Christmas in Delaware!

Merry Christmas Blog World!

I hope everyone has had a fantastic day! I ventured to Delaware on Tuesday...the drive took way too long thanks to remaining snow issues, construction and general traffic...not to mention the Pepsi truck that split in half and was on the side of the road...not really sure what happened and couldn't find a news article but I just hope everyone was ok! I had all intents and purposes to write an "I'm blogging from Delaware" post when I finally made it home but I couldn't remember my web address. Really, in my defense, I've got my blog saved in my favorites so I just always click on it! Well, my laptop was reformatted and I "lost" all of the wireless info for my mom's house and brother can't remember it so I've been using Mom's computer. So yes, today I googled my blog title, and some key words and wa-la! I'm back!

Anyway, we hosted our annual family/friends Christmas Eve fun appetizers/dinner gathering last night before church and attended a great Christmas Eve service. It's been a running addition to the Christmas Eve sermon each year that the pastor has wanted a 42" flat screen, plasma tv and it's always incorporated into the sermon somehow. Well, this year, S, the next generation pastor, and his wife, got the tv in September/October so naturally, everyone was wondering what the sermon would be about. It began with the background of the quest for the tv (this way those visiting knew what was going on) and a picture of the tv in his living room and transitioned into a Seinfeld clip from the label maker episode when Elaine gave Tim Watley a label maker and he re gifted it to Jerry. Essentially, the sermon was all about re gifting and about how God gifts us 3 main gifts and how we should re gift them to others and all of that fun stuff. It was neat. It is COLD in Delaware, but it was nice walking out of church with snow still on the ground...a good feel for Christmas!

Today we opened presents, had a great dinner with my grandparents and now the grandparents are gone and we are just hanging out watching tv.

Hope everyone else has had a great day with their family and friends!

music

I have no musical talent. It's rather sad. I wish I could play an instrument and frankly, the people around me probably wish that I could sing...but I'll sing anyway! Yep, I'm that person that tends to have random dance parties while driving. Oh well...such is life when you travel long distances home, alone.

Anyway, I'm not much of a tv person, but now that the shows that I do enjoy are on hiatus until the holiday season is over, I was flipping the channels the other day and got sucked into watching the Sing Off on NBC. I'm all about some a capella music and wowsers!

So, I fell in love with the Beelzebubs from Tufts University. They made it to the finals, along with Nota...Nota's from somewhere not in America but I forget where. Anyway, I REALLY wanted the Bubs to win (yea I can call em the Bubs cause we're tight like that) because the winner gets a Sony record deal and man oh man I could so listen to a Bubs cd on repeat! But, sadly, Nota won. I mean I'm happy for them--like they said, winning will change their lives but hey, winning would change the Bubs life too! Oh well!

Congrats to all of you that can sing. I wish I had some musical talent!

We put the "NO" in "sNOw"

This is the picture that my darling, Delaware residing mother sent me at 7:55 this morning....



This is the picture that I sent her around 8:30 this morning....



Clearly, my place of residence in NC puts the "no" in "snow". So. Not. Cool!

For those of you that woke up to a blanket of white....enjoy it! Funny that all of the other towns/cities in this state in which I've lived have snow. Oh well!

Oh, I should also add that my darling mother sent my brother and I an album of her morning snow pictures (it's still snowing) BEFORE she locked herself out of the house.

My mom loves snow. It makes her crazy. But, she is also a create of habit and always "bottom" locks the door from the inside and locks the dead bolt from the outside. Well, mother wanted to play in the snow and naturally had the reaction to bottom lock the door....was outside for a bit and realized she needed to go back in and the door was locked! However, we never lock the kitchen window. So mom cleared a path to the shed, got the ladder and climbed in through the kitchen window.

She's done this before....but I REALLY wish I was home to have a picture of THAT for my blog! ha ha

Have a great day everyone!

God Bless Strangers!

Today was a prime example of why I have a blog. To make a VERY LONG DAY short, I won't bore ya with the details but instead profess my sincere thanks to the stranger that came to my rescue today.

Today I had a car that was filled with boxes to be delivered to offices, courtesy of a very nice customer. I was GPS'd to another zip code, which was about 20 minutes from where I work. Even with a GPS it was confusing to navigate and a bit adventurous and frustrating at times. I finally arrived at an office, elated that I was halfway through with my deliveries, made the drop and continued on my merry way to the next office. I was going to be home before I knew it! I could spend the afternoon Christmas shopping. Yes!

Or so I thought.

I hear this flapping noise and I really thought a big ol bug had flown in and was maybe trapped? Who knows! However, as I'm listening to Chester (my British speaking, female voice command yelling GPS) this gentleman that is getting out of his car keeps looking at me, pointing and yelling. Granted, my windows are up and I'm lost and I'm not certain what's going on, nor am I even certain that I'm in the right parking lot. Anyway, he's trying to tell me that my tire is......FLAT. Yippee! I thank him for the notice and realize that I'm an idiot and the flapping wasn't a trapped bug, it was the rubber of the wheel hitting the pavement as I drive 45 MPH to the next office. Yay me!

So, putting the job at hand before my personal issues, I make the drop and ask the really nice receptionist if it's ok that my car stays where it is at the moment (which was not at all a parking spot since the lot was full and well, I was scared to drive further) and explain to her that my car has a flat tire and I needed to call AAA. With that, the man standing next to her, John, offered to fix my tire. I thanked him profusely but told him that although I appreciated his generosity to help me, he was dressed nicely and I didn't want him to get dirty and that I could just call AAA. He assured me that it was ok and that AAA would take at least an hour and that it was no big deal.

So after taking everything out of my car (which was an ordeal) to find the jack and all that fun stuff, John was able to change the tire, direct me to the nearest gas station to add more air to the spare (heck, the spare hadn't been touched in at least 6 years) and send me on my way.

I offered to compensate John for his time and generosity and he declined. I know John doesn't read my blog, but I'm professing my thankfulness to John through the blog world! Hope everyone had a GREAT, flat tire free day!

Now I'm off to go write him a thank you note...

Go Tell It On the Mountain

My mom, bro and I went to the same Catholic church, every week, from the time I was in kindergarten until my freshman year of high school.

However, around the middle of 8th grade, some things happened that we didn't agree with/believe in so we began seeking a new church in our town.

We found a new church, different religion (Presbyterian), but enjoyed it. Oddly, I went to this new church, sometimes with my mom, and sometimes with family friends of ours. I was blessed to have two STELLAR Sunday school teachers for the next two years. My mom occasionally came to church with me, my bro, back and forth, and of course, come holiday time, we went to new church as a family.

Things at that church changed (or fell into a downward spiral really quickly (ie small church, older congregation, minimal youth) and the Methodist church down the road was starting a contemporary service.

We were all baptized/confirmed Catholic, but, after two years at what I now refer to as "my home church", our family became Methodist.

When I moved almost three months ago, I was elated that I would be able to attend an AMAZING church each week (sadly, my work schedule doesn't allow me to go every week but I attend when I am not working). I went to new church Sunday morning and was just in awe.

The praise team is PHENOMENAL. I'm talking, you're just filled with such joy and excitement on the inside and your smile will spread ear to ear and then some! But as I sat there by myself, alone, in a seat, now knowing anyone around me or even recognizing anyone, I started to think about my home church.

I realized that home church is just that...my church at home. It's sanctuary is filled with people that I have known for what seems like my entire life (beauty of small town living), parents of people that I went to school with, former teachers, best friends, kids that I've babysat and so on. It's every bit of a home church.

And I started to feel guilty.

I LOVE new church. The energy from the Praise Team is so amazing that it's almost like being at a Billboard Top 10 concert. The support and response from the congregation is spot on and the sermon, oh my the sermon...it's deep, it's fun, it's true, it's applicable. If I could bottle up the 60 minutes I spent in new church Sunday and send it to the world, by golly I would.

And I felt guilty. And I almost feel guilty about this entire post.

Why? Because I. Love. New. Church. A lot. To the point where I wish I could take the people from home church and bring them to new church so that they can experience what I do. The super cool thing is that new church is already broadcast live via satellite to two other campuses. Awesome!

But then I got to thinking. As I sat there. Is it wrong that I have come to love and enjoy new church much more than I do home church? Is it wrong that my main draw to home church is the home aspect of it? After all, I love new church for the worship, which accounts for 95% of church-going so I love it for all the "right" reasons. But I still feel guilty.

If only I could find a way to broadcast new church to home church each Sunday....I wouldn't feel so guilty!

she said YES!

My wonderful, awesome, amazing, beautiful, giving, funny, caring roomie, S, got engaged Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



S and I met our freshman year of college. We ended up living down the hall from one another 2nd semester freshman year, were roomies sophomore year, lived in the same suite junior year and lived in different apartments senior year. Thanks to S, I found the job in which I currently have! Background: I called her then boyfriend but now fiance and surprised her at church, we went to lunch afterwards and spent the afternoon shopping. we then found the place in which i am employed, i was hired and moved here and in with S the next morning! So we are roomies again and I have been keeping this engagement secret since October! Ahh! I am just SO VERY EXCITED for S and her fiance M! They are adorable!

They haven't set a date, which is ok because they've only been engaged since Sunday but I am just so excited for them and so ready to help S in any way she sees fit!



Looks like Christmas came early for them!

100th year. 500...600...700...wins

I'm a HUGE college sports fan. I will watch almost any sporting event on tv but love to be there in person. With that being said, I have been blessed to attend at least one Carolina Men's Basketball game a year since 2005.

For those of you that are not aware, this 2009-2010 season marks the 100th year of Carolina Basketball. How awesome! The season started off with a 100th year pro alumni game in September. My basketball game attending partner in crime, A, and I were there....4 rows behind the "Blue" teams bench!



We had a BLAST!

In December of 2006, UNC's Head Men's Basketball Coach, Roy Williams, achieved his 500th win and I was there (A too but we didn't sit together). On November 29, 2009, Roy Williams achieved his 600th win....and, you guessed it....we were there! We even allowed A's hubby K to join us! :)



Here is A & K! Aren't they just the cutest!



A & I decided we should get our tickets now for November-December 2012 for Roy's 700th!

A Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

I LOVE everything about Christmas! Really, I do! I cannot wait to go home to Delaware and see our tree (every year my mom strives to find the "fattest, fluffiest" tree, yes we get a live tree each year and I sneeze for the first week it's in the house but it's worth it!) Well, this year being in an apartment, away from home for the first time, I went to Target the other night and found a 2 foot tree for $7.99! It is perfect for on top of the desk that is in my room. Thanks to an amazing find at TJ Maxx, it is decorated with Lilly Pulitzer "Oh Shift" Dresses. I love them! I got the set for maybe $5 which is a mega steal since they can be purchased online for $50 I think. Here is my humble tree...and yes, I am using a golf glove as the angel/star because well, I can!



I am super excited because tomorrow, roomie and I are going to decorate our apartment....a tree and all the trimmings! If we don't ware ourselves out we may even venture over to roomies boyfriends apartment and decorate his too! Ahhh so fun!

Happy Decorating everyone!

I probably shouldn't have a blog

Really, I'd like to apologize to the 2 readers that I have. I probably don't deserve to blog! I'm bad at it. I really don't have interesting family stories, adorable kids that I get to spend time with throughout the week, a boyfriend or really anything fun and exciting to report.

I like to cook and bake but really that's not so much fun when you're doing it for one. But, I do love cookbooks and finding new recipes so I've decided to post my all time favorite cold weather, rainy day, taste of home (as in where my mom lives, not the amazing magazine/book of goodies)go to recipe!! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
courtesy of Campbell's. Yea, it's MMMMMM GOOD!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak or beef top round steak, 3/4-inch thick, cut into thin strips (what mom normally does is grill a london broil or steak and we eat that one day and the next we have beef & broccoli...God Bless leftovers!)
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup (it's ok to use the heart healthy/reduced sodium)
3 tablespoons soy sauce (I'm partial to La Choy low sodium)
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or if we have minced garlic in the fridge we use that)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (yea, pretty sure we've never added this)
3 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets (mmmmmm!!!!)
4 cups hot cooked rice (brown or white)

Directions:
1.Heat the oil in a 10-inch pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef. If it's already cooked just warm it up, if it's raw, cook it til it's lightly browned.
2.Stir the tomato soup, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic powder (or minced) and pepper (or not) in the pan and heat to a boil. Stir in the broccoli and cook until it's tender-crisp (I tend to like the broccoli nice and tender, not so crisp, but that's just me).
Serve over the rice.

Enjoy!

Always in a rush

People are always in a rush. The traffic light doesn't stay green long enough, and you're running late. The lady at the counter is searching every crevice of her purse for exact change, and you're running late. The man in front of you is talking on one phone and emailing on another, and you're impatiently waiting behind him because you're running late. Rarely do people live in the present these days. It's always rush rush rush, prepare for the future.

Growing up, it seemed that each year in school we were always taught the curriculum for the next year. It never seemed that anyone ever prepared us for the here and now, it was always for the future. In 3rd grade, we learned what the 4th graders were learning, so that we'd be prepared for 4th grade, but when we actually reached 4th grade, we learned what the 5th graders were learning and so on. Well, maybe it didn't work that way for everyone, but that's what my education consisted of.

I love holidays. I really do. I've always been that gal that wants to be the girlfriend/fiancee/wife/mom that has the house decorated, the themed food and serving items and just go to town. I love July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, Easter, Memorial & Labor Day and any other reason to celebrate, make cool things to eat and display them in themed ware. But after a trip to Target I was sad. It wasn't even Halloween yet and Christmas decorations were already beginning to slowly show up. It was shortly after Halloween that I noticed a local radio station began playing Christmas music on the radio during the weekends, Starbucks started serving their Christmas/Winter flavors at least 2 if not 3 weeks ago and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. Thanksgiving, one of the most important and underrated holidays, seems to be forgotten more and more each year because the retail world wants to capitalize on the insane amounts of money they collect during Christmas. It makes me sad. Too often we rush through life to get to the next step that we forget to enjoy the here and now. I think it's time we all sit down and enjoy life in the present, stop worrying about the future and really be thankful for what we do have. The future will come, and sure we'll be prepared, but there's no sense in getting your Christmas decorations if you haven't even gone Trick or Treating!

God thinks He's funny!

I went to get my car oil changed today for the first time in this new city. This meant leaving the comforts of the same small, family owned, next to a really good also family owned restaurant, that I've been too for the past 4 years, give or take a few oil changes. Already, I was sad to be out of my comfort zone and having to meet new car people that I don't yet know or trust. I have an older car and I'm a girl so naturally I don't deal well with car stuff and often feel like I'm being taken advantage of when I go to new places, hence my hesitation.

I'm a multitasker and I don't like to waste time so I decided that it would be best if I went to the Meineke Car Care Center that was going to be on my way to the interstate so I could head to Ikea and a few other places after that. In my mind it was a great plan and I was thinking I'd be there for 30-45 minutes tops and I'd be on my merry way to craziness to be found inside Ikea! Well, God had another plan.

I spent 3 hours sitting on a bench outside of the garage waiting for my car to be fixed. What was supposed to be a simple oil change turned into a cracked radiator that needed to be fixed immediately, a very costly oil change, and 2.5 hours more than I had "scheduled" into my day.

After being told the "severity" of a cracked radiator and being informed of the price to get a new one, I was shocked and upset to say the least. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day so I chose to sit outside and watch the cars drive by. I've passed this same sign before, but today I took this picture and had to just laugh and think "I have a blog now and I so need this for my next post"

How funny is God though? Here I am, sitting on a bench, outside of a car place, crying (i'm not an emotional person, I was just sleepy and worked for 11 days straight and had so many things to accomplish on my day off) as I write my Mom an e-mail because I was just distraught over an unexpected financial bombshell and God is telling me, on a huge sign, to not worry but to pray. So on that bench I did just that. I prayed to God for wisdom, guidance and the ability to rise above unexpected costs and to be thankful that I have a car and a job. And when I was done praying, my Mom called, and I cried some more and after all the talking, crying and praying, my car was done. And God was right. I need not worry about anything, but just pray because He hears our prayers.

I did still make it to Ikea and for the first time since I've moved here, I am going to sleep in my own bed tonight! YAY! God is good!

Goodnight!

oh my stars! i started a blog!

Hello Blog World!

I feel compelled to dedicate this first entry to the two gals that suggested that I start a blog. I know that it's possible to link to other blogs, but let's face it, I have no idea how any of this whole "having my own blog thing" works! Really, I've probably spent the better part of a year reading a handful of blogs (what can I say, I was unemployed and found hope and humor from reading about other people while endlessly seeking a job), of people I've never even met. First it was my 7th grade literature teacher (ok, so i know her). From her blog I discovered MckMama and miracle baby Stellan. Next, I found Bring the Rain, and the touching story about the oh too short life of sweet baby Audrey Caroline. Angie's blog led me to Kelly's Korner and her adorable miracle baby, Harper. I also discovered the Williams' family and feel blessed to have met Patrice, Matt and their cutie pie of a son, Jonah. The funniest blog world to real life story....meeting the creator of Graham Crakas mother-in-law, and of course having to start to read her blog and finally, after almost two months...creating my own! Gasp!

I'm still getting the hang of life in a new city as well as having a blog. Who knows, this could be tons of fun! Thanks for reading!