::Outside My Window::
Deliciously, delightfully dismal. A little gentle grey drizzle. Chilly autumn air.
::I am Listening to::
A little bit of everything this morning...right now: Yesterday, Today, Forever by Ryan Stevenson (Corin's request - you should see this boy move!). Then itunes moved to the next song... "Yesterday I Heard the Rain" by Tony Bennett. Completely appropriate for today. I am loving it. Corin is NOT happy with the mood change. : ) He just put his hand over his ear and said..."This song is annoying, mommy! Is it over yet? Is it over? I wanna yisten to Toby Mac."
::I am Thankful For::
The word "No." Learning to use it has changed my life.
:: I am remembering::
A date with David to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Steve Smith babysat for us in our little house in Jackson. David and I browsed the unique little shops, enjoyed the feeling of the town streets at night along the Mississippi River. We went to one grand, old antebellum house that had been turned into a restaurant. It still had a hole from a Civil War cannonball. Apparently there had been a power outage that night. So there were dripping, glowing candles EVERYWHERE. In the elegant restaurant. Outside in the brick courtyard and on the steps by the carriage house. It was the kind of magic you only see in the movies and on Pinterest. But it was real. A glowing memory.
source
I only wish we had splurged and eaten at the restaurant that night. Pretty sure we did the wise thing and respected our seminary budget - opting for Wendy's value menu on the way home. : ) David has since then adopted my philosophy that to truly take in a place while traveling, you need to experience the local food.
source
I only wish we had splurged and eaten at the restaurant that night. Pretty sure we did the wise thing and respected our seminary budget - opting for Wendy's value menu on the way home. : ) David has since then adopted my philosophy that to truly take in a place while traveling, you need to experience the local food.
::I am Pondering::
Emotions. Sometimes they get a bad rap. Some people guard themselves against emotion so much they don't have a healthy respect or understanding for them. They think that emotional people are weak. Others think they are at the mercy of their emotions and forget to make good choices in spite of them.
I very much respect & value human emotions and believe that they are God-given and not some terrible result of the fall (like mosquitoes or poodles). I want to have a healthy respect for emotions and how they add depth to life....but at the same time realize that they must be disciplined and controlled. Sometimes they must be ignored and disciplined, sometimes they must be heeded and nourished and relished. It cannot be all-or-nothing. Emotions are not bad. But they have to be kept in their place (just like chocolate, for instance.)
:: Some of what I've been
reading::
Corin and I have been reading the original Winnie the Pooh. Delightful. I wish I had a better "Winnie the Pooh" voice. I try, but it is very difficult to accomplish. Sometimes I get Christopher Robin's just right, other times I sound completely ridiculous. Cool thing is - Corin loves it all.
I took a nice little mommy break this morning - sat in a chair and browsed through the latest edition of "Family Fun" magazine (a gift we love from Grandma Wolf). Some good tidbits and ideas.
::From the Kitchen::
Can't think of anything interesting to share.
I tried the new Philadelphia Indulgence Dark Chocolate cream cheese spread. It's not earth-shattering. But okay with pretzels. Gonna try it for my kids - as an after school snack with apple slices.
I absolutely love Claussen pickles. They might be twice as expensive, but they are worth 2 jars of wilted pickles any day.
My kitchen is full of all things pumpkin right now.
See? Nothing to tell.
::I am Thinking::
That we are going to have to get a new keyboard and mouse. That hot cocoa spill I had a few weeks ago has caused some havoc. Things move around on their own. It's creepy. Sometimes you can scroll, sometimes you can't. What a pain.
:: I am Looking forward to/Dreaming of ::
Someday entertaining again. We have entertained very little during our five years here in Indiana. But I am dreaming of polishing up that silver I inherited from my childhood days of parties and receptions in our grand house at 1803 Josephine. It waits patiently in the basement, brown with tarnish. I dream of folded linen napkins, tall candlesticks, large beautiful salads, cozy outdoor gatherings, popcorn and games with friends... Someday! : )
source: elements of style blog
::I am Creating::
Decided today is perhaps the day for the burlap pennant banner. David helped me choose the words "Give Thanks." I considered Blessings, Autumn, Thanks, Thankful....
Source: Pinterest (original source expired)
I also have the wooden letters with our 3 boys' names to finish up and hang. The kids painted them red for me and they need touched up a bit. I hope I have sticky foam squares on hand to hang them. Tiny nails tend to split the letters.
:: Towards raising hungry learners::
I think conversation is one of the biggest ways to feed curiosity and a hunger for learning. Last night during family worship we somehow got on the subject of personalities. The kids were so eager to learn more about their personalities. We talked about how understanding how God made you can help you to understand the strengths you have and the weaknesses you need to work on. They get it, I think. It's fun when they occasionally get stuff. : )
::Towards Rhythm and Beauty::
I am terribly excited that I feel I am cycling back from project/major declutter/catch-up mode into maintenance mode. It is so much easier to keep up when things are caught up.
I am trying (not very successfully) to accept the fact that life will once again throw us into catch-up mode - possibly sooner rather than later. But take comfort in the fact that we will always cycle back to daily maintenance. New baby, traveling, when mommy takes on extra responsibilities away from home....It doesn't take a whole lot of days of just having time for the basics - or the extra "stuff" of the holidays. Sleepless postpartum weeks...Before you know it the tidy drawers are somehow overflowing and all of the favorite socks have disappeared.
But I am feeling more and more confident in the systems that work best for us....
- Focusing on the two basics: dishes and laundry.
- A manageable schedule. Even if it hurts.
- Less stuff: constant decluttering. We have a bin by the door for things that don't fit or don't get used.
- Flylady's principles: there are so many of them that have become part of our lives. Lots of hope in her habits.
- Better habits: reminding all of us to take the extra minute to put something away right now
::To Live the Life ::
Been thinking about/reminding myself how life-changing action is. Being doers, not just hearers. Most of us know what we need/want to do. The difficulty comes first in doing! Then doing consistently. I want to be a doer. (Not busy activity...but purposeful action.)
David and I were talking the other day about some issues. He said, "You can never say enough about the power of doing the right thing, right now."
I think the principle of doing actually makes a whole life more rich....doing the little daily habits instead of just thinking about how badly we need to do them, stopping for a few minutes to do that fun thing with your kids, taking real steps towards the big dream instead of just dreaming. Taking action makes things happen. A life of holiness is a life of action - "life to the full."
"I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
John 10:10, AMP
There's nothing like it. Help me, Lord.
::I am Hoping and Praying::
For some long-awaited answers....
:: In the Garden::
Just mums & pumpkins & weeds.
::Around the House::
Enjoying the after-yardsale feeling. Empty tubs. Organized toys. Lots less stuff! Extra cash stashed away for "someday" used furniture. It was actually worth it.
Yard sales bring me perspective...Seeing people pass over my stuff - all organized out on tables with fantastic prices. And they still don't want it? All these treasures? (I'm a silly girl.) It reminds me that it's just stuff...and parting with it is such a good thing.
::One of My Favorite Things::
Warm-smelling laundry
::The Kids::
I am so thrilled with our current "habits" charts. They have really clicked (not every chart we try works). They aren't really chore charts...but habits that I usually have to remind them about. Now I can just say..."everyone check your evening chart!" And off they scurry to brush teeth, make sure clothes are laid out, quick room straighten, etc. There are some kinks: Some had a tendency to check things off before they were done...another forgot to check anything off! But in general, they are really helping. It keeps me from having to give so many reminders, and has made them more consistent already.
:: The Man of the House ::
Life as usual: Teaching school, writing dissertation, working on church manual revisions, speaking dates to prepare for, volleyball tournaments to coach, and constantly editing wedding pictures. Busy man. His ability to balance it all with grace amazes me.
::A Few Plans for the Rest of the
Week::
Monday: Errands Day (I switched Monday and Tuesday because I had to take the girls to the Dr. anyway)
Tuesday: Desk Day (put October cash in envelopes, answer the urgent messages, take care of some photography business, sort papers & declutter desk) (There's also a rather large pile of clean laundry burying my bed. It is quite possible that I have bitten off more than I can chew for this day. I must decide which important things are most important...)
Wednesday: Laundry & Clothes (make sure loads are running until baskets are empty....sort and declutter any closets and dressers that could use attention)
Thursday: Teach 8:30-6
Friday: Out-of-town Volleyball game
:: Love this Quote! ::
"I do, after all, love a challenge. Not just the result at the end, but the drudgery in the middle, the hard work, the sweat, the mess of transformation. I love the process of getting there, especially when "there" isn't a fixed point, but the constant renaming as each finish line morphs into another start line."
Kristin Armstrong, Mile Markers blog, Runner's World.com
"I do, after all, love a challenge. Not just the result at the end, but the drudgery in the middle, the hard work, the sweat, the mess of transformation. I love the process of getting there, especially when "there" isn't a fixed point, but the constant renaming as each finish line morphs into another start line."
Kristin Armstrong, Mile Markers blog, Runner's World.com
:: A Picture from our world::
An extremely random picture from our wedding. I need to move pictures from the camera and some of the other recent pics are still in RAW and need converted. Didn't have anything new and inspiring to post yet. So I grabbed whatever showed up in my picture files. : )
www.MaslovPhotography.com
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