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?