And the winner is...

And the Winner of this week's "Name that Movie Friday" is...

Angel! 

The movie was "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe". I have already mentioned Narnia may times on the blog, it is my fav book series afterall, but the other day I caught the movie on TV. I forgot how much I loved it. Especially the cute beavers, which both of the quotes came from. And my close friends and family know that I have an aversion for showering (yep I am a dirty girl at heart- dont worry I bathe often, I would just prefer not too!), so the bath day quote cracks me up! Have a good weekend everyone! I am off to graduation parties and ceremonies. 

Name that Movie Friday!

Welcome to "Name that Movie Friday"!

I have so many movies I could watch over and over again (or have watched over and over again)! So I have decided Fridays around Patelife will be a day for me to quiz you on lines from some of my fav movies. Are you up for the challenge??




"You've been sneaking second helpings, haven't you?"
"Well you never know what meal's going to be your last... esp with your cooking."
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"You're like beaver on bath day!"
"Worst day of the year!"



Name that Movie!

Fab 5 Friday!

Its time to let you know a few things that made my life a little more fabulous this week! Head to Emily's to see other people's fav fab things!

Here are a few of the things I am loving lately:

1. A Starbucks Caramel Mocha.... yummo!

2. The iPad!!!! No, I didnt suddenly get rich and buy one (I wish!), but my work did get one. So I got to bring the cute thing home and play with it! Its like a lightweight computer screen you can play on anywhere. I liked it alot, but I think I would only like it if it had the 3G not just wireless (the work one just has the wireless). But it was a fun toy to play with! 

3. My back patio: Mr.Pate has worked hard and this area is getting super cute!! Not only do we have the awesome chairs and string lights that recently made my fab 5 list, but he put rocks down in the flower beds and even planted flowers in the window box!! It is the most relaxing, awesome place ever!!! 

4. ZenniOptical: Have you heard of it?? Its an online store where you can get prescription glasses for $8 (+ $4.95 S&H)!! I broke my newest pair of glasses earlier this year, so I finally got around to ordering some more. The glasses I wear occasionally are 2 or 3 prescriptions old, so it will be lovely to upgrade- and for cheap!! I will post pics when the frames come in! 

5. A Few Days in February: This is a short Christy Nockels cd that I got several years ago at a Beth Moore conference. I just recently decided to pop it into the cd player and I am loving it. There is even a post coming soon focused on one of the songs, so be looking forward to it! ha! 

Alienation... Part 2

Over the last few weeks my pastor has been teaching through Luke 15. This chapter has the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. If you aren't familiar with these stories, you can read the chapter pretty quickly here. It has been a really challenging few weeks for me. When looking at the Prodigal son parable, he pointed out that there are 2 ways to be alienated from God:

1. The first way is to go off and break all the rules. Basically a mindset of "show me the rules and I will break them." Blatant rebellion and disobedience.

2. The second is to make the rules your god. Basically a mindset of "show me the rules and I will keep them so well that I don't need a Savior."

The 2 sons are the example of the two ways to alienate yourself from God. I think there is much to learn from both, so I am going to share some key things that challenged me during these sermons. Here are a few key points that hit me about the second type of alienation:

• Jesus tells these parables to the Pharisees because they were grumbling about Him eating with "sinners" and tax collectors. Its important to keep that in mind when thinking about this second son, because this is who he is modeled after- the Pharisees. 
• The two brothers weren't that different. They wanted the same things, they just went about getting them differently. The younger brother demanded his inheritance and went and lived it up. The older brother wanted the Father's fattened calf etc, but tried to earn his way to it. 
• Self-Righteous people (like the Older brother) are angry and resentful at themselves for not being good enough, at others for reminding them they are not good enough, and at God for not noticing how good they are. 
• Religious people are joyless because they live their life in fear that they wont be good enough. 
• Our salvation has not been earned at all by us... and that irritates us. We want to think we had some part in it. We don't want it to be all Jesus... but it is. I do not deserve salvation anymore than anyone else.... even those "really bad sinners". 
• The parable leaves off without telling us if the older brother chooses to go in or not. I think Jesus did this on purpose to pose a question to the Pharisees. Will you rejoice that "sinners" are coming to the Lord?? Or will you pout outside because you think you deserve it more?? 

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." Luke 15:7

Alienation

Over the last few weeks my pastor has been teaching through Luke 15. This chapter has the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son. If you aren't familiar with these stories, you can read the chapter pretty quickly here. It has been a really challenging few weeks for me. When looking at the Prodigal son parable, he pointed out that there are 2 ways to be alienated from God:

1. The first way is to go off and break all the rules. Basically a mindset of "show me the rules and I will break them." Blatant rebellion and disobedience.
2. The second is to make the rules your god. Basically a mindset of "show me the rules and I will keep them so well that I don't need a Savior."

The 2 sons are the example of the two ways to alienate yourself from God. I think there is much to learn from both, so I am going to share some key things that challenged me during these sermons. Here are a few key points that hit me about the first type of alienation:

• He pointed out that sin is often a good things turned into an ultimate thing. Exact words. I am studying thru "No Other Gods" again with my dgroup... apparently God is trying to teach me something about this whole making something good into something ultimate. (You can read here to see what I mean)
• For the younger son, something became more important to him than the father. How true that can be on a daily basis in my own life, I make trivial worldly things more important than my Heavenly Father! 
• By asking the father for his inheritance early, the younger son was, in essence, saying "I want you dead. Your stuff is way more important than you!" How often I basically say to God, "Forget you God, I want what you made not you!" My actions and choices each day scream this thought! 
• Sin is wasteful. The younger son went off and wasted all that the father had given him. I had never even considered this. It wastes out time, energy, and our love. It wastes what could be used for God's glory. 

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.        Luke 15:20-24

Praise the Lord that while we are a long way off (I know I often am) He has compassion on us!!

Bookin' It in 2010-- May Update

Back in January, I decided to join FishMama in Booking It in 2010. I set my goal to read 2 books a month. In January I was successful, but not in February or March. So how did I do in April???

I completed 6 books in April! Amazing! That puts me right on track with the goal of 2 per month. Some of you may remember that last month I decided I needed to put aside the serious books I was trying to read and dive into some light reading. It seemed to work for me. I find that when I finish one book it makes me eager to "accomplish" finishing another one. And though none of the books I read last month were super deep or helpful books, I think they were good for me overall. Here are the links to my books reviews on each of the books I read last month:

• The Jean Nidetch Story
• Last Song
• The Magician's Nephew & A Horse and His Boy (Narnia)
• sTori Telling
• Redeeming Love

Did you read anything in April???

Menu Plan Monday- Trying to get back on track!

It's been awhile since I posted my meal plan for the week, mainly bc I have been doing a poor job of it in general. I have not stuck to my plan in weeks. I just don't feel like cooking and would rather be outside or doing something fun! And nothing sounds good, it just all sounds same o same o. This is not a good thing for my budget.  So I am taking a different approach this week and only shooting for 3 meals. But here are the meals I plan on cooking this week at some point:

• Acapulco Chicken
• Grilled Steaks & Shrimp
• Skillet Lasagna

Acapulco Chicken (From ChubbieChica)

6 servings @ 6 pts each

Ingredients:

3/4 c uncooked rice

1 c sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 lb boneless/skinless chicken breasts, diced

14 oz can FF chicken broth

12 oz can FF evaporated milk

8 oz salsa

3/4 c 2% shredded cheddar cheese

Prep:

Layer rice & mushrooms in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place chicken on top. Combine broth,

evaporated milk, and salsa and slowly pour over chicken. Bake 45 min @ 375. Sprinkle cheese

on top the last 5 min of baking.

Seriously, what do you guys eat in the summer??? I really need ideas!

Weeks & Love...

A few things I loved about last week:

• On Monday we had an impromptu fellowship time with some church members! I am such a planner so this was a nice change for me. We went to the tennis courts right by our house to see the last home tennis match for a few of our youth (the Stone girls). Then I came home and cooked dinner for the Pate boys. I had a huge craving for lava cake (thanks to not being able to have it at our planned girls weekend due to the funeral). So we up and decided to go get the ingredients and make lava cakes for us and the Stones. So they came over after the match and we hung out and chowed down. After they left a friend we have been distant with due to drama brought his new fiance by and we just talked and caught up. It was a lovely night of just being real with people. My house was a disaster, and I got zero of the things on my to do list for the night done. But it was the most productive night I have had in a while. 
• Friday was the graduation banquet for my department. It is a time for us to recognize the student workers and graduate assistants that are graduating and how thankful we are for them. It was a really great event and though I have only worked with these students for 7 months, even I was touched at the words said. It was really neat. We wont talk about the chocolate cake... (yes lava cake and chocolate cake in the same week... I told you I am a fat person at heart right??)
• Friday night we had the Winkler's over! (Yep in one week I do believe I met my goal of being social for the month... sorry I wont be able to hang out with anyone else for the rest of the month!) It was real laid back and chill, which I loved. She made a yummy hummus dip with pita bread and we watched Sherlock Holmes- which was kinda creepy during it but was good at the end. Plus she is with child and totally has a cute baby belly right now! I love baby bellies. 
• We had a work day at church on Saturday morning and actually got our childrens house organized to some degree! Woo Hoo!! 

Why I Love This Coming Week:

• Biggest Loser is soooooo good right now! I seriously can barely stand waiting between episodes. But this also means the end is near and I hate the summer break bc its forever!!! 
• Starting tomorrow, I get off at 4pm all summer!!! What What! I am thrilled!!!!!!!!! 
• We are doing interviews at work for a new fitness coordinator this week. I cant wait till we hire someone for this position bc right now all of us are having to cover the roll. And it will be fun to take their audition group fitness classes and get free lunch! Ha!
• We start our Youth Small groups back up this week! Yay! 

Are you looking forward to anything this week???

Thoughts from traveling the WW road

Back in October, I shared with you that I had begun a journey. A journey "back to a healthier, more active, more social and more balanced me." Well it's May. It's seven months later. It's time to reflect on the journey thus far. To date, I have lost around 25 lbs. I have gone from almost completely sedentary (I got out of breathe talking, seriously) to working out 4 to 5 times a week. And I have lowered my insulin levels to almost normal! It has been quite the journey thus far. Here are a few things I have learned about myself along this journey:

• I am, and will probably always be, a fat person in mind. What I mean by that is that I think about food like a fat person, no matter how much weight I lose. 
• I love food and I often use it as a substitute for the comfort or control I am looking for. 
• I can always stuff myself. I am not one of those people who can really stop themselves from stuffing themselves miserable. This means I must have boundaries and a plan before hand- because the fullness will not stop me. 
• I can be die hard disciplined... for a season. But I do not want to live the rest of my life never eating dessert or chips etc. I have to learn how to balance my eating habits. Everything in moderation really should be my goal. 
• I was alot more overweight than I realized. For me, I would look in the mirror and think I didnt look too bad. But then when I would see pictures of myself, I was stunned at how big I looked. 
• Being healthy feels so much better!!
• One bad meal, day or even weekend does not have to mean the end of the journey. There is always a new day to make new choices on my food. 
• Losing weight or the size of my clothes does not control if I feel skinny or fat. How I eat controls if I feel fat or skinny. When I am eating super gross or alot, I feel fat. It doesnt matter that I have lost 25 lbs, I still feel fat. When I eat healthy I feel skinny. Even when I had only lost 4 lbs, I felt skinny as I began healthier eating habits. 

So here are some stats....

Starting weight: 133.4 lbs    Starting BMI: 37.3%
Current weight: 108.4 lbs    Mid point BMI: 29.7%
Total Weight Lost: 25 lbs    Current BMI: 26.9%
Total % Lost: 18.8%
Final Goal: 105 (3.4 lbs to go)

Aim- Check in #2

Well, I completely skipped a check in on my goals last month. But I am ready to face the music and see how I am doing after 3 months, did I hit the target or forget to aim altogether?

1. Personal Goals:

• Memorize the book of Philippians. Yep, the whole book. Still working on it! I didn't do so well in March, but got back on focus in April. So far I have 1:1-24... which isn't a ton for three months but is a good start I think! 
• Read 2 books a month. Big Fail in March, but I have more than made up for it in April by reading 6 books! And I am 1/3 a way thru one more.  
• Be social at least 3 times a month. A rough count for March and April would be 5 times maybe?? Not too bad. The warm weather is definitely making me more social! 

2. Marriage Goals:

• Have a "connect" time each day- a time where we have intentional communication, a devo and prayer time. Well, we have not been very intentional the last two months. We have had some great time together, but not this consistent time like we were hoping for. But we are refocused and trying again! 
• Be more affectionate. Doing good! :)
• Practice the discipline of date night. Doing pretty well on this one. We are probably averaging every other week, which I think is good for us at this phase of life. 

3. Financial Goals:

• Track our monthly spending to ensure we are actually living out our proposed budget. I have been bad at this. But we had a budget meeting a few nights ago and I feel motivated in this area again. Mr.Pate is going to help me figure out how to get a better grasp on this. So we are moving in the right direction. 
• Give coupons another try. I am getting closer to this one, but haven't tried yet. I did read several "tutorials" on this today, and I am just trying to decide what my "plan of attack" will be. So many decisions! Binder or box, clip them all or keep the insert intake, etc etc!!
• Cut our grocery budget by 10%. I just barely made our limit in March and went over in April. I have just not planned well, and some things have gone up. Aldi's where did the super cheap milk go?? Ugh!
• Be more diligent about contributing to our savings & retirement. Savings- yes. Retirement- no. I have a pension, but we have got to start being more focused on Mr.Pate's. 

4. Physical Health:

• No longer be considered insulin resistant. I know this sounds presumptuous or like I think I have control over my health, but in the case of insulin resistance you really can control having it or not by managing a healthy weight. My labs in March showed an improvement! I am almost there! I have been doing a great job of taking the medicine for this pretty consistently. I will be doing labs in the next few weeks to see how its going. In March I was at a 2 on the indicator she uses, and I need to be at a 0 to be considered no longer insulin resistant. 
• Get to my WW goal. I am 3.2 lbs away. 
• Do something physically active 5-6 times a week. I have probably been averaging 5 times a week for both months. Now that its warm, we have been doing lots of yard work outside too! I also have done two 5Ks since my last check in. 

5. Project Goals:

• Begin my Holiday memories scrapbook. Nope. 
• Create a family heritage cookbook for my side of the family and Justin's. Nope. 
• Make a price book. Nope. 

How are you doing on your goals for the year???

Redeeming Love... My Take On It!

My friend Melanie made me read this book recently, and boy am I glad she did! I do not know why, but I have always avoided this book in the past. I have heard great things about it since college, but I am not the biggest fiction reader and "Christian fiction" just sounded dumb to me. But I love Mel, so I trusted her and read it. Wow! Here's my take:

Things I Liked About the Book:

• Everything!! Ha!
• Its based on the book of Hosea in the bible. Fabulous.
• What a great picture of the gospel for us! Sometimes seeing it lived out helps you grasp it better, and thats what this book does. 
• I loved the time period and setting. It made me want to live in a valley in the 1800s in a one room cabin. Such a simpler kind of life in many ways!
• It was super captivating and easy to read. 
• Fabulous love story all around. Great love story between the two main characters and about God and us. 

Things that Annoyed Me About the Book:

• The beginning was kinda sad and depressing. You needed it for the story line, but it made me not want to keep going. 
• That I didnt have an entire day to sit and do nothing but read this book! It totally consumed my mind while I was reading it, which was because it was so good. But thats kinda distracting and annoying when you have lots of other things to be thinking about. 

Overall, I love love love this book! I highly recommend it to everyone! Probably is equal to Narnia in my mind now, which is big. You have got to go read this book guys! 

Oh the places you will go!

Tonight I went to my 6th BCM Senior Banquet/Send Off. Yep 6th. Wow time flies! This was my first time being there and not being a student or staff member. Instead, I was just a guest.

This has been such an interesting year for me. A year ago, I was just beginning to "phase out" of the BCM.  The ministry had been my life for 8 years. I was both excited and sad. The students and new staff were beginning their plans for the next year, which is always an exciting time. I was beginning my search for a new career, which typically is not an exciting time!

Since then I have gone through 5 months of unemployment and 7 months of a new job. It has been quite the adjustment. I have learned so much about myself in the last year. It has been the hardest year for me Spiritually but probably the best as well. I went from full time ministry in my own job and ministering with my husband at church, to a full time office job and still ministering at church. I have had to adjust to a very set 8-4:30 Monday-Friday schedule. I have had to learn to make time to prepare for dgroup amidst my job, cooking & cleaning, family time, and youth ministry. I can no longer do this as part of my job, and that was a new thing for me.

My health has improved drastically, and I have more energy than I've had in years. We are no longer stressing over health insurance. My husband was able to quit working 80 hours a week to provide for us. I am home at night and able to have quality time with him. I have realized the world can revolved without me (I mean I never sat around and really thought I was mrs.everything, but I was used to be the person everyone depended on way too much). The Lord has shown me that I am not special and He can (and will) use anyone to do His ministry. And He has graciously shown me that though I am not special and He can use anyone, He chooses to love me unconditionally and desires to use me despite my failings. He is a good God.

A year from now I am sure I will be looking back to today having the same thought- wow time flies. Wow things change. I think thats why God created a universe that has orbiting planets and made the Earth spin... to show us life constantly goes. But He, and He alone, never changes. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8.

At least something in my life is stable, right?!

And the winner is...

And the winner of this week's "Name that Movie Friday" is...

Catherine! Way to go!

The movie was "Coyote Ugly". I remember when Coyote Ugly came out in theaters. I was in High School, and I made a group of my girl friends dress up to go see it. We wore cowboy hats and "club" type clothes. The movie theater was packed and we had to sit separately but I still loved it. And I am pretty sure it was the same night as one of Jamie's cousin's weddings, so she couldn't go but we met up with her later. I know this bc I have a picture somewhere of her in a bridesmaid dress and the rest of us in our getup. Ha! Oh the old days!! Anyone else have a fun random memory from high school??

Fab 5 Friday!

Its time to let you know a few things that made my life a little more fabulous this week! Head to Emily's to see other fab things!

1. Pear Glace from Victoria's Secret

It was one of their first scents, and it is still rockin it strong! I love this smell. Its clean and yummy smelling. 

2. String Lights 

Mr.Pate recently convinced me to get string lights for our back patio area. I am sooo glad he did! He got them up this week and they are wonderful! First off, these babies give off a ton of light! Second off, they set such a wonderful mood out there. Third off, they look cool! 

3. Wilson & Fisher™Resin Adirondack Chairs

A few Fridays ago, Emily had this as one of her favs. Mr.Pate and I have really wanted some of these! So when I saw that Big Lots had them for only $15 ($20-$30 at other places I had looked) we were on it! Love them!

4. Frosted Shredded Wheat Cereal

My new favorite treat. Mr.Pate and Joey eat them as snacks with no milk (ick), but I love to let them get a little soggy first. Yummo! The Aldi's brand is super good. 

5. Merona® Elvera Demi-Wedge Sandals in Pewter

Mr.Pate picked these out the other day! Ha! They are actually pretty comfy and easy to walk in bc of the wedge. Dressy or casual. I like them. 

Name that Movie Friday!

Welcome to "Name that Movie Friday"!

I have so many movies I could watch over and over again (or have watched over and over again)! So I have decided Fridays around Patelife will be a day for me to quiz you on lines from some of my fav movies. Are you up for the challenge?? Of course you will win nothing but my praise and excitement that you know lines from great movies (in my humble opinion), because i am not one of those super popular bloggers who get prizes given to them. Sorry for your luck!


"William Morris.  I'll transfer. You're not getting validated!"
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"Have a nice day!"
"Have a nice day"?
"Yeah, I panicked, I didn't know what else to say!"
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"I'm not lost. Somebody just moved my street."
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"Violet, that is so cute! Now let me tell you about me. My name is Wendy and I first moved to New York when I was 21 to be a dancer, but I broke my big toe and then I got knocked up by this actor who dumped me to join the Peace Corps, so for the last 16 years I been raising my daughter all by myself and then two weeks ago, she tells me that she is a bisexual and that she hates me more than any person on this planet. 
[chuckles] 
Now tell me how I can help you, please, because I am dying to make *your* dreams come true."
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"You collect comic books. That's so cute."
"It's not cute...it's very rugged and manly." 

NAME THAT MOVIE!

Days go by...

I really feel like life is on warp speed! Whoever has the remote, if you could hit slowmo that would be great, thanks. The days seem to go by so quickly now! I wanted to get a few random thoughts out of my head for you:

• Mr.Pate has been working hard on making our yard the most amazing place ever. More on that to come!
• I am currently in a use-lined-post-its-as-my-to-do-list phase. And I feel like I have been more productive at work than ever. 
• I have been writing a post on my WW journey for 3 or 4 weeks now... and it still isnt done. Dont get your hopes up b/c I am sure when I finally hit publish post it will not be the eloquent description of how my self-image has grown (and shrunk and changed and whatever) over the last 4 years.  
• Since the beginning of March, I have struggled to wake up each and every day. What is up with that?? Annoying.
• This week my work is killing me food wise- donuts, cake, and more cake. And yes I work in a place with the words "health" and "fitness" in the title. Go figure! 
• Yesterday I took a group fitness class called "Power Pump" at work, and today I can barely walk. Seriously. 
• I am loving this season of Biggest Loser. SO.Fabulous. Michael is my fav. 
• I have been struggling with meal planning and cooking for about a month and a half now. Thats not good for the budget. Ick. People I really need some cheap and yummy ideas!

Got anything random to share with me?

Weddings and Funerals.

Hello BlogWorld!

Sorry I have been MIA. Mr.Pate's Grandma passed away last Tuesday night, so as you can imagine, life has been crazy. We spent the week & weekend in Louisville cleaning, spending time with family, and hanging out at the funeral home. She was a feisty little lady who kept us laughing, and she is missed greatly!

Weddings and Funerals.

This past week I thought about how unique these events are. There really arent any other events in life that bring together people the way weddings and funerals do. Sure at Christmas you may get together with all your family, or for a special birthday you may get lots of your friends together. But at a wedding or funeral, people who have been special at all different times in your life come. Each guest may have a totally different snapshot of who you are. They may know you from work, or school, or family, or from when you were young, or when you were old. They all come because you are a special person to them, but you may be special in a different way to each one.

I have only known Mr.Pate's grandma for five and a half years. She was 78 years old. I missed alot of her life. I met so many people at the funeral home who knew so many sides of her I had never experienced. One lady partied with mr.pate's grandparents (grandfather died when mr.pate was 8 or 9) alot when they were "young". Some had been a neighbor to her for 40 years! People came from my mother-in-law's school who only knew her as "Jan's mom". There were friend's of the twins who knew her as the twins' "crazy grandma". Some knew her as "Aunt Shorty" and one knew her as "Sister". But they all knew her and loved her. They all had their love for her in common.

I remember thinking of this at my wedding. So many special people from our lives, most of which knew nothing about each other. But for that night they all had something in common... their love for us.

Mr.Pate performed the funeral on Saturday. It was the most moving funeral I have ever attended. Death is an everyday reality for every human. Each day we are forced to think of death, this is a result of the Fall. This week it will be nine years since I watched a friend die tragically. Death is around every corner in this world. It is a very sad reality. Some deaths (like grandma's) are easier to accept and grieve through than others (a 17 year old with his whole life ahead of him).

But there is hope...

"Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
1 Corinthians 15:42-57

'See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.'
And the one who was seated on the throne said, 'See, I am making all things new.' 
Revelation 21:3-5