Not Resolutions, per se...end of January update

Back on December 31st, 2012, I posted about some changes that I have been wanting to make. I didn't call them resolutions because I just didn't think that was quite the right term for them. But I did want to update you on those changes I wanted to make and how they have been going. So here goes:

Personal Scripture Study: F
Same as I said last time...Between doing the reading for Sunday School (which I don't attend because I'm a Nursery leader) and Relief Society (which I also don't attend for the same reason) as well as the reading that relates to my Visiting Teaching message and to my Nursery leader role, I really haven't been doing any personal reading. I do still plan to do it though.

Scripture Study with Bree: B
I had planned to order our Seminary books so that we could start as soon as the kids were back in school on the 7th of January, but time got away from me and I ended up not ordering them until the 9th and as of yet, we haven't received them, they are due here though, on the 22nd, although I anticipate them actually showing up before then.

They actually showed up on the 18th, although we didn't start them until the 20th/21st. I gave her the copy of her book at church that day and we started the next day. I have been pretty faithful (missed one day but had an extra long session the previous day that I felt kind of balanced it out, even though I know that it doesn't really) about doing my Seminary reading.

Tackling a particular area of the house each week: B
I had planned to start with the den. And as far as this goes, I forgot to do a post the next day with pictures of the items and then the finished product. However, I will say that nearly all of the homeless items were either re-homed to someone else's house, discarded or given a proper home here. The one exception to that would be the things that are under my husband's desk. Practical excuse: When I have the time, his legs are usually under his desk. In reality: I have more time than when he is actually using his desk, but when he's not, I push the chair in (out of habit) and the chair essentially hides those few remaining homeless items. Therefore, out of sight, out of mind. I WILL get that done (with pictures to prove it) before this week is over.

For next week's tackle, I plan on attacking laundry in a major major way. It just needs to be done.

I did get that area done but no pics. Sigh. One of these days my posts WILL have pics again. One of these days. I have been working on the laundry in a major way. There is still more to do, but it's a process and I'm plugging away at it. And making great progress, I might add! I think this laundry tackle may be one that I will actually continue doing throughout the month of February.

Meal Planning: A
Week 1 (aka 1-1-13 to 1-6-13) was planned and followed
Week 2 (aka 1-7-13 to 1-13-13) was planned and followed
Week 3 (aka 1-14-13 to 1-20-13) was planned and is being followed but I didn't blog it because I was busy and forgot to do it.

Week 4 (aka 1-21-13 to 1-27-13) was planned and followed
Week 5 (aka 1-28-13 to 2-3-13) was planned and is being followed but I didn't blog it because of illnesses and the fact that it's been kind of a loose plan due to the illnesses.

Savings Goal of $1200: A+
I have saved up an additional $300 already this month, on top of the $300 that I already had. In reality, Hubby's check is going to be short this next pay period so most likely the extra $200 that I have saved will be re-routed to make up the shortage on his check. However, it will not affect the amount that I have saved this far and it also won't drive me off track with my goal either. Hubby did see something this one idea on Facebook though and while it does seem interesting, I'm not sure that it is entirely practical for our family.

Someone had commented that they were doing it backwards so that it would get progressively easier as opposed to progressively harder. Plus, if you put away the most amount of money early on, and you have it in a bank or someplace where you are earning interest on it, you're making more interest earlier on. Not to mention, you are more likely to save more money at the beginning of the year when your resolve to save is at it's freshest. I hope that makes sense.

Hubby's work missed a paycheck that is still unaccounted for and he had a less than usual paycheck as well, so we are back to just the $100 (+ $300=$400) saved. We might need to dig into that, though, to make up for the missed paycheck. That's what it is there for though, right?

Chores: B
Our chore system is still going strong. I have tweaked it and will post about it (and some of the previous tweaks that I have done to it). Who knows? Maybe this current system (or one of the previous tweaks) will work for you as well. Or maybe give you something to start off from.

The chore system is going better than ever! Loving it! My older boys are continuously going above and beyond their expected chores nearly every day. Cannot complain about that!

Use our gym membership at least once per week: D-
Week 1 - 0
Week 2 - 0
Week 3 - 0

However, I did just sign the kids up today for swim lessons (Oralee and Jeriah) and swim team (Cephas and Koren) as well as for Recreational Soccer (Cephas), Flag Football (Koren), Micro Volleyball (Oralee) and Micro Soccer (Jeriah). So, that kind of used our membership...kinda. Once we are already at the gym for those lessons, it's so much easier to just go ahead and work out. Funny how things work out like that.

Week 4 - 3 times
Week 5 - 0 times so far due to illnesses. Blech!

Losing 2% of my weight per month: C-
At this point, I'd have to go weigh myself, but I don't believe that I have currently lost any weight at all.

I weighed myself on 1/26/13 and at that point, I had lost 1%. Not all that I'd hoped for, but it's a start.

Eating more meals prepared at home: C
We have definitely done better in this department. There is still room for improvement though. Ideally, we would be eating out once per month, twice in a birthday or anniversary month.

Still doing better, still lots of room for improvement. Our biggest downfall is those unexpected trips that come up that ends up preventing us from being home in time to start the meal at a time that would make sense. I just need to do a better job of planning ahead and making sure that I am home in time to make the meal.

Cutting out soda: D
Complete fail at this point in time. My plan was to trade soda in for decaf tea, but I haven't gotten there just yet. If I were to just make some and have it ready to go in the fridge, I'd set myself up for success right there. However, I haven't as of yet. There's nothing like the present to get started on that one though!

Still a fail, but mostly because I haven't yet bought the tea. I thought I had decaf tea, but I didn't. So instead of giving up the soda, I have been drinking non-caffeinated soda or diet soda. I wish it was both, but it's generally one or the other. I don't really like the diet versions of the caffeine free sodas. But this last week of January, I have actually been doing really well with it. I did have one diet soda when we ate at Hubby's work this week, but that was only because the server knows us and that's what I always order and she never even asked me what I wanted to drink - she just brought it out.

Finding and Acheiving Balance

I am struggling to find a balance for all of my responsibilities. Any one else have this issue? This week is going to be busy, but not so much that I don't have time to get it all done.

Tomorrow, we don't have school, but I will only be home part of the day as I am going over to Bree's house to help her declutter her clothes' closet (and maybe even get to take home some of the items if I really like them). Tuesday, we have an appointment with our therapist and one of her partners about finally starting a medication regime for Cephas (it's something that we have tried to avoid, but entering the teen years, we feel it is now time) that will take up most of the morning. The rest of the day is fairly empty though. Wednesday, I have to work and then in the evening I also have an appointment at church. Thursday, I will be visit teaching with my teaching companion and then I will be going to a movie with the mother-in-law. We also have the Pinewood Derby in Scouts on this night, so one of our free evenings this week will be spent on creating a car for the Derby. Then Friday, I have blissfully nothing planned for the day yet.

Okay, here is my problem. The week itself, broken up like this, isn't so bad. But I seem to be having issues trying to acheive a balance. Thursday, there is just absolutely no wiggle room in my schedule. None at all. I'll be gone all day from 8:30 am when I take the kids to school until 8:30 pm when we get home from Scouts and Mutual.

These are the "scheduled" items on my list for the week. The "unscheduled" items are things like my personal Scripture study, Scripture study with Bree, tackling one area of the house at a time to declutter and really really clean it, doing all of my regular maintenance-type housework, getting to the gym and working out, and then other regular stuff like school drop off, school pick up, meal planning and execution, grocery shopping and other routine errands as such. I just need to sit down and figure out when and where everything is going to go.

Since I have tomorrow morning free (kid-free with Hubby at home, to be exact), we are planning on working on laundry and our bedroom, which is buried in laundry and clutter that gets shoved in there whenever we have company. Then I'll be going to Bree's house to help her, then I'll be heading back home to get dinner ready so that we can eat before beginning our evening plans. We'll probably work on the Derby car and I also really want to take the kids to the gym that night to go swimming. They really enjoy going and they have such a great time.

Tuesday, I know that my morning is already pretty much gone. We'll probably feed Cephas before sending him back to school (or just let him stay out for the rest of the day - depending on how much time is left in his school day before they are let out) and then that afternoon, we will be working on the Pinewood Derby car, as well as things around the house, maybe even get around to tackling one complete area too. That evening, I want to take the kids to gym again after supper, but I want to do a water aerobics class that I enjoy that evening. It's a TOUGH workout and I feel it so much afterwards, but it is incredible! The older boys can either swim in the other pool or they can shoot baskets in the gym. The little kids will go to the Child Watch center while I am in my class, then maybe we will swim again as a family afterwards.

Wednesday, I'll have work and then I'll do school pickups, home dropoffs (we carpool that day), then get home and make dinner before I have to leave for my meeting at church. When I get home that evening, we'll do finishing touches on the Derby car, and then I'll work on some regular everyday housework and call it a night.

Thursday is my busy day. I'll take the kids to school, go visit teach, then do lunch and a movie with my mother-in-law (it's not something that we've ever done before, so I'm kind of excited for it!) and then it will be time to get the kids from school and a friend's house and hurry home to eat a quick dinner before leaving for the Pinewood Derby. After the Derby is over, we'll call it a night.

Friday, oh how I am looking forward to Friday! I plan to spend my day on Friday (at home, without Hubby or kids or anyone else!), working on things around the house, to get it ready for the weekend. I also want to spend a good chunk of time in my Scriptures this day. I'll need to do this before Hubby gets home, as he has this desire to try to talk to me while I'm reading something (anything!), just as I have the same desire to try to talk to him during a football game or a video game or some other inopportune time for him. Friday night, we will plan on the gym again, but we'll have to see for sure.

Saturday, Hubby has to work and the kids and I will be working on our deep-cleaning chores here at home. My goal for Saturday's chores: have all three bedrooms completely clean! It's a big, giant goal but it's definitely worth trying for.

The one thing that I have, for the most part, missed in this plan is my Scripture time. And maybe that's my problem, that I am not starting with that and that's why I feel like I'm not achieving any balance.  So, going back through the days...on Monday, I will do my study time in the morning before Hubby gets up, Tuesday, I'll do my study time in the morning before everyone gets up, Wednesday, I'll do it after dropping kids off at school but before going to work, Thursday, I'll do it after visit teaching, but before the movie, Friday, I'll do it in the morning while Hubby is at work (as I had already planned), then on Saturday, I'll do it in the evening.

Also, on Saturday evening, I'll need to make sure that I have my lesson plan for Nursery completed. I broke up the lesson we are on into two parts, with part one being today and part two being next week. I had also planned to meet with my Nursery co-leader at some point this week, which may end up being on Tuesday afternoon, after Cephas' appointment. I just remembered that we had talked about tentatively setting something up this week to discuss Nursery.

So, that's my week. It will be busy, but the important thing for me to realize is that there is more than enough time to get it all done and to find that balance that I so desire. I love my life and I love all the different aspects and yes, even all of the different responsibilities that go along with it. Sometimes, I just get overwhelmed and talk myself into a situation where I (incorrectly) think that I'm over-scheduled or whatever, even though this is absolutely not the case! So thanks for being here and reading and letting me get it all clear in my head. Most of the things that I was trying to make sure that I had time to dedicate to in my schedule were those things that I had on my goals for this year. It is very important to me to be able to complete those goals and to make that solid lifestyle change. Every little thing that I can do to help me accomplish those goals, I'm willing to do.

Not Resolutions, per se...mid-January update

Back on December 31st, 2012, I posted about some changes that I have been wanting to make. I didn't call them resolutions because I just didn't think that was quite the right term for them. But I did want to update you on those changes I wanted to make and how they have been going. So here goes:

Personal Scripture Study: F
Between doing the reading for Sunday School (which I don't attend because I'm a Nursery leader) and Relief Society (which I also don't attend for the same reason) as well as the reading that relates to my Visiting Teaching message and to my Nursery leader role, I really haven't been doing any personal reading. I do still plan to do it though.

Scripture Study with Bree: F
I had planned to order our Seminary books so that we could start as soon as the kids were back in school on the 7th of January, but time got away from me and I ended up not ordering them until the 9th and as of yet, we haven't received them, they are due here though, on the 22nd, although I anticipate them actually showing up before then.

Tackling a particular area of the house each week: C
I had planned to start with the den. And as far as this goes, I forgot to do a post the next day with pictures of the items and then the finished product. However, I will say that nearly all of the homeless items were either re-homed to someone else's house, discarded or given a proper home here. The one exception to that would be the things that are under my husband's desk. Practical excuse: When I have the time, his legs are usually under his desk. In reality: I have more time than when he is actually using his desk, but when he's not, I push the chair in (out of habit) and the chair essentially hides those few remaining homeless items. Therefore, out of sight, out of mind. I WILL get that done (with pictures to prove it) before this week is over.

For next week's tackle, I plan on attacking laundry in a major major way. It just needs to be done.

Meal Planning: A
Week 1 (aka 1-1-13 to 1-6-13) was planned and followed
Week 2 (aka 1-7-13 to 1-13-13) was planned and followed
Week 3 (aka 1-14-13 to 1-20-13) was planned and is being followed but I didn't blog it because I was busy and forgot to do it.

Savings Goal of $1200: A+
I have saved up an additional $300 already this month, on top of the $300 that I already had. In reality, Hubby's check is going to be short this next pay period so most likely the extra $200 that I have saved will be re-routed to make up the shortage on his check. However, it will not affect the amount that I have saved this far and it also won't drive me off track with my goal either. Hubby did see something this one idea on Facebook though and while it does seem interesting, I'm not sure that it is entirely practical for our family.

Someone had commented that they were doing it backwards so that it would get progressively easier as opposed to progressively harder. Plus, if you put away the most amount of money early on, and you have it in a bank or someplace where you are earning interest on it, you're making more interest earlier on. Not to mention, you are more likely to save more money at the beginning of the year when your resolve to save is at it's freshest. I hope that makes sense.

Chores: B
Our chore system is still going strong. I have tweaked it and will post about it (and some of the previous tweaks that I have done to it). Who knows? Maybe this current system (or one of the previous tweaks) will work for you as well. Or maybe give you something to start off from.

Use our gym membership at least once per week: F
Week 1 - 0
Week 2 - 0
Week 3 - 0 so far and likely 0 for the remainder of the week

However, I did just sign the kids up today for swim lessons (Oralee and Jeriah) and swim team (Cephas and Koren) as well as for Recreational Soccer (Cephas), Flag Football (Koren), Micro Volleyball (Oralee) and Micro Soccer (Jeriah). So, that kind of used our membership...kinda. Once we are already at the gym for those lessons, it's so much easier to just go ahead and work out. Funny how things work out like that.

Losing 2% of my weight per month: F
At this point, I'd have to go weigh myself, but I don't believe that I have currently lost any weight at all.

Eating more meals prepared at home: D
We have definitely done better in this department. There is still room for improvement though. Ideally, we would be eating out once per month, twice in a birthday or anniversary month.

Cutting out soda: F
Complete fail at this point in time. My plan was to trade soda in for decaf tea, but I haven't gotten there just yet. If I were to just make some and have it ready to go in the fridge, I'd set myself up for success right there. However, I haven't as of yet. There's nothing like the present to get started on that one though!

Climbing, Unearthing and Tackling - Challenge 2013

I don't know how else to phrase it, but I have a ton of work to do around the house. I have totes that need to go out to the shed filled with Christmas decorations, wrapping papers, trees, etc. I have filled boxes that need to be donated, I have filled another box that needs to go to my inlaw's house, I have another one that needs to go to my best friend's house, I have a cooler that needs to go to my Relief Society president's house (because in all reality, it is her's! It just so happens that I have had it for about six or eight months), I have toys to donate to our church nursery. I also have clothes for every.single.child. I take care of. (Boys ages 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9 and girls ages 3, 4, 7, 8, 12) Plus, I have additional clothes that I just need to donate. Right now, all of these items still taking up space in my house is driving me just a little bit slightly insane! It's time to start a new project on here, one that I started and completed last year, but just did not blog about in it's entirety. And now, I'd like to present:

Challenge 2013

The challenge is to get rid of 2013 items in 2013.

You know, like, apart from regular household waste. This is the stuff that is taking up residence in your residence that you'd rather have used for other purposes. The rules are pretty loose. You can count individual items or you can count boxes or bags. But the idea is to get it OUT. We live in a society with so much excess that we don't even realize how much extra we have!

For instance, somehow this past winter, I went from having one set of dishes to having five sets. We have our normal set of dishes that we use everyday, but we were wanting something that was white and simple, so we found these plates at the Dollar Tree that we really liked and we bought 12 of them. $12 for 12 plates, not bad. But then, I found this other set of dishes that someone locally was selling for $10. Two complete dish sets (service for 8) for $10. Even better, right? Then, my mother-in-law bought us two complete dish sets (also service for 8) for Christmas. And then our friend who was moving out of state decided that he wanted to give us one of his dish sets. So now...if I need to plate, oh, let's say somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-60 meals at once, I could. But here's the crazy reality - I don't need to. The most that I need to plate at any one point in time is like 20, give or take. And most of the time, it's not more than 10. So I have decided to keep the plates that we got new for Christmas, the ones that we were using full time anyhow (at least until they all break or something) and maybe the simple set of 12 plates from Dollar Tree. I really do love them! I plan to sell or donate the set that I bought for $10 and to keep one of the plates from our friend to use on my plate rack. So, that would leave us with roughly 30 plates. Still more than we need, but in all reality, we lose one plate from our regular plate set about every month or so. We have kids and lots of extra kids around. They get used a lot. It happens.

I also inherited about $900 worth of yarn recently from one of my husband's co-workers. His mom had been a stockpiler and had purchased SO much yarn! Most of these skeins of yarn were probably about $3 each, so I ended up with roughly 300 skeins of yarn. Plus sewing patterns, supplies and notions, crochet patterns, stuffing for toys or pillows or something, Just lots and lots and lots of crafting materials. I had Bree come over and I sent her home with all but one (minor) sewing project, all of the crochet patterns and half of the yarn. But that also means that I still have somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 skeins of yarn. I do plan to make LOTS of scarves and hats this year to donate to the those who are on the tree at our church at Christmas time. And if I make enough, maybe some to give to a facility for seniors in our area. I'm not quite sure yet, but I do have lots of ideas! But whatever I haven't used, I plan to donate at least 50% of it to an organization that can use it. I might even make some prayer shawls a hospice facility that I am familiar with and which is very dear to me.

There are lots and lots of other items that I am wanting and needing to get rid of, because in all practicality, we don't use these things often, if at all and I'm just done with it. I don't want our home to be overloaded or for me to be overwhelmed by caring for all of this stuff that doesn't really matter.

So, here I am starting this challenge for myself (and for any who may want to join in) of making 2013 items disappear from my home this year. Although, in actuality, I would strongly prefer the number of items to be at least double that figure. If you're in and would like to participate, leave me a comment and I'll make a button (I'll make one anyhow, most likely) for you to place on your page as well, if you want to join in.

31 Days...Day 2...Friendships

The theme behind my 31 Days of... posts will be "31 Days of Homemaking". It will be 31 posts about anything related to homemaking, you know, making a home. Whether it has to do with parenting, housework, organization, crafts, whatever. As long as it falls under the definition of making a home, it counts.

Day 2 - 

Today is Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012. Today's topic is about Friendships. Now you may wonder what Friendships have to do with Homemaking, and I will tell you about a couple of mine and how it relates to this month's chosen topic.

This is a picture of my Grandma K (on the right) with her best friend, Granny T (on the left, looking at something going on in another area). Granny T is the Great-Grandmother of my best-friend, Bree. These two ladies were incredible on their own and their friendship was awesome! They were great role models for Bree and myself.

These two ladies were a huge support to each others and to their families and to each other's families as well. As such, Bree and I learned a lot from them about doing this as well. At the point in time when these two fine ladies were best friends, their grandkids were having kids, so they weren't at the same stage in life that Bree and I are but the same principles apply.

You see, my Grandma K would call Granny T every morning and they would chat for a few minutes before starting their day. Granny T would call my Grandma K and they would chat for a few minutes every evening before calling it a night. No day was started or ended without this phone call. Now, Bree and I aren't quite like that, but rare is a day that goes by without us talking on the phone. (And I don't even like to talk on the phone.)

Our grandmas would have lunch together 2-3 times a week at one of the local senior centers. My Grandma K would stop by Granny T's house and pick her up and off they'd go to the senior center, where they'd enjoy their meal and good conversation, cards and (on Fridays) Bingo for prizes. It was just what they did.

Bree and I don't have the opportunity (most weeks) to get together 2-3 times, but we are also in a completely different season of life than our Grandmas were. However, we do make it a point to get together once a week for a lunch. We rotate weekly where we eat. One week we eat at my house, one week at her house, one week, we eat out at a restaurant. (Rinse and repeat all year long.)

My Grandma K would also pick up Granny T and together they'd "get along to town to do their trading" aka go grocery shopping. And just for the record, we live in a sizable city. There was no "getting to town" involved. They lived one mile from the grocery store. Actually, one mile from multiple grocery stores, just saying.

Bree and I often meet up and do our shopping together. Most of the time it is after we drop our kids off at school and we will each drive to the grocery store and do our shopping. We visit while we shop and it is wonderfully zen time for us. No kids, no husbands, just us. And I suppose there are other shoppers there as well, but for all that we notice, we are the only ones around.

We also have our kids in some similar activities and we see each other there as well (though we usually have kids we are busy corralling or trying to keep quiet or something similar) and that is a total bonus. As is the fact that her seven year old and my six year old are becoming quiet the pair of best friends themselves.

But the nice thing about all of this - and how it relates to homemaking - is that we have the chance and opportunity to share our lives with each other. We share the good and the bad. We comfort and are comforted by the other, we bounce ideas off each other, we meal plan, we share cleaning tips and tricks, budgeting ideas, parenting helps, marriage stuff. It all works together to help mold us into better wives, mothers and homemakers. I think everyone should have someone like this. My Grandma K had Granny T, I have Bree, Oralee has S (Bree's daughter). It's great.

Who is your best friend? Do they help you to become a better wife, mother, homemaker or person? How?

Friendships

As I had mentioned before, the kids have developed some new quality friendships with some kids. Part of this came with the change in Scouts and part of it came with a change in my own relationships.

You see, Jeriah's first non-family semi-regular babysitter is a woman whom I have known for 22 years now, maybe longer? Bree is my friend that I mentioned here. She has two children, T and S. T is 8 and S is 6. T and Koren get along extremely well and so do Oralee and S.

Bree's great grandmother and my grandmother were best friends back in the day. I grew up calling her great grandmother, Grandma Thelma. And she grew up calling my grandmother, Mrs. K. My grandmother was introduced to her great grandmother as "Mrs. K" and Thelma was introduced as, well, Thelma.

Every single morning, my grandmother would call Thelma and they would talk to each other, then three days a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays), my grandma would go over to Thelma's house (she lived two doors down in the townhouse community where they lived most of my life) and together, they would drive to the senior center for lunch. It was so cute and I have such fond memories of it, that go back as far as I can recall. On breaks from school, I'd go along with them and spend the morning helping the seniors take their plates to their seats, going up and picking out prizes for them from the prize table during Friday Bingo and would just overall, do whatever I could to help out. I would eat lunch with them too. It was like having a whole community of grandparents while I was growing up. Trust me, if I even thought about doing something wrong, any one of those grandmothers wouldn't hesitate to stop me, scold me, or even give me a quick swat to get my attention. Love those ladies! I really do!

So anyhow, since Bree's great grandmother and my grandma were best friends, I spent plenty of time with both of them and since I claimed Thelma as another grandma, I also claimed her family as well, which if it were real, would make Bree something like a distant cousin of some sort. :) I think of her more like a sister and definitely as a best friend!

Bree and I actually share the same birthdate, year included! Kinda crazy, huh?

Bree and I only knew each other a little bit growing up, but we did know each other. Last year, we connected and really got to know each other and now, we talk on the phone at least 3 or 4 times a week and try to get together at least once (outside of Scouts) and we trade off kids and babysitting and all that.

So it is only natural that with our friendship, our children would also develop a friendship and I am grateful for it. You see, most of my years growing up, I was accustomed to being disciplined by whatever adult was closest to me. Family member, family friend, whoever. And I developed a major respect for my elders.

The friends that I am the closest to are the ones that are as quick to discipline my children as I am and they discipline in similar ways as well. They are the ones who have similar expectations of their kids and we feel totally comfortable in the role of being in charge of each other's children.

This is not true for most of the adults I know. I hesitate to discipline another child, even when they are in my home. Even if it is something as simple as telling them to stop something or redirecting them. I mean, I still do it, but I hesitate and am not totally comfortable with it.

So it has really helped all of us for the kids to be developing these new relationships and so wonderful for Bree and I to have developed our relationship as well. And who knows, sixty or seventy years from now, we might be the ones living two houses apart and going to the senior center for lunches together too. It's a neat thought.