Weekend Recap

J and I had the pleasure of hosting his two nephews this weekend while his sister was out of town. It's the first time we've had the responsibility of being in charge of children together so I was eager to see how we'd handle it (and whether or not the children would survive). We started off Saturday morning by going to Target to pick out a few "necessities" and ended up with a cart that looked like this:

This of course was before the giant tent and glow-in-the-dark soccer ball were thrown in. As I said, we had to get the necessities. After that we went to Gamestop where I made the mistake of staying in the car and letting all 3 boys pick out some video games. Let's just say I think the purchase at that store was more for my husband's benefit than anyone else's. We followed this up with a visit to the Sonic drive-thru, which is always a pleasant experience.
After we went home and played for a while, Grandpa came over and we decided to go to the Laser Tag/Arcade/Bowling place near our house. I think everybody had a great time.
I'm not sure who had more fun, him or the boys...

Grandpa and Shawn playing


After playing laser tag and a slew of arcade games, we cashed in our 667 tickets for 2 small bouncy balls, 2 plastic flash lights, 2 rope bracelets and 2 dolphin key chains, and decided to head home.
We ended the night by lighting up the fire pit and making smores which I think everybody enjoyed. Then J and the boys put up their brand new tent while I blew up the air mattresses in true roughing it fashion.




I had to get up early and head back in to work Sunday morning, but not before enjoying a pancake breakfast with these 2 boys

I think we all had a great time and are hoping we get the chance to do it again soon. They are such sweet boys (and they go to bed early!).
Hope you all had a great weekend!

Home sweet home (away from home...)

The past 40 hours of my life have been spent here:

My call room at the hospital. It's not too bad, and I'm just glad I have somewhere to rest and decompress! In addition to my lovely room are some great nurses, who never cease to keep me entertained.

Exhibit A: Audrey (AKA Swami) who I met last fall and seem to have a lot in common with. We both got married on the same weekend last March, and we both failed the great cracker challenge of 2010. But that's a whole different post.
The days leading up to this 2 day work-induced hibernation were actually quite productive. I went to the local sewing store in hopes that they could fix my machine, and instead ended up walking out of there with a brand new (FABULOUS) one. I think my mom is going to have sewing machine envy. It's a BabyLock Sofia and embroiders, monograms, and has all kinds of great functions. I went home right away and finished the kitchen curtains AND a baby blanket that was made for one of my friends. The blanket was a bit of a challenge, but overall I think it came out pretty well and I'm excited for her to see it.



I have a few new projects lined up that I'm eager to get started on , and I'm going back to the sewing store next week so they can give me a one on one tutorial on how to work my machine.
Overall it's been a productive week. Although, being stuck in the hospital hasn't been good for my wallet. I bought these cute shoes and purse online today:



At least they were on sale.
Have a great weekend!

Precious Time

So, as you can see it has been awhile again since my last post. I'd like to say it's because I've been doing really important work, or changing the world, or anything else worthwhile, but the truth is, I've been basking in the glory of working once a week. I've been staying up late reading books, going to bed without setting an alarm, going to the gym, spending time with some of my favorite children in the world, and overall enjoying life. Of course, I've also been fine-tuning my domestic skills like picking up the dry cleaning, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, and cooking. I mean, just last night I made fish sticks and sweet potato fries for dinner. Don't judge, I think it's J's favorite meal. His face lit up like a 4 year-old at Chuck E Cheese when he saw what I had made. Tonight we went out for dinner, because I wouldn't want to use up my newfound cooking skills all at once.

I've also been trying to finish some sewing and craft projects, but have been unsuccessful thus far. My sewing machine has decided to rebel against me before I could finish the curtains for the kitchen, an experience that has taken me to a new level of frustration. So tomorrow will consist of a trip to Joann's to see if they can help exercise whatever demon has taken residence in the bobbin holder thingy (yes, that is the official term) thus causing it to malfunction. Hopefully, I'll soon be able to post some pictures of my kitchen curtains hanging in all of their homemade glory.

Anyways, I've been trying to think of some fun things to post on the blog and one of the things I decided to do was post some weight-watchers friendly recipes that aren't entirely tasteless and boring (although it will be hard to top my fishsticks and fries feast). I've been in the gym every day and trying to eat healthy, and looking for some fun things to make (which unfortunately means staying away from my Pioneer Woman cookbook...). So if any of you have any recipes you'd like to contribute, email me and let me know!

Hope you all are having a great week. J and I are hosting his nephews this weekend while his sister is out of town and I'm really excited about it. I'll try and take some pictures and let you know how our first experience in parenting goes!

It's Been a While..

I tried not to look at the date of my last post, since my goal was to keep this blog updated fairly recently. I go back and forth between the understanding that most people really don't care about what I had for lunch or what I did at work or any other mundane details of my life. On the other hand, I wanted to keep this blog as a way to journal all of the events (exciting or otherwise) of my life, just to have something to look back on. So with that warning, here are all the fun details of my week!

I've actually had the past ten days off, because February 1st marked the beginning of my FABULOUS new schedule where I work 6 days of (24 hour) call at the hospital a month. That's right, I work full time and I only do 6 days a month. I told you it was fabulous. Anyways, I tried to cram a lot in this past week and a half and I think I managed to succeed. I had the pleasure of taking two of my favorite little girls to pain pottery on Tuesday at a fun place called "You Do the Dishes". You go in and pick a piece of pottery and sit down and paint it in whatever fun way you decide. Since I'm lacking the creative gene, this has never resulted in something I would consider displaying around my house, but I figured the girls would enjoy it and they did. Here are a few pics of them painting their masterpieces (I'm sure their mom can't wait to proudly display the multi-colored miniature horse and whimsical fairy that were painted....I suggested the fireplace mantle!).





Inspired by my recent creativity in painting pottery (notice I didn't post any pictures of my "artwork", although the girls promised me it was beautiful. Is it bad that I need to get affirmation from a 4 and 6 year old?), I had Tara and Jenn over to bake and decorate Valentines Day cookies. Jenn and I were not new to this process, but Tara was, and we decided to pass on our wisdom to her (read: we needed to have another person to tell us how fabulous our cookies were and to help keep my husband from eating all the dough). Pictures were taken, however, it was 10:30 at night, we were covered in flour and hyped up on icing, and needless to say, the outcome was not flattering. So instead I'll show you the end result.



I did learn that you can't stack the cookies before they are completely dried, or they'll stick to each other and end up not so pretty (see picture above).
We are by no means experts at this, but we've come along way from our first attempt which included the mistake of tripling the recipe, 9 cups of flour and a handheld mixer....not a good combination. Needless to say, we are getting better and it was a lot of fun just getting to spend time with my sweet friends.
Anyways, this is Valentines Day weekend and we've got plans to go to dinner and see Wicked! I am so excited (even though I've already seen it) and have desert with some friends after. I can't wait! Anybody else doing anything special?

Enough

Today was one of those beautiful blue sky, 68 degree days that made you glad you live in Florida. For those of you who happen to live up north, don't be jealous. We'll be paying for it come July when a tank top and shorts are too much clothes to have on given the degree of heat and humidity.

Anyways I brought my bible outside for a change and decided to sit and read there instead of being cooped up inside the house. I feel like there is a lot to be learned from the things that J and I have been dealing with these past few weeks, but part of me has been feeling like I'm missing it. It's like the world has moved on and life keeps going, but part of me (that type A, obsessive, perfectionist part) is still holding on to the what ifs and what could have been. We've been talking a lot about when would be a good time to consider starting a family again and whether or not I'd be ready emotionally. Up til now, I havn't been sure of the answer. I get so caught up in everything that could possibly even remotely become a problem that I forget that ultimately, it's not up to me. I get so worried about what if I had another miscarriage, I don't think I could handle it or what if this goes wrong and things don't turn out the way I planned. The sad thing is, my plans and worries aren't only relegated to the concept of having a baby, but every other aspect of life I think I can control. And it always boils down to "enough". Do we have enough money, can I lose enough weight, do I have enough time or whatever my concern for that day may be. And today I really felt like God was speaking to me. Do I want to wait until I feel like I have enough control and can handle things my way, or do I want to trust in God's sufficiency. Truth is, I've been trusting in my own abilities and planning to get me through, rather than resting in the knowledge that He is enough. And it hasn't been working. I can put a smile on my face and pretend that everything is wonderful, but all the acting in the world won't make that true. I've been trying to heal myself instead of letting the Healer do His perfect work.

I've always been the type to try to do things myself, rather than ask for help. Not because I don't like asking for help, but because I think I can do it better my way. My sweet husband hired someone to come clean the house but I cancelled because "why pay someone to do something I can do better myself?" (yes, I know I'm crazy!!). I was saddened to realize that this mentality has carried over into my walk with God. I was led to 2 Corinthians 12 today and here is what I read: "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
So my prayer today is that I will let the truth of those verses penetrate my heart and be real to me. That I will allow God to be enough.

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 30:18

Weekend Fun

J and I had a great weekend and I'm just now getting the chance to post. After my wonderful trip to HL I went and babysat some of my favorite children. Ella and I had quite the girl's night after the two youngest ones went to bed, complete with an Easy Bake Oven cake, makeovers, and Snow White. We had a great time, although I'm beginning to wonder at what age will she be too cool to hang out with her Aunt Jessica.

Saturday was a little crazy with me having to go to work for a few hours to help give tours of the new hospital to the community. It was packed and I never expected that many people to come thru so I definitely stayed busy. The hsopital is beautiful and well designed and I'm excited for us to open!

We had our first experience entertaining Saturday night when we hosted game night at our place. Our plan was to play the SceneIt 80s game that he got for Christmas (guys vs. girls) but it didn't take long for us ladies to realize we were way out of our league. Which makes sense since we are all so young and could hardly be expected to remember that decade. Ok, maybe we're not that young, but it's my story and we're gonna go with what makes me feel better. We quickly moved on to a fun game called last word where I unfortunately demonstrated my lack of spelling skills and understanding of anatomy when I listed Amy Grant as a male singer and stated that orangutan started with the letter "A". Yes, people, I have a Masters degree. Scary, isn't it. Tara and Jenn made me promise to never homeschool my children. Steve and Jenn then went on to kick J and I's tail in Wii tennis. I think they play a lot more than we do. Especially seeing as how 've tried to avoid it ever since J brought home Wii fit and convinced me to try it out. I was a little down about putting on a few pounds after the wedding and he was trying to help. It was all well and good until I stepped onto the board where it weighed me and then proceeded to have my character blow up like a Macys Thanksgiving day balloon. Not helpful. Needless to say, I don't play with the Wii very often.
Overall we had a great night of fellowship and food and I'm thankful for such wonderful friends. I am going to try and be better about taking pictures to post on here for your visual enjoyment and to enhance my storytelling....I'll work on it.

I made a baked sweet onion dip (which my husband loves even though he hates onions....I just told him it was a "cheese dip") and an easy black bean and corn salsa. I first made the dip for my sister-in-law's bridal shower and it was devoured in about 5 minutes. I've since taken it to a bunch of other parties cause it's so easy to make and everyone loves it. It's from tasty kitchen:

Baked Sweet Onion Dip

8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese (Very Softened)
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese (I use the cheap powder kind and it works just fine)
1 cup Minced Sweet Onion
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Crusty Bread, Crackers
*I've also been known to add in shredded swiss cheese. I had to add it the first time I made it because I was short on the parmesan and it was great, so now I just add a handful or so.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, place softened cream cheese. The cream cheese must be very, very, soft (like spreadable butter) to allow all ingredients to blend evenly together (you can put in the microwave for a few seconds if you need to). Add mayo, Parmesan cheese, onions and fresh cracked black pepper to soft cream cheese till everything is mixed thoroughly. Place mixture in ramekins or any oven-safe dishes. Bake slowly, for about 30-45 minutes for all ingredients to cook together. When the top crust is brown, almost burnt-looking, then the dip is ready. The darker brown the crust of the dip becomes, the better the flavors are cooked. I usually end up having to cook it for about 50-60 minutes.
Serve with your favorite bread (mini baguettes or crackers)

Hope you all had a great weekend!

The HAPPIEST Place on Earth (and the longest post ever)

Today was just as fun as I expected. Earlier this week I asked my mother-in-law Ann if she wanted to take a trip with me to Ocala to shop at Hobby Lobby. She lives about an hour and a half away and I don't get to see her nearly as much as I would like to. I enjoyed the time we spent together, listening as she told me what kind of a child my husband was and all the wonderful stories that only a mother could remember. I am so thankful we had that time together.

So I updated my facebook status this morning to state that I was headed to Hobbly Lobby and based on the number of comments made about the store, they should be sending me a check for free advertising (which,ironically, would help undo the damage that I just did to my budget while I was there)! It was by far the happiest place I've ever visited. I've been telling J (this is what I'll call him since he would like to remain anonymous, which is really amusing since anyone who is likely to read this blog knows me, and therefore knows my husband's name. I was gonna call him "Dutch" since for some reason that is what google named him when he left a comment on my first post, but I'll be nice). Have you noticed I like to ramble? Anyways, I am having a hard time coming up with words that would adequately describe this happiest of places, so here are some pictures.
All kinds of random decorative items like candlesticks, bookends, and wall art




Fabric


And isles and isles of items to make all of your crafting fantasies come true


I was there for a couple of hours. At one point, I was pretty sure I'd lost Ann, which I didn't think J would have been happy about. But eventually, we found each other and here's what she saw:

I think she was worried that I would send her son to the poorhouse and we'd end up moving in with her secondary to my newfound Hobby Lobby addiction. But no worries Ann, that's what my mom's for.

Needless to say, there was quite the back up on isle 2 at check out time. I got to talking with the check out lady telling her my story of how I drove to Ocala just to go to the store (cause let's face it, I'm sure she was just dying to hear about my life and travel, rather than, let's say, wondering how many minutes til break time and freedom from insane crafters like me) when she stated that they are building a Hobby Lobby in Tampa. I don't know who was more excited, me or the checkout lady who wouldn't have to deal with insane people driving from Tampa looking for a good deal. Anyways, here are a few things I came home with



A few of things that I got were for projects that I had seen on a DIY website and I'm excited to get started with them. I'll let you know how it goes.

Overall I got some wonderful things and am currently looking at my schedule to see how soon I can get back. Of course, my schedule isn't going to be so open since I will likely have to get a second job to continue going there. If any of you Tampa girls want to plan a trip let me know and I'll plan one. Besides, my mom will be clearing her calendar as soon as she reads this post to make plans to "visit" when her real reason will be to visit my newfound crafting holy land.