Happy Day Indeed!

Most days are good days for me.  Well, except when I'm having one of those pity party days like I did recently.  But, all in all, it's a fair statement to say that, for me, most days are good days.  Well, today is a Happy Day Indeed.  When I checked the mail today there were TWO, count them - ONE, TWO - letters from Justin, our eldest son who is currently going through Air Force Basic Military Training (BMT).

Ahhhhhhh....  *BIG, HUGE, HAPPY Mommy sigh*......  It's so wonderful to hear from him.  To hold something he has held recently and to read the words of his heart as he shares with us his ups and downs from the first couple of weeks away from home.  He didn't hold back either, which we appreciated.  Even though it was hard to read how difficult this time is for him, it was also uplifting to see a few sentences down the page that he's making friends and certain things aren't "as bad as he thought it would be."  We miss him so much.  But, we are proud of him and the man he is and the man he is becoming.

So far, that's the highlight of my day.  It's going to take something exceptional to top getting two letters from Justin today.  Just thought I would share my heart on it for a bit.

I made cookies today for the boys after school treat.  They were so happy to come home to freshly baked cookies.  Yet again, I received the Mommy of the Year award from the boys as I made two kinds of cookies so everyone got a "favorite".  For Matthew I made Old Fashioned Southern Tea Cakes.  For those of you who went to Elementary school with me, these were the cookies my Mom always made for our class parties and decorated.  I didn't do that today as I chose the easy way and made drop cookies.  Much faster but still YUMMY!  For Daniel I made Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies.  Patrick loves both, so he was happy too.  However, his choice of snack today was tortilla chips with peach mango salsa. :)

Coffee:  Yes, plenty.  A mix of Kona and Sam's Choice (was at the bottom of the bag of Kona, thus supplementing with the other).  It was actually very tasty.  Varied the creamers today between Italian Sweet Cream and Peppermint Mocha.  Couldn't make up my mind.  BTW, the cookies were fabulous with coffee. 

Frustrated!

So, I'm reading blogs belonging to my friends.  I want to comment. I attempt commenting.  Frustration abounds as I can not comment.  I finally had to create a new sign in for one (Debra) and another won't let me comment at all (Holly). To top that off, I can no longer comment ON MY OWN BLOG!  What really makes me crazy is I know it's my own fault. I was messing around with settings the other day and deleted a couple of things that had been allowed access to my profile, not realizing they allowed me to comment on blogs.  I have NO CLUE how to link them back to my profile.  I am frustrated. Very. 

Therefore, please do not be offended when I don't comment on your blogs.  I am reading.  I am trying to comment.  Really.  My hubby is my witness.  He's sitting right by me reading this as I type (which drives me crazy)....well, he stopped when I told him it was driving me crazy, but he heard me complaining about it.  Thus he is still my witness.  :) 

Know I love all my blogging friends and read your posts faithfully.  I will comment when I can....or text you....or something.... 

Now that I have vented my frustrations, I am off to wash the dishes and prepare to get up entirely too early tomorrow.  I have to take my van in for service bright and early in the morning.  *yawn*  Not looking forward to it, but it must be done.  Taking along two new books and possibly the laptop.

Tomorrow's coffee (the first one, at least) will be Starbucks.  After that, it will be something here at home.  Assuming I am not stuck there all day.  If so, I will have to find someplace nearby to drink coffee as I typically can't stomach the nasty coffee they have in service station waiting areas.  ICK.  *shuddering just thinking about it*

Today's coffee was the Sams Choice again with Italian Sweet Cream flavored creamer.  Tasty.  Very tasty.

Sunday, Lovely Sunday!

Today is Sunday.  A day of bright, beautiful, blue skies and cooler temperatures.  Never thought mid 90s would be so.....comfortable?  Yes, comfortable.  Amazing how your perspective changes when the temps have been triple digits for weeks on end.  Here's looking forward to autumn!  :)

We attended another new church today.  I think we may have finally found "the one".  We loved the music and the message.  Checked out their tables in the foyer and found several different discipleship classes taught at a variety of times.  Talked with a couple different people there getting information about the church.  The kids liked what they saw and heard.  So, Wednesday, if nothing comes comes up, we will attend their mid week worship.  Assuming that goes well, we will be there early for Sunday School next week.  And, if that goes as well as we anticipate, we will have found our new home church.  I'm so happy.

I know what you are thinking.  What did I wear to church today?  This:

A LBD by H&M - love it!!

Luscious shoes by Alfani

Purse by 9 West

This afternoon was awesome.  We got a phone call from Justin!!  It was so fabulous to hear his voice.  Seems like it has been even longer than a week since we last spoke with him.  How I miss that son of mine.  He sounds homesick, but strong, and said it's very stressful.  I'm sure it is.  However, I know he will do well.  It was nice to hear  he "should've listened and gone to college." Yes, we parents DO know what we are talking about!!  I know that the day is coming - probably around the end of October at graduation - when he will be so glad of everything he went through....and he will forget ever saying the above.

Today I started a new project.  My plan is to write at least an hour per day.  Let's see if I can stick with it.  I did today and am very pleased with my progress.  Hubby read the beginning and said it was good.  Of course, that's his standard comment.  No complaints there!  However, I do need a reader who will give constructive criticism as needed.  I take it too personally when it comes from hubby. 

Coffee today has been lovely cups of Kona with a sprinkling of sweetener and plenty of cream.  Yum!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!  Be safe - no matter what you do!



The Van Chronicles

If you are my "friend" on Facebook you already know I had some problems today with the van.  I got up and did my morning chores and was ready to leave the house to grocery shop and generally waste time at a few stores.  I was barely a mile from the house when an alarm started chiming.  I quickly checked my dashboard and saw my engine temp was HOT.  Thanks to my Daddy, I have a LITTLE knowledge about engines.  Very little, but enough to know what to do.  I pulled over, lowered the windows, turned off the AC and turned on the heater and started letting the engine cool.  When it cooled enough, I drove home, parked on the street (level) and came into the house to text hubby and post on Facebook.  Nothing like sharing your grief and pain with the world.  Ha ha!

Once it cooled, I popped open the hood and took a look around:

Hmmmmm.....I don't see ANY fluid in the overflow tank thingie for the radiator......

Let's add some water.

Filled, tested and tried.  It's holding water!  I'm DONE!!

And, yes, I wore white Larry Levine capris and an H&M peasant top while working on the van. 

NO, I didn't get a bit of grease or dirt on them.

However, when I cooked dinner, I wore my apron. 

Seriously.

Photo credits go to Patrick.

The cooking shot was candid. 

 The van shots had to be recreated as I had no one  home to take pictures.  However, I really did work on the van in these clothes.....which were what I also wore to the football game tonight at hubby's school. 

BTW, did you see a little snippet of our neighborhood?  It's so pretty.  I love living here.



As for my headache, it must be from allergies.  I took an allegra this morning and once I got rid of the tiny headache that was just starting, I've felt fine all day.  Looks like I will be taking allergy meds daily again.  Not fun, but better than feeling horrible every day.  I'm just glad it didn't take me six months and 10 rounds of doctor visits to figure it out this time.  :)  

Have a great day.  Set your coffee pot now so it's ready in the morning when you awaken!  I'm heading off to prep mine now.  Will be doing a repeat of this morning's coffee.  Here's hoping I enjoy it as much tomorrow as I did today!!  I'm sure I shall. 

Thanks to the comments on my earlier post. For some reason, Blogger won't let me respond to the comments.  Weird.  So, I will comment now:   Debra, I have a Sams Club in town.  Will try your recommendation if they have it in stock on my next trip.  Peggy, thanks for the kind words.  Stress level is actually much lower than it has been in recent months.  Maybe it's a delayed reaction plus the allergies?  Who knows....  Dorothy, I'm also allergic to mesquite. Go figure, huh?  :)  

A Coffee Review

Good morning!

If you are wondering, yes, I am still dealing with the "I don't care" syndrome.  But, I'm TRYING to care.  That counts for something right?  Hope so. 

Anyway, I am currently trying to manage money over a month vs over 2 weeks as hubby now gets paid ONCE each month.  This is a bit of a struggle.  But, I know it can be done.  I have put together what appears on paper to be a reasonable budget.  I plugged it into an Excel spreadsheet and am now spending about 5 minutes per day putting in grand totals under each heading to make sure we stay "in the black".  It's not *too* time consuming and is a huge eye opener as to where our money actually goes each month.  To be quite honest, it has kept me from frivolous shopping more than once. 

Due to this (and the fact that I have a Gevalia shipment due to arrive in the next 10 days) I decided yesterday to try a different brand of coffee to save a few extra dollars.  Now, you all know how much I love my coffee.  By now, I'm sure you've all realized I don't care for cheap coffee - unless it is exceptional.  So, when in Wal-Mart yesterday I decided to explore their coffee aisle in hopes of finding something inexpensive to try.  What I found was Sam's Choice House Blend coffee. It's a medium roast Arabica coffee.  I woke to the lovely aroma of brewing coffee at 6:00 this morning.  Lovely aroma.  Can't say that enough.  When I poured my first cup - a little sweetener and a splash of half & half so I could taste the coffee - I was pleasantly surprised.  At just under $6.00 a bag, it's not exactly "cheap" but it IS less expensive than most of the coffees I buy.  And, a dollar or two or three each bag adds up over time.  Especially when you consider how much coffee I drink per month!  Rest assured, I won't be drinking this coffee ALL the time.  I must have my variety of blends from Starbucks and Gevalia and Ghirardelli and Dunkin Donuts, et al. but I will have this on hand for the days I want a good simple basic cup (okay, POT) of coffee. 

Enough coffee talk.  *looking around wildly*  WHO said THAT??  :) 

Today is another "busy" day ahead for me.  I must finish grocery shopping.  Had to stop early yesterday as a killer headache attacked me.  This has been happening more frequently since returning to TX.  I'm afraid a trip to the allergist may be in order.  Obviously it is something here causing it as I wasn't plagued with headaches prior to moving back to TX.  *sad face*  This morning I plan to take some OTC allergy meds to see if that will help.  Praying it does. I do not enjoy feeling bad all day and most of the night.  Yesterday it was just shy of a migraine. Since I'm having headaches daily and each day it's worsening, I know I must get it under control asap.  Otherwise, it's a trip to a new doctor for me - and I really don't like going to the doctor.  At all.  Ever.  Prefer doctors to dentists though....  Oh wait, they are both doctors, so the above statement is technically correct.  HA!  Take THAT doctors! 

Yes, I'm silly this morning. 

Tonight my hubby wants me to attend a high school football game with him.  It's at the school where he is teaching and "his" NJROTC cadets will be doing the flag presentation tonight.  It will be fun to go watch.  I have my outfit picked, ironed and ready!  Now, to feel well.  I may go even if I don't feel well for the first half to show support for my hubby and the cadets.

That's it for this morning.  Time to finish a letter to Justin, clean house and finish grocery shopping.  It's a bright beautiful day.  The only thing that would make it better would be a nice lovely soaking rain.  TX needs one desperately.