songbird says stuff...

teehee, the title of this blog is kind of true. before i recap my day - bud and i just finished the first season of the new doctor who (meaning from the 2000's) and i love it. sad to see christopher eccleston go but super stoked to start watching david tennant as the "new" doctor! a big shout out to souxie in hk for getting bud and myself to watch this show. it is so good.

i have been doing homework... all day. well... figuratively speaking.

bud and i actually got out of bed today and went to church! not only did we go to church, but we made it just in time for the beginning of the service! we even left late. hooray for church starting late today. i just don't get why we don't prioritize going to church, we always feel the joy of the Lord while being in the sweet fellowship of the body. well... let me rephrase that. its not that we don't prioritize going to church, its that we utterly fail at waking up on time. i do think some of it has to do with the fact that our bedroom is like a cave. it stays dark unless for some reason the animals wedge our door open further than we leave it at night, and even then, it doesn't make that much of a difference as our entire apartment is not very conducive to natural light. these are just excuses for our failure really... but i thought i'd give you an idea of what our apartment is like. i love it! it has a kitchen! that is huge for me. i've been cooking so much more now... its been so fun. so back on topic - we suck at getting out of bed on sunday mornings and going to church. its never a burden to go... we have just been lazy and it really needs to stop.

today in church we talked about blame shifting and how that is apart of our old nature, how we can never say we are tempted by God because that in itself is blame shifting. when we are regenerated, we have to repent of our ways, not shift the blame to someone or something else. (like i was doing about the lack of light in our apartment... that is not a good reason to miss church! its because i'm being lazy!) we looked at the utter failure of king saul when he did not destroy all of the amalekites, including the king and the best of their livestock. while he did bring ruin to the amalekites, he did not kill the king or the livestock and when confronted, he shifted blame to the soldiers and people sent to destroy them. he said they took it to "sacrifice it to the Lord." you might think thats a good excuse... however its still sin. "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams." - 1 Samuel 15:22 - that kind of settles "excuses". we may say that we are doing things for the Lord all the while, we're ignoring what God has asked of us. thats the gist of what we talked about at church today. it was really good.

so then we had a great time of fellowship at the fellowship lunch put on by our church. we sat with our friends ken and debbie and their little ones, lisa and joel. they are such a lovely family and i'm so blessed that they have taken us in as friends. we are going to have an italian feast together on wednesday! i'm so very excited about it!

then i came home and did homework, the remainder of the day. and that is not an exaggeration. i am proud of myself for not putting it off until tomorrow... kind of wish i would have done this earlier, but at least now i have some thoughts to help me with my final paper. wish me luck on getting that done. now it is super late and technically i am late for writing up this blog. but oh well... time for bed. so tired. ready to be in bed, cuddled up to my loving husband, not staring at a computer screen with words about illegal immigration strewn across it. goodnight to you all. looooove.

today was a better day. thankfully i woke up less depressed than i was yesterday. i feel i owe a little bit of explanation for the lack of my post yesterday... life is incredibly intense right now in a lot of areas. i'm planning parties for my best friend of 22 years wedding. i'm taking classes at the local community college (this is a big deal to a person who hasn't done any sort of schooling in over 6 years) and i'm trying to juggle that along with working over 40 hours a week for a very interesting family. add to that, i'm starting the infertility trek of my life. there are several fertility tests that will be happening within the next month or so and while i am happy to get things checked out and get a good picture of what we are dealing with in regards to fertility and the hopes of having children, its still a very hard thing for me to handle. if you know me, even in the smallest of ways, you know that i have a huge heart for children and would love to have a family of my own. unfortunately, i have endometriosis which is an awful condition that affects fertility. i also may have polycystic ovarian syndrome. so the two of those things paired together makes for very slim chances of babies in mine and my husbands future.

yes, i know there are a lot of options out there. but those options are so very expensive and while i know children are expensive, couple children being expensive with fertility treatments... it makes it almost impossible for someone in our position. we're not destitute. we can handle raising a child financially. but we are not prepared to go and spend thousands of dollars to try and make having a baby a reality. at least not at this point in our lives. however, with my condition, the sooner i have children, the better. as my condition progresses, the older i get, the more difficult it will be for me to get pregnant and carry a child to term. so while i'm "still young" as my doctors put it, i am not naive to think that my fertile clock is ticking faster than someone else my age. its just a reality that i've accepted.

all this is a lot to take in. its a lot for me to handle. and while i know that i have an amazing support system of friends, family, an amazing husband, and above all else - i have the LORD who is for me and not against me: it unfortunately was not helping me yesterday. that sounds awful, i know. but i just want to be honest with where i was yesterday. my desire to be a mother, to carry a child to term, to experience pregnancy 100% is huge. i've had it since i was a little girl. ever since i knew i was going to marry my husband, i wanted to be able to give him a family, to make him a daddy (he will be an amazing  one!). i want to be able to give his parents grandchildren, to add to the grandkids my parents already have. and while i'm not being pressured at all, i think i may be putting pressure on myself. i was feeling so alone and as if i had a weight on me that just wouldn't lift. but that was yesterday.

today - i woke up in a better mood and instantly started doing school work. i've gotten about half way through my english project due on monday. i finished up my essay on the salem witchcraft trials - which came out pretty good if i do say so myself. and now i'm writing up this blog! what else did i do today. oh i went and visited bud at work so we could have dinner together and that was nice. we had chicken teryaki (and i had a few pieces of mall sushi - its not that bad. but its no joss or fuji.) and sat on a comfy couch. i also have been listening to worship music a lot today and i think that is a big part of why i'm feeling so much better. i'm pressing on and trusting in the Lord and praising him in the storm. thanking Him for the gift of salvation and for being there, even when i feel he's so far away. so that was my day. and that was what was going on yesterday. love to you all. enjoy the song below... its one that i've played about 20 times today.

too much to think about. too many feelings. sat in the dark for 5 hours... i'm kind of done. sorry. no real blog tonight. goodnight.

so i have been thinking all day what recipe i wanted to grace your presence with today and to be honest, i cannot figure it out! so let me just cheat and give you one of the easiest things you can ever make!

recipe: baked chicken

ingredients
lawry's seasoned salt
chicken thighs - skin on (but can be removed after cooking)
tin foil

method
1.     preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.      take a baking sheet and line it with your tin foil (this allows for super easy clean-up!)
3.     take your chicken thighs (thawed already obviously)
4.     sprinkle lawry's seasoned salt on the chicken thighs (not too much: note the word salt!)
5.     place in the oven for 1 hour
6.     one cooked through, serve with rice and a veg of your choice!


-----

today i went to work. worked. got a little homework done. went to my parents and had dinner. picked up a prescription. came home, talked to katie for a while. now i'm doing this. then i'm going to bed. i'm so tired. i told myself i was going to bed at 9 but then i got into a great conversation with kate and those are few and far between, so i am glad we had it. :) but now i must go to bed. i'm going to have to shower in the morning... so i'm going to have to like... you know, get out of bed on time! well, i'm done. goodnight. love to you all!

there's so much on my mind that i have no idea where to start. well... lets see. lets start with school:

if you were to ask me three things i love at this very moment... this is what i would come up with:

so bud and i were watching dr. who, the episode was called "father's day", and while rose and her dad are driving down the road and talking, you can hear this song. it was pretty amazing. we giggled. so... i'm really getting into dr. who. we are starting on some of the later episodes, starring christopher eccleston. he's the one right before david tennant. anyway - the stories are so fun and while they are a bit on the 'cheesy' side, i'm really enjoying them. if you've never watched dr. who - i definitely recommend it.

so today is president's day and i didn't go to work. i asked for a paid vacation and believe it or not, my request was granted! it wouldn't have been had i not asked my dear friend becky to cover the first half of the day for me, but nonetheless, i got the day off. i slept in a bit (which i think was helpful, i still have a touch of this awful cold and a cough that won't go away. bex, you were right... it won't go away. its so annoying!), took a nice long shower and actually... *gasp* styled my hair! yeah, you heard me. i didn't just pin it back in a pony tail, i put product in it, did a brief blow dry, straightened my bangs and this is the result:

i missed church today. i'm very sad, however i could have made it. but i was feeling so tired and kind of protesting going to church because i didn't want to have to wake up bud. something about making him get out of bed for church (not that he doesn't want to go, but that he just can't seem to wake up on his own if he knows i am home) kind of irritates me. don't worry... he knows i hate having to wake him up. this is not some sneaky passive aggressive way for me to vent my frustrations to him without having to actually do it. don't worry. i'm not that petty.

so on to my drab feelings for the day. sorry - this won't be a very peppy update. not much happened and all i am doing is feeling down and glum. although, i'm currently talking to my friend cara, who is always a delight to speak with. just the conversation and "company" is nice. bud is at a work meeting at the coffee shop. so i'm alone, again. boo. i'm glad he has a job, i am just sad that i am missing him so much. but this is life. this is just how it goes.

the past few days, i've been thinking of having my own place. i've been dreaming familiar dreams of a life in asia, a life with children wearing little hong kong school uniforms, riding on the mini bus and trains, speaking cantonese and english. i've been dreaming familiar dreams of bud and i, living and working in hong kong. providing spiritual help to our fellow brothers and sisters of the faith, in hong kong. whether it be in a church setting or just by bible study... i'm not quite sure. the thought of having lady friends who are cross-cultural whom i can speak to and enjoy life with as i do with my friends here in the states. to have true bonds with my chinese sisters and brothers.

these things i think about so frequently, that it is hard to wake up and realize i'm not there. its not that i don't love being back in maryland. i do. i love the area, i love the friends i do get to spend time with, i love that i'm near my parents and brothers. i love that for the first time in our life, while we are not wealthy or well off even, bud and i are providing for ourselves, working towards paying off debt with the goal of hong kong not too far in the future. (except, anything longer than a few months is too far in my heart, but i know its better to stick around here while i finish up at least my AA in school and bud potentially gets more experience in the teaching field.

so while i'm working and going to school and waiting for hong kong to become more of a reality, i feel like i'm pining for home. wishing i was able to ride the kcr/mtr and mini buses, wishing i was eating the food, walking everywhere, being immersed in a culture that might not be my own, but i love it and find it absolutely beautiful. i've never wanted to be anywhere so much in my entire life. oh to hear the sounds, smell the smells, see the sites... i know its cheesy but "live it love it... hong kong." oh i'll stop myself from going on because i could. and while i started writing this blog probably over an hour ago, i got side tracked looking at pictures and reminiscing. its so easy to do... but so hard at the same time. unfortunately, i must apologize. it would not strike me as odd if those of you who actually read my blog get tired of hearing me say i'm missing hong kong every now and then. i do apologize. i can't help myself from wanting to talk and think about hong kong. it just happens. it was such an amazing and big part of my life, even if it was only for 9+ months.

i'll leave you with this. sweet sound of the saints in another part of the world... yet singing songs that have been around for a long time, giving praise to God.

today i felt just like dorothy. while i didn't bump my head, dream about an alternate world where i was trying to get home, all the while, battling a wicked witch over ruby red slippers alongside a tin man, scarecrow, and lion... i did feel as if life was spinning me round and round. i woke up late and while that was nice, it was sad because i was alone. home alone with just the animal babies. i was half watching america's next top model (yes, i realize its dumb. its a lame show, i just get a kick out of the stuff they wear, the neat places they go, and seeing tyra banks say 'you wanna be on top!' at the beginning of the show) and doing homework where i got a frantic phone call from my friend katy. poor thing had to go pick up her husband at regan airport in dc/va. she didn't want to drive by herself so i went as moral support and as a second pair of eyes to help her take the right exits and everything. but like i said, everything happened quickly. when she called, she had to go right away. thus began the whirlwind of the day.

this will be a very quick update. i'm exhausted and i want to watch at least one show with bud before i pass out. (p.s. i'm loving that he is on a somewhat better sleeping schedule. when i wake up in the middle of the night, he's usually there and its lovely. end side note.

so the girls were really fun today. poor leila had a vomit everywhere. i mean everything! whatever was in her stomach, just came on out. she's got an ear infection and is on amoxicillin, so i am assuming that while its doing great things for her ear, i think it's reeking havoc on her poor little tummy. sweet little leila. other than that, we had a good time. bud came over after work, brought me dinner (sushi... om nom nom) and helped me put the girls to sleep. while i changed the diapers, he read the night time story. he helped tuck them in and everything. they went right to sleep, so it was a very successful night. they are getting so cute its ridiculous.

today i'm picking a recipe that i have not made yet. a friend of mine, wachipi, gave me this recipe. she gave me some healthy recipes and fitness tips as i am on the prowl for healthy food that tastes great and will help me lose weight. so she was a dear and sent me several recipes. this one i am looking to try as soon as i can get to the store and get all the ingredients. here ya go:


recipe: black bean burritos

ingredients
(inexpensive, very easy/quick, healthy, filling and yummy!)
1 Onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Small Red Beans
2 Cans Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chiles
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1 Cup Cooked Brown Rice
6 Whole Wheat Tortillas
Sour Cream/Cheese/Guacamole

method
1.     In a large skillet, saute the onion in the olive oil.

2.     Stir in the beans, tomatoes, and seasoning.

3.     Bring mixture to a boil.

4.     Heat on a low boil, stirring occasionally, until thickened and no longer juicy. Mix in cooked rice.

so i'm realizing a few things. i need a vacation. while i just went to california in september, it was not really a vacation for me. i did a lot of stuff and visited a lot. i didn't just veg. what i really want, is a vacation where i can lounge about, have a few drinks now and again, eat awesome food and just kind of be pampered. i can't tell you the last time i was pampered. probably when i went down to georgia and had my make-over by a lovely lovely person. the salon she works in does this paraffin wax hand massage thing, they get you drinks, rub your shoulders, do your hair, and basically keep you comfortable and relaxed the entire time. it was an amazing experience. how i wish i could do that again. sadly, it costs money and we don't have a large amount of money to just throw on vacations. i don't know what i'd do for a vacation though... i'd love to go to hawaii, but that most likely won't happen any time soon. bleh. oh well. thankfully though, bud gets to take a vacation this summer to visit family and go to a convention. i'm glad he gets to go and have fun. i'll be watching my nephews then, which is super exciting. and it will almost be like a vacation when juile and johnny come to visit in june. wow... that's a lot sooner than i thought. just over 4 months. wooo! oh but to be able to relax...

relax... back massages... room service... no time limits... no expectations... no demands... yes. i want that.


today, was a good day. the girls have been really good the past couple days. they have been extremely understanding in the area of me not really playing much with them. since i hurt my leg, it's not that easy to just hop on the floor and play. but it's nice to have them just come up and hug me and sit on my lap. leila has been running to me as soon as she see's me in the morning, thats so refreshing and sweet. it will be hard to leave them. i can feel myself slowly checking out, as most people do in a job they are leaving. but my heart is still connected to the girls. they have basically been like my kids for over a year now. i'm going to miss them. i'm going to miss teaching them things and watching them learn and experience life. i'm glad i can see them on friday evenings. that will help things.

i dyed my hair. it is now a nice shade of brown. all one color. no more blonde and brown roots. yep.

oh - side note: i need to crack down on some homework. need to get on the history stuff...

well, its time for sleep. going to go spend some time with the husband and try to get to sleep earlier than i have the past 2 nights. ugh. oh... someone help. i want this dang cough to go away. boo. hiss!

i had sushi today. it was amazing. it was a girly date with my friend katy. we had fun.

today, i went to work and while it wasn't bad, it was painful. you never realize how much children poke and hit your legs until one of yours is in a lot of pain. i think i nearly cried 57 times today because the girls either sat on the bruise on my leg, poked it, hit it, ran into it, etc. it was brutal. other than that, i've been coughing like a mad woman all day and thats made me quite tired. i took a nap at work today. thankfully, i don't think my boss really cares, as long as i don't sleep through the babies waking up. i wasn't fully asleep. i kept waking up every 10ish minutes anyway.

what else, nothing i suppose. tomorrow bud is off from work, so he and i get to spend time together. i'm VERY happy about that. since he started his new job, i haven't had much time with him. i miss him, quite a bit. hopefully tomorrow we can get some much needed lovey dovey time together. i just want to cuddle and relax with him. have i told you lately, how much i love him? i do. i adore him. he is my best friend. my love. the one whom i cherish.

this is kind of a whacky blog. take me for what i am! HOLY COW! i just realized its three things tuesday. must do that now! thankfully i remembered before i ended the blog. okay, here we go:

not much to say today. sorry. got a lot of mail which was nice. a few valentines and such. my finger hurts and i think its infected. my leg is still swollen and starting to turn purple. (picture tomorrow). i got to work at 7am and by 7:45, rhonda sent me home as she was going to stay home and she knew i was in pain. that was nice. unfortunately, its going to still be a pain to work tomorrow, if i don't feel significantly better. lets see what else. i watched a few movies, took a few short snoozes, had oatmeal and a sandwich. monster truck ate chocolate like a dork. and now i'm waiting for bud to come home from work. i don't think i will see him all week with his new job/work schedule. which is a huge bummer. so hopefully something works out and i will be able to see him. however, i'm really glad he loves his job. so much in fact, he agreed to work 10 hours today! go him. well.. that is all. oh no wait, josh groban announced a world tour. huzzah! i'm super stoked, can't wait to find out when he's coming to the area so i can see him. i think its going to end up being a double date with my parents. =D oh and i've done a bit of homework tonight. fun times. okay, that is all.

well - things blew up on the forum that i was discussing on yesterday regarding the chuck smith ordeal. i made some good points as did many others. my husband did too. it feels good to be involved in something i'm passionate about, again. it's been a while that i have felt i was standing up and speaking about something that matters. yes, i talk about God and theology - but i'm not as well versed with those things. i understand but i'm not able to discuss them as eloquently as my husband or other friends are. but i have been given a voice for the unborn and i pray that God will continue to nurture that and show me where to apply that to my day to day life.

okay - onto something else. i fell up the brick stairway outside of my house today. this is what my leg looks like now...

i have been debating for hours with people on bryan kemper's website regarding the chuck smith ordeal that i talked about yesterday. it's a huge thing and needs to be dealt with in a timely manner. we can not just sit on whats going on. so i went ahead and emailed pastor chuck. this is what i said:

my blog is not going to be about glow in the dark elephants. actually, it's going to be a reiteration of what i posted on my facebook today. but first, let me fill you in on the haps of today. i woke up and my throat was SO sore. actually, it's still kind of sore. boo! hiss! anyway, i went to work anyway. but man, (becky - here it comes!) my uvula was swollen and if i coughed or breathed out too hard, i could feel it move and it made it very difficult to talk for the first few hours of the day! haha, uvula. what a strange, strange word. it really sounds like i'm talking about something i shouldn't, but i'm not.

i'm tired, so i'm kind of in a silly mood. don't mind me. *ahem* hello... sidetracked much??? okay, okay, sorry.

so i went to work, got the girls settled downstairs, becky brought over brody (yes! i got to spend the whole day with brody!!!) because she had to go to work. (BECKY AND BUD GOT A SWEEEEEEET JOB! THEY WORK TOGETHER! THIS IS GOOD STUFF!) so the girls, brody, and i had a lot of fun playing. even richard decided to spend the day hanging out with me and the babies. that was a different experience, but i'm glad he got to spend some extra time with his girls. thats important. i'll never understand parents who don't want to soak up as much time as they can with their children, especially at this age... it goes by so quickly and once its gone, its gone. (yes... i do realize parents need a few hours breather from time to time, thats not what i'm talking about. i'm talking about the ones that work 40+ hours a week, go out on the weekends, etc.

so anyway, it was a fun day at work. brody is a fun little guy to hang out with. he has quite the personality and he talks so much! i just love him. i hope i get to spend more time with him. but man, it was kind of difficult at times because it made my longing for a baby grow even more. i so want a little one. i really want a little boy of my own. anywho - after work, brody and i got in the car and headed to the mall to meet up with becky and bud. we hung out at the mall a bit, had some food, and went our separate ways. when we got home, we talked to his parents on skype for about an hour and that was a lot of fun. i love and miss them so much. sometimes i think to myself, i miss california. but then i kind of rethink it. lots of reasons to rethink it. but thats another story. but i do miss my friends and family. thats for dang sure.

i talked to my brother matt on the phone for a few minutes. i watched a video of him dancing and that was a lot of fun. i love watching him dance and enjoying life. i wish i got to see him more often. its hard to not see him. maybe at some point, i'll be able to get down to georgia and see him!

now we're here and i'm actually getting to the point of what i wanted to write about. i will just copy and paste what is on my facebook. its important to talk about and get attention brought to the topic. pastor chuck, founder of calvary chapel is being corrected by operation rescue, myself, and others... there is no excuse and it is sad to see that, instead of retracting and repenting, so far it seems as if he is only trying to cover his mistake... (here's the link to operation rescue's article about this situation). i'll probably get in trouble for posting this, but it's not the first time i've been involved in controversy, and now that operation rescue has spoken out about it, it's public knowledge. i know matthew 18 says to go to your brother first to rebuke him, but what are the chances of getting a personal audience with chuck smith? most calvary pastors don't have that kind of access, and i'm just a lowly servant. so here goes. i've already responded to this on another thread.

pastor chuck was wrong; there's no other way to say it.

1. he justified taking this baby's life on the basis of extenuating circumstances. how many other young women who were listening will now find justification for an abortion because they think ...their circumstance is extenuating? (i can't afford to feed a child..... it will bring too much complication to my life....)

2. he justified sin. he essentially told the woman to sin this time and then go and sin no more. God will forgive you. true, God will forgive, but where does he get off telling someone it's OK to sin?

3. he discounted the ability of God to perform a miracle. he essentially told the woman in not quite these words, "God isn't going to help you here so take matters into your own hands."

4. if the baby is not viable then it will not live, period. God certainly can take care of that. we have no right to preempt His sovereignty.

5. chuck said it's OK to get an abortion at this early stage of the pregnancy. how does he know how far along in pregnancy she was? she could easily have been half-way into her full 40 week term, which is not "early" in the pregnancy. but regardless, no abortion, no matter how far along in the pregnancy, can be justified.

here is the original broadcast. The call is near the end of the hour (about 50 minutes). It's the last call Chuck and Don take. go here.

well... thats it in a nutshell. there is plenty more i could say, but i just wanted to get this out there and make sure i said my peace on my blog. i plan to write an email and i hope you will to. as its important to get this taken care of. because, if this is not corrected, we can expect to see more bloodshed by the hand of abortion, because someone as well known and respected, like chuck smith, gave the okay... blah.

i'm off... loooooooong blog. sorry! if you got through this i'm proud of you. i'm going to hang out with bud a bit and then hit the hay. we are both super tired and he has work tomorrow and i have a haircut in the morning! i'll post pictures of whatever i decide on getting. i think i'm going in and saying "i want something different but i want to keep it long" haha. we'll see what happens! oh here... let me leave you with a random picture!

the recipe i've picked for today, is brand new for me, so i haven't really fine tuned the measurements of each ingredient. but it was magnifique, nonetheless! i was home alone tonight and needed to figure out something to eat, while being too tired to cook anything elaborate. i realized i had collard greens in the fridge and i'm trying to get better at eating my fresh produce before it goes bad. (while i am typing this, i think i have salad fixings beginning to rot... dangit.) before i continue, let me preface this recipe by saying: 6 months ago, i had never had a collard green in my life. i always heard that they were supposed to be cooked with lots of greasy pork and fried and, well, basically cooked in a way that no nutritional value was left. but i was told to try it by steaming it and dressing it with lemon, garlic, and soy sauce. i was hooked after that. but tonight... i wanted something a little different. so i took out my collard greens and thought... yes - this can be a meal. it is going to be... my meal. so here ya go. try it! its simple.

ingredients
1 bunch of collard greens (be aware that they start off big but they do cook down quite a bit)
2 cloves of garlic
a few slices of deli turkey
half a lemon
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp butter (you can use a little more if you really want to... i am on a calorie strict diet right now...)
water to boil with

method
1.     cut off the stems and remove the spine of the collard greens
2.     stack collard leaves and cut them into strips width wise
3.     place them in salted boiling water
4.     cook for 15 minutes or until desired softness is achieved
5.     once done, drain in a colander and press out remaining water

while your collards are cooking, you can crush/mince your garlic clove and chop up your turkey slices into little squares

6.     melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat
7.     add garlic and turkey to the skillet
8.     once garlic and turkey are slightly browned, added the collards and soy sauce
9.     heat through, salt and pepper to taste.
10.   serve with rice or eat by itself!

more homework done. was cleared to move onto the second part of my history class. i need to kind of put that in high gear. need to do some research on a few topics and include myself on the discussion boards to get credit. :) doing well in english too. i had to take a dumb tutorial/quiz on plagiarism and whatnot. it was annoying. lets see... what else happened today or whats on my mind... hmm... well at work the babies are sick. :( they are going to the doctors again tomorrow. they've had this gnarly chest/head cold for 2 weeks now. it went away and came back. i'm afraid leila has an ear infection, poor thing. or it could just be pressure from her sinuses being so clogged. i feel bad for the babies when they cry because they feel bad, because there is only so much you can do to help, and then you feel helpless after that. a sick baby is up there on the charts of horrible things.

oh so - i was using this website/app thing on my iPhone called "lose it" but i think i've graduated to sparkpeople. if you don't know what it is, its kind of like a social networking site for people who are actively trying to lose weight and have a healthy living style. i have been a member since like 2009, unfortunately, i never got into it like i probably should have. my dear friend racheal hope is a member and has encouraged me to use it and really dig into it, so i have. and so far i am loving it! i track my food (everything i put into my body), it counts my calories, gives me ideas on what i can eat for a meal or snack, gives me pointers on how to do well... its like a whole different world on this website. if you're looking to lose weight and make healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle, consider joining! go here. find me on there, under christinjoy. :)

i am going to try and get my hair done soon... probably dye it myself, but i want to get it trimmed... must ask the husband if its okay. these are the ideas i'm going for... (no i'm not dying my hair blonde like hillary duff). which do you like? remember, it has to be able to go curly... because well, my hair is almost like a chia pet!





umm... i guess thats all. i need to do some exercise and clean up a bit before i get to bed. i need to get to bed earlier today, last night i slept like crap. it was ridiculous. i don't think i actually got to bed until 1:30am. i was in one of those phases where technically you're asleep, but your mind is thinking so much and its almost as if you're awake and can hear everything going on around you. so weird. then i woke up every hour or 2 the rest of the night. so hopefully once i get in my exercise for the night and clean up, i'll be ready for sleep and ready to pass right out. hehe. well, thats all. sorry this blog is kind of a ramblefest. i'm just full of stuff to think of and my brain is going going going. i'm typing as fast as i think. or almost. hehe. okay, i'm done. goodnight... bye!

oh hi, here are three things i love! (please know that what i mention is in no particular order, its just what i feel like posting about at the moment...)