Warm Christmases are the best!

I know, I know.  Most people want a WHITE Christmas!!  Not me!  No sir!  When I lived in Africa, we went swimming on Christmas Day.  That was our tradition--and I LOVED it!

I am definitely a warm weather person, and it has been gorgeous this week!  High 70's/low 80's.  I'm lovin' it!  I hope it stays this warm through Christmas.  It looks like it's supposed to get cooler towards the end of the week, but you never know!

Even though I have been known to partake in a cup of hot chocolate while curled up in front of a roaring fire, it's more fun to go outside when you don't have to wear an entire closet's worth of clothing, 6 sweaters, and 3 coats all topped off with 4 blankets.

Here's hoping!

You have given life to me. . .

I will serve thee
Because I love thee
You have given life to me
I was nothing
Until you found me
You have given life to me

Heartaches, broken pieces
Ruined lives are why you died on Calvary
Your touch, was what I longed for
You have given life to me

I will serve thee
Because I love thee
You have given life to me
I was nothing
Until you found me
You have given life to me

A blessing - or is it a curse?

Special Lady

We recently had a baby shower in our church, and one of the ladies asked all the grandmothers in the room to say something to the new grandmother--word of advice, special memories, etc.  That got me thinking about my own grandmothers.  I loved them both, but I don't have many memories of them.  My dad's mother passed away when I was very young, and my mom's mother passed away when I was in 9th grade.  The few memories I do have of them, I hold very dear.

Listening to the grandmothers speak that day, I realized the important role a grandmother has, and the impact she has on her grandchildren.  While I didn't have that close relationship with my own grandmothers, I am blessed to have had wonderful ladies that have kind of filled that gap.  One such very dear lady is my Aunt Linda.  (Now, Aunt Linda, I know you're not old enough to actually BE my grandmother, and that's not what I mean, so don't take it that way, OK!)  She not really even my aunt, but I've known her since I was 3 years old.

Now THIS lady I have memories of!  We moved into the house across the street from her those many years ago, and I know it's of God when I look back at our relationship.  I have always been close to her.  She lived about 30 minutes away from where I went to college, and I would go over to her house just about every weekend.  My parents were in Africa when I was in college, so I spent most of my Thanksgivings and a few of my Christmases with her and her family.

My Aunt Linda has been such a beautiful example of a Godly woman.  She's so encouraging, and she always makes me feel so precious and special and loved and important.  When I talk to her, I know she's actually listening.  She is my friend and my confidante.  If she's ever had to correct me for anything, I've never noticed because she knows just how to speak in love so that it doesn't feel like a reprimand.

I don't think of Aunt Linda as a "replacement grandmother", but when I think of how I would want my relationship to be with my grandmothers if they were still alive, I think of my relationship with Aunt Linda.  I do believe God brought this wonderful lady into my life to fill that gap left when my grandmothers passed away--so that I would not be without the impact of that role.  

Aunt Linda, thank you for being so kind and sweet to me all my life.  I am so thankful that I did not have to live my life without having the kind of friendship I have with you!  I have been so blessed by you!

Give Thanks unto the Lord

While we should be thankful every day of our lives, Thanksgiving Day is a special time set aside to remind us to be thankful for our many blessings.  For the last several weeks our church has been splitting up the men and women in our Wednesday night service for the Bible study time.  The ladies spent a few weeks on Love, so this particular topic has been on my mind for a while now.

As I sit here contemplating what I'm thankful for, I keep thinking about our Bible studies.  I am so thankful for all the love in my life.  Not just that which is directed at me, but for all the examples of love that God has allowed me to witness.  There are so many people in the world today that feel blessed to have just one person that shows them love, and I have an abundance of examples.

I have two wonderful parents that have been married for over 30 years that love each other immensely.  Those in my church family love each other.  Now I consider that amazing--you get any number of random people together in a room, and eventually they will begin to clash.  Our church is diverse, and even though we are each different, we still love each other, and we love to fellowship.  My boss has been married to his wife for over 60 years, and every time he mentions his wife to me, he just absolutely gushes with pride and love.  

My whole family loves to be around each other, we love to laugh, and we love each other.  I have some amazing friends that love me, and some that I haven't spoken to nearly often enough over the years that I know would be there for me in an emergency.  My church family loves me.  My animals love me (and nothing you can say will convince me that animals don't love)!!

I really could go on and on about all the examples of love in my life, but I will leave you with this:

Colossians 1:3-4  We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the LOVE which ye have to all the saints.

Thank You, Lord, for showing me LOVE!  You were the ultimate example of love when You died on the cross to pay the price for my sin and offer me the opportunity of redemption.  Thank You for every iota of love You have put in my life.  You truly are an amazing and wonderful God!

Thanksgiving! YAY!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Little White Dove

So, I posted on my other blog this morning.  Just in case you were wondering what I do with my free time (haha!  "Free time!"  I made a joke!)

Check it out!

It'll knock your socks off, I'm sure!

Owl City

One of my favorite singers is Owl City.  I just found out he's a Christian.  Awesome!  He just recorded "In Christ Alone," one of my favorite Christian songs.  Amazing.

Check it out!

http://owlcityblog.com/2010/10/25/my-hope-is-found/

It's so encouraging to know there are Christians in the entertainment business that stand firm in their beliefs.  I hope he keeps going strong!

That's just WRONG!

Ok, so Saturday I was doing my laundry.  It's been a while.  It's not my favorite task.

As I was picking up a pile (about the 4th) of clothing from my closet floor, I looked down, and what do I see?

This.

Um.  What?

Yes, that's a snake.  A dead snake.  A small snake, but a snake none-the-less.  EWWWWWWW!

I think my cat got it.

I think it's a good thing it was already dead.

I think I should do laundry more often.

I think I should move.

Funny Friday

Have a fantabulous weekend!

I love weekends!

Hope you have a great one!

The B-I-B-L-E!

A father was approached by his small son who told him proudly, "I know what the Bible means."

The father smiled and replied, "What do you mean you 'know' what the Bible means?"

The son replied, "I DO know!"

"Okay," said his father.  "What does the Bible mean?"

"That's easy, Daddy!" the young boy replied excitedly.  "It stands for Basic Information Before Leaving Earth!"

It's hot.

My FABULOUS New Chair!!!

OK.  So, I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!  About a month and a half ago, I came across this ad on Craigslist for this GORGEOUS chair! Unfortunately, the lady was asking $400.00 for this chair!!  I knew that, of course, I could not afford it.

So I went to look at in anyway.  I know, I know.  I'm not very bright.  Glutton for punishment.  I was asking for it.  Yeah, whatever.

I figured it couldn't hurt to just take a look and make her an offer.  I fell in love with it!  I told her I would be willing to pay $200 (which, honestly, is still a LOT for me, but, hey, I haven't bought nice furniture for my house, like EVER!  And this chair was perfect -almost- for my craft room and it's in perfect condition.  Newly re-upholstered!).  She said, no, she really wanted $400 for it.  I said, "Ok.  I'm sure you will get what you are asking for, but if for some reason you can't sell it, please keep my number if you're willing to come down."  I left knowing for darn sure I would never hear from this lady again.

I was wrong!  :)  She called me two days ago and said she still had the chair and was willing to come down.  AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!  So, needless to say, I borrowed my dad's truck and went to pick it up yesterday after work!

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!?!?  I LOVES it!

I'm more of a silver than gold person, so I'm not crazy about the gold-painted wood.  I'm planning on repainting it a metallic brown color that I've used in other parts of my craft room.  This is going in my craft room, and the colors are PER-FECT!  (other than the gold, of course)

And get this!  There's more!  I was running late yesterday morning, so I thought about not using my dad's truck b/c I didn't want to take the time to trade vehicles with him for the day.  And it had been raining a lot here lately, and I didn't have the means to cover the chair once I picked it up if it started raining on my way home.  BUT. . . I said, NO!  I'm gonna go get the truck and just pray it doesn't rain!  And it's a good thing I did, too!  When I got there, the lady's husband said, "Well, we actually have two chairs.  We'll give you the second one for free if you want it, b/c it has a broken leg."  . . .

My first instinct was to screech "WHAAAAAAT!?!" at him, but I refrained and calmly said, "Free?  Um, sure, I'll take it."

It is sad that it's broken, but I'm not worried about it at all.  It's in the back left corner (which is the exact leg that's going into the corner of the room), so for now I'm just going to have my dad set it on a block of wood or something.  One day, when I've recouped from the expense (still can't believe I spent $200 on CHAIRS!), I'll take it in to a furniture store and see if they can replace it.  So I got two for the price of half!  Hehehe!

This is what the sad little broken corner looks like.  It's currently propped up on Mary Higgins Clark books.

Just goes to show that good things really do come to those that wait!  Patience is not one of my stronger virtues, so I'm pretty impressed with myself!  ;)  I've been looking for a chair for my craft room for so long!  I knew this would be the perfect chair, but I so wasn't going to spend $400.00 on one chair!

So I didn't.

And I love it!

Are you a patriot?

What do you think about men and women that have fought and died for our freedom.  To protect us from terrorists.  Given our lives so we could live in peace.  Do you know someone who has given their life for our safety?

If I personally knew a hero that had given his or her life fighting to save me, I would spread the word--make sure everyone I knew was aware of that selfless, loving sacrifice that person made, and I bet you would, too.

Why, then, do we not do the same for Jesus?  He sacrificed His life so that we may live.  He died fighting for our freedom from hell and torment.  From the terror of Satan and his demons.  Why do we not spread the word-tell everyone of His heroism?  Is He not deserving of that recognition?

I write this to my own shame.  It is the hardest thing in the world for me to tell someone about Jesus and His heroic act of love.  Why is that?  What about you?  Are you a patriot?

I have the bestest, most awesomest, most WONDERFULEST mommy in the whole, biggest, widest world!!

Cute title, but seriously, I do.

Isn't she pretty?  We were MUCH cold that day.  And it was rainy.  But we had so much fun!!!

I come from a great home-Christian parents who love the Lord, love each other, and love their kids.  They've been married (insert number of years here--I can't b/c then people could guess close to my mom's age and then she would kill me.  And that would be sad.  I like living.  Suffice to say, a long time) years.  I have taken it for granted at times, but I have seen many families with broken homes, and I am so very thankful for the family God put me in.  I get along with my siblings (mostly, heehee).  I have a great relationship with both of my parents.  I even bought a house 3 doors down from them.  And contrary to what they say, I did not buy the house solely so I could eat at their house every day.  Although I do.   And I like it.  ;)

Something happened not too long ago that really made me pause and think about how great my mom is.  It was something so little, but it had such an impact on me.  I almost cried at the dinner table.  But I didn't.  Cuz that would be weird.

We were eating dinner.  I don't even remember exactly what it was, but I know it was something Dad had cooked on the grill.  Their grill is kind of touchy, so one side of it cooks a lot faster than the other side.  Apparently, some of the meat got a little. . . "blackened," shall we say?  I didn't even notice it until my mom said, "This meat actually tastes kind of good burned."  As I looked around the table, I noticed that she had dished out the food onto our plates (which she does sometimes, and at other times we just pass the food around), and she had given my two younger brothers and I the meat that was cooked just right, and she had put the burned meat on her plate and dad's plate (dad got the piece that was a little less burned).

Once I sat there and thought about it for a minute, I realized she had done that all my life.  She always puts the comfort of others first.  She takes care of her husband and children before she takes care of herself.  She gives everyone else the best, and she takes what's left.  I gave this testimony in church on mother's day (and of course I blubbered like an idiot), but I wanted to share this here for anyone to read.  I thank God for my mom and the woman she is.  She has been such a great teacher and example.

If I ever do get married and have kids of my own, I have some awfully big shoes to fill.

How cool is this!!

So, I spend a lot of my down time at work looking at blogs.  (My boss is fully aware that I have a quite a bit of down time.  I always do my work first, and I get my work done before I play!)  I came across someone's blog today quite by accident, and she pointed me to this website.  So, whoever you are, thank you for sharing!  This is really cool!

http://indiefixx.com/Feed_your_soul/downloads.html

It's free artwork that you can download and print.  Not all of it is my cuppa T, but some of it is really cute!

Suh-weet.  I have been trying to decorate my house a little bit lately, but I have a very tight budget.  This is great!

Ode to the Idiots that make traffic worse than it needs to be

Let me preface by saying, YES, I realize the following is not actually an "Ode."  I'm not stupid--or poetic or lyrical.  But I am sarcastic.

1. Yes, I love it when you rush to get in front of me only to slam on your brakes so you can turn.
2. Please, do make sure you at LEAST 12 miles under the speed limit so that I can't possibly go around you because everyone else is passing us going no less than 12 miles OVER the speed limit.
3. I love it when you are driving your tiny little car with a fan-TAS-tic turn radius, but you still feel the need to come to a complete and utter stop in front of me before making your right turn into a very wide lane (when there is no stop sign or stop light) or big driveway/parking lot.
4. The highlight of my day is when I'm on my way home and get off the freeway.  I look forward to sitting in that long line of cars waiting to turn right onto the road that takes me home for 10 minutes longer than I need to because so many of you think you deserve to zoom pass everyone in said line of cars and squeeze into the front of the line at the very last second.  (Mmm.  I 'specially love that one.)
5. It's a balm to my weary soul when I'm driving in my lane, minding my own business, and you decide you want to share my lane with me.  I don't know why you get angry and honk at me when I don't want to spoon with your car. 
6. Yes, I love being in the one and only lane on the highway that is at a full stop when the other cars are flying by us.  All the time.  It's my favorite.
7. No, of course it doesn't make me nervous AT ALL when you swerve into my lane in front of me as we are braking.  
8. I have so much fun watching you when you can't make up your mind which lane you need to be in.  Left lane?  Right lane?  Middle lane?  OOOOOOOO, EXIT!  EXIT!  EXIIIIIIIIIIT! 
9. I love the way you speed up when I turn my turn signal on to change lanes.  
10. I love it when I'm trying to merge onto the interstate and my lane is ending and you go just the right speed to keep me from getting over.
11. It makes me giddy with excitement when I'm in a turn only lane and you are in the straight only lane next to me and turn anyway.  That's especially fun when there is only one lane to turn onto.  Life would be so dull if you actually paid attention to the signs.

Did I miss anything?  Probably.

My latest project-FINISHED!!!

So, I've been working on this project lately.  A lot.  For a VERY long time.  It's been a big learning process, I've spent too much money, and it was all so worth it!  Check it out!

How CUTE is that!?!  I had so much fun with it!  Here's what I did:

I started by decoupaging a different coordinating paper to each drawer.  It took two pieces of scrapbook paper to cover the drawers, and since I was planning on using ribbon to cover the seams anyway, I just left gap in the middle where the knobs go.

I used these adorable pink glass knobs from Hobby Lobby, and I wanted them to really stand out, so I decoupaged ribbon over gap in the paper.  It's hard to tell in the picture, but the ribbon is a dark brown color with blue thread running down each side.  The little bit of blue in the ribbon pulls the drawers together a little bit more since none of these papers have blue in them.  The ribbon serves many purposes, and it's cute!

Then I put on my ripped up, faded, old jeans and started sanding. 

I sanded, and sanded, and sanded.  (My first project like this-didn't know how much or how little I needed to sand.  So I just sanded until I felt like being done with the thing.)  Thanks for that sander, Dad!

I painted the door blue, and then distressed and aged (?) it with wood stain.  You can see the difference in color where I didn't cover the middle with stain.  I love how the colors turned out!

Once I finished with the painted part of the door, I decoupaged a final piece of coordinating scrapbook paper to the front of the door, and decoupaged a wider version of the same ribbon I used on the drawers to frame the paper.  I only had two pieces of each paper, and it would have taken at least four to cover the door like I did the drawers.  So I improvised.  This paper is where the blue comes in.  I used wood putty to fill in the hole where the original knob was, and sweetly asked my dear dad to drill a new hole for me in the top right corner where the ribbon crossed.

At this point, my puppy was feeling pretty neglected.  He kept trying to entice me to come play with him.  So I did.  How could you say no to this face?

Cute, huh?

Then I painted the cabinet 4 different colors to match the colors in the paper.  I painted the sides pink, the top green, the front (behind the drawers and door) tan, and the trim blue (the same color as the door). When I got to the piece of trim at the bottom of the cabinet, Bently (the dog) decided he just couldn't resist the temptation any more.  He came up the freshly painted piece and THUNK-he nose was blue.  He had blue paint on his face for a while.

I distressed and stained it the same way I did the door.  I don't recommend doing this in your living room.  It stinks.  And I got stain on my favorite pair of socks.  I didn't have much choice, though, since I'd rather do this in my living room and fight off the dog and cats than do this out in the dark garage and fight off of mosquitoes and other bugs.

Finally, I sealed it all, added the knobs, and reassembled the whole sha-bang.  LOVE IT!!!  It's going in my craft room which is decorated in these colors.  Once I get the whole room done, I'll put pictures up of that, too!

I will try to get a better picture later today.  Try.

What do you think?

Addendum: I learned everything I know from my mom.  And no, I didn't put this on here just because she guilted me into it.  It's true.

Unfaithful Me

See?  I told you I wouldn't be very faithful with this blog.  I actually only came here to tell you that I've been working on my OTHER blog:  www.littlewhitedovejewelry.blogspot.com.  It's coming along swimmingly!  Please take a look and tell me what you think!

Sir, the sun ALWAYS smiles on me! ;)

So, the other day I was walking out of Goodwill.  This guy in his van stopped to let me walk out the parking lot.  After I walked past him, he pulls up behind me and says, "Excuse me, ma'am." 

I turned around dreading what I might be dealing with.  "Did the sun smile on you this morning when you walked out?" he said. 

Well, since I was a little shocked and confused to come up with something clever, I just kind of mumbled something like "I'm not sure.  Maybe?" 

He very unexpectedly and sweetly said, "Well, it should have." 

Aww.  That made my day!  It's the little things in life. . .

Oh, that dog!!

Ok, so the night before last. . . I was ready for bed. I was REALLY hoping not to have to fight with the dog for 10 minutes telling him to go to bed.

Our usual nightly ritual: I stand in the middle of the bedroom and tell Bently to come. He stands outside the door and stares at me. (The kennel is on the opposite side of the room from the door.)

I tell him to come. He steps inside the room and stares at me.

I sternly tell him to COME and point to the ground in front of me. He comes halfway between the doorway and me and stares at me.

I say (loudly) "BENTLY CUPID! COME! HERE!" and put my finger on the ground. He comes here and refuses to look at me. So I pet him for a second and say, "Good boy. Now go to bed." He stands there and refuses to look at me.

"Go on, go to bed!" I coax. He inches closer to the kennel and refuses to look at me. (I'm laughing as I type.)

"Bently! Get to bed!!!" in a slightly harsh voice. Finally, he's halfway between me and the kennel. Still won't spare a glance my way.

"Dang it, Bently!! Get in that bed RIGHT NOW!!!" He steps up to the door of the kennel, turns around and looks at me (with those sad puppy dog eyes, of course), and then turns around and heads back towards the door. (Oh, no he di'n't!!) And then I move from my spot.

As I stomp over to him, he throws himself onto the ground (all of six inches away when he's standing up tall) and rolls over. I (sucker that I am) pick him up. I love on him for half a sec. (grudgingly, mind you!) and set him back on his feet with his nose at the doorway of the kennel. "Go on, get in there!" He steps in, turns around, huffs at me, and pouts. I lock the door and feel bad (but I would never show him that!).

On Monday night I'm ready for bed and get myself geared up for the fight. He WILL obey me, tonight!! I walk to the middle of the room, and say, "Bently, come!" He's off somewhere in another part of the house pretending not to hear me as usual. . . or so I thought. Into the bedroom he trots, walks right past me and straight into his bed without a second thought! ALLELUIA!!!!! I knew I would win one day!

And then I noticed he had the rest of his rawhide bone. Oh well. Pick your battles.

Terrible Tues. . . days.

I hate Tuesdays with a PURPLE passion!! Why? There is nothing special about Tuesdays. I mean, think about it. Wednesday is "hump day." Thursday is the day before Friday. Friday marks the beginning of the weekend. Saturday and Sunday ARE the weekend. Monday is universally the first day back to the grindstone, and no one REALLY gets anything done on Mondays. Therefore, everything you don't get done on Monday must get done on Tuesday. So Tuesday, you have yesterday's work, today's work, and it still technically only the beginning of the week. THREE MORE WORK DAYS TO GO. GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! That's my theory, anyway.

I would have named my blog "Between Tuesdays," but some group has taken it (and not used it in years, btw!!). Stinks for me. Oh, well.

So, I go to McDonalds fairly regularly for lunch. (I know, I KNOW!! It's so bad for me. TELL me about it! My butt is getting larger just THINKING about it! But I must eat, and there I can eat for $3.25. Cheapest lunch I can find. And I really like fries. I mean reeeeaaaallly like fries!) I went last week and the little dude at the window practically leapt (lept? leaped? whatever) into my car to give me my food. weird. When I went yesterday, said weird little dude made a point to tell the guy at the window that he said hi. way weird. And they gave me a Diet Coke instead of a Dr Pepper. How wrong is THAT!!! Ew! That stuff tastes like pond scum!! GACK!! SHIVER!! I took a big ol' swig of that junk, too! I almost choked to death. I should sue. I wonder if I'd win?

Why "Between Mondays"

Frankly, I hate Mondays. (To be honest, I hate Tuesdays MORE, but that blog was already taken. More on that tomorrow.) ;)

I do not like Mondays. They are not my day. I don't enjoy working, but I have to. Monday is the day that starts off the work week. It's all Monday's fault! Since I don't like Mondays, I live life every day in between, and pretend that day doesn't exist.

I LOVE the weekends. I would love to stay at home every day to work on projects around the house (I love to make stuff. And fix stuff.), but since I work, that is not an option. So I have to be content to get my "crafty/handy" fix at night or on the weekends. Monday ends the weekends and my fun. It's all Monday's fault, I swear!

So. . . this blog will likely be a boring, uninteresting, blah read for anyone unfortunately enough to stumble upon it. I have a lot of personality, just not on paper. But I get bored at work. ;)