The other day on one of my coupon blogs there was a post about a company that was giving away a free copy of The Busy Mom's Bible to the first 5,000 registrants. Well, that offer is not open to Florida residents.
Tuesday night, after a particularly unpleasant dealing with a cashier who didn't know how to do her job, I found The Busy Mom's Bible at Walmart for $17. It isn't free but I guess I was supposed to have it.
It works out really well because I have been looking for a Bible to take with me to church since my other Bible is a big study bible. The new Bible is so cute. It is pink which is perfect for me and I can see the print to read it. I am really excited about it. Can you tell?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
10 Places I Have Been Meaning to Visit (a day late)
I was so crazy busy at work yesterday that I didn’t get a chance to post my 10 on Tuesday. I wasn’t going to post anything else today in honor of Princess Ivi’s birthday but I am going to program this to post late tonight.
Anyway here is my list of 10 Places I Have Been Meaning to Visit (in no particular order):
1. Ireland
2. Scotland
3. Venice
4. England
5. Quebec, Canada
6. Finland
7. California
8. Africa
9. Spain
10. France
I could go on and on. I want to go everywhere but am limited by funds. I am also limited on travel to some destinations particularly those that require anti-malaria drugs before travel because it is contraindicated in people with psoriasis. (The same with small pox and the small pox vaccine.) Some day I will get to all of my places on my list and hopefully, Princess Ivi and I will be together on those visits and will make great memories.
Anyway here is my list of 10 Places I Have Been Meaning to Visit (in no particular order):
1. Ireland
2. Scotland
3. Venice
4. England
5. Quebec, Canada
6. Finland
7. California
8. Africa
9. Spain
10. France
I could go on and on. I want to go everywhere but am limited by funds. I am also limited on travel to some destinations particularly those that require anti-malaria drugs before travel because it is contraindicated in people with psoriasis. (The same with small pox and the small pox vaccine.) Some day I will get to all of my places on my list and hopefully, Princess Ivi and I will be together on those visits and will make great memories.
I love my kid!!!
Happy Birthday Band-Aid!!!
It is so hard to believe that fourteen years have gone by since the day you came into my life and fulfilled my destiny to be your mom. I feel so blessed to be your mom.
You are amazing, beautiful, talented, loving, caring, creative, smart, funny, compassionate, brave, courageous, artistic, wonderful, kind, determined, unique, blessed, strong.
I hope you never forget how much I love you.
I will always be your best and loudest cheerleader. I will always be striving to better your life. I will always be a listening ear and a pair of arms to hug you. I will always try to heal your hurts whether they are big or small. I will always champion your causes and I will always believe in you.
I love you honey!!
Happy 14th birthday
my sweet, sweet girl!!!!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Crying, Cooking and Cleaning
This weekend was filled with tears, money-saving shopping, yummy food, dust and mad-woman cleaning.
Let's start off with the tears...Princess Ivi and I had more heartfelt conversations and I think we both will work much harder to not take each other for granted. Nuff said 'bout that.
The money-saving shopping trip was great. Princess Ivi and I started at CVS where we saved $17.04 ($2 of which was because I bought Organix shampoo on sale for $4.99 and used a $2 coupon that came with my rebate that I got many moons ago) and earned $5 in Extra Care Bucks. Then we went over to Kmart and each of us got a new pillow (which were buy one, get one half off) and Princess Ivi got a new set of sheets that were $14.99 but we used the 25% off coupon that was in the sale flyer. We saved a total of $8.75. Then we went to Walmart and bought a replacement Ipod for Princess Ivi's birthday (to replace the Christmas Ipod since we learned that Ipods cannot swim in the toilet). We did not save any money at Walmart. Our last stop of the day was to Winn Dixie where we saved $85.07 (using $3.60 in coupons and the remainder in discounts). The total amount saved for the entire shopping trip was $110.87.
After we got home, Princess Ivi put her OCD to work and organized the freezer while I broke up the big packages of meat into smaller portions. Before putting everything back in the freezer, I made a list of what was in it for our meal planning. We have so much food in the freezer that we will have to "shop" from our freezer for at least three weeks. Yeah!!!!
Yummy food consisted of Butter Chicken on Saturday. All I can say about this is OMG!!! It was a big hit with mom and Princess Ivi too. (I love it when the reaction to my cooking is moans and groans and exclamations of "this is yummy".)
The Butter Chicken is great. The chicken was tender from cooking in the sauce (but next time I am going to flatten them a little), the sauce was creamy with a bit of a kick from the cayenne. Unfortunately, I didn't have any coriander or cilantro and I didn't marinate the chicken overnight. But it was still really yummy. When I put the marinade on, I just poked a bunch of holes in the chicken and smeared it all over each piece of chicken. I will definitely be making this again (and I will marinate the night before and I may even round up some coriander and cilantro).
Sunday morning Princess Ivi and I both woke up not feeling well. I had a headache and Princess Ivi had a sore mouth (actually half of her face) from a molar popping out. We skipped church. (Shame on us!!) After catching a little bit more sleep, I baked a Red Velvet Cake for Princess Ivi's birthday (although in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook it is called a "Red Waldorf Cake"). I had to use that recipe because I couldn't find the one I used last time I made it (which I think was for Princess Ivi's birthday). I need to hunt some more for the original recipe I made because it was much better than the BHG version.
While the cake cooled, I reorganized my room. Living with my mom makes it hard because I have about three rooms' worth of stuff shoved into one guest-size bedroom. I had to try to make it less cluttered and I think it worked. I still need to find (or make) a tall skinny bookcase and get get rid of the chair but I am pleased with it. While i was rearranging, I was also dusting which made a huge difference.
Princess Ivi went through her clothes and bagged up clothes that don't fit her anymore for donating.
For Sunday dinner and Princess Ivi's birthday dinner, I sauteed some onions, peppers (red, orange and yellow), garlic and shrimp in butter. I tossed the whole thing with a box of spaghetti and tossed in two handfuls of shredded Parmesan cheese. It was good. We all ate too much. Then we ate big slices of Tim Burton-ny birthday cake (red velvet cake with purple neon frosting and squiggly neon candles). It was nice.
Princess Ivi's 14th birthday is not until Wednesday but since it is the middle of the week, we decided to have her special dinner and cake last night. We will recognize her birthday on Wednesday and celebrate more on Saturday when we go to Tampa to see Breaking Benjamin, Flyleaf and Three Days Grace.
As for knitting and my Ravelympic project, I got some done but I am not even half finished with my project yet.
This post will be updated with pics this evening.
Let's start off with the tears...Princess Ivi and I had more heartfelt conversations and I think we both will work much harder to not take each other for granted. Nuff said 'bout that.
The money-saving shopping trip was great. Princess Ivi and I started at CVS where we saved $17.04 ($2 of which was because I bought Organix shampoo on sale for $4.99 and used a $2 coupon that came with my rebate that I got many moons ago) and earned $5 in Extra Care Bucks. Then we went over to Kmart and each of us got a new pillow (which were buy one, get one half off) and Princess Ivi got a new set of sheets that were $14.99 but we used the 25% off coupon that was in the sale flyer. We saved a total of $8.75. Then we went to Walmart and bought a replacement Ipod for Princess Ivi's birthday (to replace the Christmas Ipod since we learned that Ipods cannot swim in the toilet). We did not save any money at Walmart. Our last stop of the day was to Winn Dixie where we saved $85.07 (using $3.60 in coupons and the remainder in discounts). The total amount saved for the entire shopping trip was $110.87.
After we got home, Princess Ivi put her OCD to work and organized the freezer while I broke up the big packages of meat into smaller portions. Before putting everything back in the freezer, I made a list of what was in it for our meal planning. We have so much food in the freezer that we will have to "shop" from our freezer for at least three weeks. Yeah!!!!
Yummy food consisted of Butter Chicken on Saturday. All I can say about this is OMG!!! It was a big hit with mom and Princess Ivi too. (I love it when the reaction to my cooking is moans and groans and exclamations of "this is yummy".)
The Butter Chicken is great. The chicken was tender from cooking in the sauce (but next time I am going to flatten them a little), the sauce was creamy with a bit of a kick from the cayenne. Unfortunately, I didn't have any coriander or cilantro and I didn't marinate the chicken overnight. But it was still really yummy. When I put the marinade on, I just poked a bunch of holes in the chicken and smeared it all over each piece of chicken. I will definitely be making this again (and I will marinate the night before and I may even round up some coriander and cilantro).
Sunday morning Princess Ivi and I both woke up not feeling well. I had a headache and Princess Ivi had a sore mouth (actually half of her face) from a molar popping out. We skipped church. (Shame on us!!) After catching a little bit more sleep, I baked a Red Velvet Cake for Princess Ivi's birthday (although in the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook it is called a "Red Waldorf Cake"). I had to use that recipe because I couldn't find the one I used last time I made it (which I think was for Princess Ivi's birthday). I need to hunt some more for the original recipe I made because it was much better than the BHG version.
While the cake cooled, I reorganized my room. Living with my mom makes it hard because I have about three rooms' worth of stuff shoved into one guest-size bedroom. I had to try to make it less cluttered and I think it worked. I still need to find (or make) a tall skinny bookcase and get get rid of the chair but I am pleased with it. While i was rearranging, I was also dusting which made a huge difference.
Princess Ivi went through her clothes and bagged up clothes that don't fit her anymore for donating.
For Sunday dinner and Princess Ivi's birthday dinner, I sauteed some onions, peppers (red, orange and yellow), garlic and shrimp in butter. I tossed the whole thing with a box of spaghetti and tossed in two handfuls of shredded Parmesan cheese. It was good. We all ate too much. Then we ate big slices of Tim Burton-ny birthday cake (red velvet cake with purple neon frosting and squiggly neon candles). It was nice.
Princess Ivi's 14th birthday is not until Wednesday but since it is the middle of the week, we decided to have her special dinner and cake last night. We will recognize her birthday on Wednesday and celebrate more on Saturday when we go to Tampa to see Breaking Benjamin, Flyleaf and Three Days Grace.
As for knitting and my Ravelympic project, I got some done but I am not even half finished with my project yet.
This post will be updated with pics this evening.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
On Being a Mom
I stumbled across this sweet poem that made me think of Princess Ivi.
WHAT I WOULD TELL HER: (If I knew what to say.)
You are a miracle.
And I have to love you this fiercely: So that you can feel it even after you leave for school, or even while you are asleep, or even after your childhood becomes a memory.
You’ll forget all this when you grow up. But it’s okay.
Being a mother means having your heart broken.
And it means loving and losing and falling apart and coming back together.
And it’s the best there is. And also, sometimes, the worst.
Sometimes you won’t have anyone to talk to.
Sometimes you’ll wonder if you’ve forgotten who you are.
But you must remember this: What you’re doing matters.
And you have to be brave with your life so that others can be brave with theirs.
The truth is, being a woman is a gift. Tenderness is a gift. Intimacy is a gift. And nurturing the good in this world is a nothing short of a privilege.
That’s why I have to love you this way. So I can give what I have to you. So that you can carry it in your body and pass it on.
I have watched you sleep. I’ve kissed you a million times. And I know something that you don’t, yet:
You are writing the story of your only life every single minute of every day.
And my greatest hope for you, sweet child, is that I can teach you how to write a good one.
WHAT I WOULD TELL HER: (If I knew what to say.)
You are a miracle.
And I have to love you this fiercely: So that you can feel it even after you leave for school, or even while you are asleep, or even after your childhood becomes a memory.
You’ll forget all this when you grow up. But it’s okay.
Being a mother means having your heart broken.
And it means loving and losing and falling apart and coming back together.
And it’s the best there is. And also, sometimes, the worst.
Sometimes you won’t have anyone to talk to.
Sometimes you’ll wonder if you’ve forgotten who you are.
But you must remember this: What you’re doing matters.
And you have to be brave with your life so that others can be brave with theirs.
The truth is, being a woman is a gift. Tenderness is a gift. Intimacy is a gift. And nurturing the good in this world is a nothing short of a privilege.
That’s why I have to love you this way. So I can give what I have to you. So that you can carry it in your body and pass it on.
I have watched you sleep. I’ve kissed you a million times. And I know something that you don’t, yet:
You are writing the story of your only life every single minute of every day.
And my greatest hope for you, sweet child, is that I can teach you how to write a good one.
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