RANDOMNESS - Food, FB, and Cristian

I've discovered this new eatery, Lee's Sandwiches, that is so odd and parts of the menu make me cringe, but it sure is good. When you see an avocado smoothie and a cured pork and pate sandwich... what is your first thought? AVOID

I don't have the nerve to try either of these or their sardine sandwich - cringe. I have found that their Baguettes are so delicious and their mocha smoothies make you want to head to the drive-thru every.single.day.

They have these fruit smoothies that taste like heaven... if you live in California, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona or if you live in Korea, Vietnam, or China - Try one of their smoothies or sandwiches. You'll want to stop by, like me, every.single.day.

As a matter of fact - I will be seeing Lee today for one of those Watermelon smoothies... I just can't help myself.

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I've been so slow at work and spending 99% of my time on Facebook. Whoever thought of this did a good thing... It is so fun to "see" people from so long ago and keep in contact with distant family and friends. Even my kindergarten teacher is my friend on FB! Bizarre. If you don't have one GET one - and if you know my name... haha... we can be FB friends too! =)

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My nephew, Cristian, is a character these days. We went out on Saturday night and he was so entertaining. Auntie Cacky, my sister, kept giving him Maraschino cherries... let's just say he was spinning out of control and needed a candy sobriety test. I caught the evidence with my phone camera...

His first taste of a Maraschino cherry or as he calls it "Candy"

Aunt Cat's Cherry coke made him yell "Mooooooore!"

Bowllickinggood ice cream.

That sums up my exciting, edge of your seat random post - It's all good in my end of the world this week...

Honest Scrap

Amy from My Amazeing Journey, whose blog I enjoy reading, was tagged and awarded the Honest Scrap award. She tagged whoever wanted to join her and I figure we haven't passed around one of these in a while - so why not?


The rules...
1) Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
2) Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.
3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

I'm not even sure if I regularly follow 7 blogs... I stick with the few that I really enjoy since I don't have that much blog hopping time.

1. Eileen at Say What?!
2. Becky at Stuck in Frump
3. Jenster at Jenster's Musings
4. Angela at Lighten Up
5. Cat at The Queen's Castle
6. Sony at Purely Sony
7. Anyone who wants to join... =)

::10 Things about the Daily Bee::

• I started my own business at 19
• I was born and raised in the same church
• I sing in a trio and chorale - Soprano
• I love taking pictures of anything and everything
• I laugh at myself often
• I am afraid of cats - very afraid
• I have a birthmark on my leg that looks, to me, like North and South America - lol
• My left foot is 1/2 size bigger than my right foot
• I am a nervous person - yes I admit it - sometimes I drive myself crazy
• I've always wanted to be an astronaut so I could see the universe

Who Knew - Bubble Gum is the Enemy

As a kid, did you ever hear your mom say, "Don't get gum in your hair!" or "Stop snapping your gum!"? I heard this plenty of times... but those warning didn't stop the peanut butter from coming out to fix the fact that I had blown too big of a bubble and now gum was intertwined with the hair. Oh Vey.

I am not a gum chewer. I'd rather have mints. I love the taste of gum but it's too exhausting to chew. I got a little stash in my stocking for Christmas this year and there was a cute little roll of Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape with a little Santa on the front. Enticing.

I took it to work and decided to chew a little strip... mind you I was bored to tears since work has been slow. I chewed that little bit and decided that I needed more. So there I was, chewing on a big mound of Hubba Bubba gum. If someone had told me that I would have injured myself on gum, I would have smiled, maybe giggled, maybe even choked on the gum a little. But alas, there was no warning from mom ringing in my ears, "You'll hurt yourself chewing gum!". I will be the first to admit that I am a little bit accident prone.

It started with a little twinge... that turned into a BIG twinge. I somehow pulled or ripped or angered something in my jaw/neck area. It screamed at me and yelped in pain - all.night.long.

I babied it all day today, took some trusty Advil and prayed for myself - hoping that it won't cause me to have to see the dreaded doctor over something so silly. I can just hear that conversation:

Doctor: So what are you here for?

Me: I was chewing gum

Doctor: And?

Me: I angered something in my jaw. Maybe pulled a muscle?

Doctor: (silence... staring... thinking - "dumb girl.")

I've come to one conclusion in all this - GUM is the enemy!

Letter Boxing

I have always wanted to go letter boxing, if you don't know what that is, go here (letterboxing)and try it out. I have a cousin who has been doing this for years... just seemed like something that was fun and the best part - inexpensive!

A friend and I were trying to figure out what we could do on Saturday and things being tight, I went online in search of a letter box close by that we could attempt to locate.

Since this is an open blog and there is a massive community in the letter boxing world that is not private, I'll refrain from telling which box we found... lol. It was so fun and so easy... the first one that is. My mom tagged along and we set up on a little table as we stamped and wrote little notes.

We got in the car and drove to the where the second box was supposed to be... We wandered around as I kept asking, "what are the clues, again?" They just seemed so vague... Hmm... I checked the website and sure enough, It was a word of mouth clue! In other words, we were on a wild goose chase... So much for our day of letter boxing fun!

This is a great family activity or individual activity. Try and let me know how it turns out on your end!

Think Positive Thoughts!

Thinking Happiness

Think of the things that make you happy
not of the things that make sad
Think of the fine and true in mankind
not its sordid side and bad
Think of the blessings that surround you
not the ones that are denied
Think of the virtues of your friendships
not the weak and faulty side

Think of the gains you've made
not the losses you've incurred
Think of the days of health and pleasure
not the days of woe and pain
Think of the days alive with sunshine
not the dismal days of rain
Think of the hopes that lie before you
not the waste that lies behind

Think of the treasures you have gathered
not the ones you've failed to find
Think of the service you may render
not of serving self alone
Think of the happiness of others
and in this you will find your ownby

Robert Farley

God Saves

This past weekend we had a special speaker at our church, we'll call him Bro. L. He was incredibly funny and a powerful preacher.

Most of my long time blog readers know of my bible study that has serious addictions and issues. She has been struggling so much recently and I've been getting, gasp, frustrated, wondering if I was supposed to be reaching out to her or if I wasn't doing what God wanted me to do. She says she wants to come to church with me but when it comes time for church something always comes up. I've been pulling for her to come and calling and praying, but nothing seems to happen...

This past Sunday our special speaker told a story from when he was a youth and was in a car with his youth leader. A woman, thin and frail and apparently a prostitute knocked on the car window and asked for money. "My kids are dying, they haven't eaten for 3 days.", she said. The youth leader told her that he didn't want to give her money because she would abuse it. She pleaded with him to just buy food for her kids. They followed her to an alley where a cardboard box was covering 3 kids that could barely hold their heads up. They bought them food and watched as the kids hungrily ate.

They begin to tell the woman about Jesus. She said, "I've tried everything. Nothing works." She showed them her arms, they were covered and scabbed from needles. She told them she didn't want her kids taken away, she had no where else to go.

The youth leader and Bro. L gave her their church business card and told her to come.

Weeks went by, no sign of the woman. One service, Bro.L's father was preaching and the back doors flew open and in comes a woman yelling, "JESUS!" The ushers tried to sit her down but Bro. L recognized her and told his dad who she was. They led her to the front and she begin speaking in tongues as God filled her with the Holy Ghost!

She came to church with her children for a few months but then disappeared... no where to be found.

Years later Bro. L was in another country preaching and a man came up to him and said, "Bro, your the man that witnessed to my wife." The women came to him and asked him if he remembered her and he said no. She said, "I'm that women." and she pointed over to where her three kids were praising God, "and those are my kids..."

God can do incredible things in ones life! I was so overwhelmed and stung at the thought that I was feeling frustrated and about to give up. God works form the inside out. He knows the heart, when you work in His kingdom it is not in vain. I know that He will save my bible study and He's working on her.

It's all in His timing... just wait on Him.

Funny Faces Always Bring a SMILE

Phone in hand, I was sitting behind these kids in church on Sunday night.

New Years BASH

I've been going and going since Wednesday. This new years started off with a bang! We had a houseful. My SIL's entire family, minus one sister and her family, came over to share New Years with us and some friends. We had a potluck style dinner with homemade enchiladas, chicken cordon bleu', mashed potatoes with gravy, pasta salad, chicken wings, homemade bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos, meat and cheese tray, tortilla casserole... not your normal dinner but it was delish!

We played games, laughed, chatted about anything and everything and just had fun. Close to midnight we passed out Martinellis and non-alcoholic champagne and toasted as we counted down with Dick Clark and let off fire crackers which left me jumpy and worried about all the long hair in the room. Yikes.

Around 2PM I, being the 80 year old lady in a 25 year old body, was ready to crash while the kids were still running about. Everyone crashed at our house. Our living room, family room, bonus room, plus two of our bedrooms were full to the point that you had to step over people on the floor. So much fun... that is if you remove the person that snored in my face all.night.long!

My SIL's one-year old niece hammed it up for the camera, I had to share these photos with you...

The next morning we woke up and ate the potluck food again... who needs eggs when there's enchiladas with fresh green sauce. Mmmm.

I am at our Holiday Youth Convention. I haven't been to a youth convention since I was a teenager. I was going mainly to see my brother's band play, but ended up enjoying the music and service for myself. It's so exciting to see blood bought teenagers excited about living for God! Being the forgetful person that I am I forgot to charge JW (my camera) and had to take a pic with my phone. Here is my brother Peter on the big screen leading the band.

Closing out 2008 and Walking into 2009

Is it just me or is everyone breathing a sigh of relief that 2008 is about to be history? I thank God, you have no idea how much I thank Him, for 2008. I can honestly say that this year has been the toughest year of my life. I feel like I got hit on every side, everything seemed to fall apart. Loved ones passing away, sickness in the family, and dark days. BUT I've made it through alive!! Through it all, I learned that my God is faithful and He truly cares for me. He was and still is moving and taking things off so that I can be the person that He needs me to be in 2009.

If I didn't go through the things I went through I would never have known God like I do. Every day He's opened me up to a new part of Him. I feel so humbled that He loves me enough to work on me and make me a better person.

I have made resolutions for the coming year, I have my "lose weight" one of course, but these are my top three. I don't share my resolutions to just anyone, but for some reason I just want to here... seems right somehow.

First and foremost - I want to trust God like never before. I want to put my faith in Him and cast all my cares upon Him. Give up control... (Lord, help me with this one! haha)

Second - I want to be a witness of Him more than ever before. I want to be used by Him to show people that this world we live in isn't all there is. We don't have to worry about the economy or the crime and evilness of the world we live in. He's prepared a place for us, where there is no worry, no fear of tomorrow. He's prepared it for all, but only those that are filled with His spirit, baptized in His name and covered in His blood will see it and "live" there forever. I want to show people that they can make it! God's word says that He desires that ALL would be saved, but He's left the choice up to us. I pray that He shines through me in 2009.

Third - I want to be content in whatsoever state I am. I pray for the blessings of God, but He knows what's best for me. He blesses me in how He sees fit to. I want to be content and not wish or want for something better all the time. Content in the life He's given me and accept every blessing from Him along the way.

Those are my top three things that I want God to accomplish in me this year. This year holds so much for us, get ready to grasp the blessing of God and look forward to what He has in store for His own.

I wish you all a prosperous and blessed beyond belief New Year!

Better than a Red Ryder

Christmas morning my siblings and parents gather in the family room around the tree and fire and open our gifts. Many, many gifts. I always feel the need to explain to people that come over why there are so many gifts under both trees and even in corners. Since we all, my siblings and I, started making our own incomes some as long as 18 years ago, we have always splurged a little on each other. A little sibling love to last throughout the next year and maybe even to make up for the hard times we put each other through as any good sister or brother would do.

My parents are no exception, we love to spoil them with all the things they wanted but didn't buy for themselves. They've always done the same to us.

This year, with the way the economy has been, everyone was pretty tight. We still tried to spend the same amount as we always do, but knew that we couldn't expect (for lack of a better word) too much. I expected to have a meaningful Christmas but nothing prepared me for the feeling we had this Christmas morning.

After all our gifts were opened from each other, my parents brought out a gift for each of us and multiple gifts for my SIL. (She had not put anything grand on her wish list)

I opened my gift and gasped. I had the feeling of when Ralphie opened his Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle. Words flew out of my head and I cried. Yep, cried. There it was in my lap. A Nikon. Not just any Nikon, my dad went to buy the Nikon D40 I wanted and came home with a Nikon D60. Beautiful and sleek and something that I'd given up on.

I looked up to see my siblings crying. Even the tough boys. It was wonder and disbelief, but not because of what it was, what it meant. I was overwhelmed that my mom and dad, in this desperately tight year of recession, would give me something that I've wanted for so long. I was so grateful yet felt so undeserving.

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Matthew 7:9-11

Below are some pictures that I took while taking JW (new name for the camera) out on the town for the first time. Keep in mind, I am no professional photographer. =)

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Oh Baby!

Oh boy, oh boy! He's believed to be the biggest baby born in Orange County. The weight of a medium sized turkey. 14.2 pounds, 21" long.

Born by C-Section on December 23rd, two doctors had to pull him out.

How would you like to carry this big boy in your belly?

Merry Christmas Greetings

I am stuffed with turkey and oh so content with life right now. God's given me another wonderful Christmas, what joy!

Merry Christmas to all my bloggy pals and those that sneak by... you know who you are! =)

I wish you many blessings on this day that we celebrate the most incredible birth of all.

JESUS - Who are we to deserve such love? I am so thankful!

Starbucks is the BOMB

There just something about a good, hot eggnog latte on a chilly morning.

My sweet sister surprised my SIL and I at work with Starbucks. Mm-Mm GOOOD.

It's about 55 degrees here and I am freezing. This girl is not cut out for cold weather!

The Spirit of Christmas

Christmas. One of the most beautiful and stressful times of the year.

I used to favor Thanksgiving because, well, the food was good. Over the past few years the 4th of July has been near and dear to my heart. This year, I feel a closeness with the Christmas season this year. My eyes have seemed to open up past the merriment and stress. I look back at past Christmas' and feel so blessed. When I read about families that don't have anything-food, presents, warm homes, decorations, joy-I feel so blessed and a little guilty.

God's been good to me.

My parents taught us at a young age that it was always better to give than to receive. Give to the kingdom of God, give to those less fortunate, and give to each other. I cannot count how many times I've seen my mom and dad give to families in need; see the faces of children smile as we gave them Christmas presents that they wanted but didn't dare ask for. The times I've heard the story of my dad teaching the homeless man about Jesus as he bundled up in a cardboard box in our car port, or my parents helping a family with medical bills, or inviting families in our home to share our meal on Christmas Eve when they had no family in the area. This was and is the way of my life and I hope to carry that with me throughout the rest of my life. I want to give back because He's given me so much.

This is the spirit of the season.

Christmas Pictures - My Brothers and Sisters

My cousin took some group pictures of us to be blown up for the parents.

I took a few photos of my brother and sister in law... My brother Peter is a camera hog. He loves taking pictures, if he had his way I would be following him around with a camera.

We always take pictures with each other, each sister with a brother or sister and sister. I love this picture of Peter and Catherine.

That morning we weren't really looking forward to getting dressed and running around outside in the cold with mountain lions roaming the hills... okay the last one was an isolated fear of mine. What would you expect with big signs saying "At your own risk". We ended up having fun and enjoying the incredible location.

Christmas Pictures

I took some pictures of my cousin Eileen and her family this past weekend for Christmas. Cristian, her son, is the funniest kid to photograph. He has so much character and does exactly what you tell him. These were my favorite shots, I thought they came out pretty good...

Christmas Decorations - Part 1

I haven't blogged about much of anything in the past couple of weeks... so that explains the two post in one day!

We got our Christmas decorations up a couple of weeks back and I didn't have a chance to share. Since my family goes all out decorating our home for the season, this will Part 1 - The Family Room and Foyer.

Thomas Kinkade "Home for Christmas

Our stocking collection has grown over the past years, there used to be six. Six turned into seven when I was a little girl and we got our puppy Tiff. Seven turned into eight when my Sis n law came along and now eight is nine with my brother's girlfriend. We don't hang our stockings on the mantle but on the entry door... first thing you see when you walk in.

We've had this gingerbread family since I was very young. We were never allowed to play with them. They had to sit nicely in there spots, just to be looked at. Dad and Mom and four kids - that's us!

Family room tree that's done in rustic ornaments and all the ornaments that we've collected over the years.

I love the house when it's decorated for Christmas. This room is my favorite to sit in with the fire and lights glistening.

Santa's Fat Suit

Rainy Morning

I took some pictures on the way to work this rainy morning. Clouds are so fascinating to me. They change shape right before your eyes and are never the same, day to day. A rainy morning brought such incredible beauty...

Christmas Shopping

I have been so behind in my shopping this year. As of today, I've purchased one gift... Uno.一個.один.một. ONE GIFT.

Things just aren't going as planned. I know what I want to buy, It's just a matter of how to do it! I was telling someone last night that I will be doing most of my shopping the week of Christmas. Talk about a mad dash to the finish.

I've had my fair share of rushing to the stores and checking out the good sales, crowds, messes... BUT I have refrained from buying one single thing.

I was shopping at a local store and came across this.

An aisle full of pillows. Kids paradise. There was a Mom and her little girl on the other side and the mom was telling her daughter, "Go ahead". Tempting... When the mad rush of shopping gets too crazy, look for an aisle like this and jump!

Christmas Disco FEVER

Every Christmas I look forward to wasting time on Elf Yourself. I made one of my mom and her siblings, most of them, and now made one of me and my siblings! Check it out...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A quick post

This is going to be a quick one, but I feel like I'm neglecting my blog! I had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Good food, family time, and great church - Need I say more? It was wonderful. So unlike myself, I forgot my camera at my job! So no pictures from my end. I was so bummed and I didn't even think to use my phone. Oh well!

Now back to the normal things of life, work and obligations. I am getting into the Christmas spirit, we put up our family room tree on Friday night/Saturday morning. I'll post a picture here later on tonight or tomorrow.

We still have a ton of decorating to do in our home, but life is a little busy right now. We have bugs (sick bugs) going around our church and home. I am determined to stay as far away from all the sicky people and maybe, just maybe get by.

Hope you all ate tons of bird and had a great time with Family!