End the Year with 12 random Questions

I stole this from another blog . . . .


1. Do you find it gross to share drinks with family? Friends?

I'll share with Brett, but that is about it.


2. What have you learned this year? (You didn't see a question of that weight coming, did you? At least not for #2.)

I am far from the child of God that I should be. I have a lot of learning and growing to do. And Brett is a huge part of helping me do that.

3. When do you dismantle the Christmas decorations?

I am having girl's dinner group over on Jan 4th. So I am leaving it up till then. This year I am going to pack everything away the right way too!


4. Something you wish to accomplish before the end of 2009 is:

Well there is about 14 hours left to make this happen - so my goal is to not die.

5. How do you feel about winter (after Christmas)?

Blah - too cold.


6. Have you participated in after-Christmas sales?

Nope, but if a steal of a deal comes up and it is something we need, then maybe.

7. Do you have plans for New Year's Eve?

We will be over at my cousin Desi's. Good food and fun games.


8. Is there anything special awaiting you in January?

A lot of work! I have to take care of W-2's 1099's and end of year contribution letters.


9. If your life this year was a movie, what category or genre would it be? (Romance, Comedy, Drama, Thriller, Suspense, Farcical, etc.)

Action with some romance.

10. How much time per day do you spend blogging?

Writing on my blog - not much. Reading other blogs - too much!

11. Who runs your household?

I would like to say it is a joint effort. I do the inside house stuff, Brett covers the outside stuff. We make the big decisions together.

12. Share one hope/dream for 2010!

Good health, stable finances, have fun.

One Sentence Prayers

Thou art worth, O Lord, to receive my praise.

I love Christmas Music!

One Sentence Prayers

Jesus, let me receive your grace.

I love Christmas Music!

You stole my heart

Dear Brett,

I just wanted to tell you that you stole my heart the other day. Granddad came over to help you work on a project in the shop. As he was leaving you told he how pretty the Christmas tree looked and how each ornament has a memory and meaning behind it. You then picked out a few of your favorites to show him. Thank you so much for doing that. It means so much to me that you love our “random” tree. Although I think a better name for it is our memory tree. I am so excited that we will add to this tree every year. The ornaments will represent our memories as a family. I love you so much and I just had to tell you that you stole my heart.

Love you dearly,

Jill

I love Christmas Music!

We took our cat on a walk

I am not joking, we took Tiger on a walk this past weekend. I carried him down the driveway and up the street just a bit. Then I set him down and he started to follow us. There was no leash at all. He walked with us all the way around the block. He would stop to sniff some yards and he found the sewers very interesting. Some times I think he is more of a dog than a cat.

But he might be people cheating on us. All day Sunday we didn't see Tiger. Finally about 5:00 pm I got worried. My fear was that he fell down into the sewer and couldn't get back out. So we went walking down the street looking for him. After a bit he came running home. I picked him us and snuggled my face in his fur. What did I smell but another woman's perfume!! I think he found a sweet lady down the street . . .

One Sentence Prayers

Holy Spirit, lead me into the truth and keep my lips from lying.

I love Christmas Music!

A great give away!

This is my first time to post about a give away and this one is GREAT!!

Hop over to Totally Together Reviews and check it out. You are going to love it.

Stephanie has this to say, "How would you like to have an absolutely PERFECT cup of coffee or mixed espresso drink without having to grind beans, do any measuring, or steam any milk? The Tassimo will make you your perfect coffee-house quality drink when ever you’d like and you don’t need to ever leave the house. Or your office. Or your pajamas."

I agree 100%

What a wonderful weekend

Brett and I had a great weekend at Petit Jean state park. Some of the highlights were good food, good movies, the hot tub, beautiful weather, great hiking, finding 11 geocaches, and celebrating one year of being married.

Pictures to come soon.

I love Christmas Music!

One Sentence Prayers

Make me a tree of life and water my spirit.

Trying some thing new . . .

My mom and I are going to try some thing new over Christmas break. We have two couches in the living room. One from Brett's Nana and one from Brett's parents. The are in great condition, but the fabric is out of date. So mom and I are going to try to recover them.

We will start with Nana's couch. It has straight lines and a simple frame. The fabric is a dark brown diamond pattern with a khaki dot at the points of the diamond. I'll try to get a picture of the fabric up here soon.

Wish us luck!! I'll post pics later to show our progress.

We said good bye to more debt

The final payment is in the mail for our mattress. When we got married we both had full size beds. We very quickly upgraded to a queen with a pillow top. We lovingly call it the cloud.

When we bought it we got a year and half interest free - same as cash. We took advantage of the offer and have paid it off in full before the interest kicked in. I would recommend this method of purchasing big ticket items - as long as you know that you can pay off the full amount before the interest takes effect. The interest rate would have been 27.99% that is $500 extra!

We also bought our washer and dryer this way. But we got two full years to pay it off. It was an amazing deal that Sear offered for about two weeks. I think the plan is to pay this one off even earlier and then we will be debt free!!! That is a wonderful feeling!

I encourage any one who is in debt to take action to pay down your debt. It is possible to live debt free.

Christmas Shopping is Finished*

Yes that is right I have finished my Christmas shopping. Ok well almost finished. I have one cousin left. I am waiting for suggestions from the parents. But it feels so good!! And as a bonus I have more than half of the presents already wrapped and under the tree.

AND . . . The outside of the house is decorated and the tree is up and decorated. And I only have two more boxes of decorations to go through.

Now I plan to focus on the real meaning of Christmas - Christ's birth. And not be stressed out and overwhelmed.

I love Christmas Music!

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 106:1-3

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise? Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.

Old McDonald had a cat . . .

A Season of Thanksgiving

Isaiah 12:3-5

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.

A Season of Thanksgiving

1 Corinthians 15:57

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Season of Thanksgiving

1 Thessalonians 5:17-19

Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire;

A Season of Thanksgiving

Revelation 11:16-18

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 75:1

We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 35:18

I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you.

A Season of Thanksgiving

2 Chronicles 5:13

The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever." Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud,

A Season of Thanksgiving

1 Chronicles 29:13

Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

A Season of Thanksgiving

1 Chronicles 16:35

Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, that we may glory in your praise."

A Season of Thanksgiving

1 Chronicles 16:34

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

A Season of Thanksgiving

1 Chronicles 16:8

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Timothy 2:1-3

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior,

A Season of Thanksgiving

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Ephesians 5:4

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

A Season of Thanksgiving

2 Corinthians 9:11

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

PW and MM are just a phone call away . . .

PW talking to my cousin Gena who couldn't come.

MM is leaving her a message.

A Season of Thanksgiving

2 Corinthians 4:14-16

Because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

PW and MM

Pioneer Woman and Marlboro Man came to Little Rock for a book signing. It was so much fun. Here are pics from the evening. I'll put up some video later on.

Don't know who Pioneer Woman is??? Click here.



We were so excited that MM came. So far he has not gone to any other book signings.

Here MM is signing his face. There was a debate on wheither he should sign this page or the very last page in the book. It says "The End" and has a picture of his rear end . . . . We went the classy route and had him sign his face.

Here is MM, Desi and sweet Mara.

Here is Aunt Cathy, me, MM, Rachel, and Desi.

Finally we rounded the corner and we could see her!!

Getting closer . . .


PW and Desi and sweet Mara. Mara later patted her on the head!
I told PW that I want to be her when I grow up. Her response was that she is messy. I said that I was fine with that. It was a great evening - I loved meeting PW. It was so nice of her to come to Little Rock and to speak to every person there and stop for pictures.

To see it from her point of view, click here.

Check back this weekend for two very special videos . . . .

A Season of Thanksgiving

Jonah 2:9

But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.

Thank You For Serving

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 118:19

Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.

Stockings

This will be Brett's stocking for our house. This will be Brett's stocking for my mom's house.

This will be my stocking for our house.

We picked out our stockings today. There is no way I will have them made by Christmas 2009, but I hope they can make their debut in 2010.

PS I have not had a chance to download the PW and MM pics. I'll get to them soon.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 118:21

I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

Too Cute!

Tiger has so much fun on Saturday playing in the leaves.

PS - PW and MM pics to come soon . . . I was so much fun.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 118:28

You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 7:17

I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 147:7

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 105:1

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

Paper Cup Frozen Salad

Paper Cup Frozen Salad

2 cups sour cream
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 oz can of crushed pineapple, drained
1 or 2 diced bananas
red food coloring (if you want)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (if you want)
16 oz can pitted bing cherries, drained

Drain pineapple and cherries. Cut cherries in half. Mix every thing together in a big bowl. Spoon into paper cups in a muffin pan. Freeze. Remove paper cups from muffin pan and store in a ziplock bag.

Take out of the freezer 15 min before you want to serve so they can soften up.

Makes 12 to 18 cups.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 107:7-9

He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 95:2

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

Desi's Creamy Chicken Tacos

Desi's Creamy Chicken Tacos

4-6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package taco seasoning
16 oz salsa
1/2 cup minute rice
8 oz sour cream

optional: black beans

Put chicken in crock pot, sprinkle taco seasoning on top and cover with salsa. Cook on low 6-8 hours. One hour before serving - shred the chicken. Use two forks and it will just fall apart. Add in rice and sour cream and black beans if you want. Stir and cook the last hour.

To serve: put on a tortilla with cheese, lettuce, tomato.

This makes a ton and is easy to freeze.

A Season of Thanksgiving

Psalm 30:11-12

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever

A Season of Thanksgiving

Every day this month I will post a verse about Thanksgiving. My heart longs to be truly thankful.

Psalm 69:30

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Stacey's Veggy and Chicken Casserole

Stacey's Veggy and Chicken Casserole

20 oz. bag of mixed frozen vegetables
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup cheddar cheese grated
1 stick butter
1 roll of Ritz crackers
4 chicken breasts

Cook chicken in the crock pot all day or boil for 30 min in water on the stove. Cut chicken into bite size chunks or shred. Cook frozen vegetables until tender. Drain vegetables. Mix vegetables, mayo, cheese and chicken. Put into a greased casserole dish. Mix melted butter and crushed Ritz crackers and sprinkle on top. Bake at 375 for 15 min.

I'm back

I had a wonderful time in New York. I'll write more about it in the next few days. But I must say that I have the cutest nephew in the world. He is so sweet and a great baby.

It was wonderful to come home to Brett. This was the longest we had been apart and I missed him like crazy. He worked on some great projects while I was gone. I can't wait to show them to you.

It was really, really nice to come back to work and not have a huge pile on my desk. I have almost finished everything from when I was gone in one day!

One Sentence Prayers

Lord, baptize me with your love.

One Sentence Prayers

I praise you, my Lord Jesus. I love you.

The City that Never Sleeps

New York here I come!!! I am heading off to see my cute little nephew. I can't wait!!!

It so hard to say good bye . . .

We have said bye bye to some debt!!! It feels so good. Brett and I are both savers and don't like to take on debt. It was a wonderful feeling to pay this item off early. By doing so we are saving almost $1,000 in interest payments.

A Public Service Announcement

A Public Service Announcement:

Have your furnace and fireplace checked out before you start using them.


Two weeks ago when we had trouble with our AC unit, we learned that insulation had become packed in around the burner on the furnace. If we had turn the heater on we would have had a fire! So please hire someone to inspect your furnace and your fireplace.

It is also a good idea to clean out your dryer once a year. Lint collects everywhere inside a dryer and can start a fire.

One Sentence Prayers

Make me pure in heart that I might see You.

Murphy's Law Part 3

So it ended up being an ok evening. We were warm, but it did start to cool down once the sun set. The food was good. The tarantula went away and we haven't seen any more in the back yard. Just for fun here is a video.

Murphy's Law Part 2

So it was 80 degrees in our house, my Dad and his wife were going to be here in 20 min. I had already messed up the lasagna and Cheese Biscuits. Murphy's Law was in full effect.

Brett went outside to check the breaker. It was not tripped. He turned the AC breaker off and back on. He came back inside and nothing happened. He said he would go to the other side of the house and check the AC unit.

Here is a pic of me putting the lasagna together . . .



Brett walked back into the yard and starting yelling, "Come here, you have to see this!" So I go out side and this is what I find.

I freaked out!!!

Murphy's Law

Last Thursday we had my Dad and his wife over for dinner. I really wanted to make a good impression. I only had 1 hour to put dinner together and clean up the house. I started to put the lasagna together. Brett got home and I asked him to make the Cheese Biscuits. Well I was trying to tell Brett and story and I got the lasagna layers all out of order. I got mad at myself! I have made lasagna a million times . . . I told Brett that I couldn't talk I had to concentrate. As I am focused on the lasagna Brett asks where the baking soda is. The thing is Cheese Biscuits don't need baking soda. Brett realized that he was making the recipe at the top of the page - not the Cheese biscuits at the bottom of the page. He had put in a Tablespoon and a half of salt in the mix. He just doubled the recipe and it end up being fine.

Needless to say I was flustered!!! I was sweating bullets - literally. I was sweating. I went over to the thermostat and it was 80 degrees in our house!!! I turned it down to 60 degrees. Nothing happened. I turned it off and back on. Nothing happened. I turned to fan only. Nothing happened. I started to panic! My Dad would be here in 20 min and it was 80 degrees. I ran around and turned off all the lights and turned the fans on high. Brett ran outside to check the breaker.

But the trouble didn't end there. . . .To find out what happened you will have to check back tomorrow . . .

Polk-A-Dot-Pumpkins

The ladies at my office made polk-a-dot pumpkins this week. You need an orange pumpkin and a white pumpkin, an apple corer, and some ribbon. First you “punch” a hole in the orange pumpkin with the apple corer. Twist the apple corer as you pull the circle back out. Push the circle out of the apple corer. Then do the same for the white pumpkin. The put the white dot in the orange pumpkin and the orange dot in the white pumpkin. Repeat in any pattern that you like. Tie a ribbon on the top or around the middle. The pumpkin will last around a week or so. You could just punch holes in the pumpkin for a neat looking jack-o-lantern.

One Sentence Prayers

My soul is hungry, O God. Feed me, I pray.

Blog Feature

I have been wanting to do this for awhile . . . So here I go.

http://grammyababychangeseverything.blogspot.com/

This is a way cute blog. At first I thought it was going to be about baby stuff and the Wait family is no where near that subject! But it is a blog about Christmas and the real reason for the Season. She is doing a give away on her blog so stop over before time runs out.

What's Cooking Good Lookin!

My friend Devin asked what I was cooking, so I thought that I would share. Here is what is being served in the Wait kitchen. At some point I would love to share recipes with you!

Saturday - Creamy Tacos (basically cheese dip with meat)
Sunday - leftovers or pizza
Monday - Chicken and Rice
Tuesday - Eat Out (we have a thing to go to)
Wednesday - Souper Burgers (similar to sloppy joes)
Thursday - Chicken popovers
Friday - Aunt Cathy's Chili
Saturday - Hamburgers
Sunday - leftovers or pizza

Show Us Your Life - Your Favorite Team

This is my first time to participate in Kelly's Korner's "Show Us Your Life" series. I am so excited to be joining in (even though it is late in the game).

This week we are showing off our Favorite Team. And I am sure that I am one of many who are choosing the Arkansas Razorbacks! I did not go to U of A, but my husband did. My love for the Razorback comes from living in Arkansas my whole life and having Grandparents that went to school there.

In fact, my Grandfather helped to create the Woo Pig Sooie cheer. I am telling the absolute true! Ed F. McDonald Sr. was co-captain of the “yell squad” at U of A in the early 1930’s. He and his co-captain wanted a cheer that the fans could join in and yell with them. Woo Pig Sooie is what they came up with. This story is documented in the U of A alumni magazine.

And I must do a fast shout out to my favorite high school team, The Tigers of Little Rock Central High. There was so much school spirit at my high school!

Dump Cake

We had our small group over to our house on Tuesday. It was a way to say thank you for their wonderful help in painting the house. I fixed two dump cakes, one apple Cinnamon and one cherry. What is a dump cake you ask?? Why it is the easiest dessert to make!

Ingredients
2 cans of pie filling
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 bottle of squeeze butter
Pam spray

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam. Open the cans of pie filling and dump into the pan. Spread evenly. Open a box of yellow cake mix and dump into the pan. Spread evenly. Take a bottle of squeeze butter and dump into the pan. Squirt evenly. Bake a 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 min.

It is great with a scoop of ice cream!

BE STILL MY BEATING HEART

Little Rock
Monday, November 9, 2009
6:00 PM
WAL-MART
(Location TBA)
Little Rock, AR

The words above made my little heart stop. SHE IS COMING!!!! I WILL GET TO SEE HER!!!! PIONEER WOMAN IS COMING TO LITTLE ROCK!!!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/the_pioneer_woman_cooks_book_trip/

Menu Planning

Last week I posted about how I have been in a groove. One of the big things that has really helped me out is menu planning. As a new wife meal planning has been a challenge to me. My mom always planed our week of meals, made a shopping list and went to the store on Saturday. She always seemed to have it together. (Thank you mom for being "Wonder Woman")

My first few months of menu planning were bumpy. I would plan a meal and something would come up and plans would have to change. Or I was always having to go to the store to pick up last minute items. But I seem to have found a system that works. Here is what I do.

1) I made a menu planning "worksheet". One side of the page has the days of the week and the food I will cook on that day. The other side of the page has lines to write out my shopping list.

2) I sit down with the menu planning worksheet and my calendar. I look to see if there are any special events (birthdays, potlucks, etc) or night I won't cook for the up coming week. I make note of these.

3) I start picking out meals. I try to alternate between chicken and beef. I'll throw in a fish or pork, but we mostly just eat chicken and beef.

4) As I pick out meals I will check the pantry to see what additional ingredients I will need and write those on the other side of the page.

5) If I get stuck and don't have any ideas of what to cook I go to my "cheat sheet". I have a single page with easy, favorite meals and I pick one.

6) I finish by checking the fridge, freezer, and pantry to see if there are any staples I need to restock and add those to my shopping list.

7) I tear the paper in half. The menu list goes on the fridge (Brett loves to see what is coming up for the week) and I take my list shopping.


More ideas and tips to come next week . . .

One Sentence Prayers

Drive away my fears and fill me with light.

Didn't have to use the back up plan

I am very happy to report that dinner with the in-laws went great and so did the BBQ on Saturday! The beef turned out great. I used some good advice from my co-worker Martha and also used the great advice of Pioneer Woman. You can check out her recipe here. The pork also turn out good after cooking for about 18 hours. I was supposed to buy a Boston butt cut of pork but they didn't have any so I just bought two pork roasts and cooked them till they fell apart. I just added some onion, garlic and liquid smoke.

Brett helped me out so much. I really do have the best team mate. We tell each other all the time that we are Team Wait (thus the name of this blog). We some times have to remind each other that we are on the same team and we are working towards the same goals. We often have different ideas of how to achieve the same goal, but we are always trying to work together. (Sorry for that little rabbit trail) Back to Brett, he really was a great help. I am so thankful that he is willing to jump in and do his part.

2nd Freezer

I would really like a 2nd freezer. There are so many times that I could make an extra portion of our meal and freeze or or I could buy meat on sale and freeze it. Brett and I have talked about this a few times and he is ok with getting one, but we want to save up the money for it.

Do you have a 2nd freezer?
Where do you have yours located?
Do you have an upright or a chest freezer?
Was it worth the money?

Thanks for the input!

Always have a back up plan

First - I found out yesterday that my mom really does read my blog. Hi Mom!!

Second - Mom taught me to have a back up plan. Thanks Mom.

Now that is out of the way - I might have bitten off more than I can chew. I will be cooking dinner for my in-laws on Friday night. Also all day Friday I will be cooking BBQ pork and BBQ beef to serve on Saturday for about 20 people. And on Tuesday we are having our small group over for dessert.

But never fear - I have a plan and a back up plan. I am very confident that I can pull off dinner for the in-laws. If it all goes up in smoke (ha ha ha, get it?) then we will just take them out to eat.

I am not so sure about the BBQ. I have never cooked my own BBQ before and I choose my first time to be when I have to serve 20 people!! (I never back down from a challenge!) But the back up plan is to go buy meat from a BBQ restaurant if it doesn't work out.

I was getting a little panicked about the small group coming over. My first plan was to make about three or four different batches of cookies. But that is very time consuming. So my back up plan for that is dump cake. What is dump cake you ask?? The easiest dessert I know how to make.

So in conclusion - I have bitten off more than I can chew, but I have a back up plan! I'll let you know how it all turns out.

In a groove

Lately I have been in a groove. Things have been clicking and moving along smoothly. By just doing a few small things, I have been able to lower my stress. I have been setting out my clothes the night before, picking up all the dirty clothes/shoes/misc. items each night before bed, and keeping the dishwasher loaded and unloaded. (If my mom read this she would say, "But that is what I taught you to do!")

Just these small changes have taken some of the last minute craziness out of my life. Let me know what you do to help life run smoothly.

One Sentence Prayers

Lord, let your love pour over me like rain.

Working from Home

I have been working at home one day a week this year. It has been a really good experience so far. Here are some things that I have observed.

* It is really quiet in my house! Not having the office noise and co-workers to talk to makes the day very quiet. I usually turn on music to not go crazy from the silence.
* I would not be able to work 8 am to 5 pm at home with kids. There is no way a baby, toddler or pre-schooler would sit still for 9 hours. So working from home with kids would look and work very differently.
*** NO I AM NOT PREGNANT****
* Skype, cell phone, and e-mail make communicate very easy.
* I am able to throw a load of laundry in while working. I use my lunch break to clean house or cook dinner. It has made managing work and home easier.
* Working at home takes a lot of self motivation.

You know it's bad . . .

You know it is bad when you have a nightmare. It's really bad when that nightmare has your biggest fear - snakes. But it is really bad when your nightmare is so realistic that you wake your husband up!

So last night I dreamed that some how a snake had gotten into our house. A big, mean, going to eat you snake. In my dream I ran to the bedroom to tell Brett about the snake and have him save me. I woke up myself up and realized that I was shaking Brett and that I was telling him there was a snake in the house.

Sadly he went back to sleep right away, I did not.

making my own laundry detergent

I have made my own laundry detergent. It was easy and fun. I was paying around 25 cents per load and the cost of my home made detergent is about 4 cents per load. On a large bottle (96 loads) I am saving $20.16!

Here is what you do. This is a full recipe, but I only add half the water to make a concentrate.

1) Grate a bar of soap in to a sauce pan. You can choose any bar of soap. I used Ivory because that is what we had in the house. But your bar of soap is what will give you a smell.


2) Stir the grated soap into the water (about 2 cups) until it is dissolved.

3) Mix in 1 cup of washing soda into the pan. I could not find Washing Soda at Wal-Mart. I did find it at Kroger. Washing Soda is made by Arm & Hammer. It is not baking soda - WASHING SODA. This box will made many batches of laundry detergent.

4) Mix in 1/2 cup of Borax. I did find Borax at Wal-Mart. This box will last you a long time too.

5) Let the water cool down some before you pour into your container if it is a softer plastic. I used an old Tide bottle that I had rinsed out (the 96 load size). This container was about 1.5 gallons. Use a funnel to pour into your container. Put the lid on a give it a few good shakes. Fill the bottle up with tap water. Put the lid back on again and shake some more.

6) Let it sit over night. It will be "chunky". This is your concentrate. I have a smaller Tide bottle (16 loads). I will mix equal parts water and concentrate into this bottle. Always shake before pouring into the washing machine because it will settle.

This detergent will not bubble up like normal commercial detergent. It has done a great job of cleaning our clothes! The full recipe so you don't have to do any more mixing is to add 3 gallons of tap water. But I don't have a five gallon bucket to mix it in and I don't have a place to store 5 gallons.

I would love to know if you give this a try!

LOL Cats

One Sentence Prayers

I am going to try something new for awhile - one sentence prayer posts. I hope that these prayers will touch your heart and bring you closer to the Heavenly Father.

"Draw me nearer to you, Lord Jesus."

Cousins of Love

This weekend is the 2nd annual Cousins of Love and Melody Sisters weekend. My two aunts, and seven cousins, one second cousin and I will be having the ultimate girl weekend! Movie, food, pedicures, making crafts, and giggling!


Kitty update: the three cats are doing great. They are eating a lot! Tiger and Patches have jumped on to the roof of the workshop and explored around. Tiger has also learned to jump over the fence. But so far he has always come back.

LOL Cats

THREE CATS!

This is Tiger.
Boots on the left, Patches on the right.

Boots and Patches - they are never far apart. Boots is a mamma's boy.

Tiger!

We have three cats on our deck right now. Friday night we went to find some geocaches and instead found some cats. When we got out of the car to find the first cache we heard a little meow. Brett and I went to investigate and saw a little kitty head pop up out of the grass, then a second head popped up, then a third little head. Some one had abandoned a momma and her two babies at a dead end street in Maumelle. They are so skinny and had no place to stay dry.

Brett was a saint and we got Tiger and Patches (the mom) into my car. We tried and tried to catch Buttercup but she was just too scared. We had to let the two cats out of the car and leave them. I called Maumelle Animal Services, and Emergency Vet Clinic, and C.A.R.E. but no one answered.

Our hope was that C.A.R.E. would call back and come rescue them on Saturday, but they never called and we never got to talk to a real person. So Saturday afternoon Brett and I went back out there to see if they were still alive. We found them in the same place we had left them. We made a quick run to Wal-Mart, got some food and went back.

In a short time they were eating from the pile of food in front of me and we were able to get them in the car. Once they got home we let them get used to a new place. And eventually we were able to get them to come on the deck with us. Of course the food and water helped!

So now we have three cats on our back deck. Patches, the mom, is a calico cat with orange and black spots. Tiger, is a boy and is a very pretty orange striped cat with gold eyes. Buttercup is not a girl as we first thought, so she is now called Boots. Boots, looks just like his brother but a soft butter cream yellow.

We don't plan to keep Patches and Boots long-term. We hope to find a home for them or be able to get them to C.A.R.E. We do plan to keep Tiger. He is very friendly and very curious!

Paint Paint Paint

Tonight we will finish the kitchen!!!! I am so happy because the major painting projects will be finished. Brett did an awesome job this weekend. He got on the extension ladder to peal the last bit of wallpaper off and paint that corner. I really feel like the house is "put together" and I can finally relax. Also the guest bedroom and office are about 80% unpacked. :)

Two Years - Two Months

Today is 9-8-09. Two years ago it was 9-8-07 and Martin and Ashlan said "I do". Happy two year anniversary! I love you both.

Two months ago it was 7-8-09 and Carew was born. Happy two month to the best nephew ever. I love you.

I need a new nose

I am sick. Well I am on the up side of being sick. It seems that there are forces keeping me from unpacking - sickness - helping friends move - more sickness - helping other friends move - movies - TV.

It is Labor Day weekend and we are going to try to paint the kitchen. Brett tried to install our new kitchen faucet, but rusty bolts are slowing him down. Any suggestions??

Still working to get Internet on my lap top. It hasn't be high on the list.

Well . . . .

There are no pictures here. I know, I promised. But sickness, work, laundry, internet problems and such get in the way. We have internet at home, but not wireless yet. So the pictures are on my lap top which is not connected to the information super highway.

Sickness seems to be my friend these days. It is time to slow down, breathe, rest and let my body heal. I need to start saying no to some things.

Other than that we are doing great. The house is slowing becoming unpacked. We got the guest bedroom furniture set up, but there are boxes filling the room. We love having our house. It is only 200 square feet bigger than our apartment, but it just feels huge. I really feel the need to have a garage sale or take a big load to Goodwill.

Oh, by they way - we are real home owners. Our dishwasher is broken and our garage door doesn't always want to work correctly.

Finally, my dear friend Laura left US soil today. She and the hubby will be spending 3 years in Japan. On one hand I am very very very sad about this. But on the other hand just is just a skpye call away. I pray for safe travel for them today.

Maybe, maybe not

I might get Internet tomorrow. ATT says they will flip the switch tomorrow, but I am not going to hold my breath. IF we do get Internet I MIGHT get some pictures up here. But again I am not holding my breath (and neither should you).

We have made some good progress in the house. The kitchen is 90% put together. The master bedroom only needs the mirror attached to the dresser and some major closet organization. The master bath is DONE!

My goal is by the end of the month to have the guest bedroom and office workable. I really want to spend time unpacking and analyzing what we need to keep and throw away. I know that will take some time, but it will be totally worth it. Right now I feel motivated to do a garage sale. I think that if we got some of our friends in on the action too that it would be fun and we could make some cash.

Painting might start back up in September. Right now painting feels like the most horrible thing in the world. But I refuse wake up six years from now and still not have the washer and dryer room painted!

By the way, Brett and I both feel back to 100% normal again. We never want to be that sick again, ever!

We are moved in . . .

but not unpacked. We had a wonderful move day. We have the best friends and family, there were 13 people to help. We started at 8 am and were finished by 11:30 am. Nothing was broken and as far as we can tell nothing is missing. Saturday was just perfect.

Sunday on the other hand was not. Brett and I got sick to our stomach. I save you the details, but the score was Brett 10 Jill 2. Brett has recovered well. I have taken three days off from work this week and I am still not back to 100%.

Pictures to come once we have Internet. I think that I need a nap.

Two more nights

Brett and I will only spend two more nights at our apartment. I will be so ready to just live in one place, our HOME, but it is a little sad to leave our first place. We have loved our apartment. It is just the right size, we have nice quiet neighbors and the location is great. However, there are down sides to apartment. About a month ago our neighbor bought a fan. We can hear a repetitive noise coming from it. I won't miss that! And our down stairs neighbor, Janet, takes a bath every night at 10 pm. When she turns on her water it sounds like she is in our bath tub! I won't miss that.

Tonight we will pull up all the plastic and tape and vacuum really well. Brett will pull down the last bits of wall paper. Friday we pick up the U Haul, start loading, and pack the last odds and ends. The light is so bright at the end of this tunnel!

PS I promise to post some pictures soon. . . I PROMISE

Mr. Papillon

"Jean-Michel Papillon, a French engraver and considered the inventor of wallpaper, started making block designs in matching, continuous patterns in 1675, and wallpaper as we know it today was on its way." http://www.wallpaperinstaller.com/wallpaper_history.html

I would like to have a few words with Mr. Papillon. He has made my life hard these past few weeks. Tonight we should rid our home of wallpaper for good and I will be very happy if I never see wallpaper again.

The light at the end of the tunnel is bright

In order to move in on Sat. we need to . . . .

1) put a 2nd coat on the trim in the office
2) take down the last bit of wall paper in the kitchen
3) vacuum really good

Just two things

We only have to do two things in order to move in . . . .
1) put two coats of paint on the trim work in the office
2) remove all the wallpaper in the kitchen

If we do those two things we can move in and finish things later on. Here is the list of what still needs to be done. (I don't mean to bore you with lists, but it helps me to stay on track!)

1) paint the trim in the master bathroom
2) hang fixtures in the master bathroom
3) two coats of paint in the hall bathroom
4) paint the trim in the hall bathroom
5) hang fixtures in the hall bathroom
6) paint the trim in the hallway
7) paint the trim in the living room
8) paint the trim on the stairs
9) paint two coats down by the washer and dryer
10) paint the trim by the washer and dryer
11) prime two coats in the kitchen
12) paint two coats in the kitchen
13) paint the trim in the kitchen

A sneak peak

Sorry that I didn't get this pic turned before I uploaded it. I have tried a few times to get pics on here and it just taking too long. This is Brett painting the vaulted ceiling in our Master bedroom.
Brett had fun with the first coat. This is only the beginning . . . more pics of his "artwork" later on.
Here is the master bathroom with the wallpaper still attached. Kristyn and I worked on it for a long time and then our friend Matt spend about four hours pealing it off piece by piece. It pulled the dry wall off with it so we have had to prime, texture, prime and then paint the bathrooms. Brett has done an awesome job in here. I can't wait to show how it looks now!

It is just going to have to wait

The hall bathroom that is. We realized last night that it looks like the hall bath will just not be finished by the time we move in. So it will have to wait. It really is ok because everything works in there so it is functional, but not pretty.

Some progress

Tonight we got a second coat on the accent wall, painted two closets and patched both bathrooms. Brett also clean out the debris that had built up against the gate to the back yard. We were pretty tired tonight, I hope to have more pep in my step tomorrow.

My Small Group ROCKS!

Instead of reading the Bible and praying my small group painted my house last night! I fed them pizza . . . We now have a first coat on everything and the three bedrooms have a second coat on them. This is HUGE progress.

Still on the to do list
1) patch and sand bathroom walls
2) prime bathroom walls
3) texture bathroom walls
4) paint bathroom walls
5) re hang fixtures in bathrooms
6) put a second coat on the living room, hallway and stairs
7) paint four closets
8) paint all the molding in the house
9) prime the kitchen
10) put two coats of paint on the kitchen
11) CLEAN the kitchen
12) move
13) unpack
14) rest and enjoy our home

Paint Paint Paint

We have been painting our new house. I will get some pictures on here at some point. I was able to take two days off from work and Brett got one day. This has been a huge help! Tonight our small group will come and help up paint. There should be ten painters going full speed tonight. I really think we will see some progress.

Also on our list today is to clean and throw away. The previous owner just left junk. But the sad thing is some of it looks really old, so I think some might be from the owner before him. I filled three large trash bags just from the kitchen and I am not finished yet. By the way does any one need a used potato masher?

I hold in my hand . . .

The key to our new house. We hope to be able to get in tomorrow. We are still waiting to hear when the seller is completely moved out. :)

It is a done deal . . .

We own a house!

Soon we will be home owners

We were scheduled to close today, but it is not going to happen till tomorrow. I am so excited and getting anxious about starting the painting and moving. I am ready to be a home owner! (ask me if I am still excited about being a home owner when the AC is broken or the toilet has broken, ha ha ha).

rice crispy treats at easter

Brett and I made rice crispy treats back at Easter. It was so much fun and they tasted great. I got the most amazing set of cookie cutters as a wedding gift and we used them to mold the rice crispy treats.


You have bunnies, eggs, and of course the Easter T-Rex.


We melted almond bark to decorate them with and we added sprinkles.

8 months

Today is my 8 month anniversary. The cold day of November 15, 2008 seems like it happened so long ago, but at the same time it seems like yesterday. I am so blessed to be married to Brett. He is more than I ever could have asked for. We have been through some ups and downs in these 8 months. For those of you who have been married for any length longer than 8 months are probably laughing at that statement. I know that we have only just begun our adventures, but for us it seems like we have been through some stuff.

In the past eight months . . .
We celebrated Thanksgiving after only being married for a week and a half.
We celebrated Christmas and found out that Martin and Ashlan would be having a baby.
We went celebrated Brett's 26th birthday.
We were blessed when Brett had a wreck and no one was hurt.
We had fun with a rental car.
We went camping for Valentine's Day.
We celebrated my Grandmother's home going.
We endured two months of me working over time and having big stress at work.
We were blessed again when I had a wreck and no one was hurt.
I had fun ridding the bus.
We were blessed with a "new" car to replace my car that was totaled.
We are greatly blessed with a house that we will move into in the next month.

Along the way we have had some fights and learned from them. We have faced some sickness and learned from it. We have had some challenges and learned from them. We are so thankful for the good times and the bad. We work hard to learn from the mistakes and not repeat them again. We are not anywhere perfect, but we are trying to grow and learn.

I can't wait to see what the Lord has in the future for us.

Happy Birthday Laura!

Laura and I on my wedding day (in case you couldn't figure that out)

Laura came to visit me before my wedding for two showers.

Another time that Laura came to visit me.

Laura on her wedding day.

Today is Laura's birthday! I hope today is a wonderful day for her. She is a wonderful friend. Laura is always there to listen to me, even if each conversation is bad news. She always has a helpful and encouraging word when you need it and knows when to just listen. She is an amazing Air Force wife. She has survived 15 months away from her hubby and has done amazing job of it. She handles the ups and downs of Air Force life with grace. Laura is smart and could have any teaching job she wanted, but has chosen to support her husband and has put his career first.
She was amazingly supportive during my wedding planning and weekend. She did amazing job hosting two showers for me and was a life saver during the wedding weekend.

I thank God that he put Laura across the hall from me in Francis Crawford. I could not ask for a better friend. I love you!