The Life of Mrs. Miles

GREEN LEAF BUTTONS (with a stitch, too!)

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LOL – this is it... by the end of the week I will set up a Jamma's Day Date... because it seems you all could get excited about this too. Debbie – you GOTTA have a pic...does not have to be the whole you... could be just a pic of the jammas without you in em - sitting there all by themselves, or a downwards veiw down the legs to your slippers, or a sleeve... just so we see your jamma's! Don't be shy (and don't no one be too not-shy either because we need to protect Mr. Miles delicate eyes and pure mind)

So I will let you know the date by the end of this week! I will give plenty of time for you all to send me your pics of you in your fave jammies or just your fave jammies doing their own thing (on a clothes line, etc?) Some folks are suggesting to hold Pajama Day on January 31 - sounds good to me. I will look forward to your jammie pics in my mailbox at lalalime@hotmail.com before then so I can assemble a slideshow for that day! and meybe we can make layouts of jammie theme? Meybe I will make elements or a kit in that direction too? Suggestions anyone?

MELANIE'S NEW HAIR - DEW

Our daughter got her hair cut! Ok, its not like a REAL big deal, but then it is, too! See, Melanie has had her hair long FOREVER... and she has a head of hair most women would die for! She's gone from waist length to shoulder length since our last phone conversation... choke... looks nice, sweetie!

I made a date to go out to the new house yesterday to help peel wallpaper. Hey, ANY opportunity to go out there is good for me – I'm still pinching myself! However when I woke up this morning I pretty much knew that it was not going to happen as snow was falling, heavily. I was concerned for Miles driving the van to school as the clutch began failing yesterday too, so he booked her into the mechanic's – thankfully located directly behind the school. Snow + failded clutch are not a good recipe.

I was hoping to get the van back, repaired, when he got off of school as we were supposed to drive down to Oroville, Washington (Osoyoos and Oroville is a border crossing town between BC Canada and Washington USA) We live only 5 minutes from the border. We had to pick up tickets we've reserved at a drugstore there. I heard on the Christian Radio station (KMBI Spokane) that the HARLEM GOSPEL CHOIR is performing in Omak on January 28th. Omak is 1.5 hours south, in Washington and it's a place we love to visit. Unfortunately the van, we find out, won't be ready until later today.

Usually we visit Omak for the food. There is THE BEST mexican food restaurant in the world in little old Omak. It's called Rancho Chico – which as I was typing I decided to translate and it comes out as 'small farm' It's worth dieting for the next two weeks to eat there! Our wedding anniversary is on February 4th, so this will do as an early celebration.

The vaccuum sealer has become my BEST friend for portion control!

On Wednesday I took charge of our bedroom. I sorted from 5 am to 7 pm – only taking breaks for bathroom, breakfast and Becky (we went for a small walk and got side-tracked in the little shops in town... he he, good thing we did not take any money with us... ) It felt wonderful to get everything 'in it's place' – I confess this was a chore I had been avoiding for a long, long while. We only had one small dresser (4 feet tall and 6 wide) to share – so basically three tiny drawers each along with space in our closet, so things were in a disarray. I wound up with a few hefty bags for the thrift store and it feels GREAT!

During my day I discovered something. Another of my Mother – In – Law's love languages to me is in socks. Yes, socks. A while back I mentioned that I have never had to buy toilet tissue since I married her son, well, I've never had to buy socks, either. Faithfully, every Christmas she presents us with many pairs. Mom is the ultimate econo-shopper and lives in a three block radius of a mall in the City of Abbotsford, so she hunts out the very best deals. By the time I had sorted out them all out there were two mini-mountains of 'em so I had to sort just the 'best of the best' to keep. Some lucky person at the thrift store is going to get a month's supply of almost new socks!

Me and Mr Miles are having success with our diet. He's lost 4 lbs already, and I lost another Kg – so i'm at about 137 – thats a 12 pound loss since New Years – due mostly to a good, healthy diet and absolutely no junk food and no snacking three hours before bed. Honestly folks, I feel healthier and more energetic than ever!

I did get a phone call from Ernie today, from Miles school. Ernie and Miles enjoy a certain degree of friendly animosity between themselves... and so Ernie, knowing Miles is on his diet, called to tell me he thought that Miles was eyeing up a plate of cinnamon buns and did not have permission from me to eat one. I told Ernie that Miles has his own free will and I am not boss of his mouth. I simply asked Miles to envision summer, and a swimsuit and then go ahead and have a big fat cinnamon bun. Ah, my sweetie has such willpower. :)

My friend Marie Richardson (thanks Marie! - got more candid alpaca pics you might want to share with my other readers?) sent me this email yesterday – you might enjoy it. You may even copy and paste it into an email to send to your friends:

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 cups of coffee


When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 Hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table And poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the Empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and Favorite passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play With your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner.
Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked".

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Please share this with someone you care about.

I just did! - Nick Johnson

BARB'S HANDY TIP # 178
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