Monthly Archives: January 2015

Focus for 2015

Finally Friday

Focus 2015 ~LifeOfJoy.meWe had fun at my parents’ for New Year’s Eve. We played games and had lots of food. I made taco bites but of course, I forgot to take any pictures. Mom made some yummy ham and cheese mini sandwiches which were served warm. She also made some pigs in a blanket and cut up a few pieces of pecan pie that she had left from Christmas and served it in small pieces. Brian brought the queso blanco and tortilla chips. Tracie brought sausage balls and lil’ smokies. Her hubby Mike brought a homemade pie he made from some fresh apples that he got from someone he knows from work.

Interestingly I was not as tired as I have been in the past but true to form, we left shortly after midnight. Oddly, we stayed up a bit after getting home this year. I’ve been fighting a stuffy nose but when I sleep I have been snoring horribly. It has kept Mike from sleeping very well. Thus I let Mike go to bed before me in hopes that he’d be sound asleep by the time I got in bed and began my snoring but it didn’t work. He was sound asleep when I opened the door but as soon as I started changing for bed, he awoke. :(  At least my snoring did not keep him from sleeping.

So. It’s a new year. I’m working on being more disciplined this year. Of course I think that has been my focus for many years. :) I never think I’m as disciplined as I should be but one time my children said that one word that describes me is just that, disciplined. :D And yet, I still strive to be more disciplined.

I desire to get closer to my Lord this year as well.  I go to a church that encourages getting closer and closer to God. I want to do all that God wants me to do in this world. I want to live my life in a way that is pleasing to Him and when I meet Him face to face one day, I want Him to say “well done” rather than show me things He wanted me to do but I didn’t. I want to only do what He wants me to do. I don’t want to just do good things or things of good intentions; thus I endeavor to seek Him more.

Also this year, I am endeavoring to learn more about photography, so that I can take better pictures. Right now it is hit or miss. Any shots that are taken without the flash, at this time, have a tendency to become blurry. I found some online manuals for my camera that describe different settings and I intend to spend a week or two taking pictures with one setting, learning how it works and how to make the most of each setting or situation.

I got a tangle a day calendar again for Christmas this year. Already I’m behind since I didn’t do anything in it yesterday. :( I’m going to have to do better than that. :D

At least I have been doing good with my Happiness Journal that I got two years ago for Christmas. It is nice to have a little something written down for every day of the last two years, to help mark my days and remind me of what I have (or haven’t) accomplished. I highly recommend it. It is a five year journal with space enough to write just a couple of sentences about your day. It can be used as a gratitude journal or simply to note the day’s occurrences. It has been one of the best gifts I’ve gotten.

The other thing I endeavor to keep focused on this year is exercise! I really dislike exercise! But we have a couple of games for the Wii U for exercise and I intend to get the Wii Fit U as soon as the price is good. ;) One of the games has three things to do each day and you earn coins to open up new things to do as you play the game/exercise.

I had begun using it before Christmas and could really feel muscles I hadn’t felt before, so I know it is going to be helpful in sculpting my body. Now that the holidays are nearly over (Epiphany is yet to come but we only mention it rather than any special celebrations) it’s time to get rid of the abundance of desserts and such. This too is part of the discipline I seek. ;)

Most of these areas are things I’ve already begun to focus on and it is just a matter of tightening up, now that the celebrating is over. The photography and daily zentangle are the new ones that start today.

I hope you have areas that you are focusing on and have steps set out to accomplish your goals. If you don’t set any goals, you will never accomplish them. ;)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Changing the Rules

Thoughtful Thursday

Happy New Year 2015~LifeOfJoy.meI got so busy with preparations for our New Years Eve family fun night that I completely forgot to write up this post. :D

On New Years Eve night we gather together as an extended family and play games until we ring in the new year together. We try to include all the ages we have which span from six to seventy-three. We usually play a variety of games but one we usually play is Win Lose or Draw. We play it a bit differently than the rules state but it works for our family. (I guess we are just rebels . . . hahaha . . . just like curricula, we let the games serve us rather than be a slave to them. ;)

Any way, because we have fourteen people, we play games a bit differently. For Win Lose or Draw, we use a white board and dry erase markers. We take the box of cards of phrases from the Win Lose or Draw game and we take turns drawing one phrase on the board (including lines for how many words there are in our phrase). The entire family yells out guesses and as soon as the draw-er hears one of the words in the phrase they write it on the appropriate blank. When the phrase has been guessed correctly, the person that guessed it draws next, until everyone has had a chance to draw and then we just keep going in the same order. It sounds confusing but it really isn’t.

Tonight we also played “Last Man Standing” which Brian taught us earlier this year. I taught it to the extended family on Christmas night and most of us played it again tonight. Even Ashlee, our resident nine year old played with us again. We had nine of us playing. It was fun!

We had lots of fun. I encourage you to find ways to include your young children and older members of your family in your celebrations. Special times make memories and you want everyone to have good memories of those special times.

Another game we played was Imagine Iff, which is another board game that we had eight people playing. It has statements for you to imagine different scenarios and which person would be more successful or would be what character or some sort thing. Much of it is pure nonsense but funny all the same. Surprisingly, we actually played this game pretty much as the rules suggested. ;)

Another game we like to play but did not this year is Taboo. We like this game but play it way differently than the rules suggest. We take the cards and pass them around and take turns trying to get anyone from the rest of the group to guess the word correctly and then the next person tries to get the others to guess their word. We have no time limit, no board, and only do one word card per person per round. We make it work for us, in our situation. Don’t be afraid to do the same for your family.

When I make brownies or pumpkin bars and I take my piece, whether it is the first or fourth piece being served I choose the piece I want and take it no matter if it is in the center of the pan or along the edge. There are no rules that I must follow that states that you have to serve an item in any particular manner. I remember the first time I did this around my friend Joyce, I think it stunned her but it also freed her, as I have seen her serve from the middle first several times since. :)

Don’t be afraid to do things differently if they suit your situation better than the norm. You are free to do things the way that fits your family best.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº