random day

sigh. i am glad it's tuesday. no 'meetings' today, thankfully. just a project to finish up, and a beautiful, sunny day to rejoice in. i got up and read my devo for the day and it opened with 'i am your strength and your shield. i plan out each day and have it ready for you, long before you arise from bed.'

i cannot tell you how MUCH i'm enjoying 'jesus calling' by sarah young...(ps. that is the kid version pictured, because i like the cover). i think you all need to go get it. it's great to wake up and read something that feels very much like God speaking directly to you. i'm always amazed at how much devos like these hit 'right' exactly at the circumstances that you are going thru. God is super cool that way.






last night, we also had our 2nd meeting for the bible group i am hosting at fern. LOVE it so far. the conversation last night centered around whether christianity was in fact 'absurd' or strange or difficult...and why? our group is all over the board with differences in age, experience, and denomination, so it was neat to hear and learn a little. i remember how when i was younger, i was only comfortable with those 'like me' in social situations. i cannot imagine how far God plans to stretch that little crutch, because increasingly i seem to find that He works well in places where we are all NOT alike. pretty sure heaven will be culturally diverse :)

anyway, i was reminded as i was setting up last night, of how i have only lived in fern for a few months. and somehow, she feels like i have always been here! it's crazy how that goes. i am pretty sure that i will not 'attach' to this house like i did with mabel, simply because as much as i love home, it is not really my home. i think we're meant to hold loosely to earthly things....and leaving mabel taught me that it is not so hard to do that.

still. having a home i love feels good. today, i'm thanking God for all his blessings. people and places and a lifespan to learn and grow and be hopeful for. i hope where ever you are today, you remember that it is part of the journey, but not the whole story :)

happy day!

these days.

schwew. friday again. as the last couple weeks have been 'full up' - i realize i can only really handle a 4-day work week anymore. by friday, i can only handle mundane tasks. nothing to really apply much brain power to. my supply of brain cells is limited, i fear.

ha. but oh, these days. these january 2012 days have been good to me. nothing externally has changed much, there is still snow/no snow, work/no work, good moods/bad moods to deal with. the changes seem to be internal...coming from somewhere deep within. it's incredibly exhilarating to learn to rely on the holy spirit inside you as you go. i am sure that is the answer to the newness i feel.

for about a week now, somewhere in my life i have come across the concept of 'paths' - crooked vs. straight. for as long as i have lived, i have simply assumed and walked along the crooked path of my own understanding and view of the world. sometimes, it's been good, and i have been able to cope. sometimes, it's been awful and gut-wrenching and out of control. i don't think there has ever been a point where i have even realistically BELIEVED that my life was capable of being a straight path.

but then, Jesus steps in. He always steps in. He is changing my mind, peeps, after 10 years of wonky following. my paths were meant to be straight, no matter what is going on circumstantially. and so were yours. it's a realistic notion, one not based on what you do or what happens. it's achieved by standing on the ROCK of your salvation, and on the rock of mine. i so love that. i want to see across the horizon and my STRAIGHT path of assurance to what i know my purpose is, and to the one whom i know loves me the most.

okay. that was kind of deep. :) when i started this post, i just wanted to take some pretty pictures of my day. hmmmm. i guess He had other ideas. i wish you straight paths today...happy friday!

I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.
Proverbs 4:11

Dud on the Suds

okay. so the soapmaking class was a little disappointing. it was basically a 'melt and pour' class, where we all made little glycerin bars instead of real, cold-pressed soap.

i should have known that it would not be the other kind. however, i'm learning to just enjoy processes that don't work out the way i think they should. our little instructor was adorable. it was fun to spend time with anne when we are NOT working. i got to meet a cute couple who is interested in all the crazy earth-momma things that i am interested in.

and, i learned a little more about soap-making. hopefully enough to get the courage to set up and make some in my garage this summer. that's how our instructor did it, she just tried it and learned as she went.

she also got lye on her tongue once. yikes. she said to always keep a bottle of apple cider vinegar handy, for when such things occur. because she is not dead, i believe her ;)

cleanup

whew. so, it was good to shut off the email for awhile yesterday. it's amazing how much more work gets done! i am committed to doing that a few hours a day. really, try it. you might want to shut down your cell phone, too.




okay. tonite is the soapmaking class i have been waiting for. so very excited. it looks like our 'teachers' are going to be good. their company looks kind of fun. hopefully, i'll have pics and a rundown of the whole shebang tomorrow.

happy tues!

hunkering

to settle in or dig in for a sustained period —used with down <hunker down for a good long wait

shhhhh. don't tell anyone. i shut my email and phone off today, and i am settled in to get a project done....it's snowy out, so that helps.

i'm also eating chicken noodle soup. it is a good partner for hunkering.

trying out a new blog template, too. i wonder why it's so difficult to decide what to put up there. oh well. it will probably change again soon :)

happy montag.

me and my tree

my tree wishes you a warm and happy weekend ;)

brrrrrr.

i want that chair. i mean really. how nice would it be to saddle up in that and go to work today? because it's cold outside. i hope that my weather app had a typo when it predicted -10 degrees tonite. fern needs her some new windows, forget all the beautifying i've been saving for. and a fireplace. stat.

i'm becoming quite a winter wimp. won't be long before i'll be checking out snowbird options....:)


okay. this is not what i wanted to talk about today.










i wanted to talk about these. these are the bible study books i downloaded for my kindle over the weekend.

i already HAVE the one-year bible, but it's kind of nice to have it digitally. one advantage to the kindle that i'm finding is that it's easier to read than some books. esp. since i read either early in the morning or later at night (i.e. in the dark). kindles are good for bifocal eyes.

the 'jesus calling' devotional is one that a friend recommended. so far, i love it. i love when authors write from the perspective of Jesus, talking. or, calling, in this case ;) ha. God has shown himself to me in these types of devos over the years. very excited to dig into something new.

then, i also downloaded a free version of the complete bible as an app. this would theoretically allow me to take the kindle to church, instead of my printed amplified version (which is a bit much for me as a version). not sure i will do this yet, but in case i want to, or if i just want to look up a passage from book studies, etc, i can easily do it. i downloaded this version because 1) i like the ESV version and 2) it's easy to use/find passages.


so there you go! hope you are staying warm and cozy today!



i'm going to go have a cutie now. because i am addicted to their ads on tv :))

how was your weekend?

i need to get focused today. it's going to be a busy week. first, let me shake loose some stuff rattling around in my brain.

i made the most yummy homemade yogurt concoction i've ever tasted this weekend. i have talked about making yogurt before (wow! over 5 years ago!)...but today i'll share the recipe for the fruitiness that accompanies it and takes it over the top.

blueberry sauce:

1 pint fresh blueberries, slightly crushed
1/3 cup sugar
approx. 1 T. orange rind, zested
1 T. orange juice concentrate, or the juice of your zested orange

bring to boil in a saucepan, lower heat and continue to cook/stir for about a minute. remove from heat and add 1 t. vanilla.

refrigerate/cool. then, top your homemade yogurt with about 2 T. of this for beautiful/yummy results like those shown above. oh. add some homemade granola too, because you are a rock star in the kitchen!

ps. i forgot to take photos until i was halfway done with this serving. still, so pretty!







in other, much sadder, news - i had a stomach ache all day on friday as i had to endure the sight of a beautiful, majestic tree leaving my neighborhood. i wish i had a photo of the tree in its entirety, but you can sort of see it (the anchor tree on the corner across my street) in the bottom photo. the trees are the reason i moved to this wonky little vinyl house, so it seriously hurt my heart to watch it go. i pannicked for a bit about 'what if they ALL get cut down?' before i prayed and released it. still. it was hard. that tree was amazing, seriously about 3' in diameter.

i wonder why it had to go, was it super sick for some reason?

it did not look sick on the outside. i guess that it reminded me of our spiritual condition vs. outward appearances. it also reminded me of the temporal condition of this world. that tree was old, foundational on this street, seemingly solid. and yet this morning as i look out my picture window, it has ceased to exist. nada. nothing there. as if it never WAS. something to think about as we arrange our day/week. are we building/growing into the Kingdom that never dies, or the one that will one day just cease to exist.

sigh. i hope that i know the correct answer to that by now.

happy monday :)

happy dance

oh. hi folks. i'm doing a little dance right now because my computer is back in my possession after almost 2 days! whew. she's like heroin, i missed her that much. it's sad to think i am so tied to a piece of electronic equipment, but oh well. that is a mountain to be climbed another day.

for now, whew. all is well.



in the meantime, while she was gone, i talked on the phone alot. oh. and i recovered a lampshade. that was kind of a good thing. here's what it used to look like (above).



and here is what it looks like now. i still need to get some ribbon and 'trim' the inside of the shade so those raggedy edges don't show when the light is on. but wow. much better.


siesta likes it, too. (actually, she likes being in every single photo i take, i swear).






um, also, i spent some time playing with this new thing. hmmmm. lots of fun. i am all set to go with an inaugural first 'all digital' bible study next week. we'll see how that feels. right now, i'm thinking it might be kind of awesome.

:)

finally.

suds for all.

oh people.

cannot even tell you how excited i am....got signed up yesterday for a soap-making class later this month!!

i have wanted to learn to make soap for YEARS. i like soap.

i like it so much i was having imaginary conversations with my friend anne, who will be learning along side me.

me: omgosh! i love soap. i have wanted to make soap forever.

her: blah, blah, blah.

me: is that a GUY that is going to be teaching us? in my head, only girls make soap.

her: blah, blah, blah.

me: i'm afraid of lye. i wonder if they'll have us use lye. because i don't want to make that weird glycerin clear soap that is not really soap.

her: blah, blah, blah.

me: i hope they provide protective eye wear.

her: blah, blah, blah.

me: can you imagine how fun it would be to design labels for soap. FOR OUR OWN CUSTOM SOAP?

her: blah, blah, blah.

me: seriously. this could change my life.

her: me, too!



:) he he. guess i will have to talk to her more to see what all those blah, blah, blahs are about!





happy tuesday.

healthful.

so, with the new year and all, been thinkin' about getting healthy again.

it probably doesn't hurt that i got my first cold of the season also, so i'm reminded of what a precious gift being healthy IS.

i was actually LOSING weight last fall, on a horrendous diet of fast food and stress - remember?

sadly, or perhaps goodly, i have gained all of that weight back. i think perhaps the stress diet is not the way i want to live. however, i do tend to eat when i'm happy, not when i'm sad. thus the joyous progression back to obesity these past 10 years! he he.



okay. so i have been thinking about real food. that maybe since i LIKE real food, i should eat it. yesterday i made my sick self some beef and barley soup, and a batch of this loverly granola in the picture.

of course, i have not had much of an appetite, because the diet of zinc pills (helps the cold tremendously!) makes me nauseous. but man, when i get back my mojo, i'm all set to go healthy :)

happy (mon)day!

new movie.

okay, before i forget, gotta talk about new year's eve. my OWN consisted of the living room couch, a cat, and falling asleep at about 11:31.

the MOVIE consisted of lots of cute stories. i really kind of like these movies with huge casts and multiple story lines, most of the time. this one did not disappoint, and i have to say, it's the first time i've EVER liked ashton kutcher. for the record, he didn't talk much, so that probably explains it.

anyway, it made my HEART happy. yeah, it's fantasy and all that, and those relationships would probably never last. all i can say to that is 'who cares?' :)) ha. i laughed a ton, and enjoyed almost all of the characters.



of course, my favorite plot line involved the slightly crazy middle-aged lady and the cute young boy/man who intersects with her and gives her a couple of good memories. hard to believe that michelle pfeiffer has become matronly, isn't it? but she plays a pretty good nutty recluse, i thought.

as for the boy. he was a.dor.a.ble.

i guess he's a disney kid or something...which i had no idea i would have an attraction to...he he. zac efron. look at that face. ummmmm. yes. good.


his next movie was previewed, he plays a war veteran who goes home and shakes up a random woman's world...i can see where his career is going. must be because he makes middle-aged nutty women like me and michelle so HAPPY... :)

sigh. go see it.

green.

i suppose there are lots of reasons that this has been a joyful week. visits with friends, new projects, and 60 degree days. in january, people. life is good.

however, i have to give SOME credit to the fact that my brain has switched over to growing....like clockwork every year, in january it comes. i start to imagine gardens and trees and lush green everywhere. i was made for green :)

it helps that the seed catalogues start rolling in.


and that the houseplants are kind of waking up.


and that i got a wonderful gift from kirsten in the mail (market bag!!!) that is made up of lovely yarns and primarily....green.


sigh. and now today, it's friday also. hope that you are having a green day wherever you may be!

new things

freshly tiled backsplash

amarylis poking through

gocco-printed artwork

fresh screensaver

heirloom dish set from sher


all good things. all make me smile :)

new year, new rez

sigh. we made it, fellow bloggers. another year, another promise of what is to come. i've read the myriad of resolutions out there on the internet. many, many people seem to have been unhappy in 2011. lots are still hopeful for 2012. i think that alone is proof that hope is BUILT in our hearts...

anyway. i am not much of a resolution-maker, even though i love the concept. i am excited every year at this time. it's fun to start anew with a chance to be BETTER.

this year, i didn't even consciously think about making a resolution, but over the weekend, God gave me the answer, it's in His word...

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else,
and live righteously,
and He will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33

when i read that verse on friday nite, it hit me really hard, like something i had never HEARD before. i kind of know by now, that when God spreaks, he will take something you may have heard a million times, and make it sound brand new.

i really believe for me, that verse holds the key. for the last few years i have been SO consumed, with the 2nd part of that verse. where will i live? what kind of job will fulfill me and provide for me? how will i make it? is it too late?

sigh. lot's of unanswered questions. and yet, here i am, provided for, taken care of, and yes, even content. as for 2012, i know NOTHING about what the year holds. all of the questions are still there.

which leaves me with part ONE of the verse. the answer, the true answer. i resolve that when life is uncertain (which is, um, always), the ANSWER lies in seeking God, not for the things, but that HE truly is the answer. i love that He loves me, and knows my heart, and has really, truly been my provider for my whole life, even as i have sought to find a mate to be that security, or to be self-sufficient and provide for myself. HE is the one, and HE has a kingdom with goals and work to be done, and i want to be a part of the bigger picture, the plan, the real life that we all strive for.

it's not too late. it's only just beginning :)

happy new year, everyone!

blessing

Sanford Video Library


woke up this morning and saw a video online of my friend doug. what a good word for the new year.