-finishing up the unpacking.
-thinking that I need to hurry up and dig out some warmer clothes for the kids. The weather here is quite a change from the beach climate!
-thankful that the kids are so much easier to travel with these days. Yay for not having nursing babies and/or toddlers in the car!
(cute, but trouble)
-bummed that our van needed a new timing belt and water pump while we were on vacation, especially since we had both those things replaced on time not all that many miles ago.
-thankful we were able to get it fixed before heading home.
-bummed that we’re now $700 poorer.
-happy that we had the money saved in our Auto Maintenance ING account.
-unspeakably grateful for the lovely, sunny, warm weather we enjoyed in Myrtle Beach, especially since the forecast looked like rain all week at the time we headed down.
-thrilled that so many of you loved my ebook!
-thinking of some other ebook ideas, all the sort to save you money (of course.)
-working on putting together a big fat picture post from this year’s vacation (kinda like the one from last year).
-honored that a lot of other bloggers shared a link to my simplicity post. Even though it takes a while to gather all the pictures, I have so much fun putting together photo essay posts like that.
(two others are my homeschooling photo essay and my photo essay about Aldi produce.)
-sad that my Rebel camera body died last week (sob).
-hoping that a fix will be cheap (alas, the battery is not the problem).
-thankful that I have my 7d, because if I had to be completely camera-less, I would struggle mightily.
-thinking about how to save for a new Rebel if mine is too expensive to fix (my 7D is too heavy to haul around with me everywhere).
-reminding myself that if ever a camera deserved to die, my Rebel does. I’ve averaged way over 1000 pictures a month with it for the last 4 years.
-remembering again how strongly I feel that it’s better to enjoy and use things until they wear out instead of keeping them safely on a shelf.
-feeling a little silly that I think that way and yet have not unpacked my china one time in the last 14 years. Must rectify that.
-getting off the computer to go make recover-from-vacation-and-get-back-into-the-swing-of-school to-do list.
What are YOU up to today?
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Today’s 365 post: Delayed Gratification
(also, I got yesterday’s 365 post up kind of late, so you probably missed it!)
Joshua’s 365 post: Warning, All Repti-Phobes!
EngineerMom
Tuesday 20th of September 2011
On china - we registered for a simple set, white china with platinum lines and banding. It's not dishwasher-safe because of the band around the rim, but I decided I'd rather get the banding since it helps protect the edges from chipping.
We use various pieces at Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, anniversaries (wedding and dating), just for fun (like dessert after the kids are in bed, since we prefer to eat dinner with them when they're this young), and for decoration while eating off our daily white Corel.
I use the china tea cups, saucers, and dessert plates for having tea with my mom when she visits, and I plan to have a weekly or teatime with my kids when they're a bit older as a way to help practice manners and being a host/hostess. I'd like to try hosting a children's teatime with my kids' friends down the road, too, complete with dressing up and the kids practicing chivalry (since it does take practice to allow someone else to deal with your chair!).
EngineerMom
Tuesday 20th of September 2011
Yesterday was crazy-busy for me! Grocery shopping with both kids in tow (3-yr-old and 2-month-old), then home to unload and eat lunch, then off to Once Upon a Child for fodder for Halloween costumes, snow boots for Big Brother, a hat for Little Sister, and an unexpected find of the complete box set of Laura Ingalls Wilder books for $3.50.
After that, to my parents' house to supervise the Haul Away guys taking out everything Mom and Dad decided they didn't want (long story, but they live 4 hours away and just sold their house here), plus loading my car up with the items I decided to take (some shelves for Big Brother's room, the missing end table from the set my parents' passed on to us - for some reason we have the coffee table, sofa table, and one of two end tables, but the second had been buried in the basement - a few odds and ends of crafting supplies and kitchenware, and some rugs.
Today is much calmer! Mostly spent sorting through an entire little girl's wardrobe (3mos to 5T) I bought for $20 at a yard sale on Saturday. I knew I didn't want everything, but it was way more worth it to me to just buy the lot and sort at home than stand there in the 10 minutes I had before I had to be home to get ready for church!
Carrie
Tuesday 20th of September 2011
Hi, I'm curious to hear about how you went about writing and publishing an e-book? Maybe you'll have a chance sometime to elaborate. I also wanted to say how much I enjoy your blog - I like that you post lots of pictures and about a variety of topics. Thanks, Carrie
Amy
Monday 19th of September 2011
Today, I got my website up and running, did 3 different crafts with my 3 year old, read board books and colored with my 1 year old, and snuggled my 2 month old. We also did some cleaning here and there, and every day stuff - cooking, feeding babies, etc. It was a nice day.
Megan
Monday 19th of September 2011
Worked for a paycheck. Getting ready to quit- come on January! Nothing too exciting in the customer service world. Then came home to some house cleaning.
My "china" is fiestaware- and I use it every day. My mom gave me most of it for my wedding present, and I pick up pieces here and there when I find a clearance sale- and it doesn't matter if it matches (but it still stacks nicely together in the cupboard!)
She also gave me the the set of "fancy" silverware that she ordered for her wedding 29 years ago. It's not really that fancy- not real silver or anything. Someone convinced her she needed a good set and an everyday set.
I know a lot of people have 2 sets of these things, but I enjoy that both my dishes and silverware are nice, and I don't need another "fancy" set to take up room!