I like Stuff

It's official I'm a "stuff" addict. I love stuff. Every week is dedicated to a single goal....finding more stuff to buy. I like things to sit around the house, shoes, clothes, purses, tote bags, nail polish, jewelry, ink pens, notebooks, flowers, baskets, kitchen utensils, knick-knacks, craft supplies, yarn, material, scrapbook supplies, clothes and toys for grandkids, beach stuff, free catalogs..... need I go on? I just love stuff. And when I get tired of looking at some of my stuff. I love to have yard sales and get rid of my old stuff. The only problem is I like to participate in multi-family yard sales. Then I buy other peoples stuff to replace mine. Then I take the money I make from the yard sale, make a list, go shopping and BUY MORE STUFF. Can anybody see a pattern here? There is nothing that makes me happier than finding a bargain. I love thrift shops, yard sales, consignment shops, etc. I use coupons and ask for discounts, all in the honor of buying more stuff. But this is one addiction I like and I can't see me getting any help for it. I guess I need to go for now. I have a date with E-Bay to look up some more STUFF.

Daffodil Days

It's that time of year when I start watching the side of the road. I watch for that first batch of daffodils to pop up from thier winter slumber. There yellow blooms line up like soldiers marching off to war. Growing up, our neighbor had a patch of daffodils that grew on the bank down by the creek. We always knew winter was almost over when they started to bloom. They are a sign of spring, of rebirth. A reminder that we have survived another cold winter. Daffoldils have long been a flower that was planted around homesteads. If you will visit Cades Cove in early spring, you can walk the fields and just about figure where old houses sat because of the daffoldils that still bloom around the home sites. I can't wait to see that first bloom.

Celebrate the little things

Blessings on this beautiful Sunday. As you walk along lives path today, be sure to take the time to celebrate the little things that make you smile. I have so many blessings in my life. Of course there is the obvious: my family, my health, a roof over my head, food on the table But it's the little things that make me do a little dance just for the sheer joy of it. Some of my finest moments come from my four precious grandchildren. They can always make me laugh. This past month has been full of those precious memories that just make you shake your head and smile. When my 5 year old granddaughter spent the night recently, she informed me she was a country girl. She wanted me to put on a video so she could dance. But it had to have country girls in it. We put on Jason Aldean's "She's Country" and she danced and wiggled and maneuvered around until my side hurt from laughing. My 10 year old grandson loves to tell me about the episodes on America's Funniest Videos. It cracks me up what ones stick in his mind. When he was over last, he was sharing some of the funniest things he had seen on there. He gets so animated and can have me laughing in no time. My 6 year old grandson calls me the other night to talk about a toy Peterbilt wrecker I saw that I asked him if he wanted it for his birthday. He called me to ask me 50 questions about it. When he said he wanted to see what it looked like, I told him I could email his mom some pictures that she could show him. He is a little impatient so he said, "Just give me the .com where it is and I'll have Mommy look it up." How does a 6 year old know about .com's. I cracked up. But the icing on the cake was with my 18 month old granddaughter yesterday. We were getting ready to go shopping yesterday and I was preparing her sippy cup. The TV was on, her mom was talking to me, I was pouring juice and she was jabbering in the kitchen. A lot of commotion. Apparently the jabbering was directed at me and she was a little aggravated that I was not paying attention because all of a sudden that little foot stomped on the kitchen floor and we heard MAMAW shouted out in an agitated voice. It was hilarious. I am constantly laughing at those defining moments that let you know you have a lot more in this life than you realize. So celebrate your special moments. Memorize them, share them and savor them.

There is nothing like getting up early on a Saturday morning and hitting the stores. I am one of those people who can window shop all day and consider it a successful day. Of course, you know I have a list. All week, when I think of something I need, something I want or something I just want to price, I put it on my list. Then I usually organize that list early Saturday morning by grouping items together by the stores I'll be visiting. With all the beautiful sunshine these past two days, spring is just around the corner. I can't wait for flip flop weather to get here. Flip flops, or as we called them - floppies, have become more than just a rubber shoe to wear outside around the house. They have evolved into an acceptable shoe for shopping, work, church, family functions, whatever. They come in casual, sporty, dressy, with little heels, flat, decorated, plain, the list just goes on and on. This is the time of year to start buying flip flops. I like to have casuals in red, black, brown, tan, and white. Then of course, I have to have dressy for church in white, black and brown. During the winter, 2 or 3 choices of shoes is fine for me. I can survive with one, maybe two, nice pairs of tennis shoes. But I am addicted to flip flops and think I have to have a pair for every occasion. So today will be declared National Start Looking for New Flip Flop day. I have already done the preliminary research and discovered that Payless has new arrivals. So I see a start to flip flop shopping in my future today.

Hope everybody enjoys the sunshine today.

For love of tea

My family ancestry comes from many countries. We have the Clonch family from Ireland. The Garretson side has been traced back to France. The McComas clan hails from Scotland. And the Eden's have there roots in jolly old England.

If there is one thing that the English know, that is tea. I was raised in a family of tea drinkers. Sweet tea, sun tea, boiled tea. Nothing like a cold glass of tea with a big slice of juicy lemon. Or so they tell me. I am an oddity. I do not like tea. I have tried and tried and cannot force myself to drink it.

But the funny thing is I am a collector of tea pots, tea for one, tea sets, tea cups, tea spoons and miniature tea sets. My house is loaded with them. I have them blues and pinks and purples. I have them with roses and lilies and doves. I have them with bunny rabbits and sisters. I even have a set with cardinals and dogwood trees on it. I love my tea accessories. But do not like tea.

Every family function revolves around their being a pitcher of tea in the refrigerator. If you walk in the door at my mothers, you can expect ice cold sweet tea. Her grandchildren say she makes the best tea in the world. My oldest granddaughter is 5. When she goes to McDonald's or Wendy's or anywhere out to eat, she has to have her sweet tea with her meal.

I'm not sure how this "tea craze" passed me over. I'm not sure why I am the odd one out. I've often wondered if my love of all things tea is to compensate for my lack of addition to good old southern, iced, sweet tea?

The Guilt Trip

We all love to go on a trip. The beaches with soft sand and golden sunrises call my name. The mountains in spring as the young deer graze in the cove. A trip to West Virginia to see family. These are all trips that I love and look forward to.

But there is one trip hat nobody likes to take, yet we do it all the time. That's right. I'm talking about the Guilt Trip. How many times do you do something or NOT do something and then make yourself feel guilty? How many, I should've and I could've's take up time during your day.

I was thinking about this earlier when I didn't forward an email to eight people so I could have money in four days. Right after I deleted it, I felt guilty. It's just like those emails that if you love Jesus you will pass this on. Here is where they get you with the guilt.

If you don't pass it on, does it mean you don't love Jesus? If you do pass it on, are you taking away valuable time from something you SHOULD be doing.

It got me to thinking. If I am doing God's work and living the life He wants me to live, He already knows I love Jesus and me sending or not sending an email will not prove that love. I've read a lot in the bible in 38 years I've been saved. And I don't recall in the old or the new testaments anywhere that says "Thou shalt forward all emails that come your way."

Now, I'm not saying that there are not some good ones out there. I forward those because they have a good message or inspiring story or simply a good laugh for the day. I don't forward them because my Christianity is at stake.

I'm not sure why we feel guilty when we don't forward every email. We have so many other things in our lives that we should feel guilty for, but we don't. When I abuse my body by lifting on things that are too heavy, does it enter my mind that I should take better care of myself? No.

When I eat that extra Reese cup, knowing it's not good for me, do I feel guilty? No. When I have a chance to say or do something good and I don't take it, do I feel guilty? No. Most times we don't even realize we had an opportunity and passed it up.

So I have decided that from now on, I won't feel guilty if I don't pass on every email that comes my way. If I think the message is good or I just want to pass it on for the fun of it, I will. But I'll save my guilt for those times I really need it. Like falling asleep before I say my prayers or forgetting to read the bible that night. Or not lending a helping hand when I can. Those will be my guilt trips and hopefully they will be short trips and few and far between.

I believe in angels

I am a firm believer that we have angels all around us. Not just protecting us and guiding us, but lending a helping hand, watching over us as we go our merry way. What makes a great angel? I think some of her best qualities would be patience, understanding, a true nurturer. Consider how we act throughout the day; the predicaments we land ourselves in. When you really take a good look at human nature, we can do some crazy things that probably drive our guardian angels nuts. I think they would have to have a wonderful sense of humor. I took one of those random on-line quizzes the other day that determined "What would your job in Heaven be?" I loved my answer: Brenda's Job in Heaven is Making people spontaneously laugh at random moments.

How cool is that? To think that when I get to Heaven, I'll be the "go-to-girl" for anyone wanting a moment of laughter. It made me stop and think. If I'm that humorous now, wonder how much fun my guardian angels have when it's their day to watch over me?