Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Hump Day Mind Dump

Do you ever struggle with this question? Can one person really make a difference? It's a good question. In the scheme of things it doesn't seem like it would be possible for one person to make a significant impact. When the entire population of earth is billions? Even something significant isn't going to make a ripple that will be felt around the world, right? And with limited resources doing good can be overwhelming. Like seeing an ocean of need and you possess a mere teacup of supply. (My mom)

Then there's the possibility of having to dig out of a hole first, when you've made some poor choices and you now face the mountain of consequence.

But, the experts, the powers that be, or the anonymous (someday I'm going to meet them.) say that the first step in getting out of debt is to stop spending and the first step toward breaking an addiction is to admit your problem. And that the car you drive now is your cheapest car. That the sun will come out tomorrow. etc.

Case in point. A friend just admitted he's a hoarder. And boy, having a conversation with him after that revelation didn't feel like he was on top of the world. Nope. The work has just begun. And the whole issue came up when I was sharing my 1000 thing purge with him and his wife. For weeks now they've been discussing his problem. She went so far as telling him the description of how he feels when told he has to get rid of something is exactly how she feels when she walks into a room and is assaulted by his piles of treasures. This poor guy has great intentions and strong motivation to change but this is going to be costly for him. However, the compulsion of hoarding was taking a different kind of toll. Outing himself is really a huge step toward freedom.

Oddly, this thought process came out of something entirely different. A rant. A completely different schtick. Not sure how my brain shifted. But there we have it. Steep on this. The Hump Day Mind Dump. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Thump in the Night...

Another fairly normal weekend at my house. I have begun to get ruthless with my clutter purging. I'm building a pile of clothes that I put on in the morning and for whatever reason take off. Either it doesn't feel right, look right or match. In just a few weeks if I don't pick the item back out and wear it, it's outta here. 

 

Cookbooks are also on my chopping block. I'm actually going through them and if I don't see recipes I'll make or feel inspired by they are outta here, too. 

The other night Rob and I headed upstairs. As per usual, Gladys went downstairs to get her toys. The usual whining during the attempt to gather all of them in one mouthful drifted upstairs. Then a weird sound, a slow thump, pause, thump...repeat. She was dragging a huge rope tug toy and it hit each step with a thump. The picture is her enjoying the toy as a pillow. 

The other picture is raspberry frosting that was going to go into cake pups I made for the Vet tech program at Rob's school. (They work for food, as in they used Gladys and Gertrude's surgeries for training and the promise of treats. Nice deal.) But, I had to make more because while I was busy doing something else Rob was putting our dinner on plates. We had Gardein stuffed cutlets that came with gravy. So with my back to him,  I gestured to the little plastic gravy bag and said, "Hey, there's gravy for those." I turned around as he was smearing the frosting from the bowl on his cutlet. Oops! 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Scribbling

Sunday's sermon included a simplistic explanation for a very frustrating scenario. The scenario? The attempt to live a Christian life. I say attempt because I mean that so many of us (I've got more fingers pointed at myself) just try to live better, do better, be better. A truly authentic Christian life isn't going to have much of me in it. My attempts at living that life are me. Me trying, me doing, me fixing, me. Me. Me. 

In case you are wondering this book is in my shopping cart.  Not sure how it has not entered my radar field it was printed in 2003. My pastor's copy is well used. 

Little Miss 3 year old's idea of beauty. 

"Most of my life I heard the message loud and clear that Christianity was all about coloring within the lines and coloring well. If I was a good Christian, if I loved Jesus and wanted to please Him, if I read my Bible, prayed, and went to church, then I would get better and better at coloring. And if I lived a long and godly life, I would eventually be able to draw close to the perfect drawing. "

"Christianity is not about learning how to live within the lines. Christianity is about the joy of coloring. The grace of God is preposterous enough to accept as beautiful a coloring that anyone else would reject as ugly. The grace of God sees beyond the scribbling to the heart of the scribbler." Mike Yaconelli - Dangerous Wonder

Scraps and Snippets ~ Pumpkin Pasta Salad

Pumpkin Pasta Salad

16 ounce box of macaroni cooked according to package and rinsed

3 TBSP minced onion

2 TBSP minced celery

1 Cup pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling with the seasonings)

1 Cup mayonnaise

1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 ½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoon sage

Mix pumpkin, mayo and spices together with chopped veggies. Toss in pasta and stir well. In addition you could add some of the following. pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds), diced mushrooms, chopped kale, fresh chiffonade sage instead of the dried (use 3 Tablespoons)

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ This is

 what my introverted brain concocted on Picmonkey on a bitterly cold winter night after spending the past few weekends with loads of fabulous people and while listening to the Norah Jones Pandora channel. 

Just sayin....

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Numbers and Nuggets

 My getting rid of project is clicking right along. My count is at 534. I love the fact that I've got space in most of my drawers and closets. Don't worry. I can still keep going and make my 1,000. I decreased my Christmas decorations even further after Christmas. Why? Because what I didn't put out lots of my stuff. And I needed to assess why that was. Most of it went. I also haven't missed a single thing I've gotten rid of.  Every day I've managed to find a handful of items slated for the get rid of pile. 

And my new additions (just 2 items, except the toys....some of which have already had the squeakers excised so I'm not counting them) winter coats for the girls. Ha. Ha. How cute are those? I need to make some adjustments the neck velcro is a little tight and keeps popping.  

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Told You There Were Videos....