Beneath the Couch Cushions

Stuff.

2012-02-10T20:06:00.005-05:00

Two posts in a single week - been quite awhile since that has happened!

This morning I drove an hour to take my husband's car in for a warranty repair. I had called to schedule a time earlier in the week, and the chipper little receptionist told me they don't make appointments, but just to come on over. I dropped the kids at school and was at the dealership shortly before 9. After going in 2 different doors and talking to 3 different people I finally found the right person. And she informed me that they were already full for the day. What?!?! To say I was unhappy would be an understatement. She told me that I could just leave the car and someone could take me back home (offer was rescinded when she found out where I lived). She then told me to be there first thing on Monday morning at 7:30. Yeah, right! Ugh. She obviously doesn't understand the finer points of coordinating schedules when hubby works in another country and it isn't safe for him to take my car over the border, not to mention having children in school. I growled a bit and asked if there was a manager I could speak with - nope. And of course there's no other Subaru dealer within a 75 mile radius.

Anyway, at this point I decided to take advantage of my proximity to "good" shopping (a/k/a TJ Maxx and Burlington Coat Factory) and enjoy a bit of retail therapy before heading home. My find of the day was this 18x24 canvas print that you can write on with dry erase markers. How very cool! Even hubby admitted he liked it (this is HUGE, as he couldn't care less about what's on our walls). It's currently sporting the verse our son is working on for AWANA.

And lastly, for your viewing pleasure, I present the coolest kids ever... and what happens when they're set loose with Picnik (may it rest in peace, sniff sniff). A had been asking for curly hair, so she tolerated me wrapping it up last night. D was an unwilling participant, but he still had fun playing with all the effects.

Science Night

2012-02-07T10:01:00.005-05:00

So last night was our elementary school's science night. This means that parents show up with their kids and we bond over some simple experiments while a few teachers mill around and take photos.

I stayed with our daughter and hubby took our son.

Our experiments included making a paper clip "kite" and flying it with a magnet, creating a telephone from disposable cups and yarn, etc.

A quickly got bored with the simple kite idea and started testing the industrial magnet on random items. She thought it was pretty funny that she could pull her earlobes around by the earring. She discovered that the metal piece holding my purse strap together were magnetic.... she then started digging around in my purse to see what else she could test. She grabbed my cell phone and was slowly dragging the magnet across the touch screen (I was helping the child on the other side of me at this point, as his mother was busy discussing something of great importance with the lady across the table). Thankfully I was able to grab my phone from A in time and have a little discussion about how electronic gadgets and magnets don't mix.

She started singing "Red Solo Cup" when we made the telephone, and then was yelling into the cups when we were supposed to be testing how the sound traveled.

The finale was filling a balloon with carbon dioxide. We started by pouring vinegar into a water bottle. As A was reaching for the water bottle, she knocked the cup with vinegar in it right into my lap. Mmmm, I love it when I smell like pickles! She found a spare cup and managed to get it poured into the bottle this time. Next, we were to use the funnel to shake baking soda into a balloon. Of course there was already vinegar on the funnel, so the baking soda was sticking a bit. I was poking a pencil around to dislodge the clumps when A decided to help by squeezing the balloon. Which caused the baking soda to shoot out. All over my shirt. Sigh. We managed to refill the balloon, stretch it onto the water bottle (while holding the part with the baking soda off to the side) then shake it down into the vinegar. Cool, but A was disapointed that her balloon didn't inflate all that much, so as I was tying off the balloon, she was trying to shake more baking sode into the bottle (without using the funnel).

At this point I grabbed her hand and announced it was time to go, so I could spend the rest of the evening patting myself on the back for being a good parent.

What happened to January?

2012-01-28T09:41:00.006-05:00

I seem to have a trend with my postings lately - lots of lamenting about how quickly time flies. So here we go again!

Hubby helped friends repair their balcony, then they headed here and we were able to repaint the living room. Aaaaahhhhh. Seriously, I cannot properly convey how happy this change makes me. By lightening the color and adding overhead lighting this room just feels so much more welcoming (rather than a depressing cave). We've taken our time reloading the room, and I know I'll be making small tweaks for awhile yet. I figured I should take advantage of the fresh start provided by emptying the room, and seriously evaluate what I have in there and how it works for our family. It feels great to know that I've cleaned out so much over the past year, and am working hard to continue to move forward.

Other happenings: A completed her first book at AWANA, turned 7, and took part in the open house for the Gifted & Talented program (informal presentations about the different cycles they've been studying - she talked about the plant cycle and how we eat different parts of plants). D made a cool solar system diorama for school, has been excitedly helping out with home stuff (use of a power tool = a happy boy); he is also trying to convince us to purchase scaffolding to leave set up in our backyard, as it is so much fun to climb around on. We had some friends over to make some valentines, have been enjoying the beautiful weather and playing outside quite a bit, and just generally staying busy. I also managed to give haircuts to everyone this week (the kids didn't think it was fair that I didn't have mine cut - both offered to trim it up for me. Um, no thanks). Hubby has been incredibly busy at work; the sale of the company did not go through as planned, so now there's even more craziness afoot. Both kids had some sort of bug and were running fevers: D has been hit much harder, and is still laying on the couch quietly. Definitely not normal.

And on a total random note, as I was cooking up tortillas this morning, this one totally made me laugh. Hmmm, maybe I shoulda tried to sell it for big bucks with promises of happiness & prosperity to the owner rather than just stuffing it with egg, cheese & bacon and wolfing it down...

Here we go again!!

2012-01-05T13:59:00.004-05:00

Whooeeeee!! A new year, and fresh resolve to be practically perfect... Uh, sure.

But 2012 HAS arrived, and we're kicking it off by saying buh-bye to urine sample walls. I know, I'd said we were holding off for awhile, but some friends have to rent scaffolding for another project, and the opportunity to save money by going halfsies on that meant we decided to go ahead and paint and update lighting fixtures.

The 2 samples at the top were my first 2 picks, but both looked terrible, so I went back to Home Depot & got three more samples in exactly the same color (hubby's reaction when I showed him the color swatches). I'm going to make my final decision tomorrow, but at this moment am leaning toward Sand Fossil. I ordered ceiling fans and a new pendant light from overstock - God seriously had those items waiting for us, as we scored some amazing deals (ever tried to find a light with at least 10 foot of wire that isn't approximately $3G?)

Kids are back in school and I'm thrilled to be returning to a somewhat constant rhythm. I still have a ton I hope to accomplish in the months ahead, and I've realized that I really have to be more disciplined with my time if I'm actually going to see any of those things come to fruition... those people that complain constantly - and when you happen to run into them 2 years later and they're still complaining about the same bloomin' issues - drive me nuts and I don't want to be counted in their ranks.

I need to continue in my quest to pare down and streamline - being surrounded by piles drains me, and our entire family functions better when there is more open space in our home. January will be all about our living room, and in Feb I'm going to attack the craft area (which is also an office of sorts).

I've even decided to be all hip & trendy and have a word of the year:

enough

It's not about stuff, family, food, church, or any of those other things I can chase after - it's about Christ and how He alone satisfies my soul.

Why is everyone hungry for more?
"More, more," they say. "More, more."
I have God's more-than-enough, more joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees.
At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep, for you, God, have put my life back together.
Psalm 4:6-8, The Message

Sweets for the sweet - and family members, too

2011-12-29T08:39:00.000-05:00

I took charge of goodie production when we arrived in Arizona. I decided to try something different, and announced we'd be having a ball, courtesy of a variety of truffle recipes. (Basically I spent 10 minutes finding ideas on allrecipes.com that didn't involve baking). Just in case you haven't eaten enough, here are a few more options:

Easy Truffles

8 oz cream cheese, room temp
3 cups powdered sugar
14 oz vanilla candy melts

Beat cream cheese until smooth, then gradually beat in powdered sugar. Stir in melted vanilla candy and beat until no streaks remain. Divide dough as desired, and flavor with mint, almond, vanilla or other extract. Refrigerate for approx 1 hour, and then roll into small balls. Roll in additional powdered sugar, candy sprinkles, nuts, or dip into chocolate coating. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Fudgy Truffles

½ c evaporated milk
¼ c sugar
1 pkg bittersweet chocolate chips
¼ c raspberry or black cherry all fruit/preserves

Combine milk & sugar in heavy saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in remaining ingredients. Chill for an hour, then roll into balls. Coat with chopped nuts or a mixture of powdered sugar & cocoa powder. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

½ c butter, softened
¾ c packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ¼ c flour
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
½ c mini chocolate chips

Beat butter and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in vanilla, then beat in half the flour and sweetened condensed milk, then add remaining flour and milk and beat until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips, then refrigerate dough for about an hour. Roll into small balls, and then dip in melted chocolate candy coating (may also top with toffee bits or nuts if desired) and allow to set. Store in covered container in refrigerator.

Christmas Recap

2011-12-28T22:03:00.007-05:00

We've had a busy December. Hubby's 94 YO grandmother fell and broke her hip earlier this month, so we ended up driving out to AZ to see her and lend moral support to the rest of the family. Things were a bit crazy at times, but I'm so glad that we could spend those days together. Grandma has had her hip replaced and is currently in a rehabilitation facility; still not sure what the future will hold for her and we'd appreciate your prayers as we know there are more difficult days ahead.

In other news:

Made it through our first children's Christmas Program at church. Not perfect, but still better than what we'd done in the past (nothing!!)

Christmas letter? Um, you're reading it. For an alternative (and more complete) version, head over to facebook.

I have eaten way too much. I feel lousy, yet I continue to shovel garbage in. Bad choice - duh! Will be getting back to using sparkpeople to seriously track food once the kids are back in school. That's January 3 just in case anyone wants to hold me accountable.

I love seeing the kids' faces light up when they open gifts. So thankful that we were able to give gifts, as I know many families are really struggling.

Our son is still very much into Legos and K'nex, and we've now added beyblades to the mix. I must admit those tops are pretty cool!

Our daughter got another American Girl type doll, plus dress-up clothes (she's outgrown most of her other stuff and I've been picking up costumey type stuff at the Thrift Shop for a couple months), books and a Barbie microphone that connects to an MP3 player so she can sing along to any song. Yes, we bought that in a moment of insanity, and I'll probably be regretting it for the next 3 years, but she loooooves it.

Uncle R taught our kids a special new Christmas carol. It goes like this: "Joy to the world! Barney's dead! We barbecued his head. Don't worry about his body, we flushed it down the potty. And round and round it goes, and round and round it goes, and round and round and round it goes." Funny (particularly since I can't stand the big purple guy) but a teensy bit annoying after hearing it for the 318th time. Oh, and let me mention what a precious moment it was when the kids wanted to sing a song for Great Grandma (thankfully she was singing along with them and didn't notice they were shouting a slightly different version)

Another funny song story: the kids heard me tell someone that I really hate the song "Christmas Shoes." They don't know it (hmmm, could it be because I change the radio station as soon as I hear it?!) but decided to follow me around singing "O Christmas Shoes" rather than "O Christmas Tree." They were both really disappointed that I didn't get more annoyed.

Very cool to be able to go to church on Christmas morning and worship with extended family. There were 11 of us in the row!

We headed back to TX on December 26, and did see patches of snow along the road in Eastern AZ and NM. Fun to see, but glad I don't have to shovel any of it.

As we were driving back, this was the first time I was actually thinking, "We're headed home!" and not just, "We're headed to where our stuff is." Yes, another milestone for this girl who doesn't particularly like change.

I know there's more I wanted to share, but I'm struggling to keep my eyes open, so that's just going to have to do for now.

Christmas Ponderings

2011-12-12T09:35:00.002-05:00

In case you've missed my previous 47 discussions about Santa, we don't "do" the jolly red guy at our house. I know a lot of families incorporate him into their family traditions and that's fine - but I must admit that it bugs me when I see him in a church setting, as it feels like that's crossing the line from a cultural celebration and definitely detracting from Jesus.

Anyhoo, here are two realloy great posts about the Santa issue, both very thought-provoking for different reasons.

The Christmas Conundrum
Of Santa and Jesus

Hmmm... definitely not going to be giving up the Christmas tree ;) But a good reminder not to be driving people away with my legalistic attitude.

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.

Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original. Galations 5:13-26, Message

Friday Funny

2011-12-09T13:42:00.000-05:00

More Christmas craziness - although I have to admit I'm actually pretty impressed with the writing on this one!

Christmas Lists

2011-12-07T08:50:00.006-05:00

So does anyone do these with their kids? It's not something we actively promote (we're definitely not writing letters to Santa!) but the kids have heard about "the list" from friends and have latched onto it as any good little consumer should (snort). They even got creative a few weeks ago and cut pictures from the Sunday ads and glued them to construction paper. It really is funny to see how they're transitioning from big to little (insert tearful mama here) - our son wants Legos, video games, a fancy scooter and drums; daughter still loves Polly Pockets but has also requested a slide guitar and a TV remote.... and glittery makeup. Oh, and both kids now want their own Kindle Fire, too (which I received as an early Birthday/Christmas gift - I'm diggin' it but have to fight the rest of the family for use of it) I love seeing the people they're becoming, but a part of me misses shopping for cute little toys for ages 3 and under.

On another note, what on earth is up with the recommended gift lists floating around online?! We're in the midst of a recession, right? MSN and Yahoo are constantly running stories about cutting expenses, better budgeting and the like - and now they're rolling out lists of what to buy everyone... from the "neighbor with a collection of lawn gnomes" or "cousin you haven't seen in 13 years" I guarantee you can find some bizarre suggestion of how to part with your money. I like to read these as I find them amusing, and occasionally have stumbled onto a neat idea. This year, though, they seem downright stupid: gold flake coasters, surfboards, $800 sunglasses and such. Another article announced you can't go wrong buying a Nissan Leaf for your significant other. Uh, yes you can! Hubby would probably have a stroke if I took him outside to see his brand new vehicle, considering we spent two months researching models before we took the plunge on buying a $100 blu-ray player.

Rant complete. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I'd like cash this year ;)

Friday Funny

2011-12-02T08:34:00.002-05:00

Oh. My.

Entering the most wonderful (and busy!) time of the year

2011-12-01T21:06:00.003-05:00

Survived Thanksgiving, and now it's full speed ahead for Christmas! Hubby was off last week, and we had a lovely time on Monday and Tuesday (the kids were still in school, so we had the days all to ourself - now THAT'S a gift!). We checked out the new Bass Pro Shop (truly impressive!) and just got a variety of little things done around the house. We had originally hoped to tackle the living room (which involves scaffolding, plus a lot of rewiring and paint) but realized it was going to severely strain our budget so have put off that project for a few more months. The kids T-giving vacay started on Wednesday, and we headed off to the a museum in McAllen, had lunch at Fuddrucker's (haven't eaten there in at least 7 years!) and then met up with some friends at the movie theater to watch the new Muppets movie. Yes, I am a total Muppet geek and the friend that we met up with also is a big fan. We were the ones in the back singing along with Rainbow Connection -- and hubby (who doesn't particularly care for them, and just tagged along since it was a family event) commented that we probably enjoyed it more than anyone else in theater. True! Lots of fun, goofy humor - the kids enjoyed it, but honestly a lot of the jokes were over their heads. After the movie, we came back to the house for dinner and cut out a bunch of snowflakes to decorate the house. It may have been 70° outside, but there was a whole heap of white mounded up under our dining room table!

As for Thanksgiving itself, we had a relatively quiet day. We had originally planned to gather with a couple other families, but circumstances changed and we ended up just hanging here at home. The kids didn't want turkey, so I just made chicken (stuffed with bacon, apples, onion & gouda - yum!) along with a few sides -- we got out the good dishes and ate by candlelight and it was deemed a "fancy" success by all ;) My Dad has cousins who winter down here, and we had them over on Friday evening. Sadly, at this point I was now dealing with the 2nd round of a cold I've been fighting for almost a month now - after our guests left, I crawled into bed and basically was there all day Saturday, too. Blech. We were hoping to have the house all decorated for Christmas over the weekend, but comatose Mama threw a wrench in those plans. We did put the tree up (but still no decorations on it!) so at least there's a bit of holiday cheer in the air :) Thankfully I'm feeling better now and have been chipping away at the decorating, so it does feel more festive...

Other randomness:
- After a full day of helping at school, running errands, and putting up Christmas decorations at our local museum, I realized that my cute semi-sleeveless blouse had an unplanned accessory: armpit hair. Awesome.
- Oven heating element was dying, and we ordered a replacement. We made it through Thanksgiving (hooray!) but the oven stopped working halfway through dinner preparations on Monday evening. Replacement was delivered, but was the wrong size. Replacement #2 arrived today and it's the proper one - so glad that I can now use my oven again.
- Glitter. Everywhere. I swear I end up with it all over my face just passing the Christmas aisle! I do love sparkle, but only where *I* want it. Glitter glue is my friend - loose glitter not so much.
- I had to take care of couple things in Brownsville, and decided to stop at a few stores while I was down there. First "fun" stop: Goodwill. I scored a box set of Bionicle books for our son, and spotted a very cute little side table. It needed repainted, but it was decent quality so I was hopeful that I had finally found a nightstand for our guest room. There was no price tag on it, so asked an employee and yes, a most unladylike snort escaped when she informed me that it was $49.99. Seriously. I left with only the books. Next stop: Michael's. Walked around the store but didn't buy a thing. Who knew that was possible?! And finally, I stood in line at Ross for over twenty minutes! I probably would have just walked out, but I snagged a fabulous pair of Nine West black ankle boots for $7.99. Having giant feet occasionally has its perks ;)

On that note, good night for now. Back with more brain oozage later...

Update from the funhouse

2011-11-14T14:41:00.005-05:00

Wowzers. Here's what happening in our world:

The company where hubby works was a family-owned business for over 30 years, and it was announced on Thursday that it has been sold to an investment group. Still not sure what all this will mean to us... No change to his employment in the immediate future, but we're still hoping they double his salary ;)

Friday saw major changes in 2 friends' lives: a new grandbaby and the death of a father. So goes the circle of life.

Happy b-day to my wonderful husband. Low-key celebration at home because we were busy prepping for the yard sale, which leads us to:

Complete and total insanity. Sale was advertised 8-12 (Saturday only). Thankfully I had borrowed tables from several friends so had everything already set up in the garage. When we opened the doors at 7:30 to begin taking tables out, there were already six cars parked in front of our house, waiting to pounce. People were literally pawing through the piles as we were bringing tables out, trying to scoot around us to get inside at the other tables. We did NOT want people in our garage as hubby has a lot of tools which were definitely not for sale. We basically were yelling at people to let us bring stuff out, and elderly ladies were fighting over kids' t-shirts. We had already made $100 by 8 am. We also had three people fighting over the plastic chandelier we had removed from the front room when we moved in - that was our big ticket item at $15!

Haggling over prices at a yard sale is normal. I get that, and enjoy a bit of dickering myself. I thought I was prepared. HA! People didn't just negotiate, they ARGUED. Loudly and repeatedly. And the language barrier makes this particularly stressful. People were grabbing armloads of stuff and trying to pay less than half price. Uh, no. I had one lady grab basically all the kitchen stuff I had, and as we were talking price it became evident she didn't even know what a few of the things were (i.e. rice cooker).

I had taken out 2 separate ads - one for the general yard sale, and another specifically for the scrapbooking & stamping supplies I had. This was stuff that I can make good $ for on ebay, but I figured since I was already messing with a yard sale I'd see what I could sell here and avoid the hassle of listing & shipping; the idea was that if I even had 2 or 3 ladies who actually knew what the stuff was, it would still be a profitable day. I did have a few people show up who were excited to see quality stamping supplies, but most people were baffled that I would have the nerve to ask $10 for a box of blocks (my neighbor had some stuff out, and several people were complaining to her about my prices). The most bizarre customer of the day, though, showed up right at 8 and obviously knew a little something about papercrafting. She proceeded to alternately shop and argue about prices for TWO STINKIN' HOURS. Every time I quoted a price, she said, "Too much, too much!" but then wouldn't put it down, either. She was telling me that she could get it cheaper at Hobby Lobby.* Oh, and had she reminded me that it was all for her sweet grandbabies?! Anyway, the marathon negotiations finally drew to a close and I was thankful to send her of with a large bag of goodies for $60. (Paid for with a $100 bill, by the way). An hour later, she was back in her big ol' Cadillac SUV announcing that she changed her mind and wanted to exchange 2 of the stamp sets (small ones) for larger ones. Seriously?!? I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I needed to post "All sales final. No returns or exchanges" at a yard sale!

Our little classified ad was located right next to the giant display ad for a local "gentlemen's" club. Always lovely to be associated with discount lap dances.

I went to the bank this morning to deposit our piles o' cash. I was chatting with the teller as he counted 1s - he commented on my non-local name, and I said I was originally from Billings. Turns out he actually lived in the tiny town in eastern MT where my Mom was raised. Bizarre.

Bass Pro Shop is opening here on Thursday morning. Guess where hubby would like to spend the aforementioned piles' o cash? ;)

I've been deemed the best microwave popcorn maker ever. Yes, punching in 3 minutes takes some mad skill! I'd like to thank my daughter as well as the makers of artificial butter and Kenmore for making this possible.

I've not been doing so well in the appropriate portions/healthy eating department. I can make all kinds of excuses, but obviously no one is force-feeding me. My FP4H group met for the last time this morning, and still not sure whether a new one will be forming after the holidays. I need accountability, and am not sure how I'm going to deal with this particular issue.

Obviously there are a ton of other things going on, too, mostly school & church related. The kids have been attending AWANA each week, which they're loving, and it gives hubby & I some glorious time alone to do exciting stuff like shop for cell phones or plumbing fixtures. Our kids' program at church is also moving on full steam ahead, and we're even doing a small Christmas program for the first time ever. Exciting!

Last but not least, we did change cell phone providers, and just couldn't justify the expense of carrying the PA numbers over, so we've officially gone all Texan. Hubby's phone # previously belonged to Luis Gonzalez, who evidently had some serious issues with paying bills, so hubby has had the pleasure of speaking to a variety of creditors. Fun fun!

I know there were several other witty things I wanted to post, but I really need to get my hiney off the chair and pick the kids up from school. Later!

* Further explanation: some truth here, but honestly 90% of what I had could not be purchased at HL; you can't compare generic lightweight cardstock to Bazzill! This lady was trying to buy a Kia at a Cadillac lot.

Friday Funny

2011-11-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Came across this earlier this week, and because of my Halloween costume I just couldn't resist sharing!

Halloween at our house

2011-11-03T17:43:00.002-04:00

Last Friday was "Hero Day" at school - our daughter was sick and missed out on the fun, but our son went as Dr. Who. I know it's kind of hard to see what's in his hand, but that's supposed to be his sonic screwdriver :) For the candyfest Monday evening, our son decided to be Indiana Jones (the young version!) and our daughter wanted to be a flower fairy. And me? Well, I couldn't be left out of the dress-up fun so I was a reading fairy... I bought an old etiquette book and then proceeded to rip it apart to make wings, tutu, necklace, scepter, and even embellished earrings. A good time was had by all!

Friday Funny

2011-10-28T08:41:00.001-04:00

I posted this last week on FB, but can't help but sharing it here, too. Yes, I am a big ol' Muppets nerd!

"If we make it to Thanksgiving, you're on your own!"

Spirit/Red Ribbon Week

2011-10-26T09:12:00.000-04:00

The schools down here don't celebrate Halloween per se, but oddly enough "spirit week" always seems to fall right around October 31 so the kids have some excuses to act goofy.

We had fun with funky hair day. And for the record, D was pretending to be Wolverine in the first pic, so no, he isn't angry at the world.

The "afters" were just for fun, after we brushed out gunk and took out ponytails. A had tapped into her 80s side with the amazing volume in her bangs ;)

Drawing lines?

2011-10-25T16:42:00.008-04:00

I've had some interesting discussions lately and I really am struggling with the division of religion and culture. Day of the dead is a very big deal in this area, and we currently have a display of altars/shrines at the local museum where I volunteer. I don't understand why honoring someone's memory seems to involve glittery skulls... or bottles of booze and packs of cigs for that matter (and no, that isn't a random comment - we actually have 1 that includes a Jim Beam bottle & a box of Kools) Additionally, I have had 3 different conversations about ghosts. Each of those people were convinced there were spirits wandering the museum grounds (the home of the city's founder, the city's first hospital and a stagecoach inn have all been moved to our site). There is so much superstition twisted with Catholicism in the Mexican culture, and I find myself a bit stunned and at a loss for words at times (shocking, I know!) but then even after pondering it for awhile, I don't know how to respond. I know that God has placed our entire family here, and me in particular in a place promoting "arts & heritage." and we are to shine His light of truth. I was recently reading in Ephesians, and this verse really jumped out at me:

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel." Ephesians 6:19

Yep, there's my answer - it's not about me, it's about HIM. And keep praying.

Edited to add: Just received an email from another museum that we belong (a Smithsonian affiliate, no less) and their big Dia de los Muertes exhibit opens Sunday afternoon: Come see shrines to pivotal Mexican artists and decorate sugar skulls! Sigh.

Blatherings.

2011-10-17T17:09:00.009-04:00

Ministry is tiring. And hard. My humanity keeps getting in the way - the judgmental attitude, frustration, weariness, whatever. I must continually remind myself that it's not about me, and that I need to rest in my Savior. Such an easy concept, such a difficult thing to DO. "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message)

As part of my Bible study this week, I read the parable of the unfruitful tree in Luke 13 (verses 6-8). I am the tree, and Jesus is the gardener. He is doing whatever He can to make me grow, including providing fertilizer. I think we're all familiar with natural fertilizer... am I accepting that as a growth aid when I feel like I'm knee deep in it or whining and trying to get the whole mess off of me?!

So many dear friends are going through tough times right now - deaths in the family, difficult diagnoses, job issues, and so much more. I know part of this is just the season of life we are in (because, well, we're gettin' older!!) but this doesn't make anything simple. I still struggle with finding encouraging words and wanting to do something to somehow make it "better."

We've lived down here for about 27 months now, and I think I'm starting to get used to things. For instance, I no longer freak out when I see a roach crawling across my floor. I can't believe I'm even admitting that, but seriously, it's just a fact of life here. We have regular exterminator service and I do not have a filthy house, but with 5 exerior doors plus the garage access, the sneaky li'l guys find their way in all too frequently. Ewwwwww. BTW, our guest room is still open for anyone who wants to visit! ;) One thing that DOES still drive me crazy about the valley is the utter disregard for time and general lack of organization. School runs on a schedule and generally medical appointments are timely (just like anywhere else) but when it comes to social events no one shows up on time. I was excited to discover that one of the local farms is now offering a CSA program, and they were even having an "open farm" day this past weekend, with tours scheduled at 1:30 and 2:30. We arrived about 2:20, as I figured we could take a quick look around and then join the tour. Yeah, right! First off, parking was a mess as there were no clearly designated areas, and when I nosed our car in, I was already wondering how we were going to get out. We then headed toward the main house where there were a number of people standing around talking, but no information to be found anywhere. No info sheets about the farm, the owners were not designated in any way (seriously, how about a name tag or a hat?!), no.thing. I finally figured out one of the owners just from watching the conversation flow, but when I finally got to her we simply exchanged a few sentence fragments as she was continually interrupted. She handed me a list of crops they have planted along with approximate harvest times, but nothing about share sizes, prices, or anything! She did vaguely mention that they were going to do a little walk around the fields, but we left at 3:00, frustrated. The only good thing to come out of the afternoon is my hubby's newly-found passion for habanero honey (samples provided by a neighboring farm - and they had little handouts. What a novel idea!)

On a lighter note, the kids were having a lovely little conversation before school one day last week. Reminiscing about vomit. Yep, you read that correctly. A full conversation about colors and other details that I was quite content to banish from my memory bank. Is this one of those little gems of motherhood that I was promised? ;)

I really hate TV programming in October, particularly in regard to my kids. Why does every bloomin' show have a "Halloween special" that invariably includes ghosts, spooky sounds, and witches. Grrrrrr.

And lastly, I'm excited to announce that I purchased a giant book today - Vogue's Guide to etiquette - and it will become my Halloween costume. Yes, I do promise to post pictures!

Friday Funny

2011-10-07T08:58:00.000-04:00

Yes, someone seriously thought that was a good idea. Click the link for all the other interesting designs...

The Baby Cage, Curved Gun & Other Dumb Inventions

October in South TX

2011-10-02T11:17:00.004-04:00

Down here, autumn is marked more by flu shot booths and an influx of northern license plates than falling leaves. I'm doing what I can to get into the spirit of the season, though - I made this leaf garland from some patterned paper (while watching last week's Eagles game... let's just say I was happier with the results of my crafting time than the game itself), have been drinking my morning coffee with new creamer, light up this candle every night, and have placed fall-themed tchotchkes throughout the house. Now if I could just turn the A/C off I'd be a happy camper!

Picture Day Practice

2011-09-29T17:18:00.003-04:00

Today was picture day. This meant that we spent approximately 14 hours last night discussing what clothes would be good for a photo - btw, this translates to 13 hours and 56 minutes for our daughter, and 4 minutes for our son. Anyhoo, we were able to pick outfits that were agreeable to everyone, and in an effort to avoid another situation such as this, I decided to do a "test run" this morning.

Thankfully down here they send proofs home and THEN we can decide whether to purchase photos - it will be interesting to see what emerges... D is still a bit peeved that I wouldn't let him take his glasses with him. Yeah, I'm mean that way. (And a disclaimer - he'd just gotten out of the shower, so his hair is wet, not slimy)

Random Bits

2011-09-24T12:58:00.007-04:00

First off, some exciting bits: our son has had *three* good weeks of school. In a row. Truly, this is an answer to prayer. Now obviously we still have a lot of school year left, but I'm so thrilled to have a bit of positive momentum. In other happy news, it seems he is developing 1 genuine friendship, which once again is cause for celebration. And he's even been doing his daily reading without too much whining. Yippee!

In other thrilling news, we are personally acquainted with the Great American Worker! We attended the little ceremony earlier this week; obviously we are excited for our friends (and their awesome new truck!) but the kids were more excited about the fact that the conference room had enough spinny chairs for everyone and that they each got to take home their own personal hand sanitizer (foaming!!) and pack of toilet paper. Yes, we know how to live it up...

In sad news, I've been bombarded with news of dissolving marriages these past 10 days, and it's extremely disheartening. I'm always saddened when I hear that someone has chosen to walk away from what should be a lifelong commitment, particularly when it's announced with a shrug and a statement such as, "We just weren't happy together anymore." Now I realize that there is often a mountain of hurt and anger hidden behind such sentiments, but regardless, I hate hearing it. And FYI - if you're about to tell me that you've split from your spouse, please do not do so through the window of my car while I'm in the pick-up line at school and I'm being yelled at to pull forward. Thank you.

In home news, we are planning a mega yardsale the second weekend in November, and our music/libary space has turned into a giant pile o' stuff. It's ridiculous how much extra our family has! And I can't help but being excited about the huge influx of cash will be receiving from the venture. (Note: preceding sentence is to be read with as much sarcasm as possible). Our highs are still around 97 every day, but at least our nights are dropping into the 70s; we are still hopping in our pool multiple times a week, and Friday night when we got out the kids were complaining they were cold so we finished off the night with hot cocoa :) I'm back to volunteering at the school and our local museum, plus doing another First Place 4 Health Bible Study and then working with our preschool ministry at church. No, I do not get bored during the day! Truly, we are doing well, but hubby was been putting in some long hours at work -- it stinks, but I'm trying to stay focused on the fact that he has a good job. Gratitude - a simple word but a tough habit to develop...

"Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. " (Philippians 4:11-13, The Message)

Settling back in...

2011-09-07T09:53:00.011-04:00

We are in the third week of school, and are pretty much back into our semi-normal routine. Our son liked the first day of school, but has been complaining ever since -- see what I mean we're right back to normal?! But seriously, he is still struggling with the whole school scene, and we'd appreciate your prayers for 1) wisdom for us as to how hard to push him and when to step back & 2) a close friend or two. Daughter is doing well, and if anything she's a bit jealous of all the attention (however negative!) her brother is getting, and we're trying to come up with some appropriate incentives for her. Man, this parenting gig is tough! BTW, the pic is just for comic relief - I cut these crazy eyes out of a magazine ad, and the kids were goofing around...

As for the house, the kitchen is basically shiny & happy (until we finally reach the major reno stage), and we're now deciding what exactly we're going to do with the living room. It's still "urine sample" yellow and the 17' ceilings (on one side) mean we must rent scaffolding in order to repaint - and as long as we're up there, we also need to change some wiring and switch out cheap, wobbly ceiling fans and the ugly hanging light. We also have a brick fireplace that will not be changing (as much as I'd like to paint it, I am bowing to hubby's wishes on this one) plus the brown tile floors are sticking around for awhile longer; I really want to bring in some blues, and I stumbled onto this fabulous - and only $50!!!! - rug at Lowe's two weeks ago after I returned some plumbing fixtures (another long story, but the happy result is my shower no longer leaks!). I immediately fell in love - browns, rusts, greens, and blues can all happily co-exist! Will basically be planning the room around this, and am waiting for Hobby Lobby's fabrics to go on sale so I can pick up 10 yards of curtain material.

So what else is happening at our place? Well, we had our first full family Monopoly game on Friday night. The kids really didn't understand all the concepts, but they had a ball (and Daddy happily trounced us all). The temps are finally cooling down a bit, so have been able to spend a bit more time outside. We also currently have an interesting assortment of buckets piled on our living room floor for the express purpose of letting our son drum on them. No, this was not my idea. And yes, we are considering purchasing a real drum set. I predict more ibuprofen in my future ;)

Friday Funny

2011-08-26T15:26:00.000-04:00

It's been a rough first week of school.

Oh happy day!

2011-08-22T20:48:00.002-04:00

And how did I celebrate? I went to Wal-mart, and walked through the entire store without once uttering, "No, we're not going to buy that!" Bliss. I then had lunch with a friend at a place that did not have a playland. And know what? I was truly excited to pick them up at 3:05 and hear all about their days. A bit of distance can definitely make the heart grow fonder :)

Busy summer...

2011-08-01T09:44:00.002-04:00

I know I haven't posted much these past couple weeks - we've been too busy! We finished up the kitchen, purged/organized/rearranged the kids' rooms, swapped some furniture around in the house, enjoyed 2 rounds of VBS (including the first one ever at our church - hooray!!), checked out local museums, attended a movie-themed day camp, played tourist at Corpus Christi, and general stuff like reading and swimming and hangin' with friends. I have a bunch of pics to share, but they may just wait until the kids are back in school (3 weeks from today... how is that possible?!?)

And now I'm off to referee the squabble that is quickly escalating upstairs. No, it's not all bubbles & daisies all the time here :)

Mommy Makeover

2011-07-26T22:35:00.003-04:00

On Mother's Day, our church had a giveaway for a "Mommy Makeover" and I was one of the lucky winners... Today was the day, and I got the full workup with hair, makeup, clothes, and even a photo shoot. I basically showed up and said, "Do whatever you want - you're the professionals!" and am now a sassy brunette ;) I have to say that the makeup artist was really amazing - I've never had anything like this done, and when I've gone to makeup counters I've always been a bit disappointed - but seriously, this eyelid is a work of art, is it not?! (Another first - artificial lashes) My hubby just snapped this quick shot to capture the general look, but I'm so glad that I'll have professional photos to remember the day...

Friday Funny

2011-07-01T09:45:00.000-04:00

God Bless America!!

Kitchen progress report

2011-06-21T11:47:00.003-04:00

Progress is being made, although admittedly not as quickly as I'd prefer. The drawers are all done, and the cabinet doors are about 75%. My goal (subject to adjustment, as always) is to have those finished by the weekend, and then hopefully wall color the following week. We'll see how that goes, especially as that's VBS at our church. (FYI - the granite was already there, just for those of you who might be wondering how on earth this would quality as a "budget" makeover :)

Friday Funny

2011-06-17T15:16:00.004-04:00

I have not let the kids see this clip because I know they'd want to try it - and probably would create their own version upstairs that would inevitably end with our daughter losing another tooth and/or getting a concussion...

Krazy Kids

2011-06-11T08:56:00.000-04:00

Another week is winding down at the D house. We've been very busy repainting kitchen cabinets - they had latex over oil paint, so have been flaking off for awhile and frankly I just couldn't stand it anymore! It's been a rather tedious process, but I know the result will be fabulous - I'll post pics as soon as it's done. In the meantime, here are 2 pics of our li'l crazies. We had a busy day yesterday - D got a haircut, A got her ears pierced, and they both got new webkinz. Does it get any better than that?! As we were driving home, our daughter enthusiastically informed me that now she can have all my earrings when I die! Yep, these are definitely the moments to treasure ;)

Friday Funny

2011-06-10T08:36:00.000-04:00

A friend had loaned us a couple God Rocks CDs so I could check them out to possibly use in our children's ministry at church. Our kids looooooove music, so of course they happily acted as listening guinea pigs, and I was patting myself on the back as I listened to my kids walk around the house singing scripture - because seriously, that's just awesome, right? And then I really listened to what our son was singing:

"Don't let anyone tell on you because you are dumb"

Ooof! (that's the sound of reality smacking Mommy) Just a reminder that we need to take an ACTIVE role in making sure our kids are learning things properly.

(Sorry about the lousy quality on this video, but you can at least hear the proper song)

Kinder Circus

2011-06-09T12:26:00.002-04:00

Each year at our children's school, the kindergarten "finale" is a circus performance. I'd heard from several other parents that it was well done and super cute, but wasn't quite sure what to expect.

I truly was impressed - and considering we're talking about a gaggle of 6 year olds, that's saying something!

There were performances by lions, monkeys, strong men, clowns, acrobats, and monkeys. All narrated by the ring mistress, played by our daughter who was more than happy to tell everyone what to do :) So I now present, specifically for the viewing pleasure of the grandparents, the Kinder Circus!!

Weekend Update

2011-05-24T11:29:00.006-04:00

We took the kids to the circus on Saturday afternoon, and we had a ball! We went to the pre-show (included with ticket price) and it was very fun to be right there in the action - doubt we'll ever be that close to an elephant again...

And yes, A did lose her front tooth - in fact, she pulled it out herself (seriously, this was a big deal.) Her little buddy just happened to lose the same tooth last week, so I snapped this pic after church on Sunday. Say it with me now: Awwww...

And lastly, a mini rant: if you've repeatedly sent a friend request to someone on FB and they repeatedly say NO maybe you should get the hint and stop asking!!!!! I may have been polite when our circles happened to overlap a bit a decade ago, but it should be pretty obvious when someone doesn't care to re-establish contact!

Friday Funny

2011-05-20T09:19:00.000-04:00

I'm working on pulling some things together for our church's VBS program this summer - and I happened to come across this in my google searches. Absolutely hysterical... but rather convicting, too.

I'm teaching the preschool class at church, and we've been talking about the Israelites. You know, God's special people who experiences miracle after miracle: the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, manna (on a side note, simply gathering my food from the ground each morning would really free up some time ;), water from a rock... Rather than marveling at God's miraculous provisions, though, they took them for granted and complained. A lot. Oh how quickly we *all* (cough, ME, cough, cough) get caught up in our little issues and completely forget how God has proven Himself faithful over and over and over.

The time in the desert may be tough, but I absolutely don't want to go back to Egypt, even if they do have yummy food!

Toothy Grin

2011-05-17T16:25:00.004-04:00

Our daughter's front tooth was a bit wiggly - and then last night she tripped and hurried the loosening process along considerably.

I now start giggling every time she smiles at me.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the tooth fairy will be visiting soon.

And I'm thinking the bangs fairy is due for a visit, too :)

Lovely Weekend

2011-05-15T20:32:00.010-04:00

Friday morning, I dropped the kiddos off at school and then drove off to McAllen (the *big* city 45 minutes away) and I got my hair cut!! I tried out a new salon, and was quite happy with the results -- too bad I don't have the patience to actually dry/straighten my hair so that it looks like this every day ;) Hubby was nice enough to pick the kiddos up from school so I had an entire afternoon to wander Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, Burlington Coat Factory, and Pier 1. Bliss.

On Saturday morning, we loaded up and headed off for a couple hours at the beach. I love that we're close enough that we can just pop over when our schedule allows, rather than making a long trek and then feeling like we have to stay all day to make it worthwhile.

Our Sunday was blessedly mundane - church & then household duties. No sickness, no scrambling to get something completed. Such a wonderful gift!

The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
Isaiah 32:17, NIV

Friday Funny

2011-05-06T11:39:00.003-04:00

Happy Mother's Day! Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - http://reverendfun.com/

Friday Funny

2011-04-29T08:22:00.000-04:00

This is the new billboard they've put up about 1/2 mile from our house. Who wants a latte?!

Catch-Up Photos

2011-04-25T11:43:00.003-04:00

We had our son's Star Wars themed birthday party:

Annual Church Egg Drop (big community event - we had 40,000 eggs plus carnival rides, inflatables, food, face painting, etc.)

Easter:

And then just normal day-to-day stuff:

(There are descriptions on all the photos, so you can click over to Flickr for more info if you'd like)

Hearts at Home Miraculous Blog Hop

2011-04-21T13:34:00.003-04:00

Welcome to this month's Hearts at Home Blog Hop, with the theme of miracles. I've read about a lot of them, and even heard a few people share their amazing stories... but it surely would never happen to me, right?!

When my husband and I were giddy first-time homeowners, we began experiencing some issues with our roof. Turns out that we had layers upon layers of shingles, and whoever had put on the last round had even flashed all the edges so that it appeared that everything was just fine (and the home inspector had not discovered the problem). Anyway, we had taken a big financial leap of faith simply by purchasing the home and were not sure how we'd come up with the money needed for the repairs. It would be thousands of dollars to have it handled professionally; my husband had talked with his dad and several friends and figured that we could do it with their help plus about $1400 in supplies. Still a mighty big number!

We began praying. About a week later we got an unexpected letter in the mail; when I opened it, a $1500 check fell out. I can remember staring at it in amazement. God had provided in a very direct way (even providing an additional $100 for the building permit we hadn't known we needed!) and I still am so thankful and awestruck when I think back to that situation.

God continues to provide for us, although it may not be in such a blatantly "miraculous" fashion... When we had to move to our current location, we were able to sell that home (despite a tough market), and the buyer requested closing the exact date that we'd told hubby's company we'd hoped to head out. Our lives are filled with such stories, reminders that God is not limited by our bank balance, the economy, or anything else.

I'm going to finish with one last story, a reminder that he will not only supply our needs but sometimes even our wants. I have lost a fair amount of weight in the last several months, so my wardrobe is in a bit of a state of limbo. I had a skirt that I loved, an abstract floral with shades of green, blue, and yellow, but it was too large and I reluctantly passed it along. As I was getting ready for church a few weekends ago, I found myself thinking about that skirt and how nice it would have looked with the shirt I was wanting to wear that day. Oh, well! Two days later, I was at the thrift shop, hoping to find a few pairs of capris. As I was walking past the skirt rack, I caught a glimpse of green, blue, and yellow. What?!? I reached for the hanger, and started laughing when I saw that it was my current size. Yes, God had worked a small but very personal miracle just for me... and I'll be wearing that skirt Easter Sunday as we celebrate the much larger miracle that was performed for all of us!

Monthly Check-In Time

2011-04-08T08:56:00.005-04:00

April.

How on earth did that happen?!?!?

I am thrilled to report that our taxes are filed (whew! That was a huge relief to cross off the list) and our dumpster is at the curb, full of papers that I actually managed to sort through last night. I'm on a bit of a "got something done" high :)

Although life around our house is a bit less hectic, our days are still very full. We're all more involved in a variety of activities, and I don't like the rushed feelings that accompany the busyness. For instance, we are currently taking part in an 8 week long class at church that meets on Monday evening. We take the kids with us, and have yet to make it home by 9 PM. Our daughter's bedtime is 7:30 our son's is 8:00. This generally translates to a whiny, emotional Tuesday morning. Have toyed with the idea of getting a sitter for Monday evenings, but just can't bring myself to shell out the cash; the class is excellent and something that hubby & I have committed to, and I just try to remind myself that this is for a brief period. Still, it's a kink in our family's schedule. I am now volunteering at a small local museum, so there's one day a week that I'm gone. I am usually at school at least 2 days a week, even if only for an hour. Hubby has had more responsibility given to him at work, and while thankfully that hasn't meant longer days, it has meant that when he comes home he is just wiped out. Add in general church activities, reading, swimming, eating, etc. and there doesn't seem to be much down time... I am not complaining about this, but am guarding our schedule and trying not to add anything else.

Physical update: I haven't lost any weight since Christmas, and in fact have gained a total of six pounds. Not the direction I want to be heading. I haven't been eating complete garbage, but I also haven't been tracking like I should, and will be back on sparkpeople starting Monday. These past few months have just reinforced the idea that I have to stick with it, and continually be mindful. My weight has been a lifelong struggle, and just because the number on the scale is lower doesn't mean that my issues have disappeared. I need to stay in the Word, watch my attitude, and before popping anything into my mouth, ask myself, "Why am I eating this?!" The health-oriented Bible study I've been attending only has two weeks left, and they are not planning to have a Monday group in the fall, so I'll be losing that accountability. Still have no idea how that piece will come together... Our pool is now warm enough that we've been able to hop in, and I have done at least 20 minutes of solid swimming three days this week. I have to force myself to get moving, but it always feels so good when I do! On a related note, there's a great little devotional about our bodies being temples here.

General update: I feel like an messy, emotional blob. I still have so much work to do to get our home to a proper state. I've started a lot of projects that I haven't completed, and consequently things usually end up worse than when I started. I'm struggling with how to show Christ's love when I don't want to be around people - when they let their kids control their lives and then constantly complain about it, or when I see someone presenting themselves in a particular way, and I want to start yelling that they're a hypocrite. A lot of that is my human issues that need a serious dose of the Holy Spirit... but there are also those moments when I feel that prick, that God has presented me with an opportunity to step into someone's life for a moment, to help in a tiny way, and also speak a seed of truth that may or may not take root (and I'm referring to truth such as, "I know this is so tough, but God does have a plan," not "You might not want to give your kid that box of candy seeing as how they just threw a temper tantrum when you handed them apple slices.") I can be so judgmental, and it's not my place - that's for God alone. I'm certainly not without sin, so why am I eagerly standing on the sidelines with my arms full of stones?!

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Random Advice

2011-04-06T16:47:00.002-04:00

Hypothetically speaking, if one were to wake up in the morning and think, "Ooh, today is free. I should really take advantage of my day home to wash all my delicates!" one should DOUBLE CHECK the calendar to make sure that nothing is scheduled. Like, say, the quarterly visit from the exterminator. You know, the guy that comes to the house. Because it might be hard to determine who is more embarassed: the much-appreciated-bug-killing man who is simply trying to do his job, or the woman who has her not-so-cute-and-dainty unmentionables hanging from every available surface in the home.

Friday Funny

2011-04-01T08:27:00.000-04:00

No, this isn't an April Fool's joke. Yes, it's bizarre, but I must admit that I kind of like it... it's way better than the standard safety presentation, which no one pays attention to anyway!

Handling Life

2011-03-29T11:02:00.004-04:00

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't. If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody. Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it." Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good. Romans 12, The Message

Friday Fun

2011-03-25T08:46:00.004-04:00

Just a bit o' fun to share today. Spring has arrived in South Texas (heralded by the pollen coating every outdoor surface, but I digress), and not only do we have our normal noisy birds, but lots of other types that are in the midst of heading back north as things warm up. The video doesn't really do it justice, but here's at least a taste of our noisy front yard. I apologize for the wind noise - just the reality of life in the Rio Grande Valley :)

Little Blessings

2011-03-23T10:26:00.012-04:00

So here we are in the dining area once again. As I'd mentioned before, we'd moved one of the dressers out from our bedroom to use as a sideboard. I'd like to replace the chunky circle legs and paint the whole thing, but hubby isn't on board with that plan (wants to be able to move it back into the bedroom and still match). This house was full of ugly white knobs that I've replaced a little at a time (4 in the small bathroom, 4 off the closet doors, etc.) - which theoretically meant that I had plenty to use to swap out the wood knobs... Problem was that I didn't have 12 matching ones, and everything I liked was $3-4 per knob. Ouch. I still liked the mismatched white varieties better than the wood knobs (again, couldn't paint them - see above :) so went ahead and used 3 different sets, so each "drawer layer" matched.

I had to return some items to Target yesterday, and had an extra 30 minutes, so wandered the store a bit. I spotted some clearance stickers in the aisle with all hooks, knobs, etc. and had to check it out. I found two 4 packs of these great milk bottle style knobs, and was thinking how fabulous they'd be, but of course I needed a dozen. I searched through everything in the area and couldn't find another set. Oh, well. Continued to stroll, and there, on an endcap over in stationery, was another set of the knobs. Wahoo! I snatched it up, and practically ran back to the tools/hardware section to grab the other 2 boxes. I "installed" them this morning, and am loving the difference. I know it's a little thing, but am so incredibly thankful that God provided a small desire of my heart!

* * * * * *

In other news, it's been a crazy weeks/months around our house. Lots of company - which is wonderful, but does add a layer of craziness - plus hubby traveling for work. Things are finally settling back to "normal" but there's still a fair amount of catch-up I need to do, and also just need to re-establish good routines. I 'd been doing really well with the whole weight loss thing, and while I haven't gained it all back or anything, the progress is has been reeeeeaaaaallllllllly slow ever since Christmas, and I'd gotten away from daily food journaling. I am definitely an emotional eater, and I've been stuffing things into my face all too often lately. I've been struggling with disciplining the kids (let's just say attitudes are definitely contagious, and mine wasn't worth catching. Just bein' real.) Our house still feels very disorganized, and I I tend to focus on just how much I still want to change which is overwhelming and discouraging. I heard Geneveieve Gorder from HGTV say something along the lines of, "Living in a junk drawer is exhausting!" and I couldn't agree more - our house need not be immaculate, but each room needs to have its own purpose and flow. I'm trying to just focus on the little steps I can accomplish in a day or so; doing something is better than doing nothing!

I've been spending more time in the Word, which has been incredibly awesome. I'm reading Hebrews, and I'm really enjoying just soaking up the scriptures; I'd realized that while I'd been reading a lot religious books, I wasn't reading THE BOOK nearly enough. I've also been having some really good discussions with a friend; she considers herself a Christian, but many of her ideas about God have been shaped by life experiences and New Age attitudes, rather than Biblical truth. It's been a great experience for me to substantiate my beliefs about Jesus and the character of God!

Speaking of friends, that's another area where I've been struggling. We've lived here 20 months now, and while I've made a few good connections, I still don't have that ring of support that I long for. I've been sensing God's leading in some unexpected places. I've struck up conversations with people who, based on outward appearances, have nothing in common with me. This may seem like a small thing, but I struggle with putting myself out there like that (I guess I've never outgrown that teenage fear of rejection). I've also volunteered for some things - and said no to other things that are more in my comfort zone. I don't know exactly what God has in store for me, but I do know that I'm being shaped and that HE is in control of it all, even when it appears to be a random mish-mash from my end.

Day in Pictures

2011-03-03T16:41:00.006-05:00

I took my parents to the airport early this morning, and the fields still had their heavy fog layer - quite stunning when combined with the colors of sunrise. Not the best pic, but what do you expect from me shooting out the window when stopped at a light?! :)

And then there are my 2 resident crazies. They each got a Fun-Dip as part of snack time today, and our daughter was quite delighted with her ridiculously green teeth. Our son was munching on the stick when he suddenly darted upstairs... and when he came down, announced that he was Han Solo. My favorite part of this outfit is most definitely the unbuttoned shirt. And know what? I'll take this little dude over Harrison Ford any day.

Today I am thankful for quiet beauty as well as belly laughs.

Monday, Monday

2011-02-28T14:14:00.003-05:00

Last post, I announced that my son had the flu and I had company arriving in 2 days. To bring you up to date: parents arrived, daughter also contracted flu, brother's family arrived, took their son to clinic due to high fever (ear infection), my brother & my husband both worked long hours due to conference, off to yet another clinic and discovered SIL had sinus infection, hubby's car died 30 miles from home (and AAA basically laughed at him when he called for assistance) - approx 5 hours later car arrived in our driveway via a not-really-road-legal trailer that had only 75% of its tires, I plopped our camera down into a pile of peanut butter, drove to 4 different auto parts stores before finding one that could get the necessary parts for us in less than a week, daughter now has pink eye.

I know that things could be *SO* much worse, but I'm just worn out and frankly rather whiny. My parents pulled out this morning to go visit my dad's aunt in San Antonio, and will be back tomorrow night, then fly out on Thursday morning. My hubby will be flying out on Sunday, and then back on Friday. Our niece and several of her friends will be arriving on Friday night to spend their spring break here... I'm just praying that we can all get and stay healthy!

I'm feeling really discouraged. I had been making great strides in my journey toward betterment - both personally with getting toward a healthier weight and home-wise with the purge and organize campaign. These past two weeks I've stalled completely and even regressed a bit. I know I'm in a better place than I was a few months ago, but it's still frustrating. At this point, I'm just focusing on making it through the week: meals, laundry, and basic cleaning. I will move forward, but I must be content with creeping for now, rather than running or even walking. Other changes: more time in the Word (not a book or study, but just reading God's letter to us) and journaling 5 things I'm thankful for each day in my gratitude journal.

Hello again...

2011-02-16T13:18:00.005-05:00

Whew! So much going on (as always!) Hubby was gone for two weeks, and came home sick, which seriously stinks. We've all been fighting off slights colds, etc. and this morning I had to take our son to the doctor, where we discovered that he had the flu. You should have seen his eyes light up when the dr. told him that he couldn't go back to school until Monday!

We have family arriving tomorrow, and have already started the pool-heating process so we can all have some fun this weekend. The freezing days are already a distant memory, and our highs are back in the 80s. Ahhhhh... I admit, I'm getting spoiled by the South TX winters!

In other happy news, we went to Alegria on Saturday afternoon. Wow. I've always been amazed by Cirque du Soleil - the costumes, choreography, and music are all absolutely amazing, and when I found out they were actually coming here, buying tickets was a no-brainer. We really enjoyed it, and now I'm more determined than ever to see more of their shows.

Here are just a few more snapshots from the past couple days. For Valentine's Day, rather than going for candy and stuffed animals, we got our kiddos Legos and a (cheapo verison of American Girl) doll. Result: two happy kids! And me? Well, I did manage to get half of my kitchen cabinets painted. I went with a slightly lighter turquoise color, so I now have "cloudless" cupboards :) Love the result, and am looking forward to finishing the job up in March (once all of our company leaves)

Off to finish readying the house for the invasion!

Frozen Friday

2011-02-04T10:30:00.003-05:00

It's been a crazy couple days in South Texas! I think we all know that virtually the entire US has been affected with the massive storm system and bone-chilling cold... and considering that normally it's in the high 60s here, it's major news when we get this kind of weather. We got some snow flurries yesterday (you can see a few flakes that accumulated on the palm tree in the first shot) as well as icing. They shut down the highway and almost all the bridges into Mexico. We just aren't prepared to handle this stuff down here! Schools were closed yesterday and today. Many homes don't have heat, most people don't have heavy winter clothing (I just see people wearing lots of layers), and obviously there's not much experience driving on ice, either. It never got above freezing yesterday, but thankfully we are supposed to reach the mid 30s today. Another hard freeze is forecast tonight, but then we start climbing back to "normal" tomorrow. You can see our poor frozen palms in the 2nd photo, and the next one just shows the icing. When I opened the door up this morning, the first thing I noticed was how strange it sounded - the wind whipping through the frozen palm fronds makes a very odd noise indeed. The last picture is of all the ice bits that have been blown out of the trees... kind of pretty, actually.

I will say that I love having a snow day that doesn't require shoveling anything ;)

February Check-In

2011-02-01T14:01:00.002-05:00

Time for a new page on the calendar! You may recall that in January I set 2 goals for myself regarding health & home. Well, I didn't completely reach either goal. Am I a bit disappointed? Well, yes. The amazing thing is that I'm not discouraged - in fact, I'm pretty excited about the strides I've made. This next month is going to be pretty crazy due to hubby's business trips and an influx of company, so I'm not setting any new goals, but will finish up what I started in January. My kitchen already feels tons better, and one side was organized according to plan, so I just need to finish up the other half of the room... and I may even tackle the pantry area. My weight loss continues to be slow but steady (but hey, that's healthy, right?! ;) but I still need to get more active. My Jan goal was 30 minutes with Wii Plus 3x week - I'm still aiming for the same timing, but with whatever activity I choose.

Here's to moving forward!

Bowl = Comfort

2011-01-31T14:04:00.003-05:00

When I'm not feeling well, I crave soup... just thinking about a bowl of steamy goodness makes me feel better. I've had an itchy throat for a few days, and this morning it was accompanied by achiness and a runny nose. Blech.

As I was puttering around the kitchen this morning, I started thinking about the single lonely salmon fillet I unearthed in the freezer this weekend, and then the idea of salmon soup came to mind. Mmmmmm. I cooked up some brown rice (and this way I have some ready-made for later this week - win win!) and threw the salmon under the broiler. I sliced up a couple carrots and a green onion, then simmered them in some broth (I keep Wyler's sodium free chicken bouillon in my cupboard for occasions such as this). A few shakes of fish sauce, some garlic & black pepper, and yesterday's peas finished things off.

I'm feeling better already! And yes, Mom, I'm taking Vitamin C, too :)

Wahoo!!

2011-01-28T12:11:00.003-05:00

Sorry if I disturbed anyone with my hootin' and hollerin' this morning, but I'm definitely a happy girl.

Behold the reason :)

We've been using a hand-me-down and table and chairs our entire married life. To be fair, we did upgrade to a better "new-to-us" table approximately 9 years ago, along with white folding chairs from Sam's Club (which we'd planned to use for approximately 6 months). I have really wanted to purchase something, but we'd been unable to find something we both liked that was in our budget. Why is simple, decently-made furniture so difficult to find?

Anyway, Monday afternoon my Bible study finished up a bit early and I had an extra 15 minutes before I needed to pick up the kids, so I decided to swing by the furniture store that had been advertising super-duper closeout deals. I immediately dismissed most of their offerings due to heavy carvings, inlaid stones and upholstered seats. But then I saw this little number back in the corner. I liked the style, so I flipped over a chair to investigate the construction. Hmmm... passed that test, too. I took the salesman's card and texted hubby the basic info.

The store closed at 6 pm that night (and of course the extra % off promo happened to be ending that day, too) but hubby made it across the border in a timely fashion and we arrived at the store by 5:30. He actually liked the style of the set, so started analyzing the the structure. The look on the salesman's face was priceless! Anyway, after much sliding, flipping, and poking he pronounced it good and we plunked down the dough. It was delivered this morning, and I can't walk by it without giving it a loving pat :) It's made of pine, and stained dark. It has 3 leaves (which all store inside) and it can be expanded to 11 feet. Wow. We also got 8 chairs, so we are ready for visitors!

Behind the table is a dresser that's part of our bedroom set. We'd been using it in the front family/sitting area, but I rearranged everything last weekend and it's now being used as a sideboard. Obviously it doesn't exactly match the table, but I couldn't care less. I'm just so happy to have this space updated a bit! Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the old table is now residing in the craft space, so the kids and I have a spot to spread out and play, without worrying about shoving everything to the side to eat dinner.

Happy Birthday!

2011-01-23T14:48:00.001-05:00

Sometimes things don't go exactly according to plan -- and sometimes that's a good thing. Our daughter turned 6 earlier this month, and we had her birthday party yesterday. We invited all the girls from her class, but no one RSVP'd (not unusual down here). Anyway, I planned a fun afternoon of girliness, games, and snacks knowing that her 2 good friends were coming, and figuring that at least a couple more from her class would show up. Well, I was wrong - it was just the three little princesses... and a fabulous time was had by all!

First stop was the makeup station, mostly consisting of sparkles for the eyes and cheeks, but also including bright lipstick so they could all kiss the frog :) We painted princess sun-catchers, had a Royal Ball Freeze Dance, decorated tiaras, colored custom castles, pitched pennies, snacked, and laughed. I don't know who had more fun - the girls or the moms! And what was originally going to be a 2 hour party turned into an impromptu BBQ (with additional family members invited over) going well into the evening. Truly, it was a delightful day.

Funny side story: the junior ROTC was conducting a canned food drive in our neighborhood, and I answered the knock on the door without stopping to consider how I appeared. The poor young man in uniform probably be telling his friends about the crazy lady who was wearing 2 crowns, a pile of necklaces, and plastic gems stuck on her cheeks :)

Friday Funny

2011-01-21T15:25:00.001-05:00

I'm not normally a big Will Ferrell fan, but this is hilarious!

Kitchen Update

2011-01-19T10:57:00.005-05:00

First off, here is the "before" of our main dish cabinet. Rather sad, isn't it? I hate our chipped plates (that we've had for about 13 years), and the top shelf is just a strange jumble o' stuff.And here it is now! Now I must admit that I spent some money - I used gift cards I received for Christmas to buy some simple white stoneware (and yes, it was on sale :) I now have a sizable stack of items for the thrift shop, which will probably increase even more before I take it in next week. I know I'll be adding more stuff to the top shelf, but am just excited to see progress. You may notice the strange little color strips sitting on the salad plates. As I was pulling things out and wiping down the shelves, I was once again struck with just how plain the cabinets are. We are planning a fairly extensive kitchen/dining area reno in 2-3 years, but I'd like to spice it up a bit in the meantime. I've already pulled down the grape wallpaper border and repainted the walls (which were a lovely shade of cardboard - bleh!) I'm seriously considering painting the inside of the cabinets now - it would only take a quart of paint to infuse some color; I know it's not something most people would ever see, but I spend a lot of time in this space and it would make me happy!Thoughts? Has anyone actually done this? Do you think I'm insane? Should I go with gem turquoise or bed of roses? Talk to me!

It's a new year...

2011-01-03T10:37:00.005-05:00

Can you believe that it's 2011?! Is it just me, or does it seem that the Y2K scare was just a few months ago? And it's official - I'm getting old and am talking about how the years just fly by :)

In other news, we drove out to Arizona for Christmas to visit family, and are back home safe and sound. Our kids have definitely gotten used to long car trips, and are actually pretty good li'l travelers. The driving itself was uneventful, and we made some lovely memories during our visit. Unfortunately there was some sickness that threw a wrench into some of our plans, but we all survived... The cool picture is from an exhibit at the Arizona Science Center (yes, that really is me!). VERY cool place, and I would recommend it whole-heartedly if you happen to have children and a day to spare in the Phoenix area. We also spent an afternoon at Bounce U, did a bit of baking (these cookies are tasty and relatively healthy!), laughed about our Wii Fit ages, ripped open gifts, and the kids logged mucho miles on scooters, bikes & skateboards. Hoping to upload some pics later this week, but am not promising anything. :)

So there's a new calendar on the wall, and I have a fresh resolve to do/be better. When I broke the 25 pounds lost mark, my "reward" was this bracelet with the word persevere. You see, I often start new projects, but then the enthusiasm fades and the excuses pile up. I vow to organize my entire kitchen, and give up after 2 drawers. I faithfully read my Bible for a few weeks, but then miss a couple days and somehow my quiet time becomes nothing more than reading a single verse. I long to do projects with our children, but am constantly trying to "catch up" on household stuff rather than making time for what's truly important. One of my favorite verses, and one I frequently quote to others is Romans 12:12 - Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Or, as our pastor had shared in a message several months ago, "We gotta pray, praise, and persevere!" Those are the three words that I stamped onto the cover of my fitness journal, and they've served as a constant reminder. Focus on my Savior, keep talking with Him, count my blessings, and continue down the path that he has for me - even if there are days when I only make it an inch. I cannot stand on the sidelines, but need to run the race. Obviously, there are tons of areas in which I can improve, but for now I'm focusing on 2: my health and the house. Part 1: I've been making tracking food and the pounds are coming off - this year, I'll continue with that but want to get into a consistent exercise routine. January goal is to log 30 min 3x / wk with Wii Fit. Part 2: I know I've moaned a lot about the excess stuff in our home, and I'm committing to make it through the kitchen this month. Yes, every drawer and cupboard this time! Maintaining it will be easier as I pare down, too. I will do my best to post updates and thoughts along the journey...

As I was pondering all of this over the weekend, I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of this pile on my kitchen table. No, I did not arrange this - it's simply the result of unpacking the car. Proof of my good intentions and faulty execution! I didn't take a super wide shot, because I was afraid that the book would be lost entirely amongst the snacks, medicine bottle, tools, etc. And then this morning I literally LOL'd as I browsed google reader while sipping my coffee - I'm always inspired by A Holy Experience, and today's post was no exception - but what a difference in the way this same book was presented! (The author of the book also runs Simple Mom, which is another fount of encouragement in my reader that didn't get cut in my recent blog purge)

So here's to a better year. So thankful that I'm not depending on my own strength!!

For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not [a]adjusted and [b]adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to [c]a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently

I Corinthians 10:13, Amplified

Christmas Morning Make-Ahead Baked French Toast

2010-12-28T23:48:00.002-05:00

This is my SIL's traditional breakfast for Christmas morning, and I'm getting the recipe down before her copy dissolves into tatters in her recipe box :)

Holiday Morning French Toast

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 tsp cinnamon (divided)
3 tart apples: peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 loaf Italian or French bread, cut into 1 inch slices
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp vanilla

Combine brown sugar, butter and 1 tsp cinnamon in a 9x13" baking dish. Add apples and cranberries; toss to coat well. Spread apple mixture evenly over bottom of baking dish and arrange slices of bread on top.

Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining 2 tsp cinnamon until well blended. Pour mixture over bread, soaking bread completely. Cover and refrigerate 4-24 hours.

Bake covered with aluminum foil at 375 for 40 minutes, then remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Friday Funny

2010-12-17T10:11:00.001-05:00

Definitely not how Jesus' arrival went down :)

Sing it Saturday

2010-12-11T13:34:00.000-05:00

No, this won't be a regular thing, but the title was catchy :) Go Fish has a great Christmas album, and this song in particular always gets me moving. I do indeed have the JOY - it has nothing to do with circumstances, and everything to do with my Savior! What an amazing gift.

Friday Funny

2010-12-10T09:33:00.000-05:00

Have a completely non-offensive and politically correct holiday! :)

Birthday Build: Done!

2010-12-08T11:42:00.003-05:00

This makes me smile every time I walk by. And I like it so much more than those porcelain ones (especially since the reality is that things will get broken... no problem!) I would also like to add that I have an awesome hubby, who spent over 4 hours last night alone working on the toy shop... there are some very cool details on that set.

Celebrating!

2010-12-07T10:22:00.007-05:00

Well, the Christmas season has descended upon us.

Last Wednesday, I decorated the outside of our house - you know, so at least the neighbors think we're festive :) I wired bows onto the lights by the garage, hung a wreath, and put out the Christmas doormat. All done! The next day, I purchased a nonfat cup of steamy goodness in a jolly cup, and headed out to purchase a few things. There's a reason I shop for gifts year-round: simply put, I despise fighting the holiday crowds. I'm not a fan of crowded aisles, screaming children, and poorly organized shelves. I think I'm done now, other than the things we're waiting to purchase until we arrive in Arizona. Thursday night I also went to a cookie exchange, which was loads of fun! The bad news is that I am unable to resist baked goods, and the scale showed the results of this on Monday... the number went up for the first time since I started my weight loss journey. A bit discouraging, but not unexpected. One the plus side, the kids have done a pretty good job of wiping out the aforementioned cookies!

In other news, we "opened" a few early family Christmas gifts. We'd been debating about purchasing a Wii for over a year now (especially since our summers are so ridiculously hot here!) and ended up taking the plunge on Black Friday, courtesy of Amazon. We also got the Balance Board, which I'd really been wanting. We've already had a lot of fun with it, and I get a great core workout from laughing hysterically at our daughter boxing - it's not the movements that get me, but the trash talk to her opponents. "You're going down, big guy!" is her most-used. I have no idea where she heard it, but it totally cracks me up. I've been using the Wii Fit Plus program, and am digging the rhythmic boxing... I also foresee the purchase of additional fitness games in my future.

Last night hubby and the kids put together my birthday present. Yes, I had requested Legos. I know it may seem bizarre, but I promise it will make sense when I post finished pictures - tomorrow perhaps?

We also got the tree up over the weekend. This is the first time that we haven't put up all our ornaments. They are definitely a colorful mishmash, but in the interest of simplicity this year we simply went with red & metallic ornaments, along with some white garland. I like the different look, but the kids have already requested that we put it *ALL* out next year. I did put out a few other things around the house - beaded garland draped around doorways, baskets of ornaments, and a few special ornaments hung on doorknobs, windows, etc. I do love this cross, and it's hanging in our entryway. Such a great reminder that while so many focus on the "magic" of Christmas, there is something much better that we can believe in...

Friday Funny

2010-12-03T09:09:00.001-05:00

It's Christmastime... which means attack of the overly embellished sweater!

More "beauties" here and here.

You're welcome :)

(I must admit that I actually sort of like this one :)

Eeek!

2010-11-30T15:09:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is December 1. How is that possible?!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with a couple other East Coast transplants, and had a lovely time. We supplied the turkey, stuffing & gravy, which thankfully means that I'm not staring at piles of desserts. In theory. You see, my hubby happens to love cheesecake, and our host graciously sent him home with an entire one that was left over. I watched him eat it for breakfast Sunday morning -- while I was measuring out my fiber cereal and skim milk. Grrr. That was one of those times that I kept chanting to myself, "I'm getting healthier, I'm getting healthier!"

Unfortunately we also have sickness circulating in our house. We'd all had a nasty cold a few weeks ago, and while it wasn't severe, it slowed us all down and was taking awhile to shake off entirely. Well, Saturday morning our little girl was not her normal perky self. Our son started showing symptoms yesterday, and both had slight fevers this morning. I kept them home from school, drug them to the doctor's office (where our son had great fun using the stirrups on the exam table as a ramp for his mini skateboards) and received the verdict: strep. Off to Walgreens for pink medicine!

Anyway, I am definitely behind on my normal holiday prep. The tree hasn't gone up - in fact, the fallish decor hasn't even been put away yet. Hoping to remedy the situation by this weekend. I also will be doing some baking, as I'm participating in a cookie exchange on Thursday night; I figure that this is a good way for my family to get some sweets, because there's no way I'm producing a bunch this year. I'm making chocolate crinkles - simple and easy!

Thankfully the gifts have all pretty much been purchased, but I need to get them wrapped up - and of course many need to be shipped. I had hoped to have that done this week, but the new goal is next Monday. We're heading off to Arizona again for Christmas, so at least that's one less package to be sent. Whew - that's a lot to get done in the next week or so. Why on earth am I sitting at the computer?! Toodles!

The Scent of the Holidays...

2010-11-26T10:56:00.007-05:00

Step 1: Feed kids a healthy breakfast to counteract the pile of sweets consumed last night. Yum, oranges!

Step 2: Rescue peels from trash, and throw into pan.

Step 3: Cut up shriveled apples that were mistakenly not thrown out earlier this week.

Step 4: Add cinnamon sticks and a few anise seeds. Cover with water and set to simmer.

Step 5: Pause every 3 minutes to sniff the air appreciatively. Somehow even washing dishes seems more festive now :)

Note: The ~~blaring~~ playing of Christmas music is also helpful.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T11:06:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. ~W.J. Cameron

Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
~George Herbert

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. ~Johannes A. Gaertner

"God's Word commands us to 'give thanks' about 135 times. How is giving thanks different from being thankful? Giving thanks is an action that implies specificity; feeling thankful is passive and deals in generalities. Giving thanks recognizes the One who is the source of our blessings; feeling thankful may not even acknowledge our Source. Giving thanks ultimately gives glory to God; feeling thankful only makes us feel good about ourselves." ~David Self (from First Place 4 Health)

Belated Friday Funny

2010-11-20T17:03:00.002-05:00

I've had the grocery ad sitting on my kitchen counter for the past week so I could snap a picture. Back in Philly suburbia, our Thanksgiving ads promised kosher turkeys, Italian sausage, and a variey of other delights.

Now, I can pick up pig heads & cow stomach for my family's enjoyment :)

BTW, this is the ad from the main supermarket chain, not some tiny specialty meat market.

My Weight Loss Journey (Part 1)

2010-11-18T11:48:00.001-05:00

I posted this photo on FB last week - me, 25 pounds lighter and holding a 25 pound bucket o' lard. I have never gotten so many comments on any posting, photo, etc. Obviously it struck a chord.

I've had many people ask, "Oh, what are you doing?" I know I've asked others the same question, hoping they've stumbled upon some magical insight.

Here's my insight: "It's hard work."

I'll be writing this up and my book will be available next year ;)

If I've learned anything in the past 30-odd years, it's that shortcuts seldom work out. I've never been one to eat crazy foods or pop pills in an effort to lose weight, and while I have made half-hearted efforts at altering my diet/lifestyle, I never stuck with it. I had joined Weight Watchers back in 2000 and lost a good chunk, but it crept back on after 2 babies and a variety of other ~~reasons~~ excuses. And while I don't think Weight Watchers is a terrible program, I think that there's too much focus on the whole points system and not enough emphasis on nutrition. I've been using sparkpeople's nutrition tracker, and I've found it to be hugely educational as well as motivating. If you set up a profile and enter your weight goals, it will recommend a calorie range, and you can even use their suggested menus. I pretty much knew where I should be calorically (even though I wasn't actually doing it) but the big thing for me has been seeing actual amounts broken down on carbs, protein, fat & fiber. I know low carb is super trendy and low fat was all the rage 20 years ago, but our bodies are designed to use all those things, and it's so important to provide balance! In one sense, I've actually found it liberating to take control of my food consumption. Let me explain. In the past, if I ate a doughnut I'd usually feel guilty (and of course I'd try to "bury" that guilt by eating more. Sheesh!) Since I've been "dieting" I've eaten 2 doughnuts. Each time I chose to indulge my sweet tooth, but I knew that I was balancing that choice with the other food I was eating that day. Same goes with the occasional fast food burger. I'm making serious, life-long changes... and I'm not about to eat only salad and baked fish every day :)

Another insight: It's not just about the weight. I just finished the Begin With Christ Bible study, and God definitely used that to shake me up. Am I really leaning on Him? Really, truly trusting Him with every aspect of my life? I know God loves me, but for some reason I just felt like He didn't need to be bothered with the physical stuff. I mean, does He really care whether I choose to munch on an apple versus a bag of chips? Can putting down a candy bar be an act of worship? Whose voice am I listening to when I continue eating after I'm no longer hungry? This body may only be a temporary vessel, but I still need to honor Him with it while it's entrusted to me. There are *SO* many verses that I've read in the past couple months that have hit me in a completely different way. The study itself was pretty good, but the time spent discussing it with our group was where I was really encouraged. How awesome to share in the struggles and triumphs with a group of women who are earnestly seeking God! We laughed a lot and shed some tears, too. We've wrapped up this book, but will be starting another in the First Place 4 Health series in January, and I am really looking forward to it. To go along with that, I've had several people remark that they just don't have the willpower. Well, I can unequivocally state that I DON'T EITHER!!! But it's not about me - it's about HIM. I can't do this by myself - but He doesn't expect me to. My Loving Father is there to hold me up when I'm weak, and guide me back when I make a bad decision. I'm so grateful for His grace and mercies that are new every morning...

I have a lot further to go. My clothes are fitting differently, but I don't see a big difference when I look in the mirror. It's not like I've gone from a size 8 to a size 4, know what I mean?! And while I've dropped a substantial amount in the past 12 weeks, I also know that realistically the weight loss will probably not continue at this rate. Logically I'm OK with that, but I know that emotionally it will be a struggle. There will be weeks that the scale doesn't budge; I'm trying not to focus so much on this single number, and think about the bigger picture of health. Every day that I provide proper nutrition for my body means that I'm better equipped for whatever mission God has for me. Every rep with the dumbbells (my mega 2 pound ones!!) means stronger arms to reach out to those around me. The exercise part is still hard for me. I don't like getting all hot and sweaty - I like sitting on the couch and watching TV! Many of the exercises that "experts" recommend for toning involve movements that the orthopedic doctor specifically told me to avoid, but I've managed to find some exercises that I can do. And hey, at least I can now put my pants on without leaning on something for support!

Yes, I still have a long journey ahead of me. I know I've commented before that I don't want to turn this into a weight loss blog, but I do want to share what's going on in my life. Weight is major issue for me, and I know it will be a life-long struggle. Thankfully I am not on this journey alone.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. I Cor 10:31

What's new?

2010-11-08T13:53:00.011-05:00

You may remember that I splurged on a bottle of nail polish when I lost ten pounds.

Clearly 22 pounds lost required something larger.

How’s this? Does it make my butt look big?
Seriously, though, we’ve been debating about a family vehicle for awhile now. We purchased our Passat Wagon shortly after our daughter was born; it already had 70K on it, and it recently broke 110K. It also needed some things repaired - nothing major, but it was still going to be around 2 grand. At what point do you stop sinking $ into an old vehicle and decide to put that toward something newer? We also had an F-250 that we no longer needed, but it had some major quirks, so we weren’t necessarily excited about selling it ourselves (we had visions of someone throwing a brick through the window 2 weeks later).

Anyway, we set off on Saturday morning to test drive some vehicles and just get a better feel for what was available in our area. The used market is really crazy down here - they don’t depreciate much since there is such a high demand for vehicles over the border - and many people told us they’d actually done better buying new due to dealer incentives, etc. We really wanted something that seated at least 6, too, so that when we have a couple visiting we can all fit in one vehicle. We’d done quite a bit of research online, so had essentially narrowed it down to a few models. Mitsubishi wasn’t even on our radar initially, but turns out they’re better priced than a lot of other comparable models, plus high safety ratings and a great warranty package.

Long story short, we ended up buying an Outlander with lots of shiny bells & whistles, with 2 vehicles as a trade-in. I know it’s going to serve our family well and we’ll be driving it for many years. It’s strange to think that we no longer have a VW, though. You see, we’ve always had at least 1. Our first real date was in a Jetta, driving to a church event then Olive Garden for coffee. Bought a newer Jetta after graduation, and drove it off on our honeymoon (a cross-country trip from Montana to Pennsylvania. Wahoo!) We commuted in to work together for about five years. We brought our babies home from the hospital. We packed up our basic belongings (after filling a moving truck, of course :) and drove from Pennsylvania down to South Texas to start a new chapter. ALL in a Volkswagen. It truly feels like the end of an era.

In other news, we sent the kiddos out to scavenge for sweets last weekend, dressed in appropriate attire of course ;) I got in on the fun, too, and raided my closet for every clashing print I could find (I also had black & white toile pants on) At least the mob scene in our neighborhood was not unexpected this year; I gave out my 600 Dum Dums in about 30 minutes, and probably could have gone through another 1000. I'm tellin' you, it's crazy!!

I saw the orthopedic doctor on Thursday. I’d had the MRI of my left knee done a few weeks ago, and my primary doctor had filled me in on the basics and I was expecting to schedule surgery to clean out the damaged cartilage. Things didn’t go exactly as expected, though; when the doctor initially came in, his first comment was, “I thought you’d be older” - and then wondered how many in my family had RA. Huh?!?! Yes, it turns out that I have some fairly severe arthritis in there (to quote the dr: I have the knees of a 60 YO), and based on the description of pain, that seems to be the major issue rather than the torn meniscus. Since I’m not even 40, he’s not in a hurry to do a joint replacement… but it’s only a matter of time. I got a cortisone shot as a first step, and we’ll see how long that lasts. They’re generally good for 3-6 months, then there’s also a second injection that they can try that’s an artificial lubricant. Next step would be the laparoscopic procedure to clean out the joint before finally replacing it entirely. Whew. Part of me is happy to know exactly what’s been going on (and obviously I’m not imagining the pain!) but I’m not thrilled to discover that essentially we’re talking a degenerative condition… I’m supposed to avoid stairs, running, lunges, kneeling, etc whenever possible. Walking is OK, and the injection did allow me to stroll around car lots this weekend without excruciating pain.

Well, I think that pretty much sums up the past couple weeks. Yesterday was also my hubby’s birthday, so we took our new vehicle over to South Padre and had a nice little family celebration. He is still working in Mexico several days each week, and in case you haven’t heard, the violence has been escalating in this area. There was a major shootout on Friday night (the military took out one of the drug cartel kingpins) with nearly 50 dead, and frankly it doesn’t seem as though the issues will be resolved anytime soon. We’d really appreciate your prayers for his continued safety.

Friday Funny

2010-10-29T16:28:00.004-04:00

Wasn't planning on anything today, but then our son came home from school with a little goodie bag. Every now and then I get a vivid reminder of the different culture we are in now... and I couldn't help but crack up at the "Salt & Lemon Hot Powder" that's considered a treat :) He was very excited to try it, but I made him wait so I could get a picture first - and of course had the camera ready when he actually ate it. Sometimes a picture is truly worth a thousand words!

Nesting

2010-10-19T15:15:00.003-04:00

Just in case you live under a rock and aren't already soaking up the wisdom of the Nester, you really should check it out. This month she has a whole series about a less messy nest. LOVE the way she hides her hubby's tchotchkes, and today's post about reasons really resonated with me, too. I've moaned (and groaned and analyzed and whined...) about what a struggle maintaining order is for me. I have too much stuff, and have a hard time parting with it. I cannot imagine what a joy it would be to simply invite someone over without an hour of crazed pick-up-and-stash-time. That's sad. And I hate seeing my children following in my footsteps. Anyway, good information as well as encouragement to be had over there.

Oh, and it's all HER fault that this is now hanging on my wall. I've been wanting to make that photo into a canvas (because really, how goofy would a frame look when they're already holding one?!) and the link over to Canvas People convinced me to just do it. I'm satisfied with the results, now just need to rearrange the other stuff on my wall to group it in a better way. In the meantime, though, it's going to hang there while I focus on clearing my kitchen counter.

Finding Little Pleasures

2010-10-12T12:29:00.002-04:00

My friend Amy posted some fun "Top Tens" and I decided to play along. In my quest toward health, I've become aware that many of my pleasures revolve around food. On one hand, that's fine - our bodies require fuel, and there's no reason the refueling process can't be enjoyable. On the other hand, constantly indulging is bad. Duh. Anyway, here are some things I've been savoring the past weeks that don't involve food:

Backyard wildlife. We have such an amazing variety of birds and insects down here! I particularly love watching all the dragonflies. And little lizards climbing around on flowers are cool, too.
Family games. Our kids love games - and now that they're getting older, it's really fun to see them thinking about strategy. Also a nice way to sneak in lessons about winning and losing. Aggravation is a current fave, and I recently picked up a Lego game that I think we'll be trying out this weekend.
Quiet. With both kids in school now, I have the amazing luxury of HOURS all to myself. No squabbles, no requests for help, no TV noise. And while I often do have music playing, I find that I'm loving the silence, too.
Happy noises. The quiet makes me appreciate these even more! Hearing the giggles of anticipation as the kids plot an attack on Daddy. Laughing uproariously at goofy jokes (or shows like America's Funniest Home videos, which our son dubbed "Fall Down" when he was about 3). Even hearing my hubby complete a simple home task with the help of our son. Priceless.
Reading material. Whether a good novel (just finished the third Camel Club book by David Baldacci, and am wondering when he'll be writing another) or a magazine with beautiful photographs, I so enjoy holding these in my hands and getting lost in the pages, even if it's just for 3 minutes. Don't think I could ever be converted to an e-reader (but if anyone would like to buy me a Kindle I'd be willing to give it a go ;)
Open windows. The nights are just now getting cool enough that I can open our windows around 8 PM or so. As much as I love air conditioning, nothing can beat a breeze blowing through a window. And I would also like to add that I'm thankful for screens that keep the pests out!
Exercise. This is definitely a work in progress. I cannot say that I just love the sense of exhilaration when I completed the marathon (HA!) but I am learning to appreciate the invigoration, the feeling of "aliveness" as I move. Maybe that endorphin rush that those experts talk about really does exist...
A completed task. I have been making a conscious effort to stop for a moment when something is done (i.e. the laundry is all folded) and relish the sense of accomplishment. There is a neverending list of things to be done, but I'm trying not to constantly focus on (and whine about) those tasks - a bit of positivity is muy bueno!
Friendship. It's taken some time to establish bonds down here, and it's just made me realize just what a blessing friends truly are. I am thankful to say that I'm married to my best friend and we can talk about anything... he also realizes that I need girlfriends, and encourages me to stay connected, whether we're talking on the phone or meeting up for a bowl of soup somewhere.
My relationship with Christ. I'm just so humbled by and grateful for my Savior. He died for miserable, pathetic me and wants to be part of my day-to-day life. As I delve into the Word and spend time in prayer, I can feel the relationship deepening and I'm so thankful for His presence. In some ways it's disheartening because as the layers of my life are peeled back, I see just how sinful I am -- but I know that He is there to strengthen and comfort me as those issues are addressed. I pray that I can reflect just a bit more of His glory each day.

An unusual birthday

2010-10-05T14:19:00.002-04:00

We'd purchased Webkinz for both kids this summer - they each picked out a "native" animal when we were out in Montana. The idea was that it would be a fun reminder of the trip, plus we could use online Webkinz time as an incentive for them. It's proven to work pretty well overall, but our son has had an especially tough couple weeks, and while he can still earn time, he has to wait until the weekend to redeem those minutes. Well, his bear's birthday happens to be October 4, and so we told him we'd have a party for him if he reached certain behavior goals. Goals met, which meant I prepared the a meal based on an imaginary critter's request :) Anyway, last night we dined on spaghetti, and had pumpkin bars for dessert (hooray for me - he'd originally requested chocolate cupcakes and somehow I was able to convince him these would be better!) I added the "A" (for Andy, of course!) with some nasty Betty Crocker icing, and the evening was deemed a success. The things we do for our kids...

A Taste of Fall

2010-10-04T16:25:00.005-04:00

I baked some scrumptious carrot pumpkin bars yesterday afternoon. This is the original that I based it on, and here's my modified version if you're interested. They really are delicious - moist and sweet enough that you feel like you're getting a treat, but a high "good for you factor," too :)

I've eaten two today already. Tonight I'll be packaging up the rest in ziplocs and banishing them to the freezer...

Friday Funny

2010-10-01T08:12:00.000-04:00

Seriously, there are no words.

Ponderings - with pictures!

2010-09-29T09:53:00.002-04:00

I know some of these I'd already posted on Facebook, but thought I'd actually get around to providing a few pics of real life at our house :)

Earlier this month, Hermine was a little tropical depression that we weren't paying much attention to - and then overnight it worked its way up to Hurricane Status. We pretty much had a direct hit from Alex back in July, but no "real" damage on our property. Well, Hermine left her mark by taking a tree down in our backyard, landing less than a foot from a large window. So thankful that it didn't damage our house - and also praising God because it was a tree we wanted to take down anyway, and this method is much cheaper ;)
I'm still missing many things about Pennsylvania, including the hydrangeas planted all along the back of the house. I broke down and actually bought some fresh ones a couple weeks ago, and now have this dried one hanging in my kitchen.
Our daughter is fully recovered, and thankfully no one else got sick. The day that she was home from school (and was up in her room playing Polly Pockets) she decided that her hair really should be more lustrous, so found some Vaseline (which I didn't even know we had!) and proceeded to add it to her hair. Shiny? Yes. Attractive? Not so much. I googled for the best solution, and most sites suggested using cornstarch. It took several treatments, but her hair is back to normal now.
I'm so thankful to have a handy hubby! I have a closet (past my laundry hallway) that I use for extra food storage. The shelves were quite far apart, though, so I would stack things up, they'd fall over, I'd get frustrated when I couldn't find something so would just buy another can/bag of whatever even though I *knew* I had it somewhere. Well, this past weekend we emptied it all out and he added extra shelves for me! Hooray! It's really full right now (but hey, that just means less to buy in the next month or two!) but it feels so great to have it organized.
Piles. I hate 'em. This is what my kitchen table looked like last night. There were the few remaining items to be put away, combined with fliers, school info, bills to be paid, etc. Organization is such a struggle for me, and I know all the shtuff stresses me out. I'm trying very hard to reduce the flow coming into the house (removing our name from mailing lists and really thinking about purchases rather than impulsively throwing things into the cart, for starters) but there's no way I can stop it all. Continuing to struggle in this area, but making progress.
Lastly, this is my snazzy new polish. Nope, it wasn't an impulse buy - it was my celebration for losing 10 pounds! (much better choice than ice cream, LOL) Silly, yes, but my toenails now project a bit of sassiness... and well, it was on sale AND I had a coupon :)

Household Happenings

2010-09-23T13:15:00.003-04:00

Daughter is home from school today. She picked up a stomach bug and I'm now praying that no one else is "blessed" with it (although it would probably be helpful with my weight loss, LOL) She is disappointed to be missing school - a very different reaction than her brother would have had, I assure you. Speaking of him, he's had a rough couple weeks due to his behavior at school. Would really appreciate your prayers for wisdom as to how to handle that issue - we keep trying different things and so far haven't found anything particularly effective.

I went back to the doctor yesterday to follow up on my knee situation (now that the heart issues have all been addressed...) It's actually doing much better now, so at this point I'm choosing not to have an MRI or anything else done; I've had quite enough tests done for awhile, thankyouverymuch. It's still bothering me a bit, but I've been able to do some low impact exercises, and I know that strengthening it - plus losing weight - will help greatly.

Speaking of losing weight, I'm still doing it :) I'm using sparkpeople.com and am loving all the tracking tools. I really like that I can go beyond just calories to recommended ranges of carbs, protein, fat, etc. I felt like that was one aspect where Weight Watchers fell short, and I get downright giddy over a week's graph where I can see that I stayed in my ranges on everything. Yeehaw! And I've also been surprised on a few things - most notably sodium. I don't add salt when I cook, and generally don't use a lot of convenience foods. Well, let's just say that I was well over 2,000 mg daily (usual recommendation is that the gen population doesn't go over 2,300 and those with high BP stay under 1,500 - my doc said 2,000 is fine for me). A single meal out or a processed meal and I was pretty much done for the day (canned soup and those freezer meals are ridiculous!) Anyway, I'm doing much better now, and it's really forcing me to truly cook from scratch, which is obviously healthier in many ways. And while I have been spending a bit more on some foods, overall spending on groceries is actually down.

An even bigger part of the "self-improvement" journey, though, has been focusing on my relationship with Christ. I had let my commitment to daily prayer & Bible study slip, and have been really re-energized by digging into the Word. God is *so* Good!! Additionally, we've been getting more connected in the church, which again has been such a blessing. I'll be helping with the kids on Sunday - pray for them as well as me! :) And seriously, I truly would ask for prayer. I feel like I'm lacking wisdom in so many areas of life, specifically in my roles of being a wife, mother & friend. When should I offer advice, and when do I just need to keep my mouth closed?

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track.
Don't assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life
Proverbs 3:5-8, The Message

(I know I usually stopped at verse 6 or 7 in the passage - I'm now loving vs 8, too!)

Taking a look into my heart...

2010-09-15T09:30:00.004-04:00

Oh, the stories I could tell! ;) I know things have been pretty quiet here on the blog, and there have been all sorts of reasons, some of them fairly dramatic.

Back on August 23 (first day of school!) I had scheduled a doctor appointment for myself, specifically to check out a sore knee. While there, my pulse & blood presure were both high - I knew that life had been exceptionally crazy and I didn't think much of it. The doctor was concerned and we did an EKG. After confirming that I was *not* having a heart attack, I was told to monitor my BP for a week, plus come back for a follow-up EKG. Did so, and there was a minor irregularity; the doctor recommended that I have an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound). My first thought was, "Wow, I'm sure thankful that we have good insurance so we don't have to pay for all this!" Obviously, I was not overly concerned. Anyway, I had the test done, and received a call from my doctor on Friday, Sept 3. There was an abnormality with my aorta that could potentially lead to aortic dissection; I would need need a CT scan to get a better look at my heart.

I was still relatively calm after talking to my doctor... until I googled aortic dissection. I then sat in front of my computer sobbing. I called my hubby and couldn't even get a complete sentence out. I tried to pray and just kept breaking down. I grabbed my Bible, and looked up "broken hearted" in the concordance. Read a lot from Psalms. Calmed down and just keep praying. On a "perfect God timing" note, the Bible study that I had started the prior week had run out of books and the shipment was late. I had picked up my book late on Thursday afternoon and had planned to start reading that night, but it didn't happen. On Friday afternoon, I pulled out my book and started reading:

"No matter how strong our bodies, minds and emotions may appear, unless we have spiritual tenacity and resolve, we will not be able to run the course God has laid out before us... It is one thing to say that Christ has first place in our life; it is quite another to put those words into practice... During this week, we are going to learn more about Jesus, the One who is altogether faithful and completely worthy of our trust."

The scripture reading was from Colossians 1 - verse 17 in particular jumped out at me: He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Amen! Anyway, it was a very emotional weekend. I just kept praying and reading Scripture and trying really hard not to think about the logistics of recovering from heart surgery or motherless children. Sunday morning, the chorus to the last song had the line, "What would You do with my heart?" and it was such a challenge to me - Was I truly letting Him have it all?!

I had the CT on Wednesday, and then had to wait to hear results... Finally received the call on Friday morning, and the doctor let me know that everything was fine. I don't know if there was a mistake on the echo or if I've experienced miraculous healing, but I do know that God is in control of it all. And while I *know* this, the events of the past few weeks have provided a very vivid lesson that I pray I do not easily forget. I'm excited to continue the Bible study and see what other lessons God has in store for me.

And on another note, I have lost 6 pounds in the last 2 1/2 weeks!! Let me tell you, committing to eat healthier has been a challenge, and it's only through HIM that I was able to get through the past week without inhaling every food in our house...

Friday Funny

2010-09-03T08:14:00.000-04:00

Ran across this through a friend of a friend on Facebook, and I thought it was too funny not to share

New Week...

2010-08-30T09:25:00.003-04:00

So here we are. I've dropped the kids off for their second week of school. After one week, our daughter is loving it (and has already surprised the teacher on several occasions with her advanced knowledge). Our son is doing OK and seems to be connecting better with friends this year (I'm still specifically praying for a new best friend for him, as his moved to Vermont this summer; it was a bitter pill to swallow as he still very much misses his friends in PA)

Me? Well, I'm adapting to the new routine. With this new stage in life, I was wanting to streamline our house (yes, it's an ongoing process), get involved in a Bible study, get better connected with some women and get healthier. I had considered joining Weight Watchers again simply for some accountability (I used their program about 9 years ago, but within 2 years had slipped back into old habits. Had joined about 2 years ago but life was crazy and I just wasn't committed enough). Anyway, a few weeks ago I was talking with a friend of mine and she mentioned that she was going to be co-leading a First Place 4 Health group. Basically, this is a Christian program that is more about health than weight loss - but obviously healthy weight is a big component. It's being held at the church where I attended MOPS last year (no longer involved) - and it starts today. Definitely an answer to prayer, and I'm excited to see what God has in store for me.

So is this going to become a weight loss blog? Definitely not!! :) If you recall, I had started 2010 with the goal of implementing a new "good" habit each month. Great idea... but I didn't do so well. I *need* face-to-face accountability (at least at this stage) and I know this group will really help. While my health is still decent at this point, I know that I will have more energy, feel less achey, etc. at a healthier weight. And well, if I don't make changes, with my family history it's pretty much a sure thing that I will end up with diabetes. Plus, I'd rather help our kids establish healthy patterns now and save them issues down the road. This was our breakfast on Friday - I'd heard about the idea of "green smoothies" (more here and here) and finally decided to give it a try. Our son wasn't so sure about it when he saw me add the spinach, but he took 1 sip and quite happily announced that he couldn't taste the leaves at all ;) So yes, I'll be looking for ways to incorporate more healthful things into our diet - but that means more veggies and less refined foods (although we don't do a ton of that, there is still room for improvement) as opposed to using artificial sweetener in everything. And yes, portion control, too. I will probably will end up sharing parts of my journey, so you've been warned!

In other news, we're also getting plugged in at our new church. Hubby has taken over the sound ministry (oh well, I enjoyed sitting with him during service while it lasted ;) and I'm going to helping out with the children's programs. They're going to be starting up some ladies programs in a few weeks that I'm pretty excited about (a Bible study as well as a weekly craft group - yeehaw!). God is so good! I've even been taking another friend with me to the service for the past couple weeks, and I'm excited to see God at work in her, too.

We've lived here for just over 13 months now, and I must admit it's finally starting to feel like "home." Ahhhhhh.

Love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy. Mark 12:30, Msg

That's our memory verse for this week with First Place. I memorized the NIV version, with the more familiar "heart, soul, mind, strength" components, but I just love the different spin the Message provides!

First Day of School

2010-08-23T09:01:00.003-04:00

And there is my 2nd grader and Kindergartener. Guess who's more excited? :)

(And yes, I know I need to wash my car!)

Good Fear?

2010-08-19T08:31:00.002-04:00

School starts on Monday - and for the first time ever, I will be sending both of my children off. My daughter is excited (and much more ready than her brother was) but I can also tell that she's a bit scared, apprehensive about all the unkowns.

Me? My emotions are all over the place. The selfish part of me is looking forward to having some "free" hours in my day, but another part of me wants to somehow freeze these precious moments. The Mama Bear wants to prevent the tears resulting from playground spats, frustration when a new school topic just isn't sinking in, and the loss of innocence from "learning" things from other kids... and while I know that we could cocoon them a bit longer, it's time to let go (just a bit ;)

This article over on girltalk really spoke to my heart. The world is a fearful place, but focusing on those concerns isn't going to get me anywhere (except possibly to the doctor for anti-anxiety meds!). God is always the right answer :)

The Fear-of-God builds up confidence, and makes a world safe for your children (Prov 14:26, Msg)

Magazine Winner - and zoo trip

2010-08-17T09:35:00.004-04:00

Well, obviously everyone is super excited about a subscription to Cooking Light. At least I don't have to worry about hurting anyone's feelings ;) So without further ado, I'm happy to announce that the winner is #1 (yes, randomly chosen from *all* the entries). Moving on...

We were crazy enough to ignore the heat warning yesterday and go to the zoo. I had planned the excursion with a friend, and I must admit that if there hadn't been another family involved I definitely would have stayed home and soaked up the A/C... but despite the sweating we had a ball. We laughed at monkeys, petted goats, chased chickens (and no, there is not one growing out of my son's head :), and just generally hung out. The zoo has just built a new kid's play area that also has three misting stations, which were definitely the highlight of the day. Afterwards, we went to the zoo-themed McD's and guzzled Powerade. Hooray for free refills! I left my camera home, but here are a couple pics courtesy of my friend:

Vacation Videos

2010-08-10T15:27:00.005-04:00

Come, have a seat on the couch while I set up the slide projector (cue evil laughter...)

Seriously, though, I still haven't gotten through all the pics, but did want to share these couple videos. Sorry about the wind noise on them - nothing I could do about that.

The first one was shot at the campground just outside Red Lodge, MT. Our daughter had gone to the bathroom, and was there a long time. I went to check on her, and thankfully had the camera in my pocket. Obviously she liked the acoustics of the facilities - and doesn't it make for great background music for the majestic scenery?!

This second one is when we were at Old Faithful. The kids were both excited to see the "big" one - and their reactions (fast forward to the end) are hysterical. And yes, that's our son yelling, "It's gonna blow!" at the beginning. Classic.

Later!

Spreading the Magazine Love :)

2010-08-09T22:23:00.003-04:00

Clearly, this is why I NEED so many bloomin' magazines. How funny is that?! Can't imagine it's exactly safe (those glossy covers slide way too easily) but a fun thought nevertheless.

In the meantime, though, I *am* planning to renew my Cooking Light subscription - and today I received a "2 for 1" offer.... So, who out there would like to receive a monthly burst of food inspiration? Leave me a comment, and I'll draw a winner next Monday!

Helloooooo!

2010-08-05T14:59:00.003-04:00

I have good intentions, and even several partially written posts. But the days seem to be passing quickly - the kids start school soon, and we've been quite busy (doctor's appointments, church events, family water fights, arguments in the aisle at Target over colors of school supplies, etc.) I still have hundreds of pictures from our month-long jaunt to weed through, but realistically probably won't be getting around to posting anything until the kids are in school... I keep telling myself that I'll somehow have more *time* once that happens. Realistically, I already have a planned project list that could probably keep me occupied through 2013.

A few random blurbs:

We ran errands this morning, and were gone over 5 hours. Ridiculous!
On the way home, my car thermometer read 109. Also ridiculous!!!
I'm really trying hard to savor these next two weeks, but frankly I'm quite ready to hand my children off to the school for a few hours a day.
I know that many families are very passionate about homeschooling. We are not one of them.
I really missed good tortillas while we were away.
I think we finally have a church home. Not perfect (obviously) but it's so wonderful to be establishing connections within a church family once again.
I tend to over-think things. More action needed!
I'm glad that White Collar is back on.
I really need to mop my kitchen floor.

Now that I've gotten all that out of the way, it's time to spring into action and get a few more things accomplished. Later! ;)

Home.

2010-07-25T01:55:00.002-04:00

Ahhhh. I cannot convey the true depth of my appreciation for home.

Our mattress. The kitchen (where I'm already familiar with all its quirks). My high-capacity washing machine. Cable TV and good internet service :)

Seriously, I had a wonderful time in Montana, and we made some wonderful memories as a family... but there's something sublime about coming HOME.

A ton to catch up on (indcluding over 2000 posts in Google Reader - sorry if I happened to miss a gem that you posted) but I hope to get to pics later this week. Lots of fun to share!

Proud to Be An American

2010-07-04T14:00:00.000-04:00

Hello from Montana!

2010-07-01T11:12:00.003-04:00

I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop in Billings, checking up on the "outside" world. (My parents are on dial-up, and none of their neighbors have unsecured networks... bummer!) In case you haven't heard, Hurrican Alex hit Mexico/South Texas, and our home was definitely affected. I'm up in Montana with the kids visiting my parents, and my hubby will be flying up in 2 weeks - I'm thankful that he was there to prepare our house, but it was hard not being able to physically assist. Lots of prayers went up, though! There was lots of rain and wind (and continues to be) but it seems that all is OK. Huuuuuge sigh of relief.

We are definitely enjoying the cooler temps here. I've done a bit of shopping and strolling down Memory Lane :) We're planning to celebrate the 4th by going to a parade, then watching fireworks. My kiddos will be thrilled! Then we're pulling out on Monday afternoon for 2 days of camping - should be fun!

Don't know when I'll be posting again, but I promise to share some pics from Big Sky Country soon...

Getting back to "normal"

2010-06-03T14:54:00.002-04:00

...whatever that is!

It's officially summertime at the D House. Memorial Day weekend was spent with family, playing tourist in Port Isabel, swimming, and even a bit of fishing. (I have pics, but haven't tackled the photo uploading/editing process on this new computer. Soon, soon!) We're settling back into a bit of a routine - a challenge since I no longer get to turn our son over to the elementary school for a chunk o' the day ;) Seriously, though, I think I'm nearly caught up and "recovered." The kids definitely sensed my emotional state as they've both been very well-behaved these past couple days and providing lots of hugs for me. Nothing better than impromptu kid squeezes & exclamations of, "You're the best mom in the whole world!" to cheer a person up. (On a side note, who knew spending $10 at Burger King was all it took to earn the Top Mommy crown?!?)

Still a lot more projects I'm hoping to tackle this month. I did manage to paint both the dining area & kitchen in May, and already have paint for two more rooms. Realistically, though, I don't think I'll be doing that until September; I want to work on general organization this summer so that things are running more smoothly when school starts back up in the fall. Now that we've been here for 10 months (how on earth did that happen?!) I have a pretty good idea of what's working & what isn't and am ready to switch around storage areas and such. And yes, still more decluttering.... there's still too much stuff in this household!!

The next two weeks include VBS for the kiddos at 2 different churches (I have been known to mock parents who "use" these programs this way. No more!), I have a couple of follow-up doctor & dentist appointments, and yes - more company arrives :)

And just a forewarning - I've been thinking a lot about hospitality these past couple weeks. Imagine that! You'll probably be seeing a post about that sometime next week.

Whew...

2010-05-26T21:57:00.002-04:00

It's been a fuuuuuuull few weeks, and I'm ready for a break.

I used to think that one day hubby and I should open our own bed & breakfast.

I now think that's a dreadful idea.

We've had nonstop company for over 4 weeks now, and I am done. I am sick of having people in "my" space. I want to stagger into the kitchen in the morning to start the coffee without thinking about what I'm wearing. I want to cook smaller meals. And do less laundry.

Don't get me wrong - I've had a lovely time and am truly grateful that we had this opportunity. And I'm also looking forward to another round of company in a few weeks.

It probably doesn't help that all of this coincided with end of school activities, stomach viruses, dental work (ouch!), setting up new electronics, church heartache and work-related craziness for my hubby.

This girl is very ready for a couple do-nothing days. I specifically have one set aside next week because I knew I would be drained. I'm downright giddy over the idea of not making conversation with anyone, and I'm even planning to provide fast food for my kids' bellies that day. Bliss.

Friday Funny

2010-05-21T20:00:00.002-04:00

Wasn't planning one this week, but I thought the post-dinner conversation was worth sharing :)

Son: Daddy, why do you have a beard?
Dad: Because I like it. Do you want one?
Son: No, I think they're ugly.
Dad: What?!
Son: (giggling) But I wouldn't say that to you.
Dad: But you just did!
Son: Well, I won't say it a lot because that's rude.

Friday Funny

2010-05-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

Week in Review

2010-05-13T23:52:00.003-04:00

Sorry I've been so quiet - much mayhem at our house. Setting up a new TV/Stereo system. Guests. Vomiting. Reboxing 80 pounds of stereo components due a faulty amp, and then getting the run-around from UPS. Completion of daughter's ballet classes. Visit to the ear specialist with our son (we're not supposed to let him swim the rest of the summer - yeah, right!!!!!) Killing the stinkin' flies that seem determined to overrun our house. Consolidating the hard drives on old computer so we can get the new one set up. Chasing down computer cables that evidently aren't stocked within 200 miles of this place. Cooking. Laundry. Continued relational challenges. Tears of frustration. Prayers. Fearfulness when hearing about the anticipated miniwar taking place this weekend in Mexico. More prayers.

O GOD, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is. So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Psalm 63:1-3, Amplified

Are you that woman?!

2010-05-08T08:54:00.001-04:00

Admit it... if you were raised in the church, you probably have heard a lot about the paragon of virtue in Proverbs 31. I must admit that I have been guilty of an internal groan when I learn a speaker will be using that passage. There's a great post over here about the other woman in Proverbs - you know, the naughty one that Solomon repeatedly warns against. I know I found myself convicted with several of the probing questions.

Friday Funny

2010-05-07T08:27:00.000-04:00

I do enjoy British humor, and Mr. Bean is no exception. Here's how he'd look as a Na'vi - lots more silliness here.

Instead of worrying - pray!!

2010-05-06T13:53:00.005-04:00

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse... Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Philippians 4:4-9, The Message

I know God is in control of all situations. He will create beauty from our messes, and His Plans will not be thwarted. But the fact remains that we humans do indeed muck things up, sadly sometimes even "in His name."

Please continue to pray for us. We are once again searching for a church. My heart aches.

Beneath the Couch Cushions

Stuff.

Science Night

What happened to January?

Here we go again!!

Sweets for the sweet - and family members, too

Christmas Recap

Christmas Ponderings

Friday Funny

Christmas Lists

Friday Funny

Entering the most wonderful (and busy!) time of the year

Update from the funhouse

Friday Funny

Halloween at our house

Friday Funny

Spirit/Red Ribbon Week

Drawing lines?

Blatherings.

Friday Funny

October in South TX

Picture Day Practice

Random Bits

Settling back in...

Friday Funny

Oh happy day!

Busy summer...

Mommy Makeover

Friday Funny

Kitchen progress report

Friday Funny

Krazy Kids

Friday Funny

Kinder Circus

Weekend Update

Friday Funny

Toothy Grin

Lovely Weekend

Friday Funny

Friday Funny

Catch-Up Photos

Hearts at Home Miraculous Blog Hop

Monthly Check-In Time

Random Advice

Friday Funny

Handling Life

Friday Fun

Little Blessings

Recommended Reading

Day in Pictures

Monday, Monday

Hello again...

Frozen Friday

February Check-In

Bowl = Comfort

Wahoo!!

Happy Birthday!

Friday Funny

Kitchen Update

It's a new year...

Christmas Morning Make-Ahead Baked French Toast

Friday Funny

Sing it Saturday

Friday Funny

Birthday Build: Done!

Celebrating!

Friday Funny

Eeek!

The Scent of the Holidays...

Thanksgiving

Belated Friday Funny

My Weight Loss Journey (Part 1)

What's new?

Friday Funny

Nesting

Finding Little Pleasures

An unusual birthday

A Taste of Fall

Friday Funny

Ponderings - with pictures!

Are you that woman?!