Noon-Time Meal

After picking Isabel up from school today, I ask her what she would like to eat. Here is our conversation;

Me: Isabel, what do you want for lunch?

Isabel: 'Ot Dog, no lunch.

Me: You want a hot dog for lunch?

Isabel: No lunch, 'ot dog!

Me: Ok, no lunch, I'll make you a hot dog. (sheesh, does she have to be so particular??!)

Later, after cooking the 'ot dog, I ask her yet another question in regards to her meal;

Me: Do you want the hot dog cut up or on a bun?

Isabel: (considering the question) Ahhhhh......bum.

Me: You want your hot dog on a bum?

Isabel: Yeah, bum.

Me: Ok, 'ot dog on a bum, comin' up!

West Meets East (sort of)

I've never had the chance to travel much, and the only time I've ever stepped outside of the boarders of this country was to Tijuana for a couple hours (and I don't really think that counts). Ryan has been to several countries including Brazil, Spain, Germany and England, all for business purposes. I thought that maybe I'd be able to go with him this past spring when he would typically go overseas for a research trip. I even got my passport just in case! But his company has cut backs on traveling. So no overseas trip for me. Bummer.

Since I've not traveled outside the US I have never experienced a culture other than my own. In fact, I'm so immersed in my own little world that it doesn't feel like I even have a culture. Until this past weekend.

When Ryan was in high school he made friends with a German exchange student, Gunner (pronounced Goon-nar). They ran track and spent much time together after school. After his friend returned to Germany, they lost contact. But a few months ago Gunner found him again and re-established their friendship. Turns out Gunner and his wife were going to take a vacation and would be in our area, would Ryan like to get together? Yes!

So this past weekend we welcomed Gunner and his wife, Anita for a night. And I am surprised at how much I enjoied it! I'm not much of an outgoing person and to be with people I don't know never gives me much excitment. But they were quite nice and easy to talk with. I think the most interesting part was seeing how similar we are and talking about how our lives are different.

They didn't want to do much during their visit with us. Rather, they were more interested in having an American experience. They had dinner with us and asked us what was being served (ie, what kind of cheese was in the salad - feta!, and what exactly a berry cobbler was). I found it humorous that they had wanted to buy some of the creamy ceasar dressing that was served with the salad. Also, if was funny that on Sunday when we took them to a tourist spot in town, they were tired of McDonalds and Burger King and wanted to eat 'someplace special, like Jack In the Box'!

It was interesting to hear their perspective on American life and also how America has been influential in their country. They told us that coffee shops are becoming popular as well as fast food. The interest that Germans have in fast food is not for convenience or lack of time to cook a real meal (like it is here in the US) but rather just because it is an American thing to do.

So after this weekend I have a little different perspective on my American way of life. I also desire to travel abroad more than I did before. Who knows....maybe Ryan will have to do more research in Germany? If so, then we would have to reciprocate a visit to some new friends! Wouldn't that be exciting?!

Spider-Card Swap

The Lord is so good! I just gotta tell you what He did for me!!!

Recently, I asked Caleb what he wanted to be for Halloween and he said he wants to be Spiderman. And being the cheap frugal mother that I am I went to Ebay to find a good deal. I know that a Spiderman costume can be had from Walmart for about $15, but you know me, I just don't want to pay that much.

The other day, as I was sitting in the dreaded dental chair, the hygenist asked me what my kids were going to be for Halloween. I told her of Caleb's desire and that I had been waiting for a good deal on Ebay. She has boys that are a little older than Caleb and offered the Spiderman costumes that they have (because they are too small). Plus, when asked, she said she did not want me to pay her for them.

How awesome is that??! A FREE costume!!! I didn't ask for it, but the Lord provided anyway. And during a time that we are pinching pennies around here, it couldn't have come at a better time!

But I still didn't feel right about taking something that cost me nothing, so I whipped up some cards for her. I hope she likes them!

So.......Caleb got this



and she got these!



Not a bad trade, don'tcha think?!

Thank you Lord for caring and providing, even in the silly unimportant things!

**stay tuned....another swap post coming soon!

Grace

-noun

1. favor or good will.

2. favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.

3. mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace

4. a manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior: It was only by the Lord's grace that I received a good report from the dentist*.

~~~~~~~~~~

*yes, I re-wrote the example sentence to fit my own personal situation. But the truth remains...the Lord showed me grace today, and I found it in the dental chair. Praise God!!!

Caleb's Best Day

There you see it...



Now you don't!



As Caleb would put it, it was his best day ever! The day began with a little trip to an apple orchard and lunch in a quaint little town (that consequently has some fabulous apple pie!). As we were heading to lunch, Caleb made the discovery that he had a loose tooth, his first one. He let me wiggle it, and sure enough he had himself a loose tooth. And by the feel of it I thought it would be about a month before it came out.

I was wrong.

Caleb wiggled it all day. And I was amazed that by the end of the day it was quite a bit looser than when it was first discovered. In fact, I moved up the timeline from one month to the end of the weekend!

Later that night, before bedtime, Caleb was sitting in my lap as we watched a little tv. He let me wiggle it again and I had to change my prediction one more time. This time I told him it was ready to come out. He wanted to know why it wasn't out yet. Well, he'd have to pull it. That's why. But it hurt, he said. Only for a second, then it'd be over, I told him. Had he tried to twist it?, I asked. No, he said. Then he fiddled with it a little more, then sure enough in his hand was his tooth!!!

Caleb was so excited! He says it was the best day of his life. How can I argue? Loosing a tooth in one day is pretty exciting! I only hope he gets to sleep before the sun rises so I can do the tooth/treat swap!

Blogoversary Q & A

Yesterday was the two year anniversary for my blog, or in blog-world terms, blogoversary. I was out of time to think of a great way to celebrate, like I did last year, so instead I opened the floor for questions. A few passers by were entertained with the notion and gave it whirl. Here are some questions about myself that inquiring minds want to know;

Mary asks...

1. How did you meet your husband? Ryan and I met at church. I was just about to graduate high school, and the college group at church was going to be doing a choir tour of Cross and the Switchblade (Christian musical about the real-life story of David Wilkerson who was an evangelist to the street kids and gangs in New York back in the late 50's early 60's). So I went to the auditions at church and it was the first time I had any interaction with the college group. I saw Ryan, whom I had never met, and thought 'hmmm, I'm going to like the college group!'. Pretty shallow, I know, but what can I say, he's cute! During the course of the musical and tour we met and became friends. Later that Fall, Ryan started a home group bible study, which I joined. Then he helped me get a job at Carl's Jr., where he worked as shift manager. After working and spending more time together, we started dating. The rest, as we say, is history!

2. What is your favorite meal to make? If I have to cook, then one of favs is a recipe for Southwestern White Chili. Typically it's a cool weather meal so I haven't made it in a while. I do look forward to pulling it out and making it very soon! But the meal is not complete with out some Incredible Cornbread to go with it (super-good and super-easy!)!!!

3. Do you like fish tacos? I do now! I have typically been a picky eater, something leftover from childhood, I suppose. But now that I'm a full fledged grown-up, I've started to act like one and have tried many new things, like fish tacos, and found that, hey!, I like them and....I will eat them in a house, I will eat them with a mouse, I will eat them here or there, I will eat them anywhere!

4. How tall are you? I am a taller than your average female (I think) and stand at a full 5'7", which is just an inch or two shorter than Ryan so I can not wear any shoes with much of a heel.

5. Do you still love Knightrider? Mary....how dare you! Ok, it's out now (thanks to Mary and her superb memory) when I was a little girl I had a crush on Knightrider. Please notice the past tense of that sentence. Now that I am older, and hopefully more mature, I have outgrown my childish delights and am now Knightrider-free. Let it also be known that I have no desire whatsoever to watch the new show that is coming out this Fall. I have no idea why they would do such a thing anyway, weren't we afflicted enough with that show 20 years ago??

Cat wants to know...

6. What has been your favorite post so far & why? Oh gee, I don't know! That's a really good question. I've done many posts that I like, some funny, some thought provoking and even a few that are heartwarming. But as I think over them all this one sticks out to me the most. Back in February I had written about my desire for new friendships here and my need to step out and work on it. I had a great analogy about the flowers that were in my yard that I didn't know where there and that it was like having friends out there that I hadn't yet discovered. Maybe this post sticks out to me because I can see how the Lord has honored my stepping out and has blessed me with a few great friends since then. I truly am blessed and am so excited to enjoy friendship with these fablous ladies! God is good!

Michelle is begging the question...

7. What is your favorite color? RED

8. What outfit makes you so happy when you wear it? currently I like to sport my jean capris with a short sleeved white shirt (I have two white shirts, one is button down and the other is a pull over with a baby doll look and has little billowed sleeves) and I like to complete my ensamble with a silver necklace that has little red beads that dangle down. This outfit makes me happy!

8. Do you have any awesome dance moves? Um, none that the outside world will ever see.

9. What is your favorite artistic pursuit? up until now it has been making cards and using my stamping supplies to make 'em purdy, but lately I've been thinking of crossing over to beads and necklaces.

Lolly is itching to know....

10. What was your favorite movie from the 80's? Ah man why I can't think of anything??! Well, I've always enjoyed Popeye, but there's also The Little Mermaid. I was a freshman in high school when it came out and I saw it as many times as I could when it was released on video. But we taped Popeye off the tv when it was on, so I could watch it anytime I wanted. I don't know, I guess it's a toss up!

11. What dessert could you (almost) eat endlessly? Pie. Apple pie, my mother's pumpkin pie, cherry pie, oh and let's not forget lemon meringue!

Then Bethany is anxious to find out...

12. If you had a boat what would you name it? Floating Flower, of course!

13. If money was no object, what silly thing would you buy first? a fun pair of red shoes

14. From which store would you want a 10 minute shopping spree? Um, Target, hello?!

Thank you to those who were brave enough to ask a few little questions, and to those who just stopped by to congratulate me on my blogoversary! That was fun.....but now I'm totally out of post options. Hmph!

Happy Blogoversary to Me!

Today is the day. Two years ago this very day I began to grace the world wide web with my thoughts and daily happenings. I know you all are so grateful I did. I just know it. *big grin* It's been quite a ride, that's for sure. This blogging thing is so much bigger than I thought it was. Actually, when I started I didn't completely understand what a blog was. But two years later here I still am! And it's been fun!

I wasn't sure what I'd do for my blogoversary. Last year I did a picture tour of my life. This year, well, I didn't have any real thoughts or plans and now that it's here it's a little too late for fun things like a picture tour of anything (or even a list of 100 things about me). Too much is going on in life at the moment to give much thought to planning a nifty blogoversary event anyway. But I have seen a few people open their blog to their friends to ask them questions. Hmmmm.....I can do that! What do you think? Is there anything you'd like to ask me (with in reason and modesty?) If so, have at it! Leave me a question or two (or 10) and I'll do a post tomorrow answering them. How's that?!

Happy Blogoversary to me (and to you, my ever-faithful readers!)!!!

Back in My Groove!

Ahhhhh.....it feels so good to be back into a routine. Today was the start of the ladies bible study at my church, and I am feeling sooo good right now! I sat down at a table with other ladies I was with last year and I am looking forward to sharing the study of Moses with them for another year.

This year is a bit different, however. This time I do not have little ones to put in the childcare. This year, Mae and Caleb are in school and Isabel is in preschool. It's a first for me, not having to haul the kids in and out and rush to bible study in time. I do have to leave soon after the study ends each Tuesday in order to pick up Isabel from preschool, but I gladly welcome this change in my bible study routine.

I felt so blessed to be there this morning. And as I left I couldn't help but smile at the goodness of it all. So it is with a heart full of thankfullness and joy that I begin yet another study of God's Word with new and old friends.

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good!

Another First

It was a week of firsts in our house this week. Isabel started her educational career. Well, if you consider preschool a part of that, that is (and I do!).

Isabel was so excited to go to school. The last two years she has been with me as we took Caleb to preschool and picked him up. It was a frequent struggle to get her out of the classroom after dropping Caleb off, but now it's her turn! She gets to stay and play, and learn, and sing songs, and go to the playground! Although, I must admit that I think she was more excited about having her own bucket than actually going to school.

Here are a few pics of my baby going off to school for the very first time.

standing outside the front door for the obligatory 'first day of school' pic

in the truck, on our way!

she got to put her little name on the door (it's how they do attendance, I think) but isn't it cute?!

Isabel and her school friends! (oh, and their cute buckets!)

Isn't Isabel cute with her little pig tails and big ol' bucket? *sigh* It makes me kinda sad....my baby is off to school!!! Although, I'm not sad enough to have another! In fact, having Isabel in school twice a week for a couple hours gives me a little free time. And this is term that I'm not too familar with. FREE TIME???

Oh yes, FREE TIME!!! My first morning 'off' I got together with another mom and we went to Starbucks and got a yummy (something that we didn't have to share with anyone or here whining while taking our sipping). Then we strolled through Target. Again, not something a stay at home mom is able to do too often. So, did I enjoy my FREE TIME....oh yes! I have a feeling that I'll enjoy this school year quite a bit!

Ewe!

I don't know why, but we have a nasty amount of flies in our house! As of Saturday there are many new tenants up,about, and around the house. I know I have a couple small holes in some of the window screens, but seriously the holes shouldn't be allowing in this many flies! That brings me to my next train of thought....did something hatch in the house to give way to so many?? (this is a totally gross thought and I don't really want to go in that direction, so I choose to blame the holes it the screens).

A friend and I were talking about this subject the other day and I come to find that my house is not the only one plagued with these flying nasties. She suggested that it may have something to do with the time of year, due to the fact that she remembered the same problem this time last year. Whatever the reason, enough is enough and I'm so over it!

I am now armed with my swatter and bug spray. Let the carnage commence.....operation Fly Bye is underway!

School Days

The kids have been in school for three weeks now and I feel that we are in full swing of the school year. The kids are thinking about which after school program they want to do, and I anticipate information to come home any day about school pictures. The only thing lacking is the crispness of Fall air.

This week is going to be a full one, I can tell already. Isabel will start preschool and I will begin helping in Mae's class. Which, by the way, I have a question........I'm not sure how to address my kids teachers. Do I call them by their 'teacher' name, Mrs. SoandSo or by their first name? Any suggestions or advice? I suppose for now I'll stick to the teacher name, but it makes me feel like I'm the one that's in school. I don't know!!!

I also have another question. The other day Caleb came home with a note to all the parents and it stated that there is a student (at least one) in the class that has a peanut allergy and that when bringing treats (birthday cupcakes etc) to class to not bring anything with peanuts. Also, it suggested to not even bring pbj's in their lunches. Now, I totally want to respect the allergy that other kids may have and in no way do I want to be the cause of an allergic episode, but I am at a loss as to what to pack for lunches as pbj's are such a staple. My kids don't care for lunch meat so I'm low on ideas for a replacement for the good ol' pbj. Any suggestions??

Well, as I mentioned, this is going to be a busy week and I still need to get a bucket for Isabel to bring to school (they use buckets instead of backpacks or bags). So I'm off to get my girl a bucket as I rack my brain for a cute way to decorate it.

Hope you, too, have a good week!

Helping

The other day, when I picked the kids up from school, I knew Mae had a good day. As she walked up to me she had a huge grin on her face. Then when we got in the truck she happily gave me a small sheet of paper. On that paper was a schedule of volunteering moms to help in the class for the year. My name was on it (as it should be, considering I signed myself up!). I am scheduled to help on Thursdays while Isabel is in preschool. Mae is so very excited! And I must admit that I am excited too! This is the first year that I am able to help in the kids class rooms and I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I'll even go on a field trip or two.

Carpet

Since being married, I have lived in 4 rentals. They have ranged from a teeny apartment to a full size house. In all places I have refused to invest anything into them, meaning I will not buy or replace fixtures or install anything that is permanent. I just won't do it, it's not my place so it doesn't make sense for me to put any money into it if I can't take it with me. However, in our current residence I have sort of broken, or bent, that rule.

The house we are renting is about twenty years old and the carpet isn't any younger. I can only imagine the numbers of families that have lived here and tracked who knows what all over the floors. Then there is our landlord who seems to keep a tight reign on his cash flow and will spend as little as possible whenever he can get away with it, so it's no surprise that the carpet is original to the house. And after two years of living here I couldn't take the nastiness of the carpet any longer so past weekend we rented one of those carpet cleaning machines from the grocery store and went to work on the heavy traffic areas in the house (when I say 'we' I really mean Ryan - and he did a great job!).

Overall, the carpet looks better and I am very pleased with how the carpet now looks. I don't mind one bit that we bent our rental rule, not one bitty bit. Now my only hope is that we won't be here when the carpet needs its next round of cleaning.....that bill belongs to the landlord.

Summer Movie Review

I say 'summer' because I didn't do a July review last month (did you notice?). It's been a busy summer, and between visitors, vacations and the Olympics we just haven't had time to watch any movies. We did watch one movie last month. Just one. That's it. August was not much different with three. So, here is what we saw this 'summer'.

1. Mr. & Mrs. Smith - I enjoyed this movie, although I couldn't get out of my mind that this movie was when Bragelina first worked together.....and we all know how that ended! But anyway, it was a fun movie that, in a fun way, made light of marriage and the little things that irritate each other and how it can be resolved (but hopefully most married folk aren't trained assassins with multiple hidden weapons about the house).

2. Vantage Point - Intriguing movie about the President being in Spain and shot during a speech event. It was interesting to see how the plot unfolded while seeing it through the eyes of four different people. I didn't expect it to end the way it did, but it was good. However, I must admit that the group behind the attack didn't go as deeply into the storyline as it should have.

3. Into the Woods - This was filmed during a stage production, and I had seen it back in high school. I liked it then, and like it now! It takes several characters/stories from a few different fairy tales and they all interact when going into the woods for some reason or another. That all happens in the first act, the second act deals with the consequences of the actions taken back in act one. Very humorous and clever. Love it, love it! If you like plays, musicals and wit then you'll like this too!

4. 27 Dresses - I hadn't wanted to see this when it came out. I thought the storyline was different than it really was. But I gave in after hearing it talked up by a few friends. It's still a typical romantic comedy with a little too much profanity and always a make-out-wake-up-the-next-day-because-they-slept-together scene that could be left out entirely and it still would have made a nice movie. But that's just me I suppose. So, if you're in the mood for a predictable, but admittedly funny, romantic comedy then this is for you. (the references about bridesmaids dresses and caring for a bride were not lost on me, that was most of the funny stuff right there!)

5. Bridge Over the River Kwai - This late '60's movie featured Alec Guiness (as in SIR Alec Guiness, you know....the original Obewan?!) I had been perusing the movie selctions and somehow stumbled across this movie. I thought it was a classic, at least it sounded like one, so in our queue it went. The movie, overall, was ok. I can see how it was liked, back in the day, but by today's standards it was a bit drawn out. I enjoyed the characater developement but wished that they didn't waste so much time with non essential scenes that, honestly, we sped past using our fast forward button!

I Had a Dr. Pepper at Dinner

I'm not very smart sometimes. Take this evening, for example. I hesitated for a moment when filling up my cup when we went out to dinner. I almost chose Sprite, but then my eyes spotted the Dr. Pepper.

I knew it was wrong. I knew I'd be up late tonight due to the caffeine's effect on me. But I chose it anyway.

And now here I sit in front of the computer, while the clock reads well past 1:00 am, instead of laying in bed blissfully asleep.

Maybe I should call my phone number twin and, with my best Sinatra, sing her a song.......New York! New York!

The McGyver Menu

A great big thanks to those who gave ideas for my dinner last night!!! I went with a Goulash, which I ended up having a recipe for all along. So, I pretty much threw in cooked hamburger, can of corn, can of stewed tomatoes, chopped onion, chopped green pepper and some elbow macaroni. And voila, there was dinner!

My family enjoyed it too! In fact, as Ryan headed off for seconds he said to me that he was surprised it tasted so good, he said it just looked like a bunch of things thrown together. Well, he wasn't wrong!

~~~~~

On a side note, a friend* of mine, who commented in yesterdays post, gave me a web site that may help in future dinner pickles, and I thought I'd tell you all about it too! She said that the site is called recipematcher.com. You type in what you have in your pantry and it gives you recipes to try. I think I'll use it next time I find myself low on supplies and low on cash.

*thanks Debbie!

A McGyver Dinner Special

I don't have much in the cupboards or the fridge today and would like to see what I can do with what I have. Can you help a girl out?? I need some suggestions. Here is what I have to work with;

chicken
hamburger
can of corn
can of peas
can stewed tomatoes
frozen hash browns
can of peaches
misc pasta (linguine, and elbow noodles...I think)
jar of pasta sauce
onion

Use your imagination. Pretend that you're either on a reality show to be the Next Food Network Star -or- you only have a few dollars to your name and can't go out to buy any food today, and all you have to work with is what is listed above (and not everything has to be used, it's just all you have, plus the necessary spices). What would you serve?

Ok, ready, set, go!

It'll Tie You Up In Knots

The other day I bought the game Twister for our family. I thought it would be a great way to spend some fun time together, and it is something that doesn't involve a high level of understanding in order to play. Even little Isabel will be able to get in on some fun!

We had a good time together and the minimal cost of the game....worth it! But I gotta tell you that after playing for about a half hour to forty five minutes, I'm sore! My leg muscles were a cryin' out and shaking.

Pilates has nothing on Twister, that's all I have to say.

Google Search

Some interesting things come up when searching the world wide web for things. For example, recently Mae asked me what a beard was and after trying to describe it to her, I decided to pull up some pictures on Google Images.

Brilliant idea, right?

Well, it was, but some rather unexpected images came up as well as the typical. It was helpful in showing Mae what a beard was, but I am still at a loss as to why exactly this picture was among them.


I'm just wondering. That's all I'm sayin'.

Wait

That's what I feel like the Lord is saying to me right now. Wait.

It's an interesting feeling, this waiting. What am I to wait for? Since moving to Southern California two years ago, I've been waiting to buy a house. At first it was because we were trying to sell our house back in Michigan, and wait for the end of the lease here, then we'd buy a house. After that it was wait to save for a down payment and now it's that and pay down some debt first.

Am I waiting for a house, is that the next step?

I've also had in my mind visions of Michigan and the life we had back there, thinking of what it would be like to move back. But then I have to remind myself that the Lord has never called me back to someplace I've already been. Not that He can't or won't ever do that, it's just that I don't think that is where He will lead us. But the thoughts are still there. It even went as far as having a dream the other day that we were back at our old house and it was fall and I was feeling the environment of autumn in the air, the coolness to the breeze and the colors of the leaves, the way the neighborhood looked and who lived in which house and what the houses looked like. It was strange.

As much as we enjoy our Southern California location and the proximity to our families, am I waiting for another job change for Ryan, another relocation?

There are many things in my mind that are just on hold. Things that can't move forward until He moves us forward. I'm a little bit anxious and a lot bit nervous about this whole waiting thing. I guess I'm just nervous that I won't like it when the waiting is over and the answers are in hand. But I must remind myself that the Lord has the best in store for me, His plans are good and perfect, as I have always seen them to be once looking back.

And so I wait. I will wait on the Lord when there are many conflicting thoughts that swirl in my mind. I will wait for His timing and release. I will wait on Him.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27