Mooooo

I ordered new business cards from Moo the other day and I am very excited for their arrival. They have rounded corners!!

It seems I have given out all my last 100 cards - business and interest is booming!
So this time I ordered 200 of them. :)

I love Moo!! They make such cool high quality paper products. 

I am also waiting for my first flush mount wedding album to be built and mailed out. I posted a few of the sample pages a bit ago. This represents a whole lot of time and moolah so I am hoping it looks as fantastic in real life as it does digitally. I am very excited to get that in the mail. Canada Post had better come through for me. 

My sweetheart is home after a week in China! Sigh. I missed him terribly, but life is normal again.

There is a new web slide show company just launched. It will compete with Animoto, the company I use to make all my slide shows. ProShow Web will be giving Animoto a run for the money and as soon as I have a few moments I am going to be trying it out - paid for a month to see if it can beat Animoto in making killer slide shows. So expect some slide shows in the coming weeks.

June is flying by as did May and April and March.... seems life is flying by and the entire summer is booked up and planned for, work taking a good chunk of it. Trying to plan a QUIET get away with sweetheart for a few days. :)
...but when....

 Meanwhile I am quite enjoying my 16-35mm 2.8 wide angle. :)

odds and ends

Haven't posted since Sunday. However I am posting on my 365 photo blog because it is, after all, a daily "challenge". So do stop over there and take a look.

I was sick all day today and even missed work - fist time in my life I have missed a day of work I think. I would have blogged or scrap-booked but I was in bed ALL day only getting up to take gravol! And I am heading back there shortly. Sweet husband was home by 4:30 to take care of me. Love this guy!

I am watching for seat sales to Vancouver... I wonder why. Travelodge/Best Western sales too.

LOVING the new job. Nobody knows where I am at my new phone so VERY few calls. tee hee!!!

I love fall - it smells so good but alas the mornings are starting to make me think of snow shovels.

Looking forward to Bible study tomorrow evening. Hope we all discover something "wow" in His Word!

Will post a fun picture I took in Vancouver. I call it the Tree ManDon't you love his bushy eyebrows and mustache? Or perhaps they are nose hairs.

Blessings to y'all!

Memes - "something imitated"

Okay picked this Meme up at Jenni's Blog and thought I would play along. Jenni is mother to 12 - yes I said twelve.

The first thing I did was look up Meme because I didn't know what the heck it was but Google took me to Wikipedia for this:

A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, and is transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena. (The etymology of the term relates to the Greek word mimema for "something imitated".)

So here it is, the Meme of the day.....

1. When you go to Wowmart, what one thing do you get every single time, besides a funky-wheeled squeaking cart full of frustration?

Liquid soap for the bathrooms�I only go once a month�when I have to�.before the 8am rush.

2. What is something that people are currently 'into' that you just don't get or appreciate?

Twitter. I am trying it but, well, why?

3. What is something that really hoists your sail that other people might feel 'ho-hum' about?

Oh that one is easy -my sweetheart of thirty years!!!

4. Favorite song to sing in the shower or car?

Amazing Grace.. or Indescribable

5. A really great salad must have this ingredient:

AVOCADO (sorry for yelling) - stole that from Jenni but oh yes I agree!

6. Advice in a nutshell to new bloggers (one or two sentences):

This can be addicting and very self absorbing. Be careful. Walk away from it now and then.

7. What was the alternate name that your parents almost named you? Do you wish they had chosen it instead of the one they gave you?

Muriel Joy, but my grandma said they couldn't do that to me. For the longest time (like the past 40 years) I have thought the name absolutely terrible but now that I am getting on I actually really like it.

8. What in your life are you waiting for?

MY FIRST GRANDCHILD!!! Any day now.

9. You get a package in the mail. What is it, and who is it from?

A book from Christian Books dot com or Amazon or maybe a photobook from Shutterfly!!

10. Today, what song represents you?

Hmmm I am sitting in a hotel room with my sweetheart. "Try a Little Tenderness" Michael Buble hahhahah comes to mind.

11. What is one thing that blogging has taught you about yourself?

I can easily get self absorbed, self centered.
I need to spend more time reading and not blogging.
I have "met" so many special people through their blogs and have learned a whole bunch too.

12. How are you going to (or how did you) choose the clothes you're wearing today? What do they say about you in general or specifically how you're feeling today?

Travel day - my new beige stretch chords cause I believe in looking classy only if it's comfortable. My cozy moss green vest because it is raining, damp, wet where I am going and I also believe that being warm is a big part of being comfortable.

So go ahead - copy paste and let me know so I can find out what your parents almost named you.

He's my Lover

My work involves placing people, of all ages, into long term care beds in the city here. Sending ones loved one off to a facility to live is difficult, very difficult.

Very long wait lists leave families feeling helpless and usually what I do offer is not what they had hoped for. So my days can be not very fulfilling. We are meeting a need though, just not a happy one.

Harold and Marge were married 60 years when Marge moved to a LTC home. Her dementia was too much for Harold to manage in their apartment. He visited her daily and all day, helping her with meals, dressing, taking her for walks. But one day Harold didn't show up.

He had been admitted to hosp with a stroke.

Marge asked for him, every day.

"How is Harold?"

"Is he okay?"

Her children tried to shield her from the bad news.

"Oh he can't make it today" as if Marge was too demented to know that her partner of 60 years would just decide not to make his daily visits. She knew something was wrong. She didn't ask where he was she asked how he was.

Harold eventually stabilized and went on my list, just as his wife had the year before. But the list has over a hundred people on it. People wait and wait for placement often to a place they do not want. Part of my job is to manage the list fairly. It wasn't his turn.

Fairly to whom I wondered. Surely this was not fair to Harold and Marge. Was she too demented to know the difference?

Last week Harold went to the home.

Today the care home called to share a little something with us.

Harold's daughter brought him to his new home today; a room right across the hall from his wife of 60 years. The daughter wheeled Harold into Marge's room.

"Mom, do you know who this is" asked the daughter?

"Of course I do" she replied.

"He's my lover"

Some days at work are really rewarding! :)

Suffering

We do not suffer as those with no hope precisely because we hope in the sufferings of Christ committed on our behalf.

Dutch theologian Geerhardus Vos:

“What the Lord expects from us at such seasons is not to abandon ourselves to unreasoning sorrow, but trustingly to look sorrow in the face, to scan its features, to search for the help and hope, which, as surely as God is our Father, must be there. In such trials there can be no comfort for us so long as we stand outside weeping.

If only we will take the courage to fix our gaze deliberately upon the stern countenance of grief, and enter unafraid into the darkest recesses of our trouble, we shall find the terror gone, because the Lord has been there before us, and, coming out again, has left the place transfigured, making of it by the grace of his resurrection a house of life, the very gate of heaven.”

God is in Control

I feel sad and heartbroken ....I read the headlines and I ask myself.... can this fallen world get any worse? Unfortunately, the answer is yes and it will likely get worse.

Home from work, groceries away, supper on, ahhhh sit and open my e-mails and get the headlines....

2 Canadian soldiers die in Afghanistan helicopter crash

China's Xinjiang province put under curfew

Suspected U.S. serial killer shot by police

UN condemns North Korea's missile tests

Teen who killed rugby opponent spared jail

Snowbird pilot's death blamed on 'false-lock' problem with lap belt

Body of fallen Canadian soldier returns home

I read this and I am in tears. I sit hear heartbroken - am I just tired? No I am sad, so many mourning, so many to pray for, so many need His peace and comfort at such horrible times.

It is just the news.... but somewhere two mothers just lost their

sons. I imagine the moments of terror for these two young men as their helicopter spun to the ground, knowing that this was it. Were they ready to meet their Creator? I imagine their mothers imagining the same. I think of the oppression in China. I wonder what demented turmoil in a person would cause them to go out and randomly kill. Yes we hate the killer - but what was going on in his life? How did he grow up - what in this fallen world made him like this? How do the families who lost loved ones to this rampage deal with this? How does the teen rugby player live out the rest of his life knowing he killed another player - what was going on in his life that made this happen? There is another story that is untold here. Are the family of the killed snowbird pilot reliving the grief all over again with this "story"? Could I ever cope with the horrible experience of standing on the tarmac to wait the arrival of one of my son's bodies from what to me is a senseless war in Afghanistan?

And yet.... God IS in control. Yes

He is in control of all things and that is good.... that is soooo good because I am weak and sinful and lost and hopeless and I am mortal and I too will die one day. I cannot change any of these events. I am helpless, but God is not and He is in control and I know (and scripture continually reminds me) that He is GOOD and He is righteous and He is perfect and while I may not understand why or how these things happen... I trust and know that He does and one day I will understand and it will all make sense.

Oh that all people suffering today would know the grace and love and goodness and perfectness of a God who is in complete control of this world.

sigh....back to reality - supper has to be readied, put a smile on my face and carry on. Something weirdly hypocritical in this...

Your thoughts??

Thoughts for the day

Preaching to myself here.....

“If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it.”

Olin Miller

“Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.”
Dale Carnegie

Tomorrow is Monday. I might as well jump in with both feet and do the hardest part first and get it over with. I plan to be at the gym bright and early (5:45am) for that early morning spin class. I have had way too much cake and carbs post wedding feasting. 

...then I might go back to bed.....

Isn't it nice to have a little rain around here? For one thing it will green up the lawn and dear husband will stop his lamenting over his not quite perfect yet lawn. Yeah, I am looking forward to that. LOL The lawn looks just fine as far as I am concerned. Anybody else have a husband who just has to have the nicest lawn on the block????

No complaints though. I am thrilled that he is so interested in it. One thing I never have to think about. Now... if only he would get that worked up about getting the garbage collected, in the big pail and out to the street on time!

Love the guy!

A wonderful Day

No, not another wedding. THIS day is wonderful because I am doing nothing!! Nada, zippo, ultimate laziness. I have NO responsibilities today - just a supper (Shake N Bake chicken) to prepare and some odds and ends to do - but it is a very relaxing day and I am loving it!

It started out with my sweetheart and me going to the gym for a fun workout together. We each do our own thing but now and then I distract him... (big smile) ... especially when he is lifting weights! hehe

Then we showered (no coed showers at World Gym  - darn!!) and off for coffee (and shared cinnamon bun) at our favorite spot - Intermission House. Picked up my new bike at Bruces on Central on the way home. I will post on that great purchase in a few days. We came home, puttered around, tidied the den and folded some laundry, made some cookies....and then the four guys all left to go to a movie. 

That left Allie and me at home. With Allie on the piano playing some lovely hymns, I decided what better opportunity than to scrapbook some pictures of my garden from June 2002. 

So I did. 

....and now I am going to indulge in an afternoon nap so I can stay up late and play Liars Dice, Origins and Mad Gab with all my kids tonight while we snack on fun goodies. 

Stay-at-home holidays with lots of food and plenty of board games really make for wonderful family time. 

Pampered Chefs

I thought I would share photos I took of "the couple" at a recent shower for them. It was actually a Pampered Chef shower and they now have an assortment of kitchen utensils for their teeny weeny kitchen. (more like itsy bitsy)

Allison loves to cook and bake and is accumulating all the stuff her Mom has, however her kitchen (as of next week) is just a little bigger than my refrigerator. Kind of cute. 

And NO dishwasher which amuses my husband no end.

Sammy btw, did a fine job of separating the eggs! 

Today is Allison's lingerie shower and I am thankful that, as of 6 am this morning, I am feeling much better - finally!! Yesterday I was sure pneumonia was setting in - fever and all and I left work at 12 noon, came home and slept. 

I have a full day today with shower prep and making the place look nice, however my dear husband who is also just as sick as I am will help me make the place look pretty. He does bathrooms! What a guy!

Bridesmaids will also be decorating and planning the activities of the event so we have it all covered. 

I think any girl getting married needs to have the basics for a good marriage - pots 'n pans and lingerie! I mean what else do you need? 

If I survive the day I will post pictures tomorrow because I can't wait to get some macros of these two fabulous mousse cakes I will serve for the shower. Strawberry and chocolate! Normally I would have made them...but work and the flu meant I hired Costco to make them for me....but they are real purty!

Stay tuned. 

Argggggg - No time for this!!!

I am sick - lungs full of stuff and coughing like crazy - gives me a head ache. Even left work early today - I NEVER take sick time.  But not until I had done a lot of coughing and hand shaking - had a meeting. Not good!

Failing miserably at proper coughing technique - into your arm? 

Nope! As much as I have good intentions and know the proper cough etiquette, when that tickle in my chest takes over and I just got a cough, it is into my hand. it is just the automatic reaction. I am working on it though. sort of.... using LOTS of isogel at work. 

Warning: Don't shake hands with me!

Up to my eyeballs in wedding prep (10 days!!)and a shower on Saturday - AT MY HOUSE!! It will NOT be a Martha Stewart shower by any stretch....but hopefully Costco cheesecake will cover any inadequacies. There is a mini list attached to that shower. Hmmm that is two days away..and I have to work the next two days....It will likely involve a trip to Michael's, the LC (cause girls just want to have fun! plus that too will hide any inadequacies) and the Costco run - when this will all happen I am not sure, likely after work, cough, cough! or on lunch cough, cough...or Saturday morning? cough, cough.

So no scrapbooking for a while. A looong while me thinks. 

If you are so inclined, prayer for health and a peaceful mind would be appreciated. This momentary affliction shall pass and one day I will gleefully be scrapbooking shower and wedding photos. 

MMMM Good

MMMMM isn't that a lovely photo? It goes with the chocolate in my last post. 

I am dumping photos off my camera card this morning and just wanted to share this lovely one with you. Since I am running out the door 5 min ago, I will post further on the new roasting machine at Intermission Coffee House on central. 

I am dumping because I need a full 2 GB for the day. yes the convention at JSI is on and and the theme is Hollywood glamour!! The bling is out and we have turned on the class. 

So stay tuned because I will be taking a ton of photos and catching the "stars" as they work. 

I will post tonight...... because posting is such a breeze with my super dooper fast MAC!! ....and I know you want in on all the Hollywood glam stuff!!

Building Cathedrals.

This is wonderful!

I wish I knew the source so I could give credit...but she is, like many of us, an invisible mother.

My dear friend Lorraine sent me this. And I love it. It encourages me to keep being invisible as I build cathedrals.

here it is.....


Invisible Mother......

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask me a question.

Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously, not.

No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ... Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are
building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over.

You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's

bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be

seen if we're doing it right.

And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

The world may not see, but our God does see all that you are doing.

Technology!!!

I am all for technology - I use it every day. I am using it right now. I mean, really I love how I just sit down, turn on the screen and in a second or two, depending on my technology, I am connected with the WWW! I can search out all sorts of ideas from cheapest airline ticket prices to the names of CAF Hercules planes (which I had to do today for a layout)

Amazing!

I am also all for the technology that is in my Mazda Tribute - heated seats for one!
And remote start. Lets talk about THAT technology a little today. I posted only a few weeks ago about this wonderful technology. And you all know those fancy remote starts come with a full proof security system. ANYONE touch my Mazda and I WILL KNOW about it when I return to my car. It gives me a series of little beeps to tell me what part of the car has been violated.

As if I care - if there are no dents anywhere and they didn't get in, well I really don't care. So I have not bothered to open the manual and check out the secret code of beeps.

Only once has my car told me it had an intruder. It looked fine to me and so I put it down to a very windy day at work which kept setting the alarm off. And since my office is on the other side of the building I could ignore the incessant honking when it went off several times that day.

NOT THIS MORNING!!

I left the gym after a wonderful "Group Ride" class and workout.
My remote key pad would NOT open my car. Wouldn't lock it, wouldn't unlock it, remote start - nadda.

So...smart that I am I tried the old fashioned, untechnological entrance (which took a little thought - it's been years since I did this)

I put the key in the door and turned it. Opened the door and

HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!!HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!!

You get the idea?
It finally stopped after about what seemed like 15 min.

Technologically savvy that I am, I know that when the car alarm system has been offended, I have to start the engine to clear it. I put the key in the ignition and...

HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!!HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!!

The gym parking lot is VERY busy this time of day!!


The honking (also accompanied by a fireworks display of lights), FINALLY stops and I phone Mazda for instructions because the manual which is somewhere in my car will take way too long to find, let alone read and Mazda's phone # happens to be in my cell phone.

The service department is CLOSED!!

So what next - phone your husband!! So glad I have one to call.

At this point I am afraid to move - that dang thing will start blaring again!!

David looks up Audio Warehouse and phones the guy. I am freezing so I decide to wait for his call back in the gym.

I open the car door very carefully.

HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!!HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!!

Did I get annoying looks or what!!

I walk away from the car. Isn't mine. So sorry, can't do anything about it. I would explain it to you but you can't hear me over the incessant honking!

I wait inside and meanwhile phone my daughter to get her up (It is almost 11am!!) to bring me the other set of keys for my Tribute. I have a feeling something is wrong with my remote start key pad that perhaps, just maybe, the other set will work????

Dear husband calls with a few instructions that I know won't work and will just set the alarm off again so he wisely suggest that I talk to Scott at Audio warehouse. I do!

What a nice guy!! Explains the whole thing to me - my key is wiped out - caput, deprogrammed!! And every time I use it, my car thinks it is getting broken in to. The car is so smart (read technological!!!) that it won't even recognize the key I am putting into the ignition - thinks it is an intruder.

Dang technology!!!!

Since when can't I start my car with the key! You know, the old fashioned way. The way we did it for 40 years!

Just then my daughter pulls up with my spare key.

It starts the car... remotely - I am doing this from inside the gym because if that alarm goes off again I am hiding!!!!!

No alarm... I approach carefully with Scott on the cell phone. It opens the door, lets me in and lets me put the key in the ignition and voila - lets me drive home which is where I am going with this baby right now - forget the 8 errands I should be running.

I test it again at home - the first key is useless the spare works.

Scott explains - " ....those were remotes that Mazda used from 2004-2006 but they had so many problems with them that they discontinued them" Thanks Mazda - we will have a chat on Monday!!

So when I have time???? next week I will see if Mazda can reprogram my key. Until then I am really afraid to drive my car. And if you hear some incessant car alarm going off, it just might be mine!

But I do want to make a plug for the guys (especially Scott) at Audio Warehouse. Talk about customer service - and they didn't even put my remote in!! They did however put my husbands and two of my son's remotes in their cars and for a whole lot less than I paid Mazda. And their remotes tell them if the car actually started and as Scot says has a key right in the car which it recognizes to allow it to start. hmmmm should I replace my remote start system?

So if you live in or near Saskatoon and want a remote starter system put in your car? Call Scott at Audio Warehouse. (664-8885)

Can you imagine if I was a few hours or more from home? This is worse than loosing your key!!

And a whole lot noisier!

... Being Busy!

No time left over for anything but sleep...so not much posting this week. And I have two more weeks of it. I am kind of exhausted and dear husband said to me tonight.."I think you are overdoing it dear"

He is probably right.

I suppose I could drop the 5:30 am trips to the gym...but I actually love starting the day with my workout. It gives me energy to get through the day. Really!
The problem is that I am nodding off at 7:30 pm. There is barely enough energy to get dinner made, served and cleaned up. Dear husband made the supper tonight and did the grocery shopping....and so I get to blog a little before my eyes close on me. I am also eating dinner as I type. mmmm

It is good to be busy, productive and contributing to the world in some way.
Hey, it is a bonus when you get paid too!

But there is good busy and bad busy. Generally I feel that every moment of the day spent wasting time is probably worse so I will err on the side of bad busy.

Some thoughts from my archives of scripture on busyness....

Benefits of being busy:

Prov. 31:17, 2, “She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness.”
If you ever want to read about a "super woman" read Proverbs 31.

Ecc. 11:6, “Be sure to stay busy and plant a variety of crops, for you never know which will grow-perhaps they all will.”

Dangers of being busy:

Prov. 19:2, “Zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way.”

What I need to be busy with:

Ps. 71:8, “That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long.”
(which I can do even if I am busy with the world)

Heb. 4:14, “That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him.”
(I need to try and fit in every day along with the next one below)

Phil. 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.”

How to rest from the busyness of life:
this is the one I need more practice at...

Ex. 34:21, “Six days are set aside for work, but on the Sabbath day you must rest, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest."
You have to schedule in rests or you will fall apart. This wisdom was written 7 thousand years ago and it still stands today.

Ps. 91:1, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

God’s Promise to the busy and burdened:

Matt. 11:28-29, “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle and you will find rest for your souls.”

May you be productive and busy but still find rest for your souls.
Blessings!
Julie

Procrastinator??

No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant. Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our communion with God. If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it.

-Alexander MacLaren (1826–1910), Scottish preacher

Tranquility? what's that?
Time to just Do It

I KNOW there is a God

“God is not a belief to which you give your assent. God becomes a reality whom you know intimately, meet everyday, one whose strength becomes your strength, whose love, your love. Live this life of the presence of God long enough and when someone asks you, “Do you believe there is a God?”
...you may find yourself answering, “No, I do not believe there is a God.
I know there is a God.”

~Ernest Boyer, Jr.

Incredible weather!!

I made a snowball today. A firm, very compressed, cold and icy snowball. And I threw it at my husband. Because THAT is what you do when the temperature gets above freezing in January in the great white north. When the snow sticks together it is reason to celebrate. I almost made a snowman.

For those of you south of about 45 degrees latitude who get bored looking at Palm trees, this may seem odd, but let me explain.

It has been cold here. Miserably cold. Try to imagine minus 40 F if you can. It freezes your nostril hairs in seconds. It gives a whole new meaning to cool crisp air. It is dangerously cold and it can get, well, rather depressing after the third, fourth, fifth week of it.

When it is THAT cold you spend fifteen minutes layering and bundling just to go out and hope your car, which has been plugged into a warmer all night, starts. You scrap off the ice and while the poor thing tries to thaw and circulate oil, you shovel the driveway of all the snow, piling it into big mounds at the side of the driveway, because where else are you going to put it?.

By now your care should be toasty warm because you just burned about $15 in gas to get it that way!

And you do this every day!! So you can have nice big piles of snow like this.

and this...


Which for a grand total of three months of the year would otherwise look like this...

Most smart Canadians who can afford it, have what we call "command start". You stand at your bedroom window in the buff and yell "Car! START!"
...actually you have to press a button on your ignition key. Voila, the car starts and you head into the shower - much more civil. You may still have to shovel the driveway though. Check the snow gauge.

When it is minus forty however the car may just refuse to start in which case you go back to the old way and may even need your neighbor to come over and attach big long electrical chords from his nice warm car battery that came out of a heated garage to your car battery which is refusing to speak to you because you left it on the driveway all night.

Another wonderful invention which I have in my northern survival kit is the heated seat. You sit down on your car seat and your bum starts to warm up. It is like a built in electric heating pad. Your hands may be frozen, your windshield iced up, your toes icicles, your fan blowing ice particles at you, but your bum is warm. Stop for a hot coffee on the way and things start to look up.

It has been like this more or less since before Christmas and the furnace has been doing overtime and charging accordingly since then.

But this weekend, things changed.

When the temps rise to a balmy 30 F or 1-2 Celsius up north here, you head out there in your bathing suit and shovel a spot on the front lawn for your lawn chair. Okay, not really, but you at least go for an invigorating walk.

And that's what we did early Saturday morning.

This, for those of you who have never experienced a Central Canadian winter, is a snow gauge....
It basically tells you from the kitchen window how long it will take you to shovel the driveway and how late for work you are going to be.

Very cool devise that doubles for a bird bath in the summer.

We do get summer. It is way too short but we do get summer and I for one am ready for it now.

Saving Lives

Steve Karas and Matthew Welling share a special bond.

Matthew Welling, left, received a bone marrow transplant from Steve Karas, right.

They aren't related. In fact, they had never even met until 3-year-old Matthew needed a life-saving bone marrow transplant two years ago.

It turned out that Karas, 51, of Newton, Massachusetts, was a perfect match.

"My heart went a hundred miles an hour, and I couldn't even conceive of what this meant," Karas recalled.

He had signed up for the National Marrow Donor Program registry 17 years ago and had never given it another thought.

The call to donate came out of the blue.

Karas remembered hearing, "It was a little 1-year-old boy with this horrible disease called osteopetrosis, and the only cure was a bone marrow transplant, and would I be willing?"

He said there was no other answer than "of course."

Read the rest of this story here.

Who'd a thunk it!

Calvin's explanation of his Lemonade Stands business perspective.
It has a resonance to the Auto industry's position in the economy.

Click on the cartoon to have it open in full so you can read the print.

Do you think the government would consider subsidizing scrap booking? I mean, really, we are preserving our history for generations to come. What could be more important? Think of the tax payers money that goes into preserving artifacts, like rocks! Think of the public funds used to build huge museums and display collections of..... art.

Shouldn't society encourage this worthy pursuit of preservation of the family (pictures)?

Scrapbooking is a serious business! And when the word comes down that this month's household budget for food will supersede any new scrapbooking supplies....Well! Where are we to turn?
Government subsidies I say and why not? They love to hand out our money to anyone who asks.

Yes this is very serious!

Well it was, at least, until Paris Hilton decided to show up at CHA with her new line! Thanks to Kate for this link....

Your thoughts on a new line of scrapbooking supplies from Paris Hilton??? and on gov't subsidy for scrapbookers who have been stifled by the family budget keeper???

Stuff about me you MAY not have known!!

I lifted this from Jenni, mother of 12 (yes I said TWELVE) over at One Thing

I know it is making it's rounds in blogosphere...but up until now I haven't felt like playing along.

I don't have any scrap book pages to share with you and I am still working on those photo water colours a la Photoshop that I promised (tomorrow? or Saturday since I am at work the next two days)

So since this was really easy and fast for today's post I succumbed. If you like it, please feel free to copy on to your blog. Then let me know (like leave a comment!!) so I can come on over and learn a little more about you.

Just boldface the items that you HAVE done, and leave the rest normal….and remove my commentary...

Things I have or have not done. Some I have no desire to do... like kill and gut an animal.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity (I’m throwing this question out too because I don’t like it)

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain.

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Gone skiing - water or snow

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon (how about a 10 km??)

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise (okay it was only three hrs but it was on the ocean)

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Slept in a tent

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Been ice skating

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant. ( I plan to make this happen soon)

44. Visited Africa

45 Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance (I was a passenger and not the patient)

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen Pearl Harbor in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (in Mexico yet!)

52. Kissed in the rain (and the snow!)

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie (and yes home movies count?)

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (bought several boxes of them though!)

62. Gone whale watching

63. Gotten flowers for no reason (all the time cause I married a really sweet guy!)

64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma (always too skinny or pregnant/nursing)

65. Gone sky diving (are you kidding??) ..but my son did!

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter (don't remind me)

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone ouch!

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (and no plans to)

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life (very subjective - would they have died had I not intervened???)

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby (or four)

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee (does a wasp count?)