Day 9 - A Picture of my Best Friend

First off I have totally had blog ADD. Not sure why but I totally forgot about it. Oops. So today I am supposed to post my favorite picture of my BFF. But see, thats hard because I have many BFF's. Ya, I'm just popular like that. :)
Pictured above is me and my BFF ;) Ang. I looks super imposed amoungst the tan people!


Then me and my BFFEL, Doreen. We are upside down. And your jealous you didnt think of it.

My sweetie Nick. He puts up with SO much from me....that he MUST be listed as my BFF too. My BFF, my lifemate, my love! <3

Doreen and I's backsides! Showing off our Anam Cara (soul friend) tattoos we had just gotten.

I had more pics but got frustrated with trying to get them in the right order...or getting them to load at all...so I'll throw out some mentions!

Tanya, my brave BFF, Amy, my JOY-full BFF, Travis, my absent/busy BFF, Jessi, my FIRST BFF, Carolyn, my amazing BFF, Christy, my frugal BFF, Facebook, my social BFF (though sometimes he drives me to want to drink!), God, my saving BFF, Mindy, my always unexpected BFF, Abby, my HS BFF, Heather, my scrappin' BFF, Bailey, my little sister BFF, Kathy, my always generous BFF, Laura, my relateable BFF, and lastly but most importantly, Mom, my biological BFF.

I know I missed some people...I really wanted to make sure that I listed everyone. I am SO blessed with many wonderful people in my life. BFF and just FF or just friends for a season. Thank you all for being an amazing and growing part of my life. At this point I can almost feel my roots bound up and pressing against the sides of my pot....just waiting to BURST out and shoot up in growth. God has some amazing stuff planned for our lives very soon...I can feel it in the depths of me. I am so looking forward to it. And to taking my amazing friends along with me!!!

Day 8 - A place I've traveled To

That makes this post easy. See, I haven't traveled many places. Just the thought of traveling out of the country makes me itchy. Except maybe to Canada or Amsterdam (heehee). But I have seen many beautiful places throughout the US.


The one place I want to go FOREVER is Sea Grove Beach, Florida. Beautiful beaches, upscale neighborhoods, wonderful shops, great people. Ahhh, pure perfection.


Olivia and Mikey on the beach


I want to see this view EVERY SINGLE DAY of my life!!!! Just remembering it brings a sense of calm into my very soul.



Dallas, Texas. A great city. It has a huge gang problem. But they didn't really bother us. Well, it made me all anxious...but no one ever hassled us. Gotta love Texas...I'm excited to someday see more of it. Especially the Austin area. ;)

Disney World. Quite possibly the HOTTEST vacation we have ever taken. Yuck. We thought it would be SO fun to take Olivia for her 6th birthday. The bad part is her birthday is at the end of June. Hot, with an almost 2 year old with us. And everyone was sick. Kristo, Nick, and Mikey all ran high fevers while we were there. Olivia was sick before we left. Lots of great memories!

Good Ol Mount Rushmore. My parents idea of a "great" family road trip vacation. I never want to go there again. Ok, I do, but only to torture my children!!!! We rode in the suburban with the windows down, the whole way. I got hit in the head with a grasshopper. Like I was a dang windshield!

I do also really like Arizona. That's a beautiful place but probably too hot for me. I'd love to see Yellowstone, California, Vail, Turks and Caicos. So if you'd like to take me....I wont say no!

Day 7 - Favorite Movies

There is a problem here. I'm not a huge fan of movies. I HATE to sit that long. Which would make you think that maybe I am a really active person. Which I'm not. Mostly, I suppose I hate to be FORCED to sit that long. I fidget. I get anxious. I space out. And lastly, I fall asleep. Right now I see mostly kids movies. I love many of them. My husband makes fun of me for laughing or crying at them. If I had to pick one. My all time favorite movie is Pretty Woman. I like Breakfast Club, Dazed and Confused, Date Night, Hangover, Baby Momma, Sweet Home Alabama, Transformers, Frank and Miri, anything Cheech and Chong. Lots other probably...too many to think of. :)

Day 6 - A picture of something that makes me happy - Part 2

My minions.


LOOK at that smile. My angel.

ahhh, paradise

Teetoe, swimming it up. The little dork loves goggles. They are older than daddy, ya know.

My nephew.

Nicolas. Love his goofy butt.

Nick and I. My heart, my rescuer, the love of my life.

I also discovered through this post just how crazy I sometimes am. I can't upload as many pictures as I want...just only 5 at a time. Doh...then I didn't look at my "other windows" to see if the blogger photo uploader popped up. Oh well, I know now! :)

Day 6 - A picture of something that makes me happy - Part 1

My BFF's and me. Travis and Doreen!


Special Agent M and K swinging, last summer. Such a beautiful picture.

My niece and J

Mo getting baptized. <3

My precious Special Agent M, the light of my world. And his baby dinosaur. He is so goofy.

And I apparently can only post 5 pictures at a time....therefore today requires two posts! ;)

Day 5 - A Song to Match my Mood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVwd5KpLlXg

So I'm supposed to post a video. Which I am not 100% sure how to do yet! So I'm going to try. In the even that it doesnt work....just follow the link. Sicky Vicky because, well, I've got another cold! Every single thing that J has gotten, Mommy has gotten too. IDK if my immune system is down because of bfding of if its just luck this year! Either way....

Day 4 - My Parents

My Parents!

Marcia and Greg

They are awesome.

Moms a home health care nurse. Dad is a, hmmm, chemical salesman? And a Catholic Deacon.

They have been my rock. Supported me through the best and worst circumstances. Loved me, even when I was a demon child.

I get a lot of great traits from them.

My mom is very short. My dad is very tall. LOL.

I also blame them for any genetic defects they passed down to me. :) Frequently.

My mom is my most best friend in the whole world. In the last year she has FINALLY learned how to text message. That has been a great thing for our phone bills. We talk at LEAST once a day. And if her whole work day has gone by and I haven't texted....she thinks somethings wrong. :)

My Daddy-O is great. Always there for me, my super hero in a cape. I still can't call him when I'm having an issue without crying. Its an uncontrollable response. "Daddy, I have a flat tire. ". "Daddy, my roof is leaking ". "Daddy, I'm pregnant " Its the strangest phenomenon.

We've had and still very occasionally have our issues. But, I love my parents dearly. They must live forever. My mental health could not handle living without them. Sorry, guys, that's how its got to be.

Meaning Behind my Blog Name

Its not about justice, its about silence. Its a simple concept really, behind all things child related. Sometimes its NOT about justice....Mommy just doesn't want to hear anymore screaming! :) Its a theory stolen from the stand up comedy of the one and only Bill Cosby. My husband loves Bill Cosby. He is a super funny comedian, a great actor, and an amazing role model for men, parents, and people alike.
Dictionary.com says justice is the quality of being just; righteous, the moral principal determining conduct. Sometimes that just doesn't apply. Sometimes the offended gets in trouble instead of the offender. All in the name of silence. Because, you see, its not about justice, its about silence. And silence they say, is golden.

30 Day Challenge

Ok, peeps, here is the list of "postings" for the 30 day challenge. It was fun to retype because apparently my copy and past function doesn't work on this site. Bah!

Day 1: Introduce yourself and 15 interesting facts
Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3: Your first love
Day 4: Your parents
Day 5: A Song to Match your Mood
Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7: Favorite Movies
Day 8: A place you've traveled to
Day 9: Favorite picture of your best friend
Day 10: Something your afraid of
Day 11: Favorite TV shows
Day 12: Something you don't leave the house without
Day 13: Life goals
Day 14: A picture of you from last year - how have you changed?
Day 15:Bible Verse
Day 16: Dream house
Day 17: Something your looking forward to
Day 18: Favorite place to eat
Day 19: Something you miss
Day 20: Nicknames
Day 21: Fav picture of yourself of all time
Day 22: Whats in your purse
Day 23: Favorite books
Day 24: Something you've learned
Day 25: Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26: Dream Wedding
Day 27: Original photo of the city you live in
Day 28: Something that stresses you out
Day 29: Three wishes
Day 30: Picture of yourself on this day, 5 good things that have happened to you since starting this blog

Day 1 - Introduce myself

Introduce Yourself, Current picture, 15 interesting Facts about yourself

Well, I'm Mandie. :) Originally Amanda Gayle, I've considered changing to Mandie permanently but I don't want to hurt my moms feelings. I've discussed this with her. She agrees it would hurt her feelings. She loves the name Amanda. Its funny because I don't FEEL like an Amanda. I'm definitely a Mandie. :)

This picture isn't TOO recent but I do love it. It contains some of my favorite people!!! You can tell its not too recent because, well, most of us have a different hair color now! (In Jacob's case, he just HAS some hair now!) Also, my dear Jessica has moved away...miss her!

15 Facts about me!

1. My most favorite claim to fame is I was born with a tooth. If you've known me long, you know that. Its so strange that I must share. Wives tales say its means your going to be famous. :) Cindy Crawford was born with a milk tooth, and she graduated from my high school, that means something, right? Probably not.

2. Since using a smart phone I seem to not be able to use punctuation or capitalization on the computer. I'm so used to just double spacing and it doing it for me, I can hardly function without that feature...you will see it in my blogs, I'm sure. So I guess, my smart phone has made me dumb.

3. I love Jesus. For some, that USED to know me, it may seem like a real stretch. But I do. :)

4. I'm extremely fertile. See FOUR minions that run around my house. Now, I would like the capability to pass my fertility blessing onto someone else!

5. I have been blogging for exactly two days now. I can already tell I'm going to need Healing Journey down the road to get over my addiction.

6. I lead an amazingly blessed life. I'm under the firm belief that its what I'm GOING to do that has provided me with such a prosperous present. Don't get me wrong. We're broke, we have problems, we lead a normal life but are BEYOND blessed.

7. I am horrible at algebra (or math in general). I have taken it FOUR times as a class and failed every single time. Twice in high school. Twice in college.

8. I struggle with addictions and temptation that you may not guess. Its crazy. However, in my biggest one, I see the lies I have been told and will not be going back. Even though the longing doesn't fade away.

9. I think in Facebook status updates. I might need Healing Journey for that too. :)

10. I love to be crafty. Sewing, scrapbooking, creating, thinking, conjuring up ideas. This is how my brain works. (It does NOT work in a math kind of way). However I cannot paint or draw to save my life and I wish I could! I can see the picture in my head and somewhere between my brain and my head the message gets confused. Must be my shoulder messing it up!

FIVE TO GO!

11. I'm a little bit granola. I love cloth diapers, drying my clothes on the clothes line, breastfeeding, the idea of birthing at home (illegal in Illinois, grrr), eating naturally, using natural products, home gardens, canning (or freezing) fresh food for later, attachment parenting, co-sleeping and the idea of raising our own eggs and meat.

12. I love to read fiction books and parenting books. And self help books. I didn't love to read until about 4th grade. Then I read "Super Fudge" at the prompting of my friend Jessi. I've loved to read since then. I can no longer read horror novels though, they give me nightmares and increase my anxiety.

13. I LOVE to cook. LOVE. If only someone else would clean up my mess. I am not a neat cook. Or a neat anything for that matter.

14. I was born in Philadelphia, PA. My dad was in the Navy, stationed in New Jersey. I have yet to figure out why they didn't live on base or why I wasn't delivered in a military hospital. Maybe I've know that answer and forgotten. I'm sure that's the case!

15. I'm the oldest of two children. My little bro Thom is six years younger. He recently became a dad and fiance. I can now stand to be around him. :) In fact, I might ALMOST admit hes a LITTLE bit cool, and sometimes funny. But is still a dirtball. :)

Learning to Save Money

I am currently on a quest to learn to spend less money on groceries. Wal-Mart, IGA, and CVS do not DESERVE my husbands hard earned money! We deserve to keep it and I am now committed to KEEPING as much of it as possible. My good friend Christy has been s-l-o-w-l-y teaching me to use coupons and she is teaching a class next week that I cannot wait to attend. But I'm looking for ways to make healthier AND cheaper choices for myself, my husband, and my kids. So today I decided to make "Nesquik" at home. Its ridiculously expensive and full of nasty additives. So I did some Google work. This is what I came up with and its just as good! Plus theres only THREE ingredients!

Homemade Chocolate Milk Powder

1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
2/3 cup sugar (you could use a substitute, Id be willing to bet)
Pinch of salt

Mix well and add to milk as desired. Easy peezey lemon squeezy! :)

Starting a new blog

I've been thinking about starting a blog now since before Christmas. Mostly to journal my crazy thoughts and ideas. Sorta to share recipes and household tips. Now, inspired by Tanya's daily blogging and many of my other friends participating in the 30 day challenge, I have started it. I come up with ideas for blogs almost daily, including formulating my personal "mission statement", which will eventually fall in here....trying to find the info on the 30 day blogging challenge...bear with me as I get there.

Today, my mission statement, my life, my motivation, and my encouragement is in the form of my four minions. I just love them. I may have been a young Mother but I'm seeming to think I'm doing ok. :) And at least they are cute!!! Teetoe is 12, Special Agent M is 2, J is 9 months, and Mo is 7 in this picture. They make my heart smile.