Harvest Happiness

Oooooh, I love Fall!! I have officially started the fall decorating. What fun!! My office at work is almost complete. Now to move on and start decorating the home. For those of you who don't know, I could literally decorate with pumpkins all year round. I adore pumpkins! Why? I don't know. Never have understood it. I just know that when it's time for the stores to pull out the new fall decorations, I am drawn to all of the "new" pumpkins they have. Cute, Cute, Cute!! I've been kind of bad in the past years and have not carved pumpkins with the kids. This year I am going to make a great effort to get that accomplished. My days tend to start running together after a while. If I don't keep my self on post over my calendar at all times, I can let things pass and not even realize it. How awful is that! If anyone out there has any time management tips, I'M ALL EARS! I was required to take a time-management class in college. I guess it just didn't sink in with me very well. I guess I will have to revert to a comment I made yesterday on my blog. It seems we become too carried away in our busyness and we feel that our family can wait...what an injustice to them! I've really been thinking lately about how busy I keep myself. By the time I do find an evening to be home, I'm so tired from being busy I don't have any energy to pour into my family. Depressed? YES! Guilty? YES! Absolutely wearing myself down about this. Why? My family is very important but I don't make them feel that way. Hmmm... Enough of my whining! I really would love to hear from the few that see my blog to get some feedback or even ideas. How does a sanguine people pleaser tell others no? CHOW!

New Ideas, New Ways, New Family

Much has happened here in the Conner-Mock Family. In doing a lot of soul searching and cleaning out the "family cobwebs" if you please, I have realized how I have let things go with the kids. We're back on track and have a new plan. I tend to get really frustrated quickly if they don't live up to their end of the bargain and give up. I've got to make up my mind to stay firm and stick with this.

I've learned that I have a HEAVY sanguine personality. Learning about the personalities in the family and how they react to each other has been truly enlightening. What a difference some awareness makes!

This week Hannah has been sick and I've been tending to her every need. She finally went back to school today. With her being sick I stayed home yesterday. This gave me the time to get a great meal on the table for all of us to sit down and eat. I made a great new spaghetti and meatball recipe. The meatballs were homemade. Call me silly but I've never made my own meatballs. This was super simple:

The Best Ever Meatballs

2 lbs. ground beef (or turkey)

1 pkg. Stove Top Chicken dressing

1 1/4 c. water

2 eggs.

Mix all of the ingredients together. Form meatballs to whatever size you desire. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 17 mins. at 400 degrees.

They were delish!!

I, of course, served them with noodles and spaghetti sauce. I also found a recipe recently that added about 2 oz. of cream cheese to their spaghetti sauce. It was so creamy and delicious! The kids went on and on about it. I thought it was great, myself!

Tonight is church and the plan is always to get something quickly and let's run!! Tomorrow I'm planning to have meatball subs for supper. We had a LOT of meatballs leftover. YAY!!

I pray that all of my friends and family are doing well. Make the time to have a meal sitting at the table all together at least ONE time this week. I know it seems like something minimal to ask, but in our busy lives we tend to put the ones we love on the back burner for busyness. I'm at fault! Live Life! Chow!

New Job

I recently started a new job at a wonderful company. I just want to document as to how happy and comfortable I am with this decision. For those of you who do not know, I was laid of July 2 of this year. Never something fun to go through. While we relied on my income, we knew we weren't going to lose it all without it for a small period of time. I immediately applied for the unemployment and started my job search. It was quite a depressing time for me. Being turned down or told no someone else is better is not something I enjoy hearing. I got very excited about a couple of opportunities and they just fell through my fingers. Hubby and I decided whatever was offered was what I needed to take (for the sake of the family finances). So, I did just that! I was not happy with the job I accepted. My hubby kept telling me that I could always keep looking and quit later. Well, that's exactly what happened! I got into an interview with Schlumberger and they offered me a job within 12 hours. They wanted me to start in two days. I had to do the UNTHINKABLE and quit a job without a two week notice. I felt sooo bad doing that, but feel so much more myself with this new position. Because of taking this wonderful position, I have postponed my shoulder surgery to December 14. Trust me, I didn't mind postponing that! Next on the agenda is to have my colonoscopy tomorrow. I have these every 5 years (preventive) because of my father's colon problems. My evening will be spent in one particular room. Can't wait!!! But, the pay off is that I can have drugs tomorrow during the procedure and sleep the rest of the day.....yay me!! I pray that all is well out in blogland with my wonderful friends and family! ENJOY YOUR DAY

Monday Madness

We all made it another day and it's a new dawn of a new week for all of us in the Conner household. This weekend held a lot of busyness for us. FRIDAY - My daughter spent Friday night with a friend and they went to the football game to root for our local High School. I had to decorate and prepare for our monthly (Mug & A Muffin) ladies gathering. I spent about 30 minutes decorating and 2-3 hours running around doing errands. When I got home, my son and I sat and made little giveaways for all of the ladies. SATURDAY - Left the house by 8:00 to pick up the breakfast foods and last minute item for the ladies gathering. We had about 25 show up to our Mug & A Muffin event. It was a lot of fun. It was relaxing to get together and not have a time schedule or agenda that we had to focus on. After leaving Mug & A Muffin, I found myself at home taking a short nap and doing a little bit of picking up at home. We decided not to go to the OU football game because of the rain issue. We wound up going over to some of our great friends' home to watch the game on PPV. We were there with several friends and had such a great time!! We watched as the rain poured during the game and were thankful that we had not gone. Miserable!! SUNDAY - Held a tight schedule for us. 9:15 Praise team/choir practice, 9:30 Sunday School, 10:30 Church, 12:30 lunch, home by 2:00, daughter & her guest to church by 3:30 for praise team, get a nap in there somewhere, 5:30 praise team practice, 6:00 church, 7:30 homeward bound!! WHEW! Makes me tired just thinking about it. All in all it was a good day for everyone! MONDAY - WORK!! Kids made it to school in great fashion and I am here at work doing my thang! We have a busy week scheduled so, I am hoping to get very easy meals taken care of this week. Let's see: MONDAY - Pizza at Mazzios - gotta love the $6.00/lg pizza TUESDAY - Meatball Subs WEDNESDAY - church day - grab & go THURSDAY - Tacos - Family meeting FRIDAY - ??? Probably another grab & go

Cleaning Poem (I couldn't resist)

I asked the Lord to tell me

Why my house is such a mess.

He asked if I'd been 'computering',

And I had to answer 'yes.'

He told me to get off my fanny

And tidy up the house.

And so I started cleaning up...

The smudges off my mouse.

I wiped and shiend the topside.

That really did the trick...

I was just admiring my work.

I didn't mean to 'click.'

But click, I did, and oops I found

A real absorbing site.

That I got SO way into it

I was into it all night.

Nothing's changed except my mouse

It's very, very shiny.

I guess my house will stay a mess...

While I sit here on my hiney.

Bible Study Time

I have been gone from the bloggy world for a little while. I actually looked at my blog today and realized it was June 12 the last time I posted something. WOAH! Didn't feel like it had been that long. Lots has happened since that date. I've been laid off from my job, so I'm out looking AGAIN!! My mother fell and broke every bone in her left leg, so I went to take care of her. Children don't stop running during the summer, so I spent the month of July trying to occupy their "i'm bored" time. What a life! When my friend Nicole put up this picture and posted about doing a Bible Study on finding balance in your life.....I WAS IN! No second thoughts! I went out immediately and got the book. Sooooo excited that I couldn't wait for Monday to come so I could start this study. I did my study yesterday and wouldn't you know the first story in the chapter 1 was about the circus. Seems like they were immediately talking about my life. Juggling schedules, juggling time, juggling lists...can there be anymore? So far so good! I decided, after reading about balancing my life, that I needed to start this blog up again! I had sooo much to blog about but had no access to the internet for a while (when I was gone). Now that I've been back, I've just truly put it in the back of my mind. Bear with me my friends! I may have to start copying some of you wonderful bloggers by doing some things you do. I don't want to do that but, I am beginning to think it would actually give me something to think about and blog. Forgive me for that!! School starts in just a few days for us and the MAJOR schedules/stress will begin! I am actually looking forward to it. Sometimes I wonder if I feed off of the chaos of schedules. Not that I want to! I sometimes don't know what to do with myself when I have no job and no school schedule to go by. I've been a little lost the past several weeks. What a perfect time for Bible Study and blog time! Hope all is well with all of my friends & family! God bless!

Stormy Friday

It's storming today. This would be the perfect day to be in bed - all day! It is so dark outside it looks like it's about 8:00 at night. I kind of love this type of weather. It's something refreshing about the rain. Now, I don't tend to enjoy the tornado warnings that come with a large portion of our storms, but all in all I enjoy the storms. Thinking about storms makes me review the "storms" in my life. Storms brew and brew and we let them fester in our lives. We need to learn to let go sooner and let the refreshing "rain" of God fall in our lives and wash that rain away. Think about how refreshed we are when the "rain" starts and the "storm" ends. It's a breath of fresh air. You feel like you have strength to fight another day. HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD! Surely the earth feels the same?? After days of us driving and walking and who knows what else, it's time for the earth to get a refreshing wash and soak in the rain. There was a scripture that spoke to me today. The past couple of weeks have been a trial in my life. Lots going on internally and externally, to me and to my family and on and on. I fell on this scripture this morning and wanted to share it. Ecclesiastes 11:3 - The Message "When the clouds are full of water, it rains. When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls. Don't sit there watching the wind. Do your own work. Don't stare at the clouds. Get on with your life." WOW - Get on with your life!! Don't stand there just staring at the clouds. That spoke to me. Don't know about anyone else. I tend to dwell on things when they come into my life. I've got to stop that! I've got to go on with life. Anyone else tend to catch themselves "staring at the clouds" at times? We need that release when we get full. The problem is sometimes we try to gather those "things" that have been released and put them back into our daily lives. Lord help us let go! Thank you God that I can go through trials and know you are always there to swoop me up and focus my attention somewhere other than the "clouds".

My Kindle Addiction

I discovered a new techno toy a few months ago. Yes, THE KINDLE....ta-da!! I hear trumpets sound everytime I say the word. It has completely taken over my thoughts in my life (OK, a little exaggeration there). What a great device for people who enjoy reading.

I decided to pay the horrific price for my Kindle because I was going to be going on family vacation to Cancun and wanted something that I could read but didn't want to pack an actual book (or books as it would have turned out!). Books to me are like clothes. What I want to read depends on how I am feeling at the moment. ha-ha Anyway, I have found myself not able to leave the Kindle anywhere. I have to have it with me at all times. It is so thin that it fits right into my purse. I find myself reading when I'm at the Dr's office, waiting in traffic because of a wreck or even in the - AHEM - potty room. Yes ma'm!! :-)

I have always wanted to be a devoted reader but, never felt like reading much. I would feel more guilty sitting and reading for hours than I would sitting and watching TV for hours. I did mention in a previous post that I am a TV addict! Anyway, I thought this would be the answer to that and I could read in small snippets all day long. It has actually been wonderful!

Like I mentioned before, I wanted the Kindle so I could read while sitting on the beach! Wouldn't you know I did not take the Kindle out ONE TIME while I was on vacation. I just couldn't pull myself to do much of anything but lay on the beach with my eyes closed, listening to the waves - and of course the occasional "MOM" that would come from somewhere. Maybe I was dreaming?? Anyway, I felt kind of bad for not reading it. I did get to enjoy reading my Kindle in the Houston Int'l Airport. We had 4 hour layovers there and it occupied some of my time.

For those of you who do not know what the Kindle is, please click here to read all about it! It stores so many books. You can get your newspapers delivered to it and several magazines are on board also. It gives you wi-fi access to download books at any time and the books are a fraction of the price you would pay in stores. It has the ability to let you send and receive emails. WOW! It's just quite the machine! It will read to you also...if you can stand the monotone voices (you can choose male or female). I was so excited about my Kindle that when I got it, I immediately went to show my boss. She wound up buying TWO of them immediately.

Well, just wanted to post something about my life and what I enjoy. I'm trying to come up with some great topics to talk about but, I'm only realizing that I lead a pretty dull life. Nothing like my friend over at Girly Muse (WOAH!!). She always has the greatest things to blog about...I think I might be a little jealous (don't tell her..). I love you Lori! I enjoy your posts a LOT! I dare you to go read those posts and not laugh your booty (sorry Lori) off!!

Anyway, I'm trying to get creative & maybe even gain a few more readers?? Don't know how my bloggy friends are accomplishing that! I get a thrill when I get comments from the three of you that actually follow me!

Hope all is well in your world! Till another time!

Seriously...!

Well, I did my blog duty and FINALLY put up a "survey" that I was tagged in. I've avoided them for a while, but now I did it!! Happy???? I don't know. I guess it does give me something to blog about! I've recently been dealt a few heavy blows. From schedules to not feeling "myself" to family medical issues...it's all just quite overwhelming at times! Even though I am kidless this month, I have found PLENTY to keep me occupied. I went to my Dr yesterday to follow up on my blood work & she told me I did too much....no really? She suggested I cut a few things out. What in the world can I cut out?? I work, go to college, take care of my home and go to church. What of those can I cut out?? I don't think I can unless I give up on College AGAIN!! Not gonna happen this time. I am determined to get my degree. I may have to pay for it in fatigue and crankiness but, I'm gonna get it done! Anyway, other than that...life's great! ha-ha Really, just feeling a little down and worried. I will climb up in a few days & get back on top of the mountain. My weight is becoming a big concern in my life. It's kind of overtaken me. I need to stop that and just focus on my vitamins and healthy eating habits. I do good for several days and then fall off the wagon. What is up with that? Chocolate seems to follow me around when I am eating healthy. It hides behind corners & cabinets!! LOL Hope everyone else out in bloggy world is having a great summer! Let me know about some of your healthy eating "tricks". Maybe I can gleem something from others!

Six Unimportant Things That Make Me Happy

OK, so my bloggy friend (and real life friend) Nicole tagged me on this survey. She sent over very harsh words "DO IT!!" Sooooo, out of fear, I am doing it.....nah!! 1. Shopping - don't know why...could do without it...would stop a lot of bickering in my house! 2. Planning - anything!! I get a high out of planning an event & seeing it through. 3. Other people's opinion of me. This is something that I have got to stop worrying about!! Is it unimportant?? YES!! Especially if they are people I don't really even know. Gotta make everybody happy!! 4. Along with Nicole, I get a high out of getting comments on my blog! I only have 3 blog friend so, I don't get many comments but when I do.....YIPPEEEE!!! 5. TV - I'm an addict.....there I said it! 6. Sleeping in! OK, I have been instructed to tag six people...HMMMMMM, lets see...only 3 people follow my blog & two of those were already tagged....Ya know, Loren may have already tagged Girly Muse. I haven't even checked.....sooooo, what now???