thursday's ten: summer movie edition

so.  i haven't been to the movies since...
um, i don't remember. i do remember that i went with natasha, and that we laughed and laughed at inappropriate things...
right.
bridesmaids.
(a sometimes inappropriate but hilarious and somehow redeeming movie.  do i recommend?  depends on who you are ;-)

and before THAT?
i have NO idea what the last movie in the theater was.

so.

here's a short list (because there are probably more) of recent-ish movies
that i would like to see.  sooner rather than later
(hey, the good news is that we're moving about 2 miles away from the only $1.50 theater in the area...so that's cool)


1.  the help. 
but...i need to read the book first!  anyone local have a copy i can borrow?  i'm pretty sure the library will have a waiting list a mile long...perhaps i should just break down and buy it ;-)
2.  mr poppers penguins
i know, i know.  i'm a dork.  but...it's PENGUINS.  and the book is adorable, so why not the movie?
3.  water for elephants
(yeah, i told you it had been awhile...)
4.  cars 2
but of course!
5.  midnight in paris
why?  because it's paris...and critics actually like it so i'm willing to give it a chance
6.  captain america
because no.one.will.shut.up.about.it so now i'm curious :-)
7.  something borrowed
because my sisters in law REALLY wanted to go see it together and we never did...so i'm planning to have them over to watch it as soon as i get moved ;-)
8.  the adjustment bureau
because i'm a sucker for movies like this
9.  cedar rapids
because it looks stupid funny
10.  happythankyoumoreplease
because the storyline looks intriguing

what about you?  have you seen any of these?  tell me whether you think they're a must-see, a horrible waste of time, or somewhere in between.  and of course, if you have any recent movie recommendations please share them! full disclosure is that i had to look up recent movies to even come up with half this list, so i probably NEED to be told the good movies out there! :D

PLEASE feel free to play along!

prayers needed

our friends Cameron and Liz have two precious little girls.
and the youngest, Abygail, ran into the street on saturday evening and was hit by a car
she's 3 years old

and i've been obsessively watching the parent's updates, but haven't wanted to make a post about it because i didn't want to link to their facebook pages.

however, they have now created a blog
which will continually post the updates.

can you please, please take a moment
to pray for this family
this amazing little girl?

she continues to amaze the doctors
her parents give all glory to God
all thanks to the thousands of people praying

our God is HEALER, awesome in power...
these words are constant in my soul when i think of this family

please join us, if you will

here's the blog: http://prayingforabygail.wordpress.com/

thank you all

hey, it's ok (tuesday)

hey, it's ok

...to be sooooo sleepy
...to "trap" the baby and yourself upstairs when she decides to climb the stairs, because frankly you're tired of chasing her. either (a) she wants to play upstairs and will be content or (b) realize that she's stuck in the place she chooses if she climbs and not climb as often. either way, we both win :-)
...to be excited about stocking a nice, spacious pantry
...on that note, to be thrilled to be able to move a little at a time.  and YES i know y'all still don't know the story.  it deserves it's own post ;-)
...to be almost a little sad that this phase of the diet is nearly over.  i mean, eating dairy and olive oil again will be really nice.  but i have felt SO.GOOD on this phase, and i know for sure that sugar intake will be MUCH less from this point on
...to really, really, really want to organize your cd collection.  but to realize that it would be pointless since you're going to be merging collections soon anyway...
...to realize that the very nature of moving means that there will be plans needed and organization galore and that means you can be in your happy place for a very.long.time :D

mmmkay, that was a bit boring, no?  sorry...maybe i'll have better things next time around!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

hcg week four wrap-up

i'm making a wild guess here that you could care less what i ate every day this week

although, for anyone doing hcg, i'll tell you that sparkling water, vanilla creme stevia, and sliced strawberries make a nice change up for a snack ;)

or that mixing your 1 allotted tablespoon of milk with horseradish mustard, tony's seasoning (spicier) and a few other random spices you find lying about makes a GREAT dressing.

or that atlanta's cnn center has a GREAT food court with several hcg friendly choices.  i had steak fajita meat over lettuce at a mexican restaurant and cucumbers with spicy chicken at salad sensations (all their stuff is made without butter or oil, it's organic...i.was.a.fan.)

and, for this week's numbers: i lost 5 pounds and 5 inches (first time ever those two have matched...)

total pounds lost: 18.3
total inches lost: 24.5

it's a great day to be at WoF

today i'm in atlanta

attending women of faith

with my future mother in law

when i get home i will share more with you

but pardon me while i go live in this moment

and worship my Papa

:-)

happy weekend, all!

thursday's ten: the women of faith edition

so...this week is a bit different here at thursday's ten!  i'm so excited to be participating in a really cool program this fall.

1. because i review books for Thomas Nelson through Booksneeze, i was presented with the opportunity to apply to attend a Women of Faith event for FREE.
2. i immediately went to the website and filled out all the info.  i knew that atlanta was probably a pretty popular choice, so i tried not to get my hopes up that i would be selected.
3. a few weeks later, i got a great email informing me that I had been selected!
4. my requirements for going are to post at least 2 blogs about the event, one before and one after as well as to display the nifty little badge you see over there to your right on the blog for at least 30 days.
5. i will TOTALLY be life tweeting the event.  the official hashtag for the WoF Imagine is #wofimage so be sure to follow if you're interested in what's going on there!
6. i received 2 free tickets to the event, and I'm taking my future mother in law.  We will be staying with Anthony's Aunt Tammy while we are there, so we'll get a little family bonding in too :-)  i'm so thankful that God has placed me within such a God-seeking family...a little added bonus to marrying this man i love :-)
7. i honestly have a very limited grasp of what to expect.  BUT i'm actually pretty excited about that.  i'm praying that God will release His Spirit all over that place and that the worship and speakers will be out of this world amazing :-)
8. we leave today after i get off work.  events begin Friday at 9 am sharp, so we may be slightly sleep deprived...but i'm sure staying involved won't be a problem.
9. i can't WAIT to tell you all about it!
10. Have i mentioned i'm excited? :-)

i have wanted to go to a women of faith event since a few years ago when some friends gave me the women of faith devotional for a birthday gift.  i have so appreciated the wisdom and insight from these Godly women, and am thrilled to be able to experience all of this firsthand.  plus, you know me...any chance to take off a weekend and just worship my Papa is a chance i'm going to take!

what i'm loving wednesday (8.10.11)

i'm loving that my schedule is getting ready to switch up for the FINAL time this year.  i'm going to have a 'normal' weekly schedule which means it will be SO much easier to actually schedule in a life ;-)

i'm loving fresh tomatoes from my garden (and from my dad's since i brought home an entire box last weekend!)

i'm loving the lifestyle changes that this diet has brought.  in my future i see stevia-flavored sweet tea, lower carb menus (at least 2-3 days per week with very few or no carbs), different approaches to cooking in general, and more balance between protein and veggies/fruits

i'm loving getting into a more realistic sleep schedule

i'm loving that we had a fantastic trip to indiana last weekend -- saw people i hadn't seen in years, some great friends, and ended up spending an impromptu evening with some great friends

i'm loving already meal planning with my future hubby.  i think we've come up with a system that will work so that we incorporate favorite recipes, have easy dinner nights, try out new recipes, and not get bored.  oh, and eat out once in awhile too :-)  our 'practice' month will be september

i'm loving our save the dates that we finally emailed a couple of weeks ago.  (feel free to visit our website if you so choose)

hcg week three wrap-up

sunday
- breakfast: 'sweet tea'
- lunch: chicken 'stir fried' with cabbage
- snack: orange & melba toast
- dinner: tomato and ground beef soup, garlic melba
- snack: strawberries, vanilla creme stevia, sparkling water (YUM)

monday
- lunch: cottage cheese and strawberries
- dinner: beef kabobs and onion petals

honestly?  i don't remember after that.  i DO know that i totally cheated while we were in indiana and there was a fantastic german buffet spread.  but at the end of the week, even WITH that cheat, i'm down a total of 13.1 pounds and 19.5 inches.

(and 2.5 jeans sizes, if anyone is counting besides me)

hey, it's ok (tuesday)

hey, it's ok

...to roll your eyes when a person who has no connection to or degree in education as well as no children displays her opinion on educational matters as fact.
...to think that oatmeal may be the most unappetizing looking food ever. i just made some for the three year old for breakfast and the entire bowl lifted up with one spoon. ick.
...to be sort of impressed at the blog spammers who will still post through word verification. sort of.
...to be excited to see the photos from our engagement session last night. :-)
...to really have started enjoying this diet. and to, in fact, not really be in a hurry for it to end.
...to be uber-annoyed at your phones lack of ability to hold battery power anymore
...to be not-so-patiently awaiting the release of the iPhone 5, or whatever they'll call it (whatever it will be is a huge step from my plain jane 3g-no-s...)
...to really really really need to start thinking about packing. like now.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

what i'm loving wednesday (8.3.11)

i'm loving that i realized today that there is more behind me than ahead of me on this diet, and that i'm not craving all the "bad" food at all.  i mean, i'll be running to chick-fila at some point immediately after finishing, but i really appreciate the true lifestyle changes that i can foresee from this.  and isn't that the whole point of a "diet" anyway?

i'm loving that anthony and i haven't butted heads on pretty much anything in picking out furnishings, decor, etc for our upcoming new place.  now, a lot of that is letting us each have our own domain (me: kitchen, him: entertainment room), but quite a bit of it is back and forth discussion and reaching a mutual decision.  currently we're playing elimination games for bedside tables, bookshelves, etc.

i'm loving that i have some exciting news to share of God's amazing provision and faithfulness...but i'm hating that i can't share it quite yet.  soon, though.  very soon.

i'm loving random and wonderful moments stolen away with friends.  it seems like we're all so stinkin busy these days, and it's really nice to be able to connect even if it's only for 20 minutes.  and face to face trumps all!

i'm loving pinterest.  i have become addicted in a very few short days.  i have to admit that a lot of it probably stems from my upcoming wedding and new dwelling place, but i can see this being something i'll enjoy for quite awhile!

i'm loving thundershowers that appear in the midst of this summer crazy heat.  i'm wishing for more frequent thundershowers...my poor tomatoes.

i'm loving new piano students...new jobs...

i'm loving the fact that a few short weeks from now i'll be moving to a new location soon to be joined by my HUSBAND.  i'm not loving the packing, etc, that will have to occur in the next few short weeks.

hey it's ok (tuesday)

hey, it's ok

...to be irritated when driving in rush hour at the number of people illegally in the hov lane. in 38 cars, i counted 6 that had more than just the driver. that includes the guy who had a 7 year old in the front passenger seat.
...to wonder if you'll ever EVER catch up on sleep, ever.
...to groan internally when the loud or messy toys emerge
...to feel pretty good about solving problems for several people in one day, especially when gratitude is expressed
...to have design ideas and organizational gems constantly running through your head these days
...to have become addicted to pinterest in a very short amount of time
...to not really understand either google+ or spotify just yet. most likely because all free time is spent on pinterest
...to adore every single child in your care, but to really enjoy a few hours a week when you're WORKING with ADULTS!
...to feel like a lot was accomplished over the weekend: honeymoon booked, wedding rings bought, and save the dates emailed
...to be looking forward to naptime. a lot.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone