It’s all about perspective.

Perspective: the faculty of seeing all the relevant data in a meaningful relationship

                                                  

It is spring and we are loving the warm weather. With spring comes the rearranging of closets for the warm weather clothes. For me it also comes with oh, Easter is near and I really want a new dress for Easter. But do I need a new dress? No. I have more than enough dresses that I could wear one every Sunday for more than a month and not have to do laundry. I have several that I could wear if I was 20 pounds lighter. I have plenty but I want more. I am struggling with the things that I have too much of yet I still want to get more. And by the way I am in debt that alone should help me to not get more. I feel good when I clothes shop though. 

I have a friend that is going through 7 months of sevens. Her first month was only eating 7 things – the whole month. She is on the second and is only wearing 7 things – the whole month. I think next month she has to give 7 things away every day and another month do without 7 media things. I admire her commitment and know that it is only through God that she will be able to do this 7 experiment. I have been reading her blog and she has quoted the writer of the 7 experiment several times. One struck me – to the core – paraphrasing “if you make more than $32,000 a year you are in the top 5% richest in the world”. You can read more here: http://moyesmakingajoyfulnoise.blogspot.com/. Now, living in America $32,000 for a family of four is poverty level but in most other nations you are wealthy. WOW!! We are so blessed, especially living in the area that still has the highest unemployment in the nation. We are one of the truly blessed families though, my husband did not lose his job (he did take a couple of cuts in pay though), we did not buy our home right before the bubble burst and we owe less than our home is/was worth when we purchased it.

I will not lie, it is very hard to be a SAHM (stay at home mom) and see others spending freely and posting about their adventures on Facebook (dinner out every week, weekends away, Disneyland trips, frozen yogurt or Cold Stone every week) those are luxuries for us. We eat out at a restaurant maybe once a month (with a gift card and/or coupon). We go have Dairy Queen maybe once a month. We pick up Little Caesars Pizza once a month. Those are treats (and a big deal) for us. Movies, nope, hardly ever go. The last movie I saw was “The Help”. When we do go it is on $6 Tuesday. 

Okay, so I am whining. I am so blessed to be able to stay home with my children and help at their schools. We have more than enough to eat (although I do coupon and buy on sale). We have good running vehicles. We can pay our bills on time. We have clothes to wear (the little one has holes in the knees of his jeans though). We have a GREAT family and get to spend time with each other every week. Our kids do have piano and guitar lessons every week and we are so thankful that my mom helps to pay for that. We have our Savior that knows our every need and provides accordingly. He is always there and He is always stretching and teaching us. How I long to serve Him better each day.

 

Just a little rant now and then helps I guess.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; 

or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, 

and the body more than clothes? Matthew 6:25

Stroke warning

You can Save someone's life by sharing this.

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Le...tters... S.T..R ...
My friend sent this to me ...and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a party, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. (they offered to call ambulance)

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm , Ingrid passed away.)
She had suffered a stroke at the party . Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.

Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this...

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Remember the '3' steps, STR . Read and Learn!
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster.
The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions :

S * Ask the individual to SMILE ..
T * = TALK. Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (eg 'It is sunny out today').
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS .

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call the ambulance and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

NOTE : Another 'sign' of a stroke is
1. Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue.
2. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.

A prominent cardiologist says if everyone who gets this status shares it; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.......

OVERWHELMED

Overwhelmed, yep that's how I felt this morning. I looked around my house and thought "What did I do with these four days that I was home?" Well, really I have been sick for a week and the past four days I have been trying to get on top of it and FINALLY yesterday I felt halfway decent. Woke up this morning not feeling so good. UGH!!! Once I got some water in me and blew my nose a hundred times I felt a little better. I was able to help in my youngest son's class for his Valentine's party on Tuesday. I was able to do the sheets on Monday. I was able to go grocery shopping on Wednesday as usual. I will admit it did feel good taking it easy these past four days. I was able to spend some quality time with my hubby this morning - that helped - and talk to him about how I was feeling. He made me fell better he said you just give the word that this is too much and I will have a talk with my sisters and we (his two sisters and he) will take on more so I can do less. WOW! What a great husband I have. I love that he (still) wants to come in and rescue me. We will celebrate 23 years in a couple of months and still feel like newlyweds. Pictured above are the roses that he gave me for Valentine's (with just a little prompting from me). I do feel better now.

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. 

Philippians 4:13

A Refreshing Change

So I heard on the radio (probably S. O. S.) that there are three things that you can do to reduce your chances of being on Welfare.

1. Graduate High School
2. Have a job.
3. Wait to have children until after you are married.

We were discussing this at dinner this past week and my oldest said "Welfare, isn't that what is good for you?" WOW I thought, I knew what Welfare was at 12 years old and my son doesn't. Am I too protective? Have I sheltered him too much? NO WAY!! Although we were not on Welfare growing up times were tough and we knew people that were. He knows now. Hopefully he can keep his innocence a little longer.

I'm not the only one!

Did you see this article?


http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_19654471

I can so relate to this woman.
It feels a little better knowing I'm not the only one that feels that way! Now I just need to find a support group...or maybe start one. Yeah I have time for that. :-)

Stress

Did you know that if you bottle up stress it comes out in other ways? Like migraine headaches and snappy comebacks? Well I have always been a bit, how can I put this - blunt.  I guess I have trouble holding or biting my tongue at times.

Stress - Stress is the body's reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental or emotional adjustment or response. Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, nervous, or anxious. Stress is caused by an existing stress-causing factor or "stressor." Dealing with a serious illness or caring for someone who is can cause a great deal of stress.

http://dying.about.com/od/glossary/g/stress.htm

How funny that I found a definition that focuses on the exact thing I am dealing with (and I did not have to search hard to find it).

Frustrated, angry, nervous or anxious yep feeling that way but not as much as six months ago. It seems like it comes in waves for all of us on this journey of living in the middle. Luckily it is (usually) one at a time or we would/could really hurt one another (with words that is). We each have our own unique gifts (and that’s the way God planned it) and meet different needs in different ways. But guess what it is working WOW!! Only by God’s infinite grace does this unusual living work. Let’s just say we have gotten into a rhythm.

Is it really unusual living though? How has the world lived for thousands of years? How did Ruth and Naomi live? History shows that families have lived with three or more generations under one roof for EVER. It is even portrayed in movies like “Moonstruck”.   Why do we Americans think we have to live alone – to be independent, to be successful? This was my thought when I was younger – I have to go live on my own before I even think about getting married so I know I can take care of myself.

I thought this post was about stress. It is or what leads to my stress. I do not feel stressed today maybe because it is after Christmas and I still have a couple days before I get into the crazy back to school routine. Maybe it is because I am thankful for all the good things I have. Maybe it is because I was able to make a good dinner and still get to spend a good half hour with my hubby just me and him at DQ. Oh yeah it must be the ice cream and chocolate high. (Peanut Buster Parfait YUM!!)  

Swagger

Swag bucks that is. Ha ha I got you. So I signed up for Swagbucks to earn for the things I do online anyway. Hey why not get paid for surfing the internet and playing games. Right? I have succumbed to it, I have been reading from my Frugal bloggers how much they are getting for free and I just had to get some too. I have been a member of My Points for a little less than a year and have really enjoyed how easy it has been to earn (esp. dining out gift cards). I have been able to eat out more and even give teachers gifts. Well Swagbucks is really easy so far and it is only 450 points to get a $5 Amazon gift card. I have really been shopping Amazon this holiday season esp. since Borders closed. Are you earning online yet?

Disclaimer - Swagbucks, My Points and Amazon have NOT compensated me for these views. They are my own.