Hmmm, interesting.

I learned something about myself these past couple of days. When it comes to sweets, I am selfish. Hubby bought me a pound of orange creams from the Apple Barn. I posted on Facebook about it, saying "Mine, all mine."

Then, today, Hubby took me to Applebees and here is what I had for dessert...

When I posted about it on Facebook, my comment was..."Two spoons? Seriously. Do they really think I'm going to share dessert?"

So, what have I learned from this? Not only am I selfish, but it is easy to see why I simply CANNOT lose those last 10 pounds. I also learned that I buy sweets at places with healthy names...Apple Barn, Applebees... do you see a pattern here?

Happy Valentine's Day to our Lord

A special thank you to each of my family and friends who responded to my request for your favorite bible verses. I have compiled a Valentine letter to Our Heavenly Father using words from each of your favorite bible verses I received. May God bless you and keep you in His precious love. This Valentine is to our sweet Lord on behalf of each of you.

Dear Father,

My friends and family have gotten together with me to thank you for your precious LOVE. You have LOVED us so much and provided us with such HOPE for our FUTURE. You send ANGELS to KEEP CHARGE over us and keep us uplifted. Through the reading of your word we find COURAGE, FAITH and PEACE. Like the mighty EAGLE, you RENEW OUR STRENGTH and our SPIRIT so we may SOAR to face a brighter day. You are our POWER and MIGHT. We are nothing without you, God. You HEAL our broken spirits and COMFORT our WOUNDED souls. You are always WITH us. You have told us to FEAR NOT. But so many times we fail you by letting things get us down. We should always REJOICE and keep STRONG in our FAITH. We should give you the GLORY for all the ABUNDANCE you provide us. You gave us the best Valentine the day you sent your ONLY SON to do YOUR WILL. You allowed CHRIST to be BRUISED so that we could have a CLEAN HEART; so that we could BELIEVE in a better TOMORROW. When we WAIT upon you dear LORD, we can be UNAFRAID. In those moments we are truly STILL and allow only THOUGHTS of you to enter our mind, we find such deep REWARDS. Through QUIETNESS and CONFIDENCE we find STRENGTH. We may LABOR on this earth, but we are JUSTIFIED through your Holy name. Our lips should ever EXALT you, LORD. Your LOVE is EVERLASTING. You SUPPLY our every need THROUGHOUT THE AGES. Our Valentine’s gift to you should be that each of us and OUR HOUSE should SERVE you LORD. We are one of the CHOSEN few. You have given us many words of LOVE throughout the reading of your word. You provide us with great HOPE. One of the greatest moments in our lives is that special time when we can bow down on our knees and proclaim that you are MY GOD.

We LOVE you,

Your children

The surprise....

As Valentine's Day approaches, I find myself reflecting over the past 30 years. Hubby proposed to me on Valentine's Day so it will always hold a very special place in my heart. When we were young and newly married, we would always exchange some type of gift for Valentine's. Nothing expensive or fancy, just something that said I love you. We still do, but we keep it on a small scale, just some little token of our love. I wanted to share with you today the most memorable Valentine's day we had.

My husband loves to surprise me and I love getting surprised. But one particular year, I had seen a small heart shaped necklace that was lined with diamond chips. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary but I absolutely fell in love with it. It was $59.00, so you know it couldn't be too elaborate. But we never spent that kind of money on a Valentine's gift so I hesitated to ask for it. Anytime we would be shopping near it, I would conveniently stop and admire it, making some comment about how much I loved it.

Normally, my hubby takes hints very well so I really expected to get this necklace for Valentine's Day. Whenever V-day fell during the week, I would come home from work and there would be a card and a gift on the table waiting for me. This one year, I came home and there was a gift and a box of candy. I opened the card, gave him his gift and we exchanged a quick kiss.

I admit to being a little let down because I didn't get the necklace. He normally moves mountains to make sure I get something that I want really, really bad. So I went off to take my bath and pout. I never mentioned the necklace. While my bath water was running, he said "You might have to get a knife to slice the cellophane off your candy if you want to try a piece. Being upset, I said I'd try it later.

After my bath, I sat down to supper and he said "You might need to get a knife to slice your sausage." (We were having smoked sausage.) I said, "no, my fork works fine." The whole time we ate, I was getting more and more upset because I was so disappointed in not getting that necklace. I admit to being a little hurt because he didn't even acknowledge that he couldn't get it or say he was sorry.

As we sat there eating, I was having trouble after all cutting the sausage, so I got up to get a knife. When I pulled out the silverware drawer, nestled inside the knife slot was a little red jewelry box. You guessed it....my necklace. Oh, how I love this man of mine.

.

Then came the morning....

We praise God for sending His only Son to us as a mere babe, swaddled in cloth and lying in a manger. We praise Jesus for saying "Father, let thy will be done" as He died for us on Calvary. Oh, but how we glorify that He rose again. For when the darkest, deepest night is upon us, through the grace of God, we can truly praise His name that morning has come. This is truly a moving video and I really got a blessing when I was listening this morning. I hope you will be blessed as well.

Winter Wonders

I was talking to my Mom yesterday and we were both saying we were so tired of snow and couldn't wait for spring. That got me to thinking about how many times I keep hearing that every where I go.

Now those of you who have known me for long, know one of my favorite movies is Pollyanna by Disney. Pollyanna is orphaned and goes to live with an aunt who has no children. One thing you learn from Pollyanna is that we should look for the good in whatever situation comes our way. Since I have always tried to do that, I thought I would try it with Winter. I was surprised at how many things I actually like about winter. Here's my list:

• Fleece pajamas. There's nothing like putting on warm p.j.'s after your bath.
• Fuzzy house shoes. You know the kind.....comes up to your ankles and lined with warm fleece.
• Snuggling on the couch with your hubby and pulling up a warm blanket over both of you..
• Getting in the car after it's been running a few minutes and feeling the warmth from the vents on your face.
• The heavy warmth that comes from an extra quilt on the bed at night
• Hot chocolate in the morning
• Cinnamon Buns baking in the oven for breakfast
• The sheer beauty of a pristine white snowfall blanketing the ground
• Icicles - if you ever looking closely at them when the sun shines on them, they are truly a work of art

Those are just some of the things I like about winter. I have enjoyed each and everyone of those items this year. But guess what? I'm over it. Time to move on. Bring on the spring. Hope you have a blessed day. I'm heading in the kitchen to pop some cinnamon rolls in the oven and boil some water for my hot chocolate.

Thursday's Tips, tricks and time savers....

In my recent blog, I mentioned getting organized. I had a request to pass on some of my tips. They are nothing outstanding, but just little things that save a few minutes here and there.

1. Become a list maker. I bought a 5 x 7 notebook that is now my constant companion. Since I work from home, I keep it on my desk by the phone. Every morning when I get up, I sit down at my desk and make a list of the things I want to accomplish that day, no matter how big or small. That way, I know where I need to focus. As I complete the items on it, I mark a line through it. If something pops up that I need to do, I add it to the list. At the end of the day, I move the items that did not get accomplished (if there are any) to the next clean page and throw the old page away. If you keep the old page and just continue on until it is full, you will have all these items glaring at you even though they are marked through. A cluttered page will keep your mind cluttered.

2. Put off till tomorrow what doesn’t need done today. If it does NOT have to be done today, reschedule for another time so you do not stress all day because you haven’t gotten to it yet. I bought some pretty folders and wrote on each one of them a day of the week. In each folder, I place papers or notes of things I need to do that particular day. When I make my morning list, I pull out the folder for that day and add those items to my list. It is amazing how much clearer you can think if you don’t have your whole week’s worth of work in front of you. Out of site; out of mind. It works well. If you don’t need to do it until Thursday, don’t be looking at it every day and stressing over having to do it on Thursday. When it comes time to do that item, you will be refreshed and ready to tackle it.

3. A place for everything and everything in its place. I am big on baskets and storage. In my craft room, I have a basket for materials, baskets for yarn (well actually a whole chest devoted to yarn since it is a weakness of mine.) I have a big basket where I keep my pattern books. I color coordinate my yarn (spring colors, fall colors, winter colors, summer colors.) to find what I need faster. All my nail polish is in one basket along with polish remover, cuticle cream, manicure sets, etc. I can just grab the basket and WA-LAH! Manicure time. I don’t have to search the house for an emery board in one drawer and clippers in another. It’s the same with hair care, perfume and deodorant – all in one basket. When I get ready to go anywhere, I pull out the baskets and everything is at my fingertips. I can wash my hair, blow it, style it and put my makeup on in 9 minutes thanks to having everything right where I need it. 

4. Quickly un-clutter the house. I’m not a slob, but I’m not a neat freak so sometimes things in my house end up in a place they don’t belong. A book left on the table; a movie the kids forgot to put back in the cabinet. Once a day, grab an empty laundry basket and walk through the house gathering up the strays. Start at one end and work your way to the other, hitting each room as you. When you enter the next room, check the basket and put away whatever belongs in that room and pick up anything that doesn’t. When you get to the last room, take anything that is left over and do a reverse process and take those things where they belong. This not only keeps the house un-cluttered, you get in extra steps for exercise every morning.

5. Baskets and Bags. If you are a crafter, you probably have your craft room very organized, but what about your projects? I usually have a couple of different projects going at one time. I have a weakness for tote bags and baskets. So I use these for my projects. I place my current project in a tote bag along with scissors, needles, whatever I need. Then if I’m in the living room and want to work on my craft, I grab the “bag” and start crafting. If we are going to Knoxville and I want to craft in the car while hubby drives. I grab the bag and I’m ready to go. Projects that are next are sorted into baskets with all the items needed for that project. That way if I get bored with one, I can just grab a basket and work on the next one.

Laughter IS the best medicine...

We all see those funny stories and cartoons that travel across the satellites to tickle our funny bones. But if you stop and think about it, some of the funniest stories are when we tell things on ourselves. Well, as I've gotten older I have learned to laugh more at some of the things that have happened to me that, at the time, were mortifying. One of my most embarrassing moments (and I don't embarrass easily) is guaranteed to cause a chuckle of pure glee. Let me share it with you.....

The year was 1987. I weighed a mere 95 pounds and only 5' tall. I loved to wear dresses to work and those spike high heels. It made me feel really confident. I worked for a machine shop that manufactured pump replacement parts for industrial pumps. I was in Customer Service/Sales. My office was on the second floor and had windows on two sides. I could stand in my office and look down at the entire plant. I shared the office with Jerry, the production manager. Part of my job was to go out in the shop several times a day to check on the status of particular rush jobs for my clients.

Every time I would go out there, the guys would whistle and hoot and holler just to try to embarrass me and it never worked. I grew up out in the county with two brothers and tons of boys always hanging around. It takes a LOT to embarrass me.
Well, this one particular day, I had on a really pretty blue dress with a full skirt that swirled around my legs. I had made about 5 or 6 trips through the shops with the standard whistles and catcalls. My husband worked there as well and these guys were his friends and they did it to try to get a rise out of one of us, but we just laughed it off. This particular day, about 2:00 in the afternoon, I had just come back upstairs and Jerry was standing at the bank of windows on the phone. Every single one of the men in the shop, my dear hubby included, had stopped and were looking up at our office. Jerry called me to the window and said, "The guys have a question for you." Of course, I thought it was about a rush job and I said, "Sure. What?"

"They want to know why you have a hump on your butt?" I about died. I looked behind me and sure enough there was a knot on my rear end about the size of a baseball. I heard them all laughing as I dashed into the little girls room. I raised my dress and there, static clinging to my slip was a wadded up wash cloth from the dryer!  Talk about embarrassing! But it was also hilarious. I just came out laughing and told Jerry what it was. Later that night, I told hubby about the static cling hump on my hip. His reaction?....."Yeah, I saw that and wondered what it was."

We still laugh about it. But in all these years, he has yet to come up with a satisfactory answer as to WHY he didn't tell me about it. It just goes to show you, we need to keep a good sense of humor at all times.