SHELTERED AND GLAD OF IT...

Last night I freaked out. It was a silent freak out. Not noticed by anyone else except my husband. In all my 46 years I have never KNOWN 2 homosexuals AND SEEN THEM KISS, on the lips, in public. Yes, that's what freaked me out. I know those two kids. They are nice. They helped me at the high school last week! I mean, I suspected about one of them, but always give them the benefit of the doubt. But it was confirmed, right in front of me last night. This is getting a little too close and personal for me! I purposely avoid any kind of media involving this behavior. Avoid events where they hang out. I shelter myself. Why? Because in God's Word it tells me to - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Phil. 4:8

Just about the time I had convinced myself my children were in the best possible public school, there are a couple of fights in bathrooms and someone ends up in the hospital. Then witnessing the two guys kiss (in the audience) at a swine week fundraiser in a church auditorium- ! - just about put me over the edge.

Can you guess what my prayers will be focused on this week?

LOVE AND LOSE UPDATE...

Not long ago, I finally came up with some New Year's resolutions to LOVE AND LOSE. I wanted to give a report...I have lost 2.5 pounds, gained 1 back,and lost it again. So I am getting back on board this week to lose 2.5 more before THISon Spring Break. Then I will feel I can justify a trip to the spa!

My daughter on the other hand has been showing me up quietly. She has been working out at the school gym more, training for an adventure race in April and half-marathon in May! She has virtually banned all sugar (pretty foreign to me) and eating lots of apples. She won't say how much weight she's lost, but I can tell she is getting stronger and has lost a few pounds...she is an inspiration to me! Just for fun this weekend, she and some friends did 15 miles of trail running through the Ozark National Forest!

POST ON THE FRIDGE...

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD...

and I'm really sick of it. Not only did I spend the majority of my time last week feeding Follies kids, the feast seems never ending! Sunday we celebrated my husband's birthday which called for, you guessed it, more food! We had some family over and ate Chicken Enchiladas with a plethora of mexican condiments, then Banana sheet cake and ice cream. In addition to that, I taught Bible class that morning and guess what we were doing? Making unleavened bread!!! Then Monday, the birthday surprise: I took my husband to a special cooking class at International Pantry. I had made reservations several weeks earlier and really hadn't thought about the timing of it. But, we really enjoyed it! Besides learning about some new ingredients and getting cooking tips, we ate a four course meal there! The menu: Organic salad in a White Truffle Onion vinaigrette, Maitake mushroom soup, Drambuie braised Beef brisket on Potato puree', and Mignardises (French for little desserts). Here's the highlights:
Really good salad with black grapes and cheesy pouf croutons.
My mushroom hating husband tried the soup! I loved it- fresh mushrooms make all the difference.
The flaming Drambuie-I forgot to take a picture of the meat and potatoes, but trust me, we really just thought it tasted like roast and mashed potatoes! Unfortunately the asparagus was forgotten and stayed in the oven too long. The chef insisted that you not serve anything overdone. So she threw it out.
A sampling of 5 desserts - what a way to end the dinner!

Now I'm staying out of the kitchen for a week!

Well...at least until Thursday, when I host my Bible study luncheon.

I LOVE MY JOB...

feeding Follies kids! Follies is a top notch talent show put on by our local high school! We've got such a talented group - singers, dancers, instrumentalists, actor, even Blue Men!
Follies cupcakes!
These great guys serenaded us before dinner, singing Loch Lomond...so beautiful! No rappin' here!
Lots of pretty girls too!

We were so glad to finally get to have the show after it was postponed because of snow, then rescheduled, then postponed again due to a sound system problem. YAY! It's finally happening!

THIS WAS JUST WHAT I NEEDED TODAY...

I guess it's a little more special when you know some of the singers, too. The lead in this is my daughter's college roommate. She is a member of the Good News Singers. Enjoy!

A LITTLE SOMETHING FROM MY DH TO SPICE UP MY LIFE...

Rosemary, Lavender, Oregano, Basil, Mint
Parsley, Thyme, Sage, Chives, Cilantro

Got ya, didn't, I?

I hope your loved ones share their love with you today!

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS...FINALLY

This is a notebook I've kept the last four years to help me with my goals. I still love the title and scripture.


It took a few snow days for me to finally get it together and think about what my resolutions, goals, priorities, whatever you want to call them, should be this year. Yes, it took a while, but for some reason I can't think very well with my busy life and kids and husband around. The teen sleeping till noon and a husband out of town gave me that opportunity. And here they are:

LOVE AND LOSE

Specifically, Love Jesus more and Lose 10 lbs. Of course I can't accomplish those things without a plan. Anyone who's read my blog before or know me knows I like structure. So what exactly does a "loving Jesus more plan" look like? I consider myself a doer of good works, faith that shows outwardly, but increasingly I want to work on myself internally. Here's my attempt:

Loving Jesus More plan:

1. Continue to pray with my early morning routine.

2. Post monthly memory verse from church in my kitchen to dwell on.

3. Continue Bible study with CWBS.

4. Collect scriptures, articles, anything that inspires me in my notebook to read from time to time.

5. Blog monthly about Love, Joy, etc., using scriptures or thoughts I have written in my notebook.

My lose 10 lbs. plan has several components to it as well. Nothing new from what has helped me in the past really, it's just being motivated to do it! I lost 20 lbs. about 8 years ago, and it has creeped back on. So I'm hoping what I did back then will help me now.

Lose 10 lbs. plan:

1. Weigh daily as a reminder. Post on my bathroom mirror once weekly.

2. Continue exercising 5 x a week. I have upped my time to 45 minutes from 30, a small change.

3. Eat a lowfat diet (30g of fat daily). I have discovered Erin Baker's Organic Brownie Bites to help me!

4. Reward myself with one splurge meal a week.

5. Collect new recipes, tips and tricks in my notebook to inspire me.

After seeing a recent picture of myself and my lovely new double chin that has formed, I think I have the motivation! I do have a reward in place though. Spa pedicures are a splurge for me. I'm talking the hour long ones at Cottonwood Spa or Spring Creek Spa. So, I'm promising myself one of those after a 5 lb. weight loss. And after the 10lb.s are off, it'll be a whole day of spa treatments! Maybe 5 lbs. doesn't seem like much to you, but it just seems harder as I get older. You know, the whole slowing of metabolism thing. And I'm going to try not to blame lack of progress on that...

So there they are. I don't usually blog much about my inner thoughts or feelings, just life here at my house. But I'm just putting it out there to help myself in my commitment. Ask me how I'm doing in 6 weeks...

P.S. I also have a list of 6 projects I want to accomplish this year. Sometimes they involve my kids or some kind of home improvement. I didn't go into that, but I look at it from time to time to remind me to get started on whatever it is, and I usually get most of these done.

P.P.S. I would love to hear about how you stay motivated or what your tips are to accomplishing your goals!

HERE LIES ORANGEY FISH...

He was a good fish.

He was a survivor of a broken tail for many months.

He was a peaceful fish. I rescued him from my son's plan to fight him with another Beta.

He lived to the ripe old age of 3.

He was an asset to my kitchen decor.

He didn't stink too much.

I'll miss him. But not enough to get another one.

YOU GOT A FRIEND IN ME...

I was pretty impressed with the acts of service to others by several of my friends yesterday. Stormy times, or SNOW STORMS, as the case may be this time, really do bring out the best in people.
This awesome friend showed up with his tractor - we didn't need any help clearing our driveway, but he just loves helping people!

He also does our church parking lot just to help out...

Pretty good friend, don't you think?

Then, I helped these two put on a "spur of the moment" party when the Follies talent show, which had been postponed due to weather, then postponed due to a faulty sound system, didn't happen and we had all this food for the disappointed kids...can you imagine opening your home in a matter of two hours for something like that?

My redheaded friend had made this awesome cake for 170...isn't it wonderful? I think I would have cried if I had made this for opening night and then there was NO opening night performance.

When we saw that there would still be tons of cake leftover, my friend had the brilliant idea of sending wrapped pieces home with each teen as a party favor. Of course she had to tie a bow on each one!

I would say these folks were living out their faith and being LIVING SACRIFICES. Romans 12:1 to “present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God.” We should present our bodies, mind, emotions, skills, talents, abilities, aspirations and possessions – all to God for His service. Having friends like this is a good thing. It does benefit me, but more than that, it CHALLENGES ME to be of service to HIM.

HEALTHY COOKIES...

I decided to get out of my comfort zone today (chocolate chip cookies) and try a new recipe. These are reminiscent of thumbprint cookies, but without all the butter and eggs. In fact, they remind me of a Nutrigrain bar. I found this in my file of newpaper clippings of "recipes to try someday" from 2008!

Jam Dot Cookies

Chef Dean Rucker

1 c. whole wheat flour, sifted
1 c. slivered almonds, ground into a coarse meal
1 c. oats, ground into a coarse meal
1 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 c. canola oil
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. orange juice
1 t. vanilla

Apricot jam or your favorite fruit spread

Preheat oven to 375 and prepare a baking sheet with nonstick spray. In a mixing bowl, combine the first four ingredients. (I used a combination of almonds and pecans to make 1 cup, and pulsed in my Magic Bullet) In a seperate bowl, combine the next four ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.

For each cookie, scoop 1 Tablespoon of batter onto cookie sheet. Using your thumb or the back of a spoon, make a well in the center of each cookie. Fill with 1 teaspoon of the jam. Repeat until all are filled. Bake 15 min. or until golden brown.

Nutrition information per cookie: 100 calories, 4 g fat, 1 mg sodium, 14 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 2 g protein

THINGS I'VE REALIZED WHILE BEING SNOWED IN...

No washing hair for 3 days is great!

Ditto for wearing makeup.

I'm really not too motivated to scrapbook anymore.

Hot fudge pudding cake is really awesome! It's gone now, though...

I don't really care anything about movies, either, unless my hubs wants to watch one.

I think I have ADD, I just go from one little chore to another.

Follies rescheduled? I'm not even emailing people yet. Let the volunteers come to me!

It's still too stinking cold in the garage to walk on the treadmill.

I think I've got the winter blues!

MY FAVORITE WINTER 2011 PICTURE...

I love photos, but don't really have a super-fancy camera or anything. But every once in a while, I get lucky.

Started off like pretty sweet, with my son wanting to shovel the snow for me...awww!
Then I got him to make me a snow angel.

Then he'd had enough. Time for some serious fun. Guess who got to forge a path through the neighborhood to take him to his friend's house?


A few hours later, they're back! Nice to have friends with big toys!

And here it is! The winning photo! My favorite picture of Winter 2011! (so far) Pretty cute, don't you think?