Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

So here is the topic for today:

what three celebrities would
you invite to dinner?

1. Steve Carrell. Shannon, Ricky would have been on my list, but I love this guy just as much! Incredible actors! LMBO funny. The attached video is why I love both Steve and Ricky....:)

2. Michael Buble. Do I need a reason? Ok. So he can croon out some jazzy love ballad and make my hubby jealous....:) This man is beautiful!!!!!!!!

3. Meg Ryan. This one is more for curiousity's sake. This is a prime example of why I will NEVER use lip plumper. NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What was she thinking? I will invite her to dinner so I can get the real scoop.

And folks, these are my choices......who would you invite? I can't wait to hear.....:)

My Epiphany

Okay, that might be a little dramatic, but I am truly excited about this new discovery.

For about 3 years now, we have reserved our Friday nights as "Family Night". We usually do pizza and a movie. It's been fun, but for the past 2 years, I have not enjoyed pizza with the rest of my family.

Many of you know, that I am gluten-free for reasons that are still not completely known. About 2 years ago I started having severe stomach issues which left me bedridden for almost a month. I could not figure out what the problem was and I finally saw a GI Dr. and that was pretty much a waste of time and money. I started doing my own research and, to make a long story shorter, I eventually discovered Celiac disease. I have never been officially diagnosed, but making the adjustments to a gluten free diet have almost completely eliminated my symptoms.

Okay, back to pizza night. A few weeks ago, my amazing hubby decided to make me a gluten free pizza crust......from scratch. It was pretty good. We've experimented with different flours and have finally settled on this:

We are able to make 2 whole pizzas out of one box. It's cheaper than the ready made gluten-free pizza and it's actually really good. I'd still rather have wheat, but I am just tickled that I can enjoy pizza with the rest of my family now.

Eric actually eats it with me and he doesn't even have to, so that must say something.

We put regular pizza sauce on one and the other we use alfredo or pesto. We add artichokes, spinach, fresh tomatos, portobella mushrooms, red onions, black olives, and green peppers. It's really a treat!!! If anyone reading this post is gluten free and you haven't tried this mix, I'm here to let you know it's delish! (Just make sure you have extra gluten free flour on hand to manipulate the dough. It's pretty sticky.)

Put Me In A Box And I'll Be Smitten!

Seriously.

I love spring!

I love that I can start wearing capris again. (Why are you asking yourself who's butt that is?....it's mine.....:) in sideways reality....See our LOST Blog is you've never heard of this term)

I love the azaleas that are in bloom.

I love that my kids can play outside until it's almost dark......sans the jacket.

I love that most of my favorite shows are new every week (remember when this time of year used to stink for TV watching? All reruns???).

I love that Glee is coming back on in 2 weeks. Can I get a holla?

I love that LOST is finally starting to make sense. What what? Woot Woot!!!!

However, the thing I love the most about spring is probably going to seem lame to most people. (No it's not Easter. I celebrate Jesus every day!!!)

It's the new spring line of Yellow Box Flip Flops!!! These are, hands down, the best flip flops on the planet. Comfortable, durable, adorable. I get so excited when Spring comes because that means there will a be a whole new batch to choose from. Wanna see my newest?

I was stoked even further when I found I that I didn't have to buy them a size too small.....:) They normally only go up to 10's but I found an 11 this year!!! Having children made my feet grow a whole shoe size. Fortunately, these flip flops normally conform to my foot and I can wear a size 10, but I was tickled "pink" when I saw these cuties in my size!

What is your favorite part of Spring?

I'm going to give this a try since I'm now back to staying at home. It's been forever since I actually just sat down at the computer to blog.

So here's the topic from Shannon:

would you rather live for a week in the past
or in the future?

I think I've decided that I would rather just live for a week in the future. I have regrets from my past, but I wouldn't change anything. Everything I've been through has made me who I am.

I am really looking forward to my week at Disney so I would love to go ahead and just live there right now!!!!

Let's discuss. What are you thoughts on this?

Blogtrotting: Palatka, FL

Welcome to Blogtrotting Palatka-Style!!!

When Cara asked me to do a post on my town, I kinda felt like, "What in the world am I going to tell you about little ole Palatka?"

However, I have since come up with several interesting tidbits about the town where I currently live.

First, a little about me.....I'm Melissa. I'm a pastor's wife with 3 children. We have only lived here for just short of 5 years. Being in ministry, as some of you might know, does not give me the luxury of staying planted very long. God uproots His plants, sometimes quite frequently. We have lived in 3 parts of Florida, as well as 2 parts of South Dakota.....in 12 years. So, this had the potential to be either a very lengthy post about all the places we have lived or just about the place we are now. For the sake of your reading pleasure, I'm choosing the latter.

So, Palatka.........

...........well, the very first weekend we arrived, we were introduced to an annual event called The Blue Crab Festival. This shindig brings people from all over. It's quite the boost to our poor little town's economy. We have even built several new hotels just to accomodate all of the patrons. We have attended every year, except the last. It poured down rain. And for the record, I have never eaten a blue crab. I don't even know what one looks like. The funny part about that is........I love seafood!

.....there is so much more at this festival than just eating blue crab, however. There are rides for the kids, booths with all kinds of neat vendors, and the best part???? Fried green tomatoes!!! Welcome to the south! It's just what we do here. Everything tastes better with batter!

That leads me to my next highlight of P-latka (as some around here call it). Angel's-Florida's Oldest Diner. You wanna good burger? Onion Rings? Heart Attack? You can have it all! Good on the food, bad on the arteries.

So if you're an aspiring Biggest Loser contestant, Angel's will help you get there!!! However, if you want to burn off the fat, then my next feature is just for you!

Ravine Gardens State Park is located right in the middle of Palatka.

It's a beautiful walk-thru/drive-thru scenic adventure full of history and mystery (click the link to learn more. During the month of March, Palakta holds the Azalea festival. In Spring, the Azalea's are in full bloom and it is truly breathtaking!

During the rest of the year, the park is open to walkers and runners to use it's peak/valley terrain as an exercise course! It's full of adventure for kids as well. Suspension bridges and look outs over the ravines are so much fun to experience. It's not the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone, but it's special and unique to Palatka.

So there you have it. That's a snapshot into where I live. One more thing that's neat is that I am about an hour from Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, Ocala, Gaineville and Jacksonville. I guess we are like the Donut hole....:)

Thanks for visiting......

Loved Kate....Love Michael!!!!!

Did anyone see American Idol on Wednesday? Did anyone else just love Michael Lynche's version of "This Woman's Work" by Kate Bush? Oh. My. Stars. It was just fabulous! Just my personal opinion, but I think I'm spot on when I say.........He Better Win! Yeah, he's cocky, but he's so darn cute......and he is sooooo incredibly talented! That falsetto??????? "Really? What?" (I'm quoting Randy Jackson)!

This is the original from "She's Having A Baby", which if you have not seen, you must. John Hughes is not just known for the popular 16 candles and The Breakfast Club. This is one of my all time favorites! The lawnmowing scene is classic!

And here is the version that was given by new dad, Michael Lynche:

So what did you think? Am I the only one who thinks he is precious?

We're Going To Disney World!

I haven't been this excited about something in a long time! Listen to the deal we got!!! Our family of 5 is going to Walt Disney World for 6 days, 5 nights, and 4 parks for..........are you ready for this???????

$279!

Yes, you heard that right. It's good to be a Florida Resident.

Here's how we got this amazing deal:

First, we volunteered to pick up trash around our community in the pouring, frigid rain for a few hours. We participated in the Disney "Give a Day, Get a Day" program.

Second, we upgraded our passes to the 4-days for $99(adults)/$84(kids) for Florida Residents. This only cost us $20 for adults and $5 for our kids (excluding Emmy; you had to be 6 yrs. old to volunteer, so her ticket will be the full $84) since our free ticket is a $79 voucher.

Third, we are staying in a resort for $29 per night. Yeah, we have to listen to their 90 minute schpeel, but hey, it's worth it. We've done in before and we'll probably do it again......:)

So, there you have it. That is how my family is taking the trip of a lifetime for $279!!!!! Are you jealous????? Don't hate.....be happy for us! I know I'm happy for us!