My To Do List

Just like everyone else I have a "To Do" list. And, just like everyone else, mine is a mile long. Most days I don't reach anywhere near the bottom of my list. On the days that I do the feelings of satisfaction rarely last because I know that tomorrow I will start right back at the top of another list.

I have been feeling extremely frustrated with that situation. I get a lot done everyday alright, but it just doesn't bring the peace, satisfaction or joy into my life that I am looking for. Frankly it just plain isn't a fun way to live.

I have started to become less interested in doing the things I need to do everyday. I feel they are a huge burden. I have slipped into a little self pity and have had the blues about it all. I have started letting some things slide....really slide. When I let things slide everything became worse because I began to be overwhelmed with things piling up; instead of a small chore they became a huge undertaking. A vicious cycle that overwhelms me. Time to take a new approach, a new path.

So, in an effort to improve my attitude I have decided to re-write my To-do list. No, I'm not taking a thing off. I'm going to ADD to it.

What I need isn't less to do. I NEED to be doing everything I am. What I need is to shake things up and add some things to feed my mind and my soul. I have let myself become bored. That sentence hurts to write because I have always told my kids..."Bored people are boring people." OUCH! I don't want to be boring.

In an effort to improve the situation and be accountable to someone other than myself I'm going to start a new category here on the blog titled My To-Do List . I'll try to share something a couple of times a week, an assignment of some sort that I will give myself. If anyone wants to follow along they can leave a comment or post on their blog and leave a link.

An assignment may be something as simple as spending some time writing a letter to an old friend to giving myself a pedicure. It might be a reminder to give myself time to do nothing for an hour, who knows. I have no idea if this is going to work but it is worth a try.

If anyone has any suggestions Email me at the address on the sidebar. Just remember to remove the asterisks.

Photo: Pathway at Norris State Park.

Beautiful Blogs: Shorpy

I love taking photographs, but I love, LOVE looking at photographs. Especially older photographs. I always wonder about the people in the photos and wonder what happened in their lives.

When I found Shorpy : The 100 Year Old Photo Blog I was in heaven. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a boy who worked in an Alabama coal mine near the turn of the century.

I fell in love with the picture above of a young girl whose family was relocated during the Great Depression in the 1930's. She looks so sad and forlorn. I can't imagine that her life was too easy.

There are so many great photos of people and places from the last 100 years. Another favorite of mine is this portrait of a lady named Caroline Atwater from North Carolina. You can almost read her story in her face can't you?

Check it out but be warned...I haven't viewed the whole blog so I'm not sure if there is anything offensive there.

See Jane Create

Jane over at Out of The Crayon Box created the cutest kitchen play set. She was kind enough to put up a wonderful tutorial with great pictures. So creative!

What The World Eats

So much of our everyday life revolves around food. The gathering, fixing, and sharing of food. Looking around at the mall or any public place confirms that we maybe enjoy food too much in this country.

Time magazine has run an interesting series of pictures in a display titled What The World Eats. Eye opening and just a little humbling when you see how little some in the world must survive on. It is also interesting to see the amount of fruits and vegetables eaten in other countries compared to here. We seem to eat so much more processed food. Keep an eye out and notice how certain American icon products have made their way into the diets of people all over the world.

Beautiful Blogs: Muffins, Buns and Biscuits

Beautiful blogs usually means a blog with lots and lots of lovely pictures. Sometimes though it means just lovely words.

I really needed to read this post. It has been a long month. Sigh....

This post spoke straight to my heart. I need to learn to listen to my small voice more. Who knows what blessings I may miss.

How Clean Is Your House?

The BBC show How Clean Is Your House is almost like watching a car accident. You are appalled and repulsed at what you see and yet you just can't look away. How can people live like this? A more important question is how can they make their children live like this?

I have often wondered what happens after the big makeover. To live in such filth there must be some sort of mental illness at play. How long before they return to the pitiful state they were in before? Shudder. All I can say is don't watch this if you are eating unless you have a strong stomach.

Spring Days

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring. We have been bombarded with wind and rain all day today. We have a tornado watch until 9 tonight. March is definitely approaching it's end like a lion this year.

Recycle, Reuse, Re purpose

I'm always looking for ways to keep things out of the landfill. When I saw this brilliant idea from Girl on the Rocks to redesign and reuse all those security envelopes that come in the mail I thought I would share it. It has set my wheels turning to see what I can come up with. Hmmmmmm....

For Laura

Who knows my obsession with the Charlie And Lola cartoon. A real life Charlie.

What I Saw: Spring Blooms

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. ~Hal Borland

Some Wednesday Cuteness

My daughter brought this video to my attention several weeks ago. She knows what big Beatles fans my husband and I are. I decided to share it because it is just so darn cute. Enjoy.

Practical Recipes For The Housewife

Surfing the web I came across this old recipe book online. It is so interesting to see these older recipes, many of them very usable, and tips for the Housewife of days gone by. I thought I would share them with you. Let me know if you try any of the recipes and how they turn out.

Edit: You will see a blank page when you get to the site. Move over to the right side and you will see arrows to turn the pages with.

Need A New Recipe?

I promised my friend Angie I would post a link to a recipe for Taco seasoning mix. Frugal Families has a great page with recipes for everything from Apple pie to Granola to fun Halloween party recipes to Taco seasoning mix.

Sunday Musings

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive..." -- Eleonora Duse