Today was Day 1 in the 30 Day Shred.
Whew! I am soooooo out of shape. But I did it. I put my big girl panties on and just did it.
It's only 20 minutes right?
Wrong, it is the longest 20 minutes I've had in a long time.
I kept thinking. Can people do this for 30 days, and still function?
Not sure. I guess we'll see.
I won't give up becuase I am being accountable to my friend.
So pray for me.
Please.
Yesterday, when I got home from work, I couldn't wait to try my Shark out on my hardwood floors.
Guess What?
It worked GREAT!!! Just like I knew it would. (Okay, hoped it would)
I have to say, this is one of the best buys I've made in a long time. It definitely beats out the set of encyclopedias' we bought when we first got married. And didn't even have kids yet. And didn't really need.
It certainly beats that meat we bought off the truck that time that was such a bargain my husband insisted we get 2 (yes, two) packages of 30 lbs. He just knew someone else would want some of our "great bargain".
Yes, it definitely beats THAT one!!
PS Never buy meat off a truck!
Yesterday, my lovely co-worker and myself were treated to a lunch outing for Secretary's Day!
*There is a really great story that goes with that, being that Secretary's Day was last week, but I'll save that for another day.Anyway, we went to the wonderful store of Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It is a great store! If you need anything for a house, and I mean anything, they have it.
So I bought one of these. The Shark Steam mop. I have been looking at the steam mops since before Christmas. After reading all the reviews, I decided to wait, because the one I was looking at was this one.
The H2O mop. Almost all of the reviews talked about the fact that it left puddles of water on the floor. And since I have hardwoods, I didn't want to ruin them so I put it off until I could try one, or get one fairly cheap so that I could just try it out to see if I liked it.Well, needless to say as soon as I got home I decided to put that bad boy together and start mopping. So I started with my bathroom. I have linoleum floors in the kitchen and bathrooms, and hardwoods in the dining room and foyer. So I wanted to start on the linoleum to see if it left a lot of water on the floors. I even decided I should probably be barefooted so that I could really feel if there was any water being left behind.So I did.And Guess What?No. Water. None, not a bit on the floor.So, you can say that I totally love it. The only thing I don't like about it is that I wish the head were triangular like the H20, so it would get around the toilet better. But other than that it is a great mop. Today I will be mopping the kitchen and hardwoods.I'll be glad to let you know how that turns out too.
It's Monday!
What is it about Monday's that just makes it so hard to get back into a routine again?
Baby girl was sick most of the weekend, she acted better on Sunday, went to church and youth group, but she still isn't eating very much. Meaning she only ate breakfast on Sunday and that was pretty much it for her. With all the talk about the swine flu, I was beginning to wonder if she had run off to Mexico when I wasn't looking. But I think she is getting better.
This weekend I planted two beautiful Hydrangea bushes in my garden. I love Hydrangeas!
I have a wisteria plant on an arbor that I have had for several years, and I planted them over there with that. It's other stuff there too, but that will just give you a general idea. Also, my wisteria will not bloom, I told my husband that it wasn't getting enough light and that's why it wouldn't bloom. He says that's not why. He must not have gotten the memo that I am ALWAYS right and he is almost ALWAYS wrong!
I said almost!
Anyway, all he has to do to remedy the problem is cut down a few trees. How hard is that for a manly man like himself? Not very!
So we worked all weekend planting tomato's and jalapenos and bell peppers. If this garden grows, I will have more tomato's than you can possibly imagine. I even did some of the tilling myself.
I know, you are impressed. I was pretty impressed myself.
When all the bounty comes in I'll let you know, I really want to learn how to can vegetables.
I have froze some, but I think canning might be better.
Oh well, I'll think on it.
We're back!
It was a field trip that will go down in history, mine anyway. It started out great, The Biltmore house was AMAZING!!! Unbelievable, really! I had never been before so this was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. I wish you could take pictures of the inside because you just can't imagine the hugeness of it. HUGE!!!
Since we were a school group, we couldn't really take our time like I wanted but it was great.
And no, I wasn't able to go to the winery. (BUT I REALLY WANTED TO)
The group of kids that I had also managed to make the trip memorable. There were a few who kept getting in trouble. Over and over and over. But they were the least of my worries.
The first day we were up at 5 to get to the school at 6. The day was pretty full to say the least and we were on the bus for a lot of the time. We left Biltmore to go Gem Mining. I have to say the kids thought this was WAY better than the Biltmore. It was fun, everyone found some pretty good stuff.
My daughter found a good size Garnet, I am going to see if I can find someone who cuts rough stones like that. One of the moms' on the trip said she has done that and it turned out pretty good.
Anyway, after the Gem Mining, we went souvenir shopping in Cherokee. Lots of Indian, some even dressed in real Indian clothes. Like a headdress, and everything. Very Cool. I liked the whole heritage stuff they had.
Once again, my group got in trouble. I think it's safe to say I won't get asked to help with any more field trips because I apparently wasn't doing a very good job. My daughter said she thought they were mad at me at that point. To which I said, "So what, it's not my fault they aren't listening." So, herein lies the problem.
After a series of shops, with my group being stalked by the owners because they were afraid they would take something, we proceeded to the hotel.
Oh boy, the hotel is a post in itself.
1st clue the hotel wasn't exactly 5 star: NO TOILET PAPER. None, not even a shred on the roller!
2nd Clue: Staff looked to be the age of our school group. (The young man whom I asked for TP actually looked embarrassed.)
3rd Clue: The bathroom smelled like crap. People, we didn't check in until 6:30 or 7, there was no TP, and they staff again looks like teenagers.
I know we should have taken a vote and left, but we had 45 kids, no one else would take us, but the fun doesn't stop there. We were suppose to be given a continental breakfast the next morning.
Guess what it was? Guess? You will love this. Cereal, with no milk. Maybe a few SMALL sugar donuts. When I went downstairs to take my luggage, our Tour guide said to me, Don't expect much, in fact, Don't expect anything, they said they were going out to get something but that was an hour ago and they are not back yet.
And the fun doesn't end there. Late in the night my daughter got sick, Throwing up, Diarrhea, the works so to speak. So in the morning the last thing she wanted to do was ride on a bus for another 8 hours. So I called my wonderful Hubby to come and pick us up, and believe it or not, he did. The wonderful man drove 3 1/2 hours to get us. I drove some of the way home, then he took over and drove the rest. WHAT A MAN!!
I do have some pictures to share, but I haven't had time to download them yet. I will share though, because I really want you to be able to enjoy the full experience.
Today I am getting ready to go here, The Biltmore House.
Please think about me, I will be spending two days with a whole slew of teenage girls.
Man, I hope we get to tour the winery! I have a feeling I will be needing that!!
Here are just a few of the rules my daughter gave me, to get me in the rind mindset I suppose.
1. You must sleep in your bra. (Really, I don't get it, we are asleep.)
2. No singing, or dancing. (This must be because I took all those professional singing and dancing lessons, I wouldn't want to show up a bunch of 14 year old girls.)
3. Don't embarrass me. ( I really thought if I did, #1 and #2, that would pretty much take care of this.)
Since she gave me some rules, I think I will give her a few rules of my own. Here they are.
1. Don't say anything if me and any more moms go to the winery.
2. Don't even TRY to sneak out of the room while I am sleeping, In my bra.
3. Sleep in your bra. HA HA!!!
We are also suppose to be going to Cherokee, and visiting a REAL Indian village. Not a fake one-a real one!! I am definitely taking pictures because I know something blog worthy will come out of that. Maybe we will be close to a casino, and I can sneak in and win a Jackpot.
Well, It's Monday and I am back to work. Our long weekend was great! A much needed mini vacation. I'm trying to think if anything blogworthy went on while I was away and I really don't think there was anything. There was the excitement of my son catching a fish. A small fish, but a fish none the less. Then there was that fact that the water was probably 55-60 degrees at best and yet we had 3 very brave kids who decided to tube. But that's not a big deal I guess, most kids will do that if given the opportunity. Won't they?Here are a few scenic shots. Just to make you jealous.
It's Friday, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Do something fun, when was the last time you had fun? Once I was talking about work with some friends and I was telling about some of the fun stuff we do, and can you believe they said they don't have fun at work? That's terrible! I like fun. While it's not always a party, I enjoy it!
How can you look at that sunset, and not think that someone wants you to have fun.
Have a great weekend!!!
Remember when you were in middle school or maybe even elementary school and you would be at a sleepover and someone said "Let's play truth or dare". I wasn't necessarily a big fan of that game myself. I didn't get out much you see and I was shy in elementary and middle school. (Weird, huh that now I put my life on the Internet.)
I cried every year on the first day of school until I was in fourth grade. I only stopped then because my cousin said, "Are you going to start crying again this year?" How dare he say that to me the big weenie, so I showed him. I DIDN'T CRY! I DIDN'T CRY! I DIDN'T CRY!!!
That's right tough guy, who you gonna pick on now!
So anyway, let's just say I was a late bloomer, you know I really didn't get interested in boys until I was in High school, so when my friends would say, Don't you think _______ is cute? I would be like NO! He is gross! (And I was usually right, they were kinda dorky.)
Looking back, I am glad that I wasn't like the other girls but then, I was really embarrassed. I wish I knew now what I didn't know then. It's OK to be yourself. Kids today have a lot of pressure on them.
Getting asked if I had ever kissed a guy was my biggest worry, now most kids are way ahead of that game. I've heard of several games that are sooo much worse than truth or dare.
I remember one particular sleepover where all the girls were talking about VD, I kept asking what is VD? The smartest girl there would say "Venereal Disease", then came the question "What is Venereal Disease?" Do you know what she would say? "VD!" So let's face it, if that was the best explanation she could give me, she didn't know either.
That leads me to believe that kids are kind of the same now as they were when I was a kid. I know of some kids now who think they know everything, but ask them what VD is if you really want to know what they know.
We are heading down east to get away from all the problems of reality, at least until Sunday!
Picture this, and think of me!!!
While I was looking at the pictures of my Baby boy working, I came across these pictures of what he was actually working on. Those sweet babies are our pygmy goats. They are Misty, Smokey, and Sugar. They are so precious. All of this is actually part of BB's Senior project.
These 3 little goats are the new goats. We had two goats before these.
There is a lot more to taking care of goats than you might think. Not that they are difficult by any means, but there not like dogs or cats either. You have to cut their hooves, and give them supplements. Just a lot of stuff!
Now, the other two goats we had were Johnny and June, and we got these goats 2nd hand from a friend. (At least until we got the goats home anyway.) They were a good looking pair of goats, older than the ones we have now, and the main purpose we got them was for breeding. So really the older the better. Since June had not gotten pregnant before, we were hoping she would be up for the challenge. Johnny was quite possessive, he didn't like anyone getting close to June. NOT ANYONE! You might even say Johnny had a little temper problem. He didn't like authority, at all.
There were many a time when Johnny would try to head butt anyone who got near him. We had several people tell us we needed to get rid of him. And unfortunately June, who was as sweet as could be, passed away (died) during her pregnancy. We really hated to lose her, she was a sweet girl. So we saw no reason to keep Johnny around. So we tried to sell him, but we couldn't find anyone as stupid as we were so we finally just had to give him away.
The guy we gave him to was a friend of the family, who was going to give him to someone as a joke. While they were loading Johnny on the truck, he busted out the guys taillight. MEAN I say, MEAN! So anyway, he was gone. That's when we got these sweet babies. And actually Smokey looks a lot like Johnny did, but he is the sweetest of them all. Thank heavens!!
Life with animals can be a challenge sometimes.
This is one of my daughters' roosters. She is a chicken person. She loves some chickens! These were some of the first batch that she bought, we now have 3 more hens, but they are in a different pen. We get eggs on a daily basis. That is something I really like about it. For anyone who has never eaten a real chicken egg. They taste just like the ones you get at the grocery store. People ask me that. What do they taste like? Believe it or not they taste like eggs.
Anyway, just a little piece of daily life for you City folks. Ya'll come back now, ya here!!
Today, my little boy turns 17!
Happy Birthday!!!
We are so proud of you! Despite all of our mistakes, you are turning out to be a really wonderful young man.
Good Friday morning everyone! It's Good Friday! Get it.
Any way, I had another post all ready for today, but instead I decided to tell you about our Maundy Thursday service at church. Some may think it was nothing special, I mean we took communion, sang, read scripture. All regarding the Last Supper, and Jesus telling the disciples about what would happen to him, he would be betrayed, and he would be denied three times.
But the interesting part, at least to me anyway, was at the end of the service the Altar was stripped, to signify Christ being stripped and beaten. I personally had not seen this done and I was fascinated with it.
It was very moving, when a piece was taken off the altar and related to Christ's experience.
This may not have been a big deal to some, but I liked it.
Easter is a great time of year. It's a good time to remember what life is all about and what we have to be thankful for.
For a lot of people this isn't a great time, they may have lost their jobs, or they are alone. Maybe they simply have lost their faith, in themselves and others. But I bet if we try really hard there will be something, even if it is something small, that we can be thankful for. Jesus is a good place to start.
If he could endure what he did, then surely we can find some hope in our own circumstances.
Just something to think about.
Why is it that on the day you are getting your hair cut, you get a compliment on how good it looks?
Why is it when you don't need something to write on, papers are everywhere? When you do need them they are nowhere to be found.
Why do men never stop to ask for directions? And if we use the GPS system, he questions the machine.
Why do some women never change their hairstyles? I always wondered that one, is it so bad to just try something new?
Why do kids always say "Huh" when you ask them something? That, or "That's not fair, I have to do everything, You don't do anything. Well, you get the point.
Why is it when someone says something that really ticks you off, you can't think of a comeback until they walk away? At least me anyway.
Why is it OK for guys to use the bathroom in the woods, and not girls?
Why do guys think farting is so funny, I mean all ages of guys too.
Why is it when kids are little like 3 or 4, they will tell you anything you want to know and then some but as they get older, it's hard to get them to say anything.
OK, anyone who can figure any of that out, just let me know.
John 14:13
"And if you ask for anything in my name, I will do it for you so that my Father's Glory will be shown through the Son."
What it means to me:
I am able to ask God for anything, no matter how trivial it may seem.
Philippians 2:14
"Do everything without complaining or arguing."
What it means to me:
Quit complaining and just do it.
Ephesians 1:7,8
"In Christ we are set free by the blood of his death, and so we have forgiveness of sins. How rich is God's grace, which he has given to us so fully and freely."
What it means to me:
By his shed blood, I am forgiven. Grace is amazing!
2 Corinthians 9:7-8
" God loves the person who gives happily. And God can give you more blessings than you need."
What it means to me:
If I am obedient, I will be blessed. That too is grace.
I suppose you can tell that I like Paul. It started with a bible study and grew from there. I was and still am amazed at Paul's life. He began as a persecutor of Christians and grew into one of the most courageous and persecuted believers himself. Fascinating really. Just something to think about
I have been thinking a lot lately about Easter. I remember when I was growing up what a big deal Easter was at our house. We always went to sunrise service at our church, and we always, always, always had Easter baskets with chocolate bunnies in them. We usually all got new clothes for the special day. I was one of 4 kids so I am sure that was no easy task since my mom didn't really work when we were growing up.
I also remember dyeing eggs, we did it the old fashioned way where we made the dye ourselves with food coloring and vinegar. I recently saw the recipe for that on a blog. Man, those were the days. Your biggest worry was could I eat the bunny before breakfast. I remember my sister would always save her bunny, she might take a bite out of the ear, then she would stick it way back in the fridge so that we wouldn't be able to find it and eat it without her knowing it. But my brothers and myself, we were just the opposite, we would eat ours as fast as we could. Back in the day, we didn't get a lot of candy so when we did, we learned to enjoy it.
Some things seem traditional, like sunrise service. If we are at home for Easter (sometimes we go to the beach because of Spring break with friends) we always go to Sunrise service. We have missed several years because of the vacation/school thing, but this year we will be home and I am really looking forward to it. I am even thinking about dyeing eggs. I love to do stuff like that, my kids are too big (but they still want a basket, so they aren't that big). I kept kids for a while and I loved doing that kind of thing. They enjoy it so much. It's like seeing it with fresh eyes.
I think it's funny how some things stick with you like that.
For today, I just wanted everyone to know what it's like to work for a really good person, with a lot of good qualities, and someone who genuinely cares about his employees.
Here are some of the reasons he is great.
1. He brings me drinks sometimes (and I don't have to pay him back)
2. He lets me and my co-worker (his wife) go to lunch together.
3. He bought me a new organizer for my desk. (Well the company did) See photo.
4. On our birthdays, we always have cookouts to celebrate.
5. He always remembers Secretary's Day, usually the gift is pretty good too.
(Keep my co-worker in mind.)
6. He is easy to work with, as far as when I work, I am always able to be off when I need to be.
7. He's funny.
8. He's very considerate. (I'm not just brown nosing there either, he really is.)
9. Once I spilled my drink at my desk, and he didn't even get mad.
10. Of all the times he's made me cry, he always apologizes. He's very sincere!
11. Family is really important to him.
12. He loves Jesus.
Maybe since Easter is coming up he could find it in his heart to let my friend and me go to lunch together. Maybe even on Wednesday, if he could find it in his heart. Even if he didn't he would still be a pretty good boss.
Disclaimer:
* Here's the story, his wife, made a list of all the reasons why she loves her husband aka the boss. I left a comment that for someone who doesn't know our wonderful relationship might think me a meanie. See Love being a Nonny for the whole story.
Sorry Boss, hope this makes up for it.
"Through the Word, we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us."
2nd Timothy 3: 16,17
Wow! It is so easy for us to make excuses for why we don't make time to read our bibles. I am just as guilty as anyone else. I once decided that I was going to get on one of those plans, where you read through the bible in a year. I started it, but I found myself, reading just to be getting it done and not really reading it. I think, and this is only my opinion so take it for what it's worth. I think if you are going to take the time to read the bible, then you must want to learn from it.
So you need to take your time and read at your own pace, whether it's a chapter or two or more a day, or 2 or 3 verses, you need to do it at your own pace. I have a wonderful teacher who can tell me all about the history of a time in the bible and that really makes me want to learn more and more about it. A good teacher can make all the difference. I think his point in telling us the history was to get us interested and inspire us to learn more. He did a good job of that.
So now when I read the bible, it is more for me, there could be something going on that I really feel like I need some encouragement or guidance. I need a lot of guidance sometimes. I know that's hard to believe, but it's true. You know how sometimes, you open up a bible or even a devotional and you feel like it is exactly what you need to hear. That is a wonderful feeling, for me anyway. Because it makes me feel like someone up there is listening and really does care about all the stuff that goes on in my "ordinary" life. So I'll leave you with some questions.
How often do you read your bible?
Have you ever read the "whole" bible?
Do you use a time table kind of plan to read it or just do it on your own?
What's your favorite bible verse?
Well, another week has come and gone. Is it me or does time just seem to fly by? Unless of course you are at the dentist or the Dr., then time just drags on and on and on.
This weekend we are traveling for a basketball tournament. Exciting, I know. Part of me wishes we didn't have any where to go this weekend. But I do enjoy the games, actually it is kind of like a mini vacation, I don't have to cook, (we stay in a hotel, no kitchen), and we will probably eat out. Although sometimes we take picnic stuff which my kids hate, because who wants to go on a picnic with your parents. Duh!!! On one such outing my daughter made such a huge scene that I told her if she couldn't eat her sandwich with us, then she wouldn't eat anything until supper that night. She was so stubborn, she made it! I think she thought I would give in and let her eat something, but I can be just as stubborn as the next guy. We were at a state park for crying out loud just eat the freakin sandwich already! Anyhow, I'm over it now.
Hopefully I will get some good pictures at the games, I specifically chose this camera so that I could take action shots without them looking like a blur. Hopefully I will figure it out.
Maybe something really exciting or funny will happen, then I will have something worth talking about.
Have a great weekend!!
The H2O mop. Almost all of the reviews talked about the fact that it left puddles of water on the floor. And since I have hardwoods, I didn't want to ruin them so I put it off until I could try one, or get one fairly cheap so that I could just try it out to see if I liked it.
We are heading down east to get away from all the problems of reality, at least until Sunday!
This is one of my daughters' roosters. She is a chicken person. She loves some chickens! These were some of the first batch that she bought, we now have 3 more hens, but they are in a different pen. We get eggs on a daily basis. That is something I really like about it. For anyone who has never eaten a real chicken egg. They taste just like the ones you get at the grocery store. People ask me that. What do they taste like? Believe it or not they taste like eggs.
WE WON AGAIN!!!!
