I found myself at a funeral today... I went with my husband to support his longtime friend who lost his wife... I did not know the woman. I had not been to a funeral since mom died in February. I was sitting there minding my own business when I was overpowered by a cascade of emotions! Sneeky things...emotions! Just as I think I have some control they smack me upside the head once again. In keeping with the idea of counting blessings at ALL times I am trying to count these...

• Able to feel emotions at all
• had a mom worth remembering
• have a car that will get to a funeral
• have a husband to go with
• have someone to be with my son Andy so I can go
• 
  

There...that is how i get started counting those blessings and praising GOD for each and every one! 
How about you? 
What are you counting as your blessings today?? 

Mom's Birthday

My Mom...She made it to 72!!  She is not sure she is so glad about that but it is better than not being here at all.   She got some nice phone calls and gifts and was properly honored for this milestone.  Does this kind of thing seem to solidify goals for you? It seems to make my goals more tangible. 
She is now beginning to see her grandchildren present us with children and it is her pleasure to hear of each new addition on the way!  It does not make my goals of seeing my grandchildren's grandchildren seem so far fetched...
Seeing other people meet goals often helps me keep pressing on toward my own... When teaching I stressed setting goals and meeting them is such a big part of any progress.  Even tiny goals are progress!!  I have to sometimes be my own cheerleader but it does help to meet even the tiny ones...
Every project every goal is made up of many small steps and sometimes I have to celebrate each tiny step on the way to a BIG goal or project...

1. celebrating each 10lbs instead of looking at the 180 or so to go!!!
2. gaining control of the front yard instead of looking at the whole 6 acres!!
3. sewing one new dress instead of the whole summer wardrobe

What are your goals? What are your first tiny steps to reach them?
Remember to count your blessings along the way!! :)

inspiration...

Where do we find the inspiration we need to become something more than we are at this time? Often mine is found in my family.  I am beginning to embark on a journey to restore my health.  It will take at least the next year and include several surgeries.  I need to concentrate on the results... not the challenges that I face.  Break it into manageable goals that will result in final goals being met.  It has been such a blessing to finally find a med(savella) that is controlling the fibromylagia pain after 20+years! Blessings abound with the addition of water therapy (started in April) and physical therapy (started in June) and the cortisone shots(first in June) as a stop gap until the surgery on my joints can be done.  Now to be stepping into the process for bariatric surgery(http://www.tylerbariatrics.com/ ) is an adventure with mixed emotions...but I am glad that it is available to me.  I crave the support of my family and dear friends... to be surrounded with prayers and positive thoughts and words of encouragement will be part of the secret of my success... I thank all who will join me.

end of another week... 9-24-2010

Elizabeth birthday girl 

cj birthday boy

on the road...again...

another week slipped past... oldest son hurt at work... blew up his knee... will have to see an orthopedic surg... his birthday was Monday and grand baby Elizabeth's was Thursday... got to spend quality time with them both... am trying to pack to prepare for our winter south... so now down to decision time... it is beginning to chill up here but still in the 90s there so have to pack warm and cool for down there... sweetie wants to pack some tools and such to take also... and also must make sure all is on target here 'cause youngest son is staying here... life is full of decisions... i just have to remember that "every decision I make is a choice between an grievance and a miracle!" (that statement is on my fridge)... so here I go into the decision making world... wish me luck and send prayers after me...

fall beginning...

fall is beginning...

or so they say...

I am not through with summer yet! I had a wonderful summer playing with babies... at the beach, playground, river, and even in the living room...

I know the snow is on it's way and my bones will not tolerate it... so I will have to escape to Texas "south for the winter" snowbirds... How do I survive and even breathe so far from my sons and grandbabies... Sometimes it is more than I can do... But I intend to haunt these pics and hang on tight to memories to get me through to the next time I can see those wonderful faces and feel those young arms wrapped around me once more...

one more time...

his life is simple....

his is simple too...

How to simplify... hahaha this should be simple!
Figure out what I need and release the rest...
What about what the other people in my house deem as worthwhile...
Do I ignore their wishes? Try to convince them they really don't need this or that...
Being on both ends of this simple issue makes it complex...
So... start with one part of a room at a time... and then move on around the room one piece at a time...
Now let's see... do I need_____???

birthday #53

ok... I have lived through another Birthday... now to be middle aged I will have to live to be 106! This is doable...right?
To take inventory...
1. still weigh too much, 2. grey is increasing, 3. wrinkles are increasing, 4. seeking simplicity and seem to be gaining on it...hence the grey increasing (no more dye), 5. children are grown up men now, 6. grandbabies growing...3yr old informed me she is NOT a baby! another one starting school in fall...
Goals?
1. Andy's independence increase
2. Increase my health earmarks
    a. blood pressure continue to be normal
    b. stamina continue to increase with Victoza
    c. cholestrol continue to decrease
3. continue simplification of homestead
4. develop stream of income
5. not dwell on weight loss but on health increasing...

laxy saturday

starting out to be a lazy day... mom asleep alot... james feeling down and staying dizzy... dad gone to visit his brother... i am finally over my toothache but now do not want to go get it pulled now that the anitbiotic has worked! I just want to get in the car and head north to the cooler climate and my grandbabies giggles are calling me... To hell with dr appointments and such just let me outta here! This being a grown up stinks... so how is your day...

mom with her "red honeysuckle"

stool grown in among the treesour new neighbor!

making choices to be here instead of spending all my time north with grandbabies and sons & DIL has not been easy... but days like yesterday with mom in her garden talking "teaching" me all about the plants she has gathered there and feeling that these days are not going to last forever make this choice feel like a wise one... not long before I will get to go north to share special days with the rest of the family... but for now this is where I belong...

life happens

am now getting a chance to rework and create my own spot here in Texas...I have bought my parents 1 acre homestead and inherited the 5 attached acres from my grandfather... may get to add another 5 if one of the sisters agrees she wants to sell her portion... so now to make it mine...
property is in much disrepair and needs to be cleaned up and made useable. House and property could be used for a hoarder series on the tv... So here we go...
biggest issue is how to simplify when my parents are still going to be living on the property and we must merge and work together to join our lives and not be in each others nerves ALL THE TIME!!

other than clean up and tuck away we are reworking an old camper into a potting shed greenhouse... will be posting pics

please wish me luck...and send up prayers...

misscathy

a new joy filled year?

A new year and what will it hold... lots of hugs and grandbaby kisses... laughter and prayer... looking for joy where it can be found... I know sometimes we have to search for these simple things... some days they are harder to find than others... the world here is covered in snow and much is hidden just like the joy is sometimes hidden in our life... it takes determination sometimes to find it... a choice to seek the joy in our little lives... the taste of a strawberry, the breeze on a hot day, the snore of the one you love beside you, giggle of a child on the phone, "I love you" long distance from someone who means it... tiny things in this HUGE world but all can bring joy into my little life... I will search for these things and FIND them this year...

perfect rest? yes, if my mind is set on GOD...

sister's love...pure perfection... decisions...decisions...decisions...

Setting priorities is a ways a challenge...

When my boys were little it was easy... They were first even when they didn't think so...they were... Now there are grandbabies and parent needs that are a part of the mix... I want to be helpful and available for them all... only kink is they are 1100 miles apart!!! So now I am working out logistics to be there for them all... I have a partner in all this. He is quite strong and knowledgeable, and available anytime I need a shoulder to cry on or a new idea or just to know someone is in this situation with me... no it is not my sweetheart (his is all those things as well). It is my GOD... He is always there and can watch over all my little family here and afar and keep all them tucked under his wing of protection. He is always ready with a new idea or plan if I will take the time to let him whisper it into my ear... I just have to remember that he is willing if I am ready. He can protect them all and lead them when I am not right there...he is... I often wonder how others do it all without his support...it must be so hard... well I will go get busy.

you be blessed today...

Today goal... prep for move... pack 5, recycle 5, trash 5... or such is the plan... am looking for the best way to move my son's 10 years of comics...*:)
Monday morning... sometimes it feels good to have a clean slate like the beginning of a new week. Of course I know the week actually arrived on Sunday... but... that was the weekend right...
I am going to try to make some more progress in my paring down project. I know there are more things that need to be shared and will be truly used and enjoyed by others... so that is the plan for this week.
I am running out of steam in this area though...have been doing it slowly but surely for over a year and am down to what I really want to keep in many areas. I know it is time for me to use a fine tooth comb and work inside some of these cabinets to purge and pass along some of the bits and pieces of my stuff... so here goes...
be blessed today...

oatmeal, walnuts, honey

chad and his turkey leg

chad & zoe happy meals

chad and raisin bread

Just wondering how would I go about simplifying my diet? There is so much written about what we eat. What would a simple diet consist of. Some say it would be maybe vegetarian. Some only what you make from scratch. Does it mean simple to prepare or simple to eat. Simple to eat might be drop by the window and place my order...not the best for my health. So what do you think a simple diet would be?

• fruit
• veggies
• grain
• protein
• water

how simple do you make it and not get bored... does it matter if it bores us... are we eating for entertainment? "eat to live or live to eat?" is a comment heard in a diet group or two over the years... just wondering... be blessed today...

simple life?

pics show simple contentment at it's best...imho

where is my simple life? Hidden behind all the stuff my life holds... things, projects, plans, people... simplicity disappears behind life... so it is time to dig it out...

• set priorities
• purge unnecessary projects
• plan for simplicity
• ease away from the draining people (embrace the uplifting ones)

priorities... family, health(physical, mental, spirituial), food, clothing, shelter...that looks like a good place to begin... focus on these priorities...if it does not contribute to these things then ease it or throw it out of my life...

be blessed today

naming property???

grand baby #6 chad took this pic of grandma laughing...he is 5...

this is mom & dad a few years back...

Years ago I was looking for a name for my property. I knew it came from GOD... just too many coincidences fell in place for it not to be a true blessing. I remembered a verse that says "GOD inhabits the praise of his people". I wanted him to be welcome and live at my place so it became "praise place". This has been the name of many physical places since then, and the name of my ministry, but truly I think it is the name of my heart. We will be moving once again and I know I will carry the name with me. It is interesting how a place will get a name. My dad lived in an area that the kids all called "rainbow" because of the HUGE rainbow bread sign on the tiny local store in that community. Where my parents live now...mom named "rainbow's end". I need to get busy today...taking a few more steps to get ready to move... be blessed today

july 09 grandma's job

the water was chasing her...

she will pose for this one...

sharing the great lake with grandpa

going for a trip with grandma...

moving is by nature complicated... so how do you simplify it?

plan, plan, plan... I am tired of planning...

I just want to be taking action!

I am ready to take action even if it is the wrong one...

just quit planning and move!

I guess that is why I am blessed to have my sweetheart here... he is the calm, slow, and steady type that keeps my impulsiveness in check... he is a good choice...

Today we start the taxi for taking the #1 grandson to band practice M, T & W night. Has to be there by 6. It is good that his dad is on days and can pick him up this week. Last week it was over there by 6 and pick him up at 9... of course if we picked up a baby grandchild for 3 hours it made the time fun...exhausting but fun...

Here I go to do more planning... you all be blessed today.

still mowing

grandbaby #6 chad and grandma resting in outdoor swing (bed mode)

Today my sweetie put a running board on our old van "bertha" (name provided by my son). Now I can get in from both sides!! While he was doing that I took on the mowing chore... (he made this suggestion...he is trying to keep me moving) I did it all without taking a break... (mind you we live in a trailer park...not much lawn) I am 43lbs lighter than my last mowing blog was written... I did work up a sweat (or glistened) but I did not have to go sit for a while to rest before I finished... I am getting stronger... I still have MILES to go before I reach optimum health but I am making progress... in a book I wrote years ago it said over and over...Progress not perfection... I need to practice what I preached... this pic is from our most recent visit with Chad... we were resting after he took grandma for a walk... he grabs my hand and pulls me all the way...to see every animal, leaf, and especially any worms that my cross our path... *:)

mowing grass...

my sweet seat to rest from mowing

(this is an old postfrom my space, just thought I would share it.)

Just thought I would share this...Actually NEED to...I got a new reel mower and was so proud of myself...No gasoline...more exercise...quiet...simple...Now mind you it took me 3 rest periods to get my tiny(trailer park) yard mowed...but I DID IT!!(Being disabled and over 300lbs poses a problem sometimes)Anyway...I was coming around from the back of my house.I had emptied my grass catcher into my little compost bin...when the lady next door was beginning to mow the front of my yard!she stopped and came to me just smiling so happy!She said "I didn't know if you had a mower so I am just gonna get this front and side for ya!"and she didn't hear me over her mower that she left running say "I just did my yard..."She then said "The neighbor on the other side is gonna do the back and other side for you!"Should I mention this woman is about 20 years older than I am...I just went in the house...I am trying to be good and not fight with these people right off the bat!So I mowed my yard...and now it is being mowed "right" I guess...So I will try again next week...maybe I need to set it lower???Y'all have a wonderful week...and be grateful for all the land you have...How far away are your neighbors?

one more day to simplify

one more day...sunset at walnut beach ashtabula...

cleaned out the drop leaf table by my bed yesterday... it definitely counted as packing 5, throwing away 5, but did not give away 5... i should go through the box and pick out 5 things to give away...

took care of myself with the bone density test yesterday and gave blood... so the new doctor can know a bit more about me...*:)

spent some time at the beach and gave all my money to the various bill people that hold their hand out at the first of the month...

been taking my water pills again and lost 6 lbs in 3 days... 3 weeks without them had me swollen like a water balloon... at least my skin is not hurting from the pressure of the water now...

will be searching online for a natural substitute for these pills... any suggestions?

well onward and upward... how will you simplify today?