Monday, April 29, 2013

Good-bye For Now

I thought the anniversary of my four year blog would be a good time to do this.  I'm saying good-bye.  I'm ending my blog.  There may be a few other posts here and there if I have something important to say.  Basically, I feel that I have said all that I wanted to say.  I have posted one of my novels, several poems, devotions, and essays.  I hope I have shared the measure of God's love that He has for me and for you.  I have shared a bit of nostalgia with you.  I have done a journal type post where I share my thoughts as I go through life.  I believe I have done only one re-post in the 4 year time.  That was about my son leaving for college and it is one of my favorite.

Having grandchildren has made me very busy.  As I like to say, it's a "good busy."  Nevertheless, my time is at a premium.  And I need more time to rest and have "think days" than I did four years ago.

When I started blogging, I still believed that I had a published book in me.  I was eager to learn from other authors how to write better.  As things moved along, technology moved with us.  I found that it is moving faster than I can keep up.  I'm not sure that I belong to this modern age.  I know that I can still use the internet and I plan to visit my followers on their posts.  I've put in a good effort on this blog.  I am proud of my four years.  It was just a little experiment.  It never went sky high, but I enjoyed doing it so much.  I love all of my followers and will continue to pray for you.

You can always find me on Facebook.  I don't keep up on that too much, but I enjoy seeing what others have to say.  So, good-bye for now...on this post.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Four Years and Four Hundred Blogs

Today is the anniversary of my first blog.  Actually it was April 24, 2009.  But that's close enough.  When I started, I just wanted to have a place to post all of the stories, devotions, poems and little writings that I had collected.  I thought it would be fun to let it be a sort of journal of my life, too.  And that is what it turned out to be. 

Several of my fellow bloggers started that same year.  I was lucky enough to find one terrific writer and from her blog, I got other writer friends.  It was so much fun watching the people I had written to follow me on my own blog.  I have made so many good friends.

There may have been Facebook, but Twitter came later and Pinterest and all of the other new social networks.  I didn't even have a good computer back then and had to go to the library twice a week to blog.  It was worth it.  For four years, I have had the opportunity to learn so much from other bloggers.

So, today I just want to celebrate the many friendships and joys of blogging.  I have 368 regular posts and 41 of the "Tell Me a Story" blog.  That makes over 400 blogs.  And the ones that were the most fun were the one where I just sat and talked to you as friends.

I will have a bit more about this next week.  See you then.  Nancy 

Monday, April 15, 2013

Sitcom or Reality?

I wanted to tell you that the "something special" on my LBD was that I happened to put my rhinestone
JESUS pin right in the center pocket.  It was so cool to see it there in the picture. I used to wear that pin on my denim jacket or my dark flannel dress.  I got a lot of comments on it and it was a great story starter.

I had my birthday last week and several family members made it so special.  Did you ever feel like you just needed a boost?  Well, my family and friends (including some of you on Facebook,) gave me just the little jolt of joy I needed.  Thanks to all of you.

On another note, I miss the old sitcoms that used to be on TV.  My favorite was The Andy Griffith Show.  Barney always made me roar with laughter and Andy and Opie were so good together.  Another show I loved was the first The Bob Newhart Show.  The characters were so funny and Bob was so deadpan.  He always did a great job.  I thought Susanne Pleshette was so pretty and I loved the way she and Bob joked with each other.

The last show we watched was Monk.  I love mysteries.  The fact that he was a bit odd made it fun for because I have just a few of the same little quirks.  (Ex. - hating to merge with traffic.)

There are a few reality shows that we like.  My favorite is American Pickers.  Two guys go all over the midwest and buy junk for their two stores.  It's always rusted signs and what looks like junk to me, but they are very knowledgeable and people seem to want to buy what they "pick."  They are also very kind and generous. 

I also love the shows Chopped and Worst Cooks in America.  The latter shows me that even though I rarely cook a meal, I could, and I am NOT the worst cook, by far.

So, do you watch the new sitcoms or are you all reality oriented?  Is there a special old show you miss?

Monday, April 8, 2013

My New LBD.

My daughter and I were going shopping for Easter items, especially for a new dress for Amelia, my 9 month old granddaughter.  The day before, in an ad, I saw a new-fangled jewelry holder with lots of clear  pockets on on one side and many velcro hangers for beads and necklaces on the back.  I decided I wanted one.  My old jewelry holder was blue plastic with lots of little drawers.  I covered it with a white scarf to make it more appealing, but somehow I never liked the way it looked.  And I had to open the drawers to see the jewelry.

I purchased the item called an LBD (Little black dress) Jewelry holder at Bed Bath and Beyond for $20.  When I got time, I arranged all of my small things in the little clear pockets (first picture.)  All of my beads and long or bulky necklaces were put on the back.  Then I took a little black and white flower clip and clipped ti to my "dress" collar and added a larger white rose clip.  Turning the hanger over, I put my Hawaiian nut necklace around the handle on that side.  Now my LBD is all fixed up ready for a party.  I love the way it looks on my door and I can see everything easily.  How fun is that?

If you look closely at the center of the first picture you will see something special.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Little Bursts of Joy

I would like to share with you how I do my good news list.  I used to journal and write a lot of bad things, to work them out and get them off my chest.  Then I quit journaling altogether.  Lastly, I came up with the idea of just listing the good things.  At first it was just a sentence or two or something that happened.  If nothing seemed to be good, I looked over my day until I could find one aspect of a happening that was good and I wrote about that. 

After awhile, something funny happened.  On a very good day, (like the first day of spring,) the whole day was so good, positive, and full of joy that I did a whole page.  And then the Wed. after that, the same thing happened.  So my list is more like a journal now, except it is completely positive.

I say this to let you know that unhappy things, hurtful things, or "bad" things happen to me as well as to everyone.  I don't mean to sound like a Pollyanna because I'm not.  I just have been having so much fun doing the opposite of what I used to do. 

So if you want to try a good news list, just jot down a short sentence of something good or one part of an activity that was good.  Some days I was grateful for the sunshine.  Be brief and try to do it every day.  After a few weeks, go back and underline some of the highlights.  You will find some wonderful things.  And if you end up writing more sometimes, that's fine, too.  I truly look forward to putting down my little joyspots at the end of each day.