do elephants really drink water?

our book club met for the second time today and i love it! last month we met to go over the logistics aka what to read, where to meet, etc. so I don't know if it really counted, but today was super fun! a group of us girls decided it would be fun to meet up once a month and do a book club, for the chance to read and also to get together more often. today our friend katie hosted book club and did such a great job tying in the circus theme of our book to our snacks. delicious omelets, monkey bread, animal crackers, and apples and caramel dip...so delicious! last month we read the book "Water for Elephants" by sarah gruen. the book was not something i would normally pick up but the story was actually pretty good and captivating. the story of a man's experience in the circus led to a great discussion amongst us girls. i really appreciate the chance to get together with like minded women to discuss what we've read while sharing our lives along the way. i can't wait for next month...book on the nightstand: "Peace like a River" by Leif Enger...

i love google reader

so i used to be that girl that would sit on my computer checking all my ministry, food, homemaking, etc. blogs all night long. then i found google reader, and now my time on the net is diminishing and my time can be used for far more important things, like watching reality tv with alex. wow...i don't know what's worse:) google reader, it will change your web browsing!

Taboo Topics, are you comfortable or not?

Politics, money, religion, and more. Topics that can cause those around you to flare up their tail feathers and retreat quicker than you can say, jump. For some of us, we invite these topics into our conversation with excitement, ready to share our opinions openly and sometimes forcefully. For others of us, we shy away, uncomfortable with conflict, even that of good debate. I am sure there are some of us in between, but for the most part I have seen people fall into one of these categories. Unfortunately I fall into the first category, and for the most part I usually make a fool out of myself in the process, putting my foot into my mouth more than I would care to. I have known my whole life that I have a strong personality, either you like me or you don't. But as I have grown in my walk with the Lord, he has been ever so graciously pointing out my weaknesses, especially in this area. Growing up I just wanted to be heard, so the more forcefully or excitedly I said something, usually ensured that someone would listen. As an adult, conversation usually doesn't happen this way! Take this past weekend for example. A couple of topics came up that really excite me; saving money, Costco, Super-Walmart, budgets, etc. For some reason, if I am excited about something, I for sure want to share my opinion and the pride in me wants everyone to think it's a great thing and to come on over and join me in my opinion. PROBLEM: when excitedly sharing something, do not come across forcefully, especially if in the end you could go either way on the topic...WHY: because it can hurt feelings and make friendships strained. For me, this weekend the Lord opened my eyes to sin...opened my eyes to the fact that my words are not gracious and uplifting and that I am not always thinking about what I should say and taking into account where others might be at. For those I have hurt, I am truly sorry. For those willing to come alongside me, pray that God would continually change my heart and the words of my mouth to be more like Christ. So where do you stand? I will continue to share openly and honestly in these taboo areas, I feel comfortable and unless they are demeaning to my husband or too much information, that will continue, but I hope to do it in a way that is worthy of the cross.

We moved...again!

Just wanted to let everyone know, we are now back at our house in Prior Lake. We closed on the St. Louis Park house on Tuesday! Praise God! If you need the address, email me: andreabrogle@gmail.com

25 Things about Me!

This little MeMe has been going around Facebook, but I was tagged by my friend Cara to post my answers on our blog for those who are not on Facebook. I love these little questionaire type quiz things! Maybe I will be able to get Alex to share as well! Here goes: Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. (To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.) 1. Nothing is better than a melty pbj, surprising b/c as a kid it was pb only 2. I love food, everything about it and I love to cook 3. I am excited to move back to Prior Lake, the view is amazing 4. I love my job and wouldn't change it forthe world 5. I love time by myself, I'd be a hermit if I ever lived alone 6. I have 16 nieces and nephews with two more on the way and a very big family 7. I love holiday traditions and wish I could have all the family together at once, the more the merrier 8. I really like to travel and am looking forward to more trips with Alex 9. I once flooded my cousin's basement and then proceded to drop kleenex all over. what a mess:) 10. I really enjoy our new small group and every person that is in it! 11. I really like to be active, sports, running, hiking, just being outside 12. I don't like the beach...sand=itchy, but I love the lake 13. I wish my step-dad could have meet Alex, I think they would get along fine. 14. When I was little I was a really sassy...I'm glad God has given me the grace to change:) 15. I have TMJ really bad that my jaw will lock in place...it's really scary when it happens. 16. My brother has triplets and his daughter apparantly reminds everyone of me (see #14) it's a great reminder, but she really is adorable, attitude included! 17. I really love to do laundry, it's therapeutic 18. I'm glad I'm not in control...if so, things could be really chaotic. 19. I love helping with women's ministries at church and sharing my life with other women. 20. I really like to laugh! 21. I can't wait to hopefully be a mom one day, I think I am going to like it:) 22. My favorite job was working with autistic children at Fraser, it was really rewarding. 23. I am addicted to reality tv, I don't know what it is, but I can't get enough 24. I like puzzles, word games, crosswords, etc. I loved linguistics in school and diagramming sentences, total nerd:) 25. I love Jesus...and I don't ever want to hold that back...he changed my life

Warehouse stores, are they worth the trouble?

VS

Yes! For our little family of two, a warehouse store pays for itself over the course of the year. Our first two years of marriage we were members at Sam's Club and have just switched over to Costco. Is there a difference? yes and no. The prices at Sam's Club are still slightly lower, but the stores are not as new and the brands are mostly generics. Costco on the other hand has more organics, and name brands. Why did we switch, location. Though we are moving back to Prior Lake and the Sam's is right down the street, it's worth the trek to Eden Prairie due to the fact that we are hoping to be back in St. Louis Park soon! What do you buy for a family of two? We tend to fill our cupboards with staples from these stores, so it is probably a good thing if you have some freezer bags and some storage space. Some things are better than others, but in the end we are saving money. Brogle Top Ten 1. Gas (Alex filled up a couple weeks ago 25 cents lower than the others) 2. Flour (25 lbs. at $6.99 vs. 5 lbs. at $2.50, 28 cents a lb. vs. 50 cents) 3. Chicken (averaging $2.99 a pound at Costco vs. $6/lb. at the regular store) 4. Ground beef (12% fat content, 6 lbs. @ $2.21/lb. vs. $4/lb. at the grocery) 5. Toilet Paper (36 rolls comparable to Charmin $19 vs. $24 for comparable amount) 6. Diswashwer Detergent (2 giant bottles (250 oz. total) $8.50 vs. $13 for generic equivalent 7. Romaine/Mixed Greens (huge bag for $4 vs. individual bags at $2/5) 8. Ziplock Bags ($7.87 for 216 vs. $25.86 for the equivalent) 9. Milk ($2.25 a gallon, cheapest otherwise is $2.99 at Walgreens) 10. Vanilla Extract (16 oz. pure vanilla for $6 vs. $5.60 for 2 oz, that's $44 for the equivalent) Other bonus buys: FRUIT, VEGETABLES, Laundry Detergent, Diapers, etc. These are just some areas we save in. Cost to join Sam's Club ($30) and Costco ($50). Not only are these things cheaper but how valuable is your time. It is so worth my time to spend an hour at Costco three times a year buying staples than it is to do it monthly or more at the grocery store. How do you budget for these items if you are on a tight budget? Well, Alex has set our budget up on Excel with a category that we save monthly for, for the quarterly trips to Costco. That way our food and staple budget will not get blown in the first week. We will be posting a generic budget form to illustrate this next week. If you are interested, let me know...I'd love to give you a tour!

There's a new boy in town!

Welcome Derek Bruce Metcalf!

Our good friends from our small group welcomed their first baby boy into the world on Wednesday February 4th, one day after his mommy's birthday! He was 5 lbs 15 oz, born @ 1:59pm, and will be sure to grow up big and strong like dad. He is such a little peanut. We can't wait to meet him. Congratulations Metcalfs!

Annual Trip to Buca

Since we were on vacation for Alex's actual birthday, we needed to schedule our annual trip to Buca for after we returned. Alex always celebrates his birthday with our friends at Buca di Beppo and nicely coined this years trip as "economic downturn Buca" aka trying to make it as financially feasible as possible. Did we succeed...well kind of:) Buca night this year was last Saturday, following our friend Ben's 29th birthday dinner and bowling on Friday. It was a busy weekend with the Superbowl on Sunday but worth every moment of lost sleep. It was so fun to see our friends! Thanks to everyone who made it out!