What Have I Done??

As you may recall, unless you're fairly new to this blog, I made a list for my 40th year of goals and nuggets of goodness I'd like to achieve. Some are whimsical and totally for the fun of it, some are more practical and good for my health and well-being and some are life-long dreams.

It has been almost two months since the blessed 40th birthday and my posting of the List. I thought I'd update you on what I've accomplished thus far.

*Become more organized: Happily I have rearranged my front room, which also happens to be my craft stash area, it's much more organized, cleaner and I like the layout. It is a small, narrow room that once used to be a porch until someone decided to turn it into a room. Sometimes it's a challenge to keep it clean, organized, comfy and suitable to be the first room you see in my house.

*Take an unexpected fun trip: I did this, as you might recall, back in May. I went to Whidbey to visit my lovely family and had a truly wonderful time and it was quite unexpected.

*Be more spontaneous: I am really trying to be more random and not worrying so much about planning every little detail of every day. Instead, I am trying to allow myself to enjoy everything I'm doing and not feel as though, I've got to rush to the next thing, simply because it's on my list.

*Add some low-lights to my hair: Wow, I did this too, while in Whidbey. My sister is a cosmetologist and fabulous at it. She did a bit of low-lighting on my hair and I've had many compliments...thank you, thank you!! Weirdly, I didn't know how to spell cosmetologist, I've always thought I was a good speller, but what do ya know, I was wrong. It is an odd word. You'd think they would study stars, not do hair/nails/make-up!! Hmmmm.....

*Help plan my daughter's wedding: Went dress shopping with her and we're working on details with her almost daily. Can I just say..Holy Cow!! Oh and more about this later! :)

*Enjoy every day, every moment, stop thinking about what's next and focus on now: I've been much better at this recently, as I've realized that today is what I have right now and I can't and don't want to spend my day worrying about tomorrow. But I will blog more about this later, as I have received a wonderful little book I want to share with you.

Well, that's about it so far....still working on that 40 lbs. thing, darn it! I am getting there, one small ounce at a time. Did you notice I updated my weight on the sidelines? It hasn't changed, only the date did, but at least it isn't more. Until next post, my dearies, always look
on the bright side of life!!

Craft It Forward

Good times and goodies to be had!!

This is a simple idea that is basically like Pay It Forward.

If you love to randomly receive nuggets of goodness in

your mailbox from bloggers who make handy little crafts, than this is for you!

The rules are simple:

1. Make a groovy little comment to this post...such as: what fabulous thing did you do for the 4th of July, or what is your favorite handmade item to make with your own two hands. The first 3 sweeties to post and then Craft it Forward, meaning to commit to doing the same thing on their blog, will randomly receive a handmade goody from me. Please leave me a way to contact you, such as your email address and as soon as I see you've posted to your blog, I will get in touch and find out how to send you a bit of fun!!

2. Remember, it doesn't have to be a hand knit sweater, you're not committing yourself to 50 hours of labor to do this. Make something simple and sweet, no need to overwhelm yourself. Just have fun with it. I'm really looking forward to it, I think it's going to be fun and I have a few ideas in mind already! Hooray!

Hope to hear from you soon!!

Thank you, Handmade by Jess for the fun idea!!

BTW: Our 4th of July was fantastic. We have a traditional celebration every year. We go out to the lake and reserve a private area with swings, a stairway down to the dock and a ramada with picnic tables. We decorate it with fun red, white and blue decor and my mother always brings some festive buttons to pin on, as well as, groovy necklaces with stars. Everyone brings an abundance of food and fireworks. The kids swim in the lake (some of them fully clothed) and some remember to bring a swimsuit and a towel. Others go for a little row around the lake in the canoe (me and my husband and yes my arms are sore). We swing, play games, play music, chatter on with people we see about once a year and then when the sky begins to darken, we set off the fireworks, sparklers...anything we can light!! :D It's been a wonderful tradition that we all look forward to every year. This year turned out to be especially wonderful, because it rained all morning and cooled everything off. What a blessing!!

I'm rambling now! Hope to hear from you dearies, I can't wait to make something especially for you, it'll be soooo fun!!

Carrots

Encouragement

Encourage: To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten. To give support to; foster. To stimulate.

This is the definition from my old dictionary, actually it was my husband's dictionary from college, but that's beside the point.

I love looking up words and seeing their true meanings. I like that this word basically means to give courage to another person. To help them to boldly step out and go where no man has gone before, or at least to encourage them not to eat another 2 lb. bag of M&M's. (who me, I would never do such a thing)

I was reading this morning and came across this little blip.

"All of us need encouragement-somebody to believe in us. To reassure and reinforce us. To help us pick up the pieces and go on. To provide us with increased determination in spite of the odds.

When you stop to analyze the concept, "encourage" takes on new meaning. It's the act of inspiring others with renewed courage, spirit, hope.

The beautiful part about encouragement is this: Anybody can do it. "

Strengthening Your Grip by Charles Swindoll

So today, I want to encourage you my friends. Go out there and go boldly. Stick to what you've begun or start again, if needed. Look back over your list of goals you've written down and have desired to achieve and begin today to achieve them. Jump back on your exercise or diet plan, it doesn't matter that you ate 10 lbs. of food at the 4th of July BBQ. Today is a new day, a new week. You can do it and so can I. Call your girlfriend and head out for a walk. Take your kids to the park and swing with them or go to the pool and do a few laps. Eat fruit. Watermelon is everywhere. And while you're out there, encourage those around you. It feels good!!

Have a wonderful, blissful, productive day!!!

Carrots of Courage

A Good Day!

Yesterday was a good day!

1. I took my boys to go visit their friends for the week, they'll come back Friday. Their leaving isn't what makes it good, I just enjoyed the 2 hour drive with them, they're really funny and I am happy they get to go hang out with good friends, they need that.

2. I went to the library for a presentation by a friend of mine on How to Illustrate A Children's Book. It was awesome and inspiring and reminded me that I truly desire to achieve that in my lifetime. Tim Raglin is the author/illustrator of several books, including one of my faves... Uncle Mugsy and the Terrible Twins of Christmas. His illustrations are phenomenal. You can check him out at timraglin.com. He rocks!

3. I got to go hang out with my friend Jackie, who is also rather inspiring and is always working on some amazing art project. She is the one with the fantastic blocks. I love them and she has designed a new set. We had a great time chatting, oh and she's the one who made the supremely, divine chocolate cake....yum, yum!

4. I came home and got to hang out with my daughter and chat with her about various happenings in our day and wedding plans for the future. It was lovely to spend time with her, these days it's a rare treat. I thoroughly enjoy her company and miss the days of her reading to me, while I knit some random item. Each moment with her is cherished.

5. And lastly, Marie called me. We haven't had time to chat lately, so it was a wonderful surprise to see her number pop up on my caller i.d. yay! As always, she makes me laugh and encourages me in everything. Friends are a true blessing. What would we do without them??

Hope you have a truly inspired and lovely day!

Carrots with a cherry on top!!

Bicycle, bicycle....I want to ride my bicycle.

Do you love riding your bike? I haven't gotten out on mine in awhile, but my son encouraged me the other day and we pulled them out, dusted them off, pumped up the semi-flatish tires and off we went. Bike riding is a kick....in the bootee. My bum was sore for a few days, I'm pretty sure there is a bruise on both cheeks. Bicycle seats (I believe) are made for small bums, not fat bottom girls that make the rockin' world go round....like me!! I considered buying a couple of rolls of Charmin and wrapping them around the bicycle seat or at the very least stuffing wads of it in my pants, (this always works in the commercials) but I've yet to try it out. At any rate, if you want to work on your buns and thighs, I highly recommend riding your bike, at least every other day. My legs were so wobbly after only ten minutes, I knew it must be working, the exercise thing, that is!

And now a story!!

About 4 or 5 years ago, my kids and I liked to get out and ride our bikes down the nearby dirt road. I love these kinds of adventures. I say adventure, because seriously, me + wheels = adventure. In all of my memories of bicycle riding, I don't think I've ever been 100% confident in my riding, or stopping. I attribute this to the fact that I'm rather short and my feet don't always easily reach the ground when I sit down. Anyway, back to my story.....

so, we were out one day for a leisurely stroll down the country lane, when we realized a car was coming. Being the good mom that I am, I quickly motioned for everyone to move to the side of the road and wait for the car to pass (my kids were younger then). Of course, I pulled over too, but somehow in my anxiousness and the sudden awareness that a car was coming and we were on the spot, my bike and I (completely out of the blue) fell over. The pressure of knowing I was being watched was a bit too much for me, I guess. But to make matters worse and even more humiliating, the person backed up (which means they saw me fall over) to ask me if I was okay.

Of course, when she rolls down the window I see that she's a cute young lady, which seemed to make it even more humiliating, although a hunky young guy would've taken the cake. I had no real reason for falling over, so I sat there stunned and not knowing what to say, probably with a "duh" kind of look on my face. She must've realized I was alright, because she left. I wonder how many people she told that day. We live in a smallish town and there aren't that many extremely short redheads, that I know of.

Anyway, I survived that bit of humiliation and I still get out and ride my bicycle. I know it burns

a lot of calories, which means that extremely rich, yummy, homemade chocolate cake I ate today could be burned off tomorrow morning. Goodness knows, I don't need to carry that around in my saddle bags. So, my goal is to ride my bike more often...hopefully every other day and become more expertly at it, or a little less clumsy anyway. If you have a bike and it isn't 400 degrees outside, I encourage you to jump on and go for a bit of a ride. Seize the Day!!!

Carrots on Wheels

Cat Tales

This is Foo Foo Kitty. He is our indoor/outdoor cat, sometimes he can't make up his mind where he wants to be. We raised him from a wee kitty, even bottle fed him every few hours. We love him to pieces, even though he is fairly odd. My daughter and I have a theory about him. We're pretty certain, he was meandering through the woods one day (in human form) and happened upon a grumpy witch, who then cursed him and turned him into a cat, until by some off chance we can come up with the right words to say to turn him back. We believe he does the odd things he does, because he is desperately trying to communicate with us and give us some sort of sign.

He does a lot of non-catlike things and many human type things. He's klutzy, misses furniture entirely when jumping for it, he plays the piano, loves to go swimming......in fact, he loves water.

He will stand in the sink while I'm trying to do dishes, sit in the shower while we're in it and he plays with his water. He has a water dish, which we try to keep filled, but that never seems to be what he wants. He prefers water straight from the tap. He knows how to push the button on the Culligan machine and he gets up on the sink for a drink. In the mornings, while my hub gets ready for work, Foo Foo keeps him company and my hub puts a bit of water in the bathroom sink for him. Last night my daughter came home and saw the cat drinking out of the toilet. She thought that was gross, so she put a bit of water in the sink and came in to say hello. Apparently, he's been paying attention....while she was out of the room, Foo Foo decided just one sink wasn't enough, so he figured out how to turn on all of the faucets....FULL BLAST!! In a matter of minutes, that adds up to a very large amount of water. When she returned to brush her teeth, the bathroom had become Niagara Falls. We have three drawers. The first one filled with water, then overflowed into the next, then the next one. There was about an inch of water on the floor. Every towel in the house had to be used to mop it all up. And the cat, nowhere to be found, he magically disappeared for the evening. I did see him once today, but I think he's feeling a bit guilty or maybe he thinks it's really funny and doesn't want me to see him laughing.

The moral to my story:

Don't let your cat see you turn on the faucet, he's smarter than you think!

Are you a Gooser??

I certainly am. I grew up in a family of goosers. Every time you walk by someone you give their little cheeks a squeeze and I don't mean the cheeks on their face. I only write about this, because this morning I noticed, that every time I passed by my teenage son, he was slightly bent over, checking out something on his brother's computer and I couldn't help myself, I did it without even thinking, it's a reflex. (and probably not one he appreciates, although he didn't even flinch)

This led me to another thought process. Tight buns!! They're highly overrated. If you have nice, tight buns, there is nothing to grab on to, no squeezability, nothing to pad you when you fall down or sit upon a knee. This is good news, for those of us who dread doing an overwhelming amount of squats, so that we can sport a nice pair of clenched cheeks, that look highly unnatural.

I mean afterall, I believe we were given a little extra padding there for a reason. Even if that reason is simply, to be goosed by those who love you and adore you, no matter how cheeky you are.