“A” Random Dozen But Not “The” Random Dozen

Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee is discontinuing her weekly Random Dozen meme for now, maybe forever, possibly bringing it back some time as a monthly rather than weekly meme.

I was poking around my saved drafts yesterday looking for a post I thought I had started but never finished. I did find the post in question, but I also found, at the bottom of the “Recent Drafts” section of my blog dashboard, a “View All” button. I clicked it, and, voila, there were about 18 post drafts when I thought I only had about 5. I rummaged through them and found this meme that I had seen somewhere, partially answered, and left to sit there since last May.

So, being in the habit of feeling random and memey on Wednesdays, I decided to pull it out and finish it for today.

1. What time do you usually wake up in the morning? 5 a.m. weekdays, “whenever” on Saturdays, 5:30 on Sundays.

2. What do you do for the first hour of your day? Go to the bathroom, shower, get something to drink and take my Synthroid with, have some quiet time with my Bible, get Jesse’s breakfast and make his lunch, start getting ready to take him to school.

3. Where did or will you have lunch today? Home.

4. What did you or will you be eating lunch? My favorite lunch is leftovers — depending on what we have left over — or going out with family or friends. Today there is leftover creamed chicken and biscuits from last night plus a ham and chicken dish Jason invented on Monday. Don’t know yet which I’ll have.

5. What is your best high school memory? Graduation? 😀 I did enjoy the latter two years of high school but can’t think of a standout memory just now.

6. Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes. I have little black flats I wear every day.

7. What does a perfect Sunday afternoon include for you? Dinner with all the family, then a nap.

8. Was there one book that you read as a child that you still cherish? A Child’s Garden of Verses.

9. How would the people that know you personally describe you? I’m not sure. Probably quiet. My kids would say I’m a good cook. My Home Ec. teacher did not say so. But I think I’ve learned since then.

10. How would the people who only know you online describe you? I don’t know — how would you describe me?

11. How will you be treating yourself today? I usually treat myself to too many sweets or seconds.

12. What is your definition of being spiritual? Are you spiritual? This is one of the questions that had been left unanswered, and I was probably going to mull it over before answering and then just forgot all about the meme. To me the word “spiritual” connotes some kind of belief in a higher being outside ourselves, some kind of need to nurture soul and spirit, but is not necessarily Christian in its belief system. So by that definition I would say, yes, I do believe there is a “higher power” or Being and that I need to be rightly related to Him, but not in a vague, nebulous way. I do believe it matters what one believes in and I do not believe all spiritual paths lead to peace here or heaven hereafter. I believe in the God of the Bible, His Son and my Savior Jesus Christ, and I believe He communicates with us through His Word. On the other hand, “religious” has the connotation to many as being the system by which we work out what we believe, and in that sense I would say I am religious because we are supposed to work out our lofty ideals and bedrock doctrine into everyday life, but for some the emphasis is more on the works or the system rather than the belief. So while both words apply to some extent, neither one hits the nail exactly on the head. I usually just say I am a Christian, though some say “Christ-follower” these days.

If you’d like to do this same meme, feel free, and let me know if you do so I can come and see your answers, or feel free to answer in the comments if you’d like.

Laudable Linkage

Here are some things I found interesting this last week that I thought you might, too:

I love this idea for etching your initial on a glass pan so that when you take it somewhere, it’s marked as yours and you don’t have to scribble your name on masking tape and stick it on. The article is based on using the Cricut to make a stencil, but you could use a pre-made stencil just as easily.

50 All-Time Favorite New Uses For Old Things.

20 5-Minute Centerpieces For Every Occasion.

My biggest parenting challenge.

The Church: Don’t Give Up On God’s Plan.

Food Ministry at Church.

Insignificant Is Beautiful, HT to Washing the Feet of the Saints. Quote: “The search for significance, especially if it requires changing the world, can blind us to the everyday tasks, the mundane duties, and the dirty work that is part and parcel of the life of discipleship.”

The Myth of Mother Teresa.

Hope you have a great Saturday!

Laudable Linkage and Wonderful Video

Interesting things seen ’round the Web this week:

Do It Anyway from Lisa — just what I needed on the day I read it.

Billy Coffey versus the grocery store. Funny post of a man in unfamiliar territory.

Tin Eye, a reverse image source — a way to tell if any of your photos are being used on the Web.

Why a cake fails.

Cute fabric pumpkins and acorns and paper leaves.

I haven’t watched any of the coverage of the Chilean miners rescue except what people have posted on blogs or Facebook. I get most of my news via the radio and kept up with the updates. But I was blessed by 5 Lessons From Chilean Miners by Lisa and this video posted by Nannykim:

Laudable linkage

My weekly collection of interesting stuff seen around the Web:

Chris Anderson’s new hymn is lovely on many levels..

The “prayer fixer.” Funny, but too true.

In Bigger than your personality Lisa shares how God can help us with things that don’t come easily or naturally to us.

Love this wall display.

I would love to refinish something in my house with this antique-looking finish. My bedroom furniture sorely needs touching up. Hmmm…

These herb cheese rolls in tulip cups and brownie cookies look and sound really good.

This article about marketing books is interesting — I didn’t realize a lot of that was left to the author.

And this Kung Fu Hillbilly instructional video is hilarious.

What out for that Ninja whoppin’ action.

And “don’t be ninjain’ nobody that don’t need ninjaing.”

“There ain’t much call for a one-legged Ninja.”

“Ninja stars!”

Have a whoppin’ good Saturday!

Laudable Linkage and Video

Just a few links this week to some worthwhile reads:

Growing As a Homemaker. This is great encouragement for young moms who feel overwhelmed.

Wondering Why God Makes Life Impossible Sometimes. Jon’s Stuff Christians Like is usually funny and/or satirical (not always the same thing), but sometimes he comes up with a serious one that touches the heart. When I read this I had just been somewhat down because of problems or issues several friends or extended family members were facing, and though this truth is not new to me, I still have to go over it from time to time and adjust my perspective.

You Need a Mother Very Badly. Some of you may be familiar with Gregg and Sono Harris, pioneers in speaking and writing about the home school movement. Sono recently passed away, and this poem is a tribute by one of her sons. Keep the tissues handy, especially if you’ve lost your own mom.

From the ever helpful Tipnut: 12 Simple Sore Throat Remedies and 12 Home Remedies For Nausea.

It’s hard to believe all these people took the time to do this, but it’s pretty neat, for at least the first 45 seconds or so.

A one man quintet. This man has been to my church — but he didn’t do this then! This is one of my favorite songs.

I saw this at Nannykim‘s. I am not familiar with Francis Chan, but I can identify with this tendency to handling fears.

Laudable linkage

I haven’t done one of these in a few weeks. Here are just a few things that caught my eye ’round the Web:

3 Steps For Effective Christian Writing.

God’s Losers and Gainers.

Motherly Greatness.

For those who fear taking their kids to some secular colleges and for those who scoff at them — there is reason for concern. From an article titled Breeders No More:

Identifying himself as a political liberal with no children of his own, Savage acknowledges that he and his fellow liberals have a lower fertility rate than conservatives. Nevertheless, he insists that educated urban liberals need not despair. He expresses confidence “that blue America’s Urban Archipelago can grow larger, more contiguous, and more politically powerful even without my offspring.” How?
“The children of red states will seek a higher education,” he explains, “and that education will very often happen in blue states or blue islands in red states. For the foreseeable future, loyal dittoheads will continue to drop off their children at the dorms. After a teary-eyed hug, Mom and Dad will drive their SUV off toward the nearest gas station, leaving their beloved progeny behind.”
Then what? He proudly claims: “And then they are all mine.”

If you’ve ever been confused by the Biblical feasts and what they mean, e-mom at Chrysalis has a great succinct overview.

Keep Calm and Carry On — Being a Strong Helper After God’s Own Heart.

A few crafty things:

Pillow Box Favors.

How to make cream cheese mints.

Painting furniture step by step.

How to make glazed wall art.

Have a great day!

It’s my birthday!

♫ Happy Birthday to me! ♪
I am now 53!
Not yet over the hill.
Alive and kicking still! ♫

(Graphic courtesy of Annie’s Place)

Happy Birthday to Jeremy!

A Very Happy 26th Birthday to Jeremy!

I am so glad we could all be together for it!

We have Internet!

Woot!

Well, the main desktop that I use isn’t connected because we need a certain cable. But my husband is letting me use his little notebook.

Still way too much to do to play for long, but it’s nice to know I can take a break online here and there!

The bathrooms and bedrooms are mostly set up and I am working on the kitchen today.

I just have to tell you this — the new house had a washer, dryer, and refrigerator, but we were going to bring our own from the old house, swap it out with what was here, and then take them back to SC to the old house for the kids to use. But when we got here and started to disconnect the washer and dryer here, we discovered the dryer was a GAS dryer! Somehow we had missed that before. So we swapped the other appliances out, but, of course, not that one! I didn’t know they made gas dryers. I also have a gas oven (yes I DID notice that was gas beforehand…), which I haven’t had since I was a kid, so that will take a bit of adjusting, but probably not much.

Going to a new W-Mart in a new town is an experience — especially when it is the TN tax-free weekend. That place was horrendous. Thankfully Ingles was laid out almost just like the one I was used to.

Looking forward to getting back to regular blogging…some day!

In Tennessee..

…at a hotel. All our worldly goods will be delivered tomorrow, Lord willing.

Everything went fairly smoothly in the packing and loading process. Pulling out furniture uncovers all of one’s housekeeping sins…and a few found items that we didn’t know were lost…

After the house was packed up, good-byes said to Jason and Mittu, 😦 and we pulled out of our subdivision in separate cars on our way to TN, Jim called me on his cell phone and asked if I unplugged the iron. 🙂

I told him I hoped the movers did before the packed it. 😀

Jesse and Jeremy saw the house for the first time tonight — they seemed to like it.

More…when I can….