Small Successes (First week of December edition!)

I'm telling myself that any post is better than no post, and just jumping in for a quick update, small successes style.  Many posts are rattling around in my mind just waiting for the time and opportunity to get out, and if I can just find a few seconds, I'll share more about my Jesse tree project (with pictures, I hope!).  But for now, just a few successes from the week:

1)  I don't think I've shared about this one before, but if I have, forgive me; it's late and my brain is very fried these days.  I recently (OK, so it doesn't really count as totally a this week success, but it's on my mind since I did it for the second time ever tonight in the course of dinner preparation) learned how to de-bone and de-skin split chicken breasts!  Since we generally buy the expensive hormone free "natural" chicken at a whopping $5.69/lb, anything that drops my meat into the ~$3/lb category is most welcome.  And it's so easy!  I don't know why I was so afraid to try.  Bonus goes to my Mom who reminded me that I can save the bones/skin etc in a bag in the freezer, and let them accumulate until I have enough to try making chicken soup again.

2)  The aforementioned Jesse tree project: completed, and all for under $10.  I even scored the perfect mini artificial Christmas tree to hang the ornaments on, at the perfect price: $1, at the dollar store.  Once I ripped off the chintzy glued on "presents and bows", what was underneath became a lot more respectable looking.  We started doing readings tonight, and only had one day to make up.

3)  I finally talked myself into spending money on a Nativity set, in celebration of our third married Christmas.  For the past two years, I've looked longingly at them, missed the one I grew up with, missed having one in the house, but have passed them up with a "we can't afford it..." and "maybe next year."  This year, having found one for a reasonable price that was pretty and had the main two features I was looking for (removable baby Jesus, and not-porcelain so less breakable), I finally reasoned that it would be better to spend money on something that draws our minds towards the reason for the season, rather than anything else I might fritter it away on.

And a bonus 4th small success, which isn't really a success (hence I'm allowing myself to go past three) but much more of a small blessing:  I happened to catch my cousin on Skype this morning.  No biggie, you might think, but she's spending a year in China at the moment.  Think it's difficult to find time to get together with a friend for coffee?  Try juggling an eleven hour time difference, and vastly different life circumstances!  She's one of my very best friends in the world, much more like a super close sister than a cousin, and I miss her dreadfully; I've been feeling down and lonely lately, so it was an especially lovely surprise and great way to start the day.  Small blessings = small gifts of love from our Father who knows just what we need at any given moment!

Anyway.  Lord willing, I'll write again soon.  You are all in my thoughts and prayers, and I have many things I'd love to be writing about, but I've realized that I have to keep keeping my primary vocation first and foremost; if that means putting down the computer before I ever get the chance to write (time and again) for my daughter's more pressing needs, than so be it.  I reminded myself tonight, as I thought this over (multitasking, while cooking dinner) that if God wants me to write, then He'll make the time for it.  If He isn't making the time for it at the moment, then it must mean He wants me to focus on my other duties, and let those be enough for me.  So that's the state of things!  In the meantime, all you who do stop by, please say hi!  Comments make my day, as do all of your own posts.  I may not have time to write, but I do mostly still have opportunities to read (probably because I can do the latter much more quickly than the former).  So, have a blessed and holy Advent, all.  Keep writing and praying!

Small Successes!

 

Small, and not so small accomplishments this week:

1)  Today I returned our bathroom sink to a state of full functionality.  It has been draining slower and slower for months, and I finally found the motivation to address the issue.  In the process, I learned a little bit about plumbing, since I found I needed to take off the... (I don't know the real name of it, so I didn't really learn that much) u-shaped section of pipe and clean it out.  The only fitting word (blog appropriate, anyway) for the nastiness inside is what my daughter is currently saying about everything: guck.  Anyway, task accomplished, drain finally actually drains, and I shouldn't have to deal with that kind of guck again anytime soon.  I hope.

2)  We're on track to accomplish my goal of having all the Christmas shopping (or at least everything except for presents for each-other) done by December 1st.  Before you think that I'm either super type-A, or jumping the gun on the season, you have to understand my motivation.  I live in the Northeast (and in one of the snowier parts).  The months of October and November have a fair chance of being relatively snow free; December, on the other hand, does not.  Plus, I hate Christmas shopping.  I like buying gifts for people, but I can't stand trudging around in slush to a multitude of over-packed stores manned by overworked employees.  I hate fighting to find a parking spot, and then spending forever trying to get back out of the mall.  So, once I had an additional reason to try and avoid all of the above (the added complication of dragging a very small third person to stores, which she hates, in a car, which she hates), I finally made a resolution to just get it done earlier.  By taking my time in October and November, I'm able to make December a lot more pleasant and stress free.  And this year, it gave me time to make a substantial percentage of the gifts (which is part of the reason it has been awfully quiet on the blog.  I have lots to share, after the holidays, when I can post pictures of various projects!)

3)  In light of having gone nearly a month without any real sort of post, my third small success of the week is simply having found the time to post my small successes :)  'nough said.

Christ the King Sunday is this weekend!  Here's to the end of the liturgical year; may you all have a blessed beginning of Advent :)

Small Successes Thursday

Just a quick post - the LW is sleeping, but will wake soon, I've just finished all my work for the day, and I'm hoping to get a few things done before she wakes.  Or at least have a chance to sit for 5 minutes with a book.

Anyway - this week's small successes!

1)  A year ago, I could barely drive the new (to us) standard transmission car that we had just purchased.  As in, getting from stop to go was a risky proposition, I refused to drive it anywhere at all that wasn't flat, and frankly, I broke out in a cold sweat whenever I came up to a red light.  In contrast, today I gracefully negotiated a red light, steep hill stop out of our local garden shop without a second thought.  It feels good to have really mastered the concept of the clutch :)

2)  I also managed, while weaving through traffic (and shifting!) to keep LW from falling asleep in the car on the way home, which meant that she is actually taking a real nap, rather than crawling around here, cranky but resisting sleep.

3)  The laundry is done until at least tomorrow, there are groceries in the fridge, and the housework is all tackled - once LW wakes up, my husband and I will be able to enjoy a rare evening with no "tasks" that need to be done aside from just enjoying our family.

Now... time for that book, and maybe to plant a few herb seedlings that I picked up today!

Small Successes Thursday

The day has gotten away from me (as so often seems to happen these days - I blink, and it's bedtime again), so no time for a long post.  But - to steal an idea from the Faith and Family site -

Three small successes from my week:

1) I made it to Friday.  There were a few meltdowns, but Jim and I managed to have a really constructive discussion about how to balance LW between us so that I can get work done a little better, and maybe even have a few minutes of free time during the day.  I give the week an A+ for effort, and mostly LW was a much happier camper.

2) We got our electric bill today.  I wasn't blogging last month, but a bit of history - we received an $135 electric bill, and my head pretty much exploded on the spot.  Since then I've gone a little crazy with "energy consciousness", and while next month's bill should be even better (I just started line drying everything the last week in April, so the impact of that on this month's bill was minimal), I was able to drop it $40 to $95 for this month.  While not perfect, it's still a success.

3)  I squelched my "go, go, go, do, do, do" voices for long enough today to sit, with a mug of icecream (also squelched the "don't eat that" voice, in favor of the "you're a lactating woman, go for it!" one), and just watch the wind blow the clouds along outside my window while LW was napping.  It was a nice recharge, and a reminder that I need to take more time just to relax, and be.

Now the last success of the week/day - to successfully put down the computer and spend a few minutes with hubby before bed.