Hair

So, I made an "impulsive" decision yesterday after spending time fixing my hair, and looking like I put ZERO effort into it, to get it cut. I always end up saying that Im tired of my hair and am going to cut it and then don't but I am for real this time I even made an appt for tonight. My hair unfortunately does no favors for me long...it makes me feel like I am trying to hide the fact that I am not skinny. There are actually 3 reasons why I always hesitate when considering getting a short/medium style:
1} Certain(lol) family members remind me 'Men like women with long hair'
2} I have broad shoulders (I'm not complaining, just stating facts) so I am afraid of looking like a linebacker with a tennis ball sized head by having a "bob haircut". And even though I am in the process of losing weight {51 pounds total loss since March, but I still have a LONG ways to go}...I don't want to look less feminine by having a short hair-do(sp?).
3} I sometimes feel like when I smile I resemble a chipmunk with nuts stuffed in the sides of her cheeks. So maybe a short haircut would just broaden my already "full" cheeks instead of flatter.
I told myself at 50pds I could get my hair done as like a "reward". I just don't want to look like one of those girls that should not have short hair b/c it doesn't compliment them. You know? I want to look feminine and still have something trendy going on w/ my hair. And not to mention, I AM getting older, so I can't be all brave about just going and cutting off/coloring my hair like in HS. I mean my thought process then was 'eh, it's just hair, it will grow back/can be dyed' but NOW, my thought is I have to live with this haircut UNTIL it grows back and I dont want to look like a 26 yr old trying to be 18 again....
Ok, so here's the breakdown I have a hair appointment at 7p and I need a hairstyle that I can work with...When my 50 mark was approaching I was considering these cuts:


They make me laugh too, b/c Melissa everytime she see's these haircuts says that if I got them they would stress her out b/c she would want to snip the "stragly" ends that just appear uneven rather than groomed. HAHA!

Anyways, my mom and I went to see the movie "I can do bad all by myself" this past weekend. And the main characters hair was really cute. I think I prefer it to the above one. I actually wouldn't be going this short, mine would kinda be closer to my collar bone:







Soooo what do ya'll think I should do? Cancel or seize the day?!

Adorable Song

Michael Buble'

Fall Leaf Cookies...yuuum

I LOVE Fall! With fall comes cool weather, holidays, beautiful trees and the ability to FINALLY layer cute clothing! But one of my absolute favorite parts about Fall is the baking!!! I saw this recipe on Martha Stewart the other day! I haven't been able to try them yet so if you try them in the next few days let me know what I am in for. Martha S. made it look all so simple....obviously. Ok here it is:

Ingredients for Chocolate Tuile Batter
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
Directions
1.Sift flour with cocoa, and set aside.
2.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium until well-combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg whites, one at a time, beating for 4 minutes after each addition. Add the flour-and-cocoa mixture, and mix until just combined.
3.Reserve 1/2 cup batter; place in a pastry bag fitted with a #2 tip, and set aside for piping white tuile cookies.

Ingredients for White Tuile Batter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
Directions
1.Sift flour into a mixing bowl, and set aside.
2.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed, until well-combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg whites, one at a time, beating for 4 minutes after each addition. Add the reserved flour, and mix until just combined.
3.Reserve 1/2 cup batter; place in a pastry bag fitted with a #2 tip, and set aside for piping chocolate tuile cookies.

1.Make chocolate and white tuile batters according to recipes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trace a leaf onto a large, flexible plastic lid, such as one from a coffee can. Using scissors, cut lip from lid. With a utility knife, cut out the leaf shape to make a stencil.

2.Place nonstick baking mat on top of a baking sheet, and place stencil on mat. Using a small offset spatula, spread a thin layer of chocolate batter over stencil; carefully lift up stencil. Repeat, making more leaves, spacing evenly on baking mat. Transfer 1/2 cup white batter into a pastry bag fitted with a #2 tip. Pipe white veins onto chocolate leaves. Bake 4 minutes.

3.Using spatula, drape leaves over rolling pin to cool. Repeat process to make 50 cookies, reserving 1/2 cup chocolate batter.

4.Repeat step 2 with white batter, using reserved chocolate batter for piping.

Enjoy!

In Honor Of Grandpa Johnny

This year has been filled with crying. Not all of it from sadness, some happiness has been graciously mixed in. Our family has regained fellowship with my dad and God seems to have done a really great work in his heart but we have also lost our sweet sweet last living grandparent, Johnny Hinson.
Now let me tell you about this awesome man! Johnny Luckeydo Hinson,and yes, "Luckeydo" is his actual middle legal birth name! LOL. The story on how he got that name is for another time. He was the 2nd to youngest of 11 brother & sisters, he fought in 2 wars (in one of which he was blessed to be stationed with his brother J.R. for 6 months, which obviously was VERY rare), these pictures are of my grandfather(left in both) and JR during those 6 months. He always use to say 'I wasn't that good of a soldier but J.R. was a gooood soldier."


After the military he married our amazing grandmother ~
Mary Magdalene White


they went on to have 3 children together, the eldest being my dad.

They divorced when my dad was about 16 yrs old. Even after all the time that passed after their divorce and even dating/marrying other people...grandpa cried uncontrollably when hearing about my grandmothers death in 1994 and said that after all this time she was the only woman he was ever really in love with.

He was also great at scrounging & saving and an ingenious business man! He use to tell us how in every house in NC that he lived in as a grown up he would always make/find a hole in the garage or floor board and stash money in it and then forget about it and move and then remember later that he had left that money there...so growing up we would joke about how people living in those houses had no idea that they were sitting on $1000's of dollars. ROFL!
Grandpa really had a way of making you feel incredibly special as his grandchild. He would always refer to my sisters & I as "his girls"; I will really miss his hugs, our special late night chats, his happy chuckles, stories about himself & his siblings and exactly how "pretty" of a young man he really was. lol He most certainly had no shame of how he felt about his "blessed beauty"..lol.

But the most amazing part was that two yrs ago he was saved. And I was discouraged before going up to his funeral b/c when visiting him last we didn't see much evidence of salvation, he seemed to be very irritable and angry about things at the drop of a hat; But I found out while being in NC this wknd that he had developed dementia and it had shrunken his brain and the irritability is all a part of the illness. All I can do is hope. Hope that he really had 2yrs ago become dedicated to follow Christ and it was sincere. I hope to see him one day again! We love and already miss him so much!

Johnny Luckeydo Hinson
January 10, 1926 ~ September 09, 2009

This is taking FOREVER!!

So a while back my sister called me and said:

Melissa: what are you doing?

Me: working. What are you doing?

Melissa: I am STILL playing monopoly with the kids...

(in the background) Lexie: AND IT IS TAKING FOREVER!!
Melissa: Well, you guys are the one's who wanted to play this game and now that we started it we HAVE to finish it.

Andrew: This is taking my WHOLE life! It's taking forever!

Lexie: We are NEVER going to finish! Mom can't we stop?!

Melissa: NO, the rule is always the same, if you start something you are going to finish it. And unfortunately I started playing too, so I have to finish too. :(

Me: LAUGHING hysterically, and still listening to the conversations on their end.

Lexie: THIS IS GOING TO TAKE FOREVER!

ANDREW: THIS IS TAKING MY WHOLE LIFE TO FINISH!

Melissa: Fine, this is what we will do, anytime we land on a hotel we will double the amount. (so they start to do that)

Lexie: THIS is STILL taking FOREVER!!!!

And here is a picture of exactly how much fun they had...LOL

Just Realized

I just realized that I have picts of all the kiddo's on here except for sweet little Matthew Asher! He is just as adorable and is the youngest brother of Stasia, Lexie and Andrew. So here it is:

He is 11 months....and that is my sister Melissa (his mommy) holding him:



Ok, well, The End. :)

A Tribute To Our Sweet Theo Niko

B/c I am so bad at blogging and also b/c this yr has been insanely busy and fast paced I am just now getting updates on here from a previously written blog. Oops!



On May 1st Our sweet Theo(Uncle)Niko passed away. We miss him so much and loved having him as our Uncle! He was always generous, warm and happy. I have nothing but good thoughts of him. We had just seen him in March for a quick visit to N.C. and we realized then that he had a very bad cough...which he continually brushed off, wanting to know more about what had been going on with us rather than take concern for himself. He constantly put others ahead of himself. He went to the doctor about 2weeks later and found that he had lung cancer, lymph node cancer and brain cancer. We were devestated! But rested in the thought that he was saved recently!

Nick was also a religious journalist for the High Point Enterprise. And did really great stories too! I was unable to keep up with them due to the fact that you had to have a perscription to the H.P.E. to get them and now of coarse that reasoning seems rather petty. He was also in the process of writing a novel, which when I heard this, was excited to read when it came out.

Nick G. Maheras
March 14, 1953 - May 1, 2009

HIGH POINT — Nick George Maheras, 56, went home to be with the Lord on Friday, May 1, 2009. After a brief battle with lung cancer, he died peacefully at home with his daughters at his side.

Nick was born Pericles Mitsopoulos-Makris in 1953 in Patras, Greece, and was adopted into the Theodore George and Anna Drakulakos Maheras family in 1958. He was naturalized as a proud and concerned American citizen in 1962 and spent the bulk of his years in High Point. He was a graduate of High Point Central High School and UNC Charlotte. He spent several years in television and print media before joining the staff of the High Point Enterprise in 1988. He covered local High Point news and religion assignments and had a way of making everyday news interesting. Nick enjoyed working out at the YMCA, where he formed many valuable friendships. He spoke fondly of playing basketball for years with his friends at the Baptist church. His greatest loves were his family members, his friends from the old neighborhood and his Heavenly Father. He was preceded in death by his parents, his niece and his unborn baby.