Still Here!

I haven't abandoned this blog! Really!

To be honest, I really thought about it. I wasn't sure why I needed a second blog. I do really feel like I need to focus on my main blog, Happy Christian Home. Sometimes, though, stuff comes up that I want to express, but it doesn't necessarily fit into the theme of Happy Christian Home. I don't want that blog to be a "catch all" of everything that crosses my mind. (Come to think of it, maybe I should transfer my "Mommy's Piggy Tales" posts to this blog...hmm...) So I guess this is why "Something Bigger Than Me" exists.

For the other stuff that God is doing in my life. Maybe even the "behind the scenes" ('cause I know that's terribly interesting, right? ;-D).

In the future, I may use this blog to chronicle more personal things like our family life, and other experiences I have. In my "spare time" (we all have loads of that right?)

I am amazed that this blog is gaining followers even though I haven't posted in two months...I am very humbled that you all are interested in what I have to say. And, thankful that you've taken the time to stop by.

So this is my official "welcome" message to my new followers...welcome!

And I will aim to post more than once every two months from now on! 

Hope for the Chronologically Challenged?

I have a looong history of being "always late, but worth the wait". In fact, I even remember arriving to elementary school late on a somewhat regular basis. It's really something that's basically ingrained into my being. I've been late to every kind of event you can imagine.

So why am I telling you all this?

Well, I want to stop. I thought when my son came along over three years ago, that I would "magically" morph into this punctual individual that would never inconvenience anyone by arriving 10 or 15 minutes late. Hmph! I was so disappointed when my son's first doctor's appointment rolled around, and there I was, on the freeway when I should have been filling out paperwork! Surely, I would stop being tardy for the sake of teaching my son good habits...right?!

I actually had a span of probably six months to a year when I did really well with arriving on time to work and other commitments. This was before marriage and children. I don't know what happened after that. I just drifted out of the habit of being punctual. I really believe that at the time, I must have been tapping into the grace of God, mainly because it wasn't really difficult to be on time during that time period. There was a "character building" series being taught at church, and suddenly I was convicted of the importance of punctuality. It worked for a little while. It was pretty rewarding too. At the time, I worked at a job where they actually kept track of your tardies and absences and you would get penalized for both. It would affect our bonusing potential if we were tardy or absent. I stayed at that job for a couple of years and left not due to being fired on account of tardiness, but because I was offered a better job...at which I was repeatedly reprimanded for my tardiness. Go figure. By the way, prior to that, I had held a plethora of other jobs where I was habitually late. Most of those employers didn't really care.

So, anyway, here I am now, a wife and mother of two...chronically late to most every appointment, church service, volunteer commitment, birthday party...whatever. Now more than ever I feel the need to stop this horrible habit...but I just feel like I don't know how! I can get things ready the night before, get up extra early, and so forth, but I just haven't discovered the (lasting) key to breaking this awful habit. It's so bad, that just recently I told someone (quite matter-of-factly, I might add) that I realize full well when I'm late; I am fully aware of what time it is. But then I completely disregard whatever information I receive from the clock on the wall...and go about my business only to get to my destination "when I get there".

I know it's irritating to other people. Even I get irritated when people are late on my clock. You would think I would be forgiving of this fault in others, right?

Anyway, hopefully someone can come along and offer some tips or something to help me get over this annoying character flaw. I'm really going to start making a diligent effort to be on time. I will probably post about my attempts in the upcoming days and weeks. Let me know if you know of anything that helps, or if you've overcome this thing in the past. Thanks in advance!

Just a Little Bit More "Green" Now

When I was growing up, I remember my mom sharing with me a memory she had of her grandmother.  She told me that her grandmother (or maybe great-grandmother???) never used shampoo on her hair (which at the time sounded repulsive!) but she said she remembered that every day her grandmother would take her very long hair out of the braid she put it in, would brush out her hair, and then cleanse her hair and scalp with witch hazel- then re-braid her hair, and wrap it up again around her head.  I don't know why that thought has stayed with me all this time, but it was brought to my remembrance again yesterday when I was thinking about my "new" hair care routine.

I had read a couple months ago about the "no poo" method of hair care. Well, I think I'm a "convert" now!  I started washing my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar the other day, and I like it!  I've been searching for some way to keep my hair clean, but not use so many harmful chemicals.  And I haven't been willing to pay $10 (or more) for a bottle of organic shampoo or conditioner (I know, I'm kinda cheap like that- I know people pay way more for hair care products...but whatever).  

There's no rhyme or reason to the products I'm using, this is just what I happen to have on hand right now.  I'm thinking I will get a different bottle of apple cider vinegar and save the organic unpasteurized stuff for the kitchen!

Anyway, I did a Google search for "no poo" and came across this article, and figured out how to get started.  I was a little skeptical, but after the apple cider vinegar rinse, I was convinced.  My hair felt soft and manageable (and not tangled!), and the results were similar to using shampoo and conditioner.  Plus, I feel really good about not dumping all those chemicals on my head, and them subsequently getting into my bloodstream, etc.  The first time I did it, there were a ton of little hairs sticking up all over my head once my hair dried (regrowth from postpartum hair loss), but the next time, I just used a little bit of coconut oil to smooth them down.  My hair feels soft, and smells like...hair.  I don't mind the absence of perfume-y scent, as I find most strong scents irritating anyway.  


So, let me know...would you consider doing this???  Have you done it?  What do you think?

Labor Day Weekend

Well, I think we are staying close to home for the holiday!  That's ok with me, though.  We actually went to start our vehicle this morning, and...nothin'.  So tomorrow we are having a friend look at it to find out what's wrong.  

We have lots of stuff to keep us busy at home though.  Hubby has offered to help out with some much needed "deep cleaning" so I am truly thankful for that!  Also, I finally got my anniversary gift the other day!  (That was oh...a month ago).  We like to stick with the traditional themes for gifts, and my husband brought home some gardening supplies to get me started.  This years theme is "fruit and flowers", though I don't plan on planting fruit or flowers...just vegetables and herbs.  Anyway, it's loosely based on this years' theme.  I'm really happy with what he got me though.  I'll get some pictures when I go out on the patio to get started.  I'm so not sentimental (usually) so I'm one of those rare women that actually appreciates practical gifts like vacuums and food processors.  Anyway, I hope to get my garden set up tomorrow...maybe.

On another note, here's a couple of blogging questions that I'm just going to "put out there" in hopes that some helpful person with point me in the right direction: First of all, I seem to have problems with Blogger as I'm typing a post, and it changes fonts on me at random...how do I fix this?  Secondly, if I need to edit something after I've already published a post, I click on "preview" to see the changes and all the formatting is gone.  It just turns into one big run-on paragraph.  Anyone know how to fix that???  It's just kind of irritating.  I'm still pretty new to all this, so I'm not really sure what to do.  I don't want to be stuck with typos and other mistakes I notice after the fact.  Or spend several minutes reformatting the post.  Know what I mean???  Thanks in advance.

Happy Labor Day to all you hard-working employed individuals!  

What I'm into this Month- August

I borrowed this idea from Megan at SortaCrunchy (a great blog, by the way), and thought it would be fun to do here, just so you all could get to know me a little better!   Enjoy!

On My Nightstand: Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley (The FlyLady), re-reading A Wife After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George

Want To Read:  Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris, Radical by David Platt, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

T.V. Show Worth Watching: I like watching Wife Swap though it seems to be going the route of Jerry Springer (silly and shocking). 

Movie I've Seen (in or out of the theater):  I watched Premonition with Sandra Bullock yesterday.  I was not such a fan!   

In My Kitchen:  Dirty dishes right now, as we're ending a pretty rough week health-wise (3 our of 4 of us have not been feeling well at some point or another).  Last night was chili, and tonight is meatballs- so yummy!

In My Ears:  "Your Love is a Song" by Switchfoot...also earlier this month I was constantly listening to "Lord Speak" and "Arise" by Shachah.  Good stuff...and probably not so much what you would think I would listen to!  Lol.

Three Newest Blog Reads:  http://www.chattingatthesky.com/,  http://www.keeperofthehome.org/,  and http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:  I hope it cools down at least a little!  We're roasting over here! 

Go Away Headache!

So for much of today, I've had a headache and I've really been trying to avoid taking any kind of pain relieving medication for it.  It's mostly gone now (praise the Lord!) but I got to thinking about some natural ways to get rid of headaches and thought I would share.  

I will say that for a time, I got into the bad habit of automatically reaching for the bottle of acetaminophen or ibuprofen just because I didn't want to deal with the pain, but I feel that kind of approach opens up the risk of potential side affects.  These side affects include liver damage (for acetaminophen) and various stomach and digestive issues (related to NSAIDs like ibuprofen).  I'm usually really conservative when it comes to medication, so I just wanted to break the habit I had gotten into of relying on pain relievers. 

Headaches can be caused by many things and it's important to take care of yourself in order to avoid them.  Get enough rest (easier said than done with little ones around, I know!), make sure you're getting balanced nutrition by avoiding junk food, too much sugar or caffeine.  Sometimes throughout the day as we're chasing after little ones, we neglect ourselves, and that's no good!   Also, if you're a mom, it's a good idea to evaluate what's going on in your world.  A lot of headaches are caused by stress.  Are there some things you can eliminate from your day to day life?  It's important to avoid that whole "supermom" scene, as we women have a tendency to spread ourselves too thin by saying "yes" to everything. 

The number one natural way of getting rid of headaches that I know of is to drink some water!  It sounds simple, but I think I heard once that about 90% of headaches are due to dehydration.  So next time you feel one coming on, pour yourself a glass of water, drink it and wait about ten minutes and you should feel relief.  Another non-drug method I've used is to take a hot shower.  I just let the hot water run over my neck and shoulders, and it relieves tension (if you have a bath tub, it might be relaxing to just sit and soak for several minutes).  If you happen to have a sinus headache, letting the hot water run on your face really helps too.  Neti pots are really good for sinus headaches too.  When I was pregnant with my son, I would sprinkle lavender oil on my pillow at night and it really helped me relax.  


Those are just a few ways that you can avoid taking pain relievers if you have a headache.  There are many other ways as well, but those should bring you some relief! 

I Love this Time of Year!

Ok, somebody (my husband) better keep me out of Walmart right about now.  Hee hee.  I've been entranced by the aisles and aisles of back to school supplies.  I know it's probably a bit nerdy, but it's true.  Furthermore, don't send me to Staples...I could spend hours in that place.  Seriously.  I always thought I was completely in my element as an office manager (before being a SAHM)...fun times...I could buy all the office supplies I wanted.  *Sigh* 

In our house, we still have about another year before I really need to start stocking up on supplies, so I can't really justify going "hog wild" on crayons and pencils and notebook paper and binders and pencil cases and sharpeners...oh my.  Just in case you're wondering, we are pursuing the home schooling route, and our three year old son is technically already "kindergarten ready" (if he would just get the hang of using the potty! ;-))  But I can hit up the clearance items in a few weeks!  Some of that stuff is practically free.  I love it. 

It reminds me of that line from the movie "You've Got Mail"..."Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." (Aww...)  

I wish I were in New York (or some other place that's starting the transition of seasons) right now!  It's still 107 degrees where I am!  Sheesh, there should be laws.  Anyway, I look forward to the days when the weather turns cooler and the school supplies are in great abundance (at rock bottom prices).  Anybody else with me???