tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69793712024-03-14T03:05:23.431-05:00SpritzyRamblings of a 30 something mom with three kids,a full time job, and a thriving real estate business.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.comBlogger638125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-11424332573515604742011-08-26T20:00:00.003-05:002011-08-26T20:17:52.120-05:00Shock!It's been awhile, yes, I've been reminded by several lately. It's just too easy with Facebook to give a one-liner and move on. So much has been happening. I'm forging ahead on a new career path- within the next 6 - 7 months, I am giving up the engineering world to move to a world dominated by women. Honestly, it's not a decision I came to easily or readily but I know it is the right path for me. I've had to learn a whole new language and a new way of relating to people. I've had to learn social skills that I never knew I could learn. My reasons are many- I finally feel like I am doing something that helps people, my work schedule is completely in my control, my success is a direct correlation to how hard I work and the positive feedback is unending. Probably anyone who's followed my career will not be surprised that it was not my passion.
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<br />On the family front, there are many changes as well! Little Sudsy Pumpkin Pie is 3.5 years old and an absolute character. He is easy going, fun loving and a riot who loves to make people laugh. The things that come out of his mouth....oh so funny. I love this age when the mispronounce things- he calls kiwi piwis and nectarines are submarines. It's just so cute we can't correct him. He also love to put in a dramatic ummm when we ask him a question. Like he's really pondering his answers.
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<br />Smoochie just started 3rd grade and is quite the athlete. It doesn't matter the sport- she played her first season of baseball, machine pitch last spring and quickly because the team favorite. She was one of the most consistent hitters. Throwing a football around and she can throw a perfect spiral even though no one taught her.
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<br />Bubby has had the most profound changes. While diet definitely had a positive impact in managing his ADD, we started going to therapy last year and employing what is called 'Nutured Heart'. It's basically parenting turned on it's head- pay lots of attention to the good stuff and almost none to the bad. It helped our relationship with him but still did not fix the issues in school. At the end of the school year last year we started neurotherapy. They mapped his brain and compared it to a 'normal brain' and he's working on the areas that deal with focus and auditory processing. At first the changes were very hard to detect but looking at where we started a few months ago, he's a completely different kid. He can now take in multiple instructions and actually follow them. His emotional state has leveled out and he's turning into a very responsible young man. He's just started middle school and we couldn't be prouder of how he's handling it all.
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<br />That's it- I will try not to wait this long to update again.
<br />Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-80743887070791176712010-06-02T15:47:00.003-05:002010-06-02T15:56:37.142-05:00Another school year bites the dust1.25 days of school left. It is hard to believe another school year has flown by so quickly. Smoochie's award ceremony was this morning and I stayed home from work since Hubby had to take Sudsy to swimming and I had neglected to inform the extended family in time. I thought it started at 9 so I was taking my sweet time this morning, took a bath, put on a robe and got on the computer for a bit. You know, since I don't spend enough time on the computer at my job. At 8:11, I had just taken my oatmeal out of the microwave when I glanced at my blackberry and saw it flashing red. I checked and that is when I found out I had 4 minutes to get to the ceremony. I threw my oatmeal in the fridge, quickly got dressed, slapped on a bit of make-up so as not to scare small children and pulled my wet mess of hair back and ran out the door. I got halfway to the auditorium and didn't see people filing in so I called home to check location. Library! Then I realized I'd have to check in at the front office so I had to run back home and grab my driver's license. I ran back out the door, waited in line to check in and made it only 10 minutes late. Then I proceeded to sweat the first 30 minutes after my jog to get their in time since we're now at about 80 degress in the mornings with 90% humidity. Lovely.<br /><br />I'm fairly certain that if there were an intelligence test to have children I would not pass at this point.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-79077549921699778492010-04-27T12:41:00.003-05:002010-04-27T12:49:04.722-05:00Putting the pieces togetherI've struggled for years to put myself and my health as a priority. There is always so much going on and it feels like anytime I gain a bit of momentum, something derails me. Fortunately I'm stubborn and haven't given up on the idea. <br /><br />So, I'm finally feeling back in control of what I eat and I run into a stumbling block. We've had to put him back to the strict phase of Feingold has we've slipped in the past months and his behavior is reflecting it. Luckily, I've done this before and I've learned the fine line between feeding my family and thinking creatively to reduce the caloric content of my meals. Hamburgers? Great! I'll put mine on a salad instead of a bun. <br /><br />My office opened up a little exercise room a few months ago and I started spending 30 minutes several times a week on the treadmill or the elliptical. That was until I developed plantar fasciitis and had to drop it. However, a friend mentioned that she was doing a boot camp and I jumped at the chance to join her. This morning was a bit cruel with a 4:20 am wake-up call and my foot is aching again, but I refuse to give up. I refuse to give up on the notion that I can one day get healthy and make myself a priority.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-47937877476526573922010-03-30T15:26:00.002-05:002010-03-30T15:30:41.763-05:00Hope and despairOne of my co-workers is like no one else I've ever met in my life. He is absolutely 100% certain of the future. He thinks he knows exactly what is going to happen and is quite frankly arrogant. Which makes him seem a little crazy. Problem is, I happen to agree to a small degree with what he says. And that irks me. One, because I don't like agreeing with people who have the know it all attitude and two because if what he says is true, the future is quite terrifying. Complete and total collapse of the dollar and society as we know it today.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-7021090766952354812010-03-24T09:12:00.003-05:002010-03-24T09:16:41.202-05:00Lost and foundMissing: Motivation<br /> <br />I am seriously struggling at work. I have a bad attitude when I drive through the front gate and it doesn't get any better through out the day. As thankful as I am to still have my job and believe me, I do know how fortunate I am, I just can't seem to shake it. It would be one thing if I could go in, do my job and do it well and go home. If only it was that simple. With the new regime in place and all the 'initiatives' underway, it seems like everything is an exercise in futility. I flounder when I feel my efforts do not benefit anyone. I either need a change of scenery or a giant kick in the butt. Maybe both.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-19788977922638124902010-03-18T09:06:00.004-05:002010-03-19T15:58:48.856-05:00School lunchesSince we started the <a href="http://www.feingold.org/">Feingold program </a>over a year ago, I've packed the kids lunches every day. I always felt guilty about letting them eat the school lunches anyways as they always looked disgusting and were loaded with fat, salt, sugar and a host of undesirable ingredients. <br /><br />I stumbled across a blog today from a teacher in Illinois who is eating a school lunch every day to bring attention to this very issue. I've read through a few months worth and it appears her school lunches are more appetizing than the ones I've seen at our school, and believe me- hers do not look appetizing! Find her blog <a href="http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/">here</a>.<br /><br />I am extremely excited with both the initiatives by <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100317/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_michelle_obama_food_companies">Michelle Obama </a>and <a href="http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution/index">Jaime Oliver</a>. It's time to stand up for our kids and protect their health!Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-10211027617646771112010-03-18T08:33:00.002-05:002010-03-18T08:36:11.679-05:00CensusWith the build up and the hype surrounding the census, I had to make a big deal out of the day it arrived in the mail. When I saw it I jumped up and down screaming "The census is here! The census is here!". The kids quickly came running half scared to death. For all the hype, it was quite the let down. I did have one question, what do people do who have more than 12 people living in their home?Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-45928800083049203712010-03-16T14:35:00.002-05:002010-03-16T14:46:13.088-05:00Home moviesAll kinds of nice viruses have made its way around our house the past few weeks. We've alternated taking turns getting sick and have spent quite a bit of time indoors watching home movies. The kids get such a kick out of seeing themselves when they're younger. Sudsy kept calling out his name while watching Bubby at his age. It's no wonder I mix up their names all the time.<br /><br />I'm so thankful to have the kids on video to remind us how Bubby used to have a little lisp and how Smoochie crawled while dragging one leg behind her. It all goes by way too fast. Bubby's already heading into the tween years and gets calls from his friends (on their cell phones!!) at all hours. I don't even move when I hear the phone ring now as I know it's not for me. <br /><br />Sudsy is talking up a storm and we're even able to understand most of what he says. He calls all big animals elephants. The kids are on spring break this week and hubby took them all to the zoo on Monday. We'll see if that helped clear a few things up for Sudsy.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-80754774536365188542010-03-11T12:32:00.002-06:002010-03-11T12:36:24.919-06:00How do you know?It is hard for us to believe, but Sudsy Pumpkin Pie will be 2 tomorrow. He is such a funny and happy little kid, even his terrible 2's are adorable. Hubby says it's time to start on #4. That sounds crazy to me. Absolutely crazy. And yet I won't completely rule out the possibility. How do you know when enough is enough? Or do some people (uhem, the Duggars) not ever know? We're out of bedrooms- is that a good enough reason to stop? I'm certainly not getting any younger and the risks go up exponentially every year. I think we have a wonderful family and I don't feel like anything is missing. Yet, when I think about the future, I know that we'd never regret having another child yet we might regret not having another one. <br /><br />Someone talk me down, please!!!!Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-33177543882234100382010-02-16T08:53:00.003-06:002010-02-16T09:08:15.594-06:00Getting back on my feetIt's amazing that every time I feel like I am gaining some control over my life I must do something to screw it up. That's how I knew it was time to have another baby each time, life was getting a bit too easy. No, I'm not pregnant :) Last fall, I felt like life was going fairly smoothly so I decided to add a new business to the mix. After all the turmoil we'd gone through with changing our diets and seeing the incredible positive impact of that, I felt compelled to share that knowledge. Fortunately, I found a food company committed to the same and it was an easy way to share my hard earned knowledge with others. It is a joy, a passion, as well as both a source of stress relief and stress gain! It adds to my never ending to do list yet also adds to my sense of personal satisfaction. <br /><br />In addition to my new business, I was also running a high stress, 6 month long project that just ended a couple of weeks ago. I have a bit of a reprieve at work and I took off a few days last week and finished up accounting for our other two businesses and pulling together all our tax information and dropped that off with our tax advisor. Another huge weight off my shoulders. I've finally started exercising again and am recommitting to putting my health at least on the to-do list. I'd love to say that any additional step I take will be to simplify, but I know myself too well to say that.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-46527297797468411222010-02-09T14:43:00.003-06:002010-02-09T14:55:55.021-06:00Morality without religionI wish more people understand that the basic assumption that religion = morality and the inverse, no religion = immorality was inherantly flawed and disproved time and time again. Here's an <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100208123625.htm">interesting article </a>speaking to this topic.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-16801425050828153542010-01-04T12:34:00.003-06:002010-01-04T12:39:44.902-06:00Happy New Year!I'm not big into making New Year's resolutions because it usually takes less than a week for my resolutions to go down in flames. I was thinking that this year I could make resolutions that I'd really want to keep- drink more wine! sleep in more! have more sex! Sadly, I probably couldn't keep those either. <br /><br />I do like the feeling of newness and freshness the new year brings. The anticipation of what the year will bring, what new things the kids will be doing and saying and understanding. There are many things that I would like to do better than last year but mostly what I hope for is more quality time with the family and good health for my family and friends.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-76614113774256837842009-12-08T13:33:00.002-06:002009-12-08T13:39:57.258-06:00Hard to believeThat is has been 3 months since I have posted! In the past 3 months, I have started up a new business selling all natural food products, reapplied for my full time job in hopes of keeping it due to a reorganization, finished up the fall ball season with Bubby's team winning the championship, sailed through Halloween and Thanksgiving, and started preparations for Hanukah and Christmas.<br /><br />Sudsy is more and more fun and spoiled every day. I should have know the moment these words left my lips that we were doomed...."I would never treat the third child any different than the others so there is now way the baby will grow up to be dependent and spoiled." We most certainly do treat him different and even when we do try to tow the line, one of the big kids will give in to his every demand. <br /><br />Smoochie has moved up to the next level in gymnastics and still continues to cartwheel, flip and handstand on every flat or not flat surface she can find. We had snowfall for about 4 hours last week and the kids were able to have snowball fights and make snowmen and snow angels. Quite a luxury for us in south Texas.<br /><br />I can't believe how fast the time is flying. I wish I could bottle it and save it forever.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-10194445450656413032009-09-20T11:17:00.006-05:002009-09-27T12:01:37.842-05:00Through the eyes of a childI am finally downloading the pics off the new camera and I find that the camera has made it's way into little hands... enjoy the view....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NMJKzxIXhoo/Sr-SycYhE7I/AAAAAAAAAjY/DIGrThkogYs/s1600-h/Kids+play+047.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NMJKzxIXhoo/Sr-SycYhE7I/AAAAAAAAAjY/DIGrThkogYs/s200/Kids+play+047.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386185074668540850" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NMJKzxIXhoo/Sr-Ua0ftHcI/AAAAAAAAAjo/5NglUOE8s_Y/s1600-h/Kids+play+068.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NMJKzxIXhoo/Sr-Ua0ftHcI/AAAAAAAAAjo/5NglUOE8s_Y/s200/Kids+play+068.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386186867847536066" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NMJKzxIXhoo/Sr-UaY0yKkI/AAAAAAAAAjg/KT9QR2LNPNU/s1600-h/Kids+play+063.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NMJKzxIXhoo/Sr-UaY0yKkI/AAAAAAAAAjg/KT9QR2LNPNU/s200/Kids+play+063.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386186860419754562" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NMJKzxIXhoo/Sr-Z8BIurCI/AAAAAAAAAj4/C02ZRftFL6k/s1600-h/Kids+play+050.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NMJKzxIXhoo/Sr-Z8BIurCI/AAAAAAAAAj4/C02ZRftFL6k/s200/Kids+play+050.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386192935734651938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NMJKzxIXhoo/Sr-Z7tFxcTI/AAAAAAAAAjw/o1H27KqeSWw/s1600-h/Kids+play+049.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NMJKzxIXhoo/Sr-Z7tFxcTI/AAAAAAAAAjw/o1H27KqeSWw/s200/Kids+play+049.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386192930353541426" /></a>Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-63463509047675644472009-09-18T15:57:00.002-05:002009-09-18T16:07:25.423-05:00Simplify financesI'm obsessed with simplifying. After all, every minute saved doing something productive means another minute I can spend doing something unproductive. For the bills, I have everything set up and goes out automatically. I used to maintain a spreadsheet that itemized our cash flow and separated everything into categories so we could easily see where our money went. It took way too much time to maintain, so currently we have a 'rough idea' of where our money goes. <br /><br />I already use QuickBooks for our businesses, but the banks we use for our personal finances does not support QB and quite frankly, it's much too complicated for our personal finances. I looked into Quicken, but I don't want to have two different gigantic financial software competing for space on my hard drive.<br /><br />Any suggestions on how to automatic my budget tracking without too much complication, expense or time required?Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-83991477936822699832009-09-15T19:09:00.001-05:002009-09-15T19:13:31.558-05:00UpdatesWork is crazy busy. I'm on a fast track project that we can't agree on anything and we keep redoing everything so it feels like I'll never finish but we have to finish. To sum it up at work: stressed.<br /><br />School is now in full swing and baseball season has begun. Coach has decided Bubby is the pick for the required 9 year old pitching and since he just started kid pitch, we have lots of practicing to do. Every evening is baseball and we're still doing the twice a week 2.5 hour gymnastics practice.<br /><br />One of our rent houses is eating our lunch and hubby has been spending every Tuesday and Thursday (the days Sudsy is in day care) killing himself trying to keep the house from falling down.<br /><br />That's all.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-68437899160163752852009-09-03T18:15:00.002-05:002009-09-03T18:40:38.394-05:00FeingoldSometimes I feel like I am stuck between two worlds. In one world, I am an a cynic, an engineer, an immediate disbeliever in anything organized- religion, government, and so on. I need to see and feel something to believe it.<br /><br />The other world is the mother in me. Bubby has struggled in school (and at home) since he was a young child with listening and following instructions. We tried every intervention possible short of medicine. In desperation, we tried <a href="http://www.feingold.org/">Feingold</a>. The program eliminates artificial colors, dyes, sugars and BH* preservatives from both diet and anything with contact on the skin or inhalation. It did make some sense after seeing the effect of red gatorade on Smoochie. However, the cynic in me wondered how a simple change like this could possibly help. <br /><br />When it came to the choice between trying Feingold and homeschooling Bubby (as the school was threatening to suspend if we didn't medicate), we chose Feingold as medication was not an option for us. Honestly, I never expected the Feingold program to be the answer we had been searching for. Not only did the program work for us as evidenced by teachers who did not even know about the changes we had made to the fact we no longer had regularly scheduled meetings with his teachers, the principal and the school counselor.<br /><br />Now I have been introduced into an entirely different world. This is a world that is open to all kinds of ideas that are not proven, not known and are quite controversial. Sometimes it is difficult to bridge the difference between the two but somehow in my mind, I have made peace and sense of it all.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-7636496633693447302009-08-31T10:26:00.003-05:002009-08-31T10:31:00.869-05:00Secret BlogI've been accused of starting up a secret blog (<a href="http://acceptingecho.blogspot.com/">Sara</a>). I didn't think it was a secret, but apparently it was. So here is the big announcement- I've started up a new blog with two of my friends. We have decided to be each other's back up and support for all things health related- mental, emotional, physical and the blog is a way for us to keep in touch and on track. I've tried to start up a blog dedicated to my health before but I can barely keep up with this one much less another one on my own. <br /><br />Here is the brand new, secret now no longer a secret blog!!!:<br /><br />*drumroll please*<br /><br /><a href="http://3supportsisters.blogspot.com/">Support Sisters</a>Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-17429582875448043512009-08-26T09:03:00.003-05:002009-08-26T09:08:44.126-05:00Making some progressWe are doing fairly well with our new plan. Granted, this is week 1, but still. The kids and I laid out all the clothes for the week and this has saved so much time in the mornings. Instead of the usual arguing and stalling, they simply pick up the next outfit in the stack (hah, not really but they do grab something) and get dressed without any lip.<br /><br />Every night this week (all three of them), DH or myself has prepared the lunches for the next day so we don't have the mad scramble the next morning. Progress has been made on at least one load of laundry every day. Best of all, I have a system for dinners now.<br /><br />The weekend before, I plan out the meals for the week and try to gather all the ingredients. I write down the list of meals on the white board in the mudroom. I bought a small white board for the kitchen on which I write down the next evenings meal before we go to sleep. I also place any daily activities/things to remember on the little white board. I have a giant white board with the month in the mudroom, but since we don't live in the mudroom like we do the kitchen, it's nice to have the reminders right in front of us.<br /><br />Today's board reads: <br />Wednesday<br />Family Fun Night!<br />Make your own pizzas<br />Bike ride and dominosCourtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-70519882421814957572009-08-20T09:44:00.002-05:002009-08-20T09:52:25.280-05:00Family fun nightIt seems that when each weekend arrives, I throw myself a mini-pity party. Hubby works weekends do we don't get to do the fun family stuff that I'd like. Instead of feeling sorry for us, I decided to take action. Who says that fun family activities can only happen on weekends? We have declared Wednesday night Family Fun Night. We will probably have to shift the shedule a bit when baseball starts up this fall, but for now, Wednesdays work great.<br /><br />Last night was our first Family Fun Night. We decided to go bowling. I'm wondering when bowling got so expensive? $45 for a four of us for one game? That seems quite steep. I am now looking for ideas for our weekly adventures, preferably ones that don't cost money. <br /><br />Here is what we have on the list so far:<br /><br />- family bike ride<br />- roller skating<br />- getting gelato from Whole Foods<br />- driving range<br />- rock wall at the gym<br />- Astros game<br />- we have tickets in December to see The Sound of Music<br />- moviesCourtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-41352778906529694972009-08-17T13:13:00.003-05:002009-08-17T13:18:12.478-05:00Setting mini-goalsOne of my favorite activities is to brainstorm ways to simplify. If I instead spent the time doing instead of thinking, I'd probably get more accomplished but what's the fun in that?<br /><br />One of the big issues around the house is putting things away. The kids (and us) will leave one or two little things out and before you know it, the house is completely trashed. Once it starts piling up, all effort goes out the window which makes it doubly bad. <br /><br />How to make life a little simpler? Keep on top of it. We've made a pact to implement a new idea every week. <br /><br />Here are just a few that we've come up with:<br /><br />- lay out school clothes for the entire week on Sunday<br />- pick out meals/recipes for the week on Sunday<br />- do not go to sleep unless the sink is clean<br />- run the dishwasher every night<br />- do a load of laundry a day (side note: only do one family member's clothes at a time to ease the put away stress)<br />- if you get something out, you put it away<br /><br />What tips/tricks do you have for making life a bit more simple?Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-66209754508383718622009-08-11T14:18:00.002-05:002009-08-11T14:25:24.660-05:00Dinner and laundryI have issues with both and would like to see them struck from everyone's to do list. In the mean time, I have figured out one way to make dinner less of an issue. My biggest problem is that I don't want to make the same dinner twice. Maybe once or twice a year but certainly not once a week or even once a month. That makes planning and coming up with ideas terribly hard. To make it a bit easier, I've added breakfast for dinner once a week. Last week was blueberry pancakes and sausage, this week was veggie frittata and breakfast tacos for the non-veggie eaters. I've also taken to the meals to go at Whole Foods. I have to grocery shop there once a week anyways, so I make it a week night trip and pick up prepared food. <br /><br />The laundry problem is still a stinking mountain. I know people that do a load a day and while that is admirable, I just can't bring myself to get into the habit. I am too exhausted during the week to even think about laundry which means I get to waste the wonderful weekend swimming in 8 - 10 loads of clothes. <br /><br />I think the solution is a personal chef and maid that comes every day. Anyone have advice on how to become independently wealthy so I can hire both?Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-56009170669034070102009-08-06T08:22:00.002-05:002009-08-06T08:38:17.163-05:00My ListI have a long list of things I'd like to do in my lifetime. Some may be realistic, some not as much but I've been thinking about my list lately and how I'm not really any closer to any of the items. I need to focus on a couple and do something, otherwise they'll never happen on their own.<br /><br />Here is my list, in no particular order:<br /><br />- travel by train across a beautiful part of the country (ie Colorado, California coast...)<br />- learn how to dance hip-hop, salsa, jive, all of it<br />- go to bartending school<br />- get good enough at golf where I'm not embarrassed to play with others<br />- complete a half Ironman (running a marathon pretty much cured me of my desire to do a full Ironman)<br />- passive cash flow exceed expenses<br />- learn how to play the drums<br />- take a year off from our lives and travel the world with the kids visiting off the beaten path places<br />- play golf at Pebble Beach<br />- hike the Grand Canyon<br />- visit all 50 states<br />- volunteer for the local women's shelter<br />- be my own boss<br />- grow vegetables<br />- have a fruit orchard<br />- make my own wine<br />- become fluent in Spanish<br />- try bananas fosterCourtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-48881246920196765972009-07-29T08:35:00.002-05:002009-07-29T08:40:10.210-05:00Brutally honest, so maybe tone deaf?One of our favorite family television programs is America's Got Talent. It is one of the few programs that we all enjoy. Mythbusters also falls into this category. Whenever a singer is on, the kids turn to me and say I should go on the show. Every time they then as me to sing something just to confirm. Then Bubby sings and he insists he would win. Then Smoochie sings and Bubby says she wouldn't win. Then Daddy sings and we all laugh. <br /><br />The funny thing is, the kids are brutally honest, although Smoochie is usually able to soften the blow. For example, Bubby telling me that I need to go on Biggest Loser. Smoochie just tells me that I'm not skinny. Back to the singing, I can carry a tune, but I am certainly no rock star. So I find it amusing the kids think I could go on America's Got Talent and not get booed off the stage.Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6979371.post-62630565275147384962009-07-13T15:01:00.005-05:002009-07-13T15:08:20.685-05:00Bunkers?I am more than a little curious with the level of hysteria that seems to be bubbling right under the surface. Rumors of ammunition shortages from people stocking up. People stating over and over in various conversations "we just don't know what is going to happen". While searching for the Feingold approved dino nuggets on the Costco website, I come across a whole selection of <a href="http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?ec=BC-EC17-Cat3605&pos=6&whse=BC&topnav=&cat=77253&eCat=BC|3605|77253&lang=en-US">shelf stable, prepackaged foods</a>. A 6 month, 4 person supply for 2 grand and people are buying this? <br /><br />Is it normal human nature to assume the worst will happen? Are we entering another 'cold war era' where everyone builds underground bunkers and stocks it with supplies? Am I missing something by not buying into all of it?Courtneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379330388300677696noreply@blogger.com3