Healthy Friday... psych!

Yeah, I got nothin' this week.

No exercise this week. I'm starting to think it's just better to really get started with that once the kids are back in school.

And no recipe this week either. Heck, I barely even cooked! I did on Monday, but it was a quick meal, nothing new, exciting or even healthy. Superman was gone Tuesday and Wednesday and I have a hard time cooking for just myself and the kids. Tuesday they all wanted brinner so we had an array of waffles and french toast sticks. And Wednesday was another easy meal we like to call Frito Pie. It's chili cheese flavored Fritos, shredded cheese and chili all mixed together. And yesterday we didn't even have lunch until almost 3:00pm after picking Superman up from the airport so no one was hungry for a real supper.

I think the only healthy I thing I did for myself this week was get some sleep. I know I don't sleep a healthy amount of time. I'm a night owl, but it's hard to be a night owl and still be up by 6:30 every morning. I went to bed about the same time as I usually would this week (between midnight and 1:00am) but with Superman gone I was able to sleep in a couple mornings. It felt amazing! And yes, I do get up with him every morning to pour his coffee, make sure he has everything and see him off for the day. I'm a good wife like that.

I'll still weigh myself this morning to update my ticker. Or just take the week off and not worry about it. I haven't decided yet. Or I'll weigh myself and update my ticker if it's lower. If it's higher, I'll say I took the week off!

How 'bout we talk about something spiritually healthy? I guess that's what I could call it. I'll be honest, it was a rough week. Not meaning Superman being gone, I mean the financial/faith/worrying kind of rough week. We've been expecting a check for about 3 weeks. Not just hoping, expecting. We were told we'd have it 3 weeks ago so it was in the budget and allocated to wherever we needed it. We needed it by today. I was stressin' pretty bad. Don't you think after all those times I've talked about faith I would've learned my lesson? Nope. I stressed until the only thing left to do was completely give it up to God. I couldn't handle it any more. So Tuesday I finally gave up. I took it out of the budget and started looking around to see what I could do. And I told God to take it, I'm not going to worry about it any more, we'll get it when we get it and I believe He will get us through. I got the budget to a place that would work, not for long, but it worked.

Guess what we got in the mail the next day. Did you guess the check? If so, you're right! Call it coincidence if you want, but after several calls and emails to this client and not hearing a single word back, and stressing to the point of complete surrender, I call it God.

I also had something very cool happen this week. I've mentioned that I knit baby blankets for any unwed pregnant girls in the program at Mercy Ministries. It's like an offering for me. It blesses me to make something, something handmade that they might not get otherwise because of their situation. I think maybe, just maybe they can see God's love through a special gift for their baby even though most of them feel like they don't deserve something like that because they "messed up".

I work hard on each blanket, not just the ones I make for them, I work hard on all of them. It has to be perfect in my eyes. And being the one that is doing it, I can spot a mistake instantly, even if Superman tells me he doesn't see it. I have been known to be several inches into a blanket; not be happy with it, find a mistake, or just not be feeling it and rip the whole thing out and start completely over. That's where I'm at right now. I'm totally not feeling the blanket I'm working on. And the baby is coming by scheduled c-section on Tuesday. I have no time to start over or start something new. I have to finish it and I'm struggling all because I tried something new and I don't like it.

So this whole week I kept thinking that I'd get it done, but instead was very discouraged causing me to not work on it at all. All the discouragement led me to wonder what if I just stopped? Do they enjoy getting a blanket for their babies?

And then I had an awesome confirmation on Wednesday. Have I mentioned that Superman actually works for Mercy Ministries? Well, that's why he was gone this week. He was visiting the brand new home in California that is about to be ready to house and help 40 more girls. They were taking video and pictures of the new home and had a small acoustic concert by BarlowGirl.

He was approached by a girl who asked if he worked in the corporate building here. He said yes. She asked if his wife made blankets. He said yes. She said "Your wife knitted my son's baby blanket. He's almost a year old and it's his favorite blanket." She also said it meant a lot to her.

And she'll never know what it meant to me to hear that. So I press on. Even though I don't like the current blanket, I pray it blesses this girl and her new baby.

No Axe Murderers allowed

Thanks to Sara for putting the idea of a blog-stalking killer in my head.

But last night was my last night alone. Oh, did I fail to mention that Superman has been 2,277 miles away from us on business since Tuesday? Uh-huh, exactly. There was no way I was risking Superman coming home to pieces of his family, so I kept my mouth shut.

You might have figured it out if you follow either of us on twitter, which I probably should've kept quiet on as well. I suppose if an axe murderer is searching blogs for his next victim, he's probably on twitter too.

But, if an axe murderer were on twitter, what would he tweet about anyway? What would his profile name be? @kilzwitskilz? @ikillu? Or just plain @axemurderer? Or if there's more than one, would he have to pick the next consecutive number and be @axmurderer641?

Anywho, we are all still in one piece. And we pick Superman up from the airport at 1:47 this afternoon! It feels like 8:00 am Tuesday morning was such a long time ago. We can't wait to see him!

Coraline movie review

Have you seen the movie Coraline?

I have two words.

Freakin'.Weird.

Although it looks much like Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas or James and Giant Peach, do not be fooled. Tim Burton's name is no where to be found on this movie. Coraline is directed by Henry Selick, the same guy who directed those two movies, but I'm afraid this guy should not be left to do these kind of movies without Tim Burton's help.

I can't tell you how many breaks we took during the first half of the movie to 1) give our eyes a break from the painful pink and green glasses and 2) to stay awake. It finally picked up half way through, but even then none of us (even the kids) knew exactly what to say. Except weird.

We've never read the book, but have heard that it is really good. I'm not sure if this movie is what the author had in mind. We expected slightly creepy. Slightly because a movie targeted towards kids should only be slightly creepy. But the other Wybie with his mouth sewn shut and head cocked to the side was more than slightly creepy. And that was nothing compared to what made Princess take off the 3D glasses because she got scared.

And this. Is this in the book? Even if it did just end up being a fat suit, who's bright idea was it to put a mostly naked lady wearing only pasties and bikini bottoms in a kids movie? Superman and I were embarrassed that our kids saw this. Jiggling. Gross. INAPPROPRIATE.


We're still not sure what to say, except weird. We'll have to get a copy of the book to see if this was really the best way to turn it into a movie.

I think the best way to sum this up is to include an excerpt of the movie review from Plugged In Online, our usually source for checking movies before letting the kids watch them. Too bad we assumed this movie would be decent enough to skip this step.

"Then there's the issue of Selick's desire to, as he says, "go there" with this film. It's difficult for me to combine the words children's horror, but that's what Coraline callously does. I don't think going there—whether it's the macabre melodrama, casual acceptance of witchcraft, haunted-house violence or fat suit nudity—is ever a great idea. Let alone when there are 8-year-olds around."

*The last time I reviewed a movie, I got a hateful comment from Ms. Nasty Anonymous. So let me take a minute to remind any anonymous readers that this is my blog, the opinion of someone who did not read the book and someone who was expecting something different. Be forewarned that I do not publish nasty anonymous comments, but rather write an entire blog post about your rudeness and ignorance.

Do telemarketers read blogs?

Dear Mr./Ms. Telemarketer,

I hate you.

Ok, that was a little harsh. I hate your occupation.

I don't want to buy anything. I don't want to refinance my house. Don't you think that if I wanted to, maybe I would've called someone and already taken care of it?

If you must keep calling, please, at least stop asking if my parents are available. I'm in my 30's and my parents live 2 states away. If you really want to talk to them I'll give you their number. I can't help that my voice sometimes sounds like a kid. One of my sisters' voices is like that too. Both of my parents have normal voices so I don't know why two of us sound like kids. What up with that?

I'm asking nicely Mr./Ms. Telemarketer, please take me off your call list for good. If you continue to call, just know that when you ask if my parents are home I'm going to say no.

And that I have purchased an air horn solely for the purpose of blowing in your ear.

Sincerely,

Tiring weekend, in mosaic form

Can I just say that we're exhausted?

I hate making quick trips like that, but am still really glad it wasn't longer. A quick visit is fine with us, we don't feel the need to see them for days at a time. And I hate to admit it after all my complaining, but it was nice to go and see everyone.

The drive there wasn't too bad. I'm a terrible traveler and usually conk out a couple hours into the trip. I don't know what it is, but put me in the car for several hours and I just can't hold my eyes open. But Friday night I was able to last for quite a while. We drove for about an hour and a half before stopping for supper at Cracker Barrel and then I was hopped up on maple syrup! Since I usually don't last in the car, especially after dark, I took over driving for a while so Superman could rest before he took us the rest of the way. I knocked out a couple hours for us and had road rage pretty bad once before Superman took back over. But with no kids in the car the music was blaring and we were having a good time! I started coming down from my maple syrup high around 11:30. For some reason when you pass the sign that says you just entered a different time zone and your cell phones jump an hour ahead, I suddenly get tired! I slept for a just a tiny bit before we stopped so Superman could take a break to stay awake. Anyway, we got to my parents house, snuck in and hit and guest bed at 3:35 am.

I had an alarm set on my cell phone for 9:00 Saturday morning so we didn't waste any time. I must not have heard it because the kids came running into the bedroom to see us about 10:45. After that point it was crazy busy. My sisters and their families came for lunch and we got to hang out for a while. Then straight to Superman's parents house where his brothers and their families came and we did the same for supper. We were so tired that we were settled in a different guest room that night by about 10:30 (our time), which is super early for us night owls.

I was trying to think of a way to describe the drive home yesterday and the only word that comes to mind is grueling. Saturday night we agreed that it was a nice visit, but there is nothing like your own home and own routine. So we were up Sunday morning getting ready to leave by 6:00 our time, and on the road 45 minutes later. We didn't waste any time! Did I mention it was grueling? The kids and I woke up an hour later when Superman stopped for gas and he looked like I felt. After that stop, the kids were more awake but I was grumpy. And I mean GRUMPY. I wanted to cut down on stops because I just wanted to get home. I don't remember a lot of the next couple hours because every time I put my head back, I dozed off. I took over driving after one stop but only lasted about an hour before my eyes were crossing again. I know we stopped at McDonalds for lunch, but pretty much everything on the ride home is a big blur. I dozed a little between each stop. I pulled out my knitting one time to try to stay awake and put it back away probably 10 minutes later and dozed some more. And we live only about 25 minutes from downtown, but I remember seeing my favorite big buildings and was trying to wake up again as we pulled onto our street. We got home at a decent time, so we unloaded the car and went straight to bed for about an hour and a half. I don't know if it helped much because we were so groggy all evening.

I feel okay this morning. I slept pretty good. There is NOTHING like your own bed. But wish we got another weekend or at least another day. It feels like the whole weekend was just one big, busy, blurry day.

From Weekend Trip

The dogs stayed home for the first time. We usually board them but didn't even want to think about paying that much this time. Superman's friend stayed here one night and popped in the rest of the time for us. Superman didn't talk to him much but I'm afraid his weekend might have been grueling too. Jack likes everybody so that was no big deal. But Melvin likes me. Just me. Superman's friend almost lost a hand Thursday night when he came over to meet the boys. Melvin warmed up to him a little that night, but apparently hated him again Friday night when he came over after we left. It was a rough potty time and we got a call on the road that he had just carried Jack back home while holding Melvin on the leash after chasing Jack down the road. That is a nightmare for the dog owner, so I can't imagine how he felt chasing someone else's dog! But, the boys made it just fine and were really excited to see us come home yesterday! And I think when we plan trips for the holidays, we should probably budget for boarding!

Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic

Hope you had a great Saturday!

Us, you ask? Well, considering I'm writing this before we even leave the comforts of our own home, I'll have to let you know later. Because right now (when this posts), it's probably 1:00am Sunday morning, I probably realize it's only midnight at home and have a hard time settling down, I'm probably sitting at Superman's parents house wishing the night would go fast so we can head home in the morning, or I went to sleep early so morning would come faster!

So, here's my Friday this week instead!

From July 24, 2009

Healthy Friday

This was a pretty good week!

I'm not very confident about my weight this week though. There was Taco Bell one night (see below). And one night I made something for Superman for supper that I don't like so I had pizza rolls. Do you know how many calories are in a serving? And how impossible it is to just eat one serving? I also made brownies for us early in the week. But I only had ice cream once again! And I did a lot of hard work in the garage and rest of the house. And with no kids, we were able to get out and walk 3 evenings. It would've been more but we had a couple rainy nights. But in those 3 evenings, we walked a total of 6.3 miles this week. Compared to the normal zero, I'd say that's pretty good.

This recipe comes from Great American Recipes. It's a set of recipe cards I used to get in the mail. Below is the Herb-Roasted Chicken.

Before we get into the recipe, this chicken has quite the story. I don't even know what I was thinking when I bought this poor young chicken. I guess I wasn't thinking, until I took it out of it's plastic and it's wings flapped a little and it's legs dangled. I'm not kidding that it took me at least 45 minutes just to do the first 2 steps in the recipe. I'd go back and forth from the kitchen to the living room so I didn't have to see it laying there. I cringed, I might have even danced a little heebie jeebie dance. I was freaked out. It almost went right into the trash.

I finally talked myself into doing it. When I threw it in the oven I was glad I wouldn't have to look at it wobble around anymore. I was feeling more confident and proud that I was able to get it prepared even though it grossed me out so much. And it looked pretty good! Until we were ready to eat and saw the leg bones pop out of the sockets. I had a hard enough time preparing the poor little thing and Superman doesn't like chicken anyway. The out-of-socket-popping bothered both of us. And you know how chicken can sometimes have slimy pieces? Superman can't handle that.

Here she is.

What you need:
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. dried sage
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 lbs)
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 onion, peeled
2 cups chicken broth

There are veggies included to complete the meal but I didn't do that so I'll leave it out.

Preheat oven to 375F. In a small bowl, combine butter, sage, garlic and pepper. Carefully loosen the skin from the chicken breast, being careful not to tear it.

Spread half of the herb mixture under the skin; rub the rest on top. Sprinkle with rosemary. Place onion in chicken cavity and tie legs together with kitchen string. (I did tied the legs)

Place chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and pour broth into pan. Cover pan with foil and roast for 1 hour.

Uncover chicken and roast until juices run clear when meat is pierced, about 40 minutes longer. Transfer to serving dish. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

350 calories.
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And here's what we ate for supper.

Yep. Taco Bell. Neither of us could handle that chicken. I believe that one meal might have ruined any kind of chicken for Superman for the rest of his life.

But someone ate good that night!


The taste was okay, but based on everything else I mentioned, I think you know what Superman says this week.

But what did Jack say?

We're heading north as soon as Superman gets off work today. I have a SCPM scheduled to be up this weekend so feel free to play. Sadly, I'll have very limited access to the internet while gone. So this afternoon I'll turn comment moderation off so you're free to comment your little hearts out! I'll read them as soon as we're home. But be nice!

See you Monday!

It'll be over before we know it

My quiet week with Superman is coming to an end.

Kimber asked yesterday if I miss the kids yet. That would be yes! But... I've also learned how to let go a little and really enjoy the quiet days and restful evenings with Superman. It gets easier each time. This is the 3rd time we've done this since March. When they went for a week last summer, it was extremely hard. I was calling every day to hear their voices, make sure they were okay and having fun. Maybe even a couple times a day. It's Thursday now and besides a few texts with Peanut and an email here and there, I've talked to them 3 times since Saturday. I'm not saying I don't miss them, it just gets easier.

But I'm also going to miss my alone time with Superman when we are all back to normal. No more weeks alone until next spring break. Even though we haven't done a ton of stuff this week, it's been a good week! Besides taking evening walks it's been pretty normal. He's had some work to do a couple evenings so I knitted and relaxed, we watched a movie and our normal shows. The main thing is that it was quiet. I just got to relax with my best friend and sometimes it's okay to just be quiet together!

Now, what have I been doing with my quiet days this week? Definitely not what I imagined I'd be doing, that's for sure! I pictured myself scrubbing the house top to bottom in one day and taking the rest of the days to relax, knit, watch a movie or something. Instead, I've been working so hard that I've had to take a late afternoon nap twice this week just to survive.

Remember this picture from March?

Yeah, it's taken a while but this was the week I finally got motivated to clean it up a little. The fact that we will have a dog sitter living at our house this weekend might have something to do with that motivation. This is what I've been doing this week. Please tell me it looks a little better at least.

And look at my clean living room!

*sigh*

So this week didn't go exactly as I'd hoped, but I'm really glad I was able to get some extra stuff done instead!

Wordless Wednesday

Received these through email yesterday from the kids!

(The smudged face girl is my niece)

Did you see this tweet by Superman (pic shown below)?

Honestly, I have no idea where she gets this stuff from!

I'm so glad they're having fun!

Can my ego get any bigger?

Why yes, yes it can!

Seriously people. You are going to make my head so big that it explodes!

This new award is from Sarah, The New Girl at Class and Coffee. Thanks Sarah!

Rules:
This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to six bloggers who must choose six more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

And this one is from a newer blog friend, Frances from Looking forward to a more frugal 2009. Thanks Frances!

If I can look all skinny and svelte like that chick in the award by being over the top, then I accept!

Here’s how it works: USE ONLY ONE WORD!

It’s not as easy as you might think. Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? counter

2. Your hair? brown

3. Your mother? hovering

4. Your father? tough

5. Your favorite food? mexican

6. Your dream last night? none

7. Your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper

8. Your dream/goal? debt-free

9. What room are you in? living room

10. Your hobby? knitting

11. Your fear? drowning

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren’t? awake

15. Muffins? blueberry

16. Wish list item? van

17. Where did you grow up? Indiana

18. Last thing you did? coffee

19. What are you wearing? clothes

20. Your TV? nice

21. Your pets? 3

22. Friends? nice

23. Your life? wonderful

24. Your mood? content

25. Missing someone? kids

26. Vehicle? chevy

27. Something you’re not wearing? socks

28. Your favorite store? Wal-mart

29. Your favorite color? purple

30. When was the last time you laughed? today

31. Last time you cried? Sunday

32. Your best friend? Hubby

33. One place that I go to over and over? bathroom

34. One person who emails me regularly? Hubby

35. Favorite place to eat? out

I'm passing both of these awards (unless you just got one of them) on to:

1. Aunt Nikki
2. Alicia
3. Erin
4. Sara
5. Kimber
6. Cass
7. Frances
8. Sarah, The New Girl
   

Enjoy!

What was the deal last night?

I'm someone who loves sleep.

I can do it almost anywhere as long as it's quiet.

I enjoy it.

I need it.

So what was the deal last night?!

There's no reason why I shouldn't have slept better last night. I always sleep good, just not enough sometimes.

Nothing we did yesterday should've affected my sleep last night, except for making it easier. With no kids here, I was up bright and early yesterday to go to church with Superman. I went to the first service at 8:30am while he sang with the choir, hung out for the hour in between, and sat through the singing part of the 11:00am service until Superman was done. We came home, had lunch, fell asleep for our naps around 3:00. We woke up between 6-6:30. We had some coffee, I watched a couple shows that made me cry while I knitted and Superman caught up on some work. After it was dark, we took a fast-paced walk a little over a mile, got cleaned up, had some kettle corn and watched some Malcolm in the Middle.

We headed to bed at midnight, both of us tired but not ready for sleep. We watched a little more TV before Superman turned over and went to sleep, I knitted in bed until just before 2:30am. By then, I was ready and thought I'd be asleep in 2 seconds like normal. A few minutes later Superman woke up and asked me to turn the TV off, he turned the fan on. Around 3:00am I was dozing off when I felt something in my hair. I reached my hand to the back of my head (praying it wasn't a spider that decided to come out of hiding from somewhere) and felt Superman's hand. His finger had hooked my hair.

It went downhill from there. All of a sudden, it was roasting in there. I rolled to my back. I took the blanket off. My foot itched. My shoulder itched. I had a wedgie. I rolled to my right side. My leg itched. My head itched. I rolled to my left side. I took the sheet off. Darn wedgie. Itchy foot. My back hurt, I sat up to crack it against all things chiropractic. Back on my left side. Pulled the sheet back up. Do you get the picture? This kept up for I don't know how long. I know I saw 4:something.

The alarms start going off at 5:30 because we usually have a really hard time waking up (and we have 3 alarms between the 2 of us). As soon as it went off, I yelled "NO! That's not fair!" I must have sounded pretty mad because Superman said "Don't yell at me". But I felt like I had just fallen asleep... finally. We laid there hitting snooze until about 6:25. Superman slept as horribly as me.

And now, here we are. I'm more awake this morning than if I would've slept good. For now anyway.

At least the house is quiet this week for when I crash later this afternoon!

Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic... On Sunday

What a Saturday.

I'm actually kinda tired and ready for my Sunday afternoon nap so I'll try to keep this short.

• Car loaded, out the door by 8:30 am
  
• Chiropractor at 9:00 am. Felt great! I asked him not to adjust my back like normal and requested traction again instead. My back is feeling tons better since that.
• On the road by 9:20 am.
• In Louisville by around 12:30 (1:30 KY time).
• Met my parents at a mall for lunch.
• Loaded kids suitcase and stuff in parents van.
• Hugs and kisses
• Start back home (just me and Superman!) around 1:30.
• Felt like a longer drive, got really tired
• Got back home after 4:30
• Took a shower
• Went to grocery store to pick up a few things
• 6:30 Went to Superman's co-worker's house for get-together
• hanging out
• Played a couple rounds of spoons (only lost part of 1 fingernail fighting for a spoon!)
• Watched Hot Rod
• 11:50 pm left for home
• 12:30 am sat on couch to relax
• I dozed off

From July 18, 2009

Healthy Friday

It's Friday! The kids leave tomorrow for a week. Do I have them all packed and ready to go? Nope. We'll get to it today. Sometime. As long as their stuff is loaded in the car by about 8:30 tomorrow morning we should be good!

I believe we'll be meeting up with some old friends tonight! Actually, Superman and I used to help with the youth group several years ago and (we'll call him) Tom was in it, and seemed so much younger than us. It's weird now to see the little kids we remember and they're married and having kids of their own. Anyway, Tom is now a worship leader at his church, actually he works with my mom. But he comes down here every year for our church's music and worship conference. We met up with Tom and his wife last year at one of the concerts and ended up closing down Cold Stone Creamery. We talked so long that the manager actually came over and said they were closing and cleaning up and we just had to be out by the time they were done at 2:00 am! Superman's in the choir this year so tonight will be his 3rd long night this week, but we still hope to see them. I heard from my mom that Tom was looking forward to chatting the night away at Cold Stone again!

Speaking of ice cream... you might be happy to know that I've only had ice cream once this week! Until tonight anyway. But I'd say that's better than every night or every other night! I know I probably snacked more to cover my ice cream cravings though. And no exercise this week. For some reason all 3 kids decided they needed to sleep in the living room more this week. I like quiet mornings when they sleep in, so I didn't even think about exercising and waking them up when they're sprawled all over the room. I still plan on weighing myself and updating my ticker this morning, even though I probably won't like the results.

Okay, I finally tried a new resource for recipes! This one is actually from French's site. Yes, as in the mustard.

Say hello to the Tangy Ranch Grilled Chicken. Hello chicken. I'm sorry I charred you.


What you need:
2/3 cup Ranch salad dressing
1/3 cup FRENCH'S® Classic Yellow® or Honey Mustard
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 (5 oz.) boneless skinless chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste

Mix salad dressing, mustard and sugar. Pour 2/3 cup mixture over chicken.

Marinate chicken in refrigerator 30 min. or up to 3 hours.

Grill chicken on greased rack over medium heat for 15 min. or until done. Serve chicken with remaining mustard mixture.

------

I wish it listed how many calories but it doesn't. And I'm not picky enough to sit and count everything up. But it's chicken so it can't be too bad! My only concern for this recipe would be that it uses so much ranch and the only bottle I had wasn't lite.

Mostly it just tasted... charred. I thought the chicken was still slightly frozen when I put it on the grill so I left it for a while. Bad idea. But on the parts that weren't charred just tasted like chicken. There were just a couple bites that you could taste the marinade but even then the regular chicken taste was stronger.

I say it was kind of blah, Superman says...

See ya sometime this weekend for Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic! Not sure if it will be up Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. Just keep your eyes peeled!

*Edited to add*
Did you see my ticker in the right sidebar? All I did this week was stop eating ice cream and lost almost half a pound! What a boost in motivation! Imagine what it would do if I could actually stop being lazy and add the exercise!

Even though I've been grumpy lately

I certainly haven't failed to notice God's blessings.

Time and time again.

We've learned to have faith through the toughest times. If you remember, we moved here 16 months ago without being able to sell our house. Our budget showed we could make it 6 months. Notice I said we moved 16 months ago?

God has provided every single time. And I have enough faith now to know that He always will.

As I was complaining about our upcoming weekend trip, I kept thinking "I wish we didn't have to spend that money on a quick trip, there are other things to spend it on." We made the decision to go in faith. It was already planned so we'll just go ahead with the plans and trust that God will provide if it gets too tight.

Did I tell you that Superman has 2 freelance projects going on right now? Do you know how much that helps? I'll also tell you that Superman called me from work on Tuesday to tell me he got a wedding! I don't know if I ever mentioned that we did wedding photography before we moved. We did our last wedding in time to finish up proofs and picture orders right before we moved and haven't done any here yet. It's for a lady he works with. Actually, it's their 25th anniversary. They were going to have a small renewal ceremony and we originally arranged to do the pictures in trade for babysitting sometime. She babysat for us in a pinch early this year and I assumed we were even. Since then, their small renewal ceremony has turned into a full-blown-big-church-normal-type-of-wedding thing. They are going all out. She asked Superman Tuesday how much he would charge to do their wedding. He told her a number $650 lower than we'd normally charge, thinking it would be too high and he could go down from there. She came back with a number $250 higher than his suggestion. So he took it!

Do you want to know one thing I was stressing out about that I no longer have to worry about because of this wedding? We went shopping yesterday for new school uniform items and backpacks!

I'd say we're pretty blessed!

Wordless Wednesday - "Ken Carson"

Have you ever wondered what happens to Ken when Barbie dumps him for his brother Tommy?


Seriously, check it out. Barbie's friends and families are all listed. Weird.

♥Ken Carson + Barbie Roberts Forever♥

But why did Derek from "The Rockers" look just like Ken but with way cooler hair?

I'm not very good at the wordless part of this Wordless Wednesday thing.

It has been decided

The trip, that is.

Up north.

To see the fam.

We're going. Even though we've had our share of visitors in the last 5 1/2 weeks.

If it would've been decided by vote I would've voted no all the way. But I still would've lost.

I've tried to claim everything from finances to exhaustion to possibly even throwing several big full blown one or two teeny tiny tantrums. I've tried many times to persuade Superman my way. And now, with 10 days until we leave, I surrender.

I didn't want to seem weak to Superman after putting up such a big fight, but I was about ready to give in anyway. The guilt calls from my mom were driving me crazy. I figured if we put it off, the calls would just get more frequent and annoying so we might as well go as originally planned and get it over with. That will buy us until at least Thanksgiving before we have to go again.

I know you think I sound horribly mean right now. I do love our families, but this summer has worn me out. Last summer was completely different. It was nice. We moved in March and having never been more than 25 miles from any family, it felt like eternity before our first visitors down here just 5 weeks after moving. We had company two weekends in a row our first April here. We made a trip up early June to see a new niece, we had one of Superman's brothers visit early August, and the other brother early September. We moved to a different house the next weekend. My parents were back down a week after we moved for Princess and Little Dude's birthday.

Ok. Now that I'm actually listing all of this it doesn't sound as good. Because after 2 visits last September, we went up in October for a funeral, November for Thanksgiving and December for Christmas. Heck, after all that I think we deserved the 6 month break we had this year!

My point? Right. After listing it all, you see how it's mostly all spaced out nice and even? I guess I feel like we were bombarded this summer. 3 visits in 5 weeks. And if I wouldn't have ignored calls from my niece during church, it would've been 4 visits in 5 weeks.

I don't think everyone else really understands how it feels to be us. To, first of all, know our financial situation and still be asked all the time when we are going to come visit. To be asked to leave the comforts of your home to sleep on an air mattress, follow someone else's schedule, try to see about a million people in 1 full day, and to have absolutely no privacy. To have to find someone to stay here to take care of the dogs and cat because we spent around $900 for boarding the last 3 months of last year to travel up there so much, and we can't spend that now.

If I had my way, we wouldn't be going. But since I can't, I'll trying to make the best of it. I always look forward to the road trip part of it. Even though sitting in the car for 8 hours is completely exhausting, it's also kind of fun.

So there it is. Not my decision, but probably the best decision. I was going to say for my sanity, but that's not correct. I'll just say it's the best decision that will give us 4 more quiet months until we start getting asked about coming up for Thanksgiving. So yeah, maybe it is for my sanity!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I'm really not loving the new "not me" Monday logo! What about you?

Last week is not a big blur. While I didn't love having Superman home from work 5 days in a row, it wasn't so nice to have the in-laws leave and let us get back to normal life. I don't believe I had "holiday lag" and the kids and I weren't completely lazy the last 3 days of the week.

We don't have a busy week of laundry and packing because the kids aren't going to my parents out of state again for a week one more time before school starts! We won't be meeting my parents about half way on Saturday to deliver the kids. And we aren't still unsure about making the full trip the following weekend.

Happy Not Me Monday!

Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic... On Sunday

Saturday's are good. And what a relaxing Saturday it was!

We started our day at Lowe's making treasure chests! Those were a lot harder to make than the things we've done in the past. But they turned out cute!

Then home, had some lunch and Superman and I took a movie upstairs to watch while the kids played video games. We watched August Rush. I was really surprised by how good that movie was! Then we drifted off for a quick nap while the kids were still playing.

Weekend suppers stink if you ask me. I spend all week cooking and really hate to cook on the weekends. I saw one too many Long John Silvers commercials as I was dozing off for my nap and was in the mood for some battered deep fried goodness. I'm the only one that likes LJS though. Superman and Peanut wanted Taco Bell and Little Dude and Princess wanted McDonalds. Luckily on one road close by, those 3 places are all lined up in a row. So we hit 3 drive-thrus and brought it all home.

Ever since I cut my hair, Princess has been talking about wanting her hair cut just like mine. We said no at first. Then yesterday we decided it's just hair and if she wants it cut, I'll do it. So we did! It was late though and she went to bed with it still wet from her shower so I'm really hoping it doesn't look screwed up this morning when she gets up!

From July 11, 2009

Wanna play?

Healthy Friday

I really wish I had some exercise to tell you about, but I don't.

Don't worry, I haven't lost any of the motivation I gained from seeing those pictures. I hope you know the ones because I refuse to link to them anymore!

Motivation is there. So are more headaches, back pain and just plain exhaustion after last weekend's company and weird days with Superman being off work. I think I have holiday lag.

The back pain is my own fault. Remember when I mentioned a stabbing pain in my left shoulder blade? I assumed it was a pulled muscle from tons of yard work a few weeks ago. It finally went away maybe a week and a half ago. It.Felt.Amazing. When it hurts straight through your back to your chest just to move or take a deep breath or cough or sneeze, you really don't miss it when it's gone. And now it's back.

Again, totally my fault. Superman and I got out alone Monday morning to go to the chiropractor while his parents were here. We don't usually go in together, either we go at completely different times or when together, I go in with the kids and he goes in alone, but Monday we went in the little cubicle area with the table together. I went first, feeling tense from a stressful few days. I breathed in and all the way out and relaxed the best I could. But Superman said as soon as the chiropractor touched my back, he saw my shoulders tense up. And when my middle back cracked, the shooting pain flooded me. I've had that lovely pain in my shoulder blade ever since. All because I tensed up while getting adjusted.

So I'm starting to think I'm just doomed in the area of weight loss. Tension gives me shooting back pain, humidity gives me migraines, back pain and migraines leave me exhausted. The Shred hurt my knee, walking hurts my foot. Can you think of any more excuses? I'd be surprised if you did.

I am devising a plan though. I'm still holding on to those yoga DVDs that Sara was kind enough to let me borrow, along with the empty pilates case *giggle*. I lost weight playing Wii Fit when we first got it and I have My Fitness Coach for Wii. When I bought The Shred, I also got Cardio Max and Power Sculpt. So it sounds like I have enough to keep me busy and entertained.

The other part of my plan? Stop buying ice cream. I'll admit, I'm addicted. I'd probably drop 5 lbs instantly if I could stay away from the chocolate moose tracks. And I'm trying to drink more water. I don't really care for water but I also have a slight addiction to Coke Zero. And Cherry Coke Zero. And Dr. Pepper. Other than that, the only thing I might change is not necessarily the food we eat, but how much. I know our serving sizes are bigger than they should be.

Anyway, I'm weighing myself this morning for the first time since I tried to start The Shred. I'm not sure I want to know since ice cream has taken over my life, but I need to know. Maybe I'll add a little ticker or something on here somewhere so you guys can keep me on track.

Next week I promise to try something not from Kraft Foods. Maybe.

This is the Ultimate Grilled Steak.


What you need:

1/2 cup A.1. Original Steak Sauce

1/2 cup KRAFT Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

2 small cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano leaves

2 beef rib-eye steaks (1 lb.)

Mix all ingredients except steaks; reserve 1/4 cup. Pour remaining steak sauce mixture over steaks in resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Turn over to coat both sides of steak with sauce. Refrigerate 30 min. to marinate.

Heat grill to medium-high heat. Remove steak with marinade; discard bag and marinade.

Grill steak 4 to 5 min. on each side or until done (160°F.) Serve topped with reserved dressing mixture.

280 calories. Source.

Superman says...
So, any comments from my regular SCPM* partiers about what day you prefer? We actually have a free weekend but how about we post and link on Sunday again? I can have it up by 9:00am Sunday instead of sometime before midnight Saturday night. Let me know if you have any thoughts about what day it goes up.

Happy weekending!


*Saturday Cell Phone Mosaic
**Updated: I weighed myself for the first time in 2 months and was EXACTLY the same! In May, I was up 1.2 lbs from March but haven't gained a single ounce since May. Amazing. You can now help keep me accountable by watching my ticker on my right sidebar!