I'VE MOVED>>>>>>>

Due to the personality disorder I affectionately call PERFECTIONISM, I have MOVED my blog to the following address:

http://coffeeatthecabin.blogspot.com
(And, doggone it, you're also going to have to cut and paste the link because I can't get it work tonight either!)

Please don't hate me! Please follow me over there!

Can't wait to see you!!!

(I'm now off the edge, and back into the computer room...

I need blogging help....

Okay people. How sad is this? I JUST realized, right now, that my blogging address is coffeatthecabin instead of COFFEEatthecabin. Are you kidding me? I don't have coffe I have COFFEE at the cabin!!!!!!!!!

So, I went on and registered coffeeatthecabin.blogspot to me, but now I don't know what to do. Export the one blog to the other? Start over? redirect? Is there any way to change the email address of this one? If I switch to a new one, can people be automatically redirected? You know, with the tremendous following I have I need people to find me - hahahahhaha.

Any help from you experts would be much appreciated.

May I just say that I am such a perfectionist in some areas that this may just put me over the edge. I don't know what edge that is, but most certainly I will be going over it soon.

UGH.

Grumbling to myself...and heck, I think I'll go get a cup of COFFE while I am at it.

I love to read...

As far as I'm concerned, there is never enough time in a day for the reading I want to get done. Whether it be fiction or non-fiction, self help or romance, the Bible!, or whatever, I can't get 'er done. I LOVE to read, and my addiction is never satisfied.

Don't get me wrong...I can veg in front of the tv with the best of them. Brad and I have a standing 10pm date on Wednesday nights to watch "Top Chef". We're not sure what we're going to do after next week's season finale. Somehow replacing it with "America's Top Model" doesn't seem the same.

But, I digress. Back to the books. At any given time, I have a huge stack of books next to my bed. I have discovered that most of the "self-improvement" books are half read...I get into them with all my good intentions, then start to feel overwhelmed, so back onto the stack it goes. (I am NOT going to have that happen with The Love Dare though. I am committed to getting that one done. More on that a different day) I can't read more than one fiction book at a time - it's too confusing to try and keep it all straight in my simple mind. But, if I start one that I love, I typically read before I fall asleep at night, sometimes in a nice hot bubble bath if I feel the need to really reward myself! However, I have also noticed that reading before bed causes me to dream the characters, or the situation many a time. Talk about getting caught up in a book!

I have to thank my friend Suzanne for putting me onto the Mark of the Lion Series. Thank you, Suzanne, for causing me to neglect my family and forego thoughts of meal prep, laundry, and general household chores in order to sneak away to steal yet a few more moments with Marcus and Hadassah. Thank you for not telling me that I would need to have the 2nd in the series on hand as I would finish it over a weekend when I couldn't get it from the library. Thank you for the sleepless nights after I read until 2:30am and was haunted by my ineptness as a Christian witness. Thank you for the jump start to walking on the treadmill because it was something I could do with a book in hand. Thank you for tuning me into the realization that the Lord has placed me in a time where I am better situated, as I would have never survived in Rome, Ephesus, or any other area in that part of the world, or in that time. Thank you for living so far away that a book club would never be possible face to face, and all we could have together is a virtual cup of coffee. Yep, thanks for all that. You're a great friend. :) I laugh at the list I gave you to read...NONE of that compares to this type of historical fiction...

Like I said, I love books and I am thankful for eyesight to read, hearing to listen to books on tape, and the ability to type to tell you all about them. My kids are showing great desire to get lost in a book, and I couldn't be happier about that. Where else can you escape to another world, learn more about your favorite topic, become a thing-finder in your own backyard, laugh with Don Quixote and his misrepresentation of windmills, laugh at the misconceptions of all the mismatched love stories in "A Mid-summer's Night Dream", and deepen your faith in Christ Jesus? All of that in the past couple of weeks...the written word is amazing.

Off to curl up with book 2...

And, here's a quick picture of what's on my bedside table...minus Echo in the Darkness, which was next to my rocking chair at the time of the picture...what a variety of titles...

Back from the bakery

Oh my goodness. Get me off this sugar train. I have been a victim (albeit, a willing one) in a indulgence of sweets in epic proportions. (Did you see that? I used albeit...what a word find.)

Seriously, Super Bowl eating is not for the faint of heart, or those weak with self-control. I think I ate for about 5 straight hours last night. We went to a friend's house and had wings, sandwiches, crackers, cheese, chips, shrimp, yummy rye bread ho rs devourers, (sp???) cheesecake bites, chocolate eclairs, cookies, soup, pretzel mix, and more that I probably have indulged in but forgot in my feeding frenzy.

So, somewhere in my food induced coma that I somehow aroused from this am, I decided that we needed a change of scenery for the start of our school day. Enter Queen City Bakery. Located at Latitude 44, this delectable experience comes from New York City with a pastry chef straight out of Baked (which I assume is a bakery in before mentioned city). I knew I was in trouble when there were NO breakfast items in the showcase. Bringing three children into a bakery with no breakfast items is a problem. Why? Well, let's just say that the entire casing was filled with all things chocolate. Triple chocolate brownies, Espresso cake with buttercream frosting, chocolate muffins, red velvet, on and on and on.

I could convert to being a sugar freak. Throw away the chips, boys, I'm in.

Well, I couldn't very well be rude and walk out. After all, did I really think they would have fruits interestingly displayed for immediate purchase rather than pastries? I hadn't just entered the Health Food Bakery. So, what any normal mother would do (who is a glutton (no pun intended) for punishment) is to purchase their children, prior to doing their schoolwork, two triple chocolate brownies and a LARGE slice of Espresso cake.

Hello? Who does this? Did you really expect them to get any work done with a zillion tablespoons of sugar pulsing through their veins?

Did I mention I got coffee?

I was such a good girl. I didn't need chocolate. I'm a salt fanatic.

"No, JD, I'm not drooling on your chocolate cake. A bite? Well, I suppose if you really think you could spare one, I'd just take a quick little one. I'll give you back your fork in a minute. Oh, you said just one? Well, you'll have to wrestle me for it now. Who holds the answer keys, big fella? I can fail you in school at a moment's notice. Step away from the cake. Step away from the cake. You don't know who you're dealing with here, sonny."

I had three bites actually.

And one from each of the brownies.

And, we actually worked, really well. REALLY well. For about 30 minutes until the sugar rush ran out. Then we laid on the floor and slept like babies. Yes, the floor of the bakery. They just stepped over our bodies. They said it happens all the time.

I revived enough to buy my dear husband a piece and drop it off at his work for a special treat. I love him so. I just don't care, obviously, if he gets any work done as he will be curled up in a treatment room all afternoon sleeping off the sugar drug.

Oh, and when I got home, I opened the fridge to find the leftover cheesecake bites. I'll just pull out the syringe to inject it directly to get through our afternoon of Science and Literature.

Once all of it is gone, we won't see sweets in this house for a good couple of months. Not until Easter. Or maybe President's Day. Okay, maybe tomorrow.

All I know is that I need to make another pot of coffee, because it's going to be a LONG afternoon.

Now, where are those chips?

I have a confession to make...

I hate teaching science.

Does that make me a horrible teacher?

I teach my kids at home, am responsible for their entire academic learning process, and I dread, each and every day, teaching them science.

Not all science.

Just anything that has to do with earth science, chemistry, physics, gravity, forces of nature, weather, the earth's atmosphere, the world's oceans, and taxonomy of both plants and animals.

Hmmm. That consists of all but two units of this year's science curriculum.

I DO love teaching anything and everything about cells, cell processes, and physiology. Guess that is why I didn't become a nuclear physisist and instead pursued an occupational therapy degree.

You would think I would be excited about learning all these things once again, because now I can see their relevance in my world.

Wrong. I still don't get it. I guess that makes me NOT smarter than a 5th grader.

But, I'm trying to be a darn good actress and showing my kids all my enthusiasm for this great world of scientific discovery.

Thank goodness for Cosmeo to explain it when I can't. Heck, even Schoolhouse Rock has it figured out better than I do.

Off to utilize my wheel and axle to get us to tonight's church activities...

25 things you may or may not know about me...

My fellow blogger, Joyce, at Mom's Musings, had been "tagged" to write 25 goals, facts, and habits about herself and challenged others to do the same. Since I am the queen of random thoughts, I thought I would take the challenge. Try it yourself and see what kind of things come to mind. My goal is to write 25 things in way less than 5 minutes.

1. Coffee is my favorite beverage but I would substitute an umbrella drink on the beach if needed.
2. I homeschool my three children, work for my husband, while trying to manage our household.
3. I love to read, particularly Christian fiction, but I am working on adding more non-fiction to my repertoire.
4. I have a stack of Christian, self-help books at my bedside, mostly half read.
5. I am a hermit at heart, and don't mind if I don't leave the house for days.
6. I can wiggle my ears and my nose at the same time.
7. I prefer salty snacks to sweet, hands down.
8. I like dark chocolate better than milk chocolate.
9. I used to practice crawling out of car windows because I wanted to be a flight attendant.
10. I have to work at being an optimist, but I continue to try and improve.
11. I love to take baths to get warm to the core.
12. I used to be an occupational therapist, but have let my license lapse.
(5 minutes have come and gone...)
13. We are a Survivor family - we love the show; we DVR it so that my kids don't have to watch the nasty commercials - we DVR most shows for the same reason. We don't watch a lot of TV, but dh and I love Top Chef, Frasier, and Seinfeld
14. I would like to learn to knit and/or crochet
15. I don't get home to see my mom, or call her often enough
16. My dad died when I was 12, and he was a pastor
17. I am so thankful that I was raised in a godly home, and am married to a godly man who loves me with all his heart
18. I am proud to be the mother of my three children and greatly blessed in that I can stay home with them every day
19. I am not too proud to say that some days my children are not too happy that I stay home with them every day :)
20. Dad is the fun one in this relationship - I don't "play" very well
21. I am getting tired of saying "I"
22. I need to read my bible more, exercise more, and eat better
23. Some of my closest friends were initially met through the internet via the curriculum I use...but I have been blessed to be able to grow a relationship with them and see them once a year the past few years. I hope it can continue!!
24. My biggest issues that I deal with most likely boils down to my selfishishness
25. I hate the ending of the movie Message in a Bottle

Wow - that was harder than I thought.

I LOVE Saturday mornings...

Well, let me rephrase that a bit. I love Saturday mornings when my dh doesn't get up and go in to work, when we can all wake up at a leisurely pace, and lounge the morning away. What a luxury it is to be able to gradually meet the day, greet each other with a cup of steaming coffee in hand, and wear pajamas until noon. (Actually, I'd freeze if I wore them that long, but it's a nice thought.) I need my layers around here to keep warm!

So, today, dh snuck out of our room to try and let me sleep in a bit. I've been having some difficulty sleeping this past week, so I was looking forward to a little extra snooze time. Of course, it seems that whenever you have the opportunity for it, you can't sleep which was actually the case this morning for me. I was awake, but did spend some time just lounging and relaxing in my bed, enjoying the solitude and peace. I took some time to lift up my family in prayer and continue to place them in God's hands. I am so thankful we have a Lord and Savior who allows us to approach his throne with our requests and praise. Seems like I lean more towards the requests and not enough towards the praise so I need to continue to work on my focus!

Brad started a fire in the fireplace at 9:30 so we are enjoying the snap and crackle of the logs earlier than we usually do. It's a treat to have a fire at night, but even more so to enjoy it throughout the day! We played a game of family "Blokus" with a steaming cup of coffee, and the day was off to a great start. Steaming coffee is one of life's simplest pleasures, and I think I have made it my adult security blanket. The majority of my day is spent with cup in hand - even if it is just to keep me warm...

Plans for the rest of the day include a game of Monopoly, Herd Your Horses, and maybe some closet cleaning. We already got through some work for the office so that is nice to check that off the list. I'm excited about our full class for "Fireproof Your Marriage" that will be meeting tomorrow - last week we started the class with a review of God's model for the family from "The Truth Project"...powerful stuff. God's design is imbedded into everything and we frequently stray from what he intends. Our challenge is to stay the course and hopefully influence others in our walk as well. I pray we all, as a family, can be a light to each person we come in contact with on a daily basis.

Off to heat up the cup that has cooled...

Enjoy YOUR Saturday -

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

What a beautiful day today is. I so needed to get outside and breathe in the crisp, fresh air. Seems like it has been forever since I went outside for something other than the garbage, recycling, feeding the animals, or getting in or out of my car. Dh, JD, and I (along with Baxter and our two cats) took a walk around the neighborhood without freezing!

I have beef stew in the crockpot for supper along with some italian bread in the bread maker. Brad is excited because the Minnesota Gophers are going to be playing on ESPN2 so we can watch them this evening. Sounds like supper will be in front of the television tonight. The boys will be excited about that.

TJ and I need to get some schooling done yet, so I'm off to read Rapunzel and work on time. You never realize what a difficult concept that is until you try to teach it. She's still trying to figure out why 30 minutes after 2 is not 6 after 2. Confusing.

Off to teach and enjoy the sunshine just a bit more...

A post for the sake of posting...

Goodness, this blog has not worked out the way I had intended. It is barely all I can do to get two posts a week done. I had originally planned for this to be my so-called "journal" of sorts, with grandiose ideas of capturing special moments from our lives and compiling it into one area for easy access. So far, that really hasn't worked very well!

It seems life is so busy, and I'm constantly moving from one fire to the next. There's nary a time to breathe and just "be". When I do, I either feel guilty and I'm back up again to move to the next thing on my list, or I fall asleep! Seriously, sitting down and relaxing for a moment really does nothing but make me tired!

Today, I'm going to just jot down a few things I would like to accomplish by this time next week. At least then I will have a tangible list to see how much I have accomplished by next week.

1. Research computer and tv purchase for mom
2. Computer purchase for work?
3. Exchange air mattress at Walmart
4. Clean TJ's room
5. Clean the upstairs hallway
6. Assess school schedules for all three kids and plot out remainder of the year plan
7. Go through clothes in my closet
8. Prepare for bible study on Sunday
9. Meal plan for entire week
10. Write out calendar for entire week
11. Finish living room cleaning
12. Get outside
13. Start taking vitamens
14. Start exercising??????

Okay, that's enough. Work stuff goes in there as well, but that doesn't have to be written down as that's a given. We'll see what happens in a week and how much progress I can make.

Overall, I just want to keep a positive attitude and keep looking up!