Not Quite Ordinary Observations

For Today...Monday, January 20, 2014

In the great outdoors...it was a gorgeous day. Temps rose to near 70, and the kids spent the afternoon outside. The rest of the week will be a different story.

Within our four walls...children nestled all snug in their beds as Doug and I finish up a few things for the evening. Thankful we were able to get the house mostly caught up after a very full week last week.

A heart of thanksgiving...for a week at home; for the chance to tell Olivia today that one of her friends will be baptized soon; for friends; for opportunities; for firewood.

A heart of prayer...for a precious newborn who arrived today and the new life she will have with her dear mommy and daddy; for family members and friends dealing with health issues; for various work projects and the growth of the company; for Doug and I as we get back into discipline in so many ways.

Random observations...last week was busy. Could you tell? I thought I was back to more regular blogging than I’ve enjoyed in a while, but last week was a little full. Very good though. Maybe I’ll get to blog about it this week!

My silly children...are so deprived. We realized tonight that they did not know proper phone etiquette. We thought we had taught them. But apparently, we taught them how to be good CSRs. “Hello, this is _________. How may I help you?” Um, not quite.

Thoughts from the kitchen...we hurriedly created a menu plan for this week, but the goal is to return to planning a month at a time very, very soon. We just do so much better! We eat better. We spend less. It’s just all around good for us.

Meanwhile, we still have some decadent cheesecake to finish – it was Doug’s birthday cheesecake. Did I share that with you? No, I guess I didn’t because I haven’t blogged since before Doug’s birthday. Oh my…I can’t find my pictures, so I’ll just share the web photo with you (just click on the picture for the recipe). For the record, we halved the cheesecake portion of the recipe, and still had plenty. Oh my word. This was SO rich! And oh so good.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bottom Cheesecake

On my bookshelf...I have three books going. Very uncharacteristic for me. Well, it’s abnormal for me to be reading two novels at a time. I am back to reading She’s Twelve Going on Twenty, which is much better than I expected. I’m also working my way through the Quest for Truth YA fiction series. I’m reviewing them for HEDUA, but I wanted to read them anyway. This just gives me the nudge I need. Meanwhile, I’m finally getting back to Chasing Mona Lisa, just for fun. I started it ages ago and then got distracted by other novels. So, I’m going to finish it. It’s probably my least favorite Tricia Goyer book to date, but that’s like saying milk chocolate is my least favorite chocolate. Yeah.

Projects...working on a new knit bolero – it’s easy to keep knit and crochet projects going because I can work on them while the kids read to me. That’s been fun! Because of our busy couple of weeks, my schedule hasn’t panned out to figure out what night I’m going to sit down at the sewing machine every week, but that’s a goal. I’m determined. Mornings are for homeschool. Afternoons for work. And evenings are for things like writing and sewing, at least on the nights we don’t do American Heritage Girls stuff or have church.

Oh, and I finished the crochet dish towel I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. I love it, and the family likes it as well. I think I might gradually get an entire set made. The towel does not match the dish cloths Angie made for me, but that’s okay. Who knows..I might just get the yarn to make two sets. It’s cheaper than towels and dishcloths that may or may not absorb!

Sounds of the moment...just the tapping of keyboards and the whirring of the computers as Doug and I both write.

From Hibbard Academy...lots of grading stacking up that Mommy has to catch up on this week. *sigh* In the meantime, though, Olivia is heading into the Middle Ages while Steven and Angie are in the late 1400’s. Fun times! Olivia just started a new topic in science this week, but I’m drawing a blank and don’t have a clue what it is. Steven & Angie are starting on weather.

A favorite thing from last week...Table for Two. Oh. My. Word. Separate blog post coming tomorrow.

The planner...tomorrow I get to go out with the Gleaners for the first time in quite some time. Otherwise, it’s a routine week. I’m ready!

Because visuals are fun...it’s the little things in life that make members of my family smile. This one was for Angela.