May.
18th Blog Every Day in May: Day 18

Sooo, I got wayy busy the last few days and haven’t been able to blog. Crazy times!! So, let’s see what we have for today!

Blog Every Day in May: Day 18 and the prompt is… Tell a story from your childhood

This is hard!  Ok, here’s one..not really a story…but just a memory..

I was shy. Super shy. Hide behind my mom and turn red whenever anyone even glanced my way shy.

But for some reason, I was in plenty of plays and musicals for school and church. I was actually in front of audiences of people over and over again.

I was the narrator for a couple plays in school, I can remember playing hide and seek behind the curtains on the stage with my friends and wondering if the principal was going to catch us goofing off. :D I think I also had a part or two…I can’t remember that part. I remember something about bells though…lol.

We did The Music Machine in church. I don’t know if I will ever forget the sound that machine made on the songs that we played. I know I had love or joy or self-control as my part, I can’t remember that… BUT, I just went and did a search on all of the songs and I am so surprised I remembered 99% of the songs. Oh my goodness.. HOW is that even possible? :D

Jen musical

I was trying to find a picture to go with the story and I found this one. It is a bad scan of an old picture, but you get the general idea. We were doing The Birthday Party by Agapeland, the same people that did Music Machine. Of course we had to all dress up as presents! My older friend got to dress up as a snowflake gift. Blue and sparkly. Here I was stuck in a plain box. So, that is my up front with the microphone. Singing. I might have been singing ‘What Can I Give to the King’ but I am not positive.

I have nothing but positive memories about doing all of these plays and musicals. Isn’t that strange? For being so shy? Funny how that all works out.. :)

Posted in Blog Challenges | 1 Comment
May.
15th Waterproof Bible!

Yes, you read that correctly…a waterproof Bible!

Getting right to the nitty gritty here folks…check it out!

waterproof bible cover

See???

After getting this in the mail and admiring the feel of it, I was quite hesitant on testing it out. I mean…it is a Bible!  It took me a few days of putting it off…and then I could hear a slight thundering outside. I knew what that meant! So, I went and put it outside right before a huge downpour soaked everything in minutes. This was the after…

So, a little back story..   Bardin & Marsee Publishing sent me this Bible to test out.  I read on their website their story on how they came up with making such a thing.  You can take this anywhere! How great for taking on missions, backpacking trips..or even to the beach!

Right away after opening the box, this Bible felt different. The pages didn’t have the normal thin, crinkly feel and sound like a typical Bible.  That is because the pages are made of synthetic materials. The pages are thicker and smooth to the touch. Mom’s, you know how it is, you are in church and holding the little one and they reach over and…riiiipp…a page right out of your Bible? That won’t happen with this one! You can pull on each page and it doesn’t come out, they are sewn right in.

For those of you that have a marked up Bible, this is great for that too! You can use pencils, ball point pens and dry highlighters with no problem! (Due to the nature of the pages, sharpies and regular highlighters will just rub right off.)  Very easy to find extra pens and pencils in church if you forget yours! And it doesn’t show through the other side!

Ok, so after a couple weeks of being nice, I figured I was ready to get dirty. One of Lauren’s favorite snacks is Nutella with some graham crackers. What a great idea! :D

Oops!!

waterproof bible nutella

If you have ever had Nutella, you know it is basically a nutty chocolate. Kind of oily.. I wondered if that would affect the page, maybe leaving a grease mark or something.  I went to wash it off…

waterproof bible nutella rinse

It was washing right off!  There was no residue at all!  I made sure it was totally clean and by that time it was pretty wet! I could almost just wring it out like a washcloth!

waterproof bible wringOf course it didn’t dry right away, but left open to air dry, it didn’t take long at all!

Now, ask me if I felt guilty doing all of this to a Bible and I will tell you yes right away! But now, I don’t feel bad if something happens to it, because more than likely it will still look as good as new!

This Waterproof Bible comes in different colors and patterns, as well as different versions. The one I had was this one. It has the new testament as well as Psalms and Proverbs. It sells for $24.95.  You can get full version Bibles too for $44.95.  Feel free to check out their store here.

I would totally recommend anyone this Waterproof Bible! Not just one specific group at all! Let me know if you have one and what you have put yours through! :D

Mosaic tag

Posted in Reviews | 3 Comments
May.
14th Blog Every Day in May: Day 14

SO, today there was a frost warning…all night into the morning. Tomorrow it is going to be 88. What?  So strange… Anyway…

Blog Every Day in May: Day 14 and the prompt is…Ten things that make you really happy

Oh, this is going to be fun… hehe…  Let’s see…
In no particular order of and obviously my family and everything are just assumed already.. :)

1. Yummy things…like this to eat and this to drink. I miss this place…

Coffee Shop

2. Roller Skating!!  Come on, you know it’s fun!

roller skates

3. Taking pictures….and cameras…

Diana camera and film

4. A drawer with a kitten in it…seriously, come on now…

kitten in a desk drawer

5.  The kids hanging out with their cousins and having fun…

cousins at Hole in the Rock

6. Doing random things, just because…

Jen Color Run

7. All of my past photo clients…

clients heart

8. This place…

target

9.  This cactus still makes me happy…dunno, looks like a rabbit to me, lol.

rabbit cactus

10. Being at the beach..

Jen at beach

Posted in Blog Challenges | 1 Comment
May.
13th Blog Every Day in May: Day 13

First day back doing full school in almost a month…crazy! Took a while to get our groove on this morning… I forgot about PE and all the silly things we do..ha! Ok..

Blog Every Day in May: Day 13 and the prompt is…Issue a public apology.

I could have taken this in so many directions. Apologized to anyone who has seen me dance, for example…

But…this weekend I was going through a box of old pictures, back when I used my film camera for EVERYTHING!  My poor film camera… Anyway, I’ve been going through these pictures the last few days and reminiscing.

It is towards the end of October in the year 2000. It was just Ryan back then. We went up north to the pumpkin patch there, because that was the BEST one to visit in the whole of Arizona. ;) We went with Jeffy’s brother and their little family. It was just Katie back then as well. Anyway, they played and played and played…ran and ran and ran..we took SO many pictures that day. (remember, film camera, it could be subjective, lol)

Ryan was loving running in the dirt. He had on his cool hiking boots since it gets cold up there.  Isn’t he cute? :D I remember him flapping his one sleeve that was hanging, he thought it was funny…

Ryan running

So, after a while we just let him run, run run and got to doing whatever we were doing…and then…his feet did who knows what, in those big old boots and he just happened to find one of the only mud puddles in the whole pumpkin patch..

Ryan muddy

Just happened he fell face first, lol.

We laughed…and laughed…and laughed… I remember I could hardly take the picture because of laughing so much. Jeffy held him there for a picture for quite a while…

So, Ryan…I apologize to you for laughing at you for who knows how long…before we thought it a good idea to clean off your face.  :D

Posted in Blog Challenges, Family | 2 Comments
May.
12th Blog Every Day in May: Day 12

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! :) We went to church this morning, then on a picnic in the park down the street from our house…when we got home, Jeffy and the boys made an outdoor thing for the chickens and Lauren caught a snake. Still early, but I think most everyone just wants to relax now…

So… Blog Every Day in May: Day 12 and the prompt is.. What do you miss?

I answered this during the 31 Day Blog Challenge and you can read that here… I figured I would go a different route today.

Grandma and Grandpa

I miss hanging out with them like when I was young.

My grandma and grandpa.

My grandpa would get rid of monsters in the hallway, steal my nose, give me a name that was so long nobody could remember it all…but he did. I remember riding on his shoulders, playing with their dogs in the yard, and him making sure I was safe when I spent the night. Later, I remember him always picking me up from school and taking me to the orthodontist, Burger King and donuts. He gave me away at my wedding and was able to meet Ryan and Kyle. He didn’t get to meet Lauren, but I think he had something to do with us being blessed with her anyway. We named her an L name because his name started with L. I so wish he could have met her…

My grandma would rub my back, make me cinnamon toast and put ice cubes in my milk. She would always take me shopping at the mall and we would always get a Blizzard at Dairy Queen. She would wash, and I would dry…spotless. (I hope) She would rub my back. She would let me look at her old pictures for hours…hours. She would always have candy in little jars around the house. Supposedly I would sleep walk and eat candy during the night. I still don’t know where those wrappers came from…She would rub my back. Later, she wouldn’t complain (If she did, I didn’t know about it)when I asked her to come and get me and take me to work because I didn’t plan properly.  She came to every function, every birthday party and would always send cards in the mail. It was quite hard saying goodbye to her when we moved here and I wish I had gotten a picture of us that day… I need to call her more.

I miss them both. I miss them together. They were such a huge part of my childhood.

I love this picture of them together.

I love them.

Posted in Blog Challenges, Chit chat, Family | 2 Comments
May.
11th Blog Every Day in May: Day 11

Jeffy woke me up bright and early this morning to go check on the chickens. So odd when my morning routine is all messed up. Came back in to the cat yelling at me. I don’t blame her, I usually feed them first thing. Crazy morning!!

If you think that’s crazy, wait until you read this blog post. :nodding:

Blog Every Day in May: Day 11 and the prompt is….Sell yourself in 10 words or less

Interesting…right? Ok, let’s do this…

Chipper
Silly
Different
Maker
Enough
Awesome
Believer
Awkward
Confused
Photogenic

You believe that last one, don’t you?  :chuckle:

Jen Silly

Posted in Blog Challenges | 4 Comments
May.
10th Chickens!

So, yep, we did it again. Quite randomly and out of the blue. Chickens!

We hated having to give ours up in AZ.. And while we aren’t totally ready for full grown chickens, we are plenty ready for chicks. They have an area in the barn that is perfect for them.

With a few modifications on the side of the barn, it should be perfect for them when they are older. :)

It will be nice not to have to buy eggs again, we have missed that! Of course it will be Fall before that happens…just in time for baking season!  Ha!

I didn’t get super great pics of all of them, they were so hungry by the time we got home. They sure are cute though!!

buff orpington chick

 IMG_6361

black australorp chick

polish chick

Posted in Chit chat, Family | 1 Comment
May.
10th Five Minute Friday

Busy busy here on the ‘ol bloggy… Might as well!  Just glad my mouth is on the way to recovery and don’t have to go back to the dentist anytime soon. :D

Five Minute Friday prompt is: COMFORT

GO

What brings you comfort?

It could be a good friend. Your favorite dessert. A good book. A comfy pillow.

All of those bring comfort to me, but in different ways.

When I am truly comfortable, I tend to laugh. A lot. I laugh at silly things that I read on the computer. I laugh at Jeffy (well, who doesn’t..), I laugh at the kids, the pets…and myself.

Jen laughing

Not much fixes a bad day like laughter. Sure, the bad stuff may still be there, but whatever it is that makes you laugh takes the edge off for a while. Gets you thinking of the good things, the funny things, the ‘what in the world’ things…and changes your attitude about the ‘other’ stuff.

Right now my dog is curled up next to my desk drawer and licking the knob. She has been doing it for five minutes. It’s gross, but I can’t stop her, because it makes me laugh the longer she does it.  (Yes, I will clean it when she is done, because, ew…)

I make sure there is something each day that I can laugh about.  Wisdom teeth videos on YouTube are always there, as well as the autocorrect site. Jeffy and I overusing the ‘That’s what she said’ phrase, as well as making ugly faces at each other.

It is my hope that when people see me, they don’t see the bad day I may be having…but instead just happiness and laughter.

Laughter is my medicine. And it has pleasant side effects..

STOP

 

Posted in Blog Challenges, Chit chat | 4 Comments
May.
9th Finish the Sentence

In watching American Idol tonight, I decided I didn’t really care for Mariah Carey’s new video…so I thought I would do something fun while that was playing. Right? Did everyone else see that?? :X

The blog Jack & Sally have a thang…where they come up with the beginning of the sentence…and you finish the sentence.  Pretty simple there, right? I think so…  Check it out!  :D

button

Unlike my sibling(s) (that I love very much)…. I don’t have to shave my face. :whew:
My best friend says… random things like duck butter. What?
People call me… no, they don’t call me. Because they know I don’t like to talk on the phone.
I most often dream… that I do a whole exercise series and wake up feeling like I don’t have to exercise that day! Yes!!
The best part of my day… 3pm. Dessert!!!
I really don’t understand… why someone felt like they should invent a boob washer.
I get really annoyed… at the ads on youtube. At least make them funny, or cute…or useful. See answer to previous question.
There’s nothing like a… piece of chocolate and a good book.
Lately, I can’t get enough… strawberries. With whipped cream. And maybe a little shortcake.. ;)
One thing I am NOT is…  a mathematical genius. I know…I know…hard to believe.
I spent too much money on… Lucy. But she’s cute and totally worth it. ;)
I want to learn…. all about alpacas. Why wouldn’t anyone want to learn about them?
If I ever met_______, I would…  If I ever met Ari Meyers, I would HAVE to get my picture taken with her. Of course 99.7% of the people reading this have no idea who she is…
I can’t stop… Believin. Journey would be angry.
Never have I ever…  said a bad word. Swore. Cussed. It’s true.
Reese Witherspoon…  is an American citizen.

Posted in Chit chat | 2 Comments
May.
9th Blog Every Day in May: Day 9

Such a wonderful day!  It is 77 degrees and the sun is shining! :) Makes me want to go spend the day outside…..except…you will see below why I am not. :P

Blog Every Day in May: Day 9 and the prompt is…A moment in your day

Yep…back again. I think I started going back in what, January or February?  For ONE tooth. One. A root canal. I knew it was trouble when, on the first visit, he kept going on about my awesome tooth.  Yep. I don’t know how long a root canal normally takes, but I can say that today, May 9th, I am done. Yayyy!

Now, he hasn’t even looked at the rest of my mouth…..lol.

dentist office

Posted in Blog Challenges, Chit chat | 6 Comments