Martin Luther King Jr.





Last week Brady and I laid in bed several mornings and talked about Martin Luther King, Jr.  (Definately not my choice of coversation!)   Brady wanted to tell me all kinds of stories about MLK and why we observe Martin Luther King Day.  He obviously was learning about this in school...and he takes in and remembers everything his teacher says.  On Friday, he was so excited to find this book when he was at the library with his class.  I love that he is excited about learning...I hope this continues on forever.



Enjoy your day!

Favorite Finds!

I tried this oatmeal  for lunch yesterday at McDonalds and it was AWESOME...

and I'm not even a big fan of oatmeal!  It seemed too good to be healthy...so I came home

and googled the nutrional info and it's 260 calories for a good sized container.
I will look forward to having this again sometime SOON!

These caught my eye the other day over near the deli at Walmart.

I'm a huge fan of anything "buffalo" so I had to try them.

They are amazing!  They have the perfect taste and aren't really spicy at all.

I have tried other pretzel thins before and never really enjoyed them.

But these, I need to find a special hiding spot for so I don't have

to share them with anyone!

*******************

I would love to do a link party of "Favorite Finds" sometime.  There's only

one little problem...I don't know how to have a link party!  

Maybe someone else could take this on?  We could call it Favorite Finds Friday!

 Wouldn't it be fun to see what other people are buying and enjoying?! 

 I love when other bloggers recommend things they have tried and loved.

Here are a few things I have tried recently that have come from other bloggers!

Nicolle shared her love of these bath salts with her readers.

They can be found at Walmart...a big bag for $4.00.

I tried the lavendar (sleep) salts and now I find myself wanting to take

a bath every evening!

Jen blogged about how much she likes the new Key Lime Dessert gum....

so, of course I wanted to try it!  And she was right...it does take just

like Key Lime Pie.  You can even taste the crust!  So good!

Ever since Sarah said she loves the Target brand cucumber cleaner for her

kitchen...I wanted to try it.  She has a beautiful kitchen.

She was right.  It smells great and you can't beat the price.

I'm on my 3rd bottle.  Right now I have the sea minerals...

but I too love the cucumber scent the best!

***********************

I hope you will share some of your favorite finds too!

Suggestions and recommendations from blog friends

are the BEST!  

Top 5



My Top 5 posts in 2010

according to you!

#5  Dollar Yard Sale Chair

#4   Keeping It Real



#3   A True Winner

#2   We Are A Family Of 3

And the post with the most

comments in 2010 is....

#1   Pantry Update

Thank you so much for reading my

blog and leaving such thoughtful comments.

Blogging is so much more fun for me

because of YOU!  Thanks for making

my first year of blogging such a positive

experience!

~Kerri



Ten on Ten: January

The object is to take a picture for ten consecutive

hours on the tenth of the month.

The purpose is to find the beauty

in the ordinary moments in our life.

Up at the bus stop...doesn't it look cold out there?!



Stuck behind a buggy on a hill......



Step  class....



Lunch out with a friend......





Chicken and aspargus soup and a half a chipolte turkey wrap....



 Running a few errarnds....



 I went outside and took this picture...thought it was more fun than the

laundry and online banking I was working on....



I want to throw this shelf and everything on it away...maybe not the shelf...hubby made it.
Just tired of all our "country" stuff!



Super quick dinner tonight...baked potato with chipolte salsa and

baked cauliflower (made with evoo and cayenne pepper).

We like it HOT! :)



Brady's first basketball practice....



So, there you have it.  Once again, I was debating about whether or not to participate

in ten on ten today because my day wasn't going to be very exciting.  But as I look

back over my pictures, I realize it was a good day.  I was able to get my son off

to school (I'm so thankful for that) and I got a great workout in, had lunch with

a friend and got a few things done at home.  Particpating in ten on ten

really does help you find the beauty in the everyday moments.

Ten on Ten

A Game and A Treat



I'm not feeling very creative lately.

And, I don't really have anything to blog about either.

Maybe we can just chit chat for a little bit?  If you're not too busy.

I think I've just been lonely this week with my two favorite guys gone all day.

I kind of wish I had that week after Christmas back where we were just hanging out together.

I am happy that it's Friday!

We did get a little snow during the night...

and so the schools had a two hour delay today.   Yay!

We played this game with our extra time this morning.

One of Brady's Christmas gifts.  We found it at Toys R' Us for 4.99.

We have played and played and played it!

Eric and I have also played a game or two when Brady was in bed!

It really helps with addition too...but you don't have to tell the kids!

The other night Brady was in his room for quite awhile...and when he came out,
he wanted to show us a little gift he had put together for a boy in his class.
The boy's birthday was the next day...and he wanted to give him something.
Well, when I picked Brady up from school the next day...he was very sad.
Nick, the birthday boy did not say thank-you to Brady for the gift.
In fact, Brady said Nick didn't say anything when he gave him the card and bag
of goodies.  He put it in his backpack that morning and never said a word about it.
Birthday's aren't really celebrated at his school.
So, maybe Nick was embarrassed or something. 
I didn't know what to say to Brady other than, "maybe Nick's parents didn't teach him any
manners."  I know, I said that. 




I never got a chance to post about these yummy parfaits I made
for a Christmas get together.  Take away the candy canes
and you have a fun winter treat.

I added little marshmallows to the chocolate cake and lots of marshmallow
fluff to a can of frosting to make the topping super thick.  Sprinkle with cocoa.
The best part was the little tiny spoons I found at a supply store!  Twenty-five
spoons for .52 cents!

I Hope everyone has a great weekend!

My Soda Update {Finally}

via

So many of you have asked how I am doing with giving up my Diet Mt. Dew.  I'm really sorry I haven't given you an update sooner.  I was curious to see how long it had actually been since I did that post.  September 15th.  Wow...I didn't realize it had been that long! 

I was waiting to update everyone when I had something positive to share.  And, the truth is, it got worse before it got better.   After I told everyone about my large daily intake of soda....I cut it down to 2 DMD's (that's what we call it) a day.  That lasted about three weeks.  And then, I was right back up to 6, 7, 8 a day.  I was really mad at myself...especially since I said I was going to do better for my family.  I will do anything for my family...or so I thought.


I was crying  talking to my husband and telling him that I am hungry ALL day long.  It's true.  I snack all day and then feel like I haven't eaten a thing.  We were having this discussion about 10:15 at night and there I sat with a big old glass of soda in my hand.  My husband said very kindly (he never wants to hurt my feelings...I love him!) that maybe all that caffeine and sweetner is making my hungry.  I think I already knew this....but hearing him say it, I realized that soda had some crazy hold of me.  That soda I was drinking that night would be my last one. 

I am now finally ready to update all of you!  I'm so happy to say that today is 20 days since my last soda.  I have learned, that I don't have the ability to limit my soda to one or two a day.  That doesn't work for me...I have proven that to myself over and over.  Plus, if I have anything other than water in the house, I will definately choose that, instead of water!  I treat myself when we are out to dinner to one ice tea.  We no longer have soda in the house, which is a good thing for all of us.



The good news is that I feel better.  I am not hungry all the time anymore.  I don't wake up in the morning all bloated from the previous days soda consumption.  I have more energy.  I actually feel like I can do anything now.  And the best part, my family is really proud of me. 


I just want to thank all of YOU for your kind comments and emails....and patience too!
You guys are the BEST!  I appreciate all of you.
I hope I never have to blog about Diet Moutain Dew again!

Our Month Without Tennis...and Happy New Year!





I had one wish for my family in December.  No tennis.  Please.  No Saturday morning clinics, no Sunday matches, and no lessons.   I didn't think this was asking too much.  Our calendar was full in December of other fun things to do and frankly, I just needed a break from it.  Brady cried at first and asked very sarcasticly if I thought Roger Federer ever took a month off from tennis ?  but eventually got on board with  my wish.   Suprisingly, he did really well with his month long break.  We made it all the way to New Year's Eve!

These are my guys on New Year's Eve:

Clearing the snow off the tennis court in town!









New Year's Day was suppossed to be in the 40's...so we figured if we cleared off the

 snow on Friday, that maybe on Saturday the courts might be dry enough for us to play on. 





After we cleared the snow, we hit back and forth for a bit...but wet tennis balls just don't work!

On New Year's Day we drove back to the courts and.......

the courts were wet.





Except for the court we had shoveled!!!

We were able to play for a couple of hours.

I guess our month without tennis is officially over!



Happy New Year everyone!
2011 is going to be a good one!