Vintage Post #3 - More Power to Ya!

Thursday, September 18, 2008 


More Power to Ya!
Current mood:  blessed
Category: Friends

Sunday we lost our electric around 6:30 pm.  It didn't come back on until sometime in the early morning on Tuesday.  Since our well is powered by electric, we also did not have water.  Even though we didn't have electric power, we still had power - the power of friendship.

Our really good friends were also without power, but they had a generator and some freezer space to spare.  They allowed us to take all our food over to their house.  (I pitched quite a bit that should have been pitched ages ago!)
While I was there, I also found out that they could use their water, since they have city water.  They allowed us to get showers there also.

Along with these friends that helped us out tremendously, my sister had offered to let us get showers at her place and a co-worker who lives close and had her power offered the same.  My cousin also checked in to see how we were doing.  I feel blessed to have so many great friends and relatives so close to me!  They give power and meaning to life!

April Mini-Goals

Okay, I'm slacking.  It's over mid-way through April and I still haven't posted my goals.  So here goes - and yes, I'm going to cheat a little.

Goal 1 - Declutter a couple piles of junk.  (This is where the cheating comes in.  This goal is very general and I have already done some decluttering this month.  Oh well, I'm over it.)

Goal 2 - Make a doctor's appointment I don't want to make and buy some clothes I don't want to shop for - specifically one pair of khakis that reach below my ankles, two spring tops, and a pair of shoes suitable to wear to work.  I made two parts to this goal, because I already cheated on the other one and the first part of this goal only requires a phone call.

Now I'm ready to make one of my May goals.  It can be to ACTUALLY GO to the doctor's appointment I don't want to go to!

Insulting a Duck

Today while driving home from soccer, Mikayla and I took a detour through Smithville and visited The Barn.  We enjoy stopping off and seeing the ducks and feeding them when we are prepared.  (Today we were not prepared for feeding them.  Since it was not in our original plans for the day, we didn't have bread scraps and I was fresh out of quarters to insert in the feeders.)

We threw a few pieces of kettle corn that we had with us and then examined the area for eggs.  We saw quite a few in the water, like we did a couple weeks earlier and also found a couple under a bush.

Mikayla walked around the edge of the pond and was acting like a duck.  I asked her if she was ready to go.  Her reply was, "No!  Wait!  I'm not done insulting a duck."

I had to chuckle and ask if she meant "impersonating."  With no clear answer, I asked her if she knew what "insulting" meant.  She said that it meant being rude.

So hours later as I type this, I'm still not sure if my daughter was "insulting a duck" or "impersonating a duck" today.  Or perhaps it was a little bit of both!

Vintage Post #2 - My 30 Pound Frustration

Saturday, September 13, 2008

My 30 pound frustration
Current mood:  listless
Category: Pets and Animals

In July, something possessed me to say okay to a puppy.  You would think that I would have had better judgment from our previous experience.  We got Moe in the summer of 1999.  Mikayla was born in Summer of 2000.  My comment, "Boy, having a baby is a lot easier than having a puppy!"


So this summer as I exercised one of my bad habits, going into a pet store "just to look," a pretty black lab puppy looked at us just the way puppies know how to look to get you to fall in love with them.  We were hooked on the 10 pound cutie.


We bought her and named her Reagan.
Reagan is actually a pretty good puppy.  I mean, as good as a black lab puppy can be.  She poops and pees and chews and barks and jumps up to the counter and bites, but that's all the things puppies do.  She can sit (when she wants to).  She can speak on command and does well on a leash.  Reagan can now go all day in her crate without making a mess, while we're at work.  (When J goes on 3rd shift in a few weeks, she won't have to go all day like that.)


My main frustration isn't even her fault.  It's mine/ours.  We've gotten used to going out and doing things - taking day trips and leading a very busy schedule.  Moe is older and has adjusted to it.  However we can't maintain the same schedule with a new puppy.  I feel guilty going out and leaving her at home.  Our schedule for the moment is now dictated by this little hound.


As the months go on, I know that she will be able to go longer without needing us at home.  I also hold the hope that one day she will settle down enough and be potty trained enough that she will be able to roam the house like Moe when we are gone.  Right now it's nice to know that she will not get hurt or ruin expensive items when we are away.


Oh yeah, and that 10 pound cutie... she's almost 30 pounds!

March Goals Complete with Pics to Prove!

Taxes are done!  This is the first year in a long time they've been done this early.

Also, all three areas of my kitchen are decluttered.  Much of the junk has been thrown away!

Lots of things were in the wrong place.  The mixer was transferred to its place next to the microwave.  Girl Scout cookies were delivered and several things from this spot were thrown away.

Okay, so there's still not any bread in the bread box and I'm not telling what is!

One of the shelves in our cupboard broke and that why all the bottles of stuff were on the counter.  The sugar and flour containers were moved back to where they belonged and LOTS of stuff in this pic were thrown away, including old cocoa mix, valentine cards, candy, granola, and some papers.  I also filled up a small box of stuff for the garage sale I hope we have someday.

What an improvement!  I hope I keep it this way!

Wow!  The Christmas decorations are downstairs, as well as the big old trunk of junk.  Old cereal and chips were thrown away and all the shelves were cleaned and organized.

Not too bad!  Perhaps I'll need a decluttering/organizing goal for April...