our house but, I want to try and do something fun with us all together.  I want my kids to have great memories to share with their own kids someday.  I am still trying to pull something together and we still may get to the beach, it just might be a Fall trip.   This does not include the college tours that we need to do this year.
I do have one more thing up my sleeve and I hope it will work out.  
The hubbs has a face to face interview the first of next week and he had two phone interviews this week already.   We are very hopeful for these two but, I know that it is in God's hands and it is his plan.  Keep the prayers coming, things are starting to come together.
Stay tuned. . . .

College Prep and Other Stuff. . .

Preparing to send a kid off to college is no easy task.  Sprat is two years away from going to college but there are still things that have to be done at this stage.  Sprat is supposed to be preparing by taking classes and being involved in clubs and the community during these couple of years before applying to college.  Our high school offers many AP and Honors classes for the kids preparing for college.  They changed things up this year and required the parents and students to attend an information session about the AP classes.  If you did not come to this meeting your student could not apply to take the AP classes.  I agree that parents have to be involved and that both parent and child should be aware of the commitment required to do well in these classes but, I think this may be a little far reaching.  The students were also required to sit in on a talk by the teacher about what ever class they were interested in.  If they did not sit in on that session then they were not allowed to apply for that AP class.  I say "apply" because they made the students write an essay on why they thought they deserved to be in this particular class and what they were going to do to excel in that class.   Again, I think this is just a little over the top for a high school.  They have now scared my kid to death about taking AP classes.   I thought the whole point of our education system was to encourage our kids to learn and want to excel and want to do their best.  Our high school seems to be discouraging our kids at every turn.  I wonder what would happen if all 450 students in my sons' class did not sign up for a single AP class?  I know that won't happen because the parents in our high school have been brain washed to follow the pack.  

Sprat is so afraid of taking those courses, he is afraid he will not do well and it will hurt his GPA.   So, instead of encouraging our kids to stretch their limits our school is trying to squelch them.   I am trying to encourage Sprat to stretch his limits but he is afraid because of what the administrators have told him.   He is taking honors classes, so that will help.  

Sprat will be a junior this year and this is the year to start applying for some scholarships.  We still have a few more tours to do when I can work them in.  Then he will start actually deciding on where he wants to go and start filling out those applications.  He already knows of two schools he does not want to go to, one because it is too big the other because it is in the mountains and is very cold in the winter.  How is that for choosing a college?   Everyone has their own criteria I guess.   At least he has an idea of what he wants and does not want.   I found this giant book of scholarships at my local used bookstore and it has a lot of scholarships that kids can apply for and some do not require essays.  There is one in there that only requires the kid be over six foot two inches in height.  There is another one for kids that are left handed, I cannot remember if that one requires an essay or not.  

By the time I get Sprat ready to go off to college I should be an expert on this stuff and Big T should be a breeze.  Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!!!!!

Stay tuned lots going on. . .   The hubbs made salsa last week and feel another batch to come. . .