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Saturday, February 28, 2009

"DUH!!!"

I'm so mad at myself. Today was Hubby's annual Pastor's Prayer Breakfast, for which I do all the cooking and decorating. I did have help from another lady, who made the gravy 'cause I don't do gravy! lol Anyhow, I had decorated in a black and white motif and tried to make it as "manly" as possible. I thought I did a pretty good job. I put my brand new camera in my purse so that I could take pics of everything, and guess what I forgot to do? That's right, big DUH!!! I completely forgot all about taking pictures until everything was cleaned up and we were about ready to leave for home. I could just kick myself. I was going to not only take pics of the decor for next week's Tablescape Thursday, but I was also going to take pics of the food for next week's Foodie Friday! How could I have done such a dumb thing! Well, I was just in "Do" mode to get everything cooked and on the table, and then once I got the food served, I sat down in exhaustion and never gave pictures a single thought. O well, what can I say. Next time, huh?
O, and trying to chase down Miss Cali Cat to give her the meds today was almost as much of an ordeal as yesterday, trying to catch her to go to the vet's office. One down, one more to go...for today. Then it's the same routine twice a day for at least the next 6 days. O JOY in the morning! :=)

Friday, February 27, 2009

It's A Tazmanian She-Devil!

Oh. My. Goodness! Just came back from the Vet's office with Miss Cali Cat. She has been having a swollen bottom lip and not acting like herself. This cat seriously NEVER let's us pick her up, so it's hard to know when something is actually wrong with her. But the last few days, I've been picking her up, totally against her will, and that's how I noticed her mouth. All red and looked like she had some sort of infection in her gum. So off to the doc's office we went.
As soon as I started trying to pick her up, she ran and hid under the couch. When hubby tried to shoo her out, she ran into our bedroom and under the armoir. Okay, I thought. Now I can catch her. NOT HAPPENING!!! I was laying in the floor so I could reach under the armoir, and I was able to grab her by the nape of her neck. But, I could NOT pull her out of there. She dug her claws into the carpet and was NOT going to come out. I grabbed her by the front legs, and she managed to fight her way loose from me and ran back into the livingroom and under the couch again. With Hubby helping, we finally managed to get her to go into the hallway, where she actually sat still long enough for Hubby to pick her up. He brought her into the diningroom, where I had the carrier setting on the table, awaiting her "arrival". Hubby shoved her inside, and before he could get his arm out and I could shut the door, THAT DARN CAT managed to turn herself around and run out of that carrier. Not more than 2 seconds, man. It was so fast that I didn't even realize what had happened, until Hubby was trying to grab her, as half of her body was hanging off the table. I grabbed at her and he grabbed at her, and all the while she was like a tazmanian "she"-devil, flopping all around. She clawed Hubby all over one hand and arm and brought blood. She managed to wrangle free and again, ran down the hallway. This time she hid under a china cabinet at the end of the hallway, and while I pulled her out, AGAIN, Hubby came with the carrier. As soon as I got hold of her, we shoved her in the carrier and slammed the door shut before she could escape again.
After it was all over with, I started to think about how this whole scenerio must have looked, and I started laughing hysterically! Then we were both so worn out and out of breath, that we had to take a minute or two to regroup ourselves before we could load her into the car and go to the doctor's office.
O, and once we got there, the doc had to practically pry her out of the carrier with a crowbar, just to examine her.
So he says she has some kind of infection, probably from getting her mouth hung up on something, either inside or out. He gave her a shot, and now I have to give her antibiotics two times a day until it's all gone. The doctor said to me, "Sqeeze the medicine into the dropper and 'gently' squeeze it out into her mouth". O, yeah, easy for him to say. She's quiet for him. For me, she's a tazmanian she-devil, I tell ya! O, and could I have a tranquilizer for her before I have to give her the meds every day? Thanks, doc!
And, here's a pic of the little "angel":

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Tablescape Thursday & Tea For Three

Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch, is hosting Tablescape Thursday. Go check out her great blog, and all the other wonderful tablescapes you can find there.
This is the tablescape I used when I had my two high-school friends over for tea. The dishes are Homer Laughlin "Chateau". I made the tablecloth and matching napkins from a remnant found at Joann's. The centerpiece is all silk, purchased for pennies also at Joann's.


Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Sharing Hearts - A Valentine Story

See, I promised I would eventually get up some photos taken with the new camera. This was our Women's Ministries Valentine's meeting last Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009. The pic of the food table is before the food is placed, but there was heart-shaped sandwiches, and heart-shaped cupcakes, pink salad, and pink and red candies, as well as lots of other goodies to eat. We exchanged valentine cards with one another, just like we used to do as kids in school...remember doing that? It was fun! Our theme for the month was "Sharing Hearts", and we shared our hearts with our Food Pantry by bringing in enough food to fill eight boxes of food that were given out to families on Sunday. Once again, our ladies are just so awesome, and they truly do give of themselves and "share their hearts" with each other, our church family, and with our community.

Monday, February 23, 2009

A Great Recipe

This was sent to me in an email. Thought it was a good recipe to share with everyone.
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to enjoy life today. I am thankful for having God in my life.

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7.. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king , lunch like a prince and dinner like a
college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick . Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for all my blessings. Today I accomplished every thing i set out to do.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

Friday, February 20, 2009

I know, I know, I still haven't posted any pics taken with the new canera. I have been taking lots of them, though. The reason I haven't posted anything is because I still haven't put the new software on the computer. Tonight I did sit down and removed the software from the old camera. I probably didn't have to do that, but I didn't want to take any chances of the old conflicting with the new. Tomorrow I have to decorate for Saturday's women's meeting, and I'll be taking lots of pics of that, you can be sure. I'm going to do my best to get the new camera software loaded by the weekend, so that as soon as Saturday's meeting is over, I can come home and load all my pics into the computer. Then I'll be having lots of new blog fodder for your viewing pleasure. (I know, you're rolling your eyes back in your head right now, saying to yourself, "O brother, she really thinks people are interested in her stuff")
Brenda sent me over to this blog, which is hosting Tablescape Thursdays, and I already have a post, complete with pics (old ones) ready to go for next Thursday. I'll be joining in on that fun every week, and showing off my "flare" for setting a pretty table. I don't know what it is about me and dishes - I've always had this obsession with pretty dishes and setting a beautiful table. Decorating for our Women's Ministry meetings every month has given me the place to let my obsession run wild! And now, with Tablescape Thursdays, I can go double-duty wild with my obsession! Hooray!
Well, guess it's time to turn in for tonight. Pictures to follow VERY SOON, I promise. :-)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Condensed Milk

Saw this over at Heidi's blog and just had to post it here. Too funny!
fail owned pwned pictures
see more pwn and owned pictures

Monday, February 16, 2009

Today is President's Day. It's been raining most of the day here in "sunny" southern California. In fact, it's rained so hard and so much today, that we were prevented from attending a funeral in Bakersfield. So, since it's President's Day, we've been watching a documentary on all the presidents, on the History channel. It's been very interesting and I've learned some little tidbits about some of our former presidents that I did not know before.
That's about it for today. O, except I did go out to Michael's today to use up the 50% coupons I had from there. Then I stopped by the grocery store on the way home. Just as I was coming out of the grocery store, the sky literally opened up and it POURED rain. I was parked about 15 yds. away from the door of the store, and it was raining so hard that by the time I got to my car, I was drenched! It was kind of reminiscent (sp.) of the night the valve blew off the bathtub faucet and I was trying to stop that. My shoes were soaked, my pants were wet (and no, I didn't pee - lol) and my hair was drenched. I had water dripping down my face, and had to wipe my face down before I could even see to drive home. I'm not sure the three items I purchased were worth ALL. THAT. WATER.! We should have just ordered take out for dinner.
Tomorrow, possibly, I will post some pics taken with the new camera. I still have to load the software onto my computer. Okay, peeps, hope it's dry where you live. I really do like the rain, but, really, only when I can stay inside! :=)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

I visited over at Jen's (Dust Bunny Hostage)yesterday, and got this cute little Meme.
"If you would like to play, here's how: tell me by leaving a comment on this post {SAYING THAT YOU WANT TO PLAY} and I will assign you a letter. Then post ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter on your blog. Explain the rules with your ten things and when others comment requesting a letter, assign one to them; thus, the chain continues."
My assigned letter is "B". Here goes:

1. BEING a Christian - It's a great day every day, knowing that Jesus is my Savior and that He walks with me daily and is always by my side.
2. BLOGGING - I began my blog as a way to journal, but have met some really wonderful people along the way.
3. Watching BRIDAL shows on tv - Rich Bride, Poor Bride, Get Married, etc. I get some great ideas for event decorating.
4. My BLUE Sapphire jewelry - all bought for me by Hubs.
5. My two handmade BLANKETS - one crocheted by my sister-in-law, the other, cut & tied fleece made by my friend Esther. Both are so warm and snuggly.
6. BUYING teapots/dishes - I've always been "freakish" about this. I cannot resist pretty dishes, especially teapots/tea sets.
7. BROWNIES - chewy, nuts preferred, no frosting, except for Paula Deen's recipe with raspberry mousse on top...YUMMO!
8. BABIES - of almost any species (human, animal, rodent - not reptilian, though), even veggies.
9. BACON - Who doesn't love a nice crispy slice of bacon with their eggs, or on a burger, or a BLT, of just as a snack.
10. BISCUITS & Gravy - I have the best recipe for homemade buttermilk biscuits. Now if I could learn to make gravy as good, life would be perfect!

Okay, that's my 10 "B" things that I love. Now it's your turn to play along.
Make it a great day!

Friday, February 13, 2009

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

For a while now, I haven't been able to take or post any new pictures because my camera had decided not to work anymore. So yesterday, as an early Valentine's Day gift, Hubs bought me this:

An Olympus Sylus 840. And she's pink, kids, hot pink! A friend of mine says it's "hot pink for a hot mama"! Well, I don't know about that part! lol Anyhow, it's up and running and I'll now be able to take pictures again, so be expecting a barage of them in the upcoming days. I'll be taking pictures of everything I can, just to be using it. Now I just have to load the camera's program onto my computer, figure out how this camera operates with the computer, and we'll be in business! :=)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

No good blog fodder for today. Yesterday I spent the majority of the day searching records on Ancestry.com. I keep hoping that I'll be able to finally break thru those brick walls that I've been running into for the last several years. My ancestors moved waaaayyy too much, and when they did move they went to parts of the country and at times, where there were no records made of important events, like births and deaths. Plus the census takers back then were definately not the sharpest knives in the drawer. I will keep trying, as every little tidbit helps piece together the big picture.
Speaking of pictures, yesterday I posted pictures of two cat beds we had bought. We decided to let the cats make the choice of which style they like the best. With the exception of Cali, they seem to all prefer style number one. With it's high sides, they like feeling all snuggly when they curl up inside. So I think we'll be getting two more of that style.
I'm also in the market for a new camera. I liked my old one - a Canon PowerShot - but am open to something new. Anyone have any recommendations? Lemme know.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Cat Beds

Hubs has been getting pretty tired of never having a place to sit in our livingroom because the cats are always laying in the chairs or on the sofa. He doesn't "have the heart" to disturb them from their naps, so we went to PetSmart and bought two kitty beds. If they like them, we'll get two more, so they'll each have their own little "spot". These are the two styles we got:
This one, in pink:
and this one, in blue:
We brought them home, and so far, only Lucy will sleep on the blue bed. None of them like the pink one. We'll give it a couple of days and then decide if and which style we should get more of.
What's your choice?

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Wet Pants

Come with me to a third grade classroom... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.
The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer,
'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'
He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.
As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.
The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.
She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!
Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?'
Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.
May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good. Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car. Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.
This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.
The Prayer:
Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Can You Read This?

Took a break from blogging yesterday. I probably will on Sundays from now on, as Sundays are usually very busy for me. But, today, I'm back, with this:

To my 'select ed' strange-minded friends:
Only great minds can read this. This is weird, but interesting!

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed i t whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Saturday, February 7, 2009


This is my new "baby". Isn't she purdy? :=) In yesterday's post I told about my washer dying. Hubs found this one online and went out in the 'pouring' rain and picked it up and brought it home to me. Wasn't that sweet of him? He had an alterior motive, though. He just wanted me to be able to do laundry so he'd have some clean clothes to wear! He got it home and I helped him unload it off the truck. Then he hooked up everything, and soon it was purring like a kitten, washing and swishing away at all that dirty laundry. It's not a super-fancy washer, but as far as appliances go, I'm not into all that super-duper-makes-it-hard-to-operate kind of stuff. For me, simple is better. Less to go wrong. So, I am a happy little housewife, happily doing laundry in my brand new washing machine. Now I just hope the dryer doesn't poop out any time soon. hee hee

Friday, February 6, 2009

Seems everything is dying around here lately. Two weeks ago, Bunno died. Then lady at church died. My camera has died. And now, the washing machine has died. AND, I have a TON of laundry to do! AND, it's pouring down rain today. AND, I haven't done a thinga all week long because I've been sick with this stupid cold or flu or whatever it is but-I-wish-it-would-go-away already. And now, my voice is dying, too. It's Friday, but Sunday's on the way, and I have to be ready to lead worship. Hard to do with no voice! At least on the washing machine front, Hubs found one online at Sears and he has gone to "fetch" it so I can get some clean clothes around here. Hopefully that will make me feel better. Hubs always says "Underwear is how you feel", so if I get some clean underwear, it should make me feel clean and good, right?! lol Anyhow, been working on entering genealogy data into my Family Tree Maker program. Have entered over 400 names and dates so far. Once Iget everything entered into the computer, I can start "writing" my story. Been finding some new info lately thru the message boards on Ancestry and Genealogy websites. Doing this research is so addicting. I've been working on it for about six years now, and have been able to trace my lineage on both my mother's and father's sides of the family to the early 1600's in England. Found some interesting facts and some "juicy" tidbits, too. Maybe I'll share someday. But for today, can't wait for Hubs to get home with that new washer so I can have clean clothes! :=)

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Wild Waterfall

For several months now, the faucet in kidlet's bathtub has been leaking. Hubs has kept saying he's going to fix it, but hadn't gotten around to it until yesterday. I had been complaining about it because it went from a small, intermitten drip, to a full-on stream of water that NEVER stopped. But yesterday, he finally went in there and fixed it. No more leaking faucet. Thank you very much. So, later on that evening, kidlet goes in to take her shower and all of a sudden I hear this MASSIVE gush of water coming from the shower, and it's not the sound of a normal shower! She comes running out of the bathroom and yells that the whole faucet blew off. Sure enough, I went in there, and water was shooting straight out across the tub from the cold water faucet. Now, I remember this happening once before, many years ago, and I knew that the valve just needed to be turned off. However, I couldn't get anywhere near the valve because of the shooting waterfall. Hubs wasn't at home, he had school, so it was up to me to figure out what to do. And, I've been sick, so there I am, snot running down my nose, and every time I try to "get to" the valve, I get shot in the face with water. Good thing, since it could wash that snot off. Okay, this isn't going to work. I have to shut the water off from outside. But I know that the valve at the house is froze up and won't do anything. I know it has to be shut off at the street, but I have no clue how to do that. So, I'm in my pajamas with no shoes on, and having been sufficiently wet down by the "waterfall", I decide to go to the next door neighbor's house and ask for help. Totally. Embarrassing! Luckily, the neighbor was home and he got a wrench and turned the water off at the street. Thanking him profusely, I go back inside the house and Instant Message Hubs at class, telling him "EMERGENCY!!!! Ring me up right away!" It was about an hour later before he got my message, and his response was a very calm, "Okay, I'll fix it when I get home." No big deal to him. Of course, what could he do at that point anyhow, right? I supposed he could have run from his class, screaming EMERGENCY as he ran out the door. But, no, just a simple, calm message. So we had to wait, with no running water, until he got home from class, and then wait for him to fix it before turning on the water. Do you know how thirsty one can get, just knowing you can't get a glass of water? Or how many times you will suddenly need to go pee and flush the toilet, which only works once when the water is shut off, then no more flushy for you, baby! But, alas, the faucet got fixed, and we survived, and I got another "incident" to blog about out of it. So I guess all is well. :=)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Possum, All In A Row

So, yesterday morning, as I do every morning, I let my cats outside for their morning romp. A little while later I went to the kitchen for a second cup of coffee, and, as I looked out the back door, I saw three of my four cats out on the patio, looking rather intently out to the backyard. Lately, another cat has been coming over to our yard for a not-so-welcome-by-my-cats visit. I figured by their behavior, this visitor was probably out there and my cats were getting ready to have their usual "fit" about it. So I walked outside, just in time to see what they were actually looking at. Up on the block wall that runs along one side of my yard, was a really big possum. As I further investigated, there wasn't just one possum, but three, all prancing single file along the wall, coming from the very back of the yard up toward the patio. Now I started to have a "fit" because I knew if the cats were to tangle with those possums, the outcome would not be good. So I began trying to get the cats to come inside. Of course, being the obedient little darlings that they're NOT, they immediately ran further out into the yard and totally ignored my pleas for them to come into the house.
The possums kept coming closer and closer, until finally one of them either jumped or fell into a rose bush. Ouch! This made the cats really go crazy! Finally, Cali, whose nickname is Scaredicat anyhow (because she's always been afraid of every little thing), got spooked enough that she ran to the back door and waited for me to open it so she could get inside. But the boys, Prowler and George, continued to ignore me. I heard the possum make a little crying noise, I'm sure it was getting its hiney full of thorns off that rose bush, and that scared George into the house.
Prowler ran back toward the back of the yard. One of the possum, not sure if it was the same one that fell in the rose bush, actually charged Prowler. I didn't know possum did that, but Prowler was sitting under the arbor, and this possum came running right toward him at full speed. When the possum reached him, he turned and ran to the house, and the possum turned and ran back into the bushes.
My camera is not working, or I would have gotten a picture of those possum all lined up on the wall. From tiem to time, we've had possum live in our garage and in the drawer of a chest on the patio, but I've never seen more than one at a time, and certainly not three adults, nor did I know they would actually "charge" another animal.
Hopefully, the cats will think twice about ignorning me the next time there's another animal in our yard. I doubt it. :=)

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Blech, I'm Sick!

I've had this agenda to post something on my blog every day. So far, I've posted 33 days in a row. Yesterday and today, Blech, I'm sick and don't feel like posting anything, and yet, here I am, writing this dumb post, just to have something on today's date. Over at Brenda's It's All Good, she did an interview. One of the questions was Why do you blog? I started my blog almost two years ago as a result of comments I'd heard at a funeral. And, also, blogging is something I could ACTUALLY do! I'm not computer saavy at all, but I managed to set up the blog all by myself, and have learned how to change and rearrange it all by myself, too. So, I've set this goal for myself, to blog every day, but I think I may have bit off more than I could chew. I know there are lots of things to blog about, but on days like today, I just don't feel like messing with it, but yet, if I don't keep it up, I may fall back into my habit of blogging only once every couple of months. And I definately don't want that to happen. So, here I am, once again writing drivvle for your not-so-pleasureful reading. And now, I'm going back to bed.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Yesterday we were surprised to see and have lunch with our nephew and his family. In June 2007, I hosted this baby shower for his wife, April, and their new baby, Ruthie. Baby Ruthie is now about eighteen months old, and she is just the cutest little girl. She has grown so much. She has a little button nose and big, brown eyes, all topped off by a "crown" of curly locks all over her head. I haven't seen her since the summer, at our family reunion, as they live about two hours away from us. Ruthie's grandparents are Hubs' sister and brother-in-law who were in town this weekend for the funeral at our church on Saturday. Even though for a sad occasion, we got to spend time this weekend with a lot of our family. It made the sadness of the occasion a lot easier to bear.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Congratulations, Pittsburg Steelers! I'm not a football fan anymore. I used to be many years ago, and I was a Steelers fan. That was way back when Terry Bradshaw was QB. I had no vested interest in today's game, but since I used to like the Steelers, I'm glad they won.
That's all I've got for today. :=)