Tis the Season

It's almost that time again...you know the one I'm talking about.  The one that nearly made me insane last year.  The one I said never again to...and obviously lied.

That's right...

It's almost baseball season.

I grew up in some way or another on or around a baseball field.  My brother played baseball from the time he could walk all the way up to college.  He's a lefty pitcher and a home run hitter and even after all these years...I still like to brag on him.  In my eyes, he was a rock star.  Still kind of is.

Anyway...last season, the boys were in two different age brackets for our county league.  Which obviously means separate teams...which means separate practices.  People...remember this??

Just click on that calendar up there.  That's six practices a week...color coded per child...and a then 2 year old to take with me to at least half of them.  Needless to say, all that craziness led to this...

That was the first time I cooked in bulk.  And do you know I still plan that way?  I don't so much do it a month at a time anymore...more like every two weeks.  But it works.  And saved us a fortune in money and I'm sure cholesterol medicine by not eating ballpark food or fast food (which is actually cheaper than ballpark food.)

Anyway...all that to say this...I'm on the hunt for new recipes again.  Not only am I needing to plan things that are quick, but I've got to be sure to incorporate things that are Weight Watchers friendly. 

Planning...planning, planning, planning.  I feel like I live by a calendar.  Anyone else feeling that way?  I don't worry about things becasue I know that I ultimately have no control over anything (and that is HARD for this OCD woman to admit to) but I like to be prepared where I can.

I also bought this little jazzy thing at Sam's to help me carry all of our "gear".  (I'm going to use it for the beach, too.  Why rent the chairs when I can bring my own??)

Hopefully this year I'll be more prepared and less crazy...we'll see!  



what you may not know...

is that i'm teaching the ladies class on wednesday nights at our church. y'all...i don't know why. i'm not sure why anyone would even allow such nonsense to happen. but it is. i went to our preacher's wife, elayne, who is so awesome...i just love her. anyway, i saw this book at lifeway and thought, "hmm...lots of good, basic topics. i bet this could be a good study" and i took it to her to show her to see if she was interested. of course she said, "looks good. are you going to teach it?"

silence...

then crickets...

then a check for vital signs b/c i KNOW she was not asking ME that question.

i've taught a class of 3 year olds against my better judgement, I've been with kids 3rd grade-college age and done quick devotionals and even a sex class at Bible camp right after I was married-the nurse stuff, the Bible stuff and the real life stuff, and done prewritten Bible lessons...but this? NO. this was for women. like women my age and older. women who actually know stuff. women who are all learn-ed and whatnot. so what did i do?

I told her i'd think about it.

and i did. i took the book to the beach this past august and started reading through it. and thank goodness, it's not a very cerebral book (the author's words, not mine). but it is very applicable to every day living and that is what i LOVE when i'm in a class. i need to relate things.

also, in the years since being a stay at home mom, i have kind of let go of my used-to-be outgoing self and climbed into a box, into a box with the lights off and waaaaaaaaay back into a corner where no one could see me. (raise your hand if you've known me long enough to know that just ain't me.)

so...i prayed and decided that if He was gonna lead me down this road i may as well sign up to be a tour guide and not just another passenger asking "are we there yet?"

and then do you know that Elayne brought us Priscilla Shirer's lessons on Jonah this past fall...you know...when God told Jonah to do something and Jonah all but ran away? That one?Yeah. I'm kind of thinking I couldn't say no at that point.

micah asks me every week how class is going. and i have no idea. i tell him to ask someone who is actually there but not one of my friends cause they love me enough to lie to him. He says as long as i'm not being heckled it's probably fine. (y'all feel the love right there, too, right? nah, i'm kidding. he reads my lessons every week and lets me know if it at least makes sense.)

so i find that i'm doing purposeful reading and researching every week, something i haven't done in a long time. and i'm not too proud to tell you that some of the topics in this book that i thought were easy breezy...are kind of slapping me in the face and convicting me like i need to be...especially as i look outside of the text and dig for more scripture to base my own thoughts off of.

a week or two ago i read a friend's blog that said she had been out of God's word for a few days or a week or so and she could really tell in her attitude. Not two days later I was having breakfast with a friend to do our Christmas exchange and she was asking me to really give her something to think about b/c she had also been out of her Bible reading and could really tell in her attitude.

i have a feeling that was God trying to tell me something. I mean it was almost verbatim between these two friends who don't know each other but they are both a blessing to me. I confess that in the years that I've crawled into my box that my dependance on God is one of the things I have let go of. well, shame on me. and really...how ignorant. perhaps if i hadn't pushed talking to Him aside and searching out comfort and knowledge in His word then i'd have never known there was a little dark box for me to crawl into.

anyone else like that?

just goes to show you...sometimes you think you need to hear something encouraging and uplifting from someone else when really, it's right in front of you and He just wants YOU to search it out and find it for yourself. I mean, you learn the most when you do the work, right?

what i've learned so far is that it really is true...the teacher usually is the one who learns the most. so if you are feeling like you need to be challenged in your spiritual life, perhaps teaching just one class is what you need. trust me when I tell you that God will give you the confidence to stand up there. I look at 40 women every week and i just KNEW i was going to need some sort of pill, anxiety or antiemetic, to make it through. but i haven't felt nervous even once and i DON'T do stuff in front of crowds well, except for cheering all those years, but that's beside the point.

i have about 5 hours to pull together tonight's lesson on putting off the old self. and since it's the new year, the timing couldn't be better. i have a LOT of those areas to work on.

merry merry...

happy holidays from all of us to all of you!

eleven years

Happy anniversary love! eleven years down, sixty something to go! even if all i ever had was you, i'd be a happy woman! but you have given me more than i've ever asked for. i'm so glad you're my best friend!

a little trip

soooo...long time, huh? i just got back from a long weekend trip out to las vegas to visit my friend Ellen. We had an awesome time and i'm so thankful to my husband for making this trip happen for me. he's the best! first thing we did...was see this little bit of sweetness (which was from 2-4 AM my time...and i had been up since 6!)

Otherthings we did...

things i didn't do: gamble, drink, get a tattoo, see a show, see Elvis or Barry Manilow, or take one of those cards that people try to give you every two feet for an x-rated encounter. I did stand like 6 inches from Jose Canseco and didn't realize it until someone called out his name. He's a big dude, but not 'roided up like he used to be. Just in case you were wondering. OH, I also got to go out to Nellis AFB and happened to see a few stunts by the...stunt planes...can't remember their names. it wasn't for a whole show. we just happened to catch a few end stunts. anyway, it was a fun time and micah was awesome enough to work from home and take care of the kids so that i could unwind and have a great time! hopefully next time, he'll get to come with me!

mom challenge...

sorry...i know y'all have been looking at my chili recipe for a month now. no excuses other than to much...muchness going on. i DO have another chili recipe, though. or i actually thought it was more like a mexican chicken stew. anyway, not the reason i'm here today. found this on my love Pinterest. thought i'd share b/c it surely spoke to me and how i could do better in our muchness.

source

(go to the source or click for larger)

Chili Recipe

ever try to make something several times before you feel like you finally got it right? well, here is my jillionth time at chili.

Chili (makes about 6 quarts)

2 lbs ground beef (I used ground chuck b/c it was on sale)
1.5 tsp minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1 small to med greed bell pepper, diced
2 cans green chilis
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chili beans (I used mild)
1- 29 oz can tomato sauce (yes, the bigg’un)
1- 29 oz can petite diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1 pkg chili seasoning mix
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the diced onion, bell pepper and garlic over a medium high heat until tender. Add in the ground beef and cook until browned. Drain off all fat. In a large stock pot or crock pot (my method) add beef and seasonings. Stir. Add all other ingredients and cook on low all day. (I didn’t have to add anything during the day. You can choose the hotter version of the chili/taco seasonings if you like it spicier. This was plenty for me, though.)

Hope it turns out well for you. I like to serve this with cheese and Jiffy corn muffins...or sometimes Fritos. Depends on how well I’ve done on my diet for the week, haha! This filled my 6 quart crock pot so we’ll have plenty for another time.)