Carrie's Busy Nothings

Thankful For :: 751 - 760

2012-01-27T05:00:00.013-05:00

One year. That's a pretty big milestone for me. Why? I've been at my job for one year. In fact, although my official hire date was January 24, 2011, I was just looking at my calendar from last year and I noticed that my first non-training work day was January 27 - one year ago today. I never thought I'd make it. Last year at this time, I was driving home every day in tears - on my lunch break AND when I left work for the day. I knew I was never going to get it and taking the job was a mistake. For the first three months, I was counting down until I could quit (I'd given my word that I would work at least a year), and then suddenly, I wasn't counting anymore.

Did I suddenly like my job? Had I gotten a pay increase that made the job more appealing? Did I get new co-workers? No, no, and no. So what happened? I allowed God to change ME. I came crying (and whining) to the Lord about how I hated my job, I constantly made mistakes, it was too hard and I didn't have it all figured out like I thought I would. You know what I heard back? "You asked Me over and over again for a job, and now that you have one, you're complaining. You need to learn about humbleness, grace, forgiveness, and be reminded that you need Me to get through the day."

Okay, Lord...I'm listening.

Growing hurts - you must remember those growing pains you had as a kid, when it felt like your legs were going to burst. Spiritual growth, especially when you're not ready for it, is no different. I had a chip on my shoulder when I walked in the door one year ago - and God quickly knocked it off. I was driven to the Bible and to my knees as I cried out for Him to help me. I wrote about some of those times of growth, which you can read about in my Growing Pains, Amazing Grace, Rediscovering Lost Joy, Finding Hope, and Confident Dependence posts.

It wasn't fun (and some days, it still isn't), but it was necessary to get me out of the spiritual rut that I had dug for myself. As always, God knew what I needed long before I realized I needed it. Even when it hurts, may the growth never end!

If you're wondering what's next...I'm currently studying for a test that my boss strongly suggested that I take if I want to stick around for a while longer. I don't know that I want to stay at this job or even in this line of work, but since the company will pay ($$$) for me to take the test, I might as well give it a go. After all, it never hurts to add something else to your resume, right? So I'm studying (and freaking out over the math), and I'll be taking the test sometime in the near future. {YIKES} As for what the extended future holds...only the Lord knows. For now, I'm hanging on to the day job and looking into other options for the long-term, all the while, keeping 1 John 5:14 in mind.

This week I'm thankful for...

751. Surviving a year at my job

752. The personal and spiritual growth that I've experienced over the last year

753. An understanding, loving spouse who also told me to "deal with it" when that's what I needed to hear!

754. The opportunity to help us reach our financial goals

755. My co-workers, who have been patient beyond belief with my continual questions

756. Seeing ways that God can use me to encourage others

757. This really strange, unseasonably warm weather we've been having - where's the snow?

758. Getting our Psalm 1 canvas in the mail - we LOVE it!

759. Free Spicy Chicken Biscuits from Chick-fil-A

760. My retro-looking timer that helps me remain focused on the task at hand

What are YOU thankful for this week?

Little Bites {January Update}

2012-01-26T06:44:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe that the first month of 2012 is rapidly coming to an end. If January went by this fast, one can only imagine what the remainder of the year is going to do! Or perhaps I'm the only one who thought it flew by, in which case, hang in there, February is almost here.

If you need a reminder of what I chose as my Bite Sized goals for this month, I'll list them again to jog your memory. I wish that I could say that I had breezed through all of these goals and that they were now comfortably listed as good habits, but that isn't the case.

Here's the good news though - I'm getting better! I have settled into some habits (keeping the kitchen sink cleaned out, making the bed every morning, drinking more water, continuing to floss), I have been diligent about working in the office (major improvement - MAJOR), and I've gotten a slightly better handle on keeping the whole house picked up so surprise visits aren't heart attack inducing. Peter's happier with the state of the house as a whole, and he's thrilled that I've done more than simply talking about making changes - I'm actually changing. Imagine that.

Goal #1: Spend one hour a week working in the office

Result: To ensure that I didn't burn myself out or become overwhelmed, I stuck a timer to the side of our filing cabinet and set it to twenty minutes. For the first few days, when the timer dinged, I turned off all the lights and shut the door behind me. After a few twenty minute days, I realized I was building momentum, so I reset the timer and continued to work. One day I stayed for 2 hours, another day, 1.5 hours. The key, for me, was knowing that I could stop anytime I wanted to after the initial twenty minutes were up.

Want to see before and in-progress photos? For the record, the BEFORE photos were taken in November, before it got REALLY bad. When I started cleaning this month, both sides of the desk had stacks to the top of the printer, and the chairs had even more stuff on them. I'm not proud of that, just trying to paint an accurate picture since I didn't take a real one before I started cleaning (but I should have!).

Goal #2: Spend 10 minutes each day (minus the week-ends) brainstorming for a book
Result: One day - I did this one day. I admit that I am totally and completely pathetic when it comes to sitting down and trying to brainstorm a story. While reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (D. Miller), I got a slap-in-the-face reminder of why I need to make an effort to write something every day. In the passage that grabbed me, Miller is quoting another book, The War of Art (S. Pressfield):

"The [The War of Art] is about writing, about the process of getting words onto an empty page. Pressfield said a writer has to sit down every day and write, regardless of how he feels. He said you can sit around and wait for inspiration to come, but you'll never finish your book that way."

{OUCH} I'm leaving this one on the "To Do" list.

Goal #3: Dust one room a week
(bedrooms, living/dining, library/kitchen entry, office/basement)
Result: Half success/half failure. However, here's a little tidbit for you: As I mentioned yesterday, I stopped using paper towels and started using old, mateless socks. I dust a room or two with a sock on my hand, then throw it in the wash the next time I do a load of towels. It has been working like a charm and hopefully it will help us save money as well.

Goal #4: Vacuum one room a week
(same grouping as above)
Result: I've been vacuuming as needed instead of sticking to the schedule. While I'm not totally pleased, making an effort to do SOMETHING on a regular basis is better than what I was doing, which was crisis-management. This is an area that I'll continue to work on in the future.

Goal #5: Clean out five items a week
(donate, trash)
Result: SUCCESS! I ended up cleaning out way more than my goal of five items a week, and I now have a large pile of bags and boxes sitting by my back door. My next project is to sort the stuff that can be sold on Craigslist (or in a spring yard sale) from the items that can go straight to my favorite charity shop. I've been a purging fiend and it feels great to open a cabinet or closet and see only things that I know I use, wear, or love. Jules and Mr. Morris would be so proud.

How about YOU? Any Little Bites updates that YOU'D like to share?

I'll be back on February 1st with my goals for the month.

My {5}

2012-01-25T05:00:00.001-05:00

{1}

Lost Socks - you know the ones, those lonely singles that mysteriously lose their mate between the dirty clothes hamper and the clean clothes basket. They make the best dusting rags that fit right on your hand and save you from spending a fortune on paper towels. As you'll discover when I post my new financial review for the month, we're on a beans and rice mission, so I'm cutting corners wherever I can. But in all honesty, these actually work quite well as dusters!

{Source}

{2}
I'm a vacuum junkie. I set up house with a $3 yard-sale canister vacuum, and eventually owned three generations of the Roomba robotic vacuum, plus a Scooba, and I've even tried out a Dyson (what a disappointment - glad I didn't buy!). The canister vac, plus Roomba #1 and #2 were sold in yard sales, while Roomba #3 (affectionately known as "Geordie LaForge") sits forlornly in a corner of the kitchen, waiting for the day when his brushes will be cleaned from the glue trap that stuck to his underside. Let's not even talk about Scooba, okay? The point is, my go-to vacuum is an eight year old, Bosch Turbo Jet Upright - if you ever find one at a yard sale, snatch it up! I don't know why I ever spent money on anything else.

{Source}

{3}

Every so often a show comes along and grabs your attention. I got hooked on Psych a couple of years ago when I first found it on Hulu (before you had to pay to watch older episodes). I didn't know what Peter would think about it, but I requested a couple of seasons for Christmas this year, and he came through - albeit with one eyebrow raised. Let's just say that now we're both hooked and he wants to find the first two seasons for cheap. Wait for IT...

{4}
Is it strange that the follow-up to #3 (a TV show about a fake-psychic with a sense of humor) is a Bible verse? Hmm... Well, it is what it is. I just recently finish the book of 1 John, and while there are so many wonderful verses in Scripture, I was particularly struck by 1 John 5:14 & 21, "And we can be confident that He will listen to us whenever we ask Him for anything in line with His will. [...] Dear Children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts." Wow. Anything that might take God's place? The blog? Facebook? Funny TV shows? And what about praying for things, but specifically seeking to remain inside of His will rather than sticking to my plan? Lots to ponder...

{5}
Last week I shared a print from Red Letter Words, but this week, I'd just like you to read Dee's blog post about why she chose certain hymns and why Amazing Grace is her favorite. Oh, that I would be as bold as her friends were. If you like her hymn collection as much as I do, she's offering a chance to win a $155 store credit which is good towards the purchase of a Hymn or Folk Song canvas (giveaway ends 1/26).

{Source}

On My Nightstand...

2012-01-23T05:00:00.002-05:00

...you will find:

Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon
West with the Night by Beryl Markham

What are YOU reading this week?

{Re: Last weeks selections}

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story by Donald Miller
I'm about 3/4 of the way through this book at the moment, and though we had a rocky start, it has gotten better and I've been challenged by what I've read. The idea of creating a story, taking the skills and abilities that God has given you and doing something with them, rather than waiting for something to happen to you, has struck a chord. As a caveat, that there are Rob Bell-esque tones in here, but I have read this book much as I would any secular story - testing everything against the Truth of Scripture and using discernment.

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler by Tsh Oxenreider
I'm half-way through this book and already have been encouraged by some of the simple projects that make big impacts. For example, Project 12 - Clean Your Kitchen As You Cook. It seems like a no-brainer, right? However, we can all use a reminder now and then, and ever since I got mine in One Bite, I've made an effort to clean out the sink each night, keep up on unloading/loading the dishwasher, and making sure that the kitchen stays fairly clean as I cook. OH.THE.DIFFERENCE. it has made in attitude and the whole feel of the house. Although meant to be read over the course of a year, I just can't put this ebook down!

Thankful For :: 741 - 750

2012-01-20T05:00:00.001-05:00

While poking around on Jule's blog this week, I was struck by a passage that she shared in her weekly William Morris Project post. It's from a book called, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach, which I've never read and I'm not personally recommending, but three points from this particular passage struck a chord with me.

There are [...] six threads of abundant living which, when woven together, produce a tapestry of contentment [...] First, there is gratitude. When we do a mental and spiritual inventory of all that we have, we realize that we are very rich indeed. Gratitude gives way to simplicity–the desire to clear out, pare down, and realize the essentials of what we need to live truly well. Simplicity brings with it order, both internally and externally. A sense of order in our life brings us harmony. Harmony provides us with the inner peace we need to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us each day, and beauty opens us to joy.

Okay, so first things first. For the last 26+ years, my "inner peace" has not come from any actions I have taken, it has come (and will always come) from Jesus Christ - the Giver of Peace. So ignore the circular, inner peace mumbo-jumbo for a moment and let's focus on the three "threads" that I noticed (in bold).

Gratitude
When I first began counting my blessings and listing my thankfulness items on the blog back in August of 2010, I did so because I was becoming discontent with what we had, by always looking and talking and hoping for things that we didn't have or couldn't afford. I was unhappy with our financial situation, I was grumpy because no one would hire me, and I woke up one day and realized that I needed a serious attitude adjustment.

Simplicity
Now here's where the book passage started to make me sit up and take notice. As I thought back over the last year and a half, I realized that once I began counting my blessings and making a conscious effort to give thanks, my desire to simplify started growing. I had never put the two together, but it makes sense to me. By acknowledging the many things (physical items, circumstances, general gratitude for the seasons or my husband) that God has blessed me with, I no longer felt a need to hold on to stuff or find my contentment in the items that were taking over our home. In fact, shopping lost much of its appeal (something that has greatly benefited our bank account and our ever decreasing mortgage).

Order
Once the simplifying was started, my desire to make order out of the chaos began to grow as well. Although I felt a pull to order throughout 2011, it wasn't until I started thinking about my goals for 2012 that I realized that I was really sick of the piles, the missing bills, the un-filed paperwork, and I wanted it to end. I've always thought of it in terms of becoming organized, but I believe that the idea of bringing order to the house is a bit more accurate. We serve a God who does things in an orderly way. He created the universe, not through blind chaos, but with order, as seen in Genesis 1:1-4 (NLT): "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface. Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. And God saw that it was good. Then He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light 'day' and the darkness 'night'. Together these made up one day."

{And the point of all this would be...}

Counting your blessings can turn into bringing simplicity and order to your home and content to your heart. The End.

This week I'm thankful for...

741. A God of Order

742. Seeing the top of our desks

743. Clean sinks

744. Heating pads to help handle my sciatica flare-ups

745. Lemongrass and Ginger tea

746. Getting an idea, writing a blog post, then finding similar posts from fellow bloggers = extra encouragement

747. Airplanes (Sorry, I just had to - it was #747 - get it? Aviation nerd alert...)

748. Developing good habits

749. My snowflake tote bag from L.L.Bean - full of books to read

750. Online sales, unexpected money, and a reminder of our wedding chapter from 11 years and 7 months ago

{Source}

What are YOU thankful for this week?

My {5}

2012-01-19T05:00:00.004-05:00

{1}

Have you tried the Target Up & Up brand of the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser? It produces results which are nigh on miraculous with very little elbow grease needed. LOVE it!

{Source}

{2}

While walking around Lowe's the other day, we came across a dust covered ceiling fan blade universal vacuum attachment. Since we had a gift card and the attachment was only $9.99 at our store, we got it. Best.Invention.Ever. Better still? Peter offered to clean the blades for me since he's taller. DOUBLE LOVE!!

{Source}

{3}

Also spotted at Lowe's, this nontraditional ceiling fan which caused me to immediately think of a couple of rooms where I would love to try it out. I'm not a huge fan (no pun intended) of the Harbor Breeze brand (I'm a Hunter girl), but I do love the look of this!

{Source}

{4}
It's never too early to start your Christmas Wish List, right? As soon as I saw that Dee (Red Letter Words) had come out with hymns on canvas, I added this one to the list. Great Is Thy Faithfulness is one of my all-time favorite hymns, and one that I usually can't make it through without crying (for various reasons). What a beautiful reminder that all I have, the Lord has provided!

{Source}

{5}
A Fresh Market just recently opened near us, and the whole store makes me drool. However, while I do enjoy a trip to The Fresh Market, what is making #5 on my list is the Mrs. Meyer's Dish Soap in Lavender that I picked up while I was there. It makes doing dishes...better.

{Source}

There's my five - what's bringing a smile to YOUR face this week?

Becoming Intentional

2012-01-18T05:00:00.003-05:00

I've previously discussed how we are working towards becoming Purposeful (as individuals, as a couple, and as Believers) in creating goals, and how staying Focused will help us reach those long (and short)-term goals. This week I'm offering up a third word for 2012: Intentional. Is there a goal-penalty for double-usage of a word? I apparently have a bad memory, because I just realized that I selected Intentional as our word of 2010 (after-the-fact) - guess it's a good goal to continue working towards, eh?

While there is very little difference between Purposeful and Intentional (in fact, one is the synonym of the other), there is a slight difference in how I view them. When Peter and I decided that we needed to create a Statement of Purpose, the idea was of an overarching goal, a filter through which we sent every major decision to see if it supported and furthered that purpose, or if it was merely a distraction. Once we created a purpose as a filter, we could focus on the goals that made it through and start planning how to make those goals a reality without becoming distracted.

Now that the plans are in place (with some wiggle room for those unexpected curve balls that life likes to throw), we're working towards becoming Intentional about making those plans happen. We are making intentional choices about how we use our resources (time and money), creating deadlines to give ourselves a time frame in which to work, and taking action instead of simply making another list or talking about what we should do.

Let's take the Project House as an example. Instead of saying, "Finish the PH in 2012" (too general), we need to select a deadline (rent-ready by the August races), make a comprehensive list of everything that needs to be done, and then break it down in to monthly bite-sized goals that we can intentionally work towards. Giving ourselves a deadline forces us to figure out the $-amount needed each month to complete the job (focus on finances), and then prioritize the work (1-New Roof, 2-New Windows, 3-Insulation, etc.), which will give us a concrete plan of attack. If the roof comes first, then we start getting estimates. Once we have an estimate, we have a financial goal to work towards, and each step builds upon the previous one.

I honestly don't know if we'll make the August deadline, but if we have nothing to aim for, then I have a feeling that we'll still be talking about how we need to work on the PH in January 2013. After all, if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time, right? Just one more reason to make:

Intentional

our 3rd Word of 2012

Purposeful

Focused

Intentional

What are you working on in 2012?

Thinking Ahead {2012} :: The Garden

2012-01-17T05:00:00.003-05:00

Once or twice a year, you'll here the following conversation occur between the hubby and me:

C: I don't know why I give in and do a garden.
P: You said that last year.
C: I know. Why didn't you stop me?
P: {snort} Yeah, right. I told you that you this would happen.
C: Well, it's just not worth it for the time and money it costs. I'd rather go to a farmers market.
P: Uh huh. {verbal pat on the head}
C: I'm not doing a garden next year. I'm so done. Remind me of that when I talk about it next year.
P: Right.

And then January rolls around, and the seed catalogues start arriving in my mailbox and this year, Pinterest ideas have joined in the fray. I see ideas like these...

{Source & Source}

Or this...

{Source}

...and all memory of those yearly conversations fly out the window. I must grow something. Perhaps I will grow Brussels sprouts, eggplant, or hot chili peppers - things that I've learned to eat and enjoy over the last year. I'm confident that Peter will roll his eyes and ask me why I do this to myself every year, and I'm also sure that at some point during the growing season I will look at him and ask him why I felt compelled to try a garden again, and so the cycle will continue.

However, since I know it's inevitable, I'm trying to make a plan that will keep things as simple as possible. Realistically, I know that I will never be Martha Stewart's grounds crew (because, let's be honest, Martha isn't out there pulling every weed), but since I enjoy the taste of homegrown produce, I feel there must be a way to garden and enjoy it. The things I know for sure are:

A) I hate weeding, therefore, I don't do it

B) I forget to water unless the plants are dying before my eyes

C) I'm still using produce from the 2009 garden, so there's no reason to plant 30 tomato plants

In order to set some reasonable gardening goals for 2012, I took some time to think back about what I have enjoyed from my past gardening experiences (growing in containers), what I know I don't want to grow again (broccoli), and what I'd like to attempt new this year (sprouts and cilantro). What I came up with was a gardening wish list...

1) Look for plants that were specifically bred for container gardening (including eggplant and green beans)

2) Diversify my plants - I have plenty of containers, but I don't need to fill them all with tomatoes

3) Make a plan for the best way to use the deck as a growing space

4) Find a way to grow strawberries like the photo from Pinterest

{Source}

And that's, that. Much like the infamous pasta machine, I now know what I will and what I won't do with a garden, so it's better to keep my gardening dreams small. While others are digging around their acres of land, I'll be happily content to sit on my back deck with my containers of growing things and enjoy the view. If, however, you'd like to see some of my bigger garden dreams, feel free to check out my Pinterest Backyard Garden board...

But what about you? Are you a gardener? Do you enjoy getting your hands dirty, or are you like me - looking for minimal effort that will produce a few small victories? Do you have any January-dreams that will turn into summertime gardens? If you'd like to see what's growing around the world, Tiffany provides a weekly garden link up and shares what's growing at her German homestead - always lots of fun!

On My Nightstand...

2012-01-16T05:00:00.002-05:00

...you will find:

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story by Donald Miller
One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler by Tsh Oxenreider

What are YOU reading this week?

{Re: Last weeks selections}

In the Company of Others: A Father Tim Novel by Jan Karon
There's a quote by Karon on the back of my book which says, "Of all the novels I've written, In the Company of Others is my personal favorite, my dark-haired child." After working my way through the same book, I can't imagine why this is her favorite. If you loved the Mitford series (as I did), I think you might be slightly disappointed in this story. Too many characters and story lines and I honestly couldn't keep the names straight (i.e. who was "Balfour"?). Compared to Mitford, I thought it felt disjointed, and although it turned around towards the end, it would never become a re-read for me.
If you've read this book and agree or disagree, please tell me what you thought and why!

Who Made God?: And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough Questions of Faith edited by Zacharias/Geisler
Finished. Finally. I purchased this book back in 2010 and started reading it the same year. I can sum up the book in five words: It Made Me Feel Dumb. I re-read passages, straining to understand, but most of the ideas being discussed went right over my head. If you're looking for a book to give to someone (not in academia) who is questioning Christianity vs. all other religions, this is not the book to give. While I love listening to Zacharias, and I've heard Geisler lecture, the majority of authors who contributed to this book appear to have a hard time communicating to people who might not have studied apologetics their whole life. My goal is to read more apologetic books this year so they won't go over my head, but I was still sadly disappointed in this one.
Have you read it? Did you understand it?

Thankful For :: 731 - 740

2012-01-13T05:00:00.001-05:00

This week has been good. Difficult in some ways, but what weeks aren't? I've faced several issues that had to be dealt with, like my apparent need to spend excessive amounts of time online (blogs, Pinterest, Facebook, but-not-so-much Twitter or GoodReads), or the reasons behind why I apparently have no interest in filing paperwork for a year. On the positive side, while I still don't enjoy my day job, I have decided that if I'm going to stay there for a while longer, I need to change my attitude. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of work, I need to look for the positive and find joy in the small parts of the job that I do enjoy. One person in a foul mood can set the tone at work for the day, and I would much rather be the person who can help create a positive tone, rather than be Complaining Carrie. Wouldn't you?

This week I'm thankful for...

731. A second chance to do something that should have been done when I first felt the prodding of the Holy Spirit

732. Fruitful quiet times with the Lord and His Word

733. Conviction and personal growth

734. Being married to a man who isn't afraid to point out my areas of weakness that I would rather ignore

735. Catching the fraud on our debit card shortly after it occurred

736. That we use a bank who dealt with the fraud quickly and painlessly

737. A week of Peruvian leftovers

738. Seeing progress in developing good habits

739. It's made the list so many times before, but I just love rainy days!

740. A perspective adjustment (read this)

{Source}

The Book Nook {January}

2012-01-12T08:39:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned earlier this month, I have a stack of books on my 2012 "To Read" list, and more than a few of them are already sitting next to the bed, waiting for their turn. I've got several in progress at the moment, and have been carving out reading time each day (by cutting back on Internet stuff), which means that at twelve days into the new year, I can say, so far, so good.

This is also the first month of the 2012 Booking It year*, and Jessica's selection for January, One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler by Tsh Oxenreider, intrigued me. While it looked interesting, I honestly had no intention of buying the book. What can I say? I'm cheap and I don't enjoy reading ebooks. However, after seeing several positive reviews (including Anne's), I decided it might be worth the $5 for an instant download to my Kindle for PC reader. Although in the past I have not enjoyed reading on the laptop, I have to admit that I am sucked in by One Bite at at Time.

The chapters in One Bite are short, and it's easy to read one or two of them if you only have a few minutes. Each chapter ends with easy-to-implement plans on how you can break down larger goals into smaller bites (much like my Little Bites posts) that will help you turn chores into daily habits. I particularly enjoyed her chapters on creating morning and evening routines, as well as writing out a family purpose statement (a great follow-up on what we're working towards).

While most of what she writes is common sense, and about half of the book is already available for free on her blog, I still found that it helps to have a little extra written encouragement to give you the jump start you need to start taking action. I read a couple of chapters each day, and it has already been helpful to me as I work on developing my time management and organizational skills.

In the end, what I got out of One Bite at a Time were ideas for small changes that can make a big impact. As someone who can be easily overwhelmed by the big picture, the whole idea of breaking it down into do-able steps is an idea that appeals to me. It's also something that I've clearly been thinking (and blogging) about, so Tsh's book arrived at the perfect time for me as I attempt to form some helpful daily habits. In my humble opinion, it's well worth the $5 to download One Bite, and it's certainly worth your time to read it if you struggle at all with staying on top of things, be it finances, meal planning, or that home office-turned-disaster-area.

*If you want to read more reviews of One Bite, or link up to the first Booking It post, today is the day, so head on over to Life as MOM and see what everyone is talking about!

Would You Like Some Focus With That?

2012-01-11T05:00:00.004-05:00

Last week I wrote about our goal (and 2012 Word #1) of being more Purposeful. We're still works in progress, but after I wrote that post I stumbled upon a wonderful talk by one of our favorite apologists, Michael Ramsden (a member of the RZIM team). If you have one hour and two minutes and you're interested in growing in your faith, I highly recommend that you check out Michel's talk on YouTube. We were convicted and encouraged and it was the perfect follow-up to our 2012 desire to be more Purposeful, especially in the area of sharing our faith.

But enough about last week, it's on to Word #2: FOCUSED. How ironic is it that I rabbit trailed on my post on developing focus? But that's not exactly the kind of focus I'm talking about anyway. Yes, I might have slight tendencies to become easily distracted (especially when I should be doing something I don't want to do - like cleaning), but the kind of focus that we're aiming for this year is the Long-Term-Life-Goals type. Deciding on a course (or courses) of action, and staying focused on the tasks that will help us accomplish those goals.

For example, one of our long-term goals is to be self-employed as landlords. To break that down into a smaller bite, one of our goals for 2012 is to finally complete the Project House that we purchased in November of 2010, making it our first rental property. It's super easy to loose focus when a temporarily better-sounding offer comes along, or when well-meaning folks tell us that we shouldn't always put off immediate enjoyment for a long-term goal, but this is where our FOCUS, as a couple, comes into play.

The fact of the matter is, we don't love our current jobs, and we don't want to be sitting in the same situation ten years from now, wondering where the years went and how we could have been so thoughtless with our time and resources. What we do know is that we enjoy working together, we have a knack for home renovation, and we'd like to create an environment that would allow us the freedom to travel and work on other projects. That means that if we want to be in that position in ten years, we have to maintain our focus and keep those long-term goals in mind so we don't get distracted along the way.

{Source}

However, you don't have to have some super-huge project or a massive life goal in order to work on maintaining focus. If our larger goal is to become landlords, then we're going to need a working home office that is organized and tidy, which means that I have to start focusing (Little Bites) on making that happen. Remember earlier, when I said that I get easily distracted when I need to be working on a project or chore that I really don't want to do? I was specifically talking about the office. For the last year (no joke), I have walked through the office door, placed paperwork on the desk and chairs, and walked out. If I purchase a gift, it finds a (not-so) temporary home on the office floor. As of right now, there is a tiny path from the door to the desk (where the computers used to sit), and you can't even reach the storage closet for all the stuff on the floor. It's bad.

However, one of the reasons that I chose FOCUS as a theme word this year is because I know it's an area where I struggle. When I shared about my Little Bites plan back in December, I mentioned that in order to turn a chore into a habit, I had to practice, which required building some discipline muscles. I know that I am weak in the area of filing and office organization, so one of my bite-sized goals is to finally clean out and organize the office, coming up with a filing system that is easy to use and deciding what needs to be kept and what can be shredded, tossed, given away or sold.

To help maintain my focus while working in the office, I've stuck a timer (actually a Christmas gift from my sister) to the side of our filing cabinet. Five days a week, I set the timer for 20 minutes and get busy. I shred, file, staple, toss, and groan, but it helps to know there's an end in sight, and when the timer dings, I turn off the lights and close the door. And while I'm in the office, I'm reminded over and over again of why, once the mess is cleaned up, I will never let it get this way again. When faced with total clutter and my own little at-home version of Hoarders, I am thankful that I chose:

FOCUS

as my 2012 Word #2

Do you have areas where you are weak? How do you maintain focus when you're working on or towards a goal? Have you chosen words to sum up what you're working on this year?

Lessons from the Pasta Machine

2012-01-10T05:00:00.003-05:00

I was a freshman in college, newly engaged and browsing around a Williams-Sonoma store in Burlington, Massachusetts when I rounded a corner and fell in love. Everything, including Peter (who was with me), faded away into the background as I stared at the shiny chrome body, the wooden handle, and the "Imported from Italy" sticker. I immediately had visions of us working together to churn out the finest homemade pasta ever made. Despite the $49.95 price tag, I knew that it was destiny and we were meant to be together. I glanced at Peter, who had the same starry-eyed look, and together we carried the Italian Pasta Machine to the counter to check out.

{Thirteen Years Later...}

I'm in full-fledged purge mode. I've already collected over ten bags and boxes of stuff to donate, trash, or sell, and I've worked my way into the kitchen. As I opened the upper cabinet, my eyes went directly to a little square box on the top shelf. I felt a knot begin to develop in my stomach and the flashbacks started. Four moves and multiple yard sales and this little box had survived them all. I climbed up on the counter top (the only way to reach the highest shelf) and pulled the box down. There it set, never opened, paperwork still intact...I swear it was laughing at me.

{Source}

It knew, you know. It recognized me for the sucker I was and it begged me to take it home, knowing I would never, ever make pasta from scratch. Even when we were in a tiny African village that had just received electricity less than a year earlier, I was able to find pasta for sale at the local food shack. Although my gourmet cooking skills are in the improvement phase, I am well enough acquainted with myself at this point to recognize that no matter how much I grow to enjoy cooking, I will not add "homemade pasta" to the list of things I want to do.

What I understand at thirty that my seventeen-year-old self would never realize, is that I was in love with the idea of homemade pasta. The images of an Italian kitchen, pots boiling, noodles being churned out, racks of drying pasta - those were the things that my younger self was seeing in my future. My older and wiser self sees the stacks of dirty dishes, the annoyance when it doesn't work, and reality of the fact that my time is better spent doing things besides making my own ravioli.

{The Take-Home Lesson}

Before you slap down $50 on a kitchen gadget (or anything else), ask yourself if you have been getting along just fine without it.* I recently read a humorous post about a jalapeno corer over at one of my new favorite places to ~~waste~~ spend time online: The Unclutterer. The pasta machine was my jalapeno corer, only larger. It was beautiful and shiny, but in the end, it did nothing more than take up cabinet space and collect dust. As of last week, it was sold through Amazon and is now working it's way to the frozen tundra of Alaska to some woman who, I hope, will actually use it.

As for me? After paying for shipping to our 49th state, and losing a bit to the Amazon commission, I ended up shelling out $6 for the privilege of knowing that I once owned a pasta machine from Italy. I'd say that's a small price to pay for a big life lesson regarding pretty much anything I look at in a store: I have to have it. No, no I don't. I have had it, I have stored it, I have donated and trashed and sold it. I have experienced regret over the resources that have been frittered away on items of "necessity" that were forgotten about a few hours or days after they were purchased.

Selling the pasta machine on Amazon was a refreshing restart for me. It felt freeing to let go of something that I had to have, then I had to store, and then I felt guilty about getting rid of for so many years because "I paid good money for it". Shipping that little box opened up the floodgates of purging as I fully embraced the William Morris principle** (brilliant idea, Jules!) and viewed everything with a critical eye. Do I use it? Do I love it? Does it serve a purpose? So far, 2012 is off to a strong start.

What is YOUR pasta machine story?

* If you'd like to read more about giving yourself time to reconsider a purchase, I recommend checking out Trent's posts on The 10 Second Rule (I've been doing this since our financial regrouping in July), and The 30 Day Rule (we've done this for about 3 years, and it does help quell those impulse purchases).

** Want to learn more about the William Morris Project that Jules is hosting each week? A good starting point is this weeks post, How to Organize the Family Medicine Cabinet.

On My Nightstand...

2012-01-09T15:42:00.000-05:00

...you will find:

In the Company of Others: A Father Tim Novel by Jan Karon

Who Made God?: And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough Questions of Faith edited by Ravi Zacharias and Norman Geisler

What are YOU reading this week?

Thankful For :: 721 - 730

2012-01-06T05:00:00.001-05:00

Well, how was your first week back to reality from the holidays? Rough? Easy? Missed your job? Wish vacation had never ended? I had a relatively easy work schedule (only working two days before Christmas and two days before New Years with six days off in between), and Peter's schedule was similar, so we enjoyed a lot of downtime together. Which was great. And was something that we needed.

But now it's back to the ol' daily grind. I received a slight attitude adjustment for Christmas (and it was just my size too!), so I'm focusing on finding the positive in this job that I've decided to hang on to for a few months yet. I had originally planned on working for a year (coming up on the 24th of this month - not sure how that happened!), and I had even begun the task of looking for a new job, but after talking about it some more with Peter, we decided I should at least stay through the spring. And take the test which is required for my job. YIKES! Have I mentioned that I am not a good test taker? And this test has math on it. You can start praying for me...NOW.

In the meantime, I continue to count my blessings and focus on the many daily gifts that I experience. Sight, taste, good health, food to eat, a warm bed, heat (even though we do keep the house at a chilly 60-degrees), a closet full of clothes...you get the idea.

This week I'm thankful for...

721. A Monday morning phone call that allowed me to skip work on Peter's last day off

722. God-given patience in stressful situations

723. Snow

724. Good tires on both cars

725. Free Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuits

726. Selling the pasta machine

727. Lessons learned from the pasta machine (sounds like a blog post to me!)

728. Our new-to-us duvet (LOVE!)

729. Seeing progress on my goals for the new year

730. That tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it...yet

{Source}

Finding Purpose

2012-01-05T08:19:00.000-05:00

Just before Christmas, Peter called me up and told me to listen to Ravi Zacharias's talk, The Problem of Pleasure (Pt. 1 and Pt. 2). I got busy with other stuff and forgot all about the recommendation, but he kept bugging me about it until I finally downloaded the talk on New Years Day. Let me tell you, listening to Ravi Zacharias on January 1st and being convicted about a lack of purpose is certainly motivation for goal setting!

{Once Upon a Time, in a ~~Galaxy~~ Land Far, Far Away...}

I'll never forget the day that we were sitting in a hot living room of a second floor apartment in the middle of Mozambique, and the subject of Purpose came up. We pondered this idea and discussed what our purpose was on this earth and how God expected us to use our lives and what He wanted us to work towards. We came up with our very own Statement of Purpose, typed it up in a Word document, and promptly forgot about it. Why? I don't think it fit either one of us. It didn't then, it doesn't now.

{Source}

In his talks about the Problem of Pleasure, Ravi shared a quote from Susanna Wesley (mother of John and Charles) which struck a chord with me:

“Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of the body over the mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may seem in itself.”

I think it's so easy to get caught up in the things of this world, the business of living, the "need" for relaxation and rejuvenation, that we, as Christians, can fall into the trap of becoming more like the world instead of more like our Father. It's not that any one of these things is evil in and of itself, but when we have no goal or purpose to work towards, nothing to use as a measuring device against which we hold up all plans and goals, it is easy to be swept up in the little things and busy-ness of each passing year.

As Huxley wrote in Brave New World and Postman followed up on in Amusing Ourselves to Death (one of my favorite books), we are in danger of being overtaken by the need for pleasure while becoming indifferent to the changes in society, government, and the needs of the world. We become inward-focused instead of outward-focused. We dwell on the here and now and how it affects us instead of creating a Life Purpose and focusing on what matters for Eternity.

Clearly, Ravi says it better than I can (and I highly encourage you to listen to his talk on this subject), but I hope you understand what I'm attempting to say. As a couple, we have gone through several major life changes in the last five years. Although we've accomplished a lot (started a business, purchased a rental property, published a book), there have been many times that we have come up with an idea and forged ahead without filtering it through any sort of overarching purpose.

{The Moral of the Story...}

We don't want to float aimlessly through life, so to help with that, we're working on coming up with a Purpose (or Life Goal, if you will) for us a a couple. We need something that we can look at when an opportunity comes along or an idea strikes and ask, "Does this fit with our Purpose? Or is it merely a distraction, a detour that will take our focus off of the long-term goal?" If the answer is, "Yes, this will help us reach our end goal", then we press forward. If the answer is, "It's a good thing - for someone else - but it doesn't fit our Purpose", then it's a whole lot easier to say, "NO" and walk away.

Already, we've been forming tiny goals as filters and have been given the opportunity to use them. As a recent example: a short time ago we were given an opportunity to travel to a location that we've been talking about going to for several years. We were swept up in the moment and when asked if we would seriously be interested, we said, "yes" without giving it too much thought. Some monetary figures were thrown around, but we knew it was several months down the road and we decided we'd have the resources to do it.

After we were home, we looked at one another and said, "Isn't that a lot of money to spend when we still have a house to pay off? Didn't we say that a big trip would be a reward to ourselves once the mortgage was gone? And wouldn't the money we'd be spending on this trip be better used towards paying down the principle?" Because of the goal we had set, we had a reason to reconsider our decision and a reason to say "It sounds wonderful, but we can't go at this time." Yes, it would have been a fun trip, but because we have set a larger, long-term goal for ourselves, it's easier to give up the momentary pleasures for the satisfaction we will have in the end.

2012 Word #1:

PURPOSEFUL

What about you? Do you have a major life goal or a Purpose that you view every decision through? As a Believer, do you keep the Eternal impact in focus when making a choice or do you squish it in when it's convenient? I know I've been guilty of that.

The Book Nook

2012-01-03T05:00:00.002-05:00

For the last two years I have taken part in Jessica's Booking It program. Perhaps "program" isn't the right word - that takes me back to my Booking It days at Pizza Hut. The point is, I participated with Jessica and a few other lovely fellow readers in choosing books to read and review each month and then sharing it with everyone. It was fun, even when I didn't successfully complete my list of books that I started with in January.

So, another year, another book list. For the third year in a row, I'll be linking up to Jessica's Booking It posts, but I've also got a little list of my own - books that I'd like to read this year and goals that I'd like to meet.

But I have a little confession to make...

You see, whenever I am faced with one of those "About Me" boxes, I always identify myself as "a reader" or "a book lover", and while that is still true, the reality is that over the last few years I have stopped making time to read. I have allowed other distractions (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, even Busy Nothings) take the place of my beloved books, and I have slowly given away my reading time for a few ~~minutes~~ hours spent browsing online. It's not that those things don't have their place, but for the last couple of years I have allowed them to have too large a spot in my life and my reading (along with other tasks) has been shifted to the back burner.

Little Bite Goal: Online Time Management and Prioritize Daily Reading Time

A friend turned me on to goodreads last year, and although I haven't taken full advantage of all it has to offer, it has been an easy way to keep track of what I did manage to read in 2011 (22 books), and it has allowed me to create a reading list for 2012. In case you don't have a goodreads account or you don't have time to go check it out, I'll share my list here as well. I may not check them all off or the list may change, but these are at least on my reading radar...

1. Fellow CreateSpace author Sherban Young's mystery books (Five Star Detour, Opportunity Slips, Double Cover, and Fleeting Memory)
2. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story by Donald Miller
3. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
4. The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic by Jennifer Trafton
5. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith

6. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
7. One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler by Tsh Oxenreider
8. Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O'Conner
9. The Feast Nearby: How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on $40 a week) by Robin Mather
10. West with the Night by Beryl Markham

11. All In Good Time: When to Save, Stock Up, and Schedule Everything for Your Home by Tara Kuczykowski
12. The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball
13. In the Company of Others: A Father Tim Novel by Jan Karon
14. Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
15. The Dog Walked Down the Street: An Outspoken Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish by Sal Glynn

16. Who Made God?: And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough Questions of Faith edited by Norman Geisler and Ravi Zacharias (I WILL finish it in 2012!)
17. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
18. A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz
19. Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie J. Davis
20. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson (Another book that I WILL finish this year!)

21. The Mother Tongue - English And How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson
22. A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley
23. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy
24. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley
25. Rereadings: Seventeen writers revisit books they love by Anne Fadiman

That should be more than enough to keep me busy and keep my nose in a book, don't you think? As I said earlier, I may switch up some of the books on this list, but at least it gives me a starting point. I think the thing that I'm the most excited about regarding this year's book list is that I don't have one re-read on here, they are all new to me and I'm hoping to find a new favorite among this group.

What about you? Do you have a reading list for 2012 or do you wing it, just reading whatever falls into your lap? Any recommendations that I should add to my list? I'll be back with reviews as I finish the books on my list and I'll be sure to let you know if I should find that new favorite! Until next time, Happy Reading!

Little Bites {January 2012}

2012-01-01T05:00:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year!

Since we've already gone over the whole "Little Bites" concept, this is just your January 1st reminder of what I'll be working on this month:

1. Spend one hour a week working in the office

2. Spend 10 minutes each day (minus the week-ends) brainstorming for a book

3. Dust one room a week (bedrooms, living/dining, library/kitchen entry, office/basement)

4. Vacuum one room a week (same grouping as above)

5. Clean out five items a week (donate, trash)

What are your bite-sized goals for the month?

Here's to a new year and a fresh attempt at turning chores into habits through discipline!

Welcome 2012!

{Source}

Thankful For :: 711 - 720

2011-12-30T05:00:00.001-05:00

Well, Christmas is over and we're preparing to bid farewell to yet another year before ringing in 2012. It's hard to believe that 2011 is almost over already - time flies, doesn't it? We had a relaxing Christmas, which included hosting our First Annual Christmas Eve Soiree (and total success) where laughter was loud and a good time was had by all.

Christmas day was spent at home, just the two of us, with hours in our pajamas, squealing over Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, and more than a few episodes of Frasier thanks to my fabulous husband's shopping skills. After enjoying the day as slugs, we topped it all off by heading over to my parent's house for some more celebrating and gift exchanging with several of my family members, and phone calls to Peter's family in Florida and Michigan. All in all - delightful.

I hope your holiday week-end was equally as pleasant and that you were able to spend some time reflecting on the True Reason for the Season in the midst of all the excitement and craziness.

To close out 2011, this week I'm thankful for...

720. Successfully attempting three new vegetable recipes for our Soiree

721. Who we felt led to invite to the meal

722. That whatever sciatic pain I was experiencing seems to have gone away with lots of ibuprofen and heat

723. Time to enjoy pajamas, hot chocolate, and laughter with my honey

724. Laughing so much with family that we all totally loose track of the time (long after our normal bedtimes!)

725. After-Christmas sale shopping with my mom, sister, and husband

726. Time spent making realistic goals for the new year

727. A sense of peace about the future

728. Book ideas

729. Gift cards to two of my favorite places - Carrabba's and a bookstore

730. Excitement about what the future could hold, but better still, knowing Who holds the future

{Source}

See you next year!

What I Got For Christmas: An Update

2011-12-29T05:00:00.001-05:00

Remember my wish list that I shared back in November? Remember the list I made last year? Let's just say that Peter came through, and came through with flying colors. Ladies, if your husband is secretly (or not so secretly) lamenting that he doesn't know what to give you, let me help you out with a tip...email the man a link to a wish list or two. I created two wish lists this year (not counting the blog) on Pinterest and Amazon (using the Universal Wish List button feature for Amazon), and then emailed the links to Peter. Let's just say there was a lot of squealing in our house over this...

{Amazon}

And these...

{Target}

And we can't forget these...

{Lands' End}

Or the soundtracks to some of my favorite films...

{Amazon - used, for additional savings}

Or the original movies to some of my favorite books...

{Amazon - Cheaper By the Dozen / Belles on Their Toes}

And he even indulged my inner kitchen-gadget nerd...

{Amazon}

Yes, he did well.

On a slightly separate note, two days before Christmas I started purging the house like a mad woman. I felt compelled to remove things that I really didn't like, or use, from the house before bringing more ~~junk~~ gifts into the mess. If you have Christmas money burning a hole in your pocket and you have always wanted to mark "Make pasta from scratch" off of your bucket list, then please check out the imperia pasta maker that I have listed for sale on Amazon. For the last 12+ years it has been sitting, brand new (never even removed from the box) in closets and kitchen cabinets, and I'm done storing it. I know that I will never, ever try to make pasta from scratch when I can buy it, so I'm giving up the illusion and hoping to get some money out of the thing.

{Amazon - find mine listed as New under the Busy Nothings shop}

Ooh, look, it's shiny. Doesn't it make you want to move to Italy and grind your own flour for homemade pasta?

So, what was YOUR favorite gift this year?

Thinking Ahead {2012} :: Creating Monthly Goals

2011-12-27T05:00:00.001-05:00

Last year, I, like many others, created a list of goals that I wanted to work on in 2011. And, just like many of those well-meaning goal-setters, I didn't accomplish too many things from that list because I was busy with what life threw my way.

{Let's Review 2011}

At the start of the year, I was hoping to get a job, and I got a job, but not in any kind of field that I was expecting. We went from being a one-car household to a two-car family, but Peter quickly traded that $300 car for "The Bean", and eventually "The Bean" was replaced by "Vader" - things I certainly wasn't expecting when I created the list.

We made some headway on our mortgage principle, and we've come a long way in prioritizing our financial goals, but we didn't get the house paid off as I had hoped in January. Does that mean we failed? I don't think so. We still saw progress and change in our handling of the finances, and setting a larger goal early on helped us regain our focus half-way through the year.

{Source}

In January I admitted that I wanted to write a book. Over the course of the year, I realized that I spent more time saying that I wanted to write a book than I did actually taking steps to write a book. However, by talking about it more over the last 12 months and admitting publicly that I'd like to author a book, it made it seem less like a dream and more like an actual possibility. And it made my 30 List.

As for the Project House...{insert giant sigh here} If you click the link you'll see what it looked like in March. Bad news? That's what it still looks like (minus the piles of lath). We have really struggled with what to do with this ~~elephant~~ house. We don't regret buying the place, but the question remains, what do we do with it? Finally, a year after closing (and multiple options considered), we decided on a reworked floor plan that will keep 99% of the walls in place and should give us the space we want. I've been pinning ideas like crazy to help us keep costs down, and we're hopeful that 2012 will be the year of the PH completion.

{Welcome 2012}

A new year means new goals, but this time I'm breaking those goals down into bite sized chunks. For instance, instead of saying, "I'd like to write a book this year", I've made a goal for the month of January to spend 10 minutes, Monday through Friday, brainstorming book ideas. Not actually writing a book or waiting to come up with the perfect idea, just getting ideas - no matter how crazy they may sound - down on paper. Writing a book? Overwhelming. Sitting for 10 minutes a day for one month putting words on paper. That's doable.

{Source}

While I still have larger goals (i.e. write a book, finish the PH, pay off our mortgage), I am finally realizing that I have to break them down into more manageable tasks. Smaller goals are like putting one foot in front of the other - the next thing you know you're writing "The End" on the last page of your novel or sending in the final payment for your house. Reaching a goal, realizing a dream - these things don't happen inside a vacuum. Steps must be taken to get the process started, and discipline must be developed.

In fact, I've already been attempting to practice discipline through one tiny, daily task: Flossing my teeth. If you have a problem discussing dental hygiene, then you may want to skip this section. After reading The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine (available Jan. 10, 2012), I decided to put this discipline idea into practice in a very small way, just to build some discipline muscle if you will. My dentist has been after me for years about my lack of flossing. I just don't like to do it, and unless I felt something wedged somewhere, I didn't bother.

But I noticed that even with daily brushing, my teeth were beginning to yellow a bit and I had one bad coffee stain between two of my front teeth, which is why I decided to use flossing as my discipline practice. For the last two months, whether I felt like it or not, I have flossed daily. And you know what? Just as Crystal suggested that it would, my discipline of flossing has changed from a chore to a habit. And if I can make flossing my teeth a habit, then I should be able to make writing for 10 minutes a day a habit, with enough practice.

{Source}

Now, you may be sitting there thinking, "What a freak! She had to practice flossing her teeth?!" But it's not really about flossing, it's about turning a chore into a habit through the practice of discipline. That might be as simple as flossing or denying yourself that doughnut (if you're trying to loose weight), or as serious as saying no at the store (because you're digging out from debt) or avoiding tempting situations. The habit and practice of self-discipline is fully transferable to any area of life.

So what does that mean for me? For the blog? For the new year? Well, on the blogging front, I'll be posting for accountability on the first Monday of each month, and giving details about my five "Little Bites" for the month. Starting in February, I'll be adding an update about how I did on those goals and what I learned from the practice-to-habit front. If you'd like to join me in this journey, I'd love to have you! If you want to blog along with me, feel free to leave your links in the comments.

{Little Bites - January 2012}

1. Spend one hour a week working in the office

2. Spend 10 minutes each day (minus the week-ends) brainstorming for a book

3. Dust one room a week (bedrooms, living/dining, library/kitchen entry, office/basement)

4. Vacuum one room a week (same grouping as above)

5. Clean out five items a week (donate, trash)

What are your bite-sized goals for 2012?

Thankful For :: 701 - 710

2011-12-23T05:00:00.001-05:00

I'm Thankful For:

701. The promise of a Savior

All right then, the Lord Himself will choose the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel - "God is with us." [...] For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on His shoulders. These will be His royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

{Isaiah 7:14, 9:6}

702. A Source of Peace

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past. The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the time when the woman in labor gives birth to her son. [...] And He will be the source of our Peace.

{Micah 5:2-3a, 5a}

703. That Joseph and Mary were obedient and allowed themselves to be used by God

Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiance, being just a man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly. As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." [...] When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wife, but she remained a virgin until her son was born. And Joseph named Him Jesus."

{Matthew 1:18-21, 24-25}

704. Having no reason to fear the future

[...] but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize Him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!" Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God: "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors."

{Luke 2:10-14}

705. That I am a child of God

But although the world was made through Him, the world didn't recognize Him when He came. [...] But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan - this rebirth comes from God. So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And We have seen His glory, the glory of the only son of the Father.

{John 1:10, 12-14}

706. That God sent His only Son to die in my place and pay for my sins

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. [...] But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to died for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God's judgement. [...] So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God - all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.

{Romans 5:6, 8-9, 11}

707. That Christ Jesus chose to obey His Father

Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights as God. He made Himself nothing; He took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form, He obediently humbled Himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross. Because of this, God raised Him up to the heights of heaven and gave Him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

{Philippians 2:6-11}

708. That Jesus understands the struggles that we experience

Because God's children are human beings - made of flesh and blood - Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could He break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. [...] Since He Himself has gone through suffering and temptation, He is able to help us when we are being tempted.

{Hebrews 2:14-15, 18}

709. God desires that all should come to Him and find Salvation

But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise to return, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so He is giving more time for everyone to repent.

{2 Peter 3:8-9}

710. That Jesus is coming again and there is Hope for all who chose to believe and accept His salvation

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever." [...] "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star." The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Let each one who hears them say, "Come." Let the thirsty ones come - anyone who wants to. Let them come and drink the water of life without charge. [...] He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, "Yes, I AM coming soon!" Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

{Revelation 21:3-4, 22:16-17, 20}

So much to be thankful for, don't you think?

This is why we celebrate Christmas.

{All scripture is quoted from the 1996 NLT}

See You Next Year

2011-12-19T05:00:00.002-05:00

With family coming in and Christmas functions to attend, plus a few days at work and holiday films to watch, blogging is going on the back burner until after the new year has arrived. I know you all understand. Because I have slightly OCD tendencies, I'll probably be around the next two Fridays for my Thankfulness List, but otherwise, I'm going to kick back and take a break from my recent self-promotion. Speaking of which, have you found me on Twitter yet? Followed Little Brother? Discovered the Busy Nothings and Little Brother Facebook pages? Joined me on Pinterest?? Okay, the break begins now.

And just in case you're wondering what our favorite holiday function has been so far, I think this photo should answer that question...

{In case you're wondering why we're standing with a Santa Cow, we were at Chick-fil-A}

May you have a wonderful Christmas season with your friends and family!

Thankful For :: 691 - 700

2011-12-16T05:00:00.002-05:00

First things first - thanks for all the birthday well wishes and greetings! You guys are great and each comment made my smile grow bigger. Since you asked, I had a delightful birthday and birthday week-end, and I am exceedingly excited to see what the next year (alright, alright, the next ten years!) holds for me and for us as a couple.

This week I'm thankful for...

691. Surprise birthday gifts in the mail from a sister

692. Spending the week-end hanging out with Peter

693. Dinner at my favorite restaurant with some of my favorite people

694. Free birthday meals - long story

695. Chocolate bread pudding, my mom's homemade cheesecake, and Carvel ice cream cake (South Beach what?)

696. Celebrating my birthday with both of my brothers (who are blog shy - like my sisters)

697. Cups of hot Chai

698. Good doctor reports for yearly check-ups

699. Excellent (private) health insurance

700. Knowing this man for half of my life and being blessed to call him my husband for almost as long

What are YOU thankful for this week?

The Sprouts From Brussels

2011-12-15T05:00:00.001-05:00

For the first 29 years of my life, I turned my nose up at those little green mini-cabbage-look-alike that claimed to come from Brussels. In fact, I literally gagged on one while attempting to be polite at an elderly couple's dining room table (you know, take a little of everything, even if you don't like it) - when I was 25. As a married woman, I was passing my Sprouts under the table to my husband so that he could eat them and I wouldn't look ungrateful! The point is, I declared my total loathing of Brussels Sprouts and swore that they would never enter my home nor grace my table.

I recently had to eat those words, along with some Brussels Sprouts.

A year ago my sister brought her dinner to the table (she cooks her own food for all meals as she has Celiac Disease and a host of other food allergies) and I was drawn to the amazing smell of something on her plate. In answer to my inquiry, I was told that they were Brussels Sprouts. How could this be? Brussels Sprouts are nasty little balls of ickiness that I hate! The smell that I was enjoying couldn't possibly be the same thing that I gagged on a mere 4 years earlier.

Wrong-o!

After the unthinkable happened - I tried a bite and didn't gag - I asked for the recipe. I didn't think about it again until almost a year later when I stumbled upon a bag of fresh Sprouts on clearance for $0.99 at my local grocery. After a year of discovering that I actually liked fish (when correctly prepared and de-boned), mussels, and mushrooms, I figured - why not? If I hated them, I knew Peter would eat them and even if he didn't, I would only be out a buck.

In the end, I only wished I had purchased more than one bag.

So what happened? I once again learned that it's all in how you prepare the food. When I fell in love with the Trout Wolf at Carrabba's earlier this year, I discovered that not all fish has to taste like frozen Fillet 'O Fish, and if it's prepared well, the sky is the limit on what I'd be willing to eat (or at least, try). Believe me, 2011 was a banner year for trying new cuisine. While living overseas helped broaden my palate, it has only been in the last twelve months that I have truly stepped outside my taste bud's comfort zone and discovered my inner Julia Child. I blame it on the roux from the Chicken Andouille Soup - but that's a whole other story.

So, if you're curious about how I cook my sprouts, then you will need:

1 bag Brussels Sprouts (NOT frozen - totally unacceptable to use frozen - and cut them into quarters)
1/2 lb. - 1 lb. bacon (I used turkey bacon to keep it South Beach friendly)
1/2 - 1 onion (white, yellow, red - it really doesn't matter, sliced and diced)
Minced garlic (I used the minced garlic in a jar - I know, and I'm snobby about frozen sprouts!)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
1 apple (my sister put apples in hers, but I haven't done that yet)

Slice and dice the uncooked bacon and throw it in a pan (big enough and deep enough to cook the whole mixture in later on). Cook bacon until crispy, then add olive oil, diced onions, and garlic (you can add the Brussels Sprouts at this point if you want, or you can wait - I've made it both ways) and cook until onions are translucent. While that mixture is cooking, I cut off the bases of all the sprouts and then cut them into quarters (top to bottom - twice). If you haven't already done so, toss the Brussels Sprouts in with the onions/garlic/bacon mix and add more olive oil (as needed). You're looking for a slightly crisp sprout in the end - cooked through, but not mushy at all. After 3 minutes or so, I add Balsamic vinegar to the mix (no measurements, but probably somewhere around 1-2 tablespoons - go with your gut). Cook until the Brussels Sprouts are starting to show a little brown crisp on them and you're done!

NOTE: If you want to add the apple chunks, my sister does that close to the end. You might also consider adding some Craisins, but I haven't tried that yet.

Bon Appétit!

Pass It On

2011-12-14T05:00:00.001-05:00

Two very kind childhood friends gave me blogging "awards" last week and I didn't want to leave them hanging without mentioning it here. Most of the time I view these as the grown-up version of a chain letter, but I'm still honored and it's a nice way to bring new viewers around, which I'm never against! So, thanks Erika and Rachel!

If you haven't visited Always Better Together, you should. Erika and Daniel are currently living in the great state of Texas while Daniel completes his medical residency and they await the arrival of their son. She's got a great sense of humor, a lifelong love of all things sweet, and a fairly recent interest in running, which makes for a fun combo! Rachel blogs about her hectic life as a P.A., her new love affair with running, the amazingly sweet treats that pour forth from her kitchen, and her latest craft endeavours over at The Keyter. I've known both Erika and Rachel for, oh, longer than I can remember not knowing them. Ironically, we've been out of touch for many of those years, but thanks to Facebook and our respective blogs, we've reconnected and it has been fun to play catch up.

The specifics of the award are that you pass it on to bloggers who have less than 200 followers (that's me, for sure!), but in the spirit of the award, I'm going to list five blogs that I've either recently discovered or really enjoy visiting on a regular basis. No need to join in, but I'm always up for sharing blog love and fun sites, so if you choose to participate, all the better! Apparently there are some rules, so...

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you. (Done - thanks again, Erika & Rachel!)
2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog. (OK, if I have to...)
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog. (Done)
4. Wait around and see if it dies like the chain letter it is, or if it lives on...

And now for my blog selections...

1. I first found Lexi at Vessel Unto Honour through another blogger's sidebar. Actually, choice #2's sidebar. At any rate, I enjoy popping over to VUH from time to time and seeing what Lexi is sharing - many times it's convicting or simply leaves me laughing. And she's a fellow reader, so what's not to love?!

2. I may have mentioned Molly at A Foreign Land a few ~~hundred~~ times on Busy Nothings. I totally blame her for getting me hooked on Pinterest, and I appreciate the fact that she tried reading Agatha Christie and Jane Austen (even if she didn't become a die-hard fan). Molly and her hubby are currently in the process of moving to an awesome condo in one of my favorite cities, Chicago, and I can't wait to see more photos of their new adventure!

3. One of the things that I love about blogging is the opportunity to meet people all over the world. Sometimes it's because they start leaving comments on blog posts, like Irish Carter over at Dedicated 2 Life. Irish has become a firm encourager here at Busy Nothings, and I'm more than happy for an opportunity to share the love. Make sure you check out her Weekly Wisdom posts.

4. I don't even remember how I first found Sophie at Little Gumnut, but I'm so glad I did! We connected through mutual experiences - she's an M.K. and I'm married to one. Sophie and her husband and beautiful daughters live "Down Under", and she's a lovely and talented woman who is in the process of starting her own business and working towards her goals. A visit to her blog is always a pleasant experience.

5. Last but not least, Kaysi at A Kaleidoscopic Life is still relatively new to the blogging community, but she has certainly come in with a bang! I've already been encouraged by her posts and I'm looking forward to seeing what she'll come up with in the future. As children, we were acquainted through a mutual friend, but it has been fun to reconnect as adults and watch how the Lord works in both of our lives.

And there you have it - now go check them out! And have a good Wednesday while you're at it, okay?

The Stockings Were Hung :: Non-Traditional Gifts

2011-12-13T05:00:00.002-05:00

And so we've arrived. There's only a week and a half left until Christmas. Some people have completed their shopping, while others are just beginning to think about it. If you're in the latter group, then you may be interested in some of the ideas in this post as they don't have to be wrapped and in most cases the organization will even do the notifications for you. Sound too good to be true? Come see what has made my list of Non-Traditional Gifts! (Missed one? Find the first seven weeks of this series HERE)

When I first came up with my list of Christmas posts (back in October), I specifically had Samaritan's Purse in mind when I chose "Non-Traditional Gifts" as one of the categories. Apparently a lot of people (bloggers and others that I know in real life) have been feeling the same pull to give something that helps others rather than the traditional "I got you something that will eventually end up in your next yard sale" type gift. I have read blog post after blog post after blog post about thinking outside the box when it comes to spending money on Christmas gifts. In fact, just this past Sunday, our youth pastor shared his desire to be given a goat for Christmas instead of one more thing to clutter up his home.

Here's what I see: despite the fact that shops opened earlier than ever this year on Thanksgiving, people everywhere are tiring of the commercialism that has not only taken over Christmas, but is working it's way into Thanksgiving as well. There is a movement to clean out and simplify - I've even felt a pull that direction this year - and with people watching their pennies more than ever, they want their money to go towards something meaningful instead of another mug or tacky Christmas tie. With that idea in mind, here are a few of my favorite non-traditional gift resources that can help change lives, not just right now, but for eternity...

Samaritan's Purse is one of my favorite organizations (and not just because of the family ties to it). They mobilize quickly when disaster strikes and they serve people in the name of Jesus. You already know my life-long love of their Operation Christmas Child Shoebox program, but did you know that they were some of the first response teams to places like Haiti, Indonesia, Japan, and New Orleans? Did you know that they continue to provide shelters, medical care, and food to people long after other organizations have pulled out? Did you know that you can give as little as $5.00 and you can provide milk for a child? And on the gift-giving side of things, did you know that you can have cards shipped to your recipients that say "In your Honor" or "In Memory Of" - what a delightful way to let them know that you're thinking about them and that someone else who really needed help, received it in their honor and in the name of Jesus! What are you waiting for? Go check them out and start giving!

Source: compassion.com via Carrie on Pinterest

You've probably heard about Compassion International. There are a lot of bloggers out there who are pushing child sponsorship and are talking about their recent trips with Compassion. But did you also know that Compassion has a gift catalog? That means that if you aren't yet ready to sponsor a child, but you still want to help, there is a way. You can give chickens ($16) to the animal lovers in your life, garden seeds ($10) to those avid gardeners on your list, or get God's Word ($5) out to people for the price of a Venti Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks. If you want to go in as a family, you could even help give moms the opportunity to start their own business and support their family for as little as $100. Just think of the possibilities!

Since it's founding in 1950, World Vision has been focused on providing physical aid for the poor and needy around the globe and reflecting the love of Christ through their actions. Like Samaritan's Purse and Compassion, World Vision has a great Christmas catalog that is full of ideas, starting for as little as $10. Having spent several years overseas, I can tell you from first hand experience how important things like mosquito nets ($18), orphan care ($25), and clean water ($25) can be - life saving in many cases! There are so many things that we take for granted on a daily basis (like shelter and clothing), so before you (and I!) slap down $35 for another sweater, perhaps we should think about all the people around the world who could be helped, here and now as well as for eternity, with that same $35. It's something to consider, eh?

And with that, I end my eight weeks of Christmas fun. I hope you have enjoyed it - thanks to all who have shared links and left comments! It's always such a delight and a thrill to hear from you or to see that you think it's helpful enough to share with others.

I hope that above all, you take a break from the hustle and bustle of Christmas to reflect on the fact that God sent His only Son to become human, to experience the trials and hardships and pain that we go through, and to ultimately be flogged and hung on a cross to die for the sins of the world. It's almost more than I can wrap my mind around.

But here's the even better news: He didn't stay in the grave! Jesus arose and He is waiting with open arms to accept all who will believe in Him and the Free Gift of Salvation that He offers. If you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior yet, my prayer is that you would find Him and His Gift this Christmas. I'm always here if you want to talk (my email contact is HERE) - it would be my honor to share the Greatest Gift of all, with you.

Merry Christmas to all!

Blessings!

Welcome To Our Home {Christmas 2011}

2011-12-12T05:00:00.001-05:00

I don't know about you, but I love being (virtually) invited into someones home to sneak around their Christmas-y nooks and crannies, and the blogs that host these tours are just delightful. If you're interested in seeing how I changed things up this year, you can check out my 2009 Home Tour, as well and the 2010 special. I've added a few things, removed a few things, and generally continue to tweak as the season progresses, but that's what turning a house into a home is all about, isn't it? So, come on in and welcome to our Christmas home 2011!

A new addition to the traditional greenery this year are the two (FREE) Charlie Brown trees that we picked up at the Christmas tree farm this year. They always have a stack of them for people to take, so I came home with two and the view of sticking one on either side of the door. I love the way they turned out!

Once you make your way into the house, this is what greets you. You might notice a few changes, including a new wall color and couch, as well as simplified wall art - all part of my quest to embrace simplicity.

New candle holders on the coffee table this year and less clutter overall - I'm loving it!

I simplified our ornament collection this year, choosing to keep only the ornaments that truly meant something to us, instead of every ornament ever received or purchased. I can honestly stand in front of our tree now and tell you a story about each and every ornament - and let me tell you, that's a lot of fun!

{LEFT} This ornament belonged to my great grandmother {RIGHT} Starting with the Swedish Chef and moving clockwise - a lifelong love of The Muppet Show, a plate of Indonesian "food", a Peruvian alpaca, a buoy from Rockport, MA, sea turtle from Kakaban Island, Indonesia, carved giraffe from Tanzania, hand-worked leather from Rakops, Botswana, and finally - Koala bears from the San Diego Zoo. The tree is filled with memories from all of our many travels, and we love it!

Looking from the living room into the dining room, which brings me straight to my Jim Shore Nativity set...

I was {this close} to not unpacking my Jim Shore Nativity. I had set out the special coconut Nativity from Indonesia, and the childhood remembrance set, but I thought that anything more than two this year might just put me over the edge. However, at the last minute I relented and stuck the J.S. set on top of my hutch (where the candles were last year). What made me change my mind? I saw that there was a perfect spot to put two of my Ikea mini-trees which gave it a whole new feel.

Looking into the library from the dining room...the only thing different this year is that there are fewer Christmas decorations and a Pinterest-inspired centerpiece.

This post is getting a bit long, need to powder your nose or wash your hands? No tour would be complete without showing you the bit of Christmas color in our guest bathroom. Now on to the master bedroom!

In darkness...except for the new garlands over the windows - even bedrooms need some Christmas cheer!

And let there be light...and Christmas quilts!

The quilt on the back of the couch (you might recognize it as the one that used to be in our living room before the Ektorp took over) was the quilt that I grew up using at Christmas. It's really beautiful, but sadly, it's only a twin. The quilt on our bed was acquired last year after my mother made it for she and my dad, only to decide that she didn't want it. Too bad - but we love it!

The photo of the Biltmore was taken by my brother, who, in addition to taking amazing photographs of the Blue Ridge Parkway, is also the official photographer for Biltmore House. This particular print shows the house illuminated for Christmas. It's beautiful anytime, but with the lights, it's even more festive.

We'll end here - on the Nativity set from my childhood - about 25 years old now (I think Mom gave it to me when I was about 5). The center of the Nativity - Christ Jesus - is, after all, The Reason for the Season. Let us never forget that, nor what He came to Earth to do - die on a cross and take our sins upon Him so that we might have the opportunity to spend eternity in Heaven with him. Truly the greatest Gift of all.

Merry Christmas and thanks for visiting!

Linking up to:

on December 12th @ The Inspired Room

AND

on December 15th @ The Nesting Place

30

2011-12-10T05:00:00.001-05:00

It's here. 30. I've had lots of friends (and even a few strangers) tell me that 30 was no big deal. Thing is, I already know that. It's just a number, like 14 or 56 or 93. Each and every day and year is a gift and a blessing from God.

I'm thankful for all that I was able to do and accomplish in my first 29 years of life (see my Already-Done Bucket List). I'm thankful for the people and situations that God has put in my life to influence and change me into who I am today. I'm grateful that I am exceedingly comfortable in my own skin and that knowing who I am in Christ makes me confident in many other areas as well (including having very little fear of expressing my likes and dislikes). But it's not all about looking backwards - I'm excited about the future and big dreams and seeing what the next ten years might (or might not) hold.

Because my mother was always snapping pictures (a trait that I have inherited from her, apparently), I was able to go through the family photos and find a picture from each year on my birthday. I'm 99.9% sure I got them all on the right days! There were years with family parties and birthdays spent with friends. Then there were the years after Peter arrived on the scene, and birthday's spent overseas, far away from family but surrounded by new friends. It's fun to look back and remember (and if you see yourself, thanks for helping me celebrate over the years!)...

If you're wondering why I'm sharing a cake in several pictures, one of them (#22) is with our pastor (his birthday is 1 day and many years before mine), and all the rest are with my brother who turned 16 a mere two days after I arrived on the scene. We've been celebrating together ever since and will, in fact, be sharing yet another cake tomorrow night (splitting the difference between our birthdays).

And so now I've arrived. I've bid farewell to my 20's and moved into a new decade. I can't wait to see what's next! Thanks for taking part in my little trip down memory lane - your comments over the last few months have been uplifting, encouraging, and a real blessing to me. I'm thankful for the little community of bloggers that I consider my "friends" - though we may never meet in person. Blessings to you!

And Happy Birthday to me!

Thankful For :: 681 - 690

2011-12-09T05:00:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow's my birthday. Today is my very last day to be 29. Today is a good day. Tomorrow is going to be even better. For 29 years I have been blessed with good health, amazing adventures, a loving family, and a Heavenly Father who knocked on the door of my heart 26 years ago today and gave me the gift of Eternal Life. Oh what a gift that was! For the last 15 years I have been blessed to count Peter as a friend, then more than a friend, and finally, an amazing husband for the last 11 years.

To say that I have been blessed would be an understatement.

Yet I have recently been struggling with discontentment. A desire to be somewhere else, doing something else, experiencing a different culture, eating new foods, and generally ignoring the day-to-day issues that somehow seem so big when you're in the midst of them. But you know what? They're not really big at all. On Sunday we heard about the Persecuted Church in Iran. Our problems pale in comparison. Oh yes, there are annoyances and disappointments and I'm quite sure that I'll continue to come home on some days wishing that all the grumpy people in the world would just disappear (hmmm...guess I would be among them on those days!), but the reality is that I am blessed. My complaints are small and my "hardships" are really just me choosing to give in to my pity-party.

{Source}

Our First-First Lady was a pretty smart cookie, wasn't she? I saw this quote on Pinterest earlier this week and it seemed to tie in to how the Lord had been working on me. I don't believe in coincidences, and I know that the Holy Spirit continues to work on me and He uses all kinds of things to bring about conviction and growth, from hearing about my fellow Believers in Iran to searching my heart during communion, even using Pinterest pins to remind me that contentment is a choice. It's choosing to be thankful no matter what our circumstances. I'm thankful that on my 29th year, 364th day, God is still teaching, growing, changing, and molding me to become more like Him.

This week I'm thankful for...

681. Spiritual growth and conviction

682. Religious freedom

683. Articles that remind me that I need to speak as well as live out my faith - read it HERE

684. For never experiencing any major health issues (no chicken pox or broken bones)

685. Birthday money that allowed me to splurge (with Peter's OK)...

686. ...and indulge my inner Laura Croft with some sweet black leather boots

{Source}

687. Free Christmas jazz concerts

688. Twenty-six years of knowing Jesus as my personal Savior - life changing is an understatement

689. Healthy communication in marriage

690. (Almost) 30 years of fun and laughter - come back tomorrow for a visual!

{Source}

Remember, come back tomorrow for an unusual Saturday post - direct from the Birthday Girl!

Thinking Ahead {2012} :: Food

2011-12-08T05:00:00.001-05:00

I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that we're less than a month away from a new year. Yes indeed, 2012 will be upon us before we know it, and as I was doing some food shopping for Thanksgiving last month, I realized that it was time to take stock and do a little thinking ahead. There are some great sales this time of year and I have done my best to ~~hoard~~ create a stash for the leaner months.

We are beyond blessed with an overflowing pantry, fridge, and freezer at the moment. I took advantage of several pre-Thanksgiving sales on things like canned green beans, Campbell's cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soups, and $0.79/lb. no-additive chickens (yes, plural). I was thrilled to know that I could stock up because I had room in my upright freezer and I was already thinking about all of the meals that I could make out of the goodies that were piling up in the cart.

Once it was all unloaded and I was staring at my stuffed upright, I realized that we were going to be due for another Life as MOM-inspired eat from the pantry challenge. I also recognized that December was probably not going to be the month to attempt such a thing as I might find some more good deals with all the holiday sales. However, come January 1st, things are going to quiet down and I know I'm going to be up for a no shopping challenge. What about you?

In fact, my shopping habits are already changing as I once again work within the constraints of the South Beach Diet (Peter is just finishing up Phase 1), and I need to make sure that we are loaded with easy-to-grab protein for snacks and lunches. Instead of stockpiling on low-carb noodles (I still have plenty, and they are a no-go until Phase 2 anyway), I've focused on getting cans of tuna (in water), fresh veggies (including Brussels Sprouts - yes, yes I did), and plenty of low-fat cheese, eggs, and turkey bacon. I've found several soup recipes in my favorite soup cookbook that are easily adapted to fit within the bounds of the South Beach, so making sure that my pantry is well supplied with canned beans of all varieties is another important point on my shopping plan.

In looking ahead to 2012, I've come up with five food-related goals for the new year:

1) Eating from the pantry/freezer (i.e. don't just hoard, USE!)
2) Learning how to cook dried beans (I have them, I just need to try cooking them again)
3) Cutting back on fast dinners out by giving myself a plethora of "fast" dinner options at home
4) Supporting a healthy eating lifestyle, not just for Peter, but for myself
5) Splurging on higher quality ingredients (especially if it means eating out less overall)

What about you? Any thoughts about changing your eating or grocery shopping habits in the new year? Any life-changing tips for easy bean cooking? I'm stirring around some other goals and dreams for 2012, but I'll write more about those in a later post, so stay tuned!

Of Reading and Recommendations :: Final Booking It

2011-12-07T05:00:00.001-05:00

It has been a l-o-n-g time since I have done a Wednesday Book Recommendation, but I thought that it was about time that I change that. To top it off, I'm multi-tasking by tying it in with my final review for the 2011 Booking It with Jessica over at Life as MOM. Smart, eh?

First off my original Booking It list for the year held twelve books:

1. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 2. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan 3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett 4. The Wingfeather Saga (1, 2, 3) by Andrew Peterson 5. Who Made God? by Ravi Zacharias/Norman Geisler (Editors) 6. Is Your Church Ready? by Ravi Zacharias/Norman Geisler (Editors)
7. The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing by Tarquin Hall 8. Kim by Rudyard Kipling 9. The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain 10. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Lewis Stevenson 11. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte 12. Work and Beginning Again by Lousia May Alcott

I finished and reviewed: 1, 3, 4 (Book 1), 7, and 8.

I started and got stuck on: 2, 4 (Book 2), 5, and 6.

I didn't even touch: 9, 10, 11, or 12.

But least you think I've been a reading slacker, let me give you a few more numbers and details. According to my Goodreads account, I've read 22 books this year. What's that? You haven't joined Goodreads? It's like Pinterest for readers and one more place to waste time online. At any rate, they nicely kept track of my reading for me, so if you want a quick view of what I've read over the last year (including links to any reviews I did), here we go:

1. A Carrion Death 2. The Case of the Missing Servant 3. The Marriage Bureau for Rich People 4. Passanger to Frankfurt 5. Mansfield Park 6. Death of a Ghost 7. Kim 8. Over My Dead Body 9. The Man Who Died Laughing 10. The Golden Key 11. Dancers in Mourning 12. The Crime at Black Dudley 13. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 14. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie 15. The Help 16. La's Orchestra Saves the World 17. The Unbearable Lightness of Scones 18. On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness 19. The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag 20. 300 Sensational Soups 21. The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine 22. The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu by Michel Stanley

And I still have about six books going at the moment, including:

I think that's enough to keep me busy for a while, but I'm never one to turn down new book recommendations. And since I was recently involved in an email book discussion with two lovely ladies, I came away with even more books for my "to read" list - most of which are now sitting in my Amazon cart. It's a sickness, an addiction even, but a glorious one. There's nothing quite like holding a new-to-you book, waiting to crack open the cover and discover if it's going to become a new favorite. {happy sigh}

That so nicely transitions me into my book review of a newly discovered (and yet to be published) book, #21 on my list for the year, The Money $aving Mom's Budget by blogger Crystal Paine of Money $aving Mom fame. I was so excited when I got an email from Crystal, informing me that I would be receiving a free preview copy of her new book to read and review. Once the book arrived, I started reading and was finished in two days.

Even if I had not been given the opportunity to review this book, I had it on my list of books to buy and read. Money $aving Mom was one of the first blogs that I found after we returned to the U.S. and I did a search for "saving money" in an attempt to cut our grocery bills and make Peter's paycheck go a bit farther. In fact, "blog" might as well have been a foreign word to me, but I quickly learned to love the deals and advice that I picked up from frugal gals like Jessica and Crystal.

Crystal has done a great job of picking out key points from her personal money saving experience and communicating them in such a way that the reader walks away feeling as though the ideas are possible. Attainable would be another good way to describe it. Instead of pie-in-the-sky suggestions, Crystal presents down-to-earth recommendations, backed up by real-life stories from her blog readers, and gives step-by-step instructions for how to implement frugality into your everyday life. {Side note: could I use anymore hyphens in that sentence?!}

In the interest of giving an honest review, I have to add that many of the ideas that Crystal taps in this book come from her blog, so if you are a regular reader of Money $aving Mom, you might be disappointed by the lack of fresh material. That being said, she spends a lot more time on the details and "how to" in the book than she does (or has time for) on the blog, so it's still well worth purchasing. In fact, even as a regular reader, I picked up a couple of encouraging tips about time management, even though the book was technically about money and budgeting.

Crystal presses the point that time management and cutting clutter are keys to being successful with your finances - two ideas that I totally support. I was challenged in the very first chapter by her recommendations and points regarding the setting of goals and how, "...if you don't know where you're going and you don't take the first step, you'll never get anywhere at all." (pg. 2) Ouch. It's a simple truth, one that I know in my head, but it really hit home when it was put out there so simply. It was shortly after I read The Money $aving Mom's Budget that I sat down and created my 30 List. After all, If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time.

So where does that leave us? Well, not only do I recommend that you purchase The Money $aving Mom's Budget, but I think you should also consider it as a possible group read if you are involved in a book club or small group. It has the potential to spark all kinds of interesting discussions, as well as promoting personal responsibility and growth - two things that I'm passionate about. Even though the book won't be officially released until January 10th, you could request that it be pre-ordered from Amazon for Christmas. A book shipment notification is always a great gift!

Congratulations on being published, Crystal! But more than that, congratulations on not only preaching it, but living it, and for sharing your experiences with the rest of us. Blessings!

And that does it for me. Special thanks to Jessica for hosting Booking It for the last year and for introducing me to fellow book lovers. It has been a blast and I'm looking forward to the new and improved Booking It in 2012! If you'd like to see what others have been reading, make sure you check out the links on December 10th and 11th - there's still time to find a "must have" book for your Christmas list!

Until next year...Happy Reading!

The Stockings Were Hung :: Must Read Christmas Books

2011-12-06T05:00:00.001-05:00

I feel like the last person to be giving my list of favorite Christmas books, but in my defence I'm just following the order of the list I set up back in November. At any rate, we've arrived at the day when I share some of my favorite books - mostly from my childhood - that you might enjoy reading for yourself, to your kiddos, or even a niece, nephew, or grandchild. So pull up a chair and check out my "Must Read Christmas Books" of 2011!

1. Christmas Classics for Children (including The City That Forgot About Christmas) - You can read my full review of all five stories HERE.

2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss - An obvious Christmas classic, but no list would be complete without it. The copy on my bookshelf is almost as old as me and is well worn from use. Again, for my full review, you can read it by clicking HERE.

3. Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hakes Noble - This was always one of my favorites as a child. The idea of a desk and a swing inside was magical, as well as the fact that something she did as a child turned into a career. What a dream indeed!

4. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Holidays - If you ever need to know how to re-purpose a fruitcake, this book will explain it to you. Quite funny, and now available for Kindle! I wrote a review of this fun little book a couple of years ago, so check that out if you want more details.

5. The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg - I stumbled upon this little bit of fun after I was an adult, but it immediately took me back to my childhood when The Jolly Postman was one of my favorite books (and a gift from my oldest sister). I've already given copies of this to my nephews, though it might be more girl-friendly.

6. The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell - I have a much older version of this book, but it was always one of the ones that made the "reading stack" with my mom at Christmas. The paperback version is only $3.99 on Amazon, but they are currently out of stock.

7. The Most Important Christmas by James Nelesen - I never wanted to be in a Christmas play as I've always hated getting up in front of people, but I understood the feelings of jealousy that are displayed throughout this book. In fact, I still understand them - just now it's blogging related. Guess it's time to pull this "kids" book out again...

8. Christmas Around the World by Emily Kelley (illustrated by Priscilla Kiedrowki) - The copy that I have was written in 1986, and it included sections on Christmas in Iran, Iraq, Spain, and Norway. While browsing for a link on Amazon, I discovered that the book was re-written in 2004 and those countries were replaced. So while I loved this book as a child, I don't know anything about the newer version, but you might want to check it out.

9. Cajun Night Before Christmas by "Trosclair" - My parents moved to this area after a four-year stint in New Orleans where my dad was doing a medical residency. Perhaps it was that influence that caused me to grow up loving this book. It was certainly fun to read it out loud and try to get the accent right!

10. Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon - Always a fan of Mitford, I really enjoyed the 8th book in the series which puts the focus on Christmas. Although a bit longer than the other books I've mentioned, I think it's a great way to spend a few hours, curled up in a blanket in front of the Christmas tree.

BONUS: As a younger girl, I was a huge fan of the American Girl dolls and books - back when there were only three dolls (Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly). If you have a little girl in your life, you might want to pick up a copy of one of the Christmas books. My favorites were Kirsten's Surprise and Samantha's Surprise (and on all accounts, try to find the original books rather than the newer versions).

And there you have it, some of my favorite Christmas books for all ages. If you missed the previous posts, you can find them all by clicking HERE. Make sure you come back next week for my eighth and final The Stockings Were Hung post: Non-Traditional Gifts!

Financial Review {Five Months}

2011-12-05T07:16:00.041-05:00

Moment of honesty: Sticking to a Christmas budget is never easy for us. No matter how many times we say to ourselves and to each other, "this year, we're going to tone things down, we don't need anything" - we get hooked by the holiday spirit and we both end up with a pile of gifts under the tree. The upside? They're all paid for, which means that there's no credit card sticker shock in January. Not only that, but we even paid for several of our gifts with Amazon rewards cash, so that's a double yippy-skippy for us.

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Remember what I talked about last month? Point #2 was that we've learned that we needed to allow ourselves some wiggle room or we don't stay the course long term. Did we take a financial detour this month? Yes, we did. Have we stayed on track with our financial goals the other eleven months of the year? Yes, we have. So, what does that mean for our larger goals? Other than our one scheduled extra mortgage payment, we didn't add a big chunk to the principle like we have been doing, because we paid for Christmas (and my birthday) instead.

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What didn't we do? We didn't pull from our savings to pay for the holidays, nor did we pause the weekly scheduled deposits to our savings account. We're still repaying the savings account for the car purchase earlier this fall, so pausing the saving account additions was not an option because you never know when those rainy days are going to hit you. Additionally, we didn't change the automatic extra payment that we make to the principle each month, even though we didn't do our mid-month deposit.

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I know a lot of people who stick to a cash-only budget for their holiday shopping. If you're the kind of person who goes a little overboard and you're looking for a way to keep yourself in check, then I would recommend reading THIS POST by Crystal - she has several ideas on how you can stick to cash and still shop online. My advice? If you know your areas of weakness, meet them head on and find a way to work with yourself now rather than beating yourself up when you wake up in January to a mountain of Christmas debt. Although our Christmas is paid for, finding a way to both pre-pay for the holiday AND pay off the mortgage is on my list of goals for 2012.

Reporting on our progress for the last month:

1) Sold "The Bean", which helped repay the savings account for the purchase of "Vader"
2) Continued to rebuild the savings account with regular weekly automatic deposits

3) Paid for Christmas before Christmas, which means we'll be back on "the plan" come January 1, 2012

And now it's your turn! How are you doing with setting a budget and sticking to it? Are you maxed out for Christmas or have you found creative ways to work within your financial limits? Have you set or reached any other goals - financial or otherwise? If you've written a blog post about a financial success (or failure, because, let's be honest, they happen!), please feel free to leave the link in the comments. Have a Happy Christmas and I'll see you next month!

Thankful For :: 671 - 680

2011-12-02T05:00:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. We had several out-of-town family members and friends come in throughout the week, so it was fun to spend some time catching up with them all. Peter had Thursday and Friday off from work, but I was scheduled to work 8-5 on Friday. This caused a bit of disappointment for me as we always go get our Christmas tree while everyone else is madly rushing around, ~~pepper-spraying fellow shoppers~~ trying to get the best deals.

However, because people have better things to do on Black Friday than visit my place of employment (I know - so vague!), my boss let me go home for the day at noon, when I was supposed to be leaving for lunch. {Happy Dance} That meant that Friday afternoon found us zooming in a caravan of cars up the mountain and into North Carolina to our favorite cut-your-own Christmas tree farm. Our house is now fully Christmas-ified, and with the snowcapped mountains all around us, it's beginning to feel a lot more like Christmas!

This week I'm thankful for...

671. Getting off early on Friday so the tree tradition could continue

672. The Christmas ringtones that my dear husband put on my cell phone for me

673. Selling "The Bean" on Sunday night

674. Surviving work on Monday - all those people who didn't come on Friday? They showed up on Monday...grumpy.

675. The smell of pine

676. The glow of candlelight and Christmas twinkle lights

677. FREE Charlie Brown Trees (I told you it was a great farm!)

678. Spending time with out-of-town family

679. Brussels Sprouts - I've come a long way from my picky-eater days

680. My new (real leather) boots - an early 30th birthday gift from Peter and a total surprise

What are YOU thankful for this week?

Share the Love

2011-12-01T07:29:00.002-05:00

Happy December! I wasn't intending to share links again so soon, but this morning I read three posts that really spoke to me and I wanted to pass them on in case you missed them.

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Kaysi wrote a great post entitled "How's Your Heart", which really challenged me to come quickly to confession when I fail so that I can move forward - not only with my day, but in my Christian walk.

Joy shared about her experience with a woman who exemplified Christ in everything she did. "He Sees You" was a challenge to me as I struggle with blog-envy or the fear of being overlooked. The reminder? Christ never overlooks me...He died FOR me.

Crystal finished up her 21-Day challenge by sharing what she learned as she practiced self-discipline. After a certain discussion that occurred in our house last night, I was encouraged and motivated by "How to Make Time for What's Important" - which also means that it's time to get off of here and start cleaning up!

Have you found any great blog posts this week? Feel free to share them in the comments!

Favorite Things {Under $30}

2011-11-30T11:18:00.000-05:00

The Nester shared a really fun party idea that I had previously seen on Pinterest. Without going into a lot of detail, the whole idea is that you invite five friends to come to a Favorite Things Christmas party and each person brings five of one of their favorite things. If you want a more detailed account of how to make this work, check out the guest post over at Nesting Place today.

The Nester is running with this idea and suggested an impromptu link-up for us to list a few of our favorite things under $30, so without stretching this out any longer, here are five of my favorite things that I would consider bringing to just such a party (and doesn't it sound like fun?!)...

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1. Mistletoe Jar Candle from Yankee Candle - one of my all-time favorite scents and even if you splurge on the big jar, you're still under the $30-mark at $25.99

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2. 300 Sensational Soups- are you tired of me talking about this yet? I just can't get enough of this cookbook and I have yet to have a flop on any of the recipes that I have tried. The Lasagna Soup hooked me and I would happily bring five copies of this to any Favorite Things party! (Currently $16.41 on Amazon)

3. Hood Pumpkin Eggnog - this may be really out there, but it has certainly made my recent list of Favorite Things and I am in love. To combine two of my loves (pumpkin and eggnog) in one bottle - GENIUS!

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4. Live Bamboo - we have some in our house in a hanging holder and I just love it. We purchased our stalks at Ikea this summer, but it's available at our local grocery store sometimes. There's just something about a living plant in your house to remind you that it won't always be cold and wintry (even if I do love that time of year).

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5. Red Letter Words (via Urban Soul) for Hallmark Fridge Magnets - I gave a couple of these away last month on my blog and I have several on my own fridge. I love the style and look, as well as the great quick reminders that each day is a day that the Lord has made and He has never forgotten me. I picked these up at my local Hallmark store for $1.95/each! Talk about a deal!

And that's that - what are some of your favorite things under $30? What would you bring to such a party?

30's Not Looking Too Bad...

2011-11-30T07:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the UPS truck pulled up in front of my house and left a box on my front porch. Last night Peter presented me with that box and said, "Happy Birthday!" Now, my birthday isn't until December 10th, but I'm never one to turn down an early gift, so I ripped into the package and discovered these...

Vince Camuto real leather boots that Peter picked out all by himself (and he shopped through Ebates so he earned money back, what a good man!). I'm still amazed at the difference between real leather (quality) boots, and the $13 knock off boots that I got at Shoe Carnival two years ago. Not that I haven't loved my cheap-o boots, but after wearing these, I'm not sure I'll ever go back. Perhaps there really IS something in the quality over quantity idea...

Today I'm trying my first ever pants-tucked-into-boots look and I'm really trying not to feel self-conscious and stupid, but I love the boots so much, I just want to show them off! In the future, I'm planning on wearing them with some of my plaid wool skirts - I think they will be perfect together. Forgive the photo - it was 6:30 and I hadn't finished my coffee yet...

From where I'm standing (in my Vince Camuto boots), 30 doesn't look bad at all...

What's the best birthday gift you have ever gotten?

The Stockings Were Hung :: Festive Music

2011-11-29T05:00:00.001-05:00

I'm a lover of music year round, but there's just something about Christmas songs (religious or otherwise) that really puts me in a good mood. I still remember one particularly yucky period of time when we were living in Africa, and after dealing with issue after issue, we spent one whole Saturday listening to Christmas music in mid-July. It was cold, so it felt right, plus, the soothing sounds of Bing Crosby crooning "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..." and "Silent Night" were enough to drive away the angst of the problems at hand and bring a smile to our faces. That's just one example of why I'm sharing some of my favorite Christmas songs and artists to add to your Festive Music play list!

(NOTE: If you click on the pictures of the albums, they will take you to their pages on Amazon)

I think my very first Christmas tape was Amy Grant's A Christmas Album - still a yearly favorite (who couldn't love Tennessee Christmas, after all?). After I got my first CD player, one of the first CD's I added to my little collection was Amy's second take on the holiday, Home for Christmas. Although I don't agree with Amy's personal life decisions, I do like her Christmas albums, and I think they are a good addition to any Christmas play list.

No collection is complete without at least one holiday CD by the Boston Pops. My first album was A Christmas Festival with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, and it's still one of my favorites to listen to each and every holiday season. A few years back, Peter gave me the Keith Lockhart version, Holiday Pops - equally as fun and cheerful! I always feel a little thrill when I hear Sleigh Ride start to play.

If you like jazz (or lounge), as we do, then you're probably going to want to invest in one or all of the following: (Steve Tyrell) This Time of the Year, (Diana Krall) Christmas Songs, (Natalie Cole) The Magic of Christmas, or any one of the Christmas CD's from Pottery Barn, like Jazzy Christmas. We usually have these playing softly in the background from November through Christmas.

For family favorites, I would look for something like the The Time-Life Treasury of Christmas (a smaller version of the set that used to be advertised on TV), or (Bing Crosby) White Christmas. Several years ago, I picked up a copy of Billboard Family Christmas Classics, which is loaded with songs from Christmas TV specials and other childhood favorites.

I still remember when I first heard Mannheim Steamroller's take on Christmas - and I loved it! Most of their holiday albums have made their way into our personal collection over the years, but some of my favorites are still the original two, Christmas and A Fresh Aire Christmas.

No list would be complete without albums like, A Glen Miller Christmas Concert and (Harry Connick, Jr.) Harry for the Holidays. I'm also partial to soundtracks from Christmas specials for TV and holiday films, like Rudolph, It's Christmastime Charlie Brown, Elf, and The Muppets Christmas Carol.

In all honesty, I could go on and on and on because our Christmas play list is so extensive that we added it up one time and realized that we could play nothing but Christmas music, 24-hours a day, for over 2 days, and we still wouldn't be to the end of our list!

Something that didn't make it on the above list is my favorite way to hear the songs of the season, and that's singing the Christmas hymns with our church family. I love singing Joy to the World, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, Angels We Have Heard on High, and O Little Town of Bethlehem. They are the true reminders of why we are celebrating - and indeed, without Christ coming to earth, we would have nothing to sing about. May we always keep that in mind as we enter the busyness of the holiday season!

If you missed the first five parts of this eight week series, you can find them by clicking HERE.

For Your Reading Pleasure...

2011-11-28T05:00:00.004-05:00

Picture a chain - link after link, attached to each other and pulling each other along. I was recently struck by something that I read on a friend's blog,

...what would the blog world be like if we promoted others more than ourselves? (Beth Stone Studio)

Now, Beth's thought was not unique to her, but perhaps that's why it struck me as so important. You see, Beth got that idea after reading a post by another blogger - who also happens to be a long-time friend of mine - Joy, over at Grace Full Mama. The point that I took away from both of their musings was that it was so easy to get wrapped up in how your blog is fairing, how many people are visiting, which post got the most comments, that we forget that we need to think of others more highly than ourselves.

Yes, I was touched that Beth shared a link to one of my blog posts, but more than that, it was a timely reminder that I need to be passing on the good stuff that I find in the blog-o-sphere and sharing the love. If I want people to help get the word out about Busy Nothings, then I need to start spreading the word about other blogs and posts that I have been enjoying. I need to be as free with my promotion of others as I am with my self-promotion. It's a process, and like the chips on the chain links, I'm not perfect, but I'm slowly improving. Less of me being me, more of Him working through me.

{Source - doesn't she have some great pictures?}

That being said, here are some of my favorite recent posts from around the blog world...

Small Notebook {Baby Shower Books} - this is such a smart idea! I love the idea of skipping the card altogether and simply handing over a book for the child to use and enjoy. I'm all for inspiring an early love of reading!

The Reluctant Entertainer {Table Communion} - I loved her quote from Alton Brown. The whole thing was a good reminder that we need to be more intentional about involving our guests in the conversation and actively listening.

Life as MOM {Christmas Countdown} - Coming from a family that has always done Advent boxes, I think this is a lovely little tradition that could be easily attached to the Advent box idea.

Borneo Wife via (in)courage {Guests} - We first met Rebecca and her husband when we were working in Indonesia back in '07/'08, and I continue to enjoy Rebecca's blog - if you haven't checked it out, please do! As we enter the busy holiday season, this post was a timely reminder to put people ahead of schedules and plans.

Simple Mom {Eat the Frog} - During a recent email discussion with two lovely ladies, the suggestion was made that we read this short summation of Eat That Frog!before heading out to buy or borrow the book. It's such a simple concept, but one that I really need to learn!

Little Gumnut {It's OK to Slow Down} - A simple reminder that there are some days when you just need to forget the plan and snuggle on the couch with a cup of tea.

What great sites or blog posts have YOU found lately? Do share!

The Thanksgiving Ham, er, Pig

2011-11-25T05:00:00.001-05:00

While trying to digest a huge Thanksgiving meal and visit with our friends and family at my parents house, I quickly lost patience with one of their dogs who would not stop barking on the front porch. After a few minutes, I finally went over to the window to knock on it each time she let out a yap. After a few raps on the window, something white and PIG-like caught my attention in the dark front yard. At first I thought I was seeing things - and when I announced to the room that there was a PIG in the front yard, everyone (myself included) thought I was crazy. And yet, YES, there WAS a PIG in the front yard, grazing away while the dog barked her head off on the front porch. Let me tell you, there's nothing quite like finding a PIG in the front yard to make Thanksgiving a little more interesting...

If someone in East Tennessee is missing their tame pot-bellied pig, I know where you can find her.

Thankful For :: 661 - 670

2011-11-23T05:00:00.001-05:00

I have family in this week for the holiday and I have to be at work bright and early on Friday morning, so I'm switching things up a bit this week and giving you my normal Friday Thankfulness List on Wednesday. I know, the world won't know what to do, but we'll try to cope, eh? In the meantime, I hope everyone who is celebrating Thanksgiving has a wonderful time - and for the rest of you non-Americans, it's always a good idea to take some time to thank the Lord for all that He has given you! Blessings!

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This week I'm thankful for...

661. Fun lunches with life-long friends and family

662. BOGO Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks, not once, but TWICE over the week-end

663. Sunday naps

664. Friday night dates with my honey

665. Getting a $25 gift certificate for $2 through Peter's employer

666. Using that gift certificate at our favorite local Indian restaurant and taking home leftovers

667. Getting 4 out of 5 siblings together for Thanksgiving

668. Spending time with extended family that we haven't seen in years

669. A group of people who decided to cross the Atlantic on a tiny ship in search of religious freedom

670. Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863 (seen in part, below)

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

[...]

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

The Stockings Were Hung :: Decking The Halls

2011-11-22T05:00:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite days of the year is what most Americans refer to as, "Black Friday". Oh no, you won't find me out shopping - you couldn't pay me enough to get out in that chaos - but you will find me packing away all of the fall blankets, pillows, pumpkins, and Thanksgiving turkeys, and pulling out our Christmas decor. I look forward to the day after Turkey Day because it's our tradition to start Decking the Halls with Christmas cheer!

You might recall that I went on a mission to simplify this fall, and that included my autumn decorations. I can't tell you how much more I enjoyed the decor this year in it's simplified state. Instead of screaming "HELLO FALL!", it was like a gentle "Welcome Autumn". I loved using natural elements to express the changing of the seasons - dried wheat, brightly colored mums, and (of course) pumpkins in every size, shape, and color.

With that first simplified season under my belt, I am now looking to Christmas and trying to visualize a simpler version of holly and jolly. I already did quite a bit of purging last year, but I know that there will be more bags of holiday decor sent to our local charity once I start pulling out all the boxes. I've been hunting around for inspiration on Pinterest to gather ideas for simplified decorating, and here's what I've found so far...

{One, Two, Three, Four}

1. What I love about the front door decor in this picture is the simple wreath hung by a red satin ribbon. Note to self, put red satin ribbon on my shopping list. I have always used a basic (fresh) pine wreath for our front door, but I usually try to stick some sort of bow on it and it always gets smashed between the front door and the glass storm door. With the plain ribbon hangar, you get the color without the smashing - love it!

2. We don't have a mantle (but it's on my wish list, along with the fireplace to go with it), but if we did, this is how I would want to decorate it. As it is, I'm envisioning something similar to this look - red berries (we have a bush out front that will provide those), white candles, simple greenery - spread throughout the house.

3. I love the idea behind these simple pillows and even I, with my lack of crafty talent, wouldn't be afraid to try a little stenciling on some plain cotton fabric. It's such a great way to spread subtle Christmas cheer throughout the house, without an in-your-face red and green bonanza. You could use the title of your favorite Christmas hymn (i.e. "Silent Night" or "Joy to the World"), or you could throw in a little Bing Crosby "White Christmas" or "Deck the Halls" for some variety. The possibilities are endless. Note to self, add plain cotton fabric, black fabric paint, stencils, and brush to your shopping list.

4. Part of my goal of simplifying is to clean out closets and hidden spaces around our house. As Jules found out last month, those places seem to breed rolls of wrapping paper and gift sacks, and my office closet is no different. Here's the best part - I just purchased more wrapping paper at my local Hallmark Holiday Open House. Why? Because I'm a sucker. But no more. I have a new plan that I'll put into place as soon as I work my way through the rolls that are now taking up space in my closet - one roll of white butcher paper. That's it. No more plethora of birthday, baby, wedding, and Christmas paper taking up space in my storage areas, just a simple roll of white paper that can be used for any occasion with an appropriate ribbon to signify the celebration.

While I clearly plan to make some changes to my "normal" Christmas decorating, there are some aspects that I plan on keeping, like my lit Christmas card garland over the door between the dining room and the library...

While some folks want a tree out of Better Homes and Gardens, I'll stick with my tree full of ornaments that actually mean something - reminders of fun vacations, places we have lived, and special occasions. This year we've already purchased one such reminder, a glass Darth Vader to mark that 2011 was the year "Vader" came into the family. Our collection of ornaments falls into the "Traditions" category that I talked about a couple of weeks ago - things that are special to us (and only us), and that are reminders of fun times in the past.

And while I keep the old, I intend to mix them in with some new simplified traditions and ideas. I will always hang our Christmas stockings, but they might be hung in a different location. I want the house to be aglow with candles and twinkle lights, but I also want it to be simple and clean. My goal this year is to find a comfortable balance between Holly and Jolly and remembering the real Reason for the Season. That may mean setting out one less nativity set (at last count I had five), but if the set has special meaning or brings a memory to mind (like our coconut set from Papua, Indonesia), then I'll be content.

What plans do you have for simplifying your holidays? Do you go all out with your decorations or are you a "less is more" kind of decorator? Any plans for doing something different this year? If you missed the first four parts of this series, you can find them HERE.

Getting Crafty

2011-11-21T05:00:00.001-05:00

I blame Pinterest for the fact that this normally un-crafty girl is suddenly consumed with ideas on how to copy pinned ideas at home. I'm currently in the midst of three craft projects that involve fabric, clip boards, felt, and Mod Podge (which I've never used before, but it just seemed like the right thing to get). I look at pillows for sale and say, I can make those; I browse catalogues and think, All I'd need to make that is... I'm like a woman possessed by craft ideas and the sudden belief that I can do it myself.

My latest and easiest project was inspired by some felt coasters that I saw for sale in the Christmas Crate and Barrel catalogue that found it's way into my mail slot.

{Source}

For $4.95, you can have six cute coasters for your holiday beverages. In all honesty, $4.95 isn't all that bad, and if I had a store close by, I probably would have picked up a set. But the thing is, we don't have a store close at hand, which means that by the time I pay for shipping and add tax, it's closer to $12 for six coasters, and it may just be me, but I think $2 for one felt coaster is a little steep.

So I put my crafty thinking cap on and drove myself to Michael's, by way of Target. It was while I was browsing around Target that I found my first solution - a set of 3/$1 felt Christmas trees intended to be used as ornaments. I picked through the batch for the stiffest ones and ended up with nine Christmas tree-shaped coasters for $3.

I was still patting myself on the back for that one while I was walking around Michael's, when I stumbled upon some starched felt for $0.99. I decided that one can never have too many holiday coasters, so I picked up four sheets (two red, two white) of the stiff felt and headed home to dig through my cookie cutter drawer. In the end I was able to get five coasters out of one sheet of felt, which means that for around $4.50, I have the potential to have twenty (20!) Christmas coasters. Hey, if you're going to go overboard, go all the way I say!

If you're interested in trying this for yourself, here's what you'll need:

stiffened felt (you might be able to buy regular felt and starch it - but I'm not sure, and this was easier)
1 snowflake-shaped cookie cutter
1 fine-point black Sharpie
sharp scissors
A good movie to watch while you're snipping away

It took me all of five minutes to trace the snowflake onto the felt and then cut it out. While I have several snowflake cookie cutters, this one looked the most like the look I was going for. Another option would be to free-hand cut your design, or free-hand a pattern and then trace it, but even this craft-mad girl knows her limitations, so I went with what was easiest for me. A co-worker suggested that I take some red thread and outline the snowflake, which I may do in the future, but for now, I'm going with simple. Here's the final product...

No, nothing fancy, but they'll do they job they need to do, and each one is equally unique! I hope to be back soon with an update about some of my other Pinterest projects, including some stenciled pillows for Christmas. Fingers crossed that I can pull that one off - and if I can, anyone can! Happy Crafting!

Thankful For :: 651 - 660

2011-11-18T05:00:00.001-05:00

First off, thanks for all the kind comments and concern on my {Sniff, Sniff} post - I meant it more as a humorous diatribe about coming down with the common cold, but I appreciate your get well wishes too! I'm happy to report that I am on the mend - although I have a feeling that this nagging hack might hang around long than I would like.

Whatever the case, being sick caused me to be thankful for good health when we have it, and appreciate the fact that all we were dealing with was a cold - nothing more serious. In fact, Peter went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago for a physical and he had some blood work done and everything came back totally normal. When we went to check out, the desk clerk looked at his chart and then said, "Wow, you must be really healthy - he doesn't want to see you again for a YEAR! We never see that." Praise the Lord for good health!

This week I'm thankful for...

651. A good report from Peter's physician

652. OTC cold medicine that helped me breathe through my nose

653. Citrus-flavored cough drops

654. Having two (scheduled) days off from work mid-week to help me recover

655. Hot tea

656. Overall good health with no serious medical issues - what a blessing!

657. No longer needing #652 to breathe

658. Those C.S. Lewis "You too" moments in conversations

659. Realizing, once again, what a blessing and treasure I have in my husband

660. Humor at the holidays (see video)

A Short Account of Thanksgiving from Church Fuel on Vimeo.

What are YOU thankful for this week?

All I Want For Christmas...

2011-11-17T05:00:00.002-05:00

Last year I made a list of things that I would love to find under the Christmas tree. Okay, TOTAL rabbit trail, but how ironic is this? I went to look up the post from last year so I could link it up to this post, and guess what? I wrote about this same topic on November 16th - that was before I was scheduling posts so much, which means that since I'm writing this on Wednesday night, I'm actually writing it on the SAME DAY as last year. I feel a little deja vu coming on, how about you? Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks that funny and strange. {crickets}

Anyway, since I did it last year, I thought it would be fun to compile a list of ten items again this year. These are things that are both totally within reach and totally out of our price range - it's like the grown-up version of the old Sears Roebuck Christmas catalogue! Ready? Let's go...

{Target - to go with the coat I got last year}

{Lands End - these are lined with shearling - my cold feet would be so happy}

{Tolkien Library - $3500 for the first edition, a mere $706 for the second edition}

{Red Letter Words - this passage was read at our wedding and I'd love to hang in in our living room}

{Amazon - Mastering the Art of French Cooking with dear Julia C.}

{Crate and Barrel - I think these mugs in a tray are so fun!}

{Mika Kim Clarks @Zappos}

{Lands End - Yes, I just got a new coat last year, but this is a wish list after all!}

{etsy - It's Coffee O'Clock!}

{Might be hard to squeeze under the tree, but I wouldn't say "no" to this Carly Chair from Crate and Barrel}

And there you have it, my 2011 Wish List of 10. What's on your list this year? Anything you're really hoping for? Have you dropped any hints to the closest gift givers in your life? I helped the hubby out this year and emailed not just one, but two wish lists to Peter, because I'm thoughtful like that. {ah hem}

{Sniff, Sniff}

2011-11-16T05:00:00.005-05:00

{Source}

This is what I've been feeling like since Friday night. Oh yes, it has been de-light-ful, as you can imagine. Peter started sounding bad about a week ago and by Friday night, I decided that it was no fun for him to be sick alone, so I should join him.

I'm nice like that.

Then I gave in and took some cold medicine, which caused my heart to race like I'd just run a marathon and I thought I was going to pass out in church. Instead of passing out, I got up in front of everyone and pretended like I felt fine while I talked about missionaries who work in South America. Peter said no one would have guessed that I was totally out of it.

This has been fun, can we stop now?

I took a three and a half hour nap on Sunday afternoon in the hopes that it would help clear my medicine head. It helped, but it wasn't a fix-all. My mom called to ask if I was going to stay home from work on Monday. Nice thought, but I don't get sick days. One co-worker actually thought that I growled at her when she said hello, but all I really said was, "Harumph..." in a low register.

Hardly a growl.

By the time I get my days off this week (that would be today and tomorrow), I'm no longer going to be in the "stay in bed all day" sick phase, so they'll be totally wasted. As much as I hate being sick, I do enjoy a good, guilt-free day of bed lounging and movie watching, don't you? Sadly, now I'm just at the point of blowing my nose on a minute-by-minute basis and trying to suppress this annoying hack that has come along.

I'll tell you one thing though, all it takes is a simple cold to make me thankful for good health.

See, there's an upside to everything!

{Source}

The Stockings Were Hung :: Favorite Recipes

2011-11-15T05:00:00.003-05:00

One of the things that I love about the holidays, including poor little Thanksgiving that gets skipped right over, are the favorite family recipes that get pulled out and used. Since I'm one of those people who believes that recipes are meant to be shared, not selfishly hoarded, today I'm sharing a few of my favorite recipes that have been handed down to me.

My great-grandmother's recipe for Butter Cookies was one of the things that I had to take with us when we went overseas. It just wouldn't have felt like Christmas without decorated butter cookies. As you can see in the photos, I might have been drenched in sweat in Indonesia, but I found a way to bring a little Christmas to the tropics! I didn't have any cookie cutters with me, so I free-hand cut all the shapes and then decorated them with a home-made icing bag. It was so hot, the icing melted rather quickly, but the general idea was still there. As the Nester is always saying, it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!

Carrot Souffle is one of those recipes that has been in the family forever, but when people first hear the name or look at the mashed carrots, they (sometimes not-so) politely turn their noses up at it. However, if you can get the skeptics to at least try a "no thank you" helping, nine times out of ten they will be back up at the buffet getting a much larger second helping. Be prepared to have the recipe on hand, because people will ask for it. As the child who wanted nothing to do with any cooked vegetable, Carrot Souffle was the huge exception to my self-imposed rule. I wish I had a beautiful photo of it freshly out of the oven, but I never think to take one, so what you're left with is the leftover picture - literally.

I really, really wish I could show you pictures of the Oatmeal Pudding Cookies, but there really wouldn't be any point to it. They don't look like anything special, but the texture and taste are out of this world. If faced with a container of these cookies, I could easily eat all 5 dozen in one sitting. They are that good. Once upon a time, we were leaving on a jet plane for the other side of the world and my mother handed me a Ziploc bag of these cookies and a bag of the Ranch Oyster Crackers (recipe below) to take with us. Needless to say, I spent the next 30+ hours of travel wiping away tears and consoling myself with some oatmeal goodness and oyster cracker yumminess - WAY better than airline food.

One more for the road? Every year on New Years Day, my mom always made Black Eyed Peas and Topping. Mom never believed in luck - good or bad - so I'm quite sure we didn't eat them to bring good luck into the new year (apparently a Southern tradition), but however it started in our family, it's another one of those traditions that has stuck. It took me a long time to finally warm up to the idea of pouring a juicy topping over my black eyed peas, but once I started, I never went back.

I could go on and on with recipes that my family begs my mom to make each year - her Cinnamon Rolls are out of this world good - but I'll stop here because I think you get the idea. What about you? Do you have any "secret" family recipes that have been handed down from one generation to the next? Do you ever share your recipes or do you like to keep them as something special to your family? If you're up for sharing, how about a little recipe swap?! {wink}

If you missed the first three posts of this eight week series, you can find the others by clicking HERE.

"The Room"

2011-11-14T05:00:00.001-05:00

I'm still in shock at how neat our house looks right now - not a pile to be seen, clean counter tops and tables, bed made, laundry caught up, folded, and put away. It's like a miracle. The cleaning fairies are smiling down upon our house - or maybe I just finally got motivated to get stuff picked up. Either way, things are looking good and surprise visits don't send me into panic-mode.

But...

We have this room in our house that is supposed to be our office, but it ends up as the catch-all for my last minute tidying sessions. Because I have no shame and I need some accountability, I'm going to show you what it looks like right at this moment...

{Right side of the room}

Most of the stuff you see on the left side of the room will be taken care of with Christmas, but I also have a number of items that I have purchased and stored as "just in case" gifts and I really need to organize them and clean out so that when I need a quick hostess gift, I can actually find it!

{Left side of the room}

{Head hanging in shame, cheeks aflame} The thing is, I have all these piles throughout the house and I don't know what to do with them. I'm afraid to throw them away because "what if..." and all that; but at the same time, I don't know what I should file it as..."Miscellaneous Papers and Receipts that May or May Not Be Important" seems rather long, don't you think? What it's really going to take is several hours (or days) of me sitting down and going through it all - not just making new piles to be dealt with later, but actually doing something with it (file, shred, or toss).

{Hallmark is right, life is a special occasion - I'd enjoy it more with less stuff!}

Last week I received a preview copy of The Money Saving Mom's Budget, and as a result of my reading, I've set goals for the month that are broken down into goals for each week. For example, one of my goals for the month is to work on actually cleaning the house, but I've broken that down into different cleaning aspects for each week (floors, dusting, etc.) to make it a little less vague. I try not to have more than two to three goals per week because I know that if there are more than that, I'm setting myself up to fail. I know me.

So now that you have seen my "hidden room", please tell me that I'm not alone - I'm not the only person out there who has such a room/closet/space! We keep the door shut on this room, which helps the house to look tidy, but doesn't do much for getting the room cleaned out. Hopefully the goals that I have set and the lessons from Crystal's book that I'm implementing will help this room to have an open door policy in the future! I'll keep you posted...

Booking It :: November

2011-11-11T11:11:00.004-05:00

Dear Fellow Readers,

Do you ever find yourself in a reading slump? You have so many books that you would like to read, but you just can't find the time because you are too busy ~~blogging~~ (er...) ~~playing on Pinterest~~ (I mean...um...) ~~stalking people on Facebook~~ (wait a minute...) doing other things? That's the situation where I currently find myself and it's one of the reasons I made reading a goal on my 30 List.

I have the best of intentions and I currently have six (count them...1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 6!) books in progress, but nothing finished. I try to keep no more than two books going at a time, but somehow I wound up with six in process at the same time and the only one I'm really making headway on is my preview copy of The Money Saving Mom's Budget(which is really good by the way - I'll be reviewing it in full next month). In case you're curious about what's stowed on my nightstand at the moment, I'll enlighten you:

1. Quitter by Jon Acuff - I had really high hopes for this book, but I am not impressed with his writing style. He has some good ideas, but they are lost in the blog-style writing and the lack of editing. Overall, I can't recommend it even though I really wanted to like it.

2. The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu by Michael Stanley - I read their first book earlier this year and really enjoyed 93% of it, so I decided to give them another chance. I love reading books that are based in countries where I have visited or lived, and since this is set in Botswana, I'm constantly comparing it to my own experience there (though I don't enjoy these books as much as the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency).

3. Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain Englishby Patricia T. O'Conner - What can I say? I'm a nerd. I can only take in a bit of this book at a time, but I'm loving every little bit that I read! I've actually learned some things as well, things that have driven me nuts for years. If you like English grammar, you'll want to read this book. It's right up there with Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation.

4. West with the Night by Beryl Markham - I had never heard of this book before, but a friend loaned it to me and told me I needed to read it since I had lived in Africa and have been involved in aviation. Ms. Markham was a real life female aviator in the 1930's in East Africa, and these are the stories of her adventures. I'm not too far into it, but have enjoyed it up to this point.

5. The Money Saving Mom's Budgetby Crystal Paine - I signed up several months ago to receive an advance copy of this book for a review, but I never heard anything more about it until this week when my copy landed on my doorstep. I did the {happy dance} and then started reading. I'm over half-way done and I can't wait to give you a full review of it next month. All I will say about it now is that it's worth it to pre-order on Amazon!

6. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson - Yes, I'm still reading this book! I don't know why it has taken me so long to get through it, because every time I pick it up it makes me laugh. Bryson can be a little crass, so be warned of that (and some language), but having never been to Australia, this book is making me want to visit it even more.

Now it's your turn...what have you been reading? I'm linking up to Jessica's Booking It post over at Life as MOM today if you'd like to join us. I've found several good book suggestions through those posts over the last two years, so it's worth a visit!