Ken Ken Puzzles

I've done Sudokus for a while. They are similar to crossword puzzles but with numbers instead of letters. You have to order the numbers so there are the digits 1-9 in each 3x3 square, each row, and each column. Sounds easy, but its rather complex. There are also Monster Sudokus that have digits 0-9 and add letters A-F. However, I've been more delighted with the Ken Ken puzzles. They not only have numbers (which I love) but also incorporate math skills (which I love). If you like math or simply enjoy puzzles, give them a try. This is the best selection I've found: You can do these on the computer or print them. Enjoy!

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/crosswords/kenken.html

The Asters Finally Bloomed!

They finally bloomed!!! I've been growing these from seed since about March!

The Bug

Today I saw a bug diligently attempting to get through my window to the plant on the other side. The bug was so focused on the great looking plant it had very little hope of getting to, it completely ignored the vast forest of leaves, trees, and flowers behind it.

Life is often like this. We are the bugs, vainly attempting to reach a great looking goal, when all along, God has a whole forest of better goals behind us.

What are you focusing so diligently on that you are missing the forest God has for you?

Frugal Goals...If I Must

It has been nearly a month since I set my frugal goals. Like all goals I make, I completely forgot about them until I read my cousin's update on her blog. So, here's how I've been doing:

Overall, I am doing terrible on my goals (which is understandable seeing as I forgot I had made goals. : - ) Maybe I'll do better next month. For this week, if I can get my homework done and the frige cleaned, I'll be a happy girl.

FAIL 1. Frugal Clothes
NOT DONE - Donate clothes I don't wear
NOT DONE - Buy matching pieces for clothes I like but don't go with anything (this may not seem frugal, but I wear clothes for a long time, so its worth it...and buying one shirt or shorts to complete an outfit is cheaper than buying a whole outfit)

OK 2. Frugal Food
I'LL HAVE TO CRUNCH SOME NUMBERS, but probably NO CHANGE- Eat out cheaper (hmm...how to do this)
DON'T LOOK IN MY FRIDGE...ITS SCARY - No food waste (cheerfully eat what I have)
GOOD!!! SPINACH/STRAWBERRY SALAD!!! - Make more food at home

OK 3. Frugal Spending
NEED TO CRUNCH NUMBERS - Spend less (I'm thinking of going to good old cash and the envelop system)
NOT DONE - Analyze giving (this does not sound frugal, but giving is important and I'd like to give more)
FAIL FAIL FAIL!!! I've been to Target a zillion times since last month (fortunately some was to do returns) - Don't buy STUFF (I spend untold amounts at big box stores like WalMart and Target, rarely remembering what I purchased or if I do, its stuff I don't need)
GOOD! I returned nearly $100 worth fo stuff (but means I also bought it) - RETURN stuff (I did this today...returned a book I know I'll never end up reading and a bracket that's the wrong size, normally I would have just kept these two things seeing as they weren't very much money and could be useful, but I'm glad I have my money back and glad I have the space in my apartment this stuff would have taken)

OK 4. Frugal Time
NOT DONE - Anyone who knows me, knows I hate reading, but its something I want to do more of (maybe 15 minutes a day to start)
A LITTLE DONE - Spend more time with God (is there ever enough?)

Waiting and the End Results

I've been learning a little life lesson recently. I'll start with the metaphor: ice skating of course :-). In my ice skating lessons, I've been learning 3-turns. I'll admit, they should be easy, but for me, I'm feeling rather uncoordinated and having a hard time with them. The thing about 3-turns is you can't force them. To do a 3-turn, you skate forward on one foot, turn your body to face backwards and your foot will turn on a dime so you are now going backwards. The thing that gets me is focusing on the end result. I focus so much on turning my foot...I want to do a 3-turn. But my teacher constantly reminds me, I need to just let it happen. I need to turn my body first (my head, my arms, my shoulder, etc) until last-but-not-least my little foot just has to turn.

We heard a sermon at church this past weekend along the same lines. It was Bill Hybels' sermon on "Holy Discontent". He talks about how something might bug you, a pssion God has given you, and it bugs you and irritates you until you can't stand it anymore. You get so annoyed that you simply must do something. Many times people focus on the doing something part and do not consider the passions God has given them. They think they will just start volunteering somewhere or helping people, which isn't bad, but God maybe giving them an even bigger dream if they stop being busy for a moment and look to Him.

Just like doing 3-turns, there are so many things in life that are exciting and we want to be at the end results, but many times, its not just about the end results, its about waiting patiently and growing in the meantime, its about things God wants to teach us so that we may better enjoy and understand the end results.

Advice

I met my good friend for a walk the other day. While talking about life, we realized we both had been looking through "self-help" books and were rather disappointed with them. Leah, a new mom, had read in one book "rock your child to promote healthy bonding" while reading "do not rock your child". Another advised "interact with your child frequently" while another said a parent must simply observe their child playing from a distance. I lamented my own experience with books written for singles. One will say "get involved in children's ministry" while another will say "you'll never meet your spouse volunteering for children's ministry, there are too many women". One says "be involved with other singles" while another claims "you're single because you're selfish, you need to stop thinking about yourself and volunteer more without a spouse-ly motive". Sooooooo confusing!!! Sooooo discouraging!!!! My friend observed that her books were mostly written by nannies, not parents and I observed my books were written by women who had played their cards "right" and gotten married in their teens. What do these people know about being a parent or being single in your 20s and 30s? Yet, we buy their books. We search for advice. My good friend and I realized, if it was so important whether or not one rocked their child or if being single was selfish, wouldn't God have said it in the Bible? The Bible is the most important book of advice and on many topics, it is silent. Why? Well, on some topics, it may seem silent, but an underlying ethic is noted. But, let's face it, on some topics, such as rocking or what color to paint your living room, the Bible is silent because that is simply not important. There are more important things to life...like the fact that Jesus, a perfect person, died for us, imperfect people. The important thing is we should love one another because Jesus first loved us. Check out the Bible to see what is really important.

Asters and Bags and Cooking

ASTERS
The other day, my asters I have been growing from SEED! wilted in the scorching sun. I thought they were gonners, but today they perked up again and are about to bloom!!! Finally! I planted them eons ago!



And eons later, they look like this:



I'm thrilled!!! :-)

BAGS
I started ice skating lessons again last week and this week I start school. That keeps life pretty busy scrunched in between volleyball, work, small group, church, and other various activities. I don't have a spouse and children to tend to, so keeping organized is pretty simple. But I don't like packing and unpacking everything weekly, so here's how I organize. I am the bag lady. Each activity has a bag that is just the right size for all the needed items. I place the loaded bags by the door before bed so I remember what I'm doing when I crawl out the door in the morning. Below are: my school bag(with books, calculator, pen, pencil, and notebook...I usually shove a pain of jeans in there too to change into after work), ice skating bag (ice skates, guards, hair clips, comb, mittens...easy to forget in June!), my purse (everyday necessity), and my lunch bag (though I usually use a cotton green one so I can throw it in the wash more often...but its in the fridge at work). I also have some larger bags for less frequent travels and a sturdier backpack for road or airplane trips. This system saves me a lot of time and sanity!



COOKING
Ok, its probably more along the lines of baking, but I made these granola bars and brought them into work today. They were a huge hit! They're probably more cookie-ish than granola-ish, but its an easy recipe to tweak to your liking.