Living Creatively

My birthday was last week and I received a wonderful bunch of sweet greetings, cards and gifts. I really am a spoiled woman! Thank you everyone! I received books, warming oils, a beautiful new purse, clothes and much more. I'm telling you, I am surrounded by caring and generous family and friends.

Cordelia made a card for me that I will treasure. On the front is her own special artwork and she dictated these words for her mom to write on the inside, "Dear Grandma, I love you! I know it's your birthday. That's all. This is Cordelia. I made a note for you. God's blessing is on you!"  (Are you smiling? Did an "Aaaaaaah" slip out?)

Do you remember this blog post? I spoke of putting aside a lot of the normal New Year's Resolutions and instead, resolving to live more creatively. Well... Maria (Miss Creativity Herself) did not forget that post. In fact, she told me she started working on one of my birthday gifts right then. She made me a "Creativity Kit". What a fun idea! I wanted to show you as maybe you are trying to come up with an unusual gift for someone.

She used a container that was pretty in itself. I think it may have been one of those that comes with a new set of sheets. I love those and always try to find a way to reuse them.

Inside the kit was a plethora of cool things! Here, take a peek...

Isn't that a fun assortment? She didn't stop there, though. She made up a little booklet with ideas to jump-start those creative juices. 

I'm thinking of it as something of an assignment booklet. I intend to share some of my "assignments" with you over the course of this year. This is going to be so fun!

I joined a Linky Parties today. If you want to check them out, click on the cute little buttons.

A SUPER Evening

I don't care about football. 

There. 

I said it. 

I just don't. 

Maria doesn't care about football either. As a matter of fact, Cordelia, Elise and Bumblebee don't seem interested at all. So, we had a girls' night last night. I went to their house and enjoyed a very girly evening. As you can clearly see in that first photo, I can still multi-task.

We watched a nice movie, "The Little Engine That Could".

OK, I really didn't remain that fascinated with the movie but Cordelia, luckily, was not bothered by her mother and grandmother chattering all through the movie.

I received a lot of sweet Elise hugs.

It was a really, really SUPER evening and nobody suffered any injuries.

We had no power outages.

Nobody even had to take a time-out.

Everybody was a winner.

How was your Sunday?

Hold on to the Promises

Promises

(Click on Song Title for YouTube video of this music.)

Sanctus Real

 

Sometimes it's hard to keep believing
In what you can't see
That everything happens for a reason
Even the worst life brings
If you're reaching for an answer
And you don't know what to pray
Just open up the pages
Let His word be your strength

And hold on to the promises (Hold tight)
Hold on to the promises (Alright)
Jesus is alive so hold tight
Hold on to the promises

All things work for the good
Of those who love God
He holds back nothing that will heal you
Not even His own Son
His love is everlasting
His faithfulness unending
Oh, if God is for us who can be against us
So if you feel weak

Neither life, nor death
Could separate us
From the eternal love
Of our God who saves us

Odd Old Stuff

So, what is the weirdest thing you have ever saved?  I have saved a lot of odd items but here is my weirdest...

Do you even know what that is?








If you do, you might be as old as am I.






It is an old gym uniform.









It comes complete with built-in bloomers! 

This was my P.E. uniform when I lived in Minnesota in Junior High. Actually, I should call it a Phy (pronounced Fi) Ed uniform. Gym class is called P.E. here in the West but when we moved to Minnesota when I was in 6th grade I had to learn a new way to talk. P.E. was Phy Ed. and they kept talking about some weird place called the lavatory. I didn't know what that meant. 

Anyway, we were required to buy and wear these funny little things. I did not feel beautiful in it. So, when we moved away, why did I save it? I HAVE NO IDEA! Maybe I liked the color? Maybe I thought I would make it into something else? I don't remember. Now, I am just waiting for it to come back into vogue.

This is what I do know, though. Once you have saved something for over 40 years, you can't get rid of it. After all, what if some museum calls and wants it for a display? Wowsa, I feel kind of old.

Seasons

Yesterday felt like Spring. I know it isn't, but it even sounded like Spring. When I got off work I had to wait a few minutes for Mike to come get me. I stepped outside and immediately heard dripping sounds all around. There were icicles everywhere but they were melting quickly.

There is something about feeling/seeing/smelling a new season approach that I like. Why do you suppose that is? I think there is something about change that is kind of refreshing. Is it a feeling of hope, maybe? Do any of you feel this way? What is it about the current season that always starts to feel a bit old?  

Ecclesiastes 3

New International Version (NIV)

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

Someone is Watching

Last evening I thought for a minute that I was actually going to have a little nap in my recliner. The house was quiet. I felt myself fading so I grabbed a blanket, took off my glasses and snuggled down.

Shortly after I closed my eyes I started getting that weird feeling that someone was watching.

I opened my eyes.

I sat up.

I grabbed my glasses.

And this is what I saw...

For some reason Bode had to stop chewing and watch my napping attempts. He just kept staring at me with his toy in his mouth. I felt I had no choice but to reach for the camera. He's just such a dopey dog!  OK, I admit it. He is also very, very lovable. 

Defining One's Self

I ended my post yesterday trying to lead you into thinking about how you should define yourself by good memories, quit holding on to (treasuring) bad memories. So, I started trying to sort out exactly how I define who I am. Here are my top three:

1) I am a Child of God.

Ok, that's not news. I tried then to think of memories linked to that statement. One of those memories was from before I started school. We lived in Commerce City, Colorado. I remember waiting out in our car, ready to head for church. I had a pen. I had a Bible. I wrote my name in the front of that Bible. That is a pretty defining memory, I think. I spent quite a bit of time looking for that old Bible. I really think I still have it somewhere but maybe not. I do have two of my old childhood Bibles, though.

This first one was given to me by my Dad in 1968. It had been his and I think he gave it to me when I was baptized. I was 10 years old. A lot of things seemed more simple then. He had written notes in it and later, so did I. There are two $1 bills tucked in the front. I have no idea why but I would guess I forgot to put them in a Sunday School offering the last time I used the Bible. I think I should put them in the offering plate now, don't you?

 

This second Bible was given to me by my parents on June 12, 1971. I don't know why or for what occasion. As far as I know they just thought I needed a new Bible.  Well, look at the one in the above photo. You can only ask just so much of masking tape, I suppose. Anyway, I loved that little Bible. I was easy to pack around and really, it was flat out cute. That's important in a Bible when you are 13 years old.


2) I am a member of a loving family.

Again, not news if you've read my blog at all. We aren't perfect but we love each other. I have roles as a sister, daughter, wife, mother, and now grandmother. I am also an aunt, daughter and sister-in-law, etc. You get the picture.

The first time I moved away from home I went to Moorhead, MN. I worked as a real estate secretary and one day at work I realized it was the first time in my life that the people I spent the most time with did not even know my family. My boss and co-workers did not know my family. Even my roommate never met my family. It was such a weird feeling to me. How could these people ever really know me without knowing my family? It was a new experience to see myself as separate from my family in such an ongoing way. I didn't really like that.

3) I am a nurse.

I haven't always been a nurse and someday I will retire from nursing. I will still be me. However, even if it is not professionally, I think I strongly define myself with my need to feel like I am helpful and caring in some way.

My earliest childhood memories of this part of my character revolve around my little sister, Tina. You can get to know Tina here. My sister has cerebral palsy and her handicap likely has something to do with why I became a nurse in the first place. When we were young and I walked anywhere with her, I learned to grab a wad of the shirt/dress/coat on her back. This was to help stop her from falling if she tripped. As her older sister, that need to nurture and care for her was pretty strong when we were little.

Tina did fall a lot as a little kid. I seemed to think it was my job, when she fell and cut her head, to run get a damp cloth.  Mom would press and hold the wound, which in itself is pretty amazing if you know Mom. She has a little problem with blood. In fact, even as she is reading my post here, she's probably getting woozy, right, Mom?

So, that defines me a bit. Now, what about you? Anyone care to tackle that self-definition? What are your top definers?

What is Your Most Treasured Memory?

Two of my friends are leading a Bible Study at our church. It is a short (6 week) course. I purchased the book and said I would be a part of the class but knew I would miss the first class as it began the week we were in Arizona. Well, it turned out the second class was on an evening when I had a another meeting. The third week? I got sick and couldn't go.

Last night I FINALLY attended the class and I rather enjoyed it, even if I didn't much know what was going on. The class is based on a lecture study by Beth Moore.

Beth Moore has a way of looking at scripture, pointing out things that I maybe would have read over without much thought. Reading from Deuteronomy 26 she was pointing out one such event. Oh, I forgot to explain that we watch a video of Beth Moore going over the lesson for probably the first hour of class.  OK, so she was pointing out how the Israelites would recite the story of their Jewish history, particularly their escape from slavery. She said it may have been their most treasured memory. 

Beth Moore asked the question, "What is your most treasured memory?"

I started pondering all the possibilities. The birth of our children came to mind. Maybe it was a special time with Mike. Perhaps my most treasured memory is a childhood memory with my Mom.

A story of slavery and a scary escape would not necessarily be a happy memory. Beth pointed out that our most treasured memory may not be a happy memory either. Her thought is that your most treasury memory is the one you cling to, the one that defines who you are in this life. She said it may be a very horrible thing but you are treasuring it if you cling to that memory and give a lot of energy to it.

I don't think I exactly have something like that, but I maybe once did. I thought of something that really hurt me. I had someone who should have protected my childhood but tarnished that role. I had quite a few years in my life where I kept the hurt from my disappointment in my treasure box. I thought about it all the time. I took it out during quiet moments and cried over it. When I wanted to feel sorry for myself that memory became the tool I used to open up wounds. In a perverse way, I was treasuring it.

I won't be sharing much more about that. Don't worry about me. I have shared it with plenty of people. Mike helped me a lot through those years. I no longer feel wounded by it and I don't have a need to talk about it on my blog. I only bring it up now, because maybe someone reading this blog knows what that is like. Maybe someone else is now realizing they've been treasuring something unworthy of that kind of dedication. I guess I just want to encourage you to let it go. If you can't do it on your own, please seek assistance. I'm not a professional in such matters but maybe the first thing is to simply limit the amount of time you spend thinking about that which hurts you. Put that treasured memory up and take some of your lovely memories down from the shelf. Define yourself by the worthy memories, rather than the unworthy. 

A Great Sunday

I just had the best day yesterday. I got to sing with our Worship Team, sit with two beautiful granddaughters at church, enjoyed a potluck with friends after church. I love potlucks! It's not really just the food, though. I love that time of fellowship with church friends. People seemed to linger longer today. It was just good to be together.

After the potluck I went directly to meet one of my favorite collection of women for a fun get-together. We are a group who all used to work together caring for cancer patients. We no longer all work together but our friendship has been sustained. It is not always easy to find a group of women who work together as well as did the five of us. Circumstances kept that from being a permanent situation but we remain grateful for the years it did last. I'm so happy that we have maintained our friendship. I always feel happy after time with these beautiful ladies!

That wasn't the end of it, though. Our daughter and her family arrived moments after I got home. We have developed a tradition of getting together on most Sunday nights for dinner. Ten years from now we likely won't be able to distinguish memories of one Sunday night from another, but we are accumulating a host of blended memories. I love it!

Elise gets time with each of us.

I think her Daddy, Eric, elicited the best giggles from her last night.

Most Sunday nights involve, at some point, some dinosaur hunting. I'm pretty certain that is Cordelia's favorite part of the evening.

Those dinosaurs are tricky to find!

They hide in some pretty silly places!

Mike & I soak up granddaughter time.

But all good things must come to an end...

... at least until next week.

Whom Shall I Fear?

Whom Shall I Fear?

(click title to hear song)

You hear me when I call

You are my morning song

Though darkness fills the night

It cannot hide the light

Whom shall I fear?

You crush the enemy

Underneath my feet

You are my sword and shield

Though trouble linger still

Whom shall I fear?

I know who goes before me

I know who stands behind

The God of angel armies is always by my side

The One who reigns forever

He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies is always by my side

My strength is in Your name

For You alone can save

You will deliver me

Yours is the victory

Whom shall I fear?

Whom shall I fear?

And nothing formed against me shall stand

You hold the whole world in Your hands

I'm holding on to Your promises

You are faithful

You are faithful

Publishing: © 2012 sixsteps Songs / Worship Together Music / Alletrop Music (BMI) (Admin. at EMICMGPublishing.com)

Written by Chris Tomlin and Ed Cash

Chilly Living Conditions

How weird! It is after 9:00 a.m. and I just remembered I am a daily blogger. I hope that lapse doesn't happen again, but it likely will.

I was so exhausted yesterday that I spent my evening trying to stay awake in front of the TV, alternating with moments of waking up (the staying awake part was not much of a success) wondering what time it was. I don't mean I wondered if it was 8:00 p.m. or 8:30 p.m., I mean I had to sort out whether it was morning or evening.

This morning I was awakened to Mike's announcement that our furnace wasn't working. It still isn't, but help is on the way. Luckily, we are having unseasonably warm weather so long sleeves with an added sweater is working for the moment. I know there are others with furnace problems and below-freezing temperatures (Hi, Pam!) so I'd better not complain too much.

While it is annoying to have our furnace not working, it made me think of how nice I have it. Our home is not fancy but it is more than adequate for our needs. While there are people living 10 to a room, I now have an entire room dedicated to sewing/crocheting/jewelry-making/whatever-strikes-my-fancy-making. While there are millions hauling water for their everyday needs, I just turn on a faucet and that life-sustaining liquid flows freely. While some are scavenging for anything at all to eat, I'm trying to decide what appeals to me from the many options in my kitchen.

The inequality of all that is rather disturbing, isn't it? I've done nothing to deserve having better living conditions than so many others. I pray that my eyes will be opened to better ways to help those in need.

Anyway, those are kind of solemn thoughts for a Saturday morning I suppose. I will leave you with these photos from our Arizona trip. I am thinking that hole is where a bird lives. It looks rather hostile but perhaps the inside of a cactus is a splendid place for a home. I suppose the Wyoming birds who are trying to keep a nest in a tree during 60 mph winds would love to have such a place to hide away.

Stay warm and have a happy Saturday!

Lunch and a Photo Shoot

Yesterday I invited Maria and her girls over for lunch and a photo shoot. I had a few new items for Wyoming Rose Boutique and I'd imagined Maria modeling outside for me while I shot glorious photographs.

Well, mother nature had another plan. We had horrible winds so shooting outside became a bad idea. Well, no problem. We managed. Maria was a great sport, very patient with me and my camera. I shot a great deal of photographs with a big smear on my lens so many of my photos had to be thrown out. I was able to save some, though.

Isn't she beautiful? Thanks. I grew her myself.  

In between taking photos of Maria, while she was changing, I entertained myself taking photos of the little girls as well. Of course, I will share them with you...

We set Cordy up to watch Ruby Gloom on Netflix.

 She may have been a bit tired.

Elise wanted to show me her sitting up skills...

 ...and play with her toys.

And, as you can see, Eric provided his second daughter with lovely lashes as well.

Thanks, Eric.

I Will Love You Foreber and Eber and Eber

My Mom told me it is time for more pictures of the little girls. I've always minded my mother! The first one was just taken during one of our Sunday evening dinners together. I do not know what was so fascinating with Cordelia's hand. I just thought she looked rather adorable in her hat.

Saturday I said I would take Cordelia swimming. The first photo was just her cute little self being all anticipatory and happy.  She was so delighted to be going swimming with me.

On the way to the pool I heard her sweet voice from the car seat in back saying,

"I will love you foreber and eber and eber, Grandma."

The second photo shows a tired but satisfied little girl. I do believe she must have gone down the little froggy slide into the pool about 100 times!

                        

And is this not an adorable little giraffe?

Elise is smiles most of the time now....AND she says "Momma" when reaching for Maria! 

Yep, and she is only 6 months old. 

That girl must have a lot of things she is getting ready to tell us!

55 Year Maintenance

I am feeling pretty good about myself this month.  You see, I HATE to make appointments, medical or otherwise. I don't know why but I hate making the phone calls almost more than going to the appointments. I decided, though, that this month I was going to get all my maintenance work done before I turned "double nickels" as Sam calls it.

For my day off last week I had my teeth cleaned and got a great report from my dentist. That same morning I went for my yearly physical and later in the day I even went to the DMV to renew my driver's license. Getting those three things done in one day was pretty awesome. I felt very self-righteous.

Yesterday, for my day off, I went to the eye doctor, got my mammogram done and threw in an ultrasound of my gallbladder just for good times. I only took photos from the vision center. You understand.

I snapped this photo before the doctor walked in. I think I would have been mortified had he caught me! Since I started blogging I've become pretty weird about pictures. Everything now needs photographed just in case I need to blog about it later.

Anyway, all that was done by 11:00 a.m.! After a delightful mall lunch with Mike, Sam, Maria, Elise and Cordelia I went back to the eye doctor's office to pick out new glasses. Mike came along, which he has never done before. That was interesting... in a good way, actually. You see, he's still the person I want most to like how I look. On the way there I thought to myself that I'd try to go with his choice, no matter what.

This
is
the
pair
Mike
picked
out
for
me...

Now, ladies, don't panic. He was kidding. Actually, they don't look so bad in the photo, do they? In real life they made me look a bit like a bug. Luckily, though, we seemed to like pretty much the same glasses so it wasn't all that hard. The pair we chose did not have a price tag on them but I didn't think they were the expensive ones. I was wrong. It turns out we have expensive taste. If you know me, though, you know I am frugal in such things. Extreme frugality and expensive taste is a sad mixture of attributes. Well, you will be glad to know that Mike encouraged me to go with the expensive ones so I could feel good in them. Had he not been there, I'd have just brought in some Walmart sunglasses and asked them to pop out the dark lenses and put my corrective lenses in them.  Not really...that of course never crossed my mind... ok, it did...but do you think that could work? M a y b e   n e x t    t i m e . . .

So, I did take a photo of the chosen glasses before I left. Of course they won't arrive for a week or so. They are really just an ordinary basic black as that blended with my hair better. Apparently it was the shape of them that we liked, and it must have been the shape of them that cost extra.

What will I remember about the day? I will remember my sweet man encouraging me to spend a little extra money on myself for no other reason than to feel good about how I look. That leaves me all warm and happy inside.

Sick Day

I woke up shortly after midnight yesterday morning. I knew right away that something was wrong. I am not too shy to tell you all about how I got sick (stomach bug) but I realize some people may not want all the yucky details so I will spare you.

By 5:00 a.m. I knew I had to call in sick for work. I HATE to do that but I could not have gone to work in my condition. In fact, I spent the entire day in bed! It wasn't all bad. I watched enough of Wild at Heart to need a break from it. Have you heard of it?

Wild at Heart is a British TV show that apparently ran for 7 seasons. It is about a veterinarian who moved from London to Africa with his family. It's a pleasant show to watch. I am loving the African scenery and the African animals as it was all filmed on location at an animal reserve there. It is really stunning! I almost feel as though I've traveled there now.

I enjoy Netflix. I find it is fun to pick a TV show and watch it for sometimes a couple of months straight. Yesterday, though, I got through an entire season! Admittedly I fell asleep through some of it but it was easy to back it up to pick up where I dozed off.

Do any of you watch Netflix or any of those types of services much? What shows would you recommend? Do you feel sad when you finish a series? I sometimes do. 

Cinnamon Roll Caramel Waffles

Do you all have a Pinterest Account? If you do, follow Only the Manager (me) if you'd like. I'm finding I really enjoy peeking in on Pinterest more than I thought I would. There are such cool ideas there!

It's funny, really. Pinterest uses modern technology and concepts that would not have ever crossed my mind before. Yet, the more I see on it, the more I long for simpler days. I want to try every cool Do It Yourself project I see! And the recipes... there are some really wonderful ideas! I think maybe I could even be a reasonably good cook if I just had the time to try out some of those delicious recipes. I'm also finding lots and lots of crocheting ideas that I wish to do. If only I had more time!

This week-end, though, I did try out one of the simpler recipes I saw on Pinterest. I made cinnamon rolls on our little waffle maker.  I'm not kidding! It was tasty AND easy...just my kind of recipe. It was so delightful I decided I needed to share the joy with my readers.

To start I bought a tube of pre-made cinnamon rolls. I sprayed my waffle iron with an oil spray and heated it up. I chose caramel rolls but any would be yummy.

I separated the rolls and plopped two of them on the iron.

I closed the lid and cooked them just as if they were regular waffles.

When I opened it up again, it looked like this...

When I added the caramel that came in the tube, it looked like this...

You want a bite, don't you?

Now, the thing is, I make really good cinnamon rolls the old fashioned way. Someday I will share that recipe as well. This way, however, is pretty wonderful when you are in a hurry and not feeding too many people at once. It tastes even better than it looks!