sick AND grumpy

I've been pulled under by a sneak attack of a head cold. Thankful for co-workers who covered me Friday so I could just REST. (NyQuil induced coma pretty much all day) Today I am feeling much better. Head is clearer and body not quite so achy. Perhaps the heaping helping of hot chocolate mix in my coffee is helping a bit. ;)

right now my house is quiet as hubby is still at his Sat. Morning Men's breakfast/bible study.I know there is a ton of desk work waiting for me in the office and thankfully yesterday was a payday so it won't be a futile attempt at bill sorting, but rather "let's pay these things!" Still it requires some energy and brain power that my body doesn't quite feel up to yet. So I sit, sipping my mocha and reflecting on my week...

I chose the word "grateful" for 2013. I'm not so sure I'm doing a very good job of giving credit where credit it due. I'm not sure I've been very focused on the positives. I think a severe case of the grumpies has invaded my thought process and there have been some deep dark shadows across my path.

I've been snippy with my husband, even down right mean. I've been lacking patience and grace with my mother and I've been consumed by worries about things I have no control over. I'm still not in a good place about hubby's decision to go on the mission trip to Honduras and quite frankly, may not ever be. I've been stretched to the limits with the responsibilities connected to my mother. And even though I really like my job, the one day a week off just isn't enough down time to snap back feeling fully refreshed.

Huh. No wonder I feel grumpy.

Well, in an effort to shake the grumpies, I signed up for something I spotted on Hanna's blog, Bouffee e Bambini called Happify . It has daily challenges-- ways to make you focus on the positives in your life. It's been fun but I have not had as much time to spend on it as I thought I would. It's not a game but does require some effort and thoughts put into each task. It's good stuff but I have felt so consumed by LIFE that breaking away for anything, even my writing, has been a chore. The irony in this has been that the track I chose to work on this week at Happify is on coping with stress better. Ha Ha!

One fun happy exciting uplifting thing I did in the past week was this~~~a fabulous new 'do! short n' sassy just the way I like it, plus high-lights and low-lights to really change things up. I've been going to Bobbie at The Salon Next Door now for about 15 years -- that's a long time to be with one hair stylist, but she always does a great job!

~hubby snapped this picture during one of my less grumpy moments~

I also had coffee with a good friend this week, got in a quick retail therapy fix and had some very satisfying phone conversations with extended family-- all designed to boost my self esteem and confidence. but I also had 2 days in a row with my mom, one was our weekly planned day, the other a sort of emergency-take-her-to-the-doctor-to-make-sure-everything-is-ok-day. and then... the attack of the cold/flu thing....

camera phone-- not the greatest, but this is the awesome little scarf I got on my retail therapy outing.

Oh, man, have I been whining? It's a weakness of mine I guess....
but I AM grateful that I know the CURE for that!!

Of Broken Down Vehicles, New Printers and Sleeping In.

we interrupt this day of cleaning house and making soup to share with you the following....

I just want to go on record and say I am really exhausted of constantly operating in CRISIS MODE. 

I know that cars break down and repairs are to be expected but I really think that we experience more car repairs than anyone else I know. And when they break down, they are not EVER not expensive!

We have been blessed by the long life of Big Yellow, hubby's awesome work truck, which we bought 14 years ago from a u-haul rental company. It has served us well over the years but we have had our share of serious breakdowns!! The transmission going out as we were traveling over Steven's Pass one summer stands out in my memory. The thing is when Big Yellow can't move,  everything else stands still as well. All of Bruce's tools are in the back of the work truck and if he can't take his tools to work, he can't go to work. This is the downside of having your tool storage and your truck being one and the same.

The breakdown is serious and we of course do not have the means with which to repair it. We also do not have the luxury of NOT fixing it or replacing it. Kind of stuck between a rock and hard place. Hubby has work to go to on Monday and this weekend will require some fancy shuffling of things in order to allow him to do that. Right now our best bet is to load as many of his tools into the funky little utility trailer and pull it with the (also needing work but still running) mini-van. And eventually make a decision about going forward with fixing Big Yellow or towing it home and retiring it while we shop for something else.

SIGH.

I was a lump of a bump on the couch most of yesterday as I despaired over our latest misfortune. I was not much of a voice of encouragement to my husband. Just too exhausted from yet another crisis. Even though I knew there were things I really needed to get up go do, I sat. Finally, with hubby's push, I got up and went to town to run errands. One of the things I had to get was ink cartridges for our printer. Those things are not cheap and it's been awhile since we bought any. We've put off printing anything trying to save money but the builder needed to send some hard copies of things to a prospective client so print them we must! I soon discovered in my wanderings around the office supply store, that it was going to actually save me money to just buy a new printer instead of replacement ink for the old one! Imagine that! Yes, they had a fantastic sale going on printers and it comes with ink and future purchases of this ink cartridge cost less than the cartridges the present printer take. AND, since our old printer is just that, OLD and constantly JAMMING and causing my poor husband to lose his FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, it seemed the best thing to do was buy a new printer.

It's also a scanner. Which is something I have been wanting for a long time so I can scan my old photos and put them on my computer!! And it's a wireless printer which means I can be sitting in my room using my laptop and send something to the printer without having to get up and plug in any cables. WHoot WHoot!!

We stayed up late last night playing/printing with the printer/scanner and organizing the office space. Then  I slept in this morning and took my coffee and bagel back to bed to feast as I got caught up on emails and facebook. And despite the fact that the truck is still sitting in town at the repair shop waiting for a directive, things look better. As a friend reminded me yesterday: HE works ALL THINGS together for my good. 

Really, things could be so much worse. And even though I do feel like we spend a lot of time operating in crisis mode thanks to financial woes, it's all just a blip in the grand scheme of things.

Now, excuse me, I've got soup to make!

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Peter 1:6-7 

cold shoulder, sore shoulder

Yesterday, it seemed, was about the shoulder.

it was Wednesday, the day I usually spend with mom. She had a doctor's appointment, then we planned to get lunch and hit a few other places for sake of 'the list'. What has happened to customer service?

The women who work the desk at the doctors office seem to have forgotten how to smile. To say good morning. To care. It takes so little effort really to turn the corners of our mouths UP and offer some pleasant exchanges. Perhaps I am more aware of this common courtesy since going back to work at Curves where part of my job is all about servicing the members.

The hostess who took our money at the lunch buffet did not meet our eyes. She did not welcome us or greet us in any way. She looked at us with a flat expression except for pursed lips, told us how much the total was and did not even say thank you when we handed over the money. I tried unsuccessfully to engage her but she was seemingly uninterested.

I should point out that at both the doctors and the restaurant we were the only people there. It's not like it was a busy, hustling bustling place.

There seems to be be less store employees on the floor in the large stores, making it harder to ask for help. Mom and I wandered around trying to find products and hoping to find a store clerk who might point us the in the right direction.

I guess we were invisible. 

At the last place I shopped yesterday I waited for a dressing room to try clothes.  Again, I tried making eye contact with the young lady who was working behind the counter but she seemed quite consumed with something on her counter. I have shopped this store before and have usually been offered the bathroom as an alternative dressing room when the dressing rooms are occupied. Perhaps this young lady thought I was a new store mannequin draped with several sale items because my presence was never acknowledged.  Yet when I finally slipped into a dressing room, as I tried on my selected clothing, I heard the sales girl offer the bathroom as a back up dressing room to another customer who was waiting.

Interesting!

Later, as I shared with my husband about my tiring day, the lack of customer service, and as I whimpered over my very sore shoulder, which had decided to act up ALL DAY LONG, hubby offered me some words to consider:

Perhaps God is trying to teach us something about humility. About learning to get along with out the need for acknowledgment or words of affirmation.  Words of Affirmation are so vital to most of us. Well, it is certainly my husbands love language and while I may not claim it as mine, I definitely feel injured when affirmation is not forthcoming. 

Perhaps we are being given opportunities to give with out receiving anything in exchange. And to not be defined by these things. Just because we are treated as invisible does not mean we ARE. We should not let these things feed our self esteem.... feed the LIES that the enemy wants us to swallow. Maybe these are the times where really SERVING Christ comes into play. After all it is easy to serve someone who appreciates it but serving someone who treats you with disdain or indifference? That is when we get the opportunity to really SHINE the Light of Christ.

As it says in Matthew 5, if we love only those who love us, what reward is there for that? If we are kind only to our friends, how are we different from anyone else? As a Christ follower, I have a higher calling. To love as Christ loves. To love regardless of circumstances.

Regardless of cold shoulders or sore shoulders. 

The Power of Prayer

Today is a New Day and God's mercies are new too! 

I recently partnered with another woman to do 30 days of praying for our husbands. We are using the book "The Power of a Praying Wife" by Stormie Omartian and each day reading a chapter and praying the prayer at the end of it. I have used this book/prayer method many times over the years; this is the first time to do it in partnership with another wife. 

Here is what jumped out at me from today's reading (titled His Temptations)
"The enemy of our souls knows where our flesh is the weakest and he will put temptations in our paths at our most vulnerable points. The question is not whether there will be temptations, it is how we will handle them when they arise."

wow. I read this today and although I was reading it with praying protection for my husband in mind, I realized how true this is for me too. When I feel discouraged or frazzled or worried, those are my weak moments and I need to go into prayer mode big time to see God rescue me from bad choices. I prayed the prayer in the book, once for Bruce, then again for myself.

Yesterday was a worrisome, frazzling discouraging sort of day. And my MO is often to seek comfort or distractions by losing myself in mindless shopping..... ya, good ol' retail therapy has it's moments but what I sense God teaching me is to turn to Him for comfort not the things of this world that only bring temporary happiness. It's not the shopping that is the problem, it's the turning to that instead of turning to God.

trusty ol' Big Yellow-- how much longer will you last?

Today the problems we encountered yesterday are still with us. Bruce took Big Yellow into Les Schwabs this morning to have the brake work done. They assured us they will have it done by tonight and Bruce offloaded as many tools as he could think of so that the guys can work in the shop today. We should still be able to leave tomorrow-- maybe not at the crack of dawn like we had planned, but we should make Silverton (Oregon) by evening. So thankful for the options the Lord has led us to! And thankful that we were able to arrange to pay for at least half of the bill on installments rather than cough up the whole wad in one payment. Still very very thankful to have discovered these issues with the brakes and the tires BEFORE something bad happened, like driving down a freeway towing a trailer!!


So, girded by prayer, I have another full day of things to do. Another adventure to embark on. but today I will be ever mindful that I'm letting the Holy Spirit be my tour guide.

meanwhile here on the home front...

While my husband gives his whole hearted self to the people of Japan today, I was spending the day with one of my besties, at the local thrift store, taking advantage of their 50% off sale. As keeper of hearth and home, I excel at all things frugal.

By the way, I know exactly where I was at 11:11 am on this day; 11/11/11. And because it was so much fun, I intend to pay attention to the what and where of my activities when it rolls around again this evening. 

vintage shopper

as I mentioned to a blog buddy earlier today--- and to the nice little gal who handled my purchases... having size 9 feet can make boot shopping really really difficult!! I have been looking for boots since last fall and still no luck. I really don't (CAN'T) want to pay $$$ for NEW boots --the only way I can afford to shop these days is through consignment so its a moot point. the cashier said she wears size 9's too and knew exactly what I meant!

Still.... i had a LOVELY time at the consignment store BECAUSE I HAD CREDIT and I know how to use it!! :)

would you like to see what I got? I didn't take pictures of everything because, well, I just didn't. But everything I got was from either the Dollar Rack-- oh my how i love the dollar racks!-- or off the half price rack which is almost just as good.

 

the gray sweater (top left) with mock turtleneck goes great with jeans or the cute little gray cord mini skirt (bottom left) or the gray flannel knit slacks (bottom right). the gray slacks border on old ladyish in my opinion but I thought it best to have a pair of dressier slacks in my closet, just in case.  the purple flowered top has a really comfy fit and will be fun to mix and match with jeans and skirts.

I also got a lime green sleeveless knit shell --great for layering! and a sage green long sleeve t--  and by long sleeved I mean over the hand with those thumb holes in them. It is a tad on the show-my-bulges-side-- (hence the no photo!!) but it will be fine for layering as well. 

BUT

THIS NEXT PICTURE  is of my BEST FIND

Thinking I will get a lot of use out of this jacket. It is so soft!! and I love the length. perfect with jeans or leggings, skirts. dresses.

finished the afternoon with a skype session with my sister. tried to hook up with my daughter but we seem to keep missing it today. Still need to get Bruce proficient enough with skype so that we can visit while he is in Japan. Can't believe his departure day is in a little over a week!! so much to do!

Whew!

What a Day! What a Weekend!

My sweetie is already in slumberland which is where I am headed next! But what a busy weekend and this whole week promises to be just packed with business and adventure.

What did I do this weekend? Where did the time go? A lot of time spent organizing and shopping and getting ready for the vacation this week. Wedding ceremony plans to finalize with the bride and groom. Cars to drop off at the mechanic, trailers to make ready for camping. I think sometimes more energy and time is spent on the getting ready to go then the actual vacation itself. Whew.

Today's agenda included new clothes for the parson. The wedding last fall required spiffied up clothing. A lake side wedding is a much more causal affair but Bruce's wardrobe needed help in this area as well. So at his request I made a trip to REI and purchased a very nice (ie: expensive) shirt that he has been longing for for quite some time. It's one of those breathable shirts great for hiking and still nice enough looking that paired with some khaki's would work for a night on the town. (or in this case-- a wedding!) The long sleeves can be rolled up and the color is the exact shade of blue of his eyes. Awwww. Got him a couple of pairs of shorts too. The man never shops.

But being the thrifty shopping queen that I am, for what I spent on his one shirt, I could have bought a whole new wardrobe for myself at my favorite consignment store....

Then just because I am some sort of sadist, I decided if we were going to the lake, I should update my swim wear. What was I thinking? Well I wasn't. I had skipped lunch so the brain was already melting so when I wandered into the clothing store and started pulling swim wear from the rack... well-- who knew this could hurt so much??? i yi yi.

So... I eventually ended up at the consignment store and no, I won't be posting any pictures of the swimwear I finally purchased. suffice it to say I found something that covers what needs to remain covered and will still allow some sun to touch my body. Whew.

and I still have no idea what I'm wearing for the wedding.

What's Going Down? (As Oppossed to What's Up?)

What's been going on the last couple of days? Well, there was the job interview, some consignment store shopping, a hair cut and this weeks winners in the weekly Faith Writers writers challenge. All great stuff!!

First off: HAIR CUT: scraggly frizzes go bye-bye! Cant go to an interview with bad hair!! It's just a trim, about 1/2 inch all over; sticking with the layered look for now.

The Interview: went really well. Here's the thing; I do really well in interviews and I LIKE them  (Weird I know but hear me out) . I find them to be fun and challenging and I learn much about myself in the process. I always enjoy learning more about me-- I hope that doesn't sound self centered-- it's just a great way to re-evaluate myself when someone asks a question like "how would you handle difficult situations-- like an unhappy client." or "Give an example of going out of your way for someone in service."
I felt relaxed through out the whole time, able to think clearly of examples and offer information that was pertinent to the job position. And most importantly, a few times I made them laugh!

what I wore to the interview

I wont expect to hear any thing back about this until the first part of June as the business owner and his family are going on a mission trip to Honduras -- yes, the same one one we were contemplating. I feel ambivalent about the job and know that whatever happens, it will be because of God either opening or closing this door.
 

After the interview... and to celebrate how well I thought I did, a little Retail Therapy was on the docket. SO, off to the Consignment Store...

two cute tops--- Old Navy even.

I love it when I have credit on my account and I love the sale rack-- particularly the Dollar Rack!! Always amazed at what I find there!!


dark brown skirt, with interesting pleat in front. knee length.
and (not pictured) blue jeans.., because one can never have too many blue jeans in my opinion! Especially when they're on the dollar rack!!!

This morning was nail biting time. Not really nail biting but each week I participate in a weekly writing challenge at Faithwriters.com and this week I placed in the TOP TEN for Editor's Choice!!! You can read my winning entry here . I placed 9th. Competition is fierce in the Master's level which is where I have finally worked my way up to. And almost every week I am in competition with my big sister who has won her share of awards at Faithwriters as well.. We are each other's biggest fans-- applauding and cheering when either one of us places.

In between all these fun, busy activities, I've been doing a lot of thinking. Scary, I know. But God's been provoking me I think, to re-examine the goals I set and the vision and mission statement I wrote at the end of D.R.S. Some of that relates to the huge struggle we went through regarding the whole Honduras Mission Trip decision.

Will save that all for another post, but the bottom line is... every day is a mission when you live for Jesus.

Oh, the Joys of Fridays and Friendship!

Coffee at Woods... always a good start!

Catching up on life and love... with a dear friend... even better!!

Empty coffee cups, full hearts.....

A little shopping.... retail therapy at it's very best!

A rainy day but sunshine in my soul...

Life is beautiful and you, my friend, make it so!

Yay for Shopping!


Only a woman can say that right? Well, at least in my household! Last week I did my shopping for the outfit to wear to the wedding.... And I did good, I think! Fall colors, an outdoor wedding, down on the farm.... yup, I think this will work well....

Today we did the shopping for the "Wedding Officiant" (he won't let me use the 'P' word). Found a classy, casual outfit for him that happens to match quite nicely with mine. (imagine that!)
I think we're gonna look pretty good.

Actually, I think my outfit has the hots for his...

Redeeming Moments

I love when things happen that make you feel good and take away the sting of what made you feel bad.

Today I had to go shopping (again) to get all the stuff I didn't buy the day before... and I also needed to visit Family Christian Bookstore to pick up a couple of books; Men are like Waffles,Women are like Spaghetti and The 5 Love Languages ( Bruce is doing some pre-marital counseling and wanted these two books to offer as 'assigned reading' for the couple. )

i found the paperback of the Waffles/Spaghetti one but the Love Languages was in a beautiful leather bound edition... which was really lovely but a bit more than i wanted to pay.
i took the books to the front and asked the store clerk if they had any more copies of it in a regular paperback edition.

She looked it up on her computer and said it was on order, but no, no more in store. then she said she thought Lynden's store might have it and she could call and check. that was very nice of her and i said as much.

she was put on hold while the gal at the other store looked and while she was on hold we chatted a bit. she pointed out the nice option with the leather bound one was that we could have the couples named embossed in front for free., which really sounded nice but still... it was $22.99 compared to $11 for paperback (hey, I'm not cheap, just budget conscious!)

the other thing i needed to consider was how soon the book would arrive either by the shipment or from the Lynden store. and i needed to think about whether i was going to make another trip into town this week. (2 in one week is my max!!)

so this sales lady was SO SWEET! she said, tell you what, why don't i give you a 25% off coupon you can use on the book. that will bring the price down to $17 and you won't have to wait or come back.

wow!! i was so grateful and i told her so. i said 'this makes up for the stinky thing that happened to me yesterday' and i told her a little bit about the wellness card stuff.

she thought that wasn't very nice that they wouldn't give it to me at the sale price. so then she said 'well here, I'm going to give you a couple extra punches on your family life punch card to make up for it"

Awwww!!I said 'see, this is why i keep coming back here. you guys know how to make the customer feel special!"

so, if you want great customer service, shop at Family Bookstores!! :)


it was a very good day.

Robyn's Rant

That may have to be the new title of my blog because I have something else to fume about!

Spent the day in town, running a ridiculous amount of errands! Actually, I enjoy this and I always make sure I get a treat, lol, since I never got one from my mom when I was a kid. (today's treat was a mondo-giant dark chocolate bar--- oh-ho-ho-ho!)

My last stop of the day was Rite Aid. I don't particularly enjoy shopping at Walmart, and I could have gone to Walgreens across the street but I was already parked in a nice shady spot at Sunset Square; why move?

I am a bargain shopper and today was no exception. I must have spent close to 45 mins in the drug store, scouting out my best buys... and I had a cart full by the time I headed to check out.... hair color (save $3) , hair gel, lotion, make up, vitamins, tylenol (buy one get one free), new belt for Bruce (2 for $10), allergy med (buy one get one free) and a few other odds and ends- all of which were on sale at great savings.

I unloaded my cart, wistfully eying the kiddy pool at the front of the store that was a wee too much for my budget today. the gal asked me if I had a "wellness card".

I said: No, I do not. (and wasn't sure what a wellness card was but was hoping it wasn't some sort of Sr citizens savings card because what would that be saying about how old I look today???)

she rang up all my stuff and told me it was $68 and some odd cents.

I said "Oh, no way" and started looking at the scanning screen. I pointed out the tylenol savings, the allergy savings, all the things I was being charged full price for that were on savings.

she looked at me sort of funny and said "Well those are the things on sale in the wellness flyer"

I said, "Uh huh?"

she: Well, you only get those savings if you have the wellness card.

me: really.

she (smiling) yes.

me: If something is on sale and you advertise it as on sale, then I should be getting it at the on sale price.

she: but you have to have the wellness card to get those on sale.

me: I should not have to have a 'wellness card', whatever the heck that is, in order to receive the savings. If you have something on sale, it should be on sale for everyone.

quiet. stare down.

me: I am not going to buy any of this.

she: oh. okay.

me (walking away) I think your system is wrong. If it's on sale, it's on sale for all of us. (this isn't Costco!)

I fumed internally all the way to my car. The savings cards posted at each product may have said 'wellness savings" in small print above the LARGE print of how much it's on sale for, but would that have told me I didn't qualify for the savings?

I spent nearly an hour in the store and came home with nothing. I will have to go shopping all over again tomorrow for those things I needed. And I will most certainly be shopping someplace else, where I don't need a special card to get the savings. Sheesh!

well, at least I have my chocolate bar.