PJs Til Noon

Ten of My {Current} Favorite Pins

2012-01-09T11:58:00.002-05:00

So I know I’m technically three days late for a Top Ten Tuesday post and even one day late for a Favorite Things entry but in the spirit of the new year I’m going to declare myself early for both of these! Yay me! (And of course I wrote this on Friday and am only now posting it on a Monday…boo! But still early!)

{I’m amazed I’m even attempting a blog post, but I think I’m all hyped up on the unforeseen bliss of having a mostly clean and partly organized house. And even with all that its 2:16 p.m. on a Friday and I’m sitting in my basement, STILL in my PJs (if you want a visual, look at our blog header—yep, same ones) with a bright green bandana wrapped around my too-long hair. But enough about me, okay, actually I’m not done just yet. I’ve been a bit busy with school and home and life and teenager’s DRIVING and teenagers (yes, plural) with girlfriends. Sigh.}

Back to my favorite pins I’ve actually tried, made, used…
1. “Fair is where you get cotton candy.” I’ve pinned oodles of sayings, both humorous and inspirational, but this is the one that has seen the most mileage in my household. My kids finish my sentence, and they hate it. Bonus!

2. Nutella Crescent Rolls. Sweet mercy, these are spectacular! (And they’re real!) I used my old standby crescent roll dough recipe and skipped the nuts. I also made mine in the traditional crescent shape, probably won’t do that again. They were ten kinds of delicious but forty kinds of messy. I’ll roll ‘em up and put them in a muffin tin next time.

3. DIY Waterless Snow Globes. I am in the firm grip of a serious addiction to Mason jars at the moment. So these were the perfect thing to showcase my growing collection. So cute and so stinkin’ easy! I used them as my Christmas Eve breakfast centerpiece (we have a HUGE family—hubby is one of 8) and we’re crazy enough to invite them all over every year. Truly one of my favorite parts of the holiday, hands down.

4. “Go Away I’m Reading” Coffee Mug.” This gets a “most favorite pin” award because the BFF saw it, and designed a personalized mug for me with this on it!! (Little does she know—well she will soon, and yes, I sent her present WAY late—that I also bought her Christmas gift that was Pinterest inspired..heehee!)

5. Christmas Tree Ribbon Shirt. I took the inspiration of this pin and made my niece one for Christmas! Only, Jilly and I decided K would much rather have a black, white, and pink zebra stripe and polka dot one, so that’s what we did. Not too shabby for my first attempt. The fact my sweet niece wore it (IN PUBLIC) for the church Christmas social…well, I was extremely proud of myself.

6. Cleaning Baking Pans. This worked surprisingly well. Not absolutely fantastic. It could only get that kind of rating if I didn’t have to scrub. And I did.

7. Chocolate Oreo Cream Cake. Yup, just look at the picture. It’s twice as rich as it looks. So I served it with a large scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream, just to cut the sweetness.

8. Nutella Hot Chocolate. This has been made a couple of times. I make it full strength for my chocoholic Jill and then add a little more milk to mine.

9. Martha Stewart’s Tub Scrub. Possibly the most used pin. I use about 95% homemade cleaners (can’t give up the Murphy’s oil soap for my hardwoods, the plain vinegar was NOT doing it). So this has been a very welcome addition to my arsenal.

10. Sperry Top Sider Angelfish. Okay, so this is really stretching it since I did pin these myself. The older I get, the more I find I need to invest in being well shod. (Yes, I just compared myself to a horse.) And these little puppies have totally done the trick. I am in love. So thankful I have an enabling best friend who encourages me to spend too much money on shoes.

And honestly I just “completed” a new pin this morning (I am one seriously dedicated addict, people, serious!) that is just pure genius. But I thought I had inflicted enough pain on you for the morning.
Wishing all the best to you and yours in 2012, and Happy Pinning!

Check out more Top Ten Tuesday posts over at Oh Amanda!

Pam
(aka Pam525 on Pinterest)

2011 75 Book Challenge

2011-12-21T22:15:00.001-05:00

Warning. This post contains blatant braggadocios behavior.

You’ve been warned.

I entered Library Thing’s challenge earlier this year. It was a little difficult to go back and dredge up all of the books I had already read. Luckily, I catalog books once I’ve read them. I may have missed a book or two, but I don’t think I have.

I have read 76 books so far this year!

I usually don’t blatantly brag like this, but I’m proud of this.

Now. I counted audiobooks. If you are a purist/puritan/eyeball-only-reader, that number would drop significantly.

You can find the list of everything I read this year here.

Some of my favorites of the year are as follows.

The Monsters: The curse of Mary Shelley and Frankenstein by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. This is a book about Mary and Percy Shelley and the contest that started it all, as well as Mary’s sister that had an ongoing, lifelong affair with Percy, and the themes from Frankenstein mirroring Shelley’s life. It was very interesting. I read it, then Frankenstein. I wish I had done it the other way around. This book summarized Frankenstein, so it was a bit of a let down reading it, knowing what was coming next.

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. This is a very intriguing novel about Dracula still existing today, and the hunt to find him and destroy him. It delves into the history of Vlad the Impaler. Dracula has over the years left clues to only the best researchers in the literary field. I felt very smart reading this. I have discovered that I like dark fiction. Not overly creepy, or gruesome, but dark-ish. This fits the bill. And it’s delightfully long. I love a good, thick book that’s not over too quickly.

We are all weird, by Seth Godin. This short little book is all about how weird is taking over. Most people have weird in them somewhere, and are less and less ashamed of weirdness. I identified with this book. I’m weird. It’s ok. I like weird.

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. This book is very quirky, witty, and all clever. (I realize that sentence isn’t proper, I’m making a point, but I did have to point that out. Sad. I know.) An island idolizes the man that coined “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.” They have this tiled in the square with his statue. As tiles start falling, letters get outlawed in oral and written form. The book is written in letters. Letters about letters. It’s like the inception of the alphabet. I loved it!

I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron. I love her. She’s funny and real. I too, remember nothing, except that I loved this book.

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. This WWII novel made me sob. Literally. I’m telling you. If you read this and get to a train, get tissues ready. Chest heaving, snot running snubs are coming. I’m assuming that you aren’t a robot and have human emotions, of course. But it’s so good. So good.

Dune by Frank Herbert. I’m a geek. That’s part of my weird. I have read the Harry Potter books twice, am getting through The Lord of The Rings, I love Star Trek (Next Gen) and Star Wars (3-6), and Eragon. I love fantasy as well as sci-fi. I don’t know how I haven’t read this before now. I actually listened to this during The Great Paint (my in-laws’ entire house, ceilings and 14 rooms.) And there are many, many more sequels to this waiting on me. Yay!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. This book has made me a Kate Morton fan. I can’t wait to read more of her books. A book crossing generations, the daughter trying to learn about her mother, but learning much much more in the process. It’s set primarily in a manor house, so what’s not to love?

A Perfect Mess by Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman. I’m messy. A little mess is ok. This book says so. It’s easier and less time consuming to have important things near to hand, and out (messy) than to spend time putting away and finding (hyper organized.) Hey. Don’t look at me. It’s science. I didn’t write it, but I TOTALLY agree! Now, they do say that in moderation, messes are more efficient. I’m not giving you permission to be on Hoarders.

The Millennials by Thom and Jess Rainer. The generation born between 1980 and 2000 is the biggest generation America has seen. This book studied and interviewed many Millennials to find out more about this generation. This is a very interesting and eye-opening book regarding the American church and the biggest generation we’ve seen. Hopeful, challenging, affirming to me personally, this was a great read.

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Probably my most challenging book. It was LONG, and packed with so much info, that I had to check it out from the library twice on my kindle to finish it. It is a secular (evolution) history. But. There was so much informative stuff. And it wasn’t all about evolution. It covers the Universe, Atoms, microbes, the Hadron Collider. It also tracks the history of science and who discovered what when, and what led to that discovery, what that discovery led to, on and on and on. It was long and technical, but not too much so, and it kept my interest. Hence the second check out. I had to finish it. It really felt like an accomplishment when I did. It also was my 75th book and ended my challenge, and this list.

I can honestly recommend all of these books.

If you’ve read any of these (or any on my list), leave me a comment, please. I just love to talk books!

Pinspiring

2011-12-12T22:18:00.001-05:00

That’s a little misleading. I wasn’t necessarily inspired by a pin. I did keep up with the photo searches I did for inspiration with Pinterest.

Anywho. Here’s what I wanted. Every year Davy gets a bear ornament, Liv gets a mouse ornament, and Gabe gets a reindeer. Sometimes, it’s difficult and expensive to find good ornaments. I decided to make them this year.

So the search began. Thank you very much Google Images.

Ok. So that’s what I’m copying. Here’s what I made.

I’m so proud. They’re so cute! Dave LAUGHED at me for being so excited about my work. Laughed!

It was fun making them, but even more fun carrying on a tradition that we’ve had all of their lives.

Oh. And you better believe these are going on Pinterest.

(Is it terribly sad that you blog only to have somewhere to pin your work from?)

Earrings 11

2011-11-11T19:36:00.001-05:00

I have been wanting to make these earrings for YEARS. I remember exactly when my obsession started. It was with the following scene in Oceans’ 11.

I couldn’t pay attention to the story, I was so engrossed in those earrings. It was love at first sight.

So I looked online. Surely you can find something similar, I naively thought. You can’t. Even now, years later. Go ahead, try. I dare you.

So I began looking for pieces to put together.

Here’s what I started with.

I realize that my studs are a bit pidly compared to the originals, but I had to work with what I could find. And I lengthened them, too. Creative License and all that.

I’m really pleased with them.

Oh. Please forgive my pasty paleness. I’ve been hacking up lungs for the past week.

You got anything you’re working on?

Doodlers Unite!

2011-10-27T11:31:00.000-04:00

I watched this video today, with one doodler in mind.
Doodling has a bad rap. It shouldn't.

Pam is a doodler. She doodles on the phone, while talking and hashing out problems/solutions, coming up with ideas for kids ministry.

Now. Watch this. See how it fits.

We should all be doodling. Heaven knows we have enough to process.

Go. Doodle and prosper.
Do you doodle?

Makin' plans, dreamin' dreams

2011-10-14T00:53:00.000-04:00


What I hope my basement looks like some day.

I put together this polyvore, hoping to get an idea of what my basement could look like one day.
I'm making all of these plans. I hope to move my office down there eventually.

I'll explain my maddness.
The floor joists above are exposed, and they're that lovely honey color, so that's represented at the top.
I have several gallons of reject paint from lowes ($5 baby!!!) that are different shades of blue and green. I'm planning on painting each wall a different color. I may even mix them, a la House Invaders.

Side note. That is a BBC show, where a designer comes over, uses stuff you have, mixes the paint you already own, and slaps it on anything not moving, to create a new look. Great stuff, that.

Where was I?
Oh. Imagine that shelf full of fabric, and inspiration all over the walls.
I want an L shaped work space, so I don't have to roll very far. Cause rolling requires effort, right?
We have concrete floors, that have never been sealed, I'm pretty sure. I want to do a semi-transparent stain on them and seal those babies to a high sheen.

High Sheen! Haha!!! Get it? Winning!
Oh, I kill me.

Now, this is just planning phase. It will take mucho elbow grease and some dough to get all of the supplies. So this may not happen for a few months. But a girl can dream, can't she?

Supplies!!! Speaking of supplies, although this one isn't related at all to this project, I had a dream come true today!

Remember how I can't post pics until I get my laptop back? Well, there's almost always a way around. I tweeted one from my phone, so I can retrieve it for you kind folks.

Back to the dreamy dream.

I brought this baby home to mama! I've been wanting a good saw since I was a teenager, watching This Old House and The Yankee Workshop on PBS on lazy Saturdays.

We had a $50 giftcard to Lowes, and I had a 10% off coupon (that was expired, but they honored it!!!) Yes, it's the least expensive one, but I'm a beginner. So it works out. : )

I'm beyond thrilled.
I'll be setting her up in a different part of the basement. She looks female, doesn't she? She's certainly pretty.
She needs a name. Maybe Lizzy? Too gruesome?

Help a girl out. Got any good suggestions to name my new favorite play thing?

~Jen

More to come

2011-10-12T14:22:00.000-04:00

I have a few ideas about posts.

Unfortunately, my hard drive on my computer was pronounced DOA. So, while I'm having a new one installed, I'm just kinda hangin' out.
I borrowed the desktop from Dave's office, and have a riot of cords all over my desk. It's temporary, though. So I'm just not looking.

I'm thinking most of my new posts will be house-y stuff.
Surprise surprise!
I'll be sharing some tips I learned during my week and a half Great Paint.
I want to show you how I fixed an antique table leg, super cheap.
I fixed up our bathroom in the bathroom in the basement.
You know, stuff like that.
I seem to be settling in here.

Now, if I could just get my beloved laptop back, I could include actual pictures in posts.

I may get back to talking booky things too. Not betting. Books. I've been inspired by Vanderbilt Wife's 31 Days of Reading Well. I'm really enjoying this series of hers.

Ok. I just wanted to stop by and say hi and let you know what's ahead.
Keep a lookout!

~Jen

Got me a job of work

2011-09-18T22:50:00.000-04:00

Howdy. It seemed fitting to say howdy after that title. I know, Pam, that it isn't even in the same ballpark with correct, but I'm taking creative license. I like it.

On to the details. Onward, I say!

I'm here at the ole' in-laws' house, getting ready to paint.

The. Entire. House.
You read that right.
11 rooms, ~~and my sanity~~ should be done (fingers, toes, & legs crossed) by the weekend.
Oh. Did I mention ceilings?
No?
Yep, them too.

These are NOT the colors. My mother in law is not opening a day care. Or a Bordello.

So, I'm going to be a busy beaver this week, and probably will need some stock in Icy Hot.

My weakling arms are trembling in fear.

But, they're paying me to do it. The in-laws, not my arms. They don't have any money, that I am aware of.

So. I'm really not complaining. I'm thankful for this chance to earn a bit of money.

Y'all, just say a prayer for my pitiful muscles this week, if you think about it, ok?

Much appreciated.

So, what do you have up your sleeves for this week?

TILT - Nags Head Hammocks

2011-09-16T20:30:00.001-04:00

Well, this here summer of 2011, she has been a hot one. Now, I know we Central Virginia folk have absolutely nothing to complain about, considering the devastating heat and drought conditions in Texas and other southern parts of the good ole U. S. of A. I happen to adore the 90+ temps when I'm being forced daily to spend hours poolside with the children. Although, this summer we had a week or two of temps over 100 which made the pool feel like bathwater. Very warm bathwater, bleech.

But this week we've been teased with autumnal breezes, no humidity, and temps in the 60s and 70s. Which, now that my pool-sitting days are over, makes me very happy. This also makes me want to spend more time outside. I mean, not that I usually spend lots of time out there in "the outside" with the bugs and the nature, but still more time. And if I'm going to be out in the great outdoors, I'd just as soon be out there kicked back on a hammock. Preferably with a book, a pillow, and either a cold Mt. Dew or a nice steaming cup of hot chocolate (maybe with coconut creamer and a dollop of whipped cream? Not that I've done that before...)

{Here's our little backyard oasis. Oasis? Okay, that might be a little steep because it's a exactly what it looks like in this picture. A hammock, two chairs, my little side table (for beverages), and a rustic fire pit. AKA the hole in the ground where there was a stump, but now where my hubby makes the occasional campfire.}

We bought this hammock almost seven years ago from Nags Head Hammocks. We have been so pleased with it! Its excellent quality has really stood the test of time. You can see the nice patina we've worn on the finish, which is actually not bad for seven years with four kids, two adults, several dogs, plus countless (and I really mean that) cousins and friends who have thoroughly enjoyed it! The kids use it as a swing, sometimes piling three or four on the hammock sideways and swinging them until they feel like they're going to fall out. (Probably not a good choice...but fun.) It's been twisted and turned every which way but loose. Seriously, it's never fallen and not one of the sections is broken or even frayed!

And that's why my Nags Head hammock is a Thing I Love!

And here's a random picture of a mushroom in the backyard. Bonus. You're welcome.

I'm linking up to The Diaper Diaries' Things I Love Thursdays...one day late.

I remain, yours truly, desperately attempting to jump back into the blogging world,

BFF Weekend (Told In Recipes)

2011-09-05T22:03:00.003-04:00

I'm embarrassed to even look back to see how long it's been since my last post. A long time, I'm sure. But after a beautiful, long weekend filled with BFFness, I had to at least attempt to get back in the swing of things. Jen's family came to visit for the weekend, and she and I were able to do a big bunch of nothing all day Saturday. I'm guessing we put in a full 12 hours of nothingness. It was liberally sprinkled with baking, eating, {tv}watching, pinning (Pinterest, of course!), talking, and finally campfire sitting. It was lovely. Just lovely. Labor Day weekend is also my church's annual Homecoming service. Not sure if Homecoming is a southern tradition or not, but basically it's regular church kicked up a notch and followed by a seriously scrumptious meal. We ended the day with a baptismal service (where my baby girl was baptized...sniff). And then today we iced the cake by having a cookout with my awesome and hilarious extended family. But in between all that fun, I put in a lot of KP duty so I thought I'd recap by sharing all the recipes I used this weekend.

It started with the yummiest pizza recipe! I was feeding my family, Jen and her kids, plus five of my nieces and nephews, so pizza was the natural (read: cheap and easy) choice for our late lunch! I use this recipe from Annie's Eats. (I always double the recipe, making four pizzas for my family but for this crowd I quadrupled it!) I've tried a few others, but this is just absolutely fabulous. It freezes perfectly and is just so very tasty. It was in our family's weekly rotation, but I consistently overeat when I make it so I've had to slow it down. And yes, I did eat way too much of it this weekend. We stuck to the basics for the crowd, cheese/pepperoni/three meat. Plus my favorite breadsticks, use ranch dressing as the base and then slather on mozzarella and cheddar cheese.

As a late afternoon snack, we devoured The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls. They are so delicious, they deserve to be capitalized as the proper noun they are! I made four pans...mmmm. I limited the children to one roll each so I could have a few leftover for breakfast on Sunday and two pans to take to church for dessert. Yep, you read that correctly. They are so good you can take them to a church potluck and pass them off as dessert. I also made a pan of some of my standby rolls and added some ham for my main dish contribution.

For Monday's cookout, I was inspired by BooMama's Diptacular '11 to whip up something in the appetizer family. I found this recipe for Beer Bread (I used root beer and it was a little sweeter than I would have liked, but we still ate every crumb). I cubed up the bread and made my tried and true bacon cheese dip and a new pizza dip. It's definitely a keeper (I made a few adjustments, D doesn't care for parmesan so I used mozzarella and a little bit of cheddar, also left off the toppings--still tasty!)
And because every good weekend ends with something sweet, I made these Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies. Yep. They are very tasty. I think these would be an amazing cookie to use for ice cream sandwiches. Some good vanilla in between these, maybe rolled in toasted coconut...oh yes, that sounds divine. I wonder if I could do that and then dip them in white chocolate, like a Klondike bar...Okay I'll stop now.

And that's my weekend in recipes! We enjoyed a delightful, entertaining, and memorable weekend! Did Jen and I take a picture together this weekend? Yes, but not with our own cameras so I've got nothing...well, lookie here! I found something to use! A picture of my sweet girl after her baptism. So very proud of her!

We're not dead yet!

2011-09-01T02:47:00.001-04:00

Killer of a title, right?

Well.

This is a post to let you know that we are, in fact, still kicking. Just not posting regularly. I am not sure you want our excuses, but they are, school, moving (A LOT), depression, and general busy business.

If you didn't know, Pam is in school to become an English Teacher. I heart her grammatically correct self so much. Methinks she will have to branch out from her usual Regency Romance novels if she's going to be teaching Harper Lee and John Steinbeck. On that note, I can't wait to talk books with her. I think she's reading The Help now. Ooooo. Good one.

I have moved. Again. Yep. That makes 17 times in 18 years. I'm a Gypsy! Should I have said Traveler? I really hope I don't offend. I know some very lovely Gypsies (who haven't moved in 20 years, by the way.) I guess I shouldn't perpetuate that stigma. Back to that big #. Granted, several were within the same town, but still. That's packing, hauling, unpacking, arranging furniture, just ugh. It totally counts. HA! Get it? COUNTS?!! We were counting moves. Oh. Nevermind.

I don't know if you noticed, but I went from posting happy-go-lucky, many times a week, to a few times a month, to ...well, never. I tend to withdraw and close ranks when things are tough for me. I just shut down. It's been 2 1/2 years now since this first started, and I've gotten some better. I've definitely gotten used to things. I do try. I hate to be a whiner. That's the main reason I haven't gone into this topic in any depth here. It just feels whiny and attention seeking. For me. I am in no way whatsoever saying that anyone else writing about depression is whiny or attention seeking. It's just how I feel when I bring it up. So I don't. And it's hard to find good blog topics when you're skirting areas of your life.

I do love our little blog, and don't want to see it die. I just wanted to let you know what's going on that's been keeping our fabulous selves from posting, ...ahem, you know, ever.

Well. It's late. (There's a Jim Gaffigan line there that I can't finish.)

Do keep in touch.

~Jen

Young Us/Now Us

2011-06-05T22:18:00.001-04:00

I know it’s been a while. I know!

I did move. I deserve a little slack.

I also discovered Pinterest.

A bit of a time suck, that. But a fun one. If you want to join, you need an invitation. You can get one here.

But in the midst of all that, I went home to my Mom’s. Their pool needed repainting.

Anywho. While at home, my sister and I finally did something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time.

We recreated a picture of us as kids. I’m submitting it to YoungMe/NowMe.

Just. Fun.

Here’s two of the cutest, smallest girls ever.

And here we are now. Not fitting at all into the toy box.

Fun Fact: That toy box was my grandfather’s Army locker. My grandfather that stormed the beaches of Normandy in WWII.

Well. That was a fun time, there.

Do you have some retro photos that you want to recreate for this project? Believe me, do it. It was loads of fun.

Phenomenal Gift-giving on a Less-Than-Phenomenal Budget

2011-05-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today I’m participating in the Ultimate Blog Swap. You’ll find me posting over at Infinite Learners about When a Mommy Blogger becomes a Mom Blogger, and I’m excited to welcome Kathirynne from Evolution to Simplicity to PJs Til Noon!

Gift giving can be a highly stressful proposition. We want the gift to express our feelings for the recipient, we want it to be appreciated, and we don't want to break the bank paying for it. Implementing the steps below will make your gift giving easier, more heartfelt and thoughtful and (I hope) less expensive.

1) Plan Ahead It's one thing to be caught off guard by an unexpected baby shower or a wedding invitation that arrives out of the blue and have to engage in some quick thinking to come up with a suitable gift. But Christmas, Valentine's Day and our loved ones' birthdays occur on the same day every year, which makes for easy planning. Mother's Day, Father's Day and Easter, while not on exactly the same date every year, annually occur at the same time of year, so they are no surprise, either.
The time to start thinking about Christmas, for instance, is NOT the day after Thanksgiving. Anyone can purchase something from a "big box store" on Black Friday. But to create truly meaningful gifts requires forethought and advance planning. The Victorians traditionally began their Christmas preparations as early as July to ensure that they would be finished in time to be placed under the tree on Christmas Eve. It may feel silly to be "making a list and checking it twice" while the scent of Independence Day fireworks still lingers in the air, but when you're finished with your holiday shopping well before Thanksgiving (while everyone around you is frantically scouring the shops for that "perfect gift") you'll be glad that you planned so far in advance.

2) Know Your Intended Recipient With very few exceptions (our children's teachers, for instance), the people to whom we give gifts are people we know well. If this is not the case, perhaps the question to be asking ourselves is not "What gift shall I give to this person?" but rather "Why do I feel obligated to give this person a gift at all?"
Once you have established that a particular person does, indeed, belong on your gift list, it's time to brainstorm. The best gifts are ones that have been selected with the specific recipient in mind. Consider your intended recipient's likes and dislikes, their interests and hobbies, even their allergies and dietary restrictions, if applicable.
For instance, your friend the chai tea lover who has a long commute to work every day might enjoy a reusable travel mug, a chai tea recipe and all the necessary ingredients to make her favorite beverage at home. Not only will she appreciate this gift when she opens it, but also every time she doesn't have to fork over $4.50 at Starbuck's for her daily chai fix.

3) Set (and Stick to) a Budget This is probably the least fun component of gift giving, but it is probably the most important one. Giving gifts that are beyond our financial means is irresponsible and unnecessary. Planning and creativity usually trump a large outlay of cash when it comes to gift giving, so set your budget boundaries and stay within them. (In order to avoid "the gift that keeps on taking" pay with cash instead of with a credit card...those interest charges add up.)

4) Get Creative This is where the fun really begins. A good gift is like a collage - a bit from this source, a bit from that source - all combined to create a masterpiece that is more than the sum of its parts. Decide on a theme to use as a springboard. Does your friend enjoy sushi? Perhaps a “Make-at-home Sushi Kit”might be a good gift. Has your niece expressed a sudden interest in knitting? A knitting bag containing needles, yarn and a gift certificate for classes at a local yarn shop (or, if you know how to knit, lessons from you would be even better) would make the perfect present for her.

Think beyond the usual sources when seeking out the components of your gift. That vintage coffee can from the antique shop can become a quaint container for a gently used coffee mug from the thrift store, a sack of fancy coffee from the gourmet grocery, and a selection of biscotti baked in your own kitchen to create a gift that your favorite coffee lover will be thrilled to receive. A stack of books (by a favorite author or about a specific topic of interest) from the second-hand bookshop, a simple handmade bookmark or two and a clip-on booklight from the office supply store combine to become a fantastic present for that bookworm in your life.

The gifts we give are tiny reflections of ourselves. Be sure the gifts you give say that you are thoughtful, creative and thrifty but not cheap.

~Jen here. I for one LOVE the tips in this post!

What do you think? You have tips to add, and what’s the best gift you’ve ever given? Or received?

(I’ll take whatever you want to throw our comment way!)

ps. Visit Life...Your Way to see all of the Ultimate Blog Swap participants!

Cameras and the stuff they do?

2011-05-13T12:35:00.001-04:00

I added that question mark because there’s waaaay more I don’t know.

I have decided to become a Photographer. Eventually. I’ll have to save up and get a good camera, photo software, website, etc. But until then I decided to start learning.

I found this site, explaining (in plain English) things like aperture, ISO, shutter speed, and exposure.

I was surprised to learn that most PAS (point and shoot) cameras these days have some sort of manual control of these areas.

So then I decided to play. At night.

Now you know what lovely photos you get at night, right?

I am of course talking about WITHOUT flash. Flash kills photos. But you also need enough light to, you know, actually see the subject in the photos.

Here. Let me show you.

After playing around with turning almost every Auto feature in my menu OFF, I was able to get this.

And I straightened up my bookshelf after that. It looks much better now.

Here’s a bit more.

But still a decent night shot. Eh. Maybe. But still, a cute pup.

Umm, no. I just adjusted for Tungsten (regular bulb) lighting.

I’m telling you. I really was floored that I could get an indoor photo at night without a flash.

I’m going to be taking more photos more often. I’m also going to need a much larger memory card.

I’ll post and you can be my Guiney Pigs, mmkay?

Now, none of the above photos would be considered in any way good. I just wanted to show you that reading the manual, and fooling around with the settings really does make a difference.

Well, I’ve had fun.

Got any tips, books, websites you can recommend?

Do you play with your settings for better photos?

Face Painting Tips

2011-05-09T23:49:00.004-04:00

Now, the above pic may not look super professional, but it is better than your average bear. I mean jungle cat. Whatever.
I watched a pro do the face painting at a kids’ event last year and I brought home a tip or two or ten.

#1. Cosmetic sponges. I used the cheap, triangle ones. These are essential for blending. Don’t cake that stuff on your kid’s face. It will crack and be uncomfortable. Plus, it saves your stock. So that you can have more face paint fun later on. With or without children. {wink}

#2. You don’t have to be exact with your color. Just blend on a good size blob of color, then use the black or darker colors to make your butterfly, kitty face, spiderman mask, whatever.

#3. Use your makeup. I tested this look on myself the night before Missy Moo’s Cheetah project presentation (the reason for the face) and discovered that the black face paint stings the eye. Not in the eye, though I imagine that would be less than comfortable. The delicate skin around the eye. So we used black liquid eyeliner for her eyes and the tiny whisker dots above her lip.

#4. Use help. There are many sites out there to help you get the look you want. This one has instructions, but limited designs. I just used Google images and combined elements I liked from several, along with looking at an actual Cheetah to get it close. Well, as close as a human face could get with limited funds/talent/time.

#5. Practice. We practiced the night before, so I knew what I did want and did not want to do, and about how long it would take. When playing beat the bus, you need an idea of how long this will be.

#6. BLOT. This is essential. Otherwise you’ll have smears. I found this out as I dropped her off. (And I lost that game of beat the bus. Thanks for asking.) I used clean makeup sponges to blot the eyeliner so it wouldn’t transfer to her eyelid. I forgot to blot the dots. Grr…

#7. Powder is your friend. After you’ve blotted, of course. Unless you want black face paint on your powder brush and tiny streaks on your face. If so, rock on my friend. Set the whole look with a quick brush of powder.

#8. I would even invest in a few different size brushes. The cheapie that came with the face paint was ok, but a bit big. I’d have liked the lines to have been smaller.

#9. Work on a sleeping child. I can’t tell you the number of times I said “STOP MOVING!” I think sitting would have helped, too. Funny how you come up with so many great ideas after it’s over, right?

#10. Cheat. You could just scribble “CHETTAH” on the kid’s forehead and be done with it. Let people hone that wonderful imagine everyone keeps yammering on about.

So there you have it. I know. You’re dying to see me in cat, right? Well you don’t have to twist my arm so hard.
Here.
.
Don’t you love my cat face? (Hubby did NOT appreciate my feline form.)

I linked up with Homebody’s Tuesday Tips and Tricks, The Stories of A 2 Z Tutorials & Tips Tuesday, as well as OH Amanda's Top Ten Tuesday. Visit these sites for great ideas, or link up for yourself!

So, do you have any face painting tips to add?

Things I love Thursday ~ Basement Edition

2011-04-27T23:37:00.001-04:00

I’m blogging from my basement. Well, not really. My In-Laws’ basement. It’s not finished. At. All.

We live in upper east Tennessee, and are getting the leftover storms from the Alabama devastation.

We have a Tornado Warning through the night. I herded up the kids and various paraphernalia to get to a safe place. (I think I freaked my daughter out a bit, telling her about the warnings.)

I’m thankful to have a basement to go to. When the wind starts whippin’ I want a place that feels safer than somewhere with windows all around.

I watched The Weather Channel today and saw all of the destruction in Alabama. It really is heart wrenching seeing people’s homes and lives be taken.

This dirty, buggy, glorified crawl space has become a haven with peace of mind. Seeing that my kiddos are safe is the thing I love the most.

I linked up with Things I Love Thursday. Go find out what others love, or better yet, link up!

Did you get severe weather where you live? Did you have to hide out in the basement or bathroom?

I promise to do better, unless I don’t.

2011-04-24T21:08:00.001-04:00

I got a comment today! From one of our original inspiration bloggers, Reese. Hi Reese!!!

So naturally, I clicked on the DISQUS link to reply to the comment. I like to reply or at least “like” our comments. I find encouragement better than … well … ambivalence.

Anywho. When I got over to my DISQUS site, there were several comments that I had not seen before. Some were weeks old.

WHAAAA???!!!

One of the reasons I installed that system was so that I’d get a notification when we have comments, and so that I could reply to individual comments. This is not making me happy.

I am going to have to spend ~~eons~~ a bit to troll around my account there and figure out why some of you wonderful people fell through the cracks of our place here. Now, mind you, it’s held together with chewing gum and fruit roll ups around here, but that’s no excuse.

I apologize if you feel neglected or even worse, ignored. I’d never want any of our virtual friends to feel that way.

So like I said. I’ll do better. I’ll try to do better.

I promise.

Will read for money ~ what works for me

2011-04-20T00:08:00.001-04:00

Now. If you know me at all, you know that I’m a bookie. I love books, reading, smelling, holding, downloading, listening, kindling. Whatever form I can get my grubby paws on, I’m so there.

My kids. Well. Let’s just say that books don’t really compete with the DS, Wii, Xbox, Netflix, and Disney Channel.

They read every once in a great while.

I’m changing all that. Call me the Obama of reading. Change! And like Obama, I’m giving money away left and right. Get it? Left and Right? Oh. I kill me.

I have decided that reading is too important, and I will have no child left behind. Instead of getting paid for doing chores, which they should be doing anyway to be helpful members of the family, they are getting paid to read.

I’ll have a little staff of copy editors running around my house.

The deal is; one book = one buck. No picture books need apply. Chapter books only. Age appropriate ones, of course and yes they can include pictures in the chapter book. I know. Fine print will get you every time.

I want my kids to be readers. I learn so much just by reading. And I will admit that my vocabulary is above par. All because of reading.

I’m not a rich gal, I don’t have money to just throw away. But I believe in this enough to sacrifice other places to make this happen.

So what habit would you be willing to pay to foster in your children?

And, What Works For You Wednesday? This post is linked up there. Hop over and get tips and tricks for things that work.

Sugar Jesus, anyone?

2011-04-19T17:22:00.001-04:00

This is a re-post from Easter Season 2009. It may become a yearly tradition. I love this memory.

Pam sent me a link to a lovely blog today. Over at Momminitup, she contends that nothing says Happy Easter like the Cadbury Egg. Or, not exactly that, just go see what she says.

But WAIT!! Read this first. I promise you won't be disappointed.

See the picture above? Of course you do. YES, that is a chocolate crucifix. And yes, you are supposed to eat it.

No, I have never eaten a chocolate crucifix, but I've come close.

See, nothing will ever say Easter for me quite like the Sugar Jesus my sister and I had every year. I'll repeat that. We called it Sugar Jesus. I have no idea what the thing was actually called.

My next door neighbors were two unmarried sisters and their mother. I think, I was small and don't hold on to details like I used to. These wonderful women loved holidays. At Christmas we had a neighborhood Nativity Pageant. I was always an angel. Our front porch must have been Nazareth, because Joseph & Mary started the journey to the Bethlehem next door from there. We had costumes, a huge stable, and all the neighborhood kids doing this every year. Us girls were usually jockeying to be Mary, I don't think the boys cared or they tried to get out of being Joseph. There was hand-holding involved.

That just sets up the point that these ladies loved holidays. At Easter, every year they made the sugar eggs. You know the ones that are hollow and have a little grassy scene inside the window. I'm sure they have a name, but again, details flying out of my head.

That is not the only thing they made with sugar.

YES. Their candy mold looked a lot like the one used for the chocolate creation above. I looked all over the Internet for a picture of a Sugar Jesus, but apparently Sis and I are the only ones who ever had them. That was as close as I could get.

At the time, I never thought, "This could be completely irreverent, nibbling on Jesus' head, left hand, right hand, feet, left arm, right arm, legs...etc." Although I do think I always saved the head for last, and nibble would not be correct, either. We were just little girls, enjoying a tradition that tasted like we simply put a spoon in the sugar bowl.

So now I argue with my fellow blogger. Nothing says "let's celebrate our Lord's death & Resurrection" like giving children sugar versions of the crucifix. I can guarantee that they will remember it for the rest of their lives. My sister would definitely agree with me.

Well, I am thinking of ordering these candy molds and continuing the tradition. Then again...

On that note, I truly hope you and yours have a wonderful and thought provoking Easter.

What are some of the childhood memories of Easter that you have? Can you still taste the sugar on your tongue? I know I can.

***My non-southerner husband had no idea what I was referring to with the sugar egg... crazy, I know!

Worth Sharing

2011-04-18T22:51:00.001-04:00

I just downloaded the best album.

I’ve been on a downloading kick lately. I love to check the $5 albums at Amazon. All of my music comes from Amazon. They are a bit cheaper than iTunes, and it will automatically dump all of your music into iTunes anyway, so it works.

I just downloaded Beautiful Things by Gungor.

It’s one of the $5 albums right now. And it is well worth that.

Here’s what people are saying.

Gungor Live @ ReCreate Conference in Nashville, 2011

I am now going straight to their website to see when I can experience them live. Because I get the feeling it’s not just a show.

What are you waiting on? Run over and download this album.

You can thank me later. Or better yet, bake me a cake. Chocolate.

What’s the best music you’ve found lately?

Can you mourn for a house that doesn’t exist?

2011-04-13T11:06:00.001-04:00

I had a dream a few weeks ago that has stayed with me. I woke up so very very sad.

I dreamed that I was getting a house. Not just any house. It was gorgeous and big and spacious and filled with light. And it was abandoned. On my parent’s property. So, we were just going to repair some things and move in. It was filled with antique furniture, too.

It looked a lot like this.

From the second story, you could see the back of my mom’s house. There were woods in between, and a lovely trail to her house. I could just picture the kiddos running back and forth between our houses.

The only thing we worried about was being able to get to the house with a car. But on one side was a lovely carport that led to a small road going out to the main road. It was literally perfect.

I’m telling you, this house haunted me for days after that dream. I’d wander through it in my mind. I was planning which rooms would belong to which children, where I’d set up my sewing machine, what furniture would go where. The kitchen was wonderful. It had these high ceilings with beams and huge windows letting in all kinds of southern light. It was warm and welcoming, even in a disheveled, unclean state.

But this house doesn’t exist. Only in my imagination.

I guess with this last (forever, it feels like) year of transition, I’m feeling the need for a home. A place that is ours and we can put our stamp on. I don’t know when that will be. Maybe that’s why I’m mourning that house. I don’t have my own.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a tad kooky. There’s ALWAYS that possibility.

You ever have those fabulous dream that make you sad when you wake up because they aren’t reality? I’d love to hear about them.

What are you reading? I’ll go first.

2011-04-03T01:06:00.001-04:00

"We read to know that we are not alone."
— C.S. Lewis

I read this just now. He gets me. Totally.

Right now I’m reading the following.

I love all types of genres. You already knew that, didn’t you? The first two are historical mysteries. Fun stuff.

The next is a futuristic fantasy. The premise is that most of the human race has been wiped out by a monkey virus, and man has reverted back to not quite stone age technology. They find a Bible, and a letter from the man who hid it.

That’s all I know.

I love fantasy. I’m planning on working my way through the Lord of The Rings books.

And the last is my own personal crack. I love travel/international memoirs. Peter Mayle ruined me.

So what are you reading? Pam’s probably elbow deep in some lovely textbooks.

OH OH OH!! Did I tell you?

I have a Kindle now. It’s beeee-yoo-teee-ful. I adore that little hunk of techno-gear. The Sword is the only one I’m reading at the moment on my Kindle. I’ve read several books on it already. I do find myself being less discriminating, reading on the Kindle. There are all these free books, and I read them because they hey, who doesn’t like free. Turns out some things are worth exactly what you pay for them. I feel like I’ve wasted time and brain cells on a few books.

I’ll just have to start buying more quality books.

See? You can solve almost any problem by just blogging it out.

O. Back to the question.

I really want to know what you’re reading. And if it’s any good. I’m always on the lookout for something good to read.

Working out the tough stuff

2011-03-22T15:05:00.000-04:00

This one won't be light and flippant.

(Just thougt I'd warn you.)

I wrote this several months back. Things are shaping up and dredging up all of the hurt and fears that I've been dealing with for a while now. And as I read this over, I still have all of this ugly inside of me. I've lost my belief in good things happening. To me specifically. I feel blank inside.

In my devotion this morning, it challenged me to ponder the areas in my life that God would consider me heardheaded in. Yep, fun stuff, this.
Here we go.

I'm ungenerous.
I'm holding on to a hurt that is probably past its expiration date.
I feel alone. A lot.
I now firmly believe that if I get to a happy place, I better watch out, that's when that lovely plush carpet gets yanked out from beneath me.
I'm cynical now. (You couldn't tell could you?)

These are things I don't like about me. I'm pretty sure that God considers me hardhearted with all of these flaws in my character.
The devotion was about living in God's presence. I haven't done that in a while now. I have been, well, surviving.
When I look at the last year and a half, my struggles don't even come close to what others suffer. I really am a blessed woman. And I know that. Getting that knowledge to translate, there's the rub.
Sure, I had to move away from a home I loved to one I hated. Go from a church that we adored to a square peg church that weekly rubbed raw my round peg spirit. And once that year was over, I had to give up time with my family so that I could work at a grunt job that pays more in frustration than money.

I'm disgruntled.
I'm pretty badly warped.
I'm hardhearted.

What to do with all of this?
Griping about it in a blog post really won't do anyone any good. Even if confession is good for the soul, you can't just stop there.
How do you heal a wound that changed your entire outlook on life? And if it heals, does the outlook automatically change back? I know I can't do any of this on my own.

I need help.

But then I hit that trust brick wall. And there's that fear that if things to work out for our good, the other shoe is just waiting to drop.

I'm broken.

I'm certain this won't be a quick fix. I've got some deep issues to work through.
I feel like I should be better at this. I feel guilty that I'm not. I pretend things are fine most of the time. It's exhausting to be the downer. (Ironic, this being a depressing post, huh?) So I hole it all up and tuck it all away.
I'm not looking for sympathy here. I'm just putting it all out there. I'm hoping that by coming out, I can put the mask away. I'll have to.
My daily devotion is helping. It's obviously rooting me out. Stirring up all the ugly I have inside.
Maybe one day I can come back here and report that I'm a beautiful soaring creature again, but for now, I feel like a troll. And I want to go back to hiding in a cave.

Jen

Worth Sharing

2011-02-12T11:56:00.003-05:00

I decided to participate in another meme. I love Saturday Stumbles. So let’s get stumbling!
Why mothers kiss their babies. I’m way past the baby days, but this was still simply fascinating.
Dog piles. By Jamie the Very Worst Missionary. I love her blog and her heart.
Almost Homemade Valentines. So stinkin’ cute!
Thirty Books Everyone Should Read Before They’re Thirty. I’m always scouring for something good to read. One problem. I’m too late for this list. Shhh. Don’t tell them. I’m reading them anyway.
CopyCat/Clone. This could be dangerous. I love homemade, and re-creating my faves from restaurants, well. Umm. Yes, please.

So there you have it. Even though I’m a poor blog updater, I do read everything in my reader every week.
What have you found that’s worth sharing?

My favorite room ever, even if it doesn’t exist

2011-01-23T16:49:00.001-05:00

I was wandering around the interweb this morning and came across some photos. It got me thinking.

Y’all know about my love of books, right? Well this started it all.

Look at that. Being surrounded by books. Oh. My. Bliss.

Then I saw these.

Then I got to thinking about what my dream library would look like. A wall of bookshelves like this.

With a sofa like this.

Then I remembered polyvore. You can put together any kind of set. Outfits, rooms, anything.

So I did.

This would be my dream library.

Except there would be many, many more bookshelves.

Which would be your favorite room? How would it look?

If you set it up, or have it for reals, leave me a comment <pretty please>.

And if you have a link, that too, please? I’d love to ~~stalk~~ take a look at your favorite places.

Love,

your true blue looky loo,

Simple Hot Chocolate Upgrade

2011-01-21T09:07:00.001-05:00

I decided that the best way to get the word out about our new address would be to join a meme. I think this is a finer thing.

So, while making my morning hot chocolate it dawned on me that I have something to share with the world. Something useful.

When your day looks like this:

you want hot chocolate. It’s a highly researched statistic.

So you put the kettle on. I mixed a fancy schmancy vanilla hot chocolate with the garden variety from the Walmart. (Don’t you love when people say “The Walmart?” ) (What is up with me and parentheses today?)

Then you mix it all up. Much like the lime and the coconut.

Then you add in half and half. This does two things. It makes it oh so creamy and delicious, and it takes the temp down to a not-tongue-scorching level. Win-win!

Then you add marshmallows (that have somehow survived a houseful of children) and drink up.

If you want to link up to Amy’s Finer things, go ahead and join the party. It’s a fun place over there. But don’t forget to take your hot chocolate with you!

A new us?

2011-01-21T07:28:00.001-05:00

I just want to let all of you know, we are still alive and kicking, even if our post quota says otherwise.

I know this is probably a conundrum, but if you haven’t been able to find us (how are you here?) it’s because our URL has changed.

Ta-da! Here’s the new us.

http://www.pjstilnoon.com/

Remember the days of www.pjs-til-noon.com? (ps, Windows Live Writer automatically linked that, if you click on it, you’ll get an error screen.)

Well those days are no more. It’s like a fresh start for us.

I’d like to thank my BFF, Pam, for setting us up with our very own web address. I would have been fine with the .blogspot url, but she is the wonderful wizard behind the curtain of our very own place in this world. (How many more song/movie references can I squeeze in here?)

So. That’s all I have to say for now.

Add us to your bookmarks, reader, favorite pages, whatever. And you’ll be treated with an update on average, every month. For FREE! Now if that’s not a deal, I don’t know what is.

We love this little blog. We haven’t forgotten you.

Love,

Dream a Little Dream of Me

2011-01-04T21:23:00.006-05:00

Warning: I've decided to forgo any long and involved backstory to this post, I've decided to take it directly from my journal. Also I was going to say in this case the devil ISN'T in the details but honestly I've never been sure how to appropriately use that particular phrase. Feel free to enlighten me.

Some days I am crushed by the weight of making decisions. All decisions, the big, scary, life-changing parenting/career decisions and the itty-bitty 'what's for dinner' decisions. I love my family. I know it's cliche but they are truly my pride and joy. They are also my identity. Thankfully it's one I've worn proudly for many years. (I'm sure I'll continue to display the Mom badge on my vest for many years to come! I've earned it!)

(Awe, aren't they cute little, life force drainers? I kid, I kid! I adore them!)

But I know God has begun to plant the tiniest seed of a new dream deep within my soul. And I am afraid of what He's going to ask of me. I tremble to even ask Him what the plan is or what it might (and I stress MIGHT) entail.

But on rare days, like today, I dream of accepting the position without even reading the requirements. My dreams soar and dip and twist. They send my pulse racing with excitement and at the same time my chest tightens in anxiety. (Dare I hope that you, my sweet little blog, will be part of this change?)

There it is again, that fear of the unknown comes creeping back. No, not fear of the unknown, fear of exposure. Exposing a new identity to my world. Showing a different side of me, the 35-year-old, mother of four who could stand to lose a few (okay a bunch) of pounds.

I hide behind my four beautiful children. I hide behind my home. I hide behind my responsibilities. I hide behind my weight. I hide behind my mom uniform (jeans and a plain black tee). I hide behind my routine in the every day.

So in the year of our Lord two thousand and eleven, I'm making a to-do list. No goals or resolutions.

Number one on my list? Rediscovering me. I don't have a 12 step program or even a *new* self-help book. Nope, I'm gonna do that by doing this:

Loving the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and all my mind. ~paraphrasing Matt. 22:27
May 2011 bring you many days of peace, happiness, love, discovery, and of course many, many days of staying in your PJs til Noon.

Even better than that house fire?

2010-12-20T13:11:00.001-05:00

If you know me at all, you know I’m a stickler for correct language usage. And I’ll correct you. (It’s an annoying habit, I know. I’m working on not being so annoying in future.) I get it from my daddy. Hi Dad!

Well, I was looking through the pics of the mistaken-house-fire-siren-santa-fire-truck.

Here’s the next photo.

Can you see the sign on the back of the truck?

Well, here’s a better look.

Hahaha! It just made me laugh. They’re wishing the Mount Carmel Mayor AND Alderman and Fire Department a Merry Christmas.

Poor Fire Department. It is not only at the end of the list, it only gets a lower case and.

Well, I thought it was funny. Laugh or I’ll re-post my Major Award post from last year. I’m totally not kidding.

Test

2010-12-20T12:21:00.000-05:00

Testing the post from my phone option. Also with pictures. These are Liv's new glasses. Aren't they adorable? Yes. Yes they are.

Jen
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

It’s better than a house fire.

2010-12-20T12:09:00.001-05:00

Been a while. I know, I know.

Seems like all of my posts start out with an apology for not posting more. Whoopsie.

This past Saturday, I was lounging around, catching up on GLEE when Dave comes and asks what all the noise was. I had my earphones in so I had no clue what he was talking about.

Lo and behold, sirens. Not just sirens.

SIRENS!!!

Everywhere, sirens. Well, one neighborhood over, everywhere.

I immediately start praying for the poor family whose house is burning just at Christmas.

I mean, can you imagine?

Then Davy sees the fire truck.

With Santa riding on top.

Apparently, in this small shire of Mount Carmel, TN, the fire department rides around every year throwing out candy/stuffed animals/heart attacks to the fine residents. It really is wonderful.

What would have been more wonderful would have been to know about it before I started an intercession session for that hypothetical now-homeless family.

Oh well.

It was all good fun, and well, see the title.

Word for the day

2010-11-11T10:23:00.000-05:00

NORMALACY

(nor-MAL-ah-see)

-noun

The delima of wanting to be normal juxtaposed with the knowledge that you are not.

Pam and Jen suffer severe normalacy when faced with the mocking BFF haters that may or may not include family, friends, and husbands. (Don't worry, they quickly move past suffering to embracing this normalacy. Haters can feed the gators.)

~Jen

Full-on Review (across the sky) What does it mean?

2010-11-11T05:16:00.001-05:00

Recently, I posted a tidbit review of Mercury Falls, by Robert Kroese. And I promised another, more in depth post with pics and links.

If you're wondering, this is that post.

I was going to tell you all about my history with this book, how I'm proudly in the world's first twitter-only rock band with the author (I'm on COWBELL!), and other such nonsense. I'll refrain. Let's just get to the book, shall we?

This book. Oh this book. It has been one of the most enjoyable in my recent past.

Here's the synopsis from the back cover.

Christine Temetri is at her wits' end. For years she's covered the increasingly bizarre activities of End Times cults for the Banner, a religious news magazine. Yet Christine, who once dreamed of being a "real" writer, has nothing to show for the gig other than a regular paycheck and serious doubt that Armageddon will occur in time for her next deadline. But after a mysterious man entrusts her with a locked briefcase and orders to "take it to Mercury," Christine finds herself face to face with a ping-pong playing angel by the name of Galileo Mercury. It seems Mercury was sent from heaven to make preparations for Armageddon, yet became sidetracked by the earthly delights he discovered: Rice Krispy treats, table tennis, and beer, to name just a few. Mercury's concern for the fate of mankind is middling at best, but he is happy to educate Christine on the details of the elaborate, if poorly organized, calamity to come. When Christine inadvertently saves the Antichrist - an obnoxious, thirtysomething gamer who still lives with his mother - from celestial assassination, she begins an ambitious battle to stop the Apocalypse and save the world. But the heavenly host is nothing if not persistent, and Christine, aided only by an apathetic angel and a reluctant Antichrist, has her work cut out for her. Packed with outrageous characters, Mercury Falls is a viciously funny (and occasionally absurd) morality tale for the twenty-first century.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No worries," Mercury said.

"I think I've figured out a way for everyone to live happily ever after."

"Everybody?"

"Well, almost everybody. And not so much happy as only mildly disgruntled."

"And the 'ever after' part?"

"Actually," said Mercury thoughtfully, "it's more like 'for the very short-term future.'"

Let me just tell you, the wordplay alone is worth the read. But you figured that out with my last post, didn't you?

This book chronicles the Apocalypse. Who knew such a weighty subject could be so funny?

I only take issue with one bit of the back cover. Occasionally absurd. Well. The whole thing is delightfully absurd in the best way possible. I laughed my way through the Apocalypse.

Now there's a tee shirt logo for you.

The title refers to when I posted this. That was a preview-review. This, of course is a full-on review. And if you don't get that gag, well, I feel sorry for you. (If you haven't read that preview sample, you really should, to understand this one.) Well here's another conversation from the book that cracked me up.

Yes, it's all about prawns, too.

Perp snorted. "These mortals. They are mere prawns, being shoved about by -"

"Pawns," Mercury said.

"What's that?"

"The mortals are pawns. I actually thought it was prawns, too, but it turns out that it's pawns."

"Are you sure? I've been saying 'prawns' for...must be seven hundred years now."

"Yeah, I've got a friend who knows this kind of stuff. Trust me, it's pawns."

"Pawns," said Perp, trying out the word. "You're absolutely certain it's not prawns?"

"Quite," said Mercury. "My friend is a writer. I have total faith in her judgment."

"Well then," said perp. "Pawns. Such a strange word. I suppose I'll get used to saying it though. As I was saying, these mortals are mere pawns in a vast ocean, being shoved about by currents beyond the meager understanding of their tiny crustacean brains."

I adore silliness and absurdity. Using these weapons to tackle such a controversial subject matter (the Apocalypse, not prawns, of course) is brilliant in my book.

Not that my book counts for much.

But this is my blog, so it's one of the only two that count at all.

Ok.

I don't really know how to better describe to you this book.

It's a fun read. It draws you in from the first page and leaves you wanting more with the last.

As any good book should.

Go and buy. And read. And laugh!

~Jen

Pre-review sample (laughs no extra charge)

2010-11-05T12:07:00.001-04:00

I am reading a book to review. But, I thought I'd share a quick excerpt from it. I read an e-version of this book last year and recently got the opportunity to review this book for the blog.
Let me tell you that I love this book. Its called Mercury Falls by Rob Kroese.
It has lost of word play going for it. Here's an example.

"So the author of the books, Katie Midford, she's an agent of Satan?"
"Not sure about Katie Midford. She may just be a prawn."
"A pawn."
"No, a prawn. You know, a little fish."
"Prawns aren't fish," said Christine irritably. They're shrimp. I think you mean 'pawn.'. Like the little pieces in chess that get sacrificed for the queen."
"I thought those were prawns."
"They're pawns. Prawns are shellfish."
"Yeah, that's her all right. A greedy little prawn."

That right there is wordsmith gold.

I would have included links to the book, but I'm posting from my phone and not sure how to do that. Rest assured. I'll include links and a photo in the official review post. Until then, my friend, Mr. Google can tell you anything you need to know about the book and where to find it.
Read it with me?

Jen

My Not-So-Triumphant Return to Blogging

2010-10-19T14:08:00.008-04:00

Deep breath, breathe, breathe, it's okay, you can do this! (Pardon me while I give myself a little pep talk.) I know it's been almost *gasp* 10 months since you've posted on this here blog, but it's okay, you can do it!

So what better way to try and get back into the swing of things than to tell you all the reasons I haven't been swinging, err, I mean blogging. But I haven't been swinging either, unless you want to count the few minutes on my front porch.

So here, in random order, are the Top 10 Excuses I Use to Not Blog:

1. I'm busy. But that's really a given. I mean isn't everyone busy? And aren't we all tired of hearing how busy everyone else is blah blah blah. We're all busy in our own little ways. So what if my busy means watching Sarah's House while reading a regency romance and making a list of all the things I really DO need to do. I'm still busy. (Hey, I said they were excuses, not necessarily good ones.)

2. Gorgeous New Nephews (yes, plural). My sister had twin boys in June! My sweet little nevies were born at 27 weeks and they were seriously tee-niny. Zac weighed in at 1 lb 14 oz and Will was 1 lb 10 oz. It's been the most emotional thing I've ever experienced. It's an absolute roller coaster (I can't even imagine how my sweet sister and her husband have held up so well, so proud of them!) . Z came home about a week ago, and but our Iron Will still needs one more surgery before he can come home.

3. Cooking for a Crowd. Being a family of six and dedicated Dave Ramseyer's, we almost never eat out. I've pretty much quit buying convenience foods (my son's still mourn pizza rolls and hot pockets so don't bring those up if you come by, please). Which means I've got to put a little more effort into my menu planning (the planning, not the execution).

On that note, here's a link to my most favorite pizza ever. It's become my go-to dish for potlucks, family dinners, etc. (it's cheap, easy and available--the ingredients that is). And, just one more side note, I've been making homemade cinnamon rolls for quite a while, and I thought my recipe was a-ma-zing. Until I tried Pioneer Woman's recipe....Shut Up! Seriously, these are indescribable, uncontainable, awestruck...oh, sorry, my apologies Chris Tomlin. (And, again, sorry--honestly, could this get any longer--have you heard C. Tomlin's remake of "Where the Streets Have No Name"? Fab.)

4. Laundry. It pretty much follows cooking doesn't it? I read a blog post (I'm trying to find the link) about laundry and cleaning. The gist was if you can stay on top of your laundry and know what's for dinner half your battles that day have been won. I'm sold on the theory, not just to put it into practice.

I've also been following the Nester's 31 Days Series and she's addressed laundry a couple of times too. Good stuff. And I will admit, this is usually my Waterloo. I always have the washer and dryer going, it's the folding and putting away that trip me up. D said to me, there's a monster in our bedroom and it's growing. I told him my methods weren't working, if he'd like to be my knight in shining armor and slay it for me. My knight hopped on his faithful steed (his recliner) and booked it to the next kingdom (living room). (Hee hee, sorry honey.)

Anyhoo, I've actually stayed on top of the mountain of laundry for about a week and a half. But that was before this little thing called apple butter at our church took over my life from last Wed-Sat and it will do so again this week. I'm getting ready to gird my loins and do battle this afternoon. Here's what my bed currently looks like:

5. Football. Practices 3x a week, games, stinky laundry, making dinner for family members at odd times. See, everything goes back to laundry and food? Everything! (And from March - July it was baseball, August to October Football...just to clarify my entire six-month sabbatical).

6. Eldest Boy. The eldest is growing up way too fast. He's 15 and a half, took his first real date to the homecoming dance, and is doing the preliminaries for his driver's license....boo hoo. (Or as my mom sang to him at the football game the other day..'you are 15, going on 16'...bahahaha. He didn't have a clue what she was doing. It was hilarious...and, yes, slightly embarrassing. Not b/c she was singing to him, but she really needs to wait until next year so she can do it correctly.) And can I just say: girlfriends + driving + almost 16 = Mama is not handling this very well :(.

7. School. Okay, this is really a lame excuse because I'm taking one, yes, ONE class this semester. It's sociology, it's actually interesting and totally and completely easy. Online and all open book. I mean ALL. Tests, quizzes, etc. I really should take this off the list but I'm running out of excuses.

8. I'm Lazy. Yep, I'm one of those people who knows how much I can handle and when my little teapot gets to perking a little too hard, I know it's time to turn the heat back. I like to chill. I like to be a nice mom and not a mean, stressed out, yelling crazy woman (I mean sometimes I still am but for the most part I try not to be).

Now here's where we get to the nitty-gritty.

9. I'm Addicted to HGTV and Regency Romances. As I said in #9, I need down time, I crave alone time. I absolutely have to have some time to myself or I will. go. crazy. The problem is sometimes my down time creeps into my productive time and well, like I said in #8 (which is basically spreading into #9) I know when I need to decompress so I use that as an excuse to watch more TV and read (okay and, yes, eat).

10. Stuck In the Designer Decorating Dumps. Due to my above-mentioned addiction to HGTV, I also have a bug that's been eating at me for a few months now. We've been in our house for 16 years and about 90% of the decor has been the same for that time. So I spend a lot of time researching, planning, dreaming and wishing my house looked different. And then due to #9 and #8 (with a bit of #3 and #4 tossed in--especially the Dave Ramsey budget stuff), I basically do nothing. That's right. Nothing.

So that's it, my Top Ten Reasons for Not Blogging. And yes this post is WAY too long. I offer my most sincere apologies...now off to work on that everloving #3 and #4 again....

I'm linking this long list of randomness to Top Ten Tuesdays over at Oh Amanda's!

We're a sorry bunch. Or should that be bushel?

2010-10-12T19:01:00.001-04:00

It's been an awfully long time since we've posted. I feel like I start out every post with that same apology. Sorry. And there's another. This could go on forever, me apologizing for apologizing. Let's just end this cycle now, shall we?
Well, there's not really much new around these parts.
Pam is gearing up to peel apples tomorrow.
That's right. It's October. Otherwise known as Applebutter Time.

(This is approximately how many apples I peeled.)

I have so many things still with me from peeling thousands of apples. Laughs, memories, jars of applebutter. And an allergy.
Crazy, I know.
I'm now allergic to apples. Apparently I'm one to pop an allergy with overexposure to ...well... anything.
I am allergic to penicillin now from a 2 month bout of ear infection.
This doesn't bode well for my chocolate addiction. I'm a bit worried.
I think as long as I don't bathe in it for an entire week, I'll be ok. I'm being cautious, though. Because, let me tell you, I miss apple pie, cider, Mom's apples that she makes with breakfast. Especially that last one. And caramel apples. *sigh* I can't imagine having to give up chocolate as well. I'd probably have to take a vow of silence too, to keep from moaning and complaining about missing chocolate.
I don't really know where I was going with this.
Oh. I was letting you know what we're up to lately.
I'm in the big SC this week. Getting some Mom/Sis time in. It has been lovely. Even if I have slept most of it away. Trying to switch between being up nights and days is rough. Just ask any mother of a newborn. It's like babies are given instruction on the way out: "Remember. This is important! Night time is AWAKE time. Don't forget. Now go! And give a good long scream when you're out. We can't transfer your residency until we hear that scream."
Well.
That came from nowhere.
I really don't know where to go from there.
I guess that means time's up here.
I'll forgo promises to post more. We both know. Until I'm no longer a slave to the hospital (at what they're paying me for what I do, there's no other way to describe it,) it will be sparse at best.
But I still love our little blog. And you. All of you reading this.
So. Give yourself a hug. Only if it doesn't creep you out to give yourself a hug from an over-sharing stranger.
TaTa!~
Jen

It always comes back to books, doesn't it?

2010-09-11T08:18:00.000-04:00

Howdy people! I'm just firing off a quick post to let you know that I haven't forgotten this beloved world that is our blog.

My computer has taken ill. It has a virus that won't let me do anything. I can't even get to my anti-virus sofware to fix it. I have to take the time to download a patch onto a disc from another computer and do a safe boot from there, but I just haven't had the time to fool with it.
I just know one of you people out there are comuter savvy, and want to help walk me through this, right?
Or are you all like me, getting all of your tech skills from our friend Google?

Well, this week has been a doozey, let me tell you.
I worked 5 in a row this week, and am definitely feeling the after effects.
Let's see. What else is new?
I feel like this is becoming a place where I gripe about having to work.
Nobody likes reading that. I'll stop.

Gabe is playing football and Livy wants to play the trombone. The thing is as big as she is. Well, that's hypothetical. If we had one, it would be as big as her. I'm going to have to figure out a way to get our hands on a trombone. Anyone out there have one to donate to a lovely school girl wanting to learn to play a ginormous instrument?

Chirp, chirp.
Anyone?
Well, worth a shot, I always say.

I've been reading more lately. Especially on my days off. I sleep at night. Until around 3 or 4. Then I just can't sleep more. So finally I figured that lying there was doing nobody any good, so now I get up and read in the quiet.
Let me say. It is lovely. I crave quiet these days and these mornings are a welcome answer to that.
I just finished reading a novel (25 cent thrift store gem...hooray!) about the plague. It was facinating. I never knew that the "ring a rosy" plague sores were lymph nodes that had burst.
That was a bit depressing, wasn't it? Sorry.

I'm starting Chocolat now. I seem to be in a historical fiction kick right now. Although I must say that historical fiction has always been a good friend of mine.
I haven't done a what's on your nightstand post in a while. But mostly, what's on my nightstand these days is a Bible and the one book I'm currently reading. So, that wouldn't be such a fun post.
I do try to keep my librarything.com widget up to date (little box over there somewhere-->.) That way you can always know what I am reading at the moment.
That is, if you care to fill your mind with such useless information. It's there for you.

I've had to start a new Book book. My lovely pink suede one from the bestest BFF in the world is packed away somewhere. And believe me, I have looked for it. But I just started this new one and will transfer all of my books into it whenever we are officially settled somewhere. Whenever that may be.

I said I'd not gripe anymore, didn't I?
Well, that ends now.

Love you all!
Jen

Literally PJs til noon (are we prophetesses?)

2010-08-28T21:40:00.000-04:00

Sorry. I just had to fire off this quick post.
It just hit me.
I am now almost always in my PJs until well after noon.
AND I'm not being AT ALL lazy.
If you didn't know, I'm working night shift at the hospital.
So I get home around 7:30am, get in my jammies and sleep until around 3 when the kids get home from school.
We flippantly named this blog to combine our initials with our love of a lazy morning.
But now. It all has a different meaning for me.
I just wonder.
I think it was inspired, our name.
What say you?

Jen

Evolving in Monkey Town, a really, really late review

2010-08-28T21:20:00.000-04:00

I should have done this two months ago. If not before that. But, hey better late than ... well that's what the late people always say. (NOT late as in dead. Just wanted to be clear. Those late people can't talk.)
I recieved a copy of this book in return for a review. I didn't want to renig, so here we are.
I was very intrigued by the title and summary of this book. I had seen references to Rachel Held evans several times on twitter and blogs before this came up for a blog tour so I jumped on it.
Unfortunately, I didn't take into account that I would be either 1) working or 2) exhausted, which is why this post is sorely overdue.
I read this book within days. It grabbed me and didn't let me go.
Here's the summary from Amazon.
"In Evolving in Monkey Town, Rachel Held Evans recounts her experiences growing up in Dayton, Tennessee, a town that epitomized Christian fundamentalism during the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. With fearless honesty, Evans describes how her faith survived her doubts and challenges readers to re-imagine Christianity in a postmodern context, where knowing all the answers isn't as important as asking the questions."
I really related to the struggles the author went through, goes through.
I too have questioned many things about faith over the years, and here lately, I find that I have more questions than answers but I have to hide my uncertainties. People don't like it.
But I'm learning to work through it. Me and God.
I realize that this hasn't been much of a review. I will just say that this book came in a time when I needed it.
And I highly reccommend picking up a copy.
You can check out Rachel Held Evans' blog here.
And you can get the book here and here.
I haven't told you much, but I hope that you'll pick up a copy and see for yourself.

Start asking questions. It's ok. Really!

Jen

We Belong

2010-07-30T08:46:00.001-04:00

Well, hi there! It’s been a while, I know. Let’s jump right in, shall we?

This is one of my favorite songs. I especially love the end when the children sing along. (I love the glimpses of green that pop throughout the video.) It sort of fit this post, so I thought I’d share. Feel free to listen as you read.

A few nights ago, I show up to work to be informed that I’m going to orient to a different unit so that I can be pulled to work there in the future, should the need arise. Now, this wasn’t a problem for me. I’m just glad they didn’t call me off when they had too many people scheduled to work.

But. I get over to the unit and there it is. That awkward standing around, not knowing where to put your things, where the bathroom is, what anyone’s name is, not knowing the routine and where to find the things you need to do the job.

So I stand. For a while. Now, don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t expecting anyone to drop everything to cater to me; the PCT that was orienting me was taking report from day shift. So I just stood and observed.

This is what I gleaned from that 5 minute wall-prop (I was very good at keeping that wall up, let me tell you.)

We want to belong.

I didn’t feel like I belonged there. Yes, I was there to learn so that I can kinda belong there in the future. But at that moment, I didn’t.

It got me thinking.

Everyone wants to belong.

We all want a tribe. We all want community. Not just a community, but our community. We want a place where we fit. I’ll go further. We need this.

During the year from West Point, I felt out of place, adrift. I didn’t belong. I created an online community of like-minded people where I did belong. Let me tell you, it made a difference. A HUGE one!

But here’s the thing. We do.

We belong.

We all belong to God.

He is the one who gives us life, sustains us.

He WANTS us.

ALL of us.

There is not one person that God isn’t longing for relationship with.

So. What do we do with this? Do we create places where the only requirement for you to belong is that you breathe?

That is what I want. I want a place where ANY person will feel that they belong to God. Imagine the beauty of that place. I will find it. I’ll create it if I have to. But I’ll have it.

That is where I truly belong.

An utterly self involved post, but then, aren’t they all?

2010-07-06T01:50:00.002-04:00

I promised, waaaayyy back when, that I would post some positives of working.

Well, here goes.

I very rarely waste time online any more. I miss it like crazy sometimes, my little online world, but I don’t miss the lack of productivity and feeling like a big lazy butt.

I really enjoy the days I’m not working. A LOT. I consider them holy and keep them that way. Now that scripture about resting on the Sabbath makes so much more sense!

I want to be with my kids when I’m not working. Heck. I want to be with them when I am, but I feel less absent minded and less for-granted-taking with them now. I really enjoy my time with them. They are pretty darn good people that I want to just hang out with. What can I say?

I do miss my hubs. (NO that’s not a positive, just a fact.) He’s been working at Youth Camp, and before that, he hadn’t moved down here yet. I’m over the single working mom life. I like it when he’s here. ( I seriously hope I didn’t offend any single working moms. I hold you in the highest regard, you’re a hero in my book and I’ll stop the griping right now!)

The extra $ would be lovely. If there were any extra. But since hub’s job ended shortly after mine started…well, you get the picture. I am thankful that I have a job to help support us.

Meeting new people has been great. There are a few that I’ll miss when I go onto nights, (tomorrow night!!!…eeek!) but I’m sure that there will be others I’ll connect with.

I can’t really think of any others at the moment. It’s 1:40 am. I’m conditioning right now. Waking up my natural body clock. Come on, I know there’s an owl in there somewhere. He probably went into hibernation when I was getting up at 5 am nearly every day. I’m hoping that some coaxing, coffee and chocolate will encourage him back into his natural habitat.

So. Expect more late night twittering/blogging from me in the future.

No. Not while I’m at work. Silly. The nights that I’m not working and I can’t sleep.

I’m really hoping to hop back on this bloggy bandwagon.

What about you? You have any positives you’ve noticed in your everyday life lately?

I haven’t really fallen off the face of the earth.

2010-06-05T01:14:00.001-04:00

It just feels like it. And by the feel of it, I landed pretty hard.

I hate that I haven’t updated in *ahem* … quite a while. I’m sorry. I do still love this place and all of you. I just have been spinning like a top.

Let me give you an example. I did not even touch my computer for 5 days! STRAIGHT!!!

You know. I know you do. It has to be major for us not to just check our Facebook really quick.

I worked 3 12 hour shifts this week. I’d get home at around 7:30, eat a lovely meal that was prepared by my father in law, try my darndest to appear alert as the kids were telling me about their day, then crash and let them deal with their own bedtime.

Pitiful. I know. But, y’all. 5 Am comes super duper early.

I will try to post some of the positives that I’ve noticed thus far in my working mom journey. At some point. But for now, I’ll leave you with this.

If you grow up in South Carolina with a ~~hick~~ southern accent and lose it (somewhat) because you marry a person of Higher Than Mason Dixon Line upbringing, you could very likely slip right back into that ~~twang~~ dialect if you are around people who speak the Country Vernacular. (BTW, that’s pronounced Cuuhhhhn-treee.)

Don’t say I never gave you helpful advice.

OH OH OH!!! I almost forgot to tell you. I was hired into a PRN position, which means that I work as I’m needed with no benefit package. But I just found out that I’m getting moved into part time. This guarantees me 2 shifts a week AND I’ll get benefited. (My mother in law is a mover and shaker is all I’m saying.)

So YAAAAY for me & my family! First time we’ll have insurance in lots of years.

2 things. Or is it 3? (It will make sense in the end)

2010-05-21T16:03:00.001-04:00

First I want to share my new hair. Well, it’s not new hair. I didn’t get a weave. But is a new cut/color. I’m thrilled with it. I feel a little like an 80’s rocker. Perfect!

Next, I tweeted about the hair. And BFF Pam tweeted back. Here’s that twitversation.

Here's a shout out to @davewebb87 for not batting an eye when I wanted to drop major coin on my hair. Love ya babe! (my hair's so purty now.)

@jennybekrocks a pic please of so said purty hair...I feel like ur farther away than ever..oh wait you are ;0(

@Pam525 http://twitpic.com/1p19eu Can you say Joan Jett choppy?

@jennybekrocks I know that face (LOTR ref?) I LOVE it...so beautiful!!! you rock it way better than Joan ever did ;0)

And if you don’t know what LOTR is, well I’m not sure this is the place for you. We are geek/nerd all the way. Dave and I have decided that nerds are our tribe. I’ll give you a hint. Frodo. Bells ringing? Lord Of The Rings.

Anywho, I saw the following video and was inspired. If you are anywhere near our age (you know 22) you know the Fresh Prince of Bel Air song.

I bet you’ve never heard Gandalf recite it.

Well I haven’t either. But I do have a touch of the ADD today.

Well, here’s the next best thing. Enjoy!

Now your turn.

Please share your favorite (preferably funny) vid in the comments. I’m always on the lookout for new entertainment. Especially if it comes in 10 minute or less increments!

What they died for ~LOST

2010-05-19T20:09:00.001-04:00

I’m late getting this up. But I have good reasons. Shopping with my daughter, going to lunch with Livy & my father in law, making dinner. You know, essentials. Well, dinner is one, but …anyway.

I missed the episode last night but watched online this morning. And WOW.

This is in no sensible order. Just spit out as it hit my brain. Welcome to my world.

Spoilers will start here!

I’m not liking Jacob more and more. I know this makes no sense. Maybe the writers had to make him sort of unlikable so we wouldn’t be upset when his fire ended.
By the same token, I don’t like Jack following blindly without a whole lot of information, and no hope of getting any (with the whole fire going out thing.)
Does this mean I’m Team Smokey? Not really. I’m not aligning myself with either camp. I’m the Switzerland of the LOST island.
Desmond is making me like him less as well. The hit & run fighting Desmond, that is. Are they trying to make most of the characters annoying?
Well, maybe not most. Hurley, Sawyer, Miles, Richard, heck…even Ben are likable (with the exception of the bloodthirsty version on island.)
LA Ben getting friendly with Rousseau. I like the pairing. Alex seems a little too perfect to me. Am I just jaded by this show. Unhappy with everyone? Maybe I’m in a funk over the show ending. Coping mechanism…if you don’t like the characters, you won’t miss them when they are no more. (Haha!!)
Charles Widmore really should have known better than to trust Ben. We know enough about the man to know we never know what he’s gonna do. He even surprised ole Smokey.
We haven’t seen Island Desmond yet. Who let him out? Did our Losties do it while Hurley was chasing Jacob. That was, what, like 2 minutes? That’s some quick shimmying up the rope. To be fair, all they had to do is throw down a rope. Whatev.
It was so nice to see an alive and in one piece Sayid.
Jacob mumbling incomprehensible (Latin?) chants over a cup of water would NOT induce me to drink it. Just sayin’.
“As long as you can.” AND JACK STILL DRANK!!! Not me. I’m not willing to commit my eternity. Hypothetically. Because obviously, as a Christian, I’m HOPING to commit my eternity. You know what I mean.
Sorry. I wasn’t dismayed to see Zoe go. That chicka just rubbed me the wrong way. For that matter, Widmore either.
I just remembered this. I should have written this 2 weeks ago. Sawyer now knows exactly how Jack felt after Juliet died when a decision he made went wrong. That was pretty poetic to me.

Well, that’s all I have, folks. I am really conflicted about the finale. I won’t be with any other fans. My hubs will be at home, I’m here in Kingsport. Friends are having a party in Roanoke and I’ll be watching…alone. Although. There won’t be chatter to shush while I try to catch every moment.

What are your thoughts on this episode?

More importantly, do you have a finale party to go to?

For more LOST related bloggy wonder, visit Rocks In My Dryer.

I’m missing my boys. That’s all.

2010-05-16T23:13:00.001-04:00

I’m in Kingsport, TN with one of my children. I’ll give you one guess which one.

You WIN!!! It’s Olivia.

But all of my boys are still in West Point. 7 hours away.

I’m here because I passed my drug test. (Yay for me never doing drugs!!!) And I have an appointment for my physical, and then next week I’ll begin orientation. Soooooo. It’s official.

I’m a working woman. Well, I will be.

And there’s a possibility I’ll get to work nights.

*chirp chirp*

Really, people. That would be a good thing.

I belong to the Nightus Owleous genus of our species. So this would be a to thrive in my own habitat. Plus, I’m of the opinion that it will be an easier transition from not working. Patients sleep at night. There will be stuff to do, but I don’t think I’ll be as overwhelmed on nights.

Oh. I forgot to mention this.

$3 more an hour. The night differential is a HUGE incentive to do the night shift.

I just wanted to give you an update on the work front.

But.

My husband and sons are far far away. (Not IN Far Far Away ~Shrek #4 comes out this week!!!)

Right now I’m poking my bottom lip out. I miss my boys.

Liv suggested that I clarify this. I was including the hubs in “my boys.” Cutie patootie. She wanted you all to know that I miss my husband too.

Anywho, that’s the end of my whine.

So what’s new with you?

Across the sea ~ LOST

2010-05-11T23:40:00.002-04:00

There were very strong opinions on twitter about this episode. My husband says it was a throw away episode. He’s disappointed & disgusted. I personally feel the opposite. But first, a quick recap.
*SPOILERS!!* from here on in
Jacob and Smokey are twins. I totally called this. As soon as I saw that prego, I knew she would have twins. (Not much to be proud of, but let me have it, please.) I did not foresee Evil Lady killing Claudia and claiming her children. Did they give us a hint of this before? Say, a mention of “our mother” between Jacob and Smokey? I can’t remember.
And will they ever reveal Smokey’s name? Does he never get a name because his real mom only picked one name?
So we get some insight into Smokey and his determination to leave the island. It puts a whole new spin on who is good and who isn’t. Jacob stayed with the woman who killed his mother. And Smokey wants to cross the sea to the land of his real mother’s people. Who do you deem good or bad in this motley crew? (More on this later.)
Smokey has figured out a way to leave the island, and it involves building a donkey wheel to channel the light and water that is so special to the island. Then his mother smashes his head into the rock wall.
Jacob sounds so much like a whiney Ben Lynus, “You wanted it to be him. I’m all you have.” But he drinks from the cup anyway. Does anyone else think that Jacob seems weak? He just let her manipulate him.
And then Mama goes on a rampage, filling in the well and killing the village, burning it. THIS is supposed to be the good side? Was all of that an elaborate plan to get Smokey to kill her? She tells him “Thank you.” after he stabbed her. She obviously couldn’t die on her own and somehow knew it was coming because she chose another protector for the light.
Jacob walks in and sees “Mother” dead and decides to get revenge on NoName, and throws him into the cave of light (which promptly spits out both NoName’s body and our friend Smokey.)
Now we know how Smokey came across his powers. Smokey comes from the source of all light, which seems like an oxymoron to me. So NoName dies after killing his “mother” and Jacob poses them in the cave and they are Adam and Eve. Did anyone see this coming? As soon as Jacob brought NoName into the cave with “Mother” it dawned on me.
Now, to the episode itself. I thought it was very interesting. I know I’m harping, but I have said for a while now that there is no clear good/bad with this show. I liked the look into Smokey’s beginnings. Smokey is who/what he is because of Jacob and “Mother.” And “Mother.” That woman is certifiable. She has no problem killing people that interfere with her plans. Even the preferred son that she stole from Claudia, who she killed.
I am interested in what made NoName able to see Claudia. And it is looking like we will never get to know Smokey’s name. The man himself is dead. Do you think we’ll get a name…ever?
I can’t wait to see what comes next.
Fill me in if I missed big stuff.

This is linked up with other re-caps at Rocks In My Dryer.

Boys will be boys, even when the sprain their ankles (or especially when.)

2010-05-11T01:20:00.003-04:00

This is my youngest child. Holding a crutch to his head. He’s a very creative child. As soon as the nurse left him alone with the crutches, he turned one into a gun. Then turned that onto himself.

You can take the gun away from the boy, but you can’t take the imaginary gun from the boy psyche.

Oh, you’re wondering why Gabe has crutches? Oh. Typical boy story. He was playing with his dad. (Do all injuries start out this way?) He jumped off of the chair and landed with his ankle sideways and heard it pop. Once the screaming stopped and we calmed him down, we could see it was pretty swollen. So we did what all parents do.

We waited.

And when the swelling did not go down (I don’t know what we expected) and once I called our Medicaid case worker to be sure I had the correct ID #, we headed off the the ER. Well, with a pit stop at our local Dollar General for a pair of flip flops. For him and his sore foot.

Y’all didn’t think that I stopped in the midst of crisis for a cute pair of flops, did you? Well, I did peruse, but I resisted.

So then we hit the ER. They did such a great job of getting us in and out of there. The did the digital x-rays that took, about 10 seconds, and we were through. The longest wait was for the Dr. to type up our instructions.

~No breaks, just a sprain near a growth plate so they decided caution wins the day and we get a cast and crutches. BTW. Those crutches, Gabe named Cru and Utch. I told you, he has this wild imagination.

That’s my poor little hurt kid. Can you see how much he’s suffering?

And because when you go to the ER, you get to pick what you want, he picked Chinese. Somehow, the little bugger got my camera and took LOTS of pictures of this place. Just what I needed.

See? Never say that I’m unwilling to post unflattering photos of myself.

Here’s one I like to call, “Moooommmm! I’m hurt here! Put the phone down and pay attention to MEEEEEE!!!!!”

This is actually a pretty cool. He got a pic of me twittering: Sprain your ankle, not only do you get a cast & crutches, but you get beef lo mein & fried rice too. Its hobbler's choice.

So?
How was your Monday?

Food asks a question. It’s smart food.

2010-05-08T21:12:00.002-04:00

I look at food so much differently now. As I shared, I had a bout with some pain recently and food made things worse.
I will admit, that for all of my life, I’ve been very flippant when it comes to food. If I liked it, I ate it. Probably too much of it. But I never really thought much of it. Even when I gained baby weight, had thyroid issues, and gained more baby weight, I still never really got control of myself when it came to food.
I would diet for about a month, lose enough weight to be encouraging and ease my (not too bothered) conscience, and then jump gleefully from the wagon. Usually with a powdered doughnut in each hand.
Then I started hurting a few weeks back. I won’t go into detail about that again. But, now when I crave food, or see something that looks amazing, I totally look at it differently now. All I see is a big question. “Will this make me hurt?”
Things that make me hurt are the things that are terrible for you. Grease, hydrogenated foods, soda and artificial sweeteners, and ANYTHING fried. I’m wondering if this pain has been a wake up call for my health. I’m much more interested in whole foods and natural or organic things.
So it took a whole bunch of horrible pain for me to really look at what I’m eating. Now I don’t want to mislead you. I’m not making everything from scratch yet. But I want to. And I’m gearing up for it. It will be interesting how working will affect all of these changes.
How about you? How do you see food?

O Me of Little Faith ~ a review

2010-05-06T13:56:00.001-04:00

I was sent a review copy of this book from Zondervan. In return for the free book, I’ll post a review on this blog. By the way, thanks Zondervan, for the free book!!!

This book is exactly what the title suggests. It’s the recounting of one man’s journey with God and doubt.

Jason Boyett is very forthcoming about his story. I found this honest account of his ongoing battle with doubt refreshing.

Too many times we either brush our doubt under a rug and pretend everything’s fine or just refuse to acknowledge it altogether. At least that’s the case with me. More and more I’m unable to ignore the doubts that creep up. (Mom, don’t worry, that’s not a proclamation of leaving the faith.) I have to meet them head on and either overcome them or learn to live with them, as the author does.

The thing that I found so beautiful in this book was the choice that he makes to “believe” even when things are unbelievable. That’s the hope that I came away with. Even when you can’t wrap your head around a concept, you can still choose to have faith.

Choose to have faith. That’s what I want. That’s what I choose. Every day.

I haven’t really given you a clear picture of the book. I just sort of shoved an idea at you. But I like that. I want you to be intrigued and get this book and see for yourself this man’s journey. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

You can find this book at Amazon, B&N, CBD or Zondervan.

You can also follow Jason Boyett’s blog. That’s how I found out about his upcoming book and Blog Tour.

A very belated Lost post

2010-05-06T13:19:00.001-04:00

I started taking notes while watching the show. But then I stopped. And this is all I have now….

What is it with Sawyer, Kate, guns and forced entry into the cages?

Did Sawyer’s seeing Kate’s name crossed out on the cave change the way he’s treating her? Suddenly he began speaking to her and generally being nice again.

Jack just cannot take no for an answer in regards to Locke’s legs.

Then people started dying, and I suddenly couldn’t put two comprehensible words together.

So I apologize to all of my Lostie buddies. I failed this week. I didn’t even take Wednesday and visit and comment on everyone’s recaps. I think I was mourning the loss of Sun, Jin, Sayid and Lapidus. They will be missed. Although they’re still going strong in the alternate world, right? RIGHT?

So there you have it. My pitifully puny recap of the first five minutes of the show.

I’ll try to do better next week.

That is, if I’m not working a 12 hour shift.

Things I Love Thursday

2010-04-29T08:52:00.001-04:00

Shhhh…don’t tell but I’m playing hooky again today but just for a few minutes because I have something I REALLY, REALLY LOVE!!!!

I’m still trying to lose those last 50 pounds of postpartum baby weight (I figure each kid left me with about 12.5 extra). And yes, even though it’s been a 15-year span I can still refer to it as postpartum. Wikipedia told me so (okay, not really).

Anyway, I started out at the beginning of this year trying to make some simple changes – more water, exercise 30 minutes a day (5x a week), and trying to get more fruits and veggies in my diet. This resulted in me feeling better, sleeping better (okay, I really never had a problem with this), and losing absolutely no weight.

So in March, with bathing suit season preparing to rear its ugly head (it’s hard to type that on April 29th when we just broke a record for coldest morning – 34 icy degrees) I decided to get a little more serious and work myself a plan. So far I’ve dropped 10 pounds…oh so very slowly did I drop those 40 sticks of butter.

And something I feel helped me was the thing I love today (I know about time, right?). I don’t really care for the sandwich thins everyone raves about. I could pretty much take ‘em or leave ‘em. But one day in my journeying around the world wide web, I found this blog. And she was raving about the Thomas Bagel Thins. Hmmm….one of my favorite healthy treats is a whole-wheat bagel. I found these at my local Sam’s Club (2 packs for $4.XX something?) and I love them with a serious passion. I think they’re 110 calories (I’m in my basement office and am too lazy to walk upstairs and check the bag—hence the reason I’m still carrying ‘baby weight’.)

My favorite is the everything but I also get the whole wheat. There are days when I have had one of these puppies for every.single.meal. Whole wheat with turkey sausage for breakfast, everything with turkey for lunch, and same thing for dinner. (Here is where a lovely picture of my turkey on the everything bagel, with my favorite Cheddar and Sour Cream Baked Lays and a delicious cold Mt. Dew—hey I’m already giving up so much—should be, but Live Writer WON’T LET ME?!?!?!)

While I’m on the subject of food, has anyone else seen Food Inc.? Oh great day, hubby and I watched last week and it totally rocked our world. No joke. We’re on a serious quest to change our eating habits and even more, our kiddos diet! I’m anxiously awaiting my Amazon order of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (this is Simple Mom’s book club choice for the summer). I can’t wait for my 12 1/2 day summer vacation from school to read these!!!

For more Things I Love Thursday head on over to the Diaper Diaries and check them out!!!

Customizing Your Blog with Blogger in Draft

2010-04-28T23:58:00.002-04:00

You may or may not have noticed that we are rockin a new look around the PJs. I was given creative control of the blog a while back, and I played around with backgrounds and such. We have used a few of the free backgrounds, but I wanted something that was my doing and that I could tweak.
I read a few blogs on blogging (I KNOW!) and one led me to the new Blogger in Draft. Have you heard about this? Blogger listened to their bloggers’ complaints about the service and has made some changes.
I thought you had to start over with Blogger and use the new version, but NOT SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t tell you how excited this made me.
So I put together a little tutorial showing what I did to create the look you see before you, with a plain old blogger account.
You want to get to your dashboard. This is the bottom of the dashboard menu. See under Tools and Resources? There. Click “Blogger in Draft.”

Now your dashboard will look like this. I cropped the pic so that you could actually read the stuff. Make sure you check the box that says “Make Blogger In Draft my default dashboard.” Then click “Layout.”

Notice the graph paper look up there in the blue part of the menu? That’s how you tell the old from the new.
These are the first options. You pick which new Template you want. Within these 4, there are several pages to choose from. I chose the Picture Window.

Within Picture Window, you get to choose your background image. There are many many options to choose from. How awesome is this?!!!! I circled the “expand view” there in the middle. It just hides all of the gray menu stuff, so you can see the changes you’re making and whether you like it or not before you save it.

Next you get to choose your layout. This was the main reason I wanted to change things up. I wanted three columns! We have so much info, and I recently monetized the blog, so we needed the extra column for the ad space. (I don’t think we’ve made a single cent yet, but I’m crossing my fingers for that million $ payout!)
Look! You can even choose 4! I may have to tinker some more…maybe not. I’m kinda done with it for a while. Then, once you’ve made all the decisions, you click “apply to blog” and you’re done.

From there, just go to your dashboard and in your “Page Elements” menu of the “Layout” tab, drag around all of your gadgets to their new place. This took much fussing with for me to be happy with it. Save, view, back, drag, save, view, back and so forth.
But overall I’m very happy with the new design by MOI. And I didn’t have to deal with ANY CODE!
Now, I will tell you that changing things up did away with my Google Analytics code and the code for our Disqus comment system. So I had to go back and re-install those. But that was super duper easy and took maybe 2 minutes. I’m thinking about doing a quickie tutorial on the Disqus system pretty soon.
So, If you’re hankering to have a more hands on design with Blogger, get in there and create! I hope this inspired you and is … you know… actually helpful. Have fun!

What’s in a name?

2010-04-28T08:50:00.000-04:00

I watched the momversation today. The subject was names. More specifically, do you regret what you named your kids?
I’m not going to get all into that subject. But it did get me thinking.
What about a blog name? I hear it’s pretty important what you decide for your “brand.” And it got me wondering, if any of you know the whole reason for our name here at the PJs.
We have several new friends and I don’t want all of you thinking that we’re just lazy moms who sit around in our pjs until literally noon. (Well, we do sometimes, but that’s not all we do. And maybe more than just sometimes. Still.)
Pam and Jen. PJ. Get it? We were throwing around ideas with PJ or JP and almost immediately fell in love with PJs Til Noon. We are the poster children for laidback, comfy living, and want you to be comfy here at our little corner or the web.
So there you have it. That’s what our name means. Or stands for. Or whatever. We want to emphasize the comfy not the lazy.
I am wondering if we will have to re-work the name in the near future. I’ll be working, Pam’s in school. Not a whole lot of PJ wearing until noon going on.
But in our hearts, we will be in PJs Til Noon forever.
And ever. Amen.

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Goin Back to Work Edition

2010-04-26T22:32:00.001-04:00

I am looking at going back to work after 14 years as a SAHM. My kids are bigger, they don’t need me every second of the day, we could REALLY use the money and it just makes sense. BTW, don’t you just love my pic? Cuz, you know, I’ll be bringing home the… you get it, I won’t insult you.

I’ve been looking for a job, and my mother in law has lined up a pretty sweet full time position for me, starting pretty soon.

Here’s the Top Ten issues/fears I have about working again.

I will be tired. I know it will take an adjustment period for me to get used to getting up super early and being super busy all day.
I won’t have any free/me time to speak of. It’s ok. I just know that as soon as I get home, the kids/hubs will need something and I’ll have to be much more deliberate about carving out this time when I can.
I’ll have to wear makeup every day. Ugh.
I will hate that alarm clock. Guaranteed.
I worry about what the weekend will look like. I know I’ll want to sleep in, but also want to get out and do something fun, but I have a feeling it will be a grocery day.
I love cooking from scratch, but I think that will be a little more difficult trying to pull together dinner after work. Bye bye homemade bread. (Maybe not. Hope not.)
I’ll have to build up my immune system. Working in a hospital may mean being sick. A lot. Just like teachers. That first year is rough.
I foresee my coffee consumption at least doubling. Maybe triple? I usually have 1-2 cups.
I am looking forward to getting to know some new people.
Plus, did I mention the $? It won’t be rockstar pay, but I’m pretty lucky to find something right now, when nobody’s hiring and I haven’t worked in over a decade.

All you working moms, have any tips for me? As you can tell, I’m a little … concerned. And you SAHMs, enjoy it!!! It’s wonderful, and I am thankful that I had all these years to spend with my children. But it is time. So here I go!

*This post could be way premature. It’s just what’s on my mind. This job is not set in stone, but looking more and more likely. It’s not tomorrow, but it could be pretty soon. I’ll definitely let you know when I know for sure!

Link up your Top Ten, or read others at OhAmanda!

Stealing Time

2010-04-26T14:12:00.001-04:00

I totally feel like I’m a young, skinny teenager skipping school right now. All right, maybe I don’t feel young or skinny. Let’s scratch the teenager part, too. But the last part about skipping school, yup, I’m feeling like a rebel at this moment. Seeing as how I’ve oodles and bagoodles of end of semester assignments and exam prep I should be doing, and yet I’m taking just a moment to pop in on this here blog of Jen’s, I mean ours.

And I really don’t have any momentous things to share. Except that I just saw my next door neighbor (who just happens to be my brother-in-law) drive out of his driveway, evidently make a large circle, and drive right back out again. Gave me a definite feeling of déjà vu. Interesting? No? Okay, I’ll move on.

Isn’t the new blog design luv-er-ly? I giant puffy heart it and even more I giant puffy heart J for being the fabulous, die-hard blogger and BFF. I have a debilitating fear of codes and HTML and such, so it’s a good thing J can tackle those things. I have officially signed over all of the design aspects.

Okey-dokey, that is all. I just wanted to drop by and complain about my 2000 word essay comparing two of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories. Oh, did I not mention that yet? See how I snuck that in there, evil genius that I am. Again, interesting? Still a no? Darn, I’ll try and do better next time.

One of my favorite things

2010-04-24T18:00:00.001-04:00

That’s a dish drainer. Full of eggs.

We have a neighbor and other people from church who give us eggs. I love getting fresh eggs. Especially when they’re free. The only catch that’s not really a catch? I have to wash them myself.

It’s actually sort of relaxing, washing the eggs. I think that I’m just so grateful and enjoy looking at the colors so much that it’s almost fun. So, if washing eggs is the only price I paid for 3 1/2 dozen beautiful eggs? I’ll take it. Any day of the week.

Just look at these. I love that blue one. And my kids are arguing over that tiny one. We’ve already taken care of the cracked one, so don’t worry.

So there you have it. Rural life does have a few perks. And having this in my fridge is one of them.

I can do anything now. Well, I can bake anything now. It’s almost the same thing.

Weak of stomach, look away!

2010-04-23T13:08:00.001-04:00

I’m ratcheting up the gross-out factor. As of now. If you are a delicate flower and don’t like talk of digestive systems, this post may not be for you.

I am about to discuss my recent battle with gallstones. (I won!) Why on earth would you blog about something so gross, you may be asking yourself? Well, mainly so that I can share with you the remedy a friend gave me. I really think I was looking at surgery if this hadn’t worked, and it’s not just our overdraft protection plan that’s thankful we didn’t have to go that route.

I have been having pain in my upper right abdomen for a few weeks now. I honestly thought it was that my bra was getting too tight. So I got new ones. Didn’t work. Now this is a pain just behind your lowest ribs (just below the right boob.) So I knew it wasn’t my appendix. Too high. But I’ve been feeling bloated, especially after meals, and burping all the time. Now, I wasn’t a 10-year old belching the alphabet, I was discreet, but it was a lot. Turns out these are classic symptoms of gallstones.

I texted my friend, who is very knowledgeable in herbal remedies, just trying to find a way to ease the pain. She gave me the following regimen to “evacuate” gallstones.

I’ll be honest and tell you that I had my doubts. But, giving up 4 days of food and drinking some oil still beats having surgery. If there was a chance it would work, I was game. And my friend said it worked for her friend. Not a friend of a friend or some cousin’s husband’s boss. That gave me some hope.

I know what you’re thinking. “Get to it already.” Ok. Here’s the remedy for gallstones that are painful as all get out.

For 4 days, drink up to a gallon of steam distilled water and a gallon of apple juice per day. The juice is for energy (it also dilates the ducts in the gallbladder), the water is to cleanse toxins from the body.

Each day at some point, do a salt water flush or an enema. The salt water is DISGUSTING! But it does what it’s supposed to: clean you out. Mix 1 qt distilled water with 2 tsp sea salt and drink it. All. (Not an easy thing to do.) The enema called for 6 c distilled water, simmered with 2 tbsp coffee, then cooled to lukewarm. Insert and try to hold for 15-20 minutes before expelling. (I didn’t do this.)

On the third evening, at bed time, drink 1/2 c (cold pressed, organic) olive oil, immediately followed by 1/4 c fresh squeezed lemon juice. Then lay down on your right side with 2 pillows under your hip. Stay in that position for 4-5 hours. (It will be an uncomfortable night.)

Some time that night or the next day, you’ll have a movement and pass the stones. They’re from bright to dark green. The darker they are, the longer they’ve been in your body. (Don’t you love my font color?)

Continue with the juice & water the fourth day to keep cleansing toxins. Plus, you won’t feel much like eating.

On the 5th day, eat raw fruits & veggies to ease your system back into digestion. Broth is ok, too.

Continue the flush or enema for 2-3 days.

OK. That’s the gist of it. Here are my thoughts.

~I had a hard time getting down 2 gallons of liquid. And because I’m allergic to apples, I had white grape juice. I figured since it’s to provide the body energy for the work it’s doing, it would do. What it didn’t do was dilate my ducts, so for several days, I was sore.

~The salt water flush is just plain awful. It was a chore to make myself drink it all.

~The oil. It says it’s easier to drink if its cold. I don’t know about that, but it was horrid. But then you get to chase it with lemon juice. Believe me, after the oil, the juice is pleasant. Now, I have a steel stomach. I can’t throw up. Ever. They say if you feel nauseated, to sip 2 tbsp tomato juice to cut some of the acid and oil. I had no problem keeping it down, so I skipped that.

~The pillows. OMG. This was the most uncomfortable night I’ve spent in about 9 years. (My youngest is 9.) It felt like my left hip was trying its hardest to burst through my skin. I was so sore. But I soldiered on. I’d move my leg around, trying to find a position that didn’t hurt. So after 4 hours and 15 minutes, I was done. I wish I could have hung in there for the 5 hours, but it was awful. So I removed the pillows and still laid on my right side.

~Around 5, it felt like early baby contractions. Before they get too painful. So, I got up and went to the bathroom and ..well, we don’t have to go there, do we? Let’s just say the experiment was successful. There were many, many stones. Lots of them were dark, which means they’ve been sitting in my gallbladder for years.

They recommend taking it easy the fourth morning. So I did. I got up, and had some water. I was parched. Then I went back to bed. Dave and the kids went to church, and I slept.

It took me a full week afterward to get to feeling back to normal. Much of my trouble afterward was from getting my digestive system back on track. But I’m happy to report that I’m feeling MUCH better.

Now, I’m hoping none of you EVER have to experience this. I pray you’re all healthy forever. But. If you ever have a pain under your rib below your right boob, remember this, and it can save you from the knife.

*Please know that I’m not suggesting you skip visiting the Doctor. Please visit your doctor for any abnormal pain. I’m just letting you know that this worked for me. And for that I’m thankful.

The Last Recruit ~LOST

2010-04-20T22:38:00.002-04:00

ANSWERS!!! We learned a few things tonight.

#1. Do not let your kids watch LOST with you. They talk. Too. Much.

And now, here’s a random smattering of my thoughts of tonight’s episode. Rambling, and probably nonsensical, but thoughts.

***SPOILERS will begin…NOW!!

Yes, it was Smokey imitating Christian. He was leading Jack to a water source. He claims that all he has ever wanted was to help them leave the island.

Claire says Jack is “with” Smokey because he let him talk to him. Jack looks like a rebellious teenager. “Oh yeah. We’ll see.” (He didn’t say that, that’s just from my head.)

Flocke could seriously benefit from the use of a Bro. Or is it a Manssiere? I don’t think they ever decided on the proper term.

“Here we go.” Obviously he’s evil. Now he’s channeling the joker.

Is it just me, or are they taking LA Desmond a little too far on the creepy train? And I don’t like it. Not one bit.

Sayid may not be beyond redemption. Has he just been zoning this whole time, thinking he could get Nadia back? (That’s her name right? I didn’t google it.) Not getting involved in all the drama and focusing on doing what Smokey asks so that he can somehow be with her. And he paused before shooting Desmond. So, did he shoot Des or not. What do you think? We think he’s alive in our house. ~ Not alive in our house, that’s silly. In our house, we think that Desmond is alive.

Kate!!! Girl. You are way braver than I am. Claire tried to kill you, and she’s got a gun on you now and you yammer on and make promises. Wow. It worked.

And they’re bringing our LA Losties together nicely, or not so nicely. Hit & run, long lost sister, being arrested or shot.

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the side of the boat. But first apologize for getting Juliette killed. He was in jeans & sneakers with a backpack on, that had to be a terrible swim.

LA Jack gets to operate on Locke after all.

REUNITED! & it feels SO GOOD!!! Oh, I love this show. What is so bad, is that I wasn’t looking for it. I was screaming "The fence, turn off the fence!" Whew, they turned off the fence.

Stupid Charles Widmore. Ugh. I hate an uhhhh … person who gives something and takes it back. I’m smokin hot with the Seinfeld references tonight!

Now he orders the attack on Locke, who is unfazed. He pulls Jack to safety, and with that, Claire’s prophecy comes true. “You’re with me now.”

Ok. That’s it. Could you make any sense of this at all? If not, sorry about that. I’m finding that the more information LOST gives me, the less I’m able to write about it. Aaaagh, too much!

So, you’ve been so kind to inform me on things I’ve missed in the past, won’t you be sweet & keep me abreast? (See #1)

I’m a giver.

2010-04-17T12:48:00.003-04:00

Mandi at itscome2this.com does a weekly sharing time on her blog. I decided to participate this week. I’ve actually been planning on doing this for a while, just never got around to it.
These are my favorite blog posts from this week. 2 of these are actually the same as this, linking to other blogs or links that are great.
I'm a giver, what can I say? I just felt the need to share with the cool stuff I’ve come across this week. Here goes!
tylerstanton.com is all about the funny. He posts his weekly six and he never disappoints.
Katdish does a weekly twitter roundup and I’m in it! Look for @jennybekrocks. I linked her blog not the post because she has a Sky Mall series that is hilarious. Totally worth a peek.
I’m just going to introduce you now to the Eleventy Million Dollar Blog. He posts a few times a week, nonsensical and funny, but more importantly, SHORT posts. When you have 60+ in your reader, keeping it short is a major plus.
Frog and Toad are still friends is one of my new twitter friends. She has the best convos out there and y’all, she’s funny! Enjoy her post on a craft book from the 70s.
Pink and Polka Dot always does a weekly feature on slipcovers. I love me a slipcover. I love looking at them, watching tutorials, planning on how to do it. Look at these lovelies from this week.
And last but not least. Food. I’m on a 4 day regimen of water and juice with a lovely bonus of drinking oil this evening in hopes of easing gallbladder pain. And yes, I’m 78. You want to hear about my arther-itis and knee replacement?
Chickens in the Road always has lovely recipes and pictures that make me salivate. Especially today. But I’m totally going to try this recipe. Cornbread Supper Skillet. Sounds scrumptious, doesn’t it? I can’t wait.
So there you have it. My very wordy linky love.
Have fun exploring the world wide web. And share links you love in the comments. I love a good link!

Edited to add: THIS! Weight...What? Posted an amazing video. I cried. Laughing.

Different Eyes ~a review

2010-04-15T15:43:00.001-04:00

Business first. Zondervan tweeted that they were having a blog tour for this book and gave info to get a review copy. I, being the lover of review books that I am, naturally responded. They provided this book in exchange for my review here and at Amazon.

Now on to the fun stuff.

I didn’t really know what to expect, going in to the book. The title and cover were intriguing. What I didn’t expect was to be so moved by the book. My copy has post it notes everywhere and is thoroughly underlined. It’s that good.

This is from the back cover. “How should those who follow Jesus live distinctly in a time of uncertainty? How should the church respond to the moral dilemmas of our everyday lives? In Different Eyes, Steve Chalke and Alan Mann examine the underlying motivation for Christian morality and provide an insightful guide to navigating the most challenging ethical dilemmas of our modern world in a way that is faithful to the story of God’s work in Jesus.”

This book asks us to look at why we do the things we do as Christians and to investigate the motives behind them. It takes careful examination of what Jesus did and the compassion that he had and the love he showed and to whom he did these things. Confused? Sorry.

I have been on a journey for the last few years that has had me asking some pretty big questions. For example, if the church is the Body of Christ, how do we have such a reputation for spewing hate and judgment? And what do we do about that? Ignore it? Focus on showing more love? Blame it all on the crazies?

In Different Eyes, the authors look at not only Jesus words and actions, but the spirit in which he did everything. It was all done in love. Compassion, grace and mercy stemmed from that.

I don’t want to leave you with a wrong impression of the book. It covers so much more than this. It is all woven skillfully together and beautifully done.

Here are some of the tough issues the book tackles. War and Military Intervention, The Use of Wealth, Homosexuality, and Euthanasia and Assisted Dying. Yeah, your every day conversation.

Now, I’ll throw my disclaimer out there. I didn’t agree with every point the book makes. But do we ever? Unless I’m the author, I’m probably not going to agree with 100% of any book, excepting the Bible, of course.

I had many “Whoa!” moments while reading this. Either it was something affirming what I’ve already been feeling or something convicting. And like I said, my copy is underlined like crazy.

If you’d like to get a better idea of the book than I’m able to provide, they have a sample up here. Read for yourself. See if it’s something you’d be interested in reading.

I’m grateful to have come across this book. I’m developing my different eyes. Join me.

So, what’s the most moving book you’ve read lately?

Everybody loves Hurley

2010-04-14T17:47:00.002-04:00

Ok. I know they are trying to make some sort of reference to Ray Romano here, but I’m not getting it.
Granted, Eloise could be the annoying mother figure. But Charles Widmore could never be Ray’s dad. He’s not likable enough. Let’s see. Ray. Who’s funny but always putting his foot in his mouth and getting in trouble. Or is there a Deborah? Maybe Ilana? She was sort of condescending and gave a “look” often enough. What about Robert. I can’t think of anyone taller than Ecko, but we haven’t seen hide nor hair from him since Smokey took him out way back when. There have been two boys on the show recently. There’s debate whether it is two boys or the same boy, just an older version.
Well, like I said. I don’t get it.
Here’s where the real SPOILERS start.
Seriously, though. I haven’t got much commentary on last night’s episode. Here’s my twitteresque recap. Exactly 140 characters. (This was HARD to carve down.)
Hurly wants Libby Mike's being helpful Hurly is loved Libby is Crazy Ilana boom He remembers Mike's stuck Desmond pushed Truce made Hit+run
I only have one insight/theory. What if Desmond isn’t dead? Locke survived a fall down that well. He was a little further down on a rope, but it’s possible in LOST world. And Juliette survived her fall long enough to hit the bomb and then die what seemed like twice in Sawyer’s arms. Sooooo…if he’s not dead and can get to the wheel and turn it…. I don’t know what after that.
I know I ask this every week, but I want to know. Were there any glaring huge moments that I missed? Please fill me in. Especially this week. I was a little hazy last night and could very well have missed something as huge as someone getting blown up or pushed down a well. I did miss the actual kaboom, but saw bits on the ground. Yeah, probably won’t go back and watch that part over.
Enlighten me!

For more enlightenment, visit Rocks in My Dryer.
I just saw at the above site that next week's preview shows Desmond siting at the bottom of the well. Well. I guess you were thinking, "WOW this gal is brilliant to pick up on him not dying & all."
Thanks for being nice and not pointing out the blatantly obvious. I'm a dork, I know.

It’s my brain’s fault.

2010-04-09T23:29:00.002-04:00

In 1914, Hans Friedenthal (1870-1943), a University of Berlin professor, warned women that "brain work" could cause them to go bald, while increasing their masculinity, and even cause a beard to grow on their faces, adding "In the future, therefore, women will be bald and wear long moustaches and patriarchal beards." Source: Chewed News.

Well, he had it half right.

I’m just wondering. Is it only me?

About 3 or 4 years ago, I noticed a few stray whiskers on my chin. So I did what every woman who’s not employed alongside the tattoed man would do. I plucked.

Plucking causes irritation and acne. And the older I get, more noticeable little suckers appear. Y’all, I don’t pluck it unless it’s … well, … darker than its neighbors. My hubs accuses me of creating this mess. They come back darker because I plucked them. To this I say “Nay!”

I tried facial wax a few years back and my skin thought it was prom night. Side note: If you had flawless skin at prom, just keep that braggart tidbit to yourself, please. Mmmmkay?

I have not done the bleach. I’m fearful of the same reaction.

I have a theory that somewhere in my DNA makeup lies a latent hairy gene that presents around age 30. I call it the Dormant Wookie Gene, or DWG. Draw that out. Dwwwwwg. Although if it magically sounded like Billy Goat, that would be more apropos. (Don’t you just love that word? Apropos.)

I feel smarter for having used it.

Crap, there’s another whisker.

Maybe I should stop fighting it. Anyone think the female Fu Manchu could break into the fashion world? Yeah, I figured not. So, if you see me and think “That poor teen has to deal with acne AND wrinkles?,” don’t fret. It’s just me. Fighting the fight. I am quite thankful that I’m not bald. So there’s that.

Maybe with all of the memory loss I have lately, I’ll get my baby smooth face back.

*Fingers crossed!

Share! Tips, stories, bearded lady sightings, anything.

Happily Ever After

2010-04-07T16:56:00.001-04:00

*Spoiler Alert* ~I can’t help myself.

Ok. So. This other reality is not what it should be.

Wow.

Ok. That’s all I have.

Just kidding. I watched earlier today, having already seen everyone’s “DUDE!!!” and “OMG” tweets last night regarding Desmond and Lost. So I was somewhat prepared for … something.

Desmond beating Widmore with a pipe, now that was gratifying. I find it hard to believe that he would just fall in line with him after being put through the torture chamber. Then switch allegiance to Sayid. But that comes later.

People that were in love know that they are missing something in the sideways world. At least Charlie and Daniel do. I was so happy to see the both of them. Charlie with the near-death wish and Daniel is a musician. WHAT!!! He was so brilliant and always explained everything way over my head, but I miss that unintelligible smarty-smartness.

Does anyone know what the machine Desmond had to “live” through did? Besides kill a random extra, I mean. And where did Daniel’s journal come from. Did I just miss that?

Hmm. Let’s see. Did I miss something.

Please fill me in. The farther we get along in this Lost journey, the more lost I feel.

I’ll Lost Blog Hop and comment later tonight. Right now I have to get myself cleaned up for church tonight.

See y’all then!

For bigger and better Lost posts, visit Rocks In My Dryer.

I’ll be around later, I promise.

2010-04-06T23:36:00.001-04:00

I will try to post later about LOST. I have family in town this week. I haven’t even watched it yet. I’m trusting in my DVR to take care of me. I’m also saving all of your LOST posts until after I’ve seen it.

I’ll try to post tomorrow, probably late afternoon. We’re going to Old Williamsburg in the morning.

Maybe you’ll get two posts out of me tomorrow. Photos and LOST post.

Til then,

Jen

Stupid spam (literally)!

2010-04-05T11:06:00.001-04:00

Somehow I have been chosen to be the lovely recipient of an advertising email scheme. Now I get 2 or 3 emails a day from different email addresses (I spam them every time.)

I don’t know if it was the signing up for coupons, rebates or free samples or maybe filling out surveys. Imma stop all that from now on. Some things aren’t worth the hassle.

But the point of this post is the randomly generated words that are in the body of the email. If ever there was a true use of the word random, this is it.

Some make me laugh out loud, some just make you tilt your head to the side and make the “whaaaa?” face.

Here’s a sample of what I’ve been greeted with in my inbox lately.

microscope waif

resplendent creampuff because

YourOldMelodiousnessWithYourMindWithYourselfWithViagraSuperActivePills (oneword)

finger pilot rhetorical and ribbons

mirrors brides

beyond parking lot

asteroid aboutsomewhat

grand piano behind toothpick because

scythe over

ThanksForReadingThisRandomWhineyPostHaveAGreatDay!

ps. That last one, I made up.

Enough

2010-04-04T00:46:00.002-04:00

You may or may not know that I am in charge of Children’s Church at our, well… church. Tomorrow is going to be a super crazy Sunday for this pastor’s wife.

We’re having an Egg hunt instead of Sunday School in hopes to draw folks from the surrounding neighborhood in. After the hunt, we’ll have coffee and doughnuts and mingling.

Then there’s praise & worship, which I’ll lead (even though I’ve been trying to hand this off to someone for a while now.) And then there will be Children’s Church. I’ll try to herd our regular kids and any guests back to the fellowship hall without the running and screaming that seems to naturally combust whenever a child exits the sanctuary. Once there, I have a simple craft planned to go along with this simple lesson.

1. God loves me.

2. Everybody sins

3. Jesus died to save us.

I have a few kids that don’t have a great home life. I have no idea what kind of situations our visitors tomorrow will come from. I may only get one chance to light a spark in their very impressionable lives. I want this to stick.

I think about these kids in the future. I can foresee some very rough roads for some of them, just judging on their surroundings and the norm that comes with them. I want this to stick.

No matter what road they are on, no matter what hole they find themselves in, be it a pigsty or a crack-house or a house in the suburbs, if they reach a point where hope seems lost, I want this to stick.

1. No matter where you are, no matter what you’ve done, God loves you and you can’t do anything to change that, even if you wanted to.

2. Nobody can be good enough on their own. As bad as you think you are, everyone else is in the same boat. Sin touches us all, no exceptions.

3. Jesus was beaten and died so that he could make up for our sin. He knew death was the punishment required and willingly took it just so we could be reunited with God.

I know there’s so much more I could teach these kids. There are other themes that I could hit. Resurrection being one. I’ll definitely cover it, but I’m hitting the 123 hard tomorrow. There’s so much about the Gospel that I can’t do it all in one day. Boil it all down and this is what you get.

And it’s enough.

My Good Friday Miracle

2010-04-02T13:02:00.001-04:00

Miracle may be overused in our world but in my personal universe we were definitely superbly blessed today and I am choosing to call it my miracle…definitely a blessing however you want to ‘define’ it. And, yes, this is truly just a cathartic post…so it’s not about you dear reader, it’s all about me putting it on paper and sharing my shortcomings and most of all my thankfulness.

My darling baby girl—my sweet youngest child, who will soon be six—darted in front of her school bus this morning. Praise be to the good, gracious God in heaven it was not her time to go or even a time meant to harm a single hair on her precious head. (Hopefully you will forgive me this crazy post, obviously my emotions are running fast and furious and right at the surface! It’s probably only gonna get worse, too, people so you’ve been warned!)

I won’t bore you with all the details of our regular morning routine and how I thought we had this down to a science. Bottom line: I dropped the ball this morning. I spaced out and didn’t get her out of the vehicle in my normal pattern. She was later than the other kids, and she made it over to the bus just fine, I really was watching! However, the bus driver (truly NOT at fault, she has a varying # of kids who get on at this stop every day) had already shut the doors. This scared my poor girl and she was in the process of running back to me. Long story short, I heard the bus go into ‘gear’ and I knew my baby had not had enough time to get on the bus yet. I screamed her name and went running to the front of the bus. I actually don’t even think the bus had moved forward at all, but it was definitely ‘ready’ to.

I’m about to absolutely freak out when I see that sweet thing hop over to my side of the bus with a smile that is still haunting me. She had that ‘I’m smiling because I think I’m in trouble but I’m so stinking scared’ look. My heart stopped, I grabbed her up, and then the tears started (at that point just hers), and do you know what she said? “The doors were shut and I couldn’t get in.” Oh how my heart hurts even now.

I squeezed that baby so tight and am even now am counting the minutes till she comes gets home…two hours and ten minutes. (I’m making her favorite chili right now and even considering giving her Easter goodies the minute she walks in the door). I regretted sending her after it happened. I just wanted to curl up with her on my lap. all. day. long.

The bottom line is I failed her today. I made a mistake that could have been a defining moment in my life. So I’ve spent the entire morning in tears, regret, replaying the scene a million times over in my head. (So go ahead, if you feel you must, and leave comments about being a bad mother, you can’t say any worse than I’ve already said to myself today and if you do, we’ll just delete your comment or at least Jen will since I have not taken the time to sign up for our new comment system *smile*.) Jen has a saying that God even looks out for the stupid. Well, that was me today.

And yet the dominant feeling today (after about 3-4 hours of self recriminations and sobbing) is I’m overwhelmed with thankfulness on this really, really Good Friday.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;

Psalms 91:11

I better get a reunion. And soon.

2010-03-30T23:20:00.002-04:00

Oh. My. I really loved the Sun-Jin episode. I came into this with a few questions that are still unanswered. For one: Will I have to wait until the last episode to see Sun & Jin finally together on the island? UGH!!!

Spoilers in the near future here.

I liked seeing part of Sayid’s story from the other side. Hubs guessed that Sun’s dad was sending Jin into a death trap. I was reminded of David sending Uriah with his own kill order in the message to the front lines of the battle.

I’m going to keep this short this week. I’ve been feeling a bit of brain fogginess the last few days, so I’m hitting the hay early tonight. Read: before 2am.

I’ll just say this before I go. DESMOND! Hubs also called that one. I’m starting to think he should be writing these LOST posts.

Will the sideways Sun survive? What about the baby?

Please impart all of your insights from tonight. I need them. I love blog hopping on Wednesday and gathering new theories and remembering those details that mean something. Fun stuff.

For more fun LOST posts, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

Guest Blogger

2010-03-29T19:42:00.001-04:00

Hi, I’m Pam. Jen has graciously allowed me to be a guest blogger today.

Actually I’m supposedly one of the contributing authors but I do believe this is like my fourth apology post since we started this blog. Obviously Jen shoulders the burden of regular posting. Another reason I love her so durn much.

So I’m taking a break from writing a 1,000 word essay on Miller’s Death of a Salesman. I’m not much on ‘tragedy' lit, I prefer my stuff upbeat and happy. But as far as writing goes, I do think this is a ‘work of art’ for whatever my opinion is worth. I also saw the below movie version in my high school English class…I still remember. Sorry if that’s a blurry pic but it’s the version of the play with Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman.

I’ve been spending a lot of time here:

That’s my Number 4 running up and down the field. Her very first organized team sport, she’s loving it!

Last weekend was our annual Girls Princess Tea Party at our church, so immediately following the soccer game my girlies got dressed up and looked like this:

And last but not least we have five new *temporary* additions to our household. Introducing Cookie’s Crumbs. (And yes, there are six in the picture but my poor little runt didn’t make it through the night.) They’ll be ready for adoption in about five to six more weeks, want one?

And last of all…it’s SPRING around here y’all! Of course it’s a rainy kind of spring so far but rumor has it, we’ll be seeing some 80s by midweek—WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!

Happy Spring!

Pam

Firefox, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

2010-03-27T23:21:00.002-04:00

You’re pretty. With the latest update came the option to customize your header. Is that what it is called? Let’s just go with that, shall we? Look at the pretty colors and flowers. I heart this design.
You make bloggy business easy. OhAmanda did this lovely tutorial on two add ons that make your reader sing. Be sure to CLICK ON THAT LINK, you’ll thank me . But finish reading this first. Better GReader is one that allows you to click on the post right from your reader, and comment there. WITHOUT EVER LEAVING YOUR READER! That’s huge, folks. I comment so much more now, cuz it’s so dang easy. easyComment is an add on that fills in those pesky URL and email forms with one click so that you can comment. Just click that first. I’ve had it wipe out many a brilliant comment when I go to fill the info forms. ~Can you see the photo above? Click on it to get a bigger view. That is my easyComment filling out the form on Friends of Irony, in my reader. I luuuurrrrrrve these two features & use them every day.
Add Ons. I found a screen grab add on that I used to take that photo up there. I’m tech illiterate, so I don’t know if PC offers that option or not. I know it is a standard Mac feature, but I couldn’t find it on my lowly HP. So, you work your way around problems and find handy solutions.
There’s also the New Tab King and FoxTab found here. New Tab King keeps track of your most visited sites and has them handily listed when you open a new tab. FoxTab gives you a screen shot of all open tabs in one place.
This may or may not be a Firefox thing. I use a Swag Bucks toolbar. Not the official one. I recently switched to the Swag Bucks Tricks toolbar. It not only lets you know when codes are available, but helps you find them. Those shop & earn codes are particularly difficult to find, so this has been a great trick. In that toolbar, I put buttons to get to my Word, Calculator, and Media Player. I love having everything just one click away.
I have an email notifier in that toolbar. Not such a big deal. BUT, I have more than one email account linked in there. If you have yahoo, you know you can only be signed into one at at time. I never check the other because of this. Now I can look and see if I need to check that email. This has been kind of a pain, and I'm loving that I can get notified for more than one email account.

I am one to set everything up to my liking and customize the heck out of it, so this is perfect for me. While I was getting the links for this post, I found a few new add ons that I just had to have. I’ll let you know later how they work out.

Do you use Firefox? If not what do you use and what do you love about it?

New Commenting System and a plea for help

2010-03-26T16:36:00.003-04:00

I'm trying to implement a new comment system, but I didn't want to fool with importing all of the previous comments. This means that (fingers crossed) we can reply to comments in a thread (is that right? I'm tech illiterate.) So.
I'm trying this out on this post.
If you're reading this, please comment so that I can see if what I did worked.
I'm really, really hoping that it did.
Like I said, I barely know HTML. We have chatted online a few times and almost met in person.
Anyway.
Help a sista bloggy chick out.
P.S. Thanks & I love you all!

This kid? Oh my heart. It hurts. He’s 9!

2010-03-25T11:40:00.001-04:00

Wow. How did this happen? It feels like just yesterday we were a little overwhelmed, knowing that a third (surprise!) baby was on it’s way.

And then the little stinker decided to break my water just as we were leaving to go to dinner with my mom and sister for that one last hoorah before baby.

And the next 6 months or so are sort of a blur. I remember being tired. I remember putting a baby in the sunshine to get rid of that nasty baby tan. I remember a bald little baby with a tiny lump on his temple. I remember he wasn’t as good a baby as our first but not as intense (scream-y) as our second. I remember that sweet baby smell.

Nothing of that smell remains. Now he runs inside and I smell him. You know that smell. Boy.

This kid climbs anything. He always has. He was a tiny little thing climbing on top of the playground equipment. After a while, you get used to it and aren’t afraid for him any more.

He’s short. It is the bane of our amusement park experiences. We are praying he’s grown enough to get onto the next biggest roller coaster. Cuz, when you want to so bad and you can’t…it is heartbreaking.

He’s LOUD. I don’t think the term “inside voice” even registers in his brain. You can hear his laugh, his songs, his conversation with his brother from the other side of the house. Sometimes I have to send him outside just so I can think.

He’s cute. I mean, really. Look at that picture. It’s one of my favorites from youth camp last year. It captures him perfectly. In the middle of one thing, already looking to what he can get into next. He gets away with stuff because of the cuteness (other people, not with me…well, often) and he knows that. It’s dangerous.

He’s compassionate. This is my favorite thing about him. He notices when people are hurting and wants to help. He has a heart that’s bigger than he is. He is not a selfish kid.

He loves his momma. His dad calls him a momma’s boy & he just grins at me. That’s my boy.

I know that children are shaped by their parents and family. So I’m proud that he’s turning out to be such a great kid, but some of his qualities have nothing to do with me. God shapes personality and that inner self before we ever get our hands on them. And when I think about this particular surprise, I’m so glad that God knew better than we did. We thought we were done at 2. But we needed that third. And today he’s 9.

So this Thursday? What do I love? What am I so very grateful for? I think you can guess.

For more Things I love Thursday, click here.

So…Who’s the devil again?

2010-03-24T01:08:00.002-04:00

There were so many “WHAT!?!” moments tonight, I’m still trying to digest it all.

*SPOILER ALERT!!!* ~Spoilers will commence…NOW.

Here’s my brief (maybe not so much) synopsis of the show.

The devil accuses Jacob of being the devil, but he is trying to keep the evil from escaping the island, which is just a cork in the bottle that contains the…you guessed it…evil.

Make sense? Of course, it’s perfectly clear to me too.

I’m bug-eyed here, guys. I feel a little like my brain is slobbering on itself and mumbling in a corner.

So. If the island is the cork, when they blew the bomb, did they release the hounds as it were?

The man in Black sticks to the same rhetoric, doesn’t he? Even after hundreds of years, he’s giving the same speech. “If he speaks, it’s too late.”

I'll say it again. I don't trust the story the writers are feeding us. Well, let me put it another way. I have learned not to trust the way it's going. They want us to believe one thing and BAM, another thing is the actual truth. That being said, I sort of still believe Jacob. But I know better than to put all of my hopes in him being the one to believe. That's just what those tricky writers want me to believe right now. I'm onto them. (Brilliant, aren't I? -snort-)

I loved the scene at the end with Richard and his wife. Did anyone else think of Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost during this scene? I was hoping against hope that Hurley wasn’t gonna lay one on Richard. And my hopes were realized with a giant sigh of relief.

And the pig with the munchies? Ewwww. He was totally chowing down on that man. Pigs everywhere were standing and cheering for the revenge of the whole BBQ thing. But still. Shudder & shiver.

We learned that it takes a ship to take down a statue. We learned that Richard accidentally killed a man trying to get medicine for his dying wife. His corrupt priest refused absolution but was willing to take a goodly sum in return for selling him into slavery. I don’t get that, though. Wouldn’t someone in higher power be the seller of persons, not a priest? Maybe I missed something.

We still don’t have a name for Smokey/Man in Black/Flocke yet do we? I think I’ll go Austin Powers & call him Dr. Eeeevil.

Well, folks. I’m wiped out and my brain hurts. I know I’ll read all of your Lost posts tomorrow & comment & be enlightened, but for now, I’m going to rest my weary mind. That means that I’ll lay in bed, thinking about this show while I try to sleep and when I do fall asleep, will probably dream about it. I’ll let you know if I have any dream revelations.

For more insight (probably much better insight) visit Rocks In My Dryer.

*Puppy Report* The dog did not like the scene between Dr. Eeeevil and Jacob. I do think it is the background music that makes him go insane, although there have been times when there was none. He really hated the temple scenes. (Like you care, right?)

The Busy Mom’s Bible ~ a review

2010-03-18T18:00:00.000-04:00

I was given a copy of this bible from Zondervan to review. They tweeted a while back about this review opportunity and I was all over it.

First off, I would like to thank Zondervan for giving away around 5000 bibles. I was looking for a photo to use and saw that they had overwhelming response to this Blog Review campaign. Hooray for giving away the Gospel!!!

And Hooray for realizing that moms everywhere struggle with fitting in their devotion time. I’m guessing this is not a new phenomena, but I commend the makers of this Bible for seeing a need and meeting it.

This is a NIV Bible with a gorgeous pink/brown cover. We gals like things to be pretty, don’t we? And inside. The pink continues. Now if you don’t like pink, well, I’m not sure you’re a girl. Kidding!!! I don’t think it’s available in other colors. Yet. Maybe that’s something that Zondervan could look at adding, if this Bible sells like hotcakes and they need to keep ‘em coming. And the size is great. Perfect for putting in a purse (if yours is on the sorta large size like mine.) It’s about the size of a good paperback. Not the super small, mass market ones. You know, the ones you see on the Paperback Table at Barnes & Noble. Let’s reign in the ADD, shall we? I’m all better now.

Ok. Aesthetics aside. Let’s get to what’s inside.

The things that I did like about this are the devotion inserts. There are 52. They start with a 1 minute Thought Starter. There is also a 5 minute Reflect & Pray and a 10 minute Study. So as little or as much time as you want to spend in here, it’s geared for that. It removes excuses, is what it does. How many times have I said, “My day just got away from me & I didn’t even read my Bible?” Too many. Now, even if you only have that one minute while waiting on the water to boil for macaroni & cheese, you can get in there. 10 Minutes in the morning with coffee and a danish sounds like a great way to start the day to me. 5 minutes before bed will keep you mulling over scripture as you fall asleep.

Now, I’ll address something that I’m not sure if I should or not. But I will. While I love this Bible, and I do, it seems it’s target audience is the shiny, happy mom. I searched for material on depression and there was one section. I know that we are supposed to have joy in our lives, but I do think it a disservice to assume that saved folk have it all together and are chipper all the time. I guess, because I’m in this place, I need something that grapples with the hard issues. But then again, that’s not necessarily the purpose of this Bible. It’s for the Busy Mom, not the depressed and miserable mom. So, I get it.

All of that does not discount the fact that this is a great tool to help those of us running around like chickens sans heads. It is.

Let me state that again. This is a great tool for the Busy Mom. And did I tell you that it’s pretty? Because it totally is. Caa-ute!

So, even though I have issues ( and that’s what they are, my own issues) this gets an A+ from me.

Thank you, Zondervan for giving me this Bible to review and for making it easier to do what I should have been doing all along. You know, actually reading the Bible.

All about Sawyer

2010-03-17T00:08:00.005-04:00

Now, it is a well established fact that Sawyer is one of my favorite characters in the show. Shoot. Most of them are my favorites. And this whole shift to calling him James just has not stuck with me. (That did not look grammatically correct, but … not fixing it. Heh heh. I’m a rebel.)

So, I will continue to call the man Sawyer and we’ll discuss the episode, shall we?

The *SPOILERS* start …NOW!

He’s a COP?! OMG. I did not see that one coming at all. And yet again, we see that our friends’ lives are better without the pull of the island. Not only that, but they seem to be better people. We were talking about it, and Hubs said everyone but Kate were better. She was about the same. But didn’t she tell Sawyer that she didn’t do it? And him being a cop puts a whole new spin on his letting her go at the airport.

I’m not sure I’m digging his law abiding self. I mean, this is fiction. I wouldn’t be hanging out with a con artist in real life. He was just more complex when on the other side of the law. He did seem to get some of that back when he confessed to searching for the real Sawyer to kill him. Does he really want Miles to talk him out of that?

We got to see his blind date and brief fling with Charlotte. I kept thinking “No, she’s supposed to be with Daniel.” I wonder how many of the other characters we’ll get to see in this sideways world.

I also wonder what’s next for Kate here. He can’t very well let her go this time, can he?

And on the island, we got better acquainted with Claire’s creepy dried animal corpse baby. “It’s all I had.” Well, now. That is reasonable and not at all Baby Jane. Then Claire attacks Kate (she is a woman of her word), Locke intervenes and smacks Claire around a little to make her see sense. So naturally, she becomes weepy and hugs Kate apologizing. I was yelling, “Watch out, she’s gonna grab that gun & shoot you.” Seriously. If someone had a knife at your throat just an hour earlier, would you lower your gun and let that person hug you and possibly snatch the gun that’s just casually slung over your shoulder? Not me.

Locke admits to being Smoky to Sawyer and pleads the picked on kid at the playground. He only wants to get away from this playground and everyone thinks they need protection from him. Poor Locke. %^/ (that’s an eye roll, fyi)

Apparently all of you that called the long con were right. But what we know so far is that the con is on Widmore. At least that’s what Sawyer tells Locke. I think Sawyer’s loyalties lie with whoever wins & can get the heck off that island. And he’s gonna take Freckles with him. Did you see the dress he picked up? I think it was Kate’s from the Polar Bear Cage. Again. I could be wrong.

Well, this wasn’t so much as recap as my random reactions to this episode.

Overall, not one of the best episodes. But what it lacked in answers, it made up for in Sawyer-ness.

And I forgot to give you the puppy report. There's a girly dog in heat in our neighborhood, so he spent the whole episode tied up outside, howling, whining, whimpering and barking; begging her to come up and see him sometime. Plus there were really no temple scenes, so it wouldn't have mattered.

For more theories, reactions, questions and all things LOST, visit here for many many more opinions.

“Discuss among yourselves.”

Dr. Linus ~Lost

2010-03-10T13:04:00.005-05:00

The consensus around the online world (well, my online world) is that we LOVE this episode.

Whether you love Ben or hate him, you have to agree that he is the most complex character on the show. You could have it both ways and love to hate him. Or hate to love him. See? Complexity. It follows him like a shadow.

We get glimpses into Ben’s life without the pull of the island. He has a good relationship with his father, although he feels like he’s wasting his life. I liked when he corrected the creep principle about his title. "It's Dr. Linus." The one bright spot is helping Alex prepare for her future. But I did question his quick promise to Alex to keep the secret. With the ethics and obligation to report anything that could be harmful to a student, I doubt whether he’d make a blind promise so quickly. But it’s a show and they wanted to build trust between teacher & student so, whatever.

Did Ilana seem angry to anyone else? Not about the whole Ben thing. When she was talking to Sun about the candidates, I got the feeling that she’s jealous she’s not one and angry that she has to be the one to protect them. Maybe it’s just me.

Then we get the Jack/Richard storyline inside the ship. I saw someone on twitter respond to the “touch” from Jacob. “Show me on the doll exactly where Jacob touched you.” I just thought that was funny. No story merit there. I thought that for sure Richard was going to pinch out the fuse while Jack was talking to try to save Jack, even though he himself wanted to die. But the island had different ideas.

Meanwhile off the island, the evil principle crushes Ben’s dreams of taking over in return for helping Alex realize her dreams. Creepy creep. But what’s to stop Ben from resuming the Machiavellian Plot after Alex is safely settled in at Yale?

And the biggest moment of the night. Ilana simply states, “I’ll have you.” With all of the Biblical theories being thrown around this is probably the biggest, most powerful parallel of the entire show. Ben said he was siding with Locke because he was the only one who’d have him after his betrayal, murder, and downright nastiness.

How many people are there that feel the same way? They feel they have done too much, wronged too many people, and been so bad for so long that they must resign themselves to being forever lost. And without a second thought, Jesus says “I’ll have you.” I’m telling you, this moment made me cry.

Of course I’m basing all of that on Jacob being good. I have seen too many plot twists to completely trust what they want us to assume about all of the characters. But because it was such a powerful moment, I’ll suspend my mistrust for now and just go with it.

But it gets all ominous real quick with the shot of a periscope and Widmore in a submarine.

So. I give a definite thumbs up to this episode. It is one of my favorites. Call me a lemming.

Got anything to add? I love to talk Lost!

Want more theories? Go visit here.

Multi-Site Church Road Trip ~ A Review

2010-03-08T23:31:00.002-05:00

This video corresponds with this book:

I was provided a copy of this book from Zondervan in exchange for this review. Thanks to them for A Multi-Site Church Road Trip.

I again state that I’m no literary critic, so bear with me.

I suppose that I’m a bit behind the times, but I didn’t realize that Multi-Site is as popular as it is. I suppose I’ve been somewhat sheltered for the last few years. Spending the last decade in some form of rural Virginia will do that.

This was an all around education about Multi-Site, from concept to implementation and launching new campuses. I did a mad read over the weekend in order to finish the book before the blog tour this week. While I enjoyed it, I do feel like it was written for a more specific audience than the random curious mom of three willing to read/review books. (It does say Leadership Network Innovation Series on the cover.) It seemed to be a very helpful book for church leaders facing space issues and looking at options for expansion.

The purpose of the Multi-Site Church is to “instead of bricks and mortar, [Multi-Site Church] invests in technology to create more space for worshippers.”

It is not a fad, and it is becoming, quite possibly, the new normal. But, what exactly is a Multi-Site Church and how does it differ from what we are used to? They go into detail about the replication of the church DNA in the sites. Some churches use video to broadcast one message to each site, while others rely on Campus Pastors for the teaching, sharing common vision and mission for the church.

The desire to reach the lost and disciple newcomers to the faith is prevalent throughout the book. I love the idea that people are willing to look outside the box in order to “bring the church to the people.”

While reading this book, I kept thinking about the church I grew up in. This church is bursting at the seams and still growing. They have tried purchasing land to build a larger church, and when that didn’t work out, decided to expand on the property that they have now. I just kept wondering if this type of model would translate to this church. The problems they are facing are the kind you want, whatever the outcome. Those issues mean that lots of lives are being impacted, people are growing in Christ and introducing Him to others.

That’s a good problem, folks. And if you have to do church via internet (which, at this point in my life is verrry appealing) to get that done, so be it.

Hello, my name is Jen and I’m a band nerd.

2010-03-05T15:07:00.002-05:00

I came across this video today and it thrilled me.

If you were in marching band, you will appreciate this as much as I did. This is like EXtreme Marching Band. Love it!

Hopefully those of you unlucky enough to have escaped the marching band stigma will enjoy it as well.

I just wish I had been able to march in this video with my flute.

See, I told you I am a nerd. Still pining over the good ole days.

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Maybe I’ll just have to arrange my own marching band ~~extravaganza~~ video. Who’s with me?

Sundown ~The Swiss Cheese Report

2010-03-03T12:51:00.003-05:00

This is super duper late this week. I just wasn’t exactly feeling it last night, so I decided to re-watch today and post.

SPOILER ALERT!

Ooooo. This episode starts out reminding us of the awesomeness that is Sayid. They break our hearts by revealing that life is not always better for our friends in the sideways life. Nadia is married to Sayid’s brother (who’s an unprincipled jerk, btw.)

Sayid and Dagon duke it out. (Does anyone use that term anymore?) Actually it’s more like a martial arts showdown. They roll and kick all around that torture room. I kept waiting for those torture devices to come into play. It would have been sweet revenge for Dagon to have been tested. Alas, the writers don’t have my fictional nasty streak of revenge. Then the baseball falls and Dagon lets Sayid go with a banishment.

Claire. We have all discussed Claire in depth for the last few weeks. So she’s been promised her son back to help Whatshisname. A reasonable person would have a discussion with Kate and find out Aaron is with Grandma, then start to plan to get off the island to her son. I think we all have established that Claire is not reasonable.

*Puppy Report* He must be getting used to this because we got through this week with minimal barking and growling. It was still there, just not as intense.

Miles is becoming one of my favorites. And he just proves that men can look past grime and filth and still consider a woman hot. So are all of our manicures, waxing, makeup and highlights just for us?

Flocke promises to help Sayid get the only thing he wants back (from the dead) if he will deliver a message. Now. Which something is Sayid talking about? The show is focusing on Nadia so it’s probably her. But Shannon died in Sayid’s arms too. Hmmm. So Sayid delivers the message and throws the camp into an uproar. So Flocke was right about it meaning more coming from Sayid. But he also has to return the knife. Well, that doesn’t sound promising.

Someone on twitter last night said “Catch a falling star & put it in your pocket” has never been so creepy. Amen to that. I will say that Claire has made the transition well. She completely creeps me out now.

Keemy. He picks up Sayid. And never before has a conversation about breakfast food been so ominous. I don’t think Keemy truly understood who he was dealing with. I’m trying to remember if Keemy was killed after he shot Ben’s daughter and who killed him. Was it Sayid? Was he destined to kill Keemy? Just wondering.

So there are currently 3 people acting on a promise to get a loved one back. Scratch that. Now it’s only 2. Sayid killed Dagon, letting Ole Smokey into the temple. And now is when our beach friends show up. (LOVE Lapidus!) And we are working our way towards a Jin/Sun reunion. They keep dragging their feet on this.

After the Smoky rampage, Kate follows Claire and Sayid, although questioningly. What got me, Claire hasn’t killed Kate yet. She vowed to and had the perfect chance. Did Kate sway her with the “I was trying to rescue you.” speech?

And one final thought. I love seeing Ben off his game. He was totally thrown by Sayid. Ran away scared. Even though I’m not sure about this whole splitting up our beloved Losties into two teams, that was priceless.

Did I miss obvious things? Significant things? Please fill me in. My brain feels like swiss cheese at this point.

For more LOST recaps, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

Runaround Fella

2010-03-02T15:21:00.004-05:00

The still calm night is not disturbed.
She stands like a statue, listening.
The cold seeps in, but she barely notices.
You can hear for a hundred miles
on a night like this.

Thought comes and goes.
"Is he hurt?"
"Is he dead?"
"Is he with some bitch somewhere?"
"The kids are going to cry tomorrow."
"God, oh God. Bring him home."
"Not this, on top of everything else."

She tries to sleep.
Her feet remain cold without him.
The tossing and turning
is surely keeping everyone up.

Check on the kids.
They're sleeping soundly.
Oh, the bliss of ignorance.
Check outside one more time.
Pray again.

The hope, the fear, the dread
all entwined in a night of waiting.
Worrying and waiting
for the stupid dog to come home.

45 seconds well spent

2010-03-01T14:57:00.002-05:00

Although it’s a little suspect. The ice wouldn’t survive all that fire.

Can Anybody Help With This?

2010-02-28T17:39:00.001-05:00

And I just can't seem to find any. *SIGH* Double, quadruple SIGH!!!!!

Do you believe in scientists?

2010-02-25T00:28:00.002-05:00

I usually don’t do this. But I’m gonna. I’m going to rant for a bit. I’m not steaming or anything but sometimes ridiculousness just needs to be outed.

We had our usual prayer night tonight at church. The kids go into the back (with supervision) and we put on some music, dim the lights and have some prayer time instead of the usual bible study. We do this once a month.

Apparently, one of the adults found accompanying the children more appealing. I’m only saying that to tell you that this particular man is not usually one of our teachers. He’s never really with the kids. But he was tonight.

Somehow the conversation went from chores (the boys have to do some to earn badges) to video games. Once this man found out that our boys play video games, he was fit to be tied. He had an argument/conversation with my children trying to persuade them that video games are bad and they should not play.

One of the points the man made to my oldest was that scientists have proven that VGs are what is wrong with kids today. He also said that he was going to have a talk with the pastor (my husband) and within 10 minutes, he would change Dave’s mind about how we are raising our children.

Well.

I am just going on a limb here. We left early because Dave had to get some stuff done for a meeting at our church’s state offices tomorrow. That conversation never happened. It is probably in that man’s best interest that it didn’t. He was pretty hot while Davy was telling us about it.

I get it. Kids can’t be spending their whole day with a controller in their hands. And ours don’t. But it ebbs and flows. They get a new game and it’s all they want to do. For a few days. Then they beat it and turn their noses up until the next one. And that’s few and far between. I can’t afford to be buying a new game every month, so…

But the best part. The absolute best part was his lead in to his argument.

Yes he said that. “Do you believe in scientists?”

And my 13 year old son refrained from laughing in this man’s face (so proud of him for that) and just said “Yeah.”

When a barely teenage boy is brighter than you (I think this may be the case here), you probably shouldn’t be relying on science to back you up.

All night long after that we were laughing and substituting stuff for Davy’s rebuttal. “Yeah, but do you believe in Game Designers? I’m pretty sure they play video games.”

“Do you believe in rainbows?”

“Do you believe in potato chips?

“Do you believe in grass?” To which we reply, “Yes, but not this time of year.”

Ugh. Whatever.

Sometimes all you can do is laugh and then move on.

Well, that’s all. Rant over. Carry on with your lives. But I want to know.

Do you?

Make Me a List!

2010-02-24T11:58:00.001-05:00

I like to pretend I am organized and efficient. I said pretend. Recently as part of my college orientation class we had to take career assessment tests. This may surprise you but I scored highest on Communication ;). I should be a communicator..well duh. The funny thing was my second highest area was Consumer Economics which translates to ‘packaging or producing food and/or textiles.’ I’m gonna assume I got this rating because they asked me questions like: "Would you rather bake a cake or dig a ditch? Would you rather make a pizza or do someone’s taxes?” Not because ultimately my intellect and temperament means I’m only suited to work in a fast food or factory environment (nothing wrong with those professions, just not what I am aspiring to.)

The other part of the assessment was your job values. You got a little slide graph illustrating which way you ‘leaned’ between two values such as realistic or aesthetic (I’m realistic). Or one’s such as carefree and practical. In which I was almost dead in the middle (only one little X over to the carefree side) was dead in the middle. I love to plan and make lists, but I struggle with too much structure. Obviously even more so since I wasn’t flexible on my flexibility- ha! I need order but it must be MY order (which would explain leadership and independence). Confused yet? I think this is why our motto for children’s ministry is ‘organized chaos.’ Pretty fitting, huh?

Anyhoo, I do try to organize my days and when I do, my day goes so much smoother. I basically took my main ideas from Simple Mom’s daily docket (you can download it free here). But I wanted a more personalized and adaptable version, so I spent a few minutes (okay, it was HOURS) with Publisher and this is what I came up with.

When I use it, it really does Work for Me! And when I don’t…well, lets just say I catch up on some serious TV watching.

Head over to We are That Family and see what’s working for possibly more organized people today!

Pam

The Lighthouse (or the peer into your Lifehouse)

2010-02-24T00:23:00.003-05:00

Jack be nimble. Jack be quick. Jack smash up the lighthouse and then gaze at the ocean for a while.

No? Yeah, doesn’t rhyme.

*Spoiler Alert!!!* *And I'm linked up at Rocks In My Dryer*

Here are some random thoughts I’ve jumbled all together from tonight’s episode. It’s all I have anymore. It is LOST, after all.

So we get an episode of Christian’s children. One with a child we never knew about and the other wondering where the heck her son is and on a rampage to find him and/or kill the Other Others along the way.

And Hurly. Lots and lots of Hurly. Dude. Love him.

I know you may be getting tired of me telling you about my dog. But I’m really starting to wonder if they are putting some sort of subliminal frequency something or other into the temple scenes. We thought it was all of the bass sound coming through the surround sound. But there are times when there’s no background music at all, just conversation and he’s still growling like there’s a boogieman threatening us all. Only on the temple scenes. Only during LOST. It’s weird enough for me to go on about.

There, that’s done. From now on I’ll just give a quick doggy report if it is still a phenomena.

How creepy was that dead animal/baby in the bassinette?

I love how you get parental tips and teaching moments in this show. Jack was terrified of his father. “How do you know David isn’t terrified of you?” Funny how things run in families, even if you don’t really want it to.

And then Claire’s craziness about Aaron and her “friend.” Why doesn’t your friend have a name, Claire? Hmm. Sounds fishy to me.

Jack came back to the island because he was broken. And then they find an intact lighthouse.

Of course they do.

Because at this point, all we want is answers (which they keep promising us like a dangling carrot.) We’re not going anywhere and we will believe anything. There is a perfect lighthouse on this island that they’ve all traipsed over untold amounts of time without ever glimpsing it.

And then Claire sinks an axe into SoothingVoiceMan’s chest. And then and there, Jin decides his life depends on a lie. Lie like a rug, dude. She’s got the crazy eyes.

Back to the lighthouse. NUMBERS!!! We discover what the numbers mean. The arrow has to be at those numbers in order to peer into lives. Now, that is creepy to me. My husband called the smashing of the mirror. He hadn’t even seen the commercials. He said he woulda done the same thing. He called it being a wild card. Ok. Whatever. But Jacob knew that’s what Jack needed. Smash things then sit and contemplate.

And in the alternate world. I loved the scene with Jack and David reconciling their relationship. David felt so much pressure, he backed away, and Jack knew exactly how that felt.

Something bad is coming to the temple. Jacob had to get Hurly and Jack away from there. Sooooo…you just leave everyone else there? Nice. Real nice, Jacob. Manipulators shouldn’t play favorites.

Back to Jin & Claire. Good call Jin. Lie about Aaron. You just know that Kate will find them, and she would have been a goner. Way to understand the situation & save a life, Jin. I applaud you.

Then we get introduced to her friend. Her friend who is “not John.” So. Not John has been with Claire these 3 years. But Locke’s body wasn’t on the island until (what is the time line?) a little while back with the Ajira crash. So has Not John been looking just like John for three years, while Locke was in the desert, trying to get people back to the island, being murdered, etc., etc., etc….? (Please use The King & I inflection in your head while reading that. It would make me happy.)

So the new theme of the show is as follows: The time for questions is over, but you only get one answered per show. You do, however, get all kinds of new ones, but those don’t count from before.

It’s long. But catchy, don’t you think?

*Back to me. All of the “Back to” transitions remind me of the Old Spice commercial. Only fitting that I end this…

I’m on a horse.

O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D.

2010-02-23T22:23:00.001-05:00

So how's your week shaping up? Mine...eehh..not too shabby. I just finished a marathon of laundry and dishes and picking up trash, cuz obviously putting your valentine candy wrappers in one of the 10 receptacles we have is just too darn hard. Now I'm parked in front of the tube, watching Idol, in my current favorite PJs. D is out of town for a couple of days, the girls are in bed, and the boys are in their cub cave. I, at this moment, am caught up on homework and the housework beast is in its cage (not tamed, just contained). So I am sighing, sipping (H2O) and soaking up the relative quiet.

However, last week I had hit one of my push the button days. I won't bore you with all the details but the gist of the matter is I had multiple homework assignments (including a big essay) due this weekend, D & I were in charge of a special children's service at church on Sunday, I had class on Saturday, and of course the usual suspects--laundry, cooking, cleaning, kids..blah blah blah...

On Wednesday evening (after a fab lunch w/ the BFF) I was fighting with the computer at church trying to beat it into submission while simultaneously writing out the schedule for Sunday and making notes of what we still needed to do to prepare. As usual I began to first doodle on my paper, and then my doodling took a different route.

I found myself writing the word OVERWHELMED. And then I wrote it a second time vertically down the page...like this:
I am...

Over Scheduled
Very Tired
Enormous Responsibility
Rejection, fear of it?
Work Overloaded
Helpless
End of my Rope
Losing Battle
Mad at Myself &
Everybody else, too
DONE

I'm not really one to dwell in that kind of misery and it truly made me feel better just to write it down. So of course I had to start writing again and this time I wrote:

I am...

Okay
Very Blessed
Enormously Loved
Revered (obviously I was stretching it on this one..revered, really?)
Welcomed (again not the best choice..I was doodling, people!)
Hopeful
Excited
Loving Life
Madly in Love w/ family
Eternally Minded
Done with Doubt

And finally doodled on my paper, with an assortment of stars all around it, was a short portion of a scripture...'unto the Lord not for men.' Col. 3:23

Ahh..yes..that centered me and you know what? I survived last week, and I'll make it through this week, too. Still overwhelmed at times? Yep. Gonna stay that way? Nah..it's too much work to be overwhelmed!

A little video enjoyment for you

2010-02-20T13:52:00.002-05:00

This just brought me much needed joy today.

So I felt the need to share it with all of you, my friends.

You can just feel the passion they sing with, especially the second chorus.

I’ll quit talking now & let you watch.

Enjoy!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Lunch with the BFF

2010-02-17T15:18:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to post before she does and considering she has about a 2 1/2 hr drive home compared to my 20 minutes...well I think I may have a shot. Of course that means I have to actually proof and post this and that's always a gamble.

The P and the J actually had a rare face-to-face lunch date today. We woofed down some Chinese at the local mall, then traveled around the mall in search of some elusive XBox plug or something they needed. The salesgirl, excuse me, manager of our local GameStop (Heidi, if you really need to know) totally went above the call of duty to help J find said accessory. She will get a superb rating from me...if I fill out the receipt survey and you know it's not looking good. Sorry Heidi, how about a shout out on our blog? Mmmkay, I thought that would totally be better than a possible good employee rating that could translate into a raise or something.

Anyhoo, you may think we discuss weighty subjects such as growing our blog (um no, but we did discuss blogs we like) or our important work at church (we skimmed over that) or our children and families (a glancing blow). Nope we discuss enlightening topics (snort) such as the need for products such as the two mentioned below. We also discuss our love of IMDB and movie quotes in LOTR and Napoleon Dynamite..yes, these are the discussions we have.

We decided there is a need for a personal purse hanger for bathrooms with no said hanger available. For those times, such as today, when I had to balance my small suitcase while trying to um...well..accomplish what I went in there for. The first attempt was a failure so I ended up holding the baby elephant carrier in my teeth during the delicate situation.

Success! We solved this problem, purchase one of those 'hang your purse on any table hooks' and use the toilet paper dispenser or an inside wall of your cubby. Which brings me to a sidebar of discussion. Bathroom stalls which are no bigger than a preschooler's cubby. Jen stated, and I will second this, that no bathroom stall should be so small you have to squeeze in between the toilet and the wall in order to shut the door. (And yes, my beloved Target, I'm talking to you.) Truly, this is why--if the bathroom is empty--you better believe I'm heading to the handicapped stall. Well, I also usually have a small girl sharing said special time with me, so that makes the problem way worse. In my world having a 5-year-old with you qualifies you to use the larger, family-friendly stalls. It's my world people, be glad you don't live here.

The next item on the agenda was having someone invent Google Search for your own brain. Wouldn't it be fabulous to be able to access all that useless and, okay, even the useful information you absorb and spit it out in just a nanosecond? For example, today J said something about Space Camp which sent little tingles to my brain about Star Wars. I knew I had heard a great quote about SW recently but I couldn't come up with where it was! So frustrating to have something amusing or interesting but not be able to figure out if it was t.v., a blog, a tweet, what was it???? I said I needed a file cabinet or even better Google for my brain! Wouldn't you love that? Maybe..okay it was funny to us. (And it was a tweet from Jim Gaffigan! Mystery solved!)

Okay, that's all I've got for today...I brought my camera to our luncheon b/c I had a goal of getting a new pic of the two of us for our blog home but it didn't happen. We met, we ate, we chatted, we shopped...it was a good, good day.

The Substitute ~no end to questions

2010-02-17T00:37:00.003-05:00

I forgot to add this, so I'm doing so now. I linked this up at Rocks In My Dryer.

OK!

OMG!

Did they just turn everything we have ever believed about Jacob and MIB on its ear?

*SPOILER ALERT*

Can we believe anything that comes out of Flocke’s mouth? If we can, then Jacob has been the one “touching” people’s lives, drawing them to the island and removing free will from the equation.

I told you. I said it last week. “The time for questions is over.” That’s BULL! They even had the gall to say it again this week. Darlton, I call you out. Consider yourselves slapped on the cheek with the glove. You sirs, lied to all of us.

(I got completely sidetracked. I started watching and tweeting the men’s figure skating. Did anyone catch this? Ohhhh. My. The costumes. They got more and more ridiculous as the night went on. And twitter got more and more funny. I am sooo gonna watch tomorrow night with my tweetdeck on #Olympics. And Ice Dancing. Can’t wait.)

Where was I? Questions. Well I got plenty.

We get an in depth look at Locke’s life without the plane crash. He really needs to get a new lift for his van. Helen is still in his life and I really like her.

Then we flash and become nauseated from Smokey's viewpoint. And what were the sounds Smoky made. It sounded like gears. Odd.

And then there’s all this other stuff with Richard and Flocke and Sawyer. Flocke is trying to convince them he’s the one to trust.

1. Who was the boy that Richard couldn’t see in the pool of light? Could he be Jacob, risen from the ashes like a phoenix? (SEE? QUESTIONS!!!)

2. Why can Sawyer see the boy?

3. Where are Kate’s & Claire’s names on the ceiling of the creepy cave with the scales?

We did get one answer. Sort of. The numbers. They correspond to our Losties.

4. But why those numbers?

5. Why is it taking so long to reunite Jin & Sun?

6. Did everyone love the Sienna commercial as much as I did? (Ok, that was not a real one, but I still wonder these things.)

Ha-ha. I just realized that while I’m re-watching and typing, I have a Sawyer face. The furrowed brow, you know the one. This show is bad for those brow lines. There. That’s my public service for the week.

I will say that I loved Locke’s funeral. Ben confessing to murder. Lapidus and his funny self. “Weirdest funeral I’ve ever been to.” Yup. That sums it up. And I cleaned up that quote, just so you know.

And I liked the fact that Teacher Ben enjoys a cuppa, being a gentleman and all.

The thing I want to know is have they been leading us to believe that Jacob was good all this time to have him be the manipulative chess-playing demi-god?

Or do we disregard everything Flocke told Sawyer in the cave?

Why is Sawyer the new protector of the island? From nothing?

With all that talk about Jacob influencing the Lostie’s lives, I did find it interesting that the inside joke was the white stone he tossed into the sea.

So there you have it. I still like what someone tweeted once. I don’t even remember who. “I never feel dumber than when I’m watching LOST.” My sentiments exactly, anonymous and random tweeter. My sentiments exactly.

Cluck, Cluck

2010-02-16T22:55:00.004-05:00

I love me some chicken tenders. Breaded, deep-fried, crispy, yet juicy, little tidbits of THE white meat. Oh yes, I do. And I have the yummiest recipe for these little golden chunks of poultry. Wanna know it? Okay, good, cause I wanna share it with you!

This recipe has been in my file for over 10 years, and I use it sparingly. Sparingly, you ask? Why if its so great do I not use it more often? I will answer by pointing you to Sentence #2, just read the adjectives (i.e. not healthy and we can't stop eating them).

Other than the above-mentioned deliciousness of this chicken, the other part I love so very much is that my very picky kiddos snarf it down like wild dogs (and yes, I know it's basically chicken nuggets and not healthy and that's why they eat it....blah blah blah..I'm not listening!!!)

So without further ado, because really there's been enough of that already, don't you think? Here's my fabulous recipe, originally found in Taste of Home or Quick Cooking many moons ago:

Chicken Fingers

chicken tenders (or cut up some chicken breasts, whatever's on sale)

1 egg, beaten

1 c. buttermilk (never have this, I put a tbsp of lemon juice & then add enough milk to make a cup)

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 c. AP flour

1 c. bread crumbs

2 tsp italian seasoning

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Oil for frying

Place chicken in bowl or resealable bag, combine egg, buttermilk, garlic powder, pour over chicken. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. In another bag or bowl, combine flour, bread crumbs, seasoning, salt, and baking powder. Heat oil to 375. Drain chicken, place a few pieces at a time in the coating mixture. Fry chix in batches for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm. We served it up last night with baked potatoes, salad, corn, and my favorite crescent rolls. (I wish I could say I pulled them out of the freezer but my supply was lost during the Great Power Fail of 2010. Sigh. So I had to make more :)

I am linking this post to Tasty Tuesday and DIY Day and Recipe Swap Friday. And can I just say if you don't follow these carnivals, you really ought to re-examine your blog reading schedule.

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Sugar Jesus revisited

2010-02-16T00:59:00.002-05:00

I was obsessively going through the data from Google Analytics. (You do that too, right?)

Someone found us by googling “Sugar Jesus.”

That gave me untold amounts of joy. I just wish I could know somehow who it is who found us in this wonderful way.

Ahh. The mysteries of life. Some of the best mysteries must remain just that.

If you’re new, you may be wondering why we would ever blog about Sugar Jesus.

Well, here you go. All of the answers to the questions you have been asking for… at least the last 2 minutes.

On a totally unrelated topic, tomorrow is LOST day. It is also a book club day. I hate to say that you may have to wait until Wednesday for the LOST post. So disappointing, I know. Believe me, it is a huge sacrifice for me to forego LOST for book club, but I shall sacrifice willingly and non-grudgingly. Well, not too grudgingly.

Sugar Jesus. True Story.

Hear No Evil ~ an attempt at a review

2010-02-15T14:33:00.002-05:00

I get to be a part of the blog tour for this book’s release on Tuesday. Yay me!

I am not a literary critic. I am a voracious literary consumer, but critic, I’m not. That being said, I still get to review this book.

So, to cheat and copy from Bryan Allain’s format for book review, I shall cannarf. That is a rating system based on your expectations. 0 is even with expectations. -1 means it did not meet expectations. +1 means it exceeded expectations.

I really like this format for a book review and hope I don’t get stoned (see, that ups the Biblical value of it) for my “borrowing” it.

Book Name: Hear No Evil My Story of Innocence, Music, and the Holy Ghost by Matthew Paul Turner.

I’m Glad it Wasn’t Called: Funny Stories about Crazy Rules Regarding music with Lots of Love for Amy Grant Thrown in.

Book Synopsis in Twitteresque 140 characters or less: Matthew chronicles his lifelong relationship with music. Plus, he wanted to be the Michael Jackson of Christian Music.

Where I Bought It: I didn’t buy it! This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.*

Paid for With: What you are reading right now.

How Long it Took Me to Read: 4 days. I really related with this book, so it kept drawing me back in my free time. That + my being a ~~slow~~ methodical reader = 4 days.

Who I WOULD NOT recommend this book to: Anyone who does not like Amy Grant. Seriously. You will just be irritated with Matthew’s obsession…erm, I mean zealous love for her.

Who I WOULD recommend this book to: Anyone with a love for music. Anyone who enjoys a good memoir of faith. Amy Grant groupies.

What I used for a bookmark: The slightly ripped half sheet of paper stating the details of the blog tour that came with the book.

What were some interesting stories from the book: There were many. I loved his piano teacher who encouraged his imagination. I also enjoyed his being diagnosed with faith-based narcissism. My favorite story was about a mother. Her daughter with no talent got the chance to shine and it warmed Mom’s heart. “My little girl is happier that I’ve seen her in years, and it’s been a tall glass of mercy for me.” I just think that you never know how some small kindness will impact a person’s life. I’m glad that story was included.

What were some interesting stories NOT from the book: I don’t really know enough about the author to answer that. I follow his blog and twitter, so I know that he recently went to Uganda. I’m sure there are lots of interesting stories there. I know that he is the “Jesus Art” go to guy for the world wide web. There’s a lot of interesting stuff there.

What was the 1 thing I’ll take from the book: Imagination is not a bad thing. Being different from the norm often comes with creativity. To quote Ms. Lansing, Matthew’s piano teacher, “Without the imaginations of artists, the church will die or lose its ability to help people. I believe that.” I’m with you Ms. Lansing.

Expectations Going In: I expected it to be funny. I think I expected a laugh riot. Don’t get me wrong. It has many funny moments. It also has many thought provoking moments.

Cannarf Rating: It seems to me that there is a theme of grace and mercy throughout the book. It was a lovely read. It exceeded my expectations by giving me much to noodle over. And it brought the funny. What more can you ask for? The Rating: +2 cannarfs. (what’s a cannarf?)

*This is the disclaimer the Federal Trade Commission requires. There, I fulfilled that obligation. Here’s another. I’m supposed to link to this website in return for the free book.

This post is linked up at Matthew Paul Turner’s blog.

Thanks for reading this. Now, go read Hear No Evil for yourself.

A product we can get into (get it?) (heh heh)

2010-02-12T14:39:00.002-05:00

Have you seen this? I know it’s making its way around the interweb. Everyone’s making fun, but I think this is absolutely BRILLIANT!!!

Pajama Jeans.

Comfortable like sweats, stylish like jeans.

So comfortable, you’ll want to sleep in them.

Pam and I have been heard. Our desire to stay in our pajamas all day has not fallen on deaf ears.

Now this company has not paid us for this post, but they totally should. They should totally sponsor this blog. I mean, really. What better fit is there for them than PJsTilNoon?

I think that if these live up to their promises, I may have to get about 5 pair and wear them every day.

Just imagine the possibilities.

You’re taking a nap and some pesky delivery person rings the bell. You jump up and nobody is the wiser. He’s thinking, “She’s put together, ready to go out and now that she’s not waiting on this package, she can.” instead of “Wish I could lay around all day, but some people gotta work for a living.”

Now I know what you’re thinking. If we are willing to share with the world wide web that we love staying in our pjs until noon, why would we care what Mr. UPS man thinks? Well, obviously we really don’t care enough to actually transition out of the pjs, but pjs that masquerade as actual clothing… we may have to re-name the blog.

All-PJs-All-The-Time.com has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

Looks Like We Made It, Look How Far We've Come Now Baby

2010-02-12T14:29:00.004-05:00

Happy One Year Blog-o-versary my dearest BFF!!! They said we wouldn't make, but we proved them wrong!

(Well, I really don't know if anybody said that or not but we have hung in there for a whole year!)

Much Love,

Pam

p.s. I was finally able to put a little something in the mail to you to mark this grand occasion, but the weather interfered w/ our mail delivery--so sometimes snow does make the mail fail--and of course I have been hibernating. Check your box in a week or two or three....

p.s.s - Yes, I'm hijacking the blog for personal purposes again...sorry!

What Kate Does ~ Lost

2010-02-09T23:18:00.002-05:00

Alright, I was a bit distracted tonight watching Lost.

I don’t really know why. I was all over the place.

Here’s my super trumped up, super dummed down synopses. Cause, you know, it’s what I’m capable of right now.

Spoiler Alert!!!

Sayid got a bit of his torture Karma returned to him. Then Dagon suspects Sayid has been “infected” with darkness. He tries to remedy this situation by giving Jack a pill to poison Sayid. Of course he doesn’t tell Jack it’s poison.

Perfectly reasonable.

On the other side of the world, Kate and Claire get all chummy after the whole gun/kidnapping misunderstanding. Claire gets to the adoptive home only to find a weeping dumped woman not wanting a baby now. This sends Claire into early (not too early) labor. But she decides that she doesn’t want to have a baby today so Dr. Ethan very kindly puts Mother Nature in her place and puts a stop to it.

The cops come to the hospital looking for Kate, who’s hiding in the room. Claire covers for Kate and asks what they want her for. She pulls out the “I’m innocent” line and Claire swallows it.

Meanwhile Jack swallows the pill to test trust with Dagon, who freaks out and then admits it is poison. This darkness is infecting Sayid and if it reaches his heart, well … I don’t know.

I told you I was spacey.

Claire had the darkness and it made her feral. Seriously, she could use a day spa more than anyone on the show. Island Claire. Although, what pregnant woman would turn down a day spa?

And that’s where they leave us.

I don’t have theories, or that many new questions.

I did catch the previews for next week.

“The time for questions is over.”

Really? I’m not buying it. I doubt very seriously that all we will get with these last episodes is answers. No more questions? What would LOST be without questions?

I guess I do have new questions after all.

Whew, that feels better.

Everything’s back to normal.