If any of you have been paying attention to the news, I’m sure you heard about the pastor in Waco who was electrocuted in that freak accident during a baptismal service.  It’s such an incredibly small world . . . my sister told me earlier today that one of the girls she went to school with is his widow.  I remember this girl from years ago — seriously, she was probably in junior high the last time I saw her.  I’m guessing she’s probably around 30 now, because she’s a couple of years younger than my sister.  Anyway, she’s now a widow with a 5 year old and 3 year old twins to raise.  Bless her heart. 

When you’re praying, please keep Jennifer, her little children, and the rest of her family in prayer, too.

Thanks.

Actually, just wanted to take a minute to say “Thanks, God.”  Been a little stressed about $$$ and today I learned that two quotes I had out will become sales.  That helps immensely with my peace of mind!  I still have a few others out and am waiting to hear back on those.  I’ll keep you posted. 

Well, I’m doing a bit better about posting on a regular basis.  I had a melt-down earlier today, but I’m doing better now.  I feel pulled in all directions — homeschool, business, home responsibilities, finances.  I wish I juggled better.  I’ve used the word “better” three times already.  Goodness.  How’s that for a well-rounded vocabulary?

We got some schoolwork done earlier today.  Not as much as I’d like, but we did get some done.  I got most of our bills paid.  Still have a few sitting on my desk, but they’ll have to wait until some more $$$ comes in.  Business has been pretty steady lately, so I’m not too worried about it, although I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little anxious.  My guy makes good money, but because of some credit card accounts we have, we are stretched pretty thin.  We don’t have the cards anymore (did you know you can run credit cards through a paper shredder?), and it’s just a matter of paying them off.  Beans and rice, rice and beans . . .   I have a measurement appointment tomorrow evening, and SIX next week.  So if those come through, it will be very good.

I can hear my puppy wimpering through the closed door.  We are giving crate training a second try.  We planned to crate train her when we first got her, but we had to evacuate due to the hurricane and the first night we were at my cousin’s, she cried all night and kept everyone awake.  So we got off track.  Then when we got back home, we hated to hear her cry and because the mosquitoes were so bad outside, we thought we’d paper-train her.  Most of the time she hit the paper, but she also had quite a few accidents.  We have hardwood floors and I really started getting worried that she was going to ruin them.  So we’re back to crate-training.  My sister promised me that if I can hang in there for a couple of weeks it will get better.  The puppy is not crying right now, so maybe she’s getting used to the idea of being in the crate at night.  She is so sweet, I just hope we can get her trained.  It’s difficult to enjoy a pet, no matter how sweet the pet may be, if you’re constantly having to clean up pee and poop.

Have any of you used Shutterfly for digital prints?  I have tons of digital photos that I need to get printed.  I tried Snapfish a year or so ago for regular film developing, and I guess it was okay.  Something about the prints seemed off, though.  I’m thinking about giving Shutterfly a try.  Would appreciate comments from any of you who know.

On Sunday, we’ll be stopping in on the Lone Star Bike Rally, in Galveston, too.  The Christian Motorcyclists Association will be having a church service in the Strand area.  Last year my guy attended and said it was awesome, so he wants to go again this year.  I’m thinking I may go with him, too.   Catch ya’ later!

So, it’s about a quarter after midnight and I’m working on the web page for my business.  I’ve had this name reserved for two years and haven’t done diddly-squat with it because (a) I don’t know a darned thing about building web pages and (b) I’m the worst procrastinator there ever was.  (Well, maybe not the worst, but I’m probably up there on the list . . .)  Anyway, I had to renew my SBC Yellow Pages ad a few days ago and there’s nothing like telling them to list your web page address in your ad copy to motivate you to do something with the web page.  Ha! 

So I’ve been working on it so it will be half-way respectable when the new book comes out in November.  One of my competitors listed a web address in their ad a couple of years ago and I thought I’d check it out to see “what the competition was doing.”  Well, everytime I tried to check it out, it had one of those “Under Construction” labels up.  Yuck!  So I’m determined to have this in pretty good shape by November 15th.  It’s very basic, and meant for information only — no internet orders, please!  I can barely keep up with the appointments I have.  Check it out if you’d like: The Finishing Touch  Keep in mind, I’m still working on it.  I’ll probably have to upgrade a notch, as I don’t really have a “home” page.  I wanted a page for each of the three products we focus on:  blinds, shades, and shutters.  The basic package only contains three pages.  So I’ll probably upgrade in order to get one more page (the “Home” page) that focuses on The Finishing Touch — who we are, what our customer service philosophy is, how committed we are to high quality products and customer satisfaction.

All it takes is $$$$$!

I’d love to hear what you think, so far.  And if you notice any typos, please, please, please tell me.  I hate typos, but sometimes they even slip past me (anal-retentive, former legal secretary with a perfectionist streak) . . .

Later, mis amigos . . .

P.S. — That reminds me – my girl has been taking a mini-Spanish class these last few weeks.  We went for lunch after church today, to our favorite little Mexican restaurant.  Well, Missy just loves sopapillas and so when the waitress came around to see if we wanted anything else, my girl said perfectly “Yo quiero sopapillas, por favor.”

Heavens, I just love that child!

Well, it’s still not the wonderful bit of writing I promised you, but I figured I’d best check in to let you know that the munchkin is doing much better.  I have a good bit of paperwork to deal with before I turn in for the night.  It just never seems to end.  Between homeschooling, the business, and my home obligations . . .ugh.  I guess I’m just tired.  Sometimes I’d love to shut my business down, but the fact is we depend on the extra income to cover our expenses.  Maybe I need to figure out additional ways to cut corners.  Maybe I need to pray about it and figure out what God wants me to do.  What a novel concept! 

I think my girl’s eyes look elvish — something about the shape of them just makes me think of some “Lord of the Rings” character, living in Rivendell.    She’s so beautiful!  Yeah, I’m slightly biased, but hey!  I have that maternal right, no?

I just sat down to write something entertainingly witty, but my girl has announced that she’d “like some lunch, please.”  She’s been a bit under the weather these last couple of days, poor thing.  We’d planned on participating in “Austin Town” — a historical reenactment of pioneer life in 1832 Texas.  I made her dress (a two-tone red calico with tea-stained apron, using ribbon to gather the sleeves and neckline, as elastic wouldn’t be historically accurate!), found black slippers, and was pretty much ready to go . . . but a 102.6 degree temperature wouldn’t allow it.  Temp’s down to 99.6, but I’m making her rest and drink plenty of fluids.  She has no other symptoms.  I suspect it’s some sort of viral thing blowing through with the changing weather.

I’m off to make a “grilled cheese sammich” for her and will try my hand at writing maybe later this afternoon.  Have a great day –

Another great year at the fair!  While we aren’t going until tomorrow evening, Jami and I took a “sneak peek” to see how the family did.  My niece won a 1st place blue ribbon for her decopaged Christmas box and my nephew won a 2nd place red ribbon for his handpainted plaster mare with foal.  Jami won a 1st place blue ribbon for her delicious “Goofy Cookies” that she entered in the Kitchen Pride Bake Show (Junior Division).

I entered five photos in the photography show and three placed.  Here to the left is one of the photos I took during our amazing, once in a lifetime (if that) Christmas snow.  This is the view from my kitchen window (it’s a tulip magnolia, and a slightly pyschotic one at that — it blooms at the weirdest times . . .)  Anyway, this one received a 3rd place ribbon.  Whee!

The picture to the left is Mission San Jose in San Antonio, Texas.  Jami asked if we could go to see the Alamo last spring break and we ended up doing the whole Mission Trail thing.  It was wonderful — we had great weather and a kid who loves learning things.  So it turned out to be a lovely trip.  This photo received an honorable mention

This photo is one of  my favorites!  The girl just LOVES strawberries, and goes almost spastic over strawberries covered in chocolate.  I called this one “As Good As It Gets” — it received an honorable mention, too.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow evening because we’ve managed to keep our lips zipped regarding Jami’s cousins’ ribbons — I love seeing the looks on their faces when they realize that they’ve won something — and something based on their talents and achievements.  There is something so encouraging about that to a child.  Mommy and Daddy can say “You’re the best” everyday (and they should), but there’s something about other people without emotional ties giving that stamp of approval, too.

I’ll be back with stories from the fair!

For the carnivores among us, a new meaning for “PETA” —

People Eating Tasty Animals

Muah ha ha ha!  Oh, how that tickles my funny bone!

The weather is turning a bit cooler and my guy is already thinking deer season.  I hope he has as successful a hunt this year as he did last.  He brought home two deer and we have just a bit of it left.  We’ve really enjoyed the sausage, ground venison, and roasts these last months.  Fourth of July we made venison burgers for our cookout and everyone just loved them.

Our adventures in homeschooling are going pretty well.  One of the wonderful things about home education is the ability to reconfigure things for your child’s needs.  I’ve discovered that my daughter has a very weak grasp of the multiplication tables.  Apparently she learned them well enough to get by last year (and get good grades), but when you ask her what’s 8 x 7, she pauses and it’s obvious that she’s counting in her head — she needs to know it immediately, like she knows her name.  So we’ve set aside the math book for a couple of weeks to focus on getting those tables in her little skull!  Today I had her copy the 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s tables three times each into her spiral notebook and I had her say them out loud as she copied them.  I’m hoping the repetition of copying and repeating them will help them stick.  We’re also working with flashcards and “Wrap Ups” — I’ll keep you posted.

One thing I have come to realize — this is not some glorified “Little House on the Prairie” experience.  It’s hard work and sometimes we don’t get everything done.  A lot of times we don’t get everything done.  We just pick up where we left off and keep on pressing forward.  And while we may not get everything done, I’m fully convinced that the experience we’re sharing is greater than anything the public school system could provide to us. 

Well, tomorrow is math, language, choir, and recorder band, so I’d better sign off for now.  When we’re through with all that, I’ve got to meet with a potential client regarding window treatments . . . I need some sleep if I’m going to be worth anything tomorrow.

A quick update from the coast . . .

We’re okay.  We went up to my cousin’s on the north side of Houston Wednesday evening and came home yesterday afternoon.  House is perfectly fine, aside from a couple of limbs in the yard.  God is good, all the time.  I have to be honest in saying that part of me fully expected my house to be gone when I returned.  But everything’s okay and God has proven Himself faithful once again.

I’ve decided that while things are pulled out of closets, etc., I’m going to do a thorough housecleaning.  Spring cleaning in September, if you will.  It seems a good time to purge all the stuff that got in my way while I was trying to decide what was truly important to save.

This has also inspired me to get caught up on my photo albums.  I am not exaggerating one bit when I say I took a truck bed full of boxes containing photo albums, loose photos, memorabilia, and negatives to my sister’s house before I went up to my cousin’s.  A truck bed full.  If all those photos and memorabilia had been in albums, it would have been so much easier!

I’m glad to hear those of you also in the Houston area seemed to have fared pretty well.  

Special note to Lori:  Have fun on your mini-cruise and don’t sweat the three pounds, girlie!  The last few days have been stressful for all of us and heaven knows we deserved a little chocolate comfort! 

I have some most exciting news to share with ya’ll . . . !

A few months ago, I asked that all of ya’ll keep a dear friend of mine in prayer.  Actually, he and his wife, as they were expecting a wee bairn and they’d had difficulties in the past carrying to term.  Well, I think there must have been quite a few praying over the months, because yesterday morning their sweet daughter was born!

She was 5 weeks early, but doctors say she’s looking great, weighing in at 5 lb. 15 oz. and measuring 19 inches long.  A cutie for sure, and healthy as can be.  Mom had a bit of a rough time, so continued prayers in that regard would be appreciated.  But the entire family is doing well and looking forward to going home.

A big congrats to Lloyd and Vicki and a great big welcome to little “Eleanor Rose” (I was told the name’s in pencil at the moment, as there were a couple others in the mix . . . I guess we’ll know for sure the next time Dad writes . . . )

And something not nearly so “grande,” but exciting in its own little way . . .

We welcomed our own little bundle of joy into our home Sunday afternoon — a tiny Chihuahua girly that my daughter has decided to name “Sweetie” (I was pulling for “Margarita” — but oh, well . . .)  She is a fawn-colored puppy with white markings, weighing about 4 lbs. right now.  She’ll probably gain 1 more lb. and then she’ll be done.  She’s a sweetie for sure, and I think she’ll add a lot of fun to the household (as if we didn’t have enough, already!)  I have to say it will be nice when she sleeps through the night — we’re crate training her and she’s just miserable right now.  I turned on the stereo super soft with some praise and worship music and it seems to be helping intermittently. 

And just in case you’re curious about homeschooling . . .

It’s going fairly well.  We’re still in the adjustment phase, trying to learn to juggle all the obligations we have from an educational, business, and family standpoint (not necessarily in that order).  I’m waiting for a homeschool planning software CD to arrive that I think will help me plan out entire days, not just lesson plans.  I tried to download it the other night and wanted to scream when 4 hours and 47 minutes into the 5 hour download, I lost my connection.  (We can’t get DSL out where we live . . . we’re stuck with dial-up.  )  Needless to say, I wasn’t going to start that mess all over again, and so I decided to wait for the CD to arrive.

The munchkin is doing well, though, and really looks forward to lessons.  In fact, she gets rather perturbed if something gets in the way of her lessons.  What a blessing to have a willing student, heh? 

Well, I’d better sign off for now.  I have tomorrow’s lessons planned, but if I don’t get some sleep I may sleep through them.  Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.