CastleBlake

Thank You, General!

2012-02-02T12:51:00.001-05:00

Happy Groundhog Day, y'all! For the last half decade, I've had a sick dread/hopeful relationship with Feb. 2nd: I would desperately hang onto anything - even a ridiculous rodent - to give me extra hope that snow would sooner leave our forecast. But now, move over Punxsutawney Phil: we are finally back under the jurisdiction of the Honorable General Beauregard Lee, Ph.D!

[This very morning, courtesy AJC]

Beau did NOT see his shadow today, while Phil did; so suffice it to say, I am THRILLED to be back in Georgia!!! Beau lives at the Yellow River Game Ranch, which is where JB & I took Will to celebrate his first birthday! (We lived very close by 2002-2006.)

To top off today's good news for the South, right here at our local south GA zoo, Asante, an African meerkat, also failed to see his shadow:

so this family is in complete celebration mode! :-D Happy early spring, and also don't forget about Candlemas, taking the time to focus on more light (through Christ & longer days) coming into our world!

Tested, Honored, Drilled, Enticed, Underwhelmed, Creeped Out, & Touched by an Angel

2012-02-01T23:56:00.000-05:00

Fasten your seatbelts, y'all. I've got a ton of random things to share... (& I mean REEEEEEALLY random!)

* The Zumba instructor I was filling in for (whose class I usually take Friday mornings) showed up - SURPRISE! - to watch me teach her class Friday evening. I think many people would have been extra nervous & freaked out...but I went into audition-mode and rocked it! It really felt good to do my best & get her thumbs-up. :-)

* At my regular Tuesday Zumba class this week, the mother of one of the girls I got licensed with came! She lives here (her daughter whom I learned with lives in Savannah) and I was so honored to have her! As soon as my friend saw on FB that my class was up & running, she gave her mom all the details. I think it says a lot that she thought I was a good enough instructor to be trusted with her mama! :-)

* Today I went to my least favorite place for my least favorite thing: dental fillings. But trying to find positives - my appointment was bumped from noon to 9 AM, so less waiting; and I talked them into doing all the fillings today instead of making me come back for another round.
The anesthetic shots make me shaky & make my heart race...
I emerged 3 hours and 8 shots later (par for the course) - yay for teeth of powder. Guess who could only have a protein smoothie for lunch? (1 scoop vanilla protein powder, frozen strawberries, pineapple, & mango, and enough water for the VitaMix to blend it :-)) Oh, but it gets better: I get to go back, again, tomorrow with Annelise for her first fillings. Welcome to the poor dental gene pool for this family's women, Pumpkin. (At least what we lack in strong teeth, we make up for in stunning brain power!!! :-D) I pray this doesn't change her tune on the dentist - she LOVES going, like it's a reward.

* This afternoon when we got back into the car after picking up Annelise from dance, the whole thing smelled like PIZZA! None of us had had pizza today, there was no pizza in the car at any point earlier in the day, and we weren't parked anywhere near a pizza place. From WHERE did the mystery pizza scent come?!?! [And will it still be there in the morning?] (We *did* have to stop at Publix on the way home, though, to get a pizza for dinner! :-P)

* I watched two movies. The first was the movie version of Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil. I usually love watching the movie after reading the book (extra time with the characters!)...but not this one. It was just different enough that I was distracted by the discrepancies, :-/ (although I *can* appreciate watching it, if you have no idea what Savannah looks like. The locations were right on.) Read the book, instead!

* The other movie I had DVRed & purposely put off watching for over a week...just because I was kind of nervous about it: Drew Peterson: Untouchable I remember when the news story first broke on the Today show, and I never dreamed in a million years that we'd ever have a personal connection. Bolingbrook is right beside Naperville, where we lived in IL...and Stacy Peterson's pastor was also OUR pastor and became one of our dearest BFFs. (If you saw the movie, they combined the "characters" of the pastor who married Stacy & Drew with our BFF into just one guy to simplify for the viewers; he's not really a 70-something priest - he's a hip 30-something guy with the most wonderful family EVER! We miss them SO MUCH! And yes, he was the one Stacy confided in right before she "went missing".) So yeah, I was creeped out to watch this, knowing that our BFF *LIVED* all this a year before we even showed up. And then I was actually singing with his wife on May 7, 2009 when Drew was finally arrested & we got the news, so that's how I was filled in. It's sickening that "crazy Drew" gets the focus & attention for this movie, but I hope it does convey to people with no knowledge of the events how awful he is, that it will bring justice for Kathleen & Stacy back to the media forefront a bit, and that it will also keep raising awareness for domestic violence. Our pastor BFF blogged about that here and here.

* From one pastor to another... I had the weirdest dream Tuesday. Let me preface this by saying (in faith! with no jinxing possible!) that life is so great right now! I have less inner turmoil than I've had in...um...perhaps EVER. Which is why I don't really get my dream; but I'm still so glad it happened. I dreamed that I looked up from whatever I was working on and saw Pastor Moore from our beloved MI church. [He baptized our children; he was so genuine & kind; and it was a year ago last weekend that he went in for tests b/c he was feeling run down...which ended up showing he had an advanced, aggressive blood cancer; he passed away several weeks later, the week after we moved in here.] I looked at him, and I *KNEW* he was an angel; I knew he had passed away, but I didn't want to let this opportunity slip by, so I smiled & said, "What are you doing here?" He said with a big grin, "I just wanted to give you a hug! You need this hug!" It was a GREAT hug!!! And then I woke up. Confused, b/c life isn't so bad right now that I need that kind of tangible angelic reassurance, but so grateful that I got it anyway!!! The last thing I ever said to him in real life in person was that I was giving out hugs... I feel blessed.

Spring Prep

2012-01-29T21:26:00.000-05:00

[Can I tell you how happy I am to write anything with "Spring" in the title in JANUARY and really meant it as no joke?!] Spring really is about to kick into gear here - there is pollen on my windshield and in a yellow ring around the water's edge in the pool. There is green grass growing in a number of fields - and not just winter wheat, real grass. The biggest sign? Every baseball field has a family or two out practicing on Saturdays & Sundays after church to prep for the start of the new season mid-Feb! Gorgeous warm sun & precious family time!

Arrival Anniversary

2012-01-28T21:08:00.000-05:00

This was me one year ago today:

One year ago this afternoon, we stepped off the plane here for the very first time! I almost cried with joy at seeing the Spanish moss in the trees. :-) It's the exact same weather today. What an amazing blessing this last year has been!!! ♥ As my mom likes to say, I've obviously been thrown into the briar patch! :-D

How am I celebrating? By hanging some pics, which have sat in a corner for the last 11.5 months. ;-) (I think I was scared to jinx us by really settling in! :-P) Of course we could be transferred at any time, (we've never gotten more than 2-3 weeks notice for any of our 6 corporate moves in the last 11 years,) but I'm not wasting a second wondering "what if". I am reveling in our gorgeous weather, focusing on growing the Zumba ministry, and excited to gear up for another baseball season here! We got Will signed up last night to try out & be drafted on February 11th; practice starts the following week. I hope he makes a team with other spirited parents who really enjoy cheering the boys on! :-)

Food for Thought...

2012-01-28T20:34:00.000-05:00

I don't eat perfectly healthy (mmmmm, sugar! French fries!) but this *is* how I view food, and I do make better & better decisions all the time. Praying for God to keep moving my heart & palate in the best direction...

Praise Abounding

2012-01-27T14:43:00.001-05:00

I have so many things to be thankful for & that I'm happy about, I can barely stand it!

* Remember when I asked for prayer re: being able to stay with our pediatrician, even though JB's job changed insurance this Jan. 1st to one they do not accept? Our prayers were heard! The entire practice just announced that as of Jan. 1st, for the FIRST time they will be accepting our new insurance!!! What a huge load off!!!

* I was called out-of-the-blue this morning to fill in teaching the Zumba class I usually take at The Gym. Class this morning was good - getting used to someone else's mic system is always interesting, esp. when you have to jump around :-P but I'm teaching it again tonight at 5:30! :-) They're taking me on now as their #1 permanent sub - yay! (Maybe they'll get interested in getting me licensed for Zumba Toning? :-))

* The weather this week was AMAZING: perfect high 70's until a little cold front came through last night. (Lows 30's, highs 60's for the next week - chilly! :-D ;-)) I had all the windows open yesterday, even upstairs. I cannot express how *THIS* kind of winter has made me a completely renewed person! Lighter, joyous, & full of hope! Seasonal affective disorder = banished!!! It is totally shocking how different I feel. I knew how much I thought I hated northern winter & then on top of Annelise's cold urticaria - but I guess I had no idea how heavily it truly weighed me down every.single.day from October-May (even as I tried to focus on enjoying everyday life) until now! I literally almost cried with thanksgiving, putting on my sandals the other day & sending Annelise to school in short sleeves w/ no coat. I am re-amazed & so grateful every day!!! Last year, anything over freezing was "great" - and THAT was part of the nasty weight on me. My body was just not made to properly handle it! This has been on my mind a lot - it was one year ago this weekend we came down to get this house! :-)

* I'm officially on the Downton Abbey bandwagon. I'm thankful for the new(-ish) [pre-owned] Wii the kids saved up for (yay for fiscal responsibility!) so that I can stream Netflix on the TV while still being able to otherwise use my laptop, and that Netflix had the first season so that I could catch up. It does, indeed, live up to the hype, and now I'm ready to start this new Season Two I've been DVRing!

* Everyone knows restaurants are my ultimate favorite, and we are about to get quite a few happy new additions around here! This area does not have a lot of the big chains that people take for granted elsewhere (not that I care much; I *hate* most chain restaurants) but THE one that we *do* actually love - Buffalo Wild Wings - is about to open here! It was a family tradition for us for a long while - watching football (ALL the Redskins games!), playing trivia, etc. No buying Sunday Ticket for us next NFL season! :-) Also, in the shopping center virtually right across the street from our house, two new places are opening: a family-friendly version of the yummy barbeque & steakhouse restaurant JB & I went to for our 9th anniversary last year, and...be still my heart...a 2nd location of my super beloved CAFE 230!!! Which will ALSO be open for SUPPER, as well as lunch, since this area is more conducive to an evening family crowd than downtown. [It's a good thing I'm doing this extra Zumba now. :-P My calories count is going to need it! ;-)] Lastly, we finally tried the new frozen yogurt place beside our Publix called Swirl. I wondered what could be so special about it? How different from TCBY? Ohh.Emm.Gee! They have 12 different (often-changing) flavors & tons of toppings, but the KEY is: you only pay for as much as you want to take by the ounce. No standard sizes - the kids can have as much or as little as I give them. I mixed triple chocolate, cookies & cream, & red velvet cupcake frozen yogurts = HEAVENLY! I can't imagine ever going back to Brusters or Maggie Moos here ever again! I LOVE FOOD TREATS!!! :-D

* I admit, I am totally in love with Pinterest. I am so thankful for the fun sharing and for the motivation to try new *EASY & HEALTHY* recipes. Two big winners this week:

Simple healthier Mac & Cheese with the pasta cooked in the milk, which forms the base for the sauce. No water, no draining:

Ingredients:
2 cups dried whole wheat pasta
2 cups skim milk (we drink Smart Balance)
1 cup loosely packed 2% cheese
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1 tsp mustard

Directions:
-In a small saucepan, add pasta and milk. Bring to simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, until pasta is soft, stirring frequently and ensuring milk does not boil.
-Turn heat off, add cheese & salt and stir to combine. Stir in the mustard a little at a time to taste. Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes, then stir again and serve. If not creamy enough, add milk a little at a time, and gently stir.
[If you would like to bake it at this point, place in a baking dish and top with a generous sprinkling of cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 10 minutes until cheese has melted.]
-As a side dish this makes enough for 4 people with no leftovers (can easily be doubled).
-Feel free to add broccoli, diced tomatoes or jalapeno to give the mac & cheese a little more zing and amped up flavor!

And Broccoli Cheese Bites
Ingredients:
10 oz. package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained of liquid
1 cup of grated 2% Mexican or cheddar cheese
2 eggs (or Eggbeaters)
2/3 cup of Panko breadcrumbs, seasoned to taste (I used Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning)

Directions:
-Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
-With your hands, form small patties and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet.

-Bake at 375F for 25 minutes, turning the patties after the first 15 minutes.

-Makes 16-18 patties; easily doubled

Delicious! Fabulous! Praise-worthy!

100th Day Homemade George Washington

2012-01-25T22:13:00.000-05:00

For his 100th Day of School tomorrow, Will has to dress up like someone over 100 years old. He chose George Washington. (He wouldn't just be a random old person. *Sigh*) But I made his vision come true & put this together from head to toe! #rockstarmom

I found this navy pair of pj's at Walmart for $8. I probably wouldn't have given them a second look had they not been misplaced on an endcap and had the top not been unbuttoned. I don't think I would have recognized how much it could resemble a Continental Army jacket, otherwise. (Yay, piping!) The long legs are tucked up into a pair of JB's knee socks, and I made the ascot out of paper doilies ($1.50 at the grocery) tied with floss. The wig is my pièce de résistance: I used polyfill batting (like for stuffing pillows - $1.75 at Hobby Lobby) for the "hair". I piled & formed it on top of one of Will's baseball caps turned backwards (backwards to have a base for the little ponytail and to keep it all off the back of his neck) and secured it all in place with a white hair net (69¢ at Sally Beauty). I even added the curl rolls above his ears with empty toilet paper rolls! I am pretty proud of this sucker!

Sis in her 100th Day celebration hat [her 100th day of Montessori Kindy was Monday] & George Washington Will - doing the image of the Father of our Country proud...

Football Photo Finds

2012-01-25T21:27:00.000-05:00

A new person whom I totally don't know "liked" my Zumba FB page, so I clicked on her profile to see if we had any mutual friends. When I did, I saw *MY* Will's face. Whaaaat?

Turns out, her son played on one of Will's rival football teams this fall, and the two pics were great ones of her son where Will was coming after him! :-D [I wish I would've had these back in November when I digiscrapped the end of the season!!!]

I love Southern small town life! Everyone is connected, whether they know it, yet, or not!

Let's go, #2!!!

Zumba Photos

2012-01-24T22:19:00.000-05:00

~25 ladies tonight (with lots of newcomers!) rocked it with awesome attitudes!!! They dove right into the choreography with laughter, light hearts, and lighter selves by the end of class! There aren't words for how fun & fulfilling this is...

Merry Christmas Redux

2012-01-22T21:26:00.000-05:00

We were totally blessed this weekend to have [late] Christmas with JB's parents, as they stopped here on their way down to FL for the winter. I hate to call it "late", b/c actually it was PERFECT!!! Of course, Christmas in December is fabulous...but it can also be #1 overwhelming and #2 depressing when it's over. This Christmas-in-January business has happily rocked my world! No one on either side had to make ourselves crazy trying to cram in extra-long or double the holiday travel right around December 25th; we had a precious time with my NC fam, while JB's parents celebrated with their other son/JB's brother's fam, who only live about an hour away from them. Now this January, we had this whole weekend to not only have a super relaxed time together w/o anyone having to rush off to other obligations, but the children also appreciated their 2nd round of Christmas gifts so much more than when they get them all in the span of less than a week. Plus, we've all been looking forward to this for a month - it made December's Christmas being over not feel depressing! No January blahs here, b/c we had such a great occasion to look forward to! [OK, yeah - of course temps in the 60's & 70's on top of ZERO threat of snow totally helped in that department, too. ;-)]

We did the whole holiday redux right: Friday night was just like Christmas Eve - Grandma & Grandpa had "talked to Santa and told him this was the night to come back", so we had our stockings ready, the kids wrote letters, and we left carrots & apples for the reindeer & a sweet treat for Santa. [PS - this was the *VERY FIRST* Santa-visit we have EVER had in a house in which we have lived with the kids! We are always at a grandparent's house for Dec. 25th - which is really a lot of fun!!! - but for the kids to KNOW now that Santa knows where they *really* live? It was magical. :-) PPS - using our stockings & tree felt so productive! :-D :-P]

The kids woke up at the crack of dawn on Saturday for Christmas Day. We did present-opening my FAVORITE way: going around in a circle, one person opening one gift at a time, so everyone can see what everyone else got and really appreciate them. (I *hate* "everyone tear 'em open ASAP!" It's so embarrassing to have to ask, "Um, did you see what I got you?" And even more so when the giftee says, "Um, what was that, again?" I don't want anyone who's bought me something to think I don't appreciate it! I want everyone's hard-earned money & sweet sentiments to get individual attention. That speaks love to me. :-) Plus, I love how long the present circle takes! Why would you want it over so fast?) We were all blessed beyond measure with bountiful boxes! I had made a couple etched glass gifts for JB's parents with my Silhouette, Will & Sis picked out several gifts for them on their own, and - of course - lots of photo presents. :-) Will was thrilled with a giant Hotwheels track and Lego fun. Annelise reveled in tons of Tangled stuff and can't get enough of her new bike. JB opened his #1 wish gift first and said the rest of the morning felt like gravy. :-D Y'all know how excited I get for things that I love, so of course I have to share a few of my highlights, too! ;-)

The dreamy Lollia "Relax" Eau de Parfum that I discovered at several Southern gift shops this last year! It smells like the beach to me...not that our beach smells like lavender & honey, but there is just some scent-memory connection there that's the ultimate in comforting:

This FABULOUSLY PERFECT "The South" definition sign that I've been crazy about since seeing it on Pinterest last summer:

Gelish "June Bride" polish - a light pink glitter with larger holographic circles! So excited for it - the most glitter-bomb Gelish I've seen:

Through the Year with Jimmy Carter: 366 Daily Meditations from the 39th President by Jimmy Carter - how perfect since we live so close to Plains, and a devo is the perfect style book for me!

And ZUMBAWEAR!!!!!!!!!! Winter Samba Cargo Pants and racerback tank!!! So beyond excited to wear these to teach!!! I can hardly wait to look 100% official!!!

Truly blessed!!!!!

JB & I made a proper holiday feast - Haricots Verts (thin French green beans - just steamed w/ garlic & salt), Yukon Gold mashed potatoes (with Smart Balance butter & milk), noodles cooked in turkey stock, rolls, broccoli salad, cranberry sauce (jelly in a can - mmmmm!), and a 10 lb. turkey, using Alton Brown's recipe. [We went back to it after other recipes this holiday season. You cannot beat how flavorful it is with NO basting every hour or any of that fuss. Plus, it cooks SO MUCH FASTER: 10 lbs totally cooked in 1 hour!!!]

The rest of the day found Will & Sis racing around our secluded neighborhood on their bikes and trying to calm down enough to lounge occasionally in their sleeping bags...but never being able to actually stop moving. :-P They rocked Wii Just Dance 3 & MarioKart (courtesy of Daddy! :-)), and Grandma helped Annelise sew an American Girl coin purse ("sew" perfect, as she has gotten really into the idea of sewing lately!) in between braiding Rapunzel's hair & dressing up. We couldn't stand being inside for such a beautiful day, but with our feast, we didn't need to go out to eat; so we went out for ice cream! :-D It was almost 80° with 70's forecast all this coming week - open windows, and we even had a big THUNDER storm last night at sundown, which sealed the deal on a dreamy day for me. (I am in total heaven living here...:-))

Merry Christmas, y'all!!! And *now* we can bring on Mardi Gras! :-D

[PS - Who wants to come take the ornaments off my tree now & pack them carefully for me? I'll pay you in baked goods! Or a Gelish application!]

Desire Fulfilled

2012-01-20T16:19:00.000-05:00

THIS is a dream come true - my *OWN* actual Sbux pumpkin spice!!! Thank you so much, Susie - you are the best self ever & totally worth it! ;-) :-P

*HOW* did I manage to procure this, when it's the only flavoring Sbux won't sell in their stores, they say "b/c it's a sauce"? I think I just got lucky with it being the end of pumpkin spice season; I *just happened* to do a google search [I am SO OVER homemade versions! No matter how hard I try to convince myself, NONE that I've made are truly as good!] and found it on eBay! My 1st eBay purchase in YEARS! :-D

First Zumba Class = Taught!

2012-01-18T22:40:00.001-05:00

I can't tell y'all how disappointed I am that I don't have a photo from yesterday to go with this post. So much so that it actually makes this harder to write! I. Need. Pics.

But I am happy to report that that was the SINGULAR disappointment of the evening! :-D

I had more peace than I've ever had starting a new dance class - so confident. Even the sound system came together flawlessly: I can control it from onstage w/o having to run over to a computer, CD player, or sound board to pause b/t songs. (Sounds simple, but anything that makes class run more smoothly is huge!)

Right around 20 (TWENTY!!!) ladies came!!! That is insane for a first class. [Quite a few more said they couldn't make this week, but are planning for next week! 49 people, so far, support my "Zumba with Susie" FB page!] Of course, it helps that it's a free ministry, :-P but that took the pressure off me a bit, too: no worrying if people would feel like they got their $'s worth. ;-) Everyone seemed fairly light-hearted & open, as they milled around & signed the "Release, Liability Waiver, & Covenant Not to Sue" forms I had to draft. (Covering all my legal bases!)

When we got going, I really tried to make sure I came across confidently, but as the "anti-drill sergeant". I didn't want anyone to feel intimidated or discouraged, b/c they didn't do the moves "just like me" - that's not what my class is about. I actually feel lucky, now, to have been "stuck with" my lower impact Zumba class I've been taking on Fridays: it's the only Zumba here while my kids are at school, & I was bummed that it's almost a Zumba Gold (senior adult) level class; but while I personally take all the steps up a level there, I have received a virtual year-long Zumba Gold training. I feel comfortable offering lower impact modifications to all my routines now, so that I can have my standard Zumba class be open to more people! I had ladies of ALL ages (teens to over 60) & at different levels of physical ability last night; but we ALL laughed, smiled, had fun, & NO ONE had to feel self-conscious or like "they didn't measure up" - my class is about *personal* best, not perfecting steps. My local BFF Laura came, and I asked her honestly how I came across - she said, "You came across confident, but so sweet! I loved how you told us a couple of times, "Don't slow down, keep it up!" but you were giggling and just having a blast up there! I bet no one would've guessed that this was your first class as an instructor. You did amazing!" #edifyingfriendship *insert waterworks*

When I checked FB last night, so many people said the class had blessed them: #1 goal = met. People kept thanking me that it was free, b/c they couldn't afford gyms, and this was an answer to prayer. *more waterworks* There have been times when we couldn't afford a gym, either - it makes me cry, b/c I *reallyreallyreally* do understand, and it's unexplainable how full it feels to meet a need for someone else that you've had yourself.

So excited for next week and for God to keep moving through this!!!

MLK Mini Golf

2012-01-17T12:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a rare occasion: *both* kids had the same day off school! [Their schools are in different counties; they even have completely different spring break weeks. :'(] I had a long list of chores...but I also wanted them to have a special day, so we miraculously got a perfect compromise. I usually make us do work before play...and usually the work takes longer than planned & play gets sacrificed; but yesterday, I got over myself, and we played first!

They ALWAYS beg to go to the Fun Park (so close by & completely unavoidable driving around town, so it's frequently brought up ;-)) and we had a few free passes (they each earned a free pass at school & I had one from Halloween at the Riverquarium) so we took advantage of the blue sky & sunshine to play putt putt! Will gets frustrated (just like I used to :-P) when he doesn't get it in two shots, but he didn't pitch any fits; and even though Annelise had the worst score, she got TWO holes-in-one!!! I totally rock mini golf, and even *I* didn't get a hole-in-one yesterday! :-D

Beware of Flying Pigs!

2012-01-14T21:51:00.001-05:00

Beware of flying pigs, y'all!!! I joined Pinterest...

http://pinterest.com/castleblake

After ignoring over ten invitations since June, I finally succumbed, b/c #1 - it's after Christmas, so no added holiday craft pressure ;-) and #2 - since it's not actually a conversation-driven social network, I won't stress myself over getting "behind" if I don't get on for a while. :-)

It is right up my alley - I grew up making mood boards and magazine cut-out posters of stuff that spoke to me, so there's no doubt I will fall madly in love. [Knowing the obsession-potential, though, was a reason for delay. ;-)]

I've wanted to add this to my sidebar here for ages...

My Life's Randoms In JUST the Last 24 Hours...

2012-01-13T22:02:00.001-05:00

I've had all kinds of little obstacles pop up trying to steal my joy, but I've refused to let any of them tear me down. [I won't blame Friday the 13th - I looove Friday the 13ths. :-)]

Last night was my once-a-month Junior League meeting...and, of course, another snag. (The only meeting I've made w/o a hitch was the 1st one in Sept.! Crazy, b/c it's not like we usually have much going on at night outside of sports seasons.) JB had a surprise business trip to NY this week, so I had to orchestrate childcare = my least favorite thing in the world, along with calling people on the phone. So blessed that God has provided us with good friends here & that it was so quick, easy, and not one bit out-of-the-way (that last part is so key!!!) to arrange this time!

I love JL meetings. Some people think they're boring as all get out; but since I don't have a corporate America job, I kind of enjoy formal board meetings complete with parliamentary procedure. (Esp. when they FEED you at said meetings! It's kind of ridiculous how delicious their chicken strips with honey mustard are...) Last night's was "one for the books", as it went longer and with more discussion & motions made than any other meeting in the last five years. [Seriously? The *one* night I was stressing about the time, b/c the kids were waiting up for me on a school night, instead of already being asleep in their own beds by the time it was halfway over. Can I say, again, how thankful I am to have found a friend close by willing to keep them? :-D]

Walking out of the meeting, the temp had plummeted. Bye-bye almost 70°F (until Monday.) This morning was literally freezing, but I wouldn't let it shake me. Thank you, God, that even though it was chilly today, we had gorgeous sunshine, blue skies, & NO SNOW like so many of my northern FB friends!

Speaking of today's temp & snow, it got up to 49°F - which is still a BIG DEAL of cold for Annelise's cold urticaria. She wanted to ride her scooter outside with Will this afternoon so much that she put on her snowsuit! I chuckled at first...but I'm glad she did, b/c when she came back inside after 15 minutes, her exposed face & hands *had* broken out. Sigh. It went away faster than ever back inside, which was good, but I am still praising God with all I have the He moved us South! I can't imagine what a nightmare living up north would be now, as this progresses. So thankful to be here...

More hassle: I went to pick up Annelise's refill at CVS, and our PITA insurance wants hers done by mail order now. That would be fine if #1 - we would have known they'd pull this so we could have set it up when we did Will's last year, (it's a different med & the ped doesn't do refills, just one script at a time - unlike Will's, which is a single script with year-long refills = easy to set up mail order for) and #2 - if she didn't only have five days left, (mail order takes almost a month to get going.) JB wasn't at his desk to tackle this easily through work, since he was still in NY, and I get mega-stressed dealing with this stuff over the phone (borderline panicky), so I drove over to our ped to tell them what our insurance was pulling in person. More thanks to God: they said they'd work it out for us. *relief* [Prayer request: we love this ped, but JB's company switched to an insurance this Jan that they don't really take. I'm going to talk to the ped before our next scheduled visits and see if he will authorize for us to stay there with his practice. Pray for favor for us that this works out!]

Even more hassle: I took a Lunchable [*BARF*] to school today for Annelise. It felt DISGUSTING... NOT that we *never* eat any processed junk, but I pack their lunches every day, so I KNOW it's a quality meal. She usually has lunch provided on Fridays, but APPARENTLY that doesn't start this 2nd semester now until Feb, so I had to run to Publix. I stood there for 20 stinkin' minutes trying to pick the "best of the worst". Lunchables just hit a nerve with me: grossly overpriced, processed crap that kids think are "THE COOLEST" b/c of the plastic package compartments. I totally get the kid-appeal, b/c I wanted them like crazy when I was younger, too. :-P Homemade bento-style will never be as cool to them, so I purposely take the Lunchables option off the table. I did NOT get the crackers or pizza ones - I got her the Ham + American Sub Sandwich with no drink (don't get me started on juice drinks! :-D) and a tiny crispy rice treat (that the school wouldn't let her eat & made her bring home! YAY!) I also got a fresh banana and sent that in, too, for my conscience. :-P I went to Publix over Subway with the intent of getting her a fresh Publix sub; the Publix by our house has kid-sized subs that come with a piece of fruit & yogurt like a "kid's meal", but Publix by her school didn't have those. :'( [Not shocked - just over a different county line. Different demographic. *sigh*] Annelise is in private Montessori this year, so they don't have a cafeteria; but Will's in public 2nd grade, and I absolutely REFUSE to let him buy lunch! I see that nasty lunch menu sent home every month and GAG. I ate school lunch growing up, but we had real vegetables, etc. This stuff is repulsive! We eat lots of treats in this house, so WHY would I EVER add to the sugar load at school with that junk? And since WHEN did the public school rules change? Growing up, I don't think our school ALLOWED anyone to bring candy/candy bars to lunch. [*stepping off soap box*]

The good part was, I didn't have to go far out of my way, I wasn't pressed for time, and she was thrilled. :-D Yay for earning Mother of the Year in her eyes. ;-)

Horror: this morning, someone had hit a dog on the highway right at the entrance to our sub. It. Tore. Me. Up. It had obviously just happened, but the pup was definitely gone. I hadn't seen gore like that close up on clearly-not-a-stray-or-wild animal before. Of course, I got stuck there at the intersection for three times longer than normal trying to pull out into traffic. I just didn't want Annelise to see!!! I was totally freaking on the inside. :'( I planned to call my local vet & JL friend, Haley, to see how to properly report & handle it, (if that had been Bonnie, I would have been gutted to have someone come & dump her w/o us ever knowing!!!) but I wanted to wait until after dropping off Annelise...and then the CVS "crisis" & lack-of-lunch problem all before Zumba threw me off track. When I got back, the body had been removed - I pray respectfully and with the family notified. I have been snuggling Bonnie Blue EXTRA hard this afternoon. Praying for the owners... I don't care if it sounds silly, pets ARE family members.

Zumba: It seems like a lot of people are REALLY EXCITED for my class to start next Tuesday! :-D I've been answering tons of great questions about the class online. My two faves...
How is an out-of-shape/60-something/couch potato/anti-gym member/[insert issue :-)] going to do in your class?
You will be fine! We start slow, and I'll show how you can take the intensity up or down to meet you where you are. :-) I've been involved with a Zumba Gold class (aimed at 60+ & even including some hospital rehab patients) for about 10 months and have learned a lot from that instructor on modifications, so NO WORRIES!!!! Come & you will ROCK IT!!!!!
Do you teach like a drill sergeant?
I am NOT one of those drill sergeant trainer types! I'm not about everybody perfecting every move "just like I do it". [PS - *I* don't do them all perfectly every time, either! :-D] I want everyone to do the best version for THEM. Of course, I want you to push yourselves a bit, but a senior adult with joint issues pushing their limits looks a lot different than a teenager who loves the gym does pushing it. In all honesty - I HATE gyms & "working out". I've fallen in love with this, b/c it's the first exercise thing that makes me laugh, smile, & have fun. :-D

Today I told the instructor of the Zumba class I take every Friday morning about my new class. I was nervous that she may think of it as competition, but another good thing about Zumba is that the instructors are very supportive of each other. She actually already knew about it, b/c she saw the class listing on zumba.com and was so excited for me!

Closing with lust, so I can allow myself to close the follow browser tab. ;-) Y'all know how I am, so I can't seem to bring myself to buy this; but OHHHHH EEEEEM GEEEEE have I fallen hard for this Lilly Pulitzer dress - the Jia Dress.

(These thumbnails do ZERO justice! Click on the big link.) I can't decide which pattern I adore more, Bright Navy Coral Siesta or Turquoise Coral Cascade. Be still, my [size M ;-)] heart...

Zumba Ministry!

2012-01-11T21:36:00.001-05:00

Y'all - it's ON! I start teaching Zumba® fitness on Tuesdays at Providence Church here!!! I can't tell you how much has gone into this. I spent literally MONTHS trying to get it started at Sherwood (the Courageous & Fireproof church) but that was just not where God wanted this to happen, b/c I pressed on and on and on, and nothing would ever get rolling. We made a few changes for our family (w/o this being a factor) before the holidays, I had one meeting (at Starbucks, YAY! :-D) with the pastor of Providence, and he immediately wanted to make this happen as much as I did!!! We finally have all the music performance licenses (you can get sued for playing the music w/o it! even the stuff directly from corporate Zumba®!) and Georgia "Release, Liability Waiver, & Covenant Not to Sue" forms for everyone to sign beforehand. Before this, I had no idea that you couldn't just start a little group class cold, you know? I thought the hard part would be memorizing all the choreography! HA! :-D

God really wrestled with me over this being a free ministry, but I know it's the right thing to do, and I'm just so excited to be able to REALLY GIVE my heart, in a way I haven't been able to do since my last MOPS group. My friend Whitney said, "It's so funny how our lives evolve and our ministry opps go right along with that! He's always got something for us! So blessed to just be a part!" EXACTLY!!!!! I would have NEVER, EVER dreamed I'd end up doing anything like this as a ministry; and I was so sad when MOPS was over for me... But He worked it out, as always, by growing ME for THIS! :-D ♥

Here's my whole official spiel:

About:

Susie is a licensed member of the Zumba Instructor Network. "Zumba with Susie" at Providence Church is a FREE class offered Tuesdays from 5:30-6:15 PM as a community-wide outreach. You do not need to attend Providence to participate.

Independent Zumba® classes run b/t $3-$12 per class, (& they are SO WELL WORTH IT!) Gym memberships are several hundred dollars a year. Fitness & health are of the utmost importance, but they can be easy sacrifices in tough economic times. DON'T LET THAT DISCOURAGE YOU! Providence Church is providing this amazing fitness opportunity at NO COST TO YOU! Come, bring water, & be blessed!!!

Nervous about this whole Zumba business? ["I can't dance." "Jumping around in church is freaky." "WEIRD!"] Read this beautiful note from a Zumba participant at Highland Baptist Church in Waco, TX...and GET EXCITED for what God can do through *us*!

Biography:

Confession: I hate working out. ZUMBA® is the ONLY form of "exercise" that has EVER held my interest longer than some 2 or 3 month fad. Why? Because it doesn't FEEL like exercise! It feels like dancing at a party with friends! :-) If you want to actually HAVE FUN while getting healthy, come join me! You don't have to know ANYTHING about dance - everything can be modified and tailored. Do it as "hang out time" with your friends, do it to get healthier, do it to stay sharp! Interested in weight loss? I lost 10 lbs in the first six months when I began taking Zumba® weekly as a student. Something that is THIS MUCH FUN *AND* could shape me up? It has become a passion! :-)

Outside of Zumba®, I studied dance (tap & jazz with ballet foundation) for 15 years and have taught dance (preballet, creative movement, tap, & jazz) outside Atlanta and Chicago. I am also a youth cheerleading coach.

Tortured by Jim Williams

2012-01-08T22:37:00.000-05:00

I *finally* just finished the book I've been trying to read since JULY: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Jim Williams (the author's central figure) will no longer torture me! :-D That's not to say I didn't enjoy it - I absolutely looooved this book! It just weighed heavily on me, though, as it took me two library check-outs and FOUR extra renewals to get it read. :-P [I readily admit, reading is low on my leisure priority totem pole. If I have *ANY* FB, blogging, DVR, or digiscrapping on my plate, the book will stay closed.] I purposed to read this back in July in preparation for my first trip to Savannah. How could I go there with my deep love of all things Southern having never read it? (Or seen the movie? But I wanted to read the book first.) I didn't want to waste our trip not appreciating what I was walking around in! [This book is NONFICTION = extra love!!! True is ALWAYS better, esp. the way I always put myself so deeply in the stories I read.] Summer is a difficult time for me to read, though - it sounds counterintuitive, against the "summer beach read" grain; we even have a pool to read beside, for Pete's sake! But summer = kids home 24/7 = no way I can ignore them long enough for my slow-reader-self to get into a book after catching up on FB, blogging, DVR, & digiscrapping. :-P With one check-out & two renewals, I *did* get through Part One before our trip, which was actually the ultimate set-up! Part One introduces the city, the history, the cast of fabulously-Southern-eccentric characters, and it set the scene perfectly for our visit.

I can understand why this book was on the bestseller list for over four years - the characters and scenery are riveting; they seem too fantastic to be real...but to me, that's the beauty of the South. Life here is colorful, vibrant, and everyone knows everyone's crazy "secrets". :-D

I thought I might have a chance to get through Part Two over Christmas, so I checked it out, again...and didn't crack it at my parents'; it sat under my laptop the whole trip. I renewed it once and then my final available time this week. After finally catching up on my digiscrapping, I vowed to power through! It turned out to be a neat division, (not that I'd necessarily recommend reading it this way; but it just happened to work out for me) b/c I've had almost five months to mull over the characters, to personally see where they live(d), to feel like I got to know them in more than just a day or two before getting to the explosive action of the story this weekend in Part Two.

It lived up to its billing as "a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city is a modern classic."

Four-Month Digiscrap Catch-Up

2012-01-05T21:49:00.000-05:00

I surprised myself when I looked back to see that I hadn't posted any of my scrapbook pages in four whole months - back to JB's & my Savannah trip! On the flipside, it makes a nice little review now to start the new year! :-D [If you want to know HOW to digiscrap, (or at least how *I* do it) click here for all my details. (You can see these pages below a little bigger by clicking on each one or more so by going here and clicking on each, although they're listed in backwards order.)]

Home & Daddy Tea

2012-01-04T21:43:00.000-05:00

This has been the greatest week, so far, coming back from NC. JB is doing a lot of work from home, but *THAT* is the key: FROM HOME!

Yesterday was Will's last day of vacay before going back to school today, so we all four went to see We Bought a Zoo yesterday afternoon. Wonderful! There are three or four unnecessary bad words for kids, but it's still a fantastic film! I bawled my head off with shaking sobs at the end... ♥ [I love the catharsis of crying at movies!]

Annelise told Daddy for her last day of vacay today, she *reallyreallyreally* wanted us to take him to tea for lunch, (at her ultra fave spot, Veronica Luttrell's Tea House.) There aren't words for how much this meant to her or how special she felt:

Daddy picked the best tea of the day, Monk's Blend - black tea naturally flavored with vanilla and grenadine. (With cream & sugar, it was SO CLOSE to a bubble tea flavor!!! ) I stuck with my Caramel Rooibos - so healthy & caffeine-free, so Sis could share as much as she wanted. We were royally stuffed after two pots of tea, chicken salad croissants, and cups of creamy soup.

I can't tell you how blessed I feel - to have this time, to have a husband who is *this* good of a father, and to feel so great to start this new year! ♥

Finally, just a funny to end our day:
After reading an AR book on consideration referencing the late Princess of Wales, Will was quizzed: "Who was Princess Diana?"
Will's answer: "The whale queen"
:-D

Hoppin' John Salad with Molasses Dressing and A Year of Grace & Perspective

2012-01-02T23:38:00.000-05:00

I was a good Southern girl and ate my black-eyed peas, pork, & greens for luck yesterday on New Year's Day. My mom found a great new recipe for these ingredients, which are not necessarily my fave (cooked greens = ick; black-eyeds are low on my legume list; although I do ♥♥♥ pork!) that was delicious: Hoppin' John Salad with Molasses Dressing. We used bacon instead of andouille (b/c we already had it) and put the salad in a bowl of baby spinach for greens: mmmmmm - winter salad! [What are you crazy Southerners talking about re: pork, greens, & black-eyed peas for New Year's luck??? My friend, Brandie, put it well simply: black-eyed peas = good luck; greens = prosperity & money in the future; pork = looking forward to the future (pigs can't bend their necks to look backwards)]

Quotes touching my heart for this new year from Ann Voskamp...

Contentment isn’t a state of organization, a weight on the scale, a state of better: better kids, better marriage, better health, better house. Contentment is never a matter of circumstances; contentment is always a state of communion — a daily embracing of God. A thankfulness for all the gifts – and moments and life, just as He gives it. Trying harder may only bring harder trials and contentment, it won’t be be found in the resolutions, but in the revolutions – in the turning round to God.

January:
“Joy is always a function of gratitude — and gratitude is always a function of perspective.
If we are going to change our lives, what we’re going to have to change is the way we see.”

February:
“God isn’t asking us to earn His love.
He’s simply asking us to turn towards His love.”

March:
“Holy joy lies in the habit of murmuring thanks to God for the smallest of graces.”

April:
“Paying attention to our lives is a way to pay thanks to our Lord.”

May:
“God doesn’t drive us to achieve.
He simply asks us to come receive.
All great things are an overflow of His grace.”

June:
“No one receives the Grace of God without giving thanks to God.
Thankfulness is the deep, contented breath of peacefulness.”

July:
“When grief and grace both kindle in the us the same flame of gratitude towards God —
it’s only then that our love for God ignites int a pure blaze of glory.”

August:
“Praise, not Perfection.
What God seeks is not my perfection, but my praise.”

September:
“If God really works in everything, why don’t we thank Him in everything?
Why be afraid of anything — when God is using everything?”

October:
“To bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving is to sacrifice our understanding of what’s beneficial
and thank God for everything — because He is benevolent.
A sacrifice of thanks lays down our perspective and raises hands in praise anyways — always.”

November:
“If gratitude is an antidote for anxiety, and giving thanks is a real cure for stress,
we don’t have to relegate thanksgiving to a holiday,
for giving thanks to God revolutionizes all of our days.”

December:
“No one gets to joy by trying to make everything perfect.
One only arrives there by seeing in every imperfection all that is joy.”

Beyoncé the Chicken & Bubble Tea

2011-12-30T21:24:00.000-05:00

What did I give my Mommy for Christmas? Her very own Beyoncé!!!

Who/what is a Beyoncé? Read this!!! [Language caveat]

Today I got one of my ultimate favorite beverages: bubble tea. There is no bubble tea in southwest Georgia...and that really stinks; so I'm trying to get my fill as my time here winds down. Annelise & I got taro and almond milk tea with bubbles today, and I *LOVE* how the purple taro actually matches my Gelish polish!

[Photo credit: Princess Pumpkin Peach, as I held her tea]

Shop-O-Rama

2011-12-30T19:56:00.000-05:00

I am the anti-shopaholic. I absolutely LOOOVE *going* shopping, but I rarely pull the trigger. I'm one of the tightest people with money you've ever met in your life (except when it comes to food - eating out is my biggest vice in life. Seriously.) [Perhaps this is why grocery shopping is my favorite thing EVER: practical shopping that's not optional! :-D] I never buy fun stuff for myself, (it drives JB & my BFF Jackie crazy :-P) but whenever I *DO*, I am sooo excited about the items that were awesome enough for me to actually purchase that I feel like I have to share my finds with the world!!! :-D I also never usually purchase alone; I will almost always walk away. But with my mom or my girlfriends, esp. on a trip? I can get on a roll...which is what seems to have happened this week with my mommy. ;-)

I cannot tell you how happy I am to live in a place where it's technically possible to comfortably wear sandals almost any month of the year! I'm not a big shoe girl - I seem to buy one new pair every few years. (Same with purses.) I have cute denim wedges I got NINE years ago, my black Onesole slides with now-monogrammed tops, & brown/bronze sandals I got two years ago (to replace the worn-out brown ones I'd gotten three years before that; see how I roll? :-D Very utilitarian!) So when I see a pair that actually makes me do a double-take, this is a big deal. The Patricia II Crocs almost jumped off the display at me. Lots of people are anti-Crocs, and while I would never choose those holey clogs for an adult, you can't deny how comfortable they are. Acceptable sandals for me MUST be strappy, and I also almost NEVER wear flats. (I'm 5'5" - it's not a short thing. I just don't like the way I feel in flats. Wedges = fave.) So how cute are these?

A touch of fun green peeks out, the off-white has a tiny gleam of shimmer, they're strappy 2" wedges, easy to clean, & practical enough to wear to the ball field with jeans or Junior League with my Lilly Pulitzer pants. Yes, please!

So everyone knows how long my hair is, and it *is* a task to put it up quickly & securely in anything other than a pony. Enter Goody Spin Pins!

I first saw TiffanyD review these a few weeks ago, and I haven't been able to stop mulling them over since. I went for it at Ulta ($3.50 off $10 coupon!) ...and they REALLY WORK! I have sported a fabulously casual chignon for the last two days with no breakage or tangles (esp. from getting rubbed on my coat - NC is COLD!)

I love the ease & the chic look for a simple change!

Also at Ulta, (using 2 more coupons - 1 for each bottle) I "splurged" on the best shampoo & conditioner for my hair that I've ever regularly used: TIGI Bed Head Dumb Blonde.

Before we had kids, I'd get the liter bottles when they went on sale at Trade Secret, but (like so many things) I just seemed to let that little extra expense go, esp. after we moved up north. I saw the liter bottles - regularly $32 each (no freaking way!) - on super sale for $12.99; so with the coupons, I got each big bottle for $10. They'll last me well over half a year, and I think it makes my hair extra gorgeous & strong. (I am convinced using this stuff is what helped me keep it so healthy when I grew it out so long initially.)

Today at the mall, my mom & I fell into the Land's End winter clearance sale. There are two pieces for Annelise that we fell esp. hard for, (and these pics do NOT do an ounce of justice to how great they REALLY look! Ugh, Land's End - you need some MAJOR styling help!)

This navy sparkle knit dress

is so playful & dreamy! You can't tell here that it also has some beading in the with the sequins, and some of the sequins are rainbow iridescent = festive! And the knit is so soft!

Also this fantastically classic trench coat

makes her look like she just got off a plane in London to model or something. :-P It's a great weight, meticulously made, and that bubble hem makes it perfectly girly.

So, I blame this flood of *me* on the satisfied-red-lipstick-urge breaking the dam. ;-) (Even though the Land's End isn't exactly for me. :-D)

Gelish: Princess Tiara

2011-12-26T23:12:00.000-05:00

My mommy got me one of the Gelish colors I asked her for for Christmas: "Princess Tiara" [I PROMISE I didn't only want it b/c of the name! :-D That was a serendipitous coincidence.] It looks a lot like one of my fave old OPI colors, "Do You Lilac It?" Purple is my favorite color, but I was also so drawn to this one b/c while it's fun purple in some light, it also has neutral tones of grey & taupe in others. I love that it can be funky & flashy, then a bit neutral & reserved all in one color - esp. fab when it's Gelish and you wear it for ~3 weeks at a time! :-) This is a solid opaque color with no metallic shimmer. [I know - no glitter sounds like the anti-me. Even my French mani pink ("Light Elegant") has a silver shimmer in it; but that's another thing I like about this: it's different for me.]

I did two layers (the least I've needed to do of any color!) of just "Princess Tiara" on my fingers, and then two layers of "Princess Tiara" and one of "Bronzed" [a small warm gold glitter] on my toes. Pleased as punch!

Christmas Presents & Kid Collections

2011-12-26T22:34:00.000-05:00

JB had to go back to work in Georgia, again, after breakfast...

But he left me (& moochy Sis ;-)) with one of my FABULOUS Christmas presents:

a HEATED throw blanket!

My heat-addict-self has spent a good portion of this quiet, chilly day underneath. :-) JB also gave me a Double Belgian Waffle Maker (the professional kind that flips & makes really deep squares, but also does TWO big waffles at a time!) Whole grain chocolate chip waffles are my FAVORITE breakfast ever! What all did YOU get?

Will & Sis got to give (& receive) a Christmas present today with their neighbor BFF here, Kendall:

They are ALL *obsessed* with the cute, colorful, little hand sanitizers & carriers from Bath & Body Works. (NO Purell! That is NOT cool! :-D) Sissy's obsession started this summer, and apparently she is more of a trendsetter than we ever knew, b/c every "older girlfriend" of hers in elementary school up here collects, trades, and is utterly fixated upon them. I have to say, if the kids are going to become infatuated with trading & collecting something, I'm really good with these! #1 - They're cheap, (33¢ up to a couple dollars.) #2 - They smell good w/o making a mess. #3 - If they're going to trade them with random people, at least we're not bringing their germs in with it! :-D Does this fun B&BW sanitizer craze extend to any of your homes, as well?

Family Pics & Christmas Morning

2011-12-25T19:24:00.000-05:00

I have a ton of family photos to share!

First off, behold our family trip to...wait for it...the NASCAR Hall of Fame! :-D [Yay for being a native of Concord, NC! ;-)]

Will thrilled to pieces to be *THE BIG WINNER* :-)

We also did another cheapo (Portrait Innovations), 20-minute-total (quick is key) family photo session this year while we had everyone (my & my brother's fam) together:

It's a sweet new tradition. (Next year, we're going with light colors, after two years of dark. :-P)

And now CHRISTMAS MORNING!

Will thinks Christmas morning is AWESOME!!!

"Oh, sweet Tic Tacs in our stockings..." #easytoplease

Annelise loves this doll! She's also excited for the FIVE Dollie & Me outfits (a la Zulily) that she and this girl will now completely match in! :-D

Will was really excited for FIVE big stuffed Angry Birds. What about you & your kids?

Sis & my Grandmommy (she's 99! ♥ )

ULTIMATE Christmas Cookies

2011-12-24T16:14:00.000-05:00

This is the most last-minute I've ever made my ULTIMATE fave Christmas cookies, but it honestly CANNOT be Christmas without them, so hello Christmas Eve baking! Luckily for me, my Redskins played at 1 PM today, so I had great motivation to stand in one place with a view of the TV for two hours. ;-)

These chocolate-covered cherry cookies are pure heaven. We've been making them for over 25 years! They're what I usually give all the kids' teachers & our friends to absolute rave reviews, (although since I made gifts this year with my Silhouette, I put the cookies off.) They are not "simple" - while they don't require a culinary degree, they ARE time-consuming, so it is ALWAYS more fun to make them with a friend!!! I've made them all but two or three times with my mom or, in the last eight years, with my BFF Jackie. Here I am making them at Jackie's old house when we both lived outside ATL [a couple miles apart! :'(] EIGHT CHRISTMASES AGO!

[How precious is 4-month-old Will?!]

(We were très ambitious: her son was almost seven months old. This may have taken us allllll day... ;-) But I wouldn't have traded it for the world! :-D)

Here's hoping the gift of sharing this treasured chocolate-covered cherry cookie recipe brings you as much joy as it has to us over the years! Merry Christmas!!!

Old Friends

2011-12-23T22:51:00.000-05:00

*WE'RE* not old - we've just been BFFs for 20 years. :-)

And now to watch how our kids have grown so much... ♥ ♥ ♥

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-22T22:10:00.000-05:00

Our Christmas card this year is the fulfillment of a dream for me! Several years ago, in the middle of our frigid northern exile ;-), I had this idea...and I kept it on the back burner (with lots of prayers!) for the year I knew would come, when we'd move back home to the South. I am overflowing with gratitude that it's NOW and I *finally* got to do it!

We had a quick, ten-minute family photo shoot in one of the cotton fields near us in south Georgia back in October. They are everywhere around us, and harvest-ready cotton fields are more beautiful to me than any snow-drifted landscape could ever be. These are the fields of white I can deal with! ;-)

A beautiful shot of our happy children:

And *the* card:

Merriest Christmas to all my beloved family & friends who take time out of your lives to connect with and draw closer to us. Thank you for blessing us with your prayers and your presence!

Roomie & Red Resolution

2011-12-21T23:02:00.002-05:00

One of my roommates from senior year at Davidson has moved back to the Davidson area with her family, and since it's less than an hour from my parents' house, we really wanted to get together...for the first time since I graduated over ELEVEN YEARS ago! We've kept up with each other, (we were both floored when her first son, Finn, was born...and looked EXACTLY like Will!) but we just haven't had a chance to see each other in person until today. (For the record, Will & Finn are complete twins, just three years apart. :-P) We got to meet up for lunch at Newk's, where our oldests, youngests, and then the two of us each ordered the same things. :-D It was like no time had passed - aren't those connections THE BEST?! After we ate, we let the kids run around in the puddles, wet grass, & gated area in front of the restaurant for a few minutes...which turned into an hour...after which she said, "I could really go for Starbucks," and I replied, "Look right across the street!" So we relocated the party, got lattes, and [with perhaps questionable judgement ;-)] continued to let the four kids play in the mist on the rain-soaked playground. It was oddly perfect & lovely! What a blessing friends are, even when you aren't together 24/7...or for over a decade...

As soon as we left them, we hopped in the car with my parents and drove to my hometown to visit my Grandmommy, before going to Charlotte Motor Speedway for their Carolina Christmas light show! (The light show part was twice as big as last year, but they didn't have the ice skating.) We were all appropriately mesmerized, especially when we got to drive high up on the banking of turns 3 & 4 on the racetrack - even at under 100 mph, it was thrilling! After Grandmommy & the Speedway, we went to an old family favorite Italian restaurant for dinner - we hadn't been since before the kids were born, and it was heavenly. The owners still remembered us, and Annelise completely charmed them to pieces! ;-)

Between genuine friends, family, food, & fun, I feel blessed beyond measure!

**********

I found a resolution to my super dramatic, über-important red lipstick crisis! ;-) (I'm not being facetious about the response, though!!! I *loveloveloved* all the advice emails I got! :-D) My makeup guru BFF Jackie pointed me in the right direction shade-wise, and after trying nine more at Ulta, I actually found *it*:

[Eeek! I hate self-cell portraits!]

Now if I can just get a brow wax, I'll feel like a new woman! ;-)

**********

Advent thoughts from Following the Star:

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ~Luke 1:30-33

Just when Mary’s astonishment over meeting Gabriel calmed down, her heart took another cataclysmic leap. Pregnant?! If Gabriel had the message right, then God’s master plan for Mary was totally out of sync with what she had imagined. The good news was that God’s promise to put an heir on the throne of David would be fulfilled through Mary’s son. The bad news for Mary was that she was going to have to explain this pregnancy to her family. It was no easy road, but God faithfully guided Mary every step of the way; her faith never wavered. If Mary could trust God’s plans, then so can we. Maybe you know what it’s like to feel that a situation is the opposite of what you hoped for, but perhaps is all part of a bigger plan. It’s okay to doubt or be afraid or even a bit angry in that circumstance. Ultimately God asks us to let go of our own agendas and trust that the Master plan is ultimately in our best interests. Trust. That’s all God asks of you. ~Tammy Wiens

God of hope, when I’m feeling sad and wondering why nothing I try turns out like I’d planned, help me to commit my life to your care. Take away my worry and put faith in its place. Teach me to trust the plans you have for my life and to believe that the most important thing of all is walking with you by my side. Amen.

Lord of All, I want to be amazed at the miracle of Christmas, but sometimes the story seems so familiar that the awesomeness of it wears thin. This Christmas, give me a fresh sense of meeting Jesus in the manger. Fill me with wonder and gratitude that Christ came into the world and walks beside me still. Amen.

Home Studio, Con Artist, & Red Lipstick

2011-12-19T22:32:00.002-05:00

This morning I got to go back to the dance studio I grew up in - from age 2 through senior year of high school!!! - for the very first time in over 15 YEARS! The studio has changed names (from Pegge' Lee School of Dance to Cabarrus Dance Academy after Miss Pegge' passed away) and locations (from a cool basement studio full of character & a signature scent-memory to a state-of-the-art brand new facility) but the same family still runs it, and the owner's daughters, whom I went to school & took dance with, are now two of the teachers. :-) I was SO EXCITED to be able to get back to my hometown (~45 min away from where my fam lives now) this morning for a 9:30 Zumba class. I loved "Don't Let Me Down - Swing" from ZIN 31; I would love to get that! I hope I can get to one more class sometime while we're here, too.

After Zumba, we (me, my mom, & the kids) went to pick up Grandmommy and take her to lunch at the kids' beloved CiCi's Pizza. :-P Aunt Frances (Grandmommy's sister) met us there, and we gorged ourselves on it-really-shouldn't-taste-this-good cinnamon rolls and mac & cheese pizza. :-D When the kids finished, they asked if they could play in the game room; as always, I said of course, but I wasn't giving them any money to waste in there. [I will NEVER give my kids quarters for games or machines; they know to never even ask me.] They ran off, and I proceeded to tell the table the story of how when we used to be CiCi's regulars (when we lived outside Chicago (haven't had one close to us since)), Will & Sis would always find someone to charm in the game room and inevitably come back to our table with a handful of candy, b/c someone had given them quarters, b/c they were so cute. NOT TWO SECONDS after finishing the tale, Annelise runs back to us with candy & a quarter, grinning "A boy gave me a dollar!" HA!!!! Perfect timing, huh? :-P

But it gets better... Later on, my mom walked back to the bathroom and saw her working her magic: she & another younger girl had a sweet teenaged boy cornered, and she was rattling off something with her fingers - the reasons he should give her some money, the things she'd do with it, or just teaching the younger girl how to make this work - but my mom quickly called her out. She was utterly mortified...but I could NOT stop laughing! My precious, adorable, beautiful, highly manipulative, too-smart-for-her-own-good, little con artist!!! :-D Of course, there was a conversation about how rude and inappropriate it is to ask people to give you money...but it's still classic. ;-)

Speaking of classic, I've been thinking about red lipstick lately. How fun it would be to try a hue other than the sparkly mauve shades I signaturely sport. I had a tiny bit left on my wonderful Sephora gift card from JB's parents for my bday, so I really wanted to hit the full-size store (i.e. "not the mini-version in JC Penny") while I actually have access here in Charlotte for a consultation. Nothing the lady brought for me to try quite bowled me over; but I just thought I was being too scared to go for something different, so I ended up pulling the trigger on Sephora brand Maniac Mat Long Wearing Matte Lipstick in Mat 10/Matte Cherry Rose. It looks just like this internet photo on:

a little more cherry bomb than I imagined, but when I said "darker" than the lighter red ones she first brought, this is what she suggested. Plus, I love Sephora brand, so fine.
Cut to literally just 20 minutes later, when I checked my email on my phone as we drove away from the Christmas crowds at the mall. I had an ad email from Sephora...with *THE* most gorgeous shade of red on the model, exactly like I had imagined but couldn't seem to verbalize:

Can you see the difference? [Jackie?! :-)] So now, do I make do or try to return? Hmmmm...

Advent, NC, & Kartoffelpuffer

2011-12-18T15:01:00.000-05:00

Advent thoughts from Following the Star:
The promises of God are outrageous in what they offer to us. Salvation for all? The end of pain and sorrow? God living right here with us?
Who could believe it?
People of faith believe. And in this most outrageous season of hope and anticipation, we wait believing. Take time now to hear the promises of God. And believe.

Loving God, I know there is no greater love than what you demonstrated for us through the coming of the Lord. May I be the tangible expression of that love in the lives of those around me who desperately seek comfort, belonging, and hope. Amen.

**********

Last week wrapped up beautifully: I felt so blessed that it was 75°F & our windows were open. [After the last 6 hellish winters up north, I will NEVER take this gloriousness for granted. I am ALL ABOUT *this* being Christmas weather!!! ] I got to plan & host Will's 2nd grade class party, and apparently it was a big hit. [Yay for Christmas bingo, a relay race where the kids wore mittens & had to unwrap Hershey kisses, decorating cookies, making reindeer food & paper reindeer out of their foot- & handprints! :-)] Annelise was already out of school & got to Zumba with me Friday. ♥ [PS - potential Zumba news on the horizon! Stay tuned!!! ;-)] I got to help my BFF Laura out with a few Christmas presents using my Silhouette, and she brought me a few meringue cookies, (my 1ST Christmas cookies this year! :-O) And I just couldn't get over how magical the sunbeams looked in the Spanish moss in our tress each afternoon...

We're settled in NC now for the holidays. :-) (And NC better get its weather act together, b/c I left 70°+ for this!!!) Gas was $2.87 in Augusta, GA, AND it's the only exit on our ENTIRE trip home w/ a Sbux = I will *always* stop there! :-D The kids both read books in the backseat for a good portion of the 6.5 hour trip = fantastic! I car-Zumba-ed [pretty much just me shaking my derrière & squeezing my abs a little in my seat while waving my arms around like a nut :-P] for at least 45 minutes. Hmmm... How many Christmas candy calories might that have been worth?

Randomly delicious:
JB & I made impromptu Kartoffelpuffer (German potato pancakes) Friday night...after we'd already had dinner...and when I *should* have been packing. ;-) (Hey, anything to procrastinate! I HATE packing & unpacking, even if I love where I'm going.) We saw them being made on TV and couldn't help ourselves with craving! :-D My (über-German) dad used to make them for us for dinner every once in a while...and bless him, they weren't good. :-P But THESE?! These redeemed every blah potato pancake experience I've ever had in my life!

* 4 peeled potatoes; keep them submerged in a bowl of cold water to stop oxidation (we love Yukon gold)
* In a mixing bowl, combine:
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon (white whole wheat) flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon, freshly ground black pepper
* Using the large holes on a box grater, grate a medium yellow onion and add it to the egg mixture. (Or - b/c we were out of onions, use some onion powder)
* Grate the potatoes onto a clean kitchen towel, wring as much water out of them as you can, and add them to the egg mixture.
* Toss so that the potato, onion, & egg mixture are evenly combined.
* Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat with oil or butter.
* Shape ~4" pancakes & sauté until each side is golden brown.
* Drain on paper towels and eat right away, with applesauce, if you wish. :-)
[I'm excited next time to try cooking them in the WAFFLE MAKER instead of frying!!! I *HATE* frying stuff!!!]

"The Pirates of Presents"

2011-12-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

Tonight was Annelise's Montessori Christmas show, "The Pirates of Presents". (Unfortunately, there was no Gilbert and Sullivan score, no version of the Major-General's Song. That would have been hysterical! ;-)) It was adorable, though. They all recited a reeeally long version of A Pirate's Night Before Christmas and sang a few songs with a bit of pirate lingo tossed in.

Here are their individual parts. (Annelise comes in at 0:54)

As always, I love how much she loves "being in shows". :-D

[Yeah, tonight was also supposed to be my Junior League Christmas Party...but when this show got scheduled for the exact same time? Well, adult girl time fun had to be sacrificed...for now. :-P]

Christmas Dance Recital

2011-12-11T21:57:00.000-05:00

Annelise had her Christmas Dance Recital this afternoon! Of course, my heart almost burst. The whole thing was *wonderful*. This dance school is so much like the one I grew up in. (I started at 2 and went through high school.) Their senior students reminded me so much of my old elite tap class, the Lee-ettes (think Rockettes), and I literally tapped along to their every song. You can't stop feet that are full of muscle memory! I was really impressed with the group choreography today - it made me want to choreograph, again, so badly! Choreography is my favorite part of teaching dance.

It was also funny, b/c I was taken right back to what my beloved Miss Tammy always used to tell us: "No one will notice when your feet mess up, as long as you have a huge smile!" I always taught my dance classes (when I taught preballet, tap, jazz, & creative movement outside Atlanta & Chicago) the exact same thing, b/c it's 100% true...and it showed today. I can't think of many times in my life I've been to a recital performance purely as a spectator like today, without knowing (or teaching) a bunch of people in the different classes; and my eye was clearly drawn to the girls who looked happiest to be onstage in each class.

[I am EXTRA excited that *my* baby doll is also one of those super smiling stage stealers!!! ;-)]

Her whole class backstage beforehand:

There's just something about this natural tap pose that I adore:

:-D

Mommy & Sis:

Her performance! (She's the first one on the front row:)

Congratulations on your wonderful dancing, Princess Pumpkin Peach! We are all so proud of you!

Two! Two! Two Santas in One [Night]!

2011-12-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

How about TWO Santa lap visits in one night? What a way to celebrate St. Nicholas Day! :-P

Our pediatrician hosted their annual Winter Wonder event last night:

We felt happy supporting the Lily Pad with our toy donations, and the kids really flipped over Santa and sweet Mrs. Claus:

[BTW: notice SHORT SLEEVES in the Santa pics!!! A cold front swooped through today, and we may even have frost tomorrow morning, but last night? 80°F even after dark! I didn't even bring a jacket! I was in HEAVEN: DREAMY BEYOND WORDS...]

They had cookies & milk, balloon animals, and REAL REINDEER!!!

After the pediatrician's, we went to our 2nd Christmas party of the evening: Merry Member's Night at the Flint RiverQuarium. [I couldn't believe both events were scheduled for the same night, but they were both 100% FREE, and each had something different to offer - except for overlapping Santas ;-) so we went for it!] I explained before we went either place that both would have different Santas, but you never know when you're with the real one or one of his helpers, b/c since he's an angel, he can be anywhere anytime God wants him to be. :-) The magical thing was that they gave their full hearts to both - whichever one they were in the presence of was THE REAL one in that moment. Precious:

Santa gave them HUGE special free gifts!!! Really nice kids' RiverQuarium mugs and pencils = majorly impressed. After Santa's lap, they made pop-up Santa crafts and ornaments:

We gorged on cookies, brownies, cream puffs, cheesecake, chex mix, grapes, and red velvet cupcakes before going through the rest of the RiverQuarium. :-) I feel incredibly blessed that we were invited to these two free & fabulous events and that we made the effort to go to both.

Sissy School Pic and 17 Bean & Barley Soup

2011-12-07T19:32:00.000-05:00

Presenting...

Princess Pumpkin Peach's Kindergarten Montessori Portrait :-)
It's a super natural pose. There were two others, but I never see her like those. I see her angled like this all the time. :-D

In completely unrelated food news...

When I was at my beloved Trader's Joes in Charlotte last month, I grabbed a bag of Trader Joe’s 17 Bean & Barley Mix:

I looove barley, and I've become so obsessed with vegetable/bean soups this year, I just thought this would be perfect...and it IS! There's a simple recipe on the bag, but I went even simpler than that. I used the quick-soak method to rehydrate the beans, (cover beans w/ 3 times the water, bring to boil, simmer 2 min, remove from heat, let sit for an hour, drain & rinse.) Soaking removes the indigestible sugars on the coating of the bean, oligosaccharides, which helps reduce the...ummm...gas factor associated with eating beans. The recipe on the bag is lovely, but to be honest, I didn't want to chop & sauté any onion. I also wanted more tomatoes, and I had half a carton of turkey stock that I needed to use, as well. I covered the drained & rinsed beans with the half carton of turkey stock, a full carton of chicken stock, two cans of diced tomatoes, garlic, onion powder, and Mrs. Dash Italian blend. I let it simmer for about an hour, and it is heavenly! Annelise & I can't get enough! (Will hates beans. Whatev.) I'll certainly be getting quite a few more bags when we go back up sometime around Christmas, and I'll be excited to use the drained & rinsed beans as a cold salad when spring rolls around - just tossing with grape tomatoes, cucumber, maybe corn, and balsamic vinaigrette. Mmmmm...

Manifestation of SAHM Guilt

2011-12-06T23:07:00.000-05:00

Behold the ridiculous manifestation of SAHM guilt...

*WHY* did I volunteer to make icing for & assemble FIVE gingerbread houses (instead of just Annelise's, & after making our own from scratch this past weekend) for her Montessori to decorate on Thursday??? (Which - PS - means I have to keep the rest of the icing fresh & sealed until then, too.) "I'm a stay-at-home mom, so I should have the time, right?" :-P And how is it that the kits Montessori pre-bought are a bigger pain than mine from scratch???

*Focusing on being a blessing & helping out...*

OK, whine fest is over. :-P I got them all finished tonight, so now I'm moving on to rockstar adulation! :-D

Randoms, Asian Meatloaf, & Chocolate Mint Sherbet

2011-12-06T12:13:00.000-05:00

Christmas gifts become more than a checklist when we're able to see our goal as showing others the love God gave you. ~[AC]

Whenever Christmas begins to burden, it’s a sign that I’ve taken on something of the world and not of Christ. Any weight in Christmas has to be of this world. ~Ann Voskamp
Apparently I'm not the norm, but I just don't get the point of stressing over the holidays! WHY??? I understand perfectionist tendencies all too well, but I almost feel like it's a "greater" sin [yes, I know sin is sin] during the holidays, b/c it's ruining the point of the celebration in the first place. If something is not pleasant &/or beneficial, I'm not doing it. I am sooo anti-meaningless obligation!

From Following the Star:

We’ve seen the star in the east, so let us begin our journey to Bethlehem. On this Advent road, the star illumines our greed, our fears, and our ambivalence.
On this Advent road, the star lights our path with hope and comfort.
On this Advent road, let us follow this star with the fear of the shepherds and the joy of the angels.

I confess, God, that I do not always take seriously your coming into my life. I have habits I never get around to changing, I refuse to always love or show love to those who are closest to me, and I have left good deeds undone. Show me new ways to live and love. Amen.

From goTandem:

Even with God, passive-aggressive behavior is ineffective: James 4:2 - “…you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” Voicing need builds trust whether with our spouses or with God.

How I know fall is officially over: it's been 5 full days since the pool guy came, I haven't skimmed, and our pool is still gorgeously leaf- & acorn-free! (It hadn't been clear for more than 4 minutes since September! :-D) Several trees over ours are still full, but for whatever magical reason (I'm not asking or complaining!) our pool is summer-clear. I want to jump in so badly!!! ...And then I remember how freaking freezing it is. :-( :-P

Check out my SUPER DRAMATIC 4 INCH haircut! Can't you tell??? :-D

[Photo credit: Will, who just wanted to take pics with my phone, so I obliged.]
This is my favorite length, and my BFF Jackie - with impeccable style - has always said the same thing, so it *must* be true. :-) I meant to do it a couple months ago, but time got away (not to mention I was gun shy after the Annelise fiasco. :-P)

Praise God for 79°F in December!!! Our low will be the high by the end of the week, but I surely am enjoying it now. :-)

We sang this song - Running in Circles by United Pursuit Band - Sunday morning, and it's really sticking with me:

So simple, so true... Just beautiful...

SOOOOOO IN LOVE AND TOTALLY OBSESSING over Silhouette heat transfer material!!! I don't need the starter kit, but my head is about to EXPLODE over what all I could make with the smooth & flocked rolls! WHY, OH WHY couldn't I have discovered this before I gave out my Christmas list?!?! :'( Santa, can you hear me???

Last night, I made my "famous" Asian meatloaf for the first time in AGES...and why did we go so long w/o it??? Everyone(!) in our household eats it happily, so it's definitely going back into heavy rotation:

Asian Meatloaf
•1 lb. ground beef (I use lean, 9% fat)
•½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
•¼ cup ground flaxseed (optional, but yay fiber & omega-3s!)
•1 tsp garlic
•¼ tsp salt
•¼ tsp pepper
•⅛ tsp ground ginger (I use grated fresh)
•2 Tbsp mushrooms
•2 Tbsp green onions
•2 Tbsp diced red pepper (not in Susie’s)
•¼ cup diced onion (I don't bother with 2 different onions; if you want the color of the green, go for it; you can always just use onion powder, too, when your kids don't want the extra texture)
•1 egg
•¼ cup hoisin sauce

*Spray loaf pan with Pam.
*Mix all above ingredients and shape into a loaf, leaving room on all sides of the pan.
*Spread 2 additional Tbsp hoisin sauce over the top of the loaf.
*Preheat oven to 375° and bake uncovered for 60 minutes, or until a thermometer shows an internal temperature of 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

This recipe doubles easily and freezes beautifully! Just wrap & freeze your loaves and defrost in the fridge before you cook them.

I also experimented with another big winner last night. After the Skinny Pumpkin Sherbet, I kept thinking about making a chocolate mint version...and it WORKED! This is definitely sherbet, not rich & thick ice cream. You can easily go there with heavy cream, but I actually prefer sherbet sometimes, (esp. non-fruity flavors!), and I like desserts that I can eat a TON of w/o feeling guilty. This is that:

Chocolate Mint Sherbet
•2½ cups of lowfat milk (I used Skim Plus; also big on Smart Balance)
•½ cup Splenda for baking (b/c I'm trying to use it up; I'm getting stevia for baking the next time I get to Trader Joe's; you could use raw sugar or agave syrup, if you don't care about calories)
•¼+? cup cocoa powder (sorry, I don't know how much I used, b/c I just dumped some in the pot)

*Combine in a saucepan, and heat over medium heat. Bring to a full boil while whisking, then reduce heat to low, and simmer for thirty seconds.
*Remove from the heat, add several drops of peppermint extract, and stir.
*Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and chill in the refrigerator until cold, about an hour. When chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
*Midway through the freezing process, add crushed peppermint candies for an awesome bonus! :-D (Soooo good! Chocolate chips might also be yummy, but I kind of hate when the chips get so frozen that you only taste their waxiness as you chew them up. Chocolate shavings would be be better. :-))

I ate the entire freezer of it (~2 huge servings?) by myself last night...and I may do the exact same thing tonight!!!

Gingerbread Houses 2011

2011-12-04T21:36:00.001-05:00

I have the now-discontinued & "collectible" Pampered Chef Stoneware Gingerbread House Mold:

My cousin gave it to us even before we had kids, and it's become an annual tradition now:

2007 (Will, 3 - Annelise, 1½)

2008 (Will, 4 - Annelise, 2½)

2009 (Will, 5 - Annelise, 3½)

[This wasn't using our mold - it was at our Australian friend's house when we lived outside Chicago; they inspired us to make it a play date with neighbors!]

2010 (Will, 6 - Annelise, 4½)

[Last year with precious MI BFFs!]

So that brings us to THIS year! We assembled...and disassembled them into our mouths, both in record time! :-D I blame Immaculate Baking, (fabulous company!!! super recommend!!!), whose amazing cookie dough is the *only* pre-made dough that actually tastes as good as homemade to me. I was ecstatic to find their all natural Ginger Spice dough at beloved Costco in NC pre-Thanksgiving, so I bought & brought it home just for these houses. :-) But it was too luscious to resist... Well, you'll see...

Yesterday, I baked four molds-worth of roofs & walls - enough to create our two houses - so they'd be cooled & ready. I was SO PROUD of myself, b/c for the very first time, I didn't crack a single piece - even the chimneys came out of the mold beautifully. [I now realize this is probably due more to the superior Immaculate dough than my personal awesomeness, but I'll take the credit where I can. ;-)] I also went ahead and glued the pieces together today with royal icing (4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tbsp. meringue powder, 6 tbsp. warm water - beat into peaks) before our neighbors came over, so no one would have to wait for it to set up. Kids just want to get right on to the fun decorating part! :-) I sorted through the Halloween candy I pulled for this from the kids' bags last month and added a bunch that they scored at the Christmas Parade yesterday. (Woohoo! Never *buy* candy for a project when your kids are overloaded with enough for FREE! :-D) I set it out in fancy schmancy ramekins - not to look good, but so that I could go ahead and empty a lot of the wrappers & trash them, instead of the kids ripping open the packs & having the candy go all over. :-P

The kids were counting down all afternoon until 4 PM! (I said 4 PM = after the Redskins game, b/c I didn't want to scream at the TV for 3 hours in front of guests - even sweet ones who wouldn't care. ;-)) When Mrs. Marsha, Lacy, & Walker arrived, the house exploded into cheers, and we all dove right in:

It's not a real "homemade gingerbread house day" w/o making mustaches with the extra icing! [I know - I am the anti-food-mess mom, but royal icing is my *singular* vice - it doesn't stain anything & it washes off so easily!] Lacy had the super cute idea to stick the red raspberry on Annelise's nose to make her look like Rudolph!

Sooo, then we started picking at the houses. Just a little bit. And then a little bit more. And then I couldn't stop! Even when the kids went on upstairs to play, Marsha & I stayed in the kitchen to chat...and this is what happened:

Again, I blame you, Immaculate Baking! (Sooo darn good!) If it would have baked up crispier, I wouldn't have been so excited to deconstruct...

Spirit of Christmas Parade

2011-12-03T17:13:00.000-05:00

This morning we enjoyed our local "Spirit of Christmas" Parade! Bless his heart, JB (surely sarcastically? ...right?) let his yankee flag fly: "Christmas parade? Who has *Christmas* parades?" HA!!! Every town in the South, b/c there's no threat of snow!!! :-P [FWIW, I wouldn't want to watch any parade outside up north in December, either! :-D] I was excited to see what this one would be like, b/c my tiny hometown's parade was & still is HUGE: it runs over 2.5 miles and lasts well over 3 hours. I had to tell him about how my friend Caroline & I actually got to lead the whole parade in with the welcome banner when I was in 6th grade. I felt like the biggest celebrity!!! (I'm sending my mom on an attic quest to find a pic!)

Today was a gorgeous sunny Southern December day in the 60's - festive but not freezing. :-) The Marine Corps Band led it off:

(Yes, Annelise is wearing her Tiny Miss pageant tiara. Her pageant didn't sponsor a float in this parade, but we told her she could wear her crown, anyway! :-D Then we saw the Junior Miss winner in her own convertible and thought, "SHOOT!" We could've had Sis in her own car! Oh well. :-P)

I really like the local high school band. Jamie's daughter, Vicki, plays the clarinet, so we had to yell for her! :-P

They are a big band, just like ours was in high school. (I was a chorus geek, not a band nerd, but our band was a HUGE DEAL. They were selected to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland our sophomore year and came in 2nd out of 11 of the best bands there in the world!) The drumline cadence sends me right back to football Friday nights...

Will's ultimate highlight was this train/truck! He went nuts!!!

Oh! And this was the coolest: CSA reenactors stopped right in front of us and fired off a musket volley!

The big hoopla this year was over country music star Luke Bryan, who was born & lived here through college. He came back to be in the parade this year. [Last year's big local celeb was baseball star Buster Posey, also born & raised right here. This town is TEE-TINY - who on earth is going to get famous real fast from here next, so they'll have someone big next year? :-P :-D]

Will & Sis weren't that impressed by Luke Bryan: "That guy's famous? Why???" :-P

Now Santa, on the other hand? They went NUTS a la "Elf" - "SANTA! SANTAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Montessori Parents' Night

2011-12-03T14:29:00.000-05:00

Annelise had Montessori Kindergarten Parents' Night on Thursday evening:

(Here she is showing us how to play "The Logical Adjective Game" - matching up nouns like "building" & "food" with logical adjectives like "tall" and "yummy".)

She got to sing her super fave "50 States" song:

And recited a poem about Christopher Columbus and the ABC's of Happiness.

I. Love. This. School.

Life in a Pic & Silhouette Desks

2011-12-03T13:15:00.002-05:00

This was from FB Wednesday, but it's just a too-perfect slice of life not to share:

My life on Wednesday in a nutshell: I never thought I'd want my northern BFF (heat dish) in south Georgia, but I broke it out of storage to keep me from cutting on the house heat. I ♥ it! Now notice the tower fan by Annelise that JB *STILL* aims at his section of the couch daily. :-P How's that for dichotomy? :-D I will now combat any errant air flow with my OWN temp! Also: dog on my lap, kids loving their new homework trays I made them, wrapped presents under tree, & better-than-last-year weather forecast = happiness!

So, now to those homework desks that generated all the FB buzz! Details, as promised:

The kids love doing their homework & eating snacks in our family room; that makes a lot of sense, b/c we don't have a kitchen table in this house - only our huge formal dining room table directly connected to the kitchen, but on the opposite side of "all the action". To be in the "casual living" area, they're either on stools at the counter or on the family room floor. TV trays are expensive (although I think we would get a TON of use out of a nice dark cherry wooden set; maybe one day) and they're not quite as portable as these cute ones: less than $10 (WAAAY less with the 40% off coupon!) at Hobby Lobby, and they stack completely on top of each other. I used my Silhouette with vinyl to personalize each one - the personalization alone at regular gift shops costs up to $15 per name with basic fonts!!! Will's favorite thing on earth is trains, so for his, I just used this train font that incorporates train cars in the characters = perfectly awesome. So *SPOILER ALERT* - anyone who invites us to a kid's bday party in the near future (like Maddie next week :-D) is probably getting one of these. They are certainly going into my standard gift rotation. :-)

Christmas Bucket List

2011-12-01T00:36:00.005-05:00

I saw lots of fall/Halloween bucket lists a couple months ago, and while I thought they were super cute, I didn't feel the need to hop on the "make a list" bandwagon. I started to go through our calendar the other night, though, saw all of the fun things we have on our agenda leading up to Christmas, and realized, "Now this would make a great *personalized* Christmas Bucket List!" I think it's especially interesting to see what all everyone does during the holidays, b/c there are SO MANY DIFFERENT options & ideas, no one could ever do them all. Here's our's for this year:

* Zoo Merry Members' Night
* Put up our tree, stockings, & decorate outside
* Christmas cards
* Advent: family storybook, gratitude tree, nativity
* Advent devotionals
* 2011 ornaments
* Christmas cookies
* Salvation Army Red Kettles
* RiverQuarium Members' Night, geocaching & ornament making
* Local Christmas parade
* Gingerbread houses
* Winter Wonder: Santa & live reindeer
* Annelise's Christmas Dance Program
* Messiah Sing Along
* Junior League Christmas Party

[PROGRAMMING NOTE: I am ALL ABOUT STRESS-FREE CHRISTMAS! I don't do any of this stuff begrudgingly "b/c I should" - I *only* do it b/c we want to. :-)]

I already blogged about our zoo's Merry Members' Night and our tree. We hang stockings at our house every year, but they are purely décor. We've never spent a married Christmas at home - always with family, since we're the only ones who aren't local. Both JB's parents & mine have their stockings for all of us, so these are just to look festive. I was also excited to decorate a little outside for the first time four years! Three years ago we moved over Christmas, so the décor was packed; the last two years, what we had didn't go with our two different houses, and since we knew we wouldn't be in them long, we weren't going to invest in one-shot decorations. (For the record, we didn't miss them. It was too cold to be outside; I didn't care.) This year, though, I'm reveling in where we live! I found the Christmas decorations we had bought for the last home we owned...and they actually work GREAT here! They took 15 minutes to put up in 70°+ sunshine. :-) And I love to see them shimmer as we drive in & out.

I mailed our Christmas cards out on Monday. I personally digiscrap a 4x6 photo card and include a short new-address-&-sentence-about-each-of-us letter every year. Thanks to FB familiarity, our list has gone down a lot (85 this year, down from 130 a few years ago.) I still send them, though, to everyone who sends us one and to close friends & fam not on FB. With as much as we move, it means a lot to me to stay connected to people; so even with most people close to us already knowing our business online, I like keeping up the card tradition. Plus, I put all of the photos we receive as/in cards on our message board & keep their faces present in our home ALL YEAR, until the next season's batch arrives.

I'll post this year's after everyone we sent them to has received it, but here are the last seven years:
2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

[Yay, memories!]

I've already talked a lot about Advent devotionals and our family Advent storybook we're reading together daily, our nativity, and our December evergreen version of the gratitude tree. We used to do the traditional candy Advent calendars (Trader Joe's has great, cheap, chocolate ones!) but I really hate giving the kids candy either when waking up or going to bed, so the last two years, I had a sticker that was part of a big nativity scene in each day. I also LOVE the idea of doing a Jesse Tree. (I got this great resource from Ann Voskamp last year.) We're doing none of those this year, though; I feel like we have enough with our gratitude tree thankful ornaments and the family Advent storybook.

Every year since Will was born, I've gotten a simple metal ornament with the year engraved on it that I put the kids' picture with Santa in. All but two years, it's been the same ornament style from Target; but ours doesn't have it this year, so I went with a nicer 2011 one I found at Hobby Lobby. This sounds like a little thing, but it's become really important to me. We usually go see Santa early (in November - before he gets jaded ;-)) but this year...

Our pediatrician is hosting their annual Winter Wonder event:

Excited to support the Lily Pad & get a great, unique Santa experience, so we'll wait for the 6th. :-)

I am usually involved in a holiday cookie exchange (wow - 1st year in ages I'm not!) but I *did* realize a couple years ago that I rarely like anyone else's cookies as much as my family's #1 ultimate super duper fave recipe: chocolate-covered cherry cookies. :-D It's the only cookie I *MUST* have for it to be Christmas...so I'm making 5 batches sometime in the next week. They are crazy labor-intensive, but oh-so worth it. [I really wish Jackie & I could make them together like last year! Way more fun!]

Every time I pass a Salvation Army Red Kettle, I'll donate. Reputable, simple, a beautiful reminder that you can do over & over.

The RiverQuarium here is having "The Twelve Days of Fishmas" - cute! We're going to do their geocaching scavenger hunt for 12 animals hidden around town one day, (we have the coordinates list, so we can do it whenever we want,) the kids are also going to do their ornament contest, and we're going to try to make it to their Members' Night. I feel blessed to have this cool facility here!

Our town's local Christmas parade is this Saturday morning. It's a big deal this year, I guess, b/c Luke Bryan (a big country star) who was born & raised here is coming to be the Grand Marshal. [I haven't followed country music in years, but I'm a total faux-celeb stalker, so I can get on board with the hoopla. ;-)] I'm so excited to be back South, where it's actually WARM enough with NO threat of snow to have Christmas parades! :-D [Up north, they are really big on the 4th of July parades to make up for it. ;-)]

Every year, the kids & I make our own gingerbread houses from scratch. Last year, we invited our neighbors & BFFs to come do one with us, and it was a ball! We're making this year's with our new neighbors Sunday afternoon. And yep - we rip them apart and eat them (over about a week) every year. Best tip: save Skittles, M&M's - any candy that you could use to decorate - from your kids' Halloween candy! (Why buy more, you know? :-))

Annelise's dance school does a Christmas show every year, and I'm about to burst to see her perform on Sunday, the 10th! She has showed me her routine about 20 times, and it's GOOD! I am totally impressed that the teacher is having this age really dance, instead of just doing a few heel digs and arm waving. I am so picky about quality dance schools, and I *LOVE* knowing we've got the best around here!

A local chorale is having a Messiah Sing Along on the 12th, and I would LOVE to go! I'm playing this one by ear, though, b/c it doesn't start until 7 PM, I would probably have to take the kids with me alone (yay culture! boo missing bedtime & potential bored whines!), and it would be just us - I don't have any singing friends here. :'( I'd give the WORLD to be able to have my BFFs Wendy & Christa in NC come with... Oh, our former Christmas concert glory days...

My Junior League Christmas Party is the 13th. I'm bringing the famous chocolate-covered cherry cookies, of course. I also need to get an ornament for the exchange. I asked if they usually do fancy or silly? Fancy. I can handle that. (Any excuse to go back to Hobby Lobby for the 4th time in a week, right? :-P)

Cute trendy tradition we don't do: Elf on the Shelf - I think this is adorable, but we needed it when our kids (5 & 7) were younger, like 2. Had we done it since then, they'd still be on board; but they would never go for it starting now. They believe in Santa, but they know he's an angel from Heaven (the real St. Nicholas) & wouldn't believe this fake doll talks to him! :-D :-P Makes me a bit sad, though, for them to miss out on this cute tradition. Oh well. I think we have enough other stuff to make up for it! :-D

My fave Christmas CD: "Christmas Caroling" by Ray Conniff is THE sound of Christmas to me. My dad was old school, and this is what we played in the car all December. It's what I hear when I think "holidays". Everyone can keep their current-artist-Christmas releases; give me the Ray Conniff singers! ;-)

Our fave Christmas movies: we adore Elf (newer fave) and A Christmas Story (my family's tradition - we have the 24 hrs of it on TBS playing in the background all Christmas Eve/Day! :-D 100% memorized.) For all you parents, I also want to recommend Why Do We Call It Christmas? by the creator of VeggieTales. His whole What's in the Bible? DVD series is AMAZING!!!! We have all 6 that have been released so far, and not only do the kids LOVE them, but *I* have learned a lot from them, too!!! They are amazing - they have truly made the first 14 (so far) books of the Old Testament *engaging & accessible*!

Now, these are just *SOME* of our Christmas activities, traditions, & faves - we can't wait to do the big Carolina Christmas light show at Charlotte Motor Speedway whenever we get there, and who knows what else we'll get into?! You know I'll keep y'all posted. ;-)

OK, so now it's your turn to fill me in! Tell me what all YOU do to celebrate the Christmas season! I love getting new ideas from sweet friends!!!

Advent-O-Rama

2011-11-28T23:00:00.001-05:00

So many wonderful Advent resources to share...

Advent Conspiracy:

Directly copied from the [AC] site:

The concept behind Advent Conspiracy is simple...

It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It’s the party of the year. Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.

Before you think we’re getting all Scrooge on you, let us explain what we mean. We like gifts. Our kids really like gifts. But consider this: America spends an average of $450 billion a year every Christmas. How often have you spent money on Christmas presents for no other reason than obligation? How many times have you received a gift out of that same obligation? Thanks, but no thanks, right? We’re asking people to consider buying ONE LESS GIFT this Christmas. Just one. Sounds insignificant, yet many who have taken this small sacrifice have experienced something nothing less than a miracle: They have been more available to celebrate Christ during the advent season.

Looking for ways to give gifts that don't cost a lot of money? Have a few ideas you'd like to share? Head to rethinkingchristmas.com today.

God’s gift to us was a relationship built on love. So it’s no wonder why we’re drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family in the most memorable ways possible. Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols. Time to make love visible through relational giving. Sounds a lot better than getting a sweater two sizes too big, right?

When Jesus loved, He loved in ways never imagined. Though rich, he became poor to love the poor, the forgotten, the overlooked and the sick. He played to the margins. By spending less at Christmas we have the opportunity to join Him in giving resources to those who need help the most. When Advent Conspiracy first began four churches challenged this simple concept to its congregations. The result raised more than a half million dollars to aid those in need. One less gift. One unbelievable present in the name of Christ.

*****

I'm doing my first YouVersion reading plan - Carols: A Christmas Devotional - God is with us - in answered promises, realized dreams, and refreshed hope. How could we help but sing. During this Christmas season, explore the songs that were born from our joy that Christ has entered the world and rediscover their relevance in your life today in this 25-day reading plan.

As important as music is in my life, I couldn't imagine a more fun & meaningful Christmas devotional than learning about carols!

*****

From Women Living Well - the free ebook Reasons for the Season, 24 Ready-Made Family Devotions: a verse, discussion starter, short lesson, activity, prayer and then an optional extra activity that you can do with your children.

*****

An article from Relevant called How Advent Saved Christmas

*****

Following the Star free online daily Advent devotional

What's it like? Here's today's copied directly:

"But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven." ~Mark 13:24-27

Many of us carry the false assumption that the goal in life is to be happy. That is why so many people around us mask their struggles and claim a false sense of happiness. Doesn’t God want us to be happy? God cannot intend for us to be in darkness, depression, despair.

Mark tells this story so we would not forget that darkness cannot stop God. Mark calls us to be honest. Yes, there is darkness. It hurts when someone close to us dies. Our hearts break when a friend abandons us. The pressure to succeed smothers us at times and we don’t know if we will ever see the light of day. The one who comes may come right in the midst of that darkness. Darkness does not stop him from making all things new. True, the one who comes may not bring simple happiness. The one who comes will bring meaning. ~Michelle Thomas-Bush

Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, come again into all the corners of my life. In the darkness, give me your wise counsel and a peace that passes all understanding. Guide me as I seek to find deep meaning and joy that is real. Amen.

Let us begin Advent, waiting.
Not the “going back to sleep” kind of waiting.
Not the impatient pacing, or the wasted anxiety of waiting.
Not even the passive-aggressive waiting that says, “Really? We’ll see.”

Let us begin Advent, waiting.
Getting up and joining the adventure,
Even when we don’t know where it will take us.
Shifting the impatient waiting to expectant living.
Boldly claiming the Good News that we know will come.
Waiting with joy as we reach out with the grace of God that is so much more than amazing.

Let us begin Advent.

The Jesus Box & Advent Prep

2011-11-27T23:18:00.000-05:00

Annelise set up our nativity this morning:
"I'm setting up the Jesus Box!"
"What's the Jesus Box, Honey?" JB asked.
"You know, the box that shows where Jesus got married."
"Married? What do you mean?"
"I mean born." ♥

This afternoon, she called me back over to see how she had rearranged: "Come look at the Creativity!" [No, not her design prowess. Creativity = Nativity :-P]

The rest of this day overflowed with productivity: I digiscrapped the last month & a half, which ended up being 8 PAGES. So glad to have that done before the Christmas season pics start piling up. :-) JB helped me stuff & seal ALLL of our Christmas cards. They are 100% ready to go - hitting the post office tomorrow morning. I wanted to get them out super early this year, so people could get our new address. Top off this fab day with a win - FINALLY! - for my Redskins!!! My football BFF, Julie, FBed when they won: "I just said something like, 'Susie had been so quiet re: 'Skins drought...oh wait, she's in GA. She is happy!'" :-D Indeed.

Advent Prep:
My mom just gifted us with the most wonderful book:

Christmas Stories for Bedtime Gift Edition By: Renae Brumbaugh
For spiritual “quality time” with your 5- to 8-year-old kids... Going a step beyond Bible stories, this colorful book challenges kids to stop and think about the meaning of each aspect of the original Christmas story. ...This book features 31 stories drawn from the width and breadth of scripture—from Old Testament promises of the Messiah, to the actual Nativity story and all the details that surrounded it.

We are going to read one of the 31 stories each day for the next month. Each one starts with a verse, followed by a story explaining it in details easy for them to understand, then a simple prayer that reinforces the verse & story, and finally the lyrics to a correlating Christmas carol. I'm excited to google the ones I don't know & hopefully find their music online. :-)

For the grown-ups: the free, online Following the Star Advent devotional started today. I've been reading it for three years and am so excited that it's time for this, again. :-)

Completed Trees: November Gratitude & Christmas

2011-11-26T22:42:00.001-05:00

We have completed our Gratitude Tree for November (or rather "through Thanksgiving")
[Click pic to read all the leaves bigger]

It was such a good experience, we're also going to do a December Gratitude Tree, in lieu of a candy-filled Advent calendar. [The last two years, we did a nativity sticker each day in our Advent calendar, until we had made the whole nativity scene by Christmas.] For this December/Advent, we have a big blank evergreen coloring page outline that JB printed at work, and I'm going to cut out different ornament shapes and stars with my Silhouette to write our thankfuls on & decorate the tree.

Speaking of Christmas trees, I never posted a pic of ours:
(I don't know why this pic makes it look so slim - it's a very full 7.5" tree! I should've stood in the pic, too, & gotten a skinny mini pic of me! :-D)

What do your Christmas trees look like? I have always admired the chic themed trees that look like they came out of Vogue Living or Elle Decor - my BFF Jackie does *AMAZING* different themed trees every year that make me swoon!!! But I need mine to tell a longer story... (I'm sure you are shocked that even my Christmas tree has a LOT to say! :-P) Our tree is a rainbow reflection of our family. It always has colored lights, (I grew up with white lights outside, but colored lights on our tree - it always felt so fun & festive, not frosty & formal.) 90% of our ornaments are hand blown glass ornaments - they are my favorites: classic, beautiful, colorful. The rest are either special hand-me-downs, picture frames, mementos, or ones the kids have made. I want every single ornament on our tree to have a story or special meaning to us. I would never go out & buy a box of random balls to hang on it - that's just not me. Our Christmas tree is pretty much a giant, colorful scrapbook of our family! Our new ornaments this year: a peach, for Georgia and Annelise (our Princess Pumpkin Peach) and - get this! - an armadillo we found at a Christmas shop in Savannah for the armadillo in our front yard! :-D

Now, tell me about yours!

Gobble On

2011-11-24T15:50:00.000-05:00

Pre-Feast:

Annelise & Will each colored & cut out the paper turkeys at the base of the candlesticks; the wings are their handprints, and they each wrote on the backs: "This isn't just a turkey, as you can plainly see. I made it with my hands, which are a part of me. It comes with lots of love especially to say, 'I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving Day!'" :-) Annelise also made the placecards for the gourd holders at each setting, and after this, she also set the table - such a great helper this year!

What did y'all eat? We had turkey, mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, dressing, egg noodles [I know, everyone I talk to thinks this is so weird, but it's JB's family tradition, and they sure are kid-friendly! :-)], rolls, cranberry sauce, perhaps the best batch of turkey gravy my mom has ever made, my famous roasted sweet potatoes with craisns & pumpkin seeds, and my favorite Thanksgiving dessert: gingerbread pumpkin trifle.

I posted the recipes for those last two here; for today, I didn't go all out with the warm chutney dressing, (but yes, I did miss it!) I just did simple roasted sweet potatoes with salt, pepper, & ground ginger, then tossed with craisins & roasted/salted pumpkin seeds. It tickles me to pieces that my kids LOVE this! Sweet potatoes are my *MUST HAVE* side. What's yours? For my trifle, I used Trader Joe's Deep Dark Gingerbread Cake & Baking Mix - the most flavorful, amazing baking mix I've ever used! - and I accidentally grabbed pure pumpkin (what I use in my muffins) instead of pumpkin pie filling, so I had to add all the spices myself. I didn't, however, add any more sugar than the 1/2 cup of brown already called for, and it's still sweet enough; so I think I'll make that a permanent change. JB doesn't like pumpkin pie, but he loves this...and the kids & I like it better, too!

We can't stop eating... ;-)

I love my friend Tracey's sentiment:

Wishing you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving as you weave another layer of memories into the fabric of your children's lives.

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. ~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Merry Members' Night Festival of Lights Train Adventure

2011-11-24T15:46:00.000-05:00

Last night was "Merry Members' Night" at our zoo & park complex - the one night members get in free to see the Festival of Lights (everything is covered in Christmas lights throughout the park!), drink hot chocolate, have s'mores, & of course ride the train - all for free!

Waiting to board:

(Will was too busy drinking his hot chocolate. :-))

It was a gorgeous night - a festively cool 61° but not freezing for me! - and we were just early enough to be at the front of the pack! JB & the kids got our place in the train line while mom & I got us all hot chocolate. We got on the 2nd ride of the night - WOOHOO!

About five minutes later, adventure ensued...

The wheels of the back car of the train jumped the track just enough to get misaligned, so we were "stranded" in the forest of Christmas lights! JB helped to get the train back on the track, and I killed time with the kids, trying to get their pic in front of a big gingerbread man in the woods where we stopped.

The kicker - he was a *flashing* giant gingerbread man, so I kept snapping pics until I got one with him actually lit up behind them. :-P :-D

JB & the "big, strong men" got it back on the track, but the zoo park sent vans out to bus us all back to the front, so they could check the train & "make sure" it was fine. [It was.] When we got back to the station, all those poor people were *STILL* waiting in line! I felt awful for them...but we went on, roasted marshmallows, and got more hot chocolate. [FWIW, the train did come back & start making runs, again, but the line was sooo long, we would've been on the 10th 20-minute run to see the 2nd half, :-P] so we just enjoyed driving through the rest of the lights on our way out. We had a ball singing the complete 12 Days of Christmas, as that was a light theme, and they had all 12 tableaus. (I loved the turtledoves - two turtles with wings ;-) and we were cracking up over the nine ladies dancing, who looked like a cross b/t hula & bellydancers. :-D) Yay, memories!!!

Uncle Remus Museum

2011-11-22T22:11:00.000-05:00

The route I like best b/t Charlotte and southwest Georgia winds through tiny Eatonton, GA. I almost slammed on the brakes & whipped the van around the first time I saw The Uncle Remus Museum as we passed through, [who?] but I *knew* I wanted to stop when I had both the kids AND my mom:

Ms. Georgia - the docent - talked our ears off, but she was a genuine joy. :-) I grew up on Uncle Remus' stories as told to me at bedtime by my Grandmommy - The Tar Baby was my FAVORITE! - so this was such a special stop. I am going to make sure the kids get familiar with these precious folk tales, too. :-)

Past & Present

2011-11-21T17:52:00.000-05:00

I've been blessed to have people sharing old pictures with me this weekend:

My cousin Amy sent me this 30+ year old pic of me & my Daddy that I don't remember ever seeing before!

I cannot get over much he & Annelise look alike!!! The exact same smile, eyes, & even eye brows... It kind of knocked me back, in a great way. He's been gone 14½ years now, and I think it's the biggest blessing ever to see him still so present in our fam through her. ♥

My childhood friend Niki found, scanned, & shared me at my senior prom over 15 years ago, May 1996:

There's also another shot somewhere out there that's exactly the same but with my date, Craig. He wore his Marine dress blues, and even though by that point our interest had fizzled & we just went as good friends, we definitely were the sharpest looking couple there, thanks to that uniform! :-D The funny thing is, until the last year or so, I still thought of myself as looking like this. I just recently found myself thinking, "Wow, I looked so young there!" :-P I like the way I look now, but I just finally think I look more mature than late teens/20's. :-)

Which brings me to the present:

I am so thankful it worked out for me to get to see my BFF Wendy today before taking Grandmommy & Aunt Frances back home after lunch!!!

Welcome, Jack Wagons!

2011-11-20T15:17:00.000-05:00

The kids & I drove home to NC Friday for early Thanksgiving with my Grandmommy. [We'll go back Tuesday to be home for real Thanksgiving with JB; he had to work.] Grandmommy is 99 (100 in April) and she has been freaking out, b/c she hadn't seen us since June. It's hard for her, b/c we're her only family that isn't local; she can't travel, and she really gets worried when she can't see us. It's also hard for us, though, to travel more than a weekend day trip now, b/c the only drawback to JB's new job this year is that he has way less vacay days, and with our kids in school in different counties, they have NONE of the same days off except for Christmas & Thanksgiving. Even their spring breaks are 2 different weeks. *sigh* But since both kids have this whooole week off for the first time since school started for Sis August 1st, we knew we had to get here NOW!

I love my family. This is what we arrived to Friday evening:

[This spring when my parents visited us in GA, the guys drove over to Krispy Kreme and encountered a slow driver. Will yelled, "Move it, jack wagon!!!" (a la R. Lee Ermey's Geico commercial) and the rest is history. :-P Grandaddo thought that was the most hysterical thing he'd ever heard, esp. out of impeccably-mannered Will, and now all of their phone calls start, "Hey, jack wagon!" :-D]

My brother, Andy, his wife, Liz, & their 2 yr old son, Matthew, were also waiting for us to have family dinner with my mom's AMAZING lasagna. :-) Will & Sis had a BALL reading to Matthew:

We went to see Grandmommy first thing Saturday morning and also drove her over to her sister's (Aunt Frances') house. I love those ladies! I can't tell you anything remarkable we did with them, and it wasn't even for that long, (Grandmommy gets tired,) but just the little bit of face time is priceless.

My mom had a Groupon for Jake's Good Eats, which just happened to be on our way home from Grandommy's, so we stopped for a stellar lunch. I love where we live in south GA - I get the climate & culture I treasure - but boy, do I appreciate a wide selection of nice restaurants more now than ever!!! Jake's was featured last year on Guy Fieri's Food Network show, and it did not disappoint. The best homemade chips I've ever had in my life, (& I'm not a big potato chip person.) After Jake's, we hit my beloved Costco to stock up on everything there we adore. We found a new treat: Island Way Sorbets in Natural Fruit Shells - holy coconut heaven...

More epicurean NC highlights: crispy scallops at The Great Wall [my family's very first & ultimate fave Chinese restaurant] and nutella crêpes & the BEST chai latte I've EVER had IN MY LIFE at Café Monte French Bakery and Bistro. My world has been rocked. :-P (And I am sooo glad I pushed myself crazy hard at Zumba Friday morning before driving up to compensate for all the extra Carolina calories! ;-)) Early Thanksgiving feast with Grandmommy, Aunt Frances, & as much of our fam as can come tomorrow!

Pilgrim Princess, Madonna & Child, & Thankfuls

2011-11-17T22:06:00.000-05:00

Annelise came home from school today dressed as a pilgrim = precious!

I bought my Christmas stamps today, so I can be ready to stuff when my prints arrive from Shutterfly. Every year I stamp our Christmas cards with the Madonna & Child stamp. I'm kind of obsessed. I'm sorry, but pinecones & evergreen or "Colorful Holiday Baubles" over a picture of Baby Jesus when we're celebrating His birth? It just one of my "things". I'm excited that there's a new classical art design this year:

"Detail from a work by the Italian master Raphael, entitled Madonna of the Candelabra. This tondo (circular painting), oil on panel, dates to around 1513... The Virgin and Child project the grace and serenity typical of Raphael’s work." YAY!

Thankfuls: Will wrote on his Gratitude Tree leaves that he was thankful for "getting called" [he won the good behavior lottery today! good behavior gets you a ticket, and if your name gets drawn at the end of the day, you get a tiny prize :-)], "Mommy taking me out of school early tomorrow", and "going to Junie B. Jones!" [His class took a field trip yesterday to see the high school's production of one of the books he's reading.] Annelise wrote "reading" [genuinely happy about it, not just sucking up after yesterday's fiasco :-P], "cooking", and "I love school!"

Reading Rollercoaster

2011-11-16T19:20:00.001-05:00

Will's school had Parent Visitation this morning b/t 9 and 11:

There were only a few parents at a time, and we tried to be "invisible" :-P to just observe how the morning goes. Will is reading even more than I realized! He has apparently gotten into the Junie B. Jones series at school. I'm excited, b/c they are 80-120 pages - much longer than the usual AR (Accelerated Reader) books he brings for nightly homework. He reads a chapter here & there when he finishes his work early and is so proud of himself! [Me, too!] I asked if he liked the Magic Tree House series, as well, but I think he's been too into Junie B. to try it, yet. I'm so glad to see he is reading more long, non-picture books.

When I picked Annelise up from school today, one of her teachers said she really needs to practice her reading, b/c it has taken her two weeks (instead of the usual two days) to get through her last book. WHAT?!?! Her teacher & I both unraveled the truth back & forth over Annelise's head in her car seat - she had no place to hide. She had told me that she "wasn't being tested on her books right now, b/c of working to finish her Explorer Chain." She had told the teacher that she "didn't have time to read, b/c of cheerleading." [Is she really only 5 and not 15?!?!] I was AGHAST! I looked her straight in the eye and said, "Cheer has been over for almost two weeks." I looked at the teacher and said, "We will fix this." As we drove out of the car line over to dance, I told Annelise how disappointed I was in her, that she did this and lied about it. I took away the candy treat someone had given her to eat after school and had her read her latest book in the dance parking lot before going in to change. It's the first time anything like this has really come up, and she knew she had messed up big time. She was so sad getting her tap clothes on, and all of a sudden, when it was time to go into class, she burst into tears. Her first school-aged, girly "I'm so embarrassed & upset all I can do is cry" meltdown. Bless her heart. :-P She was inconsolable, and everyone swarmed around her, b/c no one at the studio has EVER seen her w/o a smile before, and they could not imagine what ultimate horror had befallen her. :-P I told her she needed to let it go for now and go dance. She was all smiles when Will & I picked her up. She did apologize, and I had her read her book, again, this evening and told her that there will be a punishment coming for lying. (I don't spew out punishments on the spot w/o careful consideration. There's nothing worse than going back on a punishment you doled out in the heat of the moment, and I make sure that the kids' punishments won't also punish ME!)

This afternoon, Will brought home the book Gila Monsters Meet You At the Airport - one of my ultimate favorites from Reading Rainbow when I was a child! After he read it, I told him we could watch the show that Mommy first learned about this book on:

[God bless YouTube!] :-D How cool to share something that was such a big deal to me when I was his age with Will?! I remember this episode being all about the Gila monsters, but it's really all about moving; that was a concept that had no meaning to me whatsoever as a child, so no wonder I ignored that part and focused on the nature aspect that our family was so obsessed with.

Thankfuls: Will wrote on his Gratitude Tree leaf that he was thankful for "eating pizza", while Annelise wrote that she was thankful for "dance" and "movies".

Final Football, Gelish, Explorer Chain, & Thankfuls

2011-11-15T23:40:00.000-05:00

So thankful for another GORGEOUS south Georgia day over 80°F! This is an absolute dream come true for me.

Final football pics: these shots from Will's last game last week are blurry, but I think that adds to their action! (Click to see bigger.)

Gelish: I never posted about my Stand Out red experience!

It was a little harder than any other Gelish mani I've done, b/c I wanted to get the color dark. It took longer than normal for the color to cure under the LED light (almost twice as long) but I had read that this happens, so I was prepared. I wasn't sure how long the mani would last - I was scared that it would be more "fragile" since it took longer to cure - but the shiny, chip-free vibrant red lasted two days shy of three weeks! :-) And I got tons of compliments! I went back to my second French mani Saturday night, b/c it's JB's favorite. ♥

Explorer Chain: Annelise has been working on an "explorer chain" in Montessori Kindergarten. She got to bring it home & explain it today. :-)

Thankfuls: Will wrote on his Gratitude Tree leaves that he was thankful for "going to school" (YAY!) and "seeing Daddy and watching shows [with him]" while Annelise wrote she was thankful for: "love myself" (I praise God that she feels worthy, loved, smart, etc., and loves herself! She is absolutely NOT conceited in the slightest; she just has the best self-image! ♥), "snuggle the family", and "my favorite move from Zumba!" (Ha! :-))

I love this post by Laura re: "by whose standard do you judge the value of your life?"

I like these. I like the fonts, colors, arrangement, and - of course - the messages:

In Defense of Early Decorating

2011-11-14T23:22:00.002-05:00

Our Christmas tree is up! OK, OK - back off, rabid anti-Christmas-before-Thanksgivingers. ;-) I used to be one of you. :-P I was filled with indignation at any & all early hints of Christmas...but then we had children. I am so filled with the holiday spirit, I can't hold it in! I'm definitely not trying to rush past Thanksgiving - we love that, too! (Yay, Gratitude Tree, This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers, talking about our special family recipes, etc.) But we usually travel for Thanksgiving, and I want to be able to come home and flip the switch to have Christmas in full blaze. I have a few friends who hold off, and I completely respect where they're coming from; but waiting doesn't feel quite right for me. I can't get enough celebration; I feel like we went through a time with heavier & darker weights bearing down, and now I just want to live in Jubilee! :-D For me, having our tree up now doesn't take anything away from Thanksgiving, Advent, St. Nicholas Day, etc. Plus, b/c we also travel around Christmas, we can't do the "light it on Christmas Eve" thing, anyway - we'd never have a tree of our own! Finally, I am way too lazy to do all the work of putting it up to not have it up as loooooong as possible - I'm all about Candlemas, y'all. ;-)

I always hear people complaining about getting "wrapped up in the Christmas machine" (do you feel the same? read this NOW!!!) and I don't let myself get like that. Having our tree up now, designing our Christmas cards now (b/c we always have a new address, so I want to get that out to people before they send theirs to our old one :-P), finishing up a lot of my Christmas shopping now (we honestly don't have a ton of people - no shopping for extended fam; it's nice - enough to feel generous & festive, not burdened) allows me to feel calm about Christmas...and sitting here tonight basking in the glow of our tree (b/c although I'd like to wait until Nov. 25th, I totally could NOT resist plugging it in! :-D) I *do* feel a calm peace about the holidays - ALL of them, Thanksgiving included - wash over me and make me smile.

Decorating notes:
‎
80°F outside + 66°F inside = OPEN WINDOWS for free heat during the day! :-D Almost record warmth + getting out the Christmas décor + starting work on Christmas cards = MY DREAM NOVEMBER! Thank you, Lord!

The 1st two casualties of Christmas - 2 of my fave ornaments: a glittery globe and the Colossuem in Rome. :'(

I realized we've never had our tree on hardwood before; carpet is much more forgiving of tree trimming slips... If it's hardwood next year, I'll extend blankets waaay out beyond our tree skirt while decorating.

What do your trees usually look like? I've written before about our style. Tell me about yours!

Animal Thanksgiving

2011-11-13T22:52:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we went to "Animal Thanksgiving" at the zoo that's right close to us here. It was such a fun event and a gorgeous afternoon! The kids got to help make treats for a number of the zoo animals, and then we all walked from exhibit to exhibit to watch the zookeepers deliver them.

Making treat-filled pumpkins for the pigs & alpacas:

Making peanut butter, honey, raisin, walnut, & grape-covered log treats for the black bears:

The kids also each got to make & take their own peanut butter birdseed bird feeders:

The animals really *did* eat the treats the kids made:

The rhino ate decorated cantaloupes:

The meerkats ate worm-filled treat tubes (ick! :-P)

Will scaling the wall of the meerkat playground maze:

Annelise & the sentry meerkat:

The cheetahs enjoyed meat-filled piñatas that the kids decorated:

Feeding black bears the honey/peanut butter/grape/nut log treats the kids made:

It was such a simple but unique family experience in a great setting. :-)

Thankfuls: Will wrote on his Gratitude Tree leaves that he was thankful for "setting up the Christmas tree" [we put it up today & will decorate it in the next day or two; DON'T give me any of that "it's too early" guff!!!], Annelise was thankful for "making mashed potatoes" [with Daddy at lunch today :-D], and they both wrote that they are thankful for "LaLa" [so excited to see her this next weekend!]

Trophies & Zumbaversary

2011-11-11T22:31:00.000-05:00

Last night my cheer squad was recognized with trophies at the league's closing ceremonies:

My cheer families were SO SWEET! They *all* asked if I would coach, again, and then all asked if they could request to be on my squad. That's the highest compliment!

Today was my one year Zumbaversary! :-D (OK, so I totally made that word up; but when I looked back on my blog to this day last year, I saw that I went to my 1st Zumba class ever 365 days ago!) Who would have ever guessed it would develop into a bona fide passion? I'm excited I actually had Zumba today on my Zumbaversary, and extra special? Annelise had today off school, came with me, and actually danced the WHOLE class with me for her first time! :-)

She did not get in the way in the least. I actually loved having her there! She spent the rest of the day doing hamstring jumps & saying, "I love Zumba!" :-D

The past three days, Will wrote on his Gratitude Tree leaves that he was thankful for "going to Loon Yee" (our new fave Asian place), "seeing Daddy & Mommy" (he threw Mommy in there, b/c he'd already written "seeing Daddy" a few times :-P), and "going to Chuck E Cheese with Daddy!" [We went Wednesday night - JB's choice! - to celebrate JB's bday...and it was actually a relaxed blast! Shocking! :-P]

Annelise has been thankful for "family," "tea time" (we went back to tea yesterday, since she also had yesterday off), and "Zumba! Zumba is fun!" :-D

Finally, I hope everyone took the time to honor our Veterans today. Here are mine...

Sick[?] Day & Thankfuls

2011-11-08T23:05:00.000-05:00

I am thankful for ALL GREEN LIGHTS (10 of them!) to shoot straight downtown today. The joy of simple favor! :-) I'm not happy that Will had a fever last evening, but am VERY thankful it was all gone this morning!!! Not ecstatic about keeping him home from school "to be sure"...but I sure did enjoy him as my sweet lunch date & am thankful for my fave beef vegetable soup at Cafe 230! (Why have I not been there in 3 months?! Travesty!)

He was definitely better enough to play his last football game tonight! :-P He SHOULD'VE gone to school today, but they say wait 24 hours after a fever, so... He was fine when we woke up, but he told Daddy his tummy hurt. (Sucker. ;-)) I made him do his homework for today and then he could either sit on the couch too sick to watch fun TV shows or play video games, OR if he felt like it, he could help me clean the house all day. Aren't sick days *SO FUN*, Buddy? :-D For the record, he chose helping me clean! ;-)

Also for the record, although I lovelovelove the look, cleaning/dusting baseboards, wainscoting, and chair rails is not fun. [But if you think it is - there could be someone out there who truly loves it like I sincerely love grocery shopping! - come on over in a few weeks! This house is covered! :-D]

Yesterday the kids wrote on their Gratitude Tree leaves that Will was thankful for "seeing and eating dinner with Daddy" and Annelise wrote that she was thankful for "good sleep". :-) Today Will said he was thankful for "God and ♥ Mom ♥ and getting better" [his hearts :-)] while Annelise wrote, "Jesus loves me." Yes, He does. ♥

Rice Bowls, Thankfuls, & Devotionals

2011-11-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

The kids came out of Sunday School today with RICE BOWLS!
I was so excited to see them - the exact same rice bowl donation banks that I used as a child through my church for raising money to provide food to orphaned children. I *lovelovelove* that our kids are now taking part in the same efforts! From their website: Ideas like giving, service, and philanthropy are intangible concepts, making them difficult for kids (and some adults…) to grasp and value. Rice Bowls is an easy, tangible way to bring these intangible concepts to life — and have fun to boot. Plus, you’re helping our Christian orphanages rescue, love, educate, and feed children at the same time. Will & Sis were ready to hit up our crystal change vase [most people have a change cup, but we got over 30 crystal bowls & vases for our wedding, so we have a change "vahz" :-P] as soon as we walked back in the door. I've got some pretty major cleaning to do around here in the next week or so to get ready for holiday décor, so I told the kids I'd pay them money toward their rice bowls for them to help me out. (They're both already vying for the vacuum. :-D)

Today's Gratitude Tree leaves: Will wrote that he's thankful for his "Cars 2 DVD" that he saved up for, waited with bated breath on, & excitedly purchased yesterday. Annelise wrote that she was thankful for "Bonnie snuggles". :-)

It's been ages since I shared some snippets from the devotionals I've read that have stuck with me, so how about now? :-) I've subbed to a free new service called goTandem and am really enjoying it. (I do the emails.) I value the honest commiseration of the stories, and even in the verses I've read many times over, I like getting new focus from the commentary.

Your Strength
The hardest thing of all is moving on. Trying to just enjoy life again. So how do you keep going?
Nehemiah 8:10
"Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!"
The joy of the Lord is your strength!

Fly-Away Day
By Ellen
I’m tired today—on the verge of tears. It’s not any one thing, it’s everything. My two-year-old daughter and I butted heads all afternoon. My husband has had to work late every night for the past two weeks. My friend had a baby today. It’s a boy. I’m happy for her but can’t help thinking about the son I lost in a late miscarriage earlier this year.
When I get to this raw, emotional place, I want so badly for someone to pull me out of it. I want someone to say just the right word or hold me in just the right way. No one can. It’s a lonely feeling.
While I want someone to be able to make it better, I also know that if anyone tries to make it better, I’ll be angry. Sort of a lose-lose for my husband & friends.
When I feel this kind of self-imposed loneliness, music helps—a melody and words that touch something familiar so that I feel understood. I think music works because it makes me feel like I’m not alone but it doesn’t expect me to feel better. It just empathizes.
There’s a Psalm that does that for me, too. In his anguish, David writes in Psalm 55:6-7, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness.”

God's Hands
God never promised anyone a perfect life. That's just not how it works--you know that. But God did promise that, no matter what, He's not leaving.
Psalm 37:23-24
23 The LORD directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
24 Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the LORD holds them by the hand.
God's here to stay and He won't let you fall.

Ask
Do you ever think that asking God for something makes you sound whiney? Well, here's the truth.
Psalm 50:14-15
14 "Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,
and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
15 Then call on me when you are in trouble,
and I will rescue you,
and you will give me glory."
Your prayers give God glory. So ask away!

What to Do?
We've all felt angry, irrational, fearful, controlling or resentful. The question is: What do we do with those feelings? How about a Psalm? Here's Psalm 91. Take a listen.
Psalm 91:1-7
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the LORD:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
God's truth can disinfect your baggage.

Missed Family Reunion

2011-11-06T20:23:00.000-05:00

Saturday night, my mom's side of the family had a big family reunion in my hometown. We couldn't make it - even though we're waaay closer to home than before, it's still almost 7 hours; we couldn't have gone up until Saturday morning, we would've had to miss Will's (VICTORIOUS!) football game, and we would've had to come right back the next day. A long way to go for a couple hours... plus, I'll be right back up there in two more weeks: I'm taking the kids up to see Grandmommy [she hasn't seen us since June!!!] for several days the beginning of Thanksgiving week (before coming back for Thanksgiving here, since JB only has Thursday off.) All of the logical reasons why we should have passed it up were right...

But seeing the pics on Facebook, I can't help but be sad to have missed so many of these people, many of whom have never met our kids (& some not even JB!) and whom I haven't seen in well over ten years. :'( [We have a HUGE extended family - my Grandmommy was 2nd youngest of eight, and this was all of those cousins.]

I still did my part to contribute to the event, though. My mom scanned about 50 old family photos and I edited to get them clearer. Some of them had scrapes & holes that I actually repaired! (Yay, playing around on Photoshop Elements! :-D)

This is my Grandmommy's family almost 100 years ago, circa 1913. My great Aunt Frances wasn't born, yet; Grandmommy is the baby, and my Uncle Earl (he was my brother's & my fave character! He passed in the 90's) is the little boy:

There were so many other beautiful shots of the siblings as young adults:

I love looking for hints of my mom, myself, and the kids in these old photos. Seeing your genes over generations is such a miracle!!!

VICTORY!

2011-11-05T18:34:00.001-04:00

Will's football team finally WON their first football game (the 2nd to last of the season ;-)) this morning, and it was HUGE: 38-0!!! They were like a different team - everything just clicked this morning: they were gang tackling as a group instead of just standing around after getting their own guy, they got low to tackle, they threw & CAUGHT passes - it was THRILLING. They scored on every possession and held the Bulldogs to two 1st downs all game. [Where was this teamwork the last month & a half? Oh well, I'll take it now! :-D] Will recovered one fumble, made four outright tackles for losses, and on the 2nd play of their first possession, he set the tone for the whole game by pancaking the largest player on the other team (literally double Will's weight & over a full helmet taller!) that allowed his team to score on a 60-yard run. Every parent on the sidelines let out a stunned, "Whoa..." when Will took that kid down...and it.was.awesome.

A few clips... (Can you tell I'm loving the video on my new iPhone 4???)

Defense:

Block & Tackle:

2-Point Conversion:

We still have to play the mean, dirty team (from the next county over, whose coaches teach their boys to throw punches!!! I almost had to be held back when we played them last) on Tuesday night for our very last game. :-/ Wish we could go out on this win, instead; but maybe we've clicked enough to pull off a miracle Tuesday??? :-D :-P

Look - even Will's fortune cookie at lunch told of this morning's great football victory...

Obviously, we're totally thankful for Will's great game and teamwork today. I'm also thankful for a gorgeous Saturday where JB grilled steaks, chicken, and Italian sausage for us and that afterwards, we all went back outside in the late afternoon sunshine, streaming through the Spanish moss & colorful leaves, and made s'mores over the coals. Fall perfection!

The kids wrote on their Gratitude Tree leaves today that Will is thankful for "winning the game" and Annelise wrote, "I love Daddy." :-)

Last Cheer Game & Thankfuls

2011-11-04T16:54:00.000-04:00

Last night was my precious cheer squad's last football game to cheer. I didn't take *any* action pics this season, b/c I was always coaching, but a few of the moms took a bunch last night for me (coming soon! yay, scrapbook! ;-)) and I have these few video clips from last week:

Roll It, Shake it

Hey, Hey, Football Fans

Dynamite (with a super silly double brother assist :-P)

I can't believe I ever questioned for a second if I should coach this summer! It was a bit exasperating at times, (there are always a couple who test you,) but I never once didn't want to be "Coach Susie". It filled the void of not teaching dance here, and it was a major blessing to be the one in control of the practice & game schedules (to coordinate with Will's so neither child would ever miss out.) I am so thankful for several of the squad moms, who have become sweet friends of mine here, now. I'm glad to have those connections. The icing on the cake last night? All the girls signed a card and all the parents put in for a STARBUCKS GIFT CARD for me!!! The *best present EVER*!!! They all keep saying on FB how much I've blessed them, and it's totally mutual. ♥ Love-fest-o-rama! :-D :-P

More sincere thanks: I'm so thankful for the fact that the Land's End catalogue came, and for the first time in 5 years, I DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AT SNOW CLOTHES!!! :-D

Yesterday the kids wrote on their Gratitude Tree leaves that Will was thankful for "land to live on!" [I have no idea where that came from, but I like it - very Gone with the Wind! :-D] Annelise wrote, "I love mom!" ♥ ♥ ♥

Today they both wrote that they were thankful "for so much food." Will added, "and for so much candy." [I'm glad they realize how much food we have access to...but I highly doubt their thankfulness will translate into eating anything I put in front of them without question. ;-)]

Human Body Project, Pool, & Thankfuls

2011-11-02T20:16:00.000-04:00

Annelise has spent two months learning all about the human body in Kindergarten at Montessori, and she finally got to bring her finished body project home today:

I am so thankful for her wonderful school - the best Montessori we've ever been involved with! (I hate that Will missed attending this one!) - and that Annelise loves school so much.

[Just her being beautiful this morning]

I'm also thankful today that we live in a place where we've been able to turn off the a/c & *not* turn on the heat, yet, for over a month now! (I'm close; the freezing mornings are NOT pleasant, but I can't let myself click on the heat, yet, when it gets back up over 70° in the afternoon. Today it went from 39° to almost 80° - I looove the afternoons, but I hate morning layering. :-P) I'm thankful for my comforter, for easy chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, for feeling suprisingly rested, and for seemingly being at the end of my 10-day coughing/laryngitis junk.

The kids both woke up dying to post their Gratitude Tree leaves; it was all I could do to hold them off until after school. (I may buy more cardstock & cut more leaves, so they can do more than one a day. I just hope the novelty doesn't wear off too quickly...) Today Annelise is thankful for "my babies I love" (her dolls) and Will is thankful for "playing in the pool, and having Mom & Dad." [WOOHOO! We made it up there prompt-free before Day 30! :-D]

And re: the pool - so funny he mentions that today. We (and by we, I mean the 3 of them - I don't want to be in a pool under 85°...and if heat were free, I'd have ours heated to at least 90° year-round) finally stopped swimming when the nights started dipping into the 50's about a month ago. Apparently the pool cooled down fast (again, I wouldn't know ;-)) and then our homeowner's pool guy, Hank, went on vacay the last two weeks (makes sense to vacay after the first chill but before people want them nice & heated for the holidays) so our pool has been abandoned & disgusting - filled with acorns on the bottom, even though I have skimmed the leaves off the top. Having a dirty pool is sad & stresses me out; I still want it kept nice, even though we're not using it, and as renters, it's not our responsibility. I'm glad Will's thankful for playing in the pool this summer, and as a matter of fact, I certainly am, too...but I'll be even more thankful for the current pool status when Hank gets back over here tomorrow!

November Gratitude Tree

2011-11-01T20:15:00.003-04:00

I am feeling like Supermom right about now! I had mentioned back in September a Gratitude Tree project that I want to do with the kids this November ...and even I would have bet against me remembering to get it together. :-P I am SO EXCITED that I actually figured out a cheaper-than-Pottery-Barn-and-still-creative way to do this, and that I was actually READY on November 1st!!!

It's a simple concept: have the kids write what they're thankful for each day on a leaf, and stick each leaf on a big tree picture. I googled a bare tree coloring page, JB printed it out poster-size, and we tacked it on the wall last night. Today, I googled a few plain leaf coloring pages, saved them to my desktop, and opened, automatically traced, & cut them out with my Silhouette SD, (like I did the UGA decals, but just on cardstock, instead of vinyl.) Now the kids have cool leaves to write their daily thanks on to make our fall tree beautiful, again. :-)

We're starting out with their true child hearts: Will wrote that he was thankful for "legos, iPhones, & toys." (No, he doesn't have an iPhone, but he plays on our old ones that now act as iPod Touches w/ the phone capabilities deactivated.) Annelise wrote that she was thankful for "playing princess." Hopefully we'll work up to deeper things as the month progresses, but I'm going to do my best *NOT* to prompt them. ["Aren't you so thankful for this dinner Mommy made?" "Wow, I bet you're extra thankful for your soft bed!" ;-)]

As for me, I am thankful today for lots of little stuff - the perfect encouraging word re: knowing how loved I am that I should fear nothing (here's the link - SO WORTH 20 minutes of your time!!!), having the kids' Gratitude Tree ready to go on time, mailing my BFF's bday present & knowing it will be on time, hanging up the laundry w/o feeling irritated by it (for *once* :-P), the new coffee shop that opened here beside the baseball fields & just down from football, & JB just called from his short biz trip... ♥ ♥ ♥

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T23:24:00.000-04:00

This Halloween morning, Annelise had a big Fall Festival at Montessori. It's one of the school's most beloved events of the year, with tons of carnival games followed by a big potluck lunch. We signed up to bring a dessert: the easy healthy chocolate chip pumpkin muffins were a MAJOR HIT!

Tonight's trick-or-treating was a bit unique - our new neighborhood is tiny: just 10 homes, and we're only one of two houses with kids; so we trick-or-treated a few streets over in a neighborhood where a bunch of Will's bus buddies live. We were so happy to run into quite a number of them while we walked, and we joined up with the Neville family for most of our trek. Trick-or-treating is MUCH MORE fun when it's with friends! (& for the record, everyone loved the M&M! ;-))

Toothless Wonder

2011-10-30T21:33:00.000-04:00

Guess who lost her very 1st tooth tonight while brushing her teeth before bed?!?!

She came downstairs dancing around, bursting with joy! She said, "The tooth fairy is really going to come tonight! Maybe she'll bring me candy, since it's Halloween!" :-D Our family's tooth fairy is old school cheap: 50¢ [no $20 bills or DSi's here!] ...but tonight she may stick a piece of candy in there, too. ;-)

How can our baby be old enough for this?

Pre-Halloween Festivities!

2011-10-30T21:12:00.003-04:00

Our Halloween celebration has already been going on for DAYS! I got my first taste as Cinderella at Hollywood Affair Thursday night. [Side bar: my spiritual thoughts on Halloween: I love Jesus, and I love celebrating Halloween!!! I don't like it when people try to make Halloween all about evil. It's about having fun, dressing up, & getting candy. Period. If you need to make it spiritual, it's about celebrating God's triumph & authority over evil through mockery. Here are two articles on that subject I like: a Southern Baptist Halloween Rant and a historical perspective on Halloween's Christian custom roots. Not saying that either of these is the Gospel, but I like their perspectives. In our house, evil doesn't even come up. I relish the innocent joy of harmless costumes & CANDY! :-D]

So speaking of costumes, I made my very first homemade Halloween costume for Will! (I came up with many of my own when I was younger, but this is the first I've made for one of our kids.) Will *LOVES* NASCAR driver Kyle Busch. "Love" may not be a strong enough word; and Will really wanted to be Kyle for Halloween. Well, Kyle Busch firesuits (uniforms) are sold-out everywhere online...but I actually didn't think that was so bad: NASCAR fans are crazy vocal, and I wouldn't put it past some rude redneck fan of a rival driver to say, "Hey kid, your costume sucks! Kyle is a loser!" :'( That would break.my.heart. Sooo, since M&M's is Kyle's big sponsor, I suggested why not go as an M&M! He was THRILLED at this option...and I thought I could actually no-sew this costume...right?

I bought a yard of red felt 40% off at Hobby Lobby, doubled it over, cut the biggest circle possible, put the two sides up to Will & pinned it together, slipped him out, and hot glued the seams shut where needed. I then found an M&M's "M" picture online; I had my Silhouette SD automatically trace the image & cut it out of white vinyl; and I stuck it in the middle of the red felt circle. Ta da! [I found it oddly divine that I did all this while watching Project Runway & Mad Fashion. Chris March, I tried to make you proud! :-D]

Friday night, the kids & I went over to Thronateeska & the Flint RiverQuarium for their annual "Tricks & Treats" Halloween Event. It was a great, family-friendly time, (and I was extra excited to support the event, b/c I helped to decorate for it Friday morning though Junior League volunteering. :-)) The RiverQuarium had a costume contest (Will got a little prize!), games & candy stations throughout, animal presentations (the snakes from Will's bday were out!), a jumpy house, a scary [to Annelise :-P] “professor’s laboratory” haunted room, and a spooky dive show! That was so cool - we've been to dive shows there before where we watch them feed the fish, but this time, the divers were in amazing flowy costumes! (Pardon the awful phone pic quality...)

At Thronateeska, they had face painting (Will got a train, of course), candy stations, dinosaur bone puzzles, and a weather center with [green-screened] floating heads. :-P A trick-or-treating candy path along Riverfront Trail connected Thronateeska & the RiverQuarium. The best part? It was totally free, b/c we're members!

The kids scored loads more candy on Saturday & Sunday with Sissy's festival parade and then a carnival at church.

Tomorrow (Halloween) morning, Annelise has a HUGE Fall Festival at Montessori. It's one of the school's biggest events of the year. At least one parent of every student attends and helps run the carnival part. I signed up to help run the photo booth. :-) Then we all get to share a big potluck lunch. We signed up to bring a dessert: the easy healthy chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, of course!

Tonight on the phone, my mom said to Annelise, "You know Halloween has always been your Mommy's favorite holiday?" She replied, "Yep! Because she gets to eat our candy!" Smart girl... ;-)

Peach's 1st Parade

2011-10-30T16:41:00.001-04:00

Now that our Princess Pumpkin Peach is more than just *our* royalty, she greeted her people as Tiny Miss Smithville in their festival parade yesterday morning. :-D It was COOOLD! (50's & windy - I know that's not the snow the north endured, but anything less than 65° is colder than we are comfortable. Unfortunately with her cold urticaria, she did start to break out a tiny bit on her cheeks, but it wasn't bad, and I kept her bundled tightly in our big blanket. She still had a blast, & it warmed up by lunch!) I was excited to get to ride along as her Mommy-in-Waiting, ;-) and the best part was that we were right behind our local high school marching band! Annelise & I rocked out the entire length of the parade route. :-D

"Education Rocks" & Silhouette Spirit Decals

2011-10-30T16:01:00.002-04:00

On Thursday, Will's 2nd grade class put on a program with another class called "Education Rocks".

This was the first of their four songs; Will's rocking out in the front row to the left of the mic stand. He said the girl beside him's hair kept tickling his nose! :-P (I'll spare you from the robotic "Information Age" song that is still stuck in my head! :-D It does get a lot better than the short clip I took. ;-))

He was *SO PROUD* to have not one, but TWO speaking parts. He got a regular line:

("Everything we learn and everything we know gives us power to think as we grow." Pardon the tinny audio - YouTube said it had an audio transfer error?) Then he also got to say at the very end, "Dr. Johnson, do you have any announcements?" Now that, THAT was the pinnacle of awesomeness to him. :-P (Hey, I get it. ;-))

Also, his school PTO is having an auction next month, and each class is putting together a basket to be included in the bidding. Since his teacher is a hard core UGA fan, she asked for items for a Dawgs Basket. Instead of spending money on fan gear, I used my Silhouette SD to craft a fabulous contribution!

An advantage of the Silhouette over the Cricut is that it will cut out *any* shape - you don't have to buy it on a cartridge. I simply googled & saved a random UGA logo,

opened & had it automatically traced in my Silhouette program,

and cut out 3 red vinyl logo decals & "Go Dawgs" for use on a car windshield, favorite cup or water bottle, clipboard, cooler, etc. My contribution is versatile, it took me five minutes from start to finish, & since I already even had that vinyl, it was FREE! *Supermom!* ;-)

Hollywood Affair

2011-10-28T14:49:00.001-04:00

Last night was my first big benefit here with this Junior League. It was a red carpet costume party called "Hollywood Affair"

And I went as Cinderella, complete with glass slippers:

It was a fabulous fundraiser, benefiting Albany Autism Center and The Lily Pad (which provides comprehensive care to sexual assault and child abuse victims & their families.) The silent auction items were all fantastic - everything from complete kid's bday party packages to a $2000 quail hunt! :-D (You wouldn't have believed the bidding war on that quail hunt by a group of husbands who kept out-bidding each other! Yay, south Georgia! ;-))

I was super impressed with the desserts and the band, (who played Southern beach music for the first hour before standard party stuff!!! I almost called my mom all choked up when they played "Be Young Be Foolish Be Happy" by The Tams!) I was so very impressed with how many people went all-out with their costumes. (A sample from the first 30 minutes...) There were quite a number of Holly Golightlys (a la Breakfast at Tiffany's) and Sandy & Danny couples from Grease, but I was shocked that I was literally the ONLY princess! (I was worried that was too obvious! :-P)

My favorite couple was this girl on the left (the golden leg lamp from my most beloved A Christmas Story!) and her husband, who wore Ralphie's bunny suit!!! Here also is my friend Staci as Charlie from Top Gun (her man was Maverick) and Stephanie as the Lost Shaker of Salt (accompanying her husband, Jimmy Buffett.) :-D

Yet again, I love this League and am so thankful to be back to life Southern-style!

PS - I wore eyeshadow for the first time since...last Nov(?) and LOOOVED it! I might get on a little makeup kick, again... Maybe...

[Faux?] iPhone Upgrade

2011-10-27T17:01:00.000-04:00

I finally upgraded my iPhone two weekends ago! Welcome me to 2010: after over 2.5 years with my 3G (not even a 3GS :-P), I upgraded to the iPhone 4 when the 4S came out. [Why didn't you get the 4S?!?!?! Because I didn't want to pay for what I don't need. :-P The only thing my old 3G lacked for me was video, so why pay $100 more for a "voice-activated personal assistant" I really don't need? It was a great lesson for the kids re: waiting - "Mommy wanted this new phone last year, but I waited and got $100 off!" and just think! In a couple more years, I can faux-upgrade to whatever comes out next year! ;-) Seriously, I know the 4S truly is amazing (I know I'll battle Siri-envy :-P) ...but so is the 4, when I've only had the 3G for so long! :-D I'm really happy with it!]

In honor of my new BFF, I made a new - monogrammed, of course!!! - wallpaper for it:

And the best part came in the mail today:

Y'all know I have been dreaming of a Lilly iPhone case for ages; but when the 4 was finally in my hands, I didn't know if it would be protected enough in a fashion case, or if it needed something like my old 3G case, (a bulky, thick beast that did the job brilliantly with two sets of grubby kid-hands occasionally playing on it in restaurants.) They won't be touching this one, now that my old one will become their domain, but I had still almost been swayed...until one of my friends (she's my mom's friend, but I certainly consider her mine, too!) said she actually had THIS EXTRA LILLY case for a 4!!! Don't you just love how God can even use FB to bless us across the miles?!?! Thank you, Miss Anne!!!

(Omigosh - I clicked on the Lilly iPhone case links that I had wanted just now, b/c I had thought the case was hard plastic, and I was ECSTATIC to see it's more siliconesque. I wanted to see if the online description explained more what it's made of...and two of my three choices are gone forever, and my third is out-of-stock & on back order! As if I didn't already feel super lucky!!!)

Tiny Miss Pageant

2011-10-23T23:03:00.000-04:00

Guess who was crowned Tiny Miss Smithville in their all-natural (no glitz) blue jean pageant?!?!

She's finally got a real crown of her own and can now retire undefeated! :-D

Annelise had been BEGGING to do a pageant for AGES, so when I found out about this local, no make-up or hairspray allowed, just denim & white top, natural pageant, I figured it was our best shot to get her in one w/o having to spend $$$! :-D We made sure she understood it didn't matter if she didn't win, that *we* already know she is the best girl ever, and "you never know if a judge is having a crazy day or not." :-P But she DID win, and now she gets to ride a float in their parade next Saturday, too! Yay!!! (And seriously - she is now retired. :-))

It was so much fun for us! But I honestly can't imagine the pressure of being a full-time "pageant mom". Two of the girls in Annelise's age division were "seasoned pageant vets"...and they were awful: negative personality, irritated attitudes, sour faces, very robotic. Their moms were so angry, b/c this wasn't "set up like a normal pageant stage, so how are their girls supposed to know where to go?!?" Really? How hard could it be? I tried to be deferential and smiled, "Oh, we've never even done a pageant before." (Then Annelise won, so now it sounds a little pretentious :-P, but not at the time. :-))

One of the "pageant vets" had *the* most gorgeous white obviously-custom-made layered knot top, (I'm seriously still in love with it :-P) and the other "vet's" mom actually whined about how hard it was to find an all-white top. [???] Annelise wore an old jean skirt & plain school-uniform-esque white polo from Costco. More proof we picked the right competition for us, when the best outfit on a highlighted robot didn't beat out the most enthusiastic, happiest-to-be-there smile wearing the most basic outfit. :-D The whole point was truly just to smile and show your sparkly personality as a young girl. Annelise beamed! I was perfectly pleased to have her be in a pageant that was clearly focused on natural beauty and age-appropriate charm - the anti-Toddlers & Tiaras (which I still admit is one of my fave guilty train-wreck TV pleasures! :-P)

Annelise has walked on air ever since her crowning...and so has her proud family! :-D

Keen KidVantage

2011-10-19T23:03:00.002-04:00

How many of you moms have ever used - or even KNOW about - the free KidVantage program at Sears? I've known about it for a year or two, but I hadn't ever utilized it until today. I officially regret any pair of pants or shoes I have bought Will that did NOT come from Sears! Will especially is terribly rough on the toes of his shoes and the knees of his pants. With KidVantage, "if the kids' clothes or shoes you buy at Sears wear out before they're outgrown, we'll replace them for free. You'll get an identical item, whenever possible, or a similar item of equal value in the same size."

Sounds too good to be true, right? Especially when it's free to sign up for this?

I am here to report, it works!!! We bought Will new school shoes at Sears for the first time (with KidVantage in mind) just two months ago. [Re: "you get what you pay for", Sears carries Skechers, New Balance, Adidas, Reebok, Converse, etc. It doesn't matter if Will has high-end or Walmart brand: he wears holes in all shoes at lightning speed.] Yes, it has only been two months, and Will had already worn a full-on hole in the toe of his right shoe. Here's what it looked like a week and a half ago, before he actually scraped open the hole:

I thought, "Well, here's the test!" We walked into Sears today, found the exact same pair - same size & design - took it to the checkout with the old pair...and the sales associate honestly *DID* exchange it 100% for free, no questions asked! I only had to give her my phone number (no KidVantage card) for her to verify our purchase. Will now has a brand new *FREE* pair of shoes...and he'll get another one and another one and another one as he wears out each new pair until I have to buy up a size. I am so pleased & impressed, and I cannot imagine how much money this can save, (especially if you have multiple boys or girls who will grow through the same sizes that you can get new versions of for each one, instead of the hand-me-downs having wear.)

Another thought, charity-wise: when your (youngest) child outgrows the size, you could still exchange the worn-outs for new versions to donate!

Gelish: 2 Week Old French & Little Girl Pedi

2011-10-19T21:43:00.000-04:00

As promised, here's proof of how fresh my (first attempt ever at a) French manicure with my Gelish system looks after two full weeks:

They still have a fresh, high gloss shine and not a single chip, yet, anywhere. I can't tell you how awesome it is to have a French that is actually worth the effort!

I also Gelished Annelise's toes this past weekend with Bronzed:

I don't know how many of y'all have given little girls pedis before, but they last all of two seconds. (Especially in sandal weather - which can be possible year-round here! :-D) I don't know if it's because little girls are so active & fidgity, or if their toe nails are so small that the color swatches get scraped off easier; but it seemed 100% worthless to paint Annelise's nails...until Gelish. Doing her toes went SO FAAAAST! Because I wasn't doing my own hands at the time, I could polish one foot while her other foot was curing with the LED light, (which cut our total time in half!) Also, since they were her feet, we didn't have to do a seperate 3rd polish-&-cure round for the thumbs. Less than 30 minutes: gorgeous sparkly toes that were 100% dry and won't flake off! (Her pedi is already 4 days old in this pic from this evening. :-) Super score!)

As for me, my next mani will be red. Stand Out red. (I doubt I'll do enough layers to get it *that* dark, but we'll see; probably next week.)

Grades are Hot

2011-10-18T20:18:00.000-04:00

I met with Will's 2nd grade teacher today for our parent/teacher conference. She started off saying, "I don't have anything but good things to say about sweet Will." [*insert bursting mommy heart*] This school has a very rigid rubric by which they judge progress, so there's not much wiggle room for interpretation - either the students can do x, y, & z by this point, or they can't. After the scare & shock we got when we arrived here in February that Will was so far behind in reading & writing (when he had been "great" by MI standards - we had no idea how far behind they were curriculum-wise! You can imagine how freaked out & upset JB & I were - we were both "gifted" nerds at the tops of our classes; bottom of the barrel = inconceivable), I'm always anxious to see where Will stands now. If he can't read a certain number of words per minute, it doesn't matter how sweet he is; he will not move to the next grade. But our school dork genes *are* in him. :-P He has rocketed ahead in his reading to get a grade 3. (1 = minimal progress toward the standard; 2 = progressing; 3 = consistently/independently meets the standard) 27 areas get graded each quarter using this scale; 14 other areas are assessed re: behavior & organizational skills. Being a total grade monger, I loooooove this in-depth analytical feedback! Will earned 3's in almost every single area, except for three 2's in: writing legibly, writing style appropriate for audience, and spelling. [Not the least bit shocked! :-P] Of course, his teacher also added that he is super sweet and highly motivated. He doesn't waste time in the morning, getting right to work, and is eager to please. Yay, for our school-dork family! :-D

Will's class was at art during our conference, so his teacher & I went to the art room to retrieve them afterwards. Will was so excited to show me his latest project:

He reported: "They are plain pieces of paper that we drew designs all over. Then you glue one edge of the paper and take a pencil and roll the paper around it to make the tubes. Then you take an old CD and glue the tubes together with hot glue to make a sculpture." [The art teacher at his school is FANTASTIC!]

My conference had ended ten minutes before regular school dismissal, so I checked Will out and took him with me. (Parent pick-up makes him feel so special. :-))

This afternoon at home, Annelise & I were dreaming about the gorgeous clothes in the CWDkids catalog. As we turned a page,

Will shouted, "SHE'S HOT!!!!!" Whaaaaaaat?!?! Oh, he SO has a type already. :-P (And it would be the icing on the cake if her name began with a K, like Kendall, Kaylin, or Kaylie - his other 3 slightly older, blonde, blue-eyed beloveds. ;-)) It just floored me, though. He talks to me a lot about the girls he likes & getting married one day (one of his fave topics! :-)) but he's NEVER burst out with the "hot" business before!!! :-D

PS - the pic that caught *my* eye? Doesn't the boy in front here look so much like Will when he was a little younger?!?!?!

Keep Calm and Eat On

2011-10-12T22:34:00.001-04:00

This week I broke our final cereal bowl from our set of everyday dishes that we registered for for our wedding. [It has been almost 10 years! :-D ♥] We still have nine mugs, nine small plates, nine pasta bowls, (why nine? I'm sure we registered for twelve...) three dinner plates (oh, how they dwindle) ...but that was the last bowl. *sniff, sniff* Pier 1's Palermo pattern:

I've been looking for replacements that I *love* for two years. Eh. So I'm going to decorate my own to hold us over!

Enter my latest historical pop culture obsession - the 1939 British Keep Calm and Carry On poster:

I decided to use my Silhouette SD to make a template of this for me etch "Keep Calm and Eat On" ;-) onto a glass bowl!

Ta da! I am pretty pleased, although getting the template to work correctly with the rounded surface of the bowl was SO HARD! I have three more bowls...but this was so labor intensive that one was enough for today. :-P

Healthy Light Pumpkin Pie Sherbet

2011-10-11T23:29:00.000-04:00

So what kind of girl doesn't use her ice cream maker even once all 100°+ summer...but pulls it out for the first time in years in October?
This girl, who just modified a recipe for pumpkin sherbet! HAPPY FALL!!!

Oh, the pumpkin-o-rama has only just begun around here! I have found SO MANY *new* pumpkin recipes I want to try this fall, and this was one of the most intriguing.

I love sugar & desserts, but because of the volume with which I like to partake of said deliciousness, I am always trying to find the slimmest recipes that still taste amazing. I froze (ha :-P) when I clicked onto pumpkin sherbet @ Skinnytaste.

A slimmed down "ice cream" with all the flavorful goodness of pumpkin pie? Yes, please!

Ingredients:
•2 1/4 cups 1% milk
•1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar [I used honey]
•1 cup pumpkin purée (or canned pumpkin)
•2 tsp pure vanilla extract
•1/2 tsp cinnamon [mine was heaping]
•1/4 tsp nutmeg [I used 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice instead of ground nutmeg & the pinch of clove]
•pinch of clove
•pinch of salt

Directions:
•In a saucepan, combine milk, sugar, pumpkin, and heat over medium heat. Bring to a full boil while whisking, then reduce heat to low, and simmer for thirty seconds.
•Remove from the heat, and add the vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove, and stir.
•Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and chill in the refrigerator until cold, about an hour. When chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
•Makes 2 3/4 cups

It's creamy, but not heavy - refreshing & well-spiced. I can't imagine anything better (light, but still autumnal) after a bowlful of chili...

[& after all this time, I'm glad to know my ice cream maker still works. ;-)]

BETTER Spicier Pumpkin Spice Syrup

2011-10-11T23:25:00.000-04:00

Last January, I first tried my hand at making pumpkin spice syrup, a la Starbucks, at home. It was OK. My two issues were #1 - the spices were too gritty in my chai lattés, and #2 - it wasn't spicy enough, (lots of grit, but not enough *zing!*) I want the spicy tingle (not heat, per se, but...yeah, *zing*) to last on my palate for awhile after I've swallowed. It happens at Starbucks!!!

I broke down today and tried once more to make pumpkin spice syrup at home. So many online recipes are exactly the same...and don't measure up to what I want. How could I make a better one than the top 20 google search results?

I started here and modified...

Ingredients:
•3/4 cup honey [changed from granulated sugar]
•3/4 cup water
•3 whole cinnamon sticks
•1 teaspoon ground cinnamon [upped from 1/2 tsp]
•7 whole cloves
•7 whole allspice
•1/4 teaspoon [freshly] ground nutmeg
•8 slices of *fresh* ginger [changed from 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger]
•2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
•1 teaspoon vanilla [or 1 whole vanilla bean, split lengthwise]
•1 dash of cayenne [my own addition!]

Directions:
•Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium heat.
•Stirring occasionally, allow the mixture to come to a boil.
•Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
•Strain into a clean jar through a fine mesh sieve.
•Store in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 2 months.

[Pic from food + words - her recipes are divine!]

I am convinced the vanilla, my honey, fresh ginger, and dash of cayenne are what make this one-of-the-million-recipes come as close to Sbux as I've gotten. Using more whole spices also helped cut down on the grit. Yay for pairing it with my Café Escapes Chai Latté K-Cups!

Will's Turn & School Pic

2011-10-10T20:51:00.000-04:00

Today was Will's turn for Fall Break! I gave him a major gift this morning by letting him play Wild Kratts online, (I don't usually let the kids touch the laptop. EVER!) and he was thrilled to win a bunch of creature power suits. ;-)

Then we drove up to Americus to meet Daddy for pizza lunch! There is nothing that makes the kids feel as special as eating lunch with Daddy. :-)

Will brought home his 2nd grade school pic last week:

[I hate to say we're not as crazy about it as his stunning 1st grade pic, but] it does show his happy/silly/excited/omigosh-lemme-tell-you-everything-I-know-about-x-y-&-z face. :-D I can't help but wonder, "What did the photog say to him?" :-P

Crockpot Italian Beef

2011-10-09T16:03:00.000-04:00

My blog-friend, Emily, shared this ridiculously easy Italian Beef recipe link last month, and I've been excited to try it ever since. When we lived outside of Chicago, we got an education in Italian beef. Italian beef : Chicago :: Barbeque : the South! And it is gooood! :-)

How easy is this?

Ingredients:
•rump roast, 3 pounds
•beef broth, 2 cans
•Italian dressing seasoning packet [you could also use a packet of Ranch seasoning]
•mild pepper rings, 1 jar *including the liquid*
•French bread [or hoagie rolls, for individual sandwiches]

Directions:
Place first four ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours.

That's it. I remembered I needed to get this going as I was actually walking out the door for church this morning. It literally took less than a minute to pull out the pot & dump everything in. By the time we were ready to settle in for football, our late lunch was perfect. Y'all know how much I hate peppers, but all the vinegar in these & cooking them down took away all the bitterness. We shredded the meat and piled it, along with the pickled peppers & spoonfuls of seasoned jus, onto hoagie rolls for the best Italian beef smammiches we've had since we left Chi-town a year and a half ago!

Easy. Delish. Touchdown!

Calhoun, Cotton, & Carp

2011-10-08T21:29:00.001-04:00

JB indulged me today: we went out to Calhoun Produce for "fall activities" - wagon ride & farm animals:

playground, honey bee house, & [JB's ultimate in "I'd rather not"] this three-acre corn maze:

We had fun, though, and in the maze's defense, it was so easy walk - no rolling your ankles over random, rock-hard corn cobs. They plowed the path before it was full-grown, so the path was clear & easier to maintain. JB's goal was to get us out in record time...and he did...but then the kids & I had us all turn right back around to go back in & find all six hidden farm animals before we'd leave. :-P

We ate lunch there, and I had perhaps the BEST homemade vegetable soup of my LIFE! The tomatoes were the freshest I've ever tasted in a soup, awesome assortment of beans, peas, & corn, and no peppers or celery! :-) I bought two pints to freeze at home!

There was a professional photog offering quick mini sessions there today, and I *FINALLY* had my dream of THREE YEARS realized!!! We got - what should be - our Christmas card picture taken in the most dreamy harvest-ready cotton field I've ever seen in my life. I don't want to give all of my card details away, but trust me - you'll see around Thanksgiving, and I am SO EXCITED!!! We haven't had a pro family picture sitting since 2007 (?!?!?!?!?!) so we're hoping at least one comes out well enough for us to want a wall print. [I'm crazy cheap & critical, so we'll see. ;-)] She said she'd hopefully have the proofs on her website Wednesday-ish, so fingers crossed!

When we came home, the kids wanted to go fishing in our backyard with our neighbor's son who was out there. It's been ages since it's been cool enough to really fish, [I. Don't. Fish. I want no piscatorial part!!! I hang out, converse, & touch nothing. So the definition of "cool enough to fish" is actually "cool enough for JB to want to fish" - and that's been since April. First weekend afternoon since then under 80°!] so out we went...and Will reeled in his first big one! It was just a carp, but that was actually perfect, b/c it was big, it was a reel (ha! :-P) challenge, and then we didn't have to kill, clean, or eat it. [WHEW! ICK!]

The leaves here actually *ARE* showing tiny hints of color, [even though it's still been 85° by afternoon until today, we've had most overnight lows at 50°, so the trees know it's fall :-)] and I just absolutely could not imagine a more gorgeous, comfortable autumn day for all of us!!!

"Courageous" Movie Hometown Expereince

2011-10-07T23:57:00.001-04:00

Our church tonight had a babysitting fundraiser from 6-10 PM for a mission trip to Africa, so it was the perfect chance for us to leave the kids at Sherwood to go see Sherwood Picture's newest film, Courageous! :-D

Facing the Giants & Fireproof moved me...but this was something else. You'd almost think that living here now - where the film is based & was shot, using church members I see weekly as the actors - it would seem less...genuine? Totally the opposite for me! It made the entire thing feel SO REAL. To recognize where almost every scene was shot actually brought authenticity. All those gorgeous trees with the Spanish moss? That's what it really looks like here. That's what our yard looks like. They (the four cops when they discover the Javier mix-up) eat at Austin's barbeque - the first place we ate after we landed in Albany! :-P They drive past Locos - the restaurant I'm mad at b/c they wouldn't show the Redskins. ;-) Most moving: the bank that they stop at where Emily gets out of the car to dance is right across the street from Sissy's Montessori, and the whole time she is dancing, I saw her school (with the black shutters) behind her.

Talk about tying that character to my reality!!! [And you know I was shaking with sobs later...] It took no effort to become a part of the film, completely engaged.

[It was also fun to hear people throughout the sold-out theatre loudly whisper, "Look! There's _______!" ;-)]

Did theatres all over the country hand out a little discussion guide pamphlet as you left the theatre? We wondered if that was just by the local church people here or everywhere?

I am praying so sincerely that this movie encourages ALL families - mine included - to better prioritize our lives, and that we as parents will take the final speech seriously. We are each accountable to God for raising our children up with strong faith that they see lived out by OUR example. A major responsibility, but such a high honor...

Princess Peach Tea

2011-10-06T22:08:00.000-04:00

Annelise has Fall Break today and tomorrow...which is mildly irritating, b/c Will's Fall Break is on Monday = a total pain when we'd actually like to *go* somewhere for Break, but whatever. (They're in different school systems: Will in our county, Annelise in private Montessori just across the next county line.) It does give me precious one-on-one time, though, so I'll relish it. :-) What would be the most perfectly girly thing Princess Pumpkin Peach & I could do together today?

Why, go to tea, of course!

It was actually our very first mother/daughter tea, and she had an absolute ball! She was thrilled when they even brought her ice water out in a tea pot:

She loved the kid's plate, with small heart-shaped PB&J and grilled cheese sandwiches, tons of fresh fruit, and a few colorful marshmallows strewn about. She got the Bella Coola caffeine free herbal fruit tea and LOVED the bright pink hue! I enjoyed the Bourbon Street Vanilla Rooibos, my favorite tea there. (I looove rooibos!)

Thanks to the sweet ladies beside us who offered to take our picture:

U Glow Girl

2011-10-06T21:27:00.000-04:00

The most fun 89¢ I've spent recently on my kids? Sally Girl "U Glow Girl" nail polish from Sally Beauty Supply! I had popped in to get the Gelish Sleek White for my French, and I saw their super cute China Glaze Halloween polish set. The Halloweenophile in me got all giddy!!! But #1 - the only polish in the set I was truly fascinated with was the glow-in-the-dark "Goulish Glow", and #2 - I don't use regular nail polish anymore!!! (Hence the whole reason I was in Sally in the first place. :-P) I was about to walk away with a small sigh...until I saw the tiny Sally Girl polish bottles - with a mini glow-in-the-dark for less than a dollar!

It REALLY DOES glow! Here's a pic of the bottle in the dark from The Daily Varnish:

The actual polish is so sheer, it's virtually clear, and it drys matte. Soooo, since it's "invisible" (except in the dark) I painted Will's toes with it, too, so he can have alien monster feet! :-D SOOO COOL!!! I was going to Gelish Annelise later this week, but this is fun for her, too! We charged their toes (& her hands) up with the brightest lights we have upstairs...and then ran into the bathroom, shut the door, & turned off the lights to see them glow before bed. :-P

My Husband Rocks

2011-10-05T19:49:00.000-04:00

How awesome is my husband? I sent him a little Zumba flyer I designed yesterday, so he could make a few copies on his way home. Not only did he make double the copies I asked for, (all of which were handed out today at Annelise's dance studio *prayers for response!*) but he also showed up with this huge poster-sized version:

The owner of the studio loved it! Thanks, Honey, for helping me be the most professional! ♥ ♥ ♥

Gelish: Frenching Myself

2011-10-05T14:09:00.001-04:00

My first Gelish at-home mani was one day shy of three weeks old this morning:

when I noticed the first two little chips along the side of two nails:

Since I have the luxury of doing it at home now, instead of spending $35-$55 for a change at the salon, I went ahead and - for the first time - didn't try to make it last for over a month. :-P I decided to get ambitious and do a French mani on myself. :-O (Ambitious may be an understatement - I am NOT known for a steady hand!)

I used two coats of Sleek White just on the tips and one coat of Light Elegant on the pink of my nails. I have to say, for my first try ever? I am crazy impressed with myself! :-D

The BEST part about a Gelish (or any gel polish) French? It won't look dingy in 48 hours! I will take the photo evidence to prove it still looks this nice in two weeks! It's just amazing to me to have a French that was actually worth the effort!

What I'm Loving Wednesday: Lilly, Yes, Please!

2011-10-05T09:23:00.000-04:00

{Lilly Laptop Case}

Now that I actually have to take my laptop to JL meetings, how awesome would this be? (In Floaters or Luscious! :-))

{Lilly iPhone Case}

If the iPhone 5 would HURRY UP & come out so that the iPhone 4 would go down in price, I could upgrade to the 4, have actual video capability [missing SO MUCH of the kids' activities right now! :'(] and get a cute Lilly case! (In either Floaters, Luscious, or Navy Bloomers! :-))

{Lilly Fall Dresses}
The Augusta Dress for me *AND* for Princess Pumpkin Peach:

Or the Eryn Dress for me and the Little Jonah Ponte Dress for Pie:

Lilly dreams...