Friday, March 5, 2021

Remember When

Remember when things were simple, and life just seemed to BE. 

As I am sitting here at my crafty desk working on the album for the Boutique, I have music playing in the background. Not really paying attention to it, but my spirit is. 

I'm focused on the album, placing the things on each page to finish it.  It's all about the details...

I've thought about grandparents today. My parents. My cousins. My siblings. My nieces and nephews. I've thought about grandchildren. My three grown children and each one of my friends. Thinking about each one of these people and wondering how they were. (there are many by the way). I've wondered many times how each one of them was.  Many I have not heard from in days, weeks, months, and even years...

Remember when the phone would ring asking if you wanted to grab a coke, sit and visit? Where did those days go...?

Remember when mothers and daughters would have a leisure day getting their pedicures and manicures done while sitting and conversing with each other. Catching up with each other's life. Where did those days go...?

Fathers would take their sons to the golf course, or the fishing pond. Lessons learned. Where did those days go...?

Remember when grandpa would say, c'mon...let's take a ride on the tractor? I remember my granddad well. He is in my thoughts daily. He was my mom's stepdad. He and my granny (mom's mother) raised me until their deaths in the '70s. 

I don't remember riding on the tractor with granddad, but I do remember him drinking a large glass of tea in a metal bright colored glass with a long skinny spoon and mounds of sugar sitting at the bottom of the glass. He would stir it and stir it and stir it until the sugar dissolved. (I think that is why today, I can't stand sweet tea). His WAS sweet, sweet, sweet! 

Remember when...

As I was working on the two pages above, finishing up the details, I noticed the quote I put on one page and then the other expression on the opposite side of the page. 

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LIVE IN THE MOMENT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GRATITUDE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I am crafting, I am in the zone with the music playing, I am cutting, gluing, pulling this, and putting that. Grabbing this item and looking for that! I AM completely oblivious to everything and anyone around me. I can do this for hours on end and not even realize it. 

I didn't pay attention when I placed the two words on these pages, but today they jumped out at me like a ton of bricks. "LIVE IN THE MOMENT". What does that mean? Remember when life was simple. Where did that go? Life seems complex at times today...

Living in the moment these days is a constant battle of struggling with this or juggling that. Dealing with this and putting that on the back burner. Living in the moment today means we wear our masks when we go out in public. We distance ourselves at least six feet from the next person. Living in the moment today means, we don't have friends over for cookouts or other family members for a festive time of food and laughter. Living in the moment today means wondering if we'll have money to pay a bill or put food on the table. Living in the moment today, means will there be money for necessities such as medications or treatments if needed. 

Living in the moment means I must draw closer to my Heavenly Father. He is the only one who can hold me in the moments of my weakness. 

Living in the moment means I can hold on to God's strength and love when everything around me is in disarray. He holds onto me when I'm in a dark place. He holds onto me when things go crazy around me. He holds onto me when I am walking with my head held high. God is my constant...

Living in the moment. I remember when nothing affected me. I was a child. I spoke as a child, I acted like a child. I played outside. I was on the go all the time. Nothing mattered. Time didn't stop to remember what life would be like 40 years later.  

Living in the Moment. Remembering when my granny and granddad would take me to church. He would throw me up on his shoulders and we would walk down the long hallways. He stood over 6 ft. tall. I thought I could touch the clouds when I was riding on his shoulders... I miss my grandparents. Granny Inez and Granddad. My life was never the same after their deaths. I'm thankful they took me when I easily could have become an orphan. Remember when. 

The second word is GRATITUDE. 

I am eternally grateful for the time I had with my grandparents. They instilled values into my inner soul. They showed me, love. They showed me kindness.  They showed me firmness with a stern voice occasionally. They protected me. They provided for me. They cared for me and my well-being. Had it not been for my granny Inez and Grandad, no telling where I'd be today...REMEMBER WHEN.


That's me with them...I lived with them until I was 10 years old. Granny Inez passed away in April 1971 and Grandad passed away in November 1972. My birthday was in October. Living in the moment, remembering when...life was so simple. Was it really? I'm sure life had its ups and downs with this and that, but I was oblivious. I was protected from it all. Granny passed with Coronary Occlusion and Granddad with Colon Cancer. He was her second husband...remember when.

  

The simple things...being loved. Being cared for. Trusting others to provide for all our wants, needs, and desires. Remember when...life was so simple. 

Gratitude. What are you thankful for today? Breath, a job, food on the table, or possibly family and friends? Could it be, we are thankful for it all? As I sit here and think about this word...I remember when there was a time in my life gratitude didn't exist in my world. I was so angry at the world. At people. At family. At friends.  AT SELF. Remember when. 

I remember when the pieces were broken all around me...and the only way I could move forward was by laying it all down at the cross. Gratitude encompasses many things...

grat·i·tude

noun

  1. the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Let me pose a question to you...when was the last time you stopped and thought about all you are thankful for? A few years back, I made a Gratitude Journal. It consisted of 365 days of things I was thankful for. Remember when. 

I am going to challenge you today to stop what you are doing and write down 3 things you are grateful for.  Can you do that for me? If you can, I'd love to hear what you are grateful for. If you can't, why not? Are you carrying hurts, unforgiveness, doubt, or fear? Are you feeling hopeless because living in the moment has become exhausting? 

There were times that a specific day only had one word on the page in my Gratitude Journal. Living in the moment...

Sometimes, being grateful and being able to express that gratitude takes a great deal of energy. I would encourage you to be grateful because you want to be, NOT because someone expects it. 

Gratitude...

For me, not only does the word GRATITUDE means being thankful, but it also gives me HOPE.

Gratitude offers me an expectation that I WILL be thankful and appreciative of something each day. For instance, I am thankful that I woke up today. I am thankful that I have breath in my body. I am thankful that I am a wife. I am thankful that I am a mother and a grandmother (regardless of what life has thrown at me). I am thankful that I can create beautiful crafts. I am thankful I am living. I am thankful I can listen to the birds singing. I am thankful I can play with our fur baby. I am thankful I can forgive others AND myself. I am thankful that my sins have been washed away and that my past doesn't dictate my future. I am thankful for change. I am thankful for resolutions. Even if they are not on my terms...

Gratitude means I will stand tall. I can give to others regardless of anything received in return. That is NOT the expectation. Gratitude is from our heart. COMPLETELY...with no reservations. 

Gratitude is not entitlement...it is something that I can extend to another human being or better yet, to myself.  I am GRATEFUL for life...I am GRATEFUL that I CAN live in the moment of today. 

Remembering when living in the moment was carefree and nothing else mattered. 

Remembering when no matter what, I stood tall with my head held high just living in the moment. 

GRATITUDE...no matter what!

Heart to Heart Soul Creations
H2hsc2020

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Thursday, March 4, 2021

Throwback Thursday - The IHOP Girls

 


My beautiful friends and I in El Paso, Texas...2016.

Once Again Time Moved On Without Me

March 4, 2021 - already? The last thing I remember is it being Valentine's weekend. Then the Polar Vortex came through the state of Texas! 

We lost power, had to boil our water, cook around small pockets of time when we did have electricity. Slept all bundled up with layers of blankets over our heads in hopes of staying warm. 

Remember my posts a few weeks back when I was discussing survival tips and what you would do when the need arose? Well, we had to reach into that bag of tricks and use a few of those tips I shared with you. They were our saving grace…

Flashlights twinkling through the house when the sun and the light should have been shining brightly. (Thank goodness I had batteries!)

Playing dice at the kitchen table with our youngest daughter and her husband by the twinkling of the same flashlights. What an experience it was...

I couldn't finish the Ultimate Blog Challenge as I had set out to do on February 1st. I'm bummed about that just a little bit...there will be others I'm sure. I'm not sweating it...

A few months back I was told about a small Boutique in a town near where I live. It's called The Hangout Gift Shop & More. They have unique, handmade things in there for sale. I told the individual who had told me about it I would check it out...time-lapsed and I just recently was able to swing by with a friend of mine, Glenda Cates of The Mommies Review.  I met the owner and asked a few questions. We looked around and we left.

Since my initial visit, I have been tossing around if I wanted to commit to doing something like once again. You see, I have tried my hands at Craft Shows and honestly, it's more trouble and more money out of my pocket than I earned at the show. I have sold more of my crafty creations by word of mouth than I did at these craft shows. Should I commit or should I not? That is the question at hand. 

I told my daughter about the opportunity and she said, 'do what you want mom - I know you enjoy crafting". Still tossing the possibility around I buzzed my daughter on Tuesday of this week and asked her if she would go with me to check out the shop. I wanted her to see what I was considering...she obliged me and tagged along. Well, she drove us since she has the car seat in her car for my grandson! LOL

Visiting with the Owner again, I decided that I would place a few things in The Hangout. We left. As soon as I got home, my mind was going all over the place...I can make this, I can make that. I need to do this, and I need to do that! Oh yea, did I say this would even play into my blogging journey? Just think about all the other vendors in that little shop I could do shoutouts for!!! 

I'm so glad my crafting mojo has finally begun to make me happy again...it's been two years of hard-fought tears of trying to find my happy place again with it. Why you ask? LIFE. Marriage. STUFF! Thank goodness I know about Self-care, Coping Tools, and enough gumption to push through it all. Prayer also helped me muddle through the daily ups and downs with time moving on without me. 

This week, I have started another album. I am going to make five of these from different paper themes. I will also make a few legal pad holders, some Mother's Day Loaded Envelopes and a few other goodies. I will blog about this experience as I walk through it...I'm excited about that, to say the least. Who knows, one of these days I may even venture out and do a few videos of my own. It's not like I haven't been asked to do them... :-)

Since I started blogging in January 2020, I have been trying to juggle the nuances of the ins and outs of blogging. Some of that has been trying to find my niche and being comfortable with it. If you have followed my blogs any over the course of the last year, you will see I write about Crafting, Genealogy, In the Kitchen, Life's Journey, Reviews, and from to time a Give-A Way. 

I would be lying if I said it has come easy to me. It hasn't. I constantly question if I'm sharing topics that others find interesting or if they are just for my own personal gain. You know, CONFIDENCE building!!!?? I'm sure I have many flaws in my writings and the way I do things, but these are my thoughts, and I can only do me. So, I will stay in the arena that I have lived experiences with and expertise. Thank you for rooting me on...I appreciate it VERY much!!! I enjoy reading all the comments that are left on my blog posts. Do you ever see my responses when I reply to them? 

I am going to be juggling time to get these creations made in between watching the little guy for my daughter, and days that my health seems to be acting up. This week has been the norm for sure. Here we are on Thursday and I've had three horrific days of low energy. Thank you, Thyroid Disease, - for me being told the latter part of 2013 that Thyroid Cancer would be the easiest to live with, it has NOT been in any way shape, or form. I had surgery for cancer in January of 2014 and here we are in March of 2021. Still, I live with the challenges of the disease daily. UGH....anyway. 

I need to get off here as the little guy will be coming over soon. (It's my day to watch him while my daughter edits weddings). She is a professional Wedding Photographer. I have a new album sitting on my desk that I started yesterday. I'm still in the early stages of it...but here is a sneak peek. 





I refuse to let time move on without me today...how about you? What does your day look like? 

Heart to Heart Soul Creations
H2hsc2020

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Remember When

Remember when things were simple, and life just seemed to BE.  As I am sitting here at my crafty desk working on the album for the Boutiqu...