Do It NOW !

This is my new motto ! I have gotten so bad about putting things off it is driving me crazy. Like when the dryer stops - my resolution when I retired was to not pile the clothes in the clothes basket and set them aside but to fold them as they come out of the dryer (well - That didn't happen) Although that one doesn't bother me too much as that is one thing I can do when we sit down to watch TV.. so I am pretty much ok with that one.
BUT the clothes that I hang on the hook so they won't get wrinkled do tend to hang there way too long. It really doesn't take anymore time to go hang them right up instead of putting them on the hook in the laundry room and then look at them each time I go thru there.
We all have things I'm sure that bug us - little rituals we set in our minds as important. I remember Mom's was always a dirty bathtub. Now think about it - how many dirty bathtubs do you really ever see but that was her hangup. She always said if my bathtub is clean I feel good. Well OK that doesn't seem to be a problem for me...Not that I often have a dirty bathtub but it just isn't my particular hangup.
However, dirty dishes in the sink is.... Somehow I just don't like to see dirty dishes in there for some reason. It just takes a second to rinse them and stick them out of sight in the dishwasher.
Or how about mail that lays on the table waiting to be decided what to do with it.
Get it in the wastebasket if it isn't important and if it is then put it where it won't get lost! That's my motto. I have solved that one by putting it in a basket where it is safe until we forget about it - then go thru it and half of it isn't really as important as we thought and it gets sorted out then.
Now then - we get to people that are always late.... That one REALLY gets me. I like to be EARLY if anything. We had some people that were always late for our Bible Class at our old church and someone said "Well, we should start later." No Way Hosea - They would have just arrived later yet as that was just their practice. Let them sheepishly tiptoe in late if they can't leave on time !
Then there is even my cat with his "late" problem only he isn't late really, just stubborn. Cats live their own lives you know and sometimes they give in to our desires but not usually. He will come RUNNING across the yard when I call him like he just can't wait to come in THEN he comes to a screeching halt right outside the door which I am holding open for him - STOPS and SITS DOWN and looks at me with his sweet little face ! Then after awhile he stands up, stretches with his front feet, then leisurely with his back feet and then sits down again. By then I usually shut the door in his face and then open it up again and usually he will slowly tiptoe in at his own pace. We can get even with him though if Bob is sitting in his chair I ask him to shake Chesters "treat" jar so the way to get him in is thru his stomach!
Clutter is another thing that doesn't get along with me much although I have PLENTY of it around. Sometimes my desk gets so I can't even see the top. Then I just have to sit down and start going thru it. Why can't I just put things neatly in a file drawer or a box instead of piling them up in a stack to "put away later because I'm in a hurry now." In a hurry for what ?...
Then there's our new coffee pot. It is a "one cup at a time" pot (LOVE IT!) but when it is low on water you have to take out the canister and fill it and it always seemed to be out of water when you wanted your coffee the most SO now I fill it when it is half full and that problem was solved! There are solutions to what bugs us if we can just be flexible and think about ways to make life more enjoyable and not always just get uptight!
My time is pretty much used how I want to spend it. There's not too much I am tied down to when it comes to time. Just in my head I think "I'll do that later !" WHY? WHY NOT NOW ? It takes no more time to do it now and then it is done, out of sight and I feel good about it...Life is funny sometimes. We do things that bug us and then never really wonder why we get upset with ourselves because things aren't the way we want them to be.
RELAX - ENJOY LIFE AS THE GIFT THAT GOD HAS GIVEN US AND DON'T GET HUNG UP ON THE LITTLE THINGS. They aren't really that important in the real scope of things.
Save yourself an ulcer or worse....Go with the flow and ask yourself "Does this really matter enough to get up tight about it ?" JUST DO IT NOW AND IT IS DONE!

Life At It's Best : )

What a bummer. The last time I sat down to blog I ended up with a nicely length for a blog..after many months of blank space in my head. Pushed the publish button and it TOTALLY disappeared so if this one does that I am really going to be upset.
Can't even remember what I wrote on that one or I would just ditto it....
BUT here I sit - totally blank... in front of a blank blog with no thoughts of interest to anyone or myself --What a bummer !
But I promised to try and get one off so here goes --- ramble - ramble !

Guess I could do like Cathy does sometimes and just post "random thoughts."
Probably not of interest to anyone but at least it will be something.

1. WEll, I CAN DRIVE AGAIN - GOT MY FREEDOM BACK. BOTH BOB AND I ARE BOTH SINGING PRAISES. Bless his heart, he has been packing me around for over six months and I had been going stir crazy for some alone time too. LOVE IT !

2. Why can I drive? I have a new "kicker bumper" - WEll, I guess I should say I got a pacemaker to keep my heart beating on a regular rhythm.. It's pretty cool actually. I have a monitor by my beside and every night it checks how things are going and my Dr in Beaverton checks it periodically and makes sure all is normal. No regular trips to the big city. It is all done remotely. Only have to check in once a year if it is doing ok. Pretty handy, huh ? (So no more fainting spells yippee !)

3. Weight Watchers - still plugging along with my three meetings at least until the end of summer then think I will get to go back to my two regular mtgs. It has been enjoyable but keeps me pretty busy each week. Then I also have been doing a lot of subbing for other gals so some weeks it is REALLY interesting. One week I ended up with seven meetings. Two across the river, one in Knappa and one in Seaside besides my three. That was quite a week !!

3. Our yard. It is a MESS - I have the name of a guy from church that does garden work for people. I need to give him a call and see if we can get something done to it. I can't do any pulling or heavy lifting so can't really accomplish what needs to be done out there. Our sweet gal, Jackie, is mowing our lawn for us (Thanks Jackie) but she has her own yard to take care of so we need to call in "the troops" and see what we can have done.

4. Church - VBS was a blast ! Had about 200 kids throughout the week. 20 decisions for Christ. Bob did the coolest video to show to the parents on the closing day. We have a baptism at the lake coming up in August. They are so fun ! I'm sure there will be some of the VBS children taking part.

5.Kittys - We found our neighbor kitty, Mia, up on our roof one day recently.... She was totally content to sleep up there in the corner where the garage roof meets the house but we finally had to get the ladder to get her down. She is a sweetie. We still can't figure how she got up there.

Chester is doing fine. Is a bed hog at night sprawling out full length across the bed totally inconsiderate of anyone else that might want to stretch out and get some leg room.

Shelter kittys - have had a pretty good summer. Had six or so adopted in just the past week or so. Judi and I still enjoy every Tuesday going out to love and snuggle with them. Kittens have been slow so far this year and go fast when they come in.

6. New things - We finally got our act together and purchased two new recliner chairs for our living room. Came to the realization we got our old ones shortly after we moved in here in 1991. Bought our old ones at Montgomery Wards in Longview. Does that tell you something. They are no more... They have served us well but it is time for a change. Bought our new ones right next door and J & S.

7 Pretty boring year - didn't take any trips to speak of.. Just old "home bodies" for some reason... Nothing currently planned - BUMMER ! Now summer is nearly over....

8.Rural Excitement !! We looked out the window awhile back and saw a HUGE BLACK BULL in our front yard. I mean HUGE!! He was just munching away at our lawn (maybe the answer to our yard upkeep ?) He had escaped from the pasture behind our house. The city sent out a patrol car to watch him until the owner could get over here to round him up. I wasn't about to mess with him. HE WAS HUGE. Every time I would go out on the deck to check on him, he would raise his head and look at me with drool and long weeds hanging out of his mouth. The patrol car played tag with him keeping him off the street until his owner arrived. This is the second time he has come to "visit" I know ! I know! Small town excitement !!

9. That has been my "interesting" life recently. NOW you know why I haven't blogged Who would be interested in this anyway !

Love all you faithful check in people even if I don't blog !

So sorry !

I just spent 20 minutes posting and then lost it.
I'll try to get back and redo it later. I have too many things to do this am!

APRIL 12 - A SPECIAL DAY

Today is my Daddy's birthday. He would have been 98 today.
He went to be with His Lord October 3, 2001. I still missed him.
He was always my rock when I was growing up. Somewhat gruff at times
but he always loved us kids and I could always depend on him.
He could fix ANYTHING and love to work in his garage on all kinds
of projects. He was always puttering out there with something for someone. He made
beautiful things with wood. Furniture, lamps and all kinds of beautiful things.
He and Mom moved us to a six acre farm when we were little and he drove
all the way thru our town and a neighboring town to get to work each day,
but we all loved the farm. We had animals and six acres all to ourselves.

He loved Mom with all his heart and cared for her up until the day she
went to be with the Lord.

He was my big strong oak tree with branches sheltering me from life for
the first 18 years of my life and even after I moved out, I knew he was
always there for me! LOVE YOU DAD !!

It is also my daughter-in-laws birthday but I consider her just "my daughter".
She is such a beautiful part of our family. I love her dearly and she
is all I could ask for in a daughter. I'm so glad she shares Dad's birthday.
It makes the day EXTRA SPECIAL. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LA CHEL !

Chores

Chores are funny things Some are regular little things you HAVE to do each day...Others lurk over your head saying "I need to be done, don't ignore me" and yet I so often do just that. They can dominate and frustrate us beyond belief if we just ignore them and they often just hang there in the back of the mind.
I tried making lists of what needs to be done but that usually doesn't help either.
Time just seems to disappear sometimes and those pesky little chores just remain out there saying "Don't forget me, Don't forget me, I need to be done and I'm not letting you off the hook until they are done."
So what do I do with my time, who knows, it just disappears, right gang!I got up this morning, fed my kitty and let him out. Took my shower, had my breakfast, checked my e-mail to be sure I didn't have a message from one of my WW staff saying that they couldn't be there tonight for some reason, left a quick note on Facebook, then had my devotions. Then my day was open until about 2 pm.
What to do - what to do ?? Such decisions!
Well, I looked at my desk, I could clear it off (what a mess it gets to be),I could do some scrapbooking (that's always an option) I could clean the kitchen floor (that didn't sound like fun.) So now I sit here deciding to do what to do with what is left of my day before I leave for my mtg. Then I spotted something that has been lurking on my desk for months. Bob pays the bills but when he is done with them they get stacked on the upper shelf of my desk to file. WELL, guess what, that is one that has been lurking there since the end of last year so the light bulb went on and I scooped them up and got them sorted out this morning. WOW, what a chore but now it is done ! Maybe I shouldn't let them go so long, you think? One down, but can you believe this, my Christmas cards are lurking in my desk drawer waiting to be recorded in my list book. Maybe that should be next.
And then there is my scrapbook room in desperate need of reorganization so I can find what I need when I need it !
Oh well, life is full of things to do and sometimes organization isn't always at the top of the list. As organized as I like to be, I have learned there are more important things in life than always having everything in it's place every second of every day. (Even though I would love that sort of life.)
OOPS Bob just got up, had his breakfast and now it is time for our devotions .. back in a minute !
That is how my days go. Always something coming up that seems to leave all those little chores undone.
One chore I don't have to deal with anymore is the vacuuming! We recently bought a "Roomba" Have you seen them ---a little circle of love as far as I'm concerned. He sits in his docking station and when I need to vacuum I wake him up, block off the room I want done, push his little clean button, he chirps back with a cute little tune and takes off across my floor and I go back to whatever I wanted to be doing.
He buzzes around the room until he finally has it all clean, beeps again and goes back to his docking station with all the junk from the floor in his tummy to be emptied later.
It was so cute when we had our little stray gray kitty that lived on our front porch for awhile was here, he would look in the sliding door and his head would go back and forth watching it move across the floor. I'm sure he couldn't figure out what it was. There was a spot on YouTube awhile back of a kitty that rode around on it as it cleaned. It was really cute. Don't know how he kept his tail from getting caught in it though as it just trailed along behind Roomba on the floor.
So such is life in the Carson household. Things getting done eventually...
Not to worry. There are more important things in life that having everything in the exact spot it should be and every hair in place.
Enjoy life, put God and people first and you will live a fulfilling life that will honor him.
Have a good day today....and maybe try to squeeze in "just one little chore that will make you feel happy and fulfilled today."