We are officially one month into the New Year, and in order to help keep myself accountable I’ll be keeping track of my progress toward reaching my 2008 goals with a monthly “goal” post. (Get it? “Goal”post? Goalpost? Oh, never mind…)

Goalpost #1: Creativity

The results on the calendar speak for themselves: an average of more than 4 days per week for blogging! As far as scrapbooking goes, I’ve remained disciplined and have been “mostly” on target for the month of January: 24 completed pages (out of a goal of 31), 10 layouts completed (out of a goal of 12) and 1 album completed (out of a goal of 1).

Goalpost #2: Spiritual Growth

While we haven’t yet joined a church, we have committed to visiting churches faithfully and carefully evaluating them with regard to our family’s needs, wants, and beliefs. We have finished our “first dates” with all the churches on our list, and will be heading back for a “second date” with one church beginning this Sunday. Our family devotion time continues to develop: while I haven’t been as faithful as I’d like, I am happy to report that we are having family devotions on average 4-5 nights per week. The kids have been excited about their personal devotions and we’ve been able to start their day with a quiet time 3-4 mornings each week. We haven’t yet gotten back into the routine of Scripture memory, and my neighborhood Bible study hasn’t started up yet, but things are definitely moving in the right direction.

Goalpost #3: Physical Health

Despite beginning the year with sick children, I’ve been able to get back into going to the gym more faithfully. We switched our membership over to Express Fitness, which is closer to home, more convenient, and works better with my schedule. I’ve been able to get back into Pilates, which is so good for my flexibility and back issues, and they have several circuits and cardio machines which allow me to do my own “Body Blaster” class. I’ve seriously reduced my intake of Diet Coke and chocolate and have been eating far more fruits & vegetables and drinking water. Small changes, but the scale was kind enough to record an 8-pound loss for the month of January: double my goal for the month! It’s going to take a long time to get where I want to be, but the positive reinforcement (whether actual or not) is enough to keep me motivated on my goals!

Goalpost #4: Mental Stimulation

No books finished, but I have actually been to the library. Twice. Checked out books even. And renewed them. And read about 7 chapters in my current read, Searching for Johnny by James Gibbins. I’ve read over 100 pages, and still haven’t figured out if I like it. I have started being more active in my online piano teacher forums again - after a couple of years of feeling like I didn’t have much to offer - and am trying to incorporate the collective wisdom of the groups into my studio’s policies and practices. So, maybe not as much progress here, but the effort is definitely there.

So there it is. It’s definitely a challenge to stay focused on reaching these goals, but I know in the process I’m making myself a better person all around. We read a verse in our family devotions a week ago that has since become my mantra in moments of discouragement: “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and self-discipline.” DISCIPLINE. Yeah, that’s what it’s gonna take. And with God’s help, I bet I can get there.

It would practically be a crime to live in the Dallas area and not visit Chuck Swindoll’s church at least once!  So this week, off we went to Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, a stone’s throw from Matt’s new office. Read the rest of this entry »

So Trey calls the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.

Last year, conflicts with Upward Basketball’s picture day prevented Trey from being a part of the Pinewood Derby. This was doubly sad considering that out of the whole pack only 3 Tigers entered last year, preventing them from having a design competition in that age division.

But this year, no Upward = Pine One Derby!!

I’ll let Matt share the gory details of building the car…as well as the pictures of what his “workshop” (also known as our “dining room”) looked like. For more than a week, I had to share space in my kitchen with dremel tools, screwdrivers, epoxy glue, hammers, nails, lubricant…and the inevitable, “Honey, have you seen my…?” Let me tell you, it was not a pretty sight. However, it was a good motivator, so now I’m anxious to help Matt get his workshop in the GARAGE set up so it’s usable! But I digress.

For Trey’s first entry into the Pinewood Derby, I must say I was pretty proud of him. Due to time constraints, we had to keep the design pretty simple, but Trey came up with the ideas for the paint job on his own and helped sand and paint the car. After seeing the different designs at the Derby, Trey’s plans for next year are far more involved!! Dad did a great job of aligning and lubricating the wheels: Trey’s car placed 4th out of all the wolves who competed (and there were at least 10), and he missed placing by only a few hundredths (ed. note: thousandths) of a second. Even though he didn’t win an overall medal or ribbon, he did win a couple of his heats, and that was enough for him. The excitement of counting down the races, watching the cars race, and cheering on his friends was all he needed.

Here is our proud Cub Scout with his car:

I saw this at the gym today, and it just struck me as funny.

I was on the elliptical, and saw the target heart rate chart on the side of the display. The ages are listed by 10’s, with the target heart rate for both fat burn and cardio zones beside. Upon further study, I discovered that if I was 100 years old, my target heart rate for fat burn would be 76, and my target heart rate for a cardio workout would be 90.

I’m just hoping that at age 100, I have a heart rate.

(and if I do, and I’m healthy enough to be concerning myself with a workout on an elliptical machine and have the optical acuity to even read that chart, well, HECK!!!!)

I can’t really consider myself to be a true Ace of Cakes, but I figure I’m about a 10 - maybe even a Jack! Despite my lack of professional training, or even professional tools, I think I did pretty darn well on my kids’ birthday cakes this year. And because of that, I’m allowing myself one “brag” blog post to show off my…well…talents.

Here is the infamous Tank Cake for Trey’s Army birthday party:

To make this cake, I used two cake mixes. I baked one in a 9x 13 pan and the other in 2 loaf pans. Once the cakes cooled, I stacked one loaf cake on top of the 9×13 cake. I used white frosting and green food coloring to tint the frosting. It came out too bright so I mixed in some chocolate frosting to give it more of an olive-green color. I frosted the whole cake with this green frosting. Then, I placed small spoonfuls of the remaining chocolate frosting on the tank and swirled them around to give a camouflage look. The “wheels” are oreo cookies stuck onto the side of the cake. The “treads” are pieces of black twizzlers cut into 2″ lengths. The turret on top is an oreo cookie covered in frosting. The cannon was pulled from Trey’s Playmobil stock. Crisana helped me make the “dirt” which is a mixture of crushed graham crackers and oreos spread around the tank.

The extra loaf cake I decorated in camouflage icing using the same technique as the tank cake. I used this cake for the candles and wrote “Happy Birthday Trey” in black icing around the cake. The adults ate this cake.

Now for Crisana’s “My Little Pony” cake:

There were no great examples (on my skill level) of a “My Little Pony” cake to be found on the web. And not having access to a horse-shaped pan (rocking or otherwise), my options were limited. I baked two white cakes, stacked them (with frosting in between the layers) and frosted the whole thing with strawberry-flavored icing. I then separated a large container of white icing into four bowls and tinted each a different color: blue, yellow, green, and purple. I decided red and orange wouldn’t look good on a pink cake. I then created the rainbow stripes and outlined them with black icing. The cloud was made with a tube of white decorating icing with no tip - just squeeze the tube slightly to create raised dots. That’s also how I edged the cake with the white and multi-colored “beads”. I used a few of the little ponies from McDonald’s awhile back and a treasure chest from Crisana’s My Little Pony collection to create a “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow. I got so many compliments on this cake and it tasted even better than it looked!

This is a view of the cake from the back.

I had a ton of fun making these special cakes for my birthday children, but I’m happy to take a break from cake decorating for a little while!

As of 5:02 P.M. CST, Crisana turned 5 years old! Again, I must ask: How did it happen?

In much the same spirit as I offered birthday wishes for Trey, I give you a High-Five list of my favorite things about Crisana.

Here goes:

5) Chatty Cathy: It’s been said that women use an average daily vocabulary of 10,000 words. Crisana is the poster child for this information. And by gum, she’s bound and determined to use every bit of that allotment! But I do love listening to her talk, especially when she’s playing with her toys and she doesn’t know I’m eavesdropping.

4) A Brilliant Mind: Well, maybe not brilliant, but certainly very smart! Crisana has a quick mind and demonstrates a desire to learn. Her current obsession is learning to read and write, and she is one “AHA!” moment away from being able to do both independently.

3) Pixie Dust: While no longer petite enough for consideration into the world of pixies, Crisana is a pint-sized bundle of fun, love, and energy. Her free spirit and outgoing nature make her irresistible to anyone who crosses her path.

2) A Heart for God: It’s very apparent that Crisana is attuned to spiritual things, and she is learning precious truths at a very early age. To her, God is very real, a constant Friend, and a companion at all times.

and #1) Little Miss Sunshine: That bright smile, infectious laugh, and silly nature can brighten up any day no matter how gloomy.

Happy bither day, Crisana! May being 5 be all you hoped for - and all the adventures to come be happy ones!

I didn’t do a “cross”-examination last week because we didn’t go to church.  *gasp*  Yes, that’s right.  Due to the popcorn overnighter, we ended up staying home and “resting.”

But this week was different.  We headed down south - and I mean south.  Y’all who aren’t from around here parts, lemme fill you in on a little secret.  Oak Cliff is afurpiece from where we live.  First of all, it’s south of downtown Dallas.  Quite a bit south.  We live about 35 miles north of downtown.  Secondly, Oak Cliff is “old Dallas.”  The houses have been there for 50-60 years or more (yeah, I hear you New Englanders snickering - cut it out, will ya?), the trees are huge, neighborhoods are established.  We live in a new neighborhood in a newly constructed house with little tiny baby trees and new construction going up all around us.  Basically, we live in an area of “new money.”  Thirdly, there is a huge cultural difference between where we live and Oak Cliff.  Where we live is primarily white, or caucasian.  Oak Cliff is predominantly black, or African American.  So we headed down for a totally unique experience…and lemme tell you something.

We had ourselves some CHURCH!!!!!
Read the rest of this entry »

The Packers/Giants game hasn’t even started, so I don’t have anything to say about that.

Not that it matters.

The Patriots have just beaten the Chargers and are heading to THE SUPER BOWL, BABY!! That’s 18-0 for those of you keeping score at home. One game away from perfection. One game away from the best record in NFL history. One game away from being crowned football’s best yet again.

Woot!

It’s late, I’m tired, it’s been quite a day. But I’m striving toward my goal of averaging 4 posts a week, so here goes. You can call it “cheating” if you want. I prefer to call it “being resourceful.” And “letting the words speak for themselves.” And “not stealing another person’s thunder.”

Today we celebrated Crisana’s birthday - another year of life. Another year to add to the “dash.” So much she’s learned to do in the last 12 months…so many more adventures await us in the year ahead. Carpe diem…sieze the day. Fill in that dash with as much “life” as you can. Make it count. And love every minute of it.

And now, I give you: “The Dash.”

It seems like an eternity since we last heard Ryan Seacrest utter those now-famous words:

“THIS…is Ammmerican Idol!”

It’s been months since Jordin Sparks was crowned pop’s newest queen and the confetti flew.  My friends, the wait is now over!  Let the auditions begin!

There were many memorable auditions, many who stood out among the crowd.  But there were a few who really made an impression on me - those that I won’t soon forget.  They sung with passion and emotion.  They remained true to themselves and their dreams.  They climbed that mountain of ambition and drive…

and…well, let’s just let the results speak for themselves, shall we?

We begin with the dear soul, James Lewis.

Helpful hint:  Anytime someone uses the word “unique” to describe their style of singing, be afraid.  Be VERY afraid.  And cover your ears just a little.

All I can say is, bless his heart.

And now, we move on to another sincere, though misguided, soul…Milo Turk.

Helpful hint:  If you’re over age, find some other way to get your message across.  I hear myspace and youtube are excellent avenues.

All I can say is, bless HIS heart.

And, finally, my favorite of the week: Renaldo Lapuz, a.k.a., “The Birdman”.

Helpful hint:  Don’t listen unless you want this song echoing through your head for days…endlessly.  Oops, too late.

‘nuf said.

Now, sing with me!  “You are my brother, my best friend forever, singing the song, the music that you like….”