Summer 2015 Bucket List

The summer of 2013 was awesome! The kids and I made a summer bucket list and had a blast checking things off. As the summer of 2014 grew nearer, I couldn't wait to begin working on making our new list! However, after breaking my foot on Memorial Day, those plans sadly came to a halt. We still managed to enjoy the summer, but the kids and I missed having a list of activities to look forward to! Although we are getting a late start due to our fabulous vacation (post coming soon)... I just completed our 2015 Summer Bucket List!!! I can't wait to get started! I'll be posting updates on our summer adventures!

For anyone who lives with someone who pees standing up

If there is anyone who lives in your house who pees standing up... Then you know exactly how I feel! No matter what their age, there is going to be pee AROUND the toilet... On the floor... On the baseboard... etc. I'm not sure how one doesn't see that they are missing the target and clean it up... But I've never had to do it, so maybe it's impossible to see from that angle. Who knows! What I do know is that it stinks and is gross!

In my quest to find frugal ways to clean, I came across a pin from a mom who, like me, was looking for a way to get rid of the "boy pee potty" smell! I decided to give it a try because let's face it: It couldn't get any worse! Here are her instructions in my words:

Mix a small amount of baking soda in a bowl with lemon juice to form a paste. Spread the paste on the grossness on the floor around the toilet. Let it sit 15 minutes. Spray lightly with vinegar and watch it bubble! (This step was cool and gross all at the same time! Ickyness that you couldn't even see started coming from underneath!) Then wipe up with paper towels.

That's it! It worked! No stinky icky ring around our toilet! (At least until the next stander has to go!)

Here are some pictures I snapped... Please don't judge the grossness!!!

Our visit to our nation's capital

Trevor, Nana, and I recently had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC with the Junior Beta Club from Beechwood. We left on a charter bus packed with parents, children, and stuff and rode the nineteen hours with a few pit stops and a snow storm thrown in! As miserable as the bus ride was, and as fast paced as the trip was, it was an amazing experience! It was very humbling to be reminded of the great sacrifices made by so many unselfish individuals in order for us to have the freedoms we often take for granted. It baffles me that our government can be located in a place where every turn is a reminder of the plans our forefathers had for this great nation and the sacrifices made, yet miss the mark so severely. I hope to go back soon with the entire family so that we, along with the kids, can experience more of our nation's history!

Free to Be Me

This past year was full of ups and downs. Times of sadness, times of joy, times of disappointment and loss of trust in others. Times of complete joy with family and true friends.  As the year came to a close, I began to think about the year and the changes I've noticed in myself.

In the past few months, I've actually begun to like the person I'm becoming. Ironically the changes began with my first tattoo. It was as if until that moment I still felt the need to please others. I was still that girl brought up in the south where you are expected to look, act, and present your family in a certain way in order to be considered acceptable. With my first ink came the freedom to break away from that and begin to be the person God created me to be, rather than the person I always felt I was supposed to be to fit in. It has also helped me to get to know people rather than judging them based on their appearance.

It saddens me to look around and see how many women are trying to live up to unrealistic expectations to be approved of by people they don't even care about. That was me. It's still a struggle. Some habits are hard to break. However, I am so much happier now that I feel free to be me! I can't wait to see what God has in store for my family and me this year!

Time to get healthy!

Weight has been a struggle for me for as long as I can remember. I eat when I'm happy. I eat when I'm sad. I eat when I'm stressed. I eat when I'm calm. I love to eat! Food is yummy and let's face it... I can cook! Unfortunately, with this love of food comes unloved extra pounds.

I have decided that it's time for a change. This time, rather than dieting to get skinny, I'm going to change the foods I eat in order to get healthy. My goal is to be fit and healthy so I can keep up with my busy family and be there for them in both mind and body. I recently began reading Trim Healthy Mama, which is a little confusing right now, but I am determined to become a healthier me and this plan seems to fit my goal plus it gives biblical encouragement! Tomorrow will be day 1. I'm going to use my blog as my accountability partner. Maybe if I tell myself that I have to give a weekly update I'll actually be able to stick with it!

So here goes! My first steps to a healthier me!

Don't judge me... but this is awesome!

I've seen tons of photos where unexplainable images appear in random, everyday places. Jesus's face in a grilled cheese. Abe Lincoln in a water puddle. Mickey Mouse in the spots on a cow. A heart on a dog's forehead. Some of these I believed, and others I always thought were created using some sort of photo shopping. Then it happened to me! Imagine my surprise a few months ago when this...

...appeared on my bathroom faucet! Benjamin Franklin was staring at me while I brushed my teeth!

Yes, I know it's gross!!! I can't figure out why the other members of my family cannot seem to brush their teeth without spitting all over the faucet!!! But who else can say that their family's spit can form the face of  Benjamin Franklin?!?!?! I'm so blessed!!!!

Buzzards

As I walk outside, drive down the road, or sit in a deer stand I see and hear many different types of birds. There are cute, small birds that fly in tiny flocks. There are song birds with beautiful voices that join nature’s chorus. There are brightly colored birds that easily catch the attention of a passerby who revels in the bird’s beauty. God created many birds in many shapes and sizes with many different duties. Most of these feathered creatures are sought after to just gaze at them and enjoy their beauty. They can easily be found flittering about, soaring majestically through the sky, or sitting proudly on a branch.

However, there is one that no one stops to look at and admire its beauty. No one even notices its presence until it is needed. Most would say that it has one of the nastiest jobs in nature. The buzzard. Have you ever actually looked for a buzzard that wasn’t around a decaying carcass? I hadn’t until recently. I’d just driven past a decaying carcass on the side of the road and a small group of buzzards were surrounding it. My first thought was “Eww, gross!” But then I began to wonder what our planet would look like if there weren’t scavengers like buzzards to do the jobs that no one else wants to do. I then realized that I’d never seen a buzzard just sitting on a wire or fence post as I had other birds. They seem to just show up when there is a job to do and then fade back into nature when there is not. However, without them, our environment would be filled with stench and decay.

I can’t help but relate this to people. There are those people who want to be the center of attention. There are people who determine whether or not they will do a job based on the credit they will get. There are people who think that certain tasks are beneath them. There are people who would rather sit to the side and watch others work. And then there are people who never wait to be asked to do a task. They simply see a need and fill it no matter how “nasty” it may be. These people, like the buzzard, don’t ask for recognition or reward. They simply want to serve. This is what God has called us to do. To serve others no matter the task. No matter the recognition. No matter the reward.