Beside my daughter's (which I've mentioned in other posts) there are several blogs I like to follow. A couple of them are some I check out nearly every day to see what's new.
One of those is by Tricia Buice, a friend in Fredericksburg, Virginia whose husband was a co-worker of mine at a few radio stations. Tricia's blog "Saving Room For Dessert" can be found at www.savingdessert.com and always has yummy recipes...not just desserts. It will be worth your while to check it out - especially on Mondays. She has decided to make and feature a pie every week of 2011. 52 pies! I commented on her blog recently that I'm thankful I can't gain weight just looking at her blog...because everything looks soooooooo good! She has plenty of pictures to go with each recipe from the ingredients to the finished product. Check it out.
Another blog is one my daughter got me into following called "Sew Weekly" and is at www.sewweekly.com
This stay-at-home seamstress/wife/mom from California makes beautiful clothing and posts the pictures and descriptions of what she's made...the successes and the failed attempts. She re-vamped it this year and has people from other parts of the world participating in weekly sewing projects. She shops for vintage patterns and vintage fabric, utilizing them in her creative way. Too hard to describe it all, but suffice to say that this one would be well worth clicking on.
Rachel Corbin Lafon has a blog called "Just Sew" that shares some really neat ideas. Rachel lives in Texas.
www.justsew-rachel.blogspot.com
I've known Rachel since she was a little girl and now she's a talented wife/mother/seamstress/piano teacher who sews for pleasure and to make a little extra money. She has an Etsy store you can go to after checking out her items. She has an embroidery machine that makes me want one! Uh-oh...I am coveting. Breaking a commandment. Sorry.
"Simple Creations by Andrea" is a great blog to look at for ideas on kids' gifts or clothing. She does other things, too, but these are my favorites. From Hendersonville, North Carolina, Andrea says she is "...just another mom with a hobby." Visit her at www.simplecreationsbyandrea.blogspot.com
"It is Well" at www.spencerhome.wordpress.com is by Martha Cate Shamblin Spencer who lives in North Carolina. She is a photographer and posts pictures and thoughts in beautiful ways. Just read her blog a little while ago and have tears in my eyes... It is more than photography. Martha Cate shares her heart. You'll be blessed.
These are just a few blogs I thought I'd share with you. Hope you'll take the time to look at them!
If you have a pulse, then you have a purpose...make your life count!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Random thoughts on moving, Preparation H and cursive handwriting
Researchers say a woman’s skin ages about 11 days every time she goes to bed without removing her makeup? So I am diligent about not doing that. You’ve read before – if you follow this blog regularly – that I spend a lot of money on skin care so I don’t have to spend a lot of money on makeup. If my skin is in good condition, I can attribute it to always cleansing my face before bedtime, using quality products morning and night, and having Lena’s genes. My mother’s skin was beautiful!
Last night I was tired enough that I just wanted to crawl into the bed. All I could think of was brushing my teeth and putting my worn out body in between those nice soft sheets, but I still needed to remove my makeup. I wasn’t in the mood to go through my skincare routine…it takes too long when I’m tired. I noticed a package of Preparation H Medicated Wipes with Aloe on the sink’s vanity. Hmmmmm… My sister uses Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipes to remove her makeup.
Wipes + Makeup That Needs To Be Removed = It Can’t Hurt To Try
The only thing it didn’t remove was my mascara. Now, I’m not recommending that you abandon your regular beauty routine and begin treating your face like a hemorrhoid, but when in a pinch, give it a go! (insert smile here)
Now that you know Preparation H isn’t just for hemorrhoids, keep reading…
Years ago one of my brothers told me that he used Preparation H on the sore results of removing an ingrown toenail and it healed up quickly. On my inquiry as to why he thought of using a hemorrhoid ointment on his toe, he said that it was red and hurt (“Preparation H shrinks swollen membranes…”). Plus he didn’t have any antibiotic ointment at the time. Same thing happened to me not long after that so I gave it a try and it really does work! Remember, it “…shrinks swollen membranes” quite well. Really! Disgusting, I know, but it worked.
Now if Preparation H worked on sore muscles, I’d be all set because I’ve spent the past seven days in Ohio, packing and unpacking…helping my sister and her husband move from a 12 room home into a small apartment in the Otterbein Retirement Community in Lebanon, Ohio. Brother-in-law Gary is retiring from 36 years of ministry in the West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church. My sister, Vangie, has been in poor health recently and wasn’t able to get any packing done on her own. Thanks to the efforts of many, the majority of the things were packed into boxes and moved about 5 miles from the parsonage to the new place. Movers arrived on Monday morning and that went quickly. One of the reasons my brother-in-law thinks it went smoothly is because I had printed out stickers reading “Yes” or “No” and after cutting them up, I taped them to the appropriate items. The “Yes” stickers were assigned to the furniture and boxes that should go on the moving van. The “No” stickers were for things that are not being moved until Saturday morning. The movers had everything on their truck within 45 minutes! And now it is time for the furniture wearing “No” stickers to be loaded onto a U-Haul truck and transported to our homes in Virginia and Tennessee. And I’m driving the truck! This will be a new adventure!
For the most part, we have their new apartment looking like “home” as we continue to put things in their proper places. I have carried furniture, packed boxes and hurt in muscles that I forgot I had, but spending this time with my sister and brother-in-law has been special. We’ve worked hard, laughed and made some new memories. After an exhausting five days, we have enjoyed a little rest today and I’ve had the opportunity to rummage through some letters (on her invitation) that my sister saved…letters I had written to her while she was in college. Those letters from a 16-year-old girl revealed a lot to the 57-year-old woman I am today. They contained details of my days and nights, heartthrobs and heartaches, and all the things that were important to me those many years ago. I even got creative in the way I wrote to her. One was a letter written within letters…the entire page had the word “DEAR” on it with my letter to her written inside the D, the E, etc. I recall another letter I wrote to her in a circle. That one was weird. I also noticed that I was trying out new styles of cursive, but always ending up with the same style I’ve always had: slanted and a nice mix between both my parents’ handwriting. I don’t try new styles of cursive anymore…I have my own style.
Sometimes when I try to read my hurried handwriting, I think I should have been a doctor.
Never forget…if you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Make your life count.
Last night I was tired enough that I just wanted to crawl into the bed. All I could think of was brushing my teeth and putting my worn out body in between those nice soft sheets, but I still needed to remove my makeup. I wasn’t in the mood to go through my skincare routine…it takes too long when I’m tired. I noticed a package of Preparation H Medicated Wipes with Aloe on the sink’s vanity. Hmmmmm… My sister uses Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipes to remove her makeup.
Wipes + Makeup That Needs To Be Removed = It Can’t Hurt To Try
The only thing it didn’t remove was my mascara. Now, I’m not recommending that you abandon your regular beauty routine and begin treating your face like a hemorrhoid, but when in a pinch, give it a go! (insert smile here)
Now that you know Preparation H isn’t just for hemorrhoids, keep reading…
Years ago one of my brothers told me that he used Preparation H on the sore results of removing an ingrown toenail and it healed up quickly. On my inquiry as to why he thought of using a hemorrhoid ointment on his toe, he said that it was red and hurt (“Preparation H shrinks swollen membranes…”). Plus he didn’t have any antibiotic ointment at the time. Same thing happened to me not long after that so I gave it a try and it really does work! Remember, it “…shrinks swollen membranes” quite well. Really! Disgusting, I know, but it worked.
Now if Preparation H worked on sore muscles, I’d be all set because I’ve spent the past seven days in Ohio, packing and unpacking…helping my sister and her husband move from a 12 room home into a small apartment in the Otterbein Retirement Community in Lebanon, Ohio. Brother-in-law Gary is retiring from 36 years of ministry in the West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church. My sister, Vangie, has been in poor health recently and wasn’t able to get any packing done on her own. Thanks to the efforts of many, the majority of the things were packed into boxes and moved about 5 miles from the parsonage to the new place. Movers arrived on Monday morning and that went quickly. One of the reasons my brother-in-law thinks it went smoothly is because I had printed out stickers reading “Yes” or “No” and after cutting them up, I taped them to the appropriate items. The “Yes” stickers were assigned to the furniture and boxes that should go on the moving van. The “No” stickers were for things that are not being moved until Saturday morning. The movers had everything on their truck within 45 minutes! And now it is time for the furniture wearing “No” stickers to be loaded onto a U-Haul truck and transported to our homes in Virginia and Tennessee. And I’m driving the truck! This will be a new adventure!
For the most part, we have their new apartment looking like “home” as we continue to put things in their proper places. I have carried furniture, packed boxes and hurt in muscles that I forgot I had, but spending this time with my sister and brother-in-law has been special. We’ve worked hard, laughed and made some new memories. After an exhausting five days, we have enjoyed a little rest today and I’ve had the opportunity to rummage through some letters (on her invitation) that my sister saved…letters I had written to her while she was in college. Those letters from a 16-year-old girl revealed a lot to the 57-year-old woman I am today. They contained details of my days and nights, heartthrobs and heartaches, and all the things that were important to me those many years ago. I even got creative in the way I wrote to her. One was a letter written within letters…the entire page had the word “DEAR” on it with my letter to her written inside the D, the E, etc. I recall another letter I wrote to her in a circle. That one was weird. I also noticed that I was trying out new styles of cursive, but always ending up with the same style I’ve always had: slanted and a nice mix between both my parents’ handwriting. I don’t try new styles of cursive anymore…I have my own style.
Sometimes when I try to read my hurried handwriting, I think I should have been a doctor.
Never forget…if you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Make your life count.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Sleep Eludes Me
It would be nice to get into bed at a decent hour, lay my head on the pillow and gently fall asleep. No need to count sheep or blessings. I could just close my eyes and fall into a nice deep sleep, wake up in the morning, feeling rested and ready for a new day. It would be nice, but it hasn’t been my regular routine for a couple of weeks. Frustrating…but I’ve been able to accomplish lots during my sleeplessness: organizing kitchen drawers, cleaning out the refrigerator shelves, bins, etc. and hanging things. Yes, I am that good! I can hammer nails without waking my husband. Skill.
I don’t really have that much on my mind…nothing more than the usual…so that doesn’t seem to be the reason sleep is eluding me. I haven’t had any caffeine since Thursday evening. It’s four o’clock on Sunday morning and here I am, wide awake, typing a blog about not being able to sleep! What’s wrong with me?!? My alarm is set to go off at 6:30 a.m. so I can get ready for church. I can’t doze off in the middle of the service.
And now, here I am, watching a western on the History Channel! I’m watching a western!!! In the middle of the night! This is when the wife of a minister should be getting some rest so she doesn’t embarrass herself by falling asleep in the middle of her hubby’s sermon…while sitting in the choir loft! But I must admit that watching Kevin Costner in a cowboy hat, wearing a badge and boots is worth staying awake for…since I’m already up! And now, I realize that I’m hungry and should probably pop some corn and finish watching this movie! Wyatt Earp, popcorn, orange Kool-Aid and typing this blog entry on my laptop…could be a good combination, but not sleep-inducing.
I remember being in a church prayer meeting one night when Joe and I were newlyweds in McClure, Virginia. My husband invited a friend of ours to pray for the requests that we would write on a legal pad, adding names and situations each week then marking as we’d have an answers to prayers. Our friend prayed on and on for the longest time that night! Sometime during his lengthy explanations to the Lord about all the situations concerning the names on that list, I put my head down on my Bible. Our friend finally said “Amen” and folks started leaving the room. They must have thought their new pastor’s wife was quite spiritual because there I was, with my head on my Bible, in a ‘posture of prayer’ and sound asleep!!! Finally, the long pray-er’s wife walked over to me and announced: “You can wake up now, Beth…he finally finished praying!” In that deep spiritual moment, we chalked up another funny story to tell and I had a nice nap.
By the way, I opted for pimiento cheese on white bread instead of popcorn. Wyatt Earp lived happily ever after. It’s 4:45 in the morning and I need to wake up in less than two hours.
Remember, if you have a pulse, you have a purpose...so make your life count!
I don’t really have that much on my mind…nothing more than the usual…so that doesn’t seem to be the reason sleep is eluding me. I haven’t had any caffeine since Thursday evening. It’s four o’clock on Sunday morning and here I am, wide awake, typing a blog about not being able to sleep! What’s wrong with me?!? My alarm is set to go off at 6:30 a.m. so I can get ready for church. I can’t doze off in the middle of the service.
And now, here I am, watching a western on the History Channel! I’m watching a western!!! In the middle of the night! This is when the wife of a minister should be getting some rest so she doesn’t embarrass herself by falling asleep in the middle of her hubby’s sermon…while sitting in the choir loft! But I must admit that watching Kevin Costner in a cowboy hat, wearing a badge and boots is worth staying awake for…since I’m already up! And now, I realize that I’m hungry and should probably pop some corn and finish watching this movie! Wyatt Earp, popcorn, orange Kool-Aid and typing this blog entry on my laptop…could be a good combination, but not sleep-inducing.
I remember being in a church prayer meeting one night when Joe and I were newlyweds in McClure, Virginia. My husband invited a friend of ours to pray for the requests that we would write on a legal pad, adding names and situations each week then marking as we’d have an answers to prayers. Our friend prayed on and on for the longest time that night! Sometime during his lengthy explanations to the Lord about all the situations concerning the names on that list, I put my head down on my Bible. Our friend finally said “Amen” and folks started leaving the room. They must have thought their new pastor’s wife was quite spiritual because there I was, with my head on my Bible, in a ‘posture of prayer’ and sound asleep!!! Finally, the long pray-er’s wife walked over to me and announced: “You can wake up now, Beth…he finally finished praying!” In that deep spiritual moment, we chalked up another funny story to tell and I had a nice nap.
By the way, I opted for pimiento cheese on white bread instead of popcorn. Wyatt Earp lived happily ever after. It’s 4:45 in the morning and I need to wake up in less than two hours.
Remember, if you have a pulse, you have a purpose...so make your life count!
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