Category Archives: personal

Blogging 101 Carnival ~ Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Chili a.k.a. Chilihead is sponsoring a blogging carnival and I’m diving in…

1.  How did you start blogging?

I used to send weekly emails to my family and friends of quotes, prayers, encouragements, etc. My brother Steve started a blog and there were several blogs I’d visit daily. Steve kept telling me that I needed to start a blog because basically what I was doing via email was a blog. One day when we were together he pulled out his computer and said “We’re starting a blog for you right now.” He set me up with wordpress helped me through some glitches that I have with technology and the rest is history. Here’s a picture I took of my brother setting up my blog back in March of ’07.

2. Did you intend to be a blog w/a following? If so, how did you go about it?

It wasn’t my intention to have “a following”. I still wanted to search and find encouraging things to post. I wanted some way to also catalog my new life away from my adult children and best friends in Seattle. This vehicle has given me that. I believe I have the gift of encouragement and it comes very naturally to me. I’ve always been a card and letter sender. I am a commenter because that’s what I like to do. Through some of my comments I have made blogging buddies that check my blog.

3. What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?

I want to continue to post things that are encouraging. I would like to continue growing in my walk with Christ. I want to learn more and share what is the “truth” and is honoring to my King.

I hope to keep my brain working hard. I want any motivation to be a continued learner. Blogging is accountability for me in this aspect of my life desire.

4. Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?

The thing that has changed for me is that as I find more blogs I enjoy, I participate in some of the weekly blogging events.

5. What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you started?

To have a shorter http:, I get tired of typing https://happywonderer.wordpress.com/ into the blogger sites. WordPress and typepad and some others store my info…that’s really nice for avid commenters. Some sites seem to punish you for not being one of their own! 🙂

6. Do you make money with your blog?

No, I do not make money with my blog but I save a lot of money because I’m not out shopping as much as I used to be…

7. Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?

Yes. Some do, some don’t. For some it’s hard to keep up with my daily postings. Some like to keep up with what I’m doing in Southern California now that I’m not living full-time in Seattle. Some read it but they don’t leave comments.

A few of my immediate and extended family have blogs. The more serious bloggers are my sister Lana at Above the Clouds and my brother Steve at The Temple. My son and daughter have a blog but their posts are few and far between…

8. What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?

Check out a variety of hosting sites before you choose one.

Consider whether some controversies that won’t be settled on this earth should become the focus of your blog. You might get more than you bargained for…

You can go to Don’t Try This at Home and see what other bloggers are saying…

My updated suggestion is that you do not store your photos at Photobucket. They are now holding all my photos hostage as of July 2017.

Show and Tell Fridays ~ Pigeons

 Time for show and Tell Friday ~

 

It’s hard to see but that’s me with the pigeon on my head. My sister Kathy is behind me and then my dad and my sister Vera are to the right. Love the dresses, shoes and socks! Also before I get to the point of this post (the pigeon) I’d like you to notice the clothesline behind us with all the clothespins on it. Yep…we used to hang our laundry on those lines and I had to get my first stitches from falling off a chair and hitting a porch while hanging laundry. But about the Pigeon…if you are an animal activist or are very sensitive don’t read the rest of this post. Consider yourself warned!!!

We were on the poor side growing up. Until my dad landed a good Carpenters job and was a member of the Carpenter’s Union he worked piece jobs, etc. He went to work everyday but sometimes the money got real scarce. My mother did not work outside the home. For some crazy reason my dad also decided to raise pigeons. We had a pigeon coupe in our backyard. Lovely, “rats with wings” is what we call them now. Back then we loved those pigeons and we all picked one to be our pet. There were 4 of us kids during this time, the next 4 hadn’t arrived yet. Anyway…my pet pigeon was named Green Neck. Not hard to guess why I came up with that name. One day when my mom didn’t know what she’d be able to cook for dinner my parents decided to kill some pigeons and make pigeon soup. THEY PICKED GREEN NECK to be one of the victims! I can’t begin to tell you how upsetting this was. (It did not traumatize me for life, I can chuckle about it now) The 4 of us kids had a “we will not eat that soup strike.” There was solidarity on this strike. I know there was no way I was gonna eat Green Neck even if it meant going to bed hungry…

First Name, First Letter, Meme

Saw this meme over at Karen’s  Simply A musing blog. She double-dared anyone to try it, so what’s a dare-devil to do…   Now that you’ve read this, consider yourself double-dared, too! The game is SCATTERGORIES…it’s harder than it looks! Here are the rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They MUST be real places, names, things…NOTHING made up! If you can’t think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person before you had the same 1st initial. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Your Name: ~ Ellen
1. Famous Singer/Band: ~ Enya
2. 4 letter word: ~ Easy
3. Street: ~ Elm
4. Color: ~ Ecru
5. Gifts/Presents: ~ Earrings
6. Vehicle: ~  Explorer
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: ~ Ewer, Extinguisher, Exotic items, Exit sign, Emblems (Okay I went overboard with this one)
8. Boy Name: ~ Earl
9. Girl Name: ~ Elizabeth
10. Movie Title: ~ Escape from Alcatraz
11. Drink: ~ Elderberry Wine
12. Occupation: ~ Engineer
13. Celebrity: ~ Dale Evans
14. Magazine: ~ Easy Home Cooking
15. U.S. City: ~ Englewood
16. Pro Sports Teams: ~ Evesham United
17. Reason for Being Late for Work: ~ Emotional meltdown
18. Something You Throw Away: ~ Egg shells
19. Things You Shout: ~ Enuf!
20. Cartoon Character: ~ Elmer Fudd

http://www.letterlane.com/LetterKids/Emily.GIF

Letters to an American Lady ~ C.S. Lewis ~ Quote

This quote comes from Letters to an American Lady ~by C.S. Lewis

Another thing that annoys me is when people say “Why did you give that man money? He’ll probably go and drink it.” My reply is “But if I’d kept [it] I should probably have drunk it.

This really convicted me because I’ve used this excuse not to be generous with beggars, homeless, needy people. What am I wasting my money on (the money I’m guarding and protecting from people like them)? Teach me Lord and let me be generous with your money. Forgive me for my arrogance and selfishness. Let me trust that you will lead me to give where and when and to whom you want. Let me respond to your leading.

http://images.scotsman.com/2006/05/02/begging.jpg

 

 

The Long Weekend ~ Dears Home ~ Washington

As of July 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos and is holding them hostage on their site.

This has been a weekend filled with hard work, heart to heart talks, revelations, and family togetherness since Dear has been in Washington for the long weekend. My husband whom we call Dear has been working full-time in Southern California since March of 2006. He comes home to Washington on holidays and vacations. We love our home and life in Washington so we’ve been living in a sort of denial that Dear is living full-time in California. I’ve been dividing my time between Washington and California (still the denial issue). This split time brought pain and comfort to myself and Dear. He’s been able to feel through our oneness that he still has input and physical touch through me with his children. The pain comes from our separation from one another and then the pain of separation from my children. Well on May 3, 2007 the Lord told me clearly that this dance between Washington and California needed to come to an end. Starting mid July, I will be living full-time with Dear in Southern California. The Lord clearly impressed on me that He is fully capable of caring for my children when I am absent in body. He has arms long enough to reach and care for them. This weekend we informed our youngest, the daughter (she’s 21 years old) that I would be taking my car, more stuff, and myself to California on July 14th-ish. Our boys and daughter in law were informed earlier. Dear wanted to tell our daughter so she was informed this weekend while her dad was here spending quality time with her. So pray for us in our transition that God would continue to grow us up in Him. Here are some photos of our labor and  love as the weekend begins…

Dear and I started off with the breakfast of champions donuts and eggs before any of the adult children were up. (The bearclaw donut was my whole WW point allowance for sure) Really though, I’m thinking we worked it all off with the big yard to clean up. 🙂 Hoping, hoping…

To the yard that needed some major work… Dear does the weed wacking

and I do the mowing. This is my new mower that goes on with the turn of a key!

We make a fine team.

Next Dear moved on to pressure washing the walkways…

and the deck. Nice to have all the dirt and mold and moss washed away.

After all the hard work was done, Dear, Katie and I went out to eat to the Blu Water Grill in Kirkland. (If you read my sister Lana’s blog, Above the Clouds, you’ll remember the beautiful photos she posted from this restaurant last week).

I tried to duplicate her photos to no avail….

but you can imagine the ambiance.

Katie and Ellen on our way home for a quiet evening, another shot of Lake Washington in Kirkland. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Dear and I leave today to California. I’ll be posting from there through June 23rd. Blessings!

Happy Birthday Pop ~ 84 Years Young!

This photo is from 1974 so my pop is only 51 here.

I am so thankful to God for my father, Moisi (Moses) Timothy Bagdanov because…

He loves the Lord wholeheartedly.

He has paid the cost to follow Christ with joy.

He gave up retirement and his home to be a missionary to his hometown village in Russia.

He seeks reconciliation no matter what it costs him.

He loves and sacrifices for his family.

He loves my mother as Christ loves the church.

He calls a cellular phone a cellkular phone. 🙂

He still cares for the fatherless and those who have no one else to help them.

He is a faithful man.

He loves jigsaw puzzles.

He loves me.

Update: I just have to add two more Moisiisms to the list from September 2001. Yes I’m trying to keep a running list. Hey, brothers, sisters, nieces etc.  If you can think of your favorite Moisiisms add them in the comments! 🙂

“Michelle [his granddaughter] got 3 crackpots for wedding gifts”

“Fireman is outside checking the hydrogens”

Before and After ~ Daughter’s Room

I decided to bless my daughter by cleaning her room. She is 21, working, going to school and was just in her best friends wedding. Things have gotten away from her (now that’s an understatement). So I put my praise music on and got busy!  Enjoy the before and after photos.

Katie was so thrilled when she came home from school and saw her room. We went out to dinner because mom was too pooped to cook after this transformation. Katie picked up the tab. Katie’s babushka (grandmother) wanted me to let Katie know that she was proud of her for taking me out to dinner. And yes, I got permission to post the pictures from “the daughter”.

As of July 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos and is holding them hostage on their site.

Of Weddings and Manicures

If I had any male readers I’ll be losing them today. This weekend is a busy one at our house. My daughter Katie is the Maid of Honor in her best friend’s wedding today. We are all a buzz with nails, hair, dresses, toast speeches, schedules, pictures, etc. One thing I’ve found out about myself is that manicures are not for me! I went with Katie for her manicure and she offered to buy me one. OOPS!

Oh sure, my hands and nails look nicer than they usually do, but I don’t know how to behave with a manicure. This is maybe my third ever manicure. I have a tendency to be rough on hands and things. I knicked one of the tips as soon as we walked out of the salon. Now I feel as though I need to sit around like a princess till after the wedding. I’m being held prisoner by my manicured nails. No mowing the lawn, no washing dishes, no scrubbing anything! I guess I’ll just have to wait till Sunday to do the things I normally do. “Dear” is in California so he’s missing all this fun. I wanted him to see my nails before I wipe them out!

Here’s a photo of Katie’s preparation for her part in the wedding. More photos of the beautiful outcome coming soon…(I hope she doesn’t mind that I know I posted this…)  🙂

Katie (the maid of honor) and Heidi (the bride) on their way to the Wedding Rehearsal last night.

Best friends through the ups and downs of their teen years! So different from each other but God brought them together for fellowship with Him and one another.

Praying for a beautiful blessed event today and that the Bride and Groom and Maid of Honor can relax enough to enjoy the celebration!

As of July 2017 Photobucket has blacked out all my photos and is holding them hostage on their site.

My Human Transporter

I’ve been blogging just long enough now and I’m just relational enough that I wish I could transport myself in 10 seconds flat to:

Prince Edward Island, to take a walk with Kathie and Rinda…

Colorado, to sit on Rosemary’s wrap around porch and have pie and coffee…

Illinois, to see Kim create a bookmark from start to finish…

Pennsylvania, to take a stroll with Pam around her garden and maybe take a motorcycle ride…

Canada, to taste some of Lovella’s homemade bread right out of the oven…

Canada, to have a cup of coffee with Susanne…

Australia, to experience a season opposite my own with Missmellifluous…

England, to check out Bronte country with Sarah…

Small town USA, to Lisa’s to see her 4 boys and go to a Bible Study together…

Midwest, to watch Abigail’s hummingbird’s at her feeders…

Huntington Beach, California, to watch the season finale of American Idol with Lana…

Now wouldn’t that be cool…

Preaching The Cross

My husband and I have decided it’s time to stop dancing between our church in Seattle and our church in Southern California. We are going to settle into reality. Although I’ve been traveling back and forth we live in Southern California because that’s where “Dear” is working full-time. To make our departure official we gave our two pastors whom we love dearly a copy of  Preaching the Cross by Mark Dever, J. Ligon Duncan III, R.Albert Mohler Jr., C. J. Mahaney with contributions by John MacArthur, John Piper, R.C. Sproul. It was hard to “join” another church after 18 years of being faithful to our church in Seattle.

We love this body of believers and we have grown significantly through our experiences here. Our very closest friends and children have gone to this church. “Dear” was an elder at this church, I was a deaconness. But…God is calling us to something new, a change, something different. We choose to be obedient and though it’s hard we look forward to what new thing God will do with us for His Kingdom and we hope we can be faithful servants in this new thing. There is a quote by A.W. Tozer in the introduction to Preaching the Cross that I thought was very good reminder to all of us in the Body of Christ.

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.” -A.W. Tozer

Thank you Lord for Sunrise, where we learned to love you more, love your people, we learned through experience what true forgiveness and reconciliation look like, and learned that suffering makes us more like you.

My prayer is that we all bow the knee to Jesus and keep our eyes on Christ, our Standard, so we can truly become nearer to each other as the Body of Christ.