One Word 2017

Are you joining in with the many others who will be choosing one word for 2017?

Haven't heard of this before?  Basically, you choose one word for the year, to use as your life focus. It's the popular replacement for New Year's resolutions.

What will yours be?

Even though it wasn't for the purpose of choosing one word for the year, not too long ago I decided that I'd like to focus on being an encouragement to others.  We can certainly use much of this in the day and age we live in.

It doesn't take much to pass on some encouragement to others:

A quick text to say you are thinking about someone

A card with a prayer or a few words of affirmation or appreciation

A small bouquet of flowers, or a small stuffed animal

Simple words of lifting someone up with a nice compliment or observation you have about them

A short visit to someone who you know is going through a difficult time

If I were to leave the world anytime soon, it would be a-okay with me to be remembered as one who lifted the spirits of another.

What word will, or would you choose, and how would you go about putting your word into action?

7 Great Marriage Tips

I just thought I'd share a few great tips with you on marriage!  And I happen to know these work!  Enjoy!

1.  Don't join in with other women on husband-bashing.  Talk about yours like he's a king!  Not only do you portray yourself as a lady when speaking well of the man you love, it also makes other women jealous and should make them feel a little stupid for being ungrateful!

2.  I "just HAVE" to get this off my chest!  What is the BIG DEAL about the toilet seat being left up?  You know, this is one of the most common complaints among women-almost a staple in conversation when male-bashing.  It got me to thinking, and I cannot remember a time I have ever been bothered by a toilet seat-I couldn't even tell you if ours regularly get left up or put back down!

3.  Say Please, and mean it!

4.  Say Thank you, and mean it!

5.  It's okay to give in.  Things don't always have to be my way.  What's more important-winning my way, or having a winning marriage?

6.  You are not married to a control freak if he likes you to wear certain colors or grow your hair long.  It doesn't mean you've lost your independence, no matter how our culture tries to convince women that it does.  It just shows your hubby that you like to please him!  And what's wrong with that?


And my final tip is coming up.  I'd just like to share a few things first.  Hopefully you've noticed in any of my other posts about my husband that when I "complain" about him, it is all in good fun.  Dan is one of the best people I've ever met, and he's a good, kind husband.  He is rarely ever ruffled, and has a great sense of humor.  We respect each other, and neither of us are into spouse bashing that is intentionally hurtful.  My blog posts about Dan are humorous to him as well.
I am blessed with a good marriage, and a home that is peaceful and a comfortable place to be.  There is very little (almost none actually) fighting between us.
But when there IS a disagreement, we still respect each other, even if we don't see eye to eye.  We speak the same volume that I would speak to any other person.  We don't feel the need to yell louder than the other to be the winner!
So anyway!  On the rare occasion that we have an argument, and we're feeling a little chilled to each other, this is my final piece of advice:

7.  A good ice-breaker after an argument is for you to make a nice warm cup of coffee or tea for your beloved, just the way he likes it.  Take the drink to him wherever he is sitting, and set it next to him, or hand it to him.  He'll be a little surprised, since you both are feeling a bit awkward.  Hopefully he thanks you.  But even if he doesn't, as you walk away, tell him, "I poisoned it."  (yes, I've said this-it really does lighten things up!)(And NO--don't really poison the drink!)

Is Blogging A Fading Trend?

I've left my blog sit for quite some time-I really felt that I should, with other things in life I needed to focus on.

I've given some thought to starting back up, and don't know if I should.

Is blogging dead?  Is blogging a fading trend, or will people read what I'd like to share?

What blogs are most popular, as far as subject matter?  What direction should I take my blog?

Share your thoughts with me, if you'd like.  You may help me know which direction to go.  =)

Time Management-Five Ways To Make More Time In Your Day

Time.

Most of us feel like we don't have enough of it, and wish there were ways to make more time in our days.

Great news!  You can!

With a little upfront effort and determination, you can not only have more time, but you can eliminate stress and save money as well!  Time management is not impossible, and does not have to be a thing of the past!

Here are five ways:

1. Be honest with yourself and do a truthful evaluation.  How much time do you waste on the internet?  There are so many social networks and sites that beg for our attention, it can become a real trap.  My main problem was Facebook.  Notice I said was.  Getting my son off to school, it became very easy to sit with my cup of coffee, and catch up on what everyone was up to before "starting my day".  The hard part was getting away once I started commenting on everyone's posts.  Have you been there?  Fortunately, I began to wean from it for various reasons, which you can read about here.  I gained back a lot of time because of this one area!  I am now controlling what was once controlling me!
2. Get enough sleep each night, and go to bed at a decent hour. Another trap for sucking away time!  How?  Some of us are night owls, being forced to live in an early bird world!  I'm almost 43 years old, and even when I'm dragging at 9:00 p.m., I still fight going to bed at 11 or 12!  But getting to bed by 11 or midnight will help your tomorrows run better.  Not enough sleep equals less energy and less mental focus, which causes your daily tasks to take longer, if they get done at all.     
3. Take care of the little things while they are little.  Load the dishwasher right after dinner (or wash by hand, if you don't have a dishwasher), put away each load of laundry, put books back where you got them from.  Sort through the mail regularly to throw out junk mail.  Do laundry everyday/every other day.  Freshly dirtied dishes take less time than dishes that we have to leave soak because of letting food harden on them for an extra day.  Put-away laundry saves piles from being knocked over, or baskets that are clean from having other family members mistake the basket for dirty clothes, which then results in a basket that you forget what is clean in it.  You save money when you aren't rewashing what has already been washed.  And what about the kiddos rummaging through for their favorite shirts?  You also end up with clothes that probably need thrown back in the dryer for a fresh folding, so that nobody looks like a wrinkled mess.  Ever been there?  Can you say "aggravating"?  A book here, and a small pile of junk mail over there will build up to a messy house very quickly.  And once it does, our brains hit overwhelmed mode, which makes the task seem too big, which saps our energy, and takes us longer to clean it up.  It makes us want to take a Facebook break!  Can I get an AMEN?
4. Ironing more than one item per session.  If you are like me, you have ironing that needs done on a regular basis.  I iron my husband's and son's church clothes regularly, along with my own wrinkled things.  Doing a week's worth of ironing at one time saves you time in having to get out the ironing board, heating up the iron, and putting the board away when finished, every single time you need an item ironed!  It may not seem like much, but if you've never tried it, trust me!  Once you go to the closet and are able to just grab your ironed item and go, you'll see how nice it is!  If you run late regularly, this will save you a few minutes (especially if you have more to iron than just your own things!), and it will also reduce your stress level!  I hate feeling rushed, don't you?
5. Freezer cooking.  This is a biggie!  If you aren't a super organized person (which may be why you are reading this list!), it may take two or three days of a messy kitchen with tin foil pans and canned foods all over the counter tops, but this one is totally worth it!  Buying everything at once saves additional trips to the store, which for me, always, ALWAYS results in my spending more on things I didn't even go to the store for!  (Who is with me on this one?)  It also lets you make the kitchen a total mess of dirty pots, pans, measuring cups and extra trash for a few days, as opposed to a daily thing!  Once all meals are prepared and waiting in the freezer, all you have to do is remember to thaw them, and pop them in the oven in time for dinner!  Sure, you will still have plates and cups to wash, but it will take much less time because of no pots and pans, etc. that need washed as well.  Extra free time after dinner! Yay!  Note: Freezer cooking seems like a daunting task if you've never done it.  Start small-make a huge pot of spaghetti sauce, some chili, and one or two soups, and then divide each batch into family sized servings and freeze.  Once you've accomplished that, search the internet for blogs and websites that give freezer cooking recipes.  Or, you can find books on Amazon. Check out The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet: A Month of Meals Made Easy ! Find a few you like and add them to your stash.  You will be glad you did this!  (Not to mention less drive-thru visits at McDonald's!)

I know that doing these few things will make a world of difference in your own time management, as it is mine!  Although I haven't reached perfection myself, I'm getting better and better, and focusing on things that are really important to  me-my goals for the coming year!

What about you?  Have you done any of these in your own life?  And were the results worth it?

Baked Cabbage Wedges With Bacon-Hubby LOVES This Stuff!

I found something like this on Pinterest, but since I didn't have all of the ingredients it asked for, it is a bit different than what the original recipe calls for.  Someone commented on adding the bacon, so I did that too, and here we have a HIT!    It's a nice lunchy type snack.  Dan feels like he could eat it everyday-at this point anyway!  We aren't going to find out for sure!

You need: 

Cabbage

Mrs. Dash

Bacon

Salt

Olive oil

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  

Slice cabbage head in half, then half again.  Then cut into about 1 inch thick wedges.  

Lay pieces on baking sheet (I put parchment paper under mine, but isn't necessary if you don't want to.)  Also, the entire head won't fit on a single cookie sheet.  I just made up one sheet at a time, enough for the day.

Drizzle each wedge with olive oil.

Cut bacon into bite sized pieces and add to top of wedges.

Add a little salt and some Mrs. Dash over all of it.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes.

And.....

TaDa!!!!

Have you made something similar to these?  What did you think?  What did your family think?

Linking up at the Serenity Now link party.

He's Still Lord

My daughter sang this beautiful song in church the other night, and one line stood out to me:

You're Still Lord

VERSE 1
When I was just a child I heard a beautiful story
How You loved me so You died on Calvary
And though I claimed You way back then as Lord Almighty
Things haven't changed
My love is still the same
You're still Lord to me

CHORUS
You're still Lord, You're still my Father
In little or much, I still feel Your touch
You're still Lord
You're still Lord, You're still my Father
You'll always be mine for all time
You're still Lord

VERSE 2 
Some have called you Lord but now they serve another 
To worldly things their heart has pledged it's loyalty 
But as for me when I made my choice it was forever 
And now as before but now even more 
You're still Lord

CHORUS
You're still Lord, You're still my Father
In little or much, I feel Your touch
You're still Lord
You're still Lord, You're still my Father
You'll always be mine for all time
You're still Lord

TAG
You'll always be mine for all time
You're still Lord to me

But as for me when I made my choice it was forever.....

As I was listening to the words, I thought about the Lord's side of this relationship with me.  I began to serve the Lord as a 15 year old girl-one who was heading in the wrong direction in life, yet who was spared much heartache because of His mercies to me.

When I was so unworthy of His love, He still chose to robe Himself in flesh and die for me.  When I have stumbled in my walk with Him, He still has never wavered in His love for me.  

His love for me-He made His choice forever.

Because of His love for me, I've never had to walk alone.  

He's still Lord.

Is This Where I Want To Be In Five Years?

I've been doing a lot of reading lately--have I told you how much I LOVE having a kindle on my phone?!?!  I read while I walk and do the elliptical at the gym several days a week!

A lot of the reading I have been doing are books about reaching goals.

One idea is to write down where you want to be in 5 years, and in 10 years.  And then, of course, the book gave ways to reach those goals.

It's a great idea to write down where you want to be, and then evaluate where you are and what you are doing, to see if your current activities are getting you any closer.

Although I haven't thought so far in the future with my weight, I do want to lose 20 more pounds (down a little over 30 so far!) this year, which will be where I hope to be in 5 and 10 years as well.

Am I doing anything right now to get me there?

Yes I am!

My daughter and I go to the gym a few days a week, and I exercise an hour each time!  I'm also drinking more water.

If I keep it up, I should reach my goal!

I have greater things I want to do, but just used this one as an example.

What about you?  Do you have any long term goals?  Have you written them down to keep your goals in front of you, so you can see them frequently?

This is a great year to start!

Make An Adorable Little Chocolate Hearts Bouquet!

Make An Adorable Little Chocolate Hearts Bouquet!

For this cute and simple little hearts chocolate bouquet, you will need the above items:

* One piece of tissue paper
* Hershey's heart shaped chocolate candies
* Hot glue gun and glue
* About three green silk leaves (smaller rather than larger, to be in proportion with the heart "flowers"
* Your choice of ribbon (I chose think ribbon)-about 1' of it
* Small glass votive holder (Walmart)
* Skinny sticks craft sticks (Walmart)
* A block of floral foam (the harder kind-not the softer kind that absorbs water-only $1 at the Dollar Tree, with enough to make several of these, if you like.)

 Directions:

1. Cut a small piece of the floral foam to fit in the votive holder (I carefully used a knife). 

2.  Fold your tissue paper in quarters, and cut 4 squares approximately 5" x 5".  Stagger the four pieces of tissue paper.

3.  Put staggered paper over votive holder, then put green foam over top of it, and push tightly into the holder.

4.  You can pull the tissue upwards a little bit-it will look like this:

5.  Take two of your green leaves, and cut them at the base of the leaf (no stem).

About half way down the stick, put a dab of glue, and add two leaves to the front of the stick.  Then break off about an inch of the stick at the bottom.

At the top, add a dab of hot glue to the stick, and attach a chocolate heart.  Let the glue dry for a few seconds, and then do the other side, so that the hearts are glued to the stem, back to back. 

Push the stick down into the middle of the foam until it touched the bottom.

This is how it will look:

Now make a little ribbon bow around a pencil, pull it off, and pull the bow tight (to make the pencil hole loop smaller).  

Glue  below your chocolate heart.  Ta Da!!!  A simple little bouquet!

Want a little more?  Make a couple more sticks with hearts on them, and then add them at a slant, behind the main heart.

And then, of course, is the bouquet with a couple more candy sticks:

You can add an extra leaf to the back of the arrangement as well.  

If you use the fuller bouquet, you may want to add a few coins or stones inside at the base to even out the weight a little bit, as this is top heavy.  

This stands just a fuzz over 6 1/2" tall.  Perfect for a Valentine's party (make several as table decorations!), or to set on your desk, or for another small area that could use a cute, cheery touch!