In our house - when the kids were growing up - we always celebrated Christmas until January 6th - The feast of the Epiphany - the day the Wisemen brought gifts to the baby Jesus. Our tree stayed up until then. The kids are grown and gone, but I still keep the tree up. This is when I write out my Christmas cards and family newsletter - when I have time to enjoy it instead of rushing to get it done.
It has always perplexed me that in the secular world, which begins Christmas the day after Halloween, Christmas stops cold on the day after. All of the Christmas stuff goes on sale. Yesterday, I stopped at Walmart and the Christmas goods have been picked clean and replaced by Valentine items. Even the Christian radio station stops playing Christmas music the day after Christmas.
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Today I get back on track with my daily updates on the fitness front. This is not a New Year's resolution so there is no excuse for me to put it off until then. My New Year's resolution is to finally declutter this house. Yesterday I had to go downstairs into my workroom and move everything off of the floor because water was coming in. I moved a lot of stuff that I am not using. That will be decluttered. Before Christmas I bought myself a gift from the Flylady shop.
These things are the coolest! They fold up into their own little pouch. These is even a video tutorial on the Flylady site. I have one problem though. I took the purple "give away" bag over to Clayton's party because his gifts were in it. It's still there. So today I will have to declutter without it.
I am off to do my Monday workout with is a strength training video.
Daily stats:
Type: Firm Video- Total Body Sculpt
Route: Living room
Time: 41
Average heart rate: 112
Max heart rate: 140
Down 2.2 from last Monday (whoo hoo!)
Wow, it's been a long long time. I had to modify like crazy. I didn't do some parts of the video, but as time goes on, I will get better. The stretching at the end felt great.
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Today I'm making soap. I haven't made soap in a long, long time - weeks. I have missed it so much. I am making my Lavender Meadows. It is a blend of lavender, sweet orange, and clary sage fragrance oils. My last bar went out the door a couple of months ago. I have the oils melted and the lye water mixed. I can't do anything else until the temps cool - usually about 2 hours from the time I melt the oils and mix the lye water. While I am waiting, I have spent some time decluttering the living room. Actually, I haven't really decluttered, I've just cleaned up the mess from our family Christmas on Christmas night.
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Here I am, in my hazmat gear getting ready to mix up the soap.
Here is the mixed soap poured into the mold and ready to transform itself. This will go into the oven for 2 hours. The swirl isn't quite as pronounced as I would like, but it smells wonderful!!!!
Below is a picture of the soap as it came out of the oven. It is in full gel stage. After it cools I will post of pic of how the look changes dramatically.
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Word of the Day:
The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas
Gospel
Lk 2:22-35
When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
“Lord, now let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:
my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you prepared in the sight of every people,
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
(and you yourself a sword will pierce)
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
Thoughts from the cornfield:
The other day I was talking about how I wondered if my faith was strong enough to declare it in the face of having a gun pointed at one of my loved ones. Mary experienced this. Imagine raising a child and then having to go through what Mary did.
God bless our troops!
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2 comments:
2 comments, one of which Melisa probably won't appreciate.
1) I didn't know you baked the soap
2) in that picture from the lips up I thought it was Melisa. I've never seen the resemlence until now.
1.) I don't actually bake the soap per se, putting it in a 170 degree oven forces it into the gel stage faster and I can be sure that it gels evenly. The oven process allows me to test a piece right away if I want to.
2.) Melisa is used to it. We used to get that all the time at Ashcraft. It isn't as apparent now that her face is thinned down.
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