Happy Pi Day (and taking a bite out of your inbox)

Happy March 14 (3.14) or Pi Day!

Instead of pie, I was really thinking about making cookies today. I always feel virtuous and want to eat well when the weather warms up, but now that it's gotten cold and windy again today, I just want comfort food.

I figure the quiche I'm planning for supper will be a fair equivalent to pie, since it is in a pie crust. Plus I want to keep testing the pie weights I bought.

Quiche is becoming a bit more common at our house since I've discovered my husband doesn't find it too girly. It's a modified omelet, really. But the real reason is that we've been so blessed by the beautiful brown eggs my father-in-law's hens are laying.

Can I brag and show you an adorable picture of my son and one of the hens when both were a bit newer?

On an unrelated note, if you struggle to keep up with the volume of emails in your life (personally or at work), you'll want to check out this post from Money Saving Mom on limiting the messages in your inbox.

Happy Pi Day!

Confession

I'm concerned that by reading my blog you might get the impression I have it all together. That is most definitely not the case!

Today is a prime example of why, no matter how organized I try to be, I still need grace. And today, I received it in some of the most unexpected ways.

Things that went "wrong":

• I neglected to write out my grocery list in the order of the store layout, like I usually do. Thus, I backtracked multiple times, and went through the checkout twice. (I saw an awesome mini-lacrosse set for my oldest son on the way out. I mentally had this on my list, but of course, forgot because I didn't write it down.)
• My husband forwarded along a notice from mint.com that we'd been issued a $25 late fee on my credit card.
• Just minutes after reading that message, I dropped my Kindle and now only the top half of the screen works. The bottom half is forever set to a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Agh! And I am the girl who is on my fourth cell phone in a year.
• Both of my beautiful boys kept waking each other up from naps. We totaled three unhappily-ended naps, one of which lasted a whopping ten minutes.

Really, it could have been a worse day. There were some highlights like a visit from a friend and the sweet hug my son gave me when I just about broke down in tears about the late bill and Kindle.

I am learning to be a grown-up and just 'fess up and own my mistakes, though it's really painful to admit that I do stupid things.

First, I emailed the folks at my credit card company and sweetly asked why they don't send paperless statements like nearly every other company I pay on a monthly basis. After all, I had compared every item on the bill to my receipts, and then scanned it in for my records, but somehow didn't pay it. Ugh! Though they did not apologize for their policy (read: archaic ways) they waived the fee. 

Stay tuned; I may have to investigate if there's another card with similar rewards AND paperless statements.

Also, unexpectedly, the very nice man who I spoke with at Amazon told me that they will send me a new Kindle and it will be free, so long as I ship back the busted one. Is that a happy day or what?!? Now I can help Sherlock figure out whodunit.

And yes, I also managed not to yell at my kids for the premature wake-ups. :)

Tidbits

I'm initiating a new type of post today, called "Tidbits." This format will encompass miscellaneous updates or thoughts that don't really warrant their own full-size post.

•  I ran into my friend Erin over the weekend. She was pleased to tell me that even though it's been a year, she's completed her recipe project. She typed up and organized her recipes in binders. Each type (Dessert, Vegetable, etc.) is separated by a pocket divider. The recipes she hasn't tried yet go in the pocket until she deems them worthy of filing. Way to go, Erin!
• The cleaning list I shared in my last post is really working out. I will confess that I don't get every item done every week (remember I am 35 weeks pregnant and have a teething two-year-old). However, I think I was pretty lax before and now going over stuff that is still relatively clean goes very quickly. It took me the better part of two hours to really clean my fridge last week, but it was soooo worth it. De-cluttering the doors of magnets and hanging stuff really makes for a clean appearance, too. 
• I've learned something about laundry. Since I've been a domestic engineer, I've found myself running loads of laundry every other day or so, often mixing towels in with another partially full load. This week, I tried waiting till I had several full loads. While I can't explain it, it seems easier to do multiple loads at once. I doubt it's going to take much discipline to wait, especially once the baby is here!