One Little (but it's really BIG) Word and The Planners

OK-it's time to develop a new routine.

I want to get a bunch of things completed around the house (like cleaning-hahaha) but I also want to be diligent about my blog. Let's start with my

One Little Word for 2013

I went back and looked at previous posts about the words I've chosen over the years...

Focus

Simplify

 (that was a real failure)

Manage

Celebrate

(this one was easy..so much to celebrate and be grateful for this past year)

My word for 2013 came to me very easily

LEARN

Now that I'm fully retired, I want to work on keeping my mind sharp and my health in check.

There is a lot I can and should LEARN to accomplish these goals.

Plus, there are tons of fun things I want to learn, too.

First of all, for the first time, I am actually doing Ali Edward's on-line class entitled

One Little Word.

(read her blog post about this activity here, and know that you don't have to take the class to participate in this challenge...it's just an interesting goal)

The class goes on for the whole year and at the beginning of each month, you're given prompts to get you thinking about how your word is impacting your life and you keep a journal/photo book.

The class is available through Big Picture Classes

I will write more about my "bucket" learning list as time goes on.

Now, I can never start a new year without some kind of planner. Last year I used this one...

which featured my word for 2012...Celebrate

I found some really nice planners at Target this year and actually decorated 2 of them for friends for Christmas. Both of these friends are experiencing some difficult challenges in their lives right now and I wanted to give them a place to write important appointments and also a place to journal. The planners  have a very sturdy outer acrylic cover and then the cover of the journal is patterned but there is no writing on it. They were a dream to alter.

Mary Ellen's planner...

(the paper label just rips off)

and Jacqueline's...

and my planner...

A work in progress!

This is what the planners look like inside...

Plenty of places to write

OK-off to do some cleaning and organizing and  Planner cover planning...:D

Have a warm and toasty day!

xoxo

Joyce

Happy New Year

I love this postcard that Julie at Old Design Shop shared.

It shows the end of the old year in the tired face of the old man and the

excitement and anticipation for the New Year in the face of the Baby.

That's how I feel as 2013 starts.

I am starting in a new phase of life, different from any other I have

ever experienced.

There are many things I am looking forward to and many adventures to have.

In the next few days I will share my "One Little Word" for 2013. It was an easy choice this time.

For now, I want to thank all of you who stop in to read my posts. It's great when you leave a comment but even when you don't, the stats tell me that you're out there somewhere and I appreciate your interest.

I wish a Blessed, Happy and Healthy New Year to all!

Cheers!

Joyce



New Year's Eve

I saw this quote on Lucy's, Craftberry Bush blog this morning.

I loved it so much and asked her if I could share it with you.

(Go there and look around...creativity abounds!)

A clean "slate" to start a new chapter and a New Year.

Have a Fun, Safe, New Year's Eve!

xoxo

Joyce

Merry 3rd Day of Christmas.....

Can a blogger, who has been absent from their blog

for more than 4 months,

just jump back into blogging like they've never been away?

I sure hope so!

I've missed you all...

I've missed visiting and reading and commenting..

Well actually, I have visited some..but I've been silent.

Life has been rather over-whelming for the past several months...

but it's getting much better and there is news to share.

As of December 18th, I am totally retired

AND

on January 13th, David will retire also.

That will be his last Sunday...

he will preach and preside at our two regular liturgies in the morning that day at 8:30 and 11:00.

 At 4:00 there will be a special service with special music,

followed by a reception at one of the local downtown hotels.

We are excited by the prospect of retirement and entering into the next

phase of our lives but we are sad about leaving the congregation that we love dearly.

As I said, life has been rather overwhelming lately.

 We celebrated Christmas Day at home in a quiet way.... after the 7 church services(between Sunday and Tuesday), and as it usually happens, were too tired to even have our special Christmas dinner

until yesterday. Today, we are rested and re-energized and ready to go forth toward 2013.

I wanted to share a bit our home with you today before I get on to other projects.

Two new Santas were added to my collection this year and you can see them on the mantel pictured above.  The Santa with the marionette is a Lori Mitchell Santa and goes very well with the Mrs. Claus I've had for a few years. The Bigsby Santa on the far left holding a tree and a wreath is a one-of-a-kind creation by my friend Elizabeth of Creative Breathing. I've written about Elizabeth many times and have been lucky enough to acquire some of her marvelous pieces. This one is a treasure and he has so much personality.

I decided to put out all of my Santas and Snowmen this year because I will be downsizing my collections after the New Year before packing things away. When I placed them all in our built-in bookcases in the family room, they looked cluttered with the many colors of the books already in place.

Cookbooks, crafting and decorating books, novels...just too much color.

The snowmen and Santas were lost in the riot of colors.

Then I remembered something I had seen...on a blog? in a magazine?

I don't remember where but I decided to turn all of the books around so the eye would only see the white pages of the books...

Big difference don't you think?

The figures were more easily seen...

There are more pictures but Blogger is not letting me upload much today. Probably the shock of me writing again! I will stop here and hope that you will consider stopping in from time to time. I will be visiting and more importantly, commenting again.

I hope you are all spending some time with your loved ones...

joyce
xoxo

On my table recently...

I've been working on a number of banners lately.

This one is for little Jackson , who has a jungle theme in his room...

The Very Hungry Caterpillar was the theme for Julia's 1st Birthday party

and a butterfly banner for her room...

Stella is a little princess who likes her bling...

(I'm sorry, these last pictures were taken on a cloudy day..the color doesn't look true.)

I have two more banners to make but the babies haven't been born yet!

Is anyone else having trouble uploading pictures to their blogs or is it just me?

Be back soon!

xoxo

Joyce

NYC Trip Part II

After we enjoyed our lunch, we hopped in a cab and went to

M&J Trimmings on Sixth Avenue.

I have been there before but I never tire of seeing all of the dazzling ribbons, laces, buttons, silk flowers and crystal embellishments. Michelle had given me a Groupon coupon for Mother's Day so I was all set to have some fun! (I love Michelle-she's so thoughtful!)

A wall of laces!

The last time I was at M&J I bought some unusual buttons,  but this time I had a goal.

I want to make a purse like this one...

I saw this beautiful tote bag on Lisa's blog...A Thing for Roses..two years ago and fell in love with it.

M&J was the perfect place to choose some beautiful laces and a pink velvet rose to trim out the bag when it's finished. (The blue flower pin is just for fun)

Aren't they gorgeous?

After scooping up my items from M&J, we then proceeded to Mary's, Harold Square, to do some make-up shopping. I had a nice gift card from Macy's that David had given me for Christmas that I hadn't used. Michelle decided that I needed to go to the Bobbi Brown cosmetic counter for a do-over!! Yikes! We were hot and sweaty dewey, but that didn't deter the little make-up person one bit. She stripped my face of all make-up and cleaned it, moisturized it and then began layering. Now, please know that I spend about 5 minutes in the morning putting on make-up. Spackle, foundation, blush and mascara. Suddenly I needed corrector, concealer, foundation, eye-brow make-up, 2 eye shadows, eye liner, bronzer and blush, eye liner and mascara. It was pretty funny. I must have said "Now I'm not buying all of this" about 20 times but undaunted she went on.

OK, that was fun and I purchased some of the items and then returned some (unused of course) when I returned to Pittsburgh. It's easy to get caught up in the moment!

After our stop at Macy's we were ready to go home to Hoboken. Michelle's boyfriend, Bill, returned from a business trip and the three of us enjoyed dinner together, again cooked by Michelle. The cookies and sweet treats we had toted home were our dessert.

After some talking, email checking and a little reading, I crashed and went to bed early. Tomorrow was going to be another busy day....

On Saturday, Michelle and I took the train and the subway back into the city (she does this like I jump in the car and drive 3 miles to the Mall) We were meeting Michael and Jackie (our son and DIL) for lunch at Eataly, at 200 5th Avenue near 23rd. If I tell you that two of the partners in this endeavor are Mario Batali and his Mama, Lidia Bastianich, that will give you an indication of the quality of this place. It's part market, part restaurant and interesting things can be found at every counter. Homemade pastas, breads, meats, cheeses, chocolates,  produce, seafood and wine and beer in addition to supplies and cookbooks can all be found here. I highly recommend it!

A produce stand with magazine worthy fruits and veggies. (Unidentified woman)

 The homemade pastas looked wonderful...see the squid ink pasta in the back of this case? Mmmm-no thank you.

 Lots of pastas I had never heard of.

The meat counter.

We decided to have lunch  in the portion of the market where you can have table service.

(Michelle, Jackie and Michael)

While we waited to be seated, the kids enjoyed a glass of wine.

(Not a $5,000 portrait but a cute picture nonetheless)

For lunch, Michelle and Jackie shared a plate of homemade pasta (I can't remember the sauce) and a pizza.

Michael & I each had a calzone, unlike any other. The dough was light and the homemade ricotta cheese inside was delicious! I should have taken photos before we chowed down but we were hungry!

Happy, full faces!

After lunch we went outside and around the corner to another part of Eataly where they sell gelato....the line was long but it was worth the wait. Creamy goodness on a hot, summer, New York day!

Michael and Jackie went to catch a train back to Long Island and Michelle and I returned to Hoboken again and collapsed! We decided on a pizza for dinner and then early to bed again. 95-degrees in NYC is different than 95-degrees anyplace else!

 I had a wonderful time visiting with Michelle, Bill, Michael & Jackie and seeing, doing and eating some great things in New York City.

Thanks for the fun time kids!



For those of you, besides my family, who have followed along on this journey...thank you.

I will be back next time with a bunch of crafting projects I have been working on!

xoxo

Joyce