Brrrr...Blessings On A Snowy Day...

Taking cover under a bird feeder on the deck...

This week I began journaling my blessings once again. The goal to reach one thousand or more this year.  How can I not be content when I write all I'm grateful for each day?  Even the little things add up to Joy when they are counted.  

Today we get to move a little slower as school was cancelled.  The kids are ecstatic and can't wait to get outside to play.  Oh, and I enjoy these days too...when I can go into work a little later or leave a little earlier (or both like today).

From the journal today...counting my way to 1000 gifts.

8.  A full night's sleep when I haven't had many of those lately...

9.  A flexible job for snow days like we're having today...

10.  Bird friends who keep us entertained all winter long...

 

 

Bird tracks to the front porch feeder...

Jackie

Oh, For "Pinterest's" Sake...

I mean...REALLY!   Who knew that one little website could take up so much of my time and become so valuable to me because of the amount of information I store there?   I hope Pinterest never goes away.  It's become my personal creativity site.  It's the best use of technology that I've seen in years.  I use it every week for meal planning, recipes, gift ideas, quotes and craft inspiration.  I imagine in the next month or so I will also start looking at the gardening ideas again too.  I'm not quite ready for that though...I'm enjoying all my inside projects right now.

Every time I've looked at Pinterest the last few days it has been full of Valentine ideas.  I've pinned some cute printables, crafts and food.  Yes! Cute food!  Below are some of the ideas I'm thinking about working on in the next few weeks.  I can't do all of them and that's my dilemma.  Not enough time for all the fun projects I want to tackle!  Someday.  You can see these and even more Valentine pins on my board, Oh Valentine! 

 

 

XOXO!

Jackie

Time For A New Start...

These first few days after Christmas and New Years are good in so many ways for me.  I love the feeling of putting the Christmas Tree and all the decorations away (as much as I love them) and giving my home a good scrubbing.  Everything feels fresh and clean and uncluttered for the first time in several months.  I begin fall decorating in August and go right into the Christmas season.  Every year I enjoy the ritual of pulling out treasured items and finding just the right place for them.  I equally enjoy putting everything away.  January feels like a clean slate for me in all areas.

I've never been one to have a big party and celebrate on New Years Eve.  I enjoy pulling out my journal after everyone has gone to bed that night and start writing.  Sounds kind of lame and boring now that I see it in writing.  However, I really enjoy writing about how the previous year went for me and what I would like to change.  I guess I do make resolutions, but I think of them more in the terms of goals I'd like to accomplish throughout the coming year.  2011 was a challenging year.  There were moments of happiness and joy but there was a lot of sadness around several deaths beginning with my Grandpa West in April, our good friend Blake in May and our beloved dog Gracie in October.  My dear cousin Denise fought her battle with breast cancer the whole of year with most of it in chemotherapy.  She is doing great and I'm so proud of her!!

I feel like I lost focus for most of the year.  The things I enjoy the most, writing and gardening, were put aside as I coped with a life of being too busy.  We spent money we didn't have on things we didn't need and we're paying for it (literally) now.  Overall, I look forward to the coming year and the HOPE that I see in it.  I look forward to getting back to doing things I enjoy and being more aware of how we're spending our time and money. 


I've been tossing around the thought of a defining word for my life for 2012.  I've been thinking about it for a few weeks and one word keeps popping into my head....TRANSFORMATION!  I'm just now starting to think about what that means for me.  At first thought...I want to Transform my life into what I believe God has in store for me.  I want to take more time to listen to the small, quiet, nudgings that I get from Him when I take the time.  I don't know what Transformation will mean for me this coming year, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Jackie