An Interesting Turn of Events

Sunday afternoon I stopped by to return a book to a friend who was moving and casually took a tour through her house. She offered me an incredible deal on the place. I mean, really incredible. So I'm considering -- and not just "I" but the "we" that includes "I". It would mean a little bit of a commute and more gas. And it would mean making a commitment to stay put at least until my hubby gets out of school. But we would be investing . . . and starting out "ahead."

So I called up the bank I have the best relationship with and began to ask questions about finances, etc. My financial advisor turned out to be a pastor working a second job. And he seemed to know things. Like, he asked if I was a PCA or PCUSA pastor. Most people don't know to ask that. And he knew financial things too. Within the hour I had been advised against purchasing a house unless I truly could afford it and I knew what that meant because he walked me through it. I also had a savings plan for immediate and long term needs and discovered I'd almost reached the beginning savings goal (that's a first!) He helped me set up longer term savings goals in a money market fund and evaluated me for term life insurance to insure that my family would be provided for if I lost my life. I'd say I was "taken" except that I had been "meaning" to do all of these things for a long time and he took an hour of my day by phone and not only walked me through why they were important but also helped me set them up . . . affordably and in my budget.

So will we buy a house a settle down a few years? I don't know. She'd sell me the house that low if it was a quick sale so I'll know in the next 2 weeks if my life is going to turn upside down or not. After that it will go on the market almost $50K more than she's quoting me. I know the real estate agent she spoke with. We'll think through it all as clearly as we can and we'll also pay attention to the other stirrings that are going on beneath it all -- missing each other, wondering if it's time for me to consider other options for work, etc. It's all a "weighing options" game.

So that's the news from Arbuckle Creek, where gas is $3.78, children commute across county lines to orthodontist appointments, and raccoons, deer, otters, fox, and other wildlife are still a part of the natural landscape.

The Four Seasons (all at once)

Florida is weird. But most of you already knew that. All of the trees are nice and green year round. Fall usually comes between January and mid-January when the few trees that will lose their leaves actually do lose their leaves. But I noticed this week that all of the seasons have collided this week. A cold front came through on Tuesday morning (meaning 60 degrees) causing us all to shiver. Several of the leaves on my green tree out back are yellow and falling off the tree. Meanwhile, you can smell the blossoms of many varieties in the air and by noon it's over 90 degrees already. Tell me, how did we get lucky enough to experience 4 seasons in one day? Granted, there was no snow . . .

Beyond the Sniffles

So what I started out with on Sunday was nothing like it's turned into. Monday and Tuesday I could barely get out of bed. My posts were one of the few things I did all day. My mother came over to help out around the house so I could sleep. By body ached and burned and pounded and ran and dribbled. Today I finally had enough energy to get up, but within minutes of being up I started sweating profusely. It totally drained me to get up! So I stayed home yet another day. It's my 3rd day of antibiotics and I can tell they are working because I'm beginning to feel more like me, except that every hour I'm running to the bathroom with a nasty belly emptying. I recently watched Pollyanna with my kids and I was reminded to play the game where you look for the good in every situation. Laying down with a cloth over my eyes while my body dragged, I began to play. I am thankful that my kids aren't sick. I am thankful that my mother is here cleaning up my house! I am thankful that I have a doctor who was willing to prescribe me medicine. I am thankful that I can afford the medicine. I am thankful that I have people in my own community who told me that they'd help out if I'd ask them. And before long I wasn't well, but I did stop feeling sorry for myself. And I guess that's what it's all about. So right now, I am thankful that a church member is running to my office to get me some much-needed stomach medicine for me. I am thankful that I've been married 13 years to a wonderful man as of today. I'm thankful that my dog is here with me even though my mom and the kids have gone and my husband is in school all day.

And this is the news from Arbuckle Creek, where Pollyanna still lives within a 13 year married lady; where church members look out for their pastors, and where the turtles are sunning themselves on the banks of the canal where no gator has been seen in months!

Cottage Industry is still Forming curds

OK, the guy I was talking with on ebay didn't commit. He's still interested, but it's a lot of money up front and so I've offered ways I'd be willing to work with him, but it's his choice now.

So I don't have a cottage industry now. But it could become one. And seeing potential is very exciting for me. I'm also excited that I saw that I would gladly share the work and the profit with others trying to raise money for their children. That tells me that it's not about the money as much as meeting a need for me and my community. I also really liked that the person was going to use it to raise money for their group.

So right now my cottage (cheese) industry is still in the curd forming mode, but I'll just assume that that will make a healthier product. ;o)

I HAVE A COTTAGE INDUSTRY!

I've been making hairbows for the last 2 years. I've sold a few on e-bay and a bunch doing fundraising for the girls gym. Then I began making cheerleading bows for the girls' teams and have been getting better each year. This year will be my third year and the coach liked the bows so much she wants the same pattern for next year. That's fine with me. I'll just get to work. But get this, I listed my cheer bows on e-bay and I just got a request for 100-150 custom bows! OMG! I'm so psyched! I think what is even greater is that there's no way I can do all of the work myself with everything else I do so I'll get the opportunity to share the wealth with others trying to raise money for THEIR kids! And the guy who is interested in buying them is going to be using it for a fundraiser for HIS gym. I'm be helping even MORE people! Granted, I'll be sick to death of whatever colors are chosen, but my fundraising will be over and and then any others I sell will be cake (!)

I'b sick (sniffle)

I've got a horrible cold that I started getting last night and today I seem to be running a low grade fever. I made it through the service fine but I'm incredibly draggy right now. I don't want to take Tylenol 'cause it makes me sick. But I have a headache and body aches. Oh yuk. It takes too much energy to put myself to bed.

Does Anybody Read This?

I'm just wondering if anyone reads my blog or if it is for my own entertainment and amusement? (comments, please.)

Today I am rocking in my office at my desk and accomplishing nothing that my organizational management has been teaching me. Sometimes you're the window, sometimes your the bug. Sometimes it all comes together. (but today it just hasn't)

No, seriously I've been researching a second job selling things on ebay. But I have some ethical questions. I began by finding a dropshipping distributor and found one that was recommended by the Better Business Bureau and had few complaints. Then I researched their products and found that everyone on ebay was selling the same things and, to tell you the truth, it's "stuff" nobody needs. So I began wondering what I could sell and feel good about ethically. I can't feel good about perpetuating capitalism for the sake of accumulating more poor quality "stuff" (even though it's true I've bought some of what this wholesaler was selling.) But I do want to sell items that can be useful. So now I'm researching green vendors/wholesalers and will probably continue to sell my homemade bows (because I enjoy making them so I know the quality). The problem is, it's not as easy to find dropshippers who are green because then I began thinking about how much fuel was being expended in the shipping of items. You see, it's not so easy to be an ethical saleswoman.

And to be perfectly honest, what I'd love to sell would be things like organic milk at an affordable price or handmade clothing or an hour of babysitting (where would I find that?) because that's what people REALLY need! So if you have any wonderful, ethical, people-friendly product that I could sell on ebay for you and profit for my family, might you pass that along to me?

And this is the news from Arbuckle Creek where the vegetables are local and in season, peaches are "almost" in season, and the gators have begun mating (but hopefully not in my backyard!)

Getting Organized and Helping Conservatives and Liberals to Talk

So it's a long title -- but in truth it's a summary of what I'm reading right now. First, I realized that if I'm ever going to get organized I needed to learn about organizational management without getting bogged down by one specific methodology and spending hundreds of dollars on the process which I may or may not follow through with. The book I chose to read is David Allen's Getting Things Done. Nice short title that is definitely to the point. I purchased the CD set so I could listen to him in the car (everything I had read had stated how exciting he was in person so I was looking forward to hearing this motivational speaker read his own book. No such luck, he's simply reading it and the enthusiasm is minute at best.) But the process is really helpful to me. Everything that keeps you up at night because it's not done, write it down somewhere that you know you will be able to find it and where you specifically accomplish it on that day. For the past week I've been waking up before the sun because things keep popping in my head that I know need to be done but, for one reason or another, haven't gotten done. So I wake up in the night and get it done and drag myself through the sunlight hours of the next day. Today I wrote it all down, step by step, and it feels really good to know what I can accomplish quickly and what I need more time with -- not to mention setting aside time to do that so that while I'm working on something else I can REALLY work on something else! So it's helping, even though listening to it is boring. I'd probably do better with a highlighter so I could reference it later, but still, that's putting it off. This way I can ONLY "read" it in the car.

The second book I've just finished is The Abstinence Teacher. I checked it out from the library and it was really good! It's the story of a sex ed teacher who is forced to teach abstinence against her will by an evangelical Christian church that in many ways is over the top. But I found myself getting irritated by this woman when she gets mad about a team praying together. I too respect people of other religions and don't see the need to demand that everyone pray a Christian prayer, but I also believe in encouraging people to pray as they believe and not to silence any prayer. It's doing no one any harm to give thanks. But then I began to get irritated by the Christians who started holding onto a Christian prayer like it was the only evangelical moment in the world. Doesn't the Bible say to go into your closet and pray not for self-glorification but rather giving glory to God? And where is the fine line between these many prayers? The dialogue between the two extreme beliefs showed me that personally I would really like it if we agreed to disagree and to respect each other. I'm a Christian who professes faith in God through the Christian faith, but I'm also a believer that God calls people to God's self in ways we may never understand and that we can't hold the authority of God in our simple minds. God's way is far beyond our own.

Anyway, that's my recommended reading for the day.

Quote of the Day

My oldest daughter (NOT a morning person) was up quite early for her this morning. I asked her what got her out of bed. She turned to me with the most despicable look on her face and grumbled, "The birds were singing right outside my window!"

The nerve of those little fellas!