Not Everything has to be "new & improved"!

Let's talk about the can strainer. Simple enough. A plastic disc with holes, insert it in your tuna can, flip can over sink, squeeze strainer against tuna and get practically all of the water or oil out of the tuna. We had one which looked much like this model for oh...a couple of decades before the plastic finally broke.



Thus started the surprisingly frustrating process of FINDING a new strainer. I can't seem to find one in the kitchen gadgets section. Couldn't even find one Bed Bath & Beyond (and yes I did ask for help.) Finally happened upon one in the candy aisle (or some other bizarre, unrelated section of the grocery store.) The new strainer looks like this:



I felt like I was modernizing my kitchen, until I realized this strainer SUCKS for the one & only thing we use it for...a large can of tuna! You see those handles??? They keep me from fitting the strainer all the way in and truly draining the tuna. And I hate soggy tuna! Are you kidding me???

So back to shopping I went and picked up this nifty strainer for all of $1.50 (once again found in a bizarre location like the cereal aisle):


This bad boy is adjustable. Just twist them apart or together for smaller or larger cans. Comes complete with instructions.


I'm satisfied with my new strainer, but concerned that the bells & whistles will only make it break much sooner than my old work horse.

Something tells me I could recreate this simple-simon strainer, market it to easy-to-find locations and charge $5 ;-)



Keep it simple people!!! Not everything needs newness or improvement ;-).

Rock Bottom?

I did not have a stellar day. Other than taking Kayla to the pediatricians (negative for strep) and remembering to up a gallon of milk, I don't feel as though much was accomplished. I managed to make a few phone calls but put off cleaning the kitchen. I hit rock bottom when I sat down with Colin to go over his grades and quickly fell asleep.

Tired? From what? Doing nothing? Eating like crap? A solid night's sleep? Pathetic!

Thankfully...I'm feeling better. I remembered a fun class at the gym that starts at 5:45 so I scrambled to tidy the kitchen and now I'm off to the gym for a fun dance class followed by an unexpected evening with friends.

Maybe my body needed the down day to appreciate life's highs. I much prefer the highs!

Scatterbrained

Sorry I haven't posted in over a week. Quite honestly, the one word to describe my days is "scatterbrained" though I don't think it's the same scattered brained as defined by freedictionary.com: "exhibiting or characterized by lack of serious thought or concentration; disorganized; silly."

It's not that I lack serious thought or concentration. As a matter of fact, it's quite the opposite. But after scattering my brain on different tasks and projects daily, I can't quite come up with one recurring theme to summarize the day.

So far this morning I've driven out to the east end, taken care of some business, gone to the grocery store, and discussed an order for Kayla's Cookies & Crumbs (I really need to update that blog too!!!) Not exactly sitting around with my feet up eating bon-bons, but also not life-altering.

One recurring theme in the past week has been friends. Bunko with the Carrington ladies, bunko with the SPES ladies, bunko with the Winterberry ladies, and maybe bunko with the ELES ladies. Checking in on friends going through rough times. Rallying with friends for good causes. Sharing things in common; learning from each others' differences.

I guess it's my ability to be scatterbrained which allows me to enjoy these many blessings. Yeah -- scatterbrained and I love it!

I think I'm obsessed...

...with hunting for bargains at the grocery storeSSS!

I am tracking every little penny, comparing prices at up to five different stores. Clipping coupons, scanning ads, visiting other savings-obsessed blogs and websites. And the sad thing is, I'm excited about it.

I see it as a process. Eventually I'll know where to go for the lowest prices (and whether it's really worth it to do so much driving around.)

This week's excitement:

1. I found out that if you use ONE COUPON from Costco's mailer, their system automatically activates all other coupons applicable to your order. I had a Costco coupon for pork chops (the BEST boneless pork chops!) I also bought a case of Mountain Dew but didn't realize there was a coupon in the mailer for Pepsi products. Sure enough...my receipt shows that they applied the $2 coupon WITHOUT ME SAYING A THING! Take that Michael's and your annoyingly frustrating coupon policy* ;-).

2. I've also recently learned that Target has "Target Internet Coupons" which can be used ALONG WITH A MANUFACTURERS COUPON on the same item. By the way, I ASSumed that Target would have higher prices on groceries; a couple of friends encouraged me to be more open minded. Sure enough, milk, Kayla's favorite cheese sticks, my nightly weakness and Cascade are significantly cheaper at Target...go figure.

3. I ordered an Entertainment book this week. I haven't bought one of those in years, but ordering one for $23 online (versus $35 at CVS) will pay me back the first time I take the kids to the batting cages & driving range at Bogey's Sports Park, so anything after that is a bonus!

*Don't get me wrong...I LOVE Michael's. But they have the lamist coupon policy. You can use one coupon at a time. Period. Meanwhile, Bed Bath & Beyond takes one coupon per item regardless of expiration date. CVS supposedly doesn't care about expiration dates either. And then there's Michael's, and perhaps that frustrates me the most because I typically buy higher-priced items there with some frequency (thanks to Kayla's Cookies & Crumbs.)

I have faith in my destiny

There are moments in my life where it is clear my destiny is laid out for me.

My brother was three years ahead of me in school so when he was a senior in high school I was a freshman. I remember going on a college tour of University of Delaware with him. I fell in love with the campus and just knew it was where I was going to go to school. For 3+ years there was no other school for me.

And then, in my senior year, I applied to University of Delaware...and SUNY Geneseo as my "back up." I was accepted to both. I still remember the moment I made the decision to go to SUNY Geneseo. After 3 years of thinking I knew where I was going, destiny stepped in. There are many things which have happened since that I believe would not have occurred had I gone to University of Delaware.

Growing up, my family traveled with trailer in tow every summer (or so it seemed.) We pulled our trailer across country, along the coast, and everywhere in between. I think I still remember the moment we were traveling through Virginia and it occurred to me I'd end up here eventually. To me, Virginia was plush green rolling hills and felt like "home." I still get that feeling when I drive on certain parts of I-95 (yet, I chose flat old Richmond, go figure.)

Relocating to Virginia was part of "the deal" when Pierce & I got married and we literally moved here after being married for just one year based solely on my desire. We arrived with no jobs, no friends or family in the area, and a 6-month lease paid in cash. That was almost seventeen years ago. It was our destiny.

Jobs I have had, friends I have made, place I have lived, opportunities I have explored all seem to be part of a predetermined course of events. I wonder how today will play out in my destiny...

Time may change me, but you can't trace time

Change is on my mind this morning. "Minor" annoyances when I'm quite happy with the old...like ever evolving cell phone technology, Facebook layouts, and 'systems' (taking a step back in time with Amazon after much success on eBay.) And more significant changes like the end of elementary school for our family, my future income means (notice that I didn't say work LOL), and sending a kid off to middle school now that I know what to expect (so naive when Kayla went to 6th grade...so naive.)

Some changes are exciting...I can't wait to see where Kayla's path takes her after high school. So many options she's considering. The world is her oyster.

Our holiday season is officially over now that Colin's birthday is behind us. The change from a decorated house and anticipation of celebrations to cold & dark days is a change I don't enjoy. Hopefully we'll be inundated with snow or spring will arrive quickly; it's the in between that brings me down.

Colin won't be playing rec ball for Glen Allen this spring. That's a change I'm having a very hard time with because it is all social for me. But I'm proud of him for making a mature decision to focus more intently on developing his skills with travel ball and recognizing there are limits to how much he can do in the course of a week while still being a kid.

I wonder what will change in the next week, month and year for our family. So thankful to have friends with us along the way.

This blog title is from David Bowie's song "Changes." Time may change me, but you can't trace time. You can't go back. There is no re-do button in life. Embrance the change and trust in the Lord to guide your way.

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ Changes are taking the pace I'm going through. ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

My Village People

Yesterday was Colin's 11th birthday party. But really, looking back, it was so much more! It was coordinating the schedules of twelve families. It was team work. It was friend-filled...the best kind of day EVER!

You see, in order for one friend to attend, said friend had to go to another party-goers house beforehand and stay here afterwards while his family was at an out-of-town all day event. Some might call that "babysitting" or "carpooling"; my village calls it "good times!"

I don't think there was a single kid here who didn't have a sporting event the same day; not one baseball practice, basketball game, or gymnastics meet was missed! In fact, in order for one friend to attend, he came early, left during the party for his basketball game, and then came back to extend the celebrating into the evening.

The family that lives the closest had the craziest commute to the party because they were on the other side of town helping out a family member.

Even though the party officially ended at 3pm, parents & kids were still here chatting at 3:30. Dad's were catching up, mom's were checking in, friends were gathering.

The party melded friends from different places...we had kids from Colin's class, from his school, from his sports teams, etc. Yet you would never know that these kids didn't all know each other or that some parents were meeting each other for the very first time.

Add to all that, Kayla spent time "studying" with a friend in the evening.

It was my kind of day...a friend-filled day!

Heroic efforts...for a Beta fish?!?!

Background: Pierce decided to buy a Beta fish for his desk at work. He named the Beta "Alpha" and has had him for several months. Alpha has a nice little set up, is fed & receives clean water on a regular basis and Pierce likes to "play" with Alpha by posting a picture of another Beta on Alpha's bowl from time to time. (Male Beta fish are aggressive toward one another and this gets Alpha all riled up.) Alpha seems to enjoy their camaraderie too.

Pierce packs Alpha up and brings him home over long holiday weekends and recently decided to keep him home for an extended period between Christmas and mid-January due to the holidays and planned time off.

The Story: So two nights ago Colin & Pierce noticed that Alpha was hanging near the top of the water in his fish bowl...on his side. When I came to check things out I swore I'd watched him take his last breath (Alpha...not Pierce.) But alas he perked up and tried his hardest to swim around only to end up on the top on his side again.

I didn't give it much thought after that...until I went into the downstairs half-bath yesterday morning...and found Alpha in his bowl on the back of the toilet. He was still struggling. I seriously thought Pierce left him there for me to flush; that he couldn't bring himself to do it. Luckily ...I asked...

It turns out Pierce was up early looking for information on "Beta ailments" on Google. He thought Alpha might have had "swim bladder" and learned that he should have no food for a couple of days and be kept in a dark, warm environment for less stress. Less stress? He's a fish!!!

So we kept him on the back of the toilet in "The Cave" and opened the vent to warm things up...sure enough the sauna-like environment did him well and he's back to swimming vertically. Life is good that we can put time & concern into little Alpha.

How neatly do your pieces fit together?

Pierce & I were working on our new year's jigsaw puzzle last night and the more I got "into it", I realized that jigsaw puzzles are a lot like life, aren't they?

I was stumped by this one section that seemed like it should be so easy but no matter how many times I scanned the pieces, I couldn't see them for what they were. This went on for an hour. Sure, I'd find a piece that fit occasionally, but overall it was painstaking and stressful. But then, all of the sudden, they started fitting together easily. I started seeing the pieces for what they were, instead of what I thought they were supposed to be. Sometimes the pieces of our lives seem mismatched -- the demands of family, work, health, etc. all seem to be parts of different puzzles altogether, but eventually it all works out. Then you move on to the next puzzling section...

To me, the border pieces are our family. We might start the puzzle pulling out all the straight edges...the family we're born into including our ancestors. But there are also those pieces that are part of the overall process...the pieces we find along the way...our spouse, children, etc.

I always try to sort puzzle pieces by section -- maybe by color or background or something. Some of those sections fit together easily, others not so much, and then there are some that end up in the wrong pile...because everything fits together somehow and they're all connected in the end.

If your life were a jigsaw puzzle, what would the picture be?

Sunshine

I'm in the process of un-decorating the house from Christmas. We take a lot of our "home decor" down when Christmas decorations go up. So right now my living room looks much like it did when we moved in - no pictures hanging on the wall, empty mantle, etc. There's something so clean and fresh about a blank slate. Oh how I wish I had the patience and money to paint the walls while the room was in this condition. But, alas, today the pictures go back up and it will all feel like home once again.

I thought I liked this transition period. It gives me the opportunity to clean "behind the scenes" and appreciate what we've done to make our house our home. But what I learned yesterday is that I really miss Mr. Sunshine! The sun peeked through the clouds for a little while yesterday afternoon and THAT'S what lifted my spirits. Not the pictures on the wall, but the sunlight coming through the windows. I couldn't help but smile and share my excitement with a friend, and I was so glad the neighborhood boys were outside soaking in that warm, beautiful sunshine while they could.

Looking out my office window this morning, I see blue skies with wispy white clouds and a spot of sunshine on the leaves. It's going to be bright, sunshiny day. Enjoy.

Typical Monday

I set myself up for frustration yesterday. Now that I look back at the day, I'm glad it's all behind me. Maybe I should do that more often...put the less desirable tasks on top of the to-do list and altogether so that once they're taken care of I can relax. Of course, there are new frustrations to deal with today, end of year / business payroll taxes and dealing with customer service are behind me.

Taxes. Just tell me what I owe (or better yet, the government owes me.) I don't understand half the terminology. I don't remember what I did from one quarter to the next let alone one year to the next. I am so glad I didn't go to college for accounting! I took a "College Accounting" class in high school and did really well but I don't know what happened because now I despise budgets, taxes, financial anything. I can keep spreadsheets for groceries, Christmas, business, etc. but do not ask me to remember anything related to numbers. I'm serious. Just ask my brother or my husband. Alas, everything's signed, paid, off to the copier and then to the mailbox. Whew.

Then I had the opportunity to deal with technical "support" for a popular website. In the end, I knew more than they did. And I don't mean that boastfully. I don't know much. I know many people think I do, but what I know is to say "I don't know...let me see if I can find that out for you." Not these folks. They read from their scripts, make me call back when they don't reply after 9 hours and tell me I can't speak with a supervisor. Anything to avoid saying "I don't know." In the end, I was able to put 2 and 2 together and figure out the solution.

Today's a new day. Lots to be done. If I accomplish it all, I will feel terrific. If I don't, sleep will elude me. Off to get 'er done ;-).

Martin Luther meets Velocity Church

Sola Gratia ~ Sola Fide ~ Sola Deo Gloria ~ Sola Christo ~ Sola Scripturo

I was raised in the Lutheran church. Pierce & I were married at Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Peekskill NY. I credit Trinity Lutheran Church with establishing our roots in Richmond. Both kids were baptized there and we've been members since 1995. But several months ago as a family we decided to "shop around" and see if there was something out there that re-energized all four of us.

Stop one was Velocity Church. You know...the one that meets at Short Pump Regal Theatres. I mean really, how ideal is that?! Comfortable seating, casual dress code & environment and the smell of popcorn -- they even us popcorn buckets for collection plates. Add to that energetic music from a live band and a variety of media outlets to bring us God's message! So far we've heard the band's rendition of Journey, U2, Bo Diddly and more. We've watched funny clips from Elf, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Glee. And we've even played games! All while hearing God's message as part of an enthusiastic, open-minded community.

But my big question has been: "is there one right denomination?" Velocity is non-denominational, and I definitely feel that missing link. I miss saying The Lord's Prayer in unison, the warmth of communion wine as it fills my soul (they serve juice), confession and rituals I grew up with.

I asked God about the non-denominational thing during a stroll through Good Shepherd United Methodist's prayer labyrinth one night and He replied through hymn. The music playing in the background was a hymn I'd grown up singing in the Lutheran church; we all sing the same songs to the same God.

But my journey came full-circle this morning when Velocity's lesson was on Martin Luther's Reformation. You know...Luther as in LUTHERan? And it may have been the easiest teaching of the 5 Sola's of the Protestant Reformation I'd ever heard.

Grace Alone ~ Faith Alone ~ God Alone ~ Christ Alone ~ Scripture Alone

I recently felt the "peace that passes all understanding" and asked my friend Roxanne where that came from because I remembered it as a phrase from a Lutheran passage; it was repeated this morning at Velocity, as well as God's promise of hope despite our despair. We've all enjoyed our time at Velocity and don't intend to shop elsewhere anytime soon.

Life Changes Like the Weather

The word "yesterday" resonated when trying to decide on a name or theme for my blog. On Facebook, I live in the moment, posting what I'm thinking. Here, I want to reflect, looking at the bigger picture of the day before. What happened that changed my life, made me laugh, or made a difference?

I feel like my mantra going into 2011 is Albert Einstein's quote:

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

The first few weeks of January will be major to my future, thinking about where I've been, where I am, and where I am going. I'm travelling down a lost highway and hope to find new direction very soon.

What warms my heart? My husband and kids, my friends, my home, and Jon Bon Jovi's voice. So how fitting that when Googling "Yesterday Bon Jovi" I came across the lyrics to "Lost Highway." I sure as heck hope 2011 isn't a "Lost Highway" but a found direction. Hidden in the lyrics is the phrase

life changes like the weather.

Ain't that the truth?! Welcome to my blog...I hope you'll find this a place of refuge, learning & laughter.