Usually, I blog first thing in the morning, but today I didn't have time. Well, we have our car back, so that's a good thing. We were able to go to church, which made me very happy since I haven't been in service for four weeks. One time we had a blown out tire, the next weekend I subbed for the prechool teacher, then we were just wiped out tired (It was right before I got sick), and last Sunday I was full on sick. And of course, we missed last Wed cuz of the critters in my kids' hair. So it was really really good to be there today. We weren't able to make it to Sunday school cuz I had to make the dessert this morning since I didn't get it done yesterday, but actually that worked out for the best. My original plan was to make an angel food cake from scratch, but by the time I got around to doing it last night, I just wasn't feeling well, wiped out and just generally icky. So I was just thinking, "Forget it. I'll do it in the morning." Well then this morning I looked at the recipe, and saw it needed 2 hours to cool inverted. Ooooops. So much for that idea. On to plan B. I went online to find a different recipe that used ingredients I had on hand. (I usually have the basics for baking in my pantry) and found this caramel apple dessert. It was a much faster and less fussy recipe and was apparently well liked cuz I doubled it but still came home with an empty pan. I actually didn't think it tasted particularly caramely, but it was still good. It worked out for the best cuz it turns out someone else brought angel food cake. lol.
Once again yesterday, yes to Bible study, but no prayer time with Jim . I did make breakfast for myself instead of either skipping it or eating junk like I have been lately, but by the time I ate, it was noon, so I didn't end up making lunch,and Jim made the sandwiches for dinner since that's what we usually do on Saturdays. I did some picking up and clearing off tables in the kitchen and dining room. I was going to tackle the dishes, but really that's Cory's job this week, and Jim said he needed to do them. Of course, that didn't go over so well with Cory. Apparently, having to do dishes is a surefire way to ruin a teen's life. Wow! Who knew? Anyway, although I was willing to do them, I think Jim was right to tell Cory to take care of them, and even if I HADN'T agreed, I still would have backed him up cuz we support each other in front of the kids, and really avoid intervening or going against the other's decision. That's not to say we never disagree, but when we do, we work it out in private, with him as head of our home having the final decision when we can't come to a mutually agreeable solution (but since we are both, for the most part, flexible and reasonable we usually can).
We spent a lot of the day playing Scrabble. Before I go on I should probably explain that Jim and I are uber competitive, and very into board games, especially word games, and most especially Scrabble .We play for blood. We don't even usually include our kids cuz we show no mercy, and quite honestly, we are WAY out of their league. lol Jim and I are pretty evenly matched, so it makes it much more interesting. Really, it's not very fun to play this kind of game with someone who's either way better or way worse at it. Often, there's only a point or two difference between the winning and losing scores, and I will own up to the fact that especially with Jim, I don't lose very graciously, and he gloats. So I was not a happy camper when he beat me two out of three yesterday. Hey I'M the one with a degree in English, so it's a little humbling to lose to an ART major. And it didn't help that he won by a landslide or that he scored over 300 in the final game. We always feel pretty proud of ourselves when we hit in the 300s. lol. GRRRRRRRR!
The movie was OK. Judy Moody. I had never seen it before. It was clean, kinda cute, and fairly entertaining, but more importantly family friendly. Hey it's not easy to find something appropriate that will keep the interest of adults, teens, tweens, and a kindergartener.
This morning I made the dessert, got dressed and prettied up, and went to church. It was SO good to be in service again. We had a great dinner afterwards in honor of our pastors. The girls at this church can definitely cook! Kelley wasn't feeling well so Cory stayed home with her cuz she didn't want to be alone, and he doesn't like church anyway. (We are mean parents and make him go, but since Kelley doesn't like to be alone, we made an exception today.)
Today I will continue with the goals I already have: doing my Bible Study lesson, praying with Jim (yes, I'm still keeping it on the list), and doing the after meal kitchen/dining room clean up. I also am adding something new. I have a lot of friends and extended family but very few that I actually DO anything with. Staying in touch and/or getting together is one of those things that so easily falls by the wayside because of all the other stuff of life. While it's true that time with God, Jim, the kids ARE higher priorities than other people, that doesn't mean friends and extended family aren't important. So I've decided the only way that I'm going to make new friends and develop deeper relationships with current friends and family is to be deliberate. So this is a biggie for me, I'm going to step out of my comfort zone and invite someone or some family to dinner at my house. It's not because I'm shy or uncomfortable with people that this is such a nerve wracking thing for me. Are you kidding? I enjoy and can have fun with most people. It's the state of my house. It's old and has a lot of stuff wrong with it. Our furniture is ugly, mismatched, torn, and worn; our home isn't decorated really, and it's a mess (both the cluttered stuff all over AND the dirty dusty sometimes stinky kind). OK but this is what I figure. I may not have money right now to make it pretty or repair things, but I CAN clean it up. I'm not talking perfection here, just reasonably clean so that people don't have to fear tripping over stuff or catching malaria or something when they come over. And hey, I can throw a blanket or something over the torn upholstery. The Bible says to practice hospitality, and there's no little asterisk that says, "Unless everyone you know has better furniture or newer and prettier homes than you," Hospitality is about blessing people and making them feel comfortable and welcome, not about impressing them. I'll admit that's hard for me to swallow cuz I've been pretty impressed whenever I've gone over to anyone else's home. It IS cleaner and prettier and newer and in better repair than mine. But so what? I mean, yeah OK I DO need to clean first cuz I don't think it's very hospitable to gross people out. My own family is used to the yuck, but I realize many people would not be. So I will take care of THAT, but as far as the rest goes, here are my thoughts. While I am impressed with all the other homes I've been to, it wouldn't have bothered me in the least if they had been much less impressive. It's the people I'm going to see, not their home. And if I feel that way, maybe other people do too. Most people are probably not going to judge Jim and me just cuz our house isn't impressive, and the few who might, well sorry, then they aren't really the type of people I care to become closer to. There are other fish in the sea.
Well this cleaning thing is a big elephant, so I'm going to need to break it down into bite sized pieces. First of all, I don't have to do every single cleaning task under the sun just to have people over. For instance, I highly doubt anyone will be pulling out my fridge to see whether the coils in the back ate dusty. And if they're that nosy and persnickity , then they deserve the deluge of dust bunnies that will attack their nostrils. lol. Pretty much what needs to be done is picking up, getting rid of dust and dirt and items that don't belong in a room, emptying trash, sweeping, vacuuming, mopping floors, cleaning surfaces, and making sure nothing smells bad. Also any really glaring rips, tears, or repairs that can be taken care of pretty cheaply would be good to complete. And my worst room, which is a small extra room way at the back of my basement, which right now we're using for storage really can wait. It has a door that can be shut. I do wanna get to it, but the priority is to work on places guests are most likely to see.
Still even this is going to be a lot of work to do as well as maintain, so my plan is to do one room per day. Once a room is done, I will then stay on top of the daily and weekly stuff so that it doesn't become unmanageable. I realize with some of the bigger and messier rooms and some of the busier days, I might have some days when I can't finish a room, but I will do my best, and if a room ends up taking another day or two, oh well. What's that in the scheme of eternity?
So today's plan after I do my other stuff will be to do my bedroom. I realize guests might not even see it, but it is right next to the bathroom, so they might. Besides, I got a lot of it picked up the other day, so this should be a fairly easy one to tackle, and it will feel good to be able to say I have one room complete. So I need to pick up the stuff ,and put it where it goes, throw out the trash, do laundry, wash my bedding, dust & Windex, and vacuum. Once that's done, I will make it a habit to tidy up my room, make my bed, and do laundry each day. Then once a week dust/Windex, wash the bedding, and vacuum. So that's the plan anyway. We will see how it goes. Life may interrupt it, but at least now I will know where to go back to after an unexpected event occurs. lol Much better than running around like a guilt ridden crazy woman screaming at everyone or becoming paralyzed like the infamous deer staring at headlights, right?
Ok I'm thirsty. I've already had my coffee so now time for a cool drink. Hope all readers are having a fabuloso weekend.
Ruby Tink, Domestic Diva Wanna Be :-)
