Six somethings

3 somethings great as of late:

- I am loving small group this year! Last year's group got so big that we had to divide (multiply, in DrewSpeak) into two smaller groups. Of course we miss seeing the other half every week, but the smaller size is much better for discussion and intimacy (I hate that word ... why don't we all just start murmuring). Besides, we hang out as a big group once a month. And Romans is just awesome.

- Amanda had a yard sale at our house two weekends ago and I can't believe I never blogged about it. I've wanted to have a yard sale my whole life and it was so much fun! I'll definitely do it again, but I need to accumulate some more junk first. Mom and Dad went through their closets and garage and so did I, so combined with Amanda's stuff we had quite a pile. My biggest money-maker was a big batch of Matt's old colognes -- and by old I mean he had some of them before he had me. He never wears cologne so why we've been carting them from house to house I can't say, but we sold them for $5 each, which is big bucks in the yard sale world (I did negotiate on a few that were mostly empty). The only one we kept was the one he always wore when we started dating in 1996 -- Eddie Bauer Adventurer. Man, does that smell take me back.

- I have my first closing since Claire was born this Friday and the buyers are Brooke and Johnathan! My favorite feature of their new house is that it's five minutes from ours. They have been incredibly easy buyers and I am not just saying that because they're our friends and Brooke reads this blog. :) It is just great to work with sane people once in a while.

3 somethings not great as of late:

- I am doing my best to be a good couponer, but it is not easy! I've spent a lot of time in the past two weeks making a price book, clipping and organizing coupons, studying circulars, maneuvering Claire through the aisles of grocery stores and Rite Aid and, yes, being that girl who's using a calculator in those aisles. The theory is that it's easier to save money than to make more money, which I still think is true, but only once you have a well-oiled couponing system. I'm not going to give up.

- Claire is going through a phase -- let's hope it's a phase -- of throwing absolute fits when she's ready for sleep (bedtime more so than naps) and is denied. I never wanted to cater to my kids' schedules, but if a baby's exhausted, who am I to tell her she needs to stay up so I can enjoy a late dinner out?

- I suck at fantasy football. I am 1-5 and dead last in our league. I pay attention, but luck is never on my side. Matt sent me this (from The Sports Guy, I think) to cheer me up: "Tim Hasselbeck plays in a league with his brother Matt. Matt owns himself and Brett Favre. Two weeks ago, Matt BENCHED HIMSELF for Brett. Matt wound up with four touchdown passes and a much better fantasy day than Brett. When the guy who will actually be executing the plays and knows the gameplan doesn't know ... We're all just trying our best to make smart, educated guesses. Nature of the game."