Archives for November 2011

Works for me Wednesday: Laundry Bins

November 30, 2011 by Amy 15 Comments

I haven’t done a WFMW post in a LONG time. I’ve been meaning to do this one for several months. Actually, it could be years by now. I have to tell you about the best thing I ever did for my laundry. It’s not a new concept and we’re not breaking any ground here but I finally got SIX different bins to put mine and Scott’s clothes in (grammar geeks, how do I say that? me and Scott’s? Scott and my?).

Before, we had one hamper with all our clothes and once a week, or whenver we ran out of white clothes (the fastest growing) I would have to sort all the clothes and since they were all out, I’d wash all of them. Sometimes the poor red/pink/purple pile would be pitiful but I was unwilling to put anything back in the hamper.

Scott, my very organized better half, finally went out and bought six of these skinny bins. We sort as we go. We have jeans, whites, blacks, mixed, reds and even one for towels. When one gets full, I wash that and don’t have to wash the rest. As we speak, the blacks are in the washing machine and the rest are waiting for their turn in the closet. The other great thing is it’s so easy to carry them with handles on each side. When it’s time for the clean clothes to go back, I put all the small things inside the bins and then lay pants and shirts over the top but am still able to use the handles to carry it all.

I LOVE them and they were well worth the investment. I figure I’m saving time sorting and washing extranneous loads and money on water and energy. That certainly works for me!

The Hobbies

November 29, 2011 by Amy 10 Comments

Emma spent Lexi’s taekwondo practice drawing pictures of each of us doing what she perceived as our hobbies. I gotta say, she nailed it.

The Facebook cracks me up. Curious, what would Emma draw for you?

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

November 28, 2011 by Amy 1 Comment

I’ve decided every weekend should be 4 days. And include lots of food that I don’t have to prepare. Our Thanksgiving weekend was the perfect amount of relaxation that I needed. And by relaxing I really mean cleaning. Oddly, I feel more relaxed now that I know all the stuff is taken care of at home. My laundry is done. My dishes aren’t piled up. I have plans for dinner. My fridge is clean. The piles of paper in my office are gone. All that took work, but so worth it.
But the weekend wasn’t all about work. Thursday we had a great morning. I found myself up at 6am and realized that CVS sales started early. I hated to shop on Thanksgiving but I knew if I didn’t do it right away, everything would be gone. And what would I do without another free tube of toothpaste?? Once I got home we had a great time watching the Macy’s parade. The girls loved seeing the Rockettes, Scotty McCreery from Idol and Elmo of all things. The parade also included a high school band from my city. So proud of our State champs! Little known fact…Scott was a drummer in the band in high school and my dad was the drummer at church back in the day. I appreciate a guy who can keep a beat! We had Thanksgiving lunch with my parents and then dinner with Scott’s. All very good food and company.
Scott had to work all weekend so even if I had found something for Black Friday, I couldn’t go. It was the first Black Friday in a while I didn’t get a single thing. Instead, my niece spent the night and stayed for the day which equaled busy kids and a busy mom.
Friday night I’ve already blogged about my trip to see Breaking Dawn. It was all high-praise from me but BusyBeeLauren had an awesome post on all the things that bugged her and indeed, a few of them I left off my review. The lack of sparkling and sudden appearance of a styrofoam cup were both very valid points.
So Saturday the girls and I did a little shopping just to get out. They each had coupons from Toys R Us and Barnes and Noble from their birthday so we made a round at the mall to use those up.
Scott ended up getting off early Saturday but the most exciting thing we did was make chicken and rice for dinner which is to say, not exciting at all. I ended up with a bad stomach ache by the evening, which I believe is unrelated to the chicken and rice, and basically was of no use whatsoever. It was then I decided that the bad eating had to stop.
I’ve decided to do the Daniel Fast again. More for diet purposes than fasting but I started reading the Bible in 90 Days again today and it all just seems right that I’m cleansing my body and beginning with this reading.
Sunday was another day around the house. I did a lot of research on Daniel Fast recipes and did some shopping to get ready. The girls had a neighborhood friend over so they stayed occupied. Or, I should say my front yard stayed occupied.
By this morning, I was very rested, ready to read for the Bible plan and get to work. So we’re off to another week! I hope your holiday weekend went well and your week is off to a great start.

Breaking Dawn Review

November 26, 2011 by Amy Leave a Comment

Twilight and Twilight Merchandise

Heather and I went to see Breaking Dawn last night. To be honest, even though I have been at the midnight showing of every Twilight movie thus far, I was not in a hurry to see it. But a week into the premiere and I was ready to see what all the hype was about.

And I have to say, I LOVED it. I really, really did. In fact, I would happily have sit through another showing right after the first. And here’s what I loved:

Edward. Edward, Edward, Edward. And not really Edward like you think. It’s more Rob. You can tell he has grown as an actor so much. After watching Water for Elephants, I was thinking wouldn’t it be nice for him to actually act well like that in Twilight and wow, he certainly did in this movie. Edward was finally the Edward he was supposed to be. Confident, protective and happy with Bella.
I felt like Kristen finally played Bella well. She was nervous at the wedding and on the honeymoon but not so much she seemed like she was having a nervous breakdown.
The wedding was amazing. The dress was GORGEOUS. The shoes were amazing. The decorations were beautiful. Charlie saying goodbye was heartbreaking.
We didn’t get to see much of the high school kids but they were funny and added just the right touch.
I liked that the other vampires were a part of the story but not the center of attention.
I preferred the honeymoon of the movie to the book. I was always disappointed they didn’t have more in the book. And no, not just the bedroom scene. I loved them playing chess and going on walks. And I loved them in Rio. I loved Edward taking them in the boat to Isle Esme.
I liked that the conflict in this movie was with the pack and not the Voulturi. I loved that Jake was confident and yet still torn about Bella. I loved him standing up to Sam. And him imprinting on Renesmee? SO much better than the book. I like that we got glimpses of the teenage Renesmee instead of picturing him solely imprinting with an infant.
They did a fantastic job of makeup with Kristen while she was pregnant. Wow, she looked amazingly awful. It was just perfect though. You really got the sense of how serious the pregnancy was. And I appreciated the conflict within the family about the baby and how Kristen held tight to what she wanted.
I loved when Edward could finally hear the baby and saw that she was pure and wonderful and not the awful creature he was imagining.
The birth scene was, well, the birth scene. I don’t know of any birth scenes real or fake that are particularly pretty to watch. I liked that the movie stayed true to the book but we didn’t ever have to see anything beyond Bella’s face. They seriously could have made that scene disgusting but I really don’t feel like it did. And how beautiful is Renesmee?
I’ll preface this point in saying I don’t care for vampires. I don’t read or watch this movie for that part of the story. For me, and a lot of people, this story is about the love of two individuals that live in a world of different rules. You could leave out the vampire stuff and I’d be happy. BUT. A lot of the book is Bella wanting to be a vampire so she can live with Edward forever. It’s not the actual vampire stuff she’s after, it’s the forever part. So when she turned at the end, well, it was just EXCITING. She was beautiful and everyone was just waiting. I’m not excited that she’s a vampire, per se. But I am excited she’s now like Edward and they can be together forever. Yes, it’s that cheesy.

So yes, count me in, I’ll be watching this one more than once. I’m just so happy this series keeps getting better and better and simply cannot wait until Part 2.

Christmas Card 2011 Pictures

November 25, 2011 by Amy 5 Comments

A few weeks ago I blogged about our Christmas cards but we didn’t have any pictures for them! Well, now we do! And all thanks to PJ who is the lady behind Red Oak Photography. She also did our pictures from last year so I knew we were in good hands.

Now the trick is figuring out how in the world to pick which ones go on our card.

If you’re local to the Fort Mill/Charlotte area, definitely get in touch with her. I can’t say enough good about her!

Happy Thanksgiving

November 24, 2011 by Amy 2 Comments

So much this year. So much.

Adoption process
Addition to the house
Full time position
eBook

Just to name a few. And even those huge things feel incomparable to the protection and joy and wellness and peace and healing He’s brought to us this year. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude.

I’m thinking of you who don’t have anything obvious to be thankful for. Maybe this year it’s not easy to make a list. Some years are like that. But He’s still there and even the hard things are grace. If I’ve learned anything through my eBook is that God can make anything beautiful. And I learned from Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts that even the pain you don’t choose can be grace too.

On Finding Joy

November 21, 2011 by Amy 5 Comments

Today at lunch I took the time to make my manicotti for dinner. Someone please give me a high-five for thinking ahead! Cooking the jumbo shell noodles is one of the first steps. It took a few minutes but the water was a full rolling boil by the end of the required 15 minutes. I noticed though just as soon as I turned the heat off, the bubbles stopped. I figured there might be some lag time as heat dissipated but no, it was instant. I couldn’t help but think back to my confession of my emotional affair to Scott. Before the confession, I felt like that rolling boil inside. Truly, as if my stomach had been put in a pot of boiling water. I was a mess dealing with all my deceit and other emotions. But when I confessed, it was like someone had turned the heat off. Sure, I still had some inner turmoil going on but that sickening feeling disappeared immediately.

That boiling pot also reminds me of what we should be bubbling over with: joy. But deceit and joy can’t coexist. Proverbs says There is deceit in the hearts of those who plot evil, but joy for those who promote peace. There could be many reasons you aren’t joyful right now but if you’re not, I challenge you to ask yourself if there is any deceit in your life.

What are you covering up?

Refusing to talk about?

Hoping no one finds out?

Doing when no one is looking?

Find someone to confess it to. Confess to the Lord. I know it’s scary. Really, I do. You feel like no one has been there. No one understands. No one will like you. No one can help you. No one will look at you the same. No one will forgive you. But we’ve all got stuff. And those are just lies from Satan to keep you in your deceitful behaviors. The longer we keep it in, the longer we don’t have our joy and that means the longer someone doesn’t see God’s glory displayed through you to its full potential. So let me help. How would you finish this sentence?

I haven’t told anyone this, but I [have been] _______________________.

Now go find someone to email or speak that sentence to privately. Really. Your joy is at stake.

I talk a lot more about deceit, confession and joy in my eBook Entangled. I’d love for you to check it out if you haven’t. And if you have, please hop over to Amazon and leave your review.

Happy 9th Birthday, Emma!

November 20, 2011 by Amy 2 Comments

It’s been a busy birthday weekend for us. Emma had her turn at her sleepover Friday night. While all the girls were talkative and loud (Scott left the house for most of the party to survive), they were all super sweet and it went well. It’s very interesting to see her friendships really developing. They’re doing all the cheer/chants together. She got her first Best Friends necklace. They all were painting fingernails all night. Thankfully none of the conversations center around boys yet. Just good, girly fun. Very fun to watch her develop into this phase.

Today after church I made one of her favorite meals for Sunday dinner. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli and cheese. The theme of presents this year was definitely American Girl. She loves doing all the crafts and taking care of her baby.

After everyone left, Emma got busy playing with her crafts. We made a trip to Michael’s for pipe cleaners, googly eyes, felt and the like and she went to town planning a craft show. She does love her crafts. This evening she decided she wanted to spend time together decorating for Christmas. It’s a little early but Scott is working next weekend and it didn’t take much asking from the birthday girl for Scott to start dragging things out of the attic. She really did help me decorate and I didn’t even have to give her direction on how to space things out. We had Christmas music playing and it really was a great moment for us.

We had our last home study yesterday and one of the questions was “How would you describe Emma?” I answered that Emma is shy, sweet and compassionate. She’s a deep thinker but that gets her into trouble sometimes worrying too much. But she cares a lot for the people around her and always wants to everyone to get along. Sure, she’s can be sassy and such sometimes but it’s the exception, not the rule.

I’m so proud of Emma and who she’s becoming!