Accountability

Back in January with the start of a new year I made the decision to try & read my one-year-Bible. I've begun this process many times before so didn't make a big deal of it, knowing in my head that discipline in this area is a problem for me. About a week into the year I told my accountability partner of my decision and she too began reading her one-year-Bible. She has succeeded at this before, but this time, her devotion in this project is not only self-motivated, it's to journey through this process with me, keeping me motivated along the way. I am so thankful for that. I realize we're only one-sixth of the way through this year, but today, I am still on track. Hopefully, I'll be able to update periodically giving account that this year, I too, am succeeding.

Thinking Back

We sang a lot in my house when I was growing up. Funny old songs that you've probably never heard of like "Sippin' Cider" or "Grandfather's Clock" or maybe "Titanic". It wasn't just my mom, her sisters taught their kids too so sometimes in strange moments my cousins & I have sung them together. My mom & her sisters even sing them in parts and rounds. These are all old songs their mom and grandma taught them. This is a part of my childhood that I look back on and it makes me smile. It may seem strange to many, but it's part of my family, part of my history.
There's this silly little ditty, a poem of sorts, that my mom, or maybe even my grandma, told me once as a child and I found it interesting enough to memorize. For some reason or another I was reminded of it yesterday, which reminded me of all those songs we used to sing, and it makes long for a different time and place....and it makes me smile.

One dark morning in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight.
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and fought each other.
A deaf policeman heard the noise
And came and shot the two dead boys.
If you don't believe this story is true,
Ask the blind man, he saw it too.

My Handbag

I was tagged by Kelly to share my purse with you.

Here's the rules:
1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are wearing today - not last weekend when you and your hubby went out to that fabulous restaurant. No cheating!!!
2. Tell us how much it cost. This is a no-judgment zone -- there will be no ridiculing or eye rolling here. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.
3. Now tag some fellow bloggers and link back to this post so people know why you are posting pictures of your bag.




I'm not super 'in' to accessories, but I do like myself a nice handbag, although I don't tend to switch them around a ton. The one I'm carrying right now wasn't cheap, but I didn't pay for it either...it was a Christmas gift...but I know it cost around $100...and it wasn't from Adam. Orange....if you've hung around much you know I ♥ Illini so Orange. is. Great! Big is popular right now, but I put way.too.much in a big bag to actually be utilizing one.





1. My wallet...full of receipts, punch cards, very little cash, some change and a few photos.
2. All my lip junk (to be fair...there is even more than I pictured...).
3. Lotion and hand sanitizer...(again...more than pictured).
4. Not pictured but is usually there, my Blackberry and my iPod Touch. Must Have.
5. Gum & cough drops.
7. My medicine cabinet (the little purple thing) as well as girl-stuf fand the square-ish thing on the left is the cloth for cleaning my glasses, and of course, Clinique face powder and a barrette.
8. And key rings (Illini orange one -- personal....red one -- work).
9. Last but not least, a camera...never know when you might need a picture. ;)

Now it's your turn! What's in your bag? I'm tagging:
Stacy
Emmy
Judy G.
Linda Lu
Jennifer
Shirley
Judy
Robin
Alicia W.
Aubrey

Some of you don't have a website, but I've tagged you in hopes that you'll post a comment at least telling of about your purse or you can facebook if you'd rather! ;)

President's Day

Today was a fun day. Kabe didn't have school so I took a vacation day and we ended up having an impromptu stay over and play day.

We spent some time outside at a park running around and playing catch. Even little Audrey had a good time.


Kabe had a blast!


From there we went to Skateland and played some laser tag. This was a first for Kabe and he thoroughly enjoyed it.


A fun-filled day was had by all!

Don't Waste Your Money

Trying to be more calorie conscious, I thought I'd give these new Special K Crackers a try. I bought the Tomato & Herb flavor thinking it might be nice for a change rather just plain 'ole multi-grain. I think I should have stuck with multi-grain. The Tomato & Herb are edible, but not fabulous. Tomato meets spice or salt it depends on the cracker. Needless to say, we won't be buying any more of these anytime soon.

Have you tried anything new that you can recommend?

A Good Night!

Adam & I don't usually go out for Valentines Day, but this year, we made arrangements for Kabe to hang out with our friend Aubrey and we went to see Taken at the theater. Kabe got to hang out with Aubrey and her friends Adam & Angie, along with the triplets and a couple other kids. He had a blast! His favorite part of the evening was hanging out with Adam, who documented the evening with his webcam.

Aubrey - I don't know what we're going to do without you!

I'd like to say

To all my friends & family....

and especially to these two.

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers

Sunshine and Perspective

After some bitterly cold weather and a bit of snow we've had some gorgeous weather here this week ... about 60 degrees. It's a refreshing change to see the sun for a bit in the middle of winter, even if only for a couple of days.

This morning as Kabe & I were rushing out the door, heading to work/school, he pushed the button to open the garage door which let the sun in. He exclaimed excitedly, 'Mom look! It's a bright sunny day! It's so beautiful out! And look at the way the sun is shining through those clouds....it's like a road map right up to God!'

If you know Kabe at all, you know this is his general outlook on life....he's such a positive, thoughtful child. What struck me about his statement this morning, is that I don't take the time to slow down and notice or be thankful God's handiwork. Today, I took notice. Thanks to Kabe.

Matthew 18:2-4 (New Living Translation)

2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Thank You!

Kabe got another package yesterday from Aunt Candice, Uncle Eric, Bre & Jayce yesterday. He loves to check the mail and the front door for packages. He sorts the envelopes everyday to check & see if there's anything in it for him - everyday. He *loves* mail. Keep in mind, he almost never receives any. So you can imagine his excitement when he actually had a package yesterday.



Can you imagine his excitement when he opened it up and found Transformers? Wow. He didn't put them down all night and thought he needed to take them to school this morning.


Thank you, Aunt Candice, Uncle Eric, Bre & Jayce! You're the best!

The White Stuff

Adam and Kabe both love the snow, which can lead to disappointment since we live in Illinois. We frequently receive forecasts for snow only find that the front moved north and missed us altogether.


This year has been a little different though, because we've had a pretty cold winter for our area, even having 2 1/2 days of canceled school because of the cold....that doesn't happen for our district and we've had a good amount of snow for our area. Now mind you, by no means is this snow even remotely close to the amount of snow received in Northern Iowa or Nebraska...but for our area of Illinois, enough for an eight-year-old to play in.

These are a couple pics I took on the way to work, in a very safe manner...not using the view-finder, I just put the camera above the steering wheel and took a picture & this is what I got.

See...not tons of snow, but enough for people around here to freak-out.

Retro-Post

A few weeks ago after an Illini Game, we got together with some friends and headed to a nearby town to an authentic German Restaurant, Bayern Stube. We've heard about this place for some time now and finally decided to try it out.




About half of our group have been before some only only once and some repeatedly.





Not only is the food authentic German, but once you walk in the door, you feel like you've stepped into another country. This place was all decked out...Wall-to-Wall, even the bathroom signs were German.




Of course, beer steins everywhere. And being German, they serve ale's by the pint. No stinkin' bottle for them. ;)









Having a selective palet, I chose to be a little safe and ordered the Rahmschnitzel, Tender sautéed cutlets of pork topped with a creamy white wine and fresh mushroom sauce,for sides, I chose German fries, Spätzle. What is Spätzle, you ask? German Egg Noodles....what more could a girl ask for?!?



Here's our gang. As you can see, we're pretty orange. It was a great day...an Illini win AND great food & fellowship! We did try the desserts as well. Adam & I shared the German Chocolate Cake..YUM, but I'm told the Strudel, Lemon Cake, are wonderful as well. A great group event!

Check this out!

I have a new look thanks to my friend Randa over at Just RK. Isn't it fun! If you're checking in via Google Reader or RSS, take a minute to visit my page.

On another note, I've been a negligent blogger lately on both this this and the Just Jen blog. It's been a little crazy, but I do have things to post and will be putting some stuff up this week...stay tuned!