I finally did it!

Before

After (notice the ears)


Yes, I was a 32 year old with holeless earlobes...until today! The reason? Frankly, I'm a chicken! Yes, I'm a childish baby when it comes to pain. I have avoided needles at all cost. Never gave blood, never got the flu shot, and yes, never got my ears pierced.

So, why the change of heart?

My friend thought it would be fun to abuse me this Christmas by poking needles in my ears! That's they way it was in my head. In reality, she got me a gift card to Claire's and suggested we make an outing of it.

I don't really know what possessed me, but I said yes. Now, I know you're all thinking, "What's the big deal?" And, I know people meant well, but these words of encouragement meant absolutely nothing to me:
"You can't even feel it"
"It feels like a bee sting"
"My 5 year old got it done"
"It's over in a second"

My needle-phobia had me brainwashed that it was going to hurt. It may as well have been a semi automatic weapon going through my ear. We all have our issues. Some don't like going to the dentist. It doesn't bother me. Some don't like being in front of crowds. I'm at home on a stage! But put a needle in me and I'm a puddle of mess!

When I woke up this morning and knew it was coming, the nervousness really set in. When I walked into the mall, I swear I had heart palpatations.

So, here's the momentous occasion in pictures:
Where it happened


Signing my life away


The nerves were taking over at this point



Drawing the dots


Almost time


First ear


Second ear

Don't really know why I'm grinning from ear to ear...probably delirious!

Checking out the finished product


Ta-dah!


So...my thoughts now that it's over:
-it definitely did NOT hurt!
-some people said the sound was worse than the the earring going through, the sound didn't even bother me
-yes, I was worried for nothing
-it was all in my head and I'm so glad I did it

Am I ready to pierce my navel? Heck no! Am I ready to give blood? Not in this lifetime! One thing at a time!

What are afraid of that you know is all in your head?

Assumptions

Church was great yesterday! It was the final message in our series, Christmas Rebellion. (I would encourage you to listen to the series here. Click on "members & attenders".) It was about rebelling against assumptions.

We all make assumptions and usually, they are wrong. Ever assumed someone was pregnant...and they weren't?! Ouch! Ever assume some recipe you find online sounds good? Yuk!

Pastor Shawn actually began the Christmas story in Luke 1:11-20 when the angel came to Zechariah to tell him he would finally become a father.

Zechariah was standing in the presence of God's top angel, Gabriel, who was delivering a message straight from God himself and Zechariah still had a hard time believing. He immediately assumed that because he was old and his wife Elizabeth was old that it would be impossible.

How typical is that of us? Strike that last word...how typical is it of ME!! I immediately look at my situation, my surroundings and inform God of the seemingly impossible situation. As if He was unaware of it.

Yes, things are bad in the world right now. People are fearful. We hear things might get worse before they get better. We pray for things that just aren't being answered the way WE want or in the timing WE want, blah, blah, blah...

...but the good news comes a few verses later in Luke 1:37 "For nothing is impossible with God."

We tend to assume that just because we had a bad year, that this Christmas is destined to be bad, too. But it doesn't have to be.

Think of what the verse means..."For noTHING is impossible with God! What are the "things" in your life? Substitute those "things" in the verse:

No "debt" is impossible with God!
No "loneliness" is impossible with God!
No "fear of the future" is impossible with God!
No "family problem" is impossible with God!
No "economy problem" is impossible with God!

You get the point.

Dear Lord ~ Help me to keep my eyes on YOU. Not my situation. Not what I see with my eyes. Help me to always remember that nothing is impossible with You!

Welcome to my Home!

I LOVE the Christmas Tour of Homes! Last year was my first year and I met so many neat people who I still keep up with today. So...welcome to my home!

My tree





My mantle





This is new for me this year! I've always wanted the Willow Tree nativity set, so this is the beginnings of it!


My vase of silver pom-pom balls.


Entry hallway




That's pretty much it! Thanks for stopping by! Oh, one more thing...I love to cook and bake and I try to have some little nibbles when people stop by, so I'm including a recipe for Muddy Buddies. They are so yummy and a great gift idea!

Ministry is exhausting!

After an 8 and a half hour day with 90+ middle schoolers, I volunteered tonight at The Holiday House for Square Peg Ministries, a ministry for mexican immigrant, at-risk children. The kids have been earning bucks for bringing their bibles to Kids Club, memorizing memory verses, etc. Tonight, they got to spend their bucks on gifts that they will give their family on Christmas morning.

None of the gifts were for the kids themselves. It was all about teaching them to give to others.

After the kids "shopped" they brought their gifts to get wrapped. That's where I came in! It was non-stop!

Tomorrow, I'm helping out at a Christmas party for Royal Family Kids Camp, a camp for kids in the foster care system.

Then, rounding out the weekend, is children's church.

I'll need a weekend to recuperate from the weekend!

I scream, you scream!

...ok, predictable title, I know. But I just wanted to share a little holiday cheer with you. I love ice cream. Probably more than someone should, so imagine my delight when I came across this festive goodness:


Sooooo good! I think it would also feel good on a sore throat. The minty-ness offers a soothing retreat for a scratchy throat.

But trust me, it's just as good on a healthy throat! Enjoy!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

There's so much I love about this time of year. And one of them was this past weekend. The annual Sisterchicks Party!!

Here's the lowdown:

Food-Salads (Should've added some soup or something warm to it!!)
Place-Kristen's house
Theme-Time of Day (Gifts that reflect your person's favorite time of day)

Here are some highlights...and yes, Santa did make an appearance. Scaring us at first, then we cracked up laughing!






We draw names and buy a big gift for one person, but then usually try to get everyone a little something. This year I decided to go the homemade route and made cupcakes for everyone.

I made many different kinds. I can't tell you how many more cupcakes I STILL have!

My fridge was overflowing with them. This does not even count the ones I didn't have time to frost!


It was great fun and next year will be our TENTH ANNIVERSARY of our Christmas party! Any ideas to celebrate the tenth??

Midnight Madness!!

It truly was madness at midnight...but I LOVED it!

The outlet mall close to my house as a Midnight Madness sale on Thanksgiving Night. I tried to go last year...well, actually I DID go last year...just on the wrong night! I pulled up to an empty parking lot and then it hit me. Dumb blonde moment, I guess.

This year, my friends Derrick & Chrissy were in town for Thanksgiving and we desperately wanted to get together. It was hard finding time because they had so much family to try and see. When Chrissy mentioned about going to the outlet sale, I was SO excited!

So we met at my house at 11:30 and made the 20 minute trek to the outlets. When Chrissy and Derrick used to live right down the street from me, we made frequent trips to the outlets.

Nothing could prepare us for what we saw as we drove up on the outlets. There was about a 2 mile back up to turn into the outlets. Fortunately, we knew a back way in, but when we actually pulled in the parking lot, there was not one empty parking spot in the whole lot and the parking lot is huge!

Derrick finally just dropped us off while he went to park the car. Poor guy had to park at a strip mall next door!

Whew...so we finally made it in about midnight. Now the real madness had begun.

Several of the higher end stores, Coach, Banana Republic, etc., had lines just to get in the store! Then once you got into the stores, there was another line to pay!

I spent most of my night in line at Gymboree. This is my absolute favorite kids clothing store! Their color combinations are very unique and so, so cute. Anyways, back to the madness. Poor store only had 2 registers...both were working at full capacity, but they were no match for the masses of people shopping in the store.

So I only got 1 little item. I can't tell you about it or post it, because it's a christmas gift my little niece Megan, but I will definitely spill the beans after Christmas!!

For this one little gift, I stood in line (which wrapped around the inside of the store!) for 1 1/2 hours! Yes, I realize to some that may seem idiotic, but I was determined to get this because I just couldn't pass it up and I know I wouldn't find it anywhere else.

Yes, it was madness and yes it was crazy, but I loved it!! It was the madness that is fun to share with the people you went with. Chrissy, Derrick and I just laughed and were in awe at all the people we saw!

I definitely want to go again next year, but here's a few things I learned:

-definitely dress in layers: It was chilly outside, but all the stores had their heat blasting! I thought I was going to pass out in line at Gymboree. Luckily, the hour and a half line took us by the thermostat and the lady behind me actually turned the air on! It felt great!
-bring a water bottle: see above
-have your list in mind: Luckily, I did have a list and it made it easier! There was just too many people to leisurely browse.
-go with a group: This was crucial because as you walked into a store, one person could immediately go stand in line (because, yes, most stores had very long lines!) and the rest could shop around. Then you could switch out places.

So I got home at 4 am (!) and slept till about 9:00 am. Then I got back out on the road at about 9:30 to hit my local mall and Target. Target had movies on sale for $3.98!!

I love Black Friday! What did you do on Black Friday?

Sweet Redemption

Did anyone else watch the 24 movie,Redemption, last night?

I didn't hear much talk about it at work or on the radio, but I am here to tell you that you most definitely missed out! It was Jack Bauer at his best!


Here's why I like Jack: He can take being tortured by a burning hot knife blade pressed against his ear and 1 minute later, kill the jerk who's doing that to him by snapping his neck with his LEG!

Then he can turn right around and lovingly console a group of African children running for their life by sacrificing his freedom for theirs.

That's the kind of man I'm looking for! A Jack Bauer!

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

I am extremely late on posting this, but definitely wanted to make time to tell you about my fun time last weekend.

We celebrated my sister, Mandi's, 30th birthday. She is a couple years younger than the rest of us, so she's just now joining us on the bandwagon. When we turned 30, we celebrated with a cruise to the Bahamas. As much as we wanted to recreate that, it was kind of out of the question. So the next best thing was a trip to Bahama Breeze.

The night started out when I kidnapped Mandi.




Surprise!!


To recreate the ambiance, Amanda brought us all leis.




After a tropical dinner, it was on to dessert at The Atlanta Cupcake Factory.



This is what the yummy cupcakes looked like before:


And this is what they looked like after:


Poor lil cupcakes didn't stand a chance!

Changeling

I'm still decompressing after seeing this movie. It was heavy, physically draining and overall disturbing.

In fact, I was so tensed up during the movie that after it was over, it was hard to walk down the stairs because it felt like I had run a marathon.

If you haven't heard of it, it's based on this.

Spin City

Whoever invented the spin bike...is wicked! The seat is like a spear going up through your rear. The pedals are like spikes going through your feet. And the intense throbbing pain in your legs is enough to send anyone into an insane assylum!

Bloggy Baby Shower

It's amazing how close people can become by reading each other's blogs. I came across Kelly's blog almost a year ago through Boomama's Christmas Tour of Homes.

She had an adorable house and great style, and I became an instant fan of Kelly's Korner! One thing that drew me in was her vulnerability and transparency especially through her infertility. You just couldn't help but love her and feel her unbearable pain as she faced, yet again, another negative pregnancy test.

But God is good! And I vividly remember sitting in the living room of my friend's lake house this summer when I read THE post and literally gasped out loud because I was over the moon ecstatic for her!!

Granted I've never met her, but I just KNOW that we would be good friends. She likes to bake, shop and watch the Biggest Loser. I would love to hang out with her. But more than that she has a heart of gold! I am so encouraged by each and every post. Her faith is contagious and I know God smiles ear to ear when she writes about her blessings. She is a prayer warrior! She has started a blog to pray for those in waiting periods: waiting for babies or husbands. A lot of people say they are going to pray for you, but I know that Kelly does pray for me! Someone she's never met!

So, Kelly, I just want you to know how happy I am for you and Scott. Harper is going to know more love than any baby ever! I feel like I'm expecting another niece or something! I pray God's blessings over you as a mother and Scott as a father.

Philippians 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Love ya girl,
Staci

Happy Birthday Mandi!

Things that make me feel old:
-someone calls me ma'am
-when it feels so late, but I realize it's only 7:30 pm
-remembering when all my elem. and middle school reports were done on a typewriter
-WHEN MY LITTLE SISTER TURNS 30!!!!!!!!

Mandi, today you celebrate the big 3-0 today and it's kind of weird to me because even though I'm older, you've always seemed to have it more together than me! You seem so much more grown up than me and maybe that's because you're married with 2 kids, but you've always impressed me with the way you've handled herself.

We didn't fight a whole lot growing up, but when we did...it was ugly. And I always remember my mom saying that one day we will appreciate and love each other. (Of course, I was internally rolling my eyes. Yeah right!)

Well, turns out to be true! I appreciate and love you more than you know and certainly more than I show you. You are a great wife, mother, sister, but more so...friend!

So, I thought it'd be fun to share a few (30 to be exact) fun facts about you with the blogosphere! (Now YOU'RE the one rolling your eyes, I'm sure!)

Everything you wanted to know about Mandi but were afraid to ask!
She...
1. hates, despises, detests cleaning up hair. From a brush, the drain, anywhere.
2. knows how to write "strongly worded" letters to congressmen, homeowners associations...basically anyone who needs a talkin' to!
3. hates cats even though her old bedroom was wallpapered in them.
4. wore glasses and braces.
5. is braces free and had lasik!
6. was the first in our family to graduate college, get married, and have the first grandkid (gee, thanks. The only thing I got was the first masters degree)
7. has absolutely NO rhythm. None. Ask her husband!
8. hates being the center of attention.
9. is very modest. In the privacy of her own bedroom, she used to go and lock herself in her closet to change.
10. always had the best grades out of all the kids.
11. is extremely tender-hearted. I can pretty much guarantee she has already cried or will cry by the end of this post.
12. can't stop laughing once she gets started.
13. and I used to share a bed in elementary school.
14. loves 24 and LOST.
15. developed Bells Palsy during her last pregnancy.
16. used to work at a shoe bridal salon where she dyed shoes.
17. oh...she also got her ears pierced before me! (I'm a little gun shy!)
18. and I went to the very first American Idol tour concert.
19. once had an ingrown toenail and had to get 3 or 4 shots in one toe!
20. and I once ran out of gas on the way home from school and had to walk home.
21. learned how to cut the grass on a riding lawn mower in the 3rd grade. (We won't go into what happened shortly after that!!)
22. was in our local paper several times for stories or poems she had written in school.
23. used to crawl into the ocean backwards when she was little.
24. was able to come home from the hospital when she was born because my dad sold one of his prized bulls. (They needed some way to pay the hospital bill!)
25. came to my class one day and taught my kids the density of the earth's mantle by making oobleck.
26. has my mom's middle name. Shouldn't that go to the first born?! Oh well, we know who the favored child is! Just kidding...
27. can intelligently talk about government, politics, and more while all I do is shake my head.
28. is not the most crafty person you'll meet. She'll admit that one!
29. is spending today day with her husband who took off work and has some fun stuff planned.
30. has NO idea what her friends have in store for her tomorrow night to celebrate!

Whew! Happy birthday little sis! Hope your day is as wonderful as you are!

I love you!!

Climbin' Everest

One of the things I wanted to be when I was growing up was an actress! Well, you can see how well THAT worked out!

But one of the fun things about being a teacher is that I can incorporate some of that into the class. Today was one of those days!

We were just finishing up our unit on landforms (mountains, plains, plateaus, etc. for all you lay folk!!) so, we thought it would be fun to explore Mt. Everest.

I did some research on what it actually takes to climb Everest. It was SO fascinating to me!! I loved researching it.

So the science teachers all dressed up like mountain climbers. Get ready to laugh...


We all introduced ourselves and told about our climbing experience. (That's me all the way on the right)

"Hi, I'm Boot Stompin' Brown and they call me that because I've been stompin' up and down mountains for years. I've been up Everest so many times it's like a walk in the park"

After that, we read off the different jobs each team member would have and they were to break up into expedition teams.

Then we ended with a powerpoint I made that showed the actual costs and some pictures people had taken from their climb.

It was fun, but, sheesh, were we h-o-t after wearing all that garb the whole day!

By the way, a climb up Everest will set ya back about $65,000!

Love is in the Air...

...for my roommate, Amber. She and her boyfriend got engaged a few months ago.

They have the greatest story! They met online. What do ya know? Apparently it does work!

They got their engagement pictures done this weekend. Here's a teaser:


Go here for the rest of these amazing pictures!

Halloween Hoopla

I love Halloween because it's always been a family event. This year was no different. We all met at Mandi's for dinner and then it was time to trick or treat! This year, we had 2 cowboys, a monkey, a punk rocker, and a little sleeping pumpkin head.





We tried oh so hard to get them all together for a group shot. I tell ya, these kids just have a hard time doing that! We grew up taking pictures ALL the time, but it truly is an act of congress to get all these together. We never did, so we just got bits and pieces.



It was fun to look through all the candy to see what people were giving out this year. He got lots of chocolate (which, by the way, I read that a dentist said was the best kind of candy because it was easier to wash off and didn't stick to the teeth as much as the sugar candy). He also got play-doh! How clever. Then I was shocked to see how many gobstoppers he got! Who gives out gobstoppers to kids?!?! Here you go, little kid, enjoy this choking hazard!

My brother, Clint choked on one of those when he was little. I'll never forget my dad picking him up by his ankles and shaking him to get that gobstopper out! I know, I know...I guess the Heimlich never crossed his mind. Anyways, it did come out, but it was a scary moment.

Halloween is over, but the holiday season has arrived!!!!!!