project 365, week 9

SUNDAY, Feb 22nd

at the park. a genuine smile. i rarely get one of these on film.

MONDAY, Feb 23rd

this is one of my goodies i picked up in salado over the weekend. i'm now officially collecting birds. i think theyre so cute-especially the round chubby ones.

TUESDAY, Feb 24th

mom and i took the kids to the zoo. i think shes tired.

WEDNESDAY, Feb 25th

at the park wednesday i noticed a shadow of molly swinging and thought it would make a great picture. i never could time it just right, so i settled for this. not a bad second choice.

THURSDAY, Feb 26th

we went to my parents house thursday afternoon so they could see the kids. i'm working on a new project involving black and white pictures. i took this on a whim so you can see what kind of crazy decorating junkie my mom is. this is in her backyard. i kind of wish it was in color so you could get the full effect. my mother is the only person i know who decorates her backyard. her house is fantastic. it looks like a shabby chic boutique threw up, but in a good way. ive tried to take pictures before, but they just dont do it justice. at any rate, heres a little peek, for what its worth.

FRIDAY, Feb 27th

this is my eye. my husband says its eerie. i think its artistic. i obviously had too much time on my hands friday afternoon.

SATURDAY, Feb 28th

some of you may remember this being a valentines tree adorned with fabulous red glitter hearts. i found these eggs at hobby lobby and couldnt pass them up. i think theyre perfect!

link up at saras blog if you have pics to share or to check out others!

the long awaited recipe

not that long awaited. only since sunday have you been waiting, and some of you haven't been waiting at all. at any rate, humor me and make this for your family. its fantastic!!!
i unfortunately didnt save the picture that i took when i made it last week, but you can see a picture here (it was my project 365 thursday picture) if you haven't already.

Tomato & Spinach Pasta Toss
prep: 5 min total: 20 min (awesome, yes?)

2 cups penne pasta, uncooked
1/2 lb. hot or mild italian sausage, casing removed (i use the whole pound. thats how i roll.)
1 pkg baby spinach leaves (6 oz)
1 can (14 & 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 tbsp. grated parmesan

COOK pasta as directed on package. meanwhile, crumble meat into large deep skillet. cook on medium-high heat until cooked through, stirring occasionally; drain.

ADD spinach and tomatoes; cook 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. remove from heat, cover to keep warm.

DRAIN pasta; place in large serving bowl. add meat mixture and cheeses; mix lightly.

makes 6 servings, 1 cup each

what i typed (except for the parenthesis) is verbatim off the recipe sheet.
this does not make 6 servings for us because we eat so dang much of it. it makes probably 4...or 3, depending on how hungry we are.
i highly recommend tweaking it to your tastes (like i use the whole pound of sausage and more cheese than it calls for). it would also be good with black olives and mushrooms if you're into that sort of thing.

let me know how you like it if you make it!! you'll love it!

project 365, week

***UPDATE***
i've had several requests both on and offline about the pasta pictured below. keep an eye out-i'll post the recipe this week!

two months down, ten to go!!
heres my week in pictures.

SUNDAY, Feb 15th
my new pots and pans. my husband bought these for me on a whim on saturday (on our valentines day shopping trip) and i unpacked them and put them away on sunday. i love them!!!






MONDAY, Feb 16th
my husband at his sexiest! :)





TUESDAY, Feb 17th
we had a playdate with a couple of our friends tuesday morning. i found molly and layna in the rocking chair 'reading' a book.





WEDNESDAY, Feb 18th
heres my project i started on valentines day. i saw this same type of thing on a website several weeks ago, but couldnt afford to pay $50 for it. so i made my own. i'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.



THURSDAY, Feb 19th
dinner! one of my favorites-italian sausage and spinach pasta. yum-o!!! the picture really doesnt do it justice. this was the best one i could get.





FRIDAY, Feb 20th
our churchs womens' retreat was this weekend in salado, which has great shopping. some of us went up early friday afternoon to take advantage (i'll post pictures of some of my treasures later this week). casey couldnt pass up the photo-op when i modeled this hat for her.

SATURDAY, Feb 21st

so i'm really disappointed that i didnt take one picture at the retreat all weekend! my picture for today is me sitting at my computer right before i did this post. i'm not even focused because i'm talking to my friend leah on the phone. lame.

to see other project 365 pictures, see the link on saras blog.

have a blessed week, and remember, friendship is like flowers. ;-)

is there yogurt in heaven?

i was putting colby to bed a couple nights ago and he asked me,
colby: "is there yogurt in heaven?"
me: "well, colby, i dont know if we eat in heaven (i wanted to say 'the baptists will, because when do we ever have a church event where theres not food?' he wouldnt get that joke, though.)....actually the Bible does talk about a banquet, so i guess there will be food. probably all the stuff you like; yogurt, cheese, apple juice.
colby: "are there houses in heaven?"
me: "yes. we each get our own."
colby: "and bathrooms?"
me: (humor him) "sure."
colby: "and toilets?"
me: "hmm. i don't think we'll have to use the potty in heaven."
colby: "but if theres apple juice we'll have to!!"
makes perfect sense. i couldn't argue.

last weekend we went to a mexican food restaraunt for lunch and the kids got grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries. we took home the leftovers and i reheated them the following day for their dinner. i personally wouldnt have touched the reheated soggy fries, but kids, at least my kids, will eat fries in pretty much any condition. just for the record, i reheated everything in the oven in an attempt to crisp it all back up. so i gave them each a plate with half a sandwich and some fries and colby clasping his hands together in excitement and sitting up on his knees, exclaimed, "it all looks so delicious!! i don't know where to start!"
how is it that i can spend an hour preparing a fabulous meal and get virtually no reaction (no good reaction), but i reheat a mexican food restaraunt grilled cheese and soggy fries and you'd think i just served him a giant plate of candy, or in adult terms a 5 star filet?
at any rate, i was laughing too hard to be offended.

ok one more and i'm done...

last night i was putting colby to bed, and i was kind of in a hurry because i was heading to rehearse with the worship leader for the womens reatreat this weekend. we did the usual routine, but i didnt lay with him, which a lot of times i dont, but occasionally i will if i know i wont fall asleep while doing so. :)
he was holding on to me super tight and saying,
colby: "i want you to stay! i want you to stay!"
me: "colby, i have to go sweetheart."
colby: "but i want you to lay with me!"
me: "i know you do, but i need to go to miss traceys house to sing. i'll be home soon and i'll come in and lay with you for a little bit then."
he started crying. i mean really crying, not just whining to get his way.
colby: (through tears) "mommy, friendship is like a flower. you have to care for it to make it grow! you're my friend!"
me: (doing my very best to not completely crack up in his state of distress) "you're my friend too, colby, and i love you very much. i'll see you when i get home."
colby: "ok. bye bye."

i love that kid.

my new addiction and other various and sundriness

what? is that even a word, sundriness? i always thought the phrase was various and asundry. turns out it is various and sundry.

sundry-adj. Consisting of a number of different kinds: assorted, divers, diverse, diversified, heterogeneous, miscellaneous, mixed, motley, multifarious, multiform, varied, variegated, various. Biology polymorphic, polymorphous. See same/different/compare

there you have it, from webster himself. or is it hisself? i hate questioning my grammar. thats why i dont use apostrophes or capitals, or is it capitols? capitals.

i think i'm in trouble. you see, i've been eating sweets like a crazy woman and decided now that my jeans are officially too tight, i should scale down a bit. so i bought hostess 100 calorie cupcakes. a friend of mine says they're only 1 point on weight watchers. i dont know anything about weight watchers, but that must be good. each package of 100 calorie goodness boasts 3 delicious creme filled chocolately miracles. heres the thing, though. rather than taking it as an opportunity to wean myself off the need for a sweet at least once a day, i'm having to stop myself from eating the whole box. 6 packages at 100 calories each?!? i could have the whole thing for lunch! heck, i could have a box for lunch and dinner, and still be able to have dessert later! that is, if i'm going with the 1500 to 2000 calorie a day average for an active 20-something. i've always been that way, though. as far as taking every advantage of "light" or "lo-cal" foods. if i see something with half the fat or calories or whatever i automatically think, "yes! i can eat twice as much!" is that wrong of me? am i the only one that does this?

on another note, i hope my mother forgives me for this story.....

she came over to see the kids today and take colby to the 'big big store' (wal-mart). she picked colby up to give him a hug and he started playing with a skin tag on her neck. we both lost it when he said, "wow grammie, i like your extra nipple." i'm laughing now just thinking about it.

i love that kid.

and finally i leave you with some pictures of my valentines day treats. not all of them, mind you. we did get a little carried away at kohls. here are my fabulous chocolate brown bath towels. this one had already been used so you can see the twist marks from it being wrapped around my hair that morning......

...ok after many failed attempts to upload this image, i'm giving up. its not working.

they're just brown towels. probably not that exciting unless youre me. which youre not.

also, my awesome new pots and pans!!! that was the extra treat allen decided we should get! they were on sale plus theres a rebate plus i had a coupon off our entire purchase, hence us going overboard like i mentioned earlier.

i had another picture here of my new bath and body works 'irressistable apple' body wash and lotion that i bought with a gift card and a little story about that experience, but i accidentally deleted all of it. whats the matter with me today??? i'm so over this post......

project 365, week 7

this week was great, once we got past all the vomiting.

here are the pictures to prove it!

SUNDAY, Feb 8th

molly was sick (she threw up on me at church) and spent most of the day cuddling with me on the couch; not a bad set up, in my opinion. and there was no more vomit after the church incident, so thats a bonus. i can't say the fear wasnt there though; i kept a towel close by.

MONDAY, Feb 9th

colby crawled in bed with us around 5am, and then threw up in it around 7am.

i sent allen to the store to get an aresenal of 'sick kid food'.


TUESDAY, Feb 10th

i was cleaning out my sock drawer and came across these beauties from high school. colby found them in the trash and wore them the rest of the day, just like you see in the picture. he especially liked the toe holes. thankfully we didnt go anywhere.

WEDNESDAY, Feb 11th

this was actually taken tuesday, but i had 2 good ones for tuesday and none for wednesday, so i confess to cheating a little this week. my apologies. moving on....

molly got it in her head that she was going to put her pjs on unassited. she managed to get both of her legs into the same hole several times and made a few attempts at the shirt. after about 20 minutes (maybe more) she conceded and allowed me to help.

THURSDAY, Feb 12th

we met my parents for lunch at which wich (the kids' choice; i've successfully brainwashed them to like it as much as i do) after bible study. one of the playscapes has heart shaped holes on one side. how festive!



FRIDAY, Feb 13th

oh my! friday the 13th!!!! i didnt even realize it till that night. i so dont care. if i did we probably wouldnt have taken the kids on their first hiking excursion. i used to be huge into hiking. i went with a small group multiple times a week. we were planning a trip to the appalachian mtns for a 4 day hike, but i got pregnant so they wouldnt let me go (i totally would have, just for the record). anyway, i've missed doing it and have been looking for an opportunity to hit the trail we usually went to on saturdays. the kids are too little for me to take them by myself, so we all went together on allens day off. it was so much fun!! we're going to try and start going once a week or, at the least, every other week.

SATURDAY, Feb 14th

happy valentines day!! this ended up being such a great day! i am in the process of finishing an art project i started on v-day, but i wont show till its done.i'll share about our fabulous shopping excursion later today or tomorrow! i want to take a picture of one of the many extra purchases we made that i'm super duper pumped about!!!!

thanks sara for sponsoring this fantastic event! i'm still loving it!!

click here to check out other project 365 pictures.

celebrating VD

not the STD; the holiday. not that its even a real holiday. i have issues with super commercialized holidays that dont celebrate anything inparticular. thanksgiving i get. christmas and easter i totally get. halloween...eh, its fun to dress the kids up. i guess maybe if you're related to one of the many st valentines in some way and would like to celebrate their lives and deaths with candy and gifts to you significant other, then rock on. i just dont get it, personally.
i honestly dont remember ever doing anything major with allen for v-day. its so soon after all the anniversary and christmas hooplah (and now with the kids' birthdays sandwiched in there as well), we just need a break. plus allen is truly the hardest person on the planet to buy for, so the less often i have to come up with a gift, the better.
we're not very good about going on dates 'just because', so if nothing else we make it a point to go on a nicer than usual date every year around valentines day, not necessarily on the day which is another topic on and of itself. i was raised by a mother who's very much an 'on the day' person and it was passed on to me. i've had to get over that a little bit being married to a pastor. its not like we can cancel church to go to dinner for my birthday...or valentines day...or his birthday (which happens to fall during mission trip this year, which only further proves my point).
anyway, so this year our big v-day plans are to [drumroll please] grab a sandwich and go buy new bath towels!!!! super sexy, huh? i'm really looking forward to it believe it or not. it'll be fun. shopping is always fun, even if it is bath towels, which we desperately need by the way. ours stink. literally. they smell old and moldy no matter how many times i wash them. they're the same ones we've had since we were married 7 & 1/2 years ago. i would think towels would last longer than that, but ours haven't held up well. so new towels it is...and maybe some bath mats so everything matches. :)
so what are your big valentines day plans?

i MIGHT be disappointed

molly woke up early sunday morning so i went and got her and we layed on the couch for about an hour. both of us fell back asleep. it was time for me to get up and get ready for church, so i put her on our bed where colby was already watching cartoons. it takes her a while to get friendly in the mornings (she gets that from me), but she just wasn't coming around. at one point she went into our closet and layed down on a pair of allens pants and fell back asleep. weird. we went ahead on to church but i kept her with me in case she was sick. she sat on my lap all through sunday school, never talked, never got down to walk around, nothing. we were taking prayer requests at the end and i got the reaction before i realized the cause. the girls collectively let out a sound of surprised disgust, "oohhh!" and "aww!" then i felt it sliding down my arm and my right leg. vomit. milk vomit. the only thing she would put down that morning. curse that starbucks milk. i've seen it in vomit-form too many times! granted, the first time was probably my fault for taking my already vomiting son to wal-mart. a few of my sweet freshman girls rushed over to help clean it up with paper towels and clorox orange scented bleach wipes. nothing like the smell of citrus and vomit in the morning. molly didnt get any on her, fortunately. her binkie bear and my skirt caught most of it. oh, and my 'new to me' boots i was wearing for the first time also suffered some damage. they are out as we speak getting cleaned and polished. i took molly home and we spent the rest of the day on the couch, napping on and off.
yesterday morning colby came and got in bed with us around 5am. he woke up at 7am and started complaining about his stomach hurting. do you know where this is going? 10 minutes later he's throwing up in our bed, another familiar scenario (see 'vomiting son' above). we got him cleaned up, sheets off, and parked on the couch. i called my mom who was supposed to come over and sit with molly while i went to the grocery store (colby would have normally been at MDO) to give her a heads up that they were both sick, and found out that she had been up all night hugging the toilet. so my next thought was 'how long till i get it?'
since then all has been well. we've survived on a diet of chicken and stars soup and jello.
i'll have to do some damage control with molly; i've let her have her pacifier pretty much whenever shes wanted it since yesterday morning. colby's also been getting a little extra love at bedtime; last night i read him 4 stories instead of 1. he told me he wanted me to stay with him because, "your skin is so soft." i love that kid, especially in the winter when my skin feels like leather.
i hate to admit this, but i was hoping something horribly disgusting might happen so that i could blog about it. you know, one of those 'i can laugh about it now' kind of stories. i might be a litle bit disappointed i don't have more to offer here.
at any rate, we all seem to be healthy now, and i think i'm going to take the kids to the library in a little bit. i'm going stir crazy.
i hope no one throws up at the library...or do i?

project 365, week 6

alright week 6 and counting. its getting harder to come up with pictures to take, but i must press on. this week is definitely better than last, so thats something.

SUNDAY, Feb 1st

superbowl!! the guys squished on the couch together. it was a short lived seating arrangement.

MONDAY, Feb 2nd

the infamous sign. i met my MIL in giddings to get my kids and took a picture of the 'fresh donuts and seafood' sign on my way into town.

TUESDAY, Feb 3rd

allen took the morning off and we took the kids to jungle java. its a coffee shop/cafe with a huge playscape inside. you pay to get in, but its so worth it to sit and read a book or chat with a friend while your kids play for hours!! bonus: the food and coffee are great. this is molly after about 3 hours, right before we went home. i can take a hint.

WEDNESDAY, Feb 4th

this was one of colbys activities for the day. he was supposed to draw a picture of "something you do at night". i told him this and he immediately said, "go camping!!" true. however he's never been camping, so why this was the first thing that came to mind i'm not quite sure. i guess we need to take him. the little green triangle is the tent. the campfire is next to it. i love that the fire is bigger than the tent. he doesn't mess around! i helped out with the stars. the day picture is him riding on his 4-wheeler with his sister riding behind him.

THURSDAY, Feb 5th

yogurt; the kids' favorite afternoon snack. must be green.

FRIDAY, Feb 6th

allens luggage. he left us for the weekend to be a d-now leader at a church in belton, about 45min north of us.

SATURDAY, Feb 7th

my new boots!!!! i've been wanting a pair of western-ish boots. not pointy toed cowboy boots persay. but something kind of like that that i can wear with skirts and dresses. however, full price for a good pair you're looking at roughly $250. i don't spend more than $50 on anything. so i checked craigslist and found these (on the left) fabulous vintage dingo boots (thats what my mom said 'they' used to call them) for $50! vintage being mid eighties. and yes, thats vintage to me. my mom also had these pink and brown cowboy boots that are too little for her, so she passed them down to me. 2 pairs of fantastic boots for $50. oh, the possibilities....

what a great night!

my husband is gone for the weekend leading a house of 11th and 12th grade boys for a disciple now at a church about an hour north of us.
everytime he goes out of town his cousin and i, who both share a passion for all things theatre, have a movie night and i cook something that allen doesnt like and we eat and watch a movie or two after the kids go to bed. thats tonight.
last night i went and saw a musical that one of the local high schools is putting on. its called 'Urinetown'. yes thats a horrible name and the writer knows that and mentions it several times. its probably the second funniest musical i've ever seen, the first being 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'. maybe the first funniest. i'd have to see Forum again. one of the kids i was in 'CATS' with was the male lead as a freshman in high school. he sings way too good for someone his age. i was blown away by some of the talent in that show. what made it so great was my new friend casey went with me. it was a last minute thing. shes a new youth worker and i had actually called her to see if she would babysit my kids, but i ended up getting someone else so she came with. i had no idea ahead of time, but she too shares my ridiculous theatre obsession and i am so excited! we talked about all the different shows we like and then sang loud 'Moulin Rouge' songs, her taking the high parts and myself taking the lows, because i sing like a man. then she stayed till after midnight and watched 'Get Smart' with me. kind of killed the whole musical themed thing but whatever.

on another note, my dad thought he broke his foot playing football.
exhibit A of why 50-something year old men shouldnt play football: old, fragile bones.
serioulsy, he's like a 20 year old trapped in the body of a...51 (i think) year old. turns out he didnt break it, just sprained it really bad. he's been getting around with crutches since tuesday and the kids have seen him a couple of times since then. we're about to head over there today and colby is so excited to see papaws crutches. only he calls them "crunches".
me: "why are they called crunches?"
colby: "because they crunch bugs." (duh, mom)
they should definitely change the name. that makes way more sense.

raising her right

i've felt 'icky' on and off since about wednesday of last week. i've been tired mostly, but there's the occasional light headedness and nausea. no, i'm not pregnant.
my mom was fighting this same thing for about a week, too. i'm hoping it clears up in a day or so. all i want to do is curl up on the couch in my fat pants and not have to answer to anybody.
this morning i was playing pretend with molly, and at one point i laid down on the carpet and closed my eyes.
molly: "wake up mommy!"
me: "mommy doesnt feel good, baby."
molly: "why?"
me: "my stomachs kind of yucky."
molly: "yucky?"
me: "yes."
molly: "i'll help you."
she went over to her play kitchen, banged some stuff around, and then brought me 2 cups of 'coffee'.
molly: "here's your coffee mommy. drink it. make you all better."
me: "thank you! this is perfect."
so, if nothing else, my 2-year-old knows that coffee fixes everything. start 'em young. right?

project 365, week 5 (i think)

i am going on minimal sleep having just come out of disciple now weekend. i spent the whole weekend at someone else's house with 6 freshman girls, doing bible studies and mission projects. i'm tired. if some of this doesn't make sense, i apologize. :) and this may be the most boring post ever. my pictures are pretty boring this week, and the 'captions' are even worse. and i don't even have a picture for sunday. i was consumed with getting my bible studies prepared for the weekend, so the picture taking kind of took a backseat to other things. i'll be better next week. promise.

SUNDAY, Jan. 25th

no picture. i'm a loser.

MONDAY, Jan. 26th

this is lame picture #1. i got a pretzel after i got done with my grocery shopping. i thought the cup was funny at the time, now i don't. however, this picture is worlds better than the other pictures i took that day.

TUESDAY, Jan. 27th

my friend leah and i took our kids to the bob bullock museum and the imax. the glasses are almost bigger than they are. this is colby and his bff evan.

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 28th

this is what colby does with his barrel of monkeys. lame picture #2

THURSDAY, Jan 29th

this is the day i met allens mom in giddingd to give her the kids for the weekend. i thought this was too cute. waiting for mimi. notice molly's princess skirt.

FRIDAY, Jan. 30th
the d-now curriculum this year was THE CHAIR: time to get out of yours. it was awesome!

SATURDAY, Jan. 31st

this is my group in the car on our way to the worship service saturday night.