This Week at the Remmers'

Hi all!  I hope everyone continued to do well.

Things are crazy busy here as always--just like we like it!  :o)

Monday and Tuesday the kids had off school.  It was the end of the quarter and the teachers needed time to put together report cards.  Unfortunately, Dan and I both had to work, so we didn't do much that was exciting or different.

On Monday we had our usual cleaning day--or "house blessing" day as I like to call it.  It had been a couple weeks since we'd done it (due to John's illness and later doctor's visit), so it felt GREAT to have a clean house again!  Since I had extra use of the kids, I also enlisted their help in cleaning out the pantry section of the basement, as part of "Mission Zero":  my ongoing effort to reduce my belongings to as little as possible.  We had been working on it piece by piece over the last few weeks, but with our concentrated effort, we were able to FINISH IT.  I wish you could see it.  It truly is a thing to behold--clean, organized, and walkable.  Yay!

On Tuesday, everyone pretty much did their own thing.  I had a doctor's appointment in the morning, just like I do every Tuesday, to deal with my chronic hip problems.  I'm not quite sure how long I'll keep going, as things don't seem to be improving, and it is an out of pocket expense that is not paid for by our insurance.  Very frustrating.

John spent his day off doing his very favorite thing--watching YouTube videos.  In a sense, I hate to let him do it all day, but he spends the whole day laughing! How can I deprive him of something that obviously brings such joy?  Lyn spent her day doing her very favorite thing--reading Harry Potter.  She has now finished all seven books and has started over again.  She loves discovering things that she realizes now are important, but she had missed the first time around.

Also, on Tuesday, Lyn and I paid a visit to Dress Barn, my very favorite clothing store.  I had received a couple of $10 off coupons that expired that day, so I needed to be sure and use them.  There was no minimum purchase, and I could have used them on anything, but I was specifically looking for a white top.  I ended up with a white top and matching sweater--I think they were the only two things in the whole store that were not on sale!  So I ended up spending more than I intended, but it was a drop in the bucket compared to what I wanted to spend, so I guess that was good.  I'm looking forward the end of this diet so I can go on a real shopping spree!

Speaking of my diet, the woman who teaches the raw food class that I attend once a month is now providing prepared raw food home delivery.  The price was so reasonable, and the food sounded so good, I signed up for it right away.  Over the course of the week I got to enjoy: Creamy Zucchini "Pasta" w/ Tomatoes & Basil, Marinated Greens, Corn Chowder, Broccoli/Walnut Salad, Cheezy Cauliflower, Spinach Basil Salad, Dolmas, Tabouli, Raw Pad Thai, Citrus Kale Salad, Pea Soup, Sweet Root Salad, Spinach Nut Burger, Broccoli Cabbage Salad, Tacos, "Potato" Salad (made with cauliflower), Pizza, Caesar Salad, Chili, Cole Slaw, Caramel "Oreos", Crackers with Olive Tapenade, Apple Pie, Crackers with Red Pepper Hummus.  (And you thought raw food was boring!)

It was all delicious, and the price and convenience could not be beat, but wow!  That was a lot of food!  She agreed to let me do a half order this week.  We'll see how it goes!

Anyway, back to Tuesday.  The kids had their piano lesson as usual, but I missed it because I drove out to Crofton, MD for a business event.  It was run by the same people that had put on the luncheon I went to last week, but it was not as good.  I wrote on my comment card how it could be better, and guess what?  I got an email from them that they were implementing my suggestion!  Wow.  Also, I found out yesterday that I won the drawing for a table/exhibit at their next event.  Very cool.

On Wednesday I had a business lunch in Shirlington at Busboy's and Poets.  I had no idea that there was one so close to me!  The original is in DC--it's a great hippie, beatnik hangout.  We've only been there once because it's so far away, but it is super cool, and super vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free friendly.  Now that I know there is one right around the corner, I can't wait to go back when I'm off my diet!

On Thursday I had basketball practice.  I actually learned a few things and think I might improve my game.  Yay!

Thursday was also "Crazy Thursday," which means ballet and chess club fall on the same day.  It was extra crazy this week because I had a PTA meeting to attend, as well as copies to make of the monthly PTA newsletter I publish.  I was super grateful to Dan and Lyn for taking care of the copies while I attended the meeting.

On Friday, Dan took the day off of work so he could work on the car.  We had several thousand dollars worth of work done on it recently, and the check engine light was still on.  It's due for an inspection, and he knew we wouldn't pass if it was on (I'm so glad I'm married to a man who knows these things!)  He managed to borrow a machine from the auto parts store to turn it off, but when he took it into the shop they said he had to drive it for several miles first.  So he spent the day driving it to nowhere in particular.

Also on Friday we met with an agent about long term care insurance.  We definitely need to get our affairs in order while we're young and healthy, but the budget just doesn't allow for this quite yet.

In the evening, we all headed to LTA to the The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  Not only did I have friends in the cast, but I had auditioned for it a few months ago, and I always like to see if it's any good without me!  LOL  It was quite good, though one of the numbers was inappropriate for children.  The LTA staff knows this, so ever since they opened, they held the children in the lobby after intermission until the offending song (the first song of the second act) was over, and then let them back in.  I am so grateful for LTA!  I am also grateful that Dan and I have such good rapport there.  John didn't want to see the show, so instead of finding a babysitter, he was allowed to stay in the office and play on the computer (watching his YouTube videos, of course).  We couldn't do that anywhere else.

On Saturday morning I attended a class sponsored by the women's organization at church on caring for our aging parents.  It was really fantastic.  It's an uncomfortable subject to talk frankly about preparing for someone's death, but it really had to be done.

Also on Saturday, Dan and John had some boy bonding time as they fixed the toilet in the basement and hung some new blinds in the family room.

Lyn and I cleaned out the linen closet as part of "Mission Zero".  We can now actually close the doors. Woo hoo!

We ended Saturday night with an exciting round of...haircuts!  Yes, we live a glamorous life.  I cut Dan's and John's, and Dan shaved mine.  I never intended to keep my hair so short, but I found I really like it, and everyone tells me it looks good on me.  Apparently I have a nice shape for a head!

This morning, Lyn and I had choir practice, after which I worked a little bit on my book.  I had planned to enter it in the Penguin junior fiction contest and just realized that the deadline was today! They wanted a 300 word pitch and a 3000 word excerpt.  I wrote one more chapter, which puts it just over 3000 words. Whew! Unfortunately, they also wanted the complete manuscript. (I didn't realize that until tonight.) I filled the rest of the document with lorem ipsum just to get it up to the 50,000 word requirement, but of course I will be disqualified for the final prize ($15,000 plus a publishing contract). Still, the first round winners are selected only from the pitch. And the second round winners are selected only from the excerpt. So even though I can't win the contest, at least it will get in front of people. And there is still a possibility that it will be picked up by Penguin. The contest rules stipulate that they have a right to publish the non-winners for up to 6 months. So that's good.

Here again is the link to the completed portions of the book.  I would love your feedback!

That's it for us.  Of course we love to hear what's going on in your lives, too.  Take care and keep warm!  :)