Any Day with New Shoes is a Good Day!

Yes, yes . . . It's a good day today b/c I finally got the new shoes I've been waiting for. Ahhhh . . . my little piggies are happy as can be.

Age 10 ~ portfolio shot

I grew up in the fashion industry ~ although you'd never know it now & I do NOT have a problem w/that. My mom was in the fashion industry, so I slipped into it by osmosis . . . I began modeling at age 9 up until I was married at 25, plus did double duty as a make-up artist (which I loved) ~ 6 yrs full-time at a dept store & then part-time as a free-lance artist until I was around 32 ~ & then homeschooling took over from there. :-)

So, now that I have quite a few years of LIFE under my belt, I decided several years ago to "rebel" against the 3"-4" heels that I used to have to wear ALL day long in my "professional life" for so many years.

This is the same style I had in the 70's

However, in my teens/early 20's (mid 70's/early 80's), I DID have those better-as-time-went-by-shoes that I would fall right into in my off-time. In those years, they were either cowboy boots or my favorites ~ my Earth Shoes! Oh, yes, those negative heel Anne Kalso Earth Shoes. I had sandals for summer & a pair of oxfords (like those above). I have ALWAYS loved them & was thrilled to find out that they were back on the market, a few years ago. And, just so ya know, when the cowboy boots weren't around, they were good to ride horses in, too.

Now, admittedly, I did cheat on my Earth Shoes over the years. Once I decided that I needed to pamper my feet if I wanted them to serve me well for the long life I hope to live ~ I had an 11 year love affair w/my comfy, cozy Birkenstock mules.

But after wearing them for NEARLY EVERY DAY for those 11 yrs (ask ANYONE who knows me!),

Notice my shoes :-)

& after the soles split from the tops of the shoes & had to be repaired w/duct tape, I finally had to relieve them to garden duty. Fair-thee-well, my dear Birkies, you served me well.

This is what the bottom of my mules look like ~ when I can down-load from my camera again, I'll put pics of mine up.

As you may know, I went back to work outside the home in March of '10 & I am on my feet the whole time at the health food store. I wanted to get a pair of Birkies or Earth Shoes but we simply couldn't swing it, financially, so I got a pair of cheaper L.L. Bean shoes. Nice, comfy enough, but I have a high arch & those shoes simply don't do the trick. By the end of my shift there are nights when I just HAVE to take them off.

Now that my sweet hubby has a better job he said I could get a pair of either Birkies or Earth Shoes! Woohoo!!! My precious Birkie mules are now $130 ~ yikes! They'll have to wait. So, I went to a local store that sells Earth Shoes &, since they didn't carry the ones I wanted, ordered my pair. I have waited patiently (eh-hem) for 4 weeks & finally got my shoes TODAY!!!!!!!!

The Instinct

My little piggies are in shoe heaven. I got the Instinct style so that my feet can breath & I can wear them with or w/o socks. I have to say that the soles are so much softer than the old-style Earth Shoes. They are comfy & cozy & feel good on my arches.

I'm seriously considering saving for these cute little sandals

The Freesia

and for these slightly dressier shoes.

The Simplista

It's been so long since I have been able to be the least bit extravagant & I am so thankful. Just hoping these will bring me many more years of comfort.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Word-Filled Wednesday ~#29~ Think About Such Things

PASSAGE: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, what ever is right, what ever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable ~ if anything is excellent or praiseworthy ~ think about such things." ~Phil. 4:8-9

LESSON LEARNED: Just in case you live under a rock and haven't noticed, we live in a fallen world. If you have eyes, ears and can read you are bombarded by sin and temptation. It especially hurts me for the little ones; the little ones who are not only innocent but are learning to read.

Remember when you were learning to read? A whole new world was opening up to you and every sign you saw you were trying to sound it out. These days, those signs and bumper-stickers taint the innocent as soon as they see them ~ they see the bumper-stickers, read it . . . whoops . . . the world just spat in their face. And what about adults? We may think that we are wise and experienced and can handle the filth around us, but it all gets filed away somewhere inside.

Unlike the world, we have the Holy Spirit Who will guard our hearts and minds. But . . . we have to LET Him. The Holy Spirit is a Gentleman and He will not got where He is not invited.

In those times, invite Him in to help you to remember . . .

~Whatever is true . . . think about such things
~Whatever is noble . . . think about such things
~Whatever is right . . . think about such things
~Whatever is pure . . . think about such things
~Whatever is lovely . . . think about such things
~Whatever is admirable . . . think about such things
~The excellent and praiseworthy . . . think about such things

When the sin of the world tries to drag you into the mire . . . Think about such things.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~#124~ 6/14/11

For Today . . .

Outside my window . . . a little hazy, but the sun is shining & will soon burn off the haze. Pleasantly cool for this time of year.

I am thinking . . . of all I need to accomplish today.

I am thankful for . . . my hubby's heath ~ that our little emergency last Thursday was NOT a heart-attack. A ripped muscle isn't easy, but it's a much more favorable out-come than heart problems! The Lord is SO good.

From the kitchen . . . for whatever reason, Tuesday seems to be Bread Baking Day. :-)

I am wearing . . . jeans, turquoise blue "Lakeside" top.

I am remembering . . . one of the funniest & truest pieces of advice my Daddy ever gave me: "Daddy, what do you do when you know you have to face something hard, when you're about to walk into a tough situation?" "Just tuck your butt-cheeks together & walk on!" I have used that advice many, many times in my life. lol Oh, I miss my Daddy. <3

I am hoping . . . for peace & comfort for my mom.

I am creating . . . a peaceful, Christ-centered home.

I am hearing . . . radio, Maggie barking at the neighbors as they buzz down a tree . . . NOT the most peaceful combo.

I am noticing . . . that my hair grows so fast! One day my hair will look pretty & simply do what I want it to do . . . & the next, all of a sudden it's too long. Well, at least I HAVE hair. :-)

Around the house . . . baking, weeding, laundry, general cleaning.

One of my favorite things . . . "worn," distressed, primitive looking cabinets in a kitchen. Hopefully, I'll be distressing mine soon.

{Google photo}
Plans for this week . . . family time, work, worship practice, doing a few assessments for those wonderful homeschoolers (I miss those days), Sunday worship w/the saints.

Pondering these words . . . It's a surrender of my will, to the Holy Spirit, NOT to sin . . . EVERYDAY!!!! When I blow it, I repent, ask the Lord for forgiveness & start over. {My thoughts on a point made during a sermon.}

Scripture thought . . . ~Romans 6:13-14 ~ "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; & offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you . . .

My old modeling days.

Read 100's of other Daybooks at Peggy's Simple Woman's Daybook!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Dreaming . . .

Picture me here . . .

. . . or here . . .

. . . or here . . .

. . . or here . . .

. . . or here . . .

. . . in a little place that looks kinda like this . . .

. . . or this . . .

. . . or this . . .

. . . or even this . . .

Yep . . . I could do it.

Daydreams . . . desires of the heart . . . unspoken prayers . . . what are yours?

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

It Began Like Any Other Day . . .

. . . & then I received a phone call at around 10:30a.m.

It was the nurse where my husband works . . . At his new, 2 month old job 60+ miles away. She said my husband's right shoulder & arm was in terrible pain, his blood pressure was "nearly off the chart" & he was sweating profusely. You can guess what was going through my mind! I HAD to get to my Sweetheart!

He's been having increasing pain in his right shoulder & some numbness in his lower arm for about 10 days & was, in fact, going to go to the Dr. after work, yesterday.

Our 20yr old DD#2 was, gratefully, off work & was with me. So, before I got on the PC to find out how to get to the hospital (since the nurse couldn't tell me how!!! ARGH!), I texted some prayer warrior friends. Our dear brother, lovingly called Bear, called almost immediately & said that he was leaving work & was going to take us there ~ at the very least, so that after I saw him, I could get his things & drive his car home whether he had to stay or not. The LORD is SO good to put these people in our lives. (There are so many others & YOU know who you are. {{{hugs to you}}} )

As the Lord would allow, Hubby had a phone in his ER cubbie & we could talk to him off & on before & during our journey, keeping up w/all the tests & scans that were being done. PTL by the time we got there he was checking out! It turns out that he has a rip in his shoulder muscle next to the rotator cuff & the pain was so severe that it made his blood pressure shoot up. As his family has a history of heart problems we were thrilled to rule THAT out.

So, he was sent home on pain meds & was a happy camper. '-) Unfortunately, the ER Dr has led him to believe that all he can do is take the pain meds till the tear mends itself. Well, you KNOW I'm on that! Research, research, research. lol All he can take while he drives & works is Advil (I'll get him some Arnica Montana while I'm at work tonight) & then he can take his pain meds at home.

Well, it was a whirl-wind day at our house . . . so . . . how was your day?

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Word-Filled Wednesday ~#28~ All Because of Jesus

PASSAGE: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." ~I Peter 2:9 [emphasis mine, KW]

LESSON LEARNED: You may want to read that again . . . I'll wait . . .

I often tell people who have only known me as a Christian that I have lived two utterly & completely different lives. Boy-howdy! Have I ever! I lived the life of Amazing Grace: I was a wretch, I was lost but now am found, I was blind but now I see. All by God's grace, all because of Jesus' sacrifice, all because of the wooing of the Holy Spirit.

Now, any honest Christian will understand that most of us don't "turn into Jesus" the moment we accept Him as our Savior; as my pastor recently said, it is a process. "Babies are born fully alive, fully human, but they spend the rest of their lives maturing; a Christian grows the same way, spiritually." I'm glad the Lord understands & extends His grace, mercy, love & forgiveness to those of us who stumble & have chronic foot-in-mouth disease.

But sometimes, the "old man" still tries to stir the pot of my life. That's when I draw upon the truth of Jesus & who I am BECAUSE of Him: I am chosen, I am royalty because I've been adopted into the household of THE King, I am holy & Paul even referred to me as a saint. Can you believe it? I belong to God, I am blessed to be able to declare His praises & I know the difference in life with Jesus & without Jesus because of His work in me. Real life began when He pulled me out of darkness into HIS wonderful light! (May 20th, 1982) And wonder upon wonders, ALL I had to do was ask.

And He has done the same for YOU!

All because of Jesus.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

What Must "They" Think of Us? :-/

What must advertising agencies ~ AND the companies who HIRE them AND APPROVE of their marketing ideas ~ think of us. "Us" being the average consumer . . . mid-America . . . fly-over country . . . the buying masses that they are TRYING to convince to buy their products?

Ignorant? Stupid? Blind? Deaf? Uneducated? SHEEP?!

Have you seen the new Nivea ad yet? My husband & I saw it . . . on SUNDAY . . . during prime-time viewing. I won't go into the whole commercial, but to celebrate their "100 Years of Skincare for Life," Nivea & their advertising department "thinks" (& I use that word lightly) that using the word "d*mn" in their new men's commercial will make them more cool, more appealing & make our men just want to rush right out & buy their product(s).

WRONG!!!

Well, here's what it did at OUR house: it made us throw away anything we could find made by them &, today, I wrote this on their website:

What low, uneducated advertising execs have you hired who would think that using the word "d*mn" in your commercials would make you "seem" cool? What low, uneducated leadership does your company have who would approve it? It is offensive (especially in front of family & children when it is shown during prime-time viewing hours), it is rude & shows the supreme ignorance & lack of respect your company shows for it's customers. My husband used your shaving conditioner, & we have used other products . . . but we will NOT be using them in the future.

Whew! I feel better now. Thanks for letting me vent.

One more reason to make your own skin care!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Easy Homemade Rootbeer

Make your own homemade rootbeer easy-peasy! You could even call this "Sun Rootbeer."

Here's what you need:

~1 ts. yeast
~1/2 c. warm water
~2 c. sugar
~4 ts. rootbeer extract
~1 gal. water
~1 2-liter OR 1-gallon glass OR plastic bottle/jug
~bath-sized towel
~several individual serving bottles, IF desired

Directions:

~Dissolve yeast in warm water; then add sugar & dissolve
~Add this to the gallon (OR 2-liter) bottle/jug
~Add rootbeer extract & stir
~Add enough water to nearly fill jar ~ stir, stir, STIR!
~Cover bottle/jug w/a towel & set in warm sun for at least 4 hours.
~after it sets for 4 hours, IF you want to transfer the rootbeer to your own individual-sized serving glass bottles, this is when you should do it, then . . .
~Place in frig overnight & drink the next day.

Enjoy!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this Solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought & storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All-in-All,
Here, in the love of Christ, I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
fullness of God in helpless babe;
This gift of love & righteousness,
scorned by the ones He came to save.
'Til on that cross, as Jesus died,
the wrath of God was satisfied ~
for every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ, I live.

There in the ground, His body lay
Light of the world, by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth, in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
sin's curse has lost it's grip on me!
For I am His & He is mine
bought with the precious blood of Christ!

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
this is the power of Christ, in me;
from life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
'Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcpLZgCwcEE

by: Stuart Townend & Keith Getty

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Biblically "Approved" Foods

One of my favorite books about healthy living is "What the Bible Says About Healthy Living" (read my review HERE). And Hope Egan & Amy Cataldo have written a great companion cookbook.

While, ONCE AGAIN :-), going through the book, I came across a section that I always find interesting. In the chapter "Principle 1: Eat the Foods God Created for You", here's what I read:

Allow me [Dr. Rex Russell, author] to suggest three boundaries in Scripture within which we can identify what God intended for us to eat.

1. When the Designer calls an item food.

The God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be for your food."
(Gen. 1:29)

And you will eat the plants of the field
(3:18)

2. When God brings items to His people as a gift.

Also the food I provided for you - the fine flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat - . . . declares the Sovereign Lord.
(Ezek. 16:19)

3. If Jesus ate or served an item.

The He took the seven loaves and fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.
(Matt. 15:36)

The following is a list of foods that Scripture guarantees are designed for health and that may be enjoyed. They were created for food. (Keep in mind . . . If these foods are altered, they may lose many of their benefits.)

almonds ~ Genesis 43:11
barley ~ Judges 7:13
beans ~ Ezekiel 4:9
beef ~ 1 Kings 4:22,23
bread ~ 1 Samuel 17:17
broth ~ Judges 6:19
cakes ~ 2 Samuel 13:8 (KJV)
cheese ~ Job 10:10

Cucumbers, onions, leeks, melons, garlic ~ Numbers 11:5
curds of cow's milk ~ Deuteronomy 32:14
figs ~ Number 13:23 fish ~ Matthew 7:10
fowl ~ 1 Kings 4:23
fruit ~ 2 Samuel 16:2
game ~ Genesis 25:28
goat's milk ~ Proverbs 27:27
grain ~ Ruth 2:14
veal ~ Genesis 18:7,8
vegetables ~ Proverbs 15:17
grapes ~ Deuteronomy 23:24
grasshoppers, locusts, crickets ~ Leviticus 11:22

herbs ~ Exodus 12:8
honey ~ Isaiah 7:15
lentils ~ Genesis 25:34
meal ~ Matthew 13:33(KJV)
nuts ~ Genesis 43:11
oil ~ Proverbs 21:17
olives ~ Deuteronomy 28:40
pomegranates ~ Number 13:23
quail ~ Numbers 11:32
raisins ~ 2 Samuel 16:1
salt ~ Job 6:6
sheep ~ Deuteronomy 14:4

sheep's milk ~ Deuteronomy 32:14
spices ~ Genesis 43:11
vinegar ~ Numbers 6:3
wild honey ~ Psalm 19:10

These foods are gold mines filled with essentials for healthy cells. They probably have millions of healthful components we have not yet identified or don't know how they function. Please enjoy them. They are better than medicine. (This isn't an exhaustive list . . . )

See why I like this book SO much? So, as Johnny Appleseed would say:

The Lord is good to me,
and so I thank the Lord
for giving me
the things I need:
the rain & the sun & the apple seed.
The Lord is good to me!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><