So Many Things

Well, I'm back Online, and I hardly know where to start. Honestly, with everything I've been doing over the last several weeks and being without my computer due to the virus I just don't know where I want to go with this blogging thing. It really did shoot me in the foot what happened with Social Spark. I just don't know how sold I am on this being a means of income...even supplemental. Do I really have the time to spare from my family to monitor the computer all the time looking for material to write on and marketing my little corner of the web to the entire world? I just don't know...

I currently have a lot on my plate. VBS is finished. It was a success, and we had a great time putting it on. I am definitely looking forward to next year. The garage sale is complete, and we have reclaimed our space. What a wonderful feeling that is!

My new focus is to finish preparing my office for the upcoming school year, get the kids educational plan in place, order some things Online to aid us in our educational adventures, and create my prayer closet. I am so excited about this. I have been planning the transformation of the storage area under our stairs for about two years now.

I originally got the idea of a prayer closet while browsing pictures of the creations of my fellow Imagination Tribe members. Someone included a picture of a shelf hanging in their "prayer closet". I was thrilled. What a wonderful idea!

You see, I am a solitary soul, and I LOVE my personal space. For those of you that are unaware I am the mother to seven and Nana to almost five. I have not had one inch of personal space since my husband I got together almost 12 years ago. This is a fabulous idea in my book; a great means to nourishing my soul. Maybe I'll even find my creative self again. I just cannot wait!

I have accumulated things to transform my little room over the last two years. I bought this beautiful blue fabric from a fabric store that was going out of business. I have held on to it all this time with the idea of covering the walls and bottoms of the steps with it. When going through the garage I found some yellow fabric and a few baskets that will really add to the atmosphere. I just need to get the rest of the things out of there and get something to cover the floor and some large pillows or bean bags for sitting comfortably. I feel a resale shopping trip coming on!

Well, I'm off to research ideas for my personal space...

Interrupted by Virus

Just a quick post to say that first I was interrupted by life, and now I am interrupted by a virus. This is not the first time in my life, and I hope I do not loose too much. My boys are Online a lot, and one of them accidentally downloaded some pushy program. It seems to have caused some problems even though it was removed from our computer.

As soon as I know the virus name and the details I will be sure to share the information here.

This week I will be hosting a yard sale. Yes, for those of you that have been following around, I actually took the plunge. You would not believe the amount of stuff exiting my garage. My mom, organizational goddess, came down for the day on Thursday and gave me a BIG hand. We spent 10 hours in the garage minus a short lunch break. Then, Friday I organized and priced stuff and got it on tables. Now, I just have to get it all out early Sunday morning and get the signs out. I will be glad when this is over, for sure.

What a feeling to know that my garage will no longer harbor ANY of the items I am removing from it in the morning!

Have a wonderful week, and I will start posting again soon. Meanwhile, maybe you'd like to spend some time browsing the archives.

It's Your Choice

My daughter sent this to me today. I have no idea of the original author. I thought it well worth sharing.

READ THIS, LET IT REALLY SINK IN - THEN CHOOSE.

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!

You can't be a positive person all of the time How do you do it?'

He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood

I choose to be in a good mood.'

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.

'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins..Wanna see my scars?'

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked

He continued, '...the paramedics were great.

They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.'

'What did you do?' I asked.

'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity''

Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything .

'Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:34.

Bird Tales

As mentioned in a previous post, I am coordinating the VBS program at our church, Warren SDA, this year. We are currently on day three, and it is such a blessing! Our attendance is lower than we anticipated with four other churches hosting VBS programs at the very same time in our neighborhood, and it doesn't matter. What matters is that we are serving the Lord, planting seeds, and blessing others.

This is the second year that our church has hosted a VBS program with several years previous having gone without. My, what we have been missing! This year's theme is Bird Tales, and it is amazing. We have a cockatiel in residence for the week, and a macaw visited yesterday. The kids are learning about the blessings of God through His creatures. They are enjoying classes, outdoor games, crafts, and Bird Center festivities. It is wonderful!

So, my apologies for no new posts. My energy is directed elsewhere. I will be back next week with pictures and plenty to share.

New Non-Corporate Video Site!

Do you like to watch videos created by other people Online? Perhaps you enjoy creating them yourself. Are you someone like me that would rather do just about anything you can to support something that is more homespun than an evil corporate entity? Have I got a find for you!

My boys love things like YouTube, probably because that's all they know. Personally, I love anything that I can support that is not corporate based. Viddiction is the solution. I discovered their site this morning, and you can tell that they're there for the little guy as soon as their page comes up.

Viddiction is unique in a few ways. You'll never find a video with a CNN, MTV, or Oprah tag line on it. ALL of the videos are USER CREATED, and NO corporate anything is allowed. Everything is original material. You can even enter contests to earn money for your submissions!

Yes, that's right. You can cash for videos that you create and submit through Viddiction. Is that awesome, or what? Viddiction hosts monthly contests paying out $1000 in cash rewards to members that enter earning prizes from $50 to $500 for their winning submissions. Maybe my boys will start using their digital video recorders they wanted so badly last Christmas!

I love the submission from Marcus Sykes where he Performs a Piece from the ever controversial play Othello, by William Shakespeare. It is titled, Shakespeare in the Ghetto, and is worth a view. Heck, he'll even gain points toward winning the monthly contest if you take the time to stop by and check it out. That's how easy it is to win. Just get enough people to view your video, and get a Pay Pal deposit for your winning entry.

Take some time, and check out the Viddiction site. You will know right away that you've discovered a homey place to view and publish videos as well as submit entries for cash money. They do have a code of conduct that you would surely want to review upon joining. The guidelines are easy and relevant. You'll find no silly high school gum chewing rules here.

Running on Empty

I have been so busy that I feel just exhausted! There has not been a weekend in I don't know how long that wasn't fully booked, and my dance card is still full! I am holding out for next Sunday. At this point there is nothing on the calendar. The square is clean, and I plan to keep it that way.

I have a few things in mind for next week to help me gain back some of my energy and reduce the bags under my eyes. This summer was SO hectic that we never even planned or took a vacation. For the most part we usually camp here in Michigan. It's been a tradition for years that we go three times in the summer, and I am really missing it this year. We only have three at home now, and their summer was so busy, and dates were not determined until summer was here, that I just didn't bother planning anything. Now, summer is about gone, and fall is filling up. That is when I thought I'd sneak a week in. No go...

Anyway, back to my plans of rejuvenation. This coming Sunday I am going to putts around the house tending to my garden and just doing whatever feels right. Next Thursday I am secretly heading out for a massage at my massage therapist's new business. She's on her own now. How exciting is that? The the following Sunday I am headed to our old pop-up trainer that we put on our friend's property. They have 10 acres and we do a Girl's Night a few times a year. I am SO looking forward to seeing what she's done with the camper. She's been slowly redoing the inside and using it for meditation. We're going to hang out, eat yummy food, and relax. Hopefully, I'll get some cool pictures while I'm out there.

What do you all do to restore when you need it? Have you figured out the benefits of taking some time for yourself; especially you moms? I am so glad I quit beating myself up years ago and started taking time throughout the year to do what I need to be a better me, and I cannot wait for next week!

Summer Air Giving You Goosebumps?

I don't know about you, but summer heat makes me freeze. I'm not much of a summer person, and I do tend to prefer cooler weather, but going from the beating rays of the sun to the crisp chill of air conditioning can find me wanting for another layer to warm up my skin. The Cabin Cuddler is the ideal solution.



The Cabin Cuddler is a perfect travel blanket as well as a great everyday blanket to keep at home, in the office, or even in your vehicle. The Cabin Cuddler is not only compact, it is convenient and effective. Ergonomically designed, the Cabin Cuddler is contoured to fit your body. Pampering features like a foot cozy and inflatable pillow make the Cabin Cuddler an ideal companion for that long road trip with your spouse that would rather have the air kicking than the windows down, your flight across the country for that summer getaway, in your office desk for those days when the company air seems exceptionally cold, or even on that fall camping trip where the nights get just a little more cool.

Our family vacations are spent in the woods no matter the season. Sometimes the nights get very cold. Nothing, other than those pesky mosquitoes, can ruin your camping experience more quickly than spending your nights inside the tent freezing. The Cabin Cuddler is my perfect solution for keeping warm throughout the night; whether it is spent out on the boat, around the campfire, or in the tent.

No matter your lifestyle, from business executive to domestic goddess, the Cabin Cuddler is the perfect companion. It's compact design makes it easy to take along and store no matter where you plan to warm up. It even comes specially designed for children. What could be a more perfect fitting, versatile accessory than the Cabin Cuddler for your entire family?