Stitched With Love...

Photo Credit to Moments to Memories

Mother of two, Mrs. Lauren Coffman of Livingston, TN has been crocheting on and off since high school, a hobby she picked up from her Aunt Teresa. These days Lauren has improved her crocheting skills to the level that people have started to take notice and talk about her adorable little projects, a long way away from the day when she could only stitch a straight line. Now Lauren has come to the point where she has discovered that she can learn almost any new stitch by using a good pattern. She has even began to develop her own techniques and skills of crocheting.
Lauren recalled the first thing she ever tried to make was a blanket for her then boyfriend, now husband. Lauren said, “it was hideous”. After that, she stuck with making cotton wash clothes for a time being. Still, she refused to give up her hobby and we are glad she didn’t, because those little winter beanie hats that everyone is noticing are just too cute. My personal favorite is the owl themed hat. Her hats take about 2-4 hours to make depending on their size and type.

I ask Lauren how in the world does she find the time to crochet with two small children and a full time job? Her response was that crocheting is used to help her unwind, her de-stresser. She even enlists the rest of her family to help her out from time to time. Her oldest daughter, Rylee, models the hats to make sure the size and fit is correct, while husband Josh cuts the strings needed to make the braided ears of the hats saving Lauren time for more crocheting. I am sure that baby Ryder will jump into the fun when the time comes, but for now, he is happy just to lay nearby and take it all in. Making this hobby of Lauren’s a Coffman family affair…

If you are interested in any of Lauren’s Crocheted hats just click HERE to get linked to her Facebook account. She will be happy to try, and meet any of your requests.


* This article also appears at Cookevilletimes.com

Sweet Chili (Recipe Blog)

Ingredients

2lbs of Lean Beef

½ Green Pepper diced

½ Onion diced

16oz Can Red Beans undrained

16oz Can Chili Beans undrained

2 Tomatoes diced or 1 16oz Can undrained tomatoes

1 Large 66oz or 4lb Can of Tomato Sauce

½ cup of packed Brown Sugar

1 cup of Whole Milk

In large pan, brown the 2lbs of beef with the diced peppers and onions. Add half of the brown sugar to the pot and allow to caramelize the beef. When beef is fully cooked, drain grease and add the remaining ingredients. Cook on low heat for about 30 minutes. Turn heat up to high and stir (do this for about 15 more minutes). Keep stirring so the bottom does not burn.

Serve hot with your favorite toppings ( Shredded Cheese, Crackers, Sour Cream, chives, etc.),

Or Serve over Tortilla chips or French Fries. There are endless ways to serve this wonderful winter dish. Hope you enjoy creating your favorite ways!

Random Facts(Sunday Snippet)

This little Sunday Snippet is dedicated to my kid brother not really because it is directly about him, but just because his brain is filled with random information.  No one I know absorbs randomness like he does. Not only does he absorb, it but he stores it away to recall it for later use. So today’s random facts about nothing inpredicular It’s just me wishing to be a little more like my kid brother.  Here are five random little facts that have nothing to do with each other!
 
FACTS
1.       The First Person ever to ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive was Annie Edson Taylor in 1901. A teacher she was 63 years old.

2.       The word astronaut literally means ‘Star Sailor’. It comes from Greek words ‘astra’ meaning star, and ‘nauta’ meaning sailor.

3.       The largest toyshop is Toy ‘R’ Us in New York Times Square. It contains a full sized Ferris Wheel

4.       The first know story of Cinderella comes from ninth century China

5.       The Bible is the best selling book ever. Estimated that six billion copies have been sold and it has been translated into 2,000


 

Martin Luther King Jr. Inspiration For Generations

Martin Luther King Jr. A wise man the world lost to soon, but in his lifetime his wisdom, love, and courage shatter boundaries. His words gained enough momentum to empower generations and generations to come!!! Here are a few of his words that I find inspiring!

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.
-Martin Luther King Jr.

Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.
-Martin Luther King Jr.

Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'
-Martin Luther King Jr.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
-Martin Luther King Jr.

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Most Famous Speech "I Have A Dream"

It's My Birthday.....

Today I set off on the one year journey to the end of my twenties...Yep that means today was my Birthday! I just want to say thank you to every single one of you out there that made me feel loved and celebrated on this day. My heart is overflowing with love!!! The cards in the snail mail, the jewels, the cupcakes, the double stuff Oreo cookies,the many and I mean many facebook comments, my shadow following me around making sure everyone knew it was my birthday, The Happy Birthdays from the sweet little voices of children, the card that spoke to the geek in me, my parents for spoiling me beyond what I deserve, and all the love that came flooding my way today! It was a good day thanks for remembering! Thank you my sweet friends, and my beautiful family you really made my day! I love you all thanks for being blessing in my life!

I shall leave you all with a little birthday song for anyone out there that shares a birthday with me...January 16th was a good day to be born!!!

For Starr Baby

The Garrett Clan is a little sad today as we say goodbye to our sweet Starr Baby she was the family pet. She was a sweet dog with a wonderful puppy personality. We loved her and will miss her! Thanks for adding some joy to our lives sweet Starr baby!


Starr
November 2007-January 2011

Snow Days

My kids have missed four days of school due to snow here in middle Tennessee, and have loved every minute of it. I am not a fan of cold weather or the snow, but if it must come about you might as well have fun in it...What do you and your family do to stay entertained on snow days?



"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again."
— Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass)

New Blog Launch

No I am not abandoning Inside My Head. It is very much and will remain my personal little corner of the blogging world, which I am very much in love with. However, I fell so in love with the wonderful world of blogging that I thought I could somehow manage the up keep of two blogs...So I hope you all will venture over to Lyrics & Love and tell me what you think. I have also given Inside My Head here a minor face lift by adding a few page links to the top. Nothing major just something to help you get around a little easier without cluttering the main page. Thanks for all your support over the past couple years...I look forward to much more blogging in 2011!!!

My Non-Resolution Plan

Remember yesterday how I mentioned that I am terrible at keeping my New Year’s resolutions? Well it’s true and since I am so horrible at sticking with and maintaining my New Year’s resolutions, I decided to throw the whole idea out the window. I figured that I am much better off setting smaller more specific goals for myself. So, here it goes. First, let us visit the difference between resolutions and goals.

res·o·lu·tion : the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.

goal : the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim;

I know there really isn’t a crazy amount of difference between the words, however resolution to me is just a method and idea to do something, while a goal is reaching something you put your mind to with actual achievement at the end of the process. It’s more than an idea or a method, it’s the result.

So therefore instead of setting one big method to determine my actions, I have chosen to instead layout a calendar with smaller more manageable goals to be reached…Hopefully, goes something like this:

January: Finish reading “The Sentinel City of Destiny” / Carter’s Room Makeover

February: Complete Potty Training/Actually Start Potty Training and pray for miracles

March: Master Bedroom Makeover (including painting all the furniture)

April: Learn 5 new recipes

May: Revamp the front lawn landscape/Move Rose Bushes to side of house

June: Blog Layout Update

July: Paint Kitchen Cabinets/de-clutter kitchen

August: Paint Stairway/Stairs/ Finish drywalling

September: Sew Halloween Costumes / Have family photographs made

October: Clean out and Organize every closet/cabinet in the house

November: Christmas Shopping List/Early Shopping? De-clutter boys rooms

December: Celebrate all the goals that were achieved!!!

Along with my monthly goals, I decided to set in place a couple of ongoing goals for myself. Goals that infiltrate into everything else that I do. These are probably the most important of the goals. I thought three was a good number to choose.

1.Maintain a close walk with God through study of His word, fellowship with other believers, and service to His ministries.

2.Grow in my relationship with my Husband & and continue to build on our marriage. Just because we have been married 11 years this coming year does not mean the honeymoon has to be over.

3.Becoming more transparent of a parent to my children. Take out the guess work when it comes to what I expected out them. Giving them targets to focus on. Those targets being courage, generosity, service and kindness. All the while not setting expectations to high, remembering they are still children and not yet adults.

So that, my friends, is my non-resolutions plan of action and goal setting for this upcoming 2011 year! Happy New year to all…Hope you are all off to a wonderful start!

New Years Resolutions

The New Year has arrived! And with that, a great opportunity to reflected on all that has happened in the past year and look forward to what is coming in this new year ahead of us. A new year, a chance to start fresh and do a little self improvement within ourselves, changing into the people we want to become. I have never been very good at keeping my New Year resolutions. They usually end up lasting about a month, maybe two if I am lucky and focused, but that is an entirely different article so stayed tuned. Today I decided to jot down some New Year’s Resolutions that are, for say, a little off the beaten path. I hope you will share with us your goals and expectations for the upcoming year. If you don’t have any, maybe the ideas below will inspire you to take pen in hand and write down a few of your own.


NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

1. Literature: Set yourself a goal for example something like 52 books in one year, and let the reading begin. A helpful website to use during this resolution would be Goodreads.com it allows you to make a list of books you have read as well as a list of books you would like to read. It’s an easy way to keep track of your goal. It is also a good place to read reviews from other everyday readers.

2. Relationship: This year become more intentional with your relationship with Christ, whether that’s finding a time and place for daily devotion/prayer, becoming more aware when it comes to Christ's plans for your life, or listening and accepting where Christ would have you serving.

3. Learning: Find something new that sparks your interest. Something you have never tried before and give it a fighting chance. This could mean attempting it more than once before giving up. You never know you might find that you are actually really good at it. Some ideas of things to try horseback riding, surfing, oil painting, piano playing, keeping a journal, learning to speak a new language, gardening, or maybe even simply trying to cook a new dish. Things don’t have to be complicated, just new!

4. Environmental: Make an effort to go green. This can be as big as purchasing a new hybrid car or energy efficient appliances, or as small as unplugging electronics that are not in use. Another simple and easy way is to use less throw away materials like cups, grocery totes. Just keep in mind the 3 R’s “reduce, reuse, and recycle”. For more tips about going green check out the folks over at Planet Green. They have an index full of how to go green tips.

5. Simplify: Get organized and remove all the clutter! This process can be life changing, as it helps reduce stress along with makes life just run a little smoother. Whether you are attempting to get organized at home, office, or at school, who doesn’t want a much simpler life style? For some helpful websites to help you become clutter free and organized, check out Organized Home, Simple Organized Living, and over at Love to Know they have printable To-Do list and lots of tips. All of these websites can help you get started with this decluttering and simplification resolution.

Globtrotting Teacher

Looking for a little extra adventure in your life? Wishing you where making a bigger difference in the world? That is exactly what 27 year old, Ms. Jessica Breeding wanted out of her life.

Ms. Breeding had become unsatisfied with her position as a teacher in Middle Tennessee and came to the conclusion to combine her love of traveling and her career path together. Breeding began to apply for teaching positions overseas. Getting a response from several countries, in the end, she chose Korea. Korea had the best benefit package of any of the positions she was offered and would allow her enough time to continue traveling.

Her decision to teach in Korea, while exciting, was still a little upsetting for her family and was exceptionally difficult on her Father. He began to protest many of the countries the seasoned traveler wanted to visit but ultimately was won over when he realized how happy traveling and teaching made his daughter. Eventually, all of her family and friends were on board with the new life style she had chosen for herself. She visits back to the states about every other year for Holidays and has weekly Skype conversations. Technology has made a big difference in commutation. It has also helped battle any feelings of being homesick, a feeling she has battled during her first year on her own in Korea.

Breeding is now in love with her position as an English teacher to Korean Kindergartners. She is happy the job provides her with enough funds and time to travel and study. She is now pursuing a Master’s Degree in International Business. After completing the degree, she hopes to become employed by a larger cooperation in Korea, Hong Kong, or Europe as a spokeswoman for the company.

Right now, Ms. Breeding has a sense of fulfillment with 29 countries visited and many more on the list to be visited. Jessica also feels her job as a Kindergarten English teacher is one of importance and her job is making a difference in the lives of a young Korean generation. The education system differs from that of the American system. For example, the children in Korea go to school for 12-15 hours a day. Parents in Korea pay for their children to attend extra schooling. That being said, the children of Korea are covering more curriculum in each grade level compared to the children in the United States, which has both positive and negative effects. In the classroom with children, Ms. Breeding is accompanied by a co-teacher to help maximize her teaching ability and overcome any language barriers that may be present. Teaching in Korea has given her a whole new outlook on education, child development, and the little things that are involved in childhood.

After three years away from American soil, Breeding feels that her traveling has contributed to the person she has become. She feels she has become much more open minded towards the cultures of other countries, taking into account how they view the American people, both good and bad. Becoming a traveler has taught Ms. Breeding a lot about who she is, who she wants to be, and feels like traveling the world has had a giant impact on her life as a whole. She continues to feed her adventurous nature. She is very happy with her decision to become a globetrotting teacher.

Top: Combodia, Scotland, Hong Kong, Bottom: Italy, Indonesia


Specail Note: this article also appears at Cookevilletimes.com