A Quarter is Good, Right?

I kept up with the photo a day for almost a quarter of the year, which I thought was pretty good. I'm backing off a pic a day simply bc I was taking boring random pics just to have one and they didn't always have meaning. Maybe I'll get seven pics in a week with meaning but I'll not get disappointed if it doesn't happen.

My work life is really busy right now. They'll be no slowing down for another six to nine weeks. Another reason I'm not on top of the picture taking game :) 

But here is the week I missed - and I'll try to post this week's pics tomorrow. Ed: I did try to publish this about a week ago and just realized it failed. Sorry! Trying again!

Last Wednesday we took Sweet Niece #2 to the Children's Museum to play. It's a very small museum and we ended up in a special story time event, which she was not interested in. But we still had a good time. 

Also, prep time for Easter. This is my Crockpot Mac & Cheese recipe, written in my Susan Branch recipe keeper. 

Friday, more prep for Easter. Carrot raisin salad - diabetic friendly!  

Saturday I went through Clover and got stopped at the light. Snapped this quick pic of the mural of the train. Clover had train tracks  running through the town center at one point. It was named for the Clover patch that formed around the water tower.  Or something along those lines. 

Easter Sunday had three of us sick, Macy's daddy, Macy and me. I kept Macy that morning after finishing my cake!! No cute Easter dress pics, I'm afraid. But we did get out and hunt eggs that afternoon.  The two sisters are so sweet together. Both are such a blessing to our family. 

Last Monday - someone just enjoys making a mess ... 

But she cleans up cute. :)

Headed to Mamaw's house! Bye!!

So there was Easter week. I may go back and do a post on more egg hunt pics but for now, it's time to get ready for work. Y'all have a great week!! 

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. :)

Letters of Love.

If you've been here for a while, you know one of my loves is to write letters. Handwritten letters are just one of those things you carry around in your purse because the person who wrote it cares enough about you to WRITE a letter. I know, it's amazing.

Imagine my joy when I discovered this website where you write letters of love to random people. No seriously, it's awesome. LOVE this concept.

So there is a ... group? Website? Bunch of loopy people like me? who can submit a person they know who needs a love letter. And the rest of us loopy people will write letters to this person!  Letters of support, of understanding, of encouragement, whatever is needed.

You don't actually get their name and address - you send it safely to this group's address and do not include your own contact information. But you do know enough about the person to feel like you can reasonably write a letter for them.

I know, it sounds crazy. But I can think of people in my circle who have had times where a letter from someone saying - I understand, been there done that, burned my t-shirt and look, I managed to come out on the other side - it would have made a difference.

I don't know, I'm going to try it. I've signed up and I'll let you know what I think about it. :)

These seemingly innocent looking clouds caused three deaths in our community on Wednesday night.  This picture was taken about 5: 30 p.m. and by 5:45 p.m. it was darker than night.  The sirens went off, and stopped. Sirens....and stop.  At least three different occasions.  The tornado warning was suppose to expire by 5:45 p.m. but the tornado didn't hit until 6:00 p.m.  So sad.  So devastating.

It makes you think how quickly life can end.  What loose ends are out there? Who have I not let know how much I love them, how much I care for them? What haven't I told God thank you for? What blessings have I ignored? 

It makes my word for the year, "appreciation," so much more meaningful.  Appreciation for those I love. Appreciation for my blessings.  Appreciation for my safety and the safety of my family.  Appreciation.

Thoughts and prayers to those who lost their loved ones and their homes this week.  And to the rest of us, let us show love and appreciation, even more so, during this Thanksgiving holiday.

Hiccups. And other things.

I'm sitting at my computer, an hour after my bedtime, wide awake and jumping every so often with a hiccup. Ugh, I find hiccups so annoying.  Yes, at one point I would say I found them fun and interesting, but no longer. I'm too old to find hiccups a funny twist of life.

Like sneezes. Some people just adore sneezes. Thinks they are so cute sounding or funny feeling in your nose. But me, I don't think so. My sneezes are usually crazy wild and at 66% beyond full speed. When I'm done, I feel like I've been smacked backwards.

But regardless of these two items, I wanted to share how excited I am about my project today!  A co-worker and I went into a local elementary school and the third, fourth and fifth graders used the election machines to determine their student council! It was awesome seeing these students using the same machines as their parents during the Presidential elections (or any local elections).  They were so smart and picked right up on how to work the machines.  It was great. I enjoy so very much going into our elementary and middle schools, seeing their excitement over the row of voting booths and the smiles of accomplishment when they receive their sticker. Just awesome.

Tomorrow, however, I visit our local high school. My alma mater. And high schools - they are intimidating. Because I'm a plain jane gal - no make-up, no fancy clothes, my hair is straight and flat - I just figure they look at me and dismiss me immediately.  I'm actually bribing them to listen to me by tossing candy to those who answer my questions correctly.  Again, it's a great experience to bring students and voting information together, but I'm a nervous wreck! Ya'll be sending some good vibes my way in the morning, ok?

So I learned from a parent volunteer today that in California, people opened their garages for voting.  You applied to be a voting location and just opened up for Election Day. HOW CRAZY IS THAT! I couldn't believe it. Craziness!

Weekend Wants - Tweaked a little!

Ok, I know I usually post random cool things that I would love to have during the weekend at some point.

There is no way I can do that this weekend. I got all kinds of great stuff that I really needed for the house. Awesome RED muffin pans, towels, cookbooks, candles, cheese grater, sewing machine case, pans, and all kinds of other stuff. There is just no way I could or would post wants after all this.

So instead, I'll post a few nonprofits that would love to have you share with them. Maybe a few dollars, but also donations of gently used items, your time, or just your support by telling others how great they are!

• United Way - find your local United Way here: www.liveunited.org
• Salvation Army - find your local Salvation Army here: www.salvationarmyusa.org
• American Red Cross - www.redcross.org
• USO - www.uso.org

I know there are a host of non-profits in your community that aren't nationally based like these. They are grass-roots efforts from someone who cared and started an organization to fulfill a need in your community.  Examples?

• Anderson Free Clinic - a free medical clinic in Anderson, SC: http://andersonfreeclinic.org/
• Clover Area Assistance Center - basic needs assistance, financial literacy classes, dental clinic in Clover, SC: http://cloverareaassistance.org/

There are so many more. So consider finding one of these non-profits that speaks to you, pulls on your heart strings or engages your interest and get involved. Become their champion! :)