Thought.....

Okay, so I know it's been waaay too long since I've blogged - I won't even attempt to catch up. It's been crazy-nutty tho... if that's even possible?! I've been working, working and working some more. Alongside of work comes responsibilities at home - as a wife and as a mother. T's been super active this spring, so when I'm not working - I'm driving him from place to place. We literally have something on his agenda every night of the week! It's nutty and it's crazy!!!! I love it tho! Love, love, love it!!! HOWEVER, when the crazy-nuttiness happens, things have to give - and my blog's been one of the many things in the line-up. Another, more important, thing that's been slacking is my health! I haven't had time to plan, workout or even try to attempt to eat right. So my thought for the day/afternoon... "what if..." ... what if I commit myself to reporting my daily ups/downs on my blog? Do you think that will help me to move it up on the priority list??? Maybe make me think twice before I drink a beer?? Will it make me force myself in to the gym instead of home to do dishes/laundry/etc???? I don't know.... guess we'll see. Problem is... it's Monday evening, I'm gearing up for the week, and once I step foot in work tomorrow everything goes out the window. So stay tuned... see if I can even make it thru day 1! Day 1 of JT's Journey will begin Tuesday, May 26th - let's see if I can make it :~)

Burning Cheeks....

I'm referring to the ones on my face by the way! This weekend we went to see Ron White (the comedian for those of you who aren't familiar with him). He was at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis where my dear friend Jill Katherine lives. We started off the afternoon having a few pre-show drinks with JillyKat....







It's always FABULOUS to get to visit with Jill!!! I love her!






















AND.... just so happened Nick and Alissa had tickets as well... so we all went together! This was still pre-show :~)










And then it's time for THEE show! No cameras were allowed in the theatre, so this is all you get! But holy moly he is one FUNNY guy!!!!!!!!! I'm still laughing out loud today... hee hee hee hee hee!!!!








And THEN it was time for post-show outing!!!!!!!!!! OOT-OOT! This picture could wrap up the night with no words!!!!!


















And look who made it back out with us after the show !!! Yay!!!















I have Noooooooo idea what we were celebrating??? We're goobers!!!!!!! But don't ever doubt the fun we have!







Nick and Liss in the hotel convenient store. Wonder what they might've been purchasing??? They look like happy customers none-the-less, huh????

Oh what a night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to Jill, Nick, Liss and my husband for making it such a fantastic evening!!!!!!!!!!! You all are fabulous to me :~)

So it's back to work tomorrow and the kids get their report cards!!!!!!!

9 Months and counting....

... until Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you all believe that Christmas is a mere 9 months from today??? It hardly seems possible... actually, I'm having a hard time even thinking about it - ugh!!!

So what's been going on in the life of JT? Sports, sports and more sports! Tonight we wrap up the basketball season with a pizza party which I'm sure the boys will love!!!! And over the last week-plus we've started soccer practice and baseball practice! This Saturday we have a double-header Saturday morning in soccer - whew! I'm looking forward to it tho - even tho it's supposed to rain - argh!

Ron White... have you seen him? Comedy Central maybe??? OMG - friggin funny!!! Weelll... this Saturday Nb and I are venturing to Indianapolis to see him LIVE!!!!!!!!!! OOT-OOT! Should be a hoot... I can NOT wait!!!

Anne Alert: (yes, this is equivalent to breaking news on your television except it's a blog-breaker)....

Hard to believe this beautiful, healthy lil' girl once weighed 2 lbs, isn't it? Go ahead... click on the picture to enlarge it and get a good look.... she's a miracle!!!!

I'm also proud to report lil' Miss Anne has been completely off of her feeding tube for almost a week now! She is such a happy lil' girl - full of smiles!!!! Of course, if I could live in that house and kick back in my bouncy and watch the entertainment unfold I would probably be full of giggles as well! Your Aunt Julie is sooooo proud of you Anne!!! xoxoxo

And now back to your regularly scheduled blog:

So I'm getting to that stage of parenting where I just don't understand... Helloooo Fresh Prince of Bel Air!!! If I knew how to insert the tunes to that song I would do so right... "HERE" (go ahead, feel free to take a break and get the tune going on in your noggin)!

Sooooo..... apparently I don't understand the life of a 9 year old boy anymore - no, you're right, I don't - because I never was one!!!! BUT I do know that when it's 45 degrees outside you're going to wear a coat to soccer practice! Seriously... T could NOT understand why he had to wear a coat! I just didn't understand because I'm a girl, and girls are always colder than boys, and he's going to be running around, he's going to get hot,.... I just don't understand! Needless to say - we walked out the door with a coat on! *BAM*! And then when I picked him up he was standing by the concessions shivering - geesh, bet you were glad your mom made you wear a coat... too bad you declined the gloves too - ARGH! Point proven!

So then a couple days later we have a drawing contest... it started with a leprechaun drawing and then we had a draw-off of an easter bunny. See below....

So we signed by our drawings so you can see which is mine and which is T's. Apparently my leprechaun looks more like a cowboy and my bunny ate a few too many cadbury eggs - or so I was told! So T won this contest... it was quite fun! As a matter of fact, the board is still up in his room and last night as I was tucking him in he informed me that he'd like to draw on it again but he thinks our drawings are just great and he doesn't want to erase them! Aaawwweeee!!!!! Amazing what lil' things you can do with your child that can put a smile on their heart!!!

And now it's JT - T competition #2:

Sunday evening I decided to go for a walk and T informed me if we went to the track where he could run that he would go with me. Yay!!! So we walked to the track (yes, I savor these times when it's just us, fresh air, no distractions... amazing conversations come out of these times)... anywho - so we get to the track and we run a mile together. And I KNOW I'm not supposed to be running, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity. So we run a mile together, and then we walk a mile together and chit-chat about life, and THEN we decided to kick it up a notch again and do sprints and race each other. I mean... in my head I'm thinking I'm going to win this time because my legs are a lot longer than his, and according to physics it should all work in my favor - right?! NOPE... WRONG! He demolished me!!! To the point where I had to laugh out loud AT MYSELF! Granted, I feel as tho my son is very athletic-oriented... he loves sports, loves to exercise, loves to run, etc... but I still never imagined being a foot-plus shorter than me that he'd beat me so bad! HA, HA, HA!!! Good times! And the icing on the cake - as we were leaving the track to walk home I was thanking him for going with me and letting me know how much fun I had with him and how much I appreciate him exercising with me. His reply "No problem, I'm always up for taking a risk." I was like WHAT??? How is exercising with me a risk???? He just laughed and shook his head and informed me... I wouldn't understand! Are you kidding me????

So 2 out of the last 3 battles we've had to re-cap:

1. To Wear a Coat or Not Wear A Coat - Mom Wins

2. Leprechaun/Easter Bunny drawings - T Wins

3. Racing at the Track - T Wins

Calling all moms...... I need some suggestions on some challenges that perhaps I can come out as the Winner!!!!!!!! I'm starting to realize my age in all of this! I remember the days I could've drawn an easter bunny and told T it was a dog and he would've loved it! Just like this Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader.... T will be in 5th Grade next year.... what on earth am I going to do??? I can't win this game! I am doomed all - I am doomed!!!!!!! I'd like to say the fun is just beginning, but I think T has raised the bar this year and it's going to be a whole new level of fun!

Oh - and in closing... do you know what else I have learned in the last couple of weeks! My 9 year old son was holding hands with his girlfriend on recess!!!! Holding hands??? Did you read that right??? It's friggin Fourth Grade!!!! He is MY baby - he can't be courting some girl around on recess - OMG! I mean... I'm glad he has a girlfriend - he's always liked girls... he never went thru that "girls have cooties" stage. And this lil' girl is oober cute and sweet, but it's still just a shock to the system to hear! Ugh!

Okay - I'm gonna sign off before I hit the wrong button on accident and delete my rambling blog! It was good to talk to everyone today! Gotta get back to work.... XO!

HEART

My heart has been wrung out so many times it's bound to be wrinkled!

When dieting....

When dieting, remember; What's on the table eventually becomes what's on the chair.

A.S.A.P.

This is from an email that was forwarded to me, but I wanted to post....

Ever wonder about the abbreviation A.S.A.P.? Generally, we think of it in
terms of even more hurry and stress in our lives. Maybe if we think of this
abbreviation in a different manner, we will begin to find a new way to deal
with those rough days along the way.

*************
There's work to do, deadlines to meet;
You've got no time to spare,
But as you hurry and scurry-
A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

In the midst of family chaos,
"Quality time " is rare.
Do your best; let God do the rest-
A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

It may seem like your worries
Are more than you can bear.
Slow down and take a breather-
A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

God knows how stressful life is;
He wants to ease our cares,
And He'll respond to all your needs
A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

HAPPINESS

Happy is the woman who can laugh at herself; she will never cease to be amused.

Now isn't that the truth????? A big Happy St. Patty's day to all!!!!!!!

Viva.... Las Vegas

So Vegas was an absolute BLAST!!!!!!!! 5 days is a looooooooooooong time in Vegas tho - whew! I was glad to be home!!! I had a wonderful time while I was there tho.... we arrived on Tuesday, after an hour-delay in the plane at Indianapolis - cheese n rice! It was ridiculous - the luggage compartment latch had to be fixed which took all of 10 minutes, but then the mechanic didn't fill out the paperwork properly and he'd already moved on to work on another plane... so 50 minutes later he makes it back over to correct our PAPERWORK!!! Are you kidding me? So we were boarded and sitting on the plane for an hour before we even backed up from the boarding dock - ugh! I kept good spirits tho and on we went :~)

Arrived in Vegas around 10 a.m. Vegas time - the weather was BEAUTIFUL! 74 degrees with a lil' wind! After we arrived to our hotel, we hit Ceasar's outside bar for one of their famous orange slushy drinks... mmm-mmm-mmm!!! I toasted all of my fellow Vegas'teers, and on our way we went. That day/evening we really didn't venture far from Bally's, as we were just glad to be in Vegas, relaxing and having some cocktails. It was a long day, so we had an early night - had a quick dinner at Margaritaville and called it a night!!

Wednesday - NB had conference from early a.m. thru noon. So I got up, showered and walked the strip. The sun was beautiful, it was peaceful and I thoroughly enjoyed the walk - from one end to the other and back took me approximately an hour and a half - that included my stop at Starbucks (the one daily treat I promised myself). It wasn't a strolling walk either - I kept a pretty good pace - especially after the Starbucks kicked in. I did a little shopping, a little gambling and by then NB was out of his meetings. So we ventured down the strip towards the MGM, did some shopping, took a nap in the late afternoon, went out that night, saw the awesome twins at Harrahs at teh dualing piano bar and went night-night at a later hour, but still decent.

Thursday - NB was up and out early for his conference. I got up, showered, made my trip to Starbucks, and by then Josh n Kelly were arriving - yay!!!!!!!! It was soooooooo good to see them in Vegas - there's nothing like bringing a part of home on vacation with you. So while Nb was in conference we ventured down to the mall, had a couple drinks and got back just as Nathan was finishing up. The 4 of us then ventured down to M&M world to pick up the kids a few souveneirs, stopped at Tropicana on the way for lunch, sat outside and watched all the construction across teh street - amazing!!!!!.... and before we knew it we had made it down to NY, NY - so Kelly and I rode the coaster, then to Excalibur - so heck, we'd made it this far we might as well walk on down to the Ice Bar at Mandalay Bay. Soooooooooo cool - if you ever go to Vegas you must, must, must experience the Ice Bar - called the Minus 5 degree bar actually - but everything inside is made of ice - even the cups you drink out of.... friggin awesome!!!!!!!!! Stayed there and had plenty to drink, so we left there late and took a cab to Hard Rock and ate at the Pink Taco. Finished up there and called it a night.

Friday - FINALLY was able to somewhat sleep in according to Vegas time. Kelly and I mostly shopped all day while the guys gambled. We were celebrating her bday a day early - so it was her night. We went to Trevi in Ceasars for dinner - it was an AWESOME Italian restaurant she chose. Yumm yumm yummm! Left there and hit the twins at the piano bar. Not only were we entertained by them, but we were also entertained by plenty of the company around us - whew! Stayed up waaaaaaaaaaay late for us - wowzers, I was BEAT!!!!!!!

Saturday - time to go home! I woke up with horrible sinuses (too many days of being surrounded by smoke) and so I was ready to go home. We finished Vegas with a lil' shopping in Margaritaville, one last stop at Vegas and spent the rest of our trip people watching.

GREAT time, GREATER friends, and the GREATEST was getting home to see my lil' man - oh how I missed him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See below post for a few pics...

Vegas Pics

Dualing Piano Bar at Harrahs with the infamous twins........ THEY ROCK!!!!!!!!













The Pink Taco @ Hard Rock Cafe - dinner post-ice bar

























The guys and our really awesome bartender on the outside of the ice bar




















Kelly and I after the ice bar experience





















........and us with the ice bar penguin :~)

Doesn't the lower half of this look like the Scream face? It was ice on the tap - but this was outside of the ice bar

Kelly drinking her luscious drink with NB

KLL and Mr. Penguin

All suited up and leaving the ice bar

Not many people get to see this side of Excalibur... but WE DID! (thanks Joshua - LOL!)

Sitting at the Tropicana having lunch and watching the amazing construction going on across the street for the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino

Our cab driver informed us that so far 8 people have died on this construction site

The famous and always-visited Margaritaville!!!!!!

La Cantina restaurant inside the Miracle Mile shops

My Bucket List

Place an X by all the things you've done during your lifetime.....

( ) Gone on a blind date
( ) Gone on a recent date
(X) Skipped school - of course, but I always had a note from my mom so does that count???
(X) Watched someone die (unfortunately)
( ) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida (and I need to go back!!! I am soooooo ready for summer!)
(X) Been to Hawaii
( ) Been to England
( ) Been to France
( ) Been to Ireland
( ) Been to Germany
( ) Been to Australia - my brother went one year tho
( ) Been to Alaska
( ) Been to Africa
( ) Been to China
( ) Been to South America
(X) Been on a plane - and I'll be on one Tuesday heading out to Vegas - yay!!!!!
( ) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost - we used to drive around with a 12 pack and TRY to get lost!!! Good times!!!
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
( ) Had a great Valentines's Day Date
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers - it's been a while tho
(X) Recently colored with crayons - whenever I get a chance!!
(X) Sang Karaoke - HA! That was a joke tho - drunkfest more like!
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only - if you count the diet soda I had for lunch my "meal"
(X) Been to the top of the St.Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls - oh those were the good times - 2 lines, prank calls, hee hee hee
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
( ) Been down Duvaul St in Key West
( ) Been to the Southern most point in the U.S.
( ) been to the Northern most point in the U.S.
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere - and THAT BURNS!!!
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain - I love, love, LOVE dancing, walking, and running in the rain!
(X) Been skinny dippin'
( ) Been cow tippin' - never did but we talked about it a lot during our country cruises back in the day!
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone - that's been a looooooong time too!
(X) Blown bubbles - I do daily with my gum
(X) Gone ice-skating - andI can NOT ice skate!!
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
(X) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Looking forward to seeing someone in the next 24hrs - no but in 48 hours I'm looking forward to seeing Elvis in Vegas
( ) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets - Bullskin's good for that!
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
(X) Slept under the stars
(X) Seen a comet
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
( ) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Been across the Golden Gate Bridge
(X) Been on a cruise
( ) Traveled by train
(X) Traveled by motorcycle
( ) Been horseback riding
( ) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
(X) Been to Disneyland/ Disney World - it's been too long, I need to go back!
(X) Have a special someone in your life
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
( ) Been in a rain forest - been to a Rainforest Cafe tho
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
(X) Been to Niagara Falls
(X) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Ridden on a Camel
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
(X) Kissed someone in the last 24hrs
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been in a cave
( ) Been caving
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(X) Been water-skiing I'm no good at this either!!
( ) Been snow-skiing
( ) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
( ) Swam in a bioluminescent body of water
( ) Been to the Great Pyramid in Egypt
( ) Been to Greece
( ) Been to Rome
( ) Been to the Vatican
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Been rock climbing
( ) Been to Stone Henge
( ) Been to a private tropical island
( ) Been sailing
( ) Seen the Grand Canyon
( ) Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
(X) Been a part of history
(X) Seen history happen
( ) Been on a military base
( ) Been in the military
(X) Been hired
( ) Been to the top of Pikes Peak
( ) Celebrated New Years in Times Square
( ) Been to NY City
(X) Been to Chicago
( ) Brewed your own beer
( ) Made your own wine
(X)Smoked a pipe
(X) Smoked a cigar
( ) Been to see the Liberty Bell
(X) Meet a celebrity
( ) Juggled in front of a crowd
(X) Given a speech - I hated speech class!
(X) Have been disappointed by someone recently
(X) Knew something you wished you didn’t
(X) Played a musical instrument
( ) Written an original song
(X) Written an original poem
( ) Written a book
( ) Been published
(X) Been in the local paper - more than once!
(X) Mailed a hand-written letter via snail mail (USPS)
( ) Started a new relationship in the past month
(X) Been to a concert
( ) Been to an opera
(X) Been to a play
(X) Been in a play
(X) Been in love
(X) Been betrayed

WORRIES

Worry doesn't help tomorrow's troubles, but it does ruin today's happiness.

(from my daily splash of joy)

Delayed Snow Pics

So even tho I'm not a big fan of playing in the snow (I get cold too quickly), T and Hank had a heck of a time playing outside! I'm not sure who enjoyed it more....

ps - for those of you not familiar with blogs, you can click on the pics to enlarge them for viewing.

Congratulation Boys!!!!

We are all so proud of you!!!!!

For those of you who don't know - our 4th grade boys traveling basketball team won the IceBreaker tournament on valentine's day. They played their hearts out - so fun!

Life-and-Death

If you treat every situation as a life-and-death matter . . . you will die a lot.

RANDOM...

I am going to randomly blog this morning. It's currently 7:48 a.m. on a Sunday morning, I've been up since a lil' after 6 a.m., and there's just really only so much internet browsing you can do.

So last night was the Bud Shootout - yee haw!! I love, love, LOVE Nascar! What I do NOT like is poor sportsmanship! We went to a shootout gathering last night, my drive (#88) got caught up in a wreck, and another person who I won't mention had the balls to LAUGH OUT LOUD! Are you friggin kidding me??? Okay, so I get it if you're not an 88 fan - not everyone can, will, or should be - but you do NOT laugh out loud when a fan of the 88 is sitting within arms reach of you! Not to mention this dude is probably within arms reach of being 60 years old! Oh man it really burnt me up! I'm not good at biting my tongue, but I bit it out of respect for the people who were hosting the party. I'm not kidding when I say unsportmanship conduct can send me into a rage - it took every bit of stamina I had not to lash out irrationally at this guy! UGH!

Moving on (before I get myself worked up again).... Vegas! In less than a month I'll be venturing to LV once again - EEEEEEEEE! I'm anxious to see how this trip is going to compare.... the only other time I've been to Vegas is when Benny and I got married. AND we were oh-so fortunate to have a great group of friends join us! The Vegas trip was absolutely amazing, never a dull moment and a photobook full of memories. :~)

This time it's going to be a different story. For the first 3 days it will just be Benny and myself. Nathan will be in meetings most mornings.... so if anyone has any suggestions on how to spend alone time in Vegas - please advise! Not that I don't intend on enjoying the vacation and sleeping in, but I typically can't sleep in... not to mention I'll be in the city that never sleeps! So any experiences you've had in Vegas I am open to hear as well! It will be an interesting trip because Benny and I could not be more opposite when it comes to gambling. I cash out when I'm up $5, he won't cash out or quit until he's up/down $500. I can't watch him throw away that kind of money, so it's best if we go our separate ways during gambling hours. This was easy to do when we were in Vegas before because the guys would go spend the big bucks while us chics sat back at the nickel slots or sat and people watched. This round of Vegas won't be like that - it'll just be Benny and I. So while he wants me to stand behind him and be his good luck charm, I'm afraid I might blow the friggin craps table up if I see how much money he puts into it. I'm sure we'll figure it out, but it's a Vegas concern of mine.

On a brighter note - I'm 99.9% sure that the last few days of our trip, my BFF and her husband are going to join us - EEEEEEEEE! Seriously - how friggin awesome is this? AND, we'll be out there for her birthday - double EEEEEEEEEEEE! This is so amazing to me! I've been discussing it with her husband for several months now, as I wanted so bad to surprise her! Have you ever had a person in your life that is constantly doing kind things for other people? Well meet my BFF.... she is always planning, organizing and performing the most random acts of kindness... I wanted to give her a lil' something. So I was REALLY wanting to surprise her for her bday with this trip to Vegas - obviously working together with her husband to do it. However, circumstances didn't work out - BUT we still managed to wait until a month before the trip to let her "in the know". And truth of the matter is.... had we not let her "in the know" it might not have worked out. Her and her husband were going to do all they could to make this trip - I knew it! But I also know it's not always that easy to just flip a hat and have money fall out for a trip to Vegas. Ironically enough, during all the discussions, her husband wins $$$ at a banquet - $$$ that will fund their trip to Vegas! Now how friggin awesome is that??!!! Some things I just think are meant to be. So needless to say, as of 10 hours ago, I was 99.9% sure that my BFF is going to get to join me in LAS VEGAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright, so I've carried on long enough that it's time to go shower and get ready for church.

To all my blog-stalkers.... have a fabulous week!!!!!!!!!!! XO ~JT

Frustrations = Stress

When frustrations develop into problems to stress you out, the best way to cope is to stop, catch your breath, and do something nice for yourself, not out of selfishness, but out of wisdom.

DING-DING-DING-DING-DING

I think the jackpot was hit with this one.... straight out of my Daily Splash of Joy.....

"Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak."

Now how friggin true is THAT?!!!!!!!!

HAPPY THURSDAY!

Harlem Globetrotters

If you've never been, you need to go.... these guys are AWESOME!

Would you marry your fridge? I would!

Does anyone else love their refrigerator? I have a difficult time believing I'm the only one out there that has a particular home appliance that they just L-O-V-E! You know "if you love it so much why don't you marry it?" Well if I could, I WOULD!

Approximately 2 years ago, we got fed up with battling the door on our old refrigerator. If the inside shelf didn't fall off everytime you opened the door, then the entire door would shimmy it's way off the hinges. It became a high-risk refrigerator, and so we went on the search for a new one. My only request was A-an auto ice maker (pretty standard these days), and B-I wanted a water dispenser on the outside of the fridge (I am an avid water drinker if I'm not tossing back a few cold ones of another family). So here was the grand prize winner to make it into our home:

Granted, it's now well decorated with pics, important announcements, magnets, etc... it's still just as friendly as the day we brought it home. And please note the water dispenser on the outside, eh?!

And now we open the french doors on the front - the refrigerat'ing part.... it has a lovely array of options, shelf sizes, etc. Even 2 slide out deli drawers, with flip-down additiona storage (yes, you forget what's on the inside of the drawers), and then a bottom large compartment that is perfect for pizza boxes (remember, my husband lives on pizza), veggie trays, etc... In my opinion, this is the taj-ma-hal of refrigerators! LOVE IT!

And we can't leave out the freezer (on bottom). This isn't a very good pic b/c it doesn't look so roomy. But it has a huge bottom bucket to hold "stuff", and then another pull-out shelf on top with the icemaker - yee-haw! And on top of all of that, you can tilt the bottom open to reveal those handy items you need on this friendly lil' basket. Can't really see it, but believe you me - this refrig is awesome! If I could afford to give one away for free to a lucky reader, I would. However, unless Kenmore gets ahold of this and offers me such for free advertising, I'm afraid you'll just have to come over and give mine a test drive - I love it!

Tastes, Looks or Smells like Pizza

So today after church my husband treated me to lunch at Applebee's in Terre Haute. Does anyone else realize how often they change their menu? Good Lord almighty! They change their menus more often than I change my dishwater! Okay, not really b/c I never use dishwater - I think it's disgusting! But this menu-changing is very frustrating for someone who's married to someone that only eats something if it tastes, looks or smells like pizza! My dear blogstalkers, let me introduce you to my husband! He is THEE pickiest eater I've ever met in my entire life! The words "soup" or "salad" are an auto-nix to his appetite! He even gets disgusted if he orders a burger and they bring the lettuce, tomato, onion out on the plate. OMG - the vegetables might have actually touched his burger - it's a sin to him! Soooooooooo - today we go to Applebee's for lunch. He love, love, LOVES their nachos - no, he doesn't order them classic style, but "meat and cheese ONLY" on his nachos! Well today the waitress (God love her) informs him they've changed the make-up of their nachos. I honestly thought we might get up and walk out. Nathan doesn't understand why they have to try to fix something that's not broken, because to him their nachos were A-okay! I tried telling him that perhaps others didn't care for them, but this doesn't matter to him - he, NB, liked their nachos and therefore Applebees should not have touched them! Shame on Applebees! So he settled for a bacon cheeseburger w/fries, and to top off his already irritated appetite, they brought out the lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles on the side of his plate! Poor guy - you would've thought pizza just became an epidemic. We survived tho. Does anyone else deal with these insanely picky eating habits?????

So post-Applebees we went to Sam's Club. I LOVE Sam's, I usually love Sam's produce - here were my 2 big-hitters for the day:

Don't those oranges look YUMMY?! And then the classic Tootsie Pops - YUM!

Not to pick on my husband, but he did not know that Tootsie pops were a fat-free food. Is this a result of his lack of knowing anything beyond a pizza, or is he not the only one who didn't know this? He had to double-check the box because he didn't believe me when I told him they were fat free. Are you friggn' kidding me? Then he tells the nice, old lady who is trying to sell some "Fresh Step" kitty litter to him that I am the closest thing to a cat in his house. Are you kidding me? I thought the old lady was going to come un-glued on him. It was good stuff.

Moving back a week or so - my first attempt at blackberry cobbler:

I've had many people tell me how difficult, messy and time-consuming it was to make blackberry cobber. Well, we were celebrating my dad's birthday, and blackberry cobbler is one of his fav's. So in running for #1 daughter, I attempt to make this cobbler. I spent a good hour searching the internet and comparing recipes for what each person declared "BEST Blackberry Cobbler" - do you know how many "best"'s were out there? And then, and then I stumbled upon a gold mine - it was like unwrapping the special Willy Wonka chocolate with the golden ticket inside. This recipe wasn't labeled just the "best" - it said "WORLD'S BEST BLACKBERRY COBBLER". How could I not choose this recipe? The recipe seemed simple enough. So I purchased all the ingredients, put it together as stated on the recipe, baked it and VOILA! The true test would be when it touched the mouth-water pallet of dad's lips. I'm not sure if the first bite wasn't so good, or if he was speechless b/c of the ooey-gooey rich taste in his mouth. However, he and mom both assured me the cobbler was wonderful - a sure hit! And when I told mom how I made it, she was floored. There was no mess, it was quick, easy and well - apparently tasted amazing - the dish came back free of any crumbs.

I have more pics to post - but I'm going to post this and come back with another post so if by chance I lose something - it's not all of this good stuff :~)

DIETING

The second day of a diet is always easier than the first. By the second day, you're off it.

HOPE

There is hope for any woman who can look in a mirror and laugh at what she sees.

The Five-Finger Prayer:
Thumb—Pray for those closest to you.
Pointing Finger—Pray for those who point the way.
Tallest Finger—Pray for those in leadership.
Ring Finger—Pray for those who are ill or troubled.
Pinky—Pray for yourself.

Beecher City Tourney

So proud of you boys!!!!!!!!!

So yesterday we ventured to Beecher City for a round robin tournament. The boys played phenomenal! We came in 2nd, losing the championship game by only ONE point! EEEEEEEEE!! Very, VERY exciting!!!

Here are some more random pics...

...and a big thanks to our coaches! We appreciate all you do!

It'll make your mouth happy!!!!

My latest discovery.... CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH BROWNIES WITH GANACHE TOPPING. This can be described in 3 letters - YUM!!!!!

And meanwhile, this is how I'm entertained.... T's singing American Idol on PS2 while I'm cleaning and blogging :~)

Check out these bad boys....

T's new Asics - EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

And here is a shot of my basket FULL OF ASICS! Anyone thinking what I'm thinking??? Anyone thinking maybe Asics could pay me for some advertising - heck, even one free pair of Asics would tickle me happy! A free pair of Asics - whoa --- not that's like the ULTIMATE gift! I'll be checking my mail for that letter from the President and CEO of Asics - I think we should know each other... he/she has NO idea what I've done for them lately!

And speaking of shoes... last night I sent out an email to my walkers! In case some of you are not aware, I have formed a team for a 60-mile breast cancer walk in San Diego, CA. The walk is over the course of 3-days. We'll be walking November 20th - 22nd this year. Each walker is required to raise a minimum of $2,300 in order to be able to walk. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in joining my team - let me know! The more the merrier. We'll start training for this event as a team in June/July time-frame. At training time, you should be able to comfortably walk 5 miles at one time. If I remember right, the first week of training we will put in approx 15 miles. And just as a heads up - REMEMBER WHY YOU WILL BE WALKING! It's not a vacation (altho the walk itself is a lot of fun and very inspiring)... but it requires a lot of dedication to train for the walk, plus the costs you will incur throughout training on shoes, apparel, etc... and then of course you will need to pay for your flight out to San Diego. We're wanting to stay a few extra days after the walk to have some time to actually enjoy San Diego; however, if you want to fly out to walk and come home - DO IT! I promise you this is a walk you will NOT regret doing!

If you're on here reading and would just like to donate to my walk - click the icon at the top right of this blog. It'll take you to my donation page. All donations are tax-deductible, and all donations go towards finding a cure for Breast Cancer (donations are not made to fund the trip out there).

Moving on..... this is my favorite lil' sign of all times:

It hangs in my living room.... LOVE IT! I love "happy" things :~) This is a "happy" sign.

And in closing, Hank says "hello"! Isn't he just beautiful!!! For those of you who haven't figured him out, Hank is half-chocolate lab and half-weimaraner... I've been told he appears to be half-giraffe and half-elephant, but I promise you he's 100% dog! They call this breed a "labmaraner". He's a gorgeous, fun-loving, happy puppy! Hank will be 1 year old on January 31st - a happy early birthday to Hank! (yes, he is a puppy)

My love and cheers to all!