Friday Favorite: The Civil Wars

I am getting tired of country music. I don't know if it's the predictable lyrics or that so many of the songs seem forced. This song caught my attention...it was so pretty.  Beau is my personal DJ while we drive and I can always count on him to introduce me to new music. Sometimes I like it (like this band) and sometimes I don't. (dubstep)

I found myself listening to all of the songs on The Civil Wars album and really liking them. It consists of Joy Williams and John Paul White.  Each song feels like they are telling you an intimate story. It's not overdone. It's simple and beautiful. This duet is amazing. I love it when lyrics sort of leave you guessing and cause you to fill in the blanks with your own thoughts, ideas and experiences.

Planking Contest

I have received more then one emails asking of I was still going to host a planking contest on my blog. I thought the idea would fizzle out and people would forget but I was wrong. I have been told by really hip  people that planking is OUT. But I happen to find it hilarious and would like to ride this wave a wee bit longer. What seems so funny to me are all of the expressionless faces.  I have already received some pictures so why allow those people to plank for nothing?

 So, here are the planking rules:

1.You must always lay face down, ensuring your face remains expressionless for the duration of the Plank.

2.Your legs must remain straight, and together with toes pointed.

3.Your arms must be placed by your side, held straight, and fingers pointed.

4.It helps to make it known that you are Planking. Saying 'I am Planking' usually gets this across. Sternly announcing it will ensure a good result.

5.Your safety should always be considered. Plank at your own risk. No pictures of a dangerous nature will be accepted!

6.Every Plank that is captured must be named.

7. Email your pictures to mikkilindsey@gmail.com

I will post all of the entries and choose a winner on October 20th.

I'll give the winner a $25.00 Starbucks card. Around these parts, coffee talks.

Plank away....

Family Vacation

This has been one strange month.  I can't say I was totally ready for school to start back up. I was in denial because Summer never really made a good showing, and the last part of August was a total wash. I am usually ready to get back to homeschooling and a schedule, but all I wanted to do was lay down. I couldn't seem to get enough energy to do anything. In fact, I would have to stop halfway doing the dishes and go get in bed. My three nieces were visiting so I was managing eight kids, but not very well. I kept saying, "It's not that I won't do anything, it feels like I CAN'T do anything.

 We decided to go on vacation the second week in September. Not the most popular time to get away but it worked out nicely. Tayler was even able to go and I was so happy to have all five kids for a week straight. It was a first and I was really excited about it. The thing is, I was feeling a little worse each day. Still, I didn't want to cancel the vacation because I didn't know how long it would be before we were all able to make it work. I knew soon Tayler would be in school and working and it would be hard to make it happen.

We left after church on a Sunday for Idaho. It turned out that I was not in a great mood. It felt like I had a piece of glass wedged between my ear and throat. I was NOT happy. By the time we got to Idaho I was really feeling bad so we drove straight to urgent care. The doctor said he was going to treat me for strep throat. I told him I would rather he take a Mono test first because I knew from Chase's experience that if you had mono and you took antibiotics you broke out in a HORRIBLE rash. He told me I didn't have mono. I asked him to please just check. He checked. I had Mono. He was surprised and said I must have been just really run down and it got to me. I agreed he was correct.

I didn't want our vacation ruined because I didn't feel good so I rested as much a possible. We were at  the Heaven On Earth Bed and Breakfast in Post Falls. We were right on the river and had the best swimming hole ever. I spent most of my time floating on a raft and loving the warmth. It was in the 90's and it felt soooooooo good. I had not fully dried out from the Winter and to finally be in real heat felt delicious.
http://www.heavenonearthnw.com/

After two days my sore throat went away and I was left just feeling weak. Not tired, weak. I thought people who had Mono slept alot, but it's more like you feel zero energy. So I gave up trying to sleep and just paced myself. Tayler and I did a float down the river in a raft. It was so great. We had a lot of laughs and it was nice to have that time with her. She and I stole away whenever we could to go shop for the wedding reception. We went to every Good will, Value Village and Thrift store we could find. We had amazing luck. I would love to have had the truck with us!

The kids had fun fishing in the pond. Autumn was catching them hand over fist, which made Beau mad. He got up the next morning at 5 AM and tried to outdo her. I can't recall Beau ever getting up that early. Chase was happy standing on the bank for hours. I think we need a pond. I didn't know it would grab their attention so much! I think Scott loved the down time. He arranged a wonderful trip for us. It will always be a wonderful memory for us. And he was such a trooper packing the van full the stuff Tayler and I kept buying...and buying! It's a miracle we got it all home.

It was a good week. I don't think the kids realized what it meant to me. And they were such good sports considering I felt under the weather..... Even after I almost tore the Jimmy John guy's head off for getting our order wrong. (I had spent eight hours at Silverwood theme park. I couldn't ride rides and basically stood in lines all day long with the baby and I was beyond exhausted. I could barely walk back to the van. So it wasn't really my fault. He looked so terrified though. Hahaha)

MOM!

Oh this baby girl melts me. I can't even tell you how much. She is changing so much each day and continues to be the bright spot of our day. She walks around knowing she is causing smiles at every turn. The kids like to tell me all of the funny things she has done. I like to look behind them as they talk because Havensong is usually right there listening to everything. She smiles and nods while they tell us all the cute things she did. She seems thrilled to hear exactly how amazing and adorable she is. She grins so big I worry her little face will split. I always say, "Did you do that???!" And she cracks up.

I am a little concerned she isn't talking much yet, but I worried she wouldn't eat or walk and she is doing both of those things. When she does talk we wonder if she is speaking fluent Chinese because that is what  it SOUNDS like. When she arrived home she never chewed on toys or clothing and never had her hands in her mouth. I don't know if it was discouraged in the orphanage, but I'd never seen a baby not do that. I know it's important for them to chew on things because it's directly related to language development. Lately she has been putting her shirt in her mouth or bites on a toy and I clap and smile and cheer for her. Now she does it just for that.
And ...I have noticed more babbling going on. This video gives a little glimpse of what we get to hear all day.
 I love it.
 Especially because she starts out each little sentence with "MOM."

Friday Favorite: Logos Bible Software and Scott

I saw the new video Logos shot and I was suddenly so proud. Scott has worked for them for fourteen years and it has been amazing to see the progression this company has made. The impact they are making in the lives of people and how they study the bible is priceless. I am thankful for all they do and love having a front row seat as they continue to out do themselves over and over again. Scott has the privilege of working with all of the major ministries and equips them with cutting edge tools to study God's Word.

 He is easy to spot. He is the handsome guy in the black shirt with the dreamy blue eyes. :)

He's also my Friday Favorite.

Oh, and the last guy talking is pastor Nate Walker of Christ Church. He happens to be our pastor so I had to mention him too. If you are looking for a church to call home, feel free to come worship with us.
We would be happy to have you.



I threw in another one of Scott's videos just because it's my blog and I can.

Planking?!

 My kids told me I was really behind the times because I had never heard of "Planking." They told me if I blogged it, most people would laugh at me for being so out of the loop. They said it would be like telling the world about this new thing called "texting." I don't think so....there is no way this craze is really sweeping the nation! I watched the video and couldn't quite believe it. I couldn't help but smile. I can't imagine how they got a baby to "plank."

Here is a definition of planking from Wikipedia:

"Planking" (or the "Lying Down Game") is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. The hands must touch the sides of the body and having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the internet is an integral part of the game.^[1] Players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play.^[1] The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden plank. Rigidity of the body must be maintained to constitute good planking.
Since early 2011, many participants in planking have photographed the activity on unusual locations such as atop poles, roofs and vehicles, while some "plankers" engage in the activity by planking only their upper body and feet while leaving the back suspended.

We were looking at different pictures of people "planking" and Tayler and Beau were commenting on their "Form." I have to admit, there seems to be good "Plankers" and bad "Plankers." Beau told me his friend Shane "planked" on a cow. Tayler's friend evidently has perfect form. Wow, this is a real thing.

I have to admit I wanted to try it out. I was looking at the book table in Costco thinking it was a perfect place to "plank." I asked my dad to plank on my kitchen table. He said yes. I knew I could count on the guy who agreed to be a gnome for Beau's birthday party.I will be sure to post some pictures.

Parenting teenagers is very entertaining...they keep me up to speed on so many things. And don't even get me started on "Cone-ing"

Doily Bin

My friend Christy and I went shopping today to find some things for her sister's wedding ceremony. First of all, the last time I saw her sister she was a toddler, so I had to really get used to the idea of her as a bride.

This was our main task: To find doilies. The vintage theme is very hip and cool these days, and what is more vintage than doilies?

I remember hearing that a bride wasn't ready to be married until she had no less than 100 doilies. I tried to google that just now and spent way too long reading about the history of doilies. Something by all rights, I should not have time for. Who sits and researches doilies?

Evidently they came about because our foremothers were sick and tired of their greasy men coming in and ruining the arms of their furniture. So they started making them in order to keep their couches looking lovely. That's so great. I can just picture that first woman who decided to stop nagging and start knitting.

Here are some ways to use doilies. I think I may now be a fan.

These aren't your Grandma's doilies. In fact, I found some made by a guy who loves to come home from work each night and crochet his manly doilies.

So back to our hunt for doilies. I decided to try our local thrift store. We walked in and I asked the lady behind the counter if they had a "doily bin." She stopped and looked at my expectant face and shook her head no. I said," Wow... I don't think I have ever uttered that sentence before." She pointed us to the area where they would be but told us there was no "doily bin." We found a few laying on a shelf and jumped up and down over our tremendous luck. She told us how great that was that we could become so happy over doilies! She walked back to her counter and I turned and saw it. A doily bin. There was even a little sign hanging sweetly off the front that said

DOILY BIN

I looked at Christy and said, "I have to go show her this "doily bin! She has to know in case others come in and ask her if there is a "doily bin" in this store!"

I picked it up and hauled it to the check out. Her back was turned and she was in a deep discussion with another employee. The lady she was talking to pointed to me. She turned around and gasped as I yelled,

"LOOK! A DOILY BIN!"

"Well I'll be!" she said. "I am so thankful you showed me that." And she did indeed look truly thankful.

I took the bin back to it's proper place and we happily pawed through it to find what we wanted. Most of them were under a dollar! We hit the doily jackpot and her little sister would be so happy.

After shopping we went to Starbucks to get a drink. The guy at the window asked what we had been doing all day. I told him we were hunting for doilies. He stood there looking confused. Christy pulled one out of the bag and showed  him. He said, "I have never heard of a doily in my life, and now that I see it I still don't know why anyone would want one much less pay for one and it has less material than my shoe lace."

He just didn't get it. We took a picture of him holding it, trying to make some sense of it. He said he never dreamed he would one day be a doily model and that his $40,000 engineering degree obviously did him no good in the real world if he couldn't even identify a doily.

   

We took our drinks and left, happy with our good luck. I hope Jessica uses these in her wedding after all of our hard work.
If not, she can use them to keep her new husband's greasy arms off of her couches.

Friday Favorite: Fabuliner

I really hate spending a lot of money on make up. But....I also feel sort of  like a scrapper standing in the aisles of Walgreens buying my beauty products next to twelve year olds. The thing is...I am skeptical. I am not convinced that the $20.00 eye shadow is that much better than $7.00 eye shadow. I know some people get a huge thrill using name brand products. It makes them happy. I get a huge thrill knowing I outsmarted those ladies in the black coats behind the counters in the mall. And I am forgetful, so when I lose my make up bag I am not thousands of dollars in the hole.

And as far as skin care goes, if I can't eat it I don't put it on my face. But skin care is not the purpose of this post. Nor am I really focusing on which make up products are organic or not. I just want it to stay on for more than two hours and make me look like I am..... not wearing make up. Haha.

SO.....my latest hunt has been for a really good liquid eyeliner. I tried Clinique, Origins, MAC (gasp! no I didn't like it) and Benefit. They all smeared. After years of searching, my sister told me her make up lady raved about a product called Fabuliner by Jordana at Walgreens.

                                                  It's amazing. I loved it. And guess what?!?

                                                                  IT'S A $1.99!!!

 So, you could easily buy ten year's worth in one trip.
You should try it and see if you like it.
And the whole time you are putting it on, you can feel really smart.
And sassy.
And not broke.

Oh, and one last thing...It's made in ITALY. How many people can say they use Italian eyeliner? Hmmm?

Color Me Happy

I want to repaint the inside of my house. I need a change. The current colors are dark and warm. While I loved this scheme for years, I have decided I need light and airy. I have been in a slump for months now and it is time to brighten things up. I like the colors of this bird's nest. I think it could serve as good inspiration. Scott has offered to help me paint so I better jump on it before he loses the vision! I also love this color scheme below. Sooooo cozy....

I love the shabby chic look. It's elegent and lived in and classy and comfy. It's ruffles and wrinkles at it's best. Throw covers, and slip covers. White, creams and pinks. Maybe a little blue thrown in for good measure.

The picture above is a picture of a studio Scott and I visited called the Hutch. 
http://hutchstudio.blogspot.com/
 It's in La Conner and it's owned by Bunnies By The Bay. It was SO ADORABLE in there. It was mainly creams and blue and so very rustic. I think I will end up with this look. They used a product called Water Color Walls to create a washed, old look.

Anyway...I am ready for change, and paint is one of the quickest ways I know of to create it....and I have a paint coupon that is good for three days.

Any ideas?