Summer's end

It is difficult for to believe, but summer has come and now summer is almost gone.  I enjoy summer a great deal.  It is really a break from the every life.  I am a home school mom, so think school teacher, summer breaks.  In general, a teacher's job is not like a year round, day-in, day-out job.  I still get to enjoy summer breaks, like I did during childhood.  It seems that the summers now are much busier than they were when I was young.  I distinctly remember those days when I would spread a blanket or beach towel out in the backyard and I would lie there for hours watching the clouds.  I would search for little surprises in those clouds...was that a bunny rabbit that just hopped by?  Then it would somehow morph into a cute little (are not so little?) hippopotamus!  As the clouds continued to move and change, I never knew what I would see next.  And this would entertain me for hours....  Or at least it felt like hours to me.  Now, as a mom, it seems that I only get a chance to see clouds as I am driving from one activity to the next.  And I can't just stare at them and consider what they look like---then I am back to reality because I am driving after all.  I can't just stare off at the sky!

So, with sadness, I realize that another summer has passed and we are moving into fall soon.  I do feel a bit of excitement about that though.  Fall after all is my favorite season.  I always thought that October would be the perfect month to get married.  And imagine an outdoor wedding in October in the South!  The colors would be glorious.  Bridesmaids' dresses in an array of fall leaf hues...  I can picture it now.

The bottom line, I would say, is to just relax and enjoy whatever season you are in.  So I will take each opportunity to see the cloud formations as I drive or the watch those beautiful, multicolored leaves as the fly past my windshield.  Because I know that soon enough those leaves will be gone and I'll be watching as snow flurries hit my windshield.

Enjoy your season!!!
~Amy

A rose by any other name...

We have an old rose bush at our house.  Can't tell you how many years it has been there, but the house was built around 1935...probably this bush has been around almost as long.  When we moved into our house in 1998, it was a pitiful, unfruitful rose bush.  It is amazing what a little TLC will do for a living thing though!  It is now so tall and robust---and filled with buds this year!  Here is one of the first beauties to come off of the bush:

Isn't this one of the most beautiful roses you have ever seen?  And it smells heavenly (unlike so many roses these days that do not have any smell at all)!  I don't know the variety, but I do remember we had a rose bush when I was growing up that my mother always called a Peace rose bush...  These little yellow and pink buds look very similar, so maybe that's it.  Anyway, I love it!  Thanks to hubby for picking this for me today!

Blessings to you!  Go give another living thing some TLC and see what happens!

~Amy

Tennis Champions!

Exciting news!!!  My mixed doubles team (7.0) won our local tournament, so we are headed to the district tournament in Richmond in June---as long as we have enough people to field a team.  I hope we will be able to go.  What fun!

It is almost time for ODTA and USTA women's tennis to begin. I'm looking forward to both of those teams.  It has been exciting to meet lots of new tennis friends.

No more updates right now.  Busy times!  Have a great day!

~Amy

Update on goals

First, I can say that I am not getting around to blogging every week, however I am doing it more than my blog seems to show.  This is because I am having to "edit" sections to add info.  So just today, I edited both the "In the Kitchen"and "In the Library" sections so far.  So I'm okay with my progress on that one.

My walking/running has fallen behind because I injured my leg about 3 1/2 weeks ago and had to take a break.  That is really an understatement since I could barely walk for a couple days.  It was my calf muscle/tendon area.  I was playing tennis and felt a "pop" while running.  It was either a strain, sprain or small tear in the muscle/tendon.  It is definitely feeling so much better now.  I have played tennis 3 times since the injury (after a 2 week complete break).

That brings me to another goal.  I have started playing USTA doubles tennis.  I'm actually doing mixed doubles which I had not originally planned on doing.  But I am enjoying it.  It is great experience in playing with tougher players.  The first match I played, my partner and I won.  The second match saw a different partner and I losing in 2 tie break sets.  Ugh!  My male opponent was the toughest server I have ever faced.   I am hoping to get another shot at playing against him again this season because I REALLY want to win!!

I have read a couple of books already...I have others I'm reading now, so that goal is going well.  But I have only seen one movie in the theater so far this year.  Falling a little behind on that goal.  I'm going to have to head to the theater soon!!!

Recipes are going well, as is Bible reading.

Biking, zip lining, kayaking---those are waiting for spring, warmer weather and for me to purchase a bike, borrow a kayak and find a zip line!

That's my update.  Almost 1/4 of the way through this New Year.  I finally feel like I am accomplishing some things.  By just making a list this year, it has made me stop and consider what I want to do.  It has made me focus on planning for the future.  When I look back at life, I want to see that I could set goals and get those things done.  It has been a struggle in my life since I graduated from pharmacy school.  Up until that point, I had always had goals.  Once I reached that ultimate large life goal of becoming a pharmacist, I felt a let down.  I thought, "What do I do now?"  I've floated along for a lot of years and I feel like I've lost myself along the way.  Now, I am on a journey of discovering who I am again.  And I am taking those things along with me that are the most important...my journey with my Lord, Jesus Christ, my family, my physical well being and health (especially my tennis), my journaling (in the form of blogging), and some other fun stuff (movies and books).  I'm glad you are here on my journey with me.

Have a blessed day!!!
~Amy

Time

Time just keeps ticking along.  I have so many good intentions, but I just don't have enough time to get all the things that I want to do done...  I have been absent from the blog for a couple of weeks.  In that time, I managed to hurt my leg while playing tennis.  The doctor said that I strained, sprained or slightly tore my calf muscle/tendon.  All I know is there was a lot of pain associated with it.  I couldn't bear weight on that leg very much the day that I did it.  I am now about 3 days out and my leg is feeling much better---thankfully!  I am so ready to get back out on the tennis court, but I know that if I return too soon, I run a much higher chance of re-injuring it...  So I will try to catch up on my blog today to distract my mind from tennis.

Hope your day is going well.
~Amy

A good week

This has been a good week.  I managed to wog (walk/jog) 8 miles this week....still catching up from when I was sick a couple of weeks ago.  I tried new recipes, crafted, read my Bible, started a new Bible study (Beth Moore's James study) with friends, and I accompanied another friend to Richmond for a dental appointment at Medical College of VA.

It was a wonderful trip.  Girl time talking in the car for several hours there and back was awesome.  And the LORD gave us some great surprises along the way.  The most memorable are the ones at Short Pump Town Center.  It is a huge mall!  My friend had never been there, so she just kept saying, "I can't believe how big this place is."  But we were headed there just for dinner before our trip home.  The restaurant: Maggiano's Little Italy.  I had read online that they didn't have a gluten free menu, but the chef would come out to your table and speak with you about what he could make gluten free for you.  Since my friend and I both have gluten problems, this seemed like a great thing to try.  We also had her 8 yr old little girl (the one with the actual dental appt) with us.  So the trip to the mall started with us getting a great parking spot (first space in the row) in this huge, packed parking lot.  Then we went in, talked to the chef and got a great meal.  But the surprise came in when we both got another helping of our meal choice to go.  And I had gotten a $10 off coupon online before we went.  So...we got a kid's meal and 4 adult meals (2 we ate there and 2 to go) for just under $23!!!  Can you imagine?  And it was so yummy!!!  My friend's daughter had prayed before we left that we would get surprises from the LORD.  And, boy, did HE surprise us!!!

I have seen the goodness of the LORD this week!!!  How about you?  Remember to watch for what HE is doing in your life!

~Amy

Get the clutter out!!!

I told you my list of goals for 2012, but I have some other things that are not really goals, just good things to do.  One of those things involves all those bottle of lotion, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. that have just a little bit left in the bottle.  Usually this happens for me because I really like the item, but it is no longer available.  I don't want to use the last little bit because then I will never have it again.  Or maybe I got a new bottle of something and had to try it immediately, leaving behind a little bit of the old product.  But all of these bottles just pile up and then when I try to find something, I end up with a mess on the floor because I had to drag out a piece of bottle of this and smidgen of a bottle of that just to get to what I wanted.  No fun!!  Clean cabinets and drawers are so much nicer!

There, of course, were other items like hair products that I tried that did not work for my hair type.  All of those I donated to my hairdresser who sees all different kinds of hair and can use those products.  Sometimes I get a lotion that I don't really like the smell or texture or something about it.  For those items, I ask family and friends if they like it---if so, they can have it.  And what about the samples that you receive in the mail from time to time.  Use them!  Or give them to a homeless shelter or a similar organization.  They appreciate and use anything that they get.

Hopefully, I have given you some new ideas!!  If you have other good ideas to share, please feel free to comment.  I would love to have even more ways to get clutter out of my house!

Have a blessed day!!!

~Amy