Thursday Daybook

In the great outdoors...
...winter is back and it's cold! We got an inch of snow -- not much, but the wind is howling and it's really cold.

I'm thinking about...

...whether life is going to get more hectic or less -- I don't know! 

I'm giving up cooking the freezer meals because I have been hired for a part-time job working at Gymboree at the mall. If you know me well you are probably laughing so hard your sides ache. I have a great dislike for "the mall." In fact, in Faith's 14 years she has probably been to the mall no more than a dozen times, probably half with my mother and half with my mother-in-law. I am not a shopper. But, I LOVE Gymboree. I didn't go looking for a job at the mall, or in retail at all, but I went to the Gymboree website and applied, and they hired me because I'm a mom. Imagine that? I know how to dress a child! There are no other moms working at this particular store -- they are all millennials who have no clue that you need to have leggings to go with the dress, and a headband, and maybe socks, too. I certainly know the merchandise and I like the company. And it's like working in a candy store  -- especially for a grandma-to-be. Must not spend the paycheck!

I am wearing...

...gray leggings, gray v-neck, gray sweater and denim skirt -- with boots, and my toes are freezing! Later I have to get dressed up because we are helping to fill a table at a charitable event, and all I want to do it sit by the fire with my knitting!

I am reading....

...You Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg.

I am creating...

...A baby blanket for my shop -- pretty blues, purples, grays, with white stripes in between and all random-sized stripes. It's kind of fun and a stash buster.

In the kitchen...
...just have to figure out something for the kids tonight.

Around the house...

...mostly dirty laundry, and the kitchen floor needs to be scrubbed, but I might as well wait until after I cook next week.

Plans for the rest of the week...

...laundry job tomorrow and then I'm not sure what. It's been a long time since I've been subject to another person's schedule, so hopefully I'll be able to plan what days I'll work and fit in everything else around it. I start my job on the 21st.

A few of my favorite things...

...my kids, and I have a little bit of other news in that department (without revealing anything that's not public knowledge):
Noah is working full time at The Toy Barn -- an exotic luxury car dealership. He is photographing the cars, editing the photos and loading them to the website. He loves it! And I say life is too short to not do what you love. He gets to "play" with gorgeous automobiles, something that has been his passion for several years. There is not money for college right now -- his last quarter ended with Doug's severance, but maybe he'll go back some day when he wants it more.

Isn't he cute?

photo credit: Toy Barn


And in other big news about the kids -- Josh and Taylor are going to move in with us just before the baby comes. They really didn't want to stay in the apartment they were in, and they can't save for a house while they are paying student loans, so they might as well live with us! There will always be someone who can keep an eye on baby if they need to put laundry in or take a shower and I think it will be such a blessing for us. I know very well that you never know how much time you have left on this earth, so treat every day like it's your last -- what better way than to get grand baby hugs and kisses every day?

I say if you're going to be pro-life, you have to go all the way. I'm glad we can provide a roof over their heads while they save for their own house some day.

Prayers sent heavenward...

...for my husband and children, to do God's will every day
...for contracts for my husband's business
...for my new job and adjustments
...for that sweet little grand baby
...for all priests and religious

...all babies whose mothers are contemplating abortion, for a change of heart

...for friends who have asked for prayers