Today I am GrateFULL

I am surrounded by people that truly love me unconditionally.
I am RICH beyond measure.  Not by the amount in my bank account or the idea set by society.
I LOVE my life down on the farm.  (You can read about that at my other blog at Southern Sunflower Seeds)
I am thankful for each of you that read and stop in.  I hope you and your family enjoy all the little things in life that bring joy today and when you count your blessings you find them in abundance.

What are you grateful for today?

I created a New Blog!

For months my heart has ached over not having the time to share new projects (heck or even DO new projects), post my Goodwill Fashion finds (yes I'm still wearing clothes daily, most of them come from Thrifting), my meal planning/cooking (yep, still planning and cooking) or just some of our family adventures.

Because of this I started a new blog!  Yep, call me crazy; you wouldn't be the first person and won't be the last.  ;-)

I missed you all.  I still have the desire to connect with each of the wonderful ladies (and a few gents) I've met in my blogging journey.   I've still be reading and lurking around your blogs.

My life has changed dramatically:  trying to get in the groove of being a 'mom' again to an almost 4 year old, changing up job responsibilities at work (I'm the new Social Media Marketing and Customer Relations uh, person for our department at the U), adding an additional room to the house (a home office.  I'm typing from it now) and just busy life 'stuff'.

So to celebrate my shift in life, I'm starting a new blog without all the pressure of living up to the blog I created here.  Make sense?  I'm heading off in a new direction and hope to still share DIY projects (Booger Bear and I created a Fall mantle this week!), menu planning, Goodwill fashions and family adventures.  However, something inside just kept begging for me to start fresh and in a different direction.  Maybe it will satisfy this ache in my heart to 'do' something.  And ....

What I really really want to do is plant seeds of happiness, inspiration and compassion over on my new blog:

Southern Sunflower Seeds

I hope you will join along in my new journey, because you've been so important to me in this one!

It's a Boy!

He arrived Tuesday, March 15th...late in the evening.

We call him Booger Bear, Handsome and a few other sweet nicknames that will be sheer torment if he was a teenager.

He is 3 years old.

Blue eyes and a bright smile that can melt your heart.

We became the legal guardians of this precious child.

Life can change in an instant.

To say the last week has been a whirlwind, would be putting it mildly.

I'm 'grandmother' age keeping up with a energetic toodler!

There is a novel to this story, but I wanted to let everyone know what's been going on down on the farm.

Also, I am working on a little boy's room on a very skinny budget, thanks to huge lawyer's fees.

He loves Thomas Train and airplanes.  So any thrifty ideas ya'll can toss my way would be awesome!

My own son is 24 and while he might be into trains and planes, it would be for traveling.

I did head out to the local Goodwill to outfit Booger Bear with some shorts after an 80 degree Saturday.

So guess I can make photos of what he is wearing, since I am lucky to have on enough clothes as to not scare my co-workers these days.

Winner, Winner Cornbread and Dinners

First I need to announce the winner of the cornbread mix Giveaway ~

Farmer with Rose Hill Farm.

Also, I was very thrilled to find out I won a 3 month subscription to E-Mealz from Manuela at The Pleasures of Homemaking.  E-Mealz is an online meal planning service complete with a weekly menu, recipes and shopping list. Talk about easy!  All the guess work, time hunting for recipes and making out that grocery list is done for you.

I am extremely excited to try them out and will let you know how it goes.

Shiny NEW look!

TA DA!

Welcome to

DESIGN to Shine's

NEW LOOK.

 Thanks again Katie!

A VERY special THANK YOU to Christy Burgess of Visions to Images Photography for the use of the flowers photo in my header.


Be sure to grab my NEW BUTTON too!

I will be posting a new 'great for Summertime' recipe this evening. It is simple and delicious!
I even posted a new 'me' picture.

Published!

Please form a single line for autographs. ;-)

I've hit the Big Time now!

I received an email from a bloggin friend, Laurie over at Indulge Your Shelf,

wondering if she could use one of my ideas in writing an article.

Why, of course, I replied.

I am flattered!

If you'd like to read the article about Garden container fun at thrift store prices.

Then check it out at examiner.com  <<< Just click that.  ;-)

Thanks Laurie for the mention.

 What time do ya'll think my limo will be around to pick me up for dinner?

Shucks I just checked under the carport and all I saw was this

image from Chevrolet

Momma always said don't get too big for your britches.

Oh well, a girl can dream!

I don't usually discuss Religion

Because I deeply believe it is a personal journey for each of us.

That many 'use' religion, not as a tool of love..(oh wait that is an entirely different post)

But ya know with a title like the one above ...religion is going to be the topic of this post, right?

I read a devotional by Joel Osteen on Facebook today.

The topic is one of my fave words ~ Shine.

It touched my heart for several reasons.

I felt compelled to repost his notes.

Today’s Verse: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you” (Isaiah 60:1, NIV).

Today’s Word:
I believe that in the coming decade God wants to exceed your expectations! He has amazing things stored up for you. He’ll take you places that you’ve never dreamed and give you breaks that seemed impossible. His glory is rising upon His people. Things are going to fall into place so that you can accomplish what God has placed in your heart. Even the hidden dreams that you’ve given up on, God has not given up on. He is going to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all you could ask, think, or imagine!

Your mind may try to talk you out of it, but if you’ll listen with your heart, it will resonate on the inside of you. Don’t let discouragement hold you back or keep you down. It’s time for you to arise. It’s time for you to shine. Let that sink down into your spirit today because it’s time for you to receive every spiritual blessing and move forward in the destiny He has prepared for you!

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, I come to You today with an open and humble heart. Thank You for choosing me and for preparing a bright future for me. I will arise and I will shine. Let everything I do bring honor to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 Even the hidden dreams I'd given up on, God had not given up on them for me.

In this season of Love...I know I am greatly loved and richly blessed.

There were times when I pleaded...God, isn't this enough?

Yet, He was preparing me for a brighter future.

I strongly feel had I not experienced the 'bumps in the road' on a rocky journey over the last several years, I would not appreciate today the immense blessing He has placed in my life.

At this time, in this place I see, understand and am so very grateful for His plan and how it has transpired in my life. 

I shared this because it spoke loudly to me.

I shared this for you.

Today.

So that you may also know.

He has a plan.

He hasn't left you.

He has amazing things stored up for you!

I believe.

My 100th Post {Giveaway}

I made it!

100th Post.

Really it's over 100, if you count my previous blog.

But I didn't.

I changed the name and set this course of blogging adventure almost

12 months ago.

So let's celebrate that I finally got to this point! Ha!

I would love to share a little gift with one of you.

I feel this is something I put together to represent what I post here on my blog.

Home Sweet Home sign

Because I am making my home sweet with thrifty makeovers.

Cookie Cutters

For the recipes, menu planning and cooking items I share with you.

My Candle votive

For the crafty items I love making with hopes

that some of them inspire you.

And for the name of my blog ...

Got to have a little SHINE!

Cute kitchen towel

Beauty can be found in the tiny simple things in life.

I will draw a name Wednesday evening, as tomorrow is

my baby girl's 18th birthday and

Tuesday night, the gals from my office are coming

for an mini open house.

So leave a comment if you would like to win!

For an extra chance, sign up to follow me,

leave another comment that you did! (or do!).

Because I finally figured out how to number my comments!

Stay tuned I have Gift idea #5 coming up right after this commercial.

;-)

Thank you SO MUCH for being a part of my adventure!

I'm Blissfully Domestic !

We interrupt Sherri's work day for a super fantastic Announcement ! 

WOWZERS!  Can you tell, I was certainly surprised and in awe to find myself featured with some amazing other blog ladies over at Blissfully Domestic's  FIRST Fall Tour of Homes?!?  There is still time to link up if you would like to enter their random giveaway for a $250 Visa Check Card.  Who couldn't use that right now with the holidays around the corner!?  Be sure to stop by and see all the blissfully delightful decor.

I LOVE this quote from their page about the tour, " Help us prove it doesn't matter how much money you have (or don't have) or how big (or small) your home, we can all have Blissful Homes this Fall."

Isn't that just the Blissful truth?
  Back to your regularly scheduled day....

Gifts for me and a gift for You!

I am so very blessed! and it feels like Christmas came EARLY!

Here's the bad part of today - my right foot is giving me FITS.  I have a hard spot on the ball of my foot and it hurts to walk.  So I wore flats to work and still limped.  I am hoping some inserts and no heels for a few days works it all out.  Currently it feels as if there is a knife sticking through it every time I step.

Now for the GOOD news!  

There is a LOT of it to share.
First, check out my NEW blog button!

Can you guess my favorite flower? ;-)
You can grab it over there --->>>>>

I can not tell you how grateful I am to Sharon at Good, True and Beautiful

who made my blog button and sent directions to me to get it all set up!

She did it as part of this...

 THEN imagine my surprise when Lakeitha from Home to Three Duncan Boys left me a comment stating my mailbox would be getting lots of love soon.  I WON her magazine subscription give-away and guess what is coming to my mailbox?????!!!!!

I have ZERO magazine subscriptions.  So this is SUCH a TREAT for me!

I promise to share any ideas, recipes and such I use from the magazine with all of you.

I.can.not.wait!

So while I'm checking my email to make sure I have Sharon's blog name right ...I read where I have today in fact won another SWEET giveaway from Abbi at Proverbs 31 Living for linking in my recycled candle jar votive to her Homemade Christmas Link Party!  She made these beautiful Christmas tags which will be PERFECT on gifts under my country Christmas tree theme I am planning FRUGAL style (more on that to come *wink*).  Aren't they pretty?  Be sure to drop by her blog as she has more Homemade ideas in the coming weeks.

To top it ALL off, my blog has now surpassed 100 followers!  I am sending off a little surprise to my 100th follower, Sarah of The Fifth Street Academy. She is a crafty Mom of 2 little ones and I can't wait to put a small token of appreciation in the mail to her.  SOON I will hit my 100th post and I'm going to toss a Party with another give-away. 

You ALL have warmed my heart more than you could ever imagine.  EACH one of you that stops by, reads, leaves a sweet comment, follows or just shares your creativity with us all.  So I found this today and wanted to share it.  Even if you are not a coffee drinker it's a free sample paired with a cute Dollar Tree coffee mug would make a sweet little gift.

Bloggers are really a SPECIAL community of wonderful women and some men.  I felt that spirit as many prayed for little Stellan, who had heart surgery today.  I had tears in my eyes to know he pulled through and read the story from his mom's blog.  If you've not met MckMama then let me say, if you visit her blog take a box of tissues and enjoy their miracle story.
Give and Take
Whatever you give comes back to you. Whatever you take will not stay with you.

Almost 100 !!!

A recent photo of moi, made by my wonderfully talented teen daughter!

Oh and NO I am NOT 100, but I am....

tickled pink that I have almost 100 followers?!  

Ya'll are the SWEETEST!

I also have 97 followers at Twitter.

Plus I am at 83 POSTS, this will be my 84th.  Almost 100 and there WILL be a celebration!

YES, that means a GIVEAWAY coming soon!!!

Please know how humbled and GRATEFUL I am that you have chosen to check out my little blog in the big ole bloggy world.  You are sincerely like new friends and bright shiny rays in my days.  I follow 190 blogs.  Just checked my list, which grows daily!  I'm finding 'new' bloggers at every turn with awesome homemade decor, makeovers, thriftiness, frugal savings, recipes and menu planning.  I am loving every bit of it!  Every morning, I fix myself a cup of coffee and catch up on as many new postings as I can before I have to pry myself from the computer to get ready for work.  I LOVE early quiet Saturday mornings where I can browse at my leisure.  Each of you share not only your ideas, but also your daily lives.  Some of you I've actually met in real life, most I am just getting to know you through your words and photos.

COMMENTS - Let me say this again, I visit my followers and most all on the blog parties I link up.  However, if you have the new drop down Google comment box for some reason I can NOT leave a comment!  If someone knows how to fix this, so I can comment, PLEASE let me know how.

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!  Bloggers are the BEST!  Remember to....

Shiny Sweetness Abounds!

(local church pumpkin patch)

I am humbled by the sweetness that abounds within the bloggin community!  I am truly inspired by the bloggers that I have met, ones I follow daily and the blogs I pass through.  I am grateful for each one that stops in for a visit here and for those that take time out of their busy lives to leave me a comment.  I am amazed that I now have 72 people following my little blog!  I am honored that I've been mentioned on a few blogs too.

Jane over at This Week for Dinner liked one of my dinner menus, decided to try it and posted a linky mention to me on her menu.  Mine was a simple dinner idea where she has a beautiful blog full of amazing photos and scrumptious recipes!  So can you say Wow?!

A really thrifty Simple Savvy Girl gave me a shout out link at the end of September on her blog.  Which you should really check out.  She is taking a room a month and posting her makeover progress, plus frugal grocery shopping tips with recipes tossed in the mix. 

Never forget you DO inspire others with your words, your lives and the gazillion makeovers, make dos, tips, thoughts and constant blog sharing.  I know because:

One of my former students from church checked out my blog and made her own decor from an idea she ran across when blog hopping landed her at Shanty2Chic.  Paula shared the idea with her sisters one weekend recently and this is their handiwork.

Yesterday my co-worker's 20-something daughter (new mommie) called wanting to make sure she had prepared her baked apples correctly. Isn't that too cute?  Today she called to inform me she was up til 1am hopping all over blog land.  Her mom came back from lunch today saying she spent the hour with her daughter reading my blog.  Now the mom and daughter team are working up a blog of their own!  I'm so excited for them!  They are the sweetest duo EVER. 

Then there is bloggy LOVE.  I found out yesterday that I won a set of gorgeous placemats from Dawn over at Cottage State of Mind.  Those pretty pears will soon be on their way to me!  I'm sure they will make their way into an upcoming tablescape.  I'm thrilled!  Plus when Dawn announced her 3 winners (yep she knows how to do a giveaway!), she wrote the sweetest blog review for each of us.  Be sure to drop by her place as she is a frugal thrifter that loves antique sales and markets.  You'll love all the pretty finds she comes across on her adventures.

My shiny shout out today is going to Jen over at Beauty and Bedlam.  Jen does it ALL!  She is a mom to 5, a frugal fashionista, an expert thrift store shopper, a menu planning cooking extraordinaire and trash to treasure makeover queen.  Not only that she is sweet and down home as apple pie.  She constantly amazes me with almost impossible feats of organization by keeping up with a popular blog, tweets and comments along with being the mommy, house manager and wife.  This woman can dress like she's straight off a Paris runway with clothes from the Goodwill!

Jen encouraged me to take a double look while I've been on my yard sale, Goodwill, junk store adventures.  Here is the result!  I'm NOT too chicken to say this hippie cool vest cost me 50 cents! and totally makes me look rad and hip in my 40-something years.  ;-)  Thanks Jen!  Hope I did you proud with this one!

This photo was taken this past weekend at a local Fine Arts Fest held outside our local Cultural Arts Center.  I was so feeling all artist like in my old tie dye shirt, bell bottom Levis($10.99 from Ross) and my hip 50 cent vest.  The ladies at the local Creative Writing booth mistaken me for a famous writer, asked me if I am a writer.  Little do they know I AM and to top it off I'm also "published" with a bonifide following of 72!  ;-)  Shine on Ladies!

It's a Small World After all....

Sing along with me ladies! That is one of my favorite little attractions at Walt Disney. It brings back memories from my first visit there as a child. I've only been twice. Once as a kid and once to take my children years ago.


Well that little song has a new spin on it tonight. I have been rolling around this blog land. Unlike rolling around in the hay. Hay! That is a totally different story ALL together! This blog is 'G' rated. *giggles* In my rolling, I've met many wonderful creative inspiring women. Then yesterday, I recognized a local spot in a photo on a new blogging friends spot. I shot off an email. A lot less dangerous than shooting off a rifle. But us women round these parts know how to do that too!

Tonight I met a fellow blogger, a newly transplanted gal right here in my very own small part of the world. Olive Rue ! Low and behold she is a Gawga Southern girl too! And she is married to a friend of a friend. We know people! Like in common. I even know people from her home town in North Georgia.

Not only do we know people in common, we have a lot of things in common. Like shhhhh being addicted to blogging! and thrifty finds. Antiques. Making other peoples trash into treasures. She's a real bonifide photographer. I just like taking photos. She is sweet and adorable. Real.
Instantly we've decided we would get along just fine. Just pass me a glass of sweet tea!


Fiddle De De! We both love Gone With the Wind too! Just happens to be my favorite movie of all time. I talked the poor gal's ears off. I do declare she was toting them out in her purse as she left! Have you ever tried to squeeze 39 plus a few years of living into two hours of conversation? Whew!


It was SO very nice meeting Miss Olive Rue! Rumor has it that I may just get out of working my day job on Monday and join up with a bunch of other Georgia blogging ladies for a luncheon in the big city. I am so exciting about expanding my small world into a larger beautiful bouquet of shiny inspiring Georgia blossoms!

Thanks for all the sweet comments on my post from yesterday. I can't wait to see your crafty thrifty cloche jars! Ya'll come back now ya hear? And let me know when you post photos so I can have a looksie and leave some blogging comment love too.

Tornado Warning!

As I pulled away from the U, at the end of the workday. Sirens were blaring once again. I knew we were under a tornado watch and the sound filling the air meant it had moved to a warning. My baby girl was home alone; 3 miles down the road. My phone rang, a friend of mine calling to say a funnel cloud had been spotted in a neighboring town...about 10 miles down the road, heading my way. In my car, I was one mile from home.

I pulled into the carport and my daughter was getting straw for the pup's house. I told her to leave it; we had to go to the neighbors basement now. "Oh you are just freaking out Mom, Geez!" NOW, I replied. Sometime it is just plain hard to remain calm and collected when storms do freak me out! It began to hail as we entered their basement garage.

The wind roared, the hail fell and the rain poured down. A few rattled nerves from myself and Miss Becky as she was waiting on her husband to arrive home from work; driving in the middle of the storm. Thankfully, we emerged safe to find quarter size and larger hail covering the ground, rain water running like a small creek, but no damage.

Photo from 11alive.com news, but was made locally today.

I have wonderful next door neighbors; the kind you can borrow a cup of sugar from when you run out. Or run to their basement in a storm. We've lived here for almost 14 years, their kids and mine have grown up together, played together, attended school together. Good people.

My son called after the first storm passed to tell me another was heading in our direction. As a small boy; I called him my little weatherman. He has always been fascinated with the weather, particularly storms. At 22 years old, I thought it was sweet that he called to check on me and his sister. But don't tell him I said that! Because it might mess with his 'billy bad butt' police image.

So we had a little storm 'excitement' this evening. It got me out of 'dinner duty'! All is safe and sound on the western side of Georgia. Well, mostly sound. How about going sound to sleep? Does that count?

Whisper of Wednesday

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."~ Melody Beattie ~

I love Clementines! This is a bowl of them on my kitchen table. I don't eat oranges normally, but LOVE when these little gems are in season. I've eaten them for breakfast, with dinner and as an afternoon snack. Yummy!

Attitude of Gratitude ...the little things...

The following 'story' is not mine. I credited the author at the end. Yesterday was one of those days where the 'little things' became big things and sure did get in the way of my gratitude. I am so very blessed. In this economy, I still have a job. I have a home with an affordable mortgage. I have two beautiful healthy wonderful children. My piece of crap car gets me to and fro! I have groceries in the pantry and in the frig. I am lucky to have the internet at my fingertips. I am resourceful and intelligent. I have just renovated an entire room with spending very little money ending up very impressed and satisfied at how much more organized and feasible the room turned out! My extended family is all near me in miles and healthy. I have the best friends in real life and online! They inspire me daily. I have more blessings than time to count them all!!!

I hope this will inspire you to 'count your many blessings'.

We get so caught up in the little things of life. We believe they matter, and to us they are so big. But others would feel fortunate to have our life situation, which we take for granted. In our day to day lives, we focus on negative mind chatter, and we fail to recognize our blessings, which stare us is the face.People are so involved in the story they create, they miss the big picture of life.

I walk into work. I listen to a co worker who is complaining about how she can not tolerate her job because our boss is so unthoughtful and unappreciative of us. She argues that we work really hard during the day, and she feels we deserve to be more appreciated.This woman is miserable because of how she perceives the situation we work in, which she views as "Intolerable”.

Personally, I feel our work situation is a blessing. I feel privileged to be there, and although it has its difficulties, I have learned to enjoy it no matter what. In reality these stories or perceptions that we create in our mind are irrelevant to the big picture of life.We tend to create negativity in our life and forget our blessings.

I work in a Dialysis access center, where we help people who have kidney failure. These individuals have to be on dialysis in order to live. Being on dialysis is a hard way of life, because they sit in a clinic 3 times a week for 4 hours a day for the rest of their lives. Many times their arteries and veins narrow and they are unable to dialyze, our services are their life line. We open up their veins and arteries so they can go to dialysis.

One morning, my co worker was complaining about the little things. The negativity of her story seemed to have consumed her. The more she spoke of her story, the more upset she became.The same morning, a patient arrived at our facility. The normal motions of our work began. After we worked on her, the physician realized we could not help her, her veins were so narrowed, she was barely getting blood into her heart. When we recognized we could not open up her veins. We put a catheter into her leg, which was the last life line she had available. When the doctor told her what was happening, I could feel the sadness in her presence. There was no sobbing, but tears rolled from her eyes.To me, they felt like tears of courage. She had dealt with this for many years. She knew that her life lines were running out. She had told her mother on the way to the center, she did not want this catheter.Then I thought about my co worker and her complaints. I realized how silly it is that we get so worked up over the little things.

I realized how truly blessed we are. We have our health and we have our freedom.Many of the everyday things we seem to get wrapped up in really do not matter. When we stress because our server forgot our ice tea, or we have to wait in a long line, or someone pulled out in front of us.Do these things really matter? No, they do not. They are just little things which prevent us from seeing our blessings in life, our blessing of health, our blessing of having food. Many are not fortunate to have what we take for granted. If we all appreciated our blessings instead of focusing on the little things we would be much happier. Author ~ Jennifer Kahtz ~