Another meme

Found at SuperSeuss:

Bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Just for fun

Found this over at Bluegrass Mama's this morning and thought it looked like fun:

Ten Things I've Done That You Probably Haven't

1. Given birth in a bathroom.

2. Shared a bedroom at home with a man in a hospital bed.

3. Totaled a car while 15 weeks pregnant (baby survived).

4. Fallen while climbing a picket fence. Ouch doesn't describe it.

5. Searched my big sister's apartment closets for any intruders who might have been hiding in them. (I was 14 or 15 at the time.)

6. Given birth in 1 1/2 hours from start to finish.

7. Nursed a baby while riding The Great Movie Ride at Disney-MGM Studios.

8. Ridden out a hurricane in the mental health clinic of a military hospital.

9. Read Gone With the Wind in one sitting. (Stayed up till 3 in the morning)

10. Lived in the same house from birth till marriage (22 years), not counting time away at college.

How'd I do? It was a hard task to come up with these things, because I've lived a fairly routine life.

Bargains and other stuff

 
I love Mary Engelbreit's artwork. I lucked out this evening while at Michael's with my husband. I found a whole slew of ME items for $2 and $3 each!! The $3 item was a magnetic write-on/wipe-off board that came with a pen/eraser, magnetic notepad, and magnets. The $2 items were a stationery set, a fold-out organizer with address book, notepad, and something else that escapes me right now, and a notecard set. I bought several of each; putting them aside for those "just because" kind of gifts. A $6 trip turned into a $36 trip. Thankfully, my husband was most agreeable. (Perhaps that's because he doesn't know how much I spent at the Mary Kay gathering today!)

I did have a good time at the MK thing today. Was able to order some things I need, including a makeup bag to put my things in. Brian has never liked the way my things are all out in full view in the bathroom, even though we have plenty of room for it. And he feels even more strongly that the house will show better if my things aren't sitting out. But I am a visually-oriented person; I like being able to see my things. This makeup bag solves that problem because it is a roll-up bag that, once unrolled, has clear pockets so I can see everything. No digging around for what I am looking for!!

That Michael's trip was made after dinner. We went there to get some batting/foam for our piano bench. The vinyl on it is ripped and doesn't look very nice. I am doing my best Trading Spaces designer impersonation and recovering it. Brian bought me a staple gun earlier today at Home Depot, and all I needed was foam and some material. Bought the foam at Michael's (found out when I got home that it wasn't quite large enough... by about 2-3 inches), then headed across the street to the WalMart Supercenter and found some tapestry-like upholstery fabric for under $5. I cannot wait to get this done. I think it is going to be cool-looking.

Oh, before I forget, Noah finally scored at his basketball game today! It was the last game of the season. What a way to end it, eh? His best friend also got his first score of the season as well. And his mom just happened to be videotaping at the time. What luck!

Making plans and setting deadlines

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that my husband's goal is to have the For Sale sign in the yard by Friday. The painter is coming to paint the basement on Tuesday; we are going to try to schedule the carpet installation for that part of the house for Thursday. Meanwhile we'll be moving some stuff into storage, cleaning out the garage, and fixing up the access holes in the storage area over the garage (these are places the drywall needs to be replaced where it was cut/removed to add wiring, lights, and a/c ducts). Oh, I'll be cleaning out the boys' room as well, making it a little more showable.... including putting new bifold doors on their closet. Hopefully we can do all this without running ourselves ragged.

Tomorrow we have a basketball game at 12:30 and a Mary Kay party at 2 (that's just for Em and me). Emily is bringing a friend home with her to spend the night. Somewhere in our at home time I have to get laundry done. We'll probably be boxing up books and stuff as well. Doesn't it all sound like fun???

I'm Ba-aack!

Wow... it has been a long couple of days (was it really only 2 days??). On Wednesday, the carpet installers managed to get 3 bedrooms, the master bath, and the upstairs hall done. They had to come back yesterday and do the boys' bedroom, the stairs, the family room, and this room. They had the rooms done by 3 or 4:00. The stairs took until shortly after 6:30. One guy worked on the stairs all day long. Now I know what we are in for when they install the basement carpet. That will be one day next week, after the painter paints the basement (yes... we are NOT doing it ourselves. Can I get a hallelujah?).

Anyhoo, it is all very nice. The furniture is back in place, the computers are hooked up (did that first thing this morning), and the order of business for the day is to get everything (books, files, knickknacks) out of the kitchen and either boxed up or put back where it belongs. We are having a small group of junior high kids over for Bible Bowl study tonight. A very dear woman from church (the wife of one of our shepherds, who just lives a mile away) is coming over in a bit to help me out. Brian was on call last night and spent many hours at the hospital dealing with a challenging patient and has only slept an hour or so, so I am letting him sleep while she and I get the house in order.

Would love to stay and chat, but I need to get busy!!

unplugging

We're unplugging all the computers tonight to get ready for the carpet installation tomorrow. So I'll be offline until after everything is done (hopefully I'll be back on tomorrow night.... Thursday at the latest.

Talk amongst yourselves.... but nothing too interesting, OK? I hate missing out.

First things first

Seems like forever since I've sat down here to write, but it's only been 2 nights. We had another one of those all-day Sundays, where we are at the building from 8-5. It will pretty much be like that until Easter, then we'll have a slightly more normal life. After we got home last night, I worked on laundry while Brian painted Halle's bedroom.

Today I did MORE laundry, cleaned the kitchen, decluttered the cubbyholes over the kitchen desk, reorganized the DVDs, organized the closet in the schoolroom (used 3 new Rubbermaid tubs!) made dinner (chicken tetrazzini), took the kids to taekwondo, put Halle's room back together, and helped Brian paint our walk-in closet. He painted Emily's walk-in while the kids and I were at taekwondo. (Oh, Emily got her green belt - decided - tonight.)

We canceled the appraiser visit and rescheduled it for Thursday. We just felt there was too much to do and didn't want to go crazy trying to do it all. Tomorrow we are having new vinyl installed in the kids' bathroom; Wednesday the new carpet is being installed on the first and second floors. We're holding off on the basement carpet until after we get it painted. Also on the agenda for tomorrow is a meeting with a real estate attorney to make plans for the sale of the house.

No stress in this house... no sirree...

The pause that refreshes

I'm not talkin' 'bout Coca-Cola.

I had the best day today. Never mind that I only slept about 4 1/2 hours last night. I got to share a table with 4 good sisters and laugh my head off, sing, pray, and be encouraged. Every woman needs a day like this every now and then. We had good food and good fellowship, heard some hilarious stories and some eternal truths, and just felt God's presence. Here are some of my favorite words from today:

Joy is: the settled assurance that God is in control, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything will be alright, the determined purpose to praise him in all things.

Yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery. This day is a gift and a treasure. That's why they call it the present.

We'll always be friends, because you know too much about me.
You're far too informed to ever stray away without me.
You know my good, bad, my happy, sad, my strong and my weak.
You know my thoughts, my opinions, and my stubborn streak.
We've divulged too many secrets over coffee cups;
Now we're stuck in this forever like the Mafia.
We've been rowdy, pouty, let-it-all-hang-outie...
We'll always be friends, because you know too much about me.

If you ever get a chance to see Anita Renfroe, do NOT pass it up. Check out her website and watch some video clips. It'll do your cheek and tummy muscles some good. Won't hurt your heart or soul, either.

Just a drop in the bucket

You know the saying "When it rains, it pours?" Well, it's not raining, but we had a flood earlier. Just as I was finishing up dinner, my eldest tells me the toilet in the kids' bathroom is overflowing. When I get to the top of the stairs and to the bathroom, there is nearly an inch of water in the floor, from the tub at the far wall to the doorway. I mop up what I can with old towels, then drag the wet/dry vac in and squeegee the floor. Meanwhile she comes to tell me that there is water dripping in the kitchen below. Great balls of fire! What next? Sure enough, the water had run into the light fixture in the kitchen and some was dripping through an invisible hole in the dome. We get that taken care of and try to eat dinner (oh by the way... my husband is at work during all this; another call night) and the Noah tells me there is water dripping from the basement ceiling! The water from the 2nd floor made it down through the walls to a spot in the basement.

Now I am very thankful this happened before the new carpet was installed. But did it have to happen 3 days before the appraiser comes?? And on a call weekend for my husband? Just more things to add to the list of stuff to take care of before we can sell the house.

Hey... any of you family members reading this: You're more than welcome to come help out.

I gotta get to bed. Tomorrow (today) is my ladies' day. After tonight, I think I need it.

Smell that?

If you do, you might be smelling the fried rice I'm cooking right now...

Or maybe it's the scent of a freshly detailed SUV ...

Or it's that sweet smell of success, as I cross off #4 on my list. OK, I can't really cross it off, because I only found *1* Rubbermaid container at WalMart earlier tonight. Someone else must have had the same idea I did, because the Rubbermaid totes were nearly nonexistent! They had some cheaper off-brand tubs, but I didn't like them and they just didn't seem as well-made as the Rubbermaid ones. So I'll have to head somewhere else later tonight or tomorrow night.

Brian talked to a real estate attorney today (we are going to do a FSBO); he says we need to get our house on the market as soon as possible.... houses in our neighborhood are taking 60-90 days to sell. We have a little over 90 days left here. So the appraiser is coming Monday afternoon. We are under the gun to get Halle's room and the basement painted so we can get our carpet installed. THEN we can list the house. This is all happening so fast!

It's a Girl Thang

Stuff to do today:

1. Take a check for cub scout pack to the council office. (that's on the other side of town.. about a 25-30 minute drive) done
2. Make dough for refrigerator rolls so we can have them with dinner tomorrow night. done
3. Clean out the truck (SUV) so I won't be embarrassed to have friends in it tomorrow. done Actually, in the process... Brian dropped it off to be detailed!
4. Buy more Rubbermaid tubs so I can start hiding storing junk to get the house decluttered and ready to list/show.

I guess those are the most important things. See the second two?? Those are the exciting ones. I am going to be gone all day tomorrow, so these 2 things are important. Yes. Me. I. The Mom.

I organized a small group of women from church to go to Lincoln tomorrow to Joyfest. It is a day-long celebration for women. The keynote speaker is Anita Renfroe, a women I have wanted to see since late last spring, when I started researching speakers for a women's conference we were trying to plan at our church. She's a singer, comedienne, speaker... you name it. I have volunteered my husband's SUV as the main conveyance to get there, thus the need to clean out all the papers, pop bottles, and various other accumulations. To say I am looking forward to this day is an understatement.

So time's a wastin'. I better get crackin' on that list.

Making a list

I found out tonight that the new carpet for the house may all arrive at the store by tomorrow. Acck... we still have the basement to paint and also one of the bedrooms! (Who wants to help? Anyone who was reading here in December knows how much I hate painting!) Anyhow, we don't want to schedule installation until after the rooms are painted, to minimize chances of paint landing on the carpet. Somehow we have to find time to get this done in the next week or 2.

I've been making a mental list of everything we have to do to get ready to list the house for sale. I really should get it on paper, but then that would mean I'd actually have to start doing some of those things, wouldn't it?? I get overwhelmed easily. Too bad I don't have an "Alice" (a la Brady Bunch) here. She'd help me; and she wouldn't complain while doing it. You'd think a 13-year-old could be loads of help. She could be; if she wanted to. But meaningful assistance from her is hard to come by.

*Insert Catchy Title of Choice Here*

How do people come up with inventive titles for their posts?? I suppose it's easier when one is posting interesting tidbits of information... but when a post is primarily a rundown on the events of the day, coming up with a title isn't an easy task.

I spent the first half of the morning working on that musical transcription I mentioned in a previous post. I didn't like how it looked handwritten, so I searched online for some way to get it notated so I could print it out; I found Noteworthy Composer. I downloaded the demo version and after much trial and error, was able to get both verses of the song notated, saved, and printed. I even saved a midi file of the song so our director could hear it, to be sure I had the notes the way he envisioned them. It was kind of fun, kind of not. Would have been easier had I had a midi interface so I could just play the notes and have them show up. But whatever... it got done.

Then I had lunch with a good friend at McDonald's. Has been ages since I've been to one of those... we only chose that because it has a playplace, and the kids are so busy there that we can talk with few interruptions. From McDonald's, it was on to our Wednesday afternoon bowling. Today was 8-pin No Tap, which means if a person knocked down 8 or more pins on the first ball, it counts as a strike. There were also 3 random frames of "Free Strikes"... Joel wound up with a 155 with all that help. He had a turkey in the 10th frame, thanks to the No Tap provision.

Came home for a short while, then had to head right back out for a 6pm Adult Education committee meeting at church; drove through BK for Emily and to Schlotsky's for the rest of us. I was very disappointed in the pizza I got.... oh well; didn't need to eat it anyhow. Had the meeting, went to class, then back home for a rowsing game of Candyland with Joel and Brian.

Tomorrow is weigh-in and then I must get groceries.

Oh, and before I forget: Hello there family!!! (My big sister outed my blog to the rest of my family: her kids, my mom, and my brother). I think she needs to start one now. Heck, why don't all of you start one???

Joining the crowd

I finally jumped on the GMail bandwagon today. I couldn't bear MissZoot's lamentations about having too many invites and no one to give them to. I figure it might come in handy to keep blog-related mail separate from my personal email. My favorite thing about it so far??? I can configure it so I can retrieve it with Outlook. Cool beans. So my new address is over at the right, above the Cast of Characters. Or you can find it in my Blogger profile.

Not much else new here. Had a nice lunch out with the hubs (tried a new restaurant... food was just OK, but hey, we were alone). Stopped in at Avenue on the way home and found a new pair of shoes for church (my old dress shoes fell apart a few weeks ago). Emily and Noah went to taekwondo tonight. Emily complains incessantly about hating taekwondo, but she is so good at it... one of the instructors was using her technique as an example to some of the lower ranks. I just wish she had a better attitude about it. Honestly, if we didn't make her do this, she would do nothing other than design webbies for Neopets, play Zoo Tycoon and Sims, and play GameCube. Anyhow, she tested for her green belt tonight and did well. The instructor did not say whether she will be a recommended or decided green belt; I suppose we'll find that out at her next class.

Hasta manana, amigos.

It's always something

I had an email from a reader earlier today telling me that my comments weren't working. No clue what was up with that; best I can figure is that Blogger's new commenting system didn't like the comment tags in my template. So I had to spend some time redoing my template to make it work again. My comment footer is a little redundant, but at least it does what I want now.

I spent an hour or so today transcribing some music to use for our Leadership Training for Christ chorus. The guy who is directing the chorus doesn't read music (other than shape notes), so needed me to get all the music (4 part harmony) on paper for the kids. I have a rough copy done; just need to get it put down all nicey-nice.

Dinner turned out well. Brian didn't get home until around 8. A stat c-section and an appendectomy (same patient) kept him a little later than he thought he'd be. He did bring home some beautiful tulips for me. I think we're doing lunch out tomorrow to compensate for lack of time today.

Valentine's Day plans

So today is Valentine's Day. Brian is 1st call, so no telling when he will be home, but I have made plans for dinner at home whenever he may arrive. Noah helped make a roast that is simmering in the crock pot, I have mixed up a batch of dinner rolls from scratch (dough is rising as I type), and I just took a cherry pie (not from scratch, but not a Mrs. Smith's-type, either) out of the oven. The only dishes left to make are the mashed potatoes and gravy. I'll probably assign the mashed potatoes to Emily. Halle and Joel can set the table, and that makes dinner a total family affair!

I've had to run errands already today... to the post office to send the cookbook proof back to the printers, and dropped a movie off at Blockbuster (The Notebook; talk about a tearjerker!!). Stopped into Super Target for the cherry pie filling and picked up movie-size boxes of the kids' favorite candies for their Valentine's Day surprises. Brian got his surprise when he woke up this morning... a sentimental poem I typeset and illustrated in Print Shop and framed for him. I had it waiting for him at his desk this morning.

Tonight is taekwondo for the kids. Emily will get to test for her green belt, and Noah will have basketball practice right afterwards. Hopefully we'll have time to watch Troy afterwards.

Heat wave

Or what passes for one in February... Yesterday the high was around 45 degrees, so I wound up on a zoo outing with another friend and her kids (and her mom... one of my favorite people in the world). Had the wind not kicked up, it would have been a great outdoor time, but we made the best of it. We wound up doing mostly indoor exhibits; aquarium, desert dome, nocturnal animal exhibit, and the jungle. We wound up getting into the jungle exhibit just seconds before a big school group entered. We had to hustle to keep from being swallowed up by them. Hmmph! When *I* was in school, we never went on field trips, especially not to the zoo. (Of course the nearest zoo was 2 hours away.)

Came home to find Emily sitting at the computer (where else) with a thermometer nearby. Turns out she was running a bit of a fever. No belt test for her last night (but the head of the school says he will test her when she comes back to class, since this was beyond her control.) Noah was awarded his yellow belt last night. Emily should be giving her yellow belt up for a green when she tests next week.

Today Noah has a basketball game at 3:30. Until then, we'll be doing stuff around here. Hubby wants to try to get the new cellular shades installed in our bedroom and master bath. Other than that, mostly just a little cleaning in the kids' rooms, vacuum the floors... Sounds really exciting, doesn't it??

I'd probably freeze to death

From The Daily Susan:

FROM THE ‘NOW I’VE HEARD EVERYTHING’ FILE

One of my favorite commentators, Britain’s Mark Steyn, recently reported on Richard Kral, a Slovak gent. He was driving in some European mountain range when all of a sudden, his car was hit by an avalanche.

He frantically tried to dig his way out, but saw that the snow was sure to stay ahead of him.

He glanced the large quantity of beer that he happened to have in the car because he was off on holiday: 60 half-litres. Eureka! A survival strategy popped into his head.

He made like an American college student, and drank mass quantities of the beer. A short while later, he did what comes naturally when one has consumed mass quantities of beer. It melted a little snow. He drank some more. The natural consequence melted some more.

He drank and natural-consequenced his way all the way out of the snow pile, to life-giving air above.

He says his kidneys and liver hurt. But it’s better to be alive and royally P.O.’ed than not alive at all.

Given my distaste for beer, I reckon I'd have probably frozen to death.

Yankee vs. Dixie

Another fun quiz!

As for me:

83% (Dixie). Did you have any Confederate ancestors?

I do believe there might have been... At any rate, my heart is in the south. Can't wait to live there again!

Thanks to Jenni for the quiz!

Meme time

From MellieHelen, who got it from Moogie:

1. What time do you get up: anywhere from 5:30-7 usually. Depends on how late I went to bed and how many kids wound up in my bed with me.

2. If you could eat lunch with one person, who would it be? Jesus (if he couldn't come, I'd go for Walt Disney.)

3. Gold or silver? Both.

4. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Racing Stripes. Never knew flies had flatulence.

5. What is/are your favorite TV show(s)? I don't watch TV, but if I did... Trading Spaces and While You Were Out.

6. What did you have for breakfast? Haven't had any yet. Probably a bowl of cereal.

7. Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with? Someone who shared absolutely no interests in common with me.

8. What inspires you? Jesus' love.

9. What is your middle name? Rhymes with 'zine.

10. Beach, city or country? Country.

11. Favorite ice cream? Swiss Chocolate Almond

12. Butter, plain or salted popcorn? Butter.

13. What color is your bathroom? Downstairs: tan, red, blue (American motif); Kids’ bathroom: yellow, blue, green (frogs); Master bathroom: yellow, sage green.

14. Favorite color? Purple, in varying shades.

15. What kind of car do you drive? Chrysler Town and Country. If I have to have a minivan, I'd rather have a Toyota Sienna.

16. Favorite sandwich? Peanut butter and hamburger dill pickles. (Hey, keeps the peanut butter from sticking to the roof of your mouth!)

17. What characteristic do you despise? Two-facedness.

18. Favorite flower? Tulips

19. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would it be? Year-long Disney Cruise/Walt Disney World vacation.

20. Favorite brand of clothing? Whatever fits comfortably and doesn’t break the bank. (MellieHelen answered this one perfectly... no need to change the answer!)

21. Where would you like to retire to? See #19. Alternatively, some place near my kids.

22. Favorite day of the week? Thursday, when I have my ladies' prayer group.

23. What did you do for your last birthday? My husband threw a surprise party here at the house a few days before it.

24. Where were you born? Sikeston, Missouri.

25. Favorite sport to watch? Baseball or basketball, although I don't keep up with any one team.

26. What fabric detergent do you use? Tide HE.

Now it's your turn. Add your list in the comments here, make a note in the comments that you've posted on your own blog.

He's back

Brian got home about 5 minutes before I did; he was unloading his truck when I pulled up. The kids were more than excited to see him and barely waited for me to get the car in park before running out to greet him. So now he is downstairs watching the Super Bowl with them... a total first in this house. We've NEVER watched football, but Noah's best friend's family are all into football (the mom's dad was a high school coach), and they have him totally hooked. So now we figure we should try to enjoy it with him. (BLECH.) I was hoping to get a really nice dinner out tonight, since I figure the restaurants shouldn't be busy. Don't think that's happening. I'll have to scrounge up something here.

Anyone else out there just not into this whole football thing??? Wanna come over and do something else fun?

One more day

Hubby will be home tomorrow! The kids and I gave the house a good going-over this morning so he will come home to a clean house. The only thing I have left to take care of is some laundry, a very doable goal for the evening.

On tap for today: Emily needs to go shopping for a birthday present to take to her hotel sleepover party tonight (yes another one!). We will leave soon and see what we can accomplish before Noah's 1:30 basketball game. Then if need be, we will finish the shopping before taking her to the hotel at 4:30. I might take the younger ones to Don & Millie's for dinner as a reward for all their work this morning. It should be a quiet evening for us. Hopefully we'll head to bed early and make it to early service in the morning.

Then tomorrow will be another long day of LTC. Hopefully hubby will be home by the time we are, or shortly after.

The Voice of Truth

As I get ready to end my day, I want to share the lyrics to a song that has been playing over and over in my mind this week:

Voice of Truth
Lyrics and Music by Mark Hall and Stephen Curtis Chapman

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

© 2003 Club Zoo Music / SWEC Music (Admin. by Club Zoo Music) / BMI / Sparrow Song / Peach Hill Songs (admin by EMI Christian Music Publishing) / BMI. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Recorded by Casting Crowns

Don't let the dog out

You all remember the "Twilight Bark" scene from 101 Dalmatians? Well, it isn't as charming in real life. Actually I suppose in real life it is "Late Night Bark." Our schedule has been a total disarray with hubby gone and we have had some late nights here. So if we are not in bed, puppy is not in bed and asks to go out... a lot. While he is pretty quiet when he is in the house, when outside he finds it necessary to communicate with all of nature. Granted, there are other creatures out there communicating as well... but I don't think they live next door to someone who has to get up at 4:30 a.m. I was unaware that we lived next door to someone who had to get up that early until they rang my doorbell at 11:00 last night. (This was just after I had sent one of the kids to make the dog come in, as I had just become aware of his barking, myself.) He was angry... livid... and said he wasn't going to put up with it any more (or something along those lines... I was in such shock, I can't be sure what he said.) I apologized profusely, but he didn't seem to really hear me. I told him I would work to make sure the dog did not go out late at night any more. I really am sick over this. I never wanted to be one of those neighbors you want to strangle. I mean, I feel physically ill and am having a hard time typing this without crying. So now we have to be supervigilant about letting the dog out and make sure we listen for his first sound, making him come in right away.

Where's Uncle Matty when you need him??

The unveiling

Before:

and after:


The top picture isn't representative of how I normally wore my longer hair, but just shows how much there was to cut off. So far the only negative review I've received is from Emily (oh what a surprise there.)

Let's Play a Game

From House of Snark:

A. First, recommend to me:

1. A movie:

2. A book:

3. A musical artist, song, or album:

B. I want everyone who reads this to ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want. I’m adding the caveat, “Keep it clean.”

C. Then, I want you to go to your blog, copy and paste this allowing your friends to ask you anything they want!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I have been needing to make an appointment with my hairstylist for some time now (if you ask my daughter, she'll say MONTHS). I finally remembered to call her today and was miraculously able to get an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. (Normally, I have to wait a week or more.) I have been keeping a perm and some color in my hair, but have decided to go with a cut and color this time. Because several of my friends have been suggesting it, I may be going short (as compared to the slightly below shoulder length that I have now). I'm nervous. It has been a while since I've had short hair.

Perhaps I'll post a before and after. Just maybe.

In other news, I invited a couple from church over for dinner tonight. They have 10-year-old and 6-year-old boys. We had a great time playing Scene It after dinner. The older boys played Game Boy and Yu-Gi-Oh most of the evening. It was such a welcome change to an evening of just the kids and me.

Oh, and bowling starts back up tomorrow afternoon. The 3 younger kids will all be bowling this semester. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the smoky smell on my clothes afterwards. Even though there is little-to-no smoking while we are there, the lingering effects from time periods of heavy smoke still leave their scent on my things. I'm assuming we won't be dealing with this problem out in California, since they have the no smoking in public places policy. :)