Menu Plan Monday

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I will post soon with pictures of my birthday extravaganza. It was a time to be had by all and I'm so thankful for the friends God has put in my life. I am definitely spoiled when it comes to friends (and sisters). Alright, below is my menu for the week. This is the least thought through menu I've had in awhile so we'll see..........

Monday: Lemon Pepper Chicken, Spinach Salad with Straw. & Oranges, and leftover mashed potatoes.
Tuesday: Pasta with meat sauce, salad, & bread
Wednesday: Soup and sandwiches
Thursday: Hamburgers, beans, and mixed veggies
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Breakfast for dinner
Sunday: Dinner out with friends

Do you know your neighborhood?

Hey everyone,

Most of you know I used to work for the Let's Start Talking Ministry and many of you have gone on LST projects yourselves. But what I doubt is that many of you have participated in Friendspeak---the domestic version of LST. If you really look around, there are many people all around your neighborhood who could use some help with their English as well as make a new friend! These two needs can help them know Jesus with your help. Friendspeak has been growing so much over the last 2 years and I am so excited about the new territory it has covered. Please take a second to watch this short video. It will definitely motivate you to get started!



Visit the new Friendspeak website for more information. http://www.friendspeak.org

Menu Plan Monday

Check out this site to find lots of meal planning ideas and links to dozens of blogs with recipes, etc.

Yes, I'm a day late but you know, I'm getting so forgetful since I turned THIRTY yesterday. :)

Monday: Breaded Pork Chops, asparagus, and rolls (cooked by my amazing husband)

Tuesday: Balsamic glazed chicken, mashed potatoes, salad

Wednesday: Beef enchiladas

Thursday: Grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, and cheesy broccoli

Friday: Out with my girly friends for my b-day celebration

Saturday: Hamburgers, hotdogs, and the whole schmear (Wesley's birthday party with family)

Sunday: Leftovers

The final hours

So I have approximately 2 hours and 19 minutes left of being in my "twenties" folks. It's crazy. I feel like I've been in my twenties forever and maybe I thought it would last forever. Could you go through any more life changes and life decisions in your twenties? Let's have a brief overview of what has gone on in this decade:

-I graduated college at Pepperdine
-I held my first full time job
-I got married and moved in with a BOY!
-I walked 60 miles in 3 days in the name of breast cancer
-That boy and I decided to do something crazy and move to TEXAS!
-I started a job that would evolve into a 7 year career--much to my surprise
-I travelled the world with some of my closest friends. Memories that will never die!
-I had my first child
-I had my second child
-I quit work and became a stay at home mom
-We moved 6 times so far in this decade, with the 7th time just around the corner.

Wow. That's a lot of stuff...with many other little things in between. I know that to people in their 40s all the way up to 60s think that the 30s are probably like the 20s. And I'm sure they have similarities. But the part that rings loud for me is that I will not have a child-LESS part of my life again (Lord willing) . Many things that happened in my 20's were experienced by me or by me and Brian. And fortunately, we lived it up. We really tried to do a lot before we had kids. And it was wonderful. To think that by the end of this next decade I will have a teenager is .....well, nuts! That is what makes me feel old. Not tomorrow, not turning 30. But I guess where it all is headed. Logic would say that most of my experiences, emotions and decisions that will occur in my 30's will be brought on by my kids. They will consume my life in ways I never imagined and my days, months, and years will be full of their lives, activities, and experiences. All of this will be wonderful, I'm sure. I am not trying to type this in a regretful tone. But what I am committing to is that my 30s will still hold some markers of unique experiences I have had, leaps that I have taken, and growth that I have achieved apart from my kids. This will take deliberate action on my part but I'm ready for it. I am confident God will open doors for me and gently whisper to walk through. My mind zig zags all over with what that might look like.

The fact that we are about to embark on a new journey to Indiana makes it all that much more mysterious. But I'm excited. I am. People often talk to me about our move as if I must be really be stuck in a hard place or the automatic, "Oh, I'm sorry". Now, I would probably do the same thing depending on who it was but what I am starting to see is this giant beginning. To begin this next decade of my life with the most crazy move we've done is kind of fun. There is so much to build on and we can only gain from this....a new church, new friends, a new part of the country, closer intimate time as a family, and a fresh reliance on Jesus as he leads us in and through this. I have already seen some amazing things He has done to me in the last 4 months. Preparing me every single day for this new decade.

I'm rarely this sentimental and you may perceive this post as a cheese fest. But for whatever reason, these are poignant moments for me. And hey, if I actually keep this blog for another 10 years, it will be fun to look back and read this as I prepare to document the progress that has happened as I turn 40. Well, with 1 hour and 47 minutes left as a 29 year old, I leave you with a some quotes on age. Pick whichever applies more to you in your current mood. :)

Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children. ~George Bernard Shaw

The years teach much which the days never knew. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were? ~Satchel Paige

Back on track..........and menu plan monday

So I've been a little bit in lala land since we left for Bloomington one week ago. Things were so up in the air with trying to pick out a house that many things were left to the wind. One of which was my "30 days to a more beautiful me". You see, when we go to Bloomington, all expenses are picked up by my husband's company. Therefore, you can only imagine how we live like kings and queens compared to our normal home on the front. Needless to say, I did not pay one bit of attention to my diet and definitely did not stay on an exercise regimen. But I'm happy to report that as of 7am this morning, I am devoted once again to eating healthy and moving........A LOT! I spent an hour at the gym tonight and had a wonderful reuniting with my beloved treadmill and those rock star ab machines. I have just under 2 weeks till my birthday and as my friend Kristen and I were saying, a lot can be achieved in 2 weeks! Wish me luck, ladies!

I have also felt very unproductive around the house since we got back. I just feel like I'm in the oh so gray period where you know you are moving, but you are eating up every last minute till you actually have to start getting your butt busy. This has included my cooking duties. So, I'm committed to firing up the old cookbook collection once again and making sure we have balanced meals every night. So with that, here is Menu Plan Monday (which you'll notice I usually do on Sunday). Definitely check out this link to learn more about menu planning and this fabulous woman's website.











Sunday: Tomato Barley Soup
Monday: Breakfast for dinner --pancakes, turkey bacon, eggs
Tuesday: Bertolli frozen pasta (yes, we STILL haven't eaten this)
Wednesday: Smoked sausage, broccoli, potatoes
Thursday: Chicken fajitas, black beans
Friday: eat out
Saturday: leftovers from the week

We have a house!

Ahhhh........I love those words. Our 2 days in Bloomington were a bit of a whirlwind and my emotions were all over the place. More on that later. But specifically regarding the house, we bid on one and didn't get it. So we bid on another and found out last night that we got it! Woo hoo! The stress this relieves is unbelievable. God spoke so clearly to me on the plane ride home that I was NOT trusting Him. He hit it on the head. There are many details of this transition that had me in knots while I was there. I was miserable on the drive to the airport. But after some much needed time with Him on the plane, I felt so much more at peace. I knew He would (and still will) take care of all the details. This was more than I could have imagined! The neighborhood is gorgeous and the house is like new. We are so blessed. We are already trying to imagine us in the house and prematurely creating memories. I think Brian is really excited.
Here's a peek:

And here is what our street looks like:

I'm Impressed

-I'm impressed that my hubby let me sleep in till 8am after a somewhat tulmultuous night with the wee ones.

-I'm impressed that Noah can turn something like barely tapping his elbow with the drawer into an all out bawling screaming tantrum in which he got sent to his room over twice.

-I'm impressed that I haven't showered since Tuesday night (gasp).

-I'm impressed that I got four items totalling over $22 for absolutely free today. Interested? 32oz Coffeemate creamer, Gilette Titanium razor/trimmer, 6-pack Yoplait kids yogurt, and a Scotch Brite toilet scrubbing starter kit. Yep, I had free coupons for all of them. Nice. On top of that, I got 5 SmartOnes frozen entrees for $3. Yep, ask me how I did that one!

-I'm impressed that Noah has been sick for 5 days now (count 'em) with a high fever. It's been exhausting. Not as exhausting as Wesley last week (yep, he was sick for 5 days too), but definitely draining...especially since Brian was out of town for 4 of them.

-I'm impressed that my sister, Kim is one of the best aunts ever. She is going to watch both of my boys for 2 days while Brian and I house hunt in Bloomington. Yipee skippy. She has watched my boys MANY MANY times so that is what makes this impressive.

-I'm impressed that I have a son who actually tells me that he's rolling his eyes at me (instead of trying to do it in secret). Ask me about that story!

-I'm impressed that our house has sold, and God has removed all worry and stress that deals with keeping ones home up and wondering when on earth someone is finally going to want it.

Good morning Monday and menu plan

Well, it's a beautiful day outside isn't it? I admit I'm EXTREMELY tired though, so my eyes are wanting to close so badly. Especially when out in the bright sun. Here are a few bullet points of interest:

-Everything with the sale of our home is going smoothly. We have been out of option period for a week or so which is fabulous. The relief of getting to leave the house messy when exiting is indescribable.

-We will go to Bloomington next week to look for a home. Please be in prayer about this!

-Wesley is feeling back to his cute normal self. We are so grateful!

-Noah woke up with a little crud today, so I'm hoping that makes its way out of his system soon.

-If you haven't tried Mi Chulas on Southlake Blvd yet (down by Central Market) then you need to! Scrumptious!

-I'll post my menu plan below. I didn't end up doing the asparagus lasagna or the Bertolli pasta. We had plenty of leftovers and with Wesley so sick, I just went for the easiest thing. However, we did hold off any eating out till Saturday as planned. Woo hoo! Instead of the lasagna, I tried a recipe that was really tasty. Not exactly healthy, but tasty. Click on the link below to see it.

Asparagus Rollups
(I did not have mayo or blue cheese, and they still turned out yummy. I also used onion & chive cream cheese instead of having to use fresh chives.)












Sunday: Ate buffet at church youth group fundraiser.
Monday: Turkey Burgers, Corn, Chips
Tuesday: Eat leftover Smoked Sausage and Lentils (made it last week)
Wednesday: Will have dinner at my sister's house.
Thursday: Frozen Bertolli pasta with creamed spinach
Friday: BBQ sausage, potatoes, green beans (I buy the lowfat turkey smoked sausage)
Saturday: Out to eat with parents coming in from out of town.

What a nice week that I won't have to cook 3 nights! Woo hoo.

Stories

Noah is really into telling stories right now and wants me to do it all the time. Occasionally he'll tell his own. So here was our conversation tonight:

Noah: Mom, can you please tell a story?

Me: Sure, there once was this tree. And there was a little boy named Noah that was his very best friend.......... (I basically told the story of The Giving Tree by Shell Silverstein. We had just read the book and it is the oh so sweet story of a tree giving all it has for this one boy down to the very stump that is left.)

Noah: Okay, now it is my turn. There once were two cars. And they CRASHED into eachother! And there was glass all over the ground. And this boy fell out of the car. His name was Noah. And he breaked his head. He breaked it right here and here (showing me). So I went to the doctor and I bringed my head. And the doctor fixed it! It was like (showing me putting his head back on) this.

Sooo.............should I be worried this is the kind of story my son tells?? Much less right after The Giving Tree??? Disturbing.

Spicer update....and menu for the week

Hello all. I've been terrible about posting all the details going on around here lately. First and foremost: OUR HOUSE HAS SOLD! Woo hoo. That's right, we are on the road to finally moving to Indiana. The lucky people who get our house currently reside in New Joisey and so they needed a close date of June 18. Therefore, those of you who live in TX will get to see our lovely faces for another 2.5 months. We are happy about this.

Second, we were supposed to go to Bloomington tomorrow morning to go house hunting but poor little Wesley has been running a high fever and it won't break. A trip to the Urgent Care uncovered nothing so we'll just keep an eye on it. He got tubes put in his ears on Friday so that is why I'm a little more concerned than normal. So we'll reschedule our trip up there for a couple weeks from now.

Thirdly, our precious Noah is POTTY TRAINED! Yes, it's nuts. And it seemed like it kind of happened over night. He was doing really well and then we went to Cali over Easter and it fell apart. So upon returning, we got hard core and my little stud is doing an awesome job. He is so proud of his new found talent and we couldn't be happier. The night time diaper will exist for awhile, but the fact that I think my Pullup buying days are done (atleast for a year or so) is pretty wonderful!

Fourthly, I need all of you bloggers out there to hold me accountable to my '30 days to a more beautiful me' challenge. My 30th birthday is May 5 and I made a personal goal of losing some weight in order to buy a cute outfit and FEEL cute in it for my birthday. Now, I am not obsessed about my looks or my weight...in fact, I should probably be a little more attentive. But I was recently shopping with my cutie patootie sister and realized all the adorable clothes she could wear and how much fun she has shopping. I feel no desire to buy some clothes that will leave me uncomfortable or doubtful about my appearance. But I have a night out planned with some friends for my 30th and I would love to buy a somewhat stylish outfit for the occasion. So while nothing crazy will be attained in 30 days, I can atleast drop a couple inches and feel better in general about my physical fitness.

I'm sure there are many other areas I could blog about right now. But my son and husband are in the othe room dancing to an old NSync CD and it's calling my name. :) I'll post our weekly menu for now and then I'll sign off! There are many awesome sites out there with motivation for planning a weekly menu. You can visit the site below or mommysnacks.blogspot.com is a good one too. If you ever want a recipe, just ask!










Sunday: Crockpot BBQ chicken, rice, broccoli
Monday: Italian Sausage, Corn, Au gratin potatoes
Tuesday: One pot mexican chicken & veggies
Wednesday: Ham & Asparagus lasagna (from April's RR mag)
Thursday: Bertolli frozen pasta, creamed spinach
Friday: Green beans, grilled ham & cheese sandwiches (I always do something simple on Wed nights cuz of church but I'm doing this Friday b/c it'll just be me and the kids)
Saturday: probably go out for dinner.
**By the way, lunch tip: I have really gotten into a new canned soup that is yummy AND good for you. It is Progresso's Light Southwestern Vegetable. It only has 60 calories for half the can (it's big)! It's really yummy with some pasta salad on the side or something.