And In A Strange Mozzarella Cheese Follow Up Post...

If you're checking this blog and reading this post, STOP! You must read the post below this first. And, it would probably make more sense for me to wait and post this one tomorrow or the next day, but I'm on a roll and the greatness may only continue for the next few minutes, so I'm going with it.

I should have titled this, "String Cheese: So Many Recipes, So Little Time!" Large amounts of string cheese are devoured in this house, especially since I've been (kinda, somewhat, sorta) eating on the Flat Belly Diet Program. I'm on the 3 days on, 7 days off plan. And, let me tell you, that's not actually working. So, gonna need to get more serious about losing weight. And exercising, which I'm sure I've mentioned on more than one occasion that I. do. not. like. But, I digress...

I took this picture because it represents a big portion of what I've been focusing on this month. Yes, string cheese and almonds. Don't you wish you lived my life? The problem comes not in the foods I'm told to eat, but in the willpower, people. Or, in my case, willpower, see also lack of. I will follow the plan strongly for days, eating my 1600 calories a day. Most days you could wave a chocolate chip cookie under my nose, and I wouldn't flinch. Now, a snickerdoodle or oatmeal cookie, that's a different story. Does it smell like cinnamon in here? Anyone? Anyone?

And, while these two posts really have no impact on the world at large, or me apparently, for some reason I felt the need to spend a good 30 minutes of time talking about string cheese. I guess I could have written one post entitled, "String Cheese: Friend or Foe?" I can answer that. Foe, when breaded, fried in oil and eaten with marinara sauce. Friend, when eaten straight from the package as part of a healthy, 1600-calorie-a-day diet. And, since honesty is the best policy, I think I have to say I prefer "Foe," dipped in marinara, of course.

Did I Mention They Were Homemade?

For some people, "homemade" means they take it out of the box or bag, stick it in the oven, allow it to cook and then serve it. Of course, I've even done this and joked about it being homemade because I. made. it. at. home. Yea..so...

These mozzarella sticks are what my mother and grandma would call "made from scratch." And, before you ask, no I did not make the cheese. (Although I could if I wanted to because Martha Stewart has nothing on me.) I did, however, make the batter, coat them and fry them up. Let me tell you, I'm actually not sure if it was worth the effort, but they were very tasty. I could, in five minutes time, drive down to Sonic, plunk down $2.99 or so and bring 5 of them home with much less effort. But, this was just something I wanted to try -- for fun. And it was! The girls and I ate every last one of them. Let me know if you want to try them for yourself. I'll be glad to share the recipe.

When It Rains, It Flash Floods

The effects of Tropical Storm Hermine were seen yesterday in Arlington at Grace Prep Academy. Jeff drove the girls to school as he always does when it's raining hard. I-20 is usually a nightmare trek, so I was glad to stay home and watch the rain as I drank my coffee. He dropped them off at 8:00, only a few minutes late. Two hours later, the girls texted us telling us they were going to be evacuated by Arlington Fire & Rescue. Rebecca's text (almost) made me smile:

"We are fine! No danger! Do not come to the parking lot. It is flooded. Cars are almost covered! D:"

Students were evacuated to Arlington ISD school buses and driven to the church around the corner where we picked them up a couple hours later.

Here are some pictures I received that people took on their iPhones...



It's shocking what can happen in just two hours. The principal later said she wishes she could have sent the students with cars to move them to higher ground, but there was just no time. I am so sad for the amount of loss that will be experienced with cars and property; however, it is just stuff. (Notice I can say this freely because my car was not in the parking lot.)

This is definitely not the way to make the local news. I am grateful for the safety of everyone, however, and thankful for God's protection over the girls.

Dear Maybelline,

Here are three of your top-selling mascaras. One of them is not like the others. Can you tell which one? I can.





Mascara #1: You promised that my lashes would be VOLUMINOUS, and oh, they were. I think. But every time I turned around there were little flakes of black all over my face.

Mascara #2: You promised that my lashes would be COLOSSAL, and oh, they were. I think. But every time I turned around there were little flakes of black all over my face.

So, Maybelline, you leave me with no choice: I must return to the old tried and true, GREAT LASH, in the "pink and lime green since the dawn of time" tube. I will be returning to the mascara of my youth. And, it's cheaper than those other "promise the world, but don't deliver" mascaras you're putting out there. Stick with what you do best, people.

Sincerely,
Blackest Black with No Flaking

I'm Not But A Little Proud

Two of Katherine's recent pictures...

The saddle is an incredibly detailed charcoal drawing. Honestly, I don't know how she does it. (Click on the image below to see the fine details.)


The snowcone is an oil painting based on a photograph that Katherine took. She's won two blue ribbons on this one and it now hangs in her dorm room.
Can't wait to see what the professors at SFA think.

August Busy

Summer is officially over around the first Monday in August because that's when volleyball practice resumes. Rebecca attended three days of practice this year and decided that she had more important ways of spending her time than getting yelled at for dropping balls. Hallelujah! This has changed our weekly schedule to be sure, and we are all loving the extra time. That's not to say we haven't been busy.

Here are the girls on the first day of school

August 16, 2010

Rebecca is a sophomore and the class president. Her classes are Algebra 2, Chemistry, Spanish I, English and World History. She will play basketball and run track. Abigail is in the 8th grade and her schedule includes Algebra 1, American History, English and Earth Science. She is playing volleyball and plans to play basketball and run track.

Rebecca had another milestone on August 25 -

She got her braces off!

Katherine moved into her dorm at Stephen F. Austin State University
on August 27. She begins classes on August 30. Her schedule
includes: Art - Drawing I, Art - 2D Design, English, U.S. History,
Math, and SFA 101 for a total of 16 hours.

Abigail and Emma after a long day of volleyball.

We are in the process of remodeling the upstairs of our house now that Katherine is gone. Rebecca has moved into Katherine's old room and Abigail has moved into Bec's old room. This left me with an entire room to devote to my scrapbook stuff (yay!!!) and to create a nice little alcove for Katherine to sleep in when she comes home. As rooms become less chaotic and more beautiful, I will post pictures.

Genetic Predisposition or Learned Behavior?

Can it get any scarier when you look at your child and realize, "Oh my! She's a mini-me!" This opens up the mind for all types of worry because, believe me, she not only received my best qualities but the worst ones, too!

Look at the eyes. The eyebrows. The smiles. And it really goes so much deeper than that, which got me to wondering...is she genetically predisposed to my personality type as well as physical attributes? And I think the answer to that may be a resounding "YES!" when she gets angry, storms out of a room, stomps up the stairs and slams her door, and Jeff looks at me and says, "Uh huh...little Genny!" By the way, I HATE it when he does that. It makes me want to storm out of the room, stomp up the stairs and slam a door or two.

The worst part of the "knowing her" (if she is indeed just like me) is knowing all the things she will have to go through before she realizes that she won't always be right and you can't control the behavior of others. Trust me. It's a lifelong lesson. I've always believed that if people would just do things my way the world would be a happier place. For all of us. Especially me.

The other thing to note here is that we do have many redeeming qualities that balance out our obsessive-compulsive tendencies and door-slamming skills:
~We are very loyal.
~We make good friends.
~We love to encourage others.
~It makes us happy when you are happy. (and giving gifts to you makes us happy)
~We are rule followers.
~We will always be on time. (which is 10 minutes early)
~Our closets are arranged according to color.

Sorry about that last one. It's just who we are.

I'm Just Peachy

I'm so excited I was able to harvest peaches off my tree this year! (I think the blowup snake did the trick to keep the squirrels away. He is definitely staying for next year!) Have I mentioned how much I despise squirrels? But, just in case you haven't read this blog that far back, I. HATE. SQUIRRELS. THEY. ARE. EVIL. Anyhoo...some lovely photos of my delicious peaches, which made the most delicious cobbler ever this week. (See last photo.)




Apologies for the weird coloring on the last photo. A food stylist I am not. But, barring all the fat and calories which will land completely and firmly on my stomach, it was delish!

Mission Trip Outtakes

Sometimes you get these pictures because no one was ready the first take. Sometimes you just miss the shot. And sometimes you ask, "Who gave Abigail my camera?" I'll let you guess which categories these interesting photos fall into.

Mission Trip - Farmington, New Mexico

On Friday, June 25, Rebecca, Abigail and I jumped onto vans and buses with approximately 120 other teenagers and adults and headed to New Mexico. Our destination was Farmington, which we landed in on Saturday evening after a stop and first concert in Amarillo, three malls to eat, and the Motel 6 in Tucumcari, which is very interesting, by the way.

We spent the week housed at the TraveLodge in Farmington and Crestview Church was our central station for meetings and eating. It's a long drive to New Mexico and the views are pretty much rocks, and rock formations, and a few tumbleweeds. I didn't really care for the dust storms and cottonweed blowing around, but LOVED the low/no humidity and great hair days. (if I had felt like fixing my hair on four hours sleep per night)

This was the view from the Shiprock Pentecostal Church parking lot,
located on a Navajo reservation.

I hope there's a better band picture than this,
but this is me and the guys. Love them all
and they are so talented.

The view from the Crestview Church -- amazing!

Our concert was about an hour or so long, with many different varieties of performances:

We STOMPED...

(Abigail is in the center, 2nd row with camo shirt)

...and BANGED on trashcans...

...and performed awesome DRAMAS...

...and led basketball CAMPS...

...and SANG lots of great music...

This is a Youth Camp in Hesperus, Colorado.

Me caught digging in my purse, probably
looking for eye drops or Altoids!

We POSED for pics...

...and threw CHAIRS...

And Melissa was there, so that was really great!
Don't we look "peachy" in the light of the fading sun?

And the following Friday, we loaded up at 6 a.m. and drove and drove and drove....stopping for bathroom breaks A LOT, and finally landed in Fort Worth on Friday night around 10:30. It was soooo good to be home, except for the 1,000% humidity which immediately sent us all into groans of "Let's go back to New Mexico! Wait....not really. Home to bed!"

My favorite picture that I took...the glory of God revealed in nature.

Our Home Concert will be this Sunday, July 11 at 6:00 p.m. Ya'll come!