Thursday, September 30, 2010

The time has come!

The time has come for me to NOT buy anything else for the house or the porch!
No more pictures, lamps, furniture, knick-knacks...I'm done.
I am quite content with the way each room is "decorated"!
I came to this conclusion the other night after thinking about all our blessings.
Our home, our beautiful home to us, is a perfect reflection of who we are- our styles, our likes, colors...our lovely setting nestled in the "woods"...
all our favorite things!
I am quite content!

PS....don't faint, Mike! And I know what you're thinking..."I'll believe it when I see it!"

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Grateful

Last night I sat on the porch reading by the "fire", sipping Earl Grey decaf and listening to soft music. I would read and then stop to speak to the Lord, just pondering on how incredibly blessed I am. Everything we have has been given to us by the Lord. He is the "Blesser"!
My husband, our children, our Grands...our home, our friends and neighbors...the very air we breathe...the rain, the Seasons, the beauty of the earth...our jobs, our finances, our gifts and talents...etc and etc!
The book of James tells us that all good gifts come down from the Father. If it's good, it's from God!
Just "counting" my blessings.
Take time to sit, get quiet...sip a little Earl Grey and start counting!

Monday, September 27, 2010

"Chomping at the bits" for...

a little Christmas music!

So, April, who is such a "product" of us who LOVE Christmas music, introduced me to aolradio.com today and now it's playing on my computer!
(she has been playing it for weeks...:)

And on the upstairs CD player.....

So nice on this rainy day.....ahhhhh, lovely, just lovely.

Our family has always been a bit strange when it comes to Christmas music.
Bill use to play it year round. How I would love to hear Johnny Mathis or Andy Williams drifting
downstairs while I worked in the kitchen.

May be a bit early for some but playing it early makes the season last longer.
Or at least that's the way we look at it!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Just for our porch!

Mike bought this yesterday at Sam's! Perfect for our porch! It's really an electric heater but you can just have the fire going for ambience!
Now as I read on the porch I can gaze at the "fire" !
It's the "icing on the cake" for our mountain-cabiny haven!

Absolute bliss!

Rainy, cooler...heavenly, quite heavenly!

Got chilly in church and stayed that way. Sat at Kami's looking out at the rain, geese flying in the sky, sipping hot tea...bliss, absolute bliss!

Am now heading to the porch with a good book and possibly a blanket!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Autumn

"September's Baccalaureate
A combination is of crickets--crows--and restrospects
And a dissembling breeze that hints without assuming--
An innuendo sear that makes the heart put up its fun
And turn philosopher."

Emily Dickinson

How true, how true!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

15 and counting!

Fifteen pounds that is! Yippee!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Impatiently waiting for...

COOLER temperatures and much needed RAIN!

The official first day of Autumn is tomorrow, the 23rd! Oh that it would usher in cool, chilly weather and several days of gentle, steady rain!
Hey, I would even welcome a week of steady, gentle rain! This was our yard a few weeks ago but it's a bit brown now. Come on rain!
I'm really working hard at waiting but somehow it isn't working and I am quite impatient!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

I'm.....

working on several things now...
Christmas shopping and wrapping...
cleaning out drawers/closets/pantry/fridge...
planning Fall flowerbeds...
planning painting projects outside...

Think that's enough for awhile!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Book!

Mike and I ate at Kami's after church today. My food is always delicious-Sa cha whatever- beef, chicken, shrimp...yum!
We always read the fortune cookies for fun and Mike's today said this:

"The book should be a ball of light in one's hand."

Naturally we both thought of The Book... the Word of God which is a Light to our paths, a lamp to our feet. (Psalm 119:105)

The Word of God should be a ball of Light in our hands!

What a great word-picture! WORD picture!

Friday, September 17, 2010

And so it begins....

Nutcracker rehearsals...costume fittings...all begin, for Makenna, tomorrow. For others it begins tonight.
Makenna is a Golden Angel and all the Golden angels are in both casts--every performance!
So we will be very busy with this Nutcracker!
Performances will be at Wingate University on December 10th and 11th.
It is something we always look forward to and adds so much to the Christmas season!

BUT! Hey...for now, I just want to enjoy the Autumn and all its seasonal treasures!
Come on cooler Autumnal weather!!!!! A little faster...PLEASE!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

We Did It!



Here we are at the book signing with Nicholas Sparks. And here are our new friends!
We had the most fun time...laughing, chatting, mingling!
Everyone was so friendly and it was such a special time to share with April!
We are all meeting again at the same time next year and we're taking Anna then!
We actually found out that he was coming early and so we got there early and we were in the 2nd group.
He is a real, down-to-earth guy. You'd never know he was famous!
April and I decided we're just going to start going to book signings-they're so much fun!

"A First!"

Tonight April and I are going to a "book-signing"! Have never been to a book signing before so I'm not quite sure what to expect.
We have our books and Lee is getting our tickets this morning and we will go and get in line with who-knows-how-many people and patiently await our turn. I think it will be fun just to "people-watch". Hopefully we will run into some friends we haven't seen in a long time. There is one friend we will be looking for!
The author, I must admit, is not one of my favorites but April has most or all of his books.
I'm really doing this for her and just to enjoy her being able to do this and have her picture made with him. That's what moms do!

When our son was "into" cars, I learned a lot from him and got pretty good at spotting cars and calling them by name. Mike couldn't believe I knew them. Was it one of my favorite things to know? No, but it was important to our son at the time and so it became important to me!

I find myself "learning" to enjoy various delights of our Grands...like Sonic, Christian's Ball Python, even Thomas the Train with the younger Grands. I try to listen intently when they share and that's a real challenge if there's more than one Grand sharing. They tend to all speak at once and we have to take turns.
What interests them, interests me!

So like our Father God! He cares about every teeny tiny thing that concerns us and is always there to listen and encourage us. It may not be His favorite "thing" but each one of His children are His favorites and so there He ALWAYS is...always for us, always on our side with our best interest at His heart!

That's how I want to be for my family... for my friends...just like "my Father"!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

"Plumb chilly!"

55 degrees...that's CHILLY! "Plumb chilly!"
That's a Southern thing like "y'all" and "sweet tea". I really don't say "plumb" anything but that's what came to me this morning as I ventured out on the porch with my morning coffee.
(I do however say "y'all" and even write it in letters...:)
Ventured right back inside for a blanket!
It was wonderful wrapping up and sipping coffee! Fall is coming!
Lovely, beautiful Fall!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Friday, September 10, 2010

I AM SO GEEKED!!!!!!

Actually, sure hope I'm using that word correctly! :)

ANYWAY....I have now lost 13 pounds and counting! I am doing the new Atkins and working out at least 3 to 4 times a week and sometimes more. I feel great!!!!

It is a lifestyle change and I'm embracing it. No more do I desire the cakes, the cookies, the breads and pasta-the heavy "carb" foods. I'm eating lean, no nitrate meats and eating lots of healthy salads and other veggies. Found low carb delicious organic pasta sauces at EarthFare and my Shirtake
(tofu) angel hair. I will admit, the texture of those tofu noodles is interesting but I can do it!

Found Zevia...a no calorie soda sweetened with Stevia! Yummy! Especially the Root Beer!

Have added nuts and strawberries and sometimes have some sugar free Russell Stovers chocolates. They hit the spot when I want something sweet.

Am hoping to be at my goal by December but that really isn't the issue. I'm in this for life!

Thank you God for ALL Your help!
And thank you out there who have been encouraging me!

I feel like I have a new wardrobe and that it's Christmas almost daily as I find clothes I can wear again after YEARS!!!! Yippee!

Cooler morns and evenings

Am loving the cooler morning and evening temperatures! Quite heavenly!

My flowers are thriving in them. This hasn't had blooms all summer and all of a sudden-

voila...it's blooming beautiful light purple flowers. What a treat!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

The Old Swing


The old swing used to sit on the old deck but now resides in the sideyard under an Oak tree.
I spent many hours in this old swing over some years. Some of my best "thinking" was done in it.
It came from Wal-Mart and wasn't very expensive and we have more than gotten our money's worth out of it. Actually, to me, this old swing is priceless. All the prayers, all the visits with dear friends and family, all the "talks" with the Lord, meditations on His Word, the good books I read-
make this a priceless sanctuary. Miss Darcy even "sits" in my lap in this old swing.
I spent some time this morning in it rather than on the porch and it was awfully hard to leave.
Prayed and just spoke with the Father thanking Him for the opportunity to "come away" and bask in creation. Miss Darcy joined me, trying to get my coffee, (she loves coffee!) and ended up in my lap or she thought she was even though it was just one of her "hips" that found my lap and I loved it!
What a wonderful way to begin the day!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Much ado!

Had a great Labor Day weekend!
Went to Matthews Alive with Mike and Ruth along with about a million other people!
(ok, maybe not a million but it seemed like it!)
Dog- sat Lacey again until yesterday evening.
Visited with Mike's parents at rehab. Great message at church and had a surprise lunch with some friends we hadn't seen in years who just happened to be at Kami's.
Lastly, a delicious cookout with our friends the Wilsons!
Now back to setting the house in order, paying bills, etc. and the hustle bustle of a full week!

PS...newsflash!
I was "off" the computer for two days...amazing! And came back to 72 e-mails...yikes!
I do believe this was a first as I am usually on the computer many times throughout the day.
The weird thing is that I didn't even miss it! Hmmm....

Thursday, September 2, 2010

September

Oh, September!
What promises you bring- a whole new array of sights and sounds!
The earth adjusts and comes alongside-ushering in autumnal glories, majestic and bold.
We breathe... inhale... and taste your colorful, aromatic feast!