Weekly Roundup- March 15, 2013

Good Morning,  I have some wonderful and inspirational projects for you today.  Sorry I had have been missing, but still trying to work this schedule thing out. But alas I want to share some wonderful finds that just inspire me.  Hope they do you too.

I’m in love with this chalkboard from Kimberly @ Serendipity Refined.  Isn’t it beautiful?

Becca @ Adventures in Decorating shares here gorgeous Spring Mantel.

Becca @ Adventures in Decorating shows off her springy Easter tree.

 

Jen @ Jennifer Rizzo created these awesome eggs.  I might have to try these.  I LOVE them.

So which is your favorite?  Have you done any new projects? If so, share a link with us.

  Blessings,

      Cindy

Acts 4:10,12“then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Weekly Roundup- March 1,2013

Good Afternoon Ladies,  I always enjoyed doing this post because I love looking around blogland.  And who doesn’t like seeing how others put things together or how someone redoes something.  Sometimes taking trash to treasure.  It varies week to week on what I feel like posting here, but my sincere hope is that you will find something that inspires you and sparks your creativity.

 

Carlene @ Organized Clutter painted this little bunny and it looks like the delectable Easter Bunny treat.  Really think this is adorable.

Nici @ Posed Perfection created these cherry blossoms, I think if I was doing them I would use pink tissue paper. But love this easy and cute idea

Amber @ The Honeysuckle Bus Stop created a easy Easter tree. Another super easy and inexpensive craft project for spring.

Jaime from Crafty Scrappy Happy shared how to make these adorable eggs.  Want to do these.

Those are a few of the things that I found this week that I feel are quite doable and inexpensive to add to your home this Easter or Spring. Feel free to share a idea with us.

  Blessings,
     Cindy

Psalm 73:25-26“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

What does your blog say about you?

I decided I wanted to see what my blog said about me

Here it is: (sorry it is blurred but the script they allow you to use unfortunately presents it this way.)
However if you click on the image, you get a clear version.

Want to find out what your blog says about you?  Go to Wordle and type in your URL, and it will give you the most used words/topics on your blog.  It allows you to see just what you are conveying to the world.

Kristy Stephens has posted some wonderful post about “what and how and who” our words effect, with the use of all the social media we have, do we stop and think about what we are conveying to others, through our IM’s, posts, tweets, etc. 

Are we busy building others up and glorifying God or are we busy building ourselves up and patting ourselves on the back.

When words are many, sin is not absent,

but he who holds his tongue is wise.

Proverbs 10:19

 

Don’t know about you, but I need these reminders, thanks to Kristy for some great thought provoking post.

Romans 12:10“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Cindy

Little behind the times

Do you ever get like that?  I know I do. 

I decided that today I would finally offload my camera, cause I had gads of pictures that I wanted to share, but just hadn’t taken the time to do this one intricate step. 

Several weeks ago, I mentioned that hubby and I traipsed off to The Wild Rose and Co. shop that was just opening in our area, you can read about the shop opening here, oh and did we ever. Well, today I am going to show you just one of the things I got while we were there.  If you remember this is the weekend hubby was in the market for the new TV.  Anyhow, I fell in love with one piece there and he fell for another.  This is the piece he fell in love with. (Sorry it is a lop sided view of the cabinet) but hey, what can I say. 

Actually this is a old cabinet that was housed in a barn (I believe) until Molly got ahold of it.  (Check out her blog and the other talented ladies that have space in this shop  ooh la, la!!.  You can find their links on the other post)

Anyway, Molly put this piece in the shop, and even though I loved it too, I wasn’t sure it was going to work for the purpose of a TV stand.  It was a bit to high, so hubby took his handy dandy saw to the legs and shortened it a bit.  Now it is perfect height! But I am in {heart} with the way it houses my components and DVD’s and CD’s. 

Not sure it is going to stay this way, as I have another piece that I purchased too, and have some ideas for it…so you will just have to wait and see what happens with it.  Hoping to finish up with it soon.

This past weekend, hubby and I traveled down to The Barn Show and that was really awesome.  Unfortunately I couldn’t go down on Friday, so went down Saturday and they still had great pieces to buy.  But with very sad face, I didn’t get anything.  I am  believing I need a bigger home, or I need to stop liking these girls work.  Anyway, here is a small sample of what they had that I just fell in love with.

(Forgive the quality of these pictures, they were made on my phone)

How cool would this be as a kitchen counter island.  It was a distressed cream color with the dark top…stunning!

This desk would have come home with me, if I could have figured out a place to use it.  It had loads of space and little cubbies, and it was painted a wonderful mustard gold with a dark stain.  Be still my heart….

  I would die for this too….it was painted black with all the little white labels….needless to say my head was reeling by the time we left. 

And here is sweet Gail  of The Kramer Angle check out her blog….she does awesome work and has such beautiful things at her shows and in the Wild Rose Shop and Co.  If your local check her out, you’ll be so glad you did.  I know I am….

Again I apologize for the quality of these grainy photos, but I am making do with what I got. 

I hope you enjoyed your visit, and make sure you pop back in soon, want to share my front porch decked out for fall with ya.

Hope your having a blessed day.

2 Timothy 3:16-17“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

You have asked

  how I did certain things on my blog.  Believe me, if it wasn’t for some wonderful tutorials out there in blog land I would have never done any of them.  But these ladies have some exceptional and easy tutorials for anyone to do. (Will be adding some more) So I have created a link in my navigation bar of a list of some of the goodies I used.  I hope you find them as helpful as I did. 

One other thing I use in creating my blog is Window Live Writer.  LOVE IT!!

Here is a brief description of it
Windows Live Writer is a desktop application that makes it easier to compose compelling blog  posts using Windows Live Spaces or your current blog service. It includes a WSYIWYG blog editor as well as tools for publishing photos, maps. An included SDK allows developers to extend the capabilities of Writer to publish additional content types. Windows Live Writer is a great client for Windows Live Spaces but also works with other weblogs including Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, or WordPress.

You can get it here.  Well worth the download especially if you have more than one blog you try to post too.  I have several and I find this the best way to keep everything together. 

I also love fonts and all the little doodles like these. If you do to, then you have to jump over there and download them.  They are all FREE!   B

Hope you find some useful tips here. 

Jeremiah 33:2-3“This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

Need to get moving

but for some reason I am glued to my computer this morning.  I know I should be doing something productive, but I keep hopping from one blog to the next.  So much inspiration out there.  From projects to try, to filling my soul with God’s word.  These women are simply amazing. 

But I do have my handy dandy schedule out for today, and time for blog reading isn’t on it.  Note to self:  Change that immediately!  But I am going to pry myself away for a bit so that I can get a few things knocked off my to do list and then come back later.

I have my little “Idea” book out too.  This is a little binder that I have that I keep lot’s of… well, ideas in.  Hence the name.  Aren’t I clever?  This binder has books I want to read, project I want to try, personal goals I have, my gratitude list, and inspirational and motivational sayings, etc.  I also keep a home inspiration folder that is filled with pictures from magazines and books that I want to remember.  Such as the one to the left.

A few people over time have mentioned my organization and list….YES….I couldn’t live without them.  It’s what keeps me on task and helps me get things done in a given day, otherwise my mind would just jump from on thing to another.  Plus I like the gratification of checking things off my list.  But I am a firm believer that if you struggle with staying on task, this is a great way to go.  One thing I have done for years, is keep a pencil and paper beside my bed to jot down the next days duties.  That way I can unload those things from my mind before I drift off to dreamland.

Due to working full time, I fell behind on keeping up with my list and such so I am trying to get everything back in order.  I really could have used my schedules while I was working, but I was so tired I didn’t have the mental ability to do it, my mind stay mush most of the time.  NOT GOOD! 

Well ladies, I could go on about this forever, because I LOVE being organized.  But I really do need to scoot and start my day.  I will be back!

Have a blessed Tuesday!

I can see clearly now

the rain snow is gone has stopped.
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

Okay, I was on a roll there(am I dating myself here, I know you all remember that song, right?)…but the snow has stopped at least for a few days and we have dug ourselves out somewhat, at least we are mobile again.  But I want to apologize for not getting here to post this week.  It has just been a different kind of week, I am  off my schedule something awful.  Hubby has been home almost all week because of our historic and record breaking snowfall.   Not sure about you, but when my husband is home, I don’t get anything accomplished that I want too. Plus on top of all that, I was really under the weather.  So alas,I couldn’t even think of anything to  share.  I know you don’t want to hear about me blowing my nose, and how sore it is.  But, thanks to the friends that dropped me a note or left a comment, I am feeling quite a bit better. 

 

But since I decided several weeks ago I would like to take Friday’s and do a Weekly Roundup of some great sites/post that I visited throughout the week.  Man, there are some talented women out there is blogland.  At night after things slow down(and they do, cause I am now a empty nester)  I spend several hours just reading your blogs.  I am so fascinated by all the things you women can accomplish.  You all inspire me to get up and get busy!

 

My side trips this week included:

Now, let me take you to Cathy’s @ Cobblestone Farm, for her adorable salt dough hearts.  With Valentine Day just around the corner, how cute these would be, but I love the fact that you can make them in different colors and they would be precious in any room all year round.  Take a peek.  She share a great recipe for these too.

 

One blog I just {heart} is “Beneath My Heart”, Traci has the best  furniture makeovers, as I was going through her site the other night  I found a great idea for a corner hutch (which by the way I  have)  and it needs a new look.  I think I found it here.  (I would like to repurpose mine to put in my craft room when I move) One of the best thing about her makeovers, is she share with you pictures along the way and explains to you how she gets the look she does.  Traci has a wonderful collection of makeovers.

 

I love organizing about as much as I do neat crafts and furniture  makeovers, so wanted to share a wonderful site that I ran across, looking for something.  Of which I can’t remember now, but I am sure it was important at the time.  Check out  Rachel at  the Small Notebook Blog.  Of course, when I go there, I get lost and spend waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy to much time there.  I love her inspiration  for her home. 
Rachel says:

• keep our lives simple and uncomplicated
• nurture our relationships
• learn practical skills such as gardening and cooking
• make smart decisions for our money
• enjoy peace during a hectic day

 

Really should get this posted so that I can start my day, hubby is going into work today, so maybe I can get back on track just in time for the weekend.  Yeah, me!

Blessed Friday everyone!

Week Roundup

Most are like me and spend way to much time during the week reading everyone's blogs'.  But there are so many talented and creative women out there to learn from.  Here are a few post that I really liked this week.  Either for their creative talent with DIY’s or for their  wonderful usable tips.

Melissa over at 320 Sycamore had some great ideas regarding to moving.   She called this her Moving System.  Great ideas and helpful tips for your next upcoming move. I will have to implement some of these if not all in my upcoming move this year.  She shows us how to keep things together so that finding “our stuff” is easier to find after the move. Great tips Melissa!

 

Nester shared a wonderful post about  preserving some memories.  If you missed it, check it out.  I love this idea. I actually went out this week and picked up some embellishments that I would like to use with some photos and my children’s work.   If your like me I have folders full of things my children created when they were small, because I couldn’t part with them.  Now I am glad I did.  Guess now, I need to find that box of goodies, so that I can “show off” their work.

Jennifer at Balance and Bedlam had a wonderful post about DIY pedestal cake plates.  How to create your own from odd and ends pieces that you pick up.  Mismatched pieces that are lovely can still be used.   Another project for me in the near future.  Goodwill and yard sales are great places to find “unloved” pieces.

 

Shelley at How Does She made the cutest Dipped Oreo Cookies and there is a great tutorial.  Gotta definitely try this…the possibilities are endless. This was a post she did before the holidays, but could easily be done for Valentines day. The tutorial is easy peasy.

Plus she has some cute  Valentine treat ideas that she has gathered from across the web. Of course, I have these bookmarked. 

 

 

 

LeAnne at Organize and Decorate Everything has a wonderful post on Conquering Magazine clutter.  If your like me, you have magazines and lots of them.  Hop over and see how she corrals them.   She has a wonderful site with lots of  great ideas and tips on controlling clutter.

Guess I should scoot, got quite a bit to do today before the snow storm hits, but hoping I will get a chance to tackle some of my things on my “to do” list.  Might be a good weekend for working on reorganizing and crafting. 

Have a blessed Friday!

I encourage you

ladies if you haven’t read this post by Auntie Ruth then you are missing out on a blessing for family, so I encourage you to hop over and read it.  I enjoy reading her  post because they are so heart felt and honest.  Take a peek at today’s posting if you want to bless your family.

Now on to other things.  Can you believe it is already Thursday, and I haven’t accomplished nearly all that I have wanted too this week.  Granted I have spent WAY to much at this computer reworking this blog.  But hopefully I will get it where I want it to be.

I still have loads of pictures on my camera that need to be off loaded so that I can create some worthwhile post.  A few before and afters, some goodies that I ran across while I was out traipsing through the antique malls this past weekend.  My table decked out for Valentines Day.  It’s simple but so pretty.  So hoping by next week I can get a better handle on posting and a schedule that will work for me.

Most of all, I am still working on getting things better organized for my everyday lifestyle, so that all the things that are important to me, I am getting to do.  BALANCE!  Rhoda wrote a great post earlier on this, jump over and read it if you have a minute.  I think most of us want better balance in our lives.  I want to have time for reading my bible daily, working on my bible study, crafting, tweaking in my house, blogging, and reading,and of course spending more quality time with my family and friends.  So much to do and so little time, but I think I will get there.

Should scoot so that I can take care of other life duties today.  Hope you have a very blessed day.

Hugs,

John 4:24“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

One More Day

It’s already the middle of the week.  Can you believe that this week is half over?  I’m moving right along on organizing and updated my blogs.  Since getting my new laptop I hadn’t taken the time to update all the software that I normally use, so I have been doing that.  What a job.  I also have been rearranging and updating content. I hope that by the end of the week I will be done with this.  This is a huge job, especially when you have several blogs to work on.  I really want to get my Christmas site updated, and thinking now I just might.  I can see the light at the end of this tunnel.  Thank Goodness for Lifetime Movie Network.  I have been watching alot of movies while working on this project. My goal is to finish all this computer work by the end of this week. 

We found out that my husband’s son and daughter-in-law will be here this weekend.  They are arriving on Friday and will be here until Monday.  It will be nice to see them again.  With all his children living so far away, we enjoy every opportunity to visit with them.

Well since I have been spending all week working on my computer, I decided I wanted to share with you today a way to organize your browsers and favorites. I bookmarked this awhile ago and would like to credit where I found it, but for the life of me I can’t find it.

How to organize your browser bookmarks and favorites

How many bookmarks and favorites are on your computer? I have more than 1,000 in Firefox and Del.icio.us, and even though they're neatly organized in folders and tagged, I can't remember what I liked about most of them.

How many bookmarks is too many? Are all those sites still live? Are you really ever going back there?

Happily, there's lots of free software for PC and Mac that will help you organize your bookmarks.

For the PC
   • Bookmark Buddy
This bookmark manager offers four different ways to retrieve bookmarks, site login management, privacy functions and bookmark checking.

   • AM-Deadlink works with Firefox and Internet Explorer.

For the Mac
   • WebNote Happy does web site tagging and annotating for Mac OS X that helps you organize, bookmark, and make notes about the web pages that matter to you.

   • Bookdog lets you Click 'Analyze' to find duplicates and then fix them.

Ok…guess I should get started on my day.  Hope you have a blessed Wednesday!

Cindy

Tuesday

Every leaf speaks bliss to me,
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
Emily Bronte

Food for thought:

Do you ever feel like this woman? I know I do…today is one of those days. I feel like I have lots that I should be doing outside the home…but all I really want to do is get myself together. I am feeling like I am in a rut lately, and have to find something that I can do to get out of it. Any ideas? Suggestions appreciated.

My head is swimming with all kinds of thoughts today. I sometimes wonder when I feel this way if I will get anything accomplished. That is when it is essential that I stick to my list. Let’s see how well I do today.

BTW, the baked apples I made last night were so good. I think I would have preferred if I had of added a bit more sugar because the apples I used where a bit tart. But they were awesome. You can find the recipe here. Definitely will be making these again. They were so easy.

Last night, I didn’t do much, Michael got home from work and we watched a little TV. Afterwards he had some things to do, so I sat and listened to College Basketball via the computer. Last night was my favorite teams first game and even though it was a expedition game it was good to hear. But really made me homesick, would have loved to have been there real time. Go Cats!!

One of things I think I am going to start doing on my blog is scheduling certain days to do certain things. For instance, Monday’s I will share my weekend, Tuesday are for sharing a new site, I think you might enjoy. And so on….So since today is Tuesday, it is a site for inspiration. I love Melissa’s blog at 320*Sycamore. She always shares great home designing inspiration. If you haven’t visited with her before, please do. I am sure you will fall in love with her blog too.

Now I need to get to work on that list….

Have a blessed day!

Cindy

Some of what I did this weekend.

Hi ladies,

Thought I would take a little time to tell you that I had very productive weekend, and now it is back to work for another week. I am so grateful for list, or I would never seem to make it. I did get about half of my chores done this weekend that I had on my list. We ( I should say Michael) got the bedroom painted and the ceiling fan hung. All the while I worked on more decorating,I did finally find one of the boxes that was missing. I know there is at least one more, but it isn't a big deal. Mainly the pumpkins which I use to sit around or put on my front porch display. So when I run across them I will finish up.

I also gave the kitchen a good clean last night. Michael in all his sweetness made enchilda's for dinner. Can you say yummy? and leftovers? Anyway, I digress, but after all his hard work in the kitchen I decided to do the clean up. I wiped down all the countertops, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, cleaned out the fridge and did a wipe down, I also put some homemade vegtable soup I made (earlier in the week) in the freezer to have again at a later date, swept and mop the kitchen and family room floor. So felt like alot was accomplished in the kitchen.

Spent some time working on my holiday and prayer journals this weekend too. Needed to do some update. This is the third or fourth year that I have used the HOLIDAY GRAND PLAN and Christmas Countdown so needed to do some updating in those journals. This year I signed up for another little helper. Cara is hosting Holiday Countdown at The Household Helper. Hey with my schedule and anything that can keep me on task I need. Check it out.

Most of you would die if you knew that I have 429 subscriptions (as of this morning) in my google reader. I have them broke down into certain categories. It keeps me from missing out on anything new that is posted by some great bloggers. The ideas, tips, creativity of some of these women are amazing. I also have several blog helps in my reader, and I am loving it. Only problem is, it makes me want to change and update and move things around. But over the next little bit I want to share some of these wonderful finds with you.

Should close for now, will be back soon.
Hugs!

Did you know?

Update on Betty and more

Good Morning all, hope this finds everyone having a great week so far. It's hard to believe that we are half way through the week already.

I wanted to give a little update on Betty. She is in the hospital for the next several days and then we will go from there. Apparently she has a blood clot in one of her lungs and has a infection in both.THe doctors are saying it isn't pneumonia. After the doctors visit yesterday, he informed her that it could take between 4-6 months for the clot to dissolve. Also she is on oxygen and she is hoping to get off of it soon, but we have no word on that. Apparently with the oxygen level higher now, she is eating better and feeling better. So not sure if the oxygen is going to be a mainstay for awhile. Our prayer is that she will continue to feel better so that she can resume her chemo treatments. Her spirits have been down for awhile now, so hoping that they will be better as well. I want to thank you all for praying for her, it truly means alot to Michael and I as well as his folks. They thank you for the prayers, as prayers are really all we have.

Other than work, not alot going on this week. Michael is swamped in his new job and so we don't see each other to much during the week, and with Tori gone all week, it makes my evenings very quite. I am enjoying the time to myself though. Mainly doing low key type stuff and getting rest.

I took some pictures over the weekend of some of my yard sale finds and projects that I am working on, so hoping I can get some uploaded to share with you in the next day or two. You wouldn't believe the mess I have sprawled out in my living room floor. I am still in that organizing mode, which I feel like I have been in all year. It is a slow process for me, but I know once it is done I never want it to get in the shape it was in ever again. It's one of those things that I have put off doing for years, I have tidbits all over the place that I have saved and cut out and printed out, etc and had never really put in a proper place. So that is what I am working on now. I am building binders and folders to house this information so that it is easy to access and retrieve when I need or want it. It's getting there, and it's a good feeling. Sometimes I only have 15 minutes to devote to the project so it is going to remain on my living room floor until it is done. Figure that way, I will keep at it.

I took the time to finally set up all my RSS feeds over the weekend. Loving that. Why I didn't do that sooner is beyond me. It is so easy to stay in the loop and not miss out on any new post. Granted I had to put my list on three different computers, because that is what I use on a normal basis. Is there a easier way? If so, not sure what it is.

I don't know about you, but I love to peek into others homes and get inspired to. If any of you ladies are like me, hop over to my homemaking blog as there are some wonderful links there for home decorating inspiration. Sometimes I just drool when I look at these homes. The women are so wonderful too. Let'em know that you found there link on my blog.

For now, going to close, might be back later. If not, have a super day and remember "To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world".

Hugs!

Weekend Plans

Bringing blessings to other is in essence a habit, a daily way of life. - Thomas Kinkade


The end of the week is almost upon us again. Sometimes I don't know where the time goes. Even though this has been a short work week for me, it feels longer than most for some odd reason. I know that seems like a contradiction since I just stated that the time is flying by....but it is what it is. I am eagerly awaiting this weekend though. Our friends and Michael and I are going to see George Strait on Saturday night, he is coming to Baltimore and we got tickets. Actually I bought tickets the day they went on sale. I have seen him in concert two other times and he is simply awesome. One of my all time favorites. I must have all his music to date. (Well what do you expect from a country girl that grew up right outside of Nashville?)

Saturday morning we will leave early to head down to Baltimore to just explore, go where ever the road leads. We decided to make a nice weekend out of it, we got a hotel room and are going to stay in the city that evening. There is this terrific seafood place we enjoying eating at when we are at Inner Harbor, so we will have seafood before we head to the concert. Should be good. I imagine Sunday I will stop in at the Barnes and Noble (it's huge) and try to spend my gift card from Christmas, as well as catch brunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Another favorite of ours.

Last night I spent a little time working on my (new) home site. It will take me a bit of time to get it ready, but will work on it as time allows. I am very excited about creating these two additional sites, as my home and cooking are passions of mine. I have felt for a while God prompting me to share with others more openly in these areas. I've prayed about these sites, because I truly would want them to bless other women with the same likes and passions. But I feared not having the time to do it or doing it well. But I have felt that instead of feeling like a burden, God has given me such joy. As of late my home has been more of a passion than cooking, (mainly because of time allowances) but I love both. I have always appreciated good cooks and sharing recipes and cookbooks, and stories involving the kitchen . Families passing down recipes and traditions that are made around food. The wonderful memories of my youth that are centered around my grandmothers kitchen table.

The above blurb was to say that we all go through season's in our lives, and guess this is my season and believe me I am enjoying it. In the book "Hand Over the Chocolate and No One Gets Hurt" , Karen shares " there is something satisfying, rejuvenating, comforting about the seasons of the year. Seasons remind me that there is a time and a season for everything, and that "this too shall pass".They remind me that there is a pulse, a sequence, a journey set into motion by the hand of God himself. The seasons remind me daily of God's timing, of nature, of the ebb and flow of life."

I plan to enjoy this season of my life, and whichever season your in at the moment, I hope you are enjoying it to the fullest. Until next time,

God Bless!