Lovin' the Antique Mall

Going to the Antique Mall has a way of taking me back to the good ole days. As I walk around the mall - I just feel like it is taking back to a simpler time. And I love the way it feels. Today my husband and I went and it just became clear to me of why I love that place. We did not buy anything although I am going to watch something that spoke to me.

Isn't this cute? I love the little iron and the ironing board just makes it all the more cute!

And I love old keys! Aren't these great? They are so cool.

We also saw some great drop leaf tables. That is something else that I love. We found several pieces that we loved but we do not have any where to put them. So we just enjoy them at a distant.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!! And looking forward to what all God has planned! :o)

A Recipe and Being Real

Good Afternoon~ I hope you all are having a good day. Today I worked on making up a menu and a grocery list. I wanted to get this stuff out of the way today because tomorrow evening we have a Christmas Dinner and my MIL's house. And I will have to make up few things to take as well. So I was happy to get my shopping out of the way.

I made up a batch of Taco Seasoning - I got the recipe out of one of my Tightwad Gazette books. Just in case some of you are interested in it- Here it is:

Taco Seasoning Mix

6 tsp. chili powder
4 1/2 tsp. cumin
5 tsp. paprika
3 tsp. onion powder
2 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 - 1/4 cayenne pepper(optional)
This makes up about 1/2 cup of the seasoning mix.

It is a good thing that I just shared this recipe because I had forgotten to put the onion powder in my mix. I have now - so it is all good.

Well since I try to be honest here on my blog - I wanted to share with you all that I am a little discouraged. I have lost a total of 34 pounds...which is great - I know! And I am so happy about it but for the past week or so I have been sitting still- not losing. And I know that I do not need to be discouraged - and I think that is one reason why I am writing this and sharing it because I need to be real and then accept the situation that way it is. So I have been discouraged about this. Then I went and looked at my little notebook, the one that I use to record my weight and blood pressure information and I noticed that I had lost 5 pounds as of the first of Dec. Which for December is not very bad at all. In fact, many people gain few pounds around the holidays- so it is ok that I sit right where I am. Because at least I am not gaining.

With my husband being home and me adjusting to not working - has been an adjustment for me. I have really tried the past couple of days to get back on track - getting to bed earlier - before 10pm if at all possible. I have shared in the past that there is a special hormone that is released at about 10pm. And if you are asleep then the hormone can do your body the most good. And since I have been getting to bed earlier then I am also getting up earlier which is helping me to be back on the schedule that works pretty good for me.

The past two weeks I have had to bake up goodies for a few special people in our lives and so that has been more tempting to me - than usual. So that has not helped at all.

So anyway I have been discouraged but I am going to just take it all in stride - I did not gain all my weight over night and I can not expect to lose it over night. In fact, I have never lost weight this fast before..So I am going to Praise God for the blessings that He has provided - the knowledge and the success. And pray that He will give me the strength to move forward. :o)

Slowing Down, Enjoying Life

I have enjoyed being home more. I have lots of projects round here to keep me busy. Yesterday I decided that it was time to take the Christmas tree down. I enjoy it being up but it was time to get my house back in order. - Or at least start heading that way. Anyway so I got the tree taken down. And then I worked on getting some presents ready for my MIL's Christmas this Friday night. Normally we do her Christmas on New Year's Day but my Brother in law has to work so we moved it to New Year's Eve. Then I started getting all my Christmas stuff packed away. I had a box in my sewing room that had fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas stuff that I had found at the thrift stores. And I was not very happy that I had forgotten about this box until today. So I packed up the Christmas stuff. I also worked on an inventory sheet. This way Next year I know what I have and where it is.

One of the reasons why I did the inventory sheet is that last year - after Christmas I bought 2 boxes of Christmas Cards. Well by this year- I had totally forgotten about the cards. So I bought 2 more boxes for this year. And then I found the others. So this year I will begin to be more organized. I am more excited about next Christmas season now - because I know that I have my Christmas Cards already. And there were a few really cool Christmas ornaments that I found that we would have loved to have had on the tree. And a few other cool things that I found that we will love. I am also excited about next fall - found some really cool things this past year and next year I will take the time to get the things out and decorate our home.

I really have missed out one some real enjoyment of the holidays by being too busy. Being too busy distracts you from being able to live in the moment and to enjoy the moments. I don't want to be there any more. I don't want to be so busy that I am too tired to take the time to make my home a haven - an inviting place for me and my family to be.

Enjoying Your Blessings

In about 1997, I was working for my MIL at the bakery. At that time instead of a grill - she made donuts. About this same time period Star Telegram started doing a promotional - trying to sell more papers. So basically the idea was that the businesses that had the highest increase in business would win a really cool prize. A trip to Disney World - for 4 people - 3 nights. It was a great prize to win. Well at this same time the local school had an assignment for the kids which required them to use lots of newspapers for the project. And my MIL bought what ever papers were left over - since they used them for clean up with the donut equipment. I don't remember really hearing much about this contest. Until one day when I was at work my MIL said how would you like to go to Disney World? I answered that it would be nice but that I did not see that ever happening. At that point we were pretty poor and I knew that we could not afford a vacation away - anywhere. Well guess what? She had won the trip!!!

My MIL and her husband and her other grandson would drive to Florida - to visit my FIL's family and then they would meet up with us at Disney World. How exciting!!! We ended up going the last week of July - the only time our schedule would allow. We had a great time- long lines and it was pretty warm but it was a chance of a lifetime for my boys.

What is so sad is that I had the hardest time telling people about us going. Why? I guess I was embarrassed - like for some reason because we were poor - we did not deserve to go. How sad is that?.. I find myself dealing with something a little similar now.

Since I have been "laid" off - I guess I am feeling a little guilty for not working. Isn't that sad? Every other time that I did not officially work - I had children to take care of or homeschool. Now my kids are grown and I am not working - officially anyway and it is just hard to get used t00. I have a lot of things around here to do - to get this place more organized and in better shape.

I just think it is sad that the society 0r something has made me feel pressure to work. And that being at my home taking care of my family is not worthy enough of a "job." I am thankful that I have had these couple of weeks. For the first time in a long time I had time to focus more on my family and on the reason for the season. And during that time I regretted spending so many year working at the bakery and neglecting my family. Not having the time or energy to make the holidays as special as I could have done. But I realize what is past - is the past and there is Nothing I can do about that. But I can look to the future and I can learn to better prioritize my life. Put what is important at the top and drop things that are not as important to lower place on my list. And I am going to be thankful to God for the blessing of being a stay at home wife(as long as He choose that fo me.) :O)

So I am wondering - if any of you feel the way I do? :O)

Come Thirsty

I finished reading my "Traveling Light" book by Max Lucado last week. Last night, I started reading this book "Come Thirsty" also by Max Lucado. He really has a way of writing and his books bring me into a closer relationship with Jesus and that is what I want. I had found this book at Goodwill for $2.00 and I was thrilled I already had it sitting on my shelf. His books are well worth the read.

"What H2O does for your body, Jesus can do for your heart. Lubricate it. Aquify it. Soften what is crusty, flush what is rusty. How?
Like water, Jesus goes where we can't." pg. 13
"Water somehow knows where to go. Jesus knows the same. Your directions are not needed, but your permission is. Like water, Jesus won't come in unless swallowed. That is, we must willingly surrender to his lordship." pg. 14

God's Provisions

I hope that you all have had a very nice Christmas and that you were able to spend it with loved ones. Our Christmas has been very nice. It has been relaxing and restful. It has been such a different experience than in years past.

Last night I was telling my husband how sad I was that for so many years I worked so hard at the bakery that I did not have the energy to make holidays really special for my family. I did not have the time to set up good traditional things. So we were talking about some traditions that I would like to start now. And I am still thinking of some things that would be good traditions.

Yesterday while I was wrapping presents, I was looking for a box. As I was looking for a box - I remembered that my husband had bought me a pair of tennis shoes just a month ago. With working at the bakery - I walked on concrete floors a lot and it would hurt my feet. So he had bought me a new pair of shoes so that if I needed them around the holiday baking. I was so happy. Then a little bit later - my husband was looking for another box and guess what he found? ....A box that had a brand new pair of tennis shoes for him! Yep- These shoes had been bought several months ago and were forgotten about. What is so cool is that he had told me just before the surgery that he would probably need a new pair of tennis shoes by the time he went back to work. And now that I am not working and we have a couple of medical bills - things have felt a bit tight. And I have worried a bit about it. But it was such a blessing to realize that we each had a new pair of shoes and so that is one area that we do not have to worry about. What a blessing - a special blessing from God!

And if that was not thrilling enough - earlier in the same day - I am working on getting some wood that we had stacked in our garage and as I was working there - I noticed some boxes. And I pulled a box down and realized that they were boxes of some of my smaller clothes. What is sad is that I tried on a few pairs of the pants and they were already way too big. I did find a night gown that fits me great right now. And filled a need that I had. I was going to just use the one I had as long as I could. I found a winter robe - to big for me now. And some summer stuff - the only problem is that the shorts fit now. So I am not sure if they will be useful at summer time. But if not - they will help my sister. And some of the other stuff - I will be finding someone who needs the things to give them too.

Anyway by the end of the day - I sure felt like God is really truly in control. He knows what we will need and he provides. Sometimes it is in weird ways like - us buying things and forgetting that we had bought them..but all in all it is still God providing. And for us - we got a real laugh out of yesterdays provisions! :o)

Sabbath Praise and Merry Christmas!

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs! I can remember singing it many times as we would go around caroling when I was a kid! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! :o)