This is what I cooked last night for our dinner. It's Artichoke, feta and thyme stuff chicken, Tomato/Shallot salad and Corn with Feta, Walnuts and Jalapenos. I love cooking FRESH, CHEAP, easy and seasonally, and this fit ALL four of those. Seasonally meaning you are cooking with produce that is in season, which means it will be very fresh and less expensive because it's in large supply. Tomatos and corn are both fully in season right now, so that was perfect! The meal cost me approx. $7 to make, and that's for both of us, with leftovers. And I think it took me all of 20-25 minutes from start to finish. So, I was pretty darn excited about that last night. I have some other things on my mind, but I must work today, so no time for that right now. I'll save it for a later date!!

Tonight: Homemade turkey burgers and salad!

Can I even explain to you how tired I am this morning? Not tired as in "not-enough-rest" tired, but tired from, "I just worked out so hard I could throw up" tired. You see, a couple of weeks ago, Jordan developed a circuit workout for me. If any of you have seen Jordan lately, you know that he is super in shape right now. He picked back up doing his "circuits" about 8 months ago, in addition to all the frisbee he's been playing and coaching, and basketball that he does every other week or so, the man is fit!! Well, about 3 weeks ago, the Lord really started convicting me on how I was not caring well for my body. I got out of the habit of consistent work-outs about 3 years ago, and have been sporadic, to say the least, since then. Well, at 27, my body doesn't respond exactly the same as it did 10 years ago at 17, and I know it will only get harder and harder 10 years from now at 37. And especially since I am going to be having kids a little later in life than I had planned, I want to make sure I am doing ALL that I can to keep my body and energy where it needs to be. So all that to say, I am now on a workout plan that my dear husband designed and it KICKS MY BUTT!! It takes me only about 35 minutes to do, and that includes "warm-up" time (of course, I am sweating profusely after just that) and the full workout, but I am more tired from this than I would be if I just ran 4 miles. And the muscles it is working is amazing. It works abs, back, arms, legs, heart, etc. etc.!!

So I decided to start this week off right, woke up early, got in some good reading, then had time for a workout before work....almost threw up, but I made it through and I know I am the better for it. So, thanks honey- for pushing me and helping me get on track!

FRISBEE!!

If you are in the Nashville area and don't have anything to do tomorrow (or even if you do have things to do but you'd rather play/watch frisbee) then come on out to an amazing frisbee extraordinaire! It's going to be amazing. Click HERE for details and let me know if you have any questions!

Heartless

So I guess I am definitely happy Kris made it through on American Idol- I think his performance of "Heartless" was pretty much the best AI performance I've ever seen. Just hoping that Danny's fans vote for Kris next week! Would love to see him win. If you didn't see it Tuesday, click HERE and watch it! It's awesome. And by the way, the song that starts when you click on my blog is the original by Kanye West- in case you haven't heard that either

American Idol...truly...

Okay, so I typically don't blog about pop culture stuff, (in fact, the last p.c. blog I did was over a year ago about another AI contestant: Melinda Doolittle) but after watching American Idol last night...I just can't help myself! :-) It's obvious the judges LOVE Adam Lambert, and I do believe he has one of the best voice to ever grace that stage, no doubt about it. But I just don't enjoy hearing him sing.....AT ALL! Now when he started his first song last night, U2's "One," Jordan and I were like, "wow! Beautiful tone- this is a nice side of Adam and we're enjoying it." But it wasn't too long before he reverted into his 1st soprano screaming stuff and just lost me!

What do you guys think? I saw this article and thought it was interesting. After reading it- it totally makes sense to me. I guess they could see Adam being much more marketable in ALL kinds of media outlets than the other two contestants, but as far as singing....he's totally losing me.

And then again- it doensn't really matter at all in the end! :-)

(Oh and check out my playlist at the bottom. I just found this artist: Natalie Walker, and I am so excited about getting her album. Take a listen!)

What does it mean to believe?

We have recently started a new series at church titled "That You May Believe." It's based on the book of John, with the central verse, so to speak, being John 20:30,31

"The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him you will have life by the power of His name."

We talked Sunday about believing Jesus in everything. He is the source! Our text was John 4- the story of the Woman at the well, and the Nobleman's son. We talked about how believing what He says (his words) must come before believing what he shows. (his works) John 4:48 "Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?" It's a question Jesus asks the crowd in Capernaum. It's so easy to want proof BEFORE we choose to truly believe something, but he tells us to first believe what he says and THEN we will see the proof of it.

Jordan and I have had a lot going on this year. Many things we never expected, and many things that have been difficult to navigate. We've had many opportunities for our faith to waiver, even completely die, but as I sit here typing this, my faith has not died, but is stronger than it's ever been. We are on the brink of some incredible things, in our city, in our nation, in our world. How can I say that even though news reports and cynics would say otherwise? It's because I believe! I really, truly do! I believe that we are about to see an incredible partnership in the city of Spring Hill b/w pastors and churches, and that it will produce incredible fruit. I believe the same for the greater city of Nashville. And you know what- we are actually starting to SEE a little of it.

God is so faithful! He is amazing! He is working wonders in and around me every day. And I am challenged like never before to believe what He says, and to do the things that He has asked me to do.

My Favorite Nurse

May 6-12, 2009 have been the dates for National Nurses Week, with May 6th being dubbed Nurses Day. Now, I know there is just about a day to celebrate anything and everything in America. (May 13th is National Apple Pie Day- weird.) But, when I found out that this has been National Nurses Week, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to highlight my favorite nurse and I think probably one of the best out there right now: my sister, Ferris Owen!



Ferris graduated in 2006 from UT with a nursing degree and has been working in the Trauma Unit at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, TN. It is the ONLY Level 1 Trauma Unit in Middle Tennessee- to put it in perspective- EVERY SINGLE PATIENT Ferris deals with is facing a life or death situation. EVERY SINGLE ONE! The leading causes of trauma are car accidents, falls and assaults. Trauma is the leading cause of death for Americans under 44 years of age. It's easy for me to forget what she deals with on a daily basis, but when I stop to think about it- it's a bit overwhelming.

Ferris was made for this! Although it's unlikely that she'll stay in the trauma unit for years to come, (she's currently working on her Nurse Practitioner's degree from Vanerbilt as well) I know her impact over three years of working there has been enormous, and will continue to be for as long as she stays at VMC. I am SO proud of her, and in awe of the strength the Lord has given her to withstand tremendous pressure and to deal with the most intense situations and emotions that anyone can face in their life- all on a daily basis.

Ferris, I love you! I am so proud of you! I pray you feel celebrated and thanked for all that you do, but I know that more than anything, the Lord is so pleased with you and your faithfulness to the things He's called you to!

I haven't had time to post, and don't really now, but please, in the time being, click here and check out my incredible, adorable, beautiful, wonderful, hilarious and entertaining niece. She is just ridiculous she's so cute and I lover her so much and can't wait to see her again! Happy Mom's Day!

You know you're a dork when cleaning products make you really happy and really excited!! So, I am a dork! This is what I received yesterday in the mail as a wonderful gift from someone!!

These are Shaklee "Get Clean" products.I had heard about these from several people over the last year, and pretty much everyone who uses them loves them. Jordan and I had already talked about the need for more natural cleaning stuff, but I haven't wanted to pay the money for products like Seventh Generation. And frankly, some of the organic cleaning stuff out there is just not that great. We had determined that we were just going to make our own, but I am really excited about this alternative.

Everything is natural, and it cleans really, really well. I tested out several things last night! I have everything from dish soap and hand wash to laundry detergent and fabric softener. I am really excited about it, and I think it's a great option for us! You can check out more info here!

Baby Updates!

Well, Erin demanded it so here it is! haha! My long awaited return to posting. Just kidding, I really don't have time right now to go into everything. April was a crazy month!! :-) BUT, for all of you who were watching my little baby tickers to the right, ETHAN AIMERY KELLUMS was born on April 20! He is adorable and awesome and precious and I love him SO much! Here are a few pics to enjoy.

They are all doing great and he's just amazing! Also, in other HUGE baby news, my niece Hope started crawling! It's AWESOME! Click HERE to check it out. It's SO cute! I love her.

Okay, more later. Have a great day!