Fall

I am so excited about the season changing. I just got a shipment of PartyLite candles in. I have a new favorite fragrance. Actually a few of them! Leaves of Fun is absolutely delightful and it smells like everything wonderful in Autumn! Love it and I just got a big pumpkin candle in that scent today! :) Then there is the Cinnamon Eggnog fragrance that actually smells a little bit like cappuccino! Yummmm! I am ready to get this season rolling! LOL!

I am sticking with the HCG. I had a badddd week last week. I was away from home most every day and evening and you cannot eat food from a restaurant and eating at other people's homes, you do not want to say, "I'm sorry, but I cannot have that." So, I didn't do well, but I am on track now and rolling again. I decided to add at least an extra week, so instead of 23 days I will now be doing at least 30 days. I am down 13.6 lbs since August 16! Not bad for three weeks and I am learning so much about what we should and shouldn't be eating! For my family, this is more than just a rapid weight loss program, this is a lifestyle change. I am ashamed at how many prepackaged meals I have prepared for my family when we were in a hurry or I had a long day or simply forgot to that anything out. It is onto healthy eating and buying more natural foods and staying away from the junk. I forgot that I actually liked cooking. I am good at it. It just became so easy to fix the junk food! My kitchen is tiny and I do not have a dishwasher, so I wash dishes all day long. Why? because I cannot stand dirty dishes in my sink! I know, it is kind of stupid. I only have one usable side of the sink as my dish strainer is in the other side. I will not set it on the countertop because I think we only have about 7 foot of countertop as it is. I love my little house, but the kitchen needs to be a little bigger. Someday we plan to add on to it or build another, but someday doesn't always happen soon enough! :) I'm blessed to own it though and have a bit of land to build on. The payment is cheaper than my rent used to be and it is such a blessing to own a home! I'm thankful to God for the many blessings He gives us. We have had some pretty trying times but He always sees us through. I shouldn't complain about the miracles He has done! Shame on me!

Speaking of trying times, I am so thankful that my children were young while we struggled so bad, but yet old enough to remember. It amazes me how grateful they are. As far as kids go, I definitely have the best! IMO! I'm sure others would disagree, but I think they are just amazing. Of course there are days when I complain about those blessings also... Once again, for shame!

I am waiting on Josiah's Paces to come in so he can officially start school. I have papers he can do for now, but no actual Paces. Kaylee is doing her school work once again on the computer through Switched on Schoolhouse. She does well with it and it helps me for her to be as self sufficient as possible, especially this year since Josiah needs the extra help right now. He is amazing at Math! Kaylee was reading by age 4, but he was adding and subtracting at that age. He still doesn't read well, but he is getting the hang of it. It is like they are complete opposites with it, but both are very intelligent. Needless to say, we are ready for school! Kaylee isn't looking forward to it as much as Josiah is. I suspect that will be opposite next year, but I hope they both are interested in it.

I have way too much I need to be doing today. We are going to go out and grocery shop all together. Fun! It will be our first trip to Nature Girls in Rolla. Should be exciting. I am giving out some haircuts too. Ah! Life beckons me from blog world. :)

Ooh! One more thing, I almost forgot. I am taking Josiah to the doctor tomorrow for his nosebleeds. I will try to remember to update on Thursday. He loses large amounts of blood when he has them and though they are not frequent, they are severe! I will spare the gory details, but let's just say he sleeps on the top bunk and there was blood from there to the floor. He sleeps through the entire episode, so he could bleed to death in his sleep. Seriously alarming! Prayers are appreciated that the doctor can find the cause and help him or for God to heal him completely!

Phase 2 Day 6 HCG diet

So today is the sixth day of my second phase of the HCG diet. I am feeling pretty good. I am excited because I have lost a total of 8.4 pounds since August 16! I have also lost 2.6 inches. Sometimes, this phase is difficult because I am in a habit of taste testing sauces or seasoned food before I serve it, or even to tell if the noodles are completely done. I cannot do that anymore because of the restrictions of the protocol. I am okay with this though! I am so glad I decided to do it. I feel like this is a life changing thing for me. I also don't want to have to do it again, so I am trying with all my might to get it right the first time!
I had headaches at first as my body was basically in withdrawal from not having sugar or the amount of carbs that it is used to running on. They really only lasted through the third day and oddly enough I felt pretty good on day one, so two days worth of headaches is a small price to pay. I have to be somewhat careful that I do not allow my blood sugar to drop too much though. That can be a problem and so far it really hasn't been. I spread the food out throughout the day as much as I can.
One of the worst parts for me was preparing for my daughter's birthday party. I made cupcakes and a cake. she wanted a zebra striped cake and I wasn't sure what I would be able to find one like that. I sure wish I would have talked her into something else. I wanted to lick the batter, eat the cupcakes, and also clean out the icing containers. LOL! It's hard not to eat while you cook! It's almost like trying to fast while you have to fix food for everyone else! I am getting through it though with no cheating! I am proud of myself for doing what I am doing and I will be very thankful once it is said and done! I hope I can stick to eating things that are better for me when I reach my goal, but I really think I will do just fine. I will try to update as often as I can!
One more thing I wanted to mention is that I am going to go to Ohio to see my family toward the end of next month. I am so excited to be able to get back up there again! My grandma is turning 80, so almost the entire family will be there! That should be interesting! I am just ecstatic to be able to see all of them again! I'm so thankful for each one of them. We don't always agree on everything, but what family does? I just hope we all have a good time and nobody gets too crazy!

Summer

So I have been off galavanting and enjoying my summer. I didn't think I had any followers yet, so I don't get on here as much as I should. I always say I'm going to and usually fail!

I am probably taking off Fall semester this year. I have to make sure that Josiah is reading well on his own and that he will be set for first grade. They grow up too fast! When I am confident that he will not need as much help, I will be returning to finish up my degree. It's hard to believe that he will be in first grade already! Yikes! Kaylee is going into fifth grade!

I had a PartyLite party yesterday at my sister's house and that was a lot of fun! She is keeping it open for a couple more days. She had fun. I love doing these parties! It's so great to get out for a few hours with friends.

We bought a car. Just one! Mine is going again, thankfully. We bought a 2008 Cobalt. It is nothing fancy, but we got a decent deal and Jimmy loves it. That's the main thing. It is blue flash metallic, like a bluish purple color. It changes in the light from blue to purple. We will have to buy a second one before too long, but I am thankful to only have the one payment for the time being!

Ayayay!

So it has been over a month since I posted last! Whoa! I have been terribly busy with school. For the next two weeks it will be even worse, so I will keep this short and sweet. Just give a couple of crazy updates...

April 22 was my 28th birthday! I had a wonderful day with lots of happy birthdays and best wishes from my dear ones. It was a nice day outside and everything. That was on a Thursday. Jimmy went to leave for work and his car wouldn't start on Thursday afternoon. The battery was dead. He hooked it up to the charger for a few minutes and then left. On his way home after work, he had to have a jump start because it happened again. He made it home okay so that was the good news. I woke up Friday morning to clean the bank and my car wouldn't start. What? This isn't happening! LOL. I went inside and got the keys for Jimmy's car and lo and behold, the battery is dead again! You have got to be kidding me! I called in to work. I still had to clean houses later that day too, but at that point I was able to borrow Jimmy's mom's car. What a mess! I didn't tell my boss that neither car would start. I only told her that mine wouldn't start. I didn't think she would believe me! That only happens to me! ♥
The next day, Jimmy was on his way to work. It was raining and the tires were slick, a bad combination, I know. He hydroplaned and got completely spun around in the Camaro, which is easier than one would think. Thankfully, he was okay. He was fairly certain that the Camaro was totaled. This nearly broke his heart. Men! Pffft! It ends up the wheel is bent ($100ish), needs new tires ($440ish), and needs the struts replaced ($???). Boo! Almost wish the car was totaled! Just kidding. it needs some major cosmetic work, but it will drive with just the other. Unfortunately, we can't buy a used one with any life left, for the amount it would cost to fix it. We went from having two cars to having none in a matter of two days... Did I mention that he just put a new battery in the Camaro Saturday on his way to work? LOL! Craziness! My car is still not fixed and it isn't looking too promising either. Last week they replaced the intake gasket, this week the coil pack, and we bought a pressure regulator, but not sure if it will do the trick or not. So it is an $70 guess! Need two new ones, but don't want to have to pay payments on a car again! It has been so nice the past several years!

Oh well... I have ranted and raved long enough and I know that life will go on! God is still in control and I still trust Him!

Today's Adventure

Yeah so I don't blog every day... My life is pretty busy, but also kind of boring in some ways! Where to begin... My dad is traveling right now. He and his wife are in China visiting her family. Last Monday he came and brought me chickens so I could take care of them for him. He fixed up a pen here and brought a little coop over for them. I had to feed them twice a day. Friday morning when I woke up they were all dead A dog had come in and tore them up. They only took about four or five but they killed all thirteen of them. Not only were they dead, but they were also messy! I felt terrible, but he took the news rather well. He spent a lot of time getting things ready to bring them here so I felt even worse about that!

Jimmy starts his new job this Thursday! So much to do and running very short on time! :) I am so happy for him though! We went shopping last night and he got a new pair of jeans and khakis to wear to work. I am pretty sure it is jeans and t shirt conditions, but we shall see! He only has the one pair of good jeans now because he has worked in his other jeans. We were needing to get him some clothes anyway! I had bought him a shirt a few weeks ago when I went shopping with my sister. That was a blast! Last night I also got an outfit from JCPenney. I got a very cute striped button up shirt with a matching belt that ties and a super cute straight cut gray skirt! Man I looked good! LOL That is for me to wear to ladies seminar in a few weeks. I was volunteered to greet people. I totally didn't want to, but I got saddled with the job anyway! Now I need a pair of matching shoes that are cute and comfortable. I really need at least one more outfit also. I was afraid I was spending too much but when I got up there to check out they were both on sale! Lucky me!

I still haven't made the dry laundry soap yet. I need to look up the recipe again and see how much I am supposed to use! I am looking forward to it, but also afraid it will cost a lot more to make than the liquid kind does. I guess if it will be too much more I will be making the liquid kind again!

I was asked to fix my friend's hair for her wedding on April 10. I need to look up some hairstyles on line. I already have an idea, but not sure what it will look like yet. We are going to practice it on Thursday. It should be fun, but I am also nervous because I don't want it to look bad on her wedding day!

Next week my kids will be going to school on Monday and Wednesday! This will be weird to my son who has never been anything but home-schooled! They are very excited about it! Trinity agreed to watch them for a few hours for about three weeks while my dad is out of town. She has wanted them to come to school there, but it cost too much for us without Jimmy's income and another down side is the drive down there twice a day. I totally would if I could though. They need more interaction than what they get here!

I need to shut up and get busy now. I have my midterm in my intro to social work class tomorrow. It is the first test in the class and I am super nervous! The first one is always the worst because you never know what to expect! I haven't studied near enough yet, so I need to go back and finish up my flashcards!

I'm not good at this!

Okay, so I'm not very good at this! I just realized that I haven't told you just how great the laundry soap turned out! I made a double batch of it and put some in a milk jug for my mom and another one for my sister. They loved it too! I didn't use the right soap even, but it turned out great! My next mission will be trying to make a dry laundry soap recipe. I am going to use some store bought powder Tide and mix it with some of the washing powder, soap, and borax. We shall see what it turns out like too!

Jimmy got the job... He is officially a youth specialist for the state of Missouri! We are so super excited! He will start April 1st! I am very much looking forward to him working again and us having more money! It's going to be a big adjustment for all of us and will take awhile to get back into a routine!

I just got my sister's birthday gift! I bought her a set of end tables for her new apartment! She is super excited about it! :) She's the best sister ever... AND she is getting me a wii fit! Woooo hooo!

My Dad and Ali are getting ready to go to China! They will be gone for a month! They are both very excited but especially Ali! It has been two years almost, since she has been home and she is more than ready to see her Mom and the rest of her family too! She is such a sweet person! we are very blessed to have her in our family!

It is getting late, so we are gonna get some chow! Goodnight!

Funny Stuff!

I almost forgot! Josiah was so cute the other night. We picked him up really late from his Papa and Mema's house and it was cold outside. He said, "I think they're going to have to cancel summer."

Blah!

So today is a new day right? I failed my College Algebra test. I studied for it really hard and thought I was going to do well on it until I started actually taking it... Then it was a whole other story. I am supposed to be working on that now, but I am on here instead. It will be there in a little bit. I am going to have to work my butt off for this class! I can hardly stand it, but it will be worth it when I finally get out of school! Especially if I do go on to get my Phd! One day I will laugh about this, but for now it is not too funny!

I changed my template on here again! I am kinda liking this blogging thing. Now I just need to find people who may be interested in reading about my ever-so-boring life! I meant exciting! Exciting life.

I think I am going to make myself a cafe mocha and start working on some other things that really need to be done! Karen - over and out.

Today's Adventure

I am going to make homemade laundry soap! This will be my first experience with it and I am not quite sure how it is going to go! We do lots of laundry around here and that stinking laundry soap for HE machines will make you laundry poor! LOL. Soooo we shall see if I can save us some money and it turns out okay, then I will be making this a regular project.


My hubby still hasn't heard about the new job yet, so we will see if they call him. I'm getting impatient! They that wait upon the Lord...

I have been wanting to do this for quite some time... So finally, no more procrastination! First, I will tell you about myself. I am 27, married, mother of one beautiful nine-year-old girl and one awesome six-year-old boy. Their names are Kaylee and Josiah. My husband's name is Jimmy. I clean a bank and several houses. I go to college and homeschool my kids. I am very busy, but I will try not to let you down!

My husband pastors a church in Belle, Missouri and I sing. I am not much of a preacher, but I can sure preach at Jimmy and the kids! :) We're a small crowd for now, but if we can ever bust out of our routines and be the bold Christians we are called to be, I believe God will do great things!