Homemade Christmas

I'm sure you all have read or at least heard about our Christmas changes this year.

Basically, we were getting overwhelmed and annoyed by all the negativity associated with Christmas shopping. After we'd been out grocery shopping! It was awful. Kids screaming and parents bribing them with treats, toys, games, etc., people pushing and shoving in the aisles and walkways, angry attitudes and a general disdain for positive living.

Well, I decided that I simply could not take part in that this year. I told Robert I really felt like we ought to make or bake all of our gifts this year. (This was back in late October/ early November). He agreed with me, and told me that whatever I felt like doing, he would support. He was just as irritated with the grouchy attitudes!

So, I sat down and made a couple lists: one for Christmas cards, one for who we were going to buy for, and one for budgeting. I have to admit, the budgeting one really didn't help at all, because at that point I was so undecided as to what I would be doing.

Anyway, here are the much anticipated pictures of a few things we did:

From left to right, Mocha Hot Cocoa Mix, White-Chocolate Raspberry Dessert Spread, and Orange Creamsicle mix. (I think I spelled Creamsicle wrong on the label, whoops!

Add caption

This recipe was sooo easy! Vanilla instant pudding, tang, more vanilla pudding, lemonade!

Mocha hot cocoa mix was super fun to make! We just mixed cocoa powder, dry milk powder, chocolate chips, Starbucks Via coffee and sugar (and a couple other small ingredients). Then we divided it into jars. :)

White-Chocolate Raspberry Dessert Spread - made with real vanilla beans, raspberries, pectin, sugar, white chocolate and a few other yummy ingredients. This was a BIG hit!

 

I did make some blankets for my dad, step-dad, and brothers, but I spaced on taking pictures of them. They were pretty easy, though: fleece + embroidery floss for the folded edges + 15 hours of sewing. :) I chose Dallas Cowboys fabric for my step-dad, gray, white and black plaid for my dad, blue & brown for my younger brother (to match his room), and black with white trim for my older brother (since he lives in San Diego, and I have no idea what his room looks like, lol). 

We also framed some pictures for moms and dads and grandparents as well. 

Anyway, that was our homemade holiday in a nutshell. We had a lot of fun working together to make special gifts to give to everyone, and I'd say it was a successful Christmas! (We spent less than $100 on gifts for about 25 or 30 people).

What We're Doing This Year

Tonight's errands confirmed for me that I made a good decision with my husband this year.

This year, I have a little poem that I wrote that I'm living by. I call it, "Christmas For Real." (Those of you who watch the Food Network probably have seen Sunny Anderson's show, "Cooking For Real." It's where I got the idea for the title.)

Christmas For Real

By Kimi Crombie

Instead of spending time,

Getting tied up in store hopping,

We're going to save the headache,

And forego the Christmas shopping.

On brand new toys, clothes, and random gifts, 

We will not spend a penny, 

Because the blessings that we already have,

Are so very many!

We want to show our love and care,

To those who love us so,

Therefore this year instead of shopping,

It's homemade and home-baked we go!

This year we're trying something new,

Without the holiday stress,

And instead we're going to make or bake,

All our gifts to give the rest. 

To give you some reasoning, I got the overwhelming conviction early on this holiday season (before Thanksgiving), that seeing what the Christmas season brings out in people is genuinely a gross display of selfishness, greediness and impolite behavior towards the general public.

One example is what happened to me today. I was in a crosswalk, walking from my SUV to a store, and traffic heading one way had already stopped for me. A woman in a sports car was racing through the parking lot and barely screeched to a halt about 3 feet from me (again, I'm already halfway through the crosswalk), and I yelled, "What are you doing?! Drive slower! You could kill someone!" She was shocked; I saw it on her face, but as soon as I started to continue walking, she stepped on the accelerator. She almost hit me not once, but twice. 


Now you tell me: Is it really that important that she beat the next car (you know, the one that stopped for me), or is it more important that a pedestrian's safety be preserved? I don't really want to answer that based on my experience only. But it is disgraceful.

So here's what I've come up with:

We're not shopping for everyone. Family and a few close friends - that's it. We've already bought each other our gift - a new TV. Everything we give to others will be homemade or home baked. Period. This can be anything altered or made to look new, but it cannot be a store-bought only item.

I must say that even at this point in the season, I'm still thankful that we've made this decision. I don't feel pressured to buy things, I don't feel like we're so pressed for time that we have none to ourselves, and our wallet doesn't feel crunched, either. We've discussed this many times, and we are certain that we're enjoying this year's Christmas season more than years past. It's too early to know if it's because of my policy this year that Robert whole-heartedly agreed to, but still - I'm loving it.

I would encourage you to try the same thing. Just see what happens when you open yourself up to it!

Thought I'd Escaped...

....the cold and flu season. :(

Sad to report that I definitely have the onset of a nasty cold heading my way. My chest now burns (new symptom), I have a very sore throat and sinuses in pain, as well as two ears that really hurt.


If you think of it, please pray for me today. I really don't have time to have a cold, and I've been diligent to get 8 hours of sleep every night, and to take time to rest during the afternoon.

Thanks!

This Weekend in the Crombie Home

Well, a few of you know the struggles that we've had here with our red Espana dishes that we registered for when we got married.

If you don't know exactly what happened, here it is in a nutshell:

We registered for red Espana dishes at Macy's a few months before our wedding. They were supposedly dishwasher and microwave-safe.
We got a bunch of dishes for our wedding (10 place settings and some serving dishes).
Within 2 months, 6 pieces were cracked, chipped and/ or broken - all from the dishwasher.
Within 6 months, Robert had burned his hands on a serving plate that was, again, "microwave-safe," and the plate broke apart in his hands!
Within 18 months, nearly every piece form the Espana dishes we had was cracked, chipped, broken or unable to be used because they are not microwave-safe.

So, instead of being upset about it any longer, I finally called the makers of Espana. I was on hold for nearly an hour, passed from person to person until I finally got a CEO or something. (I don't really remember who, because I was so angry by that point!) I explained for the 7th time that day why I had a problem with their products. The person I was speaking to told me that I was "definitely not being truthful," and that "they stood behind their dishes," AND they REFUSED to refund my money. I was hung up on.

That was the last straw for me.

Our friends and family spent good money on those dishes, and so did we! I called the Macy's where we registered, and got the manager of the bridal registry department. She was super nice and helpful, and before I even got my first full sentence out, she asked me, "You registered for Espana, didn't you?" I was shocked. Apparently, we are not the only people to have these problems! She told me to clean it all up - whatever we had left - she had pulled up our registry and verified what was purchased for us, and told me to bring it all to her there. She told me they'd give us the value of it on a gift card to replace it with something more worthwhile.

They did better than that.

Robert and I went on a weekday afternoon (the only time we could do that 25-mile trip), and we returned it all. It took awhile, but we were given the full value for each of the 10 place settings and the serving sets on a gift card. The total was $430.

We used that gift card to purchase "every day china," which is made by a reputable brand, it is dishwasher, microwave and freezer safe, and my favorite part: If we have any problems, we just bring it back and they'll replace it. No questions asked. We ended up getting 16 place settings, 4 or 5 serving pieces and are very happy with our new dishes!

Since Robert likes round and I like square, these dishes were an excellent compromise: square-shaped with rounded edges. We can even put round bowls, plates, etc. with it, and it looks fantastic.

Here's a picture of Robert opening everything and getting ready to wash it all:

So, after the dishes arrived on Friday and they were unpacked for the most part, I had my violin recital yesterday. (No, I will not be posting the video on here). It went very well. :)

Today, we had to be at church bright & early so I could play with the orchestra.

Now, it's jurisdictions and other random chores time! We are whipping this place into holiday shape. My goal is to get all the rooms picked up and bathrooms cleaned, and the rest of the Christmas decorations put up and the totes put back in the shed.


My break is over; it's back to work for this girl!

Not Just To Cross It Off

So, a lot of you have asked me why I'm so candid about my monthly goals and ambitions. Some of you have commented that you think I push myself too hard. Others have written me sweet notes of thanks for encouragement.

I do it for all these reasons, friends.

Isaiah 35:3 says, "Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble." 1 Thesselonians 5:14 says, "We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone."

How could I not try to live that out on my personal blog? It's a struggle to do daily, but that's one of the reasons I'm trying to get back to the basics with my goals this month.

For example, one of my goals is to encourage someone every single day. Today, while it may not be a big deal to everyone else, I had to go to Costco on my way home from work. I was tired, hungry, and had a long list in my mind of what needed to get done at home. I only needed one thing. (Not that you should put off your household, but you'll understand soon why I made an exception!) Instead of just racing through and getting what I needed, I called my mom and my auntie to ask if either of them needed anything from Costco, knowing that saving them the trip would make them so happy.

They both did.

In the course of getting to the aisles where I needed to get their items, I ran into Tim & Shelley. We chatted and had a great time visiting for a few minutes.

If I'd just had a narrow-minded perspective on that trip (which, wasn't really out of my way or too much more time-consuming than normal), I wouldn't have had the ability to encourage my auntie and her foster babies and my mom - all of whom were beyond grateful that they didn't have to go out to Costco! - and I would not have seen Tim & Shelley, as my item was not on the side of the store where they were.

I may have needed only one thing, but I turned that trip into a time-saving, encouraging blessing for my family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you find a way to encourage someone today!!

December Goals & November update

So, here are my goals from last month and the progress updates for each:


Keep up in Proverbs & Psalms reading with my friend - Same friend, same stuff. - Fail. 
Inventory pantry.- Success! Although, Robert technically did it, and he deserves all the credit!!
Make bed daily. - Epic fail. 
Get to bed 10 minutes earlier than usual. - Overall a great success. :) Missed a few days due to the holiday, though. 
Keep up with FlyLady. - Not. Even. Once. 
One organizational task per day; not five. - Zero would have been a better number to choose...
60 items in my shop by Dec. 10th. - Not yet complete.
Meal planning every Sunday. - Another epic failure. 
Don't clean before company. (Except Thursdays - Thursdays are laundry/ vacuuming days AND Ladies' Bible Study meets here). - Marked improvement, which I consider a success. 
Try to eat on schedule; not randomly. - This is nearly impossible with Hypoglycemia. 
Keep Information Area at church tidy and up-to-date (this is one of my newest jurisdictions outside the home).- Success! Although I sadly found the coupon drop box full of garbage and books a couple weeks ago, I fixed it and it hasn't happened again! 


Overall, I think the last month didn't go as badly as I anticipated when I sat down to blog tonight. 


We had several set-backs this past month, simply due to set-backs in life. Changes at work, changes with friends, and plenty of random curveballs otherwise. 


Generally speaking, I have been tired this month. Really, really, uncharacteristically tired. Some of it is probably stress, and a lot of it - I think - is that I'm lacking alone time. Whenever I get it, I'm too tired to do anything but sleep. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining! I'm just needing to try to fix that situation. 


My daily reading was an epic failure. But Shelley & I are going to give it another go, with more enthusiasm this month. 


My goals for December are as follows: 


Get all decorations up & finished by Sunday, Dec. 4th
All Christmas gift-making done by Dec. 20th (includes wrapping)
Make all wrapping paper & bows this year
Stay on track with my calendars, schedules and day planner
Keep sheets ironed on regular schedule
Do a better job of organizing the kitchen now that the pantry in the garage is done
Dust some baseboards (leaving this one open-ended)
Contribute more to the family income (since it's already happening)
Stop dwelling on negative comments, thoughts or actions
Get more into eBay selling again
Dust on a regular basis instead of when I feel like it
Keep up on vacuuming 
Try not to get bogged down with things that don't matter
Draw the picture I've been wanting to draw for years and finally get it done, framed and in the house
Stay current on our budget and savings plan (we've been achieving great goals, and have reaped excellent rewards so far!)
Seek wise counsel when I need it 
Find a way to encourage one person every day this month 
Be 5 minutes earlier to everything
Find a reason to remember what this season is really about every day
Work on what Auntie told me to :) 


That's a lot for the month. But I think if I truly am committed, I can do it. 


What are your goals this month? 

What are YOU grateful for?

This is just a random post.

I was blessed last week with winning an Xbox 360 with Kinnect from my work for doing the most sales during the month of October (yay me!) I was told that I succeeded in getting 2-3 weeks of work for our company during the slowest month of the year!

Very unlike me - and yet, like me all at once; I'll explain - tonight, we went to Costco and I got a new game for the Xbox. It was $5 off, which was somewhat frugally minded of me. (Hence my previous statement!)

Well, in addition to that, I was thinking about how much Robert and I have been blessed this past year: we made it through a really tough year, we got a second honeymoon to Hawaii nearly free, we went camping, we were given a new armoire and some cute canvas storage bins, we were provided for in times of need, I am making more money working part-time than I ever did full-time, and the list goes on and on.

I've been thinking of things daily that I'm thankful for. A local church has this on their readerboard this week: "What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?"

So far, here is my list:

Nov. 1st: I'm thankful for my jobless existence from October 2010 to August 2011. It taught us a lot, and showed me that I really shouldn't be doing a job I don't like and am not valued at. It also showed me that we got by just fine with willingness to submit to the Lord and sacrifice!

Nov. 2nd: I'm thankful for the opportunities to fellowship with other women, if only over coffee for a few hours at a cozy coffee house.

Nov. 3rd: I'm thankful for the conviction of my heart to open my home in hospitality to others. Despite cruel words, mean statements and my worried thoughts about how my house and home are perceived to others, I still do it, and I'm happy to!

Nov. 4th: This one is a tough one. I was driving around for 2 hours after work, running errands, doing more hunting for vendors for my home business, etc. I caught myself having a terrible attitude, thinking things like, "I just want to go HOME! I'm hungry and tired, and I don't want to do this!" It was so bad. I stopped and prayed, thanking God that I had a nice SUV to run errands in, that I had to deposit my paycheck and stand in a long line at the credit union, that I was hungry, and that I had a husband who was waiting for me - because it reminded me that I'm blessed to have that SUV, I'm earning a good paycheck and contributing to my family's income, I had food to come home to, and a husband who loves me. ALL VERY IMPORTANT THINGS!

Nov. 5th: Today, I am very thankful for little luxuries like a game system. We didn't have this stuff growing up. I'm not used to it. I didn't even know how to turn it on when I first got it! We had a Super NES - 3 years after they came out. That was as close as it came to a nice gaming system. While I don't NEED it, God has blessed me with it for some reason! Maybe it's just a way for us to spend more time with our friends, or for us to allow the youth at church to come and play while we fellowship over food or a Bible Study - I don't know. We'll see what God has planned! I'm having fun with it in the meantime, especially with the Kinnect!

What are YOU grateful for? Please, comment below! Just hit "Post a comment."

November Goals

October goals recap:

Make itemized listing of pantry contents. This includes both refrigerators, the freezer, etc.  - Nope. It's still in process, because we've done some major shopping in the past few weeks.
Get garage organized, move items in the house that need to be moved in. - In process.
Keep up with the kiddos in Trek & Journey material. Epic fail.
Have first 7 Bible Quizzing lessons ready by Oct. 22nd. They are ready, but the kiddos aren't. I need to stagger their release.
Keep up with Ladies' Bible Study and HOV Bible Study. Yep!No eating out unless it's a special occasion (this is going to be a goal from now until the end of the year).- Yep! Special occasions only!Get 2 new items per week in the shop. - Yep!Make bed daily. - Sadly, no. Even my best attempts failed.
Keep up in Proverbs & Pslams reading with my friend. Nope. Lost some days.
Keep the house picked up (no hot spots, etc.) - I'm calling this a fail, because I DO pick up every day, but I shouldn't have to. It should all be put away as soon as I'm done with it!
3 home-cooked meals per week (the other days can be left-overs, hodge-podge, etc.) - yep!
Learn canning, food preservation and stuff - Yep! Learned a lot with Robert's mom last week. :) (Compliments of Auntie Tricia's farm). Keep building pantry for the winter - Yep! Got plenty in there now! (I'll have to post a picture when we're done with inventory this month.)

November goals:

Keep up in Proverbs & Psalms reading with my friend - Same friend, same stuff.
Inventory pantry.
Make bed daily.
Get to bed 10 minutes earlier than usual.
Keep up with FlyLady.
One organizational task per day; not five.
60 items in my shop by Dec. 10th.
Meal planning every Sunday.
Don't clean before company. (Except Thursdays - Thursdays are laundry/ vacuuming days AND Ladies' Bible Study meets here).
Try to eat on schedule; not randomly.
Keep Information Area at church tidy and up-to-date (this is one of my newest jurisdictions outside the home).

Sleep is so important

After having a full-night's rest last night (8 hours, uninterrupted), I have decided something important.

I will not be going to bed late at all this week.

It's necessary for me to have 8 hours of sleep in order to function normally.

I'm making it my personal goal to get my stuff done prior to 10:00pm and get in bed by 10:15pm so I can be asleep no later than 10:45pm.

Here's to a good week due to good sleep! No more of this grogginess.

Season of Thanksgiving

Don't sigh. Don't roll your eyes.

This isn't a post about turkey and cranberry sauce.

It's a post about a season of thanksgiving.

I really have to say that for the better part of a week, I've been thinking often about how much stuff I have to do, all the housework to accomplish, all the grocery shopping to do, bills to pay, staying on track with my goals, keeping up with FlyLady, and everything else from Bible reading to ministry.

This is what I've come up with:

On Tuesday this week, I posted a status on Facebook that said

"I'm thankful today for a busy schedule, a messy kitchen, a to-do list that never ends, my job, my home businesses, and above all else - my husband. I'm thankful for all these things because it means that God has entrusted me with all these responsibilities."

Essentially, I was thinking that for all the grumbling, complaining, and whining that I do, and all the stress that is caused from my negative attitude, I could just obey Philippians 2:14 and deal with it with a smile on my face.

This is going to sound silly, but I've been watching 7th Heaven this week. Especially Season 4, episode 4. One of the main points is that Mary & Lucy want to have a bigger room in the attic, and do a small remodel to include a new bathroom and/ or closet. They suggest the church paying for it, and their mom says, "Have the two of you considered getting by with less, before you get greedy?" Sheepishly, they say no.


What I want to get through here is the point that in our home, we make daily sacrifices to have some small luxuries that some people don't even stop to consider.

For instance, we use coupons, sales and gift cards when we purchase nearly everything. And yet, people will see us in nice clothes, driving nice cars, and make the judgment that we're just spending money left and right. Not true. Additionally, we went through a season of life that God had us on our knees, asking for provision and care when I lost my job last October. What we found was that He wanted me home for some reason. I was able to do SO many things I hadn't been able to for years! (I've worked since I was not even 15 years old). I was able to catch up on rest, have coffee with a friend in the middle of the day, start couponing, teach piano, nanny and even organize the house more! I can't imagine what would have happened if God hadn't brought me home from a job that I really didn't enjoy and was constantly told that I wasn't good at. For the first week, I was hurt and confused and pretty much in a daze. But I got through it. My husband was extremely supportive, and it gave him the nudge to pick up more hours at his job and provide more for our family. We will both tell you that it was a privilege to go through that trial, because our marriage and our lives are so enriched and bettered by it!

Michelle Duggar says something that I love. "Any situation can make you bitter or better." We chose better.

After walking through our first year of marriage in a constant storm, we feel like we're more equipped to handle anything - within months saying goodbye to Robert's grandpa, my getting a new job and leaving where I'd been for 7 years, moving into a new, bigger home, saying goodbye to my best friend's brother, Brandon at 27 years old, my job loss and stresses at church - that was all between March and October of 2010! I tried to seek wise counsel in my friends, but none of them could even relate. Most of them raised their eyebrows, said, "Wow..." really quietly, and just hugged me. Those reactions led me to believe that God has been and continues to be providing a means for us to learn and grow so abundantly!

After all this thinking this week, several times I walked through the house thinking things like, "I'm thankful for a full linen closet, clean linens and an ironing board," or, "I'm thankful for our bed, our blankets and warm home," or even, "I'm so grateful that we have all that we do, because some people have next to nothing!"

I truly am so incredibly grateful for everything we have, everything we've worked for, and how blessed we are. I do not take anything for granted, and have been reminded this week to keep a humble attitude.

I want to encourage all my readers to see a messy kitchen or a pile of clothes to wash, dry and fold and be thankful, not stressed! It's so easy to be carried away in stress! I know, because I was hospitalized at 20 years old with heart problems because of it. That is no exaggeration. I keep the paperwork even still, because it reminds me of how completely stressed, stretched thin and tired I was.

During this upcoming month of November, I'd love to hear from all of you stories of thankfulness and reasons why.

I intend to share mine with you as much as possible. :)

Currently reading, currently cleaning, etc.

So, I'm sure all of you read about or heard about my mistake in the bookstore last week. If not, briefly, here it is:

I accidentally read about 75 pages of a book that I had initially picked up to put on my Christmas list for my family. (Those of you who ARE members of my family, my love of books needs no explaination!) Anyway, about 45 minutes had passed before I realized that I was sitting on the floor, feet propped up, and allowing people to pass over me - all while reading this book.

So, this is the book that caused me to be rude: Mosaic by Amy Grant.

And if I may, it's a FANTASTIC read so far! (Ironically, I haven't found time to keep reading it since that day in the bookstore, as I've been behind in my Bible reading and jurisdictions a few days.)

It really was my fault; it's not fair of me to say that the book - no matter how good of a read it is - caused my actions. I did apologize to the clerk, and she laughed and said, "Well, is it a good book at least?" Thank you, Lord, for giving me good-natured people to understand when I slip up! Also, I was able to get the book for $7.99 (about 45% off), and I also had a 20% off coupon. So it was less than $6 in the end. :)

This next picture is my office. We did a complete overhaul on it during the last couple of weeks. Got rid of clutter, emptied shredding/ burn piles, etc. It's still definitely a project in the works, as my desk is currently covered in coupons (jurisdiction project for this upcoming week is to organize, catalog and distrubute coupons as needed for about 7 papers' worth of what I've got waiting for me. Sigh.)

So anyway, that's what I've been reading and cleaning lately. This week, depending on what FlyLady emails me, I also intend to give the kitchen a good scrub and clean some baseboards (I know, boring!), because I did the mini blinds in all the rooms that have them less than 2 weeks ago. One other project I'd like to tackle is inventory of our pantry - both in the garage and in the house. It's nice to know exactly what is needed on a given shopping trip, especially when you have everything in one nice spreadsheet.

I just sent Robert to the grocery store for some items for Kristin's birthday party tonight. I made sure he had a regular list, a price check list, and all the coupons for each. He is such a good sport! He was the one who volunteered to go to the store, once I'd made mention that things needed to get done at home today, too. As I handed him everything he needed - coupon catalog, coupon sorter, list, pen, etc. - and explained about the rainchecks we  needed to cash in on, items to check on, etc., he just nodded and said, "Okay...okay, I can do that. Yep, I'll check on that. Okay, what about this? Okay."

It's so nice to have a husband that supports my ambitions, my goals for our finances, my OCD and coupon obsessions - and still allows me to mess up (refer to above book story) and gives me such grace!

A Good Decision

*Disclaimer* This is not a shameless plug. It's truly how I feel!

So, awhile back I started teaching piano lessons. Actually, a few years ago now. My first student moved away, but the family decided it would be best for her to keep me as her teacher and do lessons via Skype, and try to visit and get an hour-long lesson in (twice as long as usual) as much as possible. It's been going very, very well - better than my student's mom or myself could have ever anticipated.

Around the same time I started teaching piano lessons, I also started a business from my home. You can check it out here.

Both of these endeavors required me using PayPal to receive payment, and sometimes remit payment (to my vendors for my shop). For the longest time, I had to transfer any payments from my PayPal account to our checking account before we had access to that money. Let me tell you, that was such a strain on us when we only had one steady income! It also took 4-7 business days to get the money.

This is a picture of a tool that I now have that saves us time and headaches regarding payments to me from piano lessons, my home businesses (I also sell on eBay), and is all-around beneficial for us.

In fact, today, I got paid from one of my businesses, and we were able to run to the grocery store, keep a tight reign on the budget, and stock up on some important items at the grocery store!

I encourage any of you who do business from home to sign up for PayPal - it's safe, fast and easy - and apply for a PayPal debit card ASAP!

Courageous

Robert and I don't get to go to the movies often. When we do, we're selective of what we watch, because it's a special thing for us.

Well, we've been saving up movie ticket vouchers and getting 2-for-1 deals on websites and such for the last year or so. We've seen some excellent movies on our vouchers!!

But last Friday we saw one that I would have paid full price to see over and over again.

Courageous.

I first heard about this movie when I was watching an episode of one of my favorite television shows, "19 Kids & Counting," on TLC last season. I saw the Duggars were extras in the movie - how cool! I also noted the actors and that it was written & Directed by Alex Kendrick (who also played a main character in the movie), and that it was a Sherwood Pictures production (of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, GA.

I knew we were going to see it. Period.

My life was changed because of that movie. Not because I'm not living like I should be, but because God used the people who made that movie to remind me of how precious life is.

The synopsis is simple: 4 men working and living the American Dream, for the most part. There's another main character, a man who is struggling to keep ahead and is fighting for what God is directing him to do. Throughout the entire screenplay, you grow with the cast. You feel for them, your soul weeps for them, and you feel as though you ought to be praying with them.

I have to say, I've never seen a movie quite this amazing on so many levels. From the opening scene to the final scene, it captured my attention and captivated my heart.

There is no shame in the production of this movie at all. It's wholesome, it's clean, it's got a fabulous message - not just for fathers or families, but for people in general - and it presents the Gospel, clearly!

Michael Catt, Jim McBride, and Stephen and Alex Kendrick - thank you for producing a movie I'm proud to see with my husband! We will be pre-ordering this on DVD as soon as possible.

What are you waiting for? GO OUT AND SEE THIS MOVIE!

What I learned about myself today

So let me explain today.

 I went to work this morning, and my first task was to shop for and decorate the office with Halloween/ autumn decor. SCORE! It looks so great. :) And it didn't take that long, either.

I had big plans for fall cleaning: finish the vacuuming (3 bedrooms and hallway), clean bathrooms (not yet, but I will before I go to bed), clean floors besides carpet (not yet, might have to wait until tomorrow), and some dusting. I was able to dust the family room and living room yesterday, as well as our bedroom and all the mini blinds in the house. I also had a couple random little tasks that I was working on.

Well, I was all wrapped up in cleaning and organizing when Robert reminded me that it was almost time to leave for Women's Ministry. I told him, "I don't really think I want to go. We're sewing tonight, and I know that the ladies there know SO much more about it than me. I pretty much do my own thing and wing it. I've got LOTS of wing it. I've got wing it to spare!" To which he replied, "I don't mind if you stay home. But I think you should go. Does it really matter if they know more than you do? You were asked to help with a project."

I thought about it, but I still didn't really want to go. I got really nervous and anxious, mainly because I don't have any formal sewing training or expertise. I know what my family taught me, and what I've learned on my own. I still had about 30 minutes to decide, so it was okay.

At 6:30, I put down what I was working on and went with Robert to the church (I asked him to drive me so I didn't have to haul all my fabric canvas boxes, sewing machine and kit, ironing board and iron, etc. on my own).

I couldn't have been more wrong about tonight.

There weren't more than ten of us there (kind of sad, but also easy on my nerves), and there were only 3 sewing machines there. Mine was one of them. I started out by getting all set up (after I briefly excused myself to update the church's Information Board), and then was asked for help. ME! I was asked to help someone with their machine!

I fixed it with ease, and showed the person to whom it belonged how to avoid the problem in the future.

The rest of the evening went pretty much like that. I helped people, I got to share in fellowship, and we got stuff done.

I'm so glad my husband and some other people encouraged me to go tonight. :) I learned that, just as the older women can encourage the younger women, sometimes the younger women can help the older women, too. And that it's never too late to say, "yes," as long as your heart and mind are open to all that entails.

What I'm doing....

Today is just crazy.

I went to work this morning, came home at 12:15, and immediately grabbed a quick bite to eat and started the bread order I have to fill today.

I also fluffed the load of laundry in the dryer, and picked up a little bit.

Now, I'm waiting for the next signal on the bread maker to take out the paddle, going to fold a load of laundry, and vacuum.

Here's to a super busy afternoon.

Best Deal Ever

I have no idea how this happened....

But I got these tights:

For $0.03...

God must have known I needed a pick-me-up today :)

October Goals

Here's the update on September goals: 


3 Skype coffee dates w/ Tiff - fail. Not even one. :( Our schedules are really difficult to coordinate now that she's so far away. 
Accountability buddies starting up again w/ Tiff - Haven't gotten there - yet. But October is fresh, and I think we'll try it this month. 
Read book of Proverbs every day, tie in Psalms to finish both in a month - Fail. Trying it again with an accountability buddy who is a good friend, and a spiritual mother whom I look to for guidance, help, etc. 
Get Bible Quizzing materials started - not yet. Fail. Going to get this started immediately this month. 
Bed made daily; regardless of what time - Hardly. We were gone way too much. 
Sell more on eBay than 3 items - Nope. Organize garage w/ Robert - Nope. 
Start working on Christmas gifts - Yep! :) All of my gifts will be homemade this year, and I'm looking forward to it. 
Stronger commitment to Women's Ministry - Yes! This is going very well for me. So glad we have the program now. 
Less time on computer in living room; more in office - Yes! Made possible by the new Desktop computer. :) Pick out new desktop, shop w/ dad, PURCHASE - YES! As mentioned above. :) HUGE accomplishment. It was really difficult, but I finally picked one out that I think will last several years. 


That being said, I see a lot of red in my goals. Part of it was a lack of commitment, and part of it was the start up of the fall and other commitments on our plates. I don't see it as failure; I see it as a starting point.


My goals for October have stemmed from September's shortcomings: 


Make itemized listing of pantry contents. This includes both refrigerators, the freezer, etc. 
Get garage organized, move items in the house that need to be moved in.
Keep up with the kiddos in Trek & Journey material.
Have first 7 Bible Quizzing lessons ready by Oct. 22nd. 
Keep up with Ladies' Bible Study and HOV Bible Study.
No eating out unless it's a special occasion (this is going to be a goal from now until the end of the year).
Get 2 new items per week in the shop. 
Make bed daily. 
Keep up in Proverbs & Pslams reading with my friend.
Keep the house picked up (no hot spots, etc.)
3 home-cooked meals per week (the other days can be left-overs, hodge-podge, etc.)
Learn canning, food preservation and stuff
Keep building pantry for the winter


Here's to another fresh start and I hope that you all will join me in setting some goals and getting things done!

I need a buddy....

*Disclaimer* I intend to ask my BFF to stick with me as my accountability buddy, but I want another one, too. So Tiff, if you read this, I love you and I still need you to help me!! I just need more help than I thought!

Help.

Two of my friends are away at college - one in CA, one in WY - and I need an accountability buddy up here in WA. My friends are the BEST friends I could have! But they're so far away that the accountability is not the same. I still need them; just in a different way.

Basically, here is what I'm asking:

I'm going to be setting some goals (which I'll post again in my October Goals post). I want to have some people jump on this bandwagon with me to help me, and have me help you.

1) Read Proverbs every day. One chapter per day; that's it.
2) Read the book of Psalms in its entirety during the month of October. (I think it's roughly 4 chapters per day).
3) Stick to my jurisdiction schedules.

Those are my goals. Seems simple, but there's so much more to it.

I just want someone I can check in with daily to keep each other accountable with the reading and jurisdictions (maybe you call them "chores." I got the idea to call them "jurisdictions" from a book written by credible Christian authors, and I like it: It gives meaning to the chores, it shows responsibility just in the title, and it's a nicer-sounding title than chores, in my opinion.) This check-in could be anything from a quick text message to a long email. It could include details on what the Bible reading meant to us, or just how we went about our day.

Just one. That's all I ask. Any takers??

I love birthday deals!

Here's a summary of the birthday deals I've scored so far:

1) $20 off any 2 entrees at Anthony's Homeport in Everett
2) Free birthday burger at Red Robin (redeemed last week)
3) $10 gift certificate to the Alderwood Mall (redeeming that tomorrow afternoon)
4) New Uggs for less than $70 (they gave me a "birthday discount" when I called Overland.com)
*(5)* Amendment: I also got $10 for Kohls, which I spent on 3 shirts - a blouse and two tank-tops - but that wasn't really birthday-related; just a good coincidence!

My hubby also bought me tickets to the Michael W. Smith/ Amy Grant concert, and I even got a t-shirt there!

My dad helped me carefully pick out and (finally) purchase a new desktop computer and monitor.

I think I got a few other random emails from retailers, offering me 25% off this, or 15% off that, but those aren't good enough deals for me to do anything with.

I still have some $$ left on my Eddie Bauer gift certificate that I won last fall, so I'm taking that with me to the Alderwood mall tomorrow and will hopefully combine that with my $10 free to score something awesome. :) I also intend to spend my $5 for Old Navy/ Gap/ Banana Republic that I got from my rewards program.

I LOVE birthdays!!

6 Albertson's doubler coupons this week!

The Sunday paper came with 3 Albertson's doubler coupons this week.

Also, though, if you "like" the Albertson's page on Facebook, you can print 3 additional doubler coupons from this link.

Hurry, these are going to go fast! I just printed mine.

"The Help"

Wow.

Really and truly.

Very rarely does a movie ever make me laugh and cry!

Because we had to use our vouchers for Fandango.com by yesterday, and I had to call LivingSocial to get them to refund my $9 total for the two tickets due to the fact that I was unable to redeem them (until, of course, after 20 painstaking minutes of explaining to the customer service at LivingSocial that their site wasn't even allowing me to see any of my vouchers, let alone the one that was expiring at midnight), and I finally got my tickets printed - I decided that we were going to see "The Help." (I did call LivingSocial back, by the way: They had refunded the $9 already, and credited my account for $5 worth of LivingSocial bucks! So, because the deal cost $9 for two tickets, and I shared the deal with 4 people - one being my husband - I got my deal free, but we had to pay $9 for his. In short, we made $5 on this deal, even after I called LivingSocial back to explain that I'd finally gotten my code to work. They said not to worry about it, and just keep the $5!)

Now, usually, we don't go see movies at the theater. It's way too expensive. I don't even buy brand new DVDs very often anymore, unless I get a super great discount and/or coupon. We pretty much get everything online for cheap, or at Half Price Books (where I recently scored Sweet Home Alabama on DVD for $6.99 + 20% off on Labor Day!) However, because we had two sets of free tickets from LivingSocial, as well as two other pairs of tickets from birthdays/ Christmas - we went to two movies this summer!

The second one being "The Help."

I can honestly say that even if most critics didn't take Emma Stone seriously after "Easy A," or "Malcom in the Middle" - this critic has only ever seen her in "The Help," and I think she is really making a name for herself. Talk about a difficult and challenging role to play! Well, I won't comment much on the amazing and incredible wardrobe she got to use for the role of Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, but IT WAS SIMPLY STUNNING! But between her character's emotional highs and lows in the movie, and the fact that she was playing a part from yesteryear - she was absolutely and positively radiant.

Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer co-starred in what were unarguably the most dramatic roles I have ever seen in a screenplay. (Which, I really must say, the writer of the screenplay did nothing short of a phenomenal job!) This movie will wind up being talked about for years as revolutionary - even 40 some years post - the Civil Rights Movement's big steps.

This is a really long-winded way of saying: "Well done!" "Two thumbs up!" "3 out of 5 Crombies approve! (only because the other two haven't seen it yet)." "Stunningly convicting and real!"

Best. Movie. Ever.

Garage/ Estate sale today!

I didn't know how many people truly read my blog until I logged the stats - WOW!

That being said, thanks for reading my stuff!

And...I will be blogging more. :)

Today, we're having a garage/ estate sale at Grandma Crombie's. The information is here. There is plenty of clothing (mens size L-XL, women's size 10-12), antiques, collectibles, books, etc.

Who wants to bring me a grande soy pumpkin spice latte??? :)

Friday nights....

....are super busy. Always.

I chose to go to Daniel's house tonight, to hang out with Shepherd's Praise (the worship band I play in). I chose to ask my husband to go to the MP football game so I could still turn in a blog for Wesco Athletics. (Don't worry; I fully intend to give him credit where it's due!) And now I'm thinking that I might choose to go to bed early.

It seems like we always have stuff going on, especially on Friday nights. It's like the culmination of the week for us. Pretty much everything happens on Fridays! It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm starting to wonder what life was like before we had all this stuff going on.

Don't get me wrong; it's good stuff! I love being the kind of busy that I am! The problem is that I am feeling stretched and challenged to be home more, to do more here at home and to have more one-on-one time with my husband.

It's so hard to choose between family and church stuff, or even fun stuff, like football games. I don't ever regret any choices I make regarding where I go and when, because I know that I'm where I'm supposed to be. But sometimes, I just wish I could find more hours in the day. Even though I know the old saying, "When God made time, He made enough of it."

Tomorrow, we'll be helping Grandma Crombie's garage sale efforts. Starbucks is in my NEAR future!!!!

My 30-day anniversary with Powers Chimney & Masonry

Hey,

I know several of you have asked questions about my new part-time job, and I've just composed a short blog today about my first 30 days here!

Please check it out, and ask any questions you have for me as comments on the blog! You can read it Here!

My day off

I finally took the plunge and got our new desktop computer today with my dad.

Let me just say that I think Dad & I did a pretty good job at shopping around, comparing features and prices, and I am very happy with what I got!

Now, I just have to clean up the huge mess on the floor of the den which contains everything I dumped off the desk to get this new contraption up and running, lol.

However, I also wanted to encourage my readers with the tidbit fact that I am accomplishing goals, little by little! Today, I got that HUGE check off my list (believe me, deciding to finally spend the time/ money on this necessary purchase for our household was a very painstaking process), and I even remembered to make the bed! (Who cares if my day was mostly over when I did it?!)

Also, I noticed a better attitude in myself when I checked these things off my list today. I'm praying that I keep that good attitude all week, as Awana starts on Wednesday, I return to work tomorrow, and all the other stuff going on plays itself out.

I intend to get caught up on my Bible reading tonight. I finally started it last night, but I do NOT want to get behind!! (At least, not more than I am.) I attribute the fact that I'm behind in it to the lingering bits of a crazed August schedule - we definitely learned to say, "No, not tonight. We need to be at home," more frequently. It surprises me how desperate I am to be at home now that I'm working part-time.

Anyway, that's all for this girl tonight; on to more goals!

September goals!

August completely got away from me.


Between returning to work part-time to Robert's sometimes crazy work schedule, I have been constantly worn out. Admittedly, I could have done way better. I know that I made conscious choices to procrastinate, and it kind of hurts to say that so candidly. But it's the truth.


In addition to all the work stuff we had going on, we did 40 hours of Peace Makers training at our church over two weekends, immediately followed by helping move Grandma Crombie into her new cottage on Aunt Kathy & Uncle Kelly's property (I promise to post pictures as soon as she gets settled - it led me to tell Uncle Kelly 3 times that he is going to be the GC on our first custom home!), and Awana getting started.


Basically, we've been on the go all month long. It's been fun, exhausting, and exciting all at once. But I am more than ready to start fresh in September.


Here's the meat and potatoes of my post, before I talk a bit more about September:


Keep up with Sunday School class material - epic failure. With all the Peace Makers stuff, I was way too busy to even attend Sunday School, let alone keep up with it. I intend to get caught up, though!
Keep up with Bible Studies - definitely a success! I kind of started to spread out the reading/ bookwork for all of these throughout the week, and not only was it more enjoyable, but it was way less regimented. This will continue!
Help Klaudia & Fran at Awana (in addition to my Director responsibilities) - Success! I did all the Sunday School attendance schedules, Sparky book schedules and a few other little tasks for them, and I did it with a smile on my face. :) 
Keep up with cleaning days - fail. 
Stay on-task with FlyLady - epic fail. 
Read book of Proverbs every day (the chapter which corresponds to the day) - I didn't even start this yet!Make bed daily - that was way too hard with Robert's schedule and my returning to work. It didn't get done more than 5 times, I'm sure. 
Organize one "thing" or "area" per day - Not so much.
Sell 2 loaves of bread on Etsy - there were 0 bread sales in the month of August, despite my promos. Keep reading daily - We'll call this a success. Blogs and news and websites count, right? :) Organize coupon cataloging curriculum to teach it to the ladies at church in the Women's Ministry - Not a failure, but it hasn't been done yet. 


September goals: 


3 Skype coffee dates w/ Tiff
Accountability buddies starting up again w/ Tiff
Read book of Proverbs every day, tie in Psalms to finish both in a month
Get Bible Quizzing materials started
Bed made daily; regardless of what time
Sell more on eBay than 3 items
Organize garage w/ Robert
Start working on Christmas gifts
Stronger commitment to Women's Ministry
Less time on computer in living room; more in office
Pick out new desktop, shop w/ dad, PURCHASE


So, yes, all the goal failures this summer will be a work-in-progress this fall. I just think it's more important to focus on moving forward than being held back by the old goals. 


Last week I attempted to order my new day planner for 2011-2012 from UW Bookstore. I don't know what was going on, but I've always gotten free shipping on it (even post-grad), and for some reason, they wouldn't do that for me this year. I got frustrated, and decided to make my own. Thanks to my friend Kristin, and some brain-child ideas of my own, I'm currently working on getting it all together with some extras like meal planning sheets, shopping lists and charts, budget pages, etc. 


As I go into September, I'm going to purpose to have each day be a fresh start. In August, I let myself be discouraged every day when I didn't get things done, and I gave up day by day and week by week. NO more. 


Thanks for reading and keeping me accountable. 

What's happening?

3 weeks ago on Monday, I went back to work part-time. I'm loving working, and bringing home a paycheck while still being able to do everything I need to do at home.

Scratch that.

Let's be honest: I'm slacking. Big time.

My husband has been so understanding, and willing to help with this change in our lives. Yesterday, for example,  my leg was killing me. (We'd been in meetings and constantly on the go all weekend, and we didn't get much sleep on Sunday night). I came home, attempted to get some stuff done, and ended up having to lay down to rest my leg for awhile. I accidentally fell asleep for nearly 2 hours. I felt so guilty that I apologized several times, even though Robert insisted that it was okay, and that he didn't care, and - most importantly - that I needed the rest.

The downfall to this is that I am behind in nearly everything at home, not because I don't have time to get to it, but because I can't prioritize like I need to.

I'm trying to do everything I was doing before I was working in addition to working, and - it's not working.

I'm attempting to re-do jurisdictions, schedules and everything else here so that things can fall into place again.

Don't get me wrong; our house is not messy, and we have plenty to eat. It's more like my cleaning days are off, the laundry is never quite done and my computer stuff is way behind. So, to any other person, the home would appear in order. But for my OCD brain, it's SO not.

Here's to re-doing everything!

August Goals & July Update

Last months goals and standings are as follows:

Make bed daily - This proved to be too difficult with Robert's work schedule, and the schedule here at home as fall approaches and we have been on the go most days. I will keep this goal for next month, though. 
Keep office picked up and dusted - Success! The office didn't get too messed up; just the inbox of mine on the far right corner of my desk. 
Sell 3 loaves of bread on etsy - Success!
Write down my goals and keep track of them - Maybe if I'd written down the fact that I wanted to write down my goals, this would have been able to be accomplished! :) 
Keep track of grocery expenditures - Yes and no. I saved all the receipts and I know we were way under budget (go us!), but I didn't really catalog any of it (yet). 
Find a way to bless someone at least once per week - Success! 
Keep reading every day - I have been reading every day! And I love it. 
Go camping - Success! We went to Lake Roosevelt at Fort Spokane with Bryce, Angie, Brittany & Jacob, Ashley and Olivia. So much fun!
Pick one household project to do every day - Success! Although, for this next month, this will be changing a little. 
Stay on task with FlyLady - Epic failure. Don't even want to talk about it. 
Keep up on cleaning days - Only a fail because of unexpected events that kept me from sticking to my schedule. 
Keep dishes clean and out of the sink - Refer to above remark about cleaning days. 
Have a coffee date with a girlfriend at least twice - Success! Even though it was the same person. :) (Love you, Mama H!) 
Find more quiet time to myself - BIG success! Even when we were camping, I was able to find some time to get away and read quietly, or just relax, even, with no agenda. Love. :)
Read a book of the Bible every week - This is way too difficult with 3 other Bible Studies and other stuff going on. 
Post a focus Scripture daily somewhere in the house - I ended up completely forgetting about this. 




So, for the next month, (August), I'm revising a bit. I think goals always need revisions, and this is healthy. I'm starting today, though, not on the 7th. I found myself in limbo with decisions, goals, and a bunch of other random stuff. 


Oh, for those who didn't know, I took a part-time job this week! I'l be working Monday-Friday 8am to 12pm as a Lead Controller/ Administrator for a local construction company. I'm loving it so far, and they even gave me Friday off, because I'd gotten all my hours in earlier in the week. :) 
It works great for Robert and me, as my being home is a really necessary thing for us in our marriage. We've had plenty of people give us grief for this, saying everything from "you need to be working extra overtime and earning as much money as you can," to "that's ridiculous. You can't possibly  make that work." Well, Robert and I feel very strongly that the decision is ours, and that we are happy with it. The only reason I went back to work is because I received a very, VERY nice offer for an opportunity to work in an environment that is not toxic, with part-time hours and a pretty sweet salary. (I'm making more working part-time than I ever did full-time). This allows me to stick to my schedules, get stuff done at home, and keep my hubby and I happy. :) 


So! The following are my August goals: 


Keep up with Sunday School class material
Keep up with Bible Studies
Help Klaudia & Fran at Awana (in addition to my Director responsibilities)
Keep up with cleaning days
Stay on-task with FlyLady
Read book of Proverbs every day (the chapter which corresponds to the day)
Make bed daily
Organize one "thing" or "area" per day
Sell 2 loaves of bread on Etsy
Keep reading daily
Organize coupon cataloging curriculum to teach it to the ladies at church in the Women's Ministry


Well, that's it! Here's to getting stuff done!