Favorite Spaces (prize give away in here somewhere)

There are spaces in my house that I like to frequent through out the day because they just make me so happy.

The above picture is a space I like to visit because not only does it sit right next to the beloved Coffee Bean, but it is filled with trinkets and gifts that are near and dear to me.

I think at this time it would be fun to play a game of "Where's Waldo?" or in this case;

Where's Donald?- That duck makes me so happy. Not only does he represent the Oregon Ducks, but he was a gift to me from a beloved friend who lives where the Oregon Ducks come from, Eugene Oregon.

Where's My Apron?- The apron that I wear every time I cook because it's bright, beautiful but it reminds me of another beloved friend who gave it to me. She is bright and beautiful.

Where's The Custom made Cupboard/Wine Rack?- This piece is one of the only things we pillaged from the Breaker way, Foreclosure. It was an ugly brown cupboard when it started out, and now due to MY Giant's Genius building skills it is a beautiful, white, cupboard/wine rack/plate rack/chalkboard/ spirit holder/... you get the idea.

Finally, Where's the sock puppet that my amazing, artistic son Solomon created? If you can find this guy that I use as a chalkboard eraser, then there will be a prize in it for YOU! First one to find it and comment here, not on FB wins a gift card to...Jamba Juice, to keep the creative juices flowing.

There are spots like this all over my house. The spaces and places where I try to make the world, our world in here a little brighter. I have recently been enjoying decorating with lemons. Can you tell?

Lemons get a bad wrap because they are sour, but if given the chance lemons sure do come in handy when it's grey and cloudy outside and you want your house to look warm and cheery. Lemons can brighten up any room. Don't believe me, go get yourself some. And then of course they make wonderful things like Lemon Bars, Lemon Banana Scones, Warm Lemon and Honey water, Pink Lemonade, and of course pretty pictures.

And don't ya know it's all about the pictures for me. Oh and I almost forgot, they are fantastic for making your kitchen sink smell fresh and clean. Throw one in your garbage disposal if you have one and see what it does to that smelly drain. I don't have a garbage disposal. Everyone should feel so sorry for me right now :( Poor Noel she doesn't have a garbage disposal. I know it's terrible. One of my favorite things to do was throw lemons, limes, or oranges down the disposal to make my kitchen smell up nice again. But alas, that's not the only item in a kitchen that I miss. I'm getting off topic. Anyhew, I still use the lemons here, I just smash it up take out all my aggression with the Skeleton Scrubby, act like I'm a badass and then wha-lah, sink smells fresh again.

One more final note before I go,
Favorite spaces and places, that's a board I have on Pinterest. Have you heard of this place? Well if not click the link below and happy pinning. Your life will never be the same.
That website will give you more ideas than you possibly have time for in your whole entire LIFE! Just a warning. But, if you are looking for some new decorative, home decor ideas. Or DYI ideas, then pinterest is the place for you. You have to be invited. Strange but true. It's like a lil club. So if you check it out, and aren't already part of the club report back here and I'll send you an invite. I'm a giver. I know.



Pin It

Mother of 4

I cannot even begin to tell you the exhaustion that a mother of four feels everyday. Some days are better than others, but most days I find myself from sun up until sun down yawning.

“To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today”
- Anonymous

It comforts me to know that there are others out there who have survived this mothering gig. Not only survived, but thrived. Those of you who have gone before me, your smile is the light at the end of my very tired tunnel.

“The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.”
- O. A. Battista


I liken somewhat this exhaustion to back in college when you never have a free moment. Not really. I mean Spring Break is just the exhale of a very long plight of work, study, work, study. And really, those that make the best students, the ones with the shining GPA's are ones that DON'T exhale come Spring Break. That nagging voice that says, even though you don't have homework, you could always be studying. It's kinda like that, only not really.

“If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders.”
- Abigail Van Buren


There is always something, or someone who is in need of you. And this is the part that really baffles me because, I am the mom who is pro independence. I'm NOT the mom who is wiping the butts of 5 year olds. NOPE! As soon as my kids could manage, even remotely the task at hand they were on their own. Might sound harsh, but that's how I roll!

“Parents need to fill a child’s bucket of self-esteem so high that the rest of the world can’t poke enough holes to drain it dry.”
- Alvin Price


Granted, I mean I don't make them go out and get a job once they hit double digits, but they certainly earn their keep around here. Especially that guy up there. It is mandatory that he pay me in hugs and kisses on a regular basis.

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.”
- C. Everett Koop

One of my favorite quotes from the movie Martian Child is when Joan Cuszak says to her brother in the movie and in real life, "The thing about kids is that they just keep coming at 'cha." No truer words. I am convinced that the person who said this famous quote was a parent, "If it's not one thing, it's another."


And for all the yawns, all the sleepless nights, all the hair-pulling moments, all the messes, there is nothing in the whole wide world that could make me want my life to be any different.

My children, My Fab 4, truly are my life's greatest work!

Life is Beautiful and ....

Life is beautiful and...
it can be messy.
sometimes full of laughter.
sometimes full of sorrow.
it can be silly.
filled with many questions.
filled with all kinds of people.
it can be serious.
comes with sunshine and rain.
comes with the good and the bad.
it is life.
it is what you choose to make of it.


I choose to see the beauty.

Tree Sweater Pictures

There is a local fiber artist, Suzanne Tidwell who has recently brightened up the downtown area of Redmond by putting sweaters on the trees. Don't you just absolutely love art?

This exhibit is amazing. To call this a labor of love, would be an understatement.

I begged my Fab 4 to cooperate for a photo shoot here and had to promise them the world so they would deliver. I guess my years of constant documenting with a camera is not something they appreciate. Hmm... I can't imagine why?

Well, they did cooperate, and I am happy to report that I now have some updated close up shots of them. It's been about 5 years, but ya know better late than never.

Solomon was the odd man out of that shot. Oops!

EMP

There is this place; Experience Music Project here in Seattle that I was introduced to over a year ago, when my Brother Greg and girlfriend Tanya came for a visit.

It is filled from top to bottom with all things music and entertainment. One of my favorite things about this place, other than the tree of guitars, is the exhibit on Jimmy Hendrix.

I am a Hendrix fan. I have always been a Hendrix fan. Well, ok maybe not when I was a baby, or a 8 year old girl with piggy tails, but somewhere around the time that I was a zit faced teen. So that's like, a really long time. Sidenote- now I am a zit faced thirties something! Just thought you might like to know.

Recently, when I brought my good friend Dre and her three girls there she pointed out this the beginning lyrics to the song "Straight Ahead" that Hendrix wrote. I thought it was so cool.

If you can't make out what it says, let me repeat that for ya.

"You got to tell the children the truth.
They don't need a whole lot of lies.
Because one of these times they'll be running things.
So when you give them Love you make it right.
Woman and Child, Man and Wife.
The best Love to have is the LOVE for life."



IF you haven't heard the song, here ya go.

HOpe you Enjoy, and get your Groove thing on.

Use What You Have

I don't know if you have noticed, but one of my favorite things to do in the whole world is to "use what I have" to make something new. In other words, I really like to recycle.

Currently, if you were to come over for a tall glass of water, or some yummy pink lemonade, you would drink out of recycled sauce jars. That's right we use glass jars for our drinking glasses. Nothing really outstanding about that, people have been doing that for years. Some might think that looks "ghetto" and to them I would say, in a very mature fashion..."You're ghetto!"

Another thing we recycled recently were some old cabinet doors. We took these cabinet doors that had a perfect square in the middle and painted that square with chalk paint. Then we decorated the outside border with craft paper and modge podge glue and, Wha-lah! Christmas gifts for the whole family :) Cause everyone needs their own chalk board.

I love to recycle old picture frames and use them to put my favorite quotes in them. The one pictured below was a frame that was outside of my favorite thrift store, sitting on top of the trash can. The people who bought it obviously took what they needed from it and left it there to die. I rescued the frame and put this quote in it; "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now, and make a brand new ending."

What makes me really happy is that my children have taken this "use what you have principle" and have come up with some of their own favorite things to recycle. The picture below is a city scape of Seattle that Solomon made out of the cardboard that came with some gadget. He gave this masterpiece away to a friend, and well... I was a little jealous, cause I wanted it for my recycled collection.

I guess somehow he picked up generosity as well. Dag-nab-it! I mean whoo hoo!

I am determined learn how to build with all the scrap wood we have around this place, because the possibilities are endless. My Giant built a whole fence from the trees and branches around here. Solomon built his tree house from scrap wood. And I have so many pins, on pinterest... so many pins... so little time for future items I want to keep this trend going with.

To share with you how giddy I get when we are able to use everything that we have for something else is what I am trying to express here.
William Morris famously instructed that you should “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

That, and I hope to redeem myself in the Hippie department. In case after this post;
Hippie Wanna Be you were beginning to doubt that I really do have an ounce or two of hippie in me.
Well, now ya know I do :)

Revisiting The Word Determination

At the beginning of this year, I decided not to have a New Year's resolutions, but rather to pick a word that would encompass my over all goals for 2012. You can find the post about it here;
Determination

Determination, the word I chose to highlight my year is one that I have had to revisit recently as I am now on my third week of Lent and finding it hard to stick with my fast.

I still have another 3 weeks to go, and although I am confident that I will finish well, I have had to be "Determined" about what it is exactly that I want this fast to do.

I read yesterday in John 5, where Jesus is at this pool that sick people used to hang out by, hoping to get healed. They would wait for the water in the pool to stir, and when it did the first one to get in the pool would be healed from whatever ailment was bothering them. If you don't know the story check it out. It's a little hocus pocus if you ask me, don't quite understand why a pool would bring healing, but whatevs!

Back to my point, in this story there is a man who can never get up quick enough to be the winner in the hocus pocus pool, so he is left with his disability, and a good portion of self-pity, Eeyor-ish attitude. Anyone who has had chronic pain, or a lifelong disability I am sure can relate to how he was feeling.

Jesus comes in one day and says, "Do you want to become well?"

Hmm...

My initial response to reading this was, 'Well of course he wants to get well Jesus'. But then I started to think about a whole other side of this story. Like, would if Jesus knew, because he knows everything, that this man was just coming up with excuses? Maybe, he enjoyed the attention he got, the pity party was more fun than real life party, hanging out by the pool had become so comfortable it was scary to think of leaving??? These are all thoughts that maybe Jesus knew about this man and so that's why he asked him;

"Do you want to become well?"

It made me think of how many times I set out to do something to get healthier and in the end give up.

I am nothing, if not consistently, inconsistent. (Say those last 2 words 5 times fast)

So if I take that story and apply it to myself, I would say, Yes I want to get well. I want to be the person who forever changes my lifestyle habits, and never returns to my former ways of life. I want to be the "dog that does NOT return to it's vomit"

I want to be consistent.

I want to be determined.

I want to get well.

Who Do You Listen To?

Recently a huge media outbreak was heard across the world regarding the Kony 2012 campaign. If you haven't heard about this yet, it means that you are not on the computer much, you don't participate in social media's, and once again you are my hero. Or maybe,quite possibly, you're camping out under a rock somewhere, and in that case can I come and join you? I'm joking of course, but either way, if you haven't heard about Kony and you are interested, you can watch the video about it here a few posts below. I think that this post will make more sense if you do.

Moving on...

With my recent awareness about Joseph Kony, I was reminded again about a conversation that I have had many times with My Giant, My Fab 4, other youths(New Girl quote... Schmitt... YOUTHZ... that was for you Shontell) and, well now with you.

The topic here that I want to talk about is who do you listen to? And not just listen to, but who do you obey? That word obey might throw a few of you off, but let me explain.
When my kids were little a friend of ours used to say to her children, "Listen and Obey." I stole that phrase from said friend so quick and adopted it as my own, because... it's not just listening that we need from our children but obedience. We need our children to listen to what we say first, and then we hope they choose to obey. So in regards to us grown children in life, we listen to a lot of people out there, but who do we obey. Or if you really can't get past that word obey, then who do you prefer when it comes down to making a decision about your life?


When the world at large has so many opinions about every topic under the sun, who do you choose to listen to? You can take one topic like the Kony Campaign and spin it a million different ways, but in the end who do you choose to believe? Who's opinion means more to you? Do you listen to the boy in the video who's brother was killed by Joseph Kony, or do you listen to The woman from Uganda clearly defending the country that she loves? Or maybe, you choose to live under a rock... dunno.



This week I read a passage from the bible, found in 1 Kings 19 that reminded me once again who I should listen to, and who I should obey. After watching something like the Kony video, you can't help but listen to the cries of innocent children, but how should I respond was my thought? This passage reminded me not only of WHO I listen to, but again, HOW I should listen. When other voices are so loud, what I should listen for was found there in 1 Kings 19? I think we have to begin there on this topic, because some of us don't even realize we are listening to anything that directly affects the decisions that we make. Some of us have been so far removed from the author and finisher of our faith, that we have forgotten how to listen for when he speaks.

The story that is referenced here is the story of Elijah the prophet. The chapter before 19 talks about Elijah's astounding faith and trust in God, and then so quickly he forgets how to listen. He listened to faith in chapter 18 and in the beginning of 19 he is listening to FEAR. Oh how FEAR can motivate, but that's a topic for another day. Elijah, He is tired of life. He is weary from the evil he sees in the world. He is ready to curl up into a ball and die because the evil seems to be too BIG, and he feels so small. He is ready to live under that rock. And this is what happens;

"Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave."

This is a famous scripture that speaks to us all about how we can hear God. When we don't know who else to listen to, we should wait for the whisper. God is usually not in the big windy storms of media, he's not in the earthquakes of news shattering YOU Tube videos, He doesn't generally speak through the Fire of Nancy Grace(sorry Mom), but in the quiet gentle whispers to our souls he speaks to us all.

What he says to you might be different than what he says to me, and that's okay.

What you feel led to participate in I might not touch with a 10 foot pole, and that's okay.

What he quickens in your heart to become a passion for life, might not make sense to me, but that's okay.

When faced with a decision about who it is you should listen to, wait for the gentle whisper.

He will always speak LOVE.
He will always motivate on the side of GRACE.
He will give HOPE.

And He will be In the gentle whisper.

He speaks to us all in a whisper to our individual souls and whether we choose to respond is what makes the world a better place. When we listen to the Lover of Our Souls, The world changes. He will always speak, we just have to quiet out the other voices to hear the whisper.

Listen for the whisper.

Photo Editing

I have recently been playing around with some free photo apps on my computer, and I gotta tell ya... I could spend countless hours doing so.
Here is just one of the finished products that took a good portion of my Saturday afternoon.

Hope you all enjoy it!

Pictures

What a Stay at home mom does with her day. My desk clearly had become the drop off zone and was in much need of some attention.

Did you know that you could put sweaters on Trees? Well you can, and they did here in Redmond. It was a photo op that couldn't be passed up.

Raddest pair of Rainboots that I have seen so far.

That girl right there, she just went through another growth spirt and is now taller than me and way too pretty. I am going out tomorrow and buying some sackcloth and mucking up her hair in the night, and what else can I do to stop this beauty from being seen?? Anyone? Anyone? Sigh... I know, I know... nothing. Play John Mayer's song Stop This Train song here please.

Look. Spring has sprung. Are you ready for some Spring? Do you have a Spring in your step? I do.

Kony 2012

Have a box of kleenex ready, and an open heart ready to change the world.

Pictures

Big and Little Levi's make me happy :)

This is what Bella looks like when I tell her she's not TOP DOG!

Me and My Giant in the city that I love.

Umm... This boy, right here, He is his father's son.

Is there anything better than a silly boy who likes to pose in pictures to make the rest of the world smile?

Ahh, Well... maybe a big Giant boy and a little tiny dog is better than a silly boy. No, maybe they are both great.

You know what else is pretty great? A tree of guitars. I mean really, don't you think that is so cool? IF you come visit me I will take you to the tree of guitars. Yes, that was a bribe. I promise I'm good for it.

Newest member of the Scofield clan. The black dog. His given name is Riot. We have adopted him. He is superb. Even his tongue is black. Weird, but cool. We call him Briot, or Bryan, or Darkness, or....

My Love for David Letterman

A note to Big Man Dave


I love how you hold a pencil in your hands, freshly sharpened I presume.

I love your top 10 lists, always and forever. There are no words in the English language to describe my love for the top 10 that you produce, not only produce, but it's how you deliver.

I love how you tweet.

You are a words smith.

I love how you remind people of their past, (so as not to forget where they came from), with pictures.

I love how you make people nervous. You are not that intimidating. I wouldn't be nervous to meet you. I would like to meet you someday.

And now a note to my readers...

Do you watch late night television? If so, who do you stay up late for?

What are your favorite television shows?

If you could see one live television show which one would you choose?

The Wells in this Life

I have been camping out in a story that is one of my favorites in the bible. It's the story of when Jesus comes to a well in a Samaritan town and asks for a drink from a woman. Right away, Jesus the rebel, is on a roll. Because, here he does two things that in that day and era were not acceptable behavior for a Rabbi. He is not to drink from this well because Jews didn't associate with Samaritan's let alone drink from their wells.
Kinda like on the east coast there are certain neighborhoods still to this day I am told, that if you are Irish walking down the street in an Italian neighborhood, you better watch your back. And you certainly wouldn't want to enter an Irish pub, if you are wearing Italian colors!

Well, and then he wasn't supposed to be speaking to this woman, or A woman for that matter.

If you think Jesus wasn't a rebel, think again.
He most certainly was a rebel in his day. He bucked the system around every corner of his life, and he did it with a passion and a purpose. I don't mean to say he went around aimlessly causing trouble, but he definitely knew where to stir some stinky pots. And this was a pot he thought should be stirred. He knew there were some things that it was good to rebel against.

Back to this story. I have always loved this story because right from the start Jesus exposes his humanity first. He says to the woman, "I am thirsty". He asks her for a favor. He's been walking and he really needs a drink. Often times I think we overlook this about Jesus. He was both God and Man. Fully God. Fully Man. It's a mystery that I will study for the rest of my life. I think this must have put this woman at ease a little. It would have been like a celebrity asking YOU for your autograph. She probably thought it was funny, and I am sure right away she could see this man was different.

I am sure she is also shocked by his request because she knows he's not supposed to be talking to her so she points out the obvious and says, "But you don't have anything to put the water in" There's a song coming on here. Wait for it... wait for it... (There's a whole in your bucket dear Jesus, dear Jesus) sorry I couldn't resist. Or like, you don't have a pen for my autograph, silly!

***Jesus cuts the small talk at this point and then goes on to describe to her that all who drink from that well will be thirsty again, but there is another well with "Living" water that he could give her so that she will never thirst again.

Hmm....

Well you don't have to ask this woman twice to take this "Living" water that he speaks of. She's no dumby. She knows if she gets water that she doesn't ever get thirsty from again, then she will never have to do this chore of going to get water again. And if she never has to do this chore of getting water again, then her life would be made that much easier. And this lady, she could use a little "easy" in her life. Couldn't we all use a little "easy"?

Also, this chore, well it's one that this woman in particular really doesn't like.
She doesn't like the chore of getting water because it means that she has to go somewhere where only women will be. Sometimes women... well they can be catty. And she has had her fair share of catty women. It's like baby showers, with only women. Bridal showers with only women. Hair Salons, only women. Most PTA meetings, only women. You get the idea. If you are women who other women admire, these events, this chore is no big deal. She was not. She preferred to hang out with the men. But, Men didn't do this chore of going and getting water apparently.

Hmmm men who don't do chores? Wait... Don't let me get off topic here.

Ok, so when she ASKS for the "Living" water Jesus immediately wants to know what other well in her life she's been drinking from. So he says to her this,

"Go call your husband and come back here"

Some might think that Jesus was being a tricky trickster with that remark, but I see it as him just wanting... (another song coming on here)... "to get down to the heart of the matter" He wants to know if she will be honest about what other well has been feeding her soul.

She knows the bitter truth about her life.

He knows it to.

Don't we all know the bitter truths about our lives?

We know there are other wells in life that we draw from that are neither healthy, nor truly satisfying in the end. We are left wanting, thirsting for more.

The wells of life come in all shapes and sizes.
They can look like;

Husbands.
Shoes.
Drugs.
Wives.
Clothes.
Alcohol.
Health,Fitness,Our Looks.
Cars.
Money.

You get the idea.


Jesus knows that before we can truly receive "Living" water we have to be honest with him and ourselves about what other wells in our lives we have been looking to.

Because don't we have to admit to the truth before we can receive healing?

We have to say it out loud.


She says;
"I don't have a husband" In fact she's had 7 and the man she lives with now isn't even her husband. What would you say is this woman's well? Approval of Man, Lust,??

After she admits the truth, she tries to distract Jesus.
Psh... like you can distract the Lover of your Soul.
But don't we try?
Sometimes the truth hurts and we want Jesus to look away.

He doesn't.
You know what else he doesn't do?

Jesus doesn't condemn.
He doesn't scorn.
He looks with love.
He says, I am what you are looking for.
Your search is over.
You can stop wandering in the wilderness.
Come and drink and finally be satisfied.

"I am empty but I know your well does not run dry"

John 4

Table Topics

A few weeks back my friend Andre came up for a visit and one day while she was here I whisked her away for a little one on one time. We had a fun date by the beach, in and out of novelty shops, getting coffee, and eating sushi together. We've never eaten sushi together before because I never used to eat sushi. I do now. I like it. It's really great. I now know what the buzz was all about. It's only taken me a few 20 years to catch on. I'm a slow learner.

Anyways, one of the shops we went into was in Kirkland. It was this great little shop that had everything from fancy quotes around every corner(i love the new trend of words everywhere btw), furniture, something called a gurgle pot(i want one just can't decide on what color),amazing smells, lotions, candles, fabrics to die for, and fun cutesie kid stuff.

http://www.gurglepot.com/

I restrained from buying up the whole entire store. It was hard, but you would have been proud. I showed great self control in this here lil place, so cute.
I did however buckle when I saw a cute little box labeled Table Topics.

http://www.tabletopics.com/

This was listed as one of Oprah favorite things and I am sure that is why it is now a famous item because anyone of us could have come up with this idea. In fact I think I kinda did. We used to have a tradition called "Highlights" where we would tell our highlights from the day and then if there was any low lights those were added as well. I should get a patent on this now, so that Oprah can't take the credit for my great idea. Anyways, it was just our families way of getting conversations started. But now we have Table Topics. It is a box full of questions that get conversations around the dinner table started. Whoever sits down first gets to read the first question and this gets the ball rolling.

One of the questions that was asked last night was;

"If you weren't afraid of what would happen what would you do?"

I realized once again how much my life has been driven by fear.
I wish so much that I was not given over to the fearful nature that is within me, but it's been a work in progress.

I am afraid to swim, sky dive, ski, and many other athletic related actions. That was my answer last night. I said I would learn to swim, sky dive, and ski if I wasn't afraid of certain death that would come knocking at my door if I tried to do any of those things.

What about you?

What would you try if you weren't afraid?

I used to be afraid to try sushi because of the allergic reaction that might take place all over someone else's plate. Eww... gross sorry ;(

I am no longer afraid of sushi.
In fact, I now really, really, enjoy sushi.

Kinda makes me think what else I might be missing out on.

My, "I didn't get to watch the Oscars"... Review :)

Those of you who know me and My Giant know this; HE HATES, no LOATHES, award shows of any kind.

SO last night while you all were watching the most televised award show known to man, I was watching... The Colony. It's our new favorite end of the world kind of show. LOL. That is my life.
NO award shows unless the Giant is not at home.

It's ok, I have come to terms with this it's just that, I really love award shows.

There have a been a few documented times when I have watched an award show LIVE, because My Giant wasn't home, but those occurrences are as rare as a lunar eclipse. It happens, just not very often.

I am left to get the highlights the morning after, and I am sure if I scowered the internet I could find some re-run show, but it's just not the same as a Live show. Alas, I am forced to watch morning television shows to get my information, and of course the handy dandy WWW.

And although I didn't watch I have a few comments:

First- Of the 9 movies that were nominated I have only seen 2, The Help and MoneyBall.
I know, I don't get out much:) Both of those, I felt deserved their spots on the list, but I'm really not sure why The Artist got best picture? Could someone please explain?

Second- I am so super happy that our girl from The Help, Octavia Spencer won.
That was a hard choice for me because one of my other favorite nominations was Melissa McCarthy, from Bridesmaids. But, in the end don't ya think the Academy got it right?

And Finally- Who do you think was the best dressed? The morning news is saying J Lo, but well... I mean I didn't really get to see them all myself... but I would have said Emma Stone. A red head, in a red dress... simply stunning!

Can you tell I've been watching morning television?

Adventures with Allie #1

I thought I would start off this first "Adventures with Allie" by saying, that when we were teenagers there was never a dull moment. Hence the word, Adventure. Life is always an adventure with Allie. For real, no joke, just ask her mom.

***And second a disclaimer, if my children or her children are reading this, or YOU if YOU are a child/teen, I do not recommend you try these pranks at home. Or Outside your home. Or anywhere, ever, never!!

I mean it!

I am raising my eyebrow, that's how you know I mean it!

Do not do this at home.

That being said, BOY HOWDY, did we ever have so much fun, and if you do decide to do this don't skimp on the Toilet Paper, you'll only be sorry that you did!!

This would be the first of many pranks that I remember with my Allie Dawl.

Let me set the stage for you.

It was youth group night at Jamie and Judy's. They lived in Carson City in a great big house on Arrowhead Way. We gathered there once a week for a bible study, and well, we would try to sing, but Doc the Westons Cocker Spaniel would chime in and then it was all over. We would then just turn into a bunch of giggly teens, and it would be past the point of no return.

"We" (at first) consisted of Jamie, Judy, Carl, Allie, Noel, Jentry, Chad, Matt, and sometimes if we were so lucky The Vendelin boys.
So this particular night "we" consisted of the above listed, minus the V-boys. It was one of our first gatherings. I was still getting to know this group, and so I was happy that Allie was so friendly. Little did I know just how friendly or how brazen she could be.

I'm not exactly sure how long Allie had planned to TP Carls truck that night, but what I do know is that I got dragged into the fun. It is at this point that I would like to point out that Carl was not a teen. Oh no. He was a HUGE, GIANT, BIG, VERY TALL youth group leader. I feel you need to know this information for future reference.

You also need to know that I was not the type of girl that TP'd anything,(that was sister Jen's gig) let alone a GIANT Leaders, truck. But Allie, well she has a gift. She actually has several gifts, but the one that I am talking about here is her persuasion gift. She is a good convincer that Allie dawl. Let me tell ya, she has skills in the convincing department. There used to be a time she could convince me to do anything. And I do mean anything. Really, her convincing me to do things I'm not so sure I want to do, is a big part of our friendship. It's been kind of an ongoing challenge I think on her end, and frankly she wins most of the time. She never lost the challenge back then. And up Until right about now... she started talking about marathons, and running. She lost me at running! hee hee hee. If you see us with numbers on our backs running the beaches of sunny California... well then you know she struck again.

Anyway, Allie took me aside and told me what she was up to and I half not knowing what was happening, and half giddy on adreniliene, blindly took the roll of TP. And then before I knew it there I was outside wrapping Carls truck up in the fluffy white stuff. We were working fast so as not to get caught, but apparently not fast enough because at some point they noticed that 2 of the 3 girls that were there that night were missing. It never occurred to us, that with such a small group the lack of our presence would be noticed so quickly. We never really were good with math equations. Well, and then it happened. We were caught, red handed, and here came Big Ol Carl bolting out J&J's front door.

I almost crapped my pants.
You have to remember, This was back before the days of me being used to Giant people.
I was scared.
I was nervous.
I thought, oh man... who ? what? where? how?
And then I realized I could climb inside Carl's truck and lock the doors and just wait while Allie took the beating.

I know.
I'm a giver.
I will always have your back in a TP-ing situation.

Psh... I jumped inside the bed of that truck so fast, and I was safe. Phew.

But wait, OH NOOOOOOO!!!
Allie was stuck and outside and "SHE WAS A RUNNING" said like Forest Gump :)


I bet you can imagine the end of this.
He was a Giant with long legs.
She was a little itty bitty with little legs.
Yep, 2 Giant steps and he caught up with her.
And then, well, then his Giant heart kicked in and he gave her countless noogie's or something of that sort and all was well again.

I didn't come out of the truck for a very long time :)
AND Carl still scares me. Giggle, no not really. Ok maybe a little.

Lent

I am preparing for Lent to start tomorrow.
I have celebrated the season of Lent actively as an adult for the past 3 years now.
But, when I was younger my family as Catholics would observe lent.
It didn't really make sense to me in my younger years as a Catholic, so I abandoned the practice all together when I became an Evangelical Christian.
Now,today as a grown woman, not affiliated with any religion I think I get it.


And so I ask myself this,What does giving up something do for my walk with God?
I realize now it's not about getting some kind of spiritual eternal brownie points.
And that it doesn't make me a better follower of Christ to participate.
I know that if I don't participate(as I didn't for many years) I'm not going to hell.

What I think it's about now is remembering a sacrifice so profound, it deserves our time and attention.
Remembering what was done so long ago, that it resonates still 2000 years later.
We have 6 weeks before Easter Sunday. 40 days where we can remember the greatest sacrifice, by the sacrifice we make.
Whatever is given up is gained a thousand times over in ways that can't be measured.
It's and act of worship.


And today I read this in My Utmost for His Highest;
"There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him even small gifts of surrender, just to show how genuine our love is for Him. To be surrendered to God is of more value than our personal holiness. Concern over our personal holiness causes us to focus our eyes on ourselves, and we become overly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, out of fear of offending God. “. . . but perfect love casts out fear . . .” once we are surrendered to God (1 John 4:18). We should quit asking ourselves, “Am I of any use?” and accept the truth that we really are not of much use to Him. The issue is never of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. Once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time."

I realized along time ago that my stinky flesh is of no true use to God.
He could use anything or anyone to accomplish his plans and purposes.
No, I know that mine is not your model life for Christianity.
I'm not your perfect, cookie-cutter Christ follower.
I am however, so in love with Jesus.
I am still after all these years longing to know more about this God-man.
His life, death, and resurrection is still what gets me up in the morning.


And so I celebrate Lent to take time out of my routine life.
To remember why I am here.
Pondering on what He did for me, FOR ME.
Thinking back upon the greatest love of all time does my heart good.

The Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love

Do you need to laugh?
Do you want to read about Love, but not in a mushy gushy Valentinezee way?
Well, then do yourselves a favor, right now go out and buy this book.

Or IF you really want this book stay right where you are. Don't go anywhere.
Plant yourself down for some blog reading, and play a little game with me.

It's a new month, and time for a new game with prizes.

So here is a new game for you who DON'T have to be on FB to win.

In fact if you are faithful reader you might not even need to use the Label cataloging system to your right. You might have the answer in your very own noggin, because you have read it here before. Or you might know the answer(Sister Jen) because you were there when I bought the book.
Or you might know the answer (Shontell) because you were referenced in the blog that has the answer.

Here's what you need to do to play this game:

First- use the Label section on my blog to your right, or at the bottom of this post.

Second- find a way to decode what other BOOK or BOOKS or BOOK REVIEW I have done on another Jill Conner Browne BOOK.

Finally- leave your answer in the comment section below.

First one to get it right will not only win my own personal copy of Book of Love but another few sur- prizes as well.

Good luck!

Have fun!

And may the best Sweet Potato Queen Wanna Be win :)

Oh, and one more thing; Who or What is your go to book, movie, comedian when you want to laugh??

I want to know.