BUSY. BUSY. BUSY

The last few days have been filled with errands, getting groceries, an evening birthday party for a friend of Hannah's, and lots and lots of getting ready for the big party this weekend. My baby is turning 4!!!

So as if the big party day wasn't enough for this upcoming weekend, Hannah has a karate tournament tomorrow. And for any mother who has children that compete individually, you know the stress that these tournaments can bring. I want for my daughter to do her best. And when she thinks her best is good enough, and the judges don't, and she becomes upset, it affects a Mother's Heart, don't you know, and a Gramma's heart, so says both Gramma and Gramie. We're thinking with her age and her belt rank, maybe there won't be too many kids competing in her group. We'll see. But at any rate she starts competing at 2:00 and it'll be a long afternoon, that's for sure.

With Rachel's party on Sunday afternoon, and Gramie wanting to attend both the tournament and the birthday party, Gramie asked if she could spend the night with us rather than make the 40 mile drive home and back the next day. The girls are excited to have Gramie spending the night at their house.

So with the big tournament happening tomorrow, I've been trying to get things done what I could ahead of time for the party on Sunday. Cleaning, making frosting, making salsa, more cleaning. I'm currently taking a break which is why I'm blogging. :)

I'm discovering that as I get older, I have become a lot more laid back and less stressed when it comes to hosting birthday parties. I still want it all to be themed well, and perfect, but I don't get so stressed anymore, or at least I don't think so. Others may think so. :) But really, I don't think I do.

And with that, I just realized I have to leave to go pick Hannah up from school shortly and I am still in house cleaning clothes. I'm off to spray shower cleaning chemicals in the shower (afterall, the MIL is coming and she may want to shower) and go pick up the Karate Kid from school.

Happy Weekend!!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

For years and years, I made chocolate chip cookies following the Nestle Tollhouse recipe. But in the last year, my mom found the following recipe somewhere on her search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I've used this recipe the last several times in making chocolate chip cookies and the definitely are THE BEST!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 ½ C. Butter or margarine. softened
1 1/4 C. Sugar
1 1/4 C. Brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
2 eggs
4 C. All purpose flour
2 tsp. Baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 (12 ounce) bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I use walnuts) - optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt. Dough will be stiff. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

On an ungreased cookie sheet, drop by tablespoon, 2 inches apart.

Bake 11-13 minutes.

Cool 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet, remove from cookie sheet and cool on cooling rack.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies

Fashion Show

A Week ago last Thursday, was the final night of the women's summer workshops through the Women's Ministry at church. All summer long they had done studies to improve the 'inside', but this night was dedicated to showing ways of improving the 'outside', all the while maintaining a modest and fashionable appearance.

One of the girls in charge of the evening contacted the fashion show director through Nordstroms. Her and her team of models came and put on a fashion show of the newest things fashionable for this Fall. There were so many cute clothes they modeled, and probably pricey considering it was Nordstroms, but it was a fun.It was a fun evening and very well thought out. There were four or five servers that came around with large serving trays of appetizers and finger foods. Special drinks consisting of Sprite, a splash of grenadine syrup, and a cherry were served in tall fluted glasses for the occasion. Definitely felt like you were at a fashion show...with a lot less skin and cleavage showing. LOL.

The 2008 Olympics Come to an End

The 2008 Olympics have officially come to an end.

Thanks to our TiVo, we saw everything we wanted to see (all the swimming and gymnastics) and a lot of stuff we were partially interested in (diving, some track and field). The rest of the stuff we fast forwarded through and stopped at the interesting stuff that jumped out. Last weekend our TiVo box was full (it holds 70 hours!!). We have watched so many hours of the Olympics, I am kinda glad to see them come to a close, I'm Olympic'd out. LOL.

How much of the Olympics did you see and what was your favorite thing to watch??

PTA / Room Mom Stuff

There was a PTA meeting on Tuesday afternoon. I found out about it last minute, and it worked out great to go as I was down one kid, Rachel was with Grandpa Steve on his work route. Hannah and I grabbed a Starbucks and back to school we went for the meeting.

Lots of things happening and getting underway for the new school year ahead. I like to go to these meetings and usually start off the new school year going, but then get frustrated with the fact that my preschooler is a little disruptive, talkative, etc. But I was assured the other day to keep coming and stay involved. There are a few other moms with preschool aged kids, so that'll give Rachel some kids to sit and color with, etc. So, I hope to go to the PTA meetings they have once a month and stay informed and get more involved, etc.

One of the holdbacks of getting involved more is the fact that I have a preschooler at home, and I don't want to be bugging my mom to watch her all the time. However, I learned this week, from a mom who has a preschooler, that our principal is really big on having the younger siblings accompany the volunteering mom to the school. He likes kids and enjoys interacting with the younger ones as well. I was excited to hear this. I need our principal to get to know Rachel's face and her personality, as I will more than likely need his "approval" on Rachel getting into that school for Kindergarten in the 2009-2010 school year (boy, that sounds weird).

I met with our teacher yesterday afterschool to talk about what she needs from me as her Room Mom this year. And sadly, she's not used to having someone so willing to help. She's used to doing most of the work herself. This is the second year in a row that I've heard that from a teacher. Sad. But I offered my help in how ever she may need me to help or gather help, etc. It was nice getting to talk to her for a bit. And just as I presumed, Hannah's teacher is a Disney Fanatic. Even had a Minnie/Mickey Mouse topper atop her wedding cake. She even admitted to her desire to have gotten married at Disneyland, but knew she'd probably still be paying on it. LOL. Hooray for Disney Fanatic teachers!

This morning, we had a Room Mom meeting to discuss Room Mom duties for the year, etc. Nothing new to me. Same things as last year. It looks to be a great year, there are a bunch of other moms whom I've worked with in years past. I'm excited for the new possibilities that lie ahead in the school year to come.

Grumbling

My mom wrote an excellent post the other day on grumbling.

I like what she said about how our grumbling doesn't even have to be spoken verbally. Grumbling can include the mutterings and things we say, or even think, to ourselves.

And that got me to thinking about how in this day and age of technology, how many people use their blogs, their MySpace moods and status, or even their Facebook status to grumble, complain, and be negative.

Just another area for us as Christians, and followers of the Lord, to check ourselves.

MSBNC Poll

Here's our chance to let the media know where we stand on our faith in God, as a nation.

NBC is taking a poll on whether or not "In God We Trust" should stay on our American currency. Vote, let your voice be heard.

"In God We Trust"

Cool Kids' Parties

This last weekend, while lounging about on the couch, recovering from having been out so late Friday Night (LOL), I came across the coolest television show that was right up my alley.

It was on the Fine Living Network and the show was called Cool Kid's Parties. It's a thirty-minute show whereas the host comes in and helps a mom create a cool and well themed party. See, right up my alley for those of you who know how I love to do my girls' birthday parties.

There were a few episodes in a row and they were all good with some great ideas. And it got me thinking about the parties I've thrown for my girls over the years. The most recent blow out party was this past April, for Hannah's 8th birthday, when I did a tea party . That was a lot of fun and I was very happy with how the table and party turned out.

The show also got me thinking about all the parties I've done.

Last year, Hannah had a High School Musical Party. In 2006, her birthday celebration was simple with dinner and cake with the family. In 2005, we did a flower and garden party, 2004 was the backyard carnival that got moved indoors due to rain. Rain is something we've had to deal with a times for Hannah's birthdays over the years. She's had a Disney princess party, a Minnie Mouse party, and her first birthday was teddy bears.

Rachel has had a few less birthday parties to reminisce about. Her first birthday was a Rubber Ducky theme, her second birthday was Finding Nemo, her third birthday, was supposed to be a Doodlebops party, but her party had to be cancelled due to Daddy being sick, so it ended up being a very simple celebration. This years' party is going to be a water party! There will be lots of water and tons of fun and she's very excited!

I love thinking and planning out parties and it was fun to find a television show that showcased someone else doing the same.

It's Official ...

I have been chosen to be the Room Mom for Hannah's class this school year.

Last Spring, when we first learned that our class would be broken up, I wasn't sure if I volunteer to be Room Mom when the PTA sent out a note seeking parent involvement for the new school year.

For the last three years, I've been the Room Mom. I've had the exact same parents, give or take one or two new ones, to work with. I knew what our parents were capable of providing whether it came to donating things I needed for parties, or if I needed help at those parties, etc. I had a five or six particular Moms I felt comfortable going straight to and asking for help. I enjoyed the position and enjoyed working with all the great families we had in our class.

I love to help out in areas like this. I like to be involved in the happenings of Hannah's class. However, I am not one of those territorial PTA moms who HAVE to have a major part in everything, or have a voice in everything, etc. So I was willing to let another Mom, or Dad, take on the role of Room Parent this year if someone stepped up to the plate to do so. Well, either no one else stepped up to the plate, or I was picked because my name was known from past years, but at any rate, I received word today that I have been chosen.

I have a Room Mom meeting on Friday morning with the principal and other members of PTA to discuss the school year ahead of us and areas where help is needed, etc. I've also already contacted Hannah's teacher and will meet with her Thursday after school to see what her expectations and needs are from me this year and to discuss what she desires for holiday parties, etc.

I'm a little nervous heading into this adventure. While I know I can do it, it's a whole new set of parents (with the exception of two!) that I'll have to work with and have contact with.....

The Story of Ruth

Ruth went to her mailbox and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.

She read the letter:

Dear Ruth:
I`m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday
afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit.
Love Always,
Jesus

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. 'Why would the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer.'

With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. 'Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to
offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.'

She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents. 'Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least.' She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.

A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with grand total twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.

'Hey lady, can you help us, lady?'

Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway.

A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags. 'Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us. Lady, we'd really appreciate it.'

Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to. 'Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.'

'Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway.' The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.

As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.

'Sir, wait!'

The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. 'Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to serve my guest.' She handed the man her grocery bag.

'Thank you lady. Thank you very much!'

'Yes, thank you!' It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering. 'You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one.' Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders.

Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street...without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.

'Thank you lady! Thank you very much!'

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too.

The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.

'That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day.'

Dear Ruth:
It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal.
And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus

The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.

Funky Chicken with Sesame Noodles

I tried a new recipe last night for dinner. I can't remember where I originally found this recipe, but it's been in the pile to try for months.

In the process of making it, I thought it would end up too salty, because of all the Soy Sauce the recipe called for, but it didn't! I did use half low sodium soy sauce and half regular soy sauce, so that might have made the difference.

But it was SO good and tasty and really easy!

Funky Chicken with Sesame Noodles

Ingredients:
Sesame Noodles
1lb spaghettini (the thinnest spaghetti you can find)
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. sesame oil
1/3 c. sugar
3 scallions, thinly sliced (next time I think I'll use a few more)
1/4 c. sesame seeds

Funky Chicken
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. teriyaki sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp fresh ginger (or 1/4 tsp dried)
2 cloves minced garlic

4 boneless chicken breasts - I sliced them into strips before marinating

Directions:
Funkying the Chicken:
In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, teriyaki, garlic, brown sugar, and the ginger. Making sure the sugar dissolves completely. Add the chicken, making sure it's all coated with the sauce. Cover and stick in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Making the Sesame Noodles:
Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Drain. In a jar (I used my Tupperware shaker), combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, ad the sugar. Shake well until well blended and the sugar is dissolved. Pour over the pasta. Toss with scallions and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Set aside while you cook the chicken.

When the time comes to serve the noodles, I used tongs to serve the noodles and kinda let some of the excess sauce drain from the noodles, so it wouldn't be so 'soupy'.

Cooking the Chicken:
Remove chicken from the marinade, tossing out what's left. In an electric frying pan, spray nonstick cooking spray (recipe says to use Sesame Oil, but I prefer to cook with Pam). Add the chicken and cook until pink is gone. Remove chicken from the pan and serve over the noodles.

Our Friday Night

Immediately following picking Hannah up from school, I took the girls to my parents house. Rachel was so excited all day long, she kept asking if we could go get Hannah for she knew once we picked up Hannah, they'd be going to Gramma's.

Once home, Steven was done working and we were on our way. We arrived to Angel Stadium about 3:30, parked, and got in line. There were about twenty-twenty five people ahead of us.The gates opened at 5:30 and we met up with my Aunt who took us to our seats. And what awesome seats they were!!! They were six rows from the front and perfect! The Crusade started at 7:00 and shortly thereafter we were joined by our friends, Keith and Amy. The worship was led by The Katina's, who did an excellent, excellent job. However, there were two other groups to perform before my much anticipated performer took the stage.Pastor Greg, taking the platform,
delivering one of his best messages I've heard in a long time. This is as close as I got to Randy this evening.
Amy made me take this picture. Only miles away, with over two hours left of park operation,
and NO kids for either of us, we headed for Disneyland! First time we've been to Disneyland together with NO kids in tow! It was so much fun! We stopped and had ice cream and then were able to hit three rides before the midnight closing time. Not making it to the car until after 12:30, it made for a late night out and about . Thankfully the kids were at Gramma and Papa's and we knew we'd be able to sleep in!

Going to See Randy Travis TONIGHT!

I am a fan of Randy Travis and have been since I was 15 years old.

I've seen him quite a few times over the years, the most recent was Last September, when my friend Amy and I volunteered at one of his inspirational appearances at a church in Orange County. That was such an awesome opportunity and the sitting in the front row of his sound check won't ever be forgotten! I even have a whole picture album dedicated to that event! LOL.

Imagine my great excitement to learn that Randy (we're on a first name basis) was going to be at The Harvest Crusades this year! The event went on the calendar and my mind was set, I was going!

About a month ago, my Aunt who works in one of the Crusades behind the scene volunteer areas, emailed me. This year, the volunteers were allowed to reserve seats and she wanted to know if I wanted seats! This is the same Aunt who took me and my Mom to a benefit dinner a few years ago when Randy was performing. My Aunt knows of my love for Randy and always looks out for me when she has the inside scoop of when he's at our old church, etc. Anyways, it turns out the reserved seats were already gone for the Crusades, however, because she can get in the gates before they open, she will be physically saving me some seats! I'm so excited! Thanks Aunt Sandy!!!

Originally my parents were going to go, but with the heat and long wait, they opted to stay home and watch it online via the webcast in the comforts of home and air conditioning! They've also offered to watch the girls so we can go kidless. Steven will hopefully be getting off around 2:30 and then we'll be on our way. And as it stands right now, Amy and her husband Keith are trying to find places for their children for the night, and will come and meet us later this evening!

It'll be a date night for all of us! And maybe since we'll be so close, and kidless, we can go hit a ride or two at The Happiest Place on Earth. :)

Reusable Bags!

Today was grocery day. Not just running into the store for a few things, but a MAJOR grocery trip.

The kind of trip where I usually have about twelve plastic bags, usually breaking halfway between the car and the kitchen. LOL.

But last week, when I went to Costco, I bought a package of their reusable bags, you know, the kind of reusable bags that every store is selling these days. I took those bags with me today.

Storing them on the bottom of the cart until my groceries had been rung up and paid for, then loading the groceries right into the bags! It made loading the bags into the car so much easier as well as carrying the groceries in from the car. The Costco bags are nice and big and wide. I'll definitely use those again for my grocery store field trips!

Field Trip Adventures!

What an adventure it was too! All five of the third grade classes at Hannah's school went and together we took up two buses. Hannah's class had to be split between the two buses, I had a group of kids, and the teacher had a group. The bus we got...had air conditioning!!! The other bus did not. So it was a nice, enjoyable ride to and from the museum in Santa Ana. Bumpy and loud, but at least it was cool! Being a parent volunteer on this trip was a little stressful simply due to the fact that I only knew two other girls in Hannah's class. Keeping an eye on seventeen kids when you only knew three of them made for stressful times. Just another example of how splitting the classes up this year has been a bummer. In the years past, when our classes had field trips, you knew those kids even by the sight of the back of their heads. Not this time. Thankfully they were name tags when on a field trip with the name of our school, address, phone, etc. So I was able to address kids by their names, but only because of the name tags. LOL.

The exhibit was a audio tour. And personally, I think they should have had a museum docent guide us through the exhibit, talking about the displays, giving the history. I'm not sure how much the 3rd graders got out of having to listen to a tape recording and punching in the corresponding numbers to the display. One student actually admitted they had discovered the 'fast forward' button by the middle of the tour. LOL. At any rate, it was a very interesting exhibit. The detail and exquisite design from so many thousands of years ago was amazing.

After the museum, the school buses took us to a public park around the corner to eat our lunches. One of the teachers sitting across from me on the bus said this was a very nice park with nice restrooms. Just that we had to be careful and not let the kids go themselves as transients sometimes hang out at this park. I don't know what her idea of nice park restrooms are, but while the restrooms were clean, and had toilet paper (a major plus!), the individual stalls did not have doors!!! LOL. Luckily, I made it to the restrooms just in enough time before a group of students arrived! LOL.

All in all it was a great day. A new adventure for the memory books. New things learned. I am extremely thankful that I am a stay at home mom who can accompany Hannah's class on such trips. And I'm thankful I still have a stay at home mom who can watch Rachel so I can go.

Off on An Adventure...

Today's the day. The BIG field trip. It's 6:30 and Hannah is already up, dressed, shoes on, bed made. Can you say excited?!?!?!

The lunches are packed in brown paper bags. The camera batteries are charged. Purse belongings converted over to purse backpack. Dinner is already thought out and just needs to be thrown into the crockpot before we leave. Even the potatoes are peeled and cubed and in a pot of water. Just in case I have no energy to think about dinner when we get home. LOL.

Rachel is spending the day with Gramma and she is soooo excited. I'm thankful that my Mom is a stay at home Mom/Gramma to be able to watch Rachel so I can go and be apart of Hannah's schooling and adventures like this. Thanks Mom!

I'm not much of a museum person. I mean, I like to go, and I like the experience. But I'm not one for standing and reading all the little plaques and stories. I realize that's part of the learning part. Today's museum adventure will be a short one due to the mid morning opening and then us needing to be back on the road to get home for the 2:15 dismissal time. Short, but sweet, and probably just about the right amount of time for me....in a museum! LOL.

Lost Boy: The Documentary

Last night our church had a showing of Lost Boy: The Documentary.

Lost Boy is the story of Greg Laurie and his life and how he got to be where he is today. The movie was was excellent! Excellent! Excellent!

My mom has his new autobiography by the same title, and I'll be picking it up from her this afternoon to start reading.

Headache!

This is the first day in five days that I've not woken up with a headache. Four straight days I had a headache that I absoultely could not get any relief from.

I tried everything I knew to try - Advil, Motrin, my sinus medication, hot compresses, nothing worked or even took the edge off. I had some relief on Saturday when I self medicated with caffeine - Excedrin and a big ole glass (or two) of iced tea. But even after that, I could still feel a dull ache.

I'm not sure if it was weather related (it's been humid), or hormone related, or what. All I know is they were the worst headaches I've ever had, lasting so long. And I'm grateful I it's finally gone....

Gas Under $4.00!

Who would have ever thought we'd be happy to see gas at $3.97 a gallon??

While we've not had to pay over $5.00 a gallon, we sure came close at $4.99 a gallon in Mammoth. The highest gas we paid for locally got as high as $4.89.

Let's hope that gas continues to go down!

Olympic Opening Ceremonies

Sitting here, watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. And thanks to Survivor, we've actually heard of some of these smaller countries. LOL.

08-08-08

Pretty cool date, don't ya think? The Olympics kick off this evening. We've been setting up the TiVo to tape different things we're interested in watching, and bummed that some stuff we want to see if only going to be shown online, like Tae Kwon Do.

We like to watch the Men's and Women's Swimming and Gymnastics the most.

Four years ago, when the Olympics were last on, I was in my 9 month of pregnancy. Hot. Miserable. Huge. Watching the Olympics every night into the late hours of the night helped keep one distracted, at least until the heartburn set in. LOL.

An as for the 2000 Olympics I don't remember anything about them. Hannah was only four months old and I believe if the Olympics were in August, we were in the midst of medical emergencies. Hannah having been admitted with aspiration pneumonia and myself having undergone emergency surgery to remove my appendix. Yea, I think we might have missed the Olympics that year. LOL.

Any particular Olympic events you are hoping to watch??

Riverside Blues Club

This weekend, my brothers band, the Riverside Blues Club has an impromptu gig at the Jazz and Java Music Festival.

While their performance will be much shorter than their usual gigs, this particular night will be a special one. The band is dedicating their performance this evening, and all the proceeds they collect, to the Christopher Laurie Memorial Fund.

If you don't have any plans for Saturday evening, and are looking for something to do, come on out, and not only show your support for the Riverside Blues Club, but also for the Laurie Family.

Beside Still Waters: Up and Running

Still no word from Google on retrieving my Mom's accidentally deleted blog from earlier this week.

Therefore she has gone ahead and started fresh.

You can visit her new blog, Beside Still Waters. Be sure to bookmark it, it has a new URL! The updated link can also be found in the sidebar of all three of my blogs, under Family Blogs.

Relieved

Last month when we were camping with friends from church, several times throughout the weekend, we were witness to the bickering, fighting, name calling, and squabbling that went on between two siblings.

And I have to admit, I was relieved to see it.

I was relieved to see that my friend dealt with the exact same, the EXACT same things I do when it comes to sibling rivalry. I even told her I was relieved to witness it with her kids and that sometimes I felt as thought my children were the only ones to act so poorly towards one another. That there were some mornings before 8:00, they were already at each other. It was the same for her.

The other day, my sister-in-law wrote a post about how she had spent her day keeping her kids separated and working on treating each other nicely. Her kids had been not getting along nicely, pestering, bickering, etc.

Again, relieved. LOL.

Are there any areas that you relieved when you see other mothers experiencing the same as you???

Purses: Full of Germs

While eating lunch this afternoon, I watched an episode of Rachel Ray that taped last week on TiVo. Boy did she have the most interesting segment. It was all about the germs on your purse. :X Ewww! Ewww! Ewww!

The segment was geared around a mother who was a self proclaimed germaphobe. They showed video of her wiping her kids hands with wipes, with 'magic soap', wiping her countertops, the grocery cart, door handles, and even as obsessive as bringing her own fold up toilet seat into public restrooms. All the while focusing on whereabouts she places her purse at various places she makes stopped at - inside the shopping cart, the park bench, the park slide, the public restroom floor (I must admit, this one really surprised me, if she's a true germaphobe, she wouldn't have placed her purse on the floor of the restroom).

They took her purse and sent it to a lab that swabbed her purse and sent them for cultures. The results that came back even surprised the scientist conducting the study! The purse showed signs of E. Coli, Staph, a form of yeast, and another form of bacteria that causes urinary tract infections.

The scientist talked about how your purse picks up germs when you sit it in grocery carts, on the floor of the restaurant, the floor of the public restroom, and the park bench. Sat on all those germy places, ultimately to be brought home and set upon your kitchen counter, dinner table, other common area.

The solution: to use hooks to hang up your purse in the bathroom, to hang it on chairs when in restaurants, to use the same antibacterial wipes you use to wipe your kids' hands to wipe off your purse.

I don't know about you, but I plan on picking up a cheap tub of antibacterial wipes at the Dollar Tree just for my purse!

The Tupperware Cupboard

Perhaps I should start this post out with an apology to my Mom for all the years of unloading the dishwasher and just cramming the Tupperware into its cupboard.

I'm sorry Mom, truly I am.

You see, I am now living out circumstances with my own children that my Mom once lived out with my brother and me.

And right now, it's the Tupperware cupboard.

It's Hannah's job to unload the dishwasher, and like most households I'm sure, we have Tupperware, Rubbermaid, Gladware, whatever, but it all goes into the same cupboard.

And the state it's in at the current moment, reminds me of my childhood.

Excuse me while I go straighten the Tupperware cupboard. LOL.

School Pick Up: It's a Nightmare

Last Spring, it was suggested that our school go from a four track year round school to a modified one track school. A parent meeting was held and one of the major concerns expressed by parents in attendance of that meeting was the parking arrangements and traffic control for dropping off and picking up our students.

We were told they were working on a few different options.There were already traffic issues and lack of enough parking. Concerns of speeding cars barreling down the street, cars not stopping at the crosswalk, etc. And now they were wanting to add 180 students to the already 500+ students students on track.

School started last Wednesday. And we're now a one track school. Yep, all 700+ students all going at the same time.

There was no additional parking. There was no solution for cutting down the congestion at the front of the school. Unless you count the security guards helping direct the traffic. But they were only temporary. They are gone now. And really, they didn't help all that much.

I gave it three days of dropping off and picking up at the front. Just like I've done for the past three school years. But getting there the exact same time I've done for years was only getting me a parking spot farther away, dealing with congestion just to get out of a dirt lot.

But today, we tried something new.

I dropped Hannah off at the back of the school. Where there is a crossing guard and a nice sidewalk onto the school grounds. No cars in the way, unloading kids. No cross traffic to deal with. No buses to deal with. It worked.

This afternoon, I tried picking Hannah up back there as well. It was awesome! I got there the same time I usually get to the front of the school. Parking in a place whereas I didn't have to get out of my car in the 105 degree heat. Nor did I have to unstrap Rachel from her car seat. Her and I stayed in our cool car, waiting for Hannah to come out. It was such bliss!

When the bell rang, we watched for Hannah. She looked for me and saw the car and waited patiently for the crossing guard and then crossed the street and got into the car, a nice cool car.

Today we tried something new...and we shall do it again tomorrow!!!

Beside Still Waters - Mom's Blog

For those of you having trouble accessing my Mom's blog, Beside Still Waters, we are having technical difficulites that might have resulted in her blog being deleted.

We are waiting for blogger/google to contact her in hopes of attaining ber old blog back. If she can't get her old blog back, she'll start a new one.

Blogger Friends, don't worry, nothing bad happened. It was just a case of 'user error'.

Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery - Destroyed

When we were on our way home from our Mammoth camping trip in June, we stopped at the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery. It was a beautiful fish hatchery with a huge pond out front, and a beautiful old building that housed the fish eggs and baby fish. Recently when we were visiting my Uncle, he told us that he had learned that the fish hatchery had been destroyed July 13th, when a destructive wall of mud came barreling down the nearby mountains, due to major thunderstorms and it's effects of a fire damaged hills.

The outside fish raceways became filled with mud, leaving the 3000 Rainbow Trout all dead. And while the building still stands, the hatchery grounds have been destroyed. The 395 was closed for hours as a result of the mudslide.

It's hard to comprehend the damage of what a mud slide can do. And it's hard to think about that beautiful hatchery, now in ruins. I'm so thankful we made the time to stop and enjoy it!

Home

Home.

It's been where I've been ALL day, with the exception of an early morning trip to the grocery store.

But once home, I didn't leave the house for the remainder of the day.

It was SO nice.

Our weekends have been pretty busy for weeks, with something on the calendar for Friday night or Saturday, or Sunday or all of the above. And so far this weekend has only consisted of that run to the store this morning. Home last night. Home all day, lounging about on the couch, has been nice and much needed.

Hope everyone else is having a weekend to their liking!

What is the Question?

A Tragedy Used to Bring Glory

Today was the memorial service for Christopher Laurie.

It was broadcasted via the web on the Harvest website. Like tons of other people, we watched it.

It was glorious. Simply glorious.

It was a beautiful time of worship. A beautifully put together montage of pictures and videos in remembrance of Christopher and his life. A blessed message by Pastor Skip Hetzig (one of my long time favs). Words of remembrance from a friend. Special music from Marty Goetz. Words concerning death by Pastor Chuck Smith. A wonderfully appropriate song by Crystal Lewis, one of her signature songs, "Our Redeemer Lives".

And to close out the service, Pastor Greg said a few words, ending the service with giving people the opportunity to give their lives to Jesus, giving them the opportunity to go to Heaven like Christopher did when their time comes.

While it was a service memorializing Christopher, it was a time of giving God the glory, despite the tragedy.


To watch the archived Memorial service, or donate to the Christopher Laurie Memorial Fund, visit Harvest.org.