Love Is In the Air

Link up with Joyce over at From This Side of the Pond and answer her questions.

1. What's the last thing you did that someone else thought was super? 

I'm not sure . . . .but I think they thought it was super . . .I made a banner for our children’s ministry for their “Calm Before the Stork” sessions. 

I also made a power point today that I was pretty proud of . . .I doubt that Brian thought it was super but it was certainly ok!! 

2. The last thing you ate that tasted superb? 

We eat good food often . . . hmmmm . . .how about the first tag-a-long of the season???  I had one (four) of those this week and it they really did taste superb!

3. Supersensitive, superstitious, superwoman, superambitious, supercilious, supervisor, superficial...pick a super word from the list and tell us how it relates to your life in some way recently or currently. 

I guess supersensitive.  I’m not superstitious.  I’m certainly not superwoman.  I don’t feel superambitious right now (would love to take a nap!).  I’m not supercilious nor a supervisor.  I guess I’m superficial sometimes.

4. Do you love easily? If you're comfortable doing so, explain why you think that is. 

I love easily if I like the person.  I just wrote about love yesterday!

5. Valentine's Day lands on a Tuesday this year. Will you mark the day in some way? If you're celebrating with a dinner out somewhere will it be on Tuesday or will you celebrate over the weekend? 

We will have a houseful of  young professionals on Tuesday night -- we will be surrounded by much love!! – I need to make a fun Valentine dinner!!  Sometimes Mark makes fun dinner reservations and surprises me on a different date . . .we will see!

6. What's something you are loving right now? 

 I really love my job . . .and I love our sweet grandbaby . . .sorry not sorry for talking about her so much!   The guy with her is pretty special, too.  From this post, you might think that I love the strike out feature!!

photo by LoveBePhotography Christmas mini session

7 Write a three word (or less) phrase you'd like to see on a Valentine candy heart.  

You've won $1,000,000!!  Wouldn't that be fun if it happened and if it were real???  Yes, I would tithe on it -- wouldn't that be cool to put that check in the offering plate (while being totally secret about it!!)???  I would set up a college account for Emma.  I would probably put most of it in savings because I'm married to a . . .drumroll please . . . .CPA.  If I won it, I would have to spend a little!!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
I've been trying to write a little everyday - even if the writing is fun stuff like answering these questions.  It is actually harder that I anticipated -- could we add a couple of hours to each day, please?  Speaking of needing a few extra hours, I fell asleep in the recliner tonight while Mark was out in the garage working on his venison.  The cat was in my lap.  I must have moved into deep sleep because when he came through the door, the cat and I both screamed and jumped a few feet into the air.  Dadgum - time wasted - I could have been doing something else!!

Three Little Words

Three small but powerful words - I love you!  When was the last time you said "I love you" to anyone?  When was the last time someone said those words to you?  I've been thinking of all the times I say those words . . .including as I leave the house each morning and say to the cat, "Harvey - love you buddy - see you after work!" 

I say it to Mark and the kids every time we end a phone conversation.  I say those words to Mark at least once a day - in person - usually two or three times.  I say those three little words to this cute peanut as often as I can.  I'm pretty sure that I had whispered those words into her ear several times at this point!

I say those words "I love you" to my friends - and should say them even more often.  I find it interesting that I love so freely and can say those word easily.  But I only say them if I mean them.  I don't say those words to everyone yet Jesus told us to love one another . . .but I'm not always sure I do love everyone.  I should!  I know that.  The verse even starts with "a new command I give you" - a command to love one another as Jesus loves us.

In this month of hearts and flowers, whom do you love?  Do you say it freely and often?  Do you love just a chosen few?

Does it taste like Wendy's chili?

I know this is crazy but I have ALWAYS loved Wendy's chili.  I've thought about asking the local Wendy's if they would sell me a gallon so I could freeze it and always have it handy!  Instead I decided that we needed chili during the Super Bowl and that I was going to try to make chili that tastes like Wendy's chili.  I went online and read all the copycat Wendy's chili recipes and then struck out on my own.  Before I could make the chili (which is for us), I had to make 10 pounds of "make ahead mashed potatoes" for Tuesday night.  I'm going to be honest . . .after making that many potatoes, I was ready to S.T.O.P. cooking but I pushed on through and I'm glad I did!  Can you believe that comeback for the New England Patriots??  I know that is a random Super Bowl thought, but oh my goodness!  We struggled with whether to cheer for Atlanta because they are IN THE SOUTH or the Patriots.  Mark is not a huge pro football follower but he is a southern male.  He has always liked the Patriots.  My tie to the Patriots is that I actually went on a couple of dates with a former player -- it was a long time ago and for the life of me, I cannot remember his name.  The player was friends with Mel Sparkman (my friend) and he fixed us up - the guy even went to the company picnic with me!  Back to the chili . . .

Wendy's Chili by Lisa (and a million other recipes)

2.25 pounds of hamburger (I used ground round)

1 large onion, chopped semi-fine

1 large bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

Put the above ingredients in a large pot and cook until meat is no longer pink.  If using a fattier meal, drain well (there was nothing to drain)

Add 2 packages of Chili-O original mix (my daddy always used this brand!) and the following:

2 cans of kidney beans with liquid

2 cans pinto beans with liquid

3 cans petite diced tomatoes

1 can original rotel

1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce

1 can water

1 T. salt

1 t. black pepper

Bring to a boil; reduce heat; simmer for two hours

Enjoy!  Simple recipe - tastes good!  You can add hot sauce, sriracha sauce, chopped onion, cheese, saltine crackers, etc.  I actually enjoyed it as is.  I have the leftovers in small bowls and I will freeze some for later.

#Hunting Widow

Mark is away on a hunting trip with his twin brother, George.  They left Thursday after work and they will be home today.  I was thinking about blogging (I missed yesterday - so disappointed in my self of not meeting my goal of blogging every day for a month!!) and I thought of the old phrase "Hunting Widow" so I looked it up on trusty Google.  Urban Dictionary says, "hunting widow

A state of complete physical and emotional abandonment caused by the husband's preference to hunt animals in the wild for days on end instead of spending quality time with his wife at home."  I read that and laughed out loud.  The cat looked at me like "what is wrong with her?".

In May, Mark and I will celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary.  He was a hunter when I met him and is still a hunter.  He picked me up for a date in his car that smelled like skunk scent.  Of course, at the beginning I had no idea what that smell was - whew!  Thank goodness, we had been dating since July of that year and that was not a first date!!  He went on a three day hunting trip the weekend before Laura and Glenn were born . . .they were born on that Tuesday . . . immediately following his return . . .six weeks early!  He said I was punishing him because their birthday ALMOST always falls on the opening weekend of deer season.

Mark is happiest when he is either hunting or fishing.  The man likes to be outside.  He is miserable without some outside time.

I'm not one of those folks who gets all bent out of shape about being a "hunting widow."  I must admit that when the kids were little, it was tough.  Sometimes over the years it has been tough on my social life - having to turn down invitations to dinner, etc.  For the most part, I enjoy the time.  I watch as much HGTV as I can stand.  I read without feeling guilty!  I order pizza (he doesn't like pizza!).  I stay up late and sleep late and leave my pajamas on as long as I want (the pj's - sign of laziness in Mark's book!).

On Thursday night, I got a pedicure.  On Friday, I had lunch with friends and that night, I had dinner with this cutie and her parents.

On Saturday, I worked on my Sunday school lesson in a totally quiet house!  I made the rounds of Costco, Michaels, Walmart, and Walgreen's . . .and I ordered aforementioned (BIG WORD - DOUBLE POINTS!) pizza for dinner!  Now we are already to Sunday and I'm teaching Sunday School and serving communion and then he will be back.  AND I'll be really happy to see him!

This fellow - Harvey - has really missed Mark.  He is a rescue and loves attention.

I finally gave up and made a pallet on the island and allowed  him to sit with me.  I'm not a proponent of animals on tables/islands/stoves etc. but he has been so pitiful.  I was working on my Sunday School lesson again this morning and I had to play "worm" (Mark's name for the game) with him with one hand while working on the lesson with the other hand.

Being a #huntingwidow - not so bad!  Really!!  (p.s. - I know he got an 8 point buck and a hog and he got to eat soul food at a local restaurant . . he loves fried chicken and greens and grits.  He called yesterday and was a happy man!)

A FUN CRAFT AND . . . ALWAYS LEARNING SOMETHING NEW

I love learning a new skill!  I've always heard that if you aren't learning and growing . . .you are dying!  I sure don't want that to happen anytime soon so I think I'll keep learning.  Almost every week, I learn something new regarding my job or the workings of the UMC or about the Bible.  Those are all so very important and good but it is FUN when I learn a new craft.

I have a Silhouette Cameo.  It is my second silhouette machine - I wore my first machine out!  I love making banners and party decorations and maybe someday, I'll have time to scrapbook again.  Laura has a friend who owns a Cricut.  Laura called and said that her friend had decorated several shirts, etc. with cute designs so she asked if I would buy some iron-on vinyl to help her make a shirt for school.  So those of you who know me well .. .know that I immediately logged onto Amazon.com (one of my favorite places) and ordered some vinyl.

The vinyl came in this pack with these instructions.  I had never used vinyl before so I had no idea what "weed" (in this context) meant.  Once again, computer to the rescue.  I also love Google!  I found a blog and a couple of youtube instructional videos and went to work.

The name of the school is Ladonia so I used a fun font and typed the letters.  According to the above instructions, I needed to flip the design so that it would print correctly.

I enlarged the letters because we decided they weren't big enough and then I flipped the design.

I put the vinyl on a cutting mat (some instructions said you didn't have to use a mat but I have found that my machine works better with a mat).  Laura forgot to bring the shirt home with her so I sent her home with a piece of parchment paper (to lay over the letters when she was ironing them onto her shirt) and the letters in a zip top baggie.

We practiced on an old t-shirt (wouldn't this be cute on a onesie for Emma??).  My error has been corrected in this picture but I forgot a very important step.  After you iron on the letters, there is a thin film that you peel off.  I thought the letters seemed awfully stiff and they seemed to be just resting on top of the fabric.  Laura was quick to correct the situation.  (she also has better eyesight than I!!)

  Our test shirt worked.

Here is Laura's shirt ready to wear to school.  It turned out really cute!  I had to buy an entire packet of iron-on vinyl so I foresee several other projects!!

I don't want to ever be accused of being "too old to learn"!!  Have you learned any new skills lately?

Top Five Organization Skills . . .and a month of writing!!

I would love to blog every day.  It is probably NOT going to happen because I can’t make myself stay up late enough, or like today, get up extra early to write.

I found these writing prompts online and thought I might pick and choose a few to write about!

Day one -- What are my 5 best organization tips?

1.    Keep a list – without a list, my day runs willy nilly through 24 hours.  To keep myself organized, I use a steno notebook.  I make a list for every day with a list of tasks – some work oriented tasks, some personal tasks.  I usually start my list on the weekend for the next week and as the week goes along, I can add things . . .and if I have extra time on one day, I can do a task from another day.  I LOVE marking through the items as they are completed!

2.   Have a place for everything.  If you have more things than places to store them, start slowly donating these items to an organization that can use them (Salvation Army, Local Furniture bank).  I must admit that this is a difficult thing.  When we moved into this house 2.5 years ago, we donated about 12 pick up truck loads of stuff to the Salvation Army, the Community Furniture Bank, and to Habitat Restore.  I have had to re-purchase a few things -- NOT many -- but a few.  I try to clean out cabinets and closets about once a year.  I need to work on my kitchen cabinets soon!

3.  Sort your clothing in your closet by color and by type of clothing.  My shirts are not sorted like the rainbow (ROY G BIV) -- mine are blacks, reds, greens, blues, oranges, pinks, etc.  I have all my pants hanging together and all my dresses hanging together and all my skirts hanging together.  If I'm wearing separates, I can quickly grab a skirt or pants and a shirt or I can quickly sort through my dresses.  I highly recommend spending several hours (when you have it - ha! - was bored on the one snow day!) ironing everything in your closet.  It is so much easier to get ready in the mornings.  I need another ironing day SOON!

4.  Every night before I go to bed, I try to take five minutes and straighten up our main living space.  Our kitchen and family room are one big room.  If those two rooms are neat and tidy, I feel so much better.  We have a basket for Emma's toys if she is visiting.  We keep several blankets in the room because we keep our house cold.  I try to fold those and place them on the back of the sofa and chairs.  This isn't a true organization skill but it makes me "feel" more organized.  It is that thought of everything having a place.  This is MUCH easier now that we have an empty nest.  Even when our kids were at home, I designated a "back pack barn" which was under an end table by the sofa.  When they were finished with homework, the backpacks went in the backpack barn (all the way through high school!).

5.  What about attic and garage or basement storage?  My hubby is in charge of those spaces and we don't organize in the same manner BUT he shares his space with me which is nice!  We have a couple of shelving units in our garage where we store tools and Mark's fishing equipment and yard tools, etc.  We keep the crockpots (I have THREE and NEED three!) on the top shelf along with the electric skillet and the food processor.  I don't have enough storage space in our kitchen but these items "have a place."  Our attic is used for ALL sorts of storage.  We've been in this house for 2 1/2 years and this winter Mark had a brilliant idea.  He strung lights down the center beam.  We only had a couple of single light bulbs in the ceiling and it was so difficult to find items.  I have decorations for every season and a tub of Fiesta/Cinco de Mayo decorations and tubs with ribbons, etc.  The attic was a dark abyss.  Now with the lights, organization is SO much easier because we can actually find things.  Use spaces like attic and garage wisely.  Build shelves.  Add lights.  Buy freestanding shelves at Home Depot or Amazon.  You can easily organize and store all thing things that you don't  need on a daily basis.

I'm not an organization expert by any stretch of the imagination.  Right now, I need to organize my computer and put documents in folders.  I need to organize many other things BUT I try to tackle a little at a time.  I think that is the true key to organization -- tackle one project at a time!  I always feel so good when I finish an organization project and can find things!

What are your favorite organizations skills and tricks?

Wednesday HodgePodge

Today is Wednesday so it is time for HodgePodge and I've been trying to be on time . . .so join us!  Visit Joyce at From This Side of the Pond!

1. Can you believe it is the end of January?  What was the best day of January 2017 for you and why?

Where did January go?  Where did 2016 go?  Surely, we aren’t already a month into 2017.  We are, aren’t we?  Wow.  We had several good days in January – do I have to pick one?  My sister came to visit from Texas and stayed a week.  Those were good days!  We kept Emma overnight – that was a good day!  We’ve had dinner with friends – love them a lot so that was a good day!

2. What sounds make up the background noise in your life?

I work in a church office so there is almost always some kind of noise.  I love it when there is laughter around me (and that happens often!).  Sometimes there are tears.  My office is near our workroom so I often hear conversations and copiers and the postage machine and the folding machine (it sounds like a horse galloping – really!).  When I’m home alone, I actually enjoy total silence.  When Mark is there, he usually has the TV on.

workroom right next to my office - galloping - oops! "FOLDING" machine on that counter in the back!!

3. I read on the Power of Positivity website a list of ten things to drop from your life right now.

anger outbursts, people who put you down, regret, negative self talk, being a people pleaser, the notion you need to be perfect, the past (but keep the lessons learned!), gossip and judgment, comparing yourself to others, and the word hate (focus on what you love instead)

Which thing on the list do you most need to drop? Are you trying or will you try?

Dadgum – I need to drop most of these things!  Just like the first question, I can’t pick just one.  My angry outbursts are fewer and farther between now than when I was young.  I do have some people in my life who put me down.  I don’t have a lot of regrets but I do have a few.  I’m horrible with negative self-talk but I’ve been trying to re-frame in my head (as quickly as possible!!).  I am a people pleaser and I’m not sure I can change.  I’m a number 1 on the Ennegram (talked about that recently!) and just listen to this: “Ones - by attempting to create their own brand of perfection, they often create their own personal hell. Instead of agreeing with the statement in Genesis that God saw what He had created, “and it was good,” Ones intensely feel that “It wasn’t—there obviously have been some mistakes here!””  Ones also tend to be judgmental and I’ve been working on that one!  I do tend to LOVE much more than HATE so that is pretty good!!

4. What is sacred to you?

Goodness gracious – the word of God; my faith; my relationship with Jesus – I can’t imagine life without those things.   I also feel like my family and some of our friends are sacred to me – they are of utmost importance (not THE most important thing in my life but way up high on the list!)

5. January is National Oatmeal month.  Are you a fan, and if so, how do you like it?

I do like oatmeal in several forms.  I LOVE a good oatmeal cookie – throw in some coconut and some chocolate chips and some pecans – yuuuum!!  I also love a good bowl of oatmeal on a cold morning with some cinnamon and butter.  On Sunday afternoon, I actually did meal prep for lunches and some of our dinners this week.  I think I’m going to do some oatmeal jars soon.

6. What feelings does twilight stir up in you?

My very first thought was of Twilight, the series about the Vampires – I am terrified of vampires and can’t watch anything with them in it – I have horrible nightmares!!  This fact is so weird because I loved Dark Shadows when I was a teenager.  I’ll bet you weren’t asking about that kind of twilight, were you?  Twilight always has a feeling of peace – the day is coming to a close.  I love that time of day at the beach or at the lake.  I just googled “does dusk come before twilight” and the response is that “twilight comes between sunset and dusk!”

7. Something you’re looking forward to next month?

Time – time with family and time with friends . . .time for hobbies . . .more time.  We don’t have any big plans for the month of February.  Mark is going hunting this weekend.  We’ve been trying to plan a time to meet our friends from Nashville and it would be great if we could do that one weekend this month!!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I’ve been truly struggling lately.  I consider myself a moderate – politically.  I’m conservative in many economic areas and more liberal on social policies (I believe that God calls us to take care of each other).  These days EVERYONE is so divided.  I truly don’t remember a time in my life when our country has seemed so broken.  I’ve never enjoyed talking about politics but lately, I feel as if I say anything at all, someone is going to disagree. . . or tell me I am stupid – maybe not to my face, but behind my back.  (Reread my answers to question 3!!)  Households are divided; friends are divided.  It makes me sad.  For years, I’ve tried to follow Jesus . . .sometimes it is painful.  This seems to be one of those times because we can’t even agree on the Jesus stuff – some say “Jesus would do this” and others say “No way – Jesus would do that.” . . . . .and I found mouse poop on my desk today (needed something funny!!!). . .I should bring my cat to work . . .I had to clean with Lysol wipes!!

Harvey . . .with his pirate eye!