Head.Game.Now.

So Lincoln's got his head in the game in more ways than one.

He's got his head in the prayin' game....

(Saying the blessing before dinner.)

"Dear Dog (God),
Food.
All done."

He's got his head in the bloggin' game...

Guess he thought I needed a little help with my blog posts. Guess posting once a week wasn't enough for him. Guess he was getting started on one for me....an eye witness account regarding the travesties (cleanliness and organization) of the Master "Suite".











And he's got his head in THE GAME...the High School Musical game that is.

This would be a daily an hourly request. "Tia! Head in the game!" "Mama! Head in the game!" "Basketball!" "High School Musical!" "You are the music in meeeeee!" (If you know not of what he speaks, than you must get YOUR head in the game. C'mon now.)

And wouldn't you know it, his BEST performances have yet to be caught on video (and he's recently acquired some NEW moves) so these will have to suffice...

...darkness, diaper, focus/sound problems and all....

So I married met an axe murderer a good friend.

I have a friend.

I've known her for awhile now.

But I just got to meet her 3 weeks ago.

Now, I know what you're probably thinking. Shoot, I used to think like that too.

What if she's an axe murderer?! (My hubs DID ask this.)

What if she's some crazy stalker chic?! (He asked this as well.)

What if she's really a man?! (This may have even been a question in his mind. Or Mr. Rascal Raisers.)

And before this whole bloggy thing, I probably would have had those same questions. Don't get me wrong. There are some situations where you would definitely want to be asking these questions. You still have to be very careful, protective of your family, and smart about it. But I just KNEW she wasn't all those things....cause we just "get" each other. Was she goofy like me? Yes! ...thank goodness! Crazed, psycho, stalker, I'm-gonna-tie you-up-in-the-basement, and travel-all-the-way-from-Arkansas-to-Oregon-to-do-it creep? NO.

There's several women I've come to know through this blog world. I got to meet Gretchen (precious, sweet lady!) in the flesh too...cause she lives in WA and us Pacific Northwesties gots to stick together. But I never thought I would get to meet any of the others (who, sadly, mostly live across the country) and be able to seal the friendship with a hug, a laugh, or a PDDP.

So when Amb messaged me that Mr. Rascal Raiser would be taking a little business trip to Oregon and she was hittin' the Oregon Trail with him, I was so ding dang excited I made myself a paper chain to count it down!

And you thought I was kidding....

The Day arrived. She texted me that she was almost to my house.

I was excited...and a little nervous.

I opened the door and....we hugged. (Cause she must have left her axe at home and I turned out NOT to be a 400lb man who wanted to chain her up in my basement. :))
And it felt like we had been friends forever.

And my hubby texted to make sure I wasn't dead.

And she texted her hubby to let him know I wasn't a man, that she wasn't tied up in my basement and that she didn't need his emergency code word (Sponge Bob) after all.

And we had a little coffee with our creamer.

And we ate coffee cake..which was a little dry.

And we ate carmalitas too...which is dessert, but both of us are OK with eating it for breakfast. Cause that's how we roll.

And my kids asked her a hundred questions, talked her ears off, and asked her to play with them. And the oldest one who was at school cried when he didn't get to meet her. Cause she's cool like that.

And we exchanged our gifts of bling.
And because she KNOWS me, loves me, and doesn't want to cause undo stress in my life she brought me Non-Bangle Bling.
Isn't it cute?! LOVE it!!

And we talked and talked and talked and talked and talked...about silly things and about important things.

And we laughed.

And the hubby who would just roll his eyes at it all, make fun of us for IMing for hours instead of picking up the phone and calling but then boot me out of the way to "chat" with her, came home early from work just so we could go out and have some kidless time to together.

Chipotle. Talk. Drive. Talk. Listen to Hannah Montana. Talk. Talk. Talk.

What was I talking about again???? Oh yeah...we self-diagnosed ourselves with adult onset ADD, too. (Added to our list of things in common.) Which is why it's taken me so long to put this post together, and which also explains the post itself....

Sonic. Pineapple Diet Dr. Peppers. (Cause she's the one that lured me over to the dark side.) Matchy debit cards. (Just one more way we're twinsies.)
E.Z. Orchards for apple cider donuts (I promise the fresh, hot ones are MUCH better!), lemon honey stick (Yuck!), Fartless chili, popcorn, beans (Genius.), and goofy pictures.
Outlet mall. (Cause we both like to get our shop on.) Not enough time. (We didn't eat there! Amazing, I know. But we had to preserve our stomachs for the next stop.)

And then off to meet the thoughtful husband mentioned above and Sponge Bob Hubs at The Cheesecake Factory for dinner...because apparently we both like to eat. Avoided an altercation, but received a tongue lashing from a crazed "I just spent 10x my Mercedes payment, impulse buying at the mall and my man's gonna be ticked" lady.
And we laughed. And we did NOT make fun of the waiter who talked in a disturbingly quiet voice while using smooth and dramatic hand gestures as he gave us his take on chutney. Ahem.
And we talked of things you usually don't talk about with people you've just met. (But remember we've known each other for decades. I mean years. I mean months. Days? Hours? Technicalities.)

And our day was gone. Just.like.that.

And my suspicions were confirmed. She IS just as adorable, sweet, beautiful (inside and out) and funny as she appears on her blog. We could be the best of friends. She IS a kindred spirit. And I can now move her from "friends from my screen that someday I'll meet" to "those I'm blessed to know in the flesh".

Blessed indeed.

I have a good friend.

She's not an axe murderer.

Her name is Amber.

We've met now...in the flesh.

...and now I miss her.

Anybody handing out frequent flier miles to Arkansas???



***And for a different and (most likely) wittier version go here.

the post that I decided to work on cause it would take less time but instead has taken copious amounts cause I got all thinky

So, I have several different posts I could be working on right now. For instance, the post about my baby turning 8 over a month ago, or the really fun time we had with friends many Saturdays ago, or the 8 year old's first ever sleepover that I survived, or an amazing MIRL that God orchestrated, or how my absence here in the blog world is just an indication that I'm spending more time with God, my family, my IRL friends, taking care of my home, and simply kicking back with my hubby instead of my laptop....and maybe trying to get a little more sleep since I can't seem to kick this tiredness.

But I have NO intention of giving up this blog that I love so much or the "in screen" and now "in skin" friends that encourage me, touch my heart, and make me laugh. I am simply in a "season of a little less blogging" right now. I read yours when I can...sometimes without time to comment. I twitter here and there....cause it takes mere seconds. And I occasionally take a few minutes to catch up with my mix of in real life and bloggy friends on Facebook.

For today, though, I'll just catch you up with these little snippets.... (An idea I stole from someone elses blog.)




Sitting. . . In a chair, in front of the desktop computer (Yes, I said desktop. Do y'all know what those are?), waiting for the Posture Police to make their appearance.

Drinking. . . Alternating between my free (cause they have punch cards!) Dutch Bros Eggnog Vanilla Latte (Because I, in no way, feel guilty having it twice in one week...) and water (Apparently one should not live on mochalatte alone....pshaw! Who made up that rule anyway?!).

Moving. . . forward, past some old and into the new. It's a God thing, and it's a good thing. How's that for vague?;)

Reflecting. . . on the fact that God judges righteously. It's not my job. If I feel like I've been wronged or I'm hurt by something someone did, didn't do, said, or didn't say I need to continue making sure that I'm living out His will for me by obeying His Words to me (love, be gentle, be kind, forgive)...He will take care of the rest. Even if the person doesn't necessarily deserve it or ask for it. Why do I do this? Not for that person, not for me, but for HIM! I do it because that's how I show my love TO HIM. THAT'S my motivation.

Planning. . . a menu for Saturday night. Some long-time friends are coming over for dinner. It has been waaaaay too long since we've gotten together with them. I also just might be planning on holding a precious tiny person all.night.long.:)

Looking forward to. . .Bunko tonight, getting some nice family and kid pictures taken by some talented ladies in our church. Thanksgiving - Family Reunion Style!! & Christmas (Elaboration not needed.)

Wanting. . . an iPod. Yes, my material girl is rearing her ugly head. Does it make it more spiritual if it's because I'm finding praise song after praise song that I want to buy on iTunes and listen to over and over again? Just means I need to get crackalackin' and sell some of this junk gently used articles of clothing that are piled high like Mt. KillinMeWithClutter in the corner of my bedroom neatly folded and store away in matching RubberMaid totes.....cause I want me some Hairapy too. And I am living in a material world and I am.......possibly the last human being on the face of the planet to own an iPod, iPhone, iTouch, iDoohicky, or iWatchamacallit....

Hoping. . . that I get a little better at time management. Right now it's football, school, church, school, church, football, church, school...you get the idea. Before too long football will be replaced by Upward Basketball which both Will and Emma will be participating in...and so it begins....and I still have not been menu planning very well. Hoping I get my rear in gear....

Regretting. . . that I answered the call of those cookies in the pantry yesterday. The term "popping them like happy pills" comes to mind....

Surprised. . . that I already have a good stash going for Christmas. The best part? Rock bottom, clearance prices. I'm so proud of myself!

Studying. . . my husband. Just trying to brush up on my knowledge of what makes him tick and what things really show him that I love and respect him. Pretty sure I'm enrolled in the life course....and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Frustrated. . . that I continually care what others think of me. OK...that may have sounded bad. What I mean is, ultimately I really only need to worry about what GOD thinks of me. Others may have false impressions or opinions of me, but God's view of me will always be true. He sees all of me. And if that doesn't light a fire under me and encourage me to be more like Him, I don't know what will.

Eager. . . for my next MIRL (meeting in real life), for more opportunities to see and visit with the 2 MIRLs that I've already been blessed to have, and for chances to love on and hang out with my precious "in skin" friends who live in my neck of the woods.

Enjoying. . . our church family. We truly feel God's leading and direction in where we settled in. We have been blessed already by the people, the worship, the teaching, and in being able to serve.

Missing. . . our family that lives far away....and being able to fit into those size 6 10 jeans.:)

Bummed. . . that all of you can't experience Lincoln's Nobel Peace Prize winning (Exaaaactly.) rendition of High School Musical's "Get Your Head In The Game" in person.... But don't despair, it will be coming to a blog near you very soon, so get your tickets and popcorn ready.

Until next time... when I spend way more time on a post than I intended to spend... and use way more ellipses than are appropriate....

.....

a spoonful of sugar

The 2 youngest and I have been housebound for 3 days now. You would think I would have time to blog....

But once again the sickies have hit, a little too early in the season if you ask me...which apparently no one did, and apparently we had the flu test where you don't get the results until you're actually well again, in the mean time not knowing if the rest of the family will end up with the Hogs Disease it takes 2-3 days to get the "more accurate" results back.

So I've been busy covering my ears to the sounds of the Terrible 2 1/2's, nursing the little girl who's going on Day 4 of the yo-yo fever, sore throat (negative for Strep) and cough, trying to keep the "2 1/2" from wallering her and catching "it", and watching continuous rounds of High School Musical 1, 2, and 3.

But since I know you all have been missing me terribly in the almost 2 weeks I've been gone (Wow...time sure does fly when you're having MIRL and family in town, in addition to the regularly scheduled programs.), I thought I would tide you over with some sweetness...and maybe, just maybe, it will help the medicine go down in these parts a little easier, too.

A little sugar...for the eyes.

3 month old Sugar had to go home with her family when the sickies came to call.:(


Woah. One could get sick from all the eye candy these families make...


And a little sugar...for the teeth.

**These were made for Ladie's Night Out at my church last month.**

“Everything but the Kitchen Sink” Bar Cookies
From the Kitchen of Nikki Hughes

1 pkg (18 ounces) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow crème
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1-1/2 cups toasted corn cereal (Chex)
1 cup m&m’s

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13X9-inch baking pan. Remove dough from wrapper according to package directions.Press dough into prepared baking pan. Bake 13 minutes.Remove baking pan from oven. Drop teaspoonfuls of marshmallow crème and peanut butter over hot cookie base.Bake 1 minute. Carefully spread marshmallow crème and peanut butter over cookie base.Sprinkle cereal and m&m’s over melted marshmallow and peanut butter mixture.Bake 7 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.

You're welcome.

And don't shoot the messenger if you can't stop at just one and end up eating the whole pan. You needed new jeans anyway, right?