Oklahoma Women Bloggers has a list of ways you can help. For local friends, a survivor of April 27, 2011 here will be collecting gift cards for victims on Saturday. Toomer’s for Tuscaloosa, established after April 27, 2011, is also setting up drop spot locations around Alabama for donations.

2. I decided to answer this week’s YLBC prompt in this post. My answer is short and simple, and I wasn’t sure how to turn it in to its own post. The question is “what staple foods stay stocked in your fridge?” Our fridge usually has Diet Mountain Dew (for me), Hershey’s syrup (I love chocolate milk), eggs, butter, baby red potatoes, drinks for M (gateraid, orange soda, Sun Drop, cream soda, or Capri Sun), baby carrots, and some type of fresh fruit. Pretty basic .

3. I am SO looking forward to having Monday off and spending Memorial Day with my family!

4. I don’t remember ever having this many problems with my ears and allergies before. Now I just feel so sad for babies who are crying with earaches. I’m hitting the antihistamines hard this Spring.

5. I haven’t uploaded and edited the photos from making cheese straws yet, so that post will be coming next week instead of this week.

I guess this has turned into 5 Things Thursday. Have a great day! Please join me in continuing to pray for Oklahoma.

In college, I was in the Computer-Based Honors Program at UA. A unique part of the program was having the opportunity to do research as undergraduates with professors in our interest areas. We were responsible for organizing and completing our own projects each semester, but we met once a week in class with the director of the program to present, give status updates, and learn skills and tips for what we were working on. One of the topics from those weekly seminars that has stood out in my mind even after graduation was the advice to “manage expectations.” Since we were responsible for our own projects, we needed to clearly communicate with our project manager and the CBH director our goals, timeline, progress, successes, and possible roadblocks. It was a valuable life lesson. Today I want to apply that same idea to something more personal – learning to manage your own expectations of yourself.

I’m all for having big dreams and aiming high, but sometimes you have to realize you can’t do it all.

This is a hard pill for me to swallow and a lesson I still haven’t learned. Every day I have the expectation that I should be able to go to work, cook dinner, keep the house clean, blog, sew, write, and hang out with my husband. I rarely get through it all, and when I do I don’t get to spend the amount of time on each thing that I think I should. Then I start to beat myself up for not accomplishing every little thing. It’s not healthy. I need to learn to let go of the little things and work on the big picture.
I need to manage my own expectations of myself.

Have goals and work towards them, but realize you can’t do everything no matter how much you may want to. Look for things that can wait and work on the things that will help you reach your goals. Manage your own expectations.

Am I the only one who struggles with this? Does anyone have any advice for me?

Hey y’all! I am posting this from the Kroger parking lot while on my lunch break. I had to run in and grab a few things, and now I need to pick up something for lunch and take it back to work. Since I didn’t get a real post written for Thursday or today, I just wanted to pop in and say hi. It’s been one of those blah, discouraging weeks, and I just haven’t felt like myself. Our house has been a mess with dishes piled high in the sink and dog food spilled all over our bathroom thanks to two doxies I know. I finally got caught up on my cleaning last night, and I’m ready to put this week behind me and enjoy the weekend! Some weeks are just like this, I guess, and that’s okay. It makes me appreciate the sunny, happy, glorious days!

One of the passages in my daily reading plan yesterday was Psalm 136.
Psalm 136:1
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

God is good all the time! Through sunny weeks and blah weeks. Through messy houses and sleepless nights and days when you’ve got your act together. I’m so thankful for His love!

Next week I have some posts planned that I’m really excited about – cheese straws, managing your crazy expectations of yourself, a small historical town, and more! Until then, I hope you have a fantastic weekend! – Beth

There’s a lot I don’t know, but I am learning all the time. I couldn’t pinpoint some large, profound defining life lesson to discuss. Instead, here are several life lessons I’ve learned. They are things I’ve been taught by family, friends, teachers, and my own experiences. Some are silly and some are serious. That’s life!

What are your life lessons?

Because I need to do a better job at documenting some of our normal days and special days, I started flipping through my camera roll on my phone tonight. I was surprised at some of the moments I’ve already forgotten about from this Spring. For my own memory’s sake, here are some (not so spectacular) phone photos from our life lately.

Several weeks ago, I went with Papa, Ree, Laura, and Mama up to Sir’s Fabrics in Fayetteville, TN. It’s one of my favorite places to go, and I have so many memories of going up there with my grandparents. We went because Laura was looking for curtain fabric for her dining room, but I managed to find some fabric I may use to recover a rocking chair. I took the photo of the calico quilting fabric just because I thought they were so pretty on that table. It was a great morning!

That same Saturday, I read a little on the porch while M grilled for the first time this spring.

Another Saturday, Laura came with M and I to Lowes & Home Depot. The back of my car was quickly filled up with our purchases, so the ferns had to ride in the backseat with Laura.

I have a thing for Gerbera daisies.

My girls.

We went down to Mountain Brook for the wedding of one of M’s college roommates. It was a beautiful wedding! I’m just drinking Sun Drop

Laura and I had our Planner Party we have every other month.

My parents are the cutest! This was taken at my cousin Rachel’s graduation Friday night. I’m so proud of you, Rachel!

This past Saturday, we went up to Springfield, TN to see M’s grandparents. AND his mom and brother James were also in town for the weekend. It was SO exciting to get to see them!

I love the yellow finches that gather outside their window.

On Sunday, we went to the river for Mother’s Day. Laura gave mama and me gel manicures while we were there. Now I want gel nails all the time.

I feel like we have been going non-stop lately. We’ve also been to two softball games, to a fish fry at the river, on a date night, and to see Iron Man 3. I’m grateful for a chance to sit down and document some of these memories!

I chose the song “The Best Day” by Taylor Swift for the seating of the mothers and grandmothers at our wedding. I cry literally every time I hear this one. It brings back so many memories of my childhood, and one lady that stands out in my mind through it all.

Mama has become one of my best friends. She has guided me, taught me, and loved me. Through her relationship with my Daddy, she’s taught me how to be a wife. Through her relationship with Christ, she’s taught me how to be a daughter to our Heavenly Father. Thank you for everything, Mama! I love you Muches and I had the best day with you today.

The Best Day – Taylor Swift

I’m five years old, it’s getting cold, I’ve got my big coat on
I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you, I run and run
Past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides, look now, the sky is gold
I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home

I don’t know why all the trees change in the fall
But I know you’re not scared of anything at all
Don’t know if Snow White’s house is near or far away
But I know I had the best day with you today

I’m thirteen now and don’t know how my friends could be so mean
I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys
And we drive and drive until we found a town far enough away
And we talk and window shop ’til I’ve forgotten all their names

I don’t know who I’m gonna talk to now at school
But I know I’m laughing on the car ride home with you
Don’t know how long it’s gonna take to feel okay
But I know I had the best day with you today

I have an excellent father, his strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my little brother, inside and out, he’s better than I am
I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run
And I had the best days with you

There is a video I found from back when I was three
You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you’re talking to me
It’s the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs
And Daddy’s smart and you’re the prettiest lady in the whole wide world

And now I know why the all the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side even when I was wrong
And I love you for giving me your eyes
For staying back and watching me shine
And I didn’t know if you knew, so I’m takin’ this chance to say
That I had the best day with you today

“When upon life’s billows you are temptest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And if will surprise you what the Lord hath done”

Because sometimes you are just having a blah day/week/month and you can barely keep your eyes open because you haven’t been sleeping well and nothing major is wrong but you could easily write a post full of whining anyway but instead you write a terrible and long run-on sentence that makes your English major heart cringe all because you just want to say that you realize you are blessed, so blessed. These are the things I’m particularly thankful for these days – my lovely little blessings:

What are you thankful for?

These ladies are two of my best friends. There’s something so special about having a sister you love to be around and a mother you want to be like. On Sunday, I got to go to a mothers and daughters tea with ladies at the congregation I grew up attending. I’m glad Mama called and asked if I wanted to come. Fancy hats, punch, Mama’s chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies, photos, and fun with these women who are two of my biggest blessings. It was a wonderful tea party!

In this day of having apps and devices available to take care of almost anything, many people are turning to technology to help with productivity, planning, and organization. Others stick to the tried and true method of a pen and a sheet of paper or notebook. Personally, I use both. I’m using apps and electronics more and more, but for planning and some notes, I still rely on pen and paper. Which method is best? Googling the issue brings up article after article discussing this debate. The articles carefully point out all the advantages and disadvantages of each particular method. Using electronic methods allows you to sync your lists and notes across multiple devices, but what happens when your battery dies in the middle of an important meeting? Paper is fast and simple, but a gust of wind or a knocked over cup of coffee can ruin your to do list and your day. I’m not sure which method is best, and I don’t think there is a right answer. My answer to this question is use what works for you. My Manage it Monday post for this week will give you some points to consider when contemplating whether paper or app will work best for you.

Use paper if:

• the office supply section of any store makes your heart pitter-patter
• physically crossing things off a list makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something
• you need to be able to see an overview of your schedule but also the details of each day
• writing things down automatically commits things to your memory
• you like using different pens and actually prefer writing to typing
• you’ve always loved shopping for school supplies at the start of a new school year
• you like to pick out notebooks and journals with cute designs
• you like things that are simple, quick, and easy

Use electronic if…

• shiny new tablets, phones, or computers make your heart pitter-patter
• you need to sync your lists and notes across many devices
• you use an Outlook calendar for work and want to have your personal calendar all in the same place
• your motto is to always have a backup
• you enjoy trying out new apps and methods to stay organized electronically
• you want your calendar, to do list, address book, notes, email, web browser, e-book library, music, and games to be all on the same device
• you have many recurring tasks and meetings that you don’t want to rewrite
• you want to share your schedule, lists, and notes with a team or your family
• you like things that are innovate, new, and fun to use

Of course, you can always use a combination of both paper and electronic if that works best for you. I’m still learning what I like to use each method for, but I’ll probably always have my trusty planner and a physical notebook close by. Is there anything I’ve left off? Which method do you use to stay organized?

2. My cousin Allison is now a Scentsy consultant, and my mom had a party for her a couple weekends ago. I love my new warmer! I didn’t realize it would make little hearts on the wall. Bonus!

I also ordered 3 bars from her because I just ran out of the ones I had. This time I got Camu Camu, Paradise Punch, and Sunny & Share. I had such a hard time deciding though. I’m hosting a party for her in June. What are your favorite scents? I need ideas on what to stock up on!

3. In May, I’m going to try to participate in two of the photo challenges on Instagram. I’m sure I won’t post to them every day, but there are some fun prompts. I’m doing the popular #fmsphotoaday and a new one called #isewphotochallenge. If you’re on Instagram, my user name is @bethp146.

Happy Thursday!