LAKERS VS. CELTICS

BRING IT.

Jim Caviezel

I am so blessed to be at my church...in this season...in the midst of all that God is doing. He's up to something big....I love being a part of it. I'm really excited for this weekend. Actor, Jim Caviezel is doing an interview with our Pastor. He's going to talk about what it's like to be a Christ-Follower in Hollywood...his family...his opportunity to potray Christ in 'The Passion of the Christ', and so much more.

If you live nearby...or if you want to make the drive from wherever you are...come join us this weekend...it will be worth it.

Jim will be at all 3 services. Saturday at 6pm and Sunday at 9 & 10:30

For more info, you can check out our church website at www.FCCHB.com

Slithering Snakes and the One Armed Man.

I hate them (snakes...not one-armed men). I've always known that. My daughter, who has no fear of them went to a party where they had pythons. She let it wrap around her body. I might have passed out if I had been there.

So these people that bring pythons to parties...they have a store here in town. She enjoyed the python experience so much, we loaded up the car one day to go check out all the other amphibians. This is not my cup of tea. I much rather go to a puppy store and look at all the fluffy animals. Not scaly, slimy ones. But I am a mom. And this is what we do.

I don't think I knew what kind of fear I had of snakes until I walked into the "snake room". Luckily, it was quite large and I was able to sit at the back of the room while Curtis and the girls were peering into the snakes cages. I was seriously nauseous...my hands were clammy...I thought I would have to leave. But I stuck it out.

We have since had several adventures to this store. I feel like each time I go, I become more brave. I have even stood in the same room (though I was covering my eyes) when they fed rabbits to the snakes and mice to the smaller ones. Yeah, it's quite an adventure.

But the girls love it. And we always buy a bowl of worms so they can feed the turtles and the fish before we go.

So let's get to today's events... I don't quite know if Haley is still sick from the Hand/Foot/Mouth deal...blisters were supposed to come and they have never appeared...she has no fever...and she is running around full of energy. I didn't want to chance it though, so I thought we'd just go to this "amphibian store" for an outing and check out all those slimy creatures.

I was doing okay. Even made it through the snake room alright. Then I noticed that the owner was walking through the store and he didn't have an arm. Granted, he could have lost it in Vietnam, a car accident, or a multitude of different ways...but all my mind could think of was that somehow a snake was involved. I then had horrible fears of one of the cages coming loose and a snake killing us all. I was forming escape plans in my mind...you know...trying to remember everything I've ever seen on one of those Adventure/National Geographic shows. Seriously people...the one armed man (bless his soul) did me in. I'm not sure I can go back.

Off The Wagon.

I bought a White Chocolate Mocha today. I thought I deserved one. I worked out extra hard this morning. And I have a long day ahead of me. Besides, it makes me more creative and today is our creative meeting day.

Back to the coffee...It's delicious. Everything I remember it being and more.

In fact, it is so good, I was suspicious. I just took off the coffee collar and there is not a "non-fat milk" marking. Dang. So now it is even more fattening. And you know what? Even more delicious.

I need a support group.

The Year of Strange Diseases.

So, we have now been blessed with Hand/Foot/Mouth Disease.

We had a great night last night. Went to the park, then decided to take the kids out for ice cream. On the way there, Haley started acting funny and said she was sick. OF course, she still wanted ice cream. But the second that was over, she was shivering and just asking to go home and go to bed. CLUE #1. So we get her home and put her in bed. "Can I have a bowl by my bed in case I throw up? " CLUE #2 Fever. CLUE #3.

Luckily, I had an appointment already scheduled for today (with our new doctor that I LOVE), and she does in fact of HFM Disease.

She asked to go home and go to bed. So sad.

So what is a mom to do? Enjoy some comfort food...I made a soy hot dog (don't make fun of me Gina).. Baked some French Fries...poured a Diet Coke....and turned on the View.

yummy. yummy. yummy.

So...my Father in Law made a bet with me almost a year ago.

My bet - Obama WILL be the Democratic Candidate.
His bet - Obama would NOT be the Democratic Candidate.

My Prize - A Lobster Dinner.
His Prize - A Steak Dinner.

Guess what's for dinner people?????

The Chicken (Part 3)

Read the other 2 posts first.

I got over the gizzard and the goo when I tasted how good the chicken was. Seriously. It was good.

That being said, I don't want to stick my hand inside another chicken anytime soon.

The Chicken (part 2)

If you haven't read the post below. Read it first. Then come back to this.

Okay... so I am done making my chicken Kosher (soaking it in Kosher Salt and water). So after the soaking process, I was instructed to rinse it off and dry it.

Pause.

So, have you ever held a whole chicken in your hands? I know all of you cooks out there have. So maybe I am just coming off extremely naive. But here's the thing. I don't not eat meat because for the sake of the animal (although I am an animal lover)...the real reason is I have problems digesting it. However, holding that little chicken in my hands is making me rethink a few things. It's just so real. I mean...little legs...little wings...AAGh...I feel awful.

Unless this chicken is just the best tasting meal I've ever had tonight, I'm for sure not buying the whole chicken again. It's too gross and just too sad. It's back to the chicken breasts where there is no emotional conflict or gizzards involved. Or...it's giving up chicken altogether.

Dissecting a Chicken.

I am one step, hear that, ONE step away from completely becoming a vegetarian. I barely eat red meat (literally maybe 5x a year.) i eat a lot of fish and I eat a fair amount of chicken. Add to that some cheese and nuts, and that's how I get my protein.

But yesterday, I went grocery shopping and bought a whole chicken. I decided I wanted to experiment and try to cook it. So, I go online to look for the tastiest recipe. On all these recipies, I was instructed to "remove gizzards." Hmmm...What is a gizzard, I wonder. So I put my hand inside the chicken to find out. OH MY GOSH! I almost threw up in my mouth. It is a gooey-jello like substance. So gross. I was pulling it out and making throw-up sounds simultaneously.

So the bird is now soaking in water....and I am trying to recover. I just went online to learn what a gizzard is. Apparently it is the stomach of the bird. Nice. So then I go to look for a picture to attach it to this blog so you could have the pleasure of looking at what my hands were all over, and I found out that people EAT the gizzards... fried, on skewers, and the list goes on.

Yeah, this is too much for me. My stomach (or should I say gizzard) is still upset. I hope I can enjoy my dinner.

Help Me Understand...

I never watched this show with the exception of the occasional 30 minute syndicated version that is on late at night after Friends or something. So I never got caught up in the hype.

Apparently it is a big deal.

So Curtis and I went out on a date Friday night. We went to see Iron Man. I walked up to get the tix while Curtis got us a table at the restaurant. Every show for this movie was sold out and lines were forming for the next showing (40 minutes away.) People...there were women of all ages dressed as their favorite SITC characters. Which is fine I guess if you are young and look really good in skimpy clothes. This, however, is not such a good idea if you are 50+ wearing skimpy dresses with bows, large flowers, and bright colored heels. My advice to these women is to find friends who will tell you the truth.

And another thing...who can enjoy a movie dressed up all fancy with heels on? First of all, the theaters are like 20 degrees. Put a sweater on. I'm quite certain to fit into those dresses, more than half the crowd was wearing spanx. Seriously. Isn't it more fun to wear jeans and just let it all hang out while you enjoy a big buttery tub of popcorn? That is what the movies are about people. Instead, I stood in line to get my big buttery tub of popcorn with 100 women that looked like they were going to prom, giggling, and half-drunk from the cosmos they just drank who were ordering diet cokes and water. Boring.

I'm just thankful that to see that the fans of Iron Man were not into dressing up as their favorite characters. An Iron Suit would not have been comfortable at all.