The Magnolia Cafe

Jr. museum

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella Life) — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 03:48:00 +0000

We went to Jr. Museum this past Saturday as a family. I say that because we are getting Conner half time name and it's great to have everyone at home. It's really fun to do stuff together.

Flowers from my man and little man

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella Life) — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 03:42:00 +0000

Billy and Conner got me flowers this past Friday. I just love them and that was so sweet to do for me.

They got Sydney flowers too, which was again very thoughtful.

So God Made a Farmer.... like my Papa

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 03:08:00 +0000

I am glad that my Grandfather was a farmer!

He made a great and wonderful man.

He had these traits too!

And on the 8th day God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker!".

So, God made a farmer!

God said I need somebody to get up before dawn and milk cows and work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board.

So, God made a farmer!

I need somebody with strong arms. Strong enough to rustle a calf, yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry and have to wait for lunch until his wife is done feeding and visiting with the ladies and telling them to be sure to come back real soon...and mean it.

So, God made a farmer!

God said "I need somebody that can shape an ax handle, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire make a harness out of hay wire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. And...who, at planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty hour week by Tuesday noon. Then, pain'n from "tractor back", put in another seventy two hours.

So, God made a farmer!

God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop on mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor's place.

So, God made a farmer!

God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees, heave bails and yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink combed pullets...and who will stop his mower for an hour to mend the broken leg of a meadow lark.

So, God made a farmer!

It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight...and not cut corners. Somebody to seed and weed, feed and breed...and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk. Somebody to replenish the self feeder and then finish a hard days work with a five mile drive to church. Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who'd laugh and then sigh...and then respond with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life "doing what dad does".

So, God made a farmer!

Quotes I liked

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella Life) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 23:56:00 +0000

You are a child of God.

You are full of goodness and potential for anything.

Only limited by the stop signs you place in front of yourself.

Each time you put "I can't", "we'll", "maybe", or "but" then putting
stop sign canceling potential positive action.

I am not responsible for how another person chooses to act...

Nor am I responsible for the consequences of another person's actions.
(Doesn't count with raising a child.)

I love you enough to give you space to be yourself.

I love myself enough to give you space to be yourself and I love
myself not to take the blame or cover up if you mess up.

Building funds

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella Life) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 02:46:00 +0000

We went to church with Bonnie this past Sunday. It was a great experience to find out that they paid off the loan on the building extension. A neat fact of that is in December they needed $28,500 & that's what they received.

I've grown up hearing stories of how the Mormon people suffered to pay buildings off or build temples. Being at church on Sunday and knowing that we helped contribute gave me the opportunity to feel what the early saints felt. Sometimes the ownership is lost since buildings are paid off before built.

I liked that feeling.

Billy quote he likes

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella Life) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 02:33:00 +0000

If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride -and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.
Paul Bryant

Pink pig...

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella Life) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:24:00 +0000

I remember going on the pink pig in Atlanta with my family. We went once. However it was not at Macy's, i believe it was at a store called Riches.

My first project from Pinterest

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella Life) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 02:12:00 +0000

I created my first project. It looks good for first wreath. I have always loved wreath but never felt creative enough to make. Always had my mom help. This time it was all me.

Brasstown Craft Fair & Decorating Mtn Home

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 03:31:00 +0000

The first place gingerbread house at Brasstown. Then after a swim we had a wonderful lunch at our favorite pasta buffet with soup and salad. It was fun to sit at the fireplace afterwards too. The ladies went to the craft fair and the men sat and waited at the area where the fireplace was in the lobby. Sydney had a fun time speaking with the people that did the wooden bowls and walking sticks. She stood and watched then asked some great questions. When I asked her why she was so interested in the wood working, she said she felt like she was being a reporter. She asked how they got into making the bowls, what do they do with the wood chips, and how long does it take to make a bowl are some that I know she asked.

Syd asking questions

Decorating

This is Tiny Tim on the left. He is 42 years old. He is the first ornament they bought and Billy would play with it every year.

The ornament on the left Great Grandma G. Treadwell made and the one on the right is made by Grandma Bonnie Blitch.

This is another made by Great Grandma Treadwell and the one below shows her initials and that it was made in 1983.

Below we have Sydney and Grandma Bonnie at the mini tree. Sydney decorated this little tree. Then she untangled these little boxes of gifts to put below.

Florida Santa Stocking Holder that we found for $1.00 at a Thrift Shop in Hiawassee, GA on Shop Small Business Saturday.

The Christmas Tree is decorated in the mountains... Now we have one to get down for GamMommy Stroud and one for our Quincy Home.

OH, we had to play around with the decorated gift boxes that Sydney untangled before putting under the mini tree. See the beautiful gals decorating the Blitch Mountain House this weekend. (The men did help by getting all the Christmas stuff out of the storage area on Friday because Saturday they were watching the Thanksgiving College Football Games and didn't want to be bothered.)

Oops, I wish someone would have said that my hair was a bit messy.

Thanksgiving from Pinterest

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 01:30:00 +0000

We did two things that I pulled from Pinterest this year for Thanksgiving. A fruit turkey and a waffle cone and m&m cornucopia.

Photos on Turkey Day 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 01:15:00 +0000

We took time for a few pictures and with our simple click and shoot turned out great! I think this is one of the best pictures we have taken.

I was able to get Sydney to smile for one picture too.

Father and Son campout, Blitch Style

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 23:17:00 +0000

Last weekend, it was very cold outside and Conner wanted to watch a movie at home. So, Billy created a palette to lay on in front of the fire and we watched, "The Grinch" with Jim Carrey.

Good old wholesome fun! 11/16/2012

Sydney at her RAA Chamber Choir

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella Life) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:35:00 +0000

A wonderful evening of singing at RAA Middle School.

The really interesting part of us being able to attend this and Sydney to even being in the choir is...... This school year Sydney is taking band and high school level Spanish therefore she couldn't take chorus. If you aren't in chorus then you can't participate in outside of school chorus activities.... Sydney wanted to sing so badly that she begged Mrs. Prescott at the beginning of the year to allow her to be in the choir. I don't know how many times Sydney continued to ask but it must have been enough times because she sang.

Determination that makes me so proud of her. She wants to be Music Therapist so she is smart to do as much as she can with music singing and learning instruments. Then since we live in Florida it only makes sense to learn Spanish and learn it well. A talent to have as she wants to serve a mission.

Billy, Conner, Thomas, Beth, David and myself attended.

Have videos too...

Fall Colors

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella Life) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:57:00 +0000

I love the fall colors! It's kinda weird if ya think about it though... The leaves are dying and it's beautiful but in the spring the trees have a rebirth.

It's amazing to me how this earth works. I will give my praise and a grateful heart to a wonderful God and to his son.

Mother taught

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 16:35:00 +0000

Remember who you are and what you represent.

smoked meat... yummy

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 03:39:00 +0000

beginning

middle

end

yummy

2012 Election Day

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 01:51:00 +0000

On November 6th, I was up early helping monitor polls. Here are two pictures I was able to get taken at the end of the day. The most interesting part of my day was that the poll workers couldn't figure out what 100 feet was and I went and purchased a measuring tape so that I could help figure it out correctly. They had me across the street behind trees. When actually it was not even across the street, but I was nice and went across the street. It was so cold.

I liked both pictures so I posted both.

Greek Food Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 01:36:00 +0000

So fun! We went to the Annual Greek Food Festival... Yummy to my tummy. It think I enjoyed the most.  It really was great going all together. We just switched when we get the kids so instead of getting on Friday, it starts on Wednesday. Well, Sydney starts on Wednesday and maybe soon Conner can.  He came over Thursday because Daddy Ray was visiting.

Principal of the month... Guess who?

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 01:14:00 +0000

William Blitch, that's who.

Billy was the Principal of the month for October 2012.

Way to go! I am so proud of you! Billy works so hard for his students. He is at work by 6:30am to 3:00pm and then his day doesn't end there. He has parent's calling him in the evening about their child. Being a principal is hard work!

Look at that handsome happy man of mine.

Billy is Kiwanis President

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 01:05:00 +0000

Billy was elected President of the Quincy Kiwanis Club. We are all very proud of him and his community leadership. I got to have the opportunity to be there when he was installed.

To learn more about what Kiwanis does, visit the international web site at http://www.kiwanis.org/.

Want what...

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Don't wish for what you want. Don't wait for what you want. COMMAND WHAT YOU and watch it come to you like MAGIC!

Goals Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:22:00 +0000

"Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor." — Brian Tracy

Brian Johnson – 50 Things I Am Going to Do Today

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 18:14:00 +0000

Today, I listened the reading twice

Brian Johnson – 50 Things I Am Going to Do Today

1) Grow. We’re growing or dying, either stepping forward into growth or back into safety. Seize every moment as another opportunity to expand your soul.

2) Dream. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.

3) Floss. Do the little things to the best of your abilities. When you get in the habit of living at your potential with the mundane things, it becomes second nature to do the second stuff.

4) Breathe. Take a deep breath in, exhale.

5) Smile.

6) Sweat. Our bodies were made to move.

7) Shower.

8) Be nice. Wayne Dyer, Science of Kindness.

9) Be grateful. Think of three things that you are grateful for every day.

10) Drink water.

11) Take responsibility for your life (learned helplessness).

12) Meditate. Slow down, breathe, and quiet your mind for a moment or two or three.

13) Be here right now, the present moment.

14) Turn off the TV.

15) Open a book.

16) Learn out loud (audio books).

17) Pay your bills with a smile. Never let a dollar come in or go out of your hands without gratitude. Honor the exchange.

18) Get a journal and use it.

19) Ask yourself what you would do if you weren’t afraid –and then do it.

20) Ask yourself that question again and do it again and again. Do it ten times and you’ll be a different person. Do it every moment and you’ll be telling your story to the world. Ralph Waldo Emerson, “always do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain”.

21) Create a new habit. Ask yourself what is the one thing you know you should be doing that would most dramatically change your life, and then commit to creating that habit.

22) Become aware. When you’re aware you’re awake, not asleep. You’re not just going through the conditioned moments of your habitual life, you’re consciously creating it. Buddha – budh – one who is awake to reality.

23) Step forward. In any given moment you have two options, you can step forward into growth or you can step back into safety. Become aware of your behavior. Become aware of the decisions you’re making every moment of your life. Be conscience of who you are and the decisions you’re making, how you’re expressing yourself and what you’re actually doing. Your destiny is shaped by your moment-to-moment decisions so choose wisely and step forward.

24) Say yes.

25) Quit worrying about what other people think. There’s no way you can please everyone all the time. By worrying about what other people think of you and working hard to try to please them you’re losing the essence of who you are.

26) Listen.

27) Put the sock straight in the hamper. Wash the dish and put it away. Do the little things the way you know you should.

28) Push yourself. William James, “you have enormous untapped power you’ll probably never tap because most people never run far enough on their first wind to ever find their second”. The training effect – 1, overload your body with more stress than it can currently handle, enough so you’re out of your current comfort zone and 2, overcompensation, the body repairs itself so next time it’s stronger.

29) Move. Take action. Flow (river vs. pool of water). Don’t let the pond scum grow.

30) Be authentic (authentic means to be your own author). Be you. Don’t pretend to be anyone or anything else (read “The Way of the Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Milman).

31) Stop. What one thing do you know you should STOP doing? It’s not serving you anymore and it never did. Replace that old behavior with a positive one.

32) Act “as if”. Who do you want to be? Get that image. On a moment-to-moment basis act as if you already were that person.

33) Regain your balance. Put your arms straight out. Spin around five or six times to get off balance. Stop spinning, put your hands together like you’re praying and stare at your fingertips, then look all around you. When things get stressful you can look all around you to get perspective or focus on what you know to be true, what your intention in life is.

34) Go straight at your problems. Take them head on (read Pilgrim’s Progress). Problems kick your butt when you avoid them, don’t show your backside.

35) Serve. Give yourself to the world (read Man Search for Meaning by Victor Franco). “Don’t aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it; for success, like happiness, cannot be pursued, it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintentional side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself, or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself”.

36) Be the change (Gandhi).

37) Fill your water pot and hit the rock. Consistently train yourself to be your best. Buddha, “little by little a person becomes evil as a water pot is filled by drops of water, and little by little a person becomes good as a water pot is filled by drops of water”. The stone cutter hits a rock with a hammer, people say “wow, he’s strong” because he broke a huge rock with a single blow but they don’t know he’d been hammering a long time. No one is lucky enough to reach any level of excellence without an equally diligent and consistent effort. Hit the rock.

38) Be consistent. Focus on consistency not intensity. Aristotle, “we are what we repeatedly do”.

39) Be inconsistent. Be willing to change your mind. Ralph Waldo Emerson, “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”.

40) Embrace opposites.

41) Make your room your cave. Bedrooms are for sleeping and baby-making.

42) Support someone in the process of achieving greatness, anyone and everyone who has the courage to follow their dreams and try to make them a reality, including you.

43) Follow your bliss (not someone else’s or what you think it should be).

44) Use a dictionary. Write your new word down. Expand your mind.

45) Quit comparing yourself to others (you have to be either inferior or superior, and neither is a good basis for a loving relationship).

46) Brush your teeth. While you’re doing it, look yourself in the eyes and say “I love you”.

47) Squeeze the old Kiegle.

48) Stretch.

49) Quit milking the cow (eliminate dairy).

50) Say thank you. Go to bed with those words, wake up with them, and pop them in during the day.

Help Develop Others Talents

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 18:13:00 +0000

9 Characteristics of Emerging Leaders

Cultivating a high standard of ethics
Great leaders have high high high energy --- play hard, have fun! Sometimes have to change how do things. Have to get movement better, then better money.
Learn to work priorities --- do the hardest 1st, which Judy Gray taught me this. But it is easier said than done. Funny thing is that when you do you won't worry.
Got to have courage-- be able to jump in the water before testing. Sometimes will be off balance to get job done.
Working hard with dedication and commitment. Focus on what matters-- here's what paid to do is get leads. Got to get results. Don't worry about what others think of me. Care about getting job done. Be confident about who are as a person.
Getting goal oriented-- understand what goals are. People without goals work for someone that does have goals. Not placed to keep job same but to make it better. So next person who gets job has something to live up too.
Maintaining constant enthusiasm-- have to get game face on. Inspired enthusiasm get by way of going and where going to be, comes from within. Can't be beat up or tired in from of people lead. Enthusiasm also comes from accomplishing goal. ***Important: Bigger Goal, Bigger Vision, Gvies Enthusiams.*** FYI-- If don't have inspired contagious enthusiasm then what you do have is contagious... Ouch! What are we/I passing forward?
Staying Level Headed-- tough decision, stay calm to a point that everything is not emotional tone. Staying levelheaded decisions based on facts not emotions. Can't expect people to be like you, everyone is different.
Helping others to go-- help all people grow just help everyone.

Additionally...

Fix problems rather than talk about them. Look for solutions
Problems aren't stopping places but discussion points to move forward

Quote from "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl

noreply@blogger.com (Carmella S. Blitch) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:47:00 +0000

From the author's preface to the 1984 Edition
"Again and again I admonish my students both in America and Europe:
'Don't aim at success--the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it.'
For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself.
Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run--in the long run, I say--success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it." pp. 16-17. Here is where I found the summary of "Man's Search for Meaning".

I heard this quote today while listen in my Auto University... Downloaded from www.learnoutloud.com that came from the audio read of "50 Things To Do Today" by Brian Johnson. (summary on this coming up next)

As I work on being a better leader, this came to me as I have shared with my team that you have to focus on the right objective and if it is to just make sales and not caring about the people you serve then you will fail.