Hosted by Peggy @ The Simple Woman

Outside My Window…I just saw a ‘baby’ bird (just getting the hang of flying and feeding from a bird feeder) fall from one of the feeders and Marbles was creeping up on it and sniffing it. In a split second I had banged on the window to scare him away and as he turned to look at me the ‘baby’ bird was able to fly away. Whew!!! Snickers was two feet away with a questioning tilt to her head. They are both now in the living room chewing on their chew bones.

I am thinking…that I am going to have to manage my time a bit more successfully now that my counseling ‘job’ will be going into semi-full swing this week. This year I will only take on the number of clients that I can fit comfortably into my schedule.

I am thankful that…I finally made the decision on what movie to show this evening to my psychology classes. The holiday yesterday will put my curriculum off schedule if I don’t treat today’s class as a ‘holiday’ class (even though it isn’t a holiday for them). They will have their official holiday in October. Which will put my curriculum off for the Monday class if I don’t get those PBS videos ordered. But to get back on track, the movie I chose is the original version of Sybil with Sally Field and Joanne Woodward. I had never watched it myself so Mr. John and I started watching it last night and it became very difficult to turn it off to go to bed (it’s a three hour movie that seems like five minutes). There was much I could relate to on both a professional and a personal level. It was eerie. I feel confident that just the two hours we watched this movie, Mr. John has begun developing a new respect for the power of the mind and it’s effects on our behaviors.

From the kitchen…I have committed to trying something new every week and trying it out on my mother in law. Although I got a great suggestion in an email from Cara, I chose to go with baked chicken (in one of those seasoning bags) with baked potatoes (which I take out of the skin and serve in a bowl rather than individually) and broccoli. I had to throw some carrots into the menu for my two peas in a pod who throw up at the word broccoli.  However, we all agree on our favorite bread ‘Hawaiian Sweet Bread‘. It reminds me of the delicious portuguese sweet bread that is part of my heritage. Today it is leftovers.

I am wearing…my favorite pair of ‘silver’ hoop earrings. They are Walmart exclusives that sell for $2.97 a pair. I love these earrings because I can easily replace them when they begin looking like Walmart earrings. Now for those of you that are calculating how often I would purchase these earrings at a cost of $2.97 and compare it to the cost of a good pair of silver earrings that would need no replacement ~ there is a reason behind my low cost earrings. When I make an investment in an expensive pair of earrings I always. always. always. lose one of them. I have a whole jewelry box of expensive earrings without their mates. I made the decision several years ago to stick with my $2.97 a pair Walmart earrings. Less guilt for me.

I am creating…a scrapbook plan. Holly has really inspired me with her photo project and I am beginning to get in the ‘scrapbooking zone’ and gaining momentum. I have to continue to make sure that I incorporate this ‘passion’ into my week as the days begin to get crowded with ‘job’ commitments. Striving for balance as September gets into full gear.

From the learning rooms…I have had it on my ‘list’ to begin Sam’s ‘cooking’ curriculum. Now that I am starting to try new ‘menus’  it would be great to experience the successes and failures together. Also, I am at my wits end at the constant ‘there is nothing to eat’ just because she is bored with her ‘standard’ fare of hotdogs, chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. Oh, and did I fail to mention Cheetos???? We need to extend her creativity into the kitchen…mine too.

I am going…clean my kitchen up this morning from our ‘chicken feast’ yesterday. After I eat a meal, I want to relax. I don’t want to tackle the kitchen – even though I frequently try to incorporate my husband’s routine of ‘clean as you go’. During the early years of our marriage a dirty sink used to drive my husband insane. It was right up there with an unmade bed. As you can see by my picture thought for the day ~ he has acclimated to going to bed with dirty dishes in the sink and he solves his ‘bed made’ obsession by making up his side only (what’s with that???). We all deal with our neurosis’ in our own way don’t we???

I am reading…

• Redemption by Karen Kingsbury with Gary Smalley. This book was recommended by one of my longtime blogging friends Susan. I am enjoying the depth of emotion about a complicated issue that the authors are able to tackle in each of the characters.
• The Mindful Way through Depression by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. From both a professional point of view and a very personal point of view, I my initial response to the book is ‘wow’. After purchasing it I was reading it at red lights and a restaurant drive thru on my way home. However, as I lecture to my students, one must always continue to be a critical thinker and an informed consumer. I hope I approach the reading of this remarkable book with those two things in mind. I noticed that my other cyber friend named Susan has read this book and you can find her review here. The comments left by her readers are also of great interest. Enjoy.

I am hoping…to get my car back in our garage this week. My husband recently went through his Dad’s garage and with the help of friends and a U-Haul truck ~ they deposited the entire contents into our garage. And I am talking a load that filled up a FULL SIZE U-Haul truck. I hate my car not being in the garage. It drives me crazy!!!

Around the house…

• there is now a golf ball sized hole in the bedroom carpet where Snicker’s has decided that carpet makes a great midnight snack while Mom and Dad are sleeping.
• one of my favorite (and made by me) afghans now is tied together on the edges because, my guess is, Snickers considers yarn makes a great mid-day appetizer.
• there is now no beautiful throw rug under the coffee table in our front living room. Yup, you guessed it. Somehow, Snickers found the main thread to unravel the entire design area, which made it look like a hooked rug that someone forgot to finish.
• we still have all our shoes intact. Although, several of Mr. John’s socks now have holes in them courtesy of Snickers.
• Do you see a pattern here with soft and fuzzy woven products????

One of my favorite things…is getting my home back in order after a busy weekend.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

• keeping my perspective as I begin counseling again
• becoming more consistent in my Daily Photos
• expand my portfolio

Here is picture thought I am sharing…Ewwwww.