Hi all! Just a few quick things I want to share with you...
#1: I'm having vast improvement in my fight with depression!
For those of you that have been following my journey, you know that I've been struggling with depression for the past year. (In reality, it's been much longer than that but it's really come to the forefront in these last months.) I can feel a very large post brewing about this, hopefully by mid-August. (I'll explain the delay a little further down.) All I can say right now is that it feels SO GOOD to come back into the light!
#2: We've got a ton of birthdays going on around here!
This week and next, we've got three birthdays to celebrate in the Barefoot home. My hard-working husband reaches another year of forty-something, my darling Girl #2 becomes a teen, and my sweet little baby will be ONE YEAR OLD! Gee, seems like only yesterday I was wondering how much longer it'd be before she arrived.
#3: It's almost the end of summer!
And thank the Lord for that! We've had a very active summer here on the farm (with plenty of "pool breaks"!) but I'm ready for cooler temps. Another few weeks and I think I'll have reached my limit on 90+ days, know what I mean?
#4: It's almost time for school!
This might not seem like much of a reason to celebrate to some, but we LOVE school around here. The girls and I are looking forward to getting back into our regular routine, and I'm really excited about introducing them to Pride and Prejudice this year. Hello, Mr. Darcy!
#5: I'm getting a blog makeover!
I actually won a full-blown blog makeover. Don't get me wrong, I love what my friend Stephany has done here, and I'll miss the cute little picture of children's blocks I came up with for my header, but I'm ready for something different. (Ain't that just like a woman?)
So, with all that going on I've decided to put my blogging on hiatus until the new design is ready. See you all then, and enjoy the rest of your summer!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
A Chance To See His Past Life
After scoping out what people from my past are up to now, my husband has begun his own journey down memory lane, all the way to the point of joining Classmates.com. And guess what? They're having their 30-year reunion this fall.
I have never attended a reunion, and don't believe I've missed out on anything. From 8th grade through 12th, I attended four different schools, and the one I graduated from...well, I was only there that one year. And like I've mentioned before, I was terribly shy. It was just enough time to get to know a few people, but not nearly long enough for me to make any deep, lasting friendships.
My husband, on the other hand, graduated with people he knew most of his life. They went to kindergarten together, attended the same church together, took Boy Scout trips together....you get the idea. There's an entire half of his life filled with people, places and experiences I've never met, never seen and know almost nothing about.
And he hasn't been back since 1990.
I so badly want to take him to this reunion. I've been racking my brains trying to find a way to make it happen. To give him one weekend to go back home and be welcomed with open arms by all his old friends. To let them see the wonderful man he's become. And to share in a memory of his life that I've never had a first-hand part in before.
I'm praying God will open some doors here. I've got until late October to come up with the money, a car that can make the trip, someone willing to babysit five kids for a weekend, and a 30-pound slimmer body.
I've got a lot of work to do.
I have never attended a reunion, and don't believe I've missed out on anything. From 8th grade through 12th, I attended four different schools, and the one I graduated from...well, I was only there that one year. And like I've mentioned before, I was terribly shy. It was just enough time to get to know a few people, but not nearly long enough for me to make any deep, lasting friendships.
My husband, on the other hand, graduated with people he knew most of his life. They went to kindergarten together, attended the same church together, took Boy Scout trips together....you get the idea. There's an entire half of his life filled with people, places and experiences I've never met, never seen and know almost nothing about.
And he hasn't been back since 1990.
I so badly want to take him to this reunion. I've been racking my brains trying to find a way to make it happen. To give him one weekend to go back home and be welcomed with open arms by all his old friends. To let them see the wonderful man he's become. And to share in a memory of his life that I've never had a first-hand part in before.
I'm praying God will open some doors here. I've got until late October to come up with the money, a car that can make the trip, someone willing to babysit five kids for a weekend, and a 30-pound slimmer body.
I've got a lot of work to do.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Wordless Wednesday - If You Give A Baby A Spoon...
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
A Voyeur's High School Reunion
So I went ahead and joined Facebook a few weeks ago, and I have to admit I've been having more fun with it than I thought I would. I'm keeping in touch with a few family members, "likeing" some of my favorite things, and connecting with online friends in ways that blogs and Twitter don't provide.
I've also indulged in a little bit of voyeurism.
You see, even back in my teen years, I was more of the shy observer than I ever was the center of attention. And I often wondered what's going to happen to these people when we all grow up? Well, now I have some answers.
That one creepy guy that had a crush on me my junior year? He's in an "open" relationship with a woman who looks like she's auditioning for the musical "Hair". Strange.
The girl from choir who thought she was all that? Apparently she did move to New York to become a Broadway star. It's purely speculation on my part, but I'm guessing she didn't make it since I've never seen her name show up in the Tony nominations.
The "preps" are still preppy, the cheerleader works in Human Resources, and the partiers became blue-collar respectable.
And the guy that broke my heart so badly I stayed in bed for three straight days? He's a balding, overweight, middle-aged man married to a woman who's even heavier than I am, whose biggest excitement in life has been going to a convention for fans of "The Office" in Scranton. At least he sounds happy with his life.
And so am I.
I've also indulged in a little bit of voyeurism.
You see, even back in my teen years, I was more of the shy observer than I ever was the center of attention. And I often wondered what's going to happen to these people when we all grow up? Well, now I have some answers.
That one creepy guy that had a crush on me my junior year? He's in an "open" relationship with a woman who looks like she's auditioning for the musical "Hair". Strange.
The girl from choir who thought she was all that? Apparently she did move to New York to become a Broadway star. It's purely speculation on my part, but I'm guessing she didn't make it since I've never seen her name show up in the Tony nominations.
The "preps" are still preppy, the cheerleader works in Human Resources, and the partiers became blue-collar respectable.
And the guy that broke my heart so badly I stayed in bed for three straight days? He's a balding, overweight, middle-aged man married to a woman who's even heavier than I am, whose biggest excitement in life has been going to a convention for fans of "The Office" in Scranton. At least he sounds happy with his life.
And so am I.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Like Ma Ingalls....With a Crock-Pot
Like a lot of moms I know, I try to have a menu plan in place for a week (or two if I'm really on my game) to at least have an idea of what to set out each morning for dinner that night. This week, though, I slacked off and didn't write down a thing. But really, can you blame me? I'm not the most creative cook in the world (that would be my friend Marye...fabulous stuff there!) and after six straight weeks of temps in the 90+ range, I'm getting a little bored with my usual don't-use-the-oven fare of pasta, stir-fry, and "breakfast for dinner".
So today while I waskicking myself for not having planned ahead again browsing through my cookbooks, my husband came in and unwittingly provided the answer.
"Hey honey, I had to kill an extra chicken. Do you want to use it tonight, or should I put it in the freezer?"
Yes, these are the sorts of things I'm coming to expect to hear from my husband now.
You see, back in May we bought a small flock of roasters specifically to sell for meat, and while "processing an order" today, one of the silly little cluckers got its wing broken. And since my husband is determined to only provide high-quality goods, it would never do to sell a chicken with a broken wing (regardless of the fact that the customer was his own mother who never uses the wings anyway).
Did you ever see the movie "Cold Mountain"? I'm reminded of the scene where Nicole Kidman was being terrorized by a rooster and Bridget Jones comes up, casually wrings the bird's neck and says, "Let's put 'em in a pot."
Seriously, if you'd come up to me five years ago and said, "Wendy, someday you're going to be cooking animals that were running around in your yard half an hour earlier," I would've backed away slowly while looking for an object to defend myself with. But here I am, plucking the feathers out of tonight's dinner.
Lord help me when we start raising pigs.
So today while I was
"Hey honey, I had to kill an extra chicken. Do you want to use it tonight, or should I put it in the freezer?"
Yes, these are the sorts of things I'm coming to expect to hear from my husband now.
You see, back in May we bought a small flock of roasters specifically to sell for meat, and while "processing an order" today, one of the silly little cluckers got its wing broken. And since my husband is determined to only provide high-quality goods, it would never do to sell a chicken with a broken wing (regardless of the fact that the customer was his own mother who never uses the wings anyway).
Did you ever see the movie "Cold Mountain"? I'm reminded of the scene where Nicole Kidman was being terrorized by a rooster and Bridget Jones comes up, casually wrings the bird's neck and says, "Let's put 'em in a pot."
Seriously, if you'd come up to me five years ago and said, "Wendy, someday you're going to be cooking animals that were running around in your yard half an hour earlier," I would've backed away slowly while looking for an object to defend myself with. But here I am, plucking the feathers out of tonight's dinner.
Lord help me when we start raising pigs.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Make Way For...?
When Benjamin started crawling at 6-7 months, I was told "He's hurrying up to get out of the way for the next one."
His sister was born twelve months later.
When Sarah stood up on her own for the first time at 5 1/2 months, I was told "She's hurrying up to get out of the way for the next one."
I got pregnant again twelve months later.
So far, my youngest three have been born in '05, '07 and '09.
Mary has not yet had her first birthday, and look what she started doing a few weeks ago....
Should I be worried?
His sister was born twelve months later.
When Sarah stood up on her own for the first time at 5 1/2 months, I was told "She's hurrying up to get out of the way for the next one."
I got pregnant again twelve months later.
So far, my youngest three have been born in '05, '07 and '09.
Mary has not yet had her first birthday, and look what she started doing a few weeks ago....
Should I be worried?
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Why is it...
Why is it that the one item you need the most from the store is the one you will always forget to pick up?
Why is it that the days you have the most indoor work are the days that never rain, and the days you want to play are nothing but thunderstorms?
Why is it that your favorite piece of clothing is the only one that will get ruined in the laundry?
Why is it that when you want to play with your children all they want to do is watch cartoons but the minute you get an important phone call they want to talk your ear off?
Why is it that fifteen minutes before you finally decide to reward yourself with the special treat you hid in the cabinet is when someone else finds it and helps themselves?
Why is it that the unidentified wonkit's importance will only be realized two days after you threw it away?
Why is it that the thing you've seen thirty times a day in the same place is missing the moment you need it?
Why is it that no one drops by unexpectedly when your house is spotless but always show up when it's a disaster area?
Why is it that Monday thru Friday take an eternity to pass but Saturday and Sunday are over in the blink of an eye?
Why is it that the days you have the most indoor work are the days that never rain, and the days you want to play are nothing but thunderstorms?
Why is it that your favorite piece of clothing is the only one that will get ruined in the laundry?
Why is it that when you want to play with your children all they want to do is watch cartoons but the minute you get an important phone call they want to talk your ear off?
Why is it that fifteen minutes before you finally decide to reward yourself with the special treat you hid in the cabinet is when someone else finds it and helps themselves?
Why is it that the unidentified wonkit's importance will only be realized two days after you threw it away?
Why is it that the thing you've seen thirty times a day in the same place is missing the moment you need it?
Why is it that no one drops by unexpectedly when your house is spotless but always show up when it's a disaster area?
Why is it that Monday thru Friday take an eternity to pass but Saturday and Sunday are over in the blink of an eye?
Friday, July 2, 2010
Makeover Madness
Last week, after returning home from another successful couponing expedition, I was putting away my purchases when my husband saw me take a box of Nice and Easy out of the bag.
"Oooh, are you gonna dye your hair?"
It's been a long time since I've changed my color, and with the funky rut I've been floundering in, it didn't sound like a half-bad idea. But if I was going to go to the trouble of dolling myself up for him, why shouldn't he spruce up a little for me? So, we made a deal. The day I dye my hair would be the day hefinally reluctantly would shave off his beard.
Now, he's gone from this...
"Oooh, are you gonna dye your hair?"
It's been a long time since I've changed my color, and with the funky rut I've been floundering in, it didn't sound like a half-bad idea. But if I was going to go to the trouble of dolling myself up for him, why shouldn't he spruce up a little for me? So, we made a deal. The day I dye my hair would be the day he
Now, he's gone from this...
...to this.
And my brunette days...
...are temporarily gone.
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