Misc. Ramblings ...

Smoov said
"And it really pisses me off when strong, ambitious women are seen as something bad or odd or whatever. Not that you said that, but this train of thought just led me there."

It is sad that it does go that way. I wish I were seen as strong and ambitious though! I am not seen that way, nor do I feel that way! Most days I feel like I'm fighting a really strong current to get back to the beach while wondering if someone will throw me a life preserver to make it a bit easier (as in, come watch my kids so I can clean! or come do my laundry for me! or would you call and offer to come over for dinner because you are going to pick up a scrumptious meal for us from Olive Garden!). I'm probably more viewed as the timid, girly female who need a man to take care of her or else. Not that I am that bad, but I do rely on my dh for a lot and my dad still does quite a bit to help us out and to take care of his "little girl." I like the help, I like knowing there are people who will help out in a clutch and love me and take care of me, but sometimes I wonder if they do it because they want to or if they do it because they think I need them to, kwim? Anyway, I know I am competent, I just might need a few trials to accomplish things and am not helpless because of it!


In other news, while cleaning yesterday, I decided to make the shelving unit in my living room actually look nice! Yeah, the shelves without books and movies had things on them, but mostly things that were thrown up with no thought to placement or anything like that. So I moved things, brought more things in, arranged things, etc. Still not perfect, but I like it a LOT more than what it was before. I also had more to work with since my mom brought me over roughly 6 Longaberger baskets that she doesn't want anymore. What! Not want them! I just don't understand them! I love baskets. I really love the longaberger baskets- with their fabric linings and plastic linings they look lovely and can hold things very easily. Okay, so three of them are being displayed empty at the moment, but two have turned into yarn holding baskets! And one is in the basement hiding while I make a spot for it!

After working upstairs and liking what was going on, I went into my sewing room. And I looked around and realized I do not like it. I need to reorganize it and make it look better and I need to score more counter space. Unfortunately, I really think that I will have to move things out of the room to get the look I want. And I don't think I have anywhere else to put things at the moment. But now I can't work in there without thinking about how to rearrange it all!

Also, I've done a bit of reading lately, but 2 I want to pass along: The Knock at the Door and 19 Minutes. Knock is a non-fiction book and 19 is a fiction book. Both moved me a lot and where the kind that I didn't want to put to down! Oh, almost forgot another one who made me feel that way - The Friday Night Knitting Club. Despite it's title, I do believe you will love it even if you do not knit!

I have been to Goodwill twice now to shop. Once we went for just the kids. This week when we went I just peeked at the woman's clothes. Low and behold, I found 3 tops that I wanted to buy, and they fit and I bought them. This is terrible, but it took a lot for me to do that. It kind of makes me feel, I don't know, as I told dh I felt like I was back in high school and in my mind I was thinking "please don't let anyone I know see me here!" I am a bit ashamed to admit that - but it's true. Hard to argue with the prices though - we got: 3 tops for me; 1 short, 1 pant, one skirt, 1 sweater, 1 boardgame, and 1 tie for my oldest; 1 skort, 1 hoodie, 2 books for my middle (didn't find anything for the little man) and it came to 37.00. Which means I paid approximately 2.85 per item. Not bad when usually 37.00 might buy a shirt and a half. Also, the sweater/skirt/tie for my oldest are part of our attempt to turn her into Hermoine Granger for a party on Sunday and also for when the new book comes out. They aren't exact matches to the character, but she's 7 and I'm not spending 50 dollars to get an authentic sweater for her!
Anyway, my rambling in all of this is to say that I'm really trying to cut our spending without taking away all of our extras. I don't want the kids to think they can't have a few new clothes every so often (and yes, I know they don't need them although I tried to get a few fall/winter things which they will need soon enough) because the budget is tight. Fortunately they have no preconceived notions of shopping at Goodwill and they think it's like going on a treasure hunt there! They told me, there is always something different here mom! Who knows what we'll find today. Funnily enough, we were able to find a few things we donated there LOL! Which I was a bit amused by! Anyway, dh told me he is proud of me for shopping there (although I'm sure proud is too strong of a word) and that he might go with us next time to see what is in the mens section. Afterall, if the kids and I have to adjust clothing spending, I think it's only fair that he should as well - not that he spends much on clothes but he always needs new pants for work!

Anyway, that's a pretty good amount of rambling for now!