Because Sometimes Interruptions are God’s Way of Redirecting Our Focus!

Our Money Pit

I haven’t seen the movie, but I’ve heard about it. A couple buys a house and renovates it. It turns out to be a money pit and though I haven’t seen the ending, I can imagine a lot of their sanity and a little bit of their life got sucked out in the process.

How do I know? Because I feel like I’m about to star in the movie.

We bought a big house over a year ago before the market took a nose dive mostly because it was a good investment, so we were told by wise counsel…so we thought. Though we had our doubts at the very end and wanted to get out of the deal, we couldn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, living here is a big blessing. There’s tons of space, but it’s not our dream home and after a year, the renovations (which have mainly been to the yard) have sucked the life out my hubby. As for me, the lack of interior renovations and decor has zapped my morale as well. Throw in a very zealous decorator/designer that wants to get our house ready to sell and we’re talking major renovations.

It has hubby and I wanting to throw up our hands and say, “We surrender. For sale. As is!!!” We don’t have the time, money, resources or know-how to get this house up to the level the decorator thinks it should be and our Realtor and many others we asked for guidance never looked at the cosmetic enhancements we’d have to make get it up to the competition and sell this puppy.

Which brings in more doubt and second guessing as to whether or not this was indeed a blessing from God or were the “signs” a warning from God to stay away! How many times are we going to have to learn this lesson? And how will we really know if it’s an obstacle God wants us to overcome or a warning to stay away?

I’m clueless.

My question to you: How do you know?

We really felt good about the decision to buy this house and thought the obstacles were just that…obstacles. And maybe they still are. But I’m not sure we’re willing to lose our sanity to find out!



Categories: Daily Grind , House & Homemaking |March 7th, 2010 | 2 Comments


Kimberley Woodhouse: One Extreme Mom!

kimberely-woodhouse.JPGKimberley Woodhouse is a wife, mother, author, and musician with a quick wit and positive outlook despite difficult circumstances. A popular speaker, she’s shared at more than 600 venues across the country. Kimberley and her family’s story have garnered national media attention for many years, but most recently her family was chosen for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Montel Williams Show, Discovery Health channel’s Mystery ER. Welcome Home: Our Family’s Journey to Extreme Joy, released from Tyndale House Publishers this month. In addition to her non-fiction, she also writes romantic suspense and children’s books. Kimberley lives, writes, and homeschools in Colorado with her husband and two children in their truly “extreme” home.

new-image.JPGOverwhelming trials . . . met with overcoming joy.
Kayla Woodhouse is not your typical twelve-year-old. Due to a rare medical disorder, she feels no pain, doesn’t sweat, and needs protective cooling gear just to go outside. With her restrictive lifestyle; countless hospitalizations, including brain surgery; and the resulting mountain of hospital bills, what’s a family to do?

How the Woodhouse family has faced seemingly impossible challenges is a story that has captured the hearts of America. Millions of people have experienced glimpses of their lives on Discovery’s Mystery ER, The Montel Williams Show, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (recently voted one of the show’s all-time best episodes!).

Now Kayla’s mom, Kimberley, takes readers behind the cameras to reveal their family’s journey as never before told. From medical sleuthing to cross-country moves, from freak fires to battles with insurance companies, Welcome Home proves that truth really is stranger than fiction. This candid life story reveals both success and failure and demonstrates how, even during tough circumstances, to shift your life from heartbreak to extreme joy.

Guest Blog from Kimberely:
A Writer Having Time to Actually Write?

My writing friends who know my insanely-crazy-TV-interview-filled-homeschooling/swim-mom-writer life – always ask me the question, “How do you ever get any writing done?”

To this, I laugh and smile. It’s not easy – just ask my kids, or my publicist, or my agent, or one of my volunteer assistants. There are days we are all gasping for breath from the hectic-ness. But yes, even though there are millions of interruptions—I still am able to get some writing in. Some days. (Grin)

My biggest problem was learning how to write with noise around me. I’m an organizer, planner, itinerary-following, need-my-quiet-to-focus type person. But I am a wife and a mom, I homeschool my children six hours a day, have to keep up with laundry/cleaning/meals, handle all the marketing and publicity that comes my way, and then spend six hours every day away from home as I take my wonderful kids to their swim team practices. (Not to mention the fact of all the TV shows we’ve been on – lots of people around the world email in asking questions, offering encouragment, or needing help. And we try to do everything we can to keep up and help.) In the midst of all this the need for quiet was soon overtaken by the need to meet deadlines.

So I’m stepping out of my box a little. One little, red-painted toenail at a time. I bring a comfortable chair, laptop, and research materials with me to the pool. I have two blackberries that keep me attached to all the powers that be that may need me at any given time. And I’m still there for my family. I’ve learned how to write and still keep an eye on the lane of the pool where my son or daughter is swimming. With Kayla’s special needs, I always have to be present—ready for any sign of emergency—but I love how God is growing me, pruning me, teaching me, and loving me through the chaos.

I used to handle interruptions and distractions horribly. Today, I’m trying to get better at it, one minute, one hour, one day at a time.

I pray that you are blessed by our story, Welcome Home, and I hope that you can take with you a little encouragement. God’s joy is always there. Even if you are trying to write and have lots of interruptions, too. It’s amazing how old dogs really can learn new tricks.

I hope you’ll watch my website www.kimberleywoodhouse.com for coming releases – we have some really exciting news to be sharing soon…

In His Abundant JOY!

Kim





Self Storage Couldn’t Get Easier

Where was this site a year and a half ago when my mom moved to town and we were looking for affordable Self Storage Units ? Instead of searching the yellow pages and calling up a bunch of storage units, all you do is enter a zip code and the search radius. Then, wallah, up pops a bunch of choices. Don’t know the zip code, just type in the city and state.

Each storage option has a link to more information, promotions, facility description, and hours. Plus there’s a phone number so you can call the storage place direct. There’s even a photo of the storage unit. How much easier can it be?

In addition to the self storage directory, the site has storage tips and a storage estimator so you don’t rent a too big or too small unit. One of the best suggestions is to make an inventory of your items and boxes. When we moved six months ago and used a storage unit for about a month, I started to inventory our boxes, but you know how it is when you move and get down to the last dozen boxes. You just throw things in. Well, I’m still looking for things, like my most favorite family photo that I pray is safe and undamaged in the garage where many of our boxes ended up after the move.

Other features of this site include a moving center to assist with all storage and moving needs like receiving quotes from moving company’s. We really could have used this six months ago when we thought we got a great deal on movers, only learning too late that they charged for drive time to and from the site which added an extra hour to our bill!

But the site isn’t only for customers, it’s for storage owners as well! As a member, storage unit owners, can log in and update information for potential customers.

The next time we move, we plan on selling our home before we buy another one, which means we might end up renting a place for a while and storing our stuff. Thankfully, I’ll know where to go for a storage unit when the time comes!



Categories: House & Homemaking , Product Review |June 4th, 2009 | No Comments


Tick Tock, Sounds Like a Clock

 My husband isn’t materialistic. In fact, the only thing he’s ever wanted besides power tools was a grandfather clock. I have to admit, when we first got married they weren’t my first choice of decor and quite frankly, we couldn’t afford one anyway. But as the years went by, they started to grow on me and now that we have a house that a grandfather clock would fit in perfectly, it’s got me thinking I’d really like one as well. Come to think of it, since we moved into our new home, we only have one clock on the wall. And as a multi-tasker who doesn’t like to waste time, we really need more clocks, especially since my watch battery died, and I haven’t replaced it yet.

Grandfather clocks, wall clocks, mantle clocks. They all have personality and add to the decor of a home. I remember my husband buying a mantle clock for his parents. And nowadays, they come in so many different styles, and well, my new mantle is kind of empty. But I have to admit, an Ant Farm Clock is not what I’m looking for! Though it would make for interesting conversations with company! While I’m on the subject, what would make an interesting mantle clock, or wall clock for that matter? Maybe my child’s art work somehow decoupaged into the face. What are your thoughts?

This site has many cool looking clocks. In fact, this one caught my eye and would look great in my kitchen. And this one for the family room. And maybe this one for my mantle. So many clocks, so little…money. What did you think I was going to say, time? ;)





One Bathroom Down, Two to Go!

Okay, I’m ready to start remodeling the next bathroom, but my husband isn’t. After all, he’s the one that did all the painting and tiling and vanity installing. But I’m still doing my part. The research! Specifically, bathroom vanities. Our current master bathroom is atrocious. Plain ugly off white counter tops with white painted over cabinets. It’s just a bathroom! We’re looking to fancy it up, take out the plain old white washed vanities, and replace it with something that says luxury. An spa like escape!

And this bathroom vanity site has just what I’m looking for! We haven’t decided if we’re going for a double vanity yet, but this would be the one! Classic granite double vanity counter top and at almost HALF Off! What a great deal! And the granite comes in three color choices.

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Though if we stained over the white wall cabinets we might consider this one.

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Or maybe keep our number one choice, stain the wall cabinets and go with a wood mix and match. I’ve heard that’s in. What do you think?

The site has some cool modern Bathroom Vanities as well…hmmm… will have to think about that one for our third bathroom!

So many choices. So many beautiful vanities. Not enough bathrooms to make over!

 



Categories: House & Homemaking , Product Review |April 1st, 2009 | No Comments


Tackle it Tuesday: Bathroom Makeover

When we bought our new home this was my least favorite room in the house.  (Yes, that’s carpet in the bathroom.) Do I really need to explain why? Didn’t thing so. And it’s the guest bath, right off the entry way, so there was no way to hide it!

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Well, it finally got a makeover thanks to a frugal hubby who knows how to do it all. He did the spackled walls and tile himself and got a great deal on this vanity. So what do you think?

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Now I need some wall decorating ideas!

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Categories: House & Homemaking |March 10th, 2009 | 3 Comments


Carpet Fresh Super Pet Odor Eliminator

We’re almost settled into our new big home though boxes are still piled up in a couple of rooms. I love the hardwoods in the kitchen and hallway. My dog seems to love the carpet since he christened almost every room in the house!

At first we didn’t know what was going on. Did the owners before have a dog or was my well-mannered, completely house broken dog marking his territory. We never did figure it out, but after a while, it stopped! Still nothing frustrated us more than finding a fresh puddle in the middle of a carpeted room. We did the necessary clean up and after a while we didn’t smell anything, but that didn’t mean the odor wasn’t there.

Did you ever walk into a home that had animals and the odor smacks you in the face, but the owners don’t seem to smell anything? Well, when I had the chance to review the Carpet Fresh Pet Odor Eliminator I thought the timing was perfect.

I usually use wall plug in fragrance to make my home smell pretty, but sometimes those scents are overwhelming. I was anxious to try Carpet Fresh and pleased when I read the can which said NO VACUUM, QUICK DRY FORMULA! Can it get any easier than that?

Here’s the official word on the product:

Carpet Fresh and Room Odor Eliminator permanently neutralizes carpet odors and helps keep entire rooms smelling fresh by delivering odor-fighting agents deep into carpet fibers and reaching places air fresheners can’t and leaving a long lasting fragrance. Additionally, the Carpet Fresh Quick-Dry Foam format allows you to simply spray your carpets and walk away without scrubbing or vacuuming.  It dries in minutes, leaves no residue, and is safe for use around your family when used as directed.  (Carpet is a great resource for drapes and car interiors as well.)

Here’s what I think:

It’s quick and easy, dries fast and leaves your room smelling fresh! If you have pets, children or yucky odors in your home, they’re probably lingering in your carpet. Carpet Fresh is a fast way to make your house smell clean even if it really isn’t! ;)

Here’s a coupon for your next purchase on Carpet Fresh!



Categories: House & Homemaking , Product Review |March 7th, 2009 | No Comments


Auctions ROCK!

For years we talked about going to auctions, but we never did. Until this year when we had a big house and needed some furniture. I mentioned before how my hubby surprised me for my 40th b-day with this set. Well, last month it was finally time we got a bedroom set and moved from my son’s room where we were sleeping in our old bed. But there was nothing we liked at the stores and they were so pricey. So we decided to go to the local auction.

We previewed the items which came from a furniture store showroom. I felt good about purchasing furniture from the showroom instead of used furniture. Who really wants to sleep on a used mattress?

We found the bedroom suite of our dreams. Not too dark, not too light and we both loved it. But would be get it? That remained to be see.

The day of my first auction was filled with adrenaline. I arrived later then my husband. The bedroom suite had already gone up on the auction block. His face held no news. So I asked. Did we get it? He nodded. I really couldn’t believe it! We probably saved 60% on our new-to-us furniture show room bedroom set!

We’re definitely going back for office furniture. After we save up the money!

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Categories: Daily Grind , House & Homemaking |February 12th, 2009 | 2 Comments


Cash 4 Gold so I’m Told!

I’ve always wondered what to do with my old, broken gold jewelry. I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away, so it sits in my drawer, waiting. For what? Who knew until I saw that commercial during the Super Bowl.

Cash 4 Gold You know the one with Ed McMahon. Didn’t he used to give millions of dollars away on Publishers’ Clearing House? Now he’s giving cash for old, broken gold jewelry.

It seems simple enough that I’m going to give it a try. Just fill out a form, they send you the envelope and then back comes the cash, in the form of a check or direct deposited into your account.

So I’m going to dig up that old broken, I’ll NEVER wear it again jewelry, pray it’s gold, silver or platinum and send it off. I’ve got to get more cash for it then what it’s yielding me now. Which is nothing!

I know what you’re thinking. Gold in the jewelry box is better than gold in the envelope. Translation: How do I know I’ll get my money’s worth? Besides their guarantee of your satisfaction with the value, according to their website Cash4Gold “has grown into one of the largest and most respected precious metal refineries in the United States. We are the only refinery ever to be listed by the prestigious Inc. 500 Magazine for both 2006 and 2007 as one of the fastest growing 500 companies in America. Along with the accomplishment of reaching #129 in Inc. 500 Magazine, we have also achieved the ranking of #57 in Entrepreneur Magazine. Our final success comes from Forbes Magazine being awarded as as one of the top companies to watch in 2008.”

I’m hoping, maybe I’ll earn some money to put towards my yearly ACFW conference. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Have you ever tried Cash 4 Gold? What’s been your experience?



Categories: Daily Grind , House & Homemaking |February 3rd, 2009 | 1 Comment


Tackle It Tuesday: Queen Comforter to King

It’s my FIRST Tackle It Tuesday and since I have a new/old home to fix up, I’m gonna have a lot to tackle.

dec-christmas-08-091.jpgI bought this queen sized bedspread after this incident and ruined my old one. We were planning on getting a new bedroom set, but this set was half off and I paid $40! Plus, I didn’t figure we’d get a king size bed since we’re both little! But we got an amazing deal on this set at auction. It was like new, a display model from a furniture store and we figured we saved about $8,000 on the set. But the queen bedspread didn’t fit and I didn’t want to spend any more money since most of the bedspread sets I were looking at cost $100 plus. So I thought maybe I could do something with a hot glue gun and a little ingenuity.

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First I took the dust ruffle which we didn’t need and cut it off. Then I hot glued it to the end of two sides of the bedspread. There wasn’t enough dust ruffle for the end of the spread, but you can’t see it anyway! The final product looks like a king bedspread! I just hope all my projects turn out this great!

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Find out more about Tackle It Tuesday here.



Categories: House & Homemaking |January 27th, 2009 | 1 Comment


My Birthday Present and Room Dilemma Solved!

About a month ago I mentioned my hubby bought me couches for my birthday. Walking through an auction viewing, I said in passing, “These would work well in the formal living area.” But I thought nothing of it after that. Well, to be honest I thought “we can’t afford these so why even dream about having them.”

Unbeknown to me, he went back, bid on the three and got three new couches for the price of one! When I walked into the new house this is what I saw.

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As I mentioned in another post, I had this huge living area and didn’t know what to do with it. I wanted to show case the fireplace, but I also wanted to put an entertainment center on the left wall. The couches arranged this way wouldn’t work. So I moved these VERY heavy couches around a bit.

Here they are facing the “entertainment center.” But that blocked the view of the fireplace.

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So after a little more rearranging, I settled on this:

My view from the entry way

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What do you think?



Categories: House & Homemaking |January 15th, 2009 | 3 Comments


Themed Dinners

I’d like to be able to take credit for this, but I can’t. Years ago, I subscribed to several magazines and always tore out pages of ideas, put them in a three ring binder and then never looked at them again.

Well, with the internet so convenient and our recent move, I thought I didn’t need all those bulky binders, so I started to clean them out and came across an article about themed dinners. My mind started churning. I’m not one of those weekly menu planners. I don’t like to have a set meal per day planned, but I like to have an idea and be able to choose.

Themed dinners was the perfect solution.

How did I pick my themes? First I looked at what meals my family really loved. The ones they went back for seconds and thirds. There was tacos, teriaki chicken, pasta and lentils for starters.

Then I broke it down. I figured out what days I needed a quick meal and chose the other themes by the way they sounded and whalla! My themed dinner schedule.

Mexican Monday

Souper Tuesday

Whatever (One Pot) Wednesday

Leftover Thursday

Italian Friday (since we used to get pizza every Friday, but want to save some money and eat healthier, and being Italian…it was easy to figure out this day)

Seafood Saturday

Surprise Sunday

Then I took an index card and wrote out my schedule. Under each category I listed several meals options. Now when the day rolls around, I check my index card and calendar and decide what we’re in the mood for. Right now Mondays are always taco night, and some meals can do double duty. Like Tortilla soup can be a Monday or Tuesday dish. And Pasta fagioli can be Tuesday or Friday.

I love the flexibility of theme menu planning without the rigidness. It lets me be in control of my dinner instead of the dinner controlling me!



Categories: Food/Health , House & Homemaking |January 8th, 2009 | 1 Comment


Never Give Up!

The moving boxes are almost packed and put away. We’re just about settled into our new home and are making good use of it. In fact, over the holidays we had a total of four big “gatherings” in three days with miscellaneous friends popping in and out! It’s been a blast and exhausting, and I have yet to take down my Christmas decorations! But it will get done in time. Just like everything else.Eventually the dishes get done. Eventually the kids get fed. Eventually we start homeschooling. I can go on and on. But eventually I will finish my new WIP. I will get published, and I will lose that unwanted holiday weight gain.

How do I know this for sure? I don’t. But I have to keep believing, keep trying, keep striving. Because if I don’t, I’ll know for sure I won’t!





Christmas Wrapping Made Easy

It’s become a tradition in our home to wrap each kids presents in a different kind of wrapping paper. It’s really made wrapping presents easy. No pesky name tags, and I can just throw the presents underneath the tree. The different wrapping paper is easy to find. Of course, it’s important to remember which paper goes with which kid so I just keep a sample with their names on it hidden until Christmas morning.



Categories: Celebrate Good Times! , House & Homemaking |December 19th, 2008 | No Comments


Miracle Child Bad Behavior Cure?


I’ve heard about it for years, but ignored the temptation to try this not-so-new behavioral technique. I actually thought it to be quite expensive, extreme, and potentially damaging to my children. Though the idea intrigued me. But year after year, I resisted and my husband was in agreement with me. That is, until this weekend when he announced we were getting cable.

 

Cable? At first, I had mixed feelings about the service that I knew would not only suck away precious dollars, but time and productivity as well. Over the years we avoided the cable monster, kept our money in our pockets, and lived quite well without it. Oh, sure we heard about wonderful channels and shows on the Discovery or History channel, and the kids loved visiting our neighbors to watch Sponge Bob (which I managed to keep my three older kids from viewing.) But we were happy with PBS and going to a hotel to watch cable or visiting grandparents was a treat, not an every day occurrence.

 

Did my kids feel deprived? Maybe, but we rarely had time to watch tv anyway.

 

That all changed this weekend when they probably sat glued to the television for twelve hours at a time and I have to admit, I didn’t dare pull them away. Everyone was occupied. No one was fighting. And the house was soooo quiet. There were no conflicts to mediate or parenting for that matter. I thought, WOW! This has got to be the BEST child behavior techinque EVER!

 

Then I woke up or should I say, looked up and became glued to the HGTV. All the fears I once had about cable hit me in the face. The shows just such you in and before you know it you’ve wasted hours. Hours! Plus, the commercials and shows are very inappropriate for little eyes. If we keep cable, I will have to learn the child friendly channels and avoid flipping the channels while little, vulnerable eyes are watching. Thirdly, cable is like a drug. While the kids are watching the shows life is good. They’re riding high, feeling fine, and life is breezy. But take the drug, er…cable away and tell them it’s bedtime, they’re like a junkie coming down from a high, looking for their next fix. And a part of me is so desperate to keep the peace that I’ve caved and let them have one more hit, er show.

 

Now I know this is a holiday weekend and they deserve hours of mindless tv viewing for working so hard to get into our new home, BUT what I’m afraid of is will they realize come Monday things will return to normal despite the fact we now have cable? Will they realize that just because Josh and Drake and The Suite Life is on ALL THE TIME, that doesn’t mean they get to watch EVERY episode? And will they realize that bed time will be back to normal? I hope so!

 

So tell me, do you have cable/DISH/DirectTV? Why or why not? Honestly, I don’t think the pros out weight the cons and it’s only been 24 hours since we got ours hooked up!

 

And don’t get me started on how I feel about the televisions in cars! I’ll save that rant for another day!

 

 

 

 





House Exhaustion!

I’m TOTALLY exhausted and every muscle in my body aches. No, I didn’t just run a marathon, though running ranks us there with the top 5 things I HATE to do along with cleaning! And I just spent the entire weekend cleaning and scrubbing and it’s still not cleaned. My hands are dry and chaffed, my thigh muscles feels like I did a million squats and my upper body and neck ache. Muscles I didn’t know I had ache!

I spent one hour scrubbing the dirty, soapy scum off of one shower. I’m not sure if it’s totally cleaned, but I’m saying it is, especially after I steamed it!

Let’s see what else I did today besides a little Christmas decorating. I put away the pots and pans in the kitchen, mopped the wooden floors, scrubbed way too many counter tops, tile and wood furniture than I care to remember! And there’s so much more to do. But I guess that’s what happens when you own a big house. And I’m not really complaining, I’m just exhausted.

On the way back to the old house to shower and dress for a night out at the theatre, I had a feeling I might not have locked the front door and no one was home. So after taking a couple wrong exits and getting back turned around, I pull up to my house where a car was parked in front. I thought maybe someone was visiting a neighbor until I approachedthe door and heard voices. I opened the door and saw my old 80 year old neighbors and their daughter. Obviously I hadn’t locked the door and I was glad it was them instead or someone else. And to think we might have missed each other if I hadn’t have turned around and inconvienced myself. I’m sure there’s a great spiritual post in the previous statement. But I’m too exhausted to write it.

Do me a favor and write something in the comment section to expound of that so I have something to meditate on these next couple of weeks!





House Happenings! Dilemma Number One

I’m starting a new series here where I need YOUR help. Every Thursday or thereabout, I will be posting a house dilemma and would like your input and opinions! So let them flow!!!

My dilemma:

When I first saw this house I wasn’t excited about this room. Why? Because it’s a big space and you basically walk into if from the front door. So I need your decorating expertise! Take a look at the photo and read my thoughts below.

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 First of all, I want to make this room somewhat formal and kid prohibited. But it’s so large I’m thinking it needs a couple of seating arrangements. (Where’s Extreme Home Makeover when you need them?)

Take a look at the left wall. That’s where all the tv cable hook ups are. So I’m thinking of putting our entertainment center there since the other living area comes with one built in. Then I thought of putting our couches in a U shape. One against the wall that you can’t see and one opposite the entertainment center.

But that would mean the couch would be perpendicular to the fireplace. In the far right corner I’d LOVE to have a baby grand piano, but since we don’t have one and there’s no budget for one, I was thinking of putting two chairs with our round marble table there. But that would leave the space in front of the fireplace empty.

I really wish the fireplace wasn’t the focal point of the room because it causes major furniture challenges.

Anyone have any thoughts? PLEASE!



Categories: House & Homemaking |October 29th, 2008 | 6 Comments


House and Homeschooling Update

Seems like Thursdays is the designated day for my housecapades! Hey, I like that. Will have to use that again!

Well, we had our first open house on Sunday. Hubby stressed and fussed and hurried to make the place shine. We put an ad in the paper for $75 and guess how many people/couples showed up? Two! Two! And they came from the street signs. $75 down the drain. But we learned a few things, including that we have to advertise our lowball price (without realtors fees factored in) and we need to trust God more. Actually, for some reason I trust God on this and I’m not stressing. But then again we don’t have two house payments yet. Hubby on the other hand is feeling the stress, but he’s also the bread winner. So if you think about it, pray for our house to sell FAST, for us to put our total faith and confidence in God to sell our home!

As for homeschooling…I’ve been waking up late because I’ve been staying up late editing my WIP. But we’ve managed to get in Bible, manners, math, reading, phonics and writing almost daily! And I just added spelling. So though our curriculum is packed away, they’re learning and the review workbooks are really helping!

So how about you? How’s the school year going for you?



Categories: Daily Grind , Faith Walking , Getting Real , House & Homemaking |September 11th, 2008 | No Comments


Qlubb: A New Way to Organize Your Life!

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I’m always looking for new ways to organize my life. With homeschool, school, sports, music, dance, plays, church, a home to sell and with four kids in all different activities at different times, there’s a lot to manage!

So when I heard about Qlubb.com, a web-based service that helps organize your real-life groups online, providing all the functions needed to easily and actively participate within a group, I was interested in learning more.

What’s really neat about Qlubb is that you can log on and see samples of how it works for sports teams, play groups, church groups, homeroom moms and more.

In just one click you get:

  • Secure, Private Site
  • Public Webpage
  • Group Event Calendar with Reminders
  • Shared To-Do Lists with Reminders
  • Group Invites/RSVP’s
  • No user registrations required
  • And Much more!

Qlubb also has helpful blog pages where you can get tips on what’s working for others.
I can see Qlubb really being an asset to coaches and homeroom moms. I’ve been a homeroom mom before and my husband coached, and if there was a main page the team or class could go to find out if games were canceled or if events were happening, then we could have avoided all the emails back and forth and used Qlubb instead.

Qlubb allows you to connect, plan meetings, assign responsibilities and share pictures with all of the members of your group at once. Features include an event calendar, sign-up sheets, member rosters, a task reminder service, and bulletin boards, which every member of your community can access and update from their home computers.

Using the site is easy, even for the techno challenged! Qlubb‘s secure sign-in protects group information, so only members of your group have access. However, participants don’t have to individually register and can simply sign in using the group password. Now that’s handy!

I’m definitely telling my kids school, and church and sports teams about this one! I love it when someone comes up with something to make my life easier!





Categories: House & Homemaking , Parenting w/Love & Baggage |September 9th, 2008 | 3 Comments


Clean Your Laundry with Fruit!

That’s right! Fruit! It’s a new Green way to clean laundry. Well, actually it’s not new. People have been using this fruit to clean for centuries. Then how come I’m just learning about it!

Laundry Tree  has a product called Soap Nuts (really fruit) that cleans an entire load of laundry with about three pieces on nut-looking fruit and you can use the nuts up to four time!!! I see soooo many possibilities, like making room in my laundry room by getting rid of that HUGE box of Armon Hammer Laundry detergent, and cutting down on the chemicals! This product/fruit is said to make your skin and clothes feel really soft! It’s great for people with sensitive skin.

I’m writing this post as a reminder to myself to check them out, especially if I don’t win the free give away over at Bloggy giveaways! Haven’t checked on the price yet, but I’m hoping it’s as good as the product sounds!



Categories: House & Homemaking , Product Review |August 30th, 2008 | 4 Comments






*Copyright 2006-2009, Portrait of a Writer, Gina Conroy*