Journey to Excellence

ASAP typically stands for 'as soon as possible'. What else could it stand for in your life right now? 'As Sweet as Pie'. Look at this sweet baby. He is definitely a highlight to every day, seeing him grow and learn and smile that precious smile! Being his Nana is the absolute best! Are you the last person to speak up in a group or the first to have an idea? Why do you suppose that is? Is it a good thing or no? I am a speaker upper, definitely. Even if I tell myself that I am going to be quiet, I don't. I have no idea why. Although I am an introvert, I am not shy. I do so much thinking and have so many ideas swirling around in my head that they just come spewing out when I'm in a group. I am overly opinionated, and I guess I just think I know something about everything. That's really annoying to people, I bet. I just can't be quiet! What do you remember best about being 12? Well, that would have been my 7th grade year. I probably remem...

Ooops .. it's been a week since I blogged. That's because it has been a really low-key week. We are on Christmas break and feel like we have done nothing but run, run, run. Having a quiet week was much-needed. I did go play Pitch all day Friday as a sub in my mom's card group. And they about did me in. Seriously. They are high-energy and lots of fun and when I got home on Friday afternoon I immediately put on my pajamas and climbed into bed where I stayed the entire weekend! And, that is no exaggeration. I did get up and take a shower on Sunday and put back on the same pjs, I fixed meals, and I went to the restroom. But, otherwise, I literally sat in bed reading and catching up on tv shows I had DVRd. But this week I am back to running hard as I prepare for a week-long trip to Hawaii next week to visit my friend, Cheryl. Leaving for a week takes tons of preparation. I will be a zombie by the time I board the plane on Monday. And they will be lucky if I don't do it ...

Coffee Chat is back for a new year! Grab your cup and let's get to it. What was your biggest lesson learned in 2016? I have talked about this so much here lately that it must be becoming such a bore. But, here goes one more time. It was actually a gradual process. Because of hurts and betrayals in relationships I began a slow decline into isolation. I began to question my approaches to relationships, my confidence in myself and, really, just stopped trying. More than anything, I stopped being me because of the relationships I thought I was losing when I was being me. I realized right at the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, after some grief-stricken emotional periods of depression and outbursts that I cannot give up being the person I truly am just to make friends and make others happy. God made me a certain way. I am an introvert. I am not shy by any means. But I get drained very easily around people and commotion. I need lots and lots and lots and lots of ti...

  Share one favorite moment/memory from your Christmas holiday.  Having the house full with the whole family all day long on Christmas Day. We were in our pjs/comfy clothes and new Christmas t-shirts watching tv, cooking, playing games, etc. It was a busy day, but my heart was full. What was the best thing you ate over the holidays? Was it homemade or store bought? If it was homemade did you make it? My dad's fried chicken on Christmas Eve. Yum! What was one of the most beautiful things you saw over the holiday? The joy and smiles in my mom and aunt when I presented them with a jar of homemade spiced cucumbers just like my grandma used to make. I think it really made them happy to have a memory of her at Christmas. What does fresh start mean to you? The Webster's definition of fresh is - "having it's original qualities unimpaired". I do a lot of impairing of the original qualities that I desire to have. So a fresh start is a redo. I evaluate t...

Looking out my window  ... Well, it's dark. I started this post this morning but had an extra busy day so never got it finished. It is now 8:30 p.m. and I am finally in bed. I am thinking  ... about how I desperately need a day at home doing nothing but reading and binge watching Netflix. I do not like so much activity so many days in a row! I am thankful  ... for warm heat to come home to after several cold trips outside today. One of my favorite things  ... is now Catan! Have you played it? I have wanted to buy it for years but never have. I bought it right before Christmas but the printed instructions were so complicated that we put off playing it. Brynne, my sister-in-law Julie, and I watched a Youtube video on New Year's Eve that explained it very well and then jumped right in. It is so fun! I have found myself lying awake at night strategizing! I am creating  ... absolutely nothing. Creating meals and crafts and activities and famil...

I started off 2016 with a good reading streak. It was about that time I heard about Goodreads, so I set up a 2016 Reading Challenge of 25 books. I had never read that many books in a year. I knew it was a stretch, but I love to read so I really wanted to commit to it. I also decided that the 25 books would not include any read alouds the kids and I would do in the year, and we usually read about 15 novels in a school year.  Reading is like drinking water ... the more you do it the more you crave it. Once I got started reading this past year I just couldn't quit. My list of 'To Be Read' books just grew and grew and I kept reading. I was shocked that in 2016 I read 53 books! Here is a summary of what I read this past year. I have made a Reading Challenge Goal for 2017 of 50 books, not including any books that we read aloud as part of homeschooling. Wish me luck!