A SoCal Visit...Friday

Friday. Yeah for Friday. Mark decided to take the day off from work. For this I feel extremely honored. We had discussed what to do Friday, and what Mark would like to do in case he was able to take the day off, and we settled on Balboa and Balboa Island.
We parked. Had lunch and a frozen chocolate banana, shopped a little, then walked to the ferry to take across to Balboa.That restaurant there, that's where we had happy hour appetizers and margaritas before heading home.
After we got to the Balboa side, Mark and Macie went on the Ferris Wheel while Melissa, William and I looked around at at couple shops.
And Macie went on the super trampoline, which she LOVED!
We then walked to the other side of the peninsula. Well, some of us walked. Others of us hitched a ride.Mark and Macie few a kite while Melissa and I watched. William just hung out looking adorable as ever.We walked back to the Harborside something a rather restaurant for dinner/drinks. It was good. Our waitress was not. Then back to the other side we went.
We got a little lost while looking for the car. But we got to look at beautiful multimillion dollar homes. We eventually found the house, loaded up, drove home. Mark put the kids to bed while Melissa and I went out to get pay by the ounce frozen yogurt. I love pay by the ounce froyo. And this place had like 15 flavors, maybe more. I was in awe.

You know what I've learned, our little central valley greatly lacks pay by the ounce frozen yogurt places.

Once back at the house we ate our froyo and watched another movie. Everyone stayed awake for this one. :)

June Update!

Yea, yea. So I'm late. I might as well just wait another week and update you on both June AND July.

1. Run (not walk) a 5k race.
   06 - How do you spell out the sound that is made on games shows when they get the wrong answer? Yea, that's the sound I'm making right now.
   05 - Ummm... I admit it. I SUCK! Besides moving the massive pile of bricks from my backyard I did nothing.
   04 - HA! Well, I maybe went on a couple walky-jogs. I've yet to sign up to race in anything. Need more training!
   03 - Definitely went walk/jogging more often in March. Oh, and crunches, I've done some crunches!
   02 - I've gone walking a few more times than I did in January. That's progress!
   01 - So, ah, I've gone walking once or twice. That's a start!
   
2. Read the Bible in a year.
   06 - On track! Finished reading Romans, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel and Daniel.
   05 - Keepin' up! Finished reading through Judges, Job, Ruth, Acts, and Joshua.
   04 - Still goin'! Finished Matthew, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
   03 - On track! In March I've finished reading though Leviticus, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
   02 - I'm doing just dandy with this. I've completely read through Genesis, Exodus, and Hebrews. I'm almost done with Leviticus and Proverbs.
   01 - So far, so good!
   
3. Lose 10 pounds.
   06 - From the first day of June to the last day of June I weighed the same. There of course was variation throughout the month.
   05 - Broke even...
   04 - I warn you, I wasn't down. I kinda slipped. See chart below... (Shown is March and April)
   03 -Down 1 pound. Hey, it's a loss! See chart below...
   02 - 5.5 pounds down...from returning cruise weight...
   01 - So what if I told you that I was down 9 pounds by my own scale in just January alone? Yep, it's true. Wanna see my chart? Of course you do!
   
4. Post a picture a day...taken on that day... instead of a quote a day.
   06 - Something like that. It's getting done regardless. I have been playing more with photoshop and have been using photoshopped pictures.
   05 - Yep. A picture is going up each day. Sometimes there are lags between days due to intermittent internet.
   04 - Still not a picture from that day, but posting pictures from within the time frame of the date. Flowers are in bloom and beautiful, plus they're easy subjects, so I've taken a lot of flower pictures.
   03 - Still not doing the best on the picture being from that day, but whatever, I'm posting a picture a day.
   02 - After the cruise I slacked on taking a picture a day. But I was still posting a picture a day. I'll work on that...
   01 - Ok, so I've slacked a few days. But I get caught up!
   
5. Have monthly dinner party, or at least invite some friends over for dinner.
   06 - TND was at my place last Tuesday of June. Other than that it's just been my family. Nothing new and exciting has been made though.
   05 - Boo! I've had my family over. But I did gather friends for my birthday dinner!...at BJ's...
   04 - Well, I had people over, wait no that was May 1st. Ah! Yes, I had a lunch buffet sandwich building business thing for those giving souls that helped work on my path. (I still need to share my path don't I?)
   03 - Woot woot! Hosted TND on the 5th Tuesday. Total about 15 people came. I made this for dinner. It was good! Making a vow to have people over more often.
   02 - The last couple weeks I've had my family over for dinner on Friday nights. And I've volunteered to have TND at my house the 5th Tuesday of March. I'll let you know how that goes.
   01 - I failed for January. February isn't over yet though...
   
6. Down size possessions...aka clutter
   06 - Finally got the stuff from my baby box transferred into a rubbermaid box. I've found a few things around the house to move into the yard sale pile. Always a work in progress.
   05 - I rearranged my back room. Now when looking in it looks less cluttered. That counts, right?
   04 - Decided that my back room needs to be cleaned out and rearranged, especially the closet. So that is going to be my project for May.
   03 - Sure...? I actually physically removed the bags of stuff to get rid of. So I guess that counts since it was cluttering up my room.
   02 - I rearranged the living/dining room and went though some more of my closet.
   01 - I've gone through my closet and through my pile of purses.
   
7. Try new recipes from the cookbooks I have. (see #5, they will be guinea pigs...)
   06 - See #5.
   05 - New recipes tried for Memorial BBQ. One recipe is posted on my recipe site, the others will come shortly.
   04 - Sure I've made stuff. What have I made...? Cake pops, I made cake pops!
   03 - Family = guinea pigs. Poor family...
   02 - Ummmm... I haven't tried anything new. But I've tried new things that my mom has made. Does that count...?
   01 - Boo me! How does cereal sound? Mac & Cheese...?
   
8. Exercise a minimum of 3 times a week (walk/jog, Wii Fit, DVD, etc., see #1 which will lead to #3)
   06 - See #1. Eeerrrrnnnnttttt, maybe that's how you spell it.
   05 - Boo...
   04 - See #1. I really need to start doing something, anything.
   03 - Need to make a REAL commitment to do this on a regular basis. Once the habit is made I'll be in good shape. The time change has really kicked my butt though, I get home and I just want to be lazy.
   02 - Boo! I'm still on the once a week average. Time to kick it into gear!
   01 - I've averaging about once a week of exercising on purpose. But I do activities that include activity.
   
9. Daily make time for God.
   06 - Reading the bible daily is a help, fo shizel. Daily being stretched and molded.
   05 - Will be a continuous work in progress for the rest of my life.
   04 - Prayer, reading, bible study, church, worship, etc. I do it all, but I'm still lacking. I'm by no means perfect.
   03 - If you count my daily readings as time spent with God then I'm doing well. Although it's not always necessarily quality time though...
   02 - There is always room for improvement here. But I'm human and I'm trying. I pray more regularly and I'm in the Word daily. That's definitely moving in the right direction.
   01 - Doing well. Spending lots of time in prayer. I'm not even kidding.
   
10. Travel somewhere new.
    06 - Didn't go anywhere in June. Stay tuned for later months.
    05 - Traveled to ummm, the big town of Lodi. For the Zinfest. I had never been to that part of Lodi before, so it was new, therefore I traveled somewhere new. Go me!
    04 - I went to my favoritest place in California, back to where I went to college, San Luis Obispo. Although it was a quick day trip, it was well worth it. I saw family, I drank wine, I ate at Firestone's and walked around downtown, and went to Pismo. I need to go back again, but next time for a little longer.
    03 - Currently there are no travel plans and I don't like that! I need to plan something asap to make me feel human again!
    02 - Um, did I go anywhere in February? I don't think so. But that's ok!
    01 - Just got back from a cruise to Cabo about a week and a half ago.
    

Picture of the Day 206

July 25th: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; 2 Kings 5; Obadiah 1

"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back."
—Arthur Rubinstein

Florida Bound

Ok, so here's the deal.

Most of you already know that I'm going to Florida in September. Some of you may not though. So here's the story for all.

Back story...
When Dennis and I were dating I decided to get an Alaska Air credit card to earn miles to fly back and forth visiting. Just signing up I got 25,000 miles, but in addition I'd also get an annual companion ticket. Anyone can fly with me on the same itinerary for $50. As of last fall the plan was to use that companion ticket and go to Florida with his kids to visit (and meet) his parents.

Fast foward to now...
About 2 months ago while D and I were talking on the phone I threw out there that he should use the companion ticket with his kids since I have no plan to use it. He declined saying that it's too expensive to travel with them, yada yada yada. He told me to use it, go somewhere with a friend or family. I told him that everyone that would want to go can't afford it. So we're at a stall mate. He threw out there, well, would you want to go somewhere together.

(Please note, we're not dating again. We're friends.)

Hummm...well, I definitely wouldn't mind traveling. And it would be nice to see him again. This is honestly what I thought to myself, I'll say yes and not push it. Let's see if he brings it back up. Well later that night, he did. And he was excited! So I started getting excited.

But now we had to decide where to go. I told him that one of my life goals is to visit every state at least once, so I'd prefer to go to one I haven't been to yet but I'd be fine going where ever.

We settled on Florida. Why Florida you ask? Well, financial reason primarily. Dennis' parents and sister live in Orlando, so we'll stay with either of them. His mom hardly ever drives, so we'll borrow her car. And well, full access to a kitchen to be able to make a lot of our own meals. Score on the deal! It'll be good also for him to see his family.

And I was told that of all his friends he's most honored to introduce me to them; that he 100% respects me. Great, now I have a reputation to live up to!

So after some time of nailing plans down with his parents and making sure we both got the time off approved, we booked the tickets.

It's official. September 3-13 I'll be traveling to/from Florida. Actually, I'll be flying to Seattle on the 2nd on the latest flight out of Sacramento and staying the night at a nearby hotel. Dennis will fly into Seattle around 6:30am on the 3rd (used miles for his round trip flight from Anchorage to Seattle), and together we'll be flying to Orlando at 8:45am. The earliest I could get to SEA on the 3rd was 8:52am, which would mean that we'd miss the first flight out (the next one to Orlando doesn't leave until 1:30pm). We're flying extremely cheap, which just makes it that much better.

So we have big plans of places to go while we're there. And I'm hoping we can take a side trip down to Key West, stay the night, and hit the everglades on the way back to Orlando.

That's the plan. That's how it came to be. That's what's going to happen.

Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous? A little. But I'm going with no expectations.

Please pray for me leading up to and while I'll be traveling. Not only for travel mercies, but also to keep my heart guarded and that God will be the center of the friendship.

A SoCal Visit...Thursday

So this is the morning routine, just so I don't have to go over it everyday:
The kids wake up anytime between 6:30-8ish. They play, have breakfast, etc. Then William goes down for a nap between 9-9:30 until around 11. After 11, then your day can really get started.

Ok, now that that's out of the way.

Thursday we decided to get out of the house and out of Rancho Santa Margarita. Being as Disneyland was out of the question (crowds, heat, maintaining 2 youngens), we went to Downtown Disney instead for lunch and some shopping.
Melissa and I had both never been to Rainforest Cafe, so we made the executive decision to go there for lunch, much to Macie's cringe. We got there and oh man was she in awe of the decor and moving animals and the aquarium and the waterfall.
William was a bit freaked out with the thunder and lightening "show".
After lunch we walked around a bit. I snapped a few pictures. Cause I like to do that...snap a few pictures.
Poor William started to get very, very restless in the stroller. So after ice cream (Haggen Daz Bailey's Irish Cream and Double Chocolate Peanut Butter), a few more shops, and rewarding Macie with a toy from the massive Disney Store for being a good girl we headed home. But we also made a wish at the fountain.
Oh, and, well, I got to be a princess for about 30 seconds.
Quick! Gotta get home, get dinner going, and get off to a birthday party! While Melissa worked in the kitchen, I played outside.
We ate really quickly, while our lips burned with spicy heat. Melissa, can I get that recipe from you? Took the kids to the party. Watched Macie play in the pool with her friends. Washed up the kids. Took the kids home. Put kids to bed. By this point Mark was home and ready to relax after his long day at work. So he told us about the mediation he participated in (he's a lawyer) and we watched a movie. I think I'm the only one that stayed awake for the whole thing. I blame Dennis, he started texting me.

End of day 2.

(To see the complete album, click here)

A SoCal Visit...Tuesday/Wednesday

Finally! A vacation!

So sure, I went on a cruise already this year. But it was all the way back in January. This one was a long over due and much needed getaway.

Being as I knew my cousin was getting married in Claremont, I decided to extend my day off and make my drive over the grapevine worth it. So I bummed a room from my old college roomie and stayed with her family for 4 nights.

So Tuesday around 3pm I left work, went home, loaded up, said goodbye, kissed my dog, and drove away. This was the part I was not looking forward to, a 6-7 hour drive down 99 through country nothingness alone. To bad, I ah, was a bad girl and twittered every so often. Had to keep my peeps up to speed.

Get it. Speed.

That I did not. Much. I kept cruise control cruisin' between 70-75. Honest. Ok, maybe I hit 80 once or twice.

Anywhosel. After one stop in Bakersfield where I met up with mom and dad as we passed on the freeway to have a quick burger (like 20 minute stop tops!), I was back on the road. After getting through the grapevine I got the go ahead that the 405 was clear of traffic. So that's the way I went. I'll admit, I was a little panicked. It's not everyday I drive in big cities with vehicles passing me.

I arrived at my destination, Rancho Santa Margarita, just shy of 9:45pm. Before even unloading my car Melissa and I went on a quick brisk walk around the neighborhood. That's exactly what I needed too. Walk off the cramped muscle tightness. So good!

Unloaded. Chit chatted with Mark briefly, but he was working. Chilled on the couch. Went to bed.
End of Tuesday.

See, now, I made the mistake of telling Macie on the phone the day before giving her permission to jump on my bed to wake me up. Luckily, it didn't get that far, mainly because I heard her whispering outside my door around 8am. So I got up. Meet the flirty little William, had some breakfast and chilled while the little tyke took a nap.

It was hot. We wanted to be in that water. So to the "Beach Club" we went! The "beach club" is a community pool. By pool I mean, chlorinated, filtered water. By beach I mean there was sand like a at beach. Standing up in the deepest spot was about up to my thighs. So perfect for the kiddies.

Macie eating lunch.
William just had lunch.
Every hour there is a mandatory 10 minute break. Macie was anxious to get back in the water. Did I mention it was hot outside?
After William got showered and cleaned up Melissa went in the water for some special Mommy and Macie time. I had the privilege of introducing William to the art of self photos.And then it was time to clean Macie up and head home.
We stopped at a grocery store first to get a few more supplies for dinner. Yum!

Melissa made margaritas. YUM! We ate way too much chips and guac. We fed the kids. We took a walk to wear them out. Then we put them to bed before having some more margaritas. Then Melissa made tacos for dinner. Yum!

We kicked back. Watched some boob-tube, chit chatted and visited. Facebooked. Laughed. Reminisced. And went to bed.

End of day 1.

(To see the complete album, click here)

Picture of the Day 205

July 24th: 1 Corinthians 11:1-16; 2 Kings 4; Amos 9

"A family vacation is one where you arrive with five bags, four kinds and seven I-thought-you-packed-its."
―Ivern Ball

Follow Me!

---------->

Did you notice?
Over there ---------->
I've added my twitter feed.

---------->

So you can follow my ramblings throughout the day.
But on my really full rambling days you'll probably get them on here.
On the blog.

So watch out people!
I twitter.
I tweet.
Watch it over there. ---------->
Or just follow me on twitter.
It's that easy.

---------->

FYI...all twitter tweets also are my status changes on facebook.

Picture of the Day 204

July 23rd: 1 Corinthians 10; 2 Kings 3; Amos 8

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."
―Chili Davis

Picture of the Day 203

July 22nd: 1 Corinthians 9; 2 Kings 1-2; Amos 7

"The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses."
—Hanna Rion

Elaboration

Ok. So about this amazing facebook uploader thingy.

Let me preface. Or did I already? Facebook won't allow me to use their fast uploader thing. So I'm stuck uploading 5 at a time and...it...takes...forever...

On my computer I have Picasa (google's picture manager). And I upload pictures to Picasa online. I like Picasa. And I don't want to have 3,962 other uploader programs hanging out on my computer.

So after I got back from my SoCal mini vaca, I had a lot of blogs to get caught up on. And I mean a lot.

I came across this one from the Digital Photography School site. Follow the grid at the bottom and tada!

So not only can I upload pictures to facebook from Picasa now, I can also upload to Flickr. And since I only have about 3.17% free space left on Picasa online I think I'll be using Flickr. And I'll probably become a big girl and pay the annual fee for unlimited uploading and storage space instead of the limited monthly uploading.

So that's that. It's easy. And a wonderful convenience to my life to aid in my laziness, I mean effiency.

I recommend it!

In fact, I recommend the Digital Photography School site for anyone that is interested in learning more about photography.

Picture of the Day 202

July 21st: 1 Corinthians 8; 1 Kings 22; Amos 6

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."
—William James

Finally Some Speed!

As most of you know, I have a facebook as well as a blog as well as a twitter account. I like the idea of sharing pictures on facebook, but man alive I can never get them to upload quickly or more than 5 at a time.

Until today.

Today I found a plugin for facebook with picasa. So I can upload to my photos through picasa. Sweet!

In a matter of 5 minutes (not consistently) I've uploaded about 70 pictures.

That makes me happy.

And that's a good thing.

Picture of the Day 201

July 20th: 1 Corinthians 7:25-40; 1 Kings 21; Amos 5

"A life without love is like a year without summer."
—Swedish Proverb

testing

How many pictures do you see? And are they pictures or texts of file names?
IMG_0316.JPG
IMG_0304.JPG

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Motivation Monday - Discovery

Hectic

I'm back. And I'm behind in life. I'll get you caught up one of these days.

In the meantime, is there anything you want to know about me? My life? What kind of cereal I eat? Ask away!

Picture of the Day 200

July 19th: 1 Corinthians 7:1-24; 1 Kings 20; Amos 4:4-13

"A loving heart is the truest wisdom."
—Charles Dickens

Picture of the Day 199

July 18th: 1 Corinthians 6; 1 Kings 19; Amos 3:3-4:13

"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money."
—Susan Heller

Picture of the Day 198

July 17th: 1 Corinthians 5; 1 Kings 18; Amos 2:1-3:2

"To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment."
—Jane Austen

Picture of the Day 197

July 16th: 1 Corinthians 4; 1 Kings 17; Amos 1

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."
—Judy Garland

Picture of the Day 196

July 15th: 1 Corinthians 3; 1 Kings 15:33-16:34; Joel 3

"I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends."
—Nancie J. Carmody

Picture of the Day 195

July 14th: 1 Corinthians 2; 1 Kings 15:1-32; Joel 2:12-32

However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"
-1 Corinthians 2:9

If God was a flavor, what would he be?

On the road again

Picture of the Day 194

July 13th: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; 1 Kings 14; Joel 2:1-11

"Anyone who thinks the art of conversation is dead ought to tell a child to go to bed."
—Robert Gallagher

Motivation Monday - Persistence

Picture of the Day 193

July 12th: 1 Corinthians 1:1-17; 1 Kings 12:32-13:34; Joel 1

"I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked in the garden."
-John Erskine

God's Chisel

Last week at church we talked about John 15. Pastor Ken ended a 3 week series on the 15th Chapter of John by interviewing a congregation member as well as sharing a video clip. I highly recommend you go watch it (since I can't seem to get it to connect with this post).

Basically it's about YOU being God's masterpiece, but it'll take some chiseling away to get you just right.

So pop on over to youtube.com and watch the God's Chisel Skit.

Picture of the Day 192

July 11th: Mark 16; 1 Kings 12:1-31; Hosea 14

"I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing."
—Marsha Doble

Picture of the Day 191

July 10th: Mark 15:21-47; 1 Kings 11; Hosea 13

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in."
—Robert Orben

Picture of the Day 190

July 9th: Mark 15:1-20; 1 Kings 10; Hosea 11:12-12:14

"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."
—Henry James

It's a weird, weird life

Man things are strange right now in my little life. Where do I start?

• So my boss is gone this week. I was so looking forward to having the week to get caught up before I take a few days off next week. It ain't happenin'. I've gotten 2 things crossed off my list and added 12 more.
• Currently, right this minute, I'm holding a text conversation with an ex-boyfriend. Think years ago ex. Like, ex that was in a bad accident while on duty and is now dependent on a wheelchair.
• I'm going on a mini vaca next week. That's not strange or weird. It's wonderful! I can't wait to see Macie and her mom and dad and meet her new brother William. Then go to my cousin's wedding down in the same are. Me = excited!!!
• I'm also in the midst of planning, or attempting to, another vacation. Can't talk much about that right now though until a few things are confirmed. Stay tuned.
• Speaking of staying tuned. Is there anything you can remember that I've said stay tuned or more to come on and haven't followed through? Please remind me what I was supposed to share with you, because I can't remember. Leave reminder in comments. And. I'll. get back to you. Stay tuned. ahahaha
• My basil flourishes but tomato plant dies. There were planted 2 feet from each other. What gives? Tomato #2 is planted. Here's to hopin' a get one little piece of fruit from it.
• I've been talking/texting with Dennis lately. A lot. Doesn't mean anything. Not pushing anything. Just friends. That talk. A lot. Like before. Just without the lovey dovey stuff.
• God is in control! That's not weird or strange either. But that's my mantra.
• If it's in God's will, He'll make it happen. Again, not weird or strange, just truth.
• I've made dinner 2 nights in a row! Now that is not normal.
  
• My friend, Mandy, referred me to a digital photography/scrapbooking/photoshop website. I'm hooked on watching the free tutorials. Hooked I say! The leader of the site has only classes. I just might sign up for the one that starts Monday. Mandy, wanna do it together???
• Even when I try to go to bed between 10 and 11pm, I can't sleep. So I read some. Then I attempt to sleep and toss and turn until about 1am. Then I konk out.
• In fact, that's what I'm gonna do now. I'm gonna finish watching a tutorial, then I'm going to bed. This tutorial is something that I've wanted to know how to do for awhile. And I'm finally learning. Now I'll get to start implementing.
  
• But not now, cause I'm going to bed now.

Night all!

Picture of the Day 189

July 8th: Mark 14:32-72; 1 Kings 9; Hosea 11:1-11

"As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more."
—Jules Renard

Picture of the Day 188

I need to get away and get some sand between my toes again!
July 7th: Mark 14:1-31; 1 Kings 8; Hosea 9:17-10:15

"My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dog already thinks I am."
—Author Unknown

The Proposal

Again with the late movie review post! I'm getting really bad at this...

A week and a half ago Kaitlin and I went and saw The Proposal. I'm a fan of Sandra Bullock. And Ryan Reynolds is pretty funny too. So put them together and let's see what you get. I thought it was a cute movie. So what if it was a little predictable. Big deal.

Ironically, the movie was primarily set in...guess where... Yea, Alaska. Sitka to be exact. So the scenery was beautiful. And it was a good cast of characters.

I liked it!

I recommend it.

Go see it.

4 out of 5 stars.

(By the way, I don't know what movie in my mind is a 5 star movie. And I'm kinda like my dad, nothing ever gets a perfect score.)

Motivation Monday - Burnout

Picture of the Day 187

July 6th: Mark 13:14-37; 1 Kings 7; Hosea 9:1-16

"Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself."
—Cicero

Sunday Successes

Sunday's are generally my day to get caught up around the house before the new week hits. Sometimes I have a lot to do, sometimes just a little. Here's my day thus far...

1. Church - check. Had to drag my dairyaire out of bed to go. I, ah, didn't get to bed until about 3:30 am.
2. Lunch with friends - check.
3. Skipping movie expedition - unfortunately I've got too much to do and can't justify seeing a movie I'm not that keen on seeing.;
4. Ice Cream made - check! Recipe to follow later on food blog. Tomorrow is birthday celebration at Bible Study. I volunteered to make ice cream. I did make, but I also cheated. :)
5. Blog ice cream recipe - check
   
6. Dishwasher unloaded - check
   
7. Dishwasher reloaded - check
8. Counters wiped down - check
9. Get caught up Bible reading - check
   
10. Get caught up on Bible study book - check. Just have to do one more tomorrow before 7pm.
    
11. Fold laundry
12. Take a nap
13. Swim
14. Update POTD blogs (as I'm getting caught up) - check
    
15. Post/Schedule a couple other blogs
    

I'll update as I complete or add more to the list...

Picture of the Day 186

July 5th: Mark 13:1-13; 1 Kings 6; Hosea 8

"Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important."
—Janet Lane

Picture of the Day 185

July 4th: Mark 12:28-44; 1 Kings 4-5; Hosea 7:3-16

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
-Mark 12:33

From My Patriotic Home...

to yours...

Happy 4th of July!

Picture of the Day 184

July 3rd: Mark 12:1-27; 1 Kings 3; Hosea 6:1-7:2

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence...with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness."
—Erma Bombeck