not too cool

I was talking with a friend today about something she’s looking for used. She wants it to be cheap used so she can paint over it herself and she won’t have to worry about it getting messed up. It will already be a little banged up broken in. I just love that about her.

One time several years ago Boo’s Sunday school teacher did a little unit on everything from how to take care of a hairbrush to washing your face to modesty and frugality and on and on. She even had a lady from church come in and talk to the girls about shopping at thrift stores. I have to admit I had not been to one in quite a while. She also sold jewelry, so she made a deal with them. If they could go shopping at the thrift store and come home with an outfit on the cheap, she would give them a really cute piece of jewelry. So we took her up on the challenge and came away with a really cute church outfit. And she also scored a really cute necklace.

I was so glad Boo embraced the little challenge. I want her to know it’s ok to shop on the cheap, and that there isn’t anything wrong with frugality.

Ever since then, I’ve taken to making a little run through my local thrift store every now and again, because you never know what you’re going to find. I told my friend later that the capris I was wearing today were purchased at Goodwill for $4 and they still had the tags on them when I bought them. Hello! You can’t argue with that. Although I did notice they needed a simple repair so I got some thread and stitched one tiny spot. Just like new! And did I mention they were only $4?

We’ve never scored another whole outfit, but we’ve found little things here and there along the way. Maybe it’s time to go again and see what we’ll find. And how little we can get away with spending.

Because I’m not too cool for that.

what kind of fool do I want to be?

Today I heard someone say something.  It was one of those things that made me run for a pen and a scrap of paper.  It made me think hard thoughts I don’t like to think about myself.  It was a call to prayer.  A certain prayer. A pointed to prayer. And where is it pointing to? 

Help me see the fool in me.

It’s pointed to me.

Sometimes I like to see prayers pointed at other people.  Other people’s flaws. Other people’s problems. Other people’s lack of whatever.  That’s a lot easier. Until problems come, and then it’s glaringly obvious that those words were meant for me. 

I don’t always like it when the words are pointed at my heart.  They’re sharp and cut away at the me in me. Sometimes I fight it because it hurts.  Or I’m afraid. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve prayed for people to just let go (of themselves) because I knew the Father would catch them and it would be so beautiful and such a delight,  not just for me to watch, but for them, as they would have been able to stop holding on to themselves and their thoughts and ideas and just let go.  But what holds us/me back?  Me.  The foolish me.  The one that thinks I know what is right. Even though I know I don’t. 

Some people think it’s foolish to spend time with God.  There are plenty of other things I could be doing, after all.  Foolish to be perceived as weak…in need of a Savior.. Aren’t we all in need?  So maybe there are two kinds of fools.  What kind of fool do I want to be?

Random Dozen Meme #3

Since the well has run dry on blogging the past couple of days and you’re all going to get tired of hearing about my cat, I thought I would participate in Linda at 2nd Cup’s Meme called Random Dozen.  She makes up a batch of questions each week and invites others to participate. So here we go…

 

1. Please share one middle school memory. It can be good, bad, ugly, funny. Pictures or words, I don't care, just share.  I had to think hard on this. I don’t remember a whole lot. I hated ‘middle school’…except back in the dark ages we called it junior high and it ran grades 7-9.  So let’s see… in 9th grade I worked in the office and one of my relatives was the principal, so that was kind of fun.

2. What's your favorite Beatles song?  I’m skipping this since I don’t listen to them.  : )

3. If I asked you to describe your most comfortable outfit, what would it be? That one is easy… shorts and a tee shirt…kinda like the one I’m wearing right now!

4. Would you rather host a party or be a guest?  Hmm… that one is hard… probably be a guest. I can leave whenever I want to.  And being as I’m ‘from the wall’ and all of that, I’m not a big party girl.. surprise! : p

5. Do you think we will move completely from traditional books to digital ones, and if we do, are you OK with that? I don’t think we will ever ‘do away’ with real live books, but obviously with things like Kindle (isn’t that what it’s called?) there is a shift. I have a Bible on my iPod Touch, but it will never replace a real paper Bible. The Touch is good for reading late at night though. I don’t need a light.  : )

6. Do you learn best by reading, listening or experiencing? I think a combo of reading and watching or reading.  I glaze over at written directions without pictures, but find I can’t get along if I can’t find a  place ‘where they explain it all’. Is my girlie-ness stickin’ out?

 
7. If you are (or when you were) single, what is the kiss of death for you concerning the opposite sex? (That is, what is one trait or behavior or habit or anything at all that immediately turns you off from considering that person a potential match for you?) When I was single, it was being overly aggressive … um bye-bye.

8. Snacks. Salty or sweet? SALTY.  I licked the inside of the almond can yesterday. I had to use a spoon because there was too much salt accumulated to get out with just my licked finger.  I know… k-lassy.

 
9. Look around you in a four foot radius. What object is around you that you didn't realize was there or forgot was there? How long has it been there? Some birthday cards. Since my birthday! : )

10. What is your favorite Tom Cruise movie? I dunno. Not into Tom Cruise.

11. You buy a bottle of shampoo and discover that you don't like what it does to your hair at all. What do you do with that full bottle?  Leave it out.  Look at it and grumble.  Use something else for a while and forget what it did to my hair. Try it again.  Repeat!  Finally throw almost full bottle away in disgust MONTHS later.

12. Your favorite Fall comfort food? Pumpkin Apple  Spice Bread.  YUM!

If you’d like to see what other folks are thinking this week, then click on over to Lid’s place and check out their answers!

party animal

I don’t think we will EVER outgrow playing with boxes at our house. The other day we got an air purifier and of course, it came in a big ole box. And any time there is a box, the cat will be nearby. So hubby decided to fix it so she could have a room with a view.

She liked it.

She has this little fuzzy ball. She never plays with it when she thinks we can see her, but occasionally we’ve ‘caught’ her making the most odd meowy sounds and she’ll have this crazy ball in her mouth. If she sees us watching her, she drops it, stops meowing and just sits there like 'what?’. Sometimes we come home from errands to find the ball… on the bed, the couch, in a chair, in the middle of the floor. We never know where she’ll party down next when we aren’t watching.

Busted!

living small

Saturday we went to Ikea. This is our third… visit…hoof…trek…day trip.

I remember the first time we went there, I was just shocked at just how many different kinds of things could be under ONE roof. Granted, it was a pretty huge roof, but still! One of my favorite things to do there is go through the little house set-ups they’ve got. It shows customers how they can use Ikea stuff to make great rooms.

I love looking through the little made up rooms at all the clever ‘storage solutions’ that abound. And yet I look at my house and all those funky furnishings just don’t mesh with the things I already own. *sigh* I am just not a hip/cool chick, what can I say?

This trip got me to thinking about what it would be like to furnish an entire very small house with stuff from Ikea! I wonder what it would look like? I wonder if I would shun living large (or aspiring to) and want to live in 1000 square feet or less… and love it?

I just don’t know if I could get clever enough with storage to be able to live with less space. We live pretty small now and at times, it can get frustrating. Hmm…maybe I need to think the Ikea way. But where do you begin?

I’ve always wanted to be a ‘little purse’ girl but I never thought I could pull it off. I have friends on both sides of the spectrum… everything from carrying a small carry-on for a ‘purse’ to a bag not much bigger than a wallet! I usually fit somewhere in the middle.

But I finally took the plunge the other day and found a cute little bag with a built in wallet area since that is the biggest and heaviest thing in my purse. And so far I’m loving it.

My old purse towers over my new little tiny one! So far I like it, but we’ll see. I certainly can’t hide a bottle of water in this purse, but that’s ok.

A girl’s gotta start somewhere, right?!

with the cat

So I did a little sewing project yesterday... with the cat.  I didn’t plan on doing it with the cat, but I guess she had other plans.  

This is the kitty ‘helping’ me place the pattern over the fabric.  

So much help!

Couldn’t get it done without her!

Enjoying the cutting mat after I finally got it all cut out. 

I’m such a late-comer to technology. I know our camera does video, but never even thought to turn it on until last night.  Yes, the picture jiggles at the end. I got the giggles!

Cat vs Gravity from NotesFromTheWall on Vimeo.

And here she is staring at me from the living room while I did my sewing…RESTING after such a busy evening helping me cut things out!

Need to keep an eye on things just in case I’m needed.

She is so stinkin’ cute… even though she’s a total mess! But I did get the dress done… even with the cat… and wore it to church this morning!

the past and the days to come

I’m doing a Beth Moore study. I’ve never done one before.  That might be a surprise to you… or you might say Beth who?  I’ve never really desired to do one, but I’m going to a new church and a good friend already goes there… and she usually does a Beth Moore study when school starts or a new semester for the ladies studies roll around.  So I decided to join her.

Anyway… I’m doing this study.  And to be honest I wasn’t sure if this was for me.  I’ve always studied my Bible since God really opened my eyes to Himself, but never in a ladies group, if that makes any sense.  And being sort of ‘from the wall’ and all, I wasn’t too thrilled about being in small groups and having to share and speak up.  Yes, sitting here typing is MUCH easier than pouring my heart out in front of six or seven sets of eyes staring back at me. 

Maybe this is just ‘my week’ like one of the other girls said last week when we gathered while I scratched my head in wonderment of such a statement.  Well, like I said, maybe this is just my week.  At the beginning of day three she makes a statement that sort of blew me over and yet I knew it was very true. 

“Christ is both Alpha and Omega.  When our lives are immersed in Him, every ending, everything we believe to be the death of us is instead a hand-engraved invitation to a new beginning.”

I read that and just said YES.  I knew what she was saying was for me. I knew it when Bub died. This is not the end of life.  We will go on.  Differently and with sorrow at times, but I knew that God would be moving forward in my life with Him and I knew He still had plans for me.  As a matter of fact, I heard a song called I Will Listen by Twila Paris during the time Bub was sick that I knew I would have played at his memorial service.  The first time I heard it, it pierced me to my very core because, as much as it hurt, I knew it was true.  I listened to it one time and the second time I heard it was at his memorial. Even now, I have to prepare myself to hear it because it is so moving to me. And a call to continue on.

The study this week was reminding me of one part of the song near the end where it talks about learning to dream the dreams He has dreamed for me. Those are hard words for a mother that has just buried her child, and yet so true.  He is still at work.  He still has dreams for what He wants to accomplish in me. 

Beth was having us make a timeline of God’s work in the past and the future work He will do in us. I so dramatically saw His hand at work in me during the time of Bub’s illness. And it just made me want to call out to Him for a fresh continuing of that work… to not get so lost in the everyday that I miss His work now and in the days to come.

ps.. no that’s not Twila singing and I have no idea who Kevin is. Carry on.

hi neighbor

This morning as the hubby and Miss Boo were getting ready to head out, (he takes her to school on his way to work. Love. it.) he was sitting in a chair putting on his socks and shoes. Out of the blue he mentioned that he really should be singing the Mr. Rogers song while doing it.

So he proceeded to pull it up on You Tube and play it for us. I’ve seen it many times and it warmed my heart just a little bit to see that familiar face and hear a song I’d heard many times before.

She giggled while the music played… you know… really corny mom. But I smiled and sang along anyway.

I loved Mr. Rogers when I was a little girl. I knew he was waiting for me. He showed me interesting things and sang songs to me. And he cared for me. He told me I was special. And I believed it because he told me so everyday.

Eventually I figured out that Mr. Rogers wasn’t real. He didn’t really live in the little house or have a trolley in his living room or a Picture Picture or a fish tank or a delivery man named Mr. McFeely. He was a real person named Fred Rogers and even though he really did care about kids, he couldn’t see me through the tv or sing and talk to just me.

I’m so thankful God can. And that He brought me to know that I’m not just special, but precious to Him because He loves me. And He does sing to me. If I’m quiet and yielded to Him I can hear it.

“The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

This post included in Your Life's "Your life, your blog".

unfruitful shopping

There really isn’t anything to this post, other than I’m frustrated and want to vent.  And nobody reads blogs on the weekend anyway, right?  : )

So anyhoo… I’ve been needing a few clothing basics for fall and winter.  I got a Lands End catalog and found a few things.  I ordered a denim pencil skirt (it was on clearance and only available in one of my possible sizes) and a khaki skirt in a couple of sizes.  None of it fit!

I have several basic winter tops that I love. I got them from Penneys. I had a JCP sale catalog that came in the mail and noticed those same items again.  I thought about ordering them, but then decided I’d try to see if they had them in the store. I would rather try them on anyway.

On a side note:  I like the feel of those tagless tshirts and stuff… BUT… it wears off and when I need to buy more of the same thing, I have no idea what size I wear. I can’t just look at the tag.  It’s gone.  *sigh*

So I went to JCP and they had everything I saw in the catalog. I was so excited! So I picked up all my 3/4 length v-neck tops and headed to the dressing room.  First of all, they seem to be making the shirts smaller around now.  My old ones fit fine… but my new ones of the same size, are too tight across the chest.  Aaaaand the 3/4 sleeves are longer and they just took goofy. You’d have to be a monkey for the sleeves to fit.  So I put them all back on the shelf.

They also had a rather cute denim jacket that would be a rather stylish layering piece.  Again with the monkey arms.  The cuffs were down below my fingertips!  What is up with that? I don’t even have short arms!  *sigh*

So I left with nothing.  And I’ll have to take my Lands End things back at Sears.  I get so tired of just trying to find the simplest thing to wear.  Like I said, I’m not even talking about something overly cute or trendy… I’m just talking about basic everyday tops here!

My older things are beginning to look worn. I guess I’ll just keep wearing them and hope I stumble upon their replacements SOMEwhere.  SOMEtime. 

Dunno where or when though! 

“always”

I didn’t share as many pics from my DC trip as I would have liked. Life sort of got in the way and then I just lost interest in it. But this morning, I remembered.

I remembered all the things we saw and heard at Arlington National Cemetery. It was quite sobering.

Below is the grave of the Pentagon pilot on 9-11.

There are so many graves there it takes your breath away!

They go on and on and on. It seems like as far as the eye can see.

We noticed right away that the flags flew at half-staff. Our tour guide told us it is because there is always a burial going on there. I couldn’t get that out of my mind that day. Always.

I hope we never forget those who died for our freedom just like I hope we always remember 9-11.

it’s a date

A court date, that is.  Tuesday made me one step closer to finishing out my dad’s affairs.  I went to probate court.

I’ve never even seen a real live courtroom before. And I have to tell you, it was pretty intimidating.  The building is old and has a lot of character.  I was instructed to wait on my lawyer on the benches outside the courtroom.  Wooden benches.  That looked distinctly like pews.  So I did. 

While waiting I had time to take in my surroundings… from the old moldings around the ceilings to the red granite or marble or something on the walls and everything in between.  I had to walk around a bit to find my courtroom, so I’d know which benches were 'mine’ and noticed every judge has rules posted outside his courtroom.  The room at the other end of the hall had ‘silence cell phones’ on a small wooden stand and that was IT.  But on MY end of the hallway in MY courtroom the list was much longer. No talking. No gum.  No shorts.  No mini skirts.  (and seems like there are a couple of things I’m forgetting) Aaaaaand silence your cell phones.

When she arrived looking all fresh and young and lawyer’y looking, we got down to business.  She reviewed the questions she would ask me and my answers and reminded me again about the gum and the no talking parts.  And then we made our way into the courtroom.

It was fascinating and equally as old and full of character as the hallway. The ceilings were very high and the light fixtures looked like they were from another era.  The bench… is that what they call it?… was big and old and wooden and very intimidating.  I sat there taking it all in.  The judge had not entered the courtroom yet and the bailiff was there working the room, giving out the same instructions I had read and been reminded of in the hallway.  No gum. No talking.  And he told us about having to escort a man out for wearing shorts before the judge actually saw him.  He was lighthearted and jovial and seemed to enjoy himself.  My lawyer told me she had never seen him talk so much.  You see she was allowed to talk since the judge had not entered the room yet.  So everyone whispered very reverently while we waited. 

The bailiff left the room only to pop back in a side door a couple of times as if to practice and make sure we were going to hush up when the time came.  One time he told us he would say something really clever like ‘all rise’ when the judge was actually coming in.  And soon he did.  And we did.  And we got the show on the road.

Thankfully there was a lady ahead of me.  I was glad I wasn’t first so I could watch and see how it all ‘goes’.  Yes, I am a big, nervous chicken in unfamiliar surroundings.  So anyway, I watched the older lady and her attorney approach the judge and watched her swear and answer the questions.  Different ones from the ones I’d be asked, but the same idea.  And then she signed some papers and that was it.  We were second. We did the same thing.  Only Mr. Judge threw me for a loop and asked me something else.  I turned to the lawyer because we had not practiced that part. Thankfully my lawyer was ready to chime in to answer anything I didn’t understand, but the judge sternly shut her down by saying “I’m asking her!”, so I stammered through a short answer. He seemed ok with my response and I got my ok on things and talked to the clerk.  I was so glad it was over quickly and I could get out of there. He made me nervous.

She instructed me to wait on the benches again and she went to another room to get the paperwork ready that I had come for and I was back out in the Texas heat in no time.

We waited six weeks on a date for this and we were in and out in 5 minutes and walking out in 30 minutes.  But it’s done.

some Windows Love

I’m ‘hearting’ me a little bit of blog community tonight.  I love how when one is hurting, another comes along side for a hug and kind words.  Or when another had a crazy day or did something silly, someone is there to laugh along with us.  This journey has so greatly enriched my life.

But I didn’t think anything could enrich the actual technical aspect of the blogging itself until today.  I read this post and many of my blogging dreams came true.  I’m learning how to do things I never thought possible with my pics and I’m looking forward to the freedom this platform gives me.  And I can do a strike out without even going into html. {cue celestial singing}  And I’m figuring out a bunch of other stuff too! : )

I heart blogging.. and all of you.. and my new ‘love’…Windows Live Writer… which by the way, every time I type Live, it accidentally comes out Love.

Coincidence?  I think not! : )

my bathroom 'helper'

Hello... you're in my space.

Um.. yeah, it would be nice if you moved over just a tad.

You could sit in front of the other sink and I could use this one.

or not.

(don't look at my cluttered, outdated dusty vanity, k?)

getting it out of the way

I knew this morning that there were things I needed to get done. Things I've been putting off. I had a Chickfila coupon so I went 'out' to breakfast. It was free. : ) And then I came to stare at the calendar and noticed that sticky note I've already moved from 'August' to 'September'.

Take pages of Daddy's book to be redone after school starts.

Well school has started. But I haven't gone to the funeral home. So today I took the pages that were misprinted and got new ones on order. (they give a guest book thing that has his name and dates and funeral service info etc printed in it) And then I asked for a map to find my parents grave sites. I've been there before but knew I didn't have a clue exactly how to find them. So a nice lady came and brought me a map and offered to drive me out there. I told her no thanks and headed out. I found the general area, parked the car and started walking. She showed me how to look for a marker with the name of Sprinkle near the street and then start heading toward a tree and it should be 'right there'. Well, I did everything, but I still couldn't find it. A kind gardener noticed the lost look to my body language and the map I held in my hand and got me pointed in the right direction. Finally found it. Them. The year marker has been screwed into place. So I can check that off my mental list.

I decided since I was already doing fun stuff, I really should change Bub's flowers. They've been there a year and are starting to look kinda sad. So I went to a big chain store and the flowers were too expensive and I couldn't find exactly what I wanted. So I went to another chain store and found something more wonderful for half the price of the other store. AAAAAND.... they had these little butterfly pick things to go in the arrangements... in green no less. So I bought that and some pretty yellow roses. I carefully twisted the wire of the butterfly around the stem of the flowers so it doesn't blow away.

It turned out really pretty. I like the butterfly. He would have too. : )

open house

Last night was open house for Miss Boo's first year in high school. She goes to a 'small' private school. I say small in that compared to public school, it's very tiny. But compared to a lot of the privates in the area, it's HUGE. And to her, it's HUGE because she used to go to a much smaller private school and there were 40 in the entire middle school. Now, there are around 400 high schoolers. A big difference to her. She carries on about how many halls there are and how big the building is, but it's tiny compared to the public schools the hubs and I went to. So we just smile and nod when she carries on.

We got to meet all her teachers and see her classrooms. We hit each one on a seven minute class time with a five minute passing period. She only has two women this year... the rest of her teachers are men. Isn't that somethin'? She is taking sign language (ASL) for her foreign language. She seems really sweet. We also met her English teacher... the other female. Lots of reading this year. oh boy.

And now for the rundown of the men... her Algebra 1 teacher is an interesting character... former attorney... gives out candy for correct answers. LOL We met her Bible teacher. He is young and energetic and sees teaching Bible as his ministry and wants to get to know each one of his kids and really work to nurture them spiritually. How cool is that? : ) There is a new science and technology building and her Biology class meets in there. Really nice building. Nice older gentleman teaches it. She's taking Technology Application Survey...meaning a little bit of everything to get her feet wet in technology... from circuits, to programming to robotics. I think she will love it. We've already done some of the things they will learn there, here at home, just for fun. (circuits, robotics)

She's also taking Ancient World History. Another man teacher. He gave the rundown of the usual things like late work policy etc and asked if there were any questions. This one lady pretty quickly asked the funniest thing! "I know I've taken a lot of classes and this has got to be just about the boringest class there can be... ancient world history.... what are you doing to make it fun and interesting?" Cue the crickets there for a second or two! But he recovered quickly and told how he keeps things interesting by doing little projects in class and having groups and different things like that... just to keep the kids hopping and not sitting there staring at him or a book. Good answer. But what a funny question!

It's always nice to put a face to a name and feel like we understand what's going on a little bit better. Hoping it's going to be a great year. : )