Quick! Someone Throw a Party!

So I can wear these divine shoes by Beverly Feldman!

And quick! Someone send me a winning lottery ticket so I can afford 'em!

Pretty (cool) shoe Tuesday

I just love Vans Classic Slip-Ons. There are about a billion different colors/combinations--hey, if you want skulls wearing Santa hats on your shoes, Vans are your go-to choice. I have no skulls, but I do have a black pair with pink flamingos on them. Jealous, aren't you?

But if I had the bucks, I'd buy these to add to my wardrobe:

All of 'em can be purchased through Zappos. And they're only $45 a pair. Compared to some things (like a tank of gas!), that's a bargain.

Happy Tuesday, ya'll!

Quote for today

“Love begins by taking care of the closest ones---the ones at home.”

------------------Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Today is National Wear Your Apron Day!

.....and I've got mine on! Proud to be a wife, mom, grandmom, homemaker, and more, I'm wearing it today as my badge of honor.

Next week, PapaC and I will celebrate our anniversary--29 years, to be exact. When I married him, I was quite sure that I would be a working mother. IF I happened to be a mother at all. That wasn't for certain.

My, how things changed. Oh yes, I became a mother. And loved it.

Then I was a working mother. That was hard. And it didn't turn out to be the best plan for our family.

When Zack was in first grade, I became only a part-time working mother. That was better.

But then the whole world changed. We decided to homeschool. I came home full-time. And the rest is history.

From working CPA to homeschooling, jumper wearing (not really!) stay-at-home mom. It was perfect. My worst day at home has always been better than my best day at work ever was. It remains so, even in the midst of budget crunches and grown-up kids. It was absolutely the best decision I ever made.

And those people who thought I had wasted my education? Phooey to them. I've done accounting work for friends, tax returns for people who couldn't afford to take them anywhere else. I'm the treasurer of my parish--saving our parish $$$$ by not having to PAY someone like me. My organization skills made me a great scout leader and teacher of other leaders. Nothing ever goes to waste!

One time, PapaC and I attended one of his work Christmas parties. I hate parties like that. I'm not particularly good around a bunch of people I don't know. Plus, I told PapaC, "All the other women look at me like something they just stepped in when they find out I'm a homemaker."

He thought I was being too sensitive. Hmmm. Well, we went in to the party, had some food and drinks, and sat down next to some guys he worked with and their wives.

One of the sweet young things turned to me and said, "What do you do?"

Oh, boy, the money question.

"I'm a stay at home mom, and we homeschool our son."

Look of surprise, then she says, "Oh, that's just so cute!"

"Well, it certainly can be, but mostly it's work."

Then she pipes up with the remark to end all remarks.

"Well, I'd just LOVE to stay at home. But I just have to use my brain!"

Swear to goodness.

And no, I didn't deck her.

And PapaC apologized to me in the car on the way home.

But that's OK. 'Cause I figure that I earned YEARS off my time in Purgatory for not asking her, "Oh really? When did you plan to start?"

Anyway. I'm wearing my apron with pride today--and, by the way, it's a lovely model made by the uber-talented Kitchen Madonna--and letting people know that I like my job just fine, thank you very much.

And maybe I'll post a picture of my apron, once the battery to my digital camera recharges.

For accountability purposes....

Day 1 of Week 3 of the Couch to 5K program?

DONE!

(But it was hard. I am such a weenie!)

the passing of a virtual torch

our ten year old, glynnis, was playing her teenager Sims character. i overheard her muttering the following to herself.

... if i could just get her to raise her grades to a "C" then i can get her into a private school. that's the problem. she's in a government school. no wonder her grades are so poor. she needs a private education. i hope i can afford it . . .

i know what mamaT would say. maybe she should homeschool.

Whatcha Reading? Wednesday?

Well, there's been not much time to read around here (see entry below for the whine). Mrs. Mike, Bill Bryson and Julia Child all still sit on my nightstand. (They are jostling for position.) I think I'll knock off Bill first--he's such a bully and he really belongs to someone else.

I did finish a little Heyer novel--Regency Buck--which is, I think, the worst of the ones I have read. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's still on the "to keep" shelves. But it wasn't the same quality. The hero was just a blank. Not enough character development.

I did also start a new Peter Kreeft book, Because God is Real: Sixteen Questions, One Answer. I love the way Kreeft writes. The book is written in question and answer format, and you've got to love one that starts like this:

When you speak of questions and answers, do you mean to assume that there's objective truth out there, the same for everybody, and that if you disagree with that truth, your opinion is not just different but wrong? do you mean to say that religion is like science that way? That what's true for you also must be true for me, because religion is about what is simply and absolutely true, whether we like it or not? Are you saying that God is just as objectively real as a rock, even though you can't see Him and even though you can't prove Him by the scientific method?

Yup.

You have to assume objective truth even to deny objective truth. Is it objectively true that there's no objective truth? Is it only "true for you" that there is only "truth-for-you"?

Anyway, aside from that, I have read mostly magazines.....

How 'bout you?

For accountability purposes....

.....I am doing Week 2 of the Couch to 5K program again this week. Last Friday I couldn't run/walk due to helping host the Kindergarten classes Teacher Appreciation breakfast for the school.

Since it wasn't all that easy (even as pitifully little as it is), I decided it wouldn't hurt to just keep doing that this week. I did it this morning, even though I had to finish in the rain.

And there is NOTHING I hate more than walking in the rain. But done. Ta Da! One more workout on week 2, and it'll be on to week 3.

When it rains (metaphorically speaking), the dogs throw up (non-metaphorically speaking)

Sorry for the silence, guys, but things have been crashing down around my ears hear at the lovely CasaS.

My mother has not been well at all for the past week or so. This has entailed several emergency phone calls to me, leaving me with naught to do but drop everything and run.

Then, my car needed working on. Just when the budget was in the worst possible place for bleeding more dollars on an 10 year old car. Humph. Oh, and did you know my next tuition bill for the Zman is due and payable?

Friday morning was the Teacher Appreciation Breakfast hosted for the teachers and staff of McKid's school, sponsored by two of the Kindergarten classes. That meant, as room mom, I had phone calls to make, casseroles to bake, bacon to cook, etc. AND get there by 7:15 Friday morning to serve the stuff.

Then this past weekend was our weekend for having McKid stay with us. That's a joy, but it shows me once again why God was wise to give little 'uns to younger folks. By the end of the weekend, I am tired. Five year olds just don't want to sleep very late on Saturday morning! And they NEVER want to take a Saturday afternoon nap, either. Which really didn't make all that much difference, because I got a call from my mom and had to go over there.

Then she was out of school all day Monday because of the Cinco de Mayo holiday at her school. (Remind me again why we celebrate that here? Do they celebrate July 4th in Mexico? Am I confused?) So she was with me all day Monday as well.

Poor McKid's mom is working a ton of overtime, so that means we need to help cover her bases when she can't be home.........

So Monday I was talking to Smock on the phone as I drove home from my sweet mom's house with a headachey McKid in the back seat. She was kind enough to call what I was doing "venting." I don't know. It sounded like whining to me.

Anyway, as I walked into my house, I was telling her, "It just shows--when it rains, it pours." Only to step right into a pool of dog throw up right in my entryway.

I had to laugh.

No, at my house, when it rains, it doesn't pour. When it rains, I also have to clean up dog upchuck.

It's never-ending around here.