i've got bags

CORRECTION - Yesterday I said the giveaway would end "tomorrow" at midnight and the winner announced on Wednesday.  Well, I realized that "tomorrow" and Wednesday are the same day!  Haha.  The giveaway will end TONIGHT at midnight and I will announce the winner TOMORROW (Thursday).  Sorry if there was any confusion.  Tell your friends all about this giveaway - I mean, who doesn't want to win vegetables!?

Anyway, on to my "regularly scheduled" randomness. 

I am joining a little blog party called 40 Bags in 40 Days! 

Organizing has been on my mind lately - especially since a friend got a new organizing book that basically explained to us that we are NOT normal people at all.  It pretty much diagnosed us both with ADD.  How we get our houses clean is beyond us - it must be providential.

An example the book gives is:  when someone makes a sandwich the "normal" person puts away the various components to the sandwich before sitting down to eat.  "Messies", as she calls us, don't clean up - we put it off until we finish eating or until we absolutely have to clean. 

Because of my unofficial ADD diagnosis, I am seeking accountability and structure in order to get my home/family organized.  The saddest part is that I will probably fill 40+ bags and we only live in 1000 sq feet!

If you click on the link (or even the picture), it'll take you to the White House, Black Shutters blog where you can print off the Game Plan & Reward sheet.  I've got my sheet all printed and ready for my list. 

Here's what I've got so far:

1.  Paper/Filing Cabinet (1)
2.  Kitchen/Pantry (1)
3.  Laundry Room (2)
4.  Master Bedroom Closet (3)
5.  Ethan's Room/Closet (2)
6.  Bathrooms (1)
7.  Movies/Books (1)
8.  Garage (10) - kind of a shocking number, huh?
9.  Decor/Knickknacks (1)
10.  Craft Stuff (1)
11.  Van (1) 

Total so far:  24

Maybe I won't get to 40 after all.  We'll see!

The Jolly Green Giant Saved Breakfast - GIVEAWAY!

Getting my 7 year old to eat breakfast is like pulling teeth.

It's crazy.

He'll eat biscuits and gravy but I am not about to cook that for him before school every day.

Well, in a moment of breakfast desperation I broke down and gave him one of these microwaveable Green Giant Broccoli with Cheese Sauce that I got in the mail from Green Giant (through BlogSpark) to sample and tell you all about.

He LOVED it!

I don't care that this isn't a "traditional" breakfast item.

The way I see it, it's healthier than any pop tart or pile of pancakes could ever dream of being.

Seriously, I couldn't give a more positive review than this:

If my very picky 7 year old son will scarf this stuff and ask for more,

it's gotta be good!!

Good news - you guys get to sample it for yourselves!!!

Green Giant is giving away this awesome prize pack through BlogSpark!

In addition to a voucher for a FREE box of Green Giant Broccoli and Cheese Sauce you'll get an awesome bowl, serving spoon, huge insulated grocery bag and a pedometer!!!!

To Enter - Please go to my NEW BLOG and leave a comment telling me how you to prepare Green Giant vegetables!!!

Not Good!!

As you all have noticed, from time to time I like to post about goings on that could have a negative influence on youth. Here's another one of them.

(Full Disclosure - she does say the "h-word" many times. I cannot think of another curse word but the overall context of the song is bad. Also, it'll get stuck in your head - just imagine this song running through a teenage girl's hormonal brain. Sheesh.)

Check out the rest of this post over at The Amanda Jo!

I'm Moving!!!

Just in case you haven't heard -

I'm moving!!!

Come & Follow -  The Amanda Jo

'Fess Up Friday!

My new friend, Kira,  over at Kissing the Joy as it Flies hosts this fun little party every Friday.  I've enjoyed getting to know her through the things she's confessed to.  Check her out, she's hilarious!!!

This is my first 'Fess Up!  Here it goes...

1.  I cannot figure out the true words to the song "It's raining. It's pouring.  The old man is snoring."  This is where I get confused:  is it "He hit his bed when he went to bed." or is it "He hit his head and he WET the bed." followed by "and couldn't get up in the morning."  I firmly believe that man hit his head and WET the bed.  

2.  I'm super excited about this new blog I've got goin' on, I'm not 100% sold on my header/buttons.  Still looking for the right fit.  When your blog is a random as mine, there's just no clear cut direction.

3.  I've suddenly developed a love for doilies.  Will someone please explain this?

4.  My greatest fear when getting read to speak in front of mass amounts of people is suddenly turning into Michael Scott.  This weekend, I may or may not have prayed that the Lord would keep that from happening while I was on the panel and that He would abolish any and all "That's what she said..." references in my mind.   Case in point:

5.  I bite my nails. 

6.  I totally geeked out when I found out that my son's baseball team changed from The A's to The Rangers.  Having loved the Rangers since I moved to Texas in 1997, this is kind of a big deal.

a radical home

Guys, I'm living under conviction here.

Seriously.

The Lord has grabbed my heart and has motivated me to get things right.

My first priority is Him (of course) and He has called me to manage my home for His glory.

This includes helping, loving, teaching and cleaning.

I have been doing things things.

Kinda.

As a working mom (full time, I might add) I find it very difficult to manage my time in a way that helps my family and brings Him glory.

I desperately want my home to be a place of refuge.

A place for my family to recharge.

I want it to be radically different from the world beyond the front door.

Radically.

I'm talkin' - I want Ethan's friends to come over to our house and be ministered to even if they don't know it.

I want my house to make a difference for His Kingdom for HIS glory, not our own.

IMPORTANT CHANGE COMING
I am getting ready to make a big change.
I'm going to start blogging at a different address.

I know this is basically blog suicide but I feel it's time.
I don't even know what A Special Blend means anymore.
I don't even drink the coffee it's named after.

Once I get the new blog up and running I will shut this puppy down.
Until then, I'll post the same posts on both blogs.

Check it out and follow me at
The Amanda Jo
(catchy, no?)

stage fright, bad hair & beaver nuggets (part 3: The Ride Home)

Is that title long enough for ya?  Haha.

So, the story left off with the end of the forum at the women's conference.

After that we head off to supper with some of our new friends

(shout out to Mary Jo at Confident Christianity!)

and then on home - about an hour later than we had planned.

It was totally worth it though.

Sadly, the migraine was unrelenting and we ultimately had to stop off at Buc-ee's (oh, darn!) so that Kate could drive for me, get gas and stock up on beaver nuggets.

After we filled up and got back on the road, a very nice driver at the stop light in front of us got out of her car and walked over to the van to let us know that our headlights weren't on.

We pulled over into Buc-ee's again (oh, darn!) and took a look at them.

Sure enough, they weren't on.

We fiddled with them and finally got them to come back on, so we hit the road again.

No sooner were we out on the open road, in the dark, did they go off again.

This time they wouldn't come back on for another 100 or so miles.

Poor Kate had to drive her very annoying, migrainey friend (me) home in a car she barely knew while manually keeping the brights on by holding the lever, they wouldn't stay on otherwise.

All of this left us determined to search the Bible to find out the various ways that Satan and spiritual warfare manifest, we were certain that we were under attack.

It was just too weird.

Anyway, we made it home and have fun memories to treasure forever.

The End.

{FYI - i don't think spell check is working on this thing so if I spelled stuff wrong - it's Blogger's fault.}

stage fright, bad hair & beaver nuggets (part 2)

I really wish I had a picture to prove this but my hair has never been so grody!

Grody is my rehash from 1990, like it?

Despite washing and conditioning and slathering on every hair product meant to keep curls in tact and keep frizz under control - my hair was EVERYWHERE.  It curled in all the wrong places and was about 4 times it's normal size. 

The humidity in the Houston area is horrendous!

Anyway, my grody hair and I were so nervous about going up on stage in front of 400 women.

I was invited to be on a panel for the SBTC Women's Leadership Forum.

The purpose of the panel was to discuss women in their 20's

and our view of church, ministry and mentorship.

It was very insightful and I am so excited that I was able to be a part of it.

I've never spoken in front of a group larger than maybe 60 before so this was a whole new ballgame for me. Thankfully, I was one of 8 women on the stage and wasn't required to speak for any great length of time.

I'd say that my stage fright lifted just after the my introduction (which I did myself) and the first question that was asked.  The Lord was so gracious to have allowed me to develop a very fast and very strong bond with the women who sat alongside me - April and Kathryn.

They are beautiful and gifted women of the Lord.

One thing I did not expect AT ALL was any kind of reaction after the panel was finished.

Because of a horrible migraine (to the point that Kate had to drive us home, more on that later though) and loud worship music, I had to leave the sanctuary right after we finished.

Once I got into the lobby of the church, I turned around to discover that I had been followed out of the service by sweet woman who just wanted to love on and encourage me!

That was just the beginning - I couldn't take 5 steps without being stopped and hugged.

I have to say, God knew just what I needed.

Stay tuned for the final chapter of this saga - The Drive Home (sf, bh & bn part 3)

stage fright, bad hair & beaver nuggets (part 1)

So this weekend Kate and I headed to Porter, TX for a women's ministry leadership forum.

Porter is 4 and a half hours away so we had a great time of goofing around and shooting the breeze.

Half way there, we saw this place:

I don't know much about Buc-ee's outside of the fact that it's a famous establishment among college students and folks who travel I-45 frequently.  It's so incredibly popular that even 120 miles away they start advertising for their bathrooms and beaver nuggets.

My favorite sign (which we couldn't get a pic of) said:
"Best Bathrooms In the World - 120 Miles Away - You can hold it."

Once we got to Buc-ee's we could see that this was not just some rinky dink gas station with a dedicated following - they had EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN with their logo on it...

These, my dear friends, are beaver nuggets.

As you can see from the look on Kate's face, we were a bit frightened of whatever this stuff was. 

Well let me tell you what we learned...

Beaver Nuggets are a small slice of Heaven God has blessed us with here on earth.

They are delicious morsels of caramelish magic coating what could best be described as a glorious variation of puffed corn cereal.  They reminded us of caramel popcorn without the awful kernels to deal with. 

So this is my ode to the road trip and beaver nuggets.

Go to Buc-ee's and get them.

Get the beef jerky too - they aren't lying when they say they have the best in the world.  It's totally true and delicious. 

That's actually what we had for lunch on the way to Porter - beaver nuggets and beef jerky.

it's time...

...to bust out the Corn Nuts!!

I'm goin' on a ROAD TRIP!!!!

That's right!

Kate and I are going to a women's ministry leadership forum 4 hours away.

It's going to be AWESOME.

Except for the part where I'm on the panel for the conference.

I keep trying to remind myself that

#1 - it's not all about me

#2 - there are 6 other women on the panel with me

#3 - it's only for an hour

#4 - God will give me everything I need to survive do well

See you guys on Monday!!!

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEKEND!

(pray for me on Saturday, I'm about to die from nervousness - for real.)