Friday, September 28, 2007

Your Three Words...

...mine are He Sees me.

To know and be known is probably one of the greatest desires of the human spirit. However, there are so many times in this life when we feel all alone, or just plain lost. To me, the beauty of what Jesus has done in my life is that He cared enough about little old me to take the time to know me! He really does SEE me when no one else does! There is great comfort in knowing that wherever I am in this life...God cares enough about me to say "Keep going...you are not alone...I still see you...I'm still with you".

So...what are your three words?


*Thanks for this link Jodi! (Hey did you notice it's 11:00 AM...not PM!!!)

Monday, September 24, 2007

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

....according to my husband-LOL!

Even though I'm more of a summertime kind of girl, I do enjoy many things about fall too. However, this past year I've especially enjoyed the fall because it is the start of "Marathon Training Season" for me!!! Yep...in case you didn't know, I'm doing it again! This summer I signed up for the Disney marathon, and I started "officially" training for it about 4 weeks ago.

This weekend was our first "long-ish" run (10 miles) and it was a beautiful day! The weather was just right, and we had lots of pretty scenery on the trails...complete with lots of wildlife! Tricia and I actually saw 4 deer on the trails :-). I always think that's so neat! There really is nothing like an early morning run in the fall...it's gorgeous! So, even though I will miss all the lazy summertime fun, I'm getting really excited about this fall (it's going to be a good one!).

*Now, for a little (OK...it's really not very "little") side note:

As I'm sure you are already aware, I'm doing this marathon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's "Team In Training". I have really enjoyed my time in TNT, and even though the fundraising can be tough at times, I still love what I'm doing.

SOOOOOOOOOOO, please watch your mailbox in the next week or so...because chances are you will be getting a little "love note" from me asking for your support once again ;-). You can even check out my fundraising
web page to see my progress! I have a BIG fundraising goal this year, so I had to break down and beg for help from all my "peeps". So, if you do get one of these letters in the mail...consider yourself one of my "special friends" (doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside).

I promise to make this year's "running journal" just as exciting as last year-LOL! You will get more "ice bath" pictures, more bead selling pictures, more boot block pictures, more "I can't believe what I am doing to myself" stories...it's going to be a fun training season! See what you have to look forward to :-0 (ohhh...ahhh!). Maybe for my first 10 donors, I'll put together a video montage of what I look like at 4:30 am on Saturday's, or even what I look like after my 22 mile training run...that would be a real "treat" wouldn't it?

Seriously, I really do appreciate everyone's support when I embark on these crazy little adventures! YOU guys are what made my first TNT marathon a huge success, and I DO appreciate all that you do for me! I truly am blessed to have such a fantastic group of friends and family.

OK...enough about the marathon....
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*If I can get myself organized, maybe I'll even find the time to post some great new fall recipes I've been trying out. I'm going to try a new soup tonight (chick pea with roasted red pepper), so if it's really yummy, I'll post the recipe later this week. How about you? What do you like to cook once the weather starts to turn toward fall?

At our house I start making:

-Pumpkin Pancakes
-Apple Crumb Pie
-My Famous "Burn Your Lips Off" Chili (With cheddar corn bread)
-Creamy Corn Chowder
-Roasted Rosemary Chicken with Vegetables
-Black Bean Soup with Cilantro
(to name a few)

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Apple Orchard Fun!

Last Friday Channy and I got to go on his class field trip to the apple orchard. This is one of my favorite field trips with my kids. We had a great time, and Chandler talked about "the apple tree" all weekend! Just thought I'd share some pictures...

On the Bus....

Chandler LOVED feeding the chickens.

He tried really, really hard to catch one...but didn't have any luck-LOL!

We got to watch a cider demonstration (which Chandler actually paid attention to for a little bit-hehe!).

Then, it was off to pick our apples!

Shine it up....

...and EAT!

Of course, you can't go to a farm without going on a hayride :-)

*Chandler LOVED this tree! We passed it a few times and he kept saying "LOOK, MOM... A MAN TREE!".

We bought a "peck" of apples (that's a lot...at least to me it's a lot!), so we had to do something with all those apples :-)

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

For those of you who wanted cake pictures...

I've had a few people ask me to post pictures of my cakes...so here you go! Most of my cake pictures are not saved to my computer (and I don't have a scanner), so these are just a few of the cakes I've done this summer.











So, there you have it...a collection of "Amber White" cakes-LOL!















And, we can't forget about some old favorites....






Please Excuse the Craziness!

The last few weeks have been down right nutty! My baby started school, my husband got "concussed", I signed up for another marathon, not to mention signing up for loads of PTA stuff at my child's school. My calendar is so marked up it looks like my two year old went to town with a ink pen on it!

So...today I had to have a little freak-out moment during my 60 minutes on the elliptical. I thought..."what have I done to myself"? Really...What. Have. I. Done? (It's amazing how clearly you can think when 3/4 of the lighting at your gym is "down for repairs" while you workout & all the TVs mounted to the workout equipment are also "down".) As I pondered what I've gotten myself into, I began to wonder what it was I would change (if I could). And you know what? I don't think I would change a thing about my life right now. I really do LOVE everything I'm doing (but, I still reserve the right to complain about it from time to time)!

Sure, I can't believe I just signed up for another marathon...but I LOVE what I'm doing & who I'm doing it with, so I wouldn't wish that away for a moment. I also love being involved at my kids school. I WANT to be up there all the time & if that means my bathrooms don't get cleaned this afternoon, and the sheets spend an extra day (or week) on the beds...then so be it!

I know my life is crazy right now, but somehow, in the midst of all this chaos I've found some peace. I don't know how, but I just have. My house is probably dirtier than it's ever been, my laundry is once again up to the ceiling, and my shower needs a good scrubbin', but I'm OK with all that. I know that by the end of the week I'll find a way to get all the important stuff done...and the rest can wait!

So....if you are planning on stopping by, I'd suggest you call before you come! At least give me a chance to tidy up the living room :-)

On a more practical note:
I actually found a way to easily plan 5 tasty meals & I'm totally excited to cook dinner all week ! Thanks to the Rachael Ray website my family will be dining on...

-Turkey Sweet-Potato Shepherd's Pie

-Harvest Creamy Corn "Choup"

-Chicken with Apple Gravy, Rice Pilaf and Green Beans

-Tilapia Clubs

-Not Tuna Casserole

How about that? Gotta love the 30-minute meal planner!

Sometimes I don't get dressed for the day until 5:00...pm, and on the weekend I let my kids eat cookies for breakfast. I drank coffee (and sometimes diet coke) when I was pregnant. I use under eye concealer to cover up my zits & I bake when I'm stressed. If you can deal with all that....then welcome to our family blog!