The Budget

So, a few weeks ago I decided to get involved with our budget...I've tried to do this before..but haven't really persevered. You see, with having so many kids my hubby and I have kind of divided up things....kind of traditionalist, but never the less...he looks after the financial end and I look after the kids....I do the inside and he does the outside of the house...but I'm afraid that over the years that has changed somewhat....my hubby does a lot in the house, I am very fortunate. Since a few friends have died over this last year and left spouses floundering in not knowing how to handle the areas in the household and family that they weren't accustomed to....I decided that I needed to get a little more involved in the finances. Now there are good things about that and there are bad things.....very bad things.....like finding out that just running to the grocery store for a little something to go with supper, after you've already done the grocery shopping for the next two weeks..really cuts into you next pays grocery budget.....or when you have Thanksgiving dinner, and it comes out of your regular grocery shopping budget that it takes a huge chunk! Or when you all of a sudden have a birthday spring up or a shower gift to buy...where does that money come from when you have an extremely tight budget with no room for extras like that.....I think they call it robbing Peter to pay Paul.......
So the good things are that I really get to see where the money is going, I get to know what bills have to be paid and when, I have become more conscious of impulse spending....especially when I realize there isn't any impulse spending category and I become more responsible in the regular, necessary spending that I have to do.
The bad side is that it stresses me out...when it's three days til payday, and laundry to be done and I have no fabric softener left, when my son says that the one dog we have is almost out of dog food, which is $50, three days before pay...when all my eggs were used up at Thanksgiving and I have none for the week.....before, I just let hubby carry the load...I'd just go out and get the stuff, cause after all, I needed them and let him figure out how the money was going to cover it...I really did him an injustice, that was very wrong of me.
So, for the good and bad.....hopefully this was a good move for me, I think it was...even though I've always told my hubby that he has to die first cause I don't want to bury him......we really have no control over that....but God is in control and that is reassuring...and after all He looks after the lilies so Iknow he looks after us......if you need something to read that puts it better than go to www.cindybeall.com. She does have a way with words.

The Quiet

It's nine o'clock and the church bells are ringing...yes church bells....I live in a very small community and the local Anglican church has church bells set to go off at 9 and 3 and 6........I love hearing the bells....I'm really quite surprised that someone hasn't complained.....you know...infringing on their religious rights or something......I promised myself that I'd get up at nine....I've been awake...the kids left for school over an hour ago....I've been savouring the quiet...reading blogs......you see Megan has one day per week at school...and Friday is the day.....Hallelujah and Praise the Lord! It's been an interesting week...a week where I found myself Wednesday evening saying....no, I will not take you with me to the drug store...I want to go kidless, somewhere...anywhere.....but come on now..the drugstore!!! Do you hear desperation here???......So here it is Friday....it's a gorgeous day...promises to be a gorgeous weekend...we're finally suppose to get to the trailer tomorrow to do the final closing before winter sets in...a lot of people will be there doing the same thing and celebrating Thanksgiving!
It makes me think...well, what am I thankful for......great husband, kids (that drive me insane) but something has to....anyways,grandkids....family, God and having him in my life.....and the quiet....I love the quiet......

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

A Friend

For over thirty years I have had this particular friend....in the early years it was on and off but in the last fifteen our relationship has been pretty good. We would visit when we could and talk on the phone everyday. Until this past summer.......a really terrible thing happened to my friend, nothing that I can blog about but it has had a very negative effect on our relationship. At first, we communicated several times a day...my friend was devastated and I did what I could to help. After a few weeks, out of the blue my friend hurled an accusation at me.....you see, in one of those degrees of separation situations, I had been affected by what happened to her also. My friend had started the healing process in her situation but I had not......I had been so busy helping her and being concerned about her that I had not stopped to consider doing anything about my feelings.
Our relationship is strained and I am in despair.

I have been working on my feelings, praying, discussing with my hubby and friends. I have come quite a ways ....... but the damage has been done to our friendship and I really am saddened that it will never be the same. It was a good friendship......and I miss it.

Or.......was it really a good relationship/friendship in the first place.......or was it just in my imagination.........I feel such a terrible weight on me.......

Just call me stupid!

Two days into homeschooling Megan.......yesterday she went to quilt class with me...I decided to draw a simple picture on a piece of felt and then I spent an hour teaching her how to sew buttons on the outline. It was rather tiring....for both of us......then she did some colouring and looking at books til the end of class. She was very excited and keeps calling her piece of felt 'a quilt'. By the time we returned home, after having lunch with my sister and her husband, it was time for the highschoolers to come home. Maya had a game at the school and Megan wanted to join me but I told her she needed to spend some time on other activities.....(I didn't tell her that I needed a break too).....it's tiring always working (and living) with a teenager that has the comprehension level of a four year old!
Today, I had my weekly bible study at a local church....we're doing a Beth Moore study (by video) and I thought she'd at least be able to find it easy to watch the video......and she did, but she also sat there and fidgeted constantly, so lesson learned...next week I'll take some quiet work for her to do......
After Lunch, at home...I got out all the workbooks I have that has reading comprehension and math facts and she spent about an hour doing a page or two in each. Then it was story time....and before you knew it the highschoolers were walking in the door again. They aren't too thrilled with me homeschooling Megan....they think it's a royal ripoff......they think that I should be homeschooling them too......well, just open up the door to the loony bin and reserve me a bed!

The Weekend...

Well, it was a lovely fall (autumn) weekend here in our neck of the woods. Hubby and I were suppose to go up north on Friday but he had been feeling under the weather all week and unfortunately it came to a head Friday morning and we were both very disappointed. We had been looking forward to a good visit with friends of ours for months, they used to be the ministers at our church and when they retired they moved about four hours away from here. All day long we were lamenting that it would have been a beautiful day for a drive. Praise the Lord though, hubby is finally feeling better...I was starting to get concerned....my husband is one of those that hardly ever gets sick and when he does he doesn't get his shirt in a knot over it....I teased him that he is the most self sufficient sick person that I know.
Yesterday. we had a church shower for a young couple who are leading our teen class in Sunday school...it was a brunch....how lovely is that! Then I took Emma and Maya to the mall....me at the mall is not a good thing!...I hate shopping (and the Christmas season is coming up very quickly).......sigh...anyways,...Maya needed dress shoes for church.....she was convinced if she got black running shoes that they could pass as dress shoes....it took some convincing and then Emma started in...she just had to have new shoes...which was kind of true cause she was still wearing flip flops...which would be fine if we lived in San Antonio, where it's 79 degrees, right now, 10:13 pm....but hey, we're in Canada, eh......cold, you know...not freezing but definitely not flip flop weather...but I was standing firm....only one pair of shoes could be afforded! It was her lucky day because PayLess had buy one, second half off...so, I relented and Emma lucked out!
When I finally got home...hubby was feeling better finally and we were foodless.....so off to the grocery store.......oh joy, what bliss!

On to Sunday....busy, busy morning.....Leslie and I are leading the Sunday school program and it's very high energy non-stop from the time I get there at 9:30am till it ends at 12:30pm....I know 3 hours doesn't seem very long....but have I mentioned lately just how old I am!!!!!??

Then we came home and all I wanted was to rest ...but....you see, I started a stew yesterday and the vegetables had to be prepared and put in with the meat and broth that I started cooking yesterday. .....So, supper is done, the kids are in bed.....another weekend is done......and in a few hours it will be Monday.....and it starts all over again.......

Maya's Sports(wo)manship!

My daughter Maya plays basketball. My daughter Maya plays a lot of sports and is usually pretty good at anything she tries her hand to...but it's not just that....I've always admired Maya's attitude about playing.....and that came out in her basketball game yesterday. Her school basketball team played a school from 'the city'.....our highschool is considered in the suburbs.....gee, when I moved into this area 50 years ago they called it the country....hehe....but anyways...the team they were playing was having a difficult time catching up but the worst part was the unsportsmanlike behaviour. Not only did the coach of the other team get a technical for throwing his clip board, with force, to the floor...one of his players got a technical for swearing on the court...and then the junior team who were observing, started pounding their feet on the bleachers every time one of our girls was doing a foul shot. Unfortunately some of the spectators weren't much better......a parent from the opposing team was quite vocal when her team was penalized in any way and when one of the girls from our team accidentally fell on the court...she just killed herself laughing and kept going on about how funny that was. I was appalled.....how are our kids going to learn good sportsmanship when they have that kind of example?

Maya started playing basketball competitively when she was nine years old and she's always had this really neat attitude......she chats to the refs...she even chats with the girls on the opposing team....I observed her talking to one of the girls on the other team yesterday and the other girl was looking quite serious and determined but before long she was smiling and chatting back..but when the play started they both were all business...I thought it was kind of neat...yesterday one of her coaches told her that she needed to be more aggressive on the court...Maya asked what he meant...she said she didn't like getting fouls and he said just go after the ball more.....be more aggressive......I suggested that maybe he meant more assertive...Maya does have long arms and she does get in there and get the ball from the other teams and she's there for the rebounds and you often see her grab the ball and start down the court...but she'll usually pass it to one of her team members that can zig zag through the masses to get to the net. While they're doing that Maya gets into position off to the side and quite often she does what she's known for the best....the three pointers......and all with a fantastic smile on her face....I like that...she's a team player and she enjoys herself,...she never has a temper tantrum on the court...and like I've always told her since she was nine...just go out and have fun...and she does!

A Great Lady

Today we had a rare Sunday 'off' from our commitments at the church so we decided to drive a couple of hours to visit my mother-in-law. This coming Friday is her 82nd birthday and we brought a birthday cake with us to help celebrate the occasion. Bessie has always been a wonderful mother-in-law and I admire her tremendously. When I came on the scene way back in 1970 she seemed totally accepting of me which is something considering her son was only 16 at the time! For the last 21 years Bessie has been on her own, her husband died of cancer and I have truly been amazed over some of the things she has done...like flying to Australia by herself...not once but twice!...like driving across Canada all by herself and last year she decided to sell her family home that she's been in for the last 40 some odd years and move into an apartment....talk about your downsizing! Yes, she's a great lady!
Happy Birthday, Bess! I hope you have many more!