"The Invisible Woman"

When I got to work this morning and logged into my email, I had a few emails waiting for me (as usual).  There was one particular email entitled "The Invisible Woman".  I immediately thought, "This should be good".  Little did I know or realize how good it was!!  This spoke to me on such a deep level.  I want to share this video for you all to watch and gleem from it.  It truly speaks to us mothers and fathers!!  The video is a little over 5 minutes long but it is so worth it.  Please watch it and let me know what you liked.  You can check more things out on her website at:  http://www.freshbrewedlife.com/
ENJOY!!

Recovery and PT

I am going into my third week of recovery from my shoulder surgery and feeling so much better than I ever expected.  I made it through work yesterday - not without aching and fatigue - but I made it!  I have also started physical therapy.  Yesterday was my second session.  The first session I had, my Dr. had advised me to take a pain pill before I went so I did.  By the time I left, the drugs had kicked in and I was a drugged mess.  This time I decided to just take 800 mg of Ibuprofen.  I still very much enjoyed having that shoulder stretched and manipulated but I did leave in pain.  I guess I'm going to have to find a happy medium with the meds.  It's amazing to me how an hours worth of moving your shoulder around in PT can make you soooo exhausted. 

After PT, hubby and I went to eat at a local "dive" in our town and after that went home to relax.  Before I knew it I was sacked out in my recliner snoozing for the night.  I guess I fell asleep at 7:30 and woke up at 10:45 in time to crawl into bed.  I slept all night and woke up with a lot less stiffness this morning in the shoulder.  AMAZING!!  I'm far from where I need to be but far from where I was.  Doesn't that ring true in our spiritual lives as well?  Far from where I need to be but far from where I was!!  Hallelujah!  Thank the good Lord above that He is daily watching over us and taking us (His children) where we need to be.  What a great God we serve.  I do have to give him all the glory for the easy recovery I have had.  I am truly blessed! 

I'm Back...

I'm back...at work, that is!!  This is my first day to be at work since my surgery two weeks ago.  I have been impressed at how my recovery is going!  I am very blessed & thankful that the Lord has graciously smiled on me through this time.

Well, the holidays are officially over!  YAY!!  Back to some normality in my life...maybe?  I do love and anticipate the holidays when they are "on the way" but I hate them when they get here and by the time they're done, I'm ready to be done!  It took 5 minutes for the family to leave our home on Saturday (after having our Christmas a day late due to the blizzard) to start pulling all of my Christmas stuff down.  I now have it all neatly assorted on our dining room table until my hubby gets home tonight to help me box it up.  I don't know how much of the boxing I will be able to do but I could handle taking stuff down fairly easy. 

As soon as I REMEMBER to sit down and upload pictures of Christmas, I will.  I was going through my camera yesterday looking at the cuteness of it all and realized that I never uploaded Birthday Party pics from my son's Secret Agent Birthday Party.  Guess I have a lot to catch up on huh??  Doesn't surprise me!

Looking forward to a new beginning in 2010!

1 Week After Surgery

I have officially made it one week!!  It has truly not been as bad as most people told me it would be.  I have done a lot of thinking about that and wondered why not.  Obviously, the first thing I think of is God has just smiled on me on this and the second things is that I did recently realize that I did have full range of motion in my shoulder before surgery where most of the others that really had a tough time did not.  I think that made a huge difference with my recovery time.  I'm still struggling to get my energy back up.  That's been about the biggest issue.  I'm sure it's because I am just not sleeping well at night so my rest is not there and the uncomfortable ways I have to sleep just won't let me.

Turn your eyes if you're squeamish!!!  OK, I warned you!!!  I wanted to show a picture of my shoulder.  I had orthroscopic surgery so, it's not all black & blue and oozing.  It's just a few small incisions with a couple of stitches.  BUT, I still did warn you!!

See, it's not THAT bad!!

Santa showed up AGAIN at my house this week.  I first told you about the recliner that I got "for Christmas" and then on Thursday evening, we realized that our freezer was not freezing properly in our refrigerator.  Sooo, we got a repair man to come out on Saturday morning to look at it & repair it.  By then, the fridge part was also losing its coolness.  The repair man said he could fix it but it would be a gamble and we would have to spend about $600 by the time it's over.  The gamble was that he didn't know if the repair would last two hours or two years.  He just couldn't guarantee anything.  Sooooo, we talked it over and decided to go ahead and buy a new fridge.  On Saturday (slinged arm in tow) I got out with the hubster and we shopped for a couple of hours looking for the fridge we both agreed on.  It wasn't too long into the trip that we decided which one to get.  The problem was finding it in stock.  We went to 5 different locations to get it.  It's one of the #1 fridges going right now so NO ONE had it in stock!!  At the last place we went, we found that they had 1 white one left...JUST WHAT WE NEEDED!!  YAY!  The hubby had asked another salesman to see if he could order it in for us but we wouldn't know until middle of next week.  After we found what we wanted and came home, I realized I had completely overdone it!  I really wore myself out and didn't have a great night after all of that.  We all got up the next morning and went to church.  After lunch with friends the hubster informed me that he was thinking about getting our old fridge fixed....WHAT?!?  Where did this come from?  I didn't quite know how to handle this.  I had gotten all worked up about getting a new appliance, got out and found it, paid the price for that and was getting excited about when it was going to be delivered.  This really threw me for a loop!  I honestly didn't know how to act.  He asked me how mad I would be if he didn't get the new one.  I didn't know how to answer that!!  Hubby left & all he said was "I'll be back".  I called a great friend for some moral support.  Was I being this awful wife or what??  I didn't know how to look, how to turn, how to speak, nothing!  When he pulled up, he had the fridge in the back of his pick up.  GREAT!!  Now, I felt even worse!!  If I'd a had a little more time to process this, maybe I would've thought differently??   I really don't know.  I will say that I do absolutely LOVE our new fridge! 

We decided on the Samsung RF267AEWP   Isn't she lovely??

I knew I wanted a fridge with the freezer on the bottom and when I saw the french doors on top, it was a no brainer!!  Anyway, here's a peek in our kitchen once she was placed -

OK, so, that's all the excitement and chaos around the Conner Blend this last week.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see what occurs this week!!  Hope all are well!  ENJOY your Holidays!!

Shoulder Surgery Sentiments

Well, this has been the extent of my days since Monday.  I went in for shoulder repair surgery early Monday morning and ever since have been in this LOVELY, NEW leather recliner.  Merry Christmas a few days early for me!!  Yeth!  My hubby bought me this recliner for my recovery time.  Wasn't that sweet??   I had all intentions of posting something everyday since I was going to be home recovering.  Well, I guess my wants were a little bit extravagant compared to my reality.  Between the pain and the medication, I haven't been very coherent.

 My sweet daughter washed my hair for me today (not without a little pain).  See my boo-boos all patched up (thanks to the hubby)??  How sad I look!!  Today seems to be the worst of all the days so far.  I'm trying to wean myself off of the pain meds.  All it does is make me loopy and want to sleep all day.  Soooo, I'm trying.  I think that's why I have had more pain today than the others.   My Dr. had a lovely chair brought in for me to sit in 6 hours a day and it would move my arm a few degrees a day until it hits the maximum degree it needs me to be at.  I was really dreading it, until I tried it.  WOW!!  It feels soooo good to have it move my arm around. 

Today, I had a lovely friend of mine from church bring over supper to the family.  That was sooo sweet!!  It was nice to actually have a home cooked meal.  Since I have been down, my hubby hasn't known what in the world to do for me in the food department.  Poor guy!  I've not felt much like eating but, sure got tired of Ritz crackers and water....HMMMM, maybe I lost a few pounds??  Now I'm dreaming again!  ha

All in all, the family has taken good care of me and done everything that I have needed.  I think I am beginning to drive them crazy with all of my requests. 

On a side note, my lovely friend, Loren from The Magoos News, lost her father this morning.  He has been dilligently fighting cancer for several months.  God has another plan for this sweet man.  I just want to send her my thoughts and prayers and encourage those of you out there to do the same.  What a short life we live here on earth!  Have a great holiday!!

Why Do Holidays Depress Me?

I don't guess I have ever really mentioned on my blog that I kind of dread the holiday time. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy buying presents for my kiddos and watching them open them on Christmas day. I also enjoy all of the parties that are planned with my church family. Last but not least, I always enjoy our Christmas program we have at church. The thing I hate about the holidays is the lack of family. I am an only child. I grew up in a his, hers & ours family. There is a 10 year span between me and my mom's youngest daughter and my dad's youngest daughter. I was not raised with any of them in the home so I never knew what it was like to have a sibling. I've often told people I've gotten the short end of the stick in two ways: 1 - I'm the baby of the family and 2 - I'm the only child. I just can't win for losing!! ha

Anyway, growing up it was never a huge ordeal for me to be the only child in the family. I did get bored at times but I always got whatever I needed and majority of the time what I wanted. As I have gotten older and grown into adult friendships, I often see how my friends are getting together with their families for different things or going shopping with their siblings or cousins or just spending time with their mom for the day. I get kinda down about it because I don't have that. My parents moved away from Oklahoma about 3-4 years ago and I haven't been the same since. It's kind of depressing. Then the holidays start. Everyone is getting together with family and enjoying different things with them. Maybe it's a pity party?? BUT it's true feelings.

OK, maybe I now have this negative vibe out...maybe I can go on with my week & feel a little better.  I love having this blog where I can vent!  Some people don't like that I do it but oh well!!  I've learned a lot this week about pleasing others.  Many have made some great comments on facebook after I put up this status:  Tamara Conner hates the fact that I can't say what I am feeling on a public blog or here on facebook without making someone mad.  I've also been reading my friend Nicole's blog this week & she is feeling the same way about the negativeness from some people.  She's moving on and her blog is helping me realize that I need to just move on, too!  Thanks Nicole!!!! 

Anyway, time to move on and get my mind back in order!  Thanks to all my friends and family out there!!  Have a great day!

Wonderful Weekend in Sight

Well, we've all made it another week! YAY!! I am so looking forward to this weekend. It seems that I have had something every night this week...well, I have!! Ready for this??

Monday - Pampered Chef Party at a friend's
Tuesday - Bunco with my friends
Wednesday - Church
Thursday - Basketball Practice/Family Night (eat out together)/take down fall decor

Can you say too busy?? I think I'm trying to cram it all in before I have to be cooped up and sitting down for hours on end during the day and night OR maybe it's just the way I am. I've always been the type to be busy. If I stay home, there's no adult interaction so I make myself get out to get the interaction I long for. My kids do a lot of running with me and I'm afraid I'm teaching them a really bad habit. Anyway...

Well my cookie recipe exchange kinda flopped!! Oh well, I tried! I did get some great recipes from some old and new friends. I can not wait to go home and try the ones I haven't heard of.

Even though there has been much excitement with our running around, it's really been nothing exciting to report on...oh wait...I am done with my Christmas shopping!!!! That's one thing that's exciting and I bought the final item on Wednesday when I had some time to waste.

Hope all are well out in bloggy land!!

Holiday Cookie Recipe Exchange

I was at Bunco last night with all of my gal pals and we played Dirty Santa. I am now a proud owner of a platter that has "cookies" written on it. The back of it had the cutest little poem about how it is a "traveling cookie platter". Well, I am just not yet willing to be giving my platter to even my closest of friends (sorry), full of cookies, in fear that I won't get my platter back. Sooooo, I was thinking about doing a cookie recipe exchange on my blog today.

I'm sure it's not a new idea and that someone else out there is doing it or has done it, but I was proud of this little pitiful brain of mine to even come up with the idea. Soooo, without futher ado....

Please link up to my post (using MckLinky) and post your favorite holiday cookie recipe, or two, or three... you get the idea!! I can't wait to see all of the great recipes that we get on this post & that we can try at home this holiday season. 'Tis the season!!

**Cookie picture at top was found on Google Image**

First Day of December

My 10 year old son woke up this morning and wished me a "Happy 1st day of December!"  Can you believe this year went by that fast??  I can't.  Seems like just yesterday it was Valentine's Day.

The countdown has begun in the Conner-Mock Blend.  Countdown to Christmas has begun for the kids and countdown till surgery has begun for me!!  Lots to look forward to in the next few weeks. 

The hubby and I began our Christmas shopping on Black Friday.  I have everything bought for my kids this year.  I laid down the law about Christmas.  I am tired of buying tons of presents just to have them torn up in a few weeks.  Sooooo, mom thought - maybe if I buy one large (kinda pricey) gift and told them that was all they were getting, it would be better.  We'll see!  I'm spending about $200-$250 on each child this Christmas and calling it quits!!  They are fully aware they will have one present under the tree.  I can't vouch for what "Santa" will put in their stockings though!!  I hope it will go over well and it really takes the pressure off of me to find all these gifts.

As for the rest of the family, well, my hubster's side draws names.  We have that taken care of also.  I have no family nearby so the holiday season just gets to be a depressing state more and more each year.  I take it really hard that I have no family around to fit in with.  Bummer!!  Anyway, my half brother and half sister are going in with me on a flat screen for my mother.  She had recently been talking about wanting a 19 - 22" in her bedroom.  Sooooo, on black friday, it was accomplished! 

Coming home from church on Sunday, I was giving the run down to the hubby and kids about our schedules for the next two weeks.  Lots going on (with holidays) and even more going on because of preparations for surgery.  Basketball has started so that just adds a little more to the running. 

I attended a Pampered Chef party last night.  It was sooo much fun!  We made cookies with the new cookie press!  My 12 year old daughter got in the kitchen after everyone had left & made a whole pan of cookies and baked them before I even knew she was doing it.  WOW!!   Sooo, I bought the cookie press just for her.  She told me while I was down, she would make cookies for me...HOW SWEET!!  Guess I'll get fat while recovering huh??

Tonight is Bunco Christmas Party!!  Woo-Hoo!  Such great ladies I am friends with!  Wouldn't trade them for the world.  They keep me going a lot of days (more than they know).  Then it's to church on Wednesday for our next to last Wednesday practice before the Christmas Concert.  It always seems that no matter how early you start learning Christmas music, it always seems like the last few practices are a cram session.  Thursday, we are planning on having a family night.  Can't wait for this time to spend with the kids! 

I will have to stop here so I will have something to post about the rest of the week/weekend.  Just in one of those rambling moods I guess.

I pray all had a fabulous Thanksgiving with their families!  Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wanted to log in & quickly tell everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Turkey Day!  I pray that you have a wonderful time with your families!  ENJOY!  Till tomorrow - Black Friday!!

What a Weekend!

This past week/weekend has been a blur and a challenge.  Hubby has been gone for almost 3 weeks now (harvest time and hunting time).  I have had soooo many things going on.  It seems that when the hubby is gone, all things cave in.  Run here, run there...this is planned for this day and time, this is planned for that day and time... and so on!  Such is my life.

In an attempt to make this week go smoothly, I wound up sick, getting into a wreck, having children act up and just feeling plain chaotic!  Does it ever end??  On top of that, it's now officially the holiday season and things just get uber crazy at that time!

The three good notes to report is:  #1 - hubby is back to stay!!!  YAY!  No more out of state hunting and no more harvest (until next June - but I'll be there for that one)  #2 - Andrew's party went off without a hitch!!! and #3 - I logged on to look at my friend's blog (Nicole) and found out that I had won her giveaway!!  God Bless Us Everyone! 

I am planning to do a post in the next couple of days to show off the pictures from my 10 year old's Secret Agent Birthday Party AND also to show off my great prize from Nicole.

This week I am not going to do Menu Planning.  It is holiday season and OBVIOUSLY on Thursday we all know what is going to happen with the food situation.  Other than that, my hubby's family is all in and plans are made all week to join different ones for dinner.  Tonight we are going to my mother-in-law's house for YUMMY Bierocks!!!  Oh, I so love these!  If you don't know what these are, I will post a pic of this later, also!!

Hope all are having a Blessed Thanksgiving week!!

Monday, Monday, So Good To Me

It's Monday!!  So the song by the Mamas & the Papas says - "Monday, Monday, So good to me".  Really?  Well, I must admit this Monday has been a little uneventful.  Nice for a change!  Usually I'm up rushing around with kids that are exhausted from the weekend.  I guess we played our cards smart and didn't wear ourselves out this weekend.  Everyone got up without problems and got dressed without issues and started our day with a BANG!  Tomorrow?  Can't guarantee that!

MONDAY - SLOPPY JOES

TUESDAY - POPCORN CHICKEN AND FRIES

WEDNESDAY - Y.O.Y.O. (You're On Your Own)

THURSDAY - CHICKEN WITH PENNE PASTA

FRIDAY - BREAKFAST FOR DINNER

SATURDAY - LEFTOVERS

SUNDAY - EAT OUT!!

This week is going to be very simple and quick.  Not everyone will be able to eat together this week so, I'm not going all out with meals!  Basketball season officially starts tonight and we've got a lot of practices to begin.  (Not to mention my Bible Study time)

Plans have been Spoiled

Well Pooh!!!  I was going to be so diligent and get my menu planning done Monday evening & post it here yesterday.  Can you believe I didn't???  ha-ha  This week has turned into a rather busy week(unexpectedly).  Sooooo, here's just a glimpse:

Monday - Salisbury Steak & Potatoes (Worked late taking care of a crisis.  I ran to Bible Study pretty quickly after I got home)

Tuesday - Pizza Buffet at our local Pizza place  (Worked late AGAIN - Crisis mode.  Haircut for hubby and hair thinning & trim for daughter)

Wednesday - Y.O.Y.O. (You're on your own!!  Church night)

Thursday - Special treat - taking kids to restaurant of their choice

Friday - Caleb and I will eat out somewhere CHEAP!!

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Eat Out!!

There!!  Still working on getting my entire month planned out.  It's halfway done, just need to finalize it with the family!

Menu Plan Monday

I am putting this up just to let you know I haven't forgotten about it being Menu Plan Monday.  I don't have "restful" Sundays so, I didn't get our family together to make our menu up.  I will be back tomorrow to post my weekly menu.  Sorry!!  I guess I'll just have to be a day late!

Halloween

Well, we all survived the end of October/Halloween/Weekend!!!  Yay us!!  Thought I would share with you all the pictures from the fun time I had with my kids trick or treating!

Lovely Daughter wanted to be SuperGirl this Halloween.

Lovely son wanted to be....well....I really can't tell ya what he is.  He thought this costume was cool because it had glowing glasses under the hood that makes his eyes light up red.  It was kinda cool!!

Starting our Main Street trick or treating.

Supergirl taking down "the ghoul"!!

Still so light out but you can BARELY see his red eyes.

We had such a wonderful time on Saturday!  We started it out by eating at Sonic & taking advantage of the 50 cent corn dogs.  Can't beat a sonic corn dog!!  We left there and began our annual trek up and down main street.  After they got tired of that & the churches that have trunk or treat, we went up to the high school for the NHA Spook House!!  Whoooooo!  What a great night we had!  Hope everyone else did as well!

Friday Fun Facts

Fact #1 - Tamara LOVES blogging and reading other blogs.

Fact #2 - Tamara is a MAJOR copycat when it comes to great ideas or recipes from the blogs she follows.

Fact #3 - I have shared with you several recipes this week & part of last week.

Fact #4 - I must share another one from my friend over at XOXO Trina.  Check it out here.

Look at this DELICIOUS  array of gobbeldy gooeyness...!  WOAH!  This recipe was phenomenal!  My kids even devoured it.  You've got to try this recipe, especially if you like pumpkin.  What a great fall dessert!!  Thanks Trina!

Fact #5 - My youngest son and I made cute little goodie bags for his class last night.  I have to give kudos to Jill Scott at Controlling My Chaos blog.  You can read about her great ideas here.   Here is what we got from her blog.

Fact #6 - I guess I started Halloween a day early.  Being it's Friday and I'm at work, I went ahead and pulled out this:  ha-ha-ha

Corny!!!  I know!  My kids wanted me to do SOMETHING this year for Halloween so, they picked this out for me!  ha-ha!  Just another day at work!!

Fact #6 - I am now going to sign off and go enjoy my upside down pumpkin cake that I brought to work!

Halloween Week Celebration - Day #1

Well, we have officially started our Halloween activities for the week!!  YEEHAW!!  The kids and I went to the Pumpkin Patch last night to pick out some pumpkins so we could spend the evening carving pumpkins together.  What fun!!  Here are a TON few of pictures that I thought I would share with you. 

Andrew thought it was REALLY gross digging out the "guts" of the pumpkin.  Truthfully, it wasn't my favorite part either.  The ice cream scoop helped tremendously!!

After we "gutted" the pumpkins, it was time to get creative!!  I gave the kids some sharpies to draw the faces on the pumpkins before we started cutting.  I thought it would be easier for them to have the drawing as a guide than to just start knifing the poor thing all over!

My daughter being silly for the camera!  I did tell her that this picture was going up on my blog.  Her response?  See the picture below this one!!   Mwah-ha-ha-ha!

This was right after I told her it was going on my blog.  She's saying "Nooooo" in a whiney voice.

Next, it was time to get the serious stuff going!  The KNIVES!  Scary moment for me.  Kind of a thoughtful moment for me, too.  I stood there the whole time supervising them and wondering in my mind if this was a good idea.  Was I an OK mom to give my children knives and let them start mutilating their pumpkins??  Oh well!!  I did it and there are no boo-boos, well at least on the humans of the household (poor pumpkins).  The whole time I was watching my children carve their pumpkins I was thinking about having to come on my blog and write about how we are THAT family.  (Reference to a blog I follow - HILAROUS!!  Check it out.  They do the funniest stuff.  Great stories!!)

THE BIG REVEAL!!!:

Andrew's masterpiece.  Don't ask me what the drawing around the eyes are supposed to be...I HAVE NO CLUE!!

Hannah's Masterpiece!  She wanted hers to have a unibrow - see it above the eyes??

I hope you all are having a wonderful Halloween Week just like us!! 

Cool food on its way this week!!  Check back later!

Dessert Auction

Sunday was a wonderful day!  First to start it off was a great day at Sunday School and church.  We had a great service!!  We hurriedly rushed out of service to go grab a bite of lunch at McAlisters (can you say divine sweet tea??) with several of my friends.  After scarffing our food down like ravenous animals, we rushed home so I could start my final baking for the Dessert Auction.

Can you believe we got out of church, went to eat lunch and made it home by 1:15 so I could start baking???  We did!!  I accomplished it, too!  Not to the perfect standard that I wanted but I did it, nonetheless!  I went to change and immediately started baking.  Here's a preview of what I did:

My FAMOUS Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites - YUMM-OHHHHHH!

Don't they just look divine??  They even taste divine!!  Heaven is a little closer when you have these!

I mentioned up in the top of this post that I didn't make some things to that perfect standard that I wanted.  These are what I am speaking of.  No Bake Cookies are soooo tempermental at times!  First of all, I knew it was going to be a bad batch when I ran out of Hershey's Cocoa and had to use Nestle's Cocoa.  These cocoas are definitely NOT THE SAME!!!  I am a Hershey's girl all the way!!!  I guess in my flusteredness (a word??) I let the mixture cook a tad too long on the stove.  Not the usual dark, shiny gobble up goodness I usually produce!  I did tell the lucky auction winner that I was going to make them another batch.

Can you tell what my favorite dessert is???

Oh YES!  Had to have a few for taste testing!  Plus a few came out of the pan a little mangled!  BUMMER!

All in all, our Dessert Auction was a HUGE success!!  The most we have raised EVER!  We had over $8,000.00 raised by auctioning off several desserts.  It was sooo much fun!  I must say that these lovely brownies of mine went for $200.00!!!  WOAH!  Can you believe?  We even had a dessert go for $500.00.  Somebody wanted a certain dessert REALLY BAD!!  What a great time was had by all!  If you would like to know more about where our funds go, you can read about Speed The Light here.

God bless all out there!  Have a great last week of October!!

Menu Plan Monday

MONDAY - Pizza

TUESDAY - Pork Tenderloin with Mashed potatoes and Peas

WEDNESDAY - YOYO (You're on your own!)

THURSDAY - Beef Stroganoff

FRIDAY - Leftovers

SATURDAY - Hot Dogs (it's halloween!!)

SUNDAY - EAT OUT!!

That about wraps it up here.  For more menu planning ideas please see The OrgJunkie.  Have a blessed day!

Birthday Blitz

We have had a very busy day today in the Conner-Mock blend!!  My younger two kids are at their dad's this weekend and I have my oldest son with me.  It is his birthday next week so we spent the entire day celebrating HIS DAY.

First celebration of the day was that we got to sleep in.  YAY!!  Who doesn't count that as a celebration?  We slowly got around and about 2 o'clock this afternoon we went out to eat where Caleb wanted.  He chose Logan's....YAY BOY!!  I must admit that I played the "oh I don't feel like eating CiCi's Pizza" card.  He initially wanted that...bad mother I am!

After lunch/supper (lupper??) we went shopping.  He had money from his Mamaw and it's just easier for me to take him shopping and let him pick out what he wants.  He's so quiet and never really asks for much so I never know what to get him.  15 is a strange age!  He wanted a new XBox game and the XBox live card for a few months.  Soooo, we went to Game Stop and were successful!  How lucky could we be to get the gifts he wanted at the first place we went?

He then had asked for a big cookie as his birthday cake.  After going to Game Stop we walked on over to Wal-Mart (have I mentioned I hate that place??).  As usual, it was a mad house and I was only going in to get about 3 items.  It took forever!!  YUCK!

We made it home a few hours after going to a few more stores.  When we got home, we immediately started with the cake!!  I had to pull out the camera and take a few pics.  He didn't care for me doing that but oh well!  He doesn't have any friends or family here where we live so, it becomes a little bit of a small birthday celebration.  I apologize for the PG-13 rated pics.  I couldn't get him to put on a shirt!  What a boy!!

All in all we had a great day.  I worried that because we didn't have a great big celebration that he would be a little disappointed.  I think he prefers this to a lot of chaos!  Can't believe my baby is 15 & will be driving in 6 months!!  WOAH!

Hope everyone had a blessed day and even more blessed Sunday!  Till another time!

Fun Friday!

How about a freebie on Friday??  Barnes and Noble is offering a free (kids size) hot cocoa and a small cookie for free on Saturday (tomorrow) October 24.  All you have to do is go here and print out the coupon for the free items.  How fun!! 

What's better than a cup of cocoa, a cookie and a book?  Probably a lot of things BUT it's FREE!!!!

The Best Chocolate Cake Ever!!!

I LOVE TO BAKE!!!  Do you like to bake, also??  I recently stumbled onto a fabulous blog - Kevin and Amanda .  I have been very impressed with her recipes and her photography talents!  Not to mention she gives you some cool fonts and scrapbook things.  I'm all about that!

I want to share with my friends this unbelievable chocolate cake recipe that she has posted.  I'm going to post the recipe here but PLEASE go to her link here to see her directions.

Here it is:

THE BEST Chocolate Cake EVER

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 package Jello instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a VERY large bowl (4 qt), mix together everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into cake pan of choice (I normally use two 9-inch pie pans). For cooking time, I use the cooking times on the back of the devil’s food cake box as a guide and usually add 10 mins to whatever it says. Then I do the toothpick check, and if it’s not done, I check on it every 5 mins after that. :) It usually takes around 45 mins for two, 9-inch pie pans.
 
LET ME TELL YOU HONEY!!!!!  This is by far one of THE best chocolate cakes I have ever made!!  I did try her icing also that she has listed.  I will probably tweek it just a little next time I make it.  It was good (don't get me wrong) it just seemed a little too thick for me.  I'll have to remember to thin it a little bit next time!
 
How can you go wrong with a big piece of chocolate cake to complement your lunch, end your day OR begin your day (BAD I KNOW!!).  I hope all enjoys this!  I dare you to try it! ;-)

Menu Plan Monday

It's Monday again!  Wow, did this fall break go by super fast for us!  My son went to stay with his dad for the break and my daughter went to Youth Convention.  I had a lot of alone time but it just seemed to fly by.  Sunday was quite a bustle - as usual!!  Run-run-run all day long!

So,What's for dinner this week, you ask??  Well, let me just tell you!

MONDAY -  Fish Sticks and Macaroni & Cheese - Kids request!!

TUESDAY -  Crock Pot Pork Chops and Rice

WEDNESDAY -  YOYO (You're On Your Own)

THURSDAY -  Chicken Enchiladas - made in the microwave(Pampered Chef)  They're delish!!

FRIDAY -  Leftovers

SATURDAY -  Leftovers

SUNDAY -  Eat Out!

We have quite a week planned.  There will be a lot of running around preparing for Spirit Week next week at school.  We will be preparing for my oldest son's birthday - he's turning 15!!!  WOAH!!  There are pampered chef parties, basketball practices, family meetings, church, ortho appointments and all kinds of other things that will pop up as the week progresses.  Busy, busy, busy!!  Is there any other way?

Please Dear Lord, I Want To Win!

Ha-ha-ha....that is my selfish prayer today!  The title reminds me of that song "Never-Ending Shopping List".  It goes:  
(CHORUS)


GIVE ME THIS, I WANT THAT

BLESS ME LORD I PRAY

GRANT ME WHAT I THINK I NEED TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE DAY

MAKE ME WEALTHY, KEEP ME HEALTHY

FILL IN WHAT I MISSED

ON MY NEVER-ENDING SHOPPING LIST

Anyway, I am doing this post to put my name in to win an iPod Touch.  My daughter has asked for one of these for Christmas this year.  With the economy the way it is, wouldn't this just be a blessing to win?  Obviously, the good Lord above knows what we need, but I'm just gonna have to be a little selfish today.

Go right over to Amy's blog right here and check this out.  She tells of some really cool apps that can be accessed through your iPod touch or the iPhone.  How cool!  Her blog is a really great one to read on a daily basis also.

Just check it out...it's worth it!

Thanks Amy for doing this great giveaway!!!

Thankful Thursday

I must admit that I am not the blogger that I want to be.  I want to be an eloquent speaker/writer like my other friends on here.  I want to have the time to post everyday and make an impact in someone's life.  I want...I want...I want.  While trying to decide what to write today a thought came into my mind about other blogs that I have read.  I see a lot of Thankful Thursday posts.  I want to be involved in that!

I find myself taking for granted a lot of things in my life.  I don't sit and just think about being thankful.  I should do that more!  I don't show that appreciation as much as I should.  Not that I'm not thankful in my heart, it's just that my mind moves a thousand miles an hour and sometimes I just don't think about it.  I've got to make it a point to be more aware of that!

Anyway,  I am thankful for a husband that is committed and home with me every moment possible.  I am thankful for my children who strive daily to please me .  I am thankful for the health that has been given to all of us in our home this year.  I am thankful for the food on the table.  I am thankful for the roof over our heads.  I am thankful for the clothes on our backs.  I am thankful for my friends who I talk to and do things with.  I am thankful for a fabulous job.  I am thankful for a wonderful church to attend.  I am thankful for my God-given talents.  I am thankful to live in America where we can worship freely.  This list, as I am thinking, could go on and on and on.

What are you thankful for today?  Let's remember to tell those in our lives how thankful we are!  'Tis the season of Thanksgiving! 

Inheritance

"The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."   Psalm 16:5-6(ESV)

Does that scripture just go all through you when you read it??  Well, it does me.  I have been doing Beth Moore's new Bible Study, Inheritance, since the first part of September.  All I can say is "WOW"!!!!!!!  Last night was especially enlightening to me.  We always tend to think of inheritance as something we receive when a loved one passes away.  Have you ever stopped to think about what God's inheritance is??  I bet not.  Beth Moore had a lightbulb moment while studying for this Bible Study.  She explained to us that she had read this scripture over and over and over and had never taken that scripture in its full context.  That scripture is Ephesians 1:18:  "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints". 

Did you catch it??  His glorious inheritance IN THE SAINTS.  We are His inheritance!!!!!!  WOAH!  Yes, does that not just blow you away?  Does that not just make it even more imperative in your mind as to how important it is for us to live our Godly lives, take care of ourselves and raise those children God gave to us?  We are raising and responsible for HIS inheritance!!  We are HIS inheritance!!  God's inheritance!!  THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!

Truly this has been an enlightening Bible Study.  We have a beautiful inheritance.  God has made ME an heir.  I am a real, live heir of God and co-heir with Jesus Christ.  Because I am a woman, I am technically an heiress.  As an heiress of God, my life is NEVER left to chance.  Those are some of the "confessions of an heiress" from the Beth Moore study.  If you have an opportunity to do this Bible Study....PLEASE DO!!  There is no homework with this study.  I was excited about that and then got to thinking about how I was going to get anything out of it if I didn't have daily work.  Trust me!!  You get soooo much out of this!

Go out and know that you are an heiress today!!