Category: Random Thoughts

Winter Lazies…

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Winter LaziesIn January, I came down with a severe case of the “Winter Lazies”.

It was brought on by a combination of Holiday Fatigue, Head cold and Two Snow Days.

All I can say is I had it bad.

Symptoms Include: (but not limited too)

  • not wanting to crawl out of a warm bed
  • hating to leave the house for things like groceries, getting the mail etc.
  • procrastination
  • doing multiple things at one time, but finishing none of them
  • the need to sit on the couch and watch DIY TV, but not making anything
  • spending too much time on the computer

Treatment:  Sunshine, Warm Weather, Tropical Vacation, Time.  Usually clears in a week or two,  almost always by Spring.

My Creative Mojo was really drained.  Thankfully, I’m glad to say, I think I’m finally over it.

I’m excited for February, a whole month of sweetness and I’ve got a lot of projects and

creative things planned to share with you.

Living Well Spending Less

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I follow a blog called Living Well Spending Less.

You may have noticed the link on the side of this blog.

The owner of this blog, Ruth Soukup, has written a new book, available Dec. 30th, called:

Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life

Recently, I joined the launch team to help promote Ruth’s new book about the secrets of the Good Life.

In this book, Ruth mixes faith, scriptures and good practical knowledge to make you rethink your

spending habits.  (Check out the video below)

In my marriage, it has always been my job to keep track of our finances and the monthly budget.

Honestly… during the first 25 years, it was more of just making sure everything got paid.

Raising a family is not for the faint of heart.  Kids are expensive.  Life moves fast.

A few years ago, I challenged my husband to a 30 Day Spending Budget.

I asked him to tell me how much he spent each week.  We had to be completely honest.

At first his amount was real low.  (I had to assure him it wasn’t a trick question.)

Because… what ever amount he said was the amount he was going to get.

We were able to save $500 that month.  (that surprised us both)

It was a good exercise that made us rethink our spending habits and priorities.

While we have relaxed from the original 30 day challenge,

we now have a mutual goal of saving towards our retirement.

(Call us cheap or call us old, we love it when we have a good restaurant coupon.)

With the New Year right around the corner, it might be a good time to consider

your own 30 Day Challenge.

10 Things you may or may not know about me

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Here are 10 things you may or may not know about me.  (in no particular order)

1.  I have lived in the Mid-West all my life.  I love it here, I love everything about it. (Well maybe not this last winter.  But even that’s becoming a distant memory.)  The Midwest’s home.  It’ll be a hard sell to get me to ever move away.

2.  My Favorite kind of Vacation is a “Beach Vacation”.  One of my favorite things to do is to sit on the beach under a beach umbrella, listen to music and read a book.  (Getting to the beach from the Midwest can be a challenge.)

3.  My favorite color is RED.  Anyone who knows me even a little bit has probably guessed this already.  Even though I don’t wear the color red often, I love the color red.  I think every room in the house needs a pop of red.  I even collect Red Toile dishes.

4.  I am a middle child.  (No, I don’t have a problem with that.)  I am one of 5 kids, 4 girls, raised in a very small ranch house with only one bathroom.  Funny thing, I don’t remember that being a big issue at the time.  (at least not for me.)  Bonus Trivia:  my husband is also a middle child, 4 boys, one girl.

5.  I met my husband in Hawaii while on Spring Break.  One of us may have been a flirt. Long story for another day.  (Bet that has you wondering.)

6.  I was always a shy and quiet kid.  I never would have guessed that I would love sharing and teaching my projects to groups.  It’s easy when you’re doing something you enjoy.

7.  I don’t embrace change well.  My family will agree on this one.  New things scare me and make me nervous.  (I had to be talked into getting a microwave in the 80’s.)

I’m not an artist.  I do, however, consider myself a creative person.  I did take art classes all through high school and even in college.  I enjoy art even though I can’t draw.  One thing I’ve learned about art is that there are all kinds of art and art is subjective.  One of the reasons I enjoy Paper Crafting so much is that I can be creative and make small little masterpieces that make me happy.  When I was a kid I loved doing all kinds of crafts.  At a very young age, I even had a thriving candle business for a while.  (or least I thought I did)  FYI:  I don’t like being called “crafty”.  I am “creative”.

9.  I love flowers.  I enjoy photographing them, growing them in containers and in gardens.  Flowers make me happy.  I love Springtime when I can make all those treks to the Garden Shop and pick all my flowers to plant.  My favorite flowers are daisies, roses and hydrangea.  Wouldn’t they look lovely in a vase together?

10.  My Family is Everything to me.  Last but definitely not least is my family.  One of the most important things in my life is my family.  I have three wonderful children, a loving husband, two adorable grandsons, great daughter and son in-laws, sweet father, fun siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews.  All who mean the world to me.  Family is Everything!  I love my crazy family.

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