Archives for 2013

Cirque du Soleil Quidam Review

July 4, 2013 by Amy 1 Comment

I’ve professed my love for Cirque du Soleil since first seeing Quidam a few years ago in Charlotte. I’ve seen a couple shows since but after returning to Quidam last night, I remembered why I fell so hard for the shows in the first place.

Quidam is the quintessential Cirque du Soleil show only rivaled by the water show “O” that I saw in Las Vegas. While there is a loose storyline of a girl experiencing her imagination through a magic hat, the main acts shine. From six men hanging only by ropes twirling at break-neck speeds in sync to juggling acts that leave your mouth hanging open, Quidam astounds.

I admit I was a tad worried the girls would be completely lost and bored. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Seeing the show through my girls’ eyes was my favorite part of the night.

Emma would see someone do something amazing and look up at me to see my reaction. Our eyes would meet as in, “Yes, I saw that, and I thought it was amazing too!”

A few times I caught her clapping unprompted by me, or anyone else in the audience.

Lexi, who of course didn’t even want to go, stubbornly said she liked it during break but professed by the end that she “absolutely loved it.”

Even Scott, who admittedly is allergic to any cultural events, said that although the “distractions in between didn’t do anything for me, the main acts were amazing.”

A special part of last night was sitting in front of a little boy, about 3, who insisted on commentating the entire thing. The show would move into a dance or transition that was meant to be very moody and artsy and he would say things like:

“They are running like dogs.”

“That person looks naked.”

“That sounds like a helicopter.”

“He is funny.”

It was the most innocent, straight-forward, tell-it-like-it-is commentating I’ve ever heard.

We had a fantastic time as a family and I’d highly recommend it for all ages.

You can still get the family ticket pricing. No promo code is required. Just use this link or click on the image below.

I was provided 4 tickets in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

What I Wore Wednesday 07.03.2013

July 3, 2013 by Amy 4 Comments

It’s Wednesday when I share my outfits from the week.

I pair my outfits with inspirational photos. Read more about that here.

Email and RSS readers need to click over to the site to see the inspirational photos.

Today I have a few more outfits from vacation.

Last week I talked about how I picked up some colored shorts. Scott picked these pink ones out from The Limited last week. I love them. I saw this navy and pink combination on a WIWW post a few weeks ago so I was excited to try it.

We went out one night to PF Chang’s so I took the opportunity to wear this dress my friend Dani gave me. I felt like maybe I was overdressed but as I told my kids, “I’d rather be overdressed, than underdressed!”

Along with the shorts, I picked up the shirt and belt at The Limited too. Oh, and I love these shoes from the Nine West outlet. They are gold and sparkly and are very uncomfortable on burnt feet. Yeow!

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Where was Jesus?

July 2, 2013 by Amy 17 Comments

Trigger Warning: sexual abuse.

While we were in Palm Beach, we visited Barnes and Noble. I love the Christian section of the book store because it feels like my blog “friends’” jump out of my phone and onto the shelves.

I scan the authors and see so many familiar names…Jennie Allen, Justin and Trisha Davis, Steven Furtick, Jonathan Martin, Jen Hatmaker, Beth Moore, Angie Smith. I’m not really friends with any of them personally but after reading hundreds of tweets and blog posts from them, it feels like it at times. It makes my heart happy to see voices that I love online are also sitting on shelves for nonbloggers to pick up too.

As I scanned the shelves last week, I felt pulled towards a book by John Eldredge called Beautiful Outlaw. I’d never read any of his books but I knew many men had enjoyed Wild at Heart. The book’s subtitle is “Experiencing the playful, disruptive, extravagant personality of Jesus.”

I had brought Beth Moore’s 90 Days with Jesus study to Palm Beach and figured it would be a good companion read but it was more than that. I knew I was supposed to read that book.

And I did.

Friday evening there was a big storm in Palm Beach. We were inside but had the glass doors open as it poured. The lightning seemed to strike across the parking lot at times and the thunder reverberated loud over the nearby water. Scott was watching TV and I read my new book, trying not to move too much so my fresh sunburn wouldn’t sting.

I had already spent the morning in awe of God. The great expanse of the ocean always evokes such reverence and reading the first part of Beautiful Outlaw reminds you just how much you can experience God anywhere.

The storm seemed to only enforce thoughts of his mighty hand.

I came to a chapter near the end of Beautiful Outlaw called “Letting Jesus Be Himself – Encounters.” It detailed out some very specific encounters people had that were clearly experiences with God.

One in particular talked about a young man named David who had been experiencing depression. I wish I could just copy and paste the entire few pages but what happens is they pinpoint the root of his depression as shame. There had been an encounter with a teacher where he had agreed in his spirit that he was stupid and since then had never felt like he measured up.

John is describing his conversation with David and says he had David revisit the conversation and then talked about whether Jesus was there. David says Jesus was there, between him and the teacher and was facing David, as if shielding him. David was so relieved to know Jesus was there and cared. John asked him to renounce the agreement he was stupid and asked Jesus to take him out of the memory and to give him freedom.

He did and says John says David left his office that day “more hopeful, lighter, with a sense of drawing closer to Jesus than he had experienced for years.”

As I finished reading this, I bolted for the slippery tiled porch where the storm was just inches away and plopped down on a wet towel stretched across a plastic chair and cried.

I had a memory that I needed to return to and see where Jesus was.

I’m battling not sharing the full details but I sense that I need to.

I don’t have personal memories of what I’m going to describe. My mom told me about this when I was about 10 or 11. She said she had prayed that I wouldn’t remember it and I still cannot to this day recall any images from that time.

When I was just about 4 years old, I was with a male neighbor in our apartment complex and he asked me to pull my pants down for him. I apparently said no and bolted to my mom.

Even though technically “nothing happened”, I’d be lying if I said even just the thought of the question hasn’t affected me.

I learned in adoption training that children that are abused as babies may have no recollection of the abuse, but their bodies remember and the effects come out in different ways later on that lead them back to the abuse.

So I asked Jesus to take me back to that memory, or what I have constructed as that memory, and looked to see where he was.

At first, Jesus, was turned towards me and I was overcome with gratitude that he had protected me and given me wisdom and courage to run out of there. But then, Jesus was very clear that he was turning around and facing the man.

Since I don’t have memories, I don’t really know what happened but Jesus was speaking to my spirit that he was taking care of his consequences for me. I didn’t need to worry about whether the law was called or whether he felt bad or whether he ever thought of that time again or anything. Jesus was, and is, taking care of it. Of him. Of me.

I felt such overwhelming relief and peace. As I listened to the storm rage around me as tears flowed through my fingers, I could sense Jesus telling me the same power that was moving the storm could take care of it. Jesus had been there and was still there taking care of me.

Every time I recall that image now, Jesus is standing facing the man, blocking my view of him. He’s not moving, not wavering, not even glancing at me. He’s got it.

Jesus was there and even if in your situation something technically did happen, he was there and he hates it. He hates what happened to you. He’ll take care of you and can heal your heart if you let him.

Friends, this is why I love Jesus. Not because I’m scared of hell or because it’s the right thing to do. I love Jesus because he continually invades my life in a very personal way and fills in the gaps that not one other person can fill.

I write about this love because I’m desperate for others to know this freedom and peace. We do not have to live in our past with hurt and pain and defeat. Jesus came to give us victory. It’s not just about defeating death for salvation. The victories are for the very personal, the very specific, the very hidden hurts in our lives.

I don’t want to suggest that professional counseling may not be necessary. I’m no counselor or expert. Jesus just wants you to know that he revealed himself to me and can do the same for you.

Summer Vacation 2013: Palm Beach, FL

July 1, 2013 by Amy 6 Comments

Before I launch into a bit of a recap of our Summer Vacation, let me please remind any former Google Reader subscribers that 1 – I am crying with you and 2 – I switched to Feedly and highly recommend you do the same (just make sure to put everything in Titles-only mode).

If you’d like to resubscribe, here is my RSS feed. You can subscribe by email. Or, I also post all the posts to the Facebook page if you prefer that route (and I really want you there anyway). Also, if you’ve chosen Bloglovin’ which I hear is a great alternative too, you can Follow me on BlogLovin. Either way, I’m glad you’re here and I just want to help you stay.

So, on to our Summer Vacation recap. You need some personal history first, though.

When I was 7 my parents got a timeshare and we went to Disney. We stayed at a resort and wore Mickey Mouse cover-ups, got ears and rode the tea cups and It’s a Small World.

Since that year, I traveled with my family every summer using my parent’s timeshare. We’re beach people and even though the timeshare was technically in Myrtle Beach, SC, we often found ourselves on some Florida coast.

Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Vero Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Marco Island—so many fond memories.

For our family’s last summer vacation before I went to college, my parents splurged and took us to St. Thomas. It was my favorite vacation we took and I still dream of floating in crystal clear water hearing a man running down the beach yelling Cocktails. We never drank a cocktail but it was the principle, you know?

So, after I got engaged after my freshman year of college, I began taking my summer vacations with Scott and his family.

Due to several unfortunate factors, we didn’t plan a trip with his family this year so my parents planned a last-minute trip using their timeshare to, you guessed it, Florida. This time we ended up in Palm Beach, Florida (Riviera Beach, if you must be technical).

If I have my calculations round about right, it had been 15 years since I’d been on a Summer vacation with my family.

So, as I was walking into the resort, I had a bit of nostalgia of all the resorts we had visited when I was younger but also had a bit of a full-circle moment as I realized my girls are just a few years older than I was when we first started trekking to Florida.

It felt a little bit like home this past week and I realized just how lucky I was as a child and really, how lucky I was this week.

With all the stress of going into summer working and the water leak and just life, it couldn’t have been better timed. I honestly don’t know what kind of crazy person I would have been if I hadn’t driven 10 hours away last week. A time for everything, yes?

All that to say I guess that there’s a lot of rip-offs out there but I’ll be the first to say over 25 years later that my parent’s timeshare was a well-spent investment that I’m more grateful for than ever, especially this year.

I’m certainly not suggesting that a resort is the only way to relax. We have family-friends that super duper love their beach-side campground and we have loved all of our summers at a beach house rental with Scott’s family. I’m just saying timeshares can turn out to be a wise financial decision that gives back for generations, contrary to what some might think.

Every vacation is different and provides unique memories, timeshare or not, and these are a few of mine from Palm Beach.

We started off with one of my favorite memories—a $17 strawberry daiquiri—a splurge by Scott. That was one big honkin’ drink. The kids thought it was the best thing ever—probably because we’re way too cheap to do anything like that on a normal basis. All 7 of us enjoyed it.

I think it’s especially hilarious with the hat and sunglasses Scott bought the girls at Claire’s. It’s like HI, WE’RE ON VACATION.

We stayed pool side a few days where we did our normal routine of flips, handstands and such until one night we went to swim and a toddler had pooped in the pool for the second time that day. Lexi saw the poop in the bottom of the pool and then it just kind of ruined the whole deal for us.

We spent the rest of the time at the ocean. As you can see, it wasn’t terribly rough in the waters and there was almost no one on the beach so the kids were free to romp around on their own. This development, due to both age and environment, was glorious. Dear parents of little ones, the beach CAN be enjoyable!

I spent a lot of time in my happy place. I finished four books during the week and started into a 5th. My Twitterature post for July will be fat and happy.

I also bought this hat and felt super cool wearing it even if I’m not nearly cool enough to pull it off. But no one in Palm Beach knew.

On a whim, Scott decided to rent a paddle board. This is another anomaly as we’re not the renting type people. (Are you noticing all the splurging is on Scott’s part? I’m just sayin’)

But I admit, it was an awesome move on his part.

Emma was all about the board and went out right away. It took my mom a little convincing to get me out there and Lexi was in full-on temper tantrum mode about leaving the beach when he got it until she got a good talking-to by Grandma and I ordered her out there to GO HAVE SOME FUN WITH HER DADDY!

Clearly, we were torturing her.

Mid-week we decided we should you know, DO SOMETHING, so we decided on this amphibious tour called the Diva Duck. It toured Palm Beach and then took you in the water way and showed you a few of the mansions on Palm Beach.

Let me save you the cash and the sweaty leather seats and share my two favorite parts.

This mansion sits on Palm Beach and is owned by Celine Dion’s mother. Celine supposedly bought it for her mother for Mother’s Day. Hi, mom, here’s a card and OH, HERE’S A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR HOUSE.

This is George Clooney’s yacht named Encore that is docked in Palm Beach.

I desperately wanted it to pull out while we were on the Diva Duck and be like HI, GEORGE CLOONEY, WE’RE PASSING YOU ON THE WATER. We never saw him nor any other celebrity but apparently Palm Beach is full of them.

Except not in June.

We drove through Palm Beach later ourselves and most of the mansions were boarded up and those that weren’t, had sheets on the furniture.

Worth Avenue, which is the Rodeo Drive of Palm Beach, was like a ghost town even though it sports shops like Tiffany’s. We even found our cricket gear there too! It was good thing that we bought them there because our sports surface specialists were just about done with the pitch.

And let me say, I wouldn’t mind a revisit.

It wasn’t perfect—we had our moments, but the rest was good. Very, very good.

Tell me: where and what is your favorite summer vacation memory?

Cirque du Soleil: Quidam Giveaway Winner

June 28, 2013 by Amy Leave a Comment

quidam

Alright, folks, we’re just one week away from the Quidam Cirque du Soleil show in Charlotte.

Are you ready for the winner of the giveaway for FOUR tickets? *squee* I’m so excited. I haven’t picked the winner yet as I type this so if I weren’t busy typing, I’d be rubbing my hands together.

Here we go…

OK, I’m back from random.org.

The winner is….

*drumroll*

~~Comment #6~~ ~~Niki~~

~~I would love to give this to my brother, his very pregnant wife and 2 girls in SC. They would eat it up!~~

Niki could not make it so we drew a second name: Comment #17 Tammy! Congrats!

And if you missed winning the giveaway, remember there is a discount for a 4-pack. No promo code is required. Just use this link or click on the image below.

We’re attending the Wednesday night show and I’ll be back on July 4th for a review.

What I Wore Wednesday 06.26.2013

June 26, 2013 by Amy 8 Comments

It’s Wednesday when I share my outfits from the week.

I pair my outfits with inspirational photos. Read more about that here.

Email and RSS readers need to click over to the site to see the inspirational photos.

Just one outfit for you this week. Last week we were still dealing with the water leak debacle while trying to get ready for a week in Florida. You did not want to see my outfits.

Since arriving in Florida, I’ve basically been living in a swimsuit.

I’ve had some colored shorts on my radar for a few weeks and I found some great ones here at The Loft Outlet and The Limited. We went out for a bit of shopping after eating dinner in Tuesday night and I wore one set of shorts.

Hope y’all are having a great week!

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Working Mom Neurosis

June 25, 2013 by Amy 10 Comments

Two days after I posted The Summer Working Mom, we had a sitter come for the first time this summer to watch the girls. Scott was sleeping off his night at work and I was super busy with meetings.

We’ve done different things over the years during summer. For many years, my job was only 30 hours a week and I had very little meetings. I was able to make up work in the evenings after early bed times. Also, when the kids were younger, they still napped.

Some summers my mom and mother-in-law were both off one afternoon a week and would whisk them away. One summer we hired a middle-schooler to come hang out with them. Some summers we planned a lot of play dates at the house and they would play in their rooms or in the pool together for hours.

My job now is full-time and it’s changed in such a way that I could be in meetings on the phone for 6-8 hours straight. I don’t have the luxury of planning much work in the evenings.

The young lady we hired for this summer is 19. She’s super responsible and attentive and loves to play with them (not just watch them play) and can drive. The girls think it’s the best thing ever.

In fact, years later, they still talk about that middle-schooler coming to play with them and I’m sure they will do the same about this summer.

But let me share my neurosis about the whole situation.

When she came, it was fantastic to see her almost immediately grab a board game and take them to their room to play. They love board games and that’s something I definitely cannot do while I work.

Yay, this was the best idea ever. Look! They’re playing board games and not watching TV!

And then, guilt starts.

Oh my gosh, I’m the worst mother ever. They’re playing board games but it’s not with meeee! All their childhood memories will be with a sitter and not their mother.

Then, she takes them to the library and they pick out books to read.

Yay! They’re reading books–their teachers would be so proud. They’re going to have great memories of the sitter taking them to the library.

And then…

They’re going to go on Oprah one day and talk about how their mother never paid attention to them and they only remember me telling them to be quiet as I sat at my desk. Nevermind Oprah has been over for years. She’ll probably start the show again just to feature all their problems.

Then she swims with them–for hours. As I watch from my desk on my meeting, I can see they’re laughing and she’s doing flips with them and playing games.

What success! We got a great sitter who’s really giving them lots of attention–what more could I want?

Me. They could probably want more of me. All the other moms are at the pool with their kids. See? It’s right here on Twitter. I’m such a failure.

And on and on it goes. I continue to have an internal struggle about my kids, working and having a sitter. If I didn’t have one, they’d likely spend hours in the front of the TV. If I went into work, I’d hate not seeing them at all. So, I’m here where I see them all the time but then feel guilty about it all.

But the truth is, I know for a fact that I would not spend every single day playing board games, swimming and going to the library or the museum or whatever for hours on end. If I weren’t working, I’d be busy cleaning or organizing something or writing a blog post. I’d be doing something. Sure, there’d be more time with them but it’s not as if I’d do everything the sitter is doing.

And the fact is, they LOVE spending time with this sitter. I know they will talk about her for years to come and have great memories. I can only remember having a sitter a few times as a child and I don’t look back and say oh my gosh, my mother was such a failure. I can’t believe she wasn’t spending time with me. My thoughts are my mom had something to do and she got this great sitter for me and we had a ton of fun. Yay!

I’ve come to believe–thanks to my mom–that all this neurosis is just plain old unnecessary guilt. The Bible says Satan is out to steal, kill and destroy. He will do anything–anything–to steal my joy. Even when I have a successful job and kids that are having a blast, he is still trying to make me miserable about it all. And the thing is, no matter what situation I am in–working or not–he would do the same. It is his intent to make us unsatisfied and discontent with our job as mothers.

I believe, when I’m not being so neurotic, that there are none of us getting it “right”. It is not right to stay at home and it is not right to work. We are all called to our own place and only then are we getting it right. My job is to be sure of my call from God and then to be content with the calling and the outcome.

So, mothers, be certain I understood your neurosis. I live it, I breathe it, but I also do not accept it.

When the thoughts rage, I remind myself that I’m right where God has called me and He alone will complete the job He’s started in both me and my children. He knows what He’s doing and my job is to be content and trust Him. I remind myself to be thankful for my job, thankful for my kids, and thankful for a wonderful sitter. Gratefulness always kills the neurosis.

Moms, tell me I’m not alone. You struggle with thoughts like this too, right?

Low Country Boil

June 24, 2013 by Amy 10 Comments

Our small group from church decided to do some special meals together for the summer. One couple offered to do a Low Country Boil. Although I’d heard of it often and seen pictures of my friends on Facebook eating it, I’d never experienced it myself.

After tweeting about it, I realized that not only had many others not experienced one, some had not even heard of a Low Country Boil. So, I picked up a camera for the process and did a little research so we could all learn together.

The gist of a Low Country Boil is you get a huge pot of water, potatoes, sausage and one or more types of shellfish and boil it with some heavy seasoning.

Then, you normally throw it on a picnic table covered in newspaper where it’s all up for grabs. You’ll see we opted for throwing it in some pans instead.

I was curious, though, where exactly the Low Country Boil originated and found this from Coastal Magazine:

Once called Frogmore Stew, this one-pot wonder was created by a National Guardsman when he needed to cook a meal for 100 soldiers. Richard Gay, who learned the recipe from his family, had everyone remembering his stew. The dish was later named Frogmore, where Richard was from, by the guards who teased him about home. The postal service eliminated the name Frogmore, which changed this popular dish to Lowcountry boil.

I had suspicions it might be a Louisiana dish but it appears to have its roots right here in South Carolina, somewhere between Charleston and Hilton Head—a very lovely area of South Carolina if I do say so.

There are a ton of variations of a Low Country Boil. Some add crab, some add crawfish but here’s how ours went down.

First, you need a big pot like a turkey fryer. Most people make these for big outdoor get-togethers so that works perfectly.

Fill the pot up about half way with water. Dump 5 lbs of red potatoes and a lot of crab boil seasoning in your water. We used nearly a cup I’d guess.

The seasoning is the key. This crab boil came from Academy Sports for less than $5.

Sidebar – I will warn my gluten-free friends that this brand does have MSG in it. I took some Gluten-Flam and didn’t have any adverse reactions.

You’ll want to cook the potatoes until they’re just about done, about 30 minutes.

While that’s happening, cut your sausage—you’ll need 2-3 lbs. We used two kinds. The first is a beef sausage and the second is Kielbasa which has pork, turkey and beef.

When we went out, you could see the potatoes were at a rolling boil and ready for the sausage and corn.

Let that cook for another 15-20 minutes.

If you have folks in your group that are allergic to shrimp, you can take out a plate for them at this point.

Next, it’s time to dump in the shrimp—you’ll need 3 lbs. It’s shell-split and deveined raw.

After another 8-10 minutes, pour out your excess water in the grass.

And now…hold back your dogs and kids because it’s time to dump!

Tucker was READY for that food and you can see Bella’s nose up in the air smelling all the goodness.

As I said, normally, people throw it on newspaper on a table but it was just too muggy and hot out, so we took the party indoors.

And as Duck Dynasty folks would say, we were HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!

I know it might not look like much, but let me tell you, the seasoning is the star of the show. So much flavor and goodness. I do believe we’ll be experiencing another Low Country Boil, y’all.

Low Country Boil

5 lbs red potatoes

2-3 lbs sausage

24 small ears of corn

3 lbs of shrimp

Crab Boil to taste

Add water, seasoning and potatoes to a turkey fryer. Boil potatoes until tender (about 30 minutes). Add corn and sausage and boil 15-20 minutes. Add shrimp and boil 8-10 minutes. Remove excess water and pour food in pans or on newspaper. Enjoy!

Have you ever heard of this? Experienced it? Let me know if you make it yourself!