A Bird Pooped On My Day

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."  Ephesians 6:11 (to read the entire passage, click here: Ephesians 6:10-18)

There are good days, and there are rough days.  Yesterday, I had a rough day.

It started out with me finding two earwigs in the bathroom.  Over the past three days, I've been the one to find all of the earwigs that are apparently crawling around in our house: two in my craft room on Sunday, one on the bathroom counter on Monday, and two more in the bathroom yesterday.  Why I'm the one finding these disgusting little creatures, I don't know.  They are in my top three insects that I loathe, the first and second being spiders and house centipedes (the latter I never knew existed until we moved to our current location--*shudder*--if you don't know what they look like, feel free to look them up).  My husband has had streaks of finding spiders in the past, and I guess this is my streak right now.  I've always hated them--we had a LOT of them when I was growing up in mid-Michigan, and they freaked me out back then.  They tend to live in wet areas, and when they can't find water outside, they migrate to wherever water might be, and a bathroom is certainly the wettest place in the house.  Sigh.

Then, I received an e-mail from the person who purchased a notepad in my Etsy shop that morning saying that she changed her mind and wanted to cancel the order.  The first order I've had all month.  The ONLY order I've had all month.  I grudgingly granted her request, but not without some irritation.

I  had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon.  Before I left work, a trustee came in to do water samples in the bathrooms.  He told me that I could still use the toilet, and to make sure that I left the water running in the sink.  Since my doctor's office is about 40 minutes away from work, I wanted to use the facilities before I left.  I flushed the toilet and watched the water swirl, but not go down.  Bummer.  I waited a few minutes and tried again.  Got the same result.  Super-bummer.  I had to tell the trustee, with embarrassment, that the toilet hadn't flushed and to not look in the toilet.

The doctor's appointment was inconclusive.  The results of the various tests revealed that there was a lot of inflammation in my stomach, excess bile production, and an irregular pattern in the way my intestine was working where it was connected to my stomach, but they don't know why.  There also seemed to be some disconnect between the notes of the doctor who performed the tests and the nurse practitioner who was reading the results, which left me feeling annoyed and frustrated.  I'm still to remain on my current medications for the next month or so, and then stop and see how I feel.  I'm also going to have a breath test for both fructose and lactose intolerance.  I'm going to transfer to the local gastroenterologist as soon as I can get in.

When I finally got home, my husband pointed out to me more bird poop on the car.  Now, let me explain: no matter where I park at work, or at the store, or anywhere, I always get pooped on.   It's like I have a target on the top of my car that only birds can see.  And I'm not talking about little spots, I'm talking about the huge, seagull-sized bombs that eat away at the paint job on the vehicle, and I'm also talking about multiple bombing sites on the car.  Why my car gets hit like this, I just don't know.  But it just seemed par for the course yesterday, and when my husband said I had bird poop on the car, I felt it a fitting way to describe my day: a bird pooped on my day.

From Reddit: Gary Larson cartoon--"The Far Side"

All I had to say was, you won this one, Today.  We'll discuss this tomorrow.

The Kitchen...It's A Wrap!--Trying to Decorate, and a New Owl Corner

My Kitchen!
We finally finished!  We have a whole matching kitchen again.  My mom and stepdad kindly came down Friday afternoon and helped us with the installation and plumbing, and we were so grateful.  For the most part, things went as they should, and it took the majority of last Saturday.  We had a good time, though, and I think they did, too.  We made the pulled pork that I've mentioned many times before, and it cooked slowly the whole time we worked.  We were all pretty hungry by the end!  We enjoyed a delicious meal of pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans and green beans, with cupcakes for dessert.  I love my "new" kitchen now, and am more eager than ever to begin changing out the carpet in the living room and hallway for a nice wood laminate flooring and big area rug.  I believe that will complete all of the cosmetic changes we plan to make on the house before we consider putting it up for sale.  At least we'll be able to enjoy the changes we've made until then!  Here are some pictures for your enjoyment:

Deh-cor-ay-shee-uns
I am itching to decorate.  However, I've also had a ton of crafty ideas lately, and can't seem to find the time to do all I want to do while working during the day, taking care of dinner, dishes, laundry, and all of the other housework things that also need to be done.  I'm making more pumpkins (to decorate with, as well as sell), I purchased fabric for a mantle cover (which will look nothing like what I designed--I've decided that there is just not time to create the masterpiece I had in mind before Christmas comes and goes), various house decorations, and some awesome glittery wall decor, which will be a DIY tutorial on here in the very near future.  I seem to get a lot of ideas when I have the least amount of time to complete them, and then I get frustrated and feel like I never get a chance to do things I want to do, because I don't have the energy in the evenings to work on things I want to make.  Does that even make sense?  I have all of this ambition in the morning and early afternoon, and make all sorts of ambitious lists of things I want to accomplish, and then I get home and decide that I don't feel like making that delicious from-scratch pot pie, so we have fish sticks, and I don't feel like folding the laundry, so it stays in the dryer for days, and I would rather veg out on the couch instead of washing the dishes, at which point the pile of dirty dishes from dinner begins to resemble a stinky art sculpture in the sink.  At least my sink is deeper now, and can hold more dirty dishes.  But decorating must be done--it's something I look forward to doing every year, and something I hate to take down once the holidays are over.  It's really a vicious cycle.

Goodsmith's
Because I needed one more thing to do, I opened a shop on Goodsmith's.  Goodsmith's is a small, but unique, online shopping site, somewhat similar to Etsy, but still up-and-coming.  They have lower fees for selling, and listing is free.  I saw an ad in the Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas magazine that I picked up at the store last weekend, so I'm hoping that others who buy the magazine will give it a look and maybe bring some new traffic and sales my way.  If you have time, check it out!  Let's support artists and crafters in the U.S. and stimulate the economy the way it's meant to be done--through we the consumers, not the government!

Owl Corner

Today we will learn about the Western Burrowing Owl.  He's cute!  These guys can be found throughout the western U.S., a little into Canada, and into Mexico.  They are also found in western Florida.  This is a small to medium-sized owl, usually standing just under a foot tall.  They are known for their long legs and brown color, and usually have light brown to cream colored spots on the upper parts of their bodies.  As their name indicates, they burrow in the ground to make their homes and nests.  They will either dig their own new hole, or they will use abandoned holes of ferrets, prairie dogs, and other underground rodents.  They feed on beetles, grasshoppers, mice, rats, small ground squirrels, and other small rodents, and will even eat fruits and seeds, unlike other owls.  They usually only have one mate throughout their lives, and can lay a clutch of anywhere from one to twelve eggs, and their average nest size is seven eggs.  These owls are considered to be threatened/endangered.
Photo from sdakotabirds.com, taken by Terry Sohl.  Information from Owling.com, The Owl Pages, and thebirdersreport.com.

Hubby was gone again this week for work.  I struggle so much with loneliness when he's gone, because we have no family and no real friends per se here.  I have to remind myself constantly that I'm not alone, even though I can't physically see my Friend.  So when you find yourself faced with a lonely time, whether it's an hour, a day, a week, or a lifetime, just remember that if you have put your faith in the Lord, He will never leave you, and you are never alone.  Psalm 34:17-19 says, "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles,but the Lord delivers him from them all", and Hebrews 13:5 says, "...because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'”.  Those promises provide comfort to those who are hurting and lonely.

Where Did January Go?

Valentine's Day
Wow, I can't believe that Monday is the last day of January already.  Where did the month go?  It seems as though I blinked and now we're approaching the new month.  I remember my dad saying that as you get older, the years go by much faster.  At this rate, by this time next year I'll be close to 60 years old!  (I'm nowhere near that right now :) ).

Oh well.  I know I've been busy, but I guess it's nothing to write home about.  I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day.  Last year, I surprised my husband with decorations, a gift, and a huge home-cooked meal served on our good china.  I even made pink, heart-shaped Rice Krispie treats, which looked great but were hard as a rock (I don't know what happened!).  It was really fun, and I was able to do it because 1) the holiday fell on a weekend day, and 2) I wasn't working, so I had plenty of time to plan and prepare.  I don't see this year being nearly so extravagant, unfortunately.  It was fun, though, and he liked it and was very surprised.  This year, I'm not sure what to do yet, but I ordered this t-shirt online (which hubby knows about) and I plan to wear it on said holiday.  I'm sure I'll come up with something!

Okay, Time For Spring
I'm very much looking forward to spring now.  It seems like every other day it's snowing!  Be careful what you wish for, I guess.  I still like snow, and I think that it's beautiful outside, but this year seems overly snowy and harsh.  More than once I've had to take the truck to work while hubby takes the car, because I have to drive through the country to get to work, and drifting snow is a common problem on the highways out there.  There is a pretty significant snowstorm forecasted to his us around mid-week here too, and possibly bring us over a foot of new snow!  If it happens as they are forecasting, it will be a slow drive to work, if I make it at all.  Is it wrong that I wish we could retire young, travel around and enjoy life, instead of the daily grind of the rat race?  I would like to be on some private island out in the Caribbean right now...I've never been there, but I'm sure it's nice this time of year.

I Need To Vent

I was listening to the radio one morning last week as I got ready for the day, as I always do.  I usually listen to the local conservative talk station here, and one of the topics this morning was a show on MTV that, while not a reality show, portrays teens that do nothing but have sex and do drugs.  Apparently, many conservative/family organizations have rallied and managed to get the paid advertisers to pull their support from this show.  I say good for them!  I am absolutely appalled at the television shows and movies that exist anymore.  I can't say that television and movies were pristine when I was young, and I admit that I watched shows that I was too young to understand.  I greatly expanded my vocabulary through the television shows and movies I was allowed to watch, including "Cheers", "The Golden Girls", "Back to the Future", and so on, and I tried to impress my parents a few times by repeating four-letter words that I heard on said shows but knew not the meanings.  While shocked that I would pick up the language, they also found it funny.  Oh well.  I probably sound like a prudish old woman, but when I watch old movies on TCM or AMC and compare them to the movies of today, I am terribly discouraged.  Even the Disney Channel is no longer a safe alternative, especially after ABC took over several years ago.  Not a single show on there is actually family-friendly!  No teen has any respect for their parents and they treat their peers with utter hatred.  Most shows on any given network has strong, independent female leads and sad, emasculated male leads.  (There is a book out right now titled "In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks...", and while I haven't and won't ever read it, I believe it's true).  One show out there is all about the supposed life of the average American teenager, and apparently all that American teenagers do anymore is sleep around and get pregnant in high school.  While I know that this is a serious problem among teens, I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would make a television series about teen pregnancy that makes it look like a good predicament to be in!  It's unbelievable that in our society, these things are not only accepted, but are accepted as the norm today.  Anyone who disagrees with it is considered intolerant and are ridiculed and mocked  for seeing these themes as wrong.  Where have the morals gone in our society??  What are we teaching children?  Wow.  Sadly, it will only ever get worse, and for that reason, I have to say that I would have no problem at all with completely getting rid of cable and only seeing very few movies.  Hollywood is the worst influence of all on our families and children, and yet we happily allow them to entertain us for hours each day, every day of the week.  I can't help but believe that our ancestors would be very disappointed in us and what we have allowed our lives and families to become.  If you have children in this day and age, you have a very difficult job of raising them.  Most of you already know this.  It will be an uphill fight all the way to make sure that they know and understand the morals and standards to which you, as Christians, must hold them.  I do not envy you, but I do pray for you.

Well there.  That concludes this week's episode of "My Soapbox".  Thank you.

At the church we attend, we have just finished a three-part sermon on the sanctity of marriage, based on the teachings in Matthew 7:24-27.  I won't go into specifics here, but basically this passage says that marriage should be built on faith in Christ (the rock) instead of the standards of the world (sand).  (These are great sermons available online, and if you want to hear them, send me a message and I'll send you the link.) This is just as applicable to children, and what they are learning from the world today.  We, as adults, are responsible for everything that we teach them, whether we have children or not.  They learn from what they see and hear.  Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, even he is old, he will not depart from it".  Build your marriage on the Rock of Salvation, not the sand of the world, and your children will learn this as correct.  Teach them to respect and listen to you, because God commands it (Eph. 6:1-3).  It is important because with this knowledge, they will hopefully be able to face a destructive world of sin armed with the power of God's Holy Word, and withstand the temptations to follow the easy, but deadly, paths that will certainly and inevitably be set before them by the enemy.