MIA.

My last post was like, three years ago.

Okay, not really. But it sure feels like it! There has been so very much going on the the Little Wife/Hunky Husband household that blogging (and cooking, and cleaning, and feeding Tucker) has truly fallen to the wayside.

If you're just joining us, or if you can't remember what I look like since I've been gone for so long (not that you knew what I look like anyway!), here's what's going on.

1) Teaching full-time as a long term sub. In high school. Oh yeah.

2) Taking full-time (14 credits worth of) online college credits.

3) Zeke starting his new job as the director of maintenance at our camp.

4) Moving- across the parking lot- to our new camp home. On Monday.

5) Easter this weekend. That's Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

6) Zeke's dear, sweet, wonderful grandmother finally made her way home to Jesus this past week, and her visitation and funeral are this weekend, too- Friday and Saturday.

AHHH!

You'll have to forgive me for being MIA-- it'll last for a while yet, I think. Don't worry, I will return.

I Love My Mother-In-Law

The big joke is that once a woman gets married, she'll have to deal with the dreaded mother-in-law. Entire TV shows are based around it (Everybody Loves Raymond, anyone?). And while I do believe that there are some unfortunate circumstances out there, terrible mothers-in-law are the exception, not the rule.

Personally, I love my mother-in-law.

She spent an entire afternoon cutting burlap for my wedding with my mother and I. She bought tons of extras for the reception as well (like tiny little beautiful flowers to put into centerpieces, because I didn't have any flowers on the tables). She swaps books with me, she sends us home with beef every time we come to visit, she's offered to come paint our house like six times... she's wonderful.

She's very, very different from my own mom. I don't mean that my mom isn't wonderful, too, but they're wonderful in different ways. It's like I now have the best of all moms in the world.

I have the mom who drinks tea and gets up really early in the morning, and I have the mom who stays up late and always loves a good mocha. I have the mom who creates Christmas centerpieces for my kitchen table, and I have the mom who loves cutting down our own Christmas tree in the woods. I have the mom who can't read at all ever in the car or she'll get sick, and I have the mom who finishes novels on the road trip out to Washington State.

Despite all their differences, they do have one thing in common. They love the Lord and they love their families. They're both great examples of strong, intelligent, beautiful, caring women. What daughter (or daughter-in-law) could ask for anything more?

Ten Minute Tuesday: Makeup Clean Up

 Today's Ten Minute Tuesday Challenge: 

Ah, the makeup drawer. Well, for me it's a makeup basket, but you get the picture. Most mornings, I swipe on a bit of foundation, cover up dark circles, add a little blush and mascara, and toss it all back into my little basket without a second thought. 

Taking a couple of extra minutes to clean, disinfect, and reorganize your makeup stash will keep your skin healthier, your morning routine running smoothly, and it'll keep your makeup drawer from turning into a dump-zone.

First things first- clean those brushes. Makeup brushes get full of germs pretty quickly actually, and having gunky brushes isn't only bad for your makeup application, but also for your heath!

I use liquid foundation, and my foundation brush gets pretty gunky! You can clean brushes you use for powder, but you'll want to make sure they have time to fully dry before you use them.

You'll need a small container, some vinegar, dish soap, and some hot water. Mix about one teaspoon of vinegar with a 1/4 cup hot water and a drop or two of dish soap. The dish soap gets rid of oil while the vinegar disinfects. Swoosh your brush around in there and then leave it soak for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, go through your makeup supplies. Get rid of anything you can't remember using- it's just taking up space. You may want to think about putting stuff you don't use often into a less-accessible place (like the eyeshadow you only wear when going out- find a new place for that so it doesn't take up valuable room in your drawer!) Eye makeup (mascara and eyeliner) needs to be replaced every six months. It seems expensive and unnecessary, but the last thing you want is an eye infection. Don't risk it!

I like to label my mascara so I remember when I bought it and when it needs to be replaced. Make sure you label in a low-touch zone, or it'll rub off, like the label in the picture above. Can't see it? Exactly. Whoops.

Go back to your soaking brushes. Swoosh them around again, and then rinse with hot water. Make sure you rinse them out really well- my skin is super sensitive and will break out from the fragrance in my dish soap. After they're rinsed, squeeze dry with a paper towel and then let them dry, brush part up, for a couple of hours.

Voila! Happier, healthier household!

A Post in Which I Display My Dirty Laundry

After a full week of teaching high school English and two nights of Parent/Teacher Conferences, this is the state of the Adrie/Zeke laundry situation...

Hamper! Overflowing!

Two clean, dry, unfolded loads...

Tons. Of. Laundry. I've been pretty much terrible about keeping up on the laundry front.

We spent last weekend (part of Saturday and all of Sunday) out of town visiting relatives, so that didn't help with the chaos in our house...

But when I came home after a long day of school and conferences on Tuesday... my house was clean! Zeke cleared off the piles of junk on our kitchen table, cleaned the stove, washed all the dishes and picked up the living room! I teared up a little. It was just so nice to come home to a relaxing, uncluttered space. It was exactly what I needed. I love him.

Ah. Tiny, but clean, kitchen. Thank you, HH!

The one thing he didn't get done (and I definitely don't blame him!) is the laundry. He says I'm a little too picky about how I like my stuff folded. It's very true.

Thank goodness for Fridays off and weekends!

Laundry, Lesson Planning, a Little onLine homework (all right, that was a stretch), and Love!

Happy Friday!

Maintenance Man Monday: Stick Shift Solutions

My husband and I recently purchased a car. It's a 2004, it's silver, it's super cute, and it's got a 6-speed manual transmission.

Oh yeah.

Now, I understand the reasoning behind having this vehicle. I drive about 20 minutes to get to school when I'm subbing, and hopefully I'll have full-time job somewhere in the future, and that hopefully-full-time job will mean that I have to commute at least a little. Better fuel mileage, especially considering the gas prices, is a very good thing. Our other vehicles include a big huge truck (which is a major gas guzzler), and a motorcycle (great for fuel mileage, but it weighs 600 pounds so I can't lift it, and I have no idea how to drive it).

Hunky Husband does not commute. We live on site at the Bible Camp (such an incredible blessing), so he goes to work by walking across the parking lot. Which means... I get to drive the new stick shift car.

I don't know how to drive a stick shift.

Zeke is teaching me.

Keep in mind, here, that Zeke has been driving since he was five. I'm not kidding. He grew up on a farm, so he was messing around with his dad, driving tractors and farm equipment since he was really little. He was a big kid (5'3" at the age of eight....), so by the time he was ten, he was driving tractors by himself, taking meals out to the field in trucks... and at 13, he drove a semi full of cattle to Montana. He's been driving forever.

Cut to me. I grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee. My mom was a very nervous driver, so by the time I learned to drive at the "ripe old age" of 16, I didn't have a very high opinion of being out on the road. I never even rode along in a stick-shift vehicle until I met Zeke (I was 19).

To say the least, my stick-shift education has been a rocky one.

Everything will start out just fine... Zeke is his typical calm self, waiting patiently while I adjust the seat and mirrors multiple times. We'll get started out on the road, doing fine, and then I'll get to a stop sign. I'll stop. And then, as I start up again, I kill it.

Zeke says, "It's okay, just... wait, you're rolling backwards! We're moving!" I slam on the brakes, restart the car, and as I'm switching from brake to gas.... I kill it.

And now I'm getting flustered. Zeke says, "It's okay, just start it again. It happens." Somehow, miraculously, I'll get the car to move (eventually), and as I pick up speed...

"Shift." Okay, I shift.

"Shift. See, you're going 20, you've got to be in at least third." Shift again.

"Shift." Okay, I knew that one. I was just about to shift and then he told me to... I will get the hang of this...

"Now you're speeding." Sigh.

"Just pull into that gas station and we'll wash the windows." Gas station? What gas station!? What? Where? Oh, wait. My hands are shaking. Okay. I'll slow down.... Is that an entrance, or...

"Okay, now you're stopped completely." Okay, give it some gas to turn... Gosh I'm still pretty shaky...

"NO! You can't start in fourth gear! You're stopped! You've got to start in first!"


Yep, it hasn't always been the most pleasant experience, for either of us.

Instead of getting frustrated, angry with each other, or just giving up, after a less-than-lovely drive around town, we talked about it. He asked me what I needed, what would help me learn better. He told me I wasn't doing a bad job, that it's just when I get nervous that I make silly mistakes.  I told him that maybe it would help if he only made suggestions if I asked first, that I had to learn by doing it, not by being told exactly what to do. I thanked him for being so patient, that I appreciated him for teaching me.

He listened to me, and he encouraged me.
I suggested a solution, and I expressed gratitude.

Since that talk, the driving lessons have greatly improved. Yeah, I still kill the engine sometimes, and yes, I do still get nervous. I'm sure that he gets frustrated sometimes. But by keeping the lines of communication open, we're going to keep our marriage running.

Five Things on Friday

In honor of my (brand spanking new) long-term subbing position, I'd like to tell you five things I've learned about high school students this week.

1) Some of them have beards. Color me freaked out. I'm used to baby-faced 3rd graders, awkward gawky 6th graders, and even the occasional pimple-sprouting 8th grader. But beards? And tattoos? AH!

2) They don't talk when I'm talking. Maybe I just got a wonderful bunch of kids (7 classes in a row), but I don't need to do nearly as much "I'm giving instructions! That means I shouldn't hear any other voices!" as I usually do. In fact, getting them to talk is sometimes pretty tough.

3) They know how to blow their own noses. After spending some time subbing for a pre-school aide, this is a total plus. Although that little girl was pretty darn cute, standing there blowing at a tissue with her mouth.

4) They really apply things they learn to their own lives. Like when I asked, "Do you know any teacher who says 'but' or 'um' a lot in their lectures?" during my communications class... and they all went, "MRS. SEEVER!"

5) They can really write. I gave my first Free Writing assignment today (10 minutes, 3 different prompts), and man. A couple kids wrote such amazing things in only 10 minutes.

This is gonna be a fun Spring.