2.28.2013

Goals for this week...

And yes, I know it's Thursday and I'm posting my goals for the week...  it's really more like my goals for the end of the week as I just got them down on paper yesterday and hope to accomplish them all by end of the day Saturday.  My goals and the use of the goals worksheet continue to morph and I'm trying to decide what kind of limits to set to keep them as goals and to keep them from becoming a glorified to-do list...  10 seems to be a good number....  If I could just stick to it...

QUICKLY THOUGH before I talk about goals....let's talk about my windowsill garden...  Just after writing that post, things went downhill fast...and I mean fast.  I came home from a few days out of town to discover slimy yuckiness all over the bottom of my veggies and brown water.  Um, eww.  I rinsed them all really well, cleaned the dishes and put in fresh water (I had also discovered some mold)...  The next morning, it was all back again...  At that point, I decided I was done looking at that nastiness, and I will just wait a few more weeks until I can play in the dirt.  Sorry to disappoint or lead anyone astray -- although if you are windowsill gardening, be sure to let me know how it goes!

Okay -- so goals...a few are marked off as I was able to complete some yesterday and this morning.

Reading
+ Complete 5 days of Luke study
+ Read Chapter 1 & answer study guide questions for A Woman's Wisdom
+ Read Chapter 2 & watch video/read blogpost for Desperate
+ Read Intro and Chapter 1 of Jesus + Nothing = Everything
+ Look through Joy the Baker cookbook

Health & Well Being
+ Eat Clean
+ Drink Water
+ Move More

Home Project Completion
+ Make list of basic sewing supplies needed and supplies for a few projects
+ Make list of goals for March, including 31 Pinterest Projects in 31 Days (blog post coming soon!)

Organization
+ Planning for next week and for month of March
+ Make menu for next 2 weeks, grocery list, and coupons/deals list

For Someone Else
+ Childcare for Community family
+ Visit church member shut-in

For G & C
+ call to see about places/prices for professional framing for G's diploma
+ coffee date with G
+ research swim lessons & new carseat for C
+ play board game, play outside, and make fish craft with C

Blog
+ 3 posts

2.22.2013

*Book Giveaway Winner*

Sorry to be so late in posting this today, but here are the results!!!  

The winner of the two Tricia Goyer books is:

Comment #1...

Angie said...
I still like the "feel" of a real book in my hands and these two definitely look interesting :)

2.19.2013

I still like Real Books too....

...in fact, I like them SO much that I'm giving them away! :-)

Back in December, I was privileged to win the Stuff Your Own Stocking Giveaway over at Kristin's Veranda.  The items have come in multiple shipments, which has been fun to spread it out a bit.  I received two sets of the books that were part of the giveaway, and the author suggested I keep the second set rather than send it back, so I decided to "pay it forward" as it were and host a giveaway here on my blog.


I am giving away these two paperback novels by Tricia Goyer.  Both are signed by the author.  

The giveaway will run through Thursday, February 21st, 11:59 p.m. and I will use a random number generator to choose a winner on Friday, February 22nd and will post the results that morning.  There are multiple ways to enter:

1) Leave a comment on this post

2) Become a Google Follower and
leave a comment telling me that you did
(or if you already are)

3) Share this giveaway on facebook and
leave a comment telling me that you did

4) Blog about this giveaway and
leave a comment with the link to your post

5) Tweet this giveaway and
leave a comment telling me that you did

6) Pin this giveaway and
leave a comment with the link to your pin.

So...get busy -- you have 6 chances to enter!  I'm sorry to keep my settings such that I have to approve comments, but I get a LOT of spam comments that I don't want on my posts.  I will try to keep up with comments as quickly as possible so that you can see your entries.

See you on Friday!



2.18.2013

eBooks...and why I'm glad I tried them...

I was hesitant for a long time to jump into the world of eBooks and eReaders...  In some ways, I'm a closet romantic (think Anne of GG here...) and like to keep the "old school" way of doing things alive.  But, a conversation last Fall with our children's librarian had me re-thinking things...  She started telling me how much she loved her nook glowlight....  the three things that stood out to me from the conversation were:

1) she liked having the light on the device for nighttime reading....appealing as I almost always want to read in bed after my husband is asleep...

2) she liked being able to check out eBooks from the library...I had no idea this was even an option...

3) she liked only having to take one "book" with her when she traveled but having multiple options available...that is SO me...we will have one less bag to load up when we take long trips now because I will only be taking one "book" instead of the usual 8-10...

So...following that conversation, I put the nook glowlight on my Christmas list and was blessed to receive it from my in-laws, bil, and sil. Thanks, y'all. :-)



I have been nothing but Pleased. (that's with a capital P...)  I've not given up on REAL books by any means, and still enjoy reading them, especially for my highlighting habit. ahem.  But, the convenience of eBooks is delightful.  

Not only being able to have 8-10 books in one, but I love being able to check out books from my local library, and the library (in another state) where I had a card before I was married.  

Soon after getting my nook set-up, I joined the facebook page, and the best part about that is FREE FRIDAYS!  Every friday, they give away a free eBook...  I have yet to take advantage of the offer because the majority of the books they give away are junk, but when you click over to the blog, others will list more free eBooks in the comments.  I HAVE taken advantage of some of these, and my eBook collection is growing faster than I can keep up with.

This article was absolutely the most helpful thing that I read with regard to my nook and getting it set-up for borrowing and purchasing eBooks.  I was thankful that I read it before downloading the (free) adobe digital software, because in order for the programs to communicate you have to use the same username and password for the adobe software and (in my case) barnes and noble.  

I'm still amazed at how many FREE eBooks are out there...  it seems that there are more that are formatted for the Kindle as opposed to the nook, but even if you don't have a tablet eReader, you can still download the eBooks and read them on your computer.  You can download Kindle for PC from amazon for free.  Every week, Money Saving Mom posts about free eBooks that you can download.  And we all know how I  looooooove free stuff!

I have downloaded 6-7 books and have them stored on my PC and hope to begin reading some of them soon.  This is especially nice for cookbooks, and there seem to be lots of those for free.

Another way to find free eBooks is to search on barnes and noble or amazon for "free" or for "0.00".  This way of searching has a LOT of returns, but be warned that a LOT of them are JUNK.  But, you may find a few diamonds in the rough....

So, that is a quick re-cap of how I'm loving this whole new world of eBooks...  Hope some of that is helpful or at the very least interesting to you...

In the comments, let us know... have you found good sources for free eBooks? Share your favorite eReader/tablet and why?

2.16.2013

My windowsill garden...

I'm so looking forward to gardening again this year...as I write this post, I've pulled a muscle in my back (for the second time in less than 2 weeks) and I can't imagine hoeing or pulling weeds right now, but I'm looking forward to it, just the same.  I'm so thankful for the way that God has created our bodies to heal themselves a large percentage of the time.  It's easy to lose sight of that, but when you have to explain EVERYTHING to a 3 year old, you realize just how much you really take for granted.

Until I can get outside to grow things, I've been making use of my kitchen windowsill, some water, and the parts of the produce that I would normally throw away.....

I saw this on a friend's blog, and HAD to try it for myself.

This is 24 hours after I cut the lettuce and put it in water...it was a straight cut across the top...

I placed the lettuce in the water on January 31...this picture was taken on February 2.

February 4

A friend mentioned you could do the same with celery, so I started some on February 5

February 16

February 16

This is crazy easy...all I did was place the pieces that you see in a plastic bowl of water.  I change the water every few days to keep it from getting moldy....  I can't wait to try some of this fresh windowsill produce!

2.15.2013

Vday recap (aka the one where she gushes about her husband)...

I think this post wins the award for longest title ever, don't you?

I really shouldn't be blogging....I should be unloading the dishwasher, switching out loads of laundry, making a menu and grocery list, straightening up the house....etc, etc.

But I have 4 or 5 posts rattling around in my head right now and it's killing me to not be able to write them.  That, and I've read everyone else's V-day posts and really, yesterday just left me feeling exceptionally blessed and thankful.  Sometimes we go through what I call "dry spells" (or at least I do) where I almost don't feel any emotion towards anyone because I'm having such inner struggling with my own sin and in my relationship with the Lord and His calling in my life.  I'm thankful for days like yesterday to snap me back to reality and in small ways remind me of just how greatly blessed I am.

I grew up having family dinners for Valentine's Day where we spent the day preparing and decorating and making cards and it was a special evening to spend together as a family.  That continued up until I left home to get married, and it was especially nice during my teen years as I was freed of the pressure of dating and wondering if anyone would be getting me flowers, etc.  It was nice to just focus on family.  I hope to continue that tradition for my daughter too.  We spent the afternoon getting our table set and cards/gifts made/decorated.


We ate by mostly candlelight, with a little bit of light from the overhead chandelier, and the last remaining bits of daylight.  


Since it was a weeknight, I cooked, but my husband is bringing home pizza tonight and he plans to make a special dinner tomorrow night as a late V-day celebration.  So I get the next two nights off. :-)  
Our menu was:

Tossed Salad
Broccoli


Definitely NOT the healthiest of meals, and NOT how we eat everyday, but it was all very yummy and I was thankful that all four of the new recipes I was trying turned out great!  The breadsticks are a KEEPER and I will definitely be making them again.

My husband spoils his girls (not complaining!) and he brought home a single pink rose for C and a mylar balloon which is currently in her room while she naps.


He created a personalized gift for her online and filled it with her favorite candy...it was as much a surprise to me as it was to her.


I am enjoying a beautiful bouquet of roses, which even included two stems of eucalyptus, my absolute favorite! 



And, the man searched high and low over the world wide web to find this for me...


...because he knows I've been coveting admiring my friend's for quite some time now.  He goes out of his way to make us feel loved and appreciated all year long, but he also goes above and beyond on this special day when we can stop and recognize just how blessed we truly are.  I'm thankful that through the ups and downs, he is still my best friend.

2.07.2013

The Beholder...

I've been trying to be more intentional about leaving my camera sitting out on the counter so that I will see it and pick it up to chronicle our days and God's good gifts to us...  Some days I can't stop snapping pictures and sometimes I go for days without taking any.  Here's a few gifts we've been blessed with since the beginning of 2013...













2.05.2013

What's in your makeup bag?

I wrote this post last week with the intention of posting on Friday to get in my 3 posts for the week....but, I got a little busy and that didn't happen.  So, I'm posting it today so my poor blog doesn't appear any more neglected than it already is.  It's definitely a "lighter" post...currently all the deep thoughts are banging around in my head and bumping into one another and my heart is struggling to process them all.  I think it's some weird kind of information overload from all the reading I've been doing combined with some great insights this weekend from a missions conference.  That and the fact that God is currently stripping away the crustiness of my heart to reveal some pretty yucky stuff...  So -- pardon me while I work through the deep stuff and "put up a good face" here on the blog. (pun absolutely intended)

As if the purse post from last week wasn't enough, I'm giving further vent to your curiosity and revealing what's in my makeup bag...because I know you ALL wanted to know.  I really do find these sorts of things interesting...and I think I should blog about what I find interesting...in hopes that there are kindred spirits out there...somewhere.


The actual bag is a Clinique freebie...as is every makeup bag I have ever (and probably ever will) owned.  It's starting to show some wear and tear, but I love the shape and pattern so, that I just can't bear to part with it yet.

So here's the routine...

Covergirl natureluxe liquid silk foundation 330
source



Covergirl Truconceal 
source


Clinique soft-pressed powder blusher in New Clover
source




Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Duo in Dark Denim
source


Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Black Brown
source



Revlon Eyelash Curler
source



Rimmel Extra Super Lash Mascara in 101 Black
source

Lip Shine
source

So those are the everyday essentials...the stuff that stays in my bag but I only use occasionally/as needed...

Revlon Tweezers

source


Covergirl Pressed Powder in Creamy Natural
source


Clinique Youth Surge
source


Clinique All About Eyes Serum
source

And...there ya have it!  

What is the ONE item in your makeup bag that you "can't live without?"
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