Can you say 90% off?

Yes, people... Can you say 90% off? Oh my!

I ventured into Hobby Lobby this week and look what I found! Hello Valentine!

Y'all, I just could not resist. Especially since I eyed this stuff in January but decided that I didn't need to spend that kind of money of ceramics. But, at 90% off... well, that's a different story! And I know it will go to good use, since the girls host a V-day Tea Party every year.

Oh! And don't go into Hobby Lobby expecting to find anything like it. Because I bought it all. I even went to the Hobby Lobby in Round Rock and bought up all of their stuff too.

I'll do the math: $12.00 total. (I think even Randy would be proud. Sort've.)

Pickles, parties and plants

This is going to be random, but here goes...I want to can cucumbers and make some homemade pickles. But, I've never heat-processed any fruits or veggies for canning and so, I worry I'll go to the effort and expense only to discover after 8 weeks of "ripening" my cucumbers that, lo and behold... they are yucky. Anyone ever do any canning? Anyone want to experiment with cucumbers with me? Anyone? Anyone? Now, y'all don't all jump on your email and message me at one time now.

I still haven't heard from anyone regarding a trip to the fancy Goodwill in Austin. I'm going whether anyone joins me or not. But, it'd be fun to have a guest... so, if you even thought for a moment you'd like to go... let me know.

So, I was at a birthday party for one of Kyla's kindergarten friends on Saturday, and one of the moms there mentioned going to another classmate's party that afternoon. When that mom walked away, I turned to another mom friend at the table and mentioned to her that Kyla had not been invited to the other kid's birthday party. She said that her little boy had not been invited either. Hmmmm, so I mentioned to her that this is the second time Kyla has missed out on a birthday invite from a fellow classmate.

Don't get me wrong... one less birthday party means 2 less hours of my life spent at a birthday party and 15 less dollars spent on a birthday present. That part doesn't bother me. The part that bothers me is that in Kindergarten the birthday invites are becoming selective and secretive. I thought in Kindergarten that stuff didn't happen.

I do understand that some parties have limits and perhaps kids can only invite 5 friends, etc., etc. So, while I may be a bit sad that Kyla didn't get an invite to a party, I can understand the premise behind it. Or, perhaps Kyla is a ring-tailed tooter and doesn't have a lot of friends in class. Either way... I'm fine with it. Just fine.

We had fun in "Blizzard 2010" yesterday. The snow is quickly melting as I type, but I'm so glad the girls got to enjoy a bit of the white stuff before Winter comes to a close. Amazing how we were all in shorts on Sunday and building snowmen on Tuesday. Like the old saying goes, "If you don't like the weather, stick around a few minutes." It's gonna wreak havoc on our tree that was just beginning to bud. Poor trees and plants. They just don't know what to do around here. (Check out that teeny tiny green spotted bug on the bloom.)

So I guess that is all for now. I have plenty more to say, but this post is rather lengthy as it is.

Y'all have a great day!

Redneck Sled

They are sledding on a swim floaty ring.

Snow Day a.k.a. "Blizzard 2010"

Fun stuff!

Sunday Breakfast

Sunday morning breakfast at the Haphazard house means Sausage Kolaches (or Pigs in a Blanket for the unsophisticated.)

I use a package of Eckrich Smok-y Breakfast links and cut them in 1/3's. (The links are 75 calories each, but cut in 1/3's, they are only 25 calories.)

The biscuits are canned Pillsbury Grands Jrs. Golden Layers "Buttermilk" biscuits. I cut the biscuits in 1/2, then slice down the middle to make 1/4's. (The biscuits are 100 calories each, but cut into 1/4's, they are.... yep, you do the math... 25 calories.)

I wrap each sausage 'third' with a biscuit 'fourth'. (Are you keeping track? Each assembled Kolache is now 50 calories each.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and cook for about 15 mins, or until golden brown.

Using this recipe, you are looking at making 40 Kolaches. These are great the next day too and you can also freeze them. My girls love to help make these. We often have leftovers and they will eat them for breakfast on Monday morning.

Simple. Easy. Yummy.

Oh, the timing of it all

Kyla lost her front tooth last night. Today is class picture day.

This should make for an interesting picture.

Blog Award! Me?

I have been awarded the "Beautiful Blogger Award" by my friend IRL and fellow blogger, Anna at "A Little Birdie Told Me". Anna has a wonderful DIY blog ranging from cooking to crafting. I love looking at all of the wonderful ideas and recipes she posts. Anna is both beautiful on the inside and out and I'm honored to be her friend.

With this award, I am to tell you 7 interesting things about myself and then pass it onto another Beautiful Blogger.

I've put off writing this blog entry because I think I've confessed just about everything about my life in the pages of this blog. I honestly can't think of anything I haven't already spilled the beans about... but I'm up for a challenge, so here goes.

1.) I have 7 registered blogs to my name. I only make 2 of them public. In the ebb and flow of my life, I've tried out several blogging ideas and none of them have worked out according to my liking. But, they are still out there in cyber-universe.

2.) I have been blogging since June 2005. My first month of blog entries are my absolute favorite. Short and sweet. If you have time, you can check them out here.

3.) I love to write, but my grammar is horrible. I have often thought I'd like to write professionally, but my fear of grammar and dangling modifiers is holding me back.

4.) I have a tendency to "put too many irons in the fire" at one time. The problem with this is that I am not a high capacity person (anymore... or really, was I ever?) and I end up quitting (whatever) and letting a lot of people down in the process. So, I've learned to "just say no" and now... and it feels so good! This has been a learning process that I attribute to my age and experience.

5.) I wish I had listened when people told me "life goes by fast." It does.

6.) Speaking of age... nothing pleases me more when someone says to me, "Wow, you don't look your age!" One of my friends at the gym, an 80-something man named Louis, said he thought I was in my mid-20's. I could have kissed him! But, that would have been strange.

7.) I'm having a hard time coming up with this last item... so this is going to be very lame. Most of you know I enjoy working out. What you've probably wondered is why I focus my energy on lifting weights. It's because I don't like to run, cycle, swim, Zumba and I'm barely coordinated enough to make it though a step-class. But, weight lifting? It's much easier and requires no coordination. So, THAT'S the real reason I do it.

Now, it's my turn to pay this blog award forward. I'd like to send it along to my friend Kris at Casa De Martinez and Rachel at Baby Cakes, who are two of the sweetest women I've ever had the privilege to be friends with.

Week End Recap

So, all week long I've compiled a list of things I wanted to talk about. And now, my list is long. I know, I know... I should just blog every day about whatever is on my mind, but life has a funny way of getting in the way of my blog. Weird, huh?

As if I needed another reason to love HEB, here it is:

This pack of fruit cost $.92 cents and it is a wonderful assortment of fruit. Because let's be honest here... I don't buy fresh pineapple because it is a mess to clean and cut, but I'll buy a fat quarter of it any day! Anyway... this container of fruit (papaya, cantaloupe, strawberry, pineapple, grapes) made up the amount on the paper plate! Perfect. Also, think...smoothie. Yum!

I am not bringing this up to stir any debates, political or not, but I just found this very interesting that I wanted to share. I hardly notice the political ads that filter through the house during the primaries, but this one caught my eye.

The ad says Kay "with her daughter Bailey and her son, Houston." I thought, ooops, that's a big typo... shouldn't that have read "granddaugther and grandson"?

(Dang... I hit publish by accident... bear with me people! Sorry feed readers...)

Anyway...Don't ya find it odd that a woman who is 67 has two young adopted children? Just throwing that out there...

Apparently taking a Facebreak was timely, unbeknownst to me. I just started a book study at church called "The True Measure of a Woman" and one of the key verses from the second chapter was Romans 12:2. The Message translates this verse in such an eyeopening manner that I just have to share.

"Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking."

Now, I'm not suggesting that giving up Facebook is for everyone... OR, that if you are on Facebook you are not serving God. Please don't even think I'm going there because I'm not. This is for me, by me and because of me. That's all. I think God is telling me to cut the culture clutter from your brain and focus on me! So, God, I'm looking forward to what you have to say.

So, Randy installed low-flow shower heads in all of our showers. Let me just say, this did not go over well. I am not a high maintenance woman. I'm really not. But, I do like my hot showers with good water pressure. I mean, I have 100x more hair than Randy. Surely he must understand that I need a powerful blast of water to rinse my thick hair. But, no... he installed it anyway. Lucky for him, the one he purchased has a lever that you can adjust from low-flow to normal flow. Lord have mercy, we'd had a throw down for sure had it not had that magical lever. The girls on the other had will face the wrath of Randy's low-flow shower head. Because they stand in the shower and sing... Yep, just stand there. Singing. It's kinda cute, but still... lots of water is wasted.

I've had some great Goodwill trips this week and I'll be posting about my Goodwill finds on my other blog. But, I wanted to throw this out there... Is anyone up for a GW trip to Tarrytown in the next week or two? Maybe stop by Central Market for lunch? Send me an email if you are interested and I'll plan a trip!

Finally, I have to tell you how very proud I am of Elisan. This week, she stood up against two other girls at school who were trying to get her to do something that was inappropriate. She not only said no, but she also walked away and refused to play with them any longer. Wow. I'm so amazed at her. See... she sees the world in "black" and "white". What they were wanting her to do was wrong. She knew it and she walked away. What she doesn't know, is that that kind of peer pressure is only the beginning. But, Randy and I repeatedly praised her for standing up for what is right and let her know how proud we were of her. And, how proud her teacher was of her. Her attitude is, "What's the big deal?" But, I know it's a big deal, as peer pressure will only get worse as she gets older. Thank you God for giving Randy and me wisdom on how to raise our girl. My prayer for her is that she will continue to use good, sound judgment and stand up to those girls who are only up to no good!

Facebreak

After much deliberations (in my mind) I've decided to take a much needed Facebook break... would that be a Facebreak?

I know you must all think I spend the entire day in front of my computer scouring FB and that is truly not the case. However, I have realized and been convicted as such, that I spend a lot of fruitless time in front of the computer and that is not what God intends for me.

I will still blog, I will still check email, I will still shop online if I need too, but FB is taking a backseat for now. I feel God is telling me to step away for a while... reestablish what is important...get back to the basics.

So, with that said, I've turned off all email alerts from FB, so if you need me... please email me.

And for your further reading pleasure, read why this author took a Facebreak.

Blasé Blogs

I just can't help myself. I changed the look of my blog... again. I'm helping a friend with her blog design and I just couldn't help but change the look of my blog in the process.

In other news, Randy came home last week and said, "I read an article online today that said that blogging is blasé because so many stay at home mom's jumped on the blogging bandwagon and it's watered down now." I reminded him that I began my blog in 2005, before it was cool to blog and that made him stop and ponder the fact that I was cool before it was cool to be cool. (What?)

Wish I had more to say. I'm tapped out for today. More to come this week as I'm sure something that I will not be able to contain will happen and I'll race home to blasé blog about it.

Time Sink

I'm about "this" close to shutting down my Facebook account because of the colossal waste of time that it is. Wow. I didn't realize when I signed up for FB that it would take up so much of my precious time. I mean, seriously, do I need to know half of the stuff that shows up in my Facebook "news feed"? No. I don't. But, it's enough to suck you into whatever someone else is doing on Facebook when you look at their pictures, click on their profile, read comments on other people's statuses, blah, blah, blah. I don't care that a friend of my brother's family is taking a trip to Disney World next Fall. I don't know the friend. Why do I care? (That's totally made up, by the way... but you get the gist!)

Facebook is modern day voyeurism.

• "What is 'so&so' doing."
• "Wow, look at 'so&so'."
• "'So&so' gained/lost weight"
• "Check out 'so&so's house/kids/husband/wife", etc. etc.
• "Did you see what 'so&so' wrote as their status?"
• "'So&so' plays a lot of games on Facebook. Look, they just found a baby cub for their zoo."

And realistically, FB is another way for us to show the world what WE want them to see. The good neighbor, the good friend, the happy couple, the wonderful kids, etc. And I'm just as guilty as the next person. I'm not immune to the allure of having a perfect life/family/kids for the world to see.

I recently whittled down my FB account by 35 people. And honestly, I need to whittle it down by about 200 people. Maybe more. And, in fact, I may just do that rather than go cold turkey. I dunno.

Some may say... rather than go cold turkey, just turn it off. Don't look at it. Turn off the email alerts, etc. No. That's not possible for me. I just can't delete the bookmark from my computer and delete the app from my iPod. It doesn't work that way for me. It's all or nothing. I worry that even if I whittle my friend list down by 2/3's then I'll still succumb to the time sink factor.

So, my question is this:

Am I the only person that feels this way? Or do you love Facebook and why?

Finally, I enjoy the fact that I've reconnected to old friends and have connected more with new friends. That part is great. But really... what would I be missing if I hit the delete button?

We have a winner!

I would have drawn a winner of my latest giveaway yesterday, but my computer decided to die. Thankfully, Randy was able to resuscitate it last night. I have a feeling a new computer is in my future... There are so many mixed emotions with getting a new computer. The shiny newness is awesome! The installing old software, backing up old files and about a bazillion pictures... not so much. Here's hoping this computer is repairable.
Without further ado... the winner is Erica! Erica and her family are stationed in Okinawa and she just had a new baby girl named Blythe. But, Erica is no stranger to little girls, because baby Blythe makes girl number 3 for the McMillan family! You can check out Erica's blog here. Yay Erica... I'm so glad you won! Email me the base address and I'll get these in the mail pronto!

Valentine's Party Rewind

REMINDER: Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway here!
Today is the last day to sign up!

We had such a fun time at this year's 3rd Annual Valentine Tea Party!

A special thank you to my friend Rachel, who made the fabulous cupcakes. You can read all about Rachel's baking on her blog Baby Cakes. She is also for hire! So, if you have any special events and you need cakes or cupcakes, Rachel is your gal. Rachel also helped all of the girls at craft time. Thanks so much.

I would also like to thank Natalie. She stayed to help and jumped right into the mix and helped all of the girls with their card crafts. Natalie also helped in the kitchen. It's so good to have great friends.


We had 17 girls (including Elisan and Kyla!) and it was a great time. Each girl made 5 Valentine's cards. We provided the blank cards, envelopes and craft supplies like scissors, glue sticks, hole punches, stamps and ink pads and the invitees each brought a craft item to share with the group. It's fun to see the different stickers and embellishments.

After craft time, we served up the yummy goodies! We had strawberry cupcakes, brownies, assorted cookies and cinnamon popcorn. Oh, and lots and lots of candy!

This is such a fun and easy girl party! I highly recommend organizing a party like this one if you have a little girl!

800

According to blogger, this is my 800th post. Oh my! 800 times I've logged on to this computer and shared intimate details about my life. By now, I hope, you either love me or hate me. Either way... today, I celebrate with a giveaway!
Okay, people, I'm not going to lie. I originally bought these earrings for myself. I just loved them. Aren't they darling? Well, I got home, promptly tried them on and decided that they were a bit too heavy for my delicate lobes. And, I couldn't return them because of some store policy about refunds/exchanges on "sale" items. Hmmmph!

So, I thought to myself... why not give them away! So, that's what I'm doing.

If your lobes are more weight worthy than mine, feel free to enter a comment on this blog post and I'll draw a name on Monday. Not just for "locals" either... come one, come all!

A takeaway

I still feel horrible. When my head doesn't feel like it is about to pop off from all of the pressure, then my chest feels like it is literally on fire from all of the coughing. I know, I should be laying down, soaking up the peace and quiet and I will... But, a thought occurred to me today and I wanted to share it.

See, I believe there are times when God uses this blog to minister to others. Sure, most of the people that read my blog are my close(r) friends who tend to run in the same circles as I do. But, every so often I believe that God will give me a thought or an idea that he wants to me to convey to someone who may or may not be a Christian. And in my crazy, scattered, ramblin' way, someone will be touched by what I write. In other words, if I'm hearing from God, I want to obey what he wants me to do.

So, with that long-winded introduction... here goes...

I have a friend who says she lives in a "bubble". We laugh and laugh about her "bubble" which in reality is her neighborhood in Sugar Land, a suburb of Houston. Her kids go to the neighborhood school, they participate in the neighborhood league sports, her marathon training "running buddies" live in her neighborhood and she attends a church where a lot of people live in her neighborhood. She readily admits to living her in bubble and she loves it.

It got me to thinking... do I live in a bubble? At first, I was thinking, nope, not me, but then it dawned on me today, that yep, that's me too. Oh, we may not have the neighborhood bubble with the neighborhood schools, or the neighborhood league sports and if you boil it all down, I do not socialize with people from my neighborhood, because honestly, who has the time?

No, my bubble is the bubble that I've created for myself. My safety bubble. I tend to hang out with people I know from church and I gravitate to people who are Christians. Hey, I even took a job at my church! And, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, I know that we as Christians receive strength from other Christians, especially walking the walk we face today.

It's HARD being a Christian. It is. It's hard telling your kids they can't do something with another family because you just don't agree with how the other family lives. It's hard going out to eat with friends and everyone orders up a drink, while you sit at the table with your water in hand. It's hard trying to find clothes for your prepubescent little girls that don't look like she is a streetwalker. It's hard living a life led by Christ. And the bible said it's not meant to be easy. That's where God's grace steps in. The bible says we must be in the world, not of the world - meaning, the world is going to hate us because we live by God's terms.

So, I say all of this to say... to boil it all down... THIS is the "takeaway". Have your eyes open to those around you. Don't be so quick to step back into your bubble, just because it is easy. No. Look around you, smile, make eye contact and interact with someone who doesn't fit your bubble criteria.

It's hard. I know.

But, God may have placed you there, for that time and purpose alone. Just a kind word and a smile goes a long way to reach the heart of someone who is hurting. Because, afterall, we are in this world too, ya know.

A couple of firsts

I should be on the couch, lying there listlessly while I hack up mucous, but no... I have a blog to tend to and that means that even in my Mucinex induced state, I will live to tell another story or two...

So, Friday on the way home from school Elisan said, "Mommy, something happened today at school." This is usually the opening sentence for a number of topics... who played Princes Leia during recess, who got on "red" for misbehaving, who was "Music Master" in music class... you get the gist. Oh no, not THAT day. No, she dropped a bomb-shell on me. She said that while they were lining up for library, Kevin (not his real name) stood beside her and told her that he had something to say to her. He then proceeded to say, "I love you, Elisan." And you know what she said back to him? She said, "SERIOUSLY?" (Priceless, right?)

So, of course, since I have been rolling around various thoughts pertaining to pre-teen issues, I grabbed the chance to tell her that while it was nice he loves her, he probably really only "likes" you a lot. That love between a man and a woman was reserved for more mature people, like Mommy's and Daddy's. She agreed with me (or at least she said as much) and that was pretty much the end of that conversation. Of course, I could hardly wait to tell Randy. I mean, this is HUGE. A boy professing his love for my baby. Randy didn't react as whacked out as I did... he just shrugged and said, "I knew this day was coming, I just didn't think it would be at 8 years old." (Men. Why can't they overreact like we do?!)

Truth be told, this little boy is so sweet. And nice. And cute. And if there was any boy in her class that I would want to show an interest in her first, it would be Kevin. And, he goes to our church. Double points!

Speaking of church, Sunday rolls around and she was primping more than usual. She even sprayed some bath spray on her neck on the way to church. Hmmmm.... perhaps in the off chance that Kevin would be there? (But alas, they attend the second service and we attend the first service... no such luck!)

And today. Another first...

Wow, this pre-teen business is going to drive me crazy. Lord, wisdom! That's all I'm asking.

Today she told me that her good friend Carly (not her real name) has a cousin who is 13 years old and she just had a baby. (WHAMMY!) She also said, "It just happened to her, right?" (DOUBLE WHAMMY!)

I listened to the voice of my friend Leigh Ann (that is her real name!) say, "Seize the opportunity to talk about sex when it comes up!" So, I did. I told her that no, it did not just "happen" to this 13 year old girl. I told her that she chose to have sex with a boy. And because she chose to have sex, she got pregnant. I then explained to her that there is an order for these such things to occur. I told her that God's plan for babies is this: a woman and a man get married because they love each other very much and then they pray about starting a family. Then, after that, they have sex (yes, I used the word sex) to make a baby. It is a decision made by both the mommy and the daddy.

I told her the little girl made a wrong choice to have sex with a boy and that she now has a baby. I told her that just because you can make a baby, doesn't mean it's the right time to make a baby. And for good measure, I threw in the analogy of shoplifting... saying that just because you get away with stealing something, doesn't make it right.

And then, she started talking about something entirely different and that was that. Whew!

According to my friend Leigh Ann, her daughter stewed on the sex thoughts for a long time and then brought it up to her again. I suspect the same thing will happen with Elisan. So, we are not done... not by a long shot, but at least the door has been opened for frank discussion.

Wow, I survived. Barely.