Book Peddler is now ONLINE

Come check us out. http://www.texasbookpeddler.com

Some things just never change

Ya know how in high school there are clicks and some people for whatever reason just make others feel uncomfortable? Like they think they are better than you? Of course you do!

Well you would think that after 15 years of being out in the real world people would get over themselves and actually act like grown ups where social status and money aren't everything. I may not have money or social status but I have not done anything to anyone where I deserve to be treated like I am less of a person. I put on my britches one leg at time like everyone else. Even if you are well off, does your money make you such a snob that you have to be downright rude and not even speak to someone.

I guess my instincts in high school were right on. I just needed to be nice to that crowd but never really desired to be in that crowd. I am glad now that I wasn't because I really would hate to think that people thought of me as a stuck up snob who thinks that I am better than everyone else.

Book Peddler

If you are in East Texas you should go to Tatum and check the Book Peddler located right off Hwy 149. You can check out an assortment of their used and rare books at http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?quserid=BOOK1422&cm_sp=detail*sellerinfo*sellername

Give them a call today 903-947-2243

Mac N Cheese

Want to win a year's supply of Kraft Mac N Cheese? Go to http://www.thisfullhouse.com/reviews/ and find her Kraft Mac N Cheese post.

Want to win a Flip Mino Digital Camera?

If so go to http://www.thisfullhouse.com/reviews/2009/05/how-ford-flex-took-my-family-for-a-ride-or-six.html and leave a comment before 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 5th.

Chance to Win

Going green isn't always easy. Trust me, I know. But, for families (like ours) I believe that "going green" is an ongoing process of educating ourselves, as best we can.

That's why, I'm excited to share with you some very useful information and also a terrific family of green products, that makes it a little easier for families (like mine) to turn over a new leaf, courtesy of the earth-friendly folks at SCOTT Naturals™.

SCOTT Naturals™ has teamed up with Kahi Lee to produce several vignettes illustrating easy ways to green your own home - go ahead and grab a warm (or, cool) beverage and take a few minutes for yourself, I'll wait:

Here's the really cool part.

To celebrate the nationwide availability of these products, we've teamed up with SCOTT Naturals™ to offer one (1) lucky reader a Green Gift Bag, including:

• Reusable tote filled with SCOTT Naturals product coupons
• Reusable water bottle
• Green light bulbs
• Cleaning products from Clorox Green Works.

FIND IT HERE: Scott Naturals http://www.scottnaturals.com/

Enter Here: http://www.thisfullhouse.com/reviews/2009/06/take-a-green-step-at-home-with-scott-naturals.html

New pictures ... Yeah

A giveaway

So, here's how it works: the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift!

I'm Invisible

I found this on The Daily Digi and felt it was really worth sharing with everyone.

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This is long, but worth reading and saving for a rainy day - you know, those days when you doubt if all the work you put into being a great mom is ever going to be noticed. The days where you think, “Oh, I used to be brilliant and cute and I used to look really good in jeans!” Save it for that day. Or if you’re having that day today, get your hankie out before you read on…

This is to all moms - and moms to be ———

“Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible”

I’M INVISIBLE

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, ‘Can’t you see I’m on the phone?’ Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, ‘What time is it?’ I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel?’ I’m a car to order, ‘Right around 5:30, please.’

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She’s going, she’s going, she’s gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, ‘I brought you this.’ It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription:

‘To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.’

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, ‘Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.’ And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, ‘I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.’

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, ‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.’ That would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, ‘You’re gonna love it there.’

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

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