A Mess of Blessings

Rainy day reading

2015-04-25T17:20:00.000-05:00

Rainy days are the best kind of reading days....along with snowy days, and spring days....well any day is a good reading day. ;-)

Recently, along with everything else I've been reading, I have added a new genre to my repetoire... graphic novels/comics.

Batgirl volume 1 by Gail Simone is the first traditional comic -- with a superhero -- that I have read. I was quite surprised how much I enjoyed it. I'm going to have to watch for the second volume!

2015-04-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hockey Fan

2015-04-04T19:38:00.004-05:00

Third-year Rangers fan...

Memoriam

2014-07-13T15:36:00.000-05:00

As church began this morning, I glanced over at my mother. She was scribbling some numbers on her bulletin, I looked at her quizzically. She looked up and murmured "Dad would have been 92 today."

The brother got married a few weeks ago. It was a lovely celebration of love and family.

Both these poignant moments reminded me that memories are blessings. . .

Grampy assisting with our math homework during Thanksgiving break.
Picking strawberries (into our mouths) with the cousins.
Cardboard sledding.
After dinner conversation-not the content but the company.

Today I am thankful for the memories I have and the memories I'm making.

Tribute

2013-09-11T17:16:00.000-05:00

October

2012-10-06T18:49:00.003-05:00

Looking up my street.

Today's high was 46 degrees and it is supposed to get down to 26 degrees tonight.
I wore a sweater & a coat to work today (I could have easily worn gloves too.)
I've had my heat on for three days straight.
I'm getting ready to make some soup & tea for supper.

...winter is marching toward us!

You have established all the boundaries of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.
Psalm 74:17

Blessings of Weeks 4-6

2012-02-12T21:37:00.001-06:00

Wow, you let one week slip by and it turns into 3!

Here are my blessings:

The pursuit of knowledge at any age.
Family.
Friends.
Laughter.
The sun.
The stars.
The comfort of a reread book.
Tax refunds.
Technology.
Silence.
Weekends off.
Budgets.
Giving to others.
Change -- I know, I was surprised too.
Unexpected & rising to meet it.

Short Film

2012-01-29T23:27:00.001-06:00

Beautifully, bookish short film... (via Epbot)

Blessings of Week 3

2012-01-23T22:20:00.002-06:00

Second chances
Snow days
Kindness of acquaintances
Testimonies of faith

A little giggle ...

2012-01-16T10:00:00.000-06:00

Aww, what a sweet chunk of kitty-cat...

This is what the sweetie does while I'm vacuuming...

...peek-a-boo I see you...

Blessings of Week 2

2012-01-15T22:00:00.000-06:00

Income from an unexpected source.
The days are getting longer -- the sun shines just a little bit longer.
Lovely Bible Study with friends.
Warm, snuggly bed at night.
Homemade mashed potatoes...mmm.

Moment in time

2012-01-15T16:12:00.001-06:00

We finally have snow cover...hard to believe the beginning of this week started at 50 degrees...

Blessings of Week 1

2012-01-07T20:44:00.000-06:00

Accomplished most of my to-do list.
Woke up with a cat snuggled on my lap. :-)
The satisfaction of seeing girls accomplish goals they didn't realize they wanted to reach.
The peace of spending the day at home.
The challenge my job gives me.

New Year, New Outlook

2012-01-02T21:56:00.003-06:00

I haven't been here in a while. One of the reasons I started writing this blog in 2007 (that seems so long ago) was to have some accountability--both in my daily life and in my writing. I had set some goals for myself the first two years and I met them. Then I decided not to set a goal for my blogging and we can all see where that ended up. :-P

In past years, I have made New Year's Resolutions and have vowed to follow them. Some I did and some I didn't. Sometimes I think that my New Year's Resolutions are doomed to failure simply because they are called "New Year's Resolutions". This year I have decided to make lists. Lists have a slightly different connotation than "New Year's Resolution." Not so lofty sounding--more attainable. (Who knows maybe it is all just in my head.)

Anyway, here is my first list of things I would like to accomplish this year:

Post on this blog at least twice a week. I want to have a little flexibility with this because there are just some days that I have too much to do to prioritize a blog post. Saying that, I think 2 posts per week is very doable.
Keep to my budget. I just went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University in October through December and I want to incorporate his methods into my financial life. One of the biggest parts of that is spending within my means by using a budget.
Be more organized. This one is slightly more vague than the first two. One thing I want to do is spend some time on Sunday evenings planning out my week. Whether it is events, meals, to-dos, or whatever else, I want to have an overview of my week. Granted I can't predict everything that will come my way in any given week or at any given moment even; but I can have some idea what needs to be accomplished for my life to go just that much more smoothly.
Read. Hah. This one isn't that hard for me but this year I want to challenge myself a bit. I'm what I call a "for fun" reader which means I mostly read fiction with no real deep and thought provoking message. Not to say that the books I read don't cause me to think, just that they are not intended for that purpose. I also tend towards the romantic suspense genre.

This year I want to read at least one non-fiction (or biography) book a month -- or at least 12. I also want to read at least 6 books I wouldn't normally pick up off the shelf.
Learn something new. This year I want to learn something new. Whether it be a community Continuing Education class offered through the Community College, an online course via Universal Class from my library, or something I teach myself through books, magazines, or the internet.

There...I have my first list all set and ready to start work on. I have to say that I'm excited about this next year. I think I will be greatly blessed!

Owwwwl

2011-11-20T13:45:00.001-06:00

Feed Commentary

2011-08-29T14:15:00.000-05:00

I know all of you wanted to hear some snark today so here is a post that came through my feeds this morning.

Ha.

The utter ridiculousness of this application astounds me. Isn't this the equivalent of getting a Christmas card from your insurance company?

In other drool-worthy news: Do I have to be a celebrity to have a home library like these? I had particularly large drool puddles for Jimmy Stewart's, Julianne Moore's, & William Randolph Hearst's.

So much better

2011-07-08T21:24:00.000-05:00

So last weekend--when it was hotter than Hades--I turned on my a/c (just enough to take out the humidity and cool down a bit) and yanked up the last of the carpet in the house*.

If you have had the courage, fortitude and perseverance to read this blog from the beginning you may remember photos of the carpet that used to be in the house:

From the room known as the Pit (yet hoping to overcome this unfortunate moniker to become the office/guest room). The carpet in here was olive green with fluorescent green flowers--YUMMY!
From the entire rest of the house (less the kitchen & bathroom which were renovated just prior to me moving in and the basement which is entirely concrete). Here is the bedroom (sort of) & the living room. I couldn't find any photos of the dining room with carpet still in it--that room's was the first to go. It looked exactly like the living & bedroom carpet.

Tada!

Ignore the little brown splotches on the floor in the second photo. I have no idea what they are. They are not actually on the floor. I took this photo seconds after the first so I don't think it is the lens...

The junk, behind the chair and on the piano in the background, however is another story. That is actually there. Not an illusion despite my utmost desire for it to be. The stuff behind the chair is actually a disassembled futon waiting for a mattress. And the other stuff is waiting for me to clean out the Pit...again.

*This excludes the 4 foot by 4 foot patch in my entry/closet area that is currently being held down by a ton of books I have yet to process from the church library (literally...well, okay, almost a TON).

I'm so excited (and other stuff)

2011-07-01T12:19:00.000-05:00

I finally went and ordered and eReader. I had been waiting for one with everything I was looking for: reasonable price, eInk, long battery life, and touch screen. Then I had to make sure I wouldn't go in to debt purchasing it.

I ordered it last night and now I am spending an inordinately excessive amount of time checking the shipping status! :-P

I am also preparing for my first 4th of July picnic (x2!). I'm having some friends over in the afternoon and my parents in the evening. Grilling out...good food...good fellowship.

But lots of work.

Since it is currently the hottest day of the summer so far I have decided to spend the day inside in the a/c (I'm turning it off tomorrow night--after the heatwave!) and pulling up the last of the carpet in my house. Hopefully.

But that will be after lunch.

Finally... some good NEWS out of Iowa

2011-04-03T20:40:00.000-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110404/ap_on_re_us/us_eagle_cam

Baby, baby, baby

2011-03-30T17:16:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share this.

Stream videos at Ustream

The camera is set up in a neighboring town. I have been watching off and on for three weeks or so. There are three eggs under there and the momma & daddy rotate warming duties. The eggs are due to hatch any day now.

Inspired... ?

2011-01-30T20:32:00.000-06:00

This winter, my plan is to go through my entire house and PURGE. I want to toss, recycle, donate, and set aside for garage sale as much of my possessions as I possibly can.

There are a couple of reasons for this:

I'm attempting to simplify my life. The less stuff I have the less I have to clean , to put away, to store, etc.
I am trying to be more frugal. I heard somewhere that the less stuff you have (even just sitting around) the less you waste--money and time. Which makes sense--the more you have the more you have the more time and money you spend taking care of it.
I want to avoid becoming a dedicated packrat. This is one of the most difficult. I come from a line of packrats--my grampa, my dad--who tend to save any and everything. I tend to be a saver and I want to be saving only the most important things.

I'm sure I will think other reasons but those are the major ones. As I go through rooms I will be doing some deep cleaning. Cleaning is not one of my favorite chores. Needless to say, the house hasn't had a really good cleaning since I moved in. I have dusted, vacuumed, etc. but I want to wash walls and clean all the nooks and cranies that don't normally get cleaned.

I have been plotting and planning the last month or so. This is to say I have been procrastinating as much as I possibly could. I was inspired to start by a friend's post about all the things she did this week... and I have to admit I felt a little guilty that I had been lazing around and not getting down to business.

Anyway. Operation Depurate is underway.

To commemorate the first day I took some clean photos...I'm not to the point where I can force myself to post any BEFORE photos yet. But I started with my shower. I wanted to start with something a little easy so as to not overwhelm myself. I tossed a lot of extras that were just sitting around because I just hadn't gotten rid of them. Then I scrubbed everything clean. I am trying to use all natural cleaners. As I post this my shower curtain is on the spin cycle in the washing machine and as soon as I put it back up I will have completed step one of Operation Depurate.

They aren't the best photos but they capture the moment & the cleanliness.

Sweetness

2010-11-16T21:29:00.002-06:00

The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.

A post with a dinosaur

2010-10-19T23:41:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, October 6th I went out to NYC to visit the sister. Since she had to work, I amused myself on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday, I went to the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I got up and rode the train into the city with the sister and then she ditched me at Grand Central (j/k after giving me very detailed and accurate instructions, I would have to be extremely moronic to get lost) so she could go to work while I took the subway to Central Park west.

Nature
There is a delight in the hardy life of the open.
There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm.
The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased; and not impaired in value.
Conservation means development as much as it does protection.
~Theodore Roosevelt (Roosevelt Memorial rotunda)

While waiting for the museum to open, I sat on a bench on the grounds and people-watched while having some coffee & a scone.

The above photo is the statue of Theodore Roosevelt that stands at the entrance of the museum.

To the right is a photo of a mosquito 75 times it's actual size.

Manhood
A man's usefulness depends upon his living up to his ideals insofar as he can.
It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.
All daring and courage, all iron endurance of misfortune-make for a finer, nobler type of manhood.
Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life.
~ Theodore Roosevelt (Roosevelt Memorial rotunda)

This tree was started growing in 550 A.D. and was cut down in 1891. I can't remember where the tree was growing but I do know it was somewhere in the United States.

My favorite part of the museum was the animal dioramas. They were amazing!

And I couldn't leave without a photo of some dinosaur bones...

Youth

I want to see you game, boys, I want to see you brave and manly, and I also want to see you gentle and tender.
Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground.
Courage, hard work, self-mastery, and intelligent effort are all essential to successful life.
Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.
~Theodore Roosevelt (Roosevelt Memorial rotunda)

I was very impressed with Theodore Roosevelt. So impressed in fact that I purchased a biography on him at a bookstore on Friday.

Reading Woes

2010-09-24T23:01:00.000-05:00

Sadly, I have been doing poorly on my 100+ Challenge. Lately, I have barely had time to read during the day and fall asleep reading at night.

This falling asleep reading is baffling to me. I never used to do that. I could stay up till the wee hours reading without falling asleep...until recently. I am hoping this is a sign that I am tiring myself out with activity and not that I am getting too old.

I have a huge stack of library books on my table waiting to be read and a few books that I own that are gathering dust. I had planned to read New York: The Novel by Edward Rutherford before I went to visit the sister in October. That is not going to happen. I'll have to read it for the next time I visit.

Airplane travel provides ample opportunity to read; and as I am going to visit the sister the first week and the brother the last week of October I will have a couple of air travel days to crack a book open.

And now I am going to go try to finish my current read without falling asleep...

I'm baa-ack...

2010-09-18T21:33:00.000-05:00

I realize that my posts have been quite sporadic this summer. I can honestly say that I have had several posts written in my head but I simply never had the time to put them to blog.

I promised the sister that I would post more--I even committed myself to at least one post a week. So... here is this week's...

::crickets::

Kidding...just kidding.

Today was a very busy day for me. I woke up at 8 am. Blech. This is the earliest I have gotten up in a long while. But I did it for a good cause. Today was cleaning day in our new church building!

It wasn't all that long ago that our church family was doing this. Tomorrow is the last Sunday service in our current building. Monday is a the first official meeting in the new building--a special Women's Ministries meeting. And then next Sunday is the first Worship Service.

It is exciting and a little overwhelming.

Also today: new windows! I have all new windows in my house...they are beautiful too! I will post some photos soon.

Thankfully, I don't have to pay for the windows (I rent) because yesterday I spent a whole lot of money. I bought a brand new mattress and box spring. I have been saving for this purchase for a long time but I still cringe a bit when I spend so much money.

Until next week...