Friday's Letters.

So so so so so happy it's FRIDAY! Let me do the CABBAGE PATCH of victory! :) Woop woop!

Bestie, Me and Sweet Niece #2 celebrating my birthday last week... yeah I know it's a week late. Sorry. 

Dear week, You've been a long one. I'm glad you are finished.

Dear year, I added up how many days I've taken off in the past year... and it's over 33.  So let's see some positive vibes with fewer sick people, how about it? Many thanks.

Dear Mornings, Yay for the return of fun drives to work!  I love beautiful sunrises to enjoy on my way to work... and I enjoy photographing them to share with you!

Dear Autumn, I am so ready for you.  For the rustic browns, yellows and oranges, for pumpkins and apples and all things autumnal.  For cool (not cold!) weather, for burlap, for cute kids in Halloween costumes. :)  Yay, thank you for Autumn!

Dear Saturday, I know I signed up to work on you, but now I regret it because I'm missing a pottery festival and a pumpkin festival! WWWHHHHAAAAAAA! I'm going to go cry now!  (In reality, I probably wouldn't have made it to either but I'm still going to pout about it.)

Dear New Contacts, I don't think it should feel like the world shifts every time I move my eyes. Or that I can see my eyes attempting to focus and things still come out blurry.  Looking forward to getting you checked out at the eye dr next week.

Dear Lord, Thank you.  I have sent up some serious prayers this week, and you have answered each one with a YES YES YES.  I know I don't deserve it, but thank you.  Thank you so much!

Have a great weekend, ya'll and I'll see you back here on Monday. :)

Link up your own letters -

Monday Muses.

Ya'll, if you haven't figured it out yet, I've lost a lot of passion for blogging since Muffin passed.  Not that she's the reason I started blogging, but it ended up being quite a bit about her. So please excuse my random lapses until I get passionate about it again.

Until this day, you have to put up with my ramblings of nonsense. Such as:

I noticed this weekend we are a disposable society.  Why fix anything? We can toss it and buy another one. Which, I think, has caused us to 1) value everything less and 2) caused much personal debt.  Now that I'm trying to live by a budget, (which isn't RESTRICTING but is definitely more liberating that I ever imagined), I'm actually taking the time to fix things in my house. Heck, with Google, you can find answers to most of the issues and fix it yourself.  Which gives you something to be very proud of and keeps a lot of money in your pocket.

This weekend we also took two cars to the Safe Kids check on the installation of sweet niece #2's car seats.  Here is my sister's car getting fitted.  Loved the tents because it kept everyone dry as it started to rain before we left. These folks attended three days of training to get up-to-speed on all the car seats and the proper way to install. It was great.  While we were there, a lady had to remove her car seat because it wasn't made for the weight of the child she had in it.  They replaced it on the spot! Love this program - it is saving kids' lives right here at home.

Ya'll know few things make me as happy as having both of my sweet nieces at home.  Here they are in all their cuteness!! Two beautiful special wonderful kids that just light up my life. *sigh* Life is good.  Have we seen some sad times and stressful times? Well, yeah, just like everyone else. But life is good - and here are two of the best parts of it.

Hope your week is beautiful, stop and notice our days are getting shorter and appreciate a sunset or a sunrise.  Hug someone and tell someone how much they mean to you. I'll catch ya'll sometime later this week. :)

It's My Birthday! :)

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Today is my BIRTHDAY!  We don't make a big deal in my family about birthday as far as crazy expensive gifts and big parties.  But we do celebrate and me - I celebrate all month long! Granted, as I've gotten older I haven't been quite as into my special day as I once was, but I still believe in everything going perfect because - well, because it's my birthday!

Source                  Source                 Source

For several years I've tried to encourage people to do something to "pay it forward" somewhat in honor of my bday.  This year, I've asked folks to give to the USO.  Why? Well, for several reasons:

• I have been a supporter of our military forever. These guys & gals are putting it on the line for me and my family - I gotta respect and support them for that. 
• I have seen the USO in action. Been touched by their support of the troops. I know what it means, felt what it means to the troops and their families. 
• It's an organization that supports the troops, cares for their children, helps troops stay in contact with their families, cares for wounded warriors - it's a multi-faceted organization. 

Interested in giving any amount - every dollar makes a difference! http://www.teamuso.org/create/bethcovington

Every penny matters.  And it's tax deductible and puts you in the drawing for one of my scrapbooks. :)  And it makes my birthday THAT much happier!  Just saying...

Now, today is also MONDAY, which is usually Monday Muses.  I laid in bed last night wondering what I should write about today.  Umm.. I came up with nothing.  This weekend was a whirlwind of being on the road and with family.  Visitation for a relative that passed on Friday, Saturday shopping and family get together that evening.  Sunday church and visiting my aunt (my uncle passed two weeks ago).  So it's been a wide-open kinda weekend.  

What about you? What's shaking in your world? Fill me in!

Friday's Letters

Dear Daddy, Happy Birthday!!! 67 years looks good on you.  I know it's been a stressful 66th year, so here's to hoping 67 is much less dramatic. I'm so thankful that YOU are my Dad - a solid, strong, Christian man that is a great example.  One day I'll find someone that measures up, I hope.

Dear contributors to My BIRTHDAY and the USO! Ya'll have made my birthday over the top (and it's not even hear yet!).  Thanks for giving to the USO in honor of my 38th birthday. I seriously though $75 would be impossible to reach, but we are there! It's not too late to see it go over that goal. Why do I like the USO? They boost morale for our troops. They provide phone cards and care packages.  They support our wounded warriors and families here at home.

I have been called by a serviceperson having a USO phone card.  I know what that means to not only the person in the field, but to the gal here at home, praying for her man to get back ASAP. So yeah, the USO is a big deal to me.  Here is the link if you'd like to contribute: www.teamuso.org/create/bethcovington.  I really appreciate it.

Sweet Niece #1,  You are growing up so much and it's sometimes just SAD to see!! Not really, I'm happy for you, for all you are learning, the creativity you have, your bubbly personality and funny comments.  But you'll be a teenager soon... then you will be leaving us to go off to college. *sniff sniff*  ok ok, let's just get you through the 6th grade first, right???









Dear Sweet Niece #2, You are also growing up so quickly and learning something new every single day.  Today, when you hopped down to play with all the toys at the babysitters, it cracked me up when you ran around the house, double-fisting toys, saying, "Oh boy! OH BOY! OH BOOOY!" over and over.  You bring so much joy.

Dear Parents, I often include you in my Thankful Journal, because I know you had a huge hand in shaping all three of your kids into who we are today.  I'm so glad you still love each other, that you are a support to all your family still today, no matter how grown up we become.  You are the biggest blessing given to me - that I would be a daughter of yours. :) I love you both!

Ya'll, have a great weekend.  Enjoy life, the beginnings of Fall, the blessings you have been given, the love you have in life, the beauty that is all around you! :)

I am in CHARGE and I choose... PEACE!

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Holy Cow, have you been through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class? Whew. It's good but holy cow, it's actual WORK.  And I'm single - I can't imagine bringing a hubby to the table and getting the two of us agree to a budget.  Of course, being single I am stuck being the "Free Spirit" and the "Nerd" in one lovely bundle.

So I finally got myself logged on, downloaded the budgeting forms and started dissecting my spending.  1) I'm a total foodie and I eat way too much.  Both grocery store spending and eating out is crazy insane.  2) I am so happy I don't have debt, such as credit cards and student loans.  That actually made me feel pretty good! I'm still struggling to make ends, even after the cuts, but who isn't?  I'm watching my insurance prices go up up up, the cost of groceries and gas going up up up and my salary isn't going anywhere. *sigh*

But with all this in mind, let me give you my recommendation:  I feel empowered.  I am the ultimate HATER of budgets, but you know what, I'm enjoying this.  I AM IN CHARGE OF MY MONEY.  I am not a victim of circumstances, I am looking at the income I have and I am deciding where it goes! 

I can't say enough good things about this.  I went from being afraid to look at my bank statement (I've never in my soon to be 38 years balanced a check book. No, seriously) to looking at every line items, putting it in a category, deciding what I have to cut back on, mapping out when things are due/drafted, putting a limit on what I can spend in the grocery store, I mean, I'M TAKING CHARGE.

Find your closest class HERE. 

It feels good.  I hope you'll join me in this power high!  Check out Dave's website and see if there is a class near you.  I had the materials from three years ago when I signed up and didn't do this class (bad Bethie) so I'm using old materials and it's fine.  You will need to call them to get set up for the online info.  If you have an old packet, call them and you can get an upgrade to the new packet for a little less money than a first time buyer (because you've already bought one packet at the full price.  It's just a little old now).

Ok ok, enough.  Anyone else out there who has found this class to be beneficial?  How about letting me hear an Amen here!

Monday Muse.

This week/weekend, I have learned:

-- Life is better with a clean kitchen. Being single, it takes forever to get a load of dishes in the dishwasher. I've finally discovered just washing the plate/fork/glass will make me feel better than waiting for a full load.

-- Fresh fruit is yummy when you add fruit dip.  Try this - it's delish.
               1 package of cream cheese, softened
               1 cup of brown sugar
               1 T of vanilla

Beat the cream cheese with a mix until it's whipped.  Add the sugar and vanilla until everything is thoroughly mixed.  Chill.  Holy cow it's goooooooood.

-- God does not like busy bodies (I call these people meddlers or gossipers. People who are getting involved in things they shouldn't get involved with, if you know what I mean).
 
               Count it a blessing when you suffer for being a Christian.
             This shows that God’s glorious Spirit is with you.                    15 But you deserve to suffer if you are a murderer, a thief,
             a crook, or a busybody.   - 1 Peter 4:14-15

You know I learned my lesson about being a busy body earlier this week.  Then I had this as my devotional last night.  I'm sure I'll slip again, but I do hope I am reforming my ways.

So there, that is my muses from the week/weekend.  But today is Monday, so I have an entirely new slate to write my new thinkings. :)

Be Nice.

"B" for Be Nice.  :)    Source

Be nice, people.  Seriously, just be nice.

I'm not going into the details, but let's just say I realize how painful senseless gossip can be.  We all do it.  I'm guilty of it, too.  But when the tables were turned, I felt the sting of chit chat that doesn't fall under the THINK category. You know, the

T - is it True?
H - is it Helpful?
I - is it Inspiring?
N - is it Necessary?
K - is it Kind?

Yeah, if you live your life with these five in mind, you'll discover most of the talk talk talking that is done isn't True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary and/or Kind.

It's not like I haven't known this forever. Or written about it here several times... like here and here. So it's not like I am not already aware of how important being nice is... but I still slip and spread gossip like anyone else.  So although I am currently hurting and sad, I'm also understanding that I've hurt others in the past, too.

Yesterday was a rough day - a painful day with emotions running high.  Last night, when I settled down to do my devotion, this is what I read:

"Don't retaliate when people say unkind things about you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it" 1 Peter 3:9

Well, there you go.  I felt like I had also acted very inappropriate in being so upset.  So today is a new day and I'm going to do better. I'm asking God to help me do better.  To offer blessings instead of smackdowns. :)

So that's my neck of the woods - what's happening in yours?

Don't forget my birthday wish - check it out here!

Birthday Month Goodness. Share With Me!

September is my birth month.  That's a big deal in my world, because I pretty much celebrate my birthday all month long.

For the past several years (2011 and 2012) I've made a simple birthday wish asking that you send a letter to someone you love, to our troops, or to give to the USO.

This year, I'm stepping it up a notch.  To help celebrate me, please consider a gift to the USO via my USO page at http://www.teamuso.org/create/bethcovington.  Here you'll find an easy way give a donation - any size of donation will mean the world to me and to our troops and their families.

To say thank you for giving, I'm giving away this "Inspire" paper bag scrapbook to one lucky contributor!  For every $5 you give through my page, I'll enter your name in the drawing.  For those who give $25, you'll get 10 entries!

 

It's truly just a "Thank You" because the real gift is knowing a military family is staying in touch while mom or dad is deployed, tired troops are getting a morale boost from Robin Williams, Toby Keith, tor the Dallas Cowgirls, a wounded warrier is being visited by Jessica Simpson - it's just amazing what all the USO provides for our troops. So much more than this.

So I hope you'll consider joining me in helping our troops.  And Celebrate my birthday with me! :)
http://www.teamuso.org/create/bethcovington