The Sweetest Thing
Welcome to a journal of my day, thoughts, opinion, and other things. Maybe you'll agree, maybe you'll laugh, maybe you'll be inspired...Just be nice when you leave comments!
Summer Fun!
The kids want to see the new Karate Kid. I do not. It can’t be nearly as good, no as GREAT, as the original. So, my answer – we rented it. Yes, Redbox has it! It was just as good this time as it was 20 years ago when I first watched it. If it’s been that long for you, watch it again. It’s worth it. I’ll take them to see it I just would rather Redbox it for a buck. Here’s something you won’t believe: Ralph Macchio was 24 when he made the first Karate Kid! He looked 15. And I didn’t remember Elisabeth Shue being in it.
We did go see Toy Story 3 last week. It was really cute and sad at the same time. Sad because when I saw the other Toy Storys last my kids were young enough to want to watch it all the time and now they’re into iCarly, Big Time Rush, VicTORIous, and all of those other teen and pre-teen shows. The movie showed clips from when Andy was young and played with all of the toys, when his sister was a baby – all of which was synonymous with my kids being young – and then it showed him now, as a young man going to college and the “memories” we watched were home movies. I did cry a little in the first 5 minutes of the movie. Time flies by, doesn’t it?
So we’re making scrapbooks for our summer, which sounds like fun right? Whatever we do, we’re saving the tickets and taking pictures and putting them in a binder. We’re very excited about it! We have big plans for our summer scrapbooks. I’ll post them for you at the end of the summer J
In the meantime my kids are very busy making forts in the living room every day. I even had the privilege of being invited into Peyton’s for a visit. So did my mom! We read a book and listened to music while I got to sit on a throne of pillows. What a nice afternoon! In the evenings we have family game nights. Our favorite game – Cranium. Best. Game. Ever. We love to play teams – boys against girls. But tonight R was working so we played against each other, each man (or girl) for themselves. Good times. Hunter won, Peyton came in second, and I lost. Yes – I lost on purpose but it was fun doing it! Peyton didn’t want to lose, but she didn’t want me to lose, either. I was purposely not seeing things on the dice or adding too slowly and she was continually pointing out what I was missing. How sweet is she? We baked cookies, too.
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The Happy Box
So my daughter, who is fabulously creative, came up with a great idea. She decided that we needed a “Happy Box” for when we felt sad or upset. Initially it was exclusively for the two of us but she later expanded it to include her brother and dad; how sweet of her. So we all came up with uplifting and inspiring phrases to place in the box (well, all except her brother who thought it was a stupid idea and wanted no part of it unless he could put something vulgar in the box!). Coincidentally, my normally very happy daughter feels sad often and needs to visit the Happy Box frequently since its establishment.
She is normally fortunate enough to pull out one of my sentiments that tells how beautiful you are, how wonderfully you’re made, or how loved you are. But once, she pulled out one that clearly was not written by me or my daughter. No, this was the work of her quite hilarious and clever father and it said, “smile jerk.” She tried not to laugh and to appear genuinely hurt and disgusted while asking, “who wrote this?” (like she didn’t know!). To which her dad replied, “it made you smile didn’t it?” all too proud of his accomplishment. (Okay, it was pretty funny, admittedly; but we tore it in half so the “jerk” was removed and “smile” was left, though we know what it really says and we still smile). So, anyway, the point is – what a fabulous idea, right? We love it and use it several times a week. Tonight though, she announced – after she pulled a note out because she was “sad” – that the box would be a happier box if it had candy in it. Guess that’s the end of that.
Truth be told, I’d be happier with chocolate in me, too.
I had the most fabulous weekend with my husband! You know how when you’ve been married for a long time, have kids, jobs, and responsibilities, things are taken for granted? Marriages, even wonderful marriages, are often over looked. My husband and I love to take weekenders without our kids, but we haven’t done it in two years. We love our kids and all of our time is family time; however we love each other and the reason we’re married is because we are crazy about each other. Still. After 14 years of marriage, 5 years of dating, and two kids later. The reason we only take weekenders, and we do this annually or less, is because we also love being parents and not only do we LOVE our children, we LIKE them, too. Our kids are awesome and an integral and fun part of our lives. But, as I explained to Hunter over dinner last night, the reason mom and dad take weekends occasionally is because before we had kids it was just the two of us. We love being parents but we also love being husband and wife.
Weekenders are good. Our kids understand. We have awesome kids.
So, let’s talk about our weekend. We stayed at my favorite hotel in St. Augustine: The Holiday Inn. I love this hotel! It has very big, clean rooms. Each room is equipped with updated and clean mini refrigerators, microwaves, and coffee makers. The beds are big and comfy, the bathrooms are clean, they provide Bath & Body shampoos and lotions (Coconut Lime Verbena), and it’s safe. You must use your room key to enter the hotel and the rooms have indoor entry.
The pool area is great and the biggest reason I love this hotel. It’s a large pool with plenty of seating and lounging area. They have a tiki bar! It’s called “Crabbies” and they make the best drinks and play island music all day! They serve fruity and frozen combinations that you can sip poolside all while listening to island music and working on your tan – just like being somewhere truly tropical.
Inside the hotel is a restaurant (they also have reasonably priced room service) which serves breakfast. They have dinner hours as well, but breakfast is the only dining time we take advantage of. It’s $9.95 per person, kids eat free. They have a buffet style breakfast, which I usually oppose (buffet style dining disgusts me) but this one is clean. Each container of food is separate, with a lid and a warmer underneath, each with its own serving spoons. They have warm food, breads, cereals, fruit, juices, coffee, and a chef making custom ordered omelets. You don’t get this kind of deal anywhere else!
So all weekend we lounged by (or in) the pool, on the beach, sipped our little fruity frozen drinks, and relaxed. We talked, we laughed, and we enjoyed each other. We also ate. We didn’t eat horribly bad, but we did go off our “diet” of no preservatives and very clean food. We walked around historic St. Augustine and stumbled upon “Kosmic Bluz” pizza. Oh my goodness. It was delicious! We had a slice of pizza a piece (how strong are we? We totally could have ordered a whole pizza!), splurged on garlic knots but didn’t eat them all, and had 2 for 1 sangrias – it was delicious! (I became a fan on facebook, by the way, you should too!)
Then we went back the hotel for about an hour before heading over to The Conch House for dinner. I’ve eaten there on a girl’s weekend, but he never had. We had outdoor dining on the deck over the water. Tiki torches and a live band equal really cook ambiance. Good food, overpriced, but as Rusty put it – the company was worth it (nicely said, I thought). Anything goes here. Some people are dressed very nice – promish even – while others are fresh off the water, sunburned and sweaty.
We left the restaurant and had a night cap on the beach gazebo. We went inside before the mosquitoes carried us away and crashed for the night. We slept so well in the big, comfy bed! We woke up to our alarm set for 7am just seconds before our daughter sent a “good morning mommy” text. I missed them.
We ate breakfast, went to the beach, lounged by the pool with our frozen, fruity drinks until it got so hot we couldn’t stand it anymore and then we packed up and left. We had one more stop to make before we left, another of my favorite places to eat in St. Augustine: Mango Mango’s. You must eat there! You can be wet, in a bathing suit, or dressed nice. They’ve got great food and great people working there – it’s a ‘don’t miss’ place to eat.
St. Augustine makes me happy. One day I will own a house there. That’s a promise.
Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”
It’s a beautiful verse and it says it all. I have taught this in my classroom every year for 4 years and yesterday, they GOT it. Really got it. It’s hard to get adults to understand what Christ went through so that we have a chance to have eternal life in Heaven, but kids? Another story altogether. I had tears from a second grader. That’s getting it. It was quiet – silent – while they listened to the story of how Jesus was tried and Pilate knew he was innocent, but allowed him to be crucified anyway. How he was beaten, lashed, spit on, tortured, nailed to a cross and left to die. Jesus, while he was weary and dying on that cross, saved another soul and said to him, “today you will be with me in Paradise.” On that cross, He was still only thinking of us. Me. You. Then God sent darkness over the hill of Calvary and everyone fled the area for fear of a terrible storm. It was the middle of the day and black. For the next several hours God placed all of the world’s sin on His only Son. Jesus took all of our sin on his body so that we could have a life of eternity with Him in Heaven. Sin that already was, sin that was happening in His time, and sin that had yet to come – our sin. Could you imagine living in that time and knowing that your God, your Savior, was suffering for you? How about knowing that your Son was being treated this way? Could we stand by and watch our own child go through this? I know I couldn’t. How did Mary, Jesus’ earthly mother, survive this? My heart aches to know that he went through all of that for the entire world, yet some people still deny Him.
How amazing that third day must have been! When the boulder was rolled away and Jesus came out of the tomb in his resurrection body! I love that He went to talk to his apostles and the angel was sitting on the rock and asking “why are you crying?” Mary Magdelene thought Jesus was the gardner because she didn’t recognize Him in His new body. I love how He became “new again” and so can we. Except, when we get our resurrection bodies they will be perfect and scar free; Jesus’ is not. He will bear the scars of our sin on His body for eternity. The scars on His hands and Feet will forever be there showing where he was nailed to the cross for you and me. I love Jesus for what He did for me and my children. I want to shout from the mountaintops and shake the people who deny Him – how could they? I will continue to pray for all my friends and family and their salvation. I will continue to teach at my school so that I can reach even more people that way through the children’s lives I touch each day. I know my forever home is in Heaven with my God and Jesus, I pray that all of my loved ones will be there one day with me. Have a blessed Easter and remember why we are celebrating Him. Please watch this video which has clips from The Passion of the Christ. It’s very powerful and moving, but worth it.
New Again
Love in Him,
~K
That is what I should have named this blog – The Peanut Gallery. Someone referred to me as that today, and then I caught myself referring to my son as such (while I was cooking – YES, I was cooking – the husband is working). I realized then, while I stirred the rice pilaf, that I should have titled my blog The Peanut Gallery. Oh, well. That’s just the way I roll – I am so wishy washy, nothing sounds great for long. I always find something better after I make a final, unchangeable decision.
So … I watched DWTS last night and I am STILL in shock. I missed Shannen, the newscaster girl, and others, but I didn’t miss the Pussycat Doll, Pamela Anderson, or Kate. What? The PCD is a professional dancer – WHY is she on there? And did you catch the previews of DWTS? They referred to Pamela as “the world’s sexiest woman.” What world? Poor thing – she looked like a train wreck (I have another colorful description for her, but it’s mean). Poor Kate – she used to be adorable. The fake hair, the weird boobs, what happened to her flat abdomen from her tummy tuck? Okay, if you haven’t watched – you need to. I can’t wait to see it next week.
I’m over American Idol – I think it sucks this season. Not great talent. I guess Paula did add a little something to the panel … Randy should have been the one to be replaced – all he does is repeat what the other judges say. Annoying.
On a positive note – I have discovered something wonderful for women’s feet. I have always used my husband’s used razors on my feet (he buys the expensive ones because he shaves his head and face daily, he uses them twice and they’re no good; for his head that is, fine for my legs and what not. Then, when they’re no good, I use them on my feet). It works like the pedicure razors, but safer because it can’t go too deep. Then I have no more hard spots, cracks or anything less than soft. Wearing heels or flip flops a lot though, they get dry quickly. I was sleeping with lotion but ran out, so I tried something new. I use Olay Regenerist on my face and neck, the backs of my hands and my decolletage (the places that age first) when I had an epiphany! I tried it on my feet and the next morning … voila – supple heels! So then I put it on my elbows – perfection! I think I want to bathe in this stuff!!!! Try it – you’ll love it!
More tomorrow. Goodnight and blessings to all.
~The Peanut Gallery
That is what I should have named this blog – The Peanut Gallery. Someone referred to me as that today, and then I caught myself referring to my son as such (while I was cooking – YES, I was cooking – the husband is working). I realized then, while I stirred the rice pilaf, that I should have titled my blog The Peanut Gallery. Oh, well. That’s just the way I roll – I am so wishy washy, nothing sounds great for long. I always find something better after I make a final, unchangeable decision.
So … I watched DWTS last night and I am STILL in shock. I missed Shannen, the newscaster girl, and others, but I didn’t miss the Pussycat Doll, Pamela Anderson, or Kate. What? The PCD is a professional dancer – WHY is she on there? And did you catch the previews of DWTS? They referred to Pamela as “the world’s sexiest woman.” What world? Poor thing – she looked like a train wreck (I have another colorful description for her, but it’s mean). Poor Kate – she used to be adorable. The fake hair, the weird boobs, what happened to her flat abdomen from her tummy tuck? Okay, if you haven’t watched – you need to. I can’t wait to see it next week.
I’m over American Idol – I think it sucks this season. Not great talent. I guess Paula did add a little something to the panel … Randy should have been the one to be replaced – all he does is repeat what the other judges say. Annoying.
On a positive note – I have discovered something wonderful for women’s feet. I have always used my husband’s used razors on my feet (he buys the expensive ones because he shaves his head and face daily, he uses them twice and they’re no good; for his head that is, fine for my legs and what not. Then, when they’re no good, I use them on my feet). It works like the pedicure razors, but safer because it can’t go too deep. Then I have no more hard spots, cracks or anything less than soft. Wearing heels or flip flops a lot though, they get dry quickly. I was sleeping with lotion but ran out, so I tried something new. I use Olay Regenerist on my face and neck, the backs of my hands and my decolletage (the places that age first) when I had an epiphany! I tried it on my feet and the next morning … voila – supple heels! So then I put it on my elbows – perfection! I think I want to bathe in this stuff!!!! Try it – you’ll love it!
More tomorrow. Goodnight and blessings to all.
~The Peanut Gallery
So, I’ve decided that I have too much to say and could spend an entire day monopolizing all of my friend’s homepages on facebook with the pouring out of status updates, so I’ve decided to start a personal blog. I chose the title The Sweetest Thing for several reasons. One, it is one my favorite movies – EVER. Two, it can mean so many things – my kids are the sweetest things, my husband is the sweetest thing, and I say it all the time. For example: “Isn’t that the sweetest thing?” There you go. I can be very opinionated and mouthy, so I needed an outlet. Enjoy!
