birthday baby.

This one has turned one.

Two minutes ago, he was staring up at me with swollen little eyes and a little beanie cap, meeting me face to face for the very first time. And I, in spite of my tiredness and even a bit of pain, was falling head over heels in love all over again, wondering what was in store for me and my life with this beautiful little one.

Now those two minutes have passed. He's so independent yet still dependent at the same time, wanting to discover how far is too far, how high is too high, how loud is too loud, how big is too big, how much is too much. All the while he knows I am right there if he needs me to catch him.

Well, honey, one day you will discover what's too far for you and maybe what's too loud for you, but I want you to know that you can never reach too high, dream too big, or love too much. In life there are limits, but the most important things are limitless. Our love for you is limitless. The joy you bring into our lives is limitless. Your potential is limitless. And the Lord's love and grace for you is limitless. He too is always right there to catch you.

How fortunate I am to have you in my life. I wish I could bundle up all of what I feel for you and give it to you as a birthday gift, but there isn't a box big enough in this universe. Only hugs, kisses, and these words will have to suffice: Mommy loves you.

Happy birthday boo.

poultry.

I'm sure everyone will be having lots of it! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I'll be gone for the next several days, probably until Monday or Tuesday of next week. Busy time for us. But I'll have a couple of new blogs to put on the "found" list plus a new series of New Year's reflections. Until then, God bless all of you! And try not to burst from all of that good food!

nostalgia tuesday.

Not sure how old I was when my dad took this. Maybe five or six. I do remember going to the airport a lot, because my grandfather worked for Eastern Airlines. Eastern Airlines is no more, and the old airport is now one of the runways of Hartsfield-Jackson. I have no clue what became of that hat.

can you tell me how to get?...

I read this post earlier, and was informed as well as entertained! Here it is for all of you 70's and 80's babies out there...

20 Things You Didn't Know About Sesame Street

end of the tunnel.

Two classes down, one to go...

I finally finished all of the evaluations for my vocal coaching class and sent them off! Whew! Now I need a break. I think I'll tackle the Spanish class tomorrow. I'm starting to see a light at the end of the grading tunnel...

I'll tackle the recital planning tomorrow too. I feel like just chilling and watching some tv now. No more working!

I had to send hubby to get me some more Boost. He got me Vanilla this time. Yum.

found.

Okay. If the images on this blog don't make you swell up with glee, then few things probably will.

Geninne's Art Blog

boost.

I bought some this week, using a coupon that was advertised at Publix. I love this stuff. I discovered it when Bobby was a baby. I would get to feeling really run down, and I would have a can of Vanilla Boost. It was way too small of a can. It just didn't last long enough. It tasted so good.

Now they've got bottles. I thought I had picked up Vanilla at the store, but got home and realized it was Chocolate. No biggie. Chocolate's good too, just not as good as Vanilla. What matters is that I've needed a boost. Several boosts.

This week has been so busy I've hardly had time to write any quality posts. It's all due to school. I hate midterms. I have evaluations to write for three classes: a music appreciation class, a vocal coaching class, and a high-school beginning Spanish class. The music appreciation class is done. The other two are not, and I am not looking forward to writing all of them. Not to mention the chorus that I direct is performing next week for our Fall Concert, and I am in the midst of planning a Winter Recital for my private students. Not to further mention keeping up with all of my son's schoolwork.

This week has really kicked my butt. And it ain't over yet! And even when it is over, there's still Thanksgiving to prepare for! Then Ian's birthday! Then my birthday! Then my mom's birthday! Then my wedding anniversary! Then Christmas! Then Bobby's birthday! Then New Year's! Then winter break is over and everything starts up again! Only I don't see a real BREAK! Aaarrrgh!

Calgon, take me away.

Or Boost take me away.

Okay, don't really "take me away," but keep me well sugared-up.

he says mommy!

Baby Ian has begun the transition from saying "Ma-ma" to "Mommy." He's said it several times this evening. He sounds so cute! What a gem.

...and the pork chops.

So here's what I did to make my Potato Souped-Up Pork Chops (I gave it a catchier title) earlier in the week last week.

I took some thin, boneless breakfast chops (I believe there were eight of them), dipped each one in extra virgin olive oil, and put them in a pyrex baking dish. I then gave them a sprinkling of sea salt and fresh-ground pepper. Then I took some dried organic garlic seasoning and sprinkled that over them. I wasn't too heavy-handed, but heavy enough (I actually feared at first that I may have put too much garlic on them). I put them in my preheated 325-degree oven.

While they were baking, I whipped out a can of Broccoli and Cheese Potato soup and set it on low heat. It had all kinds of chunks in it, and smelled really good. When the pork chops were done (I just eyeballed them), I took them out and let them cool for just a couple of minutes. The garlic smell was fairly strong. I was still a little afraid that it was too much garlic.

Alas, it wasn't (as tasting them later proved). I plated them alongside some sweet English peas, then spooned the soup over them. I sprinkled some French Fried onions on top for crunch. (That ended up being so tasty, I decided to use them again for my Reverse Shepherd's Pie.)

Again, Barefoot Contessa it's not (I do love her. She's like Martha Stewart's little cousin or something), but that hardly matters. My guys were asking for seconds, as was I. The pork chops didn't taste over-seasoned at all. They were delicious. And my husband actually thought that I had made the soup from scratch. I guess he didn't notice that dinner was ready in just over half an hour.

I love pork chops. The other white meat INDEED.

found.

I love food. Who doesn't?

I like to eat good food. I also love trying out new recipes, and I delight in the results. I also love pictures. Pictures with lots of color and detail are my favorites (aside from black and whites).

So, I have stumbled upon several food blogs that have lots of good-looking recipes and good-looking pictures of good food, which I know I probably would enjoy eating. Here is the first:

Pinch My Salt

I swear, I am chomping at the bit to call up Williams-Sonoma and order one of those mini-cheesecake pans so that I can make these mini pumpkin cheesecakes for Thanksgiving. My pumpkin pie is pretty scrumptious (so I've been told anyway), but those cheesecakes look like little bits of pumpkin heaven. Cute blog title too. Check it out at your leisure.

what a week.

TGIF.

This week has been such a blur. I don't know why, but I was, like, upside-down or something. Just didn't feel right. It's probably due to the change in time. I hate Eastern Standard Time. Getting dark at five is just wrong. By 7:30 you feel like it's 11 and you want to go straight to bed. Everything's just "off."

Which leads to why I haven't posted much this week. I've felt more tired than usual. I think it will take me a couple of weeks to get used to being out of Daylight Savings Time. Now that it's Friday and I can veg out for a minute without having to worry about being up early tomorrow morning, I'll catch up on these posts.

...Actually, I do have to be up early tomorrow morning. Darnit.

leftovers.

We polished off the last bit of the Reverse Shepherd's Pie last night. I reheated it and it was still yummy. We ate it while watching Heroes. Have I mentioned that that's a great show?

Anyway, here's what I did for the "pie."

I boiled some rice with a little bit of butter. While it was cooking, I browned two packages of ground beef, seasoned with a few shakes of sea salt and fresh-ground pepper, then drained it. I returned the meat to low heat, then added two small cans of garlic and herb-flavored tomato sauce. I seasoned it again with a few shakes of sea salt and fresh-ground pepper, and added some basil, probably a small palm-ful. I then added some parsley that I had chopped up, about half a cup. I mixed it up, and spooned it on top of my then-done rice. For garnish we sprinkled parmesan cheese on top, and added some of those french-fried onions that are used in green bean casseroles for crunch.

Barefoot Contessa it's not (I love her, by the way), but it was tasty nonetheless. It was simple, off-the-cuff (I really didn't feel like peeling, cubing, boiling, and mashing potatoes) and good.

too tired.

Not a whole lot to report this week. Baby had a teething spell starting Wednesday--the fever, runny nose, CONSTANT crying, and that consumed just about all of my attention and energy. Now here it is the end of the weekend, and I am exhausted.

No football game Friday either. It was the boys' turn to go, and there was an excursion to North Carolina planned. Everyone was going to meet up with a group up there that's learning to do outreaches the way we do them. Well, the weather SUCKED Friday, and not just here, but there too! It rained and rained and rained. And rained.

And rained.

Unfortunately, I had to take my two boys out in it that afternoon. That was a major drag, considering baby boy wasn't feeling well. I love rainy days, but only when I'm cozied up at home. Thank God it was just Friday. Saturday was completely clear and beautiful, and today was even more so. It got up to the 70's.

On a brighter note, I hit several home runs in the kitchen this week. I've always been a decent cook, but this week I tried a brand new recipe and made up two of my own. Luckily I've had zero disasters in the experimenting department in my adult life. That's quite an accomplishment. The last mistake I remember was when I was twelve or thirteen and I put flour in the cornbread recipe.

Anyway, on Tuesday I made Potato-Souped Pork Chops. Friday I made Pasta Carbonara. Saturday I made Reverse Shepherd's Pie. I'll share the recipes for the chops and the pie later...I made them up and they're super easy. Which brings me to my next found blog, which I'll post later as well (getting tired of typing). I'm thinking food blog, and wow there are quite a few awesome ones out there...

icky.

I woke up this morning around 5:30. Said goodbye to my husband as he was off to work. Was ready to turn back in for some more zzz's. Couldn't. Sweet baby (who still sleeps with us) woke up and pretty much cried all morning. I think he's teething again...non-stop crying, low-grade fever, runny nose. Bless his heart. I prayed for him earlier, and now he's taking a good nap, finally. He was all dressed up in this adorable little shirt that says "I'm cute." and jeans with corduroy patches on the knees and a plaid button down shirt, to take pictures with big brother at school. Now that will have to wait. I'm just glad he's sleeping. Maybe I can take a short nap now too. Lord knows I need one.

found.

Here's another awesome find...

I actually discovered Decor8 a few months ago, and it's pretty much a daily read for me. Holly had a workspace contest a few weeks ago, and ohmygosh. I really need to get on the ball with finishing mine, but her pictures were super-inspiring. She's got all these stellar links too, including some of my personal hometown faves! Her site is off the chain. Do check it out.

Decor8

On a more random note, let me just say that I am loving that new show "Heroes."

nostalgia tuesday.

Me at age four, wearing my favorite Winnie the Pooh dress. There was a matching cardigan as well, but I wasn't wearing it in this particular shot. I was at home, I think after church or something.

fruit.

Yesterday was fruity!

I know, I know. What does that mean?

The actual word should be 'fruitful,' but I want to convey the thought of being able to actually smell and taste the fruit. Big fruit. Wonderful fruit. It was so exciting.

Let me back up to Friday.

I went to a football game with several others Friday night. A large group of us split up into three (or four, not sure which) smaller groups and each group went to a different game. This was my first football game outreach, and I was a little nervous. But I kept asking the Lord to show me His heart for these kids.

We got a couple of words for people, and prayed for some people. After talking to this one kid, three cheerleaders came up to me later and said, "We just want you to know that we think it was cool what you did back there." I asked them if they knew the guy that we had been talking to and they said yes. So I ended up getting some stuff for them too and they gave me their undivided attention. I felt like a revival would break out right there starting with them, but another cheerleader came and tugged on one of them, beckoning for all of them to go back to the stands. I was a little disappointed, but at least I got to minister to them for a moment.

It was cool. Saturday hubby and I chilled. We both needed rest. Then Sunday we went out on outreach after church again. On Sundays we go to different neighborhoods, mostly trailer parks. We are concentrating on the Latino community. Anyway, my husband and I went with another guy from our church to one neighborhood. We got to pray for one guy's wife, another guy who I really felt was being overrun by depression, and a sweet old lady who had lost two sons to premature death.

After leaving the sweet old lady's house, my husband said, "The next person we talk to is going to give their life to the Lord." So we stopped at the next trailer. A young guy answered the door. He was from Michoacan, in Mexico. (I've been there. It's pretty.) He basically spoke no English. Since I was the only one out of the three of us who could speak Spanish, they just let me do all of the talking. I didn't have to translate for them. I asked the guy if he knew Jesus and he said 'no.' I wasn't expecting that for some reason, so I continued, and ended up leading him to the Lord.

He gave his life to the Lord!

I prophesied to him, gave him a Spanish New Testament, and that was it. We went on our way. We continued to pray for him after we left, that the Holy Spirit would overshadow him and ignite a hunger in his heart for all that the Lord has for him.

Now, I've prayed for lots of people. I've laid hands on people and seen them healed. That's exciting. I've also prophesied to people and watched in amazement when they tell me that what I've said is spot on. That's exciting too.

This is the first person I've ever led to the Lord.

There's no feeling like it. It was fruity.

blech.

So, they tell her that her clothes are clothes that every woman will want to wear.

Then, they give the prize to...the punky punk.

I cannot believe Uli did not win Project Runway. Michael was my favorite, but his collection was, admittedly, lacking. Uli's, however, was fabulous.

Apparently, fabulous was not what the judges were looking for. They were looking for stuff that people with mohawks who love 1980's Cyndi Lauper and Madonna videos would wear. Since that's what Jeffrey's clothes look like, he was the clear winner.

My husband has decided he won't be watching the next season. Who can blame him?

nostalgia tuesday.

Here's the Atlanta skyline again, but at night.

Same hospital window.

My dad took this one too. He took all of the Fotomat photos.

Remember those Fotomat booths? The Kodak digital kiosks at Wally-World and Target (read: Tar-zhay) are the Fotomat booths of today; you just don't have to drive up to them.

friday night lights.

My husband and son went to a high school football game Friday night. It was one of the weekly outreaches that we do at our church. Here's what happened...

Bobby ministered to several kids, even getting one kid's name. He actually thought it was the kid's brother's name. He said, "Your brother's name is Tyler, right?"

The kid said, "No, MY name is Tyler! How did you know that??" That opened the door for my nine year-old son to share the Gospel with him. After that, several other kids were lined up at my son, saying "Do me!" or "Me next!" or "Pray for me!"

They were all around my husband too. One kid had a broken rib sticking out of his shirt. My husband laid hands on him and prayed for him, and his rib went back in!

My guys, needless to say, are hooked. This Friday is MY turn at a football game! Hubby stays home with the baby.