Wasn't I supposed to....

Stop buying book?  yeah, that worked out.

These are the books I have bought so far in 2014.

Amazon's recommend feature is just wrong...they know what I like...and siiiiiiigh...

here is my pile of to be read...yes, there is another pile behind the first one..

and how many books did I read in January?   Well, started 2...finished... none.

siiiiiigh

I'm off today, which means I will be doing the grocery shopping, litter boxes, laundry

and going to the bank.  Hope to scrapbook also.

but, dh is home from work.  Sooooooo, it is not going to feel like a day off.  You know whatI mean?   already I've been having to listen to cable news....I hate that stuff.  The samestories over and over again.   Depressing.   If he wasn't home, the tv would be on musicor ID tv.  oh well. 

I've got my 2013 receipts out, need to organize for taxes.  BUT I REFUSE to do that today.  Today is supposed to be my day off.  (stamping foot).   

Sunday school was a little awful yesterday.  It went long and I had 5 boys and they gota bit out of control.  I ended up telling them that they were getting out of control, and that they could go join their families downstairs.   A couple stayed and helped me clean, then ran the upstairs halls till Fred told them to stop. A couple did go to their dad, saw them leave early.

And a couple went to the main classroom with the little kids, know this cuz that is where I went

after loading up my car...to hang out with Adriana.

Gotta rethink this class.  Do need help.  

Speaking of Adriana, while doing the craft with the kids, I cut my finger on my paper cutter.Now it wasn't bleeding when I showed it to Adriana, but here is what transpired...shewas sitting on my knee, watching the Veggie Tale video...

Me:  "I cut my finger"

Adriana:   "Well, don't get it on my new tights!!"

now, isn't a grandbaby supposed to say, Poor Grammy, let me kiss it better...NOOOOO not my boo, now when we got home after church, she did help me put a bandaid on it  (A Doc McStuffins bandaid.)

   

just a li'l recap ...

Nothing important to say,  worked all week...well, Tues thru Thurs...though Monday was a busy day of

7 loads of laundry, 5 thank you cards, 2 cat boxes ...and one load of dishes and dinner cooked. (sand in the tune of the 12 days of Christmas)

  So, gotta say, my day 'off' ain't really a day off.  But you moms know that.  We only wish we could sit on the couch, watch soap operas and eat bon bons.

We have company, Son in law's sis and her fiance are visiting from the wilds of Oklahoma.  Yesterday they went to Yosemite and made it official...they got engaged.  (funny story, after she said yes, she hugged him, hit the hand the ring was in and yes, it started rolling down the mountain top....don't worry they got it, and we got a great laugh)

All the kids took of for the City (out here that means San Francisco), so Mjm and I had the house to ourselves.   just one load of laundry and dishes and scrapbooking!!  whoot whoooot.   Mjm got a nap in, and after we watched Red 2...I don't know why, but I love these movies.  I loved the 80's action movies, so these new ones with the old guys...what can I say.  When Chuck Norris showed up in Expendables 2, my heart started bumpity bumping.   siiiiigh

Well, have Sunday School to teach tomorrow morning.  Going over I Corinthians 13 a bit...then going to work on an altered canvas.   Then the afternoon, the 49er playoffs at the kids house.  Don't worry dil says she will set up Netflix in the game room for me and the non football fans.  Siiiiiigh, can't wait for the season to be over...though son in law is planning the Superbowl party to be here.   and has already said I cannot rent a hotel room for the day.  pooey

yesterday's shopping and cropping...well, kinda

I did get to go to Hobby Lobby and Michaels armed with coupons and did pick up Project Life supplies, well, sortof Project Life.   I ended up getting an American Crafts album (the blue with stitching) and ...I just went blank...is it We R Memory Keepers refills...cuz the package had more variety.  I was worried if the mix would fit...but they do fit in the binder album.

and of course, Hobby Lobby had 50% off paperpacks ...so I picked up a couple more.  siiiiiigh

paperpacks is just one of my scrapping addictions.  Always telling myself no more...

Then I did go to the crop, but forgot my paper cutter....did make these 2 Prima Paper dolls...one for me and one for dgd  (she picked the one in the flower dress)...and I made a few stamped images to make cards with.. 

Still enjoyed hanging out with the girls, but siiiiiiigh, NO paper cutter?  

Today after church, the kids came over to watch the 49ers game.  We live in Central CA...so this is basically 49er or Raider country.  Well, we are a 49er house...But with the Okie addition to the family he is a Bronco fan...So,   we had our Bronco

and our 49er contingent.... (yes, those are Bronco jersies on the dogs, too)

They tell dgd Adriana to make a face like "Harbough" and this is what she did...

When I saw dgd Kyleigh in this onesie, I told her "don't worry, soon you'll be old enough tell tell Daddy 'no'!!"

too much fun, can't WAIT till football is done...siiiiiigh.

1st 10 days...and a scrapbooking decision

Lots of time at work the first 10 days.  I am a general ledger accounting clerk, so the first part of the month is busy for me anyways...the first part of January can be NUTS!   As I am closing December, 4th Q and the year...but I am at the end of the tunnel.   Finally at the point where I am going back to my regular part time schedule...for the rest of this month.

I did regain/gain a li'l weight this week.  Last week I had an oh so slight decrease, this week a 2 lb bounce back.  So, I'd better get serious ... or 2014 is going to be another 'lost' year of weight loss/ regain/gain some more.

Did walk 3 days last week with my coworkers, but it simply is not enough to lose.   Really have to revamp my eating habits.   I am still going to Jenny's...but have not been faithful to the program for quite a while...and when I am, I lose...so, I KNOW that is what I need to do.  Its just soooooooo hard, esp when my kids are such good cooks...(insert whine)

Made a scrapbooking decision...as you know, I now have a 2nd granddaughter...

now, with dgd1, I did 3 albums of pics of her first year....so, I'm thinking for future grandbabies, I am going to do a Project Life type of album.  So, hopefully I can do as many pics...though not as many pages...and get it all into one album.   So, before my Jenny's appt...I'm going to stop at Hobby Lobby and see what I can get with my 40%off coupon.   Also gonna print a Michaels coupon ...  I'm excited!   

(Gosh, it is hard to look at this pic, its been since Tues morn since I've seen the girls, and I miss them soooooo much...Grammy needs a 'fix'. 

  What am I going to do if we do move to NV?  guess I'm going to have to learn Skype...it won't be the same...at least we'll only be 4 hours away...but still....(insert another whine)

Today is a crop at the library....only from 12 to 5...so I am taking card making stuff and my Prima paper dolls. and will concentrate on those.   Also need to come up with something for my Sunday School class.  We start back up tomorrow,   not gonna lie, I did enjoy the break.   But did kinda miss the kids.

Speaking of scrapbooking, I got the new CTMH catalog yesterday...and I think I want every paper collection.   and quite a few stamps.   My first set of stamps from them, I did not like, they seemed overly sticky and I could not get the ink off them...but I recently broke down and bought a new set and these  I have not had that problem with...and it has become a fave 'winter' stamp.   (the one with the polar bears...)

I used it for the ATC card for the month of January for the calendar project the Sunday School kids and I did ...  but, I am always on the hunt for winter stamps that don't include snow or Christmas!! ha!!

But gotta say, I still love the Stampin Up wood stamps...and inks...

well, Winston is on my desk scratching at my stuff...gotta see what he wants...the stinker.

Signs and other thoughts...

It has been a good week, cannot say I've been sticking to my Jenny's and exercise...but I have been doing very well with my daily devotions and book reading.

I'm starting this year with the devotion "Night Light" by James and Shirley Dobson...as this year I am trying to make a concentrated effort to improve my marriage.  I have a tendency to build 'emotional walls'.  And I have to get beyond that.   It is a daily step by step decision.  But having a Christian perspective on love and marriage is a great start.

Also am reading Unfinished by Steven K Scott for a Bible Study.  Our pastor gave it to the board members for Christmas.  I had a rough start, Scott makes some claims in his intro that made me go 'huh?"....but, gotta admit I'm liking the book.  He is a businessman, so he is breaking down the Christian walk into 'missions', then 'assignments' then 'action".  

And am reading What Jesus Demands of the World by John Piper.  He is a reformed Calvinist teacher, so I go into this book knowing his pov.   Pov has become so important to me lately.   It tells me the 'filter' the writer is giving us...this was a lesson I learned with a biography I read so many years ago.  There simply is no 'objectivity' in writing anymore.  

I am enjoying this book also.  Piper looks at the gospels and finds 50 commands from Jesus, and gives us a chapter on each one.

So, why did I title this post Signs...???

Last night I got the opportunity to watch the movie Signs.  May have been my, oh 4th or 5th time watching it.  To me, it is such a wonderful movie...I really like the acting and the message.

For me, this time around, it is more than the coincidences working together to help the family survive, it became more about the struggle of faith.  Our church is going thru something.  A decline in membership, but also a splintering of viewpoints.  We have our very conservative half...and our liberal half.  At the last meeting I was feeling like these 2 cannot be reconciled, and the church will have to make a choice...which church will we be?

But Pastor Dusty said something in last Sunday's message about 2 what can look like conflicting teachings in his passage, is it either or?  or is it both...and it can be both.

So, I watched Signs, and there is this terrible accident and the tragic aftermath that this family goes thru.  Each of them have a 'quirk'...that seems so random...yet in the end it is the combination of these quirks that save them.

We have a church, that views God's word thru our own filters.  Some see the judgement and accountablility of God and others see His love and compassion...can it be both?  Can it be that because we as human beings have difficulty reconciling both we cling to one or the other?   Can it be that we need to have both in a balanced church?

Well, gotta leave it at this, MJM has the truck running.   I don't have answers but will be praying for insights.

2013 in review

well, 2013 is done, time to face 2014

It has been an interesting year.  In many ways it feels like a 'lost' year and in others its been great.

Start with the great, Grandbaby #2, Kyleigh ...what can I say, she is wonderful, adorable and yes, perfect and all at 2months!   (just like her big sis).   These 2 grandbabies are the 'light' of my life.  ANYtime, ANY chance I get to spend with them is a real treat.  Oh, and their parents aren't so bad either.  ha!!!

My ds was promoted to Detective.  My ddil got her braces out, she looks great even after having a baby 2 months ago. AND they are the parental units of 2 wonderful, adorable and did I mention perfect young daughters.

  My dd is working for us and doing a great job, she is walking just about every day and has lost weight.  She looks great, super cute in anything she wears...but, I'm mom, I think she doesnt need to be that thin.
But she and another coworker do encourage me to get out and walk also....I'm the one huffing and puffing behind them.

 And my dsil has moved his offices to our front room.  He is still building their internet business.    He is on his last year of his Masters program.  THEN they move back to Texas, boohoo.  I simply LOVE having them here with us, and will truly miss them.  But I understand, their hearts are in Texas (mine too) and that is where they want to live.

Just yesterday,   Dsil saw an altercation at the Walmart parking lot, he ended up calling the police and made the comment that he 'felt safer in Iraq than he does in" our little town in North Central California.  Walmart does seem to attract the less than desirable.  THAT is why I usually shop there between 6am and 7am...when they are still asleep.

Dh did well with his skin (precancer) treatments from home.  BUT he is starting another round today.
We are doing well, making a conscientous effort to spend more time together.  

Had a terrific Christmas, had one hiccup, a regift from someone that hurt at first, but I'm okay with now.  (It was an f-you) (I threw it all away)  That's okay too.  It is always good to know where you stand.

My inlaws are living 'with' us, well on the property, My fil is preparing to go into surgery.  I feel pretty 'mixed' about this situation.   There is a looooong not so good history between us...and I gotta say it, having them in my life every day is not my first choice.

My mom  has been moved, as she cannot live by herself anymore.  Talk about looooong not so good history, so I cannot go into detail ....  One good thing, the case levied against one of my sisters and me has been closed.  We are getting a copy of that file.  We'll see how it all pans out, but at this time it looks like a "Joseph" thing,  from the Bible, 'what others did to try to harm us, may actually turn out for our benefit"   But we will see.

I taught Sunday school in 2013.  Took on the 5th and 6th grade kids. (very small class, THANK Goodness!!)  I volunteered one Sunday, and they looked so bored with the program that was going on (it is geared toward younger kids) So....wow, it is a difficult age...but I'm glad I did it.  I've gotten to know the kids and I like them better than I thought I would. ha!!! So, gotta make a plan for 2014...you know my class is especially 'craft' heavy.  To finish 2013, we made a 2014 calendar for them to give to their families...with an ATC card per month.  Wow, that got crazy.

Oh, and the worst part of 2013...I've regained all but about 20 lbs of my weight.  So, gotta go back to the basics and get on a losing streak.  Gotta admit, I have spent most of the year pretty much ignoring and not wanting to do what I know needs to be done.

Spent yesterday 'doing New Year's' Japanese style.  Cleaned (over 6 bags of garbage)....well, more of an organzing, purging cleaning...still need to dust and did not tackle any shelves...that will come later.  Japanese lore, is to finish all work the day before, so you can spend New Year's day doing what you enjoy. For me that is reading, shopping, hanging out with family .... As what you do today, will be what you do all year. They also give money today...so you will receive money throughout the year.  My adjustment is I give out a book on New Year's day...so it will be a year of learning.  ha!!

Oh!  last night I did finish A Dance with Dragons (the 5th book in A Game of Thrones)...so now I can't wait for the next book...to be released, when?   aye yi yi.  So get to start a new book this year.  Thinking I'll hit the stack on my nightstand....then the 3 stacks in my closet...then the stacks under my nightstand.   2014 would be a good year not to buy anymore books!!

And hoping to scrapbook today,  I organized the room of piles last night...cuz I don't want to spend the year organizing...so, I can work on projects today.

We will see.

So, finally, Happy New Year ya'll.   Hope 2014 proves to be terrific for ya'll.   Not too much drama and lots of blessings!!!