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.
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.
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.
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....
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.
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.
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.
"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
I had fun this weekend making a gift for a baby shower. I used this pattern and changed it up a bit for the rosebud booties. I made mine from flannel instead of felt and I lined them. I used my own pattern to make the matching bib. The white felt booties are an adaptation of this pattern. Here you will find the directions. I did some adjusting to the size, changed the back of the shoe and made mine from felt instead of flannel, and did button hole stitching around the edges to finish. I had forgotten how fun it is to make things for babies.
Is there is change in the air? Could there be a shift toward frugal thinking? Has the world finally "got it" or is it just that the economy isn't cooperating with our spending habits? Maybe it is something more. This New York Times article calls the economy "fitful" and talks about the changes that so many are having to make in their budgets due to the fact that they have been living far above their means Pulling out all their home equity and maxing out their credit cards has left many in a state of despair .
Patty at Morning Ramble wrote interesting post about peer pressure that addresses the reasons that many people slip onto this treadmill of debt. This is a subject that my friends and I have been discussing lately. Specifically how to help our children avoid the trap of thinking that they have to live a certain lifestyle to be successful and to understand clearly where real success in life lies.
Financial responsibility is helped by emotional maturity; but another factor that isn't often addressed as having a impact is our spiritual maturity or awareness, the ability to live life in a more meaningful way.
Martha Beck wrote an interesting article on Oprah.com about the book The Secret. I'll admit that I not too sure about the philosophy behind this book. I still haven't read it; but I thoroughly enjoyed Martha's article.
The article gives a description of different levels of existence, or awareness, of how we live our lives and how the laws of attraction work. The surface level is called "The Shallows" The way I understand it is that the Shallows is a place where we live our lives on the most superficial level. A place where we live life with a great deal of fear and surround ourselves with unnecessary things, relationship drama, food, or even drugs or alcohol in an effort to satisfy those desires or squelch the feelings we don't know how to handle.
On this level there is no peace to be found. We keep feeding these feelings what we think they need but the desires are never satisfied for along.
Martha goes on to describe the "Ring of Fire" we must go through to reach the place in life where we can live a life of gratitude, satisfaction and the laws of attraction.
The law of Attraction is where I have difficulty. Supposedly we can reach a place where the wants and "needs" of living in the Shallows disappear and we have enough. Then what we need and/or desire will come to us.
It reminds me of the bible verses where we are told not to worry about the basics of clothing and food but to consider the birds of the fields and how their needs are met. Instead we should focus on the things of importance in life and have faith that God will provide.
I'm interested in reading this book and seeing if it supports my idea of it. If anyone has read it or seen the video let me know what you think.
Come back soon.
