songbird says stuff...

i love this show... the acting is always awful but the stories are so unreal and intense. i'm going to bed soon so this won't be long. work was super fun... again. :) i'm getting spoiled by the joy that these two little boys bring me. i love it when carter just comes up to me and says "i love you so much, aunt christin". its the best feeling in the world! oh the joys of family and all that it entails!

i'm really tired so i think i'm going to go to bed early. stopped off at the mall to talk to bud for a bit. i wasn't going to but it had been raining a little and people were driving like jerks, so i thought it best to get off the road for a bit. i think that was a good decision as i heard sirens blaring as i walked into the mall. he made me a delicious oreo shake... amazing!

tomorrow will be a busy day. we have a class with our friends ken and debbie. and we always talk and discuss and talk and discuss way too long. i'm going to have to try and remember to keep it short as i don't want to go to bed too late. thankfully we are so close to their house now, if we left their house at 9:15 we would be home by 9:18! heck yes! hehe.

i'm done my tests for my history class, now i just have one more essay for the last module. then i will weigh in on discussion board conversation and hopefully get a paper written up in the next few weeks. this weekend will be stressful in regards to homework as i have to write a couple essay papers for english. oh speaking of my english class... i got a 92.5% on my illegal immigration research project! my teacher said that she really enjoyed my paper, that it was well written and after a few emails back and forth between the two of us, she feels that i could tutor another student in the way of research paper and citation and that students like me make her remember why she loves teaching. :) that felt really really good. hopefully i can keep up the good work.

saturday i will have to do a lot of homework. but i also have my nephew carters birthday party! i'll have to make an appearance but won't be able to stay too long. i also have to get my dress on sunday for katie's wedding! so its just weekend after weekend i have SO much to do. i also need to write up a speech for the wedding as well. i'm the matron of honor! :) i don't do speeches well but hopefully i can write something that is loving and meaningful. something that will make her happy and bless her.

man - bud and i were looking at our schedule for the month of april... it hasn't even started and we already have SO much to do. between the wedding, rehearsal dinner, me getting my dress (and maybe having the need to get it fitted... eek), doctor's appointments, work, school (coming to close... just a few more weeks left), our anniversary, carter's birthday party, oh man. next weekend (not this one... next one) will be like my only weekend OFF! wow. oh well... at least most if not all of it is good and worth it and going to be fun. :) yep yep yep. i guess that is all. i'm going to bed. goodnight!

here are a few random photo from my pics on my comp-tar!

so i was going to switch days and do tasty tuesday treats and three things thursday but i think, at least for this week, i will stay with it. we'll see if my husband keeps bugging me to change it. hehe.

here is this weeks three things i love!

i had a great weekend! oh what a joy it was, truly. so it started with no work on friday night... and during the day friday - i had my first day watching my nephews. it was lovely! oh i'm so overjoyed by the fact that i get to watch them. after "work" i went to the dollar tree and got a few items to decorate kate's bridal shower with and stuff. i got most of my stuff together, went out to dinner with the husband and had an early night. yeah... i went to bed at like 10 or something on a friday!

saturday - it started all wrong and i was so afraid that it would set the tone for the day. thank God it did not. what happened? well let me explain! i woke up and the toilet was clogged... we didn't have a plunger and i couldn't get a hold of my landlord/friend right away so i just decided to just go and get a plunger. i did that, stopped by the post office and there was nothing there (i'm expecting medicine). when i got home, bud had already left for work so i was left with the joys of the broken pot... so i tried and tried to fix the toilet. (let me say that it was clogged when we woke up... we didn't do anything to cause it to be like that... it was a fluke! oh and also - i had to pee so bad and i was an idiot for not going at the kmart when i was there getting the plunger... i was miserable). so i called my parents, they said come over and keep trying to get in touch with lindsay. finally i got in touch with lindz and was able to talk to her about it. we both decided to just sit and see if it would work itself out as that has happened before.

so i went to my parents house, took a shower, used the toilet, put on make-up and what happens... i realize oh crap, i forgot the party favors! doh'! so i race all the way back to my house and get the favors and zoom over to katie's mom's house. thankfully, things were pretty much set up. all that was needed was what i was bringing and what liz brought. we got it all set up and figured out. kate showed up and the guests showed up. we had a really good time. heard an embarrassing story about kate, witnessed an embarrassing moment of kate's (poor thing got curry powder in her eyes... yeeeeah...), got to bless her with yummy recipes and lots of laughs! it was nice seeing everything i had been envisioning come to fruition and with much success! she had a great time and that was all i wanted. so after the shower, we decided to all go home and get freshened up for the evening.

i went home... worked on the toilet and to no avail it was still busted. finally - i kind of had a fit and plunged to my wits end and it finally... fixed! hooray! fixed up my make-up a bit and finally had a moment to relax.

so afterwards, kate and the girls came to get me and we all went out to fin's for dinner. that place is amazing... a bit on the expensive side (we eat cheap in the newman household) but so good. had a try of a great sushi roll, had steak, chicken and crab. it was awesome. had champagne and that was good too! following dinner we went out for the big bash at cancun cantina. while i had some reservations on whether or not i would enjoy myself at a night club (i'm not really the night club type) - i really did have a great time! seeing kate running around, having some drinks, dancing, singing, and enjoying herself was really the cherry on top of it all. but i had fun myself. i got to hang out with some really fun people and then my husband joined and hung out too! hooray! it was a lot of fun. he is a wonderful person, that husband of mine. :) :) got a few amazing pictures from that night!

so sorry. i have no time to update right now. :( i have to go to bed - but this weekend was epic and i will give you a play by play tomorrow i promise! love to you all! <3

so tomorrow is the day that will last forever! but i'm excited for it. so much in fact that i'm going to bed early... okay - i'm not going to bed early just because i'm excited for tomorrow. i'm going to bed because i'm exhausted. i'm not used to getting up an hour earlier and working an hour earlier. but let me tell you - i had an amazing time watching my nephews! i love watching the little one and snuggling with him on and off all day and playing trucks and other fun games with the older one. oh carter and evan - aunt christin loves you and is excited to see you on monday!

yes. my first day watching my nephews was a hit and i think they did well, as did i. huzzah.

after work i visited becky, walked out with bud (he was getting off work at the time), and went to the dollar tree to get a few more items for katie's party tomorrow. :) fun fun stuff. i hope it works out and all is fun and enjoyed by all.

well i am exhausted and need to get in bed before i fall asleep writing this and continue to drool on my shirt. yeah... i fell asleep on the couch and ended up drooling on my shirt. awesome. oh and fyi - bud and i went to the mexican restaurant up the street and it was "meh." i didn't have high hopes, so at least i wasn't terribly disappointed. and like i told bud, it can't be worse then the "mexican food" we had in hong kong. ooooh man.

okay my lovely friends and readers and loved ones and loverlies! enjoy this picture of me with my boys today!

here is an easy recipe for onion dip for your plain potato chips!

recipe: onion dip

ingredients
onion soup mix (lipton is the best)
16 oz jar of sour cream

method
1.     take 1 onion soup packet and pour it into sour cream
2.     stir well, making sure that it all gets incorporated into the sour cream evenly

serve and enjoy with chips!

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sorry - busy day and i have to get to bed soon so i am just giving you the easiest of easy recipes today. i promise next week i will get something a little more interesting. maybe i'll do the irish soda bread that i made this past week. it was so yummy! anyway - today was busy... again. woke up super early, went to the doctor and that was nice. we are upping my dosage of metformin to see if that helps to regulate my period. who knows at this point. crap... i didn't call the obgyn and schedule an appointment. must remember to do that tomorrow. anyway - afterward i got home, took a short little nap after breakfast. woke up and attempted to do some homework. got sidetracked when my dear friend katy invited me to go to target. i can't pass up a trip to target with a friend... its just impossible. hah. thats okay, got some make-up for this weekend's festivities and that was nice. we'll see how i do at putting it on. so after target, returned an item to fashion bug, got my license copy for my college records, and came home. spent some time talking to my husband, finished my homework, and had dinner. watched some tv and checked my english class to see if i had received a grade on the paper i wrote. and while i didn't get a grade, i did get a response.

apparently while the paper was well written (thats good), i guess i flubbed on the sources... unfortunately this broke my heart. i've been doing so well in this class and my history class that it sucked hearing that i screwed up on an area. i tried so hard to get it all done properly. i don't know why it affected me so much but it did. brought me to tears and whatnot. lame, i know. but i just want to do well. i have a hard enough time learning as is... i don't know why but i do. so it was just disheartening to see all the red and mistakes i made. i have to track changes and resubmit it to her by 4/1. so i guess at least i can do that. i hope i still get a good grade. i'm really trying hard to get an a in my class.

okay well thats that. i need to go shower and get ready for bed. goodnight to you all. tomorrow is my first day to watch my nephews! so exciting. not sure what we will do... haven't thought about it to be honest. but i'm sure whatever we do, it will be fun. love to you all. goodnight.

so yesterday i failed to do three things tuesday... i apologize. i had asked my husband to do it with three things he loves/likes and while he said he would do it, he forgot. so double fail. double double fail.

today was my last day at work. the girls were super cute today and we had a good time. i am going to miss them heaps, but glad i can see them on occasion. super excited to see my nephews everyday! i love my family and i'm excited that i can not only just be a help to them, but that they can help me and we can be apart of one another's life. if that makes sense. i posted some pictures of me and the girls today on my facebook, but i think i'll post them here too. since it was my last day, i really wanted some nice pictures with them. thankfully they were both cooperative and we ended up with some nice pictures! incoming: lots of cuteness!

so work was fun today. took the girls out to play on the swings after their nap and that was fun. tomorrow is my last official day and i'm not sure how to feel about it. its fun how you can want something so badly and then when it comes - its still bitter sweet. i'm excited to be working for my brother, to be watching my amazing nephews, to not be in the same situation that i have been in with my employer, but i'm going to miss the girls so much. i love them and i love watching them grow and learn new things. they are really starting to pick up on talking now and its starting to get so fun. sadly i will miss out on a lot of it. i hope to stay in touch with them and not - not be apart of their life. *sigh* life is so frustrating sometimes.

so i went to the mall after work today. spent some time with bex and the hubs. had dinner with him. got me some shoes for katie's wedding! at least thats out of the way. thats one more thing i can take off the list of things to do. i think things will start to generally slow down after this weekend. the parties are creeping up on me and i'm realizing there is so much i need to do. ahh! i'm sure it will work out. the other bridesmaids are helping out a lot too, so that is helpful! hooray!

guess what... the cat is sitting in front of my computer screen again. what else is new. ;-P

umm... i think i may skip watching teen mom tonight and go to bed early. i'm so sleeeeeepy. who knows. knowing me i will get sucked in. we will see. *yawn*

hmm... what else. what else. nothing really - not very much to talk about and i'm kind of over being on the computer. OH i did finish the module i was working on for my history class. finished 4 quizzes tonight. will hopefully get the essay done tomorrow night. that will leave me with one more module, a paper, and discussion board posts. so not that much. and then i'll get my english stuff worked out too. okay. that is all. goooooodnight.

random picture from my computer:

so i had my hsg today. it wasn't that bad and the results (while i didn't receive a very detailed result - i have to wait to meet with my OBGYN for that) were not awful. woke up, took a shower and bud was still feeling poorly - so i headed out alone. sad he didn't come, but i was only there for a half hour, no real point for him to come i suppose. it all worked out. anyway, once i got there, filled out some forms and paid the amount i was quoted from my case worker. you see, because of my endometriosis, i don't qualify for health insurance unless i plan to pay $600 a month! yeah, i am okay with paying almost what i pay in rent for health insurance each month... and still have to pay copays on doctor's visits and medication. right. whatever. i'm not bitter. lets continue. i was kind of concerned that i'd be charged more than what my lady said i'd have to pay because it seems that while certain medical offices have a contract with the anne arundel county medical assistance group i am with, they don't seem to do much business with them or know much about them. i'm not complaining really, i'm glad they exist because there is no way i could be getting all the help i'm getting if REACH did not exist.

so they took me back to get the procedure done. got undressed, put on a handy dandy gown that actually covered all of me and did not leave my bum to be seen by all of creation. that was nice. the procedure, once they got started, took all of 3-5 minutes. it was kind of painful at parts, especially when she inflated the balloon inside my uterus and when she injected a large amount of dye into one side of my fallopian tubes. it seems like one side hurt more than the other and now that i'm thinking back from what i saw on the screen, thats the side that had the abnormality. oh yeah... let me explain the brief result i got. my tubes are not blocked and i think my uterus is shaped nicely. (hooray, i have a nice uterus! or so i think... - who gets excited about something like that? me... oh dear) however, they did find what they think might be a fibroid. which i guess is a benign tumor that can either cause some troubles or can be completely harmless. it was interesting to look at the x-ray. you could see where the dye spilled out but there was a dark spot on one side right above where my tubes were... she said the dye spilled out of my tubes nicely but there seems to be something on one side. so i guess they will look at it better and make a final judgement or something. who knows what that means... no seriously. if you or anyone know about fibroids, maybe you could tell me. i read a lot about it online today but i see a lot of if its this kind you're fine, if its another it can cause weight gain and problems, if its the other kind you may have fertility issues. and it IS possible to have all three kinds. weird.

long paragraph. i apologize.

so they were done and i was free to go, once they told me to look out for any sort of infection or bad side-effects. thankfully, aside from some minor cramping and being tired for most of the day, i am fine. once i left, i went to the store and got some stuff to make cream chipped beef. yum! it turned out okay, not as good as mom's... i just need to practice. after i ate, i fell asleep on the couch for an hour or so. then i forced myself to actually get my history homework done. thankfully it didn't take as long as i had thought it would. if i get cleared of this module today, i can work on the next 2 and hopefully be done with that part of the class! that would be nice. then i will only have to do a few posts on the discussion boards and write a paper. oh and my english class is on spring break this week, so thats nice. but i do need to read some more in my book. i have homework due on monday or tuesday of next week for that. (i'm only telling you this stuff because it helps me to remember to do stuff! haha)

after homework i watched a bit of trauma in the er on tv, called my mom and she and i went shopping. i got a new shirt for kate's shinding this weekend. i hope it is successful, that she is happy and that people have fun. i'm not a party planner and i'm not good at making things run smoothly during a party... so yeah. friday i will be running around like a crazy woman getting last minute things i know it! but at least i got a nice shirt! it looks nice AND its a size smaller than i normally get. thats always encouraging. after hanging out with my mom, i went and helped bud with the laundry and we ended up hanging out with bex and brody for a little while at the laundromat. i just love them. afterwards, we came home, i watched dancing with the stars - voted for ralph macchio and now i'm updating this. oh and i replied to an email from my history teacher. oh and monster truck got a new edison wisewings... compliments to dad newman! :)



now that you know ALL of what i did today, i hope you enjoyed reliving my day with me. work tomorrow so i need to sleep. love to you all. thanks to those of you who were thinking of me and praying for me. it was greatly appreciated and i felt it. i wasn't nearly as nervous or as uncomfortable as i thought i would have been. so good stuff. goooooodnight.

if one remembers to turn on the light.

so today - almost didn't make it to church but i did! bud, however did not. he was not feeling well. i think the change of seasons and being tired from working so much is causing him to get run down. i went to church, had a good chat with my dear friend debbie, played with her little boy just a bit and talked with her daughter. had a nice chat with her hubby, ken. they are good people. very lovely and amazing people.

came home, ate food and crashed on the couch for like an hour. bud got up and we went to the mall. i just wanted to see if there were any clearance sales for an outfit for this upcoming weekend. its the weekend of katie's bridal shower and "bachelorette" party. it should be fun. chaotic, but fun. anyway, to no avail, no clearance items that were cheap enough to warrant buying.

tomorrow i go for my procedure/xray. i'm actually kind of nervous. i know people say its not that bad, but i'm nervous. i'm not sure if i'm more nervous about the possible outcome or the pain of the procedure. maybe i'm nervous about both. so if you think of me, please pray.

been watching harry potter all weekend as its been on tv. man i love these movies. so good. currently order of the phoenix is on and serious black just got zapped with an avada kadavra. :( sad times. poor harry - no family left. just his friends that consider him family. anyway - gonna finish this movie and go to bed. gotta wake up around 7:50ish to take a shower and get ready to go to the radiologist. here is a neat harry potter picture. that is all. goodnight. love you.

bud brought me home a chai tea latte and chocolate. he fell going up the stairs when he got home... just like i did... and spilled some of it. thankfully he didn't get as hurt as i did. but how sweet... he brought me home chocolate and chai. i love him.

got a letter from maggie klonning today! i saw a letter in the mail that had the notorious red and blue stripes along the edges and knew it was from a different country. i hoped and wished it was for us... and it was! hooray! she was writing from hong kong, although she is married and living in germany now. if you think of her, pray for her missionary role and her role as a wife to a german man. she is learning german and has a lot on her plate, but God brought her to germany, to the life she is in, and we know that He is faithful and willing to provide and guide and take care of her. :) i love you, maggie. i miss you a lot!

tasty tasty thursday treats! mmmm!

today i'm going to teach you how to make... a hot toddy! i'm in the mood for one and while i won't be drinking one, i am still wanting one.

recipe: hot toddy


ingredients
black tea
water
good irish whiskey (i recommend jameson... its really good and not extremely expensive)
honey
lemon

method
1.     boil water (depends on how big of a mug you plan to use!)
2.     put honey in bottom of cup you will be drinking from (i just coat the bottom, use less or more, all depends on how sweet you want your drink)
3.     add 2 ounces of whiskey to cup with honey (you can put more if you want a stronger drink)
4.     squeeze lemon into cup
5.     pour hot water into cup and steep tea for 3-5 minutes
6.     add lemon slice
7.     stir together

optional: you can add a cinnamon stick to your tea (i don't, i prefer the honey/lemon combo!)


enjoy! take your nice and relaxing tea to the next level by adding the warming goodness that is whiskey! haha. i hope you enjoy! please drink responsibly!

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today work was horrendous the first half and much better the second half. bud and i went to visit becky at the mall and got stuck in awful traffic on 50 heading towards annapolis. i learn how much i distaste driving when that kind of stuff happens. not because i hate waiting... sure its an inconvenience but whatever... my anger stems from the jerks who decide to drive on the shoulder to get ahead thus prolonging the wait to get anywhere because they can't just wait their turn. like tonight... people were doing that and there was nowhere  for any of us to go. i started yelling at them and bud had to tell me to calm down. i was just so over it because really... there are 3 ambulances, 2 firetrucks, 3-4 state troopers... we're not going anywhere and who knows if its a legitimate like fatality of an accident. pretty sure whoever was in the accident is having a much worse time then you are. ugh. perspective people.

tomorrow i work my last ridiculously long shift for rhonda... wow. i'll do some fridays for her in the future so i can see the girls and get extra cash - but tomorrow is my last double shift there. huzzah! k. going to bed. so tired. going to bed at midnight last night was a huge mistake. goodnight all. love to you.

so here are three things i love!

so here are three things i love!

just letting you know i'll write a full update tomorrow. i'm a bit too tired and over stimulated from the nights events, a scary drive home, and being... well... tired. so goodnight.

so as i posted earlier, i was wicked sick yesterday. today i am still not 100% but glad to not be feeling the need to spend the entire day in the bathroom. don't worry - no details will be given. anyway - i got up around noon, which is abnormal for me, i normally can't sleep past 9:30 or 10. its also odd, considering i slept between the hours of 1-6pm yesterday, went to bed at 10:30, slept through the night (only getting up once to use the toilet), and then woke up at noon. if you know me at all, even when i'm sick, i cannot sleep like that. i just lay there, watching tv, helpless and sad. yesterday i laid there helpless and sad... but most of it was while sleeping. but i think it really helped me to conquer most of whatever it was, quickly. so thats that.

then i was dumb and got into an argument with my husband over food and youtube videos. no details. things will be fine. it was just dumb. so it kind of set the tone for the rest of the day.

then i got online to check my school work and to see if by chance my research paper had been graded. no dice. however, i noticed... holy crap you have to read the first two chapters of a high wind in jamaica and be able to write about one of two topics! oh and its due today. crap. so i tried to read. and i tried some more to read. i ate lunch. tried to read some more. by around 6:30 i finally got through the first chapter and thankfully, had enough to go by to at least get the homework done! so i did the homework and will now continue to read the chapters. i have to get through chapter 4 by thursday... lets hope i get through it. at first it was a difficult read as the author writes in a way that i just don't particularly care for, he is very ironic and while i don't mind a bit of irony, i don't like reading a book like that. at least not this one. so i powered through and will continue to do so. thankfully by the end of the first chapter, things started to get a little more interesting. i hope it continues to get better. we'll see.



oh! i also scheduled my appointment to get my hysterosalpingogram done! thats the procedure where they insert dye into my uterus and fallopian tubes to see if there are any malformations or blockages. i get that done on monday at 9am. if you think of me, pray that all goes well!

so now its 8:45 and i need to get to bed soon but i'm also hungry. all i've eaten today was half a sandwich from subway. maybe i'll make some oatmeal and call it a night. love to you all. goodnight!

this is a late post - i was wicked sick yesterday so i did nothing but sleep and watch tv while intermittently throwing up and all sorts of wonderful nonsense that comes along with tummy sickness. sorry. will post a real update later tonight.
<3

so i had a lot to say about my fun day but i am not up to writing anymore. went to my brothers and had delicious food, had a good time talking to my brother, nephew, sister-in-law, and husband. talked about logistics and schedules for the boys. taking over mar 25. good stuff. went to a movie, it was really good. went to the pobox and got a sweet picture of zaedyn... he's 1 year old! holy crap time flies. got a stupid letter from aacc saying that because i changed my address to a pobox, i have to prove that i live in anne arundel county... i swear they just like to push paperwork. couldn't they just ask me... why did you change your address? i did not change my place of residency, i just want my dang mail to go to the pobox. so dumb. i hate all this crap. its stuff like this... all the logistics and irritating things you have to do that make me want to give up. tomorrow is homework day. i'm going to bed. goodnight.

all i can think to say is wow. life is a funny thing. at one moment you can be completely upset or frustrated or even complaining about the lamest things. and then... disaster strikes... real disaster. in the wake of the devastation thats happened in japan, i feel silly even thinking of things that make me sad or upset. i made a video this morning with just my initial thoughts...

it's all about perspective. i complained last night that i couldn't fall asleep, that i was tired but couldn't get myself to fall asleep, no matter what. then when i wake up... i see the images of japan literally being swept away by the tsunami caused by the category 8.9 earthquake - i can not complain about my little problem of insomnia. perspective. i was safe, warm, and comfortable in my bed. my dog was curled up next to me, my husband was safe and sound in the room next to me working on videos. my cat was asleep on the couch. my family were all safe and sound in their homes. and people in japan were literally running for their lives, wondering if they would ever see loved ones again, people were losing their lives, their livelihood. so what... i had insomnia for the second night in a row. japan will probably not really sleep for at least the next year as they deal with the aftermath.

this all brings me back to knowing that God is in control and if He cares about the smallest of sparrows, i can trust that He is in control and cares and loves His children. its easy to ask God... "why do you allow this to happen" and really the question should be... "God i see that you allowed this to happen, how can i help! where do you want me in regards to this tragedy?" its easy to blame God and say "you caused this" - but what our response should be is "God, i don't understand but i trust that You are going to receive all the glory and do mighty works through this."

i am heartbroken for the people of japan. all day i was checking updates, watching videos, praying, and wondering for the people in japan and the other parts of the world who will most likely be affected due to tsunamis caused by the earthquake. my heart's home is asia (more specifically - hong kong). when we lived there i met people of all nationalities, i had friends who were from japan, who had a heart to move to japan, friends who lived there (but are now in australia). so while my heart longs to be in hong kong... i still love and care for the people of japan. i think about them. i want to visit there. God please show mercy. please pour down your grace. please save people's lives and souls. receive the Glory. only you can make sense of such a mess of a situation. all i can do is pray with my hands open and ask you to do what you are going to do. please multiply the donation i gave to red cross today... please let people be generous in their giving. please help the united states people to see that, while this happened almost a world away, they are still people, citizens of the human race, moms, dads, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters. they are important to this world, they are precious. they are valuable.

please. pray for japan. donate if you can. even a little $10 donation will help. it all adds up.



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and while my day is not nearly as important to talk about... i think i will real quick. just because. went to work, played with the babies. went to the mall. had dinner with the husband. he had an important appointment today. we hung out, talked. then i came home. played sims. looked at stuff on japan. watched degrassi. now i'm here. goodnight.

today i'm doing another easy recipe. i've made this a few times and it is always delicious!

recipe: chicken tacos


ingredients
2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
1 packet of taco seasoning (we use whatever we can find)
enough water to cover
taco shells or soft tortillas
tomato
lettuce
onion
cheddar cheese
sour cream

other items needed
crock pot

method
1.     place chicken in crock pot
2.     pour taco seasoning over chicken
3.     pour enough water to cover the chicken
4.     cook low and slow for 6-8 hours (if on high - 4 hours)
5.     when cooked, take 2 forks and shred the chicken while still in the sauce
6.     chop tomato, onion, and lettuce
7.     take tortilla or taco, place chicken, and other ingredients inside. ENJOY!

you can make mexican rice to go along with this... but i don't have the recipe on hand right now and its getting late. but any kind of mexican rice would be good! :)

when its in the crock pot, it should look something like this~! can we say yummy!





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life has been uber crazy as of late. i keep telling myself, things will calm down soon, life will make sense soon, God will give you clarity soon. and i know its all true. and i'm not really that stressed, i'm just tired. and i'm homesick. and i'm missing having children of my own. so its not just that my life is crazy busy - my mind is crazy busy as well. i don't know. i guess i'll just go to bed now. it'd be the first time i was in bed before 10 in weeks! lets try and make this happen. goodnight all. love to you!

so i spent two thirds of my day working on my paper. it is finished and even without my mighty english teacher of a husbands critique, i think it turned out pretty good. i am sure he'll find lots of things to fix and what not, but i think i got my point across clearly and tied each thought together with good transitions! hopefully i get an a!

i've been listening to the harry potter station on my pandora queue and its awesome. it plays all sorts of soundtrack songs and i love it! its neat to hear music and be able to pick out what show or movie its from, what scene it is in, and do that all without looking at pandora! its a neat little thing i am able to do... i've always had a good ear for music and its nice to see that its still there. i'd love to get back into playing music, the piano and such - but i'd like to learn how to do it properly and not cheat and learn everything by memory and by ear. maybe one day i'll be able to get some lessons. but there is no point in doing that when i don't have a piano or keyboard to practice on. we'll see. i still want bud to get me a panflute... one day i'll get one and make amazing music on it!

tonight i watched josh groban on tinychat.com and it was a lot of fun. he is so quirky and funny. i love it! i'm getting really excited to see him this july!

you know what else is in july? harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2! oh its so exciting! bitter sweet though, since it will be the last movie. and although i don't know everything, i know a lot of people die. please don't spoil it for me. i've refused to read the last book because i want to be surprised and experience first on the screen. sure, that probably makes me backwards, but meh.

bud is probably on his way home now and i can't wait to see him. i want to kiss him and hold him until i fall asleep. i guess that is all... i need to get ready for bed as i have to make it to work tomorrow. i ended up staying home today because i really was just not feeling 100% and i don't want to push myself while i'm overly tired and sick anyway. i eventually need to squeeze in some exercise but its so difficult lately. because i've been so busy with work (which has been absolutely chaotic because the girls have been sick for literally a month and i have to deal with that everyday), trying to keep this cold at bay, and dealing with doctors appointments and homework - so i've been exhausted by the time i'm able to just sit and relax. hopefully i am able to relax soon. i can't wait for saturday! lets see... any last minute thoughts... not now i suppose. i guess i'll leave you with a random picture from my hard drive!

i remembered today! today is three things tuesday and i want to tell you three things that i love! lets start with:

i don't talk enough about the blessing that is my puppy dog, monster truck! at this moment she is sitting on my lap and i am trying to write this blog. its not very easy. (she hopped down - i guess i can continue writing now.)

so back to monster truck. she is probably the sweetest dog anybody will ever meet. we inherited her from a family in hong kong, so naturally we brought her back with us when we moved back. (same with our cat, except we got her from a lady who was giving them away as she found a litter of kittens in tst park). when we first got her, she was, well... not trained to our liking. we worked on her, loved her, spoiled her, and made her our own.  i can still remember to this day how bud did not want to keep her - i can't really blame him. she was your typical yapping tiny dog. thankfully, he grew to love her just as much as i did, the moment i set eyes on her. it was as if she was there, specifically for me. her little face is remarkable, she has a personality that is exciting and loving, hyper yet sweet. she can be spastic but can also cuddle and want to be held like a little baby. she is the most perfect perfect pup. and we love her so much.

last year we almost lost her... twice. within a week! it was absolutely horrible. first - she got loose on halloween night. she is a chocolate fiend and while dad newman was giving out chocolate, i'm assuming she got out and followed some kids, hoping she would be fed some tasty treats! well... she wandered too far and didn't know how to get home. and it was dark, so all things were not in her favor. she managed to get about 4 blocks away! when bud and i came home, i think we were at a wedding or something, dad told us she was gone. i instantly started walking down the street calling her name, tears streaming from my face. she had been gone about 2 hours or so. we thought she was gone. i ran in the house, put out a lookout for friends in the area, put out a txt message to my friends asking them to pray that we'd find her, and sat there and cried. bud and his dad went out throughout the neighborhood calling her name. bud would do the "special whistle" we have for her and eventually... he heard her bark. just once. and he knew instantly that it was her! just one bark! he knew her by her voice! same for monster! you see - bud's dad had been walking around calling her name too... but she didn't know his voice. she knew her dadda's voice! bud came home and had her... i held her and cried and cried - wrapped her in my arms and fell asleep that way.

the second time we almost lost her was when the neighbor dog (pitbull) decided to let her know that she was not in charge of the neighborhood. he bit her and pinned her down. i was screaming at the dog, screaming at bud, screaming at the neighbors to get their dog. my motherly instincts snapped and i grabbed the other dog by the neck and was trying to tear his big jaws off my tiny baby puppy! once we got her free, i ran her inside and noticed that she was bleeding. we didn't know how bad it was, but she kept letting out squeals every now and then, she was shaking as was i. i called a vet in tears and asked if they could see her right away. we zoomed over there and we found out that she was quite lucky (God spared her!). if the pitbull would have bit her literally a half an inch to the right, she would have bled out from having an artery severed. so they did surgery to put in drains, gave her meds, wrapped her up, and we were able to take her home that night! poor thing was doped up and not able to even stand. when we picked her up from the vet, i was so relieved but so sad because she got beat up. (don't worry - i do not blame all pitbulls, i blame owners. i love pitbulls.) thankfully, she was better a couple weeks later. and she got to sport a sweet looking chargers jersey to keep her warm and cover her wound once we removed the bandages!

oh my monster truck. she's the happiest when i come home, when i play with her, when i love her. and i'm happiest when she hugs me, kisses me, plays and cuddles with me. she's a lovely dog. many people wish she could be theirs and all i can say is... sorry. she's taken!