A Myanmar Update

We heard from people who know things and our friend is said to be "fine." That's all we know right now, but it is enough.

We are just continuing to pray for the whole situation.

Just a Little Update

I wish I had something profound to share this morning---but I don't. It's Spring. It's May. I'm ready for school to be over.

That's about that.

So here's what else is going on. Are you sitting down? It's going to be REALLY really exciting. (End of sarcasm.)

• I HAVE to find a way to be a better housekeeper. I WANT my house to look nicer. I plan to do some serious decluttering this summer. I wake up with the best of intentions and at the end of the day, it doesn't look too good. I was just sure (like Karly) that when I got home...things would be in order all the time. That hasn't panned out for me.
• We are ready for Brownies to be over. If we stayed in, Little Bit could be a Daisy next year. It's tempting, I'll tell you. But then I tell Sweetheart it's time for Brownies and she moans. Guess she's over it now that the big camping trip is over. The girls in the troop are really nice. I like a lot of things about the troop. But, you know all the issues I've had. So, I'm thinking of piano lessons for Sweetheart next year. Now, what can Little Bit do? I want her to have an activity. Sweetheart went to gymnastics when she was 5. I made the mistake of asking around at our homeschool play group what all activities their kids are in and I could not believe how much running around some parents do! Still thinking...
• I have a quilt to sew for Little Bit. Well, I have stacks of squares that will be a quilt one day. How can you sit down to work on something like that when there is ALWAYS something else that needs to be done first?
• Did I mention that I'm really ready for school to be over? I think it's my house that's freaking me out. I want to just wake up and spend the day working on the house and school is interfering with that. If my house were in order...I rather enjoy working on things with the girls around the table. And reading to them. But I am very distracted by my environment right now.

OK, to sum things up. 1. School needs to be over. 2. My house needs to be in order.

How are things going at your house?

Prayers for Myanmar

We have a dear friend who lives and works in Myanmar. Several years ago I had never heard of this country (also known as Burma). Here is a map. But through our friend we have learned much about this little country in the last few years. When we got home from church Sunday I saw on the computer that Cyclone Nargis had hit their country and over 300 people were believed dead.

Today that number is more than 10,000.

From people we have been able to contact, we believe our friend to be alive, but we are not certain. Obviously, communication is down. The area where she lives was almost completely destroyed. If she is alive, is she homeless? Does she have basic necessities? Is she OK and able to help others? We don't know. So we pray.

It is very frustrating to be so far away. If I could, I would be there helping those people right this very minute. They need help and they need to know the Lord.

Please pray for our friend and the people of Myanmar. It's all I know to do right now.

News story here.

My Money Saving Monday Lessons

Boy, I just opened a stack of bills from the weekend so I can't think of a better day to have a "Money Saving Monday"!

I hope to learn more here than I will teach you. We have a long way to go in the area of being frugal. For years, we both worked and had the attitude of, "we worked hard, we should be able to spend it how we want." I shudder to think of the money we might have today if we had been frugal from the beginning of our marriage.

So I choose not to think about it.

My first lesson in frugality was in college. My roommates and I went grocery shopping and I saw "aluminum foil" on the list. I reached for Reynold's Wrap, which was what my parents bought at home. THEN I saw the price! And the other choices available. And I entered the world of generic brands.

Generic brands is a tricky area, but don't be afraid of them. I watch what people have in their carts at the grocery store and I wonder sometimes if their "image" causes them to choose name brand foods as well as clothing. I personally don't care if you see that I have generic brands in MY pantry, but obviously other people do.

Now there are things we do not buy generic on. My husband bit into a sandwich years ago with generic brand sliced cheese in it and said, "Gross. Don't ever buy that again." So I don't. There are items that we choose to buy the "real" thing instead of generic.

Years ago as a teacher I went to the bread factory on a field trip. It was there that we saw they not only made the name brand bread, but about 10 other generic brands--right there at the same factory. The same is true of sugar and many other foods, I'm sure.

In fact, no offense to you who are super coupon shoppers, but I have also found that generic brands many times beat out name brands even with a coupon.

That's my tip. Obviously, I need help. Looking forward to what I can learn from everyone else! Head over to Karly's blog and get better ideas than mine! :)

Let's Wrap This Week Up (And a baby shower!)

I wrote a really great post yesterday. It was witty, thoughtful and had a punch of an ending. Then something went wrong with my browser and BOOM the post was gone. It hadn't saved either. I was devastated. There was no way I could duplicate it.

But when you really get down to it, it was a post about how I need to clean my house.

So I guess your lives are OK having not read that after all.

Then I got a killer headache yesterday that lasted for most of the afternoon and evening. It was not fun and I'm ever-so-thankful for Little Bit who was very big and called Grandma to say, "Mommy has a headache. Can you come get us?" And thankful for Grandpa who served them pancakes for supper. I woke up 2 hours later not believing the time, but able to be a mom again for the rest of the evening. From the recliner.

Now I have some other things to share:

1. My friend Karly is hosting an event on Monday....MONEY SAVING MONDAY that is! The question this week is:

What do you do to cut your grocery/personal items/household items costs?

She will have a Mr. Linky up for you to participate. Here is the link to Karly's post.

2. And finally, I had a brilliant idea in the night a few nights ago. It was so brilliant I had to sit on it for awhile and let it all soak in. Are you ready for this wonderfulness?

How many of you know Terry from Ornaments of Grace? I suspect a lot of you do because just about everywhere I go in the blogworld, Terry has already been there and left a comment before me. (But that's only because she gets up so early. Ug.) Her baby, whose gender we do not know yet, is scheduled to arrive on May 13. So I was thinking...LET'S HAVE...

A BABY SHOWER FOR TERRY!

No gifts, please! Just leave comments for Terry right here and she can come over and enjoy them! (And I will send them over to her via e-mail so she can keep them.) Here are the guidelines:

1. Give Terry a link to a wonderful baby product. Money is no object here because we aren't really buying her a thing! :) Terry is not a new mom, but it's been well over a year since she had Little Princess and you all know that the minute you gave birth they came out with 50 new products that you would have loved to have. I know, none of it is necessary. Your favorite item might be a special blanket a friend makes. Whatever. Just send her a link to her "baby gift" from you.

2. Give her a word of encouragement. These will be wonderful for her to read in a few months when the reality of the tiredness! and all the children! is sinking in. Plus, Terry may not have as much time for blogging for a while. So after you leave your gift link, leave your encouragement as well.

How's that for a bloggy baby shower? Spread the word and join in below!