LONG TIME NO SEE!

 

Wow…I didn’t realize how long it’s been since I posted on my blog!  I love writing my blog, but sometimes LIFE just gets in the way.

 

2020, of course, was the year THE WORLD STOPPED SPINNING…well, that is a slight exaggeration…but a lot of our lives did SHUT DOWN due to that awful monster COVID.  Many of us got used to living in our pjs or loungewear during that year, but sadly many of us (including me) lost a lot of people we loved and cared about.  Thankfully things are better.

 

I sailed (although not without complaints) through 2020 without my husband or myself getting Covid…he did get it a few months back but thankfully he just slept a lot!  However, my sailing came to a screeching halt with terrible stomach pain that lasted 7 months….7 very L-O-N-G months!  And the crazy thing was, none of the tests I went through showed a single thing….nothing, nada!!!!  My dr. told me he had tried every medicine he knew and nothing worked. 

Finally he did give me what is called a GI COCKTAIL.  Well, honey, let me tell you…it didn’t taste one bit like any cocktail!!!!  It tasted like you took every bad-tasting thing you could find, put it in a bottle, and shook it up altogether.  That stuff was V-I-L-E!!!  I think they should have called it THE DEVIL’S POISON.  However, once I “choked” the mess down, it did help….temporarily!!!  But let me tell you…it was a difficult decision between hurting like Hades or drinking that stuff!!!

Y’all, then the strangest thing happened…one day my pain simply went away!!!!  I am considering it MY MIRACLE because I had prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed!  I think the Lord got tired of hearing me wailing and crying.  For whatever reason, miracle or just my crazy body…I was so very grateful not to hurt anymore.  That was a L-O-N-G 7 months.

 

UPDATE:  After not hurting for months, my “discomfort” has returned.  I went to a 4^th dr. this week and he is scheduling an MRI…so please say a prayer or send along some good vibes.  I can’t tell you how nice this guy was along with every single person in the office.  I didn’t even cry (this time) when my blood was taken!

 

A lot more has happened since I last wrote.  This young man…my one and only grandson that can just make my heart melt with a hug and a smile…graduated high school.  He has now finished his third week of college (with a short break to deal with covid!). The day he left I started crying and didn’t stop for 3 days…literally!  I think I took it harder than his Mama & Daddy!!!  But he’s all settled in now and seems happy as a bug in a rug…and I pray he stays that way…and that he makes good grades.

 

This sweet girl had a rough year last year with a lot going on, but she hung in there and pulled through.  Someone recently asked my husband what would happen when this one went off to college.  My husband’s reply:  “We’ll have to put her in the hospital!”  I can’t even begin to think of it!!!

She now has her first real boyfriend…son of a preacher man!!!  He’s also a favorite teacher.  He’s a mighty talented boy…sings, plays several instruments, paints, plays baseball pretty well, and makes friends with anybody who walks by!  He makes my girl happy…so I like him😊

 

So what have I been doing?  Nothing much really…small town living doesn’t offer a whole lot, but I’ve been:

 

*tutoring one day a week during the school year

*teaching a girl’s group (1^st-5^th) at church

*teaching Sunday School

*pairing down and organizing for an eventual downsizing  (update:  we had a yard sale and got rid of lots of "stuff")

*going on a girls’ trip to Savannah this summer...my high school girlfriends are the absolute BEST!

*selling (a little) on Poshmark which I decided to try…and I’ve done OK…made about $200…but it does take some time

*working on reading the Bible straight through…boy, is some of that Old Testament stuff rough!!!  Some mighty bad people lived back in those days.  (Guess nothing much has changed!!!)

I try to stay busy…can’t stand being idle or not having a project on hand.  I’ve decided I must have developed ADHD in my old age…or maybe I’ve always had it?????

I feel sure this is boring to anyone reading it, but I just needed to jump back in and see if I want to continue this blog.  If anyone has an idea of an interesting theme I could use, PLEASE let me know…some people have a cooking blog or a decorating blog or a raising kids blog…but I don’t cook as much as I once did, my house is about as decorated as it’s going to get, and my grandkids are about grown up.  I NEED SOMETHING NEW IN MY LIFE!!!!!!  Any ideas of how to keep an old lady bright-eyed and bushy-tailed???

 

Hope all is well with you and yours.  I need to catch up with my favorite bloggers.  Sending love & hugs!!!!

 

And a special THANK YOU to the Little Pirate who recently sent me a note saying she missed me…that meant so much.  I hope to write more in the days to come…hopefully it will be more interesting than this post!!!

 

THIS AND THAT AND NOT MUCH MORE

 

I had such good INTENTIONS of writing more on my blog....but you know how that goes!  I have been one busy gal lately.  Remind me that I am retired and I should not have any more BIG IDEAS.  Why?  Because I was put in CHARGE of my BIG IDEA, that’s why.  And has it ever been      B-I-G!

Our church has been through several transitions over the last few years and to make a long story short, our church needs a big, big cleanup and decluttering!  I talked to our chairman of the Deacons about it, then he asked me to speak at the Deacon’s monthly meeting and....WHAM!!!!  They told me to come up with a plan and they would be right behind me!!!!

Well, I have been working on this plan...and doing a lot of cleaning out all by myself...for about two months and the big CLEANUP DAY is Feb. 26.  I have thrown away, donated, decluttered, and organized until I’m one tired puppy!  BUT....I’m not complaining because I’m DOING IT FOR THE LORD:)  Hopefully I’ll have lots of help to finish up on the 26^th.  If not, I’m sending the devil after them!!!!

So what can I share with you that’s more interesting than dirt & clutter???  Well, here is something that made me do a happy dance.

I had been wanting some cute spice jars to put in my cabinet since I don’t have enough counter space for a spice rack.  I kept looking but didn’t want to pay the high prices.  Then I learned about AMAZON WAREHOUSE....am I the last to hear about this?  I checked it out not expecting much and would you believe one of the first things that popped up  was the exact jars (with printed labels) that I had wanted and the price....$13!!!!  I jumped on those cuties before I could blink.  I just love labels!!!

And before I go, how about a quick and easy meal...my husband loves it.  We have it on a Sat. or Sun. night when I don’t want to cook much.  And is it ever filling!!!!

To give it a little more oomph I bake a small chicken breast or two chicken tenders, chop them up, and add to the pot.

 

This last time we also enjoyed this with some yummy bread to dip in it.  This lovely Infused Sunflower Oil is produced in the next county and it was a gift from our son.  Really added some pizzazz to our simple meal.

 

I hope all of you are well and not dealing with Covid as many here are...good thing is few are going to the hospital and this strain is basically like a bad cold along with tiredness...I still don’t want it!

Hope those of you with snow are enjoying it...wish you’d send me a snowball or two!  In other words, I hope all is well in your world and that each day you count many blessings.

NEW YEAR...NEW WORD!

 

I have (yet again) been away from my blog for the past few weeks...or is it months!!  2021 was not my best year for various reasons, and I just lost my MOJO for anything creative.  I love writing my blog, and I've really missed it.  So I hope I can get back in the groove and that my "few" readers will join me once again.

I have chosen my WORD OF THE YEAR and thought I would share.  It is...drum roll, please...

        

The dictionary defines FAITH as "confidence or trust in a person or thing; belief that is not based on proof."  It also defines it as BELIEF IN GOD.  I have been "of the Christian faith" since I was born:)  My mama took me to church as soon as it was "proper" and I've been going ever since.  So I do have FAITH in God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

But this year I want to GROW my FAITH and especially work on...FAITH WITHOUT FEAR.  I am a self-professed, dyed-in-the-wool WORRYWART...a person who tends to worry habitually and often needlessly!  And I really do hate that about myself, so I'm going to work on it.  I also want to improve on my daily reading and studying of scripture, digging deeper and learning more.  I sure hope all this works out because my Words of the Year for 2020 (JOY) and 2021 (ADVENTURE) didn't work out so well...thanks to you, Mr. Covid!

I am going to "try" to blog much more, but I know I still won't be prolific at it.  (How do those bloggers who do it as their profession think of so much to write about?)  My hope is that my former readers will come back to "chat" and perhaps that I might even find some new friends and readers as time goes on.  

So, here's to 2022 and a fresh start.  I hope your NEW YEAR will be filled with much HAPPINESS and MANY BLESSINGS...and my COVID not mess up yet another year!

****************

Thought I'd share with you what we had for supper tonight...it's a yummy and easy-to-prepare soup that I never thought I'd like, but I love it (and so does my hubby)!

TACO SOUP

1 lb. ground beef (I use venison)

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 pkg. taco mix

1 can Rotel

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can light red kidney beans

1 can kernel corn

Brown & drain beef/venison in large Dutch oven.  Mix in the dry mixes.  Add the other ingredients...DO NOT DRAIN THEM!  I also add a wee bit of salt and a little water if the soup looks dry.  Bring to a slow boil; then simmer.  The longer it simmers, the better it tastes!  I usually simmer 2-3 hours.

Serve with cornbread muffins...oh, so good!  (I use JIFFY MIX.)    

*This soup freezes well.  Hope you enjoy! 

**********************

P.S.  Blogger is playing tricks on me again!  Just checked my preview and the font size changed and I can't get it back big again!  Hope you can read it!!!  Blogger drives me crazy sometimes.