Gunsmoke

 Jordan invited me to go to Gander Mountain with him today. I enjoy shopping with him because he's got a purpose and goal in mind before ever entering the store. He just got his CHL so today's purpose was holster shopping. So rugged. So handsome.

 

d

 Bullet loading. That's what men do.

 See that grin from ear to ear? This kind of man joy is similar to what women experience when we find a pair of BCBG boots for 50% off.

 Every shopping trip with Jordan involves stopping at Pak-A-Sak for candy. I like that part.

And there's always a great reward for me when I get to spend time with Studhubs (or SexyHubs as he prefers to be called) and it's.....

Shopping!!

at 

Target!!!

SexyHubs was so sweet to load up with all my fashionista items. He says God made him strong so that he can carry all my shopping bags. Whataman.

And of course, the Stud finished painting the ceiling for me.....

My cup overflows.

And we sang Natasha Bedingfield's song "Never Find A Love Like This" to each other all day. What a fun day Mon Day. 

Cottage Painting

 Jordan is painting our ceiling tonight! Yipee-Skipee, that's what I have to say about it. He is an excellent painter. I am not so great because well, I'm not patient. So I document the action by photographing it all. As you can tell by the shots, Jordy wasn't as happy about me capturing his artistic techniques. You could insert a caption next to each of his photos with a "Grrrrr". I think it's a Tool Man Taylor growl.


Mia was also getting close to the fun. I think by her face we can see that she's gonna like the new color, too. It's gray. Everything in our little cottage is becoming gray these days. Such an excellent neutral.

Also, there was a mouse last night. I cried for no less than 3 hours about it all. Studhubs caught and killed it today. But I will won't go anywhere without shoes.


And our heater has been out for 2 weeks. It's chilly. Thankfully Jordan is a constant blazing hot temperature of what I'm sure is 350 degrees. He calls himself a wolverine. Unfortunately, Mr. Husband-the-Heater does not like to snuggle. So I have resorted to placing space heaters and heating pads around the house. 


Tomorrow is 11.11.11. So get in alignment and do something brilliant :)

Breath of Fresh

This weekend I got the chance to hang with Christa Black. I'm not a follower of movie stars and actresses but I am a mega mega huge fan of hers. It's probably because my story is almost exactly the same as hers and I want to follow in her footsteps to help women (and men) break out of bondage. She is the real deal, fashionista, amazing singer-songwriter, blogger, wifey, momma to be and most importantly, passionate about the Lord. 


Getting to spend time with her was the most rejuvenating high-light of my year. She spoke into my life in a fresh way. I got to hug her neck right before I went out to lead worship this Sunday and she helped me get the lipstick off my teeth. Now that, is a real sista. Then I got to watch her perform and speak that evening. THEN, Jordan and I hung with our friends, Boyd's, and Christa and her Studhubs, Luke, over midnight snacks talking about ministry and life. They gave us tremendously encouraging words straight from the heart of God. Ahhhh, it's wonderful to meet people who are ultra creative, cool and walk in the Spirit in a non-wacko way :)


Christa has played and toured with the Jonas Brothers and traveled with Michael W. Smith playing her violin and singing her pipes out. She has written an amazing book 'God Loves Ugly' that I read in one night. Go buy her music and book. Now!


Here's her info: http://christablack.tumblr.com/

Sweet Bakin' Friday

Happy Friday! Today was World Series Game 7. So I baked, of course. Any time there is going to be game watching-there must be a party. Where there's a party-there's tasty party food! I decided to make some Bisquick Sausage Balls. Hate the name, but I love-ah the flava-flave.

After a few minutes in the oven....Here they are!

And they were "yum", as you can see on my sweetie pie hubby's face. 


This morning Jordan took me to Cracker Barrel for brunch then to consignment stores to find a few treasures. I love it when he takes me shopping. I doubly love shopping with him because he drives. I hate driving anywhere anytime. I'm sure he thinks I'm completely spoiled (his fault) because I will find any excuse to not have to drive. Like, "Well it's gonna be so snowy and slick outside and my brakes might go out!" (It was 67 degrees today) And, "But babe you are so much better at driving than I am-you are so aggressive, the other drivers do whatever you want them to!" However ridiculous my reasons are - they somehow work for me! Sweet studhubs :)


How was your Fun Friday? Shopping? Napping? Gaming? Baking? YES?!

Snowboots and Scoby

Today it snowed! And everyone said, "Halllllllelujuah!" Our little town was rejoicing as we opened our sleepy eyes to the white miracle this early morn. Jordan took Mia and I out for a little exploring when he came home from work. Mia hates the snow. Maybe because she blends in with it. Tiny thang, I have to carry her everywhere we go :)


I'm still drowning myself in Amoxicillin, garlic pills, Advil and Kombucha synergydrinks.com. I'm addicted to the stuff in the best way. It is made from a SCOBY (for "Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast") and apparently does wonders for you:  aids cancer recovery, increases energy, sharpens eyesight, aids joint recovery, improves skin elasticity, aids digestion, and improves experience with foods that 'stick' going down such as rice or pasta. It sorta has a apple cider vinegary taste to it. Give it a try.


I'm also raking through the web for tips on entry level photography. I think I found yet another hobby... yeah!


And for my encouraging word today: rest. Getting rest and relaxing is the best thing you can do for your soul. I, myself, rested today rather than busying with the usual. I had plenty to accomplish but I gave into the urge to close my lids and catch up on my zzzzz's. I don't regret it either. 


So if you get 20 minutes (or 3 hours) close your baby blues and let yourself refuel with much needed rest.... goodnight!

De-Stress-A-Tize

I think most of us would say that the biggest concern in our jobs and relationships is the fear that someone better than ourselves might come along. We let our minds daze about how they will waltz in  and snatch our dreams right out of our sight.

I remember feeling this way in elementary school. Worried my little self to death that my BFF might have a new BFF by tomorrow. That she would sit with her instead of me at the lunchroom of doom. I felt that way in our show choir tryouts in high school. Terrified that I might not be chosen for my Soprano II spot that I wanted because of the high influx of fabulous lady singers that year. I frazzled my poor heart over way too many lead roles in plays and not to mention the fear that I might not win every rhinestone crown at a pageant. Oh yes, I was a pageant queen. Miss Teen Amarillo, mind you. I was a smarty though, nothing like this gal:

All that worrying never added a single thing to my life. Not one. Everyone tells you not to worry: doctors, dentists and counselors. They give you techniques on how to de-stress-a-tize your life by soaking in a bath tub before bed, meditating, and taking deep breaths. Almost every sickness and disease can be traced back to one nasty contributor: Stress. With a capitol "S".

I think our culture has something to do with the fear of being replaced. They pretty much spoon feed us to be bored with the pop stars and rich n' famous before they ever turn 19. Songs like this one teach us ladies to treat our men like Chinese dinners and I'll order a number 9 tomorrow night, hun! (This song is super fun to sing though, so sing along and let your stress out-just don't treat yo man like that :)

So let's just get over ourselves, trust God and de-stress-a-tize our lives by looking at the lighter side.


1. Laugh when it's funny
2. Sing when it's a good song.
3. Give props to other folks when they do something brilliant
4. Trust God. No one can stop His plan for your life.

Amen :)

Whatcha Craving

I'm getting over the worst case of Strep in the history of, well, my whole life. Ugh. I have never been so achy and miserable. Jordan said that I hurt all the way to my fingernails. He was right. Migraines, back aches, neckaches... and no amount of food was staying in or out. Tonight was the first time I've been able to think about food of any kind. This was a good sign because for the last few days I couldn't even watch Food Network without gagging. You don't realize how much our world revolves around food until you can't stand the sight of it.

I overheard a sweet young couple talking about their love for Taco Villa tonight. Suddenly, that sounded wonderful! I found myself wanting to know what they order rather than running for the porcelain throne. On my drive home I made a stop by that house of tacos to order my combination burrito with green sauce and a quadaladara. It got me thinking about cravings. How they can be a good thing.

Jordan and I are on the leadership team with a re-launch of a ministry. It's taken me completely out of my comfort zone and it feels a bit like I got zapped back into my life in 2006. It's been thrilling and nerve-wrecking simultaneously. I've decided that in an adventure like this one, you start to learn what your spirit and soul actually craves.

So many of us know what we do and don't want out of our jobs, church and relationships. But it's very difficult to express what we DO want. Tonight when a that a combo burrito with green sauce sounded delish (and I drove myself there with no one else in the car) I realized that I had just pinpointed a craving and went with it under no other person's direction. Eureka!

Maybe that's the key. Maybe we all need to take a break or fast (hopefully yours will not be a sickness like mine) and then reintroduce our silly selves to the big world of food. AKA: Life. Choices. Preferences. And think about what we really want! Rather than criticizing all the things we don't like-discover what we DO like. Then hop on our merry ways and go get it. If we don't like our choice, just try again. Let's let all the junk of the world telling us what we like fade away and run after the stuff that makes us tick. Maybe we will discover who we were created to be? Maybe we will find the thing we've been trying to like-we really hate? Either way, let's be our uniquely wonderful selves.