Sleeping Late

My alarm went off at 6 o'clock this morning. I woke up and decided to lie there for a moment and "collect my thoughts" which is always a bad idea for me. Next thing I knew I was waking up in the midst of a disturbing dream and seeing that it was 20 minutes after 7. Yikes!!

Fortunately, I did not need to be anywhere early today and I am not babysitting today, so I quickly made egg sandwiches for breakfast while my husband rushed through the shower. The idea was that he could eat it on the go if he needed to.:-) I was glad that I had chicken and rice from last night's dinner already packed for his lunch.

He got out the door on time, barely, but on time, and now I need to go shower and get on with my day!

Things I Love

In the last week or so, my sister Kathryn from Kathryn's Reliquary and Emma from Diary of a Young Wife have posted lists of things they love and enjoy. They have inspired me to form my own list. Like my sister, I love lists!

Things I Love:
-my quiet time with God every morning
-praise and worship music
-my sweet and loving husband
-productive early mornings
-flowers
-playing in the dirt(gardening)
-the accomplishment of finishing a sewing project
-fabric stores
-yard sales and thrift stores
-classic children's books
-spending time with small children
-a clean house
-going on walks
-picnics(especially with my husband)
-scented candles
-the quilts my grandmas made for me
-the smell of clothes hung out to dry
-trying new recipes
-cooking a yummy meal using leftovers and bits of what I have on hand
-the smell of my house when I bake a special treat
-my Bosch mixer
-April Cornell stores
-trips to the library
-using pretty stationary and cards
-Mary Engelbreit's artwork
-inviting people over for a meal
-our cozy little cottage
-a well-stocked pantry and freezer
-old linens
-wearing clogs
-vintage items and decor
-Bath and Body Works sun-ripened raspberry scented products
-fun ceramic and pottery serving dishes and tableware
-drinking tea
-my church family

I don't know if this is a complete work or not. I'm sure something is missing.:-) What are your favorite things?

Mom Will Be Proud

I have finally updated my profile. My mom will especially be proud of me, as she has given several subtle hints as to my previous skeleton of a profile. So feel free to take a look. Who knows? You might find something out about me that you didn't know before!:-)

Savory Apple Roast

This is an interesting side dish. I made it one day last week and we loved it. I was very surprised how the flavors really complimented each other. It made a great fall meal with Honey Mustard Pork.
So here's the recipe:
Savory Apple Roast

Ingredients:
2 baking apples
2 sweet potatoes
2 Vidalia onions
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease roasting pan or line pan with aluminum foil. Core and cut apples into quarters. Cut sweet potatoes into 6 to 8 large pieces. Cut onions into small wedges. Combine apples, veggies, olive oil and garlic in pan. Roast in prepared pan for 40 to 45 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar before serving. Serve hot or cold.

Recipe from the Dec.2004/Jan. 2005 issue of Easy Home Cooking magazine.

Note: The apples do turn rather mushy or almost applesauce-like. If you are one who has a problem with textures or mushy foods, you might want to adjust the baking time for apples so they are firmer.

I haven't tried it but thought a variation of this recipe would be delicious baked with a pork roast.

Great Yard Sale Day

My husband and I were up bright and early this morning to go yard saling at a prominent and well-to-do neighborhood in a nearby town. They were having their annual neighborhood sales today. It ended up being fairly profitable. We enjoyed looking at the quaint houses and beautiful flowerbeds even more than the yard sales. It was a great cool morning for walking too!

I did find some very nice books and small toys for the babies that I keep here at my house each week. Also found a nice highchair for my little nephew. He had asked for one. LOL Actually, his mommy asked me to be on the lookout for one as they had not gotten one for him yet and many highchairs are quite expensive brand-new. I didn't find any clothing for me today, although many sales had very nice clothing items with almost all of them being very good brand names, such as J.Jill, Land's End, Hanna Anderson(for small girls), etc. Some still had tags attached, but unfortunately I don't fit into a size zero or a two.:-)I found a set of three cute planters for $1. We also found a lot of things we didn't need, so we didn't buy them. It is a wonderful thing to be discerning while yard saling.:-)

It was a nice fall morning spent with my husband and didn't involve much spending with money!

The Year Of The Pecan

The pecan tree in our backyard is full of nuts this year. Our landlord told us last year that pecan trees bear every other year, so obviously this is the year of the pecan. The ground is literally covered with nuts. We got a 5 gallon bucket full in just a few minutes of gathering this afternoon. There are still lots on the tree and I'm sure there are more on the ground. They have a way of hiding and then showing up in groups of twelve or more.:-) We need to stay ahead of the squirrels though!

This experience brings me back to my childhood in Oregon, when we would spend an afternoon or two after school picking up walnuts. Then there would be the many fall and winter evenings spent cracking nuts around the table and seeing who could eat the fewest.

From the research I have done, I believe that I need to lay them out to dry before storing. I am very excited about these free nuts for baking! There will be a lot of cracking for these two nuts.:-)

Little Things

Why is it that most of the things that I put off doing are little things that could be done in a few minutes or less? Instead, I procrastinate and spend a lot more time dreading doing these chores than the time spent actually doing them.

I came up with a small list of chores I always put off doing and am trying to do them as soon as they come up. Most of them are so simple, too!(Note: I don't dread all these things, but some of them really bother me when they are not done!)

-making the bed as soon as we get up in the morning
-filling the water bottles and putting them in the fridge as soon as they are cleaned instead of leaving them on the counter to roll around, get knocked over and annoy me
-putting clothes away right after they are folded or hung on hangers
-put dishes in dishwasher as soon as they are dirty instead of having the dirty dishes take over the kitchen
-clip coupons right away and throw away the rest of the sales papers
-empty trashcans as soon as they start filling up
-putting clean pots, pans and cookie sheets away in the cabinet instead of leaving them on top of the stove
-putting my shoes away at night versus leaving them strewn throughout the house to trip over and hunt for the next day
-separate large packages of meat into meal-size portions for the freezer when I first come home from the grocery store
-do extra food prep when preparing a meal, such as shredding extra cheese, browning extra ground beef, cutting up extra veggies. Some of these can be frozen for later use or keep in fridge if you know you need it for the next day or so.

Flylady has deemed one day a week as Anti-Procrastination Day.( For more info on Flylady, you can visit flylady.net) I have also heard of the one-minute rule. If it can be done in a minute or less-do it right away! I am attempting to make every day anti-procrastination day in keeping up with these little things!

Apple Butter

I made apple butter yesterday. I am very pleased with myself as this was my first attempt at canning completely by myself. When my sister and I lived together, we would can tomatoes, beans, pickles, peaches,applesauce, salsa and jams. I might add that this was much to our married friends' amusement. While we both have always enjoyed cooking and engaging ourselves in "domestic" tasks, it seems a lot of them had the idea that single women would live on cold cereal alone!

Anyways, to come back to the subject at hand. I made 10 pints of apple butter and it seemed to come out fairly well. My house smells wonderful. It's even better than burning apple-cinnamon candles which I love.

We drove out to a local orchard a couple of weeks ago and bought a bushel of Mutzus. They are a cross between a Granny Smith and a Golden Delicious. We have really enjoyed eating them in their natural state-simply delicious! I still have enough apples left to maybe make a pie or two.

Now that my canning is done I need to go deep-clean my kitchen. There are splatters everywhere and the floor is sticky.:-)

66 Days Until Christmas!

I know some of you are thinking, "How can she even think about Christmas before Halloween or Thanksgiving?" But after several years of rushing around a day or two before Christmas, trying to find great gifts and spending way too much money in the process, fighting the crowds of not-so-merry Christmas shoppers, and being exhausted and not even doing half of the fun holiday stuff that I would like, I determined in my heart that I was going to get my shopping done early this year. I tend to procrastinate especially where shopping is concerned-its not my favorite task- so my deadline for shopping this year was August 31. OOPS!!! I kept putting it off, so now I hope to have it all done by October 31. That still is far enough in advance to enjoy the Christmas holidays!

I made a general list early in the year and added a few things to my Christmas box from clearance racks, dollar stores and yard sales. (If it looks really good, kids especially will not care if it is used!) But yesterday afternoon, I finally had some spare time and decided to be productive and go Christmas shopping. Two hours later, I had bags of cool gifts to show off to my husband when I got home. I still have a few items to get yet, but the bulk of shopping is done.

My first stop was at the good old Dollar Tree and they had many great items to choose from. I have found that when I wait until later in the season, the selection is very limited. I really racked up at the dollar store yesterday. I try to give non-clutter or consumable gifts. In other words, I try to give gifts that will be used instead of something to set around and dust. I often give food gifts(fresh-baked, homemade jams, or even homemade cooking mixes) and I also like making theme baskets. The dollar store is wonderful for finding little items to coordinate with these kinds of gifts!

My imagination is running more freely now than it will be the week before Christmas. I can also plan ahead for any gifts I want to make. This helps me to save money as well as enjoy the season! I even wrapped a few gifts last night while I was still in the mood!:-)

Bread Baking

I baked several batches of bread this morning. I made 4 loaves whole wheat and 2 loaves of French bread. I love baking bread. I think it can be sort of a stress reliever or therapeutic, even though I don't feel stressed or in need of therapy at the moment. (Thought I would clarify that.:-) It also makes the house smell wonderful. That is probably a big reason why I like to bake- the house smells so homey and seems so cozy with the yummy smells wafting out of the kitchen. Anyways, the bread is now in the freezer waiting to be eaten. :-) That much bread should last us several weeks.
I do have a question for all of you bread bakers out there. Where do you get bread bags that are big enough for large homemade loaves? The gallon ziploc bags are too small and I would rather have plain bags that twist-tie. I know some Winn-Dixie stores used to carry them but mine here didn't have them and now they have gone out of business anyways. I did try to plastic wrap the loaves but found the wrap would still come loose and the bread would get all nasty. So for now I have resorted to reusing bread bags from the store. I don't normally wash and re-use bags; that is not one of my favorite frugal tips, but it does work for this until I can find something that works better. I also think that for giving bread away, the brand-new clear bread bags look much nicer.("What? You don't think the bread looks like hot dog buns? Can't imagine why it wouldn't!") :-)

Rainy Day

This is a dreary rainy day. But we really needed the rain. It has been so dry. And I am glad I don't need to go anywhere today. It's a perfect day to stay inside and clean my house. Oh joy!
I have had a fairly productive week even though I've had children here most of the time.(I know- good practice for me.:-) My husband and I worked in the yard yesterday. He trimmed hedges and I picked up the loose branches and added them to Mount Brushmore beside the road. We still need to mow the grass by the road as it is quite tall. But that will have to wait for another dry day. I also got a good start on cleaning the cars out. I stopped when our car vac didn't seem to be doing too well suction-wise and I thought I could assist my husband with the hedges. I do have some spring bulbs I want to plant very soon too. The mums I planted a year ago are quite pretty now!
I finished sewing two skirts for me this week. Both were yard sale fabrics so I was able to make them for about $1 each. One is a nice denim with a bit of stretch and the other is a navy blue rayon floral print. I used a super easy pattern that I like. It's Simplicity's New Look #6953. On the denim skirt I added a flowered fabric border and some ribbon. I have been in a sewing mood lately and I always feel accomplished once I complete a project.
Tomorrow is my grocery shopping day so I have been running low on most of my staples this week. We have been eating lots of rice, since I have plenty of that! For dinner tonight is pizza burgers(using bits of leftovers) and chocolate cake. I think I will scrounge up some carrot sticks and pickles to go with it. I am out of eggs so I made an egg-less chocolate cake today. I know it as Crazy Cake and in my opinion it is one of the best chocolate cakes ever.
I need to get back to my house-cleaning now!

Things I Have Learned In One Year of Marriage

I was planning to post this list last week before we left for the mountains. But I ran out of time between running errands, getting ready to go and taking care of my little charges that come several days a week.
So here it is... a rambling list of my personal thoughts about what I have learned in our first year.(It is not generally listed in the order of importance.)

In our first year I have learned...
...that marriage gets you right in the heart and is a very bonding and personal experience.
...that I have a big mouth that says anything that pops into my brain.
...that it will not kill me to say "I'm sorry", but that those two little words will actually help to restore health to our relationship.
...that husbands have sensitive feelings too.
...that even though women can skip meals, husbands rarely want to skip eating.
...that a meal of Ramen noodles is much better than going out for a meal we can't afford.
...that making do or doing without is better than buying on credit.
...that a 50 cent Uno game and sharing the last can of orange soda makes for a memorable date night.
...the wedding lasted for one day; the marriage for a lifetime.
...that being a wife is a noble calling.
...that comparing my marriage to someone else's marriage can contribute greatly to discontent and disillusionment.
...that it is ok to do something different than our parents would do.
...that honest and loving communication in the proper timing has more positive effects than clamming up and refusing to speak.
...that regardless of my husband's IQ, he does not and probably will never be able to read my mind.
...that I am generally a stubborn and inflexible person. (Ok, I was aware of this before, but marriage has definitely helped to show it up!)
...that praying for my husband and marriage does wonders for my attitude.
...that after God, my husband needs to be my first priority.
...that differences in our personalities can give numerous opportunities for personal growth and character building.
...that the healthiest and most productive marriage is one where Jesus Christ is at the center.

Our First Anniversary

We spent the weekend in Boone, NC up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Some friend's parents have a mountain cabin up there and they let us use it for the weekend. It is beautiful and the view is outstanding. We were a couple of weeks ahead of major leaf peeping, but we did manage to spot a few colors here and there. The weather was sunny but cool and fall-like. We picnicked on the Parkway and took a short hike down to the falls there. I thought it was a short hike, husband thought it was longer.:-) We spent Saturday poking around in little shops down in Boone. That was fun. I only bought a few small harder-to-find kitchen tools at Mast General Store. It was actually the first time since our honeymoon to Williamsburg a year ago that we went somewhere by ourselves and not to visit family and friends. The weekend was very relaxing with time to reflect on the past year and go ahead and sign up for another year.:-) Who knows what this year will hold for us?
I was very excited that my husband decided to sing me the original song that he wrote for me and sang to me when he proposed and also at our wedding.To me that is more precious than flowers or an expensive gift. We watched our wedding video again and felt all cozy and sweet. And come to think of it- I just remembered the top of our wedding cake! It is still bundled away in the freezer. Do people really eat them? I wonder if it is still good.:-)

And Two Bank Accounts Shall Become One

No, our pastor did not say that when he married us.:-) But like most everything else in our lives that became "ours" instead of "his" and "hers", so did our finances.
Out of all of our differences, it seems that the one that has the most potential to cause conflict is our finances. We simply do not manage money the same way! I like to save and see how far I can make the money reach. My husband appreciates this but has a more relaxed approach. "What good is saving money if we never get to do anything fun with it?", he asks.
We started out knowing that our finances could be a great source of conflict in our marriage. We talked about it at length and came up with a reasonable spending plan (budget) together. Then we got married.
Even though we were realistic in our dreams and goals, we still had a few suprises to deal with after the wedding. My first and major suprise came when I went to balance the checkbook and realized that my husband didn't make a habit of recording purchases in the checkbook register. I guess I thought that if I did that then most everybody else did too. He was disappointed to find that I didn't feel Hot Pockets were a necessity.
Well, we got over that one and decided that I would take care of the finances for the most part. We decide together how we are going to spend the money and then I pay the bills each month. We are both committed to tithing, so we do that first. We use mostly cash because it is easier for us to keep track of what we are spending. The envelope system works extremely well for us. If you are not familiar with this- you have an envelope for every category, such as groceries, eating out, personal allowances,gas money, hair cuts, etc. Into each envelope put the amount of cash you have specified for that category. Paying cash is a great help in not overspending. I think it is harder to spend cash because I can see it going. (We do use a debit card for certain things and we pay most of our bills with checks.)
Our different spending styles do help to balance us out. While my husband benefits from my planning and saving, he helps me to be more relaxed and not take it quite so seriously. He is very generous and I can learn a lot from that.:-) We each have our personal money each month. Some books refer to it as MIP(Marriage Insurance Premium) or personal allowances. We call it our play money. This is money that we each can spend however we choose. Even though it is only a small amount of cash each month, it is still very helpful.
We are still learning in the area of finances.(Dave Ramsey, Larry Burkett and Mary Hunt are full of good advice!) We know things will change as we go along. My husband helps me alot more with the bills now than he used to.He has become very good about recording purchases in the checkbook. I try not to stress out over every penny! And every once in a while, I reward him with a box of Hot Pockets.

Opposites

My husband and I are very different. And I don't just mean because he is a man and I am a woman. Of course, that IS very different. But personality speaking, we come from completely opposite ends of the spectrum. He is an extrovert;I have introverted tendencies. He is spontaneous; I like to make concrete plans in advance. (We joke that I have to plan to be spontaneous.:-) I like to keep things organized; organizing things is not his strong point.When I think the house is cluttered and messy; he feels he is living in wide, open spaces. I am an early bird; he is more of a night owl.I analyze everything to death; he says I think too much. :-) I am structured and plan my days in advance; he takes life as it comes. After all, you can't really plan life-it just happens. And of course there is money. We are very different in that too! I am very frugal, a tightwad at times; he is more of a spender. (More on finances later!)
So we are not alike at all. Our differences can help us to grow individually and as a couple. But, only if we let that happen. In one year, some of those changes have already taken place. Not big ones yet, but we are starting to rub off on each other.:-)
My parents prayed for and told me for years that I needed to find someone who is outgoing and spontaneous to marry and spend the rest of my life with. They were highly concerned that otherwise I would become a hermit.(Funny, but not too far from the truth.:-) On the other side, his parents prayed that he would find someone that was organized, structured and a decent housekeeper. I guess all the prayers were answered!!!:-)
So opposites attract. God knows what He is doing when it comes to match-making. He definitely had a plan when He allowed for our paths to cross.

A Year Ago

On this day a year ago, I was one week away from getting married. I was stressed with the wedding and every little detail you can imagine. I was more than ready to just go to the justice of the peace and forget having a wedding. I thought that weddings were basically a waste of money even though our wedding and honeymoon were paid for with cash before the event arrived. I am forever grateful that we did not come back from our honeymoon to credit card bills to pay for everything that had already taken place. Because of this, we did have to decide what was important and what wasn't which is good for every bride and groom and to do many things ourselves in order to stay within our very small wedding budget. I used white candles and greenery and borrowed ficus trees instead of flowers for church decorations. My sister offered the ivy plants for table decorations at the reception that were used at her wedding several months before mine. I made my own dress not so much for financial reasons but for modesty even though I did save some money that way.I used my mother-in-law's headpiece and my sister-in-law's veil-they just happened to really match the trim on my dress.:-) I made my flower girl's dress out of white fabric I had on hand. We made our own invitations and a lot of the reception food.(We had a dessert reception.) But most of all, I couldn't have done it without all the great friends and family who offered their services and help. We didn't need to hire anyone for anything, except for the few bouquets of flowers and boutonnieres and for someone to run sound at the wedding(required by the church we rented).
The week leading up to our wedding was very stressful for both me and my husband. I think we argued more that week than the whole year we have been married even though we do have our little disagreements now and then. A friend told me later that she had come to the conclusion that if I didn't kill my husband (then fiance) before the wedding, he had the potential of living a long and happy life!!! I didn't think it was that bad, but I do know that my mom and others wondered seriously if the wedding would ever happen. I had a major case of cold feet and nerves.
But amazingly enough, by the day of our wedding, I was extremely calm and sure of myself. I had come to the conclusion that by that stage, whatever that was going to happen would happen. I won't ever regret having a wedding even though I don't think I would be up to planning another one. :-) Everything went smoothly. The wedding was beautiful, original, and meaningful, just like we wanted.
In this week leading up to our very first anniversary, I certainly don't feel the stress that I felt a year ago.Life has settled down to a steady, busy pace. We have grown a lot as a couple in 12 months. Without giving it much thought, we have created our own daily schedule and routines. It is funny how easily we have fallen into our respective roles- he just does certain things and I automatically do other things. Over and over we have been thankful that even in the busyness of wedding planning, we took time to plan for our marriage. We read books together, got some great pre-marital counselling, and took time to learn what God's plan was for our marriage and home. Our wedding lasted for one day and its details that caused such stress were soon forgotten. Our marriage is meant to last a lifetime. We have certainly not arrived yet; we still have a lot to learn and issues to work on. Stay tuned as I share thoughts on marriage this week!

Spanish Rice and Corn Bread

For dinner tonight we are having spanish rice, fresh corn bread and a big salad. I will share the recipes here.(Although I think most of you can figure out the salad part.:-) We ate lots of this Spanish Rice growing up. My mom really liked making this recipe and we liked eating it! This is my mom's recipe, however, as she will be quick to inform me, it is not exactly like hers. This is because I don't have her recipe,(I keep forgetting to copy it) so I make it from memory and add my own touches as I go. It is basically the same. So here goes-


Spanish Rice Casserole
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 cans(14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can(6 oz.) tomato paste
1 or 2 bay leaves
Chili powder (to taste)
Salt and Pepper(to taste)
1 or 1 1/2 cups long grain rice, uncooked
Approx. 3 cups water
Directions:
In skillet, crumble and brown ground beef. Drain. Add garlic, onion, celery and pepper. Cook together for a minute or two. Put all in a large pot and add the rest of ingredients. Stir all together and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
* This is good with shredded cheddar cheese on top. Leftovers are good in flour tortillas.
* If you are like me and are only serving a couple of people, go ahead and freeze half of it. When ready to serve, thaw and bake in greased casserole dish at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Here is the recipe that I use for corn bread. It is from the cookbook Mad About Muffins by Dot Vartan.

Sweet Corn Muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all- purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 rounded teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup corn oil

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl. Add milk and oil to the egg and stir well. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and blend the ingredients. Fill greased muffin tins. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Serve warm. Makes one dozen muffins.
* I make this recipe in a greased 9 inch square pan.

Saturday Morning Pizza

Well, I actually slept in this morning, which is in and of itself a small miracle. I always feel somewhat guilty when I sleep in because it seems like my best hours of the day are gone. Yes, I am a morning person. It has taken my husband almost a year to get used to someone being so coherent upon opening her eyes at the break of dawn.
Because we get up early during the week we are to the point now where if we sleep until seven a.m. it is the end of the world. Very rarely are we even able to sleep late on a Saturday. But today was an exception.
My husband needed to run some errands and asked very sweetly if I would like him to bring us some biscuits from a local fast food joint. I scoured all of our coupons and we decided on a "buy one, get one free" deal. The only problem was discovered just as my sweet husband was heading out the door- we had missed the breakfast hours. I immediately jumped to plan B. We could eat breakfast at home as usual. When you hardly ever go out, cooking and eating at home often ends up being less of a hassle!:-) He thought it would be nice to take me out for an early lunch. He asked me what I was in the mood for. After some deliberation, I decided on pizza. Not just any pizza either. Oh no... none of the pizza coupons would work, because I (the overly frugal one) wanted Pizza Hut's new Cheesy Bites Pizza. I had seen all the commercials for it and it just looked so great! In other words, I was sucked in to the grand marketing scheme. I saw it, they made it look good and I wanted it! An easy sale. We did get the pizza and yes, it was as tasty as it looked on TV. But I hadn't totally thrown my frugal nature to the wind... I looked the pizza over carefully and now I am pretty sure how I can make my own version of the Cheesy Bites Pizza, not only in the comfort of my own home but for a fraction of the price!

Spam

I have been getting a lot of spam in my comments here on the blog, so I have added the word verification. I'm sorry if it is an inconvenience, but it will help to take care of the problem. Thanks for understanding!

Organized Home

Organizedhome.com has lots of free printable planner forms. In fact, there is almost every form available to use for your own household notebook or control journal or whatever you want to call it. I have used the weekly menu and shopping list forms for several months now and just this week started using the weekly to-do list. It is just easier for me to be more productive and organized when I have things written down where I can see it.I post my menus and lists on my refrigerator then move them to my very unorganized notebookwhen the week is over.(See? There are areas of my life that are still very unorganized.:-) I am still trying to get on a schedule, or rather to stick to one. It is difficult for me to stay focused and disciplined. But I am making progress!:-)