I have been going all day again today

I have been going all day again today. It's nearly 2:30 am and I am wiped out. I got a big stack of papers sorted and put in the file cabinet. I finished up all of the hankies.

Most of my evening has been spent turning 3 fleece blankets into one big one. Dancer had 2 throw size blankets, one of them with her favorite college team logo on it and the other a color that matches. Dodger had a peace of fleece that he had been using as a blanket before I upcycled the comforter he's been using for years. I pieces the three together to make the blanket bigger and double layered.

I tried to get it finished up before Dancer got home from my mom's this evening. I think she was home before 12:30 but I wasn't quite done. She went to bed before I got finished. I was hoping that she could use it tonight.

My dad didn't come for the stuff I'm giving him again today. At least he called this time. I could just take it to him at work tomorrow. He works just down the road from where Dancer takes dance lessons. I really want him to see our new layout and office furniture but I guess he could see it another time.

I still have tons of papers to sort and file. I never did get any cleaning done in my room today. I do want to get to some of that tomorrow.

I am so sore. My lower back is just killing me from working so much the past few days and from being bent over pinning the blanket all evening.

It's 2:42, I'm heading to bed now.

Four Days of Christmas Shopping

If you knew just how busy I've been over the past few days, you'd understand why I haven't posted here.

{Thursday}

The last time I posted was on Thursday evening (Thanksgiving). I was just about to have pie at my dad's. Shortly after pie, Dodger, Dancer and I all had to take off to head out to my aunt/uncle's place for our Thanksgiving/Birthday get-together. My mom brought her famous cheese soup and there were a few finger foods. There was no regular meal. My mom got on Dancer about wearing one of her ball-caps and even got my aunt and grandmother in on the attack. Dancer finally just left the room after my mom started in on the "after all of the things I've ever done for you and you can't just take it off for me" speech. Dodger did say something after my aunt came in the room. Dodger said Dancer is just a true fan (she was wearing her favorite football team's cap). Stupid thing is, is that my step-dad was wearing a ball-cap, too.

We all ended up playing some games. We talked about plans for Christmas. We hashed out times and what to do about gifts. My grandma ended up whipping out envelopes for all of us with a $50 bill and a note in each one. She wanted us all to spend the $50 on ourselves to get something we really want. We are then to wrap up what we bought and bring it (or a picture of it) covertly on Christmas day. I guess we're going to play a guess-who-bought-this game. We all go home with what we bought but it's just supposed to be a fun way to share what we bought and another way to get to know our family members... or how well do we know our family members.

After games, discussion, cake and ice cream, most of us hung out in the living room and watched a few of them battle it out on the Wii. Some of them bowled, played golf and tennis. Dodger left to head home right about then. We usually drive separately since we like staying longer than he does. I ended up looking through the Black Friday ads for something good to spend my $50 on. I never had any intentions on getting up early and going shopping the next day BUT I found some deals that were just too good to pass up. I have never done the early bird shopping on Black Friday.

Dancer and I had a really good talk on the way home. We talked more about how her granny treats her and about how I went through it. Dancer explained that my step-dad sometimes gets in on the goading sometimes, too. I explained that my mom's actions had nothing to do with her. That my mom tries to control everything and and everyone around her because she's not happy with herself. I told Dancer that her self-worth is not determined by how others treat her but by how she treats herself. I told her that she did the right thing by walking out of the room earlier. Dancer said she can't always do that in every situation. I explained that then she had the choice to either say something about how she's being treated or just laugh it off and let it go.

I let her know that I knew just how tough it is to not let that stuff get to her. She's extremely lucky that she didn't grow up everyday in that situation with my mom. It took me years to move past it and find ways to deal with it in a positive way. I guarantee you that my food addiction was all because of the way I felt about myself because I never measured up in my grandparent's and mom's eyes. I still don't but I no longer escape into food to deal with it. That was another thing we talked about... positive ways to cope. Dancer talked about how she tries to calm down. We brainstormed some positive ways to deal with things instead of ways that only end up hurting ourselves.

Dancer also mentioned some things that Dodger does when they get into it with each other. Things that hurt her and bring her to the point of tears. She said that she tries not to cry because Dodger has made her feel bad for crying. I said it's okay to cry. It's better to cry and get it out then to hold it in and harbor the negative feelings. She said she feels weak when she cries. I think this is because my Dodger has called her a baby when she's cried before. I did let her know that it was okay to talk to her dad about how things he does make her feel but to do it when they aren't in the middle of an argument. I did talk to him about the things that she told me. I made sure that he was aware of how things were hurting her. He seemed to understand and take it to heart. I've been on him for years about the way he responds to Dancer and the way he talks to her when he's frustrated with her. He's not always the best example of adult behavior in these situations. He has gotten much better but there's always room for improvement.

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{Friday}

Like I mentioned, I never had any intentions of getting up and doing the Black Friday shopping but I found some great deals that couldn't be passed up. I had set my alarm for 7am but ended up waking up on my own just before 6. My brain got up and wouldn't be quiet so I ended up just getting up and getting ready. I got Dodger up at 6:30. He agreed to get up and go with me to help with the stuff and because his truck has a tailgate (mine doesn't). The deals I found were at Staples. They had a corner computer desk for $49.99 (this is what Dodger's $50 paid for), a student desk for $29.99 (my gift to Dancer), and office chairs for $39.99 (one for Dancer and one for us). We needed all of them!

Dancer has been using an old student school desk and circa 1980's office chair which crunched her up and was being to hurt her back. Dodger and I had two desks side by side and two book shelves holding our computer things plus our chair had broken off of it's base and wheels early this year and we have been using the chair part stuffed into our little recliner since then. Such a cluttered up set-up and it wasn't good on our back's either.

So Dodger and I got to Staples just after 7. They weren't too crowded. We got someone to help us get a flat-bed hand truck and get us loaded up with what we went there for. We also found an early bird special on a 100 pack of CD-R's for $4.98. Super price, we couldn't pass that up so we grabbed them, too. Once we got all of that stuff unloaded at home, he ran me down to Walgreens to get the 12.1 mega-pixel digital camera that I saw in their sale ad. It's was $69.99. Yeah, it was more than my $50 but there as never any rule that what we bought had to be only $50.

When we got back, Dodger and I started in on putting everything together. We put the corner desk together first. We barely had the space but we managed. Once it was put together then we moved the computer off of the old desk(s) and onto it. We shoved the 2 desks and 2 shelves into the kitchen and got the living room moved into place. We got our chair put together and then we started on Dancer's student desk. By this time, Dancer had woke up and come out to see what we were doing. She was super pleased to see the changes. Dodger and I got her desk half-way put together before he stopped to help Dancer get her room moved around. I continued putting it together while they were moving stuff. They got her computer moved over to the new desk and then put her chair together in her room.

I started to get the three desks and her old chair wiped down and taken out to Dodger's truck. I got the rest of the cardboard thrown out the back door and all of the packing bagged up. Once Dodger and I got the truck bed loaded up (3 desks and a chair) we ran them down to the little thrift shop down the road and helped unload them. Poor lady was there by herself running the place so Dodger and I took them all into the room where she wanted them. Once we got back, Dodger only having about 4 hours of sleep and heading to a friend's later to play poker, took a nap in my room. I started to unload the shelves of computer stuff and started going through everything. I spent the rest of my afternoon and evening sorting and decluttering and packing up the big boxes that the chairs came in with stuff to take down to the thrift store on Saturday. I double stacked (and attached to each other with screws) the shelves and now Dancer has a nice tall shelving unit in her room and I have one in mine. I was up till about 2 working. I think Dodger got home from his poker night around 3. I faintly remember him giving me a kiss on the cheek as I was sleeping.

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{Saturday}

I was up around 10 or so. I hurt SO bad when I woke up BUT I made myself get out of bed because I didn't know what time the thrift store closed and I didn't want those 2 huge boxes sitting in our living room all weekend. I called them after I got up and found out that they didn't close until about 3, so I had enough time to pack some more stuff into one of the boxes that was only half full before loading them into my truck bed and taking them down there. There was a little bit of space left in the last box but I couldn't find anything to shove in there. Sure there is more stuff in my house to take down there but I need to go through and sort more things first.

I did all of the laundry (except mine) in the house. I took up most of the day. 2 loads of Dodger's clothes, 2 loads of Dancer's clothes, a load of rags, a load of towels, a load of blankets, and a load of bath rugs (I did this one last because I use bleach on these). I did more cleaning and organizing. My dad was supposed to come by and pick up a bag of towels and wash rags and some records that I want to keep at his place for safe-keeping. He never did show and didn't call either. I ended up calling him in the evening to find out what the heck was going on. It wasn't like him but I think he was just wiped from a long day at work.

I really wanted to get the stacks of papers sorted and put in the file cabinets but my energy had started to drop around 6. I definitely wasn't going full-steam anymore but I forced myself to get up and do laundry and fold clothes. I also decided to make some old, worn out, PJ pants into hankies so that we don't have to use tissue any more. I had the serger going the rest of the night zipping up hankies. I still need to thread the serger ends back through a bit and clip them but the pants are now upcycled to something new. I changed the black thread to white at the end of the night so that I could make a few more on Sunday out an old worn out shirt of DH's. The white thread will look better with the color of the shirt.

Dancer asked what I was making. I explained and I also mentioned that I was also thinking about making some pee-pee wipes so that we would be using less toilet paper, too. You should have seen the look on her face. She already thinks I'm slightly crazy but she'd swear to you that I had gone over the deep end with that one. The look on her face was priceless. I ended up bursting out laughing later on about it. Dodger asked why I was laughing out-of-the-blue and I explained the look that she gave me.... like I was f'n crazy... pee-pee wipes?... you want me to do what? It's hilarious thinking about it now.

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So it's Sunday morning now. I went to bed around 2:30 this morning. I was up by 9:30. Another day where my brain was up and my body followed suit. I am so sore again. I didn't have the most restful sleep because of being so sore. I have my laundry going now and I'm catching up on my blogging here. Dancer has Nutcracker practice this afternoon.

There is more work to be done around here. I think I may hit the paper sorting and filing today. Dad is supposed to stop some time by today to pick up the stuff. Dodger needs to sort through his computer games and get rid of the old ones that he doesn't play anymore. I'll get those put in cases and put in another load to take down to the thrift store tomorrow.

I need to get my bedroom cleaned again. Many of the cast-off's from the last two days have ended up at the end of my bed on the floor and on the foot of my bed. I'd like to get my featherbed fluffed and my sheets washed, too. I've got more sewing to do, too.

The washing machine has finished so it's time to deal with my laundry and to wash up some dishes.

Turkey Day and Birthday

Yesterday I had the same issue with waking up even though I was in bed before 1:30. I think I crawled out of bed around 10:30.

Dancer wasn't up until another hour after that. She's been staying up to watch TV after getting in bed for the night. She enjoys watching Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Dodger slept most of the day and I got tons done on the computer. My blog is set up to post till Sat. Sat and Sun have a few items ready but there's still more to do. I wonder how long it will take for it to start bringing in an income. I know there are more things to get into to make $ with my blog but I'm still learning the ropes. Readership is also key to this, too. I need to find out what to do to bring my readership up. I'd like to get my readership up here, too, but without titles on my posts I'm less than SEO optimized.

Dancer went to dance last night after missing two Wed. in a row. She's been wearing her knee brace in class again which has helped. I don't know why she hadn't been wearing it. Maybe she thought she was okay again.

When we got home, I watched SYTYCD results, Criminal Minds, and Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now having taped them while we were gone at dance. I still haven't caught up on DWTS finale from Tues. or CSI: NY from last night. Unfortunately I heard who won DWTS on the radio but I still want to see the show. There's never anything on TV on Sat. night, so I'll catch up on things then.

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Today was the same struggle to get out of bed. Both Dancer and Dodger were up and in the shower before I got up. I think I was up around 10:30 again. Dodger was in the shower when I got up. I spent a few minutes checking my email and doing a few entries online. I'm trying to win a computer. Desktop or laptop, I don't care. I just need my own computer. I'd prefer a laptop but I'm not going to complain if I win a desktop.

I got in the shower after Dodger. I didn't have much time to get cleaned up but it doesn't take me long. We were all out the door on time for lunch with my dad. We're actually here now but he doesn't have WiFi so this won't be sent till later when we are out at my aunt/uncle's house (they have WiFi). We're going there instead of my grandparents place. Just a change of venue, same family members.

Dancer and my dad have been playing on the Wii since lunch. Lunch was good. I love the stuffing casserole my dad made. I've never had anything like it. I'm going to have a piece of pie here shortly since we'll be headed out in about an hour. Dodger is napping. What do you wanna bet that he stayed up all night again last night?

I'm not sure what we're having for dinner. We are there more as a celebration for my grandma's birthday, which was yesterday, than for Thanksgiving. I suspect there will be more Wii play out there and a few board games. We normally play card games here at my dad's but it just didn't work out that way today.

Dodger drove himself separately since Dancer and I will probably stay longer than he wants to.

Time for pie...

SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder Symptoms and Natural Treatments

I have suffered from SAD for many years now.  I suspect as far back as my teenaged years.  My teenaged years were filled with depression from my parents divorce and subsequent chaos, so SAD may have never even been considered as a factor in my mood.  Now that I have a teenager, I can see a shift in her mood this fall/winter season.  She's been less than her normal vibrant self.  I also see a change in my husband this season, too.  I suspect he's been dealing with SAD for some time now, too, but for some reason this year I'm more aware of it.

So, what can I do to help myself and my family?  I'm not keen on standard medicine's approach, most recommendations I've found online say anti-depressants are an option.  That's not for us.  There are however a few natural supplements that work well in elevating mood.  One I've been taking for months now is St. John's Wort.  Since taking it, I have noticed a big difference in the effects that SAD normally has on me this time of year.  St. John's Wort has to be taken everyday and it takes some time to build up in the body before it's effects are noticeable.  It didn't take me long to feel a difference but everyone is different.  I also take it at night before bed because it can cause drowsiness in some people.  Do be aware that if you are already on anti-depressants or birth control pills that St. John's Wort is not to be taken.  Other supplement recommendations are SAM-E, Ginkgo Biloba, Omega-3 fatty acids, Mustard flower essence and Serotonin boosters.  If you are on other medications, PLEASE consult your doctor and pharmacist before taking any of these supplements.

I also have a light therapy box thanks to my mom, a sleep study therapist.  I've noticed that many websites recommend using light therapy under a doctor's care.  There are many great quality light therapy boxes on the market.  Take some time and do your research before purchasing one.  You can also change the light bulbs in your home to full-spectrum bulbs.  You should be able to find these in most stores.  I would think that hardware stores would be your best bet if you can't pick them up at a drugstore or grocery store.  Also, get outside when you can.  If it's a sunny day, bundle up and take a walk.  15-30 minutes of sunlight is all your body needs to fight off SAD symptoms.

Doing those things that will help you lose weight, stay in shape and control insulin levels will also help with SAD.  Cut back on the empty carbohydrates.  You know, those things like white bread, candy, and soda are nothing but empty carbohydrates and will spike your blood sugar and make you feel lethargic.  Add exercise to your daily routine. Exercise boosts endorphins and creates a sense of well being as well as gives you a daily sense of accomplishment knowing that you're doing something good for your body.

How do you know if you might be suffering from SAD?  Here is a list of symptoms from About.com:

Change in Sleep Patterns

• oversleeping but not refreshed
• cannot or reluctantly get out of bed
• require afternoon naps

Depression

• feelings of despair, misery, guilt, anxiety, hopelessness, etc.
• normal tasks become frustratingly difficult
• withdrawal from friends and family
• avoiding company
• crankiness or irritability
• lack of feeling/emotion
• constant state of sadness

Lethargy

• decreased energy
• everything an effort
• decreased productivity
• Physical Ailments
• joint pain
• stomach problems
• lowered resistance to infection
• weight gain
• premenstrual syndrome (worsens or only occurs in winter)

Behavioral Problems

• appetite changes (usually increased appetite)
• carbohydrate craving
• loss of interest in sex
• difficulty concentrating
• not accomplishing tasks

And as always, check with your doctor or naturopath before self-medicating.  Do your research and ALWAYS check with your pharmacist to make sure none of the natural supplements or treatments will have negative interactions with any other medications you are taking.

the hardest time getting out of bed today

I had the hardest time getting out of bed today. I went to bed at 1:30 this morning. I set my alarm for 9 but couldn't get myself to wake up until 10. I slept that hour with my bedside light on. I finally forced myself to sit up when it hit 10. I wonder if it's the weather that's causing me to be so sleepy. Dancer went to bed a little after 11 last night and didn't get up till 11:30. It must be the weather and the winter blues that is affecting us, Dodger included.

I did some work on affiliate programs for our homeschool groups and for my own blog. I got some good posts written for tomorrow. I don't have anything scheduled beyond tomorrow so I need to get a lot done tomorrow since I'll have very little time on Thursday because of Thanksgiving.

I only have two places to go this year instead of three which is great. I'm going to my dad's for lunch and to my grandparents' for dinner. We usually have my step-dad's family thing but they are having it in the afternoon at my mom's. I'll see my mom at my grandparents'.

Dancer spent most of her day cleaning her room and roll playing. She did a little AAA Math on the computer and she dug out all of the maps she had. She's a geography buff so we'll probably post the maps up around the house. Dodger probably won't like it but tough poop, he'll have to get over it. We didn't get any more read in Sherlock Holmes today.

She went to dance this evening. When we got home, Dodger had made spaghetti for dinner. It was better than usual. It helped that he added ground turkey and onion to the noodles and sauce. I watched Biggest Loser and taped SYTYCD on my VCR while Dancer taped the finale of DWTS on her VCR.

I finished up the dishes after The Good Wife got over at 10. I ended up scrubbing the whole sink down. Lots of elbow grease and it almost sparkles.

I'm going to watch SYTYCD now and then get to bed by 1. I hope I have an easier time getting up tomorrow.

a big pain in my butt

I guess Dancer had an ok time at my mom's last evening. She came home in a decent mood.

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Today I wanted to get up early but I only managed to get up at 10. I didn't really get around to starting my day till 11.

I am glad Doc has been blogging again. I was reading one of her recent posts last night and she was answering a question about her homeschooling journey. She posted a link that led to her whole homeschooling story. She called herself a classical unschooler. Kind-of her own brand of unschooling that fit her kids. I was inspired to get my days more routine. So today I started to track what we do daily that one would consider educational. I even logged things under the Hobbies section that didn't nicely fit into a regular educational subject. I set up Homeschool Skedtrack last month to start tracking things and just needed to make a few adjustments to what I already had done. I even started reading to Dancer, which I sadly say that I've never done. I figure it's never too late to change. Dancer is 13 and there's still plenty of time to cram lots in. We haven't been to the library in ages. I owe fines. I can pay them now, so we need to go back.

I got another 3 shelf bookcase from my step-dad yesterday when I dropped Dancer off there. I should be able to stack it on top of another one just like it and get all of our educational books better organized.

Dodger is a big pain in my butt when it comes to bookshelves. He doesn't like them but we really need them. We have a huge one that used to hang on the wall in our living room. Dodger took it down when he ripped off the paneling and put up drywall and he refuses to put it back up. I guess I'll just have to line my bedroom walls with shelves. I don't know how anyone can homeschool without proper shelving. I know our house is tiny (800 sq ft) but the only way to go in such a small place is up.

Dodger is so lazy sometimes. There is so much to be done around here and he just sits on his ass in front of the computer. When he takes days off from work because of rain he doesn't do crap around here. It infuriates me more when he takes days off that he shouldn't and then doesn't do anything. WTF.

I'm going to run through tonight's episodes of House and Big Bang Theory and then go to bed so I can get up earlier tomorrow. I think it's supposed to rain, so Dodger will be here in our way and annoying us. Grrrrr. I told him earlier that he could take Dancer to the Y and play basketball if he doesn't work. All he was worried about was what I was going to do with my time if he did that. I really want to know what his problem is. If he's depressed (which he would NEVER admit to) then he needs to take St. John's Wort and start taking better care of himself. I'm tired of asking him to start taking care of himself. He knows what to do, he just refuses to do it.

The Blind Side

Friday Dancer felt well enough to go to tennis lessons. After lessons we went to see The Blind Side with my mom and step-dad. I saw Dancer's attitude change a bit when I told her that we were going to see the movie. I think the change was more about being around my mom then anything else. Her knees did start to bother her again after lessons were over. I was finally able to talk her into taking some asprin when we were in the theatre waiting for the movie to start.

The movie sold out. The theatre had to turn away people. They did have a whole local football team come to watch the show. I think the coach wanted to get them psyched up for their playoff game the next night. If they won (which they did) it meant they were headed to the state championship.

The movie was awesome. I had moments of tears. Moments to be thankful for people like the Tughy's who would pick up some kid they didn't know and take him in and nurture his spirit and talent. Moments to be thankful that someone like Michael Oher made it out of the terrible situation he grew up in. Moments of pure sadness that so many more don't make it out.

I looked him up on the internet yesterday to get a little more of his story. This morning Dodger showed me a small article about him in his Sports Weekly. It basically said the same stuff that I had read on the net. You don't have to love football to love this movie. The football was just a bonus for me. I happen to love football.

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Yesterday Dancer went bowling with my dad in the afternoon. They got home earlier than expected because Dancer didn't want to go eat afterwards. Dad came in for a bit when he brought her home. He asked if Dancer was ok. He said she seemed a little down. I mentioned that I had noticed a bit of a change in her lately and it's probably a mix of the weather here (SAD might be an issue... it affects me), her worries about her knees, and the way my mom has been treating her.

We also talked a little bit about the move. He wanted to make sure that that wasn't a part of Dancer's mood. I told him that I hadn't said anything specific to her about it yet and that I can't even get Dodger to talk about it. Dad said not to stress about it because it may be some time yet. Who knows when his case will actually go to court. I did tell him that I was scared because it's a huge change. I would do it in a heartbeat but it affects more than just me.

Dodger went out to a friends house to watch a state basketball game. He left around 7 and was back by 11. Dad called while he was gone to talk more about the move. He's worried that I'm worried about it. I told him that I really want to. I've wanted to live there for a long time. There's so much there and it would open up our world dramatically. I'm mostly worried about the money situation of it and how it will affect Dancer with all of her friends and most of her family here. It would have been easier to move when Dancer was much younger. Our house is nearly paid off and I don't want the move to affect us negatively financially. I want to be out from under any debt not get into more. As it is now, we'll be out of debt by the time I'm 40.

I'm sure it will all work out. I just happen to be a worrier. Got it honestly. My grandma was a worrier.

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Today Dancer has Nutcracker practice. She's actually there right now. I'm in the parking lot catching up on my blogging here.

I'm dropping her off at my mom's afterwards. She's feeling better today and when my step-dad called her earlier she said she wanted to go over.

When I get home I need to catch up on housework. I'll finish blogging later.

woke up with a terrible headache

I woke up with a terrible headache this morning. I'm still feeling it now more than 12 hours later. We had homeschool co-op culmination party and I wasn't going to go because of the headache. Then Dancer woke up around 11:40, looked at the calendar and headed back to her room. I peaked my head in her door and she mentioned something about finding the bracelets she made in hobbies class. I told her that I didn't want to go because of my head but I could tell she was disappointed. I asked her if she really wanted to go and she said yes. She wanted everyone to see what she had done in her classes, not just her friends. So we quickly got ready and went. Thank goodness it wasn't starting till 1 or we couldn't have gotten ready in time.

The party was great. I could tell everyone was having a good time. I sat by myself most of the time but I was ok with that. I'm not very social with people I'm not close to. That's just me. Social butterfly will never been written in my obituary.

Dancer and I stopped by Walgreens (my favorite store) on the way home to pick up a few personal care items. We also picked up a dollar rental from Redbox on the way out. Dancer picked the new Star Trek movie. She wanted to see it and she knew her dad would like it, too.

When we got home, Dancer and Dodger watched the movie while I ran to the grocery store for a few things. Mainly because Dodger needed milk. After I got back and put things away, I finished up So You Think You Can Dance while they finished up the movie.

Dancer felt ok enough to go to dance class tonight. So I took her to that and caught up on some blog reading via Google Reader while I waited. I got a chance to catch up on my friend Dena's blog and bounce some ideas off of her via email.

Stopped by Walgreens again on the way home to use some coupons and register rewards on items we needed and that I didn't purchase earlier. When we got home Dodger had made dinner. We had the steak I picked up earlier plus grilled potatoes and green peppers.

The rest of my evening has been filled with hanging out with Dodger and watching TV. I read a little more on the blog reader and decided to get my post in before midnight. I think I'll go catch up on Doc's blog now. She's back to blogging thanks to blogging month and it's so nice to be reading her writing again.

I may catch up on Bones and watch my first ever episode of Fringe tonight before bed. Maybe not, I'm pretty tired and have lots to do tomorrow.

Today was cold and rainy

Today was cold and rainy. I hate spending so much time inside. I did a little bit of work online today but not as much as I wanted to. I felt just a little out-of-sorts today and that always hinders my focus.

Dodger went to the DMV to transfer over everything from the truck my step-dad gave him on Saturday. After he got home he called the Auto Parts/Junk Yard to get details on junking his old truck. He drove his old truck there and I went in my truck to give him a ride home. He got $100 for that beat-up old thing that has no drivers-side window and has to start with a screwdriver instead of a key. lol. All totaled the "new" truck only cost him $5. ::high five:: When we got home from there, he had just enough time to call the insurance place and get his insurance transferred over. He's ready to drive the thing... I just needs some stupid bumper stickers taken off. The McCain one from the last election (Dodger doesn't want it because he says McCain is a loser... and Dodger is a conservative... lol) and this really stupid one that says "Typical White Person". Dodger was like WTF!... what the hell is that supposed to mean? We both agreed that it was totally racist... which is typical talk on that side of my family. Bigots. He REALLY needs to get that off of there before he drives his truck around to work.

Dancer didn't go to dance again tonight. Her knees have been bothering her and I think she's just burnt-out. I told her she could have this week off to rest. She missed last Wed. class, too. I'm worried about her but what can I do? It's not like we have a doctor. The clinic would take forever to get an appointment at. Our medical card is basically for emergencies only (except I have a great OB/GYN that takes it, no problems, didn't even phase them that I had one). Any advice on the knee issue? Anything I could get from the health food store or order online that might help?

Dancer just went to bed. Dodger fell asleep around 10:30. I'm taking some time on the computer to catch up on taking surveys and to update my blog here. I just ordered Dancer some new ballet shoes for the Nutcracker performance. The ones she has now are falling apart. The literally have holes where her big toes are. I don't want her dancing in nasty looking shoes when she'll be wearing a beautiful blue dress for her part in the NC. I'm glad that I had about $12 in my Paypal account from taking surveys. That makes less money coming out of my checking account.

My thoughts really are with friends right now. I have one going in for surgery on a small tumor on her finger tomorrow and another who's about to have all of her utilities cute off and can't buy food because her DH has been out of work for too many months. It's at these times that I feel so helpless.

Talking with Dad about Moving

First I need to catch up on yesterday's events.

The day was pretty normal. I spent part of my afternoon getting online work done. Dancer went to golf lessons in the early evening hours. I watched a few of my shows and got a phone call from my dad right before 9.

I was expecting him to call sometime yesterday since I knew he was coming home from visiting my sister and uncle. He said when he got out to his truck at the airport that he had a flat tire and was lucky that he had a pair of overalls in the back since he had to change his tire in the cold wet rainy weather. This got us talking about moving. He mentioned something about me moving and I said if I move then he's moving, too. He said he's been thinking about moving and that I was going to have to move if he did.

Then we got talking about the crap going on with my mom and how she's been treating Dancer. I had always hoped that she wouldn't treat Dancer like she did (and still does) me.

Around 11, I got up from playing on the Wii so that I could clean off the bookshelf in my room to switch out one with Dancer at her request. Talk about a chore. It wasn't only the bookshelf that needed cleaning but the mess in front of the bookshelf. It turned out to be an all night project. I figured that instead of shoving everything into my closet and dealing with it later that I would clean out my closet and toss everything on my bed so that I had to deal with it all before I could go to bed. I was up till 3 working on it. I tossed lots of stuff and have a bag of stuff to donate. I still have some papers to go through and file but 90% of it is done.

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Today I spent my afternoon doing online work again. I really really need a laptop so they my online work can be done in the evening. I want my days back.

Dancer chose not to go to dance class tonight. I think part of it is her back is still bothering her and part is burn-out and she just wants a break. She loves what she does, she just doesn't love having nearly every night of the week being full. I just don't know how kids in school go to school all day and do activities and homework every night. They really never have any downtime and certainly no life of their own.

I talked to my mom earlier. She wanted to tell me about Thanksgiving plans. My step-dad's family is meeting at my mom's in the afternoon and then my mom's side is meeting at my grandma's for dinner. I called my dad to ask him about what we should do and he thought that it would work out for us to do afternoon with him and evening with my grandma. This is great. I don't really like step-dad's side. They are really boring. They just like to sit around and watch the Speed channel. At least this way I only have two places to go and it's with MY family. Dodger's family doesn't have holiday gatherings, so we have nothing to do for his side. This is also great for my diet. I only have to take one day off.

Dad and I talked more about moving. I mentioned that I had told Dodger that dad has been thinking about moving and that when he moves we would be moving, too. Dodger didn't really want to talk about it (he's not big on change) but did ask when I thought that would be happening. So I asked dad about it tonight. He said that once his court case was over that he would be making plans no matter how the case turned out. This may be resolved sometime next year. Dad stayed here for my grandma, she's gone now, so once this legal hold-up is out of the way there will be nothing stopping him from moving except us (Dancer and I) keeping him here. But he also has my sister and nephew there. But see, if my dad moves there would be nothing for me here.

My sister ran a long time ago. When she left I was pregnant with Dancer. Dancer is 13. I wasn't in any shape to run and I would have never left my dad. But now, now is different. Dancer is older and dad IS leaving, it's just a matter of when.

It's certainly scary. We are established here. My house is nearly paid off. Dodger has a business here. Sure he could pick up and move it but he wouldn't have a client base. We don't really have any money. We get medical and food benefits through state aid. Sure, it's freakin' scary if I allow myself to go there. But think of the possibilities. We would be near my sister and uncle. We would be in a higher populated area which might make for better business opportunities for Dodger.

Homeschooling in that state isn't as free as it is here. I have a few online friends who lived there and they just didn't register. Unschooling there is possible but maybe a bit more scary than where I'm at now. There's a little bit more time to learn about it before any final plans are made.

I wonder how Dancer is going to take it. Her friends are here. This is what she knows. Hell, this is what I know. I grew up in a rural area just 30 min. from here. I've never lived anywhere else. This is what Dodger knows, he's never lived anywhere else.

Time to stop thinking about that now. It's starting to freak me out. I will not let fear of the unknown and the could be's stop me from doing the right thing. The right thing is to be near my soul family. To be near those who love me and accept me just as I am.

Today I set my alarm to get up at 9

Today I set my alarm to get up at 9. I was up by 9:15 because my friend Shanna sent me a slew of texts that helped me to wake up. LOL.

I got some online work done before my Dodger woke up. The work is getting easier now that I'm getting the hang of it and have been able to focus my time better with my lists of things to do.

Dancer didn't end up going to Nutcracker practice today. She was having really bad back cramps. This is the first time her cramps have been this bad. I explained to her that both my mom and I had back labor and that most likely her cramps showing up in her back is an indication that she will have the same issue.

I spent some time playing on the Wii with her. Then I spent a little time on the iTouch reading through my Google Reader. After that, I did some cleaning and purging of our homeschool book area. A lot of stuff is going to be donated to our homeschool co-op lending library.

I've spent part of my evening in an interesting and frustrating conversation with someone I don't know. It all had to do with Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays. I had forgotten that the majority of religious people are completely irrational.

I'm headed to bed now. I want to get up around 9 again tomorrow and get some stuff done before Dancer and I go to a Black and White Photography presentation at the arts council.

went to the circus

Yesterday I got a little bit of online work done. I played with Feedburner and reworked my blog layout a bit. I joined a few networking sites, too. I only managed to get a few posts written.

Dancer had tennis lessons in the afternoon. We took one of her rackets in to be restrung earlier in the week. She picked it up when she got to her lesson. She said it made a huge difference in her strength and control. She was actually able to put a top spin on the ball.

My mom and step-dad picked her up from lessons and she spent the evening with them. They went to eat at a fish fry that a school here in town was having as a fundraiser. She spent most of her evening putting some left-over vinyl flooring (that looks like hardwood flooring) in the smaller dollhouse.

Dodger and I just hung out. He made dinner. We usually have steak on Friday's when the girl is out. He's getting really good with cooking without oil or butter. We watched some TV and I attended an virtual party.

When Dancer got home around 11, she and I played on the Wii for about an hour. She went to bed around 12:30. I was up till about 2:30. I'm having some difficulty going to bed earlier.

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This morning we had to get up early so Dancer could attend the last horse class in this session. It was a beautiful day. I temps got into the mid to upper 60s. We really needed the sunshine and warm weather. The rainy and cloudy days plus the colder weather has had us stuck inside and we all seem to be feeling a bit of depression from it.

Dodger picked up his *new* truck from my step-dad today. The truck was free but it's going to need new tires. Maybe we'll be able to find some used ones in good condition. It's not like we can afford 4 new tires. Dodger still has to go to the DMV to transfer the title and plates before he can drive it.

Tonight Dancer and I went to the circus with my mom and step-dad. Dancer started feeling bad on the way there. Her neck started hurting really bad which gave her a huge headache. Her knees got weak on her, too. I don't think it helped that she was playing some educational game (the questions were from different categories much like Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader) and she couldn't answer some questions. My mom makes her feel stupid when she can't answer questions.

I talked to Dancer more about it at the circus (out of earshot of my mom and step-dad, of course). It seems that my mom has been telling her that she needs to go to school because she doesn't know things that school kids should/would know at this age. My mom also tries to change Dancer instead of just accepting her for who she is. It's always subtle crap like forcing her to wear a few rings last weekend to the turkey supper or saying something about the fact that she always wears ball caps and has her hair up in a ponytail. It's gotten to the point where Dancer doesn't want to go over there much anymore.

When we got home from the circus, Dancer and I played Brain Age on the Wii. I could see her attitude improve after we got home but I noticed that she was flushed on her cheek. So I felt her other cheek and head. One cheek was hot while the other cheek was cool. Her forehead was a little warm, too. I hope she's not coming down with something but this could explain some of how she was feeling earlier.

I'm headed to bed now. It's 2:15 and I told Dancer that I would make sure that I start getting up earlier to spend more time doing stuff with her and helping her learn some of these things that my mom has been giving her a hard time about.

Don't Toss it, Cover it: Recover an Old Comforter

Last night, with a few straight seams, a little time and patience, I recovered an old worn out version of this Scooby Doo comforter into a pretty new black denim comforter.

Looked like this, only worn.

Now pretty and covered in black denim.

My husband says it's super warm now that it's covered with the heavier fabric.

I got so much done yesterday

I do realize that I didn't blog yesterday. I actually remembered as I was getting in bed and turning off the lights at 3 am this morning. At that time of night/morning I just didn't care. I was going to update yesterday's events at co-op this afternoon but walked out the door and left the iTouch at home.

I got so much done yesterday. I got some sewing done, some house cleaning done and a whole heck of a lot of blogging done. Yippy! Yesterday was not a normal day. I usually only have my late mornings and afternoons free to blog but yesterday Dodger was gone to work for most of the day and in the evening he had to go and do a playoff draft for the fantasy football league he's in. He was gone all night. I think he left around 6:30 and didn't get home till 12:30. Dancer was tired and didn't want to go to her dance class, so that left me the whole night to get things done.

Dodger came home pretty toasted, which I'm never happy about since we've had a bad history with alcohol in our relationship, I didn't give him too much crap about it. I just let him know that I thought he was a butt for drinking and driving, especially since he was driving MY truck. Drinking and driving is stupid no matter what your age but by the time you get to our age (mid-thirties) it's just completely dumb-ass.

I'm glad that after he got home he pretty much went straight to bed. I know I couldn't have dealt with any issues or fighting.

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Today, even though I didn't go to bed till 3 this morning, I was up by 10:30. I tried to lay in bed longer but when you're up, you're up. Dancer had homeschool co-op today. It was the last day this semester. Next week is our culmination party. There's been such drama with one of our members that I can't wait for the break and for that family to be gone.

I always run errands on Thursday afternoons since we are already out. I had to go to the post office and then we stopped by the grocery store on the way home. We needed milk and bananas, what we usually need more of every week. Dancer and I picked out a few items that I wouldn't normally buy but I have a bit extra money in my food budget this month.

When we got home, Dodger was asleep. I know he was up pretty early for work since I heard him this morning. I'm not sure when he got home this afternoon but he was sound asleep when we got home around 3:30. Because he was sleeping, I took the opportunity to get some more work done on my blog. I played with Feedburner and joined a few networking communities. I got some work done on Twitter, too.

Now I'm at the dance studio, out in my truck, waiting for Dancer to finish up another class. I've looked up who sings Dream On. It was playing on the way here and Dancer knew it was Aerosmith but I wasn't sure because Steven Tyler's voice sounds so different in the song. Most peeps on the net think it's because he was younger and hadn't done damage to his voice yet.

Dodger is up now (he just called) so when we get home, then I'll watch CSI (last night's and tonight's) with him. I asked him to cook the Salisbury steak that Dancer wanted from the store today. It will be nice to have dinner ready when we get home.

I need to read tonight. I have another idea for my blog and need to read the first part of this book to work on my post about it. I want it to be ready by the first of the week.

Tomorrow I need to work on finding some good affiliate programs and getting my blog link out there for more people to find. I also need to SEO my blog posts so that the stuff people are searching for comes up. For the most part this means having my post title showing before my blog title in searches. I think all I need to do is add some code to my layout.

Eventually I'll probably do some of that same stuff with this blog. Again, Dooce did it so why can't I?

I need a laptop

I got up a little after 10 this morning. I hate waking up to an alarm but I'm trying to get my sleep schedule adjusted. I ate breakfast, put away the dishes that dried overnight and then did some work on the computer.

I thought it was going to be a good day for me to get a lot done on my blog. Dodger went to work around noon but called 20 minutes after he left saying that it was raining out where he needed to work. He ended up coming home instead of just waiting the little bit of time it took for the rain to stop. He didn't do a damn thing when he got home. There is so much that needs to be done around here. There's no reason why it isn't done except that Dodger is lazy.

I need a laptop, damn it! I have so much to do and the way things are now just isn't going to work. We're heading into the colder months here and Dodger is going to be home more. I can barely stand to be in the same room with him now. I think I'll go crazy if I have to try to work around his lazy, disrespectful ass.

sigh

Dancer had one of her dance classes tonight. I spent the time waiting for her out in the truck. I'm so glad the WiFi reaches outside. I played around on the iTouch and found a few things to add to my blog schedule.

The rest of my evening has been filled with TV again. I'm not sure that I like that but at this point in time I'm a little ambivalent.

I have an idea for my blog. So I think I'm going to go work on it now.

I started off the day pissed off

I started off the day pissed off at Dodger. I woke up around 11 and Dodger was still asleep. I swore he was going to piss away another day sleeping and not doing crap. He did finally get up and go to work. He should have worked the past two days, too, or at least done some much needed work around the house.

I got a bit of online work done and some housework. Today I very much felt the crunch of staying up too late and sleeping too late to get much done before we have to be off and running to Dancer's evening activities.

Dancer had golf lessons this evening. I cleaned out my purse and did some online reading while I waited. I think next week I may walk around the track while I wait. I almost did tonight but there were some things I wanted to read up on.

The rest of my evening has been filled with TV and getting my blogging schedule in order. I've also updated my iTouch calendar app so that I can get better at organizing my day. I feel good about my organizing progress. Tomorrow I need to print out some checklists to put in plastic sleeves that can be used with dry erase markers. It's coming together. Hopefully soon I won't feel so overwhelmed by it all everyday.

Right now I'm finishing up watching tonight's DWTS and then I'm heading to bed.

Doing the Math: Give Up the Coffee

...or at least brew it at home!

I'm not a coffee drinker, so I don't get the appeal of the stuff.  I love the smell but the taste, not so much.  But I know there are millions out there who love coffee, otherwise places like Starbucks wouldn't be in business.  So this money saving tip is for all of the coffee lovers out there.

Brew your coffee at home.  Get yourself a pretty little reusable cup if you need to take your coffee and run.  Even if you are buying the cheapest cup on the go, in a range of $1.50 to $2 a cup every week day, you're still going to spend $391 - $520 a year.

I can think of lots better ways to spend that amount of money.

my cousin's 18th birthday party

The weather was just incredible today. I got a little bit of work done on the computer when I got up. Then the Dodger woke up and started to get loud and when that happens I lose all of my concentration and direction.

Dancer had Nutcracker practice this afternoon. After that was over we went over to my mom's to catch a ride out to my cousin's 18th birthday party.

The party was great except for the occasional crack or poke at a color, creed, or sexual orientation. It's so lame that I have family members who think this way, for one, and can't keep their crap thoughts to themselves, for another.

Dinner was yummy (I took another free day on my calorie counting). We had lasagna and an ice cream cake and cake for the birthday girl's celebration. We played a few games and then some of the family played on her new Wii and Wii Fit.

Once we got home, I cleaned up my room. It was getting to be quit the mess. I really need to get on a cleaning routine and get decluttered so that I can really focus on my creative side.

Now I'm watching the late night episode (old season rerun) of Desperate Housewives. I still have tonight's new episode to watch but I'll have to do that sometime tomorrow or Tuesday.

I really hope I have time to go to the Y tomorrow. I really need to start adding exercise to my daily life.

It was a totally beautiful day and I missed it

It was a totally beautiful day and I missed it. I didn't even realize how nice out it was till Dancer and I headed over to my mom's around 5 to catch a ride to the turkey super that benefits the women's group at my grandma's church.

DODGER SHOULD HAVE WORKED TODAY! I was rather pissed off that he didn't work. He has another outside job to finish before the weather gets nasty for good. Instead he thought it would be great fun to disrespect my work time (trying to build an online bloggy business) again. He could have gone outside and taken care of things at home. He didn't do a damn thing but make a mess and bug me. What the hell is his problem? Why did I marry a man like him? ::sigh::

So anyway, Dancer and I enjoyed dinner at the turkey supper with my mom and step-dad. Lots of family and friends there to say hi to. After dinner Dancer and I came home. She's doing something on one of her websites and putting together a puzzle so she didn't want to spend the evening at my mom's.

I've just been hanging out and not doing much but struggling with my self-confidence. Today the doubt hit me really hard. I'm very very aware of how many other bloggers are out there. I'm very aware that many of them know what the hell they are doing and I don't know crap.

I'm just tired of a lot of things in my life. I'm feeling pretty defeated right now. I know why so many people give up and don't follow their dreams. Fighting with life wears a person down.

My day flew by today

My day flew by today. I didn't get out of bed till 11:30, when Dodger was heading out the door. I got up, ate breakfast, and then sat down at the computer to work on my business. I have the next few days scheduled to post with a few new ideas added to the schedule. I worked on my Twitter backgrounds for both this blog and that one. I even made one for a good friend of mine. She's the one that does Dancer's horse class on Sat. morning. I wanted her to have a nice Twitter background for her business.

Dancer had tennis lessons this evening. After lessons we went to see the new A Christmas Carol with my mom and step-dad. It wasn't in 3D at the theatre we went to but that was fine. It was intense enough just as it was. It was a great adaptation of the story, I highly recommend it. I do think it should have been rated PG because of the intensity and the morphing animation. It seemed to frighten some of the young kids who were in the theatre.

After the movie we all went to Culvers for a bite to eat. I got the roasted chicken sandwich. They did have the nutrition info available at the restaurant. The sandwich turned out to be just over 300 calories. That's good. I can work with that.

Dancer wanted to come home with me instead of going back over to my mom's to play Scrabble. I could tell she was a little worn out before she even mentioned she wanted to come home. Mom seemed a little disappointed but she'll get over it. We'll see them twice more this weekend. I'm sure there will be some game play on Sunday at the birthday party we'll all be at. We're going to the turkey supper with them tomorrow evening, too. I haven't been to the turkey supper in years because of having to work. Now that I'm not working, I can go.

I finished watching tonight's episode of Medium a bit ago. I think I'll read a bit and then head to bed.

Aldi Master Price List

I have a very strict food budget.  This month my budget is $200.  Feeding 3 people on $200 is very doable and to stretch my food dollar farther I shop at Aldi.  The quality of their food is good, many of their items are comparable to name-brand.

Every month I do one main grocery shop.  I have a printable list with items that I've customized (I found mine on MS Works) and I go down the list and fill in what I need.  Here is an old example of my list from May 09.

I stop there once a week to restock on items like milk that we tend to go through pretty quickly.

My master list is an Aldi’s Price List that I found online, downloaded and printed. You can download the same list here.

After I shop, I update the prices on my master list using my receipt. Some of them are the same as what’s listed on this list and others are 10-20 cents more (or more) and some prices are actually less.

Maybe in the future I'll get into coupon clipping (although I don't have a good source of coupons) but I doubt it.  I'm not a fan of shopping and Aldi is one-stop shopping for me.  It works for me.

Co-op was fine today

So last night I went to bed at 1:30. I set my alarm for 9:30 but didn't get up till 10. I think it's going to take a little time to get my sleep schedule worked around.

I got up and posted on my other blog and ate breakfast. Dancer was still asleep, so I didn't wake her. We had co-op today, so once she got up we both got cleaned up and headed out.

Co-op was fine today. We only have one more week left of classes and then our culmination party. I'm looking forward to the holiday break.

After co-op, I ran errands. Thursday is my errand day because we are already out. I went to the credit union to deposit money from Dodger, to the grocery store to pick up noodles for dinner, and to Walgreens for a few items.

When we got home, I was happy to see that a package I had been waiting for had finally arrived. I made Dancer lunch of mac-n-cheese and I ate the polish sausage and onions that Dodger had made before we got home.

I spent a few hours cleaning up the kitchen and messing with my package. I also got a notice from Ford about some recall on an issue with trucks of my make, model and year. I guess my VIN had come up as one with possible problems. Something about the break lines, leaking, and possible fire hazard. So I guess I should get to calling the dealership to get it looked at and repaired.

For dinner, I cooked up a package of egg noodles and then added what was left of the roast, potatoes, carrots and sauce that I made last week. I didn't want it to go to waste, so I thought having it over noodles would be a good way to eat it up. I'll be eating some of it when I get home.

Right now I'm waiting on Dancer. She's at another dance class. She'll be done in about 10 minutes. When I get home I'll probably watch Bones and CSI and then maybe I'll read. I need to get further in the home-business book. I also have a blog idea and I'll need to get started reading in a book or two to be able to play out the idea like I plan to.

I guess I'll go back to my Google Reader till Dancer gets out of class.

I still struggle with jealousy

I still struggle with jealousy. I see people succeeding and on one hand I'm happy for them. I'd want them to be happy for me. But on the other hand, I wonder why it isn't me. I wonder what it is that I'm doing wrong.

I still struggle with self-confidence. I wonder if people will respond to my efforts. I wonder if it's all even worth it. Is what I have to say important? Do people even want to listen? Do I have what it takes?

How do I move past these things? Is self-confidence necessary for success?

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Today I did some tuning up on my other blog. I added some more items to the schedule and got a few posts scheduled. It's going well. I just wish I had a clue about how to get more readers, there and here. I wish I had a clue about any of it.

I have been thinking about sewing again. I miss it and miss that creative outlet. I have so many things tugging at my brain that I want to do. I just don't know where I'm going to find the time. One thing at a time, I guess.

I did my major grocery shop day today. I do one of those a month where I get the freezer, fridge and cabinets stocked back up. We should be good on most items for a month. I do stop by the store once a week for staples like bread and milk.

I'm waiting for Dancer to get out of one of her dance classes right now. When I get home, I'll probably rewind the VCR tape and watch what I taped tonight. I will try to get to bed at a decent time tonight so I have more hours in my day tomorrow. I do see that I waste a lot of time in the evenings come this time of year. I watch way too much TV too long into the evening. If I want to get things done, I'm going to have to make better use of my time.

got a chance to go to MNO tonight

I got lots done online today. I am quite pleased I got so much done.

I got a chance to go to MNO tonight. It's been quite some time since I've been. One of the girls mentioned that she would host it at her house next month. That will help us all financially, help our new breastfeeding mama, and we'll all be able to talk and hear each other.

My legs feel much better this evening. I think I'll go back to the Y by the end of the week. It's time to start adding exercise to my lifestyle. I need to add exercise so that I'll have some of my freedom back in what and how much I can eat.

Yesterday was an extremely slow day

I realized very late last night that I hadn't blogged for the day but I was way too tired to really care so I'm catching up on that now.

Yesterday was an extremely slow day. The only thing on the schedule was to take Dancer to Nutcracker practice. Starting yesterday, the whole performance practice schedule is all being run as the show would run so Dancer didn't have to be there as early and wasn't there as long as she usually is. When she got done, she told me that they are practicing on the stage now and that they only ran through their dance twice. The performance will be here before we know it and then we'll have our Sunday's back to do things out at the conservation district. The conservation district always has great things happening on the weekends and most of them are on Sunday afternoon's right at the exact same time as Nutcracker practice. I miss going out there. We used to go all of the time with our friend Sarah and her 3 kiddos. I don't know why we haven't gone in awhile, it doesn't help that she's in a new church and is heavily involved in their home study groups on Sunday evenings. :( Sigh.

After Nutcracker practice I dropped Dancer off at my mom's and then came home to have a little child-free time with Dodger. I ended up watching TV the rest of the evening. I meant to wash up the dishes (lots of the house work is really backed up) but my legs hurt so bad from trick-or-treating that I didn't. They hurt even worse today but I really need to get caught back up on the housework so that I can focus on doing things for the business(es) I want to get off the ground.

My step-dad did call yesterday evening to let me know that he can't find the title to the truck he wants to give to Dodger so we'll have to wait on getting the truck. I hope he finds it or it may be awhile because requesting a new title could take awhile, government red-tape, you know.

I just got up about 30 minutes ago. My legs ache but I need to get my day started. Dodger will probably only work until 3 today so I don't have much time to work on my online stuff before he gets home. Dancer has golf lessons this evening for an hour. I really want to go to MNO with some friends but I don't have the money for that since I'm not working right now and I don't have any money coming in yet from the businesses I'm trying to start.

We had a long but great day

We had a long but great day. We had to get up early for Dancer's beginner horse class that started at 10. I got up at 8 and dressed before waking Dancer. While Dancer was getting ready, I ran down to the sports center to register Dancer for golf lessons. After I did that, I ran to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients I needed to make what I was going to take to the Halloween party this evening. My timing was perfect at both places, people started to flow in just as I was leaving.

I got back in time to throw the ingredients in the crock-pot before needing to take off for the horse pasture. On the way there, I ran by the credit union to drop off a check from my mom. She helps pay, along with my dad, for Dancer's dance lessons.

After we got to the pasture, Dancer went to her class and I sat and read more in a home-business book I'm reading. I'm hoping the book will help me organize my space as well as my head so that I can get my business ideas off the ground.

After class, we stopped by Walgreens to pick up a few things for my costume for the party. I needed black lipstick and temporary hair coloring. I was hoping to find black but settled for purple instead. Dancer talked me into getting her a can of blue hair coloring to add to her costume.

We spent the rest of our afternoon getting ready for the party. We were ready in plenty of time to run over to my mom's for a bit before the party. My mom usually dresses up and hands out candy but tonight she and my step-dad thought they might dress up and go watch the midget wrestling that was in town at the fairgrounds. I guess if you dressed up there was a $5 discount from the entry fee.

After a few pictures at my mom's we headed over to Shanna's house for the party. Once all the guests arrived, we ate (I gave myself a free day on food) and played the sticker on the back game. Once it got dark we all headed out to walk with the kids while they went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.

I swear we walked forever, it felt like it by the time we got back. LOL. The kids all went inside to sort their loot and the adults went out to keep toasty by the fire. At some point the kids went out to jump on the trampoline (12 kids) and a few of them jammed on Rock Band for the evening. It all wrapped up about 10. I stayed for just a little longer to help clean up a bit, I don't like leaving anyone with a mess, and to chat. We left around 10:30.

Dodger didn't come with us to the party this year. I've been a little worried about him lately. I think he has a low grade depression. I think it's a bit of a mix of all of the changes and stressors in our lives lately. He was still asleep when we left for my mom's this afternoon. I had sent him a text right after leaving my mom's to tell him about the truck my step-dad wants to give him (Dodger's truck is literally being held together by duct tape. He starts the damn thing with a screwdriver. It's really surprising that the thing still runs). Step-dad got a newer truck that is big enough to tote his cycle in the bed.

Anyway, back to my point, I sent Dodger a text and didn't worry about it all evening until after 10 when I checked my phone and he hadn't texted back. I sent him another one and nothing. That's when I started calling both his cell and our home phone. He never picked up, so I started to worry. My stomach was in knots by the time we got home. I even told Dancer that he wasn't answering his phone so I was going to go into the house first just to be sure he was ok. He had just turned his phone down so he wouldn't be disturbed while he slept and out home phone hand-set was in Dancer's room, so he didn't hear it. LOL. Why is it that the worst of things go through my head?

Ah well, all is well. Dancer and I showered to get the coloring out of our hair. We both ate a little something. Her feet were hurting and burning because of the cold and the walking. So she laid down and I brought her food to her. She shared a bit of her loot and then went to bed.

I have been hanging out in the living room with Dodger. We watched CSI Miami and are now watching some forensic show on TruTV. I still have to clean off my bed before I can lay down. It's still covered with clothing, jewelry and make-up that I sorted through to find what I needed for my costume. I guess I'll go to bed soon.

Here's the recipe for what I took to the party tonight. I was a big hit. The whole thing was empty by the end of the evening.

1-1/2 to 2 pkg of hot dogs (depending on the amount of people)
1 can of cherry pie filling (I used 2)
1/2 cup brown sugar

Cut hot dogs into bit sized pieces. Add all ingredients to a crock-pot and heat. Serve warm.