Fun Sunday

This was a fun day.  Ben got to go with me to church since this is the fifth Sunday of the month, and he is off from his regular church services. We actually got to see other people and have refreshments during coffee hour.

We went to our Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class after eating, and went over our budgets.  Scary! We are not in as bad a shape as some others, but our budget could use some tweeking, especially on the impulse buying expenses. This lesson was supposed to be the hardest to get through.  I believe it.  Lots of figures and percentages of what part of income goes towards what expense.  A real eye opener.

Ben is a big cycling enthusiast, so this afternoon he is watching the Tour Down Under. The dogs are doing their best to get his attention, and he isn't buying it.  They never give up though!

Off to fix something for dinner.  Don't have a plan.  Maybe a big salad will have to suffice.

We are supposed to be getting 4-6 inches of snow over the next few days.  Not so bad, but people here don't know how to drive in snow, so it is very dangerous to get on the roads when they are out and about.

Have a great rest of the weekend.

  Mary

What a Wonderful Day!

 Today has been great. I woke up early and posted more items on my Etsy shop page,

 www.peonylane.etsy.com  My shop is being critiqued and advertised on a blogger's site

 http://women-preneurgalore.blogspot.com The blogger, Nathalie, lives in Quebec.  I  found her on Etsy, and she does this advertising/critique for periods of two weeks.  I  read her interview with me and her comments.  She was so nice and complimentary.    Please check it out.  There is a giveaway prize, and a discount from my shop.

 Today, I went and had my long awaited massage.  Wow!  I feel so much better, and my  muscles are all loosey-goosey.  Amber works on trigger point massage, and it was great.

 Going to do it again in two weeks.

 Ben has a meeting tonight, so I am going to go start cooking for an early dinner.

 Enjoy your day!  Hugs, Mary

Sunshine On My Shoulder!

 Hello again,

 Finally, the sun has made an appearance.  It's not all that warm, but it feels so good to  have light.  Almost all of the snow has melted, just a few icy patches left. 

 I went to my Women's Club meeting today.  It is an organization that I joined years ago  when we lived here before.  It was right down the street from our house then, but we  now live about 10 minutes away. After having moved out of town 9 years ago, and  moved back, I decided to join back up.  It is a small group of women who do charitable    work, and raise money for scholarships for students at our local high schools.  We  always have outings, and a huge craft fair in October as fund raising.  We also have  lunch together.  Today, we had the most wonderful bread pudding with bourbon  sauce-  Maker's Mark  even! Yumm! Brought leftovers home to Ben since that is his  favorite.

 Tomorrow is a big day for me.  I finally get to have my long overdue massage.  I can't  wait.  It is also the day that my Etsy shop is being advertised on another Etsy  member's blog.  She critiques shops, then they solo for two weeks of free advertising.

 Her payment is one of my shop items.  Good deal.

 I am off to bed to get some rest.  I want to be nice and relaxed, so that I can be  massaged to an even greater state of relaxation tomorrow.

 Have a great evening.

 Mary

 

OWWWWW! My Aching Head!

 Hello again, 

 This has not been a good day or last night for that matter. I have been fighting a  freaking migraine on and off for two days.  I usually get a big one when the barometric  pressure changes, and that's exactly what happened. It's bad enough that we have to  put up with these frigid temperatures, but today it was also very windy. Not good.

 I have tried to stay busy and ignore the pain.  My medication helps, but just makes me  feel like I am muddling through the day.  My neck is stiff, and I know that is from the  headache too.  Fortunately, I am having a massage this coming week, and I can't wait.

 Woo Hoo!

 I made several new things to post in my Etsy shop. www.peonylane.etsy .com.  I got  them all photographed and posted some last night.  Take a look.  I would love to have  feedback. 

 I am off to get into bed and huddle under the covers to keep warm.

 Talk to you soon.  Mary

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!!!!

 It seems that the weather is increasingly becoming colder.  No sun!!!!  It messes with my mind, and my body.  I think I must have SAD.

 Spring can not come any too soon.  It's one of my favorite times of the year .  I love to see the new growth and the greening up of everything.  The sweet smell of flowers, and the earth being reborn.  It gives me a renewed sense of hope for everything, and I just know that things can only get better.

 I love to peruse the new seed and flower catalogues, that seem to multiply in the mailbox. I can dream of what our garden will look like in the warm days of summer.  I can taste the first warm tomato on the vine, and the heady scent of the lavender blooms.

 Do you do the same? Or am I the only one that loves to get my hands in the dirt and plant for future growth?

 We are off again to Gilda's Club Louisville tonight.  One of our dear friends and original group member of our Gilda's Club in Nashville, died last Saturday, after a long and valiant battle with a brain tumor.  This is very sad for his family, as well as all the many friends he made during his lifetime. He will be greatly missed.

 On a more happy note, I spent the morning making peanut butter flavored dog biscuits for Tillie and Barley.  They just love them.  Ben and I also completed our first assignment for the Dave Ramsey course we are taking to find Financial Peace.  We had to complete a brief outline of our budget.  It was very informative to see where most of our money is going out on various necessities, as well as where we need to tighten up on our impulse buys. Doesn't everyone!!!  It will be interesting to find out how well we are progressing at the end of the course.

 More work to get done before leaving tonight.  Have a great rest of the week.  Mary

Freezing!!!!

 It is another day now, and the temperature has dropped dramatically. The sun was actually out for a brief time, but now it is freezing cold outside! Even the dogs don't like it.

 Ben has been painting the upstairs wall trim, before he gets to the walls.  It will be so  much brighter when it is all finished.  Next, we tackle the bedrooms, and my  office/studio.

 I made another item today, photographed it, and posted it in my Etsy shop.    www.peonylane.etsy.com  Check it out!

 I have a lot more items that I am working on for the shop.

 Hope all of you are having a great day.

 Back to work!!!!

 

  Mary

ANOTHER RAINY DAY

 Hello again,

 Well, today is another rainy one.  It was also sleeting this morning.  I had to go out at the crack of dawn in my pjs  because poor Barley was sick to his stomach. It was cold!

 Barley tended to his business, and came back in soaking wet.  After I dried him off, he  moped around.  I could tell he was not feeling well because he ignored his breakfast.  Usually, he devours it all in seconds. Later, he decided he was hungry, and finally ate.

 

 The phone has been ringing off the hook, and it is driving me crazy.  It gets me totally  off track with what I am doing.   I have been cutting and pinning and sewing most of  the day, trying to get more things ready to post online in my Etsy shop,  peonylane.etsy.com.

 In a few minutes, Ben and I will be heading downtown to our Gilda's Club for our  weekly meetings for wellness, and friends and family of those living with cancer, or  those whose lives are affected by it.

 Barley is now curled up under the computer desk, snoring loudly.  He and Tillie have  been roughhousing, so they must be tired, because she is asleep too.

  I need to go get ready.

  Talk to soon.

  Mary 

Where did the weekend go?

Hello again!

 I haven't been able to write anything for the last few days, as we have had too many things on our plate. We have been running around in circles with the dogs that want out, then turn around and want back in.  Of course they are out just long enough to get muddy feet that they track all over, before we can grab them to off their feet.

It keeps raining, and I shouldn't complain because we really need it, but I hate it when it is dark and gloomy and I don't see the sun out for days. 

 When these weather fronts come through, I usually get a migraine when the barometric pressure changes.  I  can usually predict that it's likely to be raining soon, because I start getting achy, and then the little migraine signals start.  If I'm lucky, I can catch it before it gets bad, and I can medicate, but not when I wake up with one. Those are horrible!!! If any of you are fellow migraineurs, you know what I am talking about. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful neurologist that has been able to get me to where my number of migraines has been cut in half, and not as painful. I can live with that. Enough about my head!

  This has also been a wonderful, busy weekend.  My eldest son, and his wife came Friday from Lynchburg,VA  to visit.  They were planning on staying here til Monday, but they decided to go see my mother in Nashville, who recently fell.  So, this morning they went first to the Catholic Cathedral (she's Catholic), then to the Episcopal church where my husband served as Rector for 19 years, and where my son grew up worshipping.  They had to leave right after church, to head to Nashville.  They only plan on visiting Nana there for the afternoon, then heading to Knoxville to get part of the long trip home out of the way.  Then tomorrow they can head on back to VA. Too short a visit, but jobs call, and they have to get back to work.

 I stayed after church because there is another class forming to take Dave Ramsey's course on gaining financial peace.  They had the course last year, and it was a great success, so it's being offered again.  If anybody needs help, we do .  We always end up, as Dave says in the orientation video, having too much month left at the end of the money!  We really need to change our buying habits and get a real budget going.  It will be hard to do, but we are willing to try.  Have any of you taken this class before?

 Well, I need to go find something to fix for dinner tonight.  I hope you all have a great rest of today a wonderful start to the new week ahead.  I will be praying for sun!!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

Hello, and welcome to the New Year.  Let's hope that things get off to a great start, and this country can climb out from under.

The day has been a long, busy one.  We got up early, and it was freezing out.  It never got above 30* all day!  Brrr!

It seems like this was not my day to start out in a good mood.  I was in the middle of sewing things for my Etsy shop www.peonylane.etsy.com, when my sewing machine beeped, and said "safety device activated"!  This means it doesn't work.  Of course the repair shop was closed today, so I am way behind!

  

My brother Tom, in Nashville e-mailed me that my mother had fallen sometime during the night at her assisted living facility.  He didn't know details yet, so I called her.  She fell in the middle of the night and landed on her "bad leg" (of course), and on her arm , which she said is very bruised.  Nothing broken though, fortunately. Not easy for an 88 year old.  She has someone staying with her tonight and tomorrow until she can walk on her own again safely. Not a good way to start out the year for her either.

My eldest son is coming with his wife tomorrow, so I have been cleaning up things.  The dogs seem to be able to make a total mess of things right after I clean though.  Why do I bother?

 Lots of football on today, but Ben decided to do his New Years Day thing, and he took off on his bike in the 30*weather!  I don't know how he does it.

I am off to fix dinner, and to figure out the menus for the weekend, since my son and his wife are vegetarians. Ben and I are basically all fruit and veggie eaters, but we love seafood, and the occasional meat has been known to pass our lips.

Hope the week gets better as it progresses, and I wish you all  Happy New Year!!!!

Mary