Sundays

A busy day...  A shopping trip... A long walk... Play.... Sleep

Friday

Two new finds that are making life kinda new and exciting.
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Consciousness-Cleanse-Day-5-The-Gift-of-Reverence  OK obviously I am on day 5 and I don't recommend going out of order, but this is a neat little 21 day dealio where you get to do some self discovery! Check it out!

A volunteer at work, very nice woman and obviously wise turned me on to flylady.com It is a website to help you get your life in order and spend less time on the weekends doing the catch up cleaning, like I tend to do.  You set yourself up with a daily check off that you do in the am and pm and then she gives you mini jobs to do during the week.  In three weeks I can completely see the method to her madness.  When I don't follow the plan (like I didn't on Wed) I had a terrible day on Thursday.  Left the house late without my lunch and no coffee.  Thursday I did a bit of catch up to get on track and friday was excellent!  Check her out!

Family

Family oh so important but often it seems put on the back burner.  I will tell my husband how much I care later.  I will play candy land later.  I will roll around on the floor later.  I will....later.

No more later.
There is only now.
I vow to pay more attention now.

Sundays

A little love for the appliance!  Made banana cookies and bread today.

Book is "Simple Food For The Good Life" Cookies were more like little pieces of banana bread.  Also made Horse Chow the breakfast cereal. Good but not awesome.  Definitely all healthy.

Bread was from "Artisan Bread in 5 min a Day"  My favorite book for sure. Easy bread that is refrigerated so that you make little loaves all week and of course pizza.

What am i showing you?  A blanket left in the hallway?  Oh the mess of a home... Not so this is a sleeping toddler.  What you don't believe me... Take a peek closer.

She has taken to sleeping in the hallway at nap. Our house is two stories and she is out of the way so i don't mind.  I doubt she will still be doing this in high school.

Happy Sunday all!

Sent

I did it.  I sent in one of my stories.  I am relieved in a strange sort of way.  Number two I do on Sat!

Ages

OK it has been ages since my last post.  I still have not sent in my writing.  I am having difficulty deciding on a title (kinda important to have) and well just plain putting it off.  I did edit and cut so i was at 500 words the next day.  I couldn't get the dang thing to copy and paste into the email and after much frustration got my darling husband to help me. In the end he retyped the whole thing in for me without a word.  Now that is a good man!  I think he kinda wants to make sure I actually do submit it.  Not sure why I am being so weird about it.  I think I am actually more afraid they will like it and then what?? finish editing it?  Hours of agonizing over each sentence.  Editing is definitely not my favorite part.  Well now it's in a draft email.  Tonight I will write my trusted posse the Dead Bunny Club (writers group and no we don't kill bunnies heck i won't even touch them I am so allergic)  Then by Friday I will send it out! Deal?  If I do then what hmm a Carmel apple as a treat? 

Thankful

Today as I sit at look at the horror on the news of Haiti. I once again have to take time to be thankful.

Dinner is not made- We have food to eat.

My house is not clean- It is standing and full of hope and love.
My kids have colds- They are alive and warm and safe.

Life could not be more perfect in this moment, for this I am utterly grateful.

If you have money to give, now would be the time.  Here is the site for the red cross.  Do what you can, we have more than enough.

http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main&s_src=RSG000000000&s_subsrc=RCO_BigRedButton

Writing again

So you may have read in my recent post a comment from a writing friend.  There is a competition happening through kidlit.com  check it out on my sidebar I have posted  a link. 
Anyway, I am editing a couple of my books to send in the first 500 words.  Wow talk about nerve wracking how do you make sure the first 500 sell your book??

Here is the first few sentences of each.....

Under the Surface (better known as stinky Jimmy in my writing group)

As I look back now at 35, I see that the most pivotal time in my life was the summer after my eighth grade year. To think that in one summer I learned more about the world than in all my years before and most of my years after, is really a testament to the impact one person has on another.

The Naughty Fairy

Phia Lee moved to the dead end, of the dead end, of the dead ends. Well not just Phia but her whole family which was her, Mom, Dad and of course her Beagle Lou.

Just to give you an idea, 500 words is about 2 1/2 pages......

Wish me luck, or wish me skill would be better.

2nd Hand Shopping

You gotta love a good deal!  Boots for my little darlin'

Big bag for knitting supplies

T-shirts to be made into skirts via Alabama stitchin'

The one that got away?  We were lookin' for an old Dr. bag to make my daughter a house call kit. Got one you wanna donate to the cause??

More Christmas fun with family!

A friend of mine, Maggie, had a great idea for a holiday quilt.  She gets a hand and foot print from her kids and then when they are older she will have enough to use them for a quilt.  Here is Logan's first and Phia's third.

Caught red footed.

Here is Phia playing games with Poppy

Getting a haircut from Mimi

Playing in the snow with Mommy

Playing with a belated birthday gift from Aunt Hillarie

Being our favorite gift in our stocking this year.

Ahh the holidays were good to us this year.

Not so cute!

So as I am struggling my way back into real clothes from a body by baby that is now 9 going on 10 months old.  I am so green with envy as those mamma's that breast feed and the pounds fall off, not the case for me.  I found myself today feeling cute.  I had new boots from David, new sweater from in-laws, shirt from mom and a skirt I made via the fabric from a work friends donation.  I left the house feeling groovy and hip.  All lumps and bumps hidden.

Upon arriving at work.  My co-worker took one look at me and said yikes your eyes look terrible.  Then another and another and well, a few kids had to make comment and once again for the second day I brought my red bleary eyes home to my family who love me anyway, and don't care that I look cute in my outfit.  They in fact would rather I had on sweats and a shirt that I don't mind having a peanut butter hand print on the front and baby puke on the shoulder.  

I shall try agian getting cute and going in, but only if David assures me that I don't look like a red eyed monster.

No longer momma's Babe!

Today was quite the day.  I woke up with my eyelids glued shut thanks to my second round of pink eye.  (Note to self throw away makeup tainted with pink eye goo.)

I went to work and after the 20th student came in and either said Wow you need to sleep or What happened to you??  I decided it was time to take my typhoid Mary eyes home. 

I made a quick stop at the book store ... oh how I love those short times alone in a store with no one's needs to hurry my perusing.  Upon arriving home however I found a child in tears with a very very red eye.  Now my first thought of course was pink eye but she immediately reported "Sydney poked me in the eye. She said sorry but I cried and Miss Faye help me."

I took her up for a nap for us both.  After a long teary painful eye trauma she finally fell asleep. 

"No no no no!"  I heard just as I drifted off.  I ran down to see what was the matter and low and behold found David with the Logan, and a poopie mess.  I won't go into details but it was not pretty and David was not happy.  It seems the medicine for the ear infection was reeking havoc on his little innards again.

Phia woke up screaming 10 min later and we looked at each other and knew a doctor visit was in our immediate future.

In the car Phia kept her dripping eye closed and then reported she was all better and didn't need to see the Doctor. 

She bucked up and into the office we went.  She told the receptionist her name and we waited quietly in the chairs with the old germ covered magazines.  (She is only three and the quietly part kinda threw me)  In the office the kndly nurse covered one eye with this eye wand and asked her to report the pictures she saw.

"finger print" (hand print)
"reindeer"  (horse and rider)
"House"
"Bird no Duck"

Then the Doctor arrived.  "What happened?"
"Sydney poked me in the eye. She said sorry and Ms.  Faye helped me.What's your name?"

"Does the light hurt?"
"I like it dark.  When I look at books it (my eyes) doesn't work I don't know what to say."
I interpret, "She hasn't learned to read yet." 
He pulls the big gizmo out and asks her to sit forward and put her chin on it.  She does and asks me to hold her hand.  He does his check and finds a scratch that requires a few days of medicine but nothing more. 
"What's that called" pointing to the big gizmo she just put her head in.
"akhsdfkadjf." he replies
"ad;faddjfhjkdh." she says
"That's right."
"Momma that's called a asdadfaehj."
"Wow."
She got her stickers and out we went.

As I sat in the car and retold this to David I realized she is no longer Momma's Babe. She is a child of the world.  She is independent, has her own agenda and is not afraid to ask questions.  I hope these characteristics stay with her always.  Be kind to my babe world!

Coolest

Christmas gift from my mother-in-law.  One for each of the kids.  They were her grandmothers.  I mean doesn't get any better then that.

I am a lover of "The Secret" I know, think what you will...

Today I ran across the original or, sort of original speech.  It's rates as one of my coolest!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8953396377550994014#

Some words I took from his speech that hit home for me.

Let your mind soar.

Believe and succeed.

Don't build a stairway to nowhere have a plan.

Wake up and live.

Act as though you can't fail.

The opposite of courage is not cowardice it is conformity.

These are not direct quotes they are written from my notes.  If you have a spare 30 min. I would recommend listening. 

Bread! Walking!

Got this book and lots of awesome new cooking supplies from my mom for Christmas (all goes with the awesome mixer I got for my birthday).  This is a moment of heaven in my book.  Coffee and baking.  I have made 2 batches which turned into 2 loafs, Pecan Rolls and dinner rolls for 5 since Christmas and they all turned out wonderful.  My father-in-law who is the cinnamon roll connoisseur gave the nod on the Pecan Roll recipe, which was really easy and Sophia got to help with.  She is turning into quite the little baker.

Her brother on the other hand is working on walking.  He took his first 3 steps on the 27Th. 

Yep we have another kid who is walking at nine months YIKES!  Well I guess our offspring have the gotta get moving gene.

2010

What resolutions have you made and broken in the past?  I have many. This year enstead of making resolutions I am posting goals.  5 is my limit!
1- Be in the present.
2- Be a healthy example. (eat clean and excercise daily at least 30 min)
3- Create lots (writing, sewing, crafting, knitting)
4- Edit more (Get Stinky Jimmy edited)
5- Get more sleep

What are your goals for the year??