Intention

[I INTEND to share these little quotes from pinterset with each month-]
But I also wanted to share one of the ways I'm incorporating my one little word into my art -
– it’s hanging in the foyer right now but will soon be moved to my office, I think. Remember I mentioned my alpha sticker addiction? Well, I decided that I needed to use some of those leftover ones in a fun and creative way so I took a canvas [bought on sale at Jo Ann’s last year for 90% off – wowzers! I got five!] and painted it a nice shaded green background
– then layered the words all over using different sticker fonts and some of my favorite little intentional sayings - l I like it A LOT this way with the multi-colored letters – but my goal was to have something that [somewhat] resembled the subway art I’m seeing everywhere – so I painted over it in dark purple [remember, my whole house is mardi gras colors --] then gently [ha – I waited too long and let it dry a bit too much] pulled the stickers off. It looked ‘okay’ to me – but I set aside a night and grabbed the green paint again and went in and cleaned up the lettering – especially the smaller stickers – you can see that they let a lot of paint seep underneath…and I like this a whole lot more ---

Why the blank upper right? I wanted it to look like a work in progress – believe me, I have PLENTY of alphas and could have continued on… I'd love to see how you're incorporating your one little word into your life and art this year - feel free to put a link in the comments!

Which to celebrate?

Chinese New Year or National Pie Day? Well, WHY NOT BOTH – We had Dollar Sushi and then came home with the intent to make four little pies with the ‘baby cakes’ pie maker I got for Christmas – but the pie crust recipe I used bombed. BIG TIME. I think I'll stick to refrigerated crusts. And I never got back to it since I had another week with travel -

Our crazy [extremely] mild winter continues, and personally - I'm loving it! -

This was the view from my office one day.

I downloaded an app for a calorie counter – it’s handy to have it on my phone – no excuses now. And I'll admit that I'm not meeting the target that the doc and I discussed - but I AM eating less and I have lost some weight. LOVE having a little spot to [look-up &] record the calories I consume.

I cooked Tuesday [Pioneer Woman's Pop Pulled Pork - hot HOT HOT - cole slaw and au gratin potatoes] and we had oldest and his gal over for dinner - so enjoyed just hanging out and visiting! And then I traveled for work three days & got to see the youngest and his gal for dinner one night too. Sweet. Worked on my valentines in my hotel room...[Loved seeing this old court house that reminded me of 'Back to the Future.']

And on Saturday we traveled [again - this time for fun]
– took a glider to be painted, have I shown it to you? The holy grail of gliders, as Craig calls it? A special find - the wedding ring - seriously hard to find. I look forward to having it all shiny and butter yellow! We shopped a little at a Hispanic farmers market [- soooo wanted to try some of those unusual fruits and veggies we saw, but decided my stomach may not be hardy enough,] a flea market or two, and Opry Mills [more and more stores are opening!]

And we had a blast at Dave And Busters to celebrate a nephew’s 30^th birthday party – Brother met us early in the day so it was just a fun day to hang with family and visit together. And then the youngest surprised us by coming home to visit with a friend who was home this past weekend as well. ALWAYS so good to have our boys home.

Not much else happening - I organized some photos in my computer files [non-people photos by seasons and theme,] worked on some scrappy stuff with a kit I got - I enjoy seeing how many projects I can get out of a kit - it's a [self-imposed] challenge that I love - worked on my valentine mailbox, and oh yes, saw the first daffodil of the spring open up.

Favorite Photo Friday

Here are a couple of favorite photos of mine - I'm not sure who took them or how they came to me - I'm not even sure if I have prints - [if the original owner is reading this - THANK YOU for sharing with us - and if other family members want a copy, simply right click and 'save as']This is my Mama M. and her sister-in-law our dear [great] Aunt Annie -
love that they remained close through the years. There's two things I remember about Aunt Annie - she'd always drink a glass of hot water before going to bed and she slept propped up on three pillows
[could it be that she had a little acid reflux as well?]
And Mama M. - well, she made the best teacakes around and also made yummy popcorn to share while we watched Dark Shadows together on summer afternoons...

OMGiveaway

I always enjoy hearing from each of you throughout the month and have been trying to respond to comments in the comment section... Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog!
I love reading each comment and think it's so fun to share together!

Each month I have the Once a Month [old stuff] giveaway - it's a [medium flat-rate] box full of goodies - some stuff may be missing a few stickers, some stuff is brand new that I've realized I'll never use - One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure and all that, you know - if you'd like a chance to win - just comment on this post and check the OMGiveaway page [above] to see who the winner is at the end of the month -

The NEXT winner will be chosen from COMMENTS ON THIS POST.

Deadline to leave a comment: January 3oth

Monday Musings

Oh my goodness! It's Monday already!
And I don't have any photos to share with you from my week! It's been a laid-back one for me - and oh how I needed a week in town to be at home and sort and clean and cook a little - and paint and play and read a little...
And I'll admit that parts of our house looks like a disaster zone - my sweetie cleaned out the oldest's room and all the stuff he left here when he moved out over a year ago is strewn throughout the living / dining area -- but he's making a dent by coming by every few days and sorting and taking some home... I made crockpot bolognese sauce from here one evening -

[her photo, not mine] and have to say it was better as left-overs once everything 'married' together [chili is that way too, don't you think?] - and I made southwest stuffed peppers from Real Simple magazine [feb. 2012] - both were delish. I also gave the brown betty a go [from The Pioneer Woman's food network show on Saturday] using a couple of apples we had on hand and some leftover hamburger buns [cut the recipe in half, obviously.]
I organized my cricut cartridges a bit and made labels so I can easily find the one I want - like I use them so often - lol... also organized my growing collection of journaling tags in a handy little carrying box, and sorted and organized my alphabet stickers. [Getting ready for a few upcoming weekend crops.] And I've had time to paint a few evenings - using that endless supply of alphabet stickers [it's the ONE addiction that I cave on anytime I'm near them...] as backgrounds - so fun! Here's one and I'll share another one during my next post on my
One Little Word - Inspiration.
[Quick tutorial: I bought this wooden plaque at The Dollar Tree [$1] - love the little iron hanger - randomly covered it in left-over alpha stickers - spelling out peace in the middle; then painted it allover in blue with a green stripe over peace. Dried overnight - scrubbed the alpha stickers just a bit with my sanding block and outlined the word peace; added smaller stickers for the quote. Glued the ricrak with E6000 - then covered it all in glossy mod podge. ]
I also read Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts,

over the weekend [again, her photo, not mine,] - SUCH a poetic writer - and it's a wonderful book - not at all what I was expecting - I'd not read anything about the book, just assuming it was a compilation of some of her best blog posts - instead she takes the reader on a wonderful story of her inadvertent study of thanksgiving and joy. And it's always refreshing for me to see that I'm not the only one who struggles with fear and anxiety. Very good.
And I watched three movies this week - Moneyball [a little slow for me, but I am so not a baseball fan...], Joyful Noise [loved it - great music - want the soundtrack -- can we get soundtracks on pandora?], and Cowboys and Aliens [weird, just plain weird.]
And I went to a follow-up doctor's appointment. Things are good. It's just time to get healthy.
And lastly, we had a raccoon family holding my car hostage last night as I went out to get something -- HUGE raccoons! But quick enough on their feet to scurry off before I could snap a photo...

Freddie the Firefly

I know I’ve shared before what lovely memories I have of fireflies [lightening bugs to us in the South.] I spent many, many hours of my youth chasing these little bits of light around at dusk. And even now, in my 50s, I still watch expectantly to see the first firefly of the season – usually mid March for us.

I don’t chase them around anymore [could I catch one if I tried?] But I cherish the memories of catching them in mason jars and taking them into the back bedroom with a passel of cousins and telling stories by their light until bedtime. – I’m pretty sure we let them go before going to bed, because I have NO MEMORY of waking up to a bunch of little dead fireflies in our jars, or maybe that’s just too traumatic to remember. LOL.

So I was thrilled when Craig surprised me with a firefly that will live eternally [I’ve affectionately named him Freddie.] So now, every night I can tap on his jar and watch him fly around blinking and blinking – shining his light in the darkness. And isn’t that what God wants us to do?

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 – New American Standard [Translation]

You know, Freddie can’t light up a whole room – but he does make a difference. He gives me a little happy feeling every time I hear him flutter around and see him blink his light. And we can do that for others – sometimes our purpose is to just shine quietly right here, where we are. We don’t have to wait until we think we can light up a whole room, or until something BIG comes along that we think God is calling us to do – He’s calling us to blink – blink – blink – to shine our light right here, right now, in our little corner of the world. He wants to use us to bring a little happy to the world around us so that others can see His light and live eternally.

Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to bring light – bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – SHINE! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up to God, our generous Father in heaven. - Matthew 5: 14-16 - The Message [Paraphrase]

2012 Faith Based Pages Challenge

2012 Faith Based Pages Challenges

All sketches from: Scrapbook, etc. - http://www.scrapbooksetc.com/printables/sketches/

All devotionals from: http://momsoffaith.com/2009/04/names-of-god-series-devotional/

I have a group of friends who have talked for months [years -?] about doing scrapbook layouts based on the theme The Names of God so I’m biting the bullet and going for it – I was so happy to find the Moms of Faith website that had a long list of devotionals based on the names and attributes of God. Love how she breaks things down so that it’s easy for me to understand-

Sketches were chosen from Scrapbook, etc magazine for our Faith Based Pages Challenges this year. I’ll post one with a devotional here on the tab each month. REMEMBER these do not have to be followed literally – you can replace hearts, or snowflakes, or baseballs with any embellishment you want to use. Likewise you can interpret the theme each month however it fits your life – if you want to do 12 layouts on the Names of God then go for it! You could use nature photos that you’ve taken or even pictures from magazines [true scrapbooking!!] OR you might want to interpret the theme by showing how you’ve experienced these attributes of God – how He has shown His character to you. I may do a variety of different things.

January - Names of God – Jehovah Jireh

http://momsoffaith.com/2009/04/names-of-god-jehovah-jireh/

"The first thing I would just like to mention is that Jehovah is not actually a Hebrew word. It came later. The correct word is Yahweh. However, I will use Jehovah for familiarity.

And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. Genesis 22:14 (KJV)

Jehovah Jireh (Yahweh Jireh) - The Lord will Provide

There is one word in the meaning that I would like to really focus on. WILL. The Lord WILL Provide. Not maybe. Not might. Will. The Lord WILL Provide.

Repeat after me: Jehovah Jireh, MY Provider. The Lord WILL Provide for all my needs according to HIS riches and glory. (Philippians 4:19)

We need to really grasp this Character of God. He is our Daddy in Heaven. He wants to provide for us. It pleases Him when we are prosperous. I believe that we are called to prosperity for the purpose of furthering His Kingdom.

God showed me in a very real and personal way just how much He not only wants to provide for me…but how much He already does…even before I ask! Let me share a little personal experience with you…

A few years ago I got pregnant with my second child. There was a 10 year age gap and we had nothing that a baby needs. Plus, we were broke. I know that God would not have blessed me with this baby if He was not going to provide. So I prayed and I trusted Him.

A month before the baby was due, a couple church friends threw me a beautiful baby shower. Ladies, people I never even talked to showed up at this shower. one lady that I was just acquainted with and did not even really know gave me a $75 gift card. It was UNBELIEVABLE! Not only did I get everything that I needed for my little Boo. I got MORE than I needed and then some!

But, God was still not done showing me. He even provided me with personal items like bras that I needed for breast feeding. AND…now this is quite wonderful…He provided over a MONTH of meals. People from the church and our homeschool group just kept bringing meals…day after day…people we hardly knew!

You see, God DOES provide. We just need to BELIEVE His Word and TRUST Him.

The Word tells us in Psalm 37:25; I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Grab onto this Scripture. Own it. BELIEVE it. Trust God and His Word!

Jehovah Jireh – The Lord WILL Provide!

2 Chronicles 20:20b - ...Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established; believe and remain steadfast to His prophets and you shall prosper.

So, the next time that you are in need of anything…clothes, a job, peace, conceiving a child, rent…whatever the need…Remember this…

THE LORD GOD, JEHOVAH JIREH, WILL PROVIDE!

My God WILL Provide ALL MY NEEDS!

Let’s Pray;

Daddy God, My Provider, thank You. Thank You for all the ways that You provide for me each and every day. Thank You for loving and caring for me. Thank You for the beautiful children that You have given me. Thank You for the freedom to praise You. Thank You for providing me with Your Life-Giving Word. Thank You for never leaving me or forsaking me. Thank You for providing me a way to get into Heaven through the precious shed Blood of Your Only Son. I love You, Lord. My Jehovah Jireh. My God. My Love. My Provider. You are Worthy of ALL Glory Honor and Praise. Blessed be the Name of God. Blessed be Your Holy Name. Praise You. Praise You. Praise You. In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.

OK, you have some homework. ;)

I want you to look for Scriptures that talk about what God provides, i.e.; peace, protection, possessions, children, food, clothing, etc. Find the ones that matter to YOU. Write them down. Memorize them. BELIEVE them!

Here are a couple to get you started:

Psalm 37 – The entire chapter talks about provision.
2 Chronicles 31:20-21 – See what God does for obedience."

In His Love and Service, Lara ;) Copyright © Lara Velez, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

What can I say?

– This has just been a ‘normal’ week for me – filled with time at home, travel, shopping at thrift stores, and creating --I’ve been gathering photos to work on in the next few months: I tend to download or save in several different places so I needed to get them off my camera and phone and Craig’s phone, as well as the laptop. [I admit that I am a shameless facebook photo grabber-] I also caught up with a few TV shows – love that we can record them and come back to them when time allows. And I took a recent photo for my CZ class – Move More Eat Well – Actually I took photos on two different days – in the same week [at work where there is a full length mirror - whee] – what a difference [SOC}-

My mom’s been back in the hospital and while she was put in only to run some tests, I am very concerned for her. I didn’t go over because she was only supposed to be in for a day and I’m saving leave for my own little procedure that needs to be done in the next few months. She’s back at her apartment now and doing well. But I’ll just say – it’s no fun seeing your parents grow older and living away from them -

I traveled to Montgomery for a couple of days this week again – it’s my job y’all. [It's a little sad that I know what's available at most exit numbers -- 208 has excellent chicken salad; 282 has MickeyD's, etc.] I stopped at a favorite thrift store on the way home – found a couple of sweaters for less than $2.00 each - Jones New York and Eddie Bauer – who can pass those up? One still had the original tags on it. Yay.

And I enjoyed a day of creating and gabbing with some favorite girlfriends. We really should get a group photo next time! This is one I grabbed off Rita’s facebook a few months ago – [thanks!] I’ve got to say I sure do miss my Bible Study group that decided to disband this year. Am looking for another – anyone involved with our Wednesday night Bible Studies?

Recently I've seen

several pieces of deco art jewelry that I LOVE but I’m not much of a jewelry person so I’m not sure I’d wear it. Still, I wanted to give it a try. The first time I looked for materials I found some stuff that needs a special light or undisturbed sunshine to ‘cure’ and I knew I couldn’t invest it that just to ‘give it a go.’ But as I looked more, I found this little bottle of special modpodge [in the clay section of HL, of all places!] and thought, ‘bingo!’

I bought the smaller bracelets to start with and created a little Disney-themed one for the oldest’s gal since they seem to REALLY enjoy The Happiest Place on Earth. I used some Disney scrapbook papers and other clip art / photos that I printed & cut out to ½ squares [there ARE larger bracelets available.]

After placing the cut-outs into the bracelet I filled with the podge – I think almost to overflow is best. [Tip: Be careful to not cause bubbles and to remove them if they appear.]

Then I let it dry overnight. CUTE.

When youngest and his gal were home this past weekend we pulled out the other little bracelet.
They searched for clipart and photos and we pulled together an AUBURN bracelet for her; it dried overnight and here you go – CUTE [again.]

AND EASY. I think the next piece I make will be a charm for my work lanyard with my ‘one little word’ on it. It’ll be a good way to remind myself to live with intention each and every day.

Note: I’ve seen these with 1 inch charms that have vintage icons from different cities – VERY CUTE. I’m just not sure I’d wear it. But it might be fun to pull together one for an event [like Spark -?] and hang charms from a swap on it – a fun idea!! Who’s in?!?

Family Heirlooms

heir·loom -noun \ˈer-ˌlüm\
1: a piece of property that descends to the heir as an inseparable part of an inheritance of real property
2: something of special value handed on from one generation to another

I want to preserve the stories behind the items in our lives that we consider heirlooms. I think most of them will meet this definition from Webster’s. And I have decided the best place to record the information about each piece is right here on the blog – with the greatest intentions of one day printing it all out for a little scrapbook album, of course. So each month I’ll share a little something from our lives and what we know about it. I welcome corrections from family members!

The first is a fairly new acquisition. May I present what Craig fondly calls The Singing Mexicans. These little garden statues belonged to his Aunt Thelma who passed away last year. As the story goes she and her first husband traveled a good bit before he passed away and these were picked up on one of their many trips to California over 30 years ago. Soon after she’d re-married, her second husband did some cleaning for a yard sale and included The Singing Mexicans. And, you guessed it, Aunt Thelma was not happy about this – so unhappy, in fact, that she had the husband track down the buyer to get them back. Turns out he had to pay more than he sold them for, but they remained in Aunt Thelma’s garden for the next 20 plus years. After hearing this story Craig loved them even more and they now sit, singing, in our garden.