Milestone

That is a picture of my beautiful daughter Elli. She is 2 years and 9 months old and has been potty trained for almost 2 weeks. I know this might seem a little trifle or pointless, but she potty trained herself. I couldn't believe how easy it was with her. I had heard stories of kids just deciding to use the potty and never wear diapers or pull ups again. I never expected my child to be one of them. What you might not know is that Elli has an older brother who is 5 years old named Carson. Now, Carson did not care one bit about learning to use the potty. Alan and I actually forced him at the age of 3&1/2 to learn to use the potty. He just didn't really care about using the potty. It was a battle from the beginning and we still have lapses to this day. So when Elli said she was done with diapers and pull ups I wasn't sure if I should believe her or not. Thank goodness she showed me that she was serious. She has done beautifully in adjusting to this new aspect in her life. I was ecstatic that is was so easy with her, but it is kind of sad. This means we have reached a new milestone as parents. We no longer have any children in diapers. It is exciting to not have to worry about buying diapers and the carry all bag is a lot lighter, but it does make me a little sad. She is a beautiful little girl and I am so blessed to have her my life. I love her so much and can't wait to see what she learns to accomplish next. =)

Finish Line

Today is the last day of my classes for the next 2 weeks. I am really excited to come to the end of these classes. I am really excited about turning in my projects and not having the weigh on me anymore. I know I will feel a weight lift off my shoulders when I hit the submit assignment button. I might just do a little dance when I do it =) I am also excited about my next two classes. They will be more with my major. Next term I am taking Anatomy and Physiology I and Nutrition Planning and Management. I enjoyed my classes this term but I am ready to concentrate on something new and learn something new. Well, I need to get back to work. See ya next time!

Later days~
Dori

Snow =)

We have had some crazy weather lately in the south. First, we had a white Christmas. This was the first white Christmas in 47 years. Then just a few weeks later we had another big snow storm. I live in the south not the north. The town I live in is not used to this kind of weather and is not prepared to fully handle this kind of weather. As I am writing this the kids have been out of school for 2 days. This means my 2 year old can not go to mother's morning out. So, my 5 year old and 2 year old just aggravate each other all day long. When we had our Christmas snow the kids were getting over colds so they couldn't go out and play. This time around they were able to have fun and play. Here are some more pics to enjoy!!!

New Year

With the new year fastly approaching. I can't help but be excited =) This past year has been a hard one for us. Even though we have faced many trials many great changes have happened, and many great things will happen in the New Year. The approach of a new year always make me excited. The excitement of something new and the unknown. It almost seems like when the clock strikes twelve and we usher in a new year that we get a new start. A clean slate to start over and make all the changes that we have always longed to make. When a new year begins we can choose to take the baggage from the previous year with us or we can learn from our mistakes and make the best of the coming year. I am choosing to learn from my mistakes and take this coming year and make the best of it. I am going to make some resolutions but they won't be outlandish ones. I pledge to grow closer to my Lord and Savior, support my husband as he graduates college, continue to be healthy, and continue to further my education. I know the next year will have it's trials and hardships, but I am here to say "Bring It!" I know there is nothing I can't face with my Savior on my side and the support of my husband and family. Happy New Year and God Bless you and yours in 2011!!!

~Dori

Break!!!!

Christmas is coming and in the world of education it is time for winter break. I am just a few days away from my two week break and I am so excited. This term has been a little bit harder than the others have. So I am very ready for this break. I am also ready to spend time with my family and celebrate Christmas and Jesus' birth and not worry about homework.

This Christmas season has been a little different than others in the past. This is the first season that both of our kids have understood (mostly) what is happening this time of year. Elli has gotten old enough to learn about what Christmas is really about and get excited about the traditions we share. In a couple of days hubby will be home to help me do a humongous post with pics from most of the stuff that has been happening here. =) Until then......

~Later Days
Dori

Frustration -_-

I am feeling some frustration. This is midterm week for me at school and I am a bit frazzled. In my Nutritional Analysis class I have to not only do what we have due normally every week, but I also have an extra midterm project. Yay!! (please insert sarcasm here). I am also starting to get into the prewriting process for my research paper for my Comp II class. I am not sure I am headed in the right direction with it. That kind of scares me. We have a rough draft due in two weeks and I don't feel ready to do any of that. It is not my instructors fault I just feel ill prepared. I have no idea why I just do. Part of the problem is I keep going back and forth about my thesis. I am too scared to commit to one. All this apprehension bites. Oh well, gotta go and get back at it. Before I go just wanted to say I hope to post some pics of us getting our tree and stuff. =)

Later days~

Dori

What would I do?

This week in my comp II class we talked about plagiarism. The question was asked, "What would I do if I was plagiarized?" I think if this happened to me I would at first be very shocked. This is such a serious offense. I have seen what it does to authors who write fan fiction. They are very angry when they learn of the situation but above that they are really hurt. When you plagiarize someone you are stealing their ideas from them and calling them your own. I have seen authors pull stories never to be finished or revisited because they feel so hurt and betrayed.

I am sure that is how I would feel. I would like to think that I would act all diplomatically and talk to the person rationally, but I can't promise that will happen. I won't really know what I would do until it happens. I know I would take action and get the situation remedied. I would like to think I would do that in the best way possible and not bring embarrassment to myself or anyone else. All I can do is hope and pray that is what I would do. I guess we will see until then.

Later days~
Dori =)

GF Thanksgiving =)

Hey y'all~

This is the first year that I have to face the holidays gluten free. I thought it was hard enough being sugar free, but gluten free can be a challenge too. So, I decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner with my hubby, kids, and my parents, that was all gluten free. Do you want to know how it was? Yeah!?

Drum roll....

It turned out GREAT!!! We had turkey (it is naturally diet friendly), stuffing, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, corn, and pumpkin pie. I forgot to mention that it had to be milk free as well. UGGGHHHH. Ok, back to it =) The only things that were tricky of course was the stuffing and the pie. I made an easy stuffing this time that used tortilla chips (it's good I promise) but for Christmas I am going to use a recipe that will use cornbread. The pie I ended up making a gluten free pie crust and then the pie filling was sweetened with agave nectar instead of sugar. It was sooooo good! If you want any recipes just ask and I will share the link for them. I am really excited about Christmas and all the food I can make over.

The one thing I did, that really took courage for me, was take leftovers for myself when we had the big family dinner the next day. I don't like to draw attention to myself so I usually just eat what I can and suffer for it that night and the next day. I didn't do that this year and did not have one single bought of sickness. I was so excited. Even my hubby notice the difference between the two meals and how he felt. All in all we had a wonderful holiday =) I am very thankful for my family and friends and most of all my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Later Days~
D

Housekeeping

Ok, it is time for me to finally update on my blog. First I need to say welcome to my CompII classmates. Hey guys!!! I will be updating on my blog a lot more often and on a more regular basis. The reason being is that I have to blog now for my CompII class. This is the kick in the but I needed.

Now for those of you who are just joining me, this is not my first time to blog. My name is Dori and I live in North Carolina. I am married to Alan and we just celebrated our 10 year anniversary. We have two beautiful children. Carson is 5 years old and in kindergarten and is homeschooled. My daughter is Elliana (Elli) and she is 2 &1/2. I am 32 years old and so is my hubby =) That is all I can think about me for now. You will learn more later, promise.

Now for everyone else. Stuff has moved on here. We are all a year older and wiser. We started our homeshcool year in September and are enjoying it very much. I am starting to learn how to cook and bake gluten free and sugar free. That can be tricky but is fun too. I will post stuff about what I make sometimes. If you couldn't tell I am back in school to earn my BS in Nutrition Science. It is very interesting and a lot of fun. So, we have lots going on but God is guiding us through it. =)

Later days!!

Out?!

Ok, here goes. I have decided to come out of the "closet" and tell the world that I am *gasp* addicted to the Twilight Saga and all that is associated with it. There, I said it and it is out there and I can't take it back. I became addicted to all that is Twilight back in May and it has been a whirl wind romance since. I have been uneasy about telling people because I am not a teenager, who the books were written for. I don't care anymore!! My deares hubby (who I tell is the Edward to my Bella) does not care about my obsession/addiction. He thinks it is rather cute and indulges me whenever he can. I love him. The cool thing about all this it that through this I have started making friends across the country and the world through a sisterhood called OME. I love beign apart of this group. The main goal of the group to make friends and do some charity work along the way. I love my OME sisters. I also love me some Rob;) Also, Kristen is an amazing actress. I enjoy reading fanfic associated with twilight. I get twitters all day from sites that are all about TWS. I am in deep but I don't care. I am a Twerd and I love it. So, don't be afraid to talk to me just know where the conversation might go because I am really good at turning it to TWS. I will go to the midnight showing of New Moon on November 20th and I will enjoy it! So, please don't shun me because I am all about TWS. I am still the same person you know and love I just have a different lifestyle than you do.

~Later Days/Twilight

Thoughts....

Lately in the news there have been reports of numerous deaths. Wether famous or not. I know that this is a part of the cycle of life. It still saddens me though to think of the families left behind, and if the person was not a Christian, the lost opportunity. I have noticed that when people die, others have the tendency to say I will be praying for him and the family he has left behind. I know that this is said because no one knows what else to say. But it just bothers me a little. So what I am going to say applies to me and if you want to apply to someone else please feel free. I am a Christian, so please don't pray for me when I am dead and gone. What's done is done. Pray for me now, and pray for those you love now. Tell them that you are praying for them just as regularly as you tell them you love them. Why should this be a secret? I covet your prayers and any prayers for me. I am challenging myself to not be ashamed or afraid to let people know I am praying for them now before it is too late.

~Later days!

Ta-Da!!!!

This is my new blog layout. Isn't it pretty! My talented friend Rebecca made it for me. All I did was approve the theme. It goes back to my Southern California days, channels my inner surfer girl:)

On to other things. I have picked a 5k to run. I will run (that's right, I said Run) in the Fallston 5k & Fun Run. This will be taking place on October25, 2009. My friend Rebecca is going to join me in the fun, and also my hubby is thinking about running with me! I am so excited about this, and nervous too. Thursday (July 2nd) I ran 3 miles in 30 minutes. This is a feet that I never dreamed of accomplishing. I even cut 2 minutes off of my mile time. So all around it was a good day for me. The bad thing is I have been dealing with some knee muscle pain. Think it is from not stretching enough. So, my wonderful hubby found me some stretches that seem to be doing the trick. I love him so much!

So know it's out there. I can't take it back. I am going to run a 5k. I hope to finish it faster than 30 minutes. We will see. I will keep you all posted about the progress and stuff.

~Later days!

Ooopps! I found out this is an old date, but I will run the same race. It will probably be on the 24th.

My little vandale:)

Friday, as we were getting ready for a walk, Dr. DarkSpot decided to leave his mark on our black car with a rock from our gravel driveway. We only saw him rub the rock on the driver side of the car. It wasn’t until later that night that it was brought to my attention by a friend that he also got the passenger side and some of the back. Bond and I were mad for a little while during the walk but that broke when the Dr. started singing Bible verse songs. I couldn’t stay mad at him while he was praising the Lord through the neighborhoods. Bond and the Dr. are washing the car today in hopes that the scratches can be polished out. I will let you know how it goes and maybe post some before and after pics. I never thought either of my children would turn to vandalism.

On a lighter note, I officially started running today. This is a big thing for me because I have been known to say that I only run when running for my life. Although, come to think of it, I guess I am now. Running will hopefully help me get rid of body fat that needs to go and make me a physically healthier person. Also, I know of many people who run to clear their heads and kind of use it like therapy. That could be really good for me too. I have found a beginners running plan that will help me build up to 30 minutes of running in 8 weeks which could get me ready for a 5k. Wow! Me talking about running or even running a 5k sounds crazy, but I am going to do it. I even have a bff wanting to give it a try. Bond has been great support and is excited because now we can run together. I don’t consider myself a runner yet because I feel that runners are just so out of my crasp right now, but probably someday I will call myself a runner. Until then……..

Almost forgot to mention that my little gril turned 1 year old on the 9th. So much has happened in the year since she came to join our family. I am so blessed that God gave her to us and I am so excited to see where the Lord takes her. My beautiful Elliana, I love you so much and I am so glad to have you as a doughter. You are so much fun and you have such a wonderful personality. No words can express how beautiful you are. Your daddy and I love you so very much (Carson does too). Happy Birthday sweet girl!!

~Baker Galore

Bedtime song!

That is Dr. darkSpot singing "Cherry pie" by Warrant. We were unable to catch his theatrical ending on video, but believe me it was priceless. The Dr. learned this song because Bond played guitar hero, although in defense we have not played that game in a long while so he has pulled this song out of his memory bank. Quite impressive! Hearing him sing made me laugh until I cried and brightened up my day. I love him so much!

~Baker Galore

Elli's Dedication

The Grind

To go along with my new diet, I have started baking bread. My bestie Rebecca has been helping me with this because I had never baked regular bread in all of my life. The cool thing is not only are we baking bread we also grind our own wheat. Which totaly amazes me that I am doing this.

I started 1 week ago with a bread off in Rebecca's kitchen. She made bread the old fashioned way and I made it in the bread machine. We both used a recipe that was very similar to each other. After the bread was done I realized I like bread the old fashioned way better. So this past week I baked 2 more loaves this way for my first time and loved it.

The bread that we make is so healthy for us. There is no preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, additives, or anything else that is bad for us. We use honey as a sweetener, but only 2 tbs. This bread is so good and so good for us. The cool thing is Wednesday for supper James Bond (a.k.a. Alan) and I had grilled cheese sandwiches with fresh out of the oven homemade bread. It was the best sandwich we had ever had. I told Bond that I was officially spoiled and he said I did it to myself.

The amazing thing that really gets me excited is, that since God has lead us down this path, my children may not ever know or realize that bread comes in a bag and not straight out of the oven. Also, I can pass this on to them and they can do this for their families. How exciting and amazing! The generational sin of eating poorly and not taking care of our bodies, ends with Bond and I. This just gives me goose bumps and really shows me how God is working in our lives through this difficult time. If it wasn't for our situation I don't think we would be making a change like we are. Thank you God for Your mysterious ways and for not showing me what was coming because I would have chickened out. The Lord is so good and His love endures forever!

Natural or Organic?

That is the question or at least I thought it was. I thought I would go to the grocery store and just pick wichever product in natural or organic. I was so wrong.

I have learned just because those words are on the label does not mean that I can eat it. I wrongly assumed that those two words meant that it was ok to eat this it is good for you. WRONG! They still have sugar and white flour. Granted not as much white flour or the sugar is organic, but that doesn't really help me. Sometimes I will buy these products but it is not the easy cure all I was hoping it would be. Don't even get me started on things that claim to be whole wheat. It is all in the ingredients which I have to still read. So it takes me 2 hours to go grocery shopping and I have to go to more than one store, but the benefits and impact this could have on my family far out ways all of that.

On a side note. Dr. DarkSpot (a.k.a 3.5 year old son) started Prekindergarten Monday. We have chosen to home school (at least this grade) and we couldn't be happier and more at peace with our decision. Especially since this is where the Lord wants us to be. I have been doing some Preschool work with him, but this is our first reputable curriculum that we have done. We have chosen to do K4 Foundations from BJU. So far we really like it and the Dr. seems to be learning a lot. He blows me away everyday with what he can do and I am just so blessed and honored that God has lead us down this path so I can see all of this. I never planned to be doing this with my family, but only God knows the plans He has for me.

New Beginning

Happy birthday to me, I am a year old blogger! I never dreamed or thought I would start a blog or keep it this long. Yay!!!!

Now, onto other things. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am having to change my life a lot. One way things are changing is in my diet. For health reasons, and by the suggestion of a good friend, I am cutting out 90% sugar, white flour, corn syrup, and red dye all on a tight budget. I am slowly changing things over to this new way of life, and am learning a lot of things along the way. So, I will start using my blog to talk about this and get out frustrations and such as I need to. I am also homeschooling my 3.5 year old son and 11 month old daughter (as much as you can an infant), so I will be talking more about that too, hopefully. My desire is for God to use this blog to His glory, give friends and family updates, and maybe help someone along the way.

~Dori

Things

I have been tagged several times so here is my 25 random things.

1. My feet are always cold. The only time they are not cold is when I am pregnant.

2. My husband Loves my cold feet and really misses them when I am pregnant.

3. When I feel sick I drink Mt. Dew. Of course if you know me you would think I feel sick all the time since I drink that a lot.

4. I make my own laundry detergent and fabric softner (dryer sheets).
5. I am an only child.
6. I like my fruit cold except bananas.
7. After 8 years of marriage my husband finaly admitted he did not like frozen green beans, which is how I would only buy most of my vegetables.
8. I really don't like barbecue.
9. I have very little confidence when it comes to this blogging thing.
10. The thought of disappointing people scares me to death and makes me almost cry.
11. I love the middles of brownies and cakes.
12. The more chocolate the better.
13. My go to junk food is doritos and bean dip or funions(s/p?).
14. I have had both purple and pink hair within the past year.
15. I love changing my hair.
16. I am really shy which can make people think other things about me.
17. The Office is a great show.
18. I think it is ridiculous that I am 30 and still battle break outs.
19. When I am stressed I really crave a Dr. Pepper or Mt. Dew. They are kind of like my version of cigarettes.
20. I spent most of my childhood living in Burbank, California, not always as glamorous as it sounds.
21. I hate trying to decide what to eat. I wish it could be planned out for me.
22. I live with ADD. Hey look Chicken Little is on!
23. I have a digital alter ego named Cherry and she lives in Dewville.
24. I know with every fiber of my being that I am supposed to be a stay at home mom and I love it, not all the time but usually.
25. Milk hates me.

Blessing

God always amazes me. I know I shouldn't be surprised when He shows me things, but I always feel truly humbled when he does because I have always thought that He was very busy. When will I get it through my heart that He is never too busy for me? Today we were blessed by God more than I could have ever imagined possible. When Alan came back in with the mail we discovered that we had been sent a card with no return address. Inside the card was a good sum of money and an amazing sentiment. I started to cry. Alan and I both felt very undeserving of this wonderful gift. That doesn't matter though because if we had to feel deserving for God to bless us He never would be able to bless us. So, if you are the person or people who sent this amazing gift or you know them please tell them thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and know that God used you to really bless us in a time when we needed it whether we want to admit it or not.