Another School Year Started....

School years come quicker and quicker each year...it feels like yesterday that I was sending my first born off to Kindergarten and he is starting his junior year! Wow...where has the last 12 years gone!

With the start of the new school year, for me comes a time to reflect on last school year, make changes to routines and schedules. This year, I am going to do a "New Year's Resolution" and make some new goals for the school year for me, the kids, and my family in general.

I also want to reflect on my 40-before-40 list and see if there are some things that I can cross off before I turn 41 in July 2010.

One thing that I am going to do is to post regularly to my blog...I feel like my blog friends give me support and some accountability that I need! So check back tomorrow to see my goal for the remainder of August!

It's Official....I am 40 years old!

I have reached a milestone! This year has been full of milestones for my family...Connor turned 16 in January, Collin turned 13 and both Sean and I turned 40!

I woke up early on my birthday...yuck! But I have had some time to think and ponder on the next 10 years! They are going to be great! God has given me a wonderful husband and four beautiful children!

"I'm not 40...I'm 18 with 22 years of experience!" Author unknown.

Happy 40th Birthday to me!!!

Well....my fortieth birthday is tomorrow! I started this blog almost 3 years ago to track my progress of things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 40 years old. I plan on taking this year to work a little harder on my list and figure out what I am going to rename my blog right before I turn 41! I accomplished some but still have a lot of things that I would still like to do...here is my list:

1. Clean/Organize Garage (cleaned last summer...need to clean it out again!)
2. Clean/Organize Attic
3. Lose 50 pounds---75 would be better but 50 would be great! (need to get serious about losing some weight. This Easter I had a heart scare & cardiologist recommends losing 75 pounds!)
4. Read the Chronicles of Narnia with my kids. (reading on my own first-finished the first book)
5. Bake through Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.
6. Knit a blanket for each of my kids.
7. Renew my wedding vows. (will look at doing when we have our 20th wedding anniversary in 2011)
8. Read the Bible completely.
9. Purchase "1001 Books to Read Before I Die" and read one book a month.
10. Catch up on my scrapbooks. Started working on our Disney trip photo album a couple of weeks ago. (plan to finish Disney trip album, work on New York next and then work on catching up the kids.)
11. Give up Diet Dr Pepper (this will be a really hard one, I have been drinking Dr Pepper since I can remember!Maybe just for a day...like the day I turn 40!) Better yet, add more water to diet! (Cardiologist recommends this for my heart condition...made some progress but started drinking dt dr pepper again.)
12. Make a quilt.
13. Take Networking at church..discover my God given talents.
14. Burn all my home VHS onto DVDs.
15. Rip CDs I don't listen to often and sell them.
16. Go to a spa for a massage.
17. Get a pedicure.
18. Take a cooking class.
19. Read everything I haven't read yet on my bookshelf.
20. Watch all five Best Picture nominees prior to the Oscars.
21. Get a will (mostly for if something happens to both S & I-details for Mom & Dad re: the kids) Have mine done...need to get Sean's completed & have SIL file.
22. Learn cake decorating.
23. Plant a herb garden to be used all year long.
24. Try yoga.
25. Try pilates.
26. Incorporate a regular date night with hubby. (I thinking every other Friday or Saturday evening.)
27. Visit NY and go to a Broadway musical or play. (would like to see Wicked)
28. Make a household inventory notebook including pictures, serial numbers, etc for insurance purposes. Purchased notebook 6/29/07. Started working on inventory with kitchen.
29. Get finances in order and everything paid off. (just about there!!!)
30. Take family to Disney World.
31. Send out Christmas Cards (last time was 1997)
32. Clean out car-keep it clean for an entire month-figure this would help me set a habit.
33. Take a second honeymoon with hubby.
34. Take family on a ski trip to Steamboat.
35. Go ice skating with my family.
36. Drink Milk. Plain, Chocolate or Strawberry flavored. (at least one for that day-this one is for my son-I do not like milk &; don't drink milk & he thought that it would be a good one to add to my list!)
37. See "Gone with the Wind."
38. Take Tennis Lessons.
39.
40

One More Down.....34 More To Go! Disney Vacation

We just returned home from a family vacation to Disney World on February 17th. We had 8 awesome days of Florida sun and Disney fun! The girls' dance competition team decided to attend the TwirlMaina competition that is held every February at Disney World and when it was presented at a Booster meeting in August, we decided that it was the right time to take the family to their FIRST Disney trip! Not to mention that it allowed me to cross off another item off of my 40-before-40 list...yeah!!

Our trip started early Tuesday morning. Our plan departed at 7:30 am and we arrived in Florida around 11:00 am (Eastern Time). We caught the Magical Express Shuttle to our resort-All-Star Music. We arrived around noon, got checked into our room, which was a family suite, through on our swimsuits and headed to the pool. I stayed in the room and unpacked our suitcases. I had also pre-ordered groceries prior to leaving Columbia, they arrived around 2:00 pm. The girls participated in the hula-hoop contest, a dance party and a hot potato contest (which both Gracie and Sydney were the winners-they tied). We had reservations at Chef Mickey's so we left around 4:15 to catch the shuttle and to make our 5:05 pm reservations. We were greeted at our table by Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Pluto. The food was okay...for the price, I wouldn't recommend Chef Mickey's and if we get the opportunity to go to Disney again, we won't go there again. After dinner, we caught the Monorail and rode it through Magic Kingdom...watch the castle change colors, it was quite a sight!

The next day we were up early and off to Magic Kingdom for breakfast at the castle with Cinderella and the other princesses! We were greeted at the castle gate and were treated like royalty! We were "My Lady," and " Princess" and "Young Prince", etc. The breakfast was fabulous! I would recommend the Royal Table to anyone going to Disney for breakfast, lunch or dinner! It was a pricey but the food and service was fabulous! We also got our picture taken with Cinderella before our dinner and those pictures came with the meal! Belle, Jasmine and Snow White greeted us during our breakfast. The girls (and boys) had a great breakfast and dining experience!

The boys took after to ride rides and the girls and I stayed close to the castle because they had an appointment at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique to get their hair, make-up and nails done for the day. They were absolutely gorgeous after their appointment!

After being transformed into a princess, we were off to enjoy Magic Kingdom. We rode lots of rides, including Splash Mountain and Space Mountain and ended the day at Magic Kingdom enjoying the fireworks! It was a magical first day at Disney.

Our second day at Disney we did a lot of park hopping...started at Animal Kingdom, hopped over to Hollywood Studios (MGM) and ended at Epcot. We were at Hollywood Studios when they had the American Idol Parade and got to see a bunch of American Idol Past Winners, Contestants, Ryan Seacrest and Paula Abdul! It was quite the experience!

The next day we went to Universal Studios and Island Adventure. The boys really enjoyed this park! Lots of daring rides some that Sydney could ride and some that she couldn't ride. She was a little upset when she discovered that she couldn't ride all of the rides! She is a dare devil and riding the roller coaster was exciting for her. Her and Gracie did ride the water raft ride two times and was soaking wet! They enjoyed this ride immensely! We closed the park down and headed back to our resort. We ordered pizza and relaxed in our room that evening.

The weekend was rather busy for Gracie and Sydney, the TwirlMaina competition took place on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we started the day at Epcot and then headed to Magic Kingdom for the parade that Gracie marched in...which was exciting that she was able to march in a parade at Disney. After the parade they had two performances at the Milk House at Wide World of Sports. We then headed back to Magic Kingdom to rides a few rides and eat dinner with the Patty's and Mary Jo & Cassie. We turned in early that evening because we had to be up and ready for competition to catch our bus at 7:00 am the next morning! Sunday was competition, performance at Downtown Disney, off to Epcot for Showcase and back to Milk House for more competition. The girls, Collin and I headed to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom for some Disney fun after the competition...we were planning on staying at Magic Kingdom until they closed that evening, which was 3 am but we pooped out and headed back to our resort around 11:30!

The next day we went to Sea World...it was great! The girls loved the aquatic animals, the shows were fantastic! Collin was sick that day so he didn't get to ride the rides, he toured Sea World in a wheel chair and slept off and on all day. I felt really bad for him. We stayed at Sea World until the park closed, headed back to our hotel to start packing for our return home.

Our last day, we spent the morning at Epcot walking through the different countries...we stopped and had pastries in Paris. They were yummy! Collin shopped at the Sportsman's Shoppe in London and got a rugby ball and a Chelsea jacket. We were sad to leave but headed back to our resort to catch the Magical Express Bus at 1:00 pm.

We had a great vacation!

Not Long: Disney Schedule

Last night I laid out what days we were going to the different parks. I have to fit in Dance Competition/Performances, Sea World and Universal Studios into our schedule. I feel like we need to at least have a schedule before we go or we won't get to do everything that we would like if I don't do all of this planning. I know some of the other parents that are going are teasing me because I am planning on laminating my schedule....this doesn't mean that we will stick to that schedule but I just want a "master plan!" I am all about spontaneity!

So far this is what my "plan" for the week is:

Day One: Arrive, Swim at Pool at Hotel, Dinner at Chef Mickey's, and Explore Disney via the Monorail after Dinner, Bed at a descent time.

Day Two: Breakfast at Castle in Magic Kingdom, Girls have appointment at the Bippity Boppity Boutique-Hair and Nails, and spend the day at Magic Kingdom.

Day Three: Sleep in (everyone will be awake & ready by 8 am-I'm sure), Spend most of the day in Magic Kingdom. Eat lunch at one of the restaurants in Magic Kingdom (one with no reservations!). Spend late afternoon/evening at Hollywood Studio's.

Day Four: Animal Kingdom in the morning (so we can see the animals) and Sea World that afternoon/evening. Dinner at Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. Extra Magic Hours at Epcot from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm.

Day Five: Morning at Epcot, Gracie has parade from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Girls Perform at the Milk House (Wide World of Sports) from 4:30 to 5:00 pm, Evening at Epcot until closing. Bed by 10:00 pm (girls are up early for a day of dance-meeting bus at 7:15 am in make-up, hair done, in first costume!) Sean and I have reservations at the California Grill for Valentine's Day at 9:00 pm.

Day Six: No Park fun-Performing all Day from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Day Seven: Universal Studios. Pack that evening, make arrangements to get luggage picked up. Print boarding passes.

Day Eight: Hollywood Studios until we need to leave for airport. :-(

Countdown to Disney-6 days!!!

I am counting down to the day we leave and I feel like I have so much to do! I have 5 days to finish planning our trip, clean my house and pack!

We just watched the DVD that Disney sends to get us excited (not that we already aren't excited) but to see what the rides look like, the shows, etc. and to get an idea of where we want to go! Sydney was a little worried that she wasn't going to be tall enough to ride the roller coasters! She looked up at me and asked (with big tears in her eyes!), "Are you just going to leave me, if I'm not tall enough?!" I got the tape measure out and she is 51" without shoes on, all of the ride requirements are 40-48" except for the race car ride, which she has to be 52" to drive by herself. She is a happy camper!

The kids then asked about where we are sleeping, I said that each of you will have a "bed" and no one will have to sleep on the floor, etc. I said that they have pictures of our rooms online and I showed them. They were very ungrateful! None of them want to "share" a bed! Collin doesn't want to share, but wants the bigger bed that folds out! Talk about ungrateful! I am spending all of the money to go to Disney and they are more concerned about what they are sleeping in....be thankful that you are getting to go!

Oh well....I am sure that once we get there, get settled in and start our vacation that they will be happy with where they get to rest at...after all we are going to Disney! We are going for the rides, the shows, the food and the fun!

The other cool part of this trip is that I get to cross off one of my items on the 40-before-40 list! Taking my family to Disney!

Wicked!!!

Oh my! I LOVED Wicked! We saw it the first night we were in New York City! I completed one of my 40 before 40 things! I got teary eyed at the end of the show! It was fabulous!!!! I would recommend it!

New York City: Day One

We are in New York City! We took off at 7:00 am from Kansas City and arrived in New York City around 11:00 am. We had a great flight...it was Sydney's first time on a big airplane!

After a horrible experience with our shuttle (we were placed on a shuttle and the driver turned around and took us back to the airport because he picked up the wrong group-we changed shuttles, moved our luggage around, etc.) But we finally made it on the road to our hotel. I took lots of pictures on the bus. After checking into our hotel, we headed down time square to get our tickets for the NY Pass to see the sites. We picked our tickets up at Madame Toussad's Wax Museum. That was a treat! I will up load those pictures later (my camera's battery went dead, we used my Aunt's camera and her batteries went dead too!) After touring the museum, we changed for Wicked! It was fabulous! One of the best musical's I have ever seen! We loved, loved, loved it! The girls enjoyed it! Enjoy the slide show of our first day! I completed one of my 40 before 40 things today....seeing Wicked in New York City!

My Summer Resolutions

Yes, you read that correctly....summer resolutions! I am one year and almost a month away from turning 40 years old and I have not even put a dent on my 40 before 4o list! Also, with each new transition, I always set goals and try to achieve them....start of summer, start of the school year, start of a new year. It's an opportunity for me to look at what's working in my life and what isn't....and work on improving and making changes that will not only benefit me but my family as well. So what are my summer goals?

We will be having our family meeting on Monday, June 9th....figure I will let my kids relax and enjoy the first three days out of school and I am planning on sleeping in and enjoying the first couple of days.

1. Developing and establishing new routines with the kids. Bed made each day. Showered and dressed each morning by 10:00 am.

2. Chores. This summer the boys will get the opportunity to learn how to sort, wash and fold their laundry. Each week they will rotate who's job it is!

3. Each week, two will help with the grocery shopping. This means, cutting coupons, looking at ads, planning what we will eat week, help with the shopping, cooking and cleaning up.

4. Setting and enforcing house rules. We just had new carpet installed downstairs from our sewer back up in January and had the upstairs carpet cleaned so no time like the present to enforce the shoes off at the door and no eating/drinking in the living room & family room.

5. TV/Video Games/Computer Time will be limited each day this summer. I want to spend each afternoon at the pool soaking up the sun and working on my tan to hide my cellulite-tan fat looks better than white fat!

6. Workout each day. Connor has a 1 mile run that he must meet under 6 minutes 4 out of 5 times during HS Soccer tryouts so we will be spending some time training on the track and trail. I would like to achieve my goal of losing 20 pounds over the summer.

7. Putting in a garden. We are planning on planting tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and a herb garden.

8. Finish deck.

9. Finish painting house.

10. A Garage Sale, start working on cleaning out the attic.

11. Sort Christmas decorations that have been piled on the saw horse table in the garage and placed on the shelves in garage.

12. Plus have fun this summer reading, spending time with my family and soaking up the sun at the pool.

What's your plans for this summer????

What Have I Been Up Too Lately?

It's been a while since I have blogged and you my be asking yourself....what has that woman been up to? Life has been very busy lately! I don't think I have caught a breath since the first of December! Many of you know that my good friend, Tina, and I have started a new business....check it out! Since we launched our business, I have been running on fumes! Here's a small list of what I have been up too.....

1. Cooking (3 sessions)

2. Delivering (3 sessions)

3. Stoning dance costumes

4. Sick kids-CWH, GLH and SJH (and me) have all had some sort of a strep throat strain...no fever just a really sore throat that last for 2 weeks with aching muscles in your neck and back.

5. Trying to keep up with the laundry-that's been a little dificult since the motor went out in our washing machine last week (Wed). We are pretty sure that the water damange from the sewer back up got the motor wet & that's why it's broke.

6. Futsal-scheduling and supervising games with hubby.

7. Indoor Soccer tournament in KC. Drove back and forth on Sat and Sun because CSH had cotillion Saturday evening.

8. Stayed in Sedalia for a jewerly party, which many of you will be invited to mine & Tina's party on March 15th---check out the jewerly! I attended the party and provided 2 dinners from The Friendly Freezer to help launch our business in Sedalia.

9. Working on recital packets.

10. Heading a committe for Futsal for MYSA.

11. Riding in the car with my son who recently got his driver's permit! That has been an experience. Really not too bad! Just a little nerve wrecking but we have been having fun!

12. Starting to work on Spring soccer for CMSL.

Resolutions?

Last year, I was so focused at the beginning of the year to blog about all of the resolutions and changes that I wanted to fulfill for the New Year. I started off pretty good, got several closets organized, started working out at least 3 times a week and then I was in a minor car accident which got me off track. I don't think I ever got back on the New Year's Resolution track after that accident. School started and I thought, this would be an excellent time to start working on the changes that I had set out to make at the beginning of the year. I started reorganizing the areas of the house that need touching up and did well the first month but once again, life took over and I am no where farther than I was on Dec 31, 2006!

As the New Year approached, I was thinking, once again, about what resolutions I would make for 2008 and decided that I was not going to make any resolutions for the year but take each month, one month at a time and try to incorporate one new habit. I would also spend time each day reflecting on 2007, the previous day, the previous week, or month and look for little changes that would have a greater impact on my life. For January 2008, my new habit is to have quiet time each day with God, to reflect and mediate. So far I have had some sort of quiet time for 4 days running! It always isn't the same time of the day but I am a least getting my quiet time in. Yesterday was right before I went to bed. Ideally, I would like to start each day with my quiet time but right now, I am happy to get some time with God each day.

I started reading Beth Moore's blog and I am going to quote what she said about new starts and resolutions:

"I told God this morning how thankful I was for His penchant for new beginnings. Just think about it. He's the one who came up with New Years so we could have an annual new start. But we don't have to wait that long. He also came up with 12 different months, 4 seasons, and 7-day increments we call weeks. But we don't even have to wait that long. Every single evening the sun goes down and calls it a day then greets us the very next morning with a whole new start. Let's face it. Sometimes a day's so tanked, it just needs to end. Aren't you glad a bad day always does? But, then again, we don't even have to wait till morning. Because of Christ, we can have a new beginning any old time."

I just loved that! I know that with God, anytime is a new beginning. I don't need a New Year, a new month or even a new day to start a beginning!

Here's to new beginnings! Happy New Year!

What American City Are You???

I am NEW YORK....which is quite exciting! My girls and I (and possibly my Mom and sister) will be visiting New York this summer because the girls will be going to a dance competition and clinic in New York. I am so excited about the trip. New York was always a place that I thought that I would live! Funny I have never visited New York until now! When I heard that AFA was planning on their National Competition in New York....nothing was going to stop me from going!

I will also get to accomplish one of my 40 before 40 goals with this trip as well! Visiting NY and seeing a Broadway Show! We are planning on seeing Grease and Wicked! The girls and I watched "Grease: Your the One that I Want" this past fall and casted the parts of Danny & Sandy it will be neat to see them on Broadway!

What makes me New York? I do love trying to new foods! I am very competitive and driven! Very little does shock me! I am instead convicted about right and wrong and would God be pleased!

You Are New York

Cosmopolitan and sophisticated, you enjoy the newest in food, art, and culture. You also appreciate a good amount of grit - and very little shocks you. You're competitive, driven, and very likely to succeed. Famous people from New York: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tupac Shakur, Woody Allen

What American City Are You?

Blog Anniversary!

Oh my goodness! I have been soooo busy with life and a new business that I forgot my blog anniversary!

One year ago yesterday was the date of my first post! I was planning on blogging about the last year! As well as giving an update on my progress of my 40 before 40 list! I will do that later this week.....

Accountability (Week of 12-3-07)

I managed to stay on task last week with the help of my accountability to-do list. I had a few things that I wasn't able to get accomplished that I will work on this week. Here's my to-do list for the week:

1. Rearrange bedroom.
2. Put laundry away in Sydney & Gracie's room. This is my tackle-it Tuesday project! Okay-I am not quite done with this project, I will continue working on it for Wednesday.
3. Put garage sale items up in attic.
4. Stone Bushel & Peck costume.
5. Paint kitchen.
6. Put up Christmas decorations.-I have pulled out the Christmas trees & decorations. The tree is up but isn't decorated yet.
7. Work on Mindi's keepsake album.
8. Take recycle items to recycle bins.
9. Put up recycled cartridges/check from the Ink Factory.
10. Hang up coats.
11. Mop kitchen floor.
12. Dust.
13. Inventory freezer.
14. Finish mailing out Christmas cards.
15. Work out three times this week.
16. Clean out refrigerator.
17. Charge camcorder. Need to find the charger-it's not in the bag or in the drawer where it's stored away.
18. Finish mailing out referee checks.

Accountability (Week of 11-26-2007)

Okay blogger buddies! You all have just become my accountability partners! I have an list of things that I need to get accomplished over the next couple of weeks before I have to start working on soccer items again and I get more accomplished when I blog about it! Cheer me on, congratulate me for getting so much accomplished in a short amount of time, etc etc! Here goes....

1. Tapes converted to CDs for my grandma. -Called Troy to set up appointment for this week.
2. Call hotel in St Charles for Starpower. Emailed phone number to competion dancers.
3. Send in gym request to Columbia Public Schools.
4. Call Stephen's College-re: gym.
5. Finish menu for business.
6. Take back item's to Home Depot-exchange them. Need to go again b/c the facuet still doesn't fit!
7. Clothes put away in Sydney's room.
8. Go through Sydney's sock drawer.
9. Email Board of Director's about bonuses and purchase of new fax machine.
10. Get out Christmas decorations.
11. Mail out Christmas cards. Addressed cards to my family. Need to address them for friends and mail them out. ****This was one of my 40 Before 40 items that I wanted to complete before I turned 40! Yeah! I get t cross another one off that list! I hadn't sent out Christmas Cards since I was pregnant with Gracie-she is now 8 years old! Everyone will be rather surprised!
12. Paint kitchen.
13. Put garage sales items away in garage on my side-so I can park in the garage again.
14. Clean out car.
15. Pick up recycled cartridges and check.
16. Get to the gym at least 3 times this week.
17. Mail out referee checks that I still have on my desk.
18. ??



I think that is it for know....I'm sure as the week goes on I will add to the list!

40-before-40 Revisited

Every once in a while I need to revisit my list & make a plan to accomplish the list! Better get to work....I only have a few crossed off!

1. Clean/Organize Garage Starting this weekend (June 30/July 1)
2. Clean/Organize Attic
3. Lose 50 pounds---75 would be better but 50 would be great! (I have lost 8 pounds so far!) Will lose 25 pounds by September 1st. DID NOT DO :-(
4. Read the Chronicles of Narnia with my kids. (reading on my own first-finished the first book)5. Bake through Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. Need to purchase a KitchenAid first for all that mixing...I've been hinting... working on..
6. Knit a blanket for each of my kids.
7. Renew my wedding vows.
8. Read the Bible completely. (started reading each day)
9. Purchase "1001 Books to Read Before I Die" and read one book a month.
10. Catch up on my scrapbooks. Starting on Friday!
11. Give up Diet Dr Pepper (this will be a really hard one, I have been drinking Dr Pepper since I can remember!Maybe just for a day...like the day I turn 40!) Better yet, add more water to diet!
12. Make a quilt.
13. Take Networking at church..discover my God given talents. (Registered for Networking-class starts Jan 21-23)
14. Burn all my home VHS onto DVDs. Purchased a program for my computer & will start working on this next week!
15. Rip CDs I don't listen to often and sell them.
16. Go to a spa for a massage.
17. Get a pedicure. Update-have one scheduled for July 17th!
18. Take a cooking class.
19. Read everything I haven't read yet on my bookshelf.
20. Watch all five Best Picture nominees prior to the Oscars.
21. Get a will (mostly for if something happens to both S & I-details for Mom & Dad re: the kids) Have mine done...need to get Sean's completed & have SIL file.
22. Learn cake decorating. Looked into classes but need to wait until Fall.
23. Plant a herb garden to be used all year long.
24. Try yoga.
25. Try pilates.
26. Incorporate a regular date night with hubby. (I thinking every other Friday or Saturday evening.)
27. Visit NY and go to a Broadway musical or play. (would like to see Wicked)
28. Make a household inventory notebook including pictures, serial numbers, etc for insurance purposes. Purchased notebook 6/29/07. Started working on inventory with kitchen.
29. Get finances in order and everything paid off.
30. Take family to Disney World.
31. Send out Christmas Cards (I haven't sent out cards since I was pregnant with my 3rd child!)32. Clean out car-keep it clean for an entire month-figure this would help me set a habit.
33. Take a second honeymoon with hubby.
34. Take family on a ski trip to Steamboat.
35. Go ice skating with my family.
36. Drink Milk. Plain, Chocolate or Strawberry flavored. (at least one for that day-this one is for my son-I do not like milk &; don't drink milk & he thought that it would be a good one to add to my list!)
37. See "Gone with the Wind."
38. Take Tennis Lessons.
39.
40

Tackle It Tuesday (Sitting Routines & a Few Other Loose Ends)

Today officially starts the beginning of my school routine. I realize that school started a couple of weeks ago BUT it took me that long to get the house back in order! Yesterday while driving to Sedalia, I thought about what I wanted to get accomplished this school year and I realized that I wasn't going to get these goals accomplished without sitting a daily routine for the school year! This morning during my quiet time, I developed my daily routine:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday:

5:45-6:00 am-Wake, shower & dress

6:30 am-Quiet Time

7:15-7:30 am-Wake the girls (Boys get up around 6:15 & are on the bus by 6:40 am)

7:30-8:30 am-While the girls are getting ready for school, empty dishwasher, put a load of laundry in, make beds, check email.

8:30 am -10:00 am-Head to gym-work out.

10:15 am-10:30 am-Take quick shower & dress for the day.

10:30 am to 12:00 pm-Work (CMSL)

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm-Eat lunch/Take break.

1:00 pm-4:00 pm-Housework, CMSL (if need), start dinner plans, etc.

4:00 pm-Start evening routine (recheck calendar) Every other Wednesday, work at the Academy from 4:00 to 8:00 pm.

5:00 pm-Start Dinner

7:00 pm-TV off/Homework time with kids. Every other Wednesday, attend Community Live @ Church.

Tuesday and Thursday: On Tuesday morning, the morning routine will be the same as M/W/F. At 12:30, I will be attending the Tuesday Bible study group. We will be studying a book by Joyce Meyer call "Battlefield of the Mind." The study will continue until November 13.

On Tuesday after the study, I will be picking up the girls and taking them to dance. They have dance from 4:30 to 8:15 pm. The evening routine will be the same as my M/W/F unless Connor has a soccer game.

On Thursday mornings, I will be attending, Take 2. A bible study at my church. Not sure what I'm taking yet. Our first meeting is this Thursday. Bible study is from 9:15 am to 11:15 am. After Bible study, a group of us usually go out for lunch. I really cherish this time, it's a great time for me to reconnect with a group of women & talk!

Thursday afternoon: We usually are done by 1:00 pm. I'm planning on using this afternoon to run errands-grocery store, etc.

On Thursday's, the girls have dance from 4:30 until 7:30 pm and I work the front desk on Thursday's as well.

With my daily routines in mind, here are my evening dinner plans:

Monday-Cook.

Tuesday-Cook.

Wednesday-Quick & easy meal for Community Live night & crockpot meal for work night.

Thursday-Crockpot dinner.

Friday-Family fun night-eat out, pizza, etc.

What are we having this week?

Monday-done

Tuesday-We will be eating dinner early (around 4 pm). Connor has a game in Smithton at 7:30 pm & we will be leaving town around 5:00 pm. We are having Garlicky Spaghetti & Chicken Tenders. I'm sure that Connor will eat again after his game. The rest of the family can eat when they get home.

Wednesday-Chili Pork Chops, Steamed Veggies & Salad.

Thursday-Something in the crockpot-not sure yet.

Friday-We will be eating out, if Connor plays on Friday evening in Smithton.

Last tackle it project....tying up loose ends or things that I need to do today (or this week will work too!) still!

1. Finish entering MYSA registrations. Mail them out this evening.

2. Get dance bags ready for girls.

3. Finish cleaning girls room.

4. Finish packing up garage sale items in garage.

5. Call library to make donation of garage sale books.

6. Set up meeting to get tapes transferred to CDs.

7. Freezer Chick meals done.

8. AFA blog.

Okay...I think I'm done! What are you tackling?

Two New Toys!

I had a post about 13 Things I Wanted for My Birthday, well, this week I got 2 off that list! My digital camera all of a sudden decided it didn't want to work anymore (I think it might be that I need a new battery-I did some research & the batteries are only good for a couple of years!) so last Thursday I bought a new camera. I wanted a camera that would fit easily in my purse for snap shots. My other digital camera is too bulky & won't fit in my purse. I bought a Nikon Coolpix L12, it a 7.1 mega pixel camera. So far it takes beautiful snap shots. Used it for the first day of school
pictures.


My second toy is a photo printer. I was standing in line at Office Depot last night & in the clearance section they had a printer marked down for $29.00. The original price was $99.99. It is really cool, I don't need to hook it up to the computer to print pictures. What's also great is that today I actually printed pictures that I took today! Over the last couple of years, they stay on my digital camera and I don't share them with family & friends. This might jump start me to start working on my scrapbooking goal!

My next purchase is going to be a Nikon Digital SLR. I really need something for action shots. This camera has a slight delay & it's good for taking sports or dance pictures. I have one picked out & my next paycheck will go to that purchase!

Coming soon....a 25 cent sale!

Many of you know that I have been cleaning out the garage & attic and having several garage sales to get rid of the accumulated clothes & items that we have been packing from house to house & storing in the attic. I have had 4 garage sales over the past four weekends. Next Saturday will be my last garage sales with the items that I have in the garage. I want to get the garage reorganized so I can start parking the vehicles in there again & also create another spot where I can start going through the remaining items up in the attic. I still have a pretty full attic even after I pulled down all of the Rubbermaid boxes (35 to be exact!) with clothes in them a couple of weeks ago. I have decorating items that I'm no longer using, Christmas decorations (I have 3 or 4 different color schemes!), more books and lots of other things. They were packed away so many years ago, I'm not sure what's up there!

Anyway, I will be boxing the items up (kids clothes) and taking them to my grandma's in Sedalia. She lives on a main street (we live out just past the city limits & we don't get the traffic that houses do in a subdivision or in town) & will be having a garage sale before winter arrives. I was planing on sending the leftover clothes to my sister's place of employment in Sedalia any way. She works at a women's abuse shelter & I plan on taking the kids clothes to her to give to the women & their children who arrive with no clothes or very little. BUT before I take everything to Sedalia I will have ONE more sale here in Columbia on Saturday, August 18th. If you know anyone here....let them know. I have girls & boys clothes, lots of boys clothes! The girls have been really picked over...there are lots of nice outfits still but not quite the amount compared to the boys. I plan on having a 25 cent sale on everything this weekend except for some items will remain at a different price. I really would like to get rid of a lot next Saturday. In fact, I will be listing it in the newspaper as a 25 cent sale!

Check my blog tomorrow...I plan on posting pictures of the tables of clothes & the progress of my bathroom!

Sending It in....

Remember this picture?

Well, I just sent in 15 rolls of film to Kodak Gallery. I can't wait to see what pictures on on these rolls of film!

I'm wanting to get all of the film developed by the end of September so I can start working on my scrapbooks. (which is one of my 40-before-40 goals!)