One-on-One with the Biggest Celebrity Yet
For a brief second tonight, I actually reconsidered my plans for tomorrow. A thousand chores, duties, to-dos crowded my cranial cavity and in a moment of insanity, I debated staying home.
What I could really use is a little time to sleep-in, a little time to get caught up. Do I really need this meeting? Do I really need time with THIS person? Will it help my image, my brand, my wallet, my family if I spend my Saturday using my hours THIS way?
Who is this person that I've chosen first over everything else I could be doing? Over everything else going on in my life? Over the needs of my family, over my needs for ME?
Every time you meet someone who is well known, people always ask:
"How did you get to do that?"
And, I always say, half the battle is getting there. The more you show up, the easier it becomes.
But, tomorrow is a special day. One-on-one interview. One-on-one time together to share, to dream, to listen.
Ahh, the best questions are asked from simply listening. A good interviewer is one who can listen and hear and reask. And, you don't always get the answers you think but you take notes and you consider the source and ask more questions which may or may not be answered again the way you think.
I've spent years building to this moment planted squat in the middle of my life (presuming that I'll live to the jolly old age of the women in my family who all lived into their 90s). And, I considered staying home? What?!
Hint: Tomorrow is the Fourth Annual Prayer Retreat for the Presbyterian Churches of America of Metro West Philadelphia.
Okay, I'll spill the beans. I am meeting with the biggest celebrity of them all: God.
Yes, I know, I can meet with God anywhere: at home, in the car, on my way to work, on my way to the college, at the college, in the faces of strangers, in the faces of friends.
But, tomorrow, I will leave all those distractions. I will sit quietly in a space in a church pew or perhaps in the hallway, surrounding by other quiet women having their own one-on-one with their Almighty God. I will read God's love letter to me, The Holy Bible, and quietly listen for the whispering of the Holy Spirit to touch my heart and fill me with His praises.
This IS for me . . . and for God. I am His creation, made in His image for His purposes. There is no greater calling, no greater place I need to be other than in His presence, quieting listening for His next steps in my life, quietly absorbing His word and praising Him in the company of other women who feel the same way.
There are a lot of celebrities I go out of my way to meet. Other people think I am crazy. I tease that I'm a celebrity stalker when in fact I just love being around intensely creative people and soaking up what makes them the amazing people they are that got them to the place in life they are. Why not make time for the most creative being of all? My creator, Himself.
Our numbers are smaller this year and I am sad because I have failed to get others excited about one of the greatest meetings of all. But, I can see why others say "no." Their lives are full, they are busy. They have their own time for God. They've squeezed Him in somewhere else.
And, yet, I wish I could be more bold: "Come . . . stop your busy lives, rejoice with us, honor God with us, be quiet with us. Let the peace of Christ sink into your bones and fill your heart."
It's late tonight but there's still time. If you want to know more let me know. You can always hold your own prayer retreat too. I am happy to share the scripture pages we created when we started this retreat four years ago. I decided to step down from leading it this year but I have the materials and I am happy to offer them to anyone needing a meeting exactly like this. Actually, we all need meetings like this!
Making a Rag Quilt
When I first moved to Pennsylvania 21 years ago (and, wow, that's almost half my lifetime!), I became fascinated with the long honored tradition of quilting so prevalent throughout the community. You have everything from Amish quilters to Hmong reverse quilting called "paj ntaub" which means flower cloth. I made two baby quilts and called it quits for the next 15 years.
A local quilt store recently drew my attention and like a moth to a flame, I was drawn in. Chester County Quilting had the perfect thing for my need for quilting speed: Rag Quilts made with 48 blocks of flannel.
With a basic straight stitch and my mom's classic Singer, I was good to go.
First Step: Dust (if unused for awhile like mine) and thread sewing machine; make sure bobbin is full.
Good Ole' Table Bound Classic Singer
Second Step: Pull out precut flannel squares (this one was made of Fall themed fabric pre-selected by store owner who created a couple different kits) and pre-cut batting squares (cut about 1/2 inch smaller than flannel all around). Make sandwiches of top fabric, batting, bottom fabric. Make sure batting is centered all around. {Note: I didn't need pins to secure the fabric at this step.}
Rag Quilt "Sandwich" Pieces of Fabric and Batting
Third Step: Sew diagonal lines through all squares. Turn and sew the other way so you have an "X" on each square.
Rag Quilt Pieces Sewn Corner to Corner
Fourth Step: Decide your pattern and start sewing square pairs until you have 24 sets of 2, using a 1/2" seam allowance on all steps. (Repurposing an unused ping-pong table works great!) Sew pairs together, making sure all seam allowance edges are on the same side, to create 12 foursquares. Sew the foursquares together to create 6 8-piece rectangles. Sew these together to make your quilt. {Pinning on this step helps keep the fabric from bunching up.}
Rag Quilt Pieces Pieced Together into Semi-Random Pattern
Fifth Step: Use zig-zag stitch around the outer edge to secure your seams.
Sixth Step: Carefully, cut your flannel edges every 1/4 th inch (within 1/8th in of stitching) without cutting into your seams.
Seventh Step: Wash and dry, changing lint filter often.
Rag Quilt Top from the Top
Rag Quilt from the Back
And, you are done! Quick weekend project and a personalized gift made with love is complete! It doesn't get much easier! Now, the next kit I have is of baby fabrics! Next, I'll branch out and buy my own flannels and cut to size. Then, comes another idea I have. Down the road. . . . This is addicting! Oh, can't forget to mention my Pinterest board where I am collecting new quilting ideas too!
Tide Coldwater and PILES upon PILES of dirty clothes
In my house, we go through a LOT of clothes for a family of 4. THREE women, need I say more? I have one particular diva who seems to pile up the dirty clothes by the bucket load and I wonder sometimes if that's how she cleans her room (like, giving me back clean pieces just to get them off her floor.)
This little stack of clothes pictured below is about a third of what I have to wash during the week, especially once bedding is included in the mix.
- Piles to go before I sleep!
You see that I don't have a lot of room here between the kitchen and the back door where we let our dog out so I have to keep the machine going and going . . .
Since moving in our new house and buying a front loading washer, I've had to get used to searching the grocery store shelves for HE (High Energy) detergent for my Bosch front loading washer. I thought I would love this appliance but mold around the rubber and replacing the electrical panel twice in 6 years hasn't been fun.
All that to say, when I was sent the Tide Coldwater detergent I noticed immediately that it was not HE, which always raises a red flag because you are warned when buying this type of machine that non-HE detergent will suds up too much.
HOWEVER, for some reason, the Tide Coldwater detergent did not oversuds and I was VERY pleased with the feel and small of our clothes.
BUT, the best test is yet to come and **SPOILER ALERT** this was totally gross. I couldn't bring myself to take or post a before picture but this rug you see here had something my dog chewed up all over it. Hint: This is a a bathroom rug that belongs in my daughters' bathroom. . . . . Yes, my beagle chewed up a used maxi-pad and left the bloody remains. Ugggghhhh. Gross. But, I braved the results and washed it in Tide Coldwater. YES, it worked!! Beautifully clean.
{Disclosure: I received a bottle of Tide Coldwater laundry detergent & a gift card in a promotion with SheSpeaks. All thoughts and opinions are my own.}
Tide Coldwater detergent is specially formulated to help get clothes clean when they are washed in cold water. Switching to washing in cold water is one small step you can take in your daily life to help conserve energy and save money on your utility bill!
Chore Chart for Kids
The New Year is a great time to get {re}organized and get back on track with menu plans, goals sheets and a chore chart for the kids. After holiday crazies, I always start cleaning out my pantry, my junk drawers and of course, all the storage areas from which Christmas decorations were extracted and need to return.
Sure, there's the old paper and pen but there are also some great kids' charts online that take the guesswork out of creating clever engaging ones. For example, I was asked to look over GoalForIt.com and tell you what I think.
After signing up for free, you will see charts for kids and then charts for tweens and teens. I have young teens and so I checked out that one. I need all the help I can get and so do they! They are actually embracing more organization but many days I struggle with keeping them on task because I am busy and don't want to spend my time yelling at them. I am hoping having a chart to reference may actually help.
Picking the age appropriate chart.
{I tried to watch the video describing the charts but my husband recently clamped down on Internet security for the kids which alternately makes me happy but frustrates me because for some reason this domain where the video is stored is blocked tonight and he is not here to unblock it for me. ACK!}
So, first (after signing in and selecting the teen chart option), I had to pick the color of my chart.
Picking My Chore Chart Color
Then, came time to add chores. Now, this was fun. I tried to be realistic. Certain tasks are expected of my kids and other tasks are offered occasionally for spending money.
Picking Chores
Some of the options like "nuture faith" and "family time" seem like more of a message to the parents than to the kids but since ideally parents and teens will go over this together, that is probably okay. Duh, I just realized that the pre-created tiles are probably the same for all age goal and chore charts for all ages. A quick glance reveals that teen options are the same as the adult goal chart but kids under 13 get their own cute labels. You can also set up rewards if certain chores or goals are met.
After adding a few pre-created options and then creating my own dog-walking tile, I got a little overwhelmed at the thought of tracking all of this, despite the fact that this is supposed to help get the kids involved and that this is all stuff we do anyway. Or, maybe I am just overwhelmed at deciding what I want from my kids tonight. I may have to come back to this.
Overall, I see this more usable to parents as a smartphone app which I BET is in the works (so you can think about it and work on it throughout the day). I do like that the kids' charts are printable. Great potential here.
{Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in conjunction with GoalForIt and Mom Select. All thoughts and opinions are my own.}
Upcoming MOVIE: Beauty & the Beast in 3D with Tangled Ever After Short
Saturday, my daughter Lindsey and I thoroughly enjoyed the screening of the 3D version of Beauty & the Beast with my friend Denise and her daughter who LOVES everything Disney. My teen girls grew up on that movie and it is never grows old. We both enjoyed seeing it with extra dimension. I saw details I never noticed before and was swept once again into this classic tale.
"Like" BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on Facebook: http://www.facebook.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 3D hits theaters January 13, 2012.
We also saw a great short of "Tangled Ever After," a teaser of which I included below:
{Disclosure: We received free tickets to this screening. All thoughts and opinions are our own.}
CLOSED: GIVEAWAY: Movie Screening of BIG MIRACLE
I have FIVE family 4 packs {yes, guaranteed seats} to the screening of Big Miracle on Saturday, January 28th at 10:00AM at the United Artists, King of Prussia, PA. Leave a comment here if you want one and please do show up! I am so bummed I can't be there but don't let that stop YOU! 
I will pick winner by Wednesday, January 18, 2012 before and email the 5 winners directly.
ABOUT BIG MIRACLE (See the trailer below.)
Based on the inspiring incredible true story that united the world, the rescue adventure Big Miracle tells the amazing tale of a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and a animal-loving volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.
Local newsman Adam Carlson (Krasinski) can't wait to escape the northern tip of Alaska for a bigger market. But just when the story of his career breaks, the world comes chasing it, too. With an oil tycoon, heads of state and hungry journalists descending upon the frigid outpost, the one who worries Adam the most is Rachel Kramer (Barrymore). Not only is she an outspoken environmentalist, she's also his ex-girlfriend.
With time running out, Rachel and Adam must rally an unlikely coalition of Inuit natives, oil companies and Russian and American military to set aside their differences and free the whales. As the world's attention turns to the top of the globe, saving these endangered animals becomes a shared cause for nations entrenched against one another and leads to a momentary thaw in the Cold War. http://www.
IN THEATERS NATIONWIDE FEBRUARY 3
