Monday, November 29, 2010

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I'm Still Here

Though, quite barely at times. Lately, I've been just going through the motions, trying to keep up with things while clearing out closets, toys, and clothes. With a household of seven people, it's really overwhelming - and that's before throwing in the closets & organizing! And pretty close to impossible to do all at once. I can't wait till it's all done. I can't wait to get my kitchen closet back! I think that is the goal for today.

It's hard to believe the holidays have arrived. With Thanksgiving just two days away, that means Christmas is only about 4 weeks away. We are nowhere near ready! I haven't even brought up a single strand of lights from the basement. Maybe that will be our Thanksgiving Day project. Decorating. And if you have any ideas about how to string some lights on our house, let me know. I haven't figured a way to do it that wouldn't look cheesy, or cause us to risk life & limb climbing a ladder more than two stories high...

...

Well, I got the kitchen closet pretty much all cleared out. Now I just have to reorganize it. I've missed that closet, and it's nice to have it back. My craft supplies (yes, I do own crafty things), a few games, a couple boxes of who knows what, pencils/crayons/erasers/papers, and 2 broken bean bags (don't ask. Really, don't ask. I have no clue why they were put in the closet instead of the trash) were doing a great job of filling up my closet floor. Now, I only two closets left in the house to go through - our bedroom closet, and the main level bathroom closet. Then I have 3 drawers of papers and miscellaneous stuff to go through. I think that's it, as far as closets & junk drawers go.
But in the meantime, it's time to watch Chuck on Hulu with my hubby.

...

The previous was typed yesterday.

I'm finding it quite irritating that I forget to hit publish when I'm finished typing. It has happened a couple times in the past week, but I just delete it. Not today! I am clicking publish today.

It's also been happening with my texts, too. Dad, if you all of a sudden don't get a reply from me, it's quite probable that I replied, but forgot to hit send. Then whenever I do realize I forgot to hit send, it's too late for it to make any sense. :P

...

The other day, we noticed Sniper got a haircut of sorts...



Can you take a wild guess which of my children decided to play hair salon with the cat? Ironically, it's the one child who has never cut her own hair (or even had a sibling cut her hair). How in the world Elise thought to cut Sniper's whiskers, I'll never know. I probably don't want to know.

:)

Since I haven't done the daily thankful thing that everyone seems to be doing, I'm going to list my 30 things here.

1. Jesus
2. Robert
3. My kids
4. My family
5. My friends (who are more like family)
6. A home big enough for our big family
7. Our cars
8. Our gifts/talents
9. Our freedom
10. Food in our tummies
11. Clothes on our back
12. Shoes on our feet
13. Indoor heat
14. Long, hot showers
15. Cozy slippers
16. Warm blankets
17.Hugs & kisses
18. The ability to do whatever needs do get done. Whether or not I want to do them is another story.
19. The scent of freshly cleaned laundry.
20. Having a local grocery store - as expensive as it may be, it's saving me a trip to Carroll today.
21. Netflix & Hulu
22. Our health
23. Memories
24. Being born in this time. As much as people seem to think the world is the worst it's ever been, it's not. Wars, killings, fears, and the like have been around for a LONG time. Just read the history books and the Bible. But I'm grateful for this time period mainly for the fact that we don't have to wash clothes by hand, heat water over a fire to pour into a metal tub for bathing, kill & prepare our own meat, use a candle for light instead of scent, etc.
25. Coke ;)
26. Internet, phones, and the good ol' pen & paper - allowing me to stay connected to loved ones.
27. Summer
28. The beauty, creativity, and usefulness of God's creation - especially the tiniest details we don't even see.
29. Humor & the ability to laugh at it.
30. The fact that only God's opinion of me holds any merit.

Besides the first five or six, these weren't written in any particular order. I just typed out what popped into my head. I did this exercise once a long time ago in my journal, except I tried to think of 100 things to be thankful for. I think I must have had a hard time toward the end, because I was thankful for salt & pepper shakers. But really, we are to be thankful in all things - the good, the bad, and the seemingly meaningless things. After all, without those shakers or grinders, seasoning our plates tomorrow could be quite a pain!

Hope your Thanksgiving is happy!


Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Silhouette

In the words of Trevor (and Napoleon Dynamite), "Yesssss!"


Can't say I get the same feeling when I look at the snow ;)

Check out other silhouettes at I Heart Faces.




Friday, November 12, 2010

"You are gonna be mad."

Not the words one likes to wake up to, right? I knew it was supposed to rain during the night, but snow?? Yeah, I was not a happy camper when I looked out my window. I hate snow.

It it still snowing. At least the snow is looking heavier, which means it should turn into the rain we're supposed to have all day. Which, according to the forecast, will turn back into snow tomorrow.

I'm not ready for it. Not mentally or physically. I just barely got the kids wearing those knit gloves & hats in the morning!

Oh, and before I fell asleep last night (or should I say, the wee hours of the morning), I was thinking I would rake the leaves that didn't get blown away by all the strong winds last week. Or was it the week before? I don't know, but what I do know is that when this first snow melts, the leaves will be wet and heavy. Guess that means it turns into a man's job, right?

*insert evil laugh*

I think I hate snow so much because I didn't grow up in it. I grew up in a climate that once it hit 50°, you bundled up. Seriously. I sent Sierra to kindergarten a handful of times wearing a winter coat and knit gloves. I don't think the temperature even dropped below 50°.

I actually have two memories of snow from when I was little (I was technically born in Iowa and lived here until a few days after my 6th birthday, but really raised (and married, and had a family) in California, so SoCal will always be home to me). In both of those memories I wasn't happy. The first memory I have, my dad was carrying me to the house and I was under a blanket. It's a sweet memory in the fact that I remember my dad carrying me, but I remember the bite of the cold, and I wasn't feeling all too happy. My other memory was trying to walk in a big snow suit. I had a scarf or something over my mouth and nose, and it was dreadfully uncomfortable and wet. I remember my gloves being wet as well. Not very pleasant.

More recent memories of snow include sliding our car into a ditch, shoveling the sidewalk so we can make it to our van - only to have to do more shoveling so we can get out, having red and swollen hands from doing said shoveling, then having a ton of snow fall as soon as the sidewalk is clear, and you have to go shovel again (repeat that one about a thousand times!), 6 foot icicles that could seriously kill an elephant, power outages, and temps so cold, it makes your nose run, but the snot freezes before it even leaves your nostrils.

Did I mention I hate snow? Just checking.

*turn off music first*

Monday, November 8, 2010

Orange

Orange is the theme for this week's I Heart Faces challenge, and orange is my daughter's favorite color! Surprisingly, her trick or treat pumpkin is the only recent photo with orange that comes to mind...






Wednesday, November 3, 2010

My Thoughts...

I have to say, I have been feeling really positive about everything that has been going on. I know that ICD has been a 'victim' in the recent events, but I just can't see it that way. When people get the serious look of concern and apologize for what Robert's gone through, I tell them it's God. It's all God. The timing, the blinding, the closed mouths of those who knew what happened... there's no mistaking it. Ever heard the saying, "Divine Intervention?" Well, this was it. God all but literally paved the way for Robert to be where he is today. Owning his own business. In his own store. He is gifted. Truly gifted.

Just look at his logo in my sidebar. He designed that. Looks simple, but the idea behind it is genius. Ever see a stop sign? Well, Robert designed his logo to look similar to a stop sign because everyone is familiar with stop signs. And there are stop signs everywhere - kinda like free advertising. ;)

Oh, and how about his catch phrase, "Why hire a geek to do a technician's job?"

His gifting and talents are no mistake. He didn't go to school for marketing, but you'd never know it just by looking at what he's come up with and all the ideas he has. His base knowledge of the inner workings of a computer came completely by trail and error. From hours upon hours of studying anything and everything computer related - and retaining it & understanding it. You've been to school. You know that you can study and study, but there are just some things that don't stick. That you just can't get. There's more than just studying and trial & error involved here. There's a true gift he's been given. He may not believe it (especially when I get after him about his spelling), but Robert is seriously one the the smartest people I know. He never ceases to amaze me.

Another thing that has been so cool for me is totally being able to relate to different people written about in the Bible. A few weeks ago, I was thinking of Noah. God provided him the instructions, the means & ability, and then brought the animals to the him. Kind of like the line in 'Field of Dreams,' "If you build it, they will come." All we have to do is obey - doing our part, and God will do the rest.
This week, I keep thinking about Joseph. His brothers sold him as a slave, but Joseph ended up being a king in the end. When Joseph saw his brothers again, he told them, "What you intended for harm, God intended it all for good."

A little Sunday school video my grandma played when I was young sticks with me to this day. It showed a girl & her mother making cupcakes in the kitchen. While mixing ingredients, the daughter tasted what I remember being vinegar (though, I've never made cupcakes that require vinegar!), and got a nasty surprise. She couldn't understand how something so yucky was in something as yummy as cupcakes. The mother used that to explain Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Even all the yucky things in life, when viewed in an eternal point of view, work out for our good. Just like delicious recipes that require not so delicious ingredients. When we trust the original cook who authored the recipe and follow the directions, the outcome can be pretty yummy! In life, sometimes we are lucky enough to see the good come from the bad, but not always. That's when faith steps in.

Anyway, I'm really excited & blessed by what God is doing, and just wanted to write it down. To share it with whoever will listen. There is a purpose for everything. Even if we can't always see it.

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