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I know you may have seen this already, but I can't resist posting!

Man Cold!

I saw this a few weeks ago over at Girl talk and had to share it!

News

I know it's been a bit sparse around these parts of the web, but I have a legitimate reason. Honest.

I'm pregnant!

#4 will be here in November.

No morning sickness yet, thank you Lord! And I've been able to continue the majority of my work out routine so I'm actually feeling pretty good.

So there's my news. And my excuse. :)

I just read this goofball's article on www.foxnews.com. The guy reasons that because monogamy doesn't exist in the animal kingdom, then it's ridiculous to expect it among humans. Of course, the basic assumption he's making is that we're no different from animals. I suppose he's at least being consistent. The article was kind of gross and inappropriate so I won't link it here. Yuck.

But the other day as I was in the cardio room, there was a movie on that someone else was watching. I am by no means endorsing the movie; I just wanted to note something in it.

The movie was Anger Management with Adam Sandler. I suppose the story is that he has such a bad temper that the girl he loves won't commit to him and he's in therapy for it, and yada yada yada. Anyway, I saw the very end and here's what happened (spoiler warning-since I'm sure every last one of you is dying to see this movie).

Adam's character is at a Yankees game. His girl is in the stands. He somehow manages to get a hold of a microphone down on the field and the cameras of the stadium are on him. He then tells his girl how he's done getting mad, he's a changed man, and that all he wants is to get married and have a family with her. She gets all teary, he runs up the steep steps to her seat, then hug and kiss all on the big screens and everyone's happily ever after, the crowd's cheering.

If people really don't have an innate sense within them to be with one person for the rest of their lives, tell me why the happy ending to this movie was just that.

Just another example of how we AREN'T just animals, but are created in the image of God.

Home

Lydia over at The Purple Cellar shared a wonderful description of how the Bible describes HOME.

I think I'd like to make mine this way.

I've been tagged by Karen at thatmom, which is truly one of my most favorite blog reads. Her podcasts are fantastic and highly recommended! What I like about Karen is that she's very balanced in her views of womanhood, homeschooling, and parenting. Anyway, I'm suppose to give you a thumbnail of 7 things about me, then tag 7 more people. Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I am prone to strange dreams that cause me to shoot out of bed and run down the stairs in a panic. Often, I have no idea what I even was dreaming about! It doesn't happen often, but it makes my poor husband wake with a start.

2. I met my man on the debate team-which made for some interesting conversations in our early years of marriage. :)

3. Reading to my children is my favorite activity with them. I would read books all day if they would let me. I've loved the book Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt as well as Sherry Early's Picture Book Preschool.

4. I am a pro at Connect Four. I am rarely beat BY ANYONE.

5. My favorite candy bars are Butterfinger bars and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Cadbury Eggs.

6. I enjoying buying baby dolls, fancy dresses, and tea party sets for my baby girl. I really, really like buying girl stuff. :)

7. I absolutely love to exercise and can't wait to go after my dinner settles. I need some time with my iPod, my treadmill, and my Brooks running shoes.

I am tagging:

Anita

Joann

Crickl

Music Minister's Wife

Alida

Caroline

Rachel



Here it is, my dears! I hope you'll be inspired and also enjoy finding some new blogs to read.

Rebecca over at Rebecca Writes has a delicious recipe for Scored Potatoes.

Elaine from Home But Not Alone has also shared a BUNCH of side dish ideas!

Next, we have Dorothy at Field Stone Cottage with two recipes for us: Broccoli with Garlic and Sweet Potato Puffs.

Jane has posted a recipe over at Rebecca Writes for Cheese Grits.

Tricia has some delicious Rice Pilaf.

A new one from Kim has arrived with a variety of new side ideas..

Here are some new recipes for you from Rosemary Cheesy Potatoes and Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

And ONE more for you for Cheesy Potato Casserole, Vegetable Medley, and Carrot coins with Thyme from Barbara H

Oh, and here's mine:

Parmesan Green Beans

3 cups frozen cut green beans
1 packet Good Seasonings Italian Dressing Dry Mix
2 T. olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Steam the green beans for about 5 minutes. Drain. Put them in a casserole dish and drizzle with olive oil and italian seasoning mix (you won't need the whole thing, using as much or as little as you like) Sprinkle on cheese. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until hot.

I serve this at almost every holiday dinner and when I host church folk!



Fire up those keyboards ladies! I need your best SIDE DISHES for our round up tomorrow: veggies, grains, noodles, fruits, WHATEVER!



Because Elaine, the Northern Ireland blogger, asked, I present to you my official storytelling library St. Patrick's Day hat!





I've read stories at the library for the last three weeks to fill in for the lady who usually does it while she had knee surgery. Since Easter and St. Patrick's Day are so close together this year, I did a bunch of funny St. Paddy's Day books. I wore a big green felt hat and had a singing Leprechaun on the table with me. The books were cute and the kids laughed at the mischief those wee folk get into! So you might check out your library to have a little green celebration of your own next week!

I just ate 5 cookies worth of frozen peanut butter homemade cookie dough.

We made some of these a few years ago because we didn't care for the ones you can buy (and I knew I could make a set for each kid in my Sunday School class for the price of one set from Family Life). I'll just give you the link to the website I used to make them.


http://www.rainbowcastle.org/resurrectioneggs.html

Have fun!!

*reposted from March 22, 2007

I've still got a ways to go, but I've found some tricks that help me get to the Recreation Center where I work out:

My husband has a flexible schedule, but doesn't like to be bound by much of a routine. So I get up in the morning and I ask, "So when can I work out today?" Sometimes it's the morning, or late afternoon, or after dinner. I have just learned to be flexible because beggars can't be choosers!

Once he tells me when it would work for him, as it gets to be closer to that time I think of all the stuff I can get done that will enable me to get there. I get in my workout clothes with my running shoes! I begin some dinner preparations just in case I'm going in the late afternoon. If I get to go in the morning, then I wait to take my shower until I get home. I just immediately get in my workout clothes. If I go after dinner, I again get in my clothes and shoes before I serve everyone. Then I let my dinner settle as I wash all the dishes, and by then I'm ready to go. Have you noticed a pattern here? Right now, I get to go this afternoon sometime. I've taken a shower, but went ahead and put on my clothes. Oh, and make sure my iPod is ready to go, along with my water bottle and any reading material.

Go for at least 45 minutes. What's 15 more minutes when you're already there and sweating?

I tell myself, if I get tired, "I can do anything for ____ minutes!" "It's only ____ more minutes!" "I never regret working out when it's all done!"

Mix it up. Don't do the same thing all the time. I added the stair killer and it IS hard, but good. As soon as I'm not challenged at something, I up the pace, the incline, the level. I've worked up to the 12th level on the elliptical trainer. I can run at 5.0 now on the treadmill. I did NOT start that way. In fact, when I began I did something terrible to my knee because I went too fast.

Get some great shoes. The gal over at Finish the Race suggested going to a running store and getting a gait analysis. I did that over Thanksgiving and discovered that I overpronate, which was contributing to my knee problems. I got a shoe that gives me better support and the problem is solved!

As I think of more things that have helped me, I'll post about it.

I found the coolest blog, via Average Girl that has a whole team of cool people who are in the fight against fat together: One Weigh Or Another

I've found all kinds of great ideas, especially the Real Age Test Be sure to check it out! By the way, my real is 24.3 :)



I'm hosting this month's Recipe Round Up. I don't know about you, but sometimes I have trouble coming up with creative, healthy (or not so healthy!) side dishes for my meals. How many different ways can I make green beans? Is there anything else I can do with brown rice? I need a new pasta sauce. Broccoli and cauliflower-must it always have cheese sauce?

I've decided to stretch you all a bit and make side dishes the March Recipe Round-Up.

Give us some super-healthy stuff you'd serve your family on a busy weeknight, but don't forget those decadent holiday-only sides. I'm excited to see what we can come up, ladies!

Let's shoot for Tuesday, March 18th as the day of the Round Up. Post the recipe on your blog, then send me the link and on that day I'll post everyone's links. It will be just in time for Easter dinner menu planning.

If you want more details, be sure to check out Rebecca Writes.

Seems the blogs are lit up again with all this discussion. Some of it is great. And if you haven't noticed, I do lean somewhat to the right on many of these issues.

I'm just not sure that the Bible teaches as a direct command that ALL women are to marry, have as many children as possible, and homeschool them, while raising goats and grinding their own grain for homemade bread. I think it's fantastic that there are women who choose this kind of lifestyle. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, and in some ways, I live kinda like that (no goats...) But to turn a lifestyle choice into a command is a huge jump to me, and when it's implied that you're living in sin if you don't do these things, well, I just have to remember all the man-made laws the Pharisees enforced. There are basic Biblical principles that are non-negotiable: Raise your children in the fear of the Lord, teach them the Bible, train them in the way they should go. I truly think that each family has to earnestly pray about HOW this looks in their family. God will do the convicting if something needs to change.

As the pastor's family, we can only encourage families to seek God's glory in their homes. Sure, I'd love to have another family in our church who homeschools and does family worship at home. But I shouldn't expect that everyone else has the same convictions about those things as I do. And I can't condemn the mom who works part time while her kids are in school all day but is in their classrooms weekly, volunteering at extra curricular activities and still faithful to bring her entire family to church. Is this woman in grave sin against God? There are some authors out there who would say "YES!" But I don't think I buy that...all the scriptures that deal with the home and women's roles are so broad that you cannot fit every single woman and family into this cookie cutter of homeschooling mom of 10.

We have a family who is considering homeschooling next year. I talk freely about it with her, but I always qualify what I'm saying with, "I'm praying that you and your husband agree on whatever outcome you decide. That's the most important thing." I'm not trying to push my views about homeschooling on her, but I do refer books to her, share honestly about the struggles, and pray for her. I'm not interested in guilting her into it. She has to want it for her own family, not because she feels pressured.

Can't Sleep

Do you know what time it is? It's 2:58 a.m. on my computer. An hour ago I had actually fallen asleep. only to be rudely awakened by my dog barking at a bunch of deer in my front yard. It seems my heart hasn't stopped racing since.

Tomorrow is a full day--I sure hope I can fit a nap in there somewhere...

Good grief. Good night already!

Crummy Church Signs: Yeah! What?!?

Oh my. The crumminess is UNREAL! I particularly like the Presbyterian church sign...enjoy!



Though originally written for children and published in 1807, this book retells twenty of Shakespeare's plays. I will admit a certain ignorance of most of them, though I had a fantastic English teacher in ninth grade who made Julius Caesar come alive for me ("Beware the Ides of March!!"). I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and have found myself drawn to it instead of my chores. I've been taking it with me to work out, too, which says a lot. Each play, written in prose form, is relatively short so it's a good one to pick up off and on. I just finished A Winter's Tale, which is a play I had never even heard of before. I found myself captivated and surprised by the ending!

If you're looking for something that's a classic, but not so cumbersome to read (when you have young children that's important!), I'd recommend this. You could probably find it at any library, but I got mine from www.paperbackswap.com (By the way, have you checked that out yet, book lovers? I've mailed over 20 books!).

Sometimes I really miss living in the South...

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