Commercials

Mark has always stated that it is more fun watching me watch TV than any program on the tube.  I don’t know why.. perhaps I just enjoy a good laugh….I hear the best programming on TV to watch ME crack up is America’s Funniest Videos… so I hear…

Anyway, I was racking my brain as to what topic is should write for my Friday Favorites.  As I was reaching for the remote to turn off the TV so I could concentrate, this commercial came on:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFPDaQrPjus
I laughed for 10 solid minutes… I was quoting, “You’re kidding me, right?”  Ginger, our spaniel, just stared sending the vibe, “She’s totally lost it.”  The cat ran from the room escaping the boom of laughter.   I went as far as to find it on Youtube to watch it again… admitting that.. oooooohhhhh I think Ginger may be right!!

So naturally after I got myself together, I realized I had my Friday Favorite… and the  ((snicker))  other ((ha ha ha ha)) commmmm ((he he he he))  mmmer  ((ho ho ho ho)) ciallll ((teehee hee)) that makes me snort has to be the Huggies diaper ad with the power-wash peeing baby!!  It does me in every time!!  Then I found this “Inside the Diaper” and almost lost control!!!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOcGsfvg7Ko
Once you get yourself together… I know laughter is the best medicine… but your co-workers are staring… shhhhhh you’ll wake the baby.. ((whispering)) get it together and head on over to the Other Mama’s Blog and enjoy some other Friday Favorites!!

Enjoy your Friday!  God Bless..

Yard Sales 101

Okay folks, it is yard sale season.  I am gearing up for a good hunt!!  By now you should know me well enough to know that I am a planner when it comes to shopping.  Living on a budget has taught me one thing:  plan before you shop.  Although, yard sales are fun and inexpensive; a penny and a quarter can add up quickly.

Location:

It is wise to plot your course when yard saling.  You can find your local newspaper will have many of the sales listed in their classifieds.  Plan a morning route using the addresses listed.  I am a big fan of “neighborhood” sales.  I actually only shop at “neighborhood” sales now.. competitive pricing.  Some neighborhoods offer maps to the houses.

Money:

Stock up on quarters and ones..  And have a spending limit.  I usually only take $20-$40 with me.  Once the money is gone I am done… no excuses and no trips to the ATM.  I will say this though..I broke the rule once…shocking isn’t it.. I happened upon a bedroom suite for my daughter.  It was practically new and only $100.  I pounced!  Called Mark to hit the ATM!

Shopping List:

Oh yeah! That’s right you read it correctly… a shopping list.  I make a list of items that I need to either replace because ours is too worn out or things we wish we could have.. I am always looking out for certain things.  I know I’m weird but it makes the shopping less compulsive if I have a list.

This year’s list:

gallon size pitcher

picture frames sizes 11×14

king size bedding

twin size bedding

books to read on vacation

lawn furniture

Yard Sales are fun and they are a real economical way to shop.  I have enough stuff already so it is really hard to not buy things just because they are cheap.  But, trust me if you go looking with a list you will think twice about buying something compulsively because remember you only have so much money with you..  Oh and don’t forget to ask if they will take less than the sticker price.

Have fun!!

Winners

 

Drum roll please….and the Freezer Weiner  Winner is…((drumming my fingers on the computer table)).. Clarissa.  Thanks Clarissa for participating in the challenge.  Your cook book is on it’s way! 

Notice there is an “s” at the end of the title of today’s post.  We are all winners.  No matter how bad we feel… No matter our circumstances…No matter what situation we find our choices placed us.. We are winners in God’s eyes. 

***

Someone has been on my mind… there isn’t a name to be uttered… just a strong feeling that God’s words need to be spoken:

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  1 Peter 1″:6-7

Dear Friend whoever you are know that I am praying….

Oh Good Grief!

Can’t you just hear Charlie Brown saying, “Oh, Good Grief” ?  Since noon yesterday, a whole lot of those type of expressions have fallen out of my mouth..

“Oh, great!” – Couldn’t find my shoes.. I looked everywhere!  The clock was ticking and I needed to get the laundry hung.

“Oh, silly me!” -found my shoes by the door..surprised they weren’t on my feet!!

“Oh, Dom!”—Dom is short for Domino, my black lab, who was entirely too excited to see me with a load of laundry.  He insisted on jumping on me.. now that would have won $10,000 on America’s Funniest Videos!!

“Oh, My!!” —screeched under my breath as I noticed the price tag on some slacks..it is obvious from my wardrobe and the eye-opener that I haven’t been shopping in a while.

“Oh, Good God!”-wait before you get all “you-said-God’s-name-in-vain” on me… it was an honest plea when I saw myself in the dressing room mirror.  I needed some Jesus to get through the pile of clothes I was trying on.  Came up empty handed clothes wise but a lot of good material for a future speech!  Love a good laugh!!

“Oh, Good Heavens!”-was screamed when I realized in the dressing room I have become my mother!

“Oh, now this is too much!”-was yelled when I realized in the dressing room I have become my grandmother!!

“Oh, ((sniff)) dear”-was mumbled when I realized in the dressing room that I am no longer 20 something and hip…see using the word “hip” is a clue that I ain’t hip any more!!!

“Oh, well”-I gave up on new clothes… perhaps another day!!

“OH, ((((BEEEEEEPPPP)))))!!!!”— just messing with ya.. didn’t want you to get too bored by this wish-I-was-younger-cheap-never-goes-shopping-oh-good-golly-post…did I just hear you say, “((((((BBBBEEEEEPPPP)))”?  This is a wholesome blog, have ya know!!

“Oh Come On!”-when the lady cut me off as I was getting into the school traffic to pick up the carpooling kids.

“Oh, I am so sorry”-I made a parenting boo-boo and snapped out of my own frustration in front of every kid in my van—carpoolers and all.  Guess if anything good came out of the snap was the fact that the kids see me as human and we, humans, sometimes make mistakes.

“Oh, man”-was stated when I finally got home and took a nap load off.

“Oh, Oh, OH!”  –was uttered when I realized I had been asleep and dinner wasn’t ready.

“Oh, Goody”-was joyfully yelped when Mark said, “Let’s go out.”  I believe I danced a little jig!!

“Oh, say it isn’t so!”-was expressed when I looked at the clock this morning..I was enjoying the cool morning curled up under the covers…5 more minutes please was the plea I made with the snooze button.

“Oh, hurry up!” -echoed in our house this morning.  The 5 minutes proved to be a huge mistake especially when I forgot Mark was driving the carpool this morning!

“Oh, wow!”-was whispered when the house fell quiet at 7:30 am.  Kids’ gone, Mark gone, and it is just me and the girls (Ginger, our spaniel and Prissy, our cat).  I opened my email from someone I admire in the speaking ministry world..she is praying for me this week as I prepare for Friday night’s speaking engagement.

“OH GOOD GRIEF!!”-was stated in disgust when I realized that today isn’t the 28th!  My Freezer Challenge ends on the 28th and yesterday I had a brain fart thinking that today TUESDAY is the 28th!  So, Good Grief, ya’ll.. the freezer challenge will be ending tomorrow!  TOMORROW I will give away the cookbook!  TOMORROW..peeps TOMORROW!  I am not yelling at you.. I am just stressing it loudly and boldly to myself so I won’t forget..perhaps I need a calendar!  Please forgive the mix-up…I’m gonna chalk it up to “pre-shopping distress syndrome.”

“Oh, Lord”-was prayed today..give us serenity, give us peace, Oh, Lord, God you are a sun and a shield.Oh Lord, you bestow on us your favor and honor…Oh, Lord, thank you for giving blessings to those who walk with you..[based on Psalms 84:11]

God Bless..

Weirded Out

Ever woke up and was just weirded out??  It happened yesterday…  I think Mark knew something was up.  I believe the usual, “I’m tired” generic response I shelled out was the biggest clue.   For two years now, I have been comfortable with the idea of being the Motivational Speaker for God.  That’s all it was… an idea.   A notion that I am doing something “admirable and honorable” for God.

Yesterday, Mark had a list of purchases that needed to be made for Friday night’s speaking engagement… my first “real” engagement.  He had thought of everything… a table, a table cloth, a cart thingy..  So off to Office Depot we went.   It was then I realized something.. I am speaking Friday night.   A wave of insecurity crashed over me.   What if this and that flooded my thoughts.  Then the hurricane force pressure slammed into the stomach.

I kept saying to myself, “I have nothing to fear… God will bless the message.”  The storm just churned.  I kept thinking “God, give me peace for this imperfect mind.”   The thunder of insecurity boomed louder.  I began to withdraw and when asked, “what’s wrong?”  all I could say was the simple “I’m tired” answer.  I didn’t have the words to express what I was truly feeling.

After we got home, I had to mentally “get away.”  I watched a movie.. two…to be exact…and all the while, the hurricane pressure still rumbled within me.  At bedtime, nothing could stop the thoughts rolling around in my head.  I got up and tried to paint thinking it would sooth my weary soul.  By 1 am, I finally opened my Bible and talked to God.  The insecurities still plagued me though..sighing and weary I dragged myself to bed.

This morning, I prayed for today’s topic.  My head ached from last night’s storm and my mental Doppler radar was predicting another.  As I stared intently at this computer screen, my head felt as if it was going to explode.. I had nothing no matter how hard I tried.  Nothing was happening… then I felt the pang “What kind of motivator are you??  You can’t even think straight..” At that very moment, I had a choice:  crawl into bed and stay there  OR  ask for prayers.

I clicked over to Facebook and updated my status.. I needed prayer.   Within minutes, a dear friend and fellow Christian blogger commented.  Then another friend commented and another…opening a dialogue that needed to happen.  Before long, God spoke through my blogger buddy:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (NAS)

Then my phone rang.  My dear sweet friend had me on her mind.  She was clueless of what was raging inside of me.  Within minutes, I was crying.  I blubbered out what I was feeling.  Then she said something that quickly dried up my tears and calmed the storms within.  She pointed out the obvious.  Jesus was human.  He was the first motivational speaker in the New Testament.  She quickly added, “He had to be nervous, too.”  The mere thought of Jesus having butterflies soothed my weary soul.

I am blessed to have such wonderful caring friends.  Each one had the words God wanted me to hear.  Now, it’s up to me to listen.  So far, I have…

God Bless..

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Hey!  Don’t forget tomorrow is the day I announce the freezer cookbook winner!!!  Get your photos and emails to me for the Freezer Challenge!!!  I can’t wait to see all of your projects!!!  Send them to regina@reginadettra.com!!!!!