A List of Things

I saw this list idea on another blog and thought I would "borrow" it:

  

Things I love:
long weekends with our kids

celebrating our daughter-in-law's graduation from medical school

seeing the pride our son has for his wife's accomplishment

hanging out with my parents last weekend

meeting my niece's almost 6 month old twins (I got smiles, giggles, snuggles and bottle time)

Things I strongly dislike:
the weather in Minnesota

pain

being alone every day

the way I tend to just stuff my clothes in my dresser drawers

men in restaurants in sleeveless shirts (read this super funny post about the subject)

Things on my to-do list today:
make the bed with clean sheets

finish the laundry from the weekend

sew the binding on one of the twin size quilts I'm making for my sister

finish the red and white quilt (sew on the label and wash it) 

Things I'm praying for at the moment:

that the red and white quilt won't bleed when I wash it

a change for my husband and me

wisdom for a project I'm thinking about tackling

my childhood friend's kids (she passed away a year and a half ago)

wisdom for our son and daughter-in-law as they look into buying their first house

Things I'd rather be doing today:

having lunch with one of my kids

sitting outside in warmth (it's only 48 degrees) reading

having some good friends for dinner

hanging out with my husband 

Things (of the food variety) I'm craving lately:

a garden tomato

rhubarb crisp (made from the rhubarb my mom shared with me)

Kansas City barbecue

chocolate

a Panera lunch 

Things I'm looking forward to:

finishing reading Jane Eyre and then watching the movie

summer

Stuff and Things

Outside my window... Gray. Although, I did see the sun for a while today. An unusual sighting this time of year.

I am thinking... about a cruise we are going on next month. I am so looking forward to being warm!


I am thankful for...a good appointment at the eye doctor. Everyone in that office is so kind. Now I am just waiting for the pupils in my eyes to not be so dilated and for things to look more clear.

I am wearing... a warm, warm sweater. Duh. It's winter here in the north. And will be for the foreseeable forever.

I am going...to work on my next quilt project this week. This one is from red and white fabrics and I'm excited to see how it will turn out! I made a couple of practice blocks last week just to make sure I was going to like it before I starting in on all the cutting.

I am currently reading... a biography about James Alfred Wight, or James Herriot. He wrote the books: All Creatures Great and Small, The Lord God Made Them All, Every Living Thing, All Things Bright and Beautiful, and several others. He was a veterinarian in England. I've read those books before, probably more than 20 years ago. I plan to read through them again after I finish the biography.

I am hoping... for change. Kinda weird because I usually don't like change. But hubby and I need change. (Ask me if you want more details.)

Noticing that...I didn't care for the majority of the commercials during the Super Bowl last night and that's the only reason I was parked in front of the TV -- to watch the commercials. My favorite was the "God Made a Farmer" one.


Pondering these words... "I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." (the last part of Jeremiah 31:3) That is one of my memory verses for this year. As I've been working on memorizing it, I have been thinking about all the ways that God has shown me (and therefore drawn me to Him) with His kindness. Quite mind-blowing.
 
From the kitchen... I finally made a loaf of banana bread that was successful! The week before I made some, but totally under baked it. It was nice and browned on the outside, but when I dumped it out of the pan, it oozed all over the stove-top. I don't know how I thought a load of quick bread would bake in 25 minutes. The brain was not fully engaged that day.

One of my favorite things... Going out to eat with my hubby. I like just sitting there across from each other and talking with none of the distractions of home. (And not having to cook is a bonus!)

From my picture journal... Hubby gave me some Paperwhite flower bulbs for Christmas to force. We planted them a couple of weeks ago and they haven't done much. I don't know if they are duds or it just hasn't been sunny enough. I will be sad if they don't grow and bloom. I thought that was a really cool gift.

The Thankful List

 1. God's mercy and grace. I don't even want to think about where I'd be or what my life would be like with out Him.
2. My Hubby. He's my best friend in the world. He works hard at his job and is a great provider. He loves me. (and that's an amazing thing)
3. My Son. He has such a great sense of humor. He loves God and his wife. It is such a privilege to watch him grow as a man of God.
4. My Daughter-in-Law. She loves God. She's a great medical student and will make a great doctor someday. She is the sweetest person I know. I adore her.
5. My Daughter. She desires to honor God with her life. She loves her husband and made a GORGEOUS bride. She's a great student of Pharmacy. I marvel at her smarts in the realm of science. She's a great cook.
6. My Son-in-Law. He has a desire to serve God. He's a man of integrity. He's a wonderful cook. I love how God answered my prayers for a husband for my daughter.
7. The ability to get away over this Thanksgiving weekend. (Both kids made their own plans -- time with other family and time with each other.) We escaped a bit farther south and to relatively warmer weather. Today it's 15 degrees warmer where we are. Yesterday it was closer to 50 degrees!
8. A charming Thanksgiving meal. Just the two of us. (Thankful for pre-made mashed potatoes and stuffing! I made the cranberry sauce at home. Hubby loves it.)

9. Wonderful pizza with wonderful friends tomorrow night.
10.There should be an even 10 things I'm thankful for, but I think the pumpkin pie and/or a nap is calling me....

A List

This will represent the scatteryness (yes that is a word...) of my mind lately.

1. I am so not in the mood to decorate for Christmas. But I feel like I should be. So I just decorated my blog. That counts, right? And I took down the fall decorations. My hubby and I feel pretty bah-humbug this year. Hopefully we'll get it done before Megan gets home for Christmas break.

2. I think I need to stop cooking. I have somewhere around four burns on my hands. It's a dangerous activity. On the other hand, I made quite an awesome turkey pot-pie last night. (Thanks to Pioneer Woman).

3. I've been to Target four times in two days. I need to go again today to return something. I think I love that store.

4. My mom has been home from the hospital for a week now! She spent 6 weeks there and is so glad to be back in her own house. They had to get a hospital bed for her because the bedrooms are up a full flight of stairs. So now she is sleeping in the dining room.

5. I spent all day Saturday doing laundry. I think the laundry basket was empty a total of .42 seconds. **SIGH**

6. The first of the wedding planning started this week. (Well, last week when I put in a request for the church. I'll hear next week if that is going to work.) This week's job is to find a location for the reception. (Good news! I just got a phone call from the church saying that it is approved! I get to write my first deposit check today! WooHoo!) (Oh for a bit of explanation... our church does not have a building, so I had to ask another church in town to use their facility.)

7. The neighbor's down the street amaze me every year with their gaudiness. I didn't even get a picture of the GIANT blow-up turkey. Thankfully that house isn't next door.

8. Speaking of the house next door, the barking dogs have been taken care of. It has been a blissfully quiet couple of weeks. (All it took was a couple of phone calls to the right people...) ;)

9. We had a wonderful week with Caleb and Amanda. We were blessed that they could spend a whole week with us. We had fun going out to eat, shopping, watching movies and just hanging out. We are thankful for their happiness and contentedness. Below is a picture depicting both the shopping (they were testing out the cuddlelyness of the chair) and the contentedness. Handy, huh? Thanksgiving dinner was good. (Even if the turkey wasn't completely done.) (We ate the fully-cooked part.) We even got to have a friend from church who had to work that day join us for dinner.

10. Speaking of eating out, we ate at a Big Bowl restaurant. I ended my quest for the best lemon chicken. And it is the best I have had in this country. Now I am getting hungry. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that the nearest restaurant is an hour away??? When I was almost finished I realized I should have taken a picture of this yumminess. So you get a shot of the last bite.

Your welcome.


11. (Dern. I thought I could end with an even 10, but I found this picture and had to post it.)
This is my sweet hubby who has this (uncontrollable?) reflex to organize 3M displays when we are out shopping. He wants his company to be represented well. :) Oh how I love that man.






P.S. You are welcome for all my made-up words in this post. Real words just didn't quite cut it today.