It's time for a change!
I have just been back into the working world for 3 weeks. I really like my job. The people I work with are great. I am working at an accounting firm. That may not sound like fun, but if you ask me, any job is all about the people you work with. My job is great. The hours are long - longer than I was looking for, but that's just through tax season. I'll be part time after that. Meanwhile, I have to figure out a way to have at least a few hours of quality time at home Monday through Friday. Yesterday, I may have come close to a solution - at least a short term one. I having been taking a daily multivitamin every morning. Yesterday I took it at lunch. I was awake and joyful all evening. Dr. Doolittle was thrilled to have a wife who could actually carry on a conversation and laugh and have fun. I didn't accomplish anything tangible - I chose to have fun and spend time with the hubby - far more important than anything on my mile long to-do list. I am crossing my fingers that the mid-day vitamin will be life changing through tax season.
One example of how low energy my life has been lately is that I was honored to receive an award for my blog THREE DAYS AGO. Had I been myself, I would have posted about this the absolute minute I found out. Instead, I was thrilled and too tired to do a thing. Too tired to post. Too tired to call (or even email) my friends and tell them about it. Too tired to jump for joy or twirl in delight. FYI - twirling is truly a fun way to express delight. I highly recommend it.
Amber at A Small Peek into My World, passed this award to me. Amber is from Oklahoma. I haven't told her, but I used to live in Oklahoma. I lived there for a couple of years - third and fourth grade. I'm in my 50's now, so that was ages ago. Oklahoma has always remained dear to my heart - I loved it. Amber also has a craft blog - Dottles and an Etsy site where she sells some of the cute things she makes. I just love creative people!
Now, I am to pass this award along to 4 other blogs, thus, spreading the love. I have so many blogs I love. Many of them are pretty well known and have tons of awards already. I just don't know. It's so hard to choose. I think I'll just go with a few blogs I have just discovered and highly recommend.I choose Simple Green Frugal Co-op because I love anything that promotes green living. A number of people work together to keep this blog going. It has some wonderful tips.
I choose The Happy Zombie, which I have just discovered. It's just fabulous. Right away the colors of the blog wowed me. I love fun, perky colors. The name appealed to me as well, since of late, I have been quite happy, but turn into a zombie in the evenings. And finally, all the posts I have read so far have been wonderful and inspiring.
We Are That Family is an awesome blog. Kristen is young with kids and has great style. She has a love affair with her glue gun and can perform all sorts of magic with it. She has great style - all the while watching her pennies. Plus, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that her house is lived in and her photos don't try to hide the mess. Mess is not the right word to use. Toys and things showing signs of a family enjoying their home should never be referred to as mess.
For my fourth, award, I choose A Year of Crockpotting. Stephanie made a vow in 2008 to use her crock pot EVERY DAY. She posted about each of her recipes. She has mastered the crock pot and this blog is a treasure trove of advice. A Crock Pot is not usually considered fine cuisine. However, on a day when one has little time and is likely to be lacking in energy by evening, a crock pot meal is far, far better than, say... cereal.
And speaking of change...
We have change all over the house. Dr. Doolittle has been emptying his pockets every day into every spare container in the house for years. Every now and then, I go on a coin rolling rampage. We are always surprised at the amount. Some years we have donated the money to a worthy cause. I know one family who collects their change all year and every Christmas they give the total to a family in need.
This year, with the economy (and our budget) in a tight fix, we could use that change. I can't decide what to do. It would take ages to roll all the coins. Coin machines charge about 9 dollars for every 100 rolled. I really don't want to give away those 9 dollars. I could use the nine dollars towards a really fabulous dog bowl, like the one Tracy posted about on Notes From A Cottage Industry. OR you can get the coins rolled for free if you use the money towards an e-card to certain stores - Lowes, Overstock.com, Amazon.com, etc. I like those stores but I'm not sure if I want to be locked in.
For now, I am slowly taking coins out of the miscellaneous containers around the house, like this old cigar box...
and I am putting them into this Amish-made container near my hall tree and every time I leave the house with the possibility of spending money, I am taking along a bunch of coins. At the cash register I always ask if they mind if I give them extra change. I've never had anyone complain a bit.
This isn't a perfect solution. My purse is heavier than usual. It's likely to take ages to use up all the coins. But until I decide on a better course of action, at least I'm making some progress.
