Friday Freebie!

It's Frrrrrrrrrriiiiday!!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you made it through ANOTHER week. Congratulations to you! You deserve a prize. That's why we do what we do here, every Friday, and give somethign away. To reward you for hiking up your britches and trudging through another week.

Isn't this pretty???


I love it. I do, I do. I know you will, too. Or maybe you'd like this a bit better?


Either way - you can pick - it isn't up to me. I'm not hosting the Freebie this week. Nope. Put on your Crab Goggles and go visit Khadra to see what's up for grabs this week! Just click on those purdy goggless to be instantly transported and we'll see ya next week for a verrrrry interesting giveaway. *wink* Have a Friday!

Dear Girls of Mine:

I have a few things I've been wanting to discuss with you for some time now. You're getting older and you're in public school - which means you're being exposed to things at an alarming rate. And by alarming I mean "HOLY CRAP, where did you get that?!"

You've been wanting to expand your horizons as of late - and we've let you plead your case on some things. See, we're fair parents and believe that if we're wrong, we'll admit it. We're rarely wrong, though, so it's hard for us to recognize when it does occur. For instance, sleepovers. Up until a few months ago the pat answer for you sleeping somewhere or your friends sleeping here was a resounding 'No.'. You both begged (Sienna moreso than Cara) and pleaded with us. We maintained our stance but told you if you could convince us otherwise, we'd relent. Well, kudos to you because you've now both been on and had sleepovers. A victory for you.

You've brought home some interesting music lately. And by interesting I mean, "What in the hell is this garbage?" You sing lyrics to me that you don't understand but that are so filthy they make me cringe. You want to be able to sing these songs. THIS is the music your friends listen to! I implored you to tell me one redeeming thing about this music. Oh, sweet Sienna...*sigh* you brought out the "Everybody at my school istens to it." card. That card NEVER works.

1) If everyone else is doing it, then you most certainly won't be because I really don't approve of everybody else. I'm a snob.

2) Everyone else is NOT doing it. ONE person you know is and it just seems like everyone because your world is very small.

Guys - mommy is not a moron. She isn't new at this. As hard as it is to believe, she was a kid once, too. I know, back when dinosaurs roamed but me and the ole T-Rex? We tried all the same things you are and will. We're wise to you - hip to your ways. I know you love it when I talk like that.

That skirt that is too short? I threw it out. The shirt that says it's all about you? It isn't, so I felt like it was false advertising which is the same as lying so I got rid of it. Your friends' CD that was talking about going low and shaking your thang? It's gone, too. And by gone I mean "Whoosh! Check out those flames!"

Just to recap:

1) Everybody is NOT doing it, and if they are then they're all a bunch of morons. But since I'm not everybody elses mother, it's not my problem.

2) Mommy is not a moron. Even though you will believe that she is until after you have children and realize the cold, hard truth.

3) If you dig that skirt and shirt out of the garbage and change into it at school? I will come to your class and dance like no one is watching. Every day for a week. With a sign on my back that says I am YOUR mom. I'll even make a youtube video if you keep pushing.

4) I love you. And by that I mean, "I love you."

Peace out.

Mom

Under Review

- I just finished this book and found it to be delicious. Delicious in the way that The Nanny Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada were delicious. Good read.

- I had been wanting to try this for-ev-ah. I love me some magic eraser, man. I expected nothing less than MAGIC from my favorite bald headed cleaning genie. Alas, I was sorely disappointed. Save your $13 and just get a swiffer mop, they work the same IMO. What color would 'not impressed' be?

- Again, I'd been wanting to try mineral make-up for awhile. But, being cheap & poor thrifty and on a budget, I hesitated to plunk down the cashola required for the good stuff. After Christmas I splurged on the Maybelline version in a kit form that came with concealer, base foundation and finishing powder. Love it. I can't remember what I spent, exactly, but it was less that $20 for the kit. Well worth it. Now, I can't compare it to the Bare Essentials stuff, but I really like the way this stuff works for me. Conclusion: worth the money.



I am always on the look-out for artists that my girls can safely listen to. You know, artists that don't sing about their milkshakes and backing their thang up? We really like Barlow Girl and ZoeGirl. Superchick is awesome, in our book, too. Since my girls are young - they really dig girl singers like Avril, Kelly, Miley and Rhianna. I have to closely monitor those artists, though, because they get a bit too risque for us. I found one the other night that I am IN LOVE with. She might not be new to you, but this is the first time I've heard her. She rocks. *I* want her CD and Sienna thinks she's pretty darn amazing, too. Check out Hallelujah or rock out to Make Some Noise. (Sorry about that video quality up there. All the good ones had embedding disabled.)

Ok. Glad I got all of that off my chest. Hey, next week I'm going to have a little blog carnival - recipe carnival - whatever. Find your favorite chili recipe and get ready, ok? Sweet.

Have a day. Me and the McClingy twins are going to try and get the dishes done.

Git 'er Done

Last Tuesday you all asked how I was able to get so much done with a baby and a toddler. Yeah, AND? I worked 8 hours that day. Go on - pat me on the back and stuff. I'll wait. *drums fingers*

Ready? Ok.

So you asked how I was able to get it done so I have compiled some pictures of my secret weapons for you. You go ahead and watch and then you, too, can be productive young grasshopper.

Good Day.







P.S. I feel the need to make sure you know that this post is supposed to be humorous. I don't REALLY employ all of the methods I pictured. I am ethically and morally - fundamentally, even, opposed to the use of baby swings. *wink*

I'll take Day-to-Day Drivel for $300, Alex

Mmm..yellow rice & black beans for breakfast. Delish.

*-----------------------------------------------------------*

We're headed out the door here in a bit to take the boys to the doctor. Time to see if they don't need some help getting over the hump, too. Corbs broke out in a rash today so I suspect his is all viral and the Dr will say - "There's nothing I can do, but thanks for the $20 co-pay!"

Did I tell you that I went to the clinic on Saturday? Oh..I think I forgot. Well, I did. The weird dr. that barely looked at me, didn't touch my mongo lymph nodes and spent 3 minutes with me diagnosed me with a sinus infection. He prescribed Amoxicillin and sent me on my way. Eh, whatever. If it's viral it isn't going to matter and if it's bacterial then the drugs will help. I've HAD sinus infections before - they feel worse than this. So, I take the Amox and break out in this ithy rash - oh! *clap clap* Yay! An allergic reaction! Slammed myself a double shot of benadryl and called for a new RX. I start Zithromax today.

*-----------------------------------------------------------*

I've been kind of spiritually hibernating for awhile now. For the first little while I was hurt and licking my wounds. Then I went with anger and indignation. After that I alternated between feigned indifference andbursts of blind faith. Decided that wasn't working for me so I went back to emo mode and put my woes on my sleeve for all the world to see my grief. This last little bit I've just been I dunno...here. I tried on all those previously worn outfits of emotion and none of them fit anymore. So I've just beeen inactive. A spiritual slug, if you will.

I've been feeling a tug, lately, and last night I think God called me out. I think He told me that enough was enough. Time to put on my big girl panties and get over myself. The whale is getting ready to spit me out, and I dunno if I'm ready. I'm uncomfortable and cold. I like warm and comfort. *sigh*

Is it bad to sing C'mon Baby Light My Fire to God? Time to set the night on...fire! Wonder if God listens to the Doors? (I don't LIKE the doors, ROB, I just know the song.) When I was singing "Give me Something to Believe In" was God listening? I didn't know He liked 80's Hair Bands. Probably it was this song or maybe even this one.

Eh - Probably was the Poison one. God meets us where we are and I'm clearly stuck in the past trying to figure out how to get a wrong righted when it never can be. I always tell Rob - 'Either you Believe, or you don't. Either you have Faith, or you don't. There's no middle.' Time to man up, I guess.

"I want to start it over, I want to start again, I want a new beginning, one without an end...I feel it inside, calling out to me..."

To Know Me is To Love Me

So I saw this new little Blog carnival over at another Heidi's place and after investigating, decided it'd be fun to play along - you should come play too!


Kasey (who is ADORABLE, btw) over at All that is Good
thought it would be fun to have a 'getting to know you' kind of blog carnival on Monday's. Every Monday is a different activity/theme. This week she said:

List 10 random things about yourself that people might not know or you just want to share

I've already shared 6 Random Things in a tag, a couple of months ago, so I'll try not to repeat myself.

1. I like salt on my cantaloupe. It's the salty/sweet contrast, yk? Like dipping fries in my frosty at Wendy's? Or pretzels in my ice cream. All very yummy things.

2. When I open a new jar of peanut butter I have to take a spoon and take a bite out of it. Well, I DID have to until B had peanut issues, anyway.

3. I MUST have something to drink at all hours. All day and even all t hrough the night, too. This drives my husband insane. I will drink a full bottle of water throughout the night and sometimes even get up to refill it. I've always been this way; in fact, it's probably why I let all of my kids go to bed with cups of water.

4. I'm not a fan of dogs. Don't judge me. They annoy me with their slobber and licking and barking. Ew. The only exception to the rule is puppies. WHo, unfortunately, grow up to be dogs.

5. I use deodorant on my legs. Not because I have sweaty legs, but after I shave. I even have a separate deodorant *just* for my legs. It helps with any sort of razor burn or irritation from shaving you might get. Try it. You'll see.

6. I love to argue but I hate to fight. I know, I know - what's the difference, right? There's a difference though. I love to PLAYFULLY argue and engage in witty banter and discussion - I do NOT like when things get ugly and tend to flee the scene.

7. I make my husband kiss me goodbye whenever he leaves the house. Look, if it's the LAST time I ever see him I want the last interaction we had to be loving, yk?


Gosh - this is HARD - I can't think of anything else!!

8. I have a gift for remembering song lyrics from songs I haven't heard in 20 years. I can't remember PEOPLE or EVENTs but song lyrics? Oh yeah babe.

9. I'm not done having kids. I don't know if we'll have more biologically or if we'll adopt (which I'd LOVE to do) or maybe we'll just do foster care after the kids are older. Either way, I know that I'm meant to have more kids in some way.


Man...I'm coming up BLANK.

10. OK..I'm gonna break out my super secret fantasy. Once a year I'd like to run away for a long weekdn, alone. I'd stay in a hotel and I'd hardly ever leave the room except to get a facial and food. Maybe sit in the hot tub. I'd eat junk food and watch crappy movies. I'd sleep whenever I wanted. And I wouldn't feel guilty about it, at all.

There ya go. 10 (plus the other 6 if you read those!) random things about me. Play along and go link up over at Kasey's!!

Not Me! Monday - the TV Edition

Come live in denial with us over at MckMama's place.

Disclaimer: None of the things I am about to talk about happened. And, if by some weird cosmic chance they did happen, I just wanna state for the record...



I do NOT watch too much TV.

I do NOT get waaaaay too into my shows.

I do NOT feel like I have some sort of weird, sick relationship with the CHARACTERS (not actors...characters) of these shows.

I do NOT have conversations in my head wherein I tell them how to fix the situation they're in or, yk, something.

I do NOT wish that ER would hurry up and die already, even though I just can't look away from the TV.

I do NOT think that Christina was COMPLETELY justified in being severely ticked off at Meredith. Meredith totally left her hanging and let Christina take ALL the blame.

I do NOT think McSteamy is..uh..steamy. *cough cough*

Even though I LOVE me some Denny, I am NOT glad that little storyline is over. Weirdness personified.

I do NOT wish that Pete and Violet would end up together and that the baby is HIS.

I do NOT think Addison is being an idiot.

I do NOT miss Grissom and think the show is gonna tank without him.

I do NOT think that the storyline with Edie's husband wanting to kill Mike is dragging on too long, already.

I do NOT think that Wisteria Lane is getting boring and needs a scandal like in the beginning to shake it all up.

I do NOT think CJ is a total poser and can't even walk the walk.

I do NOT think that the whole group of them are way to narcisistic to EVER get the concept of the show.

I did NOT cry at nearly every non-reality show I watched this week. That's ridiculous. They're just shows.

*phew* I feel better. How about you?

Word to Your Mother

There's this little Blogthing that I saw somewhere today that tells you, based on a few questions, what word best describes you. Obviously it's not scientific or even factual, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Your Word is "Fearless"

You see life as your one chance to experience everything, and you just go for it! You believe the biggest risk is being afraid and missing out on something amazing. Sometimes your fearlessness means you're daring. You enjoy risky activities. And sometimes your fearlessness means you're courageous. You're brave enough to do the right thing, even when it's scary.

What's Your Word?

Fearless, huh? Shameless, maybe, but fearless? Really?

"Me? I'm scared of everything! I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you!" (oooh! Name that movie.)

Maybe if we break it down, yk, etymologically it'll make more sense to me.

Fear: To be scared

Less: Not more.

So I'm not without fear - I'm scared less than other people. Hmmm...maybe. Still not buying it, though. Maybe it's my goal word? My "Word for the Year" that I'm supposed to focus on and try to become more in tune with?

Eh. This is taking too much thought. What about you? What was your word? Does it describe you, do ya think?

Friday Freebie Winner!!

According to random.org - the winner of this week's Friday Freebie is the person that said..

"Peanut butter anything. cups, m&m's, anything. That and kettle corn popcorn."

That's right..a Domestically Challenged Spazzy Runner won this week.

Congrats!! Email me your mailing info and I will get that in the mail later in the week!!

Thanks for playin' - see ya again NEXT Friday!

Feeling Scrappy Today?

Morning!

Hey, my friend Jennie is having a giveaway at her place today. Do you scrap? She is giving away the MOTHERLODE. Just click on the picture of her super cute boys and enter to win!!

Friday Freebie!

Man, this kind of snuck up on me this week. I mean, obviously I knew it was coming because, yk, it comes EVERY week. I am just completely unprepared for it this week.

We're still gonna do it though - it's tradition! It's routine! It's necessary! Friday = free stuff at Sacred & Profane. I have to pay ya'll to keep being my friends for another week, after all.

I don't have a picture of today's freebie for you, because I haven't gotten it yet. But I know what I want to get and I know where I need to get it from. You know you want it. C'mon, doesn't the air of mystery make it even all the more interesting?!

To enter just leave me a comment and tell me your biggest junk food weakness. Mine is potato chips, in case you're new here. Used to be Oreo's back when I could eat 'em. Stupid potato chips. Yeah. So anyway. Tell me your biggest junk food weakness and how you eat it. I have a friend that hides in her closet and eats chips and dip so she won't have to share it with her kids. Isn't that terrible? LOL Spill it.

For another entry, snag one of my buttons and either put it on your sidebar or do a blog entry about Friday Freebie. If you already have me in your sidebar, that counts, too, just let me know.

I'll draw the winner tomorrow!

Thanks for reading for another week!




CONTEST ENDED 11:00am MST

Sweet Ninja Skills, Dude

Thought I was doing well. Thought I was on the mend. Note to self: stop thinking.

Last night we went grocery shopping, um, as a big ole family cause Rob's van is broke down and we're now a 1 van fam. Yay us. *clap clap clap*

Anywho.

Waiting to go shopping, all of the sudden my throat started to kill and I could feel the waterfall of sinus drainage down the back of it. At Walmart, suddenly my entire body started aching. My finger joints ached, you guys. I'm not playin' here. By the time I finished all my shifts and got into bed at 11, I was shaking and shivering. Fuh-reezing. I slept fully clothed with a heating pad.

My head hurt, my body hurt, my sinuses were draining like a Hawaiian waterfall. My throat was KILLING me and my eyes were burning. Die. Just let me die. I feel the same way today as I did last night. I just wanna go to bed and sleep.

Snuck up on me like some sort of viral Ninja and "Hi-YAH!" attacked me. I was mugged by a virus. Didn't see it coming. Thought I had the upper hand. WHAM! The ultimate fighting championship title goes to - GERMS!

Super Sweet Ninja Skills, Dude.

Star Bellied Leeches

Let me preface this..crud..my finger slipped off the key cause of the grease from the potato chips..hang on while I wipe it up...ok...what was I talking abotu? Oh. Let me preface this by saying that I love my children .. NAY...I adoooore my children. Ain't nuttin' I won't do fer 'em.

But.

Some days?

At the end of the day?

I feel like they've done sucked the very life from my body and I can't go on any longer. Like I could just collapse on the floor, in a screaming heaping puddle of goo.

Did I mention I'm eating Potato chips? Mmm. Hard to type while I'm eating them so I'm gonna go watch Grey's Anatomy from last week and get caught up. Cause the little leeches are all passed out now. Shhh..if you wake them? I'll kill you.

Not Me! Monday

It's Monday. On Mondays we take a few minutes to deny knowledge of activites that people MAY think we took part in over the past week. Why do we do this? Well, to keep our dignity in tact, of course. People simply can NOT walk around thinking we've been party to any foolishness, such as the following purely hypothetical example:

I most certainly did NOT inadvertantly eat a booger off of Corban's finger. If I did, it may have went something like this: He had his finger extended and was saying (what I THOUGHT was) owww! I said "Do I need to kiss it?" He said yes. I kissed his finger. It tasted salty. He plunged his finger back up his nose and came out with another gem and said (what I NOW realize is) eewwwww!. Not that any of that happened. Ya know... Cause it didn't.

If you feel that you need more examples, you can head over to McKMama's place for a humongous list.

Menu Plan Monday

Turkey Bone Soup (Didn't get to this last week)
Ravioli, Green Beans
Popcorn, Fruit Fondue, Veggies & Dip (Cara) (Didn't get to this last week, either)
Either BBQ Lentils or Honey Baked Lentils & Rice with steamed veggies
Chili & Cornbread
CP Roast, potatoes, Carrots
Mac n Cheese, Steamed Veggies, Fries
Lemon Pepper Chicken Breasts, Pasta, Veggies
Stir Fry
Lentil Soup
Steak, Potatoes, Salad
Burritos (Sienna)
Leftovers

I miss fresh veggies. Can't wait for spring/summer!

Go check out other menus at http://www.orgjunkie.com.

The Continuing Relationship Pontification

Remember when we had this conversation earlier in the week? It was over at Rob's blog, for the most part. He's posted a follow up and linked to a follow up by another blogger.

Lookit all those links. Eeep! Go check out Rob's place and go from there. Finish what you started!

Tell Me Why

Do you ever wonder why people follow your blog? Surely I'm not alone in this? Some people are obvious - I mean, I pay them. HA! Kidding. No, but some people I get and others I don't. Not that I don't welcome any and all followers, some just throw me for a loop.

On the flip side, I'm sure there are some people wondering why *I* follow *their* blog. So..I'll tell ya why.

If I decide to follow a blog it is generally because of one of three reasons.

1) I've read you and found you funny, insightful, irreverent, or all of the above.
2) You follow my blog and comment regularly and I believe in reciprocity.
3) Your name is heidi. I'm obsessed.

Recently I deleted the blogroll on my left sidebar. I also stopped reading quite a few of the blogs. Why? Well - I think we have to prune and throw out the clutter every once in awhile. There were quite a few blogs that I read and commented on regularly, and never once saw those people come over to my place. My time is valuable to me. I don't have the time and energy to invest in people that are not interested in or willing to invest the same time in me. So, I stopped reading them and deleted the links. (I did add a bunch of them to my 'Blogs I Follow' list, though.) As it is, I already follow over 60 blogs regularly. That's a lot of readin'.

So, now I want you to tell me: why do you follow/read the blogs you follow/read? Not specifically MINE but ANY of them. What about links or buttons in your sidebar? How do you decide who gets that place of honor?

Delicious, Delectable and Deeeeelightful!

I accepted an invitation to particiapte in a challenge. Yeah, that's right. "Challenge Me!", I said. "Show me the money!", I yelled. "Bring it on!", and I added a fist pump. Or, yk, not.

The challenge is simple. You leave a comment at the bottom of this post. I will then give you a letter from the alphabet in which you are to post ten things you like that start with this letter and why. Lisa over at Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy gave me the letter D.

So, here are 10 of my favorite things that start with the letter 'D' (in no particular order):

D is for Daddy: Oh, I LURVE my daddy! Technically, he's my step-dad but technicalities are deceiving. He's my daddy, through and through. I just love him to pieces and bits. I've forbidden him to die, so he will live forever and I will never have to experience the utter heartbreak of losing him. (D is also for delusional!)

D is for Dad: Yes, I know I already said daddy but this is my dad. He wasn't always one of my favorite things. Well, I suppose he was until I was old enough to realize what a schmuck he was, then he wasn't for a very long time. Now, we've grown up and reunited. Changes were made. Apologies and forgiveness. He moved across the country to be near me and my kids (and then we moved to a different city, which I'm sure he appreciates greatly. *eyeroll*). It's still awkward with him and it's been 5 years, but he's still one of my favorite people.

D is for Doorknobs: Well, duh. I love doorknobs! I love opening and closing doors, don't you? Such a fantastic invention. Did you know the first documentation for a doorknob is from 1878? And guess what - the guy, Mr. Osbourn Dorsey, was a black man. Yep. In 1878 when it still wasn't cool to be a color other than white, a black man invented the doorknob. Isn't that neat?

D is for Dark Chocolate: Bittersweet. The taste is bittersweet and my love for dark chocolate is bittersweet, since it's on the no-no list.

D is for Dancing: I LOVE to dance! I'm not any good at it, thus I don't do it in public but I really love it. I used to dance - we'd go clubbing 3 nights a week when I was younger. We'd dance for HOURS and HOURS - such fun! I love dancing with the kids - holding them and rocking back and forth or really letting loose and rockin' out with them. Doesn't matter. Sometimes ya just gotta dance it out.

D is for Drugs: Oh, yeah. I love drugs. Yes I do. Yep yep yep. Like right now I love Synthyroid and Tylenol Cold & Sinus and Ibuprofen and Zicam and Airborne. Uh huh. In another life I love ddrugs in a different, more lustful way. But this - what I have now? This is a lasting relationship sort of thing. None of this running around and hopping into bed with whatever drug I came into contact with. Nope. I'm committed now. Older, wiser and legal.

D is for Deodorant: Well, really - what's NOT to love? If it makes people smell better and doesn't overpower my nose then I'm good with it. I love the smell of Rob's. He doesn't even have to wear cologne - just deodorant. Do you know that deodorant doesn't stop you from sweating? It just helps mask the smell your body gives off. Nope. If you want help with sweating, you need an Antiperspirant. Look at the words: De (take away) Odor (smell) Ant (random meaningless ending) and Anti (no or none or against) Perspirant (perspire/sweat). Careful with that antiperspirant, though. It works by clogging the pores so you CAN'T sweat. Aren't I helpful? I'm all about making sure you learn something here.

D is for Disposable Diapers: Not very green of me, I know, but I am a lazy person. I love that I don't have to play in my kids poop more than wiping their cute little hind-ends. I'm glad that I can roll up the diaper and toss it out. I ENJOY not having to do MORE laundry. Go ahead - throw your dirty fuzzi buns at me and tell me I'm a heathen, I can take it.

D is for Deliberate: In the adjective form, not the verb form. Though I have NOTHING against the verb, I just prefer the adjective. I think we should all be more deliberate in the way we live our lives. To be dilberate means to think things through. Think about your surroundings. Think about your interactions with people. Think about the impact you are having or can have. Be deliberate.

D is for Dirt: Settle down all you OCD folks. You'll be ok. Get a paper bag and just breathe through this one with me. I let my kids get dirty. I let them play in the dirt. I supply the toys and the water to make mud puddles and mud pies. I enjoy letting mud and dirt ooze through my toes. Dirt helps things grow. And yk what? If we didn't have dirt how would we ever know if anything is clean?

There ya have it. The end. 10 things I like/Love that start with the letter D.

Now it's your turn. Leave me a comment with your email and I'll send you a letter and you can post your list on your blog! (If you don't have a blog you can always leave a list in my comments too.)

Go visit Lisa, too, and see her list of things that start with M.

Friday Freebie!!!

Look at my new button! It's awesome, I know. Mary Jo at Ready Banner does a great job making them for me! She also made the 12 Days of Giving and Funniest Post of the Week buttons.

Speaking of my buttons - look! I have a cool easy to grab html code under them so you can snag and post at will!! Woot - THAT is all thanks to Nikki, who rocks my socks.

Annnnnnnnyway.

It's that time of the week again - time to give something away! Why? Because I can! Only, this week *I'm* not giving anything away. Nope. We have a guest host again this week - hooray!!

So, the only thing you have to do here is follow the link over to see our guest host and enter to win a prize - for no real reason at all!

Who's hosting? Her name is in lights - just click on it and go to her place!



I'll see ya next Friday for another awesome freebie!

Borrowing Khadras Crab Goggles

I swear to you, sometimes I think my head is going to fly off of my body and scream through the air towards space. Seriously.

Thursday is Library day. Has been, um..yk...ALL YEAR! So why do my children act so surprised every stinkin' week? And, really? Why do we have to SEARCH for the damned books every week? WHY? They're not ALLOWED upstairs so why is that where I find them every. flipping. week. ?!?!

Hey - where in the crap are all the socks in this house? Huh? Because they're not HERE. Well, unless *I* look for them, of course and then they are miraculously found again. But they only respond to the sound of my melodious voice and must cower in fear and shudder at the thought of being on my daughters' feet thus hide, trembling until I come to rescue them.

We get up and get ready 5 days a week. Part of getting ready every morning is combing hair, brushing teeth and getting dressed. So, then, tell me why every morning I have to tell them what to do as they lay around on the floor pretending to be area rugs??? I have an idea...new morning routine: 1. Get woken up by beautiful mommy 2. Turn ON your brain 3. Commence with daily activities

Dear Corban: Why do we have to switch Thomas movies in the middle, all day long? They're all the same! The engines cause confusion and delay - Steaming Pistons! - and then have to make it right by being really useful indeed! So, can we just watch ONE video all the way through, please? Signed, Sweet Topham Mom

Dear Brennan: Pull yourself together, man. Quit crying during the night. Put on your big boy undies. Mommy's tired of semi-sleeping on the couch, yo. It's making me cranky. Much Love, me

Dear God: Save my family from me today. And help me not get lost in the piles of laundry anxiously awaiting my loving caress. Amen.

A Spoon Full of Sugar

How do you all respond to comments? Do you email people? Reply in THEIR comment section? Reply in yours??

Well, for today I'm replying right here..in this entry. Maybe I'm talkin' to you? Pay attention. *ahem*

Let's start with this post:

Thank you all for the wonderful comments on it! The church I attend is conservative and very 'reverent'.

Dawn - I have come to the conclusion that Montana SDA's are a different breed. I went to a conference in Oregon as a Youth Leader and man, those people got their praise on fo sho! When I got back I think people wanted to exorcise me because it was all just too 'celebration' for them. Heaven forbid we celebrate a little, eh? Attempts that I have made in the past to interject other types of music or praise songs have been thwarted. A couple of friends brought some contemporary songs to the worship committee and they said fine, but we have to slow them down and play the paino with them. It's sheer madness, I tell you. Lunacy. I have issues but this isn't the time or place. LOL

Dana - oh, you KNOW I love me some Toby Mac. There's even a few 'rap' songs I like. Would you be surprised to know I went to a Manafest show? No? I was sure surprised when he came out and started performing. HA! LOL

Stephanie & Amanda - awww! I'd love to come worship with you!

Rob said "I am pretty sure that one could strip the musical notes from these songs and most congregations would think the songs were beautiful. It's only when the Drums and Electric Guitars are introduced that they become evil." ANd that pretty much sums up what I was trying to say. He's smart, that one. Just don't tell him I said so, ok?

Man alive, I LOVE when we have conversations like that, guys! LOVE it!

*-------------------------------------------------------------*

From this one:

dairyfreemom asked for the recipe for Balsamic White Beans and Turkey Sausage. I'll do my best! I made it up. Heh.

3 breakfast links (turkey)
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
italian seasoning
raisins or craisins
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
garlic

cook the sausage in a bit of olive oil (yk, since it has no fat). remove from pan and cut into bite size pieces. Add garlic to pan and sautee. Add beans and sausage. Sprinkle in about 1-2 Tbsps of Italian seasoning and salt to taste.
Heat through over med heat, stirring frequently or the beans will stick. Add raisins/craisins and serve. Add balsamic vinegar to your liking.

I'm so creative, I know. Tonight I fried up some Hot Italian Turkey Sausage, cooked a cup of rice in some chicken broth and italian seasoning and steamed a bag of cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. Then I plopped some of eah on my plate, added a little salt and YUM. Dinner.

Oh, and the Black Bean, Corn and Turkey Chili is DELISH and super easy to make. Add it to your menu!


*------------------------------------------------------------------*

Thank you all for the nice compliments regarding my weigh loss and the date picture of Rob and I. That's EXACTLY what I was fishing for! *wink* Kidding.

I do want to address something that is a little disturbing. A few of you *cough stephaniemimiamandajilljusttonameafew cough* found my story inspiring and have started/restarted to work out. I just want to point out that I never said I advocated exercise. No, I said I was big into the major deprivation and complete and total lack of anything good from your diet. I noticed no one posting about cutting out cheese or ice cream or butter flavored popcorn or salad dressing or peanut butter or eggs or ANYTHING. *ahem* C'mon ladies - where's your dedication? *wink*

Nah - thank you all for sharing your stories with me. Weight is such a pain, isn't it? And we struggle and struggle with it - whether we weigh too much or not enough there's always a greener other side of the fence, isn't there? I just want to be healthy - that's all. I don't need to be a pin-up model. I don't need to be able to wear a bikini in the shower (uh, cause I sure as heck wouldn't be wearin one in public!), I just need to be able to run with my kids and not end up wishing someone would crack my chest open so I could breathe. That's my goal. Seems realistic to me.

*------------------------------------------------------------------*

Lastly - thank you for all of your wonderfully insightful opinions today and thanks for being kind in your judgements of me. I LOVED reading the comments. Rob asked me about them and I know he's eager to read them when he gets home so he can prove to me how right he is...as usual. LOL

Man - if I was a hugger I'd give you all a great big group hug. But that involves touching and if you've read here for a bit, you KNOW how I feel about that. So, yk, I'll just pound my uneven chest, kiss two fingers and throw ya'll the peace sign.

Cause that's how I roll, yo.

Mwah. See ya in the morning.

My Judgemental Opinion

Kasey over at Beautiful Mess has thrown out a question and Rob and I have been, uhm, discussing (read:arguing) over it.

She has a very thought provoking post put out there and I encourage you to go read it, in it's entirety and comment. I just was blogging in her comment section and decided to take my ball and come home to play.

Her question, simplified:

What's the difference between an opinion and a judgment?

My comment, in her comment section:

Thanks Kasey. My husband is over her spouting his OPINION that he is RIGHT about this. I'm passing JUDGEMENT that he's NOT. I formed an opinion and then once it was formed it became a judgement when it solidified in my mind, and I passed it. Rob is arguing with Dictionary.com. WE looked it up and discussed it even further - he is of the OPINION that Dictionary.com is not correct. Whatev. I'm passing judgement that he's a crack addict. Ok, not really but he's nutty as Mr. Peanut.

Here's my breakdown. ROb's gonna zip it now and leave his own darned comment, aren't ya babe? Yeah. That's right. Psh. Owned. ;-)

They are synonymous. AN opinion is a judgement and a judgement is an opinion. You can't have one without the other. You can't pass judgment if you don't first have an opinion of the situation. You can't have an opinion without passing judgement.

We all perceive judgement as a bad thing - 'Don't Judge me." And don't even get me started on peopel that throw out the PARTIAL verse "judge not lest ye be judged..." Judgement is just an opinion. You don't have to LIKE my opinion of you or your lifestyle - nor do you have to CARE if I've passed judgement based on my opinion.

Oy vey. He's still yammering in my ear. I think I'm gonna take this over to my own blog and free up your comment section from my ramblings. C'mon over in a bit and read the reast of my RIVETING opinion. ;-)

We are STILL goin' at it over here. LOL Rob thinks his opinions are NEVER wrong. He's a dork. Good thing I love him.

Ok, so - Rob and I looked it up on dictionary.com (we tried Miriam Webster first but they have a stupid ad throwing up script errors so I took my business elsewhere. hmph).

Break down:

OPINION - a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty

a judgment or estimate of a person or thing with respect to character, merit, etc.: to forfeit someone's good opinion.


JUDGEMENT - the forming of an opinion, estimate, notion, or conclusion, as from circumstances presented to the mind: Our judgment as to the cause of his failure must rest on the evidence.

the opinion formed: He regretted his hasty judgment

So, now, I ask you - what's the difference?

Holly commented over at Kasey's that the difference was the way you said it - passing judgement tends to be more emotionally weighted and an opinion is not. Good point. But aren't there emotions involved in both? Can you realistically form an emotionless opinion - and when you STATE this opinion is it really without emotion?

Judgement is perceived as being negative - as I said in my comment at Kasey's place. But is judgement always negative? WHat if the judgement is in your favor - then suddenly it's positive?

As far as keeping your opinions to yourself so as not to hurt other people's feelings - I don't think that necessarily has to be the case ALL THE TIME. There's a time and a place for giving your opinion. Unfortunately, some people use the "It's just my opinion" line to say hurtful things and get away with it. Kind of like saying something mean and then adding the ole 'just kidding!' at the end. No, you're not. We all KNOW you're not.

I'm digressing and rambling all over the place. I've posted about Judgements before here and kind of here with a quick cartoon follow up here.

So, after ALL that going on and on tell me,


What's the difference between an opinion and a judgment?

What a bunch of Boobs

Rob (hey, thanks for going over to his site yesterday! GREAT insights!) directed me to a blog post the other day and I just went to visit last night. SHAME on me for waiting so long! SHAME!

I couldn't even believe it.

I dont' know if you're ready for it. Go ahead and swallow your coffee first. I'll wait.

Ok..ready?

Porn industry seeks $5 billion federal bailout

Yeah. I know. Right? FOR REAL!

Check this:

One adult-film star from the Los Angeles area said she is feeling the pinch.

The actress who performs as Jenna Presley said her Web site has seen a 20 percent decline in customers, about 1,000 of whom pay $19.99 a month to watch the 22-year-old perform online.

Presley said the downturn has forced her to cut overhead.

“I said, ‘I’ve got to stop paying guys and girls to perform with, and I’ve got to find (other Web site proprietors) to do a content exchange with,’ ” Presley said matter-of-factly.

Instead of paying co-stars, she is posting their videos on her site and they’re posting her content on theirs.

Wha? I'm sorry - what? So - because Slutty McSlutterson can't pay people to whore around with her, we the taxpayers should bail her out? Help her get back on her feet, so to speak. *snicker*

I'm not even saying this as well as she did. Go read that instead. Go! Why are you still here?!? Tell her I said hi. She's hilarious.

Yo-Yo

Not Yo, Yo! But Yo-yo, yk? Or maybe I should say Yo! Yo-yo, ya know? Craisins anyone?

So I got some nice comments and emails about the picture I posted of Rob and I...

Twist my arm..I'll post it again..cause I like it.



A lot of people noticed that I've lost a lot of weight. I've only posted about it once before - my weight loss - so I think some people were surprised by it. Heck *I'm* surprised by it! People asked me how I did it..here's my story.

When I married Rob, I thought I was heavy at 140 lbs. When I got pregnant with Sienna, my ending weight was just over 200 lbs.

This is me - on the left holding the baby in pink (sienna) wearing a brown sweater.


And again, right before I got pg with Cara:


When I got pregnant with Cara, I ended the pregnancy at 210 lbs. I lost some weight and got down to about 180 lbs.



Then, I yo-yo'd between 170-200 lbs, generally hovering around 180 and a size 18/20. Typically, this was how I looked:


Shortly before I got pregnant with Corban, I lost a bunch of weight due to an extremely stressful family tragedy. I got down to a size 14.


After Corban, I exercised like mad and tried to eat better. I managed to maintain a size 14 for a bit, but was back up to a 16 and 165 lbs when I got pg with Brennan. (All I can find is a pic of me at 16 weeks. I hadn't gained by then so it'll do. LOL)


This is me in July, after having B in June - I was a size 14:



When B was about 4 weeks, we discovered he had a milk protein intolerance, so I cut out all things dairy related. Not just lactose (things like cheese, yogurt, milk, ice cream, etc) but things that have cow milk PROTEINS like caseine in them. That is a TON of stuff, people. LOL

But B's issues persisted and we did a total elimination diet to figure it all out. It was determined that, in addition to dairy, he has intolerances/allergies to soy, nuts, and eggs. We're unsure about wheat products so I only eat that in EXTREME moderation (like once a week). I've had to be on a very strict diet since he was about 8 weeks old. I typically eat veggies, fruit, beans, rice, potatoes, chicken, turkey and beef. Everything that doesn't have dairy, has soy. Soybean oil is in ev.ry.thing.

I started dropping weight like you see them do on Biggest Loser. 10 lbs in 2 week period. Things like that. It was ridiculously insane. I've leveled out now and am losing at about 2 lbs a week or less. My current weight is 146 lbs and I am in a size 10 for the first time since I got married.

A typical day for me consists of about five 32 ounce bottles of water. 2 cups of coffee. 1 can of pepsi. Food: Bfast is usually turkey bacon or sausage, potatoes and fruit. Lunch is most always beans and rice, salad or salsa, corn tortilla chips and hummus. Dinner can vary depending on what I make for the family but generally involves beans of some sort and veggies. For snacks - I'm addicted to craisins. I love grapes when they're in season. I eat popcorn popped in canola oil and flavored with Cavenders or Lime & Chile seasoning or Creole Seasoning. I'm not hungry. I'm not lacking. I'm actually healthier than I have been in a long, long time.

I *did* have to stop buying potato chips because they weren't on the no list and I was eating WAY too many of them.

So the question becomes - what happens when you stop nursing Brennan? Shyeah. I am gonna gain 300 lbs, I know it. LOL Actually - I intend to keep up this lifestyle - BUT..but..I will allow myself little indulgences like a cookie now and then or a piece of freaking pizza for crying out loud. I should really start exercising again (LAZY!) to get these last pounds off and tone up. Here is a body shot from our date night - you can see I still have a gut going on there..


Ideally, I'd like to lose 10 more pounds and tone up. But I'm not stressing it. Do I recommend this diet? Sure - why not? Just maybe not in the extreme direction that I have to go. Just moderation of things like cheese, dairy products, snack food, processed food, soda (uh, when I cut down to 1 can a day I dropped weight QUICK like), etc. And eat at least 3 times a day.

I'm not an expert though. I just got lucky. Don't hate me - it's been hell. What about you? Do you Yo-yo? Have you made a committment to living healthier or losing weight? What is your plan? Where do you get hung up?

Relationship Pontification

Rob and I are having a little convo in his comment section over here. Come read along and join us. I'm really interested to get some other opinions on the matter!

Not Me! Monday

Another week, another chance to regale you all with things I obviously did NOT do. Because if I *did* do them, I sure as heck wouldn't be stupid enough to tell you about them. *cough cough*

I DID go to the store the other day. But I think you must have me confused with someone else, because it WASN'T me trying to find a parking spot closer to the entrance (Hey? 4 kids? snow? wind chill? Yeah. YOU park in the back 40.) ... uh.. oh, right - so it wasn't me driving around trying to find a parking spot closer to the entrance while YELLING and POINTING at a car tryign to hone in on my action "HEY! HEY YOU! Yeah, black car - blackie - that's MINE. Back off! Get away. MINE! MINE! MINE!" My kids were not confused about who I was yelling about and did NOT laugh at me like crazy people when they figured it out.

Since I only feed my kids organically grown health food, it obviously wasn't me at Wendy's at the drive thru window. I KNOW it wasn't me, because if it WERE me, I wouldn't have forgotten to take my food and started to drive off without it while the worker stuck her head out the window and yelled "You forgot your food!". Then, I wouldn't have tried to back up, realizing just in time that there was a CAR behind me. And just in case you were still thinking it WAS me - I would NEVER have gotten out of my car and ran back to the window, grabbing the bag of food while WAVING at all the other cars in line. *sigh* Never happened.

Eh...that's all I'm sayin'. If I told you more, I'd have to kill you. And I like you - so, yk, I don't wanna hafta kill ya.

Have a Monday!!

Pssssst...Hey..you...c'mere.

Shhhhhh! I hafta tell you something.

OK, so, the other day I was standing in the bathroom getting ready to go out for the day. Yeah, so..uh..I saw something I hadn't seen in a LONG time and I was like..

WHAT?!?!

WHAT in the CRAP is THAT??

Seriously. It was so weird!! Idunno..it just kind of snuck up on me out of the blue and I had to double take to make sure I was seeing correctly!

Do you know what I saw???

Duh. Not grey hair - that's not surprising. Neither are those "smile and laugh lines". Nope.

As I was standing there...doing my hair...I saw..

I saw...

I saw...

LIGHT between my thighs!

They weren't touching even though I was standing normally!!

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I *know*!

Very exciting stuff, my life.

Friday Freebie Winner!!!

And the winner, as determined by the Random Integer Generator, was the owner of comment #17:

Mrs B said...
We like it with chunks of tomato and lots of mozz. We are actully having pasta tonight! Pick me anyway. I totally want those brownies. I also posted on my blog...2 entries for me! Woo hoo!

Congratulations Mrs. B! Email me your mailing address and I'll send it on it's way!!

Stay tuned next week for another Guest Host with an awesome musical prize!!!

If you want to guest host a Friday Freebie, just drop me a line and let me know. I'd love to have ya!

Now, though, I hafta know: How many of you had Spaghetti last night or are now planning it in the near future? LOL

Menu Plan Monday..on Friday

Running behind, such as I am, I'm late putting this thing up. So I'll put it up today and link it NEXT Monday. I'm resourceful like that.

Short menu this time since we were out of town for part of it. Oh, the name in parenthesis? I make the fam pick something that they want to eat for one night of the week. I make the girls help cook on their night.

Meatless Loaf, Mashed Potatoes, Peas and Corn (Rob)
Turkey Bone Soup
Black Bean, Corn and Turkey Chili
Lasagna, Salad (Sienna)
Spaghetti, green beans, Texas Toast (Corban)
Fettucini Alfredo, Salad (Sarah)
Popcorn, Fruit & Fondue, Celery & PB (Cara)
Tostada Pizza

Since there are a few meals planned that I can't partake in, here are my alternatives:

Balsamic White Beans & Turkey Sausage, Salad
Curried Lentils & Rice
Turkey Kielbasa and Potatoes, Steamed Veggies

There ya have it! Good Eats!

Go check out other Menus by clicking the button below:

Friday Freebie!!

Hey, hey, hey! Did ya miss me?? Did ya miss my shameless attempt to buy your love and affection reward for making it through another week?!?!?

For those of you that are new - every (well..ok, nearly every) Friday I give something away. Oftentimes, I even remember to mail it in a timely fashion! Bonus! You have two chances to win, as always. You can leave me a comment following the instructions to come and you can snag the Friday Freebie button and put it on your blog - either in a post or in your sidebar and let me know in your comment. If you have it in your sidebar already, just let me know in your comment!

This week I have a burning question. Burning, yearning, need to know. Your answer has NO effect on the outcome of the drawing (random integer generator is, um, random after all). The question is: How do you take your Spaghetti? Meat sauce or no? Parmesan or not? Olives in the sauce? Big chunks of veggie or more marinara style? Let me have it. Tell me how ya do it!

Want to see what you're playing for? (Thanks, Jeff.)

Dinner, on me. (Well, minus the meat - that doesn't ship real well.)



That's right! I will ship this dinner care package to ONE lucky, randomly drawn winner.

Leave me a comment and answer my burning question. Don't forget to let me know if you have my button on your site!

Thanks, once again, for stickin' with me! Ya'll are the Sacred part of this equation.

Losin' It

Me again. Every week I want to play along with MamaKat on Thursdays, but I never, ever do. This week I took the plunge. Why? Well, let me just reassure you that it had NOTHING to do with the topic I picked. At. All.

Writers Workshop: 2.) Ask a loved one to use 6 descriptive words to describe you and report your findings. How well do they know you?

See? Completely innocent.

I read that this morning and ran upstairs with my crayon and paper to find Rob.

"Potter!", I yelled, "Are you busy?!?! I need help with something." And I plopped myself on the bed he'd freshly made.

He obliged and asked what I needed. I told him I needed him to tell me six words he would use to describe me. OK, ok - so I cheated a little. Lying on the bed was a way to distract him so he'd only say nice things. Hey, ok, I SAW MamaKat's list from HER hubby. No way was I goin' there.

Here's his unedited list (with my comments):

1. Intelligent (I replied, "How do you spell that?" HA! Funny.)
2. Supportive (Like a good bra.)
3. Caring (I didn't care about this one.)
4. Funny, I guess. (He GUESSES?! Please. It's SO obvious that I'm the most hilarious person he knows.)
5. Attractive. (I said "Uh, what? ATTRACTIVE?!" He said "Well I don't know who this list is FOR! Attractive, sexy, hot! There!" Mucho better-o.)
6. Motivated/Determined (Me: "Motivated?? Really?" Him: "Well...yeah. Like determined. That's what I'm saying." Mmmkay.)

So that's how Rob would describe me. Adjectives about my looks change based on the audience.

You should play along, too!! Click that button up there to go to Kat's page.

B is screamin'. Hasta.

Oh yeah...I have somethin' to say...Listen up.

I have a pet peeve. An issue. A problem with a certain *thing*. And, yeah, I'm gonna blog about it.

HA! Don't get all fired up - it's really a lot more tame than all of that. I'm coming back in baby steps, people. Baby steps.

I love music. Generally, I think that when God speaks to me, He uses music because He knows it's the only time I'm actually listening. In the Bible we learn that God speaks to people using the means that will reach them, right? He goes where they are - he didn't go to the fishermen as an accountant and he didn't talk to the accountant about fishing.

So, here's my problem: it really irks me when people deem certain genres of Christian music as unGodly. Commonly, people dismiss hip hop or rock as un Godly or not spiritual. Why? Because you don't like the instruments used?!? Because it's too loud? It has too much rhythm for ya? What's the deal?!

Who decides that Christian Country is a-ok with God but Christian hip-hop is offensive? Did God send you a note? "Dear you - that hip hop really gets on my nerves. Please crank the twang because it really glorifies me." Seriously? I mean - really??

If Christian Rock is bad, then so it Christian Country. If Christian Hip Hop isn't good enough, then neither is Christian Gospel. Isn't it all about the message and not the method? Don't you think that God wants to reach the most amount of people possible, thus He's not opposed to using different genres of music? He's GOD! He can use whatever He wants!

And while we're here, at this station waiting for me to get back on my Crazy Train (uh, NOT a spiritual song, btw) let me just say this: It doesn't have to be boring to be Godly. You don't have to like it. I'm not a big fan of 97% of the hip hop/rap. That doesn't mean it isn't relevant.

This is NOT to say that it should be used in the church or in the sanctuary or wherever. THAT is a whole nother can of worms I don't feel like opening right now. Well, maybe just a little.

The church we go to on Saturday mornings sings ONLY hymns and ONLY hymns with an organ or piano accompaniment. Great. The hymns are fantastic. They were inspired. I get that. Can we PLEASE get our worship on from time to time, though?!?! I mean - hello? Nah. God forbid we show emotion. We can't clap for people after they sing or speak because that is giving glory to the person and not God. Uh...because you can read my mind? How do you know I'm not clapping and thanking God for the talent He gave the person? Oh - forget raising your hands - then everyone stares at you as if you've become inhabited with evil spirits and may need to have them vacated with some spiritual exlax. Note to them: emotion is not bad.

Phew. OK. I have issues. We all know this.

One last thing...I'm ending with one of my most favorite worship songs of all time. I just don't think you've LIVED until you've stood in a crowd of fellow believers and sang this song, in earnest, with emotion and gusto - from your heart - to our God and Father. Raising your hands to Him, praising His glory. Eyes closed, face turned toward the sky. Voices all raised in unison saying...



Goosebumps.

Lucy...I'm Home!

Phew. I needed that little break. Not that I got to escape reality or anything but I was able to hold it at bay for a bit. OK, not really...but I mostly just shut down on Sunday after we got home and had to figure out how to get going again. Sunday afternoon and evening was spent laying on the floor playing Little People and Choo-Choos with my two favorite little boys. Anything beyond that was far too much for my little brain to handle.

Then one of my girls played this song on Monday and I thought...yeah, it's about time.



HA! LOL OK, I'm mostly kidding. It did get me up and making a list. Oh, list making..I do so love list making. I love being able to physically SEE what I need to get done and then the satisfaction that comes with marking it OFF the list is delicious. *sigh* So, I started plodding away on my list that was a full PAGE long. I've gotten about 3/4 of it done so far and am SO glad I do. I am a productive member of society once again! Hooray for me! *wink*

I do need to throw a little Bloggy Shout Out over to Hannah. Her post kind of cut through the fog for me yesterday and really got my head back in the game. And in regards to my comment on that post - maybe God is providing street lamps - I just keep looking at my feet with sunglasses on (I wear my sunglasses at night?) so I don't fully recognize it.

Then this morning J-Dawg starts chattering at me about Job and all his dumb trials. Job. I really dislike that book of the Bible. It makes me so angry! Again, though, maybe God is speaking to me through another friend. Enduring trials and temptations...feeling like I'm under attack...allowing God to work through me...

Hmmm...maybe it's all related?

I know, this is all so disjointed and incongruent - I'm being pulled in 3 different directions as usual. I'll just close with a verse from James (one of my most FAVORITE books):

James 1:2-8
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.


Thanks for sticking with me and for all the wonderful notes of love and concern. I heart my imaginary friends!!

Have a day!