I LOST IT! WHERE DID IT GO?????

 Has Christmas 2019 really already come & gone????  Those shortened number of days between Thanksgiving & Christmas sure counted this year, didn’t they?  Seems like I just got my decorations (tons of them) up and now it’s time to take them down.  Whoever pointed out that time goes faster the older you get was a very intuitive person!!!

I do hope your Christmas was wonderful.  Mine was less than spectacular this year.  I managed to prepare and serve our big family breakfast/brunch on Christmas morning and got through opening gifts and seeing the grandkids enjoying all their surprises; but as soon as they left I hit the sofa and stayed there until my sweet husband decided something had to be done.  Early the next a.m. as soon as the sun was up we headed for the EMERGENCY ROOM!

 I won’t go into all the endless details (nobody wants to read all that) but I have been going through “something” for a month.  Was sent to the cardiologist where everything checked out (thank you, God), but issue continued on.  My own dr. was stumped.  ER tests and dr. report showed….hold on!  ANXIETY.  What?  Why?  I’m not stressed; my life is blessed; and yet I can be just sitting watching TV or reading a good book and my breathing goes crazy!!!!  The ER doctor was absolutely fabulous, so compassionate, took a lot of time with us.  He explained anxiety doesn’t have to come from stress; but rather from an imbalance in the brain.  (I’ve got to do some research on this stuff!  Of course, I already knew my brain was slightly unbalanced!)        Anywho!!!!  I am now on medication (which may take a month to take effect), but for now breathing is better.       Now if I can just get this crazy blood pressure regulated.

Don’t you just love to hear old people complain about their ill health????  One great thing though….the dr. saw my age and complimented me for how really healthy and in good shape I was.  Thank you, Dr. Price….I needed that😊

Soooo….what do we do now that Christmas is over????  I will miss it, especially my tree lights.  Of course, they may be up awhile longer because this spent body is resting for a few more days!!!  

I am having a little trouble wrapping my brain around the fact that it’s about to be 2020!  Has a nice ring to it though😊 I don’t make RESOLUTIONS, but may think about trying to set some GOALS….but I’ll save that for my next post.  Just wanted to drop in and say I do hope you had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS (and didn’t land in the ER like me!!!) and that the NEW YEAR will bring you abundant blessings.  See you in 2020!

A Letter of Thanks...Air Mail to Heaven

Dear Dr. Jackson:

I wish so very much I had written this letter earlier because sadly now you will never read it.  I was thinking of you recently and tried to look you up through Mr. Google and was so saddened to discover your obituary from 2013.  I still want to write you, however, and maybe somehow the words will float up to Heaven where I am sure you are carrying on very academic conversations with the angels.

                        

I was recently asked who was the one person who most influenced my life.  Of course, I couldn’t name just one person since almost everyone we come across influences us in some way.  Nevertheless, I immediately thought about you and how you probably changed the course of my life more than anyone else.  It’s been so many years ago, and you advised so many students over the years that I’m sure you don’t remember me so let me refresh your memory.

You were my advisor while I attended GSC and right before I was to graduate you called me to your office.  You knew I was graduating a quarter early with a degree in business and you advised me to take education courses so that I could possibly teach business classes in high school.  I immediately said something to the effect of “Thank you, but no thank you” (although I was really thinking #$@% NO!)  I had no desire to teach.  Well, long story short, I finally left your office and went and signed up for those education courses!  You were very persuasive, but I really did it because I respected you and just wanted to please you.

Even after I graduated I had no thoughts of teaching, but then what did you do????  You got me a teaching job at a nearby high school!  I wish I could tell you I fell in love with teaching that year but I definitely did NOT!!!  I won’t take time to go into all the details, but a couple years later I found myself teaching Remedial Reading at the primary level (simply because it was 3 days before school started and they needed a warm body!)  And guess what!  I fell in love with it!

Early Childhood Education became my passion and I ended up teaching for 40 1/2  years with the last 9 of those years teaching college students who were in the field of education. 

I am thankful for every single one of those 40 ½ years, but I would never have experienced any of them if it had not been for YOU.  I truly believe that God had intended all along for me to become a TEACHER, but since

I wasn’t listening to what He was calling me to do, God put YOU in my path and YOU did His handiwork.   And for that I will be eternally grateful.

You influenced my life so profoundly, and I pray that along the way I too may have influenced some of my students in positive ways.  It saddens me greatly that I never got the chance to tell you all this in person, but maybe some day I will have the chance.  Until then, rest in peace.  You will never be forgotten.

Sincerely,

A Very Grateful Student

To my Blogging Friends:

If there is someone who has influenced your life in a positive way and you haven’t taken the opportunity to thank them, don’t waste another minute.  Get out that stationery and put pen to paper…or give them a call. You will be so happy that you did.  Just think…your life might not be what it is today without the influence of someone you least expected to change the direction of your days.

SO MANY IDEAS...SO LITTLE TIME!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….and once again I have collected TONS of ideas but never seem to find time to complete them all.  I REALLY need to start preparing in JANUARY every year!

The house is decorated…yea!!!  I “over” decorate every single year, but the hubby and the grandkids love it.  Therefore, I work my nerves into a frazzle and my fingers to the bone for 3 days every year just to make them happy…(I’m sweet that way😊)  It’s a whole lot of work, but so very worth it to see their excitement when it’s all done.  I won’t show ALL my decorations but my favorite is always my GINGERBREAD KITCHEN.  This year Granddaughter M really helped sooo much, and decorated the GINGERBREAD TREE and the SNOWMAN TREE…yes, I do 4 trees every year!

I know we all read blog after blog and ooh and ahh over everyone’s decorations, but I thought I would share some “small ideas” that I really like and that you don’t see every day.  Some I have tried…some are still on my TO DO LIST (until next year…or the next!)

I love getting Christmas cards from family & friends, especially the ones with the kids’ or family’s photo.  Only problem is finding a place to put them…the refrigerator will hold only so many!  Here is what I think is a really cute idea…and it can be a keepsake to be enjoyed year after year…the kids really do change so much from year to year, don’t they?

                                                   Amber Nelson, Pinterest

Can we ever have enough ornaments???  Of course not!  And my favorites are those we have collected over the years from trips, from my past students, or ones my kids made in school.  How I love to reminisce over each one every year.  Here is a really great idea (I think) of what to do with your GRADUATION CAP TASSLE…you did keep that, didn’t you?  I actually did complete this project last year  BTW, you can get these plastic fillable ornaments from Dollar Tree.

Pinterest

Mine...I added green & gold shredded paper (our school colors)

Here is another really cute idea for an ornament...or even a gift for your kids' friends.  It looks really easy to do (thanks to craftymorning.com).  You could use that old Scrabble game that has been gathering dust for years...or you can order tiles from ebay or other sources.

And here is yet another way you could use those plastic fillable balls.  I haven’t done this yet, but I want to fill one with some of the buttons from my mother’s or my husband’s grandmother’s button box.  What a special keepsake…and I do love buttons (as you can read about HERE).

Pinterest

Wouldn’t this little fella look cute hanging around the neck of a bottle of your neighbor’s favorite wine?  And when the wine is all gone, they have an ornament for the tree.  There are no directions, but looks plenty easy to do…and I can now use some of those wine corks I’ve been saving for who knows what!!!

Pinterest

Do you happen to have any old windows laying around?  I do!  Wouldn’t this be pretty sitting on a mantle or decorating a porch?

                                                         Etsy:  Toadstool Pond

And what about those clothespins you no longer use but just can’t throw away?  These (or similar) would be so cute and useful for several things…put a magnet on the back and use them to hang cards or photos on the refrig, or clip on presents just for an added touch, or even clip on the tree!

Pinterest

I just have to add this one from one of my favorite bloggers DEBBIE DABBLE.  I am definitely going to do this!  I collect old cookie cutters…some hang on my Gingerbread Tree.  Only problem is I don’t have an old bowl like this one…but I’m on the hunt!  It will fit perfectly into the theme of my kitchen…thank you, Debbie!

I could go on and on and on…..but I will end with this last one.  It’s my own creation (so it’s not perfect).  I have made these in the past to fill with treats and give as gifts.  Don’t ask me for directions….it was a make as I went along type of project!!!! 

CHRISTMAS is such a special time and BLOGLAND is filled with so many wonderful and creative ideas…if only I had the time, the talent, and the patience!!!  So...are you all decorated???  What projects (old or new) have you found time for?