I'm a Nut!

"Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds." Genesis 43:11

I'm sure any friends of mine that are reading this are thinking "Yep, she sure is."  I wish I had a dollar for every time I texted someone something and got back the reply "You are crazy!"  I would be rich.  It's okay though, I know they love me.  HA!  However, the title of my post was a lead into what I been craving lately--nuts.  I love nuts (and my friends that are nuts, too.  I have many.  Haha)!  My favorites are pistachio nuts and pecans.  (That is pronounced "pee-can" like a CAN of corn.  Not "pee-con" like a CON-artist.) Just a southern pet peeve of mine.  Anyway, here are a few of my latest obsessions....

 

I have been eating these like there is no tomorrow.  I know they are supposed to be better for you raw; however, these almonds with sea salt are so good.  I do have a rather "nutty" thought every time I eat almonds.  I always look at the whole ones and think about ticks.  I know, I know, I'm a nut!  But to me, they look like ticks because of the way they are shaped.

 

OMG!  These are the BEST granola bars ever, and I am so not "granola".  You are reading from a woman who used to eat a Snicker's bar and Pepsi for breakfast when she was in college.  (That would be "back in the day" when I could eat that and still weight 100 pounds.)  These days I am still not above grabbing a chocolate covered donut and a Dt. Mt. Dew as I rush out the door for work.  This past weekend I was buying a box of "fruit and nut" granola bars for Sister when the pecans on the front of this box got my attention. I threw the box in my buggy just to try.  If I didn't like them, I figured I could give them to Sister or feed them to the squirrels.  OMG!  I ate my first one on the way to work yesterday, and it was so good!  It also held me over until lunch.  I am a nut over these!

 

Sunday evening Sister wanted Chinese.  I had just eaten Vegetable Lo Mein recently (which is my "go to" Chinese dish) and didn't want it again so I opted for cashew chicken.  (Oh, and I love cashew nut too!)  This was good, but my favorite place to order/eat cashew chicken is at Miyo's.  It is so good!!

 

I have no clue why I put this picture in this post except for the fact that I'm talking food.  I took a picture of this picture which is on the wall in our cafeteria at school.  Freaky, but you have to admit that someone has a great imagination.

 

John Ryan usually doesn't want his picture taken but Sunday he obliged me and let me take this one.  I love those big, blue eyes of his. 

 

Organization update:  I'm still "trying" to get myself together.  Some things are working--like my meal plan.  Some things need tweaking--like my cleaning plan.  My neighbor's gentleman that does her yard gave me an idea for house cleaning though.  I am thinking of decorating my house like I want it, hot gluing everything into place and using a leaf blower to dust and "vacuum" all at the same time. 

 

Funny story my sister reminded me about:  Once when Heidi and I were in high school, we were wanting to go somewhere (don't remember where) but Granddad said we had to do the dishes and clean the kitchen before he would let us have the car.  OMG!  There was a sink full of dishes.  Being the seventeen year old genius that I was, I told Heidi to help me put the dishes in a laundry basket and take them outside.  With Heidi's help, I proceeded to pour dish detergent over the dishes and hose them down the with the "jet" setting on the hose.  Yes, I was probably the first person to "power wash" her dishes.  Admit it though--genius.  (And at seventeen, yes, I still ate out of them.  I didn't care the least about germs--obviously.  To me, they were clean.  Hot water?  Who needs it when you blast the germs off a dish, right?)  Yes, I'm a nut and have always been a nut. 

Making Connections

"By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.  By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.  And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead."  Hebrews 11: 4

It was great to be back in church today after being away for two weeks due to visiting the mouse house and then the clucks being so sick.  Dr. Lincoln's new sermon series is called:  "Start Here:  A renewed connection to God begins now." I've decided to use Shandon's Bible reading plan to read through the Bible this year.  After about four days of reading the outlined scriptures, I realized that it was going to take me longer than a year to read the Bible because God has been stopping me and backing me up some days.  Before I begin reading the assigned passages, I always ask the Lord to speak to me personally through my reading. He has been faithful and has done this which is why I am already behind.  "Behind" is probably not the correct word though.  Every one's spiritual walk is directed by God, so I'm not really behind.  I'm right where Jesus needs me to be.  

So, speaking of "connections", there are so many in the Bible.  I love, love, love, love finding and seeing the way God has connected the lives of those in the Old Testament to the lives of those in the New Testament, especially those that connect to Christ.  This week I was reading Genesis 21.  I became intrigued with the treaty at Beersheba.  First, I learned that "Abimelech was not a personal name but actually an official title.  Never knew that.  Anyway, in this section of Genesis 21, Abraham's well is seized by some of Abimelech's servants.  Abraham confronts Abimelech with the facts as he knows them to be.  After this, Abraham and Abimelech made a treaty.  Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant that involved slaying animals.  The men had to walk between the sacrificed animals as a way of saying "May God do to us and more if we fail to keep our covenant with each other."  However, Abraham went further because he brought Abimelech seven ewe lambs for Abimelech to guard as a living witness that he (Abraham) had dug the well.  The ewe lambs were sort of like receipts that the well did belong to Abraham.  The well was also named "Beersheba" which meant "well of the oath."  Both men swore to keep the covenant.  (I learned by doing some research that the Hebrew word "to swear" means "to bind by seven things" and the words "swear" (saba) and "seven" (seba) are very similar in Hebrew.)  So, what is the "connection" that I saw in this particular story?   Okay, think about this:  This story of the covenant made between these two men contained three elements--sacrifices (21:27--remember the men walked between the sacrifices?), witnesses (vs. 28-30--Abraham brought seven ewe lambs for Abimelech to guard as to say "Yes, the well does belong to Abraham."  There was also the well itself that was a witness and there was a tamarisk tree), and promises (vs. 31-32).  Now think about this--these same three elements are a part of the covenant that God made with us through Jesus Christ!!!!!  First, there is a sacrifice--Jesus Christ on the cross (Hebrews 10: 1-14); THEN, there is the witness of the Spirit within each believer (Hebrews 10:15); and then there is the promise of God's Word!!!  Don't you just LOVE the Bible?!!  But there is a tad bit more here.  Abraham and Abimelech entered into a covenant over the possession of a well of water.  This well water was very valuable and needed to sustain life.  God's covenant with us promises us water that is even more valuable.  God's covenant guarantees His children that we have the LIVING WATER that gives everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ!!!! 

I am enjoying my Bible reading/studying so much.  I love all the connections to Jesus throughout the Bible, but more importantly, I love the way God is speaking to me and helping me better understand His word.  He is an amazing God!!  

Thought I would include a few photos from today as well...These were taking after church on my way to get Sister.  She spent the afternoon with me and helped me with my grocery shopping.  

This precious face ended up drooling on my pillow this AM.  

I don't know what it is about my children's lips, but I just love them.

Headed out to get Sister.  I really do need to find a new pair of shades.  These make me look kin to a fly.

Um, I'm thinking this picture is evidence that it is WAY past time for a hair cut.  My bangs look like Edward Scissorhand's fingers.  HA!  

I hope everyone has a great week and finds your own special ways of connecting to a God that loves us so much that He spared not His own son.

Rainy Saturday

Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both. – Ecclesiastes 11:6

Tornado watches and thunderstorm warnings ran across the bottom of our TV most of the day.  I tried to get as much done around the house as I could, but sometimes it is hard with roosters demanding attention because they can't go outside and expend their energy.  Here is our day in pictures....

My flooded patio and wet, soggy, ugly backyard.  Sigh.  Another inside day with the Clucks.

This was the outfit for today--Boyfriend jeans that I got from Gap about four years ago that I love, a flannel shirt because Alberta created this monster (haha), and flops.  If I am home, it is rare that I am in "regular" shoes.  I am either barefooted or wearing flops.

Did more laundry.  This is one chore that never ends and if I let it slide for a day I regret it terribly the next day.

As I was folding clothes I found two pairs of the Clucks' jeans that now have holes in the knees.  What is it about boys and the knees of their pants?

I did some magazine reading.  These are two of my favorites.

Cleaned my bathroom and rewrote my prayer list and things I need to do as soon as possible...I have this huge (ugly) mirror that covers the wall behind my sink.  Since I spend a good bit of time in the bathroom every morning getting ready, I thought it would be the best place to leave my reminders.  I used to write on sticky notes and put them on the mirror, but then I got the bright idea to get dry erase markers and just write it on the mirror.  It comes right off with Windex or just water on a paper towel.  And this summer, that hideous wallpaper is coming down!  It looks like grandpa's pajamas.  Ugh!

This was lunch for me.  My grandfather used to eat this.  It is a can of well-drained tiny shrimp with a tad bit of salt and a lot of pepper.  You eat them with Saltines.  Yummy.  He also ate sardines out the can with Saltines, but I am not eating Sardines.  Blah.

I went to put the Saltines back in the cabinet and turned around to find Mouse about to get my lunch.

The Clucks started fighting so I suggested we play a game of City Monopoly that Santa brought.  Nick and I played a game while John Ryan played the Wii U.  Later we all played a game in the den.  Look at my den floor.  Sigh.  Lego hades still.  

While we were in the den playing Monopoly, this was on the TV.  I have no idea what this show is called, but it is the dumbest cartoon I have ever seen.  These "things" don't even speak English.  They just jibber-jabber at each other.  I listened to it for about three minutes and cut the thing off.  I couldn't take it.

  

I lost this game.  My six year old beat me.  I think I need to create a "shoe shopping" Monopoly.  

Crash and Burn

"Do not be wise in your own eyes." Proverbs 3: 7

I've been reading lots of information on how to "get organized."  Of course, I do this every January.  I should be an expert at it by now.  I truly admire those people that are organized.  They amaze me.  So, once again, I am jumping on the organization band wagon except this time my goal is to make it past January.  I'm going to be somewhat organized for one month.  I'll set a new goal at the end of the month.  

After school today, I was thinking about what I needed to get done and was writing my "to do" list in my cute shoe journal.  Remember the one I bought a few weeks ago--"A girl can do anything in the right pair of shoes."  Well, let's say that today I must have had on the wrong pair.  "Right" just wasn't happening for me today.  I just became overwhelmed with what I needed to do and how and where to even begin.  I decided to do some research.  (Yes, more reading.)  Actually, I am a research fanatic.  I love researching things in which I'm interested.  Okay, back to the research I decided to do.  Laina, my Type-A, OCD friend, shared a website with me that has some really good ideas on how to get started in the crazy world of organization.  I decided to look around the website and see if anything "spoke" to me.  I decided to try two new things.  (I know, I know.  Two is probably biting off more than this ADD brain can handle, but I am sort of doing one already.)  Here is what I found...

No, not a cat.  This is the cover of my cute notebook I decided to start.

I ordered this packet from "Clean Mama's" Etsy store.  Go ahead and laugh.  What 46 year old woman needs a mini manual to tell her how to clean?  Um, me.  I know how to clean.  I just hate doing it all in one day which is what I do.  I "try" to get the house cleaned on Thursday nights so it is clean for the weekend.  That means it only lasts until about Saturday night.  It also means that Friday I am worn out.  I definitely needed a new system.  This is the one I am trying. (I will say that I am scratching a few chores off the weekly list.  I'm sorry, but I am just not dusting my house once a week.  I have a life and cleaning "ain't" it.  Ha!  I'm just being real.)

This is a daily planning sheet that divides the weekly chores up into given days.  There are a few things that are to be done everyday.  (Yeah, right)

Then I ordered this meal planning kit since I was kinda-sorta already doing this.  I think I can handle this one.

And while I'm on meal planning, I must share my "new" recipe experience from tonight.  Yes, tonight was the first night for breaking out a new meal.  I did a beef brisket with cabbage, remember.  It was a crockpot meal.  I opened the backdoor this afternoon and took a deep breath expecting to be met with wonderful smells from my kitchen.  OMG!  I about gagged.  It smelled horrid.  I had no idea how I was going to eat the meal with the way it smelled.  Then Blake comes in from wrestling practice and the first thing he said was, "Mom!  Did the cat die?!"  I couldn't wait to hear what the Colonel was going to say.  He walks in, puts his keys down, starts unfastening his wrist bands (or whatever they are called on a military uniform) and says, "Something is rotten in this kitchen!  What is that smell?!"  I howled (literally) and answered, "Your supper."  Since he was home, I could now serve our new meal for the week.  I fixed every one's plates (I have always done that b/c I was raised in a house where my grandmother and mom fixed every one's plate and when you were called to the table, everyone was ready to eat.  You get your own seconds around here though.  I only fix the plate once.  If you want more, help yourself to the pots on the stove.) Okay, so I fixed every one's plates and slowly picked my way around the mush until I speared something that looked like actual food.  Blah.  The cabbage was horrible, and I love cabbage.  The sweet potatoes were dull.  I'm used to sugar, cinnamon and butter on mine.  The brisket was okay, but I have just decided that I don't like that cut of beef.  It tastes too cowy (You know--like a cow, cow).  I watched the Colonel pick around his plate and then look at me and ask, "What exactly am I eating?"  LOL!  Something told me since I disliked the meal that he was going to like it.  Guess what?  He liked it.  He isn't a big fan of cabbage, but he actually ate this and really liked the meat.  I will say that this is one meal that I will not cook again.  I'll stick to my cabbage and sausage when I crave cabbage again.

John Ryan fell asleep about seven o'clock tonight.  He got out his shower and laid down on the sofa and was gone.  I can tell he still isn't back to normal b/c of the dark circles under his eyes.  But look at those lips.  I just love his "wittle whips."

Since my salmon unit was such a hit with the kids in ELA, I decided to write a two week unit on penguins.  We have done a little with it b/c I didn't get my ELA class for two days b/c of the delayed starts we had this week.  Today we watched a short film to build some background knowledge before we started reading our novel.  I can't wait to share the movie "March of the Penguins" with the class at the end of our study.  That was one of the best movies I have seen.  God has truly created some amazingly wonderful animals.  

Oh, and I must add that after this video, the students started comparing how the penguins were like the salmon.  They started that discussion on their own.  I hope they enjoy the unit as much as I enjoyed putting it together for them.

The Roosters and I are praying for a young boy and his family who is homeless.  There are six children and the mother is single.  We are praying that she will see God's grace working in her life and that it will cause a change in her for the sake of herself and her children.  If you will, I hope you'll add this child and his family to your prayer list. Thank you.

Organization Woes

"Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.  But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."  1 Corinthians 14: 39-40

Yes, our God is an organized God.  Look at the way He went about creating the earth for us.  However, this daughter of His is so NOT organized.  My brain does not even think in that way. When I clean my house, I look like a chicken with her head cut off.  I'm from one thing to the next, and I look like I'm creating more of a mess than actually cleaning anything.

I have been blessed this year with a coworker that is super organized and is the total opposite of me.  Laina is THE Type-A model person.  Then I have my friend Jenn who is ADD like myself but has come up with some wonderful ways to mange her life so that you would never guess her brain worked like mine.  It has been such a relief to finally find someone who understands the difficulties of being an adult with ADD.  We started sharing things that we do or have done in the past, and it is like we are twins separated at birth.  When we talk, you hear a lot of "YES!"  and "OMG!  I know exactly what you mean!!"  or "Me, too!!"  I have been getting so many great organization tips from both of these ladies.  I will say that I always preface my advice questions to Laina with a "Laina, now please make it simple or my brain won't be able to handle it."  She laughs and usually says, "Okay, I promise this will be easy.  You can do this, I promise."  I am very serious that these two women have been a blessing to me.

So with all that being said, I have started off my new year exactly like I do every year--trying to be better organized.  It usually lasts for about a month.  Maybe this will be THE YEAR I can make it longer than the month of January.  :)

Here are a few pictures from the past few days...

I've been working on weekly meal plans.  I can only manage a week at a time.  I am taking baby steps.  I'll progress to two weeks when I feel I can handle it.  I have been trying one new EASY recipe a week.  I'm too tired after work to deal with complicated meal preparations, so I am only looking for simple recipes to try.  

This was not a new recipe, but it was part of a meal this week--stuffed bell peppers with ground beef and rice.  Not spicy enough for me.  Seemed to lack something, but I don't exactly know what it was. ???

Nick Rooster in the waiting room Sunday evening on Post at the minute clinic.  The Roosters had been running a fever for about three days and I was tired of sickness.

Poor John Ryan laying down in one of the rooms waiting on the doctor to see him.  Look how pale he is and how weak his eyes are.  I hate to see my children sick.

The sunset from my front porch one day this week.  Gorgeous!

I just love God's morning and evening artwork.

Another day of sickness...So pale

I found the big Rooster asleep on the living room sofa because the den sofa was filled with the Clucks.

Nick fell asleep on the way home from school today.  I realized today that I can no longer carry the Clucks in from the car.  They are too heavy for me.  Sadness.

For the past two days, the schools around our area have had two-hour delays due to low temperatures.  There were frost-bite concerns for children having to wait at bus stops in the below freezing temperatures.  I took this shot on my way to work yesterday at 10:00 AM.  It was only 17 degrees at ten with the sun shining.  The funny thing is that by the end of the week the temperatures are forecast to be in the 70s.  I don't mind cold weather, but the temperatures for the past two days have been far colder than this southern gal likes to endure.  

I love this cartoon I read at a cafe at Universal Studios (either there or Disney).  It reads like this:

Frame 1: "Ahah!  A trap!"

Frame 2:  Lion sees a pretty butterfly flying by and focuses on it.

Frame 3:  "Doggone beautiful!"

Frame 4:  (Lion hanging upside down caught by the trap.)  "I hate my attention span!"

This cartoon totally explains what it is like to be me on a daily basis.

MIA ~ Sorry

"When we stop making choices in God's direction, all that is left is to make choices in the wrong direction."  (Unknown)

Sorry I have been MIA, but CHRISTmas break had the family traveling to Florida and the wonderful (cough) Mouse House.  I know I am probably unAmerican when I say that I really don't like Disney World.  I enjoy watching my children enjoy it, but it is not a place I would choose to go on a vacation. With that being said, I am going to post just a few pictures of my break and then I'll be back with a longer post on CHRISTmas, vacation and family happenings.  Enjoy these sneak peeks.

CHRISTmas was really a good day.  The boys enjoyed opening their gifts and were relieved that got more than just a lump of coal.

I made these "Cookies for Santa," and am totally addicted now.  I made a plate full double that size and ate the last one tonight.  (Now I'm watching my hips, thighs and behind double in size also.)

I cooked CHRISTmas dinner/lunch for everyone.  This is a rutabaga.  They are the devil to peel and cut (Kristen, I'll take a link to the quick and easy way to cut these if you have one!!), but we absolutely love them.  My grandmother used to drop cornbread dumplings in hers and they were to die for.  I have her recipe so that is my next project with these babies--to try and drop the dumplings without them falling apart.

I have been in Lego Hades.  My roosters love Legos and are actually very good at building with them.  I just know that stepping on a Lego piece in the middle of the night will make you want to say a bad word. Ouch!

Before heading to the Mouse House, we spent a few days at Universal Studios.  My Roosters tend to like the thrill rides that Universal offers verses the ones that are at Disney.  After a brief shower, we saw this beautiful double rainbow.  I only had my phone camera and it does not do it justice.  You can hardly see the second rainbow but in person it was beautiful.

A selfie.  This was one evening at dinner.  By this time, I was so done with people, rides, lines, screaming, etc.

The Roosters played their DS games while waiting in lines.  Some of the wait times were two hours long.  

This is a picture of a picture of the four of us (front row left) on The Tower of Terror.  I love the way my family is looking at me.  I have to hold my head because rides like this make my head feel like the top is coming off and I HATE that feeling.  It seems to be less when I hold my head.  We rode this ride multiple times b/c the twins loved it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Disney 2014

This was the twin's second favorite ride.  It is the Everest Roller Coaster in Animal Kingdom.  

The crowd--You couldn't stir them with a stick!

I'll be back with more pictures and snippets.  Hope everyone stays warm.