Victoria's Garden

HTML Test... Quotes

Mon, 1 Mar 2010 11:12:59 -0500

"The best men know that they are very far from what they ought to be; and the very worst think that, if they were a very little better, they should be as good as they need be." ~ James Anthony Froude

"This life was not intended to be the place of our perfection, but the preparation for it." ~ Richard Baxter

Please ignore this message -- the quotes are worth reading but I'm really just trying to work on getting my blog set up better!

Long time no post...

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:47:19 -0500

I have only to conduct an interview at Berea College in Kentucky for my application process to be complete. I can't go until mid-January so I am keeping myself busy with other things. Practicing patience still, you might say!

I haven't posted on here in forever -- I have typed posts up half way and saved in drafts so many times but never seem to finish them -- ugh! Anyway, I thought I'd post my favorite Shakespearean sonnet here today. Enjoy!

SONNET 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

~ William Shakespeare

A day since I've been gone...

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:35:08 -0500

Well, I have to say Bonjour mes ami's. I am sorry I have been away so long. I wish I were able to keep this more up to date for wonderful people like Christophe, who has been staying with me through the blog-sphere since we met in NY last year about this time. Thanks dear.

I guess you could say this is my anniverserie in the blogging world. I will have had this site for a year or two come August. I have been able to keep friends from around the world up to speed, and I think of my first and only internation kiss (on the cheek) every time I get on...lol. Well, I miss NY and wish I were there now. It is lovely this time of year, especially in Sleepy Hollow. But I have work. I graduated from high-school a year early (minus a few french papers and exams still waiting to be turned in). It was a wonderful week. I have a job that I go to once a week for a few hours...and am looking for another to add to the list. I went to a summer camp called CENTRIFUGE, or fuge for short, last week. I loved it.

I have picked up fashion again, which fufills me completedly. And am looking still at what to pick for my college major. I have been told to take a design major as it is what I truly love, but then I have also been told to look at a generic major...and then apply to the FBI for the bomb-squad, another thing I love to do. I wonder if it is at all (even if only slightly) possible to pursue both careers. I have an eye for fashion..that mon ami, is fairly obvious! Then again, I have a heart for chemestry, and pyrotechnics, and just plain flat out blowing things up. So why not do what I love and get paid to do it? But when does fantasy become reality? I can't exactly do both and in the end I know I will have to choose. Which one?!? That will be decided in another post.

I have to close for now but I hope that this post brings you all up to speed on my thoughts and how I feel at the moment... even if it is all just jumbled together in one big mess of words. Find me beneath it all...

Love Victoria

Courtship in the 21st century...

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:36:16 -0500

Over the last two years I have been preparing for the day I meet my husband. It's been a long road and a hard study, but it is getting there. I chose courtship as not only to keep my heart pure, but to grow closer to God. My view of courtship is as a relationship which is known from the beginning to be an intent of marriage between the two partners. It is based on friendship first and foremost, and secondly, getting to know each others hearts and minds without physical lust getting in the way.

Being as old fashioned as I am, I think that abstaining, even during the courtship and engagement from physical touch other than a hug or an occasional kiss on the hand would be a good idea for me. I will admit that I'm not perfect, nor will I ever be. I have made mistakes, and I want our first kiss to be on our wedding day, even if it is, regrettably, not my first. How good it will be to tell my children that I first kissed their father on our wedding day, and that I saved myself completely for our wedding night.

Courtship is also about your families getting to know each other and to grow together. It's about long talks about what you want in life, how you want your kids to be raised, how the money will be spent, who will work, who will stay at home and raise a family, turn a house into a home, and when you will tithe (hopefully right of the top of everything...). You grow as a couple through not only friendship and faith above all else, but also through letters and spending time together (but never alone..) and with your families.

If you treat your mother and father with respect you are most likely to treat your future spouse with respect. If you are a good son/daughter you will most likely be a good parent. But, are you a good Christian? I have a checklist of what I expect from my future spouse but I know that as long as he is a good, strong Christian and nothing more, everything else will be there regardless..

Blog Update

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:39:28 -0500

My parents have purchased our own domain. The following are the correct links to find us:

Family Website: http://www.mikeandsallie.com/

Mike's Blog -- The Gunny's Gouge: http://www.mikeandsallie.com/mike

Sallie's Blog -- Seaside Tales: http://www.mikeandsallie.com/sallie

Victoria's Blog -- Victoria's Garden: http://www.mikeandsallie.com/victoria

Please change all your saved links (if you have them) to the new addresses. We look forward to doing more stuff with our website and blogs now that we own our very own little bit of the web! Thanks!!

To habit or not to habit....

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:09:50 -0500

I have realized that I need to start making good habits now, in preparation for marriage, as I reach that stage in my life. I have a job, and pay for most of what I feel I need, but I often slip up when it comes time to tithe. Tithing is important and something that I need to make a habit of doing now. I have been raised with the belief that we owe ten percent off the top of everything to God. It is often easy to forget or to get side-tracked when we believe we are doing well enough on our own. I also feel a need to prioritize how I spend the rest of my money. It can really burn a whole in my pocket if I let it.

Many people believe that how you spend your money before your marriage is of little or no consequence, but it is. I know that I wouldn't want to marry before mine or my future spouses' debt is completely payed off. The easiest way to do so is to simply stay out of debt, hence the reason I don't have a credit card!

God says that when we give to him what is owed, he will pronide for us. I have seen an awesome example of this in my parents lives. There have been times when we could not afford to pay for necessities such as food, gas, bills, car payments, and still be able to tithe but we tithed anyway. God has always kept his promise by providing for us. I remember on eof the months we lived in Yuma, Az. That particular month we had not been abke to afford enough food for four growing children and to pay tithe, but my parents knew that God had to come first in our lives and so they tithed. Again, He kept His promise... later that Sunday the door rang and when we answered there was a grocery bag full of exactly the things we needed. My parents haven't told us who it was from, and if they did I don't remember, but God provided for us because we trusted him to take care of our needs.

Another habit I believe I need to get better at is being a good home-maker and help-meet. My dad doesn't exactly have a job that makes it easy to help him with but my mom does. My mom is a wonderfulmother and a great example of how to work in the home. I have found that many Christian women have a mindset that you can't be a good wife, mother, and help-meet to your husband and children if you work outside your home or even if you have a job where you can work at home. My mother has proved them wrong.

Mom used to work outside the house when we were little but soon came home to take care fo us munchkins. She has done a few in home jobs but for now she does mostly volunteer stuff. She writes for a magazine called The Heart of the Matter and a Southern Baptist group blog called SBCVoices. She also homeschools us four children, and has her own inspiring blog. Momma helps me with my projects such as putting together scrapbooking kitsand bracelets that we sell. She does many book and product reviews for several of the people she knows, and also for some companies that are just getting up on their feet. By doing these things she is a great encourager. I help her around the house, and continue to helpin other ways such as cooking many of our meals. The boys are usually good, and often help her as well. They do have chores but, honestly sometimes with boys, the best way for them to help is to stay out of the way when we're cleaning :-) My mom has her hands full. Her week consists usually of trucking me to work (I don't have my drivers license), and running errands such as going grocery shopping (for those members of our family who can eat a five pound roast in a single sitting...of course I won't mention any names...uh uhm, Caleb), cleaning, and getting all of her articles in on time (all of which have been pondered deeply).

These two things (tithing/prioritizing my spending habits AND being a good home-maker/help-meet) are what I believe to be very important. The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not part from it." So I need to make these changes in my daily routine now while I am still learning, that when I am older I will know what is important and prioritize my life according to what I know to be right.

-Victoria.

more kits

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:14:46 -0500

I have 6 more kits put together to take pictures of. I will have those in my little shoppe by tomorrow as well as hopefully 10 or so bracelets.. Thanks for looking!

My Online Shop

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:13:08 -0500

I have worked with my mother to put together some scrapbook photo frame kits. They are for sale. I only have a few kits in the shop for now, but I should have more added by the end of the week. I will continue to add to the shop as I have time to create, and may add things such as hand crafted jewelry as well. I do, afterall, have tons of beads and really enjoyed selling my bracelets last year.

I would love for you to take a look at my items. Please know that I truly appreciate EVERY purchase made because anything I can earn for college now really helps out in the long run.

You can see the kits by clicking on the sample image below:

Thanks so much for taking the time to look!!

Victoria

Crazy Days

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:10:40 -0500

Hello all--

I got done with work a few hours ago. I sanded walls and primed, stucco-ed holes and even moved some furniture out of the way as I worked. At the end of the day, though, it was all worth it; and a huge improvement had been made. Tomorrow there will be more prep work to do, and perhaps on Friday I can get down to putting some color on a once pink wall.

We (being my family) all went out for dinner after I got home. Andy's is a good diner, and I've eaten their food a few times this past month (work lunch and such). But, tomorrow I get to eat dinner at church with my friends, which I am looking forward to enjoying.

Saturday I plan on shopping, and hopefully, I can share a few "quick fix" outfit tips with you that I use when on a budget, or trying to spruce up my look from day to evening without much effort, or a lot of laundry. I did do a bit of shopping today and found a few cute shirts at Wal-Mart on clearance.

Other than this, my day has been pretty quiet and so I will end on the note that tomorrow is a new day and I will enjoy it to its fullest potential... or maybe that's just wishful thinking?

Au Revior--

Victoria

It's time I do an update :-)

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:00:07 -0500

I haven't posted in a while (OK, I DID post yesterday but it's been a while since before that... sheesh people!).

This is what I've been up to lately:

Sewing by hand ~ My sewing machine broke. I can't find a replacement part but I can't afford to buy a new one yet either. I had really wanted to surprise my mom with a dress I was making, and had designed, but she walked in on me while I was trying it on. To be fair, she did knock. I just didn't have time to change before she got suspicious and opened the door. I probably deserve that...lol.
Working ~ It's not a huge job BUT it is about the only time I can afford to be away from school work and home so it works perfect for me... just enough money for some shopping. What else can a girl want? Plus, I like it so it's fun! I'm helping a lady at our church with some house work. Ms. GG is pretty cool!
School ~ Yeah, that... I'm trying to finish up two years at once. I can do it. I just want to be done already. Two cousins have taken their GED. I'm wondering if I should go that route, too. It'd be so easy just to be finished! I'm looking forward to hopefully starting college in the fall.
Reading ~ I like reading so I'm reading lots... school books, books for fun, Bible, and everything else in between. I borrowed a book that is about being a good wife in the 18th and 19th century. It's been a good read with lots of laughs. The author definitely knew her stuff and how to write to keep your attention. I would say many things have changed since then, though. Some good. Some bad. But, all in all, there are many things that have stayed the same.
Cooking ~ Once a month, my mom and I put together a menu and cook a Wednesday night dinner for our church. This week is our week and we are making pork medallions w/ gravy, egg noodles, steamed veggies, and dessert. It's hard work cooking for about 50 people but we like it. Besides, my husband won't have to worry about me knowing how to cook when we get married...lol.

That's about it. I'll try to post more often instead of making you wait for EVER for an update. I know you just can't wait to read what I write.. HA! HA HA HA!

Until next time,

Victoria