Friday Fill-Ins....
BOO!
(oh okay... Happy Halloween!)
#96
1. My favorite food seasoning is dill weed. I use it often!
2. Laughter is music to my ears.
3. Lucky is the name of a leprechaun!
4. Morning coffee is something I take very seriously.5. Many people have more than I do... and many have less.
6. Yellow spray paint was the last thing I bought at the store.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to again, composing a Wordzzle, tomorrow my plans include going to see a movie - Fireproof - with Dennis (WHAT?) ... and Sunday, I want to begin a new Sunday School class!
LOL! If you read my Fill-Ins and you know me, you're going WHOA! Melli's going to see a MOVIE??? Yep! Dennis and I are going to TRY anyway to get in to see Fireproof on Saturday. On Sunday, WE (as in he & I) are starting a new Sunday School class on Marriage -- and it's based on the movie Fireproof. So, we figured maybe we should actually SEE the movie! Anyway... this is a really big and scary step for Dennis, so please keep him/us in your prayers. I would really like for us to BOTH enjoy this class! Okay... I'll settle for Dennis getting through all 8 weeks -- ONE week at a time! But I would LOVE it if he enjoyed it!
I'm still hoping to get to see The Secret Life of Bees with Amanda one of these days too. Believe it or not, that's even HARDER to arrange! Life sure gets complicated as you go....
The kitchen is coming along! I got myself into another BIG project with it yesterday - so it's going to be a few more days... LOL! It'll be SOOOOO worth it when it's done though! I'm not kiddin'!
OH! Ella news! She has apparently LANDED in Texas! She should be poppin' up soon on Twila's blog... I hope! Though it did just occur to me that she is there for a very SPECIAL and secret event! So she may not show up until after the weekend.... LOL! Don't you just WONDER what she's up to???
A Sneak Peek...
Oh boy! Oh boy! OH BOY!!! I am getting sO excited now! Once the painting was done I was able to get down to decorating! The kitchen will NOT be ready for pictures for a few days yet. I still have some things I'm working on! But here is a little glimmer of what is going on ....
We have new switchplates!
3 of them - each one different
yet similar!
We have new fan pulls! Yes we do! The other one is a crab!
And THIS!!!THIS clock is the piece that actually started thewhole thing! I saw this clock and HAD toHAVE IT!Soooooo things are getting wild & pretty around here!Dennis just keeps shakin' his head and saying"yes, dear... i love it..."(i have him sO well trained!)
Stay Tuuuuuuuuned!
It won't be long now!!!
My Answer... and... Of Fall & Fleas
Yesterday I asked the question: IF you woke up tomorrow to find that cable/satellite no longer existed... somehow it was destroyed overnight... just flat out, not to be "fixed" in a week or two... but utterly completely wiped out... gonna take yeeeeeears to get up and going again... How would this affect you? NO more internet. NO more cable television. ???
Now I know I'm just a wee little blog and no one was really expected to get into the deeper side of this question... I just wanted to see what everyone would say. But I personally WAS thinking a bit beyond JUST the television and MY use of the computer.... (that's probably about as deep as I go!) and contemplating all the ways this really would affect me. Of course, I don't watch TV so that part didn't bother me a bit -- until I realized that I couldn't even turn on the NEWS to find out what had happened. And I couldn't go on line to find out either! And let's face it, if both cable AND satellite are down, radio is either not going to work - or they aren't going to have any more information than I do! Newspapers probably would not get printed... I'm not sure on that. I know they rely on the the internet to get their national and international news... and to relay stories back and forth from "the field". So, that is just the very FIRST thing I would notice. The next thing I would probably think about is how many friends I have just suddenly LOST. Almost ALL of you. There are only a few of you that I have postal addresses for, and even fewer that I have home phone numbers for. And oops! Now it just occurred to me that mostly I have cell phone numbers for you -- and if you have a number for ME it's MY cell phone. Without satellite we all just LOST our phone service! Now we not only can't get ahold of each other, we probably can't even get ahold of our closest loved ones! My son & daughter who don't live at home do NOT have a house phone! All they have is their cellular devices! So. The world just grew by leaps and bounds and now we can't just call our kids we have to get in the car and go to their home and hope they ARE home because we can't call ahead! BUT before we do that, better gas up the car. Oooooh no. All of our gas pumps are computerized these days.... do they rely on the INTERNET - or can the computer run them without cable or satellite? Hmmmm.... well... regardless of that -- IF I can get gas, do I have enough cash? I sure can't use my debit OR credit card! ANYwhere! Oh boy. My spending habits just changed drastically! Suddenly I have to live WITHIN my means! And I have to go to the BANK to get the money! I wonder how many things I can live without when it becomes THAT much trouble to get it!?
Now... it's not that we couldn't go BACK to house phones, cash & carry, old fashioned gas pumps, cash registers, etc.. etc... etc.... but even THAT would take time to switch back to! IF we lost our satellite/cable powers we would be SUNK! That would be a world wide catastrophe of enormous proportion! Air travel would STOP. I'm sure the shipping industry would be greatly effected too... trucking... everything. There is virtually NOTHING really that would NOT be horribly affected! Hospitals... shopping... travel... Schools... GOVERNMENT! Whoa! Everything would still operate to SOME degree... but it would not operate smoothly or efficiently for quite some time.
Well... as you can see... this question just BOGGLED my mind! But for now... I have bigger problems! Or more immediate problems I guess I should say...
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WANTED!
DEAD
or DEADer...
She went in...
She stayed in...
She stayed in some more...
They have to SIT with the stuff on for
FIVE MINUTES!!!
She came out!
That wasn't so bad.Next it was Big Kitty's turn. And honestly...
I anticipated exactly what happened!He went in...
And for a split second I thought I MIGHT win... but no! He definitely had his mind set on SHREDDING me - and with just rear claws managed to draw blood in 3 places -- his TEETH were NOT getting me! He SHOT outta that sink like a cannon and water went EVERYWHERE!!! And YET... I had the nerve to try it ONE MORE TIME! It wasn't happening though! He is evil! You would never know it until you try to put him in water! I guess I'll be taking HIM to the vets! UGH!
The saga continues....
I DID finish painting all the cabinet doors though!!! Whoooo hooo! Oh - Krysti's coming home tonight - just for the night! It seems she really REALLY misses her winter coats at college! LOL! She's coming home to get them! hehehe.... Bet she wishes she had one this morning!!!
Ruby Tuesday...
RUBY Tuesday is hosted by Mary, The TeachIt plays every Tuesday! (duh!)If you want to play along, sign her linky!
Yea... so I'm the weirdo who's always taking pictures
of the hand dryers in the ladies room...
Ya gotta admit though - it's a GREAT Ruby!
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Was yesterday the sloooowest blogger day or what??? I mean... my blog doesn't pull a LOT of traffic on a good day -- I average around 60 visitors a day -- out of which about I average 12 comments. My mOst sincerest thanks to those faithful 15-20 who provide me with the beloved comments! LOL! But I noticed that yesterday was just all around slow! I only had about half my usual visitors ... but still managed mOst of my comments! (again - those faithful followers!) But I ALSO noticed that in my 82 blogs that I follow that only a handfull posted yesterday! Was there a world wide holiday that nobody told ME about??? I'm just sayin'....
We are rainy rainy rainy and cold here today. I'm snuggling up with some coffee and a paintbrush! And maybe later a good book! So... I have a question.... to leave you with...
IF you woke up tomorrow to find that cable/satellite no longer existed... somehow it was destroyed overnight... just flat out, not to be "fixed" in a week or two... but utterly completely wiped out... gonna take yeeeeeears to get up and going again... How would this affect you? NO more internet. NO more cable television. ???
Labels: Ruby Tuesday
Nothin' Snazzy Today...
Yesterday was a great day! After kid stuff kept me up half the night, I almost overslept for church -- but DIDN'T! *nods* I even had time for half a cup of coffee before I headed out the door! Service was great - a couple of my favorite contemporary songs -- along with a couple of my favorite GREAT old hymns! A Mighty Fortress Is Our God -- doesn't get much better than that! I'm always thrown off at the Lutheran version though - because the first verse is not EXACTLY the same as the Catholic version I grew up with. But beyond the first vs it's all the same! Weird...
After service I went out to "help" at the Pumpkin table.... Turns out "help" means "it's all yours Melli"... LOL! It's okay! I LIKE pumpkins! I LIKE kids! I like crafts! (they all know this... and I'm a sucker!) So the kids and I did the pumpkins!
They could carve or paint...
these two carved and then painted!
I really don't have any idea HOW the Chili Cook Off went! I know I got to have ONE bowl of chili before I got too busy with pumpkins -- and I tried a pot that was made with venison! It was verrrry good! (but I'm a big fan of venison...) I do know that when I went back to pick up my pot at the end of the day, it was about 3/4 gone. I did bring home just a little! But I have NO idea who the judges were ... or IF indeed ANYone DID judge! LOL! You know... this was a church thing! Maybe I'll find out at Bible study tonight! IF I hear anything, I'll let ya know!
Dennis and Mom took a ride up the road to Home Depot while I was doing pumpkins and such and my *new* all white refrigerator is going to be delivered on Thursday! Whooo hooo! I have now been assured about 25 times over that I must be the only person in the world who would view a broken fridge as a GOOD thing... much less a God thing! ROFL!!! Hey! I just call 'em as I see 'em!
I've had a couple of days off from the paint, and now today I'm BACK to it! I'm gonna finish this thing up even if it kills me! And then... yea... I MIGHT have to see a Dr. about Knee! We'll seeeeee....
Sunday Seven! (haven't done one in tooooo long!)
Seven things this week that I give THANKS & Praise to God for!
1. With the state of today's economy, I thank God that I really have not personally felt a problem yet. I know many who are -- and we may too - soon -- but so far I am very blessed to be doing well! Thus far Dennis is still working at least 5 days a week - and that is MUCH to be thankful for!
2. Despite Knee, the kitchen is coming along. I HONESTLY believe that it will be finished by the end of this week! (that's next Saturday! whooo hooo!)
3. Gas has dropped in price to $2.59/gal. PRAISE God! And keep it coming! (cuz milk was almost $6 a gallon!) Glad my car doesn't drink it!!! Dennis thinks that gas will drop back as low as $2.00/gal again.... I sure hope he's right!
4. Okay! I concede! I AM thankful for the new cooler weather! It DOES feel good to walk outside and not sweat -- and it does smell ~crisp~ in the air! (But it's still SUNNY and warm in my kitchen!)
5. I'm thankful that we are less than 2 weeks to our nation's election and that soon the madness will STOP! The winners will rejoice; the losers will seek to lay blame; and then life will get back to normal! I can't wait!
6. I made some absolutely STELLAR chili last night -- two pots! One for the church chili cook-off today -- and one for US! Dinner was sooooooo yummy! I didn't use a recipe - just threw stuff in -- this time I used real "beef" -- I usually use ground turkey - but for the chili cook-off -- you know... I also added some sliced up beer brats! That was a huge good thing to do! I put in some chopped red bell pepper -- that was a good thing too! Lots of chopped onion. Kidney beans AND black beans... oh! and grape tomatoes! I put in a b'zillion whole grape tomatoes ... and made it all just a little bit spicier than normal... I usually use mild seasonings - but this time I used some hot seasoning as well. And I thank God for all those good ideas! I think my chili may do well today!
7. I am EVER so thankful - that even though I didn't ASK for it, God knew how badly I wanted a NEW refrigerator... and He let the OLD one DIE yesteray!!! Dennis would NOT see this as a God thing -- but Oh, I DO!!! I really DO!!! (Dennis does not see ANYthing as a God thing because he doesn't believe in God) I probably should not have TOLD him it was a God thing... now he blames God for killing the refrigerator! (How can you blame someone you don't believe in???) But, at the beach I had told Amanda that I had put off decorating the kitchen for sooooooo many years because I wanted *new* appliances to go with all the hard work! So I said "I've finally decided to just DO it, and maybe once the kitchen is painted, the appliances will come!" (if you build it, they will come...) Well... what can I say? I told Dennis that I understand the timing stinks and the economy is bad - but that the fridge was 22 years old and I would NOT be stopped from being HAPPY to get a new one!!! LOL! AND I will PRAISE my GOD for letting me have it!!! THANK YOU PAPA GOD for something as UNimportant as a *new* refrigerator!!! (don't even TRY to tell me it's not a God thing... it sO is!)
Photo Scavenger Hunt ... and Wordzzle... and maybe some stuff...
Join the blogroll. Visit participants.
Today's Theme: Scary
No one I know... I just happened to be there.
Very scary though!
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The Wordzzle Challenge is hosted each week by Raven
Ten Word Challenge: build-a-bear workshop, man bites dog, opulent, disparaging, lipstick stain, preponderance, smoky quartz, clothes pin, meticulous, falling leaves
October 25, 2007 - Chicago, IL - MAN BITES DOG! In a rather bizarre turn of events today, Martin G. Russel, the city's most opulent citizen, asserts that his dog, Bailey, was bitten by a man with a clothes pin on his nose. While visiting the Build-A-Bear Workshop with his granddaughter at Chicago Towne Center, the meticulous Russel stated the man, who was wearing black dress slacks, white button down shirt, and a smoky quartz suit jacket simply walked up to him, bent over and bit his incredibly rare snow white bullmastif. The preponderance of eye witnesses confirmed the story and even added that the man left a bright red lipstick stain on the dog. Bailey did not bite back. According to standers by, the man then ran out crossing the street and disappeared into a wooded area nearby. Authorities have noted that his tracks were covered by the Windy City's falling leaves. Mr. Russel said the entire incident was quite disparaging, and he is flummoxed as to why it occurred. Police ask that anyone having information about the alleged dog biter, please call 1-800-DOG-BITE. All calls will remain anonymous.
Mini Challenge: moisturizing, pickles, seat belt, flip-flop, Chicago
Do you have dry, cracking feet? Are you tired of using gallons of lotion on them, leaving your hands a greasy mess? Well now your problems are SOLVED! Pickles all NEW Moisturizing Flip Flops will make your feet soft and supple... Your dry, tired feet will feel brand new! Just like a baby's! Just slip into a pair of Pickles Moisturizing Flip Flops and walk around. Your feet will be moisturized as you go about your day. And best of all - no gooey greasy lotion on your hands! You'll be able to fasten your seatbelt on the first try! And then drive on down to Pickles, on Chicago Avenue! Ask for YOUR new Moisturizing Flip Flops today! Yes, Moisturizing Flip Flops -- ONLY at Pickles! Get YOURS today! Just $19.95!
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Yesterday was the most UNproductive day I've had in a long long time! Knee was acting up horribly -- almost had me feeling a need to see a doctor! It hurt just to stand on it... so I didn't. Which meant I got nothing done - other than to write my Wordzzles... which we've GOT to get away from MY word lists! I am HORRIBLE at making word lists! Remind me NOT to do that again! Other than that - I got a good nap! Mmmmm.... I love a nap! Vada had Mom out, so I didn't even feel guilty about it!
In Ella news, she leaves Hawaii today and is heading to Dumas, TX! I wonder what in the world she'll find to get into THERE! I know she has had a grand time in Hawaii with Quilly - the two have become fast friends and I'm sure they will miss each other. It's always sad to say goodbye...
Labels: Photo Hunt, Wordzzle
Friday Fill - Ins ... a Flashback...
... #95!
1. Right now, I'm feeling exhausted!2. In a steaming hot whirl pool is where I want to be.3. How does one balance a stack of basketballs on their elbow?4. Quiet time with God keeps me on track.5. Please don't follow me around and watch me work!6. My family fills me with joy. And so do chocolate donuts.
Chocolate donuts = Joy... if you eat enough of them you get FULL!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to working on my wordzzle, tomorrow my plans include cooking chili and getting even closer to "done" and Sunday, I want to siiiiiiing at church and work/attend the Fall Festival after service!
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A Friday Flashback!
(not to be confused with a hot flash!)
I was catching up over at Twila's blog this morning and reading a post she had about a Pity Party she was throwing! I'm always up for a good Pity Party so I invited myself and joined in! Apparently Twila "booked" one of those "in home sales parties" that we have all grown to hate! YOU know the kind I'm talkin' about! Well... in my efforts to "comfort" poor Twila, I reminded myself that I (yes, I...) at one time became a Tupperware Lady!!! Oh people! This was sUch a bad idea! I lasted at this job for approximately 4 months. That was long enough to have attended 16 "pep rallies" and waaaaaaaaay past long enough to learn that the MARK-UP on these products is beyond astronomical !!! WAY beyond! Sooooooo beyond that I literally COULD NOT in good conscience sell the product! When I found out that a bowl that was being purchased by YOU for $28 was only costing ME $14 ... and only costing my manager $5 and only costing the district supervisor $2.80... it became pretty clear that Rubbermaid off the shelf at the grocery store was a MUCH BETTER DEAL!!! How could I possibly walk into a room full of women ... oh but wait -- MOST of the "in home shows" did not hold a room FULL of women... and that was dear Twila's problem... MOST of the "parties" had 2 or 3 guests -- one would be a mother or mother in law to the hostess, one might be a sister or cousin, and usually a best best best friend who could then be counted on to book a show in her own home that the current hostess would then be obligated to attend ... and back and forth they would go! I'll tell ya something... whoever dreamed up this scheme was a genius! But the really SMART ones are the people who "just say no!" It's the same with candles, home decorations, cosmetics... whatever! If it's a home party show, the best idea is to Just Say No!!!(oh... I'm so sorry if YOU are a whatever dealer....
I'm sure YOUR stuff really is better than off the shelf!)
Thursday 13... if I can count that high... And stuff...
In which Melli tells complains whines about why she can't WAIT for her kitchen to be done.1. I want my living room back. Much of the kitchen "stuff" is living in my living room while I paint!
2. Aside from the never ending cabinet doors, I am down to nothing but the floor trim left.3. My KNEE does not like to bend right now and so getting down to tape off the floor trim and then getting up and then getting down again to paint the floor trim is not looking promising OR fun.
4. Laying on the floor to paint the floor trim and shimmying around the 24 x 12 kitchen on my belly isn't sounding terribly appealing either. (I liked the ceiling much better -- never thought I'd say THAT!!!) 5. But I just want the job DONE so it will go away and I can ENJOY it!
6. The never ending cabinet doors. 7 of them have been re-hung at this point. 8 of them are primed on two sides and painted (twice) on one side. THEY will be hung tonight! That leaves just 7 more... never ending cabinet doors.7. Oh. I forgot I do still need to paint the outlet covers. I got *new* covers for the light/fan switches - but will re-use all the outlet covers. There are 11 of them! That's 22 plugs - and we use almost all of them! That's crazy! Way too much electricity for one room....
8. I can not WAIT to start hanging all the *new* little pretties I got for the room!9. I will not ALLOW myself to hang ANY little pretties until the room is FINISHED.
10. But I just want the job DONE so it will go away and I can ENJOY it!11. Part of being "finished" means relying on Dennis to buy, cut and hang some quarter round on the ceiling -- to cover up all my unsightly boo-boos ... which are NOTHING compared to HIS boo-boos from the one afternoon that he HELPED me paint! (he painted all the electrical outlets! The actual PLUG holes! WHY would he DO that???) (yep! I'm a snitch!) Now we gotta find a way to get that paint OFF of there! I don't want it there! LOL! (don't worry - it's stayed friendly. but he knows that he is never to offer to HELP me paint again! He's
realllly bad at it!)
12. We are now slipping into the 4th week of this project... 13. To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven. Well... Kitchen painting season is OVER! It's TIME for me to move on!
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I really don't have much on the "Stuff" agenda today! I did want to tell you all that I had never heard of a Corn Box either! And I didn't take that picture - Amanda sent it to me after they took Luz to a pumpkin patch and corn maze last week! Sooooooo I was taken as much by surprise as y'all were -- and I said the same thing Quilly did --- EWWWWW after it RAINS!!! Obviously it is a fun thing for the kids though -- there were some dumptrucks and bull dozers and stuff in there too - and Luz played in it for awhile. So, I guess it served it's purpose!
Oh... one of the hermit crabs passed on to hermit crab heaven this week. I think he was heartbroken and missing Ella. He just pined away... quit eating... T'was sad. :(
Wordless Wednesday - Playin' In The Corn Box
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...
The best of Autumn in MY front yard.
I was visiting
Lazy Daisy's blog yesterday and she was listing a Sunday Seven - one of her favorite Fall things was being able to buy Peppermint Mocha creamer for her coffee. This is one of the finer things that spell Autumn for my dear Daisy! I too have a favorite fall creamer -- it is Pumpkin Spice -- I look forward to it each year! However... this year I have not looked forward to fall at all - have actually fought it tooth and nail every inch of the way... and have indeed taken to turning my entire kitchen INTO Summer so as to avoid Fall, and ultimately WINTER! But with the kitchen now
almost done - I still have the trim to do ... I am finally
almost ready to welcome in Fall! I have not actually purchased any Pumpkin Spice creamer yet... but it's in the stores and waiting for me to come get it! If you're a daily reader you know that I broke down and put fall decorations on my front door last week... so that was a start. But THIS coming weekend I will welcome Fall with OPEN ARMS. Sunday is our Fall Festival at church, and I will be working the pumpkin carving/painting table with my friend, Debbie. In addition I have signed up to participate in the Chili Cook-Off! I make a good enough pot of chili -- it's nothing fancy, nothing special, won't win any awards - it's just your plain ol' garden variety YUMMY chili! But there were only 4 other people signed up, and so I tossed mine on into the ring! Gives 'em one more pot to taste! Sooooo... THIS weekend - with the temperatures dipping into the 50's during the DAY, I will finally accept the fact that Autumn is here.
But for right now... I've got summer to finish up in the kitchen! Seeeeeeya!
By the way... Have YOU checked in on Ella lately? She's having A BALL in Hawaii!
Church Stuff... and Just Stuff...
Church yesterday was absolutely AWESOME! We had a visiting Pastor in - ANOTHER Pastor Paul -- Rev. Paul V. Bickel. He teaches religion at a Lutheran high school up past Baltimore. He was speaking to our first reading which was Isaiah 45:1-7, in which God chooses Cyrus (a non-believer) to do His work, and reminds US that He is the ONE God, the ONLY God and that He is Lord of ALL things. His sermon was long and it was GOOD - but the ONE thing that I wanted to bring here today is this. He reminded us that he is a HIGH SCHOOL teacher (I've been there, done that!) and that as such his kids do NOT believe everything he tells them! (imagine that!) High school age kids ask the tough questions! And one of the questions that they ask him over and over and over again is ... Pastor Bickel, how do you KNOW? How do you KNOW that our God IS the right one? All the people who belong to all those other religions are JUST as convinced that THEIR knowledge is true and accurate and that THEY believe the right thing too! So how do you know that Christians are the ONLY ones who are right? ... Now I've wondered this myself in my life. And I don't know how I know! I just "have faith"... and that's what I always tell my people. And my people just always shake their head at me and think I'm crazy and life goes on. So I was very curious as to HOW Pastor Bickel KNOWS too! And this is the answer that he gave... the one he gives to his students. He said... I KNOW because Christianity is the only one that WORKS. It is the ONLY religion where man is saved by GRACE, and not by his own works. Alllllllll the other religions rely on man being "good enough" ... on man "doing the right things"... and man can NEVER be good enough. Where do the other religions draw the line? How much goodness is enough goodness? When does God say okay - you passed the test? Ooops! No... you came up one shy! You were almost good enough - but not quite! Sorry. No. God is LOVE. Perfect love. He created us because He was so overwhelmed with His own love that He had to have someone to share it with! So He created man... and all he wants from us is that we accept His love and love Him back. And when we DO that, His Holy Spirit works through us to make us WANT to TRY to be good enough for Him ... even though that can never happen! And so He sent us Jesus... a part of His very self... to pay the price for OUR sins... so that we can live eternally with Him. HOW GREAT is our God!!!
But... since I don't want to just trust ONE Pastor's word for it... and since I have not personally studied the other 452,000 some odd religions out there... does anyone know of ANOTHER religion that does NOT rely on the good works of man to get to Heaven? IS there another religion that believes we are saved simply by LOVING back? I'm just askin'...
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I do thank allllllllllll of my great friends who suggested only painting the ONE wall yesterday! *smacks head* ... why didn't I think of that!? LOL! Actually I did. The problem was that the 3/4 of the room we had painted with the first can covered 2/3 of each of the long walls, and one of the short walls. Which meant that it pretty much ALL had to be repainted. And then as we found out it had to be repainted TWICE because the first color was different ENOUGH that it needed two coats to cover it! Of course, I also had to RE- cut in around all the cabinets and the windows and the ceiling and the floor..... OY! But it's done now! And I'm actually GLAD it happened because the 2nd color was actually the RIGHT color and is EVEN brighter than the first color was! And now I can go back to painting cupboard doors and start working on the trim! But at least now their IS a light at the end of the tunnel! Whooooooo hoooo!
Oh! A Mom story! She came into the kitchen yesterday -- Dennis was actually HELPING me - I think he was feeling sorry for me at this point! (and perhaps he wants the kitchen DONE too - so I'll cook again!) But anyway - she came in and he was painting behind the fridge... I was standing on the counters cutting in above the cupboards and she says "Is there anything I can do to help?" Before he had a chance to say anything I said - SURE! Grab a paintbrush! You can start on that wall over there! Oh my gosh! Her eyes got big as silver dollars! She said "Oh no! I can't paint!" ... and I turned around and looked at her and I asked, you mean to tell me you've NEVER painted a room before? ... And she said, "Oh yea! I've painted rooms before. But that was a long time ago! My arms are too short now!" Dennis and I both had to stop painting for a minute we were laughing so hard! Poor woman -- got those shrinkin' arms!
Labels: Churchy Stuff
One More Day in Life...
You won't even BELIEVE it.... I don't even believe it! I got 3/4 of the way done painting the walls in the kitchen yesterday and ran out of paint. Dennis ran out to get me another gallon and when I finished it up, the 2nd gallon was NOT the same exact color as the first! It is QUITE noticeable! OY VEY! Sooooooo today, after church, I will be getting ANOTHER gallon and trying to fix this mess that has become my kitchen! *bangs head* I swear... next time the kitchen gets done, I'm HIRING somebody!
Have a blessed Sunday y'all!
p.s. The problem with painting and blogging is... that if you're painting, you're not out living... and so ya got nothin' else to blog about! There. Now we ALL can't wait for this project to be finished!
Nope... I think everyone can notice it.
I had hoped that after it dried overnight it might
be better...
but this IS the dried overnight shot!
And by the way ...
LOOK QUICK!!!
There is little chance that you will EVER see these
counters THIS clean again!
Wordzzle.... and stuff...
The Wordzzle Challenge is hosted each week by Raven 10 Word:
blinking, cellulite, crescent, ship-shape, homonym, suffering, packer, wind chime, scissors, necklace
I was stopped at the blinking light, contemplating whether the weather was way to warm since the humidity was weighing down my curls... and other such homonyms of life... when the suffering speedster behind me sat on his horn! Snapping out of my thoughts, I hit the gas and then wondered why I had bothered to stop for a blinking light? Must have been another senior moment. All the more reason to get myself back to the gym! They say that exercise keeps a mind fit as well as the body... if my brain is developing the same kind of cellulite my thighs have, I'm in deep doo doo! A few extra pilates will get this belly ship-shape! Ugh... right now it's more like crescent shaped! Sometimes I wish I could just take the scissors and cut the stupid flab off! My meat packer sister offered to do the job for me... offered me a free breast reduction too! But I need them! Who else could wear this wind chime necklace? No 36 C, that's for sure!!!
Mini Challenge:
static, floppy hat, penguin, cinnamon, alphabeticalThere once was a
penguin with
staticWho found a
floppy hat in the attic
With a
cinnamon wide brim
And
alphabetical trim
Her waddle became quite dramatic!
Annnnnnd a MEGA...
Once upon a time (all good stories start that way) there was a little
penguin. Pete. Pete the penguin. No no... that's much too obvious... Stanley. Stanley the penguin. Stanley was a very smart penguin! He could name all his cousin penguins in
alphabetical order ... and he knew how to correctly use the most common
homonyms too! (sometimes he got confused on sewer and suer - but then he'd never been sued, so that's understandable.) Every morning for breakfast Stanley
ate eight slices of
cinnamon toast. He loved cinnamon toast more than that cereal with
crescent moons and 4 leaf clovers! The only problem with this was that he was starting to develop a little
cellulite under his tail feathers. Stanley didn't mind a little cellulite. (He reasoned that he wasn't trying to wear a bikini, and in arctic temperatures, cellulite could probably only be a good thing!) The other thing that Stanley loved was participating in the annual snow and ice sliding contests! Stanley was actually a 3x Grand Champion in the
Scissors Sling and he would be defending his title on the
Necklace Loop Track this year! The Necklace Loop was his favorite! He spent hours out by the track watching the
Packers pack the ice good and tight and smooth it to perfection. Stanley dreamed about whisking down that last slope through the finish line! Ice sliding was in his blood! He knew the competition was stiff - but Stanley spent hours every single day on the practice ice perfecting his form and getting himself
ship-shape for the event!
On the morning of the big race, Stanley got up extra early. (He was much too excited to sleep) He preened every feather into place, and brushed his beak, and ate his eight slices of cinnamon toast. While he was eating something happened. First one little tail feather sprang up. Then a wing feather ruffled. And then a couple of belly feathers popped loose. Ohhhhhh NO! Stanley was
suffering from a case of
Feather Flare! (Feather Flare is aerodynamically fatal to an ice slider!)
Blinking back tears of frustration, he did the only thing that would come to mind at a time like this. He phoned Mom! She told him not to worry - but to meet him at the track and she would bring the cure! Stanley put a lot of
trust in his Mom, but if this didn't work he was one
trussed penguin! He donned a big
floppy hat, in hopes that no one would recognize him, and headed over to the Loop. Sure enough, Mom was there, can in hand! They went into the locker igloo and she sprayed him down with
Static Guard. She warned him that this was just a temporary fix. It would get him through the race, but he would have to change his diet! (He needed more protein and less carbohydrates! Penguins are fish eaters for a reason! It keeps their feathers smooth and sleek!) They quickly re-preened him and he was at the gate just in time! The race started with the sound of the ...
wind chime?
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Since yesterday was a bit drizzly I was not able to work on my cabinets... so instead I scrubbed all the hardware for them and then started putting COLOR on the walls! Oh my gosh! It is sooooooo BRIGHT!!! SOOOOOOOOOOO bright! Talk about a sunny day! LOL! When this kitchen is done, being UNcheerful in it will be UNlawful! On Nov. 5th, whichever party loses, they're all being invited to my kitchen for a cheering up party! hehehe... IF it's ready by then! In a related happenstance, my left knee has become suddenly swollen and hurts.... *sigh* Now I got a bum elbow AND a bum knee -- both lefts! This is getting funner and funner!
Amanda texted around 1:00 and said she & Luz were coming up and did I wanna go have lunch? TWIST my arm! I painted until a good breaking point and then we went to Green Turtle for buffalo chicken salad! YUM! (NOT low fat... but sooooooo yummy!)
We no sooner got back than Mom and Vada arrived home and it was time to take Derek to work. So Mom got out of one car and into another and off we went! By the way... driving Derek to work everyday is NOT a problem. But picking him up at midnight every night is getting really REALLY old - especially when the driver has to get up early the next day with Mom! Would y'all mind saying some prayers that the MVA will HURRY UP and reinstate his driver's license? He has sent in all the paperwork -- they are just sloooooooooow.
Okay... I'm off to ice and elevate Knee now! Chow!
Labels: Wordzzle
Friday Fill - Ins... and A Bit of This and That....
1. Follow the bouncing ball! Everybody sing along!2. My Camera is something I always take with me on vacation.3. To achieve your goals, you must work for them.4. I am verrrrrry friendly is something I'd like you to know about me.
5. I have a pickle. (hey hey hey hey!)6. Rootbeer? Ice cream? Soap? floats.7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to nuttin', tomorrow my plans include paint and Sunday, I want to go to church ... and then paint some more!
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My Autumn door...
about as decorated as it's gonna get around here.
I can't see buying mums just to kill 'em.
Yesterday really was just a boring little ol' day! Mom had an eye doctor appointment waaaaay up the road. When we got there I got yelled at because Mom was supposed to be back 9 months ago -- and every 3 months. Nobody ever TOLD us this! I explained to them that when WE inherited Mom she came to us with a couple of bottles of eye drops that said use one drop a day for the rest of your life... and that was pretty much IT in the eye care department. George never told us she needed to go back in 3 months. MOM certainly can't be expected to know that she needs to go back in 3 months! Sooooo... the glaucoma in her right eye is MUCH worse than it was... but she's been without drops at all since the middle of September. (we ran out at the beach and when we tried to get a refill they told us no.) He's hoping that getting her back on the drops will lower the pressure and he wants to see her again next month! Oh yea... that's the other thing -- we didn't even know the drops were FOR glaucoma -- we thought they were because she had a cornea transplant... ugh. Soooooo that was fun... uh huh...
I didn't paint at all yesterday. The cleaning crew came in the morning, and then the Eye dr. ate up the afternoon.... so today I will be back to the grind! Vada will come and take Mom out so hopefully I can get quite a bit done!
I was noticing yesterday as I was driving around that there are not neeeeeearly as many Halloween decorations up as usual this time of year. I wonder if it's because of the economy? Or if maybe our neighborhood has "outgrown" Halloween. We really don't have many little kids anymore. We live in one of those "established" neighborhoods where we sort of all built and moved in about the same time, and we've all pretty much stayed. Of the 5 original family's on our cul-de-sac only one has left. The new family living there does actually have two small children - and I kind of feel sorry for them because they will never know this cul-de-sac to be the child infested trike strewn chalk art BUSY place that it was when my children were small. Back then you could look out the window almost any time of day and see SOMEbody playin' up on the circle -- except at nap time! We all went home for lunch and naps at the same time! Anyway... that was a sidebar! Anyway... all up and down the main street, the houses and cul-de-sacs are still full of the families belonging to the children my children grew up with. So the newcomers are sort of few and far between. Do we ALL quit putting out decorations when our own kids grow up? I thought it was just me.... I did manage to find two houses that had pretty good decorations up -- but neither one is on "my road" ... I had to drive a ways to find them!
This one is kinda cute...
And this one pretty much went all out.
NOT as all out as the house down at the END of our road used to do... and maybe they still will... by Halloween. My kids used to LOVE to go to that house - they had a witch that FLIES! And a coffin that opened and closed. And eeeeeeerie music... they added some new feature every year and the entire yard was full of tomb stones and skeletons and pumpkin heads and of course, the couple always dressed up - he was usually Dracula - but sometimes he was a chain saw wielding monster of some sort. She was usually a witch or feminine goblin. That couple really had FUN with Halloween! But... if they don't get any visitors, then they probably have quit doing it. Not much fun if no one comes! WE haven't had a child come to our door on Halloween in at LEAST 10 years -- probably more. Even when our kids were still small, the only ones we really got were the few that lived ON our cul-de-sac! We're too far off the beaten path. Of course, ever hopeful me... I didn't give up buying candy until LAST year! And then I sat here and panicked that someone would come and I wouldn't have anything! LOL! Silly me... Well, this year church is doing a Trunk or Treat -- I'll be there for that! But it's not on Halloween night... it's on Sunday afternoon! LOL! This is one holiday that really HAS changed! I don't really mind... it never was my favorite.
ThoughtLESS Thursday...
You heard it right! Thoughtless.... I do not have a bloomin' thought in my head today!
Look in there! You can see straight through from ear to ear... it's just gone blank!
Not even FLUFF!
Coping... and fun...
Gattina asked me yesterday if I still have my verrrrrry talkative help come to ease the load with Mom. I do! Vada is still around - still as talkative - and still leading me to wonder if "normal" help is out there anywhere!? LOL! I'll tell ya ... it get's a little hairy sometimes! Last Friday I gave her money to take Mom to paint & pottery to paint a plate, and to go out for lunch. Well... I don't know how my instructions got misconstrued, but they came home having gone to Walmart - where Vada allowed ( i say "encouraged") Mom to buy 4 new T-shirts for herself... only ONE of which Mom would EVER in a million years wear! 3 of the shirts were from the teen/pre-teen department - and were Hannah Montana shirts! ON SALE for 3 bucks each!!! Vada thought they were a great DEAL! The other one only cost a dollar and is a turqoise stripe that Mom actually WILL wear. But honestly - Hannah Montana!!! For a 77 year old woman!!! In purple and black no less!!! THEY should have been 3 for a dollar! WE are taking them up to the Compassion Trailer at church this week! Some little teeny bopper is going to be very happy!
Soooooo... yea ... Vada still comes. But we have cut her back to ONE day a week! We did this because even with her coming twice and talking my ear off... I was still finding it impossible to keep up with housework and was starting to get really depressed because my house just kept getting dirtier and dirtier! Soooo, we decided to cut back the help by one day a week and get a cleaning team to come in one day a week. THIS is working out GREAT!!! This is week 3 of the cleaning team and I am sO much happier knowing that the house gets clean and (when I'm done painting) I have plenty of time to entertain Mom. Annnnd... the cleaning team is cheaper than the nursing help! It's good to try things. And if they don't work out, try something else! And it's always nice to have options! So, right now, life is pretty good!
Now... a couple of cute/funny stories about Mom.
LAST NIGHT... Dennis gave Mom her final medication and took her up to bed. That last blue pill is what puts her to sleep - and keeps her asleep all night. But every now and then, for some UNKNOWN reason, it all goes a little haywire. Last night was one such night. She'd been in bed for about 30 minutes when suddenly she was up... and Dennis hadn't locked the bedroom door - so in she went! She had her sweatshirt with her and wanted to know if she could just put it right inside our door - just until morning. Dennis reminded her that she has a whooooole room and that she could just take it back in there --- and get back into bed. So she goes back into her room ... and Dennis gets up to make sure she actually makes it back into bed. Now, Luz's rocky/bouncy horse is in Mom's room. And it just happened to be wearing Mom's floppy hat. So when Dennis got in there, Mom was standing there talking to the horse ... asking it if it was SURE it didn't need to use the bathroom! LOL!
Yesterday Afternoon ... Amanda, Luz, Mathew & Krysti alllllllll took Mom out yesterday. They ran some errands and then they went to the park to play with Luz. Apparently Mom got bored because Mathew reports that she heaved a deep sigh and then said
"Welp... it looks like I'm just gonna have to stay here all night!" ... ... ... Since Krysti was there the conversation continued. (Krysti hates to miss an opportunity!) "Why is that?" she asked.
"Well," Mom explained, "that man that dropped me off here never has come back for me! And I really don't WANT to stay here all night." (Krysti continued) "Which man was that? Do you have his phone number? Maybe we can call him."
"I can't remember his name now..." Mom said, "and I don't know his phone number." THANKFULLY Amanda jumped in at this point! She said "Well! Lucky for you we just happen to be going to your house when we leave here - and we'll take you with us!!!" That made mom soooooo happy! :)
The Stolen From Dr. John Meme! ... and stuff...
What tv game show/reality show would you like to be on?
FINALLY! A television question I can answer!!! Because even though I do NOT like to watch tv - I WOULD like to actively PLAY on almost any game show! I'm not smart enough for Jeopardy... but I do really well at Wheel of Fortune - but that one leaves too much to chance. I want more control -- so I'm thinking I'd like to be on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire... or maybe Password ...
What is the first movie you bought in VHS or DVD?
I have absolutely no idea... that was a LOT of years ago!
What is your favorite scent? New baby!
If you had one million dollars to spend only on yourself, what would you spend it on? ONLY on myself??? How selfish! I don't like this question! I would either pay off our home, OR I would buy a beach home for the whoooooole family to enjoy! (but first I would tithe it!)
One place you've visited, can't forget and want to go back to?
South Padre Island, TX
Do you trust easily?
VERRRRY easily! I trust God. To be in charge of EVERYthing! And so long as I trust HIM, I don't have to worry about trusting anything or anyone else!
Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think?
Depends. I try to "pray and listen" before I act... but somethings I'm just spontaneous about! And sometimes that's okay... but not always!
Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
Not that I can think of right now.
Do you have a good body image?
My body is the perfect image of a middle aged fat woman!
What is your favorite fruit?
Mmmm... that's a moody thing isn't it? Right now I'll say... cherries!
What websites do you visit daily?
Lots of them!
What have you been seriously addicted to lately?
Blogging.
What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
I wasn't tagged! I stole it! But the guy I stole it from is a fun and creative person.
What's the last song that got stuck in your head?
Trading My Sorrows
Favorite clothing?
Shorts + a tank top
Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy?
I do! Especially in rice krispie treats!
What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground?
Am I stoopid??? I would pick it up! If there were other people around I would ask if they had dropped some money and have them identify it if they had. If not... I would thank God for the blessing! Items you couldn't go without during the day?
A cup of coffee... and a prayer. (the fact that I DID go a day - or more - without my computer while at the beach proves that I CAN do it!)
What should you be doing right now?
Painting cabinets! So now, I'm outta here!
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Soooooooo... not to sound like a broken record, but...painting... I'll be painting today... I THINK I finished priming the cabinets - although not the doors -- just the part hanging on the walls. SOME of them took more coats of primer than should be legal! I couldn't believe it... I mean I SCRUBBED those cupboards! Grease is still coming through... One particular spot I have put 7 coats of PRIMER on it... I give up! Most of them took 2-3 coats... but certain trouble areas are just that - trouble!
Amanda said she & Luz might come and take Mom out this afternoon while I continue working. Quilly asked yesterday what I've been "doing" with Mom while I paint... well... I haven't been doing MUCH... and it's evident! For some reason, when I don't keep her very active during the day, then at night she reverts waaaaaaaay back and starts asking all the old questions again - it's as though she has JUST come to live with us. Drives Dennis bananas! But she also gets very fidgety during the day... so I'll give her a little extra "relaxation" medication. It's nothing strong -- but it does help to settle her and keep her in front of the television or reading the newspaper a bit longer... when she gets bored she either goes to the bathroom, or she wants to go check the mailbox! I don't mind her going to check the mailbox - but I do have to stop what I'm doing and watch her -- If I don't, that'll be the time she disappears! Sometimes I wish we had a fenced in yard that I could lock. Then I'd just let her go out and play! Maybe I could put her on a lead! LOL! *just kidding!* Sheeeesh! And I'll tell ya... she's been with us for 10 1/2 months now... You would THINK that after 10 1/2 months it would be ingrained in her that a.) the dog IS allowed out with her... b.) the dog will NOT follow her up to the mailbox... and c.) the dog IS allowed back in the house when she gets back!!! ROFL! But nope. It's not! We have this conversation EVERY time she goes out the door. Sometimes 17 times a day! hehehe... (and yea... sOMe days it gets to me! I'm human! but for the most part God does a pretty good job of keeping me from killing her!) *g*
Fun Monday... and stuff...
This Fun Monday is hosted by iPost over at
9 Acres and I found out about it from visiting
Betty. I figured I can doodle with the best of 'em... so I played! Here's mine...
And then we're supposed to analyze it from this site.
So here's what I found out...
1. My doodle has been cropped - so you can't really tell -- but I started my doodle about 1/3 of the way down the page and an inch or two to the left of center. The analysis doesn't really address this area. I guess it would be considered a large centralized doodle - indicating I'd like to be IMPORTANT! (got that right!) And since I started on the left my doodle is "highly significant to the workings of the subconscious" --- or the UNconscious!
2. I have DOTS in my doodle (and BATS in my belfry!) which indicate that I have a fragmented personality OR that I am unstable.... ... who didn't know that?
3. I do have
one cartoon face -- normally drawn by MEN - indicating a desire to be the center of attention. *sigh*
3. I have a couple of little oceans ... these indicate that I spend a lot of time indulging my imagination, but rarely put my dreams into practice.
4. Yachts represent a wish to escape from restricting circumstances -- but I didn't doodle any yachts... just to little sailboats... so I must just wanna go grocery shopping or something!
This analysis didn't mention ANYthing about butterflies, beach balls, volleyball nets, flags, spirals, or golf courses. So I'm still really confused about what MY doodle says about me!!!
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Church yesterday was great! Getting to be there for BOTH services, be a part of them both (even though I t.o.t.a.l.l.y. botched both the children's message AND the readings at the first service... OY!) and finally getting communion again... I was just happy as a clam!!! The music is drastically different at the two services - so I got to enjoy both and Pastor's sermon was wonderful - so listening to it twice didn't hurt my feelings a bit! I found it funny that though that the later (more heavily populated) service got a longer more detailed sermon. The early service misses out.
When I got home I got to work on the kitchen again. This is going to end up the longist painting project I have EVER done! Kitchens are just soooooo much more work than any other room... and I'm painting the cabinets too, so it's just monstrous! The day was spent scrubbing the cabinets with rubbing alcohol to get as much grease off as I could, then we took all the doors off and took all the hardware off the doors. Then I finally got started priming them! I got 1 1/2 coats of primer on the sink side of the kitchen. I haven't touched the other side yet! LOL! I sure hope my kitchen's done by... Thanksgiving! LOL!
Dinner was Pizza delivered... but we couldn't sit down at the TABLE to eat it! Cabinet doors and drawers are now taking up every square inch of space in my house! (it's gonna be soooooooo worth it when it's done though!!!) ;)
