Archives for September 2016

What I Learned in September

September 30, 2016 by Patti 13 Comments

I’m a thief! Yep, that’s right, nothing but a thief. My friend Susan Shipe over at Hope Heart Home does this wonderful thing on her blog where she takes us back through her previous month in pictures to see what she’s learned about life. I did a similar review at the end of August and it was so well received that I thought I would do it again this month, especially since I am on a bit of a blogging break until LIFE sorts itself out.

So here we go :

At the beginning of September I learned that the HGTV Tiny House Hunters program I was privileged enough to be a part of (not on-screen but behind the scenes decorating) would be airing this month, and the other decorators and I threw a Premiere Gala at my friend Leslie’s Historic Overbrook bungalow. Here are a few pictures from that fun event:The Paparrazzi were everywhere . . .

. . . but the security guards were in place . . .

. . . as the staging stars arrived (Isn’t Leslie cute?).

Enough already Mr. Paparrazzi!

Of course the food was fabulous!

By the way, Tiny House Hunters (Tiny With Teens) will have three airings beginning tonight. Here is a LINK to all future showings. If you watch very closely at the end of the show you’ll maybe catch my name in the 2-second credits. LOL!

NFL opening day was September 11th and my beloved Seahawks linked arms in a show of unity during the national anthem. I learned (reinforced rather) something I already knew. My Seahawks are a class act. Go HAWKS!

I hosted an all-day North/South Carolina Consilium meet-up for some of my fellow writer friends on the screened porch.

If you look at the reflection in the window you can see that my Paparrazi man made an appearance this day as well.

My cute friend Holly gets her own picture because she had to leave early, but she also came early and spent the night. I got to show off our local cuisine by taking her to Ice Cream Station on Friday night!

I learned that an online group of friends, some of whom have never before met face-to-face, can feel like old friends in a matter of minutes. Why did I ever concern myself with the thought that there might be a whole lot of silence to fill?

I did a touch of Fall decorating. Not much because the weather is still gloriously warm here in South Carolina.

I learned (and taught others) how to make cute succulent pumpkins.

Since I’m taking a break I won’t give you the tutorial here but I will tell you that the directions were from Country Living. You can find the article on my Fall and Thanksgiving Decor board on Pinterest in case you’re interested. What the instructions don’t tell you is that it is good to give your pumpkins a bath in bleach water to kill bacteria first (bacteria causes quicker decay) and wipe them down every week or so with anti-bacterial wipes or water with a bit of bleach to keep them fresh for weeks on end.

I learned that I could work all day as a cashier at a fabulous porch/yard sale (I’m talking antiques, vintage items, painted furniture, linens, OH MY) and not spend a single penny. Y’all Mr. OTN and I are working with Gazelle intensity on our retirement savings plan.

I learned that I could lend my voice and experience to a very worthy cause for Mesothelioma Awareness Day which was on September 27th.

I’m continuing to learn that taking a break is good, so though I won’t be here much until I am ready to return to regular blogging you can follow me on Instagram.

Today Mr. OTN and I are taking a day trip to the mountains where I’m sure to find some IG worthy shots to share 😉

Blessings friends,

Sunday:

TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

Monday:

IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, TheDedicatedHouse, Dwellings, ProjectInspired, InspireMeMonday, BetweenNapsOnThePorch, CelebrateYourStoryMaking Your Home Sing Mondays, The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings, Darling Downs Diaries, The Art of Homemaking,SmallWonder, LifeGivingLinkup, MomentsOfHope, Glimpses, SittingAmongFriends

Tuesday:

TalkOfTheTown, HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, CoastalCharm, CozyLittleHouse, CedarHillFarmhouse, KatheWithAnE,TuesdaysAtOurHome, TheWinthropChronicles, Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky, Testimony Tuesday,Cheerleaders of Faith,Tell His Story, IntentionalTuesday

Wednesday:

SavvySouthernStyle, TheBlissfulBee, Posed Perfection, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays, ChristianBloggerLinkup, Whole Hearted Home, Mom’s Morning Coffee, Women with Intention, Coffee for Your Heart, MessyMarriage, ThreeWordWednesday

Thursday:

ShareYourStyle, ImpartingGrace, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, MyRepurposedLife , ADelightsomeLife, KatherinesCorner, PrettyPreppyParty, The Deliberate Mom/Shine Blog Hop, I Choose Joy, Live Free Thursday, Thought Provoking Thursday, PartyAtMyPlace, 100HappyDays, SincerelyPaulas, ThankfulThursdays

Friday:

FrenchCountryCottage, TheCharmOfHome, RootedInThyme, TheDedicatedHouseAnythingBlueFriday, ShabbyliciousFriday, Sweet Inspiration, Faith’nFriends, Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays, Dance With Jesus

Saturday:

FunkyJunkInteriors, OneMoreTimeEvents, SaturdaySparks, TheInspirationGallery, Make My Saturday Sweet

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Pumpkins, Roses, and Calgon, Take me Away.

September 22, 2016 by Patti 10 Comments

Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist is the book I’m reading right now. This book is really causing me to take a step back and re-evaluate the busyness of my life. I am no longer working a full time job, we have no responsibility in our church right now, and I no longer have kids at home that keep me living crazy. My crazy comes all from pressure I put on myself to keep working toward getting everything on my to-do list done. But I never get it done and I never will get it done because I keep adding things to it. That’s simply the kind of person I am.

I have this voice inside my head that tells me that it is wrong to stop and rest when my hubby works such long and crazy hours (don’t worry it isn’t a real voice, just my thinking voice). It also warns me that if I stop and rest I might have to deal with some very unpleasant thoughts about very real problems. Though I don’t share everything about our lives and family here on the blog, we have one. And our family has it’s share of ups and down just like any other family does. However, this particular year has been a hard one. Stress, worry, fear, and heartbreak (You don’t need to tell me to cast my cares upon the Lord or to trust in Him alone because believe me, I find myself in a constant state of casting and trusting).

So I keep myself busy to keep from being overwhelmed . . . or so I tell myself. Click To Tweet

I’m in the process of re-evaluating. What are the things that are really important in my life and what things can be set aside? What are the things I’m doing that have to do with the calling on my life and what things am I doing out of a sense of obligation? What are the things that I do that will best serve God, my family, and my friends? And maybe me too because this might just start with taking better care of me!

I’ve been hesitant to take a blogging break because I’ve been to writer’s conferences where “they” say – those great and all-knowing experts on everything – that to draw back from regularly posting to your blog is certain death, and will diminish all those followers you’ve worked so hard to gain so that One Day, that fabulous book you’re writing will be the buzz among them and they will broadcast the word near and far making it the next best seller and making your name a household word!

Push, push, push, and don’t slow down. Post it, link it, Pin it, Tweet it, IG it, and turn around and do it all again.

It has been slow going as I write the book that I feel God has called me to write. I plug away whenever I can . . . whenever I don’t find myself swamped with all of the other things I feel obligated or simply driven to do.

But wait a minute. What about that verse I’ve clung to so often on this writing journey, “The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me,” from Psalm 138:8? I know I have to put the work into the writing but driving myself mad with the push for likes and follows? Not now. Not at this juncture in my life. Not when I have more important things to fight for. NO!

At the end of the day, whether my book is picked up by a publisher or self-published, whether it reaches thousand, tens of thousands, millions, or a couple dozen people, the message in my book will get into the hands of those it is meant to. Our Pastor asked a question last week that really hit the nail on the head for me, At life's end what will matter most, the number of likes you've gotten or the amount of love you've shown? Click To Tweet

So I’m taking a little break. I don’t know how long it will be but I need to take a little time for self love in the form of self care. Lord knows, I need it! My family needs it too. Even if I can’t be present with them they need my prayers. So I’m drawing away for a time to do the next right thing.

I already had a few posts planned so I will pop in from time to time with photos and maybe some news of what is happening in my world. You can also follow me on Instagram where I will be posting more often.

Be still and know that I am God.

I’m looking forward to it.

Blessings friends,

P.S. I hope you liked my French Country Pumpkins and Roses. Pretty things make me smile 🙂

Don’t forget to PIN me!

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!

Sunday:

TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

FunkyJunkInteriors, OneMoreTimeEvents, SaturdaySparks, TheInspirationGallery, Make My Saturday Sweet

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An Accidental Diagnosis & Raising Awareness

September 15, 2016 by Patti 44 Comments

Lying flat on my back, arms stretched high above my head, the paper covered table beneath me hums as it begins it’s steady movement into the heart of the giant hollow tube. Once inside a mechanical voice speaks in my ear, “Take a deep breath and hold it”. I breathe in, hold, and only release when the voice instructs me to do so. Breathing as normally as possible I wait as strange clicking noises sound all around me. The voice comes again, “Take a deep breath and hold it.”

When the CT scan is finished the table exits the machine where a technician waits to help me back on my feet. I go into the dressing room, remove the hospital gown, dump it in the laundry bin, and put my street clothes back on so I can go about my day. A normal day filled with greetings, and smiles, and thankfulness for all of the beautiful people in my life.

This is the second time this year I’ve been inside this machine and it won’t be the last. You see last Spring, when I was having medical tests for other concerns, evidence of asbestos exposure was “accidentally” found in my lungs. This was actually no great surprise to me. In fact, I had mentioned my asbestos exposure and family history to past doctors, but none ever seemed concerned enough to order x-rays.

My dad worked with asbestos his entire life. Asbestos materials were thrown into the back of our family station wagon to haul from job to job, asbestos fibers covered his work clothes and clung for dear life when my mom would shake out his clothes before placing them in the washer, asbestos dust flew through the air as my dad used his saw to cut the edges of the asbestos squares which he installed on the ceiling of our lake cabin. As a young child I was my dad’s little helper so asbestos also made it’s way into my lungs.

In 1975 my dad was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer which at that time was pretty much considered a death sentence. Survival wasn’t anticipated. My dad had portions of his lungs removed, suffered sickness from the chemotherapy, became weak from too much weight loss, and one-by-one his best friends, those he had worked side-by-side with throughout his career, also succumbed to lung cancer and eventually death.

But MY dad survived and it was nothing short of a miracle! If you’d like to read about his miracle you can do so HERE!

If you’d like to read more about mesothelioma THIS is an excellent source.

I’m writing this post today because September 26th is Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Click To TweetAwareness has been raised for a lot of other diseases but most people still don’t understand what exactly mesothelioma is. They don’t realize that There is no known cure for mesothelioma and the prognosis for a person diagnosed with the disease is very poor Click To Tweet They don’t realize that Once people are diagnosed with mesothelioma most don't survive beyond 15 months Click To Tweet. They don’t realize that Early diagnosis of mesothelioma is key to a better chance of survival Click To Tweet

Heather Von St. James is another survivor of mesothelioma. She has turned her pain into her purpose by making it her mission to raise awareness of this deadly disease and I’m coming alongside her today to help spread the word. So instead of talking any more, I’m going to share Heather’s story with you. I’m asking you to please take the time to listen to her short video by clicking on her picture and then come back so I can wrap this post up 🙂

Please click on the picture to watch Heather’s story.

Thankfully, the evidence of asbestos in my lungs was found and I will now be monitored on a regular basis to make sure things don’t change or progress. I know that x-rays are expensive but since early diagnosis of this disease is critical I wonder why my reports of asbestos exposure weren’t taken more seriously. Perhaps even our doctors will benefit from raised awareness. By the way, I’m not getting down on doctors as my hubby is one.

So what about me? I could spend a lot of time worrying about where this might go but honestly, I have no fear.

My dad's miracle and my deep faith allow me to rest in God and know that He's got this. Click To Tweet

If you feel so inclined I’d love for you to share this post on social media. Who knows, there may be someone out there who, like me, knows they’ve had asbestos exposure but has never pushed for an x-ray to see where they stand. This is important stuff. Your sharing could save a life!

Thank you friends and blessings to you,

For more information about Mesothelioma THIS is an excellent source.

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!

Sunday:

TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

Monday: