R&R

I've read two articles in the past few days about the importance of "Rest" in our everyday lives. And, while I am not a big promoter of doing "nothing" - I am one of those people who has a hard time "relaxing" - I thought I would make this change for myself in the New Year. Why not take a few minutes to turn everything off and enjoy the quietness of the day? Sometimes reading during the day makes me sleepy so that's not an option for me. My rest includes cuddling up with one of my children and talking quietly, laying down by myself and closing my eyes, sitting with my head rested on the back of a cozy chair, or finding my dog and petting her gently for a few minutes.

One of the books I read said that rest during the day makes you sleep better at night. Who would have thunk it? I didn't believe it until I tried it this past Monday. During the afternoon, while my girls were at school I took the time to lie down and be still for about 30 minutes and that night I slept really well.

I'll take resting as a resolution over losing weight any day! I lose weight, but it just seems to find me again.

Next Up, Valentine's Day

Well, I'm moving on to the next holiday already...Valentine's Day. This day is such a cute, delightful day. I purchased some goodies this morning for my two girls. I'm not sure yet what I will get for my "Valentine" we often have a hard time finding gifts for each other. I also bought some really cute decorations for our French doors - have you ever used window jellies? I've seen them, but never used them until this morning. They are so cute and so easy! I placed them up high, so the girls wouldn't be tempted by how squishy and gel-like they really are. I spotted these at Target right after the Christmas holiday and thought I would wait and get them later. Well, I went back this morning and noticed that my favorite sheet (the one with the cupcakes) was almost sold out - I guess everybody thought they were cute too. I can't wait to see the girls' response when they get home from school today.

A Funny Memory

I always have my hair up. It doesn't matter how, in a ponytail, a clip, scrunchie, etc. Why do I have long hair? I've had short hair, but it always grows back long...I take the time to style it "just right" walk out of the bathroom and then 10 minutes later I am back in there looking for something to help me put it up. I remember my good friend, Kathy, telling me that she had the same dilemma. She told someone once, "I only wear my hair up when I am working, cleaning, or cooking." "And, that's pretty much all the time." I think of this quote and smile just about every time I put my hair up.

It Was Fun While it Lasted

Well, I thought I would just completely not mention my bad news, but I can hardly not let it surface at this point....my trusty Dell laptop, the one my husband so graciously passed down to me for my own personal use - it was so much nicer than the big, hunky, junky old one we had - CRASHED and burned this morning. I went to log on, part of my normal morning routine: make beds, straighten up couch, get breakfast ready, make sure front door is locked, etc., etc., and the "death" screen came up with an error message. BTW, my husband says that anytime you get the "blue" screen with the white writing his buddies at work (the computer techs) call it the "death" screen. I let my husband take a look and shortly afterwards he came out with the bad news. Now what am I gonna do? At the moment, I am using his new laptop. It's not that bad, but I felt like I was "friends" with my Dell. Oh well, I've learned to not be surprised at this point. I think the last time my computer crashed I was so let down....I depended on that thing and thought it would last forever. My posts may be fewer and far between now, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

One of my Favorite Tools

One of my favorite organizing tools is the white notebook. I have them on two separate shelves in my craft room. Whenever I see a new one at a garage sale I always pick it up. In fact, I think I have a small box of new binders in my attic just waiting to be filled with something "important." One of the organizing tasks I am working on this morning is putting new pages into my "Page Idea" binder. I refer to this binder a lot when I am looking for inspiration on my scrapbook pages. Whenever I finish a scrapbook magazine I will use my x-acto knife to remove my favorite pages. Some people have a hard time getting rid of magazines, but my take on this is, "Why do you want to keep the entire magazine and let it take up so much space in your home?" Just keep the pages of the magazine that truly inspire you and then pass along the magazine to a friend or recycle it. Other binders that I keep in my craft room include: Stencils, Stickers, Rub Ons, Card Ideas, Craft Ideas, a Home Journal and several more. They keep my pages and notes upright in a vertical (organized) position instead of lying in a horizontal pile of papers - a big no-no! Try one out today!

Icicles on the Paper

We don't have too many really cold days in Florida. But, when we do it's fun. Everyone changes their normal routine, no one wants to go outside, so we spend our days in our pjs, having fun together doing whatever, and scrounging in the kitchen for something to eat. I LOVE those kind of days. This morning when Abby went out to get the newspaper I made her bundle up with her heaviest winter coat. As I watched her walk down the pathway to the sidewalk I noticed how cute she looked. I ran to get my camera to capture the moment. By the time I got back to the front door she was already headed my way. She was so excited talking about "icicles" and I said, "where?" and she said, "...on the paper. There are icicles on the paper!" It made for a really cute picture.

Pineapple Juice & Peanut Butter

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fanatic about organization. I LOVE it! I love being organized and I love helping people get organized. This afternoon was a pretty lazy one in our house...we don't get too many of those. While I was in the kitchen going through the mail my youngest daughter and I had this conversation: Abby: Look Mom, I'm organizing...I'm making more room [in our pantry closet]. Let's put the ice cream syrup with the marshmallows. Where do you think we could put the pineapple juice? Me: With the pineapples. Abby: Do we have pineapples? Me: No. How about with the coconuts? Abby: Do we have coconuts? Me: No. Abby: How about with the peanut butter? Me: Sure, they both start with the letter P.

Smiling on a Good Day!

My girls both had play dates today and with my husband's encouragement, I got to "play" in my craft room, ALL DAY! With a few short breaks to feed my family, I basically spent the entire morning and afternoon in here having fun. I finished a layout that came together really easily - and it's a little bit different than my normal style. One of my resolutions for this year, in the scrapbooking department, is to mix my colors a little bit on the non-traditional side. I tend to stick with colors in a "matchy-matchy" kind of way, and I'm ready to shake things up a bit.

One thing that made me smile today was looking over at my window and seeing my sweet dog, Baby, enjoying the breeze coming through the window. Isn't it funny how dogs enjoy having the wind in their face? I know you've seen a dog hanging out of a car window, with its life in jeopardy, just to get a feel of the wind on its face. Well, thankfully, my dog's life wasn't in danger, but catching her in this happy moment made me smile.