Morning, Peeps!  How's it going?  I do not have much time to chat this morning, but I wanted to check in and say a short hello and see what you are up to!

I had a great conference call last night for my Mary Kay business.  It gave me quite a few ideas which I am excited to try out this evening and in the days to come.  The more I am entrenched in Mary Kay ... around other consultants ... meeting directors ... it just gets better.  It is such an awesome organization to be a part of.  Of course, the skin care regime and the make up products are top class.  I cannot say enough positive about it all.  We, as ladies, need all the encouragement in life we can get.  It is truly designed to be a tool for women to use to their advantage in life.  It is my platform to befriend others ... to encourage those who need it ... and to just be the shoulder that many need.

Hopefully our furniture comes today.  It did not arrive on Monday as expected.  The company called and said the truck was on its way but they had to turn around.  Weather was really bad in Baltimore, and the truck was sliding all over the roads.  They simply could not make it, and I could more than understand.  Did you make it to work alright yesterday?  My husband followed me a good bit of the way.  He wanted me to pull over the first time I got nervous and he would take me the remainder of the way.  All was good.  I loved how the day panned out.  I understand the week is only to get better as it continues.

Our kitchen is coming along well.  My husband started painting the cabinets yesterday.  Him and Christopher are doing an awesome job.  I cannot wait to see the finished product.  It is going to really give our kitchen a facelift.  After the cabinets are done, then we will shop for a new window, new flooring, new countertop, and lastly a new stove.  I will feel like I have a new home after all of this!

My son returns to school today after a four day hiatus!  He is not looking forward to it.  He had better enjoy and relish these last days.  It is 'grow up' time from here on out ... college and work.  He does not grasp just how blessed he is at this age in life.

We plan on returning to the gym on Monday.  I have not been in so long and I know it will be difficult.  I am so out of shape, but my weight is coming along well ... thank you 7.2 ... my addiction is diminishing more and more daily ... I am ready for the next step!  I am both excited and dreading it!

Have to run and prepare for my day.  I hope you all have a blessed day!

Morning, my dear Friends!  Well did you wake up to a white wonderland again?  We did.  The weatherman was correct ... we got our 6 inches and it is snowing again!  I sure hope my furniture still gets here.  If not, then it will come when it comes.  We will just have to make do with what we have left in the living room.  But you know what, it is fine!  We are blessed as there are so many out there who do not even have a roof over their heads so you will not find this ole girl complaining.  I am way too thankful and appreciative ... just a bit excited!

How was your Valentine's Day?  The best part of mine came last night when I had dinner with my younger sister and her family, along with my son and my brother.  Family is what it is all about, and I cannot spend enough time with mine.  I cherish each moment knowing it could be our last.  No, I am not a morbid person by any means, but I have lost enough in life to appreciate the moment I am in.  I sure hope you do not have to endure a great deal in order to come to this realization.  Tomorrow is not promised, and there are many out there who have suffered far greater losses than I could even imagine in order to arrive at this reality.  Learn to dance in the rain ... find the gold nugget amongst the dirty coal ... seek His blessing in the midst of the storms.  It is so difficult to do, but looking back over my life, Oh how I wish I had learned this long ago.

This morning when I was browsing through some things on my computer, it took everything I had to keep my mouth shut about a certain situation with a certain individual.  This person comes off as so loving ... which I am sure they are ... but they are always highlighting the negatives in their life.  I know for a fact that not long ago someone unexpectedly bestowed upon this person a blessing.  I also know for a fact that this individual made no mention of this blessing and never EVER tried to reach out to find out who blessed them.  They are so focused on what they do not have that they cannot see what they do have.  What makes me keep my mouth shut?  GOD!!!  Yep, as I was thinking all of these things this morning ... as I have done repeatedly over the years with this same individual ... God said, "STOP!  Remember when?"  Ouch!  He knows how to put you on the hot seat.  Yes, I do remember ... I remember when I was this person!  At one time in my life ... for the majority of my non-Christian walk ... I was so ungrateful in life.  Yes, I came across as a very caring and appreciative person but I was not.  Yes, I cared for others but I was not appreciative and my actions did not back up my 'caring' as much as my words did.  I never ever want to forget who I was because then I would find myself judging others for who they are.  We cannot do this!  We have no right to judge because we always have more sawdust in our eyes than they have in theirs.  We must love them ... never give up on them ... pray for them ... and continue to bless them even when it appears they are unappreciative of our efforts.

There is a person in my walk of life right now who I try to bless every opportunity I get.  I know they think I am an idiot because they are so unkind to me at times.  Many days I have to resort to a corner and pray for God's strength to continue in His kindness because in reality I want to match their choice words one-for-one or treat them as harshly as they treat others.  I find myself saying, "This is it!  I am finished!"  I know I am not though as God will nudge me again to do something nice for this person, and I will.  But you can bet it is not so I appear as anything more than I am ... someone who would rather glorify Him through my actions than to please my flesh and worry about what others think!  Quite a tall order on some days.  I sometimes fail in delivering on His timetable because I have to get over me first, but I always end up doing it His way.  Some days  I have to 'literally' grit my teeth through the whole process ... lol!  What about you?  Have you ever had to grit your teeth as you walked the road God led you on? 

My hubby and son are outside in the snow with the snow blowers and shovels.  I really thought these days were over for the year, but it is so beautiful outside.  I am just thankful we had today off for a holiday.  I pray everyone is safe out there, and we do not get any ice to prevent travels in the morning.  I have a busy day tomorrow so we need favor!!!!

Enjoy the beautiful snow.  Pray for the safety of others and count your many blessings!  Again, "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain!"  I love that saying because it is exactly what we should be doing!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!  I hope you have a truly blessed day.  More than this, I pray you start it out by going to church to worship and praise our Lord and Savior.  No better way to commence any day, but so much more a day which is focused on what God is all about ... LOVE!  He is all love needs to be and He is all the love you will ever need.  As His Word says, "Seek ye first His kingdom and all other things will be added unto you."  Give Him first priority in your life and watch the love that flows out of you to others, and bathe in the awesomeness of the love that flows out of Him to you.  Nothing more powerful ... nothing more uplifting! 

I was seeming to have a very productive day yesterday.  My husband had gone hunting as I previously told you in my earlier blog, so I was taking this opportunity to move around some furniture which needed to be moved before our new living suit comes tomorrow.  My husband's office had to be moved, which entailed moving other furniture to other sections of the house.  With moving all of this around, it also involved taking pictures down off the wall and re-hanging them.  I work so much better at things as this when I am alone.  Yes, it is a lot for me to move furniture by myself, and believe me I am suffering for it today, but I just have always handled things myself so working alone simply works.  When my husband walked in the door, he was speechless at all I had done.  I did not mention to him I was going to do any of it, so it was quite a shocker for him.  On top of everything, with all we have to do to get ready for tomorrow ... with the mess we have in the kitchen due to re-modeling, I had to lay it on him that the dryer broke.  I had clothes in the washer, and losing my dryer was not the best thing to happen at this precise time.  So what do you do when you are on overload and one thing after another seems to happen to hamper your well laid plans?  You pull up your big boy/girl pants and you press on.  This is exactly what we did.  We disconnected the old dryer, made a few calls about a new dryer, went and picked up a new dryer, and today we will install it.  No sense in crying over spilt milk because it would still need to be cleaned up.  By the time we relished in the unfairness of it all ... how we could not afford a new dryer in the midst of everything else we have going on ... how it is so unfair that this should happen to us ... how we are good, hard-working people who deserve better ... and on and on and on ... we would have put ourselves in an emotional and stressed sense of being, and we would still have to get the new dryer.  I would prefer to have to make this purchase with a positive attitude and leave the pity-party for others.  It does make all the difference in the world.

Seriously ... think on this for a minute!  Things unfair happen to us every day.  The end result basically is the same whether you pull up your big boy/girl pants and press on to remedy the situation, OR whether you sulk in self-pity for awhile and then feel forced to press on.  There are times when how we handle a situation will alter the outcome, but more times than not, we still have to fix the problem regardless of how our reaction to it may be.  But, when we just accept it for what it is ... knowing that God allows rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike ... then it does make it go so much smoother.    I realize how unfair life can be ... I accept how difficult it is at times to keep our emotions in tact!  I am not referring to emotions as much as I am attitude.  We have every right to cry and feel discouraged when unfair things happen to us.  We do not have a right to take it out on others ... to blame God for everything ... or to remain in a place of 'poor-pitiful-me' and effect situations and people around us.  Being distraught emotionally and having a poor outlook are two entirely different things.  Let us strive daily to count our blessings in the midst of the storms though the trials bring us to our knees ... keeps us up crying all night ... and burdens our hearts more than we think we can handle at times.  When we see blessings in the storms of life, we learn to dance through the rain instead of allowing the rain to push us down and keep us there.  I just bought a sign for my house that says, "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass ... It's about learning to dance in the rain."  How true this is!

Ok, I have to run and get ready for church.  Have a great day and learn to do a lot of dancing because life is all about the storms that lie in wait! 

Hey, you!  I hope you have had a great day!  I am winding down after a day of class, which was very productive and informative.  I am learning a great deal, especially in the way I can become a better me professionally.  It does not hurt either that I can use these same techniques in my personal life to improve my relationship with others.  I am sure some people would think these types of classes are a waste of time ... me being one of them in the beginning ... but I now see where they are beneficial for many reasons.  I have actually come to enjoy them.  They are definitely stretching me and taking me out of my comfort zone, which is never easy for anyone.  The older we get, the less we like change.  We have a mindset of how things should be in our lives ... we know what works for us ... and we do not see where or how anything could improve.  I have never been one who liked to make goals, much less outline them on paper.  It always seemed so tedious to me and a waste of time.  It did not matter to me that no matter what book I read from motivational speakers or how many seminars I  heard to the contrary, I knew more than most and did not see the purpose in any of it.  On top of all of this, they want you to track your goals!  Really!  What is that all about?  I knew where I wanted to go in life ... I knew what I had to do to get there ... I knew what it would take personally, financially, physically and mentally ... why make notes?  Well, People, you can see how far I have gotten in life.  Do not get me wrong because I enjoy this season in my life immensely, but had I taken a different outlook in life, well only God knows where I could be today.  I would like to think I would be at a station in life where I would be a benefit to others in huge ways.

I am not complaining by any means as much as I am trying to make a point.  My lack of humility ... my pride ... my inability to say I was wrong ... my 'know-it-all' attitude ... my inability to listen ... my need to control ... all of these things have done nothing for me but hamper my growth in life.  They held me back, and I am finding out everyday ... through Christ and His Word ... through these classes we are required to take at work ... through my daily interactions with others ... through my failed attempts at succeeding in life ... through the lessons I have learned through trials I needlessly put myself through ... through failed relationships ... through testing by Him ... that my way was not the way.  The more humble I become ... the less prideful I am ... the more I am able to admit I was wrong and make it right ... the more I listen and the less I talk ... well, I am finally growing in ways which are proving to be truly beneficial to me, but even better, they are beneficial to those around me.  If only I could bottle these lessons in life and sell them to others ... especially the younger generation!  It would save some a lot of self-made hardships in life.  As the old adage goes ... "you can teach an old dog new tricks"!   OR, is it "you can't teach an old dog new tricks?  Wrong!

Putting aside my eventful day, I am out of sorts this evening.  It is very rare I write at night, but I just needed to share.  I may not always specify my needs, hurts, or desires, but just writing seems to lift my spirits and helps me get back on track.  It is as though ... while in the midst of writing ... God speaks to me through what He lays upon my heart to share with you, and thus I hear Him speaking to me.  I know it may sound a bit strange to you, but this is one of the many ways God works in my life.  Tonight is no different.  As I typed what I shared above, it opened my eyes to some things which are heavily weighing me down.  In sharing with you with the intention of being a gift to you, I in turn see how He is ministering to me.  He uses me to open my own eyes.  Tell me that is not something only God could do ... LOL!

Ok, I will finish this blog in the morning.  I have been uplifted ... praise God! ... so I am going to chill and enjoy the remainder of my evening.  Have a great night and I will chat with you in the morning!

2.13.2016:  As you can see I did not return to finish the blog.  It is amazing how quickly our days seem to go.  When we were younger, we counted the days until we turned 13 ... turned 16 ... turned 18 ... and then turned the famous '21'.  After that, we no longer needed to count the days because they went by so quickly we did not have time to count them.  Today each day is a gift, and one which we take for granted more than we should.

It is 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, and just like you, I am wondering what in the world I am doing up at this ungodly hour.  I simply could not sleep.  My mind is on overload, with 50 million ideas running through it, so I finally relented and just got up.  I have a lot I desire to accomplish today so I might as well get started.  I just finished cleaning the refrigerator out, so now I am chatting with you.

How has your week been?  Mine has been good.  A few frustrating moments, but nothing earth shattering.  I simply do not understand things or people at times.  You give 200% to glorify Christ in all you do and say, and you still get put on the spot.  I have a situation where I more than understand the cause but I do not understand the effect.  I wish I could share more than that, but unfortunately I cannot.  It just is another situation which proves how unfair life can be at times.  People say life is what you make of it, but this is so not true.  Life is what you make of what is dealt to you.  We embark daily on a new day with the best of intentions, but then life throws you a curve ball for which you had no control.  Your life then becomes about how you handle the situation and where to go from that moment. 

I am excited as our new living room furniture is supposed to be here this weekend.  It is long overdue.  We are doing home improvements, and it is exciting but a lot of work.  We are re-doing our kitchen at the same time.  My husband and son have stripped all the cabinet facings and removed them, re-ordered new facings, and are stripping the base cabinets.  We are painting them, replacing the kitchen window and flooring, and lastly purchasing a new stove.  The knobs we ordered online for the cabinets came in and they are so pretty.  They are antique-looking.  I think it is going to be really nice once we are finished.  I say 'we' but again it is my son and husband who are doing the majority of the work.

I laid in bed last night ... this morning ... and God gave me ideas to grow my Mary Kay business.  I have been on a sort of slump lately due to being ill and people standing me up.  It will not deter me, however, because I know I have God's favor.  This is where He wants me for this season, so I am confident He will carry me as long as I do the work and put forth the effort.  I love the products and the people I have met thus far are truly great!  It is a wonderful organization.  I cannot say enough good about it.

Are we going to get another storm this weekend?  I surely hope not.  But, if we must have bad weather, please pray it is snow and not ice.  Today is supposed to be one of the coldest days on record.  My husband and a few others are going hunting.  Better them than me ... they are going to freeze!  I say they will not stay out there long.

Big plans for Valentine's Day?  My husband took me out for dinner last night, and when we returned home, I had a bouquet of flowers on the table.  They are very pretty.  My son is at his dad's for the 3-day weekend, but I bought him a few things for which I cannot wait to give him.  I will go out today and find something nice for my husband.  I hope you all are treated with as much love as you deserve.  God has so much love to offer you, and I so pray you are receiving it daily.

Let me wrap up for now.  I have some Bible reading I want to do, and then I have a full day ahead of me.  I hope you all stay warm, and I will be in touch!

Wow ... has it really been almost 2 weeks since I have posted a blog?  I need to tighten up!  I have been so busy with my new venture ... Mary Kay ... and with work, family, church, and life that I simply have not had time to feed my most passionate pass time ... writing!  I think about it daily, but then I allow time to pass and I have yet to do anything about it.  I really must work on it more!  You guys may not miss me, but I surely miss you!

I guess everyone survived the big snow storm.  I did not think it would ever stop snowing.  My husband had to do snow removal.  He left on that Friday morning, and he did not return until Sunday afternoon.  He was one tired puppy when he got home.  He made sure we were all taken care of before he left ... even the birds.  During one of the days it was snowing, I had seen online where our local newspaper was asking for people to send in pictures of the snow.  I did.  I did not type anything or make any comments, but I sent in a few pictures I had snapped.  One of them was of the birds out front in our yard feeding.  My husband was very diligent to make sure they had food during this storm before he left.  Lo and behold, they put the bird picture in our local paper.  They gave me credit for sending it in and providing for the birds.  I felt so guilty.  It was my husband that deserved all of the credit.  He did it all and I had nothing to do with it.  I will remember this for next time ... the storm of next year and not anymore for this year!

My Mary Kay business is great and I am having so much fun.  I have been sick this past week, however, and I have had to put it on the back burner.  I also learned some valuable lessons over the past few weeks.  People have no sense of commitment at all!!!!  What ever happened to a man's word being his compass in life?  What ever happened to the idea that you could take a man's word to the bank because it was that reliable?  My dad used to pound this into our heads.  He felt if your word was not worth anything, then it spoke volumes about your character.  If this is the case, then how sad our world has become.  I had 3 - 4 facials scheduled and everyone of them cancelled.  I do not mean as in "they called and cancelled".  I mean as in "they would not return my calls and blatantly lied to me".  I was so discouraged ... not so much by the cancellations as much as I was by the lack of commitment.  It has been a real eye opener for me.  For a minuscule of a moment, it almost soured my disposition about my business, but then I realized this is just what the enemy would like.  Being I have felt all along that God's hand was in this new venture in my life, to simply allow one bad week to turn me away from it ... well it would not fair well with God, I am sure.  Life is not always peaches and cream.  Life does not always go the way we envision it.  Life is not always easy.  Just because the road we are journeying on is one in which we feel God put us on, does not necessarily mean the travel will be always smooth.  We have to have faith He has a reason for allowing the obstacles.  We have to have faith in Him to carry us.  And, always know He has a lesson in it all for us to learn and come away with.  As soon as I regain some of my strength from being ill for the past week, I am going to jump back in the saddle and carry on.  I love the Mary Kay products ... I believe in the products ... I love the business and how it is structured, and I love what I do.  Meeting new people opens up a lot of different doors, and I know that I know God put me on this path for a reason or season.  This alone is enough for me!

My husband and son are remodeling our kitchen.  What a mess!!!  They are redoing our kitchen cabinets ... sanding, painting, new knobs.  The whole works!  It is not being done in the house, of course, but the disorganization it is causing me is driving me nuts!!!!  I keep telling myself it is well worth it because it is, and I am so appreciative of all they are doing.  The finished product will be so nice.  We have wanted to do this for sometime!

Our little baby ... Ms. Foxie Anne ... is not well.  We think she hurt her back by jumping off the back of the sofa.  She does it all the time, and now she is having difficulty maneuvering at all.  She is a bit better this morning than she was yesterday, but it is so heart breaking to watch her move so slowly and cautiously.  Normally she is wide open.  I have been massaging her back and my hubby has been her doctor.  She is on the road to recovery, but I am sure she would love your prayers.

My son got his learner's permit, and I am aging more daily.  This has to be the worse and scariest part of raising a child.  Putting them on today's roads with the crazies that are out there ... it simply terrifies me. 
When he leaves out of the house to go drive, I have to pray and release it to God.  I know that He loves my son more than me, and I have to trust Him to return him to me safely.  I can remember when my daughter first learned to drive, and the first time she left our driveway on her own by herself.  It terrified me.  I can recall my ex-husband telling me to calm down and quit worrying.  Yeah right!  Does a mother ever quit worrying about her children?  I do not think so!  But, as with all stages of life, we will get through this too.

I am excited about next month because I have quite a lot going on.  I am especially looking forward to my Mary Kay conference.  It will be so nice to get away with other consultants and share in this fun with them.  Then, I am scheduled to take a week off in March for which I have special plans.  I need prayer for this venture so if you think about it ... when you are praying throw in a special one for me!  I would greatly appreciate it.

My struggle with my addiction is going well.  I am entering my second month addiction free.  It is a daily struggle, but I have basically given it over to Him.  He has carried me thus far, and I know He will continue to provide me the strength I need.  I have to fight it daily and continually talk to myself.  Of course the talking to myself is not hard to do at all ... I do it all the time at work.  My co-workers laugh about it all the time.  I hold the best conversations with myself!  It gets me through.  I am also relying on a daily devotional my sister bought me that goes along with the Daniel Fast.  It is very encouraging.  I read it daily and some times I read it several times throughout the day.  I keep it with me no matter where I go.  I would be lost without Him and His words of encouragement!

Well I must end and get ready for work.  Just think ... someday I will be able to do this all the time!  I know God is paving the way!