Loving my Time in Flo-Rida

Flo-rida!

Each and every year in January I start getting antsy. I start thinking about warmth, bathing suits and sand. My mom inevitably emails me and says, "are you ready to book the place for this year?" She always says, "should we go somewhere different or go back to the same place?" My response is always I really don't care as long as there is warmth, bathing suits and sand.

Every year is always different depending on who decides to come. My aunts, kids and granny are regular attenders. My cousin's wives even came one year with their kids. This year, I am sitting here with my regular burn, pajamas and coffee anticipating the time that the pool opens and my kids tackle me and lure me out the door to the waves. Gretel was wee little when we first started this wild tradition. Each year we travel the 12 plus hours depending on how many potty stops we make. There is always a promised adventure when we get here.

Last year we decided to go on the Dolphin Cruise. The biggest excitement was the birds that flew behind the boat and we fed them Cheetos. Yeah! Big bucks paid for that! It was fun though. Gretel got to steer the ship and we saw a crab catch.

It is so fun to get dressed up at night after being in our sandy suits all day. We pick a favorite restaurant and dine in with great anticipation of what seafood we will devour. We top off our seafood with HOT Krispy Kreme donuts. A rare treat for us that live in a town where the donut shop is only open in the mornings.

I mean to tell you these are good times. I cannot wait until I get the email next year that says, "Are you ready to book the condo?"

New Thang I'm Tryin!

I was lamenting a few weeks ago about my grocery budget to a close friend who is extremely practical and a money saver on top of that. These are definitely the people you should consult when struggling with budget issues.

What budget you ask? I have a set amount that I budget each month and we are not even coming close to what I need to spend, I mean we are going over by hundreds of dollars in the grocery category. Now believe me when I say, I do not cook gourmet meals. We eat spaghetti and beans quite often. Now when I say grocery bill I should clarify by saying, "Wal Mart and Kroger." Those are my two options for this grand metropolis that I live in. So, also to clarify when I say groceries I mean copy paper, gifts sometimes and ink cartridges in addition to my groceries.

My friend, Senor Elefante, is a Dave Ramsey junkie and she was telling me about a link on his site that he recommends called emealz.com. It has seven nights of dinners, all of the ingredients, the recipes and several different places to shop from. They even have low fat options and low carb options. The big time bonus is that it even makes your grocery list by sections such as dairy and bread, etc. Wowzers! I cannot say that it has lowered my grocery bill substatially yet, but it has made my hair not stand on end as bad when I am looking at what to cook during the week. Typically, I spend hours each week planning my menu, shopping for my groceries as well as trying to think of something exciting and new to cook. My husband happens to like new and exciting whereas I would probably be fine with tacos and spaghetti most nights. He calls them ruts. . .I call them simple and cheap no brainers. :)

So if you are up to trying something new, logon to emealz.com and check out the options for your area. Like I said, my only option is really Wal Mart because they do not have a Kroger option for my area. If you live in a larger town, your options are probably more diverse and exciting. It does cost $15 for every three months, but my time that I spend doing the work that is already done for me with the emealz list is well worth $15.

Hope it helps you have a little bit less hairy week. Let me know if you already use emealz or think you are going to try it.

By the way, I do not get any kickbacks from emealz, I just like to help moms and dads make their life more simple. Enjoy!

Family Time

I thought I would update the blog even though everyone has possibly given up on me! :) We went to Blanchard Springs in Mountain View, AR. This is about an hour drive from our house. It takes marking the calendar months in advance to actually make it happen. We camped, caught fish and ate smores! We had a great time as a family. We definitely need more times like this.

Comfort

Comfort is fried pork chops and mashed potatoes. Comfort is curling up with your favorite book in your favorite spot in your home. Comfort is spending time with your family on vacation. Comfort is being around people you know. Comfort is giving the same amount of tithe you always have for ten years. Comfort is a good life.

Uncomfortable is eating something in another country that is their delicacy, but you cannot identify. Uncomfortable is moving to a new home in a new state because your job moves you. Uncomfortable is serving as a missionary for two years in the jungles of Peru and the thing you pick up in the morning is not your cup of coffee, but your machete to keep the snakes at bay. Uncomfortable is switching the seat you have always set in at church to get to know someone different. Uncomfortable should be the life of a Christian.

God has set this in my heart. I guess I could say that uncomfortable is a blog post at 3:00 in the morning! :)

Menu Plan Monday - March 2nd

Sunday - Cheese Potato Soup
This is an awesome recipe. I just tried it last night. I had been craving cheese potato soup, but I hate peeling potatoes. This has four ingredients and you just dump them into the pot and let it get hot and bubbly. It is fairly inexpensive too. I figure about $6.50 for the meal.

Frozen cubed potatoes
8 oz. velveeta (this is what gets expensive!)
4 cups of chicken stock or chicken broth
White Country Gravy Mix

Seriously, just put it into the pot. Make sure the cheese is melted and not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Also, the gravy will thicken it. You can serve with bacon bits, green onion and a salad and voila. Awesome!

Monday - Small Group - taking Subway Sandwiches leftover from church
Tuesday - Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry; I buy the prepared stir fry mix (large bag, makes two meals easily) and add my own chicken and rice
Wednesday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs, (I made these for our New Year Celebration as an appetizer - they were great then, but decided to try them as a main dish) Egg Noodles
Thursday - Chicken Quesadillas-chicken, cheese on a whole wheat tortilla; I may have leftovers with the kids, depends on how much energy I have; usually not much when we don't get out of swimming until 5:30 and the kids are starving
Friday - Mom gone to the Ladies Retreat! Frozen Pizza for dad and the kids
Saturday - Fajitas (really no different then quesadillas other than I make green bell peppers and onions to serve with it)
Sunday - Leftovers or Taco Salad

For the last few months, I have struggled to keep up with my grocery shopping. I realized that because I was using The Grocery Game, I was unable to get my shopping done in the short window of time between Sunday and Tuesday when the coupon database comes out. I have decided to start using The Coupon Mom which comes out earlier and is free. It is hard getting used to because the format is not as clean looking as The Grocery Game. The database was not as accurate either, but my grocery bill has skyrocketed in the last few months and I need to take action! So there it is, my confession for all the world to see. :0

Happy Cooking for your family this week!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Guess What I Did For Valentines!

You're going to be jealous! You're going to wish this was you! :)

We are breaking her in early! :)

I asked Prince Charming if he could just get the tub hooked up so I could sit in there while he works around me. He has not answered me as of yet.

The drywall shown above is the stuff that I had to help lift and hold in the garage (at least 10 foot ceilings). I am sore today and demanding a massage for my labor yesterday. :)

Above is a view from the garage of the future extra living space and part of the laundry room.

Prince Charming putting in some drywall screws!
Anyone interested in putting in some putty time?

My hope is that we are living in the add on by the end of summer this year. If you are in the area, feel free to come pick up a hammer! :) We will let you stay in the guest room in the future.

I feel a post coming on!

Yay. I did it. I came back. I am hoping that I will feel "posty" again for awhile.

I write "posty" thinking of my seven year old daughter who asks me when she wants me to get my jewelry making supplies out if I am feeling "beady" today. It always makes me smile even if I am not feeling "beady."

I was reflecting on this past year as well as on to the new year and I think I see a theme. I don't want this to leave you feeling sorry for me, but hold on I have a point.

This year I have lost the following:

• at least a hundred dollars worth of food in my cabinets due to critters . . .moths and weevils. Can you say, "yuck?"
• my purse . . .well it was not lost but taken from me at Hobby Lobby. It had about $500 in cash. . .no I am not rich, just blessed after Christmas, my Iphone (work phone), as well as my brand new camera my mom had just bought me for Christmas, as well money off of my credit and debit cards from the "stealers." Can you say, "naughty people?"
• my feeling of safety in my own home. "Ike" visited Arkansas and left a tree hanging through my roof right above where I was sleeping. Now when we have a storm I can't sleep because I am scared of the few trees we have in our yard. Can you say, " yikes, ikes?"
  
• this past week we lost even more food because of the ice storm we had in my little town. It left devastation and trees over all of Arkansas. Can you say "Oh no, not again."
  

I say all of this because I see a theme running here. No, I do not think the Lord caused these things to happen so I would clean out my cupboards and fridge, but I do think He allowed them to turn us back to Him. You could probably guess the verse I am thinking of but it comes from Matthew 6.

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Yeah, let that speak for itself. Our home and feeling of safety and trust do not come from this place, it comes from our real home in Heaven. Thank you Lord for giving me my small, sutle hints of where my treasure is. I am so thankful that this is not great tragedy like so many experience with the loss of children or friends. I will take the small tragedies any day.

Thank you for allowing me to get that post out of my system.

Sorry!

I know that some of you have been checking my blog to find NOTHING new. I am not exactly sure what is going on with me. I wish I knew. Every time I go to write on my blog, I delete it! If you are seeing this, it's a miracle that the text made it.

I think part of it has to do with me not having a camera for so long. No pics = blah to me. Long story short, I have a new camera and I am hoping to post pics of the house, kids, etc soon. Pray that my writing mood comes back and my answering phone mood and my eating healthy mood . . .well just pray for a miracle on my part! :)

Longing to be back,
Clappy Shoes

This is Not Good!

I got this as an email this morning. I know what one of my many New Year's Resolutions needs to be. :(

Report 12-31-08

I have lost my work out buddy. Last time she was heard from was about 9:00p.m.
Brown hair and blue eyes if you have seen her please call me.
I really really miss her at the gym please help me find her!!

Lonely gym friend,

Menu Plan Monday - Last Menu of 2008

Monday - Stroganoff Sandwiches; see my daughters reaction to these if you want to know what kids think of them; I think they are awesome though and I use swiss cheese instead of cheddar which is part of the problem with my kids! :)

Tuesday - Chicken Pot Pie - I love my own pot pie-way better than the kind you buy at the store!

1 lb cooked ckn or turkey chopped
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 cup milk
1 can of veg all (brand name. . .located by green beans and corn in a can)-drain liquid, but keep a little
salt and pepper
2 pie crusts

Mix all of these ingredients together and pour in bottom pie crust

I get deep dish from Kroger ( cut edge off of top one and place it on top of the bottom one with ingredients in the bottom one)

Cut an X in the top so that it will not spill over.

Place it on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until golden brown on top. My kids love this recipe and ask for it a lot. Plus, it has veggies. Yay! Make sure that you let it rest for a minute because it is not only juicy, but very hot!
Wednesday - 16 Bean Cajun Soup and Sausages; I follow the back of the cajun bean soup bag

Thursday - Crockpot Chicken and Dressing, black eyed peas

Friday - Lasagna
(this is one of my favorite recipes and the best/easiest lasagna ever)

1 lb. bulk sausage

8 oz. small curd cottage cheese

1 egg

1 lb. grated mozzarella cheese

1 jar (32 oz.) Ragu chunky garden style spaghetti sauce

8 oz. sour cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Make meat sauce by combining sausage and spaghetti sauce. Create cheese sauce by pureeing cottage cheese, sour cream, egg and Parmesan cheese in blender. In greased 9 X 13 put enough meat sauce to cover bottom of pan. Layer UNCOOKED noodles, 1/2 meat sauce, 1/2 cheese sauce, 1/2 mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering again ending with mozzarella cheese. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 1 hour until cheese is brown and bubbly.
I usually make two batches of this to freeze for later or for a friend in need.

Saturday - leftovers

Sunday - Taco Salad

After Holidays Shopping Warning

Yesterday, I was shopping at Hobby Lobby in Little Rock and some girls engaged me in conversation about my daughter who was standing nearby, as well as some jewelry charms that I was near. One of the girls was standing beside me and the other one behind me. My purse was in the front of my cart behind me. The one standing a foot behind me took my purse and ran. I felt something happen and turned around to realize what just happened, grabbed my daughter and ran after the girls. I did not have my running shoes on or I would have caught them. . .I am sure of it!!!!! :)

Now I am not telling you all of this to make you paranoid or even frightened. I am just encouraging you to remember this so that you will be careful this holiday season.

These girls ran a scheme on me that was well planned without my knowledge. They had a guy waiting on them at the front of the store in a "get-away car." A couple of people saw them leave as well as getting everything on video. I had a lot of cash in my purse (which I promise is never the case!!!) I had my brand new camera, i phone, gift cards, drivers license, credit cards. . .pretty much everything they could have hoped for in the purse. I called the police. . .they found my purse emptied out of pretty much everything of value. The police officer offered little encouragement of finding my things. He was very kind, but just shook his head. This is a common problem around the holidays.

Please use caution as you are out shopping. I wish I would have read and heeded my own warnings before I went shopping. I hope this helps you as you are out and about.
I took this right off of the Little Rock Police Departments Website:

1) Be alert and aware of your surroundings
at all times. Knowing who and
what is around you can help you avoid
being surprised. It also allows you time
to react if something does appear suspicious.

2) Display confidence. Criminals choose
the victim who looks like the easiest target.
That choice is partially based on
their perception about your abilities to
react to an attack. If you walk with purpose,
scan the area around you, and
make casual eye contact with others,
you are displaying confidence.

3) Trust your instincts. Your body will
tell you when someone or something is
suspicious. If you have an intuitive feeling
something is wrong, do not secondguess
yourself. React immediately and
take action to reduce your risk.

4) Carry only what you need. Extra cash,
credit cards, checks, jewelry and other
items should be left at home. If it is necessary
to carry a purse, keep it in front
and close to your body. Men should
keep wallets out of back pockets where
they are easily stolen. Carry wallets in
front coat pockets or use a money clip as

5) Don’t be overburdened with packages.
Carrying several shopping bags makes
you look vulnerable. Request a store to
hold your merchandise until you are finished
with your shopping. If the store does
not offer that service, place your purchases
in the trunk of your car before you
buy additional items.

6) Shop with others. The chance of being
victimized drops dramatically when you
are with a companion. If there are three or
more people together, the chance of being
targeted for crime is 90% less than when
alone.

7) Ask for an escort. Many retailers have
security personnel. Ask for an escort to
your vehicle if you are uneasy about venturing
into the parking lot alone.

8) Be prepared. Have your keys in hand
when walking to your vehicle. The keys
can be used as a defensive weapon and
you will not waste time trying to find
them when standing outside your vehicle.
Carry a whistle, personal alarm or auto
alarm panic button. These devices will
alert those around you something is
wrong.

9) Plan ahead. Choose areas to park where
lighting is good and activity is high. Valuables
in your vehicle should be kept out of
view. Be sure to lock the car at all times.
Most auto burglaries occur on cars that are
left unlocked.

I have hope in Christ that all of this will be reconciled. I woke up at 3:00 this morning still kicking myself and finding myself only hopeful in Christ Himself and His Word.

Psalm 21 encouraged my heart. 21: 11-13 Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed; for you will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow. Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might.

Psalm 21: 7 For the king (David) trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not he shaken. My Life Application Bible says that "when we trust in God we have permanence and stability. We may lose a great deal - families, jobs, material possessions-but we cannot be shaken from God's favor. he will be our foundation of solid rock. He will never leave us or desert us."

I find myself hopeful in Christ and the Lord Most High at this time. I am trusting in Him that He will make things right in Heaven and if I trust in Him He will prove Himself faithful and Good.

Up On The Rooftop. . .

I wrote this a month ago with good intentions of having a Christmas Card this year. I always have a pic and a nice card, but this year things have gone awry. Us being on top of the roof in this picture may give you an indication of why things have not gone as planned this year. :)

Enjoy my bloggy version of our family Christmas CARD! :) I apologize for the weird font problems. I think it had something to do with copy and pasting from word.

The year of 2008 will not be soon forgotten by our family. It has been our year of construction. We all have hit our fair share of nails with a hammer. The construction started in March when Prince Charming and I decided that we needed to do something about our carport that was falling in. We decided we could tear it off or just start over and make it grander. As many of our choices have been in the past to make our lives “more interesting” we decided to dive in. Prince Charming really had no prior construction experience, but as you probably know he is a pretty smart cookie and it has not taken him much time to catch on. It has been fun watching the “addition” go up. We are turning what should have just been a carport into more living space and a garage.

The second opportunity we have had to do construction together as a family blew in with “Ike.” Yes, even in Arkansas we were “Iked.” Wind gusts of 60 mile an hour swept through our yard sending a large chunk of tree through our bedroom roof at 3 am. Talk about a rude awakening! We really believe God protected us as two large trees in our front yard blew over with one missing our bed by only a few feet. The good news is that we had just finished putting up the roof on our addition so we knew exactly what to do with our new hole in the roof.

In June of 2006, God allowed Prince Charming to be pastor of a small church in Arkansas, Fellowship Bible Church. As the church has grown, we have been meeting in all kinds of little buildings across town. The Lord has laid it on the people of our church to renovate the oldest movie theatre in Arkansas (brief but not up to date history on the link) to be our new church home. This place is full of history, but only three walls are holding it up. Yet again, we are called to more construction. While we are not physically going in right now to renovate Prince Charming has had to keep the balls rolling and continually learning how to make healthy church construction decisions once again.

It seems that since the day God saved me in 1993 He has been doing construction in my heart and life. I find myself very “thankful” this year for the many opportunities to grow as a person, mom, wife and child of the King.

We are all healthy, happy and head over heels in love with the Lord. He is good, isn’t He?

Have a Merry Christmas from the Hard Hat Wearin’ Crew in Arkansas.

Menu Plan Monday

My wallet is telling me to plan cheap meals this week. I don't know about you, but I have shopped until my quicken-online is telling me to "Tighten my belt."

Dear Hubs,
In lieu of nice dinners this week, you and our family gets to have nice Christmas presents. Not sure if that is how you would have wanted it. :) Please bare with me through December!
Much Love,
Your Snookems

Monday - smoked sausage, cajun beans, rice and cornbread. . .following the back of the dried cajun beans bag
Tuesday - Smoked Roast from way back when! buttered corn, bbq sauce and rolls
Wednesday -elders meeting/AWANA for hubs and kids; busy night = breakfast for dinner
probably pancakes or sausage gravy and biscuits
Thursday - holiday shopping party for me; leftovers for hubs and kids or grilled cheese with tomato soup (Your choice! :))
Friday - chicken, rice and oriental vegetables (Basically stir fry)
Saturday - Christmas parade. . .probably Sonic beforehand. . .ok I should plan this one better so that we don't have to eat out; Agh. Will think on it.
Sunday - taco salad

A fun holiday recipe to share with neighbors, friends & families!

Chex Muddy Buddies
1 12 oz box Crispix cereal
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (Hershey's recommended)
1 cup peanut butter (jiffy recommended)
5 tbsp. butter (Parkay recommended)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (16 oz. or 1 lb.) powdered sugar

1. Pour out cereal into large bowl and set aside.

2. In 1-qt. saucepan, heat chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter over low heat, stirring frequently until melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour mixture slowly over cereal while stirring with a spatula to evenly coat. Pour into a 2-gallon resealable plastic storage bag or grocery bag. Add powdered sugar slowly. Shake until well coated. Spread onto wax paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Share with someone you love.

(Serves about 12.)

Also, I am going to get that old dusty bread machine out this week that I got for a wedding present. I am going to try my hand at making homemade bread this week. I am hoping for a bread miracle because the times that I have done this before the bread tasted like yuk! I am hoping to make a basic bread and then branch out to some more exciting stuff like pepperoni cheese and oatmeal bread! We will see and I will let you know how it is going. If you have any bread making tips I would love for you to share them with me!

Have a great week!

Ten Substituting Tips

This past year my job has been in fluctuation so I wanted to make sure I had some sort of income as to not see our family starve to death. I love kids and teaching so I thought I might try my hand at substituting in the public school. I never thought I would be a substitute because I know exactly what substitute means. . ."not the real thing." I even had a little girl that I know from church come up to me on the playground and say, "Are you being a pretend teacher today? Can I go to the bathroom?"

As most everything I do when I don't know a thing about it. . .I googled "Tips for Substitute Teaching." I have taught before, but it has been about ten years ago and I was nervous mainly about classroom management. These are the things I have learned, as well as remembered, from my teaching days.

1) Establish your authority as soon as you go in the class. Make eye contact. Write your name on the board and the word RECESS. Only take away a letter if you have to and for 5 minutes off their RECESS.
extra bonus RECESS tip: I got this idea from one of the kids, instead of making them sit their recess out, have them walk around the edge of the playground for five minutes. That way they are expending energy and not getting to do what they really want.

2) During the pledge of allegiance, scan the room for those who are not paying attention and looking at me to see if I am paying attention to them not doing what they are supposed to. Say a prayer for those kids and for yourself. You are going to need all of the help you can get!

3) Try to get there early to review your lesson plans for the day. Try to do exactly what the teacher does because everything you do differently, the kids will say, "Mrs. _____ doesn't do it that way." Gently remind yourself and the kids that you may do things differently and that is ok.

4) Take a book for yourself for any times that you do not have anything to do (which is rare) and an age appropriate one for the kids if they finish their work early.

5) Make sure you have enough lunch money. I had to barter with the cafeteria lady to trade my pudding for a dollar because I only had $2 instead of $3 (which is pretty outrageous price for hardly any food). You will be happy to know the lunch lady did not make me give up my pudding, but took a rain check on the dollar that I owed her. :)

6) Take the teacher a gift to leave behind. I want to do this, but have not done this yet. I want to get a little bottle of expo board cleaner and tie a ribbon around the top and let them know that I appreciate them letting me sub their class. I will leave my phone number so they can call me for questions as well as call me for the future.

7) This is the best game for lining them up when they are taking a bathroom break. Even with a naughty class that talks in the hallway this works and the other teachers around you are muy impressivo.

You say, "I am going to describe someone and I want them to go to the front of the line. This person has is facing the front, not talking, has on _____, has ____ color eyes, etc." The biggest deal in the world is being in the front of the line when you are in elementary school. They are sooo quiet and they remember you by being the substitute that does the fun lining up game.

8) Just know that the teacher (not mailiciously I am sure :)) is probably going to leave you with every duty known to man! The last time I subbed I had recess duty, car rider duty, and naughty kids during Free recess duty. I had one planning period. Sometimes the time that the kids are in PE is my only time to think and get myself together.

9) Lay all of your sheets out on a table for the day and put your schedule on the board if you need to because the kids are going to say, "What time do we go to.. . .?" I can easily say, it is on the board. This makes it easy to find the sheets and know what to do in order.

10) Grab someone you know or that looks responsible in the class at the beginning of the morning and ask them, "How do things go around here? Does this usually happen? Where does she keep her extra ____? " This will help you to have an ally and she will probably whisper in your ear how you are supposed to do things and that you were supposed to be at lunch ten minutes ago :).
Bonus Tips: Plan a crockpot meal the night before for you at the end of the day to come home to. You are going to be tired. It is not your usual routine and it can be pretty draining. Don't let your family suffer because of your added responsibilities. You will be emailing me and thanking me for that tip, I promise.

Have a great and very successful substituting time!

Thank you to Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for hosting another awesome Works for Me Wednesday!

Yo! Yo! What's Up?

I have to admit that one of my favorite past times is singing at home, especially rapping. I am terrible at it, but it is fun.

Tonight my kids and I were flipping through the channels and the American Music Awards were on. One of the rappers was talking and Hansel asked me who it was. Being an out of the loop 30 something year old mom I said, "I have no idea." Gretel (seven years old) says, " Hansel, it's a Yo Yo guy!" Yeah, I guess with all of my rapping she has learned a tad bit of "culture."

Two Important Things That I Need to Tell You!

The first thing I wanted to tell you is that I found an amazing site to help me with my finances. It is called Quicken Online. It is the coolest, free finance site out there. I have been looking for something like this for quite awhile and I was prepared to pay green for it. I started doing a little research and happened upon it.

These are my top five favorite things about the site:

1. it combines my checking, credit cards, mortgage and everything all on one site; I can look at expenses and income at a glance
2. it allows me to set spending goals and tells me (at a glance) where I am over (Oh, and if you are not into REALITY CHECKS, this site is not for you!!!! :))
   
3. it is FREE so I do not have to spend money to look at my money
4. my husband and I can both access it anytime and even at the same time!
5. it is user friendly and if I can use it. . . you can too

Before I sound anymore like an infomercial then I will move on to my other important tidbit of information.

My amazingly talented sister- in- law is having a weekly give-away on her site, Anna's Nest. She hand makes all of her items and just started an etsy site. I am not kidding when I tell you she is an amazing artist, mom and just an all around great gal!! Go, hurry, quick register to win!

Don't Judge Me Because I'm Not a Plucker

My beautician would be horrified at what I am about to tell you so make sure that this does not get back to her. I have decided to stop plucking my eyebrows, but instead of plucking to shave my eyebrows. Not off!!! That has never made much sense to me why people shave their whole eyebrow off and then draw it back on. Anyway, my friend's eyebrows were always just nice and manicured looking. I told her one day about my eyebrow trauma that I was having.

You see, my eyebrow hairs must be stuck in my brain because when I pluck it hurts so bad that I am embarrassed to go to the beautician for a wax. She says that I am one of the biggest yellers she has. I asked my friend how she keeps hers so nice looking and she shared this little beauty secret with me. Now, I grant you that I might be the only one out there that does not know about these and you may have heard of them for a long time now. So please forgive me if this is repeat information.

Here is a picture of the pretties: I bought mine at Wal Mart for about $2-$3. I found these online at Folica.com. Happy shaving!!

Addendum: Many of you are asking how often I have to shave my eyebrows. I do it about every three days or right before I have to go somewhere where I need to look groomed. . .you know like wash my hair or even just brush it! Every few days! :)

Something Old, Something New and Something Black

I wanted to share what I am cooking tonight because it is a family favorite. For you, this is the something old. It is green, but not moldy! It is old only because it is one of my old family favorite recipes! It is Broccoli Cheese Soup.

Here goes the recipe.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 medium onion sauteed in 2 T margarine
1 can crm of celery
1 can crm of chicken
1 can crm of mushroom

3 soup cans full of milk
Cook 1 large bag of broccoli pieces in boiler, drain broccoli and cut up 1 roll of jalapeno cheese (any kind of white, spicy cheese will do) and put on top of hot broccoli. Add to soup mixture. Heat till hot. May be frozen.

I got a NEW cat. For many of you, this will not come as a surprise because it runs in my genetics to love stinky, furry, allergy producing felines. They are so cute and cuddly and relaxing, boy jeez are they relaxing. I decided for sure if I were to be an animal in an after life I would want to be a cat. All they do is eat, sleep and look like they are managing their world! That is so me. The cats name is Gravy. I asked the kids why they named it that and they responded with their most grown up teenager voices (7 and 9),

"duh, mom the cat is guhraaaayy"

The "Something Black" is my husbands fingernail. Just kidding. Actually he does have a hammered thumb, but we got a new black car! I have officially entered the mini van, soccer mom world. I love it! I have never wanted a mini van, but this ride is pimped quite lovely. I will post pics soon.

I wanted to update the world of Clappy Shoes so you did not think I clapped right off the face of the Earth. We are here, but just busy as always.

Love,

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - out to eat and to buy a car! Yay! (more details to come)

Tuesday - All American Meatloaf, green peas

Wednesday - AWANA; possibly having friends over for the best ever Overnight Lasagna (can be frozen for a freezer meal), green beans, french bread

Thursday - Chicken Pot Pie

Friday- Ladies Night Out; Slow Cooker Chicken and Dressing

Saturday - Hamburgers, broccoli and cheese

Sunday - Taco Salad and cheese quesadillas

Give-Away Winner!

I am so excited for The Popes

The Popes-"Journey to Josie" who I have more in common with than I could ever imagine!!! Congratulations!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

19

Timestamp: 2008-11-03 02:01:40 UTC

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

Ok, I cannot keep this to myself. Now, listen I have not received them yet, but I did a little shoe ordering online from a company called 6pm.com and I have to say it may just be the best shoe sale I have ever seen in my life. Thousands of shoes for $9.95 and I cannot believe how cute they are. You have to check it out! You have to go. . .but do not tell your husband where you got the information from or he may block my blog and that would be SAD for both of us.

So shhhh! :) And my shoe size is 7 if you are thinking Christmas! :)

Getting In on the Carnival Action

I did not want to miss out on all of the bloggy carnival action. I am barely in it and I hope you like what I have to offer. I know, I know you clicked on my blog to get cool stuff, BUT make sure to subscribe to my blog if you like what you see.

I am a Mom Select member and they send me things like cool Swag Bags with LOADS of stuff to offer to my readers. They sent me the cutest little exercise/beach suit that would be good for a little girl or boy. It is a 24 month old outfit and I just wish I could squish my kids back to that size. The neat thing about it is offers UV protection from the sun and has a little hood. It is chlorine and sea water resistant as well as lightweight. Pretty amazing, right?

Introduction to the princess and what she generally talks about:

• weekly menu (that the cooks prepare for us :) )
• the wild antics of the royal family
  
• things that work around the castle
• life as a southern homeschooling pastor's wife
  
• exercise
• fun with my friends
• adding on to the castle and what that looks like :(
  

No Claims Here
I do not ever claim to be perfect as many people think that a pastor's family is or should be. I am just a regular girl, with two wild children (Hansel and Gretel) and a man in my life (Prince Charming) who never makes things dull.

Leave a comment and I will select a random winner on Sunday, November 2nd! I will let you know if you win. . .good luck.

Works for Me Wednesday - Garmin for Motivation

I am realizing that my posts are coming few and far between, but that's ok. Just like exercising you just got to keep moving the best you can to stay in the rhythm.

I have actually been thinking about my post all week trying to decide what is the most important tidbit that I wanted to share with you. There are so many things that work for me these days! I decided on my Garmin that I got for my birthday.

As you know, I have taken up running or slow jogging according to my Garmin! :) Basically, it is a GPS system on your watch. It keeps your time, pace, calories burned and even the course that you ran. It has been helpful to me not only for the fact that it was an investment that I feel I must pay for in running, but it helps me in two ways.

It helps me while I am running to run against my own pace. When I am running a race I need to know how fast I am going to see if I am going so fast that I might need to call the Waaaambulance or if I am running so slow that I might not ever see the finish line. Important information like that is provided at the touch of your hand.

It also helps me after I run. Because I am technologically challenged when it comes to gadgets, it has taken a little begging on my part to convince my husband to show me how it works. He downloaded the Garmin software on my computer so that I can see inch by inch,
what my pace was like while I was running. If I am running a particular course in training for a race (I use this term loosely because I only sign up to keep myself motivated between races. . .no gold medals here) then I like to know in what particular part of the course I better kick it up a notch.

I compare the Garmin to a kitchen meat thermometer. . .it is a must have tool in the kitchen that tells you when you are rare or finished cooking! I love it and have really benefited from it. I think my husband got it off of Amazon for about $120. It really has worked for me and hope that if you have been thinking about buying one this helps you too!