Menu Plan Monday 2/1-2/7

Is it just me or are these weeks just flying by?? I feel like Thanksgiving was yesterday, my goodness I need things to just slow down! Anyhow, this week is a special one in the Pate household because it marks the fourth year mr.pate and I have been married!! So we are celebrating Pate-style, which means with really yummy-not-good-for-you-or-your-weight-watcher-goal food. Since I know several of you are trying to eat healthier or lose weight, I am going to start putting my breakfast and lunch options on here in order to help you think of some ideas there too. Here is what the week will look like food-wise:

• Breakfast Options: Oatmeal, waffles, or fiber one bars
• Lunch Options: Hot Turkey & Swiss sandwich, pb&j, baked potato w/sour cream, hard boiled egg & zero point soup; veggies and fruit as side items
• Monday: Honeywing chicken tenders, mashed potatoes & green beans
• Tuesday: Coca-Cola Pork Sandwiches in the CrockPot
• Wednesday: Dinner at Dustin's
• Thursday: Our Anniversary! Going out!
• Friday: Salmon, Couscous & green beans
• Saturday: Spending the day celebrating! Mr.Pate's fav- chicken cordon bleu, mashed potatoes and broccoli... and molten lava cake for dessert!! (We totally had this Friday night at Kristi's and it was soooo incredible!)

Honeywing Chicken Tenders

3 tenders per person

Mark's Feed Store Honeywing sauce (or any bbq or wing sauce you might like)

1. Place chicken in a smaller glass baking dish.

2. Cover with sauce & bake on 400 for 20-30 minutes.

Lazy Chicken Cordon Bleu

(from Emily Stewart, who taught us to cook at Crestwood Baptist during Impact Louisville!)

4 Chicken Breasts

4 Slices swiss cheese

4 slices ham

Bread crumbs

2 eggs- lightly beaten

1 Packet Bernaise sauce

2 tbsp honey djion mustard

1. Preheat the oven to 375.

2. Drudge chicken through the eggs then the bread crumbs. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 2o minutes.

3. Take the chicken out and place 1 slice of ham over each piece. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes.

4. Place 1 slice of swiss over each piece and bake until well melted, 3-5 minutes.

5. Serve with Bernaise sauce.

**Bernaise sauce: Prepare according to directions, except you should add the djion mustard.

*** There is a fancier looking way to prepare this, which mr.pate loves. Basically, pound your chicken out very thin, bread it, place the ham and swiss on top, roll the whole thing up and bake for 30 minutes. If you want more detailed instructions for this way just let me know. Its not as hard as it sounds.

Coca-Cola Pork Sandwiches (from Sharon)

1 lb pork

1cup ketchup

12 oz diet cola

1. Place all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

2. Serve on bread or buns for a pulled pork sandwich.

Looking for meal ideas? Head to the MPM post at Org Junkie!

He understands

Last week one of my sunday school kids got baptized. During the baptism my pastor told us a story that just sums up our salvation really. He meets with each person one on one before they set the baptism date, to discuss the meaning of baptism and make sure the person understands what they are doing. During the one on one with this student the pastor asked her a question (not sure what), and her response was:

"I know I am a sinner but I know that Jesus understands."

Praise Him that He truly does understand! "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."(Hebrews 4:15-16) Basically this passage is saying that Jesus understands the struggles we deal with on a daily basis, I mean he was a human who walked on this earth, and yet He overcame it for us.

Approach His throne with confidence today my friends, because He understands. No need to clean up or hide here... out of the mouth of babes comes the most significant theology, wow!

The Big Reveal

A few weeks ago, mr.pate and I bought a new couch. We were completely blessed by our families & friends with enough hand me downs to fill our home when we got married. But after four years on the same couch (which had already served many years in another home), we were getting more than ready to fork over the dough to be more comfortable. Not only did we get a new couch, but we got curtains for the first time since we moved into the house (I have just never seen the point really) and a new rug! So here are some pics of before's and after's:

Before:

After:

Before (from a few different months):

After:

Our super cute, comfy and really-cheap-for-a-rug area rug (excuse the lazy dog that refused to move):

Cute new super soft throw pillows (I have a thing for cute throw pillows... maybe an obsession):

I am really pleased with the room & especially the price overall. Decorating a house can be so expensive! In light of the recent tragedy in Haiti, I just couldn't help but be somewhat annoyed with myself/guilted by the fact that we spend time thinking about what window treatment will look best in our rooms while some have no home, food, or family. But I know the Lord knows my heart, and I just prayed He would protect us from being consumed with all the material details. We found some curtains that were to die for at Target, soo soo cute! But man curtain panels are expensive! Who knew? When we found the clearance ones that were only $5 and matched the room it was just too hard to justify spending triple or quadruple the amount on something that just hangs there, you know? Anyhow, I am totally rambling at this point. The point is, the pate living room update is complete and I think we are good for the next 20 years! Ha, heres to hoping eh?

And the winner is...

And the winner of Name that Movie Friday is....

Amanda (But I am not sure Amanda who because your profile is blocked- tell me who you are!)

The movie was Julie & Julia! Thanks to my mom, I got this movie for Christmas and play it all the stinkin time. I love it. After seeing this movie this summer (mr.pate and I actually went to the theater, in fact it was the last movie we saw), I became pretty obsessed with Julia Child. I read My Life in France & Julie & Julia, which are the books the movie is based on. And I just couldn't wait to see the movie again when it came out on DVD. I could have written 50 quotes from this movie of thins I think are funny, but I stuck with just a few. I love the fat quote- the friend is so honest and I think its funny.

Anyhow, several of you got it right so a shout out to: SECPumpkin, Cheye, Annie, and Sarahe too! Check out their blogs for some fun reading too.

Name that Movie Friday!

Welcome to Name that Movie Friday! Don't know what this is? Read all about our weekly post on movie quote trivia!

This week I decided to give you several quotes from the same movie because I couldnt pick between them to help you out.

"What do you think it means if you don't like your friends?"

"It's completely normal."

"Men like their friends."

"We're not talking about men. Who's talking about men?"

"I look fat."

"Just your face."

"I could write a blog. I have thoughts."

"I'll probably need a deadline."

"Why?"

"Because otherwise it will be like everything else I do. Let's face it I never finish anything."

"Hey!"

"Well it's true. You know why I think it is? ADD."

"You have ADD?"

"Yes. It's why I'm so bad at housework."

Name that movie!

it's like my ipod's stuck on replay, replay

Today I just feel that I must share something with you, dear readers: song lyrics. Below are lyrics that speak to me... as in literally they are in my head all day long. Some are serious, some are silly, and some make no sense at all, but these are the lyrics that run through my head all day long these days. And well they say it helps to get things out. Clear the head. Make room for new stuff to run through your head all day. Thats what they say.

• So gangsta I'm so thug, you're the only one I'm dreaming of (Hey Soul Sister, Train)

• how I lost me and you lost you (Heart of the Matter, India Arie)

• I run... my life, or is it running me? run from my past, I run too fast or too slow it seems (I Run, Lady Antebellum)

• walking like a one man army, fighting with the shadows in your head, living out the same old moments... (Say What You Need to Say, John Mayer)

• that girl is a gun to my holster, and she' s running through my mind all day (Replay, Iyaz)

• from the very first time I rest my eyes on you boy, my heart said follow through... (Waiting in Vain, Annie Lennox)

• Beautiful Lord, awesome and mighty, I'm captured by this love I see (Beautiful Lord, LeeLand)

• i'm in the kitchen coking things she likes, we real worldwide breakin all the rules, someday i wanna make you my wife (Replay, Iyaz)

• what are all these voices outside love's open door, that make us throw off our contentment and beg for something more (Heart of the Matter, India Arie)

• Before the Throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect plea (Before the Throne, ??)

• for the life of me, i cannot remember what made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise... for the life of me i cannot believe we'd ever die for these sins, we were merely freshmen (The Freshmen, Th Verve Pipe)

• she doesnt own a dress, her hair is always a mess, if you catch her stealing she wont confess, she's beautiful (Meet Virginia, Train)

• hello world, this is me, life should be..hum.. fun for everyone (Hello World, Belle Perez)

• I feel I'm moving, to the rhythm of your grace, your fragrance is intoxicating in the secret place, cause your love is extravagant (Your Love Is Extravagant, ??)

Did you begin singing in your head as you read through? I know I did! Haha! What songs do you sing all day?

Menu Plan Monday 1/25-1/31

WW update: I am 20 lbs lighter people... 20 lbs! Crazy! I have lost 20 lbs in fourteen weeks, which is just super fast. I think my body was just ready to get healthy after these last few years of craziness with my thyroid! More on this another time, but I suppose posting about food made me think it was a good time to update you on the whole weight loss thing.

Last week was a great food week. I really enjoyed almost everything we cooked (didn't really like the Hidden Valley pasta on Tuesday). It felt like a comfort food week, only it was all pretty weight watchers friendly (grown-up grilled cheeses, ranch burgers, homemade pizza)! This week I am finishing off my freezer meals from my big cooking day in December so I am definitely going to need to restock soon. I have been alot less stressed around dinner time this month than usual, which I am sure mr.pate appreciates! Haha! Hopefully the one a month cooking will become a regular habit for me. On to the plan:

• Monday: Chicken Fajita topped baked potatoes, corn and green beans
• Tuesday: Chicken Noodle Soup in the Crock Pot
• Wednesday: Dinner at Dustin's
• Thursday: One Dish Chicken Bake
• Friday: Reunion w/ Nat & Darks (we are totally cooking Pioneer Woman food!! so excited!)... Leftovers for Mr.Pate
• Saturday: Lunch with my girls at Kyoto's, dessert here and fasting for dinner due to point overload??Haha! I am not sure what will play out on this day, but whatever.
• Sunday: Soup and Grilled Cheeses

What are you having this week? Have any of you ever cooked a Pioneer Woman recipe??

Check out Org.Junkie for meal ideas, it will help you get out of that rut! Happy eating peps.

Why I Love This Week!

• Spring semester starts for WKU, which means students will be back! (Which I am both excited about and overwhelmed about haha)
• My dgroup will be starting back up on Tuesday! Yay for meeting!
• Thursday night is going to be another date night- oh yeah!
• Its going to be a girls weekend: Friday night is the reunion of darks, nat and I! And we are definitely cooking some pioneer woman food.. oh yeah! And Saturday some of the best women ever are heading to bg to hang out with me! Yay!! I can't wait!
• Really I am loving this week because I finally feel like I am back in the groove of things after the holidays, so I can just chill and enjoy time with mr.pate and our furry children.

Are you looking forward to anything this week?

In Defense of Date Night, part 2

Well, here is where I left off yesterday with why marriage is hard work:

Somewhere during all of this, I think we both lost the reasoning for a date night. I mean we dont have kids and see each other practically every night, why should we set aside a night to do the same thing we do every other night?? And so we stopped having date night. During this time we really got lazy within our marriage. For those of you who arent married, when people say marriage is hard work, they arent lying! It always confused me when people told me that, because how could hanging out with someone you love so much be work? ...

Well the hard work is not taking that for granted. (And really it applies to everything in life, not just marriage. Life is hard work.) It takes work to not go on autopilot with the things that are "routine" in our lives. It is not enough to love your husband, you have to say and show it. It is not enough to love the Lord, you have to say it and show it. So you need things like date night in your life...

Thats why I am urging you to institute a date night into your marriage. (For those of you singles reading, institute a girls night or a quality date with the Lord- whatever you are struggling to be intentional) Yes, you may be at home with your spouse every night, but setting a certain night where you both agree to only focus on you will do wonders. This will be your time to talk about anything that has been festering in your marriage, things you have been personally struggling with in life, and dream together of things to come. It may be the time that some of you do a family devotion and worship time together each week, or it may be a tradition to play a favorite game each week. Maybe you will go out and about, or maybe you will stay in and watch a movie. You may spend money or you may not spend one cent. The specifics arent important. Maybe you have young children and cant afford a sitter? Suggestions: swap babysitting time with other parents, set aside one night a month instead, or maybe just pick a night that will be your "date" night after the child/children go to bed.

Make it work for you. But make it work!

You wont regret it. But you will regret putting it off, so I challenge you this year to resolve to start this discipline, and let the Lord bless your time together.

Anyone got any other great ideas of what to do? Or maybe a tip for young mothers on how to pull it off? What about a tip for those of you who arent married? Share share share!

And the winner is...

And the winner of Name that Movie Friday is...

Jenny, with my sister being a close second! Way to go!

The movie was the classic "Dirty Dancing" as so many of you guessed. I am glad we can all bond over the late Patrick Swayze. I love this movie. Who doesn't? When we were younger, my sister and I pretty much memorized every line AND the dance at the end (you know the one where his posse dances down the aisle?)! I just watched it a few weeks ago, but get this, on the TV guide channel! Haha, yes I own the dvd but instead of just thinking of putting it in, when I saw Dirty Dancing on the cable guide I had to watch it. Are you familiar with the tv guide channel? The "tv guide" scrolls over half the screen the whole time, so that means I watched a tiny version of the movie when I could have just put it in... but this just seemed better you know?? I am weird... never claimed otherwise people!

Getting those ducks in a row... Step 3

Over the next week or two, I am taking some time to talk about planning. If you missed it, check out my last few posts on choosing a planner that's right for you & making a to-list for home and work.

Now on to the next step:

3. Identify the MIT's* (Most Important Things) :

Now that you have a list of what needs to be done, its time to think through what the "Most Important Things" (as Tsh from SimpleMom.net calls them) to do are. Basically these are the few things from your to do list (she recommends only having three) that are the most important to get done. If nothing else happens, these will.

This is a popular strategy utilized in all time management systems. One of my favorites is in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" where Stephen Covey says everything we do fits into one of four quadrants:

1. urgent and important
2. not urgent and important
3. urgent and not important
4. not urgent and not important

We need to be identifying which quadrant everything on our list is in. Is doing my laundry urgent and important? Well this depends on how long it has been since I last did laundry and how much clothing we have left to wear. Where does answering the phone fall? Typically we treat the phone as urgent- we answer it as soon as it rings. But actually we have a great thing today called Caller ID which can help us determine if answering the phone is an urgent need or not. The trick here is too look at that To Do list and think through where everything fits.

See this is where most of us fail in our productivity endeavors. We just start with the top of the list, or whatever we think should be first, and sporadically follow our to do list. But though I inevitably need to do everything on my list, there are things that are more important than others. By picking these things out, I am mindful all day of what I need to carve time out for.

Even though I pick these MIT's, that does not necessarily mean these are the things I begin doing and I wont touch the rest of the list till they are done. Sometimes there are more urgent tasks that have to be done, or just easier stuff I can knock out quickly. But since I have already identified these MIT's, each time I complete a task and get ready to start another I am reminded of my important thing that needs to be done.

I use Simple Mom's Daily Docket each day, which has a space for these MIT's on it. I highly recommend the docket, it is fabulous! I use a paper clip and put it right in my planner. You could stick it on the fridge, on your desk, or wherever really.

So, I challenge you today to label each of your tasks on that to do list. Don't be afraid this will take forever, it really will only take a minute or two! Then set aside your MIT's for the day... now go and be productive!

Up Next: The Big Goals

Now I want to know, do any of you currently do something like this? Does this whole idea appeal to you or make you want to punch me in the face?? haha! Do tell!!!

In Defense of Date Night, part 1

(This turned out super long, so I am breaking it up so as not to take all your free time today with my ramblings haha!)

Mr.Pate and I are jumping back into a lost old tradition for us this week, date night.

When we first got married... well let me back up even further. During our engagement, we were very intentional about preparing for marriage. We read books, did counseling and spent alot of time talking about meaningful things. One book we read or went through really, was called "Preparing for marriage" by Dennis Rainey and some other folks (We highly highly encourage people to go through it, it was fabulous). It was a workbook that required each person to do work on their own, then it had a session you did together. We would head to Starbucks, grab some coffee and dive in. These are some of my best memories of our relationship.

Once we got married we declared Thursday nights as Date Night. Since we were both in ministry at the time, there really was a need to set a night where we could not do ministry, seminary work etc, and instead had to focus on quality time together. It was lovely. Most of the time we wouldnt even "do" anything on Date Night, just a nice night in with dinner and games.

Its hard to remember exactly when we got away from this practice but I think it might have dwindled when mr.pate lost his job and then I had surgery. I think that was a season of life where a lot of our routine and traditions changed. I was tired all the time, and it has taken quite a long time to get back to feeling like myself. Then mr.pate started working three jobs and was never home, so our quality time consisted of me hanging out at Starbucks all the time! Haha!

Somewhere during all of this, I think we both lost the reasoning for a date night. I mean we dont have kids and see each other practically every night, why should we set aside a night to do the same thing we do every other night?? And so we stopped having date night. During this time we really got lazy within our marriage. For those of you who arent married, when people say marriage is hard work, they arent lying! It always confused me when people told me that, because how could hanging out with someone you love so much be work? ...

I will tell you how tomorrow in part 2. For now, do any of you have a regular scheduled date night? What do you do? Please share!

Getting those ducks in a row... Step 2

Over the next week or two, I am taking some time to talk about planning. If you missed it, check out my last post on choosing a planner that's right for you.

Did you think through a planner/system that works for you? If not, its never to late to get organized people! Once you know what your go to tool is, it's time to talk about what you need to put in it.

Enter step 2:

2. Make an inclusive To-Do List for Home and Work.

I have found that when I make a list that includes home and work, I get less done for both. So I now keep a to do list for each of them. These lists include everything that I have to get done for these things, but not projects I would just like to get done. Realize you may not get everything done on this list in that day (chances are you won't), but it helps to see everything that has to be done at once.

Now don't tune out if you don't have a "work" that you drive too each day. Though I have no children and have never been a stay at home mom, I think of the role as a job. So you SAHM's I think this step is for you too. I know from my close friends that sometimes mom's can completely forget to get anything other than parenting done or on the flip side they can go the whole day and end up failing to be intentional like they had meant too. I think having a list for each of these areas will give you resolve, encouragement and strength during what I hear are some of the most rewarding but challenging days of life.

Back to the To-Do list. I find it helpful to write things broken down into the smallest task possible, meaning if I need to send a bunch of emails then I will write out "send email to x, y, z" or "send email about x, send email about y, etc". Why? Because I am a person who is motivated by slashing through my to-do list. So the smaller the task, the quicker I slash something off. For you that may be more overwhelming that motivating, because it does make the list longer! Do what works for your personality. Here is a snapshot of what my 2 to-do lists look like each day:

So your challenge for today is make those to-do lists! What's on yours today?

Up next: MIT's...

Name that Movie Friday!

Welcome to Name that Movie Friday! Don't know what this is? Read all about our weekly post on movie quote trivia!

"You're wild!

What?

You're WILD!"

"I carried a watermelon."

Name that movie!

straight from the ol noggin

A few random thoughts I decided I needed to share before I plunge into the mile long to do list at work today:

• I woke up thinking it was Friday. All morning as I thought through my schedule, things at work, things coming up this weekend, etc. I was thinking it was Friday. It is, in fact, Thursday. Which I realized as I was walking to work in the rain. Realizing it is Thursday and not Friday is never a pleasant surprise, especially when one is taking a 5 minute walk in the rain to work.
  
• Do any of you ever get in a mood to only here a few songs? I am not talking about the obsession that comes with a new favorite song and wanting the radio to play it all the time, but instead wanting to hear the same 3 or 4 old songs over and over all day long. Yesterday and today this has been me. I have repeated the same 3 songs on my playlist over and over and over: Heart of the Matter by Indie Arie, Moonlight Kiss by Bap Kennedy, and Waiting in Vain by Annie Lennox.
• Have I mentioned lately how much I love the man I married? I just do. Anyone ever seen Holmes on Homes on HGTV? Its a new show they play all the time. Its not a show I think I would normally watch, but mr.pate seems to really like it which has made me get into too. Its actually quite humorous how we sit and have conversations about these poor people and their wreaked houses etc.
  
• We used the PediPaws on joey last night for the first time ever... SUCCESS! But success only happened after the dog completely threw mr.pate off the bed. Yep! He was laying flat on the ground. Our dog is a beast and if he wants to move you that is exactly what he is going to do. Joey received almost an entire bag of pretzels for somewhat sitting still and letting me trim those claws. I recommend the thing. It didnt seem to hurt him in the least, the sound the thing made seemed to hurt worse than anything!
  

Have a happy rainy Thursday people!

a preview

So I mentioned last week that we pate's got something new... a couch! And while I am not going to show you pictures yet of the couch in my sweet little home, I am giving you a blurry camera phone pic of the couch in the store.

I promise pictures of our new living room layout is coming, but I am in search of some curtains and just figured I would wait till then. So here is the couch:

It is really big and super comfy. It is nothing like what we kept saying we wanted. But at the end of the day, we found a couch that we didnt want to get up from and a deal to match. So home it came.

Have any of you gotten anything new around the house lately??

Getting those ducks in a row... Step 1

A few weeks ago I mentioned how one thing that makes my heart flutter is my planning time in the morning. I adore these few moments of my day where I get my head on straight and sip my coffee.

Some of you may be great planners and time managers, but some of you may struggle in that area. I thought I would spend a few days letting you know what works for me, in hopes that it might spur you on to find what works for you.

First a few disclaimers.

• I am not an expert in time management, in fact I don't even consider it one of my strengths.
• My way is not the only way or even the right way, but it is something that seems to work for me.
• We all are capable of and have time to plan, now whether you will choose to spend your time doing it is your call.
• I believe taking time to plan saves you time. It kinda sounds like an oxymoron when you type it, but I really think a few minutes planning can save you hours of make up time.

Now that we have those out of the way, let's move on to step one.

1. Think through and choose a planner that is right for you.

Often we pick planners on a whim around the beginning of the year, so we choose what is the cutest or the cheapest. But we end up never using it and eventually you have a stack of unused planners that are good for nothing.

For me, a planner must be cute (so I will want to look at it), big, and able to fit in my purse. I like them to have two pages per week, and to have the tiny month at a glance on the top of that sheet. Does that seem specific? It should. It has taken me 27 years to figure out what I daily seem to want or need and why other planners just got on my nerves. So look at planners that haven't worked for you and think through why. This year I got a super cute planner like the one below from Target that was cheap and big. Love it!

So your challenge for today is to find what kind of planner will work for you. Here are a few ideas that might work for you:

• a dry erase calendar on your fridge or wall
• a small checkbook sized calendar that will fit in your purse
• your cell phone (I hear iphone calendars are great)
• your laptop
• a simple piece of paper or spiral notebook
• a printed out blank calendar
• Use a download from OrganizedHome.com

The first step in being organized is to quit making excuses on why something doesn't work, and instead figuring out what will work. So get to it! And remember this needs to be something you can keep close by all day!

Up next: the good ol' To-Do List!

What kind of planner works best for you? What totally doesn't work?

Why I Love This Week!

• Four day work week!
• My dorks were just on (the Big Bang Theory) with a new episode & all new Biggest Loser tomorrow night! (I am rooting for white, green, & gray/silver)
• Mr.Pate and I are having a date night at home this week! Homemade pizza and some movies- I am pumped!
• No traveling or special event this weekend! Yay! I know that kinda sounds bad, but I feel like we havent had a free weekend since before the holidays.

What are you looking forward to this week?

And the winner is...

And the winner of Name that Movie Friday is....

No One! Haha! But Sarah gets credit for the effort!

The movie was "Last Holiday", it has become a new favorite of mine. I got it for Christmas and love putting it in while I am busy at home doing stuff. It is a fun movie and uplifting too. Check it out!

Menu Plan Monday 1/18-1/24

Hello lovely people. I am sure you are all wondering what I will be eating this week, so I of course will share. Haha.

I think I cooked once last week! Ugh! And the scale will probably show that, because I feel like we ate horribly all week. Oh well, new week and a new opportunity to make better choices. I still have meals in my fridge from my freezer cooking day back at the end of December, so I have definitely decided it was so worth it! It has saved us time, but it has also saved me money. As I make my grocery lists, I am noticing that I dont have that much to buy because most of dinner is already bought. So as long as you cook things with similar ingredients so you can buy them in bulk, freezer cooking really can help.

Anyhow, here is our plan for this week.

• Monday: Grown-up gourmet grilled cheese with zero point soup (I am thinking swiss and ham or brie and turkey?)
• Tuesday: Hidden Valley Chicken & noodles (from the freezer)
• Wednesday: Eat at Dustin's
• Thursday: Ranch Burgers, green beans and maybe a baked potato for mr.pate
• Friday: Homemade pizza and movie night!
• Saturday: Baked potatoes and soup
• Sunday: Leftovers

Head over to Org.Junkie for more great ideas!

What are you eating this week? Anything easy or yummy, or better yet both?

Are you the rebel or the earner?

My pastor was teaching us the other day in the Old Testament. He gave this summary statement for the OT (paraphrased from my note taking): "The OT is the story of God's covenant people failing to live up to God's covenant standards". And then he gave us two ways that the people failed: through rebellion and through religion.

Through Rebellion:

• They just flat out disobeyed. Sometimes we know the rules or what is expected and we just choose to do the opposite.

Through Religion:

• They just thought they were good enough to earn it on their own. They underestimated their sin and overestimated their power to overcome sin.

Its the same today. Typically we fall into one of the two categories. It may not always be the same one, but we probably tend to struggle in the same way. I tend to be the earner. If you know me you knew I would say that. In fact, as Casey was preaching mr.pate nudged me when he described the earner. I am a rule follower (I literally read all of the rules that come with games). I am a "goody-goody". And sadly I must say that most of the time this is probably because I want to control my world.

Here is the kicker- rebels know they are rebels, but religious people live in denial and with the pride that they are doing everything perfectly. Its deceptive. Its sly. And it sounds like alot of the church today. Sad times.

So which type of person are you? A rebel or a self righteous earner? Do tell and explain...

Treasuring God in Our Traditions... My take on it

I had originally hoped to finish this book before Christmas, but you know that just didnt happen. This book doesn't just talk about Christmas, but all traditions period. I sooo enjoyed it. Here are my thoughts:

Things I Liked About the Book:

• She gives real examples! If you have read any of my other book reviews, then you should know that I need real tangible examples an most books don't deliver. But she did!
• Very well organized and it flowed really well. One chapter built into the next easily.
• I expected to feel like she was "super holy mom" and I would never live up- I mean she is John Piper's wife. (Have you ever read a John Piper book? Intense!) But I actually felt like she did a great job of just being a real mom who is trying to be intentional. I mean, she is still pretty intense and amazing, but not intimidating.
• I loved reading about what having traditions actually teaches your children. Its a form of discipleship. I had never thought about how a tradition could reflect and teach about God's character- His faithfulness or His Joy etc.
• The chapter on "Everyday and the Ultimate" which talks about our everyday traditions centered on worship and devotion of the Lord. Good stuff people!
• There is just alot of wisdom, I wish I had the time to type out all of the stuff I highlighted.
• It is super cute too, with little recipes and letters throughout it.

Things that annoyed me about this book:

• I honestly just loved it. Usually I am pretty critical, but there wasn't anything that annoyed me.

So basically I think you should read it. And I think I am going to reread it before Christmas this year to get me pumped for the Holidays!

Name that Movie Friday!

Welcome to Name that Movie Friday! Don't know what this is? Find out here!

"Everybody knows Mr.Kragen. The man for whom enough... is never enough."

"You and I know the secret of life." "And what's that?" "Shhh. (Whispers) Butter."

Name that Movie!

New Years according to my pastor

Last week my pastor gave us this quote (I don't remember who its by):

"New Year's day is the religious holiday of self salvation- resolving to fix what is wrong in our lives ourselves."

Its a pretty good point. I have felt almost overwhelmed with new year's posts on blogs since the end of December. I mean, I have enjoyed them alot, don't get me wrong. But they made me feel like I needed to have my goals all laid out and ready to post. I needed to have a game plan.

But I didn't (and don't) have one. I have been mulling over my goals for this year since Christmas, brainstorming and trying to pinpoint what I really want to focus on. It's tough work setting goals which are "SMART" (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely)! And this quote made me dial in on why I am having such a hard time with this... I have been putting off really sitting down in prayer over what the Lord wants me to "resolve" to do this year. Instead, I have been thinking about what I may want. Me.

So goals are a coming people, I am that kind of a person. But let us all keep in mind that these are not things to "fix" about myself. These goals will not save me, they will not met my every need or make my life perfect. They will simply help me focus on the God given priorities in my life instead of all the other things I so easily get distracted by!

What about you, did you make any goals or resolutions? How are they going?

Chalk It Up Winner!

I wish so badly I could give this prize to each of you. I wish even more badly that I could give this prize to me. Haha! But the winner of the removable chalkboard wall decals is...

drumroll please...

Comment 147- Theresa from My Favorite Deals!

Theresa- you have until tomorrow morning at 8am to respond to my email and claim your prize! Better luck next time to everyone else (including mr.pate who really wanted to win! haha). Thanks so much for entering and sharing your ideas.

And a big thanks to CSNStores for such a fabulous giveaway! By the way, those of you with babies, did I mention how cute their decor for nursery's is?? Check out the clearance area people!

Something new for me, something new for you!

***This Giveaway is now CLOSED!***

Mr.Pate and I spent the weekend playing "rearrange the living room" because...we finally took the plunge and bought a new couch (pictures coming)! Yay! We had been shopping around for a long time trying to decide what to buy. I spent alot of time online looking around for Living Room Furniture, trying to learn what a good price would be etc. In the end, we finally decided on a leather sectional that we got a fabulous price on! So, something new for me!

But now that we have it home and have completely rearranged our living room, I am realizing that I am going to need a few new pieces of home decor to make the room complete. So it is back to shopping online for me!

But I titled this post something new for me AND something new for you. That's because the fabulous folks at CSN Stores are graciously giving you a new piece of home decor! Yep, it's my first giveaway here at Patelife, and I am super excited for one of you to get these cute removable chalkboard wall decals from AllModern.com:

They are removable, so even those of you in apartments or dorms can enjoy them. There are four panels, which are cuttable, so really the possibilities are endless! I personally would love to use them in the kitchen, writing my meal plans for the week. I also like the picture above of it being used in an office. Those of you with kids, you could put one or two on their level and let them 'play school'.

Giveaway Details:

• PRIZE:
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “Chalk it up!"
• BONUS QUESTION: In a separate comment, share how you would use these cute wall decals.
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Thursday, January 14th at 8am CST
• NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
• PRIZE SHIPS: All 50 United States and Canada
• USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Friday. Good luck!