I Thought This Would Be More Fun

Published November 27, 2013 by Angela

Having 8 full days off from work after working 19 straight, what could be better? I have plenty of time to spend with my girls, do some extra cleaning, organize, get out the Christmas decorations, read what I want, and watch mindless television, which is something I no longer take for granted 🙂

What is really going on? OK, I am watching mindless television, but I am also not sleeping, my stomach is very angry with me, along with the rest of my body for messing with its schedule, and this in turn has made me less than pleasant. Everything I attempt to do seems to be bound for failure before I even get started, and my patience is being tested. I laugh at myself because I always ask God to give me more patience, which means God is going to give me situations to test my patience. If I would quit asking for more patience, maybe I wouldn’t be tested and things would go more smoothly for me 🙂

So although I am grateful for my time off to get caught up on things, I would really rather be working my 3rd shift schedule, sleeping when my body has been sleeping for the past year and a half, eating at 2am instead of noon (and feeling sick because of it), and being in a better mood. It is currently 3:15 am and I have been awake for a couple hours, doing laundry and cleaning 🙂

Today I get to make 2 pumpkin pies, and some mint-chocolate brownies. I am super-excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and just hope that I can feel top-notch and as awake as everyone else when normally I should be sleeping.

I guess the best thing is, everyone takes a nap after Thanksgiving dinner, right?

I really truly am grateful for all I have been blessed with, and am thankful to have a warm house to be awake in, with plenty of food for my girls and myself, our health, a wonderful job, and a strong faith. God has been good to me, and nothing can change the feeling that gives me in my heart! More on that tomorrow!

 

 

 

Even when all those feelings are Happy feelings!

Even when all those feelings are Happy feelings!

I Am Feeling Driven To Make A Difference

Published November 26, 2013 by Angela

I don’t necessarily think it is strictly this time of year, as I have been feeling this pull for quite some time now. It seems as I begin, FINALLY, to get my life in order, I feel compelled to help others who are in need. But where to start? I have always felt a special draw to those who are homeless, and it seems to be worse than ever in my area.

Is there something I can do, beyond giving money to someone on a corner (no, I do not do that), donating food and blankets to local pantries, or volunteering at a shelter? I know all of these things help, but I am feeling like it isn’t enough, or especially that it is not what I am supposed to be doing.

There is something else, something I should be doing, some skill I have that I am not realizing that can make a difference, even if only for one person.

It seems like the more I pray, the more I feel content with where I am personally with my life, the more unrest I feel about everything around me. What am I missing that I should be doing? I feel like there is a big flashing sign over my head that I forgot to look at, telling me what to do.

Do I wait for God to show me what I can feel but not yet see? Do I jump in and do something until I figure out what the right thing is? How do I begin to make a difference when I’m not sure where to start? 

I know no matter what I do, I need to do it now, because every second, and every gesture, does help and can and will make a difference, for someone, me included!

You Ate WHAT For Lunch?

Published November 21, 2013 by Angela

I can understand the cheeseburger that Erin fried up, even the scrambled eggs she had (hopefully for breakfast), but I cannot fathom what she did with the rest of ALL of my eggs that she hard-boiled. I am talking about an 18 pack of eggs. Let’s say she was really hungry (she is a growing 12-year-old) she could reasonably eat 3-4 scrambled eggs. I mean, we all know eggs shrink by ½ once they are scrambled, right? But what she did with the other 14 eggs that she says she hard-boiled is beyond me. She does not like egg-salad, or the egg yolks in boiled eggs, but she will eat deviled eggs. Yes, it makes no sense. But it is what it is.

I was actually more concerned that she possibly did eat an extraordinary amount of eggs, and was looking at her sideways all of last night for any excessive flushing of the face, or nausea, or anything else that would indicate she was having a protein/cholesterol overload.

What is even more scary, is that she did not eat all of these eggs, and they are still in my house, somewhere, and I will likely discover them a day past their “beyond ripe and smelling” expiration date.

So today, I am making her a PB & J sandwich, putting some chips in a bag, and apple and a yogurt, a couple small pieces of chocolate, and hoping she finds it sufficient and doesn’t decide to cook the turkey in my freezer for a snack between lunch and dinner.

I’m not kidding folks, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried 🙂

Day 14 Done, So Exhausted! Peanut Butter Fudge Will Pick Me Up!

Published November 17, 2013 by Angela

5 more days to go and I get a day off after working what will be 19 days. What possessed me to think I needed to do some baking yesterday is way beyond my comprehension. Luckily, at least one of the recipes turned out!

I was really thinking I was too tired to even attempt to make this as I was on day 13 straight out of 19 that I have to work before I get a day off. And even though I was probably correct, I made it anyways. And it turned out wonderful. (And we also are not going to discuss the other recipe I thought I could get made that did not turn out so well).

I don’t know why it is that whenever I am in a hurry, the whole entire world around me and everyone in it slows down. To. A. Crawl. Due to my tiredness (yep, that’s it) I failed to check and make sure I had enough powdered sugar to make a double batch before I began melting the peanut butter and butter together. Oh well, I will quick run up to the pharmacy on the corner and get a bag of powdered sugar.

Pouring rain, traffic crawling, and I get out of my car in the parking lot and am walking behind a person who is 105 years old, with a walker. That I can’t get around. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore the elderly, and think they can teach us so much and love to listen to their stories. But I was tired, and that extra-large Monster I drank didn’t seem to be working. So 10 minutes later when I get into the store and a point where I can make a quick cut to the right, I spend a ridiculous amount of time staring at the food aisle which very obviously has NO powdered sugar.

And I stare some more. Looking behind other food items for that bag of powdered sugar that I just know they have. Contemplating where is the next nearest place I can go.

So back in the car, and off to the dollar store. A girl can hope, right? Nope. They have every type of sugar and fake sugar you can imagine, except powdered sugar. So I am left with no choice, knowing my peanut butter/butter melted mixture is waiting on me.

 

I go a few doors down to my least favorite grocery store. Walk in, grab the sugar, check myself out, and am literally back in my car in less than 5 minutes. Hmmm, why didn’t I do that in the 1st place? That’s right, because that store is always soooo slow.

 

So batch #1 is peanut butter with white chocolate chips, and batch #2 is peanut butter with chunks of Mr. Goodbars mixed in for good measure. Nothing beats chocolate and peanut butter together.

Peanut Butter & Mr. Goodbar Fudge. YUM!

Peanut Butter & Mr. Goodbar Fudge. YUM!

To get the recipe, continue reading here… Read the rest of this entry →

Those Three Beautiful Words

Published November 14, 2013 by Angela

After a good night’s sleep, or in my case less than stellar sleep, I always hear the same thing from any one of my girls, generally all 3 by the time they all see me. Yep, you could set a clock by it.

“What’s for dinner?”  (I should clarify I am a shift worker, sleeping during the day while my kids are in school, or homeschooling, getting up as everyone is getting home for the day). So as I am rubbing sleep out of my eyes, wishing my 20-second Keurig coffee pot could brew even faster, they want to know what’s for dinner. Not “How’d you sleep?” or “I love you”.

So as I am waking up, and getting ready for my day, knowing I couldn’t eat a bite of anything I am cooking them, they want to know what is for dinner, and how fast can I get it cooked? We have slowly adjusted to this type of schedule, but I do wish I could eat the dinner I make for my family with them. Instead, I am eating a yogurt and piece of fruit, or a bowl of Honey-Nut Cheerios (YUM!) while they are eating tacos, or spaghetti, or any other meal I would love to share with them.

The problem gets worse as even though I am eating my dinner at 2am in the morning, my body knows it is 2am, and that I really shouldn’t be eating a meal at that time of day. So I tend to eat a lot of soups, or anything else that doesn’t bother my “it’s-2am-you-should-be-sleeping” stomach.

I tried to have a normal schedule on the weekends I don’t work, my body doesn’t appreciate that either. I can only hope that this situation I volunteered myself into is not going to be a long-term situation, and I can eventually feel like a normal person who has a normal schedule and normal eating habits.

Are you a shift worker? If so, how do you adjust to it?

So This Is What We Are Going To Do Today?

Published November 11, 2013 by Angela

Day 8 of work is out of the way for me, only 11 more straight to go until I get a day off. So Yes, I am a little tired due to a lack of sleep yesterday with Church and other things.

But what am I listening to? My 9 year old, crying (ok, sobbing uncontrollably) because I threw out her Spring jacket the other day.

Why did I throw out her Spring Jacket? Because I tried to hand it to her, and once again, she said “No, it’s too small and I don’t like it.” So I threw it away.

This jacket has literally been hanging on my coat rack for over 3 years, and every single time I have tried to get her to wear it, she refused. I have honestly NEVER seen her wear this jacket. Not once. So for the life of me I cannot figure out why she has blown an emotional gasket over a jacket she hated. I’m tired; she’s crying; and only one of us can win this argument.

Which means she is getting dressed, and putting on her winter coat since it will be snowing when she leaves school, and she is going to school. And I am going to bed.

And how is your Monday? 🙂

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em

Published November 9, 2013 by Angela

After tossing the idea around in my head for a while, and figuring now is as good a time as any, I sent in my application to begin working on my MBA. I had promised a few people I would NOT take any classes in 2013, and I kept that promise. If accepted, my classes begin January 2nd, 2014 🙂

This thought excites and terrifies me at the same time. Is it too much? Can I maintain the GPA I need for my company to pick up the tab? Can I keep up with Erin homeschooling when she gets behind so quickly?

My own doubts have always been my biggest enemy, and have kept me from too many opportunities and experiences than I care to count. So I am going to do what seems to have become a habit for me lately, and just go with my gut instinct.

I am hoping that me studying at the table with Erin will help motivate her to try harder, and not have the opposite effect and make things more difficult for both of us.

How fun would that have been? Perfect for me!

How fun would that have been? Perfect for me!

P.S.-To my oldest who is likely reading this, don’t panic, it will be OK! 🙂  (the last 2 degrees were a bit of a challenge)

I Owe You An Apology!!!

Published November 7, 2013 by Angela

I owe some of you an apology for my previous post! I feel like I said some things without explaining my point enough which as I thought about it throughout the day I realized I likely offended others.

I believe that being a stay-at-home Mom is the toughest job in the world. I have done it for short periods of time, and it is the one job that a woman can never, ever leave and go “home” from. My 50-60 hours I work a week is nothing compared to how much I would be working if I never left my home.

I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for women (and stay-at-home Dads!) who have this career. I have never had the opportunity to be a stay-at-home Mom due to circumstances beyond my control, so I am just accustomed to finding sitters and leaving my home for work.

So if I offended any of you, PLEASE accept my sincerest apologies.

Now I am just going to go sit over here in the corner and chew on my foot that I put in my mouth for awhile!