my most adventurous self-portrait

I spent the afternoon with my mom, floating in their pool. The photo challenge theme for the week is "Highlight of My Day" so I knew I needed to figure out a way to capture the moment. I left the camera clicker at home AGAIN and was left with no other option than to use the 10-second timer. It was hilariously funny. Mom's only responsibility was to float in one spot, without laughing. ("Look NATURAL," is what I said.) I had to physically hit the button on the camera, hop onto the flotation device without tipping it or splashing the camera, swim over to her, and then somehow make it look like I'd been floating there the whole time. The blooper shots tell the full story:

(Apparently, she had trouble staying in one spot.)

Then she started laughing. (The kind of laugh that makes her stop breathing.) That made it very difficult to look natural.

It was a lot of fun hanging out sans children :-)

she looked like a fairy...

and was about as difficult to catch!

they call it the Jiffy Burger...

Peanut butter, pepper jack cheese, and bacon and I couldn't wait to try it! The hubby and I had a lunch date today and went to The Blue Door Pub in St. Paul.

It was a small place but the atmosphere was great - chalk board paint on the walls along with a bucket of chalk at the table made for an interesting wait time.

The hubby ordered one of their famous Blucys (a fancy one not listed on the online menu, stuffed with bleu cheese/garlic and topped with red currant jelly). It was fantastic as well. The sandwiches were served with either tator tots or hand-cut fries (total State Fair fries). You can even order a side of beer-battered green beans.

We will be going back.

And because my hubby is such a swell guy and knew we were in the area, he even took me to The Tea Garden so I could try bubble tea:

It reminded me of my first coffee shop experience - I was clueless as to how and what exactly to order (there were SO MANY options). It may take a couple more visits and some experimenting to find exactly my thing.

Cyclone Aila

Cyclone Aila, originally uploaded by CompassionInternational.

This hasn't really gotten a lot of attention in the United States but the devastation is heartwrenching. You can learn more about what happened and help by making a donation through Compassion International - just click HERE.

cool giveaway!

Check it out by clicking here: Joy's Hope: Vintage Pearl Giveaway. (You have until Friday morning to participate in the drawing.) Too for those of you who know Mellissa, the little G-man has croup. Please cover their family in prayer tonight.

a great God story (among other things)

I met my high school BFF for lunch yesterday at a restaurant I'd never been to before - Biaggi's. The food was delicious (though as a heads-up, "Sue's Chocolate Chip Banana Paradiso" is just a fancy name for banana bread). We had a wonderful visit and I left with some fun parenting ideas and a couple of great stories to pass along. One is the following God story that Jan heard Joel Osteen share on Friday night.

A family in Texas had decided they would no longer be keeping any of the new calves that were born. Their 7-year old daughter was upset by the news and asked if they could keep just one. Her dad told her that he would only allow her to keep one if it were female and black. The little girl prayed and asked God to give her a female calf that was black. The second of four calves born was a girl. And it was black. To top things off, it even had a "J" on it:

The little girl's name is Jamie. (You can view the full newspaper story HERE.)

I used that story last night to illustrate to my son, God's attention to detail. He knows the secret desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). He has a good plan for your future, one full of hope (Jeremiah 29:11). He is able to do more than you than you could possibly imagine; nothing can stand in His way (Ephesians 3:20). The story spoke volumes to my son and was given to me at a time that couldn't have been more perfect.

Because that's the kind of God we serve, He pays attention to detail.

Speaking of detail, we'd been having a few issues with our van. In addition to needing two new tires, it had been making some noise. (We'd been thinking the noise was related to uneven wear on the tires and have thus been driving around for several months like this.) I'd budgeted exactly $1200 for the pending expense and received a quote from ProTech this morning for $1175. How's that for detail?!! Turns out in addition to needing new brakes, we'd also been driving around with a loose wheel bearing which is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

I am so grateful we brought it in when we did. Perfect timing.

And as for the honkin' expense, how can I complain? He was looking out for us in more ways than one.

Seriously people, talk to your kids.

Have you ever had a conversation with your child about bullying? Are you even aware of the scope and breadth of this issue? As a parent of a 5th grader, I am here to tell you there's more to it than just a mean kid on the playground. Click HERE to read about sexual bullying (two elementary-aged students recently took their own lives because of it) and click HERE and HERE to learn more about cyberbullying. (We're dealing with a situation right now that blows my mind away. It is real, folks.) Our kids need to know that teasing is NEVER okay or funny; they need to know what to do if they ever see it happen or become a victim themselves.