I'm In Love...

...with a salad. We have no food and I couldn't decide where I wanted to go for lunch. I had narrowed it down to KFC or McDonalds (I know, so healthy) and Jason suggested that I go to Panera Bread. I love their food, but it's kind of far and they don't have a drive thru, so it always escapes my mind. At his suggestion, my mind was made up - Panera it is. I always get the Turkey Artichoke Panini which is so yummy. So I walked in with Dillon in tow and fully intended to order my normal sandwich, that is until I saw the sign promoting their new Orchard Harvest Salad. It sounded so good and looked even better: field greens, romaine lettuce, fresh pears, dried cherries, toasted pecans and Gorgonzola cheese with a cherry balsamic vinaigrette. There wasn't one thing in the salad that I didn't love! So I veered from the normal "safe choice" and ordered a combo with half my sandwich (just in case) and the tempting salad. Boy am I glad that I tried something new! I am now dieing to go back and get a full salad... maybe I'll just have to go again tomorrow.

Race Day

I am so proud of myself - I walked a 5k. OK, so it's really not that far, but still, I accomplished it. It's something that I have never tried before and even though it wasn't hard, it was an accomplishment, never the less.

It was an awesome event - there were around fifteen-thousand people walking. Everywhere you looked, there was a sea of people. It was highly emotional seeing the survivors, people wearing shirts honoring loved ones and even one man who was wearing a decorated bra and a sign that said "In support of my wife." A group of people were wearing shirts in memory of their aunt who had died from breast cancer two days before the walk. Two days! There were signs hung on light and telephone poles that were in memory of those who have died and in celebration of those who are winning their fight. Near the finish line, we looked up to see a familiar face on a poster. It was Donna Logan, my niece Jordan's teacher from last year. She lost her battle with breast cancer the day before school started again this year. Seeing poster with her picture on it made the whole walk a little more real for me - that we were actually out walking with a purpose, trying to raise money to put an end for cancer. And while that cure will not come today or tomorrow, one day there will be a cure and I can be proud to know that I had a hand in it.

Oh, and on a side note: Can you believe that there was actually a guy walking through the crowd before the race smoking?!? Smoking!! I pointed him out (loudly and disgustedly) to the ladies I was walking with - "You gotta love it that someone is SMOKING at a cancer walk." That got his attention; he turned to look at us, shrugged, half-smiled, and then tossed his cigarette onto the ground and put it out. What a freaking idiot!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Jeannett did a post of her favorite things and I really liked the idea. So, here are a few of my favorite things...

~~My iPod~~

I love having all my music with me. If I feel like listening to Christmas music in July, I can. My favorite thing is that I can shuffle my five thousand plus songs and not hear the same song for months. Plus, it's great that I can hear a song by MercyMe, followed by Metallica, followed by Muse, followed by something from a musical. I love variety!

~~ Bath and Body Works Hand Soap~~

I hoard hand soap from Bath and Body Works. It's a little on the expensive side, but when it's on sale - look out! - I have to stock up. My favorite is the Kitchen Lemon. I love how it really gets rid of all the nasty cooking smells from your hands. It banishes the onion and garlic smells from my hands like magic. Maybe instead of hand soap, it's really a magic potion.

~~Black and White Pictures~~

For the first year of his life, I got Dillon's picture taken at least monthly. I know - I'm a little nuts. But, being a scrapbooker, it was necessary (in my mind at least). He was such a good little picture taker. Some of my favorite were the black and white pictures. They just look so nice. The Angel picture is probably my favorite - it was taken when he was three weeks old. I also love the ones in the three picture frame and am proud to say that they were taken by yours truly.

~~Flip Flops~

I must have a million pairs. Ok, so not really, but at least twenty. I wear them all the time - even in winter, even in the rain. I have white pairs, light blue, navy blue, silver, pink, peach and brown pairs. I have ones with decoration and plain ones. I love the ones from Old Navy - they are so cheap that I don't have to worry if one gets dirty or I loose one - I can always replace them with a new pair.

~~Necklaces~~

I am rarely seen without a necklace on - I wear one almost everyday. I feel naked when I don't have one on. These are the ones that I wear most often. My two favorites are the snowflake and the Breathe one. I got the snowflake one at Epcot in the Norway Pavilion and the Breathe one is from Lisa Leonard. Lisa makes such beautiful hand made jewelry. I can't wait to buy another one from her.

~~Coach Bags~~

I admit - I'm a little obsessed with them. Susan and I used scrapbook with these ladies who always had to go out and buy the newest bags - we would always laugh at them. We couldn't imagine ever spending that much money on one hand bag. Then one day I woke up and decided that I wanted one. So, I dragged Jason to the store to look and being the wonderful husband that he is, he bought me one. (I will also tell you that I am not too proud to admit that I got the first one at the Coach factory store). I was so impressed with it's quality that I was instantly hooked. (I realize that they are a bit frivolous, but when I stop and think about how many times we have gone out to eat and the bill was more than my bags, well, at least I can keep my bags.) I now own the pictured bags plus a few accessories - wallets and such. And, I proudly declare that more than one bag was purchased at the factory store - they have such great discounts (one bag was originally priced at over three hundred dollars and I got it for less than one hundred)

~~Soup~~

I love soup - plain and simple. It is so wonderful to whip up a batch of homemade chicken noodle on a cold winter day - especially when not feeling so great.

~~Fire~~

There is nothing quite like a blazing fire. I love warming up in front of the fireplace wrapped in a soft, cuddly blanket. I love the smell it makes outside and the sound of the crackling wood. In fact, one of the reasons that we ended up buying our house was because of the beautiful fireplace.

~~Cooking Light~~

Hands down - my favorite magazine. I love cooking. Actually, I love, love, LOVE cooking! It's wonderful to be able to get new recipes each month that are healthy for you, easy to make and that taste amazing. I have been a subscriber for almost eight years and have yet to find a bad recipe. Everything I have made has been totally yummy! People always comment that I am a great cook - but it's largely in part due to my secret weapon - Cooking Light.

~~My Duvet~~

I love snuggling under my duvet. Since I am allergic to down, I got a synthetic down duvet and it is just a wonderful as a down one. It's so fluffy and cozy. When I feel sick, I feel instantly better just climbing under my covers.

So there you have it - my favorites.

Lil' Pickpocket

Cutie Pie

Tonight after dinner, Jason and I were out front with Dillon. Dillon wanted to go in the back of Jason's truck and so he popped him in there. Dillon had so much fun and was laughing hysterically, I had to use the opportunity for a photo shoot.

Little Drummer Boy

A Wedding

On Saturday, we went to a wedding. Even Dillon was invited. During the ceremony he did really well (it helped that we brought along some snacks for him). It was at a Catholic church, so it was a longer ceremony. Towards the end, Dillon got a little fidgety, so Jason took him outside. There was another little boy who during the whole ceremony was, well, to put it nicely, unruly. He kept running in and out of the church and when he was outside you could hear him yelling and screaming. I was so proud of Dillon!

At the reception, people kept commenting on how impressed they were that Dillon was so well behaved. One lady my mom and I were talking to ask me about myself and if I was married (hello, wedding ring?) and I told her that my husband and son were outside on the patio and she asked if he was the blonde little boy who kept running in and out of the church. Full of pride for my little guy I proudly told her no. As we were leaving the reception, she told me how cute and well behaved he was.

The food was really good and they had a child's plate for Dillon - chicken fingers, pizza and french fries (all food that we never give him). He loved the fries and now, thanks to his grammie, loves ketchup, too! Our meal came with a salad that was presented so nicely, I had to take a picture of it.

This And That

I have a few things to share, but they are all too short for separate posts so here they are, all mushed together:

*Dillon has found his belly button. He is really cute: If you say "Dillon, where's your belly button?" he pulls up his shirt and shows you. He just figured it out and sometimes can't quite find the bottom of his shirt, so he ends up trying to pull up the leg of his shorts.

*Dillon loves trash. Well, more accurately, he love throwing away trash. He will carry the trash to the trash can and then toss it in. He is so proud of himself - I love it! And I am proud of him, too!

*I will admit that I really hate making the bed and usually don't make it unless people are coming over. So, you can only imagine that I was beyond excited when I read in the September/October issue of Wondertime magazine on page eighty-eight that it is actually healthier to not make your bed! "Recent studies indicate that unmade beds often allow more air to circulate than made beds, which can help banish dust mites and the allergens they produce. Share this tidbit with your children at your own peril." Woohoo!

*I heard on the radio the other day the eighty percent of adults don't properly wash their hands. They said that you should rub your hands together for at least one chorus of "Happy Birthday." Now I sing to myself when I wash my hands and it's always MY birthday.

*Finally, I love the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks and am so happy that it's back. But, since it's been so stinking hot, I got myself a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino. Oh my, now I'm hooked! Yummy!

Home Cooked Heaven

Jason and I are so tired of eating microwaved food, barbecued food and eating out. So today I pulled out the crock pot and made a roast - complete with carrots, onion and a potato. It will be interesting to see how it tastes because the only decent spices that I could dig out of the boxes were oregano and pepper. Oh well... I guess a bad home cooked meal is better than no home cooked meal.

Love Languages

Our pastor has been doing a series on the five Love Languages to God. The weeks message was about Acts of Service. During the message, Pastor Chuck kept talking about how he hoped we would draw a card with a service act on it and do it during the coming week. He said that they had been praying that God would lead you to the right card for you. I was so scared that I would draw the wrong card and it would be something that was so far out of my comfort zone that I would opt not to do it. I prayed that I would draw a card that I could and would actually follow through with. Terrified, I chose a task. My card read: Send a care package to a member of the military stationed over seas. I could do this! In fact, I was sure that it was definitely the card He had intended for me to draw. One of my favorite things to do is make gift baskets and this was basically that. My only problem is that I don't know anybody in the military who is stationed over seas. I have one friend who's husband is in the Navy, but they are stationed here in California. My cousin is entering into the Air Force, but he's still home. So, I did what I do best - I went online and started researching. I quickly found out that following 9/11 and the Anthrax scare following, you could no longer send a package to "Any Service Man." I was beginning to feel defeated. I kept researching and came across a website called Treats For Troops. They have a program called "Foster a Soldier" where soldiers can register with them and people can send care packages to them. I was so excited. You can have it randomly pick you a soldier or you can select from a list of options: where they are stationed, branch of military, home state and gender. I decided that I would like to foster a woman from California. I found who I thought was my perfect person, a female who had similar interests as me. But I guess God had another person in mind for me. When I selected this woman, there was a glitch in the system and I had to started all over with my search. Grrr. I asked God to point me to the right person and the very next soldier was my match. A woman, a Christian, a mother with three small girls at home, who is stationed on a navel ship out at sea. In her profile, she credited God several times as getting her through. I had so much fun picking out the items from the website and putting together a package for this woman. And the best part was that I had fulfilled my commitment. I think that this is a wonderful website and program and thought that I would mention that if you or a loved one is in the military, you can sign up (or sign up your loved one) to be fostered. I also think it's a great way for us to show our support to those protecting our freedom.

Food Fight

Dillon loves to throw things. And he has perfect aim. It started out with balls. Then moved to blocks and other toys. Now it has progressed to food. He used to drop food on the floor when he was full, but now he throws food that he doesn't want. Yesterday, Tiffany was feeding him some apple wedges. He walked up to me, signed more and tried to take a bite of my apple. I looked in his mouth and he had a mouth full of peels. I told him he had to swallow the peels before I would give him a bite. He promptly pulled them out of his mouth with his hand and threw them on the floor. Then, last night at dinner, he threw a fortune cookie at Jason and hit him on the side of the head. How do you not laugh because it's pretty darn funny? But, if you do laugh, it's just enforcing his bad behavior. Well, we did laugh and so did everyone at the table next to us. Maybe next time we will not find it as funny. But, hopefully this phase will pass us quickly and there won't be a next time.

From Bad To Worse

The plumbing is finished. The electrical is almost done. The walls look like this...

Labor Day Weekend

We had a very interesting weekend... But, I'm too lazy to write about everything that happened, so here is a list of highlights (and the not so great things)

Top Five Fun Things:

1. Hung out with Derek and Susan all weekend.
2. Had our Fantasy Football draft (here's hoping that the reigning champ - A.K.A. me - wins again.
3. Tried a new Mexican restaurant (well, actually, two - but the first one was only new to me).
4. Bought Dillon his first pair of "real" shoes.
5. Had an awesome guest worship leader at church -Justin Fox.

Top Strange Thing:

1. Had an Earthquake during church - it was as if God himself was saying "here I am." The worship leader was singing a song from God's point of view!

Top Four Sucky Things:

1. It was hot! Actually, it was beyond hot - 115 degrees!
2. It was so hot that on Monday the power went out - for several hours. By the time we left to come home, it was almost as hot inside as it was outside.
3. Did I mention that it was hot?
4. I didn't have my camera so no pictures - Boo!

Hope everyone had a happy (and cool) Labor Day!