I've Been Thinking...

I have been furiously working on a wholesale order of cotton facial rounds.  Which, except for counting stitches on the initial round, is pretty mindless busy work.  Which leaves plenty of room for the ol brain to go wandering.  That may or may not be a good thing.  Let's take a look at a few of my random thoughts...

Always Remember:
I just read a "fun fact" that sometimes elephants only sleep two hours a day.  Causing me to think that I might, in fact, be an elephant.

photo: publicdomainpictures.net

The Olympics
I enjoyed the Olympics just as much as anyone.   Whole i have my favorites - swimming, diving, gymnastics (anyone else get teary when the womens team won gold?), I watch a wide variety.  Basketball, cycling, track and field, even some taekwondo.

As I pondered the tiny powerhouse that is Simone Biles, whether those Chinese gymnasts could possibly really be over 16 years old, the speed of Usain Bolt, whether the North Korean athletes who didn't win are afraid to go home (Did y'all see that poor girl after the vault competition? She looked miserable! Although, come to think of it, so did her male counterpart who took gold), and what in the world goes on in Ryan Lochte's head - I  also found myself wondering why we don't pay more attention to the "athlon" events.  I mean, these are athletes that have to master several sports in order to win their event - not just one.  That's pretty impressive!!

Wasted Food:
I found this picture on Pinterest the other day:

My first thought was that its a pretty clever idea.  My second thought was how that's a whole lot of wasted pumpkin pie delciousness!   And then I might have spend too long wondering if it is acceptable to eat all the pie parts leftover after you cut out all those circles.  (I did)

What have you been thinking about recently?

Sunday Inspiration: Immovable

Currently... Things Are Moving Along

August is moving right along, isn't it?   Things are happening and plans are being made, and everything is just so exciting right now!

Reading:  The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.  A fictional account of Earnest Hemingway's marriage to his first wife, Hadley.  It's a bit strange to be enjoying a book so very much when I dislike all of the characters so very much.

Eating:  Spaghetti squash!  One of the zucchini vines we planted began producing something which clearly was NOT zucchini.  After a little research I determined it was probably spaghetti squash and decided to give it a go. And I was very pleased with the results!  What a happy mistake.

Making:  Finishing up a big order of cotton facial rounds for the shop.

Enjoying:  Both of my offspring being in college.   The male is starting his first semester, whole his sister is starting her final semester.  And for the first time ever they are attending the same school!  With the age difference between them the girl started middle school the year her brother started elementary and was in high school before he arrived in middle school.  So this is a new experience for them.

Anticipating:  A trip to Japan!! (insert squeals here)  The Man of the House and I have actually been anticipating this for a while.  I haven't said anything to anyone because until this week it wasn't a certainty.  But now - the plane tickets are purchased, the hotel is booked, and I am crazy excited!

Feeling:  Excited!  A little nervous. Very happy.

What's everyone else up to these days?

Sunday Inspiration: Hospitality

A Spirit of Gratitude: August 11

I Am Thankful For:

The male offspring's pictures of baby deer

Homemade gluten-free pizza

Getting home before the thunderstorms start

Saturday mornings

Going to the baseball game with the Man of the House and my dad

Staying up too late watching the Olympics

A cup of tea and crochet on a rainy afternoon

You Don't Know What You've Got 'Til It's Gone

If you had asked me this time last week - I would have told you that I don't really use our microwave all that often.  That was before it decided to stop heating anything.  And left a big empty void in our lives.

Ok...  that might be is definitely over dramatizing the situation a tiny bit. (something I happen to do very well)

However, I did learn that I rely on that little piece of technology much more than I thought I did.  Like when my coffee went cold and I wasn't able to do a quick 30 second reheat.  And when I wanted to quickly steam a bag of frozen peas to go with dinner.  Which suddenly became a whole thing involving pots and a steamer basket.  And when I wanted to warm some left over chili for lunch but the microwave said...

(You're welcome for that awesome reference.  Sometimes I'm all 1990s cool like that).

Not to mention that I now had nothing on which to set my basket full of scented wax melts!  Which reminds me... did I show y'all my cute new little wax burner?  This was a thrift store find which made me super happy.  Because A) I love wax burners... and  2) because... Bees.

Any way.., back to the original story.  Fortunately after a little online searching and a little help from Amazon Prime, a new microwave arrived at our door yesterday.

Sadly, it was about an hour after I had to heat up that chili the "old fashioned" way.  But that's ok.  It's good to have to rough it sometimes... keeps me grounded.

And speaking of "grounded"...  the man who used to ground me a LOT when I was young (I probably deserved most of it) is turning 70 years young today.  Happy Birthday, Dad!

Sunday Inspiration: Just sayin'...

August Goals and Intentions

July was not a great month for goals.  I did not finish reading 3 books and most weeks I was doing good if I got in 2 walks.  I did make some progress on the yarn stash - but it's not exactly what I would call organized yet.  And those pillows for the living room still live on the to-do list to haunt me another day.

The Man of the House and I have been doing a pretty good job of healthier eating. We have allowed ourselves a cheat day every now and then (about once every couple of weeks), but mostly we've  been keeping it pretty clean.  So...  yeah us!!

My intention for August is  PRIORITIZE.  I don't know about you, but between my business, my family, maintaining the house/daily chores, and my personal interests/hobbies - I feel as if there are about 100 different things competing for my time, attention, and energy every day.  This means taking that now famous to-do list of mine and each day pulling out the one thing in each category (Home, Personal, and Work) that MUST get done that day.  Anything else which gets marked off the list is a bonus.  If it's not the Priority  item and it doesn't happen, it can wait until tomorrow.  Or the day after that... or the day after that.

GOALS FOR AUGUST:

1)  30 Day Water Challenge: I started the previously abandoned Water Challenge again on August 1.  We'll  talk more about that later this month.  I will say that so far, so good.

2)  Read 2 Books: Apparently my goal of 3 books from last month was a little over reaching.  As a result, I have pared it down to 2 books for August.

3)  Finish Organizing Yarn Stash:  I am determined to knock this out next week while I have my grandbaby-free week

4)  Walk 2 to 3 Times Per Week: Because if at first you don't succeed - try, try again.

What are your goals for August?

A Spirit of Gratitude: August 4, 2016

I Am Thankful For:
Making weekend plans
Winning a giveaway from another Etsy shop
Giving the grandbaby a haircut
A trip to Carolina Panthers training camp

Playing putt putt
Ice cream
Making Tikka Masala
Thrift store finds

An evening walk
Healthy (and delicious) muffins

What are you thankful for this week?

Currently... August

It's August, y'all!  And August means back to school time in this part of the country.  Back to school means fall is just around the corner.  And fall means cooler weather!  Can I get an "Amen!"?

But first we've got August to enjoy ...

Reading:  The Aviators Wife by Melanie Benjamin.  So far, so good.  The characters still seem a bit flat to me at this point, but it's still pretty early on.

Eating:  Better!  We fell of the wagon a little bit this past weekend with a lunch at a deli and ice cream with the grandbaby.  But for the most part we are making some better choices.

Totally worth it!

Making:  A chevron cup sleeve.  As well as washcloths, washcloths... and more washcloths for a wholesale order.  Then it's on to cotton facial rounds for another one.

Enjoying:  Spending time with the Man of the House.  Whether it's a day watching the Carolina Panthers practice football and puttering around Spartanburg, going for walks, or watching TV together in the evenings - he's good company.

See what I did there?  "Puttering around"!  We played putt putt.
I crack myself up!

Anticipating:  a little free time.  The female offspring had a couple of weeks off between semesters.  This means Oma doesn't have babysitting duty for a couple of weeks!

Feeling:  Busy...  but good.