Jar love

I just read this post over at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia (you should see her pictures!) about saving your glass jars, and it fanned even more into flame my new love for re-used glass jars and bottles.

I.

LOVE.

it.

Like you, we have all kinds of jars coming through our house on a weekly basis....applesauce jars, spaghetti sauce jars, wine bottles, salsa jars, pickle jars, etc. But it wasn't until I wanted to make these.....

...that I started thinking of new uses for them. So far, I have used them as vases, drinking glasses, wine cork holders, iced coffee containers (thanks, Kelly!) and outdoor candle holders.



I think I just love how they whisper of a time not that far out of reach...a time I really want to get back to....



where folks beat the heat on their front porch with neighbors and iced tea in mason jars...


where almost everyone had a lush garden and spent long afternoons canning their bounty so they could share and save for the winter...


where neighbors and friends traded the goodies they grew...


where food was fresh, earned with hard work and usually traveled less than a mile to your table....


...where neighbors really shared life...


and where materialism, the latest catalogs and new stuff didn't compete with a cup of tea and a home baked treat shared at the table with a dear friend.




Sigh.


I know a few people who live this way now, and they really make it feel like this kind of simplicity is in reach.



Another thing I love about reusing glass jars is that it's free (cause you would probably ditch it otherwise), and it takes very little effort. Just soak those bad boys in hot, soapy water and peel off the label. Josh used WD-40 and it took the leftover adhesive right off.


Gotta love a man toting WD-40!


So what about you? Do you reuse them? I would love to hear about anything else you reuse too. Share the knowledge, people!

Her day

The wedding was beautiful! Doria was a beautiful bride, her man was so handsome and I think they're very happy. :)


Here are some of the pictures I took with my camera on the wedding day. They aren't the best so I can't wait to see the professional ones!

Sadly, this is the best one of her and I together.

Not my favorite picture of me, but you can
see how handsome my men were.
(and I do have more than 3 fingers...what in the
world?!)

Me and the cutie who decided to walk to the
end of the aisle and then lay down on the floor in complete
obstinance. Isaiah, on the other hand, did fantastic
taking care of his "big boy job." I just didn't get a
good picture of him. :)

It's official!

First bite of the day and my brother and I MADE her.
Yes, she's eating in the bathroom.

We opted to do our own hair.
Pretty good, eh?

We made sure that nice view of my scalp was
covered. Don't you worry.

The groom's family and sweet flower girls.

What a precious moment.

I tell you, that lilly must be made of steel
after all the work it took to get it to stay in
her hair.

Her something blue.
We all wore Toms...mine and the flower girl's
were glittery and sparkly...LOVED it.

The bride and her mommy.

A quick prayer with the pastor/our
Godfather.
(my aunt is steaming her dress since it arrived the mail while
we were AT THE REHEARSAL! Long story...)

Look at that beautiful family!
(I promise Trinity really is very happy about it!)

Two cutie-pies and a sprinkler

Remember when we were kids and there weren't these fancy-schmancy blow-up pools with obstacle courses, rainforests, exotic animals that sprayed water on you and huge slides?


(I actually really want one.)


Nope. We were content running around naked, chasing each other in the back yard with the hose or jumping through the sprinkler. Who cared if we got chiggers?


(please tell me my sister and I weren't the only ones.)


Today, I introduced the boys to one of my favorite past times.

It
was
a
BLAST.
(taking care of a few manly chores like
washing the bubble mower.)


(rocking the jeans diaper....hey, girls! :) )

On a completely unrelated (and incredibly sarcastic) note...

Several of these made me wheeze and cough with laughter.


I guess that tells you something about my sense of humor. :)



(Please don't avoid me now. I still care about people's feelings.)

Some Useful Condescending Phrases

1. Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
2. The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.
3. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.
4. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
5. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't care.
6. I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.
7. What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?
8. I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.
9. I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.
10. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.
11. It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off.
12. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.
13. No, my powers can only be used for good.
14. How about never? Is never good for you?
15. I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.
16. You sound reasonable...Time to up my medication.
17. I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.
18. I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...
19. I don't work here. I'm a consultant.
20. Who me? I just wander from room to room.
21. My toys! My toys! I can't do this job without my toys!
22. It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level I'm really quite busy.
23. At least I have a positive attitude about my destructive habits.
24. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.
25. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.
26. Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.

Beloved

It's the week of my sister's wedding so that hopefully explains why I haven't been on here much. After this weekend, thing will start to slow down a little.


I have some really ADORABLE pictures of the boys in their tux's. (Spoken like a true mother, right?) Hopefully they'll both make it to the end of the aisle emotionally intact....heck, me too for that matter. I also, though our dumb computer still won't turn on, plan to do my garden update soon....I know, I know. It's obnoxious how many times I've said that now.


But, I just wanted to take a moment to share something with you. There is much on my heart today. It's been a heavy time for our family for several reasons and I've just felt kinda sad today. These two songs were what I needed to hear....to be reminded that I pray to the King, the One who sits on the throne and holds this all in His hand, the King that rules every nation and chases wrecklessly after my little, sinful heart, the King that calls me His beloved bride.... and even those I need to forgive.


Oh, how quickly I forget the sweetness of being loved by a King.

Beloved

Love of my life
Look deep in my eyes
There you will find what you need

Give me your life
Lust and the lies
The past you're afraid I might see
You've been running away from me

You're my beloved
Lover I'm yours
Death shall not part us
It's you I died for
For better or worse
Forever we'll be
Our Love it unites us
It binds you to me
It's a mystery

Love of my life
Look deep in my eyes
There you will find what you need
I'm the giver of life
I'll clothe you in white
My immaculate bride you will be
Oh come running home to me yeah

You're my beloved
Lover I'm yours
and Death shall not part us
It's you I died for
For better or worse
Forever we'll be
Our Love it unites us
and it binds you to me yea now now

Well you've been a mistress, my wife
Chasing lovers it won't satisfy
Won't you let me make you my bride
You will drink of my lips
And taste new life

You're my beloved
Lover I'm yours
Death shall not part us
It's you I died for
For better or worse
Forever we'll be
Our Love it unites us
it binds you to me

You're my beloved
Forever we'll be
Our love it unites us
And it binds you to me
It's a mystery


~Tenth Avenue North


*I added this to my playlist....go listen!

I'm Singing

Only one name lasts forever

Only one fame stands alone
Only one key has an anthem
That goes on and on and on

And I'm Singing to the God who brings redemption to the nations
Kings and oceans bow to Him in praise
And I'm Singing to the God who wrote the book on our salvation
To the One who covers me in grace
I'm Singing

Only one word in the beginning
Only one truth will prevail
Only one love brings you freedom
Only one Man took the nails

And I'm Singing to the God who brings redemption to the nations
Kings and oceans bow to Him in praise
And I'm Singing to the God who wrote the book on our salvation
To the One who covers me in grace
I'm Singing

Praise, Praise to the Savior
Praise, to the Lamb Of God
Praise, in all of His splendor
Praise, for saving my life

And I'm Singing to the God who brings redemption to the nations
Kings and oceans bow to Him in praise
And I'm Singing to the God who wrote the book on our salvation
To the One who covers me in grace

And I'm Singing to the God who brings redemption to the nations
Kings and oceans bow to Him in praise
And I'm Singing to the God who wrote the book on our salvation
To the One who covers me in grace
To the One who covers me in grace
I'm Singing...

~Kari Jobe

The weekend recap

(those are not our kids. I have no idea who those kids are.
for explanation, read the end of this post.)

Our little family just got back from our annual Memorial Day weekend at the beach.


It was lovely.


I remarked several times about how nice it was watching our boys play on the beach now that we're not trying to contain an infant in a little tent, change diapers in said little tent (NIGHTMARE), constantly slapping sand out of their hands and away from their mouths and spontaneously throwing water directly in their eyes when a grain of sand looks threatening.


Now, they've earned a little freedom. Manny enjoyed eating whatever he could find on the beach. Even the little mussels (shell included) proved to provide a little nourishment at one point (no, we didn't mean for that to happen). Isaiah is now able to run free from our chairs to the spot in the sand where he's playing near the water. We feel fine about it because of his healthy fear of the water, the fact that we always pick a spot near the lifeguard and we can always see him.


But one little tip for ya'll at no extra charge: if your lifeguards offer little plastic bracelets with their stand number on it for the kids, take them! About 5 minutes after I put Isaiah's on him, he disappeared. It was an awful and LONG 3 minutes before I found him again...way down the beach.


My father-in-law was up in the loose sand at our chairs and I was a ways in front of him with the kids, playing and watching them (our nephew and neice were there too). I had sent Isaiah up to him for a snack. He went, got his snack and my father-in-law sent him back to me...again, I was directly in front of him. Somehow, Isaiah got disoriented and instead of walking straight to me, he took a hard left and started walking through the crowds. Both my father-in-law and I were dealing with other kids and didn't see him make that turn.


I took off in one direction and Josh in the other. After walking for what felt like a really long time, I saw his poor little frame walking slowly through all the sunbathers, looking from side to side and calling "Mommy? Mommy?" I had just had that awful thought of "what if I never see him again? What if I never get him back?" I prayed and there he was. He said, "Mommy, I was starting to get worried. I didn't see you. I didn't know where you were."


I held his hand for a long time. We talked about what to do if he ever gets lost again, rehearsing his full name and ours and how to look for the yellow flag and big, white chair.


The Lord allowed us to find him, and we are really grateful. I can't imagine what parents of real missing children must go through. I don't think it's a coincidence that a few days before we left to go to the beach, I sat and read every detail about every child and studied the faces that came on the little "Missing Children" insert in my mailbox. I never do that. They are a group I've never thought to really pray for, but I think I'll start.


But other than that little incident, we had gobs and gobs of fun spending hours playing and relaxing in the perfect weather, going out to eat and just being there. My nephew now thinks I have ninja skills. And I do.


One little thing I should mention is that when we got home last night, we realized that our computer will no longer turn on (!!!!). I'm using our little laptop, but the other computer has all our pictures on it so I can't do my garden post yet. So sad! Hold on to your pictures because we're working hard to get it back up and running!


I'm really looking forward to doing it....especially since our little garden grew like CRAZY the few days we were gone. I think it was glad to finally get rid of me with my constant hovering and weird staring all the time.


What's that thing about the watched pot again? :)

Summer food gloriousness

One of my most favorite little luxuries in earthly life is magazines. I LOVE having the time to just casually flip through a magazine, uninterrupted for an hour or so, sipping a lovely beverage. It's like a vacation for me.

In fact, I have at least 7 subscriptions. Now, please don't judge. I am not a fan of magazines with scantily-clad people and how-to's on things that my 2 children prove I don't need a how-to in. I also have gotten all but maybe 2 of my subscriptions for free. And the 2 I do pay for I waited and subscribed for a STEAL.

(These are all the things I tell myself to justify having that many magazines waiting to be flipped through at one time.)


Of all those subscriptions these 3 have to be my favorites:


And now that the June issues are rolling in, the theme among them is clear:

FOOD.

REAL.

GOOD.

FOOD.

I'm resisting the urge to write the rest of this post in all caps....that's how excited I am about these recipes! These glory-filled instructions for summer bounty gloriousness! GLORY!


This is church, ya'll.


In the event that you don't know what I'm talking about, I came prepared today to share some of the glory with you. I'm going to give you the short list of my favorites from each magazine, and then send you to the link.


Tears of joy will follow.


Like my husband says, "If that don't lightcha faaar, ya wood's wet." Thanks, honey.


~Food Network Magazine (the Alpha Dog of food mags, in my opinion):

• Baja Fish Tacos
  

• Shrimp Boil

(aka Ohmyfreakingosh)

• Watermelon-Cucumber Salad
  

• Honey-Lime Roast Chicken
  

• Opal Basil-Macerated Peaches
  

(it's a lot simpler than it sounds)

~ Southern Living

• Spicy Glazed Shrimp and Vegetable Kabobs

(and you should see the sauces!)

• Lighten Up! Banana Pudding
  

~Better Homes and Gardens
(go to the website and there's a deal going for 1 year at $5.99)

• Corn and Blueberry Salad

• Grilled Chicken with Watermelon Glaze

• Chocolate Marshmallow Ice Cream Sandwiches

(I cannot tell you how sad I am that they don't have a picture of these up yet.
Please believe me. They look REAL good.)

• Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches

(same sentiments as above.)

Now that we're all salivating, I think that you should go make some of these... and then bring it right over.


Jesus said to share.



You can ask Isaiah...he'll tell you.



Oh! And I'm going to give you a head's up. If you have a garden, could you pretty please take a picture of it for me? I have a post coming up that will involve Mr. Linky's debut on my blog, my need for gardening help and also my need for constant affirmation from other people.


Thank you for your cooperation. :)

A "small" plug :)

Please forgive the billboard sized logo. I didn't know how to make it smaller. :)


So, about a month ago I got a little email asking me to take a survey and see if I qualify to be a Dove Hair Ambassador. If I qualified, they would send me a full sized bottle of their newest hair product: Damage Therapy Daily Moisture Daily Treatment Conditioner. (Longest title ever known to mankind.)


In return, I would offer my honest feedback to them, give away the samples they would also send me and tell my friends about it.


Enter you.


I qualified so they sent me the cutest little box filled with the big bottle of conditioner, a welcome kit and a bunch of samples.


Now, a word about my hair. It is thick, course and naturally curly (read: frizzy without gobs of product). I usually keep it pretty long, have highlighted for years and flat iron it almost every day. So you can imagine the damage I have inflicted. A while back I decided to stop highlighting and let it grow. I just got the last of the nasty, brassy blond cut off the ends and, while it's shorter than it's been in a while, it feels healthier than it has in a VERY long time.


So when I tried this product I knew there wouldn't be fireworks because it had just been cut...and there weren't really. BUT, it made my already healthy hair feel like silk. Truly. I kept begging Josh to feel how soft it was and I couldn't keep my hands out of it.


I did nothing different. I shampooed, put the conditioner in for the same amount of time you would for any conditioner, rinsed and fixed it like normal. I used no additional products. BUT the results felt like I had gotten a conditioning treatment at a salon. Seriously, I don't know how they could do it any better.


So, there's the opinion of a hair product junkie (you should see my cabinet). If you want to try it for yourself, go here and get a free sample.


And if you try it, let me know what you think! Happy Damage Therapy Daily Moisture Daily Treatment Conditioning! :)

The day in pictures

Today was....busy, productive and a bit rough. And I'm going to warn you, I'm about to ramble on about it.


My sister is getting married in less than a month (!) and I ordered my dress online. It saved a few bucks, they promised to deliver the same quality, etc. People, please. Don't ever, no, not ever do this.

Though I ordered a size larger than what I wear (just to have a little room to work with in case of a, ahem...discrepancy), but I'm pretty sure the Chinese dressmakers envision us American girls as 6 feet somethings with teensy-tiny waists and gargantuan, enormous, tip-you-over, "hello, Dolly!"... bosoms.

Because that's what it looks like. I knew some modifications would have to be made, but oh my sweet heavens. It's so bad, one alterations lady flat out told me there was no hope for the dress.

Well, that's not an option, lady!


So anyway, back to our day....we went 2 mins down the road and met Mr. Hong. I'm pretty sure Mr. Hong is the dress whisperer. He has promised to make everything in my life ok again (but I need to "we-ah bra"). I love him.


Then, we hit our neighborhood Super Target to buy 2 birthday gifts and then find a strapless bra...and just for kicks, let's go ahead and try on cute bathing suit tops. Now, this is why I need to never go out in public without a level-headed chaperone. With 2 little boys, a good idea that was not.

We get home exhausted and with nerves thoroughly shot to heck. I'm looking at the clock to see if it's too early for a beer. My conscience kicks in and I decide what I really need is to pray instead. Small victories, right?


Apparently, I got the boys their lunch and high-tailed to my bedroom because all I remember is noticing the quiet and, upon entering the kitchen, saw this poor sight.

(Yep, he's sleeping with his eyes slightly opened.
Yep, it really freaks me out too.)

In the midst of me trying to recover from the elation of winning my Mother of the Year award, this little cutie grabbed the camera...

found me changing Manny's diaper....

(Because who doesn't look like this when dealing with a screaming mad, diaper-rashed little boy. The people who didn't win the award. That's who.)


and then decided to give you a tour of his favorite things in our house. I found the theme to be very interesting.

The barn in his bedroom, right beside his bed.

"Goodnight Moon"...a book we sometimes read to him before bed.

Our bedroom, where he ends up sleeping at some point
during the night, despite constant warnings, pleadings and
discipline.

And that takes us to about 1:00pm. Are you tired yet?


Between then and now there was exercise and laundry and vacuuming and scrubbing bathrooms and doing dishes and preparing dinner and MUCH impatience and discipline and crying and whining and directing and bathing and picking up repaired vehicles and now, GLORY, it's bedtime.



And this, friends, is why there's not a family member #5 on the way quite yet.


So there you have it. Aren't you glad you asked how my day was? :)


Now, please tell me I'm not the only one with bald patches at the end of the day.

Group S

Well, it's about dang time. Thank you all for waiting at the very edge of your seats for this here extremely! exciting! update! of the 34.8 seconds I spent with the Pioneeress.

I also need to tell you that this post will, in all likely-hood, be the most anti-climatic thing you've ever read in your life.


Now that we all have normal and healthy expectations....because we all know I'm a picture of that....let's get on with it.


I went with my dear friend Kristin.


When we arrived, we had to get a ticket that told us which group we were in. They also told us that each group had about 20 people in it. We got a little lost (perhaps due to the fact that neither of us, in our excitement, had the foresight to get directions, bring our gps or even bother to remember the name of the bookstore)....so, by the time we got there, we waited for about 20 minutes in line before they handed us our tickets.

(this was taken by Ree from the balcony)

"Group S" was written in red marker at the top. S! As in the NINETEENTH letter of the alphabet.

(I had to count the letters twice on my fingers, so I'm positive it was the NINETEENTH group.)


Oh, and there were also at least 2 VIP groups. Fortunately, there was a cute, little cafe in the store that was featuring some of Ree's dishes so we enjoyed a long, though lovely dinner at a very leisurely pace. Very. Did I mention we were in no rush at all?


One small perk was that from certain spots of the store you could look up and see Ree happily smiling and signing away at her little table on the balcony. Kristin may or may not have had to remind me that I looked crazy just standing there smiling at her while people shuffled around me.

I may or may not have made Kristin very nervous by threatening to bust through the velvet rope, past the 14 year old "security" boy, up the stairs...just to tell Ree "hi" and stare at her.


So, what do two girls do in a giant bookstore for more than 3 1/2 hours? Well, we try on hats, of course!

Ok, I tried on hats while Kristin was my paparazzi. She's a good friend like that. :)

"I don't know what to do with my hands."
(Cool points to whoever can name that Will Ferrell movie)

We take numerous pictures of each other and promise to not ever, ever post them on the internet...

(what's up with the Elvira bangs?)

(isn't she cute!)

We browse and pick out Mother's day cards until our feet hurt, then grab as many magazines as we can hold, find a corner near the sports section (not likely busy considering the clientele that evening), throw off our shoes and get comfy. We also field multiple phone calls from husbands asking, "Are you seriously still there?"


Finally, we hear our call and head upstairs. It was not unlike hearing the Hallelujah Chorus after sitting through Handel's Messiah forever.

(To any fellow music majors...I'm sorry, but it's just how I felt.)


And there she was.... still smiling.....after hours and hours of writing the same thing over and over for people who were weird and smelly and tried to secure their spot as her best friend in the time it took for her to sign their book.


And that, friends, is when I realized there was a very good possibility we were not twins. I would have dove over the balcony.


And then it was my turn. I had it all planned out. Kristin and I had rehearsed what I would say.


I would ask her to please sign my book "To my twin" because I had a silly little joke on my blog about how we were twins...and then I would somehow try to make her understand that I wasn't a freak who obsessed over her in a crazed, lunatic way (thus making her re-think her choice in security boys). I was simply a fan with a little joke.

I walked right up to her as bubbly (in a non-crazy way) as I could be, waved enthusiastically and said something like,

"Hi, Ree! Ok, I have a weird request. Would you mind signing my book 'To my twin?'
I have this obnoxious little joke on my blog about how we're twins because clearly we're not.
I can't really cook. Or do ballet."

"Oh, I don't think I can do ballet either anymore!"

(paused for a picture...then she looks at my hair and says,)

"And you're a brunette, and I'm a red-head."

"Right! I mean we're perfectly twins!"

(now if that's not the cheesed-up grin of a crazy lady, I don't know
what is)

And that was it. I waited for Kristin, we both said our goodbye's and left. That's just the life of my, decidedly, un-twin.

Sigh.

And really, I'm ok with it. Maybe the dream has ended. Maybe I'll never be like Ree, and she'll never be my "twin".

OR...

It could all be an act while she composes herself and figures out how she's going to handle this news. She'll take some time to decide how to address this turn of events in the press, and how we can finally be the long-lost sisters we never were. She was in shock upon meeting me and now she's processing....

And she can take all the time in the world because I have the truth to keep me warm at night.

And in her heart....


I really do believe....


she knows the truth too.....