Friday's thoughts

Uusally every year we adopt a family for Christmas from my husband's workplace or through the local Mission or domestic violence shelter. This year, we four of our police officers in Lakewood (only minutes away from where we live) were shot and killed at close range while they were sitting in a local coffee shop with their laptaps at 8:14am in the morning, getting ready to start their day. This happened a few weeks ago. The lone gunman who came into the shop shot three of them and the fourth police officer tried to wrestle with him but got shot and killed too. The gunman was wounded by the fourth officer but fled, he was located two days later and shot and killed by a police officer in Seattle.
Anyway, our community has been grieving this horrific loss and this year we decided along with many others we know to donate to the Lakewood Police Guild for the families of the slain officers (one police officer was a woman). All were parents and left behind a total of nine children. So that was going to be our "adopt a family" donation this year, but then I was talking to a very good friend of mine who's son lives near us and is a single dad raising three kids ages 14, 11 and 5. He just lost his job earlier this year but recently found another one, but is on commission. His mother and I have been very good friends since we were in 7th grade, but she lives in another state now and has for several years, so I don't see her that often, but we do talk on the phone a lot. When she told me about some of the trials her son has been going through this year (and I have known her son since he was born) I felt that God prompted me to want to do something to help his family, but to do it so that it would seem to be coming through his mom, so he wouldn't feel awkward about receiving from me. I talked to his mom about it, and we decided that I would put together a nice holiday food basket. Her son and family are vegetarian or vegan....it's the one where they do eat eggs and cheese but not any meat or fish. My friend's sister lives near, and she got some things too, and together we are going to deliver our goodies to my friend's son and his kids tomorrow afternoon. I had a lot of fun putting together a basket and I was hoping to finish a few scarves to give to the two older girls, but I am not sure I will be done...I have one done, and one half done....so if I work hard tonight I might make it.
We cut way down on gifts this year for Christmas with our family. Due to our refrigerator and microwave going out last weekend and having to purchase new ones, Tim and I aren't exchanging gifts this year. Which is fine. I did get some gifts for my mom, stepdad and two of Tim's adult kids who we will all see on Christmas Eve as we are having that at our house this year. Christmas day we go to Tim's parents (they are 88 and 89) and they have requested no gifts, so we will just go there for dinner. I have shopped for two of the six grand kids. The other four grandkids we aren't sure what to do, presents or a gift card..that is another situation. I have one friend I work with that we go out to breakfast the week of Christmas and exchange gifts within a $30 price range. I wouldn't mind opting out of that, but I have mentioned it before to her and she really loves to exchange gifts and go to breakfast and doesn't want to stop so we haven't . She is my closest work friend and we have worked together for 26 years so it's just one of those traditions that probably will remain until one of us isn't working there anymore.
My stepdaughter got us tickets for this Sunday to see the Broadway Christmas Rockettes musical in Seattle, so I am looking forward to that, we are going with her grandmother (her mom's mom) so the three of us are having lunch and then going to the 2pm show. I guess it has a live nativity scene on stage and is quite a show!
Well time to go to work, I am going to try to keep posting more in my blog.

The picture with this post is me at age two or three with "Santa" who was really my grandma!! I didn't have a clue though, I always thought it was really Santa!!

Christmas is coming!

and I am not even close to being ready, although I am trying to not stress out about it and remain calm. Lots has happened these past few months since I last blogged. I guess I took a bit of a hiatus which is probably a good thing, as I may have wanted to vent about things more than I should on a public blog!
Anyway, I have decided that I want to use my blog now for a new purpose. I really want to try live more simply and frugally as well. My goal for the upcoming year of 2010 is to completely eliminate my credit card debt and stop incurring new debt. I am going to look at everything I purchase with new eyes. Do I need it vs. do I just want it?
My closets and upstairs of my house are overflowing with 'stuff'. I am really tired of it. I need to pare down my wardrobe to things I really love and wear and get rid of the excess. I will be writing more about this in the future. It seems like I am eternally writing about this subject. But for now, I really felt like I wanted to start with writing about it. I need to get rid of the excess of stuff.

Mr. Tank and his pumpkin

Tank has a new 'toy'! I got this little pumpkin and had it sitting on the front porch by the door....he decided it made a good ball and has been carrying it around for the past few days. It looked cute when he was carrying it his mouth holding the stem...but then the stem broke off.

He is so funny!

I am so excited!

I am really happy to have just learned I won Wendy Blight's contest for Karen Ehman's book "A Life that Says Welcome"....I tried to post a comment, Wendy, if you reading this, on your blog thanking you...but it wouldn't go through...anyway, I did send you my mailing address to your email address. I am excited to get this book (and thanks to Karen for offering it!) as I do want to dream up more ways for hospitality! Tim and I are working on painting our living room and it's almost done, and that is something that has held me back for awhile about inviting people over. You have to understand that it was WAY overdue to paint in that room, and our living/dining area is one big rectangle room, so all entertaining is done there. We have an old house built in 1921. It has a lot of character! Some things I love about it are the built-in china cabinent and two window seats upstairs and downstairs. But I haven't wanted to invite any friends over for dinner or a tea party or anything until we get the walls painted. I wanted to go for a little color, but my husband wanted to stick with Antique White so that's what we did. It's okay. The room doesn't have a lot of natural light so that the white, which is soft and creamy, is probably a good choice.

Speaking of tea parties, a co-worker and I have organized a tea party coming up on October 24th. We both love tea parties, and there's a tea shop in town that has new owners, so we invited 12 ladies we know who love tea parties too (most of them go to our church...actually, two of my co-workers and I attend the same church). So far, we have 6 who can make it for sure. We have made reservations for the "light luncheon tea" at the Hawthorn Tea Room. It consists of fruit, choice of scone, choice of tea sandwich and pot of tea per person. I think you get three choices for the scones and the sandwiches. It's $12.50 per person, plus tax/tip. When you make reservations for a larger group, you have to all have the same tea "set". The most inexpensive one is pot of tea and scone for $8.00 and I think the most expensive one is $25 or so per person. We thought we'd go for the light luncheon one to check it out. I have been to this particular tea room in 2006, but there were different owners then, so I am anxious to check this one out. There are two gals who own/run it, and the one I spoke to on the phone sounded very nice. They also have a little gift shop and lots of flavors of teas. So it should be a fun time. I am trying to think of maybe some little fall favors or something to give each one of our guests, Karen's book might have something in there that would be helpful.

I have been going through a time of missing having a 'best friend' for a girl-friend. Yes, I love my husband and he is my "best boy friend" on earth (and Jesus is my best best friend and Lord and savior and everything!) but my 'best girl friends' I've had in life are either moved away to a different state or city or just not available with a lot going on in their own lives (divorce, remarriage, etc.)....for awhile I had felt kind of sorry for myself about not having a best friend in the flesh I could call up and go do things with...but then I realized that I have a LOT of friends who are people I work with all day, church friends who I have called lately and gone to lunch or something with, former classmates from highschool who I have gotten together with over the summer and again next week to go to lunch, blog friends, penpal friends, email friends....family, there are a lot. I am really doing a lot of what I want to do for socializing with other gals, but I have decided to give the longing for a 'best girlfriend' over to Jesus and let Him handle it....he knows the desires of my heart, and that I'd love to have a good Christian girl friend to get together with that we both have a lot in common. I will trust Him for that!

Happy for Friday

I did end up going to the doctor on Tuesday, fortunately I didn't have an ear infection, just some fluid buildup probably from sinuses...so he gave me some samples of pills/nasal spray which have helped a lot.
I am listening to a CD right now called "Being a Woman of Influence" by Mary Beth Whalen that is really good! I am not going to be able to finish listening this morning, but will tonight. I have Mary Beth's and her husband Curt's book on living finanically free that just came out this year and learned a lot. I love reading her blog too!
It's Friday morning and I need to get out the door early to fill up with gas and also to walk at the mall before work.
Last night three co-workers and a friend and I went to our first bellydancing class! We have all signed up for one hour sessions on Thursday nights at 5:30 pm for the next five weeks at a local community center...it was really fun! We learned the basic Eygpytian steps, there were so many people there though that they divided the class into two. We had some good laughs but it was a lot of fun, good for toning and strengthening the core.
Tomorrow is my mother in law Esther's 88th birthday. Tim and I are going over to visit (she and my father in law who is 89 live about an hour away) and bring a birthday cake, flowers etc. Wow, 88 years old. They live on their own and still drive and are in relatively good health. I haven't seen them since July, so it is good we are going over tomorrow. I think Michael and Melissa are going too.
I got an email from a classmate from high school, she is setting up a lunch in October for several of us to meet like we did in July...there's more on the list via contacts with people through Facebook, etc. so although last time we had five people, this time there may be many more coming. It will be great to see everyone, we had such a nice time in July when five us met.
My prayer today is for me to get a lot done at work today, I have a lot on my desk!

A busy day

Work was super busy today, usual Monday. I called the doctor's office to see if could get in to get my earache checked out, he wasn't available today and I didn't want to see the nurse practitioner so made an appointment to see my doctor tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. I have a reason for not being that interested in seeing the nurse practitioner, but it would be too long of a story to tell....and since my ear thing is more annoying than painful right now, tomorrow should be fine! I have a super nice doctor who is very nice looking too!
I was sorry to hear about Patrick Swayze's passing...I loved Ghost.
Tim and the dogs came back late last night from hunting. The dogs are dead tired, they've pretty much slept most of the evening.
We have a new Petco that moved in right next to where I work, which is really great and convenient for getting dog food now. I went over there at lunch, today was the opening day, it's very nice.
Not much else going on tonight. Tim called from work and had some work woes to tell me. He really would like to retire. He could now, technically, at 56. But we've decided we have to pay off our house first and really push towards doing that. It would be great if we BOTH could retire in about 4 to 5 years.
Which brings me to the never ending subject of trying not to spend money on stuff I don't need.
That's a post for tomorrow or another day this week!

New Pictures

We had Moira, our ten year old granddaughter, over a few weekends ago & she spent two nights with us. She loves Mr. Tank and you can see he loves her! We all went fishing with Grandpa Tim and Moira caught her first perch! I look pretty tired in the picture of me and Moira and Tank because we went out fishing early in the morning and I had no make up on whatsoever, which is highly unusual for me to leave the house without some blush and lipstick on!!
Moira and I started reading the first "Little House" book together, "Little House in the Big Woods", outloud, each taking turns reading a chapter. She and I slept out in the camper one night, at her request, but the second night this Grandma declined sleeping out there again as my back was paying for it all that day! Tim took us down to Cabelas and out to Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch one day. Moira is 10, almost 11 and she is very fun to have over. Her older sister, Natalie, was going to stay too, but she is almost 13 and at the last minute decided she didn't want to stay two nights at "Grandpa and Grandma's" so that was fine........I think she is getting to the age where maybe it's not as exciting to hang out with us too long!! Moira and I played Scattegories one night too, and that was a lot of fun, I hadn't played that game for years, and it really made us use our brains! All in all, it was a very enjoyable time with a lovely little girl!

A new day

It's actually night-time and I need to go to bed, but I just was thinking I haven't written in my blog for sometime, so wanted to just jot down a few things.
I finally decided I have to walk a half an hour a day. No excuses. I need to get out to the mall by 7:45 am to walk a half an hour till 8:15am, then go to work. I only work 2 minutes from the mall. And live like 6 minutes from both. My excuses have always been I hate walking in the morning before work in my work clothes (with tennis shoes) but my co-worker Becky does it. She is there every day, and she has been consistent for years doing her walking before work. She is 59 in a few months, just lost 14 lbs through Weight Watchers over the past 8 months and looks fabulous. We just went to the Nordstrom Anniversay sale last month together and being in the dressing room with her while I was trying on my size _____pants and jeans and she was trying on her 6 and 8's made me realize that age isn't an excuse. It's a matter of will and dedication and what do I really want? I really am not happy at the weight I am, weighing 25 to 30 lbs over what I was 10 years ago. I realize I can't get back to what I was in my 20's but I should be able to lose 15 to 20 lbs and keep it off. I must realize that being older now, at 51, I have to realize my portions have to be smaller and the junk food for the most part has to go. And I have been having a few glasses of wine a week lately, I am sure that is adding to it. Part of my problem with walking is that I have a nerve problem in my left foot called Morton's Neuroma, and it acts up sometimes when I walk too long....but I just have to push through it. The pain usually subsides after I've walked and taken my tennis shoes off and after about 5 or 10 minutes my foot is okay...before that, it burns and stings in the bottom/ball/three small toe area.
Anyway, I am going to go to bed now, so I can get up and walk in the morning.

Staycation random thoughts and musings

Tim and I have been on a 'staycation' for the past week. We've been off work since July 3rd and just couldn't decide what we wanted to do until we have to go back to work on July 13th. We rented some movies last weekend, like Madea Goes To Jail and Night at the Museum, we went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We thought about going camping, then the weather got grey and cool for a few days so we decided not to. I really didn't feel like packing up to go camping, and fortunately, Tim didn't push it. Which is fine with me as I am not a huge camping fan. I am more a motel/hotel vacation girl. Anyway, Tim's son Michael got laid off from his job (hopefully he will be hired back soon since it's a job with the city, but he knew that once his year of temporary status ended as a meter reader, he'd be laid off) so he has some time off and he and Tim and another friend of Tim's decided to take our camper and boat and go to Eastern Washington about 5 hours away and go fishing for a few days. He left Wednesday, so it's been just me and dogs. It's lovely as I am a person who enjoys, relishes and craves time to myself! Yesterday, I went to the mall and bought some shoes at Macy's, went to the library to get a few books, took two big bags of clothes and clutter to the Goodwill (and came out with a book by Alexandra Stoddard "Daringto Be Yourself" for $1.99. I think it was written in 1990. )My friend Cindy has mentioned reading some of her books, and I just got one today from the library, something about decorating your home. I have also read some of Alexandra's articles in Victoria magazine. I just started reading "Daring" last night, and really like it so far, she has several different sections about clothing, gift giving, etc. I like her style of writing. Tomorrow I am going to meet some high school friends for lunch, we've reconnected again on Facebook. I am looking forward to that. I saw a few of them three years ago at our 30th reunion. The sun is shining and it's a gorgeous mid-70's. I just got back from Fred Meyer to get some groceries and I noticed a woman probably in her late 20's coming in as I was leaving. She had long dark hair and was wearing a beautiful pink cotton full skirt and an embellished pink tank top, with a pair of nicer flip-flops and long dangly earrings. She looked to be of Indian or Middle East descent. She looked very pretty and ladylike, we smiled at each other. I was wearing a dark denim Talbots knee-length skirt and a yellow peasant-style cotton tee shirt top with a colorful beaded necklace and brown nicer Hush Puppy flipflops with cute flowers on them. I wished now I would have stopped and told her how nice she looked, as I thought about it on the way home, I thought she and I were the only two women of any age I noticed today as I went to the library, McDonalds, optical shop and grocery store, who wore a skirt. I thought about how nice ladies of any age look when they wear a skirt or a dress, from professional like a skirt suit or business dress for office work to a long cotton gauzy skirt or a knee length casual pencil skirt. Women don't dress up anymore, at least not where I live. Clients I see at work, ladies I see while I am out running a few errands, at church, just out and about, so many women I see look bedraggled and tired, with little or no makeup, hair scraped back tight, wearing sweats or leggings or jeans....nothing wrong with jeans, I like darker rinse style blue jeans, bootcut or flared a bit, and have a few pair (and a few pair I am working on fitting back into!) and I wear jeans alot Fridays to work (as we have 'casual jeans' Fridays) and on the weekends. But I felt different today wearing my denim skirt and cute top and necklace, then I would if I just threw on a pair of capris or jeans. I know dresses and skirts aren't always practical, and there's the question of pantyhose...my view on that is that in a business office when you are wearing a skirt suit or nicer skirt, yes, pantyhose are required. I know there's a lot of strong opinions about that. One fun thing I've done this week on my 'staycation' is been able to have time to read some blogs I like, about women over 50 and fashion and I read an interesting piece about pantyhose or no pantyhose with lots of varying comments. I have worn longer skirts that cover most of my legs without pantyhose to work with nicer sandals in the summertime, but only if I have a great pedicure...if my toe polish is chipped forget the sandals. I would love to grab the ladies I see out and about, at church, at work, wherever, that look tired and worn out and colorless and well, not feminine at all, and just help them...be it with putting on a little bit of lipstick or a pretty top or something. I know around the house I tend to slob out in comfy pajama pants or sweats and old comfy sweaters or tank tops...but I feel I need to even step it up at home on the weekends some. My husband sees me mainly on the weekends, since he works swing shift now and I am days, so I should be more mindful about how I take care of my appearance around him. It's easy to get into the too casual, too comfortable rut with appearances, and I know that God doesn't look at the appearance but the heart, but I do think women feel better about themselves if they take a little effort to try to look nice, for their husbands or boyfriends or families or friends, but most of all, for themselves.
Well, that's my ramblings for right now. I am glad I still have three days left of my staycation. It's been so relaxing. Today for lunch I fixed a lovely salad with fresh large shrimp and tonight I am having a Lean Cuisine for dinner. No major cooking all week. Tim will be back tomorrow. I am planning to watch that movie about Jane Austen and her romance tonight (I can't think of the name of the actress who plays Jane but she's the one who was in Devil Wears Prada). A co-worker loaned it to me, and another friend at church loaned me Seven Pounds with Will Smith, so I am watching them both tonight!

BibleGateway.com - News & tips from BibleGateway.com

BibleGateway.com - News & tips from BibleGateway.com

Tank and Moira

We had Moira, our ten year old granddaughter, spend the night last Saturday night. Here she is, playing with my old Barbies (which she loves...she told me this weekend that she really loves the older Barbies and clothes from the 60's that I played with more than the Barbies and clothes out now!) As you can see, Mr. Tank is assisting. Moira's Barbies were all dressed up and going to Paris, France! We watched a DVD of the Three Stooges and part of Little Mermaid, and then on Sunday went to church and to A & W for lunch. I love having the grandkids over one on one, it's a special time to talk and bond with them. Moira takes ballet lessons, and she is going to be in a recital in July that I am going to....it's Sleeping Beauty, and she has three different parts...one is a duet. She is a lovely girl, very comfortable to have around, very content and happy and very neat and tidy...she likes to help me clean up, which is wonderful!

Trying to think

I haven't been writing much lately on my blog as I have felt like I don't have much to say right now that isn't uplifting and positive. Oh, there are many good things going on in my life and it helps to focus on them. But I have been feeling really overwhelmed at work lately, to the point of tears on several occasions...dealing with irate clients on the phone who are upset and demanding....I have been doing this job for 26 years and you would think I would be used to it, but maybe due to hormonal stuff I am just more fragile and get frustrated easier dealing with people. My job is such that I am working on projects but getting many calls at the same time, so I have lots of 'irons in the fire' at all times. Maybe I am just getting tired of doing it. There are so many pluses about my job, and I know that no job is perfect. I just feel like I am not handling things well somedays. Today was one of those days. Two clients just about had me in tears with their demands. That isn't like me. I can vent to a few co-workers who go through the same exact thing as me, but I feel bad letting negativity get to me. I feel like I should be able to rise about it all, be calm and peaceful and have the right answers for everyone. But I don't. I guess I need some help figuring out how to handle things better. Our pastor talked this weekend about Colossians 3, putting on compassion and kindness and love. Put them on like you put on your clothes in the morning. Even when you don't feel like it. Especially when you don't feel like it. But I just don't know how to do it.

Turning 51

Tomorrow is my 51st birthday. 51 seems to be a strange age. It always seem 'old' to be in your 50's but now I am here and I don't feel 'old' inside! maybe a little tired and maybe a little achey in the joints somedays. Definitely a few hot flashes and mood swings or emotional drama (like bursting into tears for no reason). But I haven't had a period for over a year, so I must be in menopause and there's a sense of freedom about that in away. maybe just being yourself and trying to just be real anymore and not worry so much about what people think.
Yesterday some of my girlfriends from work took me to breakfast for my birthday before work and I got so many lovely gifts....outdoor potted plants, a beautiful turquoise bibbed style necklace, notecards, new pink Aerosole slippers, a notebook & pen, a Borders gift card, a Nordstrom gift card, pretty votive candle holders and candles, balloons, chocolate, a gift for a manicure...wow, it was quite an extravaganza! I felt very loved and blessed! One sad downside to the day was though that a girl who had worked at our office for almost 4 years got let go the day before....a long story, but she still came to the breakfast and we girls were all glad she was brave enough to still come....I don't know if I would have had I been in her shoes just for what all happened (basically she was blindsided she felt about being let go, but there are of course two sides to the story). My mom called last night and she and my stepdad want to take Tim and me to lunch Sunday, and my brother also wants to take me to lunch today. I have the day off today as we get our birthdays off from work or if it's on the weekend, you get the Saturday off.
Some goals for this new age of 51:

Lose 10 lbs this year and keep it off. I have already started a few weeks ago, just watching my portions, trying not to eat junk, etc. and have lost a few pounds. My summer skirts and capris were getting too tight and I am not buying new and bigger sizes so it's discipline time for me!

Read my Bible daily and spend time with God. Not legalistically, but for life. The day goes a lot better when I do. I want to fall more in love with Jesus every day. Follow after the proverb that says "when she speaks her words are wise, and kindness is the rule for everything she says".

Try to stay on top of keeping my upstairs organized and clothes put away, etc. I have two spare rooms upstairs and three closets where I keep my clothes, accessories, etc..(two dressers too) and I am tired of being too cluttery and not organized with my things. I am sure I need to go through and purge some, I did that a few months back and probably need to again.

Try to live more like a French woman. I know that's a generalization, but I have been reading a lot about the French in their clothing, wardrobe, skin care, eating habits, etc...and have been fascinated. There are a lot of books out there about it, and lots of internet articles. What I like is that they may not have a lot of clothes, but what they do have is nice and quality. They take good care of their skin and have facials, etc. And they walk a lot. And walking more is something I really need to step up and do.

Last weekend Tim and I got to see Jars of Clay at a weekend festival event near our house, for teens. We got free passes from a friend at work's daughter, as she is dating the bass player. She lives in Dallas and he lives in Nashville, and they met a few years back in college. They were here visiting for a few days and we got to meet him. It was really fun, and Jars of Clay live were really good. I bought their new CD this week and also the one from a few years ago that has the song "Dead Man, Carry Me" on it, which I love. I asked Gabe, the bass player, if they were going to play that song, and he said they were...he also said that earlier in the day, a local band at the festival was playing it too, and it was kind of fun for the Jars of Clay band members to hear this little garage band playing one of their songs!

French women don't get schlubby: The fashion divide comes down to classic over trendy : North County Times - Californian 10-08-2007

French women don't get schlubby: The fashion divide comes down to classic over trendy : North County Times - Californian 10-08-2007

Gilles Was Robbed!

I love Dancing With the Stars, and I am SO bummed out that Gilles & Cheryl did not win the championship last night! I really really was sure they would win. I have loved watching them dance all through this Season 8. Shawn Johnson was good, but I really did not think she was better than Gilles. And the fact that they were less than 1 percent apart in the final calculations makes Gilles' loss even more agonizing!!
I never stay up till 11pm during the work week, but I did last night to see the finish, and I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I was. I think Gilles was by far the best and most exciting (and easy on the eyes as well as nice!) dancer and I think even the judges thought he would win!!
Well, he and Cheryl are still the winners in my book.

New pics

These were taken the day before Easter at Tim's parents house....the twins are getting big, they are 18 months old now. We had an Easter egg hunt for all the kids. You can see how big Tank is now next to Asher, who is 3. It was a fun day. Tim's dad Norm just turned 89 May 16th, and this was the first time he and Tim's mom (who is 87) got to see the twins.

Happy Friday

I am hoping to get back to blogging soon. I have had computer virus problems, etc. and still am having some glitches so haven't been able to be on the computer much lately.
I just finished a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and am now reading one from the library called "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns, World Vision president. "Crazy Love" seriously messed with me, and "The Hole in Our Gospel" is doing the same thing. Highly recommended if you want to find out if you are a "lukewarm" Christian and if you really are loving and following Jesus in America. Both are pretty sobering books, but also filled with hope. It all gets down to do we really love God and do we really love our neighbor as ourselves. These two books will help you examine your life and the Christian life in America as opposed to the rest of the world.

YouTube - Susan Boyle Scottish Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 High Quality!

YouTube - Susan Boyle Scottish Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 High Quality!

YouTube - Good Friday Intro/Call To Worship

YouTube - Good Friday Intro/Call To Worship

What's So Good about Good Friday? | Today's Christian Woman | Your Life. Your Faith. Your World.

What's So Good about Good Friday? Today's Christian Woman Your Life. Your Faith. Your World.

Psalms 4 Tough Times

Just read this post on Renee Swope's blog today and it really resonated with me. Written by Marybeth Whalen. I have the new book on finances Marybeth and her husband just wrote. It is really helpful in they tell their real story and struggles with finances through their marriage, and they don't sugarcoat things, they are refreshingly honest.

What's Going on Right Now

Sunday morning, I am starting to get ready for church. I am reading a really good fiction book, "The Shape of Mercy" by Susan Meissner. I got it yesterday at the library and cannot put it down. I am half-way through it. I can't wait to get back to it after church! I love finding a great book like that that you do not want to stop reading!
Yesterday I bought some gel pens and stickers and I had a new journal I hadn't opened. I am going to start journaling again. I have been kind of hit and miss for awhile, starting a prayer journal some months back but not really keeping up with it. I found a journal I kept a few years ago that I had decorated each page with pictures cut from cards or magazines or stickers, or quotes I just liked. I loved looking at it and reading through it again, so thought I'd do another one, it kind of helps me feel creative as well as just writing down my thoughts and prayers and musings.
I started to knit again a little this weekend, finished a blue baby hat. I am still taking it easy though, my arm aches in the morning some, and my elbow is still sore. I just can't bear to stop knitting for too long, but this tennis elbow/knitting elbow soreness isn't good so I shouldn't mess with it. It's been pretty good this week since I haven't been doing much. But I miss knitting. I have lots of yarn and ideas.

Quote for Friday

"We are all pencils....in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world" Mother Teresa

I never read/heard this quote before, but have stumbled upon it twice this week, once reading it in another blog, and today on my desk calendar. Sometimes I am paying attention to things like this when they come across my path more than once so I am taking it as a little encouraging note from God to me to be a kind and nice and lovely pencil!! And Lord, can I please be a glittery gel pen kind of a pencil?!! Love the gel pens!!

Homestudio - Cora's Playground pendant

I have been following this blog for the past few months mcclanahans and their story about their little baby girl, Cora Paige, who recently lost her battle with cancer. I have really been impacted by her story and I have purchased a few things on Etsy recently to help contribute towards Cora's Playground in her memory. One Etsy vendor named Homestudio have made some Cora's Playground pendants and I purchased one last week, with all proceeds going towards the playground. It's a really pretty pendant and they have lots of others that are lovely.....flowers, sayings, some for Easter, animals. I wore my Cora's Playground pendant this weekend and to church yesterday when I was reading stories to the kids. It's a very nice-looking pendant and very good quality, and I am really happy that I ordered one.

Monday Monday

It turns out that Tank's spots on his chin are 'puppy acne'...!!! He is doing better now having been on the antibiotics and steriods a few days, and I've used the shampoo to rub in his chin and let it sit for 10 minutes then rinse off. I got the dogs both nice big stainless steel bowls this weekend, as apparently the plastic bowls we were using were part of the trouble. We also need to wash the rubber and plastic toys a lot and limit the rawhide chewies, as apparently it's the drool factor that causes the bacteria problem to get the breakouts.

I found out Friday I won a blog giveaway contest for Prairieland Herbs. They are based in Iowa and I have been ordering their shea butter and soaps for years! Donna and Maggie, mother and daughter, who own Prairieland Herbs, have a blog now and a contest every week for some product giveaways...they choose the winner on Fridays. I won three solid perfumes, that come in little tins. I picked violet, rose and lilac for my scents. I have ordered the lavender and the sandalwood before and they are really nice. Their products are made from lots of things they grow on their two acre farm, so it's a fun blog and website to check out!

It's grey and cold today. It actually snowed Saturday night. There was snow all over my car and the grass when I got up Sunday morning. I went to church and got to be the "Storybook Lady" for the four and five year olds in kids' church...we met in the "Treehouse room" and I read two stories. It was fun. There was one little boy in particular who was hanging on my every word, so that was nice. My stepdaughter Melissa and I went to the movies in the afternoon, we saw "Duplicity" with Julia Roberts and Clive Owens. It was pretty good, kind of a spy, keep you guessing kind of movie. Julia Roberts looks great. We wanted to go see "Madea Goes to Jail" but it was done playing at the theaters in town. I will have to get the DVD when it comes out. I loved "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and "Madea's Family Reunion" and own those two movies, I think Tyler Perry hit gold when he created the Madea character!

Knitter's elbow, grey and rainy weather and life in general!

Well, my mad pace of knitting caps has done me in, I've got a really sore elbow (inner, like a tennis elbow) and I looked up on google and they actually have a term for knitters who overdo called "knitters elbow". So I got an Ace elbow flexible brace at Walgreens this week, and that seems to help, plus taking iboprofen. I cannot imagine ever giving up knitting, so I need to let it heal . It's sore in the inner elbow, the tendons or muscles there. I read if I prop my arm up under some pillows when knitting too that might help.

It's cold, wet, rainy and soggy here and has been all week. Spring is really slow in coming this year. The whole month of March has been just rain and grey. I think we've had two days this year 60 degrees or higher and that's it. It isn't inspiring to want to do much, inside or out. But today's project is going to be cleaning out an extra bedroom upstairs and moving the double bed downstairs to the basement. Tim and I have been talking about getting a treadmill and putting it upstairs and making that room a 'workout' room by getting a little tv to put in there too. He has some weights he wants to put in there as well. So I need to move a lot of stuff I have in there (I am not sure where I am going to move it to!) but it's a good time to sort and weed out I guess.

We had to take Tank to vet yesterday, he has some blister-looking things on his lip and chin, so he has to take antiobiotics, steriods and some shampoo stuff daily for awhile. I need to get them some big stainless steel bowls for their food rather than plastic ones, the vet says. So I will do that today. I guess it's some kind of infection he has so this should clear it up. Anna is okay and doesn't have it.

I have something fun I am going to do starting tomorrow. I am going to go into our kids church for the 4 and 5 year olds and read a few stories to them during part of their church time. I took some coloring pages and some boxed birthday cards for kids in to the young woman who runs the kids church, Malia. She is about 26 and a real sweetheart. We were talking, and she said "if you would ever love to come in and hang out or do crafts with us, it would be fun, I can tell you really enjoy little kids"...I said what I really like is to read outloud to them, so she said "Oh, you could be the Storybook Lady!" and what we've worked out is I am going to every few weeks and dress up a little like a princess (I have a tiara and a feather boa I can use!!) and then come in and read a few stories outloud....I have "Never Tease A Weasel" as my first one tomorrow...I read that to my stepkids and older granddaughters when they were all little and they loved it. I think it will be fun. I haven't really been doing much volunteer-wise at church for awhile, except the ladies small group I host every two weeks, and there's about 3 to 4 of us regularly in that. That has been fine. But I don't get to see all the grandkids a lot on a regular basis, so this will be a fun time to spend with an age group I really enjoy, the 4 to 5's. I will have to have a picture taken so I can post!

I can't resist a few more!

Twins

New twins pictures! Cindy Lou Who x two!

These little grandgirls are growing so fast! They are 16 months old already!

I think they look a lot like their Grandpa Tim!

I love the picture with the frowny look! I can so relate!! :-)

Thank you Imogen!

The very kind and lovely Imogen put together a Polyvore of outfits that work well with my A body shape (smaller on the top, larger on the bottom, or also called the 'pear' shape). Check out the lovely outfits and ideas she put together for me on her blog!
Thank you, Imogen!

Happy Birthday Mr. Tank!

Wow! Tank is one today! He's the smiley one on the right! And Anna was five on March 11th....I was trying to find some kids party hats to put on the dogs and take pictures this week, but didn't see any at the Dollar Tree when I went over there Wednesday. I'll keep looking. We got the dogs some big rawhide chewy bones for their birthdays. I got Tim some jeans he wanted (he just couldn't give me any ideas except a new hunting rifle and I wasn't going to run out and get that!) and we are going out for Italian dinner tonight to celebrate his birthday too, which was also March 11th. Tim isn't as big of a reader as I am, he probably reads a few novels a year where I have at least three books going at once. He's just tough to figure out what to get for a present. He did need some new jeans for work so that's what I went with. He still has the Bass Pro gift card I gave him last year to use too!

My Grandma Phyllis

This is my paternal grandmother, Phyllis. She died at age 45 when I was almost 2 years old, in 1959. These are pictures of her before she became ill with rheumatoid arthritis in her mid 30's. I don't remember her at all. I wish I did, because I think I look a lot like her. One thing my dad told me about her was that she did loved clothes and accessories! She owned her own beauty shop, sold Merle Norman cosmetics, was the first woman president of the Saddle Club in Cut Bank, Montana, loved to ride horses, and paint with oil colors. My mother said she had strong opinions. If Phyllis didn't like you, that was it. But to those she loved, she was generous to a fault. When I was born, I was the first grandchild on my dad's side. Apparently, my grandma Phyllis bought me so many toys and clothes and things like rocking horses and high chairs and bath tubs that my parents had to tell her to stop because their tiny house had no more room. She's a mystery to me. She's one person I really wish I would have been able to know. Once, I saw a picture of her wearing a red skirt suit with leopard faux fur trim on the collar and cuffs and buttons of the jacket. My kind of suit! I actually have one of her half-slips. It's a Vanity Fair brand, I believe, a mocha colored slip with brown lace overlay. Beautiful. And, I have one of her purses. I'll have to take a picture. It's gorgeous. Black and wine-colored velvet, a doctor's bag type purse. In perfect condition. I've used it a few times, but not often, as it's so pretty. I should use it more, especially in the winter. I have already lived five years longer than my grandma Phyllis. I think about her now and then, the grandma I never knew.

There's a few pictures of me with her. This is one of them. You can see how she changed when she got sick with the RA. My dad said she was on different medications that would make her bloated, maybe steriod type medications. She had trouble putting on her nylons and clothes because her joints hurt so much. I think about how difficult that must have been. Now, in 2009, there are probably a lot of medications that would be of more help to her living a more comfortable life. But 50 years ago or so, not so much.

Ready for a new week!

We had snow this weekend, and although the streets are clear right now, I have snow on my car and it's super cold outside, in the low 30's, which is really cold for us this time of year! We really have had a lot of snow this year. Tim and I went over to my mom and stepdad's Saturday, as it's Fritz's birthday tomorrow and Tim's on Wednesday, so we went out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant by their house. It was snowing like crazy driving up there, but by the time we left the snow melted. Very cold outside though. I've been knitting this weekend, making some baby hats for a friend who is due any day with a baby girl. She lives in California, so I am trying to get the hats done soon to send. The problem is, I have been knitting so much lately, my right arm is sore, so I need to rest it for awhile.

Tim's 56th birthday is Wednesday. I cannot think for the life of me what to get him! Last year I got him a Bass Pro gift card, but he still hasn't used it yet! He usually likes anything to do with fishing or hunting, so I go the gift card route with Cabelas or the like. I got him some new clothes for Christmas so he doesn't need clothes. He is a tough one to buy presents for. Anna will be five also on March 11th and Tank will be one on March 13th!

Wordless Wednesday

A Dream Getaway!

Grangeville Idaho Home on Acreage For Sale By Owner.

Tim and I have friends who live near Grangeville, Idaho, and we've been there once. It's a fisherman's paradise with Snake and Salmon Rivers to name a few, and also a hunter's dream. Tim would love nothing more than to retire in this area. I was looking at real estate in the area and found this listing....I could handle living in this house, even if there isn't a mall nearby!! :-)

Weary

I am tired. I have had a really stressful busy week at work. It is a good thing I guess (and I know that it really is a good thing) that our field of law is really busy, so we are not lacking for work and clients. But it's a race all day from 8:30am to 5pm, so many projects and people to talk to on the phone and drop-in's etc. I am weary to the bone. I took off yesterday at noon for a half-day of vacation because I couldn't handle it anymore, I had to get away from work. I couldn't handle one more person wanting something from me. I drove to our local Christian bookstore and bought a new book by about stress by Sue Augustine (I think that's her name). I got a rasberry mocha latte with a Starbucks gift card I got for Christmas from one of my bosses. Then I went to the grocery store to get lunch and dinner, and then Tim and I had to take Tank to the vet for a sore on his lip that was infected and he needed some topical antibiotic cream. (They also weighed Tank in at 84 lbs at 11 months old!). Tim is going through some stressful times at his job with a new supervisor so he is stressed. Neither of us are concerned about losing our jobs thankfully, but we both just have a lot of stress in them. We need to take some time and get away but that all costs money. We are focusing on paying off our house and credit card debt. We need to buy paint to paint our living room and also clean the walls and paint it. There's lots of house chores and yard chores to do. I am sitting here this morning just feeling overwhelmed. I know I need to focus on the positive stuff, but right now, I feel like I am still at work, on the edge, waiting for the next thing to be laid on me to do. It's like the stress that someone's going to come in and break down your door. I can't seem to just unwind and relax. Tim just got back with Michael his son from going fishing really early this morning. I think I will just slip out for a few hours, leave all the housecleaning chores behind and go get a pedicure. I shouldn't spend the $20 but I think I will. Maybe just sitting for an hour will help.

Happy Birthday, George Harrison

Of course, I love the Beatles and have been a Beatles fan since I was a kid...today would have been George Harrison's 66th birthday. He passed away in November, 2001 from cancer. Some of his Beatles songs are my favorites: Here Comes the Sun & Something are two that come to mind. I am playing some of George's music this morning on my Ipod.

Lotions, Salves & Balms herbal healing salve peppermint foot balm belly balm gardeners salve and ache relief rub herbal balms

Another wonderful treat for $10 is Prairieland Herbs whipped shea butters! Usually priced at $15, they are on sale through March 8th for $10. I have to say that the White Chocolate is my favorite, and I rely on these shea butters to help my itchy skin in the winter, great for your legs and hands when you are getting ready to turn in for the night. Also, check out Prairieland Herbs blog, they are offering giveaways every Friday if you leave a comment during the week under the appropriate post....this Friday's giveaway are some wonderful soaking bath salts.

I have been purchasing products from Prairieland Herbs for several years now and they are wonderful, made from natural products from the farm in Iowa where mother and daughter Donna and Maggie operate their business. I love the homemade soaps they offer, especially the shampoo bars, which are also a great little treat for under $10.

http://www.prairielandherbs.com/

Ten dollar and under pick me ups!

I was thinking about some little, inexpensive things that can brighten your day. We may not be able to do much shopping in today's economy, worrying about jobs and saving money, but there a few little "luxury" items that can be found for $10 and under. I am going to try to find some and share in my up-coming posts the next few weeks.

The first thing I thought of is fresh flowers from the grocery store. I love carnations, and the local Safeway or other grocery store usually has some pretty pink colors or elegant white in a nice bouquet for under $7.99. In fact, I think I will see if I can find some today, to add with the Safeway bouquet of lillies my husband got me for Valentines Day that still look fresh.

The Beatles and tv memories

I am trying to get more of my photographs on my computer, and just came across this one from my trip to England in 2000. My cousin and I went to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London and she took my picture with the Beatles!!

I remember hearing on the news earlier this month that it's been 45 years since the Beatles appeared for the first time on Ed Sullivan. I vaguely remember seeing them, in black and white of course, on the tv, I would have been almost six years old. Even though I was that young, I remember that something seemed very exciting about the Beatles, watching them perform. A few years ago, my mom and stepdad gave me the Ed Sullivan DVD shows that had all the Beatles' performances from 1964 through I think 1966 or 67. I haven't watched it for awhile, but should get it out. I still think it's electrifying to see them perform "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand". They were a huge huge deal!

If I think about it, I can remember snippets of tv when I was very young, all in black and white, like seeing President Kennedy's funeral, watching Captain Kangaroo and Bullwinkle and other cartoons. I don't really remember too many tv shows when I was under 6, except for the music of the Twilight Zone. I can remember hearing that after I'd been put to bed, and feeling kind of scared. When I was a little older, of course I remember watching Batman, the Monkees, Dark Shadows (after school!) , Laugh-In, My Mother the Car, Gilligan's Island and the Mod Squad.

Some of those shows I've seen in later years on re-runs and they seem rather dated now of course, but at the time, they were really cool!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I was admiring Jane's wedding day picture on http://workthatwardrobe.blogspot.com/ as she and her husband are celebrating their 20th anniversay, and it inspired me to dig out a picture of Tim and me on our wedding day, November 13, 1988. My, we look so young there! Actually, we were 30 (me) and 35 (Tim). Time has certainly sprouted wings and flown so quickly!

We are planning to have #3 grandchild, Seth, over Saturday to spend some time celebrating his 8th birthday last week. The plan is to go to a movie, either the Dog Hotel one or the Mall Cop one, and out for pizza or a hamburger. I am looking forward also to a three day weekend being off work on President's Day Monday.

Tim and I don't usually do too much on Valentine's Day...a box of candy and a card usually. I am making up some little cello bags of rose-scented bath salts I made to give to the 10 women I work with tomorrow. We also have a breakfast early in the morning at 7:30 am before work to celebrate a co-worker's birthday. There's a little restaurant called the Pine Street Landing near our office that has the best and most reasonably-priced breakfasts, and I can usually only eat half of their omelets..I take the rest with me for lunch or breakfast the next day. We usually do little gifts and cards for the birthday girl (there are about 5 or 6 of us who meet up for breakfast for birthdays, then we head into work at 8:30 am). My co-worker Heidi is going to Washington D.C. next month with her husband and I got her a cute Vera Bradley mini-hipster bag that will be easy to carry, it is small and has a long strap and a place to put your ID, money etc., it will be nice for the trip. I got it on sale at a local Hallmark store, it's similar to this style, but a different pattern which is in greens, white and blue. Very cute, and very convenient for traveling.

New looks coming this spring from Liz Clairborne

I like both of these looks. Isaac Mizrahi has taken over as lead designer at Liz Claiborne after having designed affordable clothing for womenfor Target for about six years. I saw a sneak peek of his new line for Liz coming out this spring, and there are some really nice outfits...a few pants and jacket suits that would be good for work and a couple of skirts and dresses. I could only find these two to put pictures up for now. I have always liked the Liz Claiborne brand except for the past few years it hasn't been too exciting, but I think Isaac will maybe prop up the brand. Although in this economy, women just aren't clothes shopping much. I was over at Macy's yesterday and the store was simply dead. I had a coupon for $8 and got two pairs of Jockey no-line panties that I love that were on the sale rack...cost to me...nothing! I talked to the salesclerk about the news that they were laying off 7000 people from Macy's and she said it probably wouldn't affect our area too much, that it was mainly corporate positions. I noticed there just weren't many people in the store at all, and a co-worker went to Penneys and Sears yesterday and said the same thing, it was really dead. I think if I buy anything this spring, it will be something from this new Liz line for work, like pants and a jacket, and some shoes for work too, as I really need some spring/summer ones. I want to save up and pay cash. No credit cards.

Tonight I am hosting a life group for women 40 and over at my house. I was asked a few months back by our life group/small group leaders at church if I would be interested in leading a group every other Tuesday for a few hours for ladies 40 and older. We have been going to our church for 20 years and while I know a lot of people there, I don't have a lot of close friendships with ladies from church....I used to have a few close friends there but they left or moved away. I have had two meetings in November/December when we got started, and two ladies came. We took a break over Christmas and the month of January as we had 21 days of prayer and fasting in January at church so the life groups were on hiatus. Tonight we start back up (3rd time meeting) at 6:30pm till 8:30pm. As far as I know, the two same ladies are coming, and another lady for sure, and possibly one other. We are getting to know each other better and I am looking forward to the time, as we will do a short Bible study (self-control the fruit of the spirit is our topic). Please pray for me though, as I am challenged about getting my house ready (clean). Working full time outside the home at a job that is stressful and busy leaves me little energy when I get home. I want to not worry about everything not being perfectly clean and in order. Plus I have the added factor of having to put the dogs somewhere for a few hours and Tim trying to sleep (since he works graveyard he gets a nap in in the evening).

I am going to not stress about it all though, and just go with the flow, and relax. I will keep telling myself that all day!

Weekend creations!

For the twin granddaughters....I started these on Thursday and just finished last night!

Update: I wasn't sure about the white one fitting the twins' heads so I took the hats to church and tried them on a few babies' heads! The white was is more for a six month old, but the striped one is good. So I will need to knit another hat in the next few weeks to give to the girls. These are fun to make and I can make them up pretty fast too. I also made a white one with fun fur for me, as I have a white fun fur scarf I made a few years ago. I will post that picture soon.

Federal Budget Spending and the National Debt

Federal Budget Spending and the National Debt

The Coming Economic Earthquake

Sometimes during the lunch hour if I am out and about in my car I listen to Crown Financial Ministries radio program. Not long ago, they were talking about a book Larry Burkett wrote in 1990 or so called "The Coming Economic Earthquake" and how many of the things he wrote about in that book forecasted what has now come to pass in the past year or so (regarding bank failures, wipeout of 401-K accounts, etc.) I remember reading that book from the library in the early 90's, so was curious to read it again in light of all that's been going on in the economy. I just checked it out from the library last night and find that Mr. Burkett has a lot to say and is right on the money about a lot of things he hoped would not happen in the future (20 years or so later) but have happened. I read about what happened in Germany after the first world war, and also to Argentina in the 1980's. I am not reading it with fear, but with a sobering view and a further resolve to get my personal finances (credit card debt especially) paid off and things in order. I trust God to take care of my family, but I can see where some things I have expected or consumed or taken for granted will have to change. I feel sad about our country being so far in debt and I am afraid this new stimulus package that just passed at the House is going to put us more so in debt. My personal 401-K plan has lost over a third of its assets since September. But it all makes me turn more to the Lord, to put my hope and trust in Him for provision, and not this world's system. I highly recommend reading Larry's book, so far, it's been quite an eye-opener with what he predicted now having come to pass.

A knitting Saturday

On Saturday two of my friends came over to hang out and have a knitting party! Carie I've known from high school, and Laura I met through Carie when were 19 or 20...we are all almost 51 now, so we have known each other a very long time. We decided recently to get together to knit, since Laura is just learning and Carie like me has been making scarves for awhile and wanted to move onto something else. So we worked on hats which was fun. I made a white one with white fun fur on the trim. We had quiche, turkey roll up sandwiches, apples and brie cheese and coffee cake and a few pots of tea and just had a fun girls day. Tim and the dogs came home later Saturday and they had a great time hunting from Thursday till Saturday. The dogs were really happy to see me, but they were exhausted and crashed out and slept most of the rest of the weekend. Tim got a goose and a duck so he was happy. Apparently Tank fetched the duck, then he dropped it in a river and it went floating down until Tank jumped back in to get it. Then he dropped it again and Anna tried to grab it, but Tim said Tank was having none of that because that was 'his' duck! So Tank got it and brought it to Tim, for his first retrieve ever!

When they were gone, I watched the DVD "Mama Mia" on Friday night (a friend at work loaned me several movies to watch and that was one of them). It was cute with all the Abba songs, and I was amazed as I didn't know Meryl Streep could sing! I also worked on my closet, clearing out stuff. There's an organization in town that takes business women's clothing to help low-income ladies who need work clothes getting back into the job market, so I have some shoes and stuff for them and a co-worker has some suits so we are going over there this week to drop things off. I realize I need to do a serious closet clean-out. I have several long floral skirts that I've worn in the spring and summer the past few years, and I think it's time for them to go. They are nice to throw on with sandals, but I think I've worn that look for awhile and am kind of leaning towards more knee length, plain-colored skirts (like dark denim and navy for spring). I did get a pretty dress though on Ebay a few weeks ago for spring/summer...it's brand new with tags from Talbots, retailed for $100 or so and I got it for $37.50 on buy it now (plus shipping). I don't have very many dresses (three, actually and this makes four) and I thought it would be fun to have as I like the colors and the print isn't too wild. Usually I go for florals but I am trying to break myself of that and just keep florals in a scarf or something and go with neutrals in my clothes. But I thought this dress looked cheery, like sparklers from fireworks were going off in the print!

I am now on a self-imposed no Ebay, no new clothes until spring (March) when I do need to get new shoes for work (like a low-heeled tan or beige slingback or pump). I have bought some things recently on Ebay but some of it I am not happy with and that's the downside of Ebay shopping for clothes...you might get a winner, but sometimes you get a dud. I bought two skirts recently, one is too big but can be tailored although I don't know if I love the skirt that much too spend the money tailoring it, and the other one I didn't like once I saw it in person. I kind of do Ebay in spurts, I will stay away from it for months, then suddenly get back into it and buy several things, which is what I've recently done. But I need to stay away now, I don't need anything else to buy right now.

It is snowing outside this morning, and I am trying to check with weather report and see if it's going to continue or start raining....I don't think it's going to stick around very long, but I'm not sure...I hate driving in the snow!

From the hunting weekend!

Lovely spring purses.

Purses I like for spring, these are from Kate Spade.

The navy and cream-colored one is very classy....and the hibiscus straw one just shouts 'summer'!

Fun to look at!

And I really love the hibiscus leather satchel, yum, very elegant! The multicolored one is a new Vera Bradley pattern.