Wrong

I was wrong about the number of pieces in the Star Wars Death Star Lego kit. It does not have 10,000 pieces like I originally posted. 10188 is the model number!
Jesh! But I looked it up, and it has 3,803 pieces which is three times more than any of our other kits - according to Paul.
Paul and Abbie have already sorted the pieces. There were 4 rectangular boxes of pieces. Paul brought (from the garage) up a huge tackle box and another sorter thing to keep all the pieces in. See, this set didn't come with a manual. It came with a book!
However, they've already encountered some missing pieces. Paul is making a list, and I hope that the Lego company will be helpful when I call them.

Christmas Time in TN - edited for clarity

Not sure if you can tell or not - from my face - but I was extremely happy to be holding this owl. This is an Eastern Screech Owl which are very small. He is full grown; about the size of a softball.
On our way home from the Christmas Eve service at church (around 11 pm), I thought I saw an owl in the road. Luckily, he was in the road where a car could just drive over top of him without a tire touching him (thankfully, there were not a lot of cars on the road on Christmas Eve). He was on the opposite side of the road from us, and when I saw another car's lights shine on him, I thought to myself that I might have seen an owl. I told Paul to turn around.
This is my purpose in life: rescue animals and turn around when I think I see an animal that needs help.
Paul said he saw another car stop - that told me that there definitely was something in the road. I started getting really excited and told him he had to turn around immediately and go back.
It was an owl, and he was alive. The owl turned his head and looked at me very casually, and one of his wings looked a teeny bit ruffled and stretched out more than the other.
I searched the car trunk for something to pick him up with and was happy to find a pair of Paul's winter gloves. Another car had stopped and a man came over to help. He was relieved when I told him I was taking him home and that I knew of a wildlife place to take him to the next day (at least I hoped that I could get ahold of the place and get him some help).
The owl was very calm while I was picking him up, but his talons were gripping the pavement pretty tight.
When we got home, I took him to the downstairs driveway to examine him and to determine in what way he was hurt. If he turned out to be okay, I wanted him to have a clear shot if he could actually fly away.
Instead of standing up, like he had been doing when I found him, he just rolled over and his eyes were half shut and his pupils were fixed. I told Paul and Abbie that maybe he was dead or would die soon. I rolled him in a towel and held him and was going to give him a happy, snug little bed for his eternal journey. I held him upright b/c I know that owls stand up to sleep; I wanted him to be as comfortable as possible.
Eventually, his eyes shut all the way. I took him to my room and carefully unwrapped him so that Paul could help me determine if he was dead or not - I knew he was very much in shock (which is why I was even able to get close to him in the first place).
When we got him unwrapped, it was obvious that he was still breathing and sound asleep! Due to the shock, he needed to "sleep it off" and recover his energy. He was wet and cold.
Paul kept suggesting places to keep him overnight (the bed of his truck, the downstairs garage); all good suggestions that I considered, but I knew I wouldn't let him go far from me. I just didn't know how to tell Paul that little tidbit. :)
Temporarily, I propped him up on my bed in his little towel nest and had to leave him while we were getting Abbie in bed and while we carried presents to the Christmas tree. Abbie was not even thinking about Christmas anymore; she was excited to have an owl in the house!!!!
While Paul got on the computer for a little bit, I sat in bed and read and watched him sleep. It was a deep sleep.
Eventually, I made a bigger towel nest for him in our bathtub and put a laundry basket over top of him; like a cozy cage. He didn't make a peep/hoot all night.
This morning, he was awake and alert and not happy to see me. I called the wildlife rehab place at 10:00 am. I said, "Merry Christmas" and launched into my story. She listened patiently and said that I could bring him out. I said, "Even on Christmas Day?" She said, "Of course." These are my kind of people!
Meanwhile, I had looked up owl species and owl rescue tips. So far, I had done everything right (except I should have kept human contact to a minimum, but....that's my weakness....sigh....oh, well). Actually, I did keep human contact to a minimum. I went to bed without removing my makeup so as not to disturb him in the bathroom. And Paul took a shower in the guest bathroom this morning. But last night, when I thought for sure he would die from shock, I held him and petted him and talked to him and told him about God and heaven and how he would love it there, and I'm not the least bit sorry. :)
The rescue tips said that owls do need a towel for gripping with their claws, and they do need to be kept warm b/c of shock. And they do need to go to a wildlife rescue center ASAP.
To get him ready for the trip, we prepared a snug box. When I picked him up to put him in the box, he kept making snapping noises with his beak (but not snapping at me); he was warning me to stay away. Despite the thick gloves, one of his talons punctured through the glove into my finger (he didn't mean to, I think he was just trying to grasp and hold on). I ignored the injury. [A note to people who think I'm brave - well, I am and I'm not - I sort of let go of him when his talon got me, and the snapping sound scared me, but when I'm up against the wall, I'll do just about anything.]
After we got him in the car, I took off the glove for a look b/c my finger was throbbing. I had two, nice bloody holes in my finger. Those talons are perfect for gripping tree limbs and rodents!
You can't call a vet or the animal shelter for wildlife injuries. There is only one wildlife rehab place in our area ---- and it is in the boonies!!!! Back in a holler. Down at the end of a pig path. NO JOKE! But what a great place to rehabilitate wild animals and eventually set them free. It took us an hour or so to get there.
The lady said he had probably been hit by a car. When she got him out of the box, he flew! She got him down and examined him (she had better gloves than me). Besides being underweight, she thinks his wings are okay. She'll fatten him up and release him back in our area. Owls mate for life and it's best to release them back into the area they came from. She currently takes care of 4 other screech owls that cannot be released: one is blind, one is missing an eye, one has a partial wing amputation (and I can't remember what is wrong with the other). We visited with her for awhile; asking questions. We made a donation and then came back home. What a great adventure for Christmas Eve and Christmas! This is the best present I could have gotten.

Christmas morning! Look at that Star Wars Death Star! Jealous? The online Lego store was sold out and backordered until late January. But Santa called many Lego stores and found one! 10,000 pieces, baby! And meant for ages 12+. I pointed this out to Abbie, the age category and the daunting number of pieces. She said, and I quote, "That's okay because I'm a Lego expert." Put that in your pipe and smoke it! .

Santa also brought Abbie some cooking supplies. And I got a Tom Tom so I'll never get lost again. Paul got a burr coffee grinder, warm clothes, and the entire Space Ghost series.

On our way to the Chrismas Eve service. Before we even knew we were going to rescue an owl!

A Veronica Square. But who is Veronica? I made these and told Paul that we're calling them Lorrie's Squares. Whoever makes them can put their own name on them. That's fair!

That first picture with me and the owl? That's going to get enlarged and framed and scrapbooked too.

Merry Christmas!

Tagged from Annie

1 embarrassing moment: going in public with stuff on my face (twice within the last month or so)
2 best friends: Leslie and Cindy
3 things you buy regularly: Vanilla Chai Latte, poptarts (not for me, those things don't taste good anymore), and milk
4 places you want to go: Paradise Island, England, Hawaii, Vermont - I could name so many more
5 goals for the upcoming year (that you might actually do): sell the house within 1 month of putting it on the market, fix up the house, get rid of a bunch of crap and get a storage unit, do more things around the house and less volunteering at school, lose 5 pounds (wishful thinking)
6 things most people don't know about you: I'd rather not wear a bra, I can't sit still (I fidget), I'd like to wear more dresses and skirts (without the hose though), my hair bugs me, I like going to the mailbox, I dislike going to the post office
7 things you would never say: I give up, GD (as in the cuss word), I hate you, help me, I LOVE flying in airplanes, I don't want to go anywhere, I'm not hungry
8 things you love about the Christmas season: Christmas lights, smell of a real tree, special sweet treats, getting a gift you weren't expecting, buying things for other people, wearing sweaters, opening presents, seeing all the family
9 things you say to your kids: you're the best girl in the whole world, I love you, snuggle with me, don't be grumpy at me, brush your teeth, it's time for bed, let's do _____, feed the cats, you did a great job
10 things you do a lot: think, read, procrastinate, make lists, use cell phone, drive somewhere everyday, scoop litter, clean up after cats, wish kitchen counters would stay clean, open mail
11 things you would rather not live without: Abbie, Paul, my mom, lotion, sunglasses, lounging pants, car, cell phone, toothbrush, 3 pillows, chapstick!!!

Free Kibble

I've added a couple of links to the right side of the page. If you go to those two websites everyday and answer the trivia question (there is only one question on each site), the website owners and their sponsors will donate 10 pieces of kibble to animal shelters. It doesn't matter if you answer the question right or wrong - 10 pieces of kibble will still be donated.

These are legitimate websites.

I first read about this little girl (10 years old) in People magazine. They wrote a story about her idea and her website. People magazine recently did a followup article about the previous story.

I'm all about helping animals so click the links if you have time. :)

Deja Vu

I have a serious case of deja vu.
Definition: the illusion of having previously experienced something actually being encountered for the first time.
Interpretation: Many times, after I've blogged, I start feeling like I've probably covered that topic before.
Yesterday, I started thinking that I've discussed handshaking before. I really think I've blogged twice about our busy after-school schedule. And last year, didn't I write about what matters and doesn't matter at Christmas?
Well, I'm too lazy to look back at my blog posts to double check my suspicions and actually prove that I suffer from deja vu and maybe dementia too.
Please cut me some slack.

Shaking Hands

After earning a business degree, I got my first full-time banking job. It wasn't my first job at a bank. I had worked at a bank for 4 summers plus holidays doing lots and lots of various jobs: I was a teller, assisted the human resource officer, assembled bank statements (back when you still got your checks back in your statement), put postage on all the outgoing mail with the big HP mailing machine (more complicated than it should have been), I was a switchboard operator, filled in for a few other accounting people when they were on vacation, balanced/audited cashier check log and other logs. One whole summer, I was the courier for the bank - I drove around to all the branches (5-7) all day long delivering interoffice mail and hauling big bags of cash and coin to each branch. I kind of liked this job b/c I was always on the go and got to listen to the radio in the truck. I probably did other stuff that I've forgotten. Oh yeah, I once had to go repossess a car b/c I was the only one in the bank that could drive a stick shift - all the women in the collections department could not drive a stick shift. So that was an adventure.
Okay, back to the full time job story..... At my week long orientation classes, one of things they taught us was the proper way to shake hands. I won't go into the details here (it's fairly simple). If you ask me, I'll be glad to demonstrate for you if you're not sure you know the proper technique. While I'm at it, I'd like to say that I probably learned as much about business as I learned while earning my college degree. The bank packed a lot of useful info into a week.
My point of this post is that soooo many people don't know how to shake hands. Once you know the proper way, you tend to notice when others don't do it right.
On Sunday, at church, there is always a greeting/shaking hands portion of the service. You shake hands with people who have dry, calloused hands. With people with bony hands. People with small, delicate hands. People with cold hands. People with clammy hands. Ewww! But that is not the problem. People can't change how their body/hands are made.
No, the problem is with their technique. Some people only give you their fingertips. Some people's handshake is like a limp fish. Some people apply way too much pressure. Some people's hands feel dirty. Ewww! Some people are just going through the motions and trying to shake as many hands as possible, and their eyes are on the next person before you even get finished shaking hands - so they're pulling away before the handshake is even complete.
After the greeting portion of the service today, Paul leaned over and asked if I had any hand sanitizer with me (No, it was in the car). He had shaken hands with someone who had "dirty, powdery" feeling hands so he felt like he needed to wash his hands for a whole hours.
I sort of play a game with the guy that sits behind us. He's the one who about breaks your hand when he shakes. Each Sunday, I try to see if I can at least get my whole hand into the handshake before his vise-like grip squishes my fingers. Paul's hand gets squished too.

Weird Conversations

The other day, we were having a regular conversation that morphed into an odd topic. I'm sure this happens to most people.
We were discussing what you would change your name to if you absolutely had to. Abbie didn't want to change her name at all. I told her to pretend that all the A names were being removed from the name dictionary and she had to pick a new name or she would be assigned Zelda. So she chose Love. I asked her how she came up with that, and she said the early colonists had names like that.
Paul chose Darth Vader.
How can you top that? I never revealed my choice. I'd need a lot of time to think about it.
Then Paul changed the conversation to super powers.
Here's the back story - you know how some people believe that they were born as the wrong sex? A boy believes he was meant to be a girl or a girl believes she was meant to be a boy?
Well, I think Paul was supposed to have been born as a superhero.
Back to the current topic - Paul asked what super powers we would choose. Paul chose the ability to fly and being indestructible. Abbie chose being super fast and the ability to change into any animal. And having a force field. Again, I had a hard time deciding. I'm pretty sure I'd pick flying, but I couldn't decide on a second super power.
Then Paul twisted the topic - he asked, "what if the only way you could fly was that you had to be naked - would you still choose the ability to fly?"
I said it'd be easier for a girl to fly naked than a boy. I asked him if he'd fly with his belly pointing toward the ground or his back pointing to the ground.
I won't reveal his answer, but you can ask him in Park City.

Bread

I know what they say about bread, "buy whole wheat." It's supposed to be better for you, and I even like the whole wheat bread that I buy. It has about 24 grams of whole grain and contains little crunchy black seeds throughout (I know what they are but their name escapes me right now).

I have to buy two kinds of bread - whole wheat for me and Abbie & potato bread for Paul. He found out that wheat and oats are #2's on his food allergy list. Luckily, Abbie and I like the potato bread too; it tastes like regular bread.

My church serves lunch to the poor and homeless at the local soup kitchen once a month. It's called The Melting Pot. They serve chili, crackers, sandwiches, bananas, dessert, and drinks on the third Tuesday of every month. Similar to IHN, my church takes turns with several other churches. Winter is the busiest time of year at The Melting Pot. More people come, and there are many children to be fed too.

For December, I signed up to bring sandwiches and dessert. Early Monday morning, Abbie woke up sick so I could not go to the grocery store to get the items I needed to make sandwiches. I called Paul at work and gave him a list (just a general list; not specific to brands or ingredients).

Hooray for Paul! He did not buy cheap bread or bologna or cheese. He bought all beef bologna, american cheese, and good bread. I am so proud of him. And he was proud of himself and wanted to serve quality food to the people we were volunteering to help. While I was finishing up the brownies, he started assembling sandwiches. For these sandwiches, he bought regular white bread which we have not bought in a while. By the time I got the brownies in the oven, six sandwiches were waiting for me to put in sandwich bags. As I was putting them in the bags, I noticed how soft and luscious the bread felt. I was suddenly craving a baloney sandwich right then and there (I've always been a baloney sandwich fan). Paul said he had bought bread that he remembered eating when he was younger (although it is not Rainbo anymore; it is now called Colonial but the bread bag looks the same). We used both loaves of bread that he bought. Dang! I still wanted a sandwich.

When Abbie got better, I did go to the grocery store and bought another loaf of Colonial white sandwich bread. And I bought another pack of bologna.

Today, I had my second bologna sandwich this week. The bread is soft and yummy!

My Mom

On Sunday, my mom came to my church's Christmas program (this is different than the one I've already blogged about).
The theme was "Top 10 Christmas Songs." The congregation voted on their favorites. For the program, the top ten were revealed and a church member pretended to be a dj "countin' em" down. It was humorous!
When we got to the #1 song, the choir came down the aisles and lit our candles (they handed us the candles when we first got there). They didn't give a candle to any of the children (probably for the best), but they did give them an electric thing that looked like a candle (battery powered).
When everyone's candle was lit, I saw my mom cut her eyes down to Abbie. She swapped out her real candle with Abbie's fake one. I pretended not to notice. I saw my mom peek at me to see if I would protest.
Of course, I didn't protest. I had been thinking of doing the same thing. Abbie can be trusted.
Grandmothers are the best!

Breakfast of Champions

I'm totally stealing this subject from Cute Overload. I just can't help it. For those who don't understand cuteoverloadese, Kronsche = Crunch, chomp

Here is the topic: Can we just make breakfast cereal out of kitten ears already?

Here are the suggested cereal names -

Marmalade Sugar Kronsches - they're not just for breakfast

Fluffer-Bitz

Coco Kronsche (if you have black cat)

Frosted Triangle Kronche

Cute Loops

CheeriEars

Earios

Frosted Ear Flakes

In other news, Abbie has been sick for the last 2 days and missed school. She's all better now. While she was sick she made the following request, "I want the cats to come sleep on me." She requested that because we have a long history of felines that can sense sickness and will sleep on you if you're sick. It's their way of trying to make you feel better. I bet most animals have this innate sense.

In other news, an appliance repairman came today, and I had to put Angel in timeout (my bathroom) because he wouldn't leave the man alone. But he got out! Later in the day, I hollered for Abbie to check on her whereabouts. She yelled back, "I'm conducting an experiment." She had put Angel back in the bathroom and then sat outside the door to observe how he got out. She'll be writing up a lab report (just kidding).

In other news, I had one wrapped gift under the tree. The kittens unwrapped it (it was merely wrapped in tissue paper held together with wide ribbon). When I finally get around to wrapping gifts with paper, I wonder what they will do. You have to expect some shenanigans with kittens in the house. Dogs are known to open/shred gifts too. At least the kittens have not climbed the tree and caused it to fall over. Yet....

Church Christmas Program

Yesterday, the children put on a Christmas program that basically enacted the birth of Jesus (not the actual birth, people!).
There were no speaking parts. There was no acting required. The kids just had to walk in on cue and stand there. They all had costumes, and there was a narrator who told the story and some lovely music that kids did not enjoy!!!!!
It was very entertaining although too long and Abbie was thoroughly bored at every practice.
Here is the entertaining part:
Mary was two heads taller than Joseph.
The donkey and the sheep slept the whole time (good thing their parents were there to hold them).
Two of the angels cried. One angel lost her halo so a little shepherd girl decided to wear the halo.
The smallest wise man got mad and threw his crown.

Had it not been for those entertaining parts, Paul would have been sleeping along with the sheep and donkey.

A Year in Review

Abbie took this picture of me jumping in a pile of leaves that we had raked.

I've been thinking about this past year, and there are several things I've done for the very first time.

1. Taught an adult Sunday school class - never, never thought I'd do this. I know my limits, and I'm not a gifted teacher or Bible scholar, but a nice lady needed a substitute for a month so I said I'd do it. Luckily there is a teaching guide or I'd be completely sunk. I've substituted two months this year and don't have any plans for doing it full time.

2. Wrote a grant for a non-profit organization.

3. Wrote a press release for a non-profit organization.

4. Ate at a middle eastern restaurant.

5. Ate at an Indian restaurant (maybe I've done that before - way back when I was a really picky eater and not very adventurous).

6. Rode on a 4 wheeler

7. Flew in a helicoptor (that may be a little over a year ago)

8. Went to Red Rocks Canyon

9. Went to the Spy Museum in Washington D.C.

10. Rode the Metro (with proficiency and without getting lost) in Washington D.C.

11. Tried Red Curry Thai dish and discovered that I like it a lot!

12. Played a Wii

13. Learned to use an iPod

14. Can text proficiently

15. Served on the Grand Jury

There's probably things I'm forgetting, but that's a pretty good list.

Kittens

When I picked Abbie up at school today, I surprised her. We were going on our first "abandoned kitten rescue mission."
I was prepared with a towel (it had been raining all night), a bag of food, and a pair of old tennis shoes (for walking and searching). I suppose I could have used a cat carrier too. But I wasn't too worried. In case we couldn't find the kittens, we were going to leave the food with our friends so they could feed the kittens.
A friend had told me that someone had abandoned two kittens in her neighborhood. She was worried about the cold nights. I told her I'd come get them and take them to a shelter.
Abbie and I arrived and our friends took us to all the places they had seen the kittens. We called "kitty kitty" and I was using my sharp eagle eyes looking for movement under bushes and hemlocks.
We searched several different places. Abbie requested a good description of the kittens so we'd know what to look for.
We did find 2 squirrels.
Twice I thought I heard meowing.
Two neighbor girls finally arrived home from school, and we requested to look around their house too.
They told us that they had already taken the kittens to the animal shelter.
That was great - at least they were somewhere warm and dry, with food and water, a litter box, and a bed. Our animal shelter is very clean.
Tomorrow, Abbie and I are going to go visit the kittens (and all the other cats) and take a donation of used towels and rugs (which they use for bedding).
It was a successful mission. Abbie and I are good partners.

Donkeys

There are lots of donkeys in our area. In many fields, you will see donkeys. Either a field of donkeys or a field of cows with a donkey or two. I've been told that having donkeys with your cattle/sheep helps keep coyotes away.

I've also been told that all donkeys have a cross on their back. Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem and Jesus is often described as riding a donkey. The legend is that the cross on the donkey’s shoulders comes from the shadow of Jesus' crucifixion.

In one field near our house, there is a mother donkey and her baby. The baby is super cute. One day, he was lying so still that I had to turn around and go back and check on him. No cars were coming so I parked near him and watched for a long time until I saw him twitch or flick his tail. I was worried he had died, but he was just sunning himself. :) Abbie is usually with me on my "turnaround" whims - these whims usually involve animals. What would I have done if he had never twitched? Would I have crawled under the barbed wire to check on him? I remember thinking about it while I was watching him.

Two days ago, Abbie and I drove past another donkey, and he had a bird sitting on his rump. Abbie and I had a nice laugh about it.

Luminaries

Near the exit to our area of town, there is a cemetary. Every year, at Christmas, they put out luminaries that line the drive into the cemetary.

Now these are real luminaries - real candles down in a paper bag (there's probably some sand in the bottom of the bag).

This year, they have outdone themselves. The cemetary is rather large with a long, winding driveway. The luminaries line both sides of the drive way throughout the cemetary. Plus, they put a luminary on every gravesite. And the flag pole has a double ring of luminaries around it. In a large patch of grass, they created a large cross out of luminaries.

It's a beautiful sight at night. There must be thousands of luminaries. I wonder how long it takes to light them? Do they have a team of volunteers to help light them? I will try to find out.

Relief

I feel a huge amount of relief that the Christmas tree is finally up. And it hasn't fallen over. And Paul's "gasket in a tube" fixed the leak (so far, fingers crossed). It's holding water and hasn't turned brown!

I don't know why I feel so relieved. I guess 4 days into December seemed too late to me - like the season couldn't begin until the house reflected Christmas. I'm not sure if that really explains it. If it were just me and Paul here, I wouldn't mind so much. I guess I just want things to be festive and memorable for Abbie.

I wouldn't let Abbie go to bed until we finished decorating then I insisted that we put all the boxes away so we could appreciate our efforts without all the mess.

We did a new color theme this year and didn't put every ornament we own on the tree. I might need to buy a few more of the new ornaments to add more oomph. Paul does a lot of the heavy work like hauling the tree in and sawing the trunk and getting the tree stand on. I always put the lights on b/c that frustrates him. But if any bulbs are burnt out, he usually fixes that while I unstring them. We make a good team. He says he likes to sit back and watch Abbie and me do the decorating. Even though I didn't want to use all of our ornaments this year, I insisted that we put Darth Vader on the tree. It just wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't hear "Luke, I am your father" every time we flick the switch and turn on the lights on the tree. Abbie insisted that we put on an ornament that has Watson's picture on it.

I have missed having a real tree. I had almost forgotten what it was like. I love the smell and the soft feel of the needles. I love that the lights blend in better then they do on a fake tree.

Maybe this weekend we can make our annual Christmas cake. We have to give it time to "cure." And now I can start thinking about baking some treats.

I have no idea what we're getting Abbie for Christmas. Of all things, she wants a flying squirrel, a real one. But I'm not feeling stressed about baking or shopping. Now, I'm looking forward to Christmas parties and sitting in the living room enjoying the tree and sighing with relief.

Thank You, God

Amen

P.S. I know you know what I'm thankful for.

One Seventy Five, Baby

175,500

The number of miles my car now has.

I gave my dad a ride to a doctor's appointment today. I asked him to guess how many miles my car had. He guessed 80,000.

When I kept saying, "higher, higher" I think he thought I was lying.

Christmas 2008

Before I was a mom and wife, I used to get really excited about Christmas. Who wouldn't? Presents, secrets, hoping you get something special, hoping the gifts you got for others is exactly what they wanted, decorating, seasonal sweet treats, the lights, hoping for snow, etc. It's easy to get excited when someone else (the adult) has to do all the shopping, cooking, buying, planning, hauling, wrapping, saving.

Now that I'm the adult, I do still get excited about Christmas, but I don't seem to have enough time to do everything that I plan to do. It's easy for me to get stressed and lose sight of what is important.

It doesn't matter that we just now got the tree in the house. It doesn't matter that Paul cut his thumb with the saw while preparing the bottom of the tree. It doesn't matter that the bottom of the tree split and may not stay up straight or stay up at all. It doesn't matter that Paul got another headache from carrying the tree into the house and then got a nose bleed. It doesn't matter that we don't have any decorations outside. It doesn't matter that our Christmas cards aren't addressed, stamped and sent yet. It doesn't matter that I don't have a picture taken or ordered for the cards. It doesn't matter that all the water that I poured into the tree stand came pouring out the bottom onto the carpet. It doesn't matter that we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if the "gasket in a tube" sealed the stand so that we can water the tree before it turns brown and dies. It doesn't matter that we'll have to wait another day to decorate the tree. It doesn't matter that I currently do not know where the Christmas tree lights are. It doesn't matter that the house is so messy that it overwhelms the Christmas decorations that we did put out. It doesn't matter that I am now getting sick with the same thing that Paul had last week.

What does matter is that Abbie and I had fun decorating the inside of the house tonight. It does matter that I let her decide where all the decorations should go (and I didn't go behind her and re-do it). It does matter that she came up with a new way to decorate the fireplace mantel, and it's looks great, and I told her so. It does matter that Abbie is looking forward to buying some gifts for the family that her class "adopted."

I'm thankful that I have a child who helps me remember the spirit of Christmas. And I'm thankful that I have a great husband who doesn't complain about all the tree catastrophes.

Coupons, Part 3

This is my 3rd and final post about coupons (unless I forget that I'm done talking about it).

I used my Aerie coupon today! I remembered to take it to The Mall!

While shopping at Belk today, their register automatically generated a coupon for $10 off to be used in a specific time period. I like the coupons that they generate in store and give to you. That works for me (if I don't lose it and remember to use it during the specific time period).

I do NOT like how coupons work at Petsmart. I signed up for one the their Pet Perk cards and use it to get discounted prices. But I spend a lot of money there, and their registers do not generate coupons. I get a receipt that says that I need to get on the internet to get the coupon. I don't like this practice. It's not convenient and is not customer friendly.

At JCPenney's, I was checking out and saw a coupon near the register. I asked the guy if I could use it. He said, "Wait just a minute, you might qualify for a better discount." When he finished ringing up my items, I did qualify for a higher discount, and he gave it to me. Now THOSE are the kind of coupons that I like!

If a person is actually on-premises at a store, with items in hand that they plan to buy, and there is a coupon-sale going on; I think it is super customer service to give a person the discount even if they don't have a coupon with them. What a way to give someone a good impression and make them want to shop there again.

And I used a coupon at Hallmark today! Woo hoo - a 2 coupon day! But for the most part, I'm pretty much done with trying to keep up with them.

80's Band

I remember buying this album.....
This is for a friend.
I decided to skip the actual band video since the quality was so bad (the Devil May Cry book has nothing to do with the band or the song - I don't know what that is about).

Being In The Country

Today, Abbie and I went to my dad's house for my biweekly cleaning-fest. We got out of the car, and I had the trunk and various car doors open so that I could unload the supplies that I had brought.

As I busily looped bags onto my arms, Abbie said, "It's so quiet here in the country."

I stopped what I was doing and listened. And heard....mostly nothing.

I'm glad Abbie noticed and shared her thoughts with me. It was a nice kind of quiet.

Paul's Favorite Christmas Goodies

For Paul, it's not Christmas unless I make some of his mom's recipes. Last night, I was organizing the recipes I usually make at Christmas. I've got to start making a shopping list. The Christmas Cake has lots of ingredients.
Even if I make recipes for sweets or appetizers that are new and delicious, Paul still craves and asks for the foods he had growing up.
Here are some of his favorites:
Liverwurst Pate
Veronica's Squares
Rum Balls
Shortbread Cookies
Christmas Cake

I hope I haven't forgotten anything. I don't always have time to make all of these. Last night, I asked Paul if he'd rather have rum balls or shortbread cookies. He couldn't make up his mind so I guess I'll make both.

My family has sampled some of Paul's family's holiday dishes, and they now ask that I make these for them too. They like:
Christmas Cake - my mom does
Liverwurst Pate - my brother and dad particularly like this
Crabmeat Spread - everybody likes this and gets mad if I don't make it
Mexican Dip - ditto the crabmeat spread comment

Coupons, Part 2

I'm still throwing coupons away, but coupon users will be glad to know that I used a coupon today. We got a Lowes mailer that had a "$10 off a $50 order" card.

We made a list today (and actually got to Lowes with the list), and our purchase more than qualified for the discount card (and we actually remembered to bring the card with us).
I had also planned to look at rugs at Lowes, and I had written down the measurements for the dining room table. Yeah - I forgot that piece of paper at home. :(

And yet again, I went to The Mall on Saturday and forgot the stinking Aerie coupon again! Now, I'm determined to use that thing or bust. It's only a 10% off coupon, and I'll just be buying a few unmentionables for a gift so the discount won't save me a ton. But now it's a challenge! I will get to Aerie with the coupon ------ before it expires! Stay tuned....

Paul Says, Part 2

Today, Paul said, "You know you're on the Dave plan when you drive through the projects and your car blends in."

Woke Up To A Surprise

* This picture is from another snow.

I looked outside this morning and was surprised to see snow covering everything (remember, I don't watch weather forecasts). It wasn't a deep snow, but everything was covered in a soft, white blanket. Some snow even stayed on the roads. There were several slick spots on the road on the way to school.

Abbie's school hardly ever closes for snow. Since it is a private school, they don't have to follow the county or city school snow schedule. I'm glad Abbie gets more school time, but I wish they would at least do a snow schedule to give the roads time to melt or be cleared. My sister, who works for the county school system, says that the superintendent plans to take all their snow days this year to save money on their budget.

This evening, around 5:15 pm, we walked to a neighbor's house to drop off a CD. My ears felt frozen by the time we got back home. It's supposed to get down in the teens tonight.

Tomorrow, Abbie's cheerleading squad will be riding in the parade. Paul, Abbie, and I have our long johns, gloves, scarves, hats, and snow boots ready. Paul and I, who will sit in chairs tomorrow, will also take a blanket and a set of "hot hands." We may even pack a thermos of hot chocolate.

Earlier in the week, my friend and I were discussing skiing. I told her about when I started skiing in high school. I didn't own proper snow or ski clothes (do long johns count?) Back then, in order to stay dry, my friends and I would spray our jeans with Scotchguard. It didn't work! The only gloves I had were Isotoners (not even the lined ones). Those were the gloves I skied with. And we usually skied at night since lift tickets were cheaper (and temps were colder). My hands and legs and feet would get so cold. My gloves and jeans would be soaked. Even though I had the energy to keep going down the mountain over and over again, I'd usually get too cold to function. Ahhh, those were the days of being poor and ignorant! [Some day, I'll have to tell you about my first overnight school field trip. The packing list said to pack rain boots/galoshes. Since I didn't have any, guess what my mom sent instead?]

For the upcoming Utah trip, I have a pair of snow boots, snow pants, hat, scarf, and really warm coat. I do need to shop for new gloves. That's next on my shopping list.

Coupons

I give up!
{Raising my hand} I admit it, I am not a coupon queen (anymore).

When I was in college, I paid my own way -- clothes, food, books, parking tag, toiletries, tuition, housing, the whole shebang. I used student loans for the tuition, but I paid for everything else myself. In the summer, when school was out, I moved back home and worked at a local bank. I saved all my money so I could buy books, food, clothes, shoes, toiletries, etc while at UT.

Also, my wonderful dad, continued to give me the child support money that he had previously paid to my mom. Legally, he was done with child support when I reached the age of 18, but he continued to give the money to me throughout my college years. It was a wonderful thing for him to do, but it wasn't a lot of money - $140 a month. I also paid for my own gas, car insurance, and car maintenance. I was living lean, but that's how I grew up so it didn't stress me out. I lived within a budget.

To make my dollars stretch, I clipped coupons from the Sunday paper while I attended UT. The local Kroger always doubled coupons so that was a bonus. I had my coupons cataloged, and I was somewhat OCD about my coupon collection.

When I graduated college and lived in my first apartment, I believe I still clipped coupons on Sunday. However, back then, I don't remember there being a lot of coupons for other things. There certainly weren't any grocery store plastic things you had to scan to get an extra discount. I do remember that stores had sales, but I don't remember there being a lot of coupons you had to cut from the paper or that got mailed to you. Maybe there were, but I don't remember that.

Fast forward to now - coupons are mailed to me all the time - from Gymboree, Gap, American Eagle, Limited Too, Michael's, Belk, Talbots, Toys R Us, Chico's, etc. I can't keep up with them anymore. Sometimes, I get a coupon and think "oh, I'll use this one" and I put it in my purse. Then I get tired of all the crap in my purse so I clean out the excess, frayed, dog-earred papers/coupons. Other times, I forget I have the coupon in my purse. Other times, the coupon is at home on the kitchen counter when I need it. Or it's sitting in my car parked at level 2 of The Mall while I'm on level 1 at The Mall.

Last week, I was buying some craft items at Michael's and did not have the Sunday coupon with me. Some people, would put the item down and come back when they had the coupon. That's a great idea, but that doesn't work for me. I don't love running errands or making lots of stops. I do as much one-stop-shopping as possible.

Today, I returned a Land's End item to Sears and a sweater to Gap. While at The Mall, I thought, "oh, I'll buy some Christmas gifts at Aerie and use that coupon I have." Then I remembered that the coupon was at home holding my place in the Jane Eyre book that I'm reading.

I've decided to give up. I will just throw all coupons in the trash, not worry about keeping them, not have them cluttering my purse, car, or desk and accept the fact that I can't handle the coupons (say that in a Jack Nicholson voice).

Drink Much?

First, I'll tell you how we spent our Friday night. We went out to eat as usual. First restaurant, Johnny Brusco's, was packed. We hadn't been there in a while, and I was really looking forward to eating there. Also, I had only had an apple for lunch, and I could have eaten the napkins I was so hungry! All the tables were full (all of them) and there were several people ahead of us so we left.

We got a table at the next restaurant with no problem. I even ordered something new and really enjoyed it. I might actually eat these leftovers!

Then we went to Toys R Us. We don't go there often. Apparently, there was a big sale, and everyone was Christmas shopping. Just how I like to spend my Friday nights - packed store, screaming kids, kids having tantrums, parents still buying toys for kids that are screaming and kicking and acting horrible. Just for the record, I can handle all of that if it's my kid or a kid I know pretty well or a kid I'm related to (I've seen my sister's kids do pretty much everything - before they get their butt whopped), but other people's kids are a different story. Kind of like changing your own baby's diaper is no problem. Other baby diapers seem to smell 10 times worse - it's probably all in my head! :)

While we were standing in line to pay, two kids shoved past our feet/legs (they were totally in our space) to get at some toys on display in the checkout line (these same kids had just had tantrums, shoved their parents, and were whining - parents were still buying them both a toy). While I'm standing there waiting my turn, I notice one boy picking his nose and eating it and then continuing to turn the knobs on the Etch-A-Sketch. Oy! Glad to get out of there! When we got in the car, Paul said, "I feel like I was back at work."

We came home, and there was a message on our answering machine. Once in a blue moon, our answering machine will act up and will play messages in slo-mo. Every time it does that, the person leaving the message sounds drunk and on downers. But the funny thing is that the message might be from a church lady or a sweet mom from school. To hear them sounding drunk and doped up is pretty hilarious. But if I replay the message, it goes back to normal.

One more thing - I had a really bad scare today. I couldn't find one of the cats. I remembered that one of them had climbed in the dryer as I was loading it, and I couldn't remember if I got him out before I started the dryer. I made Paul go check while I went and hid in the bathroom. If it had happened, I don't think I could have handled it. Luckily, he wasn't in there, and we found him sleeping somewhere else. Whew!!!!

Babysitters

Recently, I was reminiscing with my mom about the couple who used to babysit me. My mom went back to work when I was 10 weeks old. We still lived out in the country at that time (in the same house that my dad lives in today - it's a weird story about how this house has stayed in the family). Just down the little rock road that runs by that house is another little white house where Florence and Albert lived.

Florence and Albert were in their 60's when they started keeping me (and they are distantly related to me - same last name). Their two sons were grown and married and living in another town. Albert and Florence were super nice people that I remember fondly. Albert died when I was really young so I barely remember him, but I do know I liked him a lot.

Their house had 5 rooms - a living room, 2 bedrooms, a dining room, and a kitchen. That's it. They did not have indoor plumbing so there was no bathroom. They had an outhouse. They also had a well and a hand pump near their backdoor. On the counter in the kitchen, they kept a bucket and dipper - this is where you went to get a drink of water. Everybody used the dipper to get a drink, and I loved using the dipper. I will always believe that that was the best tasting water. As I got older, and when we didn't live nearby anymore, I would go to visit Florence and always got a drink while I was there - I craved the taste of that water.

I think they kept me until I was three years old (when we moved to town). I guess they had to potty train me. Did they take me to the outhouse? Or did they have a potty chair? I don't remember.

I remember that they had a few toys - just a few, simple ones. My mom said they held me a lot. I wonder what I did all day. Sit on their lap? Watch t.v.? My mom thinks they had a t.v. - a small, black & white t.v.

I wish I could remember more.

Cats are Carnivorres

Who knew? Well, I knew, but it's not something I think about too much.

While having yet another litter box conversation with 2 other moms at school, asking for more litter brand suggestions, one mom suggested that I visit the newish, local Natural Pet Food Store. I told her I was willing to try anything!

I went to the store and liked the owners right away. The lady gave me several samples and told me how I needed to feed the cats a raw meat diet or at least buy food that is grain free. She said that now that they are neutered; the litterbox odor should improve.

Well, I fell for her whole spiel and even bought a holistic book about cats. I learned about the nutritional content found in mice (protein, fiber, moisture - that's pretty much it), and supposedly, that is all cats need. They certainly don't need grain.

I brought the samples home and read the book in one afternoon. The kittens LOVE the new food. They even chewed a hole in one of the sample bags to get at more of the food.

I went back to the store and bought a big bag of "Into the Wild" catfood - it is grain free and has a high protein content. I also bought cans of 100% meat canned food - quail, chicken, turkey, and beef. They LOVE it!!!!

And the litterbox problems have greatly improved. Could be because I got them neutered but I'll keep buying them the new food. If nothing else, I like supporting a locally owned store.

The Big Bang Theory

Tonight, while watching episode 11 & 12 of the first season of The Big Bang Theory, Leonard made a reference to a Planet of the Apes marathon.
I looked at Paul and said, "Why do they always talk about the same things you like?"
He said, "Because I'm a geek."

Our Days Are Booked

Poor Abbie! Her life is so regimented. I can't remember if my life was like this at her age or not. Some nights, I lie in bed wondering if this is how it's supposed to be.
On Mondays, she has ballet. After school, we go directly to ballet, but we have an hour to kill before the class starts so she starts her homework - on Mondays, she always has to write her spelling words 3 times each. After ballet, we get home around 5:30 pm. I start dinner while she finishes homework while Paul supervises. After he checks her homework, I double check him - spelling is not his strong suit. I don't remember anyone EVER helping me with my homework, much less checking it.
After dinner, she is supposed to spend 10 minutes working on multiplication memorization. Plus she has to read for at least 15 minutes every day. She might help Paul load the dishwasher, and she has a little time to watch TV or do some other leisure activity. Suddenly, it's time to start the bedtime routine.
Ideally, I'd like her to pack her own lunch (at least some of it) and straighten her room (not perfect, just get her dirty clothes out of the floor and put her shoes away). But this stuff never happens because I don't want to be on her case like a drill sergeant all day. She'd have no free time!
Tuesday through Friday is a little better because we don't get home as late. But still, after dinner, it seems that there is not enough time for family time and chores and homework and relaxation. We tend to skip the chore part. I think maybe I need to create a schedule to follow, but that seems a little too strict? anal? militant? But maybe it's the answer....
Hmmmm..... If I get it figured out, I'll let you know.

Things I (We) Don't Have

Here is a list of don't haves (some of these, I'm okay with not having, some I'd surely appreciate):

1 - a sense of direction
2 - a new or newish car
3 - a GPS system
4 - heated car seats
5 - a scanner
6 - a color printer that's worth a flip
7 - a collection of exotic animals
8 - granite counter tops
9 - the biggest house in the neighborhood
10 - a butler
11 - an electric blanket
12 - musical ability
13 - command of a second language
14 - enough books
15 - an iphone or other fancy phone/gadget
16 - a boat
17 - a vacation home
18 - a smoking habit
19 - a water garden
20 - a camera with lens attachments
21 - a dog
22 - marble floors
23 - a self cleaning litter box
24 - Wide World of Westling Championship Belt
25 - a friend named Brittany

And until yesterday, I didn't have an iPod (which I was kind of proud of) But today, I'm the owner of a pretty little purple iPod Nano (which I'm kind of proud of).

It's Not Too Early for Pumpkin Pie

Today, I had to make dessert for a church related event (I'll describe it in a minute). I decided to make pumpkin pies, and I made two. The problem is that I wasn't going to be able to eat any of it. They smelled so good, and I really wanted just one little sliver!
Three or four times a year, our church supports another local church host IHN families. IHN stands for Interfaith Hospitality Network. Any church (hence "interfaith") can get involved. IHN takes in homeless families (mom/dad & children or single parents with children) and helps them until they can get on their feet. It is an interesting set up (and I don't know all the details).
The families move to a different church each week - they sleep there and eat breakfast and dinner there. Each morning, after breakfast, they are transported back to the IHN day center (and to work and school depending on the situation). At the IHN day center, they get help finding a job, get job training, and help finding a place to live. IHN also helps them furnish their new home and get settled.
Moving from church to church each week helps keep the churches from being overburdened and keeps the families from getting too comfortable in the program - the point is that they get on their feet; not stay dependent on the agency for a long time.
Our church isn't big enough (and doesn't have the facilities for showers) to house the families so we help the other church by making dinner and providing overnight hosts and helping set up beds and driving families to and from the day center.
Our church is involved in a lot of local mission work - this is just one of many things they sponsor or support. Maybe, I'll list it all someday. For such a small, aging congregation, I'm pretty proud of their involvement.
This is why I was making desserts today for someone else to enjoy. Abbie kept thinking she was going to get to eat some, and I explained that the pies were made for homeless families, and she was cool with that. We also sent some whipped cream to go with the pies.
*Breaking news* Someone just called to say that there was pie leftover! I hope I can remember to pick it up tomorrow.

Theme Song

Yesterday, out of the blue, Paul asked me to look up "Rocket Robin Hood." I had never heard of it, but apparently, it's an old cartoon that he used to watch. I found it mentioned on Wikipedia, and a Google search showed several uTube links.
I tried one of the links and entered vintage cartoon nirvana - for Paul, that is.
First, I played the Rocket Robin Hood theme song. I shifted to the left of the computer monitor so I could watch Paul's expression - to see if he recognized the song right away. He did.
Then I proceeded to click other links for other cartoons that I thought he might have watched.
We listened to Herculoids, Space Ghost, The Incredible Hulk cartoon, Batman, Iron Man, Fantastic 4, and others. Once you click one link, uTube finds others you might like too. Paul didn't recognize all of them because he hadn't watched the shows. But he knew most of them.
Again, when I clicked the Spiderman theme song, I shifted to the side to watch Paul as the song played. He was bopping his head around and singing the words and had a silly, cute smile on his face. I really am married to a 12 year old!
Actually, a long time ago, when Paul and I were dating, he taught me the words to the Spiderman theme song. We sing this song from time to time. It has a catchy tune. Recently, Abbie and I made up a song for Little Man to this tune. Then we made one up for Angel too.
Later in the evening, when the cats finally got off his lap, he watched several episodes and vignettes on uTube. I now have some Christmas present ideas.

Little White Packets

As I waited my turn to go through the metal detectors today at the courthouse and have my purse searched by the guard, I got a little worried that they wouldn't allow the sugar. But I made sure that I did not open the container so they'd know I didn't tamper with it.

Lo and behold, when I entered the Grand Jury room and proceeded to concoct my lovely brew, there were new containers of real sugar and creamer. The little pink packets were nowhere to be found. Very mysterious!

I had two very good cups of coffee and a donut. Divine!

Little Pink Packets

On my way to Jury Duty on Monday, I gave myself enough time to stop at McDonald's for breakfast. When I got to Jonesborough, I remembered that parking is terrible at the courthouse so I skipped McDonald's thinking I'd be out of the jury orientation in a couple of hours.

However, I ended up volunteering to serve on the Grand Jury so I had to stay all day hearing cases - over 20, maybe 30. (We ate lunch at 1:00.)

Since I was hungry, I was happy to see that they had coffee in the Grand Jury room. After I had already poured a cup, I realized that there was plenty of creamer (a necessity for me), but there was no sugar (another necessity). There were only pink packets. Bleck! I'm pretty strict when it comes to artificial sweeteners. But I was desperate, desperate I tell you! So I put two pink packets in my cup.

The aroma was nice and the temperature was perfect for sipping.
First sip.......yeleck! [Grimace]
Second sip....[grimace] {sigh} bleck!
Surely, by the third sip I'll be used to the nasty taste, right? And the cup is so nice and warm in my hands.....I really want to drink it and like it..............................
Third sip.... [friggin pink packets ruining my coffee!!!] Yuck-O!

Until lunch time, I could taste that rancid fake sugar (poison?) taste. It coated my tongue. Every time I breathed in and out, I could feel the weird, fake, poisonous taste. I really could feel it, I promise.

I mean no ill will to those who love the pink packets. But I really think people shouldn't ingest fake sugar. I think it's bad for you. But that's just my opinion.

I used to work with someone who only drank a specific diet drink. She drank them all day long at work and at home. When we travelled on business trips together, she brought a cooler loaded with the diet drink. Her breath always had a peculiar odor. After 3 sips of the tainted coffee, it reminded me of that smell that always wafted from my coworker.

There are plenty of studies about artificial sweeteners - they're bad, I tell ya!

Today, while shopping at Kroger, I bought a cylinder of sugar to take to the courthouse and donate to the Grand Jury room.

October Photos

The witch hat was pretty awesome.

Abbie running a pumpkin relay at school.

Little Man - our inspiration for the costume. I stitched extra toes on the mittens to match his feet.

Character dress up day at school - she is Laura Ingalls.

My new niece, Kylee Ann.

Our new cabinet which houses all my scrapbook stuff (well, most of it).

Our new shelf that holds all our picture albums. After I took this photo, Paul suggested a different arrangement, and I admit, it looks better now.

Sharing the Wealth (as in Candy)

Paul is really great at Halloween. He usually chooses to stay home and give out candy while Abbie and I go around the block.
I try not to wait until the last minute to buy candy so I usually stock our candy bowl about a week ahead of time. After Paul eats most of it and starts feeling guilty....well, guilty isn't the right word. He starts realizing that there isn't enough candy for the trick-or-treaters so he goes out and buys more.
The conundrum is: if I buy just any old candy, he'll make fun of it and tell me I should have bought some that kids would like (meaning him), but if I buy the candy that I know that he will approve of (meaning his favorites), he will eat it before Halloween. So I do buy his favorites and let him make the second trip to the store to buy more.
When Abbie and I return from our trip around the block, she enjoys giving out candy with Paul. Even though he's pretty shy, he warmly greets the trick-or-treaters, comments on their costumes, and gives them fistfuls of candy. If I give out the candy, he supervises and tells me how to do it. He wants to make sure that each child leaves with lots of loot! Right before 9 pm, we start giving out double handfuls so we can get rid of it. Abbie also likes to exchange candy she doesn't particularly like with the good stuff in our bowl. Then we redistribute that. It's voluntary.
Last night, he came up with an interesting idea for an invention for giving out Halloween candy. And he put spider rings on all his fingers and made it look like spiders were crawling through his hair. And he put skull rings on his fingertips to make it look like he had skull shaped fingernails. Then he left the room for a few minutes and came back with plastic vampire teeth in his mouth along with an orange glow necklace. He came back through the house turning off the lights so we could enjoy the full effect. It was pretty spooky.
Not related to Halloween, a few weeks ago, I asked Paul how old he felt - emotionally and physically - in relation to his actual age. Surprisingly (or not surprisingly) he said he felt about 12 years old on the inside. And that is why he enjoys Halloween so much!

ME-OW!

Apparently, there is something very life-like about Abbie's cat costume. For Halloween, she is going to be Little Man, our black kitten who is a polydactyl.

Last night, I finished sewing her paws - one has 6 toes and the other has 7 toes.

Tonight, she tried on her kitten costume, paws, and ears. She went around the kitchen meowing.

Slowly, we noticed the amazing reaction that the actual kittens had. Both kittens eyes were huge and staring; their ears were flattened; and Angel's back was arched and his tail was bushed out!

I guess they really thought she was a huge cat!

I will take pictures and post them tomorrow (we also did a test run with her face paint, and it turned out awesome!). Maybe I can get a picture of Angel and Little Man's reaction too.

Snake Charmers

Today, as we were driving home from school, Abbie said outloud, "King Richard, Beloved." Then she asked me if King Richard was a real king. I said, "yes, but it was a long time ago." She asked me how long ago, and I told her I thought it was during medieval times - I told her to imagine Robin Hood times ----- I was just guessing. I don't know the date!
She asked, "so he wasn't king during Laura Ingalls' time?" That was pretty funny because we just finished reading the whole Little House series of books, and she seems to refer to them quite a bit.
Then she asked, "like King Richard, the lion?" (She was refering to the Disney Robin Hood movie.) I said, "yes!" And she asked, "Did he really have a snake?" I laughed and explained that that was just a made up movie by Disney. Then she asked if King Richard was really a snake charmer. I had another giggle!
I asked her why she wanted to talk about King Richard, and she said she saw "King Richard Beloved" on a sign. I was puzzled and wondered if she saw an advertisement for a play called King Richard Beloved. I asked her what else the sign said. She said that all it said was King Richard B-L-V-D.
So I started thinking ....B-L-V-D, B-L-V-D over and over trying to figure out what it meant. Suddenly, I realized she was reading a street sign for King Richard Blvd. I explained what Blvd. stood for.

You never know what kind of conversation you'll have in the car on the way home from school!

Book Clubs

Since I read so much, some ladies at church asked me if I would start a book club. I procrastinated and delayed. Finally, they asked again so I said yes. I didn't tell Paul because I don't need anymore tasks/responsibilities/projects/things-to-do.

I finally picked a month that we would begin. Our first book was "These Is My Words." I have never been in a book club and didn't really know how to structure our meetings. I did seek the advice of a friend who is in a book club.

Our first meeting was in September. Everyone loved the book (thankfully), and we had a really good discussion.

Our next book was "The Thirteenth Tale." I had never read anything by this author, but I did enjoy the book even though it was very different from most books I read. We met today and had a nice discussion too.

Because of the symbolism of "Jane Eyre" in "The Thirteenth Tale," we have decided to read "Jane Eyre" as our next selection. I read this book in high school and seem to remember reading it again for fun, but I will enjoy reading it again.

I have to say that I really like discussing books with others. My husband never reads the same books as I do. When I finish a particularly thought provoking book, it can be frustrating not having anyone to talk to.

Jesus Was Lost and Jesus Was Found

I learned that phrase from my mother-in-law. She once told me that she would repeat the phrase over and over again when she had misplaced or lost something. I think someone had told her about the phrase (or maybe it was something she learned from her own mom); it's supposed to help you find stuff.

I always, always think of this phrase now when I lose stuff. I think it's just a catchy phrase for some reason. It doesn't rhyme, but it has a sing-song quality. I don't think I use the phrase in the manner it was meant to be used. It tends to float through my mind one time then it's gone! Maybe that's why I can't find stuff.

I honestly can't stand to lose things. Especially when the lost item is something I know I saw just a few days ago, but I just can't remember where exactly I saw it. I routinely lose my usb drive. I hate losing that thing!

The good news is that I recently found 2 things that have been lost for about 2 years. I don't sleep in earrings. If I forget to take them off and put them in their proper place, I put them on my bedside table. One day, I lost one of my amythyst earrings because of this practice. I got down on my hands and knees and looked and looked. I moved the mattress around and lots of other things. It was gone, and it's been missing for 2 years or more. Recently, Abbie brought the earring to me. I was all enthusiastic and had her show me the exact spot she found it. It had been under the bed - barely - close to the edge. Believe it or not, I do vacuum under the bed so how did it get missed all this time? I don't know or care and am glad Abbie found it!

The other item was a Mary Engelbreit print - it's a pretty picture that is double matted. I had ordered it along with 3-4 other pictures. When the box arrived, I unpacked the prints from the box and set them aside until I could get frames for all of them. Once I did purchase the frames and was ready to start hanging pictures, I couldn't find one of the prints. I turned that room upside down! And pulled my hair out! And told Paul I was losing my mind. And then I looked again. Never found it - and it was my favorite print of all the ones I had ordered.....

This weekend, Paul was cleaning out the garage, and he found the print. As soon as I saw it, I knew it had to be the long-lost print. I was amazed and asked him where it had been. He vaguely told me "some box" which didn't really help me figure out how I had missed finding it all this time, but I didn't really care. I was just glad I was holding it in my hands at long last.

Things are lost and things are found and that is good!

Who's the Best Mom Ever?

Me!
I don't get that distinction every day, but I did yesterday.

Yesterday, Abbie was out of school. Since she had completed 25 extra at-home-academic projects, she earned a trip to Dollywood.

The day started out cold and cloudy. As we were getting on the interstate, it started to sprinkle. I think I've mentioned before that I do not check the weather before I head out. But Abbie earned a trip to Dollywood, and we were going no matter what!

Hesitantly, I suggested that maybe we do something else for the day, but she wisely stated that the weather in Pigeon Forge might be better. Abbie's glass is half full - a girl after my own heart! So we forged ahead.

As we got to Sevierville, the clouds parted and it did look like we might have some decent weather. At least it wasn't very cold.

Right now, Dollywood is having their annual Gospel and Harvest Festival. We visited several booths and saw several craft demonstrations (harps, dulcimers, stained glass, sorghum making, wood carving, etc). We bought some sorghum (yummy) and a hand painted Christmas ornament and some fresh made taffy.

Abbie was brave enough to ride the sky rider with me for the first time ever. I was really proud of her. And we took a train ride. And watched the magician show. Mined for some gems - we hadn't done that before and found a really, really cool shaped quartz.

While we were having lunch, it started raining really hard. We still had at least one activity to do. Abbie was most looking forward to riding the River Rampage. It's her favorite ride. You get pretty wet on this ride so I told her we had to ride it last because we didn't have a change of clothes, and it was too cold to walk around wet. I asked our waiter if the rides were closed since it was raining so hard, but he said they only close the rides if there is lightning.

Abbie stomped every mud puddle in the place so her pants were already wet up to the knees.
Luckily, Abbie and I had on rain ponchos which helped prevent us getting soaked from the rain itself.

When we got to the River Rampage, there was no one else in line or on the ride. We rode it, and she laughed the whole time. I got just a little wet. As we pulled into the dock, I asked if we could ride it again. So off we went. I got more wet this time, but we were sure having fun! We pulled into the dock and decided to go again. I told the ride attendants that we were part duck. And I was hoping for "mom of the year" status. He said I'd have to ride 16 more times. I think he was just making up that number. One whole leg and shoe got soaked this time. A big avalanche of water came over the boat right behind Abbie. She was thrilled!

So we rode 3 times then decided it was time to head home. At the gift shop, I bought her some sweatpants and socks, and I got a new sweatshirt. We changed in the car, and I immediately felt better being dry instead of damp. I even put on a pair of her socks, and they fit me! I decided to drive home without my shoes on since they were wet. It's such a strange sensation to drive without shoes. I was trying to put my finger on what was so weird about it. Finally, I decided driving in socks made me feel like Fred Flintstone.

Since we have season passes, we'll be going back to Dollywood for the Polar Express in December.

{{{{{{ BIG SIGH }}}}}} ----- Edited

I don't even know where to get started. I am so disgusted with myself.

It's 8:30 pm, and we are putting Abbie to bed. Paul tickles her and gets her giggling. But then he looks at me and starts laughing and tells Abbie that I am a smurf.

I had on blue pajama bottoms so that's what I thought he meant. Then I thought maybe I had something stuck in my teeth (but I had not eaten anything blue).

Abbie looks at me and starts laughing too. Apparently, I have something blue on my face. Amidst her giggles, Abbie says that the blue stuff has been there EVER SINCE SHE GOT IN THE CAR AT SCHOOL THIS AFTERNOON!!!!! That was at 3:15 pm, people! Do the math!

I run to look in the mirror and see blue stuff on my chin and all up the left side of my cheek - it's light blue, not dark blue, but it is very noticable.

I took a shower about an hour before I picked her up at school and clearly remember washing my face b/c I had to use bar soap which I don't like to do. Where did this blue stuff come from?

Luckily, I did not talk to any parents while in the car line today. I did see the teacher as she put Abbie in the car, but surely she didn't see the blue stuff from the right, rear side of the car. {Edited --- in the middle of the night, I remembered that I did speak to two teachers at my car yesterday. One in particular got a really good look at my smurf face!}

But unfortunately, Abbie and I went to the new Earthfare store after school and spent an hour shopping in there.

{Sigh}

This is a very weird coincidence after what happened last week. I'm getting paranoid now about all these embarassing "face" problems.

Paul told Abbie that she needs to tell me if she notices something odd like that!!! Crap! Maybe I need to stash mirrors everywhere. Am I losing my mind?

All I can figure is that I washed Paul's bathrobe today, and it is very dark blue and it bled onto some towels that were in the machine with it. I dried the towels and folded them today. But they were dry. Could blue stuff have gotten on me then? If they were dry? Did I get blue stuff on me when I moved the towels from the washer to the dryer when they were still wet?

Good grief! I'm scared to leave the house!

My Dad Says, Part 1

I spoke to my dad today. About how he used to be a tight wad. About how he has worked hard to get what little he has in his savings account. About how he should NOT be loaning money to people who are his so-called friends. He'll never see that money again.
He said, "You know what the worst part of getting old is?"
I guessed, "Becoming too tender hearted?" This is why he loans the money in the first place.
He said, "The worst part of getting old is getting old!"
Awwww, my poor dad.
I'm glad I'm able to help him and look out for him. If he'll just listen to me about the loaning money part.....

Came Across Something While Cleaning

From time to time, I certainly have to remind myself that I need to stop what I'm doing and just have fun with Abbie. She won't always be little and wanting to hang out with me. While cleaning, I came across a paper that I received at a scrapbooking class (don't know who wrote it):

If I Had My Child To Raise All Over Again

If I had my child to raise all over again

I'd build self-esteem first and the house later.

I'd finger paint more and point the finger less.

I would do less correcting and more connecting.

I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes.

I would care to know less and know to care more.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I'd stop playing serious and seriously play.

I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.

I'd do more hugging and less tugging.

I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often.

I would be firm less often and affirm much more.

I'd model less about the love of power

And more about the power of love!

Paul Says - Part 1

Paul says, "Joe the plumber doesn't get paid enough."

Today, I was trying to do a thorough cleaning of the kitchen. Since we spend so much time in our kitchen/sitting room, it seems like this area always needs to be cleaned. This room is either tidy (hardly ever) or downright dirty (sometimes) or quite messy (usually).
I hardly ever use one side of my sink so this is where my dish drainer sits - I got this idea from my good friend, Leslie. Putting the dish drainer down in the sink, frees up more counter space.
Unfortunately, clean dishes & utensils that we are too lazy to put away get stashed in the drainer and stay there for quite some time. Today, I decided to clean out the drainer and the sink too.
While cleaning the sink, I discovered that water wouldn't drain on the side where the drainer sits.
Enter Paul, the plumber, who thinks he can fix it!
After repeatedly putting a "snake" thing down the drain, he realizes that it's not helping. So he gets a bucket and a towel and removes the U joint under the sink.
What a disgusting smell!
With a fork that Paul later throws away, he digs some sort of gloop from the pipes. Then he fishes the U joint from the bucket and discovers that the U joint is completely clogged with this thick gloop - no water was going to get through it.
When Paul got a whiff of the gunk in the pipe, that is when he said, "Joe the plumber doesn't get paid enough."
The pipes are all clean now. Afterwards, Paul was so grossed out that he had to take a shower. He even wanted to throw away the dish towel that got some sink water splashed on it. But I wouldn't let him. I immediately threw it in the washing machine with some bleach. It'll be fine.
However, Paul swears he can still smell the nasty gunk/gloop stink from the pipe.

Educational Experience

We've talked about moving for awhile now, but we never actually do anything about it. We have a lot of stuff from living in a house with mucho storage space. Having to move all of that stuff or go through it and get rid of it is what keeps us stuck in place.
This week, Paul and I had a lunch date and saw a house we might like. On the spur of the moment, we called the realtor and scheduled an appointment.
The neighborhood was so-so, but the price was right, and it looked nice on the outside.
We took Abbie with us, and she does NOT want to move. I wondered how she would do. Turns out, she likes looking around in other people's houses.
Bottom line - it was an educational experience. As soon as we got in the car (after seeing the house), I told Paul that looking at someone else's house just makes me appreciate ours even more! Not that I'm critical when I go visit someone at their house, but when you're looking to buy a house, you have to look at things with a different eye. You have to ask yourself, "Could we live here and be happy?" and "Do we want to put our stuff HERE?" and "Could we make this place our own?"
The house we looked at was newer than ours, but it wasn't better. Not that ours is superior or luxurious, but the other house was not even comparable - even though there was a little more square footage and an extra bedroom. Bad carpet, gross tub/sinks, tacky appliances, worse counter tops than ours, not enough storage, broken tile, dirt in crevices....
We've decided we need to look at many more houses so we can decide once and for all if moving is our best option.

Fake Stuff

I love mashed potatoes, but for some reason, I don't enjoy making them. I don't know why. It isn't difficult, and the rewards are plenty!
Now that I have learned the secret to awesome mashed potatoes from my mother-in-law, I love to make them the way she does. However, I also like shortcuts. If you can cut down on cooking time, I'm in!
About a year ago, Country Crock (I think) started advertising that you could now buy mashed potatoes in a tub in the refrigerated aisle. So I did. And I salted them and put real butter in them and heavy whipping cream. Uh, not so yum.... You could tell they were real mashed potatoes and you could taste that I used quality additions (butter & heavy whipping cream), but there was some weird taste in there - chemical like. Was it preservatives or was the taste coming from the plastic tub?
I don't buy those potatoes anymore.
Recently, Ore'Ida started advertising mashed potatoes in a bag located in the freezer aisle. They are already cooked and cubed; you just heat and mash (and add salt, butter, and heavy whipping cream, of course!).
Now the label said to heat them in the bag, but I try not to be a slow learner so I heated them in a glass bowl. Trying to avoid the chemicals here, people!
But these potatoes were also a failure. There was still a weird taste - chemical like.
So tonight, I bit the bullet and made real homemade mashed potatoes - the kind where you start with a brown hard lump of vegetable - peel it - chop it - boil it - hand mash it - butter it up - salt it - add the heavy whipping cream. Super yum!

I'm A Big Turkey

At least I feel like one. I hope this is funny and doesn't turn out to be a too-much-information gross story.
Today, I needed to run 2 errands before picking up Abbie at school. I needed to go to the craft store and grocery store.
Before leaving the house, I washed my face before doing make up. During this routine, I found a zit (right side of forehead) and took care of it - trying to keep the details to a minimum. I put a leetle tiny piece of toilet paper on the zit (like men do when they cut themselves shaving).
Then I applied some blush and mascara and removed the toilet paper. I was ready to go!
I went to the craft store.
I went to the grocery store.
I had time and decided to stop at my favorite little sandwich shop. They had my favorite lemon and pineapple salad. Yes! And I got some tea.
Then I went to school, got in the car line, started reading my book, started eating, and called to RSVP for a birthday party - yes, I multitask like this all the time.
As I am waiting for the other party to answer the phone, a male parent walks up to the passenger side window and stands there waiting for me to roll the window down. The other party is not answering the phone so I disconnect and roll the window down. He and I proceed to have a detailed conversation about important things.
When Abbie gets in the car, we finish our conversation and I pull out of line. I give Abbie my usual cheerful Hello, and she says, "Mom, why do you have toilet paper on your face?"
Good mooglie googlie!
I'm trying to pull out of line, flip my mirror down and look all at the same time. Surely, I don't have toilet paper stuck to my face!!??!!
Yep!
I did pull off the first leetle piece of t.p. but then applied one more leetle piece just to be sure it wasn't bleeding anymore. And left the house with it on my face. And went to two stores plus a drive thru with it on my face. And had a long conversation with a dude with t.p. on my face. And he was standing on the right side of my car with a perfect view of that portion of my face.
I swear these things only happen to me!

Then vs. Now

Growing up, my mom had to get up really early to go to work at a factory job. On weekends, when she could have slept in, she got up early too. Saturdays meant cleaning day. Oh, she cleaned on weekdays too, but on Saturday, she really got down to business.
I was never a sleep-til-noon kind of girl - my bedroom received lots of sunshine so it was pretty easy to get up. Her greeting of "rise and shine" was particularly relevant!
As soon as my mom's feet hit the floor, she had a plan. First breakfast - a hot, cooked breakfast (not cereal or poptarts). Then----the-----cleaning----would-----begin!!!!!
Dirty dishes did not sit on the counter; dishes had to be handwashed immediately. Chores were distributed to everyone, and much to my dislike, chores were divided by what she considered to be women's work and men's work.
Laundry would be hauled down to the basement, and wet clothes were hung outside to dry on a clothes line. I was NOT allowed to do laundry. I had never screwed it up, but she still wouldn't let me do it. (I didn't learn how to do laundry until college.) Everything had to be dusted, vacuumed, wiped, swept, and mopped ------ every ----- nook ----- and ------ cranny. I use the dashes for extra emphasis; she was very detailed.
Our house was small and not in the least bit upscale, but it was VERY clean! And to be fair, I will admit she was not OCD about it. Clean is clean and anything else is just laziness and irresponsible - she never said that, but I got the jist of it.
Even though I was expected to help her and do whatever she told me to do, she never MADE me get up early with her. But she didn't make it easy to sleep in either. As soon as breakfast was ready, she would come into each of our rooms and loudly announce that breakfast was ready. If we moaned or didn't answer, she'd always say, "I'm eating without you, and I won't come call you again." And she meant it. We usually rolled out of bed and joined her. If, for some reason, we did go back to sleep, she would show no sympathy - the next time she came into your room, she'd have the vacuum cleaner with her - vacuuming around and under the bed and using the hose to get behind the bed and in all the corners. And she'd be talking loudly, naming the things that needed to be done. There was really no use trying to sleep in.
I'm thankful for the good things I learned from my mom, but I'm not the rigorous cleaner that she is - mostly by choice - but I do feel a genetic tug to clean just like her.
Today, I had planned to clean out a spare room and large closet. It's 7:26 pm, and I'm just now getting around to that. My mom actually called me today. While we were chatting, she asked me what Abbie was doing. I said, "she's just running around the house, still wearing her pajamas at 11:30 am."
And my mom said, "Well, let her!" I just thought it was a super funny reaction to our level of laziness on Saturdays.
And to be fair to my mom, she did let me watch some cartoons every Saturday. It wasn't all work and no play! Love ya, Mom!