Thinking Thursday

Doesn't 'Thinking Thursday" just sound better than "Thinking Tuesday"?

so I have lots of opinions and thoughts.

so on Thursday's you will have to put up with them.

the 1st Thursday  I will choose a current or controversial topic and tell you my thoughts on it.  Sounds risky I know--but hopefully you will be able to see my view point on the issue and if you have a different view point you can (civilly) express that in the comments and we will learn from each other.

2nd Thursday: I want to share with you people who have influenced my life and how they did it.  They might be people I personally know, or famous people, or maybe total strangers.

3rd Thursday: Emergency Prepare:  I am not a crazy prepper--I am a wanna-be crazy prepper.  Seriously though I think we are loosing a lot of basic skills that are so important to know.  I also think food storage is a great thing, not because the world will end next week (I give it at least 15 more years :) )  but because food storage helps in so many ways--we will discuss that later.

4th Thursday:  How to do _________.  This is either something I have learned to do for one reason or another, or something I would like to learn to do.  I think knowledge is a powerful thing and we should never stop learning--we are living in an information era and You-Tube is an amazing school.   I can learn to do anything I want sitting in my own  home--so I will.



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Why not start with a basic topic....


my blog my rules.

 I don't feel I am fanatical, nor am I out to injure, hurt, embarrass, or disgust people with my view points.  I just really like sharing different information and learning from others.

In my blog I will talk about Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit. If this deeply offends you, I am sorry, but not sorry enough to not talk about it.Will I slam you and say you are going to HELL if you don't believe as I do? Never.  In-fact, I am interested in knowing WHY you don't believe the way I do about an issue.  Not a rant filled with anger and hatred, but just an honest comment on your feelings and thoughts and personal views.

I won't loose sleep if you 'unfollow' my blog, because honestly I am writing this blog with the expectation of my sister and my mom reading it, and they are both busy, so I don't expect them to even read the whole thing.  If I say/express something that bothers you so much you unfollow me, I am sorry.

I had a theater teacher tell me "If something offends you, don't just shut down, find out WHY it offends you--what about it makes you uncomfortable."

Somethings are just offensive, plain and simple, but that statement has made me explore myself when I am offended -WHY I am offended? Sometimes it is because of the people I am with--they might be offended--other times it is because they are making light of something very personal to me, or maybe the ignorance they are showing towards a subject is so annoying I am offended.  

I think it is easy to spot someone who is just repeating what the media has spouted compared to someone who has actual thought about a subject, researched it, and come to their own conclusion.

So I will discuss issues that I think are kind of mild, like breastfeeding in public, and aliens, but there are times when I will discuss hotter topics, like the right to life support, immigration, and the death penalty.

One problem I have is I can see logic in both sides of most stories, so it is hard to be black or white on almost any subject. So I will post my thoughts, my opinions, my life experiences, and you will share yours and hopefully we will learn from each other, even if we don't change our minds about a topic.

That is the awesome thing about freedom of speech.

Wednesday's crafts

Crafty Wednesday.

I wonder what Wednesday will cover?

How about crafts and getting projects done?

I am an eternal crafter.(spell check is telling me crafter is now a word, but isn't giving me better options--anyone have a better word?)  I have a little bit (a lot) of different types of crafts.  The problem with me is--I don't craft.

When I go to my craft room (yes I have a small craft room--I am so spoiled) I spend more time organizing, re-arranging, and trying to get everything perfect that I run out of crafting time.

Plus on and off I have had babies,  and they just totally ruin any chance of crafting, but I am DONE with excuses.  I am going to get something done this year and you are going to help me!

So come along with me and watch me turn my piles of stuff in to helpful, beautiful, useful crafts!


The first week, well I am not so sure very many people will be interested.  I am a professional face-painter who greatly lacks in natural skill.  I have to practice, practice, practice.
So the 1st Wednesday I will be practicing my craft. BUT I will be throwing other random crafts in there too--so you might get a few weeks of face-painting and then a blog about origami, or soap making, or something random like that.  SO check back.

The 2nd Wednesday is about house, yard and kid crafts.  Obviously the yard crafts will take place more in the summer time, while the winter will focus more on house crafts.  I will address everything from making magnets, to fairy gardens, to gardening, to flannel board activities with your kids.

3rd Wednesday's will focus on food crafts and just plan cooking stuff.  I do a lot of canning in the fall and get so sick of it--but through out the year I try to have my kids help make dinners and learn new ways to work in the kitchen.  If you are a beginner I don't make very difficult menus or recipes.  If you are an expert please leave comments on how to improve my meals and if you are a health nut, you might want to avoid 3rd Wednesdays--but know I am trying to eat better (if you ignore the fact we might have had hamburger helpers last night (but we added corn and pea's-that counts right?)).

The 4th Wednesday I think I will try to do the most time consuming, and biggest 'stuff' collection of crafts I have--which is -- Scrap-booking and card making stuff.  I have a lot and this is the stuff I normally rearrange and try to put perfect before I work on anything, so nothing gets done.  But with this blog I will conquer that--right?


I am thinking I will either have to post these a little during the day--OR do the craft some time during the week and post it on here on Wednesday.

Anyway

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1st Wednesday of January.

The Art of Face Painting

I have loved make-up since I was little. I remember my grandpa giving me a lip gloss when I was little.  It was really sparkly, and it smelled good.

Fast forward to middles school days and because I had an older sister, I wanted to wear make-up.  I would sneak wear it so my mom wouldn't find out, but I don't think she really cared.  I remember going to the dermatologist and him asking me to bring all my make-up.  Any make-up I owed was given to me, or I had bought the cheapest stuff.  Since I didn't know what I was doing I had bought face powder (no foundation yet) that was way to dark, so I bought face powder that was way to light and dumped them both in an little box--the kind that jewelry comes in.

When the dermatologist opened that make-up box I could tell my mother was embarrassed that I was using that as a make-up holder so I think we went to the drug store and bought some cheap make-up, in the right color.

Fast forward again to high school and I did theater.  I loved playing with the make-up and did other peoples make-up for the plays.  I didn't really wear make-up every day, but I loved playing with it.

After high school I really got into make-up. In college I took the theater make-up classes and bought make-up books, both for glamour, theater, and daily wear.  Again, I never wore it daily, but still had a ton of it.

I went to a year a college, then moved home.  I worked for a few different make-up lines at the mall, and wore make-up everyday.  I was still pretty natural for a make-up counter girl, but I got to experiment and I loved it.  I wish I would have learned to do make-up like Dior or the MAC ladies, but I am happy where I was. I was there for about a year maybe all together.  I can't remember for sure how long.

I married a man whose mother is a Director for Mary Kay, so after being married a year, we moved back to his home town and I started doing the business end of her Mary Kay business.  I learned a lot and again loved being surrounded by make-up. I worked for her about 4 years I think.  It was really great.

During this whole time I still played with make-up, but it wasn't until about 3 years ago I watched a you-tube video on face-painting. Lisa Joy Young, was amazing and I was hooked.  I bought $50 worth of paint (which gets you about 4 colors and a couple brushes).  I started watching you tube videos, practicing on anyone who would let me, and just learning all I could.

Like I said I don't have natural talent.  I don't see what colors might look good together, or how a design might work better if I changed something up. I have to work super hard at any face I accomplish.

The 1st thing you are taught is lines.  You have to learn to paint a line from thick to thin, thin to thick, thick to thin to thick, and thin to thick to thin. It sounds boring, but it takes skill.

 I am working on 100 teardrop challenge right now.  I want to be able to do 100 'perfect' tear drops in a row with out one mess up.  If I do ten and mess up I have to start over--

I will report next time if I got my 100 perfect teardrops!

Thinking Tuesday ooops-- I mean Personal Tuesday

Tuesday:  I have lots of opinions, but I am always willing to listen to different points of views and to learn--so I have dubbed these posts as "Thinking Tuesday's".


So just the name 'Thinking Tuesday' and how it doesn't flow off the tongue really bothers me!  I will have to think of a new name.

I had wanted "Tantrum Tuesday", but I was hoping to post more uplifting things than just tantrums and negative posts, so I will work on it.

Maybe I will change around Thursday and Tuesday and have it be Thinking Thursday and Personal Tuesday.

Ok-- it is done

SO

Welcome to Personal Tuesday

Each Tuesday of the month I want us to get to know each other.  OK, really this blog is about me, so I want you to get to know me.  Honestly though, I would love comments and feedback and anything else you would like to share.

so...back to ME...

I wish there was a sarcasm font--I think Italics works pretty good--but sometimes I use italics for other stuff, so italics aren't always 100% sarcasm which can get confusing.

anyway---

The 1st Tuesday I will leave you all hanging --because I need at least one (or 2) days a month off--so actually the 1st Tuesday of the month I won't blog anything--unless I really want to.

The 2nd Tuesday I will share my fountain of knowledge on the subject of parenting-- again where is that sarcasm font?  Bur I have had 4 kids so I do know something.

The 3rd Tuesday is again, a day off for me (hence the "2" in the 1st Tuesday).  Why did I choose Tuesday?  I don't know, maybe I don't have that much personal things to say after all.

and last the 4th Tuesday is about marriage. Again, not an expert, but I am still married to the same guy for over 15 years now and it hasn't always been pretty--So I will share my experiences with marriage.  I am sure my husband (an under-sharer of information) will love me (an over-sharer of information) talking about it--so we will just have to keep it between us -- ok?   Good.  




So here we are on the first Tuesday of January and I blogged.  Oh well--- That is all you are getting from me today.  Hope your day is fantastic!

Clean Up Monday -- YAY!

So some Monday's are manic and some magical, but for some reason Mondays just are a fresh start and I am ready to put my house back in order from the weekend.


It hasn't always been that way.  I have come a LONG way in my housekeeping abilities.

Is it because my kids are older and they help more-- maybe, but they also make messes more.

Is is because I finally understand (but still struggle with) getting rid of clutter? YES!

Is it because I like a clean house, it feels more calm to me? YES

Is is because it is easier to get other projects accomplished when you aren't worried about cleaing a mess before starting a new one? YES

all these and more reasons.

Anyway---just like I did for Sunday, let me give you a rundown of how I envision Mondays looking.



1st Monday:  Plan  your Cleaning:  I am forever planning/reading on HOW to clean your house, and the  best schedule to use, but I never really put any into practice--so every 6 weeks or so I will try a new schedule of house cleaning.

2nd Monday: How I stay organized, my Brain book, and other helps. You will just have to read it every 2nd Monday to see what I am talking about!

3rd Monday: How to make our houses lovelier.  I read once about a lady that cleaned her house really well, saw how ugly it really was, and never cleaned it again.  I want to clean and beautify my living space.  Hopefully I can get something done every month to report to you :)

4th Monday: So my body needs cleaned up! I am not sure about you, but I am holding on to about 35 extra pounds since Monster was born and I need something to get rid of it.  I get tired of the same thing day in and day out, so I have made an exercise plan for the next 6 weeks, after that I will switch it up---Maybe knowing you are reading this will help me stay accountable!

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I got this book called 'The Creation Plan' from my Mother-in-law "Glam-ma" and it talks about how God created the world and how we should organize ourselves in the same way.

Today I will start that method, and I will report back on how I feel it is working (or not working) for me.
This chart (taken from The Lightsome Life) is a basic understanding of The Creation Plan.
http://thelightsomelife.com/how-to-keep-a-clean-house-made-simple




If you are interested in Creation Plan cleaning with me for the next six weeks--here is a link to the Amazon page where you can buy your own.

http://www.amazon.com/Creation-Plan-Seven-Approach-Homemaking/dp/0877479615

Welcome to Sunday Reverent Ramblings

I think for this first full week I would just introduce what I hope (anyone else notice I overuse the word hope?) to accomplish on Sunday's for the next year.


I have broken down each day into 4 groups (since most months have 4 of each day).

1st Sunday: 
I will try to post 4 different plans to hold a family night each week.  I want there to be at least a lesson and activity for your family to discuss, play, or just think about.

All my kids are under the age of 10, so planning it is pretty simple, but I want to engage each family member, so that can be a challenge to make sure my 10 year old and my 4 year old both are able to pay attention.

2nd Sunday
This Sunday I will take a topic from the scriptures to ponder and discuss.  In my religion the members of the congregation are asked to give the talks each week (about 10-12 minutes).  Wouldn't that be awesome if at the end of this year I had 52 topics I had thought about and basically wrote a talk about.

3rd Sunday
I  read a lot of self-help books and inspirational books, so I am hoping to discuss these books with you during the 3rd Sunday. I am always looking for ways to improve myself and reading out the of the 'best books' is one way I feel I can do that.


4th Sunday
One thing I try to do is read from the scriptures and figure out how what the scriptures are telling me can be used in my daily life to help me.  I don't claim to be a preacher, or to understand the mysteries of God, but I believe the Holy Spirit does direct and guide us individually to more fully understand something.  I want to share some thoughts I have had while doing this blog.

Do they all sound similar?  Hopefully I will be able to make them all different.

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We start each family night with a church song (youtube your favorites) and a prayer. Once our kids are older and going their own ways during the week, we will do a quick calendar time to make sure we know what is happening in each others lives--this info includes concerts, study groups, extra work hours, dates planned, or other things your family is involved in).

If not everyone can be there, that is ok. Make it work with the ones that are there.

If it is just you or you and another loved one,  still do family night.  

YOU are important in the eternal family.

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Being the 1st Sunday of the month, I don't feel like I can leave you with out something for your family to do on family night!

Each week we have an evening set aside for our family to be together.  Growing up I remember these were important for my family. Not only did we all bring our calendars so we could schedule where each person would be and when and why for the week, but my parents always tried to feed us spiritually too.

Some times we would do fun things, like see a movie, or go bowling, but mostly it was a lesson and if there was time (with 4 teen-agers there isn't always time), we would do an activity.

Since my kids are still young it is mostly me being burnt out and that is why we don't do an activity, or even a lesson.

So for January this is what I have planned for my little family.

We either have our family night Sunday or Monday---so we don't get confused I will use Sunday Dates.

Note: I do NOT believe in re-inventing the wheel, so you will see lots of links that you can click on to take you to where I am getting my information from.



Sunday the 3rd:   Discuss goals and the importance of knowing how to take steps to make something happen.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/01/three-ways-setting-goals-can-be-different-this-year?lang=eng
(There is a great page to print out and fill out for adults or older kids at the bottom of this article)

Activity: Fill out this great form by Thirty Handmade Days.  (I don't know how to make things look cute to click on them--Links?  Something I need to learn!)

http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2015/12/printable-new-years-resolutions-kids-2016/



Sunday 10th:  The Holy Ghost/Spirit
(Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit are the same thing, just different terms)

Discuss the importance of having the Holy  Ghost as your companion. Talk bout how to recognize the Holy Spirit in your life.

Mark these verses about the Holy Ghost in your scriptures: John 14:16–17, 2 Nephi 32:5, and Moroni 10:5. Discuss ways the Holy Ghost helps you.

(for younger kids)  Roll the dice and talk about the different things that come up 

http://fashionsbylynda.com/blog/?p=739

Older Kids/Adults


Sunday the 17th: 

I try to make at least one night a month about having fun. We will play family games, watch a movie together, read a book together, or any thing else we think might be fun.

Sunday the 24th:    The Bible is the Word of God.

Discuss why the Bible is important and how it came to be. 

https://www.lds.org/topics/bible?lang=eng


The Bible is a BIG book for a little one, so I like this reading chart. We do have a few children's Bibles that we will read, but I think these are great to read directly from the Bible.


Special Sunday the 31st:
This year I want to try to have the extra day of the month with a family member or someone we want to spend our family time with.

I think we will ask our Glam-ma and her hubby to join us on this Family Night Via Skype/Google +.   We will ask them questions about their life, or ask them to come up with a lesson for our kids.  

If you don't have this option, maybe your family could adopt a grandma/pa near by.  Someone who doesn't have family around would be ideal.  Invite them over for family night and just spend time with them. 



Hope these help getting your family night going. 

What can I expect?

I love to plan. In fact, planning for me is more fun than doing.  I think I would be great at planning parties, and then passing the plans off to someone else to do the work.

I love planning menus (at least a month at a time), but have the same 10 meals over and over.

I love planning school curriculum (think homeschooling), but find the day to day actual doing the stuff I plan not as rewarding.

SO I have mapped out this whole year---yep you heard it right.

I sat down and figured out something I could write about EVERY DAY for the next year.

Of course I won't stick to that plan, but at least I have it ready in case I have a brain freeze and can't figure out what to write.

BUT I do have a guideline I am going to try to follow.

Mondays: This is a day I have always felt motivated to get stuff done in my house. I struggle greatly with my housekeeping skills so Mondays will be focused on House Stuff (can you see how glamours my life is already?)  Mondays will be called "Clean Up Monday"

Tuesday:  I have lots of opinions, but I am always willing to listen to different points of views and to learn--so I have dubbed these posts as "Thinking Tuesday's".

Wednesday: What good homemaker doesn't have a room full of half done crafts?  I hope that I am alone in this problem of never completing projects, so maybe if I dedicate Wednesday's to my crafts and such I will accomplish something--so welcome to "Crafty Wednesday".

Thursday: Like I have stated before, I have no problems sharing personal information about myself.  I try not share information about others--but it does happen at times, but I try to keep it all positive.  So Thursday's will be "Personal Thursday'.

Friday: We are lucky to have Friday's off of school.  I am going to try to have more fun with my family --so "Friday Fun" should hopefully spark that desire each week to do something fun!

Saturday: These are often the busiest and laziest days for me depending on what we have going on.  I am going to just label "Hit and Miss Saturday" because I don't know if I will be able to post every Saturday or not.

Sunday:  Obviously, this day will be focused on church-y things.  I am a Christian and one thing I love about being a Christian is the fellow-shipping we do to strengthen each other, so these days I hope to strengthen you! "Sunday Reverent Ramblings"


I am working against some obstacles.  When I decided to do this I had a fully functioning lap top that I could work at where I needed, but thanks to Monster and a small cup of water I no longer have the letters t y u i o p available to me.  It is very difficult to write with out those letters.  So I will have to use the family computer, which hopefully shouldn't be a big deal.

Happy New Year

It is 2016 and I still don't feel like I have my act together.

Every year I write resolutions, the sad thing is, they are the same resolutions over and over and over.

Seriously, I look at my goals from 2005 and they are pretty much the same as 2016.

Do you ever do that?

Well, one of my desires for this year is to be consistent in my blogging.

I have that little nagging voice in my head telling me not to...
      No one but your mom and sister will read it.
      You don't even have a camera right now to post great pictures.
      You have never been consistent with a blog before.
      Why put so much personal information out there.
      You haven't designed a blog in years--you don't even have this one set up cute.
     
But even with all those nagging at me, I am ok with it.

Why do I do it?

I feel that sharing with others helps people not feel so alone. I might be able to help someone else out because of my experiences.

I like to share.  I am pretty open about my thoughts, feelings, and I do write a lot more about my emotions than I show them.

I have no camera right now (Monster may have throw it away in his 1 year old cuteness), but I hope to work with that.  I am not very good at photo's anyway...and I would like to work on that too!

Even if my mom and sister are the only two reading it, I am ok with that.  I have to say I HOPE that I get a million followers and I can pay my house off with the money I make as a professional blogger, but I have a feeling I will never make that leap (but it COULD happen).

I use to be pretty savvy about decorating webpages, but I am out of practice and can't even remember how to start.  Hopefully it will all come back to me.

So welcome to my adventure.