Ramblings of Young (actually Middle Aged) Woman

Sometimes I think I am just totally abnormal. Strange, quirky, eccentric, ADD...you name it.

Sometimes I feel young and sometimes I feel old. Today i feel younger. My hair is all curled, I have minimal makeup, and am about to put in my contacts. Sometimes i look back and wish I was 27 again, about to give birth to my first child, and about to celebrate my 28th birthday. I want to get the opportunity to raise them again and relive those moments, just with the wisdom i have now instead of the ignorance I had then. Maybe I am having a midlife crisis. The crisis is that I am having a LOT of difficulty dealing with my kids growing up, and with me growing older. Time is so short with kids...and then there is the aging. It happens, but I don't like the rate at which it happens. I know I am nearing the end of childbearing years and that saddens me even though I probably won't have any more babies.. Notice I said probably ;) ! 40 used to seem fairly old to me--after all I was 18 when my mom turned 40. Now here I am at 40, and I think looking pretty good and I know I feel really good, but my oldest is barely 12. That is good. But I am still 40, and getting older, wiser than I was in the past, yet I still feel like a 20 year old inside. Weird.

I do not regret staying home with the kids. I definitely do not regret homeschooling and I pray that continues through graduation for all of them. I do not regret my choice of husband. I do not regret becoming a Christian. BUT, i do regret the time I wasted on useless stuff, and the times I could have played with the kids but chose to sew or quilt or talk to friends on the phone, and I regret the times I was an "in-your-face, my way is more righteous" kind of Christian. Those people are so hard to stomach--and I used to be one! Shame on me and I apologize to everyone I offended. I regret wasting money on useless material things, and not saving enough, and giving in to my sinful side. But the things of the past can't be changed, so onward I go, trying to be better each day, messing up along the way. With some grace it won't adversely affect my children ro my relationships. And hopefully my impact on the future will be bringing glory to God.
I like being behind the scenes, doing what I do, most days. I like who I am, most days. I love my life, most days. I guess I am sort of normal after all...whatever that means.

On to Other Things

So now we have a "new" van.
It is a 2009 Town and Country. We love it. But I am cheap so i detest making payments. Still, i got the lifetime full coverage warranty so it's not all bad. Put a huge chunk of savings down on it too, so no big vacation for a few years while we rebuild the savings. And what we were putting into savings is now going into the van payment so bye-bye to that cash.
But we have a safe vehicle that will take us into the next 10-15 years of life.
Now on to the bank to refinance the house. Maybe we can pay it off before we are 65, this way!
I pray this is considered good stewardship of our blessings.
I just really, really hate being in debt, other than the house.
YUCK and BLAH!

car shopping

van shopping actually--online. my van is a 1999 grand caravan and i love it, but it is starting to get cranky with me--you know--things like the power locks don't always work, or they work but only on a few doors, or the a/c cools a little, but to get full cooling you have to turn it all off, restart the van and then turn it on--very contrary, she is....so we are looking at getting a 2008 or newer that we can put at least half the money down on and use the old van as a trade in---i want to have cheap payments so I can still put something into savings...but a new ride would be very sweet, and given my driving record I will likely keep the new van for at least 10 years!
we shall see.......................
I have found a 2009 town and country that I really love. hopefully we will be able to negotiate a great deal this week. And maybe we will also be able to get the house refinanced! Been praying about it, so whatever happens, is what is supposed to happen.

Annie has Arrived!

What a week! Last Friday i got our copy of the Nutcracker Revisited dvd, and this Friday we will get both blue and yellow cast dvd's of Annie!!!!!

I cannot wait to view them. The great thing is that a friend's daughter will be here while her mom researches homeschooling, and the girl will get to see what we and our hs friends do, on dvd! Can't wait to pop some corn and have a great Friday evening!

But right now, i have some cinnamon roll dough that needs my attention before church time. Adios all!

Chicken Enchiladas

I get lots of people asking for my recipe so tonight i decided to post it. Loosely. I made this up so all is approximate, but you will get the idea. Be bold. Experiment! Ready?? Here we go!
First I make the sauce. It consists of 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can of water, 1/2 cup sour cream, some cumin, a couple tablespoons of taco seasoning, and about 3/4 cup salsa. Mix well. Add 1 cup shredded cheese. Shred your own, please. That pre shredded stuff is coated with some nasty powdery junk. Notice my block of cheese. A lovely item! We buy 2 of these every month and sometimes run out....notice it says 5 pounds???? HA ha! it is a great value, though.
Then you will want to cook about 3 chicken breasts, or use half a boiled, deboned chicken, or what I did today was use 5 or 6 boneless thighs. I seasoned them with steak seasoning by Tex-Joy, and some cumin. Then I chopped them pretty finely with a big knife and mixed them with some shredded cheese, about 3/4 cup of cheese, I think. Looks pretty in the red bowl, don't ya think? I love that bowl.....

Then you use a spoonful or two in flour tortillas (great value brand are the softest) and start rolling and packing them in tightly--see the above out of order photo.
Rolling...........
Roll them tightly......until the pan is full
Then pour on the sauce and spread to cover the enchiladas.
Then add more cheese to the top. Be generous, now! Then bake these babies for about 30 minutes in a 350 oven until nice and bubbly. I like to serve these with our favorite healthy side dish of tortilla chips and salsa! If I feel really energetic you might get a can of ranch style beans, too. Or some guacamole...but don't hold your breath for those.

They are great and we MIGHT have two left over after all 7 of us eat----maybe.

Oh and I should add, I do not like the smell or taste of sour cream and have NEVER eaten a chicken enchilada in a restaurant. But I like mine! Maybe you will too.....

In Other Random News......

It rained last week...I mean really rained...there was a hurricane named Hermine who came into Texas and literally flooded us. But we were oh so dry and needed it. And since it was not thundery or anything the kids played and soaked themselves. Ahh the joys of childhood!
Jordan has decided to be a cub scout so he went to cub fun day and learned archery and .......
BB shooting.
He really had fun. this kid has loved guns and bows and knives since he was born. This was right up his alley!
As we studied history we cam upon the Sumerians who were quite an advanced people. They even had flushing toilets and hot/cold water in homes! Amazing. they also had a 600 character written language called cuneiform. The kids did not choose to make cuneiform tablets for a project though. They went with lego versions of ziggurats (used for idol worship--lovely).
But the work was good. Jacob did a whole city. Emily did two ziggurats. Gotta love Lizzie's with the red flower on top! Good learning, too!
Since my eyes are so sensitive, I wear glasses more often than my contacts. So i figured, hey...if I buy online at Zenni and get cheaper stuff, I can change up my style a bit! That was fun! A glasses collection! Crazy, huh!?
Below you will see my indulgent Chinese Laundry flats. I am totally wearing them to the library today!!!!!!
But this last photo is why I didn't really NEED them. And this photo doesn't include the roller skates, 6 other sandals, 3 sneakers, 3 boots and 1 pair flip flops. I have issues with shoes.
So, I warned you...that was really random stuff. I am just shocked I got on the computer long enough to post it! So anyway, hope the Lord is blessing your day with love and peace!
Now, on to the chores......

BreakFast and Chinese Laundry

Well, I know I was supposed to be on a fast of spending for clothes, but i have broken it....shameful, i know...but i had to have undies!!! Then I realized my staple shoes for fall/winter are black patent ballet flats. They wore out last year so on clearance I bought a new pair for $8--different brand though, and they rub blisters on my heel. Can't wear them at all! Ugh!

So i have to go on Sunday to buys shoes for my two oldest bigfoot kids and find some great pewter flats by Chinese Laundry that felt FABULOUS on my feet, and were on sale! My gut told me to get them even though they weren't black--I mean how often do you find shoes that love your feet so much---not often, I tell ya! BUT I didn't listen to my cheap self, and went to payless and bought some black satin ballet slippers. They are cute but after extended wear my big toe hurts so today, i am going to get those Chinese Laundry shoes that fit like a dream. Then I promise I am done shopping---well, unless I need a pair of jeans for fall/winter......but then I will be done. Really. I promise. Seriously!

Confession over.

September is here!

Homeschool is going well.
Jordan is excited about scouts and Kimberly loves gynmnastics. Lizzie decided to give up on theater with Jacob and Emily so she could go back to gymnastics.
Unfortunately this afternoon Kimbelry fell off the bed (while playing with jordan--he pushed her, so I heard) and she cracked a bone in her wrist, and has to wear a splint for 4 weeks. No gymnasics for her. Plus it was her right hand...guess which had she draws with???????? And she draws, paints and uses playdough daily! Ought to be an interesting 4 weeks. She already had a meltdown because she couldn't change her shirt on her own. I'm preparing myself for the next few days until she gets used to the brace.

It has been raining a bunch here since hurricane Hermine blew in to Texas. Tons of tornado warnings, but at least the temps are cooler and the ground is wet.

Well, that was probably the most uninteresting blog post EVER, but it is just a quick update. Toodles.....