this Life was Meant to Shine: May 2011

May 29, 2011

it's gonna be H-O-T.....

and you're gonna need a P-O-O-L!!! well, somewhere I need a pool! Our A/C went out on yesterday and it's really hot in this house. Hubs booked a hotel room for tonight and luckily we know a very reliable and reasonable A/C guy. He's actually here right now looking at the problem but we don't know what the cost will be or the exact issue. Thank God my hubster has worked some serious overtime at work b/c I have a feeling this A/C fix is gonna cost us a couple hundred dollars.
I, on the other had, have been torturing myself down in the basement, ditching, weeding out, and organizing all that crap we've accumulated over the years. I'm gonna try and get some shelving (paid for by the OT the hubs did) from Lowe's and I think that will help me a lot. One of the main reasons I HAVE to get this done is because my mom & I are going to MD in mid-June to retrieve her stuff from storage. I'd rather her things be here in my basement and safe than for her to not be able to pay for it and lose it all. So, I'm trying my hardest to REALLY get stuff organized. I looked into the cost of renting a 10 cu. foot dumpster and it was $265!!! I can make several trips to the dump for less than that. I should take before pics of the whole disastrous mess down there but with that comes a lot of shame so I will spare you and myself. Maybe after I get it all done I can show some pics. We'll see.
On another note, this is the last week of school! HOORAY! This will be the first year that I get to experience the end of the year in a school setting. I'm kinda sad and happy. I will miss seeing the people but boy do I have a lot going on this summer. It seems like this summer will be much more busier than last. That's okay, it's just I hope I get to do some relaxing too! We have Nashville Shores passes this year so that will help. Grant has Lego camp and Cub scout day camp. I need to get him some swim lessons lined up too. VBS is right around the corner and a birthday party to plan and lots of swimming. Hopefully I can get some scrapbooking in and maybe a few craft projects. Boy OH boy it's gonna go by fast! The countdown begins June 4th!

May 27, 2011

Dear Me

I just love that First grade is where reading and writing really take off and it can be the measure from which we gain perspective and insight into the mind of our children. It's probably one of the main reasons why I love the younger grades. This is the last letter that Grant wrote as part of his writing practice in his class. The students in his class wrote letters to each other and then the teacher compiled them altogether to make a sweet book of "Letters from Friends". It's just so precious!

This is a letter that Grant wrote to himself. Although I'm not sure this was supposed to be a part of that little book, I absolutely love it! He is super smart and I'm not just saying that because he's mine but he really is pretty smart and he's a great reader and writer. I can't even imagine how different his first grade year could have been if I hadn't been hired by the county I work in. I owe so much to Mrs. Greene and her ability to be such an effective teacher even though her class has many "chiefs' and few "Indians". It is impossible to believe that my baby boy is going to be a 2nd grader and 7 years old!!!

Have a Blessed Memorial Day Weekend!

May 16, 2011

trying NOT to keep up with the Jones'

My insecurity is creeping up on me, well not "up on me" rather "in me". The ugliness of that shows up in different ways and I begin my random thoughts of "I wish....." It's crazy and silly and stupid and wrong.
Trying to NOT keep up with the Jones' is un-American. We are bombarded with thoughts, images, commercials, advertising, and other media that to 'feel' or be successful is to OWN IT ALL! HAVE IT ALL! DO IT ALL1

It's just ridiculous to be this way. I am contantly figuring out what the story is that God is writing for me. I seek to be humble, I seek to have peace, I seek to know God's will. I seek Him for his approval. But every now and again this little disastrouss emotion wants to swallom me whole.

How am I going to "kill" this monster? The only answer I have is to continue praying for God to squelch those fleshy desires and read what the Scriptures have to say about the true treasures. God wants me to have.
It's hard people, really hard, especially in this country of instant gratification.
So there you have it, me and all my crazy thoughts on keeping up the Jones'
God help me!

May 11, 2011

A better tasting Pizza! & a Giveaway!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA®. All opinions are 100% mine.

/I love Freschetta pizza so I couldn't pass up this offer to try one of their new FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizzas for free!

On my trip to the store this evening, I picked up this pizza, the Hawaiian Delight! Freschetta's new packaging seals in the juicy flavors of the ham and pineapple and the crust is perfect! I popped it in the oven for 15 minutes and let cook while I put away my groceries. It smelled so yummy! Freschetta also uses 30% less packaging for the pizza which scores points with a recycling girl like myself!

When I took the first bite, the crust is yumm-0! I loved the sweet flavor of BBQ sauce mixed with the pineapple. The Canadian style ham was tender and tasty. And of course, the cheese was my favorite!

Freschetta is now offering a total of 8 new flavors in their Simply Inspired line of pizzas! Go to their Facebook page @ www.facebook.com/freschettasimplyinspired! They are also having great giveaways for the rest of 2011!

Which leads me to my next point! I'm going to send one lucky reader a coupon for a FREE PIZZA & a Freschetta Inspired bamboo cutting board! Leave a comment and one lucky reader will win!

Giveaway ends Monday night May 15th at 11:00pm!!!