My ABC's

A. AREA CODE : 417
B. BED SIZE: Queen
C. CHORE YOU HATE: Folding laundry
D. DOG'S NAME: Chester Taylor Reed
E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM: Coffee
F. FAVORITE COLOR: green and purple (but not necessarily together)
G. GOLD OR SILVER: Gold
H. HEIGHT: 5'7
I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: Clarinet... 6th grade band
J. JOB: Speech Language Pathologist (a.k.a., Speech Therapist)
K. KIDS: In the future
L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: Living in a house with husband and our dog Chester
M. MOM'S NAME: Kathy
N. NICKNAME: Manda, Mannie, Mrs. Weed (my speech kids!)
O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: Sophmore in hs; Right ACL reconstruction.
P. PET PEEVE: Ignorant people, Slow drivers, Attitude, etc...
Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: Steel Magnolias
                                                         Clairee: I've just been to the dedication of the new children's park.
                                           Truvy: Yeah, how did that go?
                                           Clairee: Janice Van Meter got hit with a baseball. It was fabulous.
                                           Truvy: Was she hurt?
                                           Clairee: I doubt it. She got hit in the head. 
R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: Right
S. SIBLINGS: 2 Sisters: Kelli and Megan
T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: M-F: 5-5:30; Saturday & Sunday: ??
U. UNDERWEAR: Don't go without!
V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: Cooked Broccoli
W. WAYS/REASONS YOU ARE LATE: Bc I watch tv
X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: Teeth, L arm, R leg
Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: LOVE TO COOK AND BAKE... 'nough said.
Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: Pandas, tigers, lions, alligators, polar bears, etc.... basically all zoo animals!

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

I'm coming to you once again, Father. I'm coming to you last when I should have came to you first. Please forgive me for thinking of you last. However, Father, that is not the real reason why I'm coming to you. I'm coming to you tonight, Father, for guidance, strength, and comfort in my personal life and career life.

There are things in my life of which I need to change. I realize this. This is why I'm asking for some guidance from you right now. I need guidance as I'm trying to steer myself out of this rut. My actions, and more or less how I handle situations, are not the healthiest for myself as an individual, as a wife, as a friend, as a daughter, and as an SLP. When things become a little too sticky for me to handle, I bottle it up inside without telling a soul. I know this is wrong. I know I should talk with you and my husband about situations, but my personality tries to prevent me from it. Guide me, Father, in making sound decisions that will allow me to open up to you, my husband, my family, my friends, and my co-workers better. Guide me, please. Guide me.

While in this rut, I feel weak. This is why I'm asking for strength from you, Father. I'm feeling weak because of 1. the lack of communication on my part; 2. the lack of standing up for myself; and 3. the lack of confidence in my decisions. Give me strength, Father, to be a better communicator to all that I encounter. Give me strength, Father, to stand up for myself and to let my voice/opinion be heard. Give me strength, Father, to make sound decisions that will allow me (the individual), me (the spiritual follower), me (the wife), me (the family member), me (the friend), me (the employee) and my physical/spiritual family to move forward in a positive direction. Give me strength, Father. Give me strength.  

My heart and spirit has been broken here lately, Father. This is why I'm bowing myself before you asking for comfort. Please comfort my heart and spirit in such a way that will mend both of them and allow me to move forward in a positive direction. Please comfort me, Father. Please, please, please provide me comfort.

Please, God, hear my plea and answer my prayer.

In Jesus Christ's name, AMEN!

Scentsy Party

Yesterday, I hosted a Scentsy Party at my house. For those of you who haven't heard of Scentsy, Scentsy is a wickless candle product that provides a home-filling fragrance in a decorative ceramic warmer.  Because the wax is gently warmed rather than burned, it can hold more fragrance oil than a traditional candle, and, because there is no flame, there is no smoke, soot or lead. Scentsy wickless candles are a safer alternative to traditional candles.


I first heard of Scentsy about a year ago from this girl I used to work with. I never went to a party that she hosted; however, I did get to smell the Scentsy wax bars and see some of the ceramic warmers. Amazing products! Absolutely gorgeous and wonderful smells! About two months ago, one of my best friends told me she was selling Scentsy products. I told her I wanted to have a party because I wanted to buy some products and also wanted to support her new business. Check out her webiste: http://dianamarie.scentsy.us. The party was very informal. I invited quite a few people on the off chance that they would show; however, I knew the majority of them wouldn't show. The ones who did come though was my mom, sister Kelli, sister Megan, aunt Bev, and friend/neighbor/co-worker Deenna. We had a blast. Good fun, good smells, and good laughter.  As of right now, I ordered the Full-Size Warmer Pack. I get I full-sized warmer and 3 Scentsy bars. Here's the warmer I chose (from the Isabella Collection: Lisbon):  

I can't wait until it comes in, and I can't wait to order more!!!! These are such good products, and I highly recommend everyone to buy Scentsy from my friend Diana! She's an amazing consultant!!!! :) I hope everyone has a great Sunday! GOD BLESS! 

Show Us Your Life: Cleaning Tips

This week on "Show Us Your Life," by Kelly's Korner, cleaning tips were discussed and shared.

I wouldn't consider myself a "neat freak" by any means. I don't have to have my house immaculately clean 24/7. However, there are things that I have to do every day to make myself feel sane. 

1. Our bed has to be made everyday. It just gives the feel of an organized and well-kept bedroom. 

2. All clothes are either hung up at the end of the day or put in the dirty laundry basket. I can't stand it when clothes are just lying on the floor. 

3. I don't like going to bed knowing that dirty dishes are in the sink. I usually try to either put the dishes in the dishwasher before I go to bed; however that doesn't always happen. If I don't do it at night, I will get up the next day.

I usually deep-clean once per week. I used to deep-clean on Saturdays, but recently, I've been doing my "major" cleaning on Fridays right after I get home from work. I really like NOT cleaning on a Saturdays because then I have the entire day to rest and relax. Ahhh... Here are some of my fav products:

1. The Clorox Green Works Products

I really like the Green Works line because all of the products are made with natural ingredients. The one thing I have always hated about cleaning is smelling the awful, toxic, strong smells of the chemicals that could potentially give me a headache later on. I don't have to worry about smelling a toxic smells with the Green Works line. Another reason I love this line is because it actually cleans very well! :)

2. Vinegar

I love cleaning with vinegar. It removes any bad smell that may be lurking around. Vinegar cleans deep down. It is absolutely amazing! Also, it's a safe cleaning product that won't cause any harm to our health. I mix it with almost all of my cleaning products.

3. Anti-bacterial Wipes

I love using disinfecting wipes on our counter tops. The wipes gets rid of nasty germs that you can't see. Using them just makes our kitchen and bathrooms seem and feel cleaner. LOVE THEM! 

4. Soft Scrub

When cleaning our bathrooms (especially our showers/tubs), my must use product is Soft Scrub. It removes almost everything and gives our showers/tubs that sparkling, bright look that makes me feel clean! One downside of this product though is the smell. It has a strong smell, but it is very powerful when removing grime.   

Top 2 Tuesday: 2 Things I Can't Live Without

As part of  Undomestic Momma's Top 2 Tuesday, here are my "Top 2 Can't Live Withouts": 



1. COFFEE

I LOVE COFFEE!!!! Whether it's coffee from a coffee shop or coffee at my house, I love coffee! I love going to coffee houses and trying new things. I love the atmosphere of the coffee scene: people sitting around a round table talking to one another about their lives (wether good or bad) and just enjoying the moment. Ahhhh... Enjoying a nice cup of joe at my house is also relaxing because I love taking it outside and listening to the early morning sounds of the day. It's so relaxing.

2. BREAKFAST FOODS

I LOVE BREAKFAST! I could eat breakfast food any time of the day! I prefer breakfast foods over any other type of food out there. It's just my "must have." I must have breakfast. If I was to pick anything I wanted for breakfast, I would have scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits 'n gravy, hash-browns, strawberries, and orange juice! Ahh... YUMMY!!!!

Still Sick

So, I'm at home once again today. Still don't feel well, and I know that if I was to go to work, I would be miserable all day. Also, I may still be contagious. Even though I've been on antibiotics for a full 24 hours, I've still had an off-and-on low-grade fever and headache since yesterday evening.

I've not even been awake for a full 2 hours and already on the computer... can we say, "Computer/facebook addict?" I know that will not change. However, I will say this on my defense: I'm a lot better than what I used to be. I used to get on facebook and play 6 or 7 games. Games such as Cafe World, Farm Town, Farm Ville, Happy Fish Aquarium, Treasure Madness, and a few others. Now, I don't play ANY of those games. I just got tired of it. All of the games are basically the same. Different title, different look, but all basically the same.

 So... I've been doing some online checking of the Willow Tree products. I already have the Willow Tree 'Promise' Cake Topper. I bought it for our wedding cake, and this was the end product:

I really like the Willow Tree products. They are so cute and are actually the one and only thing that I've ever wanted to collect! I only have one for right now, but I know I will get more in the future. These are some of the ones that I'm wanting:

Surrounded By Love                                                                

            

Je t'amie (I love you)                 

Guardian Angel

    Angel of Prayer                                                                         

                               

  

  Happiness

Friendship

These are just SOME of the ones that I would like to have. They have a pretty neat Nativity Scene as well! I know Christmas is over, but I can't wait till next Christmas! :) 

I hope everyone has a great day! Enjoy the sunshine if you can! GOD BLESS! 

So Many Happenings...

Since I've last blogged, so many things have happened! So, I'll give an update according to the date. Brace yourself, it's a long post!


Saturday, 3/13:


Brandon and I decided to venture to Springfield that evening because I needed to pick up some make-up and face wash. After dinner, we went to the mall and walked around. After the mall, Brandon spotted a near-by pet store called Pet Land. He wanted to go in and just look around, but I knew if we went in, we would want to buy an animal. We've always wanted a dog and have talked about it many time. However, we currently are renting, and at the beginning, our land lady told us, "No pets." The bit of information of "no pets" just wasn't ringing a bell in our minds at the time, and we decided to go in and check it out. Right away, we went towards the puppies. There were so many cute puppies! I wanted to take every one of them home with me. We instantly saw two dogs that we gravitated to more so than the others: a yorkie-poo and a yorkie. The yorkie-poo (mix of a yorkie and a poodle) was so tiny and cute! The yorkie was bigger and older than the yorkie-poo and was much calmer. An employee of Pet Land came up to us and asked if we wanted to hold a puppy. I said, "No, because if I hold it, I'm going to want it." However, we ended up holding the yorkie. He was so calm and collected, and he never barked one time! We decided (without thinking about the "no pet" rule) that we wanted him. The employee wrote up the paper-work to get us our new puppy!!!! We were so excited. We decided to pay for him over 4 separate checks because puppies are expensive!!!! When we were about to pay for him, the store manager came to us and told us their system was down and couldn't accept checks at that moment. He told us that we could put down a deposit and come get him tomorrow. So, we put down the deposit and left with no puppy. 


Sunday, 3/14:


We had a lot going on Sunday without having to add in going to pick up our new puppy. We decided to get up early and go pick him up first. We arrived at Pet Land, and their system was working! Here's our new puppy: 

Chester Taylor Reed 

We left Springfield at about noon and headed straight for West Plains. There was a birthday party for Brandon's 2nd cousin, who turned 2, in West Plains, and we went to it. I didn't take any pictures because I rarely do. That is something I wish to improve on. Anyways, we had fun at the party and then enjoyed some quality time with him mom and grandparents. Everyone got to meet Chester! After we chatted for a while, we knew we had to go home at a decent hour to get some rest for the beginning of the work week. 


Friday 3/19 - Sunday 3/21:


I woke up Friday morning, and I decided to weigh myself. I hadn't worked out for an entire week. I also didn't weigh myself on Tuesday for my weekly weigh-in. I needed to know what I weighed and how much I gained (I knew in my heart that I had gained.). I got on the scale, and I LOST 5 LBS since I first began dieting!!!!! I was stoked!!!! Friday night was a low key night for us. A friend at work invited us to go to her church and listen to a local band play. We were going to do that but changed our minds later on. We ended up going out to eat at a local Mexican restaurant and going back home. I started not feeling well, so I went to bed early that night. Brandon had a friend come over, and they played video games ALL NIGHT LONG. I woke up Saturday morning at 6:30 to let Chester go potty, and I found them still playing games. They continued playing until 8:30. All three of us then went to McDonald's for breakfast. After breakfast, we came home and took a nap. I still wasn't feeling the greatest. Once again, I went to bed early that night. My throat was hurting and was feeling full. I didn't like it one bit. I woke up Sunday morning with NO energy and no motivation to do anything. I ended up laying on the couch all day sleeping. 

Monday, 3/22:

When I woke up this morning, I still wasn't feeling the greatest, so I decided to stay home from work. I SHOULD have went to urgent care to be seen by a doctor; however, I decided not to. I know I had strep throat. I've had it so many times in the past that I know my symptoms of strep throat, and I know what I need to treat it. Luckily, we had some antibiotics in our medicine cabinet left over from past prescriptions; therefore, I just took some of them. I'm so glad I took the antibiotics because I feel so much better!!!!! By this afternoon, I was up and around, paying bills, cleaning, doing laundry, doing dishes, and making dinner. For dinner, I made Baked Creamy Bacon Wrapped Chicken and Potatoes. Here's the recipe:

3 Chicken Breasts (all cut in 1/2)
6 Potatoes
12 slices of bacon
2 cans cream of mushroom
1 cup of milk
2 tblspns of sour cream (I used fat free and they were BIG tablspns)

In a bowl, combine the cream of mushroom, milk, and sour cream. Cut potatoes in small-medium sized quarter pieces and put in a 9X13 baking dish. Wrap 2 pieces of bacon around each breast half and place over potatoes. Pour cream of mushroom mixture over the bacon wrapped chicken and potatoes. Bake @ 375 for 1 hr & 20 minutes (or until chicken and potatoes are done). ENJOY! 

Here's what it looked like (Sorry, but I already ate some of it!)

I hope everyone has had a good Monday. GOD BLESS! 

Preschoolers Give the Best Hugs

Good Evening Bloggers! I've been skippin' out on blogging lately!! SHAME SHAME ON ME!!! SOO... here are the updates:

I've officially been dieting now for a little over 2 weeks and I've lost 3 pounds!!! During the day, I'm eating about every two hours, and I still manage to lose weight. I eat HEALTHY, watch my calories/fat/carbs/protein, and I exercise. It's amazing! I haven't felt this great in a long time! If you are looking for a great way to get started losing weight and/or becoming healthier, then I encourage you to join sparkpeople.com . This website is FREE, offers amazing resources/recipes, tracks your nutrition, tracks, fitness, and tracks weight loss! AMAZING!!! JOIN NOW!!

I recently signed up to go to the Missouri Speech/Language Hearing Association's annual convention. It's going to be April 16-18 at Tan-Tar-A. This will be my first year going to a speech/language conference and I cannot wait! I'm going with great co-workers, and I know I'm going to have a blast!

As of late, there has been something that has weighed quite heavily on my heart. It's a matter of religion. For a long time now, I've prayed to GOD about my relationship with him (or rather the lacking of a relationship), and I've prayed to him about offering guidance and strength as my husband and I figure our way through life.  I've come to the realization that this heaviness in my heart IS the answer that I've been praying for. GOD has given me the answer that I've been praying for! GOD has told me the answer, and he wants to be connected with my heart just like I want my heart connected with him. THANK YOU GOD FOR GIVING ME THE ANSWERING AND SHOWING ME THE WAY!

My heart was heavy today, and before I started working, I knew it was going to be a long day. However, my preschoolers proved me wrong. I ended up having one of the best days because of them! They know exactly what to say to me to make me smile, and they give the best hugs around! They eased my mind, my spirit, and heart.

That's the updated version on our lives! Good Night and GOD BLESS!

Typical Day

From Kelly's Korner, Show Us Your Life topic is "What Is Your Typical Day Like?" So to answer this question, like so many others, I am going to divulge into this topic! 

• My alarm clock goes off at 5:15 am just about every day work day. I'm a morning person, so this really doesn't bother me. Right when my alarm goes off, I'm up and at 'em!

• After waking up, I hop in the shower for about 20 minutes. I get out, lotion up, put make-up on, and get dressed. By the time all of this is done, it's approximately 6:00 am.

• Before I start my hair, I go and make COFFEE!!! I have a love affair with coffee! That's all there is to it. I then turn the tv in the living room on to KY3. 

• After I start the coffee and turn the tv on, I go fix my hair. That is an ENTIRE PROCESS! Before I brush my hair, I spray in a leave-in conditioner. After I brush all the tangles out, I run gel through my hair with my hands, spray my hair with a spritz gel, and then hair spray it. With a diffuser, I dry my hair for about 5 minutes, spray with more hair spray, and then finish drying it. All in all, it takes me about 20 minutes to do my hair. By this time, it's pushing 6:30 am.

• I then go into the kitchen, eat breakfast (always cereal), and drink my coffee while I watch the morning news and forecast.  I watch tv for about 20-30 minutes (depending on how well I'm getting around that morning).

• Between 7:15 and 7:30 am, I go start my car, make my lunch, and brush my teeth. 

• By 7:30-7:40 am, I'm out the door and headed to work, which is only 10 miles away. At work, my actual day begins at 8:30 am and finishes at 3:00. I see kids all day long, except for my lunch break at 11:30-12:00. Depending on the amount of paperwork, calling parents, talking to teachers, it varies what time I'm home. Usually, I'm home at least by 4:30, but sometimes, that doesn't happen. 

• At home, I start dinner, and Brandon is usually home by 5:00. We eat dinner together and usually will either watch tv, a movie, or play video games together for a few hours. If we are going to work out that evening, we wait until after dinner (around 6:30-7:00) to go and work out. 

• Between 10-10:30 pm, I'm in the bed. I wake up the next morning and start my day all over again! 

That's my typical day! Crazy, hectic, and it's my life! I love it and wouldn't change a thing about it. Where I live, the sun is shining on the bright and glorious Saturday! Thank you GOD for giving us the amazing day! Have a great day and GOD BLESS! 

Weight Loss Challenge

I've been using www.sparkpeople.com now for a solid week. I tried to stick to the recommended calorie/carb/fat/protein intake (it didn't always happen) and only worked out 2 days. I ended up losing a 1/2 lb during that one week of dieting! I couldn't believe it! :) This may actually work! I'm going to continue to work hard, stick (or try harder) to my nutrition recommendations, work out 4 days/week, and drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. I CAN DO THIS!  I KNOW I CAN!  I'm not going to give up either because I've felt better within this past week than I have all year. Since losing the 1/2 lb, I have 19 1/2 lbs to go! :) Good night and GOD BLESS!

Decorations

Hey Everyone! I'm blogging tonight in my bed because -DAH DUHDUH DAH!!!!- we got a new tv for our bedroom, and I'm watching my favorite movie, Nightmare Before Christmas! Ever since we moved into our house, we haven't put a tv in our bedroom because it's rather small for a master bedroom. Brandon and I have been talking about it lately and decided to go ahead and look/buy a tv. I absolutely L-O-V-E it! It's a Samsung, which is my favorite tv brand, Ultra-slim LED HD 46" tv. We've mounted it up on the wall so it doesn't directly take up space. We bought it on Sunday afternoon and mounted it this evening. Pictures will soon follow!

I'm also in the process of "redecorating" the house. Our family room, office, and guest bathroom will stay the same; however, I'm changing up the formal living room, dining room, guest bedroom, master bedroom, and master bathroom. Since we're renting, I'm not going to paint the walls (Currently, the walls are an off white.). I just don't want to waste my time, so pops of color are being added in decorations, fabrics, etc. I've been somewhat obsessed with HGTV lately; therefore, that explains the recent "decorating". Pictures will soon follow on our house. :) Good night and GOD BLESS!