Book Count and a Review

I have to admit i am a book addict. I love to escape into a book and I really don't care what type as long as it transports me, intrigues me or gives my mind a puzzle to ponder. We are so fortunate to live in an age when there are millions of books published every year and they are available for the same cost as a cheap meal!
Anyway, I do have a little Review for you...What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. This is an excellent book for all you non-fiction fans! I have to say that this was worth buying just for the essay on Cesar Milano and his body language. I've long been a fan of the Dog Whisperer, but to get Malcolm's take on him was priceless! This book is a series of essays that he wrote for the New Yorker Magazine. They ponder questions and are amazing insights into things that I didn't even know I wondered about...have you ever wondered why there are thousands of varieties of Mustard, but only one of ketchup? LOL Worth reading!


Well at the beginning of this year I did set out with a little goal, to read 52 books in a year. One a week seemed easily achieved to me, as I can sometimes finish a book in a day if I'm not doing anything else. Well I didn't quite make my goal but you know, I came close! And that's me, with 4 kids a crazy schedule and a huge move this year! I'm gonna attempt the same this coming year so keep tabs here to see more reviews and my growing year list. I have a personal tradition to recover from the holiday stress by relaxing the day after Christmas and on New year's Day with a book, cover to cover. I don't do chores or nag the hubby or yell at the kids :) I just rest, eat and read! Ahhhhh! I already have a book I got for Christmas ( Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol) waiting on my nightstand to be read on New years day. Happy reading!

My Girl's new thing and thanksgiving

Wow I'm so proud of my 12 year old! She has joined a Girl scout Special interest group on Backpacking. She just went on her second overnight hike. She's like a real backpacker with a pack and gear and everything! Things are going well although I am scrambling to get ready to host my first THANKSGIVING!!! I have to finish unpacking and get the dining room empty. Oooh and get the carpets cleaned. I can do this, but I'm so nervous and excited about it all. I'll be sure to post pictures if I pull it off!!

Book review

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society:
Well, it's been a while since I've run across such a gem. This book set in post WW2 England is written in that style like you've come across a packet of letters - all correspondence with a few telegrams thrown in. I'm not a particular fan of that type of reading, mostly because it takes great skill for the author to not have the letters be contrived or outlandish and at the same time keep the story from being disjointed. There is a tiny bit of both in Guernsey, but the style in this novel works in such a way that gives us a voyeristic view of the main character. It's like you know her in real life, without revealing her inner thoughts or being inside her head. She's your friend and a 'real' person. Of course it doesn't hurt that the main character is extremely likable. The WW2 stories are heart-wrenching but the bonds that form and the survival spirit of the main characters is cheerful and filled with hope. I highly recommend this book for a pleasant historical read with a happy ending and joyful feeling. The bibliophile undertone was a pleasant layer and it did make me hunger to pull out a Bronte book! Enjoy!

Books update, life update

Wow, I had quite a lapse there! I have to say I've been negligent due to a few things. First, about 2 months ago, I discovered FACEBOOK. Ug. Talk about something sucking you in! It's not just the catching up on everyone you know, knew or are related too. They have games too. Suck you in games where you can only play for a short while and then you have to come back to play some more. I have to admit some days I was there every hour on the hour, trying to get to the next level. Yikes. Like I don't have enough to do with my busy life, 4 kids, moving and all that! SO I've gotten over the facebook thing. now I only go on when I have something to announce or to reach out to family for birthdays and such. Speaking of which... guess who just turned one!!! Yup! Grace Kathryn is One! or Gracie Kate. Here's a Pic!


So Yesterday we had quite the storm...the remnants of that Japanese Typhoon hit my part of California yesterday and it was a pretty good storm! Our beautiful Trellis in the front yard, that my Dad built was taken out by wind. It was covered with a thick trumpet vine that apparently was about all that was holding up the rotted out posts. That plus the fact that the leaves were so thick, when the wind got under it, up it went halfway across the yard. The hubby chopped it all up and cleaned up the mess right away, in the pouring rain, because my parents were coming over for dinner and he was worried that it would upset my mom. She was a bit sad about it, I think, but I'm sure it helped that she didn't have to look at the wreckage! Thanks honey!


On other notes, I have been reading and stitching. Check out my crafty blog for that update. As for books I've been reading a bit, two of my favorite authors, Patricia Briggs and Vicki Peterson. Both have good series and the latest installments don't disappoint! I love Patricia Brigg's characters and her Alpha Omega Series is full of memorable ones. Vicki Peterson's Zodiac series is really cool and unlike most stuff out there. Her main character is an angsty dark gal who becomes a superhero. She fights the Dark side in modern day Las Vegas and her alter ego is a rich society bimbo al la Paris Hilton. It's funny and quirky and all about good vs evil. Love it! I just had a friend turn me on to Madelyn Alt and I've read 3 in her Bewitching Mystery series. The main character is funny and relate-able. The mystery part isn't very complicated so don't expect to be stumped til the end, but Ms. Alt is methodical about doling out the clues, so that is a fun read. I particularly enjoy these because of the undercurrent discussion the main character is having with herself, coming to terms with her strict catholic upbringing and the realities of the 'magickal world'. Religion is a hot spot for me, so I particularly enjoy self explorations and discovery of that nature. More on THAT on another day. Also I am toying with doing some TV show reviews, I am becoming more of a TV watcher than I have been in the past and am really enjoying a handful of shows lately. Perhaps I will talk about them a bit in a future post.

The Move

The MOVE has finally happened. I want to say that with joy and relief, but it really comes out as kind of an exhausted whimper. I think the actual days of the move were the hardest in my life and that's coming for a woman who has had 4 kids! The hubby and I were getting up at 5:30 every morning and working every moment, gulping down food and working, working working until 10 or 11pm and just dropping into bed. Honestly the days are a blur now and I cannot remember specifics, just dirt and sweat and strained muscles. I can say with a positive attitude though that things are starting to settle down now and I am grateful for the whole thing - but mostly grateful that it is behind us! Unpacking and finding homes for all of our stuff has been a happy chore and one I do a bit each day. Cleaning the new house is also a simple and happy thing - having less stuff is really paying off because maintaining the house is much easier. I am enjoying getting everyone settled and used to the new place. Of course I haven't had much leisure time to read, so no book review for you today, but as I unpack my library, I'm sure to start something!

Update and Book Reviews

Ahh Summer... I wish I could say that I've had a restful and joy filled summer, but alas I have not. I have never worked so hard in my life. Hauling bike after bike out of the garage, box after box onto the truck, off the truck, up the stairs, sweating and dirty and shaking with exhaustion,falling into bed only to get up and do it again. I want this move to be over! We are getting there - I think we might make it before the end of summer! LOL! So I haven't had much time for stitching but over the last month I've read a handful of books, so I thought I'd give you a handful of reviews! First I read "Eden" by Carolyn Davidson. This is a Historical Romance set in the old west, one of my favorite genres for quick, comforting reads. This one really disappointed me. The plot development was patchy and the heroine was not at all developed as a character - she wasn't someone I sympathized with or even really liked. Sigh. The only ray of hope in this book was the dark spark of personality in the Hero - but even he was tainted by lack of development. This book wasn't worth your time. I followed that up with another of the same Genre: Dorothy Garlock's "Leaving Whiskey Bend". Dorothy could definitely teach the previous author a thing or two. The plot was a bit transparent at times and I was disappointed that she revealed the sneaky murderer about halfway through the story instead of letting us figure it out, but hey- its a romance not a mystery. The characters were memorable, developed and believable. Perfect for a light read. Next I read the first in a new-old series: New to me but actually published a while ago. The book was "The Royal Treatment" by MaryJanice Davidson. She's a chick lit writer with sassy, funny books that have a bit of happily ever after in them. Anyway this series, she twists reality a bit and re-writes history to make Alaska become it's own country instead of part of the USA. What? Yea, weird but it makes sense in the books. LOL. Anyway MJ delivers her usual sass and laughter with this first book. The characters are laugh out loud funny and you'll identify with the heroine even if you don't think like a 20 something gorgeous girl. Definitely worth your time! After that I re-visted my old friends in Janet Evanovich's 15th Stephanie Plum book; "Finger lickin Fifteen". Janet is always great for a laugh and her characters are really like old friends. I hope she's still writing these 10 years from now and I will faithfully buy every one I enjoy them so much! The last book I read is a non-fiction book by naturalist writer Ted Kerasote called "Merle's Door". This is basically a biography of his dog Merle, who is a character in his own right. The author builds his case for human relationships with dogs and Merle is certainly a unique and wonderful individual probably partly because of the life he led with Ted. I'm sure that some dog owners won't agree with Ted's take on how we should train and keep our dogs, but that won't detract from this enjoyable read - warning tear jerker ending! If you love dogs or dog stories read this one!
Hope you all are having a wonderful summer and get a chance to pick up a good book. I, on the otherhand am going to be spending my spare moments with my newest addiction: Facebook and the Mafia Wars and Pirates games.. I know, silly but addictive! luv ya - Jackie

Summer and the Move

We'll Summer is in full swing. The kids have had one week out of school and it has been such chaos! The first half of june is always hard with school ending and both the older girls birthdays, but adding to the mix is the 'big move'. We are going to be trading houses with my parents sometime in the next month. This whole thing came about at their suggestion - They knew we were cramped with 6 of us in this little 1200 sq ft, 3 bedroom house and they're having to maintain and heat a 5 bedroom 2000 sq ft place, with a pool! This is my childhood home, which is a whole 'nother level of weird, but the fact that they're willing to trade us is just amazing and wonderful. And a huge job. We've lived here for about 14 years and have 4 kids worth of junk to go through and pack. They've lived in that house for 30 years and have rooms full of clutter to go through. We've been working on our stuff steadily, we got a box in our driveway that I am using as a way station to sort through junk and for a holding area for all the junk I'm going to sell. Yes, I said sell. I've broken down and agreed to have a yard sale. Don't get me wrong, I love yard sales, going to them. I hate, hate hate! giving them. It makes me dislike people so much. I've had two in my life and both times I had rude and nasty people, I had people steal stuff, break stuff and fight over stuff. I always try to look at the positive in life and the good in people, but some people just don't behave their best, or even humanely at yard sales. It brings out the worst in some. As I've been working over the last month, I have been taking car loads of clutter to the Salvation army, Good will and the homeless shelter, but when we emptied our attic my husband made me realize that we have a lot, I mean a LOT of junk that we can get rid of and we could sell to make a bit of money to help with the cost of the move. So, I broke down to the pressure (read: he bribed me with spending money at the needlework store LOL) and agreed to hold a yard sale. Now I just have to get everything organized for it. Big job, sure to take me weeks. Do you think I can stall until October when the yard sale season ends around here? : )

guess who's crawling

Ahhhhh the reign of terror has begun. The baby is mobile! Hide your shoes, pick up your little toys and 'chokers' There's no stopping her now! LOL! Life in general has been improving; I'm finally feeling that I can get a handle on the house keeping and while it's never really tidy (Cleaning a house while raising kids is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing) it's at least clean under the scattering of toys and shoes and stuff that kids seem to shed like feathers. I had an old friend come to town and got to visit with her over a cuppa tea for three afternoons in a row. It was great to catch up with her and it was just like old times, but it was bittersweet because the only reason she was in town was to put her old house on the market. She used to live here and had to move because of her hubby's work, but they held on to their house and rented it out. I guess I always hoped that they'd be back, but now it doesn't look like that will happen. She's living in Santa Monica now, so I'll probably only see her once or twice a year instead of 2-3 days a week. sigh. I'm really looking forward to summer.. the kids have only 3 more weeks of school and we have a crazy month of June ahead of us with out of town visitors, birthdays for both of my older girls, tying up the brownie's for the year and hopefully moving to our bigger house at the end of the month..I'm looking forward to July when I'll be able to breathe a big sigh of relief and take a nap. LOL! Hear hear for naps!

crazy like a squirrel

To start I have a pic for you; In my neighborhood we have a bunch of squirrels that are so dark they are nearly black. They are regular squirrels that normally would be gray, but because people in the neighborhood noticed a black variation a few years ago, the squirrels are well fed and the black variant is becoming more and more common. They're cute. Here's a pic of one lounging in the spring sun on my back fence.
Well life has been hectic and hard lately, and I have felt rather frantic, like a squirrel in the fall. This year appears to be one of introspection and emotional and mental growth for me. I have been doing a lot of self examination and pondering over my relationships with people and the world in general. I think everyone has a bit of self delusion; we lie to ourselves about our motivations and our responsibility for things. We ignore things because to acknowledge them would require hard work or pain on our parts. It's basic human nature and everyone does it, I am certainly no exception. I think the secret to a happy life is to, every once in a while, be honest with yourself. Completely and totally honest. I'm doing it now and it's not easy - I've had to admit several things to myself; I'm far too controlling and proud for my own good. I struggle everyday with an impossible list of things to do, most of which are dictated by my pride and the rest are my attempts at controlling every aspect of my life. At the same time, I'm sabotaging my weight loss attempts on a regular basis. Why? I'm not sure yet, but at least I can see that I am doing it - I used to deny that: it wasn't my fault that I didn't have time for the gym (The class I wanted was at the wrong time, I was too busy, the baby's were napping at the time I was going - you know the 1000 excuses) And I had to eat right? So if I had spent the morning doing errands and ended up going through a drive thru for lunch, well I deserved it. sigh.
Anyway, this current mode of introspection has helped me realize that I need to be a bit more realistic in my expectations of myself and my husband and children. I strive to be the 'perfect mom' you know that Stereo-typical Super Mom. But one of the things I'm coming to realize is that it's just not achievable for me. I cannot juggle the housekeeping, the raising of 4 kids (including a teenage daughter and all that attitude that comes with it, an 8 year old demanding angel, a toddler boy who is potty training (!)and a 6 month old baby girl)helping them with homework and social stuff, after school activities and sports, be a brownie leader and volunteer at the school, manage all our finances, get ready to move, take care of the pets, work out daily and diet, make sure my family eats healthy yummy meals, be a good and supportive wife to my hubby, and all the other stuff that I feel responsible for, as well as find time for myself to sit and stitch. I cannot do it all and stay sane. The pressure of doing it all perfectly is what is crushing me. I don't just let my kids grow up- I try really hard to parent 'perfectly' which is a fairly variable thing given the wide range of my kids ages, but I think essentially boils down to helping them grow and develop into normal, healthy, happy adults. The struggle is that I'm never sure how it's going; I don't get graded, or progress reports on my work, I have to do it by instinct and guesses. I suppose what I've realized is that I need to focus on the things that are really important, not just the stuff that my pride dictates. I can't be running in every direction at once; I've got to be focused on just the important things like a squirrel in the fall; get the nuts, and save them, just the nuts. Obviously the kids, the hubby and stitching win out. The housework and all the rest will have to wait.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!
Busy, Busy, Busy! Life is buzzing like a beehive! Our calendar is so packed right now I'm relieved whenever something gets dropped off. I was so grateful when soccer practice got rained out yesterday - It's always hard on days when my Brownie Troop meets, but yesterday was particularly exhausting. I was so worn out that I sent the hubby off with the kids to dinner and stayed home with the two little ones (the boy was asleep - he's fighting naps right now so he crashes at about 5 pm each day) and had OATMEAL for dinner. Yes, passed up a dinner out, fixed by someone else and had a boring old, microwaved bowl of oatmeal! LOL! but let me tell you, that 1 hour off quiet and calm was wonderful! Here's hoping you find a bit of peace in your easter weekend!

a quote to inspire and book review

There were all those unkindnesses, palpable, daily, so easily avoidable; but one could not think just of those.. or one would spend one's time in tears - and the unkindnesses would continue. So the small things came into their own: small act of helping others, if one could; small ways of making one's own life better; acts of love, acts of tea, acts of laughter.
- from The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith


I love this series! I just finished the 8th book "The Good Husband of Zebra Drive". Set in Botswana it is a mystery series with colorful characters and casts an honest but kindly eye on humanity. The atmosphere is warm and loving without drifting into sappy sweetness. The first book in the series is called "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" and there are I believe 9 in the series at this time. If you're in the mood for a good story intertwined with a bit of mystery and humor, pick one of these up, pour your self a cuppa tea and enjoy!

Butterflies Butterflies

Every spring we are the lucky observers of butterfly migrations. For a few weeks, every where you look you can see butterflies flitting. The trees in our neighborhood act as sort of a funnel so a large portion of them go right through our backyard! Once the sun is up, you can see about 5 - 10 butterflies each minute. The kids and I were out enjoying the wonderful sunny spring day and they agreed to catch me a few butterflies so I could take a picture for this blog. I think we caught 5 in about 15 minutes! of course we let them go right away, but I managed to snap a few pics. The baby even got in on it. I'm sure she thought her siblings had gone nuts jumping up and down and waving their arms around but she enjoyed the show!

Book Review - Runaway Mistress

So as you can tell by my sideline I'm a bibliophile or book lover. I read constantly, or as much as I can with 4 kids! I have a serious addiction to books! As you can imagine this could be expensive, however I manage to keep the costs down two ways; the old fashioned library and a FANTASTIC site called pbs.com or Paper Back Swap. This site has saved me hundreds (really!) over the year + I've been a member. I LOVE it! check it out! Anyway, once in a while on this blog I will do some book reviews on books that stand out. I have a handful of favorite authors and I'll talk about them some, but I just finished a cute little romance that I sincerely enjoyed; Robyn Carr's Runaway Mistress. I've never read anything by her before and this was an older one (written in 2005)but it was clever, with an endearing heroine and a nice climax that made you wonder if the white knight was going to swoop in in and rescue her in time. I also enjoyed the main characters self discovery and appreciation of the simple things in life. A nice, cheerful novel that I would rate as: Definitely worth your time. Happy reading!

Don't Worry, Be happy

February has blown by and march is already here. Wow. Life is improving in many ways and plodding along in others. I am still struggling with the depression. I know there are 3 aspects to it; first the hormones from the pregnancy and now breastfeeding. They are still out of whack because I'm all zitted out(UG!wrinkles and zits is just not fair!) and the hair is still dropping by the handful each time I wash it. But I'm trying to be more like my positive self and remember that the hormones will improve with time. One of the other aspects to this depression will also improve with time; the juggling act of a toddler and a baby and a teenager and a second grader will get better and easier. I tell you that I do have a new respect for and sympathy for ANY mother who has 2 or more in diapers. It's tougher than it looks folks. I've decided to get a bit of help with the third aspect of my depression: grief. My mother in law passing in December is really difficult for me still and it made me realize that I've had so little experience dealing with such grief so I decided to go see someone to talk it out. I expect that I will be feeling better soon, but until then I'm gonna 'fake it 'til I make it' and do my best to act and think like a happy, productive me. LOL! Here's some inspiration; a pic of my HEALTHY mother - her hair is coming back from the Chemo and she's hugging my two littlest troublemakers. Remember life is short so Don't Worry, Be happy everyone!

Rant about fastfood

They’re trying to kill us all. The Fast food industry; Not only is their food cheap and convenient but it tastes good because of all the fat and sugar. Sigh. The portions are outrageous and they have absolutely no cares about calorie counts. Really they’re approaching my estimation of the cigarette companies; do they see us all as expendable? Do they just see us as a quick buck, who cares how they affect our health? One lunch combo at most of these places has my entire DAY’S worth of calories. A whole days worth! In one meal! No wonder America is full of fattys! We are eating 3 or more times the amount of calories we need every day! What’s the cause of all this ranting? 2 reasons really. The first is that I saw at Jack in the box today that they have a new menu item. It’s called Taco Nachos. You know those deep fried tacos that they offer, the ones with the mystery meat? Well for just $2 you can get this: They take two of those tacos, cut each one into three ‘chips’ and smother them in nacho cheese sauce. They even don’t bother to put the lettuce inside the tacos, they just put it in the bottom of the bowl to fluff it out a bit. I mean they wouldn’t want you to get any vegetables by accident! LOL! I can’t believe that they can, in good conscience, offer such things. I mean it - they’re trying to kill us all!

Well, I’m an admitted fast food lover. I like to have hot food especially when I’m tired, and I’m lazy so I don’t like to cook myself breakfast. I love eggs and by themselves they’re not really that bad for you so that’s how I justify it. Here’s what I do on a regular basis, thinking I wasn’t doing so bad for myself. Jack in the Box’s Meaty breakfast burrito combo - it’s just eggs, meat and cheese. Of course it comes with the hash browns and I always get it with a Medium coke. Just under 5 bucks. But I knew that portion was going to be to many calories for me so I hit upon this idea.. I take it home and I open up the burrito and I take out half the eggs, half of the little sausage pieces and the piece of bacon and put them on a plate for my toddler. I give him 3 of the hashbrown sticks and put 2 into the burrito. Then I have that and the coke for breakfast and he has eggs, cheese, sausage, bacon and hashbrowns with milk. Not bad right? WRONG! This is my other reason for ranting. Here I thought I was doing alright but I decided to get a calorie count so I could keep track. Look at this: The burrito is 610 calories, the coke is 260 and the hashbrowns are 230. That mean the total for this ‘meal’ is 1100 calories. That means if I even eat half of it, I’m consuming 550 calories. But really because I’m drinking the whole coke its more like 680 calories. That’s twice my target for each meal. In other words that’s breakfast AND lunch in my book. Sigh. No wonder I’m fat. Not to mention the fact that I was feeding half of that to my toddler! I was giving him way more calories and fat than he needed as well. Setting him up for obesity when he’s only 2?! Well, I hope the people who own those fast food restaurants sleep well at night while the rest of us have nightmares about the food they make and we get suckered into buying. As for me – I’m going to buck up and make myself food from now on. At least I’ll know what I’m getting calorie wise.

Family pic and new plan for the year

So the Simple steps are already fading… I’ve gotten the first four habits down but I really don’t seem to have any interest anymore. Is that a reflection of the depression or is that just my personality? It’s not that I’m quitting, it’s that I’m distracted with other things. Do you ever feel like your life is so hectic and if you could just SIMPLIFY, that everything would be better? Like you’re being pulled in three different directions and trying to stomp out fires at the same time? That’s pretty much how I feel all the time. A friend of mine was complimenting me the other day about juggling 4 kids and being a brownie leader – I just laughed. Maybe I’m like a duck.. I look all calm and peaceful on the surface, but underneath I’m paddling like crazy. LOL! In this age of SuperMoms, I am definitely NOT one. Not that I don’t secretly wish to be, but not too much because just thinking about it makes me tired. :) Anyway, I read through the rest of the Simple Steps and I just got impatient with it. 40 steps and I really don’t see how doing Kegels and cooking with herbs and spices will simplify and improve my life. (I mean, I’ve carried 4 kids to full term, the smallest of which was 7 lbs 10 oz and the largest of which was over 9 lbs. so I don’t think ANY amount of Kegels is really gonna help – am I right ladies?)So I thought, instead of trashing this idea completely, how about I come up with a shorter, more pertinent list for myself. So here it is:

Jackie’s Goals for a better, simpler, happy life in 2009

1) I will drink 48 ounces of water, or more each day. It makes me pee, but I feel better when I am good about doing it.
2) I will clear out one drawer/cabinet or closet each week. I’ve written one thing each week on my calendar through April. I will also work on my flylady zones and on de-cluttering each day.
3) I will stick loose bills in a tin in my bedroom, not in the ashtray of my car. This will help me save for something fun and will keep me from hitting the Drive-thru fast food.
4) I will force myself to exercise at least 4 days a week – a fifth day if I’m expecting cake or ice cream in the near future. :p
5) I will make up a daily schedule and to do list so I don’t have to think about what I should do, or remember stuff – both of which are hard for any mom, much less one with a newborn.
6) I will gradually replace all the junk in my diet and my families diet with good stuff; whole grains instead of bleached flour, get rid of the food dyes, the nitrates, the trans-fats.
7) I will find time to do the things I love like reading, needlework and scrapbooking. Oh and play with my little monsters, cuddle them and read them stories.

So instead of 40 steps, I’m going for 7. That's a reasonable number right? I’ve got number one down. I’m doing well on numbers 2 and 3. I’m focusing on number 4 or at least trying to. I’m going to give myself a few weeks of that to make it a habit, although I’m going to start on number five right now as well – so I can feel some sense of control. We'll see how it all goes!

Simple Steps progress and Rough weekend.

Well I've been having some success at the simple steps! I am now thoroughly addicted to my water. I do still have my soda once in a while and I'm hooked on my new coffee maker, so I have two or three cups a day, but still less calories than all that Coke! My main tricks to incorporate this into my life were this: First I drink a full glass of ice water before I drink anything with flavor; coffee, soda, juice or milk. second, I try to drink a full glass before each meal. That's an old dieting trick to make you feel full faster, but it also works to make sure that you've got your water for the day (1 full glass is about 12 ounces, times 3 times a day is 36 ounces and I'm trying to make sure I drink 48 ounces a day, so that last 8 ounces is easy!) I wrote down on my calendar drawers and such to organize, one a week. So far I have cleaned out and re-organized my Pot cupboard, my coffee cupboard, the little bin on my PC desk and my silverware drawer. Not bad!The best part of that habit is that the hubby notices. Sure, I like it tidy, it makes it easier to put stuff back and all that, but I just love it when he says: Wow this looks nice! :) I've been good about collecting loose dollars and popping them in an old tin, trying to average 2 dollars per day. It's funny how that habit has made me so much more conscious of coins and small bills. I tend to keep track of them now more than I did. I'm also a bit more reluctant to spend them.

We had a pretty rough weekend. My mother-in-law's wake was Saturday and it was a very good turn out, but draining. My hubby is still having a rough time with it all and it's frustrating that I don't know how to help him. I know that loosing a parent is one of the most traumatic things to happen in a person's life, but I haven't experienced it myself yet. He lost both of his parents in the span of a year. It has to be hard. I just wish I could find a way to help him, to carry some of the burden. What is it about big strong men? Any strong emotion gets turned into anger? He's not angry at me, but he gets angry at the drop if a hat, at anyone. I know its pain, but it just gets lost in the translation!

The month after christmas...

Twas the month after Christmas and all through the house

Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste,

All holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!

When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;

The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese

And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt

And prepared once again to do battle with dirt...

I said to myself, as only I can

"You can't spend the winter disguised as a man!"

So....away with the last of the sour cream dip,

Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip.

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished

Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie - not even a lick

I'll want only to chew a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie

I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore-

But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot,

Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet.

Author Unknown

Simple Steps 2

Well the simple steps are going well! Tomorrow is the end of the first week and I've got the water habit down! Yesterday I actually drank more water than I needed without meaning to...5 16 ounce bottles - a total of 10 cups. Now I've got to figure out what my focus will be for this week. I think I'll take on two: saving 2 dollars a day and cleaning out one drawer/cupboard a week. The $2 a day should be easy - I'm just going to set up an auto transfer to a special savings account. Will they charge me if I do a tiny transfer everyday? I'll have to check that out. No sense in saving two dollars a day if it's going to cost me 1.50 in fees! The second habit should be fairly easy to establish as well, I'm going to set up my 2009 calendar and write on there what space I'm going to tackle each week this month. First is the pot cupboard, it's been driving me crazy, but every time I do the dishes I just cram things in there instead of doing it right. I need to get it together and that will be satisfying.

Other than that, I am really happy that school is back tomorrow. I love my kids but having all four of them running around has been hell on my house and I'm so sick of cleaning and re-cleaning all day long. Today is going to be a lazy day - I'm going to stitch a bit, read a bit and relax. Tomorrow I will whip this house back into shape and enjoy the two little ones; my little rascal 2 year old Ian and my sweet angel Gracie who is nearly 12 weeks now.