I am Feelin the Love!

My friend Vivienne gave me this wonderful award. How sweet of her to think of me as uplifting. One thing I do try to work on is being positive and joyful and it makes me happy that she feels that coming across from my blog. I've said it before and I'll say it again that if you have not read her blog it is a must. She's so funny and always gives me just the laugh that I need. I've learned some wonderful things from her as well. She is a must read.

Thank you Vivienne!

I am awarding - Becca!

What's for Dinner Thursday

We actually had this for dinner on Sunday but I thought I share this with you today because we're just going pizza tonight. This is a super easy pulled pork recipe for the crock pot.

All I needed was my crock pot, a pork roast (about 3 lbs), brown sugar, cider vinegar, ketchup and a BBQ pulled pork Slow Cooker packet from McCormick.

Just add all of the ingredients, mix it around and turn on the crock pot. I did season the meat too and poke holes so that the flavor would really get into the meat.

Ta da! After it's all done cooking, just shred the meat. Now, I will say that this time I waited until is was cool to shred the meat (OK, it was because I was napping) and I wouldn't recommend that. It was harder to shred, so I would say shred while the meat is still warm.

We just added it to buns and had some fries and that was dinner!

Remember to head over to Joanna's blog to see more recipes.

Organizing Hair Accessories

NOTE: I'm also adding this to One-Tip Wednesday. Check out other tips here.

I saw this idea here and I just had to try it. I just so happened to have one of these organizers from a bead project so it was perfect. I'm constantly looking for a specific color when I do Jamison's hair and now it will be really easy.

Tackle it Tuesday - Family Information Center

NOTE: I thought I'd also participate for the first time here...Do It Yourself Day

**Please excuse the blurry pictures.

What do you get when you take these:

+ pieces of this

+ a bottle of this

+ these?

Super cute magnets!

I wanted to make sort of an information center for the side of our fridge. I got the idea from here (I also want to try her folder system, but that's for another day). In her post she used magnets to organize the information and I thought it was a great idea. I decided to make my own magnets and I followed this tutorial (have you been to Jill Scott's site yet...it's a must).

I followed her tutorial for the most part, except I used Mod Podge to also glue the paper to the marbles. Here are my almost magnets drying after adding the Mod Podge to the back of the paper:

For my information center I have a calendar, a menu sheet and eventually I will make a sheet to write down things we are out of. For my calendar I thought it would be fun if the magnets said the month and here's how that turned out:

I just used cute fonts (found here) and I typed up the months and put the scrapbook paper through my printer. I did a couple of practice runs with blank paper first to make sure the font was the right size. I actually used 3 different fonts and had to use different sizing for each.

I tried to use themed paper for each month. I actually still have some months to do because I didn't find the paper I wanted. But for October I used and orange paper and for February I used a pink paper with hearts. See (sorry again for the blurriness):

I also printed off the word Menu for the magnets that are holding up my menu plan. See:

Here's my calendar for August. I made this in Word using a table. Again, I used one of the fonts that I downloaded from the site mentioned above. I added in the numbers for the month and then the magnets will tell us what month it is. You can't see it in this picture but I also have a space at the bottom that says Notes so we can write reminders.

Here's my menu plan. I also did this in Word using a table.

So, there you have it...my Family Information Center. I'm really happy with the way it turned out and I think it will be really helpful.

Go to 5 Minutes for Mom to see more tackles.

The Simple Woman's Daybook - August 17, 2009

For today...

Outside my window...sunny and muggy. There are supposed to be storms today and the last time I looked it is supposed to rain all week.

I am thinking...I actually have a few things on my mind...friends who are dealing with difficult issues, errands I need to run today, my headache that won't go away.

I am thankful for...my flexible job. I have a few things to do this week with Jamison's school and I am thankful that I'm able to leave work early or come in later.

From the kitchen...check out my menu for the week here.

I am reading...nothing. I haven't picked up any books, but I plan to do that this week.

I am praying...for some friends who are dealing with difficult situations and for some guidance with decisions Rondell and I have to make regarding our Small Group.

I am creating...I finished my magnets (post to come tomorrow) and I love the way they turned out. Next I'd like to see if I can make the invitations for Jamison's birthday party. I'm going to a Stampin Up workshop on Friday to get some ideas from experienced crafters!

Around the house...chaos. I'm really working on cleaning out and organizing and so things are a little crazy right now. Anyone have any tips on a good label maker?

One of my favorite things...ice cream. Last night we went to Dairy Queen and I had a Thin Mint Blizzard. Yum.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Tonight we have an open house at Jamison's school. Because of overcrowding, 1st grade is going to be held in a different school this year (it's right across the parking lot from her actual school). Jamison went to this school for preschool so she's pretty familiar, but we want to go to the open house to check out the classroom and meet the other students.

Thursday Jamison's very best friend Hannah comes over to spend the night. This is the first time we've had a child spend the night so this should be interesting. I'm a little nervous and of course Jamison is thrilled.

Friday I go to the Stampin Up workshop to craft and have some fun.

**You can join other daybookers here.

FMM?

Does anyone know what's going on with Friend Makin Monday and if Kasey is OK? I miss it and I want to make sure things are OK with her.

Menu Planning - 8-15-2009

I'm working really hard to keep up with my menu planning. Here's what's happening this week coming up:

Saturday (today): Appetizers

Sunday: Pulled pork and french fries

Monday: Tacos

Tuesday: CHOICE night (meaning an easy dinner of maybe hot dogs or grilled cheese)

Wednesday: Cheeseburger pie (a new recipe for me)

Thursday: Pizza

Friday: Baked Ziti

Thanking God on Friday

** I am thankful for the fact that it did not cost a lot to have our garage door repaired. The attachment from the garage door opener to the actual door snapped this week. I got a referral from my friend Lyndsey and the company came out and fixed it yesterday for only $80...and they did a great job! Rondell and I were very relieved.

** I am thankful for Beth Moore's study of Daniel. My friend Tonya and I are doing this study together. I have done one other Beth Moore study and I didn't care for it so I was interested to see how I would like this study. People talk all the time about how she really makes the Bible come alive and now I see it to be true. This study is amazing so far. I'm learning so much about history, how God used Daniel, and how Babylon relates to how our society is today. I highly recommend this study.

** I am thankful that Rondell's schedule is slowing down. For a while there it felt like he was working two full time jobs because they were scheduling him so much at Best Buy. But now it's slowing down and he'll be home more.

** I am thankful for my Crown group. This past Spring Rondell and I participated in a 10-week Crown Financial Bible Study. It was amazing to see all the verses related to finances and begin to look at money differently. What we are doing now is getting together with our group once a month as an accountability group. This will be so helpful because now it's taking what we learned and really outlining a plan and putting it into action.

Water, Pizza and Blood

Yes, all of these things are related.

With summer coming to a close I've been wanting to do some fun things with the kids. I decided to take them to our local Spray Park this week since we had not been all summer. I asked a bunch of people to join us, and my friends Lyndsey and Amber jumped on board.

Things are always pretty low key when we get together and I love that. The kids are able to play and we can relax and chat. We ended up just getting pizza and having a simple dinner. After that the kids played in the water and then on the grassy hill behind the fountains. This is where the blood comes in.

Jamison was running down the hill and she fell on the sidewalk. SCRAPE! Poor thing scraped her knees and was bleeding. While I tried to calm Jamison down, Lyndsey ran to her car to get her first aid kit (we have the same one, I had to laugh at that). This is the second time that we've gotten together and towards the end one of my children is bleeding (remember the fire station?)!

Overall, we had a great time. The weather was perfect and so was the company.

Jamison pre-blood. She had so much fun running through the fountains and even got her face wet.

This is Caleb's fake smile. He looks constipated but he's saying "cheese." He really enjoyed the water too.

"No kids, turn this way. I want to see your faces, not your butts."

Here's an attempt to get a picture of me and Caleb. If you look closely you'll notice Caleb's newest fascination...his nipples. I swear he's going to be a boob man.

My friends...Amber and Lyndsey. Lyndsey and Josh arrived with a cooler and Lyndsey had a Coke in there for me. If that's not a friend after my own heart I don't know what is.

The Hunt is Over!

Aunt Roni, bless her heart, found my pens! She called me at work and told me that she found them on top of my refrigerator. I can't tell you how relieved I am because they work so well with writing in my Bible. They don't bleed through the pages like a lot of pens do and they are colorful (and you know how I love color).

So, if you're looking for a great set of pens for your Bible writing I would highly recommend these.

Tackle it Tuesday

On Sunday while the kids were at Rondell's mom's house, Rondell and I tackled a few things on my To Do list. It was fun because Rondell was the one who initiated our cleaning. Thanks Ron!

The first thing we did was clean out our front closet. I've been wanting to do this for a while and I'm so glad it's done. It only took us about 15 minutes to clean out, so that was good. Below is the after picture:

Nothing fancy, just cleaned out. We threw away phone books, papers, shoes that were too small and damaged, and we took off all of the coats so we can wash them (that's why you see a bunch of empty hangers). In the basket I keep hats, scarves and gloves for the winter. It helps to keep things in order.

Here's a picture of all the trash we threw away.

I'm so happy to have been able to tackle another To Do item. Go to 5 Minutes for Mom for more.

Honestly Awarded, Just Lovely

I received two awards and I want to share them with you. My first award is from Ave because she's thinks my blog is lovely. Ave lives in Spain...Spain, how cool is that? Her blog is really cute too and she's participating in one photo a day so you have to check her out. Thanks Ave!

My second award/tag is from Bobbi. You have to head over to Bobbi's blog because she does some amazing things with her kids. She's very crafty and educational all at the same time. Thanks Bobbi. For this award I have to say 10 honest things about myself and then pass this on to 10 other blogger friends (oops, I picked 11).

1. I hate to share my food, not even with my kids.

2. I secretly want to be crafty like this lady (I guess it's not a secret anymore). I mean she is amazing and keeps me inspired.

3. I cannot sleep in socks...even if my feet are cold. I have tried but there is something about it that does not work for me.

4. I love lists. OK, I know you all know this about me but if I'm being Honest it has to be on this list. I love making them, reading them, redoing them, crossing items off of them. They really do help to keep me sane.

5. My favorite movie is You've Got Mail. I saw it twice at the theatre and I have it on DVD.

6. My favorite color has not always been yellow (gasp). It used to be green. I discovered yellow about 6 years ago and have been in love ever since.

7. Jamison is sort of named after the lady who helped me figure out my makeup for my wedding. Her name is Jamison and she was stunning and I fell in love with the name. I vowed then that if I had a girl I would name her Jamison...and I think my Jamison is stunning too. I recently found the other Jamison on facebook and told her this story. I hope I didn't freak her out.

8. I wasn't baptized until I was 18. It was an amazing experience and I'm glad I was older.

9. I'm pretty sure that in the next year I'm going to take the steps towards obtaining my teacher's license. It's so scary because it's a big change. I'll keep you posted.

10. Besides Coke, Cran Mango is my favorite drink and I can't find it anymore. I'm so sad. It's by Ocean Spray if you ever come across it.

I tag:

Jodie

Carrie

Courtney

Vivienne

Lauren

Emily

Jolanthe

Joanna

Angie

Becca

Julie

The Simple Woman's Daybook - August 10, 2009

For today...

Outside my Window...blue skies and HUMID. Summer is really here now and it is hot. I am OK with hot, but it's the humidity that really bothers me and makes me not want to go outside. But better this than snow!

I am thinking...about some pens that I lost. They are the pens that I use to write in my Bible and I can't seem to find them. I love them because they are colorful (of course) and they don't bleed through to the next page. The hunt will continue tonight.

I am thankful for...a productive Sunday with Rondell. We were able to cross off some things on my To Do list.

From the kitchen...With Rondell working so much this week, I didn't really plan anything. I know I will do pulled pork one day this week.

I am reading...I just finished Something Borrowed. It was really good and now I have to read Something Blue. These are definitely chick books, with a lot of drama, so if you're looking for an easy read like that I would recommend this book. The next book that I'd like to read is Captivating...I'll keep you posted.

I am praying...to stay disciplined with my 101 in 1001 and in my daily reading of God's Word.

I am creating...magnets. I will get this done this week. It's something I've wanted to try for a while and I really hope they turn out well. I did get to use my Cricut and I'll show you what I made later in the week.

Around the house...my kitchen is becoming more organized. Yesterday, Rondell and I moved some pots and dishes around so that I can have better access to the items that I use most.

One of my favorite things...Seeing friends. My friend Tara (you can read about her here) was in town visiting her family and she stopped by to see me...with her boyfriend. It was nice to finally meet Vamsi and he seems really nice.

A few plans for the week...tomorrow I'm watching my neighbor's kids, Wednesday I'm going to take Caleb and Jamison to our local Spray Park, Thursday Rondell and I meet up with people from our Crown Financial Bible Study group and then a little crafting.

Go here to let us peek into your daybook.

Without Further Delay

I'm so behind in blogging this week that I didn't even realize that I received an award. My great blog friend Vivienne gave me this lovely award for leaving her lots of comments. It's true, I love her blog that much that I always have something to say. If you have not been to V's blog you must, like right now. She will keep you laughing (and you'll learn some great organizing tips too!).

It's hard to choose who to give this to because I love all comments. So, you all are awarded! Leave me a comment, it always makes me smile!

Thanking God on Fridays

** I am thankful for Shepherding a Child's Heart. I've said this before, but this is by far one of the best books I've ever read. This is a book I will read again and also keep in a place that is easily accessible. SCH focused on the hearts of our children..."Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23. The author explained that what your children say and do is a reflection of what is in their hearts, as outlined in Luke 6:45..."The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." So, if you address the heart biblically, the behavior will be impacted.

I love how the entire book is biblically based, right down to spanking. It doesn't deal with simply the behavior but the reason for the behavior and truly addressing that with you child.

One part that really stuck out to me was about having well-behaved children so that others don't think negatively about your parenting. Yes, our children should behave as God has instructed them but not because of what others think, but because of what God thinks. The author said that having a well-behaved child is not a worthy goal...that it is a secondary benefit of biblical child rearing, but not a worthy goal in itself.

I learned a lot from this book and now I have scripture to support what I've learned. HIGHLY recommended for all parents.

** I am thankful for Aunt Roni. I don't know what I'd do without her and this week I got of cool taste of her love for my family. I took a few days off to be with my sister and Aunt Roni was there too. One day she made lunch for all of us...grilled cheese. That may sound simple but it was a really good sandwich and I didn't have to cook it. Plus she brought grapes to share and they were extra tasty. The next day she brought Kool-aid, again simple but so yummy. I felt like a spoiled child! I can see why my kids love for her to come over each day. Other than the food she just took care of us, so motherly, and it was nice to be able to spend some time with her and the kids.

** I am thankful for prayer. This is something that has been on my heart that I want to share with you. Prayer is powerful. When things go really right or something "bad" happens where we need prayer, we (myself included) are more inclined to pray extra hard, more often and with great feeling. But when the event is over our prayers tend to weaken. But that family that received pretty good news about the cancer diagnosis still needs our intense prayer, for strength, for ultimate healing, for patience. That family who just moved into their new house still needs prayer about things going smoothly, bills being paid on time, etc. I have been trying to put in the same effort of prayer ALL OF THE TIME and not just in those moments. It has helped me to stay connected to God and to others. Join me.