Start From Where You Are

 Recently I read a post by one of our fellow bloggers, who mentioned saving her grocery receipts over the next year and I thought it was such a great idea to keep up with how much I'm spending and also just to see how prices ebb and flow throughout time.

But, so true to how my mind works, I instantly felt behind because it's November and I could have been doing something like this for the past 11 months, right? 

Likewise, I've been berating myself for not having more traditions during the holidays, which is what the holidays do to me...make me overthink everything. I mean, I do have traditions, but I also love to try new things, so I'm probably a little less traditional than some and for that, I sometimes feel behind.

And on and on it goes, as I think about photos that aren't in albums, or projects I haven't started yet or all the other things that don't add up to "perfect" in my mind. I have ridiculously high expectations of myself, apparently. 

But as I was standing in the kitchen this morning, thinking about all of these things, I said one simple phrase to myself, which was "Start from where you are," and I instantly felt my stress level go down and my expectations come back to reality. 

I have to give myself a break.

What about you?

Are you one of those, like me, who carries a list of expectations for yourself, way above what you would require of others? If you are, then I want to encourage you to be ok with starting from where you are right now.

You can start a new tradition this year and it's ok if you've done something different every year before that. 

You can put your pictures in an album finally and call it good.

You can finally learn a craft or learn to sew or finally keep good records or any number of things you've been putting off or maybe never even thought about. It's ok to start today! 

I'm sure there are things I do on a regular basis that my kids would call traditions or that they know they can count on. Maybe to me, they are just how I do things and I don't really think about them being anything special. I bet you have these things in your routines as well.

So maybe from now on, we don't beat ourselves up for what we aren't doing, but instead we keep on trucking and add what sounds fun as we go along the way. We're never too old to try new things, never too late to start something new. And somehow, in the end, people will remember what touched them and not what you didn't do, but what you did. And who know? They may be glad you didn't carry on with some things you let go of. 

Life is an ongoing journey. Live and learn as you go. 

Until Next Time...

Blessings! 

I Did a Crazy Thing...Who Am I?

Happy November my friends!

Well...I did a crazy thing over the weekend; something I've never, ever done before...

I put up my Christmas tree on November 1st. Who am I?

I had no intention of doing this and usually won't even think about putting anything Christmasy up until after Thanksgiving, but I saw Shug's post last week and it made me think that life needs all the sparkly, fun things it can get, so why not?

I've always loved the lights on the tree, especially in the early morning hours, and after the year we've had, I just thought that it's really ok to do things that make you smile, feel joy, enjoy your home and if that's a tree covered in twinkly lights, then so be it. 

I won't be adding any Christmas ornaments until after Thanksgiving, but for the next few weeks, I get to enjoy the lights. 

And, in other news...

Half of my kids made it home from Tennessee. They all went to Franklin for vacation. Collin and Morgan made it home, but Ted and Alex are still there for the rest of this week. The last time we all vacationed as a family, it was in Franklin and it was so much fun! We love Franklin, but who doesn't?

On Saturday we got to see Collin and Asa. Collin needed some help with changing a filter in his car, so Asa hung out with me for a while. As you can see, he got right to work redecorating the place 😂

He's precious, so who cares? I was cooking some supper and he was having a great time playing and watching choo-choos on tv. 

Collin hung out for a bit and we had some good talks until it was time for him to get home. Afterwards David and I settled in for some supper and tv until bedtime. It was a good day and so good to have my kids home again.

Sunday we stayed home from church. Sometimes you just need an extra day to rest and be together. I did the weekly grocery shopping, trying to take advantage of the good sale Kroger had going on. I was able to stock up on some things.

I like to get a head start on the week, so we are prepared for lunches and dinner on work days. Even though I don't go back until Thursday, David needs lunch items starting on Monday and the kids are coming for dinner Monday night. 

David helped a neighbor move some furniture and I spent some time organizing the kitchen and pantry. There were things that had been bugging me lately, such as the food cabinets, pantry and the coffee cabinet. I was able to organize, straighten items and put things in containers, which allowed a lot of packaging to be thrown away. 

We have garbage valet here at the apartment, which just means that we put the garbage outside the door and they come pick it up every evening, Sunday thru Thursday. So it was the perfect time to clean and organize and get rid of boxes and packages from these areas. 

Later we got a FaceTime call from Ted and the kids, which was really great. We had not talked to our babies all week. Of course, talking by phone is always an experience when there are that many 😅 They will be home by Friday and we will scoop them up at some point and get all the hugs and plenty of conversations. 

Today I will be preparing for family dinner tonight, getting the food ready and cleaning. I have a lot of projects on the list, so I'll work on some of those. I'm reading a good book right now and will want to get a few chapters of that in for the day. I'm also trying to put together a photo album from my birthday a few weeks ago, so maybe I'll spend some time on that, as well. 

I always savor these days before going back to work. I love my job, but I love being home even more. 

Well, that's all the excitement for now 😅 It's time to get the day started.

I hope your day is full of blessings and all the things that mean something to you. Put up the tree if you have to! String some twinkly lights, eat the dessert, clean the pantry and enjoy your life. Every day is a gift from God.

Until Next Time...

Blessings!

Pictures from My Week

 Happy Wednesday, my friends!

At the risk of repeating this sentiment...I can't believe October is coming to an end! This month has zoomed by! The holidays will be upon us in no time and no, I haven't bought a single thing. I'm usually a December shopper. Now, with 3 birthdays in December, I might have to get started a little earlier. 

Today I thought I would share some pictures from my week and just give a very random update on what's been happening around here. 

First off, this is my cup of coffee I just had to have last night after getting home from work. I knew it was a bad idea, because drinking coffee at night has a strange effect on me. It doesn't keep me from falling asleep, but it wakes me up in the middle of the night and keeps me awake. This is exactly what happened last night from about 1:30 am to 3:30 am. To say I will be exhausted by the time I get home from work today is a vast understatement. 😓

And this was what the sky looked like on my way home, before said cup of coffee. About 10 minutes before we closed up the library, the sky grew dark and it started lightening and pouring down rain. Thankfully by the time I got on the road, it was moving on. This was the cold front that was supposed to usher in temps in the 40's, but currently it's still 52, which isn't bad, but not the cold blast we were all hoping for. (I guess you have to live in Texas where we're still in the 90's to appreciate this sentiment). 

Speaking of work...November is National Novel Writing Month, where writers around the country attempt to write 50,000 words, at least, on whatever they are working on. So for my November display, I brought my old typewriter to work and set up a collection of "how-to" books on writing, as well as books by local authors, to inspire patrons to tell their stories. 

You can see one of my books - Notes from a Writer's Heart - there with the other books. It's so exciting to  have my books in the library. Currently my homeschooling book is checked out to a lady who just started her homeschooling journey. I hope she's enjoying it!

And speaking of books...working at the library means having a "to be read" list a mile long! But it's so much fun too! 

This is a series I saw at Barnes and Noble recently, so I took this picture to show my coworker, who orders books, and we each downloaded a sample, so we could screen it for content before she ordered the series. We don't screen all the books (obviously), but we do read reviews and try to get the gist of the story before adding it to the library shelves. 

As for books that come in, if they look like something I want to read, I will take a picture or add it to my library app for the future. This happens daily as I'm checking in books that patrons bring back or as I'm straightening the shelves. Inevitibly I will find something that looks interesting and I'll take it home and add it to the stack. My stack from the library currently consists of 4 books that caught my eye this week. 😅 

And speaking of reading...this is always at the top of my list and I have to make sure before work to spend time with Jesus. No matter how stressed or tired I am, just 5 minutes in the Word and talking to my Father, brings peace like nothing else. I usually listen to worship music on the way to work (my boy's music comes first on the list) and it just sets my mind and attitude right for the day. What a privilege it is to be able to read our Bibles daily. We need not take that for granted. 

And lastly...this dining corner of our apartment is shaping up to be so cute and happy 😀💚 Collin and Morgan gave me the adorable green and white table cloth, which I love and the window with the painted flowers was a birthday gift from Ted and Alex. Each of the flowers represents the month our grand babies were born. How precious is that? Eventually I will add some shelves and other pictures or signs around what's already there, but I want to find just the right things and spend as little money as possible. It will take some thrifting, here and there. 

And that's it for this week, so far. Today is my "Friday" and I'll be off until next week. I've got projects to work on over the next few days, bills to pay and lots of books to read 😅

I'm hoping for some nice weather so we can sit by the pool in the evenings and read. It's one of our favorite things to do. 

So...

Until Next Time...

Blessings! 

Oh, and let me know if you've ever participated in the National Novel Writing Month. I would love to know! 

Memories of Louise

 Good morning, friends!

I had been looking for an old picture of a tiny camper we bought many years ago and I finally came across these, hidden in the recesses of a cloud somewhere, somehow. 

That orange piece of metal in the background was named Louise. I saw her on the side of the road one day and made my husband turn around and make an offer of $500. Sold! She was ours and I had great plans to turn her into a playhouse for our first grand baby, Emmy. That was 2015. 

But, after bringing her home and naming her Louise, we realized what a project we were getting ourselves into. But, all was not lost...we used her as a photo prop when we had our photo venue business and she was one of the more popular props on the property...just after the front porch and the two horses. 

Eventually we sold Louise to another delusional couple, who had plans to fix her up and turn her into a traveling photo booth. What a great idea, we thought. But then, after checking on their progress one day, they informed us that Louise needed way too much work, so they had passed her along to someone else.

Poor Louise. 

I do think about her now and then and wonder if anyone actually followed through and gave her the attention she deserved. 

She could have been a real looker. 

Until Next Time...

Blessings! 

You Are Loved

Good morning my friends!

As I was having my coffee this morning and reading the thoughts of my fellow bloggers, it just hit me, how special this community is. I mean, we are friends, are we not? 

We share stories of life and faith, household victories, as well as drama. We cheer each other on and pray for one another frequently. If that doesn't define friendship, I don't know what does.  

We may not be able to physically sit on the porch to have our coffee, but we do gather in the same places each day and tell our stories. 

We share recipes, hopes, tips and tricks. We navigate hard times with one another and celebrate the good.

When one of us is missing for a while, we ask around, check on one another and show genuine care.

Sometimes this is more than what real-life friends do!

We grieve with one another and rejoice in the good. We offer advice and knowledge and fill each other in on what works for us. We exchange information and receive it, as well. It's a good give-and-take.

Friendship is about love and concern. It's about showing up with the ice cream when things are tough. It's about stepping in when someone needs a hand. And even though we may not be able to do those things in person, we're really good at doing it emotionally for one another. 

So, if we are blogging friends, just know that you are valuable to me. I'm praying when you need it. I'm giving the hugs in the comments I leave and checking in on you when you're gone too long. And I've felt all of that from you, as well. 

Here's to building communities of love and faith and showing up. 

You are loved 💜

Until Next Time...

Blessings! 

A Celebration and Some Much Needed Rest

 

Well, I've finally recovered from all the birthday celebrations. It's been a fun and busy few days!

Monday my mom, aunt and uncle drove from South Texas to get here in time for my birthday dinner. We had a little time to visit before going to Ted and Alex's house, then we all headed down the road to the party. 

Morgan and Alex had all the food ready and the place looked so colorful and festive. They both worked so hard to make this a special night and it was way more than that. The food was delicious! We had tamales, tacos, beans, queso, homemade salsa, street corn and probably more that I can't remember. 

After dinner we had an ice cream bar, with ice cream and several toppings. But then Alex surprised me with my very own ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins, which is the same cake I used to request every year when I was a kid - Jamocha Almond Fudge. 

The gifts they gave me were all so precious and it truly was the best birthday I've ever had. I have felt loved and so blessed this year. 

🎂

Yesterday I woke up and had zero energy. I felt exhausted and just wanted to do nothing, so I practically did just that. 

I did manage to pick up a salad from Schlotzsky's for lunch, then came home and did more of nothing until early afternoon when I finally got out some cookbooks and made a menu and grocery list for the week to come. I placed a grocery order and we picked it up later that evening.

Oh, and I also managed to fix a crockpot of Lasagna Soup (thanks for the recipe Carrie!) which turned out to be absolutely delicious! But, because I didn't have lasagna noodles in the pantry, I used broken-up spaghetti noodles instead and it turned out to be amazing. This was probably one of the easiest recipes ever and one of the tastiest. 

I did two loads of laundry, put away all the groceries that evening and that was all for the day. Not a total loss, but not overly productive. 

As I was resting during the day, I started to feel that familiar feeling of guilt creep up, the one that says "you should be up doing something!" but I told it to shut up and I kept resting and taking it easy. Sometimes you just need a day to do nothing. 

I also ordered a book from Barnes and Noble and asked David to grab it on the way home, which he did. I mean...this is the life! 😅 hahaha! I rarely do things like that, but it was just that kind of day.

We had just been to B&N the day before and I saw this book in the window and it intrigued me, so when B&N sent me an email with a coupon...well...I had to have it. 

I am always fascinated by stories told in the 50's and this is a mystery, as well, so I'm excited to read it. 

I'll let you know how it goes.

Today I'll have my girls for the day and we will probably end up doing crafts and playing games, which sounds like the perfect way to spend my last day off. 

Tonight will be leftovers of Lasagna Soup and hopefully a good night's rest before work tomorrow, which I'm actually looking forward to. 

Well, I'm off to start the day. I hope you have a good one (productive or not) and I'll see you on the next post.

Until Next Time...

Blessings! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 

Well, today I'm 60 years old and I woke up feeling great! 

I am thankful to the Lord for giving me 60 years, so far, and I'm looking forward to a new season of life. I know it will be an adventure - as every journey with God has been - but I've got dreams and passions and still a lot to learn and a lot to do, so here's to the next few decades!

Tomorrow may feel like just another Tuesday, but today we celebrate! 😀🎉

Thanks for stopping by today!

Until Next Time...

Blessings!

Why Are You Celebrating DEATH?

 

Dear Friends...

Today I have to rant a little about something that has taken over lovely October. 

Skeletons.

I don't know about the trends in your part of the country, but in our parts we've been overrun with an obsession with skeletons during the entire month of October and it's really getting on my nerves!

October is a month of ushering in Autumn, falling leaves, changing colors and cool breezes. It's a time when we can take a walk, play at the park, visit a pumpkin patch and enjoy the upcoming holiday season. 

But instead, every street is filled with skeletons!

Skeletons on fences, buried in yards, even in the Sonic drive-thru (attached to the speaker!!) and I'm so sick of it!

Do you know what skeletons represent? DEATH.

Are you celebrating DEATH?

Really? Because I would rather celebrate LIFE. 

Why would anyone stage DEATH all over their yard, to come home every day to DEATH hanging out on your mailbox, your doorstep, the yard where your children play?

I think it's the perfect example of the demise of people's hearts. 

In this country we've seen enough death and destruction. We don't need to display it in our own front yard or the city streets.

Thanks for listening...

Until Next Time...

Celebrate LIFE!

A Sweet Surprise and I'm Turning 60!

Happy Friday my friends! 

This week I had a sweet surprise when I walked into work on Wednesday. My co-workers had decorated my desk for my upcoming birthday and it was so sweet and thoughtful.  

 I am off on my actual birthday, so this early celebration was just what I needed to get in the birthday mood 🎂

I was having a little trouble accepting the fact that I'm turning 60, but then I saw one of my favorite YouTubers say that she didn't even start her channel until she was 60 (10 years ago) and it really helped change my perspective.

I guess age is what you make of it...at any age, so here I am...almost 60! 🎉🎈🎊

Yesterday I had lunch with one of my best friends, which is always a treat. We always solve all the problems over chips and salsa or queso, which is the best way to solve everything 😀 We try to meet up every other month or so, and end up talking for hours. It's definitely one of my favorite things to do. 

Today I will do all the things that require my attention around the house, such as paying bills, finishing up laundry, deciding what's for dinner and working on my special project Collin has been helping me with. 

I love my days at home and feel so thankful that I have a job with time off to do the things I love doing. I've purposely written "read" and "embroidery" on my Never Ending To-Do List, so that I will take the time to just sit in between everything else. Sometimes you have to pencil in the fun things, so you will take time to actually relax. 

I also made a little vow to myself recently to get back to being creative. I've let that go a lot over the past few months and this week I purposely took about 15 minutes to do some fun journaling during my Bible reading one morning and you know what?...it refreshed my soul in ways I had forgotten. 

I love creating fun, whimsical notebooks, using paper and stickers and visual prompts made from magazines. Just the cutting, gluing and then writing what those pictures make me think about, is basically like therapy in the best way. And being creative is one of the things that feeds my soul. I need to not neglect that part of who I am. 💛

So...hopefully this next week of days will bring calm and peace, as well as more celebrating. I know my kids have planned dinner for me on Monday and we will have a few special guests there, as well. I can't wait! 

I hope you all have the best weekend and hopefully I've inspired you (or just reminded you) to do something that feeds your soul these next few days. It's important. If you do, write about it and inspire the rest of us! That's important too 😀 Tell your stories. 

I love you, my friends!

Until Next Time...

Blessings! 

A Weekend Recap

Good Morning my friends!

I hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was a good mixture of work and relaxation, in just the right amounts. 

Saturday I worked half a day at the library and then rushed home so we could get to our grandson's birthday party at 2:00, where we enjoyed seeing all of our kids and grandkids in one spot. We had yummy cake and lots of hugs and kisses by the time the day was over. 

Sunday we had some errands to do, such as a grocery pick up and putting a "for sale" sign out by the road where our house is for sale. Someone stole the realtor's sign last week, so we bought our own sign (that's actually more visible) and stuck it at the end of the road. Who would steal a realtor sign? What are you going to do with that thing? 

We got some delicious lunch from Texas Roadhouse, which is not too far from us. They had given me a free appetizer as a birthday treat, so we ordered a chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy and a salad, plus the appetizer. When we picked it up and brought it home, we noticed the salad was missing, so poor David had to go back and get it. In the meantime, I split the food between our two plates and waited on him to get back. THEN we had a delicious lunch for a minimal amount of money and it was just enough for the two of us. 

After lunch I decided to make some Rice Krispie Treats. For some reason those just popped into my mind that day, so I ordered all the ingredients with my grocery order and got extra so I could take a pan to Collin and Morgan. I had forgotten how sticky those things are! I didn't use the marshmallow creme, but actually melted the butter and real marshmallows in a pot on the stove. Then poured in the 6 cups of cereal and....oh my goodness! It was a workout to stir those things! But I got it done...twice! and made two pans of them and they were delicious!

While the treats were cooling, David and I decided to rearrange the living room, in order to open up some floor space. When we had family dinner last week, we realized that our current floor space was not enough for all of us and especially because the kids want to play right in the middle of all the grown ups. So instead of leaving space behind the couch for toys, we moved the couch all the way back and stored the toys elsewhere. 

I like the floor space it's given us, but I'll have to get used to the empty look of the other side of the carpet. It definitely makes the room feel more spacious though. 

Here's our little Spider Man, Calem. He's 3 years old today and all boy! He's all about spider man right now, so he had the cutest little party and got lots of spider man toys and pjs to last for a while. I have always loved the dress up phase of childhood. It's so fun to see them using their imaginations as they play. 

Calem is surrounded by girls (he has 4 sisters), so he needs all the super powers he can get 😅 Actually, he's pretty much the star of the show and gets lots of hugs and attention from all the little mommies in the house. 

Well, today is a work day for me. The library is open today and since it's a holiday for others, we might be busy, which is always a good thing. I have found that I love helping people find the books they're looking for and talking about the books they've chosen. I'm still amazed at the older women who come in and take 10 books at a time and read all of them within 3 weeks. AND the fact that they still drive themselves to the library at the age of 92! We have several of those and I just find it a bit scary and fascinating 😅

I hope you have a great day and a productive, calm, cool week. That's a good combination, in my opinion.

Until Next Time...

Blessings! 

Thinking Back or Moving Forward?

 

An old picture of our farmhouse front porch

Today I saw a post on Instagram about being nostalgic and it got me thinking about

how we long for the "old days." 

I look at that picture of the old front porch and it makes me remember the years we spent there,

raising boys, feeding horses, working on the land and barns and fields of rye grass, year after year.

We've all grieved a bit over those years, but then I thought about where we are now

and boy...I wouldn't miss any of this for anything.

The many years past that old farmhouse have brought us wisdom,

learning from mistakes, 7 grandchildren, 2 beautiful daughters,

job experience, life experience

and knowledge we could have only gained

through trials and hard times.

Our children have grown, we've grown and our lives are moving in good

directions.

Do we have regrets?

Of course.

But even those regrets have taught us how to live in the present and

the future.

I look at all of us now and I see my boys building their business, helping others,

raising families, loving their wives and children and being good providers.

I watch my daughter-in-loves being good mommies and cooking amazing meals,

serving others, loving their people so well and I'm so grateful we are here to watch

their lives flourish.

I see my marriage still going strong after

storms, moves, job loss, health issues and other hardships 

and I'm proud of us for loving each other through all of it. 

I learned a new skill last week, as my son taught me how to 

record my books and use the computer technology that I usually try to avoid.

This is a big, growing step for me and I'm excited to learn and grow.

I went back to work after 32 years of not working.

I learned new things that I can take into the future. 

Life is still moving forward and if I did nothing but look back all the time,

I would miss all of this.

Being nostalgic is fun, but living life and 

moving forward on the journey God has for you...

even better.

What about you?

Are you stuck in the memories of the past

or are you growing and learning and gathering nuggets for the future?

It's definitely something to think about.

Until Next Time...

Blessings!