Saturday, January 31, 2009

Procrastination...... oh, oh, oh, oh

It's a well-known word in my house. It seems everyone in my house is afflicted with hit, and I hate it. It is incredibly frustrating. Particularly when it involves a certain man-child who shall remain nameless who absolutely positively will wait to the last possible instant to do anything. Eat. Get Dressed. Brush his hair. Get in the car (because we ARE leaving with or without you). Do his homework. Go to bed.

As I write this, it has taken a certain man-child nearly two hours to get about five lines written on the project that is due on Tuesday. That's an average of what... 2.5 lines per hour? Lord have mercy, it's going to be a long day at this rate.

I am also a procrastinator, but that is because I actually prefer to work under pressure. I work best with a deadline. I like the adrenaline rush of having to get something done RIGHT NOW. Or does that make me compulsive?

Anyway, I am trying so very hard to be patient with my son. I have to be because I am much like he is. I have learned, though, that it is often best to just get the dreaded chore over with so you can move on to the things you really want to do. In his case, he wants to shoot "Nazi zombies" on X-Box live. Me, I want to go read a book or play with paper. Alas, neither of us is going to do what we really want to do if he doesn't focus. And, no, it isn't ADD. He just doesn't want to. He needs to write his paper; I need to hover and prod him along. Seriously, it won't get done otherwise.

Pray I keep my patience!

Friday, January 30, 2009

Friends Old and New

I have recently joined Facebook and am totally loving getting in touch with people from my past. Some of them I literally have not seen or spoken to in over a decade - and I'm not that old so that's saying something.

The beauty of Facebook is that you can pick and choose those people from your past that you want to rekindle a friendship with. It's very cool.

I like being able to shout out a quick "hi" to my friends. It's so easy to stay in touch - not as personal as a phone call, but who has time for that?

I've "found" people I went to youth group with and my best friend from high school (Hi Becky). My girlfriends from church are on there and it's really nice to keep up with what's going on with them throughout the day via quick blurbs on facebook. Girlfriends, you know who you are. And Lou, it's way cool to be able to chat with you on Facebook instead of the once or twice yearly "hey how you doing - my car needs an oil change."

So, who have you caught up with recently that you haven't seen, talked to, or even thought about in years?

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Cookie, Cookie, Cookie, starts with "C"

I was "tagged" by my friend Kay to name 10 things that start with whatever letter she assigns me. I got "C". Are there even 10 things that start with c?

Ok, here goes, in no particular order, mind you:

1. Cookies. I'm a big fan of homemade cookies, particularly chocolate chip, but I only indulge every so often, like at Christmas time.

ooh, look, lots of great c words in that first sentence!

2. Chocolate. Chocolate chips, chocolate bars, chocolate ice cream, chocolate as a drink. Yep, I like chocolate. Dark please. None of that milk chocolate stuff. It's just not right.

3. Christmas. It's my all-time favorite holiday.

4. Cricut. It's my die-cutting machine for scrapbooking. I use it a lot. The kids use it a lot.

5. Clementines. I'm not a big fan of fruit in general, but I do like clementines.

6. Cheese. why does my list include almost all food items?

7. Children. Of the older variety, like teens.

8. Church. I love my church and I love serving there. It's awesome!

9. Creating scrapbook pages and cards.

10. Cookie Monster. Love the cookie monster. They never should have replaced him with the Veggie Monster. That's just wrong. w.r.o.n.g.

If you want to play, leave a comment and I'll assign you a letter. No fair picking your own.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Renewing One's Mind

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he... Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)

The battle begins and ends in the mind. In order to change anything in your life, you have to WANT to change it. The first step to success is to change your way of thinking.

Easier said than done, but it can be done.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time

It's that time of year again when the world is overrun with boxes and boxes of limited time treats courtesy of the Girl Scouts.

I'm the "Cookie Mom" this year and am due to pick up 125 CASES of cookies in just a few hours. Hopefully, my troop moms will be here this afternoon to take some (hopefully lots) of cookies off my hands.

Our troop's goal is for each girl to sell 100 boxes of cookies. We have a booth sale coming up in a few weeks, so that should help get the cookies out of my garage.

So, anyone want to buy some yummy deliciousness in the form of GS cookies???

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Scripture Challenge and Girl Scouts

I fell really behind in my participation in the Scripture Challenge last year, but I did manage to jump back in at the end of the year and got another card done. Patter is running the Challenge again this year and I think I may join back in so I can get the project done. Besides my ATC Holder looks so lonely with just a few cards on it! Not to mention that I can never be in the Word enough!

The word I did was "birth"; here's my ATC card (front and back): I used Stickles to write the word "birth" and my Cat's Eye chalk inks to distress the background. I also used Stickles on the background. To get the effect of starlight, I wiped off the Stickles before it dried, leaving just the glittery goodness behind.




The next thing I worked on was a layout about Jaymie's "Bridge to Brownies" ceremony LAST June. She really enjoys being a Girl Scout - I hope she sees it through to the end. What an accomplishment that would be!

Right Now

I read this on another blog, and thought it would be a great thing to do myself. So, RIGHT NOW:

Right Now:

Out of my window: Barren trees; streets filled with parked cars, presumably that transported people to the courthouse next door; and sunlight pouring in through the south windows in my office. It will be sunset soon.

I am wearing: Khaki slacks, a green T-shirt, and black duster-type sweater, and blush on my cheeks.

I am hearing: The hum of my computer and the clickety-clack of the keys as I type. For once, it's quiet in here!

I am thinking: About all the things I need to get done tonight at home - laundry, dinner dishes, and hopefully some scrapbooking!



I am thankful for: A warm home, a wonderful family, a great job, friends who are always there for me, and my faith.

I am creating: Scrapbook pages for Christmas 2008 and working on my eldest's baby book (he is almost 16 LOL).

I am going: to answer the phone that just rang, and hopefully make it to Jo-Ann Fabric or Michael's tonight - I need some new adhesive.

I am hoping: that Bible study goes well tomorrow night!

I am reading: The Earthly Life of Jesus by Armando Chaves (it's in Portuguese, so it's an extra challenging read!)

Around the house: No idea since I'm at work. I imagine that right about now it is starting to bubble with activity since the kids are starting to trickle in from school.

One of my favorite things: Having the house entirety to myself for a day so that I can do whatever I want to do, even if that means doing absolutely nothing but sitting and thinking. I can't remember the last time I actually got to experience this, though. It's been years. On a more reasonable, attainable note, one of my favorite things is hanging out with my hub and my kids.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Get through Bible study on Wednesday, Brownie Girl Scout meeting and grocery shopping on Thursday, teens on Friday night, pick up a huge shipment of Girl Scout cookies and then hang around the house for the other moms to pick up on Saturday, church on Sunday. Somewhere in there I have to get some cleaning done, too. Oh yeah, and sleep!

How about you? What's happening right now?

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Back To Normal

After fantastic Christmas and New Year celebrations, life is finally (I think) settling back down at my house. I have gotten the Christmas decorations down, the tree is at the curb for pick-up on trash day, and I have cleaned, swept, and vacuumed. I was hoping to get some play time (aka scrapbooking) today, but it was more important to me to clean my house up. It's not exactly where I want it to be (it never is), but it will have to be good enough.

My brother flew in for the holidays (he is currently pursuing his doctorate at CalTech (Pasadena) and it was such a great visit! I can honestly say that this past Christmas and New Year's celebrations were the best ever. We laughed, talked, and just enjoyed one another's company. New Year's Eve was quiet - we spent it with my brother as we were pounded with a major snow storm. New Year's Day was spent with friends from church. We had an open house here and it was awesome to just hang out with everyone. We played Catch Phrase - that was a blast! The young people (aka teenagers and a few of the young at heart) played Rock Band on the Wii ALL AFTERNOON and well into the night! The little ones were so good, too - they managed to play together without any great incidents requiring adult supervision.

We were truly blessed this past holiday season - God is so good! He has blessed us with a loving family and great friends who are just like family. Here's some highlights from our New Year's Day event: