Home Sanctuary

Company Girl Coffee 3.20

I got to meet two Company Girls on Wednesday night!  What an amazing treat.

Shanna (Sweetie) of She's So There, and Lori, of Laced with Grace and Christian Women Online, are in Dallas for a Christian Book Expo.  We simply HAD to meet, so my sister Katherine drove from our opposite ends of the city to get together with them downtown.

 

Lori, Me, Katherine and Sweetie

I think Sweetie said it best in her blog post,

"Last night as Katherine, Rachel Anne, Lori, and I had coffee and cheesecake after returning from dinner (that's one piece and four forks after all we feasted on at Uncle Julio's) I thought to myself God is a God of unique design. For the four of us have as different a lives as I think we could have, yet we are drawn together through Christ to strengthen our families and share with others through our writings, conversations, and heart talk. Somehow God has interwoven our lives and the fellowship was so refreshing". 

Sweetie and her husband, Les, have an incredible ministry to blended families and the Lord is really starting to open some doors for them.  She is a bundle of energy and a whole lot of fun!  One evening was definitely not enough to get to know her.  I would say if you ever want to get something done, ask Shanna to get involved and see what happens!

I found Lori to be a genuine, real-deal girl.  Reflective, funny, warm, just like she is on her blog.  I was so impressed with her transparency and delightful spirit.  No wonder it comes through her writing!  She's someone you want to spend more time with because you feel an instant friendship.

This week has been Spring Break week, so things have been a bit relaxed around here.  I had a "sanctuary" afternoon yesterday, when I found myself able to start fixing a nice dinner early in the afternoon, rather than my usual "desperately throwing something in the skillet for ravenous people before they start chewing on my leg bone" method.  It was a refreshing change of pace.  I felt rather Martha Stewart-ish, but I won't let it go to my head.

Link up for some more coffee time....I'm in need of a cup refill!  Let us know what is going on in your life, share your Small Thing progress if you like, or just chat away.  No need to have a fancy post prepared, we don't care!  Not a blogger?  Just yak in the comment section.

Company Girls Coffee Participants

1. Camille 2. Diane 3. onemotherslove 4. Jo 5. Kerri @Latte\' Buddies 6. Kara 7. Cheryl 8. Joyce 9. Dani

10. Elaine@BuildingaHeritage 11. Pink Monkey {Tracey} 12. Kate @ Riot Wife 13. Janet 14. Alicia 15. Melissa Holgate 16. Teresa 17. Gayla 18. michelle@princessatheart

19. Cindy 20. Micaela 21. L2L 22. Zoanna 23. Naomi 24. Marie 25. Jensmere 26. Dawn

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

I'm Gonna Miss You, I Can't Lie

This has got to be the saddest day of my life
I called you here today for a bit of bad news
I won't be able to see you anymore
Because of my obligations, and the ties that you have
We've been meeting here everyday
And since this is our last day together
I wanna hold you just one more time
When you turn and walk away, don't look back
I wanna remember you just like this
Let's just kiss and say goodbye

When I was a kid, our bathroom was sometimes known as the "Reading Room."  If you knew you were going to be in there awhile, you might say something like, "Well, I'm going to spend a little time in the Reading Room."  It was code for: "you might not want to go in there for an hour after I get out."

If another family member said anything about the length of time you had spent in the bathroom, you could always blame the reading material in there. "I was engrossed in the Reader's Digest 'Drama in Real Life' and I couldn't put it down."

I'm always intrigued by other people's choice of reading material.  Bon Apetit, Cat Fancy, Southern Living, Fishing World, Model Railroader, Needlecraft, Guideposts....you can discover a lot about a person through their complimentary library-in-a-basket.

The thing is, those magazines and newspapers tend to pile up into unsightly messes.  You INTEND to throw them out, but because you've discovered a fascinating article in one of them, you end up hanging on for far too long.  You know you should end the relationship, but you've grown accustomed to meeting in secrecy and it's hard to let go.

But, let's face it, you don't really need that November 2004 issue of Family Circle.  Yeah, I know it's got some great holiday craft ideas in it, but you know it your heart you'll never actually do them.  The old newspapers from last month are pretty pointless now.  And you know the Pottery Barn Catalog from last spring is outdated, even though it's got cute stuff in it.

Don't you cry.  It's time to kiss and say good-bye.

POINTS: 30 for weeding/straightening up the bathroom reading material.

What's in YOUR "Reading Room?"

Expiration Exaspiration

If I learned anything as I battled my cold this last weekend, it's that my medicine cabinet is dreadfully disorganized.  I KNOW I've discarded old medicines and vitamins recently, but where do these expired bottles keep coming from?  It's not a question you want to be asking at 3 am, when you are pillaging your cache of drugs for relief so you can sleep.

Yesterday, I found myself waiting for my husband to get off the phone.  I glanced again at the shelves to the right of my kitchen sink where the medicine is kept, and remembered I had some cheap plastic bins tucked away somewhere.  So while he yakked away, I did a very quick reorganization of the cabinet.  In less than 10 minutes, I'd thrown out the cough syrup from 2003, the prescriptions from Tom's last dental visit (2005), the vitamins from 2008 and the half dozen other bottles that cluttered the area. 

Since I don't have a nice label maker, I simply folded an index card in half and tucked it over the edge of each bin for the separate categories of medicines.  Now I won't have to dig through the immodium to get to the ibuprofin, and vice-versa.

By the time my man had hung up the phone, I was feeling mighty smug.  I can hardly wait to get sick again so I can take advantage of my in-house pharmacy!

Today's Small Thing is to purge your medicine cabinet of expired medicines and vitamins. You don't have to organize them unless you feel so inclined. But you'll be pleasantly surprised to find out it's not as hard as you think it is.

POINTS: 30 for cleaning out the medicine cabinet!

What's the oldest thing you're throwing out? 

Go Green for St. Paddy's Day

It's still not easy being green.

Although, I think we are all a bit more aware of the environment these days, and for good reason.  There's no sense in wasting valuable resources when we should be good stewards of this earth.  But I admit I've gotten lazy since moving to the "country," where there is no curbside recycling to make it next-to-impossible-NOT to be green.

I feel so guilty every time I throw away a 2 liter soda bottle and milk jug.  Pickle jars put me into a coma of shame.  And phone books!  I can't bear the remorse.

Today's Small Thing will be easy for most everyone, because you're probably all already doing it anyway.  Just consciously do something that's environmentally positive today!

Ideas?

Wash clothes in cold water.

Recycle.

Reuse something.

Compost.

Use reusable grocery bags.

Walk.

Hang clothes out on the line.

Turn the thermostat down.

Unplug appliances when not in use.

Feel free to find your OWN way to be green today, and enjoy the Irish holiday in all good conscience!

POINTS: 40 for being green in some way

BONUS POINTS: 20 for singing a few bars of '"Oh Danny Boy" in one of these Muppet voices!

Share your best "green" ideas with us!

Fly Right

This weekend's "RachelFest 2009," in which every member of my family was gone except me, was supposed to be a weekend of uninterrupted time for me to dream and write and paint.  To work on all things Company Girl.  It sounded so good.

And to a certain extent, it was that.  But the monkey wrench in the whole plan was the fact that I started running a fever on Thursday and got so congested I could barely breathe.  Here I had a whole king sized bed to myself and I had to sleep near the edge where I could reach the kleenex and water!  I was propped on three pillows into the upright position in the hopes that I wouldn't suffocate.  Torture for a stomach sleeper like me.  Good thing I could eat anything I wanted without having to fix anyone else's food!....except all I felt like having was soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

The NyQuil/DayQuil brand substitutes did a pretty good job of making me feel like a dope, which, if my teenage son were here, would say is nothing new ("jk").  All I know is that my face felt numb and tingly when I woke up each morning.

 

(my weekend "friends:" drugs, chai tea, chocolate, paint brushes, kleenex and computer.  Oh, and nail polish.)

AND there was also the fact that I am babysitting my daughter's dog, a schnoodle who just had his "manhood" removed this week, but who still tries to hump my big old lab every 2 minutes...with the cone still around his neck to keep him from licking his stitches.  Mercy, it's pathetic. I would have taken a picture, but it's not something for the memory books.

So in between blowing my raw nose and heating chai tea in the microwave, I doodled and dreamed and "researched" stuff on the computer (read: surfed.)  I did not clean or make food for anyone but myself. I separated the dogs a million times.

By last night I looked around at my home.  It seems I have been living in creative squalor all weekend and hardly noticed!  With my husband coming home late tonight I'm going to have to kick it into high gear to pull things together.

But where to start??  I've made messes in nearly every single room of the house, without any help whatsoever from any other living being.  Is this what my life would be like if I had no one to keep me in line?  I hate to think.

It's time to pull out Minimum Maintenance, my very present help in time of trouble!  It seems I do just great with MM for a week or two at a time, and then I tend to coast until disaster strikes.  Here is a chart of how this works:

See, when MM is high, the housekeeping stress and depression is low.  When MM is low, the stress and depression builds to the point of dysfunction.  I really have to revisit this every couple of months because I just FORGET how much better my life is when I put it into practice.

How about you?  Have you been practicing Minimum Maintenance?  It's the 20-30 minute daily routine that is abundantly able to keep you from falling into the Sea of Despair.  Which is where I was when I came out of my NyQuil(substitute)-induced stupor this morning.  Here is another quick MM read.

Today's Small Thing is to do a QUICK Minimum Maintenance flurry through your house.  Get your kids to help you for 5-10 minutes and before you know it, you'll be "flying right" again!

POINTS: 50 for a Minimum Maintenance

Company Girl Coffee 3.13

I'm so sorry!  I got up early this morning to post our Coffee link-up...and I just checked (11:25 am) to see who had linked.  Hey!  Where's the post??  ARGH! I DIDN"T HIT "PUBLISH!"  It stayed in the draft area...but here it is, better late than never, hopefully!

Ladies, the highlight of my week was getting to meet my very first "long distance" Company Girl!  Cheryl, at Diary of a Crazy Lady, mentioned that she would be stopping through DFW on her way to visit her mother on Monday.  I just happened to be needing to go to the airport to pick up a book from a car rental lost-and-found, so we connected in between her flights!

It was amazing to get to see Cheryl in person...after almost a year of online connecting through comments and blog-visiting, it felt like meeting an old friend!  We talked about our families and blogging and Home Sanctuary and the Small Things during our short time together, and it was a wonderful experience for me.  She is sweet and fun and encouraging....just like she is on her blog.

It made us think about the possibility of doing a Company Girl event of some kind!  Wouldn't it be fun to ALL get together?  Maybe we should start planning something!  Let me know what you might think about that!  Hmmmm!

My husband has been out of town this week, a very unusual occurence. I THOUGHT I'd have tons of time to myself...to think....to dream...to organize and redesign my blog....but alas!  Life has gotten in the way of my personal pursuits.  I hate it when that happens!  But I still hold out hope for this weekend, when I will be hosting my own personal blogfest.  From Saturday to Tuesday, I will be working on plans to make Home Sanctuary more inviting and "reader friendly," and will be thinking about YOUR Company Girl ideas.  With no one to cook for for 3 days, I will exist on frozen entrees and toast and cereal!  Pure heaven.

What's going on in your life?  Link up and let us know!  It's very easy...all you have to do is type in your name and your blog URL into the Mr. Linky below to add your two cents to our conversation!  You can post about anything you like and if you can't get the coffee cup logo to work in your post, just link back here in your post.  We want to visit you!  As always, if you don't blog, just chat in the comment section.

Sshh! It's Our Little Secret!

I'm going to spill the beans today.  I can't keep it to myself another minute.

OK. Here's my secret. I've been working on ways to make our small community of Company Girls even better, and I've had some really fun ideas!

When I started blogging about Home Sanctuary, I envisioned finding a group of women who shared my passion for their homes and families.  I hoped that my thoughts could inspire others to join in and create a small network of girls who could encourage and inspire one another!  I had no idea that over the course of time I would have almost 1,000 women send me emails, letting me know that they wanted to be part of what was happening here.

Young women, older women, moms with babies and preschoolers, grandmothers, single, or parenting a blended family...we all share so much in common and can learn from each other's journeys.  Each of us has a unique perspective and a voice that can be used in a big way. That's why I'm inspired to expand what I'm doing here to make it much more of a community.

So here's what I'm going to ask you:  For Today's Small Thing, take a few moments and share some thoughts about what you might like to see happen as a Company Girl.  I'll make it easier by providing a few questions, and then...let's see where it leads us!  You can answer by email, or in the comments.  And none of the following questions are anything more than idea prompters....

Would you like to see a more organized :) network of Company Girl blogs and people?

Would you be interested in attending a Company Girl retreat or event if it were in a convenient location?

Would you be interested in participating in an online discussion forum...covering topics like parenting, homemaking, gardening, marriage, home-based business, homeschooling, etc?

Would you be interested in a Home Sanctuary/Company Girl Bible Study?

If I made some super-cute downloads available...housekeeping schedules, shopping lists, menu plans, etc. would you want them?

How about a Company Girl store for "everything Company Girl?"  Do you have something that could be sold through a common store?  

Would you be interested in creating a network of home-based businesses or services?  I know several of us have products available through Etsy, Paypal stores, etc.

How can Home Sanctuary BEST help you create the kind of life you want to live at home?

I have no desire to create something that becomes "just another thing" to join.  But I am so passionate about the good things that can happen when we put our minds to it, and I see the possibilities that could result through strength in numbers. I am willing to step out in faith that we can truly join hands through cyber space to make a difference at home and in our communities.

So let me know your thoughts!  I'll even give POINTS for the tiniest little snippet!  Email me or leave a comment, feel free to share whatever you'd like.

POINTS: 40 for any feedback whatsover

Go. Clean Your Room. Now. I Said Now.

I wonder how many times I've uttered THOSE words.  "Go.  Clean your room. Now."

I said, "Now."

I mean it.  Get going.

Go clean it.

Stop dilly-dallying.

Fine, if you want to take all day, go right ahead.

But you're not coming out until it's clean.

I mean it.  Get going.

My kids got to be pretty good room cleaners as they got older, but there were many times they would stand in the middle of a messy bedroom and not even know where to start.

Kinda like what I still do sometimes.

I found the best way to help kids learn to clean their rooms is by breaking the job down into Small Things.  Big surprise there, huh??

For children who are readers, a short checklist with boxes that they can check off can do wonders to keep them on track.  For younger children, it works best to give them one job at a time.  And you'll most likely have to help them at that.

• You could say something like, "Pick up anything that is blue," and make a game out of it.

• You could say, "You pick up the army dudes while I pick up the legos," and make it a team effort.

• You could set a timer for each task and see if they can go for a World Record.

• How about playing this silly song for them and seeing how much they can get done before it's over?

• Or, you could just be really grumpy and frustrated because these kids make your life a living hell.

Teaching children how to break big jobs into manageable pieces is an important life skill.  Most kids don't enjoy having to work very hard, but all kids like the feeling of pride that comes from a job well done.  You can help them by offering lots of encouragement, letting them overhear you brag about their efforts, and giving them appropriate rewards.  Well, sometimes discipline comes in to play, I'm not gonna lie to ya, but it's worth the effort to keep expecting cooperation.

POINTS: 40 for giving your child(ren) one or two manageable tasks in their rooms.

For those of you with no kids in the house (or with babies who can't clean yet), earn 40 points for assigning yourself one or two manageable tasks in your own room. 

And don't come out until it's done.

And I Quote, "Something Stinks in Here!"

Ah, yes.  I've heard those words many times over the years.  I'll admit to rolling my eyes (when my back is turned) or even mouthing the words, "Oh brother," when the man who uttereth those words looketh away.

You see, my man is blessed with an ultra-sensitive nose.  He can detect vapors in the air that no human could possibly recognize.  I swear he can smell colors, he's so good.  So you can imagine the tense moments if a pet has barfed, or worse yet, let loose from the other end.  Things like carpet smells, trash smells, mildewed-clothing-left-too-long-in-the-wash-machine smells really do bother him.

It's too bad we live in an old house that suffers from what we call, "Old House Smell."  (We're very creative.)  Thirty years of Texas dust and previous inhabitants' Marlboro's just can't quite be covered by new carpet and fresh paint.    It still retains the Old House Smell, and its twin, "Old Hotel."  Eau de Old Hotel shows up when the house has been closed up for a couple of days. 

I think everyone pretty much knows what THAT smells like.  Need I say more?

We're big into "Po'Poree" and air fresheners around here because we have to be.  I've been known to bake cookies just for the smell. 

Well, we eat them too, but only because they are THERE and we'd hate to waste them.

What does your house smell like?  Does is smell fresh and inviting?  Does the kitty-litter box leave a lasting impression?  A Home Sanctuary appeals to the all the senses, including the sense of smell.  I love for my family to walk in and say, "Mmmm! Smells good in here."  You can just see how it makes it feel like HOME when things smell nice.

Today's Small Thing is to make your home smell good in some way.  You could light a scented candle or open a special air freshener.  Better yet is to bake something delicious or simmer some oranges and cloves on the stove.   Your home will feel wonderful because you are paying attention to its aroma.

POINTS: 40 for delighting the noses at your house

March Prizes

I'm so glad you girls are patient with me!  My camera is on the blink and I finally gave up and have taken pictures with my phone.  Yes, I am about a week late posting prizes and I've been losing sleep over it.

Our Most Points Winner will receive the following hand-made jewelry pieces, generously donated by my friend, Ann Margaret.  What I love about Ann's jewelry designs is that each piece is different and beautiful in its own way.  She does a fabulous job creating jewelry that starts with the stone or bead, and then she works her magic with the setting to make the piece completely unique.

 

This pendant is made of jasper and silver, and is a stunning accessory.  It's a little bit contemporary, yet classically designed.  I'm quite tempted to keep it. I had to try it on "just to see."

 

Yep, I want it.

As an added bonus, Ann made earrings of glass bead and copper.  These fun little dangleys are just what you need to feel flirty and special.  Definitely worth playing for.  Sorry the picture doesn't do these justice.

 

Thank you, Ann, for donating these lovely jewelry pieces.  I know there will be one VERY happy Company Girl who will win these.

The Random Drawing Winner will receive the book, A New Kind of Normal, by Carol Kent.  It is an absolutely captivating story of an unthinkable circumstance in their son's life and how they have lived through it.  I've seen Carol tell her story on a television segment, and it is amazing.

We already have a great month of Small Things underway, and if you are new to Home Sanctuary, just jump in and start having fun!  You can begin any time, and there are no real rules EXCEPT that you are to do the Small Thing on the day it's assigned in order to get the points for it.  Of course, the Small Things are so easy, they can be done ANY time, but it's way more fun to do them together!  And it feels great to not wait until "tomorrow" to get a little something done for your home and family.