Weekend update

This weekend Brad had school, so I was Little Suzy Homemaker, as my mother would say. I did the grocery-ing on Friday night, and then on Saturday and Sunday did some cooking. I got a batch of crepes and scones made and into the freezer and got the kitchen cleaned up a bit, too. My niece Bethany came over to help me with some projects; mostly we chatted and played together and had a really great time. On Sunday I trimmed and portioned the six chicken breasts and skinned and deboned the ten chicken thighs. I don't care if I never see a chicken thigh again, although when tossed into the crockpot with onion and barbecue sauce, the result is quite delicious. I've been enjoying it for the past two days. I also made a recipe of fluffy new potatoes from The Pioneer Woman Cooks website. Somehow I misread the recipe and bought ten POUNDS of red potatoes, instead of ten potatoes. We have a lot of potatoes. Thank goodness they were on sale! The freezer is full of these little cherubs.

Yesterday I visited the nearby schools to hand out my resume in hopes of getting called to substitute on my Mondays off. The extra money would be really helpful as I did our taxes last night. Boo. Somehow I didn't realize two things: 1.) my teaching job, since it is adjunct, doesn't pay social security tax. There's $3000 I owe the IRS. Second, I messed things up when we worked at Apple and thought that if you have one deduction it takes more taxes out-- wrong. So we owe taxes on that income as well. Wasn't so fun to see our savings pretty much fly out the window last night! Argh. And the house hasn't closed yet-- thank goodness I wasn't holding my breath. I keep checking in with the title company every morning, but no funds have been released yet. We have until Friday and then the paperwork expires. Please take a moment to pray for us with this situation! We need you!

In happy news, Georgie has been a doll lately. It was fun to be home most of the weekend and have her out and about, hopping around, nudging our hands and feet to ask for affection. We've also started feeding her salads-- romaine lettuce, raisins, carrots, and parsley. And she eats them in that order. She is warming up to us day by day and now has begun licking our hands as much as she can. I hear it's supposed to mean affection, but as aggressive as she is I can't help but wonder if she's just getting us ready for the kill... if every there is a long drought of posts on this blog, come looking for us.

Friends, we need your help in praying this house closing through. I haven't felt stressed about it consciously, but my body let me know this morning that it is sensing it. I woke up with itchy hives all over, and my joints are beginning to ache already. Last time this happened was November of 05, when the stress was unbearable and my body gave out; I had to go to urgent care and get a cortisone shot. Please pray for this closing-- for all the details to be tied up, for money to come through, for the closing to happen by Friday. We need your support here! Thank you very much!

Two out of three isn't bad...

In an effort to minimize our grocery bill, I've been reading a few money-saving blogs to get ideas. One idea is to look through stores' circular advertisements before shopping, assuming you're willing to make a few stops. The second idea is to clip coupons voraciously, even printing them out from various sources online. The third person actually spends only $40 a week to feed a family of four! I've been chewing on these ideas for a few weeks and tried to pull them all together tonight while Brad was at school.

Albertson's had a great circular-- lots of items we needed for 88 cents! Publix only had one or two items. CVS and Walgreens each had about one or two items each as well. Target is the fall-back, but it's not always the cheapest. And I also needed rabbit food. I started at Albertson's. When I was through there, I realized I had coupons for a few items, had found all the sales, but with a full cart, there was no way I was going to stay under the $40 I had hoped to pay. Oops.

Brad's in school tomorrow so I'm running around a bit, and then picking up my niece for an afternoon of baking. The blogger who spends $40 a week has a baking day each month where she bakes breakfast foods (waffles, pancakes, muffins, etc.), bread for sandwiches, and casseroles and side dishes for dinners, and then freezes them. I'm going to attempt to make cookies for dessert food, scones, pancakes, and waffles for breakfast food, and then prep all the chicken I got on sale. I keep seeing chicken thighs as the main ingredient in slow-cooking chicken dishes, so when I saw them for 88 cents a pound, I jumped. Too bad it's a family pack. Anyone have good chicken thigh recipes?

Attitude Adjustment

I forgot my work keys today.
The bunny stinks a lot.
I need to clean out her cage. But it's cold out.
I found what I thought was a bunny pellet in the bedroom.
It turned out to be a roach.
The roach was alive.
The lightbulb is out in the bathroom.
It's really cold (for Florida) here.
The house was 62 when we woke up.
I have a cut on my foot.
I snoozed too long and didn't have time for a warm breakfast at home.
Forgetting my keys is a pain.
The sun was in my eyes when I was walking this morning.
The tile floors are cold when it's 62 in the house.
I was barefoot.
I only have one good fleece to wear in this weather.
I had to wait in line in front of a pushy person at the ATM.
When we turned on the heat this morning, it spat a hefty layer of dust over everything.
I got an email that was annoying from my former second job.
I have to do the taxes this weekend.
Forgetting my keys means hoping that the classrooms are unlocked.
Forgetting my keys means I have to ask Tina the office manager to let me into my office. I feel embarrassed, even though Tina's as nice as can be.

After unlocking my door, we chat a minute. Tina tells me she's battling cancer. She found out in October that it's in her stomach and intestine, twenty years after surviving colon cancer. So that's why she got that really short buzz haircut in the fall. Tina's taking "the burning pills," called that because they burn up her insides. One of the tumors is shrinking. But they just found two spots on her breast. I hug her, offer to go with her to appointments, bring food, cover for her at work. She declines. I tell her I will pray for her often, and if there's anything I can do...

Suddenly I am flooded with gratefulness. A little dab of conviction, and lots of gratefulness.

Not holding our breath, but maintaining optimism...

Our closing didn't happen last Thursday, as I mentioned. The buyers' loan is a USDA Rural loan, and the USDA Rural program only gets so much funding. When the money runs out, the loans have to wait. This particular program gets re-funded in late MARCH, I just learned, although there was hope that it would get more money on Inauguration Day. Haven't heard of that money actually coming through, so we shall see. In the meantime, we alerted our mortgage guy Ron who has found an intermediary to loan the money until the USDA money comes through. I have no idea if this will work or not, but Ron seems to think it will. So we are scheduled to go sign our closing papers tonight. Not holding my breath, but maintaining optimism.

My second job last semester came to a close, as I mentioned. I failed to submit overtime each month as I didn't even make time to do that, I was working for them so much. I've always been bad at that sort of thing, and I've learned my lesson. They're balking at my invoice of about $3300 in time I'm owed. I don't blame them for balking, but they can't say they didn't know I was working that many hours. I told them that all along. So I finally heard back this morning regarding how much and when I'll be paid, and the email just said that they need more information. Not holding my breath, but maintaining optimism.

Once we close on the house for good, we'll start looking for jobs in New York. This semester my classes are very small as attendance is no longer mandatory (thank you, GOD!). This means that only students who want my help are in class. No talkers, no behavior issues. It's a dream. But I only have about 9 students showing up on average, meaning I could leave mid-semester and the students could be absorbed into other labs easily. It's likely we'll stay through at least the beginning of the summer, but I'm hoping to leave around April 1. Not holding my breath, but maintaining optimism.

We had a lovely, lovely time in Chicago this past weekend. It started off being a quiet visit between my mother and myself. Then Brad's class schedule changed, his weekend opened up, and he got to come, too! We arrived late Friday night on a nearly empty plane (who wants to leave 70 degree Florida for 8 degree Chicago?) and saw our breath for the first time in about three years. On Saturday Brad and I woke up early and went for a drive in the lightly-falling snow. It was beautiful and refreshing to us, and reminded us visually that seasons change and God renews. After our drive we visited with Mom a bit until we decided to go for an impromptu lunch at Max and Erma's, Brad's favorite place. On the way there I suggested we go to Wildfire instead for a good steak, and everyone agreed to it. When we arrived, Mom's friend Sandi from Minnesota was there along with Steph! Mom was very surprised, and we had a lovely birthday lunch!

After lunch we rested at Mom's for the afternoon. We planned to play games and just relax for the evening, when at 5 p.m. who should appear at Mom's door but her brother, Allen, his wife, Mary Ann, and Grandparents! They drove up to surprise her for her birthday! She was shocked at this double surprise and we all sat down to visit for a bit.

After and hour or so I suggested we go grab a bite for dinner at Panera down the street. When we arrived, Mom ran into her housegroup friends from church. And then more friends just kept on coming! On her brother's initiative, we planned a surprise drop-in party at Panera and invited over 40 people. We were excited to see at least 25 come by despite the snow and cold!

The day was full of surprises and I think Mom is still recovering. On Sunday we met the family at a pancake house for an amazing breakfast, and then we all dispersed. It was a memorable, fun weekend and we're so glad we got to go! Happy big birthday, Mom! (I won't say which one.)

Stay warm, northern readers!

Edited to add: I just spoke with Ron the mortgage guy... the funding for the buyers is miraculously in place. The buyers are signing papers by Monday... still not holding my breath, but gasping a little... 3:30 p.m. cannot come fast enough!

Happy Birthday, Sis! And other updates.

It's my beautiful sister's 27th birthday today! This pic was taken just before my cousin's wedding this summer. Funny thing-- my mother, sister, and I all wore black or black and white dresses. Mom taught us everything we know about fashion, it would seem. Steph is celebrating in frigid weather up in Chicago today. I can't imagine. I won't have to imagine soon... we're flying up tomorrow night for the weekend. I'm scared. But it's so worth it to get face-to-face time with my family.


In other news, a few weeks ago Brad and I visited the Edison-Ford Winter Estates which are in Fort Myers. The houses were decorated for the holidays and it was a really neat experience. We went on the last night and were thinking it would be jam-packed. Instead it was quite quiet and peaceful, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Edison house has been restored and was just beautiful. We also saw his laboratory and Mrs. Edison's gardens. It is really beautiful. Here is one of the largest banyan trees in the world, and the first planted in the US by Edison. It was a gift from Henry Firestone, one of the three buddies who hung out in Fort Myers. It's sort of like if the CEOs of Apple, Microsoft, and Ron Popeil (inventor of practically every kitchen gadget) all hung out together-- quite a social group:


Here's what it looks like in the daytime. It's really a sight to behold:


(pic thanks to this random person.)

The semester started up on the 5th and we've been adjusting to the routine. Last semester things were nuts-- Brad was working full time and juggling two grad classes, and I was teaching and also doing the tutor-coordinator job-from-hades. I prayed for deliverance from that nuttiness, and God answered. I was laid off from the tutoring thing on Monday the 5th, just before my classes started. Money will be a little tighter, but we'll be fine. And I am SO relieved to not be working there. The people mean well, but have little business sense and are severely understaffed. Not a recipe for long-term success. That's all I have to say about that.

We've been spending our quiet evenings watching CSI and Law and Order, my new favorite TV shows. Don't know what took me so long to catch on as they're both in their zillionth season. We come home, let Georgie out of her cage, and eat dinner while watching episodes. It has been a lovely transition back into the semester.

George, we learned from the vet last week, is a she. But we like the name so we're keeping it. We're learning all sorts of fun things about being bunny parents. If you put a bunny on it's back, it falls into a trance like this:




Georgie doesn't love it, but she'll tolerate me holding her. She usually hops around the living room, sometimes the lanai when we let her, and then plops down on the floor in front of the TV. She also loves it when we sit on the floor near her. She'll nuzzle our hands a little and then poke her nose down near the floor, about an inch under our hand, as if to say, "It's time to pet me." She loves the lanai especially on the cool days we've had lately. Yesterday we were all sitting out there when she sensed the next door neighbor's cat approaching. The big grey fat cat loves to lay under the palm tree in our yard in the sun. Georgie saw the kitty and gave out a warning of danger-- she thumped her foot! Apparently that's what bunnies do to warn other bunnies of danger. It sounded like someone slapped a shoe on the ground! Then she dashed into the house as fast as she could, peeling out on the tile floor that provides zero traction. Quite a comical sight. I'll try to video these things as they really are funny.

We also learned at the vet that her little cage was too small for her. We did some research online and found some options. Apparently it's all the bunny rage to build cages out of these storage cubes, zip-tying them together to form the cage. We bought the storage cubes at Target, assembled the cage, and Georgie loves it.


Here she is exploring. See how there are two different sizes of grates? One with little holes and one with big holes? We finished this around 10 p.m. on Friday night. We sat and watched her explore as it was clear she was overjoyed. She kept jumping from the shelf to the floor, running back into her old cage, etc. We asked each other, "Do you think she can fit through those big grates?" "No, she'll be fine. Do YOU think she can?" etc. After one hour and seventeen minutes, she answered that question for us and made a diving escape from her little shelf. On Saturday we went back to Target to get another set so we'd have enough little grates. Argh.


After a while she just plopped down on the shelf. She loved the kleenex box and tears off strips to build a nest. She also tried to get into it, which was a sight to behold. I just love her little cottontail, and she lets me wiggle it for her sometimes.


I had originally begun this post this morning with the intent to tell you we were closing on our house today. Unfortunately, mid-post I received a call that the closing will not happen today. The buyers' loan is a USDA government loan, and occasionally they run out of money, which has happened in this case. I'm told they will be funded on Tuesday and we'll be able to close next week. Guess who's not holding her breath. This $%^&*( house has been a pain in the neck, and despite the fact that I'd like to be done, that's not what God has in mind. So we will continue to be patient and lean on our faith to get us through. Argh, patience.

Our George

How George Came To Us

A few weeks ago we were stopped on one of our nightly walks by some neighbors we'd never met. These neighbors live three doors down from us (we'll call them the Threes). They had a caged rabbit with them which they were delivering to Andy, our next-door neighbor. They said that the two-doors-down neighbors (the Twos) were foreclosed upon and let all their pets go wild about a year ago. We'd seen the white rabbit hopping around the neighborhood before but didn't know what to do about it. Andy had seen the rabbit and mentioned to the Threes that he wanted to catch it for his kids to keep as a pet, and Mrs. Two said that she fed it white bread every day and she'd catch it for Andy.

So they caught the rabbit for Andy, but Andy wasn't home to take delivery. We offered to keep the rabbit on our lanai until Andy got home, and in the meantime we got to play with it a little... which started a little rabbit-itch in me. Not the allergic kind of itch, the I-want-a-pet itch.

We handed over the rabbit to Andy later that night and mentioned how much we liked the rabbit. And then life happened and we didn't get a rabbit.

Two days before we were to move, Andy came over and let us know that he was getting rid of the rabbit because his kids aren't cleaning the cage enough, and it has become his job. He asked if we wanted the rabbit... and we said yes.

And so George came to live with us. He came with a free cage and water bottle, but I have since spent about $50 on litter, food, and a better litter box (prevents stinky pee from being sprayed out of the cage). He is a bit of work and not as interactive as a cat would be (I'd give my right arm for a cat!), but he will do. He does like to be pet, and when we let him out of his cage he first gets his energy out with some crazy kicks (his favorite moves are bucking bronco and scared cat-- all four paws off the ground at the same time) and then he comes over to us to be pet. He's getting used to me picking him up and is truly a sweet rabbit. We're not so sure of his gender and don't care, really. To us he is George!

This is for Martha!

I got the kindest email today from a reader and was compelled to do a quick post to let her and everyone else know what's going on. (Thank you, Martha, for your nice email. It was a blessing to me today!)

We are doing very well! We got word in early December that our house sale was going to actually happen! We got a copy of the paperwork on December 16th which makes it a for sure thing! So we moved! We moved out of the old house on December 22 and are loving life in our new, charming place. Life is crazy, disorganized, and full of unpacking and organizing. Oh, and celebrating holidays. And getting to know our new pet bunny, George.

I promise to fill in the details soon! For now I'm settling in for a long, relaxed night of CSI marathons and thinking happy thoughts about what 2009 has in store for us.

Love and Happy New Year wishes to you all! (Especially you, Martha!)

I'm not quite sure what to say here

This ad popped up on a blog post in my google reader. Apparently pigment is extremely heavy...? Or if you lose weight you'll change your skin color?

Edited to add: I thought of the punchline: I bet she feels like a whole new woman.

And we were very thankful

Mom arrived last Saturday night for a week-long visit. Having recently been laid off, with plenty of options on the horizon, a Florida vacation was in order. First stop from the airport: Shrimp Shack.


Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are a bit of a blur. I worked, Mom read novels, we rested. But on Wednesday we took the convertible down to the beach. First stop: Gramma Dot's for shrimp.



Then the beach, for some reading. We thought for sure we'd be cool as the air was cool. But the sun was quite warm and Mom got some sun. I just got more freckles.


Thursday was Brad's birthday. We started out the day by eating chocolate cake for breakfast.



Then we went and surprised twin sister Shelley at the Emergency Room where she works. Surprise! (And we were told by the other nurses to be careful... the bathroom has two exits. Go out the wrong one and you'll be in the morgue. Yum.)


The birthday kids.


Then it was off to Gramma Dot's again for seafood. Our excuse: it was one of the few restaurants open on Thanksgiving.


Then we went to see a movie and vegged the rest of the lazy day. On Friday we had the family Thanksgiving at Ralph and Chris's house. We celebrated birthdays there, too!


On Saturday Mom, Steph, and I went back to the beach to catch some sun. This smarty was throwing bread upwards and the birds were all catching it!


And on Sunday it rained. We ran a few errands, lazed, and Steph and Brad worked on school work. And then it was time to bundle up again for the trip home to Chicago. Which was delayed and delayed. Poor Mom and Steph got home at awful hours.


It was a lovely time and I can't wait to do it again! I took quite a few days off of second-job and LOVED the break. So nice.

This past week second-job had a big meeting, so after a particularly rough day (14 hours away from home), I came home to this:


Vases are packed up, so a water bottle is the vase. :) The hot chocolate mix is from Norman Love, the gourmet chocolatier here. I married so well. Thank you, love.

We're still waiting on house news to tell you. At this point we have a tentative closing date of December 15th (!!! 10 days away!!!) but that's not certain yet. I'm going a little crazy trying to stay sane with this process. All our paperwork is in, and now the buyers are getting their stuff in order. Eesh. But at least there are steps forward.

This weekend is Brad's last school weekend for the semester. He'll have a month off until the spring semester starts up... hooray! Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Meow

After a long week dinner out is in order. Brad's cottage cheese came in the shape of a cat food can.

You know it's time for a weekend when...

..you teach the lesson you taught last week without realizing it. The students were too gracious to correct me, though many wondered afterward why we were having a review session of last week's homework. So they got a double-lesson today. Dur.

Underdressed, au naturale, and lots of fighting

It is official. It is cold here. We woke up to mid 30's this morning and actually turned the heat on yesterday. Yes, that is cold. And I keep thinking that I'm midwestern, so I only need a couple of layers to brave the cold while walking from car to class. Um, no. The wind (yes, there is a windchill this morning) cut right through my long-sleeved t-shirt and sweatshirt, and I shivered across campus. I forget that my midwestern blood bid me sayonara when the first Florida summer hit, and now my thin blood thinks I should be snuggled up in bed with an electric blanket. Underdressed indeed.

In other news, I've started a new hair-care regimen. I read about in a few blogs I read, and it intrigued me. Instead of using shampoo and conditioner (do you know what's in there? chemicals that are toxic and harmful! so they say) I'm using a baking soda solution for shampoo and an apple cider vinegar solution for conditioner. The benefits I've read about online are astounding-- no product buildup, more volume and life in my hair... sounds good to me! It's week one of this experiment, and so far, so good I think. Although Brad did ask if I was going to stop shaving my legs and armpits, since I'm getting all natural and hippy on him. (The answer was no.) The only downfall is that the apple cider vinegar solution, weak as it may be, stinks to high heaven and makes me gag from the smell. Not a great way to start the day. We shall see how this goes. At least it's super cheap!


Things have been ultra-hectic in the Bressler household lately. We're still happy campers, as evidenced above. Since I complain a lot, I thought I'd prove with a picture that we do smile sometimes. :) We've been keeping up with our neighborhood walks a few nights a week and have been meeting the neighborhood animals. The burrowing owls are back and fatter than ever (babies coming soon?), and we met a few cats around the corner. There are two healthy, friendly ones, Wendell and Gizmo, and then one we see around that is terribly mangy whom we affectionately call Mangy Kitty. Turns out the owner of the healthy kitties feeds the mangy kitty and calls him Big Head, since he does have a disproportionately large head... anyway, this has been a nice diversion from the crazy.

This semester Brad has two concurrent classes, which is a mistake made by his program but has been un-fixable. He is supposed to have one class for the first half of the semester, and then a second class for the second half. Well, no one told the professor of the first class he had only half a semester to cram everything in, so he planned for the whole semester. Weekly online postings, huge term paper, etc. The second class started up in late October, so Brad has been doing all the first class's regular stuff plus all the new stuff for the second class (readings, homework, test preparation). Nearly every spare moment that he's not at his regular job, Brad can be found researching for his paper, reading about forensic accounting, posting online, or doing homework questions. This has been a nutty month! The happy news is that after muuuuuch writing, many vacation days taken and spent working on his paper, Brad finished the 21 page draft last week. We spent some time this weekend editing and learning APA style, and Brad expects to turn it in by the end of the week. Much rejoicing is in order!

My tutor-coordinator job has been out of control as well. The end of October was the close of the first month of tutoring... and the first round of monthly paperwork turned in from our 30-some tutors. Since prior proper planning did not occur (though I tried, I was resisted), many teachers were not properly trained, and I have been cleaining up messes and putting out fires and doing data entry until my fingers bleed. Not really bleed, but until the battery on my computer runs out.

We will be happy when the holidays arrrive. Our university semester ends around December 11 and we will be glad to have a break from school.

Speaking of school, this past weekend we had a lovely date!


The university had a fundraiser night at the Everblades hockey game! Real pro hockey! That was a surprise as we thought we were going to a game of the school's club team. Driving into the huge arena we were in awe of all the cars... until we saw the marquee and realized it was a pro game. It was fun and replete with lots of fighting and an interesting first half-time show in which two people were put in hamster balls and raced down the ice. Oww.


This weekend Mom comes in town on Saturday night for a week (yay!!!) and then Sis arrives on Wednesday night right before Thanksgiving. Brad's birthday is on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, which we'll actually celebrate by eating seafood (chicken for me) and sitting out on the beach. Shelley works Thanksgiving in the ER which allows her to have Christmas off, so we'll have the family Thanksgiving and birthday celebration on Friday. Hooray for family time, for time to focus on the things for which we're grateful, and a break from chaos. Happy Thanksgiving!

So sad

It's terribly depressing around here, which is no surprise considering that Southwest Florida's economy has been built on the housing market for years. I just saw on the news that we're averaging about 2,500 foreclosures per month! In our county alone!!! Brad and I have been taking our neighborhood walks and counting how many vacant houses there are... and how many have their air conditioners stolen. It's so sad.

It's been bugging me...

Two things I forgot to mention when they happened: (these are posted with Shanel in mind, as I know she's due on Tuesday with baby #2 and could use a laugh):

1.) A few weeks ago I heard a little click-thud. Very little, not loud, barely perceptible except that in Florida any noises I did not myself make are cause for concern. And I was right. An inch-long roach fell out of our recessed can light onto the floor. Not even kidding.

2.) Last weekend we experienced something not unlike fireworks. In our garage. I went outside to run errands and in the middle of the garage floor was a big old wolf spider. I gasped and Brad came to my rescue. He stepped on it and just like fireworks, little bitty spiders spat out in all directions. We got out the spray and gave them all a good shower. But it was really gross.

Happy (?) Halloween.

We're not big participators in Halloween festivities other than scarfing down as many mini-Twix candy bars as we can find. This year we ramped it up a bit. A few weeks ago as we sorted through our itunes mess we found that Brad had a soundtrack of scary sounds. So to participate in our neighborhood festivities, Brad went big.


He pulled out his big bass amp, plugged in the ipod, and pretty much all of southwest Florida could hear the scary sounds. Titles like "Cats in Hell", "Stabs and Splats", and "Scary Dentist" reverberated throughout Lehigh, competing with the joyful sounds of the high school marching band at the football game down the street. After about, oh, ten minutes, I just couldn't take it any more. The Scary Dentist was pretty much the deal breaker; loud dentist drills with maniacal laughter (presumably by the dentist) and moans and screams (presumably from the patient) just didn't spell "restful evening" to me. But it was funny while it lasted, sort of. I felt all naughty doing it, too, since we never do anything Halloween-related.

A little later the kiddies came over, dressed as a kitty cat and a clone trooper or something. They came straight from the big harvest party at their church and snuggled with Brad and watched cartoons while Shelley and I caught up.


In other news, we're doing everything we can to increase our health these days, eating more healthily, walking regularly, and today started taking vitamins. I was told if we put the fish oil pills in the freezer and take them with food, we wouldn't get fish burps. Um, no. You know how I gag really easily, especially on my uncle's boat, when I smell fish? Yeah, I just lost my breakfast. Poor Brad hasn't lost his yet, but is wishing he could. No more fish oil for us. This has to be a practical joke put on by doctors. "Ingest fish oil? No, that won't be gross. You'll love it!" And the moment we walk out the door, the maniacal laughter begins.

I'm pretty sure it's alcoholic

Granted, it says SHC, for Signature Hot Chocolate. And there's a shot of hazelnut in there, too. But man, it tastes so decadent, so sinful, I'm pretty sure there are laws against drinking this stuff in the morning, especially on the job. Divine.

And to do his part to celebrate this first chilly morning (it's about 55 right now! yikes!) Brad indulged in a caramel apple cider. Which makes me think of Jenny since she introduced me to that lovely beverage. Until then I felt like an outsider at Starbucks since I'm not a coffee drinker. I wonder how Jenny and Rich and their 2.5 girls are doing.

Top Ten Reasons I Loved This Weekend

1.) Due to midterm-week, I didn't have to teach on Friday. Time to get caught up with second job stuff.

2.) Time to veg with Brad on Friday night, watching Kath & Kim, The Office, and SNL on VHS, taped from a busy Thursday night. While eating cake that Brad made for me, for my birthday. He made it. All by himself. And it was good.

3.) Sleeping in on Saturday morning, but waking up early enough to work on my current crafty project before Brad woke up.

4.) Garage-sale-ing with Brad, being adventurous and trying breakfast at Chick Fil A (better sausage than McDonald's, no surprise), driving in and out of rainstorms... all in the same neighborhood (very cool skies!).


5.) More time to work on crafty project for fun. And time to catch up and chat with my sister. Despite both having flexible schedules this semester, they never seem to match up and it's frustrating sometimes.

6.) Good conversations with Brad about hard-to-say things. We don't have many conflicts, thank God, but that makes it even more hard to talk about things when they come up. I'm so blessed to have a husband who talks and even more importantly, listens with both ears and open heart as well. What could have been a tough conversation was just so easy.

7.) Fun time celebrating my b-day with the family. We brought Pizza Mias from Pizza Hut (advertising works!). I wanted to try them, but you have to buy three to get them for $5 each. So we brought them to dinner, and they were good! (And I found out that you can buy them individually for about $7. Love a bargain.) Also featured Saturday night: oreo ice cream pie, homemade by Chris. Amazing. Skype-ing with the little girls and Beth and Rico in Michigan, so cute and fun to see them. And generous gifts-- gift cards for Target, plus the beginning of my Fiesta-ware collection in gorgeous red. So fun!

8.) A super-productive Sunday! For October and November my focus at my second job has shifted to data-entry big time. I got about 40 files entered today! Only 260-some to go!

9.) My husband's creativity blossoming! After a discussion about omelets with Chris last night (I don't know how to make them since I don't like eggs), Brad decided to experiment and make an omelet this morning! He chopped up some red pepper and added some sharp cheddar cheese. And he said it was good.


10.) A free haircut! I haven't had one since August and my ends were getting a bit split... and in the interest of schedule and finances, recruited who else, my dear husband to cut my hair! And he did a great job!

Maybe this post should be named Top Ten Reasons I Love My Multi-Talented Husband.

Friends don't let friends bake in Florida

There are corn muffins from the Jiffy box. Seriously. I blame the sea level. But I'm so puzzled. I couldn't have created sombrero-looking corn muffins if I had tried!

He got me!

Tuesday night was the final night of our Theo class at church, and we had a pot-luck party at a couple's house in Fort Myers. I brought, as requested, the apple dumplings from this site. It pains me to present these as a home-made item as the ingredients are apples, crescent rolls, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and Mountain Dew. It is embarrassingly caloric and far too easy to make to accept any praise. But they are go-od.

Brad had work to do on his school work so he stayed at home.

Or so I thought. While I was out, Sneaky Pete ran to the store, purchased a cake mix and eggs, came home and made me a CAKE! He even threw in some chocolate chips and a big scoop of peanut butter just for fun! But while it was baking he realized that frosting doesn't come in the box, so he had to dash back out and pick up frosting!

When I came home, the house smelled amazing, Brad had completed his reading for school, and we got to party a little. (No, Court, that's not a euphemism.)

Lighting the candles... (see the wall of boxes in the background?)


Four times eight = 32. Clever man. The birthday candles are packed, but the tealights are still out!


"How do I frost this?"


I am so very proud... and so full of cake. We nibbled on the cake pretty much all week, and also took it to family night on Saturday where it received high praise. I'm so proud of my sweet, adventurous, thoughtful man!

We also broke the rules and opened presents on Tuesday night. I received a darling box from my mother with stickers all over it-- very festive and appreciated, Mom! Inside were real! autumn! leaves! and a sweet Susan Branch calendar. And a check that will go toward some fun shoes, I'm pretty sure. I also opened Grandparents' card and check-- thank you both so much! My present from Brad was a necklace I've been wanting for a while--


My mother gave me the pearl, and I wanted it re-set and strung on a chain. We shopped around until we found a mom-and-pop place that would do it for less than $50-- much less, actually, and they were terribly accomodating and kind. So nice to find shops with a personal touch. (P.S. You can also sort of see my homemade haircut, too! I'm thrilled with it! Somehow I convinced Brad to try it on Sunday, and he did a wonderful job. Straight across the bottom, plus long layers! Impressive. I just noticed that it looks crooked in the picture, but I'm leaning. I promise it all lines up and doesn't look weird.)

Such a lovely birthday week I had.

Who's counting?

I've been around for thirty one years and 364 days. Tomorrow is 32. I'm not ashamed or uneasy with my age, rather, I relish being out of my self-defining 20s and especially being done with the angsty teens. I love my 30s, feeling comfortable in my skin and excited about possibilities on the horizon.

I came across a blog with lists (could anything be more fun?!) and this one struck me as a good exercise. Since life is rather hectic these days, I appreciate the reminder to stop and reflect. It's written as a weekly reflection, but I'm broadening it to cover my past year. Credit goes to Marc, whom I don't know, but whose writing is a lot of fun to read. Here are his 20 reflection questions:

1.) What did I learn last week? – If you have trouble answering this question, it’s time for a change. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you should learn something new every week.
2.) What was my greatest accomplishment over the past week? – Reflecting on your accomplishments is a healthy way to raise self confidence and contentment. It’s also an effective way to track your progress.
3.) Which moment from last week was the most memorable and why? – It may open up your mind to new passions and goals, or simple pastimes worth revisiting.
4.) What’s the #1 thing I need to accomplish this week? – Everything else is secondary, and should be treated as such. Nevertheless, this question will also shine light on other noteworthy tasks.
5.)What can I do right now to make the week less stressful? – Set reminders in your calendar, get your laundry done, fill the car with gas… organize yourself.
6.) What have I struggled with in the past that might also affect the upcoming week? – The idea here is to learn from your struggles and better equip yourself for future encounters.
7.) What was last week’s biggest time sink? – Steer clear of this in the future. Setup physical barriers against distractions if you have to.
8.) Am I carrying any excess baggage into the week that can be dropped? – Physical clutter, mental clutter… eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary may shine bright.
9.) What have I been avoiding that needs to get done? – Pencil in a time to get these things done. For any 2-minute or less tasks, consider scheduling them first thing Monday morning.
10.) What opportunities are still on the table? – If it’s still available and you want it, make a concrete plan to go after it this week.
11.) Is there anyone I’ve been meaning to talk to? – Regular communication can solve problems before they fester. Always keep an open line of communication to those around you.
12.) Is there anyone that deserves a big ‘Thank You’? – Take time each week to thank the people who have helped you. Your kind gesture will not go unnoticed.
13.) How can I help someone else this coming week? – The easiest way to get what you want is to help others get what they want. If you help them, they will remember you when you need help.
14.) What are my top 3 goals for the next 3 years? – You’ll never make any progress in life if you don’t setup realistic goals for yourself.
15.) Have any of my recent actions moved me closer to my goals? – If the answer is no, something needs to change.
16.) What’s the next step for each goal? – Knowing the next step is the key to accomplishing the whole.
17.) What am I looking forward to during the upcoming week? – The answer can act as a great source of motivation. If nothing exists, schedule something to look forward to.
18.) What are my fears? – Consciously address your fears each week and slowly work on resolving them. It’s all about taking baby steps.
19.) What am I most grateful for? – It’s a smart way to keep things in perspective, and something you should never lose sight of.
20.) If I knew I only had one week to live, who would I spend my time with? – Another helpful reminder… Life is short. Spend more time with the people you care about.
Take 30 minutes every Sunday and give yourself the gift of self reflection. It has worked wonders for me, and I am confident it will do the same for you.

So today as I have a bit of free time, I'm pondering.

In other news, we woke up on Sunday night at 11:30 to the sound of glass breaking. Not such a fun sound. We both got up with a jolt, and Brad got out the baseball bat (brake club, actually) and we toured the house. We didn't find any broken windows or anything, and now believe that it was a vase or glass inside one of our many packed boxes. We had just taken all the plywood shutters off the windows and it freaked us out! But thankfully no major harm was done, and we'll probably find the broken object when we unpack in a few years. :)

Appearing over the verizon store

Apparently they control the skies these days.

The end of another week.

If airfares are too expensive...

...just dream that you took a trip!

I had the most wonderful dream last night! Usually my dreams are weird and somewhat disturbing, but last night was a nice break and was totally a gift from God. I've been feeling burned out lately, working lots of hours and dealing with difficult families (parents of students in our tutoring company). It's hard to put on love when families show an air of entitlement, attitude, etc. They're getting free tutoring, no charge at all, and can't act grateful or even show up sometimes. It's frustrating, especially since the state requires particular attendance rates, etc., in order to pay us. Anyway, it has been frustrating.

I'm also a bit burned out from teaching at the university. I have the same class 8 times, which is a dream to prepare for but boring by the second class. This burnout has been causing me to re-evaluate where I want to go with my life. Do I really want to pay a zillion dollars and work my tail off to get a masters in education? Do I want to just go have babies and forget careers for a while? (I know-- pick up your jaw off the floor. I'm turning 32 next week and the clock ticks louder. Yes, I think about kids.) Do I want to go into counseling? Pastoring? It hasn't been a swirly tornado of wondering, but definitely something I've been pondering. If I don't like education anymore, which I know God gave me before, what do I do?

Then last night in my dream I was interviewing for a job at the first school at which I taught in real life-- a private girls school in Baltimore. I loved my time at BMS, loved my students, loved my colleagues. I didn't blog then so I don't remember the negatives, the stress, the down-sides. I know it wasn't all easy, but I remember liking the challenge and the atmostphere a lot. In my dream I got to visit with old friends, former students who had all grown up into lovely young women, share hugs and tears with colleagues who were going through hard times, and then interview for a job there. I remember wondering if Brad would like Baltimore, and if we would find a church there. It was so very real!

And so very happy. I woke up this morning with a renewed energy and renewed focus. I do love education, teaching, children, the energy of the school day and school year, the little mold-able minds, the sweet hearts yearning for attention. I love girls schools, I love private schools. Such a happy morning. Such a lovely trip!

In other news, Brad is completing course 2 of 5 this weekend. His compliance program is 5 courses, and he is finishing up the second. Three to go, Love! You can do it!

Jiminy Cricket is still living in our attic. His chirping is intermittent and we've almost learned his sleeping schedule. Apparently the TV wakes him up, as he likes to chirp loudly (over the living room now) when the TV is on. I read online that the lifespan of crickets is 6 to 8 weeks. We're counting.

The weather is turning a bit cooler now, and we're loving it. We haven't walked every night, but the cooler air beckons loudly. The Miata is getting a lot of use, and the roof has been down a lot. Such a nice treat after a very hot and humid summer. It still gets hot at noon, but the mornings and evenings are delightful. It's so funny-- up north the winters were depressing and sad. Down here the summers are that way for me. I did find out that SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, does vary by region. Makes sense-- the nasty hot summers down here make me cranky and unhappy, and the temperate winters are my happiest time. (Want to visit?)

And last night I experimented with a healthier pizza recipe! I used Brandon's pizza crust recipe and tweaked it a bit, and made our own pizza sauce from a Chef Boy*ardee copycat recipe (we love that sauce, but it's just full of junk). Here's my recipe, partly for you to try if you like, partly so I don't forget it:

Crust:
3/4 c warm water
2/3 t sugar
1 t instant yeast
1 c wheat flour (next time I'll use 2/3 c wheat)
1 c white flour (next time I'll use 1 1/3 c white)
1 T olive oil
parmesan cheese

Sauce:
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 t oregano (maybe 3/4 t next time)
1/4 - 1/2 t Natures Seasonings (in the spice aisle- no MSG in there)

Toppings:
Boar's Head pepperoni, sliced or diced
lots of parmesan cheese
Scant covering of Sargento Mozzarella and Smoked Provolone shredded cheese. This is the best pizza cheese ever.

Preheat the oven to 425 and make sure the pizza stone is inside on the bottom rack.

Make the dough: dissolve the sugar and yeast in the water. After a minute or so throw in the flour and mix with a fork to form a ball, adding extra flour as needed so it's not sticky. Pour olive oil over it and turn to coat the dough; let sit for about 15-30 minutes to rise and rest.

Mix up the sauce so ingredients can marry. Let sit while the dough rises.

Press dough into an oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle with parmesan and bake on middle rack until you see some brown spots, about 5-10 minutes.

Top with sauce and toppings. Be liberal with the parmesan but conservative with the mozzarella. Slide onto hot pizza stone and bake until it looks good to you.

Wheat in the crust, plus homemade sauce, makes this healthy. Right?

Not everyone has disappeared.

Sometimes we all need a change of pond.

As I walked to meet Brad to go home, two of these big boys were crossing the big patio area between two ponds on campus. They were as big as dinner plates! One was bold and bee-lined it for the new pond. The other was timid and would hide in his shell as soon as anyone came close. He'd pull his head and limbs in with a jerk and would smack his belly onto the ground-- so funny. Some students eventually picked up the turtles and put them near their desired destination as they were going to have to cross a street.

The weekend

The sidewalks are empty as students have left for fall break. oh happy day.

Summer weather remains

It's quite close to being fall here, as the temperatures usually change from 90s to 80s around the end of October. We're still getting lots of breathtaking cloud formations and summer rain. Here are two for your enjoyment:

I imagined standing at the edge of the rain, half soaked, half dry. That would be cool.


And out the other side of the car was this! At the same time!


One thing I really love about Florida is the sky. The clouds are always beautiful and ever-changing. Really fun.

In other news, the cricket was silent last night. There was much rejoicing when we laid our heads down. But this morning we woke up and learned that he has moved locations, and now is living over our bedroom it seems. We're learning to make peace with this new noisy roommate.

It's Friday, or Fried-Day as Mom says, and we're due for a weekend. This week has been rather sleepless for one reason or another, and we're just tired from lots of working. Brad has his paper to work on all weekend, and I have tutor-coordinating work to do. But despite the busy-ness, the long hours, the house-uncertainty, the unknown, we are doing well and are feeling positive in spirit. While Florida has been a rough time for us, we are feeling like we're seeing a few reasons for this time-- Brad's program and the Theophostic ministry. Both have been tremendously inspiring and life-giving lately, and we are certain they are blessings from God.

Have a happy weekend!

Things to be happy about

It's only one cricket, not an infestation. Very happy about this.

The chirps do come and go, so it's not constant.

Brad located it.

It's not in the a/c vent like we thought.

It's in the can light. Brad disassembled it successfully. Wait, it's not in the can light. It's in the insulation in the attic. (Not so happy about this, actually. But keep reading.)

Had a funny Say Anything moment. Brad decided to try to look around up there. But being that the hole is only about 6 inches in diameter, he couldn't stick his head up there. So we attached the web camera to the laptop, and he put the camera up there along with the flashlight, and could see on the laptop screen. Except that the camera cord is short, and he was at the top of the ladder, so I stood with the laptop as high over my head as I could reach. And then sang, "In Your Eyes," Lloyd-Dobler-style. Sometimes I'm clever.

We did actually get sleep! Jiminy's location is in the hallway, which is the highest point of the house, and produces a lovely echo (at least that's what he thinks). It was quite loud in the house. But a few extra fans in the bedroom drowned out the noise and we slept ok. (Except for both having weird dreams. Was it the fans? Who knows.) It was a bit like camping. Involuntary camping.

In other news, I'm the newest hot model in town. I'm in a fashion show at the mall this weekend. But truth be told, it's not because they chose me. I saw in the paper online that a store was seeking models for their fashion show and so my friend Ashley and I will go get fitted today, and then strut our stuff on Saturday. We don't get anything free, but do get a 40% discount on clothes. Hmm. Smells like a sales pitch to me.

All else is going well. Our Theophostic class is drawing to a close, and the small group phase starts soon. We still love this process a lot and have had some really powerful moments with God this way.

Brad is working on his big paper on interviewing. It's going to be really good-- we worked on the outline together last weekend. I'm tremendously proud of him, and he enjoys it. What a huge blessing. Certainly something to be happy about!

Wild times in Lehigh

I just jumped out to run a few errands. While sitting at a light under the 75 overpass, I spotted a huge snake in the marshy grass by the exit ramp. Huge. He kept sticking his head up to see what was in front of him. Eww.

Then on the way home, I lost some rubber on the road while screeching to a standstill in the fast lane of a 45 mph road. Because the guy two cars up didn't want to hit a turtle.

Oops, we did it again.

We went for a walk, second day in a row. I pretty much have a six pack and buns of steel now, and Brad has been flexing in the mirror and can't fit through doorways except for sideways, he's so huge. And I had baked Lays for lunch instead of greasy Doritos. I'm pretty much a model of supreme health.

Except that my students are all ticking me off like crazy this week. It's not a full moon, so I'm not off my rocker and they're not lunarly-affected, but seriously! I've had to snap at two classes for being loud and disrespectful! Dumbheads.

I'm playing around with html these days, stretching my brain and learning something new. I don't know a lot, but what I'm learning I enjoy. I'm working on our New York blog for next year and customizing it up. Very fun. And also I changed the format of this blog just a tad. You'll see the links at the left (the blogs I read) are now a little differently spaced out. Smart Blogger automatically sorts them with the most-recently-updated first!

Today is Friday for Brad as he's taking tomorrow and real Friday off to work on his paper. He's in a class on interviewing and interrogation, and has yet again found his calling. He is so just perfect for this field, it gets me excited just thinking about it. He has to write a 20 page paper and has been doing research the past week or so. It's not due until November something but has been hanging on his shoulders like dead weight. So he will make some great headway on that this week.

There are still numerous hoops to jump through before we actually get to move to New York next year, so if you think of us, please just pray for guidance. We have some decisions to make, and some circumstances have to just present themselves. Lots of changes brewing in the Bressler household!

I hear it's getting cool up north... enjoy fall, friends. We are just getting a break from the 90s and have had morning temps into the 70s, hooray. It's beginning to be comfortable!

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

I'm pretty sure I first heard that from my grandfather. It's so dang true.

Brad got some results back from his triannual physical, and after a discussion of various types of -glycerides, exercise was suggested. I've been considering joining the gym at school, so together we took our first steps toward being Mr. and Mrs. Universe. When we left the house it was barely sprinkling, like it had been doing all day. By the time we were at the farthest point in our walk, it was starting to increase. After thirty five minutes we made it home, two little drowned rats.