Tag You're It!

Rachel Ann let me tag myself :)

1. I am an insomniac (kinda...) but I am trying to go to bed at a decent hour lately, cuz the FLYlady told me to (didn't work tonight, but now that this post is up I can)...
   
2. I have 2 kooky kitties that I named after Kingdom Hearts Characters, Riku and Kyrie, or Boy Cat and Girl Cat as Toby insists on calling them....
   
   (Sorry for the lousy pics, I've been using my camera phone, cuz my real camera's broken, and yes, that is a pumpkin behind Kyrie... From Halloween... I need to throw it away and put up my Christmas Decorations this week, in a BAD WAY)
   
3. My husband I were born on the same day of the month (the 19th) which is why I knew he was the one (if you want to know, I'll tell that little story in another post)
4. I actually ENJOY clipping coupons, most of the time...
5. I am a hardcore closet nerd (I have been known to play World of Warcraft from Sun-up to Sun-down and all the hours in between... But I am taking a break from it right now so I can actually have a life...)
   
6. I am addicted to new technology: I have my lappy (a 14" HP Pavillion that I got as an anniversary present), an iPod touch that I use more as a mini computer than a music player (that I got as a birthday present last year, & I am DYING to get a Blackberry Storm right now, but I have had at least 6 different phones in 4 years (a crappy Nokia Candy Bar, a Green Moto PEBL, a White Blackberry Pearl, a cheap Chocolate Brown Samsung Flip that my Brother in law now uses,a Titanium Blackberry Curve, and a Maroon EnV2, which I am stuck with for now) so I think I should wait a bit (can you tell what my hubbys love language is? giving geeky gifts! and I eat it up!)...
   
7. I am secretly addicted to MommyBlogs because I want to have children, REAL BAD... But so far, no dice - we have been trying for about a year now, so the doctors are almost willing to start testing...

And I shall tag:

1. Dani @ Wine Laced Tales of a Teetotaler
2. Faith @ Blessed Quietness
3. Kito @ Hysteria and American Ambivalence
4. Shannon @ EightCrazy
5. Jennifer P @ Peterson's Go Public
6. Ann @ AnnOnandOn
7. Lorna @ CoconutNoodleMonkey
   

FLYing high...

I was inspired by my friend Betty and FlyingAnnie to try out FLYlady... And I think it just might work! Last night I shined my sink! Today, Toby (my hubby) and I did quite a bit of decluttering... I focused on this weeks Zone: The kitchen, he worked on the bedroom and the living room and did a project that he has been putting off for weeks!

Here's a little list of today's accomplishments:

• Got up and dressed to shoes! (So not typical, I'm usually in pajamas for most of the day)
• Made the bed
  
• Emptied the Dishwasher
• Made brunch with the hubby
• Cleaned the counters
• Cleaned the microwave
  
• Scrubbed the stove (even soaked and scrubbed the burners)
• Decluttered the island counter (completly, I can see it!) and scrubbed it down
  
• Decluttered the table (it was covered!) and scrubbed it down
• Decluttered the front room desk (so I can put our Christmas tree on it)
• Vacuumed the living room and dining room, Toby vacuumed the bedroom
  
• Toby cleared out a broken set of drawers that had junk in it and took them to the trash
• He and his friend moved the computer tower, modem, and printer out of the spareroom and into the living room (he hooked it up to the TV, it is one we don't use often, we use our laptops most of the time) so we can get rid of the giant desk in there and make room for shelves to get more organized
• Made dinner for the boys and myself
• Cleaned up after dinner
• Ran the dishwasher
• Toby emptied the dishwasher
• Shined my sink
  
• Started making my FLYlady Control Journal

Battle Razor

VS

Just a quick blurb tonight since I am trying to be a good FLY girl (I don't count my self as a lady yet, but maybe I should, I'm gettin' darn close to 25 don'cha know...) and get to bed before 1am (as in not on the computer, laying down with the lights off in bed... But I shined my sink tonight after work and dinner and then went off to pamper myself a bit (a nice hot bubble bath)... I switched razors recently (from the over priced, but luxurious, Venus Divine, to a still snazzy, but much more affordable, Bic Soliel) and this is the first time I have used it to shave my legs (I'll admit, that has gone by the wayside a bit since I started work, a girl can only do so much, and I'm not even a mom yet!)... Let me tell you, it may look similar in quality, but IT IS NOT the same quality! I am Mexican and Japanese and I get ingrowns, BAD... I have not suffered such nicks since I first started shaving with a Dasiy razor! The Soliel can stay, but only for everyday armpit shaving... I will use my Venus for everything else (and have Toby's Nana buy me cartridges at the commissary since I never seem to get coupons for the things)!

I Got an Award!

Wow! I am so flattered! I never even thought my blog would ever be read by anyone and now I have an award! Thank you so much Noah's Mommy!

Translated: "This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I am passing it on to:

• Mommaof4wife2r@Thorn Among Roses - because she makes me smile with her kids crazy antics!
• Queen Jeannie@Jeannie's Happy World - because she is so encouraging!
• Megan@INfertile Myrtle - because she makes a topic I struggle with okay
• Lorna@CoconutNoodleMonkey - because she makes me laugh out loud, literally, and is as ADD as me
• Faith@BlessedQuietness - because she embodies what this award is about!
• Dani@Wine Laced - because she started a blog to keep in touch with me!
• JenniferP@Petersons Go Public - because she is so creative and inspiring!
• ADDiva@GardenSpirit and ADDiva - for taking care of other ADDivas with everything she has!
  

Other Things I Am Praying About

• FamilyLife - The ministry and it's workers, our application process
• References - The people that will be talking to FamilyLife about us
• Amy - for her family and that she finds child care soon
• My family
• Toby's family
• Our church
• Our friends and bible study group
• Homebuilders - prayer before we begin our group in the coming year
  

Global Prayer Movement

Campus Crusade for Christ,which FamilyLife Ministries is a part of, has a Global Prayer Movement going on... I signed up to pray on the 15th of every month at 6pm (the day and time of our wedding to help me remember), but they also have a prayer journal that I will update a link to every month. You can download it and print it out, but I just bookmark it and look at it daily (it's in my bookmark bar) before I pray. This months Focus is West Africa. Today the prayer is for blessings for their partners to be able to continue to give faithfully to the ministry. It also has a daily verse, today's is:

1 Chronicles 29:21-24 (New International Version)

Solomon Acknowledged as King

21 The next day they made sacrifices to the LORD and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD that day.
Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the LORD to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officers and mighty men, as well as all of King David's sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.

Prayers for Today, Hope for Tomorrow

I started this branch off of my normal blog to keep track of all of the things I am praying for... If I can pray for you in any way, let me know and I will add you to my daily prayers... I would like to update with answers to prayers here as well :)...

Some Label, Tag, and Keyword Definitions:

• FamilyLife - The Ministry Toby and I are in the application process with
• CCCi - Campus Crusade for Christ International (FamilyLife's Umbrella Organization)
• GPM - Global Prayer Movement a ministry of CCCi
• HomeBuilders - A small group, focused on building marriages and families using materials created by FamilyLife (the first study is available for download here)
  
• Requests - Any prayer requests I get will be vaguely reported on here (I won't use specifics, and I can keep things anonymous if anyone prefers)
• Updates - on prayers requests I have had, or on other things I have been praying about
• Books - Since this is also kind of a devotional blog for me, I may recommend whatever book I am reading in my devos here
• Events - I will let people know of any events that are coming up, that I am praying for or that we are attending that have to do with prayer, spiritual walks, or evangelism

Our Interview With FamilyLife and a special offer!

Okay so I promised you guys an update on our interview this morning, and I will get to that, but first I want to tell you a little bit about the ministry we are applying for... FamlilyLife Ministries is based in Little Rock, AR and they are a group committed to helping marriages and families across the US and around the world. Their biggest ministry is an event called Weekend to Remember (which I wrote a little bit about in this post and this post) and I have a special offer for my readers and friends... If you check out the link above and feel like you would like to attend a conference in the coming year, leave me a comment with your e-mail and I will send you the discount code I have for my group. You can go to any conference on any date in any city, as long as you register 10 days prior to the conference, and get an $80 discount. I encourage everyone to go! It is great for a marriage tune up, or just for inspiration! Toby and I were so moved when we attended our Weekend to Remember that we attended a staff opportunity meeting! That's what led us to our hour long interview this morning...

... Which went great! Cliff is such a nice guy... He and his wife are in the process of adopting twins right now! So exciting! Anyway, we talked with him this morning about all of the reasons we feel called to work with FamilyLife ministries (whether it is here at home, or in Little Rock where they are based) and what the process looks like... In the next couple of months we will be busy filling out the application, taking an assessment, and praying about and collecting references. Then, our paperwork will be evaluated by a new person (not Cliff) and we will then possibly be asked to attend a Ministry Preview in Little Rock February 18-22! And by the end of that trip we will be given a Yes, a No, or a Wait by FamilyLife and we will go home and then give them our answer within a week! After that, if God is still calling us to be a part of this ministry, we will attend Training, in Orlando, FL May 2-9 and learn how to raise our support (this ministry is a fully sponsored missionary organization)... In the meantime, we will stay at our jobs until we raise 80% of our support, at that time we will go back to Little Rock to do a house hunting trip and also interview for our specific placements in the office... When we raise 100% of our support we will pick up and move to Little Rock to start our ministry with FamilyLife! This is an exciting journey for us, and we know God has not let us get too comfortable here for a reason. Whether we end up in Arkansas or not, FamilyLife is part of us now and we are so thrilled to have this opportunity!

Contemplations

I am up at 4:15 am on a Monday morning because I don't know if I am supposed to be at work or not. I work at Starbucks, so yeah, 4:15 is opening time... I am half expecting a shift lead to call me in 5 minutes to tell me that I was supposed to be there 5 minutes ago to help open... They told me on Saturday that this weeks schedule had been drastically changed, but I forgot to get a copy of the new schedule, and I forgot to call yesterday to get one too... I guess it is easier for me to sit up and wait for someone to call me or for someone to answer the phone at 5 am when they open the doors to tell me I am crazy and to go to bed cuz I have to be in in a couple of hours, but this is how I choose to deal... I am going to be all messed up this week now... Oh well... In the time I been sitting here I have been reading about ADD and how it affects us women who have it... But then I got sidetracked by this beautiful North Carolina Garden Retreat that one ADDiva built for other women to have an opportunity to get away and figure out life... It's amazing! I was also going over the FamilyLife ministries page again in preparation for our phone interview on Tuesday... There is a list of qualifications that I have been reading over and answering in my head. Toby and I will go over it together tomorrow... I just wanted to note (mostly for my ADD brain) the Alan and Theda Hlavka were two of the speakers the weekend we attended the Weekend to Remember conference and they were phenomenal... I'd encourage you to listen to some of the audio broadcasts from their church in Oregon and check out Theda's book "Saying I Do Was the Easy Part"... In the meantime, pray that our interview goes well and that God's plan for us might be opened up to us shortly... By the way, I finally got ahold of someone, and I don't have to work today, so I am going to bed now :)...

Fun Mail and Coke in the Crockpot?

Those two topics are unrelated but I figured I'd write about them in the same post... Sorry for my poor camera phone photos... I need to get a phone with a better camera... Like a Blackberry Storm... Hotness... Anywho... Don't you love it when you get good stuff in the mail, rather than just run of the mill junk? This week I got some good stuff (we don't check our box everyday like we should)...

In this weeks collection I received:

• a handmade Christmas card from my soon-to-be Sister-in-law who lives in Scotland
• a P&G brand sampler (samples of Tide, Prilosec, & Pantene Pro-V Shampoo)
  
• an envie (envelope) of Q's (coupons) from my GG (Grocery Game) Q Train
• some beautiful handmade buttons I bought from this Etsy shop, Buttered Parsnips
  

I have an affinity for cooking with less than traditional products... Our favorite crockpot chicken recipe has apricot preserves, french dressing and lipton onion soup mix in it... That's not what I made tonight... Tonight I made what is known in my family as Coke Roast...
Pretty simple actually, you put a roast in the crockpot, season with salt, pepper, season salt and garlic powder (the basic 4 in my house, found in most of my family's recipes),
toss in some veg (tonight it was potatoes and onions)

and pour in a can of Coca Cola Classic... Seriously...

It comes out looking like this and tasting perfect... Not sickly sweet or anything... In fact, not really sweet at all... Just good...

As my dear ol' Dad likes to say, "Try it, you'll like it!"

One or two more Notes of Randomness:

• If you're working on collecting Q's for GG and you are having trouble, try swinging by your local Starbucks after closing on Sunday... When they close up they put out their leftover newspapers to be collected by the delivery guy who takes them back to be recycled... I picked up 3 extras tonight at 1 location!
• I got my first Christmas gift of the season yesterday, a new sofa! My MIL, Teresa bought it for us an it is so comfy! It also has a queen size sleeper in it! Isn't it pretty? It's from Pottery Barn, but she got it for a steal (like 75% off of what it should have cost new)... We are going to have the slip covers dyed a chocolate brown though, so my cat's fur doesn't show up on it as bad. It is impossible to keep them off of it! We have been using this very small, uncomfortable futon from Ikea that I have had since before we got married... It had broken slats in it too, so it was pretty lousy to sleep on... My parents will sleep much better now when they come to visit!
  

Something cookin...

So I had a long day at work, but on my way home I got a craving for tacos... I ran to the store and picked up some tortillas and other fixings... I already had some chicken cooked up so I just cooked some onions and shredded the chicken and heated it up with some fresh lime juice... I started heating some oil to fry up my tortillas when I realized I had flour tortillas and not corn (not a big deal, I just had heated oil for no reason)... Not wanting to be wasteful, I decided to make Bunuelos... I mixed up the ingredients in the link (I only made a half batch) and made it into little balls...

Then I fried them in the oil I heated up...

And sprinkled them with Cinnamon and Sugar...

Yummy... I made more than I could eat, so I am going to take some to my friend Gracie... These are right up here ally... Mexican and Sweet... Lol... They were not like I remembered them... My nanas were way more crispy, or something... I don't know what she did different... I'll have to ask my Mom when she's not at a John Mayer Concert (she took my Dad for his Birthday)... I should get her recipe for the next time I make them...

Worst Christmas Gift Ever?

Lorna over at CoconutNoodleMonkey is having at Worst Christmas Gift Contest and since I could use that $20 gift card to Target, I'm gonna enter it... I don't want to say something was the Worst gift ever, but my least favorite gift was a Harold and Kumar poster I received in a Secret Santa at Azusa Pacific University. The worst part was, I didn't have much money, so I put in something of my own, that I liked, that was probably pretty expensive (I will not incriminate myself by saying what this gift was though). The poster, needless to say, never made it up onto my walls, but for some reason it stayed in the trunk of my Civic until I sold the car... 3 years later. My brother in law found it when we were cleaning out the trunk and asked about it, and I just laughed and said he could hav it or toss it, I didn't care. A Harold and Kumar Poster was my worst Christmas gift, I guess I haven't done so bad, huh? But do I get points for making a fancy photo? :)

More Twilight and...

I just have to say, so that people who have not read the Twilight series understand, that this is not your typical set of Vampire novels. The vampire family in this series is "vegetarian" (for lack of a better term), in other words, they abstain from feasting on humans, and hunt animals instead. There is something to be said, in my opinion, about a person who chooses to go against the grain (no matter how gruesome said grain may be). I am also inspired by Edwards choices regarding his true love, Bella. In this day and age, we are hard pressed to find a romantic novel that is not about sex. In fact, I will not read most romance novels because they are usually just porn for women. They tend to tempt the mind and emotions into thinking that we should have more than we do. There are a few out there, mostly written by Christian authors, that are the exception to the rule, and I have no problem with those, but I won't pick them up myself. *Spoiler alert* In the third and fourth novels, Bella begs to be "turned" (for some unselfish reasons that hide her true reason, to be with Edward for eternity) but Edward refuses to end her human life. He gives her an ultimatum because he knows his family has agreed to do do what she has asked (to protect themselves), he tells her that he will "turn" her himself (because it is what he knows she would prefer) if she agrees to marry him first. He puts her virtue before her desires. I love that. Like I said before, it iis unusual and I really respect Stephanie Meyers for sticking to her beliefs in her writing even if it is not what the status quo (her readers) would necessarily want. Thanks for sharing your imagination with us!

Finally Saw Twilight!

Okay, I am officially "one of those" people... I saw Twilight today, after devouring all 4 books this last week, and despite the tweeks and some odd casting, I loved it! When Bella is looking up "cold ones" on Google, I actually shuddered and said "that's hot" out loud... Out.Loud. Because it was. Hot. "It's like diamonds, you're beautiful" and he is. Beautiful. Charlie I'm not quite sure about... Ava as Esme? Not sure either... But I like Kristin Stewart as Bella, and Edward... Perfect. I also liked Jacob, but I wasn't too sure about Eric or Mike. Alice I totally got and the rest of the fam was okay. Emmet fit to me... It helped that I read the books after the movie came out though... And the scene where Charlie meets Edward... Totally happened to me that way... Homecoming Freshman year... Dad was cleaning the shotgun on the coffee table... Poor Nikko nearly peed his pants... My brothers thought it was HILARIOUS... So even though I didn't see Charlie doing something like that, I totally got a laugh out of it... All in all the changes weren't too terribly distracting (unlike Robert Pattison's other feture, HP 4: Goblet of Fire, could barely even sit through that one because of all of the uneccessary deviations from the book) and I enjoyed it. A LOT. :)
Check out this Music Video from the Soundtrack:

Christmas Tree Inspiration and Most Comments EVER!

Thanks to SITSmas, I got the most comments I have ever had on my last post! Thanks gals! I don't know if I won anything, but it doesn't really matter because I found some wonderful new blogs to read and got some new readers! I love it! Through this, I also found inspiration for my Christmas tree this year, Twilight, from Smile! It's Becky! Mine will be a mini version because I only have room for a 2 ft. tree in my apartment, but it will be beautiful! Last year, I wanted to do a peacock themed tree but Toby wouldn't let me... This year I am not asking... Just doing :D... He's going to say I'm obsessed! Not that he doesn't already know that, I read all 4 books last week without stopping, but I still NEED to see the movie! (Cash flow is still a little low, but I will scrounge some to go see it)... Now I just have to get to cleaning the living room so we can go get our tree!

My Extra Special Christmas Wish List

These gifts are hard to put on a regular list so I am going to list them here in case Santa (or my Mom or my Hubby) needs some hints, these ideas are good for my b-day too *smile*:

1. A Designer Blog Header from
   
2. This class at U Bead It
3. My own XBox Live Account
4. A Deep Freezer (or gift card to somewhere I can get a deep freezer, I would like an Energy Star one...)
5. The first 2 Twilight Books, Twilight and New Moon, Hardcover with Original Covers (ie: not movie edition please) or a Gift Card to Barns & Nobel or Target to get them...
6. Exercise Clothes (Shorts, Shirt, Yoga Pants, Jacket, Speedo Bathing Suit, Goggles), Gym Bag, and Shoes (or Gift Cards to get them - Sport Chalet, Target) to use at the gym
7. This purse (psst - you can get it at Ross) and Matching Wallet
   
8. Any of the Post Secret Books (Post Secret, A Lifetime of Secrets, The Secret Lives of Men and Women, My Secret) by Frank Warren
   
9. The Seafarers Expansion to Settlers of Catan (and 5-6 player expansion for it, this site has a special if you buy them together)
10. Magazine Subscriptions to Real Simple, All You, or ADDitude

Merry SITSmas!!!

A SITSmas Carol

I've decked my blog with boughs of holly...
Fa la la la la la la la la...
Would be the season to be jolly...
Fa la la la la la la la la...

Since I don't have too much money...
Fa la la la la la la la la...
I must learn to be more frugal...
Fa la la la la la la la la...

'Stead of shopping I must make stuff...
Fa la la la la la la la la...
Rather than get in lots of debt...
Fa la la la la la la la la...

Follow me in merry measure...
Fa la la la la la la la la...
While I bust out the tape measure...
Fa la la la la la la la la...

Join me in this yule tide pleasure...
Fa la la la la la la la la...
And be sure that you remember...
Fa la la la la la la la la...

The true meaning of this season...
Fa la la la la la la la la...
More than gifts and stress and shopping...
Fa la la la la la la la la...

Okay that song was lame, I'll admit it, but I am having issues with not being able to buy the gifts I want to for my family and friends... What do you SITS gals do when the cash flow is low but you want to give something thoughtful to family and friends for the holidays (besides entering SITS give aways for $200 Target gift cards)?

And my 3 favorite SITS gals right now are:
Nanny Goats In Panties
Sera @ Laughing Through the Chaos
Thorn Among Roses

Fred lives on...

I realized today that I never explained how Fred the turkey came to grace our table this year... I was browsing through the ads in my paper one day (a new habit since starting GG) and saw that SaveMart was giving away a 15lb turkey to every customer who spent $99.99 in one shopping trip. Now this used to be easy for me, pre-GG, but now the thought of spending $100 (leaving me $50 in my budget for food for the next 2 weeks) in one go made me cringe... So I decided that I would just buy things that we needed that would not hit our list (ie:eggs, meat, and milk) to last us the 2 weeks... So Toby and I hit the store, Coupon Binder in hand (yeah, it's a little OCD, but it keeps me organized) and went straight to the meat section... Lucky for us, the butcher was at that moment starting to do markdowns, so we followed her down the aisle tossing stuff she had just marked down into our basket... We ended up with 3 small whole chickens, 3 pkgs of Half Chicken Breasts, 3 pkgs of 90% lean Ground Sirloin, a rack of Pork spare ribs, and a beef chuck roast! We also got 5 dozen eggs, some juice, a 10lb. bag of potatoes, and some fresh fruit and salad. All for $100! On top of the score, we got Fred, our 18 lb. friend for $5 (just paid the overage for the extra 3 lbs.)... We ate from him just about every day this week... His final performance was in a Turkey Pot Pie...



I got the idea from $5 Dinners and the pie crust recipe was my family's (same one used for the Pumpkin Pie)... Next time I will use half butter and fresh shortening (I did this on a whim today)... But what made it taste so great was rather than using straight white sauce, I mixed in the rest of my white turkey gravy and a lot of the juice I had saved from Fred as well as some cream cheese (which I used in my gravy this year after KT did it last year...) made it taste great! I think next time I will add in some chopped mushrooms (maybe canned ones) and some diced potatoes... Yum...

It's Begining to Look a lot Like Christmas...

Thanksgiving is almost over (well it is for me anyway)... And since I celebrated it to the fullest this year (all week oh yeah) I officially feel it is time for Christmas music... I waited all year for it and now it is time... So enjoy the blasts from my past and classics as well... Get started on the decorating and shopping and have a wonderful holiday season!

Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

Well, it was happy, but not a Turkey Day for us... Somehow I think some wires got crossed and we ended up having Roast Beef for Thanksgiving dinner today! I think it was a special request by my brother-in-law Simon

(pictured here with Nana - yes, that is his hat she is wearing!) who is leaving for Prague in a couple of weeks... Boy am I ever glad I cooked Fred on Sunday, I would have been a sad panda if I hadn't been eating turkey with all the trimmings all week! (Though I could always go for more turkey!) I may buy another small one when they get marked down tomorrow if their are any left when I make it to the market (still feeling a little under the weather and I have to work from 11:45am-4pm tomorrow)... Is anyone heading out to brave the madness that is Black Friday? I don't think I am going to this year... I think I'm just going to hang out at home after work... But I might hit Target to see if there is anything I need that has been marked down... Blessings to my family in LA and to the Metzger/Alterton clan braving the desert and driving down to the Grand Canyon! Have a Happy Holiday All! I am off to deck the halls (well my blog at least)!