Dinner at the Portas House

I probably don't even need to add anything to this. I have no idea why they are wearing hats...at the dinner table or in general. I imagine it was part of their "treasure hunt" they had been on minutes before we ate. What can I say? I love them :) Today Alana and I went to put some finishing touches on our Christmas shopping. I am so tired, it's not even funny! We are getting ready to watch the Wonder Pets save the Nutcracker. Trust me, we've been waiting for like a week for this moment. Tomorrow is a busy day with gymnastics show-n-tell and then a secret project Alana and I have planned. Trust that there will be more about that at a future date and time. Justin has duty tomorrow (every 4 days right now grrr), so he will miss out on the festivities. Oh, and expect the gymnastics to be here tomorrow! Gotta go pop the popcorn!

Peace, Love and Goofballs

Polaroids and Postcards

What if you could reach the world one soul at a time, while living out your dreams? Would you do it? Of course you would! Justin has been writing since long before I knew him...but it wasn't until recently that it became a real ministry for him. I know that not everyone "gets" his music. A lot of people don't listen to hip-hop. Heck, even I'm a rock/pop kinda girl...sometimes I even like to throw a little country in there to shake things up :) But one thing's for certain--a lot of people do like hip-hop. While this genre typically puts out a negative message, the music that Justin writes is positive. He has been putting his heart and soul into this project, which was originally titled "Truth Serum" and now "Polaroids and Postcards"...He has been handing these cds out to people left and right. It is not about the money for him. What it is about is spreading the Word of God. You'd be amazed at the number of people he has been able to reach out to, especially on his ship...people that it would have been difficult to talk to about God without the music. He has a lot of life experience that people can relate to. I believe that this is part of the reason that God put him in the Navy. God works in mysterious ways. Justin said he would never join the military...and here he is, turning it into an outstanding, positive thing. People have been asking him for cds, and he has been faithfully burning them on his computer. I burned 30 copies in one day! He would like to have some cds made and packaged in a little more professional manner. I have seen him turn down money when giving these cds to people...but it takes money to make them. We have found an avenue that can make them for less than $1 per cd, and he hopes to be able to make them and take them on his deployment with him in 2009 to take this worldwide--literally. He trusts that God will bless this venture. I respect his ability to trust in the way that he does. Justin has not asked me to post this blog, nor does he know that I'm doing it. I would like to ask that if any of you are willing to make a donation (even if it's $1) to help see this out, that you pray about it and give as you feel God would have you to. I know that these are tough times with the economy the way it is, so I would not ask anyone to do anything that would put a further strain on their pockets. Think about it...There are close to 6000 people on his ship alone. Not to mention the people he could reach out to in all of the ports he hits over his 6 month journey. This is extremely important to Justin, so therefore it is important to me. This cd will be made, regardless of the amount of money coming from outside sources. If we have to pay for every penny of it, we will. Anyone who makes a donation will also be among the first to receive a finished copy of the cd. There is a button on the sidebar that says "Donate". If you feel led to do so, click it and follow the instructions! And thank you to those of you who have already contributed to this process.

Christmas is the season of giving...Our plan is to give people what they really need, and that is Jesus!

If you haven't heard his music and would like to visit his site here.

Peace, Love and Outreach xo

The Mac and the Joker

I'm happy to report that my computer is back and better than ever :) No sooner did I get home from the mall, did they call and tell me it was ready to be picked up. I said I'd come get it tomorrow and then changed my mind and went tonight haha. The 3 day wait turned into 3 hours. I like that kind of wait. It's so pretty and clean that I'm almost afraid to use it. The whole top case and keyboard was replaced, free of charge! Everyone I know may have had cracks in their laptops...but they also all have the opportunity to get them replaced!


So there was a little bit of drama in my day. Of course, what would a day be without a little? I said I would take Alana to play on the playground at the mall while I waited on my computer...well, the playground was closed. It's closed for 2 weeks, actually...they are going to do away with the huge pieces of food and replace it with a Looney Toon Land. This is funny to me, because Alana has no clue who any of the Looney Toon characters are! It was hard to explain to her that the playground was not there...but I tried to change her mind and tell her that she would have much more fun reading books at the bookstore anyway. So we went. We barely started reading her books she picked out when the girl that does story time (the one with the drawn on painted swirly doo eyebrows--you have to see them to even understand) came and asked if Alana wanted to make a magic wand in honor of the new J K Rowling book that came out. She did, of course. It's pretty too--a stick with some glue and red glitter on the end haha. Then the guy dressed as an escape prisoner with a bird on his shoulder (don't ask, because I don't know), asked if she wanted her face painted. That should have been the first clue...I didn't think anything of it because he was using markers that clearly said "face painting" on them and 2 little boys had just finished getting theirs done. Alana obliged and asked him to make her look like a princess. I might post the pictures later...but right now I am still reeling over the fact that the make-up DOES NOT WASH OFF!!! I have tried soap and water, make-up remover, lotion...I'm about to try baby oil before she goes to bed, but the poor kid's face is sore. Justin came home and said she looked like the Joker. It's funny, but not. She kind of reminds me of pictures I've seen of myself after I had gotten into my mom's makeup. Needless to say, I called B&N and asked that they please stop painting faces with those pens and asked what the box said to use to remove it. They answered "Mild soap & water"...so apparently my fingertips and Alana's face are not normal. At least I took her Christmas picture yesterday!

I am going to go try round four of removing the makeup...I just had to try out my "new" computer!

Peace, Love and DC Villians

These are a Few...

of my favorite things right now. I thought I'd share them with you all...because I know you all cannot live without them :)

First of all, I bring you Emergen-C. Not just any Emergen-C, though...It's Emergen-C for KIDS!!! This makes me very happy. My dad and Nancy swear by this stuff. I'm all about vitamin C, but I prefer to take the easy route and chew the tablets...This, consequently, leaves me with a mouthful of canker sores :) When I was in FL this past time visiting, I started getting sick and my dad mixed me a cocktail of Emergen-C and orange juice...I lovingly referred to it as my "dose of gross"...but let me tell ya--I felt better in 24 hours! I have been wishing that there was a way for Alana to get her vitamins the same way...and Voila! I present the Strawberry fizzy drink for kiddos.


Next, I have the Egg Nog Coffeemate. Now I shrug, because I have yet to actually have tasted this. However, I have been wondering for a month now why they don't make it in Egg Nog flavor but they make Pumpkin Spice. I'm gonna go ahead and guess that it's no Egg Nog Latte from Starbucks...but it's also much less sinful...and way cheaper. I will let you know more about the taste when I have experienced it first hand. I'm just thrilled to pieces that I found this!


Last, but certainly not least, I bring you the Glade Wisp Candles. These are not new, just new to me. Probably like the other two things on my list. I just bought one because I wanted to make the house smell Christmasey...and oh my goodness, it works so well that I bought 2 more. (They were on sale at Target for almost half the price!) They are also flameless so they won't burn the house down in the process of making it smell better...I will warn you, though...do not sniff the candle for a picture, for the chance that it might poof out some of the scented oil at the same time. I think I inhaled enough to smell Christmas til Easter.


So maybe there's nothing spectacular about any of these three things to you...but they are some of MY favorites :) I sit here in a yummy smelling house, my child chugs her vitamins while saying "yummy" and I look forward to the Egg Nog later. Andrea, you should try it. Angie, you too. Egg Nog is not of the devil. Trust me.

Off to take my computer to the Apple Store. Hope to bring her home soon!

Peace, Love and Little Pieces of Happiness...

Mac's Going to the Doctor

I am writing to say that it might be a few days before I can post again...Hopefully not, but you never know! I knew it was bound to happen, and it finally did--my MacBook cracked. Why did I know it would happen? Because it has happened to just about everyone I know that has this same computer! Luckily, Apple can fix it. Even luckier, they will fix it free of charge! I have an appointment with the geniuses over there to look at it tomorrow. I am hoping that they have the part and can fix it while I wait...or while Alana plays on the playground :) I admit that I would be lost without my computer...so let's hope that it's a quick fix!

Peace, Love and Boo Boos

Back to Reality

Thanksgiving weekend is over, and now it's time for reality to set back in. My mom flew home bright and early this morning (like before the sun came up). Alana woke up to find her Grammy gone, and that brought on the waterworks. It's always nice to have her here, but it's always insanely difficult to see her go. It's sad enough for me, but when I see Alana's little lip quivering...forget it! We braved Black Friday--well, sort of. No waking up at 4 a.m. or anything, even though Angie tried! Apparently all that tryptophan hadn't worn off yet and I slept right through her text message. By the time we got to Target, the 2 things I had wanted to buy were no longer there...but no big deal. It was a fun time spent with my mom and Alana. We pretty much decided that Thanksgiving had not really seemed like Thanksgiving at all, because let's face it...it's all about the food and the traditions. We enjoyed our time aboard the Ike, but we wanted to eat the staples. For me, it was the green bean casserole. So my mom made us a pork roast (we'd had our fair share of turkey already) along with all the fixins. Saturday we just kinda took it easy. I said it before, but I am really thankful for my life and everything that it is. Now I need to catch up on some sleep...I did, after all, wake up at 5 a.m. to drive my mom to the airport. Wahhhhh :)

Peace, Love and Weekend Reviews

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Turkey Day to everyone! It was officially time for a blog makeover, for the holidays are here...I hope everyone had a great day with food, family and maybe even football :) Our day started off with breakfast at Cracker Barrel, so I knew it would be a good one. Justin had duty today and Jeremy had to work, so we invited Angie and Jalen to come eat with us this morning. I was glad they did, because I love them to pieces! The kids were much better behaved than the last time we took them there--when they were both hungry, tired and sick haha.

Grammy, Alana and her new teddy bear "Kara"

The Three Musketeers!

So after breakfast, we took a trip to Walmart...scary, I know. Then we came home for a few hours until Justin's watch was over. He can't leave the ship until tomorrow morning after his muster, so we went to him. It was definitely an experience, having Thanksgiving dinner on an aircraft carrier! When we got there, he was in his dress blues (possibly the first time I've ever seen him in them)...so my mom had to take lots of pictures while it lasted :)

The Portas Family :)

My mom wanted to take this picture of Justin "working"

Me and Alana, "cheesing" for the camera while waiting for Justin

Justin, Grammy and Alana

So Justin took us to his office and then went to change. Then it was on to the grub! His friend Tico ate dinner with us...It was nice to finally meet him because I hear a lot about him. He is really sweet, too.

Tico, Justin, Alana and Grammy

The food was alright, but this day was more about the experience than the food haha. We got there when they were trying to clean up. I must say that I feel bad for those sailors that ate there because they didn't have another place to eat!

Justin and me
Can you believe how beautiful the sky is?!

On our way home from the ship, we stopped by Angie's house...She had made us this amazing pumpkin roll. I can't even tell you how yummy it is. I had to thank her for causing me to gain back the 5 lbs or so I've lost with one bite of rich goodness!

I'm thankful. I'm thankful that I have such an amazing family and friends...I'm thankful that I have a warm place to sleep tonight, 'cause it's COLD outside right now...I'm thankful for love in my life...I'm thankful that we live in a free country, and for my husband who helps fight for that freedom. I'm thankful for SO much. I thank You, God, for blessing my life with so very much.

Peace, Love and Deciding whether or not to brave Black Friday xo