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!

MERRY HEART

"He who has a merry heart has a continual feast." Proverbs 15:15

On another note (speaking of merry hearts) - I wanna give a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SHOUT-OUT TO KYLE & JULIE BENDER!!!!

Quote from Hunter "Patch" Adams

Laughter dulls the sharpest pain and flattens out the greatest stress. To share it is to give a gift of health, because, as someone pointed out: Ulcers can't grow while you're laughing.

Isn't that great?! Love it! So aside from that I have some STELLAR news! I KNOW most of you know, and I know my blogstalkers most DEFINITELY know this (that was just for you Michelle :!) ... but you all know my 2nd true love goes out to my Asics! WELL, right before school started back up T and I made a trip to Pacesetters for new shoes for him. He REFUSES to get Asics because that's what I was wearing when I broke my ankle, so he swears it's the shoes fault that I broke my ankle. Normally I would let something else take the blame since the real reason I broke my ankle isn't something to discuss with my 9 year old, BUT this is like letting someone say something bad about your family. It's okay if YOU do it, but not someone else. OF ALL THINGS, I could NOT let him blame the Asics for the broken ankle - NO WAY! NOT MY ASICS! So we battled about it, it was the city sidewalks fault, he didn't buy it, and he wound up walking out of Pacesetters with a new pair of Under Armour shoes - okay.

WELL, (sorry Under Armour), but 5 days into the UA shoe wearing the material was separating itself from the rubber bottoms of the shoes - both shoes, same area. Well, I'm sorry, but I"m not spending a fortune on shoes and then having them fall apart 5 days later. So I walked into Pacesetters with the torn shoes and my head hanging low (I HATE returning things with problems).... as always tho, they were very nice and apologetic and the highlight of this whole story - T WALKED OUT WEARING A BRAND NEW PAIR OF ASICS - EEEEEEEEEEEE! Do you have ANY idea how much joy this has brought to me????? LOVE IT!

So Monday I pick T up from school, and I'm like "So how did those Asics treat you today?". Lil' turd, he says "Good, real good... but they almost broke my ankle!" I'm like "NO WAY!" And so he goes on to tell me how he twisted his ankle at school, and HE BLAMED IT ON THE ASICS!!!!!!!! Needless to say, I'm now in weekly therapy sessions until I can heal from this.

WE WON!!! GO MARSHALL - GO!

So we won our game last night.... I had to share some pics! Have I mentioned how much I LOVE basketball???!!!! Way to go boys!!!!!!!!!!!! (oh, and take another look at those AWESOME uniforms) :~)

Daily Splash of Joy - January 7, 2009

No, life isn't always what you want, but it's what you've got; so, with God's help, CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.

On another note - our 4th grade boys traveling b-ball team has a game in Mattoon tonight! GO MARSHALL GO!!!!! Best of luck boys!

I'M HOSTING A PARTY - COOL PARTY - YOU'RE INVITED

Okay, so my BFF is now selling these products from Thirty-One Gifts. My ma and I are having a party this Sunday, January 11th from noon - 3 p.m. IL time (open house). Feel free to stop by mom's house (914 N Michigan - Marshall) during these hours to browse the fun and delightful products Thirty-One has to offer! You can also visit their website http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/ for a preview of their catalogue/products.

I'm not sure what their "motto" is - but I see them as primarily being known for their fun, personalized, inexpensive handbags, totes, purses, etc. They also have some cute decor for your home!

Check out this really cute tote and wristlet I purchased from Thirty-One with my initials/nickname on it! Now how KEEY-UTE is that?! I have rec'd sooo many compliments and comments on the wristlet - it's a puuurrrfect size for a night out on the town or a trip to the movies.

So come visit us and browse Sunday, January 11th at mi madre's (I still remember a lil' spanish) - LOL! If nothing else, you'll get to visit with me :~) XO

Oh, and if you can't make it but would like to order (you can view the catalogue online) - you know how to reach me. OR, leave me a comment with your contact information. If nothing else - heck, HOST A PARTY! My BFF is AWESOME - she was trained by the best - she'll treat you right :~)

My best wishes to all and a Happy New Year!

Back to work and back to school tomorrow.... I sure am going to miss this lil' guy! We've had a lot of fun over break!!!!

..and the New Year was HAPPY :~)

A few fun, random pics from NYE!!!!!!!!!

Nick busting it up on the drums!!!!!

We celebrated the New Year at Richards Farms in Casey, IL. Our hometown band Union played the night away and brought in the New Year for us! It was super fan-tab!

And yes, in case you're wondering I'm bundled up in my coat. I was the DD for the night (BONUS), and therefore I did not get warmed up dancing! LOL! I still had an absolute blast tho watching everyone else and enjoying all the grand company that was surrounding me!

CHEERS TO 2009!!!!!!!