TRULY

Truly, I am trying.

I have just been busy.

But, the good news is I have been busy doing what I set out to do this year.

I have, for the first time in a LONG while, finally achieved a feeling of being "caught up" on house work. Either that, or I have lowered my standards. LOL! More on that, in a minute.

My laundry has been relatively caught up. I'm never in a state of totally caught up. I have to average about 2 loads a day to keep up. Last week, I got everything washed, folded, hung, and put away....only to have my hubby come home about 45 minutes later with about 2 loads of laundry. :-)

I have been teaching CPR. Not a lot, but enough. Meaning, it is working out how I prayed. It has worked out wonderfully with my family schedule. It is fun. AND, it is giving us some much needed added income. :-)

JBQ is keeping me busy, especially with my oldest son. We have been studying a lot. I help with the team, and I quizmaster the meets. I LOVE IT!

I have not been subbing.... which is nice. I love the kids, don't get me wrong. And teaching.... I miss teaching. But, subbing is hard for a certified teacher.... many reasons why, the least of which is the scheduling. At night, I plan my next day: grocery shopping, cleaning out the FTU, The Lobby and sushi with my dear friend, laundry, baking day.... whatever.... and BAM. You get a call at 6, or 6:30, or 7..... needing you right away. It turns 4 school lunches into 5. Suddenly, the 4 uniforms you have sitting out is not enough to make your morning easy.... you gotta find appropriate clothing, that you don't have time to iron..... no, this is much nicer. :-)

We had a lovely dinner last night with my niece, and her new hubby. Some of you remember the post that I put up "over there." We are moving on. If other parts of the family do not want to get on this particular band wagon, they don't need to. I'm not waiting for the "grown-ups" to facilitate a relationship.... because, remember, the "grown-ups" jacked it up to begin with.

I'm not bitter.... really.... I used to be pretty resentful about it all, but I'm finally OK with it, especially now that I am working to build those relationships. My boys adore them....and especially her hubby...who happens to be a pro baseball player.... HOW COOL IS THAT?

A surreal moment came last night when niece's DH got a phone call while here. He was asked where he was. He said, "We are at [DW's] aunt's and uncle's house." Just..... wow.

Last night, we also set up the chocolate fountain. It was a BIG HIT with the kids. Messy! Chocolate on the floor....all over the counter....and it was perfect. To dip, we had: pretzel rods, strawberries, marshmallows, angel food cake, and sugar wafers. DS#3 declared that we should set up the fountain at least once a month. I concur, whole-heartedly!

We have our 7th annual birthday bash coming up in a few weeks. Every February (the month of DH's and my birthdays) we invite some of our closest friends over.... The same 8 couples come out each year....we have a blast. The menfolk all go fishing for the day. (Those 3 other men are friends from elementary and middle school.) That evening, they return, bringing Mexican food. Their wives show up and we play games or visit.... the laughter is non-stop. We end the evening with promises of doing it again next year.

Speaking of birthdays: mine is in less than a week. And, my hubby is spoiling me, 'cause he's good like that. :-) I got some fabulous new blue suede platform pumps. (They have a 5-1/2 inch heel.) I am getting some Tom's. I will probably get a new dress to wear with the new pumps....'cause at this point, I have nothing to wear with them. :-) Plus, a Greek meal and a meal at Chipotle. Happy birthday to me!

Back to the beginning point: am I truly caught up? Or did I lower my standards? Yes, and yes. I finally....FINALLY reached a point where I allow myself to not have everything done, perfectly, at the same time. It took me several years to accept (I don't know if that is the right word) to realize that laundry NEVER ENDS! The housework NEVER ENDS!

I have tried schedules: certain days to do certain things. I have tried check lists. (Well, I still do checklists, because I LOVE checklists!) But, still...these things always leave me feeling defeated. I don't keep up with them like I anticipate.

Nope.... the secret (HA! as if you haven't figured this out yourself) is to take care of it when it needs taking care of. Of course, don't let things get to a grossness factor of 50. But, if you take care of it when it approaches.... I don't know.... grossness factor 27, then take care of. (Hey, I live in a house full of boys.... even my dogs are male, so a bit of grossness is expected.)

OK. I'm done. I've got nothing else. I know this isn't any type of "lightning bolt" moment. And, certainly, most of you have reached this point that I have taken OH, SO LONG, to approach. I'm slow to get on the train, but I usually get to the station on time.

I hope you are all doing well. I would love to read your comments. I hope to be back relatively soon.

BLESSINGS!

HOUSEHOLD HAPPENIN'S

Well, I know that I said I would be a little more diligent in blogging. And, I'm trying. I haven't forgotten. I just haven't had the time to sit down and blog.

Tuesday, I put up a recipe. I will try to start that up again. I need to really research, work, and possible create some new recipes. I love LOVE to cook and bake. It is a therapy for me. However, my husband doesn't want me to cook a lot of the things I normally cook. I consider myself more of a "Paula Deen" of cooking. I really cook a lot like she does.....Paula.... who, ironically, just publicized that fact that she is a Type II Diabetic. I would hate for my hubby, myself, or my children to have that to worry about.

I have a friend, who found out about a year a go, that she is diabetic. I know it upset her, at first. But, from what I can tell, she is coping.... and coping well. I pray for her on this. I know it has been something to work on, for sure.

ANYWAY, I need to create some recipes that a) give us the yumminess we love; b) involved enough to "therapize" me; and c) guilt-free enough for my hubby to enjoy. That is a *new* task.

In my project list (which I plan to put on my sidebar soon) I got my Christmas stuff down. Not a lot, I know, but it's a step in the right direction.

*Totally off-topic: my 4th son cut his hair... again! WHEN WILL HE STOP? So, we get to go in tomorrow to get a *real* haircut. *sigh*

Man....I started this, I think, on Friday or Saturday? It is now Tuesday. So, I will try to wrap it up and then start again.

Friday was a half-day for school. I love those. If the school didn't take attendance, I wouldn't have made them go. :-)

Saturday, I feel like we got a lot done on the house. Christmas is down.... though I am still finding remnants of my favorite holiday in parts of the house. Blue tinsel, a Minnie Mouse Santa hat, a snow-globe, 2 rugs, and a rubber ducky Nativity.

I got a good handle on laundry....for now. I have read, and tried (or thought of trying) various laundry schedules.... "Monday Blues," "Tuesday Towels," but honestly, that is too much thought. Basically, I need to average 2 loads a day to stay completely caught up.

Note, I said, "average." I don't always get 2 loads a day. Some days, it's 4 and I skip a few days.... or, as lately, I wash it, but don't fold it or put it away for about a week.... then I have several hours of separating, washing, drying, folding, and putting away. :-( I'm trying to get away from it.

The only set day I have to do anything is on Friday nights and Saturdays, the older 2 boys do their laundry. Then, I do the little boys' laundry. This allows us to have school uniforms done for Monday.

Hmmmm.... I don't know what I was going to talk about. I knew a few days ago. So, I shall go ahead and post this, then blog another day.

Later!

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

Hey, y'all... my friend, over here, has a recipe blog called "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday." I hope you will pop on over and see what you can see!

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 teaspon salt, 2 tsp chili powder all mixed together

1 tsp olive oil

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

32 oz chicken broth

2 cans rotel with green chiles

4 cups water

3 tbsp cornmeal

5 corn tortillas, cut into strips

Garnishes:

red onion, diced

avocado

cilantro

salsa

lime

Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil onto chicken. Sprinkle with the seasoning mixture. Set aside whatever you do not use. Bake in 375 oven for about 25-35 minutes, until juices run clear. Remove and shred with 2 forks.

Meanwhile, in a dutch oven, in 1 tsp oil, saute pepper, onions, and garlic until soft.

Add tomato paste. Cook out for about 2 minutes.Add chicken, broth, canned tomatoes, beans, and water.

Boil for about 45 minutes.

Mix 3 tbsp cornmeal (you can use masa) with a bit of water. Mix into soup.

Simmer for another 15 minutes.

Add corn tortillas that have have been cut into strips.

Turn off heat for about 20 minutes before serving.

Garnish

GETTIN' IT ALL TOGETHER

OK.... I have some motivation. It's motivation from a blog I like to keep up with. She can be *controversial, at times....though I agree with her about 95% of the time. :-)

Anyway, I will link to her blog as soon as I get her permission. Yes, she is public.... but it's one thing to read a blog...it's another to intentionally steer traffic toward said blog. SO.... I wait for that permission.

In her blog, she discusses a lot of housekeeping stuff. It is common sense type of stuff... but stuff that I often need to be reminded of. Because of her reminding, and because I like stuff like this, I am thinking of doing something similar.

So, hopefully tomorrow, and maybe every other day, I will try to write out some ways to get the home in order.... not just the house, as a building, but the HOME.... schedules, meals, shopping, recipes..... I am also wanting to redo my blog set-up.

This will be hard as I have NO clue how to code a blog. I bought this layout.... and I love it... however, I need a new, more functional layout. I might try some of the templates on here, but I like having my own design. I tried contacting the gal who did my blog, but she hasn't gotten back with me. Ow well.... what do you do? We shall see?

SO... for the 2, or 3 of you who read.... what do you think of this idea? Is it dumb? Is it good? Is it something you would be interested in reading? Let me know

Peace out....

THE NEW YEAR

I just trashed about 300 words of this entry. It sounded dumb.

I've talked about New Year's resolutions. I don't like them. They sound temporary.

I am just going to list some changes I want to make....not because it's the new year, but because I am finally fed up with some things. I hope I am able to make them stick.

• make, AND STICK, to a meal plan
• cook ahead more meals (or at least prep)
• coupon.....diligently
• blog at least once per week
• grow in the Word
• keep my kitchen counter free of the forest of paper that springs up......always

You know what? I'm done with this. I have a lot of housekeeping stuff to do. Some of the jobs are major projects. Some are short daily tasks.

I don't want to write out all this stuff.

SO.... I will write out some projects and things I want to accomplish. Nothing like the above, but "honey-do's."

• take down all of our Christmas stuff. :-) (Yes....it's still up.)
• paint the hallway
• have our foundation checked
• garden? maybe
• read at least 30 books (last year, I barely read anything, the year before.... 56)
• go through the boys' clothes
• clear out the little boys' toys
• shampoo the little boys' bedroom carpet
• either buy a new dining room table or get a picnic bench (cheaper and easier, I think)
• get my Master Seal in JBQ
• scan pictures
• transfer wedding video to DVD
• catch up on laundry

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

I KNOW........HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

OK.... needed the comic relief.... back to it:

• get new blog design
• make my Christmas cards
• work on the Christmas trees that I planned to do this past year
• work on the cookie decorating
• start going to bed by 10:30 most nights (as I type this at 11:00 pm)
• start a book outline
• organize *scrapbooks* for the boys.....ok..... start (nothing big or fancy, just organized, an such)
• shadow box for DS #1's JBQ shirt, patches, and medals
• organize, trash, donate my teaching supplies (most of it will go away)
• begin hand-writing letters to grandparents
• family portraits
• clear out/organize the garage (that alone could take weeks)
• learn how to clean our guns
• target practice once every 1-2 months

That's all for now. Buh-bye!