Shout out to korea!

I was just checking my stats, when I noticed that someone in Korea read my blog---Thanks Rachel! Of course I know you checked others as well, but it is cool to see it on mine, since mine is the only one I can check!
I also noticed that I have the most return visitors on Friday. That made me realize how disappointed those people must be when they see it is the same old post it was the last Friday.
I will try to do better, now that the laundry isn't ruling my life, maybe I will be a better Blogger.
We'll see.

My hair isn't growing any faster either.

I hate my fingernails. They have always been brittle, easily broken things, and it doesn't help that I have bitten them since I was little. Even when I was pregnant with my kids, and took prenatal vitamins they were still brittle and never grew. A few months ago, I started taking prenatals again and also taking Calcium, in hopes that maybe without a baby using all the vitamins, it would help them grow. I think it would work, but I keep forgetting to take them. I have had the same 30 day supply for 3 months now. Right now I have two nails on my left hand that I would consider long for me anyway. The rest have broken off this weekend, and it is driving me to distraction. I have a couple of manicure gift cards I need to use, but I was trying to get all my nails around the same length. Don't think that is ever gonna happen. Mark of course has to clip his nails every other day, cause they grow so fast. What is up with that?
This is a boring post. I know it. But I needed to blog so I don't get kicked off, since i am one of the ones who complain when people don't blog.
Can't wait to see Oliver and Company on Thursday!

Click your heels, dorothy, there's no place like home

Well, we got power back last night. Thank you Lord, and please get everyone elses on soon. Last Friday, when I so lightheartedly told my sister to still let the kids spend the night, she just might not get them back for a day or two, I never expected to rush them home Saturday morning, and then be the ones spending the night with friends. I really never expected the storm to be so bad, to cause so much damage, and to be without power for so long. We have great friends and family who took us in, and my sister was host to our brother and sister in law, our parents, and two dogs. My brother chuck found shelter with friends he works with in Nixa, and my other brother and his family were able to stay with his in laws. Becky was able to get to Florida and Jon, and George and linda were at Beckys and then had power at home. We stayed with the Albrittons Saturday night, and then the wilsons, for the rest of the week, until Friday night when we got the house warm enough to sleep in, and last night got power. Thanks to all of you, if I have learned anything from this, at least one is that we have amazing family and friends, which we knew, but also took for granted. I love you guys.
So if anyone still without power needs to do laundry, plug in a crock pot, watch tv, blog, anything at all, please do not hesitate to come over. Even when we are not here, you can come by. We will be happy to share. Our door will always be open. Wide.

$201.06

That is the total that we spent at the grocery store today. We have this habit of waiting until we run out of almost everything, and then go. We are always surprised by the total at the end, at least Mark is, but he has not been going with me for too long. We usually go major shopping every three weeks or so, so divided by three, the weekly average is not to bad, right? Anyway, I only blog this to tell you how close I was to the actual total today when we were checking out. I asked Mark if he wanted to guess the total, and he guessed $150.00. I told him my guess was $201.84. He looked askance at that grand total, and I reminded him we did get the water purifier this time, which ads almost $30 to the bill. Anyway, the checker guy was laughing at us, and the lady in line behind us was anxiously awaiting the total, so I gave a little drum roll as the last item went by. The checker guy smiled and hit the total button:$201.06!!! Everyone around looked at me in amazement, and I was very excited to be that close. I would have been more excited in the long run if Mark had been correct, but oh, well. Pretty good guessing, eh?
Just in case Betsy reads this, I made some killer pork chops the other day. So good in fact that Mark would like a repeat sometime this week, and we even went to Harter House to get the chops. I tried a new recipe last week for a change of pace. We always seem to have the same things over and over...and I guess it will stay that way, cause the new dish I tried was awful! It sounded so good in the cookbook, and yet tasted so bad when it was finished. And yes, I followed the recipe, because I am really no good at all with just making stuff up! So today at the store, everything we bought is from the tried and true category.
Tomorrow is Sunday of course, and it is back to Sunday School and big church. See you there, get yourself some coffee, and enjoy the fellowship!

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

I thanked God for the rain today, even tho I don't like it. I told Him that He says to give thanks in everything, so I was thanking Him for the rain. I get some of my best time with God when I am in the van...when I turn off the radio and just talk to Him. You know, like He is my friend!:)
Crystal and Tiffany are coming over tonight...I love those girls. We have 4 really great girls that we have adopted, Tiff and Carie from the college class, and Crystal and Steph, just cause we want to. When I was little and my family went to church at Lakeview Baptist...my parents had adopted kids too. That was confusing for me at first...why would you adopt grown up kids when you already had 5 young ones? Of course, anyone over ten seemed grown up to me then, let alone a college student. So anyway, I can remember Darryl, Valerie, Charlie and Donna, and maybe someone named Tom or something, i could be making that guy up, but someone went with Valerie, right mom and dad? Charlie and Donna were married, and Donna was pregnant with their son Scotty, and right before Scotty was born, Charlie was killed in a car accident. Man, I remember how sad that was, how mad I was at the other person, even tho if I remember correctly, it may have been Charlie's fault for passing and not having room to get back over. Anyway, most of the memories I have of that time are good, very faint, but good. So I think it is great that now Mark and I have the adopted kids, and my kids will have great memories to look back on too.
Do you ever have days that you long for heaven more than others? Of course you do. I have been filling out new calendars the past few days, and I still write in my grandpa and marks grandpa and my grandma thomas' birthdays. Also with Chris losing his nana, and Pat Walker going home this week, anyhow, some days I just long for heaven more. I know its partly because I am older, but honestly, i am ready to not have to say goodbye. My grandma has been gone since 1982, but sometimes I can see her face so clearly and hear her say "Well, howdy-do and how are you" when we would answer the phone. Skyler would have loved knowing her, my grandma was so creative, and loved to read and would have loved being with Skyler. My grandpa thought that my kids hung the moon, and I know he would be so proud of them today. And maybe he could have taught them to play the guitar. Grandpa Doubt was with us longer, so my kids have much more memories of him, and I am so glad. He loved them so much, and Becky's kids too, we have been so blessed to have such a great heritage. I see so much of him in Mark, and that makes me so proud of them both. Kent said it best at Christmas dinner"Raise your hand if you miss Grandpa Doubt." Out of the blue, and yet it was so sweet and incredibly enough, just what we needed. Today is a longing for heaven day. I can't wait to see them again.
Well, I know this was longwinded and kinda sad. Rainy days are good for that. Sunny tomorrow, I'll remember to say thanks for that too.

"Loads" of advice

Thanks to everyone who offered such great advice about the laundry. It is still a work in progress, but I have been washing everything in cold, and no one stinks or has a dread disease, so I guess I can continue that. I'm thinking if I do a couple loads a day I won't realize how much I am really doing. As laurad says, it is like a part time job!


I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year...so far so good here. I feel like I am still trying to get caught up on sleep, two nights of 1:00 am are no good for me. I am such a baby when it comes to sleep.


We went to a flea market, Sky got some really cool stuff, I got nothing. But I saw a lot of really cool stuff, got lost several times, and had just a great time looking around. It amazes me the stuff people put in their booths. I saw several milk bottles, glass, but the kind you can get at Price Cutter right now if you want, with milk in it, for the same price as the empty jug at the flea market. That is not so cool, right? I was kinda looking for some amazing canisters, because no one here likes the containers the sugar and flour are in right now. But the cool canisters were all rusted inside, and I would be afraid to put anything in them. I did see some really cool melamin dishes, cups and saucers, but no plates. We used to have some cups just like them when I was growing up, that made me all nostalgic. But I don't know if that stuff is dishwasher or microwave safe, so I didn't get any of that either.


We had omelets for dinner. They weren't bad, but not as good as we used to make. We used to make such good omelets we would invite people over for them. Now that seems kinda weird. Oh well, our kitchen walls used to be decorated with menus from cool restaurants that someone who is the husband here had stolen in high school and college. But that really was cool. Not weird. And he hasn't stolen any for a long time now. :)

Well, that is about all for now...useless info about my day. But some days are just like that.