Series of Fortunate Events

Unfortunately, when things start happening like crazy around here - it makes for great content to write about, but no time to do it in! My mental notepad doesn't have a backup drive and I end up forgetting half of what I was going to write about. So here I am, trying to be a scavenger and fill it all in.

Our household has been insanely busy as of late. Our neighbors must think lovely thoughts about us as we pull into and out of our driveway about 80 times...before noon each day. Or something like that. It's times like these that life literally gets in the way of housework and I start playing games like "stack the dishes" and "guess who hates to dust". I'm not at all complaining about how busy we've been. Just stating. This past week has been a very happy busy, actually. We've just bought ourselves a house.

Oh yes -- and not just any house. My dream house! I can't even begin to describe the series of fortunate events that has led up to this. So much waiting, and worrying, and wondering, and asking, and telling and worrying and thinking and well, yes, more worrying. But praying and believing really took over my insides and I knew there was only so much my husband and I could do. We had to let God do what He does best...and He changed the way I look at many things. God used so many people to help us; to give us signs of "c'mon, it's gonna happen! just be patient". Oh we definitely felt tested and confused, but there were so many times when a little miracle hit me in the face from time to time and I had to laugh. I had to laugh because it was so evident that God was in it. And thank goodness He was. So this past Monday we found out we got the house. (Sigh) I can't believe it. It is SO exciting to be going home.

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Tim Tebow & Washington Post

It's no secret that I'm pro-life with every fiber of my being...and while I'm not usually the one to bring up the subject, you'll never find me wavering about the subject. I take the horrific act of abortion very personally and, unfortunately, I get very emotional about it. I'd love to be the calm person who can debate it, but I get to upset. Sad...then mad and my whole insides get fired up. Whew - that's all I can say about it right now!

I bring this up because my sister passed along a cool article to me today. It's about a specific ad during the Super Bowl featuring Tim Tebow. I'm definitely not a fan of Florida at all because I love those Buckeyes, I definitely appreciate Tim Tebow and his strength of character.

Please take a few minutes to read this article written by a pro-choice sports columnist at the Washington Post. She has some great points...and I appreciate her honest commentary about the ad Tim will be in during the Super Bowl.

Ciao friends!

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Thanks, Shaq!

I'm not on Twitter because it's just too much! However, my husband is addicted and he just read me Shaq's latest 'tweet'. Until now, my favorite palendrome was the word 'racecar'. But, thanks to Shaq, it's become the phrase 'was it a cat i saw'. Okay, take a second to read it backward and then pat yourself on the back. Cool, huh! It's the little things.   :  ) 

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i can sleep tonight!!!

EVERY single time I see the commercial for Lincoln MKZ, I start dancin' in place entranced by the music. I've been dying to know who the artist is and the name of the song. I had no clue if it was an actual song previously unattached to Lincoln or if it was just created for the commercial. Until now. Yes, folks, I know the people responsible for my being hypnotized by Lincoln~ it's Shiny Toy Guns performing Major Tom. Man, I love this song! Am I out of it since I've never heard of them?

If you've never heard it, click www.lincoln.com/music Prepare to twirl!
(Sigh) Another one of life's mysteries solved. G'nite y'all!

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Sushi anyone?

Let me begin by saying that I've never had sushi in my life and will continue that trend for as long as I live. However, today I made dessert sushi for my sister's birthday...a day late since she was in the car 12 hours on her actual birthday. Ugh - been there and done that for TJ's second. Anyhow, she loves sushi and I found a cool article in a magazine and decided to try it out.

For your viewing pleasure, I've added some pictures of my "work". It's amazing what a little pound cake, icing, coconut and fruit leather can do when put together correctly. Yay me! : )

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what i think about on a treadmill

Alright, so since I'm a wimp about running in the freezing cold lately, I've been spending more time on treadmills at the rec center. Monster loves building and painting and playing there so I take advantage of that.

Well, the treadmills are on the second floor and overlook a pool on one side, and basketball courst on the other. Today, the only tv I could see had The View on and since I can't watch a second of that show without getting angry and jaded, I decided to watch, again, the old, gray and wrinkly men playing basketball. It's a weekly club for them and there are always at least 9 guys sidelined waiting their turn to go in. That's pretty big! And oh yes, they play shirts vs. skins.

It's amazing to see how competitive they still are in their late 60's and 70's. You should have seen the pick the little round man set today. Hammered the skinny, sweaty guy pretty good! Almost funnier to watch are the old ladies that watch them. They've got their matching sweat suits on and their long hair up in pigtails or a pony tail. (I never understood long hair on old ladies. Never will. It's kind of creepy to me.) You can actually pick out the ones who were the popular ones in high school. And the ones who are lookin' for a date these days too. You should see the tans they sport ... and the hot pink, fake nails. Fascinating. I am not looking forward to the day when I'm one of the old ladies that a thirty-something mommy is watching from afar. I wonder what she'll think. (I'm pretty sure I won't care.)

Lastly, I need to share about the smell, yes the smell, of men both young and old. Did you ever notice that when they smell bad...they all smell the same bad. It's a collective old-sneaker-meets-stale-underarm-odor which meets sweaty socks smell. Every locker room I've ever passed...every gym I've ever walked into...and every treadmill I've stepped onto next to a dude, I've smelled that smell. Take a whiff next time and let me know if you agree!

It's the same with good smells. When guys smell good, they smell the same! There's nothing more gorgeous than a good, clean smell on a guy. I don't care if it's soap, aftershave or cologne -- when a man smells good, it automatically makes him have stronger muscles. What does that mean? I have no idea. But that's what I think about when I'm running on a treadmill. What you just read really only took up about 4 minutes of my run time though. The rest of the time I thought about other stuff.  : )

Check out these pictures my little monster took with his camera. I love these shots! First one is of tulips my mom got me for no reason (which is the greatest reason to get flowers, by the way).   

This next picture is of a lighthouse...but I'm not sure where that is in our house. You'd think I'd know, right? Ha. It's either that or a Barbasol can of shaving cream...

The last snapshot is of Monster's 3rd birthday party. I love the randomness and the colors.

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Tea Time

Running and blogging are a lot alike. You have to do both of them consistently to be any good. To build any base or earn credibility. Maybe that's why I've been failing at both lately...

After 3 days without pop, soda or bubbly stuff of any kind, I can say it's been a fairly easy habit to break. Let's hope it continues to be...

I've grown to love drinking hot tea over the past year or two, and maybe having tea has made dropping the pop habit easier. Who knows! I used to think tea was a weak, tasteless drink. And coffee, shoot, I've had about 6 cups of the stuff in my entire life and that was during my first year out of college. Definitely don't like it. But again, tea has definitely grown on me.

My mom is the queen of finding things I need. She still takes care of me in a big way...and I'm 21! (I mean 31, but writing 21 looks better.) Out on the town the other day, she came upon an herbal store that had Be Well Red Teas from the Republic of Tea. Now, neither of us are into herbal stuff but I've been dealing with pretty ugly stomach issues for about 15 years. Having my son just threw my body for a loop and I've since developed greater stomach issues as well as hypothyroidism (which has pleasantries of its own). So when my momma called me with a specific tea called 'get relief' for digestion, I was as intruiged as she was...so she bought it (thank ya, ma!) and I tried it. First of all, it tasted great - made up of cinnamon, anise and peppermint. The cinnamon was the most delicious of tastes! Secondly, it delivered. It calmed my belly and got rid of some bloating as well. Overall, I was pretty impressed with how a few cups of tea soothed my tummy.

Now, it's definitely not cured me in any way and my issues have a long way to go as far as getting better. But, I was happy with the relief I got with such a tasty product. Hey, Republic of Tea, want to send me more of your teas in exchange for a write-up on each one? There's a 'get gorgeous' flavor I'd really like to try.   : )   

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