A Charles Shultz Jog Down Memory Lane

This morning's writing prompt is a quote from Charles Schulz: “Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.” It's a great quote to ponder, so very true for all of us. But thinking about Charles Schulz made me instead head down memory lane, thinking about growing up and reading the Sunday comics with my dad. We went to church every Sunday. Unless you were at death's door, missing church simply was not an option. Oh, and we got all gussied up in our Sunday best-a dress for me, shirts with ties for my brothers, and super shiny shoes that you dare not scuff. We sat perfectly quiet and still through each service so as not to tempt the great wrath of Mom-children were to be seen and not heard, period. Trust me, you didn't cross Mom or you didn't sit, comfortably at least, for days...

Home from church, clothes quickly changed, lunch was always-ALWAYS-soup and a sandwich, my favorite of which was tomato and grilled cheese. I'm a dipper and all the better with dill pickles, soggy buttery bread and melty cheese dripping and drenched in steaming hot, creamy tomato soup, slurping up every last drop...which typically entailed lectures on how unlady-like I behaved. Still haven't quite grasped full lady-likeness even after all these years. I prefer a little roughness around the edges, it makes us who we are and not carbon copies of what someone else's standard states that we ought to be.

After lunch was the best. Table cleared, dishes washed and put away, we'd spend a good portion of the afternoon with the Sunday paper, sharing--never fighting, no!--the funnies. Sitting on Dad's lap, his favorite was Prince Valiant, mine for sure was Peanuts. I loved Snoopy! Others near the top were Beetle Bailey, Family Circus (my favorite of those were the ones that simply showed the crazy maze of footsteps of one of the kid's misadventures), Andy Capp, Hagar the Horrible and Blondie-I was so envious of those sandwiches Dagwood would create! Sometimes we'd break out the scrap paper pad and a couple pencils and draw together. I loved drawing with my dad-he always encouraged my art. Then, if it wasn't football season, he would most likely nap and, weather permitting, my brothers and I would be shooed outside for some sunshine and fresh air with the rest of the neighborhood kids. Simple pleasures make up the sweetest memories.

And Charles Shultz has blessed us with more great family traditions that I look forward to every year about this time: It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. I even bought them on DVD to share with Michael. He's not as excited about them as I am, the nostalgia seems lost on this generation. No matter--I'll pop them in the DVD player and watch them myself several times over through the holidays. We'll just have to make our own traditions and memories that he'll cherish years later when he has his own kids and seasons turn, holidays jog reflections, reminiscing.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon with good friends at a pumpkin patch. The cold, rainy and grey weather finally took the day off and we were blessed with gorgeous warm sunshine and a brilliant blue sky with just a few light lofty clouds over the farm. Myriad games scattered through the yard and outbuildings; a barn with horses, a donkey and llama, a few goats, pigs and bunnies to pet, a wooden cow to 'milk' (no, not with the tail! So sweet!) Four different mazes to wind patiently through, two in pitch black dark! Pumpkins painted, prizes and candy, warm drinks by a fire, face painting and hair spray colors and glitter, wrestling and Checkers, slappy hand wars in the back seat of the van on the way back home. Such a beautiful day, happy memories made. I hope this is what he looks back on in years to come when he takes his little ones to a pumpkin patch to play on a sunny fall day...

Some pics from the day and a Charlie Brown comic to bring a smile:

Wrestling on the hayride--all wound up and ready to go!

Cool colored hair

Best buds. Why there's a leopard chaise lounge in the riding barn, I don't know...??

Tangled in the string maze

Pony, er, horse ride!

Three little ghosties who didn't want to go home!

A Good Day

Bill had his 'stent' removed yesterday (apparently I've been calling it the wrong thing and then spelling it wrong as well...shunt, stint, stent--whatever....that 'tube up his you-know-what'...) It wasn't as bad (for me, anyway) as we thought, having it taken out. I thought he'd be left in more pain again but he rebounded really well and we were off and running for the day. Finished a few errands: the Walmart and Aldi's, groceries home and put away, dropped some canned dog food off at the shelter and stopped back at the doctor's to deliver Bill's stone 'samples' since we forgot to bring them with us to his appointment (oops), and then--then! It was lunchtime and we headed to the brand new Chinese buffet that just opened next to Aldi's, the Fortune Star.

First, just walking in to the restaurant, it's visually striking and beautiful. The tables are a swirled golden faux marble and the upholstery a rich navy damask. The hanging lights are all different colors, so beautiful, and intricate Chinese wood carvings line the walls, separate booths as well as the lobby from the diningroom. Then--then! you see the buffet...Six, at least six, maybe seven, buffet tables offer up appetizers, entrees, sides, salads, American food for the kids, and desserts. Behind the buffet tables is a hibachi grill where you get to choose from an assortment of vegetables, noodles and rice, meat and seafood, then the sauce to have it grilled with to suit your taste. I had onions, peppers and brocolli, tossed with rice noodles and beef, grilled with hot sauce (and they'll make it as hot as you want!) Oh, it was so good! I think I could've eaten three platefuls of just that! Then--then! next to the grill is the sushi bar and a chef preparing fresh sushi the entire time. Sweet, fresh, clean and so delicious. I ate to my heart's content and could've stayed the entire day and ate some more and more. Everything was simply excellent! I had egg foo yung for the very first time-delicious egg and veggie pancakes! And they had other items we'd never seen before on a buffet. There were these seafood biscuits that were to die for! A scoop of seafood salad pressed into a light salty biscuit and baked to perfection-yum! Oh, and you have to try the crab rangoons dipped in their sweet and sour sauce--best I have ever eaten anywhere. Their sauce is just a bit tangier than what I've tasted at other Chinese restaurants and it made such a difference-not to mention the rangoons were simply out of this world! They offer over 200 different items on the buffet, and I think the flyer said sixty of them switch out daily, so you could never possibly be bored dining at the Fortune Star. I can't wait to take Michael there and Ashlee and Kyle while they're here for Christmas. If you're in the area, you must definitely stop and treat yourself to an incredible meal-I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

And, some of you have been curious about my new hair, all straight and red (though it doesn't seem as red to me now...) I had Bill snap a quick picture to post--here you go:

I look a little sarcastic now that I think about it--me? Sarcastic? Certainly not! Pea on the other hand...And this little link caught my attention this morning--the season surely loometh:

Enjoy your weekend!

A Fortunate Mistake?

Today is pay day, our favorite day every couple of weeks, and this morning as I checked the bank account, the balance was way higher than it ought to be. The heart soars for just a second, hoping--really?! Then reality hit home as I pulled up the activity statement and noticed Bill got paid not once, but twice. Clearly a clerical error but the checks are for two different amounts. One, I'm assuming, includes his quarterly bonus, but I dare not bank on that for sure until we see the actual paystub. Knowing my luck, I'd write out all the bills using the higher amount only to fall short after learning it should've been the lower amount and then have to scramble to cover the difference. How nice it would be to actually have both checks to spend--Christmas shopping would be in the bag! Not to mention the help paying for this week's kidney stone surgery. Alas, I know it's not so...and I will write out the bills this morning using the lower amount then be open for a joyous surprise if it indeed turns out that the bigger check was correct!

I'm at least hoping to have a better weekend than last week's. Bill has his stint removed today and should be back to his regular work schedule tomorrow. He's had to use a couple of his vacation days he wanted to save for Christmas while Ashlee is here visiting, but we'll just have to hog her up on the days he has remaining to be off and let her friends enjoy her company when his days run out and he has to go back to work. I really hope to make it to a pumpkin patch this weekend since we've had to skip that adventure so far this month. It's going to be a chilly day tomorrow, but I think we can bundle up and sip on some hot apple cider once we get there to keep warm. At least it's not supposed to rain (oooh, that's almost as bad as washing the car or hanging out the laundry--just asking for the skies to cloud up and pour on my parade--fingers crossed!!)

Christmas progress (this will aggravate my sister, so I have to get it in there!) I finished addressing all our cards yesterday, so they're ready to go now. I'm hoping to get a little shopping done this afternoon after Bill's doctor appointment and our belated weekly lunch date. We're heading to the new Fortune Star Chinese Buffet-can't wait to try it out! Fa la la la la, la la la la....

Tucked in Tucker

Nevermore

Michael is really growing up on me. I never liked it much, losing my sweet baby, but yesterday we shared some moments that you don't typically have with younger kids. He came home from school, all excited about science class. They had talked about optical illusions and he wanted to see more. So after his homework was finished, he dug out the laptop and Googled away, looking for more eyeball teasing websites. Bill and I both love optical illusions and one of our favorite artists is MC Escher. I scooched Bug aside and and pulled up a bunch of Escher images-the stairs, the drawing hands, the lizards, and more. Michael was fascinated. Pretty cool stuff. He's been drawing more lately, a budding little artist like his mom, and who knows--maybe he'll find some inspiration in Escher's work.

Then the other day, I saw a link on Facebook from Goodreads, I think it was, asking what scary books you read for Halloween. I've pretty much given up the horror genre. Those images get in my head and I can't get them out. I walk around all scared and paranoid, locking every window and door because someone out there is planning to kill me...Every noise makes me jump. So not the remedy for a good night's sleep. Michael, on the other hand, loves some horrible, creepy stories. His favorite books for the past couple of years have been the Goosebumps series and I bought him a copy of Frankenstein a few weeks ago. If scary is what it takes to get him to read, then scary he shall have.

But something kicked up Edgar Allen Poe in the back of my mind and I thought maybe he'd like The Raven or The Tell-Tale Heart. Luckily, a dear friend had given me a copy of Poe's complete unabridged works several years back, so I took it down off the bookshelf and thumbed through it--this is a pretty hefty book! I found both stories, along with several more that'll be great to read leading up to Halloween. Last night at bedtime, we snuggled up and I read him The Raven. He loved it! I loved it--both the poem and the sharing. A favorite artist and a classic author in the same day--two things that showed me he's growing up and not such a little boy anymore. But, it felt really good to connect like that. Can't wait to read some more tonight...

A Gun Rant

Every three hours a child is killed by a gun here in America. That's eight children a day, fifty-six per week. That's more than all the kids in fourth grade at Michael's school--both classrooms would be wiped out. In a week. For every child killed by a gun, four more are injured by guns. That would be the rest of the kids at  Michael's school. That's a startling statistic.

I hate guns. Vehemently. Go on and get up on your horse about rights to bear arms. Then go comfort the mother whose child accidentally shot himself and died, playing with Daddy's gun. I lost a friend that way. Or the parents of the teen who purposely killed himself with a gun because he couldn't take the bullying anymore. Or the mother of the child shot by accident on the streets in the middle of a gang war, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. How about the families of Columbine or any other school shooting? What do you have to say to them?

I had a stalking incident this past winter while out running. A pick up truck followed me and kept circling past me several times. The driver would turn his face away when I'd look at him so I couldn't get a good look at his face and his license plate didn't match the truck he was driving when the police ran the numbers for me later. "Get a gun," I was encouraged by several people. Seriously? Me? Carry a gun? Like I could ever bring myself to shoot someone else. I can't even cope with hunters--people killing animals for sport or food--and sport is clearly wrong. If I had a gun, I would be more likely to shoot myself or some other innocent person accidentally. And to put a gun in such close proximity to my child? Not a chance.

I borrowed this from Ira Pilgrim's webpage:
"The NRA's slogan, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people," is ridiculous. The fact is that guns do kill people, and people can kill people much more easily with a gun than with a knife.

There are two things that we are all agreed upon. First is that killing innocent people is bad and should, if possible, be prevented. Second, that guns are used by people to kill people as well as game. If the NRA slogan was correct, we wouldn't have those problems if we just got rid of the people. If we put enough guns into the hands of enough people, that objective just might be achieved."

Buying, owning, carrying guns is not the answer. How many children have to die from gunfire to make this clear?

Name It

So, again, cheating today. But it's my dad's birthday today and I miss him but I don't want to go on about that here, so an easy meme I found about names from Squidoo--what a great site that is! So, okay...Playing the Name Game today:

Your name? Dawn

Your nick name? Mom (does that count?)

Do you like your name? I didn't always. I resented being named by my birthmother for the longest time--as if she had any right to bother naming me when she didn't have the least desire to keep me. My adoptive parents wanted to name me Diana but our next door neighbors had a daughter Diane, so to avoid seeming like copy cats, they left me as Dawn, which actually is cool because my dad was Don so we kinda had a special connection with our names...All his brothers had sons that were Jr's, all named after their fathers. He had me. So, yeah, I like my name now regardless of where it came from.

If you could change your name what would it be? I always liked boy sounding names for girls, like Dani or Sam--haha, Dawn....never thought of that being a boy sounding name, but I guess it is!

Mother's name (can sub father)? Donna--yeah, phone calls were a little confusing when I lived at home. Do you want Don, Dawn, or Donna??

Grandmother's name (can sub grandfather)? Mom's side was Ethel, Dad's side was Dorothy. Grandfathers were Mom's side Raymond and Dad's side August.

Children's names? Michael and Ashlee

Do they have any nick names? Michael is Bug, Bugalicious, or sometimes Michelangelo. I think Ash's mom calls her Sweetness. She's also Sissie.

Pets' names? Ruby, Sweet Pea, Tucker, Brodie, Blinkie, Skye, Crash, Burn, and Squiggie

Your pet's nick name? Ruby is Boo, Sweet Pea just gets shortened to Pea or Peaster, and Tucker is Finn (short for his middle name-McFinnigan) but Bill just calls him Idiot. The birds don't have nicknames.

Your best friend's name? Emilie

Nick name for your friend? I never gave her one...have to work on that!! Sorry Em!!

Favourite name for a boy? Michael, obviously

Favourite name for a girl? Faith

Name of your car? I didn't name my Sportage....or did I and I just can't remember?

Favorite Place Name? Home

A final little thought on names...I remember when I was growing up I was completely obsessed with the names Charles and Casey for whatever reason. Charles turned out to be a family name in my birth family and I have a younger sister, Kacey, that chances are I'll never get to know...but funny how those names penetrated my life even being apart from my birth family....That's all!

Happy 75th Birthday Daddy!! I love you!!!

Ten Weeks 'Til Christmas

Got a holiday theme going on this week, it seems. But Christmas fast approaches, faster than most would like. And at ten weeks out is when I typically start buckling down with shopping and stocking baking and holiday dinner supplies and I usually have a much better idea of what I'm aiming for by now but it's been kinda hectic around here lately, if you've noticed in my posts, and I'm pretty much aiming in the dark at this point.

So I've given the link to Organized Christmas, my favorite holiday planning website, and I think a few of you have even gotten on board with some early preparations this year-kudos! I've gotten a chunk of my Christmas cards addressed already and have even bought some baking supplies along with a few stocking stuffers (that Michael discovered in my hiding place in the hall linen closet--the rotten stinker!! So I've had to MOVE my hiding spot and start over again...The kid is aging me!) But now I really need to commit to menus, a concise cookie list, and settle on our gift budget so I can get down to business and do the serious shopping. It's time.

So here's a little trick I came up with for an inconspicous purse pocket planner that I've done the last two years. I tried keeping a little notebook in my purse with shopping lists and suggestions, but you don't realize how often someone needs a piece of paper to scribble a note on and before you know it your Christmas list is out and exposed in someone else's eyes that shouldn't be seeing such a list if you want Christmas credit to still go to Santa. And I'm surprised my Bug is still hanging on to Santa this year...so it's gonna be tricky trying to maintain that innocence yet at his age but I'm certainly going to try my best!

Okay! The tip: A simple piece of copy paper, 8 1/2" by 11", and you fold it into tenths. I will try to explain to you how to do that...because who folds into tenths, right? Leave it to me because I don't do anything easy!! My dad always said I was ass-backwards...still proving him right forty plus years later...I miss that man!! All right, take your sheet of copy paper and lengthwise mark off five 2 3/16" increments. I draw lines along the increment marks, makes it easier to fold. Mark the middle width at 4 1/4" and draw your divider line.Be festive: use red or green pens or markers to draw your column markers, or silver and gold metallic-whatever lights your holiday fire! You can even snazzy it up with cute Christmas stickers if that floats your boat, but don't get too carried away, you still need room to write!

Last year's planner above

This year, all ready to go!

Label each block starting at Week Ten down to Week One, and you can add the dates of each week if that helps give a little more planning perspective. Fold your paper lengthwise, then accordian style folding along each week's dividing line. Granted, it helps if you write fairly small, as I do--but this is the perfect size planner to pop in your purse or wallet and it's completely innocent looking to possible snooping eyes who shouldn't be in your purse in the first place, yet there they are!

Viola!

So, using my master lists of gifts, stocking stuffers, and baking ingredients, I begin dividing everything I need into the ten weeks. Baking supplies can get tricky. I usually begin baking at week six, so I'll list whatever cookies I want to make on each of the last six weeks and plan backwards from there to be sure that I have the specific ingredients on hand by the week each certain cookie comes up. The beautiful thing about having saved last year's handy dandy list is that I can simply copy the baking order onto this year's list, as well as the weeks I need which ingredients! Brilliant! There are also notes scribbled on last year's list of gifts perhaps I wanted to buy but didn't--possible ideas for this year's shopping? And it also helps jog the memory of gifts that were great and others that weren't so great, so snafus can be avoided this year.

So there you have it: an easy, inconspicuous purse size pocket planner for the upcoming holidays. I hope you try it--or finagle a little list to suit your own needs. Everybody's a little different, so make it work best for yourself. Whatever makes getting through the holidays with a little less stress and wigging out! Now let's go shopping!!

Halloween Fizzle

I finally went down to the basement yesterday to dig out our Halloween decorations. We don't have a lot. I bought a couple new things last year but also lost my favorite piece to a trick-or-treat accident, which I can only hold myself responsible for. I had found this awesome terra cotta jack-o-lantern and kitty some years ago that I absolutely loved. Over the years and through our many moves, it endured some abuse and cracks. Bill had glued it back together for me a couple of times. Wear and tear on Halloween decorations almost adds even more character to the pieces, it becomes part of their charm.

Last October, I put out our decorations: a ghost and cauldron by the big tree out front, a giant spider climbing on our livingroom picture window, bought a new Halloween flag to hang, some orange lights to string, a few pumpkins to carve surrounded by gourds we gathered at our friends' farm, and my terra cotta jack-o-lantern and kitty propped on a corner of the front step railing, looking out over the yard to greet any visitors. It sat there all month, perfectly fine and safe. The railing is made of fairly thick lumber and the corner post is easily as thick as a railroad tie, so I wasn't a bit concerned about the jack-o-lantern taking a tumble to the concrete steps below. I was sure it would be fine on its perch. And it was, until Halloween night.

The sun slowly set and I took my Zombie Michael out trick-or-treating with Sweet Pea in tow. Sweet Pea is a fairly sociable dog and everybody loves Bassets so she gets lots of "Ooo'"s and "Oh she's so cute!!" Pats and scratches and dog families would give her treats. We even went costume shopping for her after Halloween last year and found her an adorable bumble bee costume on clearance for three bucks so we can dress her up this year. Halloween is her holiday to shine.

So off we went and made our rounds of the plan where I run: plenty of houses and little side streets in the middle. Michael really cleaned up on the candy. At the end of trick-or-treat, some folks were even dumping the remains of their candy baskets and bowls into Michael's bag so they wouldn't be left with loads of temptation the following day. Sure, I'll face all of that for you--thanks so much! Just what my fat jiggly thighs need! He was very pleased with all the goodies he got and Sweet Pea was happy to finally be heading home, her short little legs tired from our night's adventuring.

Sadly, when we did arrive home, I found my favorite jack-o-lantern kitty smashed beyond repair on the front steps. Bill had to work that night, so no one was home to greet trick-or-treaters or give out candy. I had left the lights off so the kids wouldn't bother trekking up our stairs. Still somehow, at some point of the night, the jack-o-lantern got knocked from its perch and broken. No witnesses around to let us know how it happened. No matter, it couldn't be fixed anyway. I swept up the shards the next day, and sadly pitched them in the garbage with the rest of the trash. I've tried to find something similar to replace it but haven't had any luck.

So yesterday as I was pulling out the rest of our decorations, I just felt less than enthusiastic about stringing lights and hanging the flag. I put our ghost in the tree and the giant spider climbs the wall by our front door. We need to go pumpkin shopping soon I guess. Michael picked out a shiny golden skull mask to wear with his vampire cape, so he's all set. Maybe it's just that the weather's been too cold and rainy to get to enjoy very many fall activities yet this month. The trees and leaves are breathtaking. I need a good trek through the woods to absorb some of the season's beauty to boost my enthusiasm perhaps. Who knows, I might even find a suitable replacement for my jack-o-lantern at one of the pumpkin patches around here...at least I'll know not to perch anything on the railing this year.

Pea Bee

Modern Convenience

Bill "accidentally" deleted my Greys Anatomy as it was taping Thursday night. Yeah sure..."accidentally"...He makes fun of me because I get so intensely involved in the show, reminding me, as he laughs, that it's not real. I don't care--I've given entirely too much of my life to watching this show, real or not, I feel personally afronted when something goes wrong in the characters' lives. I just want everybody to be happy...and for Owen to go far, far away....Still, I believe he was genuinely sorry for deleting the new episode and frantically searched for another time it would air so he could tape it again for me. Only problem, they don't re-run the current season's episodes until well after the season has finished. This isn't one of our reality shows that they air over and over again during the week, just in case you missed it or need to reschedule the taping because one can only tape two shows at any one given time and if one wishes to watch another program at the same time, you can only be taping one show to allow changing the channel to other said program and a certain somebody with a cruel, unrelenting kidney stone gets rather peeved with me if I'm taping two of my shows at the same time on a night when he could be watching one of his shows...DVR's are both blessing and curse. It's wonderful to have the convenience of recording and saving our favorite programs, especially since I am no night owl and most of my shows air well after my eight o'clock bedtime--I would miss everything if it weren't for the DVR!! But we've also had a good share of arguments over who's taping what and when and hogging up the TV so someone else can't watch what they want...not like there's not a backlog of shows already taped to watch while coinciding shows are currently recording....But, one must be considerate of the others in the household and share, share the DVR alike.

So, all that blathering said, still my Greys was gone. I believe he caught the first minute before deleting the episode into oblivion. Why he saved that minute, I don't know, so I deleted it myself while taking off some of Michael's older recordings of his shows, which needs done daily since he has the most programs recording every day. The DVR only has so many available recording hours and he takes up a pretty good chunk with his cartoons. And we dare not miss any of those!!

Fortunately for me and the rest of the sorry folks who have favorite show deleting spouses, many programs can be watched online now--free! And ABC.com aires, thankfully, the newest episodes of Greys for their fans' viewing convenience along with some of their other popular programs. I was saved! You almost don't even need cable anymore if you think about it, just catch up on your shows online! And did I mention it's FREE?! Kinda makes one wonder just why one dishes out well over $100 a month for that cable bill....hmmm...Seriously, hmmm!!!

So, snuggled in bed last night (okay, evening...night isn't officially until well after I'm asleep!!) I propped the laptop on my, well, lap, and watched my Greys--with LESS commercials! I've been so spoiled by the DVR and being able to fast forward through commercials, that I can't stand to watch 'live TV' any more and having to actually sit through all those annoying ads. And it hit me this morning how lucky we are to have these conveniences so readily available! I don't think even a year ago I could've caught up online with a show like that-so quick, so simple! I'm honestly amazed at what the internet now offers...there no longer needs to be any fights over who missed what show, just watch it online. Very cool.

To watch this week's episode of Greys Anatomy, click here:
http://abc.go.com/watch/greys-anatomy/SH559058/VD55147807/loss-love-and-legacy

You Gotta Laugh

Truly yesterday was one of those days that all you can really do is laugh at the misfortune. To top it off with falling on my behind and breaking a couple toes...just the icing on the cake. I couldn't let Bill have all the fun and agony of the day--I was taught to share nicely with others. He may at least have pain killers to see him through his torture of passing the kidney stone, but they wore off around three this morning and the poor guy was really suffering again. It took a while for the next pill to kick in but he's back to sleep and snoring softly now. Looks like I'll have company again today since I don't think he should be driving to work under the influence of pain meds. As for me, my toes have slightly swollen and turned a lovely shade of dark dirty purple. No running for this girl today...Fortunately it's not my driving foot, so I can at least still get out and finish the week's errands. All is not lost!

The good news, I guess, is that kidney stones are usually passed within 48 hours, which would put us at about the halfway point. I can't imagine having to endure that amount of pain for much longer than that. It's apparently comparable to child birth, without the epidural, and well, that's just plain not fun at all! The doctor only gave him twelve pain pills so they must be fairly confident that things will move along swiftly. And after Googling images of kidney stones (that's frightening all by itself!) I have to confess, I'm more than a little curious to see what this thing is gonna look like!

I'm truly grateful for everyone's kind thoughts, prayers, and offers to pick up Michael from the bus and keep him while we waited at the hospital. It's a great comfort to have such a wonderful support system! Please continue to pray that Bill's stone passes quickly with the least amount of pain and resistance. And hopefully today will be considerably more boring than yesterday!!

One of Those Days Already

I had a good night's sleep considering Tucker wanted out around 12:30, which woke up Pea who also decided she needed out as well--you never know what's happening outside in the dark after midnight. You can't just let Tucker have all the fun and adventure by himself! You might miss something! Tucker typically is a quick pottier--he goes, he comes back in. He's a no fuss, no muss kinda guy. Plus it's getting colder out at night and he's got short fur. He's not been blessed with Ruby's thick, lush double layer coat. But Pea, on the other hand, is the typical woman... browsing... experiencing... checking for just the right spot to pee, oh...wait...not here. Maybe...over there...I think... hmmm... or.... there?? People who know Bassets know these are not fast dogs by any means or stretch of the imagination, unless there's a squirrel involved, but squirrels are not nocturnal and so night excursions are slow....lingering...regardless of temperature or weather conditions or taking into consideration that the human who let you out is standing barefoot on a ceramic tile floor freezing their hiney off and just wants to go back to bed and pillow and blanket before they're too wide awake and are now up for the rest of the day, er, night....See, Bassets sleep twenty-three and three-quarter hours out of every twenty-four hour day and have no trouble falling asleep after a chilly excursion out to the back yard. They have no trouble sleeping during an air raid or tsunami either...They're just blessed that way. Perhaps scientists should do a sleep study on Bassets in hopes of finding help for us human insomniacs who are unable to fall back asleep once our body temperature has reached the freezing point from waiting for said Bassets to get their super slow behinds back in the house already! Just a little consideration is all I'm asking for....that's not too much, is it?

Oh, so then Tucker, who started this whole fiasco in the first place...Mr. Gonna Chew Your Whole House Down whom we went toy shopping for yesterday....decides now that he's relieved himself out of doors and is feeling ALIVE! and WELL! that it's time to PLAY! with all the new TOYS Mom and Dad bought me! YAY! Look Mom! I have a BALL! It's a SQUEAKY BALL that BOUNCES down the hall and did you hear it SQUEAK?? SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK! This is around one in the morning now...and I'm just waiting for Bill to wake up cursing--and yes, that's the swear words, not just complaining or criticizing because he does not like to be woken up in the middle of the night by bouncing balls and squeaky toys or dogs jumping on his head in sheer joy of being alive at one a.m. He does not feel obliged to restrain himself from any sort of expletive at that point, so I'm awake...in the dark...and Tucker is bouncing his ball and his fifty pound self down the hall after it and squeaks it once or twice before realizing he also has a cow hoof to chew on! And Sweet Pea is not chewing on it at this time so it's safe to go reclaim his cow hoof and lay in the hall outside the bedroom doors, chewing this hoof, which is not a quiet thing to chew on at one-thirty in the morning as it knocks against the hard wood floor between chews and gnaws. So, I get up and take the cow hoof from him and put it up in bed so he'll follow. At least it will be quiet on the comforter. But a fifty pound puppy can really shake the bed when he's chewing on cow hooves. I just want to sleep but he doesn't seem interested in what I want. He has TOYS!! So I took the cow hoof and lead him out to the couch to chew and he seemed content and quiet there and didn't come back and somehow I fell back to sleep...hallelujah and amen.

Until four a.m. and the potty crew wanted back out again, or, more importantly, they wanted their morning treats. Since we have had some fat sassy pups in our home that get me lectured on weight maintenance at vet appointments, I've had to limit treats to once a day and that's always in the morning when my brain is still thinking rationally and I can remember who's had what and how many and who's not had any because the other one stole theirs and can still patiently retrieve this one's treat from that one's mouth and separate siblings until all treats have been properly consumed, which is not as easy at it sounds. Remember we have a Basset and Bassets are not fast dogs by any means or stretch of the imagination. She will HOLD her treats until everyone else has eaten THEIR treats and then tease them...Hahaha! I still have MY treat! You no idea how sinister and rotten these dogs can be with their sad, sappy, droopy eyes and jowls and ears down to their belly buttons. Okay dogs don't have belly buttons (why?? Why is that??) but if they did, Basset ears would droop to belly buttons. She is pure evil. I don't care how sweet and cute she looks. Don't ever buy a Basset and if you do, I warned you. Evilness.

All right, so we are now officially up and out and treats consumed and coffee on and partially drank and Bible read and devotionals read and Facebook scanned when I hear this moaning from the bedroom. Not a stretching, waking up, good morning again kind of moan, this is a "Can anybody hear me dying on my deathbed??" kind of moan. So I leave Facebook to go investigate and he's in serious pain. I offer to take him to the hospital. "No. I don't know. It hurts." I gathered that, hence the offer to take you to the hospital...I shake a couple Aleve from the medicine cabinet and offer a glass of water. He decides he'll wait. Tries to go back to sleep. The doctor opens at nine. I think from my Googling that he has a kidney stone. He has a history of gout and where and how he is describing the pain, I believe that's what behind his agony. So...after I get Michael on the bus, I'll be home calling the doctor and taking my love to see if they can make him feel any better...It's definitely been one of those days already and it's not even eight o'clock...*Sigh*

Fifteen People I am Thankful for in My Life Today

Okay, I'm cheating this morning, using a journal prompt just so I don't end up on a Tucker rant for the day. He ate one of Michael's school shoes this morning. Chewed such a chunk of the sole that it was no longer wearable. I love this dog but he's wearing my patience very, very thin. Petco is on the agenda for our Wednesday Date Day to stock up a good supply of toys for him, hoping to appease his need for chewing and entertainment, indoors and out since his mouth seems find trouble wherever he goes...I'm seriously worried he'll end up eating something completely indigestible and make himself sick. He got into my yarn basket the other day and ate the box of stitch markers: little hard plastic loops used in knitting and crochet to keep track of rows or, well, stitches, hence the name stitch markers. Oh, and the little plastic box I kept them in. One of the markers got thrown up in bed last night...so gross...

But I said this wasn't going to be a Tucker rant, didn't I? Sorry...So. The prompt was to make a list of fifteen people I am thankful for in my life today (probably gathered that from the title, didn't ya'? Huh, huh?) So here goes, in no particular order:

1.      Bill-my love monkey

2.      Michael-my Bug monkey

3.      Ashlee-step-daughter

4.      Missy A-sister friend

5.      Jen M-sister friend

6.      Diane P-monkey sister friend

7.      Andrea & Dave-sister and hubby

8.      Scoot-favorite uncle

9.      Ron & Jen-brother and wifey, who I’d almost given up hope of ever having them in my life…so especially thankful for them

10.  Cathy-sister friend

11.  Wendy-monkey sister friend

12.  Bud & Zoe-best neighbors ever

13.  Emilie-forever sister monkey friend

14.  Matt & Hope-for helping and believing in Michael

15.  Dad-even though you’ve passed, every day you’re always in my heart, biggest and best monkey of my life. Miss you so much!

Alright, so I there's a few more than fifteen in there--gotta keep the couples together, and Matt and Hope are Michael's bowling coaches, so they gotta go together. The monkey thing comes from our Women of Faith weekend and those so labeled will understand (you kinda had to be there) Bill and Michael, just know the monkey inference is a good thing! Who are your fifteen monkeys?

And now for a few pictures...

Nap time

So good to stretch out...

Something's just wrong with this picture...

Hair Fiasco

I've learned a lesson the brutally hard way. "Be content with what you have." As a woman, that's a rather difficult precept. Especially when it comes to hair. Those who have straight hair want curly hair. Those who have curly hair want it straight. I fall into the latter group. My hair has not been my friend this year. I had almost gotten there, content with my curly, wiry mop. I don't know if it was the extreme humidity of this summer, but it seemed extra frizzy to me. My hairdresser suggested it was the increasing amount of grey hair making it more difficult. Grey hair apparently has more 'texture' than, shall we say 'younger colored hair'? A little slap in the middle-aged face...*sigh*

So I opted to have a relaxer done this summer, try to tame some of that wild kinky grey. That took a good bit of the frizz out but my hair was stuck in this weird state of half curly, half straight bizarre mess. I could flat iron it for a nice straight look but that takes so long! I'm a shake and go kinda girl-I don't have time or the desire to fuss over my hair. I tried a fat curling iron for a different look, still not what I was hoping to achieve.

Now there's the catch: just what I was hoping to achieve...Perfectly tossed, gently messy, no-fuss hair. Yeah? I had the picture in my head, but how to convey that to the poor stylist charged with trying to make my mane behave? It's a hopeless cause. Truly.

So, a few months past having the relaxer done and noticing my frizz trying to return, I decided to go all out, have it chemically straightened and...hopefully...much easier hair to flat iron....It seemed like such a great idea at the time.

You trust these people who do hair. And actually, the previous woman who did the relaxer on my hair referred me to a friend of hers who was more experienced with straightening hair, so I thought I ought to be able to put my faith in her, right? Oh, to simply be content with what we have...

I made my appointment for last Wednesday, wanting to be all straight and shiny for my big weekend downtown at the WOF conference. Bill was off that day so he tagged along and waited while I committed hair suicide, then we'd go off to our Wednesday lunch date after.

New hair lady was very nice, shop spacious and cheery. She even had the Christian radio station playing and Scripture signs decorating the salon along with a couple beautiful pictures of Jesus. I felt completely at ease as I placed my confidence and my head of hair in her hands. I didn't worry when the straightening chemical started burning my scalp-I thought surely some discomfort is normal in a procedure like this. The tingling subsided as she rinsed and conditioned my newly straightened hair. I faced away from the mirror so couldn't see myself as she blew my hair dry and flat ironed it smooth and sleek. But as she swung the chair around so I could see the finished result, my heart sank into my stomach. It was so thin! And flat! I smiled half-heartedly--good girls are gracious and never rude. I thanked her, paid the bill, and slunk out of the shop, shorn and sad.

I didn't realize until the next day she had burned off a good portion of my hair. As I ran my fingertips along my scalp all I could feel were sharp stabs of stubble. More so in the front of my head but not so bad in the back. I feel almost bald, it's so thin around my face. I can't help but wonder what disaster awaits as my hair grows back in, kinky curly short chunks of hair competing with the longer straightened hair...It could be a good time to invest in some cute hats...

So, I've certainly learned my lesson to be content with the frizzy fuzz the good Lord has blessed me with. Never again will I attempt to 'fix' what He so graciously gave. There has to be a better way to tame the burly beast...

THINK

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

~James 3:10

I bought a little travel size bottle of lavender body spray to keep in my purse. I love the smell of lavender and every now and then a quick spritz on a wrist, under the ear just refreshes. Every girl wants to smell pretty. Giving me a hug the other day, Michael caught a whiff of the new fragrance and said, "Mom, you smell like an angel!" Now you know that just melted my heart and made me go all squishy inside. Sweet words from my sweet boy is better than chocolate on any day.

Rewind a couple weeks ago...a completely different story. I was sitting on the couch watching TV and my sweet precious boy comes over, pokes me in the thigh, and asks, "Mom, why are your legs so jiggly and fat?" Heart dropped right out of my chest through the floor, laying broken and throbbing beside the treadmill below me. Really? I don't think more crushing words could have come from his mouth. I can handle the "I hate you"'s because I know he doesn't really mean them. But "Why are you so fat?" crumbles me to my very core. Especially because I've worked so hard to lose weight the past couple of years and have made it from a size 14, almost 16, back down to a much happier size 8. Still, yes, cellulite lingers on the thigh region. No matter how many miles I log running, I think I will always have that trouble spot. Most days I can deal with it. But to have that flaw dished out and handed to me from my child...yeah, that hurts.

Blessings and curses come from the same mouth. Smelling like an angel with fat jiggly thighs...Ten year olds don't really know better. But I am just as guilty of the same thing. I struggle greatly with controlling what comes out of my mouth. I want it to be all blessings, laced with grace, building up, not tearing down--but some days it comes so easily to complain, to criticize. Words tumbling out before you can jam the jaw shut. My brothers, this ought not be so...

I read a devotional a while back about this topic of controlling our speech. There was the acronym, THINK, and I wrote it down because it was a great way to remember what should come out of our mouths...if we just remember to think first. Here it is:

Are your words-
True
Helpful
Inspiring
Necessary
Kind?

Sometimes remembering this stops me from cursing-and that doesn't simply mean swearing-it is the complaining, criticizing, crippling words that crush hearts, spirits...no matter how unintentionally, the damage is done. Sometimes irreparably. We all know how much mean words can hurt us and I don't want to make anyone feel that way. And there's already so much negativity in this world, complaining only compounds the misery, drawing attention to what's wrong, pulling someone else down into the mire. Why? Why would we want to do that?

THINK before you speak...be a blessing.

Sweet Bugalicious

Beautiful fall foliage

Good Morning

It is a good morning indeed. Indeed. I am home following the most inspiring weekend of my life and my brain is ping-ponging with all I have been blessed with over the course of the past two days. I attended my first Women of Faith conference in downtown Pittsburgh and what an experience! Amazing speakers with incredible, heart rending life stories that touched me, taught me, tore open old hurts and brought me to tears but also blessed with healing and hope, encouraged me and motivated me, and opened my eyes and my heart to the greatest gift we've been given: God's limitless love.

Attending a function like this, immediately the verse that comes to mind is Matthew 18:20, and I am not usually a fan of the Message, but I have to say I like this interpretation the best: "And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there."  Over 8,000 women gathered in Pittsburgh this weekend because of Jesus, and you couldn't possibly deny His being there.

I'm always amazed and humbled when I hear God speak to me. He-HE-speaks to...me. Me. So often I feel like such a nobody. Invisible and lost in the immense sea of people that fill this huge world. Like I contribute nothing...have nothing...to contribute. Who am I that HE would speak to me? It brings you to your knees. But He spoke to me this weekend about my dreams and my goals and washing away the fear and the doubt that cripples me, hinders me, stops me dead in my tracks. How could I doubt His love when all around me I am blessed with His incredible gifts: my husband, my son, our home, our family and friends, every day showered with blessings and joy. How could I doubt He would carry me through to fulfill His plans for my life?

The theme of the conference this weekend was 'Imagine', with the verse from Ephesians 3:20 (and this is the Message again) ^"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!" It goes further in verse 21: "He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us." God can do anything in us. We just have to say yes. God can heal this world--through us! We just have to say yes. Stop being afraid. Stop doubting--you can't doubt the One who created this world, who gives us breath and life. We can't do much on our own but you can't doubt that HE can!! And, how great is it that He wants to do it through US! He could do it Himself--in a heartbeat. But He wants to do it through us. Healing this world, healing each other, with God, through God, heals us.

So I'm willing to trust, to try, to step out in God's grace. I know He'll lead me so long as I let Him. Wherever You want me Lord, I am willing to follow...I say yes.

I'm in there somewhere--can you find me?? Haha!

Letting Go and Letting Dad...

In a few hours I'll be on my way to Pittsburgh for two days at the Women of Faith conference. I'm really looking forward to going and experiencing all that the weekend holds in store. I've been packed and ready for days! I've written notes and more notes and scribbled more notes on those notes for Bill about taking care of Michael and the dogs and the birds...and yet there's still that nagging voice in my head that I've forgotten to tell him something...

But Bill has done this before. He has a beautiful twenty-four year old daughter from his first marriage and he did just fine taking care of her on the weekends and vacations after he and his ex split up. He has raised dogs before as well. He is perfectly capable of seeing himself, Michael and all our critters through my two day absence. I know this. Yet there is that Mom-control thing I am fighting with to let go. No, he won't straighten up the house like I would. He wouldn't cook the same meals I would. The dishes may not get washed as promptly as I would do them. The dogs may not get fed on exactly the same schedule this weekend. But will anyone be the worse off because of it? No, and I am well aware that my household will survive while I'm away...it's just hard to let go. Even for a little bit.

It's gonna be such a great weekend. For all of us going to the conference to hear and share in God's Word and love. For all the hubbies and kiddos experiencing Mom-freedom for a couple of days to do as they please, staying up later than usual, eating junky fast food meals and watching scary movies that Mom wouldn't allow (she's so MEAN!!) Maybe not brushing teeth or washing faces before finally crawling under covers for the night (the horror!) A time for all to refresh and reflect, to gather and grow, and to appreciate all that we have together all the more for that little time apart.

I'm gonna miss my guys and my babies. But I know they'll all be okay without me for a couple days. I'll be home again soon enough...

Crazy Bug

Tucker's chaise lounge

Isn't he beautiful??

Love

Something that’s bothered me for some years now is that if you read the genealogies of Jesus (there are two listed: Matthew 1 and Luke 3:23-37 ) the line from David comes down through Joseph, not Mary, and well, Joseph didn’t really have anything to do with bringing Jesus into the world…Realizing that back in those days, your heritage came through your father’s bloodline, not your mother’s, it hit me this morning that maybe God was saying man’s ‘rules’ were stupid. He does that quite a lot. Jesus came to do away with man’s law. Okay, God set the original Law—the Ten Commandments…and what did we do? Went completely way overboard bonkers, implying all sorts of extra meanings and stipulations into something God meant to be so simple: Love God, love your neighbor. And we ruined it! Well, the Pharisees ruined it. They made up all these implications about working on the Sabbath, and what to eat and what not to eat, how to eat it, etc. to the point that nobody could possibly live up to The Law. And the Pharisees were so excited to condemn anybody and everybody that dared mess up and go against the Law, sitting up there in the Temple, judging the people and judging their sacrifices and charging them an arm and a leg for the perfect lamb or dove to cover their restitution…

So, here comes God—showing them how stupid all their ridiculous rules and stipulations were. He gave us Jesus, ignoring the whole familial heritage thing or, better—giving the women some credit, because it’s the mom who does all the real work in childbearing, we deserve some of the credit of who our child is, right? So, yeah, Jesus is born into David’s line to fulfill the prophecy, but through Mary, not at all of Joseph or David’s blood. And all through His life, Jesus set a new standard of living according to the Law, showing us exactly what God meant to truly love the Father in everything He did, and to love our neighbor, every neighbor—not just the rich and pretty ones, or the most Law abiding ones…ALL of our neighbors: sick, poor, sinner, Republican or Democrat.

We still try to manipulate God’s Word today to try to make people do certain things or act certain ways. I think that’s part of the problem with why non-believers don’t want any part of the church or Christians. We’re still Pharisees, sitting up in our temples, judging those on the outside and wanting them to conform to our rules: show up at church every Sunday and you better be wearing a dress or a suit with shiny polished shoes. Don’t swear, don’t drink and don’t you dare have a tattoo or visible body piercings. You need to cough up a proper tithe—we’re keeping track, you know. Don’t be gay, don’t have premarital sex, and don’t get divorced. We can’t tolerate any of those shortcomings.

Really? And sadly, that’s barely scratching the surface…all God wants us to do is love. Open our hearts and shut our judging mouths and simply love. If we really want to reach people with God’s message, to bring non-believers to the Light, we first have to stop making up stupid rules and regulations and realize ALL of us, believers and non-believers are ALL God’s children and He loves every single one of us and just wants us to do the same: Love.

Battle of the Chewies

I was talking on the phone with my mom yesterday afternoon and she could hear it in the background. "Is that Michael?" she asked. "No. It's Tucker. He's crying because Sweet Pea stole his chewie and is teasing him with it."

He was. Laying in the hallway, moaning and crying like a little child whose older sibling stole their toy, punched them in the arm and ran away. Mom laughed. It is ridiculous. Sweet Pea is now half the size of Tucker and can easily walk underneath him with plenty of clearance to not touch her back against his chest. But no matter the size and weight difference, she is that rotten older sibling who revels in taunting and teasing the younger, hoping to provoke a pitiful response-and Tucker plays the part every time, crying and howling so pitifully--it tears your heart in two, if only to just make it stop and restore peace once more! And, truth be told, Sweet Pea couldn't care less about the chewies. It's all about the torture. She'll walk around with the rawhide dangling carelessly from her jowls, slobbering on it like some prized puppy lollipop, but not be the slightest bit interested in actually chewing it up. Tucker, on the other hand, needs all the chewing distraction he can get if I'm to still have a house standing by the time he's done teething--the dog will seriously chew anything he can get in that mouth of his! Toys, shoes, furniture, fences, siding...he is decidedly unprejudiced in his destruction.

Oh, I can intervene. Step in and restore said chewie to the appropriate owner. That doesn't typically rectify anything, however. Sweet Pea will ensue a barking fit, similar to a teenager slamming their bedroom door, all the while hollering how much they hate you, the house, their life, blah blah blah...Poor neglected Pea never gets anything and Tucker always gets everything he wants...Tucker typically then drops his chewie, wondering what in the world would make her cease the racket, and Pea moves in for the kill, swipes the chewie and then the crying fit begins all over again...It's a vicious cycle that I don't have a chance of winning unless I stop buying chewies, but then run the risk of Tuck eating our house and everything in it...

I imagine this is what parenting is like when you have more than one child. Endless sibling battles, jealousies and rivalries. I remember life being that way growing up with my two brothers. Dale, the older bully, would vent whatever frustration of the day on my younger brother Tom and I: a punch in the arm if you were lucky, one in the gut if you weren't. Lots of doors slamming, tears crying, accusations screaming...makes me appreciate having only one human child when I think back on it! And to think I wanted twins when I was pregnant!! Not that we don't have our share of slammings and hollerings out of Michael--he certainly holds up his end of ushering those quite well. The dogs are just a little easier. I can toss 'em all out back for a while, shut the porch door and escape to peace inside once more...until they all come back in again...

Do you ever wonder how God feels, listening to the bunch of us whining and complaining all the time? He so generously provides all that we need and so much more every day, yet we're seldom happy with what we've received. Fussing and fighting rather than acknowledging and appreciating. Slamming the doors to our hearts and shutting out the only thing, the only One, that truly matters. From Him come all good and perfect gifts. Remember to give Him thanks today-in the very least for not tossing you out in the back yard and shutting the door on you for a little peace and quiet...Praise our Father who never turns his back on us, no matter how unappreciative we may be.

This looked prettier in the sunlight yesterday...just starting to turn.

Imagine

I am going to my first Women of Faith conference this weekend and I can't wait! I've wanted to go to one of these for years but never had the opportunity. But now that we've moved home again, the conference finally booked a stop in Pittsburgh at the Consol Energy Center and our church got a little group together to go, myself included! And my sister-in-law booked a couple tickets to be with our group but they might have had their seats changed so I'm hoping we'll still get to sit together or at least see each other there for a litte while anyway! The conference begins Friday morning with a break for dinner that afternoon, then again that night and all day Saturday. So not only do I have an inspirational faith filled weekend ahead of me to look forward to, I have two days out of the house and am spending Friday night downtown so we can be up and at the conference again bright and early Saturday morning. A weekend away....I haven't had time away from home like that for a few years-the last time was an LWM retreat in Tennessee, which was a lot of fun and a beautiful weekend at a gorgeous camp overlooking a pristine lake while the camp's horses roamed the fields, grazing in the early morning fog. Take your breath away beauty...I could've stayed forever.

This weekend's Imagine tour includes five Christian speakers: Lisa Harper, Angie Smith, Luci Swindoll, Kim Cash Tate, and Sheila Walsh; two musical guests: Natalie Grant and Mary Mary-who both I LOVE!! And Henry Cloud and Nicole Johnson will also be there. My sister-in-law Wendy has gone to the conferences before and absolutely loved them. I really hope I get to share this experience with her. At least I'll be with friends from church, great company either way!

So I started packing last week, trying to figure out what all I'd need for the overnight stay. Bought a bunch of travel size toiletries to bring along and some cute new jammies (love jammies!) with matching squishy socks. I found the perfect size notebook to tuck away for notes and scribblings, along with a few new pretty colored pens to play with and doodle. I don't think I'm bringing the laptop-the boys can play at home. I'll have my tablet anyway, so that should suffice. I printed out some notes for Bill and Michael about feeding the dogs and the birds, getting Michael to bowling on time Saturday morning and gave Bill the money for the league fees and 50/50 raffle. I advised him Michael will want to go to McDonald's if he bowls his average or better-that's always been our deal. His average keeps getting higher, making it harder for him to reach it every week, we all need a good challenge. Right now he's trying to hit his 300 series-I hope he makes it even if I'm not there to see him do it. I did offer to plan meals for them but Bill said no--he jokes about gentlemen's clubs and Japanese steak houses...*sigh* I'm sure they won't go hungry without me.

Oops, just remembered I didn't make any notes about morning vitamins, treats or chewies for the dogs (as Tucker tries to bury half his chewie bone on his pillow...) Better go do that! I can't wait!!

 

A Blessing Challenge

A little while back my friend Missy sent me a link to the most wonderful blog, A Holy Experience. Every day the author, Ann Voskamp, shares such beautiful posts along with stunning photographs of her family, the farm where they live, or trips they've been on and relates all of it back to the love and grace of God. It's not your typical devotional site, it goes way beyond that and becomes breathtaking art that I can't wait to enjoy every morning over my cup of coffee in the stillness of the early day (as still as it can be with Tucker and Sweet Pea arguing over their chewies...*sigh*) And as icing on the cake, Ann posts the best lists on the weekends (yes, I'm a list freak and this totally feeds my soul!) Things to do with your family, ideas for getting the most out of the time on hand and truly enjoying the moment and season, crafts to share, songs to lift your heart and more. I've been sharing the links on my Facebook page, but I know I don't always catch all the links my friends share, so I just thought I'd give Ann's site a little plug here because it's been such a beautiful blessing for me, maybe this post will encourage a reader to enjoy that blessing as well.

One of the items on Ann's list this weekend was a blessing challenge, daring you to tuck a little something in a brown paper bag, tagged with this printable and bless someone with a simple gift. Her suggestions: a candle, popcorn, one cookie, a love letter, a book, a caramel apple, a smiley face, a leaf, a pen, a heart shaped stone, a gratitude journal, anything! And to "be part of the revolution giving Him thanks and glory!" I was game! I had one last zucchini from our garden and decided to bake up a few loaves of zucchini bread to share with our wonderful neighbors who are blessings to us year round.

It was a perfect day for baking. The first weekend chill of fall had set in and it was too rainy to be outdoors hiking in the foliage or going on a hayride at any of the local apple festivals. So I broke out my loaf pans, preheated the oven, and baked up some delicious bread blessings. The house soon smelled of heavenly fragrant cinnamon and vanilla. When the loaves were done and cooled on wire racks, I wrapped them up, tucked them in bags with the tags I had printed out and sent Michael off to deliver our gifts of thanks. We do have the very best neighbors and I'm glad I had the opportunity to give back some of the love and thoughtfulness they've so generously given us.

A Minor Snag

I thought we were making progress. It seemed we were on the right track. Michael had chosen a goal to buy a PSP, and he was going to do chores to earn and then save his own money. I even printed out a progress chart to give him a visual of how much he had saved and how much further he’d have to go to reach his goal of $160. I was really proud of him for choosing such a considerable challenge. Money tends to fly from his fingers faster than you can say shopping spree. That’s why I thought the chart would be such a good motivator for him, so he could watch his money accumulate as he grew closer to reaching his goal. $160 is a lot for a little guy to save, especially for a fast spender like Michael. I wanted him to know he could set realistic goals for himself and realize those dreams with a little perseverance, determination, and discipline.

Then we hit a little snag yesterday. He’s had two DS’s, one broken, the other he bought himself last year on Black Friday. He also had a slew of games that he’d grown bored with. He wanted to go to Game Stop to see what they’d offer for a trade in. I tried to tell him he wouldn’t be happy with their offer since they’d been pretty stingy in the past when we traded in a couple other games he didn’t like. But once he has an idea in his head, it’s pretty difficult to get him to change tacks. So, he gathered up his good DS and put all his games back in their cases and off we went to Game Stop with his bag of booty.

I let him question the sales guy about the different PSP consoles: game capability, internet connection, cost (I thought for sure they’d charge way over what we could get at Wal-mart—wrong!), used vs. new, etc. Then they rang up Michael’s trade-ins at a whopping $175, plus change. I never expected that! So all of a sudden, Michael had more than enough money to not only buy a new console but plenty left over for games and he wouldn’t even have to touch the money he’d already accumulated from his birthday and a few weeks of chores. There went my plan for his goal setting right out the front door of Game Stop, washed away in the cold, grey, rainy afternoon. *Sigh* Home we went with his new PSP and a Need for Speed game. He saved the rest of his credit for more games later on.

So, he still has a good chunk of cash saved now but no idea of what to possibly spend it on. I’m anxious for him to choose another goal before the money starts screaming at him to go buy a new tin or two of Pokémon cards. But what? I know he’ll complain about how expensive games are for his PSP. He can be pretty tight at times but yet doesn’t bat an eyelash at whipping out fifteen bucks for Pokémon tins. He must have some internal limit set in his brain of acceptable expenditures, like I won’t spend more than $25 on jeans, shoes, or purses. I just can’t rationalize buying something more expensive than that. Probably one of the things Bill loves about me, I’m cheap! We’ll need to come up with something soon. That money won’t stay quiet for very long….

Time to come inside--brought all the plants in yesterday before the temps dip down into the thirties this weekend! Pretty chilly start to fall!

October at Last!

Time for candy corn and mellowcreme pumpkins, falling leaves and brisk chilly breezes, mums and corn stalks decorating doorways, soups and roasts simmering slowly, filling the house with savory warmth and comforting fragrance, sweaters and blankets and snuggling close watching movies together, sipping cider and crunching caramel apples, hayrides and fall foliage hikes through the woods. Thoughts turn first to Halloween costumes and candy, then Thanksgiving turkeys and pumpkin pies, and Christmas planning and shopping not far behind.

I love bundling up and heading outdoors under a brooding grey autumn sky, watching the trees slowly give up their summer greens for the rich golds and burgundys, flaming bright yellows, reds, and oranges. Crisp fallen leaves crunch under foot and a silent breeze chases others dancing, swirling, cascading carelessly to the ground. I take a deep breath, filling my lungs and savoring the smell of earth and fragrant burning leaves somewhere off in the distance.

Fall is by far my favorite time of year. It seems that life starts to slow down, the rush of summer is finally done, and everything about the season ahead beckons to stop and savor the moment, the beauty, the scents and scenery, to recognize the coming close of another year gone by too fast. The changing leaves will only last so long. Soon the branches will be bare, reaching, waiting for that first frosty blanket of freshly fallen snow.

There are five glorious weekends to get out and make a few fun family memories, start a new tradition, and enjoy some fall festivities this month. What plans do you have?

Photo by Christopher Jonassen