Liliana's Letter

On a recent trip to the mailbox Liliana mailed a letter to a strapping young fella named Thomas.  About a week later, she was elated to receive a reply.  It's too cute not to share.  Thomas wrote this himself (which impressed and shamed me at the same time).  I just LOVE his career ambition.  Think I may adopt it myself.  :)  

Told ya it was cute!!!   His mom told me that he's changed his aspirations and now intends to be a Superhero Doctor.  After all, they need medical care, too!  

Write a letter...  make someone's day.  

facial SCARS and hair CUTS

Earlier this year my dermatologist discovered yet another skin cancer on my forehead.  And one on my backside.  Yep.  He covers all the bases at my annual skin check.  As far as skin cancer goes, I tend to get the very best kind: basal cell.  It won't kill you for a very long time, but doctors don't take chances. They cut and carve to their hearts content.  

Having light red hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, I'm pretty much a poster child for sunscreen, umbrellas, and hats.  My father has had several skin cancers removed and has urged me for years to start going for a yearly skin check.  So a few years ago, I took the plunge.  

Going to the dermatologist is just plain awful!  I'll take the gynecologist any day-- there's way more dignity in that.  At a skin check, you strip down to your delicates and stand in the middle of 4 to 8 people.  The doctor shines a super bright light on you and proceeds to look at every inch of your body.  Since I'm WAY more confident with my clothes on than I am with them off, I tend to get nervous during this part of the appointment.  My nerves, coupled with the super bright light, make me sweat.  And while I sweat, the doctor has his face about 6 inches from my skin.  At this moment I pray the deodorant does its job.  The only thing that would increase the humiliation would be if I forgot to wear underwear that day.  

So if you've never had a skin check, call and make your appointment today.  Seriously.  Call today! It's awful-- absolutely awful-- but it could save your life.  And wear a hat.  And sunscreen.  And whatever you do, stay out of tanning beds.  They look like coffins for a reason.  


I'll share some pictures to make this post a bit more interesting.  There is a really gross one so if blood makes you woozy, don't scroll down much farther.  Seriously.  

Here’s a shot of my pre-latest-cancer hairstyle.  The swoop bangs cover the scar from last year’s surgery.  I really liked this style.  The swoop is really hot right now.  

Here's a lovely picture of the hole they cut in my head nearly two weeks ago, making me not so much a fan of above hairstyle.  

Here’s my forehead.  I now joke that I have Frankenstein eyebrows way high up on my forehead.  I'll go big so you can get the full effect.  

And here’s a picture of my newest hairstyle.  It conveniently covers the scars on both sides of my forehead.  I told my stylist I wanted a built in visor.

So that’s what’s been happening ‘round here the last week or so.  That and gymnastics and baseball and piano and swimming lessons and church and school and laundry and speaking engagements and… 


Thanks for dropping by!

My First Ever Tutorial!

All of my favorite blogs have tutorials; and seeing that I desperately want I'm Really Not that Smart to be on my list of personal favorites, I figure I should have at least one.  Who doesn't love a good lesson every now and again, right?

I'm pretty awesome at eating chocolate covered donuts, I'm not gonna lie; but is this skill-o-mine blog worthy?  Probably not.  Gotta keep it interesting, you know?  Truthfully, I'm one of those, "Jack of all trades, master of none" kinda gals.  There's a lot I do, but nothing that I'm just awesome at (except the donuts, and I totally rock in that arena).  I had an Ahah! moment when I was eating breakfast and was reminded of my latest "act of learning."

On a recent road trip, I visited a great friend who gave me a sample of her spinach and fruit smoothie.  She blended it up the night before and it was ready and waiting bright and early the next morning.  I took her idea, built on it a bit, and wha-do-ya-know? I found a great way to eat a quick and healthy breakfast.  So, here it is, my first tutorial ever...

How to Make

The Easiest, Fastest, Okay Tasting 

Smoothie of ALL Time!

Prep Work:

Step 1:  Go to Sam's or Costco and buy all the frozen fruit you like.  I bought Pineapple, Blueberry and Strawberry.  Buy A TON of fresh bananas, spinach, and apples. Look for Flax seed and buy it if they have it.  I'll include a shopping list at the end of the tutorial.

Step 2:  Count your bananas.  Get out that many quart size freezer bags.  Each bag is going to have layers of smoothie ingredients.  It will take you about 20 minutes longer to make 15 smoothies than it will to make just 1, so make as many as you can (which is usually how many bananas you have).  

Step 3:  My smoothie bags make 2 smoothies per bag.  If you want yours to make just 1, then 1/2 the ingredients!!  I end up with 4 cups according to my blender dashes-- 2 cups for me and 2 for my husband (who is happy that for the first time ever I'm making him breakfast!).  

Put about 1/2 cup of each frozen fruit into each bag.  Add one cored, chopped apple and one sliced banana to each bag.  If using apple sauce, use 1/2 cup.  Add 2-4 tablespoons of Flax, and then a handful (a big handful) of fresh spinach leaves.  The picture above is about what I put into each bag.  

Step 4:  Seal bags, flatten, and freeze.  The hard part of smoothie making is done.  Whew!  

Making the Smoothie

Step 1:  Let the frozen bag thaw for about 20 minutes.  Put it into your blender with 1 cup of water and blend.  My blender works best if I mix it for about 20 seconds, then puree, and then liquify.

Step 2:  Pour and enjoy, or put it directly in the fridge (which I do, because I make mine the night before.  My blender is glass, so I don't even pour it into cups, but you could do that to save one more step in the morning).

If you like a sweeter smoothie, you could always use orange juice instead of water.  Protein or yogurt could be added as well (both of which can go in the zip-lock bag).  

Fast, easy, healthy, and mmm mmm good!

Sam's Shopping List:  

• Bananas and Apples (same amount- each smoothie needs one of each)
• Frozen Pineapples ($8.28 for 5lbs)
• Frozen Sliced Strawberries ($8.28 for 5lbs)
• Frozen Blueberries ($7.28 for 3lbs)
• Organic Spinach ($3.97 for huge clear tub)
• Organic Milled Flax Seed
• Quart size freezer bags  

I have a ton of frozen blackberries, so I add them in.  And my apples didn't come from Sam's.  I used the smaller, cheaper  apples that come in the bags.  Although it seems like a LOT of money, you can get a LOT of smoothies out of this amount of frozen fruit.  I'll try to figure out roughly how much each smoothie costs and get back with you, but I'm thinking it might add up to about $1.50-- if that.

Hope this post inspires you to both eat a healthy breakfast and add a tutorial to your own blog! 

A Trip to the Mailbox

Last week, I wrote about the absolute joy of receiving a letter in the mail.   I realized that I could step it up a notch in the "sending mail" department. 

As I tend to be obsessive and extreme, this week I mailed six -- count 'em SIX-- cards.  Unfortunately, they all had dogs on the front.  They were cute dogs, but dogs, nonetheless.  Upon opening my secret stationary drawer, I realized the drawer was no secret to my four year old; who enjoys stringing random letters together and drawing people who resemble potatoes.  Thus, dog cards.  

Henry and I each had a welcome home present waiting for us when we returned from Ethiopia, so our first two cards this week were "thank you" cards.  Both gifts truly warmed my heart.  There's nothing like being loved!

Two more were also thank you cards, and another was a "you did a great job!" note.  

The last card was from Liliana to another little boy her age.  He'll like the dogs on the front, no doubt. Liliana signed her name and decorated it with tiny animal stickers.  She was careful that every animal had a friend and I wondered if she was learning about Noah's Ark in school.  As any good friend would, we included a few un-stuck stickers for little T to stick at leisure. 

Liliana and the letters.  (Yes, we have a very long driveway.  Veeeerrrryyy long.  If you'd like to pave it for us, it would make me smile.)  

Liliana picking up said letters after she dropped them.

Liliana putting the letters in the mailbox.

Yes, this trip turned out to be all about Liliana.  The only thing she'd let Henry do was hold her hand.  And that made all her selfishness melt away in my eyes.  I love it when she loves him.

As far as what was IN the mailbox this week: a few bills, some junk mail,  a newsletter, and this...

...a card from a bosom friend in North Carolina.  If you've read Anne of Green Gables, you totally get the bosom friend, thing.  Anyway,  this card made me smile for about 30  minutes straight, even while doing the dishes!  

My Ethiopian Adventure... Part 2

Thanks for coming back for more of My Ethiopian Adventure.  If you missed Part 1, you can find it here.  These pictures are in no particular order and many were taken while speeding down dusty roads.   We had an amazing trip in January of 2011 and then again in March.  

Two little boys walking to school.  There was nothing around for miles, but they were headed somewhere with purpose.   On our 4 hour drive into the country, there was never a time when people weren't present.  Sometimes they were barely visible, working in the fields, but if you looked hard enough, someone was always near.  

The local Jo-Ann's.  I seriously can't believe I didn't buy any fabric.  Guess I'll have to go back. 

This is the local lumber store.  If Gulf Coast Lumber decides to take advantage of the Ethiopian market, Lee and I will definitely request a transfer.  Well, we'll definitely think about requesting a transfer.   

We went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant with a group of friends.  The six of us shared this plate of food.  And we ate with our hands.  The platter is similar to a pizza pan covered with injera, a spongy type of thin fermented bread.  The injera "sops" all the flavors and is used to pick up the food.  Injera is also rolled up on the platter.  I'm not sure what the difference is between the dark and the light, but it's all good.

Believe it or not, Ethiopian cuisine is extremely tasty!  No complaints from our table.  

If I had to have an all-time favorite blurry picture, this might just be it.  I like the little goat in the background, who seems to have wandered away.  He looks a bit downhearted if you ask me.  

These girls are carrying water jugs.  Many people have to walk for hours to get clean water, and most, like these girls, settle for it dirty.  

Lake Hawassa: home to many large birds.  How large, you may ask...

Pretty darn large.  Although I tried to get Lee to inch a wee bit closer, this is as far as he'd venture. 

A beautiful young girl returning home from getting water.  She's in the background of a previous picture.  The water came from the bird-filled banks of Lake Hawassa.

Boats like this one were docked on the bank to take tourists out to see the hippos.  Lake Hawassa is home to over 20 families of hippos.  Each family has five to eight members.  For $40 we spent an hour on a huge lake surrounded by mountains.  Mountains and hippos.  

We were much happier to see them than they were to see us.  The bull above is trying to scare us away. 

This young man had no worries about the hippos.  

I love this shot... people just enjoying the day.  It was Wednesday.

Another shot of Lake Hawassa.  

When we traveled to Southern Ethiopia, we stayed here.  We were humbled to find they renamed the hotel in our honor.  We did't let on that they forgot the "s."   

Order a glass of juice and this is what you get (no alcohol, cross my heart).  It tasted SOOO amazing that I had two in one day.  Felt really good going down.  Not so great coming up.  I threw up ALL night long.  I was seriously afraid I was going to have to go to a hospital.  I had seen a hospital on a corner a few days earlier, and it was no Tallahassee Memorial, trust me.   Death to dehydration may have been preferable.  

Wild monkey...  how cool is that?

Wild monkey jumping in the car when I'm in the car... not so cool.   Words of wisdom:  when around wild monkeys, always keep the windows in the UP position.  

A mama and her baby...   Although they reminded me of cats, I believe monkeys are a lot like rabbits.  There were baby monkeys EVERYWHERE!

Me sneaking up to get a picture of the mama and her baby.

I'll have to figure out what this monument was all about.  Lee actually took this picture and said it was HUGE.

These little blue taxis were everywhere down south.  Yes, I did ride in one, and I smiled the entire time.  

Another lil' taxi.  

We were able to go behind the scenes at the Ethiopian Timkat celebration.  Ethiopians from all over come to Addis Ababa to celebrate Epiphany.  It is a most holy day and everything is closed down.  Only Orthodox Christians participate. 

Decked out priests. 

My mom, Lee and me at Timkat.  The badges we're wearing are VIP, back stage passes to the celebration.  

I hope you've enjoyed taking another peek inside Ethiopia.  More to come for all who are interested... 

The Three Little Birds

Lee rushed me away from a project a few days ago and pulled me onto our shower porch.  I just knew something was wrong.  Relief set in when he whispered for me to be quiet and motioned me to follow.  We leaned over the railing and gently held back a few branches on a tea-olive tree.  Hidden away, were three freshly hatched baby birds.  Why seeing those little birds brought me such joy, I don't really know.  After all, we live in the country and could find a half-dozen nests on any given spring day...

Like any practical mama my mind went straight to the dangers of having baby birds close; and those dangers pretty much start and stop with snakes.  Call me a hater, but I haven't an ounce of love in my heart for the slithering serpents.  I pretty much abhor them, and if birds had bigger brains, they would, too.

Just as those baby birds have an enemy, so do we.  Our enemy is real.  He's alert, alive, and aware; and he can take us down if we're not careful. 1 Peter 5:8 teaches us to "be self-controlled and alert.  Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Alone, I have no defense.  I am just as weak and helpless as these newborn birds.


But then the cross...


The cross makes all the difference.  Call me naive, closed minded, brainwashed, foolish- whatever you want, but I believe.  I believe Jesus died a painful death on the cross.  I believe He conquered death and came to life again on that first Easter Sunday morning.  I believe when my eyes are steadfastly on Him that Satan has no power over me and I am no longer defenseless.  I believe that my future death is not the end, but rather the beginning.  I believe that I will spend eternity with Him in a real place, called Heaven.  I believe.

Today is Easter.

Today I celebrate!

"Oh Death, where is your victory?  Oh Death, where is your sting?"
1 Corinthians 15:55

Zebbity-Do-Da...

                                

Zebby, Zebbaroo, Zebberiffic, Zebco, Zebmiester.  Zeb.

Though I've told a few people it's short for Zebra, Zeb's name is just Zeb.  Plain, old Zeb.  Straight up and down.  We like it that way, but you would never know it because we always add an ending of some sort.

So why all the Zebbarama?  Well, today is a very special day for our family.  Today we celebrate Zeb's 10th Gotcha Day!  A Gotcha Day (the day we "got" him) is the same as an Adoption Day.  We celebrate this day faithfully; and, truthfully, it's more important than his birthday.  We're all about family, you know?

Instead of trying to make a case that Zeb is the greatest 10 year old on the planet and that I won the golden ticket when he was placed in my arms, I'll just share a few pictures and memories that I hold dear.
... and since nooooobody likes a bragger, I'll try to control myself.

Captured here is the happiest day of our entire lives.  Falling in love was delightful, getting married was exciting, learning to live together in harmony was an adventure, but this...  WOW!  Words can't even explain.

All of my kids are special, but Zeb holds a unique place in my heart.  He made me a mama.  Before him, I was a wanna-be mama.  On April 23, 2001, I became the real deal.  The promise of Psalm 113:9 was fulfilled in my life, and things have never been the same.

I love this picture because it reminds me of a prayer answered and a broken heart made whole.  

*******NUDITY ALERT*******

                                                                               

  

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of the Zeb when he and Michal were young.  They had been playing outside in the mud and were too dirty to even bathe inside.  I stripped them down, lathered them up, and sprayed them with the garden hose.  Just look at those cheeks...  

 

Has there ever been a kid who didn't rock a shampoo-hawk at least once?

One of Lee and Zeb's favorite places... on the water.  I think those are snapper.

Zeb at 8 years old.  He was an Indian for the Ha-ha-ha-lelujah Festival at church.  The kids actually call it the Ha-ha-ha-le-LEWIS Festival.  We do appreciate the hundreds of people that love our family enough to attend.





Last year, Zeb won a prize with this "two word" poem.  I can only assume that the rest of the poems were really, really pitiful, but it did warm my heart.  Although he was on the money with the caring, worrying, and loving lines, he's a wee bit off on the running information.  The entire family knows he prefers Lee over me, so I cherish the moment I was center stage.  He probably just couldn't whittle all that Daddy-love into only two words.

Dear Karla Nelson Photography,
I'm sure something about this is illegal.  Please forgive me.

Above is Zeb's 8 year portrait.  Lisa H. says he looks like Mogli from The Jungle Book, and I kind of agree.  We've also heard he looks like Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Keanu Reeves.  Any of the three is fine with me, 'cause he used to look like Curious George.

A very proud moment came for Zeb this last spring when he shot his first fish in the Keys.  He used my brother's spear gun, took a deep breath, and swam maybe 20 feet down before stoning this barracuda on his first try.  Lee says that "stoning" a fish doesn't happen that often.

Think I'll close with a little known (and potentially embarrassing) fact about Zeb.  He is a superb Hula-hooper.   I told him he could probably be a hula-hooping professional when he grows up, but he said he'd rather stick to baseball and fishing.  And for that, I am thankful.

(Eh, uhm)  Ladies and Gentlemen, for his debut performance, hooping to his all-time favorite song, Mr. Zebbbbbbb Lewissss...