All posts in Bits Of My Personality

A Fountain of Misinformation??!!

by admin on September 27, 2010 in Better Check Out Links, Bits Of My Personality, Domestic Damsel, Little Things with 1 Comment

Oh I am giggling as I post this… Saturday night somehow it got out about my library training and then later I was talking about tea, like the tea lover I am, and they teased me that I truely am a good librarian type because of my fountain of information in the world of obscure knowledge.

Today I checked up on myself and with red face realised I may have provided them with inacurate facts about tea and caffeine content! Horror of horrors I hope they read this post and graceously forgive me. Lets blame it on the fact that I was barely able to talk, due to my cold, and was on cold meds!

6 different sources on tea could not agree to the actual amount of caffiene in different tea varieties. They also couldn’t agree as to whether white or green was stronger. I fear some of the disagreements had to do with advertising. One company felt it an advantage to say their tea had more caffiene then cola and the next (different brand but same tea leaf variety) showed cola higher up the chart then their tea. Coffee still wins for caffiene content across the board.

> drip coffee
> black tea
> oolong tea
> white tea
> green tea
> decaf tea (still has some caffeine)
> roobois/honeybush/ herbal tea (NO caffeine)

Here are some lovely tea sites that I enjoyed looking through and hope to check out more in the future, first this one and then this one for my Canadian pals!

Anyone have some lovely tea websites to recommend me?

TTFN

Thankful Thoughts

by admin on September 27, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Mama Heart Mushings, My Romance, My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME, People In My Heart with No comments

Is thankful for a lovely weekend.
Thankful for the warm fall day that made an outdoor party for my two year old possible.
Thankful for family who makes me feel special by coming to little life events.
Thankful for how handsome my man looks when he decides to buzz all his hair off again.
Thankful for the bunk beds my handsome man is making for our boys!
Thankful for how big and healthy my littlest one is in spite of how often he got sick these last two years.
Thankful for how sweet my biggest boy can be.
Thankful for how strong and beautiful my daughters continue to grow.
Thankful for the ladies who visited over cards and treats on Saturday night, I needed something social!

Thankful for a week of things to look forward too… library story time with the littlest two, a new ladies group that I joined for Tuesday mornings and the fact that a dear new friend is willing to come with me as I nervously navigate a new social circle, a ‘catch up with’ coffee date for Wednesday with another dear new friend, a shopping trip with my m.i.l. on Thursday and a very empty Friday that is thus full of possibilities!

I am so thankful for cups of tea, strong garlic hummus to snack on and a night to sit and not talk after a busy weekend… hoping my voice will return and the cold will be gone SOON!

TTFN

Trying On Jackets Again

by admin on September 23, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Mama Heart Mushings, My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME with No comments
No matter how old you get you will find you get used to a time of life and start to think it defines you and that it will always be you.

Be prepared to always grow!

When do you earn… gain the right… to be labeled ‘a runner’ or ‘a musician’ or ‘an artist’? Does it involve training, require natural born talent, the validation of your peers (the willingness of them to tag you with this label) or a mix of and/or all of the above? Is there a required amount of hours put in before you receive it or is it something (like motherhood) that you have to grow into once you are already given the job?

I am not talking careers here, I am talking passions.

As I find the time in this new stage of life to dust off hobbies, perhaps even passions of mine, that I put off while I was immersed in the most demanding physical years of motherhood I am faced with a collection of unruly emotions. I believe love involves sacrifice and I spent years happily sacrificing my interests and, dare I say, talents so I would be less distracted from the beautiful task of raising my four babies. It might have been a struggle at points when my self would roar up for ‘ME’ but mostly it was a relief. My personality was such that I had never been very comfortable putting myself out there as a specific type of person, you know, defined by your abilities or interests. I was relieved to put them aside and devote myself to children. I found great passion in being a mom, the label fit and the job description was totally for me.

The funny thing about being a mom is you work so very hard at it so that one day your child can live independently of you… Somehow I convinced myself through it all that I was pretty well rounded as a mom, that I had me stuff, that I wasn’t just MOM… but why then would fear be involved when I face the prospect of having to be woman and not just mom… why would it be so scary to move to a stage where I can do more stuff outside of motherhood that I enjoy?

I think one earns the right to a label when it moves your heart to joy, when you look forward to it, want to talk about it and gain self reward from it enough, cherish it enough, to not need all others to accept it. You do it for you and understand it isn’t who you are but part of who you are.

So here I go, picking up those labels I had put away, with hands shaking, so be it. Some I am happy to see and others just don’t fit anymore… and that is okay because I am letting myself grow. Others might find that hard to understand. It is human nature to label others and seek to keep them in that box. We must, however, never just accept the labels put upon us by others, even by ‘friends’, when you know in your heart it isn’t a jacket you fit.

TTFN

Killer Time Management for Busy Families (Marriage Mondays)

by admin on September 13, 2010 in Better Check Out Blogs, Bits Of My Personality, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Marriage Monday with 9 Comments

Do less…
I picked this topic out of the choices given because it has been specifically something I am working through of late. With school starting up again everything else kicks in to gear; church and social opportunities as well as activities for the kids and the parents. I was full of anxiety as time eaters invaded my schedule. There was going to be no time for mistakes, the little things, LIFE…

As a single income family of six in the city I find we struggle with the temptation to try to keep up with the culture around us. Financial damage is NOT worth taking on in order to put ourselves out there more. Family time equals family health and this highly valuable commodity must be fought for now a days. Personally I just can’t take a crazy pace either. It quickly becomes to much for me and I hate missing the moment while I rush to another moment. Time is so precious and so easily taken away from a family.

Less in more in my world… The simple life is to be sought… Over and over we must remember it isn’t the rat race we want to join but the race that Paul talks about, that race to the finish line, that race with Jesus.

With all these things heavy on our hearts my husband and I chose this year to do less then others expect of us. It isn’t easy and goes against the energy outside our front door, the cultural mind set that pushes and pulls with its demands on a family. Our main activity this year is to seek out more time to be, time to be for all six members of the family.

TIME, handle with care!

P.S. Check out this link to a post I put up in the middle of our amazing summer, it relates, and is about all the fun to be had when you have an abundance of time to do nothing really!

First Monday of every month at Chrysalis

TTFN

The Romance In Sacrifice

by admin on September 9, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Life Keeps Changing, My Romance with No comments
(Please watch the above video to get you in the mood. This is a song that moved me right away because I knew exactly where it was coming from.)Sacrifice is part of romance, as it is so obviously part of love.

One of the most stretching times in my life ended up being one of the most binding times in my marriage. I am so very blessed in the man I married and so I want to share this story, not as a rebuke for his honest mistakes, or mine for that matter, but for the ending. It has a lovely ending.

I was a young mom. Only been married for a few years. I had two babies born about 18 months apart. We where financially tight and lived in a small town with no family near by.

My husband was a young dad. He had a very tired wife, two young children and again, money was tight. Commuting every day two hours a day to a very negative environment full time job. He also had a second job, basically, with the band he was in.

I felt like I was being pushed too far. I was too lonely.

He was pushing so hard. He was wearing out.

At the end of the day I missed him so bad it hurt and he just didn’t have much left for the babies and me.

I had to ask him to sacrifice for us. In the end we both did.

I felt like I was fighting for our marriage alone…. I was far from correct…

In the end, as he showed me his intentions to fight for our marriage I realized I needed to as well. He wrapped up the band life style and I left the small town life behind for a city life that was easier for him. The move meant he was able to get a better job and be close to it. It also meant the kids and I got so much more Garnet!

All part of God’s plan, things where better in so many ways for both of us.

I learned to talk about things before they get so hard and to remember if the marriage is rocky it probably isn’t easy for your spouse either. Compromise out of love. Give more of yourself to your lover. PRAY for your spouse! AND never ever take for granted a spouse who will refuse to give up on marriage no matter how hard it gets, don’t use that as an excuse to not try harder yourself!

We walk together, fighting for our marriage today and loving one another so much more as time goes on. Sacrifice was key, not easy but important. I look back today and the pain was big but the healing was beyond beautiful. I see my husband as a hero of mine. He is that romantic man that will swoop in and put me first… can I learn to be better at doing the same for him so we can walk on taking care of one another?

TTFN

Killer Time Management for Busy Families (Marriage Mondays)

by admin on September 7, 2010 in Better Check Out Blogs, Bits Of My Personality, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Marriage Monday with No comments

Do less…
I picked this topic out of the choices given because it has been specifically something I am working through of late. With school starting up again everything else kicks in to gear; church and social opportunities as well as activities for the kids and the parents. I was full of anxiety as time eaters invaded my schedule. There was going to be no time for mistakes, the little things, LIFE…

As a single income family of six in the city I find we struggle with the temptation to try to keep up with the culture around us. Financial damage is NOT worth taking on in order to put ourselves out there more. Family time equals family health and this highly valuable commodity must be fought for now a days. Personally I just can’t take a crazy pace either. It quickly becomes to much for me and I hate missing the moment while I rush to another moment. Time is so precious and so easily taken away from a family.

Less in more in my world… The simple life is to be sought… Over and over we must remember it isn’t the rat race we want to join but the race that Paul talks about, that race to the finish line, that race with Jesus.

With all these things heavy on our hearts my husband and I chose this year to do less then others expect of us. It isn’t easy and goes against the energy outside our front door, the cultural mind set that pushes and pulls with its demands on a family. Our main activity this year is to seek out more time to be, time to be for all six members of the family.

TIME, handle with care!

P.S. Check out this link to a post I put up in the middle of our amazing summer, it relates, and is about all the fun to be had when you have an abundance of time to do nothing really!

TTFN

Sun Beams And Nap Times

by admin on September 6, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Mama Heart Mushings, My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME with 1 Comment

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ~John 14:27

I relish nap time… or at least I would if I stayed awake long enough to enjoy that sweet snug feeling that comes when I flop down on my bed in the middle of the day. I always try to find a sun beam to warm me as I snooze, like an old cat that way. I lay there for a brief moment and think ‘ I need to drink this in’; but then I am already asleep. Life is taxing on a mommy of four and I need my naps.

However, a nap not so many days ago ended up being a time of delightful reflection. To my great joy, my third child, Little Woman, enjoys a snugly nap in the sun beams as much as I. She curled up with me and was sound asleep in no time. As is normal I crashed. About 20 minutes into my nap I awoke and felt very refreshed.

I made the decision to stay put and drink the minutes in from my cozy spot. At first only my mind seemed to make noise… then I heard the tick tick of the bed side clock… the song of a couple little birds in my neighborhood… the buzz of the fridge… and the soft breathing of my daughter. I stretched out and tickled the sun beam with my happy toes. A smile covered my face as I enjoyed the moment. Wrapping my arms gently around my daughter I played with the hair flopped over her sweet pink ear. The smile increased as I let love for her warm in my chest. I sighed deeply, a long, heavy delighted with life kind of sigh that only can be found in delicious moments of peace.

It was quiet enough to pray with little effort, and so I did.

TTFN

Escapism

by admin on August 31, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME with No comments

avoiding reality… (you know, in your heart, when a little has become too much)Yesterday I read a fellow blogger’s thought on addiction and how closely coping mechanisms can get to that. My number one reason for embracing habitual coping mechanisms is to avoid pain, pain of the heart. We all really try to avoid pain more then we should. I know I do more then I realise until I STOP and really think about it.

I prefer to keep out of the coping mechanism category when I am debating with in myself about how I am doing and just say I am using a healthy little bit of escapism now and then and that is all… Sometimes, however, that isn’t all that is going on. I am thankful for being caught red handed. It isn’t as big a deal as it seems when I am avoiding the truth… or it wasn’t this time, thank the Lord.

The blogger’s article stopped me in my tracks. I was surfing randomly (looking for something to distract myself with) when I landed on her post and it hit me hard because of what I had been up to lately and was up to right then. I had been heavily enjoying regular escapism lately. Only moments before I was putting on another cup of tea and consciously realising I had a moment to myself if I wanted it. The kids where napping, the house was quiet… I should stop and have some devotional time… but this soft call of the Spirit was quickly drowned out by a stop at the computer.

I have issues, we all do, but I want to remember to make Jesus my escapism, my coping mechanism, my first choice confidant. He wants that too and so his Spirit sweetly continues to call me to ‘be still and know that I am God’.

Thank you sweet Jesus for catching me being human and offering me the perfect coping mechanism; your love.

TTFN

I Hate Jeans!

by admin on August 29, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, My Romance with 4 Comments

This post has been coming for a while, bubbling up inside me! Fear of the masses and their jean love affair has held me back, but NO MORE!

I hate jeans…

Hate is a strong word…

I really dislike jeans. I dislike wearing them. I dislike that I can no longer say all are uncomfortable… most still are though… I dislike sitting in jeans, bending down in jeans… standing… well okay, standing in them is alright.

I dislike the fact that they are costly, that I own them and that a few of them actually look really good on… because then I feel pressured to wear them…

I dislike that when I am getting ready for a date night with my man he will ask me (with a big honest grin) to wear ‘jeans and a t-shirt’… I dislike having to put the dress back in the closet to make him happy…

I wish I disliked the proud look he gives me when I walk out in his favorite outfit… blue jeans and a t-shirt…

If I could just resist that smile, that look he gives me…

I wear jeans because I love him.

TTFN

The Return To School

by admin on August 29, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Four Little Eggs In My Nest, Life Keeps Changing, Mama Heart Mushings with No comments
This was one of those perfect New England days in late summer where the spirit of autumn takes a first stealing flight,
like a spy, through the ripening country-side,
and, with feigned sympathy for those who droop with August heat,
puts her cool cloak of bracing air about leaf and flower and human shoulders.
~Sarah Orne Jewett

Every joyful summer must come to an end.

Every child must return to school.

I complain about all the supplies that need to be collected for each new school year but truly I am grateful for the distraction. I have been bustling around all weekend trying to ignore the conflict in my heart and mind. I don’t think I am afraid to send them as I daily was when they first started this grand adventure of education out side of the home, BUT, I still feel emotional this time of year.

I feel thankful for the schedules return. Yet I want to complain about the pending doom of winters dark cold mornings at the bus stop. I feel thankful for alone time with my youngest too, it is so much simpler and quieter and the house remains clean longer, but I also feel so heartsick with loneliness for my older two. I feel excited for them, thankful that they are pumped about being with friends again and yet… I want them to be with me, they are mine (or so my mama heart screams)!

…

Well I think that could just be a complete list of my battling emotions…

I feel better already…

Back to sharpening mounds of pencils and labeling each and every one along with every pencil crayon, crayon and marker…

TTFN

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