I hate coming up with a title sometimes, so today I won't.

I was driving home from work yesterday listening to one of my new favorite radio stations 105.1 the Buzz, and found their topic of conversation very intriging and thought provoking. I thought it was blog worthy so I will share it with you in hopes that you will share your thoughts on this very interesting topic. What movie (or movies) have you watched a hundred times and can watch a hundred more? At first I thought it was kind of a dumb question but as I started thinking about what I would say if I called in my movie list became longer and longer. Here is part of the list of movies that I can put on if I'm sick, bored, or just doing things around the house. The great thing about these movies is that I've seen them so many times it's alright if I don't catch every scene becuase I already know it by heart.

1. Braveheart (such a fabulous movie!! It really has it all: fighting, love, humor, you just can't go wrong)
2. Lord of the Rings Triligy (the commentary versions are the absolute best!!)
3. Practical Magic
4. A League of Their Own
5. Never Been Kissed (which has the best kissing scene ever)
6. Forest Gump
7. Sweet Home Alabama
8. Goonies (well, I would watch it more if I owned it)
9. Any of the original Star Wars movies
10. Grease
11. Dirty Dancing
12. Little Women
13. Hope Floats
14. The first and second Karate Kids
15. 16 Candles...any brat pack movie, for that matter.

Okay, I'm going to stop there even though I know there are more. I'm starting to draw a blank and I don't want to look too movie obsessed (oh, I did leave a few off that I might be a bit ashamed of too). Please share what your favorite movies to watch over and over are. Don't be ashamed, there is no judging here. :)

Also, I wanted to share something with those of you out there that don't always have time to make your lunch for work and like to have those frozen lunches at the ready to grab and go. I'm very big into making my own food and not buying boxed lunched/dinners. They usually have lots of unhealthy fat and other junk in them that our bodies just don't need. Plus, I love to cook so why deny myself that simple pleasure. That all being said, I do on occasion like to have a frozen meal in my freezer for those rare days that I didn't have time (or was too lazy) to make a lunch the night before. There aren't a lot of great options out there but I found one the other day and it was too good not to let everyone else out there know about.

Lean Cuisine's Panini sandwiches. These little sandwiches are amazing!! This picture is the very panini I ate just the other day and totally loved. I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical when I opened the box and saw how small it was. I was very glad that I had brought along a salad (this girl loves her veggies) and a yogurt to round out the meal. However, don't be fooled folks. This sandwich may be small but it packs a huge punch of yummy goodness that will stick with you long after you have eatin the last bite. I didn't end up eating my salad and yogurt till about an hour and a half later because I was so full from the panini. It was also very full of flavor (and yummy melted cheese). Sometimes the food that is being touted as being good for you can very flavorless and taste like cardboard, but this was nowhere near that. I could go on and on but I won't because I don't want to bore you (which I probably already have). What I will end this little product endorsment with is that if you like to buy frozen meals, please go out and get this one and give it a try. It is a very delicious and healthy alternative to some of the other frozen products being pushed on us out there. And after you try it, come back and let me know what you thought.

Have a great day everyone!!

Love,

Tabs

Someone's trash, someone's treasure, and a great little compliment all rolled into one...

Tuesday I finally got around to taking down the Dunes stuff I had put up in the high school announcement box out in the church foyer. There was a sign with my Dunes "logo" on it roughly the size of 2 8 and a half by 11's and some pictures from last years Dunes. Since Dunes is clearly over I threw it all into the paper recycle bin (cause we like to recycle and take care of our environment here in Oregon) and didn't think about it again until one of the high school students came in today, saw it, gasped and grabbed it up. He couldn't believe I was throwing it away and asked if he could have it. I thought he was being funny and just teasing me. Not nice my friend. But I soon realized, after asking several times if he was serious and his reply a resounding "Yes," that I simply had to believe that he wanted that little sign that I had made. I'm just going to have to be honest with you and say that that totally made my day. Surprising how a little complement pick you right up, especially when it comes from an unsuspecting high schooler. Oh, gotta love 'em.

My favorite tv shows...

I know I already posted today but I just felt like I wanted to post something else, something a bit lighter. So here are the shows that I like to watch and try to watch when I can. I wouldn't necessarily call them all my favorite but I enjoy watching them because they grab my attention and/or make me laugh. Some of them also are actually helpful to people and I love that and want to support that.

1. The Biggest Loser
2. CSI (the original)
3. Lost
4. Scrubs
5. Without A Trace
6. Malcom in the Middle (I just started watching this show after work and its funny, I don't know how I missed it before).
7. American Inventor
8. America's Next Top Model
9. Super Nanny
10. The Office
11. The Evidence
12. American Idol
13. Wife Swap
14. Extreme Make-Over: Home Edition (gotta love Ty)

Okay, so it's kind of a long list and I feel a bit exposed because now my secrets are out there. I really don't just sit and watch tv all day even though it probably looks that way. But I will admit that I tape some of these shows and then watch them in the morning while I'm getting ready for work....hehehe

Money and other random thoughts...

I really hate money. Yes, its true. You may not have guessed that from the way I used to spend it, or talk like I would like to spend it, but it really is a thorn in my side (or foot, or however that little random saying goes). It can cause a lot of problems in marriages and friendships and is one of (if not THE) leading factors in divorces today. I am in Financial Peace University at my church right now (which is a wonderful, WONDERFUL thing) and it has really helped me to not spend all of my money on the wrong things and to be better at saving. Dave Ramsey is a smart man and really knows what he is talking about. I challenge those of you who are not always great with your finances to look into this, it seriously is amazing. But I hate money because we have let it run out lives. We have to have everything now, we are not a patient nation. Its just sad. This could also lead me into other topics of living a healthy life but I won't go there today because I want this to be a short post (stop laughing). Because we are so impatient and can't wait to save money for a house or a car or some other big purchase we get those lovely little plastic cards that we have so lovelingly named credit cards. These are terrible becuase we rack up credit which puts us in debt and that is an absolutly horrible place to be, speaking from experience. I guess my beef with money isn't really with money though, its me. I let money get to me. I worry about how much money I'm going to make and think about where it all has to go before there is any left for me at the end of the day. I'm the one that causes myself to stress about it. As Christians money shouldn't be a worry (well, nothing should be) because we know the Lord will provide for us. I suppose this is something that I just have to work on giving to the Lord and know that he will provide for my every need. I may not be able to get that new outfit right now or get my hair done the way I want it right now but I have food on the table and a roof over my head. The Lord is good! It just takes some ranting to remember that.

Blah blah blah, sorry if this post was boring and totally all over the place but I had to get that out. A money issue was brought to my attention yesterday (not in my personal finances but one that is close to me and slightly affects me) so this has been on my mind and I had to get it out. I hope I haven't bored you too much. Whew, I do feel better though. Thanks for listening.

Now I'm going to leave you with my three wishes (I stole this from my friend Lindsy who stole it from her friend):

1. I wish I could break the world record on the shortest marathon run. Since I look at wishes as things that will never happen I had to make this since I know I will never ever be able to do that. Running a marathon is something I would love to do some day but not ready to do just yet. I know I could do it if I ran and walked but I want to run the whole thing (in a decent time).
2. I would love to walk on the moon. That is kind of random and just came to me as I was sitting here typing. It would be so cool to be in space and see the earth from far away. I couldn't even imagine being that far away from the earth and in a whole nother place.
3. Be content with myself; with my body, my relationships, everything.

Those are my wishes. Anyone want to share what their wishes would be? If you do and you have a blog, please post it. If you don't have a blog just leave a lovely comment.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Love you all!

Tabs

Chuck Norris? At my church?

Yes folks, apparently the rumors are true. Chuck Norris was at Good Shepherd on Sunday. I had been seeing this news on random friends blogs but didn't know if they were being funny or not. I finally got the correct info and found out that no, this was not one big plot to see just how gullible Tabitha really is, but that Chuck Norris, the karate chopping Walker Texas Ranger (and star of one of my favorite kid movies, Sidekicks) really did attend my church's early Sunday morning service with his friend Randy Alcorn, who is a great author and also attends my church.

There you have it, my interesting tidbit of the day. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I also hope you enjoy visiting Chuck Norris's website, he has done some pretty great things in his life. :)

Have a great day everyone!!

Tabs

Fun weekend

Well, this weekend was quite an eventful one and here are the pictures to prove it! Warning: This is kind of a long post but at least there are a lot of pictures to look at. And sorry for my atrocious spelling. :)

First, Friday night I went to McMenamins on Broadway with my parents for dinner (one of our favorite McMenamins in Portland) and then headed downtown to the Arlene Snitzer Concert Hall to see CATS. It was fantastic. Their singing and dancing was fabulous and their costumes are so much fun!

Saturday I went up to Mt. Hood Meadows and learned how to snowboard. It was a ton of fun. I actually didn't do to terribly bad. I had a couple of bad spills but most of the falls that I made (and there were a lot) were on purpose because I would get going to fast and get scared. Because of said spills, my backside was a bit tender yesterday. The one thing that I don't like about snowboards is how difficult and uncomfortable it is to move around with only one foot strapped in (which is how you have to get on and off the ski lifts). And those snowboards aren't light so its just loads of fun of when your riding up the ski lift with a heavy board hanging off one foot. Getting on and off the ski lift was quite a challenge with my big ol' board (which, consequentially, is about as big as me). I never did fall getting on, came close though, but definitely fell trying to get off the ski lift, almost taking a few pro snowboarders down with me a few times. Everytime we would get close to the end of the ski lift I would start praying and asking God not to let me die. For some reason, getting off the ski lift was (and I think always has been) the scariest part for me. And thankfully, on my last run (which was the Express, I think) down the mountain I finally got the hang of snowplowing and "the falling leaf," where you go back and forth across the mountain, slowly working your way down. I should say that another hard thing is getting up when you fallen down. That took me a bit to figure out too. It's not easy to flip that big heavy board over so you can get up from your knees instead of from a sitting postion. I did however learn the art of doing a backward somesault to land on my feet (mostly by accident, but hey, it works). I was pretty proud of that. :) I'm a bit sore still today but it feels great. All in all it was fun and I would definitly do it again! I might even have to invest in a snowboard for next season. :)
This was me a lot of the time, and not always with a smile on my face. And look how beautiful it was. It snowed off and on while we were up there. The trees just looked so wonderful with the snow just sitting on their branches. I loved it and wish I could have taken more pictures.

The weekend didn't end there. Sunday I had lunch with my sis at her new house and decided to take advantage of the nice day and go on a waterfall hunt with my dad in the Columbia Gorge. The nice thing about doing a waterfall hunt in the Gorge is you will absolutly not fail. Ad it wasn't exactly a hunt but that is what I'm calling it cause we saw two falls that we had of course heard of but never been to. The first falls we saw was Wahkeena Falls. It was quite beautiful (but what falls isn't). Then we headed down to the most popular Gorge waterfall, Multnomah Falls . The last falls we saw was Bridal Veil falls. I think that one was my favorite cause the hike is a nice short hike but still a little bit challenging. Plus its more secluded and not overrun with a ton of people. You actually drive over it and don't even know its there cause you have to hike down to see it, where most of the other falls you can pretty much see from the old highway or from I84. We ended our little outing with a stop at Crown point. Here are a few pictures to show you just how beautiful the Columbia River Gorge really is. Sorry, they may not be the best quality, but you get the idea.


There you have it folks, my great weekend. I hope you all had good weekends too!

Tabs