Some pictures of my room!

    

How wonderful is God?

I forgot to mention this at first when it happened, but it is too amazing not to share.  I have the medication I am taking for my depression, it is working well-I feel much more balanced now.  Anyway, since I wasn't at the university for a long time, I wasn't able to meet with the campus health care doctor that I first went to (she's great). 

So I was running QUITE low on medication, when I get a call from her-she had gotten a call from the Target pharmacy where I get my prescriptions-about refilling.

I had been so worried about what I was going to do when it was gone, since my insurance is all wonky because of my educational issues.  But we talked and she called to approve another 6 months of medication.

Here is the AMAZING part of the story; as soon as I got off the phone with her, I felt this very strong lift in my heart, and I knew everything had worked out according to God's plan.  Tears came to my eyes and I just lifted my hands and I praised Him.  I felt a tugging at my heart and I knew it was Him. 

It was such an amazing feeling.  Basically the first one I've had-at least of that sort.  I've never had such a strong feeling before.  Everything had been so subtle before that moment.

Whew.  Alright, I really just wanted to share that with you.

New project...

I will be starting a new project of sorts.  I want to share some of my favorite "family" recipes.  Some of them are true family recipes handed down, and others are just ones that we got from a package of food/ingredients.

I am also going to post pictures of my apartment, I really like my cute apartment, but I am looking for new suggestions for interior design and possibly rearrangement.

But for now, homework.  I am to do a plastics inventory for my Biology class-our instructor is an "advocate" of sorts against so much plastic.  Then I have to do an online assessment for 2 chapters-in place of an exam because we won't have time before the class ends.

God bless.

He likes to paw at the stream of water in the sink...he's so silly!

Handsome Cowboy...

One of my favorite things!

This is the cupcake apron that my lovely friend Amanda gave me for my birthday one year, I love it so much!

I love being a woman!

Just as the title says...I love being a woman!

Right now I am wearing a long denim skirt, a "bubble" hem tank with a cami underneath, and a fluttery black sweater.

I just got done showering and I am passing the time until class at 1:00. So my hair is still damp/wet from my shower, and I wanted to put it all up in a clip so it wouldn't be dripping on my sweater (I don't like using a blow dryer-it fries my hair and ruins the pretty natural waves)
I used one of the bigger clips I could find with the claws; but my hair was far from all being able to fit.

I have such long thick hair-I love it. But that wasn't always the case, when I was younger, before I truly let Christ into my life, I really disliked my long hair. It was too long and thick and I didn't like the texture at all. But I have since come to love it! I got it from my mother, along with no wisdom teeth (so far anyway).

Whew, so getting back on track after straying...I love being able to wear a skirt and have more options than men do in our wardrobe. We can wear all colors, whereas men usually get teased if they wear pink or purple.

We get to wear shiny and sparkly things. We have a subtle strength about us. We have feminine charms and mystery.

We are delicate, yet strong.

We are so blessed! Praise the Lord for being so wonderful!

Tater Tot Hotdish

I have decided I should post my simple Tater Tot Hotdish recipe. This one is from my mom, but I don't know where she got it-I've looked online and I haven't found this particular recipe, so I'm just putting it out there.

Tater Tot Hotdish (13x9 pan)

2 lbs. hamburger
2 cans condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
onion flakes
2 cans green beans
12-16 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (or another kind if you prefer)
1 pkg. Ore-Ida tater tots

Brown hamburger in skillet. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix browned hamburger with soup and onion flakes (shake out as much as you think you will like). Spread in bottom of pan, layer with green beans, sprinkle cheese on top. Cover with tater tots. Bake at 350 for about an hour.


*Note*
For mixing the hamburger, soup and onion flakes, I just smush them together right in the pan; no need to dirty another dish!

Hope you enjoy!

So I was browsing a blog that I follow: TrueFemininity, and she talked about a friend who has been earning her degree through many various means, including CLEP tests and through Thomas Edison State College, and all I have to say is WHY DIDN'T I KNOW ABOUT THIS EARLIER??? Oh my goodness!! I truly wish I would have known about this when I graduated high school. I could get credit for simply being really interested in something and taking a test-that is Prior-Learning Assessment.

I also could have saved a LOT of money. The girl who did this, her entire education, not including books, will only be about $9,000-$10,000, I'm already WAY past that and I'm STILL not done. Wow.

Seriously.

Anyway, back to real life and what I am actually doing. I think once this lease is up, I will live in the dorms until I'm done. I think I can get more financial aid to help me with those costs and since I won't be "under" mom and dad-I can save money while I'm doing all that. Whew. I am looking at Thomas Hall or Putnam Hall, since they are on lower campus and close to all the academic buildings and the library. I just need to look into parking, since I will need my car to get to work. With that, I'm hoping since I'm a "senior" and have been there longer, I might have some kind of "seniority". Here's hoping.

Anyway, that's all I have for now, gotta get to bed, work 9-3:30 tomorrow!

On homemaking...

How I wish I had truly found Jesus earlier in my life. I doubt I would have wasted so much time. Whether I would have still gone to university, or a 2 year college, or just gotten a job to "get me by". I don't know, but I have wasted so much time and money at school here. But now, I am feeling this strong tugging at my heart that once I find my husband/have kids, I want to be a stay at home wife/mom-if it's possible. Or at least be only part time so I can spend more time at home.

I love Joan/Julia Stiles from Mona Lisa Smile-when she tells Julia Roberts that she won't sacrifice having a family and being there to raise them for a job or career.

Even now, I actually like organizing and cleaning-but by the time I am done with class and work, I really don't have the energy-I'm giving my soul to work and I don't like it.

I'm reading another blog where this topic is talked about and I agree with so many of the statements in it and a lot of the comments that other people make too.

I know being a homemaker isn't for everyone, and I didn't always want this, but now I do and I wish I would have realized it sooner-so I could have just gone to a 2 year school and gone into something like Early Childhood education, so I could support myself if needed.

*sigh* but I know I have to realize that only God knows what is right for me and he already has my plan.

So now it's time for me to go to a meeting and then to play volleyball at 8 with some friends.

So I copied this, but it's too hilarious!

Random Thoughts from People Our Age
My friend posted this on his Facebook a long time ago and I just rediscovered it. I had to share this with you because I still crack up from reading these!! I don't know who the original author is but he's hilarious!

* I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
* More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
* Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
* Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
* That's enough, Nickelback.
* I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
* Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
* Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
* There is a great need for sarcasm font.
* Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.
* I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
* How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
* I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
* I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
* The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
* Was learning cursive really necessary?
* Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
* I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
* Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
* My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.
* Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart.”
* How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
* I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent an idiot from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
* Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
* What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
* While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
* MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
* Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
* I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
* Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
* I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
* I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
* Bad decisions make good stories.
* Whenever I'm Facebook-stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
* Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier and sluttier every year?
* If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
* Why is it that during an icebreaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
* You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
* Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
* There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
* I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
* "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
* I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
* I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
* I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
* When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
* I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
* Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
* As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
* Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
* It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
* I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
* Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
* Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey- but I'd bet everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
* My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How do I respond to that?
* It really ticks me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
* I wonder if cops ever get ticked off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
* I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
* The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fatty before dinner.

um....sure

Another thing I was going to post earlier...

Apparently, according to my BMI, I am "obese" I am 5' 2", and I am 190 lbs.

Now I know I'm overweight, but seriously...I REALLY don't think I'm obese...I'm not THAT much overweight.

Struggles...

*sigh*

So I've been in a weird mood tonight. Especially at work. When I first got there I was in a decent mood. But towards the end of the night I started feeling...glum.

I'm not sure why, I'm feeling better now, but not quite back to the good mood I was in before. It might have something to do with the fact that I work every day until Monday.

4:30-10 tonight
4:30-10 Friday night
9-4:30 Saturday
7:30-4 Sunday and
4:30-10 Monday night

I have this ache in my heart too. I feel like something is missing, but I am unsure as to what that is. I feel like...I want to share my life with someone, and I don't think I'm ready right now for that, but I still get so scared that if I wait then I'll end up alone.

I want someone. I feel like part of me is ready, but part of me isn't. I want my future husband, and I don't like being alone, but I need to be ready in God's eyes. It is so hard to wait though.

Whew....I think I need to go to bed, I usually feel better in the morning after a good night's sleep.

Just a question...

This isn't so much a rant as a question. I just saw a commercial for the Special K protein shake and how it was so much better than the "Slim Fast" shake. (In my opinion the "Slim Fast" shake tastes better, and it has 20 fewer calories and it's an extra ounce of liquid-and it also has the same 10 g protein and 5 g fiber as the Special K)

I prefer the Slim Fast type shake (I buy Market Pantry from Target since I work there)

But my "question" is why they use "model/actresses" that don't actually need to lose weight? They look great to me-not too big, not to scrawny...they should use someone who is a little bigger or "thicker" Find a "plus size" model at the very least.

This is just my humble opinion on the matter.

Letters to God

This post is in honor of the film Letters to God that was just released in theaters. I went with a group from my church.

I am so glad I went. It's hard to describe the movie-I don't want to say it's good, because that's the wrong word; but it was so moving. I doubt there was a dry eye in the entire theater. I should have brought an entire box of tissues. My cheeks were red and a little raw at the end because I cried so much-it was well worth going. I would recommend everyone go and see it with good friends and loved ones.

I'm getting tears just writing about it.

Watching Dr. Phil.....not sure if it's a good idea

I'm watching the Dr. Phil "The Ultimate Fat Debate"

This is really interesting; because one woman stood up and couldn't remember one of the "skinny" women's names, so she called her "skinny minny".

I'm not sure why, but this stirred up some negative feelings in me. Yesterday I had watched the first part and today was the second part. But the "skinny" woman the audience member was talking about had been very snooty yesterday-and that stirred up some feelings that I've seen with other skinny/fat debates; one on the Tyra show comes to mind. And I've gotten the same vibe from people I've encountered at work and out and about. That these skinny people look down on pretty much anyone who is a little bigger. They think they are so much better than bigger people.

I'm finally (albeit slowly, but still) starting to get more comfortable being bigger. I know I won't be a size 2, and that's ok-but I would like to just look a little better and more so be healthier-I would like to be more "fit" in the sense that I don't get winded easily like I do now. That's my first priority-basically I want to start doing some power walking on days that I don't work (since I am on my feet and walking the whole time.