Goals for a New Year

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I do like to set some goals at the start of a new year. When I thought about setting goals for this year, I decided to go back and look at last year’s goals. Guess what? Most of them are exactly the same for 2010. I’ve made progress on many of these, especially time management, but all of these areas still need work, and in some of them I’ve actually regressed. So...

Here are some of my goals for the coming year. They are in no particular order, and I'm sure I will think of more later, but for now:

1. To go to bed earlier than I do now.

2. To exercise and drink plenty of water every day.

3. To make my daily quiet time with God ever more meaningful.

4. To continue to grow in the areas of godly speech and diligence in work.

5. To continue to grow in the practical skills of homemaking, money management, and time management. One specific goal in this area is to spend less money on groceries in the coming year, remembering the principle that money not spent is money saved.

6. To get back to and then stick with the housekeeping routines that work for me.

7. To continue to grow spiritually and to use my talents and my spiritual gifts for God's glory. To spend more time in Bible study in the coming year, and to apply what I learn to my daily life.

8. To use my God-given interests and abilities to help bring in some household income.

9. To be more of a help to my husband; to make our home more of a refuge from the world for both of us.

10. To learn and profit from the lessons that God has for me so I that I won’t have to learn them more than once.

11. To do something creative, no matter how small, every day.

12. To stay in closer touch with my friends and to be a better friend.

A blustery day

Yesterday was a very blustery day; cold and windy with wind chills well below zero. It was a day to stay inside and work on housework and crafts. I vacuumed the entire house and washed the floor in the front hallway. I also washed the stairs, something I like to do a couple of times per year. I got quite a bit of sewing and embroidery done as well, and spent time working on the Sunday School lesson for the coming week. Supper was a hearty ground beef stew, served with rolls.

Here's a fun vintage card to enjoy.
Stay warm, everyone!

A snowy day

Yes, it's been snowing most of the day here. I can't really tell how much accumulation we have, but everything is frosted with the white stuff and it looks very pretty. Sunday was a rainy day and had turned our driveway to ice. So I'm actually happy to see the snow clinging to the ice.

I wanted to share another vintage Christmas card with everyone, since it's still December.
This firelit room looks like such a cozy place to be on a snowy day. Cup of tea, anyone?

Merry Christmas to All!

Mr. T and I would like to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas, and the happiest, most blessed of New Years! God bless you all!

And here is today's very appropriate vintage card:
Merry Christmas!

Another vintage card

Here's another vintage card from my collection. The poinsettia and candle design from the center oval is repeated in a background print. The red bow beneath the oval is a real red satin ribbon. How pretty!

Here at last...

Oh, how much I wanted to post in each of my blogs regularly throughout the Christmas season!! I love Christmas so dearly, and want to share my thoughts about it with others. But this season, for whatever reason, there just hasn't been the time to post the way I wanted to. For the next few days, I'm going to post some scans of my favorite vintage Christmas cards from my collection. I will post a different card on each blog, hoping that these will inspire and delight my readers as Christmas draws ever nearer.

This lovely old card is a special favorite of mine. I love the little village nestled in the moonlit snow, and the simple church in the foreground. The white holly wreath and bow surrounds the scene, and the words "Silent Night, Holy Night" say it all. I can take a deep breath and be flooded with calmness and tranquility as I look at the details of this card.

A different Monday

On Monday Mr. T had the day off unexpectedly. In addition to my usual laundry and other Monday tasks, I was able to take some time to work on Christmas preparations with him. In the morning we looked for some specific items at Walmart and Dollar Tree.

One thing I was particularly looking for was some plastic holiday placemats. The only placemats I have that work with my Christmas tablecloths are green fabric ones I sewed a few years back. But I don't have enough of those to wash them every time there's a spill. Since it's much easier to just wipe down plastic ones after a meal, I was looking for plastic placemats in either red, green or gold. I didn't find any -- the only ones I found were fabric. But what I did find, in the clearance aisle at Walmart, was some red/white checked vinyl placemats for only 30¢ each! They look super with my Christmas tablecloths and other decorations too. I bought ten!


After we got back and had lunch, Mr. T put up the Christmas tree. We have an older, but very high-quality artificial tree given us a few years back by friends who were downsizing. It looks almost real... and it even sheds its needles! This will probably be its last year, and we'll look for a new one on clearance after Christmas. We have always had real trees, many from our own land, but the past couple years have used this artificial one. We like it because it doesn't need watering and can be safely left up as long as we like.

Later, we headed out again. Mr. T had an errand to do in a nearby town, so I decided to go along and we could check out a favorite bookstore in a quaint shopping center for some Christmas gifts. Sadly, they had only one of the books I was looking for (I found the rest online later) but it was worth the trip. When we came out of the bookstore, snow was drifting down on the charming brick paths and it was just like a Christmas card come to life.

It was a different Monday, but a pleasantly productive one for our Christmas preparations. It really put us in the Christmas spirit!

Among the missing...

Wow, I just can't believe I haven't posted here since Thanksgiving. I've done a bit better about posting at my Christmas blog, but I sure have been among the missing here.

I had ambitious plans to post here every day of December with a Christmas recipe, decorating idea, etc. Guess I am a few days behind schedule!

What has kept me so busy? Nothing out of the ordinary, just the busyness that goes with being part of the "sandwich generation". Cooking, cleaning, shopping, keeping track of medications, etc. for elderly parents. Trying to find time with grandchildren and to stay in touch with faraway loved ones. Then there's Sunday School lesson preparation, making angel wings for Christmas costumes, trying to keep a reasonably clean house and a reasonably well-fed family, baking Christmas goodies, making and shopping for gifts, trying to decorate the house and wrap gifts... I know that many of you are in similar situations.

I have lots to post about, so I'm going to try and do much better about blogging in the remaining days of December! In the meantime, may each of us keep our focus on the real, true meaning of this blessed season.