Procrastination of my Resolutions

     I have been trying to formulate in my mind what I want to do this year. What do I want to accomplish? What can I accomplish this year? I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to have a New Years List of Resolutions.  

Here are some things I know I will accomplish.

     1. Get up every morning. I need that positive feedback knowing I have succeeded in something.  If I don't accomplish this one item the rest of the list is irrelevant and I have bigger problems to be concerned about.
     2. Have my morning coffee. Enjoy it in a wonderful mug that feels great in my hands and allows me to ease into the day. I love my coffee and always remember the coffee beans.
     
A few resolutions to be socially more responsible. 

     3. Bring my own bags to the grocery store. I dislike plastic bags immensely. I am not sure if I despise them more on sheer fact that the bag boys at the grocery store don't know how to pack a bag. Explain to me why you need to put a gallon of milk in a grocery bag. I love it when they say "I have to put it in a bag" and I say "no, you don't." They never know quite how to respond. Ikea has awesome bags that are made from blue tarps and are great for boxes like cereal. Also if I am only using reusable bags I want them to look good and that gives me the excuse to go to Crazy as a Loom and buy a bag from her store and buy one of her Rag Bags!

     4. I will not shop at Wal-Mart ever again.  That one should be pretty easy. I hate even pulling into the parking lot. For the longest time it was the only place to grocery shop.  Thankfully we have gotten a new Martins and it is SOOOO nice. I just read this article and it reinforces my decision. Although they have these frozen pancakes my kids love. Does it still count if  send my husband to the store to buy them? Hate Wal-Mart.

 The business side and everything else.

     5. I will work at growing my business http://www.kristamosbyphotography.com/ by being more aggressive with my marketing strategies and stop giving my services away.
     6. I will go to the gym. I have the membership and I will use it. I finally understand the having a membership does not actually mean you go to the gym.
     7. I WILL finish the 50 boxes of slides that I need to convert to digital for my in-laws.
     8. I will make rugs with the 8 large bins of sock loopers I have in my garage. I need the space for other things.

These may not seem like much but if I can do these 8 things it will be a stellar year!

Baby it's COLD outside

A rare shot of my middle child.

From Each Day....

Just a picture... kind of liked it.

From Each Day....

We all remember the scene ... Scarlett O'Hara, impoverished from siege of the Northern army during the Civil War needs to impress Rhett Butler so she makes a dress out the green velvet curtains from her beloved Tara. Carol Burnett's  portrayal of Scarlett  is still a classic.

From Each Day....

How many people can go to a Smithsonian museum in Washington DC and see items that were actually worn by your ancestors? It was exciting to me so be able to say to our children "Your great, great, great uncle John Singleton Mosby, AKA Grey Ghost, wore these items during the Civil War. I am simplifying this immensely but you get the idea.  Our last son is also named after him. Kind of cool!  My husband being the Mosby can spew all kinds of history regarding  the Colonel, I am just starting to recognize him by face.

From Each Day....

The portrait chair. My daughter commented that they always look so grumpy. If you had to sit completely still for 15 minutes to have your picture taken you'd be pretty grumpy too. If we still had to do that I would have no pictures of my kids, just big blurs.

From Each Day....

The Ruby Red Slippers from the Wizard of Oz.

     Dorothy wore the red slippers to protect her form the Wicked Witch of the West

     In L. Frank Baum's original novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy wore silver shoes.  The movie's creators changed them from silver to ruby to take advantage of the chromatic possibilities of the new Technicolor film process.

     It is speculated that there were seven pair of shoes made for the production, four can be accounted for. Thes shoes were sold at auction  sold for $15,000 (the pair now on permanent exhibition in the Popular Culture wing; The American History Museum; The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C..).

     In May 24, 2000 another pair sold at auction for $666,000!

From Each Day....

Kermit the Frog factoids:

     Kermit was born in 1955

     First appeared on Sesame Street on November 10, 1969

     Kermit's best friend is Fozzy Bear

     Kermit is the author of   Before You Leap: a frog's eye view of life's greatest lessons

     If Kermit had been walking around DC with us on sunday he would have needed one of these!

From Each Day....

After leaving the museum to go out into the freezing tundra, and let me tell you it was COLD. The wind was blowing like stink and this guy is out playing the "drums" like it was no big deal. People were dancing and my youngest was very intrigued.

Finally got her to wear a hat.

From Each Day.... This is a picture of Carter on the train, he thought he was big stuff because he could stand up by himself,  pretending that he was "commuting" on his own.

The Road of Life

From Each Day....

At first, I saw God as my observer,
my judge,
keeping track of the things I did wrong,
so as to know whether I merited heaven
or hell when I die.
He was out there sort of like a president.
I recognized His picture when I saw it,
but I really didn't know Him.

But later on
When I met Christ,
it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride,
but it was a tandem bike,
and I noticed that Christ
was in the back helping me pedal.

I don't know just when it was
that He suggested we change places,
but life has not been the same since.

When I had control,
I knew the way.
It was rather boring,
but predictable...
It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts,
up mountains,
and through rocky places
at breakneck speeds,
it was all I could do to hang on!
Even though it looked like madness,
He said, "PEDAL!"

I worried and was anxious
and asked,
"Where are you taking me?"
He laughed and didn't answer,
and I started to learn to trust.

I forgot my boring life
and entered into the adventure.
And when I'd say"I'm scared,"
He'd lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed,
gifts of healing,
acceptance
and joy.
They gave me gifts to take on my journey,
my Lord's and mine.

And we were off again.
He said, "Give the gifts away;
they're extra baggage, too much weight."
So I did,
to the people we met,
and  I found that in giving I received,
and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him,
at first,
in control of my life.
I thought He'd wreck it;
but He knows bike secrets,
knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.

And I am learning to shut up
and pedal
in the strangest places,
and I'm beginning to enjoy the view
and the cool breeze on my face
with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore,
He just smiles and says..."Pedal."
-author unknown

I have been cleaning house like a mad woman.
I have also been trying to figure out all the New Years Resolutions that I would like to do.
So between the cleaning and thinking I stumbled across this poiem (ok, poem. It drives my daughter crazy when people say poiem so I am doing it to poke the bear) in my Bible study stuff. It seemed like a good place to start, to help me put some things in perspective.

I have also cleaned up my hard drive on my computer and transferred over 5000 photos to my external hard drive which translates into have no pictures available to me quickly. This photo is of a girlfriend  that I went to middle school with in Minnesota. She is running away and her brother is "helping" her. Her father is Jim Brandenburg , he took the photo while hiding in the woods.. Jim is a photographer for National Geographic and now has a gallery in Ely, Minnesota. You really need to check it out, he does beautiful work.

Sunday Ride

The scenario: The temperature was almost 50 degrees and the snow is slowly melting. The kids have been home for nine days and I was starting to go a little bonkers. My husband was out in the garage putting together the basketball hoop that we Santa brought my daughter for Christmas. He was in the Left Brain mode. Focused. Methodical. Get 'er done mode. He gets like that, he is an engineer, he is Left Brain. So when I went out in the garage hopping from foot to foot saying lets go for a ride, huh, huh, wanna go for a ride. Let's go right now. Can we? Can we? And his response was "give me a half hour".  I felt like the kid who just lost his kite in the tree. Boy he must be focused because when it comes to riding he is like an addict, he will look for any excuse to ride any time of the year. Well two minutes later he came in wanting to go for a ride...hehehe, he is sooo easy! The planning: There always has to be a plan. I am always surprised that my DH does not pull out an actual written check list but then he may just have it memorized. Focused. Methodical. When I ride I like to know that there is a destination in mind whether it be a landmark, park or preferably a Starbucks thats all. I am happy with that. We picked our destination, somewhere close because we I knew it was going to get cold fast. My husband has the heated gear. Electric heated jacket, gloves and heated grips. Along with the pants, full face helmet...yada, yada, yada.  I have, hold on to your shorts, the long underwear I used to wear in middle school when I went skiing.  My daughter is actually wearing them now and I had to dig them out from under her bed.   The ride: It was clear, bright and actually pretty warm for December 27th, almost 50 degrees. Let me tell you though, that sun goes behind the trees and it is COLD! Even after dodging the occasional chunks of ice, the large broken jar, sand and gravel from the salt truck it was a nice ride. What we did see though was a HUGE BALD EAGLE. He had just swooped down in front of us grabbing something in his talons and then flew along side of us. How cool it that! We were gone for about an hour and a half.  A nice little break. We got home and the kids had not killed each other so that was a bonus.   And I turned 1000 miles on my bike. Yippee. Go me!

Half Broke Horses

Jeannette Walls lives somewhere close to me. Within a mile on one of the secluded farms with her mother and husband. When I am driving somewhere I will look at one of the horse farms and think, maybe it is this one.

The Glass Castle in probably one of the best books I have ever read. I ran the gamut of emotions from excitement to being completely depressed by the life that Jeannette lived. I was amazed that she has been able to write a book of her life and not come across as bitter or angry.

From Each Day....

Jeanette has come out with a second book that I am very anxious to read.
Half Broke Horses is about the life of her grandmother.
I received it as a Christmas gift and when my husband and kids head to
the beach tomorrow I am going to hunker down and wallow in it.

Christmas Day Dinner...

I am always impressed with the food postings I see on my fellow bloggers sites. Their photos that go with their blogs are always great. I have attempted food photos several times but have never hit the POST button. They were never worth looking at. I really think it has something to do with the round plates and square cropping of the photo. It always felt out of porportion and off kilter. So I thought hmmmm, get rid of the round plates. You have this awesome camera that will allow you to do some heavy cropping, do it. I was at the grocery store trying to figure out what to serve for Christmas dinner. Quite honestly I could not stomach the idea of eating any more turkey. Cornish hens are too close to turkey. The seafood department gave me the idea of King Crab legs. It was only going to be my husband, me and the 3 kids. How expensive could it be. Good Luck!  I chose to do it any way. One big 'ol bag a crab legs, 1 1/2 inch sirloins, baked potatoes, salad and mushrooms sauteed in butter and brown sugar. Yum. Oh, and red wine becuase it is good for your heart. From Each Day....

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Needless to say it was really good. The kids loved them and I ate way too much!

A letter from Santa Claus

From Each Day....

Hello boys and girls, Santa Claus here,

Writing a letter to you on the best time of year.

My elves are real busy making lots of cool toys,

which I will only deliver to good girls and boys.

If you want me to bring these great gifts to you,

there are a few simple things I need you to do.

Mind your parents and do what they tell you to do.

Be sweet to your friends; share your toys with them too.

 

Clean up your toys, put them all away,

to make room for new ones you'll receive Christmas day.

I'll be watching till the night I come to your house.

You will not hear me for I am quiet as a mouse.

 

Try to sleep through the night until Christmas day.

Then you can see what I brought in my sleigh.

I hope you'll be good, I hope that you'll try,

so until Christmas Eve, I must say good-bye.

Sincerely,

Santa Claus

P.S. Please leave my reindeer some carrots, milk and cookies for me

And I will place lots of goodies under you tree.

How I did the BIG pictures.

Ok....for starters I get confused if there is too much writing in directions so I will try and make it as clear as possible.


1. You need to change your blog template.
    a. go to Dashboard
    b.click on Layouts

    c. click on Pick new template
    d. choose Minima Stretch
    e. click Save

Sidebar note:
 Every picture you post to Blogger is stored in Picassa web album. When you upload a photo for a post it is automatically stored in Picassa.


In a separate window open up the Picassa link. This should show all your photos that you have uploaded to blogger.


2. Select New Post
   a. up load a photo like you normally would, but do not add it to the new post. You know how they            upload to the little window and then you highlight it in yellow to add it to the post. Well don't add it to the post.
   b. switch screens to picassa.
   c. the photos you just uploaded will be there.
   d. click on the photo you want to add to the blog.  It will open up real big. On the right hand side you will see a menu of items.
    e.  Click on Links to this photo
    f.   select size of photo.  This will change the embedded image information.
    g.  click on embedded image. the information will then be highlighted. Right click to copy the information.

Now switch screens back to blogger where you are typing you new post.
     a.select  Edit HTML
     b. right click on the screen and click Paste
     c. Your enlarged photo information is now in the post .  If you select preview you can see the enlarged photo. Close the preview window. Select compose and start typing you blog.

What is REALLY nice about doing it this way is when you add your photos it places them one after another, in order.

Simply Joyful Photos has taken screen snapshots if you need some visual help.

Hope this helps. I am so excited that I finally figured it out. Good Luck!

HoHoHo Here Comes the snow!

Boy did we get snow! WOW. It was so pretty coming down. It  was not the big puffy flakes that are so easy to shovel but the small, get into every little crevice packing it in tight weighing a ton when you have to shovel it snow.   We here in the south think snow is pretty. It snows, covers everything in a pretty white blanket and makes everything so fresh and new. Two days later the temperature goes up and melts all the snow. Done. I don't think that is going to be the case this time. I heard a rumor that they are talking about an ice storm for Christmas. Not a good situation. After being locked in the house for 2 days with the kids we were starting to go a little stir crazy so we decided to go for a walk. Martha was more than ready. As we were leaving we met Frank, the man with the plow. From Each Day....

From Each Day....

From Each Day....

From Each Day.... It is so funny to see everyone out in the tractors plowing snow.

I am not sure if this guy is plowing or just out for a ride. When we got home the kids were no where to be found.  I have a feeling they bailed on the playing out in the snow the first chance they got. Cannot figure that one out. Go play in the snow. Have fun.  After our beautiful walk I decorated Christmas sugar cookies with the kids and they made a Ginger Bread House. From Each Day....

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I finally did it.

I am so proud of myself.
With the help of Simply Joyful Photos and Kate at Chronicles of a Country Girl I was able to finally get a photo posted in the large format. For some reason I have had a devil of a time figuring this out. Now mind you I am not a complete idiot when it comes to the computer. (My husband and daughter may disagree with this statement but they don't get a say in this one. It's MY blog.) Anyway, I DID IT! I have BIG pictures. Well I have one big picture, don't know if I will be able to repeat the action. 

From Each Day....

Good Girl

Martha. Love my Martha. She loves me unconditionally. We have our routines. I take a shower she lays on my towel to warm it up for me. I use the bathroom, she makes sure that the toilet paper us torn off and ready for me to use. I go to the pantry to get something to eat she is right there to make sure no one has poisoned my food. I put a fire in the fireplace and she lays as close to it as possible so no one else gets to close.When I go to bed she lays on the floor next to me so I have something to soft to step on when I get up int he middle of the night to pee.She secures the perimeters of squirrels. She would not have clue what to do if she actually caught one, but she sure tries. The squirrels are VERY afraid of her. Can you tell?

She does love the snow as long as someone is out there with her. We have a reflective vest that she wears  so she does not get confused for a deer.

From Each Day....

My Martha. Martha, Martha, Martha. You are such a prety girl!

No words are needed.

Do you ever feel like this?

I absolutely love this cartoon. I have it on my bulletin board at work and it makes me chuckle every time I see it.

Turkey Day Thoughts

FOR TODAY

November 26,2009

Outside my window I am seeing the flicker of flashlights as my children and thier cousins play flashlight tag.

I am thinking  I did not eat that much Thanksgiving dinner and there is pie and ice cream calling my name.

I am thankful for the wonderful family that I have married into.

From the kitchen I am hearing my daughter pleading us to play Clue.

I am wearing a pair of very comfortable Levi's, light t-shirt and no socks.

I am creating Save the Date cards for a friends fundraiser.

I am going to try and sneak out and do some Christmas shopping tomorrw, maybe.

I am reading The Art of Racing in the Rain.

I am hoping this horrible cough goes away before I completely lose my voice.

I am hearing the football game playing on the t.v.

Around the house there are people milling around, playing games etc. Martha is scouring the floor looking for leftovers.

One of my favorite things left overs from Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, stuffing, cranberries with mayo on a roll.

A few plans for the rest of the week: I am going to put up the Christmas tree and hopefully get a headstart on the holiday planning.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

People...

People are often

Unreasonable and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,

People may accuse you of ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are honest,

People may cheat you.

Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness,

People may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

 The good you do today

May be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,

And it may never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between

You and God.  It never was between you

And them anyway.

-Mother Teresa_

Weaving a shawl

My neighbor is a big weaver. Or I should say a weaver, spinner, knitter, quilter, dyer etc. She will pretty much try anything when it comes to fiber.  Anyway, she has loaned me her triangle loom which I think I have had for the last 6 months with same project on it sitting in my kitchen. I think the fact that  I did not have a deadline kept me from completing the project.

The first 4 shawls I made on this loom did not look right. I used the wrong fiber, finished the ends off incorrectly, had a flaw in the middle of it and my personal favorite...ran out of yarn. Then about 2 weeks ago she called to give me a heads up that she was going to want the loom back soon.

(This is my youngest kicking back playing his Nintendo DS)

I think it sat in this stage of completetion for months and her phone call lit a fire under me.

I finally finished it. I was/am so excited about it that I wanted one for myself. This shawl is for a girlfriend of mine but whatever I make I always wear once. I don't think they mind.

I ran out and bought more yarn to make another shawl. I have 2 weeks to finish it. I thought I would keep this one for myself but I think my mother will get it for Christmas. 

P.S. Where did the spell check go on Blogger.