Where I've Been the Past Couple of Months

I haven't been blogging much lately, and it's a bit surprising that *this* is the week I find time to do so -- as this is the week of everything: dance class picture day, extra-long church choir practice, first grade performance, two different Girl Scout events, First Communion, plus work, chiropractor's appointments -- and snowstorms.

Yes, snowstorms. Well, at least one - Monday night into Tuesday. To go with the one from last Thursday. To go with ... let's just say we've written off April for spring in Minnesota. These are not dustings; these are several inches of accumulation. And apparently, according to our local weatherman's blog, the entire Mississippi flyway's population of robins are trapped in the Twin Cities by the weather -- those migrating are afraid to go any farther north (and, with parts of northern Minnesota getting 20 inches of snow last week, who can blame them?).

On the plus side, as we've been trapped inside, I've been doing some "spring" cleaning. And threatening discussing with the family the need for home maintenance so things like the coat closet, living room, child's room, etc., do not again become disaster areas. Still haven't made it to some of the other areas of the house that really need organizing -- I think getting things in order, and keeping them that way, would really save me time that I could use for other things I want to do. Decluttering has been a part of this, too: so far, we've given three bags of adult clothes to the local thrift store that supports our local food shelf; Freecycled a bag full of my husband's holey jeans so that someone could use the denim fabric; and taken a load of stuff to the spring kids' consignment sale in our town.

The consignment sale is also this week. Of course. I had my daughter go through her spring/summer clothes to see what she needed -- but she hasn't been able to actually get them out and wear them yet, with the weather. I'm hoping to find her some pairs of shorts at the sale, which is mostly what she needs. Her outgrown clothes mostly go to my niece; it's more outgrown equipment and toys that we're consigning -- plus a few things from the neighbors with a girl about three years older, who are moving and giving some of their outgrow stuff to us. We're keeping some of it; some of it is waiting for my daughter to grow into it -- and this situation has both its good and its bad aspects.

One of the good aspects, of course, is the saving money portion of this. This past month or so has not been good to us in that arena. I got rear-ended in one of the March snowstorms on my way to work, which totalled the car (back windshield completely broken out; whole back end of the car was caddywampus). So, we ended up having to buy a new-to-us car. We used the insurance settlement plus a generous loan from my mom to pay off my husband's car, so we don't have two car payments, and the newer car's payments will be lower than we had been paying, but still, it was a chunk of change for a down payment (and now we need to build the emergency fund back up to where it had been).

Also, due to all the discombobulation, my being without a vehicle, etc., we haven't had very well-planned meals or grocery trips, which means my husband has been making frequent ad-hoc trips to buy things here and there, which is not good for the budget, as he has no concept of not buying things at full price (I never buy cereal without a coupon, for instance, but he will buy a giant box of it ...) I also have been a bit skittish about driving in snowstorms in either the miniscule rental car they stuck me with, or the new car, and literally, almost every time I actually have time to do groceries, there is a snowstorm.

Luckily, the insurance has covered the cost of doctor visits (I hit my head in the accident and had to be checked out a couple of times -- no concussion, no skull fracture, just a big lump); chiropractor visits (up to a point, and then we'll evaluate); and the rental car for a time.  

While I was stuck at home for a week with no vehicle, did I get to rest? Of course not. I was either working from home, or having to engage in ridiculously vigorous house cleaning because, in the midst of all this, lice came home from school.

Also, we made an unplanned trip to Iowa shortly thereafter, to attend the funeral of my husband's cousin. She had been living in the Twin Cities, and we had been having fun doing family things with her last year -- the State Fair, the zoo, our daughter's dance recital, etc. -- and looking forward to hanging out with her more this year. But when she went to her convent's annual meeting at the mother house right after Christmas (obviously, she was a nun), she went to the doctor and pretty much never came back to Minnesota. She had a hysterectomy in January and was put on hospice care in March. I don't know, but I can't help but wonder, since she was one of those people who took care of everyone else, if she ignored symptoms for a long time or something. We will miss her.

The funeral was the Tuesday of Holy Week (she was even considerate enough to pass away in time for easier scheduling; one more day and they would have had to postpone the funeral due to all the other events/priests' obligations), held at the convent, and was our daughter's first funeral experience. So I've also been spending time the past month explaining death to a six-year-old.

Also, recently, our school had spring break. We went on a (previously planned and budgeted for) family vacation, to St. Louis, which was fun. We needed it.

So, that's where I've been the past couple of months.

Friday's Fave Five (on Saturday)

 OK, so it's Saturday. Friday did not go as planned, with issues involving snow, cancelling planned travel to see my sister and nieces, and a bumper now hanging loosely off the side of my car. I think it's been a good week to look back on even the small things for which to be thankful, as is the theme of Friday's Fave Five hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Hot Chocolate with Friends

This past week's activity as part of the "you can't beat it, might as well join it"/"embrace winter" project in the face of our snow and cold this year was crosscountry skiing at one of the local parks. The six-year-old and I went with a couple of my friends. I'm thankful for the friends as well, because they were able to help/encourage the six-year-old while I tried to get up hills and/or get up after falling down. They could also occasionally lift the six-year-old after she fell down.

I think the both of us need to really improve our skills before we can be thankful for the cross-country skiing ourselves, but the apres-ski hot chocolate treats sold in the park's visitor center, and the time spent with friends sipping said hot chocolate and letting the bunches of snow from our falls melt off our outerwear in front of the fireplace in their gathering room is something to be thankful for.

2. My Dental Hygienist

I had a routine dentist appointment this week. I actually look forward to these appointments, ever since I had to have a lot of dental work done during pregnancy and really bonded with this hygienist, who was expecting at the same time. Her son is about three months older than my daughter, so over the years, I have not only gotten dental care, I've gotten parenting advice about stages that lay ahead -- back when that three months made more of a difference -- and now, same-stage parenting stories, commiseration, sharing, bragging and bonding.

3. My Kitchen Apron

A few years ago, I bought an apron at a "handmade in Iowa" place while we were there on one of our Christmas travels to see family. It's blue jeans overalls that have been turned into an apron, and trimmed with a band around the bottom of the skirt, the tie band and a couple of patches made from fabric featuring bright pink tulips combined with fabric with a black background and white polka dots. Tulips are my favorite flower, I love polka dots, and I also really like the casual look of denim. The apron has a cheery look and is fun to wear; this week, I donned it to make zucchini basil muffins.

4. Hymns at Lenten Church Service

My church is trying a new format this year for the mid-week Lenten services, with almost the entire service being music. I really liked the way it went this week.

5. The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

I really enjoyed this book, and read it in only a couple of days. Now I'm trying to convince friends to read it so I'll have someone to discuss it with.

Friday's Fave Five

I've missed a couple of these (that darned inertia ..), but am participating again this week in Friday's Fave Five, hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

 My favorites for this week are:

1. Ice Castle

Although I haven't (yet) in my life made it to the St. Paul Winter Carnival, they are hosting an ice castle at the Mall of America this winter -- through the middle of next week, or it might close early if temperatures are sustainably above 40 degrees (like *that's* going to happen this year). As part of my "embrace winter" philosophy this year, my mom, my daughter and I visited the Ice Castle last weekend. There were thrones, there were ice princesses, there were cool ice formations, and there was a little girl who spontaneously hugged me and thanked me for bringing her to the Ice Castle. It was fun.

2. Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake

My husband and I (it was a joint effort; I made the crust, he assembled the rest of it) made the Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Pie posted on MoneySavingMom this week for our family Valentine's dinner dessert, from some of the many raspberries we picked last summer. It was delicious. It's possible I'm eating some of it while I'm writing this blog post.

3. The "good china."

For that Valentine's dinner, we ate off the good china -- the kind that people used to traditionally receive as a wedding present. While we've regretfully never had occasion to use our full set (I think it's 12settings; I kind of rotate the ones we use for our small family), I still remember the fun of picking it out, still like my Forest Glen patttern, and enjoy using it. (Especially now that the six-year-old is old enough to use it as well, and has also expressed her appreciation for it.)

4. Family Game Night

While my mom was visitng last weekend, we had some fun with old-fashioned board and card games. I enjoy playing these, but my husband doesn't, so it's nice when we have someone else in the house to add another player.

5. Reading "Farmer Boy"

We're on the third in the Laura Ingalls Wilder series for our read-alouds. It's been a while since I've read this one, and I'd kind of forgotten how food-obsessed it is. It's fun to read about all of those things, and it's got me thinking of a few things to add to the family menu in the next few weeks (like maybe apples and onions, or some oatmeal).

Goals for the Week of February 11, 2013

So, I didn't post goals the last week of January, because I got sort of disgusted with myself for never getting some of these things done. So, that was intentional -- and then, I believe it's the law of inertia that states that things at rest tend to stay at rest. Which means that I haven't posted anything else in a while either. So, despite its being the middle of the week already, I'm posting my goals for the week in an attempt to give myself a (figurative) kick in the pants.

So, did I get anything accomplished while not posting? Well, ....


Last Week's Goals

Finances and Organization: 

- finish filing paperwork! (yes!)
- clear out catchall basket of catalogs, etc. that have piled up over past month (another yes! I actually did this while the family was watching the Puppy Bowl -- Super Bowl commercials weren't deemed appropriate for six-year-old eyes)
- finish calendar info transfer
- sort through and discard/file school papers
- submit for utilities rebate OR cancel
- make tax appointment
- update pantry inventory
- download will questionnaire and begin to work on it with husand
- determine budget for February (sorting through the paperwork was helpful here; I took real averages of our utility bills for the year, and updated a budget. I'm waiting to see what we actually spend in February before moving any overages from certain categories -- like gifts and/or entertainment -- forward from January, which was just sort of a thrown-together budget)

Spirituality and Creativity:

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan, possibly complete (still working on this)
- continue using prayer books at meals (sort of, not as much as I would have liked)
- finish reading friend's book so can return it (finished it, enjoyed it, returned it at book group gathering)


Family and Friends:
- sign girls up for cookie club
- distribute Girl Scout cookies
- chaperone daughter to sell
- finish read-aloud of Little House on the Prairie
- spend time on a project or playing with 6-year-old (played with marble run she got for Christmas, did a couple of cooking projects, went sledding, had "family game night" with her choices of Uno, Go Fish and Telestrations)


And, on to

This Week's Goals

Finances and Organization:

- pursue/argue with/try to resolve final reimbursement from husband's 2012 FLEX account (there is some issue every year with his benefits administrator. I hate his benefits administrator. They changed to a different company this year, so we shall if things improve, but for 2012, we still have to deal with the old one.)
- compile records of goods donations, charity mileage and expenses for taxes (probably need to print out photos of clothing items I donated to food shelf's thrift store)
- clean out purse (this was actually already on my to-do list, but I was sort of forced to do it when I couldn't find a coupon I was looking for. Nice to have it done, though)
- request financial records from school (kindergarten tuition-we had to pay for full-day) and dance classes (a portion of "arts" instruction is deductible under Minnesota tax code)
- get business photos taken with discount promotion
- explore which business membership organizations that send me emails would be worth joining
- remember to listen to free business webinar offered through alumni association
- inventory gift box
- inventory (and organize) cards on hand (realized I was out of blank cards -- unless I have some I just can't find -- when looking for one the other day. If I know what I need, I can stock up through photo site deals throughout the year.)

Spirituality and Creativity: 

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan (James, Titus and Timothy are on my list for this week)
- Ash Wednesday church
- consider Lenten/Easter resources/activities for/with child

Family and Friends:

- Valentine's Day: lunchbox notes, special meal, etc.
- use husband's spring break activities planning for further research, planning (i.e., discounts, hotel reservations)
- begin Farmer Boy read-aloud

(Some) Books Read January 2013

I love to read (like many relatives in the line before me, I probably often read when I should be doing something else...)

Here are a few of the books I read and enjoyed in January.

Village School and Village Diary by Miss Read

These are the first two books in a series about the rural English village of Fairacre during the mid-20th century, "written" by the fictitious persona of the village schoolteacher. I had never encountered these books before finding them recommended on a blog, but read a couple of the Christmas stories in December and enjoyed them enough to start the series. They are a cozy read, with no particular plot, but rather recountings of the different events and characters in the life of the village.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Another book set in Britain (I did have the reaction, about halfway through this one, that I needed to take a break for a while from books set in England), this one with a more contemporary timeframe, focusing on a retired British major who represents "tradition," and his romance with the widowed Pakistani woman who runs the local shop. I enjoyed this book, and (most of) the characters -- except the whiny ones, who you weren't supposed to like anyway. It was an interesting approach to the changing face of British culture, and the development of more multiculturalism -- usually, I see that presented in American books.

Half--Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

This is sort of a memoir of Jeannette Walls's grandmother -- although, since the grandmother died when the author was 8, it's put together via memories of her speech patterns, family stories, and research. I enjoy history, and good biography/autobiography/memoir, so what I particularly enjoyed was watching the development of American 20th century history unfold through the experiences of the author's grandmother -- her move to Chicago and getting a "flapper" haircut not only for social reasons but for safety, with the increasing use of machines in the workforce; her foray into bootlegging to support the family during Prohibition and the Depression, etc. The grandmother's life was mostly centered in the West, and the book has a very strong flavor of that. She was a strong woman, and I could hear her voice through the book.

To find more reading suggestions, visit the Booking It post at Life As Mom, where you'll read about what Jessica, Anne and Carrie have been reading.


Disclosure: Book titles in this post are Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase at Amazon after clicking through here, I will receive a (very) small percentage of the profits; there is no additional cost to you.

Goals for the Week of January 28, 2013

Well, I'm feeling rather tired today, and am not sure where my weekend went -- not a lot on the "need-to-do" list seems to have gotten done. But writing these goals down does help me to push myself to actually accomplish these things, so onward through the last week of January we go!

Last Week's Goals:

Finances and Organization:
- finish filing paperwork! (Nope.)
- clear out catchall basket of catalogs, etc. that have piled up over past month (Didn't even touch.)
- finish calendar info transfer (Nope.)
- sort through and discard/file school papers (Nope.)
- order free book from Children's Book of the Month Club before credit expires (did this one -- actually ordered two books that are sets of two each, so ended up getting four for the price of one; will use for holiday gifts)
- submit for utilities rebate (rethinking this)
- make appointment with lawyer for will (husband wants to fill out the questionnaire first)
- make tax appointment for March (hopefully, they'll have all the new forms ready by then ...) (no)
- update pantry inventory (no)

So, essentially, I did (almost) nothing on the finances and organization section of last week's goals. I thought that's what January was supposed to be about?

January goals:
- determine budget for February

Yearly goal:
- photo organization
- recipe organization
- kitchen (re)organization


Spirituality and Creativity:

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan (I'm almost through the November readings ...)
- put Girl Scout pictures onto troop sharing site
- say at least 3 new-to-our-family mealtime prayers (yes, including one lovely prayer composed on the spot by the six-year-old)
- finish reading book for church book group
- remember food shelf donations for church on Sunday!

January goals:

- finish chronological reading of Bible
- start a craft project -- new potholders?


Family and Friends:
- gather supplies for and lead Girl Scout meeting (6- and 7-year-olds learned how to use the "circle of safety" with a knife -- a butter knife -- wash dishes the Girl Scout way, and prepare healthy snacks)
- pick up troop Girl Scout cookie order (now we just need to cross our fingers that they'll be sold and get Out. Of. My. House!)
- finish read-aloud of Little House in the Big Woods, begin read-aloud of Little House on the Prairie (yes, complete with much explaining that "a long time ago" does NOT automatically equal "when you were a kid")
- do a cooking project among recipes 6-year-old has identified she'd like to try (no cooking together at home this week)
- catch up on Facebook
 - email out--of-state friend haven't indidvidually emailed since before Christmas

January goals:
- put in for spring break vacation time
- possibly make travel plans, hotel reservations

This Week's Goals

Finances and Organization:
- finish filing paperwork! (I want to get it done and out of my hair in January!)
- clear out catchall basket of catalogs, etc. that have piled up over past month
- finish calendar info transfer
- sort through and discard/file school papers
- submit for utilities rebate OR cancel
- make tax appointment
- update pantry inventory
- download will questionnaire and begin to work on it with husand
- determine budget for February

Spirituality and Creativity:

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan, possibly complete
- continue using prayer books at meals
- finish reading friend's book so can return it


Family and Friends:
- sign girls up for cookie club
- distribute Girl Scout cookies
- chaperone daughter to sell
- finish read-aloud of Little House on the Prairie
- spend time on a project or playing with 6-year-old

Friday's Fave Five

It's time for another Friday's Fave Five, hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. It has been a bitterly cold week, with highs well below zero and wind chills even colder - the kind that has me thinking, "OK, I'm done with winter." But still, there are things for which to be thankful.

1. Garages

It has been bitterly cold here this week, and I am very thankful to be at a point in my life now where my car can live in the garage overnight. At least it's a few degrees warmer when we get in in the morning, and there's no need to get out in the cold and scrape off the frost before anything else can happen for the day.

2. Breakfast Is Served

My six-year-old made me breakfast on a weekend morning. She poured milk onto Raisin Bran cereal a good 15 minutes before I could eat it (I have to wait an hour after taking morning medication before I can eat). She poured a glass of juice over the sink, and when I used the sink later, I found the dishcloth -- which I had just replaced, having washed the other one the night before -- to be completely soaked. But in this case, the idea of her making breakfast for me was such a sweet gesture that it really was the thought that counts.

3.  Abdallah's Candies

Abdallah's is a locally owned candy store in the Twin Cities that's been around for over 100 years, and is on the fourth generation of family ownership. My husband frequently gets me a couple of boxes of their candy for holiday occasions. I finished one of the Christmas boxes of chocolate mints -- which are mouth-meltingly deliciously flavored intensely with both mint and chocolate -- this week.

4.  Heated Car Seats

Whoever invented the idea of warming your seat by warming your seat was a genius.

5. New Refrigerator

Actually, I'm still getting used to the new refrigerator we had delivered this week, purchased at one of the January appliance sales. (It takes me a while to adjust to change, sometimes.) But I am thankful we were able to replace the old one - which we think was original to the house, from the 1980s -- before it completely gave up the ghost, as it was indicating was imminent. One of the aspects of the new fridge that I do like is the clear crisper drawers -- less likely for produce to be forgotten about until it's past its prime. (Or, for example, for the husband to forget about clementines and carrots in a refrigerator transfer ... perhaps I should be thankful the delivery people had the option of some fresh fruit for their lunch?)