New Beginnings

Happy (Belated) New Year!

I know, I know

I'm a little late on the new year greeting!

But I've been distracted...

VERY distracted.

 

 We had a wonderful Christmas with the family.

All our traditions and plans went off without a hitch.

We weren't sure how Christmas would play out since our daughter was expecting the day after Christmas.

She however, made us wait on the arrival of our newest little bundle of pure joy  until after New Years. 

On January 4th

Eliza Mae made her way into the world

AND into our hearts. 

She was well worth the wait!

What a fantastic way to begin a 

new year!

Now that the baby drama has calmed down, its time to look forward to the new year that awaits us....

a new year that will undoubtedly

fly by!

The new year is such a great time to make changes...

Get a fresh start...

to evaluate what is working in your life...

and what is not.

It's a great time to set new goals...

And begin new habits.

(For some great tips on goal setting head over to 

Sugar Pie Farmhouse) 

As for myself,

I've made a few changes.

For one

I no longer use this..

I have come into the 21st century.

I am now using 

OneNote

One Note is an organizational app that I can use on my computer

 and my phone...

and sync one to the other.

And who doesn't want to be more organized?

With living in 2 places

it has become a necessity if I'm going to keep all these balls in the air.

I unfortunately live by my lists.

But at my age...

I gotta have lists!!!!

Honestly, I have been dragging my feet on this phone technology...

Proclaiming it to be unnecessary.

   Its only been since we have been living this dual lifestyle that I broke down and upgraded to a new "smart phone".  

And YES, it's smarter than me!

I have to admit...

I love it!

 I especially love its 

GPS so I don't get lost when I'm out and about. 

And all of the apps available for download....Wow!

I don't make "resolutions!"

Resolutions are made for breaking,

don't you know!

But I do have a plan to spend a few minutes each morning with God.

This year,

I am following Joyce Meyer's 

The Power of being Thankful

devotional book.  

And to simplify things,

I have downloaded on my Kindle.  

And hey, I have an app for that on my phone too!

So no matter where I am, I have no excuses to spend time with God.

And of course, my prayer list is on One Note!

Not only a that-

But I have determined to consciously live in a perpetual state of 

Thankfulness.

It's not that I'm not a thankful person....

It's that I think when we are conscious of our blessings...

we live a richer life...

we're focused on the positive...

which crowds out the negative.

So of course,

I have a thankful list too!!!

I'm trying to find something... 

no matter how small...

to be thankful for

each day!!!!!!!

Do you have goals or changes for the new year.

I'd love to hear about them!

Until next time...

Try and keep it 

SIMPLE!

Post Christmas Busyness (and a trash to treasure!)

Greetings....

Let's do first things first and allow me to apologize for abandoning both you and this blog.
Where does time go?
 It seems as though the older one gets, the faster time flies.
Why is that??

Okay, so allow me to catch you up.....

We had a lovely holiday.  I hope you can say the same.

 We rang in the new year with friends.
We had a great time, just staying in and playing games.
 You know...
good friends + good food = great time!

Hubs really gets into playing Wii! 

For me, the new year has always been the perfect time to do some organizing.
It's the time of year, when we're held up inside.
 No gardening to do.
No holiday preparations.

So once the decorations were taken down and replaced with our home's usual vintage-ish decor,  I got busy on some re-organizing and purging.  As the title of this blog implies, I'm very into keeping things simple.
 While I can't really call myself a minimalist,
I do like to keep things simple, clutter free and organized.
So I started with the closet where I keep the wrapping paper, since it was a mess after all that holiday wrapping.

With all the snow (and cold) in these parts, we have had ample opportunity to play in the snow.
The dog loves the snow!
Okay, so she really doesn't care.
 She just likes to play.
When we take potty breaks, allowing her time to burn up some energy is a must.  Some days, we even have 

doggy play dates 

with a friendly German Shepherd.

I have been enjoying watching the birds this winter,  I have taken some awesome pictures out my front window that I plan to share with you each (Foto) Friday.   Hopefully, I can follow through on this!  :)

So as promised, 
a trash to treasure.  
While cleaning out a closet, I came across this cosmetic travel case.

 I can honestly say, I never use it anymore.
However, I deemed it keep-able.
But it was in need of a makeover.
 Sorry I didn't get a before picture of the inside.
Suffice it to say it was worn and ugly.

So a little scrapbook paper and a piece of burlap gave it a 

cute and quick fix. 
(I used spray adhesive for both the paper and the burlap)

At first, I thought it might make a good magazine holder for the bathroom.

But in the end, I needed something for some miscellaneous stuff in my bathroom.

Walah!

 In case you're wondering about this case....
 Yep, it was mine.... 

Given to me on my first day of beauty school some 35+ years ago.
 It seems like a lifetime ago.  

Since then.... 

I have raised and homeschooled 2 children....

and am currently caring for 2 darling grandchildren...

teaching water aerobics at the Y.....

 and yes, I am 

head chicken keeper and gardener.
One just never knows where life will lead them!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!