You don’t always have to go somewhere else to find what you’re looking for.
daily entertainment
“Mommy, did you know that when you were a little teensy baby, I would hold you in my hands like this, and then I would put in in a BIIIIG truck, and there were no seats, but you could stand up, and you liked it, and then I would drive you all around the town?“
—
I noticed her squatting down, scrutinizing a spot on the carpet.
“Mommy, what’s that?”
“Mmm… a fuzzy.”
“Well, probably you should get it.”
—
The three of us were snuggling on the couch, waiting for her blankie to be done in the dryer. She said, “Mommy, I want to hold your hand.” My heart melted, but the warm fuzzies quickly turned to laughter. She wrapped both of her small, sweaty hands around my index finger like a microphone, and started crooning the sweetest, off-key version of Jesus Loves Me in her tiny soprano voice.
—
The only thing she could say after taking a long sip of my grapefruit juice: “Um, that probably has soap in it.”
—
About one of our small group members:
“Row, row, row Jim’s boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Jim’s life is but a dream!”
new strategy needed
Me, to Hubs: “So… what are we doing tonight? Oday ouyay antway otay ogay otay aay ayplay aceplay? Ikelay Ickchay Ilfay Aay?” (Do you want to go to a play place? Like Chick fil a?)
Tinypants, looking up from where she was laying on the floor flipping through a Pottery Barn Kids magazine: *gasp* “Did you say Chick Ferlay?”
*a series of stunned looks pass between Hubs and I, while she waits with excited expectation*
Hubs, to Tinypants: “Um…”
Me, trying to buy time: ” What?”
TP: “Are we going to Chick Ferlay?”
Hubs: “Hey Oracay?”
TP: “Yeah?”
H: “What does Ommymay mean?”
TP: “Mommy.”
H: “What does Andmagray mean?”
TP: “Grandma!”
H: “Eganmay?”
TP: “Mmmmegan Ssssmith.”
Me: “Atwhay areay ouyay oingday?” (What are you doing?)
Her, looking back down and nonchalantly turning a page: “Um… just reading this magazine, is all.”
210 Baker
We have been living in this house for almost three and a half years. I remember the first time we saw it- we were driving through the neighborhood, and noticed a FSBO sign. We loved the giant tree in the front yard, the brick porch and the fenced back yard. A call to our realtor, a quick meeting with the sellers and we were in the door. I immediately fell in love with the arched doorway, the gorgeous banister and original hardwood floros & trim. Nine-foot ceilings and a completely updated kitchen & bathroom didn’t hurt, either. We have loved living here.
However, there are some disadvantages of owning an older home; especially during the harsh winter. Most of them revolve around the constant battle to keep cold air outside, and warm air inside. The 109-year-old, single-pane windows make that difficult, as do poorly insulated walls and floors. But some of the most inconvenient aspects are a little more hidden. Under the house.
Each winter, our pipes freeze. This usually means that we can’t run water downstairs for a few hours, or, at worst, don’t get to do laundry for several days. But today we heard the sickening CRACK of a water pipe bursting. Pipes can freeze and break in any house, new or old. However, within the past oh, century or so, it seems that builders have begun making those pipes somewhat more accessible than they used to.
Today Hubs has been wiggling in and out of the tiny crawl-space in the basement, rolling around in the dirt and mouse poo (another disadvantage of old houses). I have hardly seen him at all, but I do know that he’s made at least one trip to Home Depot, one to Lowe’s, and one to Meijer/Walmart. We also are now the proud (?) owners of not one, but two blow-torches. I think there were some pliers, copper bits and pieces, and assorted soldering paraphernalia being brought through the living room, too.
Anyway, it’s now 2:27am and it sounds like he’s coming upstairs. Hopefully we’ll all get showers in the morning. Anyone else remember that show, This Old House? With the bearded, flannel shirt guy? Maybe we can talk them into coming over here.
score
So last night I had pretty much the most perfect shopping trip ever.
Wait. Let me clarify: the most perfect shopping trip EVAR would include a massage, gift cards, coffee, slippers, a limousine, girlfriends, all of that stuff. This shopping trip included none of those.
It did, however, include the real-live purchase of three whole items. Most of my clothes shopping experiences are fruitless. I’ll go into one store, two stores, five stores, try on 15 things and go home with nothing. At best, I’ll find something for Hubs, or Tinypants, because they both look great in pretty much anything. But seldom do I hit the shopping jackpot, which is when you walk into a store with something specific in mind, find it, it fits perfectly, it’s on clearance, and you buy it. That happens oh-so-rarely for me.
Last night I was on a mission to find something to wear to my brother’s wedding tomorrow. I wanted something dressy but comfortable, sophisticated but a little bit funky, flattering, suitable for a variety of occasions (because my dress-up wardrobe is in a sorry state), and most importantly, that would fit into my teensy little budget.
At the first store I purchased an amazing grey skirt with black velvet accents. I lurv it. The right length, color, style, comfortable… and marked down to $20. Can’t beat that. At the second store I again looked on the clearance racks and found a gorgeous top that was marked down to $10. I even found a dressy black winter coat on clearance for $35, and I have been needing one for years! Don’t know how many times we’ve had a dinner or event to go to and I’ve called my mom, begging to borrow something more decent to wear than my quilted/olive green/sweater-coat thing. Yikes.
Anyway, for those who care about the minutiae of my life… There you go. Shopping jackpot.
New Year
I am relieved that 2008 is over. In many aspects it was the most difficult year I have experienced thus far. There were some very low points that I wasn’t sure I’d make it through. Hubs and I went through a lot of emotional & physical pain, stress, financial difficulties, disappointment, and frustration. In spite of that, here is a list of bright spots and things I am thankful for as I reflect on the past year:
- I am so blessed and thankful to have such a wonderful husband. He is patient, understanding, supportive and servant-hearted. During the past year he has had to spend extra time and effort taking care of Tinypants and I, and has done so faithfully and without complaining. He sets a great example for us. I am thankful that after 7 1/2 years of marriage, we are still best friends and partners in everything.
- Tinypants! She just turned three, and is one of the biggest sources of joy in my life. I am so proud of her and thankful for her sweet heart and sense of humor. It has been amazing to watch her grow and blossom over the past year.
- BH, LN and KK- our boys. Although K hasn’t been here long yet, we are really enjoying getting to know him. B & L really came to feel like family last year and we loved forming great relationships with them. We made fun memories and spent a lot of time laughing together.
- Hubs was offered a job at our church, and has been working there for the past 9 months. While working at ND was a blessing, he especially loves the technical challenges and responsibilities that his new job involves. It’s been fun watching him geek out about it.
- During the fall I began to babysit for BabyCheeks, and I am thankful for her and her parents. She is 9 months old, and such a sweet baby. K&J have been kind and generous. They are good friends and that was & continues to be a bright spot.
- Our siblings and parents. They are our friends and support system. We gained a nephew and a niece in 2008.
- Road trips. Sometimes you just gotta get out of town, and we did plenty of that last year. We were in Dayton, Chicago, Indianapolis, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and who knows where else. I’m thankful for our close friends who are welcoming even when we call up and say we’ll be there in a few hours. You guys were our sanity several times over!
- My RAV4. Superficial? Maybe. But I do love my car. More than my car, I love my husband who surprised me with it one Saturday morning. I admit that I admire my little RAV every time I see it, and enjoy driving it 100%.
- Small group. Guaranteed laughter and great discussions on Sunday nights.
- Our backyard privacy fence, and my cousin JM/BFF who helped install it.
- MOPS and the friendships there: something to look forward to on Thursday mornings!
This is just a partial list of reasons why I am counting my blessings and not my failures during the year of 2008. I’m looking forward, but also looking back and thanking God for how faithfully he has provided and cared for us. I can’t wait to see what will happen this year. Bring on ’09.
If you like beef, READ THIS.
***UPDATE***
The folks at Geico and Omaha realized what was going on and disabled this deal. AND, after a bunch of us had already done it and the orders went through just fine, we got emails saying they won’t be shipping the 12 free burgers. BOO! I’ll still get 3 lbs for $4, though, which is a good deal. But a wee bit shady how they’re backing out.
***
Get 5.5 lbs of steak burgers delivered to your door for 36 cents per pound. Wow.
1) Go to this link to register for the Geico website. You don’t have to have their insurance or anything. It just gives you a username for their website. After you register, they will email you a link to a $25 gift card code.
2) Click This Link and enter your email address at Omaha Steaks. They will send you an email with a “start shopping” link. After you get your Geico gift card code, use the Omaha “start shopping” link in the email to go place your order. Using that link will automatically give you 12 free 4-oz steak burgers (three lbs total). They’ll show up in your cart when you check out.
3) Once you’re in the Omaha Steaks website, you’ll see their products listed in the left hand sidebar. Click on the link for “burgers/brats”. Select the “eight 4 oz steak burgers” for $12.99. Add that to your cart, then checkout. You could also order some other kind of meat in this price range, like shrimp or steak.
4) When you checkout, you’re going to enter your address, etc. and you’ll see the 12 free burgers (from step 2) in your cart. You’ll also see the 8 burgers (or other meat) that you’re purchasing (from step 3). Enter your Geico $25 gift card code (from step 1) and hit apply. That should just about cover the cost of the meat AND shipping. Your total should be right around $1.98.
Instead of the eight burgers for $12.99, I chose a pack of twelve burgers for $14.99. So I ended up paying $3.98 for six pounds of 1/4-lb steak burgers to be delivered to my door (this took my price per pound from 36 cents/lb to 66 cents/lb, which is still an amazing deal and gives us that much more meat).
YAY!!! Enjoy.
quote of the day
“Let’s see…there’s batman, popcorn, shoes, purple thing, and… CHICKEN! Ok, we’re ready to go!”
why Tinypants makes me laugh
She dances at Meijer.
While eating some sunflower seeds, she pointed at her mouth and said, “Oh, these are tasty!”
When I came downstairs for church, I was wearing some orange capris that I haven’t had out since last summer. She turned around in her high chair and exclaimed, “Mommy, cute shorts! Those are cute.”
She got so excited talking to me about her oatmeal this morning that she randomly and maniacally MOOOO’d.
When I tickle her by munching on her tummy and toes, she asks me if she tastes good and would I like some more?
I told her that hommus is made out of garbanzo beans and she nodded her head knowingly and said in a very serious tone, “Ooohhhh. Yeahhhhh.”
She still calls the kitchen, “the chicken”.
Whenever we drive past a car lot, she squeals super loud and yells that the cars cost “FIFSTY DODDERS!”
