{ Fresh haircut and finally have bedside tables }

It is Sunday night, and I am in my bed, under the warm covers, shivering.   I am so cold!

The weather hasn't been too bad for this time of the year, we've been in the high 70's which is not normal for end of November, but today they dropped down, we had rain and high winds and all sorts of winter weather.

I will say though, we have yet to light the fire.  We try to hold out until it gets much colder so that we don't go through our wood pile too quickly.

Let me show you how I spent my weekend.

Starting with Friday morning, I dropped Jasmine off at work, then went to my commissary.  Last Friday when I got my groceries, I did a Walmart pick up, and as much as I like the convenience of it, there is always something that I order that doesn't make it to my house.  Which is ok, if they told me they didn't have the item, but they don't, they just leave it out of the order and I usually don't even realize until I'm ready to cook and am missing something.

I know, my fault too because I should check as soon as I get home, and I don't.

Anyway, some chicken, pork chops, and a few other items never made it to the pickup, and I kind of put it off for a week, but really needed them for meals, so decided to go ahead and make a trip to the store.

I managed to get everything I needed and a few extras my husband asked for, like chips.  The ground beef was also pretty cheap, so I picked up a few extra for the freezer.

Got home, got it all put away, with my trusty helper, Elliott.  He is the inspector, checks every bag, smells everything, you know quality inspector.  Hahah

Didn't do much else on Friday other than picking up my daughter from work, making dinner and cleaning the house.

Saturday morning we dropped her back off at work and then drove by Walmart to pick up the peanut oil we needed for our turkey.  Luckily for us, we spotted some really nice bedside tables for a very good price, and decided to go ahead and get them.

Got back home, and Curt got busy with his college work, he had a few papers to write.  I decided to build the furniture myself while he did that.

Love how they turned out, it is exactly what I was looking for.

While I worked on those, someone took a nap on the bed.  He is so cute, and look at just how fluffy he is.  Sweet boy!

Curt brought in some more harvest from our Fall/Winter garden.  My lettuce is going crazy out there, and so are my green onions.

I soaked everything in a water and vinegar bath, then set them out to dry on clean kitchen towels, and packed everything away between paper towels, for use during the week.

While that was drying, I worked on laundry, folded a ton while hanging out with hubby.  Look at the smile on his face hahahah  He figured out the camera was set and quickly looked back like this.  LOL

Marley sat at my feet, chewing on a piece of cardboard he ripped from a box.  He is such a gorgeous looking dog.  Love him so much.

And yes, I got a fresh hair cut.  I was trying so hard to grow out my hair but I just can't do it.  I have very thick heavy hair and it becomes a hassle for me.  I got a bob, not an asymmetrical one, just a plain bob and it already feels lighter.

And cutey Elliott sat on the couch, next to the laundry basket, pawing at every article of clothing I pulled out. 

Now let me show you Elliott's mama.  She is our barn cat, remember I told you the story of how she abandoned him in our workshop.  She took all the others and left our sweet boy behind.  

I know it's normal for this to happen, but every time I think about it, it makes me so sad.  Just thankful Curt went to the workshop that day and found them, or he would have died in there.

But, regardless of that, he looks so much like her, the face is different though and she is not fluffy like he is, but you can tell they are related.

Today, we started with rain and high winds.  I took Jasmine to work early morning and then came home, worked on editing these photos, let Marley sleep on my lap for a little and just took it easy.

Marley wasn't feeling very well today, he threw up a few times this morning and his stomach was making loud noises all morning long.  When he feels that way, he likes to lay on my lap and rest, so I let him do that.

I kind of needed that moment too.

While I was driving back home this morning, it was raining and the wind was blowing , and my little car always feels like it's being smacked around on the road.  It makes me nervous and uneasy, and so I turn to prayer and keep it going until I pull into my driveway.

But as I was driving, I was praying and listening to worship music and the tears just started to flow.  I don't know why or where they came from, but I got a knot in my throat and it just went from there.  

I started then thinking of my sweet mother in law and how she is no longer among us, how this is the first Thanksgiving without her, and it really hit me that she is gone for good.

Needless to say by the time I got home, I wanted to lay on my bed and nap all these feelings away.

And I did just that, a very short nap and then back to laundry.

Little did I know that Elliott was about to give me a huge surprise.  I had washed some bed sheets yesterday, but set them on the couch and didn't get to fold them because we got busy with other stuff.

I went to fold them today and as I started folding the flat sheet I realized that it smelled weird, and I couldn't figure out why.  I brought it to my nose, smelled it and again pulled it away.  I didn't know why it was smelling like that because I had just washed them.  That's when my eyes shifted to the couch, and a dead mouse was laying there, right where the sheet was.

  

You guys, the scream I let out must have been heard countrywide.

I dropped the sheets to the ground and ran to the kitchen.  Shoved my face under water and washed as hard as I could all the time gagging and trying to tell myself that it was ok that my nose touched the sheet that was on the dead mouse.  Hahahah

I don't know, I don't know if I can handle this mice thing with cats.  Lord knows I can't stand mice, they make my skin crawl, and now it's been 3 mice that I've had to encounter hahahah

Jesus give me strength!

Anyway, I thought that was a funny story to share and some of you cat moms can appreciate.

I am going to get this post up, then try and get some reading done before bed.  How has another weekend gone by so fast, how is it Thanksgiving in a few days?  Goodness.

Have a blessed night friends, I'll be back in the morning with our Happy Homemaker Monday.

{ New camera and my reading basket }

 

Well hello there. 

Yes, it's me, actually sitting down to work on a post that is not a Happy Homemaker Monday or a book review. For shame!!! 

Honestly, I don't like seeing my blog like this, it bothers me because I feel like so much has been happening, and so much is going on in our lives, that I should be writing it down. 

But time, time just slips through my fingers and I end up letting days, weeks and months go by without a proper blog post.

   

Not what I like to do, but it is what it is. Anyway, I am here right now and I just wanted to come in and chat a bit, catch you up on what has been happening, what we've been doing and so on. 

As you may have noticed, or maybe you didn't, but I finally got a new camera. 

My old camera has officially been packed up and set aside.  It still works and will be kept as a back up, but I am so thrilled with my new one. My husband surprised me with a Canon Rebel T7. My previous was a Canon Rebel T2i and it has been a huge blessing for 10 years.  

Yes, 10 years I had that camera. The poor thing was falling apart, the little plastic cover for the memory card won't stay shut, my battery compartment was also loose, the padding around the camera itself was coming unglued and you can even see where my fingers sit because it has worn completely down.

 

And yet, I still love it.  It was my first big girl camera, and I'll always have it with me.   I can't say that I'm not excited about my new one because I am, it's a blessing for sure and it's been a dream of mine to upgrade for many and I mean many years.   

It has been a bit hard learning all the new ways to take photos, obviously being a newer model the menu is different, the way the camera itself works is different and so on. 

It took me over an hour to finally enable my back button focus LOL 

I enjoy it though, I have always loved learning new techniques and new technology, so it's been fun figuring this one out.  It also helps that I have the cutest subjects that let me just snap pictures.  They're the best, never complain, never say they don't look good in the shots and always willing to just sit there and let me go on snapping here and there.

I think I had already mentioned how we finally also got a new bed?  I'm not sure, this is what happens when I don't talk to you every day, then I get on here and have no clue what I've shared or IF I've shared certain things.

Anyway, before we go on and I tell you about the new bed, I just wanted to clear something up.

It may seem like all of a sudden we are making all these purchases, and that is true in a way, but these are purchases that have been made over the past few weeks or so, and the reason they all seem to be happening right now, is because we are finally on our feet financially.

We have been very strict with our money and have worked extremely hard to pay off all our debt.  Just in the past few months, we paid off our lawn mower, my car, our credit card and our military card.  The only thing left is Curt's truck and we're working towards getting rid of that debt as soon as we can.

What that means for us, is that, as things have been getting paid off, we've been able to set money aside for these purchases that we needed to make, or rather these upgrades.

Next on our list of wants and needs are a new fridge, a new dishwasher, redoing the kitchen floor and the dining room floor.

But those things will come in God's timing and when we have the money for them.  

The feeling of paying off debt is wonderful though and we are very thankful to be at this stage in our lives.  Best advice I can give?

Stay away from credit cards LOL

We have also been trying to wade through a lot of legal stuff pertaining to my mother in law's passing.  That takes up a lot of time, a lot of phone calls and traveling back and forth between Texas and Oklahoma.  

It's not something we like having to do, but it is what it is, and we just have to push through and do the best we can.  

My mother in law had a house in Oklahoma that has been now passed on to my husband and his brother, so there's that too for us to deal with.

Like I said, a lot of craziness at the moment.

But, I am relying on my books to help me relax and forget the stress going on around us.

  

I have a basket, have had it for years, where I keep the books I'm currently reading, or rather, on my reading list.  It used to hold my library books, now it just holds the newer books I've acquired either at the Christian book store or while we're at thrift stores.

This one is next on my list.  Matter of fact, I think tomorrow or sometime this weekend, I will begin this bible study.  

Can not wait.  

And speaking of books I can't wait to get into?  Can we say Francine Rivers?  One of my favorite book authors.  

Sons of Encouragement and A lineage of Grace.

And then of course Liz Curtis Higgs who we know is a fantastic Christian book author.

So that's basically what I've been up to.  Homemaking, driving back and forth, taking care of business *literally* and reading, reading, reading.

I better skidaddle on out of here, it is bedtime for me, I have an early day tomorrow.

I'll leave you with this adorable picture of our Elliott getting all comfy for a nap.