Anniversary Week: Giveaway #1

It's Anniversary Week and time for Giveaway #1.

Alright...

Who wants to win a $10 iTunes card?

To be eligible for the giveaway, leave me a comment and tell me the name of a song or two (or ten) that you could listen to over and over and over and never get tired of hearing, OR what songs/albums you would buy with a little extra iTunes money.

Me? I would buy Chris Tomlin's Christmas album (because I love Chris Tomlin and because I started listening to Christmas music in September). Or perhaps this soundtrack (because I love it and my cassette tape has completely disintegrated). Or some Coldplay (because my son thinks they're awesome and I like them too). Or anything by Nichole Nordeman. Right now I have this song and this song of hers (go listen to them both!) on repeat on my iPod. (I'm a huge Nichole Nordeman fan.)

If you're wondering if you have to have an iPod to win an iTunes card--you don't! You can use it to download music to your computer and listen to it from there...or burn your downloads to a cd. Just wanted to be clarify that for all you non-techy people. Smile.

Now it's your turn. I'm all ears.

The fine print: Giveaway will close at 10pm on Saturday, October 31. Winners will be chosen at random and posted on Sunday, November 1. Contest is open to US and international residents. You don't have to have a blog to enter, but you must leave a way to be contacted should you win.

Anniversary Week at Life at 7000 Feet!

Four years ago today, I started this blog. What started out as a way for our family and friends in Arkansas to keep up my family has turned into SO much more than I ever imagined. Through this blog I've reconnected with old friends and made dozens of new ones. You guys have loved me, laughed with me, prayed for me, and have made the internet such a happy place to visit each day.

And so...

I'm declaring it Anniversary Week here at Lifeat7000Feet, and beginning tomorrow I'm going to be giving away something fun every single day this week.

Whether you're a long time reader or a brand new one, you're eligible to enter the giveaways! You'll have to visit each day to find out what the giveaway-of-the-day is but I'll leave each one open until next Saturday, and draw/post all winners on Sunday. Should be a fun week!

Tune in tomorrow to see what fun prize one lucky reader could win!

Happy Anniversary!

[Today is also a very significant day in the spiritual life of our children and our family. Will, Sarah, and Abbey were baptized at our church this morning! My heart is full of joy for our family and for the significance that this day will carry for our children. More thoughts on this soon!]

Quiet

I guess I've been a little quiet lately around here.

(By the way, it cracks me up that if I slack a bit in posting so many of you email/call/text me to see if I'm okay. Thanks for checking on me you guys!)

I'm really okay. It's just been a weird week for me.

It's been a little over two months since my dad died. Autumn has been a season of restoration for me--physically, spiritually, and emotionally--but it has also been a hard season.

I've been thinking a lot about what I was doing this time last year. I was getting ready to go to Arkansas for a football weekend with my dad's side of my family. That was the last time I remember my dad being healthy. Just six days after I got home from that weekend, my dad called me from the hospital in Fayetteville, where he was experiencing symptoms that led to his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He lived 9 months and one day after that phone call.

My dad would have been sixty-four this past Monday. A couple of days before his birthday I found his baby book in some stuff I was sorting through. I am thrilled to have such an amazing keepsake, but it's hard to look through it because for me it represents something so final. The book chronicles the beginning days of his life, and yet I was there for so many of his last ones. Lots of conflicting thoughts and emotions.

One of my dear friends is journeying through cancer with her dad right now. Their family has had a rough week and so many of her updates have left me with a familiar heaviness of heart. I know that there are no magic words to lessen her pain. I also know that sometimes the path she's walking will get narrow and she'll have to walk it alone. Other times that same path will widen so that friends (like me) can come and walk alongside her. Both the narrow and the wide are necessary. My heart has been very, very heavy for her this week because I understand a lot of what she's feeling. And it makes me sad all over again.

I really am okay. Just giving myself some space (and grace) to be quiet, to hurt, to think, to pray, and to just be.

Wishful thinking on this Wednesday...

I wish today had been a snow day. It's snowing (and blowing) but looks like our district is having school.

I wish that I had time today to pull out my sewing machine and finish the kids costumes. (Wow, never thought I'd say that but weirdly, it's true).

I wish I had a day to stay at home this week. And I wish the next two weekends weren't so full.

I wish I had time to blog about the two salesgirls I've encountered in the last few weeks who have given me a major complex about my wrinkles.

I wish I had time to blog, period.

And I wish I had time to read and comment on the posts that are piling up in my google reader. I feel like such a bad blog friend these days.

I wish every day could be like Monday was for me this week. I started out with a heavy heart, but God sent some dear friends my way and TOTALLY redeemed the day. I will blog about it as soon as I quit meeting myself coming and going.

I wish October didn't feel so busy.

I wish I was drinking a Pumpkin Spice latte from Starbucks right now. (Yes, I'm addicted).

I wish the Razorbacks hadn't had to play the referees AND the Gators on Saturday. I'm still bitter about their loss. I wish I could get over it.

I wish breakfast would make itself. But it won't. So I must go.

Bye.

By the way, this week John is giving away a book and a notebook. If you're interested, there is still time to enter his giveaway.

2 Questions

I have two burning questions and need some feedback from all of you guys out there in the blog world.

Ready?

Question #1: Do you have any fun ideas for Halloween/Fall party games? I'm considering Pumpkin Bowling and Fall Bingo but I need another one or two ideas that would be appropriate for second graders.

Question #2: Do any of you wear Bare Minerals? I bought some last month (first time I've bought new make-up in forever) and I think it's causing my skin to break out. Anyone had that issue?

Just wondering.

Howdy.

I have so many thoughts swirling around in my head these days. I've tried to blog about a few of them and just can't seem to get what is in my head to make any sense once I start typing.

So I'm just going to catch up on what's going on around here.

It's been a short week for us. Yesterday was a half-day of school (for my middle-schoolers) and everyone is out today and tomorrow. I slept late this morning (7am is late for me) and the kids are still sleeping. I'm excited about this four-day weekend. Just wish John didn't have to work and could hang out with us.

Today is full of parent-teacher conferences for me. And house cleaning. I also need to finish up my menu plan and grocery list and figure out when I can grocery shop without taking everyone to the store with me! It will probably end up being this weekend, but of course, I have to arrange my schedule around the Arkansas-Florida game and a few other important things. Our weekend is pretty full...and I'm trying to be okay with that. I don't know when I turned into such an anti-activity girl.

Sarah loves to cook and bake and yesterday afternoon asked if she could make some play-dough. I love that she still loves playing with play-dough. After making sure we had all the ingredients (we had to empty the salt-shaker) we whipped up a batch. Seriously, this is the easiest recipe. Takes five minutes from start to finish and it kept her happy for a long time!

Sarah also wanted to bake something. I suggested we make something with pumpkin since I had an open can in the fridge from my pumpkin spice latte. She agreed and we did some searching. She decided against Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups and Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Muffins in favor of a Pumpkin Cake Roll. Oh my goodness. It was good! And she learned some fancy-schmancy baking skills while her mother learned patience. Win-win!

By the way, is there a canned pumpkin shortage on your grocery store shelves? I have had a HARD time finding it this fall. I finally found some and now I'm hoarding it. I think others have the same idea! It's scarce around these parts.

One of the things we're going to do this weekend is get our Halloween costumes made. This is probably the first time in 10 years that I've been on the ball in this area. I'm costume challenged, but I figure if I start this weekend then I'll have plenty of time to NOT stress about it. I'm DYING to tell you what my kids are going to be, but I'd rather show you a picture once we're finished with our costume creations. The girls have changed their minds a dozen times, but I think they've finally settled on something and they're going to be CUTE! Stay tuned...

I have so much more to say, but I've run out of time. Must get moving. I'll be back soon!

PS--Today is the last day to enter the book/shirt/cap giveaway on John's blog.

A Book, Shirt, Cap, and Lattes

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that John is doing the second of his Twelve-Weeks-Until-Christmas-Book-and-(some other cool prize)-Giveaway on his blog. This week you can enter to win John's book AND a cool men's shirt and cap from BuffaloandCompany. (Think Christmas gifts, ladies!) Anyway, click here to meet our friend, Xan (pronounced "Zan") and read the details of the giveaway.

Also wanted to share this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Lattes that Whimzie sent to me last night. I tried it this morning and while it wasn't as good as Starbucks, it was pretty good! I'll definitely make it again, but will probably add more coffee and less milk/sugar because I don't like my lattes super sweet. (I always ask for fewer pumps of syrup!)

That's it! This may be one of the shortest posts I've ever written. Wow.

Money-Saving (and maybe musical) Monday

This is a post about beans.

Yes, really. Beans.

The musical fruit.

(Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.)

I'm a fan of beans. Most beans are a high quality protein, are full of antioxidants, and are loaded with fiber. I could tout all the nutritional benefits of beans or you could read more about them here. (Or perhaps my friend, Tiffani--akaGooglemeister, could do a little research for us. Sorry that's sort of an inside joke, but I could not resist).

Anyway, back to beans and money-saving Monday...

Last spring I did a series of posts about my meal planning system, and I shared my time-saving tip about pre-cooking all my meat. My friend Diane commented on that post and told me that she did the same thing with beans. She buys dried beans, cooks up a big pot, and freezes them.

I never knew you could freeze beans. Did you?

I've been doing this for several months now and let me tell you it is not only easy but it is SO MUCH CHEAPER than buying cans of beans!

Here's the math:

For my most recent two-week meal plan, I needed 7 cans of beans--four black, two pinto, and one kidney.

The cheapest (Walmart, generic) can of beans is $.72.

$.72/can x 7 cans = $5.04

A one pound bag of dried black beans is $1.12 and equals FIVE cans of beans. That comes out to roughly $.22/can. A savings $.50/can.

I bought three (1lb) bags of dried beans last time I shopped. (For some reason, pinto beans are cheaper than kidney and black beans.) I spent about $3.20 for the equivalent of 15 cans of beans, saving me about $7.50 (for 15 cans).

Sure, that may not seem like a lot of saved money. And for some of you, the time you'd have to spend cooking a pot of beans is worth the extra cost of buying them canned. For me, it's a no brainer. I like saving money (even small amounts add up) and I have the time to cook up a pot every couple of weeks.

I generally pick a morning that I'm going to be at home, and soak my beans the night before (the instructions are on the packaging). In the morning, I just put a pot on and let them simmer away. For some reason, it always takes longer than the directions claim. I wonder if it's because I live at a high altitude? Next, I drain, rinse, cool and then package them in freezer bags, and freeze until needed. I've added frozen beans to the crock pot (for chili) and they turn out just fine, but usually I thaw them along with my meat.

1 1/2 cups of beans = 1 can

I've been buying my dried beans at Walmart, but I just noticed that my natural foods store sells organic beans in bulk. They come in a larger quantity (2lbs instead of 1lb) but the price per pound ends up being cheaper (for organic!) so I'll be buying those the rest of the winter.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my newest money-saving strategy. Thank you, Diane!

Here are some of my favorite bean recipes...

Black and Red Bean/Polenta Bake

Pork and Black Bean Chili (this is CarpoolQueen's recipe, and it's oh-so good!)

Santa Fe Enchiladas

Pinto Beans with Bacon, Tomatoes, and Cilantro

Alison's Chili

Believe it or not, I'm not original in dedicating an entire post to beans. I recently found this blog (love it!) and she wrote about beans twice last week. I want to try some of her recipes soon!

Got a favorite bean recipe? Please share!!!

10 on the 10th!

Wow, 10 on the 10th snuck up on me this week! It's been a busy week, but this weekend is looking to be wonderfully non-busy and

L-A-Z-Y. If you know me, then you know that lazy weekends make me happy, happy, happy!

Since October is the tenth month of the year, the theme of this month's list is the number ten. Brilliant, eh? It's probably more random than brilliant, so stay with me please.

1. 10AM Mountain Standard Time. That's the time that Arkansas plays Auburn tomorrow (10/10) in Fayetteville. Of all the SEC teams I like Auburn the least. Sorry, Lisa. Hoping the Hogs can pull out the win--Woo Pig Sooie! If you're not from the South and want to know what all this Woo Pig Sooie stuff is about, go check out Harper and Kelly calling the HOGS!

2. $10/month is what we pay for our basic cable. That basic cable does not include ESPN or ESPN2 which have televised almost every Arkansas game this season. Big Sigh. However, so far I've been able to watch all the games on ESPN360.com I'm so glad Al Gore invented the internet, aren't you?

3. I'm hoping to make good use of the $10+ that I spent at Archiver's yesterday and complete at least 10 scrapbook pages tomorrow. I have a six-foot table set up in my bedroom and all my scrapbooking stuff is out and ready for me to get some work done while I watch the game on my laptop! I did this last Saturday night with Abbey and we had so much fun together that we're planning a repeat.

4. Hey, I won a $10 Walmart gift card from Amber this week. I asked her what she thought I should spend it on and she suggested I buy the stuff to make some more of this.

5. I'll have to decline her suggestion though because we blew through our fall mix in a few days and it's going to take more than a few days to shed the 10lbs I gained from eating it. Truthfully, I didn't gain 10lbs from eating fall mix. It was more like five. I have however, gained 10lbs since 2007. That's the year that I'm currently trying to scrapbook and looking at pics of myself from two years ago is making me realize I need to lose some weight.

6. Wondering if Old Navy is going to have their jeans on sale for $10 anytime soon. Abbey only has one pair that still fits. We've rotated between track pants and jeans all week and I've got to go buy her some soon. I love those $10 promos they run from time to time. Guess I'll go check online.

7. Dinner tonight: Pizza. It will take me 10 minutes to go pick it up, will cost around $10 (gotta love Papa Murphy's and their prolific coupons) and it will take 10 minutes to bake. It will likely be the first time in the last ten days that I won't hear a hear a single complaint about dinner. Priceless.

8. I did a serious email inbox purge a few weeks ago and have kept no more than 10 emails in my inbox for THREE WHOLE WEEKS! (Wish I could keep with the ten theme here, but that would be a lie.) It is a beautiful, beautiful thing to have an almost empty inbox.

9. Shoot. I was going to try to have this posted by 10AM but I got distracted trying to come up with interesting things in tens. I'm running out of ideas and feeling a bit sluggish this morning after staying up way past my 10pm bedtime. It also isn't helping that the temperature outside is only 10 + 10 + 10. Need more coffee!

10. Okay, your turn. Here's a fill in the blank question for you. If you are so inclined, you can leave your answer in the form of a comment.

I would be thrilled if I had ten ________________.

(Children? Vacation days? Dollars? Nancy Drew books? Miles left to travel? Bears in your backyard? You fill in the blank!)

As always, you're welcome to join in the 10 on the 10th fun. Just post a list of 10 things on your blog--it can be any 10 things you can think of--and link to your post in the box below. Easy-peasy.

Shamelessly Stealing This Idea and Sharing With YOU!

I've been reading Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg this week for one of my bookclubs.

I came across this idea in one chapter of the book and it's too good not to blatantly steal adopt and share!

In the book, Helen's husband Dan gives her a beautifully wrapped box for Christmas. Her mind imagines all the exquisite (and likely expensive) things that the box might contain, and she is surprised when she finally opens the box and finds it empty. Her husband explains that all the things he might have given her don't hold a candle to the non-material things they already possess.

A tradition is born in Helen and Dan's family and every year on Christmas one person receives the box and has the opportunity to share what gifts it holds for them.

Isn't that wonderful???

My family already has a tradition involving a beautiful box under the Christmas tree--one that I want to keep, but I think that I'm going to try to incorporate this empty box idea NOW.

Maybe just keep a pretty box on the kitchen counter and from time to time hand it to someone in our family and ask them to share one of their gifts out loud with the rest of us (like at dinner). It would also be great to use along with our Thankful Chain during November, or maybe even for half-birthday celebrations (we have dessert and sing Halfy-Birthday to You!) since we don't give gifts for those occasions. Dunno, but it stirs my creative pot and I hope it will stir yours too!

Happy Wednesday.

Because I like to share good things AND calories.

I went to the store last night.

I'm a huge homebody, but being quarantined all week with swiney children started to take it's toll on me and I knew I needed a sanity break. [Note: Going to Walmart isn't really a sanity break, but following a Walmart trip with a Pumpkin Spice latte will get you back on track rather quickly.]

I was wandering the aisles of Wal-Mart and happened upon the candy corn. Oh my, MY. I love that sugary-yellow-white-and-orange-triangular-shaped-candy SO much. It's probably a very good thing that it's only available seasonally.

I couldn't resist putting it in my buggy (that's a cart for all you non-Southerners).

And then I remembered the Fall Mix that my friend, Tracy, brought to our scrapbook-fest last weekend--the Fall Mix that I could not leave alone because I have no willpower and gained four pounds from inhaling nibbled on all weekend.

It's a mix of candy corn, Reese's pieces, and peanuts. The combination of flavors is WONDERFUL, and the colors just scream fall!

The memory of it's deliciousness was enough to make me turn my buggy-cart around and head to the back of the store for some peanuts (roasted, salted or unsalted) and then to the candy aisle to find the Reese's pieces.

I don't really think there is an exact recipe. You just dump it all in a bowl and mix it up. I used about half a bag of candy corn (because I have some purists in my house who haven't become Fall Mix converts...yet), half a bag of the Reese's, and maybe 3/4 jar of the peanuts.

It is SO pretty and SO good.

Especially with coffee.

You're welcome. Happy Friday.

PS (for the grandparents)--Sarah went back to school today, and we're both dreading the make-up work she's going to be bringing home! Abbey's school was closed for a teacher workday so she's home with me. They've both been fever-free since yesterday morning. Woohoo! We may even go for a drive to see the aspens this weekend.

Offering Thanks

I heard one of my favorite Nichole Nordeman songs today. Every Season. If you've never heard it, go listen here. It is beautiful!

Depending on what's going on in my life, I relate to each of the different seasons in the lyrics. Today I was captured by the autumn lyrics--it's the last day of September and the wind has been howling and stripping all the trees of their beautiful leaves! The song also alludes to autumn being a season to offer thanks.

With that in mind, here are a few things I'm feeling thankful for this evening...

--The girls are feeling much better. Their fevers were almost non-existent today. They spiked again before dinner, but it feels like the worst is behind us. I am so grateful.

--So thankful John works hard to provide for us and that his hard work allows me to stay at home. The girls are staying home from school again tomorrow (fourth day this week) and I realize what a blessing it is to not have to worry about choosing my family over work. I do NOT take that for granted. Ever.

--Grateful for friends and neighbors who have called to check on us or offered to run by the store for things we might need. I've said it before but we have THE best neighbors (and friends). I feel like they'd do just about anything I asked them to do. Such a blessing!

--Thankful that I had some time away last weekend. John felt bad that I came home and jumped right into caring for sick kids, but really, it was nice to have that break. I'm grateful he was willing to play nurse and let me get away! Also a little bit thankful that everyone wasn't sick when I left or otherwise my mom-guilt would have taken over and I'd probably have stayed home.

--Very grateful that John and I are still feeling well. Will had a super mild case of something last week, but honestly, I'm not sure it was the flu. I didn't take him to the doctor because I thought he just had a slight cold. The girls have been SO much sicker!

--I LOVE our church. I was so sad when I dropped Will off tonight that our family couldn't all be there. I've been so surprised--in a good way--about how much I'm enjoying going on Wednesday evenings. Another big blessing!

Those are just a few things I've been grateful for this week. What about you guys? Anything you feel like offering thanks for? 'Tis the season, you know.

Reader Request: Lunchbox Ideas

My college friend, Deena, asked me back in May if I would consider doing a blog post on packing school lunches. I was so tired of packing lunches in May that I told her I'd be happy do it if she'd be willing to wait until the fall. Well, I totally spaced it until I found her email buried at the bottom of my inbox last month. I'm most definitely back in my lunch-box-packing-groove these days.

Deena was mainly interested in ideas for different kinds of food to pack. You guys probably have some good ideas to share as well. Here's a list of the stuff I typically buy/pack for my kids. I try to choose something from every group (except treats), and I try to rotate things so the kids don't get bored with their choices.

Meat/Protein:

Peanut butter & jelly (or honey) Thankfully we're not a nut-free school.

Almonds

Turkey

Salami

Soy nuts

Sunflower seeds

Roasted pumpkin seeds (I buy these at the health food store).

Hot dogs - we like this brand

My kids don't like ham or bologna (bologna, blech!) or most any other lunch meat. They don't even really like sandwiches that much. Most of the time, I just put a few slices of turkey or salami in their lunch.

Dairy:

Yogurt-I stock up when these are on sale.

Cheese

Pudding

My kids are not big on dairy products! Pudding is probably more of a treat than a dairy product, but my kids eat so little dairy that I'm okay with it. It's hard for them to get all their daily servings in.

Carbs:

popcorn (I have one of these poppers and I buy my kernels in bulk. SO much cheaper--around .75/lb--and did you know popcorn is a whole grain?)

Pirate's Booty

Z-bars (my kids like chocolate chip and blueberry)

pretzels

granola bars (The girls like this brand)

trail mix

graham crackers

cheese crackers (CheezIts or Goldfish)

whole grain crackers/regular crackers

dry cereal

muffins (carrot/apple & flaxseed are our faves!)

Sarah begs me to make these bars all the time!

Veggies:

Carrots

Sugar snap peas

Veggie chips (used to buy some in a blue bag at Walmart but can't find them there anymore)

I just bought these potato snacks. They were very good. But I consider potatoes a carb instead of a veggie.

Hummus (only one of my kids will eat it though)

I think veggies are hard. Sometimes it helps to have a side of ranch for dipping.

The stuff above is what I pack week after week. However, I have one child who LOVES veggies and will ask to take leftover broccoli or green beans or asparagus or edamame or spinach in her lunch. I KNOW! She's the exception to the rule...and a nutritionist's dream child. My other two are pretty anti-vegetable.

Fruit:

Fresh fruit in season

Fruit Leather (I buy this and this)

Applesauce

Pineapple cups. The only fruit cups I will buy (other than applesauce) is pineapple because it's the only one I can find that doesn't have HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) added to it.

Raisins/Craisins

Dried apples

This one is EASY for my kids. They love fruit, and I bet yours do too.

However, these are some things I like to keep on hand for when I don't have something fresh on hand, or for the winter months when my kids are tired of apples/oranges.

I really only buy juice boxes when they're on sale and I have a great coupon. I make them drink lots of water (the mean mom!) However, lately I have been buying Gatorade for my older kids...I think it helps them rehydrate after PE. It's super sugary though.

If I DO pack a juice box, I count that as their fruit serving for lunch.

Treats:

Pudding cups

Cookies

Rice krispie treats

Sweet breads (banana, zucchini, pumpkin)

Oatmeal creme pies (mmmmm...)

Treats are just that...a TREAT...and not an everyday addition to their lunchboxes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

My middle-schoolers can use a microwave to heat up their lunch. Will sometimes takes a hot pocket or some frozen taquitos, but the girls never want to. They prefer a cold lunch. I've never packed soup or leftovers. They just aren't that interested, unless it's pizza, and then they fight over the leftovers. They like it cold though. Weird.

As far as lunchboxes go, everyone has a soft, insulated one. I think that the BentoBox is so cool (and eco-friendly), but a bit too pricey for me. I feel like we're pretty "green" but I definitely use WAY too many plastic bags...because it's just easier.

I very rarely buy individually packaged snacks (bars and cheese sticks are exceptions) because it's just so much cheaper to do it myself. I'll often take a bag of baby carrots and divide it up into smaller bags when I get home from the store. Same with grapes and pretzels and nuts/seeds and crackers. Then I can just grab and go when I'm packing lunches in the mornings.

I tend to pack lunches before school each morning, but if I know I'm going to be rushed I do it the night before.

I take nutrition pretty seriously, and that's why you don't see lots of junk food on my lists. I do buy junk food (Doritos are my weakness) but I try to limit it. I also try to avoid sugar, but I should confess that haven't been very diligent about it for awhile now.

I'm obviously no expert, but just like many of you I have been packing lunches for years! Please, please, please feel free to help me out of my rut and share your great ideas!!! I'm always on the lookout for new and healthy (or semi-healthy) ideas.

It was only a matter of time... (Scroll down for Update)

The flu is rampant here. Especially the H1N1 strain.

Does anyone else think H1N1 looks like it should be pronounced "hiney"? Swiney-hiney is what I jokingly call it. And this morning, my girls tested positive for the swiney-hiney flu. It was really only a matter of time.

Technically they tested positive for Type A influenza, but the doctor explained that it's too early for Type A to show up so they're just assuming all positive Type A tests are cases of H1N1. (Evidently, I just forked over $70 for someone to assume.) (Oh, please don't worry about me overusing parentheses again. I thoroughly annoyed myself in my last post).

So...the girls are home with me today and they're camped out on the sofa watching Scooby-Doo and all things Disney. They don't know it yet, but I'm going to make them watch our classic sick day dvd, Anne of Green Gables, after lunch. They'll be home tomorrow too since they were still running a temp this morning and they need to be fever free for 24 hours before I'm sending them back to school. That means we're watching Anne of Avonlea tomorrow.

I just cleared my schedule thru Wednesday, but I'm not sad at all to have several days in a row at home! Especially since I was gone all weekend.

Speaking of the weekend--I had a GREAT time on my retreat. I just love the women I go to church with. They're simply amazing, and it's so encouraging to hear their stories and to get to know them better. The scrapbooking wasn't bad either! I think I ended up with nineteen completed pages. That's not a record or anything, but I was happy with it. I did a lot more talking and laughing than cropping this time around, and it was so good for my heart!

The coolest thing happened on the way home from the retreat. We were driving into Colorado Springs and my friend who was driving slowed way down, and in a really calm voice said, "I'm slowing down because there is a bear". It was a black bear cub and it crossed the highway RIGHT IN FRONT of her car. It was amazing. And it happened way too fast for me to grab my camera.

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE seeing bears? I feel so fortunate to have seen quite a few since we've lived here--all from safe (enclosed) distances. I know so many folks who have lived here all their lives and never seen ONE. I'm always awed by them!

I have a bunch of thoughts still swirling around in my head...but I have two darling little swiney-hiney girls who need my full attention, so I will save those thoughts for another day. Ciao!

UPDATE: Saying "swiney-hiney flu" is MUCH more fun than actually dealing with it. The high fevers my girls have been running are scary. They've still got a temp this morning so no school tomorrow for either of them.

As for Anne of Green Gables--we had some dvd player issues yesterday so I think we're going to have a marathon viewing day today! They also love Little Women and Sense and Sensibility too. We'll see. We've got some great options. Popsicles, anyone?

A Weekend Getaway, A Clarification, and (way too many) Parenthetical Ramblings.

I'm leaving in a little while for a scrapbooking weekend in the mountains. Yippee!

My church does this twice a year and I've pretty much decided that the only way I'm going to chip away at my family albums is to go on these retreats because I just don't find the time or motivation to work on them at home. I've been preparing all week in an effort to maximize my time and productivity! I printed out pics for all of 2007. I would love to finish most of that year's album. Stay tuned...

I brought my suitcase upstairs earlier (in addition to my huge scrapbook haul, I must also pack clothes and toiletries for the weekend) and it reminded me that I've been meaning to clarify something.

I made a rather bold statement in June about being Queen of the Carry On Luggage. It's true, I can fit everything I need for a week in my carry on bag (the reason I do this is two-fold: I do NOT want to pay extra to check a bag, and I am paranoid about my bag not arriving at my destination with me).

My dad died on a Sunday morning and John was in Phoenix at the time. I booked a flight to Arkansas (via Atlanta...and yes, I know that it makes absolutely NO sense to fly to Atlanta, then back to Arkansas, but whatever) and I had about 45 minutes to pack, get my kids squared away and leave for the airport.

I went downstairs to get my regulation size carry on bag only to realize that it was in Phoenix with John.

I called my dearest friend, Debbie (who is a gift from God! and who was picking me up and driving me to the airport) and asked her if I could borrow a carry-on bag (with wheels and a handle because I had a layover in Atlanta and there was NO way I wanted to haul one of my four remaining wheel-and-handle-less bags around the ATL airport for 2 hours).

She graciously let me borrow her bag and I threw my stuff in it once she got here.

And here's the clarification I need to make. Her regulation size bag was smaller (MUCH smaller) than mine. I could NOT fit everything I needed in it. It was a good 6 inches shorter than mine, and at least two inches narrower (if my math skills are up to par that's about one foot of area that her bag was lacking.) Makes a difference. A huge difference.

So...now I'll just say that I'm the queen of MY (slightly larger, but still regulation size) Samsonite carry on. Just thought I should clarify that for those of you (ahem, Kellie) who thought I was an amazing packing guru (or slightly crazy).

I intend to have a GREAT weekend and I hope the same for you!

Every Once In a While I Surprise Myself

aLet me just start by saying that I'm not a decorator.

I very rarely get the itch to rearrange furniture or overhaul a room. Once I get a room arranged the way I like it (usually with someone else's help) I leave it that way until I move or until that person visits again and helps me!

But...every once in awhile, I have a flash of decorating brilliance and an idea in my head actually comes out as I'd hoped.

Such was the case this past weekend.

Last fall, John's parents bought the girls' a set of bunk beds and while they were visiting they helped me paint their room to match their new bedding. We got them a few accessories but the big wall over their desk has been bare for almost a year.

I've had an idea in my head for awhile for a custom wall hanging, and this weekend I set out to make it happen.

The biggest surprise? I was finished in about an hour and it turned out just as I'd hoped!

Here's a picture of their bedding:

Playing off of the circle theme, I created this:

It's VERY fun!

I also spray-painted a chair (that I bought from a friend) to match their desk.

Side note: It was windy when I was trying to paint, so I moved the chair into the garage, which turned out to be a very bad idea. John's car was parked on the other side of the garage, and while it looked like the paint was only getting on the chair, it wasn't. He had a nice film of white paint on his windshield Monday morning and he wasn't very happy with me. Learn from my mistake--never, EVER use spray paint in an enclosed area!!!

When I was putting the chair back at their desk, I decided to jazz it up with some paper circles left over from the wall hangings. CUTE! I wasn't totally finished when I took these pics (had to cut more circles...) but you get the idea.

The girls are happy and mama is happy too! And that big wall over their desk looks much less bare! Now if I could just find the perfect floor lamp. Pretty sure I can't make one of those!

Total cost for the wall hanging: less than $20.

The three-pack of canvases was $8; the scrapbook paper was $3-4; I was out of Modge Podge and it was $7 (for a BIG jar).

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Fall officially begins today.

That means that yesterday was the last day of summer.

Evidently that meant nothing to mother nature since it S-N-O-W-E-D at my house. You read that right. SNOW. On the last day of summer.

I love snow. I really do. I just prefer it to snow during the winter and not in the summer, fall, and spring. I want to enjoy a bit more of fall before we see more of the powdery white stuff.

It snowed on and off all day yesterday, but very little of it stuck. Thank goodness. More snow is in the forecast, but by the weekend we'll be back in the 60s/70s. I'm heading to the mountains this weekend and hoping that this crazy weather doesn't affect the fall foliage!

Here are a few pics I took for the amusement of all you Southerners.

See my roses? They've been gorgeous all summer, but those are probably the last blooms I'll enjoy for long while--overnight temps in the 20s/30s will make sure of that.

Happy Fall Ya'll! Who wants to come play in the snow with me? Smile.

Life is sweet!

If you give your child some candy...

...specifically this kind of candy...

she might decide she doesn't like it all that much...

and she might decide to spit it out...

IN the drawer where mom keeps her jewelry (I know!)...

and mom might decide to wear this beautiful necklace (that she won from a giveaway on Boomama's blog eons ago)...

and mom might not notice the dime-sized chunk of hard candy stuck to the necklace until something feels oddly sticky on her neck...

and not wanting to ruin the precious stones and beads, mom will likely break a nail trying to scrape hard, sticky candy off of her beautiful necklace...

but mom won't be able to tell that it's all off because the candy is the same color as the bead it's stuck to...

and so mom will put it back on and her neck will feel all sticky again...

and mom will angrily call her children into the room and ask what kind of children dispose of used candy in mom's jewelry drawer...

and the one with the gap-toothed smile will say, "Sorry, mom"...

and the mom will be overwhelmed with love for the freckle-faced, gap-toothed girl in that moment that her frustration will melt (just like the candy on her neck) and she'll decide to wear the sticky necklace for the rest of the day...

and when her hair gets tangled in the stickiness she'll smile because she knows that life is short...and so very, VERY sweet.

The small things...

I've always loved "the small things" in life--a warm cup of tea, a shared smile, a sunrise, the smell of babies. I'm certain I could fill page after page after page of small things that I love.

It's been a little over a month since my dad died.

I've been aware of some "big things" that loom on the horizon--his 64th birthday next month that won't be celebrated, his absence at the holidays, the first Father's Day that I don't buy him a card. Big things. I'm aware of the emotional upheaval that can come with the big things.

It's the small things that have caught me off guard though...

Opening the cabinet and noticing this mug that he gave me (and replaced when I broke it).

Scrolling through my contact list in my cell phone and seeing his name.

Watching Razorback football and knowing how much he loved it.

And holding John's book in my hands while realizing that my dad would never hold it, or read it, or have the chance to tell my husband how proud he was of his accomplishment.

The small things.

They have undone me lately.

I think I've exhausted all the words for random...

Our weekend has been super lazy.

We had planned to go camping with some friends this weekend but backed out after we saw the weather forecast. It's been cold and rainy which is perfect weather for watching football and napping, but not so great for camping. We made a good call. Football + Naps = A happy Mer!

We really have done a lot of nothing--slept in, read, watched a couple of movies (this, this, and I hope to persuade John to watch this one with me tonight), watched football, played games, napped, finished up some homework (weekend homework makes me grouchy) and went to church. That's about it. Aren't we boring?

Know what I was doing on this same weekend last year? I was hiking up Pikes Peak with three of my dearest friends. That is a memory I will treasure forever! I wrote about Part I here, but I never finished Part II. How lame is that???

The kids are begging to play a game right now (they're split between Yahtzee and A-Z, Jr.) so I'm going to join them.

Before I sign off I want to let you know that John is giving away several copies of his book on his blog. You can click here to enter his giveaway.

Hope your week is great! I'm afraid my lazy weekend is going to be a distant dream come Monday morning. That's okay though. My week holds the promise of some very good things.

10 on the 10th!

10 Things That I'm Enjoying These Days...

1. Reading. I love to read. But sometimes I go through spurts where I can't read enough, and other times I don't even want to pick a book up. This summer, I really wanted to read but found that I couldn't stay focused long enough to finish anything I started. Thankfully, that is no longer the case. I'm loving it again. I have just a few more pages in this book, and it is the best book I've read in ages. I finished reading this one and enjoyed it, but it was a tad depressing.

2. New Hand Soap! I'm a bit of a hand soap snob. For my kitchen & bathrooms, I buy the antibacterial pumps from Bath & Body Works. Last weekend I bought this scent and this scent, and they are making me all kinds of happy. They both smell so...fallish!

3. Redbox free rentals. I've had two free rental codes this week. Who can pass up free movies? We subscribe to Blockbuster.com and get to swap our mailers in for free rentals, but the stores recently changed their return policy and it takes sweetforever to get a new movie in the mail. Redbox has remedied the in-between wait time for me (for this week, anyway)!

4. Walking with my neighbors. Several of us have been meeting to walk each morning. It was as simple as throwing out an invite--"Who wants to walk in the mornings?"--and we have a nice little posse of friends hitting the trail for exercise and conversation. I love it. Because I really love my neighbors.

5. Trader Joe's Roasted Gorgonzola crackers. Oh my gosh--yum! My aunt (who is lucky enough to live close to a Trader Joe's) introduced me to these crackers last month. She also gave me a ton of TJs loot, including four boxes of these. We're down to the last box and there might be some weeping and gnashing of teeth when we finish it. I love them with a wedge of this cheese and an icy cold Dr. Pepper--which is what I've had for lunch every single day this week.

6. New mascara. I'm usually a loyal L'Oreal girl, but I bought a new kind/brand last weekend and I'm loving it! It's this. The wand is super flexible and the mascara doesn't clump or wear off. It was cheaper too. Woohoo!

7. Our fall schedule! Everything from school to church to home and homework is just falling into place beautifully. 

8. Pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. Oh dear. I have such a weakness for these. I had two last week and I've had to steer Minnie-the-van away from the Starbucks drive thru every morning this week so I don't go broke on skinny-2pump-no whip-Pumpkin Spice lattes! (Oh dear, I've turned into one of those people.)

9. Arkansas Razorback football! It might possibly be the best thing about fall. I love it so much. My husband doesn't share my affection, but he loves me so it's all good.

10. Speaking of my husband, I'm enjoying him these days. He just finished up a huge freelance project that consumed so much of his spare time. The extra income was nice, but we're all glad he has more time to spend with us. He and I are going to watch a movie in a little while (the free Redbox one!) so I'm trying to get this post wrapped up.

Ya'll wanna join the 10 on the 10th fun? Just post a list of 10 things (anything your imagination can come up with) on your blog and link up here. Easy-peasy!

Glasses

I woke up this morning excited about going to the moms' group at my church. It's not MOPS, but it's sorta like it I guess. Actually, scratch that. It's nothing like MOPS at all. It's basically just a fun time of sharing and fellowship. Our pastor usually leads the time and he's a creative guy so we usually end up doing something...creative.

I walked into our meeting room to find a display similar to this one. A huge grouping of glasses.

Hmmmmm... I like creative. I like thinking outside of the box. It stretches me a LOT because I'm very left-brained, but the more I do it, the more surprised I am by how much I like being stretched. I was curious about all the glasses...

Big. Little. Short. Tall. Wide. Narrow. Stemmed. Unstemmed. Plain. Functional. Decorative. Fun. Ordinary. Shot glasses. Wine glasses. Juice glasses. Water glasses. Beer glasses. Martini glasses. Champagne flutes. Frosted glasses. Glasses with handles. Glasses with polka dots (pink polka dots). Margarita glasses. Souvenir glasses. Lots and lots of glasses. (I'm hoping you get the picture.)

After a little chit-chat, he asked each of us to look carefully at all the glasses, then pick one that symbolized our summer. 

I picked one that looked a lot like this. In case you can't tell, it's a shot glass. Now before you get all Prohibitionist on me, let me tell you why I chose this.

Before the summer began, our family made a list of all the fun things we wanted to do. It was a GREAT list. Summer is my favorite season of the year and I try very hard to make everything about it feel markedly different than the rest of the year. 

This summer was nothing like I envisioned. One week after school let out my dad got really, really sick, and a few days before school started, my dad died. Most of my summer was spent shuttling back and forth from Colorado to Arkansas. A lot of time was spent apart from my family, and when I was with them, I felt distracted. Instead of summer feeling full and spacious, it felt squeezed (see the shape of the glass above). Instead of summer spilling over with fun, I feel like I only managed a few small drops of fun for my kids. 

Next, he asked us to select a (different) glass to symbolize what we hoped for the season of fall. I chose this wine glass. 

A good wine is to be sipped and savored. A proper glass allows the wine to "breathe". I know that fall hasn't "officially" arrived, but so far this season has been pretty mellow--like a good wine. I've literally scraped my plate of responsibility clean. I'm enjoying a slow pace. I'm resting and taking care of myself. I'm feeling myself settling into a good routine at home and with my family. A couple of times I have found myself a little overwhelmed, but I've been able to step back and remind myself, "Not right now". 

I'm sipping and savoring this new season that is upon me. It feels spacious.

Lastly, he asked us to choose a glass that represents what our spiritual life is like right now, or what we wish our spiritual life would look like. 

I chose this frosted mug because honestly, I feel sorta frosty towards God these days. Cold, aloof, and a bit apathetic. 

It's honest. 

I don't expect myself to stay there, and I don't really need people telling me why I shouldn't stay there either. God is a big God. He can handle my emotions. Every single one of them. I'm offering Him the truest things I've got these days and I think it's okay to wrestle with Him a bit. I think it grieves him more when we're not honest with ourselves about what we're feeling, or when we try to cover it up because it somehow feels "wrong". 

I will tell you though, that just like a frosted mug loses it's frostiness when we hold it in our warm hands, I've felt my icy edges soften as I've allowed God to love me. And I'm confident that my heart won't stay this way forever...I just need some time to examine what I'm feeling and take it all to Him.

I loved my time this morning. Loved listening to what other's shared. We're all in different places and we all bring different things into a group like that. I left feeling loved, encouraged, and dare I say hopeful? 

Once again, credit for the creative exercise goes to my pastor(s).

Rambling...

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday.

I love weekends, but I especially love them during the school year. We're still adjusting to the pace of the school week and everyone in our family is very tired by the time Friday rolls around. The fact that this is a three-day weekend for us is even better! 

Not much on the agenda for us. A little SEC football (Woo Pig Sooie!), some reading (Olive Kitteridge), and hopefully lots of lazing around. I'm happy just thinking about it! 

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It's feeling more and more like fall here. We've had some warm days this week (even turned on my A/C this afternoon) but our mornings are quite chilly. Love it! Coffee just tastes so much better on cool mornings. I had my first-of-the-season Pumpkin Spice Latte this week. That, and the fact that I noticed a few leaves starting to change colors today are a sure sign that fall is just around the corner!

Something about fall makes me want to cook! I had fun adding some soups to my new menu plan!

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Will missed two days of school this week because of a sore throat, cough, and a low grade temp. There is so much going around the schools lately. I decided he needed to stay home and rest...and he did just that. He's much better and will be back in school tomorrow. And sadly, he'll probably bring make-up work home over the long weekend. (Ugh. Don't want to think about that!)

Add the two days he missed this week to the first two days of school that he missed and we're up to four. My kids are so disappointed they're out of the running for the perfect attendance award. Believe me, we've never gotten one of those!

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Speaking of school...I thought Lisa (my smart friend) had some really good things to say in this post. I happen to agree with her.

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I helped out in Abbey's classroom today. They were doing a science lesson on soils and afterwards they got to examine the worm habitats they made last week. I had great empathy for the non-worm-loving kids who sat quietly at their desks and left their habitats sealed. My daughter, however, dug all of her worms out and played with them on her desk. Needless to say, the spaghetti I thought about having for lunch was not all that appealing when I got home. 

*Everyone wiped their desktop down with Clorox wipes when they were finished. I included that tidbit for all of you fellow germaphobes.

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I believe I've mentioned a time or two how much I hate texting on my cell phone. I plan to upgrade my current phone to one with a full keyboard when my contract expires in a few weeks, but until then, I found an interesting article about sending text messages from your email account in a back issue of RealSimple magazine. 

Here's the deal: If you know the person's carrier, you can type their phone number followed by these addresses in the address space of the email.

Alltel: @message.alltel.com

AT&T: @txt.att.net

Sprint: @messaging.sprintpcs.com

T-Mobile: @tmomail.net

Verizon: @vtext.com

Virgin Mobile: @vmobl.com

ex: To: 5014556789@vtext.com (type the area code and number, no spaces!)

Cool, huh? It really works; I successfully sent a text to John, Will, and Sarah yesterday morning. 

Sometimes when I'm at home and get a text from John, it's quicker for me to sit down and respond via email than on my dinosaur keypad. It's also useful if you don't have an unlimited texting package on your cell plan.  (I'm sure if you have kids with cell phones you have unlimited texting though, right?!?)

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Alright...that's enough rambling. I don't think I can hold my eyes open any longer!

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I'm going to close the comments on this post. Not because I don't love hearing from you (I do, I do, I do!) but because:

1. Sometimes it's nice to have an empty email inbox. Especially on a long weekend.

2. There is no pressure for you to find something in this crazy post to comment on.

3. I feel less guilty about not commenting on all of your blogs (which I've been terrible at lately).

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Hope everyone has a great (long) weekend!

BIG!

I left you a little teaser yesterday about some exciting news at our house.

Wow. Who knew you all were so good at guessing? Thanks for filling up my inbox with your curiousity. But...

No, I'm not pregnant. 

No, we're not moving back to Arkansas. 

No, we're not buying a new house. Or a new car.

No, I didn't get a job.

The big news is that John's book comes out TODAY!

I'm so proud of him. I re-read the book last week and my heart is just bursting with pride for him! It's fantastic. 

He told me I could do a giveaway...and I will get to that soon. For now, I just want to rejoice with him at seeing a dream realized. 

It's like Christmas...in SEPTEMBER! Thanks for being happy with and for him. 

Refreshed!

I had a fantastic weekend--the getaway was exactly what I needed.

Part of me wants to share every detail of my time there, but another part of me knows that the experience isn't really one to be shared with the world wide web. It was restful. It was healing. It was more than I could have asked or imagined. And that's about as much as I'm willing to divulge.

I will tell you that I spent a lot of time here:

And here:

Sometimes though, it was a bit too chilly--even with my fleece and mug of coffee,

so I hung out here:

Thankfully, this time I didn't encounter any moo-ing "bears" or snakes. I was pleased that this beautiful creature decided to visit, though it scared me to death when I walked around the corner and saw her peering in the window! (Too bad I couldn't grab my camera fast enough to capture that!)

Hope everyone has a great week!

I'll be back in a day or two with some VERY exciting news! 

Gracious Gift

I sat down this morning to try and blog about some things I've been processing this week and John walked in the room and asked if I had a few minutes to talk. 

Some friends graciously offered us the use of their mountain cabin this weekend. They knew we were beyond tired and hoped we could get away and purposefully relax. Their cabin is in one of the most beautiful spots in Colorado, and it sounded like the perfect weekend--full of beauty, family, and rest. 

What John wanted to talk to me about was a change of plans. He has a few things weighing on him that he really has to get wrapped up this weekend. One of our kids does NOT want to go, and we still hadn't figured out what to do with Jack-the-beagle this weekend. John wondered if I would possibly consider going alone. 

Alone? To the mountains? To that place of spectacular beauty? To rest and recharge? All by myself? 

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd LOVE that.

It's a big change, but I'm thrilled. I will miss my family, but I know deep down that this is just what my weary soul needs.

My packing list is much shorter now.

I'm bringing my hiking shoes. My bear bell. Books, books, and more books. My Bible and journal. My iPod. Sunscreen. Sunglasses. Jacket. Flannel pjs. SmartWool socks. Maybe a movie or two. My ball cap. Some comfort food. Coffee/tea.

I'm not packing: makeup, my cell phone (it doesn't work up there anyway), or my computer (there's no internet, but on second thought I might need it to watch a dvd). 

John and the kids may come up tomorrow for a little while, but he told me he'd really love for this weekend to be a time of rest for ME. I'm so grateful for him and his willingness to gift me this way. Also grateful for our friends, S & G, and their generous offering of their cabin. 

I've got to get going and get packed. I've already started praying for the weekend--specifically that God would meet me there! 

I'll see you all next week. In the meantime, I'll be here...unless I can find a hammock.

Consider this a PSA

(Public Service Announcement)

I was catching up on my Google reader this morning and came across this post on Boomama's blog. It has a link for the bargain of the century--13 issues of Southern Living for $5. FIVE dollars. Ya'll that is a steal. 

I adore Southern Living. I get giddy when my new issue arrives each month and can't wait to hole up by myself and read it from cover to cover. The recipes are wonderful, and the southern homes and gardens are absolutely gorgeous! Shhhh...don't tell my family but every time I read it, it makes me homesick for the South!

So, if you're not a subscriber, what are you waiting for??? This southern-turned-mountain-girl would never steer you wrong! 

Trivial

I've written a dozen blog posts in my head today, but when I actually sit down with my computer to post one of them I just can't do it.

All the things in my head end up sounding so trivial on the heels of the not-so-trivial "thing" that happened a mere two weeks ago.

And I'm just not ready to blog about all of that quite yet. I may not be ready for a long time. I may never be ready. I don't know.

Lots of you have emailed to ask how I'm doing. For now...

I'm giving myself lots of space and lots of grace.

I'm letting each new day and each new emotion unfold.

I'm saying no to lots of things. To lots of good things. I'm taking naps (I took TWO yesterday and one today!) and learning that it's okay to let some things slide. I'm thankful for a husband who understands and encourages self-care. 

I'm hanging in there.