The Book Closest to Me

Unless the husband is sinning or asking his wife or others to sin, after an appeal is made, the wife must assume that his final decision is God's will for her at the moment--even if she must suffer for the sake of righteousness.

This sentence is taken from Martha Peace's The Excellent Wife. The context of this sentence is found in the chapter called God's Provision: Resources for the Wife's Protection. It directly refers to a wife making a biblical appeal. I am currently doing a Bible study with a couple of gals using this book. I don't want to comment directly on this subject since I have not read this part of the book yet. I'll comment after I've finished the book though! I will say that so far, the book has proven helpful to me. It is full of things that I already know but it has caused me to stop and really ponder how I can be "the excellent wife" to my husband. This book answers that question very simply by quoting tons of Scripture that refer to our job as wives.

I guess you're wondering why I'm telling you this, right? I should have mentioned that first! Well, I saw this meme over at Corrie's and I wanted to play along. If you'd like to play along, please do. Here are the rules:

1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open it to page 161.
3. Find the fifth full sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence to your blog.
*Don't search around for the coolest book you have, use the one that is really next to you.*
I’ll leave the tagging to you…play if you want and let me know if you do,so I can come read yours.

Have fun!

Thursday Thirteen # 6

Thirteen Books On My TBR List

These are in no specific order and are only thirteen of the books I want to read soon. I have bookshelves full of things I want to read!

1. 90 Minutes In Heaven by Don Piper. I am currently reading this one and will be done is a couple of nights. I'll post about it when I'm done.
2. Even Now by Karen Kingsbury. I tend to like alot of her stuff and this book is getting off to a great start. I have also just started it.
3. Silas Marner. I have wanted to read this book forever and I finally bought it a while back.
4. Let Me Be A Woman by Elisabeth Elliot. She inspires me.
5. Fidelity by Douglas Wilson. I love Doug and Nancy Wilson and their books are very applicable. I find tons of ways to apply them to my life.
6. For The Children's Sake by Susan Macaulay.
7. Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. I started reading this several months ago but put it down. I had just watched The End of the Spear and I was still very emotional from it. This is probably one of the next books I'll read.
8. Reforming Marriage by Douglas Wilson. I've already stated that the Wilson's write books that are very applicable to life. I believe this one will be an excellent source of encouragement for married couples and even those who are planning to marry.
9. Jack's Life by Douglas Gresham. This is the life story of C.S. Lewis and I think it'll be an interesting read. My oldest daughter will start reading it soon and I'll get it after she finishes.
10. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. This sounds like a good one. I'm probably going to cry ALOT while reading this one! I'll be sure to post about it when I get to it. I found this book at a thrift store for 50 cents!
11. Tales from the Bed by Jenifer Estess. This one also sounds good and I got it for 50 cents! Can't go wrong with those kinds of bargains!
12. Training Children In Godliness by Jacob Abbott. This one doesn't need an explanation. I have children and I want to teach them to be godly.
13. The Real Lincoln by Thomas Dilorenzo. I've read the forward for this one and it's going to be meaty. It's going to be a lot for me to deal with since I was educated in government schools and have a skewed vision of Lincoln. All I ever heard was what a great man he was. I think this book will be a real wake up call for many who have only heard one side of Lincoln's character and life.

There you have it. These are thirteen books I want to start and finish soon. Right now, I am reading 90 Minutes In Heaven and Even Now. I'm not sure if I'll continue to read two books at one time but I'm trying it out to see how it goes. To see more TT participants, go here.

My Sick Baby

My baby is pretty sick this morning. She spent most of the night throwing up and itching to death. We started noticing her weird habits last night and when we looked closer, we noticed that she had raised marks on her belly. After some short research on the internet, we've diagnosed her with having poison ivy. We think she ingested some of it and that's why she's throwing up. She threw up a few times before dinner last night and she's thrown up even more since then. I think some of that is from the shrimp tales we threw in the yard...she apparently ate them all!

This is my baby, Sadie:

So this morning I'll be calling the vet and probably taking my baby to the vet. Last night, the only thing that helped her itching was giving her a good long bath. That seemed to help the itching somewhat but then the throw up marathon started. I'd never heard of a dog getting poison ivy. Most of the time, this wouldn't be an issue because dogs tend to get poison ivy on their fur and pass it on to anyone who pets them. A few weeks ago, I had Sadie shaved down to her ankles because it's getting hot and I usually do this in the summer. I don't want any ticks attaching to her longer hair, etc. It seems that since her hair is shaved off, the poison ivy got directly on her skin OR she ingested most of it and that caused the big marks on her tum-tum. All I know is that this is the strangest thing that has happened to this dog yet.

Not only do I have to contend with the ants that are still in my kitchen, but today I'll add upchuck cleaner to the list. From the look of things, I'll be doing that ALL day long! If any of you have pets, please be aware that they can get poison ivy and if they do get it, it's pure MISERY for them! I hope Sadie will feel better afterwhile. We'll see what the vet says!

Weekend Reflection # 16

Lots going on this week! It seems I've been saying that for the past few weeks! I guess it's mostly because we have alot of construction going on around our house and whenever that happens, we have lots of messes to clean up!

Around the House: Ahhhhh, where do I start! The deck is coming along nicely. My FIL and BIL have been doing little things every spare moment they can. They wired in a few receptacles this week and are putting up our storm door today. It's alot of work and I am very appreciative for their diligence to help get it done. Jeff and I were able to screen in a portion of the porch one night when he got in from work.

The ants are still dominating my kitchen. I have no desire to cook or even be in there right now! This happens every spring/summer and I am always crabby until they are gone. It's so hot this year that I'm afraid they won't go away as quickly. We are hoping to spray around the perimeter of the house this evening to kill some of the little buggers! If they don't go away soon, I think I'll have a breakdown!

The girls and I planted some poppies, zinnias, and some carnations in the garden this week. The zinnias are already popping up and that's very exciting. We also noticed that our okra, cucumbers, carrots, onions, and marigolds are sprouting. This is very exciting to the girls! Planting a garden was such a good idea for several reasons but the biggest joy I'm getting from it right now is the look on their faces every morning when they run out to check out what's popping up! I'll be posting about the whole experience a little later this week. The girls even taped some video to share with y'all soon!

Homeschooling: Caroline finished her phonics workbook and her spelling book this week! Yay! We'll be concentrating hard on math now. She had a little trouble with a few things so we slowed way down so that she could learn at her pace. I didn't want to risk going too quickly and her missing some things. She generally masters concepts pretty well but for some reason, she likes to jet through math. Because of that, she has failed to master several simple concepts. That's ok though...we use Saxon Math and everyone who homeschools knows about Saxon. It's very repetitive! Just ask our oldest, Logan. She can tell you all about how much she loves her Saxon Math!

As for Logan, she continues to work on finishing her Switched On Schoolhouse. She seems to like this curriculum and I have no objections since it's all computer based. It's much easier to keep up with her books (because she doesn't have any!) and her assignments. We will continue to use Saxon Math so she will have those books from here until she finishes school. Right now I have Logan focusing on writing. I'm not happy with her writing skills. She is an avid reader and reads good literature. We expect her writing to reflect the good qualities of the things she has read and that's not been happening. She writes like she talks. There are only so many times I like to see a sentence start that way. She is doing better though and I've tried to work with her before she starts writing assignments and that has seemed to help.

Extra Curricular Activities: On Thursday, I took Caroline to the arts center a little early so that she could meet with a music teacher before her ballet class. We know that Caroline has musical ability but so far, she has chosen to express herself through ballet. Since Jeff expects both girls to at least try some musical instrument, we felt like this was the perfect opportunity to see what Caroline seemed interested in. I dropped her off and when I came back an hour later to pick her up, she and the music teacher took me aside and Caroline played me a simple song on the piano. I was thrilled! So, it looks as though she will add piano lessons to her weekly schedule.

Logan has expressed an interest in learning to play guitar. I was already very excited from Caroline's piano playing so I came straight home and asked Jeff to please start giving Logan guitar lessons. He gave her a lesson that night and she seems to like it. She is learning chords right now and as soon as she learns those, he'll teach her a few songs. This is very exciting because Logan is generally a very shy kid. She isn't much for being involved in extra curricular things. She has been practicing every chance she has and I am thrilled!

Today, Jeff, Caroline, and myself enjoyed going to a festival in a neighboring town. Jeff and the band he plays with were opening the festival. We always enjoy going with him and we had a great time. After the festival, the band treated us all to lunch at Bella's. They have awesome pizza and I enjoyed two big slices! Yum-O! Logan stayed home to help my FIL and BIL do some things on the deck. She was their supervisor! LOL! Here's a picture of the band marching down the street. You can't miss Jeff! He's the one with blue bug eyes! Can I just say that I hate his sunglasses and yes, he knows it! It makes his eyes look like giant bee eyes!

Everything Else: I had the pleasure of being sick for two or three days this week. Seasonal allergies are a real killer for me! When they hit, I just have to go to bed. That's precisely what happened this week. I spent almost an entire day in bed and was in and out of bed two others. I still sound like Kermit the Frog but I'm getting better. I'm looking forward to worship tomorrow and the refreshment I always get from God's Word.

Jenny and Kasi bailed on our Bible study this week but we've rescheduled for this Friday! We'll see if they come through for me! LOL! I'm just giving you a hard time girls! I really just want them to come over so we can do our study and then spend some quality girl time together with our kiddos! I have my scrapbooking table set up and I'm ready to start cropping so they'd better get ready! We're hoping to do things like that after we complete our study.

I'm Thankful For: So many things but I'll name a few at the top of my list:

• God's Word. I've been learning alot during my studies about my role as a wife. God is so clear about our job as wife and mother. I hope that I will take what I'm learning and apply it so that I may better bless my husband and daughters.
• Wonderful pastors. What wonderful pastors we have. I am so thankful for each of them and their families. They each bless me in different ways and I know I am eternally benefiting from their teaching.
• My husband and daughters. They love me unconditionally and I love that! I have so many flaws but they love me in spite of all of those. I don't tell them on a daily basis but I love being a part of their lives. They are each so unique and special to me. They bring so much enjoyment to my life and I thank them for that.
• God's provision. He meets our needs in every way and we want for nothing.
• Annie and Jenny. I have learned so much about Annie through her blog and I really feel like I know her. She is such an inspiration to me. She carries such a heavy load but you'd never know it. She does it with grace and love and I don't think I've ever noticed any complaints. I cannot tell you how much this blesses me. Jenny is my RL friend and has always inspired me. From the days when our kids were in public school together, to homeschooling co-op together, to the loss of her fourth-born, Sam, and then the loss of her fifth-born, Gus, Jenny has been my friend. I don't think I've met a stronger person. She isn't afraid to cry and express her sadness at the loss of her children but she is always quick to speak of the blessings God has brought to her through these losses. Honestly, I pray that if I ever experience the hardships that she has, that God will strengthen me as He has her. She is the kind of person that you just want to be around. She's funny, she's wacky (my favorite quality about her), she's spiritually minded, and you can see how God has worked in her life. It's so very evident. Thanks to both of these gals for being so "out there" with things so personal to them. It really teaches so much about compassion, strength, and trust in the Lord.

I hope all of you have had a wonderful week! I hope you that when you worship God tomorrow, you'll remember all of the wonderful things He has done for you and given you and that you will remember to be thankful to Him. I'll leave you with this question and answer from the Heidelberg Catechism:

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I belong, body and soul, in life and in death, not to myself but to my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of His own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that He protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; Indeed, that everything must fit His purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him. Thanks be to God.

The Restaurant Meme

Mandalyn tagged me for this meme I'll call the restaurant meme! Anyone who knows me knows that I love food so it will be a challenge to name only 5 of my favorite places! I'll give it my best effort! We live in east Tennessee in the United States and we enjoy our southern cookin'! Huh, we just enjoy food! Here are the rules:

Link to name of person that tagged you.
Include state and country you live in.
List top five favorite local restaurants.
Tag 5 other people and let them know they've been tagged.

1. Crazy Tomato--This is an Italian place in the town near us. They have wonderful food and we love several of the things they serve. Our favorite is their jumbo pepperoni pizza which is an 18' pizza. This baby is loaded with cheese and IS NOT figure friendly! LOL! They also have things like stuffed tomatoes, great salads, etc. Their prices are also very reasonable. That big jumbo pizza is only $11.95!
2. Dixie BBQ--This one needs no explanation! We love us some BBQ and Dixie has the best! I think I'd say hands down the best BBQ joint in the area, although we have several others that are fabulous! Dixie BBQ has a great atmosphere, wonderful beach music, great pulled pork, awesome sauce, and the best BBQ beans I've eaten to date! Mmm Mmm good! If you're ever near Johnson City, TN, give me a holler and I'll take you to lunch here! I love a good excuse to eat at this place! In fact, I may go there for lunch today! **Update** I did go here for lunch today and it was so very good! I also forgot to mention earlier that this place is the epitome of all things southern. They play Andy Griffith reruns and the decor makes this joint very lively and fun! Oh, and I have to mention that the East TN red BBQ sauce I ate today is my all time favorite!
3. Mad Greek--The name gives it away so yes, it is a Greek place. It's owned by a Greek lady who lives near us. This place is wonderful. They have tons of things on the menu and everything is excellent. They have great pizza, stromboli, calzones, gyros (Jeff's fav), baklava, and a host of other things. They also cook up American food for those picky eaters. Did I mention that they have great prices?!!!
4. El Matador-- Without a doubt, our favorite type of food is Mexican. We LOVE it! This place is not much to look at but boy is the food out of this world! They have authentic Mexican and the staff is a friendly bunch. We've been going here for years and have enjoyed many great memories here. The manager (who is no longer there) used to bring his guitar to the table and sing to the girls. They loved it! They have huge portions and it's hard to leave anything on your plate. It's just that good! Did I mention that their salsa is YUM-O (as Rachel Ray would say!). You have to try it if you're in the area!
5. La Campina-- I have to mention this Mexican place because again, it's our favorite type of food! It's within a few miles of us and is just good, good, good! They have Fajita Nachos (which Jeff and I love) and it is probably the best thing I've ever eaten! It consists of flour tortilla chips smothered with white queso, pico de gallo, chicken or beef, lettuce, tomatoes, and a dollop of guacamole on top....not just any guacamole, the BEST guacamole I've ever eaten! It's so light and fresh. Yummmmmmmmy!

There are plenty of other little places in our area that are so good. I wish I could name them all but these are a few of our favorites. Come on down and yell at us and we'll take you to lunch!

I'll tag Jenny, Shawna, and Stacy unless they've already played along! If anyone else would like to join in the fun, please do and let me know if you do. I'd love to hear of other great places to eat in other parts of the country.

 

10 Goodies

Ten Things That Make Life A Bit Easier

1. My cell phone: We do not have a home phone and only use our cell phones. This helps cut down on time I would normally spend sorting through calls from telemarketers! It has a camera built in. It also has video capability. I thought I'd never use some of these features but they have proven to be very handy.
2. My digital camera: It's small, light weight, can record video, and can hold lots of pictures. I love cameras because they capture so many beautiful moments.
3. My Toyota Echo. This car is small but roomy. The best feature is that it gets between 40-44 mpg. Since gas prices are out the roof, this car makes my life easier because it doesn't take as much dough out of my wallet to drive it!
4. Gmail: Email makes life easier but Gmail goes beyond that. It's easier to weed through spam and you can access it from anywhere! I love email because I hate talking on the phone. I stay in touch with family and friends more than if I had to call them.
5. My thyroid medicine: My hubby will back me up on this one....without my medicine, I'd be a walking zombie. I have hypothyroidism and stay tired alot. If I go a few days without my meds, watch out! You'll find me laying somewhere looking like I'm in a coma or if you try and have a conversation with me, you'll find that I slur like there's no tomorrow! LOL!
6. The Internet: Thank you Al Gore for inventing the internet! LOL! Seriously, the internet has made life sooooo much easier. Homeschooling wouldn't be the same without access to the wealth of information the internet has to offer. I use it daily in our schooling as well as many other personal uses.
7. My Check Card: It's quicker and more convenient than using paper checks. It is deducted automatically from my account. Enough said!
8. Sister Schubert Rolls: Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of eating these know that they ROCK! They taste like homemade without all the work! They are already baked and frozen in bags. You pop them into the oven for 10 minutes to brown them up and viola! What comes out of the oven is a soft, yummy, warm yeast roll! Mmmmmmmm!
9. My Westbend Crock Pot: From what I understand, this model isn't made anymore. Let me just say that it has been wonderful! Crock pots make it easier on us anyway but my favorite soup (Santa Fe Soup) is cooked in the crock pot! It's nice to occasionally throw some things into it, leave, and come back hours later to smell a wonderful party cooking all through my house!
10. DVD Player: TV reruns driving you mad? Not anymore! Thank goodness for DVD players! We rarely ever watch cable but watch movies like crazy! I especially love my DVD player on weekend afternoons when there's nothing to do besides pop in Pride & Prejudice while knitting or attempting to scrapbook! Buy it! I promise you'll love it!

I saw this list over at Lori's so hop on over and read her list!

Thursday Thirteen # 5

13 Things I Want To Complete Before Memorial Day

1. Put up all the laundry I've washed the past two days! LOL! I told you I was bad at putting it up!
2. Put up new light fixture in the hallway. We've had it for two weeks but have made no effort to put it up!
3. Get rid of the ants that have decided to invade my kitchen! They do this every year when it starts to get hot! I hate them I tell ya'!
4. Get some pictures cropped. I have everything laid out but getting to it is another story!
5. Finish Chapter 3 of the Bible study I'm doing. Jenny, Kasi (who doesn't blog) and I are using Martha Peace's The Excellent Wife. We were supposed to meet this Friday to discuss the first three chapters but these two gals bailed on me! LOL! No, really, it's Kasi's birthday tomorrow and Jenny's hubby will be home so it makes sense that she wants to spend time with him instead of me!
6. Finish going through the homeschooling material I have pulled out in my bedroom. I'm trying to weed out some things and I always find it so hard to "let go" of things!
7. Plant some more carnations, zinnias, and poppies. I've planted some in our Square Foot Garden along side our veggies. My hope is to plant more at the foot of our new deck. I'll cut these and enjoy them inside!
8. Get rid of this allergy related thing that has attacked my sinuses.
9. Balance my checkbook and pay my bills.
10. Even though we are still working on the deck, I'd like to get the covered portion cleared out a little so we could sit out there in the evenings. Right now it's filled with tools and it's breaking me down! LOL!
11. Grind up some wheat berries and bake a few loaves of bread.
12. Make a trip to the Amish store for dried pineapples and other ingredients for breadmaking.
13. Make a plan for Memorial Day! LOL! We usually cook out but we've not formally planned anything yet!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here.

View other Thursday Thirteen participants here.

 

The Meme About Me

I found this neat meme over at Stacy's and I thought it would be fun.

What were you doing 10 years ago? May 1997: I was going to college, working at Office Max, spending my life mostly alone. My family lived at least 1 1/2 hours away and although I had friends, I didn't hang out with them much. I mostly worked, went to school, and went home. In October of 1997, I met Jeff and we started seeing each other. We were married in December 1997.

What were you doing 1 year ago? The most exciting thing in our house at that time was the five (2 month old) kitties we were helping. There were kittens everywhere and we were loving it. You see, a stray mama cat lived in our woods and had given birth to at least three litters of kittens in the past, of which, only one survived. We had "taken mama cat hostage" and she gave birth to the kittens in our house in March. By May, these little boogers were running around everywhere and basically owned our house!

Five snacks you enjoy: This is an easy one! Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop Tarts (my fav), Reese's PB cups, Three Musketeers, dried pineapples, and queso n' chips.

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to: "Homecoming" by Rhonda Vincent, "Home" by Michael Buble', "Pacific Time" by Kenny and Amanda Smith, "Man in the Mirror" by Mountain Heart, and my favorite right now, "How Can I Keep From Singing" by Chris Tomlin.

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire: Pay off all debt, buy a farm and animals, pay off my mom and my in-laws debt, invest some and put some in savings, give to our church, and adopt several children. Yes, I know that's six things!

Five bad habits: Eating junk food late at night, folding laundry and letting it sit in baskets for days before putting it up, not going to bed when I should, not taking my thyroid medicine when I'm supposed to, and my cleaning obsession. I like to vacuum the carpet and not walk on it! LOL!

Five things you like doing: Blogging, scrapbooking (or at least attempting to), watching movies with Jeff, having company over and making a big meal, and homeschooling my kids.

Five things you would never wear again: My red leather Michael Jackson coat (don't have it anymore either! Thank goodness!), red Reeboks ( had these when I was in high school), bikini (I've never worn one and never will), baseball hat (I lost hair because of this one), and big hoop earrings.

Five favorite toys: Computer, digital camera, oven (I love to experiment with dessert recipes), microwave (cooks in half the time!), sewing machine.

*Instructions*: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone else up a place. Add your blog to the bottom slot like this:

Pieces of Me

The blog. Yep. The blog.

Dog's Eye View

Vader's Mom

Mo Mhile Gra

Next, select five people to tag:

Jenny

Holly

Shawna

And anyone else who'd like to play along....

 

 

Time Travel Tuesday--My First Blog

Here's my first attempt at Time Travel Tuesday, hosted by Annie. Each week, we visit a past time in our life and this week we're going back to our first blog. My first blog post was in January 2007. I had been reading the blog of my RL friend Jenny, and she inspired me to start my own blog. I loved the idea of sharing my life with others and any opportunity to talk about my family is a big plus! My first was a brief introduction about our family....

 

After lurking for many months, my family and I have decided to start a blog here.  It's our first attempt at a real blog and we are learning alot!  We are excited to share our lives with you.  My husband and I live in East Tennessee with our two daughters, four cats, miniature schnauzer, and two fish. (We really have a thing for animals!)

Many wonderful things have happened as a result of my blogging. I've met many wonderful ladies and I love that! I feel like I have friends all over the world and that's an awesome feeling! I have talked about my family more and I love doing that. I've been able to write about alot of things my kids do and they have enjoyed that! LOL! I've even been able to connect with my extended family more through the blog. They read it on occasion and always email me to tell me when they enjoy the post. Blogging has been a nice addition to my list of hobbies. It's probably a hobby that I will enjoy for years to come. I think blogging lends itself to our being able to express ourselves more freely. My hubby has been able to laugh alot because of my blogging! He gets really cracked up when I tell him about something that one of you have shared and I have to remind him that Annie, or Jenny, or Shawna, or Holly, or JennaG, or Mandalyn, or Amberly, or Lauren are my "blogging friends". I'm sure he thinks I'm a nut! LOL! I must say that I have really enjoyed getting to know each of you and that blogging has really been a wonderful experience so far. It's everything I thought it would be.

I originally started blogging at HomeschoolBlogger and switched to Blogger a few months ago. I switched mainly because I felt it was easier to connect with other Blogger members if I had a blog here. I also had a hard time with HSB because my posts would get "eaten" alot. If you're interested to know what I blogged about before coming here, check out my HSB blog here. When all is said and done, I look forward to waking up everyday and reading about all of your new adventures. It's really cool!

No Menu Plan Monday

Forget it! There's no way I'm making a menu this week. I thought about it but I'm abandoning that idea! Why, you ask? Well, JennaG got me all motivated for this May Day Weight Loss Challenge hosted by Tales from the Scales . Then, I thought it would be a great idea to have a specific diet for this challenge so I picked up Holly's idea of the South Beach Diet. I spent last week "preparing" myself for Phase I of the South Beach Diet by cutting back on the number of carbs I eat. First off, let me say that my normal eating plan consists of mainly sugar and carbs. I know, I know, it's not good for me. I eat a meal just to get to dessert. I have been doing that for the past four or five years.

Today was the first day of Phase I. I really hadn't prepared myself because I haven't been able to check the book out at the library. I found some info online and went with that. It was alot of info to take in at one time and I screwed up half of what I read. Phase I is the lovely stage where you restrict carbs....no rice, no taters, no bread. Sheesh! When I do eat, these are the things that I eat, with a little meat thrown in. I told myself I could do it and I did. I think the hardest thing is that I can eat sandwich meat but not bread. How do you eat a sandwich that way??!!!! Can someone please tell me what I was thinking?!!

Tonight we sat down for supper and my husband just started cracking up. He'd glanced over at my plate to see my ham and cheese omelet, a stick of lowfat cheese, salad, and a dill pickle! LOL! I had made soup beans, corn bread, and some meat for him and the girls. This is one of our favorite meals but I thought I could give it up. Phase I only lasts two weeks and then I can start adding carbs back into the diet. Still, my plate was quite hilarious....a dill pickle and an omelet?!!! When I think about it, I get grossed out! Jeff was giggling so hard and wanted to grab the camera and take a picture of my plate. He opted not to because he thought he was going to discourage me from the diet. Well I am discouraged but not because he giggled at me. It's really hard to come up with things to eat that do not work against the diet. Then there's the fact that I let myself hang onto this 20 extra pounds instead of getting in gear and keeping myself in shape. Makes me made at myself.

Maybe I'll be able to plan a menu in a couple of weeks. I hope I can stick this out for the two weeks of Phase I. I think Phase II will be easier to deal with. After all, 20 pounds is not that much really. I just want to wake up in two weeks and find that I'm 8 pounds lighter from restricting my carbs! LOL! That isn't too much to ask from a diet is it?!!!

Weekend Reflection # 15

Wow, what a week! I haven't been able to blog since Tuesday. I think that explains how busy it's been in our house this week! Lots of things have been happening and lots of things have been accomplished this week. I am very thankful to my family for their help around the house and on the projects we had in the works. Let me just brag about my girls for a minute....my girls are wonderful. They are so helpful and I'm sure I don't express my gratitude near enough but I am VERY blessed to have them as my daughters. I cannot tell you how they help me day in and day out. I have hypothyroidism and even though I am on medication, I stay tired a lot. The girls are always quick to help me pick up the slack whenever I am having one of those days where all I want to do is take a nap! I love you girls!

Here's how our week went.

Last Sunday: Mother's Day! We attended worship and then came home to rest. We cooked out here in the evening and my MIL, FIL, and BIL came over to join us. My MIL and FIL brought me a beautiful plant for our new deck. It's found a nice place out there and is just gorgeous! Thanks you guys! We grilled burgers and I made some cowboy beans. YUM! After we ate, we talked MIL and FIL into watching Facing the Giants with us. As I've mentioned before, we have seen this movie a few times and bought it when it came out on DVD. I am convinced that I will never be able to watch this movie without crying like a baby (neither can Jeff!). The in-laws loved the movie and they both boohooed some too. It was a wonderful way to spend Mother's Day. Oh, I forgot to mention that I made an awesome cake for dessert. It was called Chocolate Lovers Cake out of The Baking Bible cookbook. It was two 9-inch chocolate layer cakes with holes poked in the tops of each, raspberry preserves spread over each top while it was still warm, a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and chocolate chips heated until the chips melted and then spread on top of one layer cake, the second layer cake stacked on top, and a homemade chocolate ganache to ice the entire cake. It was dripping with chocolate. Well, ok, the chocolate didn't drip but I mean that there was so much chocolate everywhere! Honestly, I thought it would be too chocolatey but it was perfect. When I bit into it and tasted the raspberry preserves, I thought I would melt! LOL! It was very tasty and everyone loved it!

Monday: Not much went on besides our normal activities. A few things were done to the deck and we had a good day homeschooling. Jeff's been working alot and had a conference call Monday night.

Tuesday: Jeff has bagpipe practice this night every week from 7 to about 11. He surprised me by showing up at home around 9pm from practice. Things ended way early because the pipe major wasn't there and so having him home early was a nice treat. Caroline had ballet class from 4 to 5pm. I ran my usual errands while Caroline was in class.

Wednesday and Thursday: Pretty normal days. Nothing much to note. Caroline had ballet class again on Thursday. I had the wonderful job of having the oil changed in one of our vehicles and also had the tires rotated. I know, exciting! LOL! I was glad to get it done because Jeff has to really plan to get this done because of work. I was happy that I was able to lighten his load by getting it out of the way.

Friday: We were busy working in the yard this day. Jeff did all the mowing and weed killing. He's also on a mission to kill all of the moss in our backyard so he put lime all over it. It's funny because the backyard looks like it's been dusted with snow (the lime is powder). A few more things were done on the deck and it's coming along. We grilled hamburger steaks, had baked potatoes and salad, and tried a new salad dressing. We bought Kraft brand Sun Dried Tomato dressing. Now, I'm a Ranch or Raspberry Vinaigrette kinda girl and I made up my mind that there was no way I'd like this dressing. OH MY!!! I could not believe how heavenly it was when I tasted it! It's tangy, but not too tangy and is so very yummy! I'll be marinating some chicken tenders in it to grill this week! I'm telling you, you need to try this dressing! Needless to say, it was a most excellent meal!

Friday evening, Jeff decided to till the space for our garden. Everyone got into it! Caroline was tilling and I did also. I had never used a tiller and it was quite fun. We tilled out a 10x10 space for the garden and called it a night! We watched The Fountain and I have to say that while I enjoyed it somewhat, it was just plain weird. I got it, don't get me wrong. I just don't understand why it took two hours to get to the end of the movie. It seemed like alot of stuff to throw in with not a lot of need for it. Maybe it's just me. I guess I just expected more from a Hugh Jackman film.

Saturday: I'm still recovering from Saturday. My bones ache and I have a sunburn on my forehead and neck from being outside all day in the sun! We finally got our garden going! We got up early and Jeff started building the structure for our 10x10 garden. He did a great job! After the structure was built and put together, it was time to add topsoil and manure to the garden soil. The four of us worked on getting the dirt mixed for a couple of hours and then it was time to get planting. We are using the Square Foot Gardening technique as our guide although we chose not to make a raised garden. We chose to use our existing dirt and see how it goes. If you've never heard of SFG but want to have a garden, I suggest you check into this. It's a controlled way to have a garden. It makes a lot of sense and if all goes as planned, we'll yield a good number of crops. So far, we have planted Roma and Rutgers tomatoes, jalapenos, Corno di Toro peppers, green peppers, broccoli, okra, spinach, cucumbers, yellow and white onions, rosemary, cilantro, Buttercrunch and Mesclun lettuce, and a couple kinds of flowers. We still need to get some beans going and we have a few other open spaces for carrots and whatever else we come up with. This is our first garden so I pray it produces for us. It will be a huge encouragement to see all of that hard work pay off. Plus, I'm really excited about having fresh salads anytime I want them! I'll be sharing more of our garden experience this week.

I hope your week went well. I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on and I'm going to try and make sure I set aside some time each night this week to do that! Since the season finale of Lost is Wednesday, I'll have that time slot free to read for awhile! LOL! For more WR's, check out Judi's place!

What American Accent Do You Have?

I saw this over at Momma Roar's blog and thought I would give it a try. I was skeptical but I'm a sucker for a fun meme. I was happy that it gave the results it did since I am a southern gal! Be sure to let me know if you decide to try this. I'm interested to see if yours is accurate!

 

What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

Southern. Love it or hate it, your accent says you're probably from somewhere south of the Ohio River.

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

We're going to start with "cot" and "caught." When you say those words do they sound the same or different?

Different Same, no wait I mean different, maybe, a little bit different... Same

Ten on Tuesday # 5

Ten On Tuesday: 10 Songs That Make You Sad

I'm not sure I can name 10 songs that make me sad but I can name 10 that make me emotional. Some of these make me cry while others make me think about the wonderful truth in the words.

1. Who Am I by Casting Crowns (There is so much truth in this song that one cannot help but be stirred by it)
2. The Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns (ditto my remarks from above)
3. When You Say Nothing At All by Keith Whitley (Alison Krauss also has a beautiful version of this one)
4. Man in the Mirror by Mountain Heart (Steve Gulley's voice is perfect for this song! He's no longer with the band and I'm sad about that!)
5. Last Best Place by Rhonda Vincent and the Rage
6. In The First Light by Glad (I get cold chills everytime I hear it!)
7. And Can It Be by Glad (breaks me down everytime!)
8. Rose of My Heart by III Tyme Out (Russell Moore could sing anything and I'd love it!)
9. Erase the Miles by III Tyme Out
10. O Sing A New Song (Psalm 98) from the Cantus Christi

See more TOT lists here.

Weekend Reflection # 14

What happened to this week? Where did it go? Did anyone see it? LOL! I'm continually amazed at how fast time passes us by. I am thankful that I am able to spend most every minute of it with my family! I hope you've been able to spend time enjoying your family this week. If you've not been able to because you've been too busy, stop reading this and go love up on em'! Our week went a little something like this.....

Sunday: What a fun day! We had a picnic after church and a lot of the people who attended the conference came by the park to eat and fellowship with us. Jeff left a little early to go fly his airplanes but the girls and I didn't get home until 5pm from the park. We were very tired but had such a wonderful time!

Monday: Well, this was an interesting day. Since the roof on our new covered deck sprang four leaks last week, we had to do some backtracking. My BIL and FIL went to work on it first thing and made good progress. They had to jack the roof up and cut off some of the 4x4 posts so that the pitch on the roof was lower. We believe the pitch was so subtle that the rain would not run off of our architectural shingles, causing the water to make its way under the shingles and inside the deck. . It hasn't rained since last week so we are unsure if it is officially fixed but we are praying that things are taken care of.

Tuesday: My oldest daughter became the happiest person in the world on this day because I was finally able to find a Saxon Math 87 test booklet to go along with her text. If I haven't told you before, she just LOVES her Saxon Math (not really...she actually hates it!) LOL! I met a nice lady on Vegsource who was selling it for $3, shipping included! This is great news for me because we have been trying to find a booklet for about a month. I can't wait to receive the booklet so that we can get right into this new math book. We homeschool year round and it's very important for me to keep things as up to date as possible. It seems that if I let anything slide for to long, we tend to get lazy :-o)

Wednesday: It was pretty uneventful. Of course, Wednesday night was spent as usual....watching LOST. We love the show because it always keeps us thinking and in suspense.

Thursday: I had a full day of errands. Between grocery shopping, ballet class, paying bills, homeschooling, and cleaning house, I was absolutely pooped in the evening! You'd think I would have gone right to bed and to sleep wouldn't you?.....well, I didn't. I was up until at least 3:30am and got up around 7:15am on Friday morning.... so, almost four hours of sleep. I cannot understand why I find it so difficult to sleep. I would love to be able to spend a weekend doing nothing but laying around on the couch :-o)

Friday: Another busy day spent taking the dog to the groomer, working on the deck, cleaning some of the garage up, and trying to recover from the sleep I didn't get! I spent the entire evening cleaning up clutter in the garage. The girls decided they wanted to have a yard sale of sorts so I went through all I could to dig out things for them to sell. I don't have yard sales so I told them they were on their own! The girls were very helpful today while we worked on the deck. Logan helped my FIL (who we call Pop Pop) saw up some wood for the deck railings and stuff. Jeff showed me how to use the miter saw (Woo Hoo) and I cut alot of decorative pieces we needed. It was fun learning to use that big dog! I am pretty scared of tools like that for the most part but I am glad I learned to use it. As you can see below, Caroline found ways to entertain herself with the scrap wood while everyone else worked!

Saturday: The girls decided they wanted to do a yard sale so we got everything ready on Friday evening. We made some sweet tea and cookies and out they went. I DO NOT like to host a yard sale myself but was happy to help the girls prepare for it. I'm counting this as a school economics project for Logan. Caroline will receive an evaluation for how helpful she is to her big sis and also for the art work she put on our price poster (she did the flowers). I think she did a great job! **Update**The girls did a great job with their very first yard sale. We didn't have a lot to sell but the girls ended up with around $70. They were thrilled and I am very happy with the way they took care of things. I stayed in the house doing things or in the back yard. It was such a joy to hear the girls striking up conversations with all of the new people they met. It was neat to see a side of their personality that I hadn't really seen before. We finally have all the mess cleaned up and the leftovers will be going to the donation bin this evening. I'd have to say that it was very successful.

Tomorrow we will gather to grill a meal for Jeff's family, in honor of his mother. I can't tell you how our lives have been blessed by her. She is everything I could ask for in a mother-in-law; she's kind, caring, giving, funny, resourceful, blunt and to the point, always ready to give her opinion, and a wonderful cook. I can't say enough about her. We'll also be celebrating my mom although she can't be with us. She lives in West VA and can't make it down but we'll be thinking about her and how thankful we are for her. She is a strong woman who has been through much in her life. We are thankful that she is healthy, kind, and generous to us. We miss not having her closer but we hope that one day she will be able to live somewhere a little nearer to us. To both of our mothers, we want to tell you that we love you and that we are thankful for all the sacrifices you've made for us throughout our lives.

I hope your week was good and that you will be able to share this Mother's Day with your mama. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in the blogosphere that are reading! To read more WR's, visit Judi.

May Day Challenge

Jenna has motivated me to take the bull by the horns and go for it! I have been carrying around extra pounds since having my youngest daughter, who is now 8! I never had problems loosing weight until after having her. I developed a thyroid disorder while I was pregnant with her and that has made it difficult for me to lose the weight. My weakness is sugar. I have to have my sugar after a meal. I love my Pop Tarts too! I especially love Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop Tarts. I eat them for breakfast, a snack, or for dessert. I love them that much. They aren't good for me and I need to cut it out. With that said, I'm saying goodbye to the Pop Tarts for now, in hopes that changing my eating habits will change and I'll be a healthier person come September. I'm not ashamed to say that my current weight is 155 and my goal is to lose 20 pounds. That's a reasonable goal for me and I think I'll still look healthy. I'm not concerned with being skinny, just being lighter and healthier. I am also posting a before picture of myself because this will help motivate me. I have a tendency to give in to my cravings and if I have something to visually motivate me, I'll be more apt to stick to my guns.

My plan is to count calories and reduce them more each week. I also want to replace my bad sugar habits with healthier habits. I plan to find creative ways to eat fruit so that I don't get bored with it. I love fruit so I think I can do this. I also need some exercise to help my progress. So, I pledge to clean my old manual treadmill off this weekend and by Monday it will be useable. I will start out walking on it for ten minutes and I will add five minutes to that each time I feel like I've mastered my goal time. I will walk on the treadmill every day (except The Lord's Day) next week for ten minutes. I also need to improve my sleeping habits. I have a really hard time going to bed most nights. I need to do something relaxing each night so that I can train myself to "shut down." If anyone has suggestions for herbal teas or things of that nature that will help prepare me to "shut down" each night, I'd love to hear them.

In summary, my plan looks like this for next week:

1. Eat healthier and cut calories (I will determine how many calories I need to cut overall to reach a healthy meal total)
2. Walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes every day (except The Lord's Day)
3. Go to bed earlier so I can get more sleep

I'll need encouragement so be ready! LOL!

Thanks to Tales From The Scales for hosting this challenge!

Jacked Up

My 8 year old really keeps me in stitches most of the time. She makes up words and phrases and uses them randomly throughout the day. She knows what she means but sometimes I have no idea and can't begin to imagine where she comes up with this stuff. Just now, she came to me with this one:

Caroline: "Mommy, my stomach is jacked up and I can't eat anymore."

I thought I'd lose it! How does your stomach get "jacked up?" If anyone could explain this to me, I'd gladly listen! LOL!

Have a great Thursday!

Thursday Challenge....Architecture

Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York

I wish I could have done St. Patrick's justice with my photograph but it's not possible. This is the most beautiful piece of architecture I've seen to date. We weren't able to go inside on this trip but the next time we go to NYC, we'll be sure to stop in! Go here to see more Thursday Challenges.

Ten on Tuesday # 4

10 Things Most People Don't Know About You

1. I hate to go to bed. I only average 5 to 6 hours of sleep per night and I think that's too much. There are too many things I want to do and sleep is not one of them!
2. I was always a Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) fan growing up. I decided as a teenager that when I "grew" up, I'd move to Chicago so I could meet him. That never happened and I'm over it! LOL!
3. Pink is my absolute favorite color. Any shade will do although I do like some shades better than others.
4. I was an all-district, all-region, and all-state long distance runner in high school in track and cross-country. For the five years I was in high school (from 8th to 12th grade), I ran at least five miles a day for conditioning.
5. I once squirted my little brother in the eyes with mace. It was an accident but when someone knocked on our door shortly after the incident, I locked him in a bedroom so he couldn't get out and tell on me.
6. I once pulled my little brother off a porch banister while he was dressed up as Superman. I thought he could fly (we were only about 6 and 3). He nearly bit his tongue in half because of it.
7. My favorite type of shoes are Mary Janes. I don't have any right now but I do love them!
8. Jeff and I were married for about a week before we told anyone.
9. I still love Air Supply.
10. My favorite TV show growing up was I Dream of Jeannie.

To read more Ten On Tuesdays, go here.

 

A Dress For Madalyn

Maddie is the cute little baby girl of my friends, Kasi and Mike. She's such a doll and I can't resist looking at little girl stuff every time I go shopping. Saturday I made my daily trip to Walmart (just kidding...I only go every two days! LOL!) and found this really cute fabric. I was so excited and I immediately envisioned a dress for Maddie! I bought some and off I went to whip it up! I have to say that I'm not 100% thrilled with the ribbon straps and they'll probably come off as soon as I decide what I really want to use. I thought it turned out cute though. I don't really know how to sew. I can mend things and I can do some basic things but I can't make clothes. I can sew together small quilt tops but that's only because my best gal pal Jenny taught me how to do that. Anyway, I hope you like the dress and I'm telling you, this material is awesome! All you have to do is hem it and sew a seam. It's great! I'll be purchasing more of it so I can make Caroline some dresses for the summer!

 

Weekend Reflection # 13

I can't believe it's the weekend already! I guess when you have a lot to do in the week, it tends to fly by. That's just what mine did!

The Good Parts:

• We enjoyed a wonderful worship service on Sunday. This is always such a wonderful start to my week. After church, we came home and had lunch. After we rested for a bit, the girls and I settled in to watch the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice. Since we didn't have service at church Sunday night, we had the entire evening free. Caroline and I made it all the way through the movie but Logan only lasted through the first DVD. She has a hard time sitting for two hours, much less the entire length of this movie!
• Caroline had ballet class twice this week and I was able to sit in on one of them. Normally this is not the case since the studio is small and space is limited. It was nice to watch how she had matured over the year. Her instructor also talked to me afterwards and gave Caroline some nice compliments. It was very nice of her to make it a point to tell me how well she was doing in class. She suggested that Caroline move up to Ballet II after the summer. I was also able to talk with a voice coach while at ballet class and she suggested that she evaluate Caroline to see what interests her as far as music goes. Caroline has a beautiful voice for an 8 year old and I really want to encourage her to use it. We'll see how she does next week with the voice coach.
• I was finally able to get my hair cut on Friday. I hadn't had it done since December! It's always nice to be able to do this. There's nothing like someone else washing your hair! LOL!
• Jeff and I have had several wonderful moments together this week. I was just telling someone that it's like he and I are one person. We compliment each other so well that it's scary! God made the perfect partner for me in him. My love for him has such depth to it that it amazes me sometimes. I don't know what I'd become if I ever had to live without him.
• Today we enjoyed a conference that our pastors are hosting. It was about Christian culture and was very interesting. Guest speaker Gene Veith Jr. gave a lecture on post modern times that was good and one of our pastors, RC Sproul Jr gave a lecture on living in peace and quietness with all men that was wonderful!
• I'm looking forward to a wonderful worship service tomorrow and afterwards we'll all go to a local park for a picnic.
• Annie made me a signature that I just adore! Thanks Annie...you are such a remarkable woman!
• Jenny, another friend, and myself will be starting a Bible study together soon. We'll be using Martha Peace's book The Excellent Wife. I've started reading it already and it's really good. This will be a wonderful way to study our role as wives plus spend a little quality time with my friends! I'm very excited about doing this!
• I was finally able to get a new Verizon phone after two years. We get new phones every two years and mine had been broken for a few months. It was so broke that I had to hold it with two hands in order to use it! LOL! I just didn't want to pay full price for a phone until my contract was up. When that happens, they give you a $100 credit so I was waiting on that! My new phone is great because I only need one hand to operate it!
• Caroline lost a tooth during ballet class this week! I'm so glad it came out because it was driving me crazy! She is so afraid to pull them out so we have to wait on hers to fall out themselves. It takes much longer for that to happen and I was really tired of looking at this floppy tooth!
• On Friday, I wasn't feeling well so I was in and out of bed for half the day. When I got up at one point, Logan and Caroline were sitting in their bedroom quietly doing their school work. Logan was on the computer doing her Switched On Schoolhouse while Caroline sat quietly in the floor doing a spelling lesson! I didn't tell them to do this. Logan just took over and made sure they were getting it done! My kids are my joy...have I said that lately?!!!
• My nephew caught a big honkin' fish this week! He was so proud! It's a 8 lb. 27 inch long brown trout.

The Not So Good Parts:

• The roof we put on our deck is leaking in several spots. Come to find out, the slope on the room is not low enough and water is laying on the shingles. It is somehow working its way through the shingles and down into the inside of our new covered part! We think we've figured out a way to fix it but we'd appreciate your prayers. It has rained for the past two days and is supposed to do the same today. The more it rains, the more the leaks do their thing.
• My garage is a real mess and needs some attention. I'm trying to wait until we are done with most of the deck construction but it's driving me nuts. Every time I go into the garage, I feel the urge to sweep and tidy up! That's hard to do when there is a ton of building materials in the floor!

It's been a fun week! I hope you've had a great one! To read more WR's, go visit Judi!

Seven, or Ten Things Meme

Lauren tagged me for this one and I hope y'all will not be bored. I'm supposed to give you seven random facts or habits about me and then tag seven more lucky contestants! LOL! I know you can hardly contain your excitement! I'll try to think of seven interesting things or habits and maybe that'll make it a little more tolerable for ya!

1. I love my crockpot. I mean I really love my crockpot.
2. My favorite breakfast, snack, and dessert is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop Tarts!
3. I watch some version of Pride & Prejudice (I own the A&E version, the BBC version, and the Kiera Knightley version) at least once a month. I can't help myself.
4. I participated in three sports in high school; basketball, track, and cross-country. I'm so out of shape now that you'd never know I was ever athletic!
5. My husband really is my best friend.
6. I really do love peas. No one else in my house will eat them so I rarely ever get to eat them myself.
7. One of my favorite songs of all time is At Last by Etta James. I also love Patsy Cline and Elvis.
8. I love to watch sports on TV. I especially love pro-football and college basketball. Tonight I am watching pro-basketball...Dallas vs. Golden State. My hubby and I started a tradition a few years ago. Every year for his birthday, we take my FIL to Knoxville to see the UT girls team play and then we take him to supper afterwards. Since all three of us are sports lovers, it works out nicely!
9. I love Mary Engelbreit.
10. I just realized that I was only asked for 7 things! LOL!

I'm supposed to tag seven people but I'm not sure I can pick seven people who haven't already been tagged! I will tag Jenny and Shawna.

Thursday Challenge....Noisy

Jenny Is To Blame!

I blame Jenny. It's all her fault. I can't really even remember how it all happened. I do remember that when I met Jenny, I knew we would be friends for a long time.

Many years ago, our oldest children were attending public school and in the same kindergarten class. One day as we sat outside the school waiting to pick up our children, we struck up a conversation. Throughout that year, we, along with crazy Tanya, really got to know each other. The following year, we started to homeschool our oldest daughter so I didn't see Jenny as much. Some time after that year, Jenny surprised me by bringing her kids home to homeschool them. That's when it all really began you see. She called me up and came over to talk to me about all things homeschool. We talked a lot about those things and eventually even starting getting together each week for an art class that we were doing with all of our kids. It was wonderful. I learned that she loved to scrapbook. I learned that she loved to quilt....that she is mostly self-taught.....and then I went and asked for it. I asked her to teach me to craft. Of course she said yes, because that's the kind of girl she is. That's when I was bitten by the craft bug.

Fast forward to today. Today I was running errands while Caroline was in ballet class and I decided to make a quick trip into Michael's Craft Store. I ran back to the scrapbooking section to see if I could find some 12x12 paper that tickled my fancy. As I rounded the corner, I saw it.....the huge Martha Stewart Crafts sign. Now, I like me some Martha. She's a bit of a control freak and that slays me but the woman is a crafting genius! She could make a paper bag look like a million bucks! I really thought I'd lose it as I walked down the aisle devoted to her new products. These and these really caught my eye. I could just picture them in the nice big craft room that I don't have :-o) I really, really wanted them, but that was true of everything in that aisle! I was grinning from ear to ear as I ran my hands across most of those products. I've never seen anything quite as lovely as the sight of all those organizational boxes, paper, cards, ribbon, kitchen string (it was even colored!), scrapbooks, etc. I think I truly experienced the feelings of "a kid in a candy store." I've never been so giddy in all my life. I can't explain to you how beautiful the scrapbooking paper was. I think I'll probably dream about these products! LOL!

So I revert back to my first statement. I blame Jenny. It was her craftiness and love of vibrant colors that rubbed off on me. She lured me to the dark side. I'll never be the same. From this point on, I'll have to take my husband to the craft store with me so that he can keep me from spending all of our money in the Martha Stewart aisle! Beautiful....everything was just beautiful!

Random Questions for Shawna

I had so much fun being randomized by Mandalyn that I offered to do the same for anyone interested. Well, Shawna took me up on it and here are the questions I came up with for her....

1. Do you have a favorite hobby? If so, please share it with us.

2. What is your favorite blog to visit and why?

3. Who inspires you most and why?

4. What is the most important character trait you wish to instill in your children?

5. What is the most inspiring book you've read to date?

I look forward to reading Shawna's answers! Thanks for being such a good sport!