One of the most Beautiful Things I've Read in a Long Time

I don't know her personally, but this blog is one of the many I follow that opens my eyes to others' faith and God experiences.  This story is amazing, and I hope that you will take a second to read it, too.  Our God is awesome!

The Maddox Family

Two Talented Women

I wanted to put in a plug for two ladies that are both very special to me.  God has blessed them both with some incredible talents and I feel privileged to have them both in my life...and reaping the benefit of their work is a plus, too! ;)



First, is my cousin Brooke.  She is a self taught natural light photographer and does some outstanding work!!!  She took newborn pictures of my precious niece and they are absolutely beautiful. Her business is growing rapidly.  Visit her website for more info.  http://www.brookebusby.com/. 

Next is my dear friend, Amy Rutledge.  Her abilities never cease to amaze me.  She spends more time in her sewing room than she does anywhere else.  And everything that she produces is incredible.  Here's a picture I took on my phone of the pillow she made me for Christmas.  See what I mean??  She makes anything you can imagine...tons of personalized gifts too.  Check her out at amyrutledgedesigns.blogspot.com



Current Favorite Things

1. Sarah Taylor- She will be seven weeks old Tuesday and is the love of my life.

2.  Snow Days! There's about 11 inches outside and no chance of it disappearing quickly.  I'm not excited about making up the days at school, but I love days where I don't have to feel guilty for staying in my pajamas.

3.  The Food Network- I have rekindled my love for watching this channel.  I have chicken marinating now in a citrus/garlic recipe I saw Saturday on Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals.  If it turns out well, I will post it. :)

4.  Estee Lauder IDEALIST.  While I don't have a huge problem with acne (most of the time at least), I certainly need some help in the overall health of my skin. This cream is amazing!  It is fairly expensive, hence me having to ask Santa to bring it.  But, it's very worth it.  I needed it primarily to shrink the size of my pores.  You can see a difference almost immediately. 

4.  Gap Slipper Booties- A friend gave these to me a couple years ago and they stayed in my sock drawer until now.  I have to admit, I thought they were sort of silly at first.  Since it's freezing outside and I'm lounging around today enjoying a snow day, I decided to pull them out.  Oh my goodess!  I have so been missing out!  They are phenomenal!  They are super comfy and extremely warm.

5.  The Bachelor!!!  If you know me at all, you know I am a reality television fanatic!  This season is no different.  I know many of you probably dislike Brad due to the fact that he didn't choose any of the women on the final night of his season. I actually respect him for that.  I think it's very noble of him not to choose either one if he knew he wouldn't/couldn't commit to either of them.  I'm excited to see what this season has in store!  For the record-  I'm NOT reading Reality Steve.  My choices at this point are Emily and Ashley S.



A New Year and a New Me

Well, here we are again...the start of a new year.  My dad always told me that the older you get the faster time passes.  He was certainly right.  It seems like only a few weeks ago I was blogging about my new year's resolutions for 2010, and now it's 2011.  I can't believe it!  Was it really 11 years ago that we thought once the clock stuck midnight our computers would no longer work and we'd be left without electricity or electronics for good?  C-razy!!!

Typically, I have a page's worth of resolutions I'm ready to make and work hard to accomplish. This year has been somewhat different.  It's not that I don't have a page's worth of things to work on, because I have many more than would fit on a page.  It's just I've decided to simplify my goals this year.  If it sounds selfish, please don't take it that way.  But, I want to work on me in 2011.  All around me.  I want to eat better, feel better, think better, and serve better.  I'm tired of letting life happen to me.  I've taken a backseat position and watched my life pass me by.  I'M SICK OF IT my blog friends, sick of it!  I know God ultimately controls my life, but I have a much larger part in making my life what I want it to be than I have been willing to accept. No longer.  I'm ready.

This year, I am taking control.  Everything in my life will not be so serious.  I want to laugh more and shrug things off my shoulders that before I would have let sit for way too long.  I want to listen more and talk much less.  I want to honor the temple God has in me and do everything I can to free myself of the "junk" that is in me and around me so I can be open to what God has in store.  I want to display the unconditional joy He makes available for me each day and grab it with gusto and run!  I want to be happy with me and know that I've done everything in my power to be the best me.  I'm pretty excited about the new life I have planned for myself.  I certainly covet your prayers as I try to maintain the strength to hold onto God and this life I know He wants for me, and to punch Satan in the face when he tries to tug at me and entice me to go the other way.  Hear that, Satan??? 

So friends, here's to a new year!  Let's own it!

A Crazy Kind of Panic

Doesn't this look like scenes from an episode of CSI or some action thriller starring Tom Cruise and Samuel L. Jackson?  Yeah, it looks like that, doesn't it?  Well, if you had been at my house between the hours of 5:30-8:00 last night, this is what you would have seen.  I apologize to any of my friends reading that may not know about this fiasco yet.  It's just simply too long of a story to tell to everyone in person.  So, sit back and enjoy. I have finally gotten to the point where I can consider laughing about it. 

I got home yesterday around 5:00 and checked my mailbox.  I was excited to see another Christmas card from some great friends....They will go un-named as of now. (Hahaha!)  I opened up the card and almost immidiately noticed that there was some sort of a mark or stain on the bottom.  As I tried to rub it off, I noticed that it came off in the from of a powder.  A WHITE POWDER.    I'm trying to come up with logical explanations in my head as I walk back into the kitchen to check out the envelope.  When I looked closely, I saw a slit in the bottom of the envelope but no powder. What in the world do I do?  I tried to tell myself it was nothing, and I truly didn't believe it was.  But, I always err on the side of caution, so at the urging of some friends I decided to call the police department just to make sure.  I was expecting to talk to the dispatcher, be told it was nothing, and go on about my night.  Boy, was I wrong.  I was told that she could send a policeman to check it out if I'd like.  When I asked what he could do about it, she assured me he would come with a test kit that would relieve my fears.  How could I deny that?  She also assured me he would come without storming into the neighborhood with sirens and lights.  I was afraid of causing a scene. Little did I know.....

About fifteen minutes later, the first (get that hint, first??) policeman showed up.  He had no idea what to do or say, so he called his supervisor.  Ding Ding Ding--number two policeman now arrives.  He tells me he's almost sure it's nothing, that there are a number of scenarios that could have resulted in this envelope and powder substance, and he wouldn't worry about it.  BUT JUST IN CASE, he called the fire department because they are the ones with the test kits.  Ding Ding Ding- insert two police cars, two policeman, and now THREE fireman at my home.  After standing outside and consulting with one of the policeman, a supervising fireman enters and proceeds to tell me I need to go outside, not to return to my house, that I should probably go get checked out due to possible CONTAMINATION, and that the hazardous materials team was on their way.  Umm, excuse me, but WHAT???  Panic sets in.  Tears begin to flow.  I'm thinking over and over in my head what in the world had I gotten myself into.

I waited outside in the cold and rain for a couple hours.  Before it was all over, two more policeman arrived, for a grand total of four police cars.  We had a firetruck parked on my street, and a HUGE trailor with hazardous materials written across it parked on the opposite side of the street.  There were no less than 25 men in my yard.  The neighbors started coming out of the woodworks.  I assured them everything was fine.  One was fearful we had a hostage situation.  Give me a break!  Finally, three guys- in their masks and hazardous materials gear, walked inside my house.  They examined the "substance" and wiped down the cabinets.  They searched for any residue and tested the powder for all the "big things," like anthrax, acid, or some other form of hazardous substance.  The tests were all negative.  PRAISE GOD.  They bagged up everything that was on my counter at the time, including two other Christmas cards I'm super sad to have lost, and threw it all away.  I was told that unless I started to experience respiratory problems or feel anything out of the oridinary (how comforting), not to worry.  There wasn't enough of the mysterious substance for them to test to see what it actually was.  All they know is that it wasn't dangerous and I was safe. 

And to think I was worried about ONE police car causing a scene.  I definitely caused a scene!  It wasn't fun the first hour or so when I was waiting to stop breathing or have chest pains or experience some other sort of symptom due to being contaminated by this random power on a stinkin' Christmas card of all things!  I calmed down a while later...a long while later.  I was too upset to take pictures, although in the midst of all the madness I was thinking of how great a blog this would make after it was all over!  HA! 

Thankfully, I'm back in my house.  I can breathe.  I am not contaminated.  I have a story to tell.  What is the moral of the story?  I'm not exactly sure yet.  I'm still trying to sum up what I feel God was trying to teach me.  One, according to my mom, is to not take things so seriously.  Everything in life isn't always bad and won't always have the worst ending.  Relax.  Two, all of the policemen and firemen were wonderful.  They were super nice and encouraging.  They told me that I helped train them and teach them what to do in a situation like this.  Maybe God used me to help someone in the future that may not be as lucky as me.  Whatever the reason is, I'm praising Him that everything is okay!

Have You Seen This?

I must admit, I set a series recording on my DVR fully preparing to laugh at how ridiculous this show would be.  I assumed TLC would portray the south as most other networks do- everyone lives in trailors, has two teeth, and speaks their own redneck language.  I was pleasantly surprised.  True, there are hunters, fisherwomen, and cowboys (a really, REALLY cute one named Josh) on the show.  But as of yet, they haven't made us Alabamians look too terrible.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the drama unfolds.  Tune in and let me know what you think.

P.S.  A reward is being posted for anyone that knows Josh personally and gives him my number.  Thank you.

I Finally Found One! (Chicken Salad)

No, not a husband....a chicken salad recipe!!!  HA!  I love, love, love chicken salad and am really picky about the kind I like.  I like the chicken to be chunky and not shredded, only white meat, it has to have grapes, and it must be made from boneless chicken breasts.  (Don't ask.)  I was searching the internet the other day for a recipe to try out.  As luck would have it, the first one I tried was fantastic. It's a little different, but perfect for my taste.

Hawaiian Chicken Salad

Ingredients


2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup creamy salad dressing, e.g. Miracle Whip ™
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple tidbits, juice reserved
1 lb. cooked, diced chicken
1 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups seedless grapes, halved

Directions
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in salad dressing and 2 tablespoons reserved pineapple juice. Stir in the pineapple tidbits, chicken, almonds, and grapes until evenly coated. Chill until serving.

ENJOY!