Man it's been a while

Hello,
   Sorry it has been so long since I've been on here... almost a week. Well this has been a very busy week. I worked on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings at the hospital - and had to spend most of Thursday recuperating from working those 3 days. Amy and I watched Glee while I slipped in and out of consciousness...
*PAUSE*
Sorry about that - my dog just had an accident in my parents' new house. Awesome.
Anyway - so we had a softball game on Thursday. Let's just say it wasn't all that great. I had an incident with my shoulder before the game even started - and then during our first inning in the field - I pulled my quad while trying to catch a fly ball. That was great too. Even if I would've stayed in the game - we most likely would have lost. They called the mercy rule during the 5th inning - it wasn't a good night for our team. Well - at least I'll be in the Philippines for the next 2 games - hopefully there will be a change while I'm gone. But sadly I work during our next game when I get back... maybe it's not meant to be. (Amy would probably beg to differ). I am excited about our shirt though!
Friday and Saturday were dedicated to helping my parents get moved in to their new house in Marion, IN. Before we headed down to Marion on Friday - we took Barkley to Ft Wayne to get groomed - always an interesting adventure - and to get me some stuff for my trip. We made it to Marion in the afternoon and got to work cleaning the new house. After our late dinner - we had a good time talking and spending time together. Saturday morning and early afternoon was spent on the landscape... we definitely made a difference with the work we did :-)

We were put to work pulling weeds

Working on putting in new plants

Finished project with the new mulch

So tomorrow is the eve of leaving for my trip to the Philippines. It is crazy to think that the trip is right around the corner. It's a little stressful to think that in a little over 24 hours, I will be preparing to fly halfway around the world for 12 days... but it should be an awesome experience. I am not sure what my blog will look like while I'm gone - I will try to get to an internet cafe while I'm gone - but if I can't, I will do make-up posts once I get back and post several pictures. I hope you have a good week - and pray for us as we leave!
Peace,
  Jessica

Culinary Creations

I decided to test my culinary skills today and make some delicious creations! I pulled from an old favorite - Pizza Spaghetti... and a new one that I have to credit to MckMama. This one is called Strawberry Brownie Bites.

I'll start with Pizza Spaghetti

I didn't follow a recipe this time... which was stressful for me - but if you feel like trying it out - I'll tell you what I did. It is very easy.

• Boil a lot of spaghetti
• Brown about 1 lb of hamburger meat
• Pick what kind of sauce you want to use (Spaghetti Sauce) - and what you want in it... Sautéed Onions, Mushrooms etc.
• Once the meat is browned, mix it in with your sauce
• You will take a 9x11" pan and grease it
• Put down a layer of spaghetti
• Cover with ample amounts of sauce
• Do another layer of spaghetti
• Finish off the rest of your sauce - make sure to completely cover all of the spaghetti - especially around the edges so it doesn't get all crunchy
• Then put on a TON of cheese - like you would on a pizza
• Cover with pepperoni
• Cook at 350 for 40ish minutes. ENJOY!!!!!

Next on the menu is Strawberry Brownie Bites. This was a fun little dessert to make.

Ingredients:

* Brownie Mix

* Icing of some sort

* Strawberries

* Sticks

GIGANTIC STRAWBERRY

Step 1: Mix Batter, Pour into Mini Muffin Pan (make sure you grease the pan WELL so they come out easier)

Step 2: Cook (maybe almost 20 minutes?), let cool, remove from pan

Step 3: Frost brownies with Icing

Step 4: Put strawberries on using the little sticks

Step 5: ENJOY!!!!!

Note: The larger the strawberries... the less likely they are to stay standing - just so ya know.

IRON MAN 2

I have been so excited to see this movie for some time. I just wanted to say that it was AWESOME... and so FUNNY... and so AWESOME!!! I would just like to say that it definitely didn't disappoint (since most people are skeptical of sequels). I would definitely say this is a must see. I thoroughly enjoyed Iron Man - and was super pleased with Iron Man 2.

And Robert Downey Jr... HOLLA!!!!! I hadn't seen him in anything before Iron Man - but I just saw him in Sherlock Holmes a few weeks ago - and he was great in that too. I've decided that I like him.

So now that I have the X-Men collection... I guess I can start with Iron Man also - :-D

I feel like I need to impart a bit of wisdom with all of you (hopefully at least 5 people reading this [fingers crossed]).

Movies to See (this is including all movies):

• Starting this list off right - Iron Man 1 & 2
• X-Men collection
• Harry Potter - not just for children
• Twilight - also not just for children (or preteens)
• SHE'S THE MAN - so stinkin funny
• Forest Gump - tear-jerker
• Aladdin
• Dirty Dancing - when you need a flash back
• Transformers
• Baby Mama - also good for a laugh

This is my list for now - if you have any to add - feel free to comment. This obviously isn't every movie that I love... b/c that list would be quite long. Oh I forgot - My Best Friend's Wedding. Classic. All for now... FRIENDS is calling :-)

FRIENDS

There isn't anything much better than lounging in bed, wasting time, and watching FRIENDS. For those of you who don't know me... FRIENDS is my favorite TV show. It has been for a long time now. I received a box set of all ten seasons for Christmas one year... and have since watched every episode (several times). As I was sitting here... I decided that I should list my favorite episodes and explain why. Now this will be a very difficult thing to do - b/c they are all awesome. But here it goes. These most likely won't be in a specific order - b/c that would be impossible to do.

• The One with the Rumor - this one is so funny b/c Brad Pitt is in it - and he hates Jennifer Aniston's character, Rachel. It is a Thanksgiving episode - and those are all classics
• The One with the Videotape - this one is where everyone tries to figure out who came on to whom. Ross... or Rachel. At this point in time - Rachel is pregnant with Ross' baby
• The One with the Truth about London - this is where we find out what really happened in London with Monica and Chandler
• The One with the Engagement Picture - in this episode, we get to visit the horror that is Chandler trying to take a picture
• The One Where Ross Got High - I love this episode because Monica's parents to not care for Chandler and they don't know that Monica and Chandler are dating, let alone about to move in together. A funny twist makes it so they love Chandler
• The One Where Everybody Finds Out - this is the episode where everyone finds out about Monica and Chandler. GREAT EPISODE
• The One With All the Kissing - Chandler starts kissing everyone to cover up the fact that he and Monica are dating.

ENJOY!!!

Sisters

I just *heart* my sister. I spent like 35 minutes working on this super cool collage on picnik - yes I know, I'm pretty lame at picnik. I have opened up that website like 2 times - so I have very little experience about how to make some awesome pictures. I am hoping to maybe one day get photoshop once I get my macbook pro. That would be pretty sweet.

Back to my main topic. My sister. Yes. I am living with my sister (and brother-in-law) this summer - and it is just so much fun. It's like getting to hang out ALL THE TIME. Yeah things like work (and school work for her) tend to get in the way, but we learn to look past those inconveniences and enjoy spending time together. Like tomorrow, I will be going with her to get her hair corrected since the stylist didn't even look at it after she hacked some of it off. It is times like this when it is very helpful to have your sister living with you. When you need an honest opinion *cough - Jon Bell* about these important issues. That cough meant he wasn't agreeing with the obviousness that she needs to have her hair fixed.

Here is another time when I'm glad I live with my sister...

When I have a dilemma... like this afternoon when I was mandated off of work (but was still on call) - I wasn't sure what to do. I couldn't just hang out in Marion and wait for a call. I also didn't know if I could risk driving all the way back to Warsaw and then getting called back in to work. That would have been very sad. But this was my sister's very wise advice for me... "If they call, just say, 'I'll be in as soon as I can.'" I just wouldn't tell them that "as soon as I can" is 1.25 hours from said time of call. Anyhoo - now I'm just rambling. The main point of this post was to put up a cool collage and say that I love my Seeester... and also let you know that she is very good at Family Feud. ok - it is late - and I should be sleeping. Peace

First Day Back to Work

First Day Back to Work...
WOW - I feel like I have been run over by a truck. I should've prepared for this by some kind of workout... I don't know - maybe an IronMan. Ok so it wasn't that bad... but I have one down - 2 to go... and I'm ready for it to be over :-) Hmm ok - time to continue getting ready.
Peace

Thoughts from Sunday

So today at church was "Kids Day." The theme was all about children so there were kids songs such as "I've got the Joy", "Zacchaeus", "The Cartoon Song" - and a couple others. A balloon artist was our speaker and it was actually really good. If you know the guy that does balloons at Ivanhoe's in Upland, IN - it was that guy. He was funny and was really good at making stuff, but the main point of his message was - you can't be all that God wants you to be until you let him fill you up completely.

He showed this by blowing up a balloon just a little bit - and all he could make was a tulip. Next he blew one up a little bit more and all he could make was a mouse. But when he blew up the balloon completely - he was able to make something big - an elephant. It was a very good illustration of how we may be able to pass through this life as being saved - but nothing GREAT and BIG will happen until we let God fill us up completely.

Another thing that touched me today was a guy in our Sunday School class. He has been fighting lung cancer - and he is still just so amazed by God and so thankful for all of the blessings that he has been given. He also kept saying how he didn't realize how much he needed God until he was at the end of himself - and now he wishes he had been that dependent on God from the very beginning. It was just very touching to hear him speak - and to hear no bitterness in him.

Goal for the week - better attitude about work and letting God be in control :-) Happy start to the week!

Babysitting

Babysitting is difficult. I am not even the one technically babysitting - Amy is the one who is in charge. But being in charge of a child can be the only thing you can do - at least for us. Amy was trying to grind some coffee - Asher was coming close to getting his fingers stuck in a cupboard. Amy was working on making cinnamon rolls - Asher was getting lick-attacked by the dog. I would come over to help... or I would make the coffee while she held Asher. Ha it's just crazy how much work it is to take care of a child. It is way different than watching a 3 month old that sleeps all the time. Well - Asher is down for a nap right now. *The house is really quiet*... but Kenneth is still asleep too :-)

Hopefully it will warm up and dry out soon so we can all go outside and Asher can run around. I can't stand to watch the Mickey Mouse Club any longer.