What did I do with this past week?

Monday night: As is my habit when I don't have plans for the evening, I tied up a few extra loose ends before leaving the office around 6PM. Once the Corolla is homeward bound, it's all "eyes on the prize" of pulling into the driveway. My list of "debbie-do's" was sabotaged by the arrival of my next Netflix rental and the fact that I skipped lunch and was hungry. Fast forward to 11 PM when I crawled from my big blue tv chair into my bed. It was not easy to fall asleep because of a phone call from earlier in the day. Brenda left me a message saying that their birth mother had gone into labor and she and Scott were on the way to the hospital. (Fast forward to Wednesday when Landon James comes home!)

Tuesday: I love to go to work early on Tuesdays. Entering the building is safe because the men have a prayer breakfast and the building is busy but my office is not. Jackie called during the day and set up an evening out. I will get to spend tonight with Jacque Cousteau, underwater explorer.

Wednesday: The phone rang just as I started out the door to go to work. It was Mrs. Coleman saying that Mr. Coleman had agreed to sell the house. Ahhh, the ball is now rolling again. Smiling to myself, I wonder where mom will spend Christmas 2008. (For those of you who do not know, Mom is considering moving into the duplex attached to mine.)

Sad start to the work day. Our Minister of Music is leaving. Many things worked together to move him to a church close to where his mother lives. She has been widowed just over a year now and she has had many serious health challenges in that time. The staff wept and prayed together as he shared. It was a sweet time of fellowship. God used the news to encourage me in regards to Mom moving to Daytona.

I was in the church nursery after work. We only had one baby and that makes the time go slower. Our Minister of Music has two teenagers embedded in the student group and the students were told tonight. So was the choir. After the nursery, I head home to escape into a favorite tv show. (It's "So You Think You Can Dance." Of course, in the Fall I will pick up a few of my old favorites.) It has already started when I get home but don't you love that DVR.

Thursday Night is for Ben 10: Alien Force. But first, I dropped off a spaghetti dinner for Landon James and his family. I got to take his picture and hold him. He's perfect!

"Ben" and Ihad a good night. He ate all his meatloaf and mashed potato so he got to have a push up popsicle for dessert.

On the way home, I filled up for $3.82 a gallon. I heard on Good Morning America that ever dollar the price of oil goes up or down, the price of gas fluctuates two and a half cents. That means with the recent $16 drop in oil prices, we should see a .40 drop in the price of a gallon. Hate to say it but somebody's figuring is a little off.

Friday at 2PM, I had an appointment to get my hair done. I was ready for some pampering! My stylist (who is also my friend) treated me to a hand massage. Very Nice!

At 4:30 I was due back in the nursery for the Sunday School Conference. I was the only adult but we had only 9 preschoolers scheduled and two teenage certified babysitters. As it turned out, friends joined friends and there were 4 teenage girls on Friday night and 6 all day Saturday. The girls did a very good job of entertaining the children.

After Ashley lead a lively discussion around the book "Burt and Ernie's Adventures with the Letter A" the girls decide the next "Book of the Month" will have to deal with how Big Bird treated the number 9.

Meanwhile, Andrew ponders career choices: FARMER.......

or BUILDER!

His sisters have the medical field covered. It takes two to treat this critically ill patient. Doctor, Doctor, this case calls for the flapulater! STAT!

Tyler is trying out a few different configurations on his latest archtectural project.

Saturday was long but a wonderful day. I was scheduled to be at the church at 8AM but before I clocked in I went to the Penney's Door Buster Sale at 7AM. I took my new shower curtain to match towels. Towels regularly costing 7.99 were on sale for $3.33. I picked 7 different colors, something I have always wanted to do! I still have to check a few more places to match an orange in the curtain but I love what I bought and what I paid for them.

The Barred Owl

Why is today's post about a barred owl....also known as the rain owl, wood owl, striped owl, and the eight hooter (not to be confused with the eight footer), but most often referred to as the hoot owl. The main reason is that my room mate saw one as she was mowing a friend's yard on Saturday and got some amazing pictures. (Shelly's pictures were unavailable, these are from the internet.) I saw a Barred Owl myself last February and was so amazed I turned the car around to get a longer view. The adult owl is 17 inches tall with a wingspan of 44 inches. It is the only typical owl of the eastern United States which has brown eyes; all others have yellow eyes.
Recent studies show suburban neighborhoods can be ideal habitat for barred owls. Using transmitters, scientists found that populations increased faster in the suburban settings than in old growth forests.

OK, if this sounds a little like a quote from wikopedia, it is. I don't know much about Florida birds but what I've seen is beautiful and plentiful. I pass high rise osprey nests every day on the way to work. There are several varieties of huge cranes, not to mention anhinga and cormorant.

I don't know that I will ever be interested enough to be a birder like by room mate, Shelly, but I can still appreciate God's amazing handiwork.

Ben 10: Alien Force

Almost every Thursday night, I become 15 year old Gwen Tennyson (the redhead). Gwen is half alien and can manipulate natural energy to create shields, tentacles and powerful blasts from her hands. My 4 year old buddy becomes Ben Tennyson. Ben uses an Omnitrix to become one of nine alien heroes. Even though we have to imagine him, we are often joined by Kevin. Kevin is a streetwise bad boy and is a former nemesis of Ben. He can turn his body into any solid substance he touches. Secretly Kevin has a crush on Gwen. But he'd never admit to it. The three of us recreate adventures seen on Ben 10: Alien Force.

Last Thursday night, "Ben" and I spent little time (in comparison to previous weeks) as Gwen and Ben. We put together 5 large floor puzzles and during dinner we watched some of "Camp Rock" on the Disney channel. We played until designated times on the clock, when we got the necessities done (dinner and bedtime) When bedtime was announced, "Ben" cried because we had not spent enough time as our cartoon counterparts. We discussed choices and I made a mental note to remind him at the beginning of the evening. With very few exceptions, Ben has always been easy to put to bed. I lay on the bottom bunk for a while.

"Ben" and his family are an important part of my life, so you will be hearing more in the future. The adventures of Ben and Gwen are sure to continue!

One Going, One Coming

I received an email today informing us that the India team had arrived safely. Only Sandi is missing her luggage and that is promised to arrive soon. Flexibility is always key on a mission trip and the India team did not even get off the ground before they were put to the test. They had a day's delay in Chicago and a ten hour layover in India. However, it is good to know they have reached their destination.

Meanwhile, it is just a few short hours before the Kenya team is back on Florida soil. They have been delayed as well and must take a later flight from Dulles to Orlando. That means my boss will be back in his office sometime tomorrow. I wonder what he will think of the "improvements" I made in his office :OS

Tea for Two (Hundred)

Tonight. my church family will have a hot dog supper in the park. I am making the tea and lemonade. I received my tea training from Joy Fellowship luncheons and my lemonade training from VBS. You never know when this knowledge will come in handy.

The Remote Possibility...

I was in Walmart when my cell phone rang. I did not recognize the number, but I answered it, prepared to hang up on yet another final warning that my vehicle warranty would soon expire. Turns out it was Ahmad, calling from Bright House cable. I have basic cable (18 of the first 20 channels) and Road Runner (because my room mate has to have it for work) Ahmad was offering standard cable (108 channels) for an additional $5 month. For how long? This price is guaranteed for one year. I asked if I could call him back and I wrote down his number, in spite of the Walmart announcer interrupting my efforts.

I don't have standard cable for 2 reasons: 1) I can't stomach the cost. Standard cable runs around $60/month , I currently pay $17. 2) What to watch and when? I could easily be addicted to the Food Network, Home and Garden, and Animal Planet channels. Where would the time to watch that stuff come from? TV, even in it's most constructive format, can become a hole you pour your life into. In the end, I decided to take advantage of the promotional offer. I was explaining my decision to Robin over lunch and she understood the"kid in a candy shop" position I was putting myself into. The pendulum might swing pretty close to insanity the first few times I hold the remote in my hand. After a while, when I see that real life is much, much better than reality tv, the pendulum will swing back toward normal. If not, I have put in place an accountability partner that will help me pull the plug.

Ok, I think this is the most transparent I have been on my new blog. We will now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Grumpy?

Carol and I share the same cat-a-day calendar.

Yesterday, the cat of the day was "Dancer" (pictured left) I emailed Carol and said, "Dancer looks like I feel." I was grumpy. Being grumpy is one thing - being grumpy for no good reason is another!

This has been an interesting summer because I have had more free time than I am used to. My Friday night babysitting family cancelled until September and my Thursday night family has been out of town almost every other Thursday night. The closing of the Seaside Music Theatre Summer Season freed up at least one night a week as well. Have you ever thought that all you needed to conquer your world is more free time, then when you have free time the cruel reality (pardon the dramatics) is that you don't make the best use of it?

Ok, back to the basics:

1) I am incredibly blessed. I love my job, my friends, my family, my health.

2) I am called to be refreshing and encouraging to my family (this includes you, church family) In fact, focusing on others rather than yourself is a sure cure for the gloomies.

3)Set attainable goals for each evening off and see what a sense of accomplishment will do for the grumpies. I am a firm believer that accomplishment breeds accomplishment (How's this for an attainable goal: spend one evening a week with a friend!)

GRUMPIES, BE GONE!