Any Lost fans out there?

If you played the lottery numbers Hurley played on the Lost TV show in the Mega Millions lottery last night, you won $150! 

Or if you're not into gambling, you can always learn who was Matt Damon's Ab Double for the movie True Grit here.

I've got a PTA fundraising committee meeting.  I'm brainstorming how to get everyone to buy my ideas about NOT selling cookie dough or gift wrap.  More on that later...

Saving $$$ by turning down the thermostat

My sister is getting married this year.  I'm excited.  She's the youngest.  She's the last one.  I'm a bridesmaid---no matter that I'm married with kids---I'm a maid!  It suddenly occurred to me how much her impending nuptials are going to cost me.  Yes, ME!  Here are the expenses that I've come up with so far as minimums:

Dress: $200.  That's how much the one she initially picked cost which was subsequently vetoed by our other sister who is in the wedding.  I'm guessing the final choice (I think it's final?) will be $150 plus alterations.  Nope, neither one of these are the dress.

Shoes: $30 
Shower gift: $50-100 (this is my baby sister after all)
Wedding gift: at least $100
Shower expenses: ??? The bridesmaids are throwing the shower.
Flower girl and ring bearer ensembles: ??? Chances are that she'll ask Red and Tom Thumb to be in the wedding.
Babysitter: $75-100.  We're paying to plate a meal for our babysitter at the wedding so she can drive the kids home and put them to bed so we don't have to leave the reception before 8PM.

I'm guessing we're going to be spending somewhere between $500 and $1000 on this wedding.  Where is this extra cash that we don't have going to come from?  

My first brainstorm is turning down the thermostat.  I'm naturally cold so I like the thermostat at between 68 and 70.  Can I turn it down and be comfortable?  And if so, am I actually going to save money?

I tried it out yesterday morning.  I put on a sweater and turned the thermostat down to 64.  Initially there was no real difference.  By the end of the afternoon, I was a little chilly but doing okay.  Last night I slept with a sheet, a thermal blanket, an afghan and the comforter.  The verdict: I survived.  But will it make a real difference monetarily?

I found a website run by Duke Energy that has an online thermostat calculator.  It's intended for Indiana residents so I knew it wouldn't be an exact calculation, but I figured it could give me a ball park estimate.  I used zip code 47906 as my bogus zip code to get it to work.  You essentially describe your house (i.e. size, number of rooms, when it was built, etc.) and its heating system and it estimates what your savings will be based on how many degrees you turn down your thermostat and when.  Based on my home's thermostat settings previously being 68 degrees, it estimates that if I turn my thermostat down to 64 I'll save between $153 and $255 annually.  And voila --- there's my bridesmaid's dress!  Now I just have to dig out my sweaters and figure out where the rest of the cash is going to come from...

Stitch fast, but move hands slow

So my adventures in free motion quilting were largely unsuccessful last night.  I broke four needles---one of which sent shrapnel careening into my eye.  Luckily, nothing tragic happened.  I finally got the ultimate tip from a quilting forum thread that I found when I googled "stippling and needles breaking".  The tip was sew fast while moving your hands slow.  I was afraid, but amazingly it worked and no more broken needles.


Other than that, just a typical day here.  Lots and lots and lots of laundry.  I don't even know how many loads I did.  Six maybe?  And of course while I was doing it, Red and Tom Thumb dumped out all the bins full of books and toys in his room in order to build a house out of them.  I should be grateful that they're creative, right?


Today was Red's first day back to kindergarten after the holiday.  She was happy to go back today, but keeps saying that she does not want to go to first grade.  Her reasons are they have timed math quizzes (do they really?  I have no idea, but she seems to think so.), there are big boys there (again, her anti-boy sentiments rear their ugly head), and she misses her homeschooled friends.  She has even brought it up in front of my parents, which resulted in my mother telling me in a very distinct voice that she belongs in school next year.  Sigh...


We haven't firmly decided what we're doing next year, but I was really hoping that she'd stay there through first so I could get Tom Thumb into the K class via sibling preference.  If they go to full day K next year that won't matter anyway though since we want 1/2 day.  Oh well...take each day as it comes.


Today's devotion had a great verse---
"He has told you, O man, what is good ; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."  Micah 6:8


That certainly puts things in perspective, doesn't it?  

Adios unfinished projects!

I took some steps today to start working on my 2011 goals.  First, I reached out to my Well Trained Mind Forum sisters to see if anyone had any suggestions for a daily devotional to get me started on my goal of getting closer to God.  BeckyFL directed me to Crosswalk.com where I found the Bible Pathways devotional.  This is just what I was looking for.  There's also a whole variety of other daily devotionals that are available that I am looking forward to perusing when I have more time.  I found it very interesting that today's Day by Day devotion was discussing the feeling of accomplishment.  The Bible verse that was cited was John 17:4 when Jesus was talking to God the Father --- "I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do."  So what does God want me to accomplish here on earth this year?  That's something I'd like to ponder more.

Speaking of accomplishment, I started working on completing all those unfinished projects that have been plaguing me.  At the end of this year I want to say to myself, "See---you did get something done!"  I went with Red to Joann and bought a sterling silver jump ring to fix my broken necklace.  The Cobbler bought it for me the Christmas after Tom Thumb was born and I wore it a lot.  Being a baby at the time, Tom Thumb was obsessed with touching it.  He pulled right off my neck several times and the last time it happened the jump ring was lost.  Now it's as good as new.  Yay!

The other project that I took upon myself today is a quilt that I started at a quilting retreat in February 2009 for my nephew's first birthday that was in December 2009.  Well, he's 2 now and still doesn't have the quilt.  I did some piecing work to it today so now the quilt top is complete (woo hoo---it's a New Year's miracle!).  I still need to quilt it and bind it.  I bought some material to back it with at Joann along with some variegated thread for machine quilting it.  I'll post photos when it's done.  I'm shooting for completion by February 12th which is the date of this year's quilt retreat so I can show it off to my quilter friends before I ship it to my nephew.  In the meantime, here's a sneak preview:

I have oodles of other projects to work on, like scrapbooking the photos of our pre-kids 2004 trip to Italy.  Unfortunately, I quit at day #3 of our two week trip sometime around when Red was born.  In spite of my past project procrastination, today made me feel good.  Hopefully, more days like this one are around the corner.

My 2011 Goals

I hate writing New Year's resolutions.  Hate them.  I always feel like I'm setting myself up for failure because in the past they've always been so unrealistic.  Like the year I said I would go to the gym everyday.  Yeah, that was realistic.

This year I wrote up some goals the other day that point in the direction I want to go.  Will I accomplish all of them?  Probably not.  On the other hand, it's always nice to have a path laid out in front of you so that if you find yourself getting off track you can just say, "Hey self!  The path's over here!  Why are you out walking in the weeds by that lake?  You're going to fall in!!!"

So---for better or worse, here are my goals for this year.
In the ideal 2011, I am:

Healthy - I am managing my illness.  I am planning healthy meals and snacks for my family.  I am exercising at least 3 days per week.  We just bought a 3 month membership at the local rec center so I'm planning on taking the kids 2 days a week to swim (one of those times is for their swim lesson and once for just fun).  I'd like to make it over one other time on my own before they get up in the morning.  I have an appointment with the trainer on 1/10 to come up with a realistic workout that accommodates my knee injury.

Happy - My husband and I are close and are going on a couple of date nights per month.  I am planning time each month to spend with friends.  I am spending less time on the computer and watching TV and more time living my life.  I'd like limit recreational computer time to 30 minutes (with allowing extra time for listing things on eBay or doing household related items) and limit TV time during the week to 1 hour per day.

Getting to know God - I am spending time daily in study, prayer, and meditation.  I am committing one hour per week to a cause I am passionate about.  I will find a church situation with which I can be content.  I will continue to teach Sunday School and write for the prison ministry.  I will commit myself to listening for God's voice in my daily life.  I will plan family devotions.

A good example for my children - I want to feel like my kids would be great adults if they modeled my behavior; therefore, I need to think more before I act or open my mouth.  Continue to teach them and read to them.  I want to give them opportunities to try new things and have new experiences without being pushy.  I want to give my children equal individual attention.

Pursuing a personal goal - I want to establish a meaningful goal so at the end of the year I can celebrate a tangible achievement.  Some ideas are pursuing publication for my children's book, getting family scrapbooks up to date, and starting a trip fund so we can go on a big vacation in 2012.  I'd also like to finish the quilt I started for my nephew's birthday 2 years ago.  Unfinished projects be gone!

Now that I'm reading all this back, I must admit I feel a little bit overwhelmed.  I know in my heart though if I break it into baby steps I can accomplish more than I imagine.  Here's to a 2011 that brings success, accomplishment and beautiful blessings to all!

See this box of petit fours?

It used to be full when it arrived last night.  Now there are 10 holes in it due to the one and only Tom Thumb. He's the ultimate petit four thief!

An interesting place to be...

A lot has happened over the last month.  Red has suddenly shown lots of interest in doing school related things --- playing Rightstart math games (she loves Go to the Dump), doing reading lessons (we just finished lesson 122), and reading aloud to me.  It's a whole new world of cooperation and I'm loving it.

School is going well.  Red is concerned already about going to first grade next year.  I told her that we'll cross that bridge when we come to it and not to worry herself. 

I'm in preparations for Christmas.  While I'm done with buying gifts, I still have to wrap every single thing I've purchased.  *sigh*

For your amusement and entertainment, here are my friend Maureen and I with the 20 "gingerbread" houses we made from graham crackers for Red's class holiday party.  I was expecting about 2 hours of work and it became a 6 hour tour.  Never again!

Red and Tom Thumb with Santa

Merry Christmas to all!