Bathrooms and ants

It's been fun this summer at Home-Sweet-Home. Every summer the ants invade; those little annoying insects that show up at first, alone, but are soon followed by a million of their closest friends and relatives. I honestly don't know what they found when they first showed up. I had the kitchen spotless. Dishes were done, food put away, nary a crumb on the counter and still, the ants came marching one by one.

Then they showed up in the bathroom, marching around the shower. I don't like sharing a bathroom with ants. So I took action. I got the ant spray and went around the house looking for entry points. I sprayed around the foundation, I sprayed the porch beams, I sprayed around windows. And still the ants came marching.

All this time Yo Momma and The Dad (nickname still in transition) were gone. But then, one day, Yo Momma came home to join me in the fight against the ants. Well, actually she came home because it was time to come home. The first morning that Yo Momma was home the light in my bathroom suddenly gave out. That's when we noticed the water. Water that was pooling in the light fixture. And that's when I started sharing a bathroom with Yo Momma and The Dad. Turns out the shower from upstairs had a leak and was drip, drip, dripping down through the floor into the ceiling of the bathroom downstairs and directly into my light fixture. Nice.

So the upstairs shower door was replaced. No more sharing a bathroom with The Parents. But today the floor was torn up, which means the toilet had to come out and the shower is inaccessible, which means I'm again sharing a bathroom with The Parents and ants.

I still don't like sharing a bathroom with ants.

Dots of the week

Vacation is fabulous, I just have to say. Every year when vacation comes around I wonder what I'm going to do and then by the time the week is over, I wonder how I ran out of time! I still have two more days of vacation left but found myself with a little time to reflect. I like dots, so here's what's been going on this week and what's running through my mind!

• Yo Momma and I hopped in the convertible aka the "race car"on Tuesday and headed up to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I highly recommend it. Especially the play "On the Razzle". Excellent. I love the nuances of live theater and I love seeing how the actors and actresses respond to unexpected events. During the second act of the last play we saw the lights went out. The actors on stage didn't miss a beat as the back-up lights went on. They just kept going. I was really impressed that there were emergency lights designed to illuminate the stage in case of power outages. Nice. The lights came back on JUST as the cast took their final bow. It made me aware that though things like lighting only add to the experience of theater but the really important part is the ability of the actors to convey the message of the play. I don't need special effects to dazzle me when the acting is so good!
• While I don't particularly like driving north on Boring Road that goes through the state, I do have to say I noticed that once we reached the neighboring state slower moving vehicles actually moved to the right so faster moving vehicles could pass on the left. We don't do that so well in CA. Especially in the Bay Area. So listen up! All y'all who move over to let faster moving vehicles pass in the appropriate lanes, Thank You. Road Boulders, you are not helping the situation, just let the people drive the speed they choose and MOVE OVER!
• I've read three books this week and didn't turn on a TV for four whole days. I realized that I turn on the TV when I'm home for the noise. Maybe it's time to get out of that habit. (TV was just turned off.)
• It's been stinkin' hot this week up north and at home, so what did I choose to do today? Head to a local amusement park with the Train Guy, Little Boy and K. It was hot but so much fun. Train Guy and I rode Whirling Strawberries. It's quite an experience. My favorite moment of the day was on our last train ride of the day. Train Guy had pretty much worn himself out but wanted to go on the train "one more time". Halfway through the ride Train Guy was asleep. It was a kodak moment...too bad we forgot the cameras!
• My biggest project of the week was putting up new window blinds in my room. I took me a little while to do tonight. It's amazing how window blinds can change the look of a room. Hopefully they keep the light out a little better too!
• Tomorrow is Church Day and I'm still on vacation. That means that I don't have to get up to be at church at 8am. I don't even have to go to church at all! Usually when I'm not in church it's because I'm on a trip with the youth. The last time I had a Sunday morning off I was on a plane headed home after a friends wedding. This time I have some options and I'm home. I'm feeling the need to go to church, but I'm not feeling the need to go to my church. I'm not sure where I will end up tomorrow. But I do know that I will appreciate sleeping in!
• And last little dot thing for the night, The Dad is complaining about his Blog name. He doesn't feel that "The Dad" is very exciting. Um-hm. I'm not so sure he will like any of the others that have run through my head either. I'll keep thinking and let you know!

That's it. I'm tired. Bed is calling and so is another book!

Flip-flop's and choices

I've been thinking a lot lately about choices. It came up the other day while I was watching one of those morning news shows. The new thing is that flip-flops, if worn as the sole choice of footwear, is bad for your feet...no arch support. Okay. The general public has been warned. Is this going to keep me from wearing my flip-flops all summer long. No. Not even nasty plantar warts kept me from wearing flip-flops all summer long (was that too much info? it was last summer). It's my choice.

My music of choice is country. I like it. I get tired of the continual comments about country music from those who don't like it. I sit and smile and try to be a good sport when really inside I'm thinking "Get over it! Geesh!" We all make our choices, if you don't like mine fine but LET IT GO ALREADY!!!

We all make choices. It's part of life. Some choices lead us down paths of greatness, some lead us into despair. There are choices that will bring us joy, there are choices that will bring us pain. My choice is not going to be the same as yours. We will make mistakes, we will disagree, we will regret our choices and we will also rejoice in and enjoy our choices. What's great is that once our choice has made, there is another one around the corner and it's a big one. Ready?? We can deal with our choices or we can whine, complain and regret our choices to the point where we annoy everyone around us.

I guess my point is that I'm tired of hearing on the news, from friends, from people on the street, from "experts" about my choices whatever they may be. I've got a brain, I'm pretty good about thinking things through and I'm pretty much okay with my choices. I'll deal with whatever comes about because of them. So, experts, friends, new and random people, thanks for your input, but I'm okay.

I'm off to find my flip-flops.

Safe

Our fabulous VBS director and I struck a deal, she'd get me a gift certificate for a pedicure as a thank you and I would get her one. It worked very nicely. So that's where we sat yesterday morning, letting someone pamper us. As we were sitting there I noticed that the TV was turned to the Food Network one of my favorites (though I really don't appreciate one particular person on the Food Network...he wasn't on, thank goodness). It crossed my mind that having the TV turned to the Food Network was a safe channel for a nail salon. No news, no politics, no controversial shows, just food. People could just sit and enjoy their time without getting riled up by whatever was on the TV.

Tonight in the middle of a meeting I was suddenly struck with the thought that things that I've been taken for granted could be in jeopardy or unsafe. I get pretty complacent and forget that life is always changing until something happens to rock my world a little.

And then I read a blog that reminded me that life with Jesus isn't supposed to be safe...not in the way that I've taken life with Jesus anyway. Jesus was the embodiment of "unsafe". Jesus shook things up big time and though he brought grace, mercy and peace along the way, Jesus wasn't safe. He didn't follow the "party lines", he didn't do what was expected by the people, Jesus rocked people's worlds.

I've allowed myself to become complacent in this life with Jesus. I've forgotten that life with Jesus isn't safe, it doesn't follow my rules, things get rocky and sometimes I get hurt...and sometimes it feels down right unsafe to follow Jesus. But I'm never alone; Jesus isn't going anywhere. He's ready to take me on a new adventure...I wonder if I'm willing to follow.

Allergies

I woke up this morning sneezing. It's never a great day when I wake up sneezing. There are only two things that means, a cold or allergies. Today I think it's allergies, though as the day has gone on my throat has gotten a little more raw, which could mean this is turning into something uglier. Yea.

The thing that bugs me the most about allergies is that just when I think I've got control of them with meds, the wind starts blowing stuff around and I start sneezing over and over and over again. Itchy eyes aren't my favorite either cuz then I wind up with black circles under my eyes...mascara. I love the raccoon look...NOT!

I've never had myself tested to see what I'm allergic too, and really I don't care. I take my Kirkland brand of Claritin faithfully, use Allergy Eye Drops and hope that takes care of it. But on days like today I wish I could hide in an allergen free room and breathe! Without sneezing three times in a row, having my nose run constantly and rubbing at my itchy eyes.

Oh well, it could be worse. I'm off to buy more eye drops. Hopefully the wind dies down soon!

Just rambling...

I always feel like I should have something important, special, well thought out to say here. There are a number of things running through my head right now, so I'll just put them down in dot form and leave it at that!

• VBS ended last night. We had a good week with only one hiccup. I'm even willing to lead the songs again next year...just as long as we have someone else do the closing music!
• I am not a fan of flea markets. They are a great fundraiser but can be such a hassle. I'm very, very grateful for people like Sandy who are willing to put up with the hassle to raise money for the Mississippi team.
• I'm ready for a week off...vacation is just two weeks away! YES!
• I'm not ready, however, for school to be back in session. I like summer and hanging out with students during the day!
• It really irks me when people say they are going to do something and then don't follow through, especially when I'm counting on them. My "don't rely on other people" instincts get fired up and that's not good people!
• I like "Jesus-is-my-boyfriend" music also known as "Praise Music". I just need it in writing. I like leading the worship team on Sunday mornings in "praise music". I like drums, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards and harmony vocals. AND, I like Hymns, though I prefer hymns that are actually singable, as opposed to ones that drag or that get way too high...same with "Praise" music.
• Why is it that PowerPoint can play all the songs on my computer except the three that I want on the slide show for tomorrow?

And with that said, it's time for me to sign off, set the alarm and get some sleep before church tomorrow. It's Mission Report Sunday and we're having a BBQ after church to say thanks to our sponsors. A long day is in store!

Nighty-nite!

It's gettin' loud over here

It's day two of Vacation Bible School. 63 children ages 3-11 are running around the church today, learning about God, shouting "Yee-hah!" and singing praises to God with their loudest voices. I'm always amazed at how VBS pulls together, seemingly at the last second and works out to be a great adventure for the children and the leaders. I'm also amazed at the number of Middle School, High School and College Students who show up year after year to be leaders. They love this stuff.

My job is to lead the singing. Two years ago I was ready to quit. I was DONE with leading the songs, just worn out. I gave myself one more year, which has turned into two and can I just say, I'm digging it again. There's something about teaching the moves to "I Like Bananas" and singing "Pharaoh, Pharaoh" over and over again that is comforting, refreshing and revitalizing. Don't get me wrong, by the end of the week I will have sung those two songs enough times that I won't want to hear them again for years, but for today, for this week, I'm digging it again. And it feels really good.