Happy Halloween

Peter Peter Punkin Eater

Kate and Alex carved the two big pumpkins today. They look great! Kate saved all the seeds and I think I'll actually attempt to roast them. Pumpkin seeds are chock full of vitamins and fiber. They're so good for you!! Here is a recipe for roasting seeds. Enjoy!

boil pumpkin seeds in salted water for 20 min. let dry over night. melt 1tbsp of butter. mix butter, 1tbsp olive oil and seeds and spread on a baking sheet. bake at 300 degrees for 30 min.

PopEye!!!

Why Eat Spinach?


Spinach nutrition is amazing. The calcium content in spinach and the other dark leafy greens mentioned above strengthens bones.



The A and C vitamins in spinach plus the fiber, folic acid, magnesium and other nutrients help control cancer, especially colon, lung and breast cancers. Folate also lowers the blood levels of something called homocysteine, a protein that damages arteries. So spinach also helps protect against heart disease.



The flavonoids in spinach help protect against age related memory loss.



Spinach's secret weapon, lutein, makes it one of the best foods in the world to prevent cataracts, as well as age related macular degeneration, the leading cause of preventable blindness in the elderly. Foods rich in lutein are also thought to help prevent cancer.



As you can see, the health benefits of spinach are numerous. The vitamins and calcium in spinach, combined with the overall nutritional value of spinach, make this vegetable and its dark leafy green cousins top picks for healthy food choices.



Fresh or frozen, add these greens to your food menu as often as you can.

fright by the fire = success!

So last night was a huge success! Yay! The rain moved through early and we were able to be outside for most of the evening. We were missing a couple of kids but everyone who came seemed to have a good time! Kate loved being here and meeting all of Joe's friends and we were talking about all of the parties she used to have when she was in middle school. We were laughing about who kissed whom behind the house and who went out with who and broke up with who.  It really seems like yesterday that Kate was having those parties. The kids were really good and even though I wasn't feeling so great with this cold or sinus thing I had fun seeing them have fun.

Fright by the Fire

Looks like we might have to come up with a plan B for fright by the fire. The rain that was supposed to come through yesterday didn't and now it is supposed to rain today. Soo...that might mess things up for Joe's get together. I asked him what he wanted me to get for this evening and he said he didn't care, they just want to hang out. I am trying to kick this cold and I really need to get out to the stores and buy the goods for the party. The Thursday night game threw me off but we had a great time. Being back at Buccanear stadium made me appreciate the space we have especially after being at Mt. Brook last week. Hoover played great and pulled off a win! Yay! Now on to the play offs. HOpe the weather holds for next weekend. Hoover play off game and the huge bama/lsu game. Rick and I are looking forward to being in Tuscaloosa for tailgating.

Almost Friday

It's almost Friday! Friday is my favorite day of the week. I don't have to work and its my pay day and in the fall there is Friday night lights. Tonight, though, Hoover plays so a Thursday night game is kind of throwing me off. Hope the Bucs can recover from being beaten by Mt. Brook. Ohh speaking of Mt. Brook, I never did write on here how awful and rude they were last week. Of course Mt. Brook has quite the reputation of being snobby, blah blah blah, well, let me tell you, from what I saw in their closed off parking lot at 5pm to Hoover people, they lived up to their rep. We knew the game would be packed especially since Mt.B only has one side of seating so we left early and headed over to the other side of town. We naively thought we'd have enough time to hang out a bit, visit, eat a little and then head into the game and we even thought, we'd get a good parking place in the parking lot! Knowing the parking lot was fairly small, again, we left early, we got there a little after 5. Mt. B. police were telling people to park on the side streets because the parking lot was full. Well okay then, we did that but what we learned after we were in the game is that the parking people were asking before cars turned in if they were Hoover or Mt. B. If they were Hoover they were directed to park on the street. What in the world? There was a s'mores table set up by the entrance gate but the s'mores were only for Spartan fans. Good grief!! I was good though, I wasn't sassy, maybe an eye roll here and there. Then, we're sitting in the game, and some dumb kid on the mt. b side starts mocking the national anthem. Thankfully, a Brookie daddy grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and put him in his place. Then about 20 min. later a water bottle was thrown into the Hoover parents section from the same group of rude mt. b. kids! Really? Who does this kind of stuff? I think they should have been kicked out, They weren't. Its just a bad idea to have everyone sitting on the same side. With all their money, they need to build a bigger parking lot and a bigger stadium. And this year, the Spartans are good which made it even harder to take! I know a lot of the surrounding communities love to hate Hoover when it comes to football. I totally get that. We're good, and we've had lots of national recognition. I guess jealous spoiled brats take that as opportunity to tell our middle schooler's that Hoover kids are ghetto because they like flat billed hats. Well, I'll take our diverse ghetto flat billed wearing kids any day over rude spoiled mt. brook kids!

Ohhh! I love this!!

Remember to be patient and compassionate with yourself as you meet up with the challenges in the world. Trust that God is always providing whatever you truly need that serves your Soul and all of the creation.




- John Morton

not remembering...harder than it seems

All your dilemmas and romance, your suffering and confusion, will be dissolved instantaneously if you just give it all to the Traveler Consciousness in your moments of meditation, contemplation, quietness, and spiritual exercises. But you must also give up the memory or you will pull it right back on top of you.

Loving this time of year

I love this time of year, I always have but it is so fun with the two year olds. We always have fun crafts and treats and books and so much to talk about. Thursday is dress up day for the kids. I always tell the parents to keep it simple. I'm excited to see their cute costumes! Also, this time of year is so full of football but last night was Joe's football wrap party. They had a terrible season, Joe didn't but the team did. The coach did a good job telling the kids that they all improved from the beginning which was true. We had half a team that had never played tackle football before. I'm glad we have our evenings free now. Joe is excited for spring football, I'm not really because 7th grade football is rotten!

note to self!

It's never ever a good idea to eat a fiber bar before bed, a banana in the middle of the night, cheerios and strawberries for breakfast an apple for snack and veggie soup for lunch and then go running!!! OMG! Hello colon! The Price I pay for eating healthy!!! Ha, Good times! Exercise is never ever pretty and if it is, you're not doing it right!

Can't believe that its already Sunday evening. Goodness time goes so fast! I was thinking earlier that I can't believe its the end of October already. It seems like last week we were at the beach with the fam and it was 4 months ago! whoa!!! We had a good weekend. The kids were all super busy and Rick and I went to the Hoover game as a date night. We did not have one child with us! ha. Hoover lost which was sad but Mt. Brook was a better team. Hopefully, we'll have some better answers during the playoffs. We ended up back at Beef O'Bradys with friends and Saturday, I cleaned and ran 4 miles, went shopping and then finally sat down and watched Alabama roll over Tennessee. We are super excited for the LSU/Bama game. I don't think the time has been announced yet but we've already decided to go to Tuscaloosa and tailgate no matter what time. Usually, I only like to go if its an evening game but we'll go no matter what. This Friday is Joe's Halloween party. I think the weather is going to hold out and be nice. It'll be fun to see his friends and see their costumes. Alex is traveling with soccer all weekend so hopefully, I will have Kate here to help. She loves seeing JOe and his friends. Wednesday is my personal me day! I found a sub for work and I'm headed to homewood for new hair color! Gah! I need it!! I'm still loving my shorter hair although, I think I'll love it a little more when its about an inch and a half longer so hopefully by Christmas!

It is always important to consider that your first and truly only relationship is with yourself/Self and God.




Once you experience the inner mastery available to you through the high self and that which is God, you can then fully appreciate the perfection always present with you regardless of who else is involved and the outer conditions in your life.



- John Morton

doubting Thomas...I think not!

Doubt is what I call having a double mind. Doubt says, "I want to do this, but what about this?" So there are now two things to do.




This type of doubt can be a burden and source of confusion. "I think so, but I doubt it." "I think I'm getting well, but I'm not sure." "I'm sure she loves me, but I don't know." "They might, but maybe they might not." "How's the day going? It's just wonderful, except my back hurts." It's often referred to as the evil eye because there is a lack of willingness to fully embrace the goodness in life.



- John-Roger

I think October is one of my favorite months in Alabama. It is still warm but not ridiculous and don't get me wrong, I love ridiculous hot hot hot and humid but after several months of ridiculous it is refreshing to have it just warm and the mornings are so pretty at least when it isn't raining. Joe had his last football game last night with the Hoover Rec league. They didn't win but he sure had several tackles that helped the score not get out of control. He came home with a bunch of war wounds which he proudly showed to us and after a few tears, he ate some yummy chicken tacos and proceeded to pull one of his molars out! This molar had a cavity and the dentist knew it was going to come out soon so when he showed it to me, I showed him the hole in his tooth and reminded him to take good care of his new teeth. Jack went to the freshman game last night. This freshman football team is really really good. They won, beating Vestavia by some huge number to nothing. Go Bucs! Kate spent the evening with her bestie, Maddie. They made dinner together and had some good girl time. I think they were shopping for Halloween costumes, Kate couldn't find what she was looking for. The Halloween dance is coming up so she better get going. So speaking of Halloween. I came across an article on line this morning about Christians being conflicted about trick or treating. OH MY GOODNESS!!! People. Seriously! You are over thinking this! Why does everything have to be this huge deal? It's fun. dress up, get your candy and enjoy! God wants you to have fun. You're not hurting anyone, its just sugar for goodness sakes! Just makes me crazy that it would even be an issue! Gah!!!!

recap

Here I sit, Monday morning once again. Our weekends in the fall are so jam packed with football and food, it literally wears me out. We did have a great one though and I think I gained 10lbs...Maybe all the food I eat over the weekend helps speed my metabolism up for the week when I work out and don't eat as much. Gosh, I can only hope so. Friday night, we met friends at a yummy pizza place in Vestavai and then walked to the game where Hoover gave the rebels a run for their money but not without our punter getting hurt and needing surgery. Poor Tuck. He has had such a great season. As always though, we had a great time sitting by friends, laughing, joking, watching the game and all the kids. We always say we never quite "get" the routines the dancers do and the whole thing with the frames and easles is a bit strange and seems like a hassle to take out on the field but Kate has some sweet friends on the  team and they always do a great job. Saturday brought another trip to the grocery store. I proceeded to spend another 150.00 on game day food which was fabulous and so yummy!!! I always budget for it so it isn't a big deal. I made my famous tailgate bbq and we had rice crispy treats and Angie brought beans and we even ate real ruffle potato chips! What a treat. It was a great night to watch the game outside in front of the fire. Alabama pummeled Ole Miss, Auburn continued to make all of us mad by beating Florida. Gene Chizick really really needs to ditch the mock collared short sleeve shirt with the zipper. I mean, seriously? Is the guy married? Does his wife see what he is wearing? Dude, it is really bad! Joe had a great weekend hanging with his friends, Jack did too. He had his first golf lesson with Wayne. It's good to know Wayne. He has changed Jack's golf swing already and whoa! What a difference. He and Kyle played golf at the Highlands while Wayne taught his lessons. Kate was with Alex this weekend, no surprise there. She did get in 4 more belle's hours. She only needs about 10 more! Come on Kate, you can do it!!! I worked in the nursery yesterday, went to the grocery store once again for the weeks food and watched the Amazing Race! Gosh, I want to visit Thailand. What a beautiful place it seems to be. This week is Joe's last football game. He is over this team and his mind is thinking about spring workouts for Bumpus. Bumpus football never thrills me. Gah, 7th grade is hardly ever a good experience for the boys unless you're one of the early bloomers....which my boys are not...sigh...

New Hair!!

So yesterday brought a win by Hoover once again beating the Rebels of Vestavia and me chopping 7 inches off my hair! Ahh. Yes. I love my new cut which is actually a fun version of the rachel. I always wanted the rachel 20 years ago but no one ever cut it right. I had been thinking of cutting my hair for awhile and i was looking at cute cuts on pinterest. I came across one that is super cute but its a little short. After my shower yesterday, I thought, okay, let's just run to great clips and get it cut up to my collar bone that way at least I can get used to this and I won't totally freak my two's out on Tues. The girl there did a really good job. I love it. It was time. My hair was just too long and for what reason? it was just too much. So, I love my new hair!!

So, I have my first sweet two year who is potty trained. She is precious, so cute and fun and smart. She is so excited to be going on the potty!! Now that she is going on the potty, everyone thinks they need to go on the potty. hahaha. I love being a part of these families lives. I realize I'm not saving the world working with toddlers but I do feel that I'm right where I'm supposed to be.

Tonight is the biggest rivalry of Hoover's season. Hoover/Vestavia. You'd think the Spain Park/Hoover game would be bigger but nope, it's Vestavia. People still talk about the year that the Rebels put the cow manure under the visitor's bleachers when they played Hoover. That was during the Two a Days series. Nasty!!

Immigration Law

"Legal citizens have nothing to fear, and I think the legal immigrants are beginning to see that. They were told immediately that there would be all these problems, but I think the legal immigrants are beginning to see this law does not affect them. They are welcome here, and everything is going to be just fine," Beason said.

I've said this all along. If you're legal, you have papers to prove it then by all means, stay, work, pay taxes, contribute and enjoy living in USA! If you're not legal then you need to pack you bags and go home and go through the right channels. I feel so strongly about this issue. I do not know of another country that would knowingly allow illegals to continue to live in their country w/o the right papers. This is something that should have been handled many years ago. I love this country and I love that we have always had open arms to all people but do not come in here and live under the radar. It's not fair to the one's who go through the legalization process and its not fair to the people born here. I understand that the illegals are probably not taking jobs away from Americans as most Amercians aren't willing to work in the fields for less than minium wage or move all over to do so but with this economy you never know. Prices will go up but I think it's a price we'll have to pay. Another issue, one that is related to this is babies born here in the US to illegal women. If mama isn't legal, baby isn't either. end of story!

just do it!!

If you are letting your fears and insecurities run you, turn around and confront them. Face them.




Devour them. Consume them. Do it so well and so enthusiastically that you clear all your karma.



That's liberation! And that's moving into God consciousness.



- John-Roger

twitter

I do tweet a tiny bit. I still think its kind of dumb but whatever. Its something to do when I'm waiting for the noodles to cook.

Altogether now… ARE YOU KIDDING ME?




Unless you work for the CIA, FBI or other some governmental agency, what possible reason could you have for protecting your tweets?



Nothing turns me off faster than seeing this… no one, no company is that important that I need to see their tweets that I will go to the length of asking for permission.



Give me a break...

from an article in the ny times.

computers, phones, games....

Yesterday, Rick, Joe and I went to lunch after church. I noticed a family to my left sitting at one of the pub tables. They were all looking down at either a phone, computer or game device. It was the strangest thing. We were there probably 40 minutes and they did not interract one time other than to order their food. The Leventrys are certainly not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but I did mangae to be sure that Joe understood that St. Paul was actually writing to a group of people, The Phillipeans and I did get out of him who the latest girl he likes is and he told Rick and I all about his great day in Tuscaloosa for the Bama tg. I just found it so sad that this family couldn't put their devices away for 45 min. If they're doing that in public, I can't imagine what their house is like. Ha, probably quieter than mine.

The weekend!

Its always nice when Alabama and Auburn play evening games because am able to do so much during the day and then chill in the man cave and watch the games. I cleaned a bunch this morning and now I'm getting ready to run the neighborhood so I can enjoy yummy food. Rick and Jack are playing 9 holes, Joe is in Tuscaloosa representing the Leventrys for the tailgate and Kate is sleeping as she is sick with an ear infection. Alex is traveling today for an away game so for today, her world is sleep. We had a great time at the Hoover game last night. I wasn't sassy and Hoover won and our little tailgate was fun too! Lauren was supposed to visit this weekend but the fall is so crazy busy and she has been so busy with weddings and the flights were so expensive. We both decided it was best to just let it go and we'll see her in Dec. She'll visit for spring break and of course graduation!

The thing that's interesting about truth is that you may have to sacrifice part of what you call truth to fulfill another part of what you call truth. At some point in your search for truth, you will place some things in a subordinate position to others. An example might be that although it's true you love to go out dancing until three in the morning, it's also true that going to bed earlier means doing better work the next day. So you give up one aspect of what is true to gain another.




You may say, "Yes, it was fine to run around town when I was younger, but now those things must go. I must sacrifice to reach into new and greater things which hold promise for me." Whether or not that promise is a spiritual promise, you have to decide.



John Roger

BEars Win!!!!!!

WEll, Joe's team will not be shut out this season! Yay! They won last night. Joe had several good tackles and recovered a fumble. They've yet to score a td on offense. There is a handful of kids on this team that have never played tackle football. You can tell which ones have been exposed to it at young age. The flag football kids are finally coming around and tackling. Joe loves the guys on his team, he's having a great time and thank goodness we only have 2 games left plus the play off's. I'm anticipating a short run in the play offs. Kate went with us last night as well as Jack. It was fun having everyone there! I got a cute message last night on fb from one of Joe's friends, SC. She said, I'm going to the dance with your son. I had no idea they had a dance coming up. SEe,, already, I know nothing with having a boy!! lol. I said, that is so great, when is it? I asked Joe about it and he said, yeh, mom, everyone is starting to ask. I don't think Kate's group asked people, I do remember some boys asking girls when Jack was that age and I'm not surprised JOe's group is asking. There are a lot of kids in this class that are the babes. They've seen older siblings go to dances and get asked and they are a little worldly. They always have been. I remember Joe's first grade class, most of that class were the youngest child of at least 3 kids! Poor Mrs. Green. She was not dealing with type A over achievers. haha
she had the babies of the family. The ones who were coddled a little more by mama and given pretty much whatever they wanted. Should be interesting to watch them grow up!

We made it to church this morning. The boys weren't thrilled with going to Sunday school and church but I told Jack and Joe that if we don't take them to church then my grandchilden won't be taken to church so I'm doing it for my grandchildren! ha....

A Prayer to be of Service




Let's pray together:



Lord God of creation, again we're here, humbly waiting. Always open, praying, seeking, waiting for Your reply, looking for the next step, wanting to have that direction of service that is Yours.



In this do I find my greatest happiness and joy. In this do I find my greatest calling of the heart. In this do I willingly sacrifice the world. For in this, I gain myself, for it's not of the world.



It's of You. And it's You I seek, over and over. And one day I shall surely find you, and we shall find that that oneness has always been the Beloved.



I only pray to make myself available to You, as I know you've always been available to me. Keep the heart open and the eyes firm, and the mind steady on this that I have chosen to come into You.



Let that that would distract me be placed away for others who need to learn of that. But keep me in the heart of Your heart. And keep me in the hearts of my fellow men, that in that place where I reside with them, they find comfort, and that I am not a stumbling block for them. That they would look upon me with a joy, and with the pleasure of saying: "He's my friend." This, then, is the way the cosmic force of love and Light works.



Amen, Lord.



If you care to have that as your own, you may just silently say Amen.