What's Goin' On?

In case you've been asking this question pertaining to why I haven't written lately (don't you love how I assume you care that much), anyway I'll tell you. I could kick myself for not writing about some things, but oh well, here's an abbreviated version of the happenings in my life as of late.

One week ago I broke my toe. It was definitely a case of stupidity, I'll freely admit. However, it sparked some curiosity in me regarding my reaction to it and other people's reaction to my reaction. Have I lost you yet? What I mean is, when it happened, I moaned, groaned, whimpered, seethed through my teeth, did everything short of screaming that you can probably think of to indicate I was in pain, BUT I did not cry. The person who was with me even said, "Barbie, this is the first time I've ever seen you ALMOST cry." She has known me for about 5 years and has never seen me cry? Really? Then later I was talking to my sister about what happened and when she said something about me crying about it, I quickly replied, "I was not crying!" I had to ask myself, "Why do I feel the need to be such a tough girl?" I don't cry often, and I'm not saying that to brag it's just a reality. But this situation got me thinking, about why I have such a hard time shedding tears. I mean it is a natural way to express emotion. The worst part about it is, I think I push my tough girl attitude on my kids. The truth is God created tears, and even Jesus wept over things that burdened his soul. I'm not saying we need to be cry babies, but I truly think shedding some tears is perfectly acceptable when much physical pain is endured or even when we have truly been hurt emotionally. I'm now wondering how much my holding back the tears attitude has resulted in outbursts of anger.

I've also started trying couponing. I don't know if you would call it extreme, cuz I'm certainly not seeing savings in the range of $400-$500, of course I don't even buy that much in groceries. However, this past week, I did save a little over $200. Still savings well worth the time it took to get started, and believe me it takes time. The most time is spent the first time you try to do it, because clipping the coupons and digging through the ads just seems to take forever, not to mention organizing the coupons for use. Once you get started, it's really not that hard, but you have to find a system that works for you. I'm still learning, and I'm hoping that the more I learn the more I save. So, we'll see!

Some friends and I are starting a craft club. I'm so excited about this! I always think of things I want to make and just never make the time to do it, so it's exciting to actually be setting aside time for this.

The women's retreat is coming up! Also, very exciting! I'm mostly exciting about the fact that all three of my sisters will be coming. Yay, sisters' weekend! But it has been taking time to get stuff ready for the weekend.

The sun has been shining! Yes, this is a very important part of my life and has kept me busy playing outside with the kids. Which means less time on the computer and less time for writing. Oh well, there's always rainy days and eventually winter will come back, but let's not dwell on that thought.