Thoughts on blogging ...

I am borrowing an article for this post.  It was written by Marko Saric.  One of my favorite things this year was moving forward with my blog, Henningsen Happenings.  I love to blog and I was not sure why.  Here are l0 good reasons to try it!

 

 

10 good reasons blogging should be your New Year’s Resolution

by MARKO SARIC

New Year’s Eve is a time to look back at the past, and more importantly, look forward to the new year. It’s a time to reflect on the changes you want to make and time to make sure to follow through.

A New Year’s resolution is a goal someone sets out to accomplish in the new year. Here are 10 good reasons why having a blog should be your New Year’s resolution.

1. Great writing practice

Blogging is writing. If you like writing, having a blog will help you improve and become a better writer.

2. Boosts your career prospects

A blog is like a shop window where you showcase your talents and build your reputation. It can open doors to new opportunities and improve your career prospects. It can be considered an extended CV and can help you get a new job.

3. Improves your finances

A blog can become a source of income. It can help pay your bills, improve your finances, get you out of debt and save money. See how to earn your first $500 by blogging.

4. Builds your network

With blogging you start a conversation and connect with other people. This builds you a network of potential friends and business partners.

5. It is your creative outlet

Blogging is a creative activity. Whatever is on your mind, whatever ideas you might have, a blog is a creative outlet for you to share your ideas and creativity.

6. Makes you read

Being in the blogging industry makes you read a lot – read other blogs, read books, read comments. It opens your mind to new ideas and inspires you to do more.

7. Gets eyeballs on your work

If you are an artist or just want to spread your ideas and influence, blogging opens the doors to the whole world for you and gives you a wider audience. It allows good work to get shared and be spread, it can get you constructive criticism and gets you noticed.

8. It is your personal journal

Blogging is like keeping a journal of moments that you can look back at and revive the awesome memories or see the progress you have made.

9. Helps you help others

Blogging can be seen as a form for volunteerism. You choose to spend your time creating content that can help, inspire, educate, and/or entertain many other people.

10. Allows you more time with family

Blogging is usually done from home, it is done independently, and it doesn’t go through corporations. It can also be done on the go. This allows you more time to spend on things that matter to you, for example your family and friends.

Blogging is a good way to spend your time

All in all blogging is a good distraction and a good way to pass the time productively.

You learn something new, you get educated and improve yourself. You become more organized, get better at time management, become more independent and watch less television.

Happy Blogging!

What are you doing in 2013?

Do you have something special you will be doing in 2013?  Share it here!

Each year I do some special projects, some of them that I have done in the past are:

Sponsor a child through Compassion or World Vision.
Operation Christmas Child.
Sponsor a missionary.
Prayer partners.
Support local pregnancy crisis center.
T & T Book Club
Wellness Center member.

All of these are great projects to take part in and I like to regroup each year trying to be choosy on how much I take part in - there is work of course - my job - and our church.  These two take priority on our time.   At this point we have been attending our new church for over one year but have not become highly involved.  I did help with VBS and have been added to the substitute Sunday School teachers list.  I loved both of those areas!

The other things I choose to take part in, in 2013,  can be done simultaneously, for instance I plan to:

Continue monthly financial support of one missionary at Youth for Christ in SW Kansas and for our local pregnancy crisis center - Heart Choices.   Automatic deducts from our checking acct. so pretty easily done.

T & T Book Club - monthly reading with my sister in our own book club.  Fun!!

Fit Walk - sponsored by our city and the local parks and recreation group.  Free!  Calls for about 2.5 miles of walking every day - or bicycling, swimming, etc.   A very big and scary undertaking.  Want to try.

Reading - mixing it up with daily devotions, book reads, and Bible reading.  Including in this category regular visits to my local library.  Tentatively I might attend the monthly book club at the library.  It is a read what you want to and share about it book club.

Nutri-System weight loss program.

Flower gardening in pots.

Monthly RACK (random act of Christmas Kindness)  hmmm.... should I rename it since it's not Christmas?   Find a chance to do something nice unexpectedly for someone.  See a need, fill it.

Gratitude Journal - as mentioned in previous posts - A daily recording of something to be thankful for with weekly pictures or drawings.   Taken from a Pinterest pin called 365 Days of Gratitude.

Another similar find - from Pinterest - but sounds like a fun thing to try.  Keeping track of special memories - throwing them in the Memory Jar - and then on New Year's Eve review them!

Facebook, Pinterest, and my blog Henningsen Happenings.

Good Reads - Good way to keep track of what you are reading and intend to read!

These are the things I will fill my time with - focusing on prayer and my relationship with The Lord.

One last thing - As I have been losing some weight and exercising, lifting weights, walking, jogging, etc. I have learned I CAN DO new things.  In 2013 I want to try more new things.  I know it will include golf (my stocking was filled with hot pink golf balls, a golfers glove and personal towel!)

Take my challenge to share your plan for 2013 here or on your own blog - but leave a link back here!  I would love to see what others are planning! 

Coming soon to my blog . . . My New Year's REVOLUTION . . .

HAPPY PLANNING!

Memories Jar found here on Pinterest

Teri's Favorite Things for 2012

Remember the days of Oprah's Favorite Things?  They were called the most "coveted tickets" ever. To be in the audience that day in November when the bells start jingling and Harpo Elves come streaming in - is a dream come true!!  Oprah would spend the next hour lavishing the lucky guests with all of the things that she had come to love in the previous year.  Bath products, shoes, purses, jewelry, candies, special foods, boots, slippers, work out clothes, pajamas, sheets, ipads, kindles, refrigerators, vacations, and oh yes the enfamous "you get a car and you get a car and you get a car . . ."  Keys to sporty little red cars under everyone's chairs.

My sister Tami and I started our own "Favorite Things" right along with Oprah.  We even shared a gift from our favorites list with each other for several years.  Obviously we didn't have the budget that Oprah did - but nonetheless - it's a wonderful thing when you are blessed enough to find your very own list of favorite things year after year.

2012 has been a big year for my family - making the move to a new home and a new city.  I have shared many of the blessings along the way.  As we close out another year I would like to share with you my TOP TEN Favorite Things for 2012 . . . and who knows maybe you will find some of them under your chair!!

Bring out the elves . . .
#1 - Roses - never have been able to grow them!
#2 - NutriSystem's Beef and Wedge Potatoes
#3 - Ipod Shuffle!  Plugs into the tread mill!  Christmas from my children!
#4 - Schechers Tennis Shoes - Great for walking!
#5 - Blogging! - Need to take a class!
#6 - Pinterest  -  Need to take a class!

#7 - Bath and Body Cashmere Bouquet
#8 - Red Birds - Had one visit me - read about it here
#9 - Size 18W Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans - doesn't sound like every girl's dream to be a size 18 - but it's only going to get better!
#10 - New coffee mugs!  They are so elegant, and pretty and dainty!  Christmas from my children.




Join me in the fun and write out your Top Ten things from 2012.  You notice I didn't mention family and friends - of which I am very thankful - and they are at the top of a whole other list - things I can't do without!  It is fun, however, to think of some of the small things that have made your life easier or made you smile - and so I'm sharing mine with you.

Take some time to reflect and come back and leave a link in the comments section!  I'd love to see what others have discovered in 2012!

Blessings found in simple things.

Holiday Home Tour

                                           Welcome to our Home!

This is the first time I have ever hung a wreath on my front door.  In our previous home there was not room. So it was fun to be able to hang this OLD wreath with a newly made bow

Remember my little red bird friend Ozzie from previous posts?  He is gone now - so I had to find a little keepsake to remind me of him! Our hospital gift shop has the neatest things!

Not part of the decor - but part of the prep for Christmas.  My sister-in-law and I found these "Princess Bags" on Pinterest.  Check out www.girlwithagluegun.com for more great ideas!  We hope the four littlest granddaughters will enjoy them!  Pink is Cinderella, Dark green/Purple is Ariel, Light green/Purple is Tinkerbell, and Blue/Yellow is Snow White!

35 year old Nativity Set - A tradition

 Dining room table

Our souvenir from our "let's take off and see where we end up" trip this last Fall.

Elk Festival in Estes Park, Colorado - sure did bring us some JOY!!

                                               

Santa collection in our family room

My little tree - nothing spectacular - but it holds every ornament my children have ever made.  Found a quote online that says - "The most beautiful Christmas Tree is every Christmas Tree".

Here's a little mis-matched corner.  This is the "retro" kitchen in our basement - nicely done in green vinyl and gold countertops.  I had to throw in a touch of Christmas.  Can't be Christmas at my house without the snowmen my mom made for me and my two sisters many years ago!  Also have an array of stocking stuffers I'm collecting to add to stockings tonight!  Then Christmas - come on over . . . I'm ready!

                   

                                                                   It's SNOWING!!!

                                       Thank you for taking a walk through my holiday home. 

                                                                   Merry Christmas!



Advent Blog Tour - Martha and Me

Welcome blogger world!  Merry Christmas!  My family affectionately calls me Martha Stewart or Martha from the Bible (Mary and Martha story) because I sometimes tend to overthink and overplan things.  And worry about useless things.  Whether it be cleaning, or planning to clean, decorating, or planning to decorate, I can get a little wrapped up in it.  I find myself surfing to www.marthastewart.com occasionally. 

But here's the real truth . . . Most of the time I don't have the desire nor the "means" to decorate, cook, or exist Martha Stewart-style.  I think she is wonderful and I forgive her for her time away (behind bars).  That was just a little oops in my opinion.  And I also get much grief about my opinion on that from my family as well.  So being the good sport that I can be - here is a little Christmas fun at Martha's expense and mine ...

Martha Stewart's Holiday Planning List

December 1
Blanch carcass from Thanksgiving turkey. Spray paint gold, turn upside down and use as a sleigh to hold Christmas Cards.

December 2
Have Mormon Tabernacle Choir record outgoing Christmas message for answering machine.

December 3
Using candlewick and hand gilded miniature pine cones, fashion cat-o-nine-tails. Flog Gardener.  

December 4
Repaint Sistine Chapel ceiling ecru, with mocha trim.

December 5
Get new eyeglasses. Grind lenses myself.

December 6
Fax family Christmas newsletter to Pulitzer committee for consideration.

December 7
Debug WindowsNT.  

December 10
Align carpets to adjust for curvature of Earth.

December 11
Lay Faberge egg.

December 12
Take Dog apart. Disinfect. Reassemble.

December 13
Collect Dentures. They make excellent pastry cutters, particularly for decorative pie crusts.

December 14
Install plumbing in gingerbread house.

December 15
Replace air in mini-van tires with Glade "holiday scents" in case tires are shot out at mall.

December 17
Child proof the Christmas tree with garland of razor wire.

December 19
Adjust legs of chairs so each Christmas dinner guest will be same height when sitting at his or her assigned seat.

December 20
Dip sheep and cows in egg whites and roll in confectioner's sugar to add a festive sparkle to the pasture.

December 21
Drain city reservoir; refill with mulled cider, orange slices and cinnamon sticks.

December 22
Float votive candles in toilet tank.

December 23
Seed clouds for white Christmas.

December 24
Do my annual good deed. Go to several stores. Be seen engaged in last minute Christmas shopping, thus making many people feel less inadequate than they really are.

December 25
Bear son. Swaddle. Lay in color coordinated manger scented with homemade potpourri.

December 26
Organize spice racks by genus and phylum.

December 27
Build snowman in exact likeness of God.

December 31
New Year's Eve! Give staff their resolutions. Call a friend in each time zone of the world as the clock strikes midnight in that country.

Respectively borrowed from this web site - travel here for more Christmas jokes!

Office Christmas Party - Pins #3 and #4 - Holiday Pin It/Do It Challenge

Deck the hall with boughs of holly . . . . fa la la la la la la la la

And that is what I have done - With a swag of greenery and holly berries - a lantern - some mirrors - my Santa collection - and some glowing candlelight - the table is scaped!

In 2008 my daughter got married and I took some quick lessons on floral arranging from a dear friend and saved some bucks by making the flowers myself.  Table arrangements, pew bows, bride's bouquet, attendants bouquets, and a little touch here and there . . . It was one of the most fun things I have ever done!!!  After the wedding I had accumulated a little "wedding store" all my own.  Purchased several totes for storage and now I have a cupboard of "on loan" supplies if anyone needs such a thing.  Three sizes of mirrors, calla lilly candles, rose bowls, square bowls, votive candle holders, etc.  So putting a tablescape together for my office Christmas party was actually kind of easy.

With the help of Pinterest I quickly came up with the idea for my Christmas Tablescape.

                                                 Original pin by Sweet Something Design

My version

I have always wanted to have a lantern for different decorating ideas.  Purchased this one online from Hobby Lobby.  Inexpensive swag from Hobby Lobby also.  One spool of wired ribbon made big bows for this tablescape, for my front door wreath, and for my childhood sled that decorates my front door.  All ideas from Pinterest!  Don't you just love Pinterest??

Add 12 medium sized mirrors from the wedding leftovers and red chargers with my white china and it's a party!!

Each guests plate contained a miniature lantern favor filled with  chocolate mints.

And for my last pin we topped off the meal with Died and Gone to Heaven Trifle

The office party was a great success and an evening filled with fun and laughs.  My toast to the ladies at the meal went like this and afterall sharing from the heart - God's love - is the best Christmas gift:

"I want to give a special toast tonight and share with you that I've had a special blessing the last two weeks as I have prepared for tonight.  Something special happens when you like to entertain and be all fussy for people you care about - you actually have an opportunity to think about those people as you work!  I found myself thinking about each one of you individually as I made vintage stars for you that you will see later, and as I thought about the food and the little favors - about what each one of you likes - what makes you laugh - I thought about your families and all that has happened in the past year - I remembered some of the laughs we have shared and a few tears - and I was thankful in my heart that you are the 7 other people I spend my days with.   So I SAID that this evening was my gift to you for Christmas - but it turns out - it was also my gift to myself."

Blessings in co-workers/friends.

                              And surprise!  When I arrived home the day of our party - this beautiful
                             live Christmas greenery adorned our mailboxes - A gift from the office gang!

Office Christmas Party - Pin #1 and #2 - Holiday Pin It/Do It Challenge

The prep work is half the fun, right?   For me it is!  I work in an office and supervise 10 women and this year for Christmas I wanted to try something different!  We normally celebrate at the home of one of the gals and have snacks and gifts, or we have just put aside the work and exchanged gifts over our lunch hour.  This year I'm the one with the new home and so I invited the ladies to a fancy smancy sit down Christmas Celebration served by me!

For the Holiday Pin It/Do It Challenge - as a timid pinner - I promised to share four pins!  This is the first two of 4 pins I will be doing for my Christmas party.

Food right?  Every good party has to have some food!  My menu for the Dec. 11th event is:

                         Poor Man's Steak - Recipe  below
                         Cheesy Potato Casserole
                         Green Bean Casserole/CrockPot Corn
                         Acini De Pepi Salad
                         Relish Tray
                         Rolls
                         Trifle Dessert - Pictures to follow later

My recipe for the steak is:
3-4 pounds of ground beef
1/3 cups of cracker crumbs
1 1/3 cups of milk
Onion
Salt/Pepper
Mix and put in jelly roll pan - partially freeze - cut into squares.
Flour pieces, and brown in butter.
Place in 9 x 13 pan.
Cover with mushroom soup diluted with 1 1/2 soup cans of apple juice.
Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

Check out a variation of the recipe here - one of my pins for December!

I will be serving my vegetables in my crock-pot buffet server.  Check it out here.   This is pin #2.  My buffet server was a gift from the office ladies last year - so I can hardly wait to use it at my party this year!  I am planning two vegies and so in the third crockpot server I am going to make some yummy cinnamon apple cider to enjoy with our meal!

Good company and good food . . . what else is needed you say???

Well of course, said Sandra Lee, a beautiful Christmas tablescape!

Tune back in soon for pins #3 and #4 - decorating the table and table favors!!

The Holiday Pin It/Do It Challenge is sponsored by Trish at Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity! Thank you Trish!