Lately...

Oh hey! Yes, I'm still here...as it's said, life happened. I have seriously been MIA and while I've been reading blogs I just haven't been blogging. I haven't really had the drive to write and honestly have been going through a lot since August. 

I'll start with the BIG news! I'm changing jobs and moving to Fort Worth! It's been a long time coming if I'm going to be honest about it. I've always wanted to go back to Fort Worth and while my work situation was stressful last year and honestly the last couple of years, this year has taken a turn for the worse.

I've had trouble with a coworker whom I should have no trouble with and whom should respect and treat my judgements of athletic injuries with respect...yet I've done nothing but struggle with this person this year. Let's just say I reached a breaking point and KNEW I needed out and I needed out asap!

I began praying and finding peace in the fact that there was obviously a reason I was going through these trials and God was working on a bigger better plan! And boy oh boy was He!! My friend, Kacee works for an orthopedic bracing company and has been keeping an eye and ear out for jobs for me the last couple of years. The morning after my breaking point, I was driving to school praying that something would come up and that God would close the doors of my current situation so that I knew that it was time to move on to something different. He was already slamming doors left and right and as I'm crying, praying all the way to work (I was loathing going to work, however I was headed to Fort Worth that Friday evening and that was all that was getting me through the week) Kacee called and said, " I think I found  job for you!" Literally as soon as the words came out of her mouth, I KNEW I was leaving my current job. I could've walked in a resigned that day I was that certain. The weekend came and I met with her friend who was looking for help in Fort Worth, the meeting went really well and it just cemented my thoughts. I didn't want to jump the gun and be cocky, so I kept praying and asked a few close friends to pray about it. I had an interview and they offered me the job! It's  one of the biggest blessings ever!

I am going to get to continue helping people and making a difference in people's lives. It's going to be a completely different dynamic and I'm seriously so excited for this new adventure. And God has been so so so faithful and His grace is abundant! I've grown so close to my Heavenly Father and am renewed in my walk with Him daily!

I'll definitely be blogging more as I move, get settled and start my life in Fort Worth!

Telling my co-workers and more importantly my athletes was the hardest! Some co-workers are very supportive and others have just completely written me off (and really I'm okay with this). I told my Softball girls first, as I got very close with them last year when we made the run to State! That was probably one of the scariest moments ever...I was so nervous telling them and they were crushed but are excited because they can follow me on twitter come November 15th! (Silver lining people sliver lining!) I told a select group of football kiddos and let it trickle down. They are pretty upset but totally see it as a good move for me! They all are so worried that I'm single and tell me I need to find a man (DUH! Tell me something I don't know!)

So I'm counting down the days...getting the house on the market this weekend and hopefully will have it sold in a few weeks!
This has been super lengthy and turns out the only thing that's been going on lately is that I'm getting my house ready, packing and trying to find a place to live!
I started this post on Friday, and it's now Monday, I spent the weekend getting the house in tip-top shape and Mom showed it twice and one already has given an offer and I've accepted it!{yes...you read that correctly...I sold my house!!} Didn't even have to put it on the market! Gotta love how God works in amazing ways and put everything in place so that it all works out!!

So there it all is, I got a new job, am moving to Fort Worth and just sold my house! It's super exciting and scary all at the same time! I'll keep you updated on how everything goes!

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane

5 for FIVE is back!!!

 

 

Hey lovies!! I'm so excited that 5 for FIVE is back! Wahooo! I'm linking up with Jenn again and I'm hoping that now I'll actually get crap done since I'll have the accountability again! :) A girl can dream right?

So it was the first day of school today...I've been back to work for almost a full month so it really was just a normal day but with a bell schedule, which I must say is quite nice! Alright, let's get to the goal setting!!

 

 

1. Workout...funny this always always pops up...but I've been so busy the last month that I can't tell you the last time I did a workout!

2. Find some time to clean up the house this week. My roommate is out of town until Sunday so I'd like to get things tidied up and maybe have the cleaning lady come and really do some cleaning!

3. Get into the Word...I really need to start digging into God's Word daily!

4. I'm so stinking close to hitting my monthly goal with Rodan+Fields and I have until Saturday to do...so I'm hoping to hit it by Thursday! I'll get a promotion and pay raise if I hit it!

5. Pay bills...ick...why do we have to be grown up...it stinks!

 

Here's to a great week!

Before I go, I have to share a sweet story with you from church yesterday! Our youth pastor preached on John 21 and how Peter denied Jesus three times and yet when it came down to it Jesus was not disappointed in him because He loves Peter despite everything. Pastor Corey shared a story about how he felt like he had failed his own father and held onto that feeling for years until a month ago. He told his dad how much he loved him and he was so sorry for disappointing him and his father told him he had never been a failure in his eyes! Well fast forward to after church and I'm outside talking to our Lead Pastor's son about the upcoming first day of school. He turns to me and says "Sam, what did you think of the message today?" I replied with " I thought it was so good...it really touched me and made me think." He replies with "Oh me too! It made me cry!" I said "Really? Why?" His response is so touching and so real... "It made me cry because I started thinking about how much I love my dad and I would never want to disappoint him, and knowing he would love him anyways...I just love him so so much!" Out of the mouth of babes y'all...the Truth! This kid has it right! No matter how much we "mess up" our Heavenly Father loves us unconditionally!

 

xoxo,

SamanthaDiane

Summer 2013 pt 2!

My absolute favorite part of summer was our trip to Orange Beach, Alabama!! Not only is the beach absolutely fabulous, but the company was awesome!! We get to stay at a friend's house on Ono Island for free {holla!!} and we cook most of our meals at the house and go out to eat a few times! The weather could've been better, it rained one full day and other days were cloudy but really any day the beach is a great day!

We usually park our hineys in the sand near Flora-bama as to be closer to the Bushwhackers...They make theirs with real ice cream and they are simply divine! Last year when we went, I wasn't the biggest fan...but they really do taste like a Wendy's frosty...but you can only have a couple because they will sneak up on you if you're not careful! :)
One of my best friends, Kacee went with us this year! It was nice to have a friend on the trip! There were eight of us total and not all of us could fit at the table for meals, so Kacee and I sat at the chess table, which we dubbed the kids table...it was a running joke all week. While the "adults" went golfing one day, we went on a dolphin cruise. It was AMAZING!! We found Flipper and it was so much fun and well worth the $10 {thanks to Kacee's military discount!}and two hours on the water searching for Flipper!

We definitely didn't want to come home on Sunday but alas all good things must end! Although my Daddy {who is awesome!} finally gave in and stopped at the Tiger Mart in Baton Rouge so we could take a picture with the tiger! He saw us Horned Frogs and wouldn't come out of his little home...we think he was just being a big scaredy cat! ;)

 

Enjoy the pics...sorry for so many of them!!

 

 

 We are ready to hit the road!!

 First night at the "kids" table...checkmate!

 We snuck out to the beach the first night!

 Crazy wind and clouds the first day on the beach...but it turned out beautiful!

 Happy campers!

 Mom and her two friends...too cute!

 Frogs and Aggies...best of both conferences!

 FLIPPER!!

 BUSHWHACKER!

The group at Lu-Lu's for Mom's bday!!

 

Just a few more pics... because we of course had a photo shoot on the beach! These are some of my favorites!!

 

 Helen and Ronnie

 Karen and Max

 My cute parents!!

 Our little family!

 Pretty sure this is my favorite ever!!

 Yay for besties at the beach!

 The "adults"

 The "kids"

 This picture just captures our personalities! Cracks me up every time!

The whole group!

We had a fabulous time and can't wait to go back!!

Again sorry for the photo dump!

xoxo,

SamanthaDiane



Summer 2013 pt. 1

I've been quite absent lately...I thought I'd have tons of time to blog this summer and tons of topics to blog about...I was wrong! I had tons of time, yet I felt like I had nothing to say! So here's a little catch up of my summer and then I hope to be back to posting regularly!

The first part of summer was quite boring and I took advantage of having nothing to do! I tried to sleep late(that didn't happen), I took naps and laid on the couch watching mindless TV. It was pretty good, I'm not gonna lie!

I took a trip to Fort Worth to spend some time with friends! One of my best friends is getting married in February and I was lucky enough to go dress shopping with her!! We found the most beautiful, perfect dress for her and then later on that day actually found our bridesmaid's dresses also! Check and Check! Done!! The weekend was a great, much needed little getaway to my favorite place on earth!
When I came home, my friend Julie and her two kiddos came back with me to spend the week with my family and go to the beach! Her husband was already in H-town for business so it worked out perfectly!! We went to the beach, had a pool day and spent July 4th on a bay boat! It was perfect!!
I'll leave y'all with some pictures and continue the second part of summer tomorrow! It's gonna be a lot of pictures so get ready!!

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane

Tatum and I enjoying Galveston!! Hey a beach is a beach right?

My daddy on the boat! Love him!



Mom, Julie, Cory and I playing in the bay! It was a perfect day!!



Love this family!!





Oh my word...

So I've been on summer break going on two weeks...and I thought I'd have time to blog a lot more and would have interesting things to say... surprise! I have neither! Last week, I started my break with a two day conference...remind me not to do that again next year!! Then I was lazy lazy lazy {so technically I had time to blog, but let's be real...I was lounging on the couch}. Trying to think about it, I can't even remember what I did last week after my conference was over. {How sad is that?}

I can tell you one thing I've been doing... gardening. Yep, I'm the 80 year old grandma! I planted tomatoes about a month ago maybe...maybe longer {I'm telling you, once summer hits, I lose all perception of time, I really am 80 I think!} But I am LOVING growing these 'maters! I even planted basil too so I can make homemade pesto this summer! The other day I went to Lowe's, which is becoming just as dangerous as Target and got more basil, some cilantro, rosemary and a bell pepper plant! I'm a gardening machine! :) I've gotten a bunch of cherry tomatoes and some a big tomatoes and they taste SOO much better than those in the store! Sunday evening I came home to my first tomato casualty. I'm not gonna lie, I was slightly devastated...since then I've had two more casualties...one was a BIG 'mater that was ripening {I found that one tonight!}! Needless to say I will be going to Lowe's tomorrow for some tomato cages...because I'll be darned if those birds/squirrels are going to eat my crops! My trusty Yorkie, Canton usually does a good job on 'mater duty!

 

But he's been a little lazy as of late...

 

I think next year I'm going to do a raised garden and grow all kinds of things!!

Do y'all have anything you're growing??

 

xoxo,

SamanthaDiane

 

Shh...do you hear that?

Y'all, that sound you hear is SUMMER calling my name!! She's actually shouting it!! I literally have 5 hours left of work {an hour today and 4 hours tomorrow!} and I couldn't be more excited!!

While I already have to attend a conference on Monday and Tuesday, I can tell you that my first weekend of summer break will be spend doing NOTHING!! I will have the obligatory Happy Hour drinks with friends tomorrow afternoon. Saturday will start with a workout and then a workout with my trainer in the afternoon...then as long as it's not raining, I'll be in the pool...with my sunscreen on of course! :) I know what you're thinking, "that doesn't sound like you've got nothing going on!", true that my friends, BUT it's not work! And it's all things I haven't been able to do lately! I honestly don't remember the last time I wasn't at a playoff game (baseball or softball) on a Friday/Saturday!!

Parents, kids, co-workers all ask the same thing, "What are you doing this summer?" and my reply is always NOTHING! Well...I'll make a trip to Fort Worth and my family is going to Orange Beach, Alabama in July, but other than that I'll be in the pool, maybe occasionally Galveston, working out big time because I actually will have time and I plan on doing an organizational overhaul on my house! Sounds busy I know, but it really won't be!

And I also get this a lot..."Gosh, you're so lucky to get the WHOLE summer off!"... ummm thanks, but I don't. I end up with only like 7 weeks (I know, I know, sounds like an eternity...it's not believe me it flies by)! I am so thankful that I get any time off so it's all good!

So it's always good to have goals for the Summer...here's some of mine!

• WORKOUT! If y'all follow any of my 5 for FIVEs you'll know that's been a constant theme...but I have NO excuse now that I won't have work!
• Organize my house...starting with the kitchen and working my way up!
• Plan out my menu for the week on Sunday and stick to it!
• Read...gotta find some good books to read!
• Enjoy the time off!

Do y'all have any summer goals? Also if you have any book suggestions, I'd love them because I'll be reading a lot and will definitely be reading on the BEACH in July!

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane

5 for FIVE!!

Good Monday to y'all!! It's the LAST Monday of the school year for me and I'm super pumped!! As always, I'm linking up with Jenn and Jessica and you totally should too! ;)

 

 

I feel like I'm on repeat every week because I always say...last week was super busy...and it was (again!)!! This week...is NOT busy at all though (FINALLY) so I'll be good this week!

 

Let's see how last week went:

 

Purple = YAY me!! Blue = Girl...you did ok Red = Epic fail

 

1. Get laundry done and packed for Austin this weekend!!
2. Workout ONE day this week! Nope...sure didn't
3. Finish the book I started...it's called Little Bee. I read a bit...but we watched Pitch Perfect, Billy Madison and Footloose on the bus so clearly I was distracted!
4. Return my Thirty-One order....my actual order is on the way!!
5. Enjoy the last two weeks of work...we're headed to State on Thursday and have our football spring game on Wednesday and then finals next week...so I want to soak in the memories! I totally rocked this one!! :) Kinda easy, but still! I had such a great time with my team this past weekend...They are all awesome and it's just non-stop laughter when they're around!!

Unfortunately we lost 3-2 in the State Championship game...HEART BREAKER for sure!! Those girls were awesome and amazed me all season and I couldn't be prouder of them!!

Here's this week's goals!
1. Get a massage: okay, I'm kinda cheating b/c I've already booked it, but I need it BAD!
2. Workout! I have nothing to do in the afternoons so this should be easy!
3. Cook supper this week...I've bought chicken, pork chops and shrimp so I should be eating yummy stuff this week!
4. Organize my fridge...I bought containers for the fridge today...my roommate and I tend to throw things in haphazardly and it drives me crazy!!
5. Pay my bills...ick...but it's gotta be done!!

Hope y'all had a fabulous weekend and an even more fabulous week!! After today I have one full day and three half days so to say I'm antsy is an understatement!!

 

xoxo,

SamanthaDiane



Lately...

I know I've been slacking majorly on my blog...and I'm sorry{to my couple readers}! So what's been going on lately??

 

Well...

 

 

• School is quite close to getting out for the summer {two weeks to be exact} and I'm super pumped!!
• My softball girls are going to State for the first time in school history!! It's so exciting and these girls are just great!!
• Spring football is almost almost over...Wednesday cannot get here soon enough!
• It's HOT here...like our pool warmed up in a week {LOVE IT}, so if you need to get a hold of me during the weekends...That's where I'll be.
• I started my Rodan+Fields business on April 30...and by May 22 I had already earned my first {and not my last} promotion!!! I'm so glad my friend introduced me to this company!!
• My dog, Canton, has been a pool lounger as well...he gets hot, he gets in on the step...smart Yorkie!
• Jackie O, my other pup...prefers to lounge BY the pool!

 

Sadly...that's about all that's going on right now...not great reasons why my blog has been deserted lately!!

 

I'll leave y'all with a couple pics...careful though, they're kinda awesomely gross!!

Rodan+Fields has an awesome tool called the Macro-E...it's like a microdermebrasion but you can do it once a week for 5 minutes and it removes 5 MILLION dead skin cells...below are my pics of the filter from it last week and then this week!! It's crazy and your skin feels awesome after!

This is last weeks...it's a bit blurry...but you get the picture!



 

 

This week's is crazy gross!! But my face feels like a baby's butt!!

 

Those are all from my face!! YIKES!! If you're wondering where you can get this tool or to hear more about Rodan+Fields leave me a comment with your e-mail!
And be looking for a give away soon!!

 

I promise that once I'm on summer break, I'll have more content in my posts and some fun ones are coming up! Get excited!!

 

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane

5 for FIVE!!

 

Wowzers! Sorry y'all! I completely forgot it was Monday! Man four day weekends throw this girl off! Which I'm totally okay with because let's face it...my summer is two weeks away and I'll never know what day it is and I LOVE IT!!

 As always, I'm linking up with Jenn and Jessica and you totally should too! ;)

 

Let's see how I did last week...I'm going to give some excuses literally before I even see how I did...I was busy...like seriously busy at work!

Purple = YAY me!! Blue = Girl...you did ok  Red = Epic fail

 

1. Eat healthy : Can I be honest and say I really don't remember how I ate last week! I think I did okay...
2. Finish my book: Y'all! This book! READ IT!
3. Clean my downstairs: Check and check!! Now, to keep it nice and neat!
4. Find at least one day to workout...for my sanity I need this! not one dang day!
5. Start cleaning up my office area and taking things home that I'll need this summer!

Not too bad...I do need to my hiney to the gym and buckle down on my eating!

Let's see what's on tap for this week!

1. Get laundry done and packed for Austin this weekend!! My softball girls are headed to STATE!!!!!
2. Workout ONE day this week!
3. Finish the book I started...it's called Little Bee, it's okay...I'll let you know when I'm done.
4. Return my Thirty-One order....I ordered a coupon clutch and they sent me a wristlet even after my packing slip says coupon clutch....weird.
5. Enjoy the last two weeks of work...we're headed to State on Thursday and have our football spring game on Wednesday and then finals next week...so I want to soak in the memories!

Hope y'all have a fabulous week!!

 

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane



5 for FIVE

It's that time again! Time for 5 for FIVE! As always, I'm linking up with Jenn and Jessica and you totally should too! ;)
I took a little hiatus from this link-up last week and am ready this week to make some good attainable goals!

1. Eat healthy : With school winding down and my softball team still rolling in the playoffs and spring football still going on, I really need to focus on eating well because I'm not sure when I'll have time to get a workout in at the gym or at home!
2. Finish my book: I've started re-reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and I want to finish it so I can pass it on to an athlete of mine that wants to read it! If you haven't read it, you need to!! It's an awesome awesome book!
3. Clean my downstairs: I'm **hopefully** holding my Rodan+Fields business launch tomorrow evening and my downstairs needs to be spotless! ( I say **hopefully** b/c my AC decided to go out this weekend!! and when I say my AC i mean my BRAND SPANKING NOT EVEN A YEAR OLD AC UNIT!!! Talk about frustrating!)
4. Find at least one day to workout...for my sanity I need this!
5. Start cleaning up my office area and taking things home that I'll need this summer!


My softbal girls KILLED it this weekend! They run-ruled the team we played Friday night and Saturday afternoon! It's always fun to win!! We play again this weekend and if we win we go to STATE!! We have such a great group of girls and I want this for them so so bad!!

Hope y'all have a great week!!
xoxo,
SamanthaDiane

5 for FIVE fail...

 

 

 

Yes, I know it's Tuesday and yes, I'm aware that I totally missed out of the link up yesterday! I'm going to let y'all know how I did last week but I don't think I'm going to make goals for this week because it's already Tuesday night at 8:03pm and let's face it...the week's almost over! (Okay not really, but it feels that way for me! I leave on Friday morning to go with Softball to their playoff games that are in Round Rock, TX this weekend.

 

 

1. Prepare menu for this week: my parents are going out of town Thursday so I'm at their house with my dogs and their dog...gotta have all my food planned out so I can take it over with me.
2. Pack my stuff for said house/dog sitting.
3. Get my Rodan and Fields biz going...I just recently joined Rodan and Fields and am excited to see where it takes me! I promise not to post self-promoting stuff on here, but I will post things from time to time! If you're interested in knowing what Rodan and Fields is all about, check out my site! sburton1.myrandf.biz
4. Workout! I have some workouts planned this week and need to do them! Anyone want to hold me accountable?!
5. Get my quiet times consistent!!

That's quite the rainbow up there ^^^...Softball and Baseball are in the playoffs and both travel on the weekends and this past weekend I went with both...so I basically ate leftovers and then ate out because we were on the road. I got in one workout and it was actually pretty good! I combined my circuits and did a little walk/jog around the neighborhood for 15 minutes! Quiet times...ummm yeah...
I did get my biz going! I've gotten some leads and have planned my business launch party!


So I'm not making goals this week..mainly because of in my mind it's late in the week already and also, I'm so busy that I'm just trying to get through the week! I'll be back next week with my goals and a fresh outlook on the coming weeks because hey, let's face it summer is SOOO close I can smell the sunscreen and beach!!

Hope y'all have a fabulous week!!

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane

Derby Day!!

My favorite day of the year is hands down Kentucky Derby Day!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! We started throwing a party a few years ago and it's become a much anticipated day amongst our friends! Last year I missed the majority of the party thanks to baseball playoffs and unfortunately this year was no different! Those baseball boys just DO NOT want me having any fun! ;) So I woke up early and helped mom get everything ready and I put up my decorations!

I ended up getting there about 10 minutes before the Derby ran and unfortunately none of the horses I picked won! I wanted to have a bunch of action shots and just candid shot of everyone, BUT since I wasn't there the only pics I got were before everyone arrived! Everyone had a great time, the food/drinks were fabulous and we actually didn't have many leftovers! :) The men played washers all afternoon and the women gabbed and eventually got domino games going that lasted well into the night!

Did y'all watch the Derby?!

5 for FIVE!! and a short weekend recap

It's that time again! Time for 5 for FIVE! As always, I'm linking up with Jenn and Jessica and you totally should too! ;)

Just a reminder: Purple = accomplished, Blue = almost accomplished and Red= a big fat failure! 

1. Drink at least 3 bottles of water... done and done!
2. Get my butt out of bed in the morning and workout... I got in two workouts last week...but neither of them were in the morning...
3. Quiet times!!! I did okay...mainly just meditated on some scripture
4. Cook dinner twice this week Okay I'm giving myself purple b/c I cooked dinner once and it lasted me the majority of the week!

5. Continue organizing my house Nope...didn't even come close to happening.

Not too shabby! Last week was busy, spring football started and we had softball and baseball playoffs...excuses yes,but semi-valid excuses! :)


Okay onto this week's goals!

1. Prepare menu for this week: my parents are going out of town Thursday so I'm at their house with my dogs and their dog...gotta have all my food planned out so I can take it over with me.
2. Pack my stuff for said house/dog sitting.
3. Get my Rodan and Fields biz going...I just recently joined Rodan and Fields and am excited to see where it takes me! I promise not to post self-promoting stuff on here, but I will post things from time to time! If you're interested in knowing what Rodan and Fields is all about, check out my site! sburton1.myrandf.biz
4. Workout! I have some workouts planned this week and need to do them! Anyone want to hold me accountable?!
5. Get my quiet times consistent!!

How was y'all's week last week? Hope you have a wonderful week and achieve all your goals!!


Time for a little recap of the weekend...Friday I traveled with my softball girls to Mumford, Tx...yeah it's as out in the boonies as it sounds. We played a great double header and came away with the win! My baseball boys won Thursday night and then lost on Friday, so on Saturday I went to their game, which they won! All in all my teams did well this weekend!

Now...if you remember this post, you know how much I LOVE Derby Day! I ended up missing the majority of the party because I had to work but in reality, I needed to be at that game and am glad I got to be there. I'll most definitely be doing a post on the party!

Until then, I'll leave you waiting in anticipation, and of these cuties while I was decorating for the party!!

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane

5 for FIVE!

It's that time again! Time for 5 for FIVE! I only posted twice last week (bummer), but I feel like I did okay on my goals! As always, I'm linking up with Jenn and Jessica and you totally should too! ;)

Just a reminder: Purple = accomplished, Blue = almost accomplished and Red= a big fat failure! 

1. Quiet times!! I was a little ambitious with this goal, a few of the days I did read at morning and night, but a day or two I read nothing but maybe my morning verse in the morning.

2. Work out!! and track my food! So... while I didn't stick to my meal plan...things came up, I did cook one night and it lasted me a lunch and dinner so yay! I did track my food either on paper or on my fitness pal app. workouts...well I had a KILLER workout with my trainer on Saturday  and I did Body Blast on Wednesday...better than nothing!

3. Mail a package...  Got it done and sent!

4. Organize my house... this is a broad one, but I need to start making baby steps to getting my home life in order.

5. Be positive... Like I've said before, I've had a crummy attitude toward work lately so this week I'm focusing on the positives and being thankful for the little things!

No RED!! whoo! I feel good about that! I know that things happen and come up so I'm not going to let a little hiccup rock my world! Onto this week!

1. Drink at least 3 bottles of water...I have a 22 oz. water bottle that I take to workout and I've recently started bringing it to work again because I noticed I wasn't drinking near the water I used to! So I'm going to fill it up 3 times during the day...if not more!

2. Get my butt out of bed in the morning and workout...even if it's just a 20 minute workout I need to do something!

3. Quiet times!!! I read the book of Esther last week and this week I think I'm going to start Hosea.  My bible study ends this week and I'm so sad! I think I'm going to start reading Crazy Love by Fancis Chan....have you read it?

4. Cook dinner twice this week

5. Continue organizing my house

Hope y'all have a wonderful day and your week begins well!

xoxo,

SamanthaDiane

Baked Tacos!

So there was this recipe on Pinterest that I've been wanting to try for a while now and time just hasn't been on my side. Well Monday night I finally tried it! It was for Baked Tacos. Y'all they were YUM! The recipe I pinned was from Mommy I'm Hungry I tweaked it a bit and made it with stuff I knew I'd like. Here's the recipe:
Oven Tacosadapted from Blog Chef

2 lbs ground beef (or turkey/chicken)
1 small onion diced
1 small can diced green chilies
1 recipe for Homemade taco seasoning (below)
1 (8 ounce) can low sodium tomato sauce
1 (16 ounce) can fat free refried beans
2 cups shredded reduced fat Colby-jack cheese
18-20 hard taco shells{if gluten free, be sure they are}

Optional Condiments-
Lettuce (shredded)
Tomato (diced)
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Olives, sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large skillet brown ground beef and onion over medium-high heat. Drain off any excess liquid. Return to pan, add chilies, refried beans, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning. Mix well and cook for a few minutes if mixture seems runny.

Spoon the taco meat mixture into the taco shells and place into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish (OR check out The Taco Rack), standing up. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the taco meat in each shell. Place into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tacos are heated through.
Remove from the oven and top with any optional condiments for serving.

Taco Seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix all together. Store in an airtight container.
I used all of this on 2 lbs of ground meat with a little water mixed in.

I used extra lean ground turkey seasoned with garlic salt and taco seasoning. If you see ^^ you can make your own, but I just happened to have a bottle of it in my cabinet.  :) I did add some crushed red pepper flakes because I like things spicy. They were very good! Next time I'll use rotel instead just to make it easier and will probably attempt to make my own shells. I've seen where you can take a corn tortilla and hang it over the rack in the oven and it comes out crispy...I've gotta try it! I even had them the next day for lunch and yes they were a tad soggy but they were good! I garnished them with shredded lettuce and some farm fresh tomatoes I picked up from a farmer's market.

Let me know if you try them!

xoxo,

SamanthaDiane

5 for FIVE!

 Good morning!! Hope things are going well for y'all! It's Monday, so that means it's time to link up with

                                                      with Jenn and Jessica for my 5 for FIVE!

Just a reminder: Purple = accomplished, Blue = almost accomplished and Red= a big fat failure! 

1. Keep tracking my food/ exercise!  Boy I got used to posting my food on the facebook group and last week without it I didn't even write it down! I didn't eat bad though so that's good!

2. Get my hiney back in the gym!! Not a great excuse, but last week was a short week for me and was busy busy...I did get up and go to the gym Friday morning while I was in Fort worth! (yay go me!)

3. Pack for Fort Worth and not take my whole closet!

4. Quiet times! I just didn't do it every day...this one is going to stay on my list until it's daily and a habit!

5. Be more involved with my students. I attempted to do this one, but these kids just don't care and they make it so hard to get excited about something when they just stare at you when you're talking like they're thinking "when is this lady going to shut up so I can sit here and do nothing"!

Okay...last week wasn't my best, but I had the opportunity to go to my happy place, a.k.a. Fort Worth, funky town, the funk, the fort...the best place ever (in my opinion!)! So this week is a fresh start because I feel refreshed and ready to kick these last 6 weeks hiney!!

1. Quiet times!! I am going to do a small devotional in the morning when I wake up and one right before I go to sleep!

2. Work out!! and track my food! I've got my meals all planned out for the week and will hopefully be headed to the store to buy and then prep everything today! Also have my workouts planned too...

3. Mail a package... I've got a couple of old athletes that I keep in touch with that are graduating from college soon and I need to mail my first package off. I'm not going to extravagant means but just a little something to let them know how proud I am of them for sticking to their dreams and how fortunate I am to get to be apart of their lives still.

4. Organize my house... this is a broad one, but I need to start making baby steps to getting my home life in order.

5. Be positive... Like I've said before, I've had a crummy attitude toward work lately so this week I'm focusing on the positives and being thankful for the little things!

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend and are off to a great week! I'll recap my weekend soon (because it was a great one)!!

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane

      I really enjoyed linking up with The Vintage Apple last week for oh, how Pinteresting so I decided to do it again this week!  Here's what I've been loving lately on Pinterest!       What are y'all loving on pinterest? Link up and share! xoxo, SamanthaDiane

Love letter

So last Saturday my church's Women's Ministry put on a brunch entitled BLOOM. Because of my work schedule I usually have to miss the events and it makes me so sad! This one worked out and I got to attend it before I worked three baseball games. I fixed my hair, put actual real make up on (instead of the quick few staples I usually do) and wore a dress with heels...had any of my athletes seen me when I got to work they would've not recognized me...I don't get to "be a girl" very often. I wear wind pants, sweats and short with t-shirts and sweatshirts to work daily. I know, I know...lucky me. It gets old, trust me! I'd love to be able to dress up (although, I'm sure I'd get tired of that too), however if I ever did I'd never hear the end of it at work...coaches are tough...being around male coaches ALL.THE.TIME is tougher! I'm "one of the guys", which is fine, I've always been that way...I get along better with guys because I just don't deal with girl's drama well and I can't stand attention seekers.
So back to Saturday, we had this lovely brunch where everyone was looking beautiful, the setting was spectacular and the conversations were so filling and uplifting!!
Sandy, our pastor's wife and leader of us women had such an inspiring and heartfelt message. It really hit home! She is so real and I love that!! That's one thing I love love love about my church...these are REAL people who let you in and are not afraid to let their guards down and be REAL! I don't know about y'all but I've always held my pastors, the leaders in my church and their families up on a high podium and I feel as if they can do no wrong and have everything together. I am so wrong...hellllloooo they are human too, just like I am and they have flaws and problems and insecurities. Sandy revealed how the Lord spoke to her about the word BLOOM being our theme for the year for the Women of Journey Church and I think it's such an amazing word. Dictionary.com defines BLOOM as: a flourishing, healthy condition; the time or period of greatest beauty, artistry, etc. WOW! This is exactly what the Lord is going to do through the women of Journey this year! Each of our events is going to further expand on the theme and I cannot wait to see what's in store. At the end of her message, Sandy read Psalms 139, all 24 verses out loud and with such passion it hit me so hard! I've read it probably several times but never heard it out loud...man!
I've put it here for you...but I really want y'all to read it aloud. I was trying to record it for y'all but I can't figure out how to put a sound clip in and I am SOOO not video okay right now lol...I videoed myself but I just cannot do that yet.



Psalm 139

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

¹ O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
² You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
³ You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
⁴ You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
⁵ You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

⁷ I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
⁸ If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave,^[a] you are there.
⁹ If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
¹¹ I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
¹²     but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me,^[b] O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
¹⁸ I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!

¹⁹ O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
    Get out of my life, you murderers!
²⁰ They blaspheme you;
    your enemies misuse your name.
²¹ O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
    Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
²² Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
    for your enemies are my enemies.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

How  awesome is that?!?! Our God knows EVERYTHING about us...and still loves us and cares so deeply for us. The whole morning and then these verses really got me thinking that I need to focus on myself more! Not in a selfish way, but yes, kind of selfish! I need to work on me and be okay with me...I need to BLOOM! I worry about others and try to please others when I really need to be pleasing myself and God. Obviously God first, but I think that if I please Him, I will please myself  because I am pleasing Him. The only approval I need is His. I've been very frustrated lately with a lot of things and have felt unfulfilled so Saturday morning was exactly what I needed to hear! It's amazing how God knows what we need to hear and when we need to hear it! So if you're still reading, kudos to you and thank you! I've also learned that I may not have time to pour over the Word and study it for hours a day but as long as I'm getting even A verse to meditate on daily that's okay! It's not about quantity it's about quality and honestly, I have a serious running dialogue with the Big Guy Upstairs...I love that He never tires of hearing me! So my goal is to BLOOM!

Hope these verses speak to y'all as they've spoken to me! I plan on doing something with them and posting it somewhere in my house because it's something I want to be reminded of daily!

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane

New Smoothie!!

I rely on smoothies for my morning breakfast most days, I try to make them ahead of time at night so they're ready to go and I can just grab them and go in the morning! Having to be at work at 6am most days it has really helped save me time and kept me healthy in the mornings! I used to go to the local bagel shop or McDonald's or just not eat...that is not okay! Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day and for me it sets how the rest of my meals will go. If I start healthy, I'll usually stay healthy! :)

I've posted before about SMOOTHIES and so when I stumble upon a new one and I like it I'll for sure pass it along to y'all! The other day I was totally craving a mocha frappe, after my Body Blast class the Lifetime Cafe brought in a sample of their mocha smoothie...it was DELISH and made me want one! So I figured that theirs probably had a lot of sugar in it set out to find a recipe I could make at home! I don't know about y'all but I used to be a googler...however, now I'm more of a let's search Pinterest and see what I can find! Well I found a plethora of recipes...I chose one and made it this morning...it's pretty good!

I cannot take credit for the recipe, that's all Catlin over at My chocolate moments.

I've pasted the recipe straight from her blog:

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 to 1 and 1/2 TBSP instant coffee
• 1/2 TBSP cocoa powder
• 1/2 TBSP honey
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup milk
• 12-14 cups of ice
• 2 cups leafy greens
• 2 TBSP flaxseed

A note on these ingredients – all of these amounts are approximations and can be easily changed, substituted, removed, increased, or decreased to your liking.  If you like your coffee black then you may not need the honey as an extra sweetener.  If you like your coffee strong, you may want to add more that what I use.  I’m not really sure why I use both yogurt and milk – I’m sure one or the other would be fine (yogurt if you want a thicker, smoothie like consistency, milk if you want a more drinkable shake).
The greens and flaxseed are 100% optional and don’t really effect the taste at all.  I just add them in so I can get a few more nutrients.  The flaxseed can be a bit gritty, but I blend my smoothie on the liquify setting on my blender because I like mine drinkable, so the flaxseed gets pretty ground up.  If you haven’t tried putting greens in your shake, I challenge you to give it a try.  Start with just a little and work your way up to a big ‘ole handful (that’s what I did).  You really can’t taste it (at least, I can’t) and it’s like eating a bowl of salad while having a yummy smoothie snack.

I will probably tweak the recipe to fit me more...I'm not a huge fan of chocolate (let me pick you up off the floor, I know, I'm weird) so it was a little too chocolaty for my taste and I only used 2 teaspoons full of cocoa. Also I may try a little almond milk instead of regular just because I like the taste of almond milk in my smoothies.

Let me know if y'all try this out! It was really good and the flax seed really helped keep me full!

xoxo,
SamanthaDiane