Monday, March 28, 2011

BUYER BEWARE...

of 3buttonsn2bows!  Cute stuff, but POOR to no SERVICE! 
So I think I've decided that even on Etsy, you should check the reviews & maybe even do a google search on a company before you decide to buy from someone!  That is definately true for 3buttonsn2bows!  WHOA...so I find this seller that is using Pottery Barn vintage Batman material & making really cute valances & bulletin boards that I thought would be perfect for Tanner's new Batman bedroom!  She could even do a custom lampshade in yellow with the batman logo for me!  So, I place my order on Feb 7th, pay & am anxiously awaiting the products!  Here comes March 9th & I'm thinking it's been quite awhile & where are my products...So I send her a message & no response.  The first item arrived on the 19th after having been shipped on the 17th.  Then I send another message on March 22nd as to the whereabouts of the valance & the lamp shade.  Funny thing, when they arrived on the 24th, she'd just sent them on the 22nd!  That was the day that I also went to paypal & filed a complaint.  I was told by Etsy that you only have 45 days to file if something goes wrong.  Amazing how well that worked to get all of my items from her!  Bad review #1 for this company that I found & here's another
Sad to think that they are running a business like this, they really do have cute stuff!

Friday, March 25, 2011

I'm a Mom, but I'm also still a woman...

OK, so since church last Sunday, I can't stop thinking about this...He was talking about how being intimate is much more than just with your bodies, and that it's with your heart too.
He was trying to make a point to the high school students & now I don't even really remember what it was that he was saying b/c I got so focused on thinking of myself & what I really think of sex. 
Wishing I'd of heard someone say that to me so many years ago!  It would have changed the way I did many things in my life!  For some reason I always thought it was going to make a guy like you & that is SO WRONG!
You have these movies that glamorized it & for one - I NEVER should have been watching these movies!  I'm not even sure how I got by with watching these movies!  Where were my parents?  I know my Dad was not naive to what was out there or in these movies, but I really don't think my Mom knew what was IN these movies & what I was watching.  All The Right Moves, Porky's, The Last American Virgin, Welcome to 18, The Breakfast Club, About Last Night, - I can remember being in 8th grade & watching About Last Night & LOVING that movie!  But now, being an adult & having done the things I did growing up & having a son...there is no way I want my son watching movies like that at that age!  I don't want him to see that promiscuous sex & thinking that it's just how it is and that there's nothing wrong wtih it.  I want him to know that it's something that should be saved & treated as if it really does mean something.  Don't just give your body to anyone. 
I think I've also gotten to a point that sex for me isn't as much with my heart as it is with my body.  Sure, I love my husband a lot & I do feel closer to him through sex & when we are more intimate but I honestly can say that I think for me - sex is more physical than it is emotional.  I really hope that somehow we can make sure that our son knoss that as the pastor said - being intimate with someone is far more than just feelings with your body but it's also with your heart and your head!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Black Bean Brownies

These were very good, don't let the name scare ya away!  If you didn't know the can of black beans was in there, you'd of never known!  They were very fudgy & tasted great!
I started with a GOOD brownie mix!



ENJOY!  We did...


Wednesday, March 9, 2011

God does work miracles! If you don't believe it...read this

This is a friends little sister, and old friend of mine from Oklahoma.  It is an amazing story, and one that I can say no one really knew would play out quite like this...

As told by Erica on Feb 22, 2011:

Today was phenomenal as far as accomplishments are concerned. Jeff got in the recliner again this morning. He is off all IV drip medications, he has no catheter, no central line, no 24 hour dialysis machine and to top it all off, he walked!! Not only did he walk around the room like a crazy man, but he walked a lap around our wing of the hospital. He also met w/ the physical therapist and the occupational therapist. We were on visitor restriction again today but it wasn’t strongly enforced so we had several visitors. Not sure that will be the case tomorrow. He will have hemodialysis tomorrow morning in the room. This should take between 3-4 hours. Then about 3:30pm he will go downstairs and have the defibrillator/pacemaker (thank the Lord for spell-check) installed. Nobody has told me this, but I really feel like we will get to go home towards the end of the week! What a difference a week makes!!


Unfortunately all that busyness throughout the day has made for a rough evening. The pneumonia is really kicking his rear. He’s got a horrible dry cough. His chest is tight and he’s miserable. Everyone keeps telling him how great he’s doing, but for him, he can’t remember all of the really bad stuff that he went through like we can. He just feels like he got hit by a mack truck. Poor thing. After all he’s been through this is what’s hindering him!!

So today I have been in awe of what God has done. It’s really starting to set in the magnitude of what has happened here. If you are skeptical and you think maybe we didn’t experience a true modern day miracle after what I’m about to tell you, then just know that I will be praying specifically for you this week. I was looking at Jeff’s chart today and talking to the nurse. Please bear w/ me as I’m still trying to grasp this. My husband had NO HEARTBEAT, that’s NO heartbeat for one hour and thirty minutes. That’s three full episodes of Friends w/ commercial interruptions. That’s a lunch hour and a half of another one. That’s the ability to drive 90 miles going approximately 60 MPH. All that time and he had no heart beat. He was literally kept alive w/ a combination of chest compressions, CPR, shocking, medication and God’s grace. My husband’s heart did not beat for 90 minutes and he is sitting next to me right now complaining about a cough. Praise God! I can’t believe what he has done for us. I am in awe of the God we serve and I’m fervently praying that this is not something any of us soon forget.

A message from Jeff on March 7, 2011:
At 9:41pm tonight Erica asked me “Is it hard to imagine that 3 weeks ago today, right now, you were dead?” Wow, I hadn’t thought about it in such direct terms. I do know that in the last three weeks I have done a lot of reflecting about the few things that I remember, but more on the things I have been told regarding the events that took place on and after Valentine’s Day.


I wish at this time I could say that I can remember everything that led up to the event, or that for the approximately 90 minutes that I was not living on my own, I was spending time in heaven or had seen the light, or that I can remember the events that took place the entire week following the event, but I can’t. I remember very little if anything until the following Monday evening, BUT, the stories I have been told and continue to hear leave me humbled, amazed, and thankful to say the least.

First, HUMBLED, that my God would take a normal and selfish guy as myself and work such a miracle that would change lives all over the world. He could have used anyone, but chose to do this miracle through me and my family. Not in any way so that we would receive the glory, but so HE would receive the glory and be praised for who HE is and what HE can do and has done. As I continue hearing story after story of how lives are being changed, how lives are being saved, and faith in our awesome God has been raised to an altogether new level, I have to say that if it all ended today, it was worth it and I would be honored to do it all again, BUT, I know this is just the beginning of what God is about to do.

I find myself not talking as much as I’m accustomed to, but truly reflecting and being prayerful about what we are supposed to do next, how we are supposed to share our story, and how we can ensure that the entire world knows that God still does miracles and He receives all the glory that he deserves. Our God is amazing and I belong to Him.

From every place within me, I want to thank you for your prayers, your extreme faith and your support of our family. Be prepared and please be in prayer for what God has done and is about to do. May the momentum never end and our God continue receiving the glory and honor He deserves.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip (yes there is such a thing)

Love that Gina!  She came up with a recipe for Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip !  LOVED it!  This is one of our favorite party appetizers & now, even though I'm counting my points & getting my old body back, I can still enjoy this one!  YEA!!  Thank you Gina, you rock!