This lesson has been modified to fit your screen....

Okay, this one is going to be a vent.

I am not technology challenged, but neither am I am technology genius. But I am seriously scratching my head over the last 4 weeks of middle school.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a limited amount of screen time for our kids- including computer screens, ipods, phones, and tv time. At least, that's the way I understand it. This is already a struggle in my home as I have two gamer sons. So, why, oh, why, must there be so much REQUIRED screen time in our middle school agendas and learning? I'm ok with some of it- I know you need to relate to what the kids are doing now, but let me enlighten you about what it does to me as a parent- because I can't even imagine how overwhelmed Mason feels right now...

Mason has 7-8 periods a day. With at least 7 teachers. Each teacher has an email address and corresponds with me by emails. So I have spent the last 4-5 weeks frantically searching my email box for their correspondence, only to find some of it 2 days late, in my junk folder. Oh, wait- we added a new permanent social studies sub, so even though I added the original teacher to my in box, the new teacher is now going to my junk mail. This sender, (and the other 7) are now safe. Phew, that should do it, right? I should be getting everything I need to know, right?

Oh, wait, no, they don't all email- some prefer to use the school "education app" Edmodo- it's really cool- like a facebook for teachers, parents and students. Oh, but wait- we don't ALWAYS put the assignments or correspond by Edmodo- sometimes we prefer to have the students write them in their agendas instead, so please check that too. Please see Mason's specific username and passcode 3795867b voho to access Edmodo. You will only have the parent view of the folder unless you log in as Mason using his specific username and passcode woiuer oiuo.

By the way, you can conveniently check all of his grades, attendance and tardies on our "Home Access Center". This is convenient way to stay on top of his work and grades. You will need his other username _________ and password lwiu iuoe. Oh wait, he's late on his assignment? Please check his agenda...

It depends on the teacher as to whether they want to have assignments in the agenda or on Edmodo...

Oh wait, he didn't write it in his agenda? Then maybe you better count on him to bring the notebook home with the notes and assignment in it to complete at home. I'm sorry if you didn't know about said notebook and said assignment needing to come home, and it wasn't on the Edmodo tab- but he didn't complete his assignments on time, so now he will have to stay after school for 3 HOURS to complete it.

Oh, wait, you didn't know we use three additional sites for Math? Oh, I'm so sorry, they're in my signature line on the email that went to your junk folder. There are also individual usernames and passwords for each of the other two math sites we use to keep the kids sharp.

Please keep these usernames and passwords in a safe place where you and your child have access to them and please stay on top of your kids to make sure they are completing all assignments on time.

Please bring your own device to school, because we will be "flipping" the lesson- we'll give them notes, but they'll need to go online to learn the lesson...

What, the what????? Someone, please help me- am I alone here? I have no idea how to know what's going on at any given time, and I really feel like to get to the bottom of it, I have to spend a good 30 minutes of MY day making sense of something like homework assignments that really shouldn't be that complicated. Help. I'd love any of your tips and tricks to make this middle school thing flow easier.

Pinterest Punked

Hey girls, I'm sure we all have that one story (or several) that we can tell- all about that time that Pinterest totally punked us. NAILED it.

Pinterest has come through for me time, and time again, and I even have a board that I call, "I tried it and it's true". Well, now, apparently, I'm going to need to create a board that states the opposite... and I think I'll call it "Pinterest Punks".

Have you seen the cool pin that shows a girl's hand, with a beautiful French manicure created by those little round hole punch reinforcement tabs? Well, that's not my hand, but here's my review of that process.

So far, so good...

Okay, so it's not a perfectly straight line, and there's adhesive all over my nails, but nothing a little finger nail polish remover won't take care of....

Okay, so I know my cuticles are shot, and I don't profess to be a nail tech or anything, but most of what you see in this picture is either glue/adhesive or nail polish that has now clumped up and stuck to my nail. I was starting to consider some goo-gone and mentioned to Hubby that this pin was NOT working as planned, to which he responded- "Hey, is now a good time to download those built-in bookcase plans from Pinterest?" Ha. Hah. Aren't you just the comedian?

Here's the finished product. At this point, I was emotionally invested in the project and thought you guys deserved to see a finished product- complete with top coat (painted over the adhesive that wouldn't come off).

In a nutshell, either I'm an idiot (which could COMPLETELY be the case, since I am nail polish challenged), OR this pin sucks. I'll let you decide.

I'm happy to report that since Hubby also coined this Pin "Ghetto", I have completely removed all of said "French manicure" and sticky adhesive. All I have to say is that maybe next time I'll try Dollar Store reinforcement tabs, because Avery makes a damn good product.

Tilt-A-World

The other night I had a dream that I was going to the top of a really tall building to enjoy dinner at a five star Asian restaurant. It was beautiful up there- orchids everywhere, rich colors of purple, gold and red filling the room, and comfortable white leather couches that were sleek yet comfortable to sink into while we enjoyed dinner. While waiting to be seated, patrons could enjoy a giant ride- out on the balcony- that resembled a flower. Each patron could sit inside one of the flower petals and the ride would lift up and spin round and round while spinning round and round- picture the "Scrambler" or the "Tea Cups"- but in the air- on top of a sky scraper. I like these kind of rides, but the only problem was, the safety bar came unlatched on four of the cars, including mine. I held on for dear life. When I got off, they asked if my kids wanted to ride it next. My answer was a firm, "NO! They're NOT getting on this ride."

I'm not sure what that dream has to do with this blog, but go ahead, psycho-analyze that. And no, there was no alcohol or drugs to aide in the creation of said dream.

Now, I do want to say that my family is in the midst of the middle school transition. Lots of parents have shrugged this off when I mentioned it- stating that it's no big deal. I'll tell you right now it sure feels like a big deal. Bigger than Kindergarten. When I read stories of what goes on in middle school among middle schoolers now, I am terrified. And truthfully, coming from a small Christian school where I was a goodie-goodie- I can't relate. The stories of sex, porn, drugs, alcohol, bullying and suicide alone send me into the fetal prayer position. What if he's bullied and doesn't tell me? What if he sees stuff he shouldn't and doesn't ask? What if he falls into the wrong crowd? What if all we've tried to teach him doesn't stick? What if he doesn't feel loved? It makes my heart hurt.

I've not worried too much about my Mason with things like this in the past, and truthfully, I'm trusting God that I won't need to now. I'm doing all the stuff they say to do- keep communication open, pray, pray, pray; stay informed. And it's not that I don't think he's ready. I know he is. I know in some states they start middle school in 7th grade instead of 6th, but because of what I've read recently, I've realized I am SO thankful my son is moving into middle school at the 6th grade level at church too. There are questions and situations that he will face that will take more than a parent can give, and for that I am thankful, thankful, thankful to have the reinforcement of my church, and hopefully- some new much prayed for godly, positive influences in his life.

Coen is struggling too a little, I think. He is holding my hand a lot, and didn't play with friends on the playground at Popsicles with the Principal- he just stuck close to me. Mason was at the middle school doing the middle school stuff and I could tell it was really hitting home for him that he will be solo too. If all goes the way it should, they will never walk the same halls of the same school at the same time again. Which will be tough for these two peas in a pod- at least the little one.



I've posted pictures on Facebook of Mason and his new violin, and walking the yellow locker lined halls, and I think people think that is what's freaking me out. That's not it. Well, maybe a little (when I think about him scrambling from class to class with only 4 minutes, forgetting notebooks, losing cell phones, getting said cell phone confiscated for the year, not writing down home work, being late for class, or worse- going to the wrong class, dressing out for PE and being uncomfortable, well, there's just a few things)... but the truth is, that stuff is really exciting. A chance for him to grow up, and learn and be responsible. Which also brings a tear because I feel like I'm at a precipice where I'm grasping to hold on to the little boy I love, and he's just not going to be that - on the outside at least, anymore.

We're practicing combination locks, the route to classes, going over all the things we can prep him for on the halls of the middle school. Once he has middle school down, high school will be a breeze. And then college, and then life...

So yes, I'm freaking a little. And hoping and praying that all that we've taught and loved and prayed will stick and continue to stick. I covet your prayers for all of us, as Mason gets on this brand new ride.

Yes, we have no bananas- but we DO have everything else.

I have gotten a lot of questions about my shopping/prepping/freezing habits for meals. I wanted to take a minute to explain briefly how meal prep goes down in my household (on a good week). When I tell people how I do things, a lot of them comment that cooking and shopping and prepping this way costs too much time, and money. Hopefully this blog will clear up some of the questions. This type of blog is all over the internet but here it is from my perspective.

I do the bulk of my shopping- every two weeks. This of course does not include the stops that Martin and/or I might make to pick up something we've forgotten, or wine or beer runs, or the occasional week when my kids crank through two gallons of milk, or gobble up my produce in two seconds flat.

Prepping this way is so healthy, because fresh, clean fruits and vegetables are ready to go at a moments notice, and can be easily added to a dish, served in a lunch box, or as a snack that my kids can help themselves too. Plus, we tend to actually run out of produce on the weeks when I take time to prep it. This is great and the argument I would make to those worried about costs. How much money are you wasting on produce you buy and never use? These particular weeks, I spent $225 on two and half weeks of food, and that included chicken, beef, produce, dairy (I do my dairy runs at Costco- milk, block cheese, organic free range eggs, feta cheese and sour cream as well as bread- this stuff usually stretches more than 2 weeks with the exception of the milk and eggs); plus whatever household toiletry needs we had. For those that don't know- we have a family of four that includes two growing boys at nearly 7 and 11. The way I figure it- that breaks down to feeding my family at $5.35 per meal- even less if you include snacks; and most of the meals double for another use, and again that included ALL of our groceries and toiletries. I say, not bad at all.

The first thing I did wash rinse my berries, and grapes and soak them in a vinegar solution of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water.


According to pinterest, this helps remove some of the insecticides- if you can't buy organic; and also prevents berries and fruits from molding. I must say this was the first time I had tried the vinegar idea. I will say that I was VERY impressed. You cannot taste the vinegar on the fruits at all (I did re-rinse mine after) and while the strawberries and blueberries were all gone well before two weeks were up, the grapes lasted a solid 2-1/2 weeks. So I give this a thumbs up. The strawberries I did not prep this way last week ended up costing me 1 and half containers of berries within 3 days. I'm not kidding. It nearly made me weep to compost them. So, worth doing the rinsing in vinegar.

For containers, any storage container will do, but I used my handy dandy fridge smart containers I have from my 2 minute-early-married-days stint as a Tupperware lady. I have to say, between these and the Modular Mates- money well spent 13-1/2 years ago. If you want some, go to the Tupperware website. Sadly, I don't know a rep currently (chime in, if you're one). Sorry, I got on a tangent. Anyway, any storage container will do, really- you'll see I used several. However, I do recommend putting a paper towel in the bottom of any container- it absorbs the excess water. Last week, when we did the Waste portion of Seven, I banned paper towels and all paper products for a week, and hence the 1-1/2 containers of wasted strawberries. One of them I did wash, but it still molded without my Viva paper towel. :( The berries and grapes will obviously end up in our tummies by way of adding to cereal, oatmeal, lunch boxes, snack cups, and vanilla greek yogurt with granola. YUM.

Next up, kale.
I decided what was good for the berries is probably good for the kale, and I washed that and soaked it in vinegar too. I should mention- kale is a tough little cookie to clean. Even soaking (yucky water afterwards) did not remove all the grit and stuff in the leaves- so this took the longest time to clean. When it was clean, I removed the tough stems, tore it into bite sized pieces and stuck it all in a gallons sized ziplock with a paper towel.



It lasted well over 2 weeks, although occasionally I did have to pull a yellowed piece or two. I used up the kale by adding it to my juicing in the mornings, and at the very end, we gobbled it up by way of kale chips. My kids seriously love them and get mad if I eat too many. That recipe is in my cookbook, "The Care Giver's Cookbook", which you can find the link here.

Another staple I keep in our house is red and green peppers and onions. So next up, I washed the peppers (in vinegar solution), and rinsed the green onions. I diced a whole onion, as well as about 1/2 of the red and green pepper. I reserved some onion in a container by itself (to be used for hot dogs or taco toppings) and also mixed a little with the diced red and green onion in a separate container (this will be added as desired to omelets, taco meat, spaghetti sauce- where ever I think it fits- it's a great ground meat stretcher- so I can use 1/2 pound instead of a full when I also add grated carrots). I also reserved 2 chopped green onions and 1/4 diced red pepper for Cowboy Caviar I made at the end.


I washed and chopped cauliflower and stored it in a ziplock bag. Later that week, I mixed it with carrots and potatoes and roasted it- an easy side dish and 1/2 for us, 1/2 for a friend who needed a meal. I washed and chopped 1 bunch of celery- 3/4 of it into celery sticks for lunch boxes and juicing, and the rest diced- to add to dishes.



Carrots- I do a little differently because there's so many uses for them. I wash a whole bag- I think this was a 1 pound bag. After cutting ends and peeling, I cut the slimmer ones into carrot sticks for lunchboxes and juicing, and then I cut about 4-5 into bigger chunks because I was planning a stew that week. I also grate (I miss my food processor which is broken) probably 5-6 carrots. I use the grated carrots in taco meat, spaghetti sauce (again, ground meat stretcher) and salads.


Also, I cut up in cubes- one whole pineapple, and one cantaloupe. My fridge was one happy fridge. And not one single stitch of this produce was thrown away.


This same day, I made home-made ranch dressing for the kids to eat with their carrot and celery sticks, and a batch of Cowboy Caviar for snacking and lunch box.


So, now, you're probably thinking, "Oh my Lord, she was in the kitchen ALL DAY!". No. It was less than 2 hours- I think about an hour and a half- give or take. So one day- less than 2 hours, and my family had fresh produce at their finger tips for 2 weeks. Here's my receipt which includes the produce I just mentioned, plus some meats and other items and I think pears and apples. I have not pictured my Costco and Target receipts. You'll just have to trust me there.



Do you have time saver tips for healthy eating? What are they?

The Greatest Generation of Care Givers

There is a whole generation of men out there who are now faced with the insurmountable task of being a care giver to their wives. For whatever reason- surgery, stroke, cancer- they now find themselves in a role that they haven't even seen their wives in for 30-50 years or more- the role of Care Giver. Many of them have no idea how to begin, and have a lack of local help. They struggle with the day to day of just getting themselves and their wives through bathing, feeding, toilet, and cleaning the house. In addition, they are now faced with the pressure of putting meals on the table- healthy ones to boot- many are on special diets; not too mention the fact that they have been raised to not ask for help (or don't know how).

Rather than watching our loved ones serve and consume sodium packed frozen dinners while we're not there to help, I propose we give them tools to prepare meals that are fast, easy and with few ingredients. I also propose we give them tools to ask for help.

I have created my first ever Care Giver's Cookbook. It includes shopping lists, recipes, and even a HELPER list to put on the fridge. They don't have to ask for help- they can just point helpers to the fridge!



This cookbook doesn't just work for Care Givers, I've actually used several of the recipes in our own family's meal rotation. Every busy person deserves a healthy, easy meal. I would like to point out that not all of the recipes are my original works. I have compiled some from Allrecipes.com (you can search by dietary needs), Pinterest, and my handy-dandy Better Homes and Gardens cookbook circa 2000.

So pop over and visit my first ever cookbook. Click here to read my new mini-cookbook! I'm already rolling around ideas in my head for weeks 2-4!

Affirmation Junkie

I'm still here. And, well, bottom line is that after media fast- I just didn't feel like I needed to rush over here and put things down into the blogosphere. Not all of it was pretty, and I didn't really want judgement seeping through my computer screen to suck me down a vortex of guilt and shame. Not that ya'll would ever do that.

The week of the media fast left me irritable, angry, upset and lonely. I should mention that during this week- the Boston Bombing happened on Monday, followed by the West, TX explosions on Wednesday (Only 1-1/2 hrs away), and the massive manhunts for the bombing suspects. I was inundated by bad news on tv and internet- which was all I had; and craved some happy kittens and baby faces from Facebook. There's only so many times you can check the weather ya'll- even when you're a weather nerd like me. By Saturday, I was just about to melt down and had Martin trolling Facebook for me and feeding me snippets of information. This showed me a lot about myself- who am I following for entertainment and gossipy purposes, whose lives and families I legitimately follow, and who could I maybe unsubscribe from because their threads are giant pinterest boards. I know that's not all nice, but it's true.

By Saturday afternoon, I was ready to quit the fast. That evening was our annual neighborhood mashed potato fight, and the following day (Sunday) was BOTH of my kids baptisms. At the thought of not being able to post pictures and cute jokes, trash talk (to my mashed potato neighbors, not the baptism stuff), and pondering inspirational thoughts- I became angrier and even resentful. It didn't seem right to not share this with my family and friends. I was sharing GroupMe texts with the Bible Study girls and they were all, "You can do it!", "Hang in there!", "Savor the joy...", blah, blah, blah. No offense girls. But I was upset and resentful and that just got on my nerves like a drug addict fighting an intervention. At one point Saturday afternoon, I asked Martin- "At what point is a fast not healthy!?!?! I'm not learning anything spiritually. I've got NOTHING!" He didn't have an answer. But the Bible Study girls words haunted me like a bad rash, and I held on. (I'm thankful now).

Five days in- the break through came to me on Sunday morning during service. Jim said (I think it was Jim?) "If you're looking toward a wide audience for affirmation then you're not looking to God. And that's a sin." (Or, something very close to that, but that was the general idea). Oh. The sermon was not even about Facebook, it was about love. But that little tidbit was there just for me. I realized that I look to Facebook, pinterest, blog, etc- for affirmation. "Oh, you're so funny, oh your kids are so cute (insert kind, funny, sweet, huggable), what a cute family!, oh how pretty you look in that dress". This is an easy hole to get sucked into for me, because hubs is gone a lot. And I get lonely. I literally have days where I'm clicking refresh to "hear" another adult (besides the Target cashier) say something. Even better if it's to me. And it's nice.

I powered through, and did not break the fast. not once. Even when I got the message from FB that I had all those notifications waiting on me.


On Tuesday when we went back to Bible Study and reviewed/discussed our week, I threw up on the table (verbally,not literally)- just because I wanted to hear what they had to say about it. I posed the same question to them that I had to Martin- at what point is a fast not healthy? One friend replied, "when I did the media fast... I knew that when I wasn't yet learning or growing through the thing- I needed to go longer because I wasn't ready to learn or grow yet." Oh, again. And I thought my bad attitude would get me off the hook.

So, Facebook and Pinterest are still not on my phone- just on the ipad. Those 21 notifications? 17 of them were invitations to play Candy Crush, Slyngo, Jyngo, Jango, Fashionista, and Star Wars Angry Birds; I don't even know if I got all those game names right- but I'm not a gamer on Facebook or ipad, and I learned really quick how to unsubscribe from those requests. I also find Facebook way less interesting (almost annoying), and find myself posting less. Usually when I do post- it's pictures, so I do have instagram. During this journey with Seven, I made a new friend at the church, and she pointed out that Facebook can be a good thing- when used the right way. So I've been trying to find ways to use it for good- for example swapping/sharing stuff instead of buying new stuff, encouraging friends with a verse or prayer or encouragement I know they might need to face a certain situation, reading inspirational blogs I've seen on Facebook. So, it's not all bad. But it can also be used the wrong way.

How are you using social media for good? I'd love to hear your ideas!

The big hypocrite

Matthew 6:16
New International Version (NIV)
Fasting

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.


Yeah. This week- this verse applies to me. The big hypocrite. I'm grumpy, irritable and just not a happy person. I can't tell if this I because I'm PMS-y, the world is going to hockeysticks in a hand basket and its downright depressing, or if I'm stinking irritated and lonely from lack of social interaction. Any whichwayyoucutit, I'm upset at my attitude right now.

I have tears in my heart and lump in my throat because of Boston, and closer to my heart- West Texas. This hurts my heart especially as the sister of a Chief volunteer fireman. A public servant his whole adult life- I know that he would swoop in on a seconds notice just the way those first responders did, and so- these deaths hurt me. Lord help us all. Prayers for West Texas and Boston.

Going Dark

I'm about 36 hours into my media fast- which will consist of no facebook and no pinterest for 7 days. For some people that's no big deal. For me, I'm realizing it is.

I didn't have a lot of problems deleting the Facebook app from my ipad (this was the last thing I took off my phone at the last second) but I DID have some issues with Pinterest. I texted my friend, Ann, who's already done this fast- to make sure that it wouldn't delete all my pins for all eternity by removing the app temporarily from phone and ipad. Because there's some important stuff on there. On my pinterest boards. Like, how to grow sweet potatoes from an organic one. And what plants can surround my patio to keep mosquitoes away. And my recipes (very few have failed me yet). Plus, my best friend's getting married, and we all know that my pins for her wedding will make it or break it. How in the world will my garden survive without Pinterest? (So far, so good).

I did not let my cell phone ride on my dash board yesterday like it was my best friend. It stayed in my purse and I felt very naked. Also, in the last 36 hours, my husband has been stuck in Chicago (thanks American Airlines computer gliche) for a full 24+ hrs more than he'd planned. I specifically planned this fast so he'd be here, so I'd have some adult conversation and companionship. So it's been a long 24 hours. With no one to "talk" too, or banter with. Oh my Lord what a sad little person I've become when Facebook is my best friend when Martin's out of town. I have been having a full-on pity party for 24 hours or more. There's nothing spiritual going on here except me realizing I count on people and "Noise" too much. (This probably stems from my childhood years of 4 siblings plus 2 parents, a couple of dogs, a couple of birds, Lord knows how many cats and even a couple bunnies, and maybe even a few extra relatives living in the same house as me. It was never quiet. I can't do quiet).



A few tidbits my Facebook world has missed:

My need for parenting advice when one of my kids lied PLUS disobeyed me directly, and the other was an accomplice.
Me slamming my finger in the bathroom door and not being able to whine about it. (It still hurts ya'll).
Husband sitting in an airport for at least 5+ hours before American finally cancelled his flight and he gave up and got a hotel.
American Airlines calling me at 4:45am to let me know hubby's NEW flight was cancelled too. Yes, thank you. I needed to know that. (No I couldn't go back to sleep).
And the fact that I've consumed at least 6 chocolate chip cookies in the past 24 hours (2 at breakfast) to replace the vice.

Good Lord. Ya'll need to KNOW this stuff!!!! I just realized everyone of those was negative. But hey, it wasn't a great day.

Good things about it so far:

NONE.

Just kidding.

I haven't had to read a lot of stuff about Boston (which makes me sad, depressed and angry) unless I choose too.
I haven't gotten down nearly as many rabbit holes- ie: check Facebook news feeds, which leads me to read friends blog- which leads to an article about ____ in our foods,(OMG I ALMOST JUST PULLED UP FB TO SEE WHAT THAT WORD WAS ON HER BLOG!), which leads to the article on which food products contain _____ and which brands to buy/avoid, back to facebook updates- repeat process.
I read books with the boys last night.
I watched Mason play basketball.
I folded 5 loads of laundry (too many).
I did my Bible study.
I'm sending cards to 3 friends.
I've got a niggling suspicion I'm supposed to be letting God and my family fill up my silence instead of white noise.

Hopefully, I'll get off my hiney and take a walk later. Instead of scrolling around. Even now, I can't post this blog to Facebook. Gah.

Do You Like to Shop? Yes, yes I do.

So, before I begin my media chapter (no facebook/pinterest starts tonight at 10:30- Lord give me strength), I wanted to share with you the two little nuggets I found while researching for Possessions last week.

So, in the book Jen recommends under "Further Action" for possesions outfitting an apartment for a refugee family. For some reason, this really stuck with me. How must it feel to leave your home, family, friends, country and go to a totally new and extremely different place- not knowing the language or having a job lined up? The idea scares me till I'm sick to my stomach. So, I decided to see how I could help with this.

I did a little googling and found that actually there are NOT a lot of organizations that assist families with this in the Dallas area- maybe 2? But I did find that the Catholic Charities of Dallas has a ministry in this area. Now, I need to take a moment and say- I'm not Catholic (hubby was raised Catholic, but I'm not). But I have to tell you that nearly all the searches I did pointed me to the work that the Catholic church is doing for the community and internationally- not just with refugees but across the board. It was A LOT. It made me wonder why we haven't all jumped on this wagon before now. I was impressed that it seems to be a major focus of their global church, and I think we could all learn a thing or two about their compassion ministries.

I digress. So, after some digging around to different churches, sites, etc. I was pointed to Catholic Charities of Dallas. I found that they have a retail store that benefits refugees monetarily or with household items to outfit their temporary apartments while they adjust to a new life. They even pick up in my area. Sah-weet.(I still need to verify this and call for pick up when I'm done gathering my stuff- but Frisco is referenced as a pick up area). So, I will be calling them to come get the household items I'm donating, as well as a piece of furniture or two.

Also, in my digging, I landed on this page called VolunteerMatch.org. It's basically a data base of volunteer opportunities across the world. You can even plug in what you like to do, what you're good at, what pulls at your heart strings, and it will help you match up to volunteer opportunities that you might enjoy. Nif-ty! So,just based on the fact that I googled Refugee apartments Dallas (or something like that), this page came up and showed an open position with Catholic Charities of Dallas for "Apartment Set Up Volunteer". Description said something like, "Do you like to shop?" (Yes). "This position is an opportunity to assist a refugee family by shopping off a list of items (we give you the money), and setting up a new apartment- including making beds, etc." Okay. this is right up my alley. I love doing stuff like this.



So, I connected to the organization through Volunteer Match. I got an email immediately with the organization's contact info, and had an email directly from the organization coordinator within the day. I'm looking into this now, as a way to volunteer one day a week in the community. Still some paperwork, training, background checks, etc, but I'm checking it out!

My point is that I've had several girlfriends bemoan the fact that they want to DO something. Contribute something. Too often, while we as moms are raising our kids as a contribution to society- we want more. I think that's AWESOME! I know when Coen started preschool/kinder I was left feeling like I had lost some of the purpose in my day; and I've heard other friends say the same. Girls, if this is you, then here's your chance! Jump on the site, find what pulls at your heart strings and DO something! There's tons of opportunities, charities, times, and availability.

I know I'm going to have plenty of extra time this week- what with the Facebook fast and all. Yikes.

*UPDATE: Just contacted Catholic Charities of Dallas. They WILL pick up in Frisco. I am booked a week out for next Wednesday. They will take gently used furniture that is not broken, stained, etc. Also, up to 5 bags or boxes. So, now, I just need to go get this stuff boxed up.

The Cry Room

I almost had to use the cry room at church today. Not because I have a crying baby in the service, necessarily, but because I was about to BE a crying baby in the service.

Many of you might know, I work as a "hostess" of sorts for our first time guest check in at church. I assist new families with signing their kids in, assigning rooms, and acting as a mini tour guide of Preston Trail Community Church. (Love, love, love, love, love my church ya'll). I really, really love this role I'm in- I never want anyone to walk out of the church feeling like there's not a community of love and support there. I love it so much, that I have been known to run back to the desk between tours so that no one else gets to greet MY first time guests. So funny on the days when I find myself doing that.

Anyway, today I had an experience like no other. I've been in this role for several years now, and have never once had an unpleasant guest or experience. Until now. I'm not sure what the deal was, but this guest came in with guns blaring for some reason. I was asked if I was a regular volunteer, because things just seemed "sooo disorganized". Those were her exact words. I was baffled by the attack as she fired questions at me, and attacked the way we do things (all of which is entirely safe, organized and done with love and care). I felt my face flush, I stuttered, I didn't know what to do. I told her we're almost at capacity in every service, so while things might seem disorganized, and busy, it DOES work, and there are methods. She kept at it. Then she went after one of the children's directors, and said, "This place does NOT work for me!" and spun on her heel and walked away. Okay. What in the world? Welcome to Jesus' house, ya'll. There was more, but I'm not going to go into it.

I kept my cool, but I can tell you I walked back to the desk stunned. I take these kind of things too personally, and I felt somewhere between two things- a) I had failed at making her feel comfortable in the church and b) well, she didn't know what she was missing in Preston Trail. I explained to my friend Denyse, who's on staff (in case we get a phone call or email), and I said, "How could she say that?!?!?! I think I'm really GOOD at 1st time guests! Boy that's a bruise to the ego!" We both laughed. No, but really. I have a bruised ego.(I feel like if this was Twitter I would insert the hashtag #notaboutme here).

So, we go into the service a bit late, and guess what? The service is on "7 Reasons It's Hard For Me To Love You"- Specifically, for this week- "You get on my last nerve". Oh. How appropriate. Jim's message (you can download notes or stream our services live HERE) was on 1 Corinthians 13:4 "Love is patient. Love is Kind" and it was not your normal wedding sermon. Things I wrote down that stuck out- "We don't have to LIKE everyone, but we can make the choice to act in ways of love for their good." "Being patient allows us time to understand why people are who they are." "Remember how patient he's been with us." "Transforming enmity into friendship is a game-changing life skill."

Then he referenced a verse that I loved: Romans 2:4

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

"4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?"


....MEANING.... we are to demonstrate the kindness, tolerance and patience as much as possible to others, because he did that for us. He led us to repentance with kindness, tolerance and patience. I thought about my first time guest, and this sermon served as a nudging from the Holy Spirit that helped me change my perspective on the ego assault. I felt bad for what she was missing out on in my great church community, and said a little prayer that whatever had made her that way, she would find a place that helped her let that go. She is not the enemy. Satan is. The five year ago Manda would never have done that for someone who took my ego, insulted it, threw it on the floor and did the Mexican hat dance around it. Thank you, Lord Jesus. This is some progress.

Now that's a lot of STUFF...

Week 3 is Possessions.

Now, I really didn't think this one is a big deal to me because I'm a purger by nature. I have been known in the past to actually purge things on impulse and regret it later. (I miss you, black leather boots). I can truthfully say that I typically purge half-heartedly at least every 6 months. (The exception to this has become my kids closets of toys because sorting 10 million legos, action figures, and matchbox cars takes me to brink of insanity. I do that about once per year).

However, this type of purging, Jen Hatmaker asks you do is different. It's purging with a purpose. With intent. To help someone else who doesn't have any of the clutter or even necessary "Stuff" that we have. (For some reason, her references to refugee family apartments has stuck with me this whole week- there is a lot there to talk about, but it will have to be another blog. My brain is seriously backed up with at least 3 blog posts right now). So, yesterday, I finally started out with the purging process I had been putting off for two weeks- trying to pull items that would help furnish an apartment. My goal is 210 items (30 items X 7 days).

Turns out it was quite liberating.

I started in the least obvious place you would think of... the tiniest closet in my house. The linen closet in my boy's bathroom. You would not believe the useful items I purged from that closet- stuff I look at all the time and NEVER USE.

21 useful items came from that closet. Next was the guest bedroom closet, which was ANOTHER puzzling gold mine of goodies. I guess we hide our "just in case" stuff in the least used rooms. And here I was thinking it would all come from my kid's rooms.... Hmmm. Then the bonus room and kids clothes. (Notice I'm still dodging toys).

Interesting items purged:

-Toddler toilet seat (seriously? My kids have been potty trained for at least 3-1/2 years; don't worry, I cleaned it!)
-Toddler step stool
-Brand new barely used trash can with garbage lid (uhhhh, why?)
-Deluxe foot bath Martin bought me while I was preggo. With Mason. 10-1/2 years ago.
-Hand towels, dish rags
-Queen size bedding set with shams, and decorative pillows that almost broke my heart to give away.
-Pack-n-play/bassinet/changing table with mobile- that I've been holding onto "just in case" or "for when a baby visits". Then I realized that I have very few visitors/friends with pack-n-play aged babies, anymore. And I just don't think my future daughter-in-law is going to want to put her baby in a 30 year old pack-n-play that will probably be recalled at that point.

-About half of the precious, precious baby clothes from my bin of favorite baby clothes that I had saved. I purged those a long time ago, but apparently, doing so while Coen was still a toddler left me with blinders on. Some of the clothes were not sentimental at all, but so stinkin cute that I obviously thought I couldn't part with them. I *might* or *might not've* cried, and sniffed baby clothes while I was doing that. The shoes and the "My Uncle is US Marine" Shirt, all stayed.



- A whole bunch of kid's costumes and games, that I will donate to the school that needs them most.

Perhaps the most fun I've had purging was my showroom. If you don't know what I do for a living- I sell stuff with logos- bags, tshirts, cups, etc. So, I have a whole office set up with samples of some of my "Stuff". This is where I got REALLY excited. Remember my homeless man problem last week? How I had nothing to give him? Well, as I was going through my shirt samples, I found that I had several duplicate shirts (brand new), so I purged them. Not to mention about 20 extra tote bags, back packs and grocery bags. Suddenly it clicked! I'm going to make homeless bags!!!! So I started stuffing the bags with a "big" item like a shirt, hat, scarf, etc. (Yes, I can do scarves). Then I added a sports bottle, coffee cup, etc. Then I went through my health and beauty items and found first aid kits, hand sanitizers, sun screens and lip balms... one for each. I know I have a ton of hotel samples Martin has brought me so I will be adding these to the bags too- I'm going to have the boys help me stuff them and distribute. I have created 20 bags!



With these bags, I will carry a few in my car to give out, and I might pass the rest on to a friend who works with the homeless regularly- so she can distribute them. This has been my favorite thing yet! So excited! Plus, I get to have a clean floor in my office! It's a win-win!

So far, I'm up to 162 items purged. I still have to do my kitchen, the bathroom cabinets, and the garage. Right now, I'm sweating the 210 number because I don't know if I have that many more things- I just purged some of the kitchen last month. But then again, I never would've thought I had 162 items to begin with either, so maybe I'll surprise myself....


Cause that's already a LOT of stuff.

Before and after pics. So you can feel good with me.

Big Bad Wolf

I pulled some inspiration from Pinterest and then created my own version of the Big Bad Wolf for Coens fairy tale project tomorrow. I liked it enough to put it on my blog so I can Pin it!

I created this costume using a brown t-shirt, a foam visor, furry craft fabric from Hobby Lobby, and black, white and yellow felt, and some elastic. The whole project came in at about $12.50. It is no-sew, and I did it in about 45 minutes using a hot glue gun, scissors and my stapler. The only tricky part was getting the elastic bands the right size for the arms and double stapling them (Crisscross) to hold on good.



Here's the back:



And if this is not cute, I don't know what is....



Yay for being handy with a glue gun!

Preciousssss Pj's

The clothes fast is over.

I actually held off on changing clothes until just now, even though it actually ended at 1pm today. It was kind of hard to hold off because I SO wanted a clean shirt, but there wasn't time for me to change, and I wanted to get a picture when I actually did. I actually woke up this morning thinking- I might just end the fast a couple hours early. What was the point? I have learned and a lot, and I got the point, right? What's a couple of hours? I was lying in bed day dreaming about a clean shirt while hubby was getting ready to leave for work. When he came in to kiss me goodbye, he said, "You made it babe! Only 6 hours to go! Great job!". Oh. Okay. Guess I'll do the other 6 hours.

So, I have just put on a clean pair of pajamas for the first time in 7 days. I hope I never say that sentence again. LOL. I have to say that when I opened my pajama drawer I sort of gasped to realize how many pair I actually HAVE. I'm actually not sure I've got the point completely because when I walked into my closet, I muttered, "Myyyyy precioussssss." Um Yeah. I did.

I do feel pretty good walking into my closet when I realize how much I've paired down from before. Ballpark- I have paired down to about 6-7 of each item- long sleeve shirts, short sleeve, tank tops, cardigans, clothes I hope to get back into. It's still a lot, but WAY less than I had. Which means, someone, somewhere has a few new outfits to help them transition.

So, here's the quick rundown. Here's what I wore this week:



Guess what? That's 14 pieces of clothes, 3 bras, 4 pair of shoes (which I actually could have gotten by with 2, but hey), 2 pair of socks,and the full load of unmentionables (not shown for all of our sakes). I should mention that the pink shirt was only worn twice and the dress, and Rangers shirt, once. Sooooo, you do the math. And after doing yard work in my only pair of jeans and Rangers tshirt on Saturday, I should tell you that those two pieces were immediately retired to the laundry bag because they were beyond help.

Here's what I did NOT use from the bag:



Ummm, yeah. The workout clothes. Not so necessary when you really think about it. Getting sweaty was not at the top of my priority list this week, as always. But especially when it's a HUGE pain in the butt to wait on your hair to dry.

So, we're done with clothes for now. I'm sure I'll be pairing down even more. Especially after gasping at my pj and excessive collection of bras.

Next up, possessions. Aren't they the same thing?!?!?!?! Stay tuned...

You're so vain. You probably think this blog is about you.

Okay, so yesterday turned out to be a TOUGH day for the clothes fast.

It started out innocently enough- Martin and I decided we'd meet for lunch at his office, because we had an errand to do over by Harry Hines, and that's where he worked. No big deal, right? I ran through my list of clothes mentally, and felt quasi-confident I could pull off an outfit that didn't look like it came out of a bag. I joked to Martin that I needed to get in the shower super early if I wanted to come see him with dry hair.

Two things I noticed in the shower. First of all, baby boy needs to start hanging his wash rags up to dry when he's done instead of just throwing it in the corner of the shower. It's my pet peeve anyway, but now that I've been washing my ONE wash rag out, hanging it to dry and re-using it, it just seems wasteful to see if laying there sopping wet and gross. Secondly, since I've been using it to wash my wash cloth, my bar of soap is dangerously low, we're talking getting down to a sliver. I have never in my life eyeballed and envied my husbands huge, brand new fresh chunk of man soap. Until now. I kind of had to hold myself back to keep from using it.

Let's cut to the actual getting ready part. Since it was still cool outside and I only have two long sleeve options, I had planned to wear my jeans, white (still slightly stained) tank top with my denim shirt over it to hide the stain. A repeat of my outfit I wore to Bible Study last week- that wasn't half bad. The only problem was, I pulled my rolled up denim shirt out of the bag and immediately noticed it was wrinkled beyond belief- despite my best efforts. GREAT. Also, when I put it on, I noted that it was starting to carry a faint, worntoomanytimes odor. NO. No, this will not work. I should tell you that the denim shirt is an item I recently purchased that I had wanted for some time now. I pictured myself classy and sophisticated in it, like "Annie" from Dallas- rockin' out my denim shirt with my riding pants and riding boots. You know- classy casual. I can tell you, this is NOT the description I would use when I looked at myself in the mirror. More like- scary girl prison inmate. Ok, no worries- I can't really get around using the denim shirt, so I'll just pair it chicly with my maxi skirt and the tank top. FAIL. I looked like a very extreme religious fanatic that was only missing the hair that goes to my ankles. Crap, crap, crap. I finally settled on my pink tshirt, with the denim shirt and jeans. Not bad. The wrinkles were working their way out, and I was ignoring the smell.

I opened up my contact case and noted that, 1) I'm almost out of solution- like maybe 2 squirts left, and 2) OH. MY. GOSH. My contact apparently did NOT make it into the solution bath the night before, and was stuck to the side of the case (you probably now realize how blind I truly am), and was shriveled up and dried. Panic, panic, panic. This is where I freak out people. I wear my glasses at home only usually, because flashbacks of my hideous giant, pink, plastic frames from junior high haunt me to this day; and I cannot bring myself to imagine I look any different than I did then. This is full on panic mode. I cannot go into my husband's office, with wrinkled, smelly clothes, and glasses on my face.

Oh, and fabulous. Looks like my hair really ISN'T going to be dry.

Ya'll this is where I had my a-ha moment and realized how stinking vain I really am. I thought the clothes thing would be no big deal for me, but this seriously made me upset. What in the world would people think?!? What if I saw Martin's boss? I know everyone in that office. Would they think I just rolled out of bed, slept in my clothes, and didn't care?

This is the actual text I sent Martin at this point.



.....and his response.



Yes. I will just use the back door. No one will have to suffer.

I tried valiantly to revive shriveled contact, and it DID kind of plump back up. But I will tell you. Holy Cow. I put that sucker on my eyeball and paid for that all day. I couldn't see, it was blurry and hurt like the dickens. I had weepy left eye for most of the day after I took it out.

I got some great support from my Bible Study girls and Alicia. Power through the vanity. Let it go. I finally decided to embrace my look. I threw my hair into a soggy bun, and rocked out my glasses. I was going for edgy librarian.

On the way to his office, I passed a homeless man pushing his shopping cart through the office park. It had a few random things in it- I'm assuming that's all he owned. Wow. That put it into perspective. Totally humbled. I had tears in my eyes. THAT is why I'm doing this. To empathize. To see these people that I have ignored and missed all this time. I dug around in my purse. What can I give this guy? (I don't think he'd want the black flats I had on- not going to help him). Wow. I had a whopping $.04 in change in my purse. No bills, nada. (Which is not unusual for me in my little cashless society world). Made me so sad. Need to think of a good solution for this. Any ideas, guys?

As we drove off to eat lunch, I noticed them everywhere. I noticed opportunities to help someone every where. And that's the point.

A Cold Wet Rat

Okay, well that was not fun. The yard guys are supposed to come today and so I had to go outside in what we Texans consider FRIGID weather for April, and scoop the dog poop and clean up the back yard. With wet hair. And just a hoodie for a jacket. Whahhhh.

Considering that it's rained for three days- my backyard was and still IS a muddy muddy mess full of dog poo, so it took me some time. (I'm not exactly sure if the yard guys will accomplish ANYTHING with this muddy mess of a yard, but we'll see). It was what I would consider too cold for my blood... and I was REALLY wishing I had gloves while I was out there. My fingers and toes were freezing. And I definitely missed my blow dryer. To give you perspective on my wimpiness, the weather app says it's 45 out, but feels like 40. Boy, am I tough.

It's also cold and damp in my house, and I just wanted to crawl back in bed to be warm. I'm ashamed to say I wasted extra water in the shower this morning because I didn't want to get out the warmth and step into the cold with wet hair, and only a light jacket. Do blankets count as clothing? If not, I might just walk around with one of those around me.

So...... I can only imagine.....

A woman on the run

Week 2 is Clothes. A lot of the girls in my group are only wearing 7 clothes for 7 days. But I decided that since my mommy wardrobe basically usually consists of jeans, yoga pants, tshirts, a hoodie and tennis shoes, I would probably not struggle there. Jen Hatmaker DID make us count our clothes, and shoes. It's embarrassing, and I've shared it with the people who need to know. That's all. But in my defense- a lot of what was in my closet was either a size too small, or business attire that didn't need to be party to spilled chocolate milk, spaghetti sauce or riding bikes with my kids. It just doesn't.

Collectively, the Women at Preston Trail are collecting gently used clothes for Hope's Door and Shiloh Place. Hope's Door is a shelter for victims of domestic violence, a place where women can go to hide, get their lives back on track. I was excited about this because I had all those really nice (some tagged) business clothes hanging in my closet. I haven't touched them in over a year. Plus I can't fit in quite a few of them. (I am working on that). The director of the shelter explained to us yesterday that these clothes will be placed in their resale store. Victims receive vouchers to shop for themselves and families for free. Excess clothes are sold to benefit the shelter's programs. So I felt good knowing that my suits, dresses and skirts were going to help a lady find a job, thereby feeding her children and providing her a safe place. I rounded up two really large trash bags of really nice, dry cleaned, pressed, barely worn clothes. Closet purge. I wish I could say I was blown away by how empty my closet was afterwards, but we're going to again call this Imperfect Progress. This was step one.


This was the stage yesterday morning with everyone's contributions. It does not yet include the contributions of the night study ladies. This is amazing. We had to get a U-Haul truck to take it over. A lot of little contributions become big.


For my fast, I decided that I would live in my clothing as a homeless person or domestic violence victim would. Whatever I could fit in the bag, would be what I wear for 7 days. Including toiletries, shoes, towel and wash cloth. (That last part is still wigging me out). After packing the bag, I was SHOCKED at how much fit when I rolled stuff. And yes, I rolled it. Because Martin saw a boho chick in Salt Lake City last week, rolling her clothes, and told me how he couldn't believe how much stuff would fit in a bag when rolled. And apparently she did all that right there in the airport, but I digress. Anyway, I rolled stuff. And I stuffed that bag. Here's what I had. (Do not laugh. It's a long list).

3 short sleeve shirts, plus the one I was wearing
1 Long sleeve denim shirt
1 tank top
1 neutral bra (plus one I was wearing)
1 black convertable strapless bra (for my church outfit and dark shirts)
4 pair undies (plus one wearing)
1 pair silver dressy flip flops
1 pair black flip flops
1 pair of black flats (calling for a lot of rain this week)
1 pair of tennis shoes
1 hoodie
1 maxi dress (that can also be worn as a skirt)
1 pair of jeans (plus capris I'm wearing)
1 sports bra
1 pair of yoga pants
pj pant, short, top
toiletries (travel size- if I had it on hand), make up, contacts, glasses, meds, hair ties, etc. Mild anxiety attack because I didn't have a travel size contact solution, and mine's almost gone. I did consider stealing hubby's from his travel bag but didn't want him to have a rude surprise on the road. So I didn't.
Dry shampoo(no blow dryer or hair spray)
3 pair of socks
1 black belt
Towel and a wash cloth
earrings, engagement and wedding band, sports watch I'm wearing

Now. Even as type this, I realize it's ridiculous. It's too much. Because I was going to allow myself one load of laundry during the week. This is NOT a stretch. But I wanted to get my work out clothes in there, and it fit. So called BFF, and we discussed and decided, that- no Laundry. Because they might not have money to go to the laundromat. So I negotiated 7 pairs of undies and an extra sports bra. She agreed. Here's my bag, packed.

I told you I packed that puppy. It took me a long time to pack this bag because I really stressed about what went in it.

After packing my bag, the fam and I were in the car, and some song came on the radio, and Mason repeated the lyrics ("your momma was a hippee"- yeah, I don't know)- and I laughed and said, "Yeah, you're gonna THINK your momma's a hippee after this week!" LOL.

Problems I've run into- neglected to pack my running hat, perfume (um, yes, since I'm repeating clothes, I'd consider this a problem for my family and friends- thank God I get to shower). Also, total first world problem- I should've thrown in some clear nail polish so I could've protected my Easter manicure which is a once a year indulgence. Sad. But, Gosh, I'm so shallow.

Problem two- it's really cold and rainy this week, and I anticipated a little rain, but not the cold. That part stinks more than anything. Because I don't like to be cold.

Problem three- accidentally broke my fast by throwing an apron over my clothes to protect them from sauce while making lasagna. It was my husband who pointed out that counted as clothes. Bless him for keeping me on track.

Problem four- my crisp white, brand new tank top drizzled in balsamic dressing. I should mention this is the top I have possibly planned for church on Sunday if I don't go with the dress option. Nice. Martin decided that it would be wasteful to let that stain sit until I can treat it Monday night, so he allowed me a Tide to Go stick and I washed it out in the sink. This is some irony because Jen Hatmaker talks about Tide To Go sticks in the book. Funny.

Problem five- what to do with my dirty laundry that I won't be wearing again- because everything has to stay in the bag- exception being toiletries. Ahem. There's only one item that applies. Martin said that if I "found" a bag to put it in, he would allow it. Ironically, I found a plastic Target bag while I was unloading my groceries. Surprise! ;)

Problem six- Unrolling, rolling, digging through one stinking bag makes it very hard to find anything, time consuming, and I look like someone who's left their laundry in the basket for three weeks, UNFOLDED. This is a challenge for me. My pet peeve.

Problem seven- I have a lotion/moisturizer addiction that I wasn't aware of. I keep it by my sink, and this week I have one tiny travel size that floats between my purse and my bag. I'm quite edgy without my hand lotion. (And yes, my purse is allowed. Because I tried on my backpack, and could still carry it).

Problem eight- I will have to transfer the stuff out of this bag into another one on Friday because Martin needs it to go camp with Mason. I had tried to get my family on board with this challenge, and they declined. The irony is, that Martin and Mason will be living out of a back pack on Friday through Sunday, and sleeping with the bugs, anyway. So I win. Muahaha.

So, that's the run down. I find that the clothes part is not that bad so far, because today I'm wearing my usual yoga pants, tennies, a top and a hoodie. If you know me well, you will ask how this is different from my usual day... well, because I have no hair dryer, and hair spray. I can't leave my house until my hair dries because it's 45 degrees outside in April in Texas for some reason. Well, I COULD leave, but I'm not.

So, pretty. Yes. Or no. What I've noticed so far: thankful for my closet. I miss just walking in and knowing where things are, and grabbing it. Dressing quickly and easily. Thankful for the chance to take a shower. Thankful for my razor- which is silly but it occurred to me that when their razor, toothpaste, shampoo runs out, they might not get to replace it. Yes, that is my ONE washcloth hanging there. I can at least brag that I'm not excessive about buying nice thick wash cloths.


Thankful that I have the money and resources to purchase the medicines my body needs.


Will keep you all posted on this fast, and what I'm learning.

Seven deadly foods

There is more than I can possibly write to say at this point, and the blogs are rolling out kids.

The first week of Seven, calls for a food fast of some type. Not fast food, unfortunately, but a food fast. I knew that this would not be an easy thing for me because, boy do I love my food. And wine.

Why did I do it? Out of thanks to God for claiming and bringing my precious two boys into his family- the thing I've prayed for my whole life. Because He IS RISEN! Out of repentance for lack of self control, waste, negligence, laziness and pride. These are the things I wrote down with tears at the beginning of the fast.

In the book, Jen lays out several ways to fast- she actually only ate the same 7 foods for 30 days. Praise the Lord, she let us off the hook and told us to experiment with seven days (or fast one day). I chose to fast from my seven favorite foods. Because when my blood sugar drops you DO NOT want to be around me. Ask my hubby. Or my kids. Hubby has been known to offer up something as small as a Tic-Tac to pull me out of a food rage. A TIC-TAC. (That did NOT go over well and has been a joke between us for many years now- thank goodness I can laugh at myself. Ahem.)

Here was my list of seven foods:

Wine sugar- hey don't judge. With the amount of drama I had last week, you would be driven to drink, too.
soda
bread
cookies/cakes
Chickfila Nuggets and/or french fries (I do not joke. This is a once a week addiction that I cannot control).
pasta
chips

Okay, so on day one, two and three I was hit with enough loved ones drama to make me reneg on #1 and switch to sugar. Yes, this is a problem; and yes, I understand it was probably a SCUD missile launched by the devil, and I failed. But there is grace in the experiment, and I will give myself some, and I'd ask that you do so too. As for sugar, this was a little hard, and of course, there were some foods, which contained sugar that I couldn't get around without going to the grocery store. But over all, I did not add sugar to anything (not even my homemade coleslaw- gasp!), and I had no desserts containing sugar (I passed up free ice cream at Jason's Deli- FREE, people!). This was not too too hard, as I did it a LOT for 6 months last year.

Giving up soda was not too bad, as, again, I did that for 6 months last year- I just substitute iced green tea, and I do fine.Biggest issue presented itself when I took Coen bowling and my body begged for a soda, and it just didn't seem NATURAL to refuse at a bowling alley. But I did. Physical benefits included a reduction in my reflux and lack of a sore throat. Which for me, is a huge blessing on its own.

Cookies and cakes, and bread presented a problem in social situations, and the fact that I had to make banana bread to use up bananas, my kids clamored for freshly baked chocolate chip cookies as a snack when friends were over, and the fact that I couldn't eat a dad-gum sandwich for lunch- which really limits your on the go choices. That and the fact that devil hid a crouton in the sunflower seeds I put on my salad at Jason's deli. I pushed that aside.

Chicfila Nuggets and fries were most missed on days when I was on the go- or my go to day- Tuesday after Bible Study. (IRONY). On day 5, I found myself day dreaming about pasta. Like, KRAFT Mac-n-cheese in the box. The yucky stuff that I don't really even enjoy. I will blame the 100DaysofRealFood girl for this because she's working on a national petition to remove dyes and additives from the product, and that haunted my Facebook feeds all week last week.

Chips. Oh, chips. How I love thee. When I added chips to my list, I was thinking, like, Lay's Potato chips- the salty kind, or sour cream and onion or Sun Chips. It occurred to me very quickly that this category also meant tortilla chips. Pita chips. My scoopers. My lovelies. I cannot believe I put chips on the list. But I made it. Even at the Mexican restaurant, where my boys and husband tormented me with tortilla chips covered in queso. (That first post-fast tortilla chip made my Easter in a way that is inexcusable).

So, this was tough, but I made it. I tell you this, not because I want to be all mopey about it, but because you could do it too. Why should you? What did I learn? Well, first of all, I learned some interesting things about the food we put in our bodies. Pork especially was a hot topic at our Bible Study table, and you'll need to read the book and study guide to understand- or, else it's a WHOLE other blog. In all seriousness, I learned how inadequate I am. I definitely see my shortcomings. My failures are GLARINGLY obvious. Hideously before me. He went to hell and back for me, and my little sacrifice of 7 days, is not a thing compared to his. I beat myself up a bit mentally for my failures before I realized he wasn't beating me up, I WAS. It made me realize the parts I will have to do again. And do right, next time. I realize how far I have to go. Those are the hard, broken things about fasting. It is very uncomfortable to see those things about yourself.

The wonderful parts? I know that it gave me clarity to deal with the situations that came up in a way that was beyond my normal capability. It was a God thing. I found myself walking around with hymns and verses bouncing around my head constantly. I can't stop singing his praises. I actually can barely keep from crying out of thankfulness. I feel like I walk around with a lump in my throat and tear in my eye. I see those around me who don't have food to eat, and I WANT to help. I want to help. I have turned a blind eye for long enough, and I want to help. It made me see the waste in my home, on my kids plates, the produce that we throw out that families in a third world country would absolutely LOVE to give their kids for the nutrients.

So, here I am. With my eyes open, my heart open. Ready for week two.

Wordy Girl is Gettin' Real

Recently, I changed the title of this blog to "The Wordy Girl". I'm still "Deep in the Heart of Texas", but I decided this was actually the best and most apt description of me EVER.

Because I never shut up. I have something to say about everything, and usually it's too much. So there.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been told I talk too much. This is true. It is very, very true. Embarrassing, even. When I was five, I got in trouble for talking too much at school, and my dad had to sit down with me and teach me that the little red dinging seat belt light in the car meant stop talking. I'm that girl at Bible Study who monopolizes the conversation until the leader gives me the evil eye that someone else should get to talk. I'm that girl at the party who doesn't meet a stranger, and if I don't know who you are- I'm gonna find out. I'm that girl who's sister and best friends have to wait on me to take a breath so they can get a word in edge-wise. I'm that girl who something to say about every person on Facebook's posts. Even people I don't know. It's seriously embarrassing. Because- I'm. That. Girl.

So, I write this blog for myself. I like to hear myself talk, and this is where I get to do it with reckless abandon. It's my space. I love to write- to let the feelings, emotions and thoughts come out. Someone once told me that if you're meant to do something, then Holy Spirit will not let you NOT do it. Meaning, you can't help it. You must. That is me. So, I pour it all out here. For me. And yes, for you, if you want to listen. Cause I'm all about finding a listener. Blogging is a bit terrifying because let's face it. Can you be real? Can you really lay your innermost thoughts out there, and not worry what people think? What will people think if I tell them I'm _____________???? What will people think if they know what I REALLY think???? I'm not completely there, but I'm getting there.

But I recently realized I'm not a very good writer, because I write for me, and not for the reader. That made me sad. Because I want you to like my writing. I write it, I rewrite it, I edit it, I re-word it, I try to fix typos so that it reads well. (But I am well aware that I have missed quite a few in my time, and sometimes I'm so over editing myself that I let them stay in). This is probably vanity. And pride. But I love it. I love reading and editing my writing to an embarrassing degree. Probably because this is something I don't do very well in real life- when actual words come tumbling out of my mouth in a jumble. I've offended, I've stepped on toes, I've been careless with words, with information. I've done it all- because talking out loud isn't like getting to edit yourself on paper or on a blog or in a journal. (Don't get me started on journals. I have at least 4-5 dating back to when I got my first at 10 years old- good reading I tell ya). I'm working on this. I have been for a long time... it's getting better. I've said it before, and I'll say it again- Unglued by Lysa Terkeurst has really, really helped me start to manage my words, my tone. Imperfect progress.

I've been food fasting with Seven this week (seven favorite foods), and one of the things that's rolling around in my wordy head is that I talk too much. I. Talk. Too. Much. And I've seriously been mulling around the fact that maybe I need a 24 hour Talk Fast. This scares the daylights out of me. It sounds all Monk-ish and medieval, and I'm not even sure I'm capable. But maybe it's what I need.

It's about to get all scary up in here, ya'll. Cause either this blog is gettin' real, or I'm taking a vow of silence. (You probably won't get to vote. LOL)

"Jesus is talking to you"

So, the other night, on Sunday, my mommas heart was filled to overflowing when my precious 6-1/2 year old asked Jesus to come into his heart. Now, BOTH my boys have made their decisions to follow Jesus Christ (Mason on September 26, 2011), and I couldn't be happier.

Coen's been telling me for months that he wanted to get baptized. I kept telling him we needed to wait until he's asked Jesus in his heart. He kept saying, he'd done that. I kept thinking he wasn't ready.



Well the other night, we were watching the Bible Miniseries (I'm not sure if this contributed or not, but I don't think it hurt, and it probably helped- so thank you Mark Burnett); Coen saw Jesus being baptized by John, and said, "Mommy, I REALLY want to be baptized." I said, "Coen, we need to make sure that you've asked Jesus into your heart, and pray and look at some verses in the Bible and talk about it first." He said, "I want to do that right now." We went back and forth for a while... he wouldn't let up. It's not that I didn't want him to do it, but in my mind he's still in potty training and just got out of a crib a couple weeks ago (NOT- I joke about my inability to grasp that my kids are growing up)... So, we pulled out the Bible, talked through the verses, etc.

Finally, he says to me, "Mommy, did you know Jesus can talk to you?"
Me: "Yes, I did- especially when he lives in our hearts."
Coen: "No, I mean, he's talking to you right now."
Me (thinking- aww, he thinks Jesus is guiding this conversation through me- I'm rolling my eyes and gagging at my pride right now): "Yes, he's helping us with this conversation..."
Coen: "NO!!! I mean Jesus is talking to you right now, and he's TELLING you to LET ME DO THIS!"

Crickets. Martin and I just look at each other- at a loss. Then we said, let's do this. So we all got down on our knees, holding hands. I was raised Baptist, and by-golly wanted to make sure he prayed the "right" prayer. So I said, "Do you want me to help you pray?"

Coen: "No! I know what I'm going to say. Dear Jesus, I love you. I know you died on the cross for my sins, and Dear Jesus, I just LOVE you."

Be still my heart. I helped him throw in the part about asking forgiveness of sins, coming into his heart, and help him follow him for his whole life. He finished and was grinning ear to ear. He hugged me, he hugged Martin, he hugged Mason, he hugged the dogs. He called his best friend's parents to tell them the news. The next day he came home from school, and I asked him if he told anyone at school. He said, "YEAH! The whole class! They said good luck!". LOL. He's so excited about getting baptized; and because Mason missed his scheduled baptism a couple months ago due to tonsils, it turns out BOTH my boys will probably be baptized on the same day.

I'm thinking this kid didn't need any help from me or Martin. He's about to light the world on fire.

FaceBlog- 10 Facebook etiquette rules

People, I've been wanting to blog about this for some time now, but I was afraid of what toes I might step on. But I have decided that this blog is my safe slice of cyberspace to say what I think, and so, Oh buddy- am I about to get on the box. I should tell you that this is officially my "snarkiest" blog ever.

I'd just like to take a minute or twenty and talk about Facebook. I'm going to go into what I wish would be implemented as some sort of Facebook etiquette. Now, while I know this will never, in fact, be the case- I think I'll feel better to get it of my chest.

So, in my ideal world, this is how my Facebook feeds would look:

1) No person shall post more than 2 meaningful quotes/verses/sayings featuring beaches, sunsets, shamrocks, hearts, flowers, etc. per week. The same applies for cutesy animal pictures.

I love animals, I love a good quote and I really love a good verse, but that's what Pinterest is for. Now, I have to say that as I type this- I realize I am in fact guilty of breaking this rule- because I love to post those cool prayer verses for my boys that the MOB Society puts on Facebook. But clearly, I'm allowed to break my own rules. Mainly- I would apply this to quotes,inspirational pictures ("There's no I in TEAM!") cutesy pictures and animal shots. I would just love to not have to scroll past 13 different cutesy pics to get to what's going on. Fair enough?

2) If your status constitutes more than- Oh-I-Don't-Know 5-8 sentences- then you might want to consider a blog. And really 5-8 might be too long. Exceptions to this would be in the event of a crisis or family situation where you're requesting/updating your Facebook peeps for prayers or just to keep them in the loop on a broad scale. For example- recently many, many people wanted updates on my Grandma after her stroke. Therefore, it made more sense for me to update FB with a long status- rather than digging through my 400+ contacts to figure out which ones cared and who I needed to update through message box. But please, for the love of Pete- don't post a four page Facebook status that includes every little thing you accomplished during the day. Less is more people! (or, become like me- the wordy girl- and get a blog! Hmmm. Maybe I should change the name of my blog. Think I might...)

3) Please refrain from posting every stop and errand you have to make during the day. It will save us all time.

4) I usually read my Facebook while I'm eating breakfast, lunch or snack. Occasionally in between- on my phone and at least once before bed. But, for all intense purposes- I'm usually eating. I would think that would apply to most of responsible working Americans- so it might be a good idea to avoid posting pictures, videos, and graphic details of grody situations, bodily functions, moldy refrigerator remains, etc. Just a thought.

5) If your Facebook status is a new quote from another person- every. single. time. - Then I would say you probably don't have anything to say.

6) Persons will not engage in awkward public Facebook battles with friends, family members, or spouses. This includes passive aggressive comments, verbal abuse, etc. Now, I love a little sarcasm, but I think we can all agree there is a difference... especially when the comments are met with crickets from everyone except the party(ies) involved.

7) Persons shall not have an engage in online Facebook dialog with themselves. Again. Blog, people.

8) If you're not sure if you should post it- then type it, read it, and then edit, post or delete as appropriate. I will reference the King James Bible on this for sound advice: Philippians 4:8- "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

8) Persons will not share a friend's personal business with others on facebook. This includes, but is not limited too- vacation plans, pregnancies (or not- which will be my case hopefully until I die), new car, new house, personal financial info, etc. WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM THE FRIEND. I can't believe I even need to say that- but it has actually happened to me and some of my friends. Nobody likes a Facebook blabbermouth.

9) Persons will use Facebook to post precious and interesting pictures of themselves and family members, fun stories and anecdotes, prayer requests and needs, happy banter and life events- for the Facebook world. However, they will not use Facebook to post their political or religious views with the intent of stirring up debate, hatred or malice. I don't even care if you do state your case- that's your right people- but do it in the right way. I cannot stand when it is done with hateful and belittling words from both sides of the fence. If you are my Facebook friend, please respect the fact that I probably already have an opinion, as do your other FB friends, and no one needs your help to form that opinion. If someone wants or needs your opinion, I'm sure that they will ask for it. You're not likely to change anyone's mind. Also, get a blog. It's a great place to say what you REALLY think. AND you get to moderate the comments so that no one insults you or has a different opinion. It's an ideal world for narrow minded people.

10) My biggest complaint of all. "Christians" who are hateful on Facebook. It literally makes me sick to my stomach, and nothing is accomplished by hurling insults, and even words Jesus Christ would never have used. I read this quote in Jen Hatmaker's book, Seven, as quoted by Mahatma Ghandi- "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." How. SAD.

I will defer to Ephesians 4 for this:
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

If this post offends you, please know that I mean most of it, cheekily and for a laugh. I think it's obvious the parts for which I do not joke. And those are just common sense.

On a side note. I spend too much time on Facebook.