sickness sucks.

Apparently, there's been some sort of virus going around, and I may have caught it. I have felt absolutely miserable for the last several days. I couldn't even thoroughly enjoy Heroes the other night because my whole body was aching and I was going back and forth between having chills and breaking into a sweat. Needless to say, Valentine's Day was a bust for hubby and me.

The weather around here has been a miserable bust too. It's just way too cold.

My husband brought me chocolates though. That was nice. Chocolate always makes things a little better. Here's to antioxidants and endorphin-releasers.

blur.

Who knew January could be such a ROUGH month?? I have barely had time to go to the bathroom on a semi-regular basis, much less post about everything I have wanted to the last few weeks. Now it's February!

Sheesh. I really need to get on the ball.

And I shall. Tomorrow. After Heroes.

nostalgia tuesday.

To begin this year, I think I am going to do something new with the Nostalgia Tuesday posts. Since I am a musician, and there seems to be some sort of song running through my head most of any given day, why not share some of my favorite songs?

Several weeks ago, hubby and I were watching one of those Time-Life infomercials and they were selling a CD collection of "soft rock from the 70s and 80s." You know, like Air Supply and Christopher Cross and stuff like that. Well, I was a little kid back then, and I remembered most of that music. Especially the eighties stuff, since I was really small in the seventies (I was born in '73). I remembered the songs that I liked from the seventies but I never knew the titles of the songs or who sang them. With the eighties I knew all the stats. It was a neat trip down memory lane. It's so cool how a song can be a peg that a really good memory from one's childhood is hung upon.

So, here are a few pegs. Look these up on iTunes or Rhapsody or Pandora and be transported to a simpler time and place...at least it was simpler for me...

Killing Me Softly With His Song--Roberta Flack (1973)
My Love--Paul McCartney and Wings (1973)
Rocky Mountain High--John Denver (1973)

happy new year!

Well, I'm back, after another short hiatus of a few days. Things have been so busy around here I have barely had time to catch my breath. Trying to get mentally prepared to start the daily routine again is hard work for me! Where is all of this resistance coming from?? I think it will take me a couple of weeks to feel like life is normal again.

Bob Jones came to our church again this past weekend. He had a great deal to share but one of the main things he kept saying was "paradigm shift." What we have been focused on previously is going to change dramatically. That has already started happening in my life. Things I had not previously even imagined that I could do or would be doing are now regular habits. Things such as going on outreaches, preaching the Gospel, ministering out in the marketplace. We came out of a church where it was a select few that did those things, and everyone else had to go through some hundred different steps before they would be "qualified" to do the same. It is so different now. There really has been a shift in my life, and it was said that this shift would occur everywhere. My husband said it sounds like a mass repentance (repent= change one's mind) that is coming, where everyone is re-focused on what is truly important and eternal and a great unity and power results.

I'll get the recordings and share some key points as I've done before.

Time to go eat some cookies.

remember.

As the clock is winding down on another year of life, I reflect on the lessons, the people, and the blessings that have come my way.

I was just starting to get to know my baby boy, who was only a month old this time last year.
My family was getting used to our new geographical surroundings, having relocated to this area in September of '05.
I began a new business--a school of my own where I can teach music privately. Since beginning in the summer, I have gone from one student to twelve. And what a blessing each student has been. I hope I have been a blessing to them too.

We had some financial struggles, but through them we learned what it really means to depend on the Lord, and were miraculously blessed and provided for. As a result, we no longer tremble with fear when some difficult circumstance comes our way.
I watched my now ten year-old learn how to swim.
We were given an old vehicle, which we drove until we couldn't drive it anymore, and were then blessed with a new vehicle, which was one that I had specifically asked for in prayer.

I was pushed out of my comfort zone, going on outreaches, preaching the Gospel in English and Spanish, in neighborhoods, trailer parks, and at high school football games. Seeing the fruit of those outings is tremendously humbling. I am so grateful to be a part of what's happening here.
We saw really cool healings, remarkable salvations, and were constantly encouraged in our walk with the Lord.

Seeing my son take his first steps at nine months old was a trip.
Celebrating his first birthday was so much fun. His first milestone birthday. It was my oldest son's milestone birthday as well, turning double digits. Hubby also had a milestone birthday, turning 30. No milestone for me, but it was cool to see the three men in my life mark important milestones in their lives.

We learned how to truly abide in the Lord, to soak in His presence. It is so much less work than I ever thought it was. So fewer "steps." We just sit, turn up the worship music, and soak. No wonder I never could seem to keep my peace before.
We had encounters with angels. I can't sufficiently describe how cool that was.

I could go on, but this would end up being a really long post.

what's new.

Lots of people make New Year's resolutions that they attempt to keep but never do. I never make resolutions. I do make a list of goals at some point during the year. Those goals are things that I hope to accomplish by the end of that year. Then I go back the next year or a couple of years later and see what I was able to accomplish and what I wasn't. I cross off the list things that I did, or saw, or bought, and I'm surprised at what I actually did get done (even if it's only a couple of things...I tend to set pretty lofty goals!).

On the list for this coming year are some familiar goals--save more money than I spend (why is that sooooo hard??), find time to read some of the books in my library, learn to be a better artist, write those books. But there are some new goals too:

• learn how to disciple my students and not just feed them information
• do not be afraid to prophesy to a complete stranger
• make Christmas gifts for my loved ones this year--a recorded CD, calendars, book plates
• rejoice in watching my boys grow older with no regrets about how fast the time flies

I'm looking forward to crossing things off of this list.

nostalgia tuesday.

Being the day after Christmas, I decided to reminisce (did I spell that right??) about some of the Christmas gifts I received as a child. Some of them were extremely popular at the time, and some of them have stood the test of time and are still popular.

• a Mickey Mouse watch (wish I still had it; it would be collectible EBay-able material now.) I really wanted a Strawberry Shortcake digital watch (digital watches were the new thing then), but I ended up being perfectly happy with the Mickey Mouse one.
• a Baby Alive doll. With the powdered baby food and diapers and everything. I named her Maya. She had a little yellow dress and curly hair, and I remember I loved her very much. I think I was a pretty good mom too.
• an Easy Bake oven. I baked several cakes with that thing, including a birthday cake for my dad. I really thought I had it going on, like Betty Crocker or Julia Child or something.
• a black and yellow race-car big wheel. It had a timer on it and came with orange road cones so you could time yourself. I would go really fast, then pull up the break and spin around. It would make this schreeching noise just like fast cars spinning out do. That thing was so much fun. I wore it out.
• a pink Huffy Princess Power bike. I wore that thing out too. It was for me at the time to pop wheelies on it, even though I wanted to. I figured eventually I would upgrade to a BMX bike. Never did.
• a Malibu Barbie. I had so many Barbies. They were great fun. Never got the Dream House or the RV or the McDonalds or the Pink Corvette, but I did get the Silver Corvette one year. That was cool.
• a little Strawberry Shortcake playhouse. It was shaped like a big strawberry and would close up and you could carry it like a little case. Inside fit Strawberry Shortcake (who smelled like fruity goodness) and her furniture, which included a stove. She also had little pies with fixings that you could mix and match. I loved that toy.

When I was little, cable tv and Sony Walkmans were the in things to get, along with Ataris and Commodore 64's. And Apple Computers were just beginning to get popular. Now I've got a MacBook Pro on my wish list this year, my son loves his new IPod Nano and is begging me for an XBox 360, and cable tv just wouldn't be the same without Tivo. I guess we've come a long way.

Christmas cheer.

Well, here it is, not a week later, but a MONTH later!

Who knew I needed a month-long hiatus?

Apparently that's what I needed, because the three weeks after Thanksgiving and my son's birthday were spent nursing his illness, or my oldest son's illness, or MY illness. I couldn't even fully enjoy my own birthday on the 1st.

That's right. The three of us were dreadfully sick. And we kept re-infecting each other I guess, because it was about three weeks or so of straight misery before the baby's nose finally stopped running with slime. There were several days where at least one, if not all of us, were pretty much bedridden. I had trouble breathing for about a week and a half. Sudafed and Benadryl became fast friends of mine. Thank God my husband never caught it, whatever it was. It seems there was something horrendous going around; some of my students were sick too.

Fast forward to the past week, when we finally got our tree and decked our halls, got our Christmas shopping done, and took care of whatever else we needed to that didn't get taken care of yet this month. It was a blur. And now, here I am, about to don my Santa suit along with my husband and put the gifts under the tree before heading to bed.

Now that I'm feeling normal again, I've got to get cracking on all of the good stuff I had planned on posting this month. But for now, I will say Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

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.