Please pray!

What awful news greeted me when I woke up this morning. In case you haven't heard, there was a tragedy in the family of Steven Curtis Chapman. His five year old daughter was killed in an awful accident. Please pray for this family in their time of grief. I love his music, and while I don't know him personally, just the thought of anyone's family having to go through a loss like that is terrible.

Very busy!

Don't think I've forgotten about blogging. It's just a busy week, with Mommy coming up and the party this weekend. I'll drop by again in the next couple days to check in.

Household musings

Well, we have a birthday party next week. A big party! Family alone makes 14. Michael has 20 kids in his class, including him. So, we're talking a lot of folks running around. The kids spend their time catching frogs, playing yard games, and throwing water balloons. The adults spend their time relaxing while watching that no one falls in the pond.

Now, I have to pull the house together, cook for all these people, and not overwhelm myself. Piece of cake! I have an easy menu planned. The hardest thing will be the vegan lasagna, and that took all of 20 minutes to put together and get in the oven last time. I'll make those the night before. I am going to make a cobbler to go with the chocolate birthday cake (non-dairy, of course) I have ordered. We'll have hot dogs and hamburgers (everything bought on sale), salad, and water and lemonade. Easy! Several family members are bringing dishes to pass also. My project for this week is to not only get the house party ready, but to get it Mommy ready.

That's right, my mommy is coming to visit! I can't wait. Between her medical issues this year and mine, we haven't seen each other since New Years. This is unheard of for us. We talk on the phone almost every day. We didn't always have a good relationship, but time and maturing (on my part) have fixed that.

I'm working on getting my household notebook together this week too. I've decided that I need that for the next time, if there is one, that I'm sick. Things will run much more smoothly if I have everything written out for folks instead of trying to tell them what's going on in my muddled head. lol Plus, it's a great place to keep everything organized and in place. I have a separate one for recipes though. We are trying new vegan or vegetarian ones every day.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my evening. We're having a nice quiet day relaxing. Sundays are filled with church and getting together for the week. Saturdays, John and I just relax and take things as they come. I made some veggie fried rice for dinner, and he had leftovers from his dinner last night with Katelyn. We ended up not going out. I'm still on the Booty Camp, plus it's so hard to eat out. Try handing them my allergy list! lol I'm always amazed that I don't just get handed a glass of water and shown the door when I tell the folks at restaurants what I can and cannot eat.

Another busy day

Michael was sick today. I did still take him to see his dad for the weekend though. It was just tummy trouble. John and Katelyn went to dinner together for some father/daughter bonding time. By the time I dropped Mikey off, I had enough bonding time. lol KIDDING! I love spending time with my kids and hate to see them go to their other parents' houses. I don't want to share!

I've been keeping busy, but today I was just tired. I need to sleep in tomorrow. I have all this stuff I want to get done. Sometimes getting the energy is difficult. But, tomorrow is another day. At least I'm not feeling ill at all, just tired. It has been a big week, and as several people keep telling me, I'm still healing. I just HATE that limitation.

Over the next couple weeks, I'm going to change the tags and structure of the blog. I'm all over the place with it, and I want to be more organized with it. I don't want to make it hard for folks to get anything out of it. Plus, I'm trying to learn some of the more advanced features. I'll get this tricked out! My goal is to have it as well organized as some of the blogs I really love.

Well, off to watch Numbers, a show DH and I watch together on Fridays, and then to bed. Watching our show together is kind of like a mini-date. I love it! And I love him!

Busy day

Today was grocery day. I had to get stuff for Mikey's birthday party. The store had a lot of stuff we needed on sale, so I bought about half of what we need. It's going to be a great time.

I've been really busy. Life keeps me on my toes. The school banquet was fun. We had some great speakers, alumni of the school, who really brought home the importance of Christian education. We didn't raise all the money we thought we would, but it's ok. God will provide. He always does.

I'm tired, so I'm going to head off to bed now. Have a good night!

A Wednesday of Worship

Today, I just want to tell you all how good God is. That's all. Nothing else. Just He is so good.

Psalm 9 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society



Psalm 9
For the director of music. To the tune of "The Death of the Son." A psalm of David.
1 [a]I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.

4 For you have upheld my right and my cause;
you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.

5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.

6 Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.

7 The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.

8 He will judge the world in righteousness;
he will govern the peoples with justice.

9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.

10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.

12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

13 O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

14 that I may declare your praises
in the gates of the Daughter of Zion
and there rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

16 The LORD is known by his justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
Higgaion. [b] Selah

17 The wicked return to the grave, [c]
all the nations that forget God.

18 But the needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.

19 Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.

20 Strike them with terror, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but men.
Selah

Hot Date Tonight!

Just don't tell my husband. KIDDING! Anyone who knows me knows I adore my husband. He can still take my breath away just by looking at me. And he thinks I'm still cute! lol

We're heading to the banquet for the kids' school. I'm dressing up and even wearing make-up, which I almost never do. We were going to go out Saturday to celebrate our anniversary early, but I've changed his mind. It's too hard with my allergies, and I really don't want to spend the money right now. We have a big birthday party for Mike next weekend. Instead, he's going to cook with me. So, tonight is my dress up and wow my hubby night.

Short blog today. I have to go get ready.

Menu Mondays

Another Monday means another start to a wild week. I'm doing a 10 day Booty Camp at Marilu.com, so I'm eating a little differently today. I am eating 5 mini-meals a day at three hour intervals. Today, I started with an orange and 10 almonds, then moved on to a bowl of cereal. After that, I had 2T of hummus with veggies, and last, I had vegan lasagna that Mike and I made last night and a big salad. Yummy! The vegan lasagna was a big hit and Katelyn didn't believe that there was tofu in it. It's awesome!

Tomorrow, John and I are going to the banquet for the kids' school. I'm doing the silent auction. I made up the baskets today. Wow. That was a lot of work. lol Hopefully, the chef can do something vegan with no onions for me. We asked if it could happen, but I don't know what he said. If not, I'll be sure to just eat salad and get something when I get home. He's supposed to be a really good chef, so I have faith. lol The kids asked if they could have something fun, so I'll give them corn dogs and salad. They've asked for sherbert for dessert.

Wednesday is church night. I try to have something easy and quick. I'll do grilled chicken and a salad. I'll have to skip the chicken though. I still can't eat a lot of animal protein without getting sick.

Thursday will be portabella mushroom hamburgers. We use the mushrooms instead of meat, marinate them, and throw them on the grill. They are delicious. I have to leave off the bun on mine.

Friday will be leftovers for John and me. No kiddos on the weekend so we can finish off whatever we couldn't force, no, con, no, persuade them to eat.

Saturday, John is taking me out for an early anniversary celebration. I'm not allowed to know where he is taking me. Geesh! He did that with our honeymoon too. He found a great B&B in South Haven. I had no idea where we were going until we were there. It was so fun! He planned out the whole weekend. Isn't my hubby the best!

Sunday, hmmmmm. Sunday will be grilled chicken for the fam, grilled fish for me. Garlicky Ginger Lime marinade. I'll grill veggies also to go along with it.

Now, I just have to write this down before I forget! hehehe

Have a good day tomorrow everyone. I'm going to post, hopefully, early so I don't have to do that after the banquet. I know I'll be tired.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Mother's Day! We had a great day here. Just rest and relax and enjoy your family. I know I will.

I was trying to find a nice picture to put on here, but I have a vegan lasagna in the oven I need to go check on. See ya!

Pain at the pump

Well, I'm just floored at the gas prices we are paying now. We're sticking close to home nowadays. But, the price is still causing pain in our pocketbooks. It looks like I'm going to end up getting a part time or online job/freelancing to bring in the extra funds. We're already conserving, although not as much as we probably should be. That will change. We are also going to have to kick it up a notch in the frugal department. I'm trying to figure out ways to cut expenses and stretch our dollars. We have no choice. How are you all doing with the gas prices? I've heard from several friends about their pain. One is staying at her mother's during the week because her mom lives closer and it's too expensive to drive home every day. I'm going to have to go back to one day a week of driving around, instead of grocery shopping on Thursdays and dropping off the kids on Fridays. Now, I'll have to get it all done in one day. That means being in the car upwards of 6 hours, but we will do what we have to do. I love country living. We're just so far away from everything!

On a health note, I'm ok. Not good, but ok. I'm tired a lot lately and I have a few of my old symptoms. But you know what? I know I'm healed and I'm standing on that. I just have to stop trying to let things slip. I'm seriously considering wiping out all animal products except eggs and honey. I just don't do as well when I have meat. Next week at Marilu.com, I'll be doing a 10 day booty camp. We just kick it up into a higher gear, and get really serious.

Otherwise, I'm just busy busy busy! I have a show on Mother's Day and the school banquet on Tuesday. So much to do! I'm sorry I'll be hit or miss, but life is just that way sometimes. lol

random musings

I'm still kinda blah from the detox but feeling much better. The awful muscle soreness is almost gone. I must admit. I almost went back to drinking coffee. If I had access to my coffee pot, I'd have made a whole big ole pot and had a blast! But, I resisted. It wasn't so much the coffee that I missed, it was that the detox was bad. Then again, I drank so much coffee that I think the local grocery store will miss the revenue. lol Even my mother can't believe I gave up caffeine. I do still get some from green tea, but it's not nearly as much and it is much better for me.

I have so much to get done! Life is piling up. Plus, I may have a chance to meet someone from Marilu.com. Another board member is coming to my neck of the woods. I hope we get to meet. It doesn't seem like there's a lot of folks from Michigan on the boards. I'm not sure what that means. lol

I have a long blog entry I'm working on. It will have to be done tomorrow (I hope). I want to take my time and get my verses all together and everything. I'm going to head off to bed now. I am still fighting off whatever this cold is - detox or just a cold. It's going to be even better tomorrow. I will be just about healthy from it. I kept John up last night, though. I hate being really congested. It just ticks off my asthma and I end up gasping for air and choking over and over in the night. Poor thing. He should sleep better tonight. I'm no where near as bad as I was last night.

You know what I miss? I miss my friends I used to work with. I miss being able to prank them. There was this one time that Ms T. went out of town. Well, she came back to her cubicle being completely, um, wrapped. I wrapped her monitor and chair in saran wrap, hung streamers all over, stiched up the walls (they were fabric covered and if you used straight pins and thread, you could lace together a spiderweb type closure for the cubicle), then filled up the cubicle with balloons. Now, don't worry. Ms T. got me back. When John and I were married, she filled up our truck with rice, paper shreds and fake spiders during the reception. I mean, filled up! There were three big black trash bags of paper shreds compliments of our job and at least 10 pounds of rice in there. Or was that payback for what Ms L and I did to Ms T's honeymoon suite during her wedding reception? Hmmm... I think I just need someone else to prank. That's all. I need to figure out something for John. A good prank for him. What can I do!

Coffee detox

I'm kind of miserable right now. I didn't realize detoxing from coffee could be so miserable. I have not had any coffee starting this past Monday. I know detox should be around 7 days. Believe me, I'm counting down! lol I think I'm also fighting off a cold, but it could be the detox. Oh well. I know I will be so much better off without the caffiene in my life. I am determined to be rid of this addiction.

So, I'll do my big post tomorrow or Saturday, depending on how I'm feeling. I'm just ready to go to bed now and curl up with some good Nyquil to get rid of this congestion and pain. I'll update you all later about how this coffee free life goes. I'm also trying to figure out how to focus my blog more. I'm kinda all over the place with this now.