"I'm all, I'm all, I'm alright. It's a beautiful day,
and not a cloud in sight, and I guess I'm doing all right.
Yeah, I guess I'm doin alright"...
"God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy"...
"I thought if I could touch this place or feel it, this emptiness inside me might start healin, out here it's like I'm someone else, I thought that maybe I could find my self. If I come in I swear I'll leave, won't take nothing but a memory. From the house that, built me"...
"She grew up, on the side of the road, where the church bells ring, and strong love grows. She grew up good, she grew up slow,
like american honey"...
"Remember when, the sound of little feet, was a music,
we danced to week to week"...
"I went sky-divin, rocky mountin climbin, I went 2.7 seconds, on a bull named Boomanju, and I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter, and I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin, I hope someday you get the chance, to live like you were dyin"...
There's just about a country song for every situation in life, and I just love it. Not all of it, but most of it is so down to earth and it occasionally tugs on my little heartstrings. My husband doesn't understand why it sometimes makes me cry, and since my kids mostly cannot stand it, one of my favorite times to listen to it is while doing yardwork. (No one else seems to like to do yardwork at our house either). So today while I was covered in dirt up to my eyelashes from attacking dandelions and battling the leaks in the sprinkler system this afternoon, I heard the funniest song ever on the radio. I mean ever. I wish I knew the actual name of it, but the whole song was basically about the "joy" of being a Mom raising teenage daughters.
Hi, that's me.
Being a mother of teenage girls is fun. And frustrating. Exhausting. Confusing. Hilarious. Emotional. Tough. The exact opposite of boring. Shampoo depriving. Tweezer disappearing. Shirts on the flooring. Shoes "borrowing". Mood swinging. Plans every nighting. Chores arguing. Jokes making. Movie watching. Laughter bringing. Texting. Chocolate. Hairspray. Busy. Busy. Busy. Love it. Really.
The song I heard today summed it up better than I just did...so once I find it I'll put it up on this blog.
And yeah, I really just wrote a post on country music & teenage daughters...but why not?
I like both and they each have a way of making me laugh and cry in a 2 minute time span.
Country Songs
Cutting Corners
I am actually having quite a boring afternoon, but I'm kind of glad since the past two weeks have been quite a whirlwind. Our newest discovery was actually a first for us: zero dollars in the checking account. Zero.
So, needless to say, this was a serious wake up call and forced us, (me), to re-evaluate exactly where our dollars have been going...and where they need to stop going.
As I look around the community I know we're not the only ones in a "pinch", and though some haven't been so fortunate, I am pretty sure we'll come out of this alright. Two words I am most thankful for this season: tax returns. Two words I am slowly becoming more worried about: gas prices.
Surprisingly, finding ways to cut back on our spending hasn't been a burden, it has actually had the reverse effect and helped me to feel more free. Free from consumerism, debt & the worry of feeling that we will never really have enough stuff....cute Target stuff. I might need to wear some of the same clothes for a while, but that's a small "sacrifice", (if we'd even call it that), compared to a worse situation that keeps coming through the mail named "bill". And luckily my girls and I have found ways to raid each other's closets, I mean, share each other's wardrobes. And tweezers. And hair conditioner.
I am also always reminded that even the poorest American is probably ten times better off than someone in a 3rd world country right now. Our home is not under water or taken away by a tornado or tsunami or earthquake and I have never been more thankful for the desert we live in right now...the earth seems to be "groaning" more and more for it's return of it's Creator. We really have all we need and more: a roof over our head, clothing, our health, employment, and a stocked freezer and pantry that I finally get the chance to feed my family out of for the next few weeks. And even then, I'm pretty sure we still won't run out of Cheerios or scalloped potatos. Or cherry coke zero.
Saving money was something I thought I was good at, and times have taken a turn for me to kick those skills into a higher gear...my debit card is also having a stay-cation of it's own as well this month, which has re-inspired to think more creatively of ways to cut corners. I've even sewed patches on Rylan's ripped jeans, (patches made from another pair of ripped jeans...and then that pair was turned into shorts). Thriftalicious. (And he's not even five so he doesn't care yet...and plus, he's a boy.)
Yes times are taking a new turn, and in this whirlwind of change I have been busy figuring out new ways to save.
I have returned $100 worth of un-needed clothing back to stores, scrounged up items to include in a garage sale, bought less expensive hair products, gave haircuts at home, found free items by matching coupons to ad deals, found free new DVD's at the library, drank more H20, carpooled, and mostly, just quite simply,
stayed home.
Perhaps in less than a few months I will find myself taking an even different path: employment. My "stay-at-home" hours might soon need to be cut back, and so I have found myself treating those hours a little more preciously. My kids aren't so little anymore either, so that will make things go a little easier as well. I am more than ok with going back to work, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I wasn't just a little nervous about it.
Birthday Girls
Right now I am surrounded by fifteen 6th grade girls.
Yes, fifteen.
I guess I'm not exactly surrounded...I've escaped upstairs and I can hear them all downstairs laughing up a storm about something. I've done my duties of serving a 4 course "fiesta" dinner, lit the candles on the cake, organized the pinata "rules", and allowed the loud music to continue...so I figured at this point I really only need to make an appearance every 20 minutes or so. I'm just hoping they aren't spraying silly string on each other or smearing hot pink frosting in each others faces anymore....or playing tag near my rose bushes.
But it's all good. 6th grade girls are easily entertained, and my daughter Lanie has a fun group of friends. It's been fun for me to just sit back and observe their silliness, wittiness, and laughter. What fun it would be to be 12 again....not too little, and not in jr. high yet.
My mind is also thinking about my oldest, (almost 15), who is out on her very first "date". I'll admit it, I caved. She has to play her 3rd soccer game in a tournament on her birthday this Sunday, so I decided to "let" her have Friday night to go out. Dinner and a movie. Sigh. And I'll also admit, they looked cute. I really only check up on her every half hour or so through texts...really.
dressup, bows, dolls, dance classes.
Where did those times go?
They still dress up. And when they do, they are always beautiful princesses. I love my girls. This is the one week I can't think of one without the other since their birthdays are literally 3 days apart, and it's been a long, but fun week of celebrations.
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