Okay, these titles are easy but I'm getting pretty sick of them. Just two more of them and then I'll have to start thinking of something new again.
Today was a good and productive day. We all rejoiced over our fresh gallon of milk and enjoyed cereal for breakfast this morning. :-) I don't even eat breakfast most of the time, but it just seemed like the thing to today.
We had devotions, then started in on school. I went outside to haul some more logs in to stack in the little "thingie" (what is it called???) by the wood stove and discovered that we were at the very end of our firewood. We would run out sometime today or perhaps during the night tonight. I looked at the thermometer: 30 degrees. That's the warmest it's been in a long, long time around here. I went and checked the tire paths I had shoveled to see if they had melted out any or if everything was still packed and icy. Even in the still-too-cold-to-melt temperatures the bright sunshine had done some work and I felt... confident is too strong of a word... I felt pretty sure (in a confidently hopeful sort of way) that we'd be able to get out and back in without getting stranded or sliding off the driveway into the gate or a tree.
So I came inside and we did a quick clean up of the house (JUST IN CASE we had a surprise showing--I try to keep things at least decent at all times) and we loaded up all of the library books and headed down the highway. My purpose for leaving home was to get firewood, but the kids had been dying without their usual library visit this week (especially since they were cooped up inside most of the time) and I figured we'd stop by there, too.
I took my kids to the bar today. It's the only place to find firewood. Ha! Molly's Bar sits down at the bottom of the mountain where everybody exits from the Interstate to head north up to the area where we live. In the wintertime you can drive by there and see one, two, or as many as six or eight trucks will loads of firewood parked out at the edge of the parking lot. You check out the loads, talk to the guys and see who has the best price, make your deal, and then the guy will follow you home with his load and dump it in your yard.
We drove past the bar and there were NO loads of wood today. That was my whole reason for going out! ~sigh~ We went on to the library and the kids went inside while I waited outside with Charlie.
Ah, yes. I got to thinking about the fact that we're planning on going to Alabama at the end of this month (praise God--I'm sooooooooooo excited!!!)... and we have a dog who gets carsick. I DO NOT want to travel with a carsick dog for two whole days to get there! So I got to thinking about that crazy advice I'd read online the other day. (1) Vanilla ice cream to settle their stomach and deter motion sickness, and (2) make the ride soothing and enjoyable, a "happy experience" since they're usually stressed out rather than struggling with motion sickness. I decided to mix the advice together. I fixed the dog a bowl of ice cream and let him eat it in the van on our way down the mountain. Ha! I mean, come on--what could be more enjoyable than a bowl of ice cream as you travel?! :-) It was really just one spoonful, but it kept him busy and occupied for several minutes. I had him sitting ON HIS BLANKET (Katie took me seriously this time) on Kate's lap in the front seat and he made it all the way down without getting sick. Wa-Hoo! (I can't believe I'm excited because I took a 10 or 15 minute drive and the dog didn't hork. That's so dumb.)
We were at the library for 20 or 30 minutes. When we left and drove past the bar I noticed that there was now a truck there with a load of wood! Wa-Hoo! I pulled up next to him to ask his price and it was a couple of kids in there. Teenagers, that is. The guy told me $125. I can't believe I did this (James is so proud of me), but I took one look and said, "That's not nearly enough wood for $125." He told me to make him an offer and (could you die?!) I said $85!!! That is SO a James move--the kind that would have me all embarrassed and crawling under the seat and wanting to slip the guys an extra $20 when James wasn't looking. Ha! He said $90, I said sold, and he followed me home. I pulled the dog into my lap (because it's his favorite spot and I was hoping it would be "soothing and relaxing" for him--HA!) and petted him and talked to him the whole way home. He started whimpering and looking sick (it could have been my imagination--I'm not sure how a dog looks sick), but he made it all the way home with no incident. Success! Good Charlie dog.
We got to the house and I didn't even made it completely off the road and into the drive before we slid to a stop. I backed up a bit and gunned it. I love doing that. :-) I didn't make it all the way up the hill, but purty close. The guys with the wood were in a truck, but it wasn't a 4x4 (what is the purpose of having a truck if it's not a 4x4?!) and he was having a terrible time getting in the driveway himself. Even if he made it in, there was no place to go because the only place that had been shoveled was the two tire tracks where my van was! They were going to have to dump the wood way down the hill and the kids and I were going to have to haul it all the way up to the house through 6" of snow, with no wheelbarrow or dolly. Not fun. I finally told the dudes that if they just wanted to park the truck wherever they could get it, I'd be happy to pay them $100 for the wood--if they'd haul it to the front porch for me. :-) They were strapping young men with nothing better to do and it was the best $10 I've ever spent in my whole life. Ha! It would have taken us all afternoon to do it, but those two punks hauled it up--and stacked it for me!--in no time. They'd scoop up 10 or 12 chunks of wood and jog up the hill to the house with them. I can't wait until I have teenage boys around the house. They must come in so handy. :-) I stood outside and talked with the guys a bit while they worked and learned that one--the one that didn't look a day over 16 years old--is in college. The other guy had just come to hang out with his buddy and ended up roped into hauling all of that wood up to my porch--and would not be getting paid for his trouble. Ha! So when I paid the skinny kid I also brought a bag of cookies to the tag-along. Truthfully, he seemed as excited about a bag of homemade cookies as the other guy did about his $100. I love teenage boys. :-) And James was so proud that I had haggled so well and got a good price--delivered, hauled AND stacked. I was talking to him on the phone while the guys were hauling load after load up the hill and something slipped out of my mouth about feeling a little bad and like I ought to pay them more... "NO, BEC. Do NOT pay them more--you did good, just give them the $100!" Ha!
I spent some time working on my puzzle this afternoon while the kids finished up on school. We had a very late lunch, so we also had a very late pizza party tonight. :-) We watched The Ugly Dachshund again since it has to go back to the rental place tomorrow. (If I would have thought of it I would have taken it back while I was out today!) While that was on I did some proofreading for James and worked on some stuff for the Alabama Evening Light since the deadline is tomorrow.
Now the kids are in bed, I have finished up on my responsibilities, I have blogged, and as of last night I'm all done proofreading the Sunday School stuff. I can't decide whether to go to bed or stay up and try to finish my puzzle. ~sigh~ Decisions, decisions... Puzzle it is. :-)
Friday, February 4, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Home Alone, Day Seven
We've had a steady fire going for several days now. We're getting a little low on firewood but that's what it's there for, right?! It would be silly to try to "save" it (as I'm prone to do) so we won't run out, when we're having the coldest temperatures we've ever had here! For some reason I wake up between three and four o'clock every morning, right on cue to go stir up the coals and throw some more logs on before we lose the fire completely. Weird. I'm not a wake-up-in-the-night kind of girl, but it sure has come in handy. It's amazing how responsible one becomes when they encounter a little responsibility. ;-)
After devotions this morning I got all bundled up and went outside to try to shovel a path from the van down to the road--just tire tracks, not an entire 8' swath. I worked with our horrible FLAT metal snow shovel, all the while eying and coveting my neighbor's nice plastic, deeply curved shovel with the kinked handle that was standing in the snow next to her gate. (For those unaccustomed to shoveling snow, it just STICKS to a flat metal shovel as opposed to sliding off of the plastic.) That lasted for all of about five minutes. I came back inside and called her and asked if I could pleeeeeeeeease borrow her shovel! She said yes, of course, and asked if there was anything she could do to help. Wellllll... she has a little Subaru Forester 4x4 and doesn't have a driveway on a hill like ours, so she's not stuck at home like we are. I inquired and she said she was going out anyway today and she would be happy to bring us a gallon of milk. Wa-Hoo! No more rationing! Ha! The boys helped me bake two more loaves of bread today (since the last two loaves disappeared with astonishing speed), so now we're not low on anything anymore. Except pizzas. I just couldn't ask the neighbor lady to bring us frozen pizzas. She kept asking if we needed anything other than just milk and I thought of pizzas (we do need them--it's party time, you know?!), but I just couldn't ask her to do that for me. Although I know differently (ha!), it didn't seem like they were a necessary household staple worthy of asking a neighbor to bring to you when in a pinch. ~sigh~ I'm such a wimp.
Anyway, with the use of Betsy's shovel I had a path pretty well cleared in less than half the time it would've taken me with my own hunk-o-junk shovel. I like shoveling snow. I so seldom do it that I can easily find it enjoyable when it's necessary. :-) I could tell by the way the cars were creeping along the road that I wouldn't be going anywhere today anyway, but I figured if I shoveled today perhaps the path would have a chance to melt enough that I'd be able to leave the house for church on Sunday. And to pick James up from the airport on Monday.
The whole family bundled up and spent some time outside while I was shoveling. Katie and Sam went for a walk around the neighborhood and Joe stayed home to play with Charlie, who we discovered LOVES chewing on icicles...
After devotions this morning I got all bundled up and went outside to try to shovel a path from the van down to the road--just tire tracks, not an entire 8' swath. I worked with our horrible FLAT metal snow shovel, all the while eying and coveting my neighbor's nice plastic, deeply curved shovel with the kinked handle that was standing in the snow next to her gate. (For those unaccustomed to shoveling snow, it just STICKS to a flat metal shovel as opposed to sliding off of the plastic.) That lasted for all of about five minutes. I came back inside and called her and asked if I could pleeeeeeeeease borrow her shovel! She said yes, of course, and asked if there was anything she could do to help. Wellllll... she has a little Subaru Forester 4x4 and doesn't have a driveway on a hill like ours, so she's not stuck at home like we are. I inquired and she said she was going out anyway today and she would be happy to bring us a gallon of milk. Wa-Hoo! No more rationing! Ha! The boys helped me bake two more loaves of bread today (since the last two loaves disappeared with astonishing speed), so now we're not low on anything anymore. Except pizzas. I just couldn't ask the neighbor lady to bring us frozen pizzas. She kept asking if we needed anything other than just milk and I thought of pizzas (we do need them--it's party time, you know?!), but I just couldn't ask her to do that for me. Although I know differently (ha!), it didn't seem like they were a necessary household staple worthy of asking a neighbor to bring to you when in a pinch. ~sigh~ I'm such a wimp.
Anyway, with the use of Betsy's shovel I had a path pretty well cleared in less than half the time it would've taken me with my own hunk-o-junk shovel. I like shoveling snow. I so seldom do it that I can easily find it enjoyable when it's necessary. :-) I could tell by the way the cars were creeping along the road that I wouldn't be going anywhere today anyway, but I figured if I shoveled today perhaps the path would have a chance to melt enough that I'd be able to leave the house for church on Sunday. And to pick James up from the airport on Monday.
The whole family bundled up and spent some time outside while I was shoveling. Katie and Sam went for a walk around the neighborhood and Joe stayed home to play with Charlie, who we discovered LOVES chewing on icicles...
I had waited until it warmed up to above zero temps before going out to shovel, but my ears were still cold. It's dumb that we've lived here for 3 years and never have invested in a hat, snow boots, or decent gloves--I have no true-blue snow gear. My ears and hands were the only thing that got cold and before too long I had shed my coat and was plenty comfortable in my sweatshirt. The cold air just feels so crisp and clean and invigorating. I LOVE IT. :-)
We didn't get to school until after lunch today, but had a fairly productive day anyway. Afterwards, Katie asked if she could watch one of my Roger Bennett videos. I told her that his piano instruction would be way beyond her (it's way beyond me, no doubt about it!), but that she'd still enjoy watching him play and might be able to pick up on a couple of ideas. She was overwhelmed and couldn't keep up (nor can I), but it is just so, so fun to watch and listen to what he could do. Amazing. And it provided some more time for me to work on my Coke puzzle. :-) I've been pleasantly surprised to find that it's actually sort of fun! It's very, very challenging, but not too difficult to be able to enjoy.
I took these pictures today. Here we see one of the many differences between girls and boys. Here is the girl, happily playing with her LeapPad...
And here are the boys, completely dismantling their LeapPad one screw at a time.
They took most of the innards out (I never would've allowed such a thing, but they've had it for several years and very seldom touch it anymore) and I asked if they thought they could get the whole thing back together and if they thought it would actually work when they were done. They were enthused by the challenge and got right to it. To my surprise and their own utter amazement (ha!), they were able to do it and it seems to be working just fine. There were at least eight screws still lying on the table when they were finished, but apparently they were unnecessary ones. ;-)
We had Frito pie for dinner tonight, eating in the den and watching Jeopardy. I thought of Jon spilling chili all over Dad's recliner when we were kids and calling Grandmother for help. "Quick! How do you get chili out of a chair--my life depends on it!" :-) Nobody had any accidents tonight, I'm happy to report.
Service in Albuquerque was cancelled tonight (we wouldn't have been able to make it there in the van anyway), so we tuned in to the service in Aurora. We were really enjoying it, but after Jon had been teaching for about 15 minutes (maybe?) my computer overheated and shut down. Aaaarrrrrggghhhh! I hate it when it does that! It doesn't happen often, but it's so frustrating when it does. It takes FOREVER to re-boot and by the time I actually got it up and running again the service was over. ~sigh~ At least we were able to take part in the song service and hear the first part of the lesson.
Looks like all of the kids are finally sacked out. So now's the time I do the proofreading I didn't do last night. :-) I fully intended to do it, but James called and talked for a while (which was nice!) and by the time we got off I was just way too tired to mess with it. So tonight is the night. Here I go. It's nice having a job that I'm looking forward to. :-)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Home Alone, Day Six
I don't know that there's anything much to report about today, but I'd hate to not blog on a day when I have a no-brainer title waiting for me. :-)
It's been cold, cold, cold today. The warmest I saw was 1 degree; the rest of the day we were below zero. I think it's -18 right now. Makes me think of being at the cabin. I always loved the feel of the super cold air there--it feels so good to breathe it. And it makes me think of Granddad sitting in front of the fire with his feet in thick gray socks propped up on the handles of the stove door where the fire was just raging... and Grandmother throwing the back door wide open, standing there in the sub-zero air and fanning herself with her shirt to get some relief! Ha! Bittersweet memories, they are. I'm so glad to have memories like that but it makes me miss them sooooooooooooo much.
The kids went out and played in the frigid weather for a little while this morning, but stayed in for the rest of the day. We had a full day of school today in an effort to make up for taking yesterday off. I spent quite a while working with Sam. Along with his reading during devotions we did five pages from each subject, totaling 25 pages today. Joe did fine with his school today, but Katie shed some tears over a "C" on her History & Geography quiz. She has a terrible time with that subject. She just can't seem to remember what happened when or where. She'll get events and locations mixed up--like, were the Slavs in the Ukraine or Kenya? It drives me a little batty (!), but there are some things my brain locks up on, too, so I'm trying to be patient and find a way to help her. I may just have to go through every lesson with her for a while, asking questions and explaining things as we go to see if that will help things stick with her better. Who knows how much I might learn! Ha! Come to think of it, I don't know a whole lot about Kenya myself... ;-)
The eight slices of store bought bread are still here, but most of my homemade bread is GONE. I had made two loaves and sliced them as thin as I could yesterday, but the kids have been scarfing it down. I think there are two slices left. Crazy! I may be doing some more baking tomorrow if we're still snowed in. We didn't get any new snow today but it's way, way too cold for anything to begin melting, even though it was nice and sunshiny for a while this afternoon. So I don't know if we'll be driving anywhere tomorrow. I'll go check out the roads in the afternoon to see if we'll be able to make it in to church tomorrow night.
Hhmmm. There's really not much else to say! Been a pretty regular day around here today except for the extreme temperatures, but it seems like most of the country has been experiencing that. Uummm... I let the kids watch another Cathedrals video tonight and I worked on my Coke puzzle. I was able to get more done than I would have expected. Maybe it won't be as impossible as I thought it would be. It would still be more fun if Mom was here to help with it though. :-)
I didn't get my proofreading done last night, but I'm inching closer. I've got four more lessons to read. I should be able to finish them easily enough tonight. I'm really in no rush to come to the end--I've so enjoyed them! This quarterly (beginning in April) is about suffering and God's purposes for allowing it in our lives. It is just so, so good. I've been blessed by the lessons and I'm sure it will be a blessing throughout the Church. It's one of those subjects that may introduce some brand new concepts to some people and hopefully help us all to learn to trust in the Lord better than we have in the past and help us to grow closer to perfection as we respond correctly to the rain that falls in our lives. Good stuff.
On that note... I really should put the computer away and finish up on those lessons. So until Day Seven... Adieu! :-)
It's been cold, cold, cold today. The warmest I saw was 1 degree; the rest of the day we were below zero. I think it's -18 right now. Makes me think of being at the cabin. I always loved the feel of the super cold air there--it feels so good to breathe it. And it makes me think of Granddad sitting in front of the fire with his feet in thick gray socks propped up on the handles of the stove door where the fire was just raging... and Grandmother throwing the back door wide open, standing there in the sub-zero air and fanning herself with her shirt to get some relief! Ha! Bittersweet memories, they are. I'm so glad to have memories like that but it makes me miss them sooooooooooooo much.
The kids went out and played in the frigid weather for a little while this morning, but stayed in for the rest of the day. We had a full day of school today in an effort to make up for taking yesterday off. I spent quite a while working with Sam. Along with his reading during devotions we did five pages from each subject, totaling 25 pages today. Joe did fine with his school today, but Katie shed some tears over a "C" on her History & Geography quiz. She has a terrible time with that subject. She just can't seem to remember what happened when or where. She'll get events and locations mixed up--like, were the Slavs in the Ukraine or Kenya? It drives me a little batty (!), but there are some things my brain locks up on, too, so I'm trying to be patient and find a way to help her. I may just have to go through every lesson with her for a while, asking questions and explaining things as we go to see if that will help things stick with her better. Who knows how much I might learn! Ha! Come to think of it, I don't know a whole lot about Kenya myself... ;-)
The eight slices of store bought bread are still here, but most of my homemade bread is GONE. I had made two loaves and sliced them as thin as I could yesterday, but the kids have been scarfing it down. I think there are two slices left. Crazy! I may be doing some more baking tomorrow if we're still snowed in. We didn't get any new snow today but it's way, way too cold for anything to begin melting, even though it was nice and sunshiny for a while this afternoon. So I don't know if we'll be driving anywhere tomorrow. I'll go check out the roads in the afternoon to see if we'll be able to make it in to church tomorrow night.
Hhmmm. There's really not much else to say! Been a pretty regular day around here today except for the extreme temperatures, but it seems like most of the country has been experiencing that. Uummm... I let the kids watch another Cathedrals video tonight and I worked on my Coke puzzle. I was able to get more done than I would have expected. Maybe it won't be as impossible as I thought it would be. It would still be more fun if Mom was here to help with it though. :-)
I didn't get my proofreading done last night, but I'm inching closer. I've got four more lessons to read. I should be able to finish them easily enough tonight. I'm really in no rush to come to the end--I've so enjoyed them! This quarterly (beginning in April) is about suffering and God's purposes for allowing it in our lives. It is just so, so good. I've been blessed by the lessons and I'm sure it will be a blessing throughout the Church. It's one of those subjects that may introduce some brand new concepts to some people and hopefully help us all to learn to trust in the Lord better than we have in the past and help us to grow closer to perfection as we respond correctly to the rain that falls in our lives. Good stuff.
On that note... I really should put the computer away and finish up on those lessons. So until Day Seven... Adieu! :-)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Home Alone, Day Five
Boy, it's amazing that we're already on day five! Crazy. It's been a little more exciting around here today than it was yesterday. In fact, it's been a GREAT day. :-)
I woke up this morning and was shocked at the amount of snow outside. I saw that there were snowflakes on my little weather icon for the next three days, but didn't really expect anything to come of it. I don't watch the news (too depressing) and even if I would have heard somebody forecast big snow I wouldn't have believed them--they're always wrong. Anyway, it has snowed off and on all day long, but it's tough to tell exactly how much there is because it's been blowing all over the place. In some places it looks like only about three inches, but in other places it looks like nearly a foot. It seems like every time I post snow pictures it's of the same thing--but that's because I take pictures of what will best show the amount of snow. Besides, these are the shots I can take through the windows. Ha! There's more snow now (I notice it especially on the steps to James' office) than when I took this picture, but it'll give you an idea anyway.
I woke up this morning and was shocked at the amount of snow outside. I saw that there were snowflakes on my little weather icon for the next three days, but didn't really expect anything to come of it. I don't watch the news (too depressing) and even if I would have heard somebody forecast big snow I wouldn't have believed them--they're always wrong. Anyway, it has snowed off and on all day long, but it's tough to tell exactly how much there is because it's been blowing all over the place. In some places it looks like only about three inches, but in other places it looks like nearly a foot. It seems like every time I post snow pictures it's of the same thing--but that's because I take pictures of what will best show the amount of snow. Besides, these are the shots I can take through the windows. Ha! There's more snow now (I notice it especially on the steps to James' office) than when I took this picture, but it'll give you an idea anyway.
I talked to James this morning and he was just a wee bit concerned when he learned how cold it's supposed to be here over the next few days. Tomorrow the high is 5 and the low is -8. That's as cold as it's ever been here, I think--at least since we've lived here. James was a little disturbed as well to learn that we have less than a gallon of milk and only eight slices of bread. "Bec, when most people hear that a storm is coming they sort of get prepared ahead of time..." Ha! Of course, we're not like all of the weird-o's who totally freak out at the sight of snow. It always cracks me up when Mom tells me about how panicked people get in Tennessee if there's ever actually snow in the forecast--rushing to the store in droves and stocking up on all of the essentials so they can be prepared to be locked in their house for the next month, just in case. Ha!
Since we were low on milk and bread I told the kids we'd have to be selective with what we eat the next few days. No cereal, for sure. So while I took a shower Katie threw some frozen biscuits in the oven (first time in my life I've ever had frozen biscuits on hand--nice, hu?!), Joe scrambled some eggs, and Sam made some hot chocolate. What good kids I have. :-)
After breakfast the kids bundled up and headed out to play in the snow. Charlie, too.
Katie worked long and hard on this fort, using the kindlin' bucket to make her bricks.
It's so hard to see because everything is so WHITE, but there are actually two sections to the fort; the one she's sitting in, and the one she had to walk through to get there.
Ha! Ah, yes. Joe had gone to help her with the fort and they began building the second section and trying to decide what it was. The decided that they would build it up real tall and then use sticks for a roof (good luck finding some) and it could be their bathroom so they wouldn't have to come in the house. What is wrong with kids' brains?! I forbid them from doing such a thing and explained how moronic it was to consider taking all of their clothes off in the sub-zero temperatures (when you're wearing a snow suit, everything has to come off!)--besides the nastiness factor. ~sigh~ I was disgusted, but laughing pretty hard by the time I was finished telling them all of the reasons they were NOT allowed to have, make, or use a bathroom outside. Ever. Dummies.
I came inside and grabbed by Betty Crocker book to look up a recipe for bread. I knew we'd run out of that in quick order and figured surely I could make some homemade stuff to tide us over. Well, if the kids' initial response to it lasts, we may never buy store bread again! They LOVED it. They loved the smell of it every time they came in the house and they just kept on scarfing it down like it was candy and going on and on about how good it was. Besides, it felt so wintry and old-fashioned and domestic to make my own bread! (Though it was a joke about not ever buying store bread again--I'm not making this all the time! Ha!)
While we were waiting for the bread to rise we sat down for a very late devotion. Then the kids headed right back out to play in the snow. Katie stayed out there forever--even the wind chill was -18 according to my computer. Joe never lasts that long. Sam had a rough day, not getting along with anybody for very long at a time. Hopefully tomorrow will be better for him (and me!) in that regard.
In the afternoon I got out the Coca-Cola puzzle I received for Christmas and put a video on for the kids--one I'd picked up at the library last week. Joe was devastated about not being able to go to the library today. He even tried to shovel the driveway so we could get out. I kept telling him there was no chance--the snow was too deep and we couldn't take a chance of getting stuck since we were home alone with nobody to call for help. He was determined, however, until I finally called the library to inquire about something and got a message saying that they--and all of the branches in Albuquerque--were closed due to the weather. Joe finally settled down after that and I was finally able to stop feeling like a cruel and heartless killjoy. Ha! Anyway, back to the puzzle... I only THOUGHT the last one I did was hard. This one is going to be so much worse. The whole thing is red and white and black. I was happy to just get the border put together today. Ha!
I threw together a hamburger stroganoff (something James hates but the rest of us enjoy) this afternoon. I put it in the oven, then Katie and Joe walked down to the mailbox with me while Sam stayed home with Charlie. It takes nearly 20 minutes to make it there and back and I was wondering why in the world I had decided to do such a thing--and I was wondering it when we were about a quarter of the way to the box! Ha! It was SO COLD. When the wind would blow it just hurt your face almost like it was burning. How can cold make you burn?!
I had grabbed Grandmother's old Dallas Cowboys coat to wear on our walk. I saw it and thought, "Wow, I wonder how long it's been since I've even worn that..." I knew it had been ages, but I had no idea how long. While we were walking I felt something in the pocket. I pulled out $12 and a receipt. When I looked at it I had to laugh. It was from Bethel, Alaska! Last time we were in Bethel, Alaska, was exactly (to the day) 8 years ago. I remember because it's the last time we flew as a family, just before Katie turned 2 and wouldn't be able to fly for free anymore. Joe wasn't quite 1 and Sam hadn't been thought of yet. Wild. We had paid ridiculous prices for juice, according to the receipt. But then, it's Bethel--everything is crazy expensive!
When we got home I whipped up some oatmeal butterscotch cookies. Yum. :-) They taste great, though they look horrible. I hadn't set any butter out to soften, so I did that dumb thing where you try to "soften" it in the microwave but you just melt most of it instead... then your cookies sort of ooze out wide on the pan and get flat and sort of oily-like. That's how I used to make ALL of my cookies. Ha! The kids liked 'em this way, so I guess it's all good.
This evening I put a Cathedrals video on and worked on my puzzle some more. The kids watched the video and read books and played with toys. ~sigh~ It's been such a great day. I have all of the kids sleeping in Katie's room tonight. I'd have to keep the heater on in the den all night to have any chance of keeping the boys' room warm enough, but I know it would still be a little chilly as cold as it will be outside. I'd rather just shut the door to their room and not worry about heating it. So the boys are camping out with Katie. They've been wanting to do that anyway.
In other words, it's been a wonderful and wintry puzzle day around here today--no school, just playing in the snow, working puzzles, loafing around, enjoying homemade food... ~Aaaaahhhh~ Love it. :-)
Hhmmm. One more picture and a video clip before I go. I know Katie took this picture, but I don't know when. Charlie prefers to sleep on your head, but he'll settle for your pillow if you won't go for the head thing. Crazy dog.
And this is my favorite thing that he does, though it's usually much, much better what he did this time. Still, he's so fun. :-)
And that's it for the night! I was a good girl and proofread almost half of my packet last night. I'd love to finish up tonight, but I think I've waited to late to do that. Maybe I'll get close, anyway. You can look forward to next quarter's Sunday School literature. It going to be very, very good. :-)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Home Alone, Day Four
Don't get your hopes up. Nothing exciting or amusing took place around here today that I can think of. It was a typical Monday: cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, laundry... No ironing, however. I burnt out before I got that far, but it feels great to have the rest done.
It snowed here today! So pretty. I think we got about 3 inches. Enough to make it beautiful outside, but not enough to cause any real problems. I'll have to check it out and make sure the roads are okay before we head to the library tomorrow. I really don't want to be stuck while James AND Brother Chris are out of town. I have absolutely nobody else to call for help! The nearest people would be the Hays family, 6 hours away. Hey, on second thought... ;-)
Hhmmm. I really and truly don't have anything to blog today. The kids did school... Sam mopped the tile for me while I cleaned bathrooms... ~sigh~ Wow. How pitiful.
Oh, I did call and talk to Brother Strong this morning--that was enjoyable. :-) I called and explained to him (since he is in charge of the Sunday School Literature Review Committee) that I had received a packet of literature to proofread a couple of weeks ago and this morning I set it out so I could start going through it tonight... and that's when I noticed that it was due tomorrow. I apologized and asked if he still needed me to proof it or if I was too late. He said that something came up, pushing the deadline for that material back and there was really no rush on it--if I could get it back to him by the end of February it would be fine. I said, "Oh, Brother Strong--don't tell me that! You don't understand. If you tell me that I'll be calling you at the end of the month for the very same reason I'm calling you today! I work much better under pressure; please tell me you need it this week!" He laughed that funny little giggle of his (I love it--it cracks me up! I could even see his shoulders doing that up-and-down thing--ha!) and asked if I could please get it to him by the 20th, then. :-) I'll see if I can manage that.
It's actually what I'm supposed to be working on right now. ~sigh~ I always enjoy it once I get into it, but it's one of those things that I just have a hard time getting started on. But since I have absolutely nothing else to blog about, I guess I'll bite the bullet and get started. Wouldn't it be miraculous if I stayed up and just did the whole thing tonight and could actually mail it tomorrow--the original deadline?! Nah... not gonna happen. ;-)
It snowed here today! So pretty. I think we got about 3 inches. Enough to make it beautiful outside, but not enough to cause any real problems. I'll have to check it out and make sure the roads are okay before we head to the library tomorrow. I really don't want to be stuck while James AND Brother Chris are out of town. I have absolutely nobody else to call for help! The nearest people would be the Hays family, 6 hours away. Hey, on second thought... ;-)
Hhmmm. I really and truly don't have anything to blog today. The kids did school... Sam mopped the tile for me while I cleaned bathrooms... ~sigh~ Wow. How pitiful.
Oh, I did call and talk to Brother Strong this morning--that was enjoyable. :-) I called and explained to him (since he is in charge of the Sunday School Literature Review Committee) that I had received a packet of literature to proofread a couple of weeks ago and this morning I set it out so I could start going through it tonight... and that's when I noticed that it was due tomorrow. I apologized and asked if he still needed me to proof it or if I was too late. He said that something came up, pushing the deadline for that material back and there was really no rush on it--if I could get it back to him by the end of February it would be fine. I said, "Oh, Brother Strong--don't tell me that! You don't understand. If you tell me that I'll be calling you at the end of the month for the very same reason I'm calling you today! I work much better under pressure; please tell me you need it this week!" He laughed that funny little giggle of his (I love it--it cracks me up! I could even see his shoulders doing that up-and-down thing--ha!) and asked if I could please get it to him by the 20th, then. :-) I'll see if I can manage that.
It's actually what I'm supposed to be working on right now. ~sigh~ I always enjoy it once I get into it, but it's one of those things that I just have a hard time getting started on. But since I have absolutely nothing else to blog about, I guess I'll bite the bullet and get started. Wouldn't it be miraculous if I stayed up and just did the whole thing tonight and could actually mail it tomorrow--the original deadline?! Nah... not gonna happen. ;-)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Home Alone, Day Three
~whew~ It's so nice to not have to THINK to come up with a blog title for a change. I don't know if I'll blog every day, but at least I'll have titles if I do. :-)
Today has been a different kind of Sunday. I woke up sooooo tired today. You know, where your whole body just feels so HEAVY and you don't have the strength to even roll over, much less get out of bed--it takes real effort to even keep your eyes open. Sleep just feels sooooooo good and you can't pull out of it. I hate waking up like that! I'm thankful it doesn't happen very often. I finally managed to crawl out of bed, but only because we had church to get ready for.
Sundays are going to be a little different around here for a while. The Clarksons will be in Colorado for about a month so Brother Chris can fix his Mom's roof and so they can visit all the churches up there. While they're away, we're only going to be having one service each Sunday. We'll have Sunday School, morning worship, then in lieu of our usual sermon we'll have whichever auxiliary leader would have been on for the evening service go ahead and give their lesson. But today was BTI and Brother Chris is our BTI leader, so all we had was Sunday School and morning worship. It was good, of course, but felt very strange! Sister Connie taught Sunday School today and did a great job. I'd never heard her teach before (was it her first time ever?), but I thought she did very well gathering additional thoughts and scriptures to add to the lesson. She didn't ask for comments, however, so class ended earlier than scheduled. Of course, with Brother Chris and James both gone she might not have had any comments anyway! Ha! Then Katie led us in three or four songs and Joe played the guitar. I tell ya', we'd be in big trouble without that guitar when James is gone. It's going to be really tough for this church when we finally go to Alabama. I pray God will send them some musicians to help out!
I think we left the church just after 11:00 this morning. Crazy. We stopped by Sonic on our way home since we all had a real hankerin' for a slush. :-)
We got home and Joe was a good little man and built us a nice, cozy fire. ~Aaaaahhhh~ I love that. The fire AND that I have a son who built it all by himself. :-)
We tried to figure out what in the world we were going to do with the rest of our Sunday and somehow ended up sitting around the Monopoly board again. This time we were able to play the game out to the very end, hopefully prolonging the misery for everybody sufficiently so that they won't be asking to play that particular game again in the near future. :-) I was the first one to go bankrupt and the three kids were pretty much neck and neck. And neck, I guess. ;-) Joe started to falter and you could see the end was imminent. I finally told him to STOP PRAYING about MONOPOLY. Ha! I'd see him over there covering his eyes and hear him whispering every time before he was about to head down "death alley," where all Kate and Sam's hotels were. Ha! He was out before too long, leaving Katie and Sam to duke it out. Sam finally lost interest and I took over for him. In the end, I/Sam won, owning everything on the board and almost all of the money in the bank. Katie had a terrible time and simply couldn't refrain from griping, though she'd promised me ahead of time that she would only complain to herself, in her head. (Riiiiiight.) At one point she burst into tears and started ranting. I wanted so desperately to give her a motherly lecture along with "the look" to make her straighten up, but I simply could not retain my composure. I tried to tell her to pull herself together, but it wasn't very affective through my laughter and while I was wiping the tears away. It was so funny to me both because of how utterly absurd it is to CARE so much about a stupid game along with how truly pitiful it was to see someone in such a condition AND because I so clearly recall the misery she was enduring. I've felt the very same thing over the very same game when I was the very same age--though I was more prone to sharp sarcasm and slamming my piece on the board as I moved rather than tears. Too tom-boyish to let people see me cry if I could help it. I saw a bit of myself in Kate today, though I never had a chance to explain that that's why it was so funny. Poor kid. It's terrible to pour four hours of your life into a game and to be on top and truly expect to win only to watch it all slip away slowly and painfully over the final hour. I think it was a 4+ hour game. Like I said, I'm hoping it was enough that they don't think it's fun anymore. :-)
We were still at a loss as for what to do with the rest of the day, so I let them watch Homeward Bound. They thought it was terrific and, for the most part, it is. I just HATE anything and everything crude and for some reason they feel it necessary to add stupid tasteless stuff like that into kid movies. It's not funny, it's just rude and childish. Anyway, I cried several times through the movie (?!) and then at the very end of the show, when the animals fi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-inally made it back home, the DVD froze up. Aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuggggghhhh! The kids were outside and thought they heard a dog bark, they looked out over the horizon, not daring to believe that it could actually be... THE END. Ha! It didn't even show the first dog come over the hill! It was horrible!!! Sooooo frustrating.
I looked at the clock and realized it was church time in Denver, so I logged on to Jon's site and gathered the kids around so we could "attend" church tonight there. We sang along, Joe played his guitar, Kate played the tambourine, Charlie chewed on Sam (shouldn't be allowed in church, but you know)... I was so blessed to see Brother John Garcia moderating the service and leading songs. I love it that he's so involved and seems to be doing so well! Brother Daryl Clark preached tonight about the still, small voice that spoke to Elijah. He had some good thoughts, and he made a statement or two that CRACKED ME UP. Specifically the one about watching his money go down the drain... but you would've had to have "been there." ;-) We enjoyed the altar call, too, and prayed with them for a while. It was good to see our missing pastor on the video feed, knowing that he was able to join the folks in Denver for service. :-)
Charlie was DYING to play by the time service was over, so the kids drug him through the house on a blanket (one of his favorite games) and chased him and ran from him and all manner of chaos for 30 or 40 minutes. Then they settled down and read books to each other (I love it when they do that!) on the couch until I sent them to bed. Katie read Arnie the Doughnut to Sam tonight. Makes me happy. :-)
I talked with Mom for a minute tonight and then Sister Bishop, but I haven't heard from James. I'm wondering how the Men's Retreat was, but I'll never know because Chris Clarkson wasn't there. Ha! When I ask James he'll say what he always says: "It was good." That's it. If I really dig I might get three or four sentences worth, but that's about it. All I can figure is that Men's Retreats aren't nearly as good or exciting or memorable as Ladies' Retreats are. ;-)
Today has been a different kind of Sunday. I woke up sooooo tired today. You know, where your whole body just feels so HEAVY and you don't have the strength to even roll over, much less get out of bed--it takes real effort to even keep your eyes open. Sleep just feels sooooooo good and you can't pull out of it. I hate waking up like that! I'm thankful it doesn't happen very often. I finally managed to crawl out of bed, but only because we had church to get ready for.
Sundays are going to be a little different around here for a while. The Clarksons will be in Colorado for about a month so Brother Chris can fix his Mom's roof and so they can visit all the churches up there. While they're away, we're only going to be having one service each Sunday. We'll have Sunday School, morning worship, then in lieu of our usual sermon we'll have whichever auxiliary leader would have been on for the evening service go ahead and give their lesson. But today was BTI and Brother Chris is our BTI leader, so all we had was Sunday School and morning worship. It was good, of course, but felt very strange! Sister Connie taught Sunday School today and did a great job. I'd never heard her teach before (was it her first time ever?), but I thought she did very well gathering additional thoughts and scriptures to add to the lesson. She didn't ask for comments, however, so class ended earlier than scheduled. Of course, with Brother Chris and James both gone she might not have had any comments anyway! Ha! Then Katie led us in three or four songs and Joe played the guitar. I tell ya', we'd be in big trouble without that guitar when James is gone. It's going to be really tough for this church when we finally go to Alabama. I pray God will send them some musicians to help out!
I think we left the church just after 11:00 this morning. Crazy. We stopped by Sonic on our way home since we all had a real hankerin' for a slush. :-)
We got home and Joe was a good little man and built us a nice, cozy fire. ~Aaaaahhhh~ I love that. The fire AND that I have a son who built it all by himself. :-)
We tried to figure out what in the world we were going to do with the rest of our Sunday and somehow ended up sitting around the Monopoly board again. This time we were able to play the game out to the very end, hopefully prolonging the misery for everybody sufficiently so that they won't be asking to play that particular game again in the near future. :-) I was the first one to go bankrupt and the three kids were pretty much neck and neck. And neck, I guess. ;-) Joe started to falter and you could see the end was imminent. I finally told him to STOP PRAYING about MONOPOLY. Ha! I'd see him over there covering his eyes and hear him whispering every time before he was about to head down "death alley," where all Kate and Sam's hotels were. Ha! He was out before too long, leaving Katie and Sam to duke it out. Sam finally lost interest and I took over for him. In the end, I/Sam won, owning everything on the board and almost all of the money in the bank. Katie had a terrible time and simply couldn't refrain from griping, though she'd promised me ahead of time that she would only complain to herself, in her head. (Riiiiiight.) At one point she burst into tears and started ranting. I wanted so desperately to give her a motherly lecture along with "the look" to make her straighten up, but I simply could not retain my composure. I tried to tell her to pull herself together, but it wasn't very affective through my laughter and while I was wiping the tears away. It was so funny to me both because of how utterly absurd it is to CARE so much about a stupid game along with how truly pitiful it was to see someone in such a condition AND because I so clearly recall the misery she was enduring. I've felt the very same thing over the very same game when I was the very same age--though I was more prone to sharp sarcasm and slamming my piece on the board as I moved rather than tears. Too tom-boyish to let people see me cry if I could help it. I saw a bit of myself in Kate today, though I never had a chance to explain that that's why it was so funny. Poor kid. It's terrible to pour four hours of your life into a game and to be on top and truly expect to win only to watch it all slip away slowly and painfully over the final hour. I think it was a 4+ hour game. Like I said, I'm hoping it was enough that they don't think it's fun anymore. :-)
We were still at a loss as for what to do with the rest of the day, so I let them watch Homeward Bound. They thought it was terrific and, for the most part, it is. I just HATE anything and everything crude and for some reason they feel it necessary to add stupid tasteless stuff like that into kid movies. It's not funny, it's just rude and childish. Anyway, I cried several times through the movie (?!) and then at the very end of the show, when the animals fi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-inally made it back home, the DVD froze up. Aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuggggghhhh! The kids were outside and thought they heard a dog bark, they looked out over the horizon, not daring to believe that it could actually be... THE END. Ha! It didn't even show the first dog come over the hill! It was horrible!!! Sooooo frustrating.
I looked at the clock and realized it was church time in Denver, so I logged on to Jon's site and gathered the kids around so we could "attend" church tonight there. We sang along, Joe played his guitar, Kate played the tambourine, Charlie chewed on Sam (shouldn't be allowed in church, but you know)... I was so blessed to see Brother John Garcia moderating the service and leading songs. I love it that he's so involved and seems to be doing so well! Brother Daryl Clark preached tonight about the still, small voice that spoke to Elijah. He had some good thoughts, and he made a statement or two that CRACKED ME UP. Specifically the one about watching his money go down the drain... but you would've had to have "been there." ;-) We enjoyed the altar call, too, and prayed with them for a while. It was good to see our missing pastor on the video feed, knowing that he was able to join the folks in Denver for service. :-)
Charlie was DYING to play by the time service was over, so the kids drug him through the house on a blanket (one of his favorite games) and chased him and ran from him and all manner of chaos for 30 or 40 minutes. Then they settled down and read books to each other (I love it when they do that!) on the couch until I sent them to bed. Katie read Arnie the Doughnut to Sam tonight. Makes me happy. :-)
I talked with Mom for a minute tonight and then Sister Bishop, but I haven't heard from James. I'm wondering how the Men's Retreat was, but I'll never know because Chris Clarkson wasn't there. Ha! When I ask James he'll say what he always says: "It was good." That's it. If I really dig I might get three or four sentences worth, but that's about it. All I can figure is that Men's Retreats aren't nearly as good or exciting or memorable as Ladies' Retreats are. ;-)
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Home Alone, Day Two
This morning started off with Joe making french toast. With a little help from me. Thank goodness I got there in time. ;-) We then had devotions and picked up the house a bit before starting where we'd left off last night in our game of Monopoly. We played for about an hour, then had some more work to do to get everything ready for the Open House.
Jason showed up just before 1:00, as we were finishing up the last of our cleaning--and clearing the Monopoly game from the dining table. It's really best that way. The game had taken a turn and Joe was doomed (he can handle it), but Katie would probably be the next to go (she can't handle it) and it would have been long and agonizing to have to put up with her griping and whining while she slowly lost all of her money and property. I'm really just glad it's over with.
We had three hours to stay gone, but I really didn't want to go into Albuquerque on a Saturday. And besides, I was feeling bleagh all day today and just not up to doing much. So Katie was good enough to pack some chips, sandwiches and sodas in the picnic basket and we headed up the mountain to find a picnic spot in the National Forest. I passed the first spot because there were too many cars there, then the second one too. I had forgotten how far it was to the third picnic site, but now I know: it's right at the dog's breaking point. Katie was the lucky recipient of his carsickness this time, but I had little sympathy for her. She had been instructed to keep the dog next to her ON HIS BLANKET at all times--making sure his HEAD was over said blanket, just in case. ~sigh~ I just can't get over how wrong this is!!! Who ever heard of a carsick dog???
Katie got all cleaned up, we grabbed our picnic basket and slipped and slid on the crusted snow and ice down the hill to the picnic table. The snow had melted there and the table pretty much sat in a mud puddle, but what did I care? I already had a pukey dog and more laundry to take care of, besides feeling all bleagh. A little mud seemed fitting. I actually felt much better after sitting in the warm sunshine there while we were eating. But then the wind picked up suddenly and blew everything off the table, including the now empty picnic basket--into the mud, of course. Joe was leaning over picking things up when his cup of soda was tipped over by the wind and trickled down onto his head, around his ear and into his face. Ha! That almost made it worth the hassle and mess we had to clean up. :-)
I hauled everything back to the van and let the kids climb up and down all over the mountain for an hour or more. They would show up every few minutes telling me all about the mountain lion tracks they saw (dog tracks, no doubt) and how Sam thought he saw something moving in the bushes and all that stuff. Then they'd forge back into the woods to investigate further, enjoying every minute of their overactive imagination exercises.
I hadn't thought of it before, but you're supposed to pay a fee to picnic in the National Forest. I think it's CRAZY, but being the honest person that I am I started digging around for the three dollars I owed. Won't they be pleased when they pull the envelope out of the little box and find a dollar bill, six quarters, four dimes, a nickel, and five pennies. :-) I think you're only supposed to use cash or checks, not coins. But I only had that lone dollar bill and I certainly wasn't going to put a $5 in! Anyway, when I went to deposit my envelope in the tube I saw the warning sign posted about cougars being in this area along with the instructions for what you're supposed to do should you encounter one. None of the instructions ever include "Scream like a banshee while you high-tail it outta there" even though you know it's what any rational person would do. It did, however, say to keep children within arm's reach should you decide to explore the woods and if you see a cat you're to pick the children up immediately. So I told the kids that if they saw anything they were to get in the biggest pile they could manage and do their best to look like one big person instead of three little ones. Ha! I love the picture my head produces when I think of that. :-) Joe had a stick and was all set to defend the family. He's a good boy. Of course, we all know that his leadership would have been setting the example of screaming and flailing wildly as he tumbled down the mountain. I'm pretty sure it's the same thing I would do if I was put in that position. But God was good to us and the only cougars encountered today were in the minds of youngsters. :-)
When everybody was ready to go I put the dog in his box. We had taken it with us just because too much dog stuff looks cluttery sitting around the house when you know (or hope) people are going to be looking at it. I wasn't taking any more chances and figured it would be best if the sick-o was completely confined. Amazingly enough, he didn't cry or fuss at all. He usually wails like he's dying as soon as you shut the door, but he was either too sick to care or actually comforted by being in a familiar place.
We still had an hour before we could return to the house and there's not just a whole lot to do up here, so I did something I hardly ever do--though I did it last time James was away, too. I went to the little mountain video rental place. We looked around the kid/family section and came away with an old Dean Jones movie (I love him) called The Ugly Dachshund, as well as Homeward Bound. I'd never seen the first one and the kids had never seen either.
We headed home, but still had 30 or 40 minutes to kill. So I dumped the kids off at the head of the bike/walking trail. It's about two miles long, I think, so I figured that would take up some time and keep them occupied. Sam ran pretty much the whole way. Katie and Joe wore out and hopped in the van, amazed at how Sam just keeps on going. He was always wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ay ahead of them. They met three people and a dog along the way, one lady very concerned and inquiring whether Sam (who was "alone" because he was ahead of the others) was lost. She probably thought he had a terrible mother letting him out there all alone--then there was a van stalking him. Ha!
When we got home there was a young couple here talking with Jason. They left after a few minutes and he gave me the low-down. Three couples came during the three hours and they all loved the house. Blah, blah, blah. Are you tired of the same old story?! I am! The last couple just moved into the state and are currently staying in an apartment in the city, but they hate it. They are country people from Ohio and really want to get out of town. They loved the house, but it's also the very first one they've been in. So who knows. Another couple said they had friends who are looking to move up here and they thought they'd look at the house for them. They loved it and said they'd tell the friends all about it... so they're not even "lookers" themselves. The other ones... I can't remember what he said. I know they liked it too and I know that Jason was going to be calling somebody (the first couple? the last couple?) on Monday and trying to take care of some business for them. It's all a blur now. I really don't get too wound up about anything any more. I think I'll start to get excited about something whenever we actually put pen to paper and sign a contract. Even then it can fall through, but at least it would be new territory for us instead of deja vu. Ha!
We had french fries and fried hot dogs for dinner tonight. It's been ages since we've done that, so it tasted extra good. Especially since I still have just a tiny bit of fry sauce left. :-) Then after all of the kids had their showers we watched The Ugly Dachshund. It was cute and the kids really enjoyed it. I was sure to get them to bed at a decent hour since we have church in the morning.
Oh yeah--and Charlie had to have another bath. Third day in a row he's taken a care ride and third day in a row we've been sorry. I Googled it tonight and was blown away to read that 95% of the time dogs that get carsick do so because of stress, not motion sickness. Really?! Come on!!! I just have a hard time making myself believe a lot of the dog advice that's out there nowadays. Stress??? That is so ridiculous! They say to take your dog for little short rides (5-10 minutes) to happy destinations (the park), soothing them throughout the ride, having a grand time with them when they get there, then doing the same thing when they return home. And to do this 5 times a day. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! I've got to draw the line somewhere. I've done a lot of crazy things for the dumb dog, but get real! I'm going with the other counsel I found online that said to give your dog a spoon full of vanilla ice cream before you get in the car because it settles their stomach. That's more my speed. Now I'll HAVE to go buy some Blue Bell... ;-)
Jason showed up just before 1:00, as we were finishing up the last of our cleaning--and clearing the Monopoly game from the dining table. It's really best that way. The game had taken a turn and Joe was doomed (he can handle it), but Katie would probably be the next to go (she can't handle it) and it would have been long and agonizing to have to put up with her griping and whining while she slowly lost all of her money and property. I'm really just glad it's over with.
We had three hours to stay gone, but I really didn't want to go into Albuquerque on a Saturday. And besides, I was feeling bleagh all day today and just not up to doing much. So Katie was good enough to pack some chips, sandwiches and sodas in the picnic basket and we headed up the mountain to find a picnic spot in the National Forest. I passed the first spot because there were too many cars there, then the second one too. I had forgotten how far it was to the third picnic site, but now I know: it's right at the dog's breaking point. Katie was the lucky recipient of his carsickness this time, but I had little sympathy for her. She had been instructed to keep the dog next to her ON HIS BLANKET at all times--making sure his HEAD was over said blanket, just in case. ~sigh~ I just can't get over how wrong this is!!! Who ever heard of a carsick dog???
Katie got all cleaned up, we grabbed our picnic basket and slipped and slid on the crusted snow and ice down the hill to the picnic table. The snow had melted there and the table pretty much sat in a mud puddle, but what did I care? I already had a pukey dog and more laundry to take care of, besides feeling all bleagh. A little mud seemed fitting. I actually felt much better after sitting in the warm sunshine there while we were eating. But then the wind picked up suddenly and blew everything off the table, including the now empty picnic basket--into the mud, of course. Joe was leaning over picking things up when his cup of soda was tipped over by the wind and trickled down onto his head, around his ear and into his face. Ha! That almost made it worth the hassle and mess we had to clean up. :-)
I hauled everything back to the van and let the kids climb up and down all over the mountain for an hour or more. They would show up every few minutes telling me all about the mountain lion tracks they saw (dog tracks, no doubt) and how Sam thought he saw something moving in the bushes and all that stuff. Then they'd forge back into the woods to investigate further, enjoying every minute of their overactive imagination exercises.
I hadn't thought of it before, but you're supposed to pay a fee to picnic in the National Forest. I think it's CRAZY, but being the honest person that I am I started digging around for the three dollars I owed. Won't they be pleased when they pull the envelope out of the little box and find a dollar bill, six quarters, four dimes, a nickel, and five pennies. :-) I think you're only supposed to use cash or checks, not coins. But I only had that lone dollar bill and I certainly wasn't going to put a $5 in! Anyway, when I went to deposit my envelope in the tube I saw the warning sign posted about cougars being in this area along with the instructions for what you're supposed to do should you encounter one. None of the instructions ever include "Scream like a banshee while you high-tail it outta there" even though you know it's what any rational person would do. It did, however, say to keep children within arm's reach should you decide to explore the woods and if you see a cat you're to pick the children up immediately. So I told the kids that if they saw anything they were to get in the biggest pile they could manage and do their best to look like one big person instead of three little ones. Ha! I love the picture my head produces when I think of that. :-) Joe had a stick and was all set to defend the family. He's a good boy. Of course, we all know that his leadership would have been setting the example of screaming and flailing wildly as he tumbled down the mountain. I'm pretty sure it's the same thing I would do if I was put in that position. But God was good to us and the only cougars encountered today were in the minds of youngsters. :-)
When everybody was ready to go I put the dog in his box. We had taken it with us just because too much dog stuff looks cluttery sitting around the house when you know (or hope) people are going to be looking at it. I wasn't taking any more chances and figured it would be best if the sick-o was completely confined. Amazingly enough, he didn't cry or fuss at all. He usually wails like he's dying as soon as you shut the door, but he was either too sick to care or actually comforted by being in a familiar place.
We still had an hour before we could return to the house and there's not just a whole lot to do up here, so I did something I hardly ever do--though I did it last time James was away, too. I went to the little mountain video rental place. We looked around the kid/family section and came away with an old Dean Jones movie (I love him) called The Ugly Dachshund, as well as Homeward Bound. I'd never seen the first one and the kids had never seen either.
We headed home, but still had 30 or 40 minutes to kill. So I dumped the kids off at the head of the bike/walking trail. It's about two miles long, I think, so I figured that would take up some time and keep them occupied. Sam ran pretty much the whole way. Katie and Joe wore out and hopped in the van, amazed at how Sam just keeps on going. He was always wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ay ahead of them. They met three people and a dog along the way, one lady very concerned and inquiring whether Sam (who was "alone" because he was ahead of the others) was lost. She probably thought he had a terrible mother letting him out there all alone--then there was a van stalking him. Ha!
When we got home there was a young couple here talking with Jason. They left after a few minutes and he gave me the low-down. Three couples came during the three hours and they all loved the house. Blah, blah, blah. Are you tired of the same old story?! I am! The last couple just moved into the state and are currently staying in an apartment in the city, but they hate it. They are country people from Ohio and really want to get out of town. They loved the house, but it's also the very first one they've been in. So who knows. Another couple said they had friends who are looking to move up here and they thought they'd look at the house for them. They loved it and said they'd tell the friends all about it... so they're not even "lookers" themselves. The other ones... I can't remember what he said. I know they liked it too and I know that Jason was going to be calling somebody (the first couple? the last couple?) on Monday and trying to take care of some business for them. It's all a blur now. I really don't get too wound up about anything any more. I think I'll start to get excited about something whenever we actually put pen to paper and sign a contract. Even then it can fall through, but at least it would be new territory for us instead of deja vu. Ha!
We had french fries and fried hot dogs for dinner tonight. It's been ages since we've done that, so it tasted extra good. Especially since I still have just a tiny bit of fry sauce left. :-) Then after all of the kids had their showers we watched The Ugly Dachshund. It was cute and the kids really enjoyed it. I was sure to get them to bed at a decent hour since we have church in the morning.
Oh yeah--and Charlie had to have another bath. Third day in a row he's taken a care ride and third day in a row we've been sorry. I Googled it tonight and was blown away to read that 95% of the time dogs that get carsick do so because of stress, not motion sickness. Really?! Come on!!! I just have a hard time making myself believe a lot of the dog advice that's out there nowadays. Stress??? That is so ridiculous! They say to take your dog for little short rides (5-10 minutes) to happy destinations (the park), soothing them throughout the ride, having a grand time with them when they get there, then doing the same thing when they return home. And to do this 5 times a day. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! I've got to draw the line somewhere. I've done a lot of crazy things for the dumb dog, but get real! I'm going with the other counsel I found online that said to give your dog a spoon full of vanilla ice cream before you get in the car because it settles their stomach. That's more my speed. Now I'll HAVE to go buy some Blue Bell... ;-)
Friday, January 28, 2011
Home Alone, Day One
This morning we all loaded up to take James to the airport. For some unknown reason James said we would take the dog along. I’m guessing he wanted to have Charlie with him until the very last possible moment, so greatly he will miss the little fuzzball while he’s away. :-) I kept the dog in his bed, cuddled up with a blanket, on my lap the entire time. I was hoping that if he was sitting still instead of being restless and wandering all over the van it might help him to relax—and if there was any chance of him getting carsick it would surely alleviate it, right? Besides, some people get sick riding in the back but are perfectly fine up front. So I kept him up front in my lap and was sure to tell him to look out the window frequently. Ha! Well, you guessed it. About the time we got to the airport the creepy little dog suddenly horked all over my sleeve and the blanket. Bleagh!!! That is just soooooooo wrong on so many levels!!! I cleaned it up as well as I could, secretly wishing we had a baby so that I would have some wet wipes on hand (ha!), hugged my husband goodbye with one arm…
Then went shopping with a pukey arm. Gross!!! But you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. I was wearing a dark brown fuzzy sweatshirt and it’s not like anybody could tell, but the principle of the thing really bothered me. That’s just so wrong! ~sigh~ I left Katie in the van with the dumb sick dog (in case he had any more trouble—I made sure she kept him IN HIS BED to cut down on things to have to wash and clean up later) and the boys went into Albertson’s with me. We had failed to buy everything we needed when we were there yesterday, so it was necessary that we stop and pick up a few essentials. I must say, however, that it was a bizarre feeling standing at the register. I didn’t know it was possible for a girl to feel like a bachelor, but as I looked at the contents of my cart that’s exactly how I felt: frozen pizzas, four cases of coke, and two boxes of microwave popcorn. HA! It was great. :-) It’s exciting to have a selection of soda again after so long. We now have regular Coca-Cola, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, and root beer. Pizza parties, here we come!
We got home and I changed clothes and, obviously, had to do a load of laundry I hadn’t been planning on doing. Dumb dog. And, of course, the dog’s face may have been perfectly clean but the thought of it still being nasty grossed me out so I had to give him a bath. While I was blow drying him I decided that the “poof” on his head was just way too long and shaggy (won’t even stand up any more; it sort of parts and falls to the sides in all directions, leaving a little bald spot on the top of his head—Ha!) and I should cut it. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Why in the world would my kids let me decide to do such a thing?! I went a little crazy and, of course, when you’re giving a bad haircut you keep clipping a little more and a little more trying to fix it. Let’s just say the dog has NO poof now and looks royally stupid—even more stupid than a poodle usually looks. Of course, he does deserve it. Dumb dog. I should’ve given him a Mohawk.
The house was getting pretty chilly so I built a nice little fire (it makes me so happy to have a fire) before we dove into school, which seemed to take a lot longer than usual today but I’m sure it’s only because we got such a late start.
5:30 finally came around. Time for our first pizza party. :-) So we all crashed in the den with our Totino’s, sodas and popcorn, and watched Up. I like that movie. Dug reminds me so much of Hershey. The happy-go-lucky, not-so-bright kind of dog. I love that kind. Today I’m pretty sure that I love that kind a whole lot more than the dopey carsick kind. Ha!
We had our devotions tonight and read something that filled the kids with questions for which I had no answers. I kept reading and re-reading, thinking there must be a typo. HA! Not possible when you’re using the Bible as your devotion book. ;-) I called Mom for help, but she doesn’t know either—though she did at least have some ideas to build on. It was when Moses took his wife and kids and headed to Egypt after God appeared to him in via the burning bush. While they were on their way there, it says, “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.” Oooooooooooookay. ?! Any ideas??? Tomorrow I’m going to look and see what some commentators have to say about it. It’s always interesting to me when there is something that you just don’t “get,” knowing that this is part of the divine Word of God and He put it there for a reason. He intends for us to read it and to understand it.
After devotions I told the kids I’d let them stay up and we’d play a game. After all, it is Friday and it is the first “party night.” I don’t know what came over me, but I agreed to teach them how to play Monopoly. They’ve been asking about it this past week and it somehow seemed like the right time. When James called at 10:00 we were just starting to get some houses and hotels on the board, Joe and Sam set to annihilate us girls in quick order, probably. I quietly motioned the kids off to bed so as to not freak James out too badly. “What in the world are the kids still doing up?!” I could hear it all in my head. Ha! He’ll know now, of course, because he’ll be checking on my blog for all of those things that I tell the general public instead of telling him directly. It makes things more fun that way. :-)
Now it’s nearly 11:00, all three kids and the dumb dog are sleeping soundly, and I’m thinking I’ll head that way myself. In the morning we’ve got to get the house all sparkly clean again because Jason will be here for an Open House from one until four o’clock. What in the world am I going to do for three hours with three kids and a CARSICK PRONE DOG??? If Jason was a girl instead of a guy I’d just stay here. When people showed up we could just walk around the house as if we’re here to check it out, too. “Oooooh, look at this place—it’s beautiful! How much are they asking? Wow, what a steal!” Ha! But alas, Jason isn’t a girl so I’ve gotta clear out. Think, think, think… I’ll come up with something to do. On the bright side, we have an Open House tomorrow! I know it’s the same subject and I’m acting as if it’s a new one, but this time I’m bringing it up as a good thing rather than an inconvenience. ;-) I sort of gave up praying for specifics a long time ago because I just DON’T KNOW what God’s plan is and I have no clue about His time table and what He wants to do when and all that. It’s obviously not in sync with my plans and time table! That means I’ve had it all wrong, I guess. God’s ways are better than my ways whether I ever understand the “why’s” or not. And I must say that there are soooooo many things that I have been learning through this “stuckness” that I wouldn’t have learned had this move been fast and easy like I expected. Anyway, it’s in God’s hands but it still seems like the right thing to do to pray for God to bless the Open House tomorrow and bring lots of people by and, if be His will, to bring “them”—the ones who will actually BUY this place. :-)
Then went shopping with a pukey arm. Gross!!! But you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. I was wearing a dark brown fuzzy sweatshirt and it’s not like anybody could tell, but the principle of the thing really bothered me. That’s just so wrong! ~sigh~ I left Katie in the van with the dumb sick dog (in case he had any more trouble—I made sure she kept him IN HIS BED to cut down on things to have to wash and clean up later) and the boys went into Albertson’s with me. We had failed to buy everything we needed when we were there yesterday, so it was necessary that we stop and pick up a few essentials. I must say, however, that it was a bizarre feeling standing at the register. I didn’t know it was possible for a girl to feel like a bachelor, but as I looked at the contents of my cart that’s exactly how I felt: frozen pizzas, four cases of coke, and two boxes of microwave popcorn. HA! It was great. :-) It’s exciting to have a selection of soda again after so long. We now have regular Coca-Cola, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, and root beer. Pizza parties, here we come!
We got home and I changed clothes and, obviously, had to do a load of laundry I hadn’t been planning on doing. Dumb dog. And, of course, the dog’s face may have been perfectly clean but the thought of it still being nasty grossed me out so I had to give him a bath. While I was blow drying him I decided that the “poof” on his head was just way too long and shaggy (won’t even stand up any more; it sort of parts and falls to the sides in all directions, leaving a little bald spot on the top of his head—Ha!) and I should cut it. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Why in the world would my kids let me decide to do such a thing?! I went a little crazy and, of course, when you’re giving a bad haircut you keep clipping a little more and a little more trying to fix it. Let’s just say the dog has NO poof now and looks royally stupid—even more stupid than a poodle usually looks. Of course, he does deserve it. Dumb dog. I should’ve given him a Mohawk.
The house was getting pretty chilly so I built a nice little fire (it makes me so happy to have a fire) before we dove into school, which seemed to take a lot longer than usual today but I’m sure it’s only because we got such a late start.
5:30 finally came around. Time for our first pizza party. :-) So we all crashed in the den with our Totino’s, sodas and popcorn, and watched Up. I like that movie. Dug reminds me so much of Hershey. The happy-go-lucky, not-so-bright kind of dog. I love that kind. Today I’m pretty sure that I love that kind a whole lot more than the dopey carsick kind. Ha!
We had our devotions tonight and read something that filled the kids with questions for which I had no answers. I kept reading and re-reading, thinking there must be a typo. HA! Not possible when you’re using the Bible as your devotion book. ;-) I called Mom for help, but she doesn’t know either—though she did at least have some ideas to build on. It was when Moses took his wife and kids and headed to Egypt after God appeared to him in via the burning bush. While they were on their way there, it says, “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.” Oooooooooooookay. ?! Any ideas??? Tomorrow I’m going to look and see what some commentators have to say about it. It’s always interesting to me when there is something that you just don’t “get,” knowing that this is part of the divine Word of God and He put it there for a reason. He intends for us to read it and to understand it.
After devotions I told the kids I’d let them stay up and we’d play a game. After all, it is Friday and it is the first “party night.” I don’t know what came over me, but I agreed to teach them how to play Monopoly. They’ve been asking about it this past week and it somehow seemed like the right time. When James called at 10:00 we were just starting to get some houses and hotels on the board, Joe and Sam set to annihilate us girls in quick order, probably. I quietly motioned the kids off to bed so as to not freak James out too badly. “What in the world are the kids still doing up?!” I could hear it all in my head. Ha! He’ll know now, of course, because he’ll be checking on my blog for all of those things that I tell the general public instead of telling him directly. It makes things more fun that way. :-)
Now it’s nearly 11:00, all three kids and the dumb dog are sleeping soundly, and I’m thinking I’ll head that way myself. In the morning we’ve got to get the house all sparkly clean again because Jason will be here for an Open House from one until four o’clock. What in the world am I going to do for three hours with three kids and a CARSICK PRONE DOG??? If Jason was a girl instead of a guy I’d just stay here. When people showed up we could just walk around the house as if we’re here to check it out, too. “Oooooh, look at this place—it’s beautiful! How much are they asking? Wow, what a steal!” Ha! But alas, Jason isn’t a girl so I’ve gotta clear out. Think, think, think… I’ll come up with something to do. On the bright side, we have an Open House tomorrow! I know it’s the same subject and I’m acting as if it’s a new one, but this time I’m bringing it up as a good thing rather than an inconvenience. ;-) I sort of gave up praying for specifics a long time ago because I just DON’T KNOW what God’s plan is and I have no clue about His time table and what He wants to do when and all that. It’s obviously not in sync with my plans and time table! That means I’ve had it all wrong, I guess. God’s ways are better than my ways whether I ever understand the “why’s” or not. And I must say that there are soooooo many things that I have been learning through this “stuckness” that I wouldn’t have learned had this move been fast and easy like I expected. Anyway, it’s in God’s hands but it still seems like the right thing to do to pray for God to bless the Open House tomorrow and bring lots of people by and, if be His will, to bring “them”—the ones who will actually BUY this place. :-)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Catch 22
That's what it is. I WANT to be a better blogger, but I have NOTHING to blog So what's to do??? Ramble aimlessly, of course. If I can only get started I usually don't have any problem with that.
Tuesday was library day. Nothing new about that. Katie and Joe came away saying that they hit the jackpot this week... just like they do every week. The librarians think our kids are the greatest. One guy, Scott, even recommends books that he thinks we'd enjoy reading together as a family, like "The Great Piratical Rumbustification." How can you go wrong with a title like that?! I let the kids cut down on their school time that day since they had new books they were dying to get to.
Ah, yes. I was so envious of Emilee recently when she talked about how she had revamped her kids' school schedule and how it was working out so much better for all of them. I asked her to please share her secrets for making school last a little longer for kids who whizz through way too fast and need to have some more constructive learning time. She didn't have any good ideas for me. HA! That's not true of course, but most of all it got the wheels to turning and we've been able to add a few things to the kids' school day. Most significantly, they now have 30 minutes of typing lessons and 30 minutes of music practice. Katie works on her keyboard and tries to learn a new chorus each day that she can play for us in our evening devotions. Joe's music lessons right now consist of turning on some Cathedrals music (his new favorite thing to do anyway) and playing along on his guitar. Sam's electric drums have way too many functions and he's learned to use way too many of them already. So his music time usually consists of him setting it to some crazy jungle music then, instead of playing along, he stands up and dances to it, most often something that resembles the hula. But it keeps him busy and occupied, right?! Ha!
Yesterday... Nope, can't remember a thing. Last evening, however, we got a call from Jason saying there was going to be a realtor's tour up in the mountains this morning and that he'd arranged for our house to be one of the stops. So we did some cleaning, but I had done such a good job on Monday there really wasn't a lot of work involved. Wa-Hoo for Cleaning Day Mondays! :-)
The realtors were scheduled to to arrive sometime after 9:00 this morning, so we loaded up and went to Wal-Mart. Grabbed breakfast at the McDonald's there, then did our shopping and headed home. We took Charlie with us, of course, because you can't exactly leave a puppy locked in a box when people are coming to check out the house. Especially one who screams bloody murder the whole time. He's not been in the car very much and he just can't seem to relax at all. On our way home, he got sick. This is so not right. I love Charlie, but we are NOT the kind of people who can have a dog who gets car sick! Children and dogs are simply not allowed to get car sick around here--we do way too much traveling for that. He'll grow out of this, right? We just need to take him more often and let him get used to it. Right??? ~sigh~ Dumb dog. At least he has a nice, fluffy, freshly washed dog bed thanks to the trip to town today.
James spent the rest of the day getting ready for his Alabama trip and I helped the kids with school. I did very little sleeping last night (I don't know what's wrong with me--I just LAY THERE and can't fall asleep!), so I laid down with the cuddly poodle for a little while this afternoon. He'd had a rough morning and was ready for a nap, too. :-)
Brother Juan preached about sanctification and several other things tonight. He made some statements that really blessed me. I love church. :-)
We got word tonight that all of the realtors really liked the house and they think all we need is more exposure. So Jason is setting up an Open House for this Saturday. James didn't tell me that; I learned it from his post on Facebook. Gotta love marital communication, I tell ya'! ;-) Anyway, the general consensus is that we just need to get people INTO this house and it should sell easily enough. In other words, we have no new information because we already knew that. Ha! No, in all actuality, none of that matters in the big scheme of things. In God's time, He is able to sell this house at the drop of a hat--even if no real estate had sold in this area for 10 years. I appreciate the realtors' input, but we know it's in God's hands to work the miracles and, when He has accomplished His purposes, bring the right people to buy the house.
Tomorrow morning we take James to the airport, then stop by the store to pick up the things we need to party properly while he's away: more pizzas (James only bought three today... HA, I say), more popcorn, and soda. Albertson's has four 12-packs for $10 right now, so we're going to be set good! Ha! We haven't bought coke in quite a while because it just hasn't been on sale. That'll make our Cherry Coke and Root Beer taste extra good with our Totino's. First party is tomorrow night. Anybody want to come??? James seems to take offense to the fact that his family is so happy when he leaves. I tried to explain to him that we're not celebrating that he's gone... we're filling the Dad gap and trying to do all we can to have fun even though he's not here. I almost kept a straight face. Then the kids started cracking up and I was a goner. Ha! It's just what you're supposed to DO when one parent is away, you know?! My explanation really is at least partially true--you try to make it a special time when it's "just you" and the kids. He does the same thing when I'm away at Ladies' Retreat, he just doesn't like it very well when he's the one leaving and everybody's all chipper and looking forward to a great time.
And that's it. I'll try to get the camera out in the next few days. Maybe it'll help me blog better. Or maybe not...
Tuesday was library day. Nothing new about that. Katie and Joe came away saying that they hit the jackpot this week... just like they do every week. The librarians think our kids are the greatest. One guy, Scott, even recommends books that he thinks we'd enjoy reading together as a family, like "The Great Piratical Rumbustification." How can you go wrong with a title like that?! I let the kids cut down on their school time that day since they had new books they were dying to get to.
Ah, yes. I was so envious of Emilee recently when she talked about how she had revamped her kids' school schedule and how it was working out so much better for all of them. I asked her to please share her secrets for making school last a little longer for kids who whizz through way too fast and need to have some more constructive learning time. She didn't have any good ideas for me. HA! That's not true of course, but most of all it got the wheels to turning and we've been able to add a few things to the kids' school day. Most significantly, they now have 30 minutes of typing lessons and 30 minutes of music practice. Katie works on her keyboard and tries to learn a new chorus each day that she can play for us in our evening devotions. Joe's music lessons right now consist of turning on some Cathedrals music (his new favorite thing to do anyway) and playing along on his guitar. Sam's electric drums have way too many functions and he's learned to use way too many of them already. So his music time usually consists of him setting it to some crazy jungle music then, instead of playing along, he stands up and dances to it, most often something that resembles the hula. But it keeps him busy and occupied, right?! Ha!
Yesterday... Nope, can't remember a thing. Last evening, however, we got a call from Jason saying there was going to be a realtor's tour up in the mountains this morning and that he'd arranged for our house to be one of the stops. So we did some cleaning, but I had done such a good job on Monday there really wasn't a lot of work involved. Wa-Hoo for Cleaning Day Mondays! :-)
The realtors were scheduled to to arrive sometime after 9:00 this morning, so we loaded up and went to Wal-Mart. Grabbed breakfast at the McDonald's there, then did our shopping and headed home. We took Charlie with us, of course, because you can't exactly leave a puppy locked in a box when people are coming to check out the house. Especially one who screams bloody murder the whole time. He's not been in the car very much and he just can't seem to relax at all. On our way home, he got sick. This is so not right. I love Charlie, but we are NOT the kind of people who can have a dog who gets car sick! Children and dogs are simply not allowed to get car sick around here--we do way too much traveling for that. He'll grow out of this, right? We just need to take him more often and let him get used to it. Right??? ~sigh~ Dumb dog. At least he has a nice, fluffy, freshly washed dog bed thanks to the trip to town today.
James spent the rest of the day getting ready for his Alabama trip and I helped the kids with school. I did very little sleeping last night (I don't know what's wrong with me--I just LAY THERE and can't fall asleep!), so I laid down with the cuddly poodle for a little while this afternoon. He'd had a rough morning and was ready for a nap, too. :-)
Brother Juan preached about sanctification and several other things tonight. He made some statements that really blessed me. I love church. :-)
We got word tonight that all of the realtors really liked the house and they think all we need is more exposure. So Jason is setting up an Open House for this Saturday. James didn't tell me that; I learned it from his post on Facebook. Gotta love marital communication, I tell ya'! ;-) Anyway, the general consensus is that we just need to get people INTO this house and it should sell easily enough. In other words, we have no new information because we already knew that. Ha! No, in all actuality, none of that matters in the big scheme of things. In God's time, He is able to sell this house at the drop of a hat--even if no real estate had sold in this area for 10 years. I appreciate the realtors' input, but we know it's in God's hands to work the miracles and, when He has accomplished His purposes, bring the right people to buy the house.
Tomorrow morning we take James to the airport, then stop by the store to pick up the things we need to party properly while he's away: more pizzas (James only bought three today... HA, I say), more popcorn, and soda. Albertson's has four 12-packs for $10 right now, so we're going to be set good! Ha! We haven't bought coke in quite a while because it just hasn't been on sale. That'll make our Cherry Coke and Root Beer taste extra good with our Totino's. First party is tomorrow night. Anybody want to come??? James seems to take offense to the fact that his family is so happy when he leaves. I tried to explain to him that we're not celebrating that he's gone... we're filling the Dad gap and trying to do all we can to have fun even though he's not here. I almost kept a straight face. Then the kids started cracking up and I was a goner. Ha! It's just what you're supposed to DO when one parent is away, you know?! My explanation really is at least partially true--you try to make it a special time when it's "just you" and the kids. He does the same thing when I'm away at Ladies' Retreat, he just doesn't like it very well when he's the one leaving and everybody's all chipper and looking forward to a great time.
And that's it. I'll try to get the camera out in the next few days. Maybe it'll help me blog better. Or maybe not...
Monday, January 24, 2011
Recuperating
...from my horrible non-blogging rut. I'm trying to better, really I am... it's just that I can't think of a single thing of interest to talk about!
I'm trying REAL HARD to remember anything at all about Saturday. Oh! I know. I worked on Ladies' Retreat stuff, Alabama minister's stuff, and my address book all day long. I typed up a directory, of sorts, that will be easily accessible for both James and myself (it's probably teeming with mistakes--I'm horrible at typing in addresses) and got my entire address book typed into a directory in my computer, at long last. I've been meaning to do that for ages.
Yesterday was a good day. Brother Chris preached another great message and I really felt the Lord speak to my heart. Love that. :-) After service we went to KFC and came away with the determination to never again walk through their door. We like KFC, but this one is horrible. There was one other guy in there, but it took them FOREVER to get our food to us. When they finally did, the lady told me it would take a few more minutes for them to get Joe's "snack size bowl" out. I didn't have very high expectations because it had taken so long to get everybody else's food in the first place, but she assured us: "Two minutes to cook the chicken and one more minute to bring it out to us." When we had all finished our food 10 or 15 minutes later, I went back up to the counter and had to holler to get somebody's attention, and asked for a refund. In the end, she refunded us for the bowl and then actually went to the back and made it up real quick and gave it to us for free, but still--I'm done there. I'm glad they made it right, but the service there is always awful so why go through it again? Joe was delighted to actually get his lunch and happily horked it down in the van on the way home. Oh yeah--we noticed later that James' KFC cup actually said KGC on one side of it! HA! Something is definitely wrong here!!!
Can't remember much about the day yesterday except that I played a game of Sorry! with the kids. Then Sister Galaviz taught a really good CPMA lesson on holiness last night. Even though we'd already gone out to eat for lunch, we did it again after service last night! We haven't gone out with the Clarksons in a while and they were up for it, so we went to the Crusty Chili. That's always memorable :-)
Today has been a long and busy day, but I'm thrilled to say that I came, I saw, I conquered. We had a double-day devotion (we fell behind on Saturday), I helped the kids with lots of their schoolwork, we got the Ladies' Retreat applications printed, cut, packed up and mailed (thanks to James' help), the bathrooms got a thorough cleaning, all of the floors were swept, vacuumed, mopped--whatever, all of the laundry AND ironing got done (be still, my heart!), the dog got bathed, blow-dried and brushed, and I reworked some left-overs and made a nice dinner tonight--all that and I received two phone calls today that took more than just a few minutes (talking to good friends is a privilege, not a hindrance... Just to be clear in case they read this--ha!) and a too-short phone call to my Mom. Wa-Hoo! Tomorrow would be a GREAT day for a house showing. :-)
Hopefully I can get some other things accomplished this week since I have the house well under control at the moment. I've really got to settle on staff for Ladies' Retreat and start asking people! I already found a semi-willing volunteer (ha!) to help out with receiving the applications and who-knows-what-all she'll be doing for me before it's over with. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! ;-) I've had a real struggle getting any DEFINITE direction about who to ask to teach and to TAPs and all that stuff. I have lots of ideas, but I'm having a hard time getting one of those light-streaming-from-heaven-and-choir-singing-in-the-background sort of confirmations, you know?! I don't want to just go with my ideas, I want to find what God has for us. If you have any prayers to spare, you could apply them to that end. :-)
Hhmmm. Guess that's it. Just checked the camera. ~sigh~ Sorry, Mom. Nothing but the dog again.
I'm trying REAL HARD to remember anything at all about Saturday. Oh! I know. I worked on Ladies' Retreat stuff, Alabama minister's stuff, and my address book all day long. I typed up a directory, of sorts, that will be easily accessible for both James and myself (it's probably teeming with mistakes--I'm horrible at typing in addresses) and got my entire address book typed into a directory in my computer, at long last. I've been meaning to do that for ages.
Yesterday was a good day. Brother Chris preached another great message and I really felt the Lord speak to my heart. Love that. :-) After service we went to KFC and came away with the determination to never again walk through their door. We like KFC, but this one is horrible. There was one other guy in there, but it took them FOREVER to get our food to us. When they finally did, the lady told me it would take a few more minutes for them to get Joe's "snack size bowl" out. I didn't have very high expectations because it had taken so long to get everybody else's food in the first place, but she assured us: "Two minutes to cook the chicken and one more minute to bring it out to us." When we had all finished our food 10 or 15 minutes later, I went back up to the counter and had to holler to get somebody's attention, and asked for a refund. In the end, she refunded us for the bowl and then actually went to the back and made it up real quick and gave it to us for free, but still--I'm done there. I'm glad they made it right, but the service there is always awful so why go through it again? Joe was delighted to actually get his lunch and happily horked it down in the van on the way home. Oh yeah--we noticed later that James' KFC cup actually said KGC on one side of it! HA! Something is definitely wrong here!!!
Can't remember much about the day yesterday except that I played a game of Sorry! with the kids. Then Sister Galaviz taught a really good CPMA lesson on holiness last night. Even though we'd already gone out to eat for lunch, we did it again after service last night! We haven't gone out with the Clarksons in a while and they were up for it, so we went to the Crusty Chili. That's always memorable :-)
Today has been a long and busy day, but I'm thrilled to say that I came, I saw, I conquered. We had a double-day devotion (we fell behind on Saturday), I helped the kids with lots of their schoolwork, we got the Ladies' Retreat applications printed, cut, packed up and mailed (thanks to James' help), the bathrooms got a thorough cleaning, all of the floors were swept, vacuumed, mopped--whatever, all of the laundry AND ironing got done (be still, my heart!), the dog got bathed, blow-dried and brushed, and I reworked some left-overs and made a nice dinner tonight--all that and I received two phone calls today that took more than just a few minutes (talking to good friends is a privilege, not a hindrance... Just to be clear in case they read this--ha!) and a too-short phone call to my Mom. Wa-Hoo! Tomorrow would be a GREAT day for a house showing. :-)
Hopefully I can get some other things accomplished this week since I have the house well under control at the moment. I've really got to settle on staff for Ladies' Retreat and start asking people! I already found a semi-willing volunteer (ha!) to help out with receiving the applications and who-knows-what-all she'll be doing for me before it's over with. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! ;-) I've had a real struggle getting any DEFINITE direction about who to ask to teach and to TAPs and all that stuff. I have lots of ideas, but I'm having a hard time getting one of those light-streaming-from-heaven-and-choir-singing-in-the-background sort of confirmations, you know?! I don't want to just go with my ideas, I want to find what God has for us. If you have any prayers to spare, you could apply them to that end. :-)
Hhmmm. Guess that's it. Just checked the camera. ~sigh~ Sorry, Mom. Nothing but the dog again.
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