A Foreign Exchange Student that is! I think she is coming on Saturday! I can't believe it! We are all very excited to share our lives and to learn about the "real" Germany! It is going to be a GREAT experience!
Me
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
I know you see it!
We have about four months until CHRISTmas. Have you started your shopping yet?
What got me going was the arrival of my Lakeside CHRISTmas Catalog. Normally I'll flip through it and toss it, but this is the big one! The CHRISTmas 2008 catalog! Sure enough I found a few things in there for the people near and dear to my heart (and a few things for me, tee hee).
You may ask yourself "Self, WHY oh WHY is she bringing this up all ready!!" Well, I'll tell you. Firstly, I absolutely abhor paying full price for things I could have gotten on sale. B, I can not afford to run out and spend boo coo bucks all at once and finally, it takes some of the pressure off to plan ahead.
I like to have anything and everything I'm going to order at my house by early to mid November. My goal is to get everything that needs mailed ready to go and in the mail the day after Thanksgiving. This includes our cards. I'll be getting them and my card address book out of storage soon. Which reminds me that I need to pick a photo and get those ordered as well. When you send out between 60-70 cards every year, the pics and postage add up fast!
I got a good start on gifts the day after last year. Every year I ask for money to be able to go shopping on boxing day. (We pros (lol) call it boxing day. I have no idea why, I believe it's a Canadian term, maybe Australian) It's getting close to the time when I get out my master list from my HMB, (Home Management Binder), and double check that what I have on the list matches what I have stored, and to go through my cuby and add what I've picked up for whom to the list. I'll then double check who I have on the list without a gift and decide from there what to get them.
My list is broken into columns. It looks something like this...
Name.....Gift/idea..................................$Limit.....Actual$....Wrapped?....Shipped?
I also have another page that has a name at the top for each of the stockings I do. Then I just start adding items under the names as I pick them up. A little here and there makes for great stockings that don't seem to hurt the wallet as badly!
You may be thinking to yourself that this would take all the fun out of CHRISTmas shopping. I will tell you that you couldn't be more wrong! It puts the fun back IN shopping AND extends it the whole year through! You see, when you aren't running hither and yon stressing out about what to get whom, you can slow down and enjoy your friends and family knowing that it is all under control! Also, the joy you get when you find a treasure here and there throughout the year is just as sweet. Maybe even more so because you can take the time to appreciate it and feel very savy for having planned that much more ahead of time. Trust me!! It is a GREAT feeling!
Have a Merry CHRISTmas!
Me
What got me going was the arrival of my Lakeside CHRISTmas Catalog. Normally I'll flip through it and toss it, but this is the big one! The CHRISTmas 2008 catalog! Sure enough I found a few things in there for the people near and dear to my heart (and a few things for me, tee hee).
You may ask yourself "Self, WHY oh WHY is she bringing this up all ready!!" Well, I'll tell you. Firstly, I absolutely abhor paying full price for things I could have gotten on sale. B, I can not afford to run out and spend boo coo bucks all at once and finally, it takes some of the pressure off to plan ahead.
I like to have anything and everything I'm going to order at my house by early to mid November. My goal is to get everything that needs mailed ready to go and in the mail the day after Thanksgiving. This includes our cards. I'll be getting them and my card address book out of storage soon. Which reminds me that I need to pick a photo and get those ordered as well. When you send out between 60-70 cards every year, the pics and postage add up fast!
I got a good start on gifts the day after last year. Every year I ask for money to be able to go shopping on boxing day. (We pros (lol) call it boxing day. I have no idea why, I believe it's a Canadian term, maybe Australian) It's getting close to the time when I get out my master list from my HMB, (Home Management Binder), and double check that what I have on the list matches what I have stored, and to go through my cuby and add what I've picked up for whom to the list. I'll then double check who I have on the list without a gift and decide from there what to get them.
My list is broken into columns. It looks something like this...
Name.....Gift/idea..................................$Limit.....Actual$....Wrapped?....Shipped?
(these are dates)
I also have another page that has a name at the top for each of the stockings I do. Then I just start adding items under the names as I pick them up. A little here and there makes for great stockings that don't seem to hurt the wallet as badly!
You may be thinking to yourself that this would take all the fun out of CHRISTmas shopping. I will tell you that you couldn't be more wrong! It puts the fun back IN shopping AND extends it the whole year through! You see, when you aren't running hither and yon stressing out about what to get whom, you can slow down and enjoy your friends and family knowing that it is all under control! Also, the joy you get when you find a treasure here and there throughout the year is just as sweet. Maybe even more so because you can take the time to appreciate it and feel very savy for having planned that much more ahead of time. Trust me!! It is a GREAT feeling!
Have a Merry CHRISTmas!
Me
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
I Will Survive!!
An internet friend of mine from a board I frequent posted this and said I could add it here. Thanks HeartforHome!!
Originally written and produced by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris
Originally performed by Gloria Gaynor
Mercilessly altered with apologies by Natalie Criss
First I was afraid
I was petrified.
Kept thinking I could never teach
’Cause I’m not certified.
But we spent so many nights
Reteaching homework that was wrong.
I grew strong,
so now I teach my kids at home!
We study math
and outer space.
I just kept on despite the fear
with a big smile across my face.
I bought a set of Base Ten blocks.
I bought books with answer keys.
My parents think we’re nuts,
but they don’t even bother me
Come on, let’s go walk out the door.
We’re on the road now,
'cause we’re not home much anymore
My friends would laugh and say we’d be unsocialized.
I heard one mumble
that I’d give up by July.
Oh no, not I!
I will survive!
As long as I know how to read
I know we’ll be alright.
I've got all my life to learn.
I've got energy to burn.
and I'll survive.
I will survive.
It took all the strength I had
not to fall apart.
Decided to attend
a play date at the local park,
and I met oh so many moms
who offered eagerly to help.
They used to cry.
Now they hold their heads up high,
and so do we!
My kids are cool!
They’re not those chained up little people
stuck inside at school.
So if you feel like dropping by
and just expect us to be free
you’d better call ahead first
’cause we’re probably busy!
Originally written and produced by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris
Originally performed by Gloria Gaynor
Mercilessly altered with apologies by Natalie Criss
First I was afraid
I was petrified.
Kept thinking I could never teach
’Cause I’m not certified.
But we spent so many nights
Reteaching homework that was wrong.
I grew strong,
so now I teach my kids at home!
We study math
and outer space.
I just kept on despite the fear
with a big smile across my face.
I bought a set of Base Ten blocks.
I bought books with answer keys.
My parents think we’re nuts,
but they don’t even bother me
Come on, let’s go walk out the door.
We’re on the road now,
'cause we’re not home much anymore
My friends would laugh and say we’d be unsocialized.
I heard one mumble
that I’d give up by July.
Oh no, not I!
I will survive!
As long as I know how to read
I know we’ll be alright.
I've got all my life to learn.
I've got energy to burn.
and I'll survive.
I will survive.
It took all the strength I had
not to fall apart.
Decided to attend
a play date at the local park,
and I met oh so many moms
who offered eagerly to help.
They used to cry.
Now they hold their heads up high,
and so do we!
My kids are cool!
They’re not those chained up little people
stuck inside at school.
So if you feel like dropping by
and just expect us to be free
you’d better call ahead first
’cause we’re probably busy!
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