Ok, maybe I don't even want to tell you about the past couple days. Really, at this point in time, I'd like to wiggle between my matress and box-spring, shut out the whole world, and go to sleep. Ideally, when I woke up, it would be bright and sunny outside, and my house would be sparkling clean.

Yeah, I know.  *laughs* It's so NOT happening.

I have family in from out of state, and the visit was pretty unannounced. I knew that they were coming, kind of, but there was no good forewarning until the phone rang, and they were here. That's not a bad thing really. I don't mind having company.

What I have noticed, is that I am becoming terribly obsessed with CLEAN. *chuckles* Who would have thought? Certainly not my mom, who used to take pictures of my room to show everyone she knew, to humiliate me into submission. lol Still, I'm finding myself looking longingly at my vacuum cleaner and immitation windex. I have a house full of people, and I am the only one who is the slightest bit inclined toward cleaning the house, or cooking for that matter. So, without being a meanie and stomping my foot a bit, I haven't figured out how to keep the house even reasonably clean. I keep running around, but toys, food, and dirty clothes keep magically re-appearing all over the house. My own child has been pretty good about things, since she knows that Mommy likes her to keep her toys in her room. I let her make as big of a mess in there as she wants, but she knows that she has to clean it all up again before Daddy comes home. Oooo....

Things have been non-stop around here, and I am tired. I'm chasing tylenol with soda, hoping the caffine will help with the headache. I've got to shake it off, because I need to go and bake my sister a birthday cake. :o )  I also have to fashion some hamburger patties, and see if I can get my little sister to run up to the market and get some buns. I was going to walk, but we had a weird thunderstorm run through. I think it is really something, when storms blow in so fast that it looks like God is just dumping a huge bucket of water over the house, and then it is gone. Hey, at least I don't have to water our grass seed! *laughs*

DH and I have been working in the yard a lot, and it is really looking nice. He cut some burlap up for me, and planted some grass seed on the west side of our walkway. I will just love it if we can grow some grass in there, instead of cultivating our mud hole. We are all loving our "yard time" though. DD gets to play outside more, now that I have her playhouse and picnic table all set up. We even have a section of our driveway all set up for our grill and/or fire pit. Last night I had a great time, just sitting and listening to the guys talk, while we sat around the fire. It was too cold to be out there otherwise. I don't know why, but there is something so nice about sitting out around a fire. I came in last night, smelling of wood-smoke. Of course, I would have anyway, since I used maple to cook/smoke some chicken breast for my dad and Sis. Dad just raved on and on about how good that chicken was. wow. The rest of us had steak, which I love to cook. I'm such a fire bug, that I love cooking red meat over a fire. I am oddly fascinated by the way that the fat catches in the fire, and the flames jump up to lick the meat. I'm weird, but y'all already know that. If I had a good dutch oven, I think that I'd be pretty fine, cooking out on an open fire.

While the cake is baking, I have to sit down with my shopping list again. I know what we usually use, but I am going to draw up a menu for the next two weeks anyway. I want to make sure that I have everything that I need, and also to make sure that I don't buy things that we don't need. I have come upon the worlds best diet. It's called.... no money. *laughs* It causes me to go directly to needed foods, and bypass all of the sugary junk and chips that we would normally buy also. I've had to cut back our grocery bill this pay period, because DH needs new work shoes. So, half of my grocery money is going to go toward getting his steel-toed shoes, and the rest I have to spend wisely. I think that we are going to have to cut out milk, except for cooking purposes. It is just too expensive, unless I can find a really good sale. We need to drink more water though, anyway.
Hey, Hey! I did real good last night though. DH was looking through automotive stuff, and I stuck a smile on my face and just left it there. Even though we were down to our last couple dollars, I didn't fuss at him for buying one of the most expensive fuel additives they had. I figured that he knew what he was doing. I get to find out today if the car runs better with cleaner fuel injectors. :o )  I hope that it can be something as simple as that. I'll admit that it is hard sometimes, watching the money go, and keeping my tongue from wagging. I keep repeating "just trust him" while I pay our bills and exercise the calculator. I figure that the best way to curb any wild spending is to pay our bills right away. That way, we get to see how much is really still ours, right away. I'm betting that it will work. *nods* He will see that we really don't have that much, and he'll be more careful. I know he will. He doesn't like being strapped any more than I do.

I have to say though, that I really like having this small market near me. While some things are a little more expensive than I would normally buy, I actually save money there. Because I am walking, I will only buy just what we need, and I only carry enough money in my pocket to get what I need. So, I don't impulse shop and bring home half the store. I'm not bad about that anyway, but now I am happy over every dollar or quarter that I bring home. I like going shopping, and only spending $3. lol I also love leftovers. *laughs*

Oh well, I have to go........