Here Burns My Candle Blog Tour (Repost)

I am re-posting my last blog tour because they just sent me a video to post along with my review.

OK folks it is finally here, a book review with a giveaway. I have never done a giveaway before so bear with me as I work out all the kinks and bugs. I think for now, if you just leave a comment saying you would like to be entered, I will place your name in a hat and announce the lucky winner on here. I will hold the drawing one week from the post date. So on March 31st I will draw the winner and post the announcement. It will be YOUR responsibility to contact me and provide a mailing address, I will only mail to a US address and the shipping will be free. Everyone is eligible to win, if I excluded friends and family it wouldn't be much of a contest. I will say that you are only eligible to win once a month. How is that?

The book that I will be reviewing today is Here Burns my Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs.

This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah. They were also very kind in sending me an additional copy to use as my giveaway.

The Novel which has a setting of Edinburgh in 1745, was pretty slow to start. I will admit that I sometimes have trouble getting interested in books for the first few chapters but this one seemed to be more difficult than most.

The Scottish history was fascinating but I found the constant details about Lord Donalds infidelity was too much to allow me to give a raving review of this book.

All was not lost however, I did enjoy the story, history, and Biblical similarities to the story of Ruth and Naomi. I might even be persuaded to read this book a second time, because I had such a hard time getting interested in the beginning of the story.

I often have people contact me outside of my blog and ask my honest opinion of the book. I am going to be more direct in my reviews. I love the fact that these books are provided free of charge to me to review but I also want my readers to get an honest opinion.

I would not recommend this book if you are looking for a light one or two sitting book. I would also not recommend the book if details about worshiping false gods, and descriptive details about
infidelity offend you.

I would recommend the book if you have time to devote to a very interesting story filled with Scottish history.

Don't forget to leave your request to be entered in my give a way in the comments.

An added bonus:

Rain, Rain ..... GO AWAY

Spring has seemed incredibly wet this year. We have had a few nice days but they are followed by rain and not just a drizzle but a ground drenching rain.

Rain is depressing and frankly I have been depressed enough that I don't need the extra dose.

I am seriously thinking about making today a quarter day. You know I only work a half day as it is. I usually work about six hours a day, actually I arrive between 7:15 and 7:30 but will only put 8:00 on my timecard. Then I work until 3:00, because that is when Cory is done but will put 2:00 on my timecard because I should only be working six hours and because I know money is tight I try to give them more than they are paying for.

I am not sure how this is working because they seem to get upset with me quite regularly (of course the hubby says that it is all in my mind, as do some of my co-workers).

Today I have a mailing to do, vehicles to fill with gas, and I need to do some research on office furniture, then I think I will call it a day and exchange my previous purchases to Old Navy.

I knew I should have just stayed in bed!

I woke up in the middle of the night to a toothache. I cannot remember the last time I had one. The thing that worried me the most is the fact that it was on the tooth that has a crown. I would assume that this means that it is coming off. I have no idea why there was pain because it was the tooth that had a root canal.

I don't have the money to spend on this right now. I spent the rest of the night in a restless sleep slipping in and out of dreams where my teeth were falling out. I have reoccurring dreams about this topic quite often.

This tooth is also in a location that I cannot just leave it. The husband broke a tooth recently but it is far enough back that the only time you notice it is when he laughs. This is most certainly is not the case here. I lose this tooth and I look like the white trash that I am.

This situation compiled with the situation at work today just makes me want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers up tight. With my luck it would just give me that many more hours to dream horrible dreams.

Christian Sharing Programs

I have been doing quite a bit of research into alternatives for medical insurance. There are several "sharing" programs sponsored by Christian organizations. Basically they collect "donations" from each member, pool the funds, and then pay the eligible bills. Some work a little differently in that the members send their donations directly to you.

I am still working on the project but I must say that I am very intrigued and will continue to do research. Sometimes all the information just becomes too much and you have to take a break for a few days. I think that I have narrowed it down to two companies.

I also have to start looking for affordable term life insurance quotes, because that is definitely high on the list of things to purchase the second that business becomes better.

Here Burns My Candle Blog Tour

OK folks it is finally here, a book review with a giveaway. I have never done a giveaway before so bear with me as I work out all the kinks and bugs. I think for now, if you just leave a comment saying you would like to be entered, I will place your name in a hat and announce the lucky winner on here. I will hold the drawing one week from the post date. So on March 31st I will draw the winner and post the announcement. It will be YOUR responsibility to contact me and provide a mailing address, I will only mail to a US address and the shipping will be free. Everyone is eligible to win, if I excluded friends and family it wouldn't be much of a contest. I will say that you are only eligible to win once a month. How is that?

The book that I will be reviewing today is Here Burns my Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs.

This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah. They were also very kind in sending me an additional copy to use as my giveaway.

The Novel which has a setting of Edinburgh in 1745, was pretty slow to start. I will admit that I sometimes have trouble getting interested in books for the first few chapters but this one seemed to be more difficult than most.

The Scottish history was fascinating but I found the constant details about Lord Donalds infidelity was too much to allow me to give a raving review of this book.

All was not lost however, I did enjoy the story, history, and Biblical similarities to the story of Ruth and Naomi. I might even be persuaded to read this book a second time, because I had such a hard time getting interested in the beginning of the story.

I often have people contact me outside of my blog and ask my honest opinion of the book. I am going to be more direct in my reviews. I love the fact that these books are provided free of charge to me to review but I also want my readers to get an honest opinion.

I would not recommend this book if you are looking for a light one or two sitting book. I would also not recommend the book if details about worshiping false gods, and descriptive details about
infidelity offend you.

I would recommend the book if you have time to devote to a very interesting story filled with Scottish history.

Don't forget to leave your request to be entered in my give a way in the comments.

An added bonus:

One of those days

Have you ever had one of those days where you are constantly on the verge of tears. You don't want anyone to talk to you because you just know that when they do those tears will start falling faster than you can even imagine.

That was my day today. I have connected with one of the ladies that I work with. I really enjoy her company and she seems to enjoy mine. We are cut from the same cloth, we speak our minds, wear our emotions on our sleeve, and have been accused of being on the negative side at times.

Today she desperately wanted to talk but I just could not do it. I knew if I started talking to her that would be the end and I would spill my guts like a child with projectile vomit. Frankly I could not even make eye contact with her because I knew if I did the tears would come. Want to learn more?

It was a strange day, either everyone knew my problem (even before I did) or it was a case of, once again wearing my emotions on my sleeve. For the most part no one spoke a word to me all afternoon.

The hubby has been so supportive since he picked me up from work. This morning I prayed for our marriage (like I always do) but I emphasized our sensitivity, or lack there of, in our relationship. Honestly, I wish God would have chosen a different way to answer that prayer. It is answers like these that make me question my prayer time. hahaha...... just joking..... If I didn't pray I have no idea how I would get through the day.

ahhhh another round

I deleted another round of idiots on Facebook today. If you have been deleted then I will let you use your imagination.

When we elected this anti-Christ into office I flew the flag upside down for several days. I no longer have that ability, and feel totally helpless. The last thing I want is to log onto facebook and see these liberals going on and on about how wonderful it is to have our rights and freedoms taken away.

I am sorry if this post is not very Christian like. I have had people say that Christ would want us to respect Obama. Really? If this guy is not the anti-Christ he is very close and is working on the same team. Do you really think God wants us to respect the anti-Christ.

I do get great comfort from the Bible. I know that eventually every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess.

I will now ask a question of all my non-Christian friends, do you really want to spend eternity with Obama?

Some people just don't get it.

The other day in the office a lady and I were talking about a bill that I was refusing to pay because we had signed a contract and they were charging me for more than the contract. I have argued with this company for months and they have no desire to fix the problem.

Another younger girl in the office responded with "yeah, but you don't want to just not pay that because then they will report that to your credit report". I just looked at her with a goofy smile and said "do you really think that matters, I just lost my house. I don't think that a $50 non-pay bill really matters at this point."

I love it when people think that you have to be bullied into paying something that is not legitimate because they might report you to a credit company. Go ahead!

I have also found the best way to prevent identity theft. I will never have to worry about someone stealing my identity, if they do I am sure they will return it immediately.

I also don't worry about not getting that fantastic job, or not being able to rent tuxedos at the mall. Credit reports are overrated and this day and age there are plenty of companies that would love my business.

I did it.

I got a haircut on Thursday. Obviously it is not a good haircut. I waited all day for someone to say something, finally I said to the girl that sits behind me, "did you notice that I got my haircut?". She said "honestly". I really hate when people say that, NO I WANT YOU TO LIE TO ME!

She then followed that up with "I am sorry but I honestly cannot see a difference." I have not kept my hair long a quite some time, and I have no clue in the world how to style it. Back in my college days I kept my hair long but that was in the 80's when you could have big hair and it was fashionable.

I want, I want, I need, I need

a new grill. We had to leave our other one behind, one because it was charcoal, and two because it was old and nasty. That does leave us in a pickle however, because I really don't have a couple hundred to spend on a grill right now.

March is a very expensive month in our family. The car registration is due in March, along with several business expenses. The car registration about kills us because in NH they charge you based on the value of the car. I really need to get a different car because between the registration and insurance it is killing me. Maybe I should get some new auto insurance quotes since we moved out of the "big city".

It is funny our insurance went down a few bucks moving here and that makes me laugh because we now park our car outside in a parking lot and at the other house we parked the car in a garage.

30% off

I used my 30% off coupon, from Old Navy, to get CAL two new pairs of pants and two new skirts for myself.

That son of mine will drive me to drink sooner or later. He needs Husky size, not because he is fat but because Husky is usually shorter. He refused to allow both sizes of pants to be husky. He insisted that the regular fit him better. This morning he tried on the regular one more time and then finally decided that I did know what I was talking about.

Then the knuckle-head got the pants mixed up and removed all the tags from the one that I am going to return.

I also have to return one of my skirts because I bought two different sizes. The good news is that I am taking back the larger of the two.

It works

OK so a LONG time ago I remember either reading or hearing that toothpaste can help with Zits. I had a doosey the other day. It was on my face right where my glasses would sit. I was joking with my co-workers that I was going to ask to leave early because I was in such pain.

If I moved my glasses you could see the volcano and it was one of those zits that when people look at you that suddenly have a massive intake of air. Then they cannot seem to take their eyes off the zit the entire time they are talking to you. You know what I am talking about, like when you are talking to your husband and he just cannot take his eyes of the entertainment centers and TV's.

I tried "draining" it but it just seemed to make it more sore and redder than ever. Finally I decided that I would try the toothpaste trick. It worked, by the next morning it was just a bump. It was no long sore or red.

Now I would not recommend smearing toothpaste over your entire case for a really bad case of zits but, for that lone ranger one and pops up once a month, it is a true old wives tale.

CBD

I "think" we are headed to CBD this morning. Last night CAL decided to be a poop head and argued with us about EVERYTHING for two hours. I have no idea what got into that boy's head but he was in rare form. He has not been that argumentative in a long time.

What started it all? He and the hubby started arguing about music and it just escalated from there. CAL thinks that just because a band claims to be Christian that we are going to approve of all their music. I am here to say that some of these so-called Christian bands are JUNK. They are wolves in sheep's clothing if you ask me. If your CD does not contain references to Jesus or God in almost every song that in my mind it is NOT Christian.

It is like Barack Obama when he was claiming to be Christian (ya know BEFORE he was elected) and I said that I was upset because he could hijack someone else's religion. If you don't mention God or Jesus in your music then please don't call yourself a Christian group hijack another genre.

Start Here Blog Tour

Start Here is a book written by Alex and Brett Harris. They are twin teenagers that want to inspire your teen to become a Rebelutionary (a combination of rebellion and revolution).

As an adult reading the book I thought that much of what was stated was the obvious, the problem is that I am not their intended audience. My son is, however and I am very anxious to pass this book along when I am finished.

There were several instances in the book when I stopped reading and had to find CAL to share with him the point the Harris brothers had just made, because we all know that our teenagers will listen to others before they will listen to you!

Start Here encourages kids to exceed the expectations that adults have set for them. Which is their minds is not difficult. Teens can do more than play sports and get good grades. This book will help them realize their potential and how to take the next step in doing hard things for the glory of God. This book is not about building up your teen as much as it is about building up God.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

If you have a teen that is lukewarm and living for the world this would be a great book to get them on the right track with God.

Slowly but Surely

We are getting settled. There have only been a couple times, on insignificant items, that we have remembered something we forgot to bring.

We are almost done hanging the pictures and sconces on the wall. That is one of the items that we thought about bringing and decided against it, only to later regret that one sconce that we had hanging in Rachel's room.

Now I have to start getting rid of the pictures that we just don't have room for. I brought so many they are all piled behind the kitchen table.

Did you get that coupon

Did everyone out there get the 30% off coupon to Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy? It starts today. I know that CAL needs jeans so I will be heading to Manchester sometime real soon. The coupon is only good from the 18th to the 21st so hurry......

If you need a coupon just send me a message and I will take right care of ya!

I hope today is the day.

I desperately need a haircut. The headaches are starting and frankly my hair is so out of control that I might have to start researching the best hemorrhoid treatments.... (you know, because it's a pain in the..... oh forget it)

I have a coupon to get a $20+ tip haircut at a salon close to me but I might just take the easy way out and go to supercuts. I feel bad using a coupon in a place that that I would NEVER pay full price for. I am sorry but $45 for a haircut is way out of my league. Seriously I would wear jeans and a t-shirt everyday if my work would allow it. Jeans and t-shirt type people don't spend $45.00+ tip on a haircut.

Tease

The weather has been nice for the past couple days. Before that we had so much rain that many areas were having record flooding.

I am glad that we were not in the old house because the sump pump broke over the winter and without it the basement (stock room) would be under about six inches of water. Oh well not my problem now is it?

CAL and I went out last night and made our neighbors feel guilty by playing a little catch. Within about thirty minutes a mom and her son came out to play and it was not hard to tell that mom had not played catch with her son EVER! Oh my word that woman threw like a girl.

Ladies teach your daughters to throw, it is a necessity in life.

It's that time of the year

I know that I have blogged about his before (but cannot seem to find it), I hate to get my haircut. I will wait until it starts to give me headaches and then I will get it cut as short as possible without looking like Sinead.

The problem is that I can no longer get that fashionable style. It is not appropriate for work. Now I have to grow it longer.

I have not had a cut since I started my job which was in November. I need to find a new salon and get a quick trim. I do know that getting a cut should make me lose about five pounds. How is that for a weight loss solution? I would not even need to learn about quick trim reviews.

Seriously, I really do dislike getting my haircut but it is looking bad enough that people at work are saying "wow, you have a lot of hair" Yes folks I have only heard that ten thousand times in my life time. I have the thickest hair that you have ever seen.

Insurance Project

I have an "insurance project" that I have to do for work. I must confess that I am procrastinating something fierce on this project. Insurance makes my head spin.

All the companies sound fantastic on paper. I am really worried about recommending something and having it be a horrible choice. This task is definitely above my pay grade.

Hey if it is a good enough excuse for our beloved President it is good enough for me.

Fruit Flies

I purchased some houseplants, some from Home Depot and some from the grocery store, to help make our new home more enjoyable. I have always had houseplants but decided that the ones in the old house just were not worth moving.

After a few days I noticed that we had fruit flies. I cannot find the culprit, and they just seem to be getting worse. I am going nuts. I am going to have to purchase some bug killer and treat all the plants.

It is very annoying when you are sitting watching TV, or typing on the blog and you get this little fruit fly buzzing your face.

Today while eating dinner I had a fly land on the bite that was headed for my mouth - yes right on the fork full of food. I must confess that it should help me lose weight fast, but I would rather do that task on my terms, not on a nasty fruit fly's terms.

What would you do for a Klondike Bar?

Less that what it used to be, I assure you! I decided to splurge and purchase a package of Klondike Bars the other day. The family loves them and we have not had them in quite some time.

I must confess that I was very disappointed. Now I know that it was probably just a small change by the makers of Klondike but they have decreased the thickness. The chocolate is out of proportion with the ice cream. They do not have that perfect balance anymore.

Now the chocolate is too overpowering. I am sure this was a money savings trick (necessity... the way the economy is going) but, I will be the only saving the money. I won't say that I will never purchase them again, but they won't be my first choice.

Is it the weather

or living situation? Since moving to our new house CAL's hands have almost cleared up. I don't know if it has to do with the weather but I am leaning more towards our new living conditions. I am very confident that CAL was allergic to something in that old house. Whether it was the carpets, paint, or something else I don't know.

For the past couple years his hands did not clear up during the summer, as a matter of fact they became worse and were very sensitive to sun. You might remember this post where he got a slight sunburn and the skin blistered terrible. Right now they are the best that I have seen them in a long time.

I had taken him to the doctor trying to get him eczema treatments, but the doctor insisted that it was not eczema just dry skin. It is quite upsetting to waste my money on doctors that just won't listen to the problem and make reasonable diagnosis. I don't go to the doctors often and this is an example of why. I will wait until I just cannot stand a situation any longer and then I will break down and go, only to be dismissed by the doctor the moment he walks into the room.

Technology can be wonderful

I have reconnected with so many special people since joining facebook. I have also found some old acquaintances that have turned into very good friends. Then there are the people who I used to adore and now cannot stand to see their statuses pop up.

There is one liberal acquaintance from high school. She is about as liberal as one can get and the other day she sent me this page suggestion regarding "saving the animals". Are you serious? She does not think twice about aborting a baby but she wants me to rally with her to save the animals. I just don't understand how liberals think. It is not a choice it is a life. We are most certainly living life upside down.

There are absolutes in this world.

I wonder why?

As most of you know we lost our home at the end of last year. While it has been a difficult time emotionally it has really worked out for the best. We had owned the home for close to twelve years. I have many very wonderful memories there. The problem was the past two or three years our business has been struggling and the house consumed our budget and left nothing for other expenses. Both the hubby and I came to resent the house and our inability to make repairs and renovations added to our resentment.

The bank was very patient with us and I understand their stance, I do wonder however, why we were never given the assistance or opportunity for something like a Corolla short sales. I hear in the news all the time about mortgage companies making people fantastic offers. Ours not only didn't make the offer, they locked us out of the house during our moving out process.

Raven's Ladder and Lady Carliss Blog Tour

I am so very excited to be a part of WaterBrookMutlnomah.com book review tour.

These books were provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

The first book that I will review today is: Lady Carliss and the Water of Moorue.

This title is the fourth book in The Knights of Arrethtrae Series.

I have not been surprised by a book in quite some time. This book exceeded my expectations. The topic was not of great interest to me when the book first arrived. I don't really enjoy fantasy stories. Normally I struggle through the first few chapters of any book. I just have a difficult time becoming interested in the story. This was not the case with Lady Carliss. The first two pages of the book had me so hooked I actually read it in two sittings. That is just unheard of for me because I read to relax/fall asleep and normally it works like a charm. Just a few pages and my eyes are closing.

Lady Carliss belongs to the Knights of the Prince, and she fights may fierce battles against the Shadow Warriors. When the man she loves becomes ill she is in the fight of her life to save him. The only problem is that the Shadow Warriors will stoop to very low levels in their battles. It is at that moment that Lady Carliss finds that she is not only in a battle to save her loves life, but the lives of everyone in the Kingdom of Arrethtrae.

Not only do I highly recommend this book, I will be purchasing the entire series.


The second book that I will review today is Raven's Ladder by Jeffrey Overstreet

Raven’s Ladder is the third book of the Auralia Thread Series. This book was slow going at first but once I got to about the second chapter, the story went from ok to great. If you have ever read any of the books from Brian Jacques’s Redwall series and liked it, you will love this book.

It starts in the land of Expanse of the time of Abascar’s Exodus, House Abascar has fallen. King Cal-marcus is dead from the earthquake that made House Abascar fall and Cal-raven, Cal-marcus’s son, has taken his place. The survivors of the earthquake are hiding in the Blackstone caves and they now have a new problem. A deadly menace that birds call Deathweeds is emerging from the ground of the Blackstone caves and has already killed seven men. House Abascar’s people must flee or die from this menace. Just to top that off, King Cal-raven is trying to find the place for New Abascar. Will they succeeded, or die trying?

This is a great book, you should read what will happen to House Abascar’s people.

If you would be interested in participating in a blog tour, you can sign up at WaterBrook Multonamah Blogging for Books.

Tired

I have been super busy at work these past few weeks. Things are going great and by the time I get home I am ready to collapse on the bed and wake up in the morning.

I have been sleeping so well at the new house. It is funny because we don't even have curtains on the windows but the light doesn't even bother either of us. We don't have a need for sleeping pills (and have always had sympathy for those that do).

Have I mentioned that I am really enjoying my job. I had a few rough weeks but I think it was just growing pains for everyone involved.

Baskeball is over

finally! It was so very time consuming. Now summer begins which is even more time consuming for CAL. The good thing is that we live very close to the park where most of the teen events take place. With my luck they will change the location this year to the park that is furthest from my house.

Things will be a little more difficult now that I am working, but I will do my best to get him to as many things as possible. Have I mentioned what a different kid he is since we have become involved with the church. It is night and day, my friends, night and day.

I finally added pictures

to Home Along. Scroll back a few days and see how close the neekid kids were to my house. These little brats were close enough that I could tell they needed some real advise on the best acne treatment.

I have seen the girl a few times since this incident, I really hope that her parents wake up soon because she is headed down the wrong road. I know that I am not the best parent in the world but...... I have a little advise for parents with out of control teens. Get them in a good youth group, at a good Christian church. I am speaking from experience.

It's starting to look a lot like.....

SUMMER. This weekend was fantastic, even though I didn't really get to enjoy it that much. I did sit out on our new screened in deck and read for about an hour. It was warmer outside than in. It felt funny turning the heat up, but later in the day I just could not stand it anymore.

There is something funny about having the house at 64 in the spring/summer it is downright cold, but in the winter it is not that bad.

My first attack

I was bragging to the hubby the other day that I had not had an attack since moving to the new house. See I love to blame all my woes on the old house. Cal's allergies are not as bad, his hands have really cleared, and I was hoping my attacks were better also.

No such luck. On Friday night it started and I still feel horrible today. I have noticed that they are not coming quite as often but are sticking around much longer.

Some would think that these attacks would help with weight loss, but it is the funniest thing, you still feel hungry even thought your stomach feels like it is going to explode. Many people have asked me does nutrisystem work, and I personally cannot give an answer. I do know that my attacks don't!

Just in case you have no idea what I am talking about I blogged about my attacks here. They started shortly after moving to Nashua 11 years ago. I have been to the doctor and they have no idea what it is. They wanted me to come back during the attacks but they are usually at night and my deductible on emergency rooms visits was $500.00, plus I would feel very funny going to the emergency room for a non-emergency.

I have tried a ton of different remedies, and some things will work for a period of time and then stop. I was having really good luck with Pepcid AC Complete but it didn't even touch this attack.

Happy Birthday

It is really strange but I have three people that I care about very much and their birthdays all fall in a row. So here goes.

Happy Birthday to the Hubby. I love you! March 6th

Happy Birthday Rachel, I love you too! March 7th

Happy Birthday Becky, thank you for being that sister in Christ that I so desperately need to keep me grounded. March 8th

Not a good outcome.

I have no idea what went wrong but I burnt the cake and I mean really bad. The oven was a little high, because I had CAL read the directions. He saw 375 and set it for that, but it was suppose to be 350. Honestly though it should not have burnt as badly as it did in just 20 minutes.

The hubby will not have a cake today because he doesn't want me to run to the store for another.

I guess I should never give up my day job to become a baker because I surely would get fired very quickly.

More Books

More books arrived the other day. Four more to be exact. Only one is a give-a-way book. I am so very excited, even though I have to learn to read much faster because they only give you a few days to read before the blog tour.

You let me forget

I totally forgot the hubby's birthday this morning. We woke up and talked for several minutes, got up started our day, and THEN I remembered. Bad wife.

I have not even purchased the ingredients to make his cake and now we have to spend the day at a basketball tournament. It looks like I better get off this computer and get to Target before we have to head out to MA.

Good thing that CAL has his ipods because I think it is about an hour drive to the game. It is very difficult to listen to the radio in a Jeep that has a soft top, the noise is sometimes overwhelming.

grrrrr

This is not how I wanted to be spending my first Saturday that we are free from the old house. We have officially removed everything that we need/want/have room for and the rest is staying with the house.

The hubby just told me that we have to take CAL to the basketball tournament today. Our son is the official score keeper for both the boys and girls. Our boys didn't do very well but our girls rawked. They won their first tournament and today they will either get first or second place in the second tournament.

Normally he would take the bus but for some reason they decided that transportation was the responsibility of the players today.

Don't let me forget

I have to bake the hubby a birthday cake. I am so thrilled that each year when birthdays roll around both the hubby and CAL would prefer my cake concoction rather than a store bought cake or cookie. The key is the pudding. Pudding in a cake always makes it better.

Now this is not the best cake to eat if you are on an alli weight loss program.

I don't think we have anything special planned for the big day. Money is still tight and the needs always seem to take top priority. We might take a quick run to the mall tonight, it originally started as "date night" because CAL has a basketball game, but because the paypal balance didn't increase overnight, it will have to wait.

The mall is good, I can sit and laugh at the Paul Blart guy.

Home Alone

Last night the hubby had his college class, and CAL was at a basketball tournament. I was downstairs watching some TV when I heard kids talking. We have a fair amount of kids in this neighborhood and they all seem like your typical punk kids.

I decided (since we don't have curtains) that I would go upstairs and play on the computer. This would also give me a better view of the kiddies. After sitting here for a few moments I took a quick peak out the window. We have a tree right next to the house and noticed there were things hanging from the tree. Because it is so close to the house I obviously took a closer look. It was clothes. I then looked for the neekid (spelling wrong on purpose) kids. Sure enough two boys were standing in our parking spots, directly in front of our living room window, in their underwear. Now you must understand this is only a few feet from our front door. Check back later today and I will insert a picture so you can see how close I am talking.

I have no idea the purpose of being neekid in front of my window because they didn't appear to be attempting to show me anything, they were just huddled there. There was quite a bit of laughing before I looked out so I don't know if they were streaking through the houses or what. All I know is that they looked cold.

I decided to stay away from the windows for a while.

Keep checking back

I just received news that the book club I belong to will start providing me with books to give away on my blog. I don't know exactly how I am going to work that, probably set up a special email as I don't think people want to leave their emails in the comments for everyone to see.

Does anyone out there have any suggestions on how to handle give-a-ways?

Will this move EVER be over

Because we had to downsize so dramatically we have had to move in stages. I am so done with this move. We have everything that we need, but had to abandon so much it makes your head spin. The church ended up getting the majority of those items. At this point I don't care who gets the rest.

There are a few things that we have to get just because we think we can sell them on ebay but after that we are done.

I promised myself that my possessions would not own me...... in the end I think they owned me more than I would like to admit. The hardest part was seeing good usable stuff and feel like it would be thrown in the trash.