Random Happiness

I love random lists, quizzes about my favorite things, etc.

Today, I am feeling random, so here are some random tidbits that cause me to smile.

watching television shows on BBC America
carrot cake from our local Amish bakery
my grown up drinking glasses, that are ONLY USED FOR COMPANY!
listening to my child play the drums and the piano and singing!!
printers with ink
eating breakfast by a big roaring fire, at 11 AM, in a restaurant
Mentos
watching my child playing her DS
listening to the running water at bath time
clean laundry
looking at paint chips, dreaming of new paint color
getting bargains at the grocery store
gift card to my favorite store
the salt and pepper shakers that I swiped from my mother before she took them to Goodwill
sweet tea
old photographs
new memories

the list could go on and on...

Can You Hear Me Now?

It is just one of those days.

Crazy day at work for me...I was stressed before I got there and even the little things that normally don't bother me irritated the mess out of me today. I just wanted to shut my door and be alone...not really possible where I work, and I wouldn't really want that either...but I seemed to start a hundred or three projects and never got anything really accomplished. Even the things I did accomplish were either wrong or needed "tweaking" even more. Bad day...bad, bad, day!

Home tonight is not much better, husband out for the night, child coughing her head off, many hours before bedtime and even more irritation at some "supposed" technological issues with my cell phone and even my laptop! Aye, yi, yi!!

I was searching for some inspiration for a post this evening, hoping for something light and airy, because I feel as if my last few posts have been a bit "serious," and began to look back in my archives at the posts I did this time last year. For light and airy post inspiration, last year at this time is not really the place to go looking, I knew that...I was just hoping against hope I was wrong.

Now, I remember this time last year vividly. I know where I was, what I was thinking, how my life was progressing. I was almost entirely deaf due to a massive mis-diagnosed ear infection. And I was struggling, people, S.T.R.U.G.G.L.I.N.G.! No doubt about it. You go back and read last January and it is a picture of pain mixed with joy, tinged with sorrow and profound sadness and an almost hysterical laughter. It was a bit of a crazy train... WRECK.

Reading the posts I was reminded that a year ago yesterday was a great day. It was the start of many great days, but two weeks later I did a post about technology and the frustration of cell phones and text messages and such. If you could have been here to hear me laughing a few moments ago, you would have had to cover your ears. The trouble with the cell phones and such I was having last year at this time, is EXACTLY the trouble I am having today. It is too funny. I was right last year...we need to go back to the old fashion way of communicating...the phone on the wall or a letter in the mailbox.

I have sent three text messages today. The first apparently didn't arrive at its destination. The second one went through just fine. The third one apparently was delivered, but not important enough to get a response. And believe it or not, I just tried to do it again. My husband is out for a night with some guys...I just sent a text asking for some Orange Juice to be brought home with him...so far, no response. I am betting we will be all be drinking water this morning.

It just cracks me up that there are so many differences between this blogger today than just 364 short days ago and yet still some things haven't changed at all. I can hear today, not sick at all, thank goodness! I am not struggling with life like I was back then, I know where I have been and where I am going, but heaven help me...I am still frustrated with conversations that start and end abruptly and the reliance we have on modern technology to be the connectors between us and the ones we love.

Have a happy evening, I am off to watch "The Office" , which I just found out is a re-run, sigh!


Living Happily in the Moment, (or at least trying to!!)
Bev

Re-Writing A Wrong!

What defines you?

Better yet, how do YOU define you?

It might seem a silly subject to bring up on this usually "not so serious" blog of mine, but I have been pondering some of life's big questions this past weekend and on Monday it all came to a pivotal point for me.

I used to be a fan of Oprah, the earlier years, and I also used to be a fan of Rosie O'Donnell, before all the drama of her life unfolded on the television screen for all of us fans of daytime television. I liked her variety show...not too hip on her politics and such...but I enjoyed her. On Monday, she was a guest on Oprah. It was a show not to be missed, so I hurried home from work, got the child distracted with a snack and sat down to watch.

It was interesting. I am not going to get into the whole interview...but one particular part gave me great pause for pondering. Rosie spoke of being chastised by a new friend for always defining herself as "the girl whose mother died when she was ten." Rosie is now almost fifty, living a life she could only dream about back then, and yet, in her mind and speech her life was always marked by her mother's death, the time before and the time after. Her friend helped her to see that she needed to move past it as the defining moment of her life and redefine herself for the accomplishments and relationships she has in her life currently; realize that she is no longer just a ten year old girl whose mother died, she is now a mother herself.

I tell ya, I was hit square between the eyes with this concept. I saw myself in the same situation, one I didn't even realize until Monday. An event happened in my early twenties that colors my view of myself, even up until today. No matter what has changed or occurred in my life since that time, I still see focus back on that event to help describe who I am, why I do what I do, why I think the way I think and why I feel the way I do about myself.

The event, well, it is not a necessary item for this blogger to share with you, it wasn't some horror story or some malicious act done to me, but it was a life-changing event for me. It changed who I was, how I dreamed, how I went about the rest of my life. I have had many good things happen to me, I have been blessed beyond what I could EVER hope or imagine. I am not complaining. But I realized that even with all the blessings of life, internally, I spoke a dialogue to myself, every day, all day long and inside, when I see me, or when I talk about my life, that event colors everything. It is how I have defined myself all this time, and I never really knew it.

I saw that part of the interview and left the room. I needed a moment to clear my head. I walked into the kitchen and just sat for a few minutes. I couldn't help but think how Sunday's encounter with the Most High God and this realization of how I have perceived myself must be related. I have perceived myself as unworthy. Unworthy of love, unworthy of commitment, unworthy of time, unworthy of having a child, unworthy of having a job, possessions, etc...and yet God looks at me and sees none of that. He sees His Son who thought I was worthy enough to die for. How could I see myself as any of the other when someone had died for me. How could I let one single solitary event in my past dictate so much of what I feel about myself and my life now? Pivotal moment, you bet.

I now have a new "pivotal" moment in my thinking about myself. It is Monday, when I began to let go of the past, in a fresh new way. I began to let it go and fill in the hole with something much more. I am trying to redefine "me" - the me that God sees. It will take a lot of white-out, but I am going to re-write my story...better yet, I am gonna let God do the writing this time.

Thanks for reading the rambling...

Living Happily in the Moment!
Bev

42!

Happy Birthday to my husband. He doesn't get a mention here a whole bunch,per his request, as he is not fond of being written about...and he hates any kind of computer technology stuff so he will most likely never see this blog, but I couldn't let the day go past without wishing him a happy day. He is currently outside, spending a beautiful afternoon with our beautiful daughter and I am in here trying to cook something he will enjoy for his birthday dinner.

He is a great daddy, a great husband and "his two girls" love him very much! So happy birthday hubby...looking forward to celebrating many, many more days like today with you!

Happy, Happy Birthday!!
Beverly

Picking a Good Seat!

This morning started off like all other Sunday mornings when my hubby has worked Saturday night and arrives at home around 7 AM. Before long, I was in the shower and my child was up and begging her daddy to play video games. They ate breakfast, I got ready...uninterrupted...it was quite a glorious and RARE treat!

As I was puttering about getting ready for church, I checked my blog, my email and my facebook. My friend Lisa and I are always joking about saving each other a seat in Sunday School, we both have five year olds and it is always a race on Sunday morning to see who can get to our adult class first and get us a choice seat. This morning I had a little fun with my facebook status and posted this..."getting ready for church, Lisa, save me a seat!"

Sure enough, I waltzed right into the class and right to my saved seat. I love modern technology. Even though the seat was on the front row of the class...it was so nice to have it waiting on me and not have to search out a single seat in a room of couples on this rainy morning when my other half was tucked into a warm bed on his way to dreamland.

So the first half of my Sunday morning was consumed with the thought of my chair, where I would sit, would I be comfortable there, etc? Little did I know the second half of my morning would be dedicated to exactly the same thing.

Our speaker this morning was Adrian Depres, an evangelist and chaplain for the USC Gamecocks. He has come to our church more than once, every time it is an unforgettable experience and this morning was no disappointment. If you ever have the opportunity to hear him, go. Drink some coffee or some sort of caffeine, cause he is definitely a HIGH ENERGY type of speaker and it will help you to "keep up" but go..go..go!!! He is a gifted story-teller and minister of the gospel.

His topic...Four Chairs. He used four folding chairs to illustrate where we all are in our walk with Christ. Seat #1 - where we should all strive to be -- growing and loving the Lord. Seat #2 - where most of us are...comfortable, complacent, saved but stagnant. Seat #4 - those who are not believers at all and Seat #3 - the scariest one, those who think they are saved,but are really not.

It was a life changing sermon, one I could never do justice here. I came to realize I was in the second seat...comfortable, complacent and not being used as I should be. It was a chance for me to look at my life and make a change of seating. So, just like in Sunday School when my friend moved me from the usual back of the room to the "out of my comfort zone" front row, I switched to the first seat in that line of four. I want to be in the first seat...I want to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I want to do crazy things for Him because I love Him so. If you are out there and unsure of what seat you would be sitting in...I wish you would contact me, I would love the opportunity to share the message with you in much more detail.

And now....with the rain still falling and the child calling...I am off to fix something for dinner and get ready for the week!

Living Happily in the Moment!
Beverly

Baking a Pork Chop, Cause Heaven Knows They Need a Good Baking Every Now and Then!

I am not sure why exactly, but my friend Lisa and I had a long discussion about pork tenderloins the other day. She found one on sale and was wondering how to fix it. I'm not a huge fan of the tenderloin so I was not really much help. (So here is a plea if you have a good pork tenderloin recipe, send it my way and I will pass it along!)

And speaking of pork...quite frankly, I am NOT really a fan of pork chops at the moment either, but today, after looking in the freezer and only finding a package of chops, I found this recipe and decided to try it. You try it and tell me what your family thinks...cause mine loved it...me -- eh...it wasn't bad, but I would much rather have a cheeseburger. ;-)


Baked Pork chops
4-6 pork chops (I used thin, bone-in chops)
4 small potatoes, diced
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup


Place the chops in a baking dish, salt and pepper. Dice (or slice- your choice!) the potatoes and place on top of the chops, add salt to them. Add the sliced onion over the potatoes and sprinkle the cheese over it all. Finally spoon the cream of mushroom soup over the top and cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 2 hours.


I will say this about the dish. It made the house smell yummy, it could easily be adapted to use in the crock pot and the cheese helped make the sauce and the potatoes especially satisfying. All in all, this is a good recipe to have in the recipe box, if you are looking for a new way to prepare pork chops...and I was, and I found it!

Living Happily in the Moment!
Bev

Wednesday Night HodgePodge

My friend and I started a Bible study this evening at church during the time when our children are in choir and Discipleship. We are doing Beth Moore's The Patriarchs. So far we have been unsuccessful in enticing any other women to join us (the study is also being offered during the day on Tuesday) but we are going to forge ahead and have committed to doing the ten week study, with or without anyone else.

I am excited about it...I am the "leader" which means I push the play button on the dvd and I may or may not be responsible for bringing a snack or two in the next two months...otherwise, I am just a student and hoping to learn a lot.

It is late on Wednesday night, my little family is playing Super Mario and the noise level is rising around here. I would love to write more about the study, but I think I will save it and do a weekly summary of all we are learning starting next week since tonight's session was just the introduction. My kindergartner is in need of a bath and bedtime story to be followed quickly by lights out, so I will catch you all up on the happenings around the little house on the lane tomorrow.

Living Happily in the Moment!
Beverly

In Search Of...

Do you see that picture...

ALL I EVER WANTED ....was a matching brown trouser sock! Just a match...in a drawer full of socks. Apparently the divorce rate is high in the trouser sock community as this four single ladies are in search of mate.

How is it possible to find four brown trouser socks and NONE OF THEM HAVE A MATCH?

Just wondering if this is any indication of how the day is going to go...here is hoping NOT!

If you see me today...don't look at my feet -- they will be cold and sockless!

Living Happily in the Moment!
Beverly


Edited to add...My mom showed up at my office with four pair of trouser socks!! My feet were only cold and sockless for an hour or two!! Thanks Mommy!!

A Weekend Wallow

I am taking a break this weekend. I have given too much of me away this week. I am bruised and battered and sore! I need some time to be still and silent and wallow in the warmth of my home and family.

See you all soon. I promise!

Happy, Happy Weekend.

Living Happily in the Moment!
Beverly

Life In the Fishbowl

Most days, including this one...I wish I was my fish, Mr. Freckles.

No, I didn't name him...that was Hannah's doing, but I consider him mine since I feed him and clean up after his little self. Well, actually his BIG self cause he is HUGE! He started out as a small little fantail goldfish, but the holidays were obviously good to him. He is big and seems to be getting bigger and I am afraid he will outgrow his little home and then I don't know what I will do with him.

Today was a crazy one for me. The crazy started last night really when I was given some information I am not quite certain I wanted or needed and I know I didn't ask for it. It sent me in a bit of a spiral. The long climb back to normal that I have been inching toward seemed to take a definite downward spiral and after a night of lost sleep and a tired start to the day, all I wanted to do was get through the day. The morning was made even better when I tried to help out a "customer" at our preschool and was rewarded with rude behavior and a door slam in my face. It was a lovely...just lovely way to start my already ridiculous day.

You will be happy (I hope) to know that I survived it all, made it home safe and sound to my warm and cozy house, my child and my husband and yes, Mr. Freckles.

He is just a fish...but sitting in my kitchen, watching me work, he comforts me and keeps me company and today I really just wanted to jump in his aquarium and live the life of a fish for one day. No worries, no computers, text messages, phones, just calm and peace in a bowl of water and food dropped in when you needed it. Now, I am quite certain I would get tired (don't they ever get tired??) and I would hate that light shining in my eyes all the time, I might get cold and the food doesn't seem that great...uh... on second thought...maybe my day hasn't been that bad. I think I will just climb in my warm bed, eat some spaghetti and watch some silly television :-) !

Living Happily in the Moment!
Beverly

Always Remember and Never Forget!

This is part of an email I was sent earlier this week from one of my favorite people. It was just what I needed to hear, hope it is the same for you. I can't take a bit of credit, except like Michael Scott of The Office....I am the queen of forwards! Enjoy!


The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember...

· Noah was a drunk

· Abraham was too old

· Isaac was a daydreamer

· Jacob was a liar

· Leah was ugly

· Joseph was abused

· Moses had a stuttering problem

· Gideon was afraid

· Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer

· Rahab was a prostitute

· Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

· David had an affair and was a murderer

· Elijah was suicidal

· Isaiah preached naked

· Jonah ran from God

· Naomi was a widow

· Job went bankrupt

· John the Baptist ate bugs

· Peter denied Christ

· The Disciples fell asleep while praying

· Martha worried about everything

· The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once

· Zaccheus was too small

· Paul was too religious

· Timothy had an ulcer

· Lazarus was dead!

Hey....at least I am not dead!!

Living Happily in the Moment!

Beverly

'Bustin Makes Me Feel Good...

Uh..excuse the 80's film reference as a title, but I was just sitting here trying to decide what to write about this morning and that particular line from the Ghostbuster's theme song came into my brain and would not let me go! Apparently, I am channeling Ray Parker,Jr. this morning...sing on, Ray, sing on! Call those Ghostbusters and let's get you out of my head!

After waking up (LATE!) with the world's worst headache, feeling the cold in the air and realizing that most of the people in my Sunday School class were in fact already there, sitting in their seats, drinking coffee, I made the executive decision that my girl and I would skip church this morning. I know, terrible, terrible, terrible...but I know we could not have gotten it together in time anyway...so we are opting for a lazy morning bookended with lunch at our favorite Mexican joint with my parents. Here is hoping my preacher daddy will understand!

Yesterday I finally took down all the Christmas decorations and while they are not technically "put away" yet (tree is still standing and boxes are not in the attic!) my house is looking bare!
We have a new store in town and I am feeling the need to do a little domestic shopping! I am counting the hours until Friday rolls around again so I can hit the store..whoo hoo!!

Oh and the biggest news around this little house is that my little kindergartner got an EXCELLENT report card on Friday and received her much anticipated, well loved, Nintendo DS as her reward! I don't know who invented this little contraption, but blessings upon them and their household forever! It has made life with an active, sometimes sassy five year old a complete joy the last two days. I have enjoyed hours of silence and when things get bumpy in the attitude department, it is a wonderful leverage and negotiating tool! It is apparently a gift that keeps on giving...for mommy and girl!

This has been a rambling post...but I am hoping your Sunday is restful and wonderful like mine is shaping up to be so far today!

Living Happily in the Moment!
Beverly

The Day The Snow Didn't Fall

Yeah, Yeah....heard it all before. BIG SNOW coming. Gonna skip school, build a snowman, make snow angels, have a snowball fight. But...we live in the Southeast... and the only real snow we ever get is in our dreams.

Yesterday and today were the same old story. We were told to expect some snow. We stocked up on bread and milk (why, don't know - but my friend Jenni who lives in real snow country does it so I thought I had better be prepared!) and waited anxiously for the snow to drift in and cover us up. We awoke to NO SNOW. Clear sky -- and a little chilly nip to the air. Honestly it was colder earlier in the week. But ever diligent, our school system gave us a two hour delay for school - which was not really a welcomed idea to this mommy who only gets one day off a week (today) and it was shortened by two child-free hours!

To fill the time between breakfast and school we decided to build our own indoor snowman...not nearly as much fun, but he will last a bit longer!
Living Happily in the NON-SNOWY Moment!
Beverly

My Version of Heaven

My little family has the beach on our brain. Maybe it is the cold outside our window or the weather people predicting a snow flurry or two for our world in the next few days, but we are longing for warm sand, the lull of an ocean wave, the coo of a "gobble-gobble bird", the lazy minutes and hours that drag into days spent at our beachfront home away from home.

See that picture up there at the tippity top of this blog...it is that place that my heart longs to be tonight. I want to pack up the car, throw caution to the wind, travel the road that goes by the camel, eat at Hardees, count the miles to the bend in the road that takes us to the house where naps are born and music is played while steaks sear on the grill in the salt air.

The countdown is on...19 weeks and my daughter and I will switch from being Mississippi girls to Carolina girls once more!

Living Happily in the Moment!
Beverly

Random Ramblings On a Cold Afternoon

I got into blogging as a creative outlet several years ago, in part, due to my obsession with Boomama and her very funny, very real, very creative blog. If I sit and try really hard, I still cannot remember how I found her blog, but it was pure joy to this tired new mom back in 2005.

Pretty soon, I felt brave enough to try some blogging on my own and viola' this little nook in the universe was born. Today her blog inspired me yet again because it is already 4 PM and I have had NO inspiration for a post today. Thank goodness for her posting today...it gave me a bit of inspiration and permission to be random...gotta love that BooMama!

Here is my randomness for this last day of freedom before the routine of life hits me square in the forehead tomorrow morning...

1. I love that my child still loves The Wiggles...it is part of her earliest babyhood and I have such sweet memories of her watching and enjoying The Wiggles with her daddy.
2. My Christmas decorations are still up...sue me!
3. I am looking forward to the upcoming new tv season that will be starting in a few weeks...but I am kinda enjoying the silence of the nighttime without the tv blaring. I haven't turned it on in days...and when I do...there is nothing there to interest me.
4. On a side note, I did buy myself the fifth season of The Office with a gift card I got for Christmas and I have enjoyed it immensely during this lull in regular tv programing.
5. Starbucks Carmel Apple Spice...oh my...the goodness and the happiness and joy it brings me!
6. When my daughter plays "We Will, We Will Rock You.." on the drums...it brings a huge smile to my heart.
7.Super Mario is as much fun now as it was twenty years ago...
8.I have a friend who lives in Pennsylvania...nothing would bring me more pleasure than a trip to see her...we need a girls weekend...
9. I am excited about the new Friday night Bible Study I am going to be a part of starting next week.
10. Remember how sad I was in September when my child was going to start school and leave me for eight hours a day...I am not so sad at the thought that school starts back tomorrow...nope, not so sad at all! ;-)

Living Happily in the Moment!
Beverly

Rock of Ages, Cleft For Me

Sometimes I like to start off these posts, pretending like we are sitting down to coffee or a Coke and chatting face to face. Today is one of those days for me.

I am having a hard day. Nothing really wrong, nothing really upsetting, just a day when I am feeling a bit out of sorts and I want to sit and talk and forget about my troubles for a while.

The holidays were merry and bright around here...I cannot complain for a minute about my time off, here at home, with my child and husband, with friends, with family.It was ALL great. Even my poor unkempt house and the pretty, though sparse decorations aren't worth enough of a complaint. Maybe I am just in the doldrums because the time is drawing near when school and work will once again impose a schedule and routine on our day and life will resume. Whatever my reason for the Saturday sadness, I sure wish it would go away.

I read this post by Beth Moore on New Year's Day and I cannot get it off my mind.

I feel like I have not seen God in 2009. I know He was there, I am certain I saw His hand print a time or two (probably would have seen it more, if I had been looking with clearer eyes) but seeing Him, feeling close to Him...no, I cannot say that I had that in 2009. Like Moses in the cleft of the rock, I saw His back. Most of the time, to be quite honest, it felt as if He was moving past and away from me. But in my spirit, I know this is not the case. I know He was indeed just forging the way ahead for me and allowing me to hang onto His neck (like a ballet dancer) being dragged into the next day, and the next and now this year. I also realize, like Beth Moore says, that perhaps it was He who put me in the cleft to shelter and shadow me rather than a darker force at work in my world. Maybe the struggles I encountered were not for my unhappiness, but rather to keep me safe.

Go, read her post...she is MUCH more eloquent than I. I am sure it will give you pause to ponder, just as it did me. It is such a beautiful picture of how He cares for me, you, US...in the midst of our pain, sorrow, despair and hopelessness. I have been there this past year...I am still holding onto His back even now...but I know that soon, very soon...I will be able to see His face.
I am hoping the same for you!

Living Happily in the Moment!
Beverly

Beginning Again ...in 2010!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Make it a safe and happy one. I am praying God's blessing for a great year for all of you, my sweet bloggity readers!

Living Happily in the Moment!
Beverly