Brooke & Kim

right now i can't seem to get enough of Brooke Fraser or Kim Walker.
i love them. i listen to them on repeat. and when i don't have music on, i can hear them in my head--still on repeat. there music has been feeding my soul lately. i love when that happens.

Here's a few of their videos....

"Shadow feet" by Brooke



"How He Loves Us" sung by Kim

let's go dancing....

because i got a sexy new pair of shoes for super cheap. They were on clearance at TJ Maxx for $20. But, when I got to the counter, they were actually $15. Nice. I can't wait to take them out for a night on the town when Hope and Halen arrive in Boulder in a few weeks. That's right.




And they look even better on. I was at first a tiny bit skeptical, but then when they were on my feet, I was sold. Then I HAD to have them.

Handclap for sexy super discounted shoes everyone!!!

sometimes, people frustrate me!

that's all.

"it's because you're indigenous!"

I tried something new tonight. I learned how to make homemade tortillas from the lovely Jamita R. McGowan. (The "R" stands for Tortilla Master!!)

Tortilla making came quite naturally to me. Jamita was telling me how to work the flour and water until it turns into good "tortilla" dough. She was explaining how to roll them out and was telling me not to worry if they didn't come out perfectly round because hers always come out shaped like pac man and other types of creatures and odd shapes.

So I began my journey of tortilla making. It took a minute to figure out the correct consistency of flour and warm water. I added too much water, so I needed more flour. Eventually it was perfect. So I let the dough sit for a minute or two, maybe three. Then the rolling began.....


And I soon noticed that I was doing okay and my tortillas did indeed look like tortillas and not creatures and odd shapes. I was exclaiming my joy of this feat to Jamita. I said, "look i'm doing it, they're even coming out round!"


And she quickly exclaimed, with a roll of her eyes, "it's because you're indigenous!" Which made me burst into laughter. Because I know the truth. Yes I do. She was so jealous of my mad tortilla making skills.

The bounty....



Nice!!

my early morning awakening

on my way to catch the bus friday morning, this was my view....





it was blinding, it was breathtaking, it was great, it was glorious,
it was "Owww, what the....?"

all of a sudden i feel a sharp pain in the back of my head. i reach my hand to the back of my head to investigate the sharp sting and feel something in my hair. immediately my mind went to a spider and i rip out my pony tail--in the middle of the street--bend over and start shaking my hands through my hair rather violently. yeah, that had to be a funny sight. the sting gets more intense and i realize, no it's not a spider--thank the good Lord because spiders freak me out--but it was a freakin' bee. still not good, but not a spider. i finally get to the bee and yank it out along with lots of hair and throw that little sucker to the ground where he looked all wounded and shriveled. awww poor thing, NOT. he viciously attacked me. so basically, i fought the bee and i won. but that little sucker did have enough time to leave his own personal "good morning" wake up call in the form of a nice burning sting in the back of my head.

but i think the bee's were out for war yesterday. when we took the kids to the park for the full day at the Y, 2 of the kids got bee stings. one on his arm, one on his head. and then later in the day i was telling a friend about my morning sting and the 2 boys and it turned out, they too were stung by a bee. crazy!! what's going on here? isn't it too late for bees? maybe they are staging a protest and have decided to sting and go all "bee crazy" if anyone gets in there way. i know i'll in fact take another route to the bus.

I Wish It Would Rain

Today i've been missing my dad. My heart has been aching for the sweet memories of what life was like with him before the accident that stole most of his memories--and almost ALL of the ones in the latter part of his life, which includes his kids. And my mind has been overwhelmingly flooded with memories of my childhood that involved him & I, and our shared love of "Classic" Motown! And by classic, I mean the Greats and Legends like The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops and the Commodores...just to name a few. I have many memories of my dad and I listening ---with me singing and dancing the classic motown routines---to the Temptations and the Four Tops for hours in our living room. We didn't have much, but we had our record player. Maybe that's why music is so vital in my life? That's mainly what we had to entertain ourselves with! And what amazing memories I have of music in my house. I can safely say that all of us kids have fond memories of those Motown nights held at the Longhat house.

Little unknown fact about me, my very first concert was when I was 10 years old and I went to a Revival "Temptaions/Four Tops" Tour Review. It was awesome!! Yeah, I said it.

And back to the main point...
I've been thinking a lot about my dad. And I've been hearing the songs my dad used to sing as we played his LP's & 45's. But what has made this memory so sad today is knowing since his accident a few years ago, i'm the only one who has those memories. He can't share them with me anymore. And it makes me feel as if some of my childhood--some of the most precious times-- was taken from me. Because we will never be able to look back and laugh about those times when I would twirl around the room in classic "Temptations" fashion. And all day as i've been taking a walk down memory lane, i've been longing to call him so we could laugh and talk about things of old. But, alas, I have to remind him of who I am half the time; and even then, I don't think he really believes me. So today, through heartache and tears, I mourn a life with my dad that will never be again. But, I will forever treasure those memories and carry them in my heart always.

All I can say is...

"Sunshine, blue skies, please go away...
I know to you, it might sound strange,
but I wish it would rain"

:)

Ikea is coming to Colorado!!

Yay!!

i can buy cute soup bowls and matching saucers anytime i want.

the craze

so, there's this game on the iPhone that is quite addicting and very competitive. some may know of it, some may not. but those who know it, know it well. they know that fights will ensue and the battle for the #1 spot will begin with a passion and then get downright bloodthirsty. and pleasant evenings chatting with friends is no more, because the big competition begins once the iPhone is pulled out.

what is this game i speak of?

Bubble Wrap!!

this free little application for the iPhone brings heated competition out of the most beloved friends. fierce competition too. first i was thinking that my friends and i were crazy addicted and maybe needed to get a hobby; but NO they even have forums for this application.




picture this....
nice time chatting amongst friends and somehow our conversation went to iPhones--okay, not somehow, these users are addicted--and i foolishly ask the following question, "have you ever played the bubble wrap game?" becca immediately goes to the application and off we go. then aaron decides that he wants to join in on the fun; but not only that, he proudly proclaims that he's going to beat us all. and then he starts his bubble wrap journey--he even had warm ups he did before each try. battle on!! as the battle for the top spot begins we soon realize that one phone is not enough--plus others in the room want to join the craze; so aaron decides to download it to his phone. now we have 2 phones being battered by wild fingers trying to pop as many bubbles as they can to get the high score.

i must say, this isn't the first time this "competition" has happened--for me anyway. last time i was playing with halen, asher, rachel and jacki. man the drive and concentration jacki had was priceless. i had never seen the competitive beast come out of her before. not until the bubble wrap application entered her world.

with tonight's competition, unfortunately, i have to admit that aaron did in fact beat us all. he bragged A LOT about it too. knowing him, he's probably bragged on his facebook status about his mad skills. well phooey on you aaron strumpel. i'll prevail next time. you won the battle my friend, not the war.

um, yeah. well, i get quite competitive. i don't know where it comes from. i just want to win.

it's a silly little game, but you can't help but love it.

Jesus Is My Friend

lingering in the Lord's presence was pretty stinkin' awesome tonight.

i embraced a part of me that has been quiet, for lack of a better word, for some time. i didn't go all the way. even though i'm not sure what "all the way" is quite yet? but it felt right and freeing to open myself up in worship. i love when that happens. :)

God is good.

nothing

i love blogging. but i don't do it like i intend to. and sometimes, i think i get in over my head. i just deleted one of the four of my blogs. which leaves me, right now, with 3 blogs...two of my own and one with my Little Church family. and as i was deleting one of my blogs of non-importance i thought, I know i should start a crafting blog or baking blog or...... the list of blogs just went on and on. and then i had to give myself a talk and it went like this....

"Self, you do not need another blog. You already don't blog enough on the 3 you have. The wise thing to do would be to start blogging on the ones you do have. and once you do and you still feel like you need another blog, then you can re-evaluate the purpose of that blog"

I definitely put up a fight with myself, but in the end...i opted out of the 4th blog until i become a better blogger with what i have now.

yeah.

i heart harper

tonight i had the privilege of hanging out with one of my most favorite kiddos.



He's such a cutie and I absolutely adore him.



YAY for Harper!!!

today, i have "heavy boots!"
i can't figure out why either??

:(

i've been robbed!!

really, i have.
and all i can say is...Bastards!!
man, i just love using that word. :)

this weekend while in Utah enjoying friends, family and all of that gushy gooey goodness God has blessed me with, i went on a little trip to Ikea for some:

-soup bowls
-dreaming of what my future home could look like
-and plain old browsing.

The Crime Scene:
or rather when the crime was realized...
I was at Ikea, trying to purchase some lovely green soup bowls and matching saucers.



The Crime:
or rather the injustice against my ikea purchase and future finances...
After perusing Ikea and all they had to offer, we finally made it to the checkout ares. As I was purchasing my lovely soup bowls and matching saucer.....my card kept declining. So, I tried again, still declined. Freaking out a little, okay a lot, I put the bowls back and immediately call my bank. I believe my bank said something like you have no f-ing money in your account, and now you will panic and when you talk to customer service, they will treat you like crap!
soup bowl
saucer

The Verdict:
or rather the "waiting game"...
So, after I made my report, stated the injustice that was upon me, talked to a few people who asked me the same questions over and over and over....i was finally given a case number--actually numbers. Now I wait for the bank to send me the official "forms" to fill out. And once those are filled out, they will decide if they want to credit my account. And, I object! How in the world could I be at Ikea in Salt Lake, Bed Bath & Beyond in Hoover, AL, Walgreen's in Blue Island, Il and Jewel Osco in Oak Lawn, Il all in the same day in a 2 hour span!! Hello, this case should be closed.
But, NO, I wait.

Bastards!!!