The fruits of my life

What happens when 16 women from different states, backgrounds, and generations come together in an amazing house for one long weekend? One Wild Weekend! I think any woman would be excited to have a weekend away. From schedules, requirements, stress, and laundry:) I look forward to this week almost as much as I look forward to date night with my Superman. This annual trip for me came about when my friend Cindy told me I was going with her. This is Cindy and her loving husband Tim: Isn't she just beautiful? Since, this is my blog, and Cindy isn't here to dispute it, here is how I remember the story's beginning. Cindy is my friend and was my girl scout co-leader. We met at an info meeting for scouts and I asked her to help me out with the troop. Because I am a bit of a control freak, I wanted a co-leader to be a fun lady who would have a blast with the girls, and do what I needed done. Which was basically show up and go on fun trips with us. Cindy is a

Am I a tree hugger? Sometimes, I mean I like trees and all, I am thankful for the beautifully breathtaking world we were given to live in, I even recycle most of the time. But as I found myself making household cleaning supplies recently I wondered if I was going granola? As it turns out, I'm just cheap thrifty! My friend Anna told me she had found a recipe to make liquid laundry soap and that it would cost only one cent a load of laundry!!! Holy cow, Tide (my preferred brand) costs me about 50 cents a load. We we decided to do it. It took us about 20-30 minutes to make it and then it needed to sit overnight before we could combine it with more water and put it in our re-usable tree hugging containers (SEE I RECYCLE). We used this recipe: Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value 4 Cups - hot tap water 1 Fels-Naptha soap bar 1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda * ½ Cup Borax - Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir

Wednesday nights right now are the only night that we have with nothing going on. No kids to drive around and no commitments! Check out our calendar... I have had to color code every person in our family. For example, I am pink (of course), Superman is blue, My pumpkin is green, and Noodle is purple. Then family/church stuff is in orange, Birthdays are in aqua, and immediate things to do is red. Seriously? It's super chaotic! Some weeks I don't know how we will accomplish everything and others run smoothly. The usual hiccups come when something extra enters the scene. For example, a meeting at school for one of the girls, or kids that want to decorate a couch (more on that Sunday), or, well, anything that isn't a already known about! Wednesday's are 2-3 cups of coffee days. (Mostly because I LOVE coffee an unhealthy amount.) While say, our busiest day, Thursday, is more like 5 or so cups of coffee. I am doing my best to balance my coffee with water but Thursda

I find it hard to believe that My Superman and I have two teenage daughters; let alone one who is old enough to drive. This is the first year she can drive to school. It's freaky;I remember when I was old enough to drive to school. I felt totally independent and FREE. As a parent, knowing that she probably feels the same way, is frightening. Waiting up until one the other night (morning) for her to come home was a bit nerve wrecking. She was at a band competition in Masslion, Ohio; just so you didn't think we were really crazy and that 1am is her curfew. I laid in bed feeling tired and a bit irritated that the contest ran so late, and happy I didn't need to go out and get her. As the minutes ticked on and my eye lids got heavy I began to imagine all the awful things that could happen, then finally at 1:01 AM she walked in. Yea!!! And then this morning, I was on my way home from teaching my 6am Spinning class and noticed that traffic was seriously backed up. Ick, must be

I am not a fan of small dogs. In general I think they are yippy and annoying. I had at one time vowed to NEVER own one. That, apparently was my first mistake. Earlier this year my oldest daughter got a teeny tiny "mutt" or a Shorkie. She is incredibly cute and has totally melted my heart. Her name is Marcel (after "Marcel the Shell with shoes on" from YouTube) and even though she belongs to my pumpkin, I am totally in love! The other day while I was eating a bowl of soup she climbed up on my lap and promptly rolled over and took a snooze. And yes, I totally let her stay there while I ate my lunch.

I am cleaning, purging, decluttering, and organizing our office today. I feel sorry for the person who will have to lift our paper recycling bin on Friday....it's gonna be heavy. My dilema..... Christmas Cards/Photos.... Does anyone else have this issue. I cannot seem to throw them away. I have 2009-2010 photo cards here in a file. SERIOUSLY???? Why am I keeping them? I can't seem to part with them, I can't throw my friends and their cute kiddos in the recycling bin? Can I? Help I need permission....

In July I was visiting my dermatologist to take the next step in controlling my psoriasis, when I happened to ask about a mole on my chin that….irritated me. It was one of those unsightly moles that will mysteriously grow a long “whisker” seemingly overnight, that you don’t actually discover until you are in a public place and without tweezers. Unfortunately, she said it was fine and didn’t need removed. Sigh. Then upon further review of my face she pointed to a tiny spot close to my eye and said, “That one isn’t good, it needs to be removed, schedule on your way out for one day next week”. Double Sigh! Then next week came, and I show up for my appointment to remove the suspicious mark on my face. I am not sure what I expected really, but it was super quick, easy and mostly painless. One shot of lidocaine and one slice with a scalpel and the spot was gone. I discovered two important things that day, one, my dermatologist is awesome, quick, and funny and two, I will never be gettin

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to view this photo book larger

This week at church we started a study on the Apostles Creed. Part 1 “I believe in God the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth an in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord.” What kind of Father is God? This was a tough topic for me to accept and make sense of. And from time to time, doubt will still creep in. But all in all, over the past year or so, I have come to the conclusion that the earthly fathers God placed in my life weren’t capable to give me exactly what I thought I needed. Maybe it was God’s beginning of His work in me to let me know I only needed Him. He alone could more than fill that empty void that sadness, that… unexplainable gut wrenching anger I held for both dads that I “had.” Couldn’t God see my pain? My fear? My need to be loved? Didn’t he know the hurt that had been inflicted by on me by one and the abandonment of the other? Why did He want me to be so sad? DIDN’T HE LOVE ME? I spent a lot of time lost as a teen. Making choices that could never be erased.

He will be a sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure. Isaiah 33:6 I read this verse the other day as part of my "homework" from a Bible Study Fellowship Class I am taking. Each year they do an in depth (September-May) weekly study of a book or group of books in the Bible. This year is Isaiah. I was really excited to get involved with this study because I am always fascinated with the old testament and my daughter Alex found her life verse in Isaiah. Isaiah was given great wisdom and knowledge because he depended on the Lord alone. EVERY DAY! He sought the Lord before making his next move. He delivered only the message God gave him to deliver exactly how was directed. That amazes me and I think that is why this verse is still stuck in my head today. I KNOW I don't do that. Sometimes I think I do, or I try and mold what I know God is asking me to do in some way more palatable for m