the 20 days of exercise i said i was going to do

It worked.  I completed the 20 days of exercise before the end of October.  I refrained from buying any clothes until the end of the 20 days.  The motivation really helped me.  Want clothes?  Must exercise.

Funny thing is, I used the majority of the money I had set aside to buy new clothes…..on new running shoes, and new exercise/running clothes.  Isn’t that hilarious.  Not what I expected from me.  Ha ha.

I’m also going to be putting a kabosh on my blog, here.  I guess I’m just not pleased with where it is going.  It has served it’s purpose of enabling me to ramble, and I’ve enjoyed knowing that someone was reading.  So, thanks for reading and commenting.  I appreciate it.

Adios.

-C.

deployment update

Life is interesting.

About a year ago, or maybe more, Dave’s boss walked into his office and informed him that he’d be transferred to a unit that would be deploying this fall.  The past year was spent waiting and wondering if it would really happen.  Most of the time, it seemed certain.  Other times, it didn’t.  He didn’t get transferred when he was told he would.  They were going to have him work at his current job up until the last minute, and then give him his official orders.  We told a very few people.  We wondered and wondered and wondered how to tell the kids and when to tell them.  Finally, we told them, about 2 months ago.  I mentioned it on my blog.  And, we began to tell people.

Dave sold his truck.  We had someone come out to clean the fireplace and the dryer vents.  Made the decision to replace our 20-something year old deck that was falling apart.

Back in April, Dave hurt his knee pretty bad.  He went to a military doctor and asked for an MRI.  Was not given one.  Followed procedure and waited and waited.  Went back, saw another doctor.  Got a second opinion.  Was finally granted request for MRI.  Given MRI.  Waited to have the results read.  Doc said he needed surgery.  He had surgery on his knee about 2 1/2 weeks ago.  He’s still on crutches and wearing a knee brace.  He has another 4-6 weeks of this until he can even begin physical therapy.

He will not be ready to deploy with the unit, on time.  Whether or not he will go late is still up in the air.  If he doesn’t go, the next 2 years remain a great mystery to me.  Where will he work and will he deploy in a year?

The past year has been one of great uncertainty for us: whether or not he was going.  And, I’ve carried that around with me most of the time, thinking, wondering, waiting.  When Dave *finally* got his orders, it was a strange relief.  Here, we finally had something definite, even if it meant he was going away for a year.  That feeling of strange relief did not last for more than a month.  We’re back to square one.

I don’t know if that makes sense.  I hope it does.  Smile.  Keep ya posted.

a quote from Pandora

Days passsed.  Weeks passed.

But Pandora’s curiosity about the jar did not lessen.

Oh no, not at all!

Instead, it grew, like a clinging vine,

Tighter and tighter around her waking thoughts.

She tried to forget,

She tried to think of other, simpler things….

She knelt in the courtyard 

And with a small brush painted old stories on the white tiles.

But like a map where all the roads lead to one city,

In Pandora’s mind,

All the songs and old stories seemed somehow to lead back…

To the mysterious, sealed jar.

This quote comes from Pandora, by Robert Burleigh and illustrated by Raul Colon.

Image via Wikipedia

my babies

I’ve waited a while to get to this place, the place where I’m keenly aware that my kids are growing up…and that time is passing quickly.

I snuck in a run this afternoon, and as I’m walking toward the house and down the driveway, I see little Hudson standing there in the doorway.  He’s watching me.  And I just know.  I just know know know that this is one of those things that doesn’t last forever, not even a long time: a small child watching me from the front door.  And, what is it about this that makes me want to cry?

Sometimes, when I’m approaching the house in my van, I see the lights on in the school room, the bird poster and the map.  I can see it all from the road as I look in the window.  There are signs of life, of learning, of youth.  And, I stop and wonder what it will be like when they are grown and gone.  And, will the light be on in that room?  God knows it never used to be.

Just writing about my babies, tonight.

-C.

this pretty much sums up how I feel…

In the backyard, I was thinking about all the women who head out of the house and make their jobs elsewhere.  How they say it’s easier, how they couldn’t stay home with the kids.  And, then, I think of all the women before me.  Multitudes and multitudes whose work was their home, their family, their community.

I’m not going to stand up and say that I think all women should stay home and not join the workforce.  But, I will say, I’m perfectly content where I am.  Let me also say, I enjoy shopping without any kids in tow.  And, yeah, I love to cruise in my minivan with the radio playing and the windows rolled down, without any kids in the van.  And, I like coffee with a friend, every now and then.

“Come snuggle up on the bed, and I’ll start reading this book to you,” I said to Jack tonight.  We began The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White, and it is most beautiful!  I love the characters.  It is lovely to read aloud.  The language is distinguished, perfect, and relaxing.  The following passage from page 23 sums up how I feel about what I do, as a mom and the primary teacher of my children:

      “My dear,” said the husband, the cob, one afternoon, “do you never find your duties onerous or irksome?  Do you never tire of sitting in one  place and in one position, covering the eggs, with no diversions, no pleasures, no escapades, or capers?  Do you never suffer from boredom?”

     ”No,” replied his wife.  ”Not really.”

     ”Isn’t it uncomfortable to sit on eggs?”

     ”Yes it is,” replied the wife.  ”But I can put up with a certain amount of discomfort for the sake of bringing young swans into the world.”

good beginnings

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There are plenty of lessons I’ve learned the hard way with homeschool, and there’s more rough ground I’m bound to cover.  I’m not going to write about the times I wanted to quit because that’d be too boring and depressing.

We are 10 weeks and 1 day into our second year of homeschool, and I do believe I have found something that most definitely works for us.  For us.  For us.  For us.  It works for us, I said.  By no means, do I believe this is for every homeschool family in the world!  Smile.

In elementary school, we said the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible each morning.  We’d sing a song after each one.  And, it’s that memory that has caused me to want to do that with my own children every day that we possibly can.  This year, we’ve stepped it up a small notch.  After we say our pledges to the American flag and the Bible and sing a song after each, we sit on the floor in a circle.  I pull out the Jesus Storybook Bible and read a story.  Sometimes it’s more if the kids are begging for the next one.  Then, each child has the opportunity to share a prayer request or praise, and everyone has the opportunity to pray.

It’s worked for us.  A quick coming together to begin the day.  It gives us a definitive beginning, a strong start.  I dare say it helps us to pull through the remainder of the things we have to accomplish.

exercise: the thrill of just being able to do it

Something I’ve been thinking about the past couple of days…

Yes, it may be true that I do not wish to feel uncomfortable in my clothes.  I dislike pain in my stomach from pants that are too tight, and I definitely don’t like my belly to hang over them.  Ha ha.  I’m workin’ on all of that.  One thing I do is exercise.

The thrill of exercise, for me, is just being able to do it.  I mean, that I can get out there sprint from one mailbox to the other one down the road is awesome.  I love it that I can.  I love it that I can do pushups.  And, even though I may struggle through an ab workout, I love it that I can do any of it at all.  It just feels good to do it.  If I had any encouragement for folks, it would be this: whatever you are doing, be thankful you can do it…and always try to improve….even if it’s a little at a time.

One of the benefits of exercise may be the loss of fat, but I am realizing more and more that exercise itself (and the ability to improve) is a wonderful gift.

the ocean and life

I love to walk on the beach and run on the beach and sit on the beach; I like to think at the beach.

Two summers ago, we visited Carolina Beach.  One afternoon, I ran to where Kure Beach ends and Ft. Fisher begins.  It was quite a thrill because this is what I saw:

Beautiful rocks with wonderful little pools of water.

One catch, though.  You can only see them at low tide.  They are underwater the rest of the time.

This summer, I took Jack with me to see the rocks.

As I sat there and watched him, it dawned on me that I had not seen those rocks earlier in the morning.  I had no idea they were in the water.  It had been windy that morning and the waves were rough.  I began to think of how glad I was that we didn’t try to go swimming; imagine, the waves pounding us into those rocks.

Then, I started thinking about life…and the timing of things.  Things I’ve had to wait for and things for which I will wait.

I love the beach, pretty much anytime; however, I’m always eager for low tide.  The beach is wider and the sand hard, good for running.  The tide goes out, and children can explore those rocks.  I fill my bucket with the most beautiful shells…shells, which remain beneath the water, hidden from my eyes, until the tide goes out and the waves bring them to shore.

chicken noodle soup recipe

Chunky Chicken-Noodle Soup

1 (3-pound) broiler-fryer, skinned, or 2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces

6 cups water

3 fresh celry leaves

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/3 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup sliced celry

1/2 cup sliced carrot

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules or 1 chicken bouillon cube

1 cup uncooked egg noodles

1 bay leaf

more pepper, if desired

–Combine first 4 ingredients in a Dutch oven;bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.  Remove chicken from broth, and cool.

–Strain broth; discard celery leaves and solidified fat.  Return broth to Dutch oven; add green onions and next 8 ingredients.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

–Bone and chop chicken; add to broth.  Cook 5 more minutes.  Discard bay leaf.  Sprinkle with pepper, if desired.  Yield: 7 cups.

-from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook

a few Cherish notes…

I usually use a slightly larger chicken and just increase the water and other ingredients proportionally.  Even if you don’t use a larger chicken, I think this recipe benefits if you do add more water.  I always add additional salt and pepper to this soup, and I think it works better to just season each individual serving.  Enjoy!

How I read a recipe

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I am no gourmet cook.  For heaven’s sake, I use words like “tasty” and “delish.”  With that being said, in my nearly 10 years as a home cook, I have found the two most valuable things in the kitchen to be: the ability to select a good recipe and the ability to follow the recipe.  Very simple.

I read cookbooks.  I love to read one when I eat lunch.  It’s nice.

As it so happened, today, I was flipping through the All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook, and I found one.  I think I found a good recipe.  Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Chilean Cilantro Sauce.  So, what makes this seem like a “good one” to me?  Okay, there’s a picture; the picture looks good.  Second, the ingredient list: I am familiar with most of the ingredients and I like most of the ingredients and I have many of the ingredients on hand.  Also, I’m intrigued by the way the recipe calls for the beef to be sliced lengthwise, then flattened, rubbed with a salt mixture and broiled.  I’ve never done that, and it sounds a little….well….more Chilean than American.  Or, so I imagine it to be.  (Smile)  Finally, I look at the nutrition info and see that one serving contains 167 calories, 7.3 g fat, and 17.1 g protein, and 8.2g carb.  Granted, these are smaller serving sizes; however, I’ll take it.  It sounds healthy.  There is a small challenge, one that may actually prevent me from trying the recipe.  It calls for 1 (1 1/2 pound) center cut beef tenderloin.  I’ve never seen that in the meat dept., so I’m guessing I’d have to buy an entire tenderloin and slice it myself…cut a large 1 1/2 pound piece and freeze the remaining smaller filets.  Hmmm….Do I want to go to that trouble?  Is my knife even sharp enough to cut through all that beef?  Hmmmm…..Maybe if the whole beef tenderloin goes on sale….

By the way, don’t you just love the picture of the cow up there?  ha ha ha….

-C.