Happy Birthday Grandma

Today would have been my Grandma's 82nd birthday. I have been thinking of her a lot this week and missing her as always. Around 8 years ago, I heard a song by Susie Luchsinger (Reba McEntire's sister) called "I saw Him in your eyes." This is another one of those songs that I feel like I could've written about my Grandma . . .


That rusty yellow school bus came to pick us up each day
Took my sister off to school and dropped me at your house to play
I'd see you wavin' from the porch down that ol' dusty drive
And I'd run as fast as I could to your side

You taught me how to garden and you let me help you cook
That gentle smile was always there and on your face that special look
And you told me about Jesus how he lived inside of you
You know I never doubted what you said was true

Cause I saw Him in your eyes
In your love and in your laughter it was Him I recognized
I didn't know it then but now I realize
That I saw Him in your eyes

While we cleaned up in the kitchen you'd be hummin' some old hymn
And then you'd open up your Bible and read to me about your Friend
But more than songs and stories it was what I saw in you
I watched the love of God as it came shining through

Yes I saw Him in your eyes...

Oh my prayer is that some day when my grandchildren look at me
They'll see that same reflection of Him and his perfection
The miracle in you that I could see

When I saw Him in your eyes...

Yes I saw Him in your eyes

That really is one of my greatest goals - to one day have my children and grandchildren say this very thing about me.

I love and miss you Grandma. Thank you for teaching me everything you did.

I have a question though . . . Do the angels make you birthday cakes up there? And are they completely calorie and fat free?? ;-)

The Holy Poops!

Did that title get your attention??

I have been promising for a while now to tell you a funny kid story, and I finally have a few minutes to sit down and tell you about it.

A couple of weeks ago, the kids had their spring break. We don't usually plan a big trip over spring break - but we did promise them we would do at least one FUN thing. We decided to take them to the Children's Museum. My husband and I love that place. In fact, we love it so much - we even went there on our honeymoon! Yes. We ARE a couple of big kids.

Here is a picture of us at the Children's Museum almost 7 years ago!

We love this picture, because we met during a local theatre production - we thought this picture was quite fitting.

Anyway . . . back to the funny kid story . . .

The children were VERY excited about going to the museum.

The museum is really cool because it is created FOR children, so they are ALLOWED to touch and interact with almost everything in the museum.

My favorite section when I was in school was the science & discovery section because there were a whole bunch of different cool activities to try. It has changed a lot since I was younger, but it is still pretty neat.

There was a "Health House" where kids could learn about ways to eat healthy and get exercise. There were several activities including jump ropes and the like. When we got to this section, my youngest daughter said, "Mommy! Can I try the holy poops?"

"What?!"

"I want to try the holy poops! See?!"

"OHHHHH! The HULA HOOPS!"

I thought I was going to hurt myself from laughing.

And just for more smiles on this BEAUTIFUL Spring Friday - a few more pictures of my monkeys.

Have a GREAT weekend!

More videos to share

A few months ago, I shared some videos I found online that a church was using - a spin-off of Mac vs. PC commercials. Well my church has started doing the same sort of thing, but a little bit different. Our sermon series is entitled "Life: HD" and these videos are entitled Cutting Edge vs. Old School.

I wanted to share these videos as they come out - because I believe some of you will appreciate them. :-)

The Lord's Prayer - from a 2 year old . . .

This girl was only 2 years old when she recorded this. This will definitely make you smile. Have a great Monday!

Does your cat keep you awake?

Franny Syufy from About Cats has some tips on how to save yourself from sleep deprivation caused by your cat.

Check out the article here.

I use several of her tips - but I also know some of them do NOT work with our cats. I tried shutting the door on them, they will scratch at the door for HOURS. They are nothing if not persistent. I do have a 'sound machine' and I've gotten pretty good at putting a pillow over my head at 5:00 in the morning.

However, I have had to utilize 2 things not mentioned . . . a spray water bottle kept by the bed . . . and a cat crate in the walk-in closet for the kitty that refuses to go to bed when everyone else does. :-)

What do you do to keep yourself from pet-causing sleep deprivation?

(Funny kid story IS coming soon . . . I promise . . .)

New Blog

I know I have been periodically sharing my "getting healthier" journey on this blog, but I've decided to create a separate blog that is just geared toward that.

I will keep this blog for my personal stories, thoughts, etc.

So if you like - check out my NEW ME, NEW BLOG.

And stay tuned for a funny kid story, coming to a blog near you, as soon as I upload the picture.

Happy Thursday!

Wow . . . I am really behind . . .

I need to update my blog! But unfortunately, like most days lately - I don't have time to do it right now. I just wanted to post a quick update to let everyone know I'm still alive. I have a really funny kid story to tell as soon as I get the chance to download pictures and type it out.

Have a great Tuesday!

Two more!

I'm now down a total of 12.8 pounds since March 1st. I don't feel like I'm starving and I really feel like I'm making a CHANGE in learning how to eat healthy - I am NOT dieting.

I'm really excited. I know I have a long journey ahead of me, but I'm ready!!!

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Easter Pictures

I had to upload the rest of our Easter Pictures and thought I would share some more here . . .

THE DYEING OF THE EASTER EGGS

DID THE EASTER BUNNY COME???

THE HUNT

And what did the Easter Bunny bring me???

He let me spend another day with my beautiful HunkaHubby, a true Renaissance man.

How was your Easter?

We had a very relaxing day. This is us before we went to church (AT THE EARLY SERVICE, 8:30 AM - were we NUTS?)

I came home after (rest of the family stayed for kid activities at 9:45), hid eggs, did some laundry and waited patiently for my family to get home.

We had a nice dinner, a nice LOOONG nap, and then had leftovers from lunch for dinner!

We then watched August Rush before bed. I highly recommend you check it out.

Happy Monday!

Quick update

It's been a busy week, and I hope to write more about that next week, however I wanted to post a quick blog to let everyone know I AM alive . . .

AND, that I've lost 10 pounds!!! :-)


Have a blessed Easter weekend everyone!!

Funny Monday Pictures

What did Mom put in that bottle?

Catnip - my drug of choice . . .

Just hangin' out . . .

CAUGHT YA!

Happy Monday!

My cat thinks she is a dog . . .

She is obsessed with the toilet. She will scratch at the door until you let her in.

Then she likes to watch the water go down when you flush it. And - if I don't catch her in time, she then does this. She has almost fallen in several times.

I love the way her paws are anchoring her from falling completely in.

But at least we don't have this problem . . .

If you are a musician, you must check this out . . .

Musical DNA

Thoughts???

How this generation really feels about Christians . . .

Something needs to change:

Today's young people, ages 16-29, have a more critical view of Christians than previous generations. Specifically, they think Christians are judgmental, anti-homosexual, hypocritical, too political and sheltered. And that's not just a minority viewpoint--it's an overwhelming majority who say Christians are ...

Anti-homosexual: 91%
Judgmental: 87%
Hypocritical: 85%
Old-fashioned: 78%
Too involved in politics: 75% [...read the rest here]

[Picture from http://www.ezthemes.com/previews/j/jesuscrying.jpg]

Family resemblance

Okay - I have my Grandma's senior picture and mine posted at work. Two of my colleagues saw them today and thought they were both older pictures of me. When I told them one was my Grandma and one was me - they were shocked.

What do you think?

Oh - and they say my brother and I look alike too . . .

And my cousins, well we all look alike too . . .

Yes, the force is strong with our family. :-)

Have a great Tuesday!

CAUGHT - in a time out

Here is a picture I took, around Christmastime, of my youngest having a pout fest on the stairs.

I think I'll use it as an example for her, of what other people see when she is in a bad mood.

The Cast of Characters

Up to this point, I have chosen not to post pictures of my children on this blog. Due to the circumstances of how we became a family, I wanted to ensure the safety of my kids and family.

Well, after a long conversation with Hunkahubby, and some tips from other bloggers and how they handle this sort of thing; I've finally determined that I can now include photos of my family on this blog!!! So - beware, I have a lot of catching up to do and thousands of pictures to do it with.

I will never use real names on this blog (well, except for the cats, and other people who have blogs of their own and use their own names) - and those of you who know me beyond cyberspace will know who we are anyway! If one of my readers accidentally uses someone's real name when they comment on my blog - I'll delete the comment, but I won't be mad atcha! :-)

So - for the first time on Not of this World I would like to introduce you to the cast of characters in the story of my life:

This is my husband and I, AKA Hunkahubby and IzzyBeth.

This is my brave and beautiful oldest daughter.

This is my middle child and one and only son.

This is my extremely strong-willed and ornery youngest daughter.

And even though I've talked about my cats before, I thought it was important that they were included again here in the cast of characters.

These are our oldest 2 cats, Britney and Cali.

Here we have Rufus (MY CAT) and Max (Hunkahubby's cat).

And the youngest kitty, Gracie who is also ornery and strong-willed. :-)

So there you have it . . . stay tuned for more of our adventures in FULL COLOR!

Oh the joy of Indiana Weather

So earlier this week, I had thoughts of spring.

Then, we had an ice storm.

I thought I'd add a few more pictures of that from our house.














(1st Photo by Hunkahubby, 2nd and 3rd photos by IzzyBeth, 2008)

Then, yesterday, parts of Indiana had a major snow storm. We only got about 5 inches, but my family's area got between 9 and 12! I wanted to share some pictures of what I HOPE is the last snow of the season . . . (but knowing Indiana, it will snow in July out of no where . . .)

These pictures are from cousin's house and my Dad's house (they live in the same neighborhood.) Oh - and my Dad's birthday was yesterday too. So he got a lot of snow for his present!! Happy Birthday Dad!




(1st Photo by Meechella, 2nd photo by Izzy's Daddy, 2008)

And here is a picture from our house when the snow was at its heaviest, it was quite beautiful to watch.





But now . . . I'm ready for the sunshine!!!

What's your weather like this morning??

The Glow of the Old Oil Lamp (GUEST POST)

My brother sent me a great essay he wrote about old oil lamps and he gave me permission to use it as a guest post on my blog. Enjoy!

Weather in Indiana, as any Hoosier will testify, is an unpredictable beast. In fact many Hoosiers have said that if you don’t like the weather here, wait a week! Sitting in my recently electricity deprived home, dealing with the ravages of an ice storm, I recollect previous inclement weather occasions basking in the glow of old oil lamps. Yes, oil lamps. Unlike power outages at my parents’ house which entailed hunting for candles and hopefully a flashlight that had un-corroded batteries, my grandmother used oil lamps. On the rare occasion that I might be at Grandma’s when the power was out, we went for the old oil lamps.


Grandma had one of her mother’s oil lamps as well as a couple belonging to grandpa’s family in the west room built in glass front cabinet. In this cabinet Grandma kept many treasures such as: Halloween decorations, her parents school slates, some of their old school books, an old crock with numerous odds and ends that were found about the house, cookbooks and all sorts of different items that intrigue a young boy with a curious mind. The lamps were kept on the top shelf with the chimneys waiting to be placed back on the brass burner for their next use. The top shelf wasn’t tall enough for the chimneys to be stored on the lamps, but they were always ready for use when the time would arise.

On such occasions when I helped clean the cabinet or actually got to help light the lamps during a power outage, Grandma would ask me to carefully hand her down a lamp and then the chimney. A box of Ohio Blue-tip matches kept in the kitchen cabinet would be brought to the table and she would place the lamp in the center of the kitchen table and light the lamp telling me the story of her tending the lamps as a child before her parents had electricity on the farm.

One of her daily chores at the home place was to tend to the oil lamps every morning by trimming the wicks and to keep the chimneys clean from coal oil soot that would collect from burning the lamps at night. Newspaper was often used after the chimneys were washed to rub the glass to create a spotless shine for the flame to illuminate a room. Her mother, Myrtle, was very particular about her housekeeping so everything had to be just right. After electricity came to the home place, the lamps were kept for keepsakes from a time gone by and in case of an emergency.

Times have changed and there seem to be fewer power outages. Grandma and Grandpa are both gone, along with the house where many special memories were formed. I still cling to the happiness of those times I spent in their home. Myrtle’s oil lamp holds a place of honor in my home on top of our kitchen cabinet, filled with oil, ready to light up a room just as it is doing right now.

Some of my family wonder why I have always loved oil lamps and why I display the few I have collected around my home. I don’t wonder . . . not as I sit staring at the flame that brightens the dark expanse in the parlor brought about by Indiana weather. That one lamp brings the warmest feeling to my soul and smile to my face. The excitement I still get as a 36-year-old carefully bringing that oil lamp down from the cabinet, cleaning the globe and lighting the lamp takes me back to Grandma’s house and the comforts and good times I experienced in their home.

As I began typing the last sentence, the power company prevails as power returns to our home. So, the oil lamps will be blown out and returned to their place of honor until the next use where I will once again remember my grandmother’s legacy by taking down an oil lamp.

Thank you, Grandma, for being a light in my darkness and sharing your life with us.

-Bobert, 2008

Week One Update - Down 7.2 Pounds!

I knew that losing 100 pounds would not be easy on my own. I had never been a big fan of Weight Watchers, mostly because I don't like going to those type of meetings. I know that a lot of people love them and they are a huge help, but I knew I would always find an excuse NOT to go to them. That's just me.

However, Weight Watchers now has an entirely ONLINE program, which is right up my alley. I loved taking classes online - so I decided to check it out. And as you can see by the subject of this post, IT'S WORKING!

To lose weight, you really have to get into the mindset that it is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE, not a diet. WW gives you the tools to make it a lifestyle change - and it really isn't hard. It is flexible enough that you can still live your normal life and eat well too.

My biggest wakeup call was when I typed in the food I might normally eat in a day, tallied it up, and realized it was over 3-4 times more POINTS® than I should have been eating! Wow. Now that I know what to look for, it is easier to make better choices - and still not be hungry!

AND THE BEST PART - I can still have chocolate. :-)

Indiana Spring is Stalled . . .

I knew this would happen. When I posted about Spring being on its way . . . I knew that it would snow or something very un-spring like. Well, in true Indiana fashion . . . we had an ice storm.

Some areas were hit pretty badly. It wasn't too awful where I live, but where most of my family lives was hit pretty hard. There were power outages and school closings in many places.

BUT - even though I am REALLY ready for spring, there is something really beautiful about an ice storm.

(Photo by Bobert, 2008)

Don't you agree?

Oh . . . why not. How nerdy are you?

I guess I'm not QUITE as nerdy as I first thought.

Can you believe this?

A woman was driving on I-69 and made a LEGAL U-Turn. A fast driving truck came up behind her and motioned for her to pull over. When she did, a man got out of his truck and started yelling at her, when she got out of her car to apologize, he smashed her cell phone and picked her up and THREW her into oncoming traffic!!!

THAT is a bad case of road rage. The woman is injured, but alive, thanks to some good Samaritans.

Read the full story here.

Spring is on its way!!

This morning as I walked into work, I heard not one, but several birds singing. I wanted to dance and sing myself! It is 50 degrees already today in Indiana, and although they are predicting winter weather tomorrow . . . I won't let it dampen my enjoyment of this beautiful ALMOST-spring morning.

The trees are getting buds on them, so I know that spring is not far behind. Woohoo!!!! I was done with the cold weather about a month ago.

My favorite season is autumn, because it is beautiful in the Midwest. However, spring is pretty close to being my favorite. New life always equals new beginnings for me. I love watching things turn green and flowers bloom. It reminds me of one of favorite Bible verses: 2 Corinthians 5:17.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

I'm so ready for FLOWERS. So I am going to post some pictures my HunkaHubby took last Spring. This should put us all in the spring mood!

So tell me - what is your favorite season and why?