Tips Tuesday

So excited about the tips I have to share today. I am branching out and going to list 7. Woohoo!

Kind of gross to think about this first one but we will end on a good note. I'm just sure of it.
1. You know we have always been told when flying out of the states... Don't drink the water. This also applies to water on airplanes. When it was tested, one in six planes tested positive for E. Coli. Ick! Wonder what that means about washing your hands in that tiny closet thing with a toilet of sorts?

2. Before washing your socks, safety pin them together and there will never be missing socks coming out of the dryer. Or you could do like this man and number your pairs with a sharpie. Seriously.

3. Since Easter is fast approaching, use rubber bands to wrap around your hard boiled eggs before dying. You come out with some pretty cool stripes.

4. Spring is here and outside time with family is a must. If you find that there are ants wanting to join your party, pour boiling water down into the anthill. No description needed as to what will happen to the ants. Much safer than pouring gas on them and lighting them on fire. Yes, Hubby used to do that. Ugh.

5. After washing a head of lettuce, you can place it in a clean lingerie bag (one kept just for this purpose). Go outside and practice your windmill. If you want to get real creative, you can pretend you are going to throw a javelin (for goodness sakes, don't let go!) or work on some leg & booty firming squats. That would make it fun, right? Then your lettuce will be dry and ready for a salad.

6. Before mixing that to-die-for batch of cookies, spray your beaters with cooking spray. It keeps the batter from clinging and keeps your family members healthier by not having as much raw dough to eat off of the beaters.

7. If you don't have one of those cute little terra cotta things to put in your brown sugar to keep it soft, just throw in a few marshmallows. Moist every time.

Hope somebody learned something today!

Pull 'em up boys

This subject is something that I struggle with daily. As a mom of 2 teen girls, it is a topic that we hit on frequently. Yesterday on the tube, I saw where New York State Senator Eric Adams is taking a stand. He has purchased billboards and recorded this video to get his message out there. I am in deep like with this man. At least about this issue. I do not know anything else about him. Therefore, not promoting. Just love this message.
Last week, the girls told me that at their school, boys' boxers are becoming the fashion statement. If they aren't "saggers" then they will just pull their boxers up higher so they can be seen out of the top. Oldest said it was "like tissue on a gift bag". Seriously? I am so ready for this trend to pass or DIE. JUST DIE!

Stone recovery

The Stones (they deserve a capital) have vacated the building! Well, at least that's what we are counting on. Dr. couldn't see the little boogers on the x-ray so he said that we will just count on them being gone. Positive believing. Faith, I would call it.

Hubby was happy to hear that. Hubby was not happy to hear that the stent he got in the hospital was coming out in the office. Yep. Right then. Right there. Let's just say that Hubby was really "creeped" out when Dr. showed him a tube that was at least a foot long and curled on both ends. We had no idea! It has been a couple of days and he seems to be doing much better. Thanks to those of you who joined us in our cheers (and prayers)!

Tips Tuesday

Since I have only just begun blogging, my style has not hit its peak. I only have a handful of followers to date (although I do have 2 or 3 that read but don't follow) and I am not sure who my audience will be. But, one of the things I love to do is to share tips and tricks that I learn. Without further ado, I begin my very first "Tips Tuesday".

1) The best time to shop for groceries is on Wednesday. Only about 11% of people pick this day to poke and prod their fruit and veggies. Fewer shoppers in the store means a healthier heart for me!

2) If you are needing juice from a lemon, lime or orange, nuke it in the microwave for 15 seconds before squeezing. You will get twice as much juice.

3) There may not be many that eat white bread any more, but if you do, toast it first. Your blood sugar will rise 39% less than if you stuff that soft, gooey mess in your mouth. (We used to have competitions in elementary school to see who could get the most pieces in their pie hole. No wonder we drove the teachers crazy after lunch!)

This is the saddest. Are you sitting?

4) There is as much saturated fat in a Twix candy bar as there is in 11 (yes, eleven) strips of bacon. I understand that saturated is much better than trans, but 11g. of any fat just can't be good!

So, there you have it. Anybody learn anything new?

Where did the time go?

As we near the end of Spring Break, I wonder to myself that old and overused, "Where has the time gone?''. I know that the teens are wondering the same. But, in a different way. Something to the effect of "Sure wish we could have gone to the beach," or "Why did everybody go on a vacation except us?". Oldest actually said yesterday (after our 2nd all day shopping trip), "We should have made t-shirts that say, 'I don't want to hear about your Spring Break'". Ugh.

So, we may not have made any fantastic memories, but we did have a little bit of fun. (I am forbidden to use any photos without prior approval from the teens, and they are still snoozing. Maybe I can get away with these.)

This was our trip to Pops that I spoke about earlier in the week. It is on the infamous Route 66 and out in the middle of nowhere. This 66 ft. (no coincidence, I'm sure) sculpture is a pretty cool sight to see. We arrived at straight up noon and the wait for a burger was an hour and a half. Needless to say, I cannot give you a critique on the food.

We decided we would just "take in" the experience and pick out some special (wait for it...) pops. Growing up a Texan, any carbonated drink is a Coke. Then you can ask what kind of Coke. Such as Dr. Pepper. I still hold on to that and have tried to impress it on the teens. At this place, that just won't work. They are pops, plain and simple.

Well, not exactly. There are 500 to choose from. Not from these beautiful rainbow displays but from regular convenience store coolers. Would have taken a picture of them but there were solid lines of folks stalking the treasure. About 5 people deep. Not an easy task to get your hands on one of those babies.

After picking out one for ourselves (mine was Dublin Dr. Pepper), we decided to pick out a six pack to take home and share with Hubby. We walked away with: a Route 66 root beer, some kind of orange, a Ski citrus drink, a Red Rock cola, a Vernor's ginger soda, and a Faygo vanilla cream. We chose them for the variety and their bottles. Only 3 have been tapped into thus far. Let's just say that after tasting the Vernor's and Faygo, they got a taste of our kitchen sink drain. The teens said they brought back painful memories of Tamiflu and cough syrup. I thought I was going to be sick on the spot! At lease we made a memory. :-) Oh, and that is Buddy in the picture. We gave him to Hubby when the teens were young-uns to take with him on business trips. We thought we would take him along for the ride since Hubby was still home nursing his stones.

Will have to save the rest of our OKC day for the next post. I must go now to view the sleet that is falling. It is supposed to precede 4"- 8" of snow. Yep, you got it. The last day of winter in the Tulsa area was in the 70's and the first day of spring will be in the 30's. Whether you believe God is sending it or merely allowing it, he did create it and I marvel at his creativity!

Spring Break

As a teenager, I would have to say that I could hardly wait for Spring Break. As a mom, I look forward to not rising at 5:00 a.m. to ready myself for presentation to the outside world. If I could just get the members of our fur family to understand this concept. The internal clock of our pig (AKA - Abby, Schnauzer) doesn't understand Spring Forward or Spring Break. When the tummy growls, the snorts begin. If she was behind a fence, YOU would swear SHE was a pot-bellied pig. Then when you saw her, you would wonder why this pig has a dog face. Anyway, when she begins the call, the rest of her crew is not far behind. No sleeping in at our house. At least for the momma.

So, what to do? What to do? For Spring Break, that is. Hubby has not fully recovered from his invasive Dr. and when he does, it is back to work. The females will be holding down the fort. The task of entertainment has been left to "Older" and "Younger". (You can give me better suggestions anytime.) Of course, half the people they know are going on a cruise, a ski trip, or just a quick jaunt to Mexico. Their task seems to be a bit difficult to swallow without the option to book a flight.

This place is what they have come up with for one of our days. It seems to be quite popular with the locals and definitely a place fit for me. Wonder if they have Dublin Dr. Pepper? That will probably have to be another day. Our next stop will be one of our favorites. We have frequented this nightlife destination since we first became Oklahoma transplanted Texans. Pretty neat place to go and pretend like you are in San Antonio. When we visit, we NEVER pass up the opportunity to eat at our favorite burger place. This establishment's description may be a bit misleading for the girls in our crew. Unfortunately, we will be crossing the threshold without our fearless leader. Maybe we shouldn't tell him. The beer battered fries and onion rings are to die for. They may trudge through our veins, but it will be well worth it and we will pack in the fruit and veggies the next day.

Off we go...

No more hospitals, please!

After 2 months of pain and discomfort, Hubby went in to have a couple of kidney stones removed. In the Dr.'s words, he needed to "sneak, I mean, snake up in there and retrieve them". However, when the Dr. came to join me on the waiting couch, he said that things didn't go exactly as planned. Ugh. To be brief and not so specific... he couldn't get to them and had to put a stint in. Seriously? Yep. Just ask Hubby. We are praying those little suckers can swim out on their own now or he has to go through the sneaky thing again. They've got 2 weeks to vacate the premises! You are welcome to cheer with us... Go stones Go! Hey! Go stones Go!

Hubby did say that after my recent hospital stay and now his, he sure appreciates what those with ongoing health problems have to go through. Thank you, God, for our overall good health!

Tomorrow we hope to get another one of our babies back from the Toyota hospital, too.

Where's my eraser?

Just this week I have seen an FB post, received an e-mail and had an experience with my oldest that have all reminded me of one thing. Boy, would I like to go back and erase some of the mistakes I made in high school. I am definitely not one of THOSE PEOPLE that say they wouldn't change a thing because it made them who they are today! I know that God is forgiving and that he uses our struggles to grow us, BUT... I am just sure I could have done without some of those choices I made. :-)  Oh, how I would love to use my Pink Pearl from elementary school.

It pains me to think about hurtful words I may have said. I use "may have" because by now, I certainly don't remember them all. But I can imagine. (Now that I am a bit wiser.) A sharp quip here or a painful jab there. Where was the duct tape when I needed it?! There are definitely a few things that come to mind. May I just say... If you are someone that I said or did something hurtful to, would you please accept my big Pink Pearl eraser?

Now, I'm off to hopefully help my teens keep from making some of the same mistakes. That is if anything will sneak in to their brains before the "talk to the hand" eye roll.

Cook What?

If you were a part of my immediate family, you would know that one of the things I most dislike about being a grown-up is having to cook. Just don't like it. Like to eat. Don't like to cook. At all. That being said, I do like cookbooks (if they have pictures). Today I thought I would share one of my recent finds. Have you seen this one on the shelves?

This is such a fun book/cookbook! The premise is to compare some of your favorite "eat out" meals to what you could be cooking at home to save some poundage. We don't eat out much but it is fun to see the calories, etc. that go along with those popular choices. The pictures are great, the tips are fun and as far as the recipes, we have only tried two (spaghetti & meatballs and smashed potatoes) so far and loved them both. My favorite part, however, are the matrixes. From pastas (which ones go best with what) to smoothies (best ratios), their matrixes are loaded with helpful information.

That is my offering for the day. This little jewel of a book can be picked up just about anywhere. Check it out. And let me know if you try and love any of the recipes. I just might move it to the top of my "next to try" list.

They make me smile...

Since I was a little hard on the Sooner state a couple of days ago, I decided that I should share some of my favorite things from here. They may be a bit unusual, but for whatever reason, they make me smile.

The Canada goose might just be #1 on my list. When I hear a gaggle of them outside, I will dash to the window just to see them fly over. If I am driving, I will roll down my window to hear them better. I don't know why. They just make everything seem right in the world.

Another feathered friend that I look for every day, are the Pekin ducks that reside in our neighborhood pond. We don't feed them (Did you know it is bad to feed bread to ducks?!) or spend any quality time with them, I just like to see them. I drive by that pond almost every day and I want to see that they are there and doing well. Maybe it's the mother in me. They have also provided some comic relief chasing my oldest around that pond.

Actually, my true favorite thing about OK is seeing this man walk up to the mic on Sunday morning. It absolutely thrills my soul. Andy is amazing and it is an incredible privilege to be led into worship by him. I must admit that I am glad 4Him is not touring anymore so that he can be here with us.

The last thing I would mention today would be the Christian concerts Tulsa provides. Through our struggles they have brought us much joy... especially for my girls. They have been blessed to see such artists as Brandon Heath, Hawk Nelson, Francesca Battistelli, Leeland, Newsboys, and Tenth Avenue North just to name a few. But I know that this group was and IS one of their all-time favorites. And I would be remiss not to list Toby Mac as an unforgettable experience. However, the most exciting and favorite for the moment would definitely be these guys.  Third row... and they got to touch Jon Foreman! Ahhh! (I remember those days... actually if George Strait was that close again :-) I would probably be screaming, too.)

Construction...

As I made my way to pick up the girls... No, that's not quite right. Let me try again. As I TRIED to make my way to pick up the girls from school a few days ago, everywhere I turned another road was closed. Three attempts and one alley later, I made it. I proceeded through the parking lot only to see more orange cones. At least there was room to go around them this time. I maneuvered through to the end and... yep, more cones.

Since we have moved to Oklahoma we have been surrounded by orange cones. One might think that means we have good roads because they are almost always being worked on. I am here to tell you, just in case you have never driven through this (positive adjectives escape me) state, this must be the pothole/construction capital of the world. We have experienced many a frustrating day getting re-routed or postponed by construction.

This strip showed up in our local magazine and I LOVED it! I think it says it all. (click on it)

Just to clarify: Jenks is a sleeper community. EVERYTHING is off of Elm.

For the most part, the move here has not been particularly pleasant for any of us. Each one of us has gone through some tremendous struggles that have certainly left a mark or two. As I pondered that thought on that particular day, it dawned on me. That must be what God is doing with our family right now. He must be working on our "potholes".

Here we go...

Well, I must admit that I never thought I would have the desire to blog. However, I kept hearing myself say, "If I had a blog...".  I get carried away on FB sometimes and I am absolutely positive that I have been blocked by more than one person. :-)  I am also positive that my English won't always be proper nor will my punctuation.  So if you decide you want to lurk around and see what is going on in the life of my family, just jump on in.