Project Organized Home

I have had our school work scattered everywhere for years. I've never had a good place to hold all the workbooks, score keys, readers, flashcards, pencils, etc., etc., etc., and I was finally determined to get it all at least in the same room. We found these wonderful and affordable bookshelves at Walmart, and I was able to buy one at a time until we had enough. They look just beautiful and are really sturdy considering the price. They hold all the books and keys, along with photo albums, my books, a laminator, pictures in frames, and so much more! I still haven't finished organizing it yet, but I have something else exciting coming up next week, so I had to share this now. We moved my desk into the living room as well, so I now have everything I need in the same room. There is a BIG cabinet in here that my husband built and it holds all the rest of the things we need...play-doh, colors, paints, crafts, etc. I feel so great having all this stuff organized and much more functional! No longer do I have to run all over the house to grab things for school! I'll post pictures later!

Every week I will have a post here of something that I've done to make a more "organized home". It may be something new I'm trying, or a place in the house I've organized. It could be a craft project, a remodel of something....anything that makes the home more organized, functional or cozy. You are welcome to leave comments of what you've done, or if you wish you can even use my post picture and participate yourself. I don't do all the html stuff, so I won't have a button, or Mr. Linky here, but you can leave a comment, and let us know we need to go check your blog out for a corresponding post! I do not mind one bit if you copy and paste the "project organized home" picture to put on your post.

Thankful Thurday

Today I am hooking up with "Spiritually Unequal Marriage" for Thankful Thursday. Head on over there to see what more bloggers are thankful for today!

Well, I just want to say how thankful I am for God's Word. We often take it for granted that we have full access to it, and can read it whenever we want. Many people were killed for just trying to get it into print for the English speaking world, and for trying to share it and read it themselves. Most of us have several Bibles in our homes, and many of us still don't even get one out until it's time to go to church on Sunday. I heard a great sermon from one of the preachers at our church about the King James Bible, and it really touched me. (By the way, you can visit our church website and there is a list of sermon archives there that you can listen to...great preaching and teaching!) He talked about how the Bible came to be, and how we do take it for granted. This inspired me to make sure that I stay in the Word every single day. I joined a blogging group that is going through the Bible in a year chronologically. It has been a real blessing for me and keeps me accountable to read every day. It gives me the extra encouragement I need when I just don't feel like I have time to read that day.

God's Word is such a blessing to me. It gives me answers when I need them, and even when I don't (or don't think I do). It gives me comfort and peace in difficult times. It leads me down the right path and tells me how to avoid going down the wrong one. It does more things for me than I can list, and I can't imagine not having it. I'm so thankful to God for making it available to me. My prayer is that I don't ever take it for granted again! I hope soon to have a scripture memory verse posted on my blog every week. We do memory verses for Sunday School at church, and I want to start sharing mine with you. If one day we ever come to the point that our Bibles are taken away, I want to have the Word hid in my heart so that I will still have it!

Weight Loss Wednesday

Well since today is the first post since I've deleted all my old ones, I won't do a weigh-in today. That will have to come next week! I will say that I have been doing my very best to eat much healthier foods, and cook from scratch whenever possible. I've been clipping more coupons and looking for more marked down produce and meats. This really allows me to afford to cook healthier for everyone in the house, not just myself. I've been doing better at getting in regular exercise as well. I did so much on the Wii yesterday, that today my arms, shoulders, and legs are REALLY sore. I love that feeling...it doesn't bother me one bit. I love to feel like I did something really physical that is going to do great things for the health of my body.

I will share with you today that I have already seen great things come from eating better foods, even though I haven't lost much weight yet. I have a skin condition that no one has been able to identify yet. I haven't been able to see a doctor about it in the last 2 1/2 years, since I don't have health insurance, and in that time it has got exceedingly worse. It's on my right hand, right and left ankle, and on the top of my left foot. It's weird. It doesn't itch, burn, or irritate in anyway. If it weren't for being able to see it, I wouldn't even know it's there. It is raised a little, but not much, you can barely feel it. It doesn't brake open, or flake, it's not psoriasis. It just looks bad, and it worries me not knowing what it is, or what has caused it. I was also extremely worried about how bad it would get...it just kept spreading.

Since I have started eating better, it has DRAMATICALLY improved! You can't hardly see it on my right hand anymore, and it's pretty faint on my right ankle as well. It's still as large as it has been on my left ankle and top of my foot, but it is much less noticeable. It's getting closer and closer to my skin color every day. It used to be a very dark pink, almost red. I haven't done anything else that would affect it, so I have to attribute it to the change in my diet. I still don't know what it is, and it may not go completely away, or it could get worse again...I don't know. I do know, that for now, it seems that eating better foods, and less junk is really making a difference!

Weight wise, I will start off saying that I have 58 lbs to go still, until I reach my ultimate goal. I am a size 16/18 right now, and I want to be a size 10. My husband said he loves me just the way I am, and he doesn't want me to be less than a 12, so we'll just see what happens. He ultimately wants what I want, and that is for me to be healthy!

Tackle It Tuesday

Oh boy, do I have some tackling to do today. Remember those dishes I mentioned yesterday?....well, here's my line of excuses for why they weren't done.

School work all through the day yesterday, plus the usual heavy load of cleaning all through the house that we have to do on Monday's after the house has been tore-up on the weekend. I had to fit in 30 minutes of exercise late in the afternoon, and then my son had piano practice at 5:30. My husband was late at work and still wasn't home by the time we got out of piano, which was around 7:00 this time because of the explanations on the new books I mentioned we were getting. So, my husband called and said to have us meet him at Burger King (which I just hate feeding my kids) and we could eat there while we waited for him. I couldn't go home, because I needed my hubby to take money out of his checking account and give it to me to put in our joint account through the ATM, so that I would have the money to cover the check for the books I just purchased! Are you exhausted yet? I am, just recalling these events!

So he eventually made it, and had a Whopper Jr. which I know didn't even put a dent in his hunger since he worked such a long hard day. Then we went and did the ATM shuffle, put gas in his work van and made it home a little after 8:00pm. He wasn't feeling well, and just wanted me to sit with him and watch a show or two before bed. I concentrated really hard on getting the dishes done while we watched t.v., but when I walked through the kitchen to go to bed, I looked at the counters, and.......nope, they didn't do themselves. So, that is why they are still there this morning, and I HAVE TO tackle them today!

For more Tackle It Tuesday posts, head over to 5 Minutes For Mom!

Simple Woman's Daybook

The Simple Woman's Daybook~January 25th Edition

FOR TODAY... January 25th, 2010

Outside my window...the sun is trying to dry out all the rain and mud we ended up with this weekend. We barely got home from church last night. One of the roads that we take home from church was covered in water from flash flooding. Last year was a record year for precipitation levels in Georgia. This year is off to a wet start as well.

I am thinking...of what direction I'm going to take this blog in now.

I am thankful for... being here in my home with my children.

I am wearing... a long black dress. My favorite dress....very comfy, and you can dress it up or dress it down.

I am remembering... so many important prayer requests to keep in mind all day.

I am going... to take Mr. Know It All to piano practice today. I have to bring the checkbook for new books this time.

I am currently reading... Disciplines of a Godly Woman~Excellent Book!!!!

I am hoping... to get some exercise in today!

On my mind... my dear friend who has lost enough children to miscarriage, I'm praying this one gets to stay with her for a long, long, time.

Noticing that... there isn't enough time in the day~not a new concept, but ever more present I guess.

Pondering these words... God's will won't ever lead you where His grace won't follow. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says "And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ will rest upon me."

From the kitchen... such a mess. We had an unusual weekend that led to me not keeping up with dishes. I need to get those knocked out today so I can be cooking from scratch all week.

Around the house... the kids are getting their Monday chores done, and I'm grading papers so they can get their schoolwork started.

One of my favorite things...Decaff coffee with Belgian White Chocolate Macadamia creamer! I'm gonna have to drop this though, if I can't get more exercise in. The calories in the creamer are many!

From my picture journal...

We transplanted these last fall, to a new place in the yard. I saw them this morning and it just reminded me how much I love them, and I really hope they bloom okay this year after being moved.

For more Simple Woman's Daybook posts, go to Peggy's blog where she graciously hosts them!

Unfortunate End...

As you can see, all of my posts have been deleted. A blog that I follow, had pictures stolen from someone, and that person posted those pictures posing them as their own. I'm just not willing to take the risk anymore. It's sad that these sick things happen, and that they have to ruin it for those who truly enjoy blogging and sharing their lives. I may or may not continue to have this blog...if I do, it will certainly not have family photos and will change quite drastically.