Picture Post

It’s Tuesday – Dance Class.  Alias should *definitely* come today.  ((I n.e.e.d. it.))  I’m gone until after one, and then there’s school and overhauling the last three rooms of the house (that I didn’t get to yesterday)… and we’re watching Shark Tale tonight with the kids - having a popcorn and rootbeer float picnic in the living room.  Should be fun.  Enough of my daily grind, blah-blah prattle… PICTURES!!!

The Dynamic Duo… Lydia and Isaac.  In formation.  Woot.
((With our library stash behind them.  And my knees.))

Ethan and Mama (aka me)
cuddling on the sofa.
Remember when I described “my spot”?
As the end of the sofa, with a lamp,
a stack of books, papers, and sudokus…?

This would be it, btw.
I left it in the picture just for y’alls.

And yes, I do have a smile.
A cheesy one (not adorable, like Ethan’s)
But there are times… just don’t blink.

     
Howdy, Partner.                                Here’s Lyddie-Belle
It’s Sherriff Dashel Robert Parr.         The most painted gal in town.
Aka Incredi-Cow-Boy                         With her V-day make-up.
He’s “wootin’-tootin, too.                      And yes, she’s on the can.

Awwww….. ain’t they sweet?  ((LoL!!))  I love my kids…

Yeah.  Well.  It’s been a while, and I haven’t posted pics, and they’re easy to throw up (not literally… sorta…) for a blog… and now?  I gotta skoot.  I have an hour to drive and ice cream to buy for floats.  I’ll be back to read sites in a bit… but until then, take care, be good, and God bless ya.

The Twenty Year Curse

I’m sure all of you have heard of the 20-year presidential curse.  According to the summary at the linked site, beginning in 1840, and in each consecutive twenty-year presidential administration through 1960, the incumbent President has died in office. The “Twenty Year Curse” was supposedly cast upon the presidency at the hands of an unknown Indian Chief.

1840 – William Henry Harrison……pneumonia
1860 – Abraham Lincoln……assassination
1880 – James Garfield……assassination
1900 – William McKinley…….assassination
1920 – Warren Harding……..heart failure
1940 – Franklin Roosevelt…….cerebral hemorrhage
1960 – John Kennedy…..assassinated
1980 – President Reagan…Although he did not die in office, he was shot and nearly killed by an assassin.
The President was also diagnosed by some as having developed Alzheimer’s disease while in office.  He is the only one who escaped the ‘curse’.

Now I was thinking about this today.  Bush is halfway thru his last term, and he was elected in 2000… so he’s the 20-year president.  Anyhow, Bush is a professing Christ-follower, and while I don’t know him well, I have read that he is deeply in the Word and reads My Utmost for His Highest regularly.  ((These two things are REALLY high in my book.))  All I’m saying is, what if he *doesn’t* finish out his term… and it’s because he’s not HERE to finish it?  We all talk loosely about the rapture, but if I’m right and we’re within mere single-digit years of it…  Hrm.  Anyhow.  Just thinking out loud.

PS:  No Alias.  It didn’t come.  Drat upon drat.

Sorry, We’re All Out

My apologies.  I got a comment today which resulted in an epic-sized e-mail to the person who made the comment, and it took me my entire InterNet time, not to mention WAY MORE emotion than I allow on a daily basis… so I’m drained.  Empty.  Done.  And I’m pretty sure he’s sorry he ever subscribed to me.

Anyhow, Ethan’s 9-month is at 1:30, so we’re going into GR for lunch with Brian and then the appointment, and then I promised the kids to clean off the clothes mess in Isaac’s room so that if there’s another thunderstorm (like last night), Lydia can sleep in with him and not be alone.  So that’s a HUGE project.  And I need to finish painting the trim in the master bath.  And Home Ed.  And supper.  And I need to recover from writing that e-mail.  And the Sunday paper.  Then reading time and Tae-Bo.  Then ((hopefully)) the first Alias in 9 days.  So I *might* be back later tonight, but… right now, I have no more to give.  I’m sorry.

PS:  Is it me, or does EVERY ONE of eli’s songs sound exactly the same?

Bullet Blog

• G’morning.


• Wha… what a day full of promise!!


• ((I think the sunlight is affecting my mood, btw.))


• ANYhooo…


• After church today…


• … we change, load up the truck with shtuff


• And head up to the old house to WORK!


• And get barn wood for our new mudroom


• And to dig up and move a bunch of my plants.


• I want a burning bush, some hosta, snow on the mountain…


• Irises, an azalea, some peoney and this weird purple flower.


• VERY excited!!!!


• Also VERY EXCITED because…


• THEY’RE SENDING ME ALIAS 3:2 TOMORROW!!!


• I’ve been Alias-less for eight days.


• And going insane over it.


• NOT kewl.


• Oh, and ‘V is for Vendetta’ comes out this Friday!!


• WOOOOT.


• With double ‘O’s.


• Yesterday I didn’t only get half of my list done.


• My mom showed up in the morning


• And we ended up inviting them for supper and to play cards.


• It went surprisingly well.


• As long as we’re not *really* talking.


• I get so sick of hearing praises about Mars Hill…


• But let’s not go there.


• Bad memories… and I never even attended.


• ((Well, once.  Ishtar 2001.  It was enough.))


• The kids are STOKED about hitting McD’s today.


• We’re taking them to the G-ville one


• ((that means free kid ice creams and cookies.))


• I’m just kinda geeked about riding up in the big truck.


• ((wink!))


• I’m thinking I DON’T like the neighbor’s new dog.


• It’s the size of a Mac truck.


• And it was on my front porch yesterday.


• NOT. Kewl.


• Considering I’m the least animal-loverliest person on earth.


• I see dog, and think – oh, yeah, THAT’LL shit up my yard…


• In this case, it’d only take one dump, too.


• *Almost* finished painting the master bath.


• ((hey, that’s a BIG job!))


• Those ceilings are HIGH!!


• Have I mentioned lately that my kids are TOO CUTE?


• Well, they are.  *grins*


• And Ethan’s feeling SO MUCH better, thank goodness.


• Me?  I got up early and got some reading in this morning.


• ((ALWAYS a good thing.))


• But I think I’d better see about a dress for Lydia.


• It’s church-in’ up time.


• And then we’re off!!


• So see you on the flip side!

Quiz Time!!!

Well, Happy Saturday!!  I’m bound and determined to make it a happy Saturday, because Brian’s STINKIN’ side job has blown it for me… and I am SO SICK of being depressed about things I can’t do anything about. He has to work half a day at his regular job, but then he got a call about this really hot side job project (hot means ‘rush job’) that needs to be done Monday, and they underestimated the time it would take (six hours, when it’s WAY more)… and of course they didn’t drop it off until last night.  So much for us actually tackling some projects around here.  And we can’t do it tomorrow, because we’re going up to the old house to work on that.  ((TWO showings last week, and it has issues at the moment due to the ice storm.))

Anyhow!  I’m STILL planning on working around here.  There’s much to do, and I can paint without his help, so that’s what I’m going to do.  So pbbbbbt!!!  ((I could really use a hand around here…))  Anyhow.  Positive outlook.  After all, I’m NOT going to let this ruin my day!

Oh, and thank you for the sofa suggestions.  I bid on #2 – now it’s up to God.  DO NOT outbid me, I’ll have to spam your site.  ((Just kidding, but… please don’t, k?))  OTOH, if someone *does* outbid me, I’m gonna end up getting #3, I think.  Just because it looks wash-off-able.  Although I don’t know how chocolate brown is gonna look with a chocolate brown wall behind it… that’s a lotta chocolate… OTOH, I *love* brown…  Quiz Time!!  Thanks to Journeyof7 for sharing these with me!!

You Are 7 Up

Understated and subtle, people warm up to you slowly. But once they’re hooked, they can’t imagine going back to anyone else! Your best soda match: Diet Coke Stay away from: Mountain Dew

You Are Rain

You can be warm and sexy. Or cold and unwelcoming. Either way, you slowly bring out the beauty around you. You are best known for: your touch Your dominant state: changing

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you’re a total pushover and completely soft. You’re a traditionalist, and you don’t change easily. You’re likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it’s sold out.

Shit on the Sofa
((Or, I need some opinions.))

I was an IDIOT when we bought our sofa (pre-kids) ten years ago.  I was young and stOOpid, and that’s just the honest truth.  What did I do?  I went with solid beige for our sofa.  With, btw, shows EVERYTHING.  Which isn’t a big deal when you’re kidless… but then I went and had THREE little ick-monkeys.  And I love them, don’t get me wrong.  I do.  But they vomited on my sofa.  They smeared food on my sofa.  They peed on my sofa.  They pooped on my sofa.  They had sticky gunk on their hands and rubbed it into my sofa.  They had ‘notty noses’ and wiped it on my sofa.  Which did little for the looks of my sofa.

I have a bolt of material.  I’ve been planning for some time now to make pillowcase-like covers for the seat cushions.  I figured it’d look nice and I could take them off and wash them easily.  Can’t do that with the seat covers on there now – and the back cushions are attached to the sofa itself, so they’re not washable, either.  Luckily, they’ve been spared.  Until today.

So today Isaac fussed and said that he had a ‘sore tummy’.  He said that the other night, too, and was up 10 minutes later as if nothing were wrong, so I figured it was just a ploy.  So I laid him down and covered him up, and went to clear the lunch dishes.  Before I was EVEN DONE, he’s up and playing again, so I figured it was passed, whatever ‘it’ was.

“MOM!!!  ISAAC POOPED ON YOUR SOFA!!!”

That’s never a good thing to hear.  So I went in… and it’s not just the seat cushions, there is chocolate-brown shit ALL OVER the sofa.  Four out of six cushions – seat AND back.  Oh…my… gosh.  And scrubbing the HELL out of them with Spray n’ Wash did *nothing* for it.  Oh…my… gosh.  I can’t… This is… Ohmi… shit!!!!

And not just the sofa.  He had pooped thru his pants, his diaper, up his back, all over his shirt… it was practically up to his neck.  That’s NOT funny.  Stop laughing, because I swear, I could’ve vomited.  I was SO PISSED OFF, it’s not funny.  He’s only two, but he can TELL ME when there’s a problem, hello…!  I can’t guess when he’s gonna blow poop across the whole damn house!

So… two questions for you.  #1 – is there any secret to unstaining a shit-covered sofa?  Because I got the majority of it off, but there are definite stains.  And #2 – which do you like better?

Sofacover1      Sofacover2      Sofacover3

Thanks.  I know that’s a whopping THREE posts today, but I’m having severe issues.  Please forgive.

Well, it was a Thought…

I got this blogging brainstorm.  Actually it’s the second of this month – ironically, neither one panned out.  ((Go figure.))  My first was about a week and a half ago – I wanted to do a ‘verbal blog’.  You know, hook up the microphone, TALK my blog, upload it to this site, and let you ‘hear’ my post.  It just sounded like a really kewl idea.  You’d get to know me in a WHOLE new way, right?  Hear the sweet, pathetically soft soprano that totally DOES NOT go along with my kick-booty on-line image.  LoL!!!!   Anyhow, come to find out, this (our second harddrive) doesn’t have a microphone plugger-thinger in the back.  Our old unit did.  Bummer!!!   So until this thing pukes (which I’m still expecting, any day…), no verbal blog.  (((sigh!)))  Need I mention how that sucks?

But my brainstorm today was to go back five years and re-post a blog from the ‘old days’.  Wouldn’t that be kewl?  Something from 2001, back when there were only a couple thousand of us here (unlike today, when there are half a million bloggers at Xanga!).  Anyhow, I went back… and… well, apparently March was a sucky month in 2001.  First I blogged about my ex-college-boyfriend-the-psycho, the one I pressed charges against for stalking in “Shrinks, Part I“.  Then I blogged about my best friend in college who ended our friendship when I wouldn’t support her marrying an convicted rapist in “Shrinks, Part II.”  Then I blogged about 10 reasons lower Michigan sucks, and about the lack of chivalry in men today, as illustrated downtown GR and at the Arby’s next to Amway Headquarters by total strangers.  Next up was top ten things my Husband needed to learn, humorous in an oh-so-truthful way.  Then I blogged about my attempted (and failed) friendship with an ultra-liberal, snake-loving, pro-abortion, ex-striptease dancer in “When life is a bowl of Cherri’s“.  After that, I gave up on brainstorm #2 and thanked God that I’m married with NO friends, and decided NEVER to read March 2001 again.  ((wink!))

So…!  If I ever get another brainstorm…?  Stop me, okay?  ((grunts n’ walks away))

Appetizer:  Who is the one person you email more often than anyone else?  Right now it’s pretty much a three-way tie, with Noah’sMom (Sylvia) taking up the front, and FKIProfessor (Lance) and OutoftheFire (Shaun) tied for a *really* close second.  And all three of them can pretty much attest to the fact that… I don’t e-mail.  The communications are astoundingly few and far beween. 

Soup:  So far, which year of your life has been the most enjoyable?  2006.  Because we’re only two months into it, I’ve got THREE kids and a hope in the imminent coming of our Lord.

Salad:  Name someone with whom you have lost touch but would like to reunite.  Deeta.  Evelyn.  Danny… at least to apologize.

Main Course:  What was the tastiest meal you had this past week?  I made this Anna-cized chicken the other night… it was really good.  I dipped the chicken in ranch dressing, and then in a mix of parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, black pepper, parsley, sage, and marojam.  (I have a thing for marojam.)  That was the coating over the dressing.  I put it on aluminum foil and baked it up, and MMMmmmmm, was that ever good with rice n’ vegetables.

Dessert:  List three things off the top of your head that are unusual about yourself.  Okaaaaay… hrm.  1 - I have a giant, stuffed, brown bear named Barney that I hug on when overwhelmed.  Sitting on my lap, he’s so big, we see eye to eye.  Yes, I’m 32 years old and hug a teddy.  2 - I often put my contacts in for the 20 minutes that I need to see to shave in the shower, and then take them back out again.  Which seems ridiculous, but you can’t wear glasses in the shower, and I can’t see for CRAP without my contacts, and I’ve tried shaving legs without them in… it’s laughable.  3 - I am a compulsive pile straightener.  We play Skip-Bo at night often, and Brian will purposely knock the pile, just to see me go to work straightening it.  My piles are all evenly spaced, straight, and perpendicular to my outpile.  I also do this with toys, library books, videos, stacks of ANYthing… it’s an obsession.

I’m Grateful For:

• Ethan’s fever breaking.  He was hovering up around 104, and it was freaking me WAY the heck out.  I don’t like fevers.  I’ll take puking, snot, dihirreah… ANYTHING over fevers.  Fevers scare me – kinda like wind.  Give me thunder, lightning, torrential rains, but not wind.  Or fevers.
• Brian got a bonus last night!  AND… it’s exactly the amount we need to go to Great Wolf Lodge.  I was a little worried about money, but (another thing to be grateful for) this month has THREE paydays instead of two, so I was just moving bills around a little to accomodate.  He also got a 50 cent raise last Thursday.  Woooo!!!
• Getting to talk to my Dad last night.  I’ve called, but he’s not big on family, so it took a while for him to get back with me.  And the last time I saw him was… X-Mess.  Which is weird, since he only lives across GR from me, now.  Of course nothing was set up to get together ((sigh!)), but at least we got to talk, right?  AND… he told me the Wachowski Brothers have released a new movie – V is for Vendetta.  These being the guys who did The Matrix.  And you knowing HOW MUCH MUCH MUCH I totally have a thing about the Matrix.  Woooo!!!
• Funnies from my kids.  Last night we were doing the 8-minute workout (we do it every night, the kids love it)… and Lydia looks at me and says, “Mom, you can take your shirt off and do this in your bra – that’s what the other ladies are doing in the video.  They’re in THEIR bras…”  LoL!!  Um… no thanks.
• Landscaping books.  In case you didn’t pop over to see the March reading list, I’m doing the whole landscape thang again.  And I’ve made up a list of ten things for the first weekend we tackle this place.  Brian called our excavator dude, and he’s coming out next week to assess what needs to be done to get rid of the ponds in our yard (at this point, they even have scum on them.  ((sigh!))  Then we can start thinking about grass seed, flower beds, and hardscape.  Woooo!!!  I love renovating, in case you didn’t know, and the bigger the mess and more dramatic the change, the better.  This is *so* up my alley!!
• Good music.  I’ve been going thru my CD collection.  We tend to listen to the same thing all day – it’s how I become familiar with stuff… and our CD player has a repeat button – very handy.  Anyhow, I have a TON of stuff I had never heard before.  Some of it TOTALLY sucks (Point of Grace, East to West)… but I found an Enya I didn’t know I had, and a Carolyn Arends that I’d thought was too hard rock for me that has really grown on me… it’s been fun.  I have a VERY eclectic collection, it seems!
• Pretty dresses.  Lydia and I love to look at the Oscar galleries after the big night.  It’s like picking our ‘princess’.  She’s so into princesses… you should see the elaborate Rapunzel I got talked into drawing this week.  ((I love drawing, so it’s kewl, and I’m trying to teach her what little I know, so she loves it, too.))  Anyhow, it’s fodder for my next princess sketch.  ((wink!))
• Getting some REAL computer time in yesterday.  I read comments, worked on my Fruit post, did a NoteWorthy (and those are soooooo time consuming!), pared down e-mails… Ethan was doing the sleep-to-recover thang, so I wasn’t as momerly as I had to be earlier this week.  I feel… a little more caught up.  I even got out my sewing machine and started on the piano bench cover I’ve been meaning to make.  ((Hope to finish it today.))  So… yeah.  Grateful for all of that!
• Warmer weather.  It’s doing WORLDS of wonders for my outlook.  Yours, too – people are MUCH happier on-line, I noticed!  I’m glad… bumming sucks.  And there’s a WHOLE six months in front of us.  ((wink!))  Okay, at least.  You know I’m gearing up.  And this will be my first spring of celebrating feasts instead of Ishtar/Easter and the other pagan crap.  I’m so excited about it!!  If the Lord tarries, it’ll be my first FULL year of celebrating all of the feasts.  ((If he doesn’t, I miss Yom Kippur and Succoth… but that’s no loss, either, next to a rapture!!))  Yeah – good stuff right now!

Fruit of the Spirit – Longsuffering

Previously:  Intro – Love – Joy – Peace (I can’t find it yet)…

It’s been a while since I tackled a Fruit, but then you should know by now that even though time passes, I don’t give up on things (or people) easily.  Yeah, so… here we are.  Long… LONG… LONGsuffering.  ((wink!))

Now in case you’re new or forgot because it’s been a month or more since I sat my hiney down and actually typed what my notes say…  I’m looking at a TOTAL fluff book by eGeorge (my nickname for her), written in total CGM flavor and it’s nauseating… but I find that I learn best by reading luvv blither and proving it wrong (or, at least, testing it against the Bible and seeing if it matches. Which it mostly doesn’t.)  And eGeorge… man, I hate to say it, but she *totally* got it right this time, at least on one count:  It’s longsuffering.  NOT PATIENCE.  Yeah, yeah, your NIV says ‘patience’.  Your MSG probably says ‘chill factor’ (but I digress)… anyhow, they can try to simplify it all they want, but plain and simple, the KJV has it nailed, and anything else actually winds up complicating or shortchanging it.  The fruit, m’dears, is LONGSUFFERING.  And now that I’ve SO TOTALLY got that off my chest…  ((deep breath))

The first thing eGeorge does is split the Fruit into categories.  She says the first three (Love – Joy – Peace) are for ‘circumstantial’ trouble, and the second three (Longsuffering – Kindness – Goodness) are for ‘people’ trouble.  Which of course raised ALL my red flags, because Love is for people problems, hello… but then she went and got all eGeorge on me (contradictory) and quoted a dude named Vos, who says:  “If an individual is strong in the love, joy and peace of God, he will be able to reach out to his neighbor in a more Christlike manner.”  There goes her ‘love – joy – peace is for circumstances’… right out the window.  It’s kinda humiliating, if you put yourself in eGeorge shoes… nevermind.  This is why I don’t do ladies’ Bible studies.  I can’t think like that.

Longsuffering.  What does that entail, exactly?  Is it patience?  I don’t believe so.  I can be patient as I’m waiting for my lunch to cook.  That doesn’t quite encompass what the word here - makrothumia – means.  According to Strong’s, it’s a “longanimity, that is, (objectively) forbearance or (subjectively) fortitude”.  It requires WAY more than just a passive attitude in regards to time.  It’s bearing thru something… using strength to withstand, and doing so over a long period of time.  It’s… well, LONG and suffering, dude.  ((wink!))  And eGeorge found four angles (which condense to three, since one’s a repeat) to look at this thru, so I’m a’gonna talk ‘em thru purty quick-like, here, and show you what I see, k?

1 – Endurance.  Longsuffering has to do with bearing something for a duration of time.  It’s not easy, and requires a HELLuva lot of strength.  It’s putting up with people even though they piss you right the heck off every time you turn around.  THIS SITE…?  Is the epitome of longsuffering.  I’ve been here five VERY, VERY LONG years.  I’ve been spat on, blocked, attacked by wiccans, Catholics, agnostics, christchuns… I’ve been mocked, derided… they have opened WHOLE XANGAS to diss me, and I’m not kidding.  ((Remember PrayingforAnna?))  There’s hardly a month goes by that someone (usually someone I trusted and cared for) shows up in the comment section of someone’s blog and rips me a new one.  Sticking this out, leaving it all public and available to you, making myself show up and share… especially when I HATE PEOPLE, it isn’t easy.  It’s LONNNNNGsuffering, and you *gotta* know I’m not kidding.

2 – Mercy.  This is the drive behind the longsuffering.  God has ‘longsuffered’ our BS on this shitpile of a planet for nearly 6000 years… and for one reason.  (1 Peter 3:20)  He wants to see as many come to Him as will.  He’s put up with WAY MORE crap than I have, and for WAY LONGER.  ((That’s why He’s God and I’m sooo not.))  He’s merciful when we deserved to get our hiney’s booted, and that’s putting it lightly.  And to be honest… the reason I keep comin’ back and comin’ back is because I’m supposed to emulate Him.  If I’m a ‘Christ follower’, I do as Christ did, and He put Himself out there for us.  So I put myself out there, too.  ((Doesn’t mean I like it, but I do it.))  Put your money where your mouth is, right?  Step up and claim what you believe.  It requires longsuffering.

3 – Anger.  How does longsuffering and anger relate?  Not in the way eGeorge says.  She says there’s no place for anger in the life of a person who is Spirit filled… and I’m here to tell you that’s the biggest HUNK OF HOOEY I have heard in a long time.  If that were so, Paul wouldn’t say “in your anger do not sin” – he would’ve said, “don’t get angry, it’s a sin”.  And he didn’t.  So pppbbbbbbbt!  Long suffering doesn’t mean you don’t get angry, it means that you realize the reason you’re angry, realize the mercy shown by God, take a deep breath… and keep going.  THAT – right there – is Longsuffering.  In fact, I’m making that red, right there.  AND bold.

It’s easy to pass this Fruit off as ‘patience’.  It sounds so… passive, so meek and quiet and gentle.  It’s NOT.  It’s like a workout… stretching your endurance, building your strength, working you out over the coals.  Longsuffering is so much more than just sitting with your legs crossed and smiling, waiting for the Lord to come back.  If Christ was right and we are taking up crosses to follow Him, it’s not about anything less than sacrifice.  That’s what salvation was originally about… and if we are following Him, we have to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the call, too.  And that’s really something to consider in your life.  Mine, too. 

Wha.  Okay.  The next one is gonna *really* kill me.  Kindness.  ((God have mercy…))