PASSION PLANNER

PASSION PLANNER  Last year I downloaded the Passion Planner to use as a day planner, but I didn't take the time to make use of all the wonderful tips and hints located on their website!  I'm hoping to use more its potential this year!  If anyone else is using this planner, let me know!

MORNING MERCIES

The morning view from our back porch :).   I had already been working at my desk for several hours this morning when Nathan got up to leave for work.  He came back in from starting his pick up to tell me I REALLY needed to come outside to take a look at the skyline!  What a beautiful sight it is to see the sun rising on a new day :)

Lamentations 3:22-23New International Version (NIV)

22 

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

    for his compassions never fail.

23 

They are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

BETH'S EASY CHERRY COBBLER

In honor of my sister-in-law, today on the one month anniversary of her heavenly home-going, I'd like to post a recipe that is our family's MOST requested dessert!  In fact, it is SO POPULAR here that both of our sons have even made it on occasion when they were hungry for it!

Above is Beth's recipe in her own hand writing which was given to me so many years ago I can't even remember when!  We make one slight change to Beth's recipe and that is instead of using 2 cans of cherry pie filling, we substitute one can of raspberry pie filling and we use a large can of cherry pie filling.

If you're looking for a yummy fall dessert, this is highly recommended!

MEATBALL "SNACK"

This summer has been so busy I haven't had much time to spend in the kitchen.   The one day I decided to spend a few hours cooking some freezer meatballs, this is what I came back to after letting them cool.   This was mid afternoon!   I won't name any names, but "they" had already eaten lunch and a full dinner was waiting for them in the oven!  

Note to self:  When making freezer meatballs, make them when no one is home to eat them before they even get into the freezer!   Of course, the flip side is it would have taken me forever to make them without help!  So maybe it all evens out in the end :) 

TODDLER AT WORK

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a firm believer in giving kids meaningful "work" to do :).

Charlie is "working" in this photo.   Fourth-generation construction business owner coming right up :-)

CHORES

Charlie has had a busy morning helping me with the chores!   We had to feed and water Nathan's chickens and let the neighbor's chickens out.  Charlie's "chore" is to latch and unlatch the little swinging door where the chickens go in and out of the coop.

He counted all of Nathan's chickens to be sure all six came out of the coop!  Amanda, don't worry!!  I checked to make sure there weren't any snakes in the grass before I set Charlie down!

When Charlie says "chicken," it's always followed with the word "lunch". We need to teach him to say "breakfast" and "eggs" instead since these are laying chickens not butchering chickens!

COON "HUNTIN"

Early this morning our dog went crazy with barking and howling.  After the sun rose, we found out what all the commotion had been about as he pointed us toward a coon he had treed during the night! Mid morning the boys decided they needed to take care of the coon!  We can't have them around with Nathan about ready to put his chickens outside in another few days!  

This photo reminds me of a country song by Luke Bryan called "Huntin', Fishin', and Lovin' Every Day" which just happened to come on the radio shortly after this photo was taken.  So, I couldn't resist writing up a quick blog entry to remember this day!  We're down to only 12 weeks until Josh is married and these types of spontaneous brotherly moments will come to an end....

"A huntin', fishin', and lovin' every day
That's the prayer that a country boy prays.

Thank God He made me this wayHuntin' and fishin' and lovin' every day

Early in the morning and late in the eveningI'm getting red dirt rich and Flint River pay

Huntin' and fishin' and lovin' every day"

EARLY MORNING VIEW

I love that the days are getting longer!   There was a beautiful view of the moon early this morning which reminded me of this song by Steven Curtis Chapman. 

 ..."Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee...   Holy. Holy, holy..."

TILLANDSIA TERRARIUMS

Back in October, Amanda and I saw some cute glass balls hanging in a store window downtown while taking Charlie trick or treating.  We stopped to look at them and I commented how pretty they were!  Amanda remembered that and bought three of the glass orbs for Christmas with a note that we would shop for the planes after Christmas.

Today, we went to the greenhouse to pick out the plants and discovered a whole new variety of plants I didn't know much about - tillandsia!

She bought everything we needed to fill our orbs which we enjoyed putting together at her house while Charlie went to the sporting goods store with the boys.  

Tillandsia are air plants which don't need any soil and only need to be misted with water a few times a week!   I added some moss to fill the bottom of the orb since this one won't have any dirt.  This moss is brown and looks dead, but it isn't!  It is a black lichen of some sort which I thought was a nice contrast to the pink and red tillandsia.  

Below is a miniature succulent with a long stringy type moss.  

Below is a similar succulent this time surrounded by Green Reindeer Moss.

  

Here is a miniature plant surrounded by both Green and Red Reindeer Moss.  

I'm loving this project!!  The moss is SO soft!!!  Here are my three all finished and ready to be hung.  

As soon as I opened them, I knew they were going to brighten the corner of my office space above my right hand monitor.  I originally thought I would have Tim hang them with rope the ceiling.

However, the thick rope seemed too heavy for the dainty glass orb and the long length of rope from the ceiling down to where I wanted them to hang took away from the Orb itself with your eye really going mostly to the lomg length of rope.  

Tim remembered running across some harness hooks recently and they were exactly what this project needed!!  The rope was unwound to use only one strand and that also fit the project better.  

Here is a close up 

Finally, the view of my right side work space.   

Thanks Amanda!!!   I love how this fills the space above my right monitor with something bright and cheery!!

Here is a picture of the three which Amanda made and hung from the shelves in her living room. 

TICKLER FILES

I have always used a Tickler Filing system for bill paying and other things which have dated deadlines.  I have 6 such red files which are numbered with the dates as follows:  1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, and 26-31.  I don't have enough dated deadlines to warrant a file for each date so this has worked very well for years and I plan to continue this system.

When looking around my desk the last few months, I realized that the majority of the piles I have are sitting out because they still need attention.  However, they may not need attention not until a month or more in the future or for a specific day later in the week or the following week.

In an attempt to get some more piles of clutter off from my desk and up off from the floor, I took an hour or so today to create two more tickler files.  I now have a days of the week tickler file system which is in blue.  It is strategically placed at the front of the file closest to my desk since I anticipate being in and out of this file many times each day.

I also created a monthly tickler file which is purple.  It is behind the red dated files as I don't anticipate needing in them very often.  At the beginning of each month, I will pull out whatever is in that file and put it in either one of the red files if it has a date due or I'll put it in one of the blue files so I can schedule to work on in that particular day.  

This is not a new system for me.  I already have certain days that are heavier work days than others and I make a note on my calendar what needs to be done on those days and I usually clip things to my bulletin board which need to be tended to months down the road.  So, the system is already in place, I've now just created a better way to organize the system.  

BUCKET ORGANIZER

This metal bucket with dividers is one of my most favorite office organizing tools!!  In fact, I would venture say it's one of a dozen things I would consider "office essentials."  It has six areas for keeping a variety of office essentials neatly organized!

This is what I keep in the bucket:

1 - colored pencils for those times when Nathan sits at the desk with me for school.  

2 - Miscellaneous office tools including striker (for the candle), scissors, rulers, magnifying glass, paper punch, stapler remover, envelope opener..

3 - rubber bands which we go through a lot of!  It used to be a rubberband ball until it got toward the end.  

4 - memory sticks

5 - sharpies and highlighters 

6- extra mechanical pencils as well as their eraser and lead refills.  Two of my favorite pens. 

Can you see all the binder clips clipped along the edges?  I should remove some of them so it's not as cluttered. 

Speaking of pens and pencils.  My favorite one of each stay right beside my adding machine along with a large eraser. They don't leave my desk or they would soon be lost and I'm picky about my work tools!!!  

Since I just decluttered my office tool bucket, I thought it was a good time to write a blog post about a few of my office favorites!   The bucket came from my friend's pharmacy gift shop!  If you need one, let me know and I'll give you Kim's contact info!  

Kim, thanks for ordering this for me!  I've been using it for a year now and it's PERFECT!!

DUCK HUNTING

Nathan has been wanting to go duck hunting for quite a while now!    

He's wearing the vest which Amanda and Trevan gave him for Christmas.   It's a special duck hunting vest which has a large pocket in the back for carrying your ducks!  He's also wearing the nice warm hat which Michaela made for him!

They went out hunting on some relative's land nearby.   They couldn't have picked a colder day!   It was well below zero.

 

  

Now he's been searching for recipes to make some bacon wrapped duck appetizers today!  Stay tuned to hear how it tastes!

 

DUCK PREP

I'm not sure what's going on with these duck feathers on my dining room table, but the placemat has been moved over to make room for them!

And the Egg Nog has been pushed aside to make room for marinating the duck meat!!   

I'm not much for animals, dead or alive, but with a house full of boys I've learned to adapt.  I draw the line at touching or cooking anything though so they are on their own to deal with this critter.  

DUCK KABOB

First Nathan cut the duck meat into cubes and marinated them in raspberry vinaigrette for a few hours.  

Then, he wrapped the duck pieces in bacon and secured them with toothpicks which had been soaked in water.

Then he baked them in the oven for about a half hour at 350!

It smells really good!!!  They ate most of them and report they are very tasty!   I will take their word for it.   

EXERCISE

Thankfully, my personal trainer allows me to bring Charlie to my workouts on my Charlie" days!

Sometimes he's quite a helper!   You should hear him grunting when we are trying to get this tire going!!

When we go in the morning, the mat area isn't being used so he has the run of the area!   Amanda and Trevan tell me they can usually count on him sleeping ALL night on the days when I've had him!

He is usually asleep by the time we hit the interstate, but the map doesn't last long as he hits the ground running when we get to our house!   He plays "oops" (hoops) with the boys for hours!!!  

I let him watch videos of himself or of Nathan playing basketball if he gets tired of doing the stations with me.  Today; when I glanced through the photos I've taken recently I found  the following one in my phone!!!  

Charlie took several photos and a short video of my workout!!!   Uh oh!!  I am Going to have to lock my phone down now. I had no idea he was taking photos!!!

WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING

I was so excited when Maddy invited me to go dress shopping with her, the girls, and her mom!! 

We had so much fun looking and planning! 

She said "yes to the dress" at the second dress shop!!   

SISTERS

These girls are the best :).  We all had a great time wedding dress shopping with Maddy!   Em noted that she's 2 for 2 now as she picked the chosen dress for both Amanda and Maddy! 

Next on the dress shopping list is to find bridesmaids' dresses for the girls as both are in the wedding party :)  I have a dress in mind for myself, but I'm waiting to decide on it until after Maddy's mom chooses her dress.  

FLOORING

Charlie wants his ears covered when the guys are using the air gun!  It IS loud!

New Year's break is the perfect time to tackle a home improvement project!   This year's project was to install our left over hardwood floor at Amanda and Trevan's house!   

Charlie was quite the helper.  He especially liked using the new drill that Santa brought!

We were so conservative when we installed our flooring that we had enough left over to do their kitchen and some of their dining room.  They only had to buy a few more boxes of flooring and the trim pieces. 

It turned out great!!!  

We are happy the extra flooring was put to good use :) 

HARDWARE STORE

Uncle Josh and nephew, Charlie, cruising the hardware store aisles while Amanda and I shopped for tile for their entryways.   

NEW YEAR'S DAY

We had Charlie out to the house for a sleep over so Amanda and Trevan could go out to dinner and a movie for New Year's Eve.

He's is at the FUN age when Christmas lights bring excited oohs and ahhs EVERY time he sees them!  This photo was my view falling asleep on New Year'a Eve.   Uncle Tater was there as well, but you can't see him in the photo since he was shining the light on Charlie!  

The first words I heard in the new year of 2106 were very quiet whispers of "Go Go" in the early morning hours as Charlie was waking up!  What a great way to start the new year!