The Universe Has A Warped Sense Of Humor!

The car I got from Enterprise (paid for by the other guy's insurance) is a newer version of the car that hit me! Yes, I was assigned a 2009 Nissan Altima. The car that hit me was a 1995 model. This is a black car. I would never own a black car, not on purpose. Not in Oklahoma. The temperatures this week are supposed to be over 90 all week. With the 60% humidity and more, the temperatures are way too hot to have such a big dark car.

It is a smooth ride, turns soft like butter! Lots of fun cubbies to explore, way too many cup holders, and useless gauges to distract my attention while driving. I like knowing that there is a cruise control. But the first time I pushed the button to turn it on, I accidentally honked the horn. In fact, I honked three times before I realized that I was the one honking. I spent probably 10 minutes just adjusting the car to me, and making sure I could reach what I needed to reach. Can't damage the car right in front of the rental office, you know?

Zipper got stretched only, and is back home as of late last night. Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. The next appointment in about 6 months will be the rod replacement surgery, provided she does not break them before that. She was showing Daddy the ropes this time, since he has not been there for a stretch before. Apparently, she was angelic for Daddy. He got to see the rare happy side of a girl on the edge. I have not heard how much she grew with being straightened out. Now we just need to get some more fat on her bones to cushion her.

I have been trying to trim our budget recently. Our house related expenses went up a little when we bought this house. So I am trying to cut back on brand name things. I went to Aldi. This grocery store has good prices on food that is not name brand. I decided to try their milk, since it was so much cheaper than others. Big mistake. This stuff tasted like colored water. I used to get 2% milk that tasted better. Mystic, who usually loves drinking milk after my cereal is gone, turned her nose up at it. That sealed the decision. I have decided to not skimp on milk. I am going back to Braum's. I found a store that has the 1/2 gallon for $0.20 less than the store near DH's work. For as little milk as I use, I can pay a little more for the good stuff.

I am off to clean again. Since I know your prayers work... please pray that I don't get bogged down by the work it will take to get my new home looking the way I want it. I can't imagine how to decorate anything, because I can't see past the junk I have in the way. If I can move my pride and junk out of the way, my home can be a more open place to share the hospitality I have in my heart. I know this goal is not so lofty that it can't be met. I know I can finally have a clean home, with God's help and yours. Thanks!

Be blessed today!

Wait... I Have A Blog?

I am surprised how many of you have still come by to see if I have had any inspiration. Constantly surprised by my awesome friends. Thank you for not giving up on me.

I know I have appeared to just drop off the blogging wagon. I have been quite obsessed with the ease of Facebook. This is no excuse. I still need to write. I have moved my physical existence from a rent house to our first home. Having never bought a house before, I was overwhelmed. I didn't have an actual intention to buy the house until almost Valentine's Day. We signed the contract and gave our earnest money on March 9. We signed the mountain of paperwork and got funded on April 9. The beautiful house is ours, after a mere two months.



The word "overwhelmed" doesn't really cover it. I am swamped, tuckered, lost, disorganized, cluttered.... and then overwhelmed. It all looks like such a mess. I have so much stuff that seems less valuable now that it is in the new house. I have done a lot of laundry, and cleaned and organized... and it looks as if I have done nothing. I am clearly in need of a maid, storage designer, motivational speaker and life coach. Sigh. I keep plugging away at it, hoping that I can have things down to a manageable dull roar by Mother's Day, when my Mother is coming for a visit.

I asked the previous owner to trim the bushes back away from the house, so that we could get to the water access behind them. Yeah, someone really took that the wrong way. The bushes got trimmed from the front. I don't know whom to blame, because I realize that what I said was misinterpreted. I don't like the bushes, I wanted them gone anyway. But I was hoping to wait a year or two before removing them completely, and replacing them with a stone patio.

The cats have been getting used to the new place, too. They stayed in the former house for a few days longer than we and our stuff did. They came out of the safety lockdown room (old master bedroom) and looked at Jeff as if to say, "WE'VE BEEN ROBBED!!!" They spent the first two days in the new house climbing into places I won't let them go again, sniffing everything, and staring out the windows.

Marvel decided that he needed to be in the closet in the second bedroom. A bag fell, and in his efforts to escape, he got a shallow cut on his nose. Poor baby. It worries me that he was bleeding, but it stopped pretty quickly. I am hoping that he heals quickly, too. He does not like me cleaning his wound, and he will not be happy with alcohol being on the cotton ball that comes next.

Mystic has not injured herself, but has gotten to the top of the built-in bookcase, the top of our closet in the master bedroom, and the top of a bookshelf we brought in. She is a very vocal cat, walking around talking to the Ceiling Cat, or whatever she imagines is up there.

Obviously, the cats are fine. They are both crashed on the couch next to me right now. I would put a picture here of that, but the camera is in my purse, which is currently under Mystic's head.

This has been a pleasant break. I am going to get back to the cleaning and finding of places for all my junk. Thanks for checking on me. Keep coming by, anytime. I love visitors. Feel free to come find me physically, too. But if you drop by, be warned: I will put you to work!

Have a blessed day!

Discount Spelling Causes Business Laughs Galore

Word of the Post
Today's word is: palindrome
/pal"in*drome/ noun
The word literally means to run back again. This is the term for a word or phrase that is the same both forward and backward. Examples: Hannah, lol, madam. Go check out Weird Al Yankovic's song called BOB. The whole of the lyrics are palindromes.
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I just want to say that I have not forgotten my blog. I have not forgotten any of my diligent readers. I have taken pictures, so this should make up for the lack of words, right?

This is a local Discount Tire store that recently opened. They need a new sign painter, can you tell me why?

This is the first Cat Scan of the cool box we got from Flea. Marvel is soft and sweet, and curious to know what was in the box. I think the package passed the scan.

This was the Second Opinion. Mystic is very good at knowing when something is not for her, and getting into it anyway. By now, the box has been opened, emptied, and still passed the thorough scan.

The mug came! DH was so excited! He is the one who won the contest for her picture, and he chose to get a mug (the other choice was a t-shirt) with his own caption. Would this qualify Fred and Bessie as LOLCows? (As opposed to LOLCats with their own website.)

The caption that won the day and the mug! I still have yet to see DH use his mug, but it has been washed and is now waiting for his hot cocoa. We need cooler weather so he can be happy to drink hot cocoa.

Not to gross you out or anything, but this was my work today. We had a wooden seat that was old, and cracked and needed to be changed. This job took me almost an hour and a half. The removal of the old took FOREVER! The cleaning up and attachment of the new (pictured here) took less than ten minutes. Yeah, I took a shower after this, because... eew.

There are these pretty flowers that grow in the summer at my house. There were once daffodil bulbs in the little flower patch by the porch. I don't even know what this stuff is, but it is brilliantly pink, and there is just one localized patch of them. I have several pictures of them. I also had the mosquito bites to prove that I was outside in the cool, cool, cool of the evening for more that two seconds.

THIS is the oddest picture I think I shall ever see. This is a marching band, in the shape of the State of Oklahoma (it is upside down from his nosebleed seat).

This was taken by MY DH, at the Oklahoma State vs. Troy football game this past Saturday. Now, anyone who knows my DH knows that he is an OU (University of Oklahoma) fan, and that naturally means he is not an OSU fan. But when you get free tickets handed to you, you take them, no matter what team you watch.

DH's friend from his Friday Night Finals job had an extra ticket, and offered to take DH to the game. DH was a good boy, and didn't wear OU stuff to an OSU game. He went because I said he could, and because he loves college football. He had a blast, and both Oklahoma teams won against past troubles. All in all, it was a good night. I was surprised he wanted to go.

This is my friend Pam and her daughter Tulle, playing the "Beating Nemo" game at a gathering after a church service. The tail gave way long before the rest of the fish gave up its candy. Tulla is a cutie, and when everyone had gotten their fill of destroying the pinata, DH was standing nearby while Pam and Tulle and I were cleaning candy off the ground. She didn't say anything to him, but she went and got his hand, and brought him over to "help" pick up the candy. We all got a good laugh out of it. Pam said that DH had been told, and that he was expected to help. He stopped helping when Tulle went back inside... the ground is a long way down from 6 ft up.

"He touched the butt!" This is the punishment for being Nemo. He pooped Tootsie Rolls. It was way more violent than a church group should have had so much fun with.

This is my MIL petting the biggest dog I have seen in a long time. A few weeks ago, we went to DH's Great Uncle's funeral in TX. This was Great Uncle's dog, Klondike. Gentle Giant of a dog, sweet and friendly, and just looking for someone to scritch his ears.

He was as big as half the couch. He is getting old, too. It took a lot to get up from the floor when he laid down... and he laid down right in the middle of the room several times. There were so many of us in the house, poor Klondike was always in the way. What would you do for a Klondike dog? I did a lot of ear scritching. And I nearly lost a leg when he sat on me! I was originally in that seat he is blocking, and my circulation was cut off. DH said once that he could eat our two cats, and nobody would notice. (Of course the cats would notice, and I would notice them missing!)

Tomorrow, if not before, one of my friends is having her third baby. She is scheduled for a C-section tomorrow morning, really early. I am going to help her dad with babysitting her twins while she is early in the hospital. Yep, you read that right. She has twin boys, and is having another boy with this delivery. Did I mention that the twins are barely over a year old? No? Oh, well that seemed important. The boys are so cute, and another will only be more cuteness in the world. Her husband works so hard, and at last news to me, was looking for another job.

I need to go shopping. If it were only for shoes and hair bands, it would be fun, but this is for staples. Not the kind that go into paper, the kind that are required shopping list items.

Enjoy your adventures this week!

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!

Black Cherry Kool-Aid And P.J.'s

Word of the Post
Today's word is: scintillating
/sin"til*late*ing/ adjective
To emit sparks; brilliantly clever, witty, having high spirits; sparkling or effervescent.
Engaging conversation, exciting events, glittering costume jewelry or a simple static shock can all be described as scintillating.
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I have a meme to answer. I was tagged by someone who doesn't know me. Hee hee. My new blog buddy, Suzeque, tagged me with this one. I don't usually answer these in my emails... but I will play for this time. Grudgingly.

I get a little cranky about all the crazy memes floating around. I don't want anyone to take this personally. It is my own small opinion of the meme (this includes junk mail forwards!). They are really hidden phishing scams, I am sure of it. How many times must I answer 20-140 questions, about what drinks I like and what I am wearing? I would hang up on anyone who asked such a thing over the phone. (Except for my DH, of course) Seriously, we let the world stalk us in a joke or in a meme, but we get offended that our friends want to know us. The guilt trips over deleting the religious ones make me ill. I don't have to forward junk to prove that I love Jesus, and that He is the Savior of my soul. The sob stories over missing children can't be backed up, but demand that the more people who see the picture, the better the chance of the non-existing child can be found. It just gets old.

Kind of like my opinion of a photograph: you can have one. After that, something gets broken. Whether that be your camera cracking for my face, or me throwing your camera off a cliff depends on your attitude when I refuse the second time. I am not usually a violent person, just a volatile temperament about junk stressing me out.

Suzeque, this is one for you. Here is some of my storied past, checkered though it may be.

Questions of Fours

Four jobs that I’ve had:
1. Glory Be! Christian Bookstore (now Family)
2. Joshua's Christian Bookstore (bought by Family and now out of business... There is a P.F. Chang's and a Lasik clinic there now)
3. Durango Cat Company (ask me about my stint in the Cat House!)
4. Subway Sandwich Artist

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. The Princess Bride
2. Beaches
3. Any Veggie Tales
4. Sleeping Beauty

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Mom's Build-Your-Own-Nachos Buffet Bar
2. Mom's Potato Soup
3. Garlic Mashed Potatoes
4. Food. Seriously, I just love food, and you could tell just by looking at me.

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Frasier
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. Most anything on Food network (the only thing I can’t stand is the Barefoot
Contessa) ~ I agree with Suezque's answer exactly!
4. Pushing Daisies

Four Places I’ve lived:
1. Byron, NY
2. Fort Collins, CO
3. Gallup, NM
4. Oklahoma City, OK

Four places I’ve been on vacation:
1. Houston, TX
2. Niagara Falls, NY
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. The Four Corners, UT+CO+AZ+NM

Four websites I visit daily:
1. UserFriendly.org
2. Day by Day by Chris Muir
3. Indexed by Jessica Hagy
4. My list of Blogs (many more than I list on my page)

Four places I’d rather be right now:
1. anyplace in CO
2. reading a book
3. sleeping
4. Cleaning Mom's house, and swapping cars with Dad

I will spare you the rest of it... I am not tagging others to play along; they can join in or not if they choose.

Now, for a little News of the Weird. A kitty is getting frequent flier miles. What amazes me is that after the adventure, the cat got to go to NY to be interviewed by Al Roker for the Today show. Wish I could fly for a mere $80. She skipped that the first time. She made it through an X-ray of the suitcase! (Wow, our airports need better security measures!) My cats always hop in my travel bags. They seem to think that I will not leave if they are in my bag. I think also it has something to do with smells. They think if my stuff smells like them, other animals will leave me alone. It almost never works. Mystic knows the difference between the bag that carries her to the car for the trip to the vet, and the bag that carries my clothes when I take a vacation. She won't go near her own bag if she can help it.

Have a happy week!