i will write again, right?

One of these days when life gets back to normal, {whatever that is?!} I will blog daily. I just got done subbing at school for four days, and am now eating cold, baked beans as I sit here typing a tad while I wait on Dad to get back to the office so we can work on bookwork again. AGAIN. Whew! What an exhausting sentence! Mom is still recovering albeit slowly and painfully. I think maybe I just heard Dad drive in...... Oh and FYI, Daniel shot the most adorable, baby, feral piglet last night! {if wild hogs can even be considered cute!!} Tomorrow the poor piggy won't be crying "Weeee weee weeee" because he will be marinated, injected, roasted and devoured! Wanna join us?

yesterday and today

It's no fun to see someone you love so much be in pain......suffering ......makes me wish I could just take her place and go through it for her.  God bless my sweet, uncomplaining mother. And the awesome nurses at Sacred Heart. I can't imagine being able to handle all that they do! I'm back home now...got some wash going....and I'm  .   .   . r e a l l y . . . getting . . . SO. . . sleepy . . .zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

applelicious

 

Attention, blog readers! The following post has been sitting half-written in my draft box since Tuesday.... So here's an attempt at getting somewhat current again.

 

 

 

Finally whipped up a batch of homemade fabric softener!! I'd pinned it on pinterest awhile back, and had been pining to try it.

What You’ll Need:

• 6 cups HOT water
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 2 cups Suave Refreshing Waterfall Conditioner {or other favorite scent}

What You’ll Do:

• Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely.
• Add the vinegar, and mix well.
• Store in a large container {empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc}
• Pour into a downy ball… or use approx. 2 tbsp. in the fabric softener spot in your laundry machine… then wash!

I made a half recipe to try if out and used "Fresh Green Apple" conditioner as I love anything apple! {One of my first and favorite "apple" memories is receiving a little bucket of apple bath products from B&B Works for my birthday from my friend Monica when I was pretty young. Thanks again!} It smells great and seemed to work well in the one load of laundry I've done since Monday! {have washed some towels, but I don't put softener in towels...do y'all?? I think it makes them less absorbent, but who knows!} I had fun glamming up a container for my homemade "Downy." First I peeled the labels of my old softener bottle. Then I cut label-sized pieces of hounds tooth wrapping paper. Finally, I modge-podged them in place, and voila! Classy-looking home for humble, homemade, fabric softener.

 

Back to apples, I highly recommend Dunkin' Donuts' new, seasonal, "Apple Orchard Donut." Until I had eaten "cake" donuts at DD, I never would've said that I liked them. But I DO! I really. really. DO. LIKE them! A. LOT. Monday, I ran down and got pricked at Dr. Cleveland's office since Dr. McIntyre is out for a week, and since allergy shots make me really hungry, I got one of these donuts after I had devoured my black bean burrito from Taco Bell. It hit the spot! Don't you just love the wonderful invention of the drive-thru? Go through one, eat, drive on down the road, check for hunger, hit next drive-thru, eat, and so on and so forth until you run out of drive-thrus! Or money, or hunger....

thoughts from the pew...

Do you ever end up letting your mind wander away from the sermon you are supposed to be listening to, and then God ends up sending you another sermon tailor-made? That's what happened to me yesterday... as my thoughts were drifting, He impressed some powerful directives upon me, and brought the following song to my heart. I'll try to leave the gist of them here.

"Life should feel full of wonder for a Christian....is mine? Life will bring many changes, some good and some not so good....will I be able to handle it? God set me here, in THIS time and place.... He will be there for me, for us, ALWAYS. God is the One who created this magical world, with all its wonderment... Happiness doesn't just fall out of the sky; it's up to me to find it, to keep it alive no matter what circumstances life brings to me. Because... "He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." {2nd Corinthians 9:6-7} If I give my all to God, to my husband, to others, and to discovering the simple joys of life, my heart will be full and overflowing."

 

GOD SET YOU HERE

by Janarro Jantz

 

You have arrived in life,

At this time and place.

God set you here

By His love and grace.

 

What e're you meet today,

God's mighty hand

Planned it that way.

Fill your place today.

 

Chorus - "God set you here....God set you here."

 

Oh, faint not at the load

That you have to bear.

God won't forget you;

He's always there.

 

 

What e're you meet today,

God's mighty hand

Prepares a way.

Fill your place and pray.

 

Chorus - "God set you here....God set you here."

 

So spread some cheer around,

Tell someone you care.

You have a place here,

A part to share.

 

Your sunshine's needed here,

So give someone

A smile to cheer.

Fill your place right here.

 

Chorus - "God set you here....God set you here."

to clean or not to clean?!

 

 

Dust if You Must

 

 

Dust if you must,

But wouldn't it be better

To paint a picture or write a letter,

Bake a cake or plant a seed,

Ponder the difference

Between want and need?

 

 

Dust if you must,

But there's not much time,

With rivers to swim and mountains to climb,

Music to hear and books to read,

Friends to cherish

And life to lead.

 

 

Dust if you must,

But the world's out there

With the sun in your eyes,

The wind in your hair.

A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,

This day will not come around again.

 

 

Dust if you must,

But bear in mind,

Old age will come and it's not kind.

And when you go

-And go you must-

You, yourself will make more dust!

 

 

author unknown

 

 

I have always loved this poem....it resonates with me! But, I do love a super clean sparkling house, too! Last night I finally cleaned up the kitchen in its entirety...you know like actually washed up all the stuff that "shouldn't" go in the dishwasher, and even wiped down the grungy, grimy nooks and crannies of the counter tops. And when I was done, I have to admit that it felt pretty fab-dab-lulous!!! But if you choose to make memories instead of cleaning, they stay with you forever, whereas the house ALWAYS gets filthy again!! I've found that cleaning can devour however much time you give it. What do you think? It is always best to clean and then "live?' Or "live" and then clean?! 

Beatrice loves her new home.

As y'all know, Flo-Flo passed awhile back.....but the clear plastic high rise is no longer empty! Beatrice the female Beta fish has moved in! She is a prissy little thing and is loving the girly "shoe" decor of her new apartment! It has a bejeweled high-heeled shoe wall mural, a Cinderella slipper bed, and a lovely blue glass shoe recliner! She primps around like a little princess; swimming circles through the heel of the Cinderella bed and fluttering her little flappers whenever someone stops to admire her gorgeous, aquamarine scales. We are as happy to have Beatrice here as she is to be with us instead of living in her cramped quarters on the Walmart shelf. She is welcoming all visitors and admirers to stop by for a home tour anytime!

life was good

 

It raineth, our company left, and we're bushed.

 

But the happy couple tied the knot, we hung out till all hours of the nights, and loved every minute! :)

 

Word of the Day

diapason \dahy-uh-PEY-zuhn\ , noun:
1. A full, rich outpouring of melodious sound

 

The wedding choir produced the loveliest diapason.

 

425 people witnessed the vows.

 

Huge wedding = much people-watching, and chatting, and eating, and milling about.

 

Leftover red velvet cake, anyone?

 

Why am I finding it difficult to even string a few sentences together?! (yawn, yawn.....)

 

So pleased to have purchased two tankini swim tops on clearance at Goodys for a total of $8.15!

 

Shrimp Basket's shrimp tacos are sublime.

 

Philip and Twila have two of the sweetest little boys!

 

Joe Pattie's Seafood is the ultimate in seafood. Dreaming of salmon grilled on a cedar plank in the near future.

 

Curling up with my Nook and some snacks is seeming like the best idea I've come up with all day!

 

These interminable allergy shots are making me feel like a needle junkie...

 

More sad goodbyes to good friends yet tonight.

 

Goodbyes are not my favorite; can I just wake up when life's goodbyes are over?...