Inside I'm a compulsive horse-race gambler...

I had an epiphany last night.

It was in the middle of watching "Secretariat" with extended family.

As I sat on the edge of my seat, heart racing, sweat beading up on the palms of my hands, fingers digging into the upholstery of the couch, I had a mind-boggling, life-altering revelation.

In another reality, one where I am the wife of a rich entrepreneur living in a large antebellum mansion back east, sipping sweet tea on the veranda with the ladies bridge club in the afternoons, watching the maid clean my marble floors...

I would most definitely, and without a doubt, be a woman who dons large floppy hats and bets on horse races.

Ever since I watched "The Black Stallion" as a young girl, I have gotten so wrapped up in the horse race scenes of movies. I don't know what it is, but I think it has something to do with the fact that horses are big, terrifying, and have a mind and will of their own.

Anyway, I reassured my husband after I revealed this bit of new information about myself, that I could never- in this life- be a horse race better. He just laughed. Oh, what a funny girl I married, he thought to himself as he pat my head.

Yes. What a funny girl you married. He has no idea how close he could've come to having to drag his wife from the derby races by the heels of her designer shoes.  But, now he has only to laugh at me as I make a fool of myself cheering for a horse on a Disney movie that everyone else in the room knows will win the race, but me.

Ha. Ha. Kids say the funniest things... ha. ha. ( said sarcastically, of course!)

Sometimes I wonder where my kid came from. I am becoming incresingly certain that I do NOT deserve my child. He wakes up early on Saturday mornings and cleans his room without being asked. He does his laundry (usually) without being asked. He loves family scripture study, and is usually the one to instigate it. Last night, promptly at 8:00, he turned off the t.v., came upstairs, and got ready for bed because he knew it was bed time. Did I ask him? No. Did I have to holler several times to make him do it? No. I sat like a slug on my bed, reading my book, and he just did it!

I asked him, how did I get such a good boy as you are? His response:

"Well, you believe in God, and you are a good woman. Second, you met daddy, got married, made love, and made me, and thirdly, you're a great mom."

Now.... what was that second thing you mentioned? Ya. I laughed so hard! But, it was true. I guess that's what you get for having "frank" talks with your kid about where babies come from!

No girls night out for me...

Dang it!

I have been under so much stress lately my head is a ball of mush! The ONE thing I've been in desperate need of is a good Girls Night Out.

I have been looking forward to Girls Night Out for weeks now. Dreaming of time with the chicks, no boys allowed. Girl talk, laughing, connecting.

Friday night came. What was I doing? I was fixing dinner, waiting for my hubby to come home... late. Then, after dinner we settled in to watch some stupid netflix movie in bed. At about 8:30 I suddenly gasp.

I forgot Girls Night Out!!!!

I can't believe it. I am so depressed.

Not all cookies are created equal...

I had a goal today to make a delicious batch of yummy, gooey, oatmeal raisin cookies for my guys tonight.  You know, I was going to be the ultimate housewife. I had made them delicious homemade tostadas with oven baked tostada shells, yummy taco meat, and topped with shredded lettuce, sour cream, cheese, and homemade salsa. Mmmmmmmmm!

I couldn't find my usual go-to oatmeal cookie recipe, however. (which happens to be the Quaker Oats recipe, by the way. Never fails!) I dug through my old recipe card box and found a recipe I was given when I got married. "Well... oatmeal cookies are oatmeal cookies, how different can they be?" I asked as I donned my halloween apron (the closest and cleanest one at hand) and began assembling ingredients.

Let's just say not all oatmeal cookies are created equal, and these were awful! Doughy, bland, heavy... sounds appetizing, huh? I added some oil thinking it would make them richer and more moist. Nope. Then I added some water to make them less thick and puffy. Nope. Then, after seeing they had spread all over the sheet and were dripping down onto the bottom of the oven I hurried and whisked them out of the oven, scraped them into the garbage, and added more flour to the dough. Tried again. These were a little better, but still cake-like and bland. Finally, I made frosting and slathered them all over with it. They were pallatable, but that's about it.

So? I ran up to the computer and downloaded a new copy of my go-to recipe and will try again tomorrow. So much for the perfect housewife.

See? Not everything I make turns out perfect. I just don't let anyone try the failed attempts!

Bountiful new things full of bounty...

First of all, I have a new goal to work out every morning EARLY with my hubby. It will help him to get up earlier, and me to be less flabby! It's a win-win situation, right?  Today was our second morning doing it.

Second of all, I just placed my first order with the food co-op group around here called Bountiful Baskets. I  signed up with them several months ago and have received many emails but never dared do it. I don't know why I needed to be brave to do it, it's just produce, right? But for some reason I was nervous to do it. But I took the leap today and ordered my first Bountiful Basket! I get to pick it up on Saturday, and I am excited!

(You can go HERE to see their web site if this sounds interesting to you.)

See? Baby steps to a new improved me. Oh, and I'm even making Mondays my official laundry days (even though today is Tuesday, it feels like a Monday since yesterday was a holiday.)

I'm not even going to recognize myself with all these changes! Oh, and did I mention that I fit into my new smaller size jeans today???? That's gotta feel great, huh?

A great Human Rights Day!!!

Today:

Woke up early...(not by choice, but we didn't really complain.)

Family "Work-Out" in the family room. Hubby on treadmill, me and the kid doing a 2 mile walk video. He had me laughing so hard at his moves...

Bought some great tile for our upstairs kitchen.

Killer burger and fries at Training Table.

Went to the outlet mall and got a bundle of awesome deals!!!

I fit in a size smaller jeans now!!!! (Which I got for $7 mind you!)

Movie night at home with popcorn and candy. (Won't fit into the new smaller jeans in the morning after the burger, fries and popcorn, though.)

All in all, a great day with my little family!!!

Goodbye world.... or maybe not... my mind can't wrap itself around this...

I think...

now I can't be sure...

 but all signs point...

to the idea that...

the world might be ending!!!!

I spoke with a Comcast customer "service" representative this morning to see what they can do about getting my outrageous cable/internet/phone bill back down to "normal", and guess what????

They put me immediately on with a supervisor (without me having to threaten or curse or fake cry or anything, mind you!) and were able to... now get this...

WORK WITH ME!!!! 

The whole phone call lasted only about 20 minutes (verses the usual hour and a half in most cases) and...

here's the clincher...

not only did they work with me, but they LOWERED my bill, while keeping the same services!!!!

I am just going to sit here and wait for the earth to explode because it can't possibly keep turning with this ground-shattering occurrence!!!!

It is a RED LETTER DAY in our household, I can tell you!!!!

Out of my hands...

One of my goals this year (which I haven't really posted any here because of all the stress of goal-setting and stuff I mentioned before-) is to stop trying to run my own life and let God be in charge.

It is soooo easier said than done. But the fact is I have very little control over much in my life. I can't control if I wake up each morning. I can't control what other cars are doing on the streets around me as I drive, what my husband's boss will decide to do with his job on any given day, what callings I get in church, how many children I do or don't have, or who likes or doesn't like me at the moment. I have absolutely NO control over any of this.  So there is no point in worrying over it, or stressing. Period.

I am practicing letting One with greater knowledge do what He does best, and just doing what I can do down here from day to day. I can do laundry, dishes, dusting, shopping, trying to keep to a budget, supporting my family, and serving where I am needed. That is all. Everything else is out of my hands.

So why is it so hard to do????

The venting of a sub-suburban housewife...

I just tucked my kid into bed almost an hour past his bedtime. He spent the entire afternoon and evening doing (or not doing) homework. No, I didn't hover over him to make sure it got done either. I was coupon-clipping like every good housewife should do.

I also made 2 dinners tonight. The first dinner I was so proud of myself for making because I was frugal and used left-over pot roast to make stew and dumplings. Then proceeded to spill a large amount of Thyme into the pot, thus ruining our frugal dinner. (Too much thyme makes anything taste like a big hunk of mold! Gross!)

Dinner number 2 was a frozen pizza. It was a low point in my career as a housewife.

Did I mention I did all this with an apron on? Well, that's me. I live in aprons. I have about 15.  The odd thing is, I still manage to spill things down the inside of my apron, thus defeating the whole purpose of wearing the apron. However, the apron does hide the spillage, so I guess I'm still the picture of what a housewife ought to be... it's all in appearances anyway, right?

Now, for my "unwind" time I am watching television where supposed "everyday" housewives live out their supposedly "normal" lives dealing with family problems while wearing abnormally high heels, tight designer size - 0 pants, obviously dry-clean only blouses, (no apron , mind you- "real" housewives apparently don't spill on themselves like I do...) and sporting freshly botoxed upper lips. Ya. That's real.  No worries, I can just walk around with my tongue behind my upper lip in front of my teeth and I look just like them. Yep.
Well... almost.

Did I mention I am still in my now-soiled apron? Yep. That's me, lounging around on the bed in my dirty apron--- the picture of the sub-suburban (sub, because I don't really live in the suburbs... more the outskirts of the inner city) housewife.

Resolving the "Plan"

Goals are hard for me.

I don't like feeling like I have to do something, not doing it, and then feeling like I failed when it was all my own idea in the first place.

So, no.. I don't usually make resolutions.

However, I feel it is important to strive to be a better person. And to do that, you need to make goals- have a direction. People need hurdles to overcome, mountains to climb. They need to stretch their minds and bodies, to be constantly bettering themselves. It is what makes us happy in the long run.

Today I am thinking about stretching myself and what that entails. The long and short of it means making goals.  But since I don't like the word "goals", I will call them "plans". So, this year, some "plans" I have made for myself include:

* Taking off more pounds (lost 25 so far... well, if you don't count the 2 gained back over Christmas! Grrrrrr...) - I feel this plan is attainable because it's working so far, and I feel great. (and I started BEFORE the new year, so it isn't a new year resolution doomed to fail! It was something I was already doing!)

* Updating my house room-by-room. - I will start with the things I KNOW I can do: paint, sand, de-clutter. Then make a list with my hubby of the things we need to contract out, and set deadlines. We can do this!

* Putting my apron business on hold. This is a hard decision because I love it, and have some big plans for it, but it is holding me back from finishing this house. I can't have my feet in two different places, so I need to step back from the aprons for a while. There. I said it. It's done.

* I "plan" to not try to control the things I can't control. Heavenly Father is in charge and He will do what He will do. I plan to be more accepting of what life throws at me.

*I "plan" to make weekly menus so I can better stick to our budget. This budget is part of the bigger "plan" and if I keep that "plan" in mind, I can do this!

Ok. I am starting to get overwhelmed. So, time to back off. Baby steps! My plan for today, however, is to eventually get dressed, and finish the laundry. Oh, and take the living room Christmas tree down. I feel these plans are do-able. (Almost!) hee hee

Happy New Year!!!!

I am terrible at posting pictures. Actually, I am terrible at taking them, so I don't often have them to post.  I did take a few of Christmas this year, but am too lazy to post them today.

See, I have a really bad sore throat, ear ache, and my head is swimming making me dizzy. So, I have a legitimate excuse this time.

But Christmas was really fantastic this year. More so it seems than in years past. It lasted the whole month of December and was finished off with a beautiful concert on Christmas Eve at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. What better way to celebrate the Saviour's birth than with beautiful music in a beautiful setting with people of many different faiths (cause I know everyone there couldn't have been all Catholics!)?

I am not posting my new year resolutions here today, though. My main resolution is to just get feeling well.

But, I did teach my son how to make pot roast, which is in the oven cooking as I type, so the new year is starting off great!

Happy new year! Let's hope this one is fantastic!