Much to my delight the Garage sale is over! 

I love watching people though.  They come in pick something up look it over, set it down, pick it up again and look it over , feel it, put it back down and walk away.  Before they leave they return to that one thing (they didn't find anything else so now they can afford the quarter) pick it up again and look it over and then say "will you take a quarter for this?"  Really? I mean it you want it that bad but you can't pay the 50 cents?  Me what do I do I say "sure".

It amazes me too the people who come into your garage to "shop" and open up to you like you are their therapist.  Maybe there is something to retail therapy!

So we come to today.  After beginning my day with Church, I come home to spend the day in my flower gardens getting them looking beautiful!  I take my slightly burnt, very sore body inside to take a shower and head to the grocery store.  Here is where my inspiration came from for today's post.

Now grocery shopping is not usually anything that inspires one including me, however I was so taken back by my discovery that I had to get out a paper and pen right there in the Marshmallow aisle and begin writing! 

I turned to corner and saw the traditional white marshmallows that one would use for all the things one uses marshmallows for BUT in addition this is what I saw, there were 15 yes I said 15 different flavors of marshmallows!

They had; Zebra, which are marshmallows covered with drizzled chocolate, pina colada marshmallows, chocolate covered marshmallow bites, Chocolate royale, chocolate mint, strawberry,orange-strawberry and lemon lime swirl, chocolate/vanilla, Caramel & Vanilla,Toasted coconut, strawberry filled marshmallow twists, mini rainbow marshmallows, flat stackers-yes I said FLAT stackers these are marshmallows that are flat so we have an easier time making those s'mores (really I am serious) then of course do not forget the red/white & blue star marshmallows and coming in 15th is the traditional marshmallow we all know and love and of course you can get that in 3 different sizes!

Ugh after the cereal aisle I will be ready for some kind of therapy and it won't be retail!

Bucket List

If you were given only a limited time to live what would you do to feel you had done all you wanted?  I think this question is so "over done".  Why do we think that our life needs to be nearly over before we do the things we have been wanting to do, or say what we want to say to someone? 

Live while you are living!  Make a bucket list and start doing those things now because you want to not because you have to. 

Maybe you don't even realize that you are avoiding doing what really matters to you because you have a hole in your bucket.  Maybe you are fooling yourself that you are a product of the fountain of youth and you will never turn gray (or old for those of you who fear aging).


Your bucket list does not have to be an extravagant vacation that will take your entire retirement to pay for it, You don't have to jump out of an airplane just to prove you can.  You may want to go to Tibet and spend some time in a monestary and get in touch with your inner self through meditation, you may want to ride cross country on a motorcylce.  Everyone has their own idea of what would be that 1 thing they would have to do.

If we really take time to be creative we may be able to cross off something each day from our list. Imagine this list;

1.  Smile at someone today who looks like they are having a bad day
2.  Buy the coffee of the person in the line behind you.
3.  Tell your spouse they make your life  better by being a part of it.
4. Call a friend you may have forgoten lately.
5. Pray for someone who makes your life difficult.
6. Take  a meal to a needy family.
7. Buy something that makes you feel good.

While I think the above list is essential, I am among those who have exciting things to cross off my bucket list as well.  What I have come to realize is this;

 I may never get to base camp of Mt. Everest, I may not go on that African Safari, I may not be able to go to an African orphanage and make a difference, I may not travel the Lincloln Highway or route 66 and see the rich history present there, I may not get to see my grandchildren be born, I may not ever see the English countryside.................the list could go on and on.

I for one am going to make plans for living before my bucket is being kicked.

HAPPY PLANNING!

Treasure hunt anyone?

With Memorial day just around the corner, we are in prime season for America's biggest retail sectors, and least understood.  Everyone understands retail for sure but this sector.................Garage Sales.

Garage Sales generate 1.5 - 2 Billion dollars a year in sales in the United States.

Can you imagine that?  Maybe our Government should have a little sale themselves.

So my take on the history of garage sales...............We buy stuff we HAVE to have- we love it for awhile, then we like for awhile, then we are tired of it, then we think, I'll pack this away and maybe I will get it out another time, we unpack it and then we say " this is awful, why did I ever buy this"  We have a garage sale and place hated item in sale for a fraction of what we paid for it when we Loved it. If is sells well maybe we made $1.00 if we do not sell it we think- nobody wanted that ugly thing- and we take it to the goodwill store.
1.5-2 billion dollars of junk we hate!

That said guess what I am doing this Friday and Saturday- you guessed it I have a garage full of things I wondered why I ever had to have or just no longer want or need, all ready to sell to the next person who will likely think it is exactly what they want and next year sell it in their own garage sale.

The cycle does not end there though.  We pack up our things, deliver them to good will and on the way home we see a garage sale sign and what do we do? we stop and we buy!

Fun though isn't it?  It really is just a hobby we don't really need those things we buy at garage sales, if we needed it we would have bought it in the store new! 

People go to a store or online to find something specific. People go to garage sales with only a general idea of what they're looking for. "It's the great American treasure hunt, where you can find anything."

 

So if any of you are in for a treasure hunt this weekend stop buy I'll save a special deal for you!

 

I sit at the table thinking o.k what should I share today?  I realize that the thoughts should come easily, I should be doing simply that sharing my thoughts.  Finding that 1 thing as I said is not always having something occur during the day, or something you have been witness to that should be the  inspiration you have for that day.  Inspiration come from within oneself.  Reach down there and pull out what is inside of you.  Remember the singing birds?  If the only birds that sang were those that sang well it would silent outside.

For those of you reading this blog that don't already know me, I am a thinker, a writer (by hobby), and yes at times even a talker.  I am passionate about the things I am passionate about!  If I make a decision to do something I not only throw myself into it I go over board, underground, and over the top at times.  Why do we do this?  Is it truly for satisfaction? is it to "out do" someone else? Is it competitiveness? Or is it simply because we love doing for others and our creativeness comes out.  I would like to think I fall into the latter.

I turned 50 this year and though it does not bother me at all and I do not feel any older, it sure does alter my way of thinking some.  As I shared I love being a mother and after my 2 birth children made me empty- Nester's I adopted a baby boy who is now 9.  My mind set has gone from being a mommy to desiring to be a grandma!  Man when did that happen?  Do we just wake up someday and say OK lets get a rocking chair, kitting needles and get this granny thing going?  You may be laughing but I have taught myself to crochet and knit some.  This is one of those areas that I talked about earlier, you know over board, underground and over the top.  I have in only a few months made a baby sweater, 3 blankets and a Shaw.  I have a tub full of yarn that I have to have when I go in the store because as we know they my stop selling it and I have a library of patterns!  Seriously though I may be crocheting like a granny BUT I can still climb a mountain!



A must listen to!

One Room Schoolhouses

My new mission:  Photograph old one room schoolhouses.  I have always loved these schoolhouses,perhaps because it takes me back to simpler times.(Not that I was around then)  I do not just see a structure when I drive by them- I see history. I immediately see young boys and girls outside playing while the teacher stands on the steps at the ready to ring the dreaded "recess over bell"  It doesn't stop there though.  I then scan the surrounding are for that big old oak tree that you know was standing there and witness to all the goings on of the times.  I see the blacksmith shop, the general store and a farm or two.  I see the creek where the young boys will go fisihing when the chores are over.  After I shake my head back to the present I feel more peaceful for some reason to have experienced that little bit oh history.  I figure there has to be something to all that or why would all these building still be standing?  Because they are rich with history, they all have a story to tell, they educated a future which is now a past.  Why are these buildings preserved? Do they hold a secret? do they have something to teach us still?  we may never know, but I for one will continue to enjoy them and the trip they take me on each time I have the privelege to see one.

Promise Yourself;
Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of  mind.
To take health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel like there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimisms come true.
To think only the best,to work only for the bestn and expect only the best.
To just be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to great achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living person you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry,too noble for anger, and too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.


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Happy Monday

Whistle while you work

"Throw back the shoulders, let the heart sing, let the eyes flash, let the mind be lifted up, look upward and say to yourself... Nothing is impossible!"

 

You know there are some days that the only inspiring moments are those we create ourselves.  It isn't just about things happening, it is about reaching deep inside and finding that 1 thing even when you think there is none.  It may just be an ordinary day BUT it is your day.  Your day to decide if your chores are that, just chores or if they are done with spirit.  Dance while you are mopping, sing while you are gardening, Love your family while you are grocery shopping, and rub the soft, warm towels against your cheek and smell the freshness as you are folding laundry.

 

My weekend was busy and productive.  On Saturday I was a first time visitor of the http://creationmuseum.org/ . The grounds were beautiful, the museum inspirational. 

 

Sunday after church I went head first into said chores.  I am now going to try again to find my way around this blog a bit more to be a bit more creative and be able to add pictures to my daily posts.

 

Remember look inside yourself and find your own inspiration;  Use what talent you possess, the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang well.

 

 

Full Circle

I always knew that I wanted to have children.  I mean I really knew that that is why I was here.  My dreams were fulfilled in 1981 with the birth of my son and then again in 1984 with the birth of my daughter. 

Today that daughter now nearly 27 called me early this morning from her home in North Carolina and told me how sick she was, I mean probably should go to the hospital sick.  I felt helpless.  Her husband who would otherwise take wonderful care of her was out of state.  Hearing your child describe how she feels she is going to pass out and you are so far out of reach and there is no one to call for her is very difficult.

That son nearly 30 and a Lt. in the United States Navy and serving in Bahrain just happened to be in the States for 2 weeks on business and was merely 2 hours away.  That said son rents a car and drives to his sisters to take care of her for the weekend.  Said mom feels so thankful.  I feel warm inside visualizing him buying her popsicles and watching movies (which he loves to do) all weekend with her.

Need I say more about todays inspiring moment?

From Ordinary to Extraordinary

Definition of ordinary: Normal, usual, or occurring in the everyday course of events.
ex·traor·di·nar·y/ikˈstrôrdnˌerē/Adjective

1. Very unusual or remarkable.

2. Unusually great.

 

Ordinary would describe a good portion of my day. So often we get caught up in our everyday lives that we do fail to see the extraordinary for what it is, then it too becomes the ordinary.  In our everyday ordinary-ness we may be doing something for someone else that is extraordinary. 

 

Isn't it interesting though how our criteria changes as we age?  When we are kids it is so easy to please us, to see the extraordinary.  How fun was it when we could stay out late at night and play hide and seek?  we could walk down the road to the corner store, and get something and say "put it on our tab", we would play outside ALL day.  Extraordinary that is how we felt!  Now going to the store has become another chore on a long list of must do's.  Being outside all day is having to clean the yard, and playing hide and seek.............well let's just say we wish we could hide sometimes. 

 

My extraordinary, 1 thing for today:  My 9 year old son calling me into the family room and saying "I want a hug"  Nothing tops that!

 

Have an extraordinary night. 

 

 

Sifting through

Sifting through the events of the day I realize it may be a bit of a challenge finding that 1 thing.  I attended a conference called "The Bucket List" I had visions of going on virtual trips.  I knew I was fooled when the first speaker spoke on Wills, Trusts and Power of Attorneys, only to be followed by a speaker from the volunteer guardianship program, A funeral home director and a hospice worker!  Uplifting hey?

However on my drive home I thought, I can rise to this challenge even if it is only seeing these wildflowers in the fields as I drive by.  I smiled though when I looked at my cell phone and had missed calls from All of my children and my daughter-in law, now that is worthy of the "1 thing" test for sure. Only to be topped off with the aroma of my favorite flower as I got out of my car to walk into the house and saw the lilacs had bloomed! 

Searching through the raindrops!

Ok, so for at least 40th day in a row we have rain, however in following my goal to see good in all things, it is at least making my grass oh so green! 

So today is like any day during the week.  I get up, get ready for work and off I go. However today my eyes were opened wider, my soul was ready to be inspired.  Realizing that  not everyday is going to be filled with amazing revelations I seek to find something, anything that I can say wow now that was inspiring so here goes todays most inspiring moment!  Actually I am happy to report I have 2 amazing moments that are nearly equally related.

Inspiring moment #1- A co-worker shared with me that there was a nine year old boy from her church that died last night from cancer after surviving a year beyond his doctors prediction.  Now that was not even the amazing moment it is this !  his dying request "please keep collecting pop can tops so that they can help someone else"  now that inspiration is stronger than the greenest of grass.

Inspiring moment #2- I took dinner to a dear friend of mine who's husband has liver cancer.  Last week he had a procedure done to implant chemo into the tumor. He was on the transplant list and was told that he would be extremely ill for 3 weeks after his treatment. WOW he feels great, no need for the transplant and there is great hopw that the procedure was successful!  How inspiring is that?