.jpg)
Of course I had to buy it. The bangs are hers. The rest came with the hat.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Some of you may remember when Lillian was a tiny baby, we put a wig from one of Laura's dolls on her. It was hilarious because it fit her perfectly and looked like she had a full, thick head of hair. Well, we now have the toddler version. We were at the dollar store today. Laura was in charge of entertaining Lillian while I shopped. Laura says I made the funniest face when they walked up and I saw this...
Of course I had to buy it. The bangs are hers. The rest came with the hat.
Of course I had to buy it. The bangs are hers. The rest came with the hat.
I had the funniest experience yesterday....Arnel stayed home sick from work...and I didn't know it until 11:30 in the morning!!
He had a tummy bug, so he was up and down a lot during the night. For some reason, at some point he'd gone and layed down in the boys' bedroom apparently. I was up doing my thing, wondering why he hadn't woken me up that morning or started the coffee, like he normally does. I figured he was just running really late. At one point Lillian went upstairs with the boys. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, she is really playing well in there with them for a long time today." It was actually because her Daddy was in there! I had no idea he was home until he walked downstairs shortly before lunch time! I teased him all day about "checking up on us."
He had a tummy bug, so he was up and down a lot during the night. For some reason, at some point he'd gone and layed down in the boys' bedroom apparently. I was up doing my thing, wondering why he hadn't woken me up that morning or started the coffee, like he normally does. I figured he was just running really late. At one point Lillian went upstairs with the boys. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, she is really playing well in there with them for a long time today." It was actually because her Daddy was in there! I had no idea he was home until he walked downstairs shortly before lunch time! I teased him all day about "checking up on us."
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Just realized that I never posted about our anniversary! Arnel and I went out to dinner at Olive Garden...the ravioli di portobello was delicious and I had some dessert...Black Tie something, it had dark chocolate and a moussy filling...was wonderful! Then we went to Target to pick up a few necessitities and found some cool toys on clearance that we got to stash away for the kids for Christmas!
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Story Of The Brownies
Some years ago, I walked into my office after a Sunday morning service to find a sandwich bag on my desk containing three chocolate brownies. Some thoughtful and anonymous person who knew my love for chocolatehad placed them there, along with a piece of paper that had a short story written on it I immediately sat down and began eating the first brownie as I read the following story:Two teenagers asked their father if they could go the theater to watch a movie that all their friends had seen. After reading some reviews about the movie on the Internet, he denied their request."Aw dad, why not?" they complained. "It's rated PG-13, and we're both older than thirteen!"
Dad replied: "Because that movie contains nudity and portrays immorality as being normal and acceptable behavior "
"But dad, those are just very small parts of themovie! That's what our friends who've seen it have told us. The movie is two hours long and those scenes are just a few minutes of the total film! It's based on a true story, and good triumphs over evil, and there are other redeeming themes like courage andself-sacrifice. Even the movie review websites say that!""My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer. You are welcome to stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over, and watch one of the good videos we have in our home collection. But you will not go and watch that film. End of discussion."The two teenagers walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped down on the couch. As they sulked, they were surprised to hear the sounds of their father preparing something in the kitchen. They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking inthe oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other, "Dad must be feeling guilty, and now he's going to try to make it up to us with some fresh brownies. Maybe we can soften him with lots of praise when he brings them out to us and persuade him to let us go to that movie after all."About that time I began eating the second brownie from the sandwich bag and wondered if there was some connection to the brownies I was eating and the brownies in the story. I kept reading...The teens were not disappointed. Soon their father appeared with a plate of warm brownies which he offered to his kids. They each took one. Then their father said, "Before you eat, I want to tell you something: I love you both so much."The teenagers smiled at each other with knowing glances. Dad was softening."That is why I've made these brownies with the very best ingredients. I've made them from scratch. Most of the ingredients are even organic. The best organic flour. The best free-range eggs. The best organic sugar. Premium vanilla and chocolate."The brownies looked mouth-watering, and the teens began to become a little impatient with their dad's long speech."But I want to be perfectly honest with you. There is one ingredient I added that is not usually found in brownies. I got that ingredient from our own back yard. But you needn't worry, because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your brownies. The amount of the portion is practically insignificant. So go ahead, take a bite and let me know what you think.""Dad, would you mind telling us what that mystery ingredient is before we eat?""Why? The portion I added was so small. Just ateaspoonful. You won't even taste it.""Come on, dad; just tell us what that ingredient is.""Don't worry! It is organic, just like the otheringredients."
"Dad!"
"Well, OK, if you insist. That secret ingredient is organic...dog poop."I immediately stopped chewing that second brownie and I spit it out into the waste basket by my desk. I continued reading, now fearful of the paragraphs that still remained.Both teens instantly dropped their brownies back on the plate and began inspecting their fingers with horror."DAD! Why did you do that? You've tortured us by making us smell those brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you tell us that you added dog poop! We can't eat these brownies!""Why not? The amount of dog poop is very smallcompared to the rest of the ingredients. It won't hurt you. It's been cooked right along with the other ingredients. You won't even taste it. It has the same consistency as the brownies. Go ahead and eat!""No, Dad...NEVER!""And that is the same reason I won't allow you to go watch that movie. You won't tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why should you tolerate a little immorality in your movies? We pray that God will not lead us unto temptation, so how can we in good conscience entertain ourselves with something thatwill imprint a sinful image in our minds that willlead us into temptation long after we first see it?I discarded what remained of the second brownie as well as the entire untouched third brownie. What had been irresistible a minute go had become detestable. And only because of the very slim chance that what I was eating was slightly polluted. (Surely it wasn't...but I couldn't convince myself.)What a good lesson about purity! Why do we tolerate any sin? On the day of the Passover, the Israelites were commanded to remove every bit of leaven from their homes. Sin is like leaven - a little bit leavens the whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6). (1 Cor. 5:7),faith and sin, don't mix.
May the Peace of the LORD JESUS surround you today, and may the LORD of all creation rain showers of blessings on you today and every day!
Some years ago, I walked into my office after a Sunday morning service to find a sandwich bag on my desk containing three chocolate brownies. Some thoughtful and anonymous person who knew my love for chocolatehad placed them there, along with a piece of paper that had a short story written on it I immediately sat down and began eating the first brownie as I read the following story:Two teenagers asked their father if they could go the theater to watch a movie that all their friends had seen. After reading some reviews about the movie on the Internet, he denied their request."Aw dad, why not?" they complained. "It's rated PG-13, and we're both older than thirteen!"
Dad replied: "Because that movie contains nudity and portrays immorality as being normal and acceptable behavior "
"But dad, those are just very small parts of themovie! That's what our friends who've seen it have told us. The movie is two hours long and those scenes are just a few minutes of the total film! It's based on a true story, and good triumphs over evil, and there are other redeeming themes like courage andself-sacrifice. Even the movie review websites say that!""My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer. You are welcome to stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over, and watch one of the good videos we have in our home collection. But you will not go and watch that film. End of discussion."The two teenagers walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped down on the couch. As they sulked, they were surprised to hear the sounds of their father preparing something in the kitchen. They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking inthe oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other, "Dad must be feeling guilty, and now he's going to try to make it up to us with some fresh brownies. Maybe we can soften him with lots of praise when he brings them out to us and persuade him to let us go to that movie after all."About that time I began eating the second brownie from the sandwich bag and wondered if there was some connection to the brownies I was eating and the brownies in the story. I kept reading...The teens were not disappointed. Soon their father appeared with a plate of warm brownies which he offered to his kids. They each took one. Then their father said, "Before you eat, I want to tell you something: I love you both so much."The teenagers smiled at each other with knowing glances. Dad was softening."That is why I've made these brownies with the very best ingredients. I've made them from scratch. Most of the ingredients are even organic. The best organic flour. The best free-range eggs. The best organic sugar. Premium vanilla and chocolate."The brownies looked mouth-watering, and the teens began to become a little impatient with their dad's long speech."But I want to be perfectly honest with you. There is one ingredient I added that is not usually found in brownies. I got that ingredient from our own back yard. But you needn't worry, because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your brownies. The amount of the portion is practically insignificant. So go ahead, take a bite and let me know what you think.""Dad, would you mind telling us what that mystery ingredient is before we eat?""Why? The portion I added was so small. Just ateaspoonful. You won't even taste it.""Come on, dad; just tell us what that ingredient is.""Don't worry! It is organic, just like the otheringredients."
"Dad!"
"Well, OK, if you insist. That secret ingredient is organic...dog poop."I immediately stopped chewing that second brownie and I spit it out into the waste basket by my desk. I continued reading, now fearful of the paragraphs that still remained.Both teens instantly dropped their brownies back on the plate and began inspecting their fingers with horror."DAD! Why did you do that? You've tortured us by making us smell those brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you tell us that you added dog poop! We can't eat these brownies!""Why not? The amount of dog poop is very smallcompared to the rest of the ingredients. It won't hurt you. It's been cooked right along with the other ingredients. You won't even taste it. It has the same consistency as the brownies. Go ahead and eat!""No, Dad...NEVER!""And that is the same reason I won't allow you to go watch that movie. You won't tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why should you tolerate a little immorality in your movies? We pray that God will not lead us unto temptation, so how can we in good conscience entertain ourselves with something thatwill imprint a sinful image in our minds that willlead us into temptation long after we first see it?I discarded what remained of the second brownie as well as the entire untouched third brownie. What had been irresistible a minute go had become detestable. And only because of the very slim chance that what I was eating was slightly polluted. (Surely it wasn't...but I couldn't convince myself.)What a good lesson about purity! Why do we tolerate any sin? On the day of the Passover, the Israelites were commanded to remove every bit of leaven from their homes. Sin is like leaven - a little bit leavens the whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6). (1 Cor. 5:7),faith and sin, don't mix.
May the Peace of the LORD JESUS surround you today, and may the LORD of all creation rain showers of blessings on you today and every day!
Just wanted to update...Julia returned home from her trip to Lousiana yesterday. She had a wonderful time, says she fell in love with everyone on her crew. She spent her week doing a couple small repairs but mostly painting interior and exterior of a lady's home, complete with sanding, peeling wallpaper, etc. These homes were chosen prior to Katrina so it wasn't storm damage, but she did bring home some pictures of damage that they saw. It is amazing how many things are there that they just haven't had time or money or whatever to deal with yet! The lady they worked with was great...although the work camp provided food for them, she let them eat in her house (some of the crews had to eat outside!) and on the last day cooked fried catfish for them, so Julia got a taste of some authentic LA cooking! The woman's daughter even came and helped them work one day.! Her only complaint was the heat...not there, which she says she was too busy to notice but on the car trip...they took a 15-passenger van which doesn't have air conditioning.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Arnel, Lillian and I all had check-ups last week. (On a related note, Lillian has a new enemy.) Things holding up pretty well in us old folk. I could use some aerobic exercise to boost my good cholesterol. Arnel has a bit of tendonitis here and there. But overall...we aren't falling apart yet.
Lillian is actually in the 25th percentile, higher than I expected. She is 29" tall and 19 lbs. 10 oz on her wet diaper. At nearly 18 months, still not quite ready to turn that car seat around!
I received an exciting email today. On a kind of "what do I have to lose" lark, I submitted a bunch of layouts to an online magazine called Ready, Set Create... http://readysetcreate.com/rsc/index.php. I had heard they used a wide range of skill levels and styles, but it had been a week and I hadn't heard back from them so assumed that meant "no." Today, though, I heard that they are using one of my layouts in the Aug/Sep issue!
Another scrapping highlight for me...my TLC upline Lisa has set up an amazing new forum called The School of Scrap http://schoolofscrap.proboards102.com/index.cgi and she has graciously given me a position on her Design Team. It is still small as it is very new (I mean, like a week!) but she has some really fun stuff going on and I would love for you to drop by and check it out!
Lillian is actually in the 25th percentile, higher than I expected. She is 29" tall and 19 lbs. 10 oz on her wet diaper. At nearly 18 months, still not quite ready to turn that car seat around!
I received an exciting email today. On a kind of "what do I have to lose" lark, I submitted a bunch of layouts to an online magazine called Ready, Set Create... http://readysetcreate.com/rsc/index.php. I had heard they used a wide range of skill levels and styles, but it had been a week and I hadn't heard back from them so assumed that meant "no." Today, though, I heard that they are using one of my layouts in the Aug/Sep issue!
Another scrapping highlight for me...my TLC upline Lisa has set up an amazing new forum called The School of Scrap http://schoolofscrap.proboards102.com/index.cgi and she has graciously given me a position on her Design Team. It is still small as it is very new (I mean, like a week!) but she has some really fun stuff going on and I would love for you to drop by and check it out!
Friday, July 14, 2006
| You Are An INFJ |
| The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. |
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
I have been sorely remiss about posting here the last couple of weeks. Blame it on the scrapbooking obsession. You see, I must have had a day with too much time on my hands because for some reason I thought it would be a fun idea to sign up for several challenges at scrapbook.com. I am thoroughly enjoying them but man, oh man, are they time thieves! Even as I am writing this, I have another page open to scrapbook.com and am looking at other people's work and leaving them comments.
Biggest news...we have a new bike-rider! Isaac, fearless kid that he is, is cautious about certain things. He has never really shown much interest in having his training wheels removed. Suddenly, yesterday, I guess it was time. Laura took the wheels off for him and basically...off he went! He looks like he's been at it for years. Go figure!
The three middle kids and I all had our dental check-ups today and all had great reports. Woo hoo for another six months! Julia will have her appointment after returning from her trip so I hope she gets a good report as well. Lillian was not a fan of the hygenist today, though. As she watched us getting cleaned she was most concerned. I'm not sure if it was the mask on the hygenist or the fact that she was doing something to us that looked really weird, but she got progressively more upset. She's over it, though. ~grin~
I have been adding layouts to my gallery but you may not see them right off. Click on the link on the left to My Place at Scrapbook.com and then when you get to my photo gallery there, go to July Anything Goes Challenge. That is where the latest layouts are. Leave me a comment if you drop in!
Biggest news...we have a new bike-rider! Isaac, fearless kid that he is, is cautious about certain things. He has never really shown much interest in having his training wheels removed. Suddenly, yesterday, I guess it was time. Laura took the wheels off for him and basically...off he went! He looks like he's been at it for years. Go figure!
The three middle kids and I all had our dental check-ups today and all had great reports. Woo hoo for another six months! Julia will have her appointment after returning from her trip so I hope she gets a good report as well. Lillian was not a fan of the hygenist today, though. As she watched us getting cleaned she was most concerned. I'm not sure if it was the mask on the hygenist or the fact that she was doing something to us that looked really weird, but she got progressively more upset. She's over it, though. ~grin~
I have been adding layouts to my gallery but you may not see them right off. Click on the link on the left to My Place at Scrapbook.com and then when you get to my photo gallery there, go to July Anything Goes Challenge. That is where the latest layouts are. Leave me a comment if you drop in!
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Saturday, July 01, 2006
| Marcia Erleen Negranza's Aliases |
 Your movie star name: Chocolate Maurice Your fashion designer name is Marcia Paris Your socialite name is Peanut San Francisco Your fly girl / guy name is M Neg Your detective name is Cat Downey Your barfly name is Bagel Chips Daiquari Your soap opera name is Erleen Badgley Your rock star name is Licorice Cheetah Your Star Wars name is Marluc Negarn Your punk rock band name is The Happy Tweezer |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)