Gone too Soon!!!!!

Warning this blog post could suck....royally....but newsflash life sucks royally sometimes. So I've dealt with some sucky funerals in my day. Grandparents are the closest death I've dealt with, and the childhood friend I lost to suicide that was the suckiest of all. But a family members child....this could potentially suck, and suck bad! My cousin (technically 2nd cousin) Rachel lost her life in a car accident last night, I can't continue to skirt around it sorry. My attempt to busy myself with a busy Saturday to try and control my grief has now come to a screeching hault and I am faced with the reality that a beautiful 15 year old girl is no longer with us.

So I am preparing myself for a fairly crappy week. I'm not sure how it could not be.

What I did to get my mind off things today?

We had a busy busy Saturday on tap. We went and participated in the Clean Sweep....cleaning up the Miami River banks. I had mentally prepared myself that this could potentially be yucky since often this river can be rather stinky, and where we were going was near the sewage treatment plant, that to me just sounds stinky. Good news no funk smell at all. It was actually a beautiful day. And bonus, they must have had a crew of volunteers yesterday because we didn't score that much trash. I mean a stove, a fridge, an old rusty washtub and some remains of a rusted out car, and a few tires were our big finds. Oh Oh Oh, the best of all was when one of our Tiger cubs emerged from the woods with a shopping cart basket. So stinkin cute. 10 year olds rarely want to cooperate when I'd like to get a cool photo of them in the storm sewer. Thought it'd be a cool shot of all of them peeking out of the concrete circle. However no one cared to listen to me. I am fairly certain they see me as Perry's annoying mom who is always taking pictures. Like here this is a cool photo Ron caught....and then theres one of the little mud mongers red gloved hand in the shot. Right if I had photo shop I could chop his hand off as if it was never there and I am sure some software on here could do that. However if they would just care about my desire to get a decent shot this would not happen. They are precious angels who have fun together....but um they are 10 and they are dirty and they smell bad. Today required 2 showers.....2 showers for a reluctent 10 year old is no fun for anyone. So in observance of the fact my weeks going to suck....I shall end the day by consuming a banquet dinner (the suckiest of all meals) at 11:15 at night because I did not have time to eat dinner tonight.

No stink smelly 10 year olds were required for this cool shot I got.

Please pray for my family as we head into a week of mourning. Pray for my cousin Monica as she grieves the loss of her baby. My dad's side of the family is a close knit bunch, and this kind of death is going to be hard on everyone. Hug you kids a whole lot tighter tonight, and consider waiting on letting them drive.

Video Share...

OMG....this is dang funny! I love Natalie Portman!

What I'd call Perfection.....

SWITCHFOOT LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh and getting lost in the woods with my favorite teenager! Well it wasn't out intentions to get lost in the woods, or be frightened by the unsuspecting man who came up behind us.

We scared the poor man with our screams more than he scared us. It was so funny! It was not our intentions to leave the cellphone in the car. Our plan was to plant the letterbox and head back to the car. So there was no reason to bring the bottle of water with us, it was a short hike. Then the trail we had never traveled before beckoned us, seriously how long could it be. It said at the beginning of the trail, some kind of loop which usually means you end up back where you started. We missed the part that it was 1.5 miles, and we weren't completely sure it was a loop??? Because we are both ding bats (me a grown up one), and neither of us have a good sense of direction. Thank Goodness for the compass on my watch, except I didn't know what direction we should be heading in. Hee Hee....Needless to say 1 mile into it, we weren't sure we would ever see our car again, and then we spied the thorny tree near the letterbox we planted, we had indeed made a full circle. Woohoo.....next time we might want to take some water....maybe a snack. We plan to explore the part we missed next week, which means we'll be lost again!

Don't Ask....

Because I have no idea why on earth I am blogging. Spent the weekend camping with the Cub Scouts. Volunteering is hard hard hard work. I am not the greatest volunteer, I'll admit that. But you can see why folks don't volunteer, you often feel under appreciated. I see folks who put themselves out there ALOT, and get burnt out and bitter. Told myself on Friday I wasn't going to do that, and that I wouldn't beat myself up if folks didn't like or appreciate what we had planned. Regardless, when you look at the pictures of those cute little 10 year olds (and under) and see how dirty they are and exhausted from playing so hard, all the hard work is worth it. The fact that my body hurts from running around in the woods and climbing a steep hill more than once to go in the creek..........I think that's worth it too. With that I think I might go pass out right about now.

But not until I share a few photo's from this weekend. All the boys in our den had these boots to run around in the creek with. Talk about dirty boy cuteness!

Joey brought his dogs out on Saturday! Talk about sweet and cute! And they were good for puppies too. I am now going to go pass out.

Overwhelmed

I don't know if it's my worklife trickling over into my homelife (honestly that's never happened) or if it's just that time to be completely overwhelmed. Work is crazy busy. I think since it's now been open a month, the fact that a lot of people have no clue what the heck they are doing it catching up to my department and we are feeling the heat. For the most part people are super nice and super patient. But then there are the few who expect you to give them so much to compensate for our screw up. Or the people who really don't have a problem yet want to create a problem so they can get free stuff....come on as if we don't smell you coming! So that's work, and because of work and wierd retail nonsense hours, my house is a "hot mess"! And I've been slacking in my committee chair duties because I can't be at anything cause I am always working when the world is living their lives. So I found this song by David Crowder, and if I close my eyes and just listen, God makes me feel so much better. He knows my needs and rarely gives me more than I can handle. He does however enjoy stretching my limit a little bit more all the time.

I'm dumber Now.....

Ok guilty pleasure. If you can even call it a pleasure. I'd like to refer to it as mindless TV viewing. I am happy to admit I didn't watch this seasons Rock of Love from the very beginning. Therefor not a whole lot of time was wasted on becoming dumber. It did not take many episodes though. I couldn't stop watching, because I had to see if he chose the dumbest bimbo I've ever seen on TV. Seems super mean and wrong. But holy crap 5 min. of watching her the nicest person would feel the same way. I will say if I ever am super sad because a hot rock star dumped me, I will say the same thing she said. "OMG...I want to totally roll up in a ball and eat a lot of ice cream...." BRILLIANT!
So will I waste time on watching the reunion show, and see one of last seasons girls beat up the bimbo that was booted this season. Man might be hard to pass up!

Mother Nature Wins....

OK need I remind you that discussing the weather on ones blog is unacceptable and well....lame...except when you are super happy it's warm out, and then Ohio decides to have (as Joe at church so gracefully put it) a second winter?? You know what that's just mean! So we had hiking plans. And because I am hardcore if I have hiking plans and it snows we hike anyways cause what did I say.....I HAVE HIKING PLANS.....people know this about me. So it rained Friday night more soggy yuckiness, and our plans were for Saturday, hiking without the kid, to create clues for our letterboxing adventure in a few weeks for the Cub Scouts. So we unloaded the kid at Geegaws, and off we went, camelbacks for of ice water, notebook, GPS, and 3 layers of clothing. Seriously it was the nicest, most peaceful hike we've had pretty much ever. We weren't all super romantic and dorky because we were kidless, we walked at our own pace, taking in everything on a trail we'd never been on before. It was lovely. We even discovered an abandoned old cemetery in the middle of the woods. I inherited that from my mom, the fascination of old cemeteries full of dead strangers. It's fun to read the old gravestones. Speaking of beautiful strangers, I found more abandoned strangers at the Antique Mall. I wish I had loads of money so I could buy up all the old photos. It makes me so sad to find scrapbooks full of old photos being sold for money in antique stores. If that's where my scrapbooks end up, I will come back and haunt my family!
Ron and I aren't all that in to antiques. We like a few random items, but we aren't one to purchase furniture or decorate with antiques. We like to score lucky little things like an old Cub Scout handbook, or vintage Cartoon glass's. My friend Abby and her brothers collect cartoon glass's. I was told long ago I could play along with them but never really went hunting till yesterday when it was the first thing I saw when I walked in. I didn't want to jump right in and go with Looney Toons glass's which is mostly what they collect. Instead I went with "Camp Snoopy", sold at McDonalds in the 70's. They were $3 a glass and I scored 2. I was told by Abby part of the fun is to make sure you spend less than $10 a glass. Ok, game on!

Get Up and Dance People.....

Do not let the fact that IT RAINED AGAIN AND MY BACK YARD IS A GIANT MUD PILE, keep you from getting up and shaking your BOOTY!

Happiness....

I requested on Facebook the other day..."can it please be spring already?" And tada...it's spring! What a fabulous day! The new Student Union is now open at church and we walked over to check it out after church. Made me excited for SOS...my one chance to act like a teenager for a few days and then get on with my life. Something else cool I discovered today, you can go get your "wig busted" and help drill a well. I could use a haircut, but I doubt the man would fork over the dough for me to go get my hair did, that just happened about a month ago, and I've had to spread those things out to like every 3 months, to the point that my hair pretty much look ridiculous...otherwise I'd have to go to Great Clips, don't even get me started!

Other things that bring happiness. The magnolia tree in the front yard is blooming. Perry being

Not much of a dare-devil did not climb up there, Ron had to place him up there.

When I was his age you wouldn't have been able to keep me out of that tree. He did get daring at Harbin Park last spring and was climbing a small tree and fell, then I knew that was it. Although this even he and Daddy road around the block, he on his Big Wheel and Daddy on his razor scooter, he asked Daddy to give him a big push, and the Big Wheel flipped backwards, and he scrapped up his back. He got back on the big wheel and road on into "town", (a street with a couple business's near our house, he calls that town), so now he has a cool battle wound.

I think I may have won the battle with the Robin who has been trying to build a nest above my mailbox. She does this every year. This year I decided if she's going to build a nest she'll need to pay rent and/or apologize to the mailman for pooping on the mailbox. She wasn't having any of that and went right ahead and began "attempting" to build a nest. Which I would promptly knock down every morning when leaving for work. Then as I would be getting in my car there she'd be pirched on the outside light starting all over again, and Ron would knock down what she'd done all day long in the evening. Seriously people this went on for a good two weeks, it looked like we had a huge pile of hay on our front porch till we finally swept it up this weekend. She wasn't a very smart Robin since she could have saved herself many trips in search of dead grass since there was a huge pile of it on the porch...duh! Theres a quite a few perfectly good trees for nest building in my yard. The funny thing is one morning after nest distruction I get out to my car and theres bird crap all over it....funny funny...then Ron who is far more anal about his car ecspecially after washing it.....She bombed him too....I think the war may finally be over since no nest attempts have been made in 2 days. We have been enjoying the nice spring weather everyday it's been warm to say the least. I scored a letterbox today on my lunch hour. I won't tell you where but I hear it's the coolest place on earth. And it's pretty much one of the coolest handmade stamps I've ever seen in a letterbox!

HOT HUSBAND/CUTE KID ALERT!!!!

Easter Cuteness

 

In case there was any Question.......

I really love playing around on this new website I discovered. So while investigating some of my favorite bands I came across this....




For anyone who is the parent of a boy this song will be ecspecially meaningful to you. Doesn't matter what Karen sings she sounds beautiful!

Spring Break Love....

Something I am enjoying this spring break is.....Ron's on vacation...so he's been staying up late. Each night Perry goes to bed with me and we snuggle and fall asleep together. Then Daddy puts him in his bed when he goes to bed. I know that kind of lovin ain't going to last for much longer so I'll take what I can get.

SICK

I hate being sick. Yesterday was my day off, I took P to IKEA since he was dying the check out Smaland, and the store. "IKEA is the coolest place ever..." According to the P-man. He apparently didn't notice the 10 min wait to check out, the parking natzi's that instruct you to park 8 miles away even though there are closer spots. The ginormous line for Cinamon Rolls....which made it impossible for me to get one and I wanted one and then the 8 mile walk back to the car....um it was my day off!!! So then we went and saw Horton which I heard was quite good but because of the sickness, and the potential fever I was running I slept through much of it. Upon arriving home I slept for many hours running a low grade fever, with the chills. I forced myself up to finish making 11 Easter cards for my co-workers...cause I'm crazy like that. My fellow work was most appreciated. Although now the fever is gone and I have no voice...try talking on the phone to people with damaged furniture with no voice...."IKEA'S after sales phone sex line, what's damaged..." Ha...I didn't call anyone today. Did as much as I could without calling. Hopefully I have a voice tomorrow.

Emotion

Oddly enough...or not so oddly enough, I think that's just a saying. I'm super happy. Life in general is good. Like I feel happier than I've been in a long time. I work crazy hours, I'm broke as hell, I rarely get to watch TV, I haven't done anything creative in weeks, and I need to empty (Ron's job) and load the dishwasher tomorrow. Just goes to show, one can have quite a few negatives going on in their lives and still be super happy. And this song, Ron gave me (cause I asked for it....geez dude can spend .99 on his wife for her b-day) for my birthday, it's BEAUTIFUL.......

Um...I'm 39...

Holy Crap how'd that happen? Oddly enough I feel younger than I did last year. Maybe it's cuz, I'm working a funner(is that a word) job, with younger co-workers who think I am their age? I attempted to party like I was their age last night for St. Patty's day....yeah....um why does my favorite sweat jacket smell like beer? Not smoke but beer (smoking ban in ohio) It was fun, but old girl couldn't hang after 12:30. Something about strange men (as in strangers) doing a little "grab ass"....hey...get off dude! Other than the occasional grab assidness (new word bonus), and the occasional ass clown, it was loads of fun. We have what's called imports at Ikea (co-workers from other Ikea's in other states who are showing us how to roll Ikea style) and we had to show them how to have fun in West Chester....or the Dub U C....LOL. As if me being a middleaged married women knew how to have a good time in the Dub U C.....yet recalled the Brazenhead being mentioned by some young folks once, and I rolled past it last year on St. Patty's day....I was correct in my assumptions, and it was all the way live. And now the folks from Philly, LA, Boston....and other places think Ohio folks know how to party. Not to worry, I had only 2 beers...small ones...and was home by 1:30.....respectable and responsible, that's how I roll.
HAPPY B-DAY TO ME!

Ikea's Grand Opening

It was 3 days ago and I've just about recovered. Although today was way busier, but today I didn't have to work 10 hours like I was required to do on Grand Opening. You can hit my Facebook and see the photo album there for a run down of the festivities. Or to get a run down of a true grand opening experience you have to go HERE, to see just why a person would camp out for a grand opening. He captures what the experience truly felt like. Very cool!

Fun With You Tube!

Oh my goodness I saw this video a while ago. But then I saw Jimmy's response last week and it's just dang funny. All the bad words are bleeped out but Parental Discretion is advised.


Seriously this one is even funnier!

Birthday...time to Celebrate..

Technically it's a week away, but I generally like to celebrate for the whole month. After all....I've scored free noodles from Noodle and Company and free Ice Cream from Cold Stone. So feel free to send me other coupons as well, oh free cake from Gold Star....it's a free food extravaganza Birthday. Oh it'll be the 9Th anniversary of my 30Th birthday....I know I know....gasp....Stacie's preparing me with information from Skincraft for the nose piercing for next years birthday....she tested the waters and apparently it doesn't hurt. Good to know.

Tight Security?

It's because of crazy people like these that I have to show up at least 30 minutes early to work for the next month. Why you might ask? Because I have to park off site so the customers can take up all the parking spots and then some. Apparently some customers will also be parking offsite with us and taking the same shuttle. Which therefor means not trash talking on the shuttle. These are the folks who show'd up today because they could, and camp out 2 days before the store actually opens. I took the photo from afar because I was a tiny bit scared they'd wrestle me down and take my badge. I have to say they are being treated nicely since they now have 4 heaters out there to keep them warm. Even though the rules said "no heating devices or fires of any kind." That's ok we'll provide them for you. Oh and let me show you a crazy shot of a few of my co-workers hanging at a local bar after work where trash talk is permitted and a lot of it goes down. Left to right you have Kristi...newbie....fitting in wonderfully. Matt, likes to party, nuff said. And Amy, my new homey....whose nickname is Trixie (for a reason)...ha ha..super sweet, one of those people who is aware that I'm not down with hugs but gives them to me anyways. That's a horrible picture of her she'll kill me. So I'll throw up
another one. This one is from the all store party.



The all store party was off the hook. Ikea folks know how to get their party on that's for sure. Oh and big ginormous bummer, Friends and Family day was snow'd out. Ikea was going to let the show go on and the Police shut them down, something about a level 3 snow emergency. I was ready to go snow and all. Oh well, we'll get to practice out customer service skills on the general public now. Yikes!
So don't try and go to Ikea, before Wednesday unless you intend to camp out the security is tight. This is the same security who strolled the store the whole time we were building. While Amy and I were building in the front of the store a few random folks walked in asking how to get a job....um where was security then? Happy shopping people and don't harm anyone on Grand Opening....

All you need is Love....

Sing it Kylie!

Seriously theres nothing cuter than my niece getting her sing on. The big finish with her eyes closed is the best!

Adjustment....

So the reality of retail working is coming at me full force, next week. I left my availability as open, and flexible so I'm working a few evenings....gasp. And I'm off during the week and working on Saturday....again gasp. Life is not as it used to be, where I could listen to 10 podcasts during a week with no problem. No podcast listening for me right now. I hope I can get to that point where I can work it in to my day somewhere.

Friends and Family is Saturday, if you didn't score a pass sorry I only got 4 and gave them to those who would disown me or those excited about Ikea coming and had never been. If you are desperate to get in there on this coming Saturday let me know ASAP and I'll see about any extra pass's folks need to give up. Grand Opening is a week from today.....if you go either this Saturday or anytime in the next few weeks be nice to my co-workers they haven't a clue what they are doing. And for God sake people if you go on Grand Opening buy a freakin' Hot Dog it's only 50 cents and the IFS (Ikea Food Service) folks are trying to break an Ikea record.
Oh and do not be JEALOUS OF MY SWEET SHOE HOOK-UP!

The Fun Never Ends.....

I am tired tired tired. And I am pretty sure that this is just the beginning, of how tired I will be for the next few months. Someone remind me again why I've gone back to retail? I will say if I think I'm tired, I need to thank my lucky stars I am not a manager and I do not have that kind of responsibility or stress. Remind me of that once they figure out I have leadership skills....the answer is gonna have to be a big fat NO! So I just spent 4 days with Ikea peeps, having my head crammed full of all things that are job related. Canton, MI folks are awesome, they have a great team and I do believe we have learned from the best, I just hope we can form a team that is bonded that well. Now I'm off to an Ikea party....then I go to work tomorrow cause I do love these people (not that dang much...but geeze)
Heres a glimpse into my life right now....When I'm not at work.

Road Trip

Totally chillin....as in DAMN IT'S COLD IN MICHIGAN. So I'm totally chillin in Canton, MI. It's loads of fun, yet somewhat lonely, since we have rooms to ourselves, and I'm split up from my peeps cause they are working the closing shift. It was so much fun working today, as in, it won't be hard at all. Grand Opening is going to be off the hook, crazy busy, but I'm glad to have some instore experience before we get SLAMMED. Ok off to enjoy my room all to my self with a GINORMOUS King size bed.

Please Vote....

So in order to take our minds off the events of the past week, or for me the past few days, I'd like to draw your attention to the what I'd like to call, YOUR DOG IS UGLIER THAN MINE contest.
Trust me when I say the enemy will often show up in places you least expect, and it seems to me he's working overtime!!!!


On to the contest:

So the precious poochie on the left is Maizy. The handsome fellow on the right is Max. If either of them were able to procreate we would totally hook them up, just to see what would happen! Now cast your vote in the comment section.

Ok got the awesome oppurtunity to spend some time with Teenagers this evening. For the most part they seemed harmless.....but for the love of all things good and innocent DO NOT LET THEM FOOL YOU.....they're dangerous. Just sayin.....on that note....I've shared it before probably more than once, and will continue to do so when I feel I need to.....Oh and if you could just read James 1....it'll help you deal...for real!

Is Medication the answer?

I think it's this time of year every year that I feel like I'm running in 800 different directions. I talked to one of my best friends Abby the other night and she said the usual "girl what's up with you?" to which I responded, "dude....why in the hell am I so damn busy..." to which she responded, "you ain't never gonna grow up and you are always going to always be busy, it's how you are." Right....except I am a grown up and I don't want to be busy all the damn time. It stress's me out. I do say NO to a lot of things, but apparently yes to a lot of things also. So Saturday I work, theres a basketball game, theres a nephews b-day party at pump it up (which we might be missing sorry Zack), theres a Blue and Gold banquet complete with an awards rank advancement ceremony, dinner and fancy portraits, which I am helping to set up and helped somewhat coordinate and then I will be passing the heck out. And then next week I'll be out of town for 4 days which is when the basketball awards thing is and a talent show, which I will miss both, and Ron will be incharge of the running....Looking back on my life as a child which seems like a million years ago. We did as much running, I took dance class (it's why I'm so graceful) and I was a girl scout....I just don't remember being as busy? Maybe it was because I was the kid and just rolled with it while someone else coordinated. Or maybe I really am just meant to be busy all the dang time cause that's always how it's been.....I could use a vacation....if anyone wants to give me a free trip somewhere say the beach or disney.....I would be most appreciative. And for you IKEA enjoyment......go here....If you win you should probably share.

Built by Jodi and her peeps....

Ok When ya'll are fortunate enough to get your happy ass's into the Ikea...when it eventually opens. Take notice of the fancy (sort of plain right now, but once it has stuff in it....it'll be dang fancy) display podium right inside the front door. Yeah....me and my peeps, we built that. That's right WE BUILT THAT! We are now going around and replacing jacked up pieces, cause we got skills like that. I am going to miss building when I am in training next week. Did I mention I have 12 training class's....I think six of those is mean learning swedish or something. They begin using us as guinea pigs tomorrow. I'll let you know if the swedish meatballs are worth the hype. Oh and I got a splinter today and it hurt....really bad. Who knew smooshed together newspapers (which I believe is what MDF is actually) could produce a splinter. If it acts like wood....well then it must be wood.

God Show's up in Nigeria

Soon even more people won't have to spend hours upon hours a day traveling by foot to retrieve water that is infested with bacteria that could kill them. It's so cool to be a part of what God is doing halfway around the world.


I cry every single time.

Why I take Pictures

These are orphan packs the kids from SOS and Cincykids made for the kids in Nigeria.

The excitement is Intense....

Not really. Scored a spot on channel 12 news. You could totally see the zit reflecting off the shiny black BILLY bookcase I was working on. Not to mention this day I had on my dingy blue zip up hoody that many of my friends hate cause it's just dingy. My former co-worker Angie used to ask me "why are you still wearing that thing it's gross....?" She's mean...cause that's my favorite sweatshirt. It's got this black spiral paint spot on it where I had worn it while doing some sort of stamping art thing with black paint, and theres a black swirly on the boob area....but it's a super comfy sweatshirt so whatever.

Layni was kind enough to post the enquirer picture of me sitting my fat arse on the floor in my orange sweatshirt....(that one is even older than the blue one and it's fairly crusty too. They just don't make them like they used to.) I look like a giant orange pumpkin.

This picture I am posting from the the Enquirer article is of my cool new friends. That's April putting a cool bed together, (this was the second try as she messed it up the first time....shhhhh....) This bed is cool because it can be lifted up with a clicky bar thing and it holds up the mattress to make it easier to change the sheets....BRILLIANT! In the background is Tarji (pronounced Ta-gee, her mom was effected by the drugs....she even says so, but it's a cool name from an old 1950's movie.) She and Julie (pictured next to her) are not big fans of furniture building, and like to take their time because they are not looking forward to the next piece waiting for them and their allen wrenches. I'll try and remember to sneak in my camera tomorrow to get my own sneak peaks....

So much for my big Break!

So the press was at work today. Yes people because I have that kind of job. I thought, doesn't matter I can avoid them because I am working back in a far corner of the store no one will see me, and my GINORMOUS ZIT ON THE BRIDGE OF MY NOSE. Seriously people I don't get zits. I really don't. I definately ain't had one on my freakin nose since 1988. So the day I could be photographed for the Newspaper or end up on the news, I have a freakin headlight on my nose. So I am sitting my fat arse on the floor, actually on a piece of cardboard, and I'm building some sort of rolling clothes hanging rack thing....and theres this huge canon, digital SLR, with a telephoto lens zooming in on my ZIT. It was the enquirer......at least it was an award winning photographer, whom I've seen speak before. Oh and I had on my favorite orange sweatshirt. I hope it's a color photo, and dude has the decency to airbrush out my ZIT!!

Forgot to mention. I went to the movies by myself on Saturday night.....shut up I'm not wierd. You should try it. It's liberating. Didn't feel like fighting with friends who often won't spend full price to go to the movies, or are sick or are busy or just don't wanna see it. All of that includes the husband. You ever just see a preview or hear about a movie and you just wanna see it....like now....and who cares if no one does. Just go it alone. So I did....and oh so glad, cause it was a great flick. JUNO. Waiting for the man to release some Itunes funds so I can get the sweet soundtrack! Hang out at the website and you'll hear quite a bit of it, it was a great movie with great music.

Why I don't watch the news.....

I rarely watch the news. I rarely read the newspaper. I've not been watching much TV at all lately. Stacie sent me searching for this article. Which is a great piece done by the folks at the Cincinnati Enquirer. I could easily become consumed by the problems of this world. This is why I don't watch the news! It's frustrating that nothing more can be done. Not to mention it reminds me how amazingly blessed I am. I can't even begin to understand Immigration laws, and I'm not even willing to debate them because I know too little. I just know that folks feel safe to come here and make money to provide for their families back home. Because they know they can't make that kind of money where they are from.

Ok two posts in one night. God is clearly in control of this blog tonight. I've now given you a lot to think about as well as a lot to pray about. My work here is done.

Why I Pray?

Because it changes lives.

One drop of water at a time.

*swiped this super cool picture off the VCC Missions blog, hope they don't mind.

Oh my aching back....

So we came up with a new and different way to study spelling words. It's called "sit on mommy's back and bounce after each letter." Or you could call it massage spelling. Thankfully the kids under 60 lbs, so he won't injure anyone. It did start hurting while bouncing after each letter, so we went with at the end of the word and if spelled correctly he could then bounce.

End of my third week of manual labor and I'm getting used to it. The transformation of the store is nothing short of miraculous. That steel tank gun I built was actually a TV table....yes with glass (extremely thick glass) shelves. It's a very nice table actually. I moved from end tables and coffee tables to beds and dressers. Which also involves wardrobes......rooms and rooms of wardrobes. I tend to head towards smallish, can fit in one box sort of things to build, just because why get in over you head if you don't have to. I'm sure there will be large items waiting for me on monday since I've now depleted the supply of small things. Since we'll have lockers with actual locks on Monday I'll take in my camera and see if I can't score a few photos for a sneek peek. Rumors are starting to stir up about friends and family day, which is before the actual opening on March 12. The friends and family day is March 8th. So you might want to show me how much you love me before then. Not sure how many folks I can invite. I've heard anywhere from like 10 to carloads? So who knows what's true. We practiced the chicken dance today at our all staff meeting.....something to do with preparing for grand opening....yikes....

Pinewood Derby

Just one more year. We have this year, which is Saturday, we race at 12:20 for any Perry fans out there. Ron created a family truckster (station wagon woodie) for the family race. The family race happens after the kids are done with the double elimination official race. The the dad's can race their cars, just so they can get their manly glory. There is a love hate relationship with Pinewood derby at this point. This is year 4, and each year there is a few dads that are just OVER THE FREAKIN TOP, and forget that it's for the boys to have fun, not necessarily for competition. There are rules to follow and there are winners, but COME ON. The love part is it's ran the same way every year and there isn't as much "fly by the seat of your pants" planning. It's mostly already done. We just pull it off.

I made muffins for my co-workers today....the ones I work with and hang with everyday. They officially love me and think I'm brilliant. Just making a name for myself that's all. Furniture builder...muffin maker....that's me. At the end of the day today I started on what appears could be a gun to a tank. I'm not quite sure. When I am finished, it's suppose to look like a corner end table with glass shelves. It's made out of steel, and requires 3 people to move it. I don't think the designer actually ever put it together. They just figured out how to "flat pack" it and saw that it was good. Hey go get a job at Ikea. They are still hiring, and if you are hired I get $50 when you tell them my name, so do that. If you are hired and I get the dough, I'll buy you a starbucks.

Honesty.....

I am amazed at the ripe old age of 38 almost 39 I still struggle with insecurity. Worried about whether people like me or not. Like I get sad to think that someone may not like me for whatever reason. Sad but true. I suppose others feel this same way from time to time, they just don't talk about it publically on their blog.....like I did just now. It's all about putting it all out there and a creating a forum for discussion. I guess if others admit to it than I'm not so bad am I. Now if no one responds then I'm just lame I guess. Whatever. Most importantly I know that God loves me, my kid, and my husband, oh and my mom, most of the time.


Happy Martin Luther King Day.....now theres a man who never questioned if God loved him. He lived out what it means to do Gods will. I want to do Gods will.....this is my soul desire. The video above was his last speech given the night before he dies. So prophetic. I love how they show he was so filled with the Holy Spirit that he had to be helped to walk away and then sit down.

Am I allowed to love my job?

I do, I really do love my job. The day will come when I am no longer building furniture, and I'll be doing actual work, which I'm not completely sure what that involves. I know it involves a phone, missing parts, returned items, and a desk with a few drawers. Other than that I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing. I can however recommmend what coffee table, or TV Stand NOT to buy because it's hard as hell to put together. Actually for the most part I've been choosing items that are square, or in one box and doesn't require assistance to move to my spot on the floor where I am working. This strategy has worked well for me and I've not run into any items that have me wanting to pull my hair out. Although my co-workers....not quite as smart as me. Or maybe they are way more ambitious than I and like a good challenge. 7 weeks away from opening day.....the momentum is building. (ha ha ha......get it....building, cause that's what I'm doing.....dang I've breathed too much sawdust)

Ouuuuuuuuch!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Stacie I totally swiped this one off her blog. But man dude is dead on. Love the part about being honest about the ugliness of life. Life ain't always pretty so lets recap the ugliness of my life for a moment shall we.

1. Does anyone realize I haven't done any sort of manual labor in oh say.......12-13 years?

2. That is a really long time ago...I was younger.

3. Walking a lot on concrete....hurts the body ALOT.

4. Ikea is 344,000 square feet. That my friends is a lot of concrete. (Imagine 3 Costcos)

5. Those racks you will see and shopping from when you shop at Ikea....I built those. (not all but a darn good many of them)

6. I have a blood blister on my finger, my feet hurt a lot, my legs are stiff, my arm muscles feel like I've been lifting weights, and theres no bath tub at my house.

Sad but all of it the ugliness of life.

Ikea is a great company to work for. The build-up process is actually very cool, and there is a good mix of all kinds of folks working. Important thing to keep in mind everyone is new, so no one is an expert. So everyone is finding there way together. Most everyone is meeting each other for the first time. The person with seniority has been there 1-2 weeks longer than me. So it's all good. Next week I'll be building furniture. I started today, and I did build 1 office chair. It took me about 30 min. which was mostly using an allen (sp) wrench. I helped another person put together this really cool looking hutch thing, once I have the catalogue memorized (Stacie the Ikea dork) I could tell you the actual swedish name. Ok my body is begging me to go pass out right about now.

If you need a part-time job Ikea is doing a Hiring Rally event at Butler Tech starting at 10am till 5pm tomorrow. Be sure to let them know I sent you. Put my name on the application and actually tell them.....theres a referral bonus.

A Glimpse at my new Job.....sort of....

This guy is off the hook. I'll definately have to check him out all week here.

Street Cred.....

I was always envious of 3-4 year olds who were allowed to pull off some Sesame Street Characters on their clothing, and it just wasn't acceptable for grown ups to be wearing Big Bird on their shirt......till now. Thank You Walmart!

New Year New Job!!

Go me! I was only unemployed almost 2 weeks. But you count all the Holidays in there it was really maybe a week. No intentions of discussing my J-O-B on the blog remember don't wanna get Dooced! Remember she got canned and made blogging her job. I'm not that talented. But trust me when I say I am way way way happier, and I start my new job on Monday. Man I've been a bad blogger. I've been enjoying kicking it with the P-man on his Christmas break and playing Zelda....I know I know....I got issues. Oh and I've been wasting a whole lot of time over there on Facebook.....thanks Stacie....good grief. I've always hated Myspace because it's always so flashy and busy...with a ton of Ads, so what do I do, I go over on Facebook and make a big ole mess. Ha! What a dork. It was fun though. I somehow tricked Ron into having a facebook account too. Now not only am I a dork, but my husband is too....woohoo....
Check me out on Facebook and then create one for yourself and then become my friend, because really it's all about having tons of friends.....yeah whatever....it is fun though, and I might smack you with a trout cause I can once your my friend.

So Long 2007.....

Here is highlights of the year in photo's in no specific order. Just fun photos from 2007. 1. Snownapped 2. Art Open House 3. Longest Hike ever 4. CAC 5. Cincykids 6. Cute butts 7. Camping in August 8. Summer Camp 9. 4th Grade a New Start 10. Camping in May 11. Sweet 12. Hiking in July 13. 20 year Class reunion 14. SWITCHFOOT 15. Hot Husband (which one is it?) 16. Unplanned Twins

*If you click on the mosaic it blows up bigger and the pictures are very clear. I love technology!

Jammie Day....

Ok yesterday was Jammie day, man I haven't done that in ages. I'm actually in the same Jammies I put on 2 days ago. And no I've not left the house. I did clean off the dining room table. Made it smaller and cleared all traces of Christmas. I also cooked dinner. The only difference between me and a 10 year old who is addicted to Zelda, I must tend to domestic chores. Apparently these people don't know how to feed themselves. I thought I had nearly defeated this game then I looked up a completed walkthrough....and it appears I am just barely into part 2.....theres 10 parts.....could be days...possibly weeks. Good thing P's into Lego's right now or I'd have to surrender the DS it is after all his game system. He has no interest in Zelda right now.

I think I may shower and get dressed maybe go outside....see what's going on out there.

Zelda....

Usually when I have a lot of time on my hands I think about creating something, scrapbook page, altered book page, getting out some paints and making a big mess. Then there was Zelda. It's been a while since I was addicted to a video game. Last time it was Lion King 1 1/2, now it's Zelda, I'm helping Link do something, or rescue somebody. All I know is I couldn't do it without the help of some online walkthroughs....my goodness, who knew I'd need a boomerang? Or that I'd need to actually blow into the microphone to blow out some candles. Genius I tell ya! Thank God Perry got a DS for christmas or this game wouldn't be quite as impressive. Thankfully he and his Daddy are busy playing star wars lego, so we all aren't obsessed with defeating the same game. So while I'm NOT working I'll be playing Zelda...errr....I mean cleaning and organizing my house. Right, and doing all things domestic!

It's Christmas People!

LETS PARTY!

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I'm Almost Back....

Starting to feel much better. Everythings bought. Almost everything is wrapped. I eliminated a ginormous burden (nothing to do with the holidays) from my life yesterday, and the tension is slowly leaving my body. Some things are better left unsaid. God was all over my decision and he'll guide me to my next adventure in life. The sky is the limit. I'm excited. Let us first get through the insanity of Christmas.

Here's the group shot from the Christmas party....yeah notice the 2 teenagers sharing the international sign for "I'm cool".....riiiiiight.....to that I must share......

Broken Spirit........

I have not felt this crappy this close to Christmas, pretty much ever. I wish I could say I found my happy place and all is right with the world. I wish I could say my day wasn't ruined and I had fun going to lunch with friends I rarely get to see anymore. I wish I could say people are kind enough to hold off negative stuff till after the holidays. Saddly I can't say any of that. Didn't get to go to lunch with friends because just before hand my spirit was broken, stepped on, and then kicked as far as you could kick it. Then I was suppose to pretend like I was fine the rest of the day.......riiiiight.....
Ron and I make Mix CD's for the *OP's at work.
* should probably tell you what an OP is, it's an Old Person. I used to call them the Geri's (as in geriatrics) but they found that offensive. So I switched it to OP, which is equally as offensive only if you know what it means. OP=someone who is close to or over 50. After 60 sorry you'll have to go with Geri....just how it is. No mean comments from anyone I've offended....my blog...my funny....love everyone OP's and Geri's included.

We've been doing this every year for the past 3 years. We call it the Sexton Classics. And we pick songs that were exceptionally meaningful to us over the last year. Perry included. They enjoy them and it's a nice gift with low cost. I usually will make notes on the inside sleeve or via e-mail as to whose song is whose and why we liked it. The CD's were completed. Including cover art that included a picture of me at the switchfoot concert...very cool! Didn't get to do notes, or give them in person.....see broken spirit.

I am looking forward to Christmas, only because Perry's getting at least 1 thing he asked for. He actually only asked for one thing Castle Legos (got the Chum Bucket instead which will make him equally as happy) ended up just getting the Chariot Lego thing that goes to the castle. Oh and he's getting a DS which he'll be stoked about. I'm so ready to relax and enjoy christmas.....

Home Stretch....

Oh the life of a nightowl....that's me. Just finished a spontaneous project...yes I'm heading to bed. Last day of work before the holiday...woopee....Ok can't figure out how to post a poll to my blog...that'd be cool by the way. So here goes. On Christmas Cards, do you:

a) Have a list of labels you use every year and occasionally add new people.

b) Do you wait to see who you get cards from and send your cards at the last minute.

c) Hold up....I should probably send those.

d) I NEVER send cards, too much pressure.

Just curious. Considering I sent over 80 cards. I do get about 75 in return. Love the cards and photos, and letters....fun fun fun....always something unique every year.

The photo's from the Christmas Party are wack. Too much red eye, and then the group photo that does look decent theres a certain teenager showing his "abs" (or lack of) thanks Colin. So I'm sharing a sweet photo of Maddie and the P-man. She lost her tooth that night, the one she had been holding onto for 3 months. I think she finally yanked it because she was kicking it with the 10 year old boys and she likes to seem tough in her Pack 969 t-shirt. That right there is Holiday Cuteness!

Yeah whatever!

I'm in the same condition I was in when I posted last. Not much has changed, except now I'm just used to it. Along with work sucking, the christmas spirit has left the building. I know sad isn't it. I made way too many things by hand, I think it nearly sucked the life out of me. It's nice to get raving reviews from folks who have recieved my letter and card.....but HOLY HECK....I'm just flat out crazy. I suppose it's worth it.

We have last minute shopping to do this weekend can't wait. Our last FPU class.....SERIOUSLY CAN'T WAIT.....thanks for the info Dave Ramsey but some folks are just wack! A pack meeting where I have volunteered to beg for volunteers....like with a speech about needing folks and everything....NOT....looking forward to that. Someone needs to do it and no one else stepped up. Many folks are just burnt out....I'm heading in that direction.

I'll post pics of the Holiday Festivities that happened over the weekend. Good heavens where did all those kids come from? Gone are the days of sipping coffee and having a friendly conversation. Now everyone just talks over each other and no one can even finish a conversation, because kids are masters at interrupting!

This Week

Has been absolute hell. And that's no lie. I prayed for God to be obvious about some things that should never be mentioned on a public blog ask Dooce, it's pretty much why she's a famous blogger. And HOLY CRAP he was all up in my face today. And it's quite clear he's over estimated what my limit is. You know the whole, "God never gives you more than you can handle." Yeah....so what I am saying is. WORK SUCKS.....

Ok there it's out there now can you just pray for me, and that too much Limp Bizkit won't give me a bad or should I say worse attitude. Thanks for having my back!

And in the wise words of a blogger by the name of LA Perry "Merry Christmas Mo Fo." So festive that one!

Handmade Gift Hell....

Ok so handmade gifts are great as long as it's something you like. So in the event you recieve a handmade gift from me and you think it's wack.....you have to pretend to love it! Why you might ask? Because they are worth a lot more cause they are time consuming! The actual stuff it's made out of is inexpensive materials, but when you put them all together it becomes a priceless gift!
I usually suppliment my handmade christmas cards with a box of store bought, because eventually I get tired of making them. Not this year I'm plugging away to assure that they are all handmade, that is just clearly because I am crazy! And because I didn't buy any cards last year when they were on sale, and I'm now too cheap (thank you Dave Ramsey) to pay full price. So if I stick with the plan and we are infact debt free this time next year, I'll make it up to you with a fabulous gift that is not made out of paper! Man I love paper and I sure do have a lot of it!

Drunk Turkey

Drunk Turkey, originally uploaded by Yoda0419.

He's learning techniques I wish I had known at his age. Although I do not have the drawing gift he and his daddy have. His creative drawing class was a huge success, he looked forward to it each Saturday, and folks enjoyed coming out to his open house when it was all over. I enjoyed the hours worth of downtime while he was doing it. So we'll do it again in February. So if you missed this open house there will be another in March. Who knows you may get lucky enough to get a piece of Artwork on your christmas card or framed as a gift. If not the artwork you'll get will be my own in the form of a rubberstamp. If you don't get any of that it's not because I don't love ya it's because I sent 80 cards and you didn't make the list....and I'm freakin tired people.

Tis the Season.....

Well I had a ton of things I could talk about tonight, as it was in fact a extremely busy weekend. Perry's open house for his creative drawing class was this weekend. Big thank you to everyone who show'd up to see Perry's artwork. Those of you who were sick, or forgot, or something else crazy and unexpected happen not to worry. There will be other chances. It was very nice and very kid friendly. I could talk about this mornings message a church which was also very nice and timely and talked about Art as worship.....very cool stuff. Instead I'll leave you with this, which is my new favorite website to visit daily.


Can I just say I wish I had his last name, just so I could say it like that!

A few observations/wants.....

Being a grown up......sucks a lot of the time.

I wish there was more than 24 hours in a day. I might be able to make it work with 40.

I'd like to eat an entire pan of brownies and a giant cup of cold milk and not feel bloated afterwards.

I'd like a job I could be totally creative at and not feel like it was work and get paid a LOT of money.

Debt is pretty freakin stupid, as is most of the world. (except the person or persons reading this obviously that'd be just rude) Wish I had known about how stupid debt was sooner.

Insurance of any kind is boring. A necessity but pretty freakin boring.

Eating an entire pan of brownies would be a very dumb idea, so I won't. Good thing theres only two left. Thank God it wasn't me.

Laundry is stupid. I hate dirty clothes.

I hate bras.

Sugar Cookie Herbal Tea is yummy.

4th Grade Homework is a necessity, and it sucks. Ask your average 4th grader, and then your slightly below average 4th grader, heck ask any grader.

Magazines seem to multiply at my house, they don't just have other baby magazines but the vomit paper everywhere. Does this happen anywhere else.

Schools need to be a paperless enviroment.

I'll end on a happy note.

The Notebook is a fabulous love story I highly recommend the movie....might be in my top 10 favorites of all time....maybe. I'll get back to ya on that.

That was Fun!

Seriously I have no idea what this is going to look like. But we'll see, and I've never heard that song before, not many options though. It was fun to make.

Perry's Open House

Perry has an open house next Saturday, for his creative drawing class. Should be a cool event. If you'd like to come and need details, send me an e-mail. There are 4 kids from his class, and potentially other kids from 2 other class's. Gimme a shout if you'd like to come and need details.

Got Milk?

After 2 weeks of being off the organic milk Perry emerged from the basement with this??? Gasp. We knew something would happen but we had no idea of the severity. Thankfully he's still pretty young and shouldn't have any problem learning to walk with one alien foot and one regular foot. The problems going to be find shoes. He may be able to get by with one larger croc. Thanksgiving

The turkey turned our nice. Tasted yummy, was afraid with it only being 12 lbs we wouldn't have much left over. We has just the right about that we won't waste any. We have enough for one more sandwich and it's gone. Which I'm glad cause I've had my fill! 2 things that are very important to my thanksgiving. Cool whip for the pumpkin pie, (or in this case pumpkin crunch), and the Thanksgiving Enquirer so I can check out all the sales ads, and see the Turkeys. So Ron had to go to the grocery for some chicken broth, so I made sure newspaper was on his list, written very large so he wouldn't forget.......he forgot and I forgot to put cool whip on his list. So I called my dad and asked him to pick one up on his way over. Poor old man stopped at 8 different places, no paper....it's a conspiracy. So called my mom, made sure she was aware her exhusband stopped at 8 places in search of. She stopped at 4, all no papers. CRAZY! So reluctantly I enjoyed my meal, only to continue to comment how empty I felt without the paper and no cool whip. No one else seemed to mind....except me.

THE AFTER PARTY

After all the guests left. And I was feeling a bit bloated Layni called to see how things went. She decided to experiment on her turkey to see if she could make the white meat juicier. She cooked it breast side down. Didn't make a difference still somewhat dry. I complained to her about no paper, and no cool whip. And feeling we still had a little bit of life left in us, she says....."wanna go find a paper. " Not sure she was serious....I replay what she said in my head. It was 10 pm, I had been on my feet all day slaving over a hot stove, so had she. But I didn't get to see the turkeys. Or the colorful ads that make me happy. So I said sure come and get me. And she did. So begins the adventure. She asked me where we should head first? I said Lindenwald (no offense) because not many read there. As we are heading toward Lindenwald (part of Hamilton that's somewhat a low income sort of area...best way to describe it.) Layni calls her mom to see if she got the paper. She said she had, and it was "out there in the garbage"....to which we assumed out there would mean out in the kitchen??? Nope, out there in the garbage can at the curb!!!! What the??? That didn't stop us from picking through her trash, she informed us it was in the heavier bag that contained only paper. Layni dug out a grocery bag of paper, but that wasn't it, she then informed us today's paper was loose in there. Great....my turn. As I am going elbow deep into the trash bag, I ask...."there is only newspaper in here right?" she says in a wee wee small voice, "well that and my dirty tissues...." but it was too late I had already touched one and it was not dry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to which I quickly picked up the bag and through it back in the can...and said, "seriously, we'll find one thanks anyways!!!" Sadly I had no anti-bacteria on hand, so it had to wait until the end of the adventure. We headed to the Circle K. Where we were greeted to men in a pimped out hoopty painted with a nice shade of primer, who hollered sweet nothings to Layni as she emerged from her car. We are too damn old for this.....but it is what we do best! She exited circle K victoriously with paper in hand. We headed to her house for some wine and time to peruse the ads and come up with a game plan for the next day.

BLACK FRIDAY

It's not every year we part-take in this strange American tradition, but this year we were up for the challenge. Even though we went to bed well after 1 am. We vowed to each other we'd get up at the crack of dawn. To go shopping and score some deals. Not to mention check out the lunatics who do this nonsense year after year. This year....we had kids in tow. With the promise of breakfast out, Maddie and Perry were both game and didn't mind we snagged them from their slumber at 5am. We made it to K-mart a little after 6am, scored some much much much needed LEGO.....for a low low price. Layni was in charge of distracting children. It was shopping madness. Our last stop was Target. We were shocked that it didn't appear to be as crowded or busy. Except after we were in there about 30 min it was as though the running of the bulls had been released. We were in the DVD area and you literally couldn't go anywhere, there was so many people. Maddie and Perry just sat down in the isle and read books. As we were checking out and leaving there were people waiting around for carts. We were home and back to bed by 10am......I'm thinking next year we're taking black Friday off....it's exhausting. Be sure to check back tomorrow or later this week. Saw lots of movies this weekend. All on DVD so I'll give a review. I'm sure you all can't wait!

Pretty Dang Funny......

So I had to wait till the last minute to do my turkey day shopping because of circumstances sort of within my control but not really. Ron and I both get paid on the same week now. We were used to having money going into our account every week. Big or small there was cash flow....then SURPRISE.....right.....Ok so did my shopping this evening stricken with fear all turkeys would be frozen, didn't want to risk it so I prayed for a Fresh one. Layni suggested the free, range organic her sister in law scored but that would mean, some sort of ordering nonsense, a trip to the big city and a signature on the birth certificate. Dude I just want a damn turkey that isn't frozen, and ain't gonna cost me a damn fortune. Considering the Turkeys of the organic nature at the Costco were $99 for 15 lbs....yeah that ain't in the budget. Heck for $99 they better have the shell the turkey was hatched from and a genealogy report! Plus you know about me and the Costco and organic stuff, don't even get me started! I researched the eggs.....yes I did.....probably not all bad, but not as good as one would like when buying organic. So funny I first went and rocked Aldi's (it's a new thing I'm doing when I go somewhere and have a good time I'm gonna say I rocked that) considered purchasing the turkey there, but don't normally like to buy meat products there....couldn't anyways because they were all rock solid. Oh Aldi's is a new experiment I'm trying. Went with my super organized and able to stick to a budget friend the other night so she could show me how to properly save money while grocery shopping, buying healthy, going to Aldi's and Biggs (or Krogers) and coming in under budget. She's the bomb! Anyways so what I'm getting at.......I ended up getting my turkey at Biggs, and it's Amish, of the free range verity, and I think his name was Thadeus.....poor thing was young and not fat, and only 12 lbs. So all you greenies can now begin rejoicing....although me and organic ain't getting along right now. Nuff said.

Mysterious and Unexpected...

Exactly how I like the Holy Spirit to show up. Which he did on Saturday night right here in my computer room. WARNING: This could potentially freak some folks the heck out. There you've been officially warned, oh and you may cry. Don't say I didn't pre-warn you.
It's no secret that I am a christian, and I love Jesus. I kind of keep it real like that so many folks will get this, and I'm ok that some folks won't "get" this. Ok Ok Ok on with it already.........:::breathe::::

So I was on my computer Saturday night after making some Christmas cards. I was scanning and editing stuff, while listening to a CD I had just ripped into itunes. The CD is Pocket Full of Rocks- Manifesto it's a worship CD I had heard really good things about, I had sampled a few songs on itunes but hadn't ever heard a full song......until Saturday. I'm minding my own business, scanning, editing and listening. This song caught my attention...like....hummm...what is that, it's got a good worshipful sound to it, then all the sudden it was so much more. I got all tingly, and warm.....and my head was full (like seriously I could thinking of nothing else) of a friend of mine. Whose mother in law was just diagnosed with advanced stages of Ovarian cancer. So first it was thoughts of her, and then my head was full of every detail I knew about her mother in law....again could think of nothing else. Like at the time I didn't even know her name really, I new small details about her like what her grandchildren called her, that she's German, the kind of wine she likes, the traditions she keeps, that she likes gardening. These are things I had learned just during small talk with my friend, but I could think of nothing else. It was so overwhelming I began to get very weepie. I was like "what the heck...." I mean I knew it was God but WHOA....why me, why now? I had prayed for her like I do anytime someone asks me to pray, usually in my car on the way to work, or in the shower....(sorry but it's true, it's quiet there) or when I'm going to sleep. So I was like WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON GOD??? So I was like maybe it's the song.....so I opened the itunes window....to see what the name of the song was.......The name of the song was HEAL.....and yes I did cry my face clean off. And then I had to go lay down because I was then exhausted. The song is based on

Psalms 107:20

"He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction."

A Piece of My Childhood

Joe Nuxhall died last night. I had heard he was in the hospital but he's had some health issues the past couple years and he's always bounced back. This time not so lucky. They put a wreath and a tent around his statue at the stadium. They turned off all the lights at the stadium except the broadcasters booth. And the sign says "Heading for Home........" I spent the younger years of my childhood laying in bed with my grandma listening to the reds games. Marty and Joe were the voice of the Reds to me. When he stopped announcing, I knew his voice anywhere when he'd do commercials or be on the radio for some reason or another. He's a local icon for all his charity work....and he will be missed!

Annoyed and Frustrated?

Why you might ask? I am not green by any means. But I feel good because I provide organic milk to my family, and figure because the government regulates such things well it's safe to assume when they say USDA organic , they ain't lying to you. Bastards! I enjoy going to the Costco and getting the 3 1/2 gallons for 7.50, yes it does cost a bit more but if it cuts down on the growth hormones entering my body and delays my son going into puberty at age 10 well then it's better for you. Except now I find out those bastards are big fat liars. I've investigated in all possible angles and if anyone can see otherwise let me know. Check this out....prepare yourself if you are green cause you ain't gonna be happy. Oh and go here and you'll find what milk truely is organic. You might have to travel to Vermont to get it. This world is a twisted screwed up place. It could be a million times worse I know this, but when they have procedures in place to check up on these things you just trust that folks ain't lying and they're doing your job. Geez....guess I need to buy me a cow and some chickens.....damn....haven't even checked on the eggs yet.....

Cute Kid Alert.....

So I got together with my old small group. We used to meet every week, and talk about life and God and how that all fit together. We haven't met formally in 4 years, but we still get together maybe once a year. We did this past weekend to shower one of our peeps with gifts cause she had a baby. This one here is baby #8. She added baby #9 to the growing population of children brought forth by my old small group. When we were first started meeting Perry was the only one. By the end of the small group there was 3 more. I jokingly referred to it as the lactating small group because during the 2 hours or so we'd meet one, if not all of those babies would need to eat. So now theres 9, with 2 more on the way. I love these people and their crazy offspring. I hope we continue to catch up once a year forever!

Cold Ass Camping

Just a word of advice it's too damn cold to camp in November. I mean it wasn't too horrible, since we were in the castle at cub world we weren't in a tent so that cut down on some of the fridged cold. The camping trip was fairly disorganized which WAS NOT my fault....just annoyed the crap out of me. Things could be better organized if people would communicate. I often desire to fix things but have enough on my plate and feel if someone says they are going to plan something and commit to it, if they need help they'd ask. Not always the case....but what can you do except complain about it and whatever you are in charge of commit to being organized. Nuff said.

4th Grade is hard work. Projects start in the 4th grade the teachers are awesome about telling you ahead of time so you can pace yourself which is what we've done so far thank goodness, because when you got a kid who is ADD procrastinating is not a good idea, although normally it is in my nature. I am benefitting from stretching the project out over several nights. Last night we completed the Cereal Box book report, even though daddy did not finish the Honeycombs. Now we are working on a poster about Colonial Soldiers Uniforms. Does anyone know how difficult it is to find info about the stupid uniforms, it's not as easy as a google search. I gave up and instructed the husband to help. Odd he had a military history book he was holding out on us with. He hunted down the definitions of each piece. Geez....gone are the days of Worldbook Encyclopedias. I am thinking baking a loaf of colonial bread would have been easier.

Under Pressure....

Not really but it's what came to mind when I began to write. And now the David Bowie song is in my head....just like that. It's how it happens all the time. Couple things that are causing me to not be able to focus at my job. Stacie over there on her Faith and Art Blog stirring up a whole lot of something......haven't been given the complete vision, which is why I can't stop thinking about it, and what it might be. Then went to Julies today and she's having a whole lot of fun with paper while I waste away in my cube prison.

Quite honestly it wouldn't take much for me to lose focus, but those two things are doing a bang up job, along with all things Cub Scouty, anything church related, what someone might be wearing as they walk past my desk, Ira Glass talking on the This American Life podcast, seriously doesn't take much at all.

Gimme Some Candy!!!!

How long would this loot last at your house? Me thinks 2 days......
At our house, not a typical candy eating house we'll have this crap well into the new year. Not to mention Ron and I both are on a quest to live healthier, some call that a diet....no sir not us. I'm not measuring nothing. Mentally counting points (today I actually wrote stuff down) cause that point counting nonsense actually works and makes sense. No artificial sugars, cause frankly folks that stuff will kill ya, and I'm convinced causes cancer. Mix in a little organic where it's doable, excersize when we aren't being lazy and limit ourselves to 2....maybe 3 pieces of candy a day, and we are well on our way to being healthy. That does not entitle you to ask how much I've lost, unless it appears I am significantly thinner. You can ask Ron though cause dude's dropped some poundage and he's looking sexy. So I'm involved in 2 weightloss challenges which one pays money and one pays a gift card, and if it has a giant cup of "C" on it.....which translated in normal folks talk, STARBUCKS....I'm bout to lose some weight people. I got till Christmas Day to get-r-done. So send up some words and pass the Kashi!