Monday Headlines

Where to start...

1. I walked though the house this week, finding all the little things we could do in each room to make our house nicer to live in. I completely ignored the fact that I would love all new furniture and a new bedding set on this list, because those things aren't financially feasible at this point. But as a result of that project and a little creativity (and a good deal at Kmart - $3 for a valance!), I now have something (in addition to roller shades) to go on all three windows in the main part of the house. I got a can of spray paint to paint my worn out kitchen stool with. I also rearranged some things in the kitchen to give me more counter space, and cleaned out and organized my spice shelf...now I just need one of those lazy susan thingys. Maybe at Ross or Marshalls? I find that I quit seeing the things that bother me, and just feel frustrated. I had to take a step back and figure out where the feeling was coming from. Does everybody do this?

2. Also at KMart, we found the new Veggie Tales video on sale. Audrey LOVES movies. She actually put this one under her arm, and walked off. I heard her saying, "Don't worry, Veggie Tales, I get you." Not even kidding. How can you tell that kid no? We're going to have to find a way here soon...

3. We're making some tough financial decisions around here. Cutting back and figuring out additional income. Hard work. Sometimes being a grownup is hard and not so fun...

4. Pretty amazing sermon at church yesterday. Answered some nagging questions of mine, straight from the Bible.

5. I am so thankful for warm weather this week! I was able to put the girls in dresses without sweaters yesterday for the first time this year. We will definitely be out in the sunshine, and maybe I'll start to take on that garage organizing project that's been waiting for us all winter. We had the windows in the house open till like 11pm last night. Heavenly.

6. My mom gave me a copy of Gift from the Sea. She told me it was her favorite book when she was a young mom, and she read it over and over. I don't know that it ranks as my favorite, but it is definitely a good one. It was written almost 50 years ago, so traditional gender roles are assumed and not apologized for. It has put words to some of my feelings about being a wife and mother, and validated other feelings I already have. Plus, it's just "pretty" reading, if you know what I mean. Almost poetic.

7. I've been spending lots of time on Maeve lately. We're about to launch a blog on the site that will have pictures of fittings, and demonstrate the process. I'm pretty excited about it. I think it will help people really understand what goes into their gown.

8. The girls' checkup was Thursday. It went well. Hannah is 75th percentile for weight and 50th for height, and Audrey is 25th for weight and only 5th for height, but he wasn't concerned. We finally were able to get health insurance, and I can't tell you how nice it was to just walk out of there without paying anything out of pocket. I'm very thankful!

9. I made this Carrot Cake last night. I'm not sure what to think yet. She says it's not meant to be like white flour, white sugar cake, but it's pretty drastically different. It's more the consistency of a lemon bar or something like that. Crispy/chewy on the outside, and kind of gooey on the inside. As a HUGE carrot cake fan, I'm not sure yet if this is okay. Anyone else have a GF carrot cake recipe without eggs? Me neither. And egg replacer does not work well in the cake recipes I've tried. Although carrot cake is heavier normally, so maybe it's worth a try. I need a birthday cake in a couple of weeks!

10. I have a roast and fingerling potatoes from our produce delivery in the Crockpot. Dinner is gonna be yummy!

11. Two and a half weeks till my Bible school reunion in Estes Park! We're going up there for the weekend. I haven't been in probably four years. I wonder if it still feels like home? I wonder how much we've all changed in 8 years? I wonder what it will be like to meet everybody's spouses and kids?

12. (I told you I had lots to say today) I have another exciting project I'm working on...a worship piano curriculum. I am so very excited about this project. I have been hesitant to say anything about it until I was sure it would happen, but it's looking likely. I meet with a worship keyboardist (who will probably be my editor/publisher), a designer, and a finale (music notation software) expert on June 5th to brainstorm. This is going to be an incredible tool for music teachers who want to teach this style, but only learned a classical background. Individual students with a solid classical and theory background could also use it and teach themselves. More details to come!

On the docket for today: exercise, Home Blessing, hang up my curtains, clean my kitchen, play outside, teach piano, eat roast and potatoes, website work, find a babysitter for Thursday night so we can see Indiana Jones with my family...I'm sure there's more. Maybe we'll just drop it all and play outside instead. :)