Yard art with a message... from MY Man... to me! Knowing how I look forward to Houston's early springtime wildflowers, he brings Indian paintbrushes for me each and every year... as these are the "first bloom" of the legendary Texas flowers, blending later with bluebonnets. And he always has a creative presentation.
This is bouquet #38... having received one each spring of the 38 years we have been married.
NOW... is that romantic, or WHAT???
With the extremely-cold-for-Houston temperatures, and the anticipation of coming snow the next morning, there was a festive, holiday feel in the air last night. A log blazing away in the fireplace... steaming mugs of soup and hot tea prepared... we popped the beautiful animated movie, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole, into the DVD player, and settled in to a perfect evening.
Then... we awoke to disappointment. No lovely, soft snow... no icy branches to photograph... only dangerous, black ice on the freeways and bridges. All the pretty part of a winter storm had missed Houston.
After the media hype, the crowded grocery stores, schools being cancelled, etc., it was quite a let down. My friends' postings on Facebook attest to that!
Reflecting upon a recent blog article titled, How to Fall in Love Again in 4 Minutes a Day, I could not help but think of a comparison. So many marriages start with the anticipation of their marriage life ahead... only to be met with disappointment. Life did not turn out as pretty as they hoped... as they expected.
This article, though giving simple suggestions, gives significant ones. Extremely significant ones. Take the time to read the brief, beautifully written article... and ponder. Am I willing to spend 4 minutes {4 Fixations... 4 Embraces... 4 Affirmations} each day... to bring the prettiness of the snow back into my marriage?
Now... that is something to anticipate!
What do you think? Is this adorable rosette to wear in your hair... or on your jacket lapel? Well... you could... actually I have. But it was designed to grace the corner of my lovely fabric covered magnetic board... made for me with love by my daughter and son-in-law. Not having a tutorial to guide them, they created it all on their own.
My pictures just don't do it justice, as my lighting was not the best. My son-in-law made the 24" x 18" wooden frame and painted it the loveliest olive green color. With spray adhesive, he attached the fabric to a sheet of galvaized metal.
My daughter has a collection of vintage buttons, and she used some of them, affixing tiny ones atop larger ones, which she attached to magnets. Don't they look classy holding some of my precious grandma mementos?
The brown ribbon "clothesline" stretched between two more of her buttons, has little owl clothespins. Now... isn't that the cutest thing?
My son-in-law called the fabric covered magnetic board project a "labor of love." Yes... I feel the love... and I love the board!!!
I am going to rephrase "New Year's Resolutions" to "This year I am purposing to..."
So, here goes. This year I am purposing to:
My mind is spinning with lots of other goals... but this short list is a good start. Writing them down, going on record, helps to motivate me!
After I jotted down this list, I saw something all my goals had in common. ORGANIZE. So it looks like 2011 should be my year of organization, something I'm always striving toward it seems.
***I must mention that my spiritual goals remain... to know more of Christ... to spend more time with Him... and to serve Him from a sincere and faithful heart. You know... to accomplish this takes some ORGANIZING, too!
A good blog is supposed to have regular posts. So... just how in the world do the rest of you bloggers manage to do that??? Sunshine on My Shoulders has suffered during the Christmas season. So... this post will do a little 2010 holiday catch-up by listing some memorable highlights.
Here goes...
Loving the greatest gifts of all... family members all wrapped up in each other!
Okey-dokey... that concludes my "2010 Precious Holiday Memories" list. The years keep ticking by... God's faithfulness remains. Praise His name!
***Here is the secret recipe for "Heather's Chipotle Cheese Ball."
Gather 8-oz pkg. cream cheese, softened, 1 can chipotle chilies in adobo, slivered almonds and a little butter.
In a food processor blend the can of chipotle chilies until smooth. Add 1 Tbsp of blended chilies to softened cream cheese, blending well. (My husband just tosses the remaining chilies into his salsa!) Cover, refrigerating until firm. Toast desired amount of slivered almonds in the butter, and roll them onto the firm cheese ball. Wrap in saran wrap and chill until ready to serve.
Way too easy to be SO yummy! Aren't you glad you were made privy to this secret recipe?
I've been a bit grumpy today. Somehow I just could not sleep last night with the possibility of seeing the moon eclipse. Unfortunately, each time I jumped out of bed to check, it was too cloudy to make a Houston sighting. But it was worth the effort, regardless of my sleepiness and out-of-sortedness today. Delightedly, I observed a brilliant moon over our neighborhood at 6:00 AM, a time I usually do not go moon watching.
And... it set me thinking moon thoughts again. So I will re-post some of those thoughts from my blog entry dated September 25, 2008.
"I see the moon and the moon sees me. God bless the moon and God bless me."
My children and I used to say that little rhyme together when they were babies. I can't help but remember it when I stop and look at the moon, like I did the other night when I took this photo.
Initially I was captivated by the startling beauty, a contrast to the hurricane torn days of the prior week. Then a myriad of random thoughts raced through my mind.
It seemed as if the moon was cutting a hole through the darkness, like Jesus breaks up the darkness of sin with His light.
My name bearing the meaning of the word moon, I thought of a former post I wrote, "One Who Reflects Light." Additionally, there was the post "Let Your Light Shine" Children's Craft which darted through my mind.
I began to hum the melody to "Blue Moon" as I looked and pondered.
After a bit, the song "Somewhere Out There" came to my lips. Our family loved the American Tail movies, and we always said the adorable mouse, Fievel, was so much like out little Joshie. When Josh left on his first mission trip to Thailand at the young age of fourteen, his sister and I missed him so much, and as we had no prior international experience to relate to, we worried. At night we would go outside, look up at the moon and sing the lyrics to "Somewhere Out There," singing like Fievel, squeaking out the high parts, "Somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight, someone's thinking of me, and loving me tonight." And it helped us, knowing that the same moon shining over our heads would be shining over our Joshie's head so far away.
I have repeated that scenario again and again through the years. My daughter spent months in India, in Taiwan, and in China, and sometimes communication was minimal. And so nighttime found me marching outside to seek the moon, "God sees the moon, and the moon sees me. God bless the moon, and God bless...our Baby Joy!" God always spoke to my spirit, and calmed my motherly nerves.
While in India myself, and away from my family, I loved seeking out the moon, and singing the Fievel song. Numerous and varied have been the experiences in my life which have caused me to seek out this luminary, created by God on Day 4 of Creation, to give light in the darkness. It is a constant in my world, at times a focal point, and periodically a thing God uses to bring light into times of my own personal darkness.
Isn't it interesting how many thoughts one can have in such a short time? My "moonlight meditations" probably only lasted a few moments, but the memories spanned many years. Moon memories. They bring a smile to my heart. "God bless the moon!"
Look at these photos from our recent babysitting night with our granddaughter. And stop fretting what you are getting... or not getting... your kids this Christmas!
Our little Andrah Kate was ecstatic being "sledded" around the tile floor on a huge, empty dog food bag, with a leash attached.
Here she is playing dress-up in Grandma's boots... and having a wonderful time.
Perhaps this could be an encouragement to take time out for creative play with your kids this holiday season. Giving the gift of yourself... of your time... is what will make the lasting memories, long after any toys are discarded.
Is a board game on your Christmas list? You may want to consider Apples to Apples, Bible Edition. We pulled ours out for the first time to play during our Sunday School pre-session. We were searching for something fun to emphasize Attentiveness while teaching the command of Christ, "Hear God's Voice and Obey His Word."
The kids loved the game! As did their teachers, I might add. Surely, this game will be our 2010 Christmas game to play around the dining table.
And... while we play games, we can listen to my favorite Christmas music playlist. Each Christmas I purchase a new album. This year it is Susan Boyle's The Gift. Admittedly, I wish now I had just downloaded a few of the songs rather than buying the entire recording. Why would the song Hallelujah be on a Christmas album? But the beauty of creating your own playlists solves that problem doesn't it?
Do you follow Amazon's "25 Days of Free," where you can download a free holiday song each day in December leading up to Christmas? So far, none of them has been my cup of tea, but I still plan to keep my eye on it.
A fun game with friends and family... Christmas music in the background with the Christmas tree twinkling... and a cup of eggnog punch with a plate of cookies. Sounds like a winning evening to me!
Today, as I am enjoying a day at home, I find myself filled to the brim with gratefulness, as I simply look around. I'll ramble just a bit, if you don't mind, and list some of my thoughts.
I am GRATEFUL for:
Life contains so many blessings. I am grateful for the chance to slow down a bit, and reflect.
"Honey, as much as you love nature, why don't you experiment turning our acre into a bit of a sanctuary?" I asked my hubby sometime ago.
And as a teaser, I handed him a set of plans to build a Screech Owl Nest House. Knowing him as I do, I knew it would be only a matter of time before he would be building the house for hooters. AND, also, knowing him as I do, he would have his own ideas how it should be built, and would revise the plans.
There have been many owl sightings where we live, and though it is not the season for nesting, last week my hubby had a free Saturday morning, and sure enough, I found him in the garage building an... OWL HOUSE. Fancy that!
When he finished, he climbed 20 feet up into one of our big oaks, and hung the house.
The house has a neat little door that can be raised for cleaning, but I don't think I'll be volunteering to make the climb for that job!
It cannot be painted or stained, so will need to weather naturally.
Now, we just have to wait for nesting season... and hope all the crows around here, arch enemies of the owls, do not keep them away from their cozy little house.
Life with my hubby is always interesting... but hey... it's OWL good!
Do you need a little token gift... in a hurry? I did... today.
SO... I remembered reading about the new Milano Strawberry Cookies. I grabbed a bag when I did my grocery shopping this morning. Truthfully... I grabbed 2 bags. A girl must taste what she is planning to give as a gift, right? And yes... they were yummy.
Then I went to Tip Junkie's blog for a printable "Milano Moment" gift tag. And voila! I have a perfect little hostess gift.
I'm thinking it would be nice to prepare a gift basket for a friend, including the cookies, some tea, and a little devotional book. That would encourage a "Milano Moment" in the midst of a busy day, don't you think?
Boy... I'm finding that there are a lot of Milano Cookie loyalists out there! There is even a recipe for Strawberry Milano Cupcakes. Cupcakes... Milanos... I'm telling you, those have to be a girl pleasers!
"Milano Moment" gift. I like it!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Don't you love the picture of my little 4-month old neice, "Miss Ellie," welcoming in the new year?
Gloriously, we are enjoying New Year's Day! Our holiday feasting has been simple...but yummy. So I thought I would take a few relaxing moments, and make an attempt at food-blogging! (Also to try out my new camera.)
First, let me show you my husband's eggs, ones we named Deviled Eggs a la Patrick, because of my soon-to-be-brother-in-law's influence. Dave added mayonnaise, horseradish mustard, blackening seasoning (Patrick uses Louisiana hot sauce), and LOTS of fresh dill (which Patrick uses plus chopped dill pickles). I was afraid to taste his MAN eggs, but they were delicious...pictured here...untouched by female hands.
Okay, this next dish, Broccoli Cornbread, we can only afford in our diet once a year. So we savored each bite! It did not look too appetizing while I was putting it together.
After mixing, I poured it into my mother's old red enamel pan for baking.
Coming from the oven a lovely golden brown, it had quite an appeal.
And yes, it tasted scrumptious. The broccoli did not overpower the cornbread "experience."
Arkansas born-and-raised gal that I am, on New Year's we always must have traditional, what we called in the south, "Blackeyed Peas and Hog Jowl." Okay, you can use turkey ham these days, but I still use the old Arkansas name. Here is the recipe I used. And this is what it looked like, steaming in our bowls.
It tasted even better than it looks!
On special occasions, my husband buys bottled Republic of Tea just for me. Ahhh...he's so sweet. Today's flavor is my favorite, Ginger Peach.
From the Messick household, we wish you a HAPPY 2010! Just think...a new year full of new beginnings...new mercies from Above. May you know Jesus is near every day of this year!
