so unscheduled and unplanned

well it started last night, when we got the 2 hour delay call for school

i didn't sleep well
then we got the call this morning that school was canceled.

- started my day with my kids at home.. automatic "probably not going to get done what i planned on"
- i started later than i wanted to
- i had to have a talk with my oldest daughter about her pill, because she tried to get away from the table with it under her tongue, not down her throat.
- a friend of mine, out of the blue, asked if she could come over and chat for a bit.. and bribed me with starbucks.. so i said yes.
- i got the laundry folded and the dishes done.. i feel like that's all i did. :(
- i felt rushed when i left
- Jazmine forgot her glasses, so i had to run back for them
- had to stop at the gas station and get our popcorn filled up, felt like it took forever for my 9 year old to go in and get it done (but she insisted on doing it herself).
- i got to husband's work, dropped off the kids, went to switch cars and accidentally pulled off the door handle, so had to take a second to look around the ground for anything i might have dropped
- got to work and found 2 holes in my sweater
- and my bangs kept falling in my face.

...............
didn't get done
- i planned on stocking the breast pads in my store
- i planned on sewing more kids clothes
- i planned on moving some product to a different area in my online store
- and planned on cleaning up my sewing table
..............

i'm not glad i didn't get the day i planned..
but i'm not sad about it either.

c'est la vie- as is life.

things change
gotta roll with it
and i'm glad i got to talk to my friend.. we just reconnected after 14 years

migraines.

"Migraines occur most often in adults between 20 and 50 years old. They’re three times more common in women than men, although doctors don’t understand why. Experts say hormones play a role.

Many women have migraine attacks around the time of their menstrual periods or find their attacks are more severe then."

really?

it takes an expert to say that hormones play a role in the fact that women get more migraines than men? i could have told you that.. 

hormones play a role in pretty much EVERYthing that happens to women.. it's basically common knowledge. 

oh wait.. common knowledge isn't very common.. forgot about that. 

.....

at least i have my migraine triggers narrowed down.. 

barometric pressure and not enough sleep. 

i knew it was going to happen when i saw that the temp was going to change at least 15 degrees today. 

basically.. funny ;)

Funny thing i just figured out about myself. i have a fetish for socks, tights and undies. lol. every time i see one on clearance for $3 or less, i want to buy it. fortunately, my drawer is only so big, so i can't, but i found this humorous.

i have a fetish for the basics. LOL
when most people say they don't want socks and underwear for christmas.. well i do HAHA.

give thanks in everything

today's going to be a busy day. praise God for the busy-ness that comes with having a family. 

laundry to fold- thank you God for the blessing of a washer and dryer, and my hands that were made to serve my family in this way. 

exercise- thank you God for a body that is intact, and the ability to keep myself healthy.
shipping- thank you God for the blessing of my business, to be able to create a product at a price that is good for everyone. and thank you for the gift of enjoyment, even though motorcycle helmets get recalled, there is a blessing in that as well- it's happening in winter. wink emoticon i can have a new helmet by spring!
Jazmine's glasses- thank you God for eye doctors and the ability to know when you need help.
Alivia and Brian, dance- thank you God for the love of a father to his daughter, and that the blessing is mine to be able to see this unfold.
IEP meeting- thank you God for the blessing of wonderful teachers who care about their students, and spend the time to help each and every one succeed.
Alivia's overnight at her best friends house- thank you God for the fellowship of friends. without them, our lives wouldn't be as full.

getting older.. and slightly wiser

well.. for the most part.. I can take things day to day. sometimes i'm more sore, sometimes there's too much in my brain.. but I can kind of roll with it.

But sometimes.. I can't. sometimes I feel too overwhelmed, or too tired, or just.. old. (which is ironic, but in general i don't feel old.. just tired.)

there are days that i just don't want to exercise.. because that requires me sweating and then, in the end, i have to make time for a shower.. which, let's face it, sometimes we just really don't feel like showering.

.....
then again there's that part of you that says.. "hey! it's ok to not do anything today"
or
"hey! you don't HAVE to go to the gym JUST because you have time for it"

yes, i have extra time here and there.. sometimes, i'm not sure what to do with it, so i waste it. just spend it doing non-sensical stuff.. like scrolling mindlessly through facebook, or...

but i just used SOME of that time to read my Bible, and print off some coupons, because let's face it.. it's so much fun to use coupons.
it really is a high.. to take them to the store, after you've carefully matched them up with the sales.. and when you're all done, you have bags of items that you know you'll use, and you're proud that you spent less money than you usually do. ;)

.....
but let's also face the facts that we ARE getting older. and our body's ARE NOT holding up like they used to.
we do have to take care of ourselves, or we will fall apart.

I can't keep in touch with friends like i used to, because on top of being a mom (which in and of itself is a huge hurdle to jump every day), running my own business, getting to the gym when i can, working at Kohls, making sure that I feel like i did SOMETHING productive each day.. we just can't find time for everything in 24 hours. Thank goodness for the day called "tomorrow".

which, in reality, may or may not come. we are not promised tomorrow.. God will take us when He feels our work here is done.
So please..

try not to cram every waking hour with something to do..
try your best to keep yourself healthy..
try to just do what you can as a parent to hopefully lead your children to a better tomorrow..
because really..

running ourselves ragged makes no sense.

trusting in God does.
because when we rely on Him, get ourselves out of our own way, and say "hey God, i'm only human, please take the wheel.. i'll follow You're lead".
trusting God.. makes life so much more worth it.

Mood booster :)

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Over the past few months, i've really been having a tough time with myself.. physical issues, emotional issues.. kind of figuring out where I am in life, what steps to take to move forward.. trying to make sure i'm following what God wants for me..

And i've had a few people in my life speak words of affirmation without even knowing it. It's been a great booster for me.. making me feel better about myself.
It's awesome how God works through His people.

1. I've been exercising more over the past year or so (started my "getting healthy" journey 3 years this winter).. and i've gone through some wardrobe changes, and right now, I'm in need of pants, dress pants mainly.
A friend at church this Sunday mentioned something about a bag of clothes in her car that she's taking to donate and I asked if i could see them first. Thank you God for that timing. :) I ended up getting a pair of tan corduroy pants (had to get rid of mine last year because they were too loose) and two tops. :)

She and I were also talking about our hair and how sometimes it's hard to get hairspray to work right, or curls to stay.. sometimes we could care less about wearing makeup.. and I mentioned that I wasn't wearing makeup and curl won't stay in my hair (that luckily, I had straight hair, it was easy to just brush it and leave it).. and she said "you're one of those people who's just naturally beautiful".

This was a wow moment for me, because growing up I had what I call "ugly duckling syndrome". I wasn't "ugly", really, but i wasn't the cute/pretty girl in class. I wasn't the popular cheerleader. I had big eyebrows and dark brown eyes, and long hair and goodwill clothes. So to me, I wasn't pretty.
It was great to hear someone say that I was naturally beautiful. :)
Also, my 5 year old picked my dress for church and it happened to be my special occasion dress, and I got quite a few compliments on it, one even from a good guy friend who's Mr. Stylish.

2. A friend of mine at work last night.. I was taking care of a couple customers and I heard her in the background and on the headset say "we're in good hands up here, Cami's here". :) That definitely boosted my spirits because it made my self-worth meter go up a bit. :) And I told her that and she said "well, it's true. you're awesome".

Also at work, my manager said she had to talk to me. (in comes the dread and the "oh crap, what did i do wrong?").
She said they were wanting to cross train someone for Customer Service, and my name came up. Asked if it was something I'd be interested in.
More self-worth booster.. I'm a valued employee, and they recognize that. Thank you God for a job environment that cares for their workers, and gives opportunities.

3. My husband sent me a message yesterday asking me if i could do something for him, and before the question even ended, he said "thank you". :) I definitely appreciate that gratefulness.. even before I do what he asks, he's grateful that I'm going to help him.

And I've noticed He's been more respectful of me lately.

Just thought of another one..
4. I have a customer who orders from me frequently.. and every time she does, she's very excited about the product I'm making for her. :) She loves my customer service. She shows off pictures of the products on her little ones, she shares my statuses, and she tells her friends.

Talk about a fan. :) I'm so excited and honored to have her shopping in my store. :) She can tell I love what I do, and her enthusiasm is really keeping me plugging along.

moving forward

A lot has been going on in our family. Some ups, lots of downs, and more "Everyday glitches" than we want.
Just finished a series at church about Small Things, Big Difference.. and it's really reminded me to just take things one at a time, work on doing better during day-to-day, hour-to-hour activities. Go the little extra mile here and there. It's really helped me feel better about my home life and it's been rewarding also on the God front, because one of the apps on my phone now reminds me to do my daily Bible reading. And another app reminds me to take my vitamins everyday and that's helped me feel physically better.
Reminding myself to take time for my kids more.. when they ask me to do something or cuddle with them, or just to listen. I'm trying to give them more and more opportunities and better attention.