It All Depends On Your Definition

Word of the Post
Today's word is: perk
/perk/
Today, we get several words for the cost of one. Ah, the perks of being a reader here at Chelfspace.
1. verb. To perk; to make smart, to straighten up, to display jauntily or saucily, to erect. As in, to perk the ears. Also, perk as a peacock.
2. verb. To gain or regain energy. I perked up after my nap.
3. noun. A perquisite (abbr.), which is an incidental benefit awarded for employment. A company car is a great perk.
4. verb. Percolate (abbr.), which is to strain through. I love the smell of coffee perking.
5. adjective. Perky, as to be bubbly with enthusiasm, to the point of annoying others. Katie Couric is paid to pretend to be perky.
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This week has been an adventure.

Saturday, June 14, DH and I were honored to pick up Niki and Benny and Max at the airport, so they could run Camp Zenith at O.C. They had an amazing week, and I got to help a few days. I dearly miss my days of being a counselor at Four Corners Encampment in CO. Kids can ask the deepest questions, and they take home a fire from camp that is a high like none other. They learn that there are other kids struggling in the same ways, and they learn to lean on the strong for support. Unfortunately, they also learn to let the weak drag them back down sometimes. Teens are just as human as the rest of us, but learning to handle their crazy hormones, too.

Monday, June 16, DH got up around 7. He cleaned up a hairball. (We do have two cats as masters) Then he took his shower, got dressed complete with tie, went to feed the cats. He came and kissed me goodbye with the "I love you" I get every day. His pattern is set.

Tuesday morning, June 17, at about 5:00, I heard one of the cats giving us a new "gift"... so I got up to clean up. I did not sleep well that night, so getting up early like that meant that I stayed up. Tuesday was a rather long day for me.

Wednesday, June 18, DH was scooping the cat boxes (his job now, so that someday when I have kids, I don't have to touch that junk and make me and the kiddos sick!), and rounding up the trash from all over the house, as is his pattern before we leave for our midweek Bible study. He was just dumping his own trash into the bag from my can (reusing those plastic bags - our small bit to be more green), when he discovered a treasure. The "hairball" from Monday was actually a "hairy" MOUSE!

We always use massive amounts of tissues or a paper towel to pick up the yuckies, so I know DH didn't actually touch the mouse, but now I am grossed out by the fact that there was a dead mouse in the trash on the other side of the room for THREE DAYS. And I am pretty sure that DH is grossed out that he pick up a dead mouse. He says that fortunately, there was enough time between the touching and the noticing that the disturbedness was lessened. Still... Ew.

I don't know which cat caught it, but they put it on the floor at the foot of the bed, precisely in the middle. A "gift" for both of us. How sweet. As if to say, "I know you don't always eat breakfast, but you need your protein. I love you, parents!" I have been grateful for years that the toy mice are not real. They end up on the bed all the time. We even joke about the "Gift of Mouse" that gets left while we are away. This time, I am just grateful that it wasn't on the bed. And I wonder which baby to thank for it?

Today, we got our laptop up to date with new downloads. We had to install the driver to tell the computer that it has a wireless card. Now we can see our own wireless network at home! We also got the new "genuine" Windows copy activated, and now I have to get used to all the updates that have come in the time our poor laptop was disconnected. I used to have cats on my buttons for Firefox, I have to try to get that back. We have been playing all afternoon.

As much of a blessing as this laptop has been, it can be frustrating for me too. I assume (I know this is what my problem is) that the computer should do what I tell it, the first time. Yep, I expect Windows to work. Ha! There is the rub. I guess I have to treat this new update as a new program that I have to learn. All over again. I wish we could afford a Mac. Right out of the box, they work. And I could reasonably expect it to work the same every time. Anyone know how to make a Gateway laptop sleep? Since the Great Blockage, it stays hot if it stays on, even when the lid is closed and the screen goes dark. I have been afraid to leave it on at night, I would rather turn it off, until I can tell it to sleep. I can't have any fires starting in my living room while I sleep.

I hope you get all the perks you could ask for this week!

So, I Met This Girl Online...

Word of the Post
Today's word is: resplendent
/re*splen"dent/ adjective
Bright, lustrous, shining; having great beauty or splendor.
A sunset, resplendent with hues of orange and red, creates an excellent picture.
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I had to take a few days to get the pictures fixed. I am sorry I took so long. Last week was a busy time for me. Wednesday evening, I had to give the DH a haircut. He was getting to be a Long-Haired Hippy. See?

This is my favorite view, the Freshly Shorn head. His haircuts have gotten easier over the years. I don't have to think or style the hair, just shave it short. I have never tried to do a flat-top. I imagine that it would be tough. I prefer to play in the hair after it has been mowed. Often during the summer, he will mow the yard, then I mow his head. It is a symbiotic relationship.

Thursday afternoon, I left home to journey north to visit Ferret (Maria) and her girls, and to meet Sally. Sally explained it pretty well on her post about our dinner. I can give you a little more background on two of us. I have known Ferret for something like 11 years. We met in college, when we both transferred to Oklahoma Christian. We had both been there for the spring semester, and met through other mutual friends in the fall. She was already part of the group that was called Teh Club. DH was already there, too. I also met him that fall.

We were close enough that, a few years later, she asked me to be in her wedding. I was a bridesmaid, and I sang. (The song is over there on my play list. Can you guess which song? If you know, please don't ruin it for those who don't.) She was not in mine, because we only had two attendants, and I had promised those posts away many years before. She and her hubby were our photographers. Today, she makes a business out of wedding photography. I babysat her older daughter, Zipper (Ani with the back surgery), when she was very tiny. Here is Zipper drumming on the back of Speedy's High Chair when we were at Pei Wei. DH is so proud that the girls are great percussionists.

Then she got nerve, and moved her family back to Wichita to be near her hubby's parents, and to be closer to her grandma. Since that time, she also got busy and had a second daughter, Speedy G (G for Gonzales, Ele, who never stops moving). Here is Speedy, also drumming on the chair. Those little chopsticks made excellent drumsticks. And both girls can and demand to eat with the chopsticks.

We all had dinner, and then sent Ferret's family home. The girls needed to be in bed sometime, and the Girls wanted to talk in a quieter setting. We retreated to a nearby Starbucks, and continued to talk. We had a great time, despite the scary roads on the way home. Look at Shannon (I have no bloggy name for her yet. When I get one I can edit), showing off that way-too-skinny-to-be-a-mom midriff! I hope that my rolls look that cute after I have kids! Here is us, from left to right: Me, Sally, Shannon, and Ferret. Some nice guy at Starbucks took six pictures for us, two each on three cameras. Thank you, dude, whomever you are.

I spent the night at Ferret's house, and went with her on Friday morning to a Bible study. Shannon was supposed to be there, too, but her kiddo got sick on her overnight. I met several more ladies at the study, and was amazed to find out that many of them were my age. I have never before had so many friends my age. Most of my friends have been two to five years younger, or more than five years older than me. It baffles me that so many people like me are out there, and feeling left out, just like me. We had a great little visit, and study. I was supposed to leave town by 2 or 3, actually hung out until 7 or so. Got home about 9:30.

Then I stayed up and packed until 12am. I was getting us ready for the couples retreat. I meant to get pictures, but the camera got left in the van... all the way across the parking lot. I decided the walk there was not worth it. I should have gotten pictures of the tiny rooms we stayed in. It was smaller than the small dorms at O.C., and they had two sets of bunk beds in them. Yes, a couples retreat where we had to sleep on different, twin sized beds. Build that love.

There was one baby there this year, a kiddo who is still mommy-fed. I got a lot of Auntie duty, and I loved it. When we were all "moving in", I got to hold the Stuff. The best and most important Stuff, the baby.

I stayed up Saturday night playing games with other couples. DH had gone to bed around 11:30, I stayed up until after 2. I actually got the babe to sleep when mommy was still playing Cranium. She was moving him too much, and he was jumping at every loud round of shouting. I didn't go too far, just put him in a position to sleep, and bounced him a little, nearer the fireplace and farther from the game. He was out in five minutes, and stayed that way with me for well over an hour. I only gave him up when I had to go to the bathroom so bad, I couldn't hold him or laugh anymore.

Sunday morning, we got up and had breakfast (the guys usually cook). This year, we had one guy who is a great cook, and we had bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, biscuits, fruit, juice, milk, and coffee. Then we had a short church service. We had a couple of men make some short talks, and we had communion. We had prayer that was relevant and heartfelt.

When it was over, we all went back to clean up the mess hall and kitchen, and then clean our rooms after we got all our stuff packed into the cars. As a group, we always try to leave the place cleaner than when we arrived. The fact that we clean at all actually seems to be an improvement over other groups the camp hosts.

I ended up sleeping for most of Sunday and Monday to recuperate from all the late nights in a row. I had a great weekend, and honestly have still not quite recovered. I am staying away from baby Molly for another day or two, just to make sure that I don't spread anything. I don't think I have caught anything, but you never know. Lack of sleep is a very good way to catch a cold. I have to stay away from milk for a while, too. Can't be too careful.

Excuses, Excuses

Word of the Post
Today's word is: despondent
/de*spond"ent/ adjective
Without or almost without hope; heartsick.
He was unable to fight back, having been beaten down for the last time. He was despondent, failing even to try once more.
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I have been working on a secret plan. I could tell you what it is, but then I would have to kill you. And that would be opposite of what my secret plan involves. "I shouldn't have told you that." (Hagrid, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (should have been Philosopher's) Stone) Suffice it to say that I am on the cusp of a Revolution! The 4th of July has inspired me to do, instead of wishing I had done.

I have a song for that title... but I can't remember all the words. I remember that it said that the Devil supplies excuses if we choose to disobey. I will have to look that up in my old song collection folder. This is summer, and many people I know have recently been camping. I used to go to camp in Colorado. I was there for a week as a Camper, and have been there for two of the three available weeks as a Counselor. End of July, and early August, and I get camp-sick. Something I would love to do someday is to convince several of the college aged kids here to go there, and promote Oklahoma Christian University as an option for continuing education, and bring more kids closer to God in those mountains. I used to love going to camp. I got the opportunity to show the kids and myself that God doesn't want you to ride the apron strings to church, He wants YOU to come to Him on your own. I learned a lot about study and teaching at that camp. I applied to college because of that camp, and when I came to college, I met my DH. If money were no object, I would buy the camp and run it today. I have always felt that I was closer to God in the mountains. No, not because I was on a higher elevation, but because I was away from "civilization" and "clamor". It was always so peaceful there. River (where I was baptized) to swim, mountain to hike, field to wander in the darkness, few signs of industry. Most importantly, God's people were there, showing me how to be closer to Him, teaching me that "church" isn't all about the building, but the people in it. I have not often felt that peace. I miss it.

While I have been absent from blogging, I have been babysitting occasionally. For the past two weeks and one more coming, I have watched a little boy from across the street. I am sure that some of our lawnmower swapping will pay for the service of watching the kiddo. He likes coming to my house, because it is different. I am glad that he likes me, because otherwise this could have been a complete disaster. I am happy to let him watch Veggie Tales and Pixar Movies. I am an Auntie. Although not his Auntie, I feel it my job to spoil children at my house. He is happy to have the spoiling.

I also have watched my niece some these past few weeks. Sis-in-law had to work, and had to see the Dr. for a checkup on her progressing pregnancy. So I got to watch Jelly Bean. She is growing up so fast, and is now so conversational! It is tough to remember that she is not yet two. She acts 3 or 4 most of the time. My mom (no relation to Jelly Bean) says the more I talk about my niece, the more she remembers about me as a kid. One of mom's friends once commented to mom that I was "two going on twenty-two" because I was conversational with adults and bigger kids at such a young age. For any of you moms out there, write down the cute stuff your kids do and say, as soon as you can. Keep it in a journal book. It becomes a valuable tool to remember (blackmail) your children's youth.

This last time Jelly Bean came over, she was very sly. She looked at me with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, and she told me, "I'll be right back!" And then she walked across the living room to the (don't worry it was locked!) front door. She reached up and wiggled the door handle. Then she stretched up higher, and wiggled the deadbolt handle. Then, she wiggled the door handle again. When this little show was over, she walked back across the room. She was grinning the whole time, so I decided to play along. I said to her, "I am glad to see you back. What did you do while you were away?" She said simply, as if I hadn't seen her do it, "I locked the door."

Jelly Bean tried to play the game with Mommy last week. Jelly Bean asked for some Fruit Snacks. She was told that she would have to eat dinner first, which was almost ready, and she could have Fruit Snacks after dinner. She went away to play for a while, and later came back with a stuffed Snoopy. Jelly Bean then said, "Snoopy wants Fruit Snacks." Sneaky. Sharp as a tack, that one is.

DH and I went out on a double date on Tuesday this week, with a couple who was child-free for a while. They have a boy who is around 12 and a girl who is almost 2. They have recently started coming to our church, and we decided to get to know them better, so we asked them to come to the movies with us. We all are so easy to get along with, it takes one of us to just make a decision for everyone. First, we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant, called Habaneros. We had a great time getting to know one another.

Next, we took them to our favorite little coffee shop. If you are ever in Oklahoma City area, look up Vintage Timeless Coffee. It is on the corner of NW 150th and Western. They have a really yummy specialty drink called a Smooffee (smoothie/coffee). They even have a drive thru, to help you keep up with your busy schedule. They are open 6 am to 9 pm. I think I converted another family to their comfy atmosphere.

Finally, we went to a late showing of Evan Almighty. I was worried that this movie might be as blasphemous as its forerunner, Bruce Almighty, but I was pleasantly surprised. There were no foul words, no sexually overtoned jokes, and not even any foolish portrayal of God or the Bible. While he did look funny dressing in the bedsheets God gave him, and the facial hair was a bit too much of a sight gag, Evan seemed to be a nice guy. He was even very careful NOT to swear when he smashed his thumb with the hammer. I was sad to see that he didn't know if they had a Bible in their house... but he did find it, and he did read it. More than I can say about the rest of Hollywood, right?

After a lazy, sleep-in morning on Independence Day, DH and I went to see Ratatouille. Another great, clean, fun movie. I don't recall any swear words here, either. There were some loud noises: Shattering glass as a rat breaks through with a book, much yelling over a rat in the kitchen and pots and pans and knives flying all over the room. Jelly Bean doesn't like loud noises, so I bet her family will wait for the DVD and the volume control, but it is clean enough for her to see now. This is another movie on my "to buy" list. I think we have all of the Pixar films so far. We have not yet been disappointed.

"Time's fun when you're having flies." ~ Kermit the Frog