Home Sanctuary

Report Your September Points!

It's that time again, girls!  Another month has passed into the history books and if you've been participating in the Small Things, it's time to report your points!

Let's review the prizes:  I love the necklace and book jewelry that my friend Ann Margaret has generously donated!  I tried on the necklace (just to see how it looked) and I must say it made me look 10 pounds thinner and 10 years younger.  I hated to take it off!

The random drawing winner will receive a signed copy of this book by Ellie Lofaro.  Ellie is funny, warm and engaging and I know you will love this!

All you have to do is email your point totals for the month to me, and I will choose two winners based on Most Points earned and a Random drawing.  If you've participated as few as 5 times, you will be eligible for the random drawing.  If you are only going for the random drawing, you don't need to include points totals.

Today's Small Thing is to email your points (or entry for the Random Drawing) to me AND leave a comment to let us all know which Small Thing you enjoyed the most or NEEDED the most!  It's a two-step thing.

POINTS: 30 for doing both things.

Way to go, Company Girls!  Yeah, I'm a believer!

Home Sanctuary by Nursery Rhyme

Mother Goose is an old friend at our house.  We have a treasured book, the kind with the cardboard pages, that was read hundreds of times.  Most often, it was read while a certain little bottom sat on the potty, waiting and waiting to drop a payload.  Good times!

Mother Goose will inspire us to stay focused on creating sanctuary with this little rhyme today!

One, Two... Buckle my shoe

Three, Four... Knock on the door

Five, Six... Pick up Sticks

Seven, Eight...Lay them straight

Nine, Ten...A big, fat hen.

Today's Small Thing is to follow the nursery rhyme and earn points as you go:

One, Two, Buckle my shoe:  Get yourself dressed for action.  When I roll out of bed and stay in my pajamas, I hardly feel like working around the house.  Getting into some decent clothes and shoes means I'm getting down to business!  Pearls are optional. 20 points

Three, Four, Knock on the door:  Tidy up the entryway.  Do your people walk in the door and dump their stuff right there?  Remind them that they have hands attached to their arms and get each person move their things to where they belong. Or, you can get it done the faster way and do it yourself. 20 points

Five, Six, Pick up sticks:  Do a quick pick-up of your living areas.  Just spending a few minutes per room can work miracles!  Mother Goose was a genius. 20 points

Seven, Eight, Lay them straight:  Straighten things up.  Our subconscious mind registers all the crooked things our eyes see, and it gives us a feeling of unsettledness without even realizing why.  A peek at my house reveals chairs not pushed in to the table, throw rugs that are crooked, stacked books and magazines that look like leaning towers of Piza, pictures on the wall that are a little "off,"  and pillows in disarray. Seeing things straightened feels so good!  20 points

Nine, Ten, A big, fat hen:  Make a menu plan.  A fat hen would make a wonderful stew, but even if you don't have time to kill, pluck and stew a hen, you can make a simple plan for your meals this week. Your menu might include Jack in the Box on Monday and Pizza Hut on Friday, but having a game plan for meals will save you time and money.  30 points for a one-week menu.  Get inspired at orgjunkie's site today.

Did you notice that you could earn up to110 points today?  How's THAT for motivation?  

Thanks, Mother Goose.

My Blogging Distractions are Getting Bigger

Just when I am about to sit down and compose a deep and thoughtful post, along comes my Biggest Distraction, aka my son, Grayson (G.T.)  At 14, he is into planes, hockey, golf and teasing me relentlessly.  Here, he has hijacked my computer to show me a youtube video of an F16 fighter plane.

I pretend to resent the interruption because that's part of our game, but (not so) secretly, I love any chance to hug on him.  Even if it means the circulation in my legs is getting cut off by his sheer size.

Special Plate

We have a tradition at our house that I'll bet a lot of you share.  We have a "Special Plate" that is given to an individual on days like a birthday, or Father's Day, or a graduation.  We keep this plate right in with the stack of regular plates towards the bottom, so it's ready at a moment's notice to be called into duty.

Our Special Plate is not only ready to serve on birthdays and holidays, but it gets set out for less formal occasions as well. 

Did someone lose a tooth?  Why, get out the Special Plate!

Did you get a ribbon at school for an art project?  Yes, the Special Plate is well deserved.

When someone is an extra good helper, that person may get the Plate.

When somebody comes home from college, or gets an "A", or reaches a goal, or just needs a little bit of recognition, the Special Plate is a simple way to celebrate that person.

I've often given myself the Special Plate for all my hard work and dedication to this little operation.  Hey, you gotta look out for yourself.  Credit to whom credit is due, I say.

Do you have a way to express appreciation to individuals in your family?  If you don't have a Special Plate, how about using a special place mat, or placing a bud vase at that person's spot at the table?  I think a special chocolate on a pillow might do the trick as well.  I'm sure there are many ways to do it.

Today's Small Thing is to recognize the contributions of at least one individual in your family.  It can be for something as simple as "Being Extra Sweet Lately," or "Putting Away Your Things Without Being Asked." If you use a Special Plate often enough, everyone will know that they will eventually get it and you shouldn't have too much pouting by the non-recipients, depending on their age.  But be careful, using it TOO often makes it lose its powerful mystique.

Maybe Fridays are a pizza night or you aren't going to be sitting down to a meal together tonight.  Plan on doing something special the next time you eat at the table, or whenever you are all together.

POINTS: 40 for giving a "round of applause" to a family member who could use a little boost!

Company Girl Coffee

Come on in, girls!  I've got the coffee (and tea) on and I want to show you a couple of things I did this week to create my Home Sanctuary:

Check out the shoes:

Before

After

Elapsed time: TWO MINUTES AND FIFTY-SEVEN SECONDS!

And yesterday, I dusted these two squares on the wall:

And worked on the laundry in the square basket:

Dontcha love the purdy floor in my laundry room?  Don't be jealous, but they stopped making this pattern 25 years ago.

So now that you've had your first cup of coffee at my house, what do you say we head over to YOUR house for the next one?  We'd love to see what you've got to share about creating sanctuary this week!

Be sure and link back to Home Sanctuary somewhere in your post...and leave a link here to your Company Girl Coffee post, not just to your blog.  It will make it easier to find.

And try leave a comment when you stop by the blogs that are participating...let them know you enjoyed the visit!

ps I'm having trouble installing the Mr. Linky widget that doesn't pop up a new page to see names of participators.  If anyone has any clues for using Mr. Linky with Typepad, let me know.

Company Girls Coffee Participants

1. Erin @ Finding the Funny 2. Jessica 3. Cheryl

4. Joyce 5. carol 6. Nemo @ daily-dabble.com

7. Melissa 8. Forgetfulone 9. Rebecca

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Hip to be Square

Today's Small Thing is for you rebels that don't like to be told what to do. 

Oh, yeah. You know who you are.

Today you get to pick not only what you are going to do, but how you are going to do it, where you want to do it and with whom (if anyone) you'd like to do it with.

Just one small caveat.

Your Small Thing has to have something to do with squares.

Squares, you ask?  Yes, squares.

You see, squares aren't the cool shapes, like triangles and octagons.  They're not the sexy circles and ovals, or the tall and debonair rectangles.  Squares are the level-headed, even tempered geometrics that don't get featured much in art or movies or landscaping.  Although they've got a corner on seeing things from all the right angles, their quiet simplicity is no match for the edgy trapezoids with their bold use of linear adventure.  Squares don't get invited to parties with the A-List triangles or the powerful pentagons, they just go about their business of being solidly basic...day after day.

I think it's time we gave squares their own Small Thing. 

So what can you do with squares? Let me give you a few ideas and then I'll cut you loose to see what you can come up with!

• Of course, there is food: make waffles or lemon squares.  Brownies make excellent squares.
• Do some quilting.
• Make a scrapbook page featuring squares.
• Use sugar cubes in your tea.
• Write a thank-you note on a square note card.
• Straighten up those square pillows on your couch.
• Play checkers or chess...the board has all the squares you could possibly need!
• Clean some window panes.
• Play hopscotch or 4 Square.
• Eat 3 square meals today, instead of skipping them.
• Do a craft out of felt squares.
• Set out some pretty square soaps.

You don't have to get complicated...just have fun thinking outside the box today!  Sanctuary is all about finding the surprises in each day, no matter what shape or size they come in.  See, when you start deliberately looking for a shape, or a blessing, or a daily grace, you will start finding them everywhere.

Okay, now the ball is squarely in your corner!  This Small Thing would make an excellent subject to blog about and link up for tomorrow's Company Girl Coffee....don't you think??  

POINTS: 50...this one will get you a bunch of points today because it requires a little thinking.

Do you have some hip square ideas to share?  Maybe we need a few more to inspire us!

Shoe Boogie

My closet needs a major overhaul.  

I've got stuff in there that I haven't worn since George Bush first took office, and since we are getting a new president soon, it might be time to get rid of some things.  I can probably part with the boxy blazers of the 90's and the sweater sets I thought were cute back then.  The Mommy Jeans that are loose through the thighs but tight around the ankles never did anything for me anyway.

But parting with clothes gives me a feeling of insecurity.  What will it be like to walk into my closet and not find anything to wear because there is actually nothing to wear?  Digging through the outdated and frumpy fashions each time I need to get dressed for some occasion and THEN announcing that I have "nothing to wear" just feels....safer.  It's as if I think I might really come up with something that is suddenly GREAT, and I will hold up the prize like a phoenix rising from the ashes.  Yes, YESSS!

Sadly, the state of my fashion shortcomings has caused me to "power down" at the thought of organizing my closet.  I feel drained every time I walk in there.  What does it matter if the clothes are piled up rather than hung neatly?  They're ugly anyway.

It's such a bad mindset.

To get me past my closet inertia, I propose a simple Small Thing for today.  Today's Small Thing is to organize your shoes in your closet.  OK, you can just straighten them up if you like.  I'm thinking that when I see my shoes all lined up like soldiers I'll get the rest of the energy I need to tackle the thrift store ambiance that remains.

POINTS: 40 for straightening up or behold, ORGANIZING your shoes. I know we've done this before, but help me out today, will you please?  I need the moral support.

Talk to Me, Babe

It's said that women have more words to say in a day than men do.  I think that's probably true in most cases.  Let's face it, we have a lot of ground to cover, from diaper rash to low-fat yoghurt to Sarah Palin.  But sometimes I wonder if men might have more to say if we gave them opportunity to talk about what they'd like to talk about. 

I can see you rolling your eyes.

Uh huh.  Sports.  Nascar.  Golf.  What's Wrong with the Church Today.  Why Do You Have to Press "1" for English.  What's Up with all the Bilingual Signs at Walmart.

Oh, sorry, those are some subjects at our house.

But I'm often guilty of talking more than listening.  Of explaining rather than asking.

My man loves it when I ask him questions about what he thinks.  He likes me to ask him about hockey.  He likes me to talk with him about stuff he's interested in.  He likes me to listen, even when I've already heard that story a couple (hundred) times.

It wierd, but sometimes when I need my man to listen to ME, the very thing I need to do is stop talking about "my" things.  It's like a reverse cosmos thing that happens when I meet his need for a sounding board or a sympathetic ear.  

Or just listen to sports talk.

Today's Small Thing is to ask your man a question.  Ask him what he thinks about the Eagles' offense or the Packer's defense.  Surprise him with your interest in carburetors, or the fastest route to the office. Set down what you're doing and look at him when he explains the inner workings of the latest software or innovative development in trash compactors.  Somewhere in there, you may get a nugget of insight into what delights him, makes him tick, makes him get up in the morning.

The point of today's Small Thing is not to get to his inner core of manliness.  You may have already tapped into that as soon as you brought up football.  It's simply to express your love in a way that is almost irresistible, and that's to show interest in the things that interest him.

POINTS:  You should get a lot for this because it might just take some effort and several tries. How about 50!

If you are a single Company Girl, just pick a friend to shower your interest upon.  Jump in and have fun with it, too!

Monday Morning Blah? Butter it up!

I was not born with the perky get-up-and-go personality that I so admire in others.  I feel gyped that it takes slugging down two giant cups of coffee to clear my head and begin to feel focused on the day.  Why, oh, why was I saddled with this deficient energy level, which causes me to prefer hunkering down under the covers for "5 more minutes" than jumping out of bed to tackle the day?

Mondays are always a challenge.  Last night, after a busy weekend, I knew I should get prepared for the week.  But we'd been without internet service all weekend and I got behind on emails, answering new Company Girl requests and even stopping over for coffee with the girls who participated on Friday.  I was exhausted, so I just went to bed.  That meant waking up to the things I didn't finish over the weekend, as well as the new tasks for the day.

I'll bet that there are at least a few of you that can relate.

So Today's Small Thing is a very easy one.  You don't have to reorganize your entire life and redecorate the living room.  You don't have to prepare a lavish meal.  You don't even have to stand up to do this, if you don't want to.  You can do it sitting down....perfect for a blah Monday morning!

Today's Small Thing is all about butter.  All we are doing today is taking notice of our butter (or butter substitute) dishes and cleaning them.  Our butter dish gets messy and drippy and full of toast crumbs on a regular basis.  I've even found bits of broccoli in it, or smatterings of jelly left by a passing knife.

Butter dishes can look so pretty and sparkley on a well-set table.  But they can also be the white trash version, unkempt and disheveled...a smooth talker with a five o'clock shadow of crumbs.  Cleaning up your dish (or tub) will really get your Monday on the right track and make you feel slick.

POINTS: 30 for buttering up your day.  Remove or replace the butter stick and wash the butter dish, or wipe around the edges of your butter tub.  If you aren't a butter person, clean up your substitute's container and give yourself a small pat.

Burning at Both Ends

My daughter, Meghan (Em) is a college student who is working, taking a very full load of classes, taking voice lessons, taking piano lessons, mentoring a young girl and is involved in church and has a boyfriend.

There is no wiggle room in her schedule.

I've been there, many times.  Burning the candle at both ends, not able to let anything drop or fail, living on coffee and "to-do" lists.  Sometimes there is no way out of a situation like that except THROUGH it, but sometimes you have to take stock of your scene and make some tough decisions.  Meghan is an amazing girl and I know she will know how to handle it.

I've learned the hard way that I need margin in my own life to keep sane.  Not everyone needs the same level of "down" time, but for me, I find that I function much more graciously with my loved ones when I get enough of it.

By "down" time, I don't mean mindlessly watching soaps all day, but being able to fold my family's clothes, and straighten the house at the end of a day, and sit and listen to a child talk about a dream he had the other night....well, that stuff is what it's all about. 

It's the goodness that can be found in the everyday things that gets lost when I get stressed out.

How do you deal with stress?  Here are some ways I handle it:

• Sometimes, I make a list and cross off the unnecessary items.
• Or I take a nap. (Always a welcome relief)
• Watch a movie
• Do the Next Thing
• Talk to my sister
• Spend time praying
• Blog

Today's Small Thing is to deliberately De-Stress by using one of your favorite techniques.  Give yourself permission to take a few minutes to do something fun or relaxing.  Or fold fresh towels and enjoy their clean softness.  Or have a tea party with your child.  These things don't really make your problems go away, but they might put them into perspective and give you energy to tackle them later.

Snuff one of the ends of your candle by eliminating something, if you can.  Give yourself some extra time to accomplish what you need to, and, for heaven's sake,  GET SOME REST!

POINTS: 40 for making a point to eliminate some stress.  Whatever you decide to do, why not tell someone what you're doing, so that it will be a REAL ACTION STEP?  Maybe this would be a good blog idea to link up with today!