Army Wives

If you know me, you know that I LOVE watching the show Army Wives! It's my soap opera, and I get soooo wraped up into the story line. Well the last season just started it's reruns on Sunday nights throughout Janurary and February to get viewers amped up for the new season that starts in March.

HOWEVER - my DVR quit recording the series and now my TV Guide doesn't say that Army Wives is ever coming again on Directv :( I'm so sad!!

I hope that Army Wives comes back on soon ... I need my fix!!

Screw you Earth's rotation

I am officially ticked off. So now the earth has decided to wobble on it's rotation and added a 13th astrological sign. This new addition of the sign Ophiuchus adjusts the alignments of all signs. This changes my sign that I've identified myself with for a while. I feel I'm a pretty spitting image of what a Capricorn is, and now I'm supposed to be a Sagittarius?!? No way!

This is what a Capricorn is categorized as:

1. Capricorns are very independent because they know their capabilities and therefore they rarely trust others to finish details, they like to do it all themselves.

2. The Capricorn personality is geared towards that of leadership and achievement, they always want to climb the corporate ladder and be the best they can be.

3. Capricorns have excellent sense of time and manage it very well, they are excellent organizers.

4. Capricorns might seem melancholy and stern because they live by self-discipline and responsibility.

5. They evaluate everything and they don't take daring chances without weighing the advantages and disadvantages first.

6. To the onlooker, they might seem boring but it is the serious drive and structured way of life that the Capricorn feels safe with.

7. Capricorn's self-sufficiency is often mistook for coldness, they are not as cold as they seem, this might be apparent just because Capricorns like to do everything themselves this way there is no worry about something not finished or not done properly.

This description fits me to a T!

And then this is what the stupid Sagittarius is characterized by (which is sooo not me!):

1. Blindly optimistic

2. Careless

3. Irresponsible

4. Superficial

5. Tactless

6. Restless

I refuse to be a Sagittarius, you can't make me you stupid earth rotation. I'm sticking to my Capricorn status!

Turtle Cheesecake

For weeks I've been craving turtle cheesecake. Maybe it's because I'm headed to ATL in a week for work and the last time I was there my friend and co-worker, Kristi Taylor, took me to The Cheesecake Factory (my first time ever) and I enjoyed the most delectable turtle cheesecake of my life.

For Christmas my husband hit one out of the park and surprised me with a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer (I've been dreaming of one for the longest time and I can't believe I finally have it!) I've been staring at this thing on my counter since Christmas telling myself I need to use it. I can't let it just sit there and never be used and collect dust - I mean I know what these bad boys cost!

So I finally decided I was going to figure out how to make a cheesecake into a turtle one. Not hard, you just add pecans caramel and chocolate. But seeing as I'm not the best cook I thought I would go the easy route ... and itturned out great.

So I started with the no bake cheesecake

As per the directions you add the graham cracker crust mix to the bowl

Followed by 5 tablespoons of sugar

And 5 tablespoons of melted butter

Blend until mixed

Then you put the graham cracker crust into your pie dish and press firmly into sides and bottom to make the crust

Now onto the filling ...

First you put the filling packet into your bowl

Followed by 1 1/2 cups COLD milk

Blend for 3 mins and make sure to scrape the sides so all contents are mixing

Pour the filling mixture into your pie pan and spread out evenly to the edges

Let your cheesecake sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours. I let mine sit all day until after dinner. When you go to cut your first slice it's and ABSOLUTE MUST to place your pie pan in a hot water bath (just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan). I just fill my sink just a little with hot water and put my pie pan in for maybe 30 seconds. This really helps to get your pie slice to "slip right out."

Once you have your cheesecake slice out, drizzle with chocolate sauce and caramel sauce and top with chopped pecans.

2011 ... What now

So today in church we started a new series entitled "From here to there." I'm pretty excited about this series and can't wait to see where it takes us. This week we discussed where were are now and where we want to be at the end of 2011.

Here are some things to remember:

1. Everyone end up somewhere, but few people end up somewhere on purpose - meaning that we should all have a plan on where we're going to be. We can't just go with the flow on big ticket things in life, because going with the flow could take us farther from where we want to be. We need to seek vision and guidance from God and that'll help us get to where we want to go.

2. How to we get from here to there?

a. Be honest about who you are. Who am I? Well ... being honest here ... I'm selfish. I'm a Sunday Christian (I'm moved by the spirit when I'm around the right people, but I get too busy the rest of the week to remember, thus I become someone that doesn't let God shine through me), I'm bossy, I'm needy, I'm unhealthy, I'm judgmental. Man that's hard to admit all of this.

b. Define your destination. Where do I want to be at the end of 2011? I want to be a better wife that lets my husband be the head of our household. I want to be financially sound. I want to be healthier (skinner would be nice, but I'd rather be healthier). I want to be intimate with God, I want to be someone who spends more time with the Word. I want to make friends - CHRISTIAN friends that I can learn and grow from. I want to be someone that people see God in. My biggest goal for 2011 is to be a mom (we'll talk more about this at a later date).

c. Take what you need. If you're going to get from here to where God wants you to be you must bring along the following: Examples - I'm planning on doing this by joining a growth group at church and reconnecting with my mentors from back home. Discipline - I need to make a plan and stick to it (once I have that developed I will share). Perseverance - I get easily discouraged and need to remember to just keep going, I'll make it one day. Focus - I have to remember to focus on Jesus and his example set for me.

d. Never travel alone. I think this is my favorite part. I have to get involved. I'm very much a loner and would rather be at home or work than socializing with people and putting myself "out there." This is very odd for me as I used to be a social butterfly, I don't know where, but somewhere I lost that - and I have to take it back! I can put my shyness to the side and get involved to "help" - doing that helps me not feel so uncomfortable. So I'm going to find somewhere I can volunteer and get involved and meet people.

Louie (the pastor today) kept mentioning, "if 2010 was a bad year for you, you can change that." Well maybe I'm still in that lovey dovey stage, but for me 2010 was an amazing year. We went through tough times and easy times, but at the end of the day I spent an entire year being married to the man that God made for me, I got a job that I love, I have become very close to my mother and I feel like I'm in a great spot ... so instead of wanting to turn a new leaf and start new, I want to grow this year. I want it to just get better than last year.

With all of that said, the one thing that really stuck with me reminded me of the person I was before I married John. Louie mentioned that you can't let your past define you. He was talking in regards to having a bad 2010, but I let it simmer and thought about my previous life. I know most of the people back home know the old me and don't know the person I am now, and that's okay because I made my bed. However this statement really gives me perspective. I am not who I was. I'm not the mean party girl anymore. I'm a wife to the best man in the entire world and that makes me a better person. I just hope one day all those people from back home that only know me as the old me will one day see the new me.

I can't wait for 2011 to get rolling, this is going to be a great year.