Okay, Confession Time

I have switched out a few shirts for the Summertime.
I also bought a dress the day before yesterday! Whoa, that was a great feeling! I still don't have the nerve to wear the dress but I'm planning to!
I have made a few exceptions to the rules and pulled a top or two from my closet now and then. Maybe 5 times.There are four months left though and I have to say it's been a good experience. I am sure I've saved a load of money by not buying things I think I need. I've been making do with the pants that I have on hand and have switched out 2 pair for Summer shorts, which I'll switch back in the Fall. I fell like that's cheating but it is my rule and I am the only one doing this.
Overall, I am happy with the way this has gone. I do feel like I could have been doing a little better job on it. I'll stick with it until Thanksgiving though and not beat myself up for my failures though. I like to take it easy on myself. :)

I had S'mores last weekend. Captain America put peanut butter on our graham crackers before we added the chocolate and marshmallow. Talk about delicious!
Speaking of Captain America, have you noticed he has a movie coming out?? Yep, that's my man!

Ladies, Get Your Check-ups

I am talking about those check ups. The kind you avoid. Stop avoiding them and visit your doctor. HPV (Human papillomavirus) is everywhere. It has no noticeable symptoms unless it turns into cancer. Many times (even most times) it clears up on it's own but 5%-10% of the time it causes cancer, and that's worth preventing.

I know a beautiful young woman who found out that she has HPV and will need to have another check up in 6 months to find out if it has cleared up, and to watch it in case it develops further. If it develops, she'll have to have a biopsy and then, if needed, the cells will have to be burned off. This is a very painful process. She would like to give a message to all women: Get a Papanicolaou (Pap) test. Find out if you have HPV so that you can do something about it. Anyone can have it.

Money Can't Buy Happiness

Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy marshmallows... which is kinda the same thing.

Saw a sign for this while eating Frozen Custard in Farmington, MO. I'll think of the name and get back to you.
Pics soon!

PS, Hi everyone.

Merciful Hearts

Mt heart is heavy for the people in this world who have such humongous burdens to carry and to live with. I am thinking of people who have lost their homes, their family, and their livelihood. People who have lived through tragedy and trauma and also those who just live each day with a pain from a broken heart. Thinking of these people has helped me to see that the little things in life are sometimes the big things, and that the things we think are big, are many times pretty small. It has also brought me to a place where I count my blessings everyday. Blessings that are usually taken for granted like running water, working Internet, a dependable vehicle, loving family and friends, and most of all, the love of God.
I believe that the love of God is shown by us, and through us, best of all in how we treat others. If we use our "kind" and "polite" words to scrape our boots on some one's face, to demand their humiliation, then we have not shown God's love, but our own shameful sin.
God has called us to show mercy, to offer forgiveness, and to love one another long before we are asked to do so. As Christians, that is our honor. So next time you know you have the right to publicly call someone out, remember that Christ has the right to call you out too, and He gives you mercy and forgiveness instead.
Everyone you meet is fighting some battle, so speak kindly and show mercy. Forgive them before they ask you to, and even if they never do.

Father's Day Ice Cream - Pioneer Woman Style

That means I am making Pioneer Woman's vanilla ice cream for Father's Day. Because my husband is a father. Because he loves vanilla ice cream. And because I bought an ice cream maker for him, for Father's Day. He'll probably crown me with it but I really think we'll get a lot of good use out of it this Summer. I'm going to take it when we go camping.

I just went to wulmert where they had no vanilla beans. I'm totally shocked because my little local store usually has everything I'm looking for. NOT. I didn't want to run into the big city for a second time today so I picked up a bottle of "pure" vanilla. We can't have any imitation vanilla mixing with full fat cream and half and half can we? No. We can't. I am sad to say that I am using the white sugar that is called for rather than some healthy alternative because, well, I want it to be perfect the first time. After I get it perfect I'll experiment and risk messing it up.

Enough about me, here's the details.

I doubled Pioneer Woman's double batch and basically followed Ree's instructions but I forgot to double the sugar, so I left it that way since it tasted pretty darn sweet to me. It's really good. I also felt that the custard had "broke" which is the only word I know for what happened, the cream separate from the... water? So my life-saver-mother suggested the magic bullet (or in my case the Bullet Express) to smooth it out. That did the job; it's sooo perfect and smooth! I have yet to put it into the ice-cream freezer/maker but that'll happen on Saturday morning just in time to spoil our lunch. Can't wait!
Okay, this is a secret gift, the secret should be safe since my darling husband never reads my blog... don't tell him, okay? I'm a bad secret keeper so, help me Rhonda!

Check back later to see pictures that I have taken/will be taking of the results.

Happy June

Hello everyone, from more than a week into June!
After spending most of last month talking about a serious issue that's close to my heart I just want to tell you now that my hosta bed is flourishing, my horse-puppy is growing rapidly, I'm still losing weight, my husband comes home tomorrow, my kitchen is clean, laundry is folded, and I finally have a tomato plant in my dirt. Things are going great!
Last weekend I had a couple of super-groovy gals over to my house for fun and food, I might add that I was out of coconut oil for the entire weekend, which made one of them especially, um un-happy. While they were here, I was blessed with a little sunburn that is now a tan and also public pool memories that are seared into my brain and will last a lifetime. Thanks for sharing both of those with me ladies.
Last night my mom and I rented I Am Number 4 from Redbox. That was a good movie, not for kids. Scary looking bad guys. We're crossing our fingers for parts 2 and 3!
Tonight I played with two little girls who love puppies, play-doh, dirt, ice-cream, and bath time. Perfect companions for a hot late-spring-but-feels-more-like-summer night. I suggest that you sample Häagen-Dazs Pineapple Coconut Ice-cream.
On the menu tomorrow are Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes, as per a sweet request by my dearly departed husband. He's soon to be un-departed. Whoo hoo!

Joplin, MO

Joplin, MO needs you to pray, volunteer, donate, or do anything you can do to help.
These people have not just lost their homes, belongings, jobs, vehicles, and city but also, specifically, their mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, grandparents, children and babies. Entire families. They are trying to salvage and rebuild their lives and that is hard enough, but they are functioning during their grief and that is next to impossible.
Joplin, MO needs your help. They don't need your kind thoughts. Your thoughts are not with them. The people of Joplin need money, help, prayer, and love. They need it in the physical form. They need everything they can get and they need it from you.
Please visit Convoy of Hope or James River Assembly's Joplin Tornado Relief Effort to find out how you can do your part.