What a difference a day can make!

Have you ever had one of those days? It seemed like the universe was working against me! (when in reality it was my attitude and negativity feeding the misery) For starters, I woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. So I decided to get the day going and discovered my internet was down...piddled around with that for a while with no luck. As the day progressed, I became more ill. Allergies were taking hold of me and my eyes watered and itched, my throat was scratchy and I was drained of all energy.

Here's the clincher.....my finger was shut in the truck door! What a strange feeling of helplessness that was. My hubby and son were unloading something from the truck at a friends house and I stayed in the truck (wallowing in my self-pity - I can say that today and laugh). I had my hand over my head, not realizing Ryan had left his door open and evidently my finger was in the door frame. He jumped in and shut the door. It took a couple seconds for it to hit but I screamed loudly and quickly, "my finger, my finger, my finger!!!" Ryan suddenly realized what was happening and he opened the door. He felt so bad but I told him it wasn't his fault. Today you wouldn't know anything ever happened to my finger other than a little swelling. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? When something hurts THAT bad, I want to see black and blue with gnarly swelling! lol.

Anyway, as you can imagine, I couldn't wait for the day to be over. But then I remembered ....... Nashville season premiere was coming on at 10pm. So I laid in bed, eyes watering and red until to watch the program...hubby would nudge me when I'd doze off here and there but I saw most of it.

What a difference a day makes. Today I feel much better (thank you NyQuil), my finger looks good and my attitude is back in check.

Blessings to you all,
Teresa

September Give Away

In honor of all the victims, their families and all the fallen men and women who gave their lives to the war on terror, I am offering this Americana rug for the September give away.

Go to my business Facebook page and comment on the give away post. Share on your facebook page to have your name entered twice.

Good luck to you all and

GOD BLESS THE USA!

Harvest at the Mill Show

A huge thank you to Dick and Dawn Rossell of Holly Hills Primitives for inviting us to be a part of their first show! They did an amazing job organizing, advertising, hosting, you name it, they did it! The show was a huge success even though it rained a bit in the afternoon. To learn more and see the vendor list, go here.

This photo was taken during set up on Friday afternoon. Love all the old shutters and antiques in this shot.

Across from our booth was our dear friends, Bob and Peggy from The Wren in the Willow. Here you can see Bob is busy setting up their three booths! What a huge job. (one is enough for me :)

One of my favorite vendors...Lynn Capizzo from Lyndale Primitive Antiques. She offers antique toys, teddy bears, and other needfuls. Really unique items!

Here is a shot of our booth (thank you to hubby for helping set up and tear down..it's definitely a two person job). Halloween originals amongst other originals, prints on wood, punchneedle patterns, primitive watercolor originals and other handmades.

Friday after setting up our booth, I stayed up until 11:30 making these cute jack-o-lanterns out of oranges. They really turned out cool. Each one has a different expression.

This was taken from Wren in the Willow's booth. I went to visit them during the rain.

Love this sign for the shop! Dawn has a great eye for creating primitive vignettes!

This was taken during set up as well. Gloria's booth, the neighbor across from us :)

 This was another amazing booth! My friend, Linda, bought the coolest antique tin here. It was a marshmallow tin in Halloween colors.

Loved meeting these gals, Kerry McCann and Marie Faren. They had some great primitives and antiques. Talking with Marie, we found common ground...Seville Antiques in Seville Ohio! Jann, Linda, Debbie and I have been there many times during our annual "shop across America" trip. (which only includes Ohio, lol!) Marie has a booth at Seville Antiques....what a small world.

Also, Kerry hosts an amazing show at her farm the third weekend of June and third weekend of October. She brought a photo book from her past shows.....it looks AMAZING! She invited us to bring our goodies to her next show....definitely thinking about it. To find out more, go here.

Wojo's had a booth, too. If this doesn't get you in the mood for fall....nothing will :)

Sorry I didn't get photos of all the booths! If I missed yours, I apologize. I couldn't get out much because I had to "man" my own booth but there were many more amazing people I wish I could've included here.

A big thank you also goes to my best buddy, Linda, for helping me during the show. I was on my own most of the day and she would come over from Wren in the Willow's booth if she saw I needed help. 

This was truly one of the best shows we've ever done. There were carriage rides, folk music playing, good food (which was also a fundraiser for abused children), great vendors, and very well organized. After the show some of the vendors met at Bittersweet Cafe for a bite to eat and just to get to know each other - that was a nice perk. Dawn and Dick thought of everything! Congratulations to you both!

Looking forward to their next show :)
Blessings,
Teresa

Weekly Hooking

I'm baaaaaaack! I moved my personal blog over to my other site a few months back but I didn't keep it up as much over there.

Sooooo.....(as if I need one more thing to do) I decided to start blogging here again!

This post is dedicated to my friend Dawn Rossell of Holly Hills Primitives.

She and Dick, her husband, are the shopkeepers of a beautiful shop in Holly, Michigan in the town's old mill. Dawn creates stitchery that she adheres to old antiques and pieces of wood, while Dick creates AMAZING primitive furniture for the store.

I met Dawn last fall. Peggy Meganck of Wren in the Willow is a mutual friend of ours. Dawn and I were "fluffing" Christmas trees for Peggy's home show. (It was truly amazing how she transformed her house into a country store!) Dawn and I chatted while getting the trees ready and became fast friends.

Dawn hosts a weekly hook-in with several sweet ladies at her shop every Wednesday. I have had the pleasure to attend a few of these hook-ins. I LOVE to see the amazing work these ladies are doing and I leave so inspired and uplifted! Like I said yesterday while visiting them "this is good medicine".

Pictured above is Sue, Sheila and Sally. Also in weekly attendance is Sue, Pat, Bobbie and Bonnie. I thoroughly enjoy visiting with these ladies...wish I could go every week!

Thank you to Dawn for hosting this hook-in every week. You are a gem!

Also, in case you hadn't heard yet, Holly Hills Primitives is hosting "Harvest at the Mill" on Sept 7 from 10-4! Tons of primitives with vendors from 9 different states! Sure to be a blast. Don't miss it!

 

I am fortunate enough to be vending at this show! Here are a few goodies I will be bringing!

Also.....whatever doesn't sell at the show will be available at my new Etsy Shop....created just for primitives called "Primitives by Teresa" :)

Have a blessed day everyone!

Mothers Day & Father's Day 2013

I moved these from my other site back over here now that I decided to keep my blogger site :)

Happy Father's Day
posted June 17, 2013

Ryan, Briahnna, Kevin and Kyle Take 1

Take 2

Take 3.....there are more but there's not one where they are all being "normal" :)

Dad and I

Geesh...I wonder were the kids get their silly nature from?????

I cannot express in words how much I love my family. I truly enjoy every time we get together! Hope you all had a fantastic Father's Day too.

We also celebrated Bri's 29th birthday! Happy Birthday beautiful young lady!

Great Video

 posted June 4, 2013

Simon Cowell Cried During This Touching Shadow Dance About the Loss of a Mother from hulahan on GodTube.
Some things move me so much that I just HAVE to share it with you! Enjoy....oh and grab a kleenex!

 

 Mother's Day

 posted May 13th, 2013

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

TAKE 1

TAKE 2

TAKE 3

FINALLY, A "NORMAL" PICTURE :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. Despite the 40 degree temperature, we had a great time. Stayed indoors and played cards most the of the afternoon. I am truly blessed with the best Mom ever and with some pretty awesome and very fun-loving boys. We missed you, Briahnna!

Peace to you and wishing you a wonderful week!

Moved

Hello Blogger Friends! I have moved all the content from this blog over to my website and all future updates will be there. It is just easier to have it all in the same place :) I hope you join me there!

Click here

Mothers Day

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

TAKE 1

TAKE 2

TAKE 3

FINALLY, A "NORMAL" PICTURE :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. Despite the 40 degree temperature, we had a great time. Stayed indoors and played cards most the of the afternoon. I am truly blessed with the best Mom ever and with some pretty awesome and very fun-loving boys. We missed you, Briahnna!

Peace to you and wishing you a wonderful week!

gotta share the smiles!

Hilarious Dancing Babies Will Make Your Day! from kidsarecute on GodTube.



Enjoy your day!

Original Painting up for Grabs!

"Grace"

painting on tin tile

©Teresa Kogut, all rights reserved

Hey friends! You can win this original painting just by going to my website and entering your name and email address! The drawing will be June 1st, 2013. Good Luck!

_____________________________

Just a side note.....sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Writing articles for my website, updating my facebook page, filling retail orders and meeting licensing deadlines has kept me busier than a one-eyed cat watchin' 9 mouse holes! 

Til next time......

dream, pray, do

Week 7 of dream, pray, do - Questions to ponder from "An Enemy Called Average" by John L. Mason

My apologies.....I have missed a couple weeks since week 6. Writing for my website and this blog is proving to be very challenging.

What can I do to make better use of my time?

 
The following list is from lifehack.org (mostly). I did, however, integrate some of my own thoughts & tips into the list as well. If you follow these tips, you will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in your daily life.

1. Create a daily plan. Plan your day before it unfolds. Do it in the morning while drinking your coffee or even better, at the end of the work day before going home. The plan gives you a good overview of how the day will pan out. The key is to stick to the plan!
2. Use a Planner or Organizer. An organizer helps you to be on top of everything in your life. It’s your central tool to organize information, to-do lists, projects, and other miscellaneous items. I have used a Franklin planner for years and it is a life saver.
3. Know your deadlines. When do you need to finish your tasks? Mark the deadlines out clearly in your organizer so you know when you need to finish them.
4. Learn to say “No”. Don’t take on more than you can handle. This can be a hard word to say sometimes but it's better than saying yes and not getting the task done in time.
5. Target to be early. When you target to be on time, you’ll either be on time or late. Most of the times you’ll be late. However, if you target to be early, you’ll most likely be on time. For appointments, strive to be early. For your deadlines, submit them earlier than required.
6. Time box your activities. Time boxing refers to boxing your tasks within fixed time slots. For example, boxing task A from 9-10:30am, then task B from 10:30-1pm, then task C from 2-4pm. Time boxing is good because it prevents your task from dragging on and on. There’s a saying that your work will take however long that you want it to, and I find it’s very true. Ever have a project deadline where you need to burn the midnight oil to get the work done? Most of us usually feel that we wouldn’t need to rush like that if the deadline was later on. Fact is, it doesn’t matter when the deadline is. Even if it’s 1 week later, 2 weeks later or 1 month later, the same last minute rush will still take place. We take that long to do the work because that’s the timeline we gave ourselves.
   Hence, time box your tasks. If you set a specific time period and strictly adhere to it, you will find a way to get the work done. Of course, set a time that is challenging yet achievable. If a task requires 3 hours, don’t set 4 hours because you will use up all the 4 hours. Set 3 hours – preferably lesser so you can learn to optimize your output during the period (again, provided you enforce the time box strongly).
7. Set reminders 15 minutes before. Most calendars have a reminder function. If you’ve an important meeting to attend, set that alarm 15 minutes before. I actually have an alarm set Mon-Fri at 2:00 to alert me that I need to leave soon to pick my son up from school. That may sound ridiculous, but when I am in the middle of a painting, I am very focused and time flies. I don't want to be watching the clock all day.
8. Focus. Are you multi-tasking so much that you’re just not getting anything done? If so, focus on just one key task at one time. Close off all the applications you aren’t using. Close off the tabs in your browser that are taking away your attention. Focus solely on what you’re doing. You’ll be more efficient that way.
9. Block out distractions. What’s distracting you in your work? Instant messages? Phone ringing? Text messages popping in? When doing important work, switch off the phone. Calls during this time can be recorded and you can contact them afterward if it’s something important. This will help you concentrate better.
10. Track your time spent. Egg Timer is a simple online countdown timer. You key in the amount of time you want it to track (example: “30 minutes”, “1 hour”) and it’ll count down in the background. When the time is up, the timer will beep. Great way to be aware of your time spent. Or use the timer on your smartphone.
11. Prioritize. Most days you won't accomplish everything, learn to prioritize the most important tasks first. What doesn't get done, goes to the top of the next days list.
12. Delegate. If there are things that can be better done by others or things that are not so important, consider delegating. This takes a load off and you can focus on the important tasks.
13. Eliminate your time wasters. What takes your time away your work? Facebook? Twitter? Email checking? Stop checking them so often. Set the timer for 30 minutes to update posts and answer emails..... and be disciplined enough to stop when the timer goes off.
14. Leave buffer time in-between. Don’t pack everything closely together. Leave a 5-10 minute buffer time in between each tasks. This helps you wrap up the previous task and start off on the next one.

 

New punchneedle patterns

 

 "A is for Angel" punchneedle

©Teresa Kogut

Happy Monday y'all! I uploaded my new punchneedle patterns to my pattern site today. Also added ALL my rug patterns. Whew, I've been wanting to do this for a while. Here is the link to check it out!

Kid President - Pep Talk

This lil' guy is more inspirational than any politician as of late. I love how he speaks about not quitting and striving to be awesome. Also about helping each other and being on the same team. Amen lil' guy.

"It's everybody's duty, to give the world a reason to dance. So get to it!"

funny

Why Shouldn't Men Go to the Grocery Store? This Hilarious Comedian Will Tell You! from yabbadabbadoo on GodTube.



Funny video to start off your week. I have family in Missouri and I just adore a southern accent. This woman has won my heart.

amazing

11 Year-Old Proclaims Jesus Through the Bible - POWERFUL! from sharethemessage on GodTube.

Amazing.....Did you not want to jump out of your seat and shout "Praise Jesus!!!" Wow, this young man knows how to inspire and move people. Let's make it our goal to live every day with all of what he said in mind.....the world would be a different place.

dream, pray, do

Week 6 of dream, pray, do - Questions to ponder from "An Enemy Called Average" by John L. Mason

Am I running from something, or to something?

This question seems to be a little redundant from previous weeks. Running from fear and towards our goals and dreams.....running from mediocrity towards something marvelous....running from what is holding us back and striving toward a better life.
 

I look at this question as inspiration for setting goals. First and foremost, make sure your goals are in alignment with God's plans for you. How do you discern if your dreams and goals are of your own thoughts or from God's guiding hand?

The answer......through prayer....lots of prayer. You will soon find out if what you are working towards is God's plan for you or your own plans. If it is God's plan you cannot fail....you may stumble,  you will make mistakes along the way and at times you may be terrified, but with God, you cannot fail.

Setting goals will get you from point A to point B, then onto C, D and so on. By doing this you are surely running towards something or at least moving towards something. Gods dreams for you can be intimidating if you are only looking at the end result.

I am sure you've heard the saying "How do you eat an elephant? ....one bite at a time." It is the same with goals....have God's "ultimate" goal in mind but set small goals along the way...break it down....create a road map. Work one day at a time towards that "ultimate" goal (ask for God's guidance and believe it can happen) and surely you will get there.

Following is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale's "The Strangest Secret". It is a beautifully written explanation of how important goal setting is to your life.

"People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going. It’s that simple. Failures, on the other hand, believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances … by things that happen to them … by exterior forces.

Think of a ship with the complete voyage mapped out and planned. The captain and crew know exactly where the ship is going and how long it will take — it has a definite goal. And 9,999 times out of 10,000, it will get there.

Now let’s take another ship — just like the first — only let’s not put a crew on it, or a captain at the helm. Let’s give it no aiming point, no goal, and no destination. We just start the engines and let it go. I think you’ll agree that if it gets out of the harbor at all, it will either sink or wind up on some deserted beach — a derelict. It can’t go anyplace because it has no destination and no guidance."

God has a plan for each one of us.....the least we can do is work that plan....with our best efforts.

a song about Jesus

American Idol Contestant Sings a Powerful Song About Jesus on National Television from theremix on GodTube.

This girl can sing!!! and more importantly....listen to the words of this song.......praising Jesus on National television....now THAT is what I'm talking about ;)

and did you know....Angela Miller sang for her church prior to being on this season of American Idol. Watch her lift up beautiful praises to Jesus with this incredible song she wrote. She COMPLETELY blew the judges away!

in case you're wondering

Little boy receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday

from newsfeed.time.com

In case you're wondering why people are walking around today with "dirty foreheads".......

OR

if you are walking around with a "dirty forehead" and some one asks you why.......

The Biblical Response

Over forty passages in the Bible associate ashes with mourning and grief. In Old Testament times people used ashes as a sign of repentance. They would sit in ashes, roll around in them, sprinkle them upon their heads, or even mingle them with their food and drink. They did this as an outward sign of their inward posture of repentance. Check out Daniel 9:3-6, for an example.

Ash Wednesday begins Lent, a time when we stop and assess how we’re doing in our walk with God. Lent helps us identify spiritual areas in which we can grow and sinful areas that we need to avoid. To repent, put simply, means to turn away from sin and turn toward God. We use ashes as an outward expression of our need to begin again.

A Traditional Response

Ashes are a sign of physical death, as in “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” We began as dust (a joyless and lifeless existence), and our bodies will return to dust until we are raised up by Christ. By receiving ashes and keeping them on, we publicly proclaim our intent to die to our worldly desires and live even more in Christ’s image, which we focus on during the season of “rebirth” that is Lent (a Latin term for “Spring”).

The Historical Response

For over twelve hundred years on the dies cinerum (day of ashes) faithful followers have approached the altar and received ashes upon their foreheads. These ashes are made from the burnt palm fronds that were blessed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. The ashes are sprinkled with holy water, usually fragranced with incense and blessed using four prayers that are thousands of years old.

The use of ashes for repentance and penance can be traced even further back and is practiced throughout the world. On Ash Wednesday ashes are applied to believers’ foreheads in the shape of the cross.

The Symbolic Response

God formed Adam out of the “dust” of the earth, which we read about in Genesis 2:7. In addition, Jesus healed the blind man with clay (earth and spit) in John 9:6. We mark ourselves with ashes as a “new beginning” at the onset of Lent, allowing the life of Jesus Christ to make us whole and new again.

The Most Basic Response

I’m a sinner. I don’t always love God as strongly as I could or as directly as I should. Ash Wednesday reminds me that it is only through God that I have life; He gave it to me.

Ash Wednesday also begins my preparation for Holy Week and the Passion and Resurrection of my Lord, Jesus, without Whom I have no life here and no chance at eternal life in Heaven. This is just a great opportunity for me to get better. Thanks for asking.

Excerpt from Lifeteen.com

Wishing you all a beautiful Ash Wednesday

and an enlightening Lenten season

facebook give away

A few months ago, I posted on my business facebook page that once I reached 1,000 likes, I would give away an original painting.....well that time has come! Over the weekend I topped 1,000 likes! I am so excited about giving the winner an original painting! You also have the chance to enter. If you have a facebook page, simply go to my page and click "like", then post a comment on the post that has the above picture. If you don't have a facebook page, get one now.....you will love it!

The winner will get to choose from two original paintings.....it may be something I haven't even painted yet! The drawing isn't until April 2nd so there is ample time to get your name in the drawing! 

Feel free to use the above image to tell your friends, but remember, this is a facebook give away, so that is where you must enter to win. Thanks for participating :)

Good luck to all.

February give away

I couldn't wait for the Coynes & Co. angel purses...not exactly sure when they will arrive, soooooo I decided to do something even better! The February give away will be a $30 gift certificate to my website! 

The person that wins the gift certificate will receive it via email. There will be a code on it that you will type in at the paypal checkout....it's that easy!

I am sure by the time I do the drawing in March, the Coyne's products will be here, but you can choose from anything on my site, not just the Coyne's products. Just post a comment to be entered! And I will enter my blogger friends three times this month since you were left out of the last give away.

Good Luck!

dream, pray, do

 Michelangelo God created Adam

Week 5 of dream, pray, do - Questions to ponder from "An Enemy Called Average" by John L. Mason

Does the devil know who I am?

Yes, of course the devil knows who we are.....the more important question is, how well does the devil know us? Better yet, how well does God know us?

We constantly live in a world of good vs. evil. Good coming from God and evil coming from the devil. We must strive every day to resist temptations that we know are bad for us......even Jesus was tempted by the devil....

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." -Matthew 4:1

Remember, Jesus is victorious over the devil. The devil can only take over if we let him. Jesus delegated authority to use His Name to those who believe in Him. We must exercise that authority, or the devil can take hold and wreak havoc in our lives.

 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. -Luke 10:19

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  -James 4:7

The choice is ours......