Gave up on trying to get a photo to work on my header of my blog for tonight. While on a trip to Galena for a weekend with friends, I found a chocolate shop whose sign has the very name of my blog. I took several pictures and hope to use one for the header of my blog. So if any of you people out there reading my blog know how I can do that, let me know. I will probably have lots of questions, but am sure that some of you have already done this.
Enjoy the new look. I plan to keep it and just update a bit with the photo, if I can make that work.
Thanks in advance.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Did Ya Miss Me?
It has been 13 months since I blogged. How bad is that?
Life gets hectic and while I come up with a lot of blog posts ideas in my mind, I rarely find (I mean make) the time to blog. Probably because I feel it has to be something important or newsworthy or something worthing of making commentary on (ie. a current event).
I do a pretty good job of taking a lot of photos and need to do a better job of sharing them here. Business, homeschooling, church and other commitments keep our family on the go, a lot but we try to do as much as we can as a family. Today, we waited a bit before deciding, but did attend Homeschool Day at the Capitol in Des Moines and listened to several speakers. Bill Federer has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of history and we could have listened to him all day. We also listened to Steve Deace, who challenged us to not become complacent in being active in the political arena and being devoted to protecting our freedoms and not just talking about it once a year and not being eternally vigilant the rest of the time.
I hope to get on a regular schedule for blogging, so perhaps you will see more posts from me.
Life gets hectic and while I come up with a lot of blog posts ideas in my mind, I rarely find (I mean make) the time to blog. Probably because I feel it has to be something important or newsworthy or something worthing of making commentary on (ie. a current event).
I do a pretty good job of taking a lot of photos and need to do a better job of sharing them here. Business, homeschooling, church and other commitments keep our family on the go, a lot but we try to do as much as we can as a family. Today, we waited a bit before deciding, but did attend Homeschool Day at the Capitol in Des Moines and listened to several speakers. Bill Federer has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of history and we could have listened to him all day. We also listened to Steve Deace, who challenged us to not become complacent in being active in the political arena and being devoted to protecting our freedoms and not just talking about it once a year and not being eternally vigilant the rest of the time.
I hope to get on a regular schedule for blogging, so perhaps you will see more posts from me.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Beautiful Sunset
Today was an extremely cold day! It was 10 degrees below when the day started. We went to church this morning and returned home for a couple hours. Later in the afternoon we went bowling with around 50 people from church. On our way home, around 5:30 p.m. I snapped some beautfiul sunset pictures on the gravel road that we drive home on. I just wanted to record this and am thinking of printing this one in a poster or on a canvas.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
My One Little Word - REDUCE
If you are a scrapbooker, then you might have heard of Ali Edwards. Every year she picks one word to be the focus of her year. She even leads an online class to make a little journal about it etc. While I am sure that this helps her and others to focus on their word and what they are trying to do in the lives, I simply don't have the time or the money to take a class so I can refocus my life in that one little area (especially since it isn't even a spiritual focus).
At any rate, in the interest of trying to set some goals for myself (after all, it is January, the time of resolutions), I decided to pick a word and try to apply it to various areas of my life. Hoping, that with focusing on this one word, I will accomplish some (and hopefully several or many) of my goals for the year.
My "One Little Word" is REDUCE. In a culture that tells us, more, more, more, I am hoping to work on less in terms of material things. I have done a ton of decluttering: lots of papers filed, lots of papers recycled, I took 3 old desktop computers to a friend to see if they can be used or possibly used for parts/components. Between Christmas and New Year's we cleaned some more out of my grandparents' house. While we did bring home a few mementos or kitchen items that we could use, we took a ton of stuff to Goodwill.
I continue to work on reducing. My kids are going through clothes to see what they have outgrown and can pass on to others. My husband and I plan to follow suit. Once the taxes are done, we will be continue to declutter the paper that inevitably accumulates on our desks.
There are many more places where a person can reduce. Reduce the amount of gas you use, by combining errands and trips when possible. Reduce outside commitments and spend more time with your family. Reduce the amount of plastic you use. Quit using plastic shopping bags and use a cloth bag instead. Use cloth napkins instead of paper. Same with paper plates and cups.
Reduce the amount of money you spend on things that are not necessities. Reduce your debt. Reduce your grocery bill. Eat out less. Repair items instead of replacing them.
So what would you like to be your one little word? I would love to hear.
At any rate, in the interest of trying to set some goals for myself (after all, it is January, the time of resolutions), I decided to pick a word and try to apply it to various areas of my life. Hoping, that with focusing on this one word, I will accomplish some (and hopefully several or many) of my goals for the year.
My "One Little Word" is REDUCE. In a culture that tells us, more, more, more, I am hoping to work on less in terms of material things. I have done a ton of decluttering: lots of papers filed, lots of papers recycled, I took 3 old desktop computers to a friend to see if they can be used or possibly used for parts/components. Between Christmas and New Year's we cleaned some more out of my grandparents' house. While we did bring home a few mementos or kitchen items that we could use, we took a ton of stuff to Goodwill.
I continue to work on reducing. My kids are going through clothes to see what they have outgrown and can pass on to others. My husband and I plan to follow suit. Once the taxes are done, we will be continue to declutter the paper that inevitably accumulates on our desks.
There are many more places where a person can reduce. Reduce the amount of gas you use, by combining errands and trips when possible. Reduce outside commitments and spend more time with your family. Reduce the amount of plastic you use. Quit using plastic shopping bags and use a cloth bag instead. Use cloth napkins instead of paper. Same with paper plates and cups.
Reduce the amount of money you spend on things that are not necessities. Reduce your debt. Reduce your grocery bill. Eat out less. Repair items instead of replacing them.
So what would you like to be your one little word? I would love to hear.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Ack! It's Been Over a Month since I blogged!!
I can't believe it! Well, yes I can. We started school for the year and got in several weeks. Hosting a crafting weekend at our church, then attended a scrapbooking retreat. Grandma took us to Branson for 3 days, then we were home for a week before visiting friends in Wyoming. Now we are back, staying home and getting lots of school done, not to mention getting into the routine of all of our activities: 4H, choir, confirmation class.
Between the crafting weekend and my retreat I got a lot of pages scrapbooked: 29 pages and 46 at the retreat! Just this morning, I got them all arranged in their respective books along with the others I had put together and hadn't filed in their binders. I am happy to report that I put 45 pages (give or take) in each of the kids' albums. YEAH! Basically I have Christmas pictures left to put in their books and 2008 is HISTORY (at least in the kids' albums). I am one happy camper.
I have lots of pictures to post from Branson and from Wyoming, but that will have to wait because I have church council in a couple hours and choir tomorrow afternoon. Keep checking back. I promise I will post some pictures soon.
Between the crafting weekend and my retreat I got a lot of pages scrapbooked: 29 pages and 46 at the retreat! Just this morning, I got them all arranged in their respective books along with the others I had put together and hadn't filed in their binders. I am happy to report that I put 45 pages (give or take) in each of the kids' albums. YEAH! Basically I have Christmas pictures left to put in their books and 2008 is HISTORY (at least in the kids' albums). I am one happy camper.
I have lots of pictures to post from Branson and from Wyoming, but that will have to wait because I have church council in a couple hours and choir tomorrow afternoon. Keep checking back. I promise I will post some pictures soon.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Reiman Gardens
Took our second visit to Reiman Gardens for a field trip last week. Absolutely beautiful grounds on the Iowa State University Campus. Love the Butterfly House too.
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| Daniel and Tom on the covered bridge. |
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| I seriously want one of these at my house! I mean look at that arbor!!! |
Getting Something Crossed of the To Do List
We are on our second week school and it was hard to get going again after the long weekend. We attended the Lifelight Music Festival on Sunday evening and drove home very late after it ended. Totally worth the sleep we lost! After sleeping in (well most of us), the morning was shot and I had high hopes of decluttering and reorganizing the dumping ground that is my office. So we decided against going ahead and doing school on the Labor Day holiday and got some things done in there. Today we hit the books again for a full and very productive school day. By the end of the week, I think we'll be fully in the school groove again.
Tonight my husband helped me put together the IKEA Expedit that I purchased several months ago in Minneapolis to store my scrapbook supplies, paper, albums, etc. Here is a link to it:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60071358
I read somewhere on the internet that it took a lady's husband 3.5 hours to put the same kind together. As my husband said, "I think there was a game in there somewhere." We put it together in just under an hour, working together. I don't think it would have taken 2 hours for one person, or that other fellow might not have been very handy. Only one minor mishap (using a rubber mallet to put the last side on, dented the hollow core, so I will have to be crafty there. Thinking of using one of the Command Adhesive hooks on the side to hang a little bag or picture I make. Because the bottom is made solid and the top is not, this side will be exposed, unless I put it on the north wall rather than the east wall. Because of the sun exposure, I think I will go with my original plan and decorate it to cover it up.
Hubby just came up with a new plan to get it in the room. Praying it isn't too heavy for us to move it this way. It would not require me to completely empty the room first. Then I could simply move items from their current location to the new shelf. Hope he is right. Usually is!! :)
Feeling like I am getting a little crossed off my list. Still hoping to paint in that room this fall, but it should be made much easier if I can pull my supplies from existing furniture and fill the bookshelf. That will allow me to paint the other walls first by moving the existing furniture. Hoping the weather holds and I can get this one in the books and move on to the livingroom (it is connected to the office with a half wall so it will look bad if I don't get it painted).
Tonight my husband helped me put together the IKEA Expedit that I purchased several months ago in Minneapolis to store my scrapbook supplies, paper, albums, etc. Here is a link to it:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60071358
I read somewhere on the internet that it took a lady's husband 3.5 hours to put the same kind together. As my husband said, "I think there was a game in there somewhere." We put it together in just under an hour, working together. I don't think it would have taken 2 hours for one person, or that other fellow might not have been very handy. Only one minor mishap (using a rubber mallet to put the last side on, dented the hollow core, so I will have to be crafty there. Thinking of using one of the Command Adhesive hooks on the side to hang a little bag or picture I make. Because the bottom is made solid and the top is not, this side will be exposed, unless I put it on the north wall rather than the east wall. Because of the sun exposure, I think I will go with my original plan and decorate it to cover it up.
Hubby just came up with a new plan to get it in the room. Praying it isn't too heavy for us to move it this way. It would not require me to completely empty the room first. Then I could simply move items from their current location to the new shelf. Hope he is right. Usually is!! :)
Feeling like I am getting a little crossed off my list. Still hoping to paint in that room this fall, but it should be made much easier if I can pull my supplies from existing furniture and fill the bookshelf. That will allow me to paint the other walls first by moving the existing furniture. Hoping the weather holds and I can get this one in the books and move on to the livingroom (it is connected to the office with a half wall so it will look bad if I don't get it painted).
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