Lack of Motivation and the Beginning of School

I'm sorry I haven't written in awhile. It has been crazy. College starts Monday and I think I am just pretending that it won't start. I haven't bought textbooks. I haven't put anything together. I haven't finished cleaning my house. UGH!

I have no motivation. All I have done this month, is go out of town, bake two cakes, go to the pool, sleep, and read. Let me tell you, this doesn't accomplish anything. I have such senioritis (can I get a heck yeah?). I am just dreaming about this time next year when I will hopefully have a full time teaching position and can start trying to have a baby.

Oh well, I know it will pass quickly enough and I should enjoy it. I will be interning in a middle school this semester (please pray for me). I am really nervous about teaching. I have always been pretty good at it, but when your LIFE depends on it (and I'm talking career, not death) it is a lot to worry about. I just pray I will do a good job.

I will keep everyone updated on how I do in middle school, but please keep me in your prayers.

Planet DVD Store

Ok word of warning to anyone who is trying to save money...which in these days, who isn't. Do not EVER buy DVD's from Planet DVD www.planetdvdstore.com . They are fraudulent.

I purchased the 7th Heaven full series from them. I was shown the true picture of what the boxes look like in store. When they came to my house, they were shipped from China and they were in 3 boxes, rather than 7. The cover of the box was a washed out pink color, obviously not what was shown. The numbers were handwritten on the dvd's as to what was what. These were clear bootleg copies.

According to Planet DVD they will refund all my money except shipping. We will see because I sent them a nasty letter telling them if I didn't receive a refund then I would take it to the proper authorities. I will keep you updated, but please beware of them as they are fraudulent dvd's.

AAARRGGHH!!! Idiocy abounds!

Ok, I do not usually use my blog to just vent vent vent, but I am making an exception. I am so sick and tired of the idiocy that some people possess. In one day, I have had a family member be so dramatic about something so small that when my husband and I were contacted we worried for 3 hours thinking this person had some sort of life endangering disease! Then we found out the truth and were like "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! This is what all the fuss was over?"

Then, as if this is not bad enough I call my pharmacy to check on my auto-refill and was told "oh it was filled 2 days ago, didn't they call you?" Ummm hello, no they didn't or else I wouldn't be calling you asking why it wasn't filled yet! And the final nail in the coffin today came from my insurance agent.

I won't name his frickin' name, but should he read this, he will know who he is. I contacted him on 7/10 to cancel insurance on my husband's tahoe since it was totaled from a tornado (see blog in June). He tells me that it is cancelled and he back dated it to 6/16. Thank you so much I say. I really appreciate it. Today, I found out he cancelled ALL my auto insurance! Every last stinkin' frickin' bit of it. I have been driving around with no insurance since 7/10 and was unaware of it. AAARRRGGGHHH!! What if I had been in a wreck and hurt someone? I could have been sued, jailed, and made to serve time. At the very least, just not having insurance would have earned me a nice whopping $500 fine from SC.

As you can tell it has been a day for the idiots. Well, idiots go back into your holes or rocks or caves that you came from and stay away from me. I have had all of your stupidity I can stand and I forbid you to come out for the rest of the year!!!! (like that will work, but thanks for listening to me rant and rave)

Blue Chaste Tree and Triple Chocolate Cake

Well I usually have a green thumb. I mean I'm usually like the Jolly Green Giant. I can grown anything, but apparently that thumb doesn't extend to the Blue Chaste Tree which according to Southern Living Magazine is an easy tree to plant and grow in mid-summer. According to them, you only have to water 3 times a week. WRONGO! I have watered this plant almost everyday because it's leaves are drooping and dropping. The Lord has watered it, but nothing helps. This tree looks horrible and as though it is dying. Ugh!!! The two Crepe Myrtles are thriving and I don't water them but about twice a week. I planted them at the same exact time and yet that Blue Tree is doing terribly. Well at least Lowe's gives a one year guarantee. I hope it doesn't come to that, but we'll see.

Maybe my green thumb is turning into a cooking thumb. I bake cakes like crazy as I mentioned in my last post. Today I baked a Triple Chocolate Cake (recipe courtesy of cake mix miracles). I decided I should cook my husband a chocolate cake since he loves chocolate. I found this recipe and decided to try it out. I also decided to let my husband help a little since after all its his cake. WRONG move! I laughed til I thought I would pee in my pants at what happened next.

I asked him to get out the bundt pan and spray it with the cooking spray. I am putting ingredients together and obviously paying him no attention. When I look up, he says "All done". Boy was it ever! LOL My poor husband had held the nozzle of the spray right inside of the pan rather than a foot or so away. The pan was YELLOW and about 1 inch thick with spray. I just bust out laughing. He looks and says it came out like this I swear I didn't double coat. I can't talk for laughing. I finally hold the can at the top of the sink and spray and say you aren't supposed to hold it in the pan. I just can't quit laughing. Eventually he starts laughing but he said I didn't know to hold it away. It was then that it greatly dawned on me. Men know nothing about baking (well 80% of them anyways). I should have been more clear, but it still made for an absolutely hilarious scene. I wish ya'll could have seen my pan. I cleaned it out and poured the cake in. After 50 minutes I had a wonderful chocolate cake. See below for recipe, but beware I made some changes.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 (3.9 oz) chocolate instant pudding mix
2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
8 oz sour cream
4 large eggs (I used 5 for a fluffier cake)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup veggie oil
powdered sugar (I omitted)

Whisk together all ingredients but sugar until well blended. Pour batter into well-greased 12-cup bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until cake begins to pull away from sides (it took mine 50 mins). Cool in pan on wire rack for approximately 15 minutes; remove cake from pan, and cool completely on wire rack. Sift a small amount of powdered sugar over the top of the cake (Since I omitted the sugar, I took a handful of semi-sweet morsels, place them in a zip baggie, microwaved for about 20 seconds, then cut a small hole in the end. I then used the baggie like an icing bag and swirled the chocolate over top of the cake until it was used up.)

I hope ya'll enjoy this cake, but beware it is very rich but good. Not for those who aren't big chocolate fans.

Cakes, Housework, and New Furniture

I haven't written anything in awhile; however, I have been a baking queen. In the last week I have baked 4 cakes. I baked 2 Black Russian Cakes, 1 Sock It To Me Cake, and 1 Mandarin Orange Cake (recipe from my friend Briana, see left). They have all received rave reviews (excepting the Mandarin Orange Cake which noone has tasted as I just made it). Apparently they were so good my husband thinks I should open a bakery, and the 2nd Black Russian Cake came about as a request from a family friend after they tasted the first one.

I don't know about a bakery, but I sure do like the art of it. It peacifies (is that a word and if so, is it spelled right) and relaxes me. I really enjoy it, and have had quite a bit of time for it since I no longer work. I also seem to have quite a lot of time to clean house and everything else. I tell you I do not know how everything got done when I worked fullish time. Oh yeah, my husband helped me! Now that I don't work, I told him I would do the housework as that was only fair. As long as he made the money, I would keep the yard and house up. I think I made a mistake. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE doing it, but it would be nice if occassionally he would wash the dishes (with all the baking there ends of being 2 -3 loads a day). Oh well! C'est la vie!

I also think I made a 2nd mistake by buying a new couch with a recliner on either end. A week and a half ago, I went and got a new couch and oversized chair. Our couch had a broken frame. It sat you on the floor almost. So in the interest of giving my hard working husband a comfy seat and our house a nice look, I went and found this gorgeous couch which is fabric but looks like distressed leather. It is so soft and very comfy. We got a paisley chair (which is huge) to match it and it completely changed the look of our house. Anyways, now my husband loves it so much I have to have a crowbar to pry him up. I swear he would eat, sleep, and stay on that recliner if allowed. Which reverts back to the afore mentioned paragraph which says he doesn't help, and that recliner is part of the problem. Oh well, he works hard at work and I am thankful for that and the fact that he has a job.

I'm Home, I'm Back, and I Love It

I had a fabulous week of relaxation in Florida with my mom. We had a girls week and just chilled out. We went to Disney World. I LOVE Disney World. I don't care that I do not have kids or that I don't ride a lot of the rides, I just LOVE it. All the shops, the streets, the different lands, etc. It is awesome!

Now I am home and I couldn't have been happier to get here. I missed my sweet hubby and my darlin' puppies. I did not, however, miss housework. I cleaned all day today, and I still feel like my house isn't clean. I guess I should say piled up rather than unclean. I have washed clothes, dried clothes, folded and hung clothes, vaccuumed (is that how its spelled?), washed dishes, dried them and put them away, etc. I was so busy all day but I still feel like there is a lot more to be done.

Speaking of washing clothes, I would like to forewarn everyone that some sun lotions may discolor your clothes once you wash them. I had a white terry cover up for the pool. Obviously I was wearing lots of sunscreen since I am lily white. None of these lotions had a bronzer or anything else in them that would make you think they would discolor something, but guess what, they did. I opened my washing machine lid after laundering the cover-up and various other articles of clothing and it was the only thing that was discolored, and only the parts which had contact with my skin were discolored. Those which touched my swim suit were still white. It is the oddest thing I have ever seen, so needless to say I have been bleaching the thing for about 6 hours now and it is just now turning beige. So, beware of sunscreen lotions.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I definitely did because I was let in on a secret from a friend of mine. I have been praying for her secretly because her and her husband were having some difficulties, many of which stemmed from hurt feelings and lack of communication. When we spoke over the weekend, she told me that they had talked for a long time and worked some things out, that things were not perfect but much better. I am so happy for them. I have been worried about them, and I have been praying they would talk to one another and open up the lines of communication and they did. Folks, prayer works!

I read a passage in Ecclesiastes 3 which basically said God endures forever, nothing can add to it or be taken from it. How true is this? God can make anything happen. Anything is enough with God, because there isn't a single thing in the world which can be better or more fulfilling than his love. AMEN!

What a Historical Week!

Ok, this historical week began with the passing of Ed McMahon, star of Star Search, cohort of Johnny Carson, and celeb endorser for Prize Patrol. May he rest in peace.

Yesterday, Mark Sanford, beloved (please note the ABSOLUTE sarcasm) governor of the great state of South Carolina announced that he had been having an extra-marital affair. He publicly and nationally embarassed his wife and children, as well as the rest of his family. What is with these politicians? Can they just not keep it zipped up?! Now, I am a pretty liberal person, and I have never thought that it was any of my business or anyone else's (other than the family of person) business if they had an affair when in political office. In my opinion (and I'm sure some will disagree), as long as it does not impede their authority or interfere with their duties or they do not use state time or money to do it, it was ultimately between them and their family. Now whether you are Republican, Democrat, Communist, or what not, you have to admit there has been a revolving door in the political offices. Not every officer of the state has been caught, and maybe not all of them are guilty of adultery, but fact remains that quite a lot of them have committed it in office. In Mr. Sanford (and I do not use the term governor because in my opinion he is no governor or else he would care more about the state than himself or his "ideals") case, he should be IMPEACHED. He RAN away from his duties! He USED state funds to have an affair! He publicly HUMILIATED his wife and children! He PUT his own lofty "ideals" above everyone else in this state's well being! He is UNFIT to be governor! Now many of you may say, this is harsh, but no it's not. He was ELECTED by the good people of this state. They put their TRUST in him and he has a RESPONSIBILITY to the people, not to some woman (who is not his wife) in another country! I do not give a SHIT that he has been under stress or that he feels he let a lot of people down. He screwed around with my tax dollars and everyone else's in this state and the time he should have been on his job figuring out how to help all the poor people in this state. So to you Mark Sanford, may you R.I.P. (rot in peace) and stay out of mine and everyone else's purse.

Today, the beautiful and truly courageous Farrah Fawcett passed away. She was a true inspiration as she fought valiantly against cancer. May she rest in peace with the angels!

Today, another celebrity also passed away. I did not like him, but it is certainly historical, as the POP icon, Michael Jackson collapsed and died. May he rest in peace as well.

Thank you for listening or reading my rantings about Mark Sanford. If you know me, you know I have never liked him and now I like him even less (if that's even possible). I know some people may think I am harsh and may feel that I am judgmental; however, I do not approve of him humiliating his wife in that way. She was humiliated enough by the fact that he cheated on her and he added insult to injury by announcing publicly that she wasn't enough for him. I also do NOT approve of him using state time and funds (whether he reimburses them or not) to carry on this affair. I have no right to tell him what to do with his personal time or money, but every tax paying citizen has the right to cry out over misuse of state time and funds. I hope that no one is seriously offended, if you are, I apologize. I hope everyone has a great weekend and fourth of July. I will be away from the computer for awhile, but will write a lot when I return.

PS...Just an update, my devotional The Power of a Praying Wife is going really well. I finished week 1 and am very inspired!

Its a Monday

Waking up today, I won't specify how late, I was hurting very badly thanks to mother nature's gift to women and my reoccurring back injury. I finally pull myself out of bed, and make my husband and myself some breakfast. Then I got myself ready to go to town for a lunch date with my dear friend Erica, then on to a meeting to set myself up in my new AVON business. Of course I was excited, but a part of me (the hurting one) just wanted to call everything off, crawl back in bed and curl up. No doing sweetheart.

On my way to Rock Thrill I decided I would call my chiropractor and see if I could be scheduled in after 3. I went and had lunch with Erica at McDonald's. YUMMY. I love their quarter pounder and their AWESOME fries. To top it off, I got a Coke and a caramel sundae. OKAY that was so not a good diet, but it was super yummy and wonderful. I had a great time talking with Erica and comparing notes about life and school. It was so much fun and I was so glad that I dragged my lazy butt out.

Next I went to my AVON meeting. I signed up and am officially an AVON representative. HELLO, to anyone who needs something CALL ME ME ME!!! OK is that a good enough shout out. I am so excited about this and making some extra money. During my meeting, my chiropractor's office calls and tells me to come in whenever I can.

Now I go to the chiropractor's walk straight back and get my back cracked. It was great. Then they put electrodes on my back to massage the muscle tissue. let me just tell you that when I got off that table I could have screamed my back was so tender. Whew. I feel much better so but at that moment I saw stars thanks to my rotated 5th lumbar.

I went to see my g-ma and she is feeling some better. Then I came home and had dinner with my mama. Now I am here watching one of my favorite tv shows The Closer and writing on my blog. Today was great, for a Monday and I look forward to the rest of the week and especially the weekend. Look for more to come this week and remember if you need something from AVON, leave a comment. Peace!

A Little Slice of Heaven on Earth

Here I go with lists again! lol I have had some great times this week! Here is a list of my favorite things I have done this week.

1. Watched favorite movies such as The Family Stone and Steel Magnolias. As I speak (write) I am watching Steel Magnolias. I decided I wanted to watch it again for the umpteenth time ( I swear it's close to 500 times), after talking with my bestest friend Vicki on facebook last night. She and I talked in Steel Magnolia code with conversation leaning towards "lemme put it this way, if you and Jackson wanna practice safe sex you're all set" and "Ouizer, you know I love you more than my luggage" or "Clairee, you are too twisted for color tv", and my ALL TIME favorite "He's a real gentleman, I bet he takes the dishes outta the sink 'fore he pees in it". I was howling with laughter as we talked. We were discussing mundane things just throwing these lines in where appropriate. Which leads me to #2.

2. Chillin' with my bestest friend Vicki. We went to the pool (courtesy of the redneck country club, you have to know which one we are talking about to get why I call it that) and hung out watching her kids goof off while she and I drank a beer and sunned ourselves. After awhile we had to get in the pool because folks it was hotter than a fire powered by diesel fuel. lol. The great thing about the country club is that they call a break about every hour for 20 minutes or so in which NO children are allowed in the pool, but adults are. It makes for such a peaceful float.

3. Gardening. Ok we know that I love that already, and do it almost every week. I mowed my yard (don't tell my chiropractor, he forbade me to do it anymore), chomping up all those nasty leaves left over from the tornado. Today, my momma took me to the daylily farm. OH MY GOODNESS! Let me just say that if you have never been, and you are in the area, you should go. You can dig up day lillies (well they dig them up) that you can't find anywhere else. This man has thousands. He breeds them and makes his own hybrids which are gorgeous. As soon as I get some pictures of the ones I bought, I will post them. The one drawback, creepy crawlies. They put daylillies in a bag (you get a clump which can include 1 or more potatoes, most have 3 or more and therefore you can divide them out when you get home, so you get 3 for the price of 1) and you get dirt and all. In this dirt, are the BIGGEST night crawlers you have ever seen. I hate worms. EWWWWWWWWWWW!

4. Started my new Bible devotional. It's called The Power of the Praying Wife. I, of course, am only on week 1 and chapter 1, but so far, it's great. It talks about how a wife has more power than she knows. It tells how even the wife of a non-believer can reap blessings for her husband just by praying to God, having faith, and most importantly putting God first in her life. I will keep you updated as to how it goes as I progress.

5. Spent LOTs of time with my momma. I love that woman. She is my best friend, my sister, my mother, and all rolled in one. I love spending time with her. She and I have such a good time and I just draw so much strength from her. She is a PHENOMENAL woman!

These are some of the best things I did this week. I hope everyone else had a great week also, and HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all the fathers in the world

Mini-Tornado 2009

Ok so yesterday was quite eventful! To say the least! The Lord decided I didn't need quite so many trees, and to send my husband a wake up call that he should NOT put things off. LOL. We experienced a tornado. Of course, the meteorologists say it could have been micro verse winds (does anyone know what the heck those are?) which were responsible for the demolition and destruction. YEAH RIGHT! At any rate, the back end of my husband's tahoe was demolished, my three-tiered planter crushed, and 3 trees put to the ground. See all the loveliness below!




















So a friend came and sawed up the trees, while another friend moved them out of the way with his tractor. In the meantime, my good friend Bri calls worried asking if we needed help. I am so grateful for our friends. The old saying is true that good friends are worth more than money. So a little shout out to Bri and her sweet dad for offering assistance. Thank you guys!!! And a special thanks to Mr. Charles, Tony, Linda, and my mom for all the help. I couldn't have done it without ya'll!

But the best is yet to come because no one was hurt. My mom, who lives next door and had 2 trees twisted off and her willow tree uprooted, was fine. My husband, who was at work the whole time, was ok. My puppies and myself were all ok, as were the rest of our friends and family, so folks, we are still blessed. Wrecked tahoe, holey yard, broken planter, and all! I'll take all that anyday over injured friends and family.


Today, I was very successful. I finished writing a huge letter of complaint, scheduled my appointment to become an AVON representative (anyone need anything, call me), and reassured everyone that we are truly ok after yesterday. I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but considering I am a goof off, it is. I am so excited about selling AVON. It will be some extra income and I will get to meet new people. Maybe I can be a positive influence on others.

I am also excited about this website I found. It is called Christian books. Basically they sell Christian Music, Books, Teaching Materials, etc. at cheaper prices. I bought 5 books for $24 bucks plus shipping and handling. One of the books was $1.99 so that was a great deal. You can get almost anything on there. From Bibles to fiction to clothing, they have it. As always, the link is at the bottom of my blog page, so check it out. It's great!

Everyone have a wonderful day!

God, Worry, and Commitment

Ok, so I am back and better than ever. Whereas yesterday I was down in the dumps, ready to cry, and kind of depressed, it turned around today. Ok so all day I worked in my house. I ironed, dusted, swept, changed sheets, hung up clothes, etc. You get the idea. I did the housewife thing. I worked all day minus the hour and a half I watched my soap, The Young and The Restless, and I Love Lucy. Even during the episodes of I Love Lucy, (she kills me), I accomplished a registration I needed to take care of online.

Ok moving on past the shows. I worked and worked to take my mind off my troubles. My troubles (which I won't go into because even though they are a big deal, I have given them to God now and so I am not going to worry myself to death) were weighing heavily on my mind. I was just plain good and old fashioned mad. My pride was injured and I was mad. Not a good combo. So I worked because that is the best way to get rid of negativity. It didn't help. I was still depressive (is that a word?). To explain how bad it was, my mother called wanting to know what we would have for supper, and I was just blah. I didn't care. No food interested me, which is highly unusual as I LOVE food. I LOVE to eat, as is evident by the fact that I maintain rather than lose weight.

I went to dinner, came home, mopey and tired. I looked on my coffee table and saw the book I started last Friday, after the trouble began. I decided to finish it, and even though I was all but almost through with it, I found the last part just spoke to me. The whole book (It's All About Him by Denise Jackson) was about Alan Jackson's wifes quest to have a closer relationship with God and the trials she faced in her marriage. God took those trials and made the negative into a positive. I was so inspired that I just cried. (Ok I'm a crier so that's no big thang, but still) Because at the end, one of the last chapters which is entitled Drive, she tells how she finally begged Jesus to take the wheel of her life. How when she was so low because her marriage was in shambles, she cried out for him to be in complete control. How she had had the Lord in her life, but that she always wanted to be holding the wheel so she had some control. I just cried, because folks that is me!

I am such a little control nut. I admit it freely. I cannot stand to not have some semblance of control in my life. From finances, to cooking, to always having to drive the car, etc. I always want to have some control. I know a lot of people are like this, but sometimes, I am just desperate for control. It drives me crazy with worry to not know what is going to happen. I realized that this is a HUGE GENETIC ISSUE IN MY FAMILY. Us women in this family are like that. My mother is a huge worrier, and my grandmother is the grande dame of worrywarts. Now I like to think that the worry gene has decreased through the generations, but I am not so sure.

At any rate, I digress. I am a worrier, but today I just gave it to God and said you know what, I cannot worry about this and be upset about it, because if I do, I will be crazier than I already am. LOL. I am recommitted to improving my spiritual life. I am recommitted to God and my relationship with him. I LOVE God and I know that I need him to be in control. I can't do it all and even if I could it would only be because he gave me the strength to do it all. I am so blessed. I have a beautiful home and family. I have phenomenal friends who lift me up when I am down (thank you to Bri and Jessica and Vicki). I may suffer trials and tribulations, but God will always always ALWAYS see me through and carry me when I cannot walk. So, I praise Him today and everyday. Thank you Lord for all my blessings and I beg forgiveness for my sins and shortcomings.

Just a little shout-out...I highly recommend Denise Jackson's book. It is so inspiring and not just another celebrity biography. Trust me, you will find it very uplifting.

Issues

I have some of the worst luck. Some of it I can't explain right now, but I just need to vent the fact that it was a rotten end to the week. I am so trying to find the good in all of the issues, and so far I have come up with my husband, my mother, my doggies, and all of my family and friends. God has blessed me with so much, but sometimes it is difficult to see past the complications to the good. I just pray He will continue showing me my blessings and helping me to just bypass my difficulties. I promise to return to my normal long-blog self tomorrow or Tuesday, but until then, please pray that I will continue to hold my head up and persevere.

Love/Hate...What a Fine Line

I have quite a few things that I LOVE on one hand, while on the other, I hate those same things. I am sure that all ya'll know what I'm talking about. For instance, I love lists. They put things in perspective and helps straighten out your thinking. On the other hand, I hate attempting to be organized. I always get half way through my organization attempts and then ADHD, that I'm convinced I have, kicks in. So now that you know what I mean, as if you didn't already, here's my list (told ya I loved 'em).

1. Gardening - I love to work in my flowers and mow my yard. It is so soothing to me. If I am stressed, I can go work in dirt and plant my flowers and pretty soon I know the solution to all problems (all those but how to attain world peace). On the other hand, I hate frickin' japanese beetles and weed eaters. The japanese beetles eat everything, my roses, my cherry tree, my snowball tree, my geraniums, my hibiscus, etc. The weed eater could make Mother Teresa (if she was still alive) curse and swear. That thing is pure evil and attacks the ground whenever I use it. Because of these things, I ATTACK the beetles with dust and refuse to use the weed eater.

2. Pimples/Zits/Acne - Whatever you call them, they mar your face. I hate them. Sometimes they are painful and it always happens that when you have a big important date or appointment, they appear. IT NEVER FAILS. On the other hand, I love my new face wash by Neutrogena. It is the grapefruit oil free acne wash. It smells so clean and fresh and makes my face feel the same way.

3. Shaving - I love the way my legs feel when I shave. They feel so smooth and it makes you feel sexy ;-) . On the other hand, I hate the act of shaving. It takes up precious time, and if I rush, I always nick myself somewhere.

4. Cooking - I love to cook. I like to put things together and find them tasty. Its so fun, almost like a puzzle. On the other hand, I hate to clean up. I hate to clean up the dishes and the pans that I mess up in the process of cooking.

5. Work - I love making OT pay. I love my husband making double time. I do not however love working 10 hours a day, nor do I love not seeing my husband but 10 minutes a day. :-)

These are just a few of the things that I have a love/hate relationship with. One thing that I LOVE without any HATE relationship is Will Smith and Martin Lawrence movies, especially Bad Boys and Bad Boys II. As of right now, I am watching Bad Boys II and laughing so hard I can't hardly see, but ewwww I just got to the yucky part where the drug guy cut up the mafia guy. EWWWW!

So as I was saying these are some of the things I have a love/hate relationship with, and I'm sure I will come across more. Do you have any of those?

The Good The Bad and the Downright F-ugly ;-)

Ok...The good. My grandmother seems to be happy at her place in the nursing home. We all wondered if she would be, but she says she likes it there. The bad...she isn't physically able to go home without round the clock care and the rehab part of the nursing home is kicking her out so she has to stay somewhere. Since she likes the nursing home, she has decided she THINKS she wants to stay there. This is a huge load off of my mother who didn't have the heart to tell her she had no choice but to stay. But now my mother is fighting off guilt because she knows her mother will miss her home. The F-ugly...I have been playing mother/devils' advocate to my mother. Talk about tough!

The good...my husband is making killer money working all this overtime. This is so nice because we can pay off some bills. The bad...he is never home when I am home :-( I miss my hubby like crazy. I see him for 10 minutes in the morning and then no more. The F-ugly...I have taken to watching love stories to fill the time. I have watched all my favorites, Mona Lisa Smile, Because I Said So, Under the Tuscan Sun, American Wedding, Hitch, and Where the Heart Is. At least I can watch others be lovey dovey when I can't be.

The good...my flowers and our yard has plenty of water. There is no more drought in York County, thank goodness. Everything is green and plentiful. The bad...There is so much water that it has killed my rye grass and I have to be careful when I mow the yard so that I do not mar up in the wet ground. The F-ugly...I have some brown grass (yucky) and mudholes (ewww) which my dog wants to wallow in.

So this is the good, the bad, and the F-ugly of my past week. All in all it has been pretty damn good. :-)

FYI as I watch Mona Lisa Smile, I am convinced I was born in the wrong decade. I should have been born when dancing, gloves, waltzing, dresses, formality, manners, etc. were in style. I think it is downright elegant, but one thing that is funny is that most of the women get drunk to drown their sorrows because they can't be true to themselves, so ... at least in this decade we as women can think for ourselves. lol

Finding Contentment in Discontent

I read a blog last night that got me to thinking. Ramblings of a 30-Something Year Old Carolina Girl wrote how she had been more content when she wasn't focused on losing weight. I thought about what she said and realized this could apply to many things. For me, it's not only losing weight, but also my quest to develop a closer relationship with Christ. Before I began worrying about losing weight, I didn't know care how detrimental my eating habits were. I ate what I wanted and said what they hey, I'll worry about it later. Now it is later and I have been trying to do better.

Before I began trying to gain a closer relationship with Christ, I didn't worry over the little details. I figured as long as I went to church and paid my tithes and did good deeds and prayed occassionally and read my Bible occassionally that I was a-ok. Then a few years ago I realized it wasn't enough. I started trying to bring myself closer to Christ. I started by doing more volunteer work at church and praying everyday. Then I moved on to reading His word more. So on and so forth, and I have been working on doing better.

What I realized after reading Carolina Girl's blogs is that I was content in my naivete because it is HARD when you care. When you care, it means more when you screw up. Before I tried to move closer to Christ, I went through life pretty happy moving from one day to the next, never worrying whether I was a good Christian, because hey I did good deeds so I was good right?. Now I worry about disappointing Him and failing in His eyes.

Take today for instance. My big boss is a complete and total piss-ant. You know those annoying little black ants who bite you and it stings. Ok that's him. He sends this email today which was totally crabby and directed straight at yours truly, moi. He has been on my case for several weeks now and it is really old with his attitude. It upset me so badly that I dropped the f-bomb and of all things, the gd-bomb. I normally do not say that word. The f-bomb can be found in my vocabulary even though I know it is a horrible word, but I do not say "gd". Even I have my standards ;-) . Afterwards, I felt absolutely horrible for letting Christ down by taking his name in vain. I felt bad and dwelled on that in my mind all day because last night I had a long talk with God and promised to try to be a better person, not that I'm bad by many peoples standards. I felt all day as if I had broken my promise and let him down, which I had.

I dwelt on it and Carolina Girl's posting while I was driving home (this is when I think). I came up with this. I must be doing something right in my quest for a better closer relationship with Him if I worry over saying one bad word all day, granted it was the MOTHER of all bad words, but still. In the past, I would have felt a twinge of remorse but today I felt truly remorseful and repentant all day. To me, this means, Christ has worked in my life and my heart to show me what ways are His and which are not.

So as a recap because I rambled in the middle. I struggle with my weight, bad words, and being a good Christian. Because I care about these things now, I am not content to go through life doing them half way. Even though I am often times less content than I was before I cared about all these things, I have realized that my uncontentedness (I think I just made this word up, but you get the idea) is better than breezing through life because I am more concientous of my health, both spiritual and physical, which by improving these things, I will improve my life in the long run.

Have a great and wonderful night!

A Bad Day and Free Money

OOOHHH! Have you ever had one of those days where you just knew you were being a complete and total b*tch and felt absolutely unable to stop yourself from being it? I mean where one thing goes wrong and it triggers the downfall of moodiness. Where you know in the big scheme of things its no big deal and you are TOTALLY blowing it out of proportion, but you just cannot stop yourself from making this tiny tiny mudhole into a frickin ocean? That is my day today.

I woke up, fixed coffee and my breakfast and my wonderful sweet husband decides that he is going to fix potato pancakes in the kitchen. This was the beginning of the end. Not only does he stand with the refrigerator door open for 10 minutes (I hate this by the way), but he smokes up the ENTIRE (yes the entire) House as he fries these things in hot oil. He doesn't believe in getting something brown, he believes in charring everything and so the house is so smoky that my eyes are red and stinging. When he takes them out, they are black and I mean black as coal. This was the beginning.

Next, I go to have lunch, after I have spent ALL morning cleaning and doing laundry, and the leftover pizza cannot be found. Why is this? Well for one, he didn't bring it home, but for two, our refrigerator was running over. Stuff was not in the proper slot or drawer, was out of the expiration date, was falling out on top of me, and I got very frustrated. Even though I kept saying to myself, its just a small thing, I was feeling as though the whole refrigerator had expanded to our entire kitchen (which might I say isn't big to begin with). We sniped at one another and spent the next two hours pouting like children. Did it stop here? NO because as I said it was one of those days.

Then, he goes to work and of all things apologizes for speaking his mind. Well, then I felt guilty and got mad about feeling guilty. As I told him, it's not a crime to speak your mind in fact, it is encouraged. We don't live in a house where one person is the ruler, we live in an equal loving home where opinions are encouraged.

Then I get dressed and go to town to the bank and to see my g-ma at the nursing home. Ok so this cheered me slightly because she is just a trip and a half. I swear she cracks me up some days. After staying with her for a half hour or so (mind you I go 4-5 times a week), I go home and decide I am going to have a quick siesta to try to shake off the moodiness. WRONG MOVE! I should have known better. I am NOT a happy camper when awakened from my sleep unexpectedly.

I ended up snapping at my baby for stepping on me (Buckley) and then I get woke up by my mother who has brought chicken for supper. Needless to say, the not so smart people at KFC left out my side and gave her coleslaw (YUCK) which I absolutely hate. Well of course I was somewhat put out by the fact that I had nothing but chicken for supper. Ok OK... I was a lot put out, even though as we said earlier, I knew in the scheme of things it was no big deal.

Now it is after supper. I have finished laundry. And, I just finished opening a new savings account at ING Direct. Woman's Day magazine offers a promo good through 6/30/09 that if you open an account with $250, ING will GIVE, yes that's right, GIVE you $25. That is totally Free MONEY! My favorite phrase, though it is an oxymoron. I love free stuff, and this is so simple, it takes 4 steps. Wanna know the best part? The money is FDIC insured. Yes, just like if you went to your bank down the road, and it yields a high interest. As of right now you earn 1.50% which is pretty good compared to local banks. On top of all this, you don't have to leave the money in there for a long time. I think that you can withdraw all of it, including the free $25 after 30 days. That's pretty cool to get $25 for doing nothing.

I went through Woman's Day Magazine to make certain I got my $25 because there isn't a promo code. I just searched for ING Savings and it brought up several articles. Once you find the article, click on the ING ad, and it will take you to the page to open and Orange Savings Account.

So after such a crappy day, pretty much of my own making, I found a GREAT deal which can help me and the hubby out in multiple ways. I also realized that the truth of the matter is, I can start over each hour and change things to have a good day even if the first part was crabby. I don't agree with all those people who say tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it. Yes that is true, but I think it is better to apply it to the current day and say the next minute/hour is a new minute/hour with no mistakes in it. This helps to put things in perspective. Because at the end of the day (or the middle, or the beginning, or anywhere in between after mistakes), you can close your eyes, pray to God, and change the way things are going right that second.

So although my day started off good and went down hill, I gave myself a stern talking to (yes I am one of those people who talks to herself) and said change it now because this isn't who you are/want to be. So instead of continuing on a crappy course, I asked God to help me change the next minute. I took 20 minutes, went outside, admired my flowers (God's creation), and came back with a renewed and refreshed feeling. Now my day will end on a happy calm note, rather than a sour one which I would have to wake up and deal with tomorrow. Thank you Lord for helping me salvage this day.

SuperCook...Check It Out

Ok...I found this phenomenal recipe website. Its called SuperCook. I posted the link below in my link section but here it is as well supercook.

On here you input the ingredients you have in your house and it will locate recipes which use those ingredients. This is great if you are like myself and have to stretch every dollar. (Bri, I thought you might like it for recipe planning or for stretching those groceries out on that 3rd week) On weeks when you are running low on groceries and can't think of anything to cook, you can input the items you have and come up with something to cook. It will also tell you if you need something you didn't input. For instance, I input ground beef, cream of mushroom, and butter and was given 3 recipes which used only those ingredients (some or all of them). One recipe was for creamy sloppy joes.

The best parts about the site is you can create your own recipe album and add those that you like to it. The other best part is it gives you the complete nutritional value, just like you would find on a box of crackers. This makes it super easy to eat healthy. This is a great site and I highly recommend it to all.

New Housewife and Mini Meatloafs

Ok...It's official. I have become a housewife. Ok, I still work and go to school, but on my days off, I am a housewife. I LOVE IT. Uh-oh I think I'm in trouble. I never wanted to be a housewife, but I love my husband and LOVE making a home for him.

Today, I baked a cake. A HONEYBUN Cake and it is delicious. I washed 3 loads of laundry, dried them, and folded them. I dusted my whole house. I washed dishes and picked up the junk...ok alright, my room is still messy, but hey that's why its our bedroom, no one is supposed to see it ;-) LOL On top of this, I am marinating chicken breasts to make teriyaki chicken with rice and just took mini-meatloafs out of the oven. Oh and did I mention I even slept in til about 10 am.

Here is the recipe for the meatloafs:

1lb ground beef/turkey (I use turkey)
1/2 cup Dale's seasoning
1/2 box stuffing mix
1 tablespoon Heinz 57 sauce
1/2 package (more or less by your own taste) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Mix the first 3 ingredients together. Fill each up on the pan 1/2 to 2/3 full of meat mixture. Once filled, brush Heinz 57 over tops of meat mixture. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove and top with shredded cheese. Replace in oven and cook for additional 5 minutes. Let cool and then remove from muffin pan.

I am so enjoying being a housewife (on my days off). I used to couldn't understand for the life of me why any woman would want to stay at home day in and day out and cook and clean. It was a mystery beyond my comprehension, but I had the epiphany today that gave me insight. Its fun and extremely rewarding. I have always had great respect for women who were stay at home moms and wives, and now they have my envy as well because it can be a truly fulfilling way of life, this I learned today. So I say again, my hat is off to all of those women.

Life, and the Pursuit of it

Ok. I returned from my short, need I say very short, weekend trip to Tennessee. Let's face it. If I didn't live in SC, I would be a Tennessean in a heartbeat! I love that state. Memphis, Nashville, Pigeon Forge...the list continues. Rob and I went up with my mom and her best friend Mimi, and of course our two doggies because we do not kennel them or leave them with anyone. It's sort of inconvenient,although worth it since I love 'em so much, because we can't always take them so either mom or Rob stays home depending on the nature of the trip, but I digress.



Back to the weekend. I worked until mid-afternoon Saturday and then we took off. It takes about 3 hours total and this trip was no different. We've made it in less, but don't tell the cops ;-). We piddle around in TN as it rains ALL weekend off and on. We shop, and I must insert here and Bri will know what I mean, my mom is too good to me. She always babies me, but that's ok since it was just the two of us for so long, because I baby her too as I give in to a lot with her. Again, I digressed....we ate, we joked, we slept (not as much as I prefer, but then I swear I was a bear in a past life because I like to hibernate), etc. We had such a good time doing not a darn thing other than goofing off. I realize now more than ever that this is where the goodness of life lies. In the goofing off. You don't have to have tons of money or excessive beauty or lots of possessions or anything, other than good friends and family who you can laugh at or with (depending on the circumstances).



In fact, the funniest thing I have ever done to my husband was from this weekend. I decided I needed some toe nail polish so I painted my toes with my favorite bright red polish one night while we were watching some tv in TN. I raked the brush across my husband's big toe. He never moved, so I looked up to see that he was totally and completely engrossed in the movie. A little while later, I did it again and discovered the same thing so I wink at my mom and lean down pretending to continue painting mine, but I paint all of the toes on his left foot. I started snorting as I tried to hold in the laughter (very ladylike I know but it was just too darn funny). I look at my mom who still hadn't quite figured out why I winked and she looks down and almost fell off of the couch. We both start laughing, then Mimi sees it and starts too. My husband, God I love him, is completely oblivious. He's like what's so funny. I just continue laughing, by this point, I am crying with laughter. I manage to gasp out that he should look at his foot. He holds it up and being my wonderful loving husband, he starts laughing and says that's not really my color. It was so funny, so much in fact that I included a picture.





As you can see, we had fun. (Red really isn't good for his toes, he found out how hard it was to remove the color completely the next morning) Rob and I didn't have a lot of money to spend this weekend. In fact, we had food money and very little free spending money. We were fine with this. We had a great little mini vacation and did nothing important other than spend time with one another. This to me is what life is about. Enjoying the living of it. So I don't know about everyone else, but as for me, I plan to pursue life and enjoy it because it is much too short and holds too much fun and blessings for me to pass up. Enjoy!

Love List

Ok, so I have like a list of things that I have realized today I absolutely LOVE. Here goes.

1. Woman's Day magazine (see my link at the bottom of the page) - they offer uplifting advice, money saving tips, and wonderful recipes. I receive the magazine in the mail, but their website is just as good. They also offer a free $25 to anyone who opens an online savings account with ING Direct. Who can beat that? As the old saying goes, if it's free it's for me!

2. Dirty Dancing (the movie) - ok Jennifer Gray is a bit corny, but it just sends chills down my spine when Patrick Swayze says "Nobody puts Baby in a corner". OHHH! How romantic and sexy.

3. Rereading novels I am absolutely familiar with. Ok so I can probably recite many of the scenes, but they are still as good the second, third, fourth, nineteenth time around.

4. Summer vacation - no school, freedom to goof off, fun straw purses and hats, need I go on?

5. My mommy's macaroni and cheese - let me just say that NO one can make it like my momma. She gets just enough cheese in there. Ok so I will probably have clogged arteries by the time I'm 30 from all the butter and cheese, but let's face it...it's worth it totally! OMG it is so super yummy!

6. Friend time - my hubby and I have gotten lots of invitations to lots of fun stuff this summer already. I can't wait for all my times out. Fun Fun Fun

7. Wine - any kind, just about, from white to blush to merlot. all are yummy and I am desperately in need of restocking my cabinet and I so need to get to Biltmore to get their Spring Festival wine. It was great last year so I'm sure it is this year too.

8. Golden Girls - YES I am a serious addict, to the point that I own the first three seasons on DVD and would own all of them if I could afford it. It doesn't matter how bad my day is, I can come home, watch them and all is right with my world. Who could help but laugh at a tramp, an airhead, a bossy woman, and in Dorothy's words about Sophia a "little sea monkey"?

9. Rocking out as I drive down the road (trying not to speed) - I mean what is better than cranking up the stereo, putting the windown down, and having the wind blow in your hair. Dierks Bentley, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Montgomery Gentry, etc. Oh it's wonderful to end a day like this.

10. Finally, but not last or least something I think is so true, "God is great, Beer is good, and People are crazy". This is a country song by Billy Currington and just awesome because folks, believe it or not, GOD IS GREAT. He answers our prayers and loves us unconditionally. He forgives us and allows us to live this wonderful live everyday. Beer is good if you have an acquired taste for it. I like it but am picky about what kind it is. And PEOPLE are crazy :-) Being crazy isn't necessarily bad, maybe you are just crazy about life, or your family, or your job. At any rate, this song is wonderfully true.

These are the 10 things that I realized today I absolutely love. Here's a quest, see if you can think of 10 off the wall things you love (other than family, pets, and friends). Bet you can, and you will definitely smile as you think of them.

Westerns, Love Stories, and Cold Weather

Today has been a quite frigid day for the middle of May. Usually here in the South, we deal with drought and humidity round about this time of the year. Or at least the beginnings of them. I woke up this morning and smelled bacon frying. My wonderful husband had gotten up before me (I love to sleep and today was NO exception) and was frying bacon. It smelled wonderful. I was burrowed down in my bed with my covers all around me and my Pug (Buckley). My hubby, Robert, comes in and lovingly tells me breakfast is ready. I got up and took my breakfast out on our front porch to admire the beautiful morning creation. And folks let me tell you something, it was COLD. The wind was up and it was quite brisk. I immediately took myself back inside and changed into my fleece pants and long sleeve shirt. Then I finished breakfast.

My husband and I have been married for a little over a year now, and things are better than I could have ever imagined. We have had our issues as any married couple has, but we love one another so much. I am so blessed to have him for my husband, and I can only pray he feels as blessed as I do. We enjoy doing many things together and separate. One of our favorite things to do together is watch movies. We like all kinds, except I detest with a capital "d" horror films. I can't stand anything that scares me so badly I can't sleep.

We both are into westerns. I love the ones that come on Hallmark channel. He likes any and all westerns. To him, John Wayne is the epitome of bad-assness! lol. I am especially addicted to the western love stories which are adapted from the books of Janette Oke. (Just an FYI, if you are interested in buying any books at a cheaper price, go to the bottom of my page and click on the ALIBRIS link) I think that is her first name. It is called the love series. It has Dale Midkiff in them and the first one has Katherine Heigl. There are probably 7-9 of these movies and all of them are about finding love in the west and learning to grow in the Christian faith. These are great wholesome movies, and I just love how the characters continue to love and trust God even though they have hard times to deal with. It helps strengthen me when I feel down and alone. Well thats about all I have for my thoughts today.

Carrot Cake

4 - eggs
1 1/2 c - vegetable oil
2 1/4 c - sugar
2 1/4 c - all purpose flour
2 tsp - baking soda
2 tsp - baking powder
1/2 tsp - salt
2 tsp - ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp - ground cloves
1/2 tsp - ground nutmeg
3 1/4 c - finely chopped carrots
1/2 c - chopped walnuts
1 c - well drained crushed pineapple

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line bottom of pans (3 - 8in or 2 - 9in) with parchment paper.

Beat eggs and oil for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add 1 cup of sugar, mix for 2 minutes. Add remaining sugar & mix for 3-4 minutes. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Add to egg mixture beating on low speed until blended. Add carrots, walnuts, and pineapple. Mix until well combined.

Divide batter into pans and bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes clean. Cool cakes to room temperature, wrap in plastic wrap or tin foil, and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, ice cake with white chocolate cream cheese icing (see post). OPTIONAL: Chop extra walnuts and place around cake in icing.

NOTE: If you do not have parchment paper, spray pans with PAM, but be careful when removing cakes from pans. The pineapple causes the cakes to want to stick to the very bottom of the pan.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing (way better than regular Cream Cheese)

3 - 8 oz packages of cream cheese (room temp)
2 - 12 oz packages of Toll House white chocolate morsels
3/4 cup - unsalted butter (room temp)
2 tsp - grated lemon rind

Beat cream cheese on medium speed with a mixer until smooth. Melt chocolate, then mix with cream cheese. Add butter a little at a time. Add lemon rind and beat until smooth.

Tip: If icing is too runny to stay on cake, due to the chocolate being warm, place in fridge for 10 mins until cool.

Introduction

This is my first time blogging online. I am quite used to technology, but had quit using it for fun. Recently my friend Bri introduced me to Facebook and suffice it to say, I am addicted. I am also addicted to my Blackberry, i.e. Crackberry. I can't go anywhere without it except to church services. I even take it to choir practice and church meetings, but I draw the line at preaching. My phone was recently a source of contention between my district manager and myself. Needless to say, it is still on at work and that is not going to change. As you can tell, I ramble and ramble from one subject to the next. My name is Brooke and I am sort of scatterbrained. I often joke that if I were a kid in school today, I would have medicine forced down my throat for ADHD. lol. Either that or OCD (obsessive-compulsive). I am pretty particular about certain things such as my flower gardens, my lawn maintenance, and home decor. These are my three favorite hobbies next to reading. Which I guess is pretty good since my yard is two acres, with multiple flower beds, and I am a late in life (27 yrs old) Secondary English Education major in college. Speaking of which...thank you sweet Lord that I am out for the summer and will begin my last year this August.