Toby

Over spring break, Tony's cousin (who's more like a niece because she is the age of his niece's) Amy came to visit for a few days. She's in her final semester of college and will graduate in May. She's a precious girl and we had a great time shopping, visiting, and chatting.

One day as we drove to an adorable tea room in a neighboring town, we lost reception of my favorite radio station (KSBJ out of Houston). I said.........Oh, let's just listen to some Toby and I pressed play on one of the CD's in my stereo.

(Toby is Toby Mac- a Christian Hip Hop artist whom I have come to love over the past year as Madison and her friends have danced to many of his songs.)


Toby started to sing and I started to sing along.

Amy stared at me in shock, shook her head, and said...

Not only do you know who Toby Mac is...........you actually know the words to his songs?
I am shocked.



As I was telling this story to Madison the other morning as we drove to school

I laughed and said.............

I think Amy was truly amazed that I knew Toby and all the words to his songs.

But you know me...........

I'm cool like dat.


She looked at me with a mortified look on her face and said ...........

Do NOT ever say that again.

EVER.

That is so NOT cool.

Monday Morning Question of the Day

I have jury duty today and I am sooooooo excited!

I hope and pray I'll get picked- I would LOVE to be on a jury.

(I know.............I am weird).

So today's question is.................

Have you ever been on a jury?

Did you like it or hate it?

39

Today I turned 39.

39.

39 is almost 40.

Good night nurse..........how in the world did that happen?

When in the world did that happen?

Today was a day full of

laughter and tears

joy and sadness

sweet cards

fabulous and extravagant gifts

kind words

amazing family

precious friends.

I am undeserving.

I am thankful.

I am blessed.

I am 39.

Stop.

The Washington Post recently held an experiment with Joshua Bell, the world's best violin player. They set him up to play his $3.5 million violin in a Washington DC Metro stop during rush hour .

Over 1,000 people walked by, yet only a small handful stopped to listen and to appreciate his amazingly beautiful music.






If only they had known how amazing, how precious an opportunity they were walking right past simply because they were too busy, too preoccupied, too distracted, too caught up in the busy-ness that makes up our lives today. As I watched this I felt so sad for those poor people- who truly didn't know what they were missing.

And yet..............how often do we...do I..... do precisely the same thing with God?

There He is- the creator of the universe- who loves us more than we could ever imagine and who wants us to sit at His feet and listen to Him and spend time with Him- and yet we run right past Him on to the silly tasks that take up so much time in our lives.

Here's praying that today we stop.

Simply stop.

Stop and sit at His feet and listen.

Hotdog

Happy Wednesday! :)

The Cross We Bear

We complain about the cross we bear but don't realize
it is preparing us for the dip in the road that God can see and we can't.

Whatever your cross, whatever your pain,
there will always be sunshine, after the rain....

Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall;
But God's always ready, to answer your call....

He knows every heartache, sees every tear,
a word from His lips, can calm every fear...

Your sorrows may linger, throughout the night,
But suddenly vanish, dawn's early light...

The Savior is waiting, somewhere above,
to give you His grace, and send you His love...

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

Monday Morning Question of the Day

How would you feel if someone read the text messages on your phone?

How about if someone read your emails?

Would it make a difference if it was a family member who did the reading?

Submission

"Submission is taking from God's hand
absolutely anything He chooses to give us,
looking up into His face in love and trust,
even in thanksgiving and
knowing that the confines of the hedge
within which He has place me are good,
even perfect,
however painful they may be,
simply because He Himself has given them."
Author Unknown

Nothing

Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along,

listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.

~Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A.A. Milne~

China Cabinet Makeover

I've had my grandmother's china cabinet since she died back in the early 90's. I vividly remember visiting with her the night before she went into the hospital for surgery (which should have been routine but which ultimately caused her death later that week) at her house. She was the neatest lady- so beautiful inside and out, so fun, and so very full of life. She was walking around with a yellow legal tablet writing down some specific things that she wanted people to have- in case she died. I remember saying...........Grandma, stop it, you are being silly. You are going to be fine and get to keep all of your stuff. Part of me wonders if perhaps she had some sort of premonition that something terrible would happen after her surgery and she would die. Anyway, during this walk around her beautiful home- she stopped in front of her dining room set and china cabinet. She turned and looked at me and asked me if I would like it- since I was newly married and didn't yet have one. I remember saying something about how I would love it- but not for a really long time- years and years and years down the road. She wrote it down on her legal pad and after her death I took it home- thinking of her often when I looked at it.

I kept it through several moves and a divorce and remarriage. Over time the table and chairs grew old and after many repairs, had to finally be replaced several years ago. But I could not bear to get rid of the china cabinet so I kept it.

Although I loved it, it was very dated. VERY dated with terribly ugly hardware. And so in preparation for our kitchen remodel this summer I decided that spring break was the perfect time to give it a makeover.

Tony was initially super hesitant when I suggested that we redo the china cabinet-only because I told him I wanted to use SPRAY paint. I've seen so many projects done on blogs recently using spray paint and loved them so I decided to give it a shot.

So we made a trip to Lowe's to purchase spray primer, paint, and new hardware. A little sanding, a little taping, less than 2 days of spray painting (and some sore arms) and we were done!

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! The finish is so much better than if we had painted it with a brush. Tony was AMAZED at how it looked and as I was taking these pics, he took some with his cell phone to show a friend because he couldn't believe how good it turned out. One of the greatest things is - if we ever scratch it- it is easily fixed with just a spray or two. I'm already planning my next spray paint project- so easy, so inexpensive, and so fun!

Chalkboard Plate Tutorial

I saw an idea several months ago somewhere (probably on one of the million or so blogs I try to read on a semi-regular basis) and thought it was so cute and seemed fairly simple and inexpensive- so I bought the supplies to have them on hand when I had some time and the inspiration struck me.

This week inspiration struck and so I got out my supplies :

• A cute square (you could use any shape but I really liked the square) plate purchased from TJ Maxx (love that store) for only $2.99.




• Blue painters tape (love that stuff)



• A piece of newspaper or some other sort of paper



• A can of chalkboard paint (bought mine at Wal-mart for about $3.00)
  

1. I used the blue painters tape and a piece of newspaper to cover all but a square in the center of the plate. You definitely want to take your time so that your lines are straight.







2. I then took the plate outside and laid it on a sheet of newspaper and carefully and slowly sprayed the square back and forth.






3. I left it to dry for awhile (an hour?) and came back and sprayed it again and again and again. I think I did 4 layers of paint- but the can says 2 is sufficient.





4. When it was dry I peeled off the tape and newspaper.





5. There were a few places where paint had gotten on the plate (where I didn't want them to be) and so I used an Exacto knife (a regular small knife would work) to carefully scrape off the excess paint.





6. I wrote a message on it, plopped it in a little plate stand I got at Hobby Lobby for $2 and voila- it was done!

This was really a super simple project that anyone can do. I can see it being used for so many things- on the dinner table with a message, in a bedroom on a nightstand, on the coffee table with a scripture..........the uses are endless!

Spring Break List- an Update

Okay.........it's Tuesday of Spring Break so let's see how I'm doing on my list of the Thirteen Things I HOPE To Accomplish on Spring Break...................

1. Knit something (or more than one something)- Started a scarf but not much done on it. Yet.


2. Refinish our china cabinet- it was my grandmothers and boy does it need it! - DONE and I love it! Woo hoo! I can't believe the transformation . I'll post pictures soon.

3. Paint the TV shelf my sweet Daddy built for the guest room. - Done!


4. Pick out a new ceiling fan for our living room- an anniversary present! -Done and purchased and waiting to be hung!


5. Get our taxes done. A necessary evil. -Done and getting back more than we expected!


6. Clean out the hall closet that is full of holiday stuff. Get rid of everything I haven't used in the past 2 years. - Done and got rid of more than half of what was in it. Woo hoo!


7. Stay in my pajamas until at least noon one day. - Um, not yet.


8. Read at least 3 books- including our next book club book. Done by Sunday except I haven't gotten my next book club book in the mail yet so two of the three I read are:


This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsbury

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

Time of My Life by Allison Scotch



9. Go through my cookbooks and come up with a list of 12 new things to make for dinner. I feel like I am in a dinner rut and make the same stuff every week. - Done and I'm so excited to have some new things to cook!

Here's the list: Bruschetta Chicken Skillet, Chicken Nacho Bake, Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu, Creamy Chicken, Bacon & Tomato Pasta, Upside Down Shepherd's Pie, Easy Shrimp Pasta, Weeknight Lasagna Toss, Bruschetta and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Easy Salisbury Steak, Pork Chop Dinner, Mexican Manicotti, Weight Watchers Mexican Casserole, Poppy seed Light Chicken. (I saved them in one big Word document so let me know if you would like a copy and I'll email it to you!)


10. Paint the inside of our pantry door with chalkboard paint. -Paint is purchased, inside of door is taped but have not painted it yet.

11. Complete at least one of the three craft projects I have purchased the materials for and blog about it. -Done and I'll post about it later this week.


12. Scan some old pictures and post them on Facebook. -Not done but I will.


13. Spend one day with no computer, no phone, and no TV. (That will also be known as a miracle). -Um........nope.

Monday Morning Question of the Day

Is it more difficult for you to speak

kindly

or

honestly?

Tortellini Pasta Salad

I made this pasta salad for my book club dinner this past week and it was yummy! It's a great variation on a traditional pasta salad with some great flavors!

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained, quartered
1 (10 ounce) container grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 (6 ounce) can medium black olives, drained, sliced in half lengthwise
1 (20 ounce) package fresh cheese-filled egg tortellini, cooked al dente, drained
1/3 cup olive oil, more if needed
1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
1 (8 ounce) container basil pesto
1/2 teaspoon salt, more if needed
2 teaspoons minced garlic
12 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
8 ounces rotini pasta, cooked al dente, drained

Cook pastas, set aside to drain and cool a bit. In large bowl, add rest of ingredients, folding gently till well mixed. Gently fold in pastas well. Adjust seasoning to taste adding more salt or Parmesan to taste. Serve immediately, or refrigerate.

YouHoogle

My sweet friend Donna sent this to me yesterday and I absolutely LOVE it!

Go here and you can create you own personalized Google-type home page.

How fun is that?

Spring BREAK ...........................

............starts TODAY!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I HOPE To Accomplish on Spring Break Next Week

1. Knit something (or more than one something).

2. Refinish our china cabinet- it was my grandmothers and boy does it need it!

3. Paint the TV shelf my sweet Daddy built for the guest room.

4. Pick out a new ceiling fan for our living room- an anniversary present!

5. Get our taxes done. A necessary evil.

6. Clean out the hall closet that is full of holiday stuff. Get rid of everything I haven't used in the past 2 years.

7. Stay in my pajamas until at least noon one day.

8. Read at least 3 books- including our next book club book.

9. Go through my cookbooks and come up with a list of 12 new things to make for dinner. I feel like I am in a dinner rut and make the same stuff every week. (I'll post them if anyone is interested).

10. Paint the inside of our pantry door with chalkboard paint.

11. Complete at least one of the three craft projects I have purchased the materials for and blog about it.

12. Scan some old pictures and post them on Facebook.

13. Spend one day with no computer, no phone, and no TV. (That will also be known as a miracle).

An Important Announcement

Words are..........

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.
Rudyard Kipling

Certain words, certain phrases uttered in my presence stick in my mind- regardless of the passage of time. They cross my mind at the strangest times- and sound as clear as if they were being spoken right this very moment.


Some make me laugh..........

Well honey I am glad to know you are allergic to cats and I promise you that I will not let a single cat get in this hospital room

Some make my heart feel full of love and joy...............

It's a girl and she's just perfect!

Some make me shake my head..............

Man, you sure do look different without makeup.

Some make me sad...............

I had an affair.

And some make me cry.............

It's stage 4 cancer.

The thing is..........those words have stayed with me, regardless the passage of time. Some were said over 25 years ago- and yet I can hear them spoken as if they were said yesterday.

And each time I hear those words I think...........what words have I said that have stayed with people? Were they hurtful, ugly, painful words? Or were they happy, positive, loving words? And I pray that God will remind me that the words I speak today could be with someone forever.

Monday Morning Question of the Day

1. At what age do you think a child should have a cell phone?

2. If they have one, do you allow your child to take their cell phone to church?

3. If your child has a cell phone, do your regularly check their text messages? Why or why not?