Sunshine!

The sun is shining bright this cold morning and it is glorious!

Sunshine is a balm to the soul.....

Keep your face always towards the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.

Walt Whitman

If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine.

Morris West

The sun lay like a friendly arm across her shoulder.

Margorie Kinnan Rawlings

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Even on a cloudy day the sun is shining somewhere!

Author Unknown

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.

Anthony J. D'Angelo

2 Samuel 23:4

He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

Have a blessed and sunny day!

Downward Facing Dog

So far so good on being busy this week.....of course it is just Tuesday.

Yesterday I gave blood....and it took most of the day because they were short handed.

So by the time I got home, fed the animals, washed some clothes and cooked supper my day was done.

Today I worked on cleaning out our closet......this will be a two or three day process.  I informed my husband that it would be oh so helpful it we slept in another room tonight since all the clothing was piled up on our bed.  Me thinks he is not for that idea...:)

I took a little break because it was so sunny and warm outside and decided to get in some exercise.

I walked for 20 minutes to the back of our property and when I got back I decided I would finish it up with Jillian Michaels Yoga.

Oh my......ohhhhhhh......myyyyy.....

I am overweight and really really out of shape and this was the first day of exercising in a while so it was not a pretty sight.

At one point she said "your breath should match your movements..slow and easy." and I thought if my breath matched with all my herky jerky movements.....falling over and getting back up.....I would be hyperventilating!

Oh wait......I am....:)

Sambo the cat was mesmerized by me.....I think she thought "Is momma having a seizure?"

Haha....look at the blurry picture.....my arms were shaking so hard at this point.

And then the dog came over and said "hey look, I can do downward facing dog."

But I did it all!  I was so pumped that I got my juicer out and juiced up some spinach and apples.

It was......not......good.....

But I was fired up and thinking "Ok...this weight loss thing has finally clicked with me!"

But no.....the clicking sound was me opening the Pringles can...I ate half the can and a ham sandwich...:(

So now it's time for bed, tornadoes are headed our way, I still need a bath, the juicer has to be cleaned up and my bed is covered in clothes.

Was this a good day or not?

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings....:)

Get Busy!

Well it was a busy weekend and I loved it. 

 This past week I was in a lazy, sorry, blah mood and the more I laid around the worse I got.

I tried to break out of the funk but I just couldn't...I don't know why.

  My college son called and told me he was bringing friends home and that put a fire under me. 

Groceries had to be bought, sheets washed, floors cleaned and a whole lot of cooking needed to be done.

You would not believe what these boys can eat.

  I spend the whole weekend cooking a meal, washing the dishes and planning and cooking the next meal.  

But this momma's not complaining.  It makes me feel good.

In fact, not having a lot to do is probably part of my motivation problem.

I definitely get more done under pressure.

You dream of lying around and relaxing and reading or watching t.v. and that's o.k. after a hard days work but without the work, lying around makes you feel bad.

So I'm back on my horse and planning to get a lot done this week!

The beds will be made and the floors will be mopped.

I will  pick out the perfect color to lighten up my living room.

Tomorrow I plan to go to our local school and give blood.

I'm a little scared.......I'm scared the results will come back "fat" positive......:)

So, busy, busy, busy is what I hope to be this week.

PROVERBS 13:4

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Be Still....

The Conversation

Young wives in training....pay close attention:

The Conversation
Me: So hubby what are you going to do this weekend? (secretly knowing this is the last weekend of hunting season)

Hubby: Oh i don't know...probably hunt.  Why?   (you see how we play this out)

Me:  (pitiful looking) Well I just thought we could go somewhere and spend some time together. (secretly inside I'm saying yipee!!
        he's hunting all weekend and I can shop and watch movies on tv and not cook..yea!!)

Hubby:  I promise I will make it up to you..we will go somewhere as soon as hunting season is over.

Me: (still pitiful) well....ok......   (shhh....don't tell..:)))

Carrots, Eggs or Coffee?

• Grandmother Says... Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee; "Which are you?"
  
  A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.
  
  Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.
  
  In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?"
  
  "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
  
  She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft.She then asked her to take an egg and break it.
  
  After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
  
  Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked. "What's the point,grandmother?"
  
  Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity--boiling water--but each reacted differently.
  
  The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
  
  The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.
  
  "Which are you?" she asked her granddaughter.
  
  "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
  

Author Unknown

Twilight!

I looked in the rear view mirror of my car yesterday and almost wrecked......I saw a wrinkled face woman in the mirror.

  Heavens to Betsy it was me!! 

 You see, my house is dark and I like it that way especially now that I have seen what is uncovered in the light.

  So what am I going to do? 

 Just don't ever let my husband or my friends see me in daylight.

  The vampire movies are popular now.....I could tell them I am researching vampires for a book....yeah, that's it.

Just look at that skin....disgusting!

Oh well.....thank goodness my husband is a little older than me (a good tip for you girls) and he can't see very well anymore so maybe, just maybe, he can see me in the afternoon.

Now how can I cover up being overweight?  hmmmm.....

Attention Skinny People!

Attention: All skinny people who don't want to be skinny,  football linemen, boxers who want to move up a class, models, and celebrities playing the role of a normal woman.

This is how you gain weight.

First, declare that you are going on a diet.

Next, wake up in the morning and say you are going to "fast" that day. Just water all day.

Then, around 7 a.m., you will decide to "fast" and only drink coffee and water.

At 8 a.m. you decide any liquid will do. That's it...a liquid diet.

10 a.m. a protein bar and water..that's healthy...just a protein bar for each meal.

12 p.m. lunch will be a protein bar and water.........and a banana.

It's o.k. to have fruit....fruit is essential to being healthy.

1 p.m. my co-worker brought me a salad....what am I going to do....be rude?

It's just a salad and I only put one package of ranch dressing.

3 p.m. a diet coke and a small milkshake.......remember I'm on a liquid diet.

5 p.m. I will eat my protein bar and banana while I cook supper so I won't be tempted.

6 p.m. whew, I didn't eat supper, except I had to sample the potatoes with a few bites or twelve to see if they needed salt and taste the peas to see if they were soft enough....because I am a good wife and mother.

8 p.m. did you know popcorn is not that fattening?  It's really a vegetable.

10 p.m. finally headed to bed....now that wasn't so hard and I'm not even that hungry...I'm doing great on my diet!

Next morning......what???!!! I gained 2 pounds!!!

Girl Trip!

Well I survived the day shopping with two pre-teen girls.  The day started off great...sun shining...us making our plans. 

We would shop a little, watch a movie and eat a lot!  I was so excited. 

 I raised two boys and didn't get to shop for cute girly clothes.

 I envisioned giggling, modeling and gushing.

  Boy was I wrong. 

 These girls reminded me of shopping  with my boys.

  They should be hostage negotiators...I actually heard this statement

"Now, my minimum of trying on dresses is zero and my max is 7."

Thank goodness we first went to Petco.

Even the fat hamsters are trying to get in shape this new year.

Then we saw him.

And then we saw them and our shopping trip was almost derailed.

 When we left Petco the girls had happy, smiling faces and a pep in their step.

  30 minutes into dress shopping they had dragging feet, a stomach ache, so very tired, dragging clothes along, barely getting a grunt.

So when I got the teensiest bit of excitement out of them when they spotted lime green skinny jeans I couldn't say no...sorry parents.  Now they nor I or even the check out lady knows what you wear with lime green skinny jeans so no shirt.

  After the skinny jeans I was thoroughly confused at what looked good or not and does it match, is it suppose to match, is that how that fits, so we just grabbed it all up in a pile and bought it all...once again....sorry parents.

 So we head out to the movies.

It is a crying shame that the only PG13 movie showing was a horror movie.  All the other movies were way worse!  So after a call to the parents I'm in line buying tickets and I give the girls $15 and tell them to get their coke and popcorn. 

 I walk up and they say we need $5 more.  

WOW!

 Did y'all just get popcorn and a soda......yes m'aam....wow!....but then I see the hulk

sized drinks and ginormous bucket of popcorn that would have fed the whole theater...but anyway we went back and had extra butter added...because we needed that.. and watched the movie.

  They had no problem with the movie but I had to cover my eyes a LOT during scary parts.......the funny thing is they only covered their eyes when the couple kissed....lol...

So they said they were not scared at all and I will never open my closet doors again.  I hope I have a lot of clothes in the laundry room.

Then we go to Chilis to eat.

  They order steak and chicken and the adult (me) orders fried cheese sticks and a chocolate

molten lava cake...:)

......It was o.k. because I wasn't going to eat it all.......2 bites left counts!

 On our way home we  had to almost stop once or twice with Jolee being sick on her stomach from playing her kindle while riding and I almost had to stop because the buttered popcorn had mixed with the molten lava cake  and almost exploded.

 So I get home and I'm not sure how successful you are at shopping when you have to go inside and explain to parents the clothes that you purchased with their money!  You should have seen JoLee's dad's face when he saw the lime green skinny pants!

 Anyway we are finally home and I thoroughly enjoyed these two wonderful girls!

  Now I just want to crawl in bed and sleep but I can't.............because I think I heard a noise in my closet......:(

Be Still...

"BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD"

PSALM 46:10

A Hike With My Brother

My brother and I decided we would go on a hike behind my Mom and Dad's house like we did when we were kids.  It was a great adventure!  There are nothing but hills and hollers and a creek on their land.

1. 1. holler. in the south east mountains of the united states this word is used instead of hollow;A small rising valley region between two hills or mountains.

   
   

   
   As you can see when he called and woke me up this morning and said let's go on a hike...I just rolled out of bed and didn't really think about my appearance and that I would be taking pictures....EEK!

   
   

   Anyway, we found shells all in the creek bed and we live 200 miles from the coast.  It fills you with awe as you think about this earth and the creation and how it has changed throughout all these years.

   

   
   

   

   
   

   There really are not many rocks in our area at all so we enjoyed the large boulders in the creek. 

   

   
   

   

   Then, if you look closely and have a good imagination we found prehistoric "fossils."

   
   

   

   We named her Trixie the T-Rex.

   
   

   

   
   

   And this is her nest with her eggs....:)

   
   

   

   A nose....see the nostrils...oh excuse me....a prehistoric nose...:)

   
   

   

   An upside down mushroom (I told you we had an imagination)

   
   

   

   We had a great time.  I'm glad my brother called me to go on this hike.  I'm glad he wants to spend time with me.  We hiked for 2 hours and it was all fun until..................today.......I can hardly walk and I can't turn my neck.  Thanks little brother...now I see this was some kind of payback from our childhood.....lol.....:)

   
   

   I'm telling Mom!!!

Ten Things I Know

1.  I don’t want to live in a world without sunshine.

2.  One step forward and two steps back will get you nowhere.

3.  Black yoga pants are responsible for me gaining weight.

4.  Cold and wet weather is responsible for me gaining weight.

5.  I will blame others for me gaining weight.

6.  Biscuits and syrup are a great couple.

7.  If your C-section scar is deep and wide and you didn’t have a C-section then you may need  to diet.

8.  Having skinny friends is like being friends with fish----they like the ocean, the river and any pool of water that you have to wear a bathing suit.

9.  Fried fish is good.

10. Your belly should not hang out the leg hole of your bathing suit.

Snow?!!

Well it’s snowing in Alabama!

At least it’s something different from all the rain we’ve been seeing.

It’s not sticking so it’s just turning into sludge…:(

My chickens don’t know what to think.

Now I realize that this is a very small amount of snow and any of you who live in areas that receive snow all the time are laughing at me right now.

But understand that we rarely, ever, have snow.

Tornadoes?….they don’t bother us….but snow?  We panic…lol.

And even this amount usually turns into wet, muddy roads and even ice.

This means roads are closed and schools are let out….funny huh?

The dogs are fascinated by it!

Sambo is not worried about it…..at…all.

Oops…..left Baby Kitty outside..come on in…

 

The birds?….they can handle it.

Me?…..I’ll handle it the best way I know how….

Pass the syrup please……:)

A Tantrum

I don’t wanna  clean!!! I don’t wanna  paint!!!! I don’t wanna  mop!!! I don’t wanna organize!! I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna!

Whew!  Sorry about that little tantrum there but I can’t get motivated.

All I want to do is sit here at my computer and read about all of you cleaning, and painting and organizing.

You inspire me….you intrigue me…..you make me laugh….you make me cry….you need to quit being so interesting so I can get off of here and do something.

Meanwhile, my dog is up to no good.

And the cat don’t care.

What do you do when your “wanna” is broke?

An Oatmeal Kind of Day

It’s cold, it’s wet and raining. I’d say it’s an oatmeal kind of day.

We are blessed. We have a roof over our head and a fire to keep us warm.

The neighbor cat came to visit and decided to stay.

Some days are just meant to be slow and lazy.

Tomorrow, yes tomorrow, we will do our chores.

Have a blessed day.