30 Day Shred

I'm gonna do it! I even created a cute little button where everyone can click and track my progress right here, so I can't back out now, can I?

My plan is to post daily updates on this page about the 30 Day Shred. I'll write about how sore I am, how difficult it was to flat iron my hair, and how many times Jillian makes me vomit.

I've already talked 2 of my friends into hopping on the shred-train with me, and I have one friend who I totally think will be eating shredded cheese for the next 30 days.

Let me know if you're joining in. Let's do this together!

True confessions of a mismatched blogger

Lest any of you think that I am any where close to creative enough to design the new header you see on this page, I feel the need to clarify, and clarify quickly.

Hello, my name is Stephanie, and I am not creative. There, I said it.

How do I know this? One word. Scrapbooking.

I am a failed scrapbooker and because of this have nearly been disowned not only by all of my scrapbooking friends, but by (gasp) my mother.

Luckily, my mother has found it in her heart to forgive me and accept me as the completely uncreative mound of flesh that I am. Even my friends, with the exception of Kelly, who gets an A+ for persistence, have recognized that it is just better for me to pursue other talents.

Like breathing.

And truth-telling. (Not all of them are fans of this talent, but hey, someone has to do it!)

And because I am a truth-teller, I am not ashamed, and rather proud, to tell you that Staci is the creativity behind my blog. I cannot accept any of the internet applause - and believe me, I know you are all in awe of my mismatched blog. But you know what? This is what's happening in New York right now, so I'm really just fashion forward!

Have you missed me?

I know, you've all been sitting at your computers just waiting for me to post. Well, the wait is over!!

Where have I been, you ask? Right here. Lost in html code.

Seriously, did you think that I had no fashion sense and meant for my blog to be all mismatched like this?? C'mon! Have a little faith!

Here's the scoop... my best friend, Staci, and I, after an afternoon of Starbucks and shopping convinced us that we could somehow write html code, decided that we were going to beautify our blogs.

HTML CODE. Need I say more. Since that time there has been no eating, sleeping, and I have had to call in sick to work.

Ok, I'm exaggerating slightly. Slightly. I ate a cracker yesterday at about 4 pm.

HTML CODE. The latest diet craze.

How great is our God?

I can't resist posting this update about Ron, the dear friend of our family that I blogged about earlier in the week who had been diagnosed with cancer.

A HUGE shout out to everyone who lifted him up in prayer. We do not serve a God that allows our cries to fall on deaf ears.

James 5:16 says "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

Click on Ron's name and you'll see just how effective. PRAISE THE LORD!!

Math. It's overrated.

Today I had lovely lunch at my favorite Mexican establishment with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. In the midst of catching up we couldn't help but notice that our waiter looked seriously stoned.

He delivered our drinks properly, although they did taste funny. He took our order, never to return again. We just assumed he needed a smoke break (you know, the stoned look)... and we're fairly certain it wasn't Marlboro's he was smoking.

Thankfully someone else brought our food. The leaves in my friends salad were questionable, but there were no side effects by the end of the meal, so I think we're good.

Our top notch waiter finally returned when it was time to pay the bill. Here's when it gets good.

My bill was $7.50. I gave him a $10 bill. Now stay with me. I know this is difficult, but together we can work through it.

How much change should he have brought me? Grant it, he was a bit stoned, but still.

$10-$7.50=$2.50. Right?

How much change DID he bring me? $2. Really? $2??

Please tell me why I was robbed right before my very eyes in the middle of a crowded restaurant on the Northside of San Antonio? How can this happen? Did he think I wouldn't notice? Did he think I would somehow be grateful to him for lightening the load in my purse by reducing the amount of change I have to carry?

Maybe I looked like I'm not a good tipper and he thought he should just go ahead and take what he could get. Hope that worked out buddy...

Spring made it!

When I walked in the door after work yesterday Taylor came running in from the backyard screaming, "Mommy, mommy! You have to come outside to see the most beautiful thing EVER!!"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me out the back door. I was sure he was going to show me that Ashton was curled up in the dog house. After all, that was the last thing that was the "coolest thing EVER" in the backyard.

Then he showed me this lone wildflower growing in the middle of our unattended-to-landscaping and said "Spring made it!"

Of course, I couldn't resist taking these of the kids... especially since they insisted!

This is love...

Let me just start by saying that I hate laundry. No, hate is not a strong enough word. I despise laundry. I do laundry because I love my family and, well, let's face it, we're just not into the nudist thing, so we do wear clothes. In fact, it seems like we wear a lot of clothes.

Because I hate laundry so much I have a self imposed rule that I only do laundry once a week. I know, all of you domestic goddesses can take this time to gasp in disbelief. But I am not ashamed. If you wear it and get it dirty, then you can't wear it again until next week.

So sorry.

I've also been known to wash clothes and leave them clean in the baskets without folding them until they've all been worn and it's time to do laundry again. After all, really, what's the purpose in folding them? They're just going to get unfolded, put on, worn, taken off, and thrown in the hamper. So the cycle goes.

Ok domestic divas, are you still with me? Who am I kidding. You're not reading this, you're folding laundry!!

This week, though, I was turning over a new leaf. I announced to Joey that I was going to fold the overflowing baskets of clean clothes that had turned into an obstacle course in the laundry room floor. Yes, tonight was my night. I would come home from the gym and dump all 7 loads of clean clothes onto my bed and fold, fold, fold. The only thing that would get me through is a DVR'd rerun of CSI:Miami. Together, I was certain we could make it.

Imagine my relief when I came home to this. When I left this morning, the dishes in the dishwasher were clean and there were remnants from breakfast in the sink. Hmmm...

Then I went to the bedroom to put down my workout bag and purse... what happened here? (Snowwhite? Dwarves?) This will certainly make folding those 7 loads of laundry easier. At least I don't have to make the bed first. Again, when I left this morning, the kids jammies were thrown on the bed and it looked like someone had been sleeping here. Hmmm...

I found Joey in the bathroom brushing his teeth getting ready to head out to the gym and thanked him for doing the dishes and making the bed. I have the best husband!! Then I went to the laundry room - I thought I'd better get started if I hoped to finish the laundry tonight!

Now look what I've found!! Empty baskets?? Seriously! I am married to the most wonderful man on the planet!! He folded all the laundry, put it all away (even the kids clothes, which he hates to do), hung everything up... what did I do to deserve this?

Thank you baby. I would say that you have NO idea how much this meant to me, but I know you do. I love you so much!!

Hands and feet

I'd like to take a minute and share something with you that has really touched me over that past week or so. Without getting into the details, you'll need to know that a dear friend of my family was diagnosed with cancer in the last week. He and his wife and children (who are all grown with families of their own now) have been dear friends of my family for almost 20 years now.

Our families have seen graduations, marriages, moves (several on the Henning side), babies, illness, healing, laughter, joy, prayer, and honestly, I could go on for days. I'm really not sure how to put into words what the Buck's mean to the Henning's (and the Gorena's).

In the midst of Ron's diagnosis I began to pray. Now I will be the first to admit that I am not a prayer warrior. I have friends that I love dearly and I try my hardest to pray for them when they need me, but I confess, I do fall short. With this circumstance though, I felt God tugging at me to not give up and to keep on praying.

BUT I also heard God tell me that this was a time when I could give feet to my faith. James 2:17 says "Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!"

Friends, let me tell you that Ron & Carolyn do not have a dead faith!! They have lived a life, and I'm sure they have no plans to stop now, of faith that is alive! From being brave enough to allow teenagers into their home for an indefinite amount time when Chi Alpha had nowhere else to meet, to children's swim parties and youth swim parties, to always having an open door...

Please allow me to share with you what the hands and feet of Christ look like on the earth today. Nearly 70 people showed up to the Buck's casa to help with some work that Ron wanted to get done - that he would NEVER have been able to do on his own before surgery.

This is probably about 3/4 of the people - the others are behind the camera. After we had completed the work we gathered to pray for Ron and his family.

The following pictures are a snapshot of what I remember about Ron & Carolyn as I grew up. They always had a party going on. There were always people in the pool having a great time, always something on the grill, oldies music blaring...

As I was completing this blog entry, this song came to mind. I think it is exactly what Ron and Carolyn have already done, as evidenced by the masses who have joined to show support and love.

Legacy
by Nichole Nordeman

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

Thanks, Ron & Carolyn for allowing us all to be blessed in this way. We love you dearly and thank you for the example you have been and continue to be.

Good morning internet. Meet Murphey.

Ahh. Friday night. Date night. The kids are at Memaw and Pepaws (for the night - YIPPEE!!) so Joey and I are off for our usual dinner and a movie. We're not predictable, though. We do alternate between Pei Wei and Buffalo Wild Wings and we never see the same movie two weeks in a row.

We hop in the date car, 'cuz that's how we roll. Sexy, right? Yeah, hold that thought.

Flipped a coin and tonight it was Buffalo Wild Wings. Tonight's dinner was much more exciting than usual. Seems I resemble someone extremely famous - at least our waiter thought so and he had the entire kitchen staff trying to figure out who it was. Funny... I've never been told that before. I think he was fishing for a bigger tip. Since I turned out not to be famous, we decided to check out our own famous people in the form of 88 Minutes at the Palladium. As if the gluttony of the buffalo wings and cheese fries wasn't enough, we topped it off with chocolate gelato and White Chocolate Mocha, non-fat, no whip cream. I'll let you guess who got what.

88 minutes, by the way... fabulous movie. Must see.

Now, remember that sexy car we were driving on our wonderful date? And are you wondering who the heck Murphey is?? Yeah, meet Murphey. And Joey hasn't changed his name.

I have officially named Joey's car Murphey - yes, of course, after Murphey's Law. Why I haven't come up with this before I don't know. But Friday night, in the parking lot of the Palladium, watching my dead sexy husband air up the tire, it hit me like a freight train.

This car is Murphey's Law incarnate! The only thing good about this car is the outside. If something can go wrong - if it is possible in the universe - it has, and will go wrong with Murphey.

Lest you think I'm exaggerating, (and I won't even get into the past - there's not enough memory on blogger!) on Saturday, Joey went to get the tire fixed. Once he gets to the tire repair shop they tell him he has to have the key to get the tire off. Where is the key, you ask? Who the heck knows!! Murphey knows, I'm sure. But he ain't tellin'!!

Then Joey sets out to change the brake pads on Murphey - which he has done before with no major crisis. This time, however, Murphey had other plans. Murphey had plans to test Joey's patience and use of all tools stored in our garage. I'll have you know, though, Murphey did not win this battle! He may have pushed Joey to the edge of sanity for almost 5 hours, but Joey is no quitter. Murphey has new brake pads and HE WILL LIKE IT!

I start tap lessons tomorrow

I went to see Lord of the Dance last night and all I say now is that I have this overwhelming urge to tap dance. I know, go ahead, laugh. I have absolutely no rhythm so just the thought of me dancing is sending most of you into absolute hysterics. But seriously, have you guys seen this? It is AMAZING!! Now granted, you have to get past the first male dance, but really, the dances with all the guys are phenomenal.

So, I've made my decision. I'm taking up tap dancing. Tomorrow. Or maybe Saturday. Wait, I'm busy on Saturday. And I'm sure they're closed on Sunday.

Ok, I'll let you know how I feel next week.

Seriously funny!

Ok, I confess, I'm a blog stalker. It all started by looking at someones family photos that were posted on a blog.

Wouldn't you know, that blog had a link to another blog. No harm, I'll just click on it and take a peek. Huh. Cute family. This lady seems nice, and she's pretty funny. Oh, look, she has links to other blogs... these must be her friends.

I could go on and on... it has been a downward spiral ever since. I'm addicted. I can't help it. I love to stalk other people through their blogs. What can I say?

Here's my latest victim: Big Mama. She is hilarious with a capital H!!!

Feel free to stalk her. I promise you'll laugh.

Birthday Sushi?

Yeah, Joey is still celebrating this birthday of his... he wanted sushi (yuk!) so we planned a night out with Jason and Staci. First we headed to see Street Kings and by the time it was over Joey and Jason wanted to be dirty cops and shoot everyone in the theater parking lot. Staci and I talked them out of it - we're such fabulous wives! Then we mozied on over to Kona Grill (did I just say mozied?) for some reverse Happy Hour 1/2 price sushi!

Jason & Staci - y'all are just too cute! Thanks for coming out with us!

First I gave Joey the two most perfect cards I could have ever found. I mean, if I were creative in the least bit, I could have written these myself!

(The inside of this card says "Happy Birthday Rembrandt!"... hilarious, I know... and oh, so true!)

Yeah, Jason & Joey can really load up on some 1/2 price sushi!

I opted for a pizza since just the thought of sushi makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit.

All in all it was a great night and really good to catch up with some friends we hadn't seen in forever. We talk all the time, but seriously, Stac, if I almost don't recognize you... I think it's been too long!!

This birthday boy can COOK!!

So everyone knows that birthdays always revolve around food. Unfortunately, when you're best cook around and it's your birthday, you have to cook for yourself! Honestly, though, I don't think he minds. He makes the best steak EVER and since he has to eat his protein so his body doesn't go into a catabolic state (don't ask...), it was just the natural solution. Plus, he looks great standing by the grill :)

Happy birthday Joey!!

Love,
Steph, Ashton, Taylor, Mom (Kathy), Memaw, and Pepaw

FINALLY!

This day will surely go down in history... April 10, 2008 (yes, I know I'm a few days late, but we've had birthday celebrations!)... Ashton FINALLY lost the tooth! On daddy's birthday!! It was truly a birthday miracle of some sort. I'll spare you the story of how it came out... something about farting noises with her mouth?? She is her father's daughter!

This is a test...

This is a test of the emergency blog reading system. This is only a test. Had this been a real emergency... oh who knows. I'm just checking to see if my cousin Bethany will notice her gorgeous daughter's pics on my blog!!

Everyone, meet Berkeley Hope Scott. Seriously, you can not tell me that this is not the cutest little girl you have ever seen!! Who knows how long it will take me to get to Florida to meet her, so keep sending the pics - these came via Lauren, who I'm sure took millions this past weekend.

We miss you, Scott's, and can't wait to meet the new little one! Give her lots of kisses for me!

Shred-a-what???

I've been working at at my current company for about two and half years now. Every time someone asks me where I work, and I tell them, I have to go into a rather lengthy explanation of the fact that we don't sell paper shredders, but we manufacture and sell automobile shredders. WHAT?? CAR SHREDDERS?? Yes, car shredders, to scrap yards.

So, I thought I'd fill you all in. I got the opportunity to visit one of those scrap yards and took a few pics. So here goes nothin'...

In the picture below you'll see rail cars to the left filled with "scrap" - some of which is flattened car bodies (with the gas tanks removed to prevent explosions in the shredding process), other items are things like appliances and other loose metals. The crane in the back of the picture actually has a flattened car body in its' grasp and is dropping it onto the loading section.

The picture below is taken from the opposite side than the picture above. Above on the far right you see the beginning of the infeed conveyor which feeds the shredder box. Below on the right you see the majority of that same infeed conveyor feeding the scrap into the shredder, which is the tall rectangle in the center on the picture. I know, it looks small, but just wait... I have a picture of me standing right up next to one at our local manufacturer... small is not the word I would use!

Below is the back side of the shredder. All of the smoke you see is from the Water Injection System. We use water while shredding to reduce the heat and the chance of fire (that's it in a nutshell!).

Now the separation process is VERY complex and I know you really don't care, but just to show a little bit of how large a shredder plant is, after the scrap is actually shredder, it goes through several separation processes via different conveyors, air systems, magnets - all of this to clean the scrap and separate the different kinds of metal. For example, copper can make you LOTS of money, so they want to make sure they get all of the copper separated from the rest of the metal, while also separating the "fluff" - the trash, the car seat material that has no metal...

This is just one of the piles at the end of the line. Each separation has its own pile - ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, fluff, etc.

Now, remember how little that shredder looked earlier? How about now?

So whatdoya think? Pretty fascinating, right? I have to admit, I was fascinated. I mean, I work around and "talk" about this stuff all the time, but I had never seen one. It's true, seeing is believing!

Happy Birthday Handsome!

Today my wonderful, loving, thoughtful, caring, hysterical, H-O-T-T husband turns 29. I have been so excited about this birthday, but so nervous at the same time.

See, last year I turned 30 (did I say that out loud? If you repeat that, I'll have to kill you!!) and Joey was absolutely amazing. I was so depressed about my birthday, but he made everything better. He surprised me by having my original diamond from my wedding ring reset into a gorgeous new ring and throwing me an awesome 30th bday party. Ever since the end of September I've been stressing about how I was going to live up to this... although I know he didn't do any of it to get something in return.

Well, around December, it came to me. I called my good friend and photographer extraordinaire. The man is amazing behind a camera! He has taken pics of our family (see the Flickr slide show on the right) and now the pics of me and he never ceases to amaze. Hey, if you ever need me to sing at a photo shoot, just let me know... that's pretty much my only talent!

So I had the pics for my hubby who still thinks I'm the hottest girl on the planet, even after 10 years, 2 kids, and a 6 month stint as a brunette (sorry honey, I swear I will never do it again!), but the kids needed a gift for dad. Taylor has been wanting to play video games with dad, and Ashton noticed that the PS2 has a game about horses and an Alvin & The Chipmunks game, so we opted to replace dad's broken PS2.

Reagan took about a million pictures of me. My original purpose was to have one or two nice pictures that I could frame for Joey to have on his desk at work and maybe on the nightstand, but when Reagan sent me the proofs, there was just no way I could choose. So I decided to put most of the pics into a book along with some "kissy kissy" words (as Joey described it to Ashton) so he could have a little "portfolio". He loved it. I was so relieved because those of you who know me well know that I'm not the model type, not that self-confident, so this was a bit of a leap... I guess it helps when your husband thinks you hung the moon.

I love you more than life... you truly do hold my heart.

This is the hunk that most of you get to see. Such a hottie - it's no wonder he's such a good salesman! Who could say no to that??

Yeah baby!! This is the hunk that I get to see!!! (Sorry honey... don't kill me freaky Joey!!!) He probably won't like that I posted this, but hey, what's not to like??

Happy birthday sexy!!