it's starting to look a lot like Christmas!

  Like the new look? It was time for a Christmasy vibe! Also, any ideas for what I should do for a Christmas giveaway? Last year I gave away a 2 cup, see-through-the-top kitchen measure....this year? My mind is kinda blank at the moment! A book? {who doesn't love a good book?!} a thrift-store steal? {need a vintage pattern?} YOU should tell me what you want for Christmas other than your two front teeth!

monday nights at jalisco's

  It was Monday today, no doubt about it. But I could keep on keeping on amidst the sickness, the stress, and the strain because it was also gonna be "Monday Night at Jalisco's" with the one who loves me no matter what ~ the one who listens and gets me going when I just wanna stop ~ the one who turns my lamentables into laughables! Somehow talking over tacos just puts the world back in perspective. Quality time with a side of cheese dip... Monday Nights at Jalisco's are my anti-nemesis, my boon.

go Google?? {survey}

  

 I've shed alligator tears over the loss of my beloved iGoogle home page! Why, oh why did Google feel the need to extinguish this ever-so-useful invention?! I find it hard to remember important birthdays without my birthday app, I sorely miss my blog-following app for blueelephantstitches, and last but not least, I lament the loss of my stubby, digital penguins tottering about....sigh....sniff....snuffle.....SO! I am having to put on my big girl panties and deal with it!! I have tried yahoo homepage again and hated it; these amazingly inane yet somehow weirdly intriguing news stories pop up that I feel compelled to read {such as: "Check out the Differences in the Skin of Twins When One is a Smoker and the Other Isn't!", etc, etc,} and I DON'T have time to ponder on such ponderific topics! So I nixed Yahoo. Then I decided since most of my digital life {blog & email} is already controlled by Google, I might as well go Google all the way and switch from IE to Chrome and attempt to customize a Google Chrome homepage! That's what I am needing help with! I'm not nerd enough to make grownup decisions about what apps to download onto my desktop! Do I need an app that can turn my screen into a mirror?? Do I?? It might come in handy! Or how about a Todo.Ly to-do list?! Or a Wunderlist to-don't list?! Weather? Gmail? Of course! Gmail Offline? Sure! Why not? And what's this? An art app? Of sure I need the Exquisite Forest.....I think I do anyway.....Nah...that's pish-posh...But I do love art in most forms....But hey, I need apps that SIMPLIFY my life!

OK, so my survey will ask the following questions:
What browser is your favorite and why? 
1. IE {Internet Explorer}
2. Google Chrome
3. Firefox
4. Safari - wishin' I had an apple :)

What are your favorite apps?

I am so eager to hear your opinions! Bring 'em on! 

lowering my standards

     Hi! I am alive and well! Well, I'm well so far anyway! Danl is in the throes of illness....fever, achiness, and extreme exhaustion. Poor guy! Hope he feels MUCH better tom!
     Anyway, this post will not be about any of the things I've mentioned that I will write about such my HP {happiness project} Sarah Palin, etc. It's about the fact that I basically don't blog at all anymore because I never seem to have enough time to write about all the wonderful aspects of life that I wish to elaborate on! Therefore, since I don't have the time and energies to write lengthy posts about every interesting {or boring!} thing, I don't write at all. These standards of mine are ridiculous. So, I will simply lower them. I will attempt from this day forward to write every day except Sunday about whatever inspires me, whether it's 1 sentence or 100. Thank you, my dear friends and family! This will be all for tonight.

Someone is praying for the things....

Too many tomorrows have come and gone whilst I whittle my time away doing everything but posting on this blog o' mine!
{THINGS like SARAH PALIN!!!! eating ice cream on CHICKEN potpie, etc!!! More on these episodes later!!}

I patterned a Thanksgiving bulletin from the above quote, and put up the kids' pumpkin pie spinners all around it! Looks quite yummy! I had them color "crust" with brown marker around the edges, so theirs look even more realistic than this Pinterest sample.

Kudos to being thankful!

I am attempting to "go out of my way to give praise" as one of my November Happiness Project resolutions. More on the HP later! :)

happiness project progress!

   School Meeting is now history; good history though! T'was definitely worth it to go! Loved seeing old friends, and making new ones, staying with my kindred spirit, Katelyn, gleaning ideas from the pros, and eating scrummy, southern food! {I want to try to replicate the caramel candy corn ice cream dessert!} Yet overall, I personally feel like the lectures could be de-lengthened, and the buzz sessions could be bountiful-lied...but that's just my feeble opinion!
   Now, back to blogging about this happiness project of mine...I am still "doing" it! But, I haven't given it quite the zeal I had anticipated that I would! Bottom line, happiness comes from lots, and I mean LOTS, of good old-fashioned self denial! I like to think that sitting down, putting my feet up, while reading or browsing will make me the happiest, but no! I am truly happier when I don't give in to what I feel like doing and rather whisk around, do up the dishes, stuff some clutter, and THEN plop on my tush! Also, this happiness project isn't about joy, which I consider to be a stable fruit of having a relationship with my Maker, having the best hubby, having food, clothing, shelter etc, etc! This happiness project is directly related to what I am terming as "surface happiness," or the mood I'm in because of my own day-to-day actions. That said, I have found that it is surprisingly easy to make myself happy! An on the flip side, I've found that it's surprisingly easy to make myself sad, grumpy, or grouchy! Ouch! I'm going to start with sharing my own personal 12 commandments that I created. A few are the same as Gretchen's, but they are mostly mine. {Warning! If you haven't read Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project, this post may not make much sense.}

~12 Commandments~

1. Stop while it's fun.

2. Be the better person.

3. De-escalate the situation.

4. Listen.

5. Be observant.

6. Don't whine.

7. Deny self.

8. Clean up, pick up, put away.

9. Identify the problem.

10. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

11. Say yes to saying no.

12. Be Sharon! :)

 

 

Next I'll share the three secrets of adulthood I've discovered!

 

~Secrets of Adulthood~

No matter how messy the kitchen is, it is possible to get it cleaned up!

If your house is clean and pretty, it won't look shabby.

Candy bars don't taste as good as you think they should.

 

 

Here's my true rules...

 

~True Rules~

When eating out, always order water unless they serve amazing lemonade!

Leather is better.

I'm always busy.

There's so much to learn!

 

OK, now for July's report which was my first month. I titled this month "Form Healthy Habits." I chose this quote for my inspiration. "Habits are safer than rules; you don't have to watch them. And you don't have to keep them either. They keep you." - Frank Crane

My resolutions were as follows:

God first

Move it!{exercise}

Make the bed

Scan the news

G'morning Kitchen - G'nite House

Blog

Sleep 8

Drink 6

No ruffled feathers

Tackle a nagging task.

Whew!! On my score sheet, I only ever did them all one day. I think I had pretty high hopes for myself! I was super happy and felt like I had it all together though on the days when I got right around and had mostly stars instead of blanks! I'm still trying to keep these things as good habits, but I sure haven't been blogging every day. And, I don't think Daniel would appreciate it if I tried to make the bed while he is still in it some mornings! Lol, "Honey, don't wriggle too much when you get out of bed, I have it all smooth and made up already!"

 

This is getting quite verbose....I shall wrap it up for now, get some zzzz's, and report on August, September, and October tomorrow!!

 

 



 



finally fall

 

Finally made a fall bulletin using this quote. I really like how it turned out. I colored the "a"s  orange and the heart red, then put up the ears of corn from Brent and colorful leaves around it. Today was a great day at school! We had our second "Sing-along." We all love having Ms. Roxie teach music!