Life on an inner tube

Every year we meet up with my in-laws on a beautiful lake in North Carolina.  It is scenic and gorgeous, and always filled with adventures.  Throughout the week, we take the boat out and take our turns riding the inner tubes.  As our spirit of adventure rises, the need for speed and bumps and high flying fun begins.

On one particular outing this year, I joined two nieces on one tube while three of my nephews climbed aboard the other.  We set off, and the need to be tossed about rose.  We flew, sometimes into each other, and definitely across the lake.  There were moments all but our hands left the tube, and all that kept us on was a strong grip and an even stronger will.  There were moments it felt as if one tube would land on top of the other as well as times we were sure we were about to get flown into the lake.  We laughed, we screamed, we held on for dear life.  And you know what?  We had fun.  We had stories to tell and excitement to retell to those who did not join us. 

Isn't that how much of life is?  We choose to hold on, we choose to let go.  It is all a matter of what we are wanting.  Do we want to see the ride to the finish or do we want to give in?  When the course becomes bumpy and tosses us side to side, how will we react?  Give in?  Let go or tighten our grip and refuse to be tossed?  Will we ride out the waves with fierce determination or decide it is no longer worth it?  What stories will we have to tell, what adventures will we have to look back on? 

I challenge you to hold on, in life, in AdvoCare, in whatever your goals may be.   You may feel, at one point or another, that there will be no way you can stay the course, that you will, in spite of all your efforts, be tossed around and thrown off course.  But friends, it will be worth it.  It will be worth the effort, worth the tightening of muscles as you increase your grip and fight to stay on.  Enjoy the journey, laugh, scream, allow others to journey with you.  Do not go alone, but even if they choose to let go, you do not have to.  You have the power, the ability to choose, the question becomes, do you really want it? 

Lessons from a family

I married into a large family. Coming from a family of four, it can become overwhelming with so many bodies running about. And then there is the noise. Constant, sometimes increasing in volume, but there is always noise. Everyone has their own opinions, and spurring everyone into action can sometimes create a challenge. I have one sibling, my husband has five. Our ideas of family can sometimes differ, as well as how we interact with them.

Being a part of this family is wonderful however. Sometimes I have to just sit back and observe, and others I am in the midst of the action. No two days are ever the same, and for family time to work, we must be flexible and put our own wants aside. We are only together, all of us, once a year. It is valuable time, precious time. Sometimes we use our time well, and there are other times when being out of our own routine sits us on the wrong side of crankiness.

I am learning more and more how to deal with people by being a part of this family. I am learning how to observe better, watch more closely, and really hear what others are saying. When a child makes a statement, they are usually expressing a want, though they may not say it directly. In a passive manner, desires are expressed, and it takes careful listening to understand. If I want them to know how much I care about them, how happy I am to be in their presence, I have to listen, and watch.

As I talk to people about AdvoCare, and work with new distributors, I am finding myself using these same "muscles." Speak little, listen intentionally, and observe their behaviors. Each will reveal the individual's desires and dreams in life. I have yet to encounter a person who does not want to be heard, who is longing for someone to find them important enough to stop, focus, and listen. Pay attention to people, they need to know their value in this life. Each person we encounter was created at a specific time for a specific purpose. Find delight in one another. More often than not, we will see the vision for someone's life, for what could be, long before they will. The belief has to begin somewhere however, and we should choose to believe in those with whom our paths cross.

Deer run

This morning as I went running, despite the humidity and the hills of our current environment, I saw a few deer.  The first one was alone, as I came around the corner, I noticed it crossing the road.  As I was a few feet from him, he looked back and I just smiled and noticed a slight wag of his tail.  Ten minutes later, three baby deer and what I assume was their mother were in the road.  They opted to run back into the safety of the woods rather than look at the girl running by them. 

I ran on, up and down the hills, sweating profusely in the humidity, and could not stop smiling.  Deer are just incredible creatures.  They are graceful, and peaceful creatures (when I have seen them anyway).  When they move there is a ballerina like movement to them and I find them beautiful to watch.  I became slightly envious of their effortless movements as I trudged along the road.  They in their grace and me in my huffing and puffing.  We were following the same road yet our journeys looked vastly different.

Such is life.  Many of us are going along the same road, with the same destination in mind, yet the way we get there is different.  Some seem to glide along with ease, never getting lost, never breaking down.  Others take detours and stop along the way.  Some will take time to enjoy the scenery, others will rush and miss everything.  It is different for each of us, and we each choose how we will get there.  There are times we choose how we react to circumstances, but it is our choice.  We choose to continue to journey on, we choose to stop, quit or give up.  We can choose to travel alone or ask others to join us.  It is a matter of choice, a series of decisions.  What we choose will determine how important the decision truly is.

Spicy Italian

I have a sister in law who is Italian.  She's spunky, and ornery, and yes, we are kindred spirits.  We love adventure, we love laughing, and we do laugh, often, and loudly, together.  She is also a super mom.  Two of her three kids have severe food allergies and watching her adapt to life in order to keep them safe is extraordinary. 

Yesterday we hopping in the car for a quick jaunt to the grocery store.  Well, in our minds it was going to be a quick jaunt that would have has back in no time.  Again, adventure is part of our nature, it finds us.  Seriously.  We don't cause trouble, it finds us.  After circling the store three times (what, you don't take the long route to your groceries?), we finally made our way out to the car.  I opened the back of the rental and loaded our groceries.  I clicked the "unlock" option to open the doors.  And.nothing.happened.  I turned to my shopping mate, "Ummm, it will not unlock."  She thought I was joking, but nope, I was not.  No big deal except the "key" on the tag was some crazy contraption that would start the car but not open the door.  Houston, we have a problem.  Storm clouds were rolling in, the groceries were in the car, and we were standing in the parking lot trying to figure out what to do.  Mild panic, a lot of laughter, and well, this could be exciting took place. 

The lightbulb came on as my Italian sister remembered, "ours is like that, let me see it, there is a key in there."  Just like that, a key was revealed, our doors were opened, and off we went.  In true form, we walked through to door laughing, and as we closed the door behind us, the rain started falling.

Who needs sleep?

As of late, I have been so amped up on possibilities, goals, and vision, that I have yet to get more than six hours of sleep on any given night.  I love the excitement, the restored drive that is happening in there household, but at some point, I am afraid I may crash (and someone start mixing up the Spark now!).  There are no complaints though, I am enjoying every moment of it.

Can someone tell me where 2010 has gone?  Seriously, it is going by much too quickly.  I am opposed I say, opposed.  My child is growing up too quickly, keeps us laughing, and has proclaimed "I love to dance and jump!"  Oh silly one.

My show is so amazing this year.  I have yet to watch a season I do not like, but these kids are just so talented.  Wow-za-roo.  Maybe it is because this season my child tries to mimic the dancers and it is stinking hilarious.  Her favorite routines happen to be the ones involve hip-hop.  Go figure. 

My brain is so full right now, that clear thoughts are just not going to happen at this moment.  Last night, had I pulled out the computer, there would actually be a really good post.  But, I waited, and here we are with this random mess of a post.  Ah, the joys of summer.

WFW 1Cor6:19

WFW 1Cor6:19
Originally uploaded by chelled.

1 Corinthians 6:19 (New International Version)Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Let's face it, we may talk about a wide range of subjects in the church, but obesity and poor health don't ever make the list. No, we would rather have brunches and gatherings that all center around food. But, the body (literal, and figurative) are not well friends. We cannot have balance in our lives if we spend time in the word then stuff our faces with junk. Inside and out, be refined and purified. Take care of what God has given you! How can we serve others, be active in our faith (which we are supposed to be), if we can barely get up and walk across the street because we are in such poor health. God said to go, yet we sit still and become more and more unhealthy.

We have it all wrong. It's not solely about the spirit, the mind and body are a part of the equation too, and we are abusing them everyday with the exercise we fail to do and the foods we choose to eat.

Something to think about.

Read more beautiful posts at WFW's new home

An update on Jaden

It's been a while since I have filled you in on little Jade, simply because I have been waiting for his parents to give everyone an update!  LOL!  Anyway, the following is taken directly from David's facebook site.  Keep praying!!!!

Since the last update...Tues, July 6th, a lot has gone on.
First and foremost...when we were told on that Tuesday we needed to get to Jaden through 72 hours again, it was rough. But prayers were offered and Jehovah heard. Within 24 hours Jaden showed good improvement. Things they tried all weekend before just would not work.  By Thursday mornings rounds (48 hours in), it seemed as though Jaden didn't even have any illness or anything anymore. They could finally progress again into the "typical" preemie things again. The Neo-Natologist male doc (1 is a female...Dr. Prado, 1 is male...Dr. Franklin--they rotate Monday to Monday 1 week each), said "You have people praying for you, don't you?? Some things happen that are simply beyond medical understanding." WHAT?? WOW!! That he bodly and proudly testified this was AMAZING!!!


On Saturday, July 10th, they began steroids (10 days) to help his lungs. The goal here is to get him off the ventilator. The longer he is on the ventilator, the more chances of pneumonia and other infections. As well, there is water that goes in and "choke"s his lungs. He needs it, but they need to get him off.


I left Sunday morning to go serve at a Youth Camp in Durango, 6 hours away.
This left Lisa as a "single" parent for a week. Jenna's grandparents and 2 cousins came to play for a few days, and that was a GREAT help!! (Of course...Nae got strep throat, but did so well with it.)  Tuesday night, Jaden had a rough night, and then Wed. afternoon he did as well. He had to be "bagged" several times. Most of this goes to issues due to the need to get him off the vent.

Between, Tues the 13th, and Thurs the 15th, he had a couple of the broncho spasms too.
Thursday, his oxygen support was 36 on O2, pressures still 13 & 5 (18/5), and breaths per minute rate was 26!!! 26!! That was at 8am when I called the nurses.
At noon, Lisa calls saying Jaden was getting irritatable, and so Dr. Prado and the nurses decided to try him on the CPAP. This puts minimal pressure in, and makes Jaden do all the breaths on his own. It provides oxygen support mainly.  From noon to 5--he did GREAT!! It seemed weird to us that they would do this, especially since the stats showed 26 breaths given per minute. 26 to 0 is a huge drop.  Jaden did so well with it though for 5 hours. This was a great chance for him to strengthen that area!!  Then he showed he was tired. Really wore out from doing all the work.  Not bad since he shouldn't be having to anyway :)  From 5-8 his stats got worse and worse.  From 8-10 he had to be bagged twice. He had 2 hard broncho spasms.  At 10:30,they decided it was time to re-vent him.

His feedings have stayed so strong though. Up to 18 ML's per 3 hours!!! They decided it would be best, especially over the weekend to just let him grow. The stats are back to what I said they were on Thursday morning. The steroids end Tuesday, so maybe they will try the CPAP again after that, as the steroids finish their work.  He is MUCH more alert.  Last night, when I got back, I went straight to the hospital. I wasn't there for 10 minutes, when I was priveledged enough to see him basically pull out his vent tube. Stressful, but --let's look for the light side.  Before they could get to "bagging" him since his stats plummetted like they do, I watched his heart rate try to climb back a little! That IS a good thing! He wanted to try to live!! Of course, he still needed the help, but what a great moment to be allowed to see!!!!

The plan now...he needs to gain the strength to get to the CPAP. His O2 support needs to continue to wean so he can get there. Please pray for that.  He may still have sick issues arise which would complicate the growth, so prayers for strength and health are great too.  I leave again on Thursday for a longer camp staffing trip. Covering my state of mind for focus, and Lisa's strength are appreciated too.  Nae has been a GREAT daughter and big sister still!!! Has yet to pull any stunts for attention (good or bad), and when I was gone, AND she was sick, she still loved on mom--knowing it had to be tough to see some of the problems Lisa had to be strong through.

Lisa has still been great. If anything, she feels like it is time to get "exercise"ing some. She has always been so great at exercise, and feels that since the bed rest, she just needs to start getting going. This will probably help keep her mind sharp through this (at least it does for me...I know it has for her before all this started too). But her battle with post-pardom has been SO AMAZING! God is giving her so much grace to get through it. She was told it would be a very rough post-pardom, but I have yet to see that. Not that we want to quit praying for her on that, but WOW!!  Several opportunities are being suggested to us. We pray God will be glorified through whatever it is He is allowing us to go through this for. We KNOW He will work all things for the good of those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose.

Love and appreciate you guys for always being there for us...praying and praising!!!

How about a random post?

My bloggy friends, I have just been hit or miss with this blogging thing lately.  We are focused on our AdvoCare business, having a ton of fun with our kiddo and each other, and my brain has been bouncing off walls enough lately to not be able to get many coherent thoughts down at one time.  It seems when I am away from the computer I am inspired, but when I sit down and start typing I can't remember a thing.  Hmmm, funny how that works. 

Who is watching So You Think You Can Dance?  It is my favorite show, in fact, the only one I ever bother watching.  The past two weeks dancers have left due to injuries.  ACH!  I do not like that, I do not like them getting hurt at all!  This year's dancers are precious, and I want to treat them all to dinner at our house and hug them and tell them they are all amazing and wonderful and need to continue pursuing their God given talents.  Yes, I'm that much of a dork.  But seriously, I love these kids.  I have no clue who will win either, all I know is that I would assume all 11 have just stayed on the show each week, kept dancing, and then all get crowned America's favorite dancer.  Now we know why no one asks my opinion on how to run these competitions!  HA!

Speaking of dancing, our girl loves to dance, and jump, and spin.  She's a bit bossy about it however.  When dancing she will tell Andy or me, "you come right here and dance, now do this."  We have yet to master her choreography however, as we keep getting squawked at.  One day we will learn.  Watch out, she'll be America's favorite dancer in 2026, I proclaim it here and now.

Have I ever mentioned I love summer, except for the heat.  The heat I do not like, at all, in fact, I cannot stand to be hot.  (And I live in Texas, oops!)  Regardless of the blazing temperatures and constant sweating, people seem to be happier during the summer months.  Everyone is more relaxed, they smile more.  They are just, well, nicer.  I rather enjoy that.  I do not even care what causes this, I just know that it is and I like it!

That about wraps up this week's randomness.  Yep, sure enough.  Well, there is more I could tell, but honestly, not many are reading anymore at this point, so why bother?  HA!  Enjoy friends, and wear your sunscreen!

Lessons from a chicken

This morning, my girl and I were watching Chicken Little, or as she calls it, the "Little Chicken."  In the beginning of the movie, following Little's first "the sky is falling" episode, there is a scene in which he is playing baseball.  All season he longs to play, to at least go up to bat, only to be told to sit back down by the coach.  With shoulders slumped, back to the bench he goes.  Tired of always being turned away, he asks his friends to help him get into shape so he too can swing the bat. 

In the final game of the season, for the penant no less, Chicken Little receives his chance.  Finally, he will be seen as a hero, he will be liked, and his father will be proud of him.  His coach, his teammates, and all the fans shout "don't swing!" as Little makes his way to the batter's box.  The first pitch comes, and he swings, and misses.  Second pitch, same as the first.  Everyone around him is shouting to not swing at the ball but to take the walk.  With fierce determination however, Chicken Little focuses on the pitcher, and swings.  He hits a homerun and his team wins the penant.  No one believed he should, or could accomplish the task before him.  Obstacle after obstacle stood in his way, and negative voices bombarded him from everywhere.  But it seems to me that Chicken Little knew he was capable, he knew if he just kept swinging he would hit the ball.  He knew he could when no one else did.  He had a decided hard and persisted without exception, and it worked.

As we watched this scene it occured to me that as we work to grow our AdvoCare business, we will hear many negative responses, we will be told no, we will be laughed at and eyes will be rolled at us.  But that has to be ok.  It is ok because we know what AdvoCare can do for an individual or a family.  Lives can be changed, futures improved, and we know that.  We want to help others achieve that, to be able to get what they want in life.  We will have to keep swinging because the homerun will come, if we choose to continue swinging, taking risks, and persisting without exception.  And we will even have to lean on others to learn, to grow, and to become better.

Prayers and my mother in law

Psalm 17:6
I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.

Last night I came home to a very happy, no, elated house.  Joy was overflowing in this place, and it was wonderful!  My husband was able to speak to his mom last night.  Yes, my mother in law who had a stroke right after our child was born, the woman who now resides in a nursing home and has been on a feeding tube since she arrived there.  Her.  She remembers her youngest child, and stated, "I'm the youngest in my family."  Our kiddo was talking and rambing in the background to which my mother in law responded, "I am going to have to come down there and spank you for not telling me you had a child."  HA!  She bid our child a goodnight, and said she'd be dreaming of her.  And, she has resumed therapies because she started feeding herself last month!  HOORAY!

You see, the last we knew, she could not communicate and was not doing any therapy, which led us to believe she basically laid in a bed in the home all day.  Last Friday, on her birthday, I made a comment on a social networking site that I would love to be able to talk to her.  My darling sister in law saw my comment and informed me we could speak to her either by calling the home and having the staff assist her or they would call us on their next visit.  We opted to wait for them to visit her, and set up a time to chat.  They called last night, and it seems she has been improving over the last month, which we were not aware of.  To say we are delighted is an understatement.  And yes, we are now planning a trip to see her so she can see her curly haired 16th grandchild.  I am so thankful, so very thankful.  The smile on my husband's face overflowed my heart with joy, but to hear our child say, "I talked to Grandma!" just made the moment sweeter.

Keep praying friends!!!!

David and Goliath

My Thoughts:
You need to run out, this minute, and get this book.  Hathaway has written a book that will draw you in and hold you captive in every page you turn.  I read this book within hours, and even when I had to put it down, I did not want to!  David and Goliath is not only well written, but I found myself deeply caring about the characters involved and their individual plights.  You will not want to put this book down, in fact, you will not be able to because you will be so enamored with this story.  So go, go now, and get it.  You will enjoy it and you will want to pass it on to as many people as possible.  Enjoy, and I promise, you will not be disappointed.  **Glass Road Public Relations, thank you for sending me this book to review, I loved every single word of it!!!

About the book:
David Liberty is alive...though his body refuses to heed his commands. Trapped in a nursing home and unable to speak, David has plenty of time to think about the choices he's made and how differently he thinks of himself and those choices now.



When he's given a rare opportunity to earn back his freedom to speak, David Liberty embarks upon the hardest part of his journey so far: the task to love without uttering a word.

That's gotta hurt

Picture taken from here

My favorite show, hands down, is So You Think You Can Dance.  Seriously, it rocks my little world and puts me into a very happy place.  The kids on the show are out of this world talented, and so extremely fun to watch.  Last night's show however broke my heart.  One of the contestants, Alex, suffered an injury and has to have surgery Tuesday.  This guy is phenomenal, and take dance to a whole new level.  He's trained in ballet, yet did this dynamic hip hop routine with Twitch.  Alex has skills, lots of them, and in every fiber of his being.  God created this boy to dance!  It was so sad last night to hear that he had to withdraw from the competition, and hear that his recovery will be at least 3 months long.  I believe, thanks to his level of fitness, he will recover well and rehabilitate in order to return to dancing.  He belongs in the world of dance, and those of us who like to peer in, are certainly blessed to have him there.

Singing in the rain, or working out anyway.

For the dry, flatlands, we have had an awful lot of rain as of late.  Flooding, the roof of a Starbucks caving in, and so much more.  Thankfully, there have been no injuries related to the insanity caused by mother nature. 

This morning, I met with my little bootcamp crew in our local park to commence with our 5:30 am workout.  Although the forecast called for rain, we began our fun in dry weather.  The workout I had planned is not an easy one, a workout that does not allow for much of a break, or rest, or time to catch one's breath.  We had roughly twenty minutes left to our fun, and the rain gently started falling.  No big deal, we pressed on.  It was more of a misting than a rain, which was fine.  Then, with ten minutes left, the intensity of the rain increased.  Down it fell, wet we got, and on we went.  Not one of the three girls suggested quitting, although I am sure they wouldn't have minded if we had.  The question was asked, "How much longer are we doing this?"  I laughed, hysterically.  But, we got through every last bit of the workout, did our stretching, and sloshed our way to our cars as one girl said, "We looked like a Gatorade commercial."

Honestly, I think it is good for the soul to have the body stuck out in the rain every now and then.  It was even better to be working out in it, to have our bodies push through the workout, to the end, in spite of the circumstances.  It is a lot like life.  We do not always get the sunshine and gentle breeze.  Every now and then, storms roll in, obstacles pop up, and we have a choice to make: keep moving forward or quit.  I for one and more than pleased that this morning, the girls chose to keep on moving.  It speaks volumes to their own dedication and desire to achieve their goals.

Direct sales is a good teacher

As you all well know, I am part of AdvoCare, a direct sales health and wellness company. I feel rather blessed to be a part of the AdvoCare family, to meet the people I have, and to learn from the best in the business. I have been able to hear from world class, Olympic, and professional athletes, well known authors, and the list of greatness goes on and on.

Twice a year, AdvoCare hosts Success School in order to bring all of its distributors together to learn, motivate, and teach. They are my favorite weekends of the year, always. Not only do I get to hear from Rising Stars and those who are setting new heights in AdvoCare, but this year I was able to hear Drew Brees and Steve Holcomb speak, and all I can say is, "wow."

The question is often asked, "Why AdvoCare?" Yes, their products are better than anything else I have ever seen, we have some of the greatest, unpaid, endorsers, and a sci/med board compiled of the country's top scientists and doctors. The science is solid, the products work, the people are amazing. But trust me, that is not even the tip of the iceberg to answer my "why."

Being involved with AdvoCare challenges me to grow, to continually learn, to reach out for help, and to always be willing to help others. First and foremost, it is increasing my faith, my time in the Word, and my prayer life. It is a company built on Christian principles, and the longer I am in AdvoCare, the more clearly I see that to be true. Secondly, it drives me to continue on; it is helping me silence so many negative voices I have heard in my life. All too often in the past, people (who should have been the voices of encouragement) told me I was not good enough, could not measure up, was too this, too that, and on and on the hurtful words came. With the goals I have written down for our AdvoCare future, there is no room for the negativity of the past. Will the road be easy? Certainly not. But that is ok because it is helping me to find new solutions and go outside of myself more. When it would be easier to just stop, I press on. It's worth it.

Finally, I am becoming a better human being, wife, and parent thanks to AdvoCare. It is all part of the growth, the road that has been laid out before me. To meet these goals, I have to make sacrifices, keep pressing on, and continue to learn. I have to ask questions, learn to teach others, and be confident in every step I take. In order to be successful, I have to learn to really listen to what others are saying, find out what it is they are looking for, and help them paint their own dreams with more vibrant colors.

I am sure this whole post sounds a bit corny, or like the beginning of a sales pitch. But friends, it is true. I wake up, daily, thanking God for bringing AdvoCare into my life. Not only am I healthier and stronger, but my family is as well. And, we are paving a way to live our lives with a tremendous amount of freedom, freedom most do not care to even imagine. I however am going to continue to dream, big, to write down my goals, and even the action steps required to meet them.

What is my "why?" Because, I am, quite simply, better for it. And because I think my family and I are very worth it.

Unwilling Warrior by Andrea Boeshaar

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book so much it took me all of a day and a half to read it.  I am pretty sure I would have finished it in one day had I had the amount of time needed to do it.  Yes, this book is that good.  I found myself wanting to reach into the story to choke, slap, yell at, something some of the characters, and to cheer on others.  Boeshaar writes this story well, and does an excellent job getting the reader to actually care about the characters in the story.  The only problem with this book, that I found, is that I do not know how everyone is!  Good thing the sequel, Uncertain Heart, will be coming out in October.  This book is a great read, especially for the summertime.  Lose yourself in the 1800s, you will enjoy every moment of it.

About the Book:

Valerie Fontaine is frightened. Her mother has passed and the War Between the States is raging. She braves the distance and leaves her finishing school in Virginia to be home with Daddy in New Orleans for Christmas.

Benjamin McCabe has a noble dream of photographing the Civil War--until his brother is lost during a battle. He has no idea his quest to find the missing brother will lead him into the enchanting presence of a New Orleans socialite.


And neither could have guessed how their lives would be forever changed.

About the Author:
Andrea Kuhn Boeshaar has been married for more than 30 years. She and her husband, Daniel, have three adult sons, daughters-in-law, and two precious grandchildren. Andrea's educational background includes the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, where she studied in English, and Alverno College where she studied in Professional Communications and Business Management.



Andrea has been writing stories and poems since she was a little girl; however, it wasn't until 1984 that she started submitting her work for publication. Eight years after that, she was convicted about writing for the Christian market. She read books in her genre (Inspirational Romance & Women's Fiction), studied the market, and worked hard to hone her craft.

Finally her first novel was published in 1994. Since then she's written numerous articles and devotionals. Andrea has also published inspiration romance novels, women's fiction, and novellas.


In 2003, Andrea joined the Hartline Literary Agency and worked for Joyce Hart as a literary agent. She saw much success. But then in 2007, Andrea realized she was more of a teacher/encourager than a sales person. She left the agency and became a certified Christian life coach. Now, in addition to her writing, Andrea enjoys encouraging others to use their God-given talents and gifts to their fullest.


Andrea has taught workshops at such writers conferences as: Write-To-Publish; American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW); Oregon Christian Writers Conference; Mount Hermon Writers Conference and many local writers conferences. She also speaks at various churches and women's groups.


Another of Andrea's accomplishments is co-founder of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) organization. For many years she served on both its Advisory Board and as its CEO

**Thank you Glass Road Public Relations for sending me this book to review!

Holy Guacamole!

On one of her last visits, Jami and I made queso. Well, we tried. It was an epic failure, yet oh so fun. Since she was visiting this past weekend, and we had more rain than this area has ever had at one time (or in a year for that matter), we tried our hand at making Guacamole like they do at Cantina Laredo. I am happy to report, this attempt was an epic success, and so very yummy!

 

The only bad news is that Jami had to fly home today, and that my friends, is very very sad for us.  But alas, I will share with you the amazing recipe rather than dwell on the sadness of my friend having to return home.  Go, make, enjoy:

Cantina Laredo Guacamole
2 Hass (small, dark green) ripe avocadoes
1 plum tomato, chopped
1/4 piece of small red onion, chopped
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
Fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp sea salt, pepper
Fresh cilantro (about 1 tbsp chopped)
Sprinkle of garlic powder

First squeeze a good amount of fresh lime (about 2 tbsp) into a wooden bowl.  Add seas salt, pepper, garlic powder, and mix.  Add avocado, jalapeno, tomato, onion, cilantro (reserve a tiny bit for garnish).  Serve immediately.

By the way, the amazing Emma completed my blog makeover.  So, if you are reading this in reader, click over and check it out.  She did an AMAZING job!  You rock Emma, THANK YOU!!!!

4th of July!

To all those who have made this day possible, thank you!

Grab your umbrellas folks

It is raining here folks, a lot.  Tons and tons of water falling from the sky.  So much for 4th of July parades and such.  Oh well.  Sometimes being forced to stay indoors and rest is good.  Especially when one of your friends is in town visiting, a friend who always bring laughter and joy with her.  In spite of the rain, I am rather confident we will still find a way to ahve some fun and enjoy this 4th of July weekend.  As my little one has been stating, "Party with Aunt Jami!"

Bouncing Brain and Fun in the Park

Once a week at 5:30 am, I meet with three lovely ladies at a nearby park and take them through a bootcamp type workout.  We have fun, although they may disagree to my definition of fun.  Oh well.  This week, we were blowing and going, working out, sweating like crazy, muscles screaming, and some guy in an SUV drives by, rolls down his window and began shouting profanities.  He was shouting, "What the &*#*#$&& are you doing at the park?  Go to the #!&#*##%$ gym!"  Nice buddy, such class, especially at such an early morning.  Surely he had something better to do.  He then shared his thoughts with people out jogging, who in turn called the police to cruise the area (too late, the guy was gone).  I am proud of how the girls and I handled it all, we said nothing and went about our business.  We did however notice every vehicle that passed by after that.

I returned from Success School Sunday and man oh man, what a wonderful weekend!  With that being said I have some goals in place, for instance:

1. Hitting 3 star gold by December 1, 2010
2. Winning a spot on the next AdvoCare incentive trip...to PARIS
3. Helping 3-5 others win a spot on said trip
4. Match my husband's income by December 1, 2011
5. Allow my husband to be a stay at home dad by December 1, 2012

With those goals in mind, I am having to switch priorities around and become more diligent with my time.  Therefore, blogging will be taking a back seat to going after these goals.  Don't you worry, I will still be posting, I cannot go without blogging for long, but really, I do not want you to worry about me.  LOL! 

I will be posting more information on my AdvoCare blog, Life on Your Terms.  Feel free to hop over there often, follow the site, and see what is happening in the world of AdvoCare and because of AdvoCare.  It is good friends!!!!