MP3 Players and Movie Night

First things first:
We got our MP3 players! Since both Meghan and I have laptops with our music on them, it was a constant conversation as to who's going to play her music when we were in the same room. Since I like more upbeat christian and Meghan likes hymns, slower music. Well, we decided (with our mother's blessing of course) to use our babysitting money and buy them while they were on sale. We went to Kmart yesterday and picked them up and they are the best! Now, instead of Meghan and I fighting over music, we put on our ear buds and we each have the music we want. We, despite the popularity, do not crank up the volume, so we can still hear if our parents or anyone needs us. Conditions for them are: my mom will do routine checks on our music, we cannot use them at the meal table (obviously), and we need to take very good care of them. I gotta go, my friend is here.

Later...
Tonight, instead of going to Farmhouse Coffee (a christian coffee house nearby) we instead had a Girl's Night In with our dear friend Danielle. When she arrived, we pulled on our PJ's (fuzzy slippers included) and headed towards the kitchen. After we brewed coffee, we made homemade Lattes with chocolate syrup and whipped topping. Then we went downstairs to our gameroom and put in our movie: Phantom of the Opera. Oh my goodness, I love that movie! Since all three of us are movie talkers, we provided ourselves with running commentary on it. For example: "Why is she doing that? She is being hypnotized by the phantom, who has major anger issues, and she is oblivious to the man who truly loves her!" or "The phantom is crying! He is actually feeling emotion! Told ya he had feelings!" This went on through the entire movie. With a slight pause to run up and get popcorn: butter, salt, and parmesan cheese for Meghan and Dani, chocolate syrup for me (I know, gross, but it is sooooo good!) and back on the movie went. We watched, engrossed with the film, until my dad yelled down the steps, "Dani, you need to leave like now if you want to get home by eleven." She still has her 'Cinderella License' and has to be home by eleven or else... so we stopped the movie reluctantly and said goodbye. Here's hopin I don't have nightmares :o) So here's to a great girly night with a great friend.

We're having a new addition to our family!!!

No....we're not having another baby ( although that would be great!), my brother-in-law, Tom is getting married! He recently became engaged and brought his beautiful bride-to-be, Kelli, over for dinner. It's nice to see Tom so happy....and Kelli is as sweet as she is beautiful! My little ones really took to her.Tom and Kelli
Kelli and my mother-in-law, Ro.

I love this one! I said to Ro " Your young daughter-in-law and the old daughter-in-law!"....or the new one and the old one....either way....I'm the old one! LOL

I was telling Kelli something and told her what someone had said to me and called me "Mrs. Gorecki"....then I looked at her and said " And...you'll be Mrs. Gorecki soon, too!"....she had the most startled look on her face and said " wow...I guess I will be....Mrs. Gorecki....that sounds funny!" I remember the first year we were married....it took that long for me to realize that whenever someone called me Mrs Gorecki that they weren't speaking of my mother-in-law! The wedding will be over Labor Day.....we can't wait! Tom turns 30 soon, so we can't wait to have them over again soon for a birthday celebration dinner! Congratulations, Tom and Kelli! ~Sue~

Tag from Unworthy Maiden

We were tagged by Unworthy Maiden!

She's one of my dearest friends and I am happy to do this. :) She and I have A LOT of the same answers. :)

1. Were you named after anyone? My middle name was for my great-grandmother. :) We all miss her.
2. When was the last time you cried? This past Sunday
3. Do you like your handwriting? Nope. My typing is great though! :-P
4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Bologna
5. Do you have kids? Nope. I hope to when I am married someday, though. :)
6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Probably
7. Do you use sarcasm? Unfortunetly yes.
8. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes I do
9. Would you Bungee Jump? NO! I'm afraid of heights!
10. What is your favorite cereal? Millet with apples and raisens. :) It's a hot cereal. :)
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Nope
12. What is your favorite Ice Cream? Cookies and Cream or Butter Pecan. YUM!
13. What is the first thing you notice about people? Their smile and height. :-P
14. Red or Pink? PINK!!
15. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? My prideful tongue
16. Who do you miss the most? Pap and my great-grandmother
17. Do you want everyone to complete this list? Sure.
18. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? I'm wearing a denim skirt and a yellow top
19. What are you listening to right now? Sara and I typing. :)
20. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Pink :)
21. Favorite smell? Babies, almond extract, anise, bread baking, gingerbread candle. :)
22. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? I'm not sure. :) Probably Mum
23. Favorite sports to watch? Hockey
24. Hair color? Light brown/dark blond
25. Eye color? Blue. Both my grandmothers' eyes. :)
26. Do you wear contacts? Nope! My eyesight's good!
27. Favorite food? Anything Mum makes.......for the most part. :)
28. Scary movies or happy endings? HAPPY ENDINGS!!!!!!! Even if it's sad for awhile, it has GOT to be happy by the end!
29. Last movie you watched? It Happened in Brooklyn (LOVE it! Especially Peter Lawford!)
30. What color shirt are you wearing? Yellow
31. Summer or winter? Summer-it's my birthday season. :)
32. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
33. Most likely to respond? Mmmm.....Dani. :)
34. Least likely to respond? I don't know!
35. What book are you reading now? Heartbroken Melody by Kathleen Norris (GOOD book! A tad melodramatic, but overall, so far so good!)
36. What's on your mousepad? Nothing-I have a laptop. :)
37. What did you watch on TV last night? The tail end of the movie A Season For Miracles
38. Favorite Sound? Popcorn popping and laughter
39. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles....I don't listen to either of them. At all. But Dad likes the Beatles and I have music for one of their songs.
40. What is the farthest you have been from home? North Carolina when I was younger. :)
41. Do you have a special talent? Ummm.......I really love to play piano and mess around with key changes. :) And writing stories is fun. But they're not very good until I edit them at least 3 times. :)
42. Where were you born? Pittsburgh
43. Whose answers are you looking forward to getting back? Ella's or Dani's. :)

**DING!** All done. :)
I tag.....Ella, Laina and Dani. :) Just do it at your leisure. :)
Have fun my friends! :)

Encouragment and friendships....

God really reminded me today how important friendships can be! He brings people into our lives for a reason...today it was for laughter, support and encouragment!

I had the opportunity to volunteer for a short time today putting labels onto brochures for our annual homeschooling workshop/curriculum fair. I was able to help get the job done (many hands make light work), and laugh and fellowship and encourage my fellow homeschooling moms....what a blessing it was!

I am in awe of seeing God's hand so clearly in our lives lately! Not that He isn't always here....but it has just been so evident. Especially in the area of friendships. Over the past few years...He has strengthened some friendships, brought others to deeper levels, but what really blows my mind ( excuse the expression...I'm tired!) is how many "kindred spirits" He has brought into our lives recently! Oh, my goodness! Not just for the girls....but for me as well! I'm so grateful!

You know a "kindred spirit" when you both have so much in common that there never seems to be enough time to talk! When you share so many interests, and share the same values as well.

Some friendships are only meant for a season....and then they end or drift away. Some are only meant to be on a "lighter" level....some are meant to be a mentor/ Titus 2 friendship....and still others are deeper. All are so important. The girls and I were talking about friendships recently, about putting effort into a friendship, accepting people the way they are...not expecting more from them than they are capable to giving...remembering that we are ALL sinners...and letting God deal with their sins....not dwelling on them ourselves. Simply enjoying each others company, encouraging each other, supporting each other and sometimes exhorting each other...pointing each other to Christ and His word.

I am so very, very grateful for the wonderful friendships the Lord has blessed me with! I pray that He helps me be a better, true friend as well!!! God bless! ~Sue~

Super fun before the Super Bowl

This sunday was very fun. After going to church with my cousin, Tina and my family, Meghan and I went out to lunch with our dear friends fir Dani's birthday: Dani, Lane, and Sarah C. Our purchases of food were examples of how differen from eachother we are:

Dani: Oriental chicken plate (two different types of chicken with rice)

Meghan: Subway lunch wrap

Sarah: soft Taco Bell burrito

Lane: Taco Bell Wacko Taco (Not really, but I like calling it that!)

Me: New Orleans Chicken with fried rice and a egg roll. Yummmm!

(Here we are at the food court!)

After chowing down on un-healthy goodness, we were off on our girly mall crawl. Dani's brother, Dillon, came with us (he had to go home with Dani) and we all had a good time. First stop (A little weird) was the American Greetings store to look at Valentine's Day stuff. Then we walked down to Macys and headed upstairs to try on dresses. Poor Dillon walked around and finally went down to Aeropostale to look around. After we tried on tons of dresses, we made out way down to Aeropostale to meet Dillon. That is one of my favorite stores! My favorite style of jacket is a hoodie, and I have four of them so Aeropostale is a great place to get hoodies on clearance! Then we made our way down to American Eagle, where everything was so expensive! I much prefer the clearance rack at Aero. Anyway, back to AE, after contemplating many purchases (and ending up buying nothing) we decided to make one last stop at Claires. By the way, my other love is hats so when I saw a purple rainbow fedora, I almost died! I tried one on, fit perfectly. However, it was $16, so I immedietly put it back. There were also purses and fingerless gloves (which I also love, don't ask why), earrings and notebooks galore. Before we could get any tempting offers, we walked back up to the food court where our final stop was Dairy Queen to get Ice Cream. Oh my goodness gracious, whenever you find yourself at a Dairy Queen, try a Chocolate Xtreme blizzard, it's to die for.

So all in all, it was super fun before the super bowl. I can't tell you how many Steeler jersies I saw people wearing! It was a bunch of fun and I hope we do it again soon. Happy Birthday Dani!

Our first Cubscout Pinewood Derby!!!

Our first Cubscout Pinewood Derby was on Saturday, and I must admit...it was a lot more fun than I anticipated! It started when Ron, Ronnie and one of Ronnie's grandfathers, Buppy, measured and cut out the car. Then Ron and Ronnie painted it, and 'detailed ' the car...I mean, this car even had a real pinstripe on it! It was definitely a "guy" activity, but my guys will have great memories from this, I'm sure!Here is Ronnie holding his car the night before at practice.

Each car is weighed, and fine tuned to meet the derby standards. It was fun watching Ron and Ronnie doing it together! Here they weighed the car...exactly 5oz!

Look how proud my guys look!

This is the morning of the derby. Ronnie had a lot of fun with his friends (pictured here, Jacob and Steven)...although, he had a blast just watching the races.

The blue car in the third lane is Ronnie's. He said it was "Petty Blue" and named his car

"Cargo"

Look at that smile! He had such a great time! This was extremely well organized and thought out...I was very impressed with the leadership.

This is when they called all the boys up by their Den ( we're Den #1) and EVERY boy got a trophy just for participating. They awarded slightly larger trophies for the fastest 4 cars. Out of 9 cars in our den entered, Ronnie's came in 4th...not too bad for our first time!

It was fun to do with friends, as well. Our friends, the Webber's participated as well and the boys all had a good time. (the parents did, too!)

Do I look proud of my boy, or what?! It really was a memory maker!

One happy boy! His first trophy....and a lot of fun working with his grandfather and especially, with his Dad! Can't wait until next years, Pinewood Derby!

Happy Birthday, Lori! We love you!

Happy 42nd birthday to my beautiful sister, Lori! Remember when everyone would ask YOU if the groundhog saw his shadow?!Here is Lori, 1968 at one year old...Ty really looks like Lori in this picture!

Here she is at her birthday party Saturday night

My Dad....can you guess who I look like?! ( My mom is blond and blue eyed!)

Not the best picture, but Ronnie took this one of me and my youngest sister, Pam...he didn't do too badly! ( at least he didn't cut our heads off like the one my Dad took!)

Four beautiful girls! My Meghan, my Sara, my niece Tina and my little one Anna.

3 handsome men! My Dad, Ronnie and Ron.

This is the "other" sister, Debbie! She has been a family friend since 1973! I like to say that Lori and I were best friends...until she met Debbie in kindergarten! Oh, how Debbie makes us laugh!

Meghan and Aunt Lori. I gave Lori salad tongs handmade of black walnut wood by our friends, the Gardners. Lori is ordering a wooden salad bowl to match, she loved them so much!

Anna and Ty...he loves her so much and always has a smile for her!

My brother-in-law, Todd and his lovely mother, Denise!

All the kids had a great time playing Wii. Here is my nephew Shayne doing soccer.

Oh, my goodness...how Debbie and I laughed!!!! Hey, Deb...can you hear me....can you hear me now?!

~We all had such a good time celebrating Lori's birthday! Lot's of great food! Cheddar beer dip, artichoke dip, veggies, mini-pepperoni rolls, minestrone soup, yummy buffalo chicken balls (from food network), wings, cake and custard. My little ones were so tired, that we left Lori's at 7:15pm and they were sound asleep in bed by 8pm! We had a great time!

~Happy Birthday, Lori! May the Lord bless you abundantly in the coming year!!! We love you so much! ~Sue~

Menu plan Monday!

Here is the menu of the week!

Monday
Oatmeal, bananas
GF pizza, beets, fruit
Homemade molasses baked beans, salad, cornbread pudding

Tuesday
GF Banana nut muffins, pineapple
leftover beans, corn bread pudding
broccoli cheese soup, GF breadsticks

Wednesday
Apple, cinnamon millet
P,B, J, yogart, pineapple
(Guests for Dinner!)
Parmesean chicken, oven roasted potatoes, garlic green beans, steamed carrots, homemade chocolate pie

Thursday
Cereal, bananas
creamy chicken and rice, carrots
beef stoganoff, GF noodles, salad

Friday
GF pancakes, blueberry sauce
veggie omelets, potatoes
homemade vegetable soup, cheddar garlic GF biscuits

Saturday
Oatmeal with raisins, bananas
GF pumpkin bread, pineapple
mulligan, raw veggies

Sunday
cereal, bananas
Vegetable soup, cheese and GF crackers
Beef roast, msh potatoes, carrots, corn

Have a blessed week! ~Sue~