Tackle It Tuesday on Thursday

Oh my goodness! It's just 3 days before we start school and what have I gotten myself into? I had good intentions of just tidying up our school room - not such a big task. Well, I then got the brilliant idea to combine all of my school "stuff" into one closet. That means I had to empty out 2 closets upstairs and sort through everything that I have been collecting for the past 10 years. To call it a mess does not even do it justice. This is a month-long project that I'm going to have to cram into 3 days so if you need me for anything - you'll know where to find me. In my cave - for the next 3 days!!! I'm hoping to sweet talk Steve into building me floor to ceiling shelves to help me organize everything better.

Okay - this is quite pitiful. "M" asked me, "Mom, whose the pack rat in our family?" Sadly, I had to admit most of the stuff was mine. I even have saved every formal I have ever worn - whether it be from a high school dance (from OVER 20 years ago!) to bridesmaids dresses that I've worn to weddings (the last one being about 9 years ago!) So the first part to recovery is admiting that I have a problem - right?! The girls had a good time playing dress up and took turns wearing my wedding dress that I still have not taken the time to have packaged correctly at the cleaners - I should have only done that 16 years ago!!!

Oh - where do I start?! I think I'm getting light headed. To be continued...

Thursday's Meme

Outside my Window…
I see rabbits playing chase.


I am thinking…
I should get dressed and go workout.


I am thankful for…
Jesus, my family, good friends, I have a house to live in, clothes to wear (you should be thankful for that for me, too!), food to eat and that there is a Target that's only 5-10 minutes driving distance from my house ;-)


From the kitchen…
Chicken Putenesca (I recreated this from a dish I like to get at one of my favorite little restaurants, Stone Mountain Bistro)


Ingredients:

Linguine noodles - 8 oz.
Olive oil - 2 T.
Garlic, minced - 1 tsp.
1 - 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 - 4.25 oz. can chopped black olives
1 jar artichokes (drained)
1 - 7 oz. can sliced mushrooms
1/4 c. capers
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 cooked, chopped chicked breasts

Directions for cooking:
Cook the linguine noodles according to boxed instructions. In a separate, large skillet, cook garlic in heated olive oil for about 2-3 minutes. Pour in the rest of the ingredients. Finally add the cooked & drained linguine noodles. Simmer for 15 minutes then enjoy!

I am creating…
nothing at the moment but I have a long to-do list just waiting for me!


I am going…
to Disney soon. The girls can't wait!


I am wearing…
a long-sleeved OSU t-shirt even though it's August (somebody in my house likes to keep it really cold!)


I am reading…
Homeschooling at the Speed of Life (real exciting, I know.)


I am hoping/praying…
that Steve won't get layed off (he works for SemGroup who just declared bankruptcy) but if he does I pray that he'll find a great job that he loves. (Equal or better pay, stress-free and no travel would be nice, too!)


I am hearing…
Third Day playing on my playlist. (Did anyone watch them on Jay Leno Tuesday night?!)


Around the house…
the laundry - make it stop!!!


One of my favorite things…
Waking up early and doing my Bible Study on my back patio. The dew is still on the ground, the sun is coming out, the rabbits are frisky, the birds are chirping - love it!


A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…
We are starting school MONDAY so I'm mostly focusing on getting our school room clean and organized, new posters on the wall, put the August calendar up, copies made & lesson plans ready to go!


Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you…

Psalm 65:5-7 (New International Version)

5 You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,

6 who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,

7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.

Wordless Wednesday

Warm pie, happy home

One of my favorite memories of going to my grandparents house as a child was listening to their music. They were huge fans of big bands and swing jazz. And, with a little prompting, would sometimes even do a little jig for the grandkids. I found a blog called, "Warm Pie, Happy Home" that plays the same music they used to play. It's so relaxing to listen to & brings back fun memories.

Can God use you?

Noah was a drunk.
Abraham was too old.
Isaac was a daydreamer.
Jacob was a liar.
Leah was ugly.
Joseph was abused.
Moses had a stuttering.
Gideon was afraid.
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer.
Rahab was prostitute.
Jeremiah and timothy were too young.
David had an affair and was a murderer.
Elijah was suicidal.
Isaiah preached naked.
Jonah ran from God.
Naomi was a widow.
Job went bankrupt.
John the Baptist ate bugs.
Peter denied Christ.
Martha worried about everything.
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once.
Zaccheus was too small.
The Disciples fell asleep while praying.
Paul was too religious.
Timothy had an ulcer... and
Lazarus was DEAD !

I saw Garth & Trisha today ;-)

I live in the same town as country music greats Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood and am constantly hearing stories from people that live here how they see them all over town. Well, I have lived here for 10 YEARS now and I have NEVER seen them in person - that is until today! I saw them at the grocery store walking to their car. You'll be glad to know I kept my composure and didn't even ask them for their autographs. For some reason I thought that was blog-worthy ;-)

"Slow Fade" video by Casting Crowns

Before watching this video, please scroll to the bottom of this page and pause the music.

More high school reunion pics...

I just got my party pics in that I ordered from my reunion. This is too funny - the same guy that took our party pics at our high school dances also took our pictures at our reunion. I'm surprised he still wanted to put up with us ;-)





The next two are pics of me with my friends Andy & Tim. We had to "re-enact" a photo of us from high school to see how much we changed. Pretty funny!




Here we are doing just a little bit of dancing ;-)

And here's pictures of those who have passed from my class...


There are lots more party pics at www.picturethisphoto.com. Click on "View Proofs" and the password is: 20.

Cheer Camp with Miss Christine

Last Art in the Park of the summer :-(

Flashback Friday

Nov. 23, 1975
LOVE the wallpaper and check out the plaid on our couch! We could so have been on HGTV's Dream House ;-)

20 year reunion

My 20th high school reunion was this past weekend so you know I have to write about it! I had a great time catching up with friends and I'm so glad I went! Steve decided to stay home with the girls and hold down the fort while I was gone - which I don't blame him because most of the spouses looked so bored! I would have liked for him to be there but I brought pictures of the family - next best thing ;-)

My friend, Allana, flew in from Scottsdale Thursday and stayed the night with us, then we headed to OKC Friday afternoon. Of course we bee-bopped to our favorite 80's tunes from my i-pod on the way there and talked about memories we had from high school! Most of the reunion events were located downtown OKC so we stayed at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel (my new favorite old hotel!) with two other good friends from school, Jarae from Seattle and Tiffany from Portland - which brings me to a question...why are we still in Oklahoma?! Oh yeah - family ;-)

We were joined at the hotel by another good friend that I've known since I was in grade school, Debbie (one of my few rare friends still in Oklahoma!). And finally Cathy (who now lives in California!) also joined us. Most of us hadn't seen each other in about 10 years so we had a great time catching up!


Jarae, Tiffany, Cathy, Debbie, Allana & Christy @ the Skirvin - night 1

We then took our hotel limo (woo hoo!) to Rocky's for "dinner and dancing" - although there was no dancing ;-)





For the first hour I just kept repeating to myself, "Wow! I can't believe it's been 20 years since I've been out of high school!" It was so surreal! I recognized most people but a few I didn't and had to embarass myself & look at their nametag with their high school pic on it to remind me who they were! Most aged very well ;-)


Allana and Christy - 1987 prom


Christy and Allana - 2008


Christy and Kristi - 1976


Kristi and Christy - 2008

The next night, a whole bunch of gals from school met us at the hotel then we took the limo to the Farmer's Market - again for "dinner and dancing". This time there was a little dancing going on but my friends back home will be proud to know I did not dance even once on a table ;-) I had a great time and hope that I can stay in touch with my re-acquainted friends!

Wordless Wednesday

pillowig