Saturday, February 26, 2011

We Need a Rain Out

Trent and I have had a streak of bad luck lately. Or a losing streak. Whatever you want to call it. In baseball, you don't mess with a winning streak and you need a rain out to break a losing streak. Well I'm hoping that the rain the other day has set us straight and we won't have any more problems. Allow to me elaborate.

First, Trent discovered gas in the air breather on his bike which is a no-no and needed fixed.

Then, after he was pretty sure he fixed that, he took the bike for a test ride and got a flat tire.

Then, while the bike was still out of commission due to its lack of tire, Trent informed me that the radiator on the truck was leaking, also a no-no. We were a one car couple for a day or two, but got a new tire for the bike and got the radiator fixed.

Then, the carburetor on the bike became the problem (or maybe it was to begin with? I don't understand), so the bike is still out of commission.

Then, Trent's mp3 player took a trip through the washing machine.

Then, we came home one evening to find that the dog had chewed on my special little Bible that Trent gave me. Argh, I was SO sad.

Then, the dishwasher spewed gallons of water out into the kitchen, adding a few extra hills and valleys in the already unlevel floor. Trent is pretty sure he fixed it, but we have yet to be brave enough to test it (more like have time enough to sit there and watch it).

Then, the finale (so far) is that Trent barely bonked the edge of the laptop and the screen went technicolor kablooey. Bye bye laptop.

Then, I read a recent installment of my little book "Jesus Calling" and it said this:

Be on guard against the pit of self-pity. When you are weary or unwell, this demonic trap is the greatest danger you face. Don't even go near the edge of the pit. Its edges crumble easily, and before you know it, you are on the way down. It is ever so much harder to get out of the pit than to keep a safe distance from it. That is why I tell you to be on guard.
There are several ways to protect yourself from self-pity. When you are occupied with praising and thanking Me, it is impossible to feel sorry for yourself. Also, the closer you live to Me, the more distance there is between you and the pit. Live in the Light of My Presence by fixing your eyes on Me. Then you will be able to run with endurance the race that is set before you, without stumbling or falling.
Psalm 89:15-16; Hebrews 12:1-2

Ok God. Trying very hard to focus on You and not let all this stuff get us down.

Throughout all this I have been immensely grateful to my amazing husband for running around like crazy getting vehicles worked on, spending a morning with his head in the dishwasher, being technically creative in his lack of work computer even though its an urgent need now and generally keeping our life (and my sanity) held together while I live at the office. Love him.

Bring on the rain.


Monday, February 14, 2011

Keep Calm and Hang Yarn

This past January, Rach, K'Lee, Steph and I were all together for our Create Your Own Coming of Homies 2011, which was a blast. Part of that was a trip to Common Grounds coffee shop in Waco. That is where I saw this:

Yarn hanging from the ceiling? Weird. But really cool if you are as much in love with yarn as I am! I endeavored to try this in my craft room and...a whole month later...I did. One bruised shin from climbing on the dresser and two eyes full of ceiling popcorn dust later, TA-DA:

Somehow it does not look nearly as cool as the yarn nooses at CG, but that's ok. I don't think the yarn balls are big enough, maybe they are too spaced apart or not enough of them. Oh well. (Many thanks to Kristin for my awesome "Keep calm & carry yarn" sign that she gave me for my berfday!)

I just tied some yarn to other yarn that had the ends tucked in securely, then tied that to a push pin, then hammered the push pins into the ceiling.

I know, I know, that wallpaper border is hideous (and upside down according to my mother in law). It will go away someday, likely not until I say RIP to my craft room and turn it into a nursery.

So there you have the story of my yarn hanging adventure. Trent bets that the push pins will not hold them up there very long...we shall see. He says he'll come back in with screws later when they fall down. The yarn is actually rather light and those pins are pretty secure in our unusually hard ceiling so I'm betting they'll stay put.

Bonus picture of the adorable paper flowers I got at the dollar spot at Michael's! One buckeroo each!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Chugging Along

I know it has been rather chilly lately (understatement) but I wanted to give my blog a springy facelift anyway. I like it!

I've just been chugging along lately, working, working, working. Tax season is upon me in full force and I've gotten used to my routine pretty well so far. That doesn't mean I'm not exhausted by the end of each week though. I realized this afternoon that I could leave at 4:15 today and still end up with 56 hours for the week, that's one hour more than is required of us. I have to help train the little baby interns for half of tomorrow and I normally don't work on weekends, so that gave me some lee way (sp?) during the week. It's all sort of a game. When can I fit in hours? When can I not fit in hours? Should I work extra early in the week so I can leave a bit earlier on Friday when my brain = fried. Eesh. It's alright! As my Mama always says, "Go, Fight, Win!"

So. Update on my new year's resolutions? Sure. I am on track with my Bible in a year readings and just finished Deuteronomy the other day. Snoozer. Now I'm into Joshua and the Israelites are just roaming around killing everyone in their path. Meanies. Meanwhile, during all of this reading, I often find myself singing the books of the Bible song that I learned in homeschool ages ago. The problem is I get to about Proverbs and then launch into Philippians and Colossians. Wrong testament and not even the same tune. I may have to call up my mom or sisters and see if they can help me get to Malachi. I still remember the New Testament song all the way through and sing it sometimes...with gusto. Trent laughs at me.

Anyway. Exercise and nutritional efforts? I'm down 8 pounds since the beginning of the year. Yay! I did 30 Day Shred for 26 days of January. I intended it to be 29 but I got kind of sick at the end of the month. Since then I haven't exercised as much but have brought some of my other workout dvds out of the drawer. I am still very motivated by stickers on the calendar (don't judge me) so that alone is sometimes reason for me to work out. You'd think I'd be more motivated by number of calories burned, energy gained or weight lost. Nope, I heart stickers.

My resolution to simplify and cut some stuff out sort of happens every tax season anyway because I live at the office and don't have time for some of the regular stuff I do normally. I haven't had much me time but that's to be expected. It's ok. My wonderful hubby has been doing chores and doing my laundry and basically keeping our home life held together so I have a peaceful place to come home to after work. Sometimes that is just to sleep, but I really appreciate it and I love him for it. My cat baby brings me joy every day and our crazy dog makes us laugh a lot.

Alright, well I'm taking two of my chickadees (youth girls) to the Justin Bieber movie tonight (and therefore have their eternal gratitude and undying love, no biggee) so I'm going to find some dinner then head that way.