Living Life Beautifully

It is a Beautiful day!  The temperature outside is not cold at the moment and the sun is shining. I haven't written a blog post in a really long time.  Things have been busy and when things get busy, I get too tired to do the things I really enjoy. Today is Wednesday December 21.  We have a few days til all the Christmas festivities. I love Christmas.  I love that, just for one month, people all over the world celebrate love, family, friendships, and the beauty of this Gift that is THE most precious Gift of all time.  Those who don't believe in God, get to feel that joy and spark of love that I am blessed to feel every day of my life.  The world seems to grow in Love for one moment a year. I love that we get to give gifts, no matter how outstanding or small, just as God gave His BELOVED Son.  And then that Son gave the ultimate gift.  Some people hate how commercialized Christmas has become, but I don't care.  People will do what ...

The day is beautiful.  The weather is cool.  The sun is shining. There is a soft breeze that feels like the breath of fall.  It is one day from December. I'm not sure if I already told you that I made a vision board. I have it hanging on the wall in the dinning room.  We don't use the dining room often.  It's a beautiful room but we only use it for game nights or when we eat thanksgiving type meals.  I thought, last night, that it might be nice to put my desk under the vision board.  So...that is what I did. Seeing your hopes for the year written out before you, makes them seem possible. Posting encouraging messages to yourself and reminding yourself that every day there are so many blessings around that we simply choose not to see. A great lady of our community passed away the other day.  She was one of those people who was always nice and always smiling.  She encouraged others and we were blessed to know her and her family...

What a beautiful day!  I have windows open and Christmas music going.  I even danced with Maggie to a Buble song.  She seemed content to dance with me.  The chicken must like the music, because they have been in the garden sitting in the shade for an hour or so.  Ha!  Normally they eat and leave. My son Taylor flies in on Wednesday!  Yay!!!  I love when all my chicks are in the nest. Gives me peace. I'm not sure what my day will involve.  I need to pay bills and clean the kitchen.....Big Shocker there! Hope everyone has an awesome day. Love shannon

It is Sunday evening.  I'm sitting in my bedroom with the windows open and the sprinkler going in the garden.  The sun isn't quite down and you can hear the neighbors little girls giggling in the yard. You can hear those cicada bugs, or whatever they are called, that you always here in fall.  And....Maggie is walking down the hall howling with some piece of dirty laundry from Alex's hamper.  It was a good day today.  I had two really good weeks and then yesterday was sick with a flare and cried a lot of the day.  It's just what ya gotta do.. Taylor comes to visit this week.  I look forward to that. I also look forward to Thanksgiving with my family. God is Good!!! I wish all the people on facebook who keep talking about the election would just take a break and enjoy what God has blessed them with for a minute.  It's so depressing seeing post after post.  When I wake up in the morning and have my coffee on my messy front porch that...

Good Morning! It's really beautiful outside.  We've had rain for a few days and cooler temperatures. I was even able to open my windows and enjoy the fresh air until late last night when I started getting an allergy attack.  Ha!  But it's worth it. I woke up this morning to a mess of clothing that Maggie carried from Alex's room.  She was a busy little Bee.  I bet she got her 10,000 steps in. This picture is of the things she's brought me just since I've been typing.  :/ After putting away her little collection, I made my coffee, told my husband bye and I'm sitting at the kitchen table blogging and watching butterflies fly all over the garden.  The resident rooster is crowing.  His little chicken lungs are getting stronger.  They still come by to eat each day.  I've asked the hens, nicely, to lay me just one egg, but no luck so far. Yesterday my husband took on the project of converting my old cassettes to digital.  It's ...

Good cloudy morning to ya!!! I have my cat on my lap, my ottoman pulled to my desk to put me feet up, my coffee next to me, and a hopeful outlook to the day. Maggie has her tail slapping the ottoman and keeps staring at me as if to say, "PET ME!" I really wanted that cool front to come through and give us cool air, but it doesn't seem to want to cooperate.  Darn.  So...yesterday I looked online and read up on how to grow sprouts.  I had two available jars and some screen, so I gave it a try.  I'll post pictures and blog about it if I'm successful.  What a cool idea!  The only problem I'm having with all these plants and cool things I'm making, is that my house is looking a bit of a mess.  I know now why my Omie's kitchen always had cluttered counter space and food on the stove.  I have 4 containers on top of the pantry, with tea in them.  I have beans in jars tilted in a bowl with a towel over it, on the kitchen counter by the tv....

Good Morning!!!! I'm not sure I have anything to write about this morning, but I love to write.  So I'll just click about here for a bit and delete it later if it's not worth reading.  Most of my blog posts are just gibberish. There is something about having those keys under your fingers and the sound that it makes clicking away.  I'm also obsessed with a good pen and a clean journal page.  There is something very soothing about writing.  It's supposed to get cooler this week.  My body is so looking forward to it. Just the thought of cooler weather and the look of fall makes me want to curl up and watch the show. How perfect it is that God makes us anticipate each season as if it's a gift that we're waiting to open. Looking out the window, I see a squirrel on our picnic table.  It's playing, running it's face along the boards, and then rolls to it's back.  Every small sound makes it perk up in concern. This is prob...

This was a beautiful day! Look at that little face!!!! I couldn't think of what I wanted to blog about today. Everything I thought of seemed stressful. So..... I thought about my son coming home for a few weeks. I still remember that moment when they held him up for me to see for the very first time, all bundled in that warm blanket and my husband snapped the picture. At this point, Justin wasn't born yet. What an adventure. Last night Bruce and I went to our youngest son's band contest.  They didn't win, but it was an awesome show.  We are both so proud. I wish the world was a friendlier place for our son's. The election is happening and I worry about what life will be like for all of us if things don't change. The wealthy get wealthier and the middle class are getting poorer.  Young people will have a hard time buying a home or living a good life without the help of parents. People are not as healthy because of bad or p...

Good Monday Morning! It looks like fall outside, but it isn't very cool.  I'm not much into Halloween, but I'm so in love with November and December. In fact, October has many anniversaries of difficult things.  This year it's gone by really fast. I watched a documentary the other day called, "food matters". It had such good information.  So, I'm trying to drink 32 oz of water every morning before I have my coffee, and I'm going to try to get more raw, organic, fruits and veggies into my diet.  I do really well, but not much of it is raw. I didn't realize how much nutrition is lost with cooking. I'm going to really work on getting that cucumber, celery, fruit juice made every day, and I need to make sure to get at least one entire bottle of Kombucha in each day.  I've only had a small glass for two days and woke up with much more pain this morning.  It'll be a good test today, to see if it helps. I've been getting in my ...

And....the cooler weather is here.  I'm in heaven. I've opened all the windows to air out the house.  It feels so nice. I let Greta outside to walk around.  Poor thing is such a mess with his allergies. He is having so much fun out there.  He rolls around on the gravel and licks brick.  In the garden he kept playing with a plant limb that has this big umbrella like thing at the end.  Every time he would touch the limb, the end would move and he would jump.  Sweet boy. Yesterday I had lunch with my cousin Candy.  It's a bit of girl therapy to sit and talk. I love lunches with my cousins. Last night was the second night of taking the new medication for my restless legs and sleep issues. I ended up with 6 hours, which isn't bad for me.  I feel much more rested and I have fewer dreams.  It's made a difference in the amount of energy I have through the day.  It's crazy to think how much getting good sleep effects your day and y...

Good Morning.  All of Texas has hope that the day will cool down.  I'm not sure we will get what we want.  Still...it's a pretty day outside and the bucks are chasing the does.  Be careful when you drive.... or walk.  There's a lot of movement on the property.  The house is quiet.  The youngest is at school and dad is taking a cat nap before he heads off to work for the day.  He has a busy weekend.  I, on the other hand, am going to have lunch with my sweet cousin today and have the weekend to do what I need to do at home.  I have so much to choose from. My oldest and his girlfriend are working on the house in town to make it look nice for their Christmas gathering.  I will always love that house.  So many memories.  It's fun to watch someone else get excited about it.  I had many days of dreaming about what I wanted to do with this and that.  I completed everything I set out to do there, and then moved t...

Oh the joy of cool weather to come. We're supposed to get a cool front Thursday.  I can't wait. This morning when I walked into the kitchen, Greta was sitting in the kitchen sink. When I asked him what he wanted, he sniffed the faucet.  So, I looked at the water bowl and it was low but still had water.  They don't like the last inch of water.  I can't blame them.  Brink shares their water bowl and he eats their poo.  I'd want fresh water also.  I'm guessing Brink thinks of their poo as his own version of probiotics.  And yet, he is the pickiest eater in my house. I don't quite understand dogs and their love of all that smells nasty.  I'm a cat person.  Tomorrow I have a doctors appointment that should give me information I've been wanting for, for over a year.  Of all the things I test positive for, does that mean I have all those illnesses?  Information is power for me.  I remember my mother in law thinking she was ...

Good Morning! It's cloudy outside.  As I was making my coffee in the kitchen, I looked out the window, and the neighbors chickens were trying to get my attention.  They are so funny.   Finally one of them flew up onto the garden gate and looked at me through the window as if to say, "get your rear out here and feed us". As I walked out the front door to the porch and towards the gate to the gravel driveway, they started running towards me.  I sat on the ground and set their food down only to find that Kiki decided to come and visit me also.  The chickens weren't too sure about her.  They waited a while, at a distance, until they realized she wasn't a threat.  It's fun to listen to them talk while they eat.  If they see anything that might be a threat, they make little noises to each other and you can hear them discuss it with little chirps.  I have listened to roosters for years in the neighborhood and told my husband that I would...

Hello Mr Tuesday! So far, I like you.  It's only just past noon and you have done well. Although...I wish you would magically clean my house. Yesterday was one of those busy productive days that it looks like you did nothing. Paperwork, cooking, computer work, garden.....Looks like nothing when the day is done. We have ants in the garden.  Did I already tell you that? Well, anyway...  The ants are a bother, but they keep some of the bugs down. Yesterday one of the chickens stepped on a very large ant nest and I watched as she picked them off and stomped her foot.  I felt so bad for her and yet it was fun to watch her stomp her foot. Today I watched as they discovered the pond.  That was funny watching them try to figure out how to get to the water without falling in.  It was sweet watching them drink all in a line, and then tottle off to the back yard.  They are such fun. I started a flare later in the week but it was very mild.  I think it ...

What a beautiful Sunday.  Bruce is out mowing the property and I just worked an hour or so in the garden cleaning up beds. Some of the tomato plants are starting to produce again, half of the green beans are still producing and we still have so many jalepenos.  Everything needs some compost to boost their growth.  When I have the energy and it's cool enough, I need to take a wheelbarrow into the garden and add a few scoops per plant.  Our compost bed is doing really well.  Each day I take out all the coffee grounds, egg shells, and scraps to the pile and bury it.  After only a few days a good amount of the stuff is broken down and eaten by worms.  The only thing I lack in the compost pile is poo.  I just don't feel like going out and buying a bag of poo for the compost.  Worm poo will have to do. Yesterday I went through my shelf of books that are faith based, and picked out 4 to read on the back deck while it was still cool in the day....

Good morning! The birds are in the garden eating bugs.  I wish they would eat all those darn stink bug things on my tomato and green bean plants.  I wish I could go outside and have a little birdie meeting.  I could bring pictures of the specific bugs I need them to eat and I would be so happy.  We could sing a little motivational birdie song when the meeting is over.  That way they could start the day with a great attitude, they would get nice and fat, and I would have nice pretty tomatoes without strange bites all over them. Greta is looking for a new place to sit.  He springs into the air, every once in a while, as if a bee is stinging him in the rear.  Until he finds a place that he thinks has no imaginary bee's, I will have to watch him walk back and forth through the house searching and springing about.  At the moment, he seems to be contemplating jumping up onto a tall cabinet in my craft area.  Sigh..... The clouds are teasing u...

I was just in the kitchen looking at my two gallons of K tea that are just about ready to be made into approximately 12 bottles.  It will be 7 total batches, (42 bottles) that I've made and approximately $168 dollars that I've saved. (Takes applause with a wave and mouthing "thank you...thank you very much") So far I have noticed that my joint pain is so much less.  I hope it's from the K tea and not just that I'm taking a break from a flare. I'm going to keep at it and keep you posted. This morning I saw a large female doe walking towards the back brushy part of the property, and she had spots.  That would mean she's an axis deer.  I've never seen an axis deer in this area.  She was such a beautiful animal but had an injury to  her back end causing her to limp.  That was sad to see.  We rarely see those injuries heal in the deer we've had here.  I imagine we will have more and more deer migrate this direction ...

Good morning! I wish I was one of those people who sleeps really well and gets up early. Then, when I say good morning, it wouldn't be so close to lunch time.  It's a bit humid and warm this morning.  The chickens have already been playing on the back deck banisters and checking the windows for me, so I went and fed them.  They've become more comfortable with me and like to play and dump the food bowl.  So, a good amount of seed is under the deck now.  The golden hen they had with them for two days hasn't shown up in two days.  I'm guessing they ousted her.  I really need to do some research on chickens and figure out how they work before we venture that direction.  I want a chicken that sits on my lap.  Do they do that? Yesterday I spent a good part of the day working on my husbands back office studio room.  It's much more functional and organized now.  That was fun.   Today I need to go through two ...

Good morning! It's kinda cloudy out today.  I hope it rains a little.  I love the rain.  I don't love the leaky roof...but I love the rain.  :) Yesterday I was grumpy.  I had two red wasps sting me in one day.  Now I have a large, red, swollen spot on my leg from the first wasp sting.  It's getting warm and it itches.  Really need that to go away. I was watching my husband yesterday as he was conducting his day.  He dropped off the youngest to school, then had to plan his schedule and return texts, phone calls, emails, etc.  He left to mow lawns until 5 and then had to come home, shower, return texts, emails, and phone calls, before heading out to do a recording for his radio station that promotes local talent.  He books gigs, and dj jobs and goes out looking for sponsors for the station along with helping his boys and I with our honey do's.  He volunteers at church and makes sure he spends time with his family.  Most ...

Good morning. It's a beautiful day.  Although....it's already been a bit of a crazy day. While opening the curtains this morning, a large red wasp decided to sting me on the thigh, through my clothes.  I thanked him by whacking him with a flipflop.  Now I have a large, painful, swollen lump on my leg as wide as a lime.  The chickens have already been to visit.  They have a new member, who seems a little out of it if you ask me. She's a reddish blonde hen and at the moment she is in the front yard and the others are in the back neighbors yard.  Not sure why.  But, like I said, she seems a little out of it. Today will be a day of cleaning up this house.  It seems every room is a bit disorganized and for some reason I think the cats have marked in a few spots.  That, in itself, its the most frustrating.  I let the two younger ones out into the back part of the house the other day and the little buggers snuck through a doorway and mark...

Welcome to a glorious fall day!!!!! I got to sit on my front porch swing with my husband and my coffee and listen to the birds, on a beautiful and much cooler fall morning!!!!  YAY!!! Yesterday was a really good day.  I felt so much better and the weather wasn't so hot.  I was able to work in the garden a bit and went to see my son's band performance.  I got to visit with one of my favorite people and saw my son Justin.  The chickens even came by to have a snack and tell me hello. It really was a good day. Today my body feels good.  It's going to be another good day. I should see if my husband will fill up my bike tires so I can ride around the block. Gosh...when I think of how much time I spent on my little green recycled bike as a child. My oldest brother had a red bike.  When it was my turn for a bike my dad took that old bike, rebuilt it, painted it dark green, and added training wheels.  I drove it that way for a few weeks and then my brothe...

Three days in bed sick..... I can almost clock it every year. The first day of the first cool front.  BAM!!!  I'm sick. My body goes into full on flu ish mode. The other thing I do every single year....go outside and work in the garden as soon as I feel a little better.  Stupid....  I know. Tonight my youngest has a band performance for the parents and anyone else who wants to see it before it goes to contest.  PRAYING!!!....that I will feel good and get to go.  I love getting to see the show. My garden is still producing.  I'm not sure why.  I have a bunch of these little stinkbugs invading my cherry tomatoes and green beans.  But they are determined little plants.  I don't just plow up all my plants at the end of summer like so many people do.  I know it's probably best, but I like to learn, so I just go with the flow and study everything.  I was blessed with a handful of tiny perfect cherry tomatoes this morning, alon...

It has finally cooled down....and my allergies are kicking my bootie.  :( All I want to do today is crawl in bed and watch parenthood on Netflix. Oh Please!!!! We went to dinner with three of our 4 boys last night.  Gosh I love my family.  I miss Mr T. We spend the entire time talking and laughing.  Alex even said something really funny and shocked us all.  Some days I miss having them all under one roof.  But we didn't laugh as much then because it felt more like a hormone, drama, soup of teenagers. I love how smart everyone is about what they love.  When they love it they go all out too get all the information they can.  I love that they are so different and yet have so much in common that they spend time with each other.  I've always wanted a close family.  God is good. We had rain the past few days.  So...that means we had the roof leaking all over the house.  Oh the joy of a leaky tin roof.  It's a trade off for how...

I'm sitting here watching out the window as my husband and one of this life long friends are telling stories and laughing as they hook up a trailer.  I love seeing him with his buddies.  I'm so happy that he has them.  I guess most of us have a group of people or even just one person who is kinda like an anchor that is there to make us laugh and knows our story.  It's been a rough weekend.  This heat is getting to me.  Bruce and I went out on the back deck yesterday to feed the neighbors chickens who visit every day.  We were only out there for about 5 minutes or so and by the time we came in, I was short of breath and soaking from sweat.  He was cool as a cucumber.  It took me a while to feel better.  Our youngest was in the parade and at the fair, so we went to see him and I felt horrible by the time I got home.  The heat and humidity makes it hard for me to breathe.  I had to sleep for over and hour and eat half a wa...

I'm sitting here watching out the window as my husband and one of this life long friends are telling stories and laughing as they hook up a trailer.  I love seeing him with his buddies.  I'm so happy that he has them.  I guess most of us have a group of people or even just one person who is kinda like an anchor that is there to make us laugh and knows our story.  It's been a rough weekend.  This heat is getting to me.  Bruce and I went out on the back deck yesterday to feed the neighbors chickens who visit every day.  We were only out there for about 5 minutes or so and by the time we came in, I was short of breath and soaking from sweat.  He was cool as a cucumber.  It took me a while to feel better.  Our youngest was in the parade and at the fair, so we went to see him and I felt horrible by the time I got home.  The heat and humidity makes it hard for me to breathe.  I had to sleep for over and hour and eat half a wate...

Good morning! It's Thursday, a game night, and fair week.  The parade is tomorrow and it's still hot outside. I'm going to melt. I have SO many things I'd like to do today. The house is a mess with things that need to be put away. I have laundry that I'd like to do.  I should pull the couch cover off and wash it since Brink keeps slinking along it so it's probably covered in his hair. I have two large piles of mending that I need to go through.  And three large piles of clothes in my closet that I need to go through. I would also like to sew the doll bodies I have cut out and work on making some cool pieces of clothing out of clothing that is outdated.  Upcycling!!!  Yesterday I went thrift store shopping instead of staying home and doing chores.  I had so much fun. I haven't done that in so long.  I end up spending money and bringing home so much stuff that I don't need.  I bought over $300 worth of clothes for $20 at the hospice thrift s...