pinterest...

I will be the first to admit...I know very little about Pinterest except that it is like a personal virtual bulletin board.  I can wander around looking at other's ideas and "pin" the ones I covet onto my "bulletin board".  Please, all of you in" the know" correct me if I am wrong {and I likely am...}

Having the function of this virtual genius idea understood, I have one question.  Why, or why would anyone want to "follow" what I am "pinning"?  Perhaps this is a compliment that others want to know what I have tacked up on my board...a hodgepodge of  crafts-recipes-hairdos-outfits & home decor.  Honestly, this is highly embarrassing!  I struggle finding my own virtual bulletin board...yep, I am uncertain of where I have left all of those virtual riches I want to embrace as my own in hopes of making my life more beautiful.  All I have really done is created a virtual mess...and it's a public mess!  Oh me...it's like having all my treasures thrown in my garage and leaving the door raised 24-7 for all to see how unorganized my life is!

To anyone who is "following" me...I am truly apologetic. I am not worthy of  following.  In fact, you could probably find what your looking for quicker all on your own...if not it may be wedged between the Christmas decorations and unicycle just past the dusty weight bench in the far left corner of my garage. And the door is open most weekends and weekday afternoons so come on take a gander whenever you'd like.

Just bein' honest!

one word

so i made my list of resolutions...the dirty dozen as I am referring to them.

{and I am sticking with them...}

but Amber also challenged me to choose one word for the year.

i can never say just one word, unless of course it is the "last word"

then i covet it much like an Olympian standing on the podium proudly adorning a gold medal

but i have tossed and turned this restless idea over and over in my mind these past several days

wondering if I could chose one word

{Pat, could I buy a few extra letters?}

MERCIES

{something that gives evidence of divine favor}

gentleness-goodwill-grace-humanity-kindliness-lienency-softheartedness-tenderness

God daily offers me divine favor.

I am a follower of God.

I must embrace the mercies He showers upon me.

I am created in His likeness.

I must pass on His tender grace & goodwill.

Dear Lord,

 Thank you for your undeserving grace. 

Let the adversity we face as a family be your mercies not yet recognized. 

Let my word {mercies}be the force behind my softhearted actions.

Amen.

the dirty dozen...

I am thankful for the fresh, much needed start of a new year.

Here are the twelve, I will embrace this year of 2012,

1.  Blog-write more {I mentioned this on Jan. 4th's post}

2.  Call it like I see it {this may have come up in the previous post as well}...I learned {and desperately desire to unlearn} to give my mom the answers she wanted to hear.  With my mom being gone two years now, I want to put aside my perceived pleasing answers and gracefully say what I want or how I see a situation.

3.  Meatless Monday...January's Runner's magazine has a brief article on small nutrition changes you can make which will improve one's diet and workout performance.  Meatless Monday was one of the suggestions-simply don't consume meat one day a week.

4.  Qualify for the 2013 Boston Marathon.  I qualified ten years ago for Boston, but had a small interruption in my training {Jeremiah's adoption} which prevented me from running the much acclaimed Boston Marathon.  I am running the Rock-n-Roll Marathon this June and need to finish in 3 hours 55 minutes...which is actually 15 minutes longer than I had ten years ago...sweet advantage of having another decade under my feet!

5.  Test a new recipe each week.  This week I made Ahi Poke and it was a hit. Next is going to be a roasted brussels sprouts recipe.  I will post these {even the flops-there has to be some, right?} each week.

6.  Date Peter more...this past two years have been so full of medicine, doctors appointments, and sheer panic on my part that I have forgotten to have fun with my husband.  I vow to laugh more with him.

7.  Make kefir...why?  It is a form of cultured milk {like yogurt}, but has a plethora of those good germs that your tummy and immune system need.  We all could use more culture in our lives...especially my husband who is hooked on antibiotics for the time being.

8.  Read the Bible more...I am a good devotional-praying-journaling girl but so often I don't read entire books of the Bible.  I am kind of like a baby penguin.  I let so many amazing Christian authors chew and digest the Bible and then spit it into my brain.  It is time this birdie learns to chew the Word herself.

9.  Yoga...this is a "bucket" item{Scooter says this make me sound old.  "Hey, Scoot...I don't care if I sound old"-this takes us to #2-graceful enough, right?}.  I just want to try in once.  I don't think I will become a bikram or shanti follower.

10.  Finish Amber's scrapbook.  She is married...it is time.

11.  Take my car to the car wash more often.  In spite of it's age, my dependable Suburban feels "new off the car lot" when it is cleaned...inside & out.

12.  Apply to compete on the Amazing Race with Amber.  We would have too much fun and be so hillarious to watch...promise!  We need a techy person that can make an AMAZING video for us to submit with our applications.

That's my twelve for twelve.

What do you resolve this year?

a failed attempt...wahwahwah.

So I decided with the new year, comes resolutions...

And one of those resolutions is to dust off the laptop-stop googling lymes disease and write more because i LOVE to write...even if i am my only fan!

So day four of the new year, which is really only day two, because we were forced to go to Hawaii for a week to celebrate 25 years of being married to the man of my dreams {and nightmares some days-resolution #2...call it like i see it}.

So snug in my flannel pjs and plush pink {not VS PINK...please} robe ready to let the creative juices flow from my fingertips...when my ears are confined on just one thing.."smackage".

yep-I am sure Roget's has incorporated this word but if you are not familiar let me paint a picture for you...

brown eyed boy {who is so precious...in a still photo} did not eat all of his dinner and has the audacity to ask for a Oreo shake {my speciality after interning at Baskin-Robbins during high school} to which i gave him the "stare" and said nope, then stupidly {i have had a glass of chardonnay...not a bottle, so I am unsure of where the "parental wisdom" fell thru the cracks...but it did right smack dab in the middle of my family room} and said you can help yourself to and whatever you can make-he is not versed in blender operation quite yet.

please note...the gallon size jar that those large discount warehouses sell which is "easy grip jar"...i might have sensitive hearing {my tympanic membrane has reached a fever pitch} as he smacks on pickles which is a vegetable but i have zero endearment to at the moment.  To accompany the sound was the stench {i mean a nasal hullabaloo} of pungent vinegar. 

operation BLOG...failed.

but there is 362 {it is a leap year} days to recover from this minor roadblock.

did i mention my sweet man of a quarter of a century was accompany the brown eye boy by chopping on Hawaiian macadamia nuts?

happy new year!