My Fears

As a child of God we should be confident that we are protected and no worry or anxieties overwhelm us.  I wish I could testify to this.  But I can't.  I have fears, and some fears keep me paralized at times.  I have tried to deal with some of my fears.  I have asked God to help me.

You have read my recent posts and know what kind of fears overwhelm me.

God knows too, and he is so wonderful that he led me to a blog, where I knew I will get some inspiration and encouragement.  @ A Holy Experience, there is a link party on Wednesday.   Walking with Him Wednesdays. 

As I was browsing through the links.  One caught my attention.  Lisa's post on Fear.

At the end of Lisa's post, she mentions where she  shared her post. That link led me to another favorite place of mine.  Incourage.

All of these posts brought me to write my own post on Fear.  So here we are.

There are so many things I'm afraid of, but today I will like to talk to you about my fear of driving on freeways.  I drive.  I have been driving since I was in college.  I had a professional driving school instructor teach me how to drive.  And my second lesson was to get on one of the most traveled freeways in the Bay Area, highway  880.   Now at that time, I did well.  According to my instructor. 

So where did my fear begin.  I have never been in an accident. Thanks to God.  I have seen accidents on the road, TV,and on movies.  But I have not been involved personally in one.  I also thank God that no one in my family has ever been in a terrible accident.  Only my brother's recent accident, which I thank God for protecting him.

So why do I have this fear or anxiety?  Can't I  just trust God that he will protect me.  Yes, I can.  And I've driven on the freeways, but for short distances and with someone guiding me.  The times I have been on my own, I driven less than 15 miles distance.

When I first got my driver's licence,  I will plan my trips through the streets.  Avoiding the freeway.  It will take  forever to get to my destination.  So little by little, I have made myself, get on the freeway in order to get to places quicker.  But like I said, for short distance trips only.

My parents live an hour away from my house.  In order for me to go see them.  They have to either come and get me, or I take the train (Amtrak).  Occasionally, my husband takes me to go see my parents.  I want,  not to be depending on others, when I want to go see my parents or when I'm invited to events that require me to drive on the freeway.

So what should I do?  How do I get over this Fear? 

Do you have any fears of your own?  Or something similar? How have you overcomed your fear?

Please help me by praying for me.  Thanks

If you like to share your story with others join us here

Showing my Gratitude

I want to thank a few people who have made my time on blog world amazing.  This are the wonderful people that often leave comments on my posts.  Pray for me when I request it.

And inspire me with their own blogs.

Drum Roll please.............

Become What You are:  My dear Friend S.  you were one of the first to often leave comments.  You were always inspiring me.  Thanks you are amazing.  I miss you.

Marie, one of my first followers.  I do not have a link to your blog.  But I thank you for your comments and words of inspiration.

Dianne @ Everything Else Thrown in, her amazing words of encouragement, her amazing poetry and Art.

Melinda @ Coming Clean, her inspiring, funny confessions of an imperfect parent with a focus on God.  Miss you too.

Vee @ Paper Dali, her amazing paper dolls, that have been a perfect tool in teaching my kids about our Catholic Faith.  And also her amazing posts.

And last but not least. Ricki @ Art @ Home, thanks for your comments and your inpiring post.

I pray that you all have a blessed day.  And if you ever need me, let me know.  Thank you for your online friendship.

God's Mercy

It's been a while that I do not share post regarding my faith.

For those of you who recently joined me as a reader. You can read my testimony by going to the tab at the top of this page.

I warn you is quite long. But if you want to get to know me better, that will be the best way.

Today, I want to talk to all of you about God's Mercy in my life and the life of family members.

I'm not sure how I came to this understanding but somehow, I always known I'm an intercessor. There has been many nights I wake up in the middle of the night and pray. I learned that God calls me out of my sleep for a special reason. Sometimes a name comes to my mind. Sometimes I do not know for whom I need to pray for.

When I first moved to this neighborhood. Close to 15 years ago. My neighborhood was a scary place to live. Home to many homeless people. Some of them will hang out at the two liquor stores, both located on the same street I lived on, three blocks away from each other.

You can imagine what other activities took place in the neighborhood. Over the years I have seen so many things. But also over the years, I have prayed for this neighborhood.

This neighborhood has changed over the years. Vacant lots have now been occupied by tall residential buildings. The closest liquor store to my home, was remodeled after a fire. And converted to just a food market. They no longer sale liquor in that store. Houses have been remodeled and sold to people who work in the big city.

There is less homeless people hanging around, the ones who have stayed are very friendly. The illegal activities have moved to another section of the neighborhood, away from our house. Occasionally, I hear gunshots. And since I live very close to a busy freeway, I also hear when accidents happen on it.

I asked my daughter to describe our neighborhood and she said it was "ghetto". Some of my family members avoid coming to my home for that reason. But you know, I love my neighborhood. To me is home. I have learned to appreciate were I live. It might not be a suburb. But if I focus on the good things happening in our neighborhood, like vegetable gardens sprouting up in vacant lots, that are being cared by students from our local schools. The good outweighs the bad.

I always give credit to God for the changes in my neighborhood. I know that many of my prayers have been answered. I know by now you are wondering when will I start talking about God's mercy in my life. How does the above relate to God's mercy. In many ways.

God called me here to be an intercessor for this neighborhood. I might not be the only one. But I do pray for this neighborhood. I pray for our safety too. You never know, when we will be in the middle of a drive-by shooting. Our intersect with a car chased by police.

God protected us once already, a few months ago. Police where chasing a car that speeded by me, when I was two cars away from making a left turn. That car could had hit us.

Since my brother moved into my home, I also pray for his safety. He gets home late at night, and it worries me. A few nights ago, I could not sleep. I went to the living room and looked at the window. Did not see my brother's car. So I went back to bed but I first prayed for him. I asked the guardian angels to protect him. And I also prayed the divine mercy chaplet. Then I fell asleep.

I was awaken by my cell phone. It was a call from my brother. He told me not to worry, he will be home soon. Also that he had crashed his car but he was ok. He did not give me more details. God's mercy saved him.

When he got home, and I did not see any injuries on him. I was thankful to God for protecting him. I can't give you much more details about his accident. All I know is that God saved my brother. That's all that matters to me. My brother is ok, with a mark from the seat belt, holding him tight. But he is here with us. Thank you Merciful Father.

And I continue to pray daily for God's mercy. On us, and of the whole world. You can find the chaplet of the "Divine Mercy" Here. It is a short prayer. Only takes about 5-10 minutes to pray. But is powerful. I have seen the power of God and his mercy when I have prayed this prayer for others. You can read about that here

I pray that you have a blessed day. And remember me in your prayers.  Thank you.

Something New

I added this two ceramic punkins to this small section in my home.  The punkins were bought at
Pier 1.  I think about 2 years ago.  They were $8 each.  I had a $25 gift card, so I  actually bought 3 but gave one two Mom for her birthday.

My next new item is a cake pedestal that doubles as a punch bowl.  I have always wanted one like this one.  I have seen similar ones, recently on different blogs.  This one in particular is from Princess House.  And I got it for free with my hostess credits.

The third and last item.  Is a  6qt. deep fryer, also from Princess House.  Retail value is $234.95, but I did not pay that much for it.

I only paid $39.95. Another bonus for my party sales.  I already used it to make fries.

The only problem I found is that I have to use a lot of oil. To be able to cover the items I want to fry. So I did something different. I placed the potatoes directly on the oil, instead of the fryer basket. Then I scooped them out and placed on the basket to drain out the oil.

The problem with this method was that I had some potatoes stuck to the pan. Great! I thought, "I just ruined my new pan.

I removed all the oil from the pan.  Placed some warm water and dish soap in the pan.  Let it soaked for like 2O minutes and then washed with a sponge.  The food stuck to the pan was easily removed.  Amazing!  Even better than the Teflon pans.

Have you ever hosted a party of your own?  What company?  Did you win anything?  Please share your answers in the comments.

Tupperware Coffee Set

This coffee storage set is on sale if you order it online only. 
Click on the picture on the side bar, to link to my Tupperware Website to order.
Go to Product Gallery.
Then click on Online Exclusives.

Welcome Fall

A new season now begins!  And around my house the colors change.

First we added a new lamp to the kitchen.

2. Changed the linens in the Living room

3. The sofa cover and pillow covers were changed too.

4. The autum decor was added.

5. Some items were removed and stored away elsewhere, to make room for more interesting items. 

The pitcher above the fridge, is seldom used and its always tucked away in a box.  I used it a few days ago, and before I placed it back in its box,  I thought I could give it another use.

I had a garland of foam fruit in the Fall decor bin, I placed that inside the pitcher.  Added some fall flowers, and there its  a nice looking vase.

Regarding the Tupperware Giveaway, can you believe no one has entered any comments.  I haven't received a single comment since I mentioned the Giveaway. 

Makes me think, "Have I  lost all my readers, or are you  just not interested in Tupperware?"

In case you are interested in participating, here is the link to the Tupperware Giveaway post.

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Attic Project

One of my biggest challenges in my home is the attic room.  Its was the storage room for all the seldom used items.  Then it became the future family room, but we rarely spent time there.  The exercise bike found its home there too.  And now is sits in a corner, who know when it will be used again. 

Then daughter decided he will make her room in the attic.  And things were moved to one side to make room for her bed and other belongings.  Creating a bigger mess.

I have tried to bring some order to the chaos over the last month. 

So far, one area that has improved about 25%, has been the entrance to the attic room.

This is how it looked a few months ago.

After the two yard sales, I made about $100 dollars.  I decided to use this money to buy some much needed shelfs for this area. 

And here are the after pictures.

Right side, Tupperware inventory area.

Left side. Party supplies.

serving platers, buffet servers,

disposable plates and cups.

The small door is the entrance to a small storage space for all the Christmas bins and extra linens.  If I had been asked, how I wanted this attic to function.  I will had asked for the storage room to be the last room in the attic, and be big enough for some tall shelfs to hold all my christmas and linen bins.  But I was not asked what I wanted, so I have to find ways of making this rooms work the best, for all of us.

This is the area  near the window that faces the street.  This will be part of daughters bedroom.  I plan to work on this area tomorrow.  I plan to work on each area of the room each day. 

At the moment, this area has already undergone some changes.  The coffe table is now in son's room.  Son's toys are now in his room.  The exercise bike was moved to a corner.  And the table with the computer on it. Is covered with a drape.   I will show you more pictures tomorrow.

Remember to Enter the Tupperware giveaway here.  Deadline is Friday, September 23.

Giveaway!

Its been two years since I started my blog and I have never done a giveaway of my own.  I have entered a few, but the only time I won something was a Target gift card thanks to Melinda @ Coming Clean

I think it is a good way to celebrate the two years this blog has been in existence.  To thank all my readers and faithful followers.

Ok, so all you have to do to enter is to become a follower of my blog.  Second, leave me a comment letting me know how long you have been following my blog.  How you came across my blog, if you can remember.  And third, but this is the most important part.  Let me know what Tupperware item you like best.  You have until next week, Friday September 23, to enter your comments to this post.

The winner will  be picked at random and will receive a Tupperware item.  I will let you know soon what the item will be.  So enter now to win.

Once again,
1.  Become a follower of my blog
2.  Leave your comment on this post
3.  Let me know how long you have been a follower and what's your favorite Tupperware item.

One more thing,  please let your readers know about this giveaway. Thanks!

Small Projects

The pantry is one place that needs to be organized often.  This is how it looked last time it was organized. I have added some new storage containers and some items had to be moved to another area in the kitchen to make sure I had enough space for the items that will be stored here.

Remember that my pantry is now in the office room. So I must store items, that are not used on a daily basis, here.

I used most of the Tupperware containers that I had, to store some of the items.  I love the Modular Mates because they accomodate well and are stackable.  Most of the seals (lids) I have are the same colors. I also like this containers because they are clear and you can see what's in them.  I still printed some labels to make them look nice. And if the container is empty we know what is missing. 

My inspiration for this small space is Danita from Delightful Order.  I love her pantry room and organization ideas. 

By the way, since we are talking about Tupperware.  I was thinking to have a giveaway.  I'm not sure yet how to get it together. Does anyone know?  Can  you help me set it up?   I will apreciated it.  I want to give away a Tupperware container.  But first, I will like to know what is your favorite product from Tupperware and what you use it for?  Storage, to cook, or to heat up in microwave?  The most popular item will be the giveaway item.  So leave me your comments.  I will let you know by Friday, more details on this giveaway.

Yard Sale #2 Update

Today we hosted another yard sale at our Parish.  This time we did more planning ahead of time.  Once again, I loaded my car and headed to church. 

We began setup at around 9:15 AM. 

The people began coming around 10 AM. 

I was able to sell more items than last weekend.  In all I made $100.

I made some donations to church too.  They were selling nachos and tostadas.  So I did not have to go out to buy lunch, like last week.

I bought a few items from the other sellers.   Some book dividers.  And my Son bought a game for his Nintendo.

So the TV is gone, the boxes of clothes and shoes are gone ( donated to church for future yard sales).  The duvet set is gone.   I feel much better now.  Less clutter in my home.

Next week, I will be organizing what is still left in the attic.  Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of my daughter's finished room.

I plan to purchase some wire shelves for organizing my Tupperware inventory and the party stuff.

The home office needs some organization too.    Plus the craft area.  I need to have a homework area for the kids.  And my desk is always piled with stuff. 

So I worked on a schedule on Friday.  I have set up  time, to deal with this paper clutter.  I have set up days for completing certain tasks (projects) that need immediate attention.

I also updated the Command center on the fridge.  Updated the monthly menu.  I made my own magnetic file holder.  You can't see well in the picture.  I used page covers with index tab. Stapled together and added some contact paper to the top.  Taped a  magnetic strip to the back and now I have a place for emergency numbers, monthly schedules, etc.

This is the craft zone desk.  I want to make this, the kids homework desk. 

Notice what I did with my day calendar.  I used this small plate holder to display my kids picture and the day calendar. 

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