Meet me on Monday

1. How was your weekend?

I had a good weekend.  Saturday I had an art class taught by very talented Dana.  We made special Thanksgiving day cards.  And it was a hot weekend.  At 5:00 on Sunday afternoon my temperature gauge said 119.

                                       
2. What is your favorite kind of candy?

I love all kinds of chocolate, and peanut butter, so I guess that says Reece's Peanut Butter Cups3. If I say the word 'high' what do you think?

Olympic mountains4. What are you most looking forward to about Autumn?

Well, cooler temperatures for sure, and then I am enrolled in some fun sounding art classes.

My own 5th Question so we can answer as we hop around!

                                                         

5.  What are you scared of?

Me--I am an acrophobiac.  (Scared of heights)  But I try and challenge myself, so that this doesn't get in the way of my living.

Sunday Meditation--Possibilities

Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see the possibilities — always see them, for they're always there. 

--Norman Vincent Peale

Lots of people limit their possibilities by giving up easily. Never tell yourself this is too much for me. It's no use. I can't go on. If you do you're licked, and by your own thinking too. Keep believing and keep on keeping on.-- Norman Vincent Peale

Mark 10:27  Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” (NIV)

Lavender--Sachets, Medicine, Cooking

One of the stops on my vacation this summer was at a lavender farm in northern Washington.  It was a warm day with just a slight breeze.  The scent filled the air.  During the tour of the farm, I learned a lot about the plant. The name lavender comes from the Latin root lavare, which means "to wash." Lavender may have earned this name because it was frequently used in baths to help purify the body and spirit.

Many people appreciate lavender   (Lavandula angustifolia, or Lavandula officinalis) for its fragrance, used in soaps, shampoos, and sachets for scenting clothes. However, this herb has also been used as a remedy for a range of ailments from insomnia and anxiety to depression and fatigue. Research has confirmed that lavender produces slight calming, soothing, and sedative effects when its scent is inhaled.

There are over 200 varieties of lavender grown around the world, blooms are from white to pink, to blue to dark purple.  The darker the color the more intense the fragrance.  Chefs use English lavender for cooking, it has a milder flavor than the French lavender.  This lavender is mixed with provincial herbs for an authentic French seasoning, or added to tea, or blended with sugar for a dessert topping.

I will be trying my hand at using it in recipes, and plan to add a few new varieties to my herb garden.

Friday Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things this week

Beautiful sky at sunset

Surprise birthday party for a friend

Granddaughter's 6th birthday party

Look at all those presents

6 candles to blow out

Great granddaughter's 9th birthday in Prescott

She got plenty of presents also

My daughter and all her charges

Littlest great grand--She calls me grape grandma

Beauty flowers outside my front porch

1. When I was little my mom  _taught me to cook and sew_
2. _Grey Poupon mustard__ is my favorite condiment
3. I don’t like to celebrate_birthdays___ because_when you are over the hill who needs a reminder.__
4. My ­­­­­­­_art supplies___takes up more space  __than my sewing_ and I can never__pass up a good sale.

Pondering with a Purpose--Goals

This is Brenda Youngerman's weekly hop where she posts a prompt and you get to write to it on your blog - come back and add it to her linky and then we all get to go read what you wrote! This Week's prompt is: Goals

I am a very goal oriented person.  I make daily goals, weekly goals and long term goals.  Do I stress out if I don't achieve them?  No.  Webster defines a goal as  the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.  If I make some progress then I have received a result.  To help me stay on track I use the SMART guidelines  Goals need to be:

S - Specific (or Significant).

M - Measurable (or Meaningful).

A - Attainable (or Action-Oriented).

R - Relevant (or Rewarding).

T - Time-bound (or Trackable)

In one of my management classes I was given these guidelines regarding goals and have found that they work in business as well as every day life.

• State each goal as a positive statement - Express your goals positively – "Execute this technique well" is a much better goal than "Don't make this stupid mistake."

• Be precise: Set precise goals, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, you'll know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.
• Set priorities - When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.  I think that this is most important!
• Write goals down - This crystallizes them and gives them more force.
• Keep operational goals small - Keep the low-level goals that you're working towards small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward.
• Set performance goals, not outcome goals - You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. It can be quite dispiriting to fail to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control!
• In business, these reasons could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of government policy. In sport, they could include poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck.
• If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals, and draw satisfaction from them.
• Set realistic goals - It's important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (for example, employers, parents, media, or society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions.
• It's also possible to set goals that are too difficult because you might not appreciate either the obstacles in the way, or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to achieve a particular level of performance.

Sometimes I think that I enjoy planning the goals as much as working on them.