Things I'm Lovin' This Thursday!

INSTAGRAM!

You guys I am totally hooked!  These pictures are so much fun to create...just look how green my grass looks in this picture :)  I really enjoy keeping in touch with people through their pictures.  You have to check it out if you have an iPhone.

I am really enjoying this new blog...Beautifully Rooted.  It is filled with Truth and encouragement from various ladies...ladies who are being transparent and sharing their hearts.  You should go and check it out.

Reading this book with Jamison.  Did you read this as a child?  I LOVED this book when I was in elementary school.  It is filled with fun poems and silly stories.

Finally, I'm loving my planner today.  With things coming up here & there and planning a vacation it really comes in handy for me to get things out of my brain and onto a piece of paper.

What are you lovin' today?

Is This Thing On?

1.  It has been WAY too long since my last blog post.  There's no good reason either...just wrapped up in life I guess.  But I miss blogging, so here I am to jump back into one of my joys in life :)

2.  My new iPhone arrived last week and so far I really like it.  I decided to check out Instagram and I can see why people are hooked!  It is a really fun way to take pictures & then share them with others.  I played around a bit with it this weekend...and even have a few followers.

Mr. Caleb eating his favorite pizza.  He was a little sad because his sister got to go to a sleepover on Friday so I took him to get an individual pizza to cheer him up.  I think it did the trick :)

I took Jamison to get her ends trimmed this weekend...my sweet girl has SO much hair!

3.  The weather around here has been CRAZY.  We had 80 degree weather last week...we even had to turn the air on for two days and had a slip & slide date with the neighbors.

Rondell got out yesterday for the first mow of the season:

But as you may see by his sweatshirt it has cooled off quite a bit from last week...there's even a frost warning for this week.  Crazy Ohio weather!

4.  FINAL FOUR baby!  The Buckeyes took down Syracuse over the weekend and are now headed to the Final Four.  It was a really good game (though I must confess that I missed the first part and didn't turn it on until my dad called me to remind me...bad alumni)

Joining sweet Carissa today to randomly update you on the happenings in our hood :)

miscellany monday

Hello Friends & Happy Monday!  I'm here again to join Carissa and share some random tidbits :)

*  I have decided that I need my weekends to be three days instead of two...one day to play, one day to be productive & one day of rest.  Anybody with me?

*  Over the weekend I tried to do Ten on Ten, but as the day went on I realized that I missed two hours.  I am a little bummed about it because I love doing it, but another Ten on Ten will come along or maybe I'll just do a day in the life post one day.

*  This picture does represent part of my day on the 10th...I am getting rid of my Android phone.  I have had serious problems with these phones and have had to replace it 4 different times with various versions.  I finally called Verizon customer service, explained my story and asked for an early upgrade.  The supervisor approved the request and my iPhone is one the way.  I know the iPhone is more reliable and it is probably what I should have gotten in the first place.  Lesson learned.

*  Once again our house was invaded by cookies (this is Jamison last year before sorting all of her orders).  This year we had even more cookies because I am the Cookie Mom for the troop and had to pick up everyone's orders and sort them.  Luckily Rondell, Jamison, and another GS mom & her daughter helped me sort all of the orders for the other girls...I couldn't have done it without them.

Now most of the cookies are gone and our house is somewhat back in order!

*  I went to a Pampered Chef party over the weekend and had a good time (we made a chocolate/raspberry cake with chocolate sauce & raspberries and it was SO good...and I'm not even a big chocolate fan).  One of my neighbors was the hostess.  

We have had two new couples move onto our street recently and it has been fun getting to know them better.  They both have kids who are about Caleb's age so we've had a few play dates recently...along with my immediate neighbor who has kids the exact same age as my kids.

One funny thing that makes me giggle is the fact that all 4 of us moms are all left-handed...crazy :)

*  The temps are supposed to be unseasonably warm this week and I plan to get out there and enjoy!

What are you up to this week?

Sunday Dinner

So while I am still on my quest to PURGE, there are a few things that I would like to implement.  One of those is to always have a nice Sunday dinner as a family.

We do not get an opportunity to eat as a family during the week because of Rondell's work schedule and by the time I get home from work I don't usually have time to make a big meal, so it's important to me for us to have a nice dinner together on Sundays.

Typically we eat together on Sundays now, but sometimes it's rushed or something simple.  I would love to start spending a little more time in the kitchen on Sunday, creating a wonderful meal for my family.

This past Sunday I asked Renee (my step-mom) for her spaghetti sauce recipe.  Usually I use Ragu (and one time an off brand...which I will never do again), but I wanted to try to make the sauce myself.

**This is the only picture (Rondell didn't get back from the store until later so some of the items are missing and since his trip was so delayed we didn't end up eating this meal till Monday...I am a work in progress)**

The sauce turned out pretty well(though not quite as good as Renee's).  I used:

1.5 lbs of ground chuck
1 onion (ooh, and I was so excited because I had some chopped onion in the freezer...really came in handy!)
**brown hamburger with onion**
1 large can of tomato sauce (28 oz...though I think I will use more next time)
1 can of tomato paste (+ a can full of water)
Soy sauce...enough to change the color from bright red to a darker red (I think this is what makes hers stand out from other sauces)
Seasoning (Italian, salt, pepper, garlic season, onion powder)
Simmer
Enjoy!

Here are a few other "Sunday" recipes that I would like to try:
Pulled pork
Spaghetti pie
Chicken enchiladas
Chicken chili

Are there any "Sunday" recipes that you'd like to share?

Friday Daydreaming - True Friends

I'm joining Becca again this Friday as I ponder friendships and reminisce about the last trip with some of my dearest friends (minus Melanie).

Me, Tanysha, Anita, & Tara (sorry for the bad picture quality)

Here's Melanie...she was there in spirit.

These girls are so dear to my heart and I miss them terribly (we all live in different cities now).  We have all been friends since our younger years (Anita, Tara & I have been friends since middle school and Tanysha joined our posse in high school.  And Melanie and I have been friends since THIRD GRADE!).  

In 2009 we all got together in Atlanta.  We saw the sights, ate good food, played Uno, and laughed endlessly.  There's nothing like girlfriends who love you unconditionally!

This picture reminds me that it's time to plan for another trip :)  

My Bible Journey

Hi Friends!

You may or may not know this about me but I have a thing for Bibles.  Yes, I love the Bible because it is the Living Word of God, but I also just love the physical Bible.

I maybe have mentioned on here before about how I love to see Bibles that are loved on, meditated over, written in, & cried over.  Recently on Facebook Kay Arthur posted a picture of her Bible and it was so cool.  For me there's just something encouraging about seeing a good Bible shot.

Apparently I also like to collect Bibles.  Well, not really, but my Bible preference has changed a little over the years and with each stage has come a new Bible.

Here's my pile:

On the bottom is a Bible I received from my pastor when I graduated from High School.  I used this Bible for quite a number of years (though there was that time in college when it didn't get used as much as it should have).  I loved that it was a Study Bible because it helped me to understand Scripture better.  It also had a lot of room for me to take my own notes.

Then, a few years ago I decided that I wanted a cute Bible, but one that had enough room to write in because I like taking notes in my Bible.  I chose the purple Bible pictured above and at first liked that it had sporadic devotionals geared towards women.  This Bible worked for a little while, but I didn't care for some of the devotions that it included and I missed having a Study Bible.

Then about two years ago (or so) our lead pastor started using the ESV Bible for references during his sermons.  I was intrigued by this version and the fact that it is a more literal translation.  The fact that it is more of a challenging version makes me concentrate more on the wording.  I started with a pocket ESV Bible.

Last year I ordered the John MacArthur Study Bible.  I loved all that it had to offer, the study notes, the charts, the maps, etc.  But there was one thing...and this is where I may lose you...it was a hardback.  I can't explain it, but it wasn't the same.

So...recently I got the soft cover version of the John MacArthur Study Bible (actually Rondell bought it for me for Valentine's day).  It is a perfect fit and I can tell we are going to have a long-lasting relationship...the Bible, me and my Sharpie pens :)

Do you have a Bible journey?

Soup's On!

Today I'm linking up with Mel @ Larson Lingo for her Soup's On party.

Mel also posted about potato soup (with a ton of beautiful pictures), but I still wanted to participate so I'm also linking the recipe for potato soup that I use and posted about once before.  My family loves this soup (except for Caleb who doesn't eat anything...sigh) and during the Winter I make it often (along with Tastefully Simple's Parmesan biscuits).

So stop by Mel's today to see all of the delicious soups :)

Enjoy!

I did it! I made potato soup (using this recipe...Hi Summer, if you're reading)...AND it was good! It was thick, like I love it, cheesy and all around good.

I pretty much followed Summer's recipe, except I cut up and boiled my potatoes first and I used white onion instead of green onion.

I will say...when you make this (because you really should) note that when you add the milk and then have to stir constantly till it thickens and bubbles, it takes a little while. Don't be discouraged...keep stirring (I used a whisk), it's SO worth it.

Let me know if you try it. My friend Kristina (hey Kris!) is making it tonight too. ENJOY!

miscellany monday - camera shots

I was going through the pictures on my phone and thought I would share them with you since they are random.  

**I do have to say that there must be an easier way to download pictures from my phone to my computer.  I ended up emailing them to myself and then saving them to my computer.  Sigh, just when I think I'm hip when it comes to electronics.

Anyways...(or is it anyway?)

I'm not a huge coffee drinker but I do like a cup every now and then.  I am a cream and sugar girl and sometimes I pick up a flavored creamer (if it's not flavored is has to be Coffee-mate...something about regular Coffee-mate).  Rondell picked this one up for me and it is was oh-so yummy:

 This is my new favorite go-to lunch...ham & Swiss on a croissant with lettuce, mayo and Dijon mustard.  Move over Panera!

 Jamison went to her first overnight camp-in at our local science center with her Girl Scout troop and she was a tad tired the next day :)

 My new favorite snack (not all gummy worms are created equal, so when I find a good one I'm hooked)!  My mom found them in a little store that's in her building at work and I recently discovered they are also sold in the little store that is in my building at work.  Score!  

 Someone has rediscovered her MP3 player and has been jammin ever since.  We tried to see if she wanted an iPod touch but she declined.  Caleb, however, chimed in that he would like one...total opposites those kids.

 We battled sickness last week and into the weekend...first I got a nasty cold and stayed home from work on Thursday.  Then Jamison woke up Friday with pink eye:

 Because of those two things I was using a lot of these:

 But somehow my little man still got sick and ended up here:

His breathing was extremely labored late Saturday night and Rondell had to take him to the ER for a higher does of steroids and breathing treatments.  All of his tests came back clear...his cold kicked his asthma into high gear...quickly.  They were able to get his breathing to slow down and he was able to come home.

He has spent much of the weekend behind this and trying to relax as only Caleb knows how.

How's that for random?  Happy Monday Friends.

Hop over to Carissa's to share the randoms of your life!  You'll be glad you did (and so will I).

miscellany monday (er...Tuesday)

I know that it's not technically Monday but it's my Monday because I was off yesterday for President's Day.  We were all off and we all truly appreciated having an extra day.  The kids and I even squeezed in a playdate while Rondell was off to the store.

I love this shirt that Caleb got for Christmas:

It shows "people" encouraging one another (I don't think we do that enough these days...but that's another post for another day) and it also shows how Caleb constantly contradicts what we say to him...sigh ;)

This weekend Caleb decided that he wanted to play our PlayStation:

Who remembers Galaga?  This game takes me back to my Atari days and college days when Rondell and I would play this game for hours.  My dad was in town this weekend and even got in on the Galaga action.  We even played a little Pac Man...classic!

Now I know I live in Ohio, but one of my favorite things to drink is sweet tea.  Not all sweet tea is created equal so when I find one that tastes just right I get excited.  One of these days I'm going to try making my own. 

One of my dad's favorite places to eat when he comes to visit is City Barbeque (well, maybe not anymore since the last few times his ribs have been a little burnt).  I decided to try their sweet tea and boy am I glad I did.

Notice that the jug is now empty:

It's going to be rainy here most of the week so I'm glad we were able to get outside and enjoy the sun for a bit this weekend.  I'm sure this week's Top 5 will consist of a lot of indoor projects.

Well, that's my random for today :)

Visit Carissa and share your random.

Sweet Destin

Because of my sweet blog friend Becca I get to daydream about the fact that we are able to go to Destin again this year.  I know I have talked a million few times about Destin on this blog, but I thought I would share again a few of my favorite shots and reasons why I love that place.

I actually enjoy the drive on the way down...all of the excitement & anticipation :)

How can we ever get tired of this view?

I adore the lazy mornings and the sweet bonding moments.

I cherish all of the laughter...and swimming in the (pretty much empty) pool.

Naps!

Sand between our toes :)

My FAVORITE meal...the seafood meal that my mom makes each year.

Hanging out with these 4 is the best part!

See you soon sweet Destin!

My Sweet Valentine!

My FAVORITE day is here...Happy Valentine's Day Friends!

I absolutely adore this day and I enjoy spreading a little love around.

One of the things that I have done for the past few years is make Jamison's Valentine's for her school friends.  I love being able to add a little personal touch to her treats.

This year I put fun size M&M's in little jewelry baggies and just added a little label.  Jamison and I punched out hearts to add as an embellishment and then I simply stamped the sentiment.  Lastly, Jamison signed the back and we were done.  So simple!

I hope her friends enjoy the treats as much as I enjoyed making them :)

miscellany monday

Happy Monday Friends!  How was your weekend?  We had a pretty busy weekend...all fun stuff, but I kind of feel like I could use one extra day to recover.

The highlight of my weekend was getting to have a date with my hubby.  The kids were with my in-laws at a birthday party so we took advantage of the free time and went to The Cheesecake Factory.  It was so nice to sit, laugh, & chat (uninterrupted!).

So you remember my post when I was talking about Spring...well, snow made its appearance over the weekend.  It did not stick very much & I am not complaining.  I had to take pics in the backyard because pretty much all of the snow is gone in the front.  It was really cold all weekend long but it's supposed to warm up to the 40's this week.

This little guy is a Cars 2 racing maniac.  I truly believe that he could play this game non-stop all day long if we let him.  Apparently he reached another level this weekend because he was running all around the house telling us all about it.  I love to watch him concentration when he plays (the screaming...not so much).

  

My Top 5 is really working for me (and Amy!).  Now I'm not saying that I get everyone done everyday...as you can see 'Caleb's Valentines' is written twice.  I try to move any missed item to the next day if possible and that seems to be working so far.  Sometimes I start a Top 5 a few days out because there are times when I think of something, but it doesn't fit in that day's T5 so I just put it on another day.  Oh, and I have come to the conclusion not the have a Top 5 on Sundays.

Join Carissa and write random :)