expanding my word-hoard!

This was a new one on me! Was the word "word-hoard" a part of your word-hoard?! It wasn't a part of mine before a few moments ago, but tis now! I rather like it and think I will use it frequently.




word-hoard \WURD-hawrd\ , noun:

A person's vocabulary.

Word-hoard first occurred in modern English in the 1890s. It was a literal translation of the Old English word wordhord which meant "a store of words."


On a different note here, today is my last day to prepare for entering the classroom tomorrow! I will be scooting off to WHCS momentarily to make lesson plans and just get my head into it! I'm so thankful that today is a semester break. Surprisingly, I feel semi-calm and ready to just do this. Thanks to my dearest friend, Jill, who whipped up TWO new frocks for me in basically a few breaths, I even feel like my wardrobe is ready! {THANKS again, Jill!} I only managed to eek out a meager 1 new dress. The PINK one. Maybe the kid's should call me Mrs. Barbie on the day I wear it! "When push comes to shove" is a GOOD thing for me since it forces me to do the things I should do anyway, but don't! I cleaned out Beatrice's fishbowl, organized the deep-freeze {ready for bake day food! :)}, wiped out the fridge, overhauled the spice cabinet, straightened the cookbook cabinet, and finished deep-cleaning the orange bathroom. FEELS. SO. GOOD. to have those things DONE. Now, if I can just keep up with my star chart while I'm teaching....
over and out!

my prayer

Oh Lord....grant me sight to see the beauty in each child, each person you've created. To focus on what's inside no matter how the outside appears.

Help me to see color on a grey day....to behold the peace that comes after a storm.

Please blind my eyes to the faults of those I love, knowing that I also do and say the most unlovable things!

Let my eyes cease to rest upon the mess....but rather focus on the fact that LIFE is being LIVED exuberantly!

Lord, grant me the vision to truly see into the little hearts of the children entrusted into my guidance, that I can know when are already doing the best they can, and when they are not. Then, help me to give them the shove of love from above!

Lord, sharpen the vision of the eyes in the back of my head, help me see when the clock says it's time to be in bed!

Please give me eyes that twinkle with surprise...and when I've been wrong, eyes that cry and apologize.

Give me blindness to things that bring worry, but please give me sight for this challenge that lies ahead.

AMEN.

 

 

written by SMF

01.26.13

like a clock during a thunderstorm

 I LOVE this quote! I am aspiring to be like a clock in a storm!

Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson

Seattle's Best Coffee in Vanilla flavor is truly superb! I bought some because the bag had red on it, and a picture of ice cream.

One, single, solitary, lonely kumquat on my tree is ALMOST orange enough to eat!

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich is a fascinating, nonfiction read! So amazing how smart human beings can actually be!

I haven't earned 4 stars on my chart for days now....Yesterday I didn't earn ANY! Got up at 8:02, didn't make the bed, didn't clean up the house, was 20 minutes late to my Dr. ap, arrived to buy dog food at the elevator 2 minutes after they had closed, was 45 minutes late to the potluck in the evening! {Talk about ruffled feathers ALL day long!} And went to bed after 10:00 with the kitchen looking like a disaster zone! BUT, I WILL TRY AGAIN TODAY! :) Already have 1 star for getting up at 7! Yay!

I wore my coral pink dress last night. Pink must be magical; I feel like a different person wearing pink...

Daniel had some luck this morning! He is on his way home from hunting with what he tells me is a strange, weird buck! a cull. Can't wait to see it!

So long!

back to blogging!

I don't have a long time to ponder over this post, so please forgive my scattered ramblings! Life hasn't skipped a beat lately! Roxie's shower went down without a hitch in a plume of purple and teal. Mel and I left the next morning with Aunt Donna to spend the weekend in MS with Gramps for Grandpa's 91st birthday. Mom and Rhonda followed a bit later, and Uncle Mark and Aunt Tricia were ahead of us! We had a dashing time; lots of good laughs, good times, and good donuts I must add! The chocolate creme filled ones are the bomb! {think Wendy's frosty in donut form!} I was also so pleased to get a firsthand lesson on how to make peanut brittle from the master! {thanks, Uncle Mark!} Now I need to try my hand at it while it is fresh in my mind! Saturday was a day packed with celebration! Shopping, eating at Ryan's, seeing old friends, and of course PRESENTS! :)  Sunday was spent having church and lunch at the Home; always so special to me!! The residents there along with our grandparents and others in the cottages are shining examples of being cheerful, accepting, and happy in the golden years! We said our sad goodbyes Sunday afternoon and headed home to our hubbys! {except for Mel I must clarify unless she thrash me! :)} We were felt quite privileged to have a substantial stash of new fabric riding along home with us. Since mating season seems to be in full swing, it feels good to have a bit of a buffer for all these wedding on the horizon! So all in all, it twas a weekend filled to the brim with great memories and rare quality time with my sisters! Kinda ironic that we have to go out of state to be able to spend time together!

new year's R.E.S.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.S

Did you make piles of New Year's RESOLUTIONS for 2013? I didn't. Resolution is such a big, bad, scary word that I don't even like to deal with it! In my mind, it just screams FAILURE!! But, since I am always trying to better my life, and thereby whip myself into shape, I made some simple New Year's TRY-TOS. That way, if I don't always succeed, I won't feel so awful because I didn't RESOLVE to do or not to do, I am only TRYING! :) I don't mind if you laugh at my feeble attempts here....most likely y'all all do these piddly things regularly without any extra efforts!

1. Don't sleep past 7:45. {I will be getting up MUCH earlier in a few days for school!! But in the winter it's so easy to keep hitting the ole snoozer!! and the unhappiness that results from such a sluggish morning far exceeds the delight of sleeping later!! Ugh! So, 7:45 is still purty much sleeping in, yet not so late that the morning is completely wasted!}

2. Make the Bed. {I can't believe how much seeing the neatly made bed, adorned with 7 pillows and the vibrant yellow chevron throw which was a Christmas present from my bestie, Jill, gives my soul a little leap of delight when I pass by! and it only takes 5 minutes tops.}

3. House Beautiful. {This means that at some point during the day, I need to do a clean sweep through the house, picking up and putting away. And brooming up stray grass and erring socks etc.}

4. Make the kitchen say "Good Morning!" {Every single, solitary dish has to be either in the dishwasher or sitting clean on the drying pad before I hit the hay.}

5. Go to bed by 10:00. {The hardest til last!! I haven't mastered this one even one night. Yet! Better days are coming!}

{and two once-a-weekers}

6. Monday is Meal Planning Day. {Can't believe how much this helps! With grocery buying and general stress!}

7. Friday is ART Day! {Adults art every Friday just like school kids! :) I'm aiming to either paint, sew, or do something crafty. Art at school may have to suffice for the next 4 months though!}

So, all these TRY-TOS! And how to make myself accountable?! I'm pretty much a kid in grown-up clothes, so I decided to try a juvenile approach. Who doesn't like a chart with stars?! I whipped up a colorful chart with my new Christmas Sharpies and magneted it to the refrigerator. I'm trying to earn 5 stars each day! So far, 4 per day is my highest as the going to bed by 10 gets me every night! Argh! But I'm gonna keep trying to!

I also coined these mantras to keep me focused on the good life! I have them written around the edges of my chart.

God First. {Like don't read GoodHousekeeping or poke around on Pinterest in the morning before having quiet time with God reading the Bible.}

Stop while it's fun. {So often, if I enjoy something, I end up overindulging and the guilt is greater than the good! For example, 1 or 2 muffins, cookies, bowls, etc. are great, but 3 or 5 is gluttony and it's not fun anymore! Or reading a few chapters is relaxing, but reading most of the book instead of doing what needs to be done is ridiculous and no fun at all!}

The early bird doesn't have ruffled feathers. { This one is my fave. :) Way too many times I wait until last minute to get around, then have to fly to the occasion, and am so ruffled by the time I get there that it takes away the joy of the moment completely! The early bird's feathers are all nicely preened and in place, exactly in tune with his song and spirit! LOL that was kinda sappy!}

STRESS is a choice. Choose not to. {Kinda like the saying "Life is 10% action, 90% reaction." If I just decide that I will not stress about ___________ and just do as much as I can calmly do to the best of my abilities, the need to stress is not there. At least not as much!}

Celebrate TODAY! {My whole life is made up of days like this one, one after another! So bring on the sprinkles, the hugs, and the laughter!}

So! Now that I have bared my wittle soul with all its idiosyncrasies, please share with me whether or not you make New Year's resolutions or try-tos, and if so, how you bring them to pass! Since we are 12 days into this fresh year, I figured it was a good time to tackle this topic! Here's to making real, lasting changes for a better life instead of vague aspirations!

one year old!

I just checked the records and found that 2 days ago, this blog had it's first anniversary which slipped by completely unheeded! 215 posts ago, that cold, wintry, January day that I decided to give it a whirl seems like ages ago, yet only yesterday! I purposed to write every day of the week except Sunday, but I ended up being 96 posts short of that! Oh well, it would have been shocking if I had truly been able to follow through with that... but it's been great, it's been good, and I want to keep writing! Writing does so much for me! It's relaxation, therapy, knowledge, friendship, and much more! And it doesn't hurt that it keeps my typing up to speed! :) Thanks for being my faithful followers, friends and family! You've given me tips, advice, and encouragement for our crazy, happy, wonderful, everyday life! My happiness bubbleth up and runneth over....and maketh a big mess like usual! :) Ta-da!
Since an anniversary is an occasion calling for sprinkles, here's the recipe for a sprinkly dessert I want to make soon!

Ice Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients

• To make the cake part:
• cake mix and the ingredients on the box to make cake and cupcake liners
• Ice Cream:
• Cake Batter Ice Cream of Choice I used the recipe found here: http://annies-eats.com/2010/05/14/cake-batter-ice-cream/ Blue Bell also makes a cake batter ice cream called "Krazy Cookie Dough".
• Stabilized Whip Cream:
• I used the recipe found here: http://www.food.com/recipe/wilton-stabilized-whipped-cream-79506

Instructions

• Make the cake part of the cupcakes first using cupcake liners inside muffin tin. Fill with 1/4 inch of cake batter and cooking until they bounce back (about 10 mins). Once cooled leave the liners and cake inside of the muffin tin and put your softened ice cream on top of the cake until it reaches the top of the liners.Freeze in the freezer until the ice cream is hardened (about 2 hours). Right before serving top with the stabilized whip cream and some sprinkles! Enjoy!

we have a WINNER!!!

and the congrats go to JULIANA!! I am most pleased to announce that you have won the first giveaway on this blog! {and don't worry; the rest of you will have another chance! this was so much fun, I will be doing another asap! :)} So, be checking your mailbox one of this days soon, Juli! And thanks to all of you for entering; twas fun to hear all about your delectable Christmas dinners!

did you know?

...that life has been moving along quite nicely for certain individuals, and  we are excitedly anticipating a family wedding in the near future? {Congrats, Roxie and Jer!!}

...that I will be back in the classroom for the next four months starting January 28?! {HELP! am I crazy?!}

...that you never know what the next day will bring? {wonder what is happening today, RIGHT NOW, that we don't have a clue about?}

....that washing dishes in the winter isn't so awful, because the hot water feels lovely to my perpetually cold hands.

....that I've managed to stick to my new year's "try-to" {I don't make RESOLUTIONS!} of making the bed for 5 days in a row? {skipped yesterday since it's the day of rest!}

....that Daniel took my lil sis hunting and found out that we aren't related because she can walk like a DOVE!!! {he even had to look back to see if she was still there, she can walk SO QUIETLY!}

...that I desperately need some new dresses for teaching? {WHY don't I keep my wardrobe replenished like normal people?}

....that I'm yearning to stop by the thrift store when I go to town this afternoon for my allergy shots? {I should stay out of them and do IMPORTANT things like s.e.w.i.n.g.}

....that TODAY is the last day for you to tell me your Christmas dinner menu and get your name entered to win the measure of all measuring cups?

....and last, but not least, that I would welcome and covet your prayers for the next while? {It's gonna be a super challenge to step into the place of such a fabulous teacher, to try be a good wife and homemaker, and to keep my sanity!!}

THANKS in advance! :)

wallpaper freebie and calendar love!

 

At Jo~Ann's, on our after-Christmas shopping spree, with Melanie, from the section of reduced price wall calendars, I was lucky enough to snag this gorgeous, shoe-ful, artsy, sturdy, metal-riveted calendar to hang in my kitchen for 2013! {please excuse excessive use of prepositional phrases!} Anyway, I love it! And, as I was unwrapping it, I noticed that it proclaimed that I could get free desktop wallpapers from this website! http://www.lang.com/wallpaper How cool is that?! Of course, I chose the same one as my calendar; but there are lots to choose from! I think I'll choose {En Plein Air} next month... So snag one for yourself, and make your desktop a happy place that's a reflection of YOU! {BTW, all the calendars on their website are 1/2 off, too! In case you aren't yet prepared for twenty-thirteen!}

 

welcome 2013!

The year of our Lord 2013 has begun! It's hard to believe that we are already 2 days in! I had seen this DIY day-by-day calendar idea on Pinterest, and had vowed to start my own! So I snagged this unique and adorable mini shopping cart at World Market to hold my index cards. One entry down for yesterday {worked in the office for my dad, Kim and Rachel and kids came over for a chili supper :)} and 364 more to go! I think it will be so interesting next year to see what we did last year on each day. Here's the link to the website that has the instructions so you can get started with yours before the year is too far gone! http://www.designsponge.com/2010/12/diy-project-vintage-postcard-calendar-journal.html I just have the feeling in my bones that 2013 will be a magnificent year! Cheeri-o!

 

P.S. DON'T FORGET TO MAKE YOUR ENTRY FOR THE GIVEAWAY THAT ENDS IN 5 DAYS! please see post titled "GIVEAWAY!"