New Week and Another Chance to Get It Done

To some, Monday is a drag. The weekend is over and it's back to work and school. To me Monday is sort of like New Year's Day every week. It is a chance to start fresh. I always spend my Fridays planning for the upcoming week. I get the lesson plans for homeschool completed, I review my calendar and I wrap up anything I need to complete on my lists  for the week. When Monday rolls around, I am ready for new challenges and I know what I have to do. Guessing and just floating makes ME uncomfortable. There is such a security in knowing what the expectations are, even if they are my own expectations.

So what is on tap for this week? 

New opportunities for fresh knowledge: I will continue reading my Girlfriends in God devotions. Have you checked it out yet? Check it out by clicking here. I start a new Bible study this week with the ladies at church. We are doing a study on Daniel with Beth Moore. I will go to my second Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class. I am so excited at the prospect of becoming debt free that the first class was nothing short of energizing.  So I have lots of learning this week: Devotions, Daniel, Dave Ramsey!

Predictable House Flight Plans: Monday I do my couponing, Tuesdays I go shopping and run errands, Wednesdays we go to the park with homeschoolers, Thursdays are my anti-procrastination day (this week I am working in the kitchen) and Fridays are planning day. I like routines and have learned to establish them with the help of Fly Lady. Have you seen her website yet? You can learn about Fly Lady by clicking here. 

Yes, Monday is a new week and new and fresh opportunities! 

CVS and Walgreens are the hot spots this week!

I normally only go to Publix each week, and occasionally I will shop at Walgreens.  This week I tried doing both Walgreens and CVS, as I had a CVS money gift card. I was not disappointed.


My weekly totals were: (drum roll):


CVS: $13.36 out of pocket for $119.34 of merchadise
Walgreens: $53.56 out of pocket for $228.75 of merchandise
Publix: $162.13 out of pocket for $162.36 of merchandise


Total for the day: $238.85 out of pocket for $510.74 food and drug store merchandise!


Definitely was a good day!!!!

Walgreens and CVS  total of $76.72 for $348.09 worth of goods!

Heading for the Goal

My oldest daughter is a senior this year. She has barely 4 months of school left and she will graduate with the class of 2011. For the first 9 1/2 years of her life she was home with me. I homeschooled her and kept her near me until almost the end of her 4th grade year. I remember having to enroll her in a school and leaving her that last nine weeks grading period. I cried as hard as any mom would when leaving their child at kindergarten. I had nursed her for 44 months, read to her, trained her in life as a Godly woman and nurtured her the best I could. How I longed to keep her little forever. But God has greater plans for her. As she heads for her goal of graduation, I am proud to say that she is at the top of her class, with a GPA I never would've thought was possible. Her strongest character trait is a young woman who is able to overcome any obstacle. She holds her head high and is proud of who she is, where she came from and where she is headed. Is her confidence due to the fact that she was at home for so many years? Is it because she received attention and one on one learning from the crib? I like to think she has succeeded because she was unconditionally loved from birth and taught to press on no matter what came her way. But she is her own person. God created her and planned for her before I even met her. He created a whole person who is unselfish, caring, focused and secure. I may have had a chance to teach and influence her, but in the end, she is who God created and who she has chosen to be. 


As graduation looms around the corner I am full of mixed emotions. I still don't want her to grow up, but I am excited for her. She is prepared for this world and the challenges ahead of her. She has worked hard. She has fought a good fight and is heading straight on for the goal she has longed to reach. I will just enjoy watching her finally get her wings and fly-for these days I have prayed and prepared for her. Fly my precious daughter! You have proudly earned your wings. When you get tired and need a place to rest and gather yourself, know that Momma's nest will always be here for you to refuel and that our Good Shepherd will be right there with His staff to guide you and protect you.

Momma Bear's Musings

I meant to write yesterday, I did. But I have been overcome with pain. I live with fibromyalgia. It is a vicious cycle of chronic pain. I say "I LIVE" because I refuse to let it kill me or keep me from the joys of this life. I take one little, bitty pill everyday that has helped me manage the intensity of my pain. Yesterday there was a glitch in the "system" and over 500 employees were left without prescription benefits. I have not had my "one little, bitty pill" since Saturday night. I forgot what it felt like to live without that one little, bitty pill! I have almost come to a complete halt! I am fighting the urge to curl up and sleep it off.  God has hears my cries and there has been strength to make it through the day. I remember too well what it felt like to go without my God. I don't want to be without my one little, bitty pill, or my great, big God.

I have been reading a daily devotional from Crosswalk. The daily devotional today was about the storms of life. My favorite quote today was by Warren Wiersbe, "When God permits his children to go through the furnace, He keeps his eye on the clock and his hand on the thermostat." I know my trials have been many and I have been battered by some brutal storms. In Him, I am a storm survivor!  Through the storms God has shown me His strength and control. I surrender today's aches and pains and claim to his promises that tomorrow will be a new day (and hopefully the prescriptions will once again be available!)

Goals vs Resolutions

Years ago I stopped making New Year's Resolutions. I found year after year that resolutions only led to a sense of failure. I like to make GOALS...changes that I can aim for by taking small steps. I am confident that I did pretty well in keeping my 2010 goals. I managed to organize a few areas of the home that I wanted to complete. I started and completed an entire Bible Study. I spent more time with my children and established a regular time to gather each week. Not bad for a year that had plenty of interruptions.

I think of what I would like to have in my ideal life, and where I’d like to be in two, five, or even ten years,and then set some goals. I also try to make goals that are positive. For example, "eat healthy" versus "eat less sweets". My goals are:

• find ways to reduce my stress by taking a few minutes every day to renew my mind and my spirit; 
• continue to meet with the family every week for a meal
• jump on the financial gazelle and change our money habits as a family
• recommit to weekly date nights

Looking forward to a little heaven in 2011, right here in our home and family.

Happy New Year!

Anti-Procrastination Day! Thursday Tool for Thyme

Good morning! It is a new day. I have showered, dressed to shoes, made my bed,  re-booted my laundry and cleaned my sink. These are tools that I have learned from FlyLady that have helped me to manage my time. I also read my "Girlfriends in God" devotional this morning. What do you think it was about today? Managing time, of course! Learning to say NO when you know you have too much going on is so difficult. I want to say "YES" to everyone and please others. With the onset of fibromyalgia, I have had to learn to say "NO" and I have had to be realistic in my daily goals. My goals today are very simple, but when complete, will help me feel like I did something productive. My goals today are to give a dog a haircut and clean my desk. Just two tasks-but two realistic tasks. Take a moment to read the article on "Saying NO to the Yes Monster". I think you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Great Bite-Sized Goals

Continuing on the theme of bite-sized tasks, this article has practical suggestions that make organization simple, with just a few steps.

Click here to read this article.