I'm Nacho Mama

Have you ever had one of those weekends where you were so stinkin' busy that you actually dreaded it? Who dreads a weekend?

Saturday, we had a day of soccer. All day. Two games, soccer pictures and concession stand duty all wrapped up into one day. I felt like the evil soccer team mom with all of the email reminders and threats that I had to lay down about the team's MORAL and CIVIC obligation to participate in mandatory concession stand duty.

Let me just say, asking a parent to give up an hour of their precious weekend to serve up lumpy cheeze whiz over bulk-rate tortilla chips is just good old fashioned fun. I mean, who doesn't love to impose that kind of torture on someone? I know I do.

But, I have to say, our parents came through and it was only minimally painful. In the past, Randy and I have been stuck working the concession stand BY OURSELVES for the better part of four hours because no parent bothered to help out. We had 7 out of 10 families participate and that is a team mom's dream come true.

So, if you are reading this and you have yet to embark on the the wonders of concession stand duty, please keep in mind that the coaches and/or team mom hold the brunt of the work if you choose not to participate. Really, when it comes down to it... consider it a privilege to participate in your child's extra-curricular team sport, sign up for your concession stand post and get it over with. Your team mom will love you for it.

Mom, I apologize in advance

So, yes, I didn't make it back yesterday, but if you've stuck around for any length of time, you probably weren't surprised. I did however, manage to buy some Easter basket goodies yesterday, so it was not a total loss.

I mentioned that I have a lot to say, so here goes!

Monday, as soon as I arrived home from the gym, I tackled this.




Well, not this actually because this is the back yard. This picture was taken 2 hours ago, so those weeds are still intact. Whew! No, I tackled the front yard, which was really no better than this... only on a larger scale. I know you are asking... how did you let your yard get this bad?

Well, for three reasons... One, our Home Owner's Association is a joke, thus, we were never forced to tend to the weeds. Second, we've just been so darn busy around here, that yard maintenance wasn't high on our list of priorities. (Yes, it SHOULD be higher, I agree.) And third, Randy claims he put weed killer+ fertilizer out on the lawn last week to kill the weeds. I really only think it empowered them, wouldn't you agree?

So, Monday, I spent nearly 3 hours (and 1000 calories later) bagging up 2.5 large industrial strength garbage bags full of weeds. I even broke the hoe and had to resort to the shovel to get those bad boys up. Talk about back breaking work.

I titled this blog entry "Mom, I apologize in advance" because Mom, if you are reading this, I realize you are now full of shame on my yard's behalf. I just didn't inherit your green thumb. The good news is, that my Mom thinks my blog entries are too long and tends to not read my blog that much anyway.

I was standing in a checkout line today and the woman behind me was standing too close. This is one of my pet peeves. One of my "favorite" standing-in-line-too-close-to-me stories happened back at Christmas. The woman behind me was so close, she was very nearly standing shoulder to shoulder to me. In fact, I almost let her in front of me so I could regain my personal space. I didn't however... it was the principle of the matter! So, what did I do? I began using a lot of my personal space. Looking around, digging in my purse, picking up the girls, talking loudly... you know... making a spectacle of myself. Didn't work, by the way... she remained steadfast in her attempt to be joined at my hip.

I'm in my jewelry making phase again. I want to make a funky multi-colored necklace using these kind of beads. If anyone wants to go in with me in the purchase of buying strands of these beads at Michael's let me know. I just don't want to spend gobs of money on three or four strands of beads to only end up using 1/2 of them. (Gosh, I just re-read this section and my train of thought was mixed up when I was typing it out... sorry for the randomness of my thoughts/typing!)

Meanwhile, this is what I made a week ago. I took some of my older creations and re-worked them into these necklaces. I had the crosses from over a year ago and never did anything with them. I like how these turned out.
I'm not going to pretend this recipe is nothing more than a glorified salad, but I wanted to share this yummy dish that my family loves. We call this dish "Fajita Bowls". The beauty of this dish is that it is very low fat - depending on your toppings, of course! And, it's also very kid friendly. I usually make this on soccer practice nights, since we are getting in late. I usually do all of the prep work beforehand and when we get home, I just pop the meat, beans and rice in the microwave to warm it up and we're good to go.

Fajita Bowls

1 can of Charro Beans (drained/rinsed)
2 cups cooked rice
2 cooked Fajita styled chicken breasts or 1 beef fajita flank (cut into bit sized pcs.)

Salad Fixin's: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Black Olives
Additional Toppings: Salsa, Cheese, Guacamole, Pico de Gallo

Oh, and if you have never tried Julio's salsa, then you are missing out. It's found in the cold food dip and cream cheese section in HEB. Julio's also makes a seasoned chip that is super yummy, but has a ton of MSG in them, so I stay away from them.

I just have so much to say

I have so much to say, but my brain is not wanting to communicate with my fingers this morning.

So, I'm sending out the preemptive approach to facilitate the real blog post I intend to write later today... or this week. Really, it all depends on my mood.

Oh, did y'all know Easter is less than 2 weeks away? In fact, more like 12 days? Yeah, it kind of snuck up on me too. I need to get moving on some Easter baskets pronto.

Okay, so that's all for now. I gotta get ready to haul the kids to school.

Break? There was a break?

The girls and I arrived safely home yesterday afternoon from Spring Break 2010. (That's going to be my new 'tag-line' this year... everything is going to end with 2010. Because it sounds cool.)

We had a great week visiting our friends and family. 700 miles later, I can honestly say it was worth sleeping on a sofa, hanging out til midnight, eating junk food with friends and listening to the endless "where are we now?" questions.

Here are a few highlights!

The girls and I arrived in Sugar Land on Monday and visited with my friends Cyndi and Leigh Ann. Leigh Ann recently moved back to Texas, after realizing that Texas is the best place to live in the entire world. Unfortunately, they took the long way around to get back! They moved from Georgetown to New York to Kansas and now Houston. Thank goodness they are back because I missed them a ton! She's a native of Massachusetts, thus the big whale on her shirt and her preppy RL Polo sweater, but she'll get back to her trashy Texas roots before long.

And not to be outdone, I enjoyed visiting with my soul sister, Cyndi. Cyndi is the type of friend that you pick up right where you left off, like you haven't missed a beat. Anyone who knows both of us would know that we can hardly get a word in edgewise with each other because we are both talking 90 to nothing. Love her.

The kids had a great time too! Seven total kids between the three of us and they all played beautifully together! That gave us plenty of time to sip coffee uninterrupted!

Wednesday, the girls and I headed home to Orange. The girls promptly grabbed their Sponge Bob Squarepants fishing reel and went outside to fish with Pop. As you can see, they had both caught nice sized fish. On Thursday, while my mom and I hit the mall, the girls visited Randy's folks' house and had a great time there. We stayed at my folks' house until Friday morning.
Friday morning, we headed back out towards Houston to have lunch with my college friend (and Matron of Honor) Angie. Angie and I don't get to see each other enough, but I was glad to get to spend at least an hour or two visiting with her. And, we were able to kiss and squeeze her beautiful baby girl Addison while we were there. I think Angie held Addison for about 5 minutes while I held her as much as I could. I would not share!
We all snuggled up to Randy last night once we arrived home. He missed us a lot and we missed him too!

Now, the girls are reacquainting themselves with their toys, while I do mounds and mounds of laundry now that the joys of Spring Break are over. Come Monday, we'll be back to the grind!

Thanks to everyone who hosted the Wagner girls over the week! We love y'all!

Tired!

Blogging from my iPod...

Just checkin in! I am so tired and will be glad to head home tomorrow! I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed! Anyone else miss their bed when they travel? I am on my second night of sleeping on the couch at my folks and if it weren't for my benedryl induced sleep, I'm not sure that the couch and I would get along.

Anyway, we've had a great spring break week and I can't wait to post pictures of all of our fun!

On the Road Again

Have I ever shared with you my deep and abiding love for Willie Nelson? Not lately? I'm sorry, truly I am. And, no, I'm not trying to be funny. I {heart} Willie. I grew up listening to Willie Nelson and in fact, I blogged about it here back in 2006 (ancient history, I know.)

But, I do... love me some of that Willie. And his immortal words of "On the Road Again" could not be more truer than they are today.

Today the girls and I will embark on our annual Spring Break homage to the Golden Triangle, with a couple of stops along the way to visit my friends Cyndi, Leigh Ann and Angie who all live in Houston. I haven't seen these girls in ages and I'm completely beside myself with giddiness at seeing all of them. I'm also anxious to see my folks, since I haven't seen them since Christmastime.

So, we had a nice weekend as a family. Started off at the soccer fields. Elisan had the most beautiful goal in the history of soccer and if I had had my video camera I would have posted it on the web for all of the world to see. But, no. I neglected to bring my camera and so you'll just have to take my word for it.

The remainder of Saturday, was spent being stressed out about trying to prepare for our week long trip, which included preparing Randy for us being gone a week - like finishing ALL of the laundry, bagging his lunch food for the entire week, cleaning and answering a thousand questions about when we were going to pack the suitcases.

Sunday was more of the same, except we were all working on one less hour of sleep. I tried to talk Randy into going to the second service at church, but he wasn't having it. But, on the bright side, we had the whole row to ourselves in church. Apparently some wives have more pull with their husbands when they attempt to talk them into sleeping late. Go figure.

This week, I'm a bit nervous about missing my three favorite shows. 24, Lost and Biggest Loser. I'm hoping our DVR doesn't decide to do anything funky while I'm gone because I just don't think I can watch the episodes online. There's just something about watching Biggest Loser in widescreen HD. When you can see the sweat pouring out of each individual pore of the contestants... well, you just can't beat that kind of television!

And finally, I leave you with this monumental occurrence. We love Kashi Go Lean Crunch Almond & Flax cereal. It's so yummy and as the name says... crunchy! Randy eats it as a dry snack and I eat it with milk (in a bowl... like normal people.) Anyway, well, the truth of the matter is that this cereal gives you a serious case of the winds. There's really no way of getting around that fact. In fact, I DO NOT eat this cereal in the morning so as not to embarrass myself at the gym, while lifting weights, etc... you get the gist. So, last night, Randy was particularly "windy" and was begging for something to relieve his condition. PEOPLE... THIS NEVER HAPPENS! Randy's "windy-ness" is legendary and he
prides himself on it. So, when he asked for some Gas-X, I couldn't get to the medicine cabinet fast enough. It was a banner day at the Wagner household. Just thought I'd share.

Apparently other people have had the Kashi Go Lean Crunch "side effect" too. This one is particularly funny... be sure to read the comments too! I'm posting this link just in case you need some additional reading material today.

Y'all have a great day and I'll check while I'm on the road!

At this rate, the tooth fairy will be broke!

Another Tooth!

You're Weird Mom!

A quick 30 second video of Elisan trying out her 80's lingo!

Half way through and it goes into the trash

I love to buy books at Goodwill. It's one of my favorite finds. I never walk into a Goodwill without checking out the book section.

I recently bought "Vanishing Acts" by Jodi Picoult. I've only listened to her books on CD (because they tend to be a bit long for my reading pleasure) and I've enjoyed her writing. She weaves a strong tale, with great character development and virtually draws you into the character's world.

I began "Vanishing Acts" and it started off as an intriguing story about a women who discovered that she was "kidnapped" by her father during one of his custody visitations 28 years prior. The book had the makings of a very compelling story.

That is, until a new character was introduced about half-way into the book. That character, the mother actually, practiced black magic!

My first thought was WHY? Why bring this "element" into this story that really obviously is not necessary... at least, it wasn't necessary in my opinion. I guess I'll never know, because I threw the book away. (Gasp!) Yep. Threw it away, because I am certainly not going to haul it back to Goodwill for another unsuspecting soul to pick it up and be deceived by the subtleties of black magic.

So, I'm curious... since I personally know most of you that read my blog... what would you do? Keep reading or put it down?

And while I'm on the topic... what are your overall feelings about magic (in general) in movies (both for mature audiences and for children?)

Advice from a Fashion Saavy Mom

My friend Kris always looks fabulous.

Mom + Style = Kris

So, yesterday, after my whining and complaining about my pants not fitting, I emailed Kris asking her to give me some fashion advice.

She answered my cry for help and posted in detail how to look trendy and look your age...

So, head on over to Casa de Martinez and check out Kris's style recommendations! Thanks Kris!

Mama's got a big 'ol butt!

Oh Yeah!

That's right people. My gluteus maximus has gotten bigger. And, to be fair, so have my quadriceps. The culprit? Weight lifting... more specifically squats and deadlifts. And because of this...my pants and shorts don't fit right anymore. Oh, they fit in the waist, just not in the rear and thighs.

And this people, is causing me to go into a clothing tailspin (no pun intended... really.) I think I'm going to resort to gym shorts and tee's and tanks this summer. Elastic waistbands and breezy material. I'll be in a perpetual state of fitness wear because it's comfortable and I can sit down without fear of splitting the back seam of my britches.

So until Summer, when you see me wearing pants that are too tight in the bum, remember I've worked hard to achieve it.

Baby's got back.

Let the games begin!

It's "Springtime" around here and that means, our life is about to get hectic... but in a good way!

I posted a few weeks ago that I was worried about the snow and our budding tree out in front of our house. But, as you can see... our tree survived "Blizzard 2010" and it bursting forth with flowery buds! I love this time of year!

Last week marked one of the busiest weeks we've ever had. Elisan finished up volleyball, in the midst of the first full week of soccer. Elisan loved volleyball and we are definitely going to sign her up for the Summer season. While we would have liked to have been able to continue volleyball in the Spring, our sanity cannot take two sports at one time. We're setting a precedence now, hoping it will catch on. Ha! Not likely, I'm afraid. Randy hopes to head coach the volleyball team over the summer since he can't function as an assistant coach (or as a side-line dad for that matter.) It's not in his blood. He needs to be all or nothing, which places me in the "team mom" role. (insert sarcasm here) Yay.

Speaking of soccer, the girls had their first games on Saturday. One thing is for sure, soccer IS Elisan's sport. That girl is phenomenal on the field. Even Randy is impressed. Being short doesn't interfere with soccer abilities that is for sure! *smile* And Kyla... well, she's just fast. Give her a couple more years of skill building and she'll be a force to reckon with too! Oh and you know how I mentioned Randy not being able to sit on the side lines? YEP, you guessed it, he is coaching Kyla's team. And me? I'm team mom! (insert sarcasm here) Yay.

Don't get me wrong, I love helping out and being apart of their team, but rallying the parents is not the "fun" part. Randy gets to do the fun stuff, while I get to be the bad guy assigning parents to the dreaded concession stand duty.
So, it wasn't enough having two early morning soccer games on Saturday. No, I had to try my hand at canning pickles as well. Because you can never have too much to do... that's my motto. I used this recipe and here's hoping they turn out good. I only canned one quart jar of whole cucumbers and a pint jar of cucumber spears. Here's hoping they'll be yummy. Oh and here's a tip... when searching for a recipe for canning cucumbers, don't search under "pickles"... search under "cucumbers"... that's an FYI from a blond girl.
Speaking of blond... I asked my mom if she would highlight my hair while I'm in town for Spring Break and she said "NO WAY, NO HOW." Sigh...

And finally, I leave you with this totally unsolicited note from my sweet baby Elisan. I walked in from the gym one morning and this is what I saw. We've been leaving love notes for each other ever since!
Y'all have a good one!

Stuff Heard 'Round the House

I haven't had a "Stuff heard 'round the house" installment in a while, so I thought I'd share this gem with you...

Kyla (age 6) said, "Andrew at school said I can't wear my Keds to school anymore because they make me run too fast!"

Mom replied, "What? Well, what did you say back to him?"

Kyla, "I told him that ALL of my shoes make me run fast!"

Mom, holding hand up to give Kyla a high-five!

New Computer

I'm back. With a new computer to boot!

Well, it's "new" to me. We bought a used computer at Discount Electronics. So far, it's awesome. However, the awesomeness ends as I sit here installing all of the software that was on my other computer. We're looking at days worth of work here people. (Well, not really, more like a couple of hours, which translates into days because I don't have gobs of time to just sit here and fiddle around on the computer... ya know?)

So, anyway...

I also haven't forgotten about you, my fellow blog friends... I have been reading, but not commenting. I feel like a bad friend. You know, in a cyber kind of way.

So, that's all for now. I have some software that needs my attention.

What did we do in the 90's?

Okay, so Monday, I was hanging out at the house doing a bit of cleaning and the power glitched off because of the passing thunderstorm. No biggie, right?

Wrong.

Remember when I said I was having computer problems a while back? Well, when the power glitched... apparently, so did my computer. So much for fixing the original problem. So, we're in the process... oh, who am I kidding... Randy is in the process of trying to repair it, while I'm on the hunt for parts.

This would be the equivalent to Randy going, to say... HEB and attempting to purchase roasted red bell peppers in a jar. Yep. Nearly an impossible task without help.

So, that's what I'll be doing today. Yay me!

While I'm waiting for my computer to be fixed, I thought I'd hop on Randy's computer and update my blog. Funny thing, is that Randy's computer used to be my computer. Man, this thing is slooooow! Like it took me a whole minute to log onto the internet. Which leads me to my title... WHAT did we do in the nineties before we had high speed anything, much less internet and cool compters, ipods and mobile devices? Oh, yes... we used the telephone. We spoke to people that we knew IRL. Not in cyber life. Ah. How far we've come... Sigh.

I don't begrudge technology. In fact, I embrace it. But, I also like simple. And when your computer dies on you, you get back to simple real fast. It's kind of nice actually.

So, I'm going to visit my hometown over Spring Break and on occassion when I make that trip, I schedule a hair appointment to get my hair highlighted. Gasp! Yes, I lighten my hair! As if you didn't already know. Well, here's the deal. My hair girl decided to switch things up on me and no longer offers the same type of highlighting as she has for umpteen years. She used to pull my hair through the cap and add the solution, heat it up, pull off the cap and BAM... highlights galore.

Well, she doesn't do that anymore. She now uses foil for highlighting. Not knowing this, I allowed her to foil my hair last time and simply put... I was not happy with the outcome. In addition to that, it took TWO HOURS to just put the foil in my hair, not to mention the additional 1 hour to heat, rinse, etc. Blah.

So, I'm torn. I really want highlights, but I want it the old fashion redneck way of pulling it through the cap. Anyone know anyone who does this? Anyone?

I'm tempted to go to the beauty supply store and buy the cap myself and work a little magic here, but something tells me it may not be the best idea I've ever had. Sigh.

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.

Today's Excitement

Today was an exciting day at our house! (Not really... I just wanted you to think that we live our lives to the fullest around here!

This morning, Kyla came downstairs complaining that her tummy hurt. I asked the typical questions you ask a 6 year old. "Do you need to go to the bathroom?" and "Are you hungry?"

I wasn't satisfied with the answers she gave and then she laid on the couch for about 10 mins still complaining about her tummy. She finally ate a bit of cereal, but was still whiny. About 5 mins before we were leaving for school, she said to me that she didn't want to go to school because her tummy still hurt.

By the time we arrived at school, MIRACULOUSLY... her stomach stopped hurting. But, alas, we had no backpack, no lunch, no coat and hair wasn't brushed. So, she came back home with me.

This is what we found when we arrived home.


This kept Kyla busy for at least 20 minutes.

Then, we napped.

Then, we ate.

Then, we ran errands.

Then, we did a craft.

You get the gist...