Currently

Borrowing this from Ginna. 🙂

I’m currently…

Watching…The Big Bang Theory. I hadn’t seen it in a few days and genuinely missed them. I feel like Howard, Leonard, Raj, and Sheldon are my friends. Such a funny show.

Enjoying… Pilates! I’m not doing it right this second, but I’m getting up early tomorrow morning for a class and am going to sign up to get my certification to become an instructor soon! I’ve done yoga but I feel like Pilates has done more for me — I actually see my muscles toning and feel like I’m getting stronger. (I’m also enjoying my hammock.)
Planning… our “Spring Break” trip next week. We’re headed to VA to spend the week with the Fowlers. I’m taking advantage of having my mom-in-law at home all week and taking my sewing machine with the hopes of tailoring some pants that I’ve had forever but haven’t loved. We’ll see how it goes. I’m afraid they look better in my head than in real life…

Excited for… My Norwex job! I have loved it so far, but I feel like I’m really seeing growth, getting recruits, making changes, just getting better and learning more all around. Love it!

Cooking… Most recently: pan-grilled garlic steak with carrots and peppers. 4-5 times in the last week: kettle corn, and banana chocolate almond milk “milk shakes.”

Pinning… shirt, pants, print, my true love.

Inspired by… this book by A. W. Tozer. I read it in college, again during our first year of marriage, and pulled it off the shelf once more this week. (It’s only $0.99 for the Kindle edition!) It is small and unimposing in size, but the depth of wisdom found within requires me to read and re-read sentences until I feel like I’m somewhat close to grasping the concept. Here’s one such nugget that I’ve highlighted/asterisk’d 3 times now:

Speaking of God Incomprehensible: ‘Faith is an organ of knowledge, and love an organ of experience.’

Remembering… John Piper‘s sermon at our church this weekend. Specifically his enthusiastic proclamation that he would gladly abandon his faith if you could show him a better offer and his description of our joy found through Christ which is boundless in height and will never end.

So what are you up to currently?

Re-Post, for your entertainment

I originally posted this over 3 years ago. But I can remember it like it was yesterday. Also, take note, this is pre-Norwex. 🙂

ShamWOW

Posted on January 21, 2010 by beccacfowler

Don’t put your Shamwow in the dryer.  How do I know this?  Where do I begin…

It all started a few years ago when I realized Brian’s thing is  reading instructions.  Just like Ross’s thing is divorcing and Chandler’s thing is being funny, Brian’s thing is reading the instructions for any new device.  Or in this case, any new towel.  I should also mention that my thing is typically destruction.  I spill, drop, tear, or break things on a regular basis.

Now, when you combine these two truths about us, you have the potential for a cosmic explosion.  And an explosion we had!

Over the weekend while we were babysitting for the girls who live upstairs, Brian (not me!) spilled my full glass of water on the carpet and partially under the sofa.  Rather than going through countless paper towels, I asked Brian to run downstairs and get our Shamwow.  Worked like a charm.  A few days ago I was working at my table and spilled my cup of water (which had a lid on it but I still somehow managed to spill the whole thing).  Naturally, I reached for the Shamwow.  After drying the table, carpet, and remote (and part of the bunny who was sleeping under said table), naturally I threw it in the dryer.

This is where it gets good.  Later that day, we were in the car on the way to pick up a movie for our date night and I shared the anecdote about my spillage and use of the Shamwow… and my use of the dryer.  I think I’ll switch to script format here.

Brian: YOU WHAT!?

Becca: I put the Shamwow in the dryer. WHAT? WHY!?

Brian: [devilish smile and loud booming voice] AH HA!  I KNEW you would break the Shamwow!  You’re not supposed to do that!  You didn’t read the instructions did you!?

Becca: [arms crossed, scowled eyebrows] You foiled me on purpose!  You threw the instructions away before I could read them!  You intentionally set me up for this!

Brian: [still has a devilish look on his face] I didn’t throw them away!  Didn’t you see them under the sink stuck between the box of Brita filters and garbage bags!?

Becca: [finger wagging and pointing] You DID do this on purpose!  We’re supposed to be a team!  I can’t believe this!  Look at you, you’re so happy!!!

Brian: [fist pumps] Well maybe next time you should read the instructions!

Becca: [arms crossed again, looking out the window]  They should put it in the commercial.  I pay attention to commercials and the commercial says you just throw it in the wash when it’s dirty!  So… I assumed it meant the wash and dry cycle.  …No wonder it looks funny now.

Brian: [Becca and Brian get out of their car, walk towards the door of the video store]  Ha ha.  Now you can’t make fun of me for reading the instructions any more!  And you have to blog about this!…

[Becca and Brian open the store door and cross the threshold; Becca gives the hand slide across the throat indicating he should shut up or die.]

Becca: What should we rent?

*Side note, we purchased a new set of Shamwows at WalMart tonight.

hit me baby one more time

Oh butter LONDON, you get me. But even on sale, wherefore art thou so expensive?

Some Joy for Your Day

I made a wee picture for my iPad background and thought I’d share it. Feel free to use it if it makes you happy. 🙂

And one for you portrait-orientation types.

The Power of a Red Lipstick

In the last month or so I’ve started wearing colors on my lips. It’s not a completely novel concept, I know. But to me, that area of the beauty department was overwhelming and a little bit scary. Don’t get me wrong, I had lip gloss and chapsticks a plenty, but nothing with substantial color.

Then one night, at my friend’s birthday celebration (at the Melting Pot!), I tried on some red lipstick.

(Pre-bangs)

It automatically makes you purse your lips. 😉 No, jk. But I think the best time to try new things like this is with a group of your fun girlfriends so even if you feel like a clown (or a sassy harlot in my case), it doesn’t matter. This was a MAC Sheen Supreme lipstick in a dark pink/red color. I liked it.

Then a little while later I started reading The Small Things Blog and Kate had quite a few helpful posts about lipstick so I felt a little less silly going to the drug store and buying one. I ended up going to Walgreens with my husband (who did not need much convincing that I should buy some red lipstick after this picture) and got two Revlon shades, the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic and the Super Lustrous Lipstick in Love That Red.

I got home and put on the lipstick. So. much. color! It is creamy and a little bit goes a long way. For my everyday look, I definitely don’t swipe it on, but rather dab it and rub it in until I get the amount of color I want.

I feel like wearing some color on my lips just makes my face look more alive. Not that I’m going to be cast as a walker on the Walking Dead anytime soon, but I realize just how much they blend in with my face when I don’t have anything on them. This is my daytime look with the lipstick.

I don’t feel over-done. Imagine my face without any color on my lips, I think you’d barely be able to tell I was smiling. While at first I thought this color was a little too orange for me, I gave it some time and decided I like it. Maybe I’ll get more of a blue-red soon. (Any recommendations? If so, what’s the price range?) The lip stain was also a good amount of color, but not nearly as pigmented as the lipstick. I think if you’re looking for something with color, go with the lipstick. You can use as much or as little as you want. Also, the stain dries out over time.

Another great reason to have a colored lipstick in your purse, photographs. Even if you’re not taking family portraits, I bet you’re taking pictures several times a week! (Hello, Instagram.) And if your lips were colored, I bet your pretty face would be in more of those pictures. Even if you’re feeling frumpy and don’t love the way you look but want to document the occasion, you can fake creativity and give it a black and white filter.

Red lips look great in black and white.

An important thing I learned, though, exfoliate your lips a bit before you put on a richly colored lipstick. I usually just take a damp wash cloth and scrub away. That way your color goes on smoothly and your lips will just look nicer and you won’t be like me, trying to figure out if it’s leftover damage from your braces 10 years ago.

Honestly, if you don’t have a go-to lipstick or at least a tinted lip gloss or lip balm, get yourself some! All I’ve been thinking lately is, why didn’t I try this sooner?

I have a few other favorite balms, stains, and glosses that I’ve been using lately, not quite so bright, I’ll do another post on them.

grocery challenge

This week I have given myself a challenge: Spend as little as possible on food and groceries.

Actually, it started as: Don’t spend any money on food this week.

But we have a weekly social gathering at Moe’s with our Bible study, so that blew the plan from the get-go. Since kids (i.e. me) eat for free, we’ll let it slide. Also, I was really craving oj this week — some mornings I just want water, but sometimes I need juice. So instead of the weekly grocery bill being the usual $80-$130 (depending on the week), it was $4.26 because I bought 2 cans of frozen oj concentrate.

Based on my current fridge and pantry contents, here’s the meal plan I came up with for the week:

As you can see, we won’t be eating super fancy, but it won’t be like Oliver Twist either. I had a good amount of staples so even if we change our minds here or there, we can swing it.

I don’t know exactly why I decided challenge myself with this; maybe to help the monthly budget, maybe to clean out the pantry, maybe just to see if we could do it. If you want to try it with me, let me know! …maybe it’s time for you to use that can of pumpkin that has been in the pantry since last fall. Or that jar of pesto that’s close to expiring. Just sayin.

hot night, wind was blowin

I must say, I’m quite proud of my run this morning. It was a 45 min run: 5 blue, 35 green, 5 blue, but I ran a longer loop so my run lasted just at an hour. This is the fastest I’ve run this 5.2 mile loop! I know for some people (ok, most people) this is a mediocre to moderate pace at best, but for me to maintain <12:00 pace for 5 miles is awesome! In fact, for a good bit of it, I was maintaining <10:00 pace! Knowing that the heart rate monitor requires me to slow down going up hills, I’ve been taking advantage of the down slopes and booked it at nearly a 7:00 pace a few times. That’s flying for me!

Instead of just wetting the heart rate sensors like I’ve done up until now, I decided to put some gel on it and it seemed to work fine today.

I felt pretty good today, despite the heat. I left the house before 7:20 and it was already over 80* when I got home. In fact, the hardest part of the run was coming up the 3 flights of stairs to get to our place.

The other day, I enjoyed reading out on the balcony. That wasn’t an option today. I know I’m the fajillionth person to talk about it, but dang. It got smokin’ hot today.

I got my hair done this morning, which meant showering and blow-drying my hair before I went to the salon. So basically I didn’t stop sweating for a couple of hours.

After lunch, I started feeling rather yucky. I had made sure to stretch well after my run and rehydrated like a champ. I feel like most days, after I’ve run more than 4 miles, I just feel yucky. I was even wondering if it was my blood sugar so I had healthy snacks throughout the afternoon. Perhaps it’s a combination of the heat, running, and someone putting a spell on me.

No, not really. But I am enjoying Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It’s just so creative, the way Rowlings interweaves magical twists into the ordinary.

we’re through, Pandora.

I about had it out with Pandora today. She keeps doing this thing where she cuts out a song right in the middle to go to a commercial. Ok, that’s fine, if it’s a song I don’t like. I don’t pay for it, so there have to be ads.

But today I had this in front of me:

So I was pumping my jam while folding laundry. Really, what else can one enjoy while folding laundry? (If you have other ideas, do tell.)

Here’s my jam. (Previously thumbs-up’d so it would ideally play more often.) She finally got to it after about 10 back-to-back Pit Bull and Usher songs. She dangled it in front of me and then BAM! Commercial. Didn’t even get to the bridge… Before you came into my life I missed you so bad. (Such good logic.)

I got mad and yelled at her (waking the bunny) and told her we’re through. Then she responded with this:

Really Pandora? Trying to butter me up with your wily devices?

Fine.

We’re not broken up anymore.

confessions.

1. I am wearing my saggy butt sweat pants and loving it. Bri-son Kressley hates them. [Hi Brian!]

2. I don’t hate Justin Bieber any more.

3. As soon as I got home from dropping Bribri off at the airport yesterday, I came home and watched Never Say Never. And teared up.

4. At that Ginna girl’s place last night we listened to the Beeb’s Pandora station. And I liked it.

5. I like getting up early. By early, I mean before 6:00. I get so much done before 8:00am!

6. I like Justin Bieber. =-O

conversing with the toddler

I went into the den to check on the toddler and walked smack into a wall of stink.

Me: “Phew! What is that smell?”
the toddler: “Don’t know.”
Me: “Did you poop?”
the toddler: “no, Yeyeah did.”
Me: “Are you sure that wasn’t you who pooped?”
the toddler: “No. Yeyeah tried to.”
Me: “I don’t think Henrietta has that orifice.”
the toddler: “Yeah! Yeyeah has oof!”

Yeyeah is how she pronounces Henrietta. It took me a while to figure out what she was saying the first day I met Henrietta. This is Henrietta:

All I could do was chuckle. And find the nearest pile of diapers.