Cake Lady

It's very nice that one of our school mom keeps bringing us cakes from Celebrity Bakery, but seriously... I do NOT need cake today! I kind of took a break from my reformed eating ways this weekend. We hit a lot of my favorite places. Taco Bell and Braums included. Yumm!

But I really wanted a fresh start today. Time in! And now there is an Italian Cream cake covered in walnuts and coconut that is calling my name. I seriously doubt I will make it through the day without giving in. Suck.

Sunday Musings

Sometimes I wish that I had tons of time to sit and blog... I have so many thoughts and ideas that come into my head, and I say to myself, "I need to sit and think that out" but then I never find time to do that, so they are always only half thoughts and half ideas floating around that never seem to clarify...

Sigh.

I don't think that I've mentioned yet that we joined First Baptist last Sunday. I am so thankful that God brought us to this church. It seems to be bursting with opportunity to grow and learn and disciple. I am looking forward to seeing where God will lead us in this journey.

I adore the couple who leads our Sunday School class. Tyler and Lauren are their names. They have a daughter whose name I think is Eva, but it might by Ava. One of those for sure. I think. And Lauren is pregnant with their second child. They are just such a wonderful of example of a Godly couple - not perfect, but desiring to live in God's will. Something that I desire very much for Brett and I. Not that we aren't a "Godly couple". I mean, we are both believers. But we are learning, ya know? They talk about praying together and making decisions as a couple... Brett and I are still learning to exist together as an entity... marriage is so interesting. But it is a journey. It is perfectly acceptable that we don't know the best way to do things right from the start. I have to keep reminding myself of that though. I always imagine this outside pressure to be blameless, but really the pressure comes from myself and I have to learn to take things one day at a time and just be honest and communicate and let God lead us.

It's a strange thing to admit, but honesty can be a difficult thing for me. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that communicating is difficult. I am one of those people that will just sit silently because I desire peace. But it is not wise to confuse calm for peace. Peace only exists when there is a mutual knowledge of "the state of the union". Brett CAN'T meet my needs if I am not honest about what those needs are.

Tyler mentioned a scripture today that I am sure I have read before, but today it was a truth - a bit of wisdom - that resonated very deeply in me because it is something that I have been thinking about in our marriage. As we learn to use money and spend together, we want to do so in such a way that we honor God. We want to return his blessings and be faithful stewards.

Proverbs 30:8b "give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me."

My spiritual/financial maturity is not shown in times when I have little, but in times when I have much. What do I do with the extra money that God gives me? How hard am I really trying to pay off debt so that we can live freely from that burden? How serious am I about saving wisely today to build a better tomorrow for my family?

This idea can branch out into SO many areas of life. It kind of makes my head spin.

I hope that you enjoy your Sunday afternoon. I am going to go rest with my husband and read a little Lord of the Rings. I've been thinking about reading them for a few weeks... it's been a couple of years since I did. I gave in today!

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 8.28.09

Rev. Lovejoy: Homer, I'd like you to remember Matthew 7:26. 'The foolish man who built his house upon the sand.'

Homer: And you remember... Matthew 21:17.

Rev. Lovejoy: 'And he left them and went out of the city, into Bethany, and he lodged there?'

Homer: Yeah... Think about it.

Jennifer Knapp

Jennifer Knapp is the artist who got me into Christian music. I was in high school, probably a sophomore, and I discovered her CD, Kansas. I love every song. EVERY SONG.

When I was a kid, in junior high, I went through a poetry phase. Not reading, writing. Lots of rhyming... nothing very impressive =-) My mom had me read some to a friend of hers once and she commented that they were all sad. Well, yeah. I wrote when I was sad. It was an outlet for all of the confusing emotions that adolescence brings. I don't write poetry anymore, but I do write. (Obviously, I have a blog!)

Anyway, a lot of her songs are kind of like that. Kind of sad, but not really. Mostly just honest. Songs of confession that express a deep desire for and dependence on God's grace. I think they are lovely. If you are looking for some comforting and inspirational praise music, I highly recommend you pick up this CD.

iTunes just brought up the song Martyrs and Thieves. Check out the words: (I ESPECIALLY relate to the second verse! I'm sure a lot of people could...)

There's a place in the darkness that I used to cling to
It presses harsh hope against time
In the absence of martyrs there's a presence of thieves
Who only want to rob you blind
They steal away any sense of peace
Though I'm a king I'm a king on my knees
And I know they are wrong when they say I am strong
As the darkness covers me

Chorus-

So turn on the light and reveal all the glory
I am not afraid
To bare all my weakness knowing in meekness
I have a kingdom to gain
Where there is peace and love in the light, in the light
Oh I am not afraid
To let Your light shine bright in my life, in my life
Oh I... am, I...

There are ghosts from my past who've owned more of my soul
Than I thought I had given away
They linger in closets and under my bed
And in pictures less proudly displayed
A great fool in my life I have been
Have squandered till pallid and thin
Hung my head in shame and refused to take blame
For the darkness I know I've let win

(Chorus)

Can you hear me? (repeat 6x)

Well I've never been much for the baring of soul
In the presence of any man
I'd rather keep to myself all safe and secure
In the arms of a sinner I am
Could it be that my worth should depend
By the crimson stained grace on a hand
And like a lamp on a hill Lord I pray in Your will
To reveal all of You that I can

(Chorus)

There's a place in the darkness that I used to cling to
It presses harsh hope against time...

500 Days of Summer

I saw this movie tonight. I liked it =-) It was happy, and sad, and encouraging and depressing. Covered all the basics. But Joseph Gordon-Levitt... count me in! Has anyone else ever noticed that he looks like Heather Ledger? With the right wig, he could be Heath for Halloween. I have always thought that. Ever since 10 Things I Hate About You.

The dance scene in the movie tonight - greatness! I LOVED it! So cute.

His (JGL) smile is so genuine! So joyful. And when he cried... oh! My heart crumbled! AND my favorite cameo from Garden State, (one of my favorite flicks) Geoffrey Arend, made me giggle! He's so funny!

And of course, any love story, of any sort, makes me thankful for my love. I love Brett =-)

We met for lunch today, for the first time. It felt so married. And I really NEEDED him today! We have been talking about some "future" stuff... changes and goals... and trying to make decisions and I kind of reached a turning point today. So I really needed to talk to him about it. I'm so glad we were both able to meet for lunch. I would have cried (probably literally) if he had said no.

Good day =-) Glad tomorrow is Friday!

First Grade, Already!!!

Madilyn, my niece, started 1st grade this week. Sigh. I can't believe how tall and grown up she looks in the pictures that my sister sent. I wish that I saw her more. I wish that I saw my whole family more. We are getting together for dinner on Sunday and I am super excited! I suggested that we all get together so we can hear about Madi's, Jenna's (my sister - it's her first year of teaching) and my mom's (she is the Principal's secretary at a middle school in Irving) first week of school!

Here is a picture of Madi last year on her first day of Kindergarten.

And here she is on her first day of First Grade looking MUCH older, I think!

Random Rabbit

It's weird that all of the computers at work have a different time on them, because they are all set automatically by whatever cosmic force it is that sets time on appliances when you plug them in.

But... I LOVE IT!

Because when I get a file from John's computer right after he saves it down for me, it's like it came from the FUTURE!

=-)

A Break-in

So last night, the company that I work for was broken into. Nothing was taken, but 4 doors were busted in.

Nothing was taken. How weird is that? What does that mean? Were they just looking for cash registers and left when they didn't find any? (Most likely.) Or were they just checking things out? I don't get it. But I feel violated. I wanted to take my pictures down when I left work because I am worried that they will come back, having seen all of our computers, etc. and will vandalize this time. I was at work for 4 hours by myself on Saturday. What if they had come then? I am sometimes the last to leave at night. Sometimes by hours. Well, I should be using the past tense, because that will definitely not be happening anymore.

I do NOT, I repeat, NOT feel good about this.

400 Post!

Wow! Just before the screen changed to take me to my posting page, I saw that this will be my 4ooth blog. That's a lotta bloggin'!

Anyway.

I'm excited for all of my teacher friends today! I prayed for Jenna, my mom, Jennifer, Casey, Blaire, Mrs. Gooding, Shane, Krista and the girl who sat next to me at church yesterday. I hope it's a good year for everyone!

Maybe this time next year I will have some new teachers to be praying for =-)

Delicious Dish - 6

I have SO many products that I have discovered that have made making healthier choices, not only easier, but SERIOUSLY delicious! This is one of them. It is called Better'n Peanut Butter.

I have only tried the original because I LOVE IT! But they also have a low sodium version, and, get this. A chocolate version. Is there anything better in the world of sweet food than chocolate and peanut better? I can't think of a thing!

I eat this on English Muffins all the time! I add it to shakes, I use it in an HG brownie recipe, and when I really want a fix, I scoop out a tablespoon and eat it slowly with a glass of water. It's that good!

A serving is 2 tbsp, but I always only need 1 at a time. 1 tablespoon has 50 calories, 1 gram of fat and 1 gram of fiber. Do not adjust your monitor... you read that right 1 GRAM OF FAT! Peanut butter is notorious for being high in fat. Because nuts contain fat. That's just how it is. I don't know who the genius behind this sensation is, but I hope that he is enjoying serious benefits from his discovery. It tastes just like peanut butter but has a smooth, slightly grainy texture, that makes you think they just crushed up nuts and threw them in a jar!

If you are a peanut butter lover, I highly recommend you pick this up. You can find it at Super Targets, Sprouts, Whole Foods, and probably other places, but that is all I know for sure. Our Kroger carried it once... but it has been gone for months =-(

Check it out!

Saturday Morning... Is There Anything Better?

I had a wonderful evening with my husband last night. I needed Friday night like a cow needs grass! What a tiring week.

We went to our favorite Italian place, Romano's Macaroni Grill, which has recently added some less unhealthy food options, which is awesome! What I ordered last night, I unfortunately won't be ordering again, but I had such a good time with Brett dipping our bread into the sauce of his SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS Penne Rustica. Oh dear. There is nothing better.

Then we went to our favorite Borders bookstore, where we found nothing, but had fun browsing. Then we dashed into Macy's so I could FINALLY use the gift card that Jennifer gave me for my birthday. THANK YOU JENNY! I LOVE my new Fiesta Serving bowl! Woohoo!

I was not much fun when we got home. I laid on the couch to watch Brett play his new Wrestle Mania game and I'm pretty sure I was asleep in less than 20 minutes. At 5 til 10:00 he told me to go to bed. So I did. Ha! I have no idea what time he came to bed. I was totally out!

I just enjoyed an english muffin spread with this week's Delicious Dish, which I am about to post, and a DELICIOUS glass of chilled Chai. I. Love. Chai.

I REALLY feel like shopping today. I saw this purse at Target about a month ago... it is probably not there anymore, but when I saw it I called it purse perfection and I am itching to go see if I can find one. It would make my purse, hence my life, MUCH more organized!

But I need to be at work by noonish, just so I'm not there forever... I have 4-5 hours worth of work to do today, so I should probably get going.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

An Odd Night...

The guys in the singles class that we used to be a part of have Guys Night on Thursday nights. Brett used to host it. Now it is at Jared's. A month or so ago, Brett decided to start attending again to stay in touch with those guys. So on Thursdays I go to dinner with my mom.

My plan last night was to meet my mom, and Laura this week, for dinner at 6 and then go see Julie & Julia at 7:20 at the mall. I read the book a few weeks ago and I love Amy Adams so I wanted to see the movie.

But my mom ended up having to work 6th grade orientation, so no dinner. And Brett has been sick all week so he wasn't going to guy's night. But he found a game that he has been wanting on sale for $20 yesterday, so he bought it and had that to entertain him last night. So I looked online and the movie was showing at 6:55 at the theater near me, so I decided to go.

I enjoyed the movie. You know how when you watch people who are in love it makes you happy and thankful for the love in your life? (Like when we read Twilight, Kel!) It was that kind of movie. Julia and her husband seemed to be very much in love. And Julie and her husband were also loving. So it was a good experience and I am glad that I got to see it.

But I pulled out my phone to turn the ringer back on as I was leaving the theater, and I saw that I had a voice mail from Brett's mom. She said that she was trying to reach him, and could I have him call her. So I called him as I was walking to my car. He had already talked to her. She told him that his father passed away.

Brett's relationship with his father was... well, there wasn't really a relationship. It's a long, and at the same time, short story, but it is not my story to tell. But when someone like that, someone who in theory you would like to have a relationship with, but in reality that isn't the case, dies... how should you feel? It was confusing. And sad. I love my husband and I want to be what he needs all the time... but sometimes there is just no way of knowing what we need. There are not always words for your state of emotion. Or sometimes there are too many words.

I'm sure this weekend will be... I don't know. Confusing. And maybe sad. But I am thankful for my husband. Thankful that we can be together. I love him so much and I am so thankful for his love. I hope that I can show him those things today and every day.

I realize, I overused the word in the previous paragraph, but I have to say it... I'm SO THANKFUL that today is Friday. Sigh.

A Treat!

I had my first massage the day before I got married. My sisters and I all went to Massage Envy and enjoyed swedish massages. It was a nice hour!

Since then, I have been getting emails from Massage Envy now and then. Last week I received one stating that they are raising money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation on September 15. Massages are only $35 and all proceeds go to SGKF. Nice, huh?!

So last night I called and scheduled an appointment for a deep tissue massage at 7:00 on September 15. I'm going to see if I can make an event of it! Go to dinner before hand and maybe grab an 8:30 movie afterward. What a night!

I'm SO looking forward to it. The knots in my back have been especially painful this week. I need professional help! Hurry up September 15! I need you to get here soon!

Finally, An Actual Post!

Work has been so busy... when I get home, after I make dinner and do a little cleaning, I am SO tired! I like when work is slow enough that I can write a quick post on my lunch break, but work hasn't resembled anything remotely close to slow for a few weeks. So my lunch break consists of the 60 seconds it takes me to walk to the lunch room, the 5 minutes it takes me to heat up my lunch, and the 60 second walk back to my desk. Then I am back to work while I munch on my tasties.

We are almost past the first hurdle on our summer project though! We do football programs for 7 schools, and this year they range between 36 and 148 pages. Most of our schools are around 100 pages though. But after we get the big book done, we do inserts for each school every time they have a home game. The inserts can be pretty hectic because we only have a couple of days to get them designed, approved and sent to the press, and there are always multiple schools with home games each week. But right now we are facing the INSANELY CHAOTIC task of getting the main portion of each book completed, approved and to the press. It is difficult when booster club parents don't understand the importance of deadlines, it is confusing when you are doing the same thing to 7 different schools and you have to keep them all separate in your head, and it is frustrating/disheartening when the owners, all five of them, get stressed to the point of grumpiness and are on the lookout for something/someone to throw their anger at.

I'm really tired. At the end of the day... man. It's all I can do to stay up long enough to do dishes and laundry after dinner. I'm getting home late, so dinner is late, so chores are late, so bedtime is late... it's a vicious cycle. I'm behind on blogging, exercise is non-existent and I miss reading the blogs I follow! I get so much encouragement from the Halliblogers (5 girls who live in Canada who I somehow have managed to discover and now can't get enough of). And I want to know what is going on with my friends that I don't get to see very often... Honestly though, I shouldn't be complaining. Most summers I don't have a day off between the 4th of July and Labor Day. But this year... what can I say? This is my 7th program season, and I was able to stay caught up working only 6 days a week. This past Sunday was the first I have worked all summer. That is a first in my Jayroe career!

Well, I would like to say you will be hearing from me again soon, but who can say?

EEK!

did you know this song when you were a kid? or did Jenina and I make it up...

I am slowly going crazy, one, two, three, four, five, six

SWITCH

Crazy going slowly am I, six, five, four, three, two, one

SWITCH!

more to come.

Well, I Tried

I did a LOT of cooking today! Well, it felt like a lot. I guess there wasn't THAT much to show for it, in the end.

I have been craving burgers. I've been talking about them for weeks! I had some turkey to use that I thought would be a good choice for the burgers. It was turkey, but it was not lean turkey. We have made turkey burgers once before and Brett didn't enjoy them very much, but I thought that tonight would be different since it was basically full fat turkey. But I was wrong. I even used a recipe from a Webber cook book! I diced onions and parsley and added granulated garlic and salt and pepper! But nope. They just sat there. If I didn't have pickles on my burger it wouldn't have tasted like anything. It's like the blandness of the burger totally neutralized the mustard. What the heck!

So the burgers were a bust.

To go along with them, I FINALLY made the butternut squash fries that I have been meaning to make for 3 weeks now. I had to eat a dozen or so before I decided that I didn't like them. They weren't terrible, but too sweet to eat like french fries. It just didn't work for me. And they took quite a bit of effort to make! So I won't be doing that again.

I also made our dinner for tomorrow night. It is a mexican casserole from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook that I have made once before. It was just good the first time. Not great. But tonight, I substituted Rotel for the tomatoes, so hopefully, it will have a little more pizzaz tomorrow. I would hate for dinner to be a flop 2 nights in a row. That would be embarrassing!

I worked a lot this weekend, but had some moments of rest as well. I hope that it is a good week. This is the tough part of our summer project. Have I mentioned the summer project we do at work? It can get a little crazy. We make football programs for 7 or 8 schools. It takes all summer, it's a lot of work, and there is ALWAYS confusion because we are dealing with volunteer parents. It's my favorite thing that I do at my job, but this time of year, I am always hoping the weeks will hurry by. We are trying to get all of the books ready for the press so that they can be printed in time for the first football games of the season. Madness, I tell you. MADNESS!

Hope your week starts well!

Delicious Dish - 5

Okay, I'm excited about this one! I started making this as a morning snack a few months ago. I have since discovered it in a Hungry Girl cookbook. Now that's funny. But I promise I mixed it myself before I saw it in her book!

Anyway. This is a sort of parfait, I guess you would call it. I LOVE yogurt! I don't buy flavored yogurt though. When it comes to yogurt, I like to buy vanilla and put my fruit of choice in it. That way I can control how much goes in it and it is always fresh and yummy!

Okay, so actually I am a bit of a yogurt snob. I'm not saying that there aren't other good yogurt options out there, but I have a favorite, and I pretty much never stray from it. Not only do I only buy vanilla, I also only buy Yoplait. Yoplait Vanilla Light, to be exact.

For a few years I would slice up a kiwi and toss it into my vanilla Yoplait. Kiwi and yogurt are two foods that nutritionists are constantly recommending you eat more of because they give your body all kinds of vitamins and goodness! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE kiwi! Mmm, mmm GOOD!

But post marriage, I have gone another route with my yogurt mixture. I wanted something to give it a little crunch and I discovered these little babies.

I have been a rice cake fan for years, but I always go for the caramel. Well one day I decided to try the apple cinnamon and it was greatness! So when I was looking for a low-cal cruncher for my yogurt, this was an obvious choice. But apple cinnamon rice cakes with kiwi felt like an odd combo. So instead, I tried it with strawberries.

TA DA!!!

This is SO delicious!

I empty a carton of Yoplait Vanilla Light into a bowl (or to go container, when I am taking it to work...) slice 5 strawberries into the yogurt, and crush a serving of apple cinnamon rice cakes on top. I mix it all together and indulge.

This is DELICIOUS! Sometimes I eat it at night when I am hunting for an ice cream fix. It is actually more calories than one of my WW ice cream bars, but it is a nice dose of vitamins, so it's an option!

Mmm... that sounds really good. I might just go make me a bowl RIGHT NOW!

Fortunate Friday!

We had two bits of really great luck yesterday!

First let me say, cars hate me! I NEVER have good luck with car stuff. I get regular oil changes, I get my car serviced when it's time to, but in general, I'm a car idiot. No clue when it comes to anything vehicular.

So my car has been squeaking for quite some time. I thought that I needed work done on my brakes. I've been thinking this for a LONG time, but brakes are expensive and I had a wedding to pay for... you know how it goes.

But last week I got a coupon emailed to me for a $10 brake inspection and tire rotation. So I thought when I took my car in for an oil change, I would get an estimate on my brakes so Brett and I could start saving. Well guess what?!? The squeak wasn't my brakes at all! I just had a spring that needed lubricating! It cost $99 because they had to take some things apart, but I just could not believe my luck! I expected to need $1,000 work done and I paid $100, sat for an hour and half, and now my car is nice and quiet! It's like a motor miracle!

We also had some seriously good fortune with Brett's mom. She found out a couple of weeks ago that she has a collapsed vertebrate in her back. She was told that she would probably need surgery and yesterday she had an appointment with the back doctor. But guess what?!? No surgery! He gave her some injections and thinks that they will suffice for treatment. I sure hope that is the case! And picking her up went really smoothly (she is now sans car) even though we had no idea where we were going. So that's great!

I have indulged in some tastiness the last couple of days. I have been doing really well tracking my food and exercising, but my exercise has SERIOUSLY diminished over the last 2 weeks and unfortunately, the last two evenings, my cravings have won the battle in my mind. But I am SO thankful... the scale has not moved. And I think I have been sufficiently tex-mexed and ice creamed to keep me straight for a while. I made a new HG dessert this morning that I can't WAIT to try tonight, and I am making a new soup recipe tonight that I am hoping will be a nice hearty bowl of yumm!

I am at work, but I think that I will only be here for three or four hours today and then Brett and I are going to go hunting for a new book for me. We have very few groceries to buy this week since we went crazy shopping last week! Just need some produce and a few fillers, but hopefully we will be mostly taking it easy tonight/tomorrow afternoon.

I will let you know how the recipes turn out! Have a great weekend!

Exciting Hulu News!

My So Called Life is now on Hulu. The entire season. I watched the pilot yesterday.

I'm not even sure how to put into words the greatness of this show. It was there for me when I needed it, ya know?

Claire Daines looked SO YOUNG! She was young!

Man. This is truly exciting news.

Thank you Hulu!

Holy Chocolate Cherry Batman!

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cherry Muffins. If you own Hungry Girl's first cookbook, go get it, turn to page 177, make a grocery list, and get thee to a grocery store, NOW!

Wow! These were every bit as good as I wanted them to be, and more! I think this is the first HG dessert that I have tried. I find that a lot of them have ingredients that are too specific for me. I realize that 2 tablespoons of Reeses Puffs cereal on top of some sort of ice cream concoction would seriously up the yumm factor for only a few calories, but it would also seriously up the number on the scale when I sit down with a giant bowl and consume an entire box, minus 2 tablespoons, of course, of the previously mentioned cereal. So most of the desserts I skip over. But this week I decided to try a couple. They both each only have a few ingredients and we had some flexibility on our grocery budget. If number two is HALF as good as these chocolate cherry masterpieces, which I have a sneaky suspicion they will be, it will be a triumphant week in the Bacon's kitchen!

Our fridge is SO full! I was thinking I would free up some space when I cooked the package of 10 chicken thighs for dinner tonight, but it didn't occur to me that the container that I used to store the 6 thighs that were left over would take up about the same space as the package of chicken. I also have a growing number of leftover containers. We threw out Friday's leftovers tonight, and have of Saturday's, so that was good, but we still have Sunday's leftovers (yes we ate out 3 times this weekend. Don't judge me!) but I added containers of broccoli/cauliflower and mac n cheese, and left over cherry pie filling. So I didn't really gain any space.

I'm exhausted. I worked until 6:40, came straight home and started dinner, which wasn't ready until 8:30 (and that's an optimistic estimate... it very well could have been later). We watched a really great episode of Star Trek while we ate, and when it was over I watched Brett play the demo for the new Batman game coming out in a few weeks. That is, until I looked at the clock and saw that it was 5 til 10:00 and I had a mountain of dishes in the kitchen to do. Tonight was excessive on the dish front. I had dishes from breading the chicken, dishes from cooking the chicken, dishes from eating the chicken, dishes from cooking side dishes, dishes from baking the brownies and a lovely assortment of glasses and utensils. I fit them all into the dishwasher except for my big pot. It will have to wait until the morning.

Like I said, I am exhausted. I am going to go to the bathroom and then collapse into bed, husband or no husband. He doesn't seem the least bit tired. I have a voicemail I am really looking forward to listening to, but I honestly don't have the energy for it. It will have to wait until the morning.

I already know that I will need help getting going in the morning, so I did some prep work tonight. My coffee maker is fully loaded with coffee grinds and water. I will be able to push the on button on my way to the shower and fill up my cup when I get out! Little trick I learned from my sister, Melanie. Genius.

Goodnight, all.

A Few Quick Thoughts

I probably shouldn't be writing this blog, because I don't really have time to think it through, but I can't seem to make myself stop, so here goes.

Life is full of possibilities. I tell myself that I am not brave enough... but the truth is that, like Peter, I can walk on water if I trust the one who is leading me.

I hung a few quotes in our bathroom recently. They are printed on cute little tin signs. I bought them at Target for $5 a piece. I hung them over the scale. I thought that was the most usefull place to receive these messages. They are the simples truths that change our lives the first time that we come to know them. Today, I hope that I can remember them while I work, and workout, and make dinner, and do dishes. SERENITY NOW Kim! Deep breaths.

"Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today." - Mark Twain

"A person will be just about as happy as they make up their mind to be." - Abraham Lincoln

"The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." Lao Tzu

There you go.

Sanity Is...

Time in my husbands arms, followed by low cal tex-mex, followed by iced chai with Jenina and Jennifer.

I'm feeling a little better.

Can I just say that major life changes, like jobs or moves or families, can be insanely overwhelming?! I have a lot of things to sort out, but I had a couple of realizations today. First of all, I ALWAYS need to PRAY before I PLAN! I tend to plan, then panic (when I don't know exactly how to plan) and then realize that I need to stop and pray. Can I please get my act together and reorder things here?

I also realized that THERE IS NO DEADLINE! I know that time is short and we don't have unlimited chances, but DANG IT! EACH DAY is a new chance. A new beginning. And if changes don't happen for me next month, that doesn't mean they won't happen a year from now. Ya know?

Moving on.

Today I said that I wanted to get some of the random thoughts out of my head... make a little room. Here is the first one:

Have you seen Amelie? I really like that movie. There is a scene where she talks about liking to watch people in theaters and seeing their reactions to what is happening onscreen. Ever since, I have had moments while watching movies when I realize that I am making crazy faces! If someone were watching me, they would be seriously entertained. I tend to smile like an idiot for long periods of time, and I make terrible faces when I cry. If someone had watched me watch My Sister's Keeper, it would have been quite the experience. I cried for MOST of that movie. Anyway, the last few times I have been to a movie I have been almost overwhelmed by a desire to turn around and check out the expressions of the people in the theater. I don't want to creep anyone out, and honestly, I would feel like I were invading people's privacy by watching them... but I don't know how much longer I can hold out. I just want to know if other people make crazy faces like I do. Is that so bad?

Speaking of movies, we saw Funny People this week. I was really looking forward to it. I like Adam Sandler. I don't like all of his movies, but the ones that I do like, I really like. And I like Seth Rogan. So I was glad when it came out, and very glad that Brett was interested in seeing it also. I liked the movie, but not as much as I had hoped to. It reminded me why I don't watch stand up comedy - the profanity is a little overwhelming. And parts of it were kind of depressing. It felt long, and that's usually not a good sign. I did like it, but I won't buy it. The other two summer movies that I am hoping to see are 500 Days of Summer and Julie & Julia. I have a feeling we will end up seeing GI Joe, but that has not been said yet. And I need to see Harry Potter again. Yes, I said need.

Confession: I started listening to Christmas music today. Don't judge me.

Statement: Reading other people's blogs can be very uplifting. I am so thankful for my blog buddies... the ones that I actually know and the ones I have never met.

It's just past 11:00, and though I have a few more things to say, I need to make the bed (the sheets are in the dryer) and finish the dishes. Brett said that he might beat me to it since I was going out for coffee. But he didn't =-)

WHY???

Why do I plan before I pray? I get SO worked up and anxious trying to figure out how to work a situation out and then 30 minutes into a panic attack I realize that I haven't prayed about it. Does God get tired of watching me chase my tail?

I have SO much in my head. Every day I have at least 3 moments that I have a thought and think "I need to blog that!" And then the thought is gone. Today I am making a list! I have got to get some of these extra thoughts out of my head! So get ready for some blogs soon!

Delicious Dish - 4

Okay, first I should mention that this is a dish that I am thinking of altering. I know that there are all kinds of oats out there, and some are better for you than others. But whether I change it in the future or not, it doesn't change the fact that right now, this is a seriously delicious dish! Also, let me apologize for the fuzzy pictures. That's the best I could find.

This is super simple. It works well year round and, most importantly, it is a FILLING breakfast. I feel good for a few hours when I eat this. It holds me over well until 10:00 or so when it's time for my "morning snack".

I'm talking about oatmeal.

I started wanting to eat oatmeal for breakfast a few years ago after I had been told about 2,000 times that it is a healthy start to your day. Oatmeal is good because it is packed with fiber, and fiber helps your body digest things. Also, the boxes all say that it lowers your cholesterol. It's on the box, so it must be true, right? Now growing up, we were not oatmeal eaters. The thought of making it on the stove leads me to visions of sticky pots and pans and burned milk. So I shopped around for a low cal instant oatmeal and landed on this:

I have been eating it now for probably three years, and I have never tried any other flavor. My sister likes the blueberry, but I LOVE cinnamon, and when I really like something I can eat it over and over without getting tired of it, so apple cinnamon is the one for me! And this one is great because it's a low sugar version so it has 110 calories as opposed to the 150 that most flavors provide.

Now here's the deal with instant oatmeal packets - they're small. People say that oatmeal is filling, but half of a cup of anything isn't going to fill me up. So here is my routine. I use one packet of apple cinnamon oatmeal with half of a cup of my milk substitute of choice, Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze.

Why do we need a milk substitute? I'm not really sure. But I heard this product mentioned so many times that I decided to try it. It's super low in the calorie department (40 for a WHOLE CUP!) and it has a crazy smooth creaminess that I really love! So there you go.

While the oatmeal is cooking in the microwave for a minute and fifteen seconds, I slice up a small Golden Delicious apple.

How can it not be good? It's NAMED DELICIOUS! Adding the apple to the oatmeal makes it a filling breakfast for me, and I am starting my day with, not just one healthy choice, but 3 fiber filled, energy giving goodies!

It's not fancy, but it was such a good breakfast solution for me, I wanted to share it. This oatmeal and Boca burgers are my two breakfast staples. I switch off every other month or so, but they are both greatness and I would never give up either!

The Passing of a Legend

John Hughes

Born February 18, 1950

Died August 6, 2009

Thank you John...

... for 16 Candles, which taught me that it's okay to feel totally out of place sometimes.

... for The Breakfast Club, which taught me that EVERYONE feels totally out of place sometimes.

... for Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which taught me that life moves pretty fast... if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.

... for Home Alone, which is, to this day, one of my favorite Christmas movies

... for Christmas Vacation, which is one of the greatest Christmas movies EVER!

... for Dutch, which made us laugh so hard, we all peed a little on Jenina's floor.

... for Drillbit Taylor, which let me spend an evening at a drive-in with some of my greatest friends.

I will remember you.

Sometimes I Honestly Worry...

that I am losing my mind. Last night? Total meltdown. I have no idea what that was about. I couldn't stop crying. Poor Brett... what he must have though. We finished dinner and I asked him if I could sit with him for a bit and then I just laid my head on him and started to cry. After a few minutes of it I had to pretend like I wanted to take a shower so I could go into the bathroom and completely lose it. What is wrong with me?

My head is so full, I can hardly function. Thank goodness I am going to dinner with my mom tonight! Maybe I can talk some of it out. I DESPERATELY need a night with Jenina and Jennifer. I always feel less crazy after some girl time. Or the same amount of crazy, but at least in good company.

I need.... what? What would help me right now? Prayer? Tranquilizers? A therapist? I need the lady who I emailed on Tuesday to email me back. I need the Mexican Pizza at Taco Bell to be 100 calories. I need chocolate. I need COFFEE! I ran out Tuesday and can't buy more til this weekend. Oh dear.

To Sweet, or Not To Sweet?

Okay. We have a customer who comes here once or twice a week. Every time that she comes she brings us something from Celebrity Bakery. I've been journaling my food and trying to not eat tons of extra calories, so I have been avoiding her tasty gifts. Until about 5 minutes ago, that is.

I just ate a 2 inch square piece of White Chocolate Toffee Cake from Celebrity Bakery and it was INSANE! I'm serious, this thing was so good, it must have been 1,000 calories! That's how you make food good, right? Dump calories in it?

You know what though? Those five bites made me SERIOUSLY full! I was hungry. Hungry enough that I was starting to worry about staying late because I didn't want to be starving when I got home. But I need to stay a bit late... today did not go as productively as planned! So I decided to sit down and have a small piece and it totally did the trick! Is it because I haven't been eating much in the sweets department lately? Or is it because it was so sweet that I drank half a bottle of water with it? I'm not sure.

But if I can eat a little something sweet and it will make me more full than a plate full of veggies, is it terrible to indulge once (or twice) a month?

Maybe.

Any thoughts?

GRRR!

I HATE when my day starts off frustrating!

I got to work and had to park under the tree, which means my car will be covered in bird poop when I leave. Walking in I realized 1) I forgot my vegetables, which means I will be hungry this afternoon, and 2) I forgot to take my birth control! No bueno!

Then the first job that I worked on was CRAZY frustrating! It was for our worst customer, who unfortunately gives us just enough business that we can't tell them to hit the road.

And the most frustrating thing is that when I am frustrated, I feel HUNGRY! GRRR!

Delicious Dish - 3

Enchiladas!

You heard me!

I have had very few enchiladas in my life. I'm a taco girl. And I'm weird about cheese. I don't really like it in sauce form... or in slices... or in big chunks. But I love it melted on pizza or in quesadillas or on top of tacos. But I have always kind of steered clear of enchiladas. I don't know what kind of cheese might be lurking in that melty dish.

The first time that I had an enchilada that I enjoyed was at a singles pot luck a couple of years ago. They ordered a few trays of enchiladas from Los Lupes and I was shocked to find that I enjoyed, none other than, the CHEESE enchilada! It wasn't saucy at all. It was mostly chili, and the cheese inside of the tortilla reminded me of string cheese melted, rather than a big block of cheese.

So here is what I have recently pieced together.

I start with a stick of Weight Watcher string cheese.

I wrap it in my tortilla of choice (shout out Mission carb balance tortillas! WAY less calories for a smoother texture).

And I top it with the greatness of Wolf brand Turkey chili.

Then I top it with a few chopped onion. Green if I have them.

This is a seriously delicious dish, and the calorie count is TINY compared to what it would cost you at a restaurant or even in the freezer aisle! I can eat two of these for 345 calories and be pretty satisfied. If you are wanting more bites, you can cut each tortilla in half, split each string cheese, and make 4 skinny enchiladas! I did that on Friday and it was a little hard to keep the tortilla in place, but that problem was solved once I poured the chili on top.

Just lay the rolled up string cheese side by side in a small glass baking dish, top them with a half of a cup of chili and bake them in the oven at 350 long enough for the cheese to melt. 10-12 minutes or so. Sprinkle with onions when you pull them out, and voila! Dinner is served!

30 Day Challenge - Day 11

Okay, I confess. I went a week without working out. And it was a week that Brett wasn't even here. That is so not what I expected! But I am back on track today and hoping for a better week, workout wise!

Day 11 was fairly fun. It started and ended with "dancing". The next activity is baseball. Have I ever mentioned that I wish that I had played softball growing up? I love to play catch and I think that I would be decent at softball. Maybe when I lose some weight I can find a team to play on recreationally. haha... maybe!

There was less time on the track, and the majority of the track time was doing "kick ups". It praised my slow kick ups, but told me my fast kick ups were too slow. Oh well! I did my best!

Inline skating made an appearance, but only one, so it wasn't too awful. I just do my best and try not to worry about the little skater doing tricks in the air.

It said that tomorrow would focus on a lateral workout. Whatever that means. I will let you know how it goes!

A Truly Magical Wedding!

Are you tired of this? Of me going days without blogging and then overflowing information expressed only semi enthusiastically because the memory is already fading?

SORRY!

It really was a crazy week last week. I picked Brett up from the airport at 3:00 on Friday and we had to be at Mel's wedding rehearsal at 5:45. We weren't, by the way. The directions that I printed off of MapQuest took me one exit too far (anyone surprised?) and it took a little while to get turned the right way. But we weren't the only ones running a bit behind, so all was well.

The wedding was WONDERFUL! Every bit of it! Starting with the rehearsal. It was just a really fun group of people! I LOVE my family, and JD's family seems every bit as groovy. Maybe in different ways here and there, but really great all the same! There are four daughters and no sons in my family and there are four sons and no daughters in JD's family. There is one granddaughter on each side and they are only a year apart, so it just is a really easy fit. The rehearsal was smooth and fun and the rehearsal dinner was DELICIOUS! I guess that I should mention that the wedding was at the Trade Mart in Dallas. What a cool building! A little confusing to navigate when you first arrive and are trying to find which sliding door to enter through, but a really unique wedding location!

After the rehearsal dinner, Brett brought me to my parent's house where my sisters and I were all staying the night together. Madison, JD's niece, was staying with Madilyn, my niece, at the casa as well. What an adorable pair! Madison is SO funny. She has the most adorable lisp, and she talks really fast, so she usually has to repeat herself 3 or 4 times before anyone can tell what she is saying. But it is adorable! (My favorite is that she says the works "stink" instead of "think". So there was lots of "I stink so". GREATNESS! And every other sentence that comes out of her mouth is "You're crazy!" If you do something really unexpected, she says "You're crazy, weirdo!") We laughed a lot and helped Mel finish packing. She worked SO hard getting ready for the wedding so most of the details were already taken care of. It was just a matter of making sure that everything (and everyone) got to where it (they) needed to be the day of the wedding.

We went to sleep around 12:30. Laura and Jenna had some things to take care of before the wedding day began so they got up at 6:45 and were out the door by 7. Mel and I held out for a few more winks and didn't get up until 9:00. The best thing about Laura needing to leave is that when she came back, she brought breakfast tacos from Taco Cabana! Yumm! Sometime around 10 or 10:30, Jenna and I went to check on our Grandma, made sure she had an outfit picked out, and pick up the corsages and some wine.

Mel and my mom needed to leave for her hair appointment a little before noon (I think that's right... the details are already getting fuzzy... Memory is not my strong point!) We left not long after her. Jenna left to take a freshly ironed pair of pants and shirt to Chris, and Laura and I loaded up the nieces, stopped for spring rolls, and headed for the Trade Mart.

Let me just stop at this point and say that I realize I am giving too many details. Sorry about that. I tend to ramble when I am excited. But it really was amazing!

Okay, so the next few hours flew by in a haze of bobby pins and hairspray. We got ready in "The Red Room" at the Trade Mart and it was a great space! Plenty of room for Madi and Madison to play while all of the girls ironed, crimped and primped.

The wedding started at 6. Melanie was breath taking. Her dress was so unique. It felt iconic. Just really classic... like something you would see on a 1940's Barbie Doll. And her hair was perfection. Kind of a low side ponytail with curls pinned to the side of her head. JD shed a few tears, the bridesmaid dresses, each different, coordinated perfectly. The black and champagne was fancy and feminine at the same time. And the red roses added the perfect pop of color. My feet were killing me in my shoes, but there is no other negative word to say.

The ceremony was short and sweet... the pastor was very kind and the music was lovely. The food was SO tasty! A fancy fajita bar with rice and beans and the best spinach quesadillas I have ever had!

The DJ was so nice and the music was perfect! Tons of people danced (my aunts were adorable), and he had Melanie and JD play a game that I had never seen before. It was clever and cute and really set the mood for a comfortable, fun reception.

We left a little after 10:00. I haven't spoken to Mel since, (we texted a couple of times) but I can't wait to see her. I hope that she is relieved, I hope that she is starting to recover, and I hope I get to see pictures soon!!!

My camera was out of commission, but my sister Jenna is supposed to email me the pictures that she took, so hopefully I will have some to post soon.

That's the story of Melanie's Magical wedding.

The day after, Brett and I rested and relaxed. We recovered from his week of work in Cali/the wedding weekend, I did TONS of laundry, and we grocery shopped. It was the nicest day we've had in a while. I'm thankful that his trip went well, but I am hopeful that he won't have to travel again for a while. Or that if he does, it will be a slower time for me at work so I can miss a few days...