Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Tuesday's List - Inside My Purse

I decided to participate in Tuesday's List, hosted by Jessica at love from texas. This week she's asking "what's in your purse?" I've done something like this before here, but the contents have changed a bit (but not much I realize).

So, here's my bag (same bag as before):

I love the colors of this purse, but I realize that I'm too hard on them and I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to need a different kind of purse. Anyways, onto what's inside:

~ My wallet
~ Bag Balm...never leave home without it
~ Keys (office and home)
~ My new $5 ESV Bible...it's so compact
~ Pens...I'm the friend who always has a pen
~ Cough drops
~ Receipts (I really need to find an organization system for receipts)
~ Gum...Extra Spearmint
~ Checkbook
~ BSF notes
~ Candy. It was given to Jamison at church and I took it so she wouldn't eat it all at once (sometimes I end up throwing it away...shh, don't tell)
~ Post it tabs
~ Medicine
~ Cell phone

Random Ramblings

~ I have a cold! Usually colds don't bother me, but ever since I had bronchitis when I was pregnant with Caleb I always get nasty coughs when I have a cold. It started on Sunday and last night I didn't sleep well because of all the coughing. I am taking Mucinex which is helping...oh and cough drops. But did you know there's a limit on how many cough drops you can take...you can't just pop them like candy.

~ Rondell just found out that one of his childhood friends is in ICU at OSU Medical Center. Rondell was very upset when he heard the news and was even more upset when he went to visit Brian and he was not conscious.

Brian and Rondell are the type of friends who can go years without talking and then when they do it's just like old times. A few years ago Brian had a kidney transplant and was doing very well, but now there's something going on with is lungs. Rondell went back to the hospital last night and things look better which puts Rondell at ease.

One thing that I thought was sweet about the emotional evening...as I was getting ready to leave for Bible Study I told Jamison to take good care of her dad. Later Rondell told me that he had fallen asleep while Jamison was watching a show (Caleb was already asleep) and she woke him up to tell him it was time for her bath. When she saw that he was still sleeping she somehow got a glass out of the cabinet and got him a glass of water...how sweet! He said that it did help. **Because of all of this we didn't put the film on the door, but plan to tonight...it's that last thing that needs to be done.

~ Dear Lost: I really hope you have some answers for me tonight. You've been saying that this is the season for answers (being the last one and all), but for some reason you're leaving me with more questions than answers.

~ 2 1/2 months till Florida!

Monday, March 1, 2010

All Things Loved in February

1. Spending lots of time with my honey. Rondell and I were able to have quality time two weekends in a row. This past weekend we went to dinner and a movie (we saw Cop Out and unless you like hearing the f-word every other sentence you might wanna pass on this one).

2. Valentine's Day. While I wasn't able to do the things that I would have liked (since my kids decided to have the worst stomach flu EVER that week) I still love this day. Missing out on things made me realize how I need to start planning earlier next year so that things will be prepared and in place.

3. Going to my sewing class. I was one of only two people in the class so the instructor had time to give us a lot of information and really help us learn our machines. I had so much fun practicing and I hope that it's the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

This post was inspired my G&D.

The Simple Woman's Daybook - Monday, March 1, 2010

For today...

Outside my window...
cloudy. BUT things are looking up. I checked the weather report this morning and it's calling for sunshine and temps 40 and higher by the end of the week.

I am thinking...about Florida and how I can't wait to go. The vacation is a bit away but I've already started a list of things we need to do beforehand (like getting new tires) and things we're going to take with us.

I am thankful...that Rondell puts up with me when I'm grumpy (I was grumpy yesterday but I'm better now).

I am praying...for obedience and motivation.

I am reading...So Long Insecurity...I really like it.

I am creating...I'm going to try and make a headband this week. I've seen a few tutorials and I think I'm ready.

From the kitchen...Last night I made meatloaf and mac and cheese, but I don't have any plans further than that. We'll probably have frozen pizza one night and maybe baked ziti. We do have some break and bake oatmeal raisin cookies that I plan on making tonight.

Around the house...where do the weekends go? There are so many things I want to do but for some reason the weekend escapes me. I need to make it a priority to go through the kids' clothes this week. We did get started on the front door!

A few plans for the rest of the week...Finish the front door...I bought everything needed to complete the project and took down the ugly curtain. Last night Rondell painted the door and tonight we'll put up the film. I plan to have it done tonight so I can show you guys tomorrow. At the end of the week I'm going to my sister's gymnastics meet here in town. Jamison doesn't have school so she's going too...and Aunt Roni!

If you'd like to participate in the Daybook entries go here.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Thanking God on Friday

~ I am thankful that our computer is FIXED!!! Rondell wrapped it up yesterday and let out a big Whoo Hoo when it was all done. Now I can get back to my regularly scheduled blogging!

~ I am thankful that Rondell has the night off tonight. Jamison is having a carnival at her school and it's nice that we'll all be able to go as a family. I love family time.

~ I am thankful that Jamison and I were able to have a heart to heart talk earlier in the week and that she was able to express some of her feelings to me. I pray that we're always able to talk like that and that she always feels comfortable coming to me about anything.

~ I am thankful for the motivation to get the things done that I talked about here.


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Love Your Home, Again

Rondell and I currently live in our first home. Of course when we started looking for a house we had a list of the things we were looking for, like a basement (not necessary finished), 3 bedrooms, and of course a kitchen window.

We looked at about 15 houses before we found our current home, and it was love at first sight. As soon as we pulled up I knew I was going to love it...it had a two car garage, 2 1/2 baths (that was a plus), the yard was well manicured, and the backyard was huge and gorgeous. I remember sitting in the living room at our first showing and telling my Realtor to make it happen (not like in a super bossy way but in a "I really want this house" way).

When we had our home inspection our house passed with flying colors...it was obvious that the home was well taken care of and maintained well.

...and then we moved in! Rondell and I are not handy and honestly don't have a lot of knowledge on how to keep up a home. So, after almost four years we're ready to get serious because we love our house and we need to show it that we do. We've started making a list of all of the things that need to be done or that we would like to do to give our house a little TLC.

Over the weekend we rehung a few pictures. I know this sounds so small but one picture was behind the closet door and every time you would open the door it would knock the picture and make it crooked (one of my pet peeves!). Finally I took it down and moved it over just a bit (how simple was that!). This time we hung it just on a nail because before when it was hanging on a picture hanger you could see 1/2 the hanger (not cute), as well as another picture that had the same issue. But just those small changes got us motivated.

One of the first things we are going to do is change the front door a bit. Right now we have two long way rectangle windows in our front door. On the inside of the door there is a curtain that covers the windows...nice for privacy but the curtain AND the curtain rods have seen better days. We're going to do something like this:

There is film you can buy to cover the windows to make them frosty for privacy. This way we can take down the tired curtain and still have privacy. Then we'll repaint the inside of the door. Small, yet something that will make a nice difference.

The next thing we're going to do is change the flag pole bracket or just take ours down and repaint it. Right now ours has rusted nails and the rust has bled onto the bracket. Soon it will look like this (all white with no rust):

Another rather advanced (for us) plan is to change out the lighting in our kitchen. Right now we have two ceilings lights like this:

Not cute! I want something like this over my sink:


And something like this for the other fixture:

I really hope that it's not too hard...we'll see!

We're also going to paint our kitchen walls and cabinets. I saw a good tutorial here about repainting the kitchen cabinets. We painted the wall Fun Yellow by Sherwin Williams and man is it yellow. I love yellow and have always wanted a yellow kitchen but it needs to be a softer yellow. The cabinets are already a creamy white and we'll keep them that way, but they are chipped and just need a little TLC.

So, there are just a few things we want to do in the next few weeks (believe me, the list is much longer than this. With that, over the next few weeks I'll be showing you our process of falling in love with our home, again.

Are you in love with your home?

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

An Award Here, A Tag There

Two bloggers, Michelle and Tanya, gave me the sweetest award last week. Tanya and I have been blogging buddies for a while now and Michelle is a newer blogging friend...both great ladies with beautiful blogs (I can see why they got the award in the first place).

Thank you ladies for this great (and flattering) award!

The Rules for accepting this award are.....

1.Thank the link to the person that gave you the award.
2.Pass this award on to 15 bloggers you've recently discovered & whom you think are fantastic.
3.Contact said Blogs to let them know they've won.
4.State 7 Things about yourself!

I don't have 15, but I have some bloggers that I've recently discovered (and one who is a real life friend!) that I believe have beautiful blogs:

Lyndsey - My IRL friend Lyndsey takes some amazing photos.
Georgia - Miss Georgia (I love her name!) has just started blogging. So far she is doing a beautiful job.
Kim - Kim is a blogger who first posted on my blog and then we discovered we go to the same church...small world.
Jessica - Jessica is a blog I discovered recently. She has some amazing recipes.

7 Things About Me (I thought I'd pick somethings to share for people who have recently discovered my blog):

1. Pizza is my favorite food and Coke is my favorite drink.
2. I love notebooks and have many at one time.
3. My favorite color is yellow and I love sunflowers.
4. I love to read, but I don't make nearly enough time for it.
5. One of my dreams was to swim with a dolphin and I was able to do that when we went to Florida two years ago...AMAZING!!!
6. I recently discovered Stampin Up! and I now love making cards.
7. I am a believer in Christ!

Onto my tag...my IRL friend Lyndsey tagged me with a neat idea. I am supposed to post about a particular song that instantly takes me back to a specific place or moment in my life.

Well what comes to mind is Eric Roberson's CD Left. I don't have one particular song, but this entire CD makes me think of our first trip to Florida in 2008. It was our first family vacation and we were beyond excited. We listened to this CD a lot on the drive down to Florida and while driving around Destin. This was an amazing and very memorable trip for us and that CD brings back those fond memories. It was such a beautiful location and we truly enjoyed every minute of the beach, the pool, the seafood and the relaxation! Definitely a special time in my life (and a good CD!).

If you have a song, share!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Simple Woman's Daybook - TUESDAY, February 23, 2010

For today...

Outside my window...
gloomy. And let me just tell you that I'm tired of it! I can tell that I have a touch (or more) of the winter blues from lack of sun. On Friday it was sunny and I was in a great mood...but now it's gloomy and I feel blah. I'm looking forward to our sunny weekend!

I am hoping...that our computer is fixed soon. Not being able to blog regularly is hard because it has truly become my outlet. I have met some really great friends through blogging and without a computer it's hard to stay connected (ha, ha). There are things I want to share with you all (like Caleb's big boy bed, or my Valentine's social with our Small Group, or little projects that Rondell and I are trying to get done around the house, or cards that I've made...). I hope to be back to my regularly scheduled blogging by the end of the week.

I am thinking...about all of the cool things I want to make now that I have finally learned how to use my sewing machine! I went to a class yesterday and I loved it. I can't wait to play around and really get sewing.

I am thankful...for conversations with my daughter. I was able to talk to her last night and really get to the heart of some of her sensitive issues.

I am praying...for peace.

I am reading...So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore. So far so good.

I am creating...I have some cards to make and I also want to try and make a headband like this over the weekend.

From the kitchen...last night I made taco pockets (I forgot to get the information about where I found it...sorry), potato soup, pigs in a blanket, and meatloaf and macaroni and cheese (I'm going to try Angie's meatloaf recipe that I found here).

Around the house...Caleb finally got a twin bed, Rondell and I priced mailbox posts and realized they're not that expensive (ours is pretty worn and wobbly), we decided to paint the inside of our front door and we still need to clean our carpets (any suggestions on a good cleaning liquid?).

A few plans for the rest of the week...organize the kids' clothes and bag clothes that need to be donated, make a few cards for friends, go to Jamison's school's carnival night and then on Sunday we are going to see my cousin who just had a baby girl.

How is your day...please share.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Thanking God on Friday

~ I am thankful to today's sunshine. It has been a rough couple of weeks, so this is a nice break. I know it's going to snow more next week, but for right now I'm enjoying the sun shining!

~ I am thankful the Google. As I'm reading through the Bible I have a ton of questions and things that I just don't understand. But, usually I can enter my question or the topic in Google and get some answers. Today I was able to get a map of the location of the 12 Tribes of Israel and it has made my reading much easier to follow.

~ I am thankful for my friend Tonya. She always calls right when I need to talk...seriously, at the exact moment that I need her. Has to be a God thing!

And I'm thankful for my friend Lyndsey who is always available for some good advice!

~ I am thankful for answers to prayer...now I just have to be obedient about those answers!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The Simple Woman's Daybook - TUESDAY, February 16, 2010

For today...

Outside my window...
Snowy, snowy. We just had our 3rd snow storm of the month and we are currently at a Level 2 Snow Emergency (Level 3 is the highest). It was a pretty scary drive into work today, but I made it safely. Whew!

I am hoping...that our computer gets fixed soon...it has a virus. That's why I haven't been around in a while...I've had no access to a computer and it's been killing me. Rondell thinks he knows how to fix it so hopefully I'll be back fully soon!

I am thankful...for all of you! Remember my giveaway...I haven't forgotten. Jenn won! I would show you pictures of the drawing (by my lovely assistant Jamison), but I can't download them to my sick computer, sniff. Jenn, email me your info and I'll get your goodies in mail this weekend!

I am thinking...about summer and how I wish it was here.

I am praying...for safety.

I am reading...Deuteronomy. It has been a little bit of a challenge getting through Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, but Deuteronomy is a nice overview and so it has been really helpful to read.

From the kitchen...nothing planned. We need to go to the store badly but because of sickness and now the weather we haven't had a chance. I did make banana pudding on Sunday for Valentine's Day and it was a hit. I'll share the recipe I used later this week.

Around the house...I'm trying to clean and get the house back to normal.

One of my favorite things...Valentine's Day. I was not able to do all that I wanted for Valentine's Day this year, but maybe I'll catch some good after holiday sales...trip to Hobby Lobby anyone?

A few plans for the rest of the week...Clean, buy Caleb a bed (yes, he's still in a crib) and I'm supposed to go to a Stampin Up event that my demonstrator is having...I hope she's still having it.

Do you have a Daybook?

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Just A Hello!

I've been battling two really sick kiddies. I think they are on the mend... But I wanted to say hello and let you know that's why I haven't really been around. I will still be picking a winner for my giveaway (enter here), so if you haven't entered now is the time. I will announce the winner tomorrow in my Thanking God on Friday post!

Hugs!

OH! And sorry for the strange setting with photobucket. I'm not completely sure what's going on but it has to do with my designer who is having fun at Disney. I'm sure it'll be fixed soon.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Tackle it Tuesday - Kitchen Cabinets

So, I told you guys that I'm trying to do these tackles. I haven't completed my list, but basically I am making a list of everything that needs to be done around the house and I'm trying to tackle it in an order that's manageable...basically I'm not ready to tackle the garage right now because it's freezing outside nor am I ready to tackle our master closet because we'll have to put some money into shelving in there (not in the budget at the moment).

My first tackle was my kitchen cabinets. I like to have a place for everything and everything in its place...I think it helps when you're cooking and when you have to make your grocery list.

Here's what they looked like:


Yup, that's it...we don't have a lot of cabinets in our house...it's a smaller house (one that I LOVE!). But for me things were out of order and there was stuff tossed everywhere.

We also have a made up pantry on the door going down to our basement. Oh how I would love to have a real pantry. This holds cans, jars, pasta and overflow items...as you can see we're a little low.


I started with my spices. I like to have them divided, spices on one side and baking spices on the other. I pulled everything out first and checked to see if things were expired (like those two containers of baking powder). I also found this:

Why do I forget every Thanksgiving that I already have sage?

I put the less-frequently used spices in the back...I love those Blazin' Blends but that's for the summer when we have burgers and steak on the grill. We use Old Bay when we're in Florida...which is where I got that huge container of salt (we didn't pack salt...we will this year).

Then of course I had to have my most favorite spices in the front...who can live without these:

What spices are in the front of your cabinet?

Does everyone have a bag like this in their cabinets?:

My plan is to buy a container to hold these in instead of a ziplock. But you never know when that Taco Bell sauce will come in handy!

Here's one side of the spice shelf:

And the other side:

These are the two shelves above the spice shelf. They basically hold baking items. You would think we bake a lot and we don't.

Here's the kids cabinet as I like to think of it. It holds things that the kids need for lunch, snack and breakfast (we're out of oatmeal I discovered). I keep the bread there too because when it was on top of the toaster oven the bag kept getting melted...wonder how that happened??? Oh and note to self...only buy JIF.

That's it! I don't have an after of the "pantry" because it pretty much looks the same. Now I can see where things are better and tell what we are running low on or are out of...like oatmeal.

Happy Tackling...

Monday, February 8, 2010

The Simple Woman's Daybook - Monday, February 8

For today...

Outside my window...
cold, cold, cold and over a foot of snow. While I try and stay positive I have come to the conclusion that I just don't like winter. At least the sun is shining and the sky is blue!

I am thinking...about my kids and how I can't believe that I forgot two very good friends' birthdays.

I am thankful...for all of you (so be sure to check out this post).

I am praying...for my Small Group.

I am reading...The Bible. I've decided to participate in the "Bible in 90 days" challenge. Right now I'm on day 8...in Leviticus.

I am creating...Valentine's Day cards and candy boxes. Jamison and I have a date this week with some Valentine's Day paper to make cards for her school friends.

From the kitchen...this weekend we made homemade pizza for the first time. It didn't turn out the way we would have liked, but now we know what to do for next time. Anybody have a great pizza dough recipe you want to share with your good friend Kelli?

Around the house...chaos, or at least that's the way it feels. We were snowed in most of the weekend and we took advantage & had some great family time. We played the Wii a lot! It was a great time for us, but the house suffered...at least the dishes are clean!

One of my favorite things...Jamison's enthusiasm about going to church. Some days it's her excitement that keeps me motivated.

A few plans for the rest of the week...make Valentine's Day cards, pick my next house tackle (I'll show you my cabinets tomorrow), and plan a Valentine's Day social that I am semi-hosting (anyone have any fun Valentine's Day games that aren't too cheesy?).

Come on...fill in your daybook!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Thanking God on Friday (Saturday Edition)

~ I am thankful that I have a husband...

who will go out in this...

to shovel and play with his kiddies...

and help his Princess build the best snowman EVER!

...and then come inside and handle the vomit that came out of Caleb. Usually Rondell is at Best Buy on Friday nights but by the grace of God he was called off last night because of the snow. Whew (because as you know I don't do vomit)!

~ I am thankful for a slow and relaxing week. I'm trying to simplify my life by trying not to feel like I need to fill in every page of my planner. This allowed me to do some very simple things that I don't make time to do. I just need to sit back and enjoy my family...and do a craft/project or two!

~ I am thankful for all of you! So, I've decided to do a small giveaway. Leave a comment on this post and I will send you a few of my favorite things. Nothing special, just hello or why you like my blog. I'll pick a winner on Thursday and announce on next Friday's TGOF.

Hugs!