Around these parts, cleaning is somewhat of a fad. A fleeting "mood" that I stumble into at random times, or as is more often the case, I frantically try to accomplish before company comes over. I will try to tell you that I subscribe to the creed, " I live in a home-not a museum!" but, if I were to be honest, I should say it boils down to laziness, exhaustion and plain just-not-caring most of the time. The paradox is- I hate clutter! Abhor it! It makes me feel itchy and twitchy and my skin all creepy crawly. I feel my heart beat faster and I get nervous. This reaction seems odd, I know.
My friends out there with children will no doubt say, " wait a few 18 yrs and it will be clean again." But the kids' messes aren't the issue. It's my messes that truly irritate me. And I have finally figured out why!
I can't stand the idea that people would be able to see a physical, spacial, worldly representation of what the inside of my brain looks like.
It is a disaster. I am a walking, talking, drama-inducing hazmat situation.
SOOO.. this year, in addition to trying to declutter and organize my home (quit snickering, Joe), I am also going to listen to Madge and "Free my mind..!" Mostly, I am going to finally do alot of the things on my To Do list that I have procrastinated on. They eat at me. All day. Today, as I made no fewer than 700 copies of old credit card receipts, my mind was scrolling through all of the things I need to do. For me. For friends. For family. Photography. Bills. Sewing.... oh, the sewing...(ok. I won't lie. I can't WAIT to do the sewing!) Various assortments of tasks that I have pushed aside till later. It is later. They are getting done. I am tired of being tired from fretting about NOT having done them yet.
An obvious side effect of allowing my brain more breathing room, and clearing away its cobwebs will be the ability to compose many more blog entries. Entries that will hopefully be more than just an insight into my insanity I call life, but rather- might actually inspire you! I know- laugh. I just did. But, who knows? Stranger things have happened. I taught 3rd grade remember? THAT is pretty strange- yet, it happened! Leslie Nielson pretended to pass gas on me in the OKC airport. That is BEYOND strange, and yes, I am sad to say, it also happened.
So, enjoy the benefits. Check back often. Bring a glass of wine if you like. You may read about the exciting life of an Administrative Professional, or see pictures of my kids that will make you chuckle. You may even get to follow a journey to Africa for adoption.(praying VERY hard on that one!) You'll get more of me! :)

In a little more than 30 minutes, a plane will be touching down and Will Rogers International Airport. On board that plane is a group of young people who boarded in roughly 90 degree weather only to de-plane in the upper 30's.

In a little more than an hour I will be responsible for another living being. To feed him, to make sure he bathes, to ferry him.
( it doesn't matter what country you are from, mom's ferry the kids. I think it is truly wired into the female genome. Mary ferried Jesus- and lost him! Please Lord, don't let me lose this child. I don't think his mom would be very thrilled.)

In keeping with the female genome line of thinking, and all the side effects we suffer thus, I am of course getting rather anxious.
Oh, you know what I am talking about...
"Will he like us? Will he feel comfortable in the bed? Does the mattress still smell a little stale even though I emptied a bottle of febreeze onto it? Will he complain of a headache from the febreeze? Can you die from inhaling too much febreeze?" OY!

And then I proceed to, "Will Clara shut the bathroom door when she potties? Will she be quiet so as not to wake him up in the morning? Will he like the cereal we have? Will he like it better if I cook breakfast? Will he like the way I make eggs? Will he like our raw milk? Will he want more than milk or juice or water to drink? Will he like the water here? WIll he get diarrhea from the water here? Will he drink coffee, even though he is only 13? ( Oh, how I PRAY he does! I need an excuse to start drinking it again!)
And the insanity goes on. And on. And on.
Ad infinitum.
Ad nauseum.
But, I can't write anymore, because I still have to go put hangers in his closet and clean out a few of the dresser drawers for his clothes. Oh... Do you think he will want me to wash his clothes? Even his underwear???

AACK! at least I thought to buy the booklet entitled, " Daily Spanish for Dummies" in the dollar section at Target. At least now I should be able to understand him, right?

;) Carrie

1. I am fat.
2. I am fat because I love food.
3. I love food too much. My butt is a good voucher for this.
4. I think I subconsciously think the food is going to love me back.
5. The food doesn't love me back. It only loves the space it inhabits on my aforementioned butt.
6. I actually notice myself craving exercise lately. Think maybe my butt is trying to tell me something?
7. I am much more productive at doing laundry and other household chores while listening to music on my ipod.
8. Alvin and The Chipmucks has a great soundtrack.
9. I may actually get in shape with this workout routine- my house may stay clean too!
10. I am more than likely certifiable.

Here is to the close to another year, and to the blessings that are sure to come in 2009! God Bless You!
Love,
Carrie

I am really a mess this year. I LOVE cookies, fudge, and pretty much any other dessert that is commonly found in November and December. I grew up watching my dad make all of it. And eating it. And eating it. And eating it... ad nauseum. But something has happened to my body this last year. I can't eat all the foods, in the quantities of years past, without paying the price in my derriere.
As in NONE of my pants or skirts from last year will slide over my newly curvaceous figure.
By curvaceous, please be advised I DO NOT mean 50's-pinup-silhouette, nor should images of Botticelli, Da Vinci, or any other Renaissance paintings be evoked in your mind.
No, the curves of which I speak are more like the underside of the smoked ham after sitting in its plastic net-bag that are all on sale at Target right now. Not a thing of beauty to be admired for generations on end.

So, you ask, what do I do to combat this evil?

Reason says I should be making changes to accommodate my body's new lack of get-up-and-burn. And I have! I take a plethora of supplements that do make a big difference in the way I feel, and I am taking steps (itsy bitsy, teeeeeny, tiny baby steps though they may be) to switch my whole family to a raw, whole food diet, free from processed sugars and technologically derived or created "stuff."
I have experienced how the less of the bad stuff we eat, the less we miss it. Our bodies REALLY do work better when we feed them better foods. And better foods aren't necessarily what the popular and so-called "experts" tell you. They can be the total opposite, actually. Technology does not make all things better. Modern medicine does not know and cure all. Traditional, whole foods the way they were made BEFORE mass-production started are really all they are purported to be! I have realized I am not 20 and will actually have to DO something to tone up this jiggly mess.
Realization is the first step in the 12-step process, and, alas, I have not yet gotten to the step where I actually DO something...
I think that is step 12? "Hello my name is Carrie..."
All of this awareness makes me feel like I am headed in the right direction.

I have subscribed to the wisdom of "KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!"

But, you want to know how I deal best with this dreaded discontent with my behind?





I make cookies and fudge and pretty much any other dessert that is commonly found in November and December.

The day on which home schooling mother awakens prepared and eager to start the week on a great note, has showered, made coffee and prepared the lessons for the day is also the day her oldest child will awaken ill and hence spend the entire morning sleeping in bed.

quote for the day (courtesy of "The Pioneer Woman

"Homeschooling....There is no substitute."

7 months- time since my last post (shameful)
2 months- time since I left my teaching position
1 month- time since I started homeschooling ( seriously, that's it??)
11 miles- distance into town from where I currently live
1,308 miles- distance to where I WANT to live from where I currently live (courtesy of google maps)
3- number of different haircolors I have had in the past 2 months
3- number of children I am currently neglecting to type this post
2 lb- amount of raw chicken my dog eats each day
2 gals- quantity of raw milk I purchased for my children this week
too much to count- the laundry awaiting me...

enjoy your day for me!