Special Day, February 11!

Today is my baby girls (daughter #2) 21st birthday! All my babies are now adults...boggles my mind! We are planning to head into town to meet her and her Hunny for a birthday dinner at a new restaurant. I'm just hoping the weather doesn't get in the way of our celebration.

Winter storm Orko brought wind and 8" of fresh snow last night and we're supposed to get another 4" today with winds gusting to around 40 mph. Schools in the area are on a 2 hour delay. The way the snow is coming down now, we won't have any trouble getting that 4".  

Last night's wet snow, freezing rain, and rain continues for Monday thanks to the winter storm moving across Upper Michigan. Advisories have been issued for the west half of the U.P. and some of them don't expire until Tuesday morning.

Today's U.P. weather forecast details are available on our website:http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/weather/severe

Plans for today include a general clean-up around the Little Turquoise House and the finishing my daughter's birthday card and wrapping her gift. I have one student today, if the weather doesn't keep her away. She's a high school student and sometimes her mom won't let her make the drive since they live quite a ways out of town...understandable. I got quite a bit done on my computer files yesterday - I worked until I could no longer focus on the screen and my brain couldn't keep track of where I was in the sea of folders. I hope to get back in there and keep going before I forget where I was. I'm still not happy with the files section of this computer. Google has proven itself untrustworthy to keep my files safe. I lost all the pictures of my ATC's...I was in there, saw them and was preparing to move them into a folder when they all disappeared and I can't find them anywhere. I'm so upset! 

Blessing for today: My baby girl. 

Trade

A winter storm has arrived. I called to make sure Daughter #2 was safe in her apt. for the evening...good thing I did, she had no idea it was getting as bad as it was so quickly. 

I had a nice video chat with Daughter #1 today - so nice to have a computer that is video chat capable. 

Yesterday was my ATC trade. All my cards I made now belong to other traders and I came home with a handful of new cards created by other artists. You saw what I created, so I thought I'd share with you what talent the other traders have. Enjoy! 

Hunkering down for the night...

ATC's

I told you I'd be back to share more of my projects with you, so here I am. 

I attended a class at the scrapbook store just after the new year and got myself into a project; trouble is, I'm not sure I have the time to see it through. It's fun, it's creative and it's social, but it takes away from time I'd rather be spending on my scrapbooks. 

It's called Artist Trading Cards. If you Google it, you'll see all kinds of them. Each month a theme is given that must be followed, but other than that, the artist is free to create what they want on a 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch card. Each artist makes enough cards to trade with all the others that are trading, so if there are 12 traders, you need to try and create 12 different cards. I understand this to be kind of a big deal. You have to agree never to sell your cards - only trade. There are even groups that trade with other groups all over the world. We actually include a group from downstate.  

For the month of February, the theme is "felt" which means there must be felt on the card in some way. In looking for inspiration, my mind took the word "felt" and started thinking of feelings that are felt like love, sorrow, joy, kindness, which eventually was replaced with the Fruits of The Spirit and since it was February, and also because coincidentally, our pastor spoke that week on the Fruits of The Spirit and how they must come from the heart, I started each creation with hearts cut from felt. 

I had fun doing them and I'm pleased with how they turned out...so much so, that some of them I don't want to trade, but if I don't put them all out there, it spoils the whole Fruit of The Spirit idea and I won't have enough to trade with everyone. So here they are, my first attempt at artist trading cards. Theme is felt, my collection is The Fruit of The Spirit and the name of each card is the fruit it represents. There are doubles of a couple of them because I made one, then had a better idea. I hope you enjoy seeing them.

 Our trade is this Saturday at noon. Our theme for March is nightmares and the trade is scheduled for March 9th. I wonder what the seasoned traders will think of my contribution? The question is, do I continue to participate? 

A Glimpse of the Sun

I'm enjoying the sunrise with my coffee this morning. There is the lightest snow imaginable falling right now and it's so nice to see the sun - I don't know how long it will last, but I'm enjoying it while I have the opportunity. A bit of a late start this morning - Hubby and I have had a lot of late nights and haven't been sleeping well. 

Plans for my day include:

1) Some cleaning

2) 3 students from 2-3:30

3) Begin organizing my computer files

4) Blog about ATC's

I'll be back in a bit...time for more coffee...

Sewing and Mending and Hemming...OH MY!

As you all know, I have been MIA for most of the month of January. If you wanted to read back in my blog, you would read something about goals and an overwhelming list of projects to tackle. So one day...don't remember when exactly, it dawned on me that my projects were never going to get done if all I did was complain about how overwhelmed I was. DUH! I decided to limit my time on the computer, do my chores quickly and close my eyes when it wasn't done to my usual standard, then I took one project that has been haunting me and spent every waking moment available to get it done. The first project to attack was a 4 year backlog of sewing and mending. I never liked to sew, and the older I get the more I dread it, so much so that I had to literally unearth the machine from my studio closet and in order to get to it, I managed to clean out the entire closet on the way...day one and that's all that was accomplished. That's ok, that too needed doing, it just wasn't on my list. It took a little over a week - in between cleaning, laundry, cooking and teaching - but I managed to finish the following: 

1) Mended 4 tops, 1 pair pajama pants and 2 bags 
2) Hemmed 3 pair pants
3) Sewed buttons on a coat and a pair of pants
4) Made a new cover for a pillow I've had on my bed since I outgrew my crib and got my fist "big-girl bed". It's seen many covers over the years to match new bedroom decor, but it's always been on my bed...even in college.
5) Made a pillow for the couch out of an old embroidered dishtowel.  
6) Made 6 potholders to match my kitchen decor, two of which were just recovering existing potholders.

I still have one top for daughter #2 that needs some work, but she needs to try in on for me. As with all projects, I look back on the accomplishment and wonder why it took me so long to get it all done, but it does feel so very good to have one monkey off my back. 

I have missed you all and checked in with everyone and left messages (I hope I didn't miss anyone). For some reason, I am no longer getting notified of your new entries in my email. I hope to hear from you all soon.

Stay tuned for the next entry of what else I've been doing to keep busy. That's all for now from my snowy neck of the woods. 

Hello Sunshine!

We are expecting record temperatures today...in the low 40's! It is so nice to see the sun; I am a totally different person when the sun is shining. Best get out and enjoy it today, the rest of the week calls for rain turning to snow, then Gandolf will hit!

Already today I have dusted, vacummed, mopped, washed dishes and wiped down the counters. After a quick shower I will be heading off to the grocery store - since we finally got a half paycheck yesterday - then back home to work-out and make some cards. No students today.

Daughter #2 made it back home safely last night after visiting with her Honey's family. I imagine we'll see them both on Sunday.

Well...time to get going...

DO!

I've been thinking a lot about my list of things I want to accomplish ASAP and yet time and distractions cause me to lose focus and determination. I'm at that place where there is so much to do, I am overwhelmed. 

Today: 

1) Hopefully finish downloading some pictures I took on my phone that have been waiting for a new home in my new computer. I didn't realize how many I had on there!! 

2) Prepare testing sheets for students

3) Email fellow teachers to request requirement information for student testing

4) I just completed my first work-out of the new year. I chose ballet conditioning to start with. WHOA! Already my legs feel like jelly, my abs are sore and I can barely lift my arms. I enjoyed doing it though, that is until I couldn't lift the various body parts anymore! Tomorrow I'll choose something else, I have enough options I shouldn't...note, I said "shouldn't" get bored. I keep forcing myself to envision my spring goal. 

I feel as though I am starting my new year a week late. Christmas came and went so quickly as did my children and I miss them dearly. I miss them being little when I could throw my arms around them at any given moment. 

I started a new student yesterday - she is 70+ years of age! I'm excited! There are certainly different challenges teaching an older person. I do pray she does not become discouraged.

The day is nearly over, and there is still so much to do...

Psalm 90:12

So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Another Week, PLEASE!

Many of you have been blogging away, I however, have been at a loss for words which has also been complicated by fatigue of all kinds. 

The message in church this morning was on not spending our time looking too long in the "rear view mirror". As drivers, if we do that, we will get in an accident. We also don't want to spend too much time looking at the gauges for the same reason. With the arrival of the new year, I have to admit I have been spending quite a lot of time looking back and looking at my gauges...ie, where I am regarding my goals, etc. As always this time of year, I feel as though I have taken 2 steps forward and 3 steps back and I need another week to get my bearings. Unfortunately, that is not an option as some of my students have already returned and the rest will be back this week. 

All that being said, I will make a quick glance in my "view mirror" to get you up to date, and then it's time to move forward. 

As I glance back to Christmas it's mostly a blur. All the children were home, so there were 6 people and 5 dogs in the Little Turquoise House and it was busting at the seams. Daughter # 1 and her Hubby spent most of their time in my kitchen baking up vegan delicacies, Son kept a spot warm on the couch watching TV, browsing the internet and de-stressing from his job. Daughter #2 read...a lot - she actually inhaled two books of pleasure type reading. I was able to see the movie The Kings Speech, I can highly recommend it and I saw my first ever 3D movie, The Hobbit. 

Christmas Eve we opened our stockings and Christmas day we opened our gifts. This year we did secret Santa and each of us were responsible for buying only one gift. It worked out very well, the gifts were nice and the focus was more on family instead of spending. That day was a culinary disaster, even though the turkey had been sitting in the refrigerator for 3 days, it still was not thawed completely and so we pulled out some chicken breasts and made up a plan B. Daughter #1 cooked dinner for herself and her Hubby since they are vegan. It all came together, but it felt unorganized and it certainly didn't look like the celebration meal I had envisioned. 

Daughter #1 and her Hubby returned to Chicago the morning of the 26th and Daughter #2 had to return to work so Son and I spent some time online researching laptop computers as I was in need. I said "was", because in a moment of weakness I put a new laptop on my charge card. Almost immediately after making the purchase, I had a horrible case of buyers remorse; all I could think about was spending the money on something that wasn't a real "need". I tried something new, I purchased a mildly used Samsung Chromebook. I'm here to tell you, it wasn't until today that I have felt comfortable enough with it to say for certain this was a good purchase. Chromebooks do not run Windows, they run Google Chrome and they come with next to nothing as far as instruction goes. At first, everything seemed so easy, but it wasn't long before I had a real panic situation going trying to figure out how to store files and use my external hard drive. Thanks to my Hubby, it's all better now and I am friends with my new laptop. 

Now that my "glance in the rear view mirror" is done, it's time to get my eyes back on the road in front of me. Like most of you, the new year brings with it thoughts of resolutions and goals. I usually fail at "resolutions", but at the same time I do have a lot of things I want to accomplish this year. As always seems to be the case, first on my list is healthy habits and losing weight. I'm planning to try something new this year...dance. I think dancers have the most awesome bodies...toned, strong and elegant. As a child I was given a choice between learning piano and learning dance. Sometimes I wish I could have done both. I tried some Zumba last year and I plan to do that again and add ballet elements and yoga to that mix. In addition, I plan to do some bike training to prepare for summer riding. 

Besides health and well being, I have a lot of projects I have on my to-do list. I have music to practice, sewing projects to complete, books to read, scrapbooks to finish, cards to make and give, research to do, and now that I have a computer again and can access my files, I can get back to taking pictures and writing all while teaching, gardening and maintaining a home. My biggest problem is organizing my projects and making the most of my time. 

As has been my bad habit in the past, I have once again taken a hiatus from blogging and then written a lengthy epistle to make up for it. I haven't checked into blogger for quite some time; I'm sorry that I missed so much, I will catch up as I can, or perhaps just join in from here. 

Happy New Year!

Philippians 3:12-14 

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Eyes on the road and looking straight ahead....

Friday??

Today has felt like Friday all day. 

The Dr., rather the PA said my mole looks to her more like it has been scratched or irritated in some way. I'm not sure I agree, but I do see where she is coming from. I'm unsure, because I don't remember bumping or scratching it and there are no scratches or anything around the mole, it's only on the mole itself. Anyway, she hesitated to remove it right away because of my lack of insurance and we'd have to send it off to the lab, etc. She said waiting for a couple of weeks even if it was a cancer starting wouldn't make any difference. She said to put an anti-biotic cream on it and watch it for a couple of weeks and if it's not improved to call and she'd remove it. It does look slightly better than yesterday, so maybe she's right and I was too jumpy. Time will tell.

 

I left early to go to the Dr. and stopped by the post office, the bank and the church to turn on the heat in the sanctuary so I could practice. It takes about an hour or so to warm up. After my appointment I went back to the church and found it was still only 50 degrees in the room - either I didn't do it right or someone came in behind me and turned it back down. I practiced with my coat on, in the cold. Normally I don't have to do that, but because the Sunday School will be using the room to practice on Sunday morning, I won't be able to. I will still be playing the hymns un-practiced on Sunday because I don't know what they will be in time. We will also be performing the Christmas program on Sunday morning in lieu of our usual worship service and I have no idea in what order things will happen. Yea, I'm a little stressed.

After my freezing practice hour, I did some grocery shopping and came home, got some lunch and played on the computer. I figured a little down time was ok since I have no students tomorrow or Friday and will be home alone to get finished with my light cleaning and preparations for the kids to arrive. I may do a little yet tonight, depends on Hubby. I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow, putting on some Christmas music and working uninterrupted...I hope. 

'Night all!

Third Time is a Charm?

Daughter #2 came by last night and spent the night here, it was good to see her. We had a nice chat over coffee this morning and she made chocolate chip cookies that I'm trying very hard to stay out of. She just left; she has a Skype interview for an internship this afternoon with Specialized Bikes. I have mixed feelings as to whether or not I want her to get it. Yes, she needs the experience, but it's in California and she doesn't know anyone out there. 

I feel in a sense that I'm just getting my day started even though I already have supper in the crock-pot, I cooked lunch and cleaned up the kitchen as well as my floors. 

I don't have much planned for the afternoon, maybe make some cards and I have a lesson to teach at 5:30.

Soooooooo, I have a mole on my arm that I noticed this morning has changed drastically. It is much darker than it used to be, raised up and slightly red around the outside. I'm trying not to freak out here, but I have an appointment to have it looked at on Wednesday. Please pray it's nothing. This is the third cancer scare for me and I just pray it turns out benign like the others and that "third time is a charm" in that, this is the last time I have to deal with this.

T-I-R-E-D

I hope you've all had a good weekend. I've had a lot going on, and as a result, I am tired...physically, mentally and emotionally.

Friday I helped Hubby at the shop which always means a lot of standing and mind numbing, repetitive work. I was there for about 4 hours and then taught two hours of piano lessons, prepared supper and finally crashed in the recliner with a massive headache.

Saturday afternoon was the winter recital for my piano students. It started at 2:00, but that means getting there at about 11 to get the heat on in time to warm the space and get a table set up, decorations in place, check on the condition of the piano, rearrange some furniture and get the coffee going. This year I invited family members and friends to participate by sharing with us their talents whether they take piano from me or not. I asked people to bring other instruments, sing, do a reading or play the piano. There weren't many takers, but one family stepped up and brought their violins. They have two little girls, one played the violin and the other the cello and dad played along with them. It was so sweet! Then later in the program, the dad came back up and played a beautiful Bach prelude. What a treat that was!

This was a first recital experience for several students, most did very well. I have one adult also taking part in her first recital and she started out fine but something happened in the middle and she couldn't get back on track. I felt bad for her, but she seemed to handle it alright. I need to have a chat with her soon to make sure she's ok. All in all it was an enjoyable afternoon. There is some tension between me and one of the mothers, so that is always draining on me, something happened between us years ago and we've never been the same since; she always makes me feel inadequate. Also I hate talking in front of a group, and not being able to get programs printed, I had to do a lot of talking.

This morning I arrived at church ready to go in and start my regular practice time and lo and behold, there was the Sunday School classes practicing for their Christmas program. I didn't even think that the space might not be available to me this morning and as usual, no one thinks to alert the organist. I had three pieces of music I had to combine into a single prelude, none of which had registrations prepared. I also saw in the bulletin that there was a hymn I had never ever played before and of course two other Christmas hymns which only get played once a year, so they weren't practiced. It was a fly by the seat of my pants kind of day and let me tell you, anything that has to do with the seat of my pants is never pretty!

Hubby had to leave church early to take care of an issue at the rink - someone...maybe more than one someone didn't show up to their assignment which means Hubby has to find a way to cover it. I had to ask a fellow church member for a ride home and it's now after 3:30 and he is still not home.

It's a gray day...it's raining. Someone at church said "well we don't have to shovel it", true...but once it freezes it's going to be an awful, slippery mess! After everything that has transpired this weekend, I feel like just curling up in a big quilt and not only calling it a day, but calling it a weekend. My emotions are not handling things well and so I'm done folks. 

Going To Work

I'm posting again tonight because tomorrow morning I will be going to help Hubby in the shop. He is swamped trying to get deadlines met before the holiday's, so he's asked me to help him. My usual morning routine of cleaning, Bible reading, blogging and working out will turn into a quick shower and out the door. I just hope that my body will be able to handle the physical stress of the job.

Tomorrow afternoon I have three students coming, so it will be a very busy day. I have no idea what we'll eat, I won't have any time to prepare anything. 

I didn't get as much done today as I'd hoped so I'm headed upstairs to find a lamp bright enough so I can see to sew on that button. 

I'll catch up with you all later!

Quiet Thursday

There is not much in the schedule here at the little turquoise house today and that's fine.

I do have the ever-present laundry situation to take care of, a button to sew on my winter dress coat as well as tighten the others, and the instructions to an iris-folding Christmas card to figure out and make. If I have too much trouble, I'll have to head over to the store to seek help. I do want to get it done, it's such a pretty card. 

I have one student this afternoon at 3:45. Supper will be a small ham that I'll put in the crock-pot in a while - it's pre-cooked, so it just needs to warm and tenderize. Along with the ham I'll serve a baked potato and green beans, all very easy to prepare.

The temps are up in the mid 30's today, but it's still very gray out. Hubby chose to save the wood and not put a fire in the stove this morning. The forecast also calls for snow showers, but I don't think we'll get any. 

The verses I want to share from God's Word today come from the Daily Bread. I know some of you read that everyday, but in light of what Carol blogged about recently, I thought it was a timely message. 

I John 2:15-17 
"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ¹⁷ The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

12-12-12

My Wednesday students had to reschedule for tomorrow, so no one is coming for lessons today. I plan to make a loaf of bread and a loaf of banana bread, cook black beans for my quinoa mixture and hopefully prepare that as well. I also plan to spend a good deal of time at the piano today and do some cleaning.

From God's Word:

Exodus 22:28

"You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people."

Hmmmm, something to think about there.

Daughter #2 has a Skype interview on Monday for a summer internship/job. I pray it goes well for her.

Yesterday I gave my "dark room speech" to three students. Last night after giving it to the third student, he changed his playing and sounded like a completely different pianist. It was exciting! I love teaching piano! Now, if I can just get him to do it that way all the time.

Walking in an Unfamiliar Dark Room

 

I continue to preach - rather unsuccessfully - the need for students to slow their music down, especially in the early stages of learning a new piece.

Today I related it to trying to walk around in a dark and unfamiliar room. If we are concerned about injuring ourselves, we don't walk into a dark room the same way we would in a room filled with light. We slow down, open our eyes wider and feel our way, being careful not to stub our toes.

We must treat unfamiliar music like a dark room. We must slow down, open our eyes - looking carefully for signs along the way, feeling our way from one note to the next, one phrase to the next. If we are making many mistakes and re-striking keys, we are going too fast for our skill at that time. By slowing down and learning everything slowly and correctly, we actually speed up the learning process and our retention. Speed comes only when we know our way around.

Until we finally learn to slow down and feel our way, our music will remain unfamiliar and dark. 

No Cooking Today

I'm taking a break from the kitchen today, I've been cooking some meals ahead for Christmas week. Yesterday I got my vegetarian chili made and it's in the freezer now - I think we'll have that on Christmas Eve. I'm going to soak some black beans today so tomorrow I can cook my quinoa mixture to be used in tacos or taco salad - planning that for the 23rd. Turkey dinner will be for Christmas day. Fortunately, I don't have to cook today - there are enough left-overs for lunch and enough left-over chicken chili for supper.

I have two students coming this afternoon and another one tonight. Yesterday I had a lady call about piano lessons, she's 71 and can't read any music. She was ready to come right away but I sent her to look for a book, and told her when she gets it we'll set up her lesson time. I'm not sure what to expect.

Daughter #2 was here for the day yesterday - she had a hair appointment and she hung out with me and also took care of some homework. She went back last night, she has classes the rest of the week.

From God's Word, Leviticus 19:1-2

“Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

This morning Hubby came back inside after having left for work to show me the moon. The sun had just started to come up so there was an orange glow on the horizon and the clouds above it were a dusty purple color. The moon was just a sliver and the dog star was visible with it - so pretty.

I hope to come back and visit blogs later - I'll have to see. I'm not feeling well today. 
 

Chirstmas Preparations

 

We have snow this morning, but only an inch or two - certainly nothing of the big storm they were predicting for us.

 

I worked on my cards last night until about 11:00 last night. I'm all finished except for one that I'm making for our church bulletin board - we post our cards instead of mailing out to everyone. I just have to run to the scrapbook store today and ask Jeannie to cut some letters for me and it will be done. I even got a start on my daughter's birthday card!

Speaking of Daughter#2, she's coming up sometime today - she has a hair appointment scheduled and she doesn't have classes. I have a small gift and a card I made ready for her boyfriend - just a keychain, but I wanted to get him something. Since my daughter is coming up and I'm not sure when and also because I have some cooking to do to prepare for the kids coming, I won't be going to practice the pipe organ. I will do some practicing on the piano....this Saturday is our Christmas recital and I will be playing 2 pieces that still need some work.

I'm going to make and freeze a vegetarian chili and also another soup or something to have on hand while the kids are here - I really don't want to spend all Christmas week in the kitchen. I think I might see if I can freeze a crisp for Christmas day dessert. Not sure I'll get it all done today...probably not, but if I do something everyday, I should be done this week.

All that, plus teaching and keeping the house somewhat clean will keep me busy this week. Oh...I need to run the steam mop today. Ok, I'm tired already!!

Question for all you bloggers....I love my new background, but it doesn't seem to fit properly. Can someone help me? Do I need to change my template and if so, what works best? Also, what is the difference between a 2 column and a 3 column layout and which one should I be using? I can't remember which one I have on here now, but I tried the other one and it used up too much of my pretty background. Any help is appreciated, thanks. 

Love Is A Christmas Rose

 



























Friendship is
a holly tree, That brightens as it grows, 

Friendship is a holly tree, But love is a Christmas rose!  

Romance is the mistletoe, That from the ceiling glows,  

Romance is the mistletoe, But love is a Christmas rose!  

With this rose I give you, On this Christmas day,  

Can't you see my darling,  

What my heart has tried so hard to say?  

Friendship is a holly tree  

That brightens as it grows 

Friendship is a holly tree  

But love is a Christmas rose!

 Romance is the mistletoe 

That from the ceiling glows 

Romance is the mistletoe

But love is a Christmas rose!

Love is a Christmas rose!

Love is a Christmas rose!

 Love is a Christmas rose . . . 

Words and Music by Earl Shuman and Leon Carr

Coffee by the Fire

Good Saturday morning! 

The snow has begun, we're under a winter storm warning for tonight through Monday. I'll be staying in today, finishing my cards and taking care of some other things around the little turquoise house. Hubby has a busy day - he'll be back and forth between the ice rink and work.

I watched another favorite Christmas movie last night...One Special Night starring Julie Andrews and James Garner...two of my favorites. Julie is my all time favorite female actress and singer, I admire her so much. She is talented, elegant and gracious. James Garner always reminded my mom of my dad...they look alike. 

From God's Word:

Psalm 19:7-11

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
¹¹ Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.

 This is short today. My coffee is gone and it's time to throw another log on the fire and head upstairs to get started.

Thiry One-derful

It's been a dark week. I looked out the window one afternoon at 3:00 p.m. and I couldn't believe how dark it was. It's also been windy and we've had that awful mix of rain and snow. I know it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm trying not to, really...it is what it is...it's messy and dark and there is no other way to say it. 

On a brighter note, this week Hubby and I celebrated thirty one-derful years of married joy. Hubby brought in a bouquet of a dozen red roses which are GORGEOUS and we went out to dinner at a favorite spot here in town. I love this little restaurant at Christmas. They always have a huge tree that you have to walk around and it's all decorated with homespun, old fashioned ornaments like dried orange slices, popcorn and cranberries although, the snowballs with faces are a little creepy looking. Over the bar, pine boughs are strung, accented with monster pine-cones. I wish I could post pictures...maybe next year. I have been thinking even more so than usual about our marriage and how blessed we have been. Two imperfect people do not a perfect marriage make, but when I look at the marriages and family situations around me...WE ARE SO BLESSED. I know it's nothing we've done, we try to be obedient and faithful to that which God has called us, but it is God who preserves us...this I know and I'm grateful.

I've only accomplished a portion of our decorating. I've set out my mother's manger scene and decorated my surfaces with woodworking crafts my kids made in school and my mother's Santa collection, but Hubby and Daughter have not had time to pick out a tree. It has become tradition that the two of them take care of that job each Christmas. I'll never forget how awful I felt the year we moved to the house and I decided it was time for a fake tree for convenience sake. I found out the hard way how much my daughter looked forward to choosing the tree with her dad each year. It was her special thing to do and by setting up the fake tree I took that away from her...I didn't know. Soooooo, I keep the fake tree in the closet.

I went for a massage this morning, my therapist had a cancellation and I jumped at the chance to get in. Ever since I stood in the kitchen for 8 hours on Thanksgiving I have been an awful mess. I know, most of you are thinking, "oh, lucky her, she gets a massage", well, let me tell you, when I get a massage it is anything but relaxing. After an hour and a half of being on the table, I was so ready to get off. I am feeling the benefits now though, my body feels looser, but oh...there is still so much more to dig through.  

I can't believe it's 3:00 already. I'm happy I don't have to cook supper tonight...leftovers again. I spent $7.00 on a DVD today...Holiday Inn. I bought White Christmas last year. I have to start watching my Christmas movies now, once the kids arrive, I won't be able to. 

Time to leave blog land and go address envelopes for Christmas cards. I sure hope we get more than we did last year, otherwise this might be the last year I do this. Maybe I'll put in my new DVD while I work on them. 

Bugged

I spent yesterday sick. Not sick enough to crawl into bed and stay there, but sick nonetheless. I was doubled over in pain at times, and was bloated and gassy. I'm better today, but I still don't feel like I'm out of the woods yet. I'm no longer in pain, but still feel bloated. I slept from 6:30 last night until 11:00 in the chair...I did wake up for a bit and saw some of Remington Steele, then Hubby woke me up to take the dogs out. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, but the second my head hit the pillow I was gone. Hubby said I must be fighting some kind of intestinal bug to be able to sleep so much. I'm going to keep my diet light and bland for a while. 

  

My weekend has finally started, I know it's strange to say that at 5:00 on Friday night, but I'm used to finishing my work week on Wednesday. Due to a scheduling conflict however, three students wanted to move from Tuesday to Friday.  

I hope to take it easy this weekend. Hubby has quite a bit of hockey to keep him busy and I'm going to cook as little as possible. I'd like to get that day to myself that I was spoiled by illness yesterday, we'll see.