These, This & That

Our neighbor brought these cookies over yesterday. They are amazing. Some of the best goody filled cookies I've eaten.

I balanced off eating a handful of those cookies by eating this salad. I'm a bit addicted to this odd looking concoction of veggies {romaine, feta, olives, sweet pickles, and Annie's Cowgirl Ranch dressing}.

That pile of clothes is somehow going to fit into 1 piece of luggage. It literally takes me all day to pack. Today it was a slow process involving tea, long breaks between everyone's outfit decisions, and those cookies up above.

This bottle of Oil of Oregano has helped to brush off the beginnings of a virus. The taste is intense, but I really think it helped.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I'll catch up with you all after the holiday, xo.......

What a Week!

I knew it was coming. I saw our schedule and prepared for the hectic week. Most of you know that I don't like to be busy during the week. We are all happier when we have an open and flexible calendar. We actually get so much more accomplished when our week is less cluttered. As I've learned from living in a small space....sometimes you can't avoid clutter {in your small space or your week}. I also wanted to upload some photos that were lingering in my camera.......

A couple of Saturdays ago we went to Waterloo Village {somewhere out in NJ bear country}. It was a beautiful, sunny day. We met up with a friend from the boys bowling league and hit the trails.

After walking through a very old log cabin and playing some games from the Pilgrim years, Greg and the boys declared that they would love to live back "in those days".

But, they obviously would miss all their modern conveniences, too. The boys have been enjoying playing the game Headbanz.

So, we got through the week. The boys tried a fun new fitness class {Capeoira}. If you click on the link you can see exactly what it is. They also went to a ZumbAtomic class. We are always looking for fun new ways to get moving.

I'd say the week was good.....until Friday. My Friday was exhausting....and frustrating.....and stressful. It rated high on the yuck-o-meter. While Greg and the boys were at CSB I went to run some errands and found this mug. I thought it was the perfect purchase for an imperfect day.

How do you deal with a bad day?

Better

I'm feeling much better. Phew. Thank you for your sweet words and prayers! The fog is still lingering, but maybe that's just the season I'm in. I read another wonderful devotion {from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young} again today. Actually, it feels like "groundhog week"......we also made another batch of gingersnap cookies yesterday. We've also been trying to coordinate our Thanksgiving travel plans, enjoying the sunny weather, and playing lots of Uno......

 

{Mario & Luigi have been playing with us}

 The boys have been practicing their drum work. We really need to get a better 

practice pad/drum set. The one they are using is pathetic. Thankfully, they get to play on real sets during their lesson. I have to be honest......remembering to practice every day can be challenging {for me!} Greg is considering taking drum lessons {me , too}. You may see us on tour one day {ummm, probably not}.

 

This is what our coffee table usually looks like. I promise that I did not stage this. We are chronic strewers=leaver of books and games. I have found that if the books are on the shelf they don't get read{or found}. When they are strewed about they are picked up often. I usually have a couple on the kitchen table, as well. It makes the house a bit more messy, but it's worth it.

Our shelves in my little office area drive me bonkers. As some of you know, I've had to crowd everything from our old home into our new small space. Some days it overwhelms me. This week I went through my usual thoughts of "will we ever be settled in a home again?". I have dreams of decorating with white, blue, and green. I have visions of a cute bungalow somewhere. Ross has dreams of a garden.....Sam hopes for a yard and driveway. Greg sort of likes our current situation.....he does not miss yard work and house projects.

Day by day.

Day by Day

This week has been interesting. Not typical, that's for sure. We still have not re-filled our fridge after losing power {and losing food}. Early in the week, my endometriosis started
flaring up {or firing up, as it feels like my abdomen is on fire}....which caused us to re-think our week. I decided to cancel any activity because I feel as if I'm walking in a fog. Getting out among people, driving, and other things is not a good idea while in a fog. I've learned this through experience.

 I actually allowed myself to stay in bed until 9am today. It's odd....if I had a cold or the flu I would not think twice about staying in bed and nursing myself. With my endometriosis, I don't always feel that I'm allowed the same grace. I've not been on top of it lately. In fact, I've still not found a new gyno {I'm in a bit of denial}. I've experienced a good amount of stress the past few weeks. Stress that was unexpected, and totally unnecessary. I allowed it to seep into my life.....and I believe I internalized a lot. I do believe that stress can cause us to become sick....or worsen symptoms.

A couple days ago I woke up with heavy thoughts. I was feeling sad because I felt like I lost focus. I was having one of those "what is this all about" moments and feeling like I've driven off course a bit. It feels like someone in my life was put there to cause stress....or I've allowed myself to get stressed. It's been draining and distracting. I opened one of my favorite devotionals. One that I hadn't opened in a long time {Jesus Calling by Sarah Young}.

And this is what it said.....

"Do not be discouraged by the difficulty of keeping your focus on Me. I know that  your heart's desire is to be aware of My Presence continually. This is a lofty goal; you aim toward it but never fully achieve it in this life. Don't let feelings of failure weigh you down. Instead, try to see yourself as I see you........

When you realize that your mind has wandered away from Me, don't be alarmed or surprised. You live in a world that has been rigged to distract you. Each time you plow your way through the massive distractions to communicate with Me, you achieve a victory. Rejoice in these tiny triumphs, and they will increasingly light up your days. "

Suddenly Snow

We heard there was some unexpected snow coming.....so we excitedly waited for some flurries. What we didn't expect was losing power on Saturday afternoon. That sort of took the fun out of the unexpected snow day. We layered up, made tea and popcorn on our gas stove, and went to bed at 6:30pm.

The next morning the power was still off.....and we soon learned that the power outage spread far and wide. I tried to stay in "pioneer woman" mode. I went through our food and cooked anything and everything on our stove top. Greg, on the other hand, went the "quickie mart guy" route. He searched for the only store open to find cold, watered down coffee....and beef jerky.

Thankfully, I located the boys snow pants and gear the day before (and thankfully, we had flashlights to find them this day). They made the best of the situation by playing and sledding.

The power came back on late Sunday while we were cooking a frozen food feast {had to empty the freezer} on our stove top. We were so thankful for heat and light. Our neighbor came over and joined us in our random feast to celebrate the return of our power {that I daily take for granted}. And now I am still catching up on laundry and life........