A Beautiful Pair Of Earrings

I LOVE earrings. I don't wear a whole lot of jewelry. I'm not a bracelet girl, or a necklace girl, although I will wear both on occasion. I'm not too much of a ring girl, though I wear two/three rings all the time...my wedding rings, and a blue topaz ring my husband got for me for Valentine's Day two years ago.

But I LOVE earrings! I have a hanging jewelry bag just FULL of earrings. And I have loads and loads of earrings marked as my favorites in my Etsy shops. Here is one pair that I think is just beautiful...elegant, and very Victorian looking. These are from Amber Sky and they run $34.50:

The Difference Between Men and Women

I'm on this little journey this year, along with my husband. It's a journey to really lose weight and get healthy this year, and STAY that way! However, last Saturday didn't help! It was my sister-in-law's (Papa Bear's sister) birthday, and we celebrated by having dinner at the Outback Steakhouse, and then having cake and ice cream at my parents-in-law's house.

I did fairly well with dinner. I chose the fish. I can't remember the name of the dish, and it doesn't show it on their website, but it was tilapia with fresh lump crab meat, shrimp, crawfish, and mushrooms in a light butter-Chablis sauce, served with seasonal veggies. The veggies were yellow squash, carrots, and broccoli. Pretty healthy, right? I didn't have any appetizers, although I did snag a few french fries from Brother Bear's plate. And I did have a bite of Papa Bear's Queensland Salad.

But it was the cake and ice cream that got me. I didn't have a lot, but it was enough. I had a small piece of birthday cake, and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. Then, I saw that my brother-in-law (Papa Bear's brother) wasn't having cake and ice cream. This is what he said, "I'm just thinking of my workout today. I don't feel like ruining it.". In response to that, my husband said, "That's why I allowed myself the cake today. I planned for it.". Who thinks like that? Like, "I just worked out, so I'm not going to ruin it by eating wrong.".

Here's how I think: I walked today, so I can have that scoop of ice cream and not feel bad about it. Right? Is that how you other gals think, or is it just me? Do you justify that candy bar, because you worked out? Let's hear it!

Mama Bear

100 Things About Me

I got this idea from a blog where I have a Project Wonderful ad...Deuce's World. In Casey's own words: There's a wonderful lil' meme going around with 100 things on it. Out of the 100 things, you're supposed to mark off what you've done in your life so far. Here's mine!! The things that I've done are in red!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (but is it really more than we can afford? Really?)
7. Been to Disneyland [okay, Disney World]
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt (does a quilt square count?)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Feel free to "borrow" this and post it on your blog. But please let me know, so that I can read yours too! :-)

A Movie Review -- Fireproof

Have you seen this movie? If not, you really should. If you are married, it will really cause you to look at your marriage, especially if you are a Christian. This movie stars Kirk Cameron, and was the highest grossing independent film of 2008. One of the coolest thing about this movie, is that ALL of the actors, including Kirk Cameron, did this movie for free...without pay...as volunteers!!!

Here's what wikipedia says about the "Box Office":

Fireproof's advance sales accounted for 40% of all Fandango sales before the film opened. In the week prior to opening, Fireproof had pre-sold more than $1 million in tickets. Fireproof was released on September 26, 2008 in 839 theaters. In its first weekend, Fireproof grossed $6,836,036, putting it in fourth place at the box office. It's per-theater take was $8,148, putting it in fifth place that weekend. As of January 26, 2009, Fireproof has an estimated domestic gross of $33,415,129, more than tripling the lifetime earnings of its predecessor, Facing the Giants, and moving it into the top 5 Christian films by earnings.

In each of Fireproof's first four weeks in the box office, it gained in theater counts. It had 839 theaters in its first weekend, 852 in its second, 875 in its third, and 905 in its fourth. During this time, it lost many theaters, bringing its total down, but also added some through this time, keeping it among the top box office films. As of December 12, 2008, it has lost more than half of its theaters, at 346.

I guess that just goes to show that sex, a lack of clothing, violence, and bad language aren't what everyone is into. You can make a good movie that doesn't have all the unnecessary garbage in it.

Kirk Cameron plays Caleb Holt, who is a fire captain, who has the phrase "Never leave your partner behind." ingrained in his mind. But when it comes to his marriage, that phrase doesn't even come into play. Struggling with a temper, no desire to show gratefulness to his wife, and dealing with a pornography addiction, Caleb's marriage is in danger of bursting into flames...and not the good kind! Caleb's wife Katherine is also dealing with a lot, including helping her parents out every week because of her mom's stroke, holding a full time job, doing everything around the house, and falling for a co-worker's attentions.

Caleb's parents are new Christians, and his dad encourages Caleb to go through a 40 day "course", called the Love Dare, to get his marriage back on track. Each day is a struggle, until Caleb figures out the only way to get through it, and to repair his marriage. The cross, and Christ.

I hope that you will buy or rent this movie. It is definitely worth it! Take it to your church and ask them to do a showing of it. Invite some friends over to watch it. Show it at your home group. Discuss it. I think that you will be glad you did.

Omaha Steaks--Somewhat of a Disappointment

For Christmas, Papa Bear got this big styrofoam cooler box of MEAT from Omaha Steaks. There were gourmet hot dogs, steaks, pork chops, more steaks, sirloin burgers, and ground beef burgers. What you see above is the ground beef burger, although, for all intents and purposes, it could be the sirloin burgers too.

See the spoon? That is just a regular dinner spoon. Not a big serving spoon. See that "ring" around the burger? That's how big the burgers started out. I was thinking "Yeah! Omaha Steaks! Burgers that won't shrink because of a high amount of fat in the meat!" Wrong! This is NOT a lean ground beef burger. It is the incredible shrinking beef patty! We could fit one and a half burgers on each hamburger bun! And you can see that we had to break our American cheese slices (yep, the ones you get in those handy-dandy little plastic sleeves) into four pieces to get them to fit on the burger.

The redeeming value of these burgers is that they were tasty, and "smooth". When I say smooth, I mean that the consistency of the meat was good...not too "rocky" or chewy, or chunky. To be honest, I would rather make the burgers myself with extra lean ground beef.

Well, brother-in-law, we thank you anyways, because your gift was super generous, and it definitely filled our tummies!

Mama Bear

Tasty AND Healthy?

I've always sauteed mushrooms in butter or margarine. Always. I mean, what better way to sautee? Right? Well, now that Papa Bear and I are really working hard at getting healthy and losing weight, I have been trying to come up with new ways to do things. So, I thought, "hmmm....I wonder what would happen if I sauteed some mushrooms in beef (flavored) broth." I had the beef broth left over from making Rachael Ray's Cheeseburger Chili Mac, and we had mushrooms left over from salad, so I thought I'd put the two together. OH MY GOODNESS!!! You wouldn't believe the flavor!


Here's what I did: Put a carton (or whatever you have left over) of whole mushrooms in a small skillet, and add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup beef broth. (Ours happened to be "beef-flavored" because that's all that Papa Bear could find at Whole Foods. He saw chicken broth and vegetable broth, but not beef broth...only beef-flavored broth. Weird, huh?!) Bring to a low boil over medium heat, and let simmer.


Every now and then, give the mushrooms a stir, so that all sides get cooked evenly. Continue to simmer, and you will see the broth start getting a little thicker as it "disappears". Start stirring constantly at this point. The beef-flavored broth caramelizes on the mushrooms.


Once all the liquid is gone, take the skillet off of the heat. Let the mushrooms cool down a bit, and then ENJOY! These reminded me of some fried mushrooms we used to get at a little drive-in called the Panther Drive-In in Knob Noster, Missouri when I was a little girl. The flavor seemed to taste the same. Of course, mine didn't have the breading and frying.



Mama Bear

Recharge Your Battery!

I cannot say enough about the Sony BCG-34HRMF4 Battery Charger with LCD Display and 4 AA Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries! We go through batteries like crazy. We have a wireless keyboard (AAA batteries), a wireless mouse (AA batteries), two digital cameras (AA batteries), and more things around the house which eat up batteries.

Back in August, hubby found this battery charger on Amazon.com. We have used and used and used it! When you buy this charger, you get four AA batteries with it. The great thing about this charger is that you can charge both the AA and AAA batteries in it. You need to use the batteries that they call for, which are the rechargeable Ni-MH batteries. Amazon.com sells the AAA ones too, so don't worry that this set only has the AA.

You will be SO glad you switched. We have even told some friends and family about this recharger, and some have purchased it too. In this day and age of battery operated everything, it is a moneysaver! And who can't find that attractive?

Mama Bear