what do you wear??

I have to get something off my chest (it's not big and can't hold alot).

I hate when women wear clothes to church that are more designed for a night on the town. There. I said it. I don't think things like spaghetti straps, strapless tops, mini skirts, one shoulder tops, etc. are meant for God's house. I just really believe that when you are there you should be modest. I don't care what season it is, you can find something cute and comfortable that will cover you up. I find it especially distracting when I am sitting with my husband and another woman (or sometimes young girls) sit in front of us and their undergarments are hanging out, or I know suddenly about all of their moles on their back, or that they aren't wearing any undergarments. I mean really, ladies, didn't your Mama teach you better??? I'm not saying you have to go to church in a turtleneck and ankle-length skirts, but you should atleast be covered up. I don't think exposing your thighs, bare shoulders, back, cleavage, or butt crack in church (or many other places, for that matter) is appropriate. For one, you are supposed to be in church for worship. A time to honor Christ and be there to honor His place in your life. Not to look like you didn't have time to change out of the outfit you wore to the bar last night. Maybe you don't have friends in your life that will tell you that this is not appropriate...let me be that friend. IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE. You might say that my husband shouldn't be looking at you. Well, guess what, when you go around half dressed...everyone is looking at you, and if you didn't know that all ready you have been under a rock. It is possible to dress modestly and look cute for church. I do it every Sunday. Just sayin'. Think about the image you are creating for yourself, and the place you are going to wear it, and who might be sitting around you. Would you really want to be wearing that outfit to meet Jesus?

Whew...I feel better now.

Bulk Shopping

I can't quite figure out why wholesale warehouse shopping is so appealing. Perhaps it is because that is the only place you can purchase a package of toilet paper that contains 83 rolls. Or a 165 count of bandaids divided up in 3 different handy plastic dispensers. Or a box of 750 sugar-alternative packets. Or maybe, it's the people standing at the end of the aisles with their hot plates cooking up some tasty bite for you to sample. My kids love that part. Whatever it is, I absolutely love going in there. I feel like I have accomplished something important when I walk out of there and have massive quantities of product that I can't possibly ever run out of for a really decent price. We moved from England to Virginia in 2005. When we got there, we promptly got a membership at one of these warehouses, and my first purchase included a package of restaurant quality saran wrap that had 2 boxes of the stuff, with 500 square feet on each roll. It is 2012 now, we have moved 4 times since then, and I am still using that same saran wrap. I'm on the second box of it, and the container is about to fall apart, but it just keeps unrolling more saran. I think I paid about $11 for that package of saran wrap. I can honestly say, it has been worth every cent. I may cry when it is empty, because it is really good saran wrap!
Today, we went in to the local warehouse, and I purchased shampoo and conditioner that is in a 400 oz bottle with a pump on top for $7.88 each. I wonder how long it will take me to use up that shampoo...or if it will just miraculously keep pumping for 7 years? Probably not, but I will be anxious to see how long it lasts.
I also really like the meat departments in these stores. You can find really great deals on bulk packages of meat and bring them home and re-package in freezer bags the portions you will need to thaw out for a family meal. I got a package of 1 inch thick pork loin chops today for $13 that had 9 chops in it. I brought it home and divided it up into two bags and stuck it in the freezer. I also picked up a really nice looking package of ribeyes that were 1 1/2 inch thick, $26.85 for a package of 4. They generally have a great selection of produce and the bakery products are really great quality.
I guess I felt especially good about the purchases I made today after having gone to a local store yesterday that I have decided is for rich "earthy" people that are really into organic and have special dietary needs. I had a store coupon for a free organic chicken and a free block of Kerrygold Dubliner cheese (my favorite), so I decided to go in and check out their selections. I picked up two different organic chickens, and chose the one that was $9 because I just didn't feel right taking the $14 one for free. $14 for a CHICKEN!!! And it was dead!!!! I picked up a few other produce items in there, and mostly just browsed around looking at what all they had to offer, and decided this wouldn't be a store I would shop at on a regular basis for primary groceries, but have to admit that there are not many stores that you kind find white truffle oil in, and they had a variety of them, along with other specialty gourmet items. Their meat counter had lots to offer, and the steaks looked really nice...for $13.99/lb. They also had a really nice wine and cheese section, with so many different kinds of cheeses it was kind of overwhelming for a novice like me. I also thought it odd that the website for this store boasts that they like to sell products that are made within a 100 mile radius of the store, but the shrimp they had in their freezer section was from....Thailand? (I have a little bit of a problem buying seafood from a foreign country when we have excellent seafood that comes from right here in the good ol' USA...and did I mention I live in a gulf state??) Anyway, I think I will stick with my regular grocery store and keep that store in my back pocket for special occasions.

Random thoughts....

1) I discovered today that when you sneeze while applying mascara, it doesn't really pull off the look you are aiming for.

2) Technology is so cool. My 11 yr old son is able to chat via Facetime on his Ipod Touch with his best friend in Louisiana. They had a very stimulating 15-20 minute conversation about video games and school. I have a feeling they will be communicating quite a bit more, now.

3) Alabama weather is identical to Louisiana weather, just about a day and half later.

4) Don't forget to change your time this weekend, we spring forward an hour Saturday night.

5) I could really go for a loaded baked potato right now.

6) My need for something carb-like prompted me to through together a pasta dish tonight. Low Carb Mac and Cheese, if you will. Except I used rotini, the Dreamfields brand that has 5 grams of net carbs per serving. Then I melted half a wedge of Brie and a whole block of cream cheese and stirred in half a jar of pesto and mixed it all up with the cooked pasta. Oh my goodness. Low carb...definitely not low fat. But it served it's purpose! We are having it alongside grilled deer steak and a big salad.

7) This morning I weighed, and I have lost 5lbs in 11 days. About 6 more to go to reach my goal. Woohoo!!!

Favorite Book Character

This week, my childrens' school has been celebrating Dr. Seuss week. They have had something to do each day, like Wacky Sock Day, Whoville Hair Day, etc. Today they were to dress up as a character from any book they have read. Rachel dressed up as Junie B. Jones, as depicted on the cover of Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smell Bus. I think she nailed it! This picture doesn't show her feet, but her shoes and socks were exactly like the picture, as well.

Brian decided to be Greg from Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He even had the bad posture and attitude to go with it! No, his attitude was fine, but he did a good job of faking a bad one! In case you can't read it, his shirt says "I'm pretty much one of the best people I know" which is taken from a passage in the book.

Now...if I can just get them this excited over preparing for a test.....

The Country House

That's what my kids call it. The Country House.  We are moving there in June, just outside of the town we live now. Here's a picture of it:

Isn't it pretty? I can't wait to have that porch to sit on in the evenings while the kids run around in the yard. We also will have a pond behind the house, as well as some woods that we can hunt. The pond doesn't have a lot of fish in it, so we decided since we are going to be there for 3 years, we would take advantage and stock the pond. It's not a huge pond, so it won't take much to get it going. Today we took the first step by stocking it with 300 fish, a mix of blue gill and copper nose.

Can you believe that is 300 fish? I didn't count them myself...

We had to leave them in the bag and let it sit in the pond water for about 15-20 minutes so the water temperature wouldn't shock them. Then we released them into the water.

We also had to put fertilizer in the pond. This is my man gracefully throwing a scoop of the white stuff out into the water. We have to go back and repeat the fertilizer process in a couple of weeks. This helps the pond create enough vegetation for the fish to survive.

This is Eloise. She is an outside cat that the current tenants own, and are leaving behind for us to adopt. My daughter Rachel is beside herself, she has always wanted a cat.

I'm not a huge cat fan, but I think Eloise is sweet and pretty and she's starting to grow on me. I am anxious to  see how she and Buster interact with each other!