Friend Makin Monday!

When I remember... I like to take part in "Friend Makin Monday's". It's fun to read what other's have to say about the current topic... today it's appropriately the 4th of July!!! Shawn from Seriously is our host today... :)

Here are our questions of the day....

What are you doing this July 4th?? This year we're going to be up in MI for our family vacation. My parents are camping "up north" so we're going to join them for a day at the beach and a campfire cookout. My sister and her family are also up there camping so they'll get to join us! I grew up camping over the 4th so I"m excited to "relive" some of those memories. No fireworks this year though... it's a small town and near impossible to get around on the 4th.

What is your favorite dish to pass when attending a 4th of July party or summer barbecue?

I'm a dessert person... I love to bake. I just canned some fresh tart cherries, so this year it's going to be a fresh cherry pie. Also some star shaped brownies. I don't have anything specific... usually things my kids will eat :).

Do you have any July 4th traditions? Last year we helped out with our church's HUGE summer outreach - Food, Fun, and Fireworks. When we're home here in OH, we'll probably volunteer to help with that. When we're not home... it's usually a picnic and a family day at the beach.

Share your favorite July 4th picture. Horror of horror's... I don't have any handy! We lost a bunch of pics on our computer so needless to say, I have nothing from past 4th of July celebrations. Watch for some next week though... if I get a chance!

Have fun on your 4th everyone - be safe and ENJOY! Remember our troops as you celebrate the freedoms that we are blessed with.

I think I'm in love....

With this.....

BATTER BLASTER!!!!!!!!

We discovered this the other day while shopping at Whole Foods. The little sample dude wassharing these lovelies with those willing to try.

I thought - pancakes in a aerosol can?? GROSS! Who would waste their hard earned money on something as gimmicky as this? IDIOTS!

Well... apparently I'm on of those idiots :). They're great! SO easy to make... open the cap, shake, shake, shake... the squirt. AWESOME! They taste so yummy... even without syrup!

So, I thought I would share my latest love with you all.... :) ENJOY!

Monday, June 22, 2009...

Outside my window... sunny blue sky with a few fair weather clouds... PERFECT!!!

I am thinking... about how crazy this week is getting to be. WIth a funeral, visitation, play

date - things are "filling" up quickly!

I am thankful for... the willingness of friends to help out when help is needed. :)

From the kitchen... burgers on the grill tonight... then beyond that I'm not sure. Depends on funeral plans and visitation. Probably easy and kid friendly stuff this week!

I am wearing... my swimsuit and cover up dress. We JUST got back from 2 1/2 hours of bliss at the pool. No fighting... no bickering... no whining... just pure fun. YEAH!!

I am reading... "Dakota Born" by Debbie MacComber (I think I spelled her name wrong...). It's a great trilogy of books... I really like her as an author... easy to read and pleasant stories.

I am hoping... to get SOMETHING accomplished in my house today. It's a MESS!

I am creating... nothing much right now. With the three kids home now for summer... they are taking ALL of my energy and attention.

I am praying.... for grandpa. Now with grandma gone (in heaven PRAISE THE LORD!) his health isn't doing so great. I'm praying that the Lord will call him home... sounds strange, but he's over 90 years old. They were married for over 70 years (WOW!!!). He would be so much happier if they could be together again...

Around the house... I am stressed over the state of my home right now. It NEVER gets this messy! WOWZERS.... the kids have toys from top to bottom... and clothes too. Time to get it back in ship shape order! Beyond that... I need to put up our monogram that I ordered from Etsy (LOVE THAT WEBSITE!!) in our master bedroom...

One of my favorite things... watching the kids catch lightening bugs at night... it's almost time!! :)

A few plans for the rest of the week... as said before, funeral stuff... we'd like to get to the pool again, workout at least 3 more days, get to the market...

That's about it for around here. Nothing too exciting... thankfully. :) We leave for vacay in a little over a week - VERY excited for that! We get to see some good friends who are missionaries in Papua New Guinea - it's been over 4 years! YEAH! :)

If you'd like to join "us" in sharing about your simple day... please do! Check it out here for more info!

Interesting read....

Right now I'm reading this book....

For quite some time now I've been feeling really tired and blah. I've been working out and

not seeing ANY results. So I decided to read up on Jillian Michaels latest book. TOTALLY INTERESTING! She list several health things that you could be feeling related to your metabolism. I checked off all but 2! CRAZY!

So now I'm wondering how legit this is. She suggests eating food without toxins (aka ORGANIC), using cleaning supplies (and other household items) without toxins, and being as natural as possible.

With a pure diet and regular exercise you can get your metabolism back on track.... producing the correct amount of certain vitamins and minerals in your body.

So... just thinking of switching over completely to organic has me stressed. We aren't junk food junkies like we used to be... but my kids like certain things a certain way. I would say we are addicted to sugar (time to be honest...) and that needs to change. I feel kind of clueless as to how to make this adjustment to out diet.

If any of you out there in "blogland" have any suggestions... or any words of wisdom - PLEASE SHARE! I'm so close to jumping on the bandwagon of natural and organic... but not quite there yet.

Changing old habits really sucks. That's all I can say... :)

Playing tag.....

My friend Kelli tagged me in this fun "game"!  The rules are pretty easy to follow…The person who has been tagged lists 6 things about herself then tags 6 other people who do the same.

1.  I LOVE to garden.  It's kind of a new thing for me... I've always enjoyed getting dirt under my nails, but knowing that things we grow can feed us too.... GENIUS! :)  Someday I would LOVE to have an acre or more to have a HUGE garden....

2.  I could live at the beach.  Seriously... I love it.  Growing up, we lived about 25 minutes from Lake Michigan so we were there a lot.  I miss having a large body of water close... this is the first time in my life that I have lived away from something that is so soothing to me.  

3.  My family spent 6 months in Central Africa doing short term missions with some friends.  It was a LONG time ago... but my memories are still very vivid.  If you ever have an opportunity to take a trip to a foreign (think third world) country... TAKE IT!  It will change your life!

4.  I love celebrations... birthday, holidays, just because.  I love to plan the food, games, whatever else is involved.  Sometimes I think I go overboard... but it makes me so happy to see people enjoying themselves.  

5.  There is just something about a cheeseburger that gets my tastebuds ready to go.  I LOVE THEM!  Especially with bacon... mmmmmmm!  This time of year is perfect for making cheeseburgers... I might just have one tonight :)!

6.  This is kind of random... but I love the "old fashioned" hymns.  I grew up in a conservative Baptist church so all we had were hymns.  Praise songs of today are annoying to me... Jesus is NOT by boyfriend - He is my God and Saviour.  My favorite hymns.... "It is well with my soul" and "Power in the blood".  AMAZING songs....!  

Now for people to tag.... being that I'm kind of new to this blog thing, not sure if I have 6 to pass it too... but I'll try :)

my political blogging friend

jen

Okay, so I'll start with 2... :) (the kids are getting antsy...)

Monday, June 1...2009

Outside my window...  sunny with a few clouds.  A bit chilly this morning... but it's supposed to warm up!

I am thinking...  about what to do today.  Not sure what yet - besides laundry.  Maybe start my NEXT project!

I am thankful for...  our church and my girlfriends.  I hosted a girls night on Friday night and really enjoyed getting to know some of them better.  LOTS of laughs!!

From the kitchen...  lemon zucchini muffins, steak, freshly picked lettuce, crab cakes... all on the menu this week!

I am wearing...  khaki capris, purple tank (found it yesterday for CHEAP at old navy!)... probably flip flops (what else is there, right??)!

I am going...  to the loony farm - it's been a LONG morning and it's only 9:30!!

 
I am reading...  "Throw out 50 Things" by Gail Blanke.  Just started it last night, but so far, so good!

I am hoping...  for some rain this week - our grass is SO dry!  BUT... for sunshine tomorrow for R's zoo field trip!

I am hearing...  my favorite country station (92.3 WCOL).  I won tickets to their summer concert "party" last week - 5th ROW!  WOOHOO!!

Around the house...  not to trashed from the weekend (MIRACLE) so basically laundry and tossing out my 50 things (see what I'm reading...)!

One of my favorite things...  Andy's new chair from Ikea... we went down on Saturday and got it for him.  Might have to get a second for myself!  LOVE IT!

A few plans for the rest of the week:  get to the Y at least 4 days this week, paint our small bathroom "vanity" cabinet, maybe try to get to the pool...

What's going on in YOUR neck of the woods?  Join us here....