The Gallagher Adventure

The past few months have brought many miles driven, ridden, conquered and the next few months will spur along many as well. I will catch up to some of those things late, but for now, check out what has happened at my house.

Carrie and her mom spent most of the day on Friday making grapes jelly from the grapes on our grapevine and Carrie continued the process today. All in all there were 84 jars of grape jelly made and about 3 quarts of grape juice. It was an amazing process to watch. The jelly is simply the best I have tasted!

Enjoy the pictures!

From this…(these are only about 1/3 of the grapes)

To this…

 

 

YUM!!!

Our children have been attending VBS at Carrie’s parents congregation and Caleb has come home with a great attitude toward singing. Here is a glimpse of his version of “The Lord’s Army.” Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed! We did!

Spend time with your children, you might not have them too long!

Just some thoughts,

Chris

With the closest and attics packed, the garage full of “necessary” items, Carrie and I made a family commitment for the “6 Month Rule.”  The “6 Month Rule” is pretty simple, we decided to get rid of the items in our home that we have not used in the past 6 months, hence the “6 Month Rule.”

There are exceptions to this concept. Holiday decorations find an exception because they will be used, even though it is once a year. Other items find their way into the “6 Month Rule Exception”: family photos, sentimental items from childhood and the like.

Following the “6 Month Rule” has found us ridding our home of things we once thought we needed. Some of the “necessary” items from our attic, closets and the garage have found their way on eBay, Craigslist and yard sale. Other items have been donated to Goodwill and some have been passed along to friends and family.

To date, the items sold have allowed us to save some extra funds in a savings account and others have helped to pay off debts. Just today, I sold an item from our home which was only being used once or twice a year and generated $125.

So, what do you think about the “6 Month Rule?” Think you could do it?

Just some thoughts,

Chris

 

Believe it or not, using my phone saved us over $20 today at Lowes.  While $20 may not sound like a lot of money, $20 is $20!

Earlier today, Carrie wanted to take a trip to Lowes to buy paint so she can begin painting several rooms in our home over the next few weeks. Since I have not desire or ability to paint, I told her I would buy her a Wagner Power Roller to use.  I bought her one several years ago and she used it until it fell apart. 

When in Lowes today she got the Wagner Power Roller and placed it in the cart. After finding me as I roamed around the store aimlessly, she told me the price and I decided to see if there was a better price in the area. Quickly, I pulled up Google and search the internet for a better deal. Home Depot was the first price that came up and their price was $17 below Lowes. Knowing Lowes would match their price, I took my phone to the register and they matched the price plus took an extra 10% off the price!

Great work LOWES!!

Who knew using your phone could save you over $20!

Just a tip,

Chris

Appointment time – 1:30 pm

Current time –1:52 pm

Situation – Annoyed!

Here Emma and I sit awaiting a tonsil consultation. (Say that three times fast) President Obama is on CNN lecturing about the future of health care and we are in a packed waiting room with no one listening. Seems ironic doesn’t it. As the President speaks, the receptionist is busy working her tail off handing out forms, shuffling papers, scanning  insurance cards and greeting patients.

Before Emma and I sat down I was handed a stack of paper equivalent to an abridged version of the Encyclopedia Britannica to complete for Emma’s medical file. I am sure the amount of paper in my hands consisted of  two entire oak trees and a small maple. While handing me the medical forms, the receptionist asked me for our insurance card – oops!

I could tell you exactly where the insurance card is located. It is twenty minutes away stashed in my desk between my new business cards and an unused credit card. The receptionist told me is was not a problem and I could fax them a copy later. When the billing lady her this she let out a sigh only matched by the sigh of agony when parents open up a note home from school. Her attitude towards me forgetting my card began to make Jezebel of the Bible look like a trusted friend. To never figured out who stole her Malibu Dream, Barbie, but the better return it in a hurry.

Forty minutes after walking in the door and 30 minutes after filling out the paperwork, we are  now sitting in a small room listening to people walking around and laughing outside the thin door. We were promised a visit from the doctor in a few minutes. I am amazed how the time continuum ceases to exist once the door is shut to the little white examination room. Since they are still laughing outside, I figure it must be us, so I take all the tongue depressors out and lick them and put them back! Ha!

Looking around the room, I notice the doctor’s credentials on the wall. His undergraduate degree is in Mechanical Engineering. Since we are hear for a tonsil consultation, I wonder if I should be nervous. I wonder if he is a good doctor or he is just good at fixing the medical equipment.

After all is said and done, we finally saw the doctor and he asked me questions about Emma. Apparently, Emma’s charts were not written well or he did not read them because all the information is there. Well, anyway, for now Emma will get to keep her tonsils until we hear back from the other doctor.

Oh yeah, remember that tongue depressor statement? I did not lick all the tongue depressors, I licked two or three and put them back! See if you can figure out which ones they are! Ha!

And another thing, we arrived at 1:15 pm and left at 2:35 pm. Just sayin’.

Thanks for stopping by,

Chris