CSI: Lola

I don't know when......... I don't know where.......... I don't know how...........


I don't know why! WHY!! WHY HER??? She is only one year old!

How could someone wound her so deeply and not leave a note! My poor Lola. I tried to protect her, to keep her safe and yet somehow, sometime, some MONSTER scratched my baby and left her there alone......


Officer Jasmine headed the investigation by examining Lola's roof for clues. She saw paw prints... lots and lots of paw prints, but they were smudged and muddy and she couldn't get decisive prints. Nothing that would stand up in court anyhow......

Inspector Jixie is also on the case. She examined Lola's undercarriage. Nothing. No clues. NO MICE!

The K-9 unit was called in next. Detective Samson with his nose
to the proverbial grindstone. He tried to sniff out some clues. Something.... ANYTHING that would lead to the apprehension of the perp. The UnSub!

The Crime Lab came by and took scrapings and swabbed for DNA.
Nothing there either. But at least that pretty much rules out that
I backed into a raccoon or something. Or Optimus Prime. I mean if I did back into Optimus Prime, what would be left behind? Alien DNA?

What?

What???? What is that look for? It could happen.

You know, sometimes your lack of enthusiasm hurts my heart.

Funerals & Dustbunnies

How are Funerals & Dustbunnies alike?

(Wait for it.... wait for it......)

Ummm let's back up a bit.... Last weekend I attended a memorial service for a lovely lady in my extended (kinda) family. She was a sweet woman: well loved and well spoken of, but what sticks with me from a eulogy was what she didn't seem to be. Her grandson, clearly emotional at her passing and rambling on a bit, kept saying that she didn't go to church. I really do not know why he was stuck on that. Okay... I gather she wasn't a spiritual person but do you suppose she wanted that pointed out? I don't really know. There wasn't a minister there at the service. When they spoke fondly of what she gave them they didn't mention her prayers with them, share scripture that she loved or show us a well worn bible. A good person. Hospitable. Loving of her family. But apparently she didn't go to church. Except for family reunions. He did point that out.

I moved a piece of furniture last night that hadn't been moved in about 4 years. When it was gone, there was a giant dustbunny! GIANT!! Like 2 feet long! Scary!! There was a lot of cat fur. I will admit it. Also there were no less than 14 toy mousies, a cap to a bottle of spray butter, 2 pens, some cookies shaped like alphabet letters (where did those come from?), a clothes pin and several soda bottle tops. To you cat owners you know--- these are all cat toys that had been batted around until they got stuck too far for paws to reach and eventually given up on and forgotten.

(Wait for it..........)

Once upon a time I taught a class called "Ladies in Waiting" to single gals.
Stop.
Laughing.
STOP IT! (I am a GOOD wait-er, just not a good DO-ER.)

We talked about how we would live our lives waiting for Prince Charming to appear. I remember one week we talked about how many dates you would be on before you would find out about a person's faith. Clearly there is a reason I don't get asked out on dates because my answer was "Wouldn't you already know?" (SNICKER SNICKER...."There, there silly little, idealistic girl, immature child... crazy cat lady....... "pat, pat... GUFFAW!!!)

(seriously, can she draw a parallel here-- yes, she can, oh ye of little faith)

I don't have a tattoo of John 3:16 on my forehead. I don't carry my bible everywhere I go. Yes, I do have Keith Green on my ipod-- so what, he is still awesome even thought he has been dead for 30 years!! But I hope that you wouldn't have to wonder about my faith at my funeral or find a GIANT dustbunny under my perfect facade if you were to strip away what is on the surface. (That dustbunny is a metaphor in case you missed that)

When the stuff you can see on the surface is stripped away-- what is left?

I pray that you whom I love know how often I pray for you. I hope that a pastor who really knows me preachers a salvation message at my funeral. I hope at that same funeral that someone laughs until they snort at stories of what a dork I was. I hope I have passed my faith along to my children, and their children and their children. I hope I wear out many bibles and that you could easily find my favorite spots. I hope that no one is surprised to find out anything about me-- that what you saw is what there was. I hope that I communicated that being flawed is normal-- learning from your mistakes is how you grow. I hope I trusted enough to show you who I was and not hide a whole lot of junk under the furniture.
For sure there will be cat hair though-- that is a given.

Samson the Barbarian VS Jixie: Warrior Princess

PSA: Any animals harmed in the making of this blog were harmed by other animals only. I have made harmless, yet surprisingly realistic, representations of the physical damage.

Dear Geeez Groupies~ Sadly I must report an incident of Animal On Animal Violence in the Fenner home. I know, this is shocking! I too, am appalled.

Despite years of therapy and millions of dollars spent on animal psychologists, Sam's obsession with teasing the cats continues. It seems as though it is never enough for him to attempt unmentionable acts upon Jasmine, Chanel and Yvette (the cats with whom he gets along) in the name of 'Alpha Animal Dominance' (wink wink) but he constantly feels the need to approach the other feline members of the household who despise him.

Today, Jixie had finally had her fill. I heard yowling and hissing coming from the front room followed by canine whining and scrabbling by Sam to reach his safe haven which is under my work desk.

When I called him out, this is a dramatization of what I saw.
WARNING: This is a graphic representation due to my new photo editing software. It is rather frightening, isn't it?

In truth, Sam didn't look anywhere nearly this bad (I am just a computer editing GENIUS) and once he licked off his own nose (eeeewwww) I couldn't even find any damage. He is lucky. He got off pretty easy. This time. I spoke with Jixie: Warrior Princess about this attack but she pleaded self defense and was given a verbal warning and a loss of catnip treats for the day. As far as I know, catnip abuse did not play a part in this incident but one never knows. Additionally she and I had a talk where I reiterated to her that violence is never the answer, especially when she is capable of escaping by leaping on to the refrigerator.


PS: Thanks for all the support with the schooling thing. I will keep you posted. The situation is bound to supply me with lots of blogging material!

Things You Never Thought You Would Hear Me Say

There are some things that I bet you never thought you would hear me say:

I am getting back with my ex-husband.
I hate cats-- I think I will get an aquarium
Chocolate leaves a bad taste in my mouth
I want another baby
I am going to homeschool Lauren

WHAT????????????????
What was that last one????

Today Lauren started the process to start Independent Study. Today I withdrew her from Desert Christian. Today we went and cleaned out her locker. Today I had to stop the car because it hit me so hard and so unexpectedly that I actually cried real tears. I didn't even know that I could do that anymore.

I didn't realize how much this was going to hurt. For the last 20 years I have willingly sacrificed to give my kids a Christian education because no trip or jewelry or tv or car or any other shiny thing was more important.
And today I failed my daughter.

Is this the Jeremiah plan God has for my life?
Is it really?
I know He is in control. I do trust Him, but is this it? Did I deviate and mess up the whole dang thing somewhere along the line? Is there an alternate Lost-style parallel universe out there where I married someone who loved me? Where my son and his wife created their marriage based on the example of intact homes? Where Lauren got raised in a two parent home like her Birthmother choose for her? Where I was able to help her enough, motivate her properly, give her the tools she needed to succeed in school?

Is this how it is supposed to be??

Because it feels like another gigantic failure.

And I don't write this so you can all tell me that I really am an awesome mom, that I am a super genius, that Fat is the New Thin, 46 is the new 25, my hair has never looked better, my breath is minty fresh, that you wish your house was as clean as mine, that you wish every single day that I had been your mom..... no, I know these things already.
I just wanted to feel sad for a little while. Let some of those tears I have built up escape.
Pull myself up by my bootstraps and get on with it. (HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PULL THIS OFF???) (Do I need to buy Lauren and I some long denim skirts and prairie blouses?)

I really tried to figure out how to upload a YouTube video, but I couldn't do it.... but you really must go to this link to know how I feel right now...........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqvyBQ0PNbw

PS: If you have been trying to leave comments and can't figure it out please try again. I think I fixed the problem. And my self esteem is so shaky right now I really could use the props, lol.

Free The Magnussans: An Open Letter to The City of Anywhere Town

Dear City Employee who came by to harass my neighbors, the Magnussans:

I understand that you have a boring stupid job and you probably have low self esteem because of this, but you need to understand that it isn't right to take the disappointment you feel over your sadly wasted life in bureaucracy out on my neighbors. I live nearby (certainly not across the street) and I can tell you that anything you found on their driveway was just there while they cleaned out the garage. If they have some brown spots, well it is the Mojave Desert-- everyone has a few brown spots.
If you want to see a house with some serious issues, look at this one.
There are trash receptacles barring the gate so the dog won't get out. There is a car that doesn't work in the driveway! Their rose bushes are taking over the flower beds in several locations! There is a brown spot in the lawn because the aforementioned dog peed there! There is another hole in the fence where that same dog chewed through the wood! And worst of all, they keep their Christmas lights up. All. Year. Long!

It is easy to understand how the City is short on cash what with all the good restaurants being in That Nearby Town. Next to the Mall. And all the other cool shopping centers. And we all know that the whole Anywhere Town Boulevard thing is a big disappointment-- you have been trying to make that a Hot Spot for years. But no matter how many pretty blinking white lights you put up no one is ever going to go there. Get over it. The last time that area was popular was when the high school kids used to cruise every weekend. Not that I am old enough to remember that or anything. In fact if I had ever been there back in the day I might remember crashing through someones block wall one night in Cathy Ruff's dad's car. Good Times.......

So please. Stop projecting your anger on to innocent, law abiding citizens. Kathy and her kids are awesome! They open their homes to special needs kids. They are active in the church! They let me babysit their hedgehog once! (Oh yeah, I said hedgehog) If arranged marriages were legal I would be buying up camels, gold bracelets and nose rings and heading on over there to marry off my daughter to Braden. She already wants the nose ring anyhow! Sure, she can't cook, and I have no visible evidence that she can clean-- but she can do laundry!

So Mr. City Man--- in conclusion...... How about you leave my peeps alone and go check out the Giant Asparagus growing in the area next to the Movie Theater where all the great restaurants are supposed to go? Now there is an issue that really needs to be addressed!

Sincerely,

a concerned citizen who doesn't live anywhere near the Magnussons or the Giant Asparagus

"Not Me Monday" 1-19-09 Edition

ATTENTION GEEEZ GROUPIES!! IT IS THAT TIME AGAIN~~~~ http://www.mycharmingkids.net/

And this week I figured out how to put in the button (that thing up there^^^) All you have to do to get over to MckMama's blog, home of "Not Me Monday" is click on the button and you will be magically transported........ Be sure to check it out! Last week I was entry number 157 (out of well over 400) Not bad for my first time out!!

This past week here is a list of things I most definitely did not do:



I did not watch the clock at work for the last hour of my shift. I love my job. My office is like a second home to me.



What would I have to do if I were home anyhow? Take a nap? I would NEVER take a nap before dinner was made and the laundry was done and the floors were scrubbed and the dog was bathed! Or the shelves dusted, the cupboards re-organized, the bills paid, the toilets scrubbed, the rosebushes pruned. No I would never think of it!
I wouldn't start getting my filing done so my work baskets looked
clean and neat before 4:30pm. I just did not do that!


A watched pot never boils. A watched clock never makes the time go by faster. Therefore, I would never, ever, not for a minute, not for 30 minutes not from 3:26pm on a Friday at the end of a very looong work week start watching the clock and then sprint out of my office at 4:31pm
Not 4:30pm, mind you.... I didn't want to look desperate.
Not me. I would never feel a desperate need to escape.

Additionally, I don't know who told you that I tried to talk my sister into making her hand into a puppet at the Post Office and hold a conversation with it because she said she was really really bored. That is bizarre. I would never try to get my little sister to do something that would make her look weird. It hurts me that you would think that I would do that!

Why Cats Are Not Invited To Koinonia

My cats are normally very spiritual creatures. One (or more) often sit with me during my prayer or study time providing encouragement via purring and/or that rhythmic kitty cat kneading thing they do.

Yes, cats are great in personal prayer time.
Not so much for Koinonia.

The first time my Sunday Small Group met at my house for fellowship time, Oliver Thomas O'Malley (Malley to his friends) distinguished himself by waiting until we were gathered around my kitchen island (which was laden with all sorts of goodies), hands joined in prayer to bless our food-- and then jumped directly mid spread onto the counter top. (Malley chooses to protect his anonymity and therefore I was only able to get his back end, but you get the idea).

Today, as we gathered in prayer once more we were first interrupted by the phone ringing (Okay, I can't blame that on the cats. It was the dog crank calling the neighbors. Again) and then by the sound of Chanel crunching on kitty nibbles. Not to be easily thwarted, Chanel ignored my attempts to draw her away from the cat dish for scritches nor was she startled by the napkins I threw at her. Yeah, napkins aren't all that scary but it was all I had. I did have a cookie, but I was not willing to sacrifice the cookie. Not even for the sake of spirituality. (That isn't true--- I just thought the sound of a cookie hitting the cat might possibly be even more distracting).
Crunch. CRUNCH. CRUNCH!!!! CCCRRUUUNNNCCCHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

My mind is darting between trying to figure out best/least distracting way of ending The Great Catfood Fiasco of 2009 and focusing on the prayer needs (which were many and so much more important than my cat at that moment). Then I hear the unmistakable soft snickering of the person sitting to my left.......... and I realize that I am completely failing in my quest.
Mercifully, she finished eating at I was able to give the group my full attention.

When we were done praying, Fearless Leader (aka Jim) began discussing next month's gathering. A BBQ.......... I think he was eyeing my cat when he made the suggestion.........

Maybe next time I will herd the furgang into the back bedroom........

I Suffer From A Swollen Uvula

I woke up Tuesday morning to a swollen uvula. (That is the hangie thing in the back of your throat for you people who are less medical than I, if that is actually possible). This has happened to me several times before. Usually it happens when I am REALLY tired or sick and have snored to the point that my uvula rebels and swells to twice it's normal size. Yes, I can feel it. It feels like what it is-- a big yucky wad of mucousy skin hanging in my throat. The best part for everyone around me is that when I speak I sound, well... how do I put it? Rather less than intelligent and it is pretty funny. I entertained everyone for the past few days. I thought my boss was going to have a stroke laughing so hard at me trying to hold a professional business conversation while I sounded like the other sister in that movie "The Other Sister".
So I google "Swollen Uvula" to prove that is not a freakish thing (ie: Further proof that I am an alien) that only could happen to me. YOu are not going to believe this, but I actually found this blog http://swollenuvula.blogspot.com/
I seriously did not write this!
I mean, sure I am blogging about my swollen uvula in my blog--- but I didn't CREATE a blog just to blog about my swollen uvula. That is just ridiculous!

I tried to get a picture but I just was not able to capture this occurance on film. I am sorry--- I know you all count on my visual aides! Maybe next time!

Praying for The Abbys

Tonight I have two different girls named Abby on my mind. One of them is a little girl whom I have never met but who's parents blog has touched my heart. The other is a teen-aged classmate of my daughter's.

Little girl Abby has leukemia and is starting treatment today that she may not survive. Check out her story here: http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/2009/01/tomorrow-is-now-really-tough-treatment.html

Her father has also written a what I think is just an amazing answer to why we should ask people to pray here;
http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/2009/01/does-it-matter-if-more-people-pray-for.html

Teenage Abby was in a car accident a week ago tonight on the way home from youth group that has left her with a broken pelvis and a crushed foot. She had surgery yesterday and is recovering in the hospital. My daughter and I visited her tonight. The car her brother was driving got hit by at drunk driver. I tell you stories like this just scare me so badly and want me to never let my kids out of my sight but as her dad reminded me, you have to trust God to care for them and let them go.
Still, I don't feel in any big hurry for Lauren to get her license!

I wish I had something really profound to say. I am just in awe of how fragile life really is and how easily we all can be broken. I know that God sees it all and has His own plans and His own designs for our lives and I trust that. I know that the Abbys and their families do too. I hope I could be as brave. I guess you have to choose and choose again to look to the lessons, the testimony of faith and not to dwell on how much worse things could have been or all the pitfalls out there in the night even now..... I think you make friends who will be there for you and invest yourselves in people who will lend their strength when times are hard.

You know, it is more fun to play around and be silly. I guess right now I just needed to be reverent and thankful.
I am quite sure I will be silly again tomorrow! Never fear! In the meantime, please pray for these two girls.

Loves~
LeAnn

Not Me Monday-- My First Time!!

Something new this week, kiddos! (If I can do it right!)
I follow the totally fun and inspiring blog of MckMama-- and today is "Not Me Monday!!"
http://www.mycharmingkids.net
(I am still trying to figure out how to get the cool button to show up!)

So, this week:
I did not let my teenage daughter to go the movies even though she was sick and had stayed home from school because her cousin was in town and she won't get to see her for a long time. That would be very bad parenting so I would never do that!

I did not daydream during a very boring seminar all day long saturday about what I could blog about next, how much better I could teach this class, what would happen if I just went nuts and started screaming and running around the room. That would be highly unprofessional and so I would never do that. I also would never nod off because I needed to take a licensing exam at the end of the day and would certainly miss the ONE thing I needed for the exam.

I did not spend half of my sunday afternoon trying to figure out how to post a Not Me Monday, make notes about it, only to have the post not come up until Monday when I am at work. I absolutely would never blog from work. No, not me.

Go check out MckMamas blog for all the other great posts! Have fun!! I know I do!!



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I Need Crutches

Yes, I need crutches. No, I didn't trip over my own feet, fall in the shower or drop a dumbbell on my foot!

But I need crutches.

I have heard it said that religion is a crutch-- but I don't consider myself religious. I do know, without a shadow of a doubt, that my faith is my crutch and I am more than okay with that!

I know that when I am walking along thinking I have my life under control (more or less), feeling strong, cruising under my own power and looking forward at the road ahead of me is really when I am at my weakest and most prone to stepping in a gopher hole and getting hurt.
Times like that I get complacent with my spiritual walk. I am not so needy. I have my pride with my own independence to keep me on track.
I know God could keep me from stepping in that hole-- but like every Good Parent, He lets me take my own path, make my own decisions, learn from my own mistakes. And like a any good Father He is always there to pick me up and help me get back on track.
I wish I could learn, once and for always, not to let my spiritual life get cold and take the backseat to everything else I have going on! That would be great! But I don't. I seem to run in circles around and around and around. I wonder if God, in His infinite Good Humor (I hope) doesn't watch and wish I could learn that too. Instead a lot of the time He waits for me to call out "Abba, Help me!" I think those are the times He says "Okay, Doofus, let's go over this whole thing again". AGAIN!! Arrrgg!!
I struggle every so often with an anxiety disorder. Coincidentally, or not so coincidentally, these times usually coincide with times of spiritual distraction. When I am spiritually strong, I am emotionally strong. But do I remember this? How can I not remember this? Sometimes I forget until I am sliding down. I am stubborn. I have a short spiritual attention span!

I love Psalm 91, especially in times of trouble. When I am afraid to fall asleep because I am afraid of what dreams may come or what the morning may bring, I love to think of myself snuggled down under His wings-- soft and warm and safe-- with an angel or two hanging around to keep watch!

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge:
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not feat the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that
stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling
even the LORD, who is my refuge— then no harm, will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him,
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation

Yeah, I need those crutches.





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GIANT ASPARAGUS INVADE LANCASTER!!!

Rebecca is so brave, getting within striking distance of one of the Giant Asparagus that have invaded Lancaster! What the heck are these things? They have converged at the local Cinemark Movies 22 (foreground) which has always looks suspiciously like an Alien Spacecraft..... I am just saying.... think about it....
Anyhow........
This reminded me of the old Saturday Night Live skit from waaay back in 1979 with Steve Martin and Bill Murray. (Why are the 70's on my mind so much this week?) If you missed it because you weren't cool enough to watch SNL back in the day (possibly because you weren't BORN yet, you bunch of babies!) I am going to post a link to a YouTube link cuz I don't know how to do the video thing. Now you will SEE the Jonas Brothers but you will HEAR the original skit (though they edited out about half of it--- it is still funny though). When I was in high school, back in the 1970s, my crowd took many a picture of stuff and quoted this skit constantly. In fact, some of us STILL DO!!
Enjoy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMs5vBxHkSU

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PS

Right off the bat I remembered someone I left out-- my officemate who's name we will not say out loud because he wouldn't be pleased......... but this is someone who once drove all the way across town to see if the cat I hit had lived (it hadn't) and if it was my cat (it wasn't) and never made fun of my hysterics.

Yes, you can't buy friends like mine............ so quit asking for money. Geeez

(And my apologies to anyone else that reads this that didn't get a personal message-- you know how dumb I can be. I am OLD--- I was in 7th grade 34 years ago!!)

What Happened in 1974?

Do you even remember 1974? That was the year Patty Hearst was kidnapped, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's homerun record, Evel Kneivel tried to jump the Snake River, the UPC label was first used (a pack of gum), "I Honestly Love You" by Olivia Newton-John was released, Nixon became the first President to resign from office.
All interesting tidbits of information.
This was a banner year for me because this was the year I met my oldest (Ahem-- I should say longest term) friend, Wayne.
(Well he is OLDER than I am... by a whole week!). We were in 7th grade back in 1974 and we met in Mr. Wansgaard's science class. Probably over a hamster-- the details are a bit sketchy. It has been 34 or so years now! During the ensuing years we have seen each other through lots of stuff: High school drama, weddings, births, divorces, job gains and losses, happy and broken hearts, becoming a foster dad to Kody-- he even sang at my wedding! He told me I would become friends with my ex someday. We have celebrated many a birthday in all sorts of places. These days conversations are centered around being back in school ("OMG- I have SO MUCH HOMEWORK!) and how to survive our teenagers. Wayne has been a blessing to me pretty much all my life.
When I got to thinking about it, my friends and family who are also friends are pretty danged important to me and a real blessing from God! So I put a couple of verses up there on my profile including, in case you don't recognize it, a passage from Job who was not as fortunate as I am to have supportive friends (but then again, I take it as a compliment when you call me a laughingstock!).
And in case you are jealous because I got to Wayne first-- that is just because we had lunch the other day-- hence the current picture. But I will get around to you all: Monica who is my favorite sister in the whole world (For the last time, I am sorry about the damn parakeet would you stop telling that story at every family gathering now?), Cat who got me on an airplane, Carri who was physically there when my final divorce papers came and told me I would live through it, Susie who gave me and my sister our first ride in a convertible (crammed in the back with no seatbelts), Kathy who hooked me up with my favorite Siamese and officially put me over the Single Crazy Cat Lady limit, Stacy with whom I made hamster costumes for Halloween one year, Brandon, my favorite son (I love you too, now go to sleep), Lauren my favorite daughter (She is going to give me a granddaughter named Padme Amidala some day-- I can't wait!), Jericho my favorite DIL (who knocked a hole in my bathroom wall and then laughed so hard I thought she was having a seizure), Kim who was there on the other end of the phone the night Jim left me, My Perfect Furrgang friends who don't think I am a Crazy Cat Lady at all, Claudia who is gonna make me a party animal one of these days, the Sojourners who didn't kick me out when I lost my temper one Sunday morning..... SO many great friends.
You know.....................
I Love You................ I Honestly Love You............


PS: Wayne also posts comments on my blog. Kudos, Wayne!!!! And for those of you experiencing technical difficulties, please try again. I changed some settings today!

My Daughter Thinks I Am A Loser-- But You Can Help!!

You know, Lauren (16.75 yrs old) is a wise old soul. And her opinion... well, it means everything to me.

She thinks I am a LOSER!

AND IT IS YOUR FAULT!!!

Do you want to know why? Huh?? HUH!!!!!!! DO YOU!!!!!!!
It is because hardly any of you have added me as a favorite and you aren't commenting on my blog!
She says this means no one is reading my stuff!

Are you out there??? Hellooooo? Is this thing on????

Okay, stop crying... it will be okay... there is something you can do about it!
At the bottom of each post you click on COMMENT and then you tell me how profound my blog was today.... how it impacted your life and changed it for the better..... SOMETHING!!

Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Rebecca's Day To Shine

Sunday was Rebecca's first day as an only child so we took advantage of the sunny (if a little brisk) day to go do some fun stuff! We did some shopping and then took Sam to the park to feed the ducks. There were also other assorted water fowl including confused seagulls (we are 100 miles from the ocean!), several species of geese, chuckers, and some sad looking birds with strange red gobble looking things on their heads.

FYI-- geese may not have teeth, but they do have JAGGED BEAKS OF PAIN. And you really do not need to try to feed them by hand because they use those JAGGED BEAKS OF PAIN to try to swallow your FINGERS. Just sayin.....



Anyhow..... after the ducks Monica and Becca played on the playground and did some amazing acrobatic moves.



When we were sufficiently frozen we all went home to do some scrapbooking. We have resolved to get our books caught up! That should take every Sunday for the next year! It was fun to reminisce about the kids; Halloweens, first days of school, Christmases past etc... Clearly Rebecca is the creative genius of the family!!!




A Big Thank You to everyone who has been praying and sending along good thoughts to my family as we have adjusted to new arrangements-- please keep them coming!

Why Trader Joe's Is Cool

I love Trader Joe's. I don't go there too often because it isn't in my town but the next one over but every so often I take a trip there for a few special things. I also like to pretend to be pretentious. Oh My word, the baby zuccinis are so bright and crisp here! And the organic beef harvested from virgin cows is so succulent. And there are so many different kinds of flaxseed items. And the stone cut oatmeal, well that is simply the best!
Here are some things I noticed after my trip there last night:
1) I so badly wanted to get a picture of this, but I just couldn't ask. There was a cashier there with dreadlocks down to his waist that looked like... well... something my cats coughed up. Only at TJ's would this fly. He wasn't even a Jamican mon.
2) I bought one of my favorite salads for $3.49. I actually bought two and that is why you can see how they compare. On the right you see the salad as packaged. It even contains a great raspberry vinaigrette dressing. On the left you see that this is a whopping BIG salad in that little container. And it was tasty. I have spent almost that much for a bag of iceberg lettuce at Vons that went bad like 37 seconds after I opened the bag!
3) For added entertainment value, I gave my dog Sam part of the blue cheese that came with the salad because a little blue cheese goes a LONG way. I laughed so hard at his reaction: "Yum! Cheese....... HEY WHAT THE HECK? This cheese is a little stinky!! And I condt gut it off my tungnue" He licked his chops for 5 minutes trying to get it down! (I have to admit for reality sake that I got the picture when I opened the second package-- silly dog had the same reaction!)
3) While I was in the store I noticed that every so often all the cashiers would yell out "CHEESE". I have NO IDEA WHY, but it was very entertaining for me.
4) TJ's has a Petsmart right next door where I was able to buy a 100lb bag of cat food so we can get through the weekend. There were no adoptable cats there, thank goodness!
It is good that I have to make a specific trip over there because this way it is always a special fun time!

Lauren comes home tomorrow from her dads. She called me early this morning from the Rose Parade. He lives in the area. Lucky girl!