Been spending time

daydreaming, not that I have alot of time to do that these days.  But non the less, I have been daydreaming.  Daydreaming about a new house, new community ( country) to live in,living in the country and  thinking about what I want to do with the next phase of my life.

Here are just a few of the things I am daydreaming about….

Buying a new (old) house

I love the big porch on this house, perfect for that porch swing and rockers.

To me this is a classic charming old country home.  I’m in love with the picket fence and the flowerbeds….and ooh la la to that stone walkway. 

 

Living up here in Maryland so close to the all the old federal style homes, I have a great love for them too.  This one is dear.

I can picture this one out of a farm with lots of land and barns….I can still see that porch swing and rockers ya’ll. Two fireplaces.  Yummy!

My heart longs to have a place like this. 

Decorating my old farmhouse with flowerbeds

One thing I know is it will have to have lots of color and texture.

As well as some of my favorites, like the cone flowers and daisies

 

as well as flowers nestled against a white picket fence.  SOMEWHERE!

surrounded by lots more coneflowers and blackeyed susans

Can you say lavender?   Lots of Lavender

How cute would this be in the yard.  Fun and whimsical, blasted with color.

 

Not to mention the wonderful scent of peonies when they adorn the table.  Simple beautiful!

 

But then I have to remember this…..

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” (Philippians 4:11-12 NKJV)

So I guess it is back to reality….what do you daydream about?

Hope your having blessed day!

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.

A Organized Mind

Hi Ya'll! Happy Monday and I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!! It was such a pretty day, it was a bit breezy here in Maryland, but the sun was out and it was so pretty. I had the opportunity to spend some time with my kids yesterday and that is always nice. My daughter stopped over in the morning for a visit before she had to start her day and we had a nice time chatting, and then my oldest son came over and spent the day with me and he made me dinner. It was such a wonderful treat to have him make me dinner. I loved it. My second son came over after he got off from work and spent the evening with me and had dinner with us. I loved having them both there for a little while. I feel truly blessed by the young men they have grown into.
Most of the weekend was spent working in the house, so didn't get much else accomplished. But we did get alot done over the course of two days. Although one of my big goals was to get the main floor completely finished and back in order...Well the work is completely finished but it all isn't back in order, still have the living room to declutter. Guess I will have to work on that over the course of the next several days after I get off work. Boy does my house look different. When my oldest son came over yesterday I ask him what he thought and if he liked it...his reply, " Mom, you have been robbed". I started laughing because to me that was such a funny statement. Especially if you knew me and how my house normally looks. When it is all done, I will share pictures at my home blog. You see, I have LOTS of stuff in my house....but I have boxed up the most of it...so right now, it is sparse...because I want the house to look as big as possible. But it sure did look different to him. It amazing how different a house feels without ALL the stuff...and how good it feels, there really is alot of truth to "it unclutters the mind".
For me, I find I am a better mother and wife if I have a organized Mind.I found this article (http://www.stacksandstacks.com/) awhile back and I think it relates well for me maybe it will for you too.

10 Tips to an Organized Mind

By Jan Hayner

By organizing your mind, you get rid of clutter that fills the brain, which causes stress and anxiety. We all have enough things in our lives that are uncontrollable that can create problems, so why not organize the things that we can control, giving us a true feeling of accomplishment and stress free living.
These 10 tips will help you to keep your mind on-track and help you organize your life:
1. Make a note.
Always carry a pocket size notebook in your purse or pocket and when you remember something that needs to be done, the very best thing to do is write it down. Check your notes daily to help make your next 'list of things to do.'
2. Keep it all in one place and create a workspace.
Always have a workspace or work center in your home. This is the heart of your work area, where you keep your notes, bills, calendar etc.
3. Keep your body healthy.
Eat healthy; get plenty of rest and lots of good exercise. This will see you through to having a good memory, staying focused and being alert. A body that is healthy, works well, is more active, concentrates better and functions on a higher level.
4. Record those 'instant' thoughts.
Mini pocket recorders are available that attach to your key chain for those fast little thoughts that run through your mind and need to be written down. Unfortunately when driving a car, working on an important document or running after kids it is not easy to stop and write a note. HOWEVER, it is easy to record your thoughts on a mini recorder and play them back later.
5. Leave a message for yourself.
Call your answering machine and leave a message for yourself. It could be things you need to take care of in your home; you may need to make an appointment, to schedule a play date for your child, clean out the gutters, or something you need to add to the grocery list. By leaving a message, it will eliminate it from your mind and you will have a note in place to remind you of it later.
6. Trust yourself.
Know that the note you have left is important and not to be ignored. Do not overlook a note or message that you have left for yourself thinking that it can be done later. It was important enough to jot it down, now do it!
7. Email reminders.
If your job is computer related or you have access to one, you can send yourself an Email or subscribe to an email, calendar or reminder service. Most of these are already 'free of charge' on your own computers.
8. Use Post-it sticky notes.
The bright, neon colors will be great to catch your eye. Need to make an urgent call first thing in the morning? Leave a Post-It Note on your telephone. Need to remind the kids to brush better, leave a note on the bathroom mirror, or keep all of your notes at your work center for fast reference.
9. Use timers for instant reminders.
Set your timer to beep a few minutes before you leave for work to start your air conditioner in the car. Set your timer for a break in your work schedule, to remind you that you need to make that important phone call or that you have 'x' number of minutes left for a particular goal to be accomplished.
10. A picture is worth a thousand words.
You may need to remind yourself what your goal is so you do not get off task. If it is organizing a closet, hang a picture of an organized closet on your closet door. If it is getting a document ready for a client, have a picture of someone smiling holding a paper. If it is making a shelf, have a picture of the finished product hanging up to remind you that all of the work is worth the effort.
For years I was pretty organized and then I went to work full time. My life changed drastically when I wasn't home all day. All the things that I had done so effortlessly, was now taking everything in me to do. I was letting things go that I had never done before. It was creating chaos' in my house, but mainly in my mind. When my house was in limbo, so was my mind. Over time, I have been trying to work myself back to a more organized state of home/and mind. Working on simplifying my life in all areas.

I worked on my "Simple Daybook" last night, so if you would like to read my entry you can hop over to visit.
"Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction."
~ Albert Einstein
Keep life simple.
Hope you have a blessed Monday!
Hugs,
Cindy

Where to start?

This is what I woke up to this morning.  I'd say Winter has arrived!

That is how I feel.  I don't really know where to start. Here we are in a new year 2009, and I can't seem to get my thoughts down.  I have been taking things a bit slower and also starting a new system.  I guess you can say that is one of my new  goals for this year.  There are many things that I want to achieve and work on this year that will benefit me and my family.  Most of which are simply personal.  Here is a small portion of some of the things that are rolling around in my head.

1. One, being a better blogger buddy.  I haven't been doing all that great.  Life seems to have  a mind all it's own.
2. More quiet time with God.
3. Spend time with God daily in prayer.
   
4. Digging deeper in my study of the Word/bible study.
5. Reading more spiritual books for guidance/resources purposes that allow me to dig deeper
   
6. Focus on the simple things in my life and be grateful.
   
7. Spend more quality time with my family and friends.

This year I started reading "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren,  I am enjoying it greatly.  I am on Day 7 and I am working through th Purpose Driven  Journal too.  It is a great accompaniment to the book.  I have had this book for several years but just couldn't find the time to read it....so decided there was time like the present.  A great way to start off the new year.
As you can see most of my goals  are of spiritual nature but I feel a strong push toward this this year.  Last year my goals were oriented around organizing and even though I didn't master that, I still plan to work on it.  Believe me, there is ALWAYS something to organize at my house. I also wanted to start journaling my simple pleasures so I joined Peggy at the Simple Woman's   Daybook. You can check out my new blog for my Journal. I think it makes it easier to just recognize the simple things that we are grateful for.  This is a just a fun way to remember.

I am running a bit short on time at the moment, but wanted to let you know that I hope to get my blogging pattern down soon.  Since the holidays and getting the Christmas Decorations down, I have kinda like that "sparse" feeling....so I have carried that over to my computer time as well.  I am decluttering my blogs, making some changes, and cleaning and better organizing my computer files.  My inboxes look better than they ever have, and I set myself up a system on responding to emails that I need too, so that things don't get lost.   One of my other helpers, and it is a big one for me is my day planner, I couldn't do anything without it. Everything goes in there, from appts, what's going on with Tori and with whom, dinner ideas, shopping ideas, even blog ideas,  I use it for everything.  I also use one on the computer so if I need to, I can print it out and go.

Possibly soon, I will blog about some of the resources I like to use to keep me on task...but until then, I should go.  I didn't mean to write a book, but it has been awhile since I have posted.  I will try to get around to visit with you all soon.

Hugs!
Cindy
BTW, I still haven't gotten Christmas pictures off my camera, but once I do...I will post them.  Most likely I will post them to my Christmas Blog and then direct you there to see them if you want. 

Only 2 days to go

and a new year will be upon us. For awhile I have wanted to redo my websitec and thought this would be a good time to do it. I have been struggling with many things going on in my "real" life and I want to focus on "simplicity" this year, hence the new blog. I hope that you will visit with me here. I also hope I can figure out how add all my wonderful graphics to this site. In time.

Today it has been dreary and rainy here all day, which is okay with me. I have spent the day working on my new Household Management Binder. Boy, was that a all day process. I will also be creating on for my web work as well as for the holidays. All in time. In creating my binder I had the help of using Candy's site. I had started one years ago when I was staying at home, but now that I am working I needed one more structured to my schedule now. So basically I redid everything. So far I am happy with it, but still have to add all the "guts" to it. I have some of it, but have much more that I want to add.

Michael's son is here now, he and Michael are at the Redskins/Dallas game. Sitting in freezing temps and rain. Doesn't sound like fun to me. Anyhow, Dallas is losing so I am sure that Michael is going to hate that he spent all day in the cold for that. Can't call him a fair weathered fan. Josh is leaving tomorrow afternoon, so Michael and I will be taking him back to the airport. Not sure if we will be coming straight home or go out and do something for New Years Eve.

Oh yeah, Thanks for all the congrats on our wedding. Believe me once the date has been set, I will be letting you all know. Not to mention, I am sure I will be talking about it on here.

Gonna scoot off for now. Hope you all have a great night.

Hugs!