Date Night With My Super Hero

Tonight was date night. We went out to eat supper then dessert at Swooger's (a local ice cream shop), hung out at Books-a-Million, and walked around the new Target in Gastonia.
We found these awesome masks in their dollar isle. We didn't buy 'em, we just wanted to play with 'em for a little bit. lol
Bruce has always read comic books. Spider man was always his favorite. This is the closest he's come to being Spider Man. But he's the sweetest Super Hero I know.

While we were at Books-a-Million, I was finished looking around, so I sat down with a couple of ladies and was reading some things on my Kindle Fire. The other two ladies were talking and then I joined in. We were having a fun chat until another woman snipped, "Have y'all exhausted all subjects yet? I'm trying to read." She was so serious. But it was one of those moments where my brain was telling me to just be quiet and act normal, yet I suddenly heard myself burst into laughter. She, on the other hand, was not cracking a smile, which made my giggles grow a little larger.

Other than that little kerfuffle, which was still a high light of the evening, we had a great time together. I love date nights with my super hero. You just never know how they're going to turn out.

<3

Local Field Trip Day

Hannah has spent the week in Tennessee with my mom, visiting my Aunt Janice. They've had a really good time. They were able to visit Brother Tony Hutson's church, Middle Tennessee Baptist, Wednesday night. My Aunt loved it and is looking forward to visiting again on Sunday with mom and Hannah. They've decided to stay a couple of extra days and won't be home until sometime Monday evening. I'll be glad to see my baby girl again.

Harrison and I decided to take a field trip today to our local museum. We didn't know what the exhibit was until we got there. It was the Girl Scouts from the year they started to present date. It was interesting to see how the badges and uniforms have changed over the years. They had a table set up where you could make a paper pocket knife so we did that. I told Harrison it gave a whole new meaning to a paper cut.

Next we stopped at the Library. For some reason, both Harrison and I were not in the system and we ended up having to get new library cards. Which was fine. Harrison finally checked out two books he's been dying to get for months. Everytime we go, the entire series is checked out. So he was glad there were two there and has enjoyed reading them today.

After the library we met Bruce at Love's Fish Box for lunch. Love's is the BEST fish camp in our area, in our opinion. We had a great lunch together and then home for a little rest before Bruce had to leave for work.

A friend came over for a visit this afternoon and it was so nice to sit and chat for a while. I enjoyed it very much!

Now we're just waiting on Justin to get back from practicing with one of the groups at church. I know he'll be exhausted when he gets here. He's been up a long time today and I'm sure he'll be ready to hit the sack when he gets home.

I'm outta here. Y'all have a good night/morning/evening.... whatever. :D

Happy Valentine's Day II

Bruce's mom had gone to lunch with good friends on Valentine's Day, so Bruce ended up missing her. But he did go see her when he got off work that night.
But later in the afternoon, the kids and I went to see her to take her a card and some candy and visit a while.

My great niece was there. She is so beautiful and gives the sweetest little hugs. And obviously she enjoys her McDonald's ice cream sundaes.

My brother in law was dropping her off for my mother in law to sit for a few hours while he went back to work and his wife was busy at the florist shop. Valentine's Day is their busiest day, you know!

We had a good visit and before we left, my sister in law and her two sons showed up. It was good to see them too.

When we left my mother in law's house, we picked up some pizzas and went to mom's to deliver her card and candy. We watched some love stories from back in the prairie days while we ate our pizza and had a great time with her.

It was nice being able to spend some time with our moms and letting them know that we consider them to be our valentines.

Love you, Mom! Love you, Marie!

A Happy Valentine's Day!

When the children went to bed last night I put a pink table cloth on the table with a vase of flowers in the candy heart vase I found a few weeks ago, and put the kid's cards and chocolates on the table. I also left Bruce's gift bag and he left my gift box.


This morning I had a house to clean before meeting Bruce at the gym. We came home and while he got ready for work, I finished cooking lunch.


For dessert, I gave everyone someone a friend of mine posted about. Heart-shaped Little Debbie cakes with strawberry swirl ice cream, topped with chocolate drizzles.

Obviously, they liked it.

After dessert we opened our gifts and this is what I got. Of course, we already knew what we were getting because when we went out Friday night, we each picked out our own gifts.
We had a very good day and there was more to it, but I'll share about that later. Right now it's late and this wife and mama is tuckered out.

Swinging With My Sweetie

The theme for our Valentine's Banquet was inspired by a greeting card. It was really cute and we had a great time in our new banquet room for our first Valentine Banquet there.
Here's a pic of me and my sweetie pie. This was the entrance to the banquet room.


This year's skits were so hilariously funny. Brother Johnny was a former boxer being interviewed by "Hambone." It was great.


He was also a former inventor. He showed us many of his inventions. The one below is a nice hat to wear in church when you need a tissue from crying or have a runny nose.

My Pastor and his wife also did a VERY FUNNY skit. I don't think I have ever seen them be so funny. It was great.

And here they are without his hat/hair. Aren't they sweet?

We had a good time. Several people worked hours on the meal. We had our choice of steak or chicken, salad, baked potatoes, drink, and dessert. It was all fabulous!!

And of course I had a great time with my sweetheart.

I love him. <3

A Little Better

I spent another day in bed, with the exception of putting a roast in the oven for lunch. I do feel better and hope that tomorrow I will feel even better than I did today.

When I heard on the news that the sickness going around is due highly in part to an early spring and unusually high levels of pollen in the air, I decided to try some allergy medication instead of taking the usual head cold meds. I started on a 24 hr allergy pill. I take it in the morning and a few hours later I start taking Musinex every four hours with a Vitamin C every four hours also. I think it's really helped. Tomorrow we'll know for sure.

Since I've been in bed the last few days I decided to update my picture blog and organize the sidebar. If you want to view the pics, just click here and choose which album you want from the sidebar. I still have a lot of albums to add but I'll have to get to those when I have more time.

So far, no one in my family has gotten sick from me. Keeping a close eye on that though. Looking forward to this weekend and hoping I get to go to the Valentine Banquet with my sweetheart.

Hope y'all have a great weekend too. :)

A Turn for the Worse

So my cold has taken a turn for the worse. I've been in bed since just after 2:00 yesterday. Bruce went to the gym by himself this morning and is bringing me back some orange juice and Cepacol. Nothing says *lunch* like medicine, right?

I had Harrison bring me some disinfectant wipes so I could wipe down my computer keys. As I was sitting here doing that my nose started running. No tissues, no toilet paper (nearby, anyway), so why not use a disinfectant wipe? As I told friends, the lemon scent is nice and my nose has never felt so clean. ha!

I've been doing my blog reading and that's been nice to pass time. OH! Have y'all discovered pinterest yet? I LOVE it! There are so many great ideas on that site. I don't know that I'm as addicted as some of my other friends, but I do like Pinterest. Sometimes I forget to pin things I find on the Internet and then later I think, "MAN! Should have pinned that!!" If you haven't checked it out, you should. It's a great way to find recipes, crafts, etc.

Our Valentine's Banquet is this weekend. This year we decided to do two nights of the banquet. So the Young Adults class, Newly Married class, and Still Married class will be Friday night. And Saturday will be for those that couldn't make it Friday and Brother Johnny's Sunday School class. We're in the Still Married class, but we'll be going Saturday because Bruce has to work Friday night. I've been able to help some on the decorations for the banquet. It is so cute! Mrs. Amy Leonard and Mrs. Ava have had some awesome ideas, all inspired by a greeting card. I'll have pictures to share, Lord willing, next week. I hope I'm feeling much better by then and we get to go.

I think I'll go back to reading some blogs now.

Here's something to look at for a minute. :)

Pork Alfredo and A Fun Family Shoot

I really don't know what to call this recipe, if you can call it a recipe, that is. LOL A friend of mine taught me how to do this a few years ago and as I was telling another friend about it, I thought maybe my blog readers would like to try it also.

Grab a pencil, because this recipe is quite long. Here's what you need:

Pork chops, boneless or bone-in, doesn't matter.
One jar of Alfredo sauce.

Ok, so you don't need a pencil. It really is that simple. Easy, easy!! Place your pork chops in a pan, cover with Alfredo sauce, and cook at 350 degrees until pork is done.
I like to serve mine with Angel Hair pasta and some kind of green. I prefer steamed broccoli. But I'm out of that today so we'll probably have a side salad. If you try it, let me know how you like it.
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This weekend, I had the privilege of shooting the Vaughan family. They were such a fun group of people to be around. Mom and dad Vaughan were obviously use to the shenanigans of their daughters, because they pretty well let their playful ways roll right on without batting an eye. It was hilarious. Each daughter has such a different personality and they all just fold right into each other. I never had a sister, but if I did, I'd sure want that kind of relationship with them. It was very emotional for me at then end. We did a daddy/daughters shot with them and they were so playful with their dad that it was fun, but after all was said and done and I found myself missing my dad so much I couldn't fight back the tears.
They were a sweet family to shoot and I'll never forget this one!

~~~~~
After the shoot I had a date with my main squeeze. :) We decided to go to Don's Italian in Shelby. Bruce loves their turkey subs. They have awesome burgers so I had the bacon cheeseburgers with their homemade chips and ranch dip. I could make a meal just off the chips and dip. lol Anyway, I started not feeling well and by the time I got up Sunday morning I was REALLY feeling bad.
My eyes were swollen and with each blink the water would just flow from them like the Hoover Dam busted. As a matter of fact. I was oozing from every hole in my head. Gross, I know. Sorry. So I stayed home from church. We were having a family get together at my mother-in-law's after morning service. I met my family there after church and by the afternoon I was feeling some better and knew I could make it to church. Come to find out, we had over a hundred people out with this crud. They said the choir was puny Sunday morning and I believe it, because it was puny Sunday night. LOL But it was still good. And the service was excellent. Better than ANY Super Bowl. The Holy Spirit was in our midst and the alters were full. Three people were saved and seven were baptized. I was so glad I made it!
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As for the Super Bowl, we made it home as New England was leading the second half. We were pulling for the Giants. It was a crazy game but in the end, the Giants won. And there you have it! YAY.
~~~~~
Other than being sick, I had a really terrific weekend and hope you did too.

Do I Care?

While we were working out at the gym today, I noticed someone's t-shirt that read

I used to care. But now I take a pill for that.

On a t-shirt or a bumper sticker that little saying makes us smile. After all, I did make a silent chuckle when I read it. Obviously there is not really a pill that keeps us from caring. But what does keep us from caring?

As I was treading away on the treadmill and thinking about what I read, the thought did occur to me that many of us.... Christians, that is.... have stopped caring.

We've stopped caring about what Bible we carry.
We've stopped caring about how we dress.
We've stopped caring about the language we use.
We've stopped caring about what we put in front of our eyes.
We've stopped caring about the music we listen to.
We've stopped caring about whether or not our children are involved in their youth activities.
We've stopped caring about whether or not our families are in Sunday school and church services.
We've stopped caring about whether or not the alters are full.
We've stopped caring about souls being saved.
We've. stopped. caring.

Sometimes I think we become oblivious to our carelessness. But we need to be aware of it because it damages the cause of Christ.
It chokes the Word of God, gluts the soul, obstructs the Gospel, hinders the work of Christ, and manifests unbelief.

I have been guilty of carelessness in my Christian walk. And as I pondered these things, I was overwhelmed with guilt at the thought of causing others to fall because of it.

Referring to the "pill" mentioned on the t-shirt, I guess you could say that spiritually, the pill of carelessness is a poison. But there is an antidote for that poison, if we are sure to care about the things of God.

First of all, we have God's protection. Psalm 37: 4-11 tells us to delight ourselves in Him, commit our ways, trust in Him, rest in Him, and when we do these things, He will bring to pass the promises of those things He only gives his children. Such as the desires of our hearts, righteousness and judgment, inheritance of the earth, and peace.

Secondly, we have God's provision. Matthew 6:25-34, we hear it straight from the LORD, that He will take care of our needs. We don't have to worry about where our next meal is coming from or whether or not we'll be clothed. We are compared to "...the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. ARE YE NOT MUCH BETTER THAN THEY?" Again, we are compared to the lilies, "...how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." And in verse 33 we are told, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." When we stop caring about His kingdom and His righteousness, we begin to forfeit the gifts He has in store for us.

And thirdly, when we care about the things of God, we have God's promises. Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Everything we do should be entered into with earnest prayer. Christians that do not care do not have much of a prayer life, if any at all. Much less an earnest one. Christians that care, pray. When we are earnest in prayer life, we'll be earnest in our daily life. And when we are earnest in those things, we are Christians, caring for the things of God, resting in the assurance of His promises.

I don't want to stand before the Lord, guilty of not caring. So I have to ask myself...

"Do I Care?"

Our First Love

As I was waiting for Bruce to come out of the men's locker room today, I glanced up at the many tvs hanging from the ceiling. One of them was showing the Jerry Springer show, which was just coming on. Why anyone in their right mind would watch that absolute garbage and filth is beyond me. Although I could not hear without headphones, the title of the episode popped up on the screen and my first thoughts when I saw it were of being thankful. My next thought was of this verse:
Revelation 2:4 "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."

When I think of this verse, I immediately think of my relationship with Jesus Christ. The flesh of the Saint is prone to leave our First Love. We deny Him the thing He desires most from us and that is our praise, our worship, and our loyalty. He never betrays us, but we betray Him often. Daily.

It is easy to betray Him when we become so down and tired in our Christian walk. When things don't go our way, or when we feel everything around us is falling apart. Maybe you've become burned out in your service or weary in your well doing. Maybe you're discouraged from someone's gossip. Or you feel you have been working in your ministry all alone, for far too long.

James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."

There are many things that tempt us into betraying our First Love. Being tired, weary, and discouraged can be a temptation to laying everything down and walking away. But hang in there! Your First Love will be your strength, He will lift you up, and He will encourage you in His Word. And at the end of your journey, you will receive that crown of life!

And what girl doesn't desire her own crown?

Tips For A Brighter Day

I borrowed this from Mrs. Carolyn, our youth choir director. She carries it in her Bible. She is one of the SWEETEST ladies you will ever have the privilege of knowing. She has a genuine Christian character and I love her so much. I am continually blessed by her. Anyway, on our way to the youth rally tonight, she handed this to me to read and said for me to post it. As I read it, it sure did step on my toes a few times and it's definitely worth sharing.

Tips For a Brighter Day

*TODAY I WILL FORGIVE:

I will forgive any hurts or injuries that come my way.

*TODAY I WILL BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I SAY:

I will carefully choose and guard my words being certain that I do not spread gossip.

*TODAY I WILL DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE, BUT I WILL DO IT SECRETLY:

I will reach out anonymously and bless the life of another.

*TODAY I WILL NOT STRIKE BACK:

If someone is rude, if someone is impatient, if someone is unkind... I will not respond in like manner.

*TODAY I WILL RAISE THE SPIRITS OF SOMEONE I DISCOURAGED:

My smile, my words, my expression of support, can make the difference to someone who is wrestling life.

*TODAY I WILL ASK GOD TO BLESS MY "ENEMY":

If I come across someone who treats me harshly or unfairly, I will quietly ask God to bless that individual. I understand the "enemy" could be a family member, neighbor, co-worker, or a stranger.

*TODAY I WILL GO THE EXTRA MILE:

I will find ways to help share the burden of another person.

*TODAY I WILL TREAT OTHERS THE WAY I WISH TO BE TREATED:

I will practice the golden rule-"Do unto others as I would have them do unto me" -with everyone I encounter.

*TODAY I WILL NURTURE MY BODY:

I will eat less; i will eat only healthy foods. I will thank God for my body.

*TODAY I WILL GROW SPIRITUALLY:

I will spend a little more time in prayer today: I will begin reading something spiritual or inspirational today; I will find a quiet place and listen to God's voice!

I Ain't Gonna Leave My Pea Patch!

Our Pastor was asked to preach a chapel service at Hyles-Anderson College last week. He and Mrs. Ava flew up there and had a great time being with the students and staff.

If you'd like to listen to his sermon, please click here. The title of his sermon is I Ain't Gonna Leave My Pea Patch Anymore! from the January 20th chapel service.

Enjoy!

Sigma All-Nighter

This past Friday night we spent with our Sigma group having an all-nighter. It was a lot of fun and the kids were great to be with.

We met in our new facility at 6:00 pm and headed to a local mall to play some courses at the Lunar Mini Golf and do some window shopping.

Our junior sponsors (Justin, Jeremy, and Ashley) were able to make it and help us through the night. I love it when they're able to be there.

The hearts on Nicole's socks were shining brightly!

And they say that pregnant women have a glow about them. That was so true of Mrs. Jennifer. :)

Bruce had to work Friday night, but showed up sometime after we got back from mini golf. There was plenty of coffee and caffeine filled sodas to help keep him awake.

I'm so thankful for our gym and I know our boys are too, because they played hours and hours and hours of basketball. You'd think they'd get tired of it, but nope, no way!

We also divided all the kids up and played some kickball.

We popped popcorn and watched a Christian film that had us laughing and crying too. It was very good!

As the night progressed, we noticed the teenagers beginning to drop like flies and finding anywhere to lay down.

I found Brandon stretched out on the bottom of this table. I have to admit that at 4:30am, I liked his idea and wished I had thought of it first. haha

Gary planned ahead and brought a blow up mattress. Now that was some pretty smart thinkin'.

Christa plopped down in the floor. At least she didn't try laying on the tile.

And Dustin was totally passed out on the floor. The caffeine in that Dr. Pepper behind his head did not do its job for him.

Just a few of them went to sleep. For the most part, they were all awake through the night. Here they are just waiting for 6:00 am to roll around so we could go to breakfast.

We had several board games and video games that were played through the night also. Here I found Bruce and Brother Johnathan playing baseball, I think?

And if basketball in the gym wasn't enough for these guys, they played it some more on this little hoop in the banquet room.

Six o'clock did finally roll around so we loaded the vans and took them all to Ken and Mary's for breakfast. Ken and Mary's is a local establishment with down home cooking.

Brother Johnathan was the only one drinking tea at our table so he just drank straight from pitcher. lol

Some of them waited sleepy-eyed for their hot breakfast, while others dozed off on the table.

And this is the kind of behavior you get from the adults when they've stayed up all night.

Bruce loves breakfast, so he was more than happy to order all the breakfast food on the list. He got all of his favorite breakfast foods of eggs, grits, biscuits and gravy, and perfectly fried livermush. Boy did he enjoy it all!

I had two of their buttermilk pancakes with a glass of chocolate milk. They were very good.

We got home and in bed by 8:30, slept until just after 2:00, and finished the day off on a date to Northlake Mall in Charlotte and back home to our little town. I gotta admit that I did great Saturday, but Sunday morning I thought my body was ready to shut down. I made it though.

And that was our weekend with the youth group. We'll be going with them this Friday to hear them sing in a revival meeting at Brother Chris Emory's church. I haven't heard who is preaching there yet, but I'm looking forward to the meeting.

Click here to listen to them singing Redeemed.

*Blink* YAWN *Blink*

So tonight we're having an all-nighter with our Sigma youth. We'll be playing some indoor putt-putt and then making our way back to the church for a lot of gym games and other activities. Hopefully we'll have plenty of caffeine and snacks to keep them up all night. Then again.... maybe we should have no caffeine and they'll all pass out no later than 3:00. That would be great, but I remember being a teenager, and I really don't think that will happen. We'll go to breakfast in the morning and then they'll all go home and crash. Well. WE'LL all go home and crash.

We're taking Harry's iPod back tomorrow and hopefully they'll exchange it for another one if it can't be fixed. He's missed it so much. He'll be spending the weekend with his Grandmother and he's looking forward to it.

I haven't been feeling well the last few days. Kind of sick on my stomach. Nothing happening, just nauseated all the time. I almost WISH something would happen just to relieve the nauseousness. Hopefully it will pass soon.

God is so good and He is perfect in all His ways. I have several prayer requests on my heart and would appreciate your prayers with me.

I think I'm going to take a wee nap before I'm up all night with a bunch of crazy teenagers. Maybe we should have signed up our junior sponsors for tonight. LOL Looking forward to being with them and hopefully some of their youth will rub off on me and I'll manage to make it through the night!

My Mirror

My Aunt gave me a secretary (desk/table) and it is so beautiful. It's at my mom's house right now. I wanted a mirror to hang over it and this one is perfect.

Bruce made this one. He saved us lots of money on it too. Let me tell ya how, 'cause you know how I LOVE to pinch my pennies. The mirror, itself, had no frame around it and was hanging in the children's bathroom. Bruce made the frame using the chair railing we pulled off the wall when we were painting before Christmas. I think the only thing we bought to make the mirror was paint. It's so heavy I can't lift it and he had to make a brace to hang it on the wall. It was really brilliant how he did it, I must say. He's quite creative when it comes to things like this. Anyway, pricing these mirrors, one this size and this heavy would go for around $300. I'm happy at how pretty it turned out and I'm proud of my hubby for doing such a great job!

Love you, hon!

His next project is working on my windows. See the curtains in the mirror? He's making me a wooden box (valance) to go around the top. I'm very excited about it. I'll tell you why I'm excited about it when he gets it finished.

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I think I told you our youth choir was singing at a revival next weekend. Click here to hear them singing Redeemed. Hope it's a blessing.

Monday Meanderings

Why call this post Monday Meanderings? Because it's Monday and I'm wandering all over the place with this post. So....

I'll be hanging out with my mom tonight at her house. Eating supper and whatever else. I'm looking forward to it. Love my mom!! She's the best. A few other ladies will be there too, so we'll be sure to have a great time, I know.

Remember when I blogged about Harrison's iPod Touch he was saving up for and bought? Then a few weeks ago (sometime before Christmas) it stopped working. So we finally got around to calling Apple today and they are sending us to their Apple store in Charlotte. They'll run a few tests on it and if they can't get it to run, they'll replace it for him. That's good to know. I'm glad I bought that warranty! Harry will be happy to get his iPod back and start playing the games he had on there.

I bought Bruce the Kindle Fire for Christmas. I'm beginning to think I should have asked him for one, myself. I really like his. I haven't messed with it much, but I love all the features he's been showing me. Maybe if I'm good between now and my birthday, he'll get me one. That's a long time for me to be good, though. So we'll have to wait and see. LOL

Justin is off on Mondays, so when Bruce and I got back home from the gym, I started cooking lunch. Since Bruce works second shift, I try to cook a hot lunch so we have a sit down meal together as a family. Monday is about the only day we get to do this, unless you count Sunday, which I really don't, because my two older ones don't always come home with us after the morning service. I enjoyed having my whole family at the table, laughing and talking together. I live for those moments! :)

I took some videos of our youth choir singing last night. Lord willing I'll be able to get those uploaded to Youtube soon. When I do, I'll post them here. They were asked to sing at a service next weekend for Brother Chris Emory. We're looking forward to it. We love Brother Emory and his family, and the people there at his church.

This weekend we have our all nighter with the youth. It's been a while since I've pulled an all nighter and I'm not sure I'll make it. But we'll see. I'm looking forward to it, nonetheless. Lunar golf, bowling, and then games and snacks at our church's gym. Should be a good time.

And that's it for today. Trying to get back into this whole blogging thing is a killer sometimes. But I have to admit that I am finding it easier to write about things the more I do blog. Hope y'all have a great evening. I know I'm going to!

Chili Recipe

As we were leaving the gym today, I had to stop at the store and pick up a couple items for supper. I thought a pot of chili would be good tonight. Not to mention it would be there tomorrow night, which means NO COOKING tomorrow! :) And since date night is Saturday evenings now, that's two days in a row. I loooooooove cooking, don't get me wrong. But come on... even Martha Stewart would like this plan. Anyway, I shared my recipe for Taco Pie with you yesterday and thought I'd share this recipe also. It's really not a recipe. Just more an "add a little bit-o-this and a little-bit-o that" kind of thing.
I use the large bag of pinto beans when making my pot of chili. Especially if I want it to go a couple of days. You can add a jar of kidney beans and/or stewed tomatoes too. I love those, but my family, not so much.
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1 bag pinto beans
2 lbs of ground beef (try ground turkey or even shredded chicken if your family isn't opposed those)
1 jar of medium to hot salsa
1 medium jar of vegetable juice. V8 Spicy is good if you want a little more spice and today I used the low sodium.
Hot Mexican chili powder, to taste
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Cook pintos to tender
drain most, if not all, of the water out of the beans
Add cooked meat, salsa, vegetable juice, and chili powder to taste
Simmer for about thirty minutes to an hour
Top with chopped onions, saltines, a blend of Mexican cheese, and sour cream.
Makes a hearty meal for all!
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And for those of you who have trouble getting your family to eat leftovers, a tip I read in Women's Day magazine a long time ago said to spray muffin pans with cooking spray, spoon in the chili, and freeze. Then pop 'em out, place them in a gallon zip lock baggie and put them back in the freezer for a cup of chili anytime you want, during the upcoming winter days. I've done this before and it worked great. Bruce would grab a couple of them from the freezer, place them in a tupperware bowl and take them to work. By lunch time, all he had to do was heat it up and chow down. Of course this works for any soup. So enjoy!
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And last but not least.... Today's workout was the thirty minute circuit plus thirty minute cardio. The thirty minute circuit is thirty minutes of alternating between step aerobics and weight machines. There's a green light/red light you watch on this one. You begin with step aerobics when the light turns green. When it turns red, you move back to a weight machine and begin working it when the light turns green again. When it turns red, you quickly clean the machine and move back to the step again. It's fast paced and works both upper and lower body muscles. We like it. And then we followed it up with thirty minutes on the bicycle and treadmill.

And there ya have it!
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Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with
salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."

Recipes, This and That, and Such

In yesterday's post, I mentioned we had a young man from our church over for supper Monday night and that he liked my Taco Pie, which by the way, I found in our church cookbook a few years ago. It became a family favorite and I haven't fixed it in forever. So when I knew he was coming over, I decided to fix it. Here's the recipe in case you'd like to try it.

1 tube of original crescent rolls
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 packs of taco seasoning
16 oz sour cream
1 1/2 bags of Mexican cheese
1/2 bag of Doritos
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Layer the bottom of a 9x13 pan with crescents and roll edge to edge
Brown ground beef, drain, and add taco seasoning and water according to seasoning pack. Cook for several minutes. Drain. Pour taco meat on top of crescent rolls.
Spread sour cream on top of meat
Spread cheese on top of sour cream
Crumble 1/2 bag of Doritos and sprinkle on top of cheese for top layer
Cover with tin foil
Bake until Crescent rolls are done
If you find yourself without tin foil, like I did last night, just bake until the crescent rolls are done and cheese is thoroughly melted. Then crumble your Doritos on top and bake just a few minutes for the Doritos to set in the cheese.
Add a green salad mix with fresh tomatoes on the side. Yumm-o-licious!
I haven't tried this yet, but I'd like to do a fajita variation with shredded chicken.
This stuff gets gone fast. So.... ENJOY!
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Today we had one hour of cardio on our schedule. I did thirty on the bicycle and thirty on treadmill. Bruce did his full hour on the treadmill. It was a nice break from weight machines considering the muscles in my arms are aching from yesterday's workout. LOL Gotta tear 'em down to build 'em up, right?
I did discover that icy/hot is great for when my ankle is hurting. It felt fantabulous this afternoon. So that's a good thing.
When Bruce's doctor told him that his cholesterol and triglycerides were high, I googled some ways to lower them naturally and was reading where a handful of nuts a day can play a role in lowering your cholesterol. Yes, there are some bad nuts out there, but even they have some good nutritional values. Right now he takes high doses of behind the counter Fish Oil and it has helped a LOT. But I thought we could incorporate the nuts too. So everyday after our workout, I give us each a handful of mixed nuts. I'm nutty, but not really a nut person. Bruce loves nuts, so he loves his after-workout snack.
Tomorrow is thirty minutes cardio with the thirty minute circuit.
You're probably wondering why I'm posting about our schedule. I post those who, for whatever reason, can't make it to the gym and want a routine. It kind of gives them an idea of what they can do each day on their own. I learned something about working out, too. You can't have just a target area. You need to work everything! You also need to give your muscles a day or two to rest between weight machines or you cancel out what you did the day before. I haven't asked this yet, but I'm not sure if that's just for beginners or for everyone.
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A friend of mine is making halo headbands for when I take pictures of baby girls. I saw one they made the other day and it was adorable. She was able to get a little crafty so that I could have just a few headbands with interchangeable flowers, feathers, etc. I can't wait to see them all! In turn, I'll give her family a photo shoot.
Bruce bought me some new photo editing software and I think I'm going to love it. It was a little difficult to figure out at first, but I did eventually figure it out and have played with a couple of pictures. In two words I would have to say, "me likey."
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Tonight is SIGMA night. I'm glad we were able to keep a SIGMA night on Wednesdays and the youth still be in the church service. I love having them in there. I need to start getting ready. Hope you have a great evening!

Gym and Homeschooling

Today we worked on the upper body. Can I just say ow? When I got up this morning my sides were feeling the abs workout from yesterday. I'm sure I'll be feeling today's workout in my triceps and biceps tomorrow.

The trainer gave us a chart to show us exactly what machines to work and what days we're to use them. It lists the machine and you fill in the pounds and reps you do. So next time we work those machines we'll be able to look back and know what we did last time. Also, we'll be able to watch our progress.

We eat lunch shortly after we get home, so today I had thrown some chicken tenders in the crock pot with a bottle of BBQ sauce. We had that with stewed potatoes, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and a dinner roll. For Bruce and me, I sliced a piece of tomato and laid it on top of the roll with a little garlic and parsley sprinkled on top. It was pretty tasty. It gave the bread a really good flavor.

The kids are getting back into the groove of school after being off for a long Christmas break. They should have their next tests by the end of this week and/or middle of next, providing they stay on schedule. I may need to push them a little harder since end of grade testing will be upon us before we know it.

We had a young man in our church over for supper last night. He likes my Taco Pie, so that's what I made for him. Then we watched a movie with him, played a little bit on the Wii, and laughed at his craziness. We had a good time and it was fun to have him here. We'll have to do that again soon.

I think a nap is on the agenda today. Yes. A nap. On the agenda. Sounds about right to me.
:)

WHEW!

We had a good first day on the routine the trainer gave us. Today it was lower body and abs plus thirty minutes of cardio.

I didn't realize this, but he said it's always better to start your routine with a five minute cardio, then do your weights, and end with the cardio. So that's what we did today. I'm glad Bruce was with me today because figuring out these machines and which ones do what is a little confusing. But we figured them out and I did enjoy the workout. I'll admit that there are a couple of machines I wouldn't miss if they decided to do away with them. LOL But, all in all, a good workout and I do like going in with a plan for each day. And the great news from today is, I lost three pounds since last week. YAY!
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We had two great services yesterday. There was a woman saved last Sunday morning. Her parents have been coming to our church for several years. Her daddy had gone to the alter to pray for her and a minute later she had followed him there, knelt down, and just got right under his arm and repented. It was precious. On the other side of the alter was a man doing the same thing. It was so sweet. He had such a humble spirit when he stood up. His sweet wife was saved Wednesday night, and one of the foster children in our church accepted Christ yesterday morning. It's been so good seeing all these new converts and witnessing their baptisms and their growth in Christ. What a blessing! Praying for many more this year!

Brother John O'Malley preached the evening service last night. I love to hear him preach. He always brings out things in his sermons that make me think, "Man, how come I never thought about that before?" We love the O' Family.

Brother O' and Pastor Goodman will be leaving for Burma here soon. Pastor is really excited about this mission trip. He has been to the Philippines several times and has a great heart for the people there and for missions, in general. I'm sure when he gets back from Burma he will leave another piece of his heart there with them. I'm looking forward to seeing his pictures and hearing about his trip and the experiences that God will allow him to have there.