A Week or a Year Unplugged?

Yesterday, I posted about my week of being pseudo-unplugged. I also came across a post by a gentleman who actually unplugged entirely for a year. The timing seemed rather fitting, so I thought I should share his thoughts on the issue, too.

You can read his post here.

I suppose the reality is that the internet is very much an integral part of many lives these days and I don't know that it's just a simple flip of the switch to sail off to some imagined, idyllic life. As he mentioned, part of the equation is still you and your priorities and choices. That remains whether it's on- or offline. I suppose it's like many things in life - we have to learn how to handle it in moderation, knowing that sometimes we won't succeed, but plenty of other times we will. It's just a part of life.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe

From August through October, I was on the go a lot. Finally arriving in November, things seemed as if they would slow down. Just a teensy bit. Yeah, right.

I guess the on the go a lot thing settled down, but now I have projects galore. Wedding photos to finish editing, a couple of sewing projects, a newsletter to put together, company coming in a week, pictures to take, a web site to work on, Christmas cards and shopping, and always there's homeschool and a household to care for. Goodness. It's always something, isn't it?

When we think at a certain point, life will . . . settle down, be easier, be under control, (fill in the blank) . . . we just set ourselves up for failure. Not only that, we can start to live for some future time, because we believe it will somehow be better than it is now. Whatever better may mean.

I don't think there's anything wrong in looking toward an end date for something and planning to accomplish the thing in a timely manner. But we have to learn how to live here and now in this moment, not always looking forward to some nebulous time that will never be what we expect anyway.

Because really? Life will always be busy. There will always be projects and tasks and interruptions and people and such. Just plan on it and squeeze all the enjoyment out of it you can. Because that's reality. That's where we all live. We can either make the most of that time and whatever it may bring, or we can miss so much as it flies past while we're looking to something next week, next month, or next year.

And if you happen upon a serendipitous moment of calm, appreciate it for what it is, breathe it in deeply, and be refreshed for the return to real life.

This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

Last Week, Part 2

While it was a busy, somewhat overwhelming week, there were certainly some blessings thrown into the mix.

I had a massage appointment on Wednesday. Always a good thing.

We went to see a local high school perform Beauty and the Beast. Friends of my sons' were in it. One was the Beast and the other Maurice. It was a fantastic performance and we thoroughly enjoyed having front row seats.



On Friday and Saturday, I participated in another Creative Live class with Jasmine Star. It was an incredible class. So much information to process and consider. I'll be reviewing my notes and thinking about this for awhile. What Creative Live does is just amazing. They offer an assortment of classes mostly related to photography, but also a few other areas. If you watch the class live, it's free. If you want to purchase the downloads, they're available at a discount while the class is taking place. Once the class ends, the price goes up. Although, even at the full price, they're still very reasonable. While watching the class, you can participate via Twitter or the chat room, so it's quite interactive. It's just a remarkable experience and you should check it out to see if there's a class you might like to watch.

Friday evening was exciting, because the UPS driver brought this to my door:


That's the Happy Camera News.

The Sad Camera News?

This:


We'll be making a trip to the camera shop this week. This is definitely not okay.

Today we visited my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, made a trip to Best Buy and Borders, I cut Zach's crazy mop of hair (he seriously doesn't like it when it flips out under his hat!), had a DQ Blizzard, and watched Merlin. Pretty decent family day. My favorite type.

As much as I still have a lot to wrap up tonight, I'm thinking I'd better head to bed. I need the sleep more. Sweet dreams.

Monday on Friday

This week began with me in overwhelmed mode. Something I've learned, though, is that if I continually recount the enormous list of things I need to do, I make myself feel worse. So the first thing here is to smack myself upside the head and knock it off. Secondly, if there's that much going on, it's probably a good idea to do a big old brain dump. Grab a notebook and write down everything whirling around in my mind. You know, before it floats away from my colander brain. Once those things are on paper, they're far more manageable.



Ahhh . . . so much better.

Before I could begin my list, however, my dad showed up with some shoes that Mom was getting rid of, so I could take a look and see if I wanted any of them. Well, of course I did! My mom is the only reason I ever have any cool shoes. Her hand-me-downs are the best!

My particular favorite pair in this batch? The red shoes. Are those just the most fun or what? I promptly wore them for the rest of the day and every single time I looked at my feet, it put a big old smile on my face! Who knew that happy red shoes could diminish one's feeling of overwhelmedness?

Not only did I get new shoes, but he was on his way to the thrift store and took my four bags of donations with him. I definitely got the good end of that deal!

I even had to share them instagr.am and Facebook.




We also made a quick Starbucks run so the Comedian could use his gift card. They were a little slammed, so I had to play some more with instagr.am while in line. Like taking totally blown-out pix of myself from the afternoon sun.


This was also the same day that John's truck broke down. Even though it's never a fun thing, it could've been so much worse. Fortunately, he was in town and only a block away from his last customer's house. He also knows a lot of people, including someone with a towing company, so we got a killer deal on the tow. Yes, we have towing on our insurance, so we'll get reimbursed. But still. The weather was decent, which is always an iffy proposition in Colorado in early April. He waited for the tow truck driver, then went to do the job, and I greeted his truck when it arrived home without him. Then I headed across town to pick him up when he was done. John's Snap-On guy brought him a tester Tuesday morning, so he was able to determine that it was the fuel pump, bought a new one, installed it, and was back on the road by lunch time. It is a wonderful thing to be married to such a handy man!

I was going to post about my entire week, but by the time I finished with Monday, it seemed that it might be a good idea to just stop here. Goodness. What a day. But thanks to my new red shoes, I got through it with a happy face.

Clock Adjustment

Every time we go on or off of Daylight Saving Time, it takes me awhile to get around to changing the clock on the stereo in my van. For one thing, I can never remember how to do it without the manual. Fortunately, I am smart enough to keep the manual handy in the crate between my front seats. Not only that, but it's always open to the page with the clock setting instructions clearly marked for my easy usage.

Yesterday, I wanted to be sure I got my clock adjusted because it gets rather annoying to have the wrong time on it. I pulled the manual out and handed it to my son, so I'd have a reminder to set it when I got home. Yeah, right. I carried the manual into the house with my purse and other stuff. Once I realized what I'd done, I went back out to the van, turned the key on, popped out a CD for my son, and set my clock.

Finally. The correct time in my van.

Fast forward almost 24 hours to early this afternoon. It's time to leave and my keys aren't hanging on their hook. While I may be inconsistent about a lot of things, I'm pretty sure my keys make it onto the hook about 95% of the time or more. But they weren't there. I checked my purse. Nope. The buffet, counter, and table. Nope. I couldn't possibly have left them in the van. Could I?

I took a walk outside and looked in the van and sure enough - they were right there in the steering column. Not good.

Then I also noticed that they didn't seem to be at the correct angle. It appeared that perhaps the keys were still turned on, based upon that angle. For nearly 24 hours. Also not good.

Yes, I do have an extra key - on my husband's key ring. Since he does mobile RV service, there are a lot of places he could be. Fortunately I knew where he was. Unfortunately, he was around 50 miles away. For pretty much the entire day. Third not good.

Thanks to my mom, I was able to get where I needed to go, and back home again. And then John got home around dinner time. They keys were still right where I left them. Sadly, I was right about the angle - the keys were on. The battery was dead as it could be.



I am so grateful that I have a handy husband with LCTS {Lots of Cool Tools and Stuff}. He promptly pulled out the battery charger and hooked me up.

My hero!

CrazyBusyDay

I know what they say. They say to never write on your blog about how sorry you are that you haven't been writing. They say you just move on, write something, and don't draw attention to your slackerliness inability to get anything posted besides Wordless Wednesday photos. So I won't.

Thursdays are a little crazy around here for us. The boys participate in a homeschool, pardon me, junior bowling league Thursday afternoons. So we have to have lunch on the early side and be out the door on time. Especially since I have to get to the bowling alley early enough to snag a strategically-located seat in order to watch both my boys. Particularly if they're bowling at opposite ends of the league lanes. Occasionally, we'll grab a bite out for lunch on our way to bowling, which means we have to leave even earlier.

Since research has shown that teenagers, especially teenage boys, aren't terribly alert in the mental department early in the morning, I let my boys sleep in. This is one of the beauties of homeschooling - I can work with their biological tendencies. This particular Thursday, they're sleeping in a little more than normal. But I figured that might be a good thing, especially since 1) ClayGuy has been sick this week, is finally getting better, and the rest helps him heal, and 2) The Comedian was up at almost midnight last night puking up his dinner. No, I did not cook it. That was courtesy of Jack In The Box. It's an ironic twist, though, because he's the one who was majorly craving some meat - a hamburger, specifically. So he's pretty much the reason I picked up JIB last night. Since there wasn't anything in the beef department around here to eat. Apparently his burger and onion rings preferred not to stick around, though. So a good night's rest seemed in order for him as well.

Thanks to the bartering system, I get free massages every three weeks from the best massage therapist on earth. I wash her sheets each week in exchange. The sheet drop and pick-up is made on Thursdays, after bowling. That means they need to be washed and folded before we leave. Of course, you'd think that would mean that I'd actually do this ahead of time. Like have them folded and ready to go by Wednesday evening. Because that would be efficient and make all the sense in the world. However, since I live in the great Land of Inefficiency, I prefer to finish drying them and folding them on Thursday morning, when we're scrambling to get some school in and get ready to head out the door (bowling ball? check. bowling shirt? check. socks? check.). Living in the Land of Inefficiency also means that I typically need to stop and get cash at the atm on the way to the bowling alley. Because getting it ahead of time would mean that I couldn't live there anymore. I'd be exiled.

We also get together with friends often on Thursday afternoons. And today, the kitchen is a mess. I need to go to the bookstore to pick up the next book in a series we've been reading. I know, everyone has these kind of days. The rest of my week is a little more...well, balanced, I guess. But not Thursdays. I've taken to calling CrazyBusyDays. Fortunately, bowling covers a good portion of their homeschool time, cause we sure don't have a lot of the rest of the day to accomplish a lot. We'll still get our Bible time in, plus a little more. Or we'll make it up in the remaining four days of the week. Because only so much can be squeezed into CrazyBusyDay.

Late night update: since it IS CrazyBusyDay, it's only appropriate that we ended up not being home until after 9:00 tonight. In a last minute change of plans, we were able to attend the Patsy Clairmont show. Which was quite enjoyable, even if it did mean a very long day out. And then there's men's skating to be watched. I'll get some sleep, I'm sure of it. Eventually.

New Year Thoughts

I had hoped to post a wrap-up, summary of 2009 yesterday, but the day just got away from me. Instead, I thought I might post some profound New Year's thoughts today. With an hour and fourteen minutes left, this day almost got away from me, too.

Besides days that get away, there are far too many thoughts in my head related to last year and this year and what I want to do and what I didn't do and what I did. It's a jumbled mess up there in my head, I tell ya'! I'd like to say I'll be brief, but I'd likely have to come back and delete that. Or risk being called a liar.



2009 - probably one of my favorite years. Hubby starting his business has just been such an incredible adventure. Seeing God's provision in our lives has been such a wonderful blessing. Watching our boys grow up is just amazing. Family and friends are such a joy in our lives.

2010 - As ever, I long to live simpler and lighter. Less stuff & more focus.

One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few. ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I want to love God and people more. I want to bear fruit that glorifies Him.

By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. ~John 15:8

I want to spend more time with my camera. Learning how to use all the manual controls. Shooting photos that were what I saw when I looked through the lens.

Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. ~Ansel Adams

I want to share those photos and preserve the memories for my children through consistent scrapbooking. Not just once or twice a year, but ongoing.

Scrapbooking isn't about scraps of paper and photos. Scrapbooking is about scraps of life - yours and those special to you. ~Rebecca Sower

I enjoy writing and want to improve. Whether it's for others to read or merely my own journaling doesn't really matter. I just haven't written much in quite awhile and find that I miss it.

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart." ~William Wordsworth

I want to be a more consistent and encouraging homeschool mom. I need to push the boys when they don't want to be pushed. At the same time, I want to give them freedom to pursue their passions, and spur them on in them, as they grow into godly young men.

And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. ~Hebrews 12:1

I am very excited to see what God has in store this year. I pray that I stop and listen to His direction and His thoughts before racing off with my own and that I would live with a heart of loving obedience.

I wish you all a very blessed and fruitful 2010!

The Crock Pot Lid

A number of years ago, my parents bought a very cool crock pot for me for Christmas. It has two crock inserts; one regular and one with a divider (splits it into 1/3 and 2/3 - cook meat in the big side and rice or a side later in the small side). It also came with an insulated carrier. I was so excited to get this and when we got home later that day, I opened the box and promptly dropped the lid on the floor in our dining room. On carpet. And it shattered into a trazillion little pieces. I could've just cried. I couldn't even buy a replacement in town. I had to order one from the good folks at Rival and wait for it to arrive nearly two weeks later.

Fast forward to this past Thursday morning. While still in my pajamas, robe, and slippers, I popped out to the pantry in the garage to get my beloved crock pot in which I planned to cook a lovely Cure 81 ham. As I headed towards the step up into the house, the lid had the nerve to slide off the top of the crock pot! All I could think at that moment was how much I did NOT want it to shatter into a trazillion pieces on the cold, concrete garage floor. Quick - what were my options?


A. Let it fall and be destroyed - been there, done that


B. Drop the rest of the crock pot to salvage the lid - completely ridiculous


C. Stick my foot out in hopes that I can somehow slow the lid and keep it from disintegrating


I chose option C.


I saved the lid.


I hadn't counted on the direction and force with which the lid would hit me. Or, to be more specific, my toe. The toe just next to my big toe on my right foot. I quickly discovered how that would feel, as the lid continued its path to the floor, where it clanked around, break-free.

Hubby calls out from the dining room, "Are you okay?"

My response? Absolutely nothing. I can barely breathe and speaking is entirely out of the question. That poor toe hurts like the dickens (what does that mean, anyway? What are the dickens? Besides the family of Charles, of course.)

He came out and collected the crock pot, the lid, and the ham. I limped in and sat on the couch and cried. And cried. And cried. I really thought the pain would lessen enough that I could talk. It just took much longer than I anticipated. I had it elevated, put an ice pack on it, and cried some more. Of course, being Thursday, there was much to do, so I stayed there for all of probably five minutes, and then went on with my day. It was a little swollen and still hurt. But life goes on.

I was out and about all day, with no opportunity to elevate it or ice it. Later in the afternoon, it was really hurting, so I finally took the shoe (praise God for Air Walks!) and sock off and this is what I saw:

Yikes!!

Talk about swollen and tight. It was definitely time to go home, put my foot up, and ice that toe. A friend of mine who's a nurse sweetly recommended buddy-taping the poor thing to his neighbor toe. I thought we were out of gauze and tape, so I never got around to doing it. That night, I finally dug around in the cupboard and found both gauze and tape. Hallelujah! Who knew that such a small act of support would alleviate almost ALL OF THE PAIN?!?! Not me, obviously, or I'd have acted on that much earlier in the day.

It's still swollen and purple (and possibly broken), but many thanks to Karen and the makers of gauze and bandage tape. Most of the time I don't even remember that it's damaged. And the Air Walks give me plenty of room to not have a painful reminder.

And the ham? It was fabulous!

Attention Span?

(Written last week)

What on earth is wrong with me? I'm sitting here, attempting to organize the bills and sort out some papers. Actually, I am doing that. But I'm also reading emails, checking out some fellow class participants for the Through The Lens class, and jumping up to do laundry, take bread out of the oven, or go to another room to do something.

WHY CAN I NOT BE FOCUSED ON ONE THING???

I seem to get worse and worse about this with every passing year. By the time I reach 50, I'll be wandering aimlessly all the time, accomplishing ZERO. I'll forget what I'm doing continually. I can hardly remember now, it seems.

So I look at a few pieces of paper, do a little triage (shred, file, throw away), and turn and do something at the laptop. Type a sentence or two, read an email or three, and it's back to the paperwork I'm supposed to do.

Sure, the logical answer here would be to do the paperwork away from the computer. But then I remember that I need to email a friend to ask her a question. Or I need to update the checkbook on the computer. And then I'm sucked back into my online life. Until I catch the stack of paper in my peripheral.

It was no different earlier today. I was baking sourdough, washing dishes, drying sheets, talking on the phone, and IMing a friend. ALL AT THE SAME TIME! Sheesh.

Attention span? I have none. Zero. Zip. Nada.



Disclaimer: Okay, okay, SOMETIMES I'm capable of focusing on one thing - hyperfocusing, that is. It's at the other end of the spectrum. I forget everything else as time stands still and I'm utterly engrossed in something. Where, oh where is that elusive balance?

To Whom It May Concern

To any of you sweet people who've recently commented on my blog:

I am SOOOO sorry I haven't gotten back to you. I usually do a fair job of at least coming to visit, leaving a comment, or responding via email. Somehow, I've just fallen to the wayside of late.

I have recently discovered (after many hard spiritual whacks to the head, cause I'm fairly thick-headed like that), that my proverbial plate is too full. If your plate has too much stuff on it, something might fall off. Or be hanging off the side, at the very least.

Unfortunately, the side-hanging, falling off stuff is the most important stuff of my life - my walk with God, my family, my home, and homeschool. The stuff that's filling up my plate? It's the secondary things - things that aren't necessarily bad, in fact many are good, but are not the best for me right now.

At this moment, I'm in the midst of a couple of big projects, but once they're done, I'll be moving along, focusing on my real priorities, decluttering our house, and getting ready to move. Not that we've found THE house, but we want to be prepared.

I really appreciate those of you who drop by, and especially when you comment. I will respond, hopefully soon, but didn't want you to think I was ignoring you. I always enjoy checking out your blogs and meeting new bloggy friends.

Crazy in Colorado,


ps - I do have some fun pix that I hope to have up tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday, so be sure to check back.

Sleep - It's a Good Thing

One of my best friends has been here visiting from California for the past week. She & I have some terrific late-night conversations. Sometimes, REALLY late-night. So we knew that Wednesday night we'd be chatting until . . . well, who knows? Until we drop off our chairs in exhaustion, most likely.

We made the obligatory Starbuck's run just before they closed at 10:00 pm to ensure adequate caffeination. We came home and chatted and laughed until around 2:30 a.m. Since her daughter was spending the night at a friend's house, my friend was able to sleep in awhile. I, on the other hand, wasn't able to sleep in much. Therefore, I got to function in sleep deprivation mode (SDM) the next day.

For dinner, I baked two pizzas that would require little to no brain abilities on my part - frozen, out of the box, Freschetta brick oven, pepperoni. The first one? Went great, baked just the right amount of time, removed from the oven, cut up, and eaten heartily by three hungry teenage boys.

Popped in the second pizza.

Set the timer (amazing I actually remembered this step).

Check the pizza. Hmmm, it was kind of pale.

Put it back, checked a few minutes later. Still pale.

Put it back, checked it a minute or two later. Still pale.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I mean, put it back, check on it, still pale.

Step back.

I verify the oven temperature.

400 degrees? Check.
Oven warm/hot? Check.

Hmmm.

We replaced the element not that long ago and it's been working gloriously, so why on earth is the second pizza not cooking?

Oh.

I guess that when I took the first pizza out, I turned the oven off (it has the two-knob deal: one for temperature and one to turn it on and off). Sigh.

Turned the oven back on and finished the second pizza. The 12 minute baking time ended up being around, oh I don't know, probably 20 or 30. The pizza was done, but the crust was a little on the tough side. I wouldn't recommend baking pizza in this manner. Of course, if you aren't suffering from SDM, you probably wouldn't have that problem.

SDM also spilled over a little into the following morning. I came out to the kitchen to prepare my breakfast (hubby already ate and the boys were sleeping). I prepared my chai tea, then took my plate, butter, and knife over by the toaster to await my bagel. Hmm, the toaster seemed to be taking longer than normal. I turned around to discover that it had already popped up. As I looked inside the slots, I discovered there was no bagel.

I hadn't even gotten a bagel out of the bag.

So then.

Time to get some sleep.

Hmmm

I was paying my phone bill via telephone today and utilizing the automated system.



The conversation with the mechanical man voice (MMV) goes something like this:

MMV: "I see you are calling from 123-4567 (not my real number). Is this correct?"

Me: "Yes."

MMV: "What can I help you with today? You can say things like, 'pay my bill' or 'add services'."

Me: "Pay my bill."

MMV: "Okay. Let me look up your account. Hmmm . . . I can't pull up your information. I will need to transfer you to a customer service representative. Please hold while I transfer you."

Whoa. Excuse me? Mechanical Man Voice is pausing with a "Hmmm . . . " as if he's deep in thought about how to proceed?!?! Get real! All he's doing is following a series of yes/no, 1/0, or on/off options. It's nothing more than programming logic. Don't try fooling me into thinking that MMV is actually thinking or pondering this matter. I am SO not buying into that. It's just too weird.

Juggling Jello Eggs

That's what it seems like lately. Last week my God in the Midst of Frenzy post was just the middle of it. I thought it would only be the first couple of weeks of October. . . plus one more . . . here I am in "yet another" week.

I was going to continue on this thought . . . but I decided that I don't want you to feel exhausted after reading some ad nauseum list (as if you don't probably have one of your own). Therefore, I will share something funny that I pulled out of my files.

Enjoy! :D

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

YOU KNOW YOU LIVE IN COLORADO WHEN:

1. You switch from "Heat" to "A/C" in one day.


2. Your sense of direction is towards the mountains and away from the mountains.


3. The bike on your car is worth more than your car.


4. You take your out of town guests to Casa Bonita even though you wouldn't go there otherwise.


5. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.


6. You think that sexy lingerie consists of tube socks and flannel PJs.


7. You know all 4 seasons "almost winter, winter, still winter, and construction."


8. You can never figure out why your out of town guests faint on a picnic in the mountains.


9. You can drive over a 12,000 foot pass in 4 feet of snow, but can't get to work if there are 4 inches of snow.


10. You know the 'correct' pronunciation of Buena Vista and Pueblo.


11. Your car insurance costs more than your car.


12. You have surge protectors on every outlet.


13. April showers bring May blizzards.


14. 'Timberline' is some place you have actually been.


15. You know what a 'Rocky Mountain oyster' is.


16. You know what a 'fourteener' is.


17. Your golf bag has a 9-iron, a 3-wood and a lightning-rod.


18. You know who Alferd Packer was.


19. SPF 90 is not out of the question.


20. People from other states breathe 5 times as often as you do.


21. A sudden loss of cabin pressure is not a big deal.


22. You think a red light means 3 more cars can go.


23. "Where we're going, we don't need roads!!"


24. You can recognize the license plates of all 50 states on sight.


25. Driving directions usually include 'Go over ____ Pass...'


26. You've dressed in shorts, sandals, and a parka.


27. You've gone skiing in July.


28. You've gone sunbathing in January.


29. You actually understand these jokes and send them to your friends.

Happy Blogiversary

. . . to me!

It's been one whole year since I started this blog. It sure has gone by quickly. I was a blogger-wannabe for awhile, but had to jump on the bandwagon when Sprittibee had a contest giving away a digital camera! At that point in life, I didn't have one and I REALLY wanted one. I didn't win, but was able to buy one just a couple of months later.

I was thinking maybe I could do something really cool for my blogiversary, but here it is and I have no coolness to offer. No fun giveaways, no interesting things about me, really nothing interesting at all. Just a crazy, chaotic, and whirled-up day.

So . . . for something of interest, you can check these out:

5 Minutes for Mom is giving away THREE WD Passport Portable Hard Drives in cool colors!

The same sweet gals at 5 Minutes for Mom are also giving away some great organize-your-life kind of products.

If you're in a fall cleaning sort of mood, go see what Barb has going on. She has to be the Queen of Clean. And she's just the sweetest, craftiest woman. Her blog is always such a joy to read. Besides, I feel a special kinship since she's a fellow Coloradan.

Another fun place I've recently discovered is Sallie's Stack. Sallie shares a very interesting myriad of links to other sites. Subjects cover just about anything you could want to know about. I'm really enjoying this site.

If you just need some good, hard laughter, I'll have to send you to BooMama, It Coulda Been Worse, or Antique Mommy. These ladies are just a riot. While at BooMama's place, be sure to listen to a Big Boo Cast (here's the first one). Or more, if you think you can handle it. If you haven't been to FiddleDeeDee's before, her "Life As I See It" category contains some hysterical posts. And Antique Mommy's "Best Of" contains the infamous Ode to Mary Tyler Moore, which will have you falling out of your chair.

And I would be remiss if I did not send you over to Sprittibee, seeing how hers is the first blog I ever read and it's all because of the Queen Bee that I ever got into the blogging world. She posts lots of fun and interesting photos of her happy little bee family. She uses the same homeschool curriculum as we do. She's taken on the Homeschool Blog Awards and is working her little BEEhind off. And she's just the sweetest Texas gal. Oh, beginning Monday, she's also hosting a fun printer giveaway, so be sure and check it out.

So why I may not BE all that interesting, at least I can point you to some other interesting gals out there in bloggityville. Enjoy!!

Daniel Study & Prayer Journals

We watched the first DVD of the Daniel study yesterday. I think it's going to be a very powerful, life-altering study. I'm really looking forward to doing this.

Feeling a little creative, I made some prayer journals for each member of our little group. We're up to 5 now, since my sister decided to join.

Here's the first one


Next is my mom's


The other "D" in our group


Mine


And my sister's

I may start out tidy and organized, but the messier my desk gets, the more creative I become. I'm not sure how or why that is, but it's just the reality of my life. Creativity is not a neat and tidy process, folks.


There's a lot going on here. I could probably do an "I Spy" page based upon this chaos, but I won't. Instead I'll just bore you with a long list.

• There's the portable DVD player currently showing the first session of Daniel


• Which is sitting atop the basket


• Which contains homeschool supplies


• Which is blocking the view of a vintage Mickey Mouse phone


• Which is next to a stack of mostly homeschool supplies (I also plan at this desk)


• Which is next to a dictionary


• Which is next to the homeschool magazines


• Which is next to some more homeschool books


• Which is next to the index cards


• Which are behind an assortment of stamping, collage-type supplies


• Which are marginally under the earbuds with which I was listening to the Daniel DVD


• Which are next to the Dr Pepper


• Which is next to the new Eps*n PictureM*te Deluxe printer that I got on clearance at Staples for $29.50 (regularly about $100)

Whew! And did you notice? There's actually a teeny little amount of desk space whereupon I could create? And that I used a bulleted list in my post? First time ever. Put the code all by myself.

And last, but certainly not least, it's ME. With my handy dandy, nifty neato Scrapogator Crop*dile. It punches holes of differing sizes, sets eyelets and snaps, makes a handy door stop, or head-wonking weapon, and came in its own color-coordinated, lime green case, complete with 400 free, yes free, eyelets. Oh, the punching and setting? It's all done with a simple little clamping together of the clampy end of the tool. No hammering! No pounding! No looking for an appropriate surface upon which to hammer or pound! No noise while creating at all hours of the night and morning! If you're a stamping, cropping kind of gal, this is just the tool for you! (I sound like an infomercial or something - yikes!)



I was recently reading someone's blog who gives tips and hints about how to blog and how to be a good blogger. I think I have become the example of what NOT to do. She said not to write a lot. Not to write long paragraphs. That reading on the screen is awkward and . . . something else. Oh well. If you made it all the way to the end, I applaud you. If you didn't, I won't know anyway.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Do It Anyway

I was over at the Real Women Scrap blog tonight and came across this post. Check it out. It's good. And I don't even like country music.

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Speaking of Real Women Scrap, I just received the book Real Women Scrap by Tasra Dawson today. I won it courtesy of 5 Minutes for Mom. I'm so excited to get this! I've only read the intro, but it's looking great.

I'll let you know.

Thursday Thoughts

Wow! A few days went zinging by somehow. I didn't post for Tales From the Scales on Tuesday because I need new scales. Replacing the batteries didn't resolve the problem. Phooey!

Thought I'd get something up for Wordless Wednesday, but obviously that didn't happen either. You can go check out some other WW pix though.

There's some big news over at Sprittibee if you'd like to find out the lastest in their life adventures.

A dear 27-year old single mom is in tremendous need of prayer and encouragement. I found out about her via Especially Heather (who also needs continued prayer and encouragement). Please add Nicole and her son to your prayers.

I've just been in and out (mostly out) a LOT this week, it seems. As much as I try to get things done around the house, I'm not accomplishing much. More of a one step forward, two steps back kind of deal. Sigh.

Tonight I'm off to a rubber stamp club gathering. Should be fun and then we (Mom, my friend, and me) get to head over to Starbucks. Yum! My sister's working tonight, so we'll pop in and say "hi" to her.

Oh, I know I've mentioned sleep issues in the past and my mom recently told me about a wonderfully awesome thing to help. You just rub a couple of drops of lavender oil on the bottom of your feet before going to sleep (be sure to wash your hands afterwards). It really works! Really well! Hubby & I have both been sleeping SO well. It doesn't make you all groggy and goofy in the morning like the PM pain revlievers can. Even my mom, who has had some bigger sleep issues than me for quite awhile, has been sleeping marvelously for around 3 weeks now. Plus it smells good!

And no, there's no correlation between the Starbucks visit at night and sleeplessness! LOL! On those nights of insomnia, I hadn't had any caffeine since around lunch time.

That's about it, I guess. Oh, I need to get cracking on school plans for this year, as we need to start within the next month.

It's always something, but that's okay. Life may seem a little chaotic at times (from my perspective), but honestly, my life is pretty good really. Things could be so much more difficult. But whether it's easy or hard, chaotic or smooth, God is always there. He's always available, He's always faithful, and He'll never leave nor forsake me (or you!).

Blessings to you!

Thrill a Minute Monday

My ever so exciting day went something like this:

• Slept well (praise God! - see the end of this post)


• Made iced chai (Tazo Vanilla, of course)


• Took hubby's phone to him at work


• Went to the credit union to deposit money & checks


• Played Zigity with the boys


• Washed the Durango (wow - I haven't hand washed a car in possibly 16 or 21 years!)


• Washed jeans


• Read a few blogs


• Had a yummy smoothie for lunch (lemon yogurt, berries, protein powder, flax, milk & ice)


• Chatted with Mom on the phone (82 minutes)


• Went to the library (2 more Lisa Samson novels)


• Put fuel in the Durango - it was ONLY $50.00 (how wrong is that?!?!)


• Bought a cucumber for chef's salads


• Dried jeans


• Watered the lawn


• Prepared and ate salads


• Played more Zigity with the boys


• Worked on budget


• Created a form for hubby for work


• Read a few more blogs


• Found a COOL blog on bread


• Folded laundry


• Wrote this post (with cool little squares for bullets - all on my own)


• Going to read and go to sleep

I loved every low-key moment of it!

Some days just need to be like that.