The Hermit Syndrome

So, basically, I haven't been out in the world past my driveway since Friday. Yep, I've become a recluse. And for the most part, I'm fine with that. However, I had a dream last night that I was shunned by the world and had to work in a tiny little room while everyone else was having fun all together. I was sad in my dream, but actually, that doesn't sound too far from the truth. Since I started working part time, I've kind of shut myself off from the world. I have friends (I really do!) but like me they are busy with their own lives. Is this what happens to those sad people that make headlines when they are found by police buried in piles of newspaper? Am I going to end up on an episode of "Intervention"?

I don't think I'm that far gone. I'm just taking a break from the world. Bears do it. Flowers do it. Caterpillars do it. I rest my case. So there, subconscious. I'm fine. I don't need your dreams of shunned loneliness. I'm fine! I will emerge from my den of hibernation, my layer of protective earth, and my swaddling cocoon. And when I'll do I'll be a much better person for it. I'll see the world with new wide eyes. I'll bloom in bright beautiful colors, and I'll fly to my highest potential.

Right now, I think I'll just cuddle up on in my recliner and read, crochet, and be a hermit just a little while longer.

Our Zany Christmas Tradition

Christmas before Thanksgiving

My friend Jenni inspired me to update my blog, since the last time I updated it was before Halloween!  I'm a slacker!

Anyway, I was thinking about Thanksgiving and how it gets the shaft every year.  As soon as Halloween is out of the way (sometimes even before) Christmas decorations start coming out.  We kind of skip right over Thanksgiving.  Maybe it's because there is not a huge amount of preparation that needs to take place.  Maybe it's because we feel like there's not much in it for us except lots of food and football.  (I'm a fan of both, so I feel like there's MUCH in it for me.)  This year the "black Friday" sales actually started before Thanksgiving Thursday! 

I LOVE Christmas, don't get me wrong.  I'm always ready to see the sparkly green, red, silver, gold, blue decorations hit the store shelves.  I'm sure I'm the first on my block to start listening to Christmas music.  In fact, I have been known to set my ipod to Christmas music in the heat of the summer, just because I miss it. 

I think maybe Thanksgiving would get more attention and we would express the thankfulness more if it was celebrated a week after Christmas....but wait...that's New Year's Day.  And we certainly can't have a food celebration when we are starting our diets for the new year.  Maybe February....oops, Valentine's Day.  Sometimes people aren't very thankful during this ooey, gooey month.  What about March or April?  Mmmm, Easter with another big meal.  May?  Nope, the start of summer just doesn't seem like a good time to be thankful for the harvest.  Any summer month, in fact might not work.  September?  Now, that's a possibility, but with school starting and all the prep for Octoberfest, that may not be good.  October, well, there's the aforementioned Octoberfest as well as Halloween.  November?  Wait, I'm right where I started. 

Here's a thought...why not celebrate Thanksgiving everyday.  Not just on a Thursday in November?  I don't mean the food and football celebration (although I wouldn't be super upset about that), but the real thanksgiving.  The one in which we thank God each day for the blessings in our lives.  Let's start a revolution...Thanksgiving EVERY Day.

Pumpkin Carving - A New Tradition

The last time I "helped" carve a pumpkin was when I was 8 years old.  And I have the scar on my chin from falling off the stool and hitting the edge of the washer as proof.  (Long story.) 

Anyway, Troy and I have never carved pumpkins together.  So we decided to do it this year.  We picked three pumpkins, one for each of us and one for the dogs.  I think we did a pretty good job.

Can you pick out Troy's???  :)

The Gifts That Keep on Giving!

I know, I know you've heard enough about the dogs.  This week, and it's only Monday, I've SEEN enough about the dogs. 

Per my post yesterday, you know that they had a feast on the perfect home made garlic bread I had prepared for Sunday lunch guests.  Well, last night the once tasty bread came back to haunt them.  They weren't hungry for even a fraction of their usual night time meal.  One of them (we're pretty sure it was Luke) vomited on our bed AND his bed.  We didn't notice it until Troy threw their beds from our bedroom to the den.  (Yes, they are spoiled.)  As he was throwing, he saw the aforementioned puke.  Go ahead, you know you want to say it. "EWWWW!"  So we had to stop the presses and clean up beds, carpets, chairs, walls.

This morning, I was going through my ritual of cleaning and started to vacuum the stairs.  We have a Dyson vacuum.  I mention this so that you can get a visual if you have this model.  I was attaching the "stair cleaning" tool to the hose and noticed that the inside of the hose was coated with, yep you guessed it, the aforementioned puke.  My eyes watered and my gag reflex introduced itself to me again. 

The hose is detachable.  (Thank you Dyson.  You should put that in your ads.)  And the detached hose is now in the kitchen sink getting cleaned and sanitized. 

I feel like the Cat in the Hat has come for a visit.  We keep cleaning up the spot and it keeps coming back bigger and better!

God's Provision

Most of you have read from the bible the account of Jesus taking the boy's meager lunch of five loaves of bread and two fish and fed a crowd of 5,000 with food left over.  Well, this post follows the same line, but God took two loaves of bread and turned it into 3 1/2 slices to feed 7 people.

Our church is studying about the five purposes in life:  Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Evangelism, and Ministry.  In addition to the sermons about each of these purposes, our Sunday School class which Troy teaches is also studying these purposes.  This week was about Fellowship, so Troy invited the class to our house for lunch after church.  I didn't know how many of the 20 or so people were coming so I, of course, cooked for 100.  I made a crockpot full of spaghetti sauce with meat, two packages of spaghetti noodles, two big bowls of salad, and two loaves of garlic bread (made in the bread machine).  I was most proud of the bread because it was the best bread I've ever made. 

I didn't know why at the time, but this morning, before church, I decided to cut one of the loaves in half and then slice that half and put the slices on the cake pedestal for "presentation".  I wrapped the other loaf and a half in foil and left them on the counter.  So essentially, there were 7 half slices of bread ready to eat, 3 1/2 full slices. 

Troy and I went to church.  I came home just a bit before the guests arrived to find that the foil wrapped bread had been eaten by the dogs we had left in the house because it was cold and snowy outside.  Foil and crumbs were everywhere.  But there were those 7 half slices under the dome of the cake plate. 

And how many showed up for lunch?  Five people plus Troy and me. 

God provides all our needs.  Even when we have the "best laid plans".  God takes care of us.

 

Home Improvement

So, I wouldn't call us home improvement project savvy.  Don't get me wrong.  Troy is a wonderful carpenter/handy man but we tend to only make major improvements on a "need to" basis or on a whim.  Never somewhere in the middle.
 
Troy is usually ready to tackle the project as long as we have the money and he is not asked to paint.  I am the one who walks in and out of the doors of Home Depot and Lowe's hoping "Yard Crashers" or "House Crashers" will ask me if I need any help with projects.  I just never have a plan for how to start.  (For those of you who  have a life  don't watch home improvement shows, the designers on the "Crashers" programs catch unsuspecting customers of Home Depot and Lowe's and ask if they can come in and do the improvement project for the home owner.)  I keep an eye out for TV camera's everytime I walk into Home Depot now.  Maybe I look too needy! 

Anyway, back to the original purpose of this post.

As you all know, our life A.D. (After Dogs) is very different than B.D.  For example, we were perfectly happy with the fact that even though the fence around our backyard looked a little worse for the wear, it fit the purpose for the moment.  Within 3 days A.D., the dogs had made a break for it and were finally coerced back into the yard by our wonderful neighbor, Monica.  So, we had to rebuild the fence sooner than originally intended.  A long week of backbreaking work later, Troy and some hearty helpers from our church rebuilt the fence.  It is beautiful and dog proof! 

Now that the fence looked FABulous, it made the overgrown weed infested flowerbed surrounding the front of the house look even more disgusting.  So, we decided to pull out all the vegetation in the bed, lay down a weed blocker, and cover the whole area in landscape pebble.  Good idea, right? 

Not so much.

Three trips to Home Depot and thirty, count them thirty bags of pebbles later, we decided it looked too plain.  So, I bought two new shrubs (exactly like the two on the side of the house that by the grace of God we haven't killed) and I planted them in front of the bay window.  I know that sounds simple enough but, if you remember, the dirt in the flower bed is now covered in weed block material AND 30 bags of pebble!  But I was determined and finally planted both shrubs.  See?

I'm so proud, I took two pictures!

This was our big project for the summer.  Pretty cool, huh?

I know I promised to post pictures of the new office we redecorated this past spring but my side is totally covered in piles of paperwork  it's not totally picture ready, yet.  As soon as I finally organize my messiness it is, I'll post pics.

Humiliation

I did it.  I finally gave in and bought the Gentle Leader "bridle" for Luke and Leia about a month ago.  The loose leash training was too hard and I didn't want to deal with it wasn't working.  They were still dragging me all over the neighborhood and walks were becoming a dreaded experience every morning.  I actually started dreading them the night before. The Gentle Leader is like a bridle on a horse.  It keeps the dog from pulling because when the dog pulls it makes its head turn toward the leash. 
Getting the contraption on the dogs the first time was a circus in and of itself.  But now they are compliant and patiently sit with their little muzzles uplifted so that I can slide it on.  Leia, however, starts making snorting sounds like it's cutting off her airway passages as soon as I start to put hers on.  After a month, they still fight their bridles when they want to pull ahead, but this invention has made our morning walks much better for me.
Before our walks, Luke and Leia are filled with anticipation and ignore the humiliation of this binding headgear.  But as soon as we walk in the front door after our walks, Luke sits patiently with sad puppy eyes begging me to take the headgear off and Leia immediately throws herself in the floor in what I assume is a puppy temper tantrum to try to rid herself of this atrocious contraption before I can take it off for her.  I had to take pictures of them with their new headgear on so that I could document this scene.

One Step Forward, Three Thousand Steps Back

I took the dogs for their first individual training sessions yesterday. My training guide is from the website, VeterinaryPartner.com. The process for loose-leash training included immediately turning and walking in the opposite direction each and every time the dog strains against the leash. The idea is that the dog will start watching you to detect which direction to go. Leia seemed to pick up on the concept early and was constantly checking on me to see if I was changing directions. Luke, on the other hand, needed a little more reinforcement (we made the same trip back forth in front of the house several times).

So, things sound great right? Not so much!

Troy and I decided to take a walk in the canyon trail near our house with the doggies. The walk took us about triple the time we would normally take for training purposes. And we got caught in a mini rain storm.

This morning, Troy decided to be the best husband in the world and took over the responsibility for the walk. It didn't go well AT ALL!!!!! So, back to square one. I'm going to continue the loose-leash training for the next week. At that point, I'll decide what to do next.

It's Going to the Dogs

One month, four days.

Yes, it's been one month, four days since we introduced ourselves to Luke and Leia. We found them at the shelter. The staff stated that they were picked up in our town about a week before. No tags, nobody called about them, so no information. Sad, but true.

They have fit into our family nicely, except for one thing: our morning walks.

I don't know if it's because they were my birthday present, if it's because I'm the morning person, or if it's because I'm the "mom", but I'm in charge of the morning routine. They wake us promptly at 6:00 am each and every morning. I get out of bed, get dressed, and let the furry alarm clocks out to the backyard. I then prepare their breakfast, let them in to eat, and take them for their morning walk. Troy goes back to sleep.

We are usually out the door for the walk at about 6:30/6:40. Little did I know that this is precisely the time that every other person in our neighborhood takes their wonderfully well-behaved dogs on their morning walk. However, in the eyes of Luke and Leia, these aforementioned dogs are ferocious, dangerous, animals, which must be attacked at all costs! Unfortunately, my precious, loving canines are now the bane of my dog-walking neighbors' existence. We haven't actually had any attacks, but the barking that occurs whenever we encounter another dog is uncontrollable (and not well received).

The other problem we have with our morning walk is their energetic search for smells. A.K.A. they drag me rather than walking with me. These two problematic behaviors have made me despise our morning walks.

I went to Petsmart looking for answers, and walked out with the schedule for obedience classes. (We can't afford the $200 it would cost to put them both in class at this time.) I've read a book written by the Monks of New Skete who are world renown for training German Shepherds from cover to cover. (Evidently, it's much easier to train when starting with a puppy.) So here I am, frustrated.

I've made the decision this morning to do some internet research on loose-leash training (walking without dragging the human). I am then going to work each morning individually with each dog.

My post is titled "It's Going to the Dogs" because I decided to keep notes here about how the training was going. In the short time I've known them, I have learned to love Luke and Leia. They are precious, loving, companions who will in the end teach me more than I could ever teach them.

Come along for the journey. I'm sure there will be laughter and tears along the way. Wow, it's the birthday present that keeps on giving!

Summer of '69

It was a great summer, the summer of 1969. In July, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to walk on the moon. In August, three days of peace, love, and rock-n-roll happened in upstate New York.

And I was born!

This year, I was reminded over and over again that I was about to reach a milestone. Forty! The news did story after story about the fortieth anniversary of the moon landing and Woodstock.

Today is my fortieth birthday. I look back and think that when I was in fifth grade, my math teacher was forty-two. I thought that was ancient! So I am now officially ancient to all fifth graders everywhere. This honestly doesn't bother me.

This year, my birthday celebration happened in waves. We got my birthday presents, two three year old border collie mix dogs from the local shelter on August 1. I started working part time (which was a gift in an of itself) on August 10. And my parents flew in to surprise me on Saturday for a weekend celebration. It was great! If this is what happens when you turn 40, I'd gladly do it again!

Here are a couple of pictures of my presents and celebration:

Please Don't Judge a Book by its Movie!

I saw the movie "The Time Traveler's Wife" yesterday. I read the book last fall and raved about it to anyone that would listen. I saw the movie with trepidation, concerned that it was impossible to moosh 30 something years of time (and time travel) into a two hour movie.

I was right. It was impossible. I liked the movie, but only as one who had played out the book already in her mind could. I was like a proud mom watching the production of a school play. Not because she enjoyed the play, but because she knows the back stories: the time and effort the teacher in charge invested, the nervousness of her child as he walks onto the stage, the preparation of the costume. I watched the slivers of time in Henry and Claire's life on the screen wondering how anyone who hadn't read the book could understand each gut wrenching scene this reel of celluloid was trying to depict. I hurt for those who couldn't enjoy the movie as I did. And I hope that those to whom I've recommended this book will read it before they see the movie or they may never trust my recommendations again.

Faith.....

What is it?

Hebrews 11:1 says (in my New Living Translation) "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see."

I've lived most of my life as a people pleaser. (Stay with me here. I promise I'm not on a tangent.) God recently told me to read Galations. So, I've started reading Galations. Immediately, I was drawn to Paul's statement in verse 10 of chapter 1. He writes, "Obviously, I'm not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God." This left me invigorated, but perplexed. I've been trying to please God by doing the things I think He wants me to do. But I always feel like there's more and I can't possibly do enough....so I give up. I stop talking to Him, I stop reading His word, I stop thinking about Him.

Then my gracious God led me to these verses in chapter 2, verse 19 and the first part of verse 20. "For when I tried to keep the law, I realized I could never earn God's approval. So I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ. I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me...."

There is no earning of God's approval. The only one who could do that seemingly impossible job is Christ. He has already done it for me so that I could reap the benefit of the approval of the author and creator of the universe.

It's a concept I can't wholly wrap my mind around. But, for me, today, in this very moment, faith is knowing that because Christ paid the price from my sin, I have God's approval through no work of my own.

This!

My last post asked, "What now?"

My house said, "This!"

I had put housework on hold for the last....month! I did what I had to do to get by (laundry, dishes) but not much else. In fact, to be honest, nothing else. So today "THIS" consisted of laundry, dishes, clipping and filing coupons, cleaning out my purse (no small feat, let me tell you!), cleaning all four bathrooms, straightening the house, dusting, and running errands. I still have dinner to cook.

I know most of you are now opening the case of your imaginary violin, but I had let everything go for soooo long. I know "This" won't take me all day after I make some progress toward having a clean home, but today I'm a little overwhelmed.

I think I'm still in the mode of thinking, "I've got to get this all done today because tomorrow I won't have time." I've got time. So now my mantra should be, "Slow down, rapidly beating heart. Calm down, acids in the stomach. Time is no longer the enemy. Breathe!"

What now?

I've been wanting to write about the exciting thing happening in my life for quite some time. But I wasn't sure when it would happen. I also wanted details to be worked out before I really let it all out.

I've quit my job.

Yes, people, I quit my job.

Don't get me wrong. I love Sylvan. I love the people I work with. But I didn't love feeling that I was letting my husband down on one side, and my job responsibilities down on the other. I felt as if I were trying to juggle everything and I'm not a good juggler. Heck, I'm NOT a juggler. Multi-tasking is not my strong suit.

I've been feeling pulled in two different directions for a few months. I knew I was not being the wife or the employee God wanted me to be, or I wanted to be. When I was at home, I was thinking about work. When I was at work, I was concerned about home. I know many, many women (and men) deal with this all day, every day. I couldn't do it anymore.

My gracious boss understood and never once made me feel guilty about this decision. In fact, because it was in God's devine providence, it was what our center needed. I was able to move into a part time teaching position vacated by one of our best teachers.

God inspired wise men to write in Proverbs, "Don't weary yourself trying to get rich. Why waste your time?" That verse jumped out at me the end of June as we were studying it in Sunday School class. I realized time was going by at a frantic pace and I was willing it to go faster just to end the day, week, month, season so that I could start to relax. I was wasting time by wearying myself to "get rich" or feel comfortable. Really? That was comfortable?

I know the grass is always greener, but I know this is what God has determined for me for this moment in my life. Even as I'm only about three hours past cleaning out my office, I realize I'm looking forward to the next week with delight and not dread, with anticipation, not anxiety. I'm ready to discover what God has planned for me now. I'm ready to see how He provides all my needs when I put all my trust in Him and not in my paycheck. I'm ready to be the wife Troy desires. And I'm ready to feel whole again.

Marker Boxers

Today, during a great lunch with friends from church, I realized something that I'm sure every wife that works outside the home has experienced....the Marker Boxers.

The following story is true, the names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Susan and I were discussing the perils of working outside the home. How the house was never totally clean. How a home cooked meal is unheard of during the week. How dishes and laundry pile up. Susan then said, "I feel so bad, because Lee always runs out of clean underwear."

"I know Troy (totally innocent, so the name has not been changed) has run out when he wears his Garfield Mistletoe boxers."

"The Marker Boxers!" Susan exclaimed. "Lee's are funny Santa boxers!"

We laughed and laughed as Troy and Lee sat there thoroughly embarrassed.

So, do you have Marker Boxers in your life?

101 Uses for Plastic Spoons

I've been avoiding the occasional "craft night" at church for quite some time. I'm not one of them......you know the ones......The ones who capture each moment of the past in order to tastefully display those freeze frames of good times on 12x12 sheets of decorated paper.

I was actually a little worried that I might not fit in. I'm not a scrap book kind of gal. I have no children to document. I e-mail pictures of vacations to family and post them on my Facebook page for others to see.

But tonight I decided to try it out. I took a crochet project I've been working on for quite some time and thought, "I'll at least keep my hands busy."

And then it happened........

A sweet, Godly woman in our group of 6 mistakenly and innocently combined the names of two local sporting goods stores while telling a story. The stores are Big 5 and Dicks. There was a shocked hush for about a nano-second. And then came a rush of laughter and giggles that soon had us blinking away tears.

Conversation bloomed......
From the Holy Land to red sauce and nacho cheese....from scrap booking tools to plastic spoons.....from "making new plant stands" to creepy, empty, dark churches........from long haired boys to dead pets..........from "Partners in Crime" to snoring husbands.......from cricuts to culs de sac.........from princess laptops to texts from the caretaker twin.......from blogs to Narnia dwarfs...

From the time I arrived at about 7:30 pm until we left at 11:30pm....

Friendships were made, renewed, deepened, and cherished.

I had a great time.
Thank you Lori, Patti, Willo, Ashley, and Jenni.

See ya' next time........

By the way, Patti, how do you really feel about cremation?

Goodbye, Sweet Baby Girl.

We had to put Pinky to sleep today. We've known for a while that she was slowly losing the battle with kidney disease. A few days ago, she quit eating or drinking.

It's so hard to lose a pet. We chose to forget that this day will come when we open our hearts to a new pet. We push it to the back of our minds. But today, Troy and I faced it head on.

It's heartbreaking to walk around our house without seeing her peeking around the corner or lounging in the middle of the rug on the family room floor. She loved to stand beside the refrigerator and peek through the crack between the door hinges when I had the door open. She could hear the recliner motion from the top floor and would rush down to jump in the lap of whoever was reclining. She would often stand at the balcony above the door leading to the garage, looking down to make sure it was us coming home for the night before she would make her presence known. I don't know how long I will have to resist the urge to look up to see if she's standing there when I walk through the door.

I miss her so much.

Goodbye, Sweet Baby Girl.

Heaven on Earth

Troy and I try to get away every Memorial Day. It's the last opportunity we have before summer gets crazy. Last year, we rode the Durango-Silverton Steam Engine train. I wrote about it (of course) here.

We drove through Ouray on the way back. I fell in love with Ouray. Troy planned this Memorial Day vacation around Ouray. We arrived yesterday at the Best Western in Ouray. Did I mention I love this place?! We woke up this morning to this....

See why this little piece of Heaven on Earth has captured my heart?

Mom and Me

Mom was 17 when I came into her life. She and Dad had been married a year and she felt she was ready for a child......at 17. This is my favorite picture of us. She was 19 and I was almost two.

Mom and Dad are here for their annual spring visit. As we sat at the dinner table tonight, mom and I agreed that we "grew up" together. I couldn't have had a better role model. I'm the wife I am today because of her example. If I had children I would base the majority of my parenting skills on her parenting style.

What other mother had a "tee pee" set up in our front yard when I got off the school bus so that we could have a tea party in the tee pee? What other mother knows Jenny's phone number as well as I do......867-5309? What other mother believes that I can do whatever I want, even when I don't believe that I can?

Love you, Mom!

Band of Gold

Troy and I were engaged five whole days before we were married. In that short amount of time we: bought my ring, bought my dress and shoes, secured a perfect location for the Saturday afternoon wedding and the weekend honeymoon, hired the preacher, ordered the cake for the reception to follow a week after the wedding, ordered my bouquet, invited our immediate family, and placed the announcement in the local paper. Whew......I think about it now and wonder how the stars aligned in such a way to make all this happen in such a timely manner.

Before we did any of the tasks from the previous list, we bought Troy's wedding band at the Walmart in Marble Falls, Texas. It cost $54.99. It was a plain gold band. We didn't have very much money so this was the perfect ring at the time.

Troy plays with his ring constantly. He also has to take it off and put it on his key ring or in his pocket while he's working with electricity (which he does almost every day.) I told him that if he ever lost it all he would have to do was run by Walmart on the way home and pick up a new one.

Well, it happened. He lost it.

The first thing he said when I came home Monday night was, "Guess what happened today." He held up his hand to show me his ring was missing. "I lost my ring."

My response was, "And you didn't run by Walmart to pick up a new one?"

He got misty-eyed and I knew in that moment that inexpensive band of gold was priceless to him.

So tonight, my friend Jenni and I met after work at Zales and picked out a very nice two-tone brushed silver and gold wedding band for the man I love more than anything else in this world.

I walked in the door tonight with a to-go box of Troy's favorite snack, jalapeno poppers. Inside was the ring tucked in it's Zales box. Troy opened the styrofoam to go box, saw the smaller jewelry box and instantly knew what it held. I love that he almost dropped the food to get to the ring. He loves it. He won't take it off even though we need to have it sized!

God has a way of reminding me in the mundane day to day living of life that he picked out this man just for me. And with that gentle reminder He fills my heart with even more love for this man than I felt on the day we bought that fifty dollar band of gold.

Is This Really Necessary?

On a business trip last week, Troy stayed one and a half days longer than he expected. Normally, he is prepared for this but for many reasons, he was not this time and had to buy extra socks and boxers in Boise, Idaho.

Yesterday as I was unloading the dirty clothes from his suitcase, I noticed that he had bought three packages of boxers, two pair per package. (Must be prepared, I guess.) I proceeded to open the two unopened packages and noticed that the packages were resealable.

Does this seem odd to anyone but me?

If April Showers Bring May Flowers.....

What do April snow storms bring?

A beautiful view from my front porch!

One of THOSE Days

I'm having one of those days. You know the ones. And it's still early. Should make for a wonderful week.

Troy left this morning for a week long job in Boise, Idaho. I have the day off today because I work this week Tuesday-Saturday. So, I have the whole house to myself for a whole day. You would think this would be great, right? Apparently, I'm mental or something because all I can think about is all the things I want to do today and that there is not enough time!

I'm an insane crazy person to be stressed out by this situation.

Let's make a list of why I should be thrilled.
1. I have the day off.
2. I have no outside pressures.
3. I don't have to go anywhere.
4. The sun is gorgeous outside.
5. It's a beautiful day.
6. No cooking for anyone but me all week.
7. TV remote is ALL MINE for the next week.
8. I have a good book to read.
9. I have friends who I can go see if I want.

Now, in my warped, twisted way of thinking today, here is my list of things I really want to do in the next 12 hours:
1. Finish arranging and cleaning the basement for my parents' visit next month.
2. Put books and projects away in the new office.
3. Work on crochet gifts.
4. Do laundry including bed linens.
5. Make doctor appointment to discuss headaches.
6. Spend some time outdoors today.
7. Work on music for fall retreat.
8. Clean top floor of house. (It's been neglected for far too long.)
9. Take movies back to Blockbuster after I finish watching the last one.
10. Visit with my friend Jenni
11. Make jewelry.
12. Do my nails.
13. Have quiet time with my Savior.
14. Pick out and prepare clothes for this week.

See my dilemma?

Okay, you probably don't. I understand. I just needed to get it out there.

I think most sane people would say, "Prioritize your list and start at the top." And to that I say, "I know how to prioritize and start at the top." However, everything seems like top priority to me right now.

Actually, writing them all down did help. And I really know that Jesus time is really the top priority. So, I'll start there. And the rest will fall into place.

So, I'll get up from this counselor's couch and start my journey into this beautiful day.

Thanks. Check's in the mail. : )

Let it Blizzard!

I can't believe it! It worked!

Flashback to December 2008.
SETTING: Parent's house in Oklahoma for Christmas.
TEMPERATURE: 75 degrees
MY ATTIRE: Winter clothing.
WHY?: It's December.
MY MOOD: Irritable
WHY?: I'm hot!

Flashback to January 22, 2009.
SETTING: My house in Colorado.
TEMPERATURE: 65 degrees
MY ATTIRE: Winter clothing.
WHY?: It's January.
MY MOOD: Irritable
WHY?: I want snow!

Flashback to Groundhog Day (February) 2009.
SETTING: In car on the way to work.
TEMPERATURE: 53 degrees
MY ATTIRE: Winter clothing.
WHY? It's February.
MY MOOD: Looking up
WHY? Phil saw his shadow.

Flashback to March 2, 2009.
SETTING: At work.
TEMPERATURE: 76 degrees
MY ATTIRE: Winter clothing
WHY? No spring clothing.
MY MOOD: You guessed it.
WHY? Need I say more.

Flashback the past two weeks.
SETTING: Work, home, church, in car, etc.
TEMPERATURE: I've quit checking.
MY ATTIRE: Winter/Spring clothing
WHY? "If I buy spring clothes, maybe I'll embrace spring rather than dreaming about snow."
MY MOOD: Hopeful.
WHY? I have a plan.
WHAT? A Snow Dance. Who knows, the rain dance worked for the Natives.

Today.
SETTING: Home
TEMPERATURE: 15 degrees
MY ATTIRE: fuzzy sweater, sweats, fuzzy socks
WHY? It's snowing!!!!!!!!!
MY MOOD: NEVER BETTER!!!!
WHY? SNOW DAY!!!!

I feel so good, I might even show you the Snow Dance if you ask!

Really?!?!

I pick up the vibrating cell phone on my desk and see that it's Troy.

Me: Hi!

Troy: (in sad voice) Hello. Guess what.

Me: (in an equally sad, but worried voice) What?

Troy: (after a short pause) I'm getting another call. I'll have to call you back. Love you, bye.

Me: (holding the phone in front of me looking at the blank screen) Really?!?!

Am I a patient woman or what?

I Love Tax Season!!!!

I'm not being sarcastic.

Tax season means I put all of our records together, take them to our local tax preparer, and wait with baited breath to see how much we are going to be able to spend on "fun stuff".

I know, I know. We should not use the IRS as our savings account. We should be putting our money into other more profitable areas throughout the year so that it can earn interest and work for us. The IRS gets to use our money all year long and then give us back a portion of what it took from us throughout the year.

I know this stuff.

But let me just say, the money I have "working for me" right now is suffering quite a blow in the work ethic department. In fact, it seems to be on a diet right now. It just keeps wasting away.

This being said, I love tax season.

Troy decided last spring to move our office from the basement/dungeon to one of the guest rooms upstairs. I was more than happy to follow this plan because it meant a chance to decorate with his cooperation. I bought paint the same green as the summer aspen leaves outside the new office window. We painted in August 2008. And there it sat. A big green room full of mismatched Target/IKEA furniture. Until tax season!!!!!

We used our much loved tax return to buy office furniture. Not just any office furniture but a nice golden oak wall unit with a dual desk that Troy and I share and a bookcase and file cabinet against the other wall.

Troy loves maps and has several framed. These maps plus the globe I bought him for Christmas will be the decor. It looks very rich. Not in a money way, but in a deep, solid kind of way. As soon as we finish the final touches of decor, I'll post pics.

I love Tax Season!!!!!

You're the Inspiration?

I told Troy I wanted to write on my blog. I had many ideas, but no inspiration to get started. He stared at me with a look of exasperation.

I finally said, "What?"

He then proceeded to hold his arms high, and point down at himself. I just rolled my eyes. It was all I could do not to break out in a sad, sad imitation of Chicago singing, "You're the Inspiration".

Okay, can't help it......"When you love somebody till the end of time.....When you love somebody....always on my (mind)....No one needs you more than I."

Oooooo.....Shiny!

I'm a little bit ADD. Definitely not ADHD. Not a hyperactive bone in my body.

I told Troy about a funny sign I saw recently. It said, "I'm not easily distracted, I'm just.......Oooooo, Shiny!"

Troy asked if I realized that was totally me. I do, I do realize this.

This aspect of my personality has both pros and cons and they are equally important. The positives of this personality trait are that I tend not to dwell on unpleasant things very long. I don't obsess about things. I have varied interests. The consequences of the trait are kind of the flip side to the positives. I'm not detailed oriented because I don't pay enough attention to any one thing to see the details. Many things in my life are left undone because something else was more interesting at the moment. Immediate gratification is a huge downfall of this ADD personality.

Take this blog post, for example, I started off writing about a funny trip to Best Buy in search for a new laptop for me and it's turned into a dissertation about the advantages and disadvantages of ADD.

Okay, back to the original plan.

I've been jealous of Troy's two (count them two) very light, very easy to maneuver laptops for quite sometime. He brings them from the upstairs office to the den often. They taunt me. I have a laptop. But 10 minutes of the 12 pound sharp edged monstrosity in my lap and my legs are going numb! I've mentioned that I wanted a new laptop several times. Troy told me that when we found a good one for less than $500, we would get it. I had given up on it. (Actually, I forgot about it.) But Troy found a great buy on a Dell Inspiron for $499. So off we went to Best Buy.

Troy is checking out all the "specs" of the laptops on display. I, of course, was checking out bells and whistles. Finally, we saw the one we were looking for. Troy is rambling on about all the advantages of this one as compared to the other laptops we looked at. He noticed I was temporarily speechless. He looked up at me to see what was wrong. I was staring at the sleek, reflective, SIX POUND, vision of a laptop. All I could say was, "Ooooo.....Shiny!"

And here I sit on my comfy couch in the living room, listening to my music, drinking a bottle of water and writing on my new, light, laptop. And, it's shiny!

Today Show Conspiracy???

We've all pondered the conspiracy regarding the ratio of hot dog buns to wieners. I'm past that. Just buy enough to equal it out. Put your basic math skills to use!

I have another, more sinister, conspiracy theory...

I think the Today Show is part of a plot to rob mere mortal women of morning time.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Today Show. (I loved it more before Katie left.) But I still love it. Subconsciously, I've known of this theory for quite some time. I have purposely not turned on the Today Show in the morning so that I could not get sucked into the time warp.


Have you ever noticed that when watching the TS, time goes by without notice????

The TS parent company is GE (General Electric). Is it possible that they have built a time machine they are trying out on unsuspecting women everywhere????

Did Katie find out and threaten to do an exclusive report on the plot????


I've tried recording the TS to watch it later in the day. It's not the same. I'm not as susceptible to their GE wave transmissions when I'm wide awake.

So what do you think? Is the TS a worm hole in the space-time continuum?

Or have I been watching too many Lost episodes?

"Previously, on Lost"

Two Weeks Ago:
Fade in...Troy in Den, lounging on recliner unproductively watching syndicated episodes of Lost on the Sci/Fi channel...Stephanie doing something very productive in the kitchen.

Troy-"Rick and Victoria watch 24 together and rave about it. We should find a show we like watching together."
Stephanie- "I just don't really like any of the shows you like and you don't like the shows I like. Take that show, Lost, for example. I would probably really like it if I knew there was going to be a definite ending and that it wasn't going to string the viewers along and then end mid-season with no answers to the questions."
Troy- "Lost is only going to be on for 6 seasons. It's been predetermined."
Stephanie- "Oh. Well I might like watching that."


For the past two weeks:
Fade in....Troy and Stephanie both lounging unproductively in their loveseat recliner. Seasons 1-3 have played non-stop every waking hour on the DVD player. (Thanks Blockbuster)

Beginning of each episode:
Troy, in best announcer like voice- "Previously, on Lost." "I think I'm getting better at it."
Announcer, in better announcer voice- "Previously, on Lost."
Troy- "I'll get it by the end."

End of each episode:
Stephanie- "BAD WOBOT!"
Production company logo with children yelling- "BAD WOBOT"
Stephanie- "I'm good."

Don't you wish you lived in this Prescott Avenue home with Troy and Stephanie who have such lofty aspirations????

Bliss

You know that feeling when you have worked all weekend on the laundry and everything that you own except for the clothes on your body is clean, folded, put away, hung and ready to wear?

Me neither.

God: The Ultimate Alarm Clock

God woke me up this morning at 5:24.

Actually, I asked Him to help me.

Last night before I fell to sleep, I was very restless. I am really unhappy and unhealthy with my lifestyle at the moment. The lifestyle list keeping my mind restless last night was as follows: The master bathroom is a mess. The sheets need to be changed on our bed. I can't remember the last time the bedroom floor was vacuumed. This office is a mess (mostly because I'm being a brat and not "cleaning" until we get new office furniture. My bad, I know). I haven't exercised in about (wow, I started to write how many months and I can't remember. Another bad). I cooked dinner on Wednesday night. (Good, right?) And then shamed Troy into taking me out to dinner last night. (Bad! Wednesday night was the only night I've cooked in a week!) All I've wanted to do for the past month is sit, watch TV and crochet!!!

Not a good lifestyle. Hence the need for help. So last night, I decided to stop asking God for what I thought I needed (new diet plan, workout plan), and ask Him to help me do what He wanted me to do. (Of course then my mind started wondering again about new diets, exercise videos, and new workout clothes. God then helped me fall to sleep. Ha Ha)

I don't know what God is leading me to do. But I do know He wanted my out of bed at 5:24am. So, I'm heading downstairs now to have some quiet time (and coffee) with God. I'm anxious about His agenda. Although I'm pretty sure #1 is going to be spend time with Him. That's exciting. I'm ready to spend some time with the creator of the universe who is "especially fond of me".

I'll keep you posted.

Thou Shalt Not Forget to Put Out the Trash

I had a tough week last week.

I seemed to just struggle to get through the days, plus Troy was traveling. I felt as if my prayers to my loving Saviour were bouncing from the ceiling right back on my head.

And then this happened Thursday morning...

I turned on the radio as I normally do first thing, and took a shower. As I was taking a shower, I continued my talk with God. I basically said, "I don't know what to do, just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

"Turn off the radio."

"Really?"

"Turn off the radio."

So, I did when I got out of the shower. I thought it was so I could hear the still small voice God often uses to speak to me. But as I was putting on my make-up, I heard the faint sound of the trash truck and realized that I hadn't given even one thought to putting out the trash. I ran downstairs and put out the trash just as the trash truck came to my house.

I walked back up the stairs smiling and thanking God for being even in the small stuff.

Resolution Update #1

Well, I've started......and boy did I pick a doozie of a resolution. Every time I do anything now, I think, "Is this helping or hindering my cause?" For example, I sit down to crochet a sweater I've been working on for me only to realize that the tiny change I made in the yarn weight is going to make my "open-weave duster" a "semi-open-weave sweater". Hmmmm. Is it worth the effort to make it and not wear it? Is this effort leading to future clutter in my closet? Is this cluttering my time right now? Wait a minute!!!! This discussion I'm having with my new and improved clutter free self is cluttering my enjoyment of crocheting! Even if it is crocheting for the sake of crocheting!

Is crocheting for the sake of crocheting......CLUTTER?!?!