Up Early

I'm up before everybody else this morning.  Steve has a late start at work, and Harriet seems content to snuggle up with him letting me sneak out of bed.  I really really like sitting in the dark by myself.  Sometimes I think about how many hours I spent alone, by choice.  I would grab a book or my journal or my Bible and just go sit on my bed and get some serious space from the noisy chaos of life with the Heathens.  It's a wondrous thing how God can slowly change me from needing that alone time to really being able to survive for a long while without it.  It's a good thing, too, since HarriEd refuses to be left alone and neither does Steve, especially after a day at work.

Eleanor is here this week.  Mom dropped her off in transit to Jacob's dog grooming competition in Atlanta.  I truly believe that until women have children who are old enough to be a help and not a hindrance, a mother's helper is the way to go.  Eleanor plays with H for hours (which is exactly what she wants), helps me with meals and cleaning up, and reminds me that there are other people in the world over the age of seven months.  What will I do when she leaves?  Go with her, of course!  The plan is for me to hitch a ride back to Nebraska when the fambly drives back through here in a week.  Then I'll be able to visit not only immediate family, but the extended family coming from Colorado and Texas.  Hooray!  Plus there's going to be Jazzercise again and Bunco and tea time with Kylie and just...people that I already know.  

(But Steve will be all by his lonesome, which makes me feel sad.  Ah, life.)

Be praying about Steve's work situation.  He is only scheduled for 20 hours a week now, which at minimum wage (plus the 40-minute car drive each day) will most certainly not pay the bills.  At all.  It's frustrating because he is trying so hard to apply for all kinds of jobs, and absolutely no one is hiring him.  Now he's filling out an application for a Christian school, and while that's the job he would love to have, it's hard to get our hopes up that they would hire a teacher who has minimal experience and, frankly, doesn't know anybody in the school district.  Because apparently to get a decent job you have to a) have a degree that means something besides the ability to preach the Bible, and b) know somebody who can land you the desired job.  Granted, the Wally World job is a job and it's giving us a slight boost in the financial department.  Something else just needs to turn up, and rather quickly.

I'm absolutely loving my kitchen experiments with the Food Matters Cookbook.  Love, love, love that cookbook.  I've made three dishes from it so far and they have all been inexpensive, healthy, simple to prepare, and beyond delicious.  The emphasis on fresh vegetables giving the meals bulk is brilliant because we  can have something fun and filling without going broke.  And the combination of flavors is incredible.  So far I've only made skillet dishes and a soup, but I want to try some of his bread and muffin recipes today.  Eee!  I simply must buy this cookbook, especially since I now have access to an Aldi (!!!) which seems to keep fresh veggies and fruits in stock at ri-doink-ulously low prices.  I seriously get all giddy in that store.  It's so exciting to get everything I need to make healthy and tasty food for $25 UNDER my grocery budget.  It's the most cheerful thing.

Maybe I should eat before the masses arise.  And read my Bible.  Have a splendid day, everyone!