I have a window above my kitchen sink.
Category: Housekeeping
As I’ve said in My Schedule (see the tabs above) long ago I had a full-time job with professional and personal commitments that kept me extremely busy. However, eating out all of the time was no a fiscal option, and fast food was not a healthy option, so I made sure that I cooked dinner every night. The only way to be able to do that with the lifestyle we lived and to eat before 9 o’clock every night was to have a menu plan.
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One of the first things I did was create a budget. I created a Microsoft Excel Worksheet and listed anything on which I would likely spend money: food, sundries, dining out, gasoline, etc. Once I did that, I figured what I might spend in a month’s time and set a budget. Once I had the monthly budget, I multiplied each number by 12 and came up with the annual budget. So, I created a worksheet within this spreadsheet that had the annual budget numbers. I work with an annual number, because, for instance, my birthday gift budget is $50 per month. However, there are months that I don’t spend $50, and there are months that I do spend $150 — but what I want to look at is the annual expenditures and budgets.
Welcome to the annual Christmas tour of our home! You will see that compared to last year, a lot of things have remained the same, but there are some new decorations, and some decorations have been removed.
I saw these at a craft show. The woman had a huge display all lit up and they were so beautiful. Looking closer at them, I realized how easy they would be to make.
For less than half of what I would have paid for a wreath already put together, I spent less than 10 minutes making my own:
Building a fire is all about building layers. You can’t hold a match to a log and have it catch on fire. But, you can hold a match to paper and have it catch on fire, and that fire can feed some small twigs or kindling, and that fire can feed larger sticks or kindling, which will feed a log.
Last year at this time, Gregg and I were saying that it would be the last Thanksgiving we would be apart. And here we are this year, apart, determined that this will be the last one. God has been gracious and an amazing provider in this time of economic hardship on our country, and we are thankful for the job he has, for the income that he has, and for the continued contracts that come his way while there is nothing much out there otherwise. So while a part of me wants to feel down in the dumps for missing him, I try very hard to stay thankful. Ephesians 5:20 says: Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I’m not a big fan of plastic or paper, and often the children of friends whom we entertain are older, so I like to have something nice for the “kids'” table. At the same time, I don’t want the elegance of the main table.
I needed to keep the centerpiece simple with the main table, because I’d rather put food on the table than flowers or candles.
