October

Looking up my street.  

• Today's high was 46 degrees and it is supposed to get down to 26 degrees tonight.
• I wore a sweater & a coat to work today (I could have easily worn gloves too.)
• I've had my heat on for three days straight.
• I'm getting ready to make some soup & tea for supper.

...winter is marching toward us!

 

 

You have established all the boundaries of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.
Psalm 74:17

Blessings of Weeks 4-6

Wow, you let one week slip by and it turns into 3! 

Here are my blessings:

1. The pursuit of knowledge at any age.
2. Family.
3. Friends.
4. Laughter.
5. The sun.
6. The stars.
7. The comfort of a reread book.
8. Tax refunds.
9. Technology.
10. Silence.
11. Weekends off.
12. Budgets.
13. Giving to others.
14. Change -- I know, I was surprised too.
15. Unexpected & rising to meet it.

Short Film

Beautifully, bookish short film... (via Epbot)

Blessings of Week 3

1. Second chances
2. Snow days
3. Kindness of acquaintances
4. Testimonies of faith

A little giggle ...

 Aww, what a sweet chunk of kitty-cat...

This is what the sweetie does while I'm vacuuming...

...peek-a-boo I see you... 

Blessings of Week 2

1. Income from an unexpected source.
2. The days are getting longer -- the sun shines just a little bit longer.
3. Lovely Bible Study with friends.
4. Warm, snuggly bed at night.
5. Homemade mashed potatoes...mmm.

Moment in time

We finally have snow cover...hard to believe the beginning of this week started at 50 degrees...

Blessings of Week 1

1. Accomplished most of my to-do list.
2. Woke up with a cat snuggled on my lap. :-)
3. The satisfaction of seeing girls accomplish goals they didn't realize they wanted to reach.
4. The peace of spending the day at home.
5. The challenge my job gives me.

New Year, New Outlook

I haven't been here in a while.  One of the reasons I started writing this blog in 2007 (that seems so long ago) was to have some accountability--both in my daily life and in my writing.  I had set some goals for myself the first two years and I met them.  Then I decided not to set a goal for my blogging and we can all see where that ended up.  :-P

In past years, I have made New Year's Resolutions and have vowed to follow them.  Some I did and some I didn't. Sometimes I think that my New Year's Resolutions are doomed to failure simply because they are called "New Year's Resolutions".  This year I have decided to make lists.  Lists have a slightly different connotation than "New Year's Resolution." Not so lofty sounding--more attainable.  (Who knows maybe it is all just in my head.)

Anyway, here is my first list of things I would like to accomplish this year:

1. Post on this blog at least twice a week. I want to have a little flexibility with this because there are just some days that I have too much to do to prioritize a blog post. Saying that, I think 2 posts per week is very doable.
2. Keep to my budget. I just went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University in October through December and I want to incorporate his methods into my financial life.  One of the biggest parts of that is spending within my means by using a budget.
3. Be more organized. This one is slightly more vague than the first two.  One thing I want to do is spend some time on Sunday evenings planning out my week. Whether it is events, meals, to-dos, or whatever else, I want to have an overview of my week.  Granted I can't predict everything that will come my way in any given week or at any given moment even; but I can have some idea what needs to be accomplished for my life to go just that much more smoothly.
4. Read. Hah. This one isn't that hard for me but this year I want to challenge myself a bit.  I'm what I call a "for fun" reader which means I mostly read fiction with no real deep and thought provoking message.  Not to say that the books I read don't cause me to think, just that they are not intended for that purpose.  I also tend towards the romantic suspense genre. 
   
   This year I want to read at least one non-fiction (or biography) book a month -- or at least 12. I also want to read at least 6 books I wouldn't normally pick up off the shelf.
    
5. Learn something new. This year I want to learn something new. Whether it be a community Continuing Education class offered through the Community College, an online course via Universal Class from my library, or something I teach myself through books, magazines, or the internet.

There...I have my first list all set and ready to start work on. I have to say that I'm excited about this next year.  I think I will be greatly blessed!