Antiquing

I love antiquing or junking. I could spend hours in antique stores. When I found this
http://www.antiquesofcameron.com/events.htm and realized it was only about 35 miles away, I began to drool...well, not really drool because, you know, that would be pretty disgusting.

But I did start planning a trip for this Saturday. After checking the weather, it looks iffy...It is giving thunderstorms for Saturday. So we will see...

Something that exciting, that close to where I am! I must go, I just must...........

Southern Living

Have you seen this cover on the new Southern Living? How gorgeous is this? I LOVE hydrangeas! These are beautiful! I would love to have several big beautiful bushes full of these blooms in my yard. In fact, I think I will go to Lowe's and buy a couple of them to plant at the end of my porch. Wow! These flowers combined with the rough, rustic look of the boxes is devine. Like eye candy.

If you don't already have a subscription to Southern Living, click on the photo and get yourself a monthly subscription. There's nothing like reading about all things southern. Besides, the photo's are awesome. This would be a great idea for a Mothers Day gift for your mom or someone special. The deal is great, two subscriptions for only $16! That is terrific. Rush on over there right now and get a great deal. I just did.

What I am reading now...

I am the type of person that can't just read one book at a time. I usually have several going at once. Usually they are totally different books. These are the ones I am involved with at the moment.

Because I love to read about writing. My dream has always been to become a published writer. I started writing very young. I remember in seventh grade writing my "first book". I have always written poems, and have had a poem published in high school. About ten years ago I had an article I wrote published. It was a small publication, and unpaid...but I was in print. While in college, a professor of mine wanted me to submit several of my writings for publication. But I got sidetracked trying to graduate and didn't ever submit them. While in college I also wrote a children's book and sent it to several children's publishers, but got several rejection letters. One letter actually said that it wasn't the writing, but they just didn't feel that it was what they were looking for at the time. I have considered taking it out and dusting it off, doing some editing and re-submitting it to some other publishers...but sometimes life takes priority.

I have neglected my writing for years, while busy doing other things, mostly raising a family. But lately I have considered trying to revive my creative side. I now have a desk and work space that is all my own, so there is really no excuse anymore.

This is my space in our bonus room. The window looks out onto the front yard and the cul de sac where we live. I haven't done anything here but put the desk and chair. I need to get better window treatments and put up some art work. I need something that will inspire me...

This book I am reading because I am always interested in food and what's good to eat. I read Michael Pollan's other book; In Defense of Food. Today while in the library I found this one on the shelf and decided to read it now.

Oh, Ina Garten, what can I say about Ina? I love her. She is my favorite celeb cook. She seems like the kind of lady that I would enjoy just sitting down at her table and talking and eating like old friends. She is my kind of cook. Besides, I love her house. This back to basics book is great. I just love cookbooks. I collect them. But I have to have a cookbook that has photo's in it. If there are no photo's, I don't want it. Hers are filled with beautiful photo's.

This one I bought some time back at Goodwill for like 50 cents or so. When I got my bookshelves up, and started putting my books out so I could actually see what I had, I found it again. So since I am trying to revive my writing side, I thought it would help inspire me to jump back into the writing mindset.

Here are my shelves. They are just rough, nothing fancy, just a place to put my books. Even this isn't enough room. So I have to decide where to put more shelves for more books.

Now I have visions of getting up early in the morning, going out onto my front porch and spending a little time curled up on the settee reading. It is still a little cool here in the mornings and the neighborhood is quiet, just perfect for reading and enjoying the sounds of birds chirping. The only problem with that is, I can't seem to beat Noah up every morning. He is an early riser. At three, he usually doesn't get to sleep until 9:00 or a little after, but he is up and at 'em by 6:00 or 6:15 every morning. This morning he did sleep until 7:30! Which is really sleeping in for him. I wish he were a little more like his sisters in the fact that they like to sleep late. He however, takes after Andrew. They are both morning people. Sunday morning Andrew was up before 6:00, not because he had to be, but he just couldn't sleep anymore!

Speaking of which, this is his area. Of course, ignore the chair looking thing with the blanket folded on it. I actually have his chair in my area. So until I get another one, he is using that thing to sit on. As you can see, we still haven't gotten everything unpacked and in order, but it is functional enough until we pull it all together. The other part of the room has a futon for sitting and for a guest sleeping area. I plan to get a sleeper sofa to replace the futon, but for now, it will have to do. I am getting a living room set first! Basically the area's of the house that people will see when they come to visit are being taken care of first, then we will move to our area's for fixin' up.

Neglectful

A weed is but an unloved flower.

Ella Wilcox, 1855 - 1919

Yes, the last few days I have been neglectful of this blog. I have been somewhat busy, but mostly there hasn't been much going on worth writing down here. Well nothing that anyone would really be interested in hearing or reading, should I say.

Today we made our first trip to the local library. Yes, I am getting slack. We've been here a month and I just made my way there to get a library card. That was usually one of the first trips I would make when moving to a new place. The library we chose was a small one, and a bit on the warm side. I sure hope they run the air conditioners during the summer, because if it is always that hot, I won't be going often.

Over the weekend we did work around the house. I went to Lowe's and bought some plants for the planters on the porch and got those planted. We visited another church. It is our second to try out since coming here. We will go back tomorrow night and again Sunday. Then we will probably try another one or two before deciding which one to make our home church.

Thursday I go back to the doctor to have that biopsy. I will be glad to get that over. I have tried again this week to put it out of my head. Just continue to say a prayer for me.

Well, like I said, not much going on to write home about. It sure is hot here. I was hoping it would be somewhat cooler here than Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas...but we have had quite the warm spell lately and I have to say, it is pretty warm here. Probably not as humid as Louisiana and south Texas, but boy heat is heat...and it has been hot. We are suppose to get some storms the end of the week and the weekend, so maybe that will bring cooler weather.

I have to end here. I am talking about the weather! That shows how little I have going on right now. Sorry, I will try to come up with something better than discussing the weather conditions for my next post.

Today's Thoughts

Sit quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself

~ A Zen Saying~

Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still

~Lou Erickso~

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin--real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life

~Alfred D. Souza~

News Footage

Here is a link to the news footage about the vandalism of our church in North Little Rock.


http://cfc.katv.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=38870



And some raw video from the security video at the church.

http://cfc.katv.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=38844

Church Vandalism

Getting ready to hit the flea market today. It is a sunny and warm day, just the kind of day to look for junk!

Got an email this morning that our beloved church in North Little Rock was vandalized last night. I was so saddened by the news.

I couldn't put my finger on any of my photo's of the church, so I found this one on the internet. I don't know who took it or I would give them credit.

I am anxious to hear how much damage was done. Hopefully not as bad as originally thought.

I was told that there was damage to both buildings. What exactly I am not sure.

If you have never seen this church, you should make a special trip just to see it. It is beautiful. But the best part are the services. The Spirit of God moves in mighty ways. There is such a beautiful Spirit flowing freely there.

If your ever in Little Rock, go by and take a tour. There is always someone there to show you around. There is a book store inside open during the day.

I truly miss the church and the people there so much. Because there isn't another FPC anywhere! Nothing like it anywhere. Now I need to find a cd from one of the church services to take along with me today to listen to in the car. So I can feel like I am there...

A Doctor, a Banker and Me

Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke...

But it really was my day.

The doctors appointment that I had for a little, uh...proceedure...well I got there and found out that the doctor had been called out to the hospital for an emergency surgery. So I had to reschedule my appointment. So now I have a whole week for the stress and worry to ruminate and build...

Before the doctor, actually on the way to the doctor, I stopped to get a small drink so I could take some pain medicine before the actual procedure. Would you believe my debit card was almost confiscated! The other day I went to town and found a skirt that I wanted to buy. Such a rare event but true, anyway, I got to the register and my debit card wouldn't work. It wasn't declined, it just would do anything. The machine just kept saying attempting approval, or something along those lines. So I had to use another debit card. Today the girl at the window went over and talked to another lady, the manager, with my card and they both looked at me and then came to the window and I asked if there was a problem. She said that it was telling them to keep the card!! What? Well if I hadn't had a problem in Chicago this past summer I would have freaked out. This past summer we were traveling and they put a fraud alert on my card and I couldn't use it until I contacted my bank and the fraud protection department. So I figured since it was an out of state bank and I was spending in another state, well...

So I presented my debit card on an account in state and it had the same name on it so the very nice lady let me have my other card back.

Immediately I called Andrew to call the bank to get it straightened out. Cause, I NEED my debit card...

In a little while I find out that my procedure has been cancelled and I have to wait another week to have it done. Then I find out that some account numbers were stolen or something and all those debit cards were cancelled on the 20th, after everyone had been sent new cards...

The only problem is, you guessed it, I didn't get a new card because we moved and it didn't get sent to our new address. If it can go wrong, it will, and usually at the most inopportune time.

Oh well, such is life and it could be so much worse. I am not at all blind to this fact. This little melodrama that played out today for me is NO BIG DEAL. I know in the scheme of things, it was nothing but a little distraction from a usually ordinary, dull, boring day...

Music Playlist

I don't know what is up with my music playlist. I don't really listen to it, only when I am on the blog looking around. But the other day I realized that some of the music I had on there was missing.

So I got to investigating and those songs were taken off of Music Playlist because they were used without permission.

Well I was disappointed to say the least. Because some of the best song were taken off.

So if your wondering why I took these songs off; I didn't, someone else did...

I hope you can enjoy what remains, until it gets removed too.

Night Time Porch Sitting...

This is what the solar lights look like on the front of the house. It was hard to take a good photo in the dark, without the flash. I didn't feel like dragging out my tripod to put the camera on to keep it from moving while the shutter was open. So there is a little blur to it. The one lone settee seems a bit lonely out there all alone...

I need some ideas...

Like Pooh Bear says...Think...Think...Think...

Suddenly my tummy is a little rumble-y and I feel like a little honey...

Instead I am going to eat a bowl of Raisin Bran with soy milk.

I read the other day that after a fatty meal you need dairy or soy to help dissolve the fat from the meal. I don't think dissolve was the exact word, but that was my word for what they said...

And since I am lactose intolerant...soy milk is the best alternative.

You know, I never knew I was lactose intolerant, but I never liked milk. My mom said that as a child, when she put something else in my bottle besides milk, I never wanted milk after that. All my life I haven't been a milk drinker; which when I am old and stooped, I will pay for my lack of calcium. A few years ago I realized I was lactose intolerant...(yes, I suppose I am a little slow on the uptake on occasion, but I really don't spend my time researching medical conditions.)

Anywho...

All that said, I am trying soy now, and it seems to be working for me...

Speaking of medical conditions...I have an appointment on Thursday for a biopsy. I have a little situation that they want to check out...no big deal...In Jesus name!

If you would remember to say a prayer for me that it really won't be a big deal, and all will be okay...

I am trying not to think about it, so I don't worry. I am a chronic worrier. I try to have faith and believe, but I usually try to think something to death, worrying and picking over it until it drives me insane...then I finally give it over to God, and as usual He always takes care of it...

Well, 'nuf said...

Today's Thought

Whether you believe you can or believe you can't,

You are right.

~Henry Ford~

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you have imagined

~Henry David Thoreau~

That which we are, we are...

And if we are ever to be any better,

Now is the time to begin

~Alfred, Lord Tennyson~

THINK BIG,

AIM HIGH

NEVER QUIT

YOU'VE ONLY ONE LIFE

LIVE IT WELL...

~unknown~

The Front Porch

Okay so I have been busy unpacking boxes and trying to make it look and feel like home. Boy it is a job to move into a new place and find the space for things that were bought for another house. That is the thing about moving around so much. That chair that you just have to have to fill a space in one house, well, sticks out like a sore thumb in another house.

Curtains; that is a whole other story. Of course when you go out and buy curtains to fit windows in one place, they never work when you move. The windows are completely different or you have more than one window and can no longer find the same curtains to match. So what do you do? Give the old ones to Goodwill and start over again... which cost MONEY. So you take it little by little, room by room and then what...well it is time to move again...

Such is the life of people with jobs that move around a lot. Military, construction...well, I am sure there are others, but I just can't think of any others at the moment.

So there are good things and bad things about this life of a nomad that we have chosen. I really enjoy the change. I guess I get bored to easily or something, but after a couple or three years in one place, I feel the need to move on. I like seeing new places, meeting new people, and learning about different areas and the culture there.

Sounds like I am traveling the world instead of the south...

But even in neighboring states, things can be very different and the people are diverse. I like seeing new scenery, and breathing different air...

Anyway, moving can be good, and like I said earlier, it can have its negative aspects. And decorating a house is one of those.

I have been shopping for living room furniture as of late, but haven't found what I am looking for yet. I have to think long term. Not just what will work for this house, but what would work in any house that we may move into in the future, when we leave Carolina. So I am stumped. I looked at a sectional, but sectionals don't work in all living rooms. I really want a leather set, but don't know if I want to spend that much on something that will be moved again and again...

Yesterday I started looking at the front porch. I really want to fix it up to look like an inviting place to come, sit down and stay a while. A country-style or cottage-style porch is the feel I am wanting to achieve.

I have this settee that is a wicker/rattan thing, that I got for free from an older couple on my mail route, when I worked for the post office. The problem is it has fruity cushions. Not fruity as in goofy or strange. But with fruit and big flowers on them. The wicker/rattan has that nice worn, old feel to it that I like, but not the cushions. So I am looking for some replacement cushions. I just haven't found the right style that will fit in the seat. I may have to find fabric and make my own.

Other than the settee, I have my two ficus trees on the porch. I have had these two ficus' since my brothers funeral sixteen years ago. They need to be re-potted into larger pots so they can grow. They look a little ragged now. Unlike me, Ficus' trees don't like moving. If you move them from their spot, they start to drop their leaves and look ill. Then out of the blue they perk up, adjust to their new environment and start looking good again.

I am looking for another piece of furniture or two, maybe a rocker from Cracker Barrel, and maybe a little table. But I also want some other things to make it feel really inviting, like an outside room. You know the type, you see them on most every country style magazine you pick up. They all look so comfortable and inviting...the kind of place to kick off your shoes, prop your feet up, sip iced sweet tea and visit a spell...

Well I suppose I need to hit the flea markets and some antique malls for a bit and look for some country deco to add to the porch. I also have three small planters that hang across the front of the porch that are in dire need of pretty plants. I haven't decided what I want to put in them yet. Something that makes a pretty bloom, but also something that trails down the front over the railing...any suggestions there?

Yesterday we added some solar lighting along the front of the beds that run the length of the porch on either side of the steps. Someone had planted boxwood hedges in there and they were in terrible shape. We trimmed them up and started trying to shape them into, well, box shapes. But some are much smaller and scrawnier than others and one has died. There is a bare spot on the shorter end of the porch front.

Here is the before shot of the out of shape boxwoods and the planters with dead plants in them. If you have any ideas for perking up the joint, let me know. I am not sure exactly where to start. However, trimming the hedges and pulling out the old dead plants, and adding the solar lights was a good start.


Last night we walked out into the yard and looked at the lights glowing in the darkness, and it actually looked good, homey and inviting. Now I need to get started on the porch itself. Maybe one day this week I will go into town and look for that Flea mall and see what loot I can bring home. For now, I am sitting on my fruity settee and enjoying the breeze and the sound of my wind chime. Looks like a cloud coming up, maybe rain coming. To bad this porch isn't enclosed and I could just sit out here and watch the rain come down.

Zyrtec kind of day...

Another beautiful day in Carolina. The sun is shining brightly, the air is crisp with a hint of cool, and I am sneezing, again...

Well I suppose you can't have it all can you?

I am still trying to unpack, only not quite so obsessively as I was at the beginning. I have the necessities unpacked, I suppose the rest could just go away, un-missed. All except for my iron. I haven't found it yet. Who knows what box I will find it hiding. For now, the steam option on my dryer is getting a workout. It doesn't quite look as neat as ironing, but who cares. By the time you sit down in the car and drive to where your going, there will be some wrinkling anyway, so why worry yourself so much about getting it perfect looking in the beginning. Your family is the only one who actually sees you that way. Of course I don't have a flair for ironing anyway. I always struggled with ironing more wrinkles into the clothes than I got out. Anyone else like that or am I the only one with an ironing issue?

Anyway, other than the iron, if I haven't unpacked it so far, apparently it isn't something I really need...Maybe things I would like to have and know where they are, just in case...

You know how us hoarders are...just in case there is a shortage of some sort on yarn or loose leaf paper, well, I have plenty to see us through. I don't go as far as my grandma did; hiding packs of paper under her mattress...but you must remember she lived through the Great Depression. So she had a right to be a little hoard-ish, if that is a word. Which by the way, spell check didn't recognize as a word...

Andrew is building me some shelves for the bonus room so I can finally unpack all of my books. It has been ages since I have seen them all in one place at one time. I probably have books that I have forgotten I had.

One book for sure that I want to find is the one I try to read every spring since I discovered it.

From The Ground UP
the Story of a First Garden
by Amy Stewart

If your like me and love a garden, you will enjoy this book. So as soon as I unpack it I will start reading it again. The only problem is that when I read it, I want to start digging and planting, but I think probably the only gardening I will do this year is putting some flowers into the planters on the front porch. Maybe some hanging pots, but definitely no veggies this year. Last year I spent quite a bit of money trying to do some container gardening, but the harvest was very slim...We had no bees. I never saw a single bee in the yard, I just think it was a bad place to try to grow veggies. This year, I will leave the veggie gardening to others and visit the farmers market and support those small farmers who are still trying to hold on to family farming as a life style.

Oh here I go again babbling away again about nothing important.

Well, I am off to enjoy the day, just as soon as I load up on Zyrtec.

Tea Party

TEA Parties

Did you hear about these? TAXED ENOUGH ALREADY There were a lot of them held on April 15th, tax day, and thousands of people came together to protest what is going on in the government. If you are interested follow this link for information about the next Tea Party scheduled for May 30, 2009. http://www.teapartyday.com/

If there isn't one planned for your state or area, there is a link on the web site to follow and it will tell you how you can plan a Tea Party for your town.

On that note, if you are tired of hearing only one sided, liberal views on the news and what is happening in our world today. Find an American Family Radio station near you and tune in for Christian prospectives of the events that are taking place in the world today. You can go online and listen or find the station that serves your area.

Fond Food Memories

Today we ventured out into town to see what was happening there. We were going to go to a flea market, but got side tracked at the mall. Did I ever mention how much I despise the mall? Any mall, they are all the same, and I hate them...

By the time we got out of there the kids were tired and cranky.., or was that me? Anyway, we headed on home.

I am cooking supper. On the menu tonight is: (if anyone is interested)

Chipotle Pepper Chicken breast

Scalloped potatoes

Whole baby carrots

But after browsing around the web, and one of my favorite food sites,

http://www.nolacuisine.com/2009/04/05/live-louisiana-crawfish/

I wish I was having this:

I am originally from Louisiana and this is one thing I really miss about living there. Some things not so much, like the hot humid weather, and the mosquitoes...I am sure given a little time, I could come up with a few more things...

But one really great thing about living in Louisiana...Crawfish...yes, they are ugly creatures, and if you have never tasted them, you are missing out on an incredible taste delight...Ask any true Louisianan. Nothing better than sitting around outside, swatting mosquitoes and pinchin' tails and sucking on those crawfish heads. Enjoying the spicy potatoes and corn, with the juices running down your arm, mmm...good stuff!

And when you finish you are full, happy, and if they are cooked right, you fingers are burning from the seasoning soaking into your skin...Well that is just my experience anyway.

With that image and my mouth watering, I will go check on my meal that is cooking in the oven. Not quite the delight of boiled crawfish, but I suppose it will have to do. Maybe this weekend we will get some crab and shrimp and have a boil out back on the deck and invite a few people over. Not exactly the crawfish boil of my memories, but I am sure that I can "suffer" through it...

Easter in Carolina

It is a bright and beautiful Easter morning here in Carolina. The sun is shining and it is a brisk 55*. It is a great day to be alive and know that Jesus is our refuge and ever present help in times of trouble and need. He is our Redeemer and salvation. Our hope for this life and the next. Basically like the song says, "It's All IN Him." It is all wrapped up in Him. He is the answer to all of life's problems and the help in every situation. There is nothing to big for our God!

Spring has sprung in Carolina and I can tell by the sneezing I am doing, by the yellow pollen that covers every outdoor surface, and by the beautiful colors of the flowers that are blooming.

When I was growing up, my grandma's house was a warm an inviting place to be. I have so many wonderful memories of being there with her and the rest of the family. Nearly every Sunday we would go to her house to eat lunch after church. And Easter Sunday was no exception...then after the meal, the adults would hide Easter eggs for the kids to find.

Out by the cattle guard, and across the trees that grew there, beautiful lilac-purple flowers would bloom. The vines would run down the trees and across the fence row. I always loved how they looked there. They were wisteria vines, and to this day, when I see them, I always think warm thoughts and I am transported back to Mawmaw's house.

While driving down the highway yesterday to get a couple things from the grocery store I passed this house that had wisteria growing all around it, I immediately knew I had to get some shots of it. Later in the evening, while the kids were playing and Andrew was watching the ribs on the grill, I slipped away and walked around this old homeplace and took a few photo's. As I did I wondered about the family that lived here, and how they felt seeing the house in this condition.

As you can see, the house is basically in ruins, it looks as though they are getting ready to tear the rest of it down and clear the area. I begin to think of the lives that were once lived there, the memories the place probably holds for someone. And now, how lifeless the place is, falling apart, and I was saddened by the thought. However, the beautiful blooms of wisteria that liven up the place make it beautiful to me.

This area of the house was especially familiar to me. Mawmaw's house had a chimney like this on the side of the house and the lines of the house reminded me of her house. The many, many years of living that was done there. Now it too sits empty, unused. I know in time, the house will eventually look the same as this house does. And I grieve at the thought, that someday when I go back for visits, there will be an empty spot where the old home place once stood. The memories of what seems like life times ago...ages gone by, a time that will never be again. Only in the hearts and memories of those who loved and lived there.

I miss you Mawmaw. I hope to again be reunited in our heavenly home one day.
Until then, I will cherish the memories of you. Thank you for being such a beautiful part of my life and for being a wonderful grandma.

Easter Time

With the move and all that has been involved, I had forgotten Easter was upon us. Easter time is usually filled with shopping for new outfits for Sunday church on Easter and dying eggs. In years gone by it was also filled with Easter egg hunts at church and then several times afterwards for the kids at home.

The girls are older now, and Noah doesn't really know that much about Easter. This year, since we just moved and haven't found a church to attend yet, we didn't do any special shopping for new outfits, and I really haven't given the much thought to plans for the day. I did buy a small precooked, pre-cut ham to serve along with either dirty rice or cornbread dressing and some veggies.

I am sure that we will also dye a few eggs just for the sake of the memories and then I will use them next week as deviled eggs or egg salad. More than likely we will buy some plastic eggs to hide, because it is just easier than dealing with trying to hid and find real eggs.

I do know that I will talk to the kids about Easter and why we celebrate Easter and will read from the Bible about Jesus' Crucifixion and His Resurrection.

We will miss Lauren, and wish she were here with us. But I am glad to know that she is in a safe place and has people around her that care about her. I am also thankful that she has a wonderful church to attend on Easter and every week that teaches and stands for truth.

So, what are your plans for Easter? Do you have any special traditions that you follow every year? Certain foods you prepare? Whatever you are doing on this special day, may God bless you and surround you with His love and draw you into a closer relationship with Him.

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I will be uploading more in the near future...

The way to a women's heart...This one anyway...

The last few days have been pretty busy ones, filled with unpacking, cleaning, and trying to figure out where to put everything. We are about a third of the way done. There are empty, broken down boxes stacked up in the living room.

There are boxes full of packing paper that need to be hauled off somewhere, anywhere but in my living room.

Never mind that there is also a "wild" horse in here also.

This stack will greet anyone who dares to enter into the front door.

Here is my laundry closet. Not real exciting, right?

I have always dreamed of having a big laundry room, with lots of cabinets for storage. Places to hang clothes to dry, and maybe even an area for a craft table. I guess you could say, I was looking for a place to call my own. You know how it is, you have a family in a house, and everyone has a space of their own except for Mom. Well unless you count the kitchen, and really how comfortable can you get in a kitchen?

The kids each have a room to go into and do their thing. Andrew always has a garage that he can fix up, and spend time piddling around. He usually ends up with a TV area in there where he can watch the game. That's because we all complain so much about his obsession with football, but I digress...

Where can I go to just be alone and enjoy reading or crafting without being disturbed? No where, and certainly not in my current laundry "closet."

With all of this in mind, I am still pretty jazzed about my laundry area...no not because of the space itself, but because of what occupies that space...

No, not the dirty clothes in the basket that need to be washed. But the machines themselves. Aren't they a beaut? I love front load washers. They are the best. Andrew had this pair waiting for me when I got here. Isn't he something? Not exactly diamonds, but what good are diamonds anyway? Diamonds aren't practical, and can't do a thing for you when you need clean clothes...

I've never been interested in jewelry anyway, but these babies really are the way to my heart...no they aren't those great new trendy colors that everyone is clamoring for, but they are white; timeless...when that great aqua green colored washer goes the way of the 70's gold kitchen, I will still have my great white machines...

And this white goes with everything...
Even after Labor Day!

The Good And The Bad

The really great thing about living in a mulit-story home is: The stairs! It is like a built in exercise program. One that you can't avoid. You can't make excuses to not do...

I have been here three days and I know I have scaled the stairs at least a million times...
Well, maybe not quite a million, but almost...

The really terrible thing about living in a multi-story home is: The stairs!

You don't have a choice, no matter how you feel, you have to climb the stairs if you want to access half of the house.

I know that will slow down a bit once everything is unpacked and in its place. But for now, I am very sore. Just like I have been running a marathon. Well, I've never really run a marathon, but it is how I imagine you would feel after running a marathon...


Anyway...

The unpacking is going at a slow pace, but coming along. There are still tons of boxes sitting around waiting to be opened and spill their contents into our new home, but not so fast...
I am going to scrutinize everything before it takes up residence in this place. Not everything will be welcomed into our new life here. I am going to cull some things and try to pare down a bit and I figure that this is the best time to do it, before it has a chance to escape and find a place to put down roots. Because once it takes hold, it is hard to get rid of...junk is kind of like Kudzu...give it a little space and it will take over the entire place.

Noah and the dogs are really enjoying their new back yard. And I am enjoying the quiet. We were living on a busy street, now we are in a cul-de-sac in a subdivision well off the main road. So far it has been nice a quiet, like living in the country again.

Well, I just finished frying some bacon and cooking biscuits, (no, they weren't from scratch, just from a can), now I need to do a few things. Oh maybe not, it is Sunday morning...the sun is shining and the temp is nice, maybe I will just relax and enjoy the day. I would usually be hurrying around trying to get everyone ready for church so we wouldn't be late, but since we just moved here, I haven't found a church yet. So this will be a rare Sunday to just relax and slowly move into the day.

Thoughts For The Day

The best way to make children good is to make them happy

~Oscar Wilde~

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes

~Hugh Downs~

You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity

~Epicurus~

I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed

~unknown~

We Have Arrived!

Two kids, three dogs, six states, nine hundred plus miles in two days! But we finally made it. Thank God! God protected us and gave us traveling grace. The dogs did great as did the kiddo's. So with the exception of being really tired today, all is well...

I will continue with regular posting in the next day or so...