Hammond Happenings

The Great Diaper Debate

2012-01-11T10:14:00.000-06:00

There is a great debate at our house. We are debating cloth diapers versus disposable diapers versus a mixture of both.

We love that the cloth diapers are chemical free and friendlier for the environment. We really love that the cost is large up front but presents huge savings long term. But will our very old, hardly surviving on its last leg, tired washing machine survive the extra loads of not only a baby but also diapers?

We love the ease of disposable diapers and the fact that we don't have to worry about other people not wanting to deal with "the crazies" in the cloth diapers. But do we really want the extended expense of buying diapers every week?

No matter what we buy, how do you begin to choose a brand? And I've always been told that every baby hiney is different. How do you get ready for a baby who's hiney you've never met? What if we spend hundreds on cloth diapers (or even disposable) and our baby hiney won't work with what we've purchased?

How do you even begin to make these decisions? Moms out there - help! Did you consider cloth diapers? How did you decide what to use? Are you glad you made the choice you made? Do you ever wish you could change? Please help!

Morning Sickness

2012-01-01T22:53:00.000-06:00

Dear Baby,

As we put away Christmas decorations today, we couldn't help but think about the fact that next Christmas we'll have you with us! It was very exciting to think that the next time I see that beautiful Christmas tree, you'll be seeing it with us.

Since I can't feel you move yet, I'm left to knowing you're in there by enjoying a beautiful round of "morning sickness". (Ironic, since I never seem to throw up in the morning!) I've decided that you must love celebrations and holidays like your momma! Everytime we celebrate something special, you jump up and let us know you're here. Like when I went to a wedding where no one knew you were hiding inside. We left the reception and got no more than 40 feet away from the celebration when I lept from the car and "watered" the grass. In the middle of the Christmas Eve service I realized I needed to throw up so I dashed out the back door of the sanctuary. When I got outside I remembered I was in the middle of downtown Dallas and realized there was no grass to water! So I found a pot containing a poor, dying tree and did my best to hide from the rain and the police officer directing traffic a few feet away. My favorite, however, was when your Daddy and I were ringing in the New Year. We kissed and cheered, "This is the year of the baby!" at which point I ran to the bathroom, shoving another pregnant mom out of the way to get there. I've decided you must really enjoy celebrating sweet little one! You're just like your momma - loving celebrations/holidays and everything that comes with it!

For years I've listened to other women complain about pregnancy symptoms and thought, "Are you kidding me? I'd give anything to be pregnant!" I promised myself I'd never be one of those women who complained. Tonight, as I was running for the toilet (despite the anti-nausea medicine) I told your Dad how sick I was of being sick. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I regretted saying them. I'm so sorry Baby! I am not sick of carrying you around and I will never ever be sick of being your Mommy! I am so glad God gave me you. I still can't believe He chose me to be your Mom!

Your Daddy and I love you and are very excited to be your parents!

It's a baby!

2011-12-28T21:46:00.000-06:00

I was thrilled to post this picture on Facebook today:

That, my friends, is a baby! And it just happens to be growing in my tummy! I'm still in shock, even though I've known for quite a while now. I'm pregnant! I'm going to have a baby! Wow!

So here are the details I know you're dying to know:

Yes, we were trying. After the miscarriage and the diagnosis of PCOS we were very anxiously waiting for that little pink plus sign. However, we didn't think we would get pregnant for several more months. We were both shocked when it showed up.
I am currently 9 wks and 2 days along. We are due July 30, 2012. We are hoping the baby decides to come earlier rather than later. DJ starts tennis camp the second week of August and if this baby is too late we'll have a serious problem on our hands!
We told both sets of parents at Thanksgiving. They are thrilled more than words can say! Our grandparents found out at Christmas.
I have been good and sick and have honestly loved it! After wanting a baby for so long, having a daily reminder that the baby is still in there is a wonderful blessing. I do not enjoy eating when I'm not hungry, but I am so thrilled to be pregnant I don't mind it that much. :) I don't mind the fact that I've lost 5 pounds, either!
We will have a Winnie the Pooh nursery. Any contributions (Winnie the Pooh or otherwise) are welcomed!
I don't have a gut instinct about whether it's a boy or a girl. It depends on the day. Today I truly can't decide. DJ is torn about what the baby will be, but he usually leans towards boy.
My head is still swimming with questions and dreams and ideas. I am amazed that God has chosen me to be a part of His beautiful miracle. Where once there was nothing, now there's life!
Seeing the baby and seeing that little heart beat was one of the more memorable moments in my life. I cried, DJ cried, the doctor cried. It was a heck of a moment.

I can't wait to see all the Lord has in store for us in this beautiful new chapter. I'm excited about all of the changes and I'm beyond thrilled to start life as a MOMMY!

Day 21

2011-11-21T20:02:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for friends and family that support and love my little family no matter what. My heart is full with the blessings of these friendships!

Day 20

2011-11-20T16:25:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for social media and cell phones! It's amazing to me that Facebook didn't even exist when I was in high school yet I now use it on a daily basis to connect with friends - old and new. I can tell you that the past few years would have not looked the same without this mode of communication! I'm also thankful for cell phones. I still remember when our family got our first "car phone" (that was the size of your face!) and we could only use it for emergencies. But now everyone has a phone and everyone can talk easily! I love that we can communicate with our families any time we want! I'm so thankful for the blessings of the modern age...

Days 18 and 19

2011-11-19T10:22:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was thankful for wonderful time with my sister! She has had a string of no good, very bad days over the course of the last month and it did both of us some good to just be together. Plus, I got a start on my Christmas shopping! Woo hoo!

Today, I'm thankful for little things. The little things that I almost always forget to be thankful for. Things like dirty dishes and a ton of laundry. Or stinky puppies, dusty furniture, or a broken vacuum cleaner that's still under waranty. My heart is full of things I forget to be thankful for. Today I want to focus on those things I need to thank God for. :)

Day 17

2011-11-17T21:05:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for cheese. (Except for when it dries onto a dish and becomes cheese glue!) I love this versatile food and eat it pretty much every day. I do not, however, love blue cheese. I can't get past the smell and it looks gross. Blue, if you will. But back to my point. I love cheese. (I also love Andrew Peterson.) Bonus points for you if you own that shirt. :)

Day 16

2011-11-16T17:19:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for people who speak English! Don't get me wrong, French is a fine language and I'm happy that French people can converse with each other easily. However, when I'm calling customer service for an American company, it's really hard to sort through two hours of someone who doesn't speak English. My vacuum cleaner broke this afternoon and I talked to three different women who had a very difficult time understanding what I needed. I could almost see them flipping through their translation dictionaries and the on-screen script to figure out how to help me. When they finally referred me to a local repair shop I nearly cried when the man who answered was a native English speaker. If it was possible I would have jumped through the phone and hugged him!

I also have several students this year who don't speak English. It is a daily challenge to help them understand what's going on in our classroom. It's even harder for those students who don't speak at all.

So, I'm very thankful for English. Having the same language makes communication so much easier!

Days 14 and 15

2011-11-15T21:37:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I literally never looked at my computer! It was just one of those go-go-go days! However, towards the end of the day I got to spend time with a friend due to deliver any day now and another that has a 7 week old infant. I was kind of expecting the time to put an ache in my heart, but it didn't! I left feeling re-charged and so excited for the new chapters in the lives of these two families. My heart was so refreshed and the whole evening felt like a two hour vacation from life...

WARNING: I'm about to discuss "women things" like periods and ovulation. If you're not into that sort of thing, please stop reading now.
Today, I'm thankful for PMS. Yes, I hate PMS (as does the Hubsters!) but right now, it's a beautiful reminder that I'm finally ovulating again. For several months after our miscarriage, I didn't ovulate at all. In August, the doctor decided the reason was Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Basically, I create all of the hormones I need and then have trouble processing and absorbing it. So we started new medicine in August that will help. So far, it seems to be doing it's job. I am ovulating on schedule and this month I am "thrilled" to add a raging case of PMS to the list of signs that my meds are working!

Day 13

2011-11-13T20:25:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for a wonderful home my husband has so graciously given to me! I don't always keep it as clean as I'd like and I'm not the best at keeping the dishes put away, but I'm so blessed to have a wonderful home. We originally wanted to sell the house and buy a new one together, but I am glad God had other plans. I can't wait to fill it with babies and toys and noise!

Days 10-12

2011-11-12T21:55:00.000-06:00

Day 10:
I was thankful for the opportunity to attend training for school. It was long and exhausting, but I absolutely love learning and the chance to sepnd TWO days learning about how to help my students succeed really felt like a little dream world.

Day 11:
Friday I was thankful for a God who was bigger than wishes made at 11:11 on 11/11/11. He blows my mind every day and I'm amazed at the depths I have to learn.

Day 12:
Today I'm thankful for a chance to celebrate Thanksgiving TWICE! We had Thanksgiving with the in-laws this weekend and it was a wonderful time! I really enjoyed getting to spend the day together cooking and laughing and loving every moment! Good news - I only gained about 6 pounds!

Day 9

2011-11-09T21:22:00.000-06:00

Today I'm thankful for the small group the LORD is growing through our church. We've been a part of a small group since we moved up here two and a half years ago, but we've never felt plugged in or connected like we longed to be. I'd given up and assumed that the friends I had in Waco were rare and unique and I needed to be thankful I'd had close friendships at all. In the course of the past 10 months, the Lord has been stripping everything away until our hearts are left bare. It is only at this point that He has showed us what true fellowship is about - His glory and His renown! Amazingly enough, the Lord's been doing the exact same thing in the hearts of two other couples. And now we're growing the close, heart-to-heart friendships we've been dreaming about. Thank You Lord, for the wonderful and amazing things you're doing through our small group as You transform lives!

Day 8

2011-11-08T16:32:00.001-06:00

Today I'm thankful for an amazing mother-in-law and father-in-law that raised my Hubsters to love the Lord and serve others with a passion that leaves me in awe. I am so blessed to have in-laws that love me as their own daughter and would do anything for me. They have taught Hubsters how to love a wife and how to be an amazing daddy, and I am forever thankful for them!

Day 7

2011-11-07T20:52:00.000-06:00

In all my brilliant blonde glory, I posted the following post on the wrong blog. Anyone interested in my views on play based learning can now learn about my thankfulness for my sister. Score.

Today I am thankful for my little sister. Megan. Meg. Meg-a-boo. Meggo-my-Eggo. There really aren't words to describe this person in my life. When I was in kindergarten I took her to show and tell as my favorite toy. When we were young, she was a great play mate and a fun room mate. In high school we used to watch The Parent Trap every weekend while we painted our nails.

But I don't know that I appreciated her fully until we grew up. The year after I graduated from college, I lived in Abilene and she was a freshman at ACU. She came over every Sunday afternoon for Sister Day. We would do laundry every week and throw a few things at each other. :) Now that we've grown up a little more we've grown closer and become better friends. And, we still throw things at each other on a regular basis.

Meg-a-boo and I could not be more different! She's quiet and reserved and leads with her head. I'm her total opposite in almost every way! However, I love spending time with her. We are truly sisters by chance and friends by choice.

Day 6

2011-11-06T20:38:00.000-06:00

I can't seem to pin down one thing to be thankful for today. My heart seems to be full... So here's a list of what I'm thankful for today!

A church where I can hear solid Biblical teaching each week. I love going and knowing that the Gospel will be proclaimed with no apologies.
New friends that we get to eat lunch with each week after church. It's been fun getting to know them over the past several weeks.
A fantastic husband who took care of the house this weekend while I worked through a mountain of school work.
A beautiful home that keeps us warm and dry (and happy).
Apples. We're doing an apple unit in Pre-K this week and as I've spent the past several days preparing for it, I've realized how much I love this simple fruit!
The ability to breathe through my nose. The Hubsters has a cold this weekend and I'm increasingly thankful that it's no longer my nose that's so drippy!
Cuddly puppies that love to snuggle and warm your heart.
Mouse traps (that my husband takes care of so faithfully). There's construction behind our house and in one week we've caught 9 mice in our backyard. It's gross but that's 9 mice that won't be coming into my kitchen!
Thanksgiving decorations! It means fall is here!

Day 5

2011-11-05T17:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Brandi posted that she was thankful for the ability to walk. I'm not trying to steal her thunder or take away the true blessing each step is for her. But today I am thankful for my ability to walk. Today, I completed my very first 5K. It was a wonderful, fantastic time, and it was way more of a blessing than I ever imagined it would be. I spent a good part of those 3 miles talking to the Lord and it was a wonderful time! I'm so thankful for the chance I had to raise money for brain cancer research, to walk in celebration of my friend, to spend the day with the Hubsters, and to finally do the 5K I've always wanted to complete! I'm also so thankful for the friends that I supported us as we walked - that prayed and made donations and that cheered me on. It was a wonderful day and my heart is so full!

At the finish line!

Day 4

2011-11-04T16:42:00.000-05:00

Today, my heart is thankful for a Mom who gave up everything to stay home with me while I was growing up. She is the best Mom I could have ever imagined and I am blessed to be her daughter - and her friend. I love you Mom and I'm so thankful for you! I would post a picture of the two of us, but she would absolutely kill me. So instead, I'll post a picture of my dog. Enjoy! :)

Day 3

2011-11-03T17:35:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm thankful for the wonderful ladies I work with! They teach me so much every day and it is such a blessing to work with them! They're an amazing group of friends and I'm still amazed that I have the job I have! Thank you Dana, Beth, and Leslie! You make my life beautiful!

(That was five exclamation marks in a row. Can you tell I'm excited?)

Thankful

2011-11-02T15:29:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I loved everything about this precious day! Now that I'm grown, I still love it with more than a little enthusiasm. Therefore, I'm going to attempt to post every day - between now and then - at least one thing I'm thankful for.

Yesterday, I was so super thankful for the man who makes my face look like this:

He is the love of my life and my rock! Two and a half years have flown by since that picture was taken and I can't imagine living my life any other way. :) Love you babe!

Today, I'm thankful for my friend Brandi. She's overcoming all of the odds, she's fighting for her life, and she's walking through it all with way more grace and dignity than I walk through daily life with. She's blogging her thankfulness this month and inspired me to do so. Thanks B! And, just for fun - here's a picture of my sweet friend. :)

What are you thankful for today?

Summer

2011-07-15T12:57:00.000-05:00

Ever since I was a child, I've loved summer for it's freedom and laid back lazy days. When I married a school teacher, I was thrilled that we would both have summers together. The past several years, we have wondered where those lazy days have gone. The summer we started dating, we spent every free moment traveling between our two citites to see one another. The next summer, we got married and I moved into his house. Between moving and my job search, it took up 90% of our summer and there was little time left for the lazy days. Last summer, we were strapped for cash and I was working part time at Chick-Fil-A in order to help. It was a hot, thankless job and my feet ached all summer. It took away from the time we had to spend together and the time we had to spend with family. That being said, we were thrilled that we had this summer to be as free as a bird!

We started the summer by allowing ourselves to be fully addicted to our new favorite TV show. We have spent the past three and a half (almost four) weeks visiting my family in Waco. It was a wonderful time and we enjoyed every moment of it! I especially enjoyed Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. I also got to catch up with several friends that I've missed terribly. It was a blessing to have so much time together.

We are now back home, unpacked, and are loving the last few days of summer. (I have training next week and that's the beginning of school gearing up.) We are packing in as much time as possible with the Hubsters' family and loving every second of it. For all of the wonderful, lazy days of summer I absolutely love the excitment and newness of a new school year. As temperatures (hopefully) cool off, I love the promise of a fresh bundle of pencils or a brand new box of crayons. As the Hubsters and I set up new classrooms, we enjoy every moment of getting things organized and settled.

Continue to pray for my sweet friend Brandi. She is in the fight of her life and is halfway through this round radiation and chemo. They are headed into a gut-wrenching time of waiting to see if the treatments are working and the tumors are shrinking. Please pray as they wait until the last week of August for additional scans and test results. If you'd like to follow their journey through brain cancer, you can get updates on her Caring Bridge website.

Help please?

2011-06-07T14:08:00.000-05:00

I have created a new blog (other than the one I created yesterday) for the Pre-K department to use as we communicate with parents. My goal was originally to have the blog posts e-mailed to parents as we created them. The only place I can find to do this will only allow me to enter 10 e-mails. Any idea how we can set it up so that they'll get e-mails?

I have a new blog!

2011-06-06T13:11:00.000-05:00

I've started a new blog! My hope is that I can use this blog to post my thoughts about Pre-K as well as my projects and fun discoveries my kiddos make. :) Feel free to check it out! I'm still messing with the format and stuff, so I'd love to hear your input!

Learning As We Play

There are no words...

2011-05-27T17:37:00.001-05:00

Tuesday I got a phone call from a friend that turned my world upside down. A very dear, very sweet, very wonderful, very close friend was in the hospital and the doctors feared the worst - brain cancer. This week has been an emotional roller coaster and I still don't have words to describe what we've been walking through this week. Please pray for my sweet friend. She's young and has two small babies at home. My heart aches in a way I can't describe. Please please please pray! You can follow her updates on her Caring Bridge website:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brandigreer

There are no words. Just pray.

Pictures and Crafts

2011-04-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

Today is Easter! Oh what a glorious day! I saw someone say on Facebook that without Easter, Christmas is just another day on the calendar. It struck a chord in my heart. What a happy day! Unfortunately, I've been sick for a solid 9 days and am still stuck in the house. I'm sad I couldn't go to church to celebrate LIFE today! However, I did get a craft done for my classroom and it turned out so fantastic I just had to share!!

An old sock, a few fabric scraps, and VOILA!

A dinosaur claw for the pretend and learn center! Add another sock and a crazy Hubsters and what do you get?

DJ-a-saurus!

As I was e-mailing pictures to myself, I was scrolling through the pictures on my phone and found a few more that I needed to share - as an apology for not blogging as much lately!!

This is just for you Steph! I have fallen in love with yogurt buffets lately. This one is from Purple Berri in Rockwall. We went twice in two days. We'll be returning soon! From now on, special occassions will be marked by trips to one of these most delightful places! Oh how I am in love!

I'm also in love with this man!

He's a little bit silly, a little bit crazy, and a lot a bit wonderful! He has been the world's best care-taker the past week or so! He's run to the store 8 million times for whatever new medication I needed and made more scrambled eggs than you can imagine! Love you babe!

I found another picture I'd never shared with you. A co-teacher was reading a story with her class and they were keeping track of all the characters in the story. As she attempted to draw one particular character, one of her students confidently said, "Hey! That looks just like the President!"

I'll let you add your own comments...

I also found a picture of this little sign that we discoverd in a small shop while we were on our anniversary trip last summer.

Amen.

Spring

2011-04-07T09:56:00.000-05:00

In the past few weeks the fields have exploded with new life. I personally think Texas wildflowers are God's apology for the lack of mountains and trees and the unbearable summers! When I drive on the highway my heart fills with joy over the beauty that explodes around me. Just when everything was so gray and dead we thought hope would never come, new life springs forth! It makes me want to sing and dance...as soon as I stop sneezing!

I often imagine what Heaven will be like. I wonder what streets paved with gold really look like - how it'll feel beneath my feet. I think maybe God gave us wildflowers to give us a sneak peak into the Glory of Heaven where we'll get to spend eternity... (Allergy free, of course!)

God spilled the paint...

Moving On

2011-04-06T07:53:00.000-05:00

The past month has been full of emotions for us. In it all, God has revealed His heart and has shown us how breath-taking and beautiful He is.

In the weeks after our miscarriage I was convinced my heart would never heal. I walked around in a stunned fog of pain. I was certain I would always have a giant scar deep inside that I would feel every day. And while I can say that my heart will never be the same, I think God has transformed that ugly scar into something much more beautiful - a heart that continues to follow Him.

I've thought about Heaven a lot lately. I read "Heaven is for Real" about a little boy who went to Heaven during emergency surgery and spent some time with Jesus before coming back to Earth to live the rest of his life. He told his parents stories of heaven and little details for several years before they compiled it into one book. The biggest moment for me was when the little boy shared about a sister he'd never met (or known about). His mom miscarried early in the pregnancy and the baby was in heaven waiting for Mom and Dad. I have clung to those words as I imagined the love my baby must be receiving in the Throne Room. I cherish images of my grandmother, great-aunt, and great-grandmother loving on our baby and spoiling it with the love they lavished on me when I was a child. My child never knew sin. He or she never knew the pain of this world. The first thing my baby ever saw was the Savior's face. That's a pretty beautiful thing, if you ask me.

There are moments when I wonder how God must feel, watching His children reject Him every day. Then I imagine how He must have felt when He chose for His Child to die for people who didn't deserve to live. The ache in my heart seems like nothing compared to what God did for me. Nothing.

Not all of my moments have been so happy. There have been times when I wanted to beat my fists against God and scream and yell at Him for taking the baby I wanted so desperately. I've wanted to storm the gates of Heaven and take my baby back. I've wanted to demand that God give me a healthy pregnancy now! I have cried so hard I thought my face was going to break. I have hurt in ways I've never hurt before. I have been fearful and teary and I've complained about my lot in life. I've told Hubsters a thousand times that life was NOT suppossed to go this way!

But in the end, my heart knows that God is still God. This hurt doesn't make sense right now, but I know God's not sitting in Heaven completely shocked at what's going on in my life. I know He's in control and He's working everything out for my good and His Glory. I've clung to the promises in Scripture - especially:
"I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name." (Isaiah 45:3)
God is revealing His treasures of darkness. I am hearing His voice as He calls me by name. My ugly, painful scar is being transformed into a heart that beats for Him alone. In it all, God is still God and I am His child.

Breaking the silence

2011-03-14T19:14:00.000-05:00

I've been writting this post in my head for a while. Now that I sit down to write, my heart is racing at the thought of giving my thoughts a voice.

It is no secret that what I want more than just about anything in this life is to be a mom. I came out of the womb ready to cradle a baby and have built my career around having young children in my life. After the Hubsters and I had been married for a little over a year, we stopped taking the birth control pills and started looking towards the next chapter in our life. I was amazed by the things that no one told me! When I was 13 and hated my period each month, I never could have imagined how disappointing it would be to see it come right on schedule. I never could have dreamed how many people I would be drawn to in Wal-Mart simply because they had a baby on their hip or in their belly. No one ever told me how my heart would ache to see a pregnant woman just walking by. Everyone did say that in order to get pregnant, I needed to "not want it". I've heard it countless times from a hundred different friends. However, if we didn't want a pregnancy right now, we would still be on the pill. There is nothing in my heart that knows how to "not want" a baby! I eventually had to stop checking my Facebook feed. With 23 pregnant friends, my heart couldn't take much more pregnancy news!

I finally came to a place where I was at peace waiting for the Lord's timing. I still wanted to have a baby as much (if not more) than ever before. However, I was content to wait until the Lord's perfect timing came to pass. Then, on March 3rd, the pregnancy test finally showed what I feared would never happen. That beautiful blue line confirmed that my upset stomach was not a stomach bug - but a baby! There aren't words to describe that moment. My heart soared and the Hubsters and I started dreaming and planning. We couldn't believe the Lord had chosen us to be parents for this sweet angel growing inside.

One week later, I heard the words every woman fears. The words I will never forget as long as I live. "I'm sorry, but you've had a miscarriage." Seven words brought our dreams and plans and joy to a screaching hault. The baby was gone. There was nothing we did or didn't do. There's no reason. The baby probably never had a chance at surviving so it died.

It's been 5 days and my heart is still in shock. The doctor doesn't feel it's a cause for concern for any future pregnancies and was very optimistic that we got pregnant as quickly as we did. However, my heart feels forever changed. I will forever have a past miscarriage. I will forever have a baby I can't meet until heaven. I know we'll be OK. We'll continue to plan and dream and move towards having the big family we've always wanted.

But for now, this is healing time. Time for me draw close to my husband and my King. Time to rest on the promises the Lord has given that He has plans and His plans are perfect.

Snowmaggedon 2011

2011-02-09T14:26:00.001-06:00

My brother and his family live in Indiana. They are used to snow and cold and the like. I live in Texas for a reason - I do not like bitterly cold weather and I only like snow in small doses. That being said, last week in Texas was NOT my cup of tea!

Monday was a beautiful day. My students were out of school and I spent the day doing parent-teacher conferences.
Tuesday, February 1st came in screaming with sleet and ice. It made travel impossible and locked everyone indoors. School was canceled and when we checked the weather, we were so very thankful they had!

17 degrees with a wind chill of -1?!?! No thank you!

It didn't get above freezing until Saturday. I tucked my tail between my legs and planted myself here:

Warm fire!

This made it even better:

Cua's the black puppy, Marley's the white one

I stayed put (and read three books) until they made me go to work for a few hours on Thursday. When I got home, I returned to my chair by the fire and didn't move again until Friday morning. That's when I realized my backyard looked like this:

7 inches of snow!!!!

With school clearly canceled, the Hubsters and I bundled up and went to play! We found a hill and some nice people let us borrow their boogie board to slide down over and over and over. Sadly, the pictures don't do it justice! We had fun but quickly realized why my brother complains about snow as much as he does.

Snow laundry! Wow!

Temperatures finally climbed above freezing on Saturday and we ventured to Wal Mart - along with everyone else in town!

Toilet paper shelves

The egg case

Clearly, we didn't get the eggs we needed. Wal Mart hadn't gotten any trucks in three days and was severely short handed. They were stocking shelves as fast as customers were clearing it out!

Things returned to normal for a few days and we actually got to work Monday and Tuesday! However, this morning another storm blew through and now we're iced in. Again.

Today's weather

From the looks of it, I won't be venturing outdoors anytime soon! In fact, I think I'll go find those puppies and take another nap. This winter weather makes me feel like it's time to hibernate!

Confessions of a (part-time) housewife

2011-01-21T17:45:00.000-06:00

I have a hate-hate relationship with my vacuum cleaner. It hates picking up dirt, I hate picking up after it...
I honestly cannot remember the last time I mopped my kitchen floor. I wouldn't recommend eating anything that falls on my floor. Just sayin'...
The Hubsters and I gave up caffeine. However, I cannot let go of my two cups of coffee each morning. Something about the flavor gets me going each morning!
I know 18 pregnant women and 7 who have given birth in the last month or so. (I counted.)
We're watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" right now. The sound is off. Hubsters and I find this extremely annoying.
I've discovered that my newest pet peeve is when someone doesn't put the trash in the trash can because it's either too big or the trash is full. Take the trash out to the garage people!
No matter what I do, I cannot keep the dust off of our TV screen. It's the world's worst dust magnet!
I miss my Christmas decorations. The house seems lonely without them.
A few years ago my mom and dad sold their home of 30 years. Today my mom called that the new owner couldn't make payments and the bank took the house. My mom, sister, and I all feel very sorry for the house!
I love knee socks!
I hate having cold toes.
Today for lunch, I ate a huge salad with ham and a little seasoned rice vinegar dressing. It was the best salad I've had in a very long time! I inhaled it! I'm already planning on when I can eat it again.

Catching Up

2011-01-20T08:37:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted a blog. There are about a million reasons - none of which I'll go into right now. There are lots of updates and stories to share, but I won't bore you with details you care nothing about.

This December, my brother got married in Indiana. The day before the wedding, we got up 3am and headed to the airport. After two very uneventful flights (we flew from Dallas to Kansas City, and then on to Indianapolis), we met up with my dad and little sister and loaded her car full to overflowing in blowing snow. It was beautiful, but we just about froze! When we arrived in Fort Wayne, we met up with my brother and joined in the pre-wedding festivities. We hadn't seen his kids since I got married a year and a half ago and we were thrilled to be with them again!

The wedding was beautiful and I was thrilled to have a new sister! In true Allison fashion, I cried through the entire wedding and a good chunk of the reception.

The next morning, we planned on leaving nice and early so we could make it to a special dinner in Missouri. However, when we woke up we discovered that our hotel had a water main burst and there was no hot water. But with five girls with hair full of hairspray and a good amount of post-wedding stink we were desperate. So we warmed cups of hot water in the microwave and attempted to wash off. (It was 6 degrees outside. Washing your hands after going to the bathroom was so painful it was almost impossible! You can forget about washing your body or hair in that water!) Then, we got creative. We poured our cups of hot water into the ice bucket and poured it over the head of the unlucky person with their head in the tub. Through it all, the kids were amazing! The girls were willing to sit patiently while we heated water in little bitty cups. They were such helps carrying cups of water back and forth and the boys played quietly while we slowly washed the hairspray out. I was amazed at what happy hearts everyone had. We laughed and sang songs and told funny stories and had a good time over all!

We planned to leave Fort Wayne no later than 11. We left closer to 2pm. However, I don't think anyone was too upset. We enjoyed the time together and loved laughing together! Nonetheless, we cheered when we saw the Illinois state line! We were so happy to be on our way!!!

Fall has...fallen?

2010-11-02T19:55:00.000-05:00

Monday the high was 83. Tuesday the high was 59. We reached that high at midnight and the temperature just fell all day. And it rained. And rained. And rained. It was wonderful! I got to wear a brand new sweater to work and felt so proud and wonderful in it! :) Then for dinner, we had homemade chili and homemade pumpkin bread. I ate them all while curled up in flannel pajama pants and an oversized long sleeve shirt. The warmth from the chili spread from my nose to my toes!
After dinner, I got a chance to lay on the floor and play with my dogs! I laughed and laughed as they ran laps around our dinning room table and played with balls and socks and a random glove they found on the floor.
Now, I'm sitting in the recliner watching my favorite show with my two favorite puppies snoring in my lap. I feel wonderful and fantastic and snuggly warm through and through! Snoozing puppies are such wonderful stress-relief!
I just realized I used a lot of exclamation marks in those paragraphs. However, after a rough day at work I am just so excited to have a heart full of peace and a lap full of dog! :) Oh how I love fall!!!

Meanwhile on the job front...

2010-10-28T08:23:00.001-05:00

Life around these parts have not been fun lately. Way too many deaths and drama and heart ache. My eyes are still raw from the crying...

However, yesterday felt like a sucker punch to the gut. After only 11 weeks teaching in a dream classroom, things are going to change. A new student is enrolling and I cannot teach him at this time in life. So on Monday, I will switch classes with another pre-k teacher. She will teach my class of two students and I will take her very busy class of 14 four year olds! In the end, I know I'll love teaching this class. However, right now I'm sad to leave the class I've fallen in love with...

There are two songs that continue to echo through my heart right now. One we stumbled upon when flipping through radio stations last night...

Born To Climb
Right now you feel like you'd rather be anywhere else
Than here where you are
Cause life has a way of arranging your plans
And the journey you're on is so hard

Oh the mountain is high
And the road up the side is much steeper than you thought it'd be
You're out of breath and scared half to death
You won't have the faith to believe
But grace, sweet grace has strengthened you time after time
So don't be afraid of the mountain
Cause friend, you were born to climb

God has not given a spirit of fear
Or a burden that you cannot bear
And just at the moment you feel hope is fading
Behold the Lord standing right there

You have been called to be more
Than you were before
Just set your sights
On Heavenly heights
And trust in the Lord

The other song that echos through my heart is a new release from Amy Grant...

Better Than a Hallelujah
God loves a lullaby
In a mothers tears in the dead of night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.
God loves a drunkards cry,
The soldiers plea not to let him die
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

The woman holding on for life,
The dying man giving up the fight
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes
The tears of shame for what's been done,
The silence when the words won't come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah
Better than a church bell ringing,
Better than a choir singing out,singing out.

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

I need gift ideas!!!!

2010-10-26T07:10:00.001-05:00

I know... It's not even Halloween yet... It's too early to think about Christmas... Normally I'd agree with you... I'm a huge fan of Thanksgiving and usually want to fully celebrate that holiday before Christmas sneaks around... HOWEVER...

We fly out for my brother's wedding a week before Christmas, thus cutting my shopping time by a week.
We have a thousand things to do for the wedding and we really want to get Christmas shopping out of the way.
We have no money because we're spending it all on travel for the wedding.

So... I need help! What should I get for the following people? Please feel free to offer any and all suggestions! (Especially if you ARE one of the following people.)

Mother and Father-in-law
Sister-in-law
16 year old nephew (I also need a birthday present for him.)
13 year old niece
11 year old niece (I also need a birthday present for her.)
10 year old nephew
7 year old niece
7 year old nephew
5 year old nephew (I also need a birthday present for him.)
My grandmother (Who loves the hubsters way more than she loves me.)

I also need a whole host of stocking stuffer ideas! Please throw any and all ideas out there - even the ridiculous!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken in Cream Sauce

2010-10-12T19:49:00.001-05:00

Dinner tonight was AMAZING! I just knew I had to share... It was super easy to make, but seemed like a super fancy meal.

Here's the original recipe:
2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked
1 can (14 oz) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
6 Ritz crackers, finely crushed
2T Parmesan cheese
4 small boneless chicken breast halves (1 lb)
2t oil
1/3 cup Philadelphia chive and onion 1/3 less fat than cream cheese
3/4 lb asparagus spears, trimmed, steamed

Cook rice as directed on package, using 1-1/4 cups of the broth and 1/2 cup water.
Meanwhile, mix cracker crumbs and Parmesan on plate. Rinse chicken with cold water; gently shake off excess. Dip chicken in crumb mixture, turning to evenly coat both sides of each breast. Discard any remaining crumb mixture.
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook 5-6 min on each side or until done. Transfer to plate; cover to keep warm. Add remaining broth and reduced-fat cream cheese to skillet; bring just to boil, stirring constantly. Cook 3 min or until thickened, stirring frequently; spoon over chicken. Serve with rice and asparagus.

The problems:
1. We don't like asparagus.
2. I wasn't crazy about the idea of chive and onion cream cheese.
3. 2 cups of rice is an entire box and there's only two of us.
4. I didn't have 4 small chicken breast. I had 2 giant, mammoth chicken breast.
5. Six Ritz crackers was not very much breading. We like more breading.
6. I've never rinsed chicken in water and it seemed like extra work because I was going to have to clean my sink so I just didn't rinse it. Then the breading didn't stick and it burned onto the bottom of the skillet. While this created some tasty crunchies to top the chicken, it wasn't what we wanted. (We also ended up using a ton of olive oil!!)
7. We didn't have enough room in the skillet for all the chicken so we had to cook it in two batches. This created lots more burning on the bottom of the skillet.
8. The recipe only calls for a little bit of cream cheese. We ate every bit of cream and licked the skillet clean. We still have chicken and rice left over.

The solutions:
1. We didn't make asparagus.
2. We used regular 1/3 fat cream cheese.
3. We used the same amount of liquid and half the amount of rice. It was perfect!!
4. I knew the chicken wouldn't cook evenly if I left them 18 inches thick, so I tried cutting them into strips. This didn't work so well. Next time I'll cut it into bites or pound some chicken breasts thinner.
5. We used 15 Ritz crackers and 5T of Parmesan cheese. I threw very little crumb mixture away.
6. We must investigate this breading thing. Maybe some milk? Or I should follow the recipe and rinse them in water? I found a website that said to dry the chicken, dip it in flour, then egg, then your breading. That seems like a lot of extra dishes and calories and work and all of that. It also said the breaded chicken should rest for 5 min before cooking.
7. Don't really have a solution for this one.
8. I guess I'll have to make more cream sauce! That's ok! It was easy, fantastic, and all over yummy! I just might make it on a regular basis to put on random chicken and such... Or to drink with my meal. :)

The new recipe:

2 cups instant brown rice
1 can chicken broth, divided
15 Ritz crackers
5T Parmesan cheese
About a pound of chicken, cut into bite size pieces or pounded into submission
Oil for cooking (way more than 2t)
1/3 cup cream cheese

Mix cracker crumbs and Parmesan. Dip chicken in milk or egg, dip in breading. Let sit for 5 min.
Cook rice using 1-1/4 cup of broth and 1/2 cup water.
Cook in skillet, trying not to knock off too much breading.
Make the most amazing sauce on the planet and try not to eat it while it's still boiling in the skillet. Lick splatters off of stove.
Serve chicken with cream sauce over a beautiful bed of rice.
Be thankful that you're eating at home and not in public. Moan loudly. Continue eating. Moan some more. Steal the chicken from your spouse's plate. Lick your plate clean.

Fiona - a love story

2010-10-04T10:11:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time, a poor college student had a car that was lovingly given to her by her grandmother. One day, that car died in the middle of the road. The girl got it running again and the engine raced and shot the car into an intersection. This was not the first time it had happened and so the girl was fed up (and a little terrified). She called her parents to inform them that she was going car shopping!

She shopped for cars at several places, but when she saw Fiona - she knew it was a match made in heaven. The little 2002 Ford Escort was practically perfect in every way and the girl fell in love. She wheeled and dealed her way through the sale and drove away with an amazing bargain (and her first tank of gas)! The girl and the car loved each other dearly and had many great adventures. But sadly, all love stories must come to an end...

On Monday, September 27, 2010 the girl was celebrating her first pay check at her new teaching job with a quick lunch at Subway. When she left the parking lot, she wasn't paying attention and smacked little Fiona into a very large pole. Fiona's bumper crumbled and both Fiona and the girl had to cry a little bit. This was the beginning of the end.

The rest of the week, the girl kept noticing that Fiona was having more and more trouble starting up. She shivered and shook all over and she threw a full-blown temper-tantrum when she had to stop at a light. Fiona knew what was coming and was trying to tell the girl good-bye. The girl knew something was wrong and spoke loving words of encouragement but thought it was nothing more than needing an oil change.

On Friday, October 1, 2010 the girl and her family climbed in to begin the two hour drive to see the girl's parents. Fiona kicked and screamed that she did not want to make this trip, but the girl and her husband didn't hear her. They gave her a little more oil, a tender pat on the hood, and urged her down the road. On the trip, they discussed how they were going to afford the repair to the bumper, the four new tires, the oil change, and the new ABS system that needed to be installed. They knew Fiona was in the fight of her life and they were determined to fight by her side.

Two blocks from her parent's house, the girl watched Fiona breathe her last. In the middle of a busy road, Fiona gave up her fight and died. Many strangers stopped to help the stranded family, but Fiona had given the girl her everything and was gone. The next day, a tow truck took her to her final resting place while the girl cried. She was thankful that she had hit the pole because she knew she had at least a little cash coming from the insurance, but she was very sad that Fiona was no more.

Now the girl and her husband only have one car. They are thankful that the girl is only working part time and can drop the husband off at work each morning long before her day must begin. They are thankful that cooler weather has finally crept to Texas because the one car has no a/c. They are thankful that Fiona did not have new tires, a new ABS, or a new bumper when she died. They are so very thankful that the girl's parents were close by when Fiona took her last breath and were able to come to the rescue. And, they are a little bit thankful that they get to go car shopping on Saturday! :)

Things I'm loving

2010-09-21T07:35:00.000-05:00

These are the things I'm loving these days.

This man...

This picture...

This memory...

This girl on the far right...

This girl too...

This reminder that fall is here and cooler weather is on it's way...

This blanket - especially with this little head peeking out...

This toe nail polish...

This new addition to our home... (It still needs a few pictures!)

This invitation...

This group of friends (and the missing spouses)...

My cup runneth over

2010-09-15T07:52:00.001-05:00

WARNING: This blog post contains items of a personal, intimate, female nature. Male blog readers might want to avert their eyes. :- )
BRITTANY: This post contains bridesmaid's drama. If you're feeling stressed about the wedding, please read it later. If you're not stressed - just know that this problem will be resolved and we are making every effort to get it fixed ASAP! We will get it taken care of before the wedding!

As you know, I'm a bridesmaid in my brother's wedding. As with almost every bridesmaid's dress, I must wear a strapless bra. I started the bra search way back in June. I went to my favorite bra store and they told me about a fantastic new style that was so comfortable most women made it their regular bra. However, they didn't have any in the store and I would have to order on-line. I was thrilled with the idea so I quickly told the sales lady my bra size and happily went on my way. When the bra arrived in the mail, I immediately tried it on! In my mind, this was going to be the miracle bra and would fit my curves perfectly. I was shocked to see that the cup of the bra didn't fit my curves at all - it came up from underneath and stuck straight up in the air! (Sorry guys - no pictures for this post!!!) In order for the bra to lay flat across the top half of my boob, it had to be folded over by several inches!

DJ doesn't have a lot of experience with strapless bras and was quite confused by the way it stuck straight up in the air. He suggested that we try on my bridesmaid's dress just to see if the bra would lay down the right way. No luck! Now my dress was sticking straight up in the air! After a hearty laugh, we agreed that the bra had to be returned.

This weekend, I returned to the store I ordered the bra from and explained my problem. The sales lady said she would be happy to help, but she needed to SEE the problem. So I tried on the bra, called her into my dressing room, and showed her just how bad the problem really was. She looked extremely confused and, after a few attempts to make the bra fit, finally suggested we try a different style of strapless bra. I put the new style on, hopeful that this one would work. It stuck straight up in the air just like the one I ordered originally. I tried on bra after bra, each with various degrees of success. Some stuck up in the air, one was about 6 inches from hooking, and each created some level of snickering from my mom and sister. Each time I put on a new bra, I called the sales lady into my dressing room so she could examine my deformed looking "girls". Mom kept saying, "Allison! What is wrong with your boobs???"

After going down four cup sizes (WOW!) I finally found a bra that didn't stick up in the air. However, it squished my girls into the oddest shape I've ever seen. They were lifted all the way up to my chin, spilling over the top of the bra, and leaking out the sides into my arm pits. I literally couldn't put my arms down! My mom and sister were rolling with laughter and close to tears. (Not to mention a serious case of wet pants!) I looked at the sales lady and, in my most exasperated tone, said, "My cups runneth over!" She didn't even crack a smile - just stared at my misshapen boobies! She told me several times to put my arms down so we could look at the way the bra fit. It took several attempts to explain that I couldn't put my arms down because I had boobs in the way. I couldn't stop thinking, "I'm standing up-right and my boobs are in my arm pits. This is ridiculous! I'm just going to forget it all and duct tape those suckers down!!!"

After 45 minutes, 16 bras, and literally covering the dressing room floor with bras that didn't fit, I walked away with the bra I came with, and a completely depleted sense of self-esteem. There's a store about an hour away from our house that hopefully has more styles in stock. So DJ and I will head that way for the next round of bra shopping. Let's just hope the girls stay where they should and we find something to strap those suckers down under my dress! I don't think my self esteem (or my girls) can take much more of this!!!

The best laid plans of mice and men...

2010-09-14T07:51:00.000-05:00

My brother is getting married a week before Christmas. He's been engaged for almost a year so we've been planning and talking about it for a while now. However, we've now reached the point where there's less than 100 days until The Big Day and plans are really taking off! It's been fun to listen to my future sister-in-law talk about the things she's planned and always dreamed of - especially since I was in her shoes not too long ago! (I also just learned that she reads this blog! Hi Brittany!) My sister and I are both bridesmaids, DJ is a groomsman.

The big hitch in all of our plans has been that DJ and I started new jobs this year and the last day of the semester is the day before the wedding. Generally, teacher's aren't allowed to take off the day before or the day after a vacation. It's really frowned upon to take off the day before Christmas break. The last day of the semester. The day grades are due. The day of several finals for DJ's students. So we were both extremely nervous to approach our brand new principals about taking off so we could be in Indiana in time for the rehearsal.

Yesterday, we got the final word from the principal - family comes first!!! We were thrilled! In a furry of phone calls, texts, and a few internet searches we found a cheap flight that will get us there in time to actually help out before the rehearsal begins! I'm so excited about the whole thing I could come right out of my skin. I'm not too thrilled about boarding a plane that takes off at 6:20am, but I'm excited that we'll get to be a part of all the wedding activities and that we won't be rushing to the rehearsal straight from the plane!

So the plan looks something like this:
Wednesday - My sister and dad start the 23 hour drive to Indiana with all of the dresses in the backseat.
Thursday - My mom comes to our house and spends the night.
Friday - We wake up at roughly 3:30 in the morning and head to the airport. I promise I will sleep on the plane. We land at 10:20 and meet up with my dad and sister. We then drive to my brother's city and check into the hotel.
Saturday - My brother gets married!!!!!!!
Sunday - We pack up all our junk, my brother's four children, and a car FULL of games and start driving back to Texas in my brother's van and whatever car my dad and sister drove to Indiana in. When we get back to our neck of the woods, we will head to our house to pick up our car and luggage for the rest of the trip. DJ and I will go get our dogs from wherever we have stashed them while the rest of the caravan goes to the airport to get my mom's car. All four vehicles will then head to Waco to anxiously await the arrival of Santa Claus and Christmas!

Just looking at it all makes me exhausted! But I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! And now, I have to go to the gym. I'm determined to make that bridesmaid's dress fit...

Laundry Delima

2010-09-02T17:32:00.001-05:00

So right now, our schedule looks something like this:

5:00am - Roll out of bed, scrape crusties out of our eyes
5:30am - Hubsy leaves for work and has morning practice with the JV team
8:00am - Hubsy showers at the school and puts on khakis, dress shirt, and a tie
3:30pm - Hubsy changes out of dress clothes and puts on a second set of tennis clothes for afternoon practice with the Varsity team
5:30pm - Hubsy drives home in a car with no A/C
5:50pm - Hubsy arrives home to a wife who kisses him with a clothes pin on her nose and shoos him off to the shower

So this is the delima I have here... On average, Hubsy goes through four sets of clothes a day. Two of those sets are soaked with sweat. Within 24 hours, our laundry room begins to have an odor which words can't quite describe. By days two, three, and four I can hardly stand to walk in the room without my stomach churning.

So what do I do? How do I clear the stench in the laundry room without doing a load of laundry every day? Well, it would actually require two or three loads of laundry because of the colors he has to wear. Any suggestions on making our laundry room a little less smelly and a lot more pleasant to walk by?

The classroom!

2010-08-30T06:44:00.000-05:00

After countless hours through the middle of the night, I got my classroom finished just in time for Meet the Teacher night! Here's a peek into my world:

I've had this alphabet strip since I started teaching and absolutely love it! When we put it up, it felt like coming home...

More of my favorite things - my color bears and Winnie the Pooh pillows.

This picture makes my heart smile with glee! I needed a way to organize my large book collection, so the sweet hubster built me a custom bookcase! He spent long hours, worked late into the night, and gave up time in his room just to make sure this got done. Isn't he fantastic?!?!

Two shots of the room! It's been moved around 16 times since school started, but this is the original arrangement and still my favorite...

My meeting board that already needs updating! :)

My desk, a work table, and my sassy red purse!

This isn't my school at all. It's DJ's! Isn't it beautiful? And huge? His classroom is in the very last hallway way down on the right. I was standing about halfway down the hall when I took this picture. And that's just the new wing! :) You should see the hike he has to take just to get to the tennis office. He's lost over 10 pounds the first week of school.

So there's a glimpse into our life as it stands right now. I need to finish my coffee and eat my breakfast so I can get moving on the day!

Back to School

2010-08-16T07:58:00.000-05:00

It's official! It's that time of year again. Today, DJ starts inservice and mine starts tomorrow. Last week was new teacher orientation and it completely wore us both out! We spent nearly every night working in my classroom in order to get it ready for the new year. As soon as we finish, I'll post pictures. This is officially the craziest time of the year for us (way busier than the Christmas season!) and we will continue to stay busy for weeks to come. I'll update when I can, but no promises. Until then, enjoy this glorious time of year and go smell a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils or brand new crayons. There's nothing else quite like it!

Where we've been!

2010-07-19T10:03:00.000-05:00

In the last few months, life has been a little crazy in our house! My head is still spinning from all of it... Here are the highlights of life as we know it:

On the last day of school in June, DJ was hired as the new math teacher and tennis coach at a nearby high school. We danced and cheered because we knew we wouldn't be living in a cardboard box!
On June 27, 2010 we celebrated our very first anniversary! It was a wonderful time to enjoy being together. We took an overnight trip to a teeny little town called Jefferson, TX. It is a sweet little town that time seems to have forgotten. We loved it and have every intention of going back next summer!
While we were in Jefferson, we decided to take a side trip to Uncertain, TX. On the way to Uncertain, we got stuck in a blinding rain storm with no cell phone reception or GPS. (We decided we would have been horrible pioneers!) We almost ran out of gas and got horribly lost while having a good laugh over signs reading, "Uncertain Church". We also picked up several nails in one tire.
Once we filled up the car with gas, we made a short trip over the state line just so we could say we went to Louisiana. We decided that my allergies do NOT like Louisiana. I have no plans of returning any time soon. :)
A few weeks ago, I got a call that I got a teaching job as well! I'll be teaching Pre-K special ed at an elementary school only about 15 min away! I only have one student, an aide, and the biggest classroom you can imagine! (Check out Facebook for the pictures!) This week, I will join the other pre-k teachers at a conference and I'm thrilled! I can't wait to be a part of team again!!
I have offically turned in my two weeks notice at Chick-Fil-A. I have a very busy August and won't be able to work at all. Therfore, my last day will be June 30th. I'm happy and sad all at once!

That's the summary from our neck of the woods. I will do my best to keep the blog updated, but the next month and a half will be super busy so I'm making no promises! Thanks for sticking with us in the crazy times...

We're still here!

2010-07-05T11:24:00.001-05:00

I know it's been over a month since my last post and I'm sorry. We're still here and doing really well! I have lots to post about - from job news to our first anniversary to friends getting married to a wonderful fourth of July. It'll have to wait until I have time to download pics and make sense of everything. Just wanted to let you know that we're alive and well! And, just for fun, here's a random picture I found somewhere on my computer:

Coming Home

2010-05-25T07:55:00.000-05:00

Last night I cried. I know, shocking news! DJ was outside with the dogs and I curled up in the bed, feeling very alone, and cried. When he came back in and saw me there (looking quite pathetic, I'm sure) he set down his water glass, crawled into bed next to me, and held me close. I rolled over and sobbed into his chest - soaking his shirt and my pillowcase.
At first, I was mad that he didn't say a word. He didn't ask what was wrong. I felt like he was annoyed by my tears and was just doing his duty as the husband of a crazy lady. But as I cried more, I realized something powerful.
I was home.
Laying there in his arms, crying out my emotions of the day, I'd come home. So I cried because I missed my Waco family and friends so much it hurt inside. I cried because babies were growing up and I wasn't there to watch. I cried because it takes four years to build the friendships I had back in Waco and we'd only been up here for a year. I cried because of a rude comment a random stranger made about my current job. I cried because my husband has to work graduation on Sunday - our one day together as a family. And then I cried because I was home. Because there in my sweet husband's arms was all I needed for that moment. He didn't need to speak. He didn't need to ask me what was wrong. He just needed to let me cry. And somehow, without any words spoken, he told me everything I needed to hear.
"Welcome home."

Oh, the irony!

2010-05-18T09:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I shared with you my complete lack of gardening skills. Yesterday afternoon, when the mail arrived I had a letter that made me literally laugh out loud! Let me share with you the highlights...

"Congratulations on your nomination!" My nomination to what, you ask? The National Home Gardening Club. Specifically, the Minnetonka, Minnesota Club.

"It's no secret among your friends and neighbors that you are an outstanding gardener. As someone who is passionately devoted to your hobby, you're exactly the kind of person our Club is always looking for."

"[The Club] is not for beginners! Only serious gardeners are nominated."

I swear folks, I am not making this up. I got a free pack of seeds and timed release all purpose plant food. It feeds up to 4 months! (Then it says 14-14-14 underneath. As the experienced, master gardener that I am - I have no clue what that mean!) The best part is, if I return the RSVP card, I get to be a member of the club and get free seeds. That I have no clue what to do with! Do flowers grow in a yard full of dandelions, buttercups, and dirt so dry it's literally cracked? We also have our very own puppy-sized sink hole. Can I put the seeds there? :)

Can I just say?

2010-05-17T09:27:00.000-05:00

I've inherited a lot of traits from my mom. Some of them I am thrilled that the Lord passed them onto me! Like my mom's ability to talk to any child at any time anywhere. Or her passion for family and education. Or her smile. Other traits, I could have passed on. Like the small bladder that I'm sure will be an added "blessing" during pregnancy! And the complete lack of any musical talent whatsoever. At the moment, I'm really wishing I hadn't inherited her complete lack of a green thumb. She always said it was a black thumb. At least she can grow ivy. I quickly killed the ivy I tried to grow...

DJ inherited several traits from his mom. Like her passion for teaching and family. And, luckily, her green thumb. It is DJ's loving care that has coaxed fruit out of our little fruit plants in the backyard. (Even though all three of our raspberries have been eaten by the birds!) I am trying my best to learn from him. Therefore, I am super duper discouraged to look out the window and see this:

The dandelions and buttercups are in full bloom and spreading like wildfire. The grass is dead. This is after TWO applications of weed and feed. It's a sad sight to see. And then there's the geranium. Just two posts ago I was telling you how wonderful and beautiful it was. Now the blooms are gone and it's full of dead sticks and smelly leaves. Can I just say that my black thumb from my mom is just not my favorite trait today?

I'm loving it!

2010-05-14T12:02:00.000-05:00

I have recently fallen in love with sewing. I'm seriously addicted. Now I know why my mom wanted me to learn so badly. It's wonderful! I keep showing the hubs all these projects I want to make and his response usually involves something like the following: "That's cute! I know you can do it! Can you find a coupon?" He's really very supportive of my new-found addiction! :)

A favorite blog of mine is hosting a giveaway for a hand-sewn table runner. I get an extra entry if I blog about the giveaway. I'm going to leave you the link but I'll beg you not to follow it simply because I want to win! :) HA! If you do follow the link, tell Melanie that if you win, you'd like to send the prize to me! Is that allowed? Go here for the seriously cute table runner! (But know that if you win, I'll totally steal it from you!)

Spring

2010-05-03T10:05:00.001-05:00

God is so creative! I'm always in awe of His creative genius! About the time we get tired of one season, He surprises us with a new one. When we simply cannot stand the death and desolate winter months, life springs out of nowhere and flowers appear. Plants produce color and food that nourish the body and the soul. It makes my heart soar to think of what the Lord does for us each spring. On top of the world around us springing forth life, three of my friends gave birth to absolutely beautiful babies in three days time. Two of them have the same birthday and gave birth to babies on the same day. It was a delightful surprise! So, before I go any further - congrats to Leslie, Brandi, and Rachel! Riggins, Jacob, and Caitlyn are precious and amazing and a beautiful example of God's grace! Enjoy your new blessings as your family grows by two feet! :)

Do you remember the post where we went to the farmers market and then bought several fruit plants? We planted them in the backyard and I have been faithfully watering them daily. This weekend, we discovered something new. I won't bore you with words - I'd rather show you pictures!

Our geranium is growing and still blooming! Given my lack of a green thumb (it's really more black than anything else) this is really quite impressive!

Here is our blueberry bush. It's looking more like a bush every day. The internet says when it's fully grown it'll be 8x10 feet! I hope there's enough room in this corner of the yard.

This is the most important (and exciting) part of the blueberry bush. If you look closely you can see that there are little bulging blueberries. They're more green than blue right now, but that's not the point. We have blueberries!!

And this? This is a raspberry. It's actually turning pink and looking like it should. I'm just praying the birds will leave it alone so we can eat it.

Look - more raspberries are growing! It'll be a great summer in the Hammond Home!

Our grapevine started as a twig with three pink blooms. It was around 8 inches tall. It has already outgrown the first trellis and will soon outgrow the one we bought on Saturday!

I'd never seen a grapevine in person. The leaves are huge! The best part is that they appear out of nowhere and grow to this size within a day or two. We have loved watching the grapevine grow!

This is, by far, my favorite part of the entire grapevine. It literally reaches out and grabs onto the trellis. Within an hour of us putting this trellis up, the grapevine had already wrapped itself around several times. We are continually amazed at the Lord's creativity! And do you see that little red stick with the green spikey things coming off of it?

Those, my friend, are teeny tiny grapes. We're still placing bets on what color they'll be when they're ripe.

In keeping with our spring theme, here are the Hammonds on date night after getting caught in a surprise spring thunderstorm! Isn't my husband a handsome hunk? We had a fantastic night at Olive Garden...

And these gorgeous tulips? These were waiting for me when I came home from work on Saturday. My table looks like the very definition of spring! My heart smiles every time I see my sweet spring surprise. (Thanks sweetheart!)

The next chapter

2010-04-26T15:07:00.000-05:00

So here's how it all unfolded... A friend of ours is the general manager at Chick-Fil-A. He said they needed cashiers. After much debate, we decided I should apply so that we could have a little extra cash for an anniversary trip and my brother's upcoming wedding. That was several weeks ago. When we didn't hear anything from the owner of the store, we decided God was telling us to wait some more. So we waited. We knew God had a plan so we just waited like we've been doing for a year now!

On Friday, our friend called to set up an interview. I went in later that afternoon to interview with him and the owner. I went in and talked with the owner. As we talked, he began to express the fact that I was over-qualified for a cashier job and that he'd much rather hire me as his director of marketing. I'd never considered anything in marketing so I was shocked. He told me to go home and think about it and discuss it with the hubs.

It didn't take much discussing to realize that we both had a huge amount of peace about the position and that we were very very excited! Saturday morning, I texted our friend and told him I was interested in the job despite the lack of experience and would love to be considered for the position. That afternoon, I met him at Chick-Fil-A to fill out tax papers. I start work tomorrow!

We are thrilled about the position and I can't wait to work for such an incredible company! The more I've read my orientation papers, the more I love Chick-Fil-A. I will continue to actively seek a teaching position in the area. Then in August I can walk away with no strings attached. Or, if I don't have a teaching position I can stay on at Chick-Fil-A.

And thus begins a new chapter in the life of the Hammonds!

Being productive

2010-04-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I finally finished my first major sewing project all by myself! I'm really very proud of it! I worked through mistakes without getting frustrated and fell head over heels in love with sewing. However, I can't post pictures because it's a gift for a friend and I think she just might be a blog reader. But after I surprise her, I'll put the pictures here to show off my new-found "talent". (Let's just hope she finds the imprefections charming and not a major drawback.)

I'm already on the hunt for my next project. I'm currently limited to the pieces I've stolen from my mom's fabric pile but I fully intend to stock up on all those fabric sales I keep finding! I want to sew non-stop now!! (I just hate the cutting parts...)

Yesterday, DJ trimmed the bushes out front. They had suddenly sprouted to the height of DJ's chin and were horribly unruly. They're now neat and trim and tidy. We discovered a birds nest in one bush and a tree behind another. Yes, a tree. DJ knew it was there - he'd attempted to cut it out about 4 years ago and hadn't gotten all of the roots so the hardy little booger grew back. It was literally right next to the foundation of the house, so we knew it had to go. We were able to dig up pieces of the root and keep some of the stem in tact. Therefore, in honor of Earth Day we were able to plant TWO trees in our back yard! (We cut the root in half.) We didn't have any stakes or wire that we should use, so we used plant ties to attach it to two (unlit) tiki torches. It's quite amusing to see! I was going to post pictures, but it's raining outside. I was also going to post pictures of our blossoming fruit plants, but again the rain is falling at a steady rate.

So, no pictures today. Sorry. I think I'm going to go attack that scraps pile to see what I can create! Any suggestions?

Hammond Hurricane

2010-04-22T08:59:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks have been a hurricane of activities and fun here in the Hammond House. We have about 30 seconds of down time before we gear up for the next event. Here's a summary of life as we know it:

A few weeks ago D.J. took his tennis team to the district tennis tournament. Amazingly, he had three teams qualify for the regional competition - a first in the school's history! WOW! I was so proud of him I though I just might burst. (The administration at his school was quite proud of him as well!)
With only a few weeks to prepare for regionals, D.J. started extended after school practices with his qualifiers. He came home exhausted every day!
On top of preparing for regionals, the final TAKS test of the year is only days away. His 18 remaining students have one more chance to pass or they won't graduate. It's do or die time!
I have spent several Saturdays at job fairs with very few positive results. We know of several reasons for the discouraging results: There are a fresh slew of college grads at these fairs and I look younger than all of them - despite being 5 years their senior! The economy is resulting in more and more unemployment. These businessmen are now looking to the field of education as a steady form of employment. Also because of the economy, the government has cut back their funding and therefore school districts aren't able to hire as many people. And while we're on the economy, teachers who are hoping to move to a new district won't quit their current job until they have a new one lined up. Therefore, there's no openings and principals haven't caught wind of any openings they might have in the future. Yeah, I feel super optimistic!
The regional tennis tournament was earlier this week. Because it was an overnight trip, D.J. needed a female chaperone. That means I got to tag along and get a free night in a hotel and free meals out! It was wonderful! We had a great time and for a few minutes I actually caught myself enjoying the crazy teenagers. :) Unfortunately, we live in Region II. In the past 20 some odd years there has never been a state tennis champion that didn't come from Region II. This doesn't happen anywhere else in the nation, therefore our region is considered the most competitve one in the country. Therefore, D.J.'s kids didn't do too well... But we had a good time!
Now that the tennis season is over, D.J. is focused on getting his kids through the TAKS next week. After that we have the student/faculty tennis tournament and then preparing for the end of the year. Like I said 30 seconds of down time before the next wave of the hurricane hits!
On the way home from the tennis tournament, my sore throat felt like someone set it on fire. We called and begged for the last doctor appointment of the day and heard what we already knew - strep throat! So I've spent the last few days parked on the couch. I've enjoyed the chance to rest, but the bags are still packed and the laundry is piled up. However, today I'm feeling my energy return and I think I can swallow again.
On Saturday, I'm going to a Beth Moore simulcast with my mother-in-law. I'm really excited about it - I love Beth Moore!

So that's the update from the Hammond's! I'm off to attempt swallowing again... Maybe I'll actually get to eat today! Woo hoo!

I'm loving it!

2010-04-07T09:15:00.000-05:00

I was going to post pictures from our fantastic April Fool's Day dinner, but that's going to have to wait... We're in charge of dinner for our community group tonight and I need to get started chopping up all those yummy veggies! Before I get moving on that, I wanted to share something with you all.

One of my favorite blogs, The Pioneer Woman, recently posted some office supplies that she found on her last shopping trip. I fell head over heels in love with the items she purchased and with the company itself. I'm not sure if it's because the humor reminds me of my brother or if it's because I love Post-Its and office supplies so very much - I just know they're fantabulous! I told my husband (and my mom) (and my sister) (and my best friend) that these items were on my official Christmas wish list. And my "Because you love Alli" wish list. And my "Alli had a bad day and needs a pick-me-up" wish list. And my "Mad Money" wish list. And my "Alli did something fantastic and needs a little reward" wish list. And my... I'll spare you the rest of my lists. (I'm a list maker, can you tell? Maybe that's another reason I love these items so much!) So without further ado, slip over to The Pioneer Woman and check out these fantastic items. And while you're at it, buy a few things and mail them to me! :)
The most wonderful office supplies in the world!

While we're talking about items on my wish lists, I also love these cards (also from The Pioneer Woman). I assume they're also from the aforementioned shopping trip, but I'm not sure. I just know I want one of everything!
Hilarious cards!

Thank you for indulging me! I just love the sarcasm. The wit. The bold colors. The fact that someone else finally admits the truth on paper. Fantastic! Simply fantastic!

A new discovery!

2010-03-30T12:53:00.000-05:00

Let me preface this post by saying that I hate spinach. I take that back - "hate" isn't strong enough. Loathe. Despise. Abhor. Gag on sight. Strictly avoid like the plague.

That being said, I feel completely opposite about pasta. I live on pasta. I thrive on all forms! I devour on sight. I was clearly meant to be Italian. However, because of my feelings towards spinach I've always avoided pasta with any kind of (or hint of) spinach anywhere near it.

Therefore, for dinner last night I was completely shocked that I made the following recipe. I was even more amazed that I loved it! I am shocked beyond all reasoning that I am currently devouring the left overs.

We took a large pile of home-made, preservative free basil and garlic linguini fresh from the Farmer's Market. We tossed it in a large pot of boiling water (with just a splash of olive oil) and let that cook itself into a frenzy.
Meanwhile, we rubbed basil and garlic powder into some chicken and tossed them onto the grill in the back. As they cooked, we added more of the spices, a little onion powder, and a dash of olive oil to make it all stick together.
While all of those dishes were cooking themselves into a yummy goodness we took two large handfulls of spinach and a bunch of basil for spin in a food processor. The mixture was a little dry so we added water and olive oil.
When everything was done we drained the pasta and tossed it with the spinach and a good amount of parmesan. We piled it on a plate and put the chicken on top. (I flipped the chicken over a few times so there was some green on the chicken and it looked all pretty.)

We devoured it! It was absolutely delicious! We named it Leprechaun Pasta (because that was more fun than spinach pasta) and plan on making it over and over and over again! I tried to take pictures but the pasta just looked moldy. It didn't taste moldy and I loved it! Me, the gal who avoids spinach at all costs, loves spinach and wants to cook it again! Who knew?

Tonight for dinner? Left overs!

(And training for the race is going really well! Last night D.J. and I did a kilometer in 9 minutes. I was huffing and puffing and D.J. had to drag me the last block but I made it. I worked hard and did it! I'm so very proud!)

A weekend of fruit!

2010-03-29T15:33:00.001-05:00

What a weekend! It was busy and wonderful! Here's just a small glimpse...

Saturday was the Forney job fair. In an effort to look slightly closer to my new age (I turned 27 on Wednesday!) I got a hair cut. This is the first time I've had my hair cut by someone other than the person who has cut it since I was in 7th grade. I was very nervous, but I loved the end result!

D.J.'s tennis team did extremely well in their tournament on Friday and he was super late coming home. So I stood on a chair in my bedroom and texted pictures to my mom, sister, best friend, and another friend in Waco. This was the final decision for the job fair. My favorite part was standing on the chair! And texting a thousand pictures while standing on the chair. Do you see Marley peeking over the ottoman? He was very confused by my actions!

After choosing the perfect outfit, it took us 20 minutes to choose shoes. I wore the one on my left foot. It was the most comfortable option I owned!

After the job fair, we bought a hanging pot of geraniums. I liked the fact that I knew the soil was right and it would be free of weeds and grub worms!

On Sunday, D.J. and I celebrated my birthday in style! We began with a trip to the Dallas Farmer's Market. I'd never been to a Farmer's Market. It was so much fun! We had a great time and bought just a few things...

From left to right, that's corn, pineapple, cantelope, spinach, home made pasta, onions, tomatoes, pears, oranges, strawberries, blackberries, plums, local honey, green beans, broccoli, and blueberries. YUM! Let's look a little closer...

My fridge looks so pretty! I've busted into that fruit drawer no fewer than 16 times today...

Do you see the size of that cantelope? Seriously huge size and seriously heavy! It's going to be a large part of my dinner.

These blueberries are the primary reason for my fridge raids. I can't remember ever eating fresh blueberries but now I can't stop eating them. I put them on my oatmeal and have snacked on them all day. So seriously in love!

These beautiful green beans? They're destined for a crock pot and some Italian dressing! I think. Any recipe suggestions would be most welcome! (Same with spinach. I've never owned a bag of spinach and don't know what to do with it other than put it on the pasta for dinner.)

After the Farmer's Market, we headed off to Home Depot and Lowes to buy my birthday present: a new kitchen faucet! Whlie we were there we spied these little beauties:

They were on sale so we snagged four of them! We don't know what we've gotten ourselves into, but sometime this week we will begin the first season of the Hammond Fruit Orchard.

We might even get blueberries this summer! The internet says a blueberry bush can grow 8 feet tall and produce 18 pounds of berries in a season. Our bush is only a few sticks at the moment, but she's already over a foot tall - pushing that 2 foot mark. This makes me happy. Her name is Gwendolyn.

D.J. picked out a blackberry vine. It reminded him of childhood summers at his grandparent's house. This plant hasn't been named yet. Once again, suggestions are welcome!

We have a beautiful, long raspberry vine named Elaine. Did you know raspberry vines have little bitty thorns? They don't hurt that much but they are a little prickly. We're still trying to figure out how to grow raspberries but we think they can grow side by side with blackberries!

And finally, here's our grape vine! It has three blooms, no leaves, and no name. I'm not sure what to do with this one but we're excited about the possibilities.

Now we need to decide where in the back yard to plant all our little plants. We're going to plant a plum tree back here somewhere as well. I'd love to have a big shade tree somewhere and another tree way back in that far corner but trees cost a good chunk of change so for now we're going to stick to our fruit plants!

Creative Passion

2010-03-25T20:11:00.001-05:00

"Find something you're interested about and keep tremendously interested in it."

Julia Child

From Salsa Pie

A revelation, a decision, and some contemplation

2010-03-25T09:47:00.000-05:00

If you asked my friends to describe me, none of them would use the words "athletic" or "fit". I never have been coordinated, graceful, or capable of any sort of athletic task. I realized and embraced this fact at the age of 10 when I finished a summer full of tennis lessons actually worse than when I started. My lack of athletic ability didn't mean I was less of a person - my talents just lay in things like crafting and teaching. To each his own.

Since that fateful summer I've used my lack of athletic ability as an excuse to not be active. Combine that with an intense propensity to emotional eating, and you find the person that sits in front of you today. In the months before I met my sweet husband, I was determined to change my life. I lost 45 pounds and felt fantastic! Then we started dating and I suddenly cared more about spending time with him than doing something that was so very difficult for me. (I feel so very awkward on the recovery boards at Curves. My lack of athletic ability is matched only by my lack of musical awareness. I can't follow a beat and I can't march in place. I look like a fool at Curves!)

During the school year we dated and planned our wedding, I had a horrific set of circumstances combine at work to create a nightmare beyond description. I left that position broken and withered. When I didn't get a job at the beginning of this school year, I crawled further into my hole and convinced myself I could do nothing and was a large waste of a person. It was an ugly time for me but I hid it all behind my standard smile. For months, I faked the joy everyone knew me for. It is only in the past few months that the clouds have started to part and I can see the sun again. I'm finally "me" again and it feels good!

In those nasty months, I attempted to loose weight again as proof to myself that I wasn't worthless. Because of complications with some of my medications I couldn't lose no matter what I did. This further reinforced the lies I heard in my head and I completely gave up any attempt at health.

On Tuesday, I finally convinced myself to go for a walk. While I was walking I realized that I would benefit from a good, hearty competition among friends. And thus, an idea was born...

At the end of May, my little sister, my best friend, my husband, and I will complete a walking 5K. We are going to train for the next two and a half months and then pick a date and race blind against each other. We're in three seperate cities so we'll have a buddy time us as we do our best to haul tooshie for a solid 5K. Everyone will put $5 in the pot and the fastest time wins it all! While I would love to win, the biggest reason I want to race is to prove to myself that I can do it - that I can work hard at something in the athletic realm and succeed. I'm so excited about the possibilities and so proud of myself for being so determined. I know I can do this and I can't wait to cross the finish line in May - no matter what my time is!

I apologize for the length of the post but I needed to pull the skeletons out of the closet. It's time to move on with a fresh start. Thanks for loving me through it all!

Training days down: 2
Days until the race: 59

Perceived Reality

2010-03-23T10:20:00.000-05:00

In my head, I am confident the puppies will be able to share the bones on the floor.
In reality, they snap and bite each other as they fight.

In my head, Marley will wait patiently for me to scoop food into his bowl.
In reality, he runs in circles and bites my toes.

In my head, I planned on being up and dressed before DJ left for work this morning.
In reality, I didn't even make it out of bed.

In my head, the puppies playing in the snow are cute and adorable.
In reality, the snow clumps around their paws and they come in shivering and wet.

In my head, I wanted to spend the whole day yesterday sewing.
In reality, I spent the day untangling fabric and thread and attempting to take my antique little machine apart to clean it.

In my head, I will have a beautiful garden this summer.
In reality, our yard is full of more weeds than anything else - like dirt.

In my head, I'll lose 100 pounds by working out once.
In reality, I ate 100 pounds of spaghetti last night for dinner.

In my head, I will sell my crafts on Etsy and make thousands of dollars.
In reality, I haven't even figured out how to work the website.

In my head, laundry folds itself and everything stays clean.
In reality, my husband had to take a shower without a bath mat because it's sitting in the washer, forgotten.

In my head, my children will be absolutely perfect and will never talk back or draw on walls.
In reality, they'll probably come up with stunts I can't even begin to dream of.

In my head, coffee is good for me.
In reality, I take a legal addictive stimulant and pump it full of sugar and preservatives and suck it down like it was my life blood.

In my head, Post-It notes are the best things in the world.
In reality, FREE Post-It notes are the best things in the world.

In my head , I can cut my hair short for spring and have it long by winter.
In reality, acutally I might be able to do this. I'll have to mull this one over!

In my head, the first day of spring is a sign that you're safe to pack away your heavy winter gear.
In reality, we got 3 inches of snow on the first day of spring and were in desperate need of the thicker gloves!

Disclaimers:
1. No, I'm not pregnant or trying to get pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant any time in the foreseeable future. I have no idea what antics my children will attempt and I won't find out for SEVERAL years. I'm just offering my musings for the day.
2. I don't drink coffee that quickly. But I do drink it fast. And often. And in large volumes. (Did you hear that Starbucks is coming out with an even bigger iced coffee size? If I remember correctly it'll be half a quart. That's my kind of coffee! They created it specifically for people in the southern states who have to suffer through the worst heat known to man. They finally figured out that we need lots of cold stuff in the summer and those little venti sips weren't cutting it!)
3. Yes Marley bites toes. I have scabs. And scars. He barks too. (And he just slammed into the dinning room table and made an all new noise I've never heard before.)
4. There is only a small bit of truth in this post. Bonus points to those who can find it!

Spring Break

2010-03-18T12:10:00.000-05:00

This week is D.J.'s spring break and I'm amazed that it's already Thursday! Where did the week go? We've had a blast! Marriage is layer upon layer of fantastic!! :) Here's a general over view of what's been going on lately:

Mom came to visit last week during her spring break. She was surprised by a nice, cleaned out guest room. And a mint on her pillow. Granted, the mint was several years old and she was strongly discouraged from actually eating it, but there was a mint on her pillow nonetheless!
For my birthday, mom bought me the cookbook I've been covetting since October. She also bought me new tennis shoes! I've been wearing my previous pair since is was about 15. It was time for some new kicks. They're comfy and cute and very white! They also have a good splash of purple. This makes everything better.
Once D.J. got home from his tournament on Friday, we headed to Waco. It was a wonderful, relaxing four days where we got to enjoy family and friends. And my sister bought a car! We got to be there with her when she signed the papers. I think I took about 150 pictures of the salesman and the paper work. Megan could create an entire scrapbook from that few hours of her life! :)
On Tuesday, we went to the grocery store and saved well over $100 on sales and coupons. It was almost 60% of our total bill. We also got two gift cards to spend on our next trip!
On Wednesday, we took the dogs to the dog park. It was way more fun than we ever imagined! We plan on returning often!
The dog park included a section of lake where dogs were encouraged to swim. Marley jumped right in next to the huge chocolate labs. Cua took a little more encouragement (read: we threw her in against her will) but we actually got a few pictures of them swimming side by side. It was adorable!
When we got home, the dogs were nasty from the mud at the lake so we filled the bathtub to the top and let them swim in the tub. My arms are still covered in scratches from Cua's protests.
When D.J. attempted to hop in the shower to rinse the soap off the dogs, he discovered the hot water heater had gone out and he was standing in ice cold water.
D.J. drained the hot water heater and attempted to pull out the defective heating elements. Of course, this didn't go as smoothly planned. We ended up eating cold fast food at around 9:30 Wednesday night. I don't suggest you try to re-create our evening!
D.J. is outside mowing the weeds while the cinnamon roll dough rises on the oven. I'm attempting to catch up on the laundry and not peek at the dough too often.

I'm thrilled to see the sun once more and am madly in love with the little colorful blooms popping up all over town. My heart loves flowers! I'll post pictures soon of the craft projects and decorating we've done recently. The Hammonds have been busy little bees!

News

2010-03-04T10:59:00.000-06:00

I don't know why I chose that title for the post. I avoid the news at all costs. I cry too much. Regardless, here we are with a newsy update from my corner of the world.

1. I have been attempting to follow the Fly Lady's baby steps. So far, I'm doing okay. I'm discovering that changing habits is a long process but I'm doing much better.

2. Since I've been staying home I haven't been wearing make up very often. It felt like a waste of time and make up if no one was going to see me but the dogs. The past week or so I've been wearing make up daily and have been loving it!

3. As a part of that "changing habits is a long process" ordeal, I've never been good at washing my face at night. Since I've started birth control I haven't had any pimples and haven't even attempted to wash my face at the end of the day (unless that happens to be when I'm finally getting in the shower). I'm on a lower hormone level now and I've noticed my skin and hair have changed. Now that I'm wearing make up again, my face has returned to the status of an adolescent. I look even more like a teenager now. It's sad.

4. I've also developed an odd red patch on my forehead. I have crazy odd allergies, so this isn't an unusual occurance for me. It'll go away in a few days. But until then, I have a perfect red heart smack in the middle of my face. It makes me smile.

5. Yesterday, a friend came over and helped me get my sewing machine in working order. We marveled at the knobs that we had no clue what to do with and had major fits trying to thread the bobbin. After about 20 minutes of fiddling and getting covered in sewing machine oil, we were successful. Now I just need something to sew!

6. D.J. has a uniquely special relationship with my grandmother. No one else in the family relates to her quite the way D.J. does. I don't understand why she loves him so much more than she loves me, but I know he happily returns the affection. As a part of that affection, he was extremely excited to see the sewing machine (a hand me down from that grandmother) set up and ready to use. He was much more excited than I expected him to be and promised to find me fabric for a sewing project ASAP.

7. We are not gardeners. We are not excellent on the lawn maintenance side of things. We don't let the yard grow out of control, but it's covered in weeds. One of the dandelions had grown so large I decided to name it Walter. I was sure the freezing temperature and the foot of snow would kill it. No such luck! He had set up shop very close to the house and was protected from the snow by the roof overhang. The snow only watered him. Yesterday, I got fed up and we killed Walter. Well, we attempted to kill Walter. At ground level, the stalk had grown to a whopping 1 inch diameter. (That's a big weed! I kept expecting it to talk and spread rumors. I was totally prepared to call in Larry Boy!) The solution? Cut the dirt out around the tap root until he slides out of the ground. Then soak the area with vinegar. Amazing, huh? I was reluctant to kill it with chemicals because of the dogs but vinegar is cheap and non-toxic to puppies! I'm loving it!

8. Today my plan is to clean the bathrooms, wash the towels, do some painting, dig up more weeds in the hopes of planting a garden, and teach myself how to sew again! I'll let you know how it all goes... (I also need to grade papers for a friend. I should get moving, huh?) I think my skin just might be begging for a break from make up. So I'll cover my pimples with toothpaste and call it a day! :- )

What's the news in your corner of the world?

Confessions of a suburban housewife...

2010-02-26T07:13:00.000-06:00

I've learned two things about myself recently.
1. I'm a slight perfectionist.
2. Most of my life is all or nothing.

Here's what this looks like... I wanted to lose weight. I knew I needed to live healthier for a million different reasons. I worked at it, I threw out the junk food, and I worked out daily. Because of complications with my birth control, I couldn't lose weight. Not a pound. I was frustrated and gave up. Now I don't work out and I eat whatever I want.
I want my house to be ~~clean~~ ~~tidy~~ perfect. So I tend to spend an entire day killing myself to make it spotless. Then I get frustrated when the dogs track grass indoors and give up for several days. Then I clean like mad for eight to ten hours. Yes, I realize this is not a healthy cycle.
On the flip side, this cycle has some huge positive aspects. For example, I'm passionate about loving D.J. and making our marriage a long term success. So I pour my entire heart into daily loving him in a way he's never been loved before.

Last week, I spoke with a high school friend who has maintained a monthly grocery budget of $100. She's kept this budget even when she was sick with a fibroid and now that there's a new little mouth to feed. Her budget was a small fraction of what mine was! I was inspired! We e-mailed back and forth about tips and strategies and I felt armed and ready to go. I was deteremined to bring our grocery bills under control and I was confident that I could slice the bill in a single month! So, despite the on-set of strep and a nasty cold, D.J. and I spent all day last weekend traveling to the various grocery stores in and around our little town. We had a list of every single item we purchase on a regular basis and compared the prices in 6 different stores. I then went through the list and figured out who offered the best price on each and every item. My conclusion? Target had the best every day prices. (Not Wal-Mart! Woo hoo!) They also have significant sales on a regular basis. Their toiletries and paper goods are also pretty much rock bottom prices! (Especially if you can get your hands on a coupon!) However, if you really wanted to save big, huge, mega bucks then Tom Thumb was the way to go! The prices were a bit high, but they had sales you wouldn't believe, AND they double and triple coupons. AND you can load coupons onto your store card and get the discount on the card, plus the paper coupons I'd clipped! But I digress...
So yesterday, I worked hard to work on a menu yesterday and carefully planned out two weeks of meals. I found coupons for every single item on my list and headed off to Tom Thumb. I was thrilled! I carefully selected the cheapest items on each shelf and refused to stray from my list. I was so proud of myself! And then I was devestated when the total rang up. It was almost twice what I'd planned on spending. (Dern me for not adding as I went!) My heart sank. I beat myself up all the way home and fought tears as I put the groceries away. Then I sat down and looked at the receipt with my sweet husband. We realized that I'd sliced our original grocery budget by more than half and I'd saved 23% on groceries in coupons alone, not to mention what I saved by buying store brand instead of name brand!

And that's when it hit me... I need to give myself more grace. I need to allow myself to not be perfect. My grocery trip was quite an accomplishment in a single day. It'll take time for me to master coupons and build up a stock pile. I'm getting there. I'm making progress. I just need to allow myself the grace to learn on a curve. So today my goal is to take baby steps. Put away the laundry, put away the clean dishes, shine the sink, and do a little painting to satisfy my creative side. I can bleach the bathrooms another day. For now, I need to learn to give myself grace and not attack life as an all or nothing event.

As I see it...

2010-02-23T07:56:00.000-06:00

Here's the world as I see it today:
--Carrots are nutrious and full of good for you vitamins, but they sure are an ugly vegetable! Granted, baby carrots are cute as could be - but a bag full of carrots? Not very pretty - just ugly and crooked and gross looking.
--It's snowing again. Do I still live in Texas?
--My husband is amazing! I've been sick with strep for the past few days and he's waited on me hand and foot. He even took off work on Monday so he could take me to the doctor because he knew I had no voice and felt too icky to figure out the directions to the new doctors office.
--Between the snow and the lack of excess funds, I didn't get any flowers on Valentine's Day. I wasn't upset with him - I understood why. But, this weekend we spotted some purple flowers at Target and he quickly put them in the cart. Purple hydrangea, purple daisies, and even purple roses! I happily arranged them in a clear vase full of water that immediately turned a beautiful, bright purple. Now they look like they're sitting in a perfectly matched purple vase! So fun...
--I love creating and modifying recipes. It fills my heart with a tiny bit of glee. I feel like I'm feeding my husband's heart - not just his tummy.
--This weekend (before the strep attacked in full force) we became super coupon savvy and snagged two boxes of Rolaids for free. We also got two boxes of cake mix for 28 cents - total! Auntie Anne's was giving away free pretzels so we snatched those up as well. We then enjoyed some treats from Sonic at a beautiful buy one, get one free price! Fantastic! It was a happy saving day!
--I won over $100 worth of scrapbooking stuff from Tatertots & Jello and Peachy Cheap. I haven't received my box of goodies yet (I just found out yesterday) but I'm thrilled to get it in the mail.
--I still get a thrill from signing my new last name. I got to sign it at the bank and at the doctor's office recently. It was so exciting to see it on the paper and know that it was me with the new last name!
--Marley had a birthday last week. He is no longer a puppy. I wish someone would tell him... He still has the energy of a puppy and still whines like a puppy. It's ridiculous! I love him though...
So that's the world as I see it today. If we get enough snow to be picture worthy, I'll let you know. Otherwise, I'm going to curl up with Pete the Penguin humidifier and a box of tissues.

Momentary Insanity

2010-02-16T09:40:00.001-06:00

Once upon a time, there was a boy who loved teenagers. He loved being around them and loved ministering to them. This boy met a girl who did not love teenagers. (She loved 5 year olds more!) The boy and the girl fell in love and got married. The girl moved in with the boy and worked hard to create a perfect little house. The boy had to temporarily give up his part time youth minister gig. (Don't worry - he still got to teach and coach teenagers. He didn't give it all away!) The boy missed being a youth minister though. He missed teaching the Word. The girl felt sorry for him. So when an opportunity arose to host a group of teenagers in their home for an entire weekend, the girl agreed. It was her first moment of insanity. After much preparation, a few tears, and more nerves than you can imagine the weekend finally arrived. Thirteen 7th grade boys descended on the perfect little home in a whirlwind of raging hormones and intense body odor. At midnight, the boy and the girl went to bed - they were very tired. The teenagers were not. They stayed up all night and had wrestling matches that produced several bloody noses, a water fight in multiple rooms of the house, and a food fight that created more crumbs and dirt than you can fathom. (An entire two liter of Dr. Pepper was spilled behind the sofa and no one knows how it happened!)
The boy and the girl spent most of the night listening to the rukas wondering what was going on. At 4:30 in the morning, the boy got mad and used his "coach voice" to make them calm down. They didn't sleep though - they kept throwing food and made the mess that much worse. Needless to say, when the boy and girl finally woke up, they were a little peeved at the mess on the floor. (The two dogs that lived in the perfect little home were thrilled by it!)
Once the boy and girl delivered their delinquents to the church service they informed the youth minister that they were quitting. The youth minister gave the teenagers a stern lecture and then made them clean the bathrooms at the church. The boy and the girl liked that and laughed. They decided that the teenagers could stay as long as they promised to behave better. They promised and they did okay for a few hours. Then they started sneaking sodas under the sofa and hiding bags of chips under the toilet. At one point there was a pile of soaking wet underwear in the closet and a couple of missing tampons, but nothing major. When the teenagers finally went home, the boy and the girl were very tired. They slept on the couch with the puppies and ignored the bloody mess in the bathroom (and on the bathroom walls) and the piles of blankets and towels that had to be washed. Then they watched the Super Bowl and went to bed early. The girl was happy that the boy had enjoyed the teenagers, but was even happier that the teenagers were gone. The girl decided that she didn't want to have babies anymore because the sweet little bundle of joy that came home from the hospital would turn into the monsters that had destroyed her perfect little home in two minutes flat! The boy decided that he wanted to start having babies sooner rather than later so he could fill the house with teenagers once again. The girl remembered a college professor who said that God gave us teenage boys to scare the hell out of us. She was convinced that hell would be nothing more than a room full of 13 year old boys. It was enough to send anyone to their knees and seek redemption! The girl hit the boy with a pillow and told him there would be no babies for a long time and that when those babies did turn 13, they were going to be locked up in a barrel. If they were nice, she'd cut a hole to shove food through. The boy just laughed and kissed her.
The End

P.S. - - The church took pity on our destroyed house and paid to have our carpets cleaned. The man just left. After two weeks of chasing a smell I couldn't destroy, our house finally smells like lemons! The Play Doh came out of the carpet and he found all the blood and got it out as well! Maybe the house will recover after all...

Snow Day 2010

2010-02-15T09:12:00.000-06:00

When all was said and done on Thursday, the sky dumped over a foot of snow on our little town. I'm still trying to decide, but I'm pretty sure that's the most snow I've ever seen at one time. In my life. (There may have been more that one Christmas in Indiana, but I don't recall the exact number of inches. I know there was a crazy man grilling in a foot of snow though...) The snowfall sure was record breaking for DFW! It was the most snow to fall in 24 hours. Ever. And we are only two inches shy of having the snowiest winter on record. (We've already had the rainiest fall on record, why not break this record too?)

D.J. and I had so much fun! We have a ton of pictures and over an hour of video from the past few days. It was a wonderful way to spend our first Valentine's together! Here are some of the highlights I know you've been anxious to see!!!

Our first snowman of the day - on the back of DJ's car. We'll call him Ralph.

I've worn my gloves so much this winter my engagement ring has popped right through the glove! I love it!

After a long day of watching the snow fall all by myself, DJ finally came home and we went walking in the park!

The world looked like a winter wonderland! I've never seen anything like this in Texas!

Our second snowman of the day. We'll call him R.J. He fell over while D.J. was taking this picture. We decided we were cold and wet so we dug D.J.'s hat out of the snow and went home to dry off a bit. (Yea for a new dryer!)

Our third and fourth snowmen of the day. I'm on the left and D.J. is on the right. My snowman fell down a few minutes after we took this picture. D.J's snowman fell down sometime during the night. We were very sad. Turns out, we're not very good snowman makers!

One of the first things we did Thursday morning was put all three of our great big bowls out to catch some snow so I might have enough to make snow ice cream that night. We had no idea we'd get enough snow to completely cover the bowls themselves!

After a failed attempt at sledding on a boogie board and a very warm lunch, we worked for several hours on an igloo for our neighbor's little boy. Turns out, what we lack in snowman building abilities, we make up for in igloo building! The snow in our yard is pretty much melted, but that igloo stands strong!

We did it! The little boy standing inside is almost three. He loved the house we built for him and cried when his mom wouldn't let him spend the night in it!

Look closely folks, we easily fit three adults and a child inside our igloo. However, we didn't install wall-to-wall carpeting and my hiney was completely numb by the time we climbed back out!

This is the panoramic D.J. took of the meadow by the church. We walked a few more blocks to the small hill on the other side and attempted to go sledding. It didn't work. I don't know how this one got out of order but Blogger won't let me drag it back up where it belongs. Oh well! You can still enjoy the beauty of the untouched snow!

SNOW!

2010-02-11T11:01:00.000-06:00

There will be many more of these to come! But I wanted to whet your appetite just a bit...

We live in Texas. The ground never looks like this here! Even if we get a little of the white stuff, you can always see grass through it. Not today! Current snow fall is around 3 inches and it's still coming down! AND, we're supposed to get another three inches tonight. This never happens here! I'm thrilled...

If I can figure out how to upload a video from my camera, I'll show you video of Marley in the snow - truly a sight to behold! We already knew he loved cold weather, but with this funny white stuff on the ground he is a hoot and a half! (Like my sister says, Marley's more fun than a slinky falling down stairs!)

Wow!

2010-02-11T07:22:00.000-06:00

I know I've been absent from blog world recently and I'm hoping to get updates on here soon, but first I wanted to share some exciting news.
We woke up to a solid blanket of snow (no grass, folks!) and more is falling even as we speak! It's supposed to snow all day long and then we'll get an additional three inches tonight! I'm waiting for the sun to come up a little more before I take the pictures, but for now I just wanted everyone to know that Forney is wrapped in a beautiful white blanket of snowy goodness!
Despite the snow, D.J. still had to head to work so we took a few minutes to make a mini-snowman on his car. (Of course we threw a few snowballs as well!) I'll take pictures throughout the day and upload them when I can.
Tomorrow, D.J. is taking the day off so we can have an extra-long Valentine's Day weekend! Of course, with the sudden explosion of winter weather, we'll have to do some snowball fighting as well! :) Stay warm and dry today - wherever you are!

A Love Letter

2010-02-03T12:02:00.000-06:00

To the love of my life:

When I joined eHarmony, I had no idea what the outcome would be. I wasn't even confident that I'd find someone worth meeting, much less find someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with! Only the Lord could have known that three months later I'd meet you. As I read over profiles and sent questions back and forth with different guys, nothing really captured my heart. And then there was you. And you blew me away. The more I read, the more I was convinced that your heart belonged with mine. I couldn't have been more excited the day we met. And then you said you wanted to date me. My heart soared over the moon!

In the year and a half since then, you've stolen my heart over and over again. I love watching you eat the food I cook. I love watching you take care of the puppies. I love when you hold me at night. I love when you come home and make a bee line for my lips. I love being the one to stand by your side (and go home with you) when we go places. I love being able to tell the world that you have won my heart. I love building a home together. I love the way you work so hard to provide for me and the puppies. I love being your wife!

Falling in love with you has been the joy of my life. I can't imagine getting to spend the rest of my life learning to love you more! I love our yesterdays. I love our todays. I love dreaming about our tomorrows. I know that my love letter today was supposed to just be an e-mail or text, but as I began to write I couldn't help but tell the world! I love you sweetheart - whatever might come our way!

With all my heart,
Your wife

Giveaways

2010-02-03T07:36:00.002-06:00

One of my current favorite blogs, Crystal's Craft Spot is hosting a giveaway to celebrate her 100th follower. Become a follower and you could earn a chance to win as well! (Although I really want to win - so don't get your hopes up - and don't enter too many times!) However, if you're looking for a good blog to follow, this one comes highly recommended! She has two adorable little girls and has wonderful crafts, marriage building ideas, and ideas that just seem like wonderful family builders. Go check her out!

I just found a new blog, Tater Tots and Jello, that I think will quickly fall on my favorites list! Lucky me, they're also hosting a giveaway! This time it's for some beautiful hand-stamped jewelry. Ooh! Go check it out!

What I've been up to...

2010-02-02T10:10:00.000-06:00

I've been absent from blog-land for a few days now... Here's why:

1. We were redecorating.

2. We were celebrating D.J.'s dad's birthday.

3. I had an interview. I still haven't heard from the principal. I find this exceedingly frustrating!

4. I was organzing my grocery list for my massive stock-up grocery trip.

5. I was creating a cute little clipboard to hold my list while I shopped.

6. I was playing with my puppies.

7. I was organizing my coupons for the previously mentioned grocery trip.

8. D.J. had to go out of town.

9. Since D.J. was out of town, I went to Waco and played with more puppies.

10. While I was in Waco, my mom, sister, and I did more scrapbooking than you can imagine. (For those of you who scrap, you know how exciting it is to see that many Cricut fonts in your home!)

11. I made D.J.'s Valentine's gift - a countdown to V-Day. For details on making your own, surf over to Love, Actually. (This is one of my new favorite blogs! It's all about romance on a budget. Hold on tight Sweetums - I'm ready to use all of their tips!)

12. I created a coupon caddy to hold my coupons while on my massive grocery trips. To make your own, go here. Or, if you don't know how to sew - I'd be happy to make you one in your favorite colors. (For a small fee, of course!)

13. I also finished our Honeymoon scrapbook, but that's really hard to get a picture of!

Sorry it's not a funny post, Brandi, but at least you know why I've been MIA recently. Now I'm off to finish my breakfast smoothie, resist the urge to create all sorts of Valentine's decor, and get some cleaning and laundry done!

Job Interviews

2010-01-28T16:31:00.000-06:00

For this season, the Lord has ordained that I master the art of the job interview. So I shall now tip some of my knowledge and lessons learned on to you, should you ever need them.

Brush your teeth before you leave. No one wants to see that poppy seed jammed in there - no matter how good your bagel was!
Allow plenty of time for the ironing of the interview clothes. This prevents hasty decisions, scorches on your clothing, and general amounts of panic.
While we're talking about ironing, do not let your pre-interview nerves get the best of you. We can clone a sheep and put a man on a moon but crossing two teeny t-legs is the best we can come up with for stabilizing the ironing board.
No matter how nervous you may be, do not rush the turning of the garment while still on the ironing board. Those aforementioned t-legs don't provide much support and that iron tips over a LOT easier than you think!
If the iron begin to fall from your unstable ironing board, let it fall. Don't attempt to catch it. Promptly jump out of the way and pray it doesn't land on the two dogs wrestling beneath said wobbly board.
If the iron lands hot side down on the carpet, pick it up immediately. It seems that iron melts carpet. Melted carpet doesn't smell too good. These events will make you frazzled and late to your interview. This is not a good impression. (It will also cause you to lose the security deposit on your apartment. Not that I speak from experience or anything!)
Follow all instructions that came with your iron (and your hair dryer and your curling iron and...). This includes do not use while sleeping, driving, or in the shower. Personally, I'd LOVE to see you use an iron or hair dryer in your sleep but I just don't think it's reccomended - especially right before an interview.
Everyone wears black to an interview. Either be a part of "everyone" or choose to stand out. If you choose to stand out - be confident in your standing. Don't feel all kinds of awkward for being the only one in an orange top and brown skirt. People remember you for that. (For being awkward and for wearing orange to a job fair.)
No matter how much you love to share, remember that at an interview your life is not an open book. No one wants to see your scars or hear the story of how one time you tried to ride your bike under a car port and you hit that pole instead. Actually, no one wants to hear that story even if you aren't in an interview.
Always, always, always remember that your job is to sell yourself. This often makes me feel like a lady of the night. So I try not to think of it too much.
Bring a resume. To be safe, bring 3. Just don't include the phrases "I like to take long walks on the beach" or "For a good time, call..." and you should be pretty safe.

I hope my tips bring you one step closer to your dream job. They haven't done much for me yet... I'm running away tomorrow to a girl's weekend of scrapbooking (and junk food)! Time to pack!! Woo hoo!

I need help...

2010-01-27T08:29:00.000-06:00

My mom and sister would tell you I need a lot of help. I say I just like to be organized. It's an on-going debate. But today I need your help in the kitchen! Last night I made a very simple dinner. Now I need to know how to spice it up without going over the top. What do you suggest?
I cut chicken breasts into bite sized chunks and sauteed them in olive oil with a little salt and pepper. (Is freshly ground pepper that much better? Should we invest in some grinders?) I boiled a bag of egg noodles (or what was left of the bag) and dumped it in a casserole dish. I tossed in the chicken and a can of cream of chicken soup. (I mixed the cream of chicken soup with pureed cauliflower because that's what I always do. It's healthier that way. You know me - always a rebel in the kitchen!) I mixed it all up real good and dumped in some cheddar jack cheese. I stuck it in the oven until the top noodles were crispy because that's what the original recipe called for.

It was delicious but a bit bland. And if I'm the one calling it bland, then you know it really was. It needs something, I just can't figure out what. More salt and pepper? More seasoning on the chicken?

Here are the other details you need to know:
-We both hate snow peas. Don't tell me to throw those in there!
-D.J. doesn't like broccoli. I love it and will eat it on the side, but he's not a fan of it in a dish.
-We think I'm allergic to ginger. It's new. Well, it's not new - it's just finally identified. But we're not sure. We never cook with ginger and so it's hard to tell if I'm allergic to it or not. But that's what our hunch is... (We also have recently learned that they use a protein in kiwis to tenderize meat. I'm allergic to kiwis. Maybe this explains some of the un-explained allergic reactions.)
-We only like garlic in small doses. Small, itty bitty doses.

So what do you think? How could I make this again and spice it up? Make it healthier and tastier? You guys ponder and let me know... I'm off to iron my pants for my 11:00 interview! Woo hoo!

My empathy runneth over...

2010-01-26T08:16:00.001-06:00

My dad has always told me I was the most empathetic person he had ever met. (I used to think he meant pathetic and would cry every time he told me that...) My mom has always said that my job in life was to cry with others. It didn't matter why they were crying and I really didn't need to know why - it was my job to sit down and cry with them. I take my responsibility seriously. I've become very adept at crying with/for others - whether they feel the need to cry or not! This empathy is the biggest reason I never watch the evening news or read the headlines in the newspaper. Not long ago, my mom was telling me about the recent outbreak of crime in a certain neighborhood. My heart ached, not for the people who were so lost that they felt violence and crime was their only choice, but for the guy who was pistol whipped in his own home. I literally cried for the couple whose house was broken into. No, I don't know them - I don't even know their names. But I had to cry for their pain. It's who I am.
The first time I can remember this emotion flooding my heart was October 14, 1987. (I was 4.) Baby Jessica fell down a well in her parent's back yard and it swept the news. Every time they dug next to the well to get to her, she would slip a little further away from the precious air above her and a little closer to the chilly water beneath. The entire ordeal lasted 58 hours. For me, it seemed like weeks and weeks. I was glued to the news coverage. (Yes, at the age of 4.) I cried like she was my baby sister and I had pushed her into the well. I would sit, enraptured by what was going on, until I was literally sick to my stomach. I still remember being mad at my mom when she changed the channel and forced me to watch Sesame Street. Seriously, my empathy runneth over...
Yesterday, a friend sent me a link to a blog. It was a hilarious story about a mom who's daughter threatened to run away from home. As I read the story I decided I loved this woman and needed to be her new best friend. So I began to read other blogs she had written. Turns out she's the wife of a Christian singer/songwriter and started the blog to chronicle their journey through the pregnancy of their fourth daughter who they knew would not survive outside of the womb. I wept. You can't begin to imagine how hard I wept! By the time DJ got home, I was a mess. I fell into his arms and sobbed for almost an hour. I cried for this mom who never got to raise her daughter. I cried for their other girls who never got to know their sister. And then the flood gates opened. I cried because the dryer was dead. I cried because my car is in desperate need of repair work. I cried because there are mommies in Haiti who will never hold their sweet baby again. I cried because there are babies in Haiti who will never know their mother's tender touch. I cried because I dropped the raw turkey meat on the floor that I was attempting to cook for dinner. I cried because I was crying so hard that D.J. had to clean up the meat and fight the dogs off all by himself. I cried because I could no longer tutor the student I had so quickly fallen in love with. I cried because I wanted a baby of my own. I cried because I feared it would never happen or I would lose a child as the woman in the blog did. I cried because I didn't have a teaching job. I cried because I didn't understand what God was doing and why He'd called us to Forney. I cried because I miss teaching.
Between my overwhelming sense of empathy and the strain of the past few days, I was a puddle on the floor. I made my all time favorite meal for dinner (spaghetti) and screwed it up royally. I cried some more. By the time all was said and done, I was exhausted! My head hurt. My eyes hurt. My stomach was sore from the strength of the sobs. Even this morning my eyes are red and puffy. D.J. told me I wasn't allowed to read sad blogs anymore. He also told me we're never watching the news again.

Fred, an Obituary

2010-01-25T08:06:00.000-06:00

If you were to read your appliance manuel this morning, you would see a picture of Fred the Ghetto-tastic Dryer in the obituaries section. Last night, at about 8:30, Fred began banging and walking across the laundry room floor once again. We instantly knew what had happened. When we took off the front panel, it was all too clear - Fred's motor had shredded the hose clamp we installed less than a week ago. And, in true ghetto-tastic fashion, Fred passed away when he was full of damp clothes and the washer was full of sopping wet towels. (Both loads were carried next door to our sweet neighbor!) I'm not sure what to say about Fred in his obituary. He wasn't ever really a great dryer - at least not when I knew him. He never really seemed to like me much! I suppose he did last a good number of years but couldn't come through when we needed him most! He is already greatly missed - especially by Guinnevere (our washing machine). I think I even heard her crying this morning. In lieu of flowers, please send cash for a new dryer (and a truck to haul Fred to the junk yard).

A quick trip to the store...

2010-01-22T13:10:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, I needed three things at the store. Dog food, creamer, and a gallon of milk. Simple trip, paying in cash, in and out in five minutes. No big deal. I picked up my items and even had a second to spare looking at the Valentine's stuff and dreaming about our first Valentine's as husband and wife!
I have really pushed myself this week and my hamstrings were screaming at me from the extra work load. It is unseasonably warm and I was wearing smooth bottom flip flops on a slick concrete floor. The self-check out line at our grocery store is never open but for some reason it was open with no line yesterday. So I slip and slide my way into the self check out line and scan my three items. As I reach to put the gallon of milk in the bag, it slips. I watch it fall to the floor in slow motion and which point it explodes! It soaks the woman in the line behind me, it shatters like it was made of glass, and I turn 18 shades of red. All of the customers were wonderful and apologetic and shared their own stories of dropping things in the line while the employees stand there and look at me!
I felt like a 5 year old that just got her hand stuck in the cookie jar. "Ummm, excuse me? I dropped my milk and need some help." More staring. "Ummm, excuse me? It's running and I soaked some poor lady's pants in milk." Finally someone comes around her station and puts two paper towels on the floor to stop it from spreading. Two paper towels. On a gallon of milk. Seriously?
Someone finally shows up with a handful of those little granuals that are supposed to absorb liquid spills. She looks at me, exasperated, and states that she needs more. I wanted to give her a stupid sign. Of course you need more! I dropped my milk and your genius buddy dropped two paper towels on it in an effort to stop the flood! I stood and watched helplessly, struggling not to cry. I asked what I should do because I needed my milk. The lady with granuals just looked at me. "I really need some milk. Do I need to go get some more or is someone bringing me some?" She said, "You can't have this milk." I think she just earned another sign. After much debate, we finally decide that I will go get the milk. From the back of the store. With my sore legs. And slippery flip flops. She tells me that I needed to hurry because the system would cancel my purchase in a few minutes and I wouldn't be able to continue checking out. I slip and slide as fast as I can and struggle to make it to the dairy case quickly without knocking old ladies and small children out of the way. I choke back tears on my way back to the front of the store where I find a hoard of people attempting to sweep up the milk. Not mop. Sweep. Brilliant.
I apologize for the mess one more time and someone says, "Well, we'll just have to charge you an extra 50 cents." I lost it. Big tears roll down my face. I don't have another fifty cents! I can hardly afford to pay for what I've already picked up! The lady laughs (way harder than she should have) and told me not to cry over spilt milk. I just cried harder. Then the system canceled my order and we had to call a manager to un-lock the system. I cried some more. Once it was all cleared out, the manager left and got involved in another customer. While straddling the lake of milk mush on the floor, I attempted to re-scan my items. The computer kept saying that my items had already been purchased by another customer. And they had been - by me. I just didn't pay for them... So we had to call the manager back over to fix the computer hang up. By that point, there were new people in line who couldn't figure out why I was standing in milk mush with wet pants and shoes and tears running down my face. Then, as if I weren't sick of this whole scenario, the employee gets upset that I only want to purchase three items. "That's it? You don't need anything else? Are you sure?" Nope. Three things. This was supposed to be a quick trip. When it was all rung up, the bill slot wouldn't accept my nice crisp bills. I struggled with it and asked for help, but only got dirty looks from the girl still attempting to sweep up the mess.
All told, my 5 minute trip to the store took 45 minutes. Afterwards, I laughed hard. In the moment, all I could do was cry over spilt milk...

I agree!

2010-01-21T13:35:00.000-06:00

My friend Brandi just posted this article on her blog. She has a beautiful little girl and is anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby #2. D.J. and I are not expecting nor are we hoping to be expecting any time soon. However, we've seen the clothes in the baby department at Wal-Mart and frankly, we're disgusted. I'm seriously contemplating re-learning how to sew just so my child will not have to wear the trash that's so popular today. Go check out the article here and you can see what I mean. It's just sad that this is what our society promotes as "normal."

Dryer Wars - Round 3

2010-01-20T08:56:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are new to the blog, our dryer is named Fred. Fred is a fighter! (He's also ghetto-tastic!) He doesn't like the extra work load a wife brings to the picture so he's in the midst of an active revolt. We win the occassional battle (Fred wins more) and I'm starting to think we are losing the war. We're ever optimistic, however! One day... One day we will be victorious! We will either beat Fred into submission or haul him to the recycling company and earn some cash for all that metal. In the mean time, I think Fred is deteremined to fight every time I attempt to dry clothes! Here's a recap and a running score of our Dryer War...

Battle #1: After a truly bad October day, Fred stops working. He moaned and groaned his way to a screaching hault. D.J. had to finish the laundry at a laundromat that night.
Score: Fred - 1, D.J. - 0

Battle #2: D.J. figures out how to completely disassemble Fred. We clean him, oil him, and speak tender words of love and encouragment. This took about a week. We ran away to Waco for a few days to gather our wits about us and rest up for an attack on the dryer. When Fred is finally re-assembled, he works for 15 minutes at a time before over heating and refuses to tumble large loads or towels of any kind. The laundry process limps along each day, but does get done. A ghetto-tastic dryer is better than no dryer at all!
Score: Fred - 1, D.J. - 1 (Kind of...)

Battle #3: Some time after Christmas, Fred decides he'll dry an entire load without stopping, but then refuses to work without a two day rest. After that, he'll dry another whole load and lock up for two more days. Allison tells D.J. that this is an even more difficult method of doing laundry and he needs to give Fred some more love. D.J. scrounges up a motor from his dad's garage and moves it to our garage.
Score: Fred - 2, D.J. - 1

Battle #4: After a week or two of battle #3, Fred comes to a screaching and ear-splitting hault. Allison cries. (She's good at that.) During the "Biggest Loser" season premier, D.J. takes Fred apart once again and begins to clean and oil. No luck. Fred bites back and snaps the lid down on D.J.'s hand. D.J. screams and Allison runs.
Score: Fred - 3, D.J. - 1

Battle #5: D.J. takes Fred apart even further in an effort to replace the old motor with the one in the garage. Lots of banging ensues. Fred refuses to give up the ghost. D.J. gets very frustrated.
Score: Fred - 4, D.J. - 1

Battle #6: D.J. decides that the small plastic fan in the back of the dryer (the one that cools off the motor and moves the lint out of the dryer) needs to be removed. More banging and a few grunts. Fred bites again - this time drawing a large amount of blood. Allison misses the end of the Biggest Loser premire while doctoring the wound.
Score: Fred - 5, D.J. - 1

Battle #7: Allison gets involved now. Sticks and screwdrivers are shoved in the fan blades in an effort to unscrew it from the motor. Sticks break. The fan breaks. Twice. Screwdrives shoot out of the dryer like Fred is throwing them. Allison gives up and leaves the battle. Both sets of parents are called. Allison's parents agree to bring them the dryer sitting in storage. Fred gets completely ignored for several days.
Score: Fred - 6, D.J. - 1, Allison - 0

Battle #8: D.J.'s dad calls with hope. He stops by and removes the fan in 3.2 seconds. D.J. is flabbergasted. D.J. is able to remove the old motor and put the new one in place, despite the fact that it was every so slightly bigger than the original. However, we have the derndest time getting the front cover back on. D.J. slices his wrist in the process.
Score: Fred - 7, Duke - 1, D.J. - 1

Battle #9: After about an hour of struggle with the door and about 15 mistakes, we get it all put back together. Fred runs again but makes a horrible racket. He rumbles and shakes and makes noises that cause the dogs to bark and run in circles. We decide the back panel didn't get screwed on tightly and choose to ignore the sound to the best of our ability. Fred now dries clothes quickly and lasts for several cycles without overheating. A noisy dryer is better than no dryer at all.
Score: Fred - 7, D.J. - 2 (kind of)

Battle #10: While we were making dinner last night, Fred had the biggest temper tantrum yet. (He puts three year olds to shame!) He began shaking and banging like the drum had come loose and a racoon was loose inside. He actually walked several inches across the laundry room floor. It was bad folks! While Allison went to work, D.J. took Fred apart. There were no words of love and encouragement this time. D.J. was mad at Fred and refused to speak to him. (He's still mad.) The new motor had shredded the clamp that held it down to the bottom of the dryer and the sound we heard was actually the motor bouncing and dancing around inside the dryer. Our only set of sheets sat hopeless in the washer. The blanket for our bed was imprisioned in the dryer. Things were looking grim!
Score: Fred - 8, D.J. - 2 (sort of, but not really)

Battle #11: After a desperate phone call, D.J.'s dad suggested that he drill holes in the bottom of the dryer, thread a hose clamp through it, and tighten it around the motor to hold that sucker in place. So D.J. took our sheets next door to put in our neighbor's dryer and went to Lowe's to purchase the hose clamp. (Praise the Lord we'd sold several items the day before!!!!) After much more banging, a bit of drilling, and more dirt on my freshly vacuumed floor, D.J. decides that the clamp he purchased is a quarter of an inch too small. Fred's not going down without a fight!
Score: Fred - 9, D.J. - 2

Battle #12: On her way home from work, Allison meets D.J. at Lowe's to return the clamp and purchase a new one. Once home, D.J. immediately begins to battle Fred. There was grunting and banging and some frustration as he attempted to tighten the clamp that was now a little too big. (Allison stayed out of the way. This struggle had gone from an annoyance, to amusing, to a flat out war - complete with name calling on both sides.) Once Fred was finally re-assembled and pushed back into the laundry room, D.J. plugged him back in. Fred moaned and groaned and produced a new rattle - louder than the first. You can no longer run the dryer and hear the television in the living room or the bedroom. But, clothes do get dry and we were able to put all the sheets back on our bed in time for us to crash. It's clear that D.J. kind of won this battle, but Fred isn't done yet! When will the next battle take place? Only Fred can tell - and he's too busy shaking and rattling to speak.
Score: Fred - 9, D.J. - 3 (kind of)

Footnote from Allison: D.J. is my hero! No one else would endure the cuts, bruises and frustrations as nobly as he has. He has the patience of a saint and has done a fabulous job fighting Fred every day! I'm so very proud to call him MINE!

Three Day Weekend

2010-01-19T08:11:00.000-06:00

D.J. had yesterday off work. It was wonderful! We love getting to spend extra days together. :- ) Overall, it was a busy and productive weekend for us.

Friday night, we hung out with friends. We played ping pong. D.J. rocks at ping pong. Allison does not. During singles matches, D.J. whipped everyone's tail and made them cry. (Almost.) During couples matches, the other couple always won because Allison is just that bad! (When D.J. and I play ping pong alone, we've come up with some pretty creative rules. Like - if you can get the ball between the slats of the blinds, you get five points. If you clear the ball through the fan blades while the fan is running, you get fifteen! I always win when we play that way.) While we were over at our friend's house, the wife said that her husband spoiled her. I stated that my husband spoiled me as well. I think both husbands took it as a challenge to prove that they could spoil their wife more than the other. I don't know why they feel the need to compete, but I'm not going to complain!

Saturday, D.J. made me breakfast in bed. See? I'm spoiled! He then had to go to work for a few hours, so I decided that I would occupy my time by completely emptying the office. We'd been attempting to clean it out, but were so overwhelmed by the JUNK that we weren't moving very quickly. So I drug it all into the living room so we would have plenty of space to sort through everything. When D.J. got home, he was shocked. Apparently, that was not how he had planned to spend the afternoon. Oh well! Like a trooper, he got to work. We worked until midnight when I told him I was leaving him and moving in with the bed. I curled up and fell asleep in 3.2 seconds! D.J. attempted to wake me up to tell me good night but I just told him I was a shark and tried to bite him. (I have no memory of this. I was sound asleep the whole time!) I then told him his Christmas present wasn't finished and that we needed to sell the Erector Set next.

On Saturday, while we were working hard, I took a break and made one of the most delicious lunches we've had in a while! I defrosted some frozen chicken breast, and cut it into bite size pieces. I dipped each piece in a slightly beaten egg, and coated it with Panko bread crumbs left over from the broccoli we made the other night. We tossed them in a pan with a teeny bit of olive oil and cooked until they were tender and white all the way through. It was like little, mini, healthy chicken nuggets! We stuck them in a tortilla with lettuce and ranch (D.J. added salsa) and ate like we were in heaven! Oh my goodness! I'm so in love with Panko now! I can't wait to find more ways to use it...

After church on Sunday, we decided to take a break from the office in the living room fiasco and focus on the garage. We drug everything out, cleaned, sorted, organized, and put it all back in. It only took a few hours, and it now looks amazing! While we were working, we assembled the small table I blogged about not long ago and stacked it high with the things we wanted to sell on Craigslist or eBay. When we got back inside, exhausted, D.J. checked his e-mail only to discover that someone from Craigslist had seen the table and was coming by to pick it up. We trudged back to the garage, re-arranged everything, and celebrated at the $10 the guy paid us! We were so exhausted that we decided to go buy a pizza with our money. That was some yummy pizza! We eventually finished the office and got everything re-loaded. There are a pile of frames that need to be hung on the walls and curtains that are sitting on the bed, waiting for a loving husband to hang the curtain rod - but the office is done! We now love that room!

Monday morning, we made home-made doughnuts - as in home-made batter and home fried. (Note to self: do NOT stick your finger in the oil once it is hot. Doing so causes pain and blisters.) Monday afternoon consisted of lots and lots of runninmg around. We took cans to be recycled (and earned $4.75) and took books, CDs, and DVDs to Half Price Books (and earned $47.50). We went to Good Will to drop off all the stuff we knew we couldn't sell on-line, went into my first ever Braum's and had some yummy fries, and attempted (yet again) to get D.J.'s college ring fixed. (10 years after he graduated it's still not right!) We went to several antique stores here in Forney to try and price some of the items we found in the office, but didn't have much luck. Basically, no one buys antiques from you if you just walk in with a box and if you have a very rare antique, it's really hard to find another one in this little town in order to decide what price you should ask for if you do find someone who's interested in buying. I think our final decision was to stick it all in a box in the attic and wait 30 years. It'll be worth more then anyway!

It was a wonderful three days and we now have two more areas of our house cleaned and organized! I'm loving it! Now I get to catch up on the dishes, laundry, vacuuming, and dusting I ignored over the weekend... How was your time off?

Help!

2010-01-14T11:56:00.000-06:00

When D.J. got his first apartment, he bought a small cheap table from Wal-Mart.

That was quite a while ago and that table has seen better days.

We tried to sell it on Craigslist, but no one wants a table this beat up! Yesterday, I had a stroke of inspiration and decided to rip the top off and paint the table underneath.

Some of it came off without a problem. Some of it refuses to be removed.

So here's what I need:

How do I get the rest of the glue off the edges?
How do I get the rest of the plastic fake-wood stuff off?
My plan is to prime and paint the top, then try to re-sell it on Craigslist. What should I paint on top? A solid color? A design? Flowers? Color blocks? Should I do pencils and notebooks and make it a homework table? Should I do a small checkerboard around the border and make it a cute kitchen table? What would have the most appeal?
Once it's painted, how do I seal it to prevent chips in the paint?

Dinner

2010-01-12T19:59:00.001-06:00

Here are the facts:

I love broccoli and DJ hates it.
We're on a budget so I dug through the pantry to see what was on hand when I planned our weekly menu.
I have been getting more and more adventurous in my cooking and in my flavors I'm willing to try.
I'm trying to cook healthy foods while staying in budget.

Now that you know the facts, here's the menu:

Roasted broccoli
Home-made alfredo (from scratch!)
Grilled chicken
Fettucine

All of it was new for me. I mean, I've made chicken but never put the seasonings on it to make fettucine alfredo. I've boiled fettucine, but I've always used a can of sauce and frozen chicken. This was an entirely new menu for me. I'm very proud of myself for attempting such a feat all in one night! (DJ's quite proud of me too. And, he says it's his new favorite.) So, here you go. Do with this what you will:

Roasted Broccoli - Your best bet is to check out Alton Brown's recipe here. Before today, we'd never had Panko Bread Crumbs. They're basically Japanese bread cumbs. I found them on-line for $12 and felt like that was just a little ridiculous. So I made my own! I crushed the fool out of three sleeves of saltine crackers (about three-four cups). I put them in a Ziploc bag and beat them with a rolling pin. (That was a blast and a half!) I tossed them in the bowl and mixed them up with 2T basil, 2T thyme, 1t chili powder, and 2t ground pepper. Stir them up, spread them out on a cookie sheet, and put them in a 325 degree oven for 6-8 minutes. Shake/stir them around and make sure they're that good and dry but you don't want them browned and toasted. Best of all, the house smelled AMAZING! And, I felt super fancy and cool. It made a ton, so the rest are in the freezer. We'll use them to coat chicken, as a crunchy topping for salads, or on top of veggies and casseroles. I'm excited about the possibilities!
We then used our Panko Bread Crumbs on our broccoli. DJ hates broccoli and was very skeptical and was sure he'd hate it. He had two huge helpings and ranted and raved about how delightful it was! I know it sounds different - but it's so worth it! What a great new way to get veggies on the table. For me, it was just a little spicy so I liked the pieces that were bigger and had more of the sweet stem. DJ liked the kick and picked out the smallest pieces. (I might have to do something to cut the chili powder in the Panko. Or maybe the garlic in the broccoli. We have left overs so I'll figure something out.)

Homemade Alfredo Sauce
I know, alfredo's not too healthy. So I found a healthier option. 1/2 cup cream cheese (we used 1/3 reduced fat), 1 cup milk, 3T shredded Parmesan cheese, 1 clove minced garlic, 1/2t salt, 1/2t pepper, 3T parsely. Pour all but the parsley in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Heat in a saucepan and add parsely. I forgot that last step and so the pepper had quite the kick! It was delicious, just a lot of pep when combined with everything else.

The chicken
I took frozen chicken breast and marinated it in lemon pepper marinade for several hours. I cut it in bite sized pieces and tossed it in the skillet with a little olive oil. I sprinkled a mariade of spices in the pan until it smelled good. I think I used lemon pepper spice, garlic powder, and onion powder. I don't remember what all I used - I just know it was GOOD! It was incredible! I could have picked all of that chicken out and eaten it alone. I didn't, but I could have. When the chicken was done I chunked it in the sauce pot with the alfredo so they could share their yummy goodness with each other.

Toss it all on the table with some fruit and a bowl of fettucine (I wish we'd had whole wheat pasta on hand - I'll make sure to buy it in the future) and here was our result:

I think it made for a beautiful table and quite a yummy meal! And, just for fun and just because I love the camera on my iPhone so much, here's a close up of the broccoli yumminess:

Enjoy! Let me know if you need more details on recipes. And don't be afraid to roast some broccoli! It's a quick veggie and because you roast it, you're not at risk of losing all those wonderful nutrients in the bright green trees. :) (Random broccoli facts: Most of the nutrition is in the floret at the top, not in the stem. And, when you microwave broccoli you lose 86-98% of the nutrients. I assume this applies to those handy steamer bags but I'm not sure. I'll have to research it all...)

Please pardon this interuption...

2010-01-12T08:38:00.000-06:00

I have two "a-mouse-ments" to make! Lucky for you, both have good stories that go with them.

Announcement Number One:
My best friend since childhood is Natalie. I was eating mashed bananas when my mom got the call that she had been born. We've been best friends ever since. Well, we really became best friends when we were 4 and in the same preschool class. With the exception of third grade, the school system did everything in their power to keep us in separate classes. She was so shy she never spoke. I was so outgoing I never shut up. We were a good balance for one another. We stayed friends despite the year we were in separate schools. We stayed friends through high school. We stayed friends when we moved to different cities for college. We stayed friends when she moved to Virginia and a jerk wad broke her heart. We stayed friends when she moved back to Texas and we went through the growing pains of becoming adults. I was proud to be the maid of honor in her wedding. Just a year later, she was one of my bridesmaids. As Anne of Green Gables says, we are bosom buddies. Our hearts are connected with an iron bond. In elementary school, we were attached at the hip. We told people we were cousins - and they believed us. We did lots of other things that don't belong on this blog (or any other blog!) so I'll just move onto this announcement! Natalie and her husband just started a new blog! Woo hoo! Surf on over there and take a look. She is my bosom buddy and always will be. I love Natalie - and her new blog: A Tale of Two Skivvies.

Announcement Number Two:
Most of you know that my body doesn't respond to life in a typical way. I'm allergic to the planet and DJ and I have to make lots of accommodations to keep me from dying. :) Last school year, my immune system took a tough blow with mono and whopping cough/pneumonia. I couldn't fight off anything anymore. So my OB/GYN thought it best to put me on a very strong birth control to prevent pregnancy no matter how strong my anti-biotic might be. I gained 17 pounds in three weeks and cried non-stop. It was horrible! So we switched pills and the new one seemed much better. However, when DJ and I changed our eating habits in September, I couldn't lose weight no matter what I did. On top of that, I struggled to be motivated to do anything. It was a rough 6 months! In December, I had the opportunity to switch birth controls once again. In the 6 months at home, my immune system has recovered and my health has improved greatly. So the OB/GYN put me on a much lower dose of estrogen. I now feel fantastic! I have energy and pep again! It's wonderful! And, to top it all off - I found out yesterday that I lost 8 pounds and 7 inches over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Woo hoo! This new pill is fantastic! I can't wait to see how much I can lose when I'm actually working at it! So look out skinny jeans - here I come! I'm off to work out now... (After I hang up the laundry and feed the dogs and wash the work out pants that I spilled ketchup on yesterday at lunch.)

Crafty Bows

2010-01-11T12:58:00.001-06:00

I have a link to share with you. But first, here's what you need to know:
1. My mom sent it to me. I love my mom.
2. I like to be crafty.
3. I'm obsessed with saving bows from all kinds of presents. I've been known to dive across several laps to save the bow from the trash bag. Seriously - you should see me at parties.
4. I like to save stickers too, but that's not the point of this post.
5. I'm hungry.
6. I want to make a difference in this world.
7. I'm still wearing shoes from when I went to work out. This is very weird for me.

Now that you know all of that, please visit this link here. It's fun.

My heart is full...

2010-01-11T08:43:00.000-06:00

I've started this blog seven times. I think what it finally boils down to is that my heart is full. Full of thankfulness. And gratitude. And praise. And rejoicing.
It all started several months ago when Fred, our loving dryer, decided that I added too much of a work load as a new wife. (I think he liked the life of a bachelor!) DJ took it apart, we cleaned it thoroughly, gave it lots of oil, and spoke loving words of encouragement. We put Fred back together and he worked for 15 minutes at a time. We re-named him Fred the ghetto-tastic dryer and went about our day. I learned to be thankful for a dryer that allowed us to have clean, dry laundry even if it took me longer than "normal". Not everyone in the world has a dryer. I'm truly blessed! Last week, Fred gave us his last hurrah. DJ went to war. And lost. We were very sad.
My parents volunteered to bring us my old dryer that was sitting in a storage shed waiting for my sister to need it. We were so thankful for the willingness to help. We are so blessed! Then on Friday, DJ's parents called to say that they were close by and would love to come take a look at the dryer to see if they could help at all. DJ's dad had the old, dead motor taken apart in thirty seconds flat. He gave DJ instructions from the internet on how to fix the washer and the dryer. We were so thankful that they came over and helped us out. We are blessed by two sets of parents who love and support us without question!
Friday night was one for the books! After DJ's parents left with the dryer motor successfully removed, we got to work on the smallest room in the house. In no time flat, DJ fixed the washer (it had been filling ridiculously slow) and put the new motor in the dryer. When we pulled both appliances out we discovered the most disgusting floor you can imagine - I'll spare you the details. So I got to work scrubbing and bleaching like you wouldn't believe. (That room sparkles!) DJ got the wires connected and re-assembled the dryer and we pushed it back into the laundry room. (We moved it into the living room while I bleached.) With a special touch of flair, DJ plugged in the dryer and pushed the start button. Nothing. Not even a groan. DJ did a little more work, and got the motor to run. We then attempted to put the drum back in. We ran into one problem after another. After another. After another. There was more blood, but you don't need the details on that! Eventually, DJ won the war. The dryer is now working better than it ever has. I don't think I can call him Fred the ghetto-tastic anymore. (Well, maybe. There is a rattle from a screw that's loose.) But the dryer is fixed. The washer fills faster than I ever could have imagined. The mildew is gone from under the washer and the laundry room is clean. I'm thankful and blessed!
My parents were sad that we no longer needed them to bring the dryer so they decided to come anyway. They came Sunday afternoon and we hung out and played games and then went out to dinner. It was wonderful to see them and to have a very yummy, filling meal. I am so grateful and blessed!
In the past week, we also officially joined our church, became leaders of our small group, and sold two items on Craigslist - thus providing a little extra income to help us make it through the month! There are also three positions posted on-line that I am highly qualified for. I'd love to teach any of those classes and am thrilled about the possibilities.
My heart is full. I'm thankful for all that's going on in our life right now. I'm grateful for two families that love and support us. I'm blessed by all that the Lord is doing. My heart is so very full...

Christmas - a synopsis

2010-01-07T14:50:00.000-06:00

Our first Christmas together is best told through pictures. So take a walk with me...

First, DJ and his dad built a bonfire. It was big.

See? Big! While it was burning down to an appropriate cooking fire, we chopped some firewood for our house.

DJ was fantastic. I was not. His niece, Allison, couldn't stop laughing long enough to do any good!

I eventually got bored with the wood chopping and decided to ride a horse. I almost fell off several times and got pretty bruises to prove it. DJ rode Aggie too, but I can't find the pictures.

We started a new tradition! Snowman pancakes! They were so much fun and so very yummy!

Then came Christmas Eve. First we saw this.

Then there was this. (See the snow on Cua?)

Then we saw this.

After a snowy Christmas Eve service, we came home to discover this beautiful scene...

We were shocked! And thrilled! And all together very excited! Then DJ and I did Christmas for our small family of four. First, the puppies got snowmen raw hides.

Then I found a large present under the tree. With my name on it. It was too heavy to lift so I pushed.

Inside? A brand new, virus free, fresh out of the box lap top just for me!

I was so super surprised! And happy! I gave DJ a large canvas full of wedding pictures. And quotes. And stickers. I tried taking pictures but I just doesn't do it justice. He cried. His mom cried when we showed her. My mom cried too. It was beautiful!

Christmas morning we were thrilled to find the snow hadn't melted! Our first Christmas together and our first white Christmas ever! On our way to DJ's sister's house to open presents we couldn't resist the urge to pull over and play for a few minutes.

We enjoyed Christmas Day with DJ's family. This is DJ's nephew, Alex, opening his iTunes gift card. We had a little fun with him!

The day after Christmas, we drove to Waco and spent several days with my family. Megan paper mache'd DJ's Christmas present. I took him almost an hour to get into it! Once he finally opened it it was a Rubix 360. Basically, it's a Rubix cube in a ball inside of a ball inside of a ball. It rotates and spins and makes me get very frustrated. DJ loved it!

It was a wonderful break! We loved every second of it! And, we had snow and my family in Indiana didn't.

How (not) to fix a dryer

2010-01-06T09:02:00.000-06:00

Step 1: Get a text from your wife saying that the dryer is laughing at her and refuses to work.
Step 2: Take dryer apart.
Step 3: Stand in bewilderment.
Step 4: Pull dryer out into middle of laundry room.
Step 5: Scream like a banshee when dryer lid closes on your hand.
Step 6: Take the back off of the dryer and leave it in the living room for the dogs to lick clean.
Step 7: Take all the junk out of the back of the dryer and wonder how it got there.
Step 8: Convince wife that her hair clip may have been destroyed by the dryer but her hair clip was not the reason the dryer was destroyed.
Step 9: Make a ton of noise. It helps if you bang on metal.
Step 10: Occasionally yell out, "I'm okay!"
Step 11: Go running through the house screaming "BAND-AIDS! I NEED BAND-AIDS!"
Step 12: Convince your wife that the gash in your hand does not need stitches despite the fact that you feel woozy from blood loss.
Step 13: Continue to bang on the dryer until the fan in the back breaks into little pieces.
Step 14: Call dad.

Sadly, Fred the ghetto-tastic dryer died yesterday. I think it actually laughed at me when I put the load of towels in. DJ heroically came home and planned on replacing the dryer motor. (His dad found an extra one in his garage.) What we didn't plan on was the dead dryer putting up one heck of a fight! I attempted to take pictures. I eventually stopped because it just wasn't funny anymore. Here are the pictures I do have along with my commentary as the evening progressed!

Here we are, just getting started and oh so optimistic!! :) DJ's wondering why in the world I'm taking pictures!

DJ trying to get the drum disconnected from the motor. (I was propping the drum up so it wouldn't fall and crash on his head. I'm a good wife!)

There's good ole' Fred sitting in the garage! Well, at least that's the drum... That's the part of Fred I'm most familiar with.

We got it all taken apart and sat down to watch "Biggest Loser" and eat chocolate. I read on-line once that a regular sized candy bar contains 6 insect legs. (I don't want to think about what happened to the rest of the insect!!) I have no clue if that's true or not, but it's turned me off of candy bars forever! I figure, these aren't regular sized candy bars and are so small they must go zipping down the assembly line at super sonic speed. That's far too fast for any insect I've ever met!

Have you ever seen the inside of a dryer? The first time Fred broke I remember looking at it and thinking, "Wow! It's so simple!" (It was also very dirty. I've done a lot of cleaning to make it look like this...)

The noisest dryer motor ever. Our goal was to remove this tiny thing and put in the new one.

This is the first pile of junk DJ pulled out of the back of the dryer. Very dishearenting after spending the entire day cleaning house until it sparkled!

The dryer is now filling most of the space in the tiny laundry room. DJ's attempting to move everything else out - over the top of the dryer. Not an easy task when you have three square inches to move around in and a very heavy vacuum cleaner to hand to your weenie of a wife! WAY TO GO BABE!

The plastic fan that had to come off in order for us to get the motor out. We eventually figured out how to remove the lint trap (that big gray thing on the right) and proceeded to shove sticks and screwdrivers in the fan blades while DJ banged like a fool on the other side. Sadly, that plastic fan is now in several pieces on the inside of the dryer. The center, however, remains in tact and refuses to release it's hold on the motor!

My very favorite kind of hair clip - eaten by the dryer. You can't really tell just how twisted and gnarled it is. I still think it had something to do with Fred's death. We may never know.

I'll spare you the real pictures of the cut. Just know that he sliced it on the edge of the dryer casing. We should have gone to the Emergency Room for stitches but didn't. DJ will have one heck of a scar to prove that he's the best husband in the world!

On the phone with his dad. Sore from cutting his hand and frustrated that the dryer refuses to be fixed. It was closing in on midnight at this point so he's pretty exhausted as well! (He's still an amazing husband for all the hard work and for refusing to give up on Fred!)

The inside of the dryer now. Lots of tools and a stubborn motor. At this point, all I could think was, "I JUST CLEANED!"

As DJ was carrying the back panel from the living room to the garage, we noticed some burns. Looks like something dripped down the back of the dryer, combined with the heat and the lint and burned up. Maybe this was the reason for Fred's death and not my hair clip! The world may never know...

And that's where we left it last night when we finally fell into bed. I have two loads of clothes that are sopping wet and will travel to a friend's house later today. (Tara to the rescue!) We don't know what our next step will be. This morning, we were too tired to care. Anyone want to give us a couple hundred dollars for a new dryer? :)

Lessons from a year gone by...

2010-01-03T22:10:00.004-06:00

I heard a talk show host talking about a month ago about something she had promised to do in 2010. She joked that it sounded so futuristic and way far off. "Sure I'll do that in 2010! I'll just zip over in my flying car and have my 3-D hologram robot take care of it for me!" 2010 seems very space-agey. Very distant future. When the world will have been obliterated by garbage and pollution and we will all live (and easily travel) in space. In fact, I think I recall a 6th grade school assignment to draw what the classroom would look like in 2010. I drew a room where I was the only student and a computer was my teacher. I got my lunch from a vending machine and a robot made my bed. I was sure we'd all be living solitary lives governed by technology. Good thing my prediction wasn't totally right! (I'm still waiting on the robot to make my bed...)
As 2009 came to a close and 2010 began, I started thinking. (Just like every good American should at this time of year!) So here is the grand result of my weeks of contemplation. OK - not weeks. Maybe several days. And by days I mean hours. And by hours I mean just a few minutes as I was doing the dishes. Regardless, here are the lessons I've learned from a year gone by:

1. I loved being engaged. It was tons of fun! The long distance relationship, mono, funeral, and back injury were not.
2. I love to plan.
3. Planning a wedding was fun. Being engaged was fun. Being married is better. Much better!
4. I like living in the same city with D.J.
5. Given enough time, a dog will find the hole you hope is invisible to them. Holes in the ground, holes in the fence - makes no difference. Find it they will!
6. Star Wars wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
7. I can cook!
8. I love to cook!
9. Reading cookbooks is actually fun - despite the hours of teasing I've dished out for others who had this love before me.
10. Feeling 16 kinds of crafty does NOT mean you can ignore your chores and paint.
11. Feeling crafty doesn't mean you have the money to do said crafts.
12. Moving is no fun. Decorating a house is.
13. New England is beautiful.
14. New England is cold.
15. New England is very different from Texas.
16. DJ turned out to be an amazing fiance'. He's an even more amazing husband!
17. Hormones do wonky things to you. You feel powerless to overcome said wonkiness. (Random side note: The spell checker recognizes "wonky" but not "wonkiness". Why?)
18. Changing the hormones changes the outlook you have on life. (One year, three different birth control pills, three very different reactions to pills.)
19. The Lord doesn't work on our time table.
20. The Lord is more amazing than I ever imagined. He continues to reveal Himself in more and more awesomeness.
21. If you hang a picture frame too high on the wall it looks funny.
22. Having a puppy is like what I imagine having a baby will be like.
23. Wanting a child and being prepared to raise a child for the rest of forever are two very different things.
24. Staying home is a lot tougher than I thought it would be.
25. Navy blue carpet shows grass more than tan carpet.
26. Painting the walls to match the curtains isn't always necessary. You can live with the non-matching if needed.
27. New Years Resolutions are pointless unless they're driven by a passion and a plan to change.

There you go - one lesson for every year of my life. (I'll be 27 in March, so I included it too!) I was going to do 2009 lessons, but that seemed a little extreme. I'll post about Christmas soon - I need time to upload pictures! Enjoy the harsh jolt back into normal life... :)

The weekend before...

2009-12-21T09:23:00.003-06:00

I know I said I was going to take a blog-cation, but DJ had to work this morning and I find myself up early with a massive to do list before he gets home and we head to his family's house. Therefore, I feel the need to blog. :)
Friday we celebrated the end of the semester with a free pizza coupon we found. Then we realized the coupon was no good and found an even better deal on-line. Then we drove 20 minutes to pick up the pizza and 20 minutes back. I thought living in the Metroplex was supposed to make things easier because there was so much more stuff - not make things harder because none of that stuff was in the city you live in. I've never not been able to get a Pizza Hut delivery. It's a strange world I find myself in!
Saturday I slept in and woke up to the smell of coffee and breakfast. What a wonderful husband I have! DJ had to work Saturday afternoon so I decided to run a few errands. Here are the lessons I learned.
1. The last Saturday before Christmas is NOT a good time to look for a last minute gift if you haven't already decided what that last minute gift is going to be. It's also not the time to go bargain hunting!
2. I'm a small town girl trapped in the big city! And I was going to the only mall within a 45 minute radius. And I was in a much bigger city than I've ever lived in my entire life. And people here back into cars in the parking lot, smash in the bumper, look a police officer square in the eye and drive off. And my car stopped working. And I got buggy-wrecked 16 times at Target. And I wanted to curl up in the camping department and hide from everyone until someone came to rescue me. And there were no cute boxers for DJ's Christmas present. And when I did find boxers a group of teenage boys started laughing at me and I was so upset I ran away to the furniture aisle.
3. The cashier's at Target don't care that you've been waiting in line for 45 minutes. They're just enjoying chatting with their high school buddies who happened to be in line in front of you.
4. The iPhone is a wonderful time filler when you're stuck in said line for 45 minutes and you have no one to talk to. I'm loving me some Bejeweled!
5. Don't tell your husband you're parking spot based on the cars that are near you. The cars move and change out before he gets there.

The whole shopping trip was truly stressful. I handled the Black Friday shopping much better than the Saturday before Christmas. It was no good. I was so traumatized by the entire thing that I made someone from the school drop DJ off at Target so he could drive for the rest of the day. Sadly, the traffic was so bad that she had to drop him off about three blocks away. He hiked through the cold wind, the mall parking lot, and across 8 or 9 lanes of the busiest street in town to get to me. My husband is so amazing!

Sunday was the anniversary of DJ popping the big question so we went on an all day date! DJ surprised me with a copy of "The Proposal" wrapped and hidden under the tree. It was wonderful! We went to the ballet and then to Spaghetti Warehouse. It's not our favorite restaurant in the world, but thanks to our super coupon hunting, we payed only $9 for two dinners, two drinks, two salads, and lots of bread! We then came home and enjoyed the time as a couple. We wrapped gifts, we talked, we goofed off, and we loved every second of it. We ended up staying up until 1:30 in the morning talking. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Now I need to do some serious laundry before DJ comes home and we head out for the holidays. I'm so excited about the next two weeks together and even more excited about our first Christmas as husband and wife! What a precious time it is! I'm determined to cherish every second of it...

The Proposal (just for Leslie!)

2009-12-18T16:57:00.003-06:00

Leslie,

I forgot that you weren't around as our love story unfolded like everyone else from that LIFE Group. Just for you, here's a recap of how we met and how he popped the big question. Warning: Those pregnancy hormones just might get the best of you. Be ready to cry!

Much to the surprise of our friends and family, we met on eHarmony. We were matched on March 4, 2008 and slowly got to know each other over (long) e-mails and (even longer) phone calls. We finally met face to face on June 9, 2008 and fell in love instantly. After dinner at Panera and an evening with the LIFE Group, we went to Starbucks to talk. There, D.J. told me that he wanted to court me with the intention of pursuing marriage. Three days later, he asked for my dad's blessing - which he enthusiastically gave. The rest, as they say, is history...

The day we both got out for Christmas break, D.J. was acting super funny but I didn't think much of it. (Looking back, I can tell just how "off" he was!) He said that he had missed me tons and wanted to go on a fancy date. I'd just bought a new dress for a friend's wedding and was anxious to show it off again. D.J. told me to be dressed and ready to go on a fun, fancy date at 4:30. When 4:30 arrived, there was a knock on my door. It wasn't D.J. at all - but Jay Mathis! He handed me a rose and a card from D.J. The card was a simple letter from D.J. explaining that the night would be a celebration of our love. Jay would drive me to all of the places around town that were special to us. So I climbed into Jay's car, more nervous than I could ever say (and really really hoping this was the proposal I thought it might be), and headed to Panera. When we got there, my little sister was waiting for me with another rose, a card, and a camera. After a few (very) tearful words of encouragement and blessing, she handed me the next card, took a picture, and sent me on my way. The next location was the Starbucks where D.J. had made his intentions clear. Waiting there was a precious couple from church that we were really good friends with. They were far too nervous to offer many words of encouragement, so after a few giggles, several hugs, and a shaky picture, was on her way again. However, I was a bit nervous and mis-read the clue. It told me to go to where we had our second date. So I headed to Barnes and Noble where we had met up with Jay for coffee just days after we officially started dating. When I got there I wandered the store, shaking violently with nerves and anticipation. I was sure someone was going to jump out from behind I bookcase, I'd scream bloody murder, and trip on my high heels, falling flat on my face with no ring on my finger. Jay ran to the car and made a quick phone call only to discover that we were supposed to be at the Dr. Pepper Museum. (Oops!) Once Jay and I finally arrived at the correct location, D.J.'s sister was waiting for me with another rose and a card. She had a few more tearful words of encouragement and wisdom before sending me off to Johnny Carino's. By this point, I was dying to see D.J. (and go to the bathroom) but was thoroughly enjoying the evening and the special friends I was seeing along the way. At Johnny Carino's a friend from LIFE Group was waiting for me. When I walked into Carino's I busted out with, "Dang it! Where's D.J.?" My friend re-assured me that I would see him soon, but she was so nervous that she forgot to give me the rose! (Random side note: We were both thrilled that our friends were so excited for us that they were as nervous as we were...) This final card led me to the church. When I walked in, I was greeted by 200 tea light candles lining the walk way from the door into the sanctuary, up the aisle, and across the altar. Waiting for me at the altar was D.J. (At last!) He told me how much he loved me and how much he looked forward to all of our tomorrows and then said, "It would do me a great honor if you would answer me this one question..." He then got on one knee, pulled out a ring box, and quietly said, "Will you marry me?" I was shaking quite violently by that point and trying hard not to cry but said "YES!" several times. I think I might have even screamed it. After celebrating and admiring the ring, we had our very first kiss. After attempting to race to blow out all of the candles (and finally getting to go to the bathroom) D.J. suggested that we head over to my parent's house to show off the ring. When we arrived, however, there were almost 20 people waiting for us with a surprise engagement party.

He did an amazing job planning and pulling off every single detail. I was so proud! I still am proud to tell that story and to know that it's my forever husband that did all of that for me. I truly am the luckiest girl on Earth!

And on it goes...

2009-12-18T07:40:00.003-06:00

Did you hear? I'm in love. So very in love.

Seriously - this stuff is amazing. Last night we made Quick Skillet Chicken Macaroni Parmesan. I can't decide which dish I love more. I just know that this cookbook has earned it's spot on the kitchen counter and not in the back shelf. At least until I memorize the recipes. I don't want to bog you down with recipes you don't care about so let me know if you want last night's delight. I'll be happy to e-mail it as well as the Fake 'Em Out Ravioli Lasagna.

I thought of another reason I love this cookbook. It doesn't make an outrageous amount of food each time. We can easily eat it in one night or in a night with a few left overs to follow. It doesn't make so much that you're sick of it by the time it's gone.

Most of the recipes we've tried have used half a box of pasta. Therefore, I already have the stuff to make it again. Or, if I had a bigger crowd to feed I could double the recipe without much trouble. This makes me happy deep in the mommy part of my heart.

Enough about the cookbook. (I'm still in love though!) Now on to the other major love of my life. Sunday marks the one year anniversary of when the man of my dreams got down on one knee and put a ring on my finger. It was an amazing, incredible night. (If you don't know the story, let me know and I'll be happy to share. It's the best engagement story on the planet - bar none! But then, I'm a little biased...) To celebrate we're getting all dressed up and cashing in our Spaghetti Warehouse coupons for a super cheap fancy dinner (that I don't have to cook!). Then we're going to see "The Nutcracker". Or maybe we're going to the ballet first. I don't know what time the show is. I just know we have tickets and my heart is happy. AND, I get to be with the man I love. Life is good.

This will probably be my last post for a while - I'm going on a blog-cation. We're spending the next two weeks enjoying vacation and family. I can't tell you how excited I am about our first Christmas as husband and wife! What a precious time it is!! One of these days we'll get around to buying our ornament to commemorate the occasion (hint, hint) but until then I'll hold the lap top up next to the tree so I can pretend that on-line purchase has been made. (HINT, HINT!!) Since I have a new iPhone, I'll still be able to check e-mail and keep in touch with the cyber world but I probably won't blog. :)

Have a wonderful, very merry Christmas!

I have an announcement to make!

2009-12-16T08:23:00.004-06:00

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? I have an announcement to make. Or, as one of my students used to say - "a-mouse-ment".

I am in love with my cookbook.

Everything we've made has been heavenly. While we were engaged, somone saw this book for sale in the teacher's lounge at school and told me it was full of husband pleasing recipes. It was only a few bucks so I bought it. I haven't made anything from this delightful book until last week. After only a few recipes, I'm in love. Love I tell you!

Here's what I love the most - in completely random order.

1. There are no crazy ingredients you never buy.

2. The instructions are easy to follow.

3. The pictures are pretty. (I'm serious about this one. Pretty pretty pictures make food look good and help you decide what to make. It also lets you know when you've done it wrong!)

4. The cover is red. It matches my kitchen. This makes me happy.

5. There are easy to follow kid instructions on most of the recipes.

6. There are little symbols on each pages showing if they're easy prep, how long it takes to make it, if it's a kid friendly recipe, and if it's a "5 Star Favorite".

7. The recipes are easy to adapt for our tastes.

8. The recipes are easy to spice up a bit and this makes me feel less like a chef in training and more like a gourmet chef for the Hammond House!

Last week we made Cheeseburger Pasta. (I blogged about it. Scroll down and look for "A few items of business") We also made Fake 'Em Out Ravioli Lasagna. It made a huge dish. It lasted all of two nights in our house. I already want to make it again. (If you want the recipe, e-mail me. I'll be happy to share!)

Last night we made one of our favorites so far. No, I loved that Cheeseburger Pasta more. No, the Ravioli Lasagna. Or did I love this one most? Grrr! I can't decide! They're so very yummy! I'll tell you what - you make all three and tell me what you like the most. Okay? Deal!

Last night we made Hearty Lasagna Soup. But first, let's set the scene... The weather man told us that yesterday's high would be 48. He lied. We never got out of the 30's. After a very fun party the night before, I spent the day ignoring responsibility and nibbling on left overs. And painting. Lots of painting. (Christmas is coming, ya' know!) No shower, no laundry, no real food - just paint, cookies, and some wonderful e-mails with my friend Brandi. (Don't you love old friends who know your heart so well they can read your mind over e-mail even when you haven't seen each other in months? My heart just sighed a little!) My husband has little to no heat in his tennis office. And it's on an outside wall. And he had hall duty by a drafty door yesterday. And his car is very slow to heat up. And when he got home he had to take the trash out. So... Very cold. I'd eaten nothing but cookies. DJ was a frozen husband-sicle. So I made the warmest thing I could find in our new best friend! DJ made a fire. (A big one.) (In the fireplace.) When DJ saw the picture for this meal, he turned his nose up. I told him we were having it anyway. Then he came to the stove and smelled what I was cooking. Then he got very excited and kissed me. :) Now you know the story - on to the recipe!

1 pound ground beef (We used turkey. DJ burps with beef.)

1/4 t garlic powder (I threw in some onions. I could have thrown in more. And more garlic.)

3 and 1/2 cups beef broth with onion (I didn't have any. I used chicken broth.)

1/4 t Italian seasoning, curshed (Much to my surprise, we didn't have any of this either. I just sprinkled in a ton of oregano and basil until it smelled good.)

1 can diced tomatoes (Note: Don't buy the cheap stuff. They are icky. And green. And sometimes white. Next time I might use Italian tomatoes for more flavor.)

1 1/2 cups of uncooked mafalda or rotini (We used rotini. And we used more like 2 1/2 cups. As previously stated, we like pasta.)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (We did more like 1/2 cup. We like cheese.)

Cook the beef (or turkey) and garlic powder (and onion) in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until the meat is well browned, stirring frequently to break up meat. Pour off any fat.

Stir the broth, Italian seasoning, and tomatoes into the skillet. Heat to a boil.

Stir the pasta into the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender but still firm, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cheese. Serve with additional cheese, if desired.

I didn't read right and added the pasta with the broth and other stuff. It made our pasta super tender, which we were looking for. We topped it with mozzerella cheese. YUM! I made a loaf of French Bread from a can. My plan was to have left overs for lunch today. There are no left overs. :( I'll eat our taco pizza from the other night instead.

Are you in love with my cookbook too? It's fantabulous! I want to keep it with me always! :) If you'd like to buy one for your family, you can - right here!

I am not getting paid to endorse this cookbook. I just love it. We're making Chicken Macaroni Parmesan tomorrow night. (Tonight we have another party!) I'll let you know if it's as yummy as the last three have been. My guess is yes!

Have a fun day - and cook something new!! It's good for your heart...

I'm back!

2009-12-15T08:37:00.006-06:00

As my friend MK so lovingly pointed out, it's been a while since I posted. Isn't it amazing how the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to be so jam packed? Every year it remains true. Parties and presents and cuddling by the fire on a cold night seem to take every minute of the day. I'm not complaining - just stating the facts.

Last night, DJ and I hosted our first Christmas party together. I decided everything had to be perfect for this crazy group of teenagers we were inviting over and put myself into a tailspin. I'm not sure why I felt this way - but I see now what a bad idea it was. I cleaned until I made myself mad. In a single day, the dishwasher broke, the dryer went out (again), and I sucked up some foreign object into the vacuum cleaner and it went kaput. Then I ruined a cake that I was making for my nephew. By 1, I was a large sobbing puddle on the floor. So I sat down with a fork and the ruined cake and ate like a mad woman. Strangely, I had a stomach ache and didn't feel a bit better. When I made my no bake cookies, I got the chocolate too hot on the stove and melted the wax paper to my kitchen table. It was a heck of a day! (The dryer is still on the fritz, the dishwasher fixed itself as far as we can tell, and my wonderful husband pulled the junk out of the vacuum cleaner and made it suck very well once again.) (Yes Megan, I know vacuum cleaners don't suck. I wrote that just for you!)

Despite my insanity, the party was wonderful! We had a great time! Here are the cute little gifts I made for the tennis team out of toilet paper rolls. Isn't my mom amazing for collecting and saving a thousand of them for me? :- )

There was a TON of food and the kids ate way more than I thought they would! They did not, however, eat as much as DJ thought they would. Teenagers are funny little critters, aren't they?

Last weekend was our nephew's birthday party. (His real birthday was on Thanksgiving and he was with his dad so we haven't gotten to celebrate until now!) He loved DJ's birthday cake so much that he begged me to do it again. After ruining the first cake I made him, I finally produced this:

I love how happy he looks! (He's not a big smiler. Just trust me - he was happy.) He actually clapped and hugged me and told me that he loved me. From what I know about teenagers, this is a huge deal for a 15 year old boy! I think Saturday I realized just how much I love those kids as my own niece and nephews, not as extensions of my husband's family. We had our other nephew over for a few hours a week or two ago and I must say that it was one of the highlights of my week! I'm hoping their sister can come over soon to hang out. She cleaned her room, and it seems that our house was her reward of choice! Woo hoo! (I tend to think that she likes Marley more than she likes coming to play, but that's okay. I like Marley too!)

So now for my favorite piece of news. The best part of our holiday season thus far. The piece de resistance. (Did I spell that right? It's French. I don't know how to spell in English, much less in French!) I have looked forward to this night for over two years. The Andrew Peterson Behold the Lamb of God concert! For those who know me well, you know that Andrew Peterson is, by far, my all time favorite artist. For those who don't know me, trust that I border on obsession when it comes to AP. Friday night, I got to see him perform. Live. And then I met him. (Again. But that's not the point. This time I have an actual picture to prove that I met him in person. Face to face.) Brandon Heath was on tour with him as well, but we weren't nearly as impressed with him once we met him. We chatted for a bit - but he seemed more wrapped up in how cool he was and less concerned about a lowly listener like me. But I digress - on to AP!!!!

There he is! DJ hopped out of line, ran about 5 or 6 people up, and snapped this photo to test the lighting. I don't care. I have pictures. :) AND, look at that! He's a leftie! (All the great people are!)

Here we are, waiting in line. I look tired you say? That's because at this point it was very close to the midnight hour and I had spent the better part of my day fighting the massive crowds to find DJ's Christmas present. What did I get him, you ask? I can't tell you. He reads this blog. I also can't tell you because it's still in the store. Somewhere. I'll find it though! I will!

And now for the picture we've all been waiting for!!

The Hammonds with ANDREW PETERSON!!!! You can't tell in this picture, but my feet aren't touching the ground. I'm floating. We got to chat with AP for a bit and told him that we used two of his songs in our wedding and that we listen to "Invisible God" constantly and that it's meant a lot to us as a couple and then we showed him some of our honeymoon pictures. (I love our iPhones! So handy!) He complimented DJ on his smooth introduction of his wife and said that we were "a very cute couple". My life is complete. (Just kidding!) I bet he'll never know how excited I was or how good his compliment made us feel. Oh AP, we love you!

I know this post is long - but let me leave you with two more "Family Pictures" before I go. I think they're frame worthy! (Now if I can just remember to print them off...)

A few items of business

2009-12-07T13:32:00.003-06:00

I'm working on a blog about the day after Thanksgiving shopping extravaganza but it's taking longer than I thought. Thanks for your patience!

Did you hear? I won a humidifier! It arrived shortly before we left for our marriage conference and I love it! Thanks Crane!

I'm loving it! I was notified this morning that I won two other prizes. I'll let you know when they come.

We tried a new recipe last night that I just have to share!

1 pound ground beef

2 cups shell pasta

1 1/2 cups of water

1 can tomato soup

1 can cheddar cheese soup

Brown the meat in a 10" skillet.

Drain and return to skillet.

Add pasta, water, and soup over medium heat until boiling. Boil for at least 10 minutes or until pasta is cooked to your liking.

We used turkey instead of beef. I say beef makes DJ burp so I avoid it if at all possible. Next time I make this, I'll throw in some onions to add some flavor. Or maybe some peppers. Or maybe we'll use turkey sausage instead of turkey breast. Who knows!

We heart pasta so we added three additional handfuls into the skillet. This meant we had to cook it longer and it dried out a bit. We added some water, but not enough. Next time I'll add more.

When the pasta was soft we poured it into bowls and ate in front of the roaring fire. Last night we topped it with a little mozzerella cheese. This afternoon for lunch I sprinkled parmesan on it. I'm not sure which I liked more.

We're nuts about bread and bread type products, so we opened a sleeve of crackers. Next time I'll actually plan ahead and make a loaf of bread out of a can. :) (Nothing like homemade!)

I loved it because it was a simple flavor. DJ loved it because it stayed hot for a long time. His tongue has the blisters to prove it.

YUM!

Black Friday - a poem

2009-12-07T12:50:00.005-06:00

Twas the day of Thanksgiving and all through the house
Every creature was stirring even Marley - the "mouse"
The ads were spread on the table with care
In hopes that great deals would soon be found there

The economy had hit our small family hard
Without these great deals, we'd have nothing but cards

The sales -how they twinkled, the discounts - how merry
I poured over them while holding my bowl of cranberry jelly
Some deals were so cheery
I laughed when I saw them - in spite of myself

As deals were perused and coupons were clipped
We planned an attack for our Great Shopping Trip
With turkey still warm and the sink full of dishes
Away we all flew to fill Christmas wishes

At 5 we rushed to get fonts from the store
Only to find they had fonts, fonts galore
We debated and wrestled which one was the best
Made our purchase and headed back home to rest

Just a few hours later as the cold settled in
We rushed to find toys (and a few crazy "friends")
A long line outside, and longer indoors
We saved lots of dough but nearly fell on the floor

Everyone trotted right off to bed
But DJ had an idea in his head
An early alarm and to Target he went
Starbucks then breakfast, then for me he sent

We shopped and saw sales galore
Then picked up my sister and hit some more
When day was done and cash was spent
Three tired shoppers homeward went

Desperate times call for desperate measures
In one day alone we got all our treasures
So with some paper and bows and stickers and tags
Presents are done and ready for bags

There you go! My Black Friday adventures... Yes we really were one of those crazy people at Toys R Us at midnight and yes it was worth it! When we finally left at 2 in the morning we ended up with a free box of crayons! Yipee! (We also went to Michael's at 5 on Thanksgiving, but it wasn't quite as crowded or chaotic.) I also got a stand mixer and Up out of DJ's early morning Target run. It was such a great day and we were so very tired. We would have done more shopping if I hadn't had that pesky bladder infection. I eventually made DJ take me home because every time I went to the bathroom the industrial dye pills were staining the commercial toilets and I was uber embarrassed!

A tale of two dogs...

2009-12-02T12:56:00.006-06:00

I told you nothing exciting would happen this week. I was wrong. We interrupt our Thanksgiving story to bring you late breaking news: Our two dogs (AKA: The Kids) are as different as, well... Black and white. Night and day.

Before you thank me for pointing out the obvious, let me illustrate with a little story. This morning DJ called me as school was starting.

"It's snowing!"
"It's what-ing?"
"Snowing! Go look outside."
I went to the back door. "No honey, that's rain."

"Look close. I'm sure there's a snowflake in there somewhere!"

I opened the back door and shivered. Just rain.

Cua peered cautiously around the corner and saw the cold wet nastiness outside. She immediately tucked her tail between her legs and hid somewhere warm. Like under the bed. Marley, being the nut case that he is bounded outside with energy only a puppy could muster. I was wearing my pajamas. And my monkey house shoes. I was not in the mood for a chase. So I did what any sensible pet owner would do - I screamed as loud as I could until he returned. He was soaked. Yipee! Marley then proceeded to run around the house and pounce on his toys, my toes, and the Christmas tree. Cua shivered and hid.

Within a few minutes, I realized it was, indeed, snowing.

I frantically tried to reach my box of winter clothes that were still safely packed away in the top of the closet so I could take something black outside to photograph against the snow. Then it hit me. I have a black coat. With black gloves in the pockets.

And I'm wearing black pajama pants.

And I have a black dog. Doh!

I drug Cua out of her hiding place and took her outside in an attempt to take pictures. Marley ran around trying to catch the snow. (It was really very cute.) Cua huddled against the house and shivered violently. (She was so ashamed that she wouldn't let me take a picture.)

After several minutes of photos, I decided to try the bushes in the front yard in the hopes that something had accumulated on the leaves.

No such luck.

Cua sat in the front door way and shivered. Marley ran around happily enjoying the cold. I had to chase him three houses down before I finally caught the mutt. (I had on real shoes at this point, but I was still wearing those pj pants!)

(Speaking of - have you ever seen the front of our house? Here it is:

I snapped this one AFTER I captured the nut case...
There's a close up of our candy cane lights. :) Notice the perfectly placed bows. Thank you very much!)

Now back to the snow story...
Cua is still pouting about the cold. She refused to eat breakfast and won't let me pet her. And forget about trying to get her outside! Sheesh!

Marley has stood at the door all day and whined to be let out. He licks the ice. He runs and slides and lets the wind blow through his fur.

Black and white. Night and day.

Giveaways

2009-12-02T07:56:00.008-06:00

I love giveaways! They're so much fun!! Today is National Giveaway Day so I'm entering to win quite a few... You get extra entries if you blog about the prize you want to win, so surf over to these great contests: (But don't enter, because then you'll win and not me and that'll make me sad...)

Win a cute collar for you pooch!
Win a fun "Let It Snow" sign!
Win a cute little hat!
Win a beautiful snowflake quilt!
Win a beautiful bracelet!
Win a muscle relaxer thingy!
Win a MAH shopping spree!
Win a free sihloutee!

Have fun!

Thanksgiving, Chapter 2

2009-12-01T08:00:00.003-06:00

Before I continue the Thanksgiving story, I'd like to insert a story that happened this morning at 2am. The suitcase from last week was unpacked, but still sitting in the floor. When our "precious" puppy began to whine at 2am, my amazing husband dutifully got up and let him out. On his way back to bed, he stumbled on the suitcase and almost his his head on the corner of the dresser. The sound startled me awake and I shouted, "Are you okay mom?" He mumbled something about the stupid suitcase and almost getting killed and came back to bed. As we drifted back to sleep I began re-telling the story to myself so I could blog about it. In that suspension between awake and asleep, I thought it was the most hilarious story ever! I was convinced that people would read this blog, laugh until they fell out of their chairs, and send it to their friends. It would be the blog that made me famous! (You know what stage of the awake-asleep continuum I'm talking about here, don't you? The stage where you are amazingly brilliant and think thoughts such as, "My nose itches - I should have it surgically altered!") Somehow in the light of day, the story doesn't seem as comical or as fame-inducing. (It was slightly amusing when my sweet husband tripped over the suitcase again this morning with all the lights on! Don't ask me why it hasn't been put back in the closet yet. It's one of those things we'll never understand...)
Now then - back to Thanksgiving. If you'll recall - no sleep, bladder infection, doctor, drugs, industrial dye, glowing pee. Now that you're caught up:
Let's back track a few hours here... As we were getting ready to leave to pick up my prescription at the only pharmacy open in the entire city, my sister peeked in the oven to get a better whiff of the delicious turkey aroma. That's when she realized the oven was filled with smoke that was quickly billowing out into the kitchen. A few frantic yelps for help brought dad (and three dogs) skidding into the kitchen to investigate. Turns out we didn't do so well at our foil wrapping this year and the broth was spilling out of the seams and landing on the bottom of the oven instead of in the pan we wanted it in. Thus, smoke. A little bit of careful maneuvering and all was well once again!
After our fun filled trip to Walgreens for medicine, we came back and hit the ground running on preparations. Well, D.J. hit the ground running. I kind of crept around carefully and made lots of bathroom trips. Luckily, the industrial dye did it's job rather quickly and I was feeling better within a few hours. We cooked up a storm in that tiny little kitchen! Sweet potato casserole, dressing, the rather large (and somewhat smokey) turkey, green bean casserole, broccoli and rice casserole, Monkey bread, cranberry sauce, cranberry salad, gravy, etc. The list goes on and on!
We dug out the China, the crystal, and the silver. As we polished and set out the spoons, we realized that we only had 8 place settings of silver and crystal glasses and nine people were arriving in less than an hour. So, we tucked a set of regular silverware and a boring glass in the stack and went on our way. When my uncle and cousins arrived, we learned that one of their girlfriend's would be arriving momentarily. We dove back into the China cabinet (which isn't a China cabinet at all - it's more like the top shelf of a closet full of games) and returned victorious with another plate. The silver and crystal were no where to be found, so D.J. and I ended up with the boring, every day stuff. Good thing it doesn't change the taste of the food!!
Once all the cooking was done and we were all starving, we sat down to a table full of food. My cousin leaned over to his girlfriend and began pointing at the dishes on the table. "These are amazing!" "You've never tasted anything like this!" "I wait all year for this dish alone." "It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without my aunt's _____." "My cousin makes the best sweet potatoes this side of the Mississippi!" "Oh! Get more of that dish - you'll love it." I never realized how much my cousin enjoyed coming over for Thanksgiving. It made us feel good to know that he loved it as much as we did!
The dinner was delicious! For some reason, it tasted better than it has in years past. We're not really sure why but everyone seemed to agree. Maybe it was the extra smoke in the turkey. Maybe it was that I sneezed into the sweet potatoes. (Just kidding! I did cough close to the dressing before it was cooked. I think we saved it though...) Who knows! I just know it was scrum-didilly-umptious! :)
That's all for chapter 2. Be excited because the next chapter is all about shopping! What an adventure that one was... :) Just you wait!!!

Another giveaway...

2009-12-01T07:40:00.001-06:00

It's like National Giveaway week or something crazy like that. You get extra entries if you blog about the giveaway you're hoping to win. I want a gift certificate to Gussy. Check out the giveaway here!

Photocards Giveaway!

2009-11-30T14:56:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Christi, I found another give away. (This morning I won a humidifier thanks to links she sent me.) Check out the give away here!

Thanksgiving, chapter 1

2009-11-30T08:51:00.004-06:00

It was a wonderful five day weekend filled with more events than you can imagine. Since this week will be relatively dull in comparison, I'll just take my time re-telling the events of the holiday.

Wednesday we drove to Waco and spent the day doing a lot of nothing. We enjoyed the fact that we could rest and not be stuck with a to do list. About 3:30 we realized that while we usually spend the day baking so we'll be ready for the big feast, we had done nothing but snack on the cheese ball and sit around talking. I take that back - I ate a LOT of ham. It was yummy and the stupidly put the tray right in front of me. I nibbled while we talked and laughed and next thing we knew, all the ham was gone. (Sorry you didn't get much Dad! Should have come home sooner!)

Around 3:30 we started to bake the cornbread for the dressing, but didn't feel terribly motivated. So we went back to talking. We might have played a game or two. Because of our laid-back attitudes we were up until 1:30 or 2:00 working on pies and bread dough and other assorted and assundry delicious things. We were tired, but we loved it.

When we finally went to bed D.J. and I crashed. Hard. I can't remember the last time I slept that hard on a pull out sofa. Sadly, it was not to last. At 5:30 in the morning I woke up with a raging bladder infection. I haven't had one since I was four, so I had no clue what was going on for several hours. I just knew how much I hurt. At 8:00, we busted out the iPhone and did some research. We decided it was either a bladder infection, I had an STD, or I'd stuck the bar of soap too far up my Whoops-a-Daisy! (Yes, really. Those are the three most common answers found on Google when you ask why it hurts when you pee.) We quickly ruled out the last two options and decided that I needed anti-biotics fast. I haven't been sick since moving to Forney, so I called the clinic I went to when I lived in Waco. Amazingly, the doctor on call was my old doctor who knew me VERY well. He called in an anti-biotic and something to help with the pain. It turned out that this "pain pill" was formerly used as an industrial dye. Somewhere along the line, some genius decided to ingest the stuff and discovered that it made his bladder stop the painful spasms associated with infection. It also turns your pee the color of a neon sign. Over the course of the next few days, every single member of the family joined me in the bathroom to see the amazing, glowing pee! It was truly delightful. The fact that I was taking an industrial dye proved to be the source of quite a few jokes and interesting conversations. Who decided that it was a good idea to swallow bread mold? Or to cook the white thing a chicken poops out? Or to drink the stuff that shoots out of a cow? Seriously?
I'll end chapter one here. To sum up, no sleep. Lots of talking and laughing. One round of industrial dye. I love family time!

I'm sorry...

2009-11-24T11:39:00.003-06:00

I just got off the phone with my mom and it seems I've gotten my dates mixed up. The Black Friday shopping really began the year that my brother eloped and spent his first Thanksgiving away from home. My grandfather was weeks away from passing away and we were all a little strained. That means that my mother, in her insanity, let a 15 year old dictate the family traditions. Don't do it people! Your family will never be the same again!

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines!

2009-11-24T09:14:00.002-06:00

In my family, Thanksgiving hasn't been a one day holiday in more years than anyone can remember. Over the past decade or so, our holiday has transformed into a 4 or 5 day marathon event! My parents are on their way even now to pick up my grandmother from Austin. My sister is taking off work early tomorrow to partake in the festivities. We're leaving at the crack of dawn to head to Waco so we don't miss a second. Oh Thanksgiving, how I've missed thee!

Wednesday is filled with pre-baking. Cornbread for the stuffing. Pies for the dessert. Boiled eggs for various snacking and recipe needs. Mashed potatoes for bread and potato pancakes. You know the drill...

Thursday is, of course, the big sha-bang. Dad puts the turkey in the oven around 3am while he's on his way to bed. (What a trooper dad is!) The rest of the day is filled with smells and sounds that make the heart soar with joy and happiness. We set up two tables in the living room and dining room, spread all of our tablecloths and finest china across them, and sit down to a bountiful harvest! While we sit, groaning, with our pants unbuttoned someone always pulls out a game. With the tryptophan flowing through our blood, we get goofy fast. It's such a delight. Somewhere in the madness we spread out the sales ads. They cover every flat surface we can find as we sort and plan and plot.

Friday is our newest tradition. We shop. We save. We seek out deals that make the head spin. We're not the freaks in the stores at 3am but we do shop nice and early to get the early bird deals. We started it the year my grandmother died and mom was at a loss about what to do. In her grief, she allowed me to call a few shots. (Don't ever let an 17 year old make decisions. It could change your family forever!) We were at Target at 6am that year. Then we saw the line that wound around the building, across the parking lot, and all the way to the highway. We've never done that again but we still shop each year and love the time together as we elbow our way through crowds. (Last year, Michael's opened on Thanksgiving at 9. We went for the Cricut fonts. At one point I was literally crawling on the floor, laying between some poor woman's ankles, and I grabbed the fonts that fell on my head. Yes, we're crazy. And I can't wait to do it again!)

Saturday we put up the tree. And the Santas. And the reindeer. And the Nativity scenes. Oh, how we decorate. We sing Christmas carols and laugh and giggle and remember Christmas' past. We eat Thanksgiving left overs and re-live the merriment of it all.

By Sunday, we're exhausted and ready for a vacation to recover from the events of the Thanksgiving break. It's wonderful! We love it! It is, by far, our favorite holiday.

So today I am going to clean. And pack. And gather all the dishes we need for the feast and carefully wrap them in newspaper. I need a nap, but I'm way too excited about what's to come.
Ladies and gentlemen - start your engines! And let the merriment begin! Turkey anyone?

Fun stories

2009-11-23T12:30:00.003-06:00

My sister is currently living with my parents and their 75 lb beast of a dog. (I love that dog!) Last night as they prepared for assorted and assundry family members to descend on their house for a gluttonous feast commonly known as Thanksgiving, they had quite the little adventure. I literally laughed until there were tears in my eyes when mom and Megan first told me about it. I could never hope to tell the story as well as Megan does, so you'll have to surf on over to her blog to read all about it.
(Look Brandi! Another successful link - and all thanks to you!)
Happy Thanksgiving! Yeah for turkey!!