I got the pleasure of an entire day with her. I present to you: Bestie Adventures ~ MySpace Style
Okay. Just kidding. THIS is my very angelic BFF!
Got up in time to make it to second service at church. As is the tradition - everything was different than normal. Happens every.single.time I visit. Or, almost every.single.time.
Breakfast at Jack-In-The-Box. Cause ~hello~ I'm in California.
We stopped at Brandy's House. It's not really Brandy's house. But we want it to be Brandy's house.
Lunch at PF Chang's. Be thankful we took our shot at this end of the horse. The other end is heart-shaped. Not making that up.
Here we found a reflective door and became obsessed with ourselves as one is wont to do when looking at such beauty.
Dinner at The Spaghetti Factory. It's not really a factory.
I took this picture especially for my sweet Mother-In-Law. This statue is for sale in the biggest indoor flea-market I've ever visited. See him holding his own pricetag? You're welcome.
I am blessed to be a part of what I believe has to be the best chapter of PWOC in the entire organization. There is a sub-ministry at our PWOC called Hearts@Home. It was piloted by an awesome lady several years ago for the purpose of supporting and encouraging PWOC sisters whose husbands are deployed or geographically separated for extended periods, and has blessed over a hundred women since its inception. I have been one of those women, and am currently again. It takes different paths depending on who is in charge that year and how God is leading them. Can I just tell you that this is an amazing ministry?! Today I went to PWOC and was handed THIS!
Isn't that cute?? Well WAIT! There's more! Our lovely H@H Ministry Team Leader said, "This is dinner for you!" "It's WHAT??" That's right. Dinner. I hugged it. I would hug her, but seriously. This was dinner. Already planned and made. Right in my hands. And I had to do none of the thought or preparation. Let me unwrap it for you so you can see inside...
Underneath the bag of rolls? A giant container of home-made corn chowder.
But WAIT! The wrapping was a table cloth! So, we set the table up RIGHT. Scarecrow and scripture note became the center piece, and we busted out the fauxfiestware dishes.
The scripture the scarecrow is holding is Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you..
We added butter for the bread, milk to drink and green salad. The plates were empty at the end. There was also just enough left that will serve us another meal!
Do you know those days where you dread the dinner hour? The ones where you haven't planned for anything, don't know what you're going to do, and then you get to the dinner hour and have to face the music? Have you ever been able to apply Jeremiah 29:11 to that?? "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.
I did! And let me just tell you people, this was NOT one of those days for me! I spent almost the entire day knowing that dinner was planned AND made ~ and not by me ~ and that caused me glee every time I thought of it!
But, S4J - "What's the milestone you speak of??" I'll tell you!
None of us have EVER eaten ANY manner of chowder in our lives. Let's face it; the word 'chowder' itself is gross. It gives a yucky connotation and does not make one want to eat it. Nevermind the fact that it is often preceded by the word 'clam'. EW. Just EW. And if I am being perfectly honest, when I saw it, I was a little bit afraid that we would be starving that night because none of us would actually eat. But we all braved up and tried it. Which is pretty amazing AND we liked it too! How about that?
PS - although I am speaking about H@H specifically here, I want to also let you know that I have been blessed by friends who have brought us a meal (or me a pleasant treat in a cute little bag) - and mind you we do not live on post or even close to post - or prepared us a meal in their home. For some people, this is a nice blessing. For me it is a MAJOR blessing. I feel incredibly cared for and loved over by the people in my life and wish that I could truly describe to them what they are doing for me. It's a way that they have come alongside me and "helped me carry my books" if you will. I'm not talking about the spelling workbook either. I am talking about the American History textbook. It's not the whole backpack, but that's a big chunk of my load.
To S4J, Dinner meal = American History textbook
I am so relieved and thankful to have it carried for me once in a while.
Walking through Walmart with the twins and my new fly glasses on and walked through the Men's section. I walked up to a coat and hugged it and asked, "Do you think it's weird that I am hugging this and thinking of Daddy?" Girl twin nearly melted right into the floor of embarrassment. That had me laughing all the way home.
I'm trying to work into a healthier lifestyle. Practically speaking, it's not realistic for me to think that I am going to be able to maintain a diet free of sweets and fats, sooooo I am working toward healthier alternatives that will actually satisfy and not just annoy me for having wasted my time on something I didn't like and did not take away my craving. Today I baked these cookies and I find them to be a good alternative to my favorite fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies. I actually feel full after having had 3.
WHAT? I had to taste-test them.
According to the recipe they are 80 calories each and have protein AND dietary fiber in them.
My substitutions: Light Brown Sugar instead of Brown Sugar (cause that's what I had on hand) Diabeti Sweet instead of Granulated Sugar I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light (I like it, but it's only 37%) instead of Trans Fatfree vegetable oil spread (60% to 70% oil) Whole Grain Wheat Flour instead of All-purpose Flour Milk Chocolate Chips instead of Bittersweet (62% cacao) or semisweet chocolate chips (because I like them better and they are the same value)
We have officially entered a new phase in our lives: We are in the first week of what we believe to be the last deployment we will ever have to endure. It's so cool to be able to look back over the last fourteen years of our marriage and the separations that we have made it through and know (barring an act of God or stop-loss) that this will be the last. It's also a new experience for us. Every separation before this one, we knew there would be more. If my calculations are correct, by the end of this deployment we will have spent the equivalent of four years of our marriage geographically separated due to my husband's job. I am so proud of the man that I have married and the way that he has unselfishly and unfailingly served his country and provided for his family. Blessings on your day,
I have been given the amazing privilege of writing for the international level of the Christian women's organization I am a part of, Protestant Women Of the Chapel and today they posted a blog that I wrote a while back. A very timely reminder. Go have a look, and stay a while. It's a great place to be....
Yesterday I had the pleasure of having an Upper GI Series with Barium swallow and baking soda crystals.
"What NOW S4J? Seriously, don't you have something else to do besides go to the doctor?"
I really do. But the reality is I have an earthly body that has seen some natural destruction due to life, genetics, aging and environment and general misuse and abuse on my part and that means sometimes things fail. My current ailment list is kind of lengthy and boring so I won't list them now, and I promise to update when test results are in and we know something conclusive. For the purpose of today's post I will tell you that I have been experiencing chronic severe heartburn (at least it feels severe to me) so I went for a series of x-rays in which they take pictures up and down the upper gastrointestinal organs; esophagus, stomach and something else I can't remember the name of. This is not a medical show people. This is done in different ways depending on the particular purpose of the tests. In the case of this series for me, they first gave me some baking soda crystals to 'shoot' (not kidding. that's what the tech said) She described these as being just like pop-rocks candy from when you were a kid. Except you don't keep them in your mouth, you need to get them straight to your throat and swallow them so they can start making lots of air in your tummy and you are not allowed to burp it out even though you will really feel like it. Swallow it back down.
But I am getting ahead of myself. Let's back up a little....
My day started like any other; Wake up, Husband is not there - he's in another state for work Take a shower Load the twins up into the van and follow the 16 year-old in the little purple car as she drives herself to school. *faints* Oh dear, I've already forgotten what I did next.
Okay fast-forward a little... I drive up to post to go to the hospital and see the yellow and white canopies that get setup for big events like redeployment ceremonies and fests and the like lined up along the blocked off half of the brand new additional parking. And that's when it starts. You folks who have been at Fort Polk know what's coming; the drive that will make you late for your appointment up and down and up and down and up and down the parking lot looking for a place to park. I kid you not, unless you were a childcare worker or a motorcycle there was not one empty space to be found in the first parking lot. So, I began the drive of doom through the second parking lot. God said, "My gift to you this morning is a nice long leisurely walk in beautiful weather. In order to receive this blessing, you will have to choose one of the last available spaces at the very end of the overflow parking. You're welcome."
Thank You Lord. I actually had plenty of time and was not feeling stressed other than being slightly aggravated at what seemed completely nonsensical blocking of parking they purposely built to help alleviate problems like this, I mean there was no country star with a big black hat and an amplifier crooning from those empty blocked off spaces, but who I am to say?
So to add pleasure to pleasure,(no really, it was a super lovely morning) as I was getting close to the entrance I came upon a friend who has been here a little longer than me and I don't see very often anymore and we had a lovely chat about the woes of facebook, friending/unfriending, crazy updates and the the two giant scars on either side of his ankle where he has had surgeries to correct what he broke in Korea. And then I saw that I now actually only had 9 minutes until my appointment. Okay okay time to go indoors.
Getting checked in was all very pleasant. I waited no time at all to be taken back and start the fun. "Here is the gown you need to change into, you may only keep your underwear and socks. Everything else must go. I will give you extremely quick instructions on how to install the gown with three arm holes onto your body and then send you off to work it out. Yes, you really have to lose the bra too even though it has no under-wire. You will be completely covered."
Some of you may know that I like to take pictures. This visit was an absolute gold-mine of photographic interest to me, but I figured (correctly) that I wouldn't really be able to get good shots of what I was doing and seeing while still making it possible for the techs to get the good shots of my insides that they needed. Plus, I really have no idea how, if at all, x-rays would affect my camera and whether cameras would even be allowed in. Given those odds, the camera stays at home. *sigh* However after manufacturing a third arm and getting all the little holes filled and in their proper places, I sat down in the chair and waited for the tech to finish her prepping and asked her if I could have brought my camera.
"Uhh, well....I don't think there are any rules against it...although no one has ever wanted to take pictures before....I suppose it could be done...."
*Methinks they have and just never asked*
I see that this post is turning rather long, so I will end here and get back to the story later because I have exciting news to share: I am published. :) PWOCI Blog . Look for "McWitness".
AND, I also wanted to share this song with you. It's a Hillsong United song, but I chose this video because these two are just too cute and sweet. It's a bit long, so turn up the volume and get some dusting done while you listen!
Well, first a little instruction. These posts are going to be just my thinking as it is ordered in my head, from one tangent to the next. When you see this ..., that is code for, "And then I thought..." And starting in the next post, the title will include the beginning and ending thought in the 'train ride'.
ALLLLLL ABOOAAAARRRRD.....
I want to go to Hawaii...there are lots of people I know there right now...I bet GGG would know all the right places to go...She would make a great travel writer...because *1* she loves to travel, *2* she is a very eloquent writer, *3* she is willing to try stuff...my travel book would be totally the opposite. It would have stuff in it like, "So the bathroom here at exit 2 was so clean! Be sure and schedule your stop there. Pick up snacks because you will be hungry once you get to the top of the crater. And there might be a restaurant at the top but it could be closed or it could only serve food that you would never in your life allow to pass your lips, and then you would starve and become cranky. Or dead. And don't forget bottled water and sunscreen. Don't dally looking at souvenirs on your way up or you won't make it to the crater before dark and then you won't be allowed to go. If souvenirs are that important to you, you can schedule some time on your way to the airport"...it might be fun to write a travel book with several writers who are friends and travel in different ways and do a Hawaii from four perspectives a day or something like that...what am I going to make for dinner tomorrow...oh it is 11:31pm and I am not nearly ready to go to bed...
Today I have the honor of wishing my husband a happy 37th Birthday. God has blessed me with a wonderful man with which to share my life. He's been so, so good to me.
Captain's Log: stardate 16 Aug 12:32am; No sooner had I closed transmission on Captain's Log then the offending illusive creature made its presence known. It was as though it was saying, "Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man." Well folks, I grabbed the closest thing I could find which happened to be clorox cleanup and served that sucker a cocktail. Now it is asleep and maybe I will be asleep too. 1st service comes mighty early. Happy Sunday all.
Captain's Log: stardate 16 Aug. 12:21am - There have been no sightings or 'hearings' of the enemy vulcan cricket. Crew thinks the diet coke frightened it straight out of the ship house. I remain skeptical. I will retire to quarters and let the next shift take over. out.
As our story this evening begins, we find our heroine on night 3 of trying to locate and remove the LOUDEST CRICKET THAT EVER LIVED from her kitchen. In the beginning, she thought that the cricket was outside the kitchen window. But alas, the origin of the sound has moved each night to somewhere else in the kitchen. It knows she is looking for it. You can tell by the dead silence that occurs when she comes within visual range of its hiding place. But alas, attempts thus far to get it to interact with an online decoy have failed. (that was a reference to the OTHER Catch a something show). Desperate and tired - but what's new there - she goes to the trusty world wide web to find recipes for poison that the cricket will eat but the dog will not. Well, maybe she only thought about poison and researched how to catch the cricket instead. She is now trying the first piece of advice. Drink most of the drink - any drink - out of a plastic bottle, leaving just a smidgeon for the cricket to take interest in. It will - according to the wonderful world wide web reference, enter the bottle thirsty and desperate for a drink of what our heroine is willing to share with it and find itself stuck and unable to exit. We leave our heroine slightly longing for that last swig of diet coke but rubbing her hands together in excited anticipation. Merry Friday to all and to all a good night. Well, except the cricket.
Breakfast at Jack-In-The-Box. Cause ~hello~ I'm in California.
We stopped at Brandy's House. It's not really Brandy's house.
Lunch at PF Chang's. Be thankful we took our shot at this end of the horse. The other end is heart-shaped. Not making that up.
Dinner at The Spaghetti Factory. It's not really a factory.
I took this picture especially for my sweet Mother-In-Law. This statue is for sale in the biggest indoor flea-market I've ever visited. See him holding his own pricetag? You're welcome.
