{yawn. just another day at the office}

uneventful day.

the building pretty much clears at 5.

except for a few. me included.

i am alone on the 6th floor with air one blaring loudly.

brandy and some lingering attorneys were on the 5th floor.

going through mounds of boring medical records.

unknown to me that the building was secured by the bomb squad.

a "situation" on the first floor.

and, you know me, my phone was silenced and i wasn't answering it.

nice.

needless to say, we got sent home.

in one piece, thank God.



{this n' that}

i have been working so much my to do list of organizing is 

having to wait.  so, i'm making small changes when i can. 

the new and impoved junk drawer for the boys.

it has actually stayed like this for well over a week.

                                                                             
                                                

the above was actually a Christmas gift.

but, it serves the purpose of getting rid of that

ugly yellow bag that the dogs are constantly

getting into.  they'll be on a diet soon!

and, it's super-cute!

{is it......}

      a bird, a plane.....a           

a popcorn machine??

Sometimes.

Some days.

It really doesn't take much.

And, it just make my heart smile. 

                    

{my drug of choice today}

                                

                         Mt. Dew                

{someday}

this may be funny.

but, not today.

at the office yesterday, i commented to everyone

that i was running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

and, then, i saw their faces freeze and mouths drop.

and, then the tears sprung.

again.

{2012: THE year of change}

for me.

I don't make New Year's resolutions.

But, like so many, LOVE that clean calendar

{okay, so maybe I like the idea of the clean

calendar as mine is a two year and is already

scribbled on tremendously for 2012}.  But,

you get the idea.  A fresh start!  

Personally, something in my soul craves simplicity. 

Always has, and maybe it does for everyone, I

just don't know.  I'm a definite Mayberry gal.  I know

I've had that discussion here a time or two.  Okay, maybe

three. But, I am DROWNING in chaos and have been for

so long. The vast majority of it at my own doing, sadly. 

I've also broached this topic here several times.  I 

always have the very best intentions, but then I fall

short in a huge way of getting to the prize.  Well,

a few months ago, I started having health issues as

a result of this chaos.  I was not {and still am not

doing a great job at it} sleeping, my hiatal hernia

issues from college began rearing their ugly head,

my attention span was that of a knat and the list

could really go on and on.  But, the things that I hold

the most dear to me...my family, friends and health were

suffering in a huge way.  The only positive I can truly say

was occurring during the peak of all of this was that I clung

to my relationship with God.  No matter what was swirling 

around me....exhaustion from lack of sleep, stomach pain,

chasing myself in circles and getting nothing accomplished.......

I still carved out my quiet time with God.  I craved it actually.

{thank you RAE DEAL}.  I type all of this with tears in my 

eyes because I was spinning too many plates and they

were crashing around me.  There was no time for breathing.

And, I know that different seasons of our life are simply

a juggling act, but this was different. It was taking it's toll and

I was crashing.  So, I began seeking changes through Him. 

It started off small.  First, I was determined to clear out the

physical clutter of my home.  If I spend 15 minutes in the morning

looking for shoes or keys with a child crying because he just knows

we're going to be late......well, that breaks my heart and sets the 

start of the day not in the sunrise kind of morning way.   And, 

my house wasn't all that bad to the eye, but I knew what was

lurking in cabinets, closet, on my desk {now, that was bad!}

Basically, I had lost all organization.  Something that I was once

known for.  Crazy.  But, I am wired in a way I cannot function

with things being out of order.  So, basically, I simply wasn't functioning. 

I was determined to get rid of everything that wasn't necessary, 

treasured, and valued in my home.  I started with my closet. And,

to be honest, although it looks much better.....there is still so much excess.

I am still working on the excess.  Because the excess of anything is

what was eating up my time.   I have almost made my first "quick

round" throughout the house, every nook and cranny.  Then, I will

go back and do a true purge over every item.  I have thrown or

given away bags and bags of "stuff."   When you get to the point

you cannot sit down and balance your checkbook and because of that

you have A LOT of money zapped from that account and because

you did not notify the bank timely, it was money well-spent by someone else.  

I am already feeling a difference, but have so, so far to go.  The garage. Gasp.

The attic. Oh, my.  But, things are slowly coming together and I have

to remind myself, my life did not spin out of control overnight, so 

all of my pieces will not get back into place that quickly as well. 

But, I'll post some pictures about my little journey or since I'm into

labeling now..."project: simplify" may visit here occasionally.

On my kitchen counter sits the supplies for a new coupon binder.

I am tackling finances as well.  So, I will keep you posted!

{a girl can dream}

after the horrible and crazy week I've had.

A week I've spent pretty much away from my home as

I agreed to work on a production project at the law

firm......unknowingly that it would be as big of a deal

as it is.  It's just been very hard.  Leaving to the office

the moment I drop the boys off, still trying to manage

the MD appts, arriving back at home anywhere between

8-10 pm at night.  Let's just say I've been a bucket

of tears this week between my chicken incident and the

fact that my littilest man is not coping well with me being

gone so much.  But, neither is his mommy to be honest. 

So, during my hours and hours with these medical

records, I started daydreaming of a beautiful

drive and a table for two in the corner.  

Let's throw in some breathtaking views while

we're at it.  A roaring fire on a cold, cold night. 

Good conversation, laughs and food. 

You know, like the good old days???

Well, a girl can dream or she can do something about it.

This girl chose not to succumb to the utter exhaustion she

was feeling and go ahead with that January date

sitting in that envelope.   The moment I got off work 

{early, yay!} at 5 yesterday.  I filled the tank with gas

and raced home to pack an overnight bag and we

headed out {sporting my new-do, thanks Amber!}. 

The boys were enjoying steak and lots

of movie time with their mimi and poppy. 

So, we did enjoy the beautiful drive, albeit in the dark. 

A quiet table for two since we arrived for dinner at 

8 pm and the dining room was dwindling.   We looked

out over the mountain of the lodge at all of the twinkling

lights below and above.   Felt the warmth of the beautiful

fireplaces.  And, had that good conversation,

good laughs and good food.    A night without

taking the puppies out, doing any homework {for

the boys or me}, staring brain-dead at the television,

or folding laundry.

 

It was wonderful. And, we are back at home already

as it is a busy weekend for us.  But, the boys are playing

outside, I am listening to great music, watching

the puppies play and daydreaming about our

 February Date Night.   Completely refreshed.

Operation:  Date Night, a definite success!! 

I love you honey, thanks for smiling at the mess I am! :)

{devastating farm day}

I went face to face with a huge bobcat hiding
in my  coop this morning.

That was after he slaughtered 19 of my chickens.

{aging gracefully}

A few weeks ago, during break, I had the television on for some

background noise as I was too busy to watch anything.

{reality:  I may watch one show a week other than CNN/Fox}

But, as I was sitting at my desk a "soap" came on that I had

never really watched and never knew any of the story lines, but

in the years had noticed two of the women on the show, two

that I thought were very beautiful.  In my opinion, probably

the two prettiest ones in that industry. 

Gasp!

What I saw a few weeks back made me stare. And, sad.  They have

succumbed to the worldy standard of fighting age with everything

they have.  Which equates to way too much botox and surgery.  I 

do not envy them at all.  I know I apply my night cream faithfully

in hopes the promises of diminishment of fine lines and wrinkles will work.

But, I know there is no miracle in that bottle.

And, I'm not against plastic surgery for a myriad of reasons.  But, when

it comes to changing you into someone that you wouldn't recognize as

you....that makes me sad.  And, into a face that is 

actually pretty scary.   Again, I cannot imagine being in an industry

where you are always under the microscope for flaws; I am not envious

of that in the least.  They were absolutely beautiful, and now distorted.

As the years pass a lightening speed, I know I will {and do!} have

my personal battles; I hope I can make the best of what I have

without drastic measures....or more than anything, true contentment

in the beauty of aging gracefully.  

My "soap box" for the day. Pardon the pun!    

{making memories}

This year, instead of exchanging gifts {that would very likely eventually be purged;},

Angela & I decided to have a craft/play day for the kids with yummy, healthy

foods like donuts and coffee cake, Christmas cokes and some coffee with our cream. 

Perfectly healthy.

And, as funny as it was that the kids were much more interested in playing

than completely our fun, well-thought out projects.....memories were definitely

made.  It was much better than any gift exchange.  Here are a few pictures

of our memory making day.  The only negative was when it ended!

We will definitely be making this a tradition!

 A PREASSEMBLED Gingerbread House! 
That solves many issues of years past!
It is the first one ever that didn't collapse.

Maybe we should use one for the barn rebuild. ;) 

And, this idea from pinterest as well.  I forgot to "turn" the picture. 
And, it still needed a trunk.

Well, to be honest, still does.  Maybe I'll paint that
before I display it next year. 

But, I love looking at their little hand prints. 
Well, on anything but the windows.

And, really that makes me swoon too!

 

{purge fest}

I have been chomping at the bits to PURGE in a big way!

I had worked and worked and planned on the time after Christmas

to REALLY get after it.  That was my target time frame to begin.

So, I held off with anticipation and finished up my photography work

and then........a HUGE project hit the law firm and they asked for my

help.  I said yes before I realized exactly what all it would entail. 

Stupid, stupid me!

I am a grumpy bear because I gave up so much time with the boys

over break and as much as I wanted to purge and clean....it was

the last on my list compared to the boys.   As mentioned,

tomorrow we head out to Houston and should be back home either

late Tuesday night or Wednesday.  Then, I am suppose to report back to duty

on Thursday morning.  I have some serious pondering to do.  I want to help out

and above all do not want to leave my sweet friend in a lurch.  But, I 

think based on everything else going on.......I am going to have to draw

some boundaries for certain.  No more working until 8:45 pm when the boys

are in school.  I cannot keep up like I used to. 

But, over the weekend, when I should have been billing and wrapping up

a report and final edits and orders.....I squeezed  a little purging in to get a

fix! I had a fiasco in the pantry a couple weeks ago and to solve that from

every happening again {I hope!!}  I have invested {truly, an investment}

in different containers.  I've been buying some here and there.  I also

got some cute tags from etsy, but  need a chalk pen as I don't like

using the true blue chalk.   I've also completes various other

small tasks around the house and am literally going to hit

every, single nook and cranny, every drawer, every closet eventually

moving on the over the top garage and ending with the attic.  Then,

it will likely be time to start over again! ha! 

But, I need some space in this house and in the effort to decorate

something went horribly wrong.......clutter invaded in huge way.  In an

eventual overwhelming way.  I do not function well at all {if AT all,

with clutter}.  I have already collected bags of things and there will

be many, many more to come I'm afraid.  It's a disgrace really.  

But, a lesson learned for certain.  I'm ready to breathe in every

area of my life!! 

I got a new camera for my purse recently and wouldn't you know

I can't work the stinkin' thing.  Give me a crazy, complicated one and

it's a breeze, but a point and shoot is a disaster for me.  For example,

I had gone through some terribly mismatched photo boxes and  gave them away

and replaced them with very standard, but matching black photo boxes.

The change was dramatic.  BUT, when I took the pictures, I failed

to have a card in the camera.  My big camera would not have allowed

that. ;)  And, since all of those old boxes are long gone,  I can't reshoot

that one, so you will have to take my word for it, or come over and see. ;)

But, here is a quick peek at an area on the kitchen.  We are all loving

the new containers and once I finish up the labels, they will be

functional and cute.  Cute is always important.  ;)

{prayer request}

Tomorrow is a big, big day for us.

Something we have waited for only about 6+ years. 

We head to Houston with Scott to visit the post-traumatic brain

injury rehab hospital.  We will be meeting with the team on

Tuesday about 10 am. 

I am praying for God's will and if this is the place, then we

will know without any doubt.  If it is, we are planning on

going back for the hospitalization after the boys are out

of school this summer as they are anticipating a minimum of eight

weeks inpatient.  However, we have the option to begin it now and

that is not totally out of the question, but not very likely as we

could not stay with him at this point with school and the farm. 

So, we are asking for prayers of wisdom and safe travels!    

{happy new year!!}

ALTHOUGH, I cannot for the life of me believe it is already 2012??

Didn't we just go through Y2K like last year??

Yes, the years are definitely picking up speed in a big way.

I enjoyed so many blessings in 2011, some heartache, some growing

"opportunities",  deepening friendships I've been blessed with,

watching my children grow and laugh, growing {older, ha!} with 

Scott {there is no one I'd rather share that experience with}, failing,

succeeding, praying and praying some more,  many "ah-ha" moments

spiritually, a great birthday celebration {one, I will never, ever forget},

changes on the farm, falling deeper in love with scripture, adding 

a critter or two {or 30+}, challenges, deep breaths, and a lot of laughs. 

Thank you God for another year, I'm excited to see what is in store. 

A few weeks ago, I discovered my year verse.  I was so looking for something

along the lines of "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" and

during a morning of quiet time...I came across exactly what was on my heart. 

Here is to 2012.....

"And this I pray:  that your love may abound yet more and more and extend

to its fullest development in knowledge and all keen insight, so that you may

surely learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real

value."  Philippians 1:9-10

Oh, how I love that!!

Happy New Year family and friends!!