Yummmm!

Have you tried Tastefully Simple?

It's super yummy gourmet mixes! I love the Beer Bread (of course, it's one of their core products), Cinnamon Muffin Melts and Nana's Apple Cake!! Their spices are wonderful and their soups are total comfort food!!

My friend Missy is near her next goal with the company and is in need of some sales by the end of the month, so I'm shamelessly promoting for her. Go to her site to peruse the selection and place an order if anything appeals to you.

I'm hopefully going to be hosting a tasting for her soon - I'll keep you posted!

Best wishes Missy!!!!!!!!!!

New England Nights With Beth Moore

The First Cathedral

Bloomfield, Conn.

Friday, October 17th @ 7:00 pm

I was blessed to journey down and back to this event with six lovely ladies from my church.

Who is Beth Moore?

Gosh, about two years ago I was flipping channels and came across her on The Word network doing a ladies Bible study. I still watch her Wednesday evening studies (The James Robison Show, 10:30 pm - Wednesdays with Beth).

God has gifted her with a wonderful ability to teach what God has imparted to her with conviction, compassion and realness. Her teaching reaches me and has helped me grow in my faith with her contagious excitement for the Lord!!

So, without any further ado - here are some great thoughts/points/verses from the conference.

* 'Who has God been to you this week?' (asked by Travis Cottrell the worship leader). People yelled throughout the 3,000 plus crowd. "Savior" "Friend" "My Rock" "Hero" "Shelter" and so on. This was very moving and powerful!

* 'Is anyone blonder than she pays to be?' She's a hoot!

* II Corinthians 6:1 - Now is the time for God's favor

* 'What has your last 10 years been like?' I will answer this question in a future post.

* 'Just livin' on scripture' so love this!!!

* 'No more "I love you God" - but instead "I love you too" (1John 4:19 - We love Him, because He first loved us)

* 'I take a sunset personally' beautiful!

* 'When any kind of hardship comes along, apply the grace of God to the empty space.' (John 1:16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.)

* 'God reserves the right to treat each one of us as His favorite child.'

* 'We'll always be given enough grace, we just need to apply it.' (Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.)

* 'Who would I be if I were to fully apply His grace?' WOW (1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.)

There were many other amazing points and moments in the conference!! But truth be told.. it's about 11:30 at night, and I'm just too tired to type on. I feel like Judy Jetson with 'push-button finger'.

check her out: www.lproof.org/

Easing You Into 'New England Nights'

I went with some wonderful gals from church to the 'New England Nights With Beth Moore' conference last Friday evening. To sum it up in a word ~ 'AMAZING'!!

I will blog on it tomorrow (hopefully). But for now, please listen to this first song playing on my Playlist from Travis Cottrell (who is the worship leader for Beth Moore's conferences, and a recording artist).
This is such an amazing song (how befitting!)!!

Do yourself a favor - sit back, close your eyes and take in what this song is saying.

I pray that it fills you to overflowing as it does me!

Duck, duck, goose!

I have been tagged by my friend, Michelle.

I am to share 7 facts about myself on my blog - some random, some weird.

So, here we go..

1. Some things I'd love to do before I die: See an opera (not a little local production, but somewhere like the Met!), write a book and have it published (either a children's story and/or something to do with reaching out to women with the love of Christ), feel good in my own skin, not care what people think about me, get a college degree (or even a certificate)..

2. My mouth is a model of all that can be done in dentistry. (just about) I've had extractions, dental implant, root canal, cap, braces and fillings of course. Gotta love my English teeth!!

3. I love when my brothers and sisters call me 'kiddo'. It's not much, but they've always called me that since I really was a kid. Sometimes you just need to hear something that doesn't change.

4. When I was in Kindergarten, I used to run home from school to watch the Don Ho tv show. I loved listening to him sing 'Tiny Bubbles' while the beautiful hula dancers swayed in the background. I would ask my mother if I could have an operation on my eyes look pretty like the hula dancers. When she told me no, I'd try putting clothes pins at the corners of my eyes to make them stay that way. Um, it didn't work.

5. Just had my first mammogram a few weeks ago. Doc wanted a base line done as I'm now considered 'high risk'. For those of you who haven't experienced this yet... It's not that bad at all!! Nothing to be nervous about!!

6. A hobby I wish I had time & money for: Dancing. Not doing what Billy Crystal called 'the white man's overbite', but ballroom dancing! John and I took lessons before we were married, and I absolutely loved it!!!! It's fun, great exercise and incredibly romantic. But it's also very pricey!! We say that one day we'll at least do the course at the high school. Hopefully a time will come when we can get away and do that. But these days, I'm so out of shape I usually feel far too inhibited to get out on to the dance floor. One day, one day. I liked the Foxtrot and Swing the best of what we learned.

7. Two of the best weeks of my life were in July 1989. Two of my friends and I went to England for vacation after graduating from high school.

Any time I liked a boy in high school, they like Lisa, without fail! My friend Chris was intelligent and outgoing. She had a steady boyfriend a good portion of the time. I was shy. To guys I was a pal, or someone to seek out to copy homework...

But upon traveling across the pond, it was like we had entered the Twilight Zone. Do you remember the episode with the pig faced people? It was like that! I'm not saying who the 'pig faces' were, just that, I had found my people!

Instead of the men liking my friends, they actually liked me!! Seriously!! I was asked to dance, had drinks sent to me and so forth. I was called 'lovely' over and over again. It was marvelous all together!!!

But then we came home and life went back to reality. Oh well... great two weeks while it lasted!!!

Enjoying Autumn

'I Feel Pretty' NOT!!

Ok, so first, my uncle asked me when I was having a gastric bypass (not in those exact words - but seriously, this is what he asked me).

Then my son asked me if I was going to 'turn my hair black again'. (I actually color it brown, but he's just asking when I'm going to ditch the gray)

Today, I had a friend's boss ask what hard work I do because upon shaking my hand he exclaimed, 'wow, you have rough hands'.

I'm not pulling a Maria prancing about singing 'I feel pretty' I can tell you!

Rather, I'm wondering what color top I can wear to diminish the appearance of this hump I clearly have upon my back!

Ahhhh!..

Ok, I've bought the hair color. check!

I'll use the hand treatment I got from having a Mary Kay party a couple of years ago, tonight after my shower. check!

And I guess, since the 'desire to be good' ain't happenin' - I'm going to have to force the issue before I can no longer force myself into my jeans. not gonna jump the gun with a 'check' on this one - I'll keep you posted.

Life gets in the way of taking care of myself. Physically, mentally, and sometimes spiritually as well. There are always a thousand things to do. So much swirling in my mind.

*Incidentally, I'm not knocking surgical procedures for weight loss - just the fact that someone approached me and asked when I was going to get one!

"Boys, calm down! You're running too fast!"

wait for it...

wait for it....

"BANG!"..... "Sorry" (in sing-songy voice)..... silence.... "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

Dad goes around corner to asses the damage...
"Oh my G_ _ !" (we don't normally every take the Lord's name in vein - but this was a stunner)

3 year old has gash on his head above his eye brown.

6 year old feels terrible and starts to cry when he sees that his 'tag' sent his brother into the door frame and the door frame into his brother's head.

Dad puts pressure on wound. I call doctor.
We leave for the ER.
4 + hours we come back home with 3 stitches and two very tired children. (and one very tired Dad).

Now all in all, our ER experience was fine. You can never go to an ER and expect to be in and out. Not in these here parts any how. We were there for about 2 1/2 - 3 hours (the rest was commuting time).

Our children I am happy to report, were actually very well behaved!! We went prepared though with books, Leapster, snacks, action figures and play dough. Yes, play dough!! They have a kids table, and if it makes them happy for a little while, I'm all for it!!

Some other families unfortunately, weren't so well stocked. We must realize however, that in some cases, due to the nature of the ER visit, the families just bolted out of their homes. Some were single moms doing the best they could to bring junior along kicking and screaming and so forth. We were happy to have little ones join us for story time and were glad to lend out a book.
And as stated in an earlier post (support), we need to just support each other as parents, and not be so quick to judge anyone who simply doesn't do things they way we do it.

So with that, I'll keep my musings to myself - except on one point.

One woman who had brought little "Johnny" to the ER on her own, really didn't show much consideration for other patients or even for her own child. She let her child run amok (ok, many kids were running all around. To a certain extent, they are kids and so that's going to happen). Where her story really varies from the rest of the crowd however, is in the fact that she kept allowing Johnny to go up to one gentleman in particular.
This man had on a bracelet, meaning, he was himself there to be seen. He was as the song goes, "A whiter shade of pale". He was lounging on the seat in such a way that showed he had absolutely no energy (which was further confirmed as he took himself into the exam room). And.. he was a stranger.
Yet, with all this, Johnny's mother thought it was not only perfectly acceptable to let him bother the man, she actually was enjoying watching it. At least, that's how I took the dreamy smile on her face as she took it all in.
Johnny was having a great time running 2 rows away from mom and then taking a running leap up onto the seat next to the man. Then jumping up and down while holding onto the mans arm which had been resting on the back of the couch. He then proceeded to kick the man, give him a 'high five' on the back of the man's hand. Yell and laugh loudly right into the man's face and so forth.
Lets just forget for a moment that this man may actually have feelings or that he has a right to sit there without being accosted by little Johnny, because this clearly was of no concern to the mother, however, what about Johnny? Didn't she think for a moment that her young man could catch whatever this gentleman had by touching him and getting right into his face? Who was this man? Was he mentally stable? Let's face it, he could have just snapped and shoved the little cherub out of his face or really hollered at him.
No worries! He wasn't bothering her for that time, so she just sat back and enjoyed the view.

So my point is this: I don't care what your parenting style is: laid back, 'helicopter', somewhere in the middle - whatever. If it works for you and your family, great!! But goodness gracious, show a little bit of judgement and compassion for those around you! No one should have to deal with a strangers child being all over them, especially when they are already clearly feeling terrible!

On a happier note:
My son had male nurse 'McDreamy' in the ER. I'm just sayin'.....