In All Things By Prayer

Yesterday as I was sitting in the Wal-mart parking lot (such an inspirational place) I was enlightened. I realized that I need to pray about more parts of my life. Mind you, I'm a praying kind of girl, but as I thought about some things I realized that there are parts of my life and my family's life that I never pray about at all. I hit the big stuff, but God really wants to be part of everything we do and He wants to be consulted about everything we do. I like how Proverbs 3:5-6 puts it: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Lately I think I've been leaning a little heavy on my own understanding. Whether it be because I don't want to bother God with the trivial things that I think I can handle on my own or whether it be pure lazyness I'm not sure, probably a combo of both. Or maybe it's just that I don't naturally think to pray about every little thing. But I think this is what the scriptures mean when they say to pray continually or without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17).

It's not that we have to be monks that pray all day every day or that we have to be a flaky weirdo that makes a public spectacle of prayer, but rather that in each thing we encounter in life everyday we should have a prayerful response, continually fellowshipping with the Lord and walking with Him even if we're completely silent on the outside. Acknowledging him in everything and seeing if He has some input before just trudging along on our own.

Years ago my sweet friend, Charlene, shared a perfect visual of prayer in a believer's life. She said it's like a train track. Just as we wouldn't want to be on a train that has no track laid out in front of it, we don't want to forge ahead in life without first laying a track of prayer for our lives to run on. Isn't that a perfect picture of what prayer is? It's what helps us avoid a train wreck in our lives! And it's the track by which we smoothly maneuver through life.

I need to get busy and lay some more track.

Snake in the Grass

Three things in life simply don't mix well together: a woman, a garden, and a snake.

Today I was outside innocently picking tomatoes in my garden. When I finished I was looking around for Charlotte because I haven't seen her since our torrential downpours a few days ago. Then I noticed huge ant hills in one section of my square foot gardens and I went to work messing them up. The ants and I have had a real war the last few weeks as they have taken over our yard. I've "gone to the ant" and learned a lot more than I ever knew before like the fact that they are resilient, stubborn, and downright mean.

As I was messing in the garden for the last few days I've felt an odd, eerie sensation, one that I know all too well. I hadn't seen a snake in the yard all year, but I know when one is near. Suddenly, a blue tailed skink caught my eye. I thought he was deformed because it looked as though he had a large tumor in his middle. Closer inspection revealed his mid section was inside the mouth of a young snake. Yikes!

If he had been any bigger I would have run for the hills, but he was small and I was already mad at those ants. I reached for a little fireplace shovel (don't ask me how that got in the garden because I have no idea) and attempted to slam him. Did I mention that I have atrociously bad aim? I missed him by a mile and he just sat there, not willing to move or lose his lunch. I had to get closer. I pinned his neck to the ground with the sharp end of the shovel. The lizard dropped the blue end of his tail and was outta there. I could almost hear him screaming, "Hallelujah! It's a miracle!" as he went.

The snake turned out to be a little more muscular and strong than I expected. He writhed his body every which way so I reached for a nearby stick to beat him to death. I proceeded to hit him several times, but must have loosened my grip on the shovel because suddenly he plunged at the shovel and slithered away lickety split- right to my other square foot garden!

And in case you're wondering I'm not sure if he was poisonous or not. We have all kinds in these parts. However, seeing that the lizard was in such good shape after his bite, I think he probably wasn't poisonous.

As you can well imagine I'm just terribly excited to go back out there and pick veggies again. Personally, I think we've had a bumper tomato crop this year and that's probably all the picking that I need to do this year, don't you think? In the off event that I look big and brave from this post, let me assure you that the snake wasn't as long as your average ruler or else the story might read quite differently.

Well, as you probably guessed, I'm going to turn this into a spiritual lesson. I know some folks think that it's corny or hyper-spiritual to take everything and find the lesson in it, but I just think it goes back to Matthew 5:8 which says Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. I don't think that necessarily means we have to wait until heaven to see Him, but that we can see Him all around us in everything that happens. Plus, if I don't make this into a spiritual lesson I'll never be able to return to my garden again.

So, here is the lesson. Way back in the garden of Eden a similar scenario took place. A woman, a garden, and a snake all collided together at one point in time and the result was the fall of man. After today's incident I'm convinced that while Eve may have been deceived, her heart was telling her, "Don't do it. Something isn't right here." She had the little red flag, check in her spirit, uneasy feeling deep inside. Today in my garden, I couldn't pinpoint it at first, but I knew something was awry. And don't we all feel that when something is amiss or we're contemplating doing something we know isn't right? Unless, of course, we've ignored that intuition for so long that our hearts are hardened to it.

Today when your little warning system alarms don't ignore it. Take heed. Correct whatever needs to be corrected. Proceed with caution and prayer. Find out what God's word says on whatever issue you're facing and stick with the word.

I've always taught me children to obey the spirit on the inside of them and if something is making them feel uneasy deep inside then they need to heed that warning. Years ago when my son was about 9, I took the kids to a park. We encountered a man sitting in a car beside where we were parked and a big fat siren went off inside me. I didn't say anything to the kids at the time, but we all got in the car and quickly departed. As we were on the way home my son said, "Mom, why do you think that man was in the park?"

I said, "I don't know."

He said, "Mom, did that man make you feel funny because I sure felt funny?"

I was so happy that he listened to that warning on the inside of him. That day I told him that was God trying to warn him and that he should always listen to the warning and obey.

And all that from a snake eating a lizard in my garden.

Blogging Time Savers

One of the topics I want to start sharing about is simplicity, a favorite subject of mine and a goal I have in life. I've not always been so good at achieving simplicity, but lately I sense God really helping me in this area so I'd like to share what I learn/have learned.

I've discovered a couple of great time savers when it comes to blogging and reading blogs. While I enjoy both pursuits, I also need to keep them in perspective with my other priorities and, therefore, can only allot so much time to either one.

The first time saver is exclusively for those who use blogger. It's the feature where you can write a post and schedule it to appear at a future date. I've done this for vacations, but recently decided to try it for my regular blogging too. What a great time saver! I can create several blog entries all at once, when I'm in the writing flow, and I don't have to get on blogger every single day. That's great because once I get on blogger I have a tendency to stay on blogger so if I can avoid it for a few days that's less temptation to cast my time and priorities to the wind.

Secondly, if you're not familiar with www.bloglines.com, you absolutely need to be. I first heard about it from my friend, Rhoda, who also gave me the idea to use the pre-scheduled blogging for my regular blog entries. Basically, you register at bloglines and then you copy the URLs of the blogs you regularly read onto your account. (It was so easy that even I set it up all by myself so you can do it too!). When you want to check for new posts you simply log in to bloglines and you can see in one glance if any new entries were added to any of the blogs you like to visit. And you can read all of those posts right from bloglines. It saves you the trouble of clicking in and out of each blog or checking blogs that may not have new entries. If you want to post a comment, no problem. You can access the blog from bloglines, post your comment, and then return to bloglines to read the rest of your blogs. EASY!

At first I was skeptical that either of these ideas would save me much time. So wrong! They are huge time savers for anyone who is a regular in the blog world. Try them, you'll like them!

Meet Charlotte From Charlotte

I want you to meet my new friend.

We have a lot in common. We both like gardens, especially my garden.

We both like being outdoors enjoying the sunshine.

We both like to rearrange our homes from time to time.

We're both writers even.

And we both think the only thing to do with a bug is kill it.

Meet my new friend, Charlotte.

At first when Charlotte took up residence in my garden I wasn't too keen on having a writing spider hanging around. But I thought I'd wait it out a bit and see if she would leave. She didn't. Instead, we learned to have a peaceful co-existence together.

Funny thing, I haven't had any trouble with garden pests this year. At first a bunch of ladybugs took over the gardens and not an aphid in sight. When Charlotte showed up the ladybugs suddenly decided to switch neighborhoods, but nary a creature has dared to attack my beautiful plants. Between Charlotte and the cat, I think I have pest control covered.

Each day I go out and pick tomatoes all around her. She doesn't budge but silently watches. As the months have gone by I'd say I'm not the only one who has put on some weight. She's grown a lot and is a little on the chunky side. Too much fine dining will do that to you.

Last week I noticed that another writing spider had stopped by for a visit. He stayed for lunch. In fact, he was lunch. Thus ended his writing career.

A few days ago I went out and couldn't find her. Not a trace of her or her web. I felt sad, hoping she hadn't expired. Then I rounded a corner and nearly ran smack into her new pad. Apparently, she knew I'd been redecorating and decided it was time to update her web too.

It's kind of nice having another writer around. So far she's kept to squiggly lines and hasn't left me any messages. But if that changes, I'll let you know. In the mean time, I'm glad to be hospitable to my summer friend.

The Beach Trip

Nothing like waiting forever to post pictures of our beach trip weeks ago.

The whole gang minus me:

Seagulls in flight:

Father and son:

More father and son:

One daughter:

Daughter and spare daughter (my friend Annika's child):

More daughters:

Still more daughters (can we tell who likes to get their pictures taken?)

And proof that I was actually there!

The Master Suite

Yesterday was the big reveal of my office and today you get to see the master bedroom. These are the only two rooms I've tackled in my redecorating spree, but I assure you the rest of the house needs it just as much and I have it on my list of things to do, but all in good time.

We are fortunate to have an extra large master bedroom. It was an addition the previous owners added to our 1960s brick ranch and I like it because of the size and the fact that it has four windows! The unfortunate part of such a large room is that over the years it has been the catch all room for everything that couldn't find a place elsewhere in the house. When my mother-in-law lived with us it also became a dual bedroom/office. When she left I made a quality decision that our bedroom should become the welcome haven of rest and repose that it's supposed to be.

I only ask that you remain blind to the 1980s gold carpet and the bedroom set from the caveman era. I can't do much about the carpet at present, but I do have plans for the bedroom set. Plan A: Ditch it and get some gorgeous Amish furniture including a four poster bed. Plan B: Paint it to look distressed (because it's sure distressing me!).

This is the view when you enter the room. Did I mention that I left everything au naturale? Didn't bother to fluff pillows, dust, or vacuum. If you want to see how I made that window frame above the bed go to this link. The plaque under the window frame says, "Always kiss me goodnight."

The room has an Americana feel which I didn't plan because I'm not much of an Americana girl, but I actually like it in this room. And it goes well with these lovely Norman Rockwell plates that my mother-in-law found for me at an estate sale.

And these:

And these:


When you look to the right after you're fully in the room you see the dresser, which is in need of some color on it, and the ultra small TV space (my choice to keep it small).

Moving on around the room you see one of my favorite spots- the writing desk. This is usually home to the laptop, but it appears the laptop is in a teenager's hands at present. It's also where I write good old-fashioned handwritten notes and letters. This desk was purchased really cheap at a "My wife left me for another woman" sale. Sad, but true.

I had to point out this great manly box that I got for my husband's night stand. He has a tendency to collect all sorts of keys and papers on his night stand so this box was our compromise. The stuff is out of my sight, but he gets to keep it right there close at hand. Box was $7.00 at TJ Maxx.

My bedside table was a $10 yard sale find, but I'm told it's an antique from the 1800s and is worth considerably more than that. Judging by the way it's made and the fact that I encountered another one like it that was genuinely from the 1800s I'm thinking it may be true. The box that says "Simple Pleasures" was on deep discount at a department store and I had to have it. It's where I keep all of my bedside beauty treatments like lotion and liquid tears.

This is a favorite spot for both hubby and me: our reading chair. Another thrifty $35 yard sale find and well worth it for all the pleasure it brings to both of us. Plus, it has a great place behind it to hide all those great Renoir and Monet pictures I've been collecting at yard sales, but haven't found a spot for yet.

Look at this beautiful hope chest sporting our family photo gallery. In the winter it will display some of my son's oil paintings of winter scenes. The chest is solid cedar and was a gift from my parents when I was a teenager. They bought it at an estate sale and refinished it for me. I'm not sure the exact age, but I'd say it's well over 100 years old. I think it might have been that old when they purchased it. Gorgeous and a special treasure for me.

This is a wider view of this area of the room including the ficus tree, a gift from my friend, Tammy, with lights on it year round. I love to sit in here with worship music playing and nothing but the lights on the ficus tree on.

Notice the window mistreatment. Want to see how I made it? Visit this link.

This wall has crosses that were on clearance at Kirkland's for about $5.00. It's supposed to have old fashioned keys hanging there too (something I collect) and a small shadowbox with keys in it. Just as soon as I find the special place I put that shadowbox we'll paint it and fix it up and put it on the wall. But for now, I'm really thinking hard about where it might be.

Our bed faces this bookcase. I have to keep it orderly and regularly purged or I can't stand to look at it because of the cluttered feel. On top are my hubby's awards for coaching and as soon as I find his medal from running a marathon it will hang there too.

What do you do when the closet doors keep breaking? You take them off and replace them with an extremely well made curtain from JCPenney's on clearance for $6. That's what you do.

Now we're back to the door we first entered so that's the end of the tour. Toodle-loo.

P.S. If the spacing on this post comes out really weird it's because blogger is giving me fits with this post and I don't know what to do about it.

The Write Space

I've been in the process of decorating my office for quite a while and now I'm finally finished and I have pictures! The theme of my office is words and life being that I'm a writer and all. It has a definite French flair, something that I didn't plan but just sort of happened on its own. Keep in mind that this is a working office so it's always function before beauty. I'd love to throw in a disclaimer reminding everyone that I'm not a decorator, things aren't as perfect as I'd like them to be, the wall color isn't my first choice blah, blah, blah, but it is what it is. And it just happens to be an office that makes me very happy.

This is what you see when you enter the room. It's my work area and I purposely left it cluttered so you could see what it really looks like when I'm creating and not some perfect version that I set up just for the picture. Notice the curtains pulled back behind the window ledge with nothing holding them there and one looks totally jagged which it isn't at all. The pictures on the ledge are my children. Originally, I had a colorful cross there, but my daughter informed me that it looked as though I was trying to keep Dracula from coming in through the window.

By the way, I will mention my thrifty finds in this post because I know it might give others ideas and hope that beauty can be created on a budget. The curtains were on discount at Lowe's, all except the toile valance which I just had to have and it was full price at Lowe's. The desk is solid wood and very heavy, purchased at a yard sale for $40 several years ago. The 1950s metal stand to the right of the desk was a $2 yard sale find spiffed up with a can of spray paint. The computer was on discount per my father's shopping, the printer free, and the copier was a gift from my dad.

The Renoir above the computer is one of my favorites: Danse a Bougival. The expression on that woman's face is mesmerizing. That's why she's above my work space so I can look up and be inspired. All of the Renoirs in this room were purchased on ebay for about $3.50 each when you count s&h. The poster frames were about $5.00 at Wally World.

These plates are some of my favorite things in the whole room which is also why they rated a spot above my work station. When I look at them I get all happy. They are Johnson Bros. china purchased on deep discount at an upscale department store. The shelf is a yard sale find and the "Believe" sign is from the dollar store, painted with love by my daughter.

See my 12 smooth stones from Joshua 4:1-9. They are faith (2), love (2), peace (2), hope, pray, dream, imagine, relax, and laugh. Dollar store purchase.

Going around the room to the left we encounter the file cabinet which still needs a little work up top. I'm going to raise the hand higher and stagger the plants and other raised surfaces.

On the side of the file cabinet are the things I read when I feel like I can't go on. First we have a couple of quotes. John Wayne was less than a dollar at Kirkland's. It says, "Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway."

Then we have a beautiful essay written by my daughter about her hero. Hmmm....wonder who that might be?

You may have noticed this large hand giving the okay sign and wondered about it. I bought it because it's almost identical to the one that appears in my curriculum, Hands-On Essays. It was cheap at TJ Maxx, but was a dull gray and black so my daughter and I spruced it up with some hints of silver and gold paint. My family tells me that when I'm stressed I need to look at it and remember that everything will be okay.

This is my favorite spot in the office: my thinking chair. Actually, this is where I think, read, have quiet time, pray, and write rough drafts. Notice the lovely Renoirs. I love looking at people while I create.

A cute little black table for my tea cup. It was a burnt orange plant stand from TJ Maxx that I gave a makeover with a can of spray paint. By the way, I'm not left handed, but it's just as easy for me to cross my right hand over to get my tea and it looks way better on that side.

My book basket. This is where I keep our nature journals and drawing pencils as well as Bible and journal.

I just love this little shelf above the chair. If you want to see how I made those punctuation mark pictures visit here.

And my great makeover bookcase. Click here to see how I did it. My favorite part is the open Bible on top. You can't see the lovely scrapbook paper behind the shelves very well, so click the makeover link to see how nice it really looks.

Behind the door are hidden these blackboards. I can only see them when I'm hunkered down to business with the door closed. Even then they are behind me. That's because they list my projects (top one) and my scary deadlines (bottom one). Yes, they actually have writing on them that isn't showing up well in this picture. Guess how I made them? One day on my walk I found an old children's easel that had a dry erase board on one side and a chalkboard on the other. I carried it home, my daughter separated the two sides, my neighbor sawed the legs off, I spray painted it with fresh chalkboard paint, we painted the rims, and sweet daughter painted the letters for each board, and I attached hanging things on the back. Voila'

Above the door are A....Z. Wooden letters painted silver and covered in scrapbook paper with words and letters on it. A Hobby Lobby extravaganza.

That's the grand tour and I hope you enjoyed it. Now that you've seen where I work, I won't feel so alone on the days when deadlines are tight and I literally live in my office. Stay tuned tomorrow for my master bedroom redo.

P.S. I have no idea why my camera has suddenly decided to take fuzzy, ill-colored pictures. I'll have to have one of my teenage experts look into it.

Calling All Poets and Wannabes

I interrupt this blog for a commercial break. My niece, Kirsten, who obviously thinks her aunt has more connections than she actually does, has asked me to share about an online poetry class she's teaching via Stanford University. If you are a poet or ever had an inkling of a desire to write poetry, this is the class for you. If you know someone who would be interested in the class feel free to pass along this information. You can get the details here.

While I can't give you all the nitty gritty of what will be taught in the class, I can tell you a bit about the instructor. Kirsten is a brilliant writer and dedicated poet. She's beautiful inside and out, loving, funny, family-oriented, athletic, smart with a captial S, and highly educated. And besides all that she has some really funky dance moves which might not add to her poetry teaching credentials, but are really fun to watch.

Like everything else she does, I know Kirsten will put her whole heart into teaching this class so I recommend it highly.

Now, Kirsten, about that family discount...

Our Menu for the Week

Now that ya'll have seen my meager decorating skills I know you're just itching to know what's on our culinary calendar so I thought I'd share. Actually, that's not my true motivation. I'm really posting because I'm trying to use up food that's already in the house and only buy things that are on sale since groceries seem to have soared to astronomical rates lately. This menu was quite challenging to create and I thought for all that effort it deserved to be posted here. Of course, it's subject to change, especially if Dominoes keeps having that pizza deal for $3.99.

Keep in mind that some of these items I may not eat due to trying in a haphazard way to keep my cholesterol in check. It's felt pretty out of check recently so I need to do something about it.

Wednesday: Cod cooked in foil on the grill with tomatoes, onions, and peppers, salad, leftovers from last night
Thursday: Whole baked chicken with celery, onions, carrots; long grain and wild rice
Friday: BBQ (already made store bought) on buns, baked beans, coleslaw, microwaved sliced potatoes
Saturday: Chicken Alfredo per my daughter, frozen broccoli
Sunday: Tacos, refried beans
Monday: Pinto beans & ham, cornbread, sliced tomatoes and veggies from the garden
Tuesday: Possibly BLTs and French Fries

I also have an enormous frozen turkey in the freezer, but I hesitate to cook it because I use a long, slow oven baking method and I don't want the house to be steaming hot or the air to run continuously while it's cooking. Besides a Thanksgiving dinner just doesn't sound all that appealing in August.

That's our mouth-watering fare for a while. Speaking of which, the bowl of grapes I had for lunch just isn't cutting it so I think I better go eat.

Life Comes at You Fast

Has anyone else's August flown by? This has been my one summer vacation month with no speaking or pressing anything. I recall a few months ago that I couldn't wait for August because I 'wasn't going to lift a finger to do anything.' Funny, but it's August 20 and this is the first time I've remembered that I wasn't supposed to be lifting a finger. Guess I was too busy to think about it! Actually, I didn't lift many fingers at the beach a few weeks ago so I guess I started off right.

I read so many blogs where people are already getting out the fall decorations. Hats off to you eager ladies, but when your summer doesn't start until August you're in no hurry to rush it away. Autumn still seems miles away, yet it isn't.

In fact, yesterday was a big day at our house. My son started his first concurrent enrollment class at the local community college. Did you hear that? My son started a CCCollege class! Wasn't it just yesterday that I was taking his picture for the first day of two year old playschool? He was wearing his little shorts and carrying a red Sesame Street lunchbox with homemade banana muffins for snack. He cried when I started to leave him and I held him and soothed him until Miss Marsha, his teacher, spoke her soft, sweet words and he went straight from my arms to hers and that was the end of the crying from then on out.

Yesterday my son took the car keys and said, "See you later, Mom." Then he very sweetly peeked his head in my office and said, "And don't cry, okay?"

"Oh, I'm not crying," I said cheerfully, fooling no one. Then under my breath I whispered, "Yet."

Actually I did very well considering that the house felt very empty and quiet. My friend, Annika, had snatched my daughter away for the afternoon so I was alone. But I'm sure I'll remember this milestone minute in vivid detail too- the green shirt he was wearing, the way his hair sticks straight up in front after he mousses it, the eagerness in his voice over entering yet another "adult" realm. It's sort of like childbirth. You just never forget.

He came home with a spring in his step and excitement in his voice. I had a little excitement in my voice too when he informed me that the bookstore had sold us the wrong books and being the conscientious young man that he is, he had already opened his to check everything out so they wouldn't take them back! Thankfully, his instructor worked it out so he could use what we bought which saved us big money, but we still overspent by way too much because of the error. Uggghhh!

Anyway, he's a college kid now (sort of) and by the end of the semester he'll be a bilingual boy too. But I'm afraid to blink. When I open my eyes he might be married with kids!

My Latest Mistreatments

I heart Nester to pieces and now she's having a linky thing to show off mistreatments. So this is my contribution.

First, a true "window" mistreatment, which is also my own unique version of a quilt since I don't sew a lick.

You start with an ugly old window salvaged from the neighbor's curb when they replaced their windows.

Then you turn it into this beautiful piece of art (picture doesn't do it justice).

Steps in process:
1. My daughter throroughly cleaned the window and taped the panes so we could paint. I very carefully applied the necessary stuff on the back to hang it with, hoping all the while I wouldn't break the glass.

2. We started to paint it cream, but we liked the look of the wood showing through so much that we just put one thin coat. It looks more rustic, even though you can't tell on that white wall.

3. On the back I used masking tape to apply various types of scrapbook paper to match my master bedroom decor.

Next we move to another type of a mistreatment- a bookcase done up Nester style.

It started out as an old battered bookcase my cousin gave me. It stayed buried in my son's closet covered in kid books for years.

Then I met Nester and suddenly remembered that bookcase and the potential it might possess.

So armed with black spray paint, poster board, scrapbook paper, and masking tape I did it up Nester style.

This little beauty is in my office now and every time I look at it my heart smiles.

If you'd like to see mistreatments other people have done be sure to stop by Nester's nest. I assure you, you'll end up hearting her as much as I do!

Artistic Bargains

I just have to share more recent bargains because it is so clearly evident that God is working with me to decorate my house!

If you've read my other posts you know that I'm using a lot art to decorate and have already found some excellent bargains, but I have more. Like this Frederick Morgan poster print that looks lovely hanging in my master bath. Goodwill- $5.

And how about these cute little herb plates that sell for $25 a piece. I paid a mere $2.10 for all of them at Goodwill.

Then the biggy. I went to a yard sale today and lookie what I found. Another Renoir! This is "The Boating Party" and it's huge and it's matted and it's framed all for $5.00. I think this one will eventually make it's way to my living room...or is God trying to get me ready for a new house? Hmmm....something to ponder. Sorry the pictures aren't great quality. Photographer I am not. But in real life all of these finds are gorgeous.

Tinsel Teeth

It must be Christmas


Cause look at all this tinsel!


My daughter finally got her braces and while she's in a good bit of discomfort she's also very happy to know that her teeth will be straight in a couple of years.

My Daddy Loves Me

It never fails. Just when I need it most God shows up to let me know that He loves me, He's with me, and He's got everything under control.

As I've said numerous times on my blog, I'm in the process of decorating my office and it's taken me a while to decipher exactly what I want that "awe inspiring" writing den to look like. One day I thought of a picture that hung over my mother's bed many years ago when I was a teeny tiny girl. It's a picture of a woman and a little girl. Somehow I managed to remember that it was a Renoir. I decided that I wanted one of those pictures in my office.

Long story short, I went online and ventured into the world of ebay for the very first time and bought five Renoir poster prints for really cheap. I can't wait to get them!

Today after I dropped my son at work I felt an urge to go to Goodwill and I ventured over to the art section and look what God had there special just for me:

Renoir!!!!

And Monet!!!

I got more stuff too, but these were the ones that were really like a message straight from God. The guy at Goodwill said, "I don't know why we suddenly started getting these really nice artist prints." But I know. Because I suddenly decided that I really like the art from the impressionists of old.

And the cool thing is that this is one of the prints that I didn't buy from ebay. I thought about getting it, but went with others instead.

As you can see, my office is taking on a bit of a French flair. Don't ask me why. That's just what keeps coming and I just roll with it.

Vacations, Heartache, and College

This post is simply a catch all of thoughts because I don't have a real post prepared.

First, I vacationed at the beach last week. This vacation was different than usual. I can sum it up by this statement: The devil left hell for a week and vacationed at the beach...with me. I'm not referring to a person here, but to the fact that I had a hot and heavy mental/spiritual battle going on while there. But even during spiritual battles one can laze in a beach chair and stuff herself silly. I even came home feeling rested which is a miracle given the mental unrest.

I'd hadn't even been home for 24 hours before I heard two different reports from friends that buckled my knees and broke my heart. I'm still reeling. Sometimes you just want to say, "No, this can't possibly be happening." Lots of prayer needed for my friends. I think some of the beach battle was because unknown to me these friends were in a mega spiritual battle and I was feeling the vibes.

Today was another first for us as I took my son to sign up for concurrent enrollment at the local community college. I had to really psych myself up to take my "little boy" and sign him up for c...c...c...college. Where has the time gone? A wink, a blink, it's gone.

Of course, on the way home from the college I'd forgotten all about the fact that he had just signed up for college because I was staggering from the book bill! Thank God the class is free and we only signed up for one! I might need about three more jobs just to pay for the books!

I hope this post doesn't sound depressing. I'm not the least bit depressed. I have an ache in my heart for my friends, but I'm actually excited about getting back into more of a disciplined swing to life and easing out of the lazy, hazy days of summer.

And I've run out of things to say. Thus ends this pretty pointless post.

The Beach House

If you give a homeschooler some free time she might get an idea to build a replica of the beach house we've stayed in the most.

If she gets that idea she might spend weeks and weeks building the house and including every tiny, minute detail.

If she includes all those details she might get tired or stuck and enlist the help of her brother.

If she enlists her brother's help, the house building will go easier.

If the house building goes easier she'll include more details at the front of the house like the seashells that are always under the house and the sand that accumlates on the landing of the stairs.

If she includes details at the front of the house, she'll zero in on the palm trees doing eensy weensy detail work to make them just perfect.

If she makes those shady palm trees it will remind her of the front porch swing where she likes to sit and relax.

If she thinks about relaxing she'll remember the hammock under the house.

If she remembers the hammock she'll think about the clothes on the clothesline swaying in the ocean breeze.

If she thinks of the breeze it will remind her of the seagulls that fly around and perch on the top of the house.

If she thinks of the roof she'll work really hard to totally complete the house.

And once it's built her parents will praise her work up one side and down the other, her mom will show it off on her blog, and the whole family will get in the car and zoom down the road to spend a week in that house.

And if the whole family spends a week in that beach house they will come home today really refreshed and happy.

The end.

Will I Ever Reach These Goals?

How on earth did we arrive at goal check-in time again so soon? Well, you can tell from that statement how the month went. This month's rating scale will be from great to lousy and everything in between.

1.Lose 15 pounds and develop a regular exercise routine. Double lousy

2.Feed my spirit (more than just the regular quiet time). Fair

3.I want to build family relationships. Fair to midland

4.I'd like to try some new venues of writing. Lower than lousy. I can't even keep up with the venues I already have!

5. I'd like to create a pretty, comfortable home. Greater than great! Of all the goals I thought I'd actually meet this year, this one was not in the top 7. Yet, this is the one that's happening. So, if everything else goes to pot at least the house will look decent.

6. We will get out of debt this year. Getting out- great! Staying out- fair. It's all the teenagers fault. Braces, cars, food- what do these people expect from us???

7. I will set aside regular writing time, preferrably 15 hours per week. Ha ha ha ha! Does posting a blog count? I guess you could call this one negative lousy as well.

8. I want to learn to relax. I say I'm doing great. My family says I'm closer to lousy than I think.

Oh well, not such a good month on the goal chart, but I have an optimistic spirit and a positive attitude and I believe this next month will be much better.

If you'd like to see other goal reports visit my friend Elisa's blog. Hopefully, the other girls did better than me this month.

A Southern Delicacy

Today I'm going to answer the question that has been plaguing everyone's mind: What is livermush?

If you're from the Carolinas, you're amazed that anyone would not know the answer to that question. It's probably the same folks that have never drank Sundrop or Cheerwine or eaten a Tony's ice cream cone. Why, they probably didn't even cut their baby teeth on Krispy Kreme doughnuts either. Never had a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Never ate a fried bologna sandwich. Never had a burger or hot dog with coleslaw and chili on top. And they eat at restaurants that don't serve sweet tea. Does such a society really exist?

Yes, it does. And I'm fixin' to enlighten those of you who have no idea what any of that stuff is that I just mentioned (except maybe KK because they're a franchise now).

Back to the hot seat question: What is livermush?

Livermush is a southern food that tastes real good fried and served as a breakfast side like sausage or bacon.

It's also good fried and served with mustard or mayo on a sandwich for lunch.

What is it made of? Well, let's just say it's one of those foods that you just grow up eating and you don't read the ingredients or ask what's in it. You just know you like the taste. I know it has cornmeal and...well...pig liver, but we won't discuss that right now- or ever!

Is it good for you? Doubtful, but did I mention that it tastes good?

If you want to get technical, what I eat is actually liver pudding and everyone knows that the only brand to eat is Neese's. Livermush and liver pudding have a few minor differences, but everyone refers to liver pudding as livermush so it gets confusing if you're not from around here and don't know what they mean. But everybody I know says livermush which really means liver pudding. Not that either name sounds that appetizing or anything.

Maybe you're thinking, "How could that stuff possibly taste good?" Well, let's just say that every southern kid I know will fight you for it. Once I had Tina's kids over and they asked what was for supper and I said, "Pancakes and livermush." You've never seen so much cheering and lip smacking. Another time my son's teenage friend went to the beach with us and we had livermush for breakfast. More cheers, no leftovers. Get the picture.

A picture, that's what you need. This, my non-southern friends, is fried livermush! Yu-uh-mee!

See there. You've learned a little bit of useless knowledge today and gained a little refined southern culture in the process. Next time you're in a southern grocery store look for a brick of Neese's liver pudding. Take it home, slice it, fry it, and dig in!

The Rapture

One evening I took a shower and when I got out I couldn't find my pajamas. I stepped into my bedroom and found my pajamas on the floor:

My husband's explanation, "I wanted to see what it would look like if the rapture happened."

Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

I hesitate to post this as I do have at least a little bit of a reputation to keep up, but I thought I'd share some pictures from my recent Atlanta trip. I don't have any from the conference, but I do have some of my family and that's where the trouble begins.

When we arrived at my parent's house we were met at the door by this weird, guy handsome gentleman. This is my dad. That gray powder puff stuff isn't his real hair. He doesn't have that much hair. His hair isn't so fluffy.

This is my son and my dad in Grandpa's Miata a.k.a. his latest toy. Notice Grandpa still has the hair which he wore to the car dealership where they checked out possible cars for my son. Did you catch that? He wore that hair in public!

As if it wasn't weird enough, things get weirder. These are my parents dressed to go out on the town. What you can't see in the picture are the flashing lights around the rims of their glasses. Don't you wish you had cool parents like me? Or maybe you were thinking more along the lines of "Avoid that psycho blog woman with the crazy gene pool."

This is my mother all dolled up for...your guess is as good as mine. Notice how she blends so nicely with the enormous flowered plant?

Had enough? Not quite! This is my dad sporting his new hip hop pants, price tags and all. He bought them for a party with the other patients in the looney bin their friends. Let's just hope he only looks the part and doesn't indulge in hip hop dancing and break something- like a body part. Maybe he should sing the Grandpappy Rap.

Yes, these are the people that I call family. Aren't you glad now that I'm an only child? Wouldn't want that mutation to spread around too much.

Actually, I poke fun purely in jest. I'm glad that my kids will look back and remember grandparents that were full of life and fun.

On the Road Again

I know this will come as a huge surprise to everyone, but I'm going somewhere. Yep, I've been home a whole five days and it's time to hit the dusty trail once again. Only this time it's a little different.

None of this will be happening: W.O.R.K.

But I'll be spending a lot of time with these:

And these:

Sorry, Charlie, this one doesn't get to tag along:

But just because I'll be lazing in the sun feasting like a pig and not lifting a finger to do anything doesn't mean you won't be able to read my blog. I've sprinkled a little pixy dust on my blog and magical posts will appear in my absence.

Au revoire! I'll be back!