Book Club - finished for the Summer

My book club has been reading So Long Insecurity - you've been a bad friend to us by Beth Moore. We finished the book this past Friday night.

I learned a lot about myself through this book - I learned to recognize where a lot of my insecurity comes from.  I knew where some of came from before the start of the book, but I learned some new stuff a long the way.

I also learned to redirect my thoughts when those insecure feelings started to creep into my head.

In chapter three of the book, Beth says "The answer to deal with insecurity , believing that everything God says about us is true."  I need to put my security in God and not in others or what they or I think about me.  We too often put our security in things and in other people which is the absolute last place we should be looking for security.

Another thing that I learned is not to judge other people's security.  We often judge what another person looks like or what we perceive their life to look like and think "they have it all - they have nothing to be insecure about."  We have absolutely no idea what that woman is going through unless we are walking in her shoes.

As women we need to help build each other up - we all need to work together to increase our security and to stop allowing ourselves to look for security in all of the wrong places.

I am a work in progress - my insecurity is not cured, but I am more educated and more prepared to deal with it.

I highly recommend this book if you need help in the area of security!

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Even though my book club is now on summer break my reading is not over.  I have 4 other books I have started or want to start.

I am currently 3/4 the way through The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand.  I am a couple of chapters into Becoming a Contagious Church by Mark Mittelberg and One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp.  I just bought Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo today and can't wait to start it.  

I also have several other books on my bookshelf that I haven't read.  Good thing I have a 4 day weekend coming up!!  

What is on your reading list??

Just Been Busy

So I realize another week has come and gone since I have blogged.

There are 3 big reasons for the lack of blogging:

lack of things to say that I think you might find interesting
lack of time (I have been working lots of hours still)
lack of internet - it quit last Sunday and hasn't worked all week until now - one night before the technician is to come out to try to fix it - go figure!

I think I have hit the wall of exhaustion - my body is tired and so is my mind!  Good thing the weekend is almost here.

I did do some shopping one evening after work this week.  I did a little shopping for myself - bought some new clothes - I just couldn't resist!  I also picked up some clothes for my 2 nieces and my nephew.  You see they needed some cute clothes for their pictures being taken by Megan at Snapshots of a Good Life.  I won a session on her blog several months ago and we are just a couple of weeks away from getting the photos taken.  I am so excited.  I picked up several different dresses for the girls so we will have to see which ones work best and then I will have to decide if my nephews outfit still works or if I start over for him.

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I am falling behind on my 17 day diet.  I haven't been following it exactly, but I have been eating tons healthier!  I don't own a scale so I am not sure if or how much weight I may or may not have lost, but my clothes are fitting better and I feel better.  So, because of that I am not being to hard on myself for not following everything closely!

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This past weekend I also got to spend sometime with a friend from college!  I love the kind of friendships that just pick up where they left off even though miles and time have separated you.  I am thinking more time with my college besties is in order!

What have you been up to???

10 Things

I did not intend to take a blog break, but it happened.  I have been working overtime again and spending time with family and just overall not in a creative bloggy mood.

I have enjoyed the extra money in my checks, but I have missed my time doing other things.  I am ready to get back to my creative side - it's been awhile since I have crafted - I will have to work on that.

I didn't take ten pictures for you today because I was at work and you would have seen pictures of the exact same 10 things as last month right down to my green tea from Starbucks!

I have another list for you - 10 things I am loving right now:

1.  All of my new jewelry from my Premier Jewelry party

2.  All of my Scentsy stuff from my Scentsy party - my house and SUV smell so good!!

3.  The bag of $165 worth of Bath & Body Works that I got for $50!  Yeah for their semi-annual sale and my coupon for an extra $10 off!

4.  that I just mailed my LAST vehicle payment!!!

5.  that we will FINALLY be full staffed at work on Monday!

6.  that I get to see a college friend this weekend


7.  new opportunities to serve at church

8.  that it is the weekend

9.  my new short hair that I also got highlighted

10.  that I am eating healthier and feeling better


I hope that you have a fantastic weekend!!

Flower Pot Loveliness

I have been so busy lately that I hadn't potted flowers on my front porch.  I came home everyday to these:

 yucky dead plants!  They don't make me so happy!

The polka-dot pot is happy, but not so much what is in it!

So, Saturday after a long hard day of work - I decided that while I was grocery shopping I should pick up some flowers and some fresh potting soil.

Now my pots look like this!

 Excuse the broken pot - it is a mystery how I came home one day and it was broken - I am guessing my neighbor kids had something to do with it!

Now my polka-dot pot is filled with lovely flowers!!

I never spend much money on my flowers - I sometimes forget to water them so, I don't want to feel too bad when they die....it is going to happen, but until then I get to come home to these lovely bits of color on my porch!!

I am linking up over at Life Made Lovely today!

Graduation Weekend

This weekend was full of graduations!  There are some years where I don't know anyone graduating - then there are they years were I know lots.  This year I knew 5 people graduating, but only had 3 actual graduations to attend.  As I told you in a post last week - I skipped one of them.  The other 2 were at the exact same time, but in cities that are 45 minutes apart.  My cousin graduating from high school won out over my friends graduating from college.  

The graduation I skipped this last week was for the twins I babysat all through college.  Their graduation was on a Wednesday evening, but the party was Friday night - that I made it to!

They were 9 months old when I first met them!

That was almost 18 years ago!  Man they make me feel old!

It made me feel so great when they introduced me to their friends and told them that they used to have so many good times with me!  I love them and I am so proud of them!  We have plans to get together this summer before Reiley leaves for Arizona State and Allegra leaves for the Marine Corp.

Good luck, girls!!

New Recipe

Hey all!

It's been a crazy work - I have been working overtime again.  Then there is always something else that has to be done when I get home - Monday night that something was socializing at a ball game, Tuesday night was socializing with my niece and nephew, grocery shopping and socializing with my dear friends Terra and Sonia.  Sonia just back from 4 months in Spain.  I can't wait to hear more of her stories.  Tonight I could have been at a graduation or a ball game.  I decided not to go sit through the graduation and the ball game got rained out so, I get to spend some time at home!  yeah!!

We had a pot luck at work today and I made Chicken Enchiladas in my crock pot.  I got rave reviews and decided to share the recipe with you too!  I usually have pictures of the process, but didn't even think about my camera at 6:30 AM when I was putting everything together.

Here you go:

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped.  (I used 2 cans of chicken that you find with the tuna)
2 10 oz cans red enchilada sauce
2 10 oz cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans Mexian style kidney beans
12 corn tortillas cut or ripped up into smaller pieces
shredded cheese

Mix chicken, kidney beans and cream of chicken soup.

spray bottom of crock pot with non-stick cooking spray
pour 1/2 can of enchilada sauce on bottom
place layer of tortillas on top of the sauce
spread part of chicken mix on top of tortillas
sprinkle with cheese
repeat layers
top with tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese.

Cook on low for 4 hours.

Super Easy, Super Yummy!!

Hope you had a great day!

Complete Randomness

I really haven't meant to be a once a week blogger, but it seems like that is what has been going on lately.  

I did not work any overtime last week - I took a week for myself.  I even took a day off and spent it with my littlest niece.  I was completely convinced that my sister lied to me about her usual schedule because the child did everything opposite - guess she wanted to keep her auntie on her toes!  

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I got a Mother's Day present today.  As most of you know, I am not a mother.  I was completely surprised this last week with an e-mail from a friend saying that her adorable boys had adopted me as their auntie!  They make Mother's Day presents for their grandmas and aunties and they told their mom they needed to make one for me because I help them to feel loved and protected.  How sweet is that!?!  They delivered plants to me at a ball game tonight and made sure to tell me that I need to water them everyday.  

Several weeks ago a different friend told me that during their nightly devotions with their kiddos that the boys asked them who would take care of them if their parents died.  They named their families and the boys asked what if all of those people died and so, they started listing their friends who they would go live with and the boys told their parents that I would make sure they were taken care of.

These situations make me realize how impressionable adults are on children.  These boys obviously have learned that I care for them and would protect and love them without me ever saying it to them.  It makes me really realize that it is so important to be a good Christian woman - to watch what I say and how I act - you never know who may be watching and learning from what I do.  

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I am starting the 17 day diet that the TV show The Doctors recommend.  There are four 17 day cycles.  The first cycle is Accelerate - it promotes fast weight loss by eating low carbs and "cleansing" the body.  I certainly am going to try my best to follow this as closely as possible.  They also recommend exercising at least 17 minutes a day.  This is going  to be the tough part for me - I am not a morning person and am pooped by the time I get home in the evening.

Wish me luck!

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I have other things that have been on my mind lately, but I will wait and share these with you later this week.

Hope you have a great week!!!