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Friday, December 31, 2010

So Long, Farewell . . . 2010!


Somehow 2010 is almost finished. I know I sound like everyone else, but where did this year go?! Seriously, 2010 has been a mixed bag, which I suppose is true for most years. This was the year in a nutshell:

Ds got a his first real steady girlfriend.

Dd went to Mercy Ministries in St. Louis for 6 months.

My 30th high school reunion was in June and was quite lovely.

Dh and I celebrated 25 years of connubial bliss.

Dh and I went to Mexico for a week.

I learned to snorkel AND scuba dive.

I was bitten by a monkey.

Dd came home from Mercy and got a job.

Dh and I went to San Francisco (loved the city; hated the travel!)

I had surgery and thought I'd sleep through Christmas!

But I didn't.


So farewell to 2010 and welcome 2011! Tonight we'll drink our sparkling grape juice, and fall asleep before the new year officially arrives. Tomorrow we'll eat our black eye peas, cornbread and spinach salad (I don't like turnip greens!), not really believing it will bring us luck. We'll eat it because it's a tradition we like. 

May you all find love, joy, laughter and blessings in the new year!


Thursday, December 30, 2010

Thankful Thursday -- December 30, 2010


Today I am thankful for . . . 

1. Feeling better! Yay! I have made leaps and strides
of improvements since last week.
I was able to enjoy Christmas and not be
totally exhausted afterward.

2. The decluttering I have already begun in my home.
I began working on Monday in my craft/office.
So far I have cleaned out a 10-drawer rolling 
cabinet and my 5-shelf bookcase.
Visual neat and tidy inspires my soul!

3. Plans. I have personal improvement plans.
Bible study plans.
Home decor plans.
Crafting plans.
Writing plans.
I am so grateful to feel like planning again!

4. The lovely celebration of Christmas last week.
It was much calmer than usual. A small tree.
Less cooking. No entertaining.
 And yet, quite lovely.

5. Maturity. It is a blessing to see the world and my own
life from this perspective.
Things are not the way I imagined as a child
they would be.
Life is neither better nor worse than I had anticipated.
It is just different.
The blessing is that my life is orchestrated
by my loving heavenly Father.

May the rest of the holiday season unfold in gratitude for you and yours.

Have a wonderful Thankful Thursday!

They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening . . .
-- I Chronicles 23:30

Look for more Thankful Thursday post @ Grace Alone.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Simple Woman's Daybook -- December 28th

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... it is sunny and very cold! We are supposed to get above freezing later today. Yay!

I am thinking... that it is lovely to be feeling better.

I am thankful for... so much! On a day like today, my warm house, hot tea, and a new flannel robe.

From the learning rooms... a little German II and a little pre-Calc.

From the kitchen... order is returning. A white bean and kale soup that was good, but I got carried away with the cayenne!

I am wearing... flannel sleep pants, a tank top, socks, crocs, and my new flannel robe.

I am creating... order! Sorting and decluttering began yesterday.

I am going... to stay home all day! Haven't done that in a while.

I am reading... The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer.


I am hoping... to get some more straightening done around the house.

I am hearing... Al Roker raving about the football game tonight!

Around the house... things are starting to come together. Dh has almost completed the tile work in the bathroom.

One of my favorite things... is getting my home back in order.

A few plans for the rest of the week... nothing special, just enjoying the end of the year.

Here is a  picture for thought I am sharing...  


Christmas goodies! (The scarf I made for myself.)


Monday, December 27, 2010

Post Christmas Gift Management

I love Christmas, don't get me wrong. The day after Christmas is usually the day I mentally announce that this is the year I am de-cluttering the house for real. So today as I looked around at all the lovely gifts, I started thinking about what I could get rid of. Which of course begs the question, did I need any of the new stuff I got? Need, of course, is a relative term. I think it's fair to say I needed the new flannel robe, as the only robe I had was cotton chintz. Did I need the electric tea kettle? Probably not, but it is really nice and supposedly more "fuel" efficient than my old fashioned stove top tea kettle. 


And then there are the books. You've heard me talk before about not buying books. I am a big proponent of library use, but when someone asks me for a gift idea, a book is always at the top of my list. The fact is I just love possessing books! 


This year for Christmas I received 9 books. Yes 9. 






The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters


1979 Book of Common Prayer


Gratitude: A Journal by Catherine Price


Lucy Rose: Working Myself to Pieces and Pits by Katy Kelly


Fairies Sticker Storybook


Organizing for the Creative Person by Dorothy Lehmkuhl


On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King


The Everyday Life Bible by Joyce Meyer


The Bird Watching Answer Book by Laura Erickson


Eclectic right!?! Lovely to have and read, but storing them is another issue. Plus I want to read them ALL right now! I feel the need to be doing something productive this time of year, but I also want to be reading my new books. Reading is fun, not productive in my world. I'm going to have to work on that attitude. I'm not sure where it came from. 


So for now, it's time to start de-cluttering yet again. But maybe that's ok, because maybe that's just part of the process of living. 


Acquire; gain information/knowledge/experience; release. 


I like thinking of it that way!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas! -- Saturday Poetry -- King John's Christmas

This is my favorite Christmas poem of all. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and get all for which you have hoped!
King Johns Christmas

by A.A. Milne

King John was not a good man — 
He had his little ways. 
And sometimes no one spoke to him 
For days and days and days. 
And men who came across him, 
When walking in the town, 
Gave him a supercilious stare, 
Or passed with noses in the air — 
And bad King John stood dumbly there, 
Blushing beneath his crown. 


King John was not a good man, 
And no good friends had he. 
He stayed in every afternoon ... 
But no one came to tea. 
And, round about December, 
The cards upon his shelf 
Which wished him lots of Christmas cheer, 
And fortune in the coming year, 
Were never from his near and dear, 
But only from himself. 

King John was not a good man, 
Yet had his hopes and fears. 
They’d given him no present now 
For years and years and years. 
But every year at Christmas, 
While minstrels stood about, 
Collecting tribute from the young 
For all the songs they might have sung, 
He stole away upstairs and hung 
A hopeful stocking out.

King John was not a good man,
He lived his life aloof;
Alone he thought a message out
While climbing up the roof.
He wrote it down and propped it
Against the chimney stack:
“TO ALL AND SUNDRY -
NEAR AND FAR -
F. CHRISTMAS IN PARTICULAR.”
And signed it not “Johannes R.”
But very humbly, “JACK.”


“I want some crackers,
And I want some candy;
I think a box of chocolates
Would come in handy;
I don’t mind oranges,
I do like nuts!
And I SHOULD like a pocket-knife
That really cuts.
And, oh! Father Christmas, if you love me at all,
Bring me a big, red India-rubber ball!” 

King John was not a good man —
He wrote this message out,
And gat him to his room again,
Descending by the spout.
And all that night he lay there,
A prey to hopes and fears.
“I think that’s him a-coming now,
(Anxiety bedewed his brow.)
“He’ll bring one present, anyhow —
The first I’ve had for years. 

“Forget about the crackers,
And forget about the candy;
I’m sure a box of chocolates
Would never come in handy;
I don’t like oranges,
I don’t want nuts,
And I HAVE got a pocket-knife
That almost cuts.
But, oh! Father Christmas, if you love me at all,
Bring me a big, red
India-rubber ball!”

King John was not a good man —
Next morning when the sun
Rose up to tell a waiting world
That Christmas had begun,
And people seized their stockings,
And opened them with glee,
And crackers, toys and games appeared,
And lips with sticky sweets were smeared,
King John said grimly: “As I feared,
Nothing again for me!” 

“I did want crackers,
And I did want candy;
I know a box of chocolates
Would come in handy;
I do love oranges,
I did want nuts.
I haven’t got a pocket-knife —
Not one that cuts.
And, oh! if Father Christmas had loved me at all,
He would have brought a big, red India-rubber ball!” 

King John stood by the window,
And frowned to see below
The happy bands of boys and girls
All playing in the snow.
A while he stood there watching,
And envying them all...
When through the window big and red
There hurtled by his royal head,
And bounced and fell upon the bed,
An India-rubber ball! 
AND OH, FATHER CHRISTMAS,
MY BLESSINGS ON YOU FALL
FOR BRINGING HIM
A BIG, RED
INDIA-RUBBER
BALL!


Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas Eve!



1. It's Christmas Eve!

2. The Christmas blahs have improved as the anesthesia as receded.

3. Snow is predicted for Nashville for tonight and tomorrow.

4. Everyone is relaxed about our lite Christmas 
(i.e., limited decor, food, and wrapping)

5. This never ceases to make me feel good. Enjoy!







For more Feel Good Friday posts go to The Girl Next Door Grows Up.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Thankful Thursday -- December 23, 2010


Today I am thankful for . . . 

1. My dd. She is feeling much better and adjusting well since
her return from the treatment center. Yesterday she went
with me to the grocery store and helped me do the
pre-Christmas shopping; cleaned house; and was just a
 general blessing in my life as I continue to recover.

2. I am so grateful to be feeling better his morning! I was
beginning to think that I was not going to feel better before 
Christmas. Thankfully since yesterday afternoon I seem to 
be making more progress. 
Still taking it easy, but definitely heading in the 
right direction.

3. My Facebook friends. I posed a question yesterday about
 the trouble I've been having getting the anesthesia out
of my system. It helped so much that others shared
 their stories with reminders that I am not a wimp that
I'm having trouble with this.

4. Getting to the point this week that I was able to
remember the point of this season. It's not about
decorations, food, gifts, entertaining, or even family. 
It is about Jesus Christ. The ultimate Christmas gift. 
Thank you Father God!

5. All the blessings in my life that I take for granted so often.
I have a God who loves ME.
A wonderful family.
A warm home (albeit messy! LOL!)
Plenty of food to eat.
Fresh water to drink.
Clothes to wear.
I am blessed beyond reason.

May the rest of the holiday season unfold in gratitude for you and yours.

Have a wonderful Thankful Thursday!

They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening . . .
-- I Chronicles 23:30

Look for more Thankful Thursday post @ Grace Alone.