happily random

Little Bit of This & That

Unless this is your first time visiting or you're completely unobservant, you may have noticed a few changes to the look of my blog. I have meant to change the design for awhile as I am one of those people who likes to move the furniture around in a room every few months so to speak. Since dropping my couponing blog I have found myself with a little more time to navigate some of the ins and outs of blog programming. While I have a background in graphic design, my knowledge of the inner workings of a website have been sorely lacking. Once-upon-a-time I could program html, but that was over 10 years ago and things have changed a lot since then. So here I am, googling CSS, favicons and "how to add an image to your post title" and scouring the web for programing tips to add to my store of knowledge. I'm sure this look is not the end of the changes to come as I glean more tips from cyberspace. I guess you can teach an old designer new tricks after all.

Just call me 'Sheila Appleseed'

We go through a lot of apples in our household, so I find myself slicing and coring apples almost daily for lunch, dinner or snacks. As I was slicing apart a Gala apple on just such an occasion a couple of weeks ago, I came across an apple seed that had already sprouted a root while inside the apple.

"Hm..." I thought, because that's what I say to myself when I'm thinking about things. "I wonder if I plant this if I could grow an apple tree?" So I grabbed a small pot, filled it with potting soil and planted that sprouting apple seed.

I was utterly shocked when a few days later this little pot contained a tiny seedling peeking out from the soil. Why was I shocked? Because I don't have the greatest track record for growing things. Most of my gardening attempts tend to die an early death. This one still might, but I am hopeful. I feel like I got a head-start with this one already having sprouted inside the apple, like it was saying, "Plant me! I have great potential!"

The Joy of Letting Things Go

It's never easy to decide to back out of something you have gotten involved in. Especially if it involves other people or is something that you enjoy. God has been teaching me this lesson over the past few months, that sometimes you have to just let some things go.

For example, I have hosted a couponing website for nearly 3 years now, NW Deal Seeker. I love looking for deals and sharing them with others. It was very satisfying to help others save money, not just myself. But these past few months I have felt buried by the workload of keeping it updated. Not only that, but I felt myself tied to my computer for hours a day, hours that I missed with my husband and children. Sundays -- which used to be an exclusive family day for us -- became a day where my husband played with the kids so I could work. I felt like this thing that I had gotten involved with was stealing my precious time.

After considering it with my husband and praying about it, I decided that it was time to let it go. It's not easy to close that door on my life after all the time and work I put into it. Some things are just worth so much more than that though. So for the first Wednesday in years I have not yet opened the paper to see what deals there are to be found at the grocery store this week. Instead I spent the morning baking with my 5-year-old who will be in all-day kindergarten next year. Much more rewarding if you ask me.

Of course, I will continue couponing myself, but from now on everyone else is other their own to find the deals. Not my responsibility anymore. Good luck with that... ;)