sunshiny Monday

Today, I am thankful because:

1. The sun is shining!
2. I live in America, where repairmen actually REPAIR things.
   (As opposed to looking at a broken object and saying "It still works.")
3. The broken shower was repairable and is now fixed!
   (as opposed to just a hole in the wall with water pouring out!)
4. One of our chickens is laying eggs again!
5. We think we've found a replacement pen for the dogs.
6. I don't have to walk to the post office to get my mail.
7. HEAT!
8. Appliances (washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, freezers, and RADIOS!)
9. Freedom of speech!
10. Freedom of religion!
11. Freedom to assemble!
12. the Right to Bear Arms (now if I can just learn to hit where I aim!)
13. Running hot water ALL the time!
14. good health
15. family & friends
    

easy way out

One of my unwritten goals for the first half of 2010 was to start learning and applying some of the web design software that came with the graphic design software. My hope was to comprehend enough of it to create my own website by June. I'd still like to do that.

However, learning new things is both time consuming and frustrating. Meanwhile, anyone looking for a freelance designer wants to see an on-line portfolio. So last night I found that Google has free sites available, with both templates and free-style pages. The site name isn't easy to remember, but for this point in time it will meet my need of having an online portfolio. So hopefully by tonight I will have enough of my work converted into pictures so they can be posted.

A part of me says I'm taking the easy way out, this is cheating, and unprofessional. But on the other hand, I'll never be able to apply for freelance jobs unless there's a site where people can go to view my work. Hopefully by tonight you will all be receiving a message for me asking you to visit my new site!

winter wonderlands

God's modern art

the pond drain...water is still seeping in, despite the ice!

I love how the wind froze the water in waves!

walking on water

What is this? Where's the water?

Is this stuff safe to walk on?

For the second time in 10 years, the pond has 98% frozen across the surface. (The geese keep one small section water by leaving two swimming at all times.) It was interesting to see that one end is frozen solid at the edges, while the side near the dam is water at the edge and 1/4" thick about a foot's width out. I love the patterns and being able to see clearly what is beneath and the brighter reflection of the moon on the ice. While my favorite season is spring, the starkness of winter is one of the many things I enjoy about this season (2nd to Christmas, of course!)

full moons

I love starry nights, full moons (most of the time) and seeing the reflection of the moon on the pond. It's the only time I see the water at night! Maybe I'll be able to get a shot tonight with the pond frozen so the water's not blurring everything up!

sparks and fires

Several years ago one of the settings on our dryer quit working. I called a repairman who spent quite a bit of time checking out things, only to tell me there was nothing wrong. Uh-huh..yeah right. Fours year later and only one setting that semi-works, Bobby got tired of me complaining (or else finally realized it was taking 60-90 minutes to dry a load of clothes), and we gulped at the prices and bought a new dryer. It was delivered today. Whoohoo!

But any time you build a nice cozy fire, these little things called sparks shoot out. I had to put up the ironing board and move all these gadgets stashed between the dryer and freezer before they came so they could get the old one out. And I discovered that the floor AND the baseboard behind the ironing board and the dryer was absolutely filthy. So instead of taking down Christmas decorations as planned today, I scrubbed 3/4 of one baseboard and a floor.

So about the time I start getting ready to clean and organize the guest room (one of those rooms I chuck stuff in and close the door when I'm cleaning in a hurry), my mother-in-law called. They're emptying out Bobby's grandmother house since the estate is finally being settled, and she wanted to know if I wanted to go along. (Most of it was cleaned out when she went to the nursing home, but I had never seen anything but the kitchen and living room so was curious.) I came home with some baskets, one of those wooden crate/shelve things for putting potatoes and onions in, a small footstool that needs recovering (we found 2 old slipcovers underneath the top layer!) and some extra kitchen chairs. I was excited.

But since I needed to clean all those items and put them in their proper place so I could get to the rest of my kitchen, that means the dishes are STILL not done. more sparks...

Meanwhile, January is steadily ticking on. Hopefully tomorrow will be what I've scheduled and planned and not shooting sparks (although I will admit today's sparks have been nice ones).

vanity of vanities

The week before Christmas an item that I have been wanting went on "sale". Three different stores had this electronic gadget for its regular price BUT all three had extra incentives to go with it. Wal-Mart was throwing in a free $50 itunes giftcard, BestBuy, for an extra $20, was offering $50 worth of merchandise, and Target was offering an extra pair of headphones for half-off. I didn't have time before leaving to thoroughly investigate prices and items, so when we got to AL and my sister was heading to Wally World late Christmas Eve, I sent her with my credit card and driver's license. (Our handwriting looks close enough and my DL pic is an old one so we could pass for each other on it.)

She came back with the item in tow and I was so excited...until I saw it. It was green. I hate green. I like green in nature, but that's about it. So we stopped at Wal-Mart at 40/42 on the way home to see if we could exchange the item for a blue or black one, only to be told they had sold out of EVERY SINGLE ITEM!!! Today while out and about we stopped at the Wal-Mart in Garner, and they not only had the same item, they had it in BLUE!!! (black was my second choice)

In my simple mind, all they had to do was swap the unopened nano for a different nano. 45 minutes, three managers and three sales clerk later, it was a done deal. I understand that technology complicates things (they couldn't figure out how to ring up the exchange because there was a free gift card included in the original transaction), but it made me a little sad that what should be common sense and straightforward required so much consultation and approval for a simple swap. When we finished, my dear not-so understanding husband looked at me and said, "All this for your vanity?" I simply smiled and said "Yes." What more could I say?

Now, if they had insisted I give up or pay for the free gift card that went with since the promotion was no longer taking place, I would have stuck with a green nano.
But thankfully that didn't have to be. Did I mention that this one is blue and shiny?

I probably won't blog tomorrow as I'll be charging the battery and surfing itunes. :O) Music suggestions anyone?

looking both ways

Ready or not, 2010 is here. I never finalized the geese's nesting area, nor finished the painting for the living room, nor finished prepping the garden for winter, but that's okay! Maybe I'm actually growing up, but it's bothering me less and less for jobs to be left undone. I set goals to help me accomplish things, and it does help me tremendously! I still hope to finish these things (and soon!) but (as always) I've already compiled a new list of projects I want to tackle for this year.Yes, that noise you're hearing is Bobby's exasperated sigh that I'm already planning MORE projects before I finish the ones I have.

Pastor Mike's challenge a few weeks ago really made me stop and think about my priorities. One thing I started last year was trying to read a book a month. I'm going to push myself out of my comfort zone this year and try to read at least 3 Christian related non-fiction books (this doesn't include biographies). I really dislike non-fiction. I did read 3/4 of Because He Loves Me by Elyse Fitzpatrick and hope to finish it this year, but have decided for this decision to have any real teeth I can't include it in this year's list. Uughh. (and the same goes for the parenting book from 2 years ago...sigh)
And along with that, I want to re-invigorate my devotions. I know our church is reading through a 3 year study, but I'm having a very hard time getting motivated with it. I have a small Bible study that I plan to start off with, then hope to move to the Chronological Bible I bought last year. Those are my spiritual goals.
There's a few personal goals I want to tackle, but I'm also trying to be realistic with how much I can accomplish in 12 very short months (only 364 days!), so I'm not going to post those for now.
It seems strange to say I'm excited about a New Year when to me the New Year always seems like a continuation of the next one. I am very thankful not to be Chinese and have the superstition that your house must be clean top to bottom so you don't carry any bad dirt from one year to the next. That would have pushed me past my limits this year with all the traveling and family visits from the last 2 weeks.

2010- Upward and onward!