You'll thank me later when you're not puking.

Let me start this by saying "you're welcome." I am about to go to bed but have been wanting to post all week, so I sat here on my laptop to shoot out a post. I wanted a photo to go with it. I googled "toes". Lord help me, I want to puke now. So yes, you are welcome. Because you DO NOT want to see what I just saw.

I'll settle for a pic of... hmm. Baby chicks? Kittens? Fresh grown corn? Anything but toes.

Whew. That's better. My spleen can crawl back out of it's hiding place now.

This is going to be short and sweet, and only a little more boring than normal because it's midnight and I'm tired.

• I get to finally finally take a day off tomorrow. A day off from screaming, fighting kids. A day off from temper tantrums. A day off from dishes (who am I kidding? My dishes from last night are still in my sink.)
• It's buy one/get one free day at the local Heaven spa, so a friend & I are going. And. I. Can't. Wait. I want to lather myself in mud and call myself Wilbur.
• I was in the emergency room with my friend on Monday. Not for me, for her. She miscarried. :(
• As I type this my face is covered in a combination of castor oil and olive oil, and my hair smells like vinegar. Somehow I became crunchy overnight.
• I'm sad Matt Giraud is gone, but not surprised.
• Adam Lambert is gaining weight.
• I'm sick of hearing about swine flu.
• I am non-apologetic about my hatred for all things related to swine flu.
• I haven't worked out in a week. And I found the easiest, most delicious cookie recipe yesterday.
• The above two items do not work well with #2. Because #2 involves a bathing suit.
• I just realized my cell phone is downstairs. And I'm tired. And kind of cursing in my brain now.

Guess I should go get it, so I don't oversleep and actually get up after the sun.

Way out west...

For the love of Bob, please watch this. Anyone local may have seen this commercial (and Arkansas may have had a Jack in the Box at one time or another, but the jury is still out on that one...) but this commercial just cracks me up. Moreso because of the memories it invokes.




I'll let you in on the magic that is my mind. About a month ago, we saw this commercial for the first time. I just giggled a little and was a little flabbergasted. I didn't say anything, but I think I may have looked a little confused.

I can't be sure.

The next night we saw it again and I told Big Hunk "Those are probably fake." He laughed, looked at me in disbelief and said "Seriously?? They are definitely fake. There's no 'probably' about it." He was clearly in shock that his wife could seriously look at 2 foot tall cows and even think for a second that they could be real.

In my defense... okay nevermind. There is no defense. I don't know why I thought there were seriously "cows the size of schnauzers" somewhere in this world that I had just never heard of.

I am aware that I can be a little naive.

All this talk of litter and bugs is making me hungry.

Have you heard that next year, SunChips will be introducing a 100% compostable bag? I am so thrilled. I have always loved SunChips, but more from the selfish, gotta-have-that-salt standpoint. To know that they are taking such a drastic step to reduce waste and not just lessen our footprint, but even better our environment just makes me want to eat some more.

Now, our family is far from where we need to be as far as going greener. I am not one that gets all crazy about people that drive SUV's (ahem, because I'm one of them) or that remembers to unplug every appliance when I'm not using it. But I do try to do my part. In addition to being a (very very) new composter, we recycle any cardboard or plastic (glass, etc) that comes into our house. Now that's a small step. But I love that companies like SunChips aren't just putting on the blinders to make a profit, but are listening to what's important to their customers.

So hello litter-bugs, next time your little selfish butt throws that bag out the window on the interstate, at least you can know you're doing your part too.

*This message not paid for or endorsed by SunChips. I just love 'em and had to share why I think they're even more awesome now.

Keeping it real.

I am in tears right now. And this will probably fall under the category of "too much information" but I just need to cry.

I don't know what it is about me, but I feel like I am just totally incapable of keeping friends. SO many things have happened over the past few months that just hurt me so deeply, and I can't ever figure out what I do to chase people away.

I do all I can. I LOVE to make my friends feel special and to do things for them, and I try to do just that. I'll bake them brownies when they're feeling down or invite them over if they're having a particularly bad day. I'll pay for their haircut if they can't afford it and I want some company for mine. I'm not trying to boast about things I've done. I'm just trying to say I don't get it. I try to be understanding and listen. I will offer anything under the sun if it will make their life easier.

Yet, without fail, I am hurt. I am blown off and wonder why I'm the only one that ever invites anyone to do stuff. I'll get judged for things I do when I've always kept my mouth shut about their life. I find out that I'm just about the only person I know that wasn't invited to a birthday party and sob because I feel like a kid in school.

And every time, I sit here with tears wondering why.

Today something happened that just brings it all back. It was stupid and my friend apologized for hurting me, but it just brought back all the feelings that have culminated recently.

My very favorite blog...

If you are not already a regular reader of Angie Smith's blog, you are really missing out! This is her most recent post and I am so touched. It's never hard to figure out why I love her so much.

What Day Did Jesus Die??

"Many people have been confused concerning the day of the death of Jesus. We know it was the day before the Sabbath, because the Jews wanted to get Him off the cross before the Sabbath. So traditionally people have believed Jesus died on Friday afternoon. But He had said He would be dead for three days and three nights, and we know He rose on Sunday morning, so that would only be two nights. Several explanations have been offered, but this passage here gives us a possible clue.

John tells us "that Sabbath was a high day." The day after Passover was the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was always considered a high Sabbath, no matter what day of the week it fell on. It was a special Sabbath day.

So I believe that Jesus was actually crucified on a Thursday, on the Day off Passover, with the next day, Friday, being the High Sabbath, the following day being the normal Saturday Sabbath, and the third day being Easter Sunday, the day He rose from the dead. This makes three days and nights. It also explains why His followers couldn't come to the tomb to anoint His body until three days later, as they couldn't do that on either Sabbath. We still celebrate the traditional Good Friday, but technically I believe it should be Good Thursday. "

Pastor Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
an excerpt from The Word for Today Bible

Surprises.

A friend of mine, a mom from Mikey's teeball team, called me up the other day. She said she knows that I love to take pictures (being my camera is always in my hand) & that I have a nice camera, so she was curious if I was a professional photographer. Can I tell you right there how much I love her? That was the sweetest thing she could have ever said to me, even if she'd never seen any of my photos. ;) Anyway, she is a real estate agent and wanted to know if I'd consider taking photos of her properties when she lists them.

My first instinct, as much as this is a dream of mine, was to run and hide. It's totally out of my comfort zone to do something for someone else when I am not completely confident in my abilities. Not that I'm ever completely confident in anything because I'm one of the most self-conscious people on earth. But if someone is going to depend on me (and pay me, nonetheless) I don't want to let them down! But I agreed to think about it and in the meantime she was going to send me photos from a recent listing so I could see what she wants.

So, my first job is Friday. I am nervous as all get out because half of the photos I usually take for fun are crud (okay, 3/4 of them). I have seriously crazed myself into thinking I'll have to refund her money when she hates them. On top of that, it's supposed to rain on Friday. Which means, natural light is out the window. Or isn't out the window. You know what I mean. It's so weird, I think I've used the flash on my camera like 3 times. And every time I've tried I HATE it with all capitals because it is so stinking bright! My camera even has an option to minimize the flash, yet when I turn it down all the way it makes NO difference. So, no flash for you.

As nervous as I am, I'm excited too. I LOVE taking photos and I would love to make a part-time career out of this. This is a great start! (And hey- houses don't generally move as much as kids, so I have good chances of the pictures being clear.) And if my friend likes the ones I take, she'll let me do all her photos. That could lead to working with some of her colleagues as well. So I'm praying this goes well!

It's just amazing to me how we can pray to God that He would guide us according to His will and that He would help us with all that we're going through. We know He'll show up. Yet it is almost never in a way we expect, and I love the surprises!

Last talk about pups.

Well! I have neglected posting any type of update to my last post because I like to pretend I'm cleaning my house and getting important things done. But as I type this the kids are playing Xbox, laundry is in the wash & lunch is on the stove (see: macaroni & cheese), so the fort is upholding itself.

I will most certainly not bore you with all the details. And boy are there details. And tails.

In a nutshell, despite every vow my husband and I have ever made to not do so, the kids & I came home on Friday with a ratdog. More specifically, a puppy that weighs no more than 2 pounds (at 11 wks), could fit entirely in the mouth of our other (real) dog, and is about a third the size of our cat. We're talking purse-dog.

Her name is Daisy, and she is absolutely adorable in the "a face only a mother could love" way. But she's so stinking lovable that it makes you look past the bugged out eyes and Chia pet hair. I have decided today that she looks a lot like Scrat from Ice Age.

Daisy has been a perfect fit to our family. The kids adore her. Ikey loves having someone to torture carry around and both kids are so excited to get a little purse to take her every where we go. I will let you imagine how excited Big Hunk is about that. But don't let his masculinity fool you. Many times I've found Daisy asleep in his lap. Once, she was asleep on his chest while he was asleep on the bed. So yeah, she's cute.

 

Our dog Roxy though? She's not too sure what Daisy even is. Surely this little furry sausage can't be a dog too. 

Heartbroken.

I can't even flippin believe this. Literally no more than five minutes after I posted my last entry, the animal shelter called.

The vet was prepping our puppy for surgery and saw a sort of diarrhea type discharge. So, they tested her and it came back as Parvo.

I cannot believe this. I am so so sad- more for my kids than anything. I don't even know what I'm going to tell them. I asked the lady that called what they normally do now, and she said they will put her down.

:*(

Big Hunk said (unfortunately he's at work) that we should either tell the kids that she is sick and we can't adopt her (obviously leaving out the part that she will die) or that someone else adopted her. I don't know. Clearly the truth here is not an option.

We will go back down today to find another dog. We won't rush into our choice, but it breaks my heart that my kids have been counting down the minutes til we went to pick her up today.

Please pray for my kids, that God would comfort their hearts. I am so sad.

Pretty soon!

After a mighty stressful morning yesterday, we will pick up our puppy this afternoon! I cannot even tell you how excited the kids are, nor how much I am wondering when I completely lost my marbles. Because evidently, we are getting a puppy.

This kind of snowballed rather quickly, and I don't remember when seeing my friend's dog at church last week turned into getting our own 2/3 month old puppy 7 days later.

Originally the shelter had her listed as five months old and a shepherd mix (remember in my last post how I couldn't figure out why she'd be so small if she is a shepherd?) Well now they tell me she's two or three months old, and it's suspected (by Big Hunk & the girl that helped me yesterday) that she may have some terrier in her. I can't tell how not happy that makes me because I've never really seen a terrier I liked, but I guess there's a first time for everything.

For now, Mike & Ike are so stinking excited and just may even do their chores to keep her.

 

(at the shelter yesterday, getting to hold her- and really even pet her!- for the first time.)

Puppy love.

Last Friday at Friday school (so weird how that lands on just the right day) at our church, our friends brought their new puppy Cupcake. She was the stinking cutest thing I've ever seen, and she was so soft. So cute in fact that it made me not even care that after petting her (and eating nachos at the same time, ew) my kids reeked of puppy breath. I talked to the parents a bit and found out she was a Catahoula, which I had never heard of before in my life, and that they had gotten her from the shelter.

Since my mom yanked back the dog she had offered me last week (no bitterness), getting a second dog has been plaguing my mind while I waited for her next bout of fickleness. So when those friends brought their little puppy to church and I saw how in love my daughter was, the kids and I decided to make an impromptu visit to the shelter after school.

I'm still not sure if that was a good idea or bad.

Let's just say we've been to the shelter 3 times in the past week, and at least once every time Mama sheds a teeny tiny little tear.

The first day we went, Friday, I found this adorable little puppy that I wanted so bad. It was small (which we generally are not crazy about small breeds, something about needing a dog big enough to withstand my kids' "love") and had the hugest ears.

It was so sweet and just wanted attention. There was a sign on his/her (formalities) cage that read "Exposed to Parvo/ No Other Dogs!"

So yeah. I'm naive. I immediately thought "Well Roxy has already had Parvo, so she'd be safe and it would be okay to take this dog because he couldn't affect her." Never occurred to me that that wouldn't happen, and that little homeboy would never see a home. :( I asked, believe me. Stupidly, even if I did take this dog home (that surely could not even fight off Parvo being so tiny), it's not like I could commit to the money it would cost to fight the Parvo. But I may have mentioned before, I'm naive.

I asked the front office about him, and they said the only reason he hadn't been put down yet was because they had owner information. They would NOT adopt him out, and basically were just waiting for him to either die, or for the waiting period to end so they could rush that along (my words, not hers). When we went back the next day he was still there, but very lethargic and wouldn't even raise his head. I was so sad. Granted, it could easily be due to the late time we visited (and I'm sure Saturdays are their busiest day), so I'm going with that. All I know is his little cage was empty on Monday when we went back.

So moving on. Well, the 3 of us- the kids & I- fell in love with this little puppy in cage 16. So adorable. She is 5 months old and some sort of shepherd mix, though I've never seen a shepherd so small. That must be one tiny crook.

I'm sure I'm the only one laughing here, and I'm okay with that.

Anyway, I would think at 5 months old she'd be a lot bigger than this if she were a shepherd mix. Regardless, she weasled her way into my kids hearts (and okay, mine) and is the reason we've gone back twice since then. We have all but named her (the kiss of death); in my kids' eyes she is already a member of our family.

The stinky thing is when we asked last Friday, they told us she isn't available until April 2nd. Do you know how LONG 6 days is for a child when they want a puppy? I'll tell you. 565 times of hearing "How many days until the puppy can be adopted?" have made that very clear to me.

But we're almost there. And as my little guy put it yesterday when talking to his sister, "This is like a race and we started out with 6 laps, and tomorrow will be the final lap." So there you are folks. The final lap. The kid is deep.

We have to get there by 9:45am to fill out the application. Then, if there are other people interested in her, they do a raffle to see who gets her. Fun. I always have soooo much luck with raffles. *End sarcasm* But I have faith that if she is meant to come home with us, she will. Despite the ridiculous adoption fee and needing to brainwash my husband in the next 24 hours.

But she does have talent, that dog. If only I could make some money off of her.

She can make her own poop disappear.