Book(TV)worm Wednesday: March

It’s Bookworm Wednesday, which means that the first Wednesday of every month we all blog about our reads, include this graphic below, and link back to Katie and I!

Then you can go through the links to ideas from others on what to read next 🙂

2016 Bookworm Wednesday dates:

April 6th
May 4th
June 1st
July 6th
August 3rd
September 7th
October 5th
November 2nd
December 7th

Confession: I’m a bad Bookworm Wednesday host this month. I host this linkup because my favorite “downtime” activity is either reading or watching Netflix/TV. And this month, with the amount that I have going on, I’ve been binge watching like a mad woman. This is mainly because I can have the lights off already and just fall asleep. When i’m reading, the lights have to be on and I have to hold the book, you know? And i’m lazy. Especially when i’m tired all the time.

So this month’s Bookworm Wednesday has been re-named to TVworm Wednesday. Because #bingewatching. And #goodTV.

Binge-watching this…

Ahhh,When Calls The Heart is my new show. The old western feel. The love story. Lori Loughlin. The way they talk. The way they dress. No cell phones. Writing letters. Living in simpler times. It’s all me. If you’re a fan of this show, I would highly recommend the Love Comes Softly series. That’s all 10 DVD’s for $15.00. Binge watch it now, thank me later! But only if this is your kind of thing 😉

And this….

We all know and love the Tanners. And we were all excited for Fuller House to premiere this past Friday. So let’s talk about it!!!! Because you know I binge watched the entire season and am already finished with it. What are your thoughts? For me…

1. Danny’s voice is weird.
2. Nicky and Alex were pointless and I did not like them.
3. The first couple episodes were so cheesy.
4. Candace Cameron Bure is A HOT MAMA and I am totally obsessed with her. I’ve read 2 of her books and I have been searching for the third one everywhere but can’t get my hands on it. It’s the one i’m most excited to read too.
5. Not a fan of them dressing Stephanie in a hoochie mama outfit. Someone put some clothes on that girl!
6. Bring Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky into more episodes!!! They. Are. My. Favs. And how are they both so HAWT after 30 years?! Ps…I totally guessed the whole rose episode at the beginning. PPS. I may or may not have cried in elementary school when I found out these shows were not real and they weren’t actually a couple. Maybe.
7. Max is the bomb. I want him to be my son.
8. I feel like as a loyal Full House watcher I should be #teamsteve but I have to say i’m #teammatt. Poll: Which are you??
9. Andrea Barber is doing an amazing job. Kimmy is the exact same. But that “soon to be ex husband” drives me bananas.
10. When the heck are they releasing the next episodes already?!?! And why the heck was it only a 13 episode season?!?!

So do you agree or disagree with me? Spill.

Of course there’s this…

Let me just start by saying that I love Ben. The Bachelor picked a good one. Like, an actual good guy. Him, Sean, and Chris seem to be of the few that seem to be genuinely good guys. Poll: #TeamLauren or #TeamJoJo?? Monday nights episode was so juicy and i’m PUMPED for March 14 and the Finale. I think I have a hunch on who he will pick, but then again, you can never be sure with this show!

I’m back onto this…

I’ve mentioned before that my dad and I’s thing is watching episodes of The OC together. We did this when I was either in late middle school or early high school and we started again. So after the end of a long day when we are both done with our obligations, we cuddle up on the couch (most of the time with food) and we watch an episode. But only 1. We’ve tried 2 and it was too long for us. And not on Monday or Tuesday nights ’cause dad knows…

I’m watching this…

And since I have a show with dad, I have to have a show with mom. On Monday and Tuesday nights mom and I huddle together to watch The Voice since it just started again Monday night! Whoop! I’m really not a Christina fan but i’m looking forward to this season. Because I am SO GLAD that Jordan won last season. He was awesome!

I also re-started this…

I feel like Hart of Dixie is controversial. Everyone that I have talked to about it either hates it or loves it. There’s no in between. I am on the end of the spectrum that LOVES this show. But apparently I was out voted so that it’s not coming on anymore. So now I have to re-watch on Netflix. This is why I can’t get emotionally invested into TV shows because I get so sad when they are over. Just like Parenthood!

And then there’s this…

I’ve been going 5 years forward with Pretty Little Liars. This show reminds me so much of high school. Not only because they were high school girls, but because it came out when we were in high school. I mean, I would throw premiere parties every season it started again! Emily and I watched together each week too. Her and I were originals watching the first season while everyone else jumped on the bandwagon after the second season. Trend setters, baby!

And one more…

There’s a new season of Grey’s Anatomy out on Thursday nights. Morgan is the one that got me to start watching this show in the first place so when she’s home from college we will watch together. But when she’s gone, we just text about it. We’re both over this show now. Without Derek, life is just not the same in Grey’s world. And now they’re just having to make up a plot line to keep it interesting.

Do you see my problem??? There’s just too much good tv to spend time reading right now. And when I get home from work and i’m eating my lunch, I go straight to my recordings. When I get home from class and should actually go to sleep, I click to my recordings. And my favorite thing to do is watch my favorite shows with some of my favorite people. It’s just life right now. So WHAT am I missing out on??

Online Bible study girls: Week 8, 9, and 10 are coming! Don’t forget about them. These past couple weeks have been perfect for catching up since I know many fell behind. 🙂

Next month, the plan is back to books because vacation is coming and a girl’s gotta have books for the flight. But if you’re looking for book posts now…

Bookworm Wednesday – February
Bookworm Wednesday – January
Bookworm Wednesday – December
Bookworm Wednesday – November
Bookworm Wednesday – October
Bookworm Wednesday – September
Books in July
Books (and some Netflix) in June
Books in May
Books in March

Veteran’s Day

It’s November 11th…November 11th means it’s Veteran’s Day. Every year!

Veteran’s Day is such a special holiday to me. Mainly because it’s a holiday not centered around gifts, or food, or bunnies, or groundhogs, or candy. It’s a holiday centered around something honorable; a different kind of honorable. Today we are to remember, honor, and respect all of those who served in the armed forces. These people have sacrificed so much for our country.

Today is the anniversary of the end of WW1…a war in which neither of these guys were part of. However, my grandpas were both in WW2. And my dad went to Afghanistan. I mean, these are some honorable guys right here. And i’m sure you all know some as well.

 

This memorial sits in a town close to grandpa’s. His name is on the back of it. I just love visiting this memorial when we go to Iowa.

This is Morgan, dad, and I in front of his dad’s grave when we buried my grandma. See that WW2 written on the front!

You might remember it here…

…when dad and I went to Boston in May. Here he is with his parents. Awwww 🙂

And just for fun, here’s my grandpa and me over the years.

I love asking questions, I’m always asking questions, and sometimes people get annoyed by it. But i’m kind of like #ohwell #getoverit.

I couldn’t ask my grandpa (dad’s dad) any stories about serving in a war because he passed away when I was just months old. This was our last picture that sits on my dad’s desk. My grandpa and me 🙂

I asked my dad what it was like being in war and he didn’t really say much. I don’t know if it’s because he can’t or because he didn’t want to. He said it’s miserable and not something you want to experience, but that’s about the most I got. I believe it. I feel like there’s a certain amount of secrecy military personnel keep. Probably for the better.

I gave this picture to my dad after my graduation because it’s so true. Love that guy. (And usually he smiles in pictures, but because he’s always got to be saying something he was in the middle of talking here…go figure!). To be honest, sometimes it’s difficult being a military child, but it’s the only way I grew up. It’s a totally different lifestyle than a “normal” childhood with two 9-5 parents. And i’m not saying it’s anything i’d want to change, it’s just different. I talked about it here.

And then my mom’s dad. This guy. I asked him what it was like serving in a war and all I can remember him talking about is a story in which he was shot in the butt. He was the sniper on the airplane and so he just remembers getting shot in the butt once. It’s a pretty funny story! 🙂

To these three…and to all the others, THANK YOU. You will never be appreciated enough. Happy Veteran’s Day!

Pop’s Day 2015

Yesterday was Father’s Day (in case you didn’t know!) and our Father’s Day looked pretty much like any of our other days. Dad and I have gone on many Starbucks dates in the past…including this one from Boston. He woke me up to go with him yesterday morning and I thought I was awake until he came back in and woke me up for the second time telling me he was going to leave. I ended up falling asleep and sleeping through Starbucks with him and my yoga class.

But I did wake up in time for Church. We went out to the car and realized that the sunroof was open in my mom’s car…and it rained all night. So now i’ve slept through Starbucks and we have a wet car. Therefore, 4/6 of us were at Church on time while the other 2 were drying out a car.

We came back home after Church and all grabbed a little something to eat. I went to make an omelette and realized that I cooked mushrooms that were rotten. Everyone else got to enjoy pizza. Sigh. We all laid around for an hour or so and dad wanted to go see the movie “Aloha” so we traveled on over to the theater in our mall. And walked up to these lines…

…40 minutes later we were in the theater taking dark selfies…

…Rick fell asleep snoring, my dad leaned down to mom and I saying “I don’t like this”, I was hungry….and everyone did not like the movie. There was no point to it, so we all decided next time we planned on going to a movie we aren’t going to let dad choose no matter what holiday it might be!

We got home about 5:00 and decided to have dad open his presents.

….and Ryan helped unwrap the shoes, belts, shirts, and food he got. I mean what else could a guy want?

After presents, I decided we should order Chinese food and that it should be a new place. My dad is not one for trying new places. When he finds what he likes, he sticks with it. I googled places around us and this one had four stars. I placed an order and we waited on our food! He awarded the wonton soup and beef with broccoli his new favorite, so #daughterwin, but Morgan’s honey glazed chicken was soggy…so we definitely wouldn’t recommend that as we threw most of it away. And the rest of the night we just hung out. It was a great day.

We may have slept through Starbucks, walked out to a soaking wet car, cooked with rotten mushrooms, stood in lines at the movie theater, seen a horrible movie, and ended up with soggy chicken…but we did it as a family and with our dad. And that’s all Father’s Day is about after all 🙂

I love you, dad. Life without you would be…well, less interesting…xoxox

Show and Tell: Your Yard

One of my favorite things about living at home while I finish up college is living in a house. That sounds strange, right? But living in a dorm with no room to do anything, living in a sorority house that you can’t decorate your way, and living in an apartment gives you limited options with everything…you really appreciate a house. And not just any house – your house.  You can decorate it how you want, organize it how you want, and make your yard how you want. To be honest, whenever I pull up to someone’s house, my first impression is based off of how the yard looks.

Now I can’t take credit for anything here – that’s all my dad’s work! But he’s done a darn good job keeping our yard looking nice.

I tried to take a panoramic of our front yard, but I wasn’t very good at it. With all the rain we got recently we’ve never seen the trees, and grass, and plants so green around here!

This right here is more of what we are used to…minus the snow. But the browner/lighter grass is typical for Texas.

But my favorite part of our outdoor area/yard? The backyard!! And specifically our pool area.

When our house was built we had this big ol’ open yard and a swing set. I remember when my parents were considering putting a pool in I begged and begged them to buy a trampoline instead and that it would keep us cool in the summertime too! In hindsight, parents are right little kids are wrong. Ha! I’m so glad they decided to get the pool and not the trampoline.

Many memories made in this house have included the pool. I love hanging out in our backyard. I also love stepping out onto our top balcony (one of my newfound favorite places) and seeing this view of our pool and can hear the waterfall…so peaceful.

It’s still pretty in rain….

…with sunshine doing yoga…

…or with snow.

When I look to left of our pool from the patio – this is what I see. My mom grew up on a farm and when one of her relatives died we went to go through the house to see what kind of old treasures we could find. My mom could not part with this pig crate. Yep, you read that right. We brought home a pig crate. My dad put it up one summer with planted vines (or something next to it) that have grown so much. It adds some character to our backyard for sure.

Our newest addition is this garden dad planted recently. We always have herbs growing in our backyard – Basil, Cilantro, Chives, etc. Recently, within the last couple of years we’ve started planting more in our backyard.

And this year we have cucumbers, tomatoes, and lots of other veggies that dad has been bringing in…that’s if he doesn’t eat it before he walks it inside!

What’s worked for our yard:

My dad is out in the yard if not every day, then almost every day! The boys usually come out and help. On the weekends, they are absolutely out there!

Dad stopped mowing the lawn years ago and I asked him if he would teach me so I could (hahah!!) he declined, so we have a service mow our lawn.

Hand-watering our vegetables are “garden area” almost daily has helped to keep everything green and growing.

I love spending time outside and in our yard. It makes our house feel more like home.

 

Boston, I love you!

So this past weekend was the best spring weekend this season.

My dad is was born in Massachusetts and grew up in Virginia…he’s the definition of an East Coast boy. The Sperrys, the preppy clothes, the deep love for seafood…you name it! When Morgan and I were younger, dad took us every September to Cape Cod to visit. We saw a family business, enjoyed the Atlantic Ocean, saw my grandpa’s grave (he was buried there when I was 6 months old!) and ate some lobster. Every year that’s what I looked forward to most when it came time for fall. We had to stop that little routine when my sister and I got older because of school obligations. But, my family and Massachusetts go waaay back.

I moved to Texas when I was 6 years old; a month or so into Kindergarten. I became friends with the boy across the street who was my age. They are some of our good family friends and have been for years now. They own a house in Cape Cod and are Red Sox fans. Naturally. When the Red Sox came to play the Rangers they would always get tickets and take me with them! I’m not lying when I say I grew up a Red Sox fan.

I try to go to one game every year when they come to play the Rangers. My friend, Alyssa has family from the Connecticut/North East area. We went to a game the summer after we graduated high school!

I’m a Red Sox fan through and through. I remember where I was when they broke the curse of the bambino. This is my sport. And this is my team.

So when I told my dad that one thing on my bucket list was watch a game in all of the MLB stadiums, he gave me a trip to Boston as my 21st birthday present back in January. And I was pumped! The weekend finally came and pops and I flew into good ol’ Logan airport Saturday morning.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed – well, 1/2 of us. Dad was still asleep thanks to leaving our house at 4:40.

 

Please take a minute to look at the temperatures we dealt with all weekend. This Texas girl is just not used to 40 degrees in May! It’s been 90 around here!

Got my people subscription, my first class seat reclined…and I was ready to go!

We got to Boston, picked up our rental car and a map, and set out for Cape Cod.

As soon as we got to Cape Cod we stopped for lunch at a restaurant my dad really likes. He’s not adventurous when it comes to trying new places. He likes what he likes and that’s where we go.

And you bet your bottom dollar he’s going to get some clam chowder as an appetizer! Every single place!

He got a lobster roll and I got a salad with lobster, shrimp, chicken, and bacon and other good stuff.

Then, we drove to the cemetery dad’s parents and grandparents are buried at. The same cemetery that I will be visiting when my parents pass away.

Left: The day we buried my grandpa sorry it’s a picture of a picture. Center: The day we buried my grandma. Right: The day I got to visit them again.

I hugged my grandparents.

Dad posed with his mom and dad!

I took a selfie with my grammy. Hehehe

Also, at this cemetery is where Tip O’Neill is buried. If you don’t know who that is Tip O’Neill was the speaker of the house for 10 years. This cemetery has some pretty cool history to it.

We drove out to this motel that my great grandpa owned. It was named after us. In fact, the street running beside it is my last name. So that’s pretty fancy and what not.

And within walking distance is the Atlantic.

Gosh, I love the ocean, and the Cape, and this weather!!

Dad showed me where they lived when he was born. Crazy – that was so long ago 😉

After seeing what we wanted to see we grabbed some starbucks and headed back to the airport to return our rental car.

That night we had late dinner reservations so we walked around “uptown” Boston for a little while.

And stood by the water until it was time to go in. Aren’t these sites so pretty?!

At dinner he got his clam chowder again (go figure!)

He ordered the rosemary scallops served over chickpeas (YUM!)

Stamers – aka clams

And we shared lobster with some veggies on the side.

For desert – bon bons – ice-cream covered in chocolate. So sad I couldn’t have any 😦

Yo girl at her “21st birthday dinner”

Sunday morning we slept in because we were TIRED. We walked downstairs to the Starbucks and got some coffee before we planned to set out for the day.

We were on the 20th floor of our hotel and this was our view. It felt like fall in the city.

After I got a little work out in, we cleaned up, showered and headed out to Boston Commons for a little site-seeing pre-best game you could ever watch.

We saw some historic things, and took some “artsy” pictures.

After plenty of walking we took a break for lunch at an American place and they had a gluten free bun – winning – so I got a grilled fish sandwich. And substituted veggies for my fries because i’m weird like that and could eat vegetables for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and not get tired of them. It was so gooooood.

Dad had to stop for a Starbucks while we walked around.

We showed up at Fenway to check things out while we were in the area just moseying around. Ain’t she purdy???

And cheers’d to a fun daddy/daughter 21st birthday weekend.

After some beer and appetizers we finally got into the stadium and snapped a picture of me in front of the Green Monster.

So pretty!!

 

We love Fenway!

Because it’s America’s Most Beloved Ballpark!!! We went to Sunday night’s game and we were the first people to view James Taylor’s music video for his new release: “Angels of Fenway”. He’s apparently making a comeback after 14 years.

It was fuuuuhhhhreeeezzzziinnnngggg with the wind blowing behind us.

We left after the first half of the 7th inning to catch a cab and get back to our hotel room to shower and get packed for a 6:15 flight Monday morning. We were up and at ’em at 4:15 to get home and after a stop at Starbucks we were back by 10:30 to where I was of no use to anyone due to the fact I was exhausted!!!!

I had such a fun weekend with my dad in our city. I’m still tired. And still full. But still on a major high from getting to experience Fenway at a Sox vs. Yanks match-up. I’ll be crossing this one off of the list.

Colors of Life: Having a dad in the military

I’ve had this posted drafted for so long now and for some reason haven’t posted it! What better time than 3 days before Valentine’s day??? *insert heart emojis*

I was watching the National Championship the other night (see how long ago!) and I got this sense of pride as they showed the soldiers from Kuwait saluting when they sang the National Anthem. And I think that’s mainly because I have a dad in the military. Having someone in your family in the military isn’t just something to talk about or a fun fact about you. It’s a lifestyle.

My dad is was (he’s officially retired now!) in the reserves, so we didn’t travel somewhere new every couple of months for his job like you tend to see in the movies. Luckily, pops always traveled wherever he was stationed at the time.

My dad is many things…

He’s annoying
He’s loud
He’s repetitive
He barks orders

But he’s also so much more…

He’s honorable
He’s smart
He’s faithful
He’s disciplined
He’s inquisitive
He’s a good guy

But best of all….

He’s my dad.

And I think he got all of that from being in the military for so many years.

If you have someone in the military in your immediate family, then you know what it’s like. He’s been gone for some holidays, working weekends, etc; they follow whatever orders they are given. You pretty much get used to them being gone that when they are home it’s kind of strange. It’s hard for everyone. We’re just not used to having him around all the time! When someone is in the military (especially for 30+ years) it’s not just their job….it becomes who they are.

I specifically remember the one time my dad was getting deployed…and how before he left we watched Shrek together. Then, one morning at school (I was in the third grade) that one sad song came on the speakers, the Hallelujah one and I started bawling. Seriously, that’s probably the first time I ever cried…after the day I was born, obviously because I missed him. I went running down the hallway to the bathroom and tried to hide from my teachers and classmates. I still remember this day perfectly. I still hate listening to that song to this day! While Dad was deployed, he and I wrote letters and he told me some songs to listen to that he was (Ivy and Santana) and would talk about them.

There are definitely some things we’re going to have to get used to now that he’s done with his military work. We’re going to have to get used to him being kind of demanding (that’s the lifestyle he’s used to after 30-some-odd years). There’s also some things he’s going to have to know, too. I think it will be difficult for him to remember that we are his kids and wife, not his deputies. Haha, he forgets that sometimes 😉

  

Dad,

The first thing I want you to know is how proud I am to call you my father. I know sometimes I may not act appreciative, sometimes I may drive you crazy, sometimes you DO drive me crazy, but don’t forget that first sentence. I don’t think you know how many times I jump at the chance to say my dad is a General in the Air Force Reserves when people start talking about the armed forces. You were meant for the military, pops. You’ve got the smarts, the determination, and the grit. I know sometimes you don’t think you’re as smart as other people, but I don’t think you really see what we do. Thanks for all the “pearls” you’ve given me. And most importantly, thanks for sacrificing for our country.

I love you lots Daddy-O,

Molly

Thanks for being “dad” to Morgan, Ryan, Rick and I.

    

And thanks for taking the time to come to Dad’s weekend at OU.

We’re lucky to have you no matter how annoying you are 🙂

Friday Favorites: For The Right Reasons Version

Yay yay yay! It’s Friday!!! That means it’s Friday Favorites time. Check out this week’s….For The Right Reasons…as I link up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci! And this week i’m new to the Five on Friday and Oh, hey Friday link-up as well!

Friday night my momma and I sat in the cold, cold, cold (40 degrees is cold in Texas, people) weather supporting my sister at her soccer game. They are undefeated and i’m so proud of her for doing so well during her senior year! This was a horrible selfie I took of both of us to ask my dad if he wished he was us.

Saturday’s have become a do nothing all day long kind of day and this weekend didn’t disappoint. I went to make returns, run errands, and get things done that I can’t normally do during the week. I happened to pick up these cole haan heels. We’ll see how they go. Then, I was doing nothing else with my life so I decided to give myself a pedicure because I am my one true love. Or because I was embarrassed by my feet with the lady measured them for my shoe size. I don’t know.

Sunday mornings have become daddy/daughter time for my dad and I. We drive to Starbucks, grab our coffee, and chat for about 30-45 minutes or however long. It becomes a part of the week I look forward to. I got two cups of coffee this past week and my stomach did not appreciate that high amount of caffeine (go figure). This particular Sunday my dad told me that he wanted me to live close so he could come hang out with me. Happy Molly!

This selfie was taken to show Emily how much I resented her for being at her boyfriend’s doing nothing while I was diligently working in the office. But you know it’s nothing a big ol’ bowl of gluten free carbs can’t help. Honestly, I don’t mind Mondays. I’d rather have a Monday than a Tuesday or Wednesday!

My class before my lunch break got out super early and I had two hours before my next class started. I thought about going to pick up a few things, so I got in my car and left and that was bad for 2 reasons. First of all, PARKING SUCKS at school and there was NO spot when I got back. Second, what errands was I going to run? I had nothing I needed to do. However, I stopped into Target and decided to look around. I saw this book and knew I wanted to read it eventually, so I took the plunge and bought it. Y’all I was finished with it the next day. I read through a couple lectures (#sorryimnotsorry) SO good!

I’ll be in my second home this morning if you’re wondering where i’ve run off to. If you haven’t already…check out how I decorated my office!!!! I think you’ll like it 🙂

Don’t forget to come back here on Monday as I participate in the Pin-Spired link-up!!! And probably consists of more of the cutest clothes everrrrrrr.

Not too much on the agenda today, but Monday will be fabulous!!! Have a fantastic weekend!!

Recipe Club: Good Luck!!!

So, I just learned maybe three years ago that you were supposed to have black eyed peas on New Years for good luck. My parents grew up on the east coast and in the midwest – we’ve never done any of these southern traditions. However, I do like traditions and I do like black eye pea! (Is it just me or do you guys also think of Radio saying “black eyed pea” whenever you hear that??)

I looked up black eyed pea recipes on google New Years Day, because I was darned determined we were going to have us some peas!!! They all sounded nasty or we didn’t have all the ingredients so I took some ingredients from a recipe I found and made up my own concoction.

I really wish I was a foodie blogger who knew how to take cute food pics. I’m sorry you’ll have to settle for my iPhone pictures. Forgive me?

Grab outta the fridge list:
1 can black eyed peas – drained- but keep the juice
1 tablespoon of butter
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
salt/pepper to taste
bacon bits to taste

Step 1: Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet. While it’s heating, chop up some onion to brown in the pan. Technically it should be a whole onion, but I just added whatever looked right to me. Less was more to me in this instance.

2. Brown your onion and be sure to scrape up the burned pieces on the pan (that’s the flavor, baby!). Add a clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme and some salt and pepper. Continue to stir.

3. Next, add your black eyed peas with some of it’s juice!

4. I added some bacon pieces into the pan.

5. I covered the pan and let it simmer for 10-ish minutes until all of the flavors had time to mix together.

And this is what it looks like when it’s all said and gone. If you’d prefer more of the juice from the peas, you can add it at any time. The great part is that it’s your own personal preference.

Now let me tell you, my mom does not like black eyed peas. I told her I was going to make a recipe and asked if she would try. She said yes but she wouldn’t like.
She came back for more. My dad came back for seconds. My sister tried some! We were all basically fighting over this! I had no idea that was going to happen when I made it. I will tell you this, though: the thyme is important. It gives it the flavor that sets it out from other recipes.

So if you’re in the mood for some good luck…i’m your girl today. Enjoy!

Undeniably Connected.

Hello 🙂

Sorry I missed you yesterday. I was feeling sick Sunday and ended up falling asleep at 7pm, therefore did not get my post finished and posted. But have no fear, i’m back today 😉 I know you were pretty worried, am I right? Haha

It’s no secret that I love Church, and Sundays, and going to Church on Sundays. However, I normally don’t post about sermons and all of that because most people have their own Church that they attend, or hear other sermons, or really don’t want to read a sermon as a blog post. But today is different, I do want to share about my sermon from last Sunday, called “producing” (it’s part of a three week series).

John 15:5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

We should all be living a life undeniably connected to Jesus.

The main thing I took away from the message is this line our pastor said: “If your life makes sense to other people, you’re not undeniably connected to Jesus.” And I thought about it and three things immediately went through my head: what can I be doing differently? How can I change this in my life? and I wonder if I smell bad? (’cause I came straight from yoga). Whooops. But instead of focusing on that last one, we’ll talk about those first two. I kept thing about that statement the rest of the sermon, and just couldn’t figure it out.

On the way home it was just my dad and I. We were talking and my dad said “Did you listen to the sermon today?” And i’m like, “What are you talking about? Duh. I take notes every week. Did YOU listen????” and he said, “Molly, he was talking about you.” And I was all…what? He was talking about me in a sermon to everyone else?? I thought about it. I still didn’t make the connection. He said… You’ve told me multiple times “Oh, i’m the loser that’s sitting at home with her parents on a Friday night.” I said yeah. He said, you’ve told me multiple times “I never wanted to go out and party all weekend every weekend even at OU.” I said yeah. He said, you’ve told me multiple times “I never understand why some choose to “hook up” with random people just because they can.” I said yeah. And then He said, and you’ve told me before “I still don’t understand how I was brought home, back from OU, in the middle of a bad season in my life, and feel guilty about it.” (those weren’t his exact words, but that was his gist). And I said yeah.

I AM the one that’s pretty much home in bed early on Friday and Saturday nights. I am the one that can go out and have a good time if I want to with my friends, but not get wasted every weekend. I am the one that’s had one serious relationship, and that’s about it. I am the one that came home from college, embarrassed by my decision because I didn’t love being away, and now cannot thank God enough for guiding me home. I am the one that blogs, when i’ve been told how weird it is. I am the one that started working in corporate america at the age of 20.

My life and my decisions sometimes don’t make sense to anyone else in my stage of life. I thought it was something to be embarrassed about. I’m wondering what is wrong with me for being do different than the normal of my age group? But what is normal????? Little do I know, maybe after all I am undeniably connected to Jesus. How awesome is that?

We should all be living a life undeniably connected to Jesus.

Sometimes God uses other people to speak to us, and Sunday it was my pops. My ol’ man. Thanks dad, for making me see things that I can be blind too. And pastor McKinzie, if somehow someway you’re reading this….I do listen to you!

If you have a chance you should watch the sermon i’m talking about! Check it out here.

Friday Favorites: Fri-YAY edition

I’m not even going to act like I wasn’t excited for this Fri-YAY to come. Also, it’s casual day at work—do pjs count? Let me know. Now I do remember one of my New Years Resolutions went along with this…

But this was a long week. Starting school, working the other three days of the week, homework already, lack of sleep, cold weather, ugh. That’s not Fri-YAY material. That’s more like MON-DANE material. Was that clever?? Really, I would like to go hide back under my covers for a couple hours. But I won’t. I need to be adult-like and go make money. One day i’ll thank myself.

Join in with me as I link up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favorites!

After I got off work last Fri-YAY two of my FAVORITE girls and I went with my family to the Texas Legends basketball game and treated ourselves to a nice, healthy dinner afterwards.

Saturday night was my FAVORITE kind of night. My parents and I went to the local bar (yes, I hang out with my parents on the weekend, and yes I have fun doing it!) to hear a band play, I posted a little about this earlier in the week. Are you not caught up on your Colors of Life reading???!!!!

Sunday I turned everyone’s FAVORITE birthday….21!!!! Read about that here.

Mon-DANE was so Monday-like that I didn’t take a picture. But how about I leave you with this one today:

That could turn your Mon-DANE right around. In fact, they’re getting even lower!! Oh, happy day!

Tuesday is every college student’s LEAST FAVORITE day of the semester. The very first day. I did a heavy sigh as I woke up early Tuesday morning, with my bag packed up, my shoes tied tight, hope I don’t get in a fight. Ohhh, back to school, back to school…..if you didn’t see my post on Instagram, you would have understood my Adam Sandler reference.

So I was shopping the other day and I saw one of my FAVORITE sights. These two cute little ol’ ladies were shopping accessories, purses, wallets, belts, bags, you name it. I stalked overheard their conversation and one said “I don’t want to take too long, but i’d like to go look at that purse.” The other one replied, “Oh no don’t worry, you go right ahead and look at that.” Couldn’t you just DIE????? Cannot wait to own my retirement home one day.

I’m starting to get the hang of this new school thing. The days get a little long while i’m on campus, but I know my outcome will far surpass the boredom that I have while sitting around look at funky pieces of architecture between classes.

PEACE OUT & HAPPY FRI-YAY!!!!!!

21 part one

Yes, the infamous 21st birthday weekend has come and gone. I feel like I took a jillion and a half pictures this weekend, so i’m going to split it up into two different days.

“EEP, I’m almost 21”

Just kidding, the Emily’s both texted me and asked what I was wearing to the basketball game we were going to later that night and when I said probably what I wore to work they MADE ME stop what I was doing, take a selfie, and send it to them. How needy….am I right? But let’s not act like it was that big of a problem for me 🙂

Through my work, the employees got to request tickets for the Texas Legends basketball game because it was Miracle League night and we sponsor The Miracle League. I requested the max (10) and brought along Emily #1 and Emily #2 and then told my siblings there was 2 tickets left, so I let them argue who got it. Morg and Ryan won.

I had to take pictures of us. You know, to document that we are in fact friends. It worked out perfectly because they both knew of each other from the restaurant we all worked at.

And that picture above was apparently “too awkward” (thank you Morgan) so we had to take another.

And then strike a pose (we got to the game a little early, can you tell?)

And I didn’t like any of them so Morgan had to get it at a different angle.

And then after still not liking any, I gave up. Here’s a quick snap of the boys! All photos by MorgMiddPhotog because i’m sure you’ll be asking 😉

And this is our motley crew!!!! Nice selfie taking skills Morg, you do a sister proud!

We were serenaded by an elementary school choir singing God Bless America (so cute!) before the game.

     

And then we moved seats because ours sucked. And we watched the game from there.

The Emily’s had a little one crushing on them and making faces at them. He obviously did not want to be there but he was seriously giving us a good laugh! At one point I winked at him to see what he would do and he just stared at me and turned around. Too bad I creep little kids out 😉

Hey girl, you single?

This game was suuuuuuuuuuuuper boring and I would have been disappointed had we paid for these tickets. There was too much going on, it was loud, kids were playing games on the sidelines, people were talking on the mic during the game, someone smelled like illegal substance. It was just all around bad. Nobody said they wanted to leave because they wanted to stay there for me, which is super sweet!!! Finally I was the one that said we should go because everyone was pretty much hating themselves at this point! Haha. So we left at half.

We went to Chili’s because Jowers was starving, the other girls wanted a milkshake, and I didn’t want to go home. We attempted another picture, but I again didn’t like it. Ugh!

There were fries involved…’nuff said. Plenty of grease. Plenty of smiles around the table.

We drove through steak ‘n shake so everyone could get a shake because chili’s doesn’t make them anymore. And then we all went to our separate places and fell asleep.

Saturday morning I slept until 11:00, so yes I wasted the entire morning. But no worries I ran some errands for my momma, including a run by the grocery store for her.

Then we took some furniture to dad’s office. So here I am in the back with lamps, pictures, and a table.

I swear my mom has been there every day for the last I don’t know how long trying to get his office set up for him, everything in it’s place, pictures hung, etc. It sounds hard being a wife 😉

When we got home it was late in the afternoon so I made some food and caught up on Parenthood.

And after that I decided to go to the Saturday night service at my Church because I knew I wasn’t going to get up early to go Sunday if I was heading out to brunch at 10:30.

The message was good and challenged me a little for this upcoming year, so i’m glad I made it. I came home and sat by the fire and blogged a little for part of the night.

UPDATE: Check out part 2 here