FBC Rockport (SUYL)

Is it strange that when I googled "FBC Rockport, Tx" for photos of my beloved church, the 4th image on the list was a picture of yours truly??

I was a little creeped out.

Needless to say, I didnt find any good google-able photos of our church. Thankfully, I've posted (with pictures!) before about our move to Rockport. Check it out.

My husband and I attend FBC Rockport because my lovely and wonderful husband is on staff! He works full time as the Minister to Students (AKA Youth Pastor!) and I help out wherever help is needed! We really love FBC- it's the largest church in our town and we usually have about 500-600 divided between a traditional and contemporary service.

Oh look! I found a map! It's outdated, but you get the idea... the red star = FBC. That blue stuff is water. As in the beach. Living 2 miles from the beach means Rockport is about as laid back as it comes, which also translates to our church. We take the Bible seriously, but we're pretty easy going about everything else. It's not uncommon to see people in jeans or fishing shirts at our services.

Like I said, despite our relaxed demeanor, our head pastor, Scott Jones is Biblically sound and not only encouraging but also challenging and unafraid to step on people's toes when the timing calls for it. It also never hurts to throw a little humor in the mix.

I totally hadnt planned on blogging today, especially after having to stay at work an hour after shift change due to a late c-section, but when I saw Kelly's Korner doing a SUYL about churches, I had to spread the word about how grrrrrreat FBCR really really is! I love my church!!!!

296

This is blog post #296 and I've got something very VERY special planned for #300. That'll be right around the corner, so hang around friends and see what kind of exciting excitement this post will bring us?

Did you know the year 300 was a leap year? Fascinating!

I cant leave you with nothing (although I'd love to make 3 more short pointless blogs just to get to the big & special surprise), so here's a new recipe for a yummy steak marinade! Gone are the days of Dale's super salty serum!

Firehall Steak Marinade

(Sorry, no pictures... I ate the results!)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup brown sugar

4 cloves garlic, peeled & halved

3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

3 tbsp Montreal Steak seasoning

1 tsp Dried Mustard

1 tsp Ginger, fresh & grated

1/2 cup Teriyaki sauce

Combine all ingredients in a gallon sized plastic bag & shake to combine. Marinate steaks for at least an hour, but can be left overnight. Makes enough marinade for 4 steaks. Enjoy!

The first time I made it, I completely forgot the garlic and it still turned out alright. Also, soy sauce can be subbed in for teriyaki if you are out. The sugar helps the steaks to get a nice caramelization on the grill, but also gives a negligible sweetness to the steak. I found it to be a nice flavor complement to the smoky/salty-ness going on, but my husband requested that I cut back on the brown sugar next time around. Make it your own! Great for chicken and pork tenderloin as well!

Completely unrelated to anything in this post: I'm counting down the hours and minutes until Passion 2011/Fort Worth this weekend. Yes I'm going. Be jealous. Pictures and firsthand accounts to come!

A Glimpse into my world

Most often, when people learn what I do for a living, curiosity takes hold and people want to know what it's like. What's the grossest thing I've ever seen? (seeing 4th degree tears always make me feel woozy) Does everyone poop while pushing? (I'd estimate about 60% of people do, and it's not a big deal.) What's the weirdest baby name you've heard? (recently? Jedi.) And so on and so forth.

In a word, my job is profane. Sure, bringing life into the world is a wonderful and joyous occasion, but just remember the circumstances leading up to the birth. Labor can get vulgar, dirty and just plain gross. So, be warned!

The top 5 most jaw-dropping, head-scratching patient comments I've heard recently :

1. "Lately, my crotch snot has gotten a little out of hand." -gag.-

2. -after her doc performs a cervical exam- "Good grief, It felt like he was fisting me."

3. Me: Oh! Your baby has the hiccups -which when heard by the baby monitors, is a very very distinctive sound.- Patient: "That's what that is?! I totally thought it was my baby farting."

4. "Earlier today, I had (whispers) a bowel movement, and about 45 minutes later, my butt itched really really bad."

5. "I'm highly allergic to apple juice. Like my throat swells and I get hives. I'm not allergic to apples though, and if the apple juice is mixed in something like a drink or fruit punch, then it doesnt bother me at all." -huh?!-

Welcome to my world. What's something you've always wanted to know about labor & delivery?

Keeping my green thumbs crossed?

I spent much of this past week out in my yard salvaging some flower beds. Lots of bugs, weed pulling, digging and sunburning later, I am really proud of my beds. Before you go expecting some major great landscaping, just to clarify, I'd never really consider myself a green thumb. To further reinforce this fact, you should know there are no "Before" pictures. Only "Afters."

But in all fairness, to get the full experience, just imagine pictures of completely weeded-out beds. As in, you may not even realize that it was at one point a flower bed because there are no discernible borders. Only crabgrass.

Farewell dastardly crabgrass.

Feast your eyes.

We got Mandevilla, Bouganvillea, Lily of the Nile, Lantana and something else I dont remember the name of. Many of these lovely flowering plants grow to be quite large and I'm hoping that one day I'll be excited to show off my lush backyard tropical oasis.

That might be a bit much.

These guys are plumbago and I hope that they will grow to be large flowering bushes that eventually cover up those ugly white pipe things that stick out of my front yard.

Something that looks like this:

Hey, a girl can dream right?

Today

So far today....

1. I stepped in poop.

(not dog poop OR cat poop OR even baby poop. Seriously adult human poop.)

2. Someone asked if I was pregnant.

(no.)

I'd consider the day a success.

What a week!

So I guess the spring break memo didnt quite get to me- there was a lot of spring with very little break! Jordan spent the week with a group of kids in New Mexico doing some snow skiing and attending the WinterFuge camp. Funny how we were separated by about 1100 miles of distance and 7400 feet of elevation! (Rockport : 0 ft above sea level. Glorieta : 7400 feet above sea level. Talk about altitude sickness!!!)

Because the week of spring break is about as difficult to get off as Christmas, I had to stick around south texas and work! So since I was husbandless and dogless (Mauve stayed at the doggy hotel for the week), I worked 4 days instead of the usual 3.

(and here's a side note: for all you non-nurses, the typical full time nurse works three 12.5 hour shifts per week. That's 7am to 7:30pm give or take. Because I live 45 miles away, I leave at 6am and get home around 8:15. Long days.)

I dont usually work more than 3 days because Jordan and I are often busy with church activities at least 2, sometimes 3 and 4 days per week. Since it was spring break, youth services were suspended, so I picked up an extra shift. So I spent Monday to Thursday in the Labor unit having babies and taking names.

And since extra work = extra $$, I did something stupid...

I went with 3 friends and their combined 5 kids to the San Marcos outlet malls. On Friday. During spring break.

What were we thinking???

Despite the heat + major crowds + kid meltdowns, we had a fun time and I got lots of great new goodies, including a FAB Kate Spade purse. I'd consider the trip a total success. After shopping (and sending some of the kids to their grandparents!), we spent the night in San Antonio.

After a busy week as a bachelorette, my husband is home and I couldnt be more excited to see him and have him around again. I love my hubs!

WCS Pictorial Recap

Hello crazy hairs! This was pre-race with my work bud Kenna. The wind was whipping and I'm not talking just whipping my hair... if you get my drift. Probably at least a third of the race was run directly into the wind.

Gag.

About an hour later, a post race cool down, where I actually got to enjoy the sea breeze sitting on the steps of the beachfront pavilion. Not too shabby!

And back at home after the race for a nice little nap!

And completely unrelated: I'm just wondering if anyone knows of a Klondike bar eating technique that results in clean fingers and face? Surely there must be a way.

What would you do-oo-oo for (clean hands after eating) a Klondike bar?!

Around the corner

The Rockport Whooping Crane Strut 10K is this weekend! It's falling in the middle of my half marathon training, so I feel like I'm pretty well prepared for it. I ran 9 miles last Sunday and 10k= 6.2 miles!

This is actually my first 10k, which is funny since I've already done 2 half marathons (with a 3rd in a month!) and I really have no thoughts about this race. Me, no thoughts? Shocking, I know. I just hope to have fun! I'm dreading the early morning more than the 6 miles and I'm looking forward to a celebratory breakfast taco instead of a fast finish!

I'm off for a 4 miler this afternoon. Here's hoping for a quick 6 on Saturday!

Keepin it Real

Even though today is a Saturday, I feel like I have actually accomplished something on my day off. Lets recap, shall we?

-Went to the grocery store

-Vacuumed the Rug

-Heartgard-ed & Frontline-d little Mauve

-Ran 3.81 miles

-Cooked & baked until the sink was full to capacity...

Yes folks, we all know what this picture means....

Hello Love. I've missed you.

And there's a lot more where those came from. Half of the batch will head with me to church in the morning and feed a bunch of high school girls (and maybe the boys if we have leftovers!).

But that's not all!

I also made a pot of spaghetti sauce! I love this recipe- it's my mom's and it always reminds me of my childhood. It's kind of an all day undertaking, not that it's difficult, it just takes time. My perfect spaghetti dinner? A lot of noodles, a handful of grated mozzarella and sauce on top!

And I've got frugal covered also! See, here's the way things usually run after spaghetti night: I freeze the leftover sauce and later use it to make a pan (9x9) of lasagna. The only problem was that Jordan and I couldnt ever finish the pan and we dont do leftovers. So I recently took a Kohl's gift card I had lying around and invested in 2 smaller 4x7ish size pans- perfect size for 2 servings!

So after dinner, I made 2 pans of lasagna with the leftover sauce and these babies are now hanging out in our freezer (flanked by a few pans of fresh cinnies), waiting for the perfect evening!

Dont you love productive days??

Hurrah!

Civilization has returned to the Mims' Casa! And in honor of having reliable wifi once again (the internet's been dying for weeks and then finally kicked the bucket. AT&T's been replaced!), I shall entertain with a joke!

A Cheerio Tale:

Once there was a cheerio, and he was just a plain old cheerio. Since nobody really likes plain cheerios, Mr. Cheerio lived a life just as plain. But he wished and wished and wished that one day he would miraculously become a frosted cheerio, since of course those are the best. Despite his wishing, Mr. Cheerio went on about his plain life, with his plain job in his plain house.

One day, Mr Cheerio woke up to an interesting sight. Overnight, he developed a small oddly-colored spot! Bewildered, Mr Cheerio didnt really know what to do. He went along to work as usual, but all day long wondered what that spot meant. Finally, that evening, he gathered up all the courage he had.... and licked the spot. And nothing happened.

The next morning, Mr Cheerio woke up and was getting ready for his day when suddenly (!!) he looked in the mirror and realized that throughout the night, he morphed from a plain Cheerio into a much fancier Honey Nut Cheerio! Mr. Cheerio was pumped, because even though Honey Nut cheerios dont quite measure up to their frosted counterparts, it's a much better fate than to be a plain cheerio. So Mr. Honey Nut then reaped the benefits- new job, better house, more friends. His life was really turning around, however, deep down inside, Mr Honey Nut still really wanted to be a frosted cheerio.

Several weeks go by and one day, Mr Honey Nut wakes up to find himself in a familiar situation: that darn spot is back. Perplexed, Mr Honey Nut goes ahead to work, but spends all day thinking about what this spot could mean for him this time around. He could hardly wait to get home so that he could.... lick the spot once again. And nothing happened.

But then miraculously, the next morning Mr Honey Nut had become a Frosted Cheerio!!! All his wants and wishes and dreams had come true! Mr Frosted was overjoyed! He now had the ticket to the good life: the best job, a great house, tons of friends. Mr Frosted was living large and got invited to all the best parties. In fact, he was at a fabulous party almost every night of the week. Recently, he was at a party and after hours of schmoozing and dancing with other fabulous frosted cheerios, Mr Frosted realized that he was really, really thirsty. So he went around in search of something to drink. He saw in one corner a line of cheerios waiting for milk, but being a smart cheerio, Mr Frosted remembered that cheerios eventually get soggy in milk, so he passed. He continues searching, and comes upon a line of cheerios waiting for water. Mr Frosted, remembering his tasteless plain cheerio days, wants nothing to do with plain old water. Mr Frosted then has an epiphany! He wants- no he NEEDS some fruit punch! So Mr Frosted starts searching and looking. Famished, he asks other cheerios and wanders from room to room in search of his perfect drink. Unfortunately, after hours of searching, Mr Frosted finally realizes....

There is no punchline.