Partying with a 1 year old

Lil Red with his birthday balloon...

Mommy helping open presents...


The cake was vegan but with all that fat and sugar it wasn't too bad...


Turns out Lil Red is vegan... except for meat. The thing is he breaks out in freaky red welts on his face when he has dairy or eggs. So I made him a vegan cake using Egg Replacer and Almond Breeze. Did you know Oreos are vegan? I used Oreo crumbles too. I made a half-hearted attempt at being vegan when I was a teenager so I know some things, such as, you can eat a lot of junk food and still be vegan.

We had 4 guests all together. The carpet now has some ground in Oreo crumbles to match all the other stains. Whoever thought of cheap light beige carpeting has never met a toddler, or a clumsy 29 year old for that matter.

Rollback 365 days

I could not help myself. I am back, at least for now to say...this was me exactly 1 year ago.

I didn't know it at the time but in this picture I was pretty much exactly 24 hours away from looking at Lil Red for the first time ever. I cannot tell you how weird it is to consider the fact that he was rolled up in my stomach a mere year ago. As of today, he's walking, almost talking, eats meat and potatoes, throws his own diapers in the trash and seems like he's been here forever.

In the hospital, skin ablaze with redness and irritation. The heart is to ensure proper modesty. He's not nursing in the picture but at that time I was not concerned with being properly covered. He was the biggest baby in the mother baby unit at the time and all the nurses kept poking in to check out his hair, which was apparently the talk of the town.

A few days old, sleeping at home.

Here is a recent one :) He loves taking baths. Here he is bringing us the natural baby wash he uses. I learned that J0hnson's is no good. I have learned lots of things as I go.

LOVE YOU LITTLE HERCULES--HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

The end of the virtual road

I think I need to put the brakes on this blog. Every time I write a post I end up hating it and then deleting it. Plus, if I am good about having my priorities straight, there is no excuse for spending time blogging. I have things going on right now that could take up more than every second of my free time such as really investing in my relationship with the Lord and this family. I feel like blogging has no rightful place in my life anymore.

I don't even have time to write a proper goodbye. Maybe being committed to this blog could help me grow in some way, but I don't know what to say other than I don't have the time to find out. I'm sorry. Thanks to all of you who became my friends.

I need a new blog title

I have started reading Heaven by Randy Alcorn. Not that I have time but I sneak it in here and there. I put it on hold at the library and had to wait a month and of course my only chance to check it out is when I happen to have a project taking up all my free time, but anyway...

I am only 90 or so pages in (it's close to 500 pages) but, despite that the cover design is pretty tacky and corny, I think this is going to be one of my new favorite books. In it, Alcorn explains biblical evidence for what will eventually be a new, restored earth, not some weird psychedelic spacey experience where we all float around in spirit form not doing or knowing anything we knew on earth. I believe that what he's saying makes sense, biblically and thus I'm NOT really "only visiting this planet" because when God makes a new earth, I'll be back.

I'll have to work on my new title.

By the way, this book is great so far. I think being "heaven minded" is probably something that will only benefit us on earth. There are also parts of the book that are pretty sobering. If the path to heaven is narrow, the reality of where most people are going is deathly serious and saddening.

Job search update/ rant averted

I typed up a rant but decided to drop it. It was about scam-at-home job listings that I have been finding and how old it gets pinching pennies when you have no other option, in addition to debt hanging over your head. I will just say that it is becoming clear that real work-at-home jobs are not easy to find, especially if you (like me) are not willing to make an investment to get started.

I feel myself starting to really tense up and look at the world through conspiracy theory glasses. I don't like feeling this way. I think Lil Red and I are going to have make ourselves a frozen pizza and then go for a walk. *Praying*

Looking to make a dollar

I am in the *thinking* stage of considering my possibilities for earning some money at home. Does anyone have experience in this area or tips? I am looking for a scam-free, very part-time way to earn money at home. Bear in mind taking care of Lil Red and keeping my home in some sense of order is still leaves me wondering how I would do this. I don't know if anything will work out and it's actually going to have to wait a couple months because of something that's going on but I think it can't hurt to start thinking about it. Any ideas, reputable websites etc?

Lil Red earns his keep