I'm BAAAACK!

Wow! It's been some time, hasn't it? The M.O.T.H. and I took off for a week and did a little camping and just got back into town. We had a great time, but here's about the extent of our trip:

Isn't that glorious?!

 Seriously, that's all we did!

I sat right there for 6 days and 6 nights, read 3 books, ate a half a pan of brownies and took the occasional walk around the park.

The hubs spent most of his time on the iPad playing no more than...you guessed it! Plants vs. Zombies.

He did get up long enough to do this one morning:

Isn't that sexy? My man making Sunday morning pancakes. Yum!

And the evenings were just as amazing

...except for that spooky fire ghost. Can you see it gazing into the fire by the hubs?

I say it looks like a bug eyed Captain Jack Sparrow, but my sister thinks it's a girl...What do you think?

Creepy.

Anyway, I thought I'd also share a few random quotes from our trip for your amusement:

Me: "Jesus and ginger ale make everything better..."

Background- I woke up one morning feeling a little sick at my stomach and M.O.T.H.asked me later on how I was feeling. This was really the best way to sum up my feeling better!

M.O.T.H.: "She's walking with a turd in the bag..."

Background- A "responsible" dog owner was walking her fairly large lab. Her plastic grocery bag created a rather disrupting rustling noise that caused hubs to look up and observe. Once the statement was made, he went back to playing Plants vs. Zombies...

Me: "You can't say 'no' to Cap'n Crunch!"

Background- A lady at the dollar store made a comment that the new Cap'n Crunch snack mix was "awesome." I wasn't sure which ones she was referring to, so I bought both. This statement was made in an attempt to justify the impulse buy to the husband with large eyes.

(I'd share a photo, but I can't seem to find one online. I liked the sweet and salty one, best, though.)

Needless to say, we had a wonderful, relaxing time, but it seriously went by too fast. I wasn't prepared for the enormously stressful first day back to work. There was so much to catch up on and it was a hard adjustment to make!

Thanks to Pandora, for playing this song:

It really helped me regain my focus and get me back on track!

I am a HUGE Christy Nockles fan and have been ever since Watermark. Check her site out if you get a chance.

So, it turned out to be a great day back after all!

What sort of things help you get back in the game of life?

Dog Walking Revelations

I was watching a program the other day about technology and how it is now such an integral part of all our lives and I heard something that caused me to look up from my iPhone... One of the professionals said that due to all this technology, we now all live in a dual screen generation. This means that I can be watching TV while checking my email or surfing the web on my iPad or iPhone. I obviously didn't catch ALL the details (the name of the show, what channel it was on or anything else about the program) because I was looking up YouTube videos on my iPad! The irony, I know...Anyway, ever since then, I have really noticed how much truth there is in that, especially for me. Do you notice that in your own life? Are you trolling  updating your Facebook status while watching TV or at the movies? Something to think about...

Dual Screen Generation

Anyway, that part was free. Here's really what I wanted to share. This evening, I was sitting on the couch, watching an old Reba episode AND playing Plants vs. Zombies on my iPad (don't EVER start playing that game. You've been warned...) when my sister called. We talked for a bit about staying in shape and how a lot of times we have to make ourselves work out and how difficult that can be. She had just left the gym and I had been on the couch almost ever since I'd arrived home from work. You can say I felt a little convicted. Maybe even a little guilty. The sun would be going down soon, so I decided I could take Lucy out for a nice walk.

I got up from the couch and put my shoes on and we were out the door. It was really a beautiful evening. The sky was still a Robin's egg shade of blue and the birds were singing their Hallelujah choruses. I pushed my sweatshirt sleeves up and all was right with the world...until we passed the house at the top of the hill...

BARK! SNARL! BARK! GRRR! The 2 black-lab-mixes in their chain link (or Sears fence- as my grandma always called it) pen were letting us have it! Their nails were scraping down the fence as they jumped, what seemed like, 4 feet off the ground. Their sharp white teeth was glaring during the incessant barking... It really was a bit unnerving.

Courtesy of rf123.com

Their loud howls were echoing off the other houses amplifying them even more and even though we pass this house all the time, it still alarms me. I looked down at little Lucy and she was focused straight ahead. Eyes wide open. I laughed at her to myself, we reached the end of the road and turned around to go back home. I sighed to myself as I prepared to meet the 'Hounds of Hell" once again.

Sure enough, embarrassing dog drama Part 2. I sped up a little bit fearing that the owners might come out to see what all the commotion is about. When we were out of their sight, they stopped barking. Peaceful silence. Then one of them jumped up on the fence and it scared Lucy. Without stopping, she turned her little head, eyes STILL wide open in fear to make sure they weren't coming after us.

I laughed at her again and said, "I got your back, little bit!" It was so funny to me that she was worried that something might happen to her with me right behind her. And that's when it hit me. I do the same thing with God. I'm connected to Him like Lucy's connected to me with her leash. Often times, I begin to take my mind off that fact and I get afraid of all the what-if's. What if those big scary dogs get out and come after little old me? What if something terrible and tragic happens? What if I lose my job? What if the stock market crashes? What if...

Courtesy of rf123.com

Well, the truth of the matter is, even if those big scary dogs did get out of their pen, they would have still had to go through me to get to my little love. And THAT Would. Not. Happen. Same thing with my owner. Terrible things happen. They will happen, but God has my back. Those things have to go through Him before they can get to me.

The M.O.T.H and I joke all the time about how spoiled Lucy is and how no dog in the history of dogs has ever been more loved or spoiled than her. (She's our only child!) But really, no matter how much we love her, and we SO do, God loves us a million, bazillion times more! He's not only got our backs, he's got us from every angle- beside, front and all around! (Psalm 139:5)

I thought about this on the way home and was grateful that He used a simple walk with my little pooch to remind me of His love for me. May we never cease to hear Him when he whispers His love in our ears. We just have to remember to remove the ear buds first.

Make It Monday

My husband (a.k.a.- M.O.T.H: Man of the House if you're new to this blog) is so crafty. Just look at his most recent creation:

I am jealous! He's tried to teach me how to make stuff, but it usually ends with me getting frustrated and giving up to go inside and play Plants vs. Zombies on the iPad. Not good. I know.

Recently, however, he purchased a wood lathe and taught himself how to make bowls, pens, honey dippers and anything else he can spin at 2000 RPMs. When I asked him if it's easy to use, he assured me it was. I always wanted to make pottery and since we have a wood shop and not a pottery shop, I figured this is about as close as I'm gonna get. I like to think of it as 'wood pottery.'

Anyway, after asking me a few times to try my hand at it, I finally decided to give it a try and look what I made this afternoon!

I know it doesn't look like much now, but when this little puppy dries out and I get to put a nice finish on it, it will be the heck's yeah, or in this case, the "vee's knees"!

Here's a bit about how the process works.
You start out with a blank like this:

This is Red Elm, I used rainbow poplar...

and carve away...

If you are using green wood, like I did, you'll need to wrap the bowl up in a brown paper bag after you've carved it and let it dry out for a few months. Yes, I said months- no instant gratification here. But what was that mama always said? "Good things come to those who wait!"

Oh well, tick tock, tick tock.

I'll post an updated pic when it dries and is finished.

It really is therapeutic and helped me to shed a whole Monday's worth of stress!

What do YOU do to relieve stress and get creative?