THE PIMPLE GOES TO THE PARTY

Because you all were so sweet about my pimple problems, and Kathy was waiting for a picture of it and Erica was surprised that I didn't take a picture of it.......I took a picture of it. So blame them, this post is their fault.

Yes, I took a picture, nothing is too gross good for my readers. I love ya and gotta be real with ya. Well, somewhat real. I don't think you want or need to know evvvvverything about me. In fact, you probably don't want to know anything about me. So, in that case, just stop right here.

But for those of you that are curious, yes I did take a picture. The funny thing is that my hubby was messing with the picture and trying to "photoshop" it and stuff, and I said "I want to leave the pimple in it."

He said "You want to leave it in?" and I said "Yes, it's for my blog."

Then he made some comment. I am fairly sure I heard wrong. I am pretty sure that he did not say "You are a sick woman." I think he said "You are a thick woman." That's right, I'm sure I heard wrong.

Anyway, the party went well, we had fun and I lived to blog about it. I also want you to know that no pimples were harmed in the writing of this blog or the publishing of this picture. Just look below the left side of my mouth. I'm thinking of naming it. Any suggestions?



I hope you all have a blessed New Year and thank you for coming back every day and letting me enlighten you with pimples and things.

Have no fear, in the new year I imagine I will do more postings on parenting, homemaking, organization, frugality, or whatever else. But there will also probably be pimples, hairy legs, and maybe even a scar or two.

I got a great one on the bottom of my foot that you haven't seen yet. Did I ever tell you about the time that I severely injured my foot when I.................never mind. Happy New Year everyone!

THE PIMPLE, THE PARTY, THE PROUD.

Oh fun! So we have a surprise birthday party to go to tonight and guess what I woke up with this morning! Surprise!!!!!!

Not one but two lovely pimples. Ugh. Even the word is ugly.

Seriously? At my age????

One on my forehead and one on my chin.

Now, I figure I might be able to hide the one on my forehead with my strategically placed bangs. Doesn't everybody style their hair according to their skin eruptions?

However, the one on the chin poses a bigger problem. How does one hide Mount Vesuvius on one's chin?

I did think of putting my hand there all evening. But I figured someone might notice that.

I could put both hands over it and pretend to cough all evening. But I figured I would be about as welcome as a bull in a china shop.

I could put a bandaid on it and make everyone feel sorry for me. They have lots of cool bandaids out there too!

I could tie a scarf under my chin and then make a really big bow to go over my chin.

I could stay home.

I could name one Lucy and the other Ethel.

I could hang a Christmas ornament from it and hope that everyone will look at the ornament and not the big ugly pimple.

I could put a bunch of Christmas lights around my head and plug myself into an electrical socket. That way, the lovely glow from the bulbs will soften that big ole' ugly thing.

I could borrow somebody's precious baby to carry around all night. Everyone would be looking at the cute baby and noone would look at me.

I could give them something uglier to look at and try and buy the ugliest outfit I could find and wear that tonight.

I could glue a fake beard on my chin. Do you think anyone would notice?

I could restyle my hair to go right over my chin.

I could sport my "pimple pride" and flaunt a t-shirt or a sign announcing the fact.

I could shout "Pimples have feelings too!!!!!" to anyone who looks at me funny.

I could start a "Pimples are people too" page on facebook and see how many fans I could get. Would you join?????

The possibilities are really endless of what I could do.

I could eat all evening and never lift my head up from my plate. Yup. This is the one I choose to do.

So if you are at a party tonight and see somebody who looks like me with her face in her plate, please come over and say "hi!" Just pardon me if I don't look up.

A LITTLE GIVEAWAY JUST FOR FUN

We are hosting a little giveaway over at the Five Mom's And A Blog, so pop over there if you'd like to enter! Again, the giveaway has to be entered over there!

MAKING YOUR HOME SING IN THIS NEW YEAR

Welcome to the Making Your Home Sing Monday meme! Every day you are doing something to make your house into a home for yourself and your family (if you have one). My point with each Monday post is, what are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing?

It can be an attitude or an action. Motivation, our attitude, baking, encouraging our husband or children (if we have either one), organization, cleaning, saving money....the opportunities are endless.

I hope y'all had a blessed Christmas! We had relatives here so I have to admit I didn't get on the computer much.

This week is a good week for thinking about next year. It's a brand new year. Think of what you can do with it!

You can begin to learn a new language. You can begin the process of getting out of debt. You can add a new family member! You can take up a new hobby, go back to school, or finally begin to write that novel you're always talking about.

Instead of looking at this last year and thinking about all the stuff you didn't do that you thought you would, begin to think about what you will do in this new year!

Where do you see yourself a year from now? Are there goals you want to reach, debts you'd like to pay off, a vacation you'd like to go on?

If you have a debt you'd like to pay off or a vacation you'd like to take, break it down into monthly goals. How much do you want to pay off or save? Let's say you need to pay off $2500.00. That breaks down to $208.00 a month for twelve months. This lets you know how much you need to save and breaks it down into a more manageable goal.

If you don't even know what your goal is, how will you reach it? Imagine yourself at this time next year. Will you have wished that you'd saved a bit more money? Will you wish that you had written that letter, made that phone call, mended that relationship?

We let weeks, months and years slip by because we think that there is always time. We will always have the time to do those things that we keep wanting to do. We will always have the time to make that trip out to see the folks or the grandparents. We will always have the time to have that third baby or start that new career or heal that relationship.

But sometimes, things slip away because we didn't get around to it. At some point, we have to ask ourselves how serious we are about our wishes. If we really want to do something, we need to move from wishing to make it a goal. Wishing never gets us anywhere if we don't move it from a thought to an action.

If we are unwilling to take the steps in order to reach a goal, then is it really a goal? If we want to get out of debt but aren't willing to cut down on our spending in order to do it, how serious are we? If we want to lose that last five pounds but aren't willing to exercise or adjust our eating habits, is it really that important to us?

This next year we need to continue to work on saving money for a family vacation and we also have some upcoming home repairs we need to be saving for. I want to get serious about the budget and do better about making things from scratch, etc. I want to continue to learn ASL. I also have things that I am praying the Lord will work on in my walk with Him. So keeping the new year in mind is how I will make my home sing this week.

So I encourage you to spend some time this week thinking about this upcoming year. Think about your expectations, your goals, things you'd like to teach your children, and what you'd like to do in this new year. Then prayerfully submit it before the Lord.

Remember, the things we spend our money on, the things we spend our time doing, that is what we are investing in. Are you investing your time and money on the things that are important to you? Is it helping you or hindering you in your goals?

BTW, I am doing a guest post here for Heather at "Want What You Have." Have you checked out her blog yet? It's awesome! I'm talking about chore training for young children. I hope you'll pop over there today and check it out!

What are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing? Please go here for instructions and/or ideas and come back here to link up to join us today! Please do not put your own Making Your Home Sing Monday Linky on your blog. As always, please don't forget to link to this post. Also, please don't forgot to leave me a comment!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I know some of you have snow, and others of you are sweatin' in the sun (and you know who you are!)


But, as we celebrate the birth of our precious Savior, my hope is that you will know that He loves you with an everlasting love, and that you will have a joyous day of celebrating with family and friends.



And just as a Christmas tree has many beautiful ornaments,


so blogging has brought me many friends. And one of those friends is YOU! Thank for your comments and emails, thank you for your friendship, and thank you for continuing to come back and read this blog! Love to you all and have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

TODAY THE CROWDS, TOMORROW THE WORLD

Today I am braving the crowds, people. Yup. I am going to do some shopping. Yup. If I'm not back in thirty days please send out a search party.

If you hear about some wild woman who was screaming hysterically and pulling her hair out and crying.....that won't be me. If you hear about some woman who couldn't find a parking space and so drove her car through the doors and into the building and parked next to the cash register, that won't be me. Because I have a plan.

I hope you'll visit me at the Five Mom's to read about my plan as I am posting over here today.

MAKING YOUR HOME SING MONDAY: CHRISTMAS IS COMING

Welcome to the Making Your Home Sing Monday meme! Every day you are doing something to make your house into a home for yourself and your family (if you have one). My point with each Monday post is, what are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing?

It can be an attitude or an action. Motivation, our attitude, baking, encouraging our husband or children (if we have either one), organization, cleaning, saving money....the opportunities are endless.

My goodness, Christmas is coming fast! I seriously don't know where the time goes.

My hubby mentioned something earlier today. He was talking about the last minute things that people will be doing this week, and how some may get stressed out.

He encouraged us to look for the Lord in the midst of all the last minute madness, etc. He suggested that when we see the Christmas lights, that we remember that Jesus is the Light of the world.

When we see a candy cane, we can remember that Jesus died for our sins. If you don't get the analogy turn a candy cane upside down and tell me what letter does it make?

When we see a star on a Christmas tree remember the star that pointed the way to the manger where our Savior was born.

When we see someone walking with a cane, we can remember that the angels appeared to the lowly shepherds. They didn't say "Take me to your leader" but came to the normal, average, lowly shepherds.

He comes to us today. Can you hear Him? Do you know He loves you?

They can't take the CHRIST out of CHRISTmas because He is Christmas. He is the reason that we celebrate Christmas. He is the Reason for the season, and we won't ever lose that. They can try and take away the words but they can't take away the power of the meaning.

So this week, I'll be making my home sing by remembering the real meaning of Christmas. A precious baby was born, only to grow up and die for my sins so that I could be reconciled to a holy God who loves me, enough to send His only Son to die for my sins. My heart is humbled at the love that I don't deserve, can't earn, and am so thankful for.

TEACH KIDS HOW TO CLEAN A ROOM

If your kids are little and you asked them to clean the family room, would they know how? If you were in a hurry to leave the house or company was coming over, would your children have a clue what to do to help?

When mine were little I noticed they had a tendency to "stash and dash" if I asked them to help clean up the family room. I would find things stuffed behind pillows, under the couch cushions, inside a drawer or inside a cupboard somewhere.

Not exactly a shining example of cleaning. Not to mention it made it difficult for me to find items later. No wonder they cleaned up so quickly! They weren't putting things away, they were hiding them.

If your kids (or you, lol!) are doing the same thing you may want to teach them how to straighten a room. I'll use the family room for an example but I won't cover dusting or vacuuming (but you could certainly make that part of the training for another time).

Also, I am talking about normal wear and tear on a room, not a room that needs several hours or a day to clean out.

Have them get a garbage can and set it in the room. Tell them to look for anything that is clearly garbage and throw it away. If your idea of garbage and their idea of "garbage" differs, you can have them throw things away in a plastic bag and then you can check inside before tossing it.

Ask them what things belong in the room. Do clothes belong in the family room? Do toys? Dishes? Dvds? Library books? T.v. remotes? Food? What belongs and what doesn't belong?

Ask them to look around the room and find five things that don't belong in there and put them in the laundry basket. Using a basket (or box) will keep them in the room while cleaning it so they don't get sidetracked.

Have them look for five more things that don't belong and put those in the basket too. These small steps are so they don't get overwhelmed with the amount of clutter that's out. (For a younger child, you might ask them to look for one thing at a time, etc.) Ask them to keep looking until they can't see anything else that is out of place.

The remaining items should be things that belong in the room. Have them return them to their places.

After the clutter is all picked up, teach them how to "finish" a room. Show them how to fluff the couch pillows or straighten picture frames, lamp shades, seat cushions, table covers or slipcovers.

Have them look at the decorative knickknacks so that they can learn where each belongs. Have them straighten them as needed or return any that are out of place.

Ask them to close any cupboard doors or drawers that are open. By now, the entire room should be neat and all the clutter is either put away or in the laundry basket(s).

Encourage them to ignore the desire to leave something out "just for now" and help put away the items in the basket. Then encourage them to take joy in a job well done!

AT LEAST THEY DON'T PICK THEIR NOSES ANYMORE

Last night was the childrens' Christmas program at church. There were two babies in front of me, and it was all I could do not to snatch them away and smother them with kisses and cuddle them. Oh my, somebody stop me. Do you think anyone would have noticed if I borrowed them?

My boys don't cuddle or want to be rocked to sleep anymore. Oh yes, they are still loving and give hugs, but neither one of them is interested in sitting on my lap and letting me rock or burp them. Oh well, how do you rock a teenager?

They don't wake me up in the middle of the night asking for water. They don't wake me up early in the morning and ask for cereal. They don't want a bottle or a pacifier or a blankie.

Waaaaaaaahhhhhhh! Sniff.

They don't pick their noses and let me tell you, I thought that stage would never end. Good grief. Seriously? Just what is up there??? What is it with boys and their noses???

They don't wipe their noses on their sleeves or on my shoulder anymore either.

I can wear clothes that don't smell like spit up. I can eat my dinner while it's still warm. I can sleep through the night. I can walk down a dark hall and not trip over a toy.....a dog or two, maybe, but not a toy.

They don't throw screaming, crying, snotty fits. They don't bicker or argue or fight or complain that "Brother tried to spit on me."

My kids never fought much when they were little, probably because of the four year age gap. However, the younger one used to annoy his older brother on occasion. He doesn't do that anymore either.

I have some "me" time. On occasion, I have peace and quiet, even when they're both home.

I don't have to put anybody in time out. I don't have to tell them both to go sit quietly on the couch together and hold hands (no talking) because they were speaking rudely to one another. We used to call that "couch" therapy, lol!

But it worked and they almost always ended up in giggles afterwards! Just having to sit together and hold hands quietly for a time out caused them to turn from anger and rudeness to making each other laugh and they were buddies again.

Their friendship and relationship was very important to us, so we had several things we did in order to foster and encourage their friendship and love.

I don't have to do alot of things anymore. I must say, I miss those long ago moments, but I love seeing the men that my boys are now and I wouldn't miss these moments for anything!

HOW MANY MONDAYS CAN ONE WEEK HAVE?

Just how many Mondays can one week have? Hmmmm? I mean, how many of you would like more than one Monday in your week? Mondays can be awesome, because they're like a fresh start, and not-so-awesome because that means a new work week has begun, or another busy week has started.

If you don't already know it, let me be the first to tell you that it's Tuesday. Yup. It's not Monday which means you don't have to dread going to work today on Monday, you already did that yesterday (if you work).

It's not Wednesday so you don't have to get excited that your week is already half-way through. Because it's not. That's tomorrow, and you still have four more days of work counting today. Sorry. My bad.

It's not Friday so you don't have to be happy that your work week is over and now you have the weekend coming. Because you don't. Sorry.

Cheer up, at least this isn't a week with five Mondays in it.

On the bright side, think how happy you are going to be when Friday finally comes!!!!! You'll be that much happier because you waited so long for it (not that you had any choice but work with me here people)! Also, it's Tuesday and I'm posting over at the Five Mom's today if you want to pop over for a visit!

MAKING YOUR HOME SING MONDAY

Welcome to the Making Your Home Sing Monday meme! Every day you are doing something to make your house into a home for yourself and your family (if you have one). My point with each Monday post is, what are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing?

It can be an attitude or an action. Motivation, our attitude, baking, encouraging our husband or children (if we have either one), organization, cleaning, saving money....the opportunities are endless.

My mom has been sick for the last week and I had to take her to the ER tonight, so I've been busy with her. She is fine, we caught it early and they have her on pain meds and antibiotics so she is going to be better soon.

However, it's late, I just got home, and I don't have a post. I started one earlier but then needed to take her in. Now it's late as I said, and I just don't feel like finishing it. However, I know you'll understand.

But on the bright side, you are now done reading my blog and can now move on to see what everybody else posted!

HI. I'M ADDICTED TO CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Somebody needs to stop me. I seem to be addicted to buying Christmas decorations. Now granted, I am getting them at the Dollar store (or is that $ store?) or the thrift store but still, it all adds up.

I will see someone's decorations at their home or on a blog and think "Oooooh, that's pretty! I should do that" or I'll be driving by the thrift store and think "I might as well stop in. I'm driving right by."

It's a sickness, really.

Houston, we have a problem. Where am I going to store all these new decorations? Hmmmmm? I already have space carved out in the garage for the decorations that we already have. There is no room for future decorations. Trust me.

My husband and I have differing views on the garage. I look upon it as an endless source of space, a storage wonderland, a place where everything can go. It doesn't matter where it's going to go. It's gotta go. It doesn't matter if it fits, and it doesn't matter if there's room.

It's a garage and it's supposed to store things. That's my view. If there isn't room that's my husband's problem. That's also my view. It's his problem, not mine. I manage the house, he manages the garage.

If some of my house things manage to overflow into the garage, ooops, my bad. However, if some of his garage things manage to overflow into the house..... no, not happening.....it can't happen, it better not happen, it won't happen. I just can't look at a hammer or a wrench and call it decor.

Back to my problem. My sickness. I think I need to go on one of those shows. You know, for some therapy? We could call it a Thrift-store-Christmas-decorations-addiction edition. However, I think I need to get over my Costco addiction first. Samples, anyone?

I bought two swags (with a couple of pine cones already attached) at Goodwill (99¢ each), along with some ribbon (also 99¢). While at the Dollar store I bought several Christmas "picks" (50¢ each) with pine cones and ornaments or red berries attached.



I then wrapped the ribbon around the swag and stuck the decorative picks in. Voila! Instant Christmas decoration for about $3.50 each. I put one in the dining room and the other in the family room.

This is about as creative as I get. I'm not really very good at that sort of thing, so whatever I do has to be easy and very forgiving. I was debating on adding a candle or two but that would probably involve another trip to the thrift store. It's a vicious circle!

I love the Christmas season. I love knowing we're celebrating the birth of our Savior. I love hearing how people celebrate His birth and how they honor it with their traditions.

I also love the nativity sets, the lights (in and out), the decorations, the beautiful worshipful music, the snow, the time with my family, the holiday "classics." I love it all. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some decorating to do......

CLEANING STYLES OF THE NOT SO RICH AND NOT SO FAMOUS

I once worked with a gal that lived in a house with several roommates. Each person was responsible for one week of cleaning. During that week they did all the cleaning for everybody. The rest of the time you were free of cleaning, until it was your week. She said that some people in her home cleaned every day.

This gal marathoned. On her week to clean, she would not clean for the entire week, and then on the Friday night before her week was up, she would come home from work and start cleaning. For hours and hours. She would stay up all night into the early morning hours, cleaning. Sound like fun?

I know it wasn't because for one thing, she dreaded it all day Friday, and complained about it at work. For another thing, she would always come dragging into work on Monday. Still tired after being up all night Friday night. Remember, she was cleaning up after everybody that week.

Can you imagine the amount of dishes she had to do? One entire weeks worth of dishes. She said she had to wash practically every dish and pan in the house, because she did not do them at all during that week. She also said her roommates complained about the mess alot.

She did dishes, swept, mopped, vacuumed, dusted, did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, bathrooms, living areas, and whatever else needed doing. That was her method.

Different people have different methods. Some people have a room of the week or a room of the month and that's the one that gets all the deep cleaning.

Some do all the dusting and all the vacuuming at once and get it over with, running around room to room, dusting and vacuuming as needed in each room.

Doing a room a day and all the dusting and vacuuming for that room only, and stay in one place while they clean. Then they put the vacuum away only to bring it out again the next day.

I've mentioned how I clean. My daily and weekly schedules are posted in the labels on the left sidebar. I may get away from it from time to time. I may skip some things and let them slide, or let them pile up and then I have lots to do on Saturday.

But basically that's my schedule and I like to break things up over the week. I don't remember how my mom did it but this is how I do it. It works for me because it's just easier for me this way.

I love the idea of doing a lot of heavy work in one day and getting it over with, but I really wouldn't want things to pile up like that.

So now we come to you. What is working for you right now? Do you have any hard and fast rules? Do you ever have a plan when you clean, or do you just clean whatever appeals to you at the time? Do you have a heavy cleaning day during the week, or do you break things up? Do you let things slide during the week and marathon on the weekend?

MATH RHYMES WITH BATH AND THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING

I.

Hate.

Math.

Specifically.

Geometry.

Thank you.

I hope you'll pop over to Five Moms And A Blog and read more about my math problems.....sigh.....

MAKING YOUR HOME SING MONDAY

Welcome to the Making Your Home Sing Monday meme! Every day you are doing something to make your house into a home for yourself and your family (if you have one). My point with each Monday post is, what are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing?

It can be an attitude or an action. Motivation, our attitude, baking, encouraging our husband or children (if we have either one), organization, cleaning, saving money....the opportunities are endless.

Oh my! I totally forgot about posting this meme!

Like many of you, I had a busy weekend and was so busy that I really wasn't on the computer much. Consequently, I didn't think about Monday, and Monday sure wasn't thinking about me!

So I don't really have a MYHSM post today as I was busy all day Sunday. I had alot of people over at my house and I totally forgot to write one. After they left we got busy cleaning up and it just slipped my mind.

I don't know about you, but I prefer getting the cleanup done asap. I don't like waking up to a mess. I figure if I don't want to clean it up that night, I certainly don't want to clean it up in the morning.

You'll be happy to know that my dogs didn't let me down. Somebody accidentally knocked their cake on the floor and the dogs went for it.........so nice to have "vacuum cleaners" that are self-motivating. I wish all my appliances were that way.

This week I guess I'll be making my home sing by doing the little things that keep it running smoothly. I'll be making a to-do list, laundry, filing papers instead of letting them pile up, checking to make sure my hot spots are clean and nothing is piling up in a corner somewhere, etc., and I also think it's time to clean all the stuff that's stuck on my fridge again (read this if you don't know what I mean).

What are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing? Please go here for instructions and/or ideas and come back here to link up to join us today! Please do not put your own Making Your Home Sing Monday Linky on your blog. As always, please don't forget to link to this post. Also, please don't forgot to leave me a comment!

A "MEATY" POST

One of these days I am going to do a couple of brilliant posts with homemaking tips or organizational tips, or maybe a parenting tip or two. You know, something with "meat" in it. However, today is not one of those days. Tomorrow is not looking so good either.

So for now, if you want a post with "meat" in it, I suggest that you go to your fridge, grab some baloney and maybe a cheese slice or two, and throw it against your computer screen (don't forget to add mayo or mustard so it'll stick). Don't forget to add the bread either, unless you're trying to cut down on carbs, of course.

Did y'all have an awesome Thanksgiving? We did! I took the turkey out of the freezer, put it in the fridge, and prayed it would thaw in time. Last year I did a post about my problems with thawing turkeys. I can take that sucker out in July and it still won't thaw by Thanksgiving.

Thursday came and it was time to get our Thanksgiving on. We did the usual tradition of dripping gravy all over the dogs. Honestly, you haven't lived until you've seen a 4 pound poodle with about 90 pounds of gravy on her.

Needless to say, we have discovered a new haircare line and our Gravy Shampoo and Stuffing Conditioner products will be out by spring. I will be sure and let you know when we get our website up. Also, if you are interested in our new line of skunk deodorant, please call me at 1-800-don't-you-dare and we'll discuss it.

Then it was time to play "Food, Food, Who Has The Food?" It's a fun game, you should try it. You just sit at the table and watch everybody pass the food around. The winner is the first one to get everything on their plate.

The loser is the person who eats their whole meal and then realizes they forgot to have a helping of _______ (fill in the blank). 1500 extra points are given if the hostess forgets something in the fridge.

Be careful, you lose 150 points every time someone groans "I'm stuffed!" If the turkey says "No, I'm stuffed" you gain 5,000 points and a trip to the doctor.

The next couple of days will be spent trying to use up the turkey leftovers. Turkey soup, turkey enchiladas, turkey fajitas, turkey smoothies, turkey meringue pie, turkey ice cream....you get the picture.

Hey, since I talked about turkey does that mean that this post had some "meat" in it after all????

HAVE NO FEAR

Have no fear........

....if there is a public bathroom with no toilet paper, I will unknowingly be drawn to it.

.....if the parking lot is crowded, I will lose my car in it.

....if there is a door open somewhere, I will bump into it.

....if I bend down and there is a shelf above my head, I will hit my head on it when I stand back up.

....if I am wearing white that day, I will get a stain on it within 10 seconds of putting it on.

.....if you'd like to read the rest of this, please pop over here to Five Mom's And A Blog as it's my day to blog!