Blog Conference Musings

January 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s been an intense day so far here at Blissdom Blog Conference. I found out that I am considered a purist. This is a blogger who has no ads on their blog. It’s a new world listening to all the fellow bloggers who have quite a following. I feel like a little fish in a gigantic pond. Meeting lots of women, including my favorite bloggers who I have read for a long time. I am grateful to meet them and see how genuine they are in person. That has really been the highlight of my time here so far. Missing the family, but I know my time here will go very quickly and I will be reunited with them again.

P.S. : If you introduced yourself to me at the conference today & your visiting my humble little blog for the first time, welcome. It was great meeting you!

Blog on,

Filed Under: Blogs Bring Joy, Me Time Brings Joy, Other Emotions

To Do List

November 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
  1. Finish my Christmas cards (way behind this year)
  2. Finish my Christmas decorating (it’s not turning out as good as I would have hoped)
  3. BE POSITIVE! :) (sheesh!)
  4. Finish my Christmas shopping
  5. BE POSITIVE!!
  6. Continue doing all the other stuff I normally do: change sheets, do laundry, grocery shop, de-clutter, clean kitchen, help with homework, taxi children, referee children, sort, organize, pay bills, etc….
  7. BE POSITIVE!!!
  8. Figure out a new exercise plan that I don’t HATE (& doesn’t cause me pain…in other words causing me to visit the doctor too many times)
  9. Enjoy the journey!

Honestly, I hate lists,
Shan

Filed Under: Home Brings Joy, Other Emotions, Values Bring Joy

This is my life…

October 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Okay, so EVERY TIME I decide to work on a project OR try to FINISH a project guess what happens?! I CAN’T find what I need!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I swear there is something or someone who is playing a horribly CRUEL joke on me. I will put things in their ‘home.’ When I go to that ‘home’, it is not there! If anyone knows me well they know how this can tear me a part! I work diligently at trying to be organized just for the sole purpose that I don’t have to spend hours or days looking for something I need or want. And of course NO ONE has any idea where the stuff disappeared to!

Today I decided to make some cookies with my cookie press. It took me like half a day just to get the stinking dough made! This is how it went:

1.) Find Recipe…look through all my cook book stuff, no where to be found and not with the cookie press. Yes, it takes a certain cookie recipe for the press to work. So my youngest reminds me to look on the internet…da dah du, yay I found it! Probably took about an hour to do this because my kids are home today for Fall Break. I thought us making cookies together would be a fun project to work on…yeah, right! Anyway, they needed this, they needed that, etc.

2.) Get out ingredients…we have everything except eggs since my Son used 7 eggs this morning to make his scrambled eggs. SO I run to Braum’s and grab some eggs. This took another hour!

By this time it was lunch time but the kids were great sensing their Mom was on the verge of exploding and they made their own sandwiches while I mixed the ingredients.

3.) Mixed ingredients and decided to add food coloring to make the dough orange. The cookies are going to be pumpkins. It took me about 15 minutes to find the stinkin food coloring! Finally found it and mixed it in.

Okay so I’m ready to press the dough in my awesome Pampered Chef Cookie Press. I think I have only used it once or twice since I bought it a few years back. Then my sweet daughter brings to my attention that there is a part missing for the cookie press. It’s not in the box with the rest of the parts…no, of course not! So here I am LOOKING for this ‘BOTTOM RING’ for over an hour in my kitchen. I have turned it upside down. The kitchen is now a COMPLETE DISASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s no where to be found.

I spent all this time making this dough to NOT be able to make my cookies! This brings me to tears. It’s a little embarrassing but, it’s not necessarily the cookies, it’s the fact that this crap happens to me ALL THE TIME! It get’s OLD…real old! It’s down right frustrating and depressing! I have wasted a day and have NOTHING to show for it except a messy kitchen. JOY, NOT!

This is my life,
Shan

Filed Under: Other Emotions

Blog Post #239

September 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

{Warning: This post probably should be in my journal. It’s kind of depressing. So maybe if you are having a good day, (I hope you are) you shouldn’t read it.}

I remember as a teen looking forward to being independent and on my own. If you have ever seen the movie 13 Going On 30, well, that was me. While ‘growing up’ I heard people tell me I was more mature than my age. I always took this remark as a huge compliment. I still would. But now that I’m 40, I would still rather have my younger body. I had such high hopes this year would be a new start for me, physically. Let me explain. Last year I endured many physical set backs. I was healing from a bad case of Achilles tendinitis. This kept me from running and staying in shape. I also had many problems with my back. (It is the product of many accidents over the years, I am sure.) Then I got hit by a car in April while stopped at a stop sign which aggravated my neck, back and shoulders AGAIN. Towards the end of the summer I finally began to feel back to normal and began to run again.

So we celebrated just a few weeks ago my 40th birthday. Right as we returned I came down with an urinary tract infection which antibiotics led to the most miserable pain ever in my left shoulder. Only just last week was I able to move my arm without great pain. It’s finally back to normal. I am forever grateful! However, being 40 just doesn’t seem to be that great! I wasn’t dreading turning 40 like my husband did when he turned 40. Even so, it is somewhat scary thinking if my body is struggling at 40, my future doesn’t seem too bright. It’s quite depressing really. So here I am feeling really bummed. Maybe I shouldn’t have run that marathon and 3 half marathons?

I warned you,
Shan

Filed Under: Other Emotions

Official Completion Date…

April 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

…June 5th! Thanks to the bank for pressing the builder to give us a completion date. He says we should be moved in before that date if our tile layer will press on the gas. We opted for a different tile layer than the one the builder normally uses. He is a perfectionist and is doing a great job. The builder says, “he does excellent work, he’s just very slow.” I guess that’s the price you pay to get it done right. I told my husband I will be at the house in the morning helping him grout the floors to get things moving if I need to.
It will be almost, to the day, a full year from the time the builder broke ground on our home. It has been one of the most grueling things I have ever done. I would not wish this experience on my worst enemy. (it’s just a saying…I hope I don’t have enemies) It really is true what they say about building a home…how difficult it is. I am sure we could have been on the HGTV show Dream Homes. Honestly, I could never watch that show because of the anxiety it gave me. The actual building process is a million times worse. My husband has really been great putting up with me (Thank you, honey!) He keeps telling me over and over, “It will all be worth it in the end.” Sometimes I did not think so. Now that it seems I can somewhat see the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ I am sure he is right. Kids, you will have a more sane Mom once we have moved in…I think :) LOL
I know being able to build a house such as ours is a tremendous BLESSING. Many people are struggling right now and my heart aches for them. It truly does. Someone at church one day said they wondered if they would be able to keep their home. My husband and I realize the situation of others and have tried to keep quiet. Except for our family and close friends, if anyone asks us we are happy to report our status, otherwise we don’t talk about it.
My heartfelt thanks go to my parents for listening to me whine and cry about all the twists and turns. Emily, thank you for being my long distance decision maker/designer during those times I just couldn’t make one more decision or just needed a friend to bounce ideas with (I miss u!). Sara, thank you for listening to me ramble on about the house…I really needed someone to listen and you did and still do. I know you didn’t know what you were getting yourself into when you called me. :) Last but certainly not least, I thank my Heavenly Father. My faith is my rock. Besides, ultimately, everything we have is His anyway. I pray that we might be good stewards over this home he has blessed us with. I promise to share it with all my family and friends! I plan on spending lots of time there making memories for an eternity with the people that mean the most to me.
Very Sincerely,

 

Shan
P.S. : The picture is of the kitchen floor.
Filed Under: Friends Bring Joy, Home Brings Joy, MY Family Brings Joy, Other Emotions, Photography Brings Joy, Values Bring Joy

Our Current President

October 29, 2008 By 1 Comment

Boy! My brother sure does know how to get me going…this is written in reaction to his comments on his blog.

He writes:

“I have early voted, and I am very excited to see whom our wonderful electoral college elects. I’m not so much excited to see who wins, but to finally wave goodbye to our incompetent and fearless leader, George W. Bush. I’m sure he’ll go back to running businesses into the ground or just wander aimlessly around his new Presidential Library. Most importantly, he needs to stay out of politics, as this will be most beneficial for our country and the rest of the world.”

Why is it that people want to bash George Bush? Honestly, do people really think that it is all the president’s fault for everything that goes wrong in this country? To me, that would be saying that our country has a dictator and this is not true. We have a democracy and whatever Bush wants doesn’t mean it automatically happens. Things have to go through the House and the Senate too. Besides, the democrats are the majority in both houses right now. So how come no one is blaming them? The thing that bothers me most is when people say things like this above (sorry bro, you kind of asked for it!) that it in someway sends the message that they could do the job as president better than him. Do we really know everything that the president has to do to be the president? Talk about STRESS! That job has to be the hardest job on the earth! I would never want to do it. I commend each president on doing the best they can do.

In regards to George W. Bush, he has served as president now for 8 years and before that he was governor of Texas for 5 years. Why would you say that he needs to stay out of politics when he has experience in this field? I am really curious to where you are getting your information to form your opinions about this topic. Anyway, I know you are entitled to your opinion. I was just surprised to hear such blatant hatred for President Bush.

Unless we have walked in that person’s shoes, how can we judge them?

TTFN,
Shan

Filed Under: Other Emotions