Category Archives: Friends

Know & Tell Friday

Question 1
What is your favorite fairy tale?

I think my favorite fairy tale is Snow White. It might have been the first one I saw when I was little and it made an impression on me. I also like the 7 Dwarfs.

Question 2
If you could be guaranteed a spot on the reality show “Survivor”, would you go?

No, I really would not want to expose myself to the elements in that way. I’m past my physical prime and I wouldn’t want to be without my hormone pills. 🙂 I also wouldn’t want to be at the whim of the producers manipulating and exposing me in a bad light.

Question 3
Meanest thing you ever did to a sibling??? I know…. what kind of question is this 🙂

This one is easy for me. I would hide in the closet or under the bed and when my older sisters would come home from dates I’d grab at their legs from under the bed or I’d grab their hand when they reached in the closet for their nightgown! Made them scream bloody murder every time.

Question 4
Best Fashion Era… 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s or now…

I think the 60’s were great. I loved the classic Jackie Kennedy look.

 

Question 5
Have you ever skipped to the end of a book before you finished reading the book?

Maybe once. It is not a habit of mine to do that. If the book drags on at the end I might skim through to get to the end.

Bonus Questions (I found these questions through a website, and boy are these challenging…)  ~

Question 6
What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year? ~

To be able to move back to Seattle. ~

Question 7
What is one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God? ~

Talk to Him like He’s real and my best friend.  ~

For more Know and Tell click over to To Know Him.

Thankful Thursday

I’m thankful that God chose me, that He forgives me, that He loves me, and that He continues to lead me and protect me.

I am thankful for our new evening Home group that encourages me and gives me the opportunity to encourage.

I am thankful for learning about other people and cultures in bloggy world. It opens up the world to me in ways that I never dreamed of before.

I’m thankful to be able to pray for people all over the world.

I am thankful that Jesus laid down His life for me and brought me out of darkness into His light.

I am thankful that God fills me with joy!

I Thessalonians 5: 23-24 ~ “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”

For more thankful posts head over to Sting My Heart.

Walking with Lovella and Company ~

So I joined an online walking club over at What Matters Most with fellow bloggers. Most everyone has pedometers but so far I do not so I am figuring it out on averages and how many steps I take on average in a minute. Sounds complicated but it’s not too hard to figure out. Anyway the point is to try to get out and walk more. Here’s my first weeks average. I am calculating 6 days and taking Sunday off.

Monday ~ 7900
Tuesday ~ 8680
Wednesday ~ 9980
Thursday ~ 3500
Friday ~ 9000
Saturday ~ 12,350 (woohoo)

Total 51,410 divided by 6 = 8568

I’d like to get to over 10,000 steps a day….

Show & Tell ~ Wedding Shower Favors?

Ellen b. is not known for being one to sit around making crafts. In fact I have a reputation for being not so crafty. That however does not mean I never get inspired to try to make something “cute”. I was inspired by Vicki at Windows to My Soul when she posted a great Christmas gift idea. A whisk stuffed with candy kisses wrapped in cellophane and tied with a pretty ribbon. On the card she wrote “Whisking you a Merry Christmas”.

I decided I wanted to do the same thing but with smaller whisks and for a New Year’s Gift for my Mom, Sisters and Nieces since we weren’t together on Christmas but we are having dinner together this week. These would also make great party favors for a wedding shower. Here’s the process I went through to make these.

 

The whisks were purchased at Business Costco in Washington State. They were very reasonable ($2.25) for the small ones.

You gently pull apart the whisk and gently stuff the head with Kisses.

You can use food wrap to seal the head of the whisk or you can buy that fancy cellophane that you use for making gift baskets.

Tie the bow on with a gift card and you have a cute gift or party favor. Fun all around…

Here’s how they looked at the place settings for our dinner.

For more Show and Tell head over to Kelli’s!

Thankful Thursday ~ Grace

John 1: 16-17

“And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

I am thankful today for God’s grace given to us because of Jesus Christ.

I am thankful for my 3 children who are all celebrating birthdays from December 27th to January 19th. God blessed us with 3 very unique individuals who are a gift to us and their friends.

I am thankful for my brother Tim who will be celebrating his 50th birthday with us this weekend.

I am thankful for a new niece or nephew who is due to my brother and his wife on January 19th! We’re excited to see when he/she actually arrives!

I am thankful for my family who I got to spend time with this week at my parents senior apartment. We laugh and enjoy each other till the neighbor bangs on the wall because we’re making too much noise at 7:30 PM. Some people grow old too fast, not my parents!

I am thankful that Iris is back. Welcome back Iris!

Blessings and may God’s grace be poured out on you…

For more Thankful Thursday visit Iris at Sting My Heart.

8 in 2008

Play Along…It is easy to play along. Just pick out 8 things you’d like to see, do, feel, or experience in 2008! Your list can be spiritual, physical, or emotional, but hopefully not too material! If the Lord leads you, dream big as you share your heart’s desires with Him along with a willingness to see His work accomplished in you and through you in 2008.

So I’m joining in with others at Extravagant Grace and considering 8 things I’d like to see, do, feel, or experience in 2008. ~

Here are my Eight…

1. I’d love to see some of the people I’m praying for who aren’t Disciples of Christ respond to God’s call this year. I realize that my responsibility in this is to keep praying diligently for them…

2. I want to try to walk at least 6 days a week. I’m over 50 now and my body just needs an extra push in burning calories. I don’t eat excessively (except at holidays, birthdays, every 3rd Tuesday, etc. ) I need a lot of help in keeping my weight stable as opposed to gaining…

3. I want to Abide in Christ and here’s a great quote that I saw at “Of First Importance Blog” that describes abiding well. “In a nutshell, abiding in Christ means allowing His Word to fill our minds, direct our wills, and transform our affections. In other words, our relationship to Christ is intimately connected to what we do with our Bibles!”– Sinclair Ferguson, In Christ Alone (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2007), 114 ~

4. I want to spend more time with my parents and family. ~

5. I’d like to cut down on some monthly expenses and try to pay down some debt this year. Along with this I’d like to convert to on-line bill paying. ~

6. I’d like to call and write our older surviving Aunts and Uncles more this year. ~

7. I want to keep learning new things by reading and traveling. ~

8. I want to honor my husband more this year. I think I’ll need to come up with something more specific to accomplish this, like listening better, etc. To see more 8 in 2008 click over to Extravagant Grace.

 

5 Things Meme

It’s time for some Saturday fun and let me tell you I started my Saturday fun by staying in bed till 8:00! I don’t know the last time I did that. So I’m drinking old coffee (Dear made it 5:00 am). We’re experiencing lots of clouds and rain here in the Southern California area so I just might pretend I’m a Hobbit and stay in my Hobbit Hole and watch the Seahawks game and try not to eat too much… Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I found this fun meme and totally stole it from Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

 

1. Five things found in my room (I’m in the Dining Room)

Table & 4 chairs (which is our eating table, my computer table, my bill paying desk, etc. in the Condo)

Wall candle sconce

A tin sign that says Blessed

An antique mirror

A framed self-portrait my daughter sketched

2. Five things I’ve always wanted to do.

Ride a horse on the beach

Go to Ireland

Be able to speak in front of people without shaking in my boots

Have a professional chef come into my home and make a meal for me and close friends.

Pay off all my and my kids debts

3. Five things found in my hand bag.

My digital camera (I’m a blogger after all!)

My wallet

My cell phone

My clip on sunglasses

My Hankie

4. Five things in my wallet.

license

credit cards

checkbook

photos

grocery store cards

5. Five things I’m currently into.

Blogging

Reading the new Jan Karon book (I just finished it!)

Trying to cut down on calories

Trying to walk everyday

Reading Ephesians every day for 20 days

If you decide to post this meme on your blog let me know so I can come see….

Photo Hunters ~ Delicious!

Delicious or as we like to say with a Russian accent Duhliscious!

 

This is the delicious baked treat we had over Christmas and New Years. I will be posting the recipe in the future for my Russian friends who don’t have this recipe (Roolyet) handed down to them.

For more Photo Hunters go see TnChick!

Friday’s Feast #13 ~

Appetizer
When was the last time you received a surprise in the mail, and what was it?

 I  got a late Christmas gift in the mail of the new ESV Literary Study Bible.

Soup
If you could have a summer and/or winter home, where would you want it to be?

Interesting question because my hubby and I without any master planning on our own part do have two homes right now. We have our family home that we love to spend definite seasons in Washington State and now surprise to us we have a lovely little condo in Southern California because “Dear’s” job is located here right now.  We have seasons whenever we want in the great Northwest and summer most every day in our condo in Southern California.  The hard thing is being divided and paying two mortgages. We are waiting and trusting on the Lord to make us content wherever we are until the day we are finally in the best place…heaven!

Salad
Pick one: pineapple, orange, banana, apple, cherry.

Oh my this is hard. I love all these fruits. I love them all together. But I’m suppose to choose one so I’ll choose the versatile banana that is available all year long for about the same price!

Main Course
Describe the nicest piece of clothing that you own.

Whoa! I don’t own many fine pieces of clothing. These days I prefer to shop second hand and I hate to spend full price for anything. I have some nice pieces of clothing (great labels) that I have bought at Goodwill. The most versatile nice practical piece of clothing that I own right now that I did not buy at Goodwill is a great Gortex raincoat that keeps me dry in the great Northwest rain or the Great Britain rain! I bought that coat at REI!

Dessert
If you could forget one whole day from your life, which day would you choose to wipe from your memory?

Wow just one? There are so many from my junior high days. Then there are those from High school. Ugh those early days of dating. Yuck all those mistakes in early marriage and early parenthood. Sorry there is not one day that stands out from all the rest. Thanks be to God that He has mercy on me and that I can leave these days/mistakes behind and move forward in mercy and grace!

For more Friday Feast participants click here.

Happy New Year!

A very Happy New Year to all!

We’re headed to the airport to fly back to Southern California from Washington early on New Year’s Day. We’ll be in the air and on the road for a large portion of the day. Today I have to totally de-Christmas my house and try to pack everything I want to take back to Cali with me. I won’t be back in Washington till Easter. The last few days of 2007 were spent with family and friends celebrating our daughter’s 22nd birthday and then just celebrating our friendships. It’s been an eventful busy year. Looking forward to what 2008 holds. Blessings…

The Birthday Party

The Cake

The Soup Party the next night…

It’s always good to have a tupperware drawer way down low…