Bird Snatcher

So...I had the best of intentions to write this post about 4 days ago but life happens. Ended up having to travel and work out of a different office for my supervisor Thursday and Friday of last week because they were down an employee and I was sick...thus exhaustion and no motivation to open my computer when I got home. I actually fell asleep on the couch at 7:30pm Thursday night because I was wiped out. Slept for 11.5 hours. Haven't done that since...well, probably a few years..

Anyways, a pretty funny thing happened Wednesday morning while I was getting ready to go to work. When I get up in the morning I usually go to the kitchen door that leads into the garage and let the kitties in. For some reason, that morning no little fuzzy faces were by the door waiting to come in so I jumped into the shower. While getting ready in the bathroom, blow drying my hair, etc. I kept hearing something in the hall leading from the bathroom into the kitchen. I didn't think much of the thumping noise and proceeded to finish getting ready for work. I walked into the kitchen to fix some hot tea and put it in my thermos and opened the door again to see if the kitties were there. Neo and Indy dove immediately in and went into the bathroom. Finally, I walked into the master bedroom to give James a kiss goodbye. As I walking through the bathroom into the hall I heard the noise again. Neo and Indy were sitting in front of the laundry room closet doing their own investigation. I called out to James and said he needed to get out of bed and figure out what was in the closest because I needed to go to work. He must have heard the urgency in my voice cause he jumped right up and may or may not of had the right "essentials" on. I stepped into the kitchen thinking I was at a safe distance as my husband grabbed a broom and slowly opened the door to the closest. As the kitties looked on I stared down at the ground expecting a mouse to run out at any second. But instead...well, the last thing I saw was something flying at my face!!

Yea, it ended up being a cute little birdie. After ducking and having a slight heart attack I opened the back door into the garage so it could fly out. It was perched on the window in the office next to the kitchen. I felt so bad as it kept flying into the window trying relentlessly to escape. But it gets better...

Finally James comes in with the broom to try and push it out of the room. Well the bird had a melt down and kept flying into the window and finally hit the window and dropped to the ground stunned. Leave it to little Indy to try and be the hero. He comes dashing in, snatches the bird up in his mouth and splits from the room.

Now I'm mad. I start chasing him around the house as he gallops through with the bird in his mouth, James following close behind (yea, he still has the broom and is missing some of the "essentials"! LOL). Of course Indy spies the open door into the garage and runs out and goes under my car. James is chasing him now  with the broom. He's trying to knock the cat so he will drop the bird. Indy flies (no pun intended :) out from under the car and tries to dash back into the house. I grab him at the last second and pin him down. Sometime in between dashing from the car and me grabbing him the bird, thankfully, had been able to escape. Needless to say, the bird was safe and flew out of the garage and Indy learned his lesson and hid, scared, under the couch for a few hours.

What can I say, life is exciting, even in the middle of no-where-land Kansas.

A Body's Favorite Beverage

Once you realize that an adult's body is roughly made up of 70% of water and an infant's body is approximately made up of 80% at birth, it's no surprise that a body's favorite beverage is water. I know some people struggle with drinking the suggested amount of AT LEAST eight, 8 oz. cups of water a day, but I bet you feel better when you do. :)

Think about this for a second:

• Muscle consists of 75% water
• Brain consists of 90% water
• Bone consists of 22% water
• Blood consists of 83% water

There is so many good things that result from drinking water:

• You rid your body of waste and toxins
• It helps your body's digestion
• It helps transport nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to multiple body parts
• Helps regulate body temperature
• Helps increase metabolism and can help with weight loss (and builds muscles!!)
• It increases cognitive functioning (makes you smarter and helps with concentration!)
• Helps your joints stay strong and healthy (less pain!)
• It gives you ENERGY
• And the list could go on!!

When you are dehydrated you may experience:

• Tiredness
• Migraines
• Constipation
• Muscle cramps
• Irregular blood pressure
• Kidney problems
• Dry skin

At 20% dehydration, there is a risk of death.

Even when you are taking in a good amount of liquid each day, if it is filled with caffeine, your body is over stimulated and the muscles and heart do not get a break. In the end you may feel drained, wide awake, or have anxiety, lack of concentration and cognitive functioning.

**A healthy person can drink about 3 gallons (or 48 cups) of water per day**

**Hunger: Most people mistake dehydration for hunger**

• Try grabbing a drink of water when your body is giving you signs of hunger
• Drink a cup of water about 30 minutes before you eat to help with digestion

Ok, ok. I know what you're thinking, "what is she doing, writing a research paper?!". But let's get real people! Take a moment to care about your body and at the same time feel good. You only live once. And yes, I know by using that saying, "you only live once", most people would say that they are going to enjoy it by consuming other liquids of their choosing because they want to have as much enjoyment as they can while only living once. Are you really going to let your enjoyment center around a 16 oz cup of a caffeinated beverage? Don't get me wrong, I love a cup of coffee or a soda every once-in-awhile and honestly,I do have those cravings pretty frequently. But I also stop and think for a second about how I am going to feel 8 hours from now. Do I really want to feel sluggish, or not be able to get a good night's sleep? Is it really worth the 30 minutes of enjoyment? I think I would rather skip the drink and go for some water and feel good all day versus enjoying the moment and regretting it later. And honestly, giving my body the water it needs, I may just end up living longer and be able to enjoy more moments. You only live once :)

(If you would like an awesome "recipe" for a lemon/zucchini water detox, visit my "Health and Fitness" tab. Scroll down till you find it)

From a spiritual viewpoint, water is essential for life. From the beginning to the end, the Bible talks about water over 700 times. The second verse of the Bible talks about how God created the water. Before there was anything--sun, moon, stars, plants, animals, humans--there was water. The Bible is full of passages linking God to creating, blessing, sustaining, and saving through water.

Water is a sign of cleansing, not only physically but spiritually. This is illustrated through the Baptism of Jesus and Him calling us to make disciples for Him, baptizing them with water. Speaking about the church, Jesus said, "In order to make her holy by cleansing her [the church] with the washing of water by the word", Ephesians 5:26.

In John 4:14 Jesus says, "But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life". Jesus is the fountain of living water!

The Bible has so much to say about water. Through the reading and research I have done, I've learned a lot and have enjoyed it. If you are wanting some side reading, this is a topic I would recommend.

Revelation 22:17 "And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes to take the water of life as a gift."

Spring is in the Air

Sun. Blossoming flowers. Birds singing. Butterflies. Gorgeous sunsets. Warmth. The list of what I love about spring could go on forever. There are so many wonderful things about the transition from winter to spring. Since starting a new job and being gone for training several days this week, I have really enjoyed relaxing this weekend. And the amazing Easter weekend helped to top what was already perfection. After church yesterday James and I went to our local (and did I mention free?!) zoo to have some fun and enjoy the weather. Lots of people were celebrating Easter with their families at the park and zoo. I snapped some pictures while we were there and then a few more when we got home. 

The kitties are definitely enjoying this weather, having fun chasing butterflies, catching bugs, and hanging out with our ground hog. Yes, ground hog. He is living in the old school house in our backyard. He comes out and chows down on the grass several times a day. The cats are always stalking him or just chilling and watching him. I think they are all becoming fast friends. I tried to snap some decent pictures of the kitties and ground hog but any time I started to get too close that thing would waddle out of sight. Oh well. He's a cute, fat and chubby guy!

Below are some spring pictures I've snapped over the weekend. 

It's definitely not the best picture, but I had to post it. Check out the baby Wallaby in the mamma's pouch!

Hanging out :)

Whatchu looking at?

It's warm and I am happy!

Reminded me of home--had to take a picture :)

Rain's lookout. He loves the roof of the old school house

I see you.

These two playing around

Indy catching himself a bug

Pretty little flowers :)

ThrowBack Thursday

(Click on the picture to see a larger version)

Wow, this picture was taken almost 5 years ago! This is from a Gym Master homeshow my Sophomore year at Southern Adventist University. The start of a girls trio  routine. I miss gymnastics and acrobatics so bad. It was such a fun way to stay in shape, form lifelong friendships, and witness for Christ. 

I can still remember this routine like the back of my hand. Awesome music, choreography, and acrobatic moves. The umbrellas were also some awesome props for parts of the routine. And Alex's fun facial expressions cannot go unnoticed either. :) What a hilarious dude! Life was good.

Pin that Party

I guess Pinterest parties are the "in thing" right now. And it totally makes sense seeing as how addicting Pinterest can be. :) My friend Regan had a birthday last week and we wanted to have a girls' night to celebrate. So this definitely made the perfect excuse to host one at my house. We tried out some new recipes and also did a cool craft. We did Italian and boy, let me just say, the food was amazing! If you want the recipes go to the Recipe tab for more of the delicious details. I'll post some pictures below of the food.

Sliced tomatoes with olive oil drizzled on top, a little mozzarella cheese, and some fresh parsley, broiled in the oven. Mouth watering!

To die for French bread with a fresh garlic, parsley, artichoke, butter spread. So good!

Lasagna rolls!

For our pinterest craft we decorated glass cups. The cool thing is, was that we could all do the same craft but they would come out different and you can use them for multiple things. I was the least crafty and artistic person at the party but I do have to say, I had a blast! This easy craft could be a candle votive, something to keep q-tips or other supplies in, or use for other decorative purposes. And did I mention that it was super easy?! The only supplies you need are q-tips, some paint brushes if you want to get really crafty, spray on mod podge, and acrylic paint. Once you're done decorating and let the paint dry, take the cups outside and spray the mod podge and let dry. I would suggest to spray in the grass :)

One of my crafty crafts!

Regan's perfect glass

Leslie had some skill too!

Both of my glasses

Some of our supplies

Regan and her fancy "Laylee Bug" glass for her baby girl Laylee

I do have to add, not all of Pinterests ideas are successes. We had one failure. Brownies. We attempted to follow what was suppose to be a "super easy", quick brownie recipe that you make in a waffle maker. Umm, yea. Did not work. Whoever came up with that idea did not know what they were doing! Check it out...

I do have to say, it cooked through all the way and it tasted good with some whipped cream and strawberry topping! So, in the end we did get to enjoy the chocolate goodness!

Over the Hill--It's a New Decade!

So, James's birthday was on the 25th and it wasn't just a birthday it was his 30th birthday! So, of course, I had to plan something to celebrate the big occasion. The day of his birthday was a Monday so I knew I probably was not going to be able to do something on his actual birthday (which I was okay with, because I don't think I would have been able to pull off a surprise!). So, I took him down to Tulsa, OK (about an hour and a half from our house and the biggest town close to us). He loves Carrabba's so I took him out for some dinner. I had also blown up some balloons and put a "Happy Birthday" banner up that morning before he woke up. Which, not very surprisingly, James didn't see the banner til like three hours after he was out of bed! What can I say, he's oblivious to some things, and that's one thing that I love about him and makes me smile :)

Sorry, couldn't help but add a picture of the kitties helping James celebrate!

The birthday boy on his birthday!

So, for the celebration I planned a surprise party and had it at one of my friend's house on the Saturday night after his birthday. We told James that their family was having a get-together/game night and that they wanted me to bring my fruit pizza bites (look in my Recipe tab for the recipe!). I wasn't sure whether or not I would be able to pull it off but we totally got him and he was surprised! When we pulled up to the house my friend Regan came to the door and was talking to us as we walked in. We both kinda stood back and talked while James went through the door and BAM! He walks in to everyone singing Happy Birthday!! 

From there people starting eating and hanging out. I, on the other hand, had something up my sleeve. I passed around a notebook and pen and told everyone to write down something funny or embarrassing that they wanted James to do. What I didn't tell them until I got the list back was that they were the ones who were going to perform for the birthday boy :) Mwahahahahaha! Man, did I get some people! Their faces were priceless! I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to but I got some good video footage (still trying to figure out how to edit and stitch the videos together...). Here are a few of the things people put on the list for "James" to do:

• Hold your nose and sing twinkle twinkle little star
• Imitate you wife (yes, this guy imitated ME!)
• Sing 3 rounds of Old MacDonald
• Say the alphabet backwards
• Do a gymnastics move
• Rap
• And a few other fun and embarrassing tasks :)

Another fun game I had planned was asking James personal questions. If his answers didn't match up the answers I had previous gotten from his sister Trish and his mom than he had to eat a bite of cake. Ok, you're probably thinking cake? Really?! REALLY! My friend Regan had a little fun making a cake with lots of yummy ingredients: vinegar, cayenne pepper, some nasty seasonings, BBQ powered stuff, etc. I originally wanted to use marshmellows and have him stuff one in his mouth for each question that he got wrong but I kinda forgot to get them from the store...so the cake it was. Here is a picture of the tasty treat. Don't be deceived. That thing smelled awful! It looked like a spice cake, though, inside so that was pretty cool :)

But don't worry, I got a real cake too. I wanted to upload a video of the cake eating/question asking fun but Blogger is being weird tonight. Maybe another time. Anyways, here are just a few pictures from the party. Like I said, I didn't get a chance to take too many. We finished the night off by playing some fun group games like Trifecta, Mafia, Psychology, and some others. Not everyone stayed til the end but we had a blast until 12am.