Please Pray

Some major changes could be coming my way in the next few weeks ... I'm not sure what to make of them and I feel like its taking over my life.  The uncertainty of it all is probably what I can't shake.  If you wouldn't mind, please say a prayer for me.  I trust and believe that God is in control, but that doesn't mean I don't still struggle with not being "in control" or "in the know".

Thank you for your prayers!

SUYL

I'm linking up with Kelly over at Kelly's Korner today.  I'm pretty shy so talking about myself is a weakness... but here we go.

• I'm somewhat new to faith, religion and God, but I know that I love Him and want to spend the rest of my life serving Him.
• I treat my dog like a child... his 3rd birthday was yesterday, we celebrated with ice cream from DQ.  He is so very spoiled.
• I moved to KC 6 years ago (for a job, which I no longer have) and am here "alone".  I grew up in SE Iowa (Go Hawkeyes!).  Very thankful for my church family and the friends I've made from volunteering.
• I love to volunteer...I spend most of my time volunteering with Susan G. Komen here in KC and I love it...LOVE it!  Before the holidays, I volunteered with Operation Breakthrough...and after spending several weeks in Iowa around the holidays, I haven't been back and I miss it.  Those kids are so darn precious!  I recently just signed up with volunteer with American Heart Association / God Red for Women.

Of  course there is more, but as I said - I don't do well at talking about myself, especially when I don't know somebody well.  But once I get to know you, well I hope you have some time to chat :)

Christ is Risen

Happy Easter all!  I pray that God has blessed you and your family on this glorious day.  It has been a challenging last few weeks.  I see God answering prayers daily for my friends and family and can only keep praying that my day is coming!  :o)

I don't remember as a child coloring Easter eggs, last night a dear friend and I colored eggs.  I was giddy like a child, haha!  Afterwards, we made fruity pebble krispy treats and put them in Easter eggs.  They're like the marshmallow rice krispies but we used fruity pebbles instead.  They turned out cute!  Church was awesome this morning.  It was even better that my dear friend came with me today.  Love you M!

2nd interview tomorrow.  Praying it goes good.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Erin Condren giveaway

Love reading Megan's blog! Especially when she is doing an Erin Condren giveaway!

Go check it out!

2nd scariest moment of my life to date

I know I'll look back on this one day soon and laugh... but today it has me shaken.

Just a bit ago, J was acting like he was going to vomit. I'm trying to get him outside, and right out the door we go without a leash. He's never off his leash. Normally it takes him a minute or so to get all of it out, so I thought I had time to get his leash on him - today not so much. He kinda prances around and normally if I say "let's go for a ride" he's by my side ready to go. Again, today, not so much. I panic. I grab my key fob, and his leash and open the door. Take a peak around out front - no J. More panic sets in. To the NW of me is some pasture area. I'm driving around (knowing he'll get in the car with me if I see him because he loves to go for rides) yelling his name. Nothing. I get back around in front of my house, stop - getting ready to call for help when I see him. I holler his name, get out of the car and he jumps right in ready to go. Across the street and into the garage we went! I'm still shaking thinking about it. Turkey.

Alone

I'm back home in KC after being in Iowa for 3 months. It was time to come home, but man does it feel weird being here. For the last 3 months, I've had somebody with me almost 24/7 and now I'm here alone, well of course except for J. This will take some adjusting, but it will be okay. Jax isn't sure what to do without Gma and Gpa around.

B made it to state for wrestling. Mom and I went to Des Moines this past weekend to watch him. I'm a proud Aunt of a 1st place champ! He pinned 2, and nobody scored on him!

Not a lot to blog about, sorry.

Oh dear

Well...its been an interesting last few weeks. Between going back and forth to IA City for a week straight with my Aunt to be with my Uncle, I had a week "off" then my Mom had surgery last week. She fell and broke her elbow back in September, had her 1st surgery on it in October and by January found out she was going to need a 2nd. So, last week we head to IA City her for elbow surgery. Surgeon told us it would take an hour and a half approximately... at 2 hours I was chompin' at the bit. By 2.5 hrs, we still hadn't heard anything. Finally a bit later a nurse came in and said it was going to be at least another hour. So, we wait some more. 3.5 to almost 4 hours later, she was done. Because the fracture had been broken for so long, surgeon had a rough time getting it fixed. She comes out of recovery into her room and is there for maybe 10-15 minutes and starts complaining of jaw pain. Nurses tried to brush it off that it was caused by the breathing tube. She tried to vomit a few times, nurses tried to say it was the anesthesia. Then... then came the chest pain. They paged the anesthesiologist to come do an EKG - he didn't have anything to compare it to, so to be safe they took her by ambulance to the hospital (her surgery had been done at an ambulatory surgery center). Thank God she was where she was, because had she started having this at home, it would have been a good 20 minutes to our local hospital and then they would have taken her to the hospital where she ended up which is another 45 minutes away. Thank God that my Mom knows her body and the symptoms (she had her first heart attack in 2000, a stent in 2010)....she was in the middle of having a heart attack. So, 2 days later we were released from the hospital and a week, now almost 2 she is still off from work taking it easy at home. Scary stuff, but God truly blessed us.

Playing along

I'm not sure anybody ever reads this, but its something to do at this point and something to blog. While I do have some other stuff (family)...this will have to do for now. I'm linked up with Leslie

1. If you could raid any celebrity's closet, who would it be and why?
Brooke Elliott from Drop Dead Diva. I'm plus size, she is a hoot and I love her style. Now only if I had the confidence to wear what she does!

2. If you were a shoe, what would you look like?
Something comfy! Either a Dansko or Toms. No heels for this weak-ankled girl!

3. What is your biggest pet peeve?
bad drivers! People who drive in the passing lane at just the speed limit. People who don't use their turn signals, who cut people off, the list goes on :)

4. Favorite song of all-time?
I love music! I don't think I can pick just one.

5. Are you a dog person or a cat person? And why? (If you don't like animals, we can't be friends.)
Dogs are my first choice. I can't imagine my life without my spoiled rotten baby boy Jax! However, I do like kitties too!

6. You're queen for a day. How do you spend your royal 24 hours?
Traveling part of it. Giving back the rest. Whether that is volunteering, donating money...just giving back!

7. What's the most delicious thing you've ever eaten?
I'm a meat and potatoes girl (hence the plus size!). I love a good steak!

8. What scares you the most? (This can be deep and complex or shallow...whateva you feel like!)
Not finding my soul mate. Shallow - snakes.

9. Which celebrity do you wish would drift off into obscurity?
Shemar Moore! *sigh*

10. You're 16 years old again. What advice would you give your younger self?
Enjoy life. Don't worry so much. Watch what you eat.

11. What's your Starbucks order?

Anything without coffee or coffee flavored! Sad, huh? I love the smell of coffee but I haven't acquired a taste for it, it makes me sad.

Erin Condren

Here I posted about the Erin Condren... a giveaway but I didn't expand too much. I absolutely love mine. I used to use my BB all the time, but no longer. My EC is with me all the time! If you're trying to find organization in your life, order yourself one - you will not regret it! They offer a variety of products, including teachers lesson planners, iPhone cases, address labels and much more. Go check them out here.

Feelings

jealous: feeling or showing jealousy: such as a : feeling or showing an unhappy or angry desire to have what someone else has via

I need to remember the next time I recognize myself feeling jealous how ugly it looks on somebody. It has been a good, yet challenging last few weeks as I know that there is jealousy all around me. I know that I am shutting down and shutting them out, and as much as I know I shouldn't do that, I struggle with how to deal with it. Please pray for wisdom on how to do better with it.

My uncle's surgery on Friday went good. The Dr was pleased. A lot of life changes for him and my aunt, please pray that they can accept these changes and lead a better life.

Nurse?

Wondering if I'm meant to be in a nursing position? Spent the last few days at the University hospital with my aunt and uncle, my mom is set to have surgery in 2 weeks (her 2nd in the last 6 months) and in March I will be helping a friend recover from surgery. What in the world?! :)

the last 13 months

I can't believe I've let this go for thirteen months! I blame it on the fact that I'm still unemployed and just not a lot going on in my life, at the moment. I'm praying that things pick up quickly! Before I upload pictures (blogs are better with pics, I know!) I'm going to see if I can keep up with this first.

Some highlights of the last year:
My nephew made it to state in wrestling.
My niece had some artwork that made it to the state capitol building to be put on display and was given an award.
This proud Aunt was able to make it back to be a part of both events.

Jax turned 2. At times he still very much has a puppy mentality, but on the other hand he is so smart and so funny. I adore him and don't want to imagine my life without him.

For the 3rd year in a row, I volunteered with the Kansas City Susan G Komen Race For the Cure. An amazing event, I hope to be able to be a part of this for many more years to come!

My mom fell and broke her elbow and my brother broke his arm, all within a matter of a month of each other. First broken bones in years in this house.

I've been blessed with the opportunity to spend a lot of time where I grew up from October-ish through now.

As I said, not a lot has happened, but a lowe key life is pretty nice most days.

Erin Condren giveaway

Megan is giving away a $25 gift card to the fabulous Erin Condren. Head on over to Megan's page and comment for a chance to win!

http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/2012/01/erin-condren-giveaway.html

Good Luck!

Pecan Pie Bars

picture via here
Recipe courtesy of my bestie!


2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package (10 oz) English toffee bits or almond brickle chips (7 1/2 oz)
1 cup chopped pecans


Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press firmly onto the bottom of a greased 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 350* for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the egg, milk and vanilla until smooth. Stir in toffee chips and pecans; spread evenly over baked crust.

Bake for 20-25 minutes more or until lightly browned. Cool. Cover and chill; cut into bars and serve. Store in refridgerator.