Do you beleive in magic?

     I am a woman of little words. Which is funny, being that I have a blog and everything. I am very opinionated and tend to keep my opinions to myself, because well, you know what they say about opinions,ahem. Everyone has one. It takes alot to get me upset. It really does. Currently there are two words that are getting under my skin. Those two words are Magic Mike. This movie has me all hot bothered and not in the way you would expect. What I am apalled by are the amount of married CHRISTIAN women who are flocking to the theatres to see it. I am going to address my frustration through several points of view;that of a fan, of a Christian, and that of a Christian wife and mother. I realize I may lose some facebook friends over this,but I cannot keep quiet any longer.
        For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about,let me fill you in.Set in the world of male strippers, Magic Mike is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Channing Tatum in a story inspired by his real life. The film follows Mike (Tatum) as he takes a young dancer called The Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money. It is soft porn or as I have heard some describe "mommy porn".Its disgusting.
         Channing Tatum. The very mention of his name makes women old and young alike swoon. I will admit, while I definately think he is a genetic gift to the world(after all everything God creates is beautiful), he is just a human being like the rest of us, and really isnt all that special. At least not to me. That being said I am a fan of his acting. I am also a fan of Matthew McConaughey, who co-stars in the movie. Or at least I was. He is one of my favorite actors.Speaking from a fan standpoint,Channing and  Matthew, what you did in this movie is nothing short of prostitution. Prostitution can be defined as to offer (a person, esp oneself, or a person's talent) for unworthy purposes. You guys are nothing but a bunch of glorified prostitutes in my eyes,offering your talents and your bodies in exchange for the almighty dollar. Because of you, women everywhere are cheating on their spouses(more on that in a second). It makes me soo sad.
   Its movies like this that lead women to have unrealistic expectations that will never be met. In the bible it says "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" . This scripture not only applies to men, but women as well. If you look at a man lustfully you have already committed adultery. You wouldnt be ok with your guy watching "Magic Marissa", and if you say you are, then you'd be lying.
    Id like to note, that before i end this that I wrote this over a month and a half ago....lol. But Im still pretty furious.......

Supermarket Diet

                                                             
   Ok, so this summer I have decided to try a different diet every week. You know , just for fun. =) I realize this is not healthy, but wanted to do it to get an idea of what is out there,so I could review it.  I will use a rating system and also report my success(or lack of)This week I am doing the supermarket diet. Basically, you eat a sensible breakfast(the plan recommends a cereal bar or bowl of cereal), then a 300 calorie or under frozen dinner for lunch, a 500 calorie or under dinner for supper, then a sensible snack in between meals, such as a yogurt or a pudding cup. The whole idea of this diet is portion control. Your portions are controlled for you, there is no going back to get seconds. It is also very convenient, and perfect for an individual who is constantly on the go , and who doesnt have time to plan meals, etc.  I have been on it almost a week, and have lost 7 pounds. This is with no exercise. I highly recommend exercise with any diet to increase health benefits and weight loss. Unfortunately, I haven't been taking my own advice . The following are my ratings for this particular diet:


Cost: **
this plan is very expensive,as is to be expected with already prepared meals
Convenience:*****
Health factor:***
you have to really watch the sodium content.If you are concerned about healthfulness, stick with Healthy Choice or Lean Cusine
Taste:*****
Hunger :*
my tummy was constantly growling with this diet.Dislike! Then again, this is to be expected when you are not used to a certain caloric intake. It just about drove me crazy. Nothing like being kept awake at night from a growling tummy =(
Results:****
I am overall pretty happy with the results. I would do this diet again. Its probably the same equivalent to  lets say Nutrisystem, except the options are greater.

If you do decide to try this diet, please try the dinner I have pictured above. It is amazinG!!!!!

20 out of 30 stars.
If you would like more information,check out the Good Housekeeping website.

Coming Soon   Morning Banana Diet Review

January in Review

        Nothing like a January Review in May.......lol


 Whew! What a month is has been! Where do i start? Hmm, lets see, how about Christmas? It was pretty good, I guess. I am glad its over. I have decided already that next year we are eiether not giving gifts or doing just homemade ones. I have a ton of fabric I need to do something with.....lol. I really get joy out of making things and plus they mean more. Which leads me to my first topic. This year I am thinking about making some stuff and doing some vending. Im going to get my etsy store back up and running. I am leaning towards making things out of/everyday repurposed items. I am really excited about it and working on a plan as we speak.
      Of course january is always the month to get focused on being healthy,etc.  Well, I have done just that and am off to a good start.  I decided to try going vegan for the entire month. No dairy, no sugar, no meat. I recommend everyone to try it for at least 30 days, and i promise you that you will feel better. Now, while I am not going to stay a vegan, I am going to incorporate alot more of it into my lifestyle.  I lost 17 pounds this month and would like to keep the momentum going. I would like to be 60 pounds down by my birthday, which is in May, so we will see.  I have officially subscribed to almost every health magazine there is.......lol. I am even considering going to school for holistic medicine,herbology,etc. I am still praying about that one..........but it is relatively inexpensive to get a certificate, so we shall see..........
     Speaking of school, I am now in my second semester, and it hasnt kicked my booty too much thus far. I am taking all of these classes that end in ogy, including psychology which is an area i am considering majoring in. I barely have time to do anything else, which is frustrating,hence the long pause in between blog posts. I mean no one really reads this thing anyway........lol.
     I recently got back into couponing after a long pause. Hubby hasnt worked in two months so we had no income.  I am soo thankful I had a small stockpile to lean on during that time. Looking at my records, i saved us a grand total of 3,000 dollars last year! Considering I am a beginner and I just barely got started in May, I thought that was pretty good. My goal is to save at least 10,000 this year.....
  So, thats all thats been going on in my world...........To the 2 of you who read this, thanks for stopping by =)

An Epic Fail Day

From a previous post.......

        Wow, can't beleive it is almost April already. The past few months have been a blur, filled with studying(studying =student dying.....lol) , church activities, etc. I think I may be starting to adjust to this thing called college life somewhat. This semester has been quite the challenge,I am pretty much taking all science and math related stuff which is not my strong suit. Yuck.
    This blog is an outlet for me, and no one really reads it anyway, so I can say what i feel.  At times I feel like a complete failure, I am going to be completely honest.  Its as if everything I have ever done or attempted to do, or am doing now is just going completely wrong. I have failed miserably at being a mom sometimes. At being a wife. At serving God.At serving others. At striving towards my own personal goals. Life has never come easy for me. It has its moments. There are those things I do in life and I do well, but I tend not to focus on those soo much  and just question everything around me. I just wish for once that I could see some fruit bearing in my own personal life, in myself and in my loved ones. Its there spiritually, but I soo badly want to see it in the physical and emotional sense. You know, some evidence............

Just what Im dealing with right now.Having one of those epic fail kindve days. But Our God is greater, our God is stronger.......

From the Heart

I hate December. There, I said it. No really, I do. I hate the commercialism of it. I hate the hype.......this year its just too much for me to deal with. Too many people have forgotten what it is truly about.........too many people get depressed this time of year because they think its about giving and receiving gifts. I used to be one of those people. Then I realized, hey instead of focusing on what I dont have and what I cant give, why dont I focus on the things I do have. What resources do I have in my hand? Well, for me personally I am a crafty person. God has blessed me with the gift of creativity. I have alot of fabric, a ton of two by fours in the back yard that I am sure could make some beautiful things. Not a crafty person? What about the gift of your time? People these days would rather buy someone something than actually do something for them. They "buy their time".  Time is more valuable than money. If your hands work,then why not use them? Help them clean their house or their car. Walk their dog?  I guess the point I am trying to make here, is its not the gift itself, but the condition of the heart that is behind it. The best gifts are the ones that can be given, not the ones in which you can receive. A wise man named Dr Suess once said Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more."

May you be blessed this Christmas season and focus on your ability rather than your inability.


 

Back to the Basics

  Ok, its time to come clean.  I have a serious addiction. Or at least I did. Its name is Swapbot . Its basically a really fun trading site where you can trade all kinds of wonderful items from people all over the world. I have made some really awesome stuff, i have received some equally amazing items. people have sent me treasures from all over in exchange for whatever.Here are a few pics of things i have recently made:


A few altered bottles I made recently



Christmas journal made for tonie2weeks


These are just a few of the hundreds.

 I have been participating on this site for almost three years now, and do an average of 10-20 swaps a month. Like I said, its a great site. But here is my problem. Ask me how many things I have made for my family or friends in the past three years. The answer is nada. So the conclusion I have recently come to is why am i making all of these things for people I dont even know, when I could be making them for people I know will love and appreciate them?  So, Rachel is taking a break from the swap world. It has sucked up too much of my time for too long. Dont get me wrong, I am still going to do them, just in moderation. and when i do I will post pics here.        My other vice has been facebook, but with all of the recent changes it is just too exhausting to mess with, so I am going to not be on there as much eiether. I really want to devote more attention to this blog, and post about things that are important to me, what I have been making,etc. Its a good hobby, plus its free. Thats my story for now, and dog gone it, I am sticking to it..............

Homeschool Times 5.3

                    4 weeks into homeschool and six weeks into college. Id say things are going pretty well.........I am loving the four day sonlight program,and although not attending co=op at first was sad i think it has been a blessing because we have used the extra day as a catch up day.im debating on wether we should go back next semester.  I have an awesome geography class idea based on the eastern Hemisphere explorer we are doing. I will have top ray about it though. Oddly enough, things have been much more easygoing with no co-op on Mondays now. I realy dont think she even misses  it.
          I am pulling all As/Bs  in my classes.  Its funny how back as a young adult fresh out of high school how much I took education forgranted.  I am soo greatful for the opportunity now, only wish i would have started a couple of years ago.......I have a new appreciation for learning now,that I didnt have back then. I dont enjoy the late night studying, and it is most definately harder to do when you have a kiddo and a family  but if I can do it anyone can
     So, homeschool is going pretty well, we have already worked out way through 4 books.  I am using a points system for geography and her history reading. Basically she has to do certain assigments and they are worth a ceratin amount of points, and she has to accumulate a ceratin amount of points by the end of the year. Larger projects will earn her more points, while things like book reports will be worth a smaller amount.........
    We are coming to an end in out Apologia anatomy curriculum, and I am trying to decide where to go next. I am thinking of reverting back to lapbooks, which we havent really done since 2nd grade. We will see.
   So, that is whats going on in our school world in a nutshell..........