This really freaked Big Girl out. I took a picture of my just-iced swollen knee, but it was kind of disgusting so I decided on this instead. Since Little Man was featured on Smile Day, I decided to use Big Girl as my subject for today.
Haan.Family.Life.Classroom
Friday, March 9, 2012
9. Red
This really freaked Big Girl out. I took a picture of my just-iced swollen knee, but it was kind of disgusting so I decided on this instead. Since Little Man was featured on Smile Day, I decided to use Big Girl as my subject for today.
Today I Tried Something New: Folding Fitted Sheets!
A couple of months ago, I blogged about how my house appears to be clean, but actually I hide all my junk in closets and cabinets. I've been trying to tackle those areas over the past week or so. It feels really good to accomplish those little jobs. Our closets and cabinets are not that big, so most of these jobs are things I can squeeze in during part of an afternoon.
Today's goal was our upstairs hall closet. I should have taken a "before" picture, but I didn't. It is a small closet that holds: dog paraphernalia, toilet paper, kleenex, towels, hand towels, wash cloths, thank you cards, bubbles, batteries, candles, swim goggles, sheets for our bed and the guest bed, reward stickers, glue sticks, childproofing gear and a whole bunch of other small homeless items.
Most of this job was easy for me. I weeded out items for the garage sale tub. I put some things in their new "rightful place". I filled a bucket with all of the random crap and will be organizing and weeding that stuff out right after I finish doing this!
The stumbling block came with the sheets. I have long since used the organizing method of putting the sheet set inside one of the pillow cases so that it stays together. Only I do it like this: carefully fold the 2nd pillow case. Carefully fold the flat sheet. Fold the fitted sheet in half and then jam it into the pillow case. My pillow case organizing solution ends up with fat, round balls of sheets, instead of the space saving and visually attractive version you see here:
So, today I set out to learn how to fold a fitted sheet. Naturally, I turned to Martha Stewart.
Today's goal was our upstairs hall closet. I should have taken a "before" picture, but I didn't. It is a small closet that holds: dog paraphernalia, toilet paper, kleenex, towels, hand towels, wash cloths, thank you cards, bubbles, batteries, candles, swim goggles, sheets for our bed and the guest bed, reward stickers, glue sticks, childproofing gear and a whole bunch of other small homeless items.
Most of this job was easy for me. I weeded out items for the garage sale tub. I put some things in their new "rightful place". I filled a bucket with all of the random crap and will be organizing and weeding that stuff out right after I finish doing this!
The stumbling block came with the sheets. I have long since used the organizing method of putting the sheet set inside one of the pillow cases so that it stays together. Only I do it like this: carefully fold the 2nd pillow case. Carefully fold the flat sheet. Fold the fitted sheet in half and then jam it into the pillow case. My pillow case organizing solution ends up with fat, round balls of sheets, instead of the space saving and visually attractive version you see here:
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| http://www.unique-vintage.com/wordpress/?cat=51 |
So, today I set out to learn how to fold a fitted sheet. Naturally, I turned to Martha Stewart.
OK, lie. I googled "how to fold a fitted sheet", got a ton of results, scrolled down a little and then figured, "Martha Stewart probably knows how to do this."
I watched this video.
I am not familiar with Martha Stewart's tv show. I have never watched it. I only know her reputation as being super creative, organizing and skilled in all things homemaker-ish.
First, how condescending is she at the beginning of this clip? "Some people, hee hee, can't tackle simple tasks like... folding a fitted sheet!" She might as well roll her eyes and point at the lady. Or me.
Then she calls the lady's sheet "pitiful"!!! Twice! "You just can't have a nice linen closet if you put that... pitiful THING in your closet! Shame on you!" (OK, that was me inserting what she was actually thinking instead of what she was saying.)
So then they bring in the sheet folding lady and practice folding sheets. Here Martha becomes more humble because she isn't doing this without flaw. And that poor lady!!
I watched the video. Honestly, I watched 3 of the 4 minutes of the video and then I turned it off.
I have to say, I feel like I did a little better than the "I can't fold my sheets" lady. But my end product actually did not look much better than her first, "pitiful" version. I didn't care. At least they were more flat than they were before I watched the video.
Hopefully Martha Stewart will not show up at my house and inspect my closet. I wouldn't want to feel her wrath. And what would she say about my towels??
****
Update, a little later....
Finished!!!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
8. Window
It's Thursday morning, which means I am at the library with Little Man. Again. I didn't remember what the photo of the day task was, so I checked it on the library computer. What do you know? Window!! And here I am, looking at lots and lots of windows.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
7. Something You Wore
Idea 1: wedding rings
Idea 2: snoopy bandaid I wore after cutting my finger this morning
Idea 3: Pink plastic mini-tiara I wore for Kindergarten lunch on "Fancy Day"
God's Lesson for Me
Today I'm going to tell a story that I have started to write a few times but never completed. But now that it appears my story has an ending, I am going to write about it today. This is a story about fear, growth and things I have learned about God.
A few years ago, Eric and I became accidental landlords when he was called to his current job and we moved at the height of the housing collapse. We felt that God really was calling him here and left it at "if we are supposed to go, the house stuff will get figured out". We lived in one of the places where the housing market was really terrible -- the community regularly topped lists of the worst places to try to sell a home because there was serious home inflation prior to the collapse. Our house was unsellable. But we had a friend who was looking for a rental at the same time we planned to move, so she became our tenant.
For a year and a half, we were horrible, long distance landlords. Our friend's rent covered our mortgage and anything extra came out of our pocket. We didn't make money, but at least we weren't paying 2 mortgages. Until last spring, when we found out our tenant was moving out of state.
We briefly considered keeping the house as a rental and using a property management company, because we were still underwater on the mortgage. But in the end, we are not landlords and weren't interested in being landlords. I viewed that route as a long, slow walk towards financial problems for us, additional stress, and a continued risk that it might be many years before our house was worth what we owed. After talking to real estate agents, financial planners, a real estate attorney and our CPA, we decided to take the hit up front to be done with the house and sell the property as a short sale.
What an experience!
The same weekend our renter moved out, I moved in with the kids. We lived in the house with basic furniture and a few toys, and committed to doing that until our house sold. Thankfully, we received an offer the first week we were on the market, and the short sale went through in what our real estate agent (who specializes in short sales) called "the smoothest short sale she has ever been a part of". We had to bring a sizeable amount of cash to closing, our credit scores took a hit, there was a loss on the house, but it was done. At the end of July 2011, I was able to move back up here with the kids. And it was done in early August.
Except the taxes...
No one could tell us what would happen with our taxes. Everyone knows the tax code is complicated, but the specifics of our situation made it even more so. In speaking with all of the different professionals working with us, the only commonality was a bottom line: "You'll just have to see how it shakes out at tax time."
And God tapped me on the shoulder, cleared His throat and said, "Do I have your attention?" You see, I am not a "You'll just have to wait and see" person. I am a "we have this much in the bank and I want to know 6 months ahead if we have what we need" person. And finances especially are my weakness - my biggest anxiety and the place where my faith is tested.
Our taxes were completed today, and now that we are at the end of this process, I can see how God has been preparing me and using this situation to grow my faith.
For YEARS, definitely since we started a family on a single income and probably before, I have been a worrier when it comes to money. Even the smallest unforeseen financial problem was thrown me off into an anxiety ridden tizzy. But I have moved from that person, to where I found myself this morning. This morning I was ok with the possibility that we may have to turn over our entire savings if that is how things "shook out". That is huge!! And it is all God. Using small things people have said, the Sunday School class Eric and I are teaching right now on the book "Fearless" by Max Lucado, Bible readings and devotions, God has brought me here.
Earlier today I picture God, coming to me with His outstretched hand. "Come with me," He gently said. And I walked with him to a beautiful overlook.... and He pushed me over. "This is an area where your faith needs to be refined and I am going to throw you right into it!"
But then I realized, that is not the way this happened at all. Instead, God took my hand and led me to a beautiful overlook, and then together we ran down the slope. You see? He has been here holding my hand this entire time. And in His hand, I have made it from the beginning of this process to the end, with faith that has grown. Not only that, but that momentum of running down the slope will propel me forward from here!
God has us in His hand. And when the time comes for a challenge to our faith, in whatever form, we need to trust in Him.
The verse that came to mind for me as I thought of my "running down the hill with God" image is from Deuteronomy: "Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you." (31:6) And because I didn't know the Scripture reference, I looked it up online. It wasn't Deuteronomy 31:6 that came back as the search result, though. Instead it was this:
And I think that's pretty cool!
Epilogue (for Anna): I found out at 10am today that our tax documents were ready for us to sign, but waited 2 hours for the final answer about the bottom line. 2 "anxiety knob turned to 10" hours, but I knew there were people in prayer for us. And the outcome was beyond what I even dared to imagine! We are going to be ok, without tears or anxiety, without loans or me going back to work "too soon". Now my prayer is that I would have known we would be ok even if it did not turn out the way it did. Because God still has my hand.
A few years ago, Eric and I became accidental landlords when he was called to his current job and we moved at the height of the housing collapse. We felt that God really was calling him here and left it at "if we are supposed to go, the house stuff will get figured out". We lived in one of the places where the housing market was really terrible -- the community regularly topped lists of the worst places to try to sell a home because there was serious home inflation prior to the collapse. Our house was unsellable. But we had a friend who was looking for a rental at the same time we planned to move, so she became our tenant.
For a year and a half, we were horrible, long distance landlords. Our friend's rent covered our mortgage and anything extra came out of our pocket. We didn't make money, but at least we weren't paying 2 mortgages. Until last spring, when we found out our tenant was moving out of state.
We briefly considered keeping the house as a rental and using a property management company, because we were still underwater on the mortgage. But in the end, we are not landlords and weren't interested in being landlords. I viewed that route as a long, slow walk towards financial problems for us, additional stress, and a continued risk that it might be many years before our house was worth what we owed. After talking to real estate agents, financial planners, a real estate attorney and our CPA, we decided to take the hit up front to be done with the house and sell the property as a short sale.
What an experience!
The same weekend our renter moved out, I moved in with the kids. We lived in the house with basic furniture and a few toys, and committed to doing that until our house sold. Thankfully, we received an offer the first week we were on the market, and the short sale went through in what our real estate agent (who specializes in short sales) called "the smoothest short sale she has ever been a part of". We had to bring a sizeable amount of cash to closing, our credit scores took a hit, there was a loss on the house, but it was done. At the end of July 2011, I was able to move back up here with the kids. And it was done in early August.
Except the taxes...
No one could tell us what would happen with our taxes. Everyone knows the tax code is complicated, but the specifics of our situation made it even more so. In speaking with all of the different professionals working with us, the only commonality was a bottom line: "You'll just have to see how it shakes out at tax time."
And God tapped me on the shoulder, cleared His throat and said, "Do I have your attention?" You see, I am not a "You'll just have to wait and see" person. I am a "we have this much in the bank and I want to know 6 months ahead if we have what we need" person. And finances especially are my weakness - my biggest anxiety and the place where my faith is tested.
Our taxes were completed today, and now that we are at the end of this process, I can see how God has been preparing me and using this situation to grow my faith.
For YEARS, definitely since we started a family on a single income and probably before, I have been a worrier when it comes to money. Even the smallest unforeseen financial problem was thrown me off into an anxiety ridden tizzy. But I have moved from that person, to where I found myself this morning. This morning I was ok with the possibility that we may have to turn over our entire savings if that is how things "shook out". That is huge!! And it is all God. Using small things people have said, the Sunday School class Eric and I are teaching right now on the book "Fearless" by Max Lucado, Bible readings and devotions, God has brought me here.
Earlier today I picture God, coming to me with His outstretched hand. "Come with me," He gently said. And I walked with him to a beautiful overlook.... and He pushed me over. "This is an area where your faith needs to be refined and I am going to throw you right into it!"
But then I realized, that is not the way this happened at all. Instead, God took my hand and led me to a beautiful overlook, and then together we ran down the slope. You see? He has been here holding my hand this entire time. And in His hand, I have made it from the beginning of this process to the end, with faith that has grown. Not only that, but that momentum of running down the slope will propel me forward from here!
God has us in His hand. And when the time comes for a challenge to our faith, in whatever form, we need to trust in Him.
The verse that came to mind for me as I thought of my "running down the hill with God" image is from Deuteronomy: "Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you." (31:6) And because I didn't know the Scripture reference, I looked it up online. It wasn't Deuteronomy 31:6 that came back as the search result, though. Instead it was this:
Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)
Keep your lives free from the love of money and
be content with what you have,
because God has said,
"Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you."'
And I think that's pretty cool!
Epilogue (for Anna): I found out at 10am today that our tax documents were ready for us to sign, but waited 2 hours for the final answer about the bottom line. 2 "anxiety knob turned to 10" hours, but I knew there were people in prayer for us. And the outcome was beyond what I even dared to imagine! We are going to be ok, without tears or anxiety, without loans or me going back to work "too soon". Now my prayer is that I would have known we would be ok even if it did not turn out the way it did. Because God still has my hand.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
6. 5pm
I am going to tell you the truth. I took this picture at 5:08pm. Between 4 and 4:30pm, I had Facebook conversations with 2 separate people about the 5pm picture. One had already taken hers (Midwest), one was supposed to take hers the same time as me. I gave myself a 30% chance of remembering to take the picture at 5pm.
I forgot!
And what's up with my family eating dinner at 5:08pm? Twice a week the kids have swimming across town at 6pm and they eat dinner with the swim attending parent around 5pm. Tonight that parent is Eric. (Have no fear, I also ate dinner, I just got them started first.)
Library Book Addiction
There have been periods in my life when I was a frequent library visitor, but never as frequent as recently. Little Man really enjoys Library Story Time at our library, which coincidentally is on the same mornings that he does not have school. He also likes playing games on the library computer. He has not yet figured out that he can play the same or very similar computer games at our house. We do not actually have to travel to the library so that he can color pictures on the computer. Pictures like this. That I just linked to. At my house on our home computer.
Once or twice a week we go to the library for story time, and so that Little Man can play on the computer. While he is doing his computer stuff, I have 20 minutes or so to think about... books!!
I have become seriously addicted to checking out books from the library! Especially the New Releases, as you may have gathered from these earlier posts. I love wandering through the New Releases and reading the blurbs for the ones with names and covers I like. I also admit that I have figured out how to put a GoodReads app on my fancy phone, so I can find a bunch of "to reads" with just a few weird movements of my fingers. And a pair of glasses.
The addiction part comes in here. I almost cannot stop myself from checking out new books!! For example, right now I have 100 pages to go in a library book. Another library book waiting on my bedside table. And, I have a book to read for book club that meets at the end of the month. And, I want to re-read The Hunger Games before I see the movie because I am an overachiever like that. Not to mention my physical "to read" shelf in the bedroom that currently has about 10 books & 3 magazines that I own and haven't yet read.
I am a girl who does NOT need to be checking out more library books for myself at this point.
Today I avoided checking out books for myself only because Eric asked me to check out a book for him. So that way I got my book fix on without saddling myself with more book reading responsibilities. Oddly enough, checking out 5 Elephant and Piggie books does not seem to help with my library book cravings. (Little Man is in LOVE with these right now because he can read them himself.)
Once or twice a week we go to the library for story time, and so that Little Man can play on the computer. While he is doing his computer stuff, I have 20 minutes or so to think about... books!!
I have become seriously addicted to checking out books from the library! Especially the New Releases, as you may have gathered from these earlier posts. I love wandering through the New Releases and reading the blurbs for the ones with names and covers I like. I also admit that I have figured out how to put a GoodReads app on my fancy phone, so I can find a bunch of "to reads" with just a few weird movements of my fingers. And a pair of glasses.
The addiction part comes in here. I almost cannot stop myself from checking out new books!! For example, right now I have 100 pages to go in a library book. Another library book waiting on my bedside table. And, I have a book to read for book club that meets at the end of the month. And, I want to re-read The Hunger Games before I see the movie because I am an overachiever like that. Not to mention my physical "to read" shelf in the bedroom that currently has about 10 books & 3 magazines that I own and haven't yet read.
I am a girl who does NOT need to be checking out more library books for myself at this point.
Today I avoided checking out books for myself only because Eric asked me to check out a book for him. So that way I got my book fix on without saddling myself with more book reading responsibilities. Oddly enough, checking out 5 Elephant and Piggie books does not seem to help with my library book cravings. (Little Man is in LOVE with these right now because he can read them himself.)
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