Thoughts on this Fabulous Friday

Top Three Things on my mind right now:
(You are just dying to read this I'm sure!)

***(Not on this list but still on my mind is "Will I finally win the anniversary edition kitchen aid mixer with the amazing glass bowl the Pioneer Woman is giving away? Please Please Please?! But really, I'm only thinking about that a little. Just a little. ;) )

#3 - Made this last night
Bang Bang Shrimp
if you've eaten at Bonefish Grill - you know what I'm talking about. SO yummy! This recipe is fabulous, panko bread crumbs TOTALLY make this dish.
I will say if you want a short cut that would be close to the original then you could just follow the recipe for the sauce, then use frozen breaded shrimp, bake the shrimp in the oven and then toss in the sauce. It would be very close, but not exact.
I served it with steamed broccoli and fresh strawberries since we were eating fried food tossed in a mayo based sauce, I needed something to make me feel less guilty. :)

#2- My husband is embarking on the "Patio Project" -
this means I may not see him or talk to him (unless it is about designing a patio) until mid August. He is a focused individual. I do love it though because things get done and they are done well. He told me the other night (in regards to the patio), "It's a good thing you're married to me, because if you weren't you couldn't afford me." He's so funny but so right at the same time.
Thanks Honey for saving us lots of money and doing a fantastic job on our home improvements!

#1 - ANNIE!!!!!!
Tomorrow (literally!) - Tomorrow! My sweet, hardworking husband is going to .....wait for it....wait for it....TAKE A BREAK from the Patio Project and take me to dinner & to see "Annie" the musical just because I love it! And it is only showing this week!
I was in dance classes from the age of 3-11. I LOVED dance. I LOVED Tap! What little girl doesn't want to sing and dance? My dance class did a tap dance to "It's a Hard Knock Life" and every little 3yr old girl wore an Annie Red & Black costume complete with an Orange Wig! Is that the cutest thing ever? Ok maybe a little creepy too, to see 15 little girls all looking just like Annie and tapping their little hearts out - but it was cute and I got to BE Annie. Oh man! Loved it.
I had the record - the vinyl record of the Annie Soundtrack. I would sing my little heart out. Who knows how old I was, elementary school anyway. I wore out the VHS movie of Annie. My parents gave me a golden heart locket JUST LIKE ANNIE'S - it even is made to look broken and says, "I love you" on it.
And when I was 8 years old....one of my TOP childhood memories EVER....I went to the Crown Uptown Dinner Theatre and saw "Annie" performed LIVE!
So here I am, one month shy of being 33 years old, and I am just as excited as that little 8 year old girl to see "Annie"
and my husband is going to endure it with me. Thanks Adam!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I Love Ya Tomorrow.....You're Only a Day Away!

Off to sing my way through the next 24 hours! ;)

Bed Head! :)

Meet "Little Miss Crazy Hair."

It's true, many times when we go to get her out of her crib in the morning we scoop her out of her crib and say, "Well, Hello! Crazy Hair!" She laughs and repeats, "Crazy Hair" in her cute little almost 2 year old voice.

So while she munches on toast and fruit I have the great pleasure of taming the beast - her hair!

It really isn't that tangled and combs out easier than you might think.

I'm sure someday she will be proud to display these crazy hair photos in a wedding slide show, or maybe not.
A little water spray and a few comb-overs later and she's all ready to go!

It's about this time that she & Mickey breakout singing...

"Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog - It's a Brand New Day, Whatcha Waitin' For? Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog!"

What do you choose?

Hope or Despair? What do you choose?
Here is an excerpt from the Loux family blog. It is a quote that was given to Renee after her husband had died unexpectedly.
Click on the quote to go to the original post if you'd like.

[She] then began to share some reflections that her pastor had written while he was battling terminal brain cancer for over 19 months.
“Hope and despair are not opposites. They are cut from the very same cloth, made from the very same material, shaped from the very same circumstances. Most of all, every life finds itself forced to choose one from the other, one day at a time, one circumstance after another.

The only difference between the two is that despair shapes an attitude of mind; hope creates a quality of soul.

Despair colors the way we look at things, makes us suspicious of the future, makes us negative about the present.

Hope, on the other hand, takes life on its own terms, knows that whatever happens God lives in it, and expects that, whatever its twists and turns, it will ultimately yield its good to those who live it well. When tragedy strikes, when trouble comes, when life disappoints us, we stand at the crossroads between hope and despair, torn and hurting.

Despair cements us in the present; hope sends us dancing around dark corners trusting in a tomorrow we cannot see.

Despair says that there is no place to go but here. Hope says that God is waiting for us someplace else. Begin again.”

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
I thought I would share these words with you because they keep circling in my mind. Asking me what I have chose in past circumstances, what I would choose in a present or future circumstance, what and how I will pray for others around me who need hope. I pray that these words will bless someone else. Remind others to pray for hope. Reminding us that Hope is real. We are not alone. God is with us. We are God's children and we are not alone. Praise Him! Thank Him for loving us, for Hope and a future. A future where we will dance and sing.

Inspiring, Beautiful, Humbling...

My friend Christy posted this link on her blog
http://louxfamilyblog.com/

a link to what? A family's story. An adoption story(ies). A Life Story. A story of mission and focus. A story about what is important in life. A story that through tears brought me a reminder of perspective.

If you have a minute swing over to this blog. Read the July 3rd post but, even more, read the June 29th post. Beauty. Life. Mission. Perspective. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. The POWER of God.

Please excuse my fragment sentences, I honestly have no words to convey all that is stirring in my heart and soul as I read this family's story.

Beautifully Stirred,
H

New Playdate TIME...

ok if you are coming to the Park for Playdates on Wednesdays, I'm changing the time to 9am.

The heat index is going to be in the 100's and today at 9:30 it was already pretty hot & humid.

So see ya at 9am rather than 10.

If it is too hot then we can go to the library next door and let the kids play at the puzzle table or read books or we can go beg the shaved ice guy down the road to open up early. LOL

Happy Birthday To ME!!!!

Ok, so It's not my birthday...YET! But I'm totally excited about a recipe I found today for a cheesecake and for my birthday I'm making my own Birthday Cheesecake! I've got about 6 weeks to wait but I'm ok with that.
If you too want to make this cheesecake you can find the recipe at
My Kitchen Cafe
I found it via Foodgawker.
I love foodgawker. I AM a Foodgawker.
I will sign off now. I'm sure you're not even reading this post anymore; you are just looking at the photo drooling & imagining what this must taste like and when you can try it and drink a yummy cup of coffee. That's what I am imagining.
August 17th Baby! Who wants to party with me? LOL

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day from two spunky independent kiddos! ;)

Catch up...

I've had so many things to blog & just havent had the time.
In May we had our family reunion. KJ had a blast playing, meeting new cousins and riding a horse.
Baby E just keeps growing and growing as you will see. 3months old and already a whopping 14.8 lbs!!
KJ has found she loves stickers and finds them and sticks them to things over and over again. A few weeks ago she found a sticker on some potatoes I had bought, while I was unloading groceries she found the potatoes, removed the sticker and stuck in on her brother. I didn't notice until I went to pick him up that she had done this...evidentally Baby E was temporarially on sale for 99cents! lol The sticker was removed. We are keeping him! :)
Enjoy the slide shows. Hope you enjoy catching up with us.

Baby Shower Cake

Two weeekends ago I co-hosted a babyshower for a friend.
I used the baby bedding she had picked out as inspiration for the cake I made.
I'm not a real baker and with two kids under two and everything else on my plate I decided now was not the time to experiment with fondant to make jungle animals so I used some wooden & craft foam animals I found to help me decorate the cake.
It turned out pretty cute.