I don’t have a recipe to share today, although I am woking on some cookie recipes to share. For now, I will just share this video that makes me smile so much my mouth hurts, really! My favorite movie of all time, as corny as it is, is The Sound of Music. So I was so happy with this video I almost cried! Would this work in the US?
Here is what my commute looked like the other morning:
Snowing and really slick at first,
Then slushy and more congested
Then it snowed again and things were ok if you didn’t switch lanes
Only to get to work and realize that although we are located across the street from the snow plows, I couldn’t get down my street to my parking lot at work! I still love the snow and living in the Midwest and wouldn’t change it for anything. More snow is expected tonight and I plan to be out sledding with my kids when it does.
As I sit here in the snow and feel my tires spin beneath me
I am reminded of my life, which also spins beneath me.
Like the cold and falling snow which ruins my commute today
but is soon forgotten once it melts and runs away,
So too is my one small life which fills my hours with silly busy tasks
but will soon not be remembered once it stops and ceases being.
What remains when the warmth of sun returns and life comes to an end,
is only those few memories of things done with the snow and life we’re given.
I finished my frist novel! I am so sorry that I haven’t been baking or posting much over the past month, but I have been busy putting into motion a 10 year dream. I have wanted to write my novel ever since 1998 and I have finally done it. I was scared to death, and I am quite sure that my novel is total crap that no one will ever read, but I did it.
Dreams are a wonderful thing, they keep us going and give us something to live for. What dreams do you need to put in motion today? I encourage you to do it. I didn’t think I could write a whole chapter let alone 100 pages. I also didn’t think that I could write dialogue, but I did. You can do it too. Take a hold of your dreams today and work for what you want.
Recipes and baking pictures to come later this week. DD and I are gearing up for a month-long baking freenzy!
I have been thinking about it for a long time, and I am finally doing it. I am going (as much as possible) to all natural product use. I am changing all of my beauty products (including hair and body care), cleaning products, and household products to all natural products, chemically free where ever possible.
It was actually something my brother said a while back that got me thinking about what I put on my body and what I put close to my skin and how healthy it all is for me. My brother and his family were staying at my house one weekend and his daughter fell and scraped her knee. I immediately took her to the bathroom and put some first aid creme on her wound and then added a bandaid. Later, my brother asked if I put anything on it, and when I said I had used the first aid cream he asked what was in it. I replied that it was the same stuff our mom had used on our cuts so it must be fine, and he said that wasn’t necessarily true and I too needed to be more careful about anything I put on or next to my skin as it is absorbed into our bodies. My first reaction was to think he was a paranoid and a bit nutty, but I have been thinking about that conversation and I know think he was on to something.
A quick run through Target the other day had me realizing that there must be something to this paraben and chemically free movement, as at least one third of their beauty section included these type of “natural” products. Since Target is my personal favorite store to shop, I figured that if I can get my products there, I am certainly going to make the move to remove as many chemicals from my home as I possibly can. I will keep you posted on how it is going. . .
It has been an interesting few days for my little corner of the world (the Chicago/Northwest Indiana area)! We have had flooding here like no one seems to ever remember having before. The local newspapers are full of pictures and stories that are just amazing. Check out those pictuers, they are devistating.
When I woke up Saturday morning to 3 inches of water covering my basement I thought we had it bad, and then I realized that we had no room to complain. We were spared greatly compared to others whose entire homes were covered in water. The crazy thing is that it seemed to happen suddenly and without much warning. Floods and hurricanes are acts of nature that happen elsewhere, not in Chicagoland.
To all of those who are still cleaning up like we are, I am with you. We have had some great friends come over and lend HUGE shop vacs to get the water out and also lend hands and feet to clear our water logged and useless trinkets being stored in the crawl space. To those who are still out of your homes, my prayers are with you. And what does this foretell of our coming winter, if anything? YIKES!
I sure have had writers block lately. I haven’t known quite what to post on, and with new hobbies at home and new projects at work, there isn’t much time to develop anything that interesting. I have been working on something though that I hope to start tomorrow. . .but I better wait and see if I get my ducks in a row before I announce anything.
My DD and DS are out of town this week on their first mission trip with the church youth group. I had hoped to post some pictures here for my most loyal readers (hi Mom and Dad), but I can’t quite get the pictures off the youth group site like I had hoped. Anyway, kids are several states away and DH and I find ourselves with some VERY blessed alone time this week, which has lead to many nice motorcyle rides. The past couple of nights our rides have lead to dinner. Monday at Joe’s Crab Shack and last night to Rock Bottom Brewery, both establishments are fantastic places to enjoy with a loved one by the way. Beer and a bucket of crab legs. . .can the week possibly get any better than that?
I am going to quit taking myself too seriously, instead I am going to be silly and embarass my children and learn to really live.
I am going to quit looking over my shoulder to see who may be watching me and instead live my life and make my decisions based on what I think.
I am going to quit always looking forward to tomorrow to better, more fun, more perfect, and instead marvel at the glory of today.
I am going to quit eating like there is no tomorrow and dieting like I need to loose 50 pounds. I am going to eat in moderation and exercise to make up the difference.
I am going to quit going home to sit on my sofa and watch the fascinating lives of those people on TV who will never be like me or have a life like mine. I am going to start spending more time with people I know and care about.
I am going to quit putting God last and wondering why He always feels so far away. I am going to start putting Him first again and then marvel at the relationship that develops.
Today is Monday, and I am gonna quit writing and get out and live!
A few weeks ago my DB challeneged me to take part in a fast with him. I wasn’t excited about it, but told him I would do it. DD is also doing it, and her only stipulation was that we wait until after her birthday and Easter to start.
So it is that I find myself this morning beginning a 20 day fast. We are doing the Daniel Fast, which is basically only fruit, veggies, nuts and water. No animal products, yeast, or caffine, of course it is the latter that has me the most sad this morning. I LIVE on coffee, I drink it all day long in fact. I guess anything I am that dependant on must go, before it becomes some kind of idol, but boy this is harder than I thought it would be and it isn’t 9 am yet!
I am interested to see if I feel any healthier or if some of my bad sugar and wheat addictions are cured after this fast. I did the Atkins Diet 5 years ago and stuck with it for a couple of years and lost 50 pounds, and I know from that experience that once you get a week in, the cravings for sugar and carbohydrates do leave. I am also taking this time to try and become more spiritual. I want to focus on my faith and my family just a bit more. I will be documenting my spiritual journey in my daily devotional blog.
Here’s to a quick and successful 20 days!
Driving in to work this morning I found myself a bit misty over a song on the radio. DD is a country music fan, truth be told, I can take it or leave it, but she had the dial tuned to the country station and I didn’t feel like lifting my arm and changing the station. I found myself listening to the song “Moments” by Emerson Drive and tearing up a bit. This song is off their Countrified album which is a pretty good one, and includes my favorite country song ever, “Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
I found myself thinking back to those “moments” in my life and wanting to document and remember and celebrate them. I found myself wishing I had a picture for each of those moments in my life that I need to take time to reflect on and remember. I found myself smiling and for one small moment, shutting out all the negative voices in my head and focusing on the positive. I found myself thinking of and thanking God for the blessings in my life. . .my faith, my family, my friends, my house, my job. I found myself very thankful for another day and another opportunity to mean something to someone. I found myself this morning in a country song.
