Let's Get This Party Started! Two Weeks Later...

Well. Well, hello, there!

Yes, yes this is me. Why in heaven's name would I burst into the blogging scene of 2012? I don't do much bursting in the winter. Slogging is what I do. And oh, how I slog.

But there is so much I want to tell you. And I will. Pinky promise, 'kay?

Like what we did to celebrate a 16th birthday. It was WAY super fun. (We did NOT get a driver's license. Yet. Did you know that out here in the big city/ 'burbs you have to make an APPOINTMENT at your DMV to THEN go wait for hours to take your driving test?? We did not know that until the week before her birthday. Then we did not know until the week OF her birthday that you could make the appointment online. Did you also know that you have to parallel park? Yeah -- if you have any great suggestions on how to teach a 16 year old how to do that, I'm all ears...)

And how I did on my 12 by 2012. Meh. Let's just say that I'm hoping that 50% counts as passing. (I think I may have done a tiny bit better than 50%, but I'm too scared to look right now).

And if I've set any goals for 2012. I did. I even wrote them down. And now I don't remember where I wrote them. Perhaps when I find them I should add "organization" to them. Did you set any goals?

And my word for 2012. I love my word for 2012. God keeps whispering it to me. Ooooh... there's an old hymn by that name, too... I'm not going to tell you now. I hope God is whispering a word to you, too. As a matter of fact, I'm positive that He is. Keep listening.

And... newsflash...! I MADE something from Pinterest! Better still -- it was ADORABLE!!

I know, I know! This post is simply a tease. I shall really write for real later this week.

I'm still applying for jobs right and left. I'm learning that parenting teens is not for the faint (or tender) of heart, but definitely improves your prayer life. And my Christmas present to myself with some Christmas money? This bad boy... Oh, yeah, I got a light therapy box. (and dang, I'm hacked that I linked to that -- now $10 cheaper than I paid for it! Ugh!) I don't winter well (I slog, remember?) and I'm trying to alleviate the slogging through the gray days.

I hear people say all the "you can't appreciate the sunshine if you don't have a little rain" mantras, but some day I shall write and explain the literal fog that comes across my brain after 48 hours of gray. Then the weeping begins. It isn't a dislike -- I dislike the cold. I dislike intense heat. -- this is a physical reaction to a lack of sunlight. And, if you think I'm a whack job that just threw money away on a bright light... I'm totally okay with that, too.

Must run. No license yet means I'm still on carpool duty. Two weeks from today is license test day! Say a prayer for all of us!

Tell me how YOUR 2012 is starting! I've missed all of you!

Doing Small Things With Great Love

Hey, y'all! Checking in on an AMAZINGLY beautiful day. Wow. Here it is almost December, and I think Texas is finally getting the hang of fall. I will take it, though. Love a sunshiney, cool day.

So does Duchess. This is her favorite spot -- the "sunshine patch," we call it. She used to go lie in the sunshine patch outside, but she has decided that she is too old and... she just won't do that anymore. I mean, when you have a perfectly lovely sunshine patch in a temperature controlled house, would you? I think not.






I have been checking back over my Twelve by 2012 goals. On some of them -- woefully behind. Some of them, I was pleasantly surprised at how far ahead I am (I think that was the case on two... :-). And a few, the sad reality is that I have either bitten off more than I can chew (or will realistically and/ or financially can do at this time).  I'll be sure to post an update in the first week of the new year. I know you'll want to mark your calendar for that. :-) Are you working toward any goals to finish out 2011? Already thinking towards 2012? Would LOVE to hear about it!

Remember my wallowing in angst about Who Am I? What do I do, etc.? This post -- Little is Much When God is in It --  REALLY spoke to me today. I think if you take a minute or two to read it, it will bless you, as well. It also called to mind something else excellent that I read earlier this year. I think God wants me to remember -- maybe needs all of us to remember -- that it is not the great, huge things that He is calling us to do.

Of course, Mother Teresa seemed to get this.

via

It's good that I am not called to great, huge things. Because my laundry, carpooling, grocery shopping, and orthodontist-running days don't seem to be amounting to much in the overall scheme of life. But (if I have a little bit of an attitude adjustment...) I can do them with great love. Perhaps I will never know the difference that will make to the cashier, orthodontist tech, other driver, or anything. But I am called to love. This I know. It's good to have purpose.

Tell me your goals to finish 2011. What about goals for 2012? What about small things with great love? Got anything in mind? Always love hearing from you!

Twelve by 2012

I'm going to start getting back here more often so that my first line of my blog isn't apologizing for being gone so long. It's been a crazy week in a good way. I've done very little writing of any kind and especially not of the bloggy kind -- as you've noticed.

I came across something that is right up my alley. As you have probably noticed, goal-setting is a big deal for me. Goal-accomplishing? Meh. You win some, you lose some. But if I don't set intentional goals,  I'm likely to live my life in a vortex of Facebook, Pinterest, and a sad workout routine I call "useless." I'm especially liking using this blog as my accountability place. I post it publicly, and now I have to follow through.

Danni at Oh, Hello Friend decided to cut the procrastination and finish the year strong. She made a list of 12 things she wants to get accomplished by 2012.  As she points out, it's a specific amount of time but not too long. Mark Batterson said at the Catalyst conference recently, "A goal without a deadline is dead on arrival."

So I'm joining in. Twelve things to do before 2012:

1. Get the 3 boxes out of my living room that have been sitting there since we moved in in May.

2. (recycled from Danni): Zero out my email inbox (currently at 265).

3. Finish my "Sarah is unavailable" file -- what some call an "in case of death" file. I am one rockin' family manager that keeps the plates spinning, the bills paid, the dog vaccinated, and everyone where they are supposed to be. If I were hospitalized or passed away, I would hate for my family to have an added stress of wondering where to take the dog to the vet or how to get into the online bank account to pay bills. This is something I have been meaning to work on, but the last week has reminded me that anything can happen to anyone at any moment. It's another way for me to love my family. My personal deadline for this one is Nov. 15 (I started last night).

4. Decorate foyer (and change out light fixture), decorate living room, and my bedroom (walls especially -- very barren currently).

5. Register and begin training for the Cowtown Half Marathon.

6. Start to date my husband more regularly (this has to wait until November due to family craziness).

7. Plan for my kids' birthdays. I know they are older, but they are around the holidays and kind of always get overlooked/ rushed over. We have a Sweet 16 this year, so we have to do something special.

8. Submit articles for publication... as in, ask a magazine/ newspaper to reject me. Really don't like this part of my calling.

9. Plan for and decorate for Christmas (someone please just let it come and let me enjoy it -- I don't want to have to get ready for it. Do. Not. Have it in me currently).

10. Deal with pictures on the camera (download to computer/ organize pics).

11. Read 6 books. I have slowed down WAY too much on my reading. You know what Stephen King says? "If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write." But I bet Stephen King is no fun on Pinterest.

12. Finish up and memorize well my last few scriptures for Beth Moore's Siesta Scripture Memory Team. I've at least logged them in thanks to sweet encouragement from Joelle, but I need to get them inside my head! Because we are going to the celebration in January! See you there?

Join me? You can make a list on paper or on your blog. If you have a blog, link it in the comments of Danni's post. Let's keep each other accountable, 'kay? Finish 2011 strong!