Collecting Quotes

I love quotes and have collected them for years.  Someday I hope to compile my favorites into some type of journal or book for my grandkids.  Since nothing much is going on in my little world, I thought I would share some of these quotes and hope you enjoy them (and the meanings behind them) as much as I do.....

We make a living by what we get,

but we make a LIFE by what we GIVE.

*Winston Churchill

Every day take note of an exquisite moment.

*unknown

Life may not be the party we hoped for,

but while we are here we might as well dance.

*unknown

To love a person is to learn their song

and sing it to them when they have forgotten.

*unknown

The best and most beautiful things

in this world

cannot be seen or even heard, but

must be felt with the heart.

*Helen Keller

Every job is a self-portrait

of the person who does it.

Autograph your work with excellence.

*unknown

God did not promise days without pain,

laughter without sorrow,

nor sun without rain.

But He did promise strength for the day,

comfort for the tears,

and light for the way.

*unknown

Thirty years from now it won't matter

what shoes you wore, how your hair looked,

or the jeans you bought.

What will matter is

what you learned

and how you used it.

*unknown

Wishing all my friends a wonderful and contented weekend filled with special moments.

*Note:  all the pictures are mine except the waterfall.  I'm still learning with

my new camera!

2nd Note:  Katie over at http://goaskkatie.blogspot.com/ has the cutest cupcake apron that she's giving away.  Don't go there...I want to win!

3rd Note:  Kathy over at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/2010/07/csn-giveaway.html

also has a great giveaway going on...CSN gift card!  I never seem to win those but I keep trying!

First Blog Award!!!

For someone who doesn't ever have much luck when it comes to winning things, I sure have won a lot lately!!!  (See an earlier post about some giveaways I've won.)  And today I have won my first BLOG AWARD!!!

It's from that cute and sweet DONNA over at

House on the Corner 

She thinks I'm VERSATILE!

Since I still feel like I'm in the Blog Beginner's Class, this is really an honor...and oh so exciting!  Thank you, Donna...you've made my day! 

There are some RULES I need to follow to merit this award, so let me see if I can do this right!

*First, thank the person who gave you this award.

 Well, of course, I should!  My southern manners would dictate that...and my southern mama would skin me alive if I didn't!  Think I've already thanked her above but one more time won't hurt:

Donna, thanks SO much!  I'm just thrilled that anybody would read my blog, let alone give me an award of any kind!!!

Now here's the hard part:

*Tell seven things about myself you might not know...

Let's see if I can think of 7 things that will thrill won't totally bore you...

1.  My real name is CHERYL...my grandkids call me CHERI , thus the name of my blog.  The family story is that my daddy didn't really like the name my mother had picked out so he decided to call me Cheri instead.  Of course, my childhood was peppered with the nicknames CheriPie and CheriBlossom.

2.  I love ORGANIZATION!  In fact I am a little quite OCD about it!  I have loved to organize things ever since I was a little girl.  I don't get all freakish if things are out of place, but I do feel better when they are where they need to be.  If I could make a living at it, I would love to be a professional organizer.

(This isn't MY office unfortunately.)

3.  I am a SUGAR  LOVER ADDICT...have been ever since childhood.  I can give up food but not my sugar...unfortunately.  Right now I am trying to cut back though cause I'd like to lose a few pounds. 

 

(Am I boring you yet?) 

4.  Sometimes I think I am HYPERACTIVE.  I always seem to need to have a project going on...reading a book, cleaning out a closet, scrapbooking, gardening, surfing the internet (for great blogs, of course), shopping, organizing recipes, SOMETHING.  I do NOT like to be idle!

5.  I would love to TRAVEL.

We've been on a couple of cruises and had family vacations to the beach or mountains, but we've just never traveled that much.  I would love to see the world...maybe we can do more after my husband retires and the grandkids don't need me as much.

(Two more to go???  Think, Cheri, think!)

6.  I love to WRITE and LEARN NEW THINGS.

I am not that good at writing but I have always enjoyed it and would really love to write a book for children...maybe one day I'll get the courage to try.  I consider myself a life-long learner and hope I will still be learning new things when I'm in my 90's!

                                         

7.  In a college beauty pageant I was elected

MISS  CONGENIALITY!

I did NOT win the pageant but felt very honored to receive this award.  Now I can tell my grandkids that although I wasn't the prettiest or most talented, I was at least FRIENDLY!

Whew!  That was harder than I thought...hopefully it's not too boring!

And lastly I am supposed to

*Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs and let them know about the award.

Here are my picks from among MANY:
(I hate to leave anyone out!)

Across the Branch

The View from a Saddle

Brave Eagles Hunt with Antique Brownings

Rick-Rack and Gingham

A Delightsome Life

A Cozy Little House

DebbieDoos

Jojo's Joys

Shellbelle's

Wander to the Wayside

Wonders of Life

Elizabeth Ann's

Bobbypins Boardwalk

Sweet Bee Cottage

Faded Highways

Check them out...they're all great blogs.

A Week with the Grands

The grandkids have been with me most all week because the sitter who is helping us this summer has been on vacation.  I try to keep them entertained and help them have some fun when they are here, but it gets challenging at times.  I stayed with my grandmother a lot when I was growing up since my mother worked out of town.  Although I loved my grandmother I really didn't enjoy staying with her that much.  She was a self-imposed shut-in and mostly laid in her daybed each and every day...not much fun for a young child.  I had to find things to entertain myself and I was often quite unhappy.  I want my grandkids to grow up and remember fun times with me and so I'm constantly trying to think of new things to do.  In a small town it can be challenging!  Today we spent the afternoon swimming in a friend's pool but yesterday we went on a picnic to a nearby park.  It's a very small park with a very small playground and a very short nature trail, but the kids had fun so that's what counts.  Here are some pics of our day...enjoy!

Children are a gift from God

THIS AND THAT...and not much more

I haven't written for the last several days partly because I've been busy and partly because I didn't have anything interesting to write about.  So here's just a little of this and that...

                        That new camera...

I'm feeling less intimidated by my new toy.  Our sweet niece Ashlee checked it out for me and it turns out I haven't broken it after all!  She also shared some other tips and some great websites where I can get lots of help and information. Plus she turned me onto Picasa which I'm going to try and work with.  Oh...and she and farmer hubby Brad gave us a watermelon to bring home too!  Thanks, Ashlee, for all your help.  (BTW...she has her own blog where she posts MANY pictures of their adorable "miracle-baby" daughter plus funny stories about her chickens.  I know she'd love for you to visit:

http://www.acrossthebranch.blogspot.com/

        Yard Sale.....

 

My wonderful neighbor and friend had a huge Yard Sale this past weekend and my sweet hubby and I helped her out.  She did really well but it has been a big undertaking for her.  She is going to be downsizing soon and it's certainly an emotional as well as physical task to go through everything in your house.  The sale was fun for me though as I love to organize things and we had it looking like a department store!  I'm glad she did so well. 

Our weekend.....

We had a quiet 4th of July staying at home. Now it's time to get back on schedule.  Will be keeping the grandkids all this week so afterwards I'll probably need a vacation or at least a weekend with my feet up.  As I've said before...life in a small rural town is a slow pace especially in the hot summertime!

New Toy

I have a new toy.....

And it PETRIFIES me!!!! 

Seriously, I am quite intimidated.  My wonderful husband gave me this gorgeous new camera for our 40th anniversary (see earlier post).  I appreciate it so very much BUT I am TERRIFIED I won't figure out how it works.  I mean, I tend to have trouble with a point and shoot.  I have read the manual but still feel clueless.  Who writes these books anyway????  Whoever does (or should that be whomever?) sure doesn't know how to write them for novice photographers like me! 

I think I've made a HUGE error....I tried playing around with the various buttons, etc. and I think I may have pushed something that shouldn't have been pushed.  It just doesn't "sound" right when I take a picture.  Sometimes I have to press really hard to get it to shoot; also about 10-12 seconds after I shoot a picture it sounds like it takes a picture again but doesn't.  If any of you know what I've done wrong, PLEASE feel free to tell me.  In the meantime I guess I'll keep trying to understand this darned informative manual!  I do want to thank that wonderful husband of mine for being so sweet and giving me something he hopes knows will eventually bring me lots of pleasure.  Thanks, Honey!

P.S.  Have you visited Brown Paper Packages Crafts blog?  It has some neat ideas.  They are also having a giveaway.  Here's the address, go visit: 
http://brownpaper--packages.blogspot.com/