Going to Virginia!

I know!! I am so terrible . . . I haven't posted to my blog for over a MONTH!

But I am so excited . . . I had to let you know . . . we are going to VIRGINIA! We are leaving tomorrow evening!

Why Virginia, you may ask?

We are going to visit our good friends, Dani and Andy Thaxton. You LH people may remember them from church, along with their precious children Emily, Isaac, and Abby.

We are also going to try and squeeze in a trip to D.C. for a day just because we're so close!

And we are going to spend a day or two in Radford, VA where we kind of have family (my brother's wife's family, the Sales, lives there). We have gotten to know the Sales very well because we have celebrated Thanksgiving and other holidays with them at my brother's house over the past several years, and they are always telling us that we just have to come visit them some time!

OK, I have a lot of packing and laundry to do!

Those of you still out there checking my blog - thanks for your faithfulness! And I will do better in March!

Mindi

A Little Weekend Humor For Ya . . .

My mom emailed me this joke and I just had to share it with the masses -

Pastor's Business Card

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners.At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door.

Therefore, he took out a business card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door.

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned.

Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10."

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke out in gales of laughter.

Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock."

Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked."

"A cheerful heart is good medicine" (Prov. 17:22)

Tummy Trouble at the Greene House!

Yep, we got tummy trouble. Myla got sick Tuesday night and threw up in the car. I was hoping it was that she ate something bad or ate too fast or something. But then during that night she threw up several times. Wednesday night Miranda started saying her tummy hurt, and threw up early Thursday morning and then more during the day, while Myla continued the same. Now it's Friday morning and Maci is throwing up. Molli said she was feeling nauseated and wouldn't eat breakfast this morning so I kept her home too, just in case.

That's 3, maybe 4 out of 8 . . . I assume more to follow.

I have heard that LOTS of people in B/CS have this same bug. Myla's entire class at Mother's Day Out was out AND her teacher on Wednesday. It must be VERY contagious!

So . . . if you haven't been infested by this stomach virus, stay on guard and wash your hands alot!

I'm hoping I get to go to church on Sunday! Matt and I are both on nursery duty that evening which makes me nervous.

Please add our family to your prayer lists for a miraculous recovery - or at least for it to be contained to the three who already have it.

Hope to see you all soon!

Bible Verse of the Day!

Who noticed the new addition on my blog? On the right hand side of the screen, you should see a Bible verse. It automatically changes every day!

Underneath you see a little "powered by BibleGateway.com" - so that tells you that if you want, you too can go to BibleGateway.com and get the code to put on your blog!

And about the cool logo above (that looks like a Coca-Cola logo) - I just ran across that website. It has a little paragraph about a store owner that gives away a free drink for Bible memorization -

"Dale Lanier runs a local convenience store in Snead Alabama. For the past six years, Lanier has been giving away free soft drinks and coffees to those who have memorized the monthly bible verse."

Isn't that cool? Just thought I would share!

Have a great Tuesday!

A Tribute to Diet Coke

OK, before I start this . . . I KNOW that too much Diet Coke is bad for me!! That is why I am trying to cut WAYYYY back on my consumption of diet drinks. Yesterday I had my normal one for breakfast but then I didn't have any more ALL DAY!!

I am trying to order tea at restaurants, and just have one out of my fridge a day, and drink water at meals at home.

That being said . . . here are my favorites in the Diet Soda World:

Restaurant Diet Cokes:

1. Wings 'n' More (it's actually Diet Pepsi)

2. McDonald's (with cherry flavoring - and they have sugar-free cherry that doesn't taste like Sonic's cough syrup version)

3. T.G.I. Fridays - though we rarely go there

4. Golden Corral -

5. Chili's

Bad restaurant Diet Coke:

1. Applebees - and to make it worse, they serve it in a GLASS glass, not a plastic glass!!

And a special award for the best tea that I've found - though Heather would call it cold, brown water because it's not sweet . . . Chef Cao's!

OK, now for the grocery shelf diet soda aisle -

I do not like Diet Coke in a can. Call me weird, because I can drink bucketfuls of the fountain variety. At the grocery store I buy whichever products are on sale that week: coke products or pepsi products. My favorite is probably plain Diet Pepsi if I have a choice though.

Pepsi Product:

Diet Pepsi

Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi

Pepsi One is okay - Matt likes it, so I buy it

Diet Pepsi Max - can't stand it

Matt also likes Diet Mountain Dew and Diet Code Red Mountain Dew if I can find them.

Coke Products:

Diet Cherry Coke - yum!

Diet Dr. Pepper - good but I have to be in the mood for it

Plain Diet Coke in a can - yuck - won't drink it unless I'm desperate

Coke Zero - sorry Melodi but I really do NOT like it!!

Diet Vanilla Coke - hard to find these days. I used to love it but then it got too sweet for me and I couldn't drink the stuff at all.

I also like Diet Sprite and Diet Orange Slice for a caffeine-free treat.

Special Note: Diet Coke with Splenda is nasty and Diet Coke Plus with vitamins is even worse!!! I think they are taking them both off the market. I also like my fountain diet cokes with lemons, or even limes, but the canned Diet Cokes with Lime or Lemons are not so great.

I'm a little weird about how I drink my diet carbonated beverages. I like the canned drinks right from the can, cold of course. I stick them in the freezer and set the timer for 20 minutes. Then think of a chore for myself to try and get done in 20 minutes and then the drink is my "reward." They are a little icy that way. You can also quick chill them by submersing them in ice water for five minutes. As you can see, I go to extremes to avoid pouring them over ice.

If they are fountain drinks - I accept that they must go over ice but I like it best when they come out of the fountain cold, not warm, to avoid melting the ice and diluting the flavor. I like them best out of styrofoam or a plastic glass. I have this weird theory that glass makes them go flat faster. Scoff if you must but next time you order a carbonated beverage and it comes in a glass, I'll betcha it's pretty flat in a few minutes.

I also have to have a straw. ESPECIALLY if the drink is in a glass. Otherwise the glass is too cold for my lips.

OK, that's all for my Diet Coke/Diet Soda post. Kathyrn, I hope you're happy that I blogged about this!! Next time I'm out of blog topics, beware, because I may blog about my Sandwich Rules.

Happy Monday everyone!

Weekend Update with Mindi Greene

I realize that there are probably hundreds of people out there who read my blog posts and think, Wow, I wonder what is going on now with _____________

If you have been with me since the beginning of my blog - here's a follow up!

Dryer Balls: One is lost and the other one is in the baby's toy basket. I was just thinking about them - not sure when they stopped living in the dryer. So I hunted around and found one. Maybe today I'll find number two. I did actually like them - I should find them!

Working Out: It's great!!! I have been every day this week. I missed last Saturday and Sunday but have hit every weekday, I think. I like Body Pump at 6:00 a.m. Mondays and Wednesday, and random BodyCombats and Jams when my schedule allows. And yes, sometimes I do still have to settle for the treadmills and elliptical trainers.

Dieting: Doing well there - hovering at around a 6 lb weight loss after two and a half weeks. Go Mindi!

Is Someone In My House Still Sick?: Yes. Now it's Myla. Low-grade fever off and on and an unbelievably runny nose. I think she has a sore throat too because she won't eat. And she's cutting about seven teeth. On top of all this fun, Miranda laid down for her nap saying, "Mom, I don't feel good. I'm sick." I hope she was just tired . . . but she hasn't been sick in a few weeks. It's probably her turn.

Excellent Wife-ing: It's hard for me to judge that! But I have read my assignment for Sunday night and done my Bible studying three of the days this week (I'll make it four when I read today). I definitely have room to improve but I'm getting better.

Cold Weather: Yep, it's still cold. I heard rumors of warmer weather and sunshine later this weekend. I have my fire going, though, and I love it!!

Wii Love Wii!: Yes, we do!!! Wii Love Wii! How 'Bout You?? Wii haven't been playing as often as we were though. Well, Marshall has but Matt and I haven't. If Wii ever get Guitar Hero then I will be playing non-stop!!

Huckabee: He's GREAT!! I'm still having high hopes for him. Go check out his website and learn more about Mike!! And if you see Myla at church (or anywhere else), ask her, "Myla, who are you going to vote for for President?" To which she will grin and say, "Huck-Bee!" SO cute!

OK, that's all for now!!!

Have a good weekend, everyone!!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

I am trying not to be a grump. I am trying not to complain about the wet, windy, cold weather.

I am a summertime gal. I like camping, swimming, and sitting outside on warm evenings when it doesn't get dark until 9:00.

So I'm trying to think good things about wintertime. Here are a few. This might be a short list despite me trying to be creative . . . so I might need some help!

GOOD THINGS ABOUT COLD WEATHER:
1. My kids look really cute in hats.
2. I like fuzzy socks and my new slippers.
3. I like lighting fires and then sitting by the fire for hours.
4. I like cooking cold weather things like beans and cornbread, and chili.

Ummmmm - okay I think I'm done. I guess I'll just focus on hats, socks, slippers, fires, and chili.

Brrrrr . . . did you notice that it's COLD outside?

Maybe if I had a new coat to wear that would help . . . .

Oh, and NO, the cute but unhappy, cold child pictured above is not mine . . . but a cute little tyke, no?