Reilly Details

Here's the deal: I love these people, the concert they are performing is for a good cause, and because everyone should rock out once in a while...

Where: Laurel Church Ministries, 7525 Taft St., Merrillville, IN 46410

When: Tuesday, July 1st, 7:00pm

Why: Fundraiser for Missions Trip to Tijuana, Mexico (the youth will be building homes for the homeless)

What: Prose the Antidote (a local rap artist, and close personal friend of mine) will be opening for the band Reilly, as will our youth worship team.  You can check out Reilly's sound here, and read about all the cool happenings in their lives here.  After the concert, there will be fireworks, and who doesn't love fireworks?  Ooh...Ahh! 

It'll be good stuff, people, so help me out here and get the word out to everyone and anyone who would like to come to this event.  Do I sound like I'm begging?  Maybe because I've put so much of myself into this thing, and I want to see it be a success on so many levels.  At the same time, I just said to my husband tonight, that I've done all I know to do, and the rest is up to God.  I've planted, others have watered, but God is the one that will make it grow and increase for Himself, and His kingdom.  My prayer is that He would get the glory through this whole event and the mission trip. 

Exciting News!

Click to see the full-size image

If you regularly check this blog, be you a lurker or a commenter, you know that my oldest daughter is going on a mission trip to Mexico this summer with the youth group from our church.  In order to raise the $1,000 per person to go, and not have all of it come from the parents, we have to do the most dreaded of things: fund raisers.  I hate fund raisers, but have learned they are a necessary evil.  So far we've tried to sell water and candy at Phil's soft ball games when the concession stand is closed (did not go well), and we've made more than expected selling my world famous caramel corn. 

As a group, the youth have done the dinner theater a couple of weeks ago and have helped with some luncheons after church.  The next big event, the biggest deal to me, is this Tuesday night, July 1st.  Let me introduce you to the band Reilly.  I love this band!  Not just for their rockin' sound, not just for their beautiful lyrics, but because I know most of the members of this band. 

Three years ago, my bestest friend Barb got married to a great guy named Raymond.  His roommate before they got married was John Reilly, the lead singer of this band.  I got to be in her wedding, and in the process meet these wonderful people who are part of her church family.  Come to find out the bass player lived a block away from me all the years I was growing up.  Did I mention all these friends live in Pennsylvania?  And then, through a series of unfortunate events, my briefcase and the violin/guitar player (Dan Huie's) laptop case got mixed up at the reception, and we played phone tag for 24 hours trying to work things out.  Everything worked out, and every time I went to visit my family in Philly, we would go to their church.  

Not long ago, Dan contacted me wondering if I could find a venue for them to play on their way to the Cornerstone Festival in Illinois.  Hmm?  The wheels started turning, and after many things amazingly falling into place, Reilly will be rolling into town next Tuesday to play a fundraiser concert, complete with fireworks and everything!  I can't wait to see them, and even though Barb couldn't make the trip, it's like a little piece of her is coming. 

If you live in the Chicagoland area and would like to rock out with us, send me an e-mail, and I can get you more info.  If nothing else, please pray that we have a good turn-out, and that Reilly will go far in the Midwest despite my pathetic efforts at promoting them.  Have you ever had something that you want to see happen so badly, but it really doesn't make sense and other people don't seem to share your enthusiasm?  That's how I feel about the band Reilly!  I just have this desire to see them get their "big break", and make it big in the music industry, which I've found out is a tough, tough place.  And that my friends is my shameless plug...because it's my blog, and I can!

Cheap Thrills

I have been accused of not being much fun.  And honestly, those accusations are pretty much spot on.  My kids have said that other moms are fun and do stuff with their kids all summer.  So, in an effort to assuage my un-fun mommy guilt, I have been trying to get out of the house more.  Tuesday we went to a library program, and today we went to a discovery program put on by a local parks department. 

It's hard to be a fun mom when all the things the kids want to do cost so much money.  Today's program was only $1/child for the hour long program.  Not a bad deal.  My kids didn't seem too thrilled, but I thought it was neat!  We learned about vintage baseball.  There are actual teams that throughout the summer play "gentlemen's baseball", following the rules of the game as it was played in the 1800's.  The names of the positions are what is most different.  For instance, the pitcher was called the "hurler", the batter the "striker", and the catcher the "behind."  If you got 3 "whiffs" (strikes in today's vernacular) you were "dead" (or out.)  It was fun. 

They actually got to play a ball game.  The spectators had a role too.  Instead of hurrah, we yelled "hazzah", and instead of cheering for the "striker" to run, we yelled "leg it".  When a "striker" made it around all three bases and back to home plate, it wasn't called a run, it was called an "ace".  And the fun part about that was if you made an "ace" you got to ring the bell.  Alisha's friend, Kayla (in the red), has been staying with us this week, and was chosen to be the "hurler". 

After the game was over we walked around the beautiful grounds, and toured the old mill where they used to grind corn. 

It was muggy and warm, and I forgot the bug spray.  All in all, I think it was a good day though. 

Wordless Wednesday: We love the library!

Alisha (in the stripes) took turns reading  to Kaya the dog for an hour at a Power Paws for Reading program.

Cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning

I always think that other people who work and manage a home must know some secret I'm not in on.  During the school year there are so many things that I let slide, and then come summer, it's twice the work.  I haven't really organized and gone through stuff in months, and boy has it piled up!  I have bags and bags of clothes that the girls don't fit into, or want.  Part of me knows I should write it all down and give it to Good Will for a tax write-off.  But the other part just wants this stuff out of my house...now!  And yet, another part of me thinks I should go through them and bag them by sizes and freecycle them so someone who needs them is blessed.  Argh!   Too much thinking. 

Now I'm working with a time limit.  In one week we are going to have guests staying in our house.  I really need to get busy.  I spent all day yesterday working with Alisha and Rebekah in their room which is fondly called "the pit."   It's looking better, but we have a long way to go.  Tomorrow I hope to blog about my guests that are coming next week!  I am so excited! 

Miracle

It is very difficult to blog with two children staring over your shoulder!  Now they're laughing.  Still staring though. 

I don't know how you define miracle, but I usually explain it to my students as "something only God can do."  This morning we experienced a miracle here in our house.  We woke up.  Yeah, seems pretty trivial, but in reality your next heart beat, next breath, is only possible because of God.  The reason this was such a miracle is that I accidentally left the stove burner on overnight!  For over 12 hours, gas was pouring into our home.  All the windows were shut because the air conditioning was on.  I even got up in the middle of the night, and wondered what the horrible smell was.  And went back to sleep.  Again this morning, before I left for pilates, I wondered at the smell.  I thought is was some over ripe fruit, and threw that out.  It wasn't until I came home after class that I found the burner turned on to low, with no flame burning.  Thank you, God, is all I have to say!   This morning was a huge deal for me.  It made me remember how much God love us, how He is always watching over us, and that He still has a plan and purpose for my being here.  All things that I have been struggling with lately.  I will not take this day, this moment for granted.

Before & After

Why I don't cut my own hair!!

His face pretty much sums up how he feels about this.

All Alone

I can't say it's quiet, because the dishwasher is going, and the radio is on, but I am the only one here.  No one is asking me to make lemonade, find their favorite shorts (hopefully in the clean clothes), or to make decisions about when we can go to the mall.  That's the kind of break I need now.  During the school year, I have a few hours to myself before the girls and Phil get home.  Now that summer is here, we are together all the time.  That's a good thing, but I needed a break.

Today we took the girls to see KungFu Panda.  It was cute.  Dinner was popcorn, because they went to church right after we got home.  (Shhh!  I'm skipping tonight.)  Thus, I have the house to myself and I can relax a little, and maybe even find some chocolate in the house:-)   I just had celery and peanut butter for dinner.  Hey, it's the vegetable and protein to go with the popcorn!  I have been trying hard to eat healthier.  I even bought a cookbook! 

Yes, me the hater of cooking spent hard earned cash on a cookbook.  Now you're wondering what book could be so grand as to make me buy a book all about cooking.  Well, it's one of my new obsessions.  Hungry Girl is the name, and chewing is the game...and this sentence is very lame!  Ha!  I really need to go get some sleep.  Anyway, the website is here.  Basically, it gives tips and ideas on how to substitute things in recipes to make them healthier and lower in fat and calories.  But, it's all normal stuff!  You don't have to search health food stores for crazy ingredients.   The recipes are good stuff, like how to make a Frozen Fudge Chip Freeze with only 4.5 grams of fat, instead of getting a Starbucks Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino Blended Creme with 14 grams!  So, go check it out.  I'm going to go read my cookbook, and sip on a Super-Duper Cocoa-rific Coffee Malt. 

Sunshine, Coffee, and Tball

The weather has been absolutely beautiful here the past few days!  Very unusual for this area, so I have taken full advantage of it and spent a lot of time outdoors.  Problem is I burn.  I might be a little tan by the end of summer, but I have never been one to get a really nice summer glow.  It's usually  a cycle of burn, peel, burn, peel, burn, peel for me.  I thought I was doing good by putting sunscreen on my face, shoulders, and back.  However, my pasty, white legs desperately needed to get some sun, and so I put nothing on them.  Big mistake! 

A friend offered to help me move some more of Mt. Mongold (the dirt pile in the yard), and so I took her up on it.  But after an hour of step class, and three hours of digging and moving the dirt around leveling the yard I was so done.  I couldn't lift the shovel anymore and my back, shoulders, and part of my legs were fried.  Yes, only part of my legs.  Why is it that I can't even burn evenly?!  The only part of my legs that got any color, and lobster red at that, is the backs of my knees.  Not a very comfortable thing let me tell you.  Cross your legs when you sit?  Nope.  You can bend them for a while, but the heat gets to be too much, so then you stretch them out which pulls on the skin.  Ouch is all I have to say.  Tomorrow: SPF 50, or I have to just hide in the house which is way too hard with this perfect weather. 

There were a couple of highlights today.  One was a last minute, late night get-together with a friend at Panera (always a very good thing), and the other was watching a sweet boy play t-ball.  The Kindergarten teacher and myself have both had the privilege of having this handsome guy as a student.  We had promised to make it to one of his ball games, and with this being the second to last game, we had to make it tonight.  I had to re-work some things, but it was so worth it!  His smile, and his proud "thumbs-up" when he got up to bat made my day. 

Rock On

             This is how I spent my Sunday afternoon.  I had one of two choices: totally crash and do absolutely nothing because of ridiculous tiredness, or go make a path from the deck to the pool.  Sure, let's go with the hours of digging, moving dirt, leveling, and hauling bags of rock.  Ah well, it needed to be done.  And would be done had not a storm complete with thunder and lightening blown through.  Hopefully I'll get it all done tomorrow, and the little fishes (that would be my girls who swim for hours and hours) will have a nice path to walk on to get to the pool.