Ponder This, If You Will

So, I'm sure you guys have all seen the clever little stickers you can put on your crappy car that look like bullet holes. There also are little baseballs and footballs that look like they crashed through your windshield. Not something I'd do, but here in Polk County, they are abundant.
I saw a new one today. This new take on the trend really bothers me on several levels. It's a fish. Sticking halfway out of your back window, having cracked the glass. Facing out.
First of all, aren't fish slimy and floppy? How would a fish manage to break the glass? I would imagine that he would make a dull thud and slide toward the bumper, leaving a trail of slime instead of breaking through anything. A soccer ball? Eh, maybe it could break the glass....but a fish?
But secondly, it's disturbing to think of how a fish would get through the glass with his face sticking out the back. Was he in an open cooler in the back seat when he decided to make a break for it? This is disturbing enough, if not the most probable cause of his final resting position. The only other thing I can think of is much worse. Perhaps he was just enjoying the morning and jumping around his little lake with glee, when this dirty SUV backed into him at high speed! So fast, in fact, that it skimmed the surface of the water, straight out to the middle of the lake where he was, and surprised him mid-jump.
Poor guy.
Alas, even in my tireless optimism, I can't imagine that people who put bullet-hole stickers or any other 3D, half-out-of-the-glass stickers on their cars really think these things through.

DAILY BLISS: My friend graduated from college today - I'm so proud of her! - taking the kids to the Starbucks at the bookstore, and making lotion.

<3 Christy

I Am A Dork

In pursuit of my daily piece of humble pie, here's a sampling of today's reasons why:
1) I ran straight into a bush today (yes - in front of lots of people)
2) I proudly drove my mom's truck again today, completely forgetting about the vanity plate
3) I was way too excited to have lunch at Arby's - I don't know why
4) I realized I can listen to "The Joker" (Steve Miller Band) at least four times in a row and not be tired of it. I have not yet tested the limits on this one. I plan to very soon.
Daughter and Husband took a field trip to the zoo today. I have gotten a detailed report of the day's events, but bits of it are still being processed by the little one and come trickling out of her mouth at random. My favorite one so far? Across the dinner table, she asked/declared, " You know what they fed the panthers? It was really gross! Frozen blood." The words "frozen blood" were spoken in serious, meaningful tones with all honor due to such wonderfully dark things. Essentially, a blood popsicle? I asked. Yes, came the answer.
Then I really wondered about this: who says, "We need to save this!" when they are looking at blood. "This would be a great treat for the panthers if we put it into a popsicle mold!"
Really, that thought is today's reason number 5 that I am a dork. But I'm cool with that. I have a soft spot for dorks and nerds. I am also particularly fond of geeks.

DAILY BLISS: All kinds of wonderful fragrance oils came in the mail today! I am going to have a lot of fun with this project! Payday and dinner out are also blissful!

<3 Christy

At Odds

I am at odds with technology today. Every time I have touched something with wires, it has acted in rebellion against my commands. Okay. Maybe I was more commanding than just touching, and I suppose that can engender a spirit of rebellion.
I don't think I am fated to be a digital girl. I balked at my first digital camera, trying hard to smile in gratitude at my Masters-Degree-in-IT-holding mother and father (yes, both of them) as they handed me this expensive treasure.
"But I like surprises," I was thinking as I realized I would no longer have the joy of anticipating the revelation of the great for the mysteries I had captured in the dark, closed parts of my camera.
And so, I find that I am blogging. I hope this goes well.

DAILY BLISS: My mom told me today that she believed in me. Everybody needs to hear that sometimes, even if they already know it's true. Also, free pizza and six-year-old girl hugs.

<3 Christy

Refreshing

Today brought a refreshing change of routine for me. I woke up mad because my sewing machine broke. I was going to make a new nightie to lift my spirits a little bit, and something has gone wrong with the bobbin mechanism. Oh well. I decided that it was NOT going to be a bad day.
So, I slept for 20 extra minutes on the sofa instead of doing yoga this morning. And instead of going to work right away, I had coffee with my mom, had an appointment concerning financial arrangements for next year at the kids' school, drove around a little bit, and then watched The Boy compete in a Sunshine State Readers Jeopardy game. It was really cute, and his team came in first place!
So, off to work. Guess what? It's Administrative Professionals Day (I'm not ashamed to be called a secretary, but I guess it's not apropo anymore)! I had roses and free lunch from my boss (The Pastor) and the sweetest card from my second boss (The Director of Christian Education - a.k.a., Julianna) with GIFT CARDS! in it. Yay! ITunes, no less! I maybe cried a little bit in my car when I left - you know, in a happy way. So, I am appreciated as a secretary today and I only had to work three hours of the day to prove it. That's good.
Then, it was time to get the kids, and I was almost late. But Andrew got to go feed some newborn puppies with my mom while I took Emma to ballet, which made him very happy, as he detests tagging along to ballet. And then Emma didn't want to go to ballet, because she is "sick." This means that she has the sniffles and an exaggerated cough. Since this week is the monthly stretch class, I promised her that I would stretch with her if she would go. What a bargain! I spent the afternoon doing stretches with tiny ballerinas (the teacher was very impressed with my flexibility)! How often can a grown-up say that (without getting arrested)?
All in all, as I said, a refreshing change. Now, I'm off to make a big pot of chili.

DAILY BLISS: new magazines in the mail and a giant cup of restaurant coffee to start off the day.

<3 Christy

If you can't think of anything nice to say....

I'm just going to skip to the daily bliss today. There really isn't much else.

DAILY BLISS: teaching my son how to drift-and-bump on our morning walk today. Maybe I made that up? You know - nonchallantly drifting and bumping somebody hard while making it look like you were unaware of it all?

<3 Christy

Where Does the Time Go?

This has certainly been a busy weekend. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, aren't I? I am a person who values quiet and peace and nature....I can handle the busy, but I don't like it. After a while, I have to just walk away from it. I'm just about there.
Friday night was so windy and lovely. Chris and I sat on our porch and enjoyed a nice bottle of wine. We had bought it at that wine-tasting party and just remembered it was waiting for us, which is good, because we have run out of money this week. A bottle of wine that we don't have to pay for? To go with our supper of only rice? Fantastic! So it was a lovely evening, and as we didn't have money to get a movie or something, we were forced to visit with each other.
By Saturday morning, we were off and running with the weekly errands. I went to my mom's house to print some stuff (her printer is way nicer than mine) and got a call from my friend Mark. I call him sometimes to brag about our weather because he left me and moved to Boston, a.k.a. Colder-than-us-ton. He was telling me that it was a beautiful day there. I told him it was way too hot here. He said he thought it was about the same temperature here as it was there. Then I remembered that it was, in fact, quite lovely here. I had forgotten the lovely weather and even the evening I had just enjoyed because I had been so otherwise focused. I know this is a small thing, but to me it's huge. I ALWAYS know what is going on outside. I have obsessive crushes on meteorologists. And I always relish things like evenings on porches for as long as humanly possible. Sometimes for days.
At any rate, that simple realization startled me right out of my busy.
I'm re-thinking a few things and re-arranging a few things. I have to. I don't like who I am when I can't really listen to my friends, or when I say something like "chimney" when what I really mean is "kitchen timer." Side note: that actually did happen to me today, my excuse being that I was reading the word "chimney" at the moment. But on a normal day, I can read and talk pretty much simultaneously.
Becky's husband got really sick this weekend. That worried me too. Our current family life would collapse if one of us was decommissioned.
Anyway, I decided to relish sleeping in a bit, with the windows open. The Awake that uncurls itself from your stomach up to your head (like one of those party noisemakers), the kind that makes your arms stretch out and forces you to yawn, is much nicer than the Awake that slaps you in the face when your alarm clock goes off. Besides, with the windows open, I can sleep until the chickens my neighbor keeps start to cackle. And they don't wake up until around 8:00, probably because they don't have a rooster over there to keep them in line.
I suppose there's a lot more that could be said about this weekend - the mundane stuff of life - I pulled a tick off my dog today. That was a first. But I guess I'm looking a little deeper today.

DAILY BLISS: Making biscuits in my favorite vintage apron, playing in the fort outside with my kids (hence the dog's tick, I suppose), and taking a Sunday drive.

<3 Christy

Going a Little Crazy

Well, I am officially exhausted. I still haven't kicked that yuck that I caught on the airplane a couple weeks ago. I have the everyday busy stuff that seems to take up just enough of my time to allow me the minimum of sleep. And, you know, still a little upset about somebody not liking me.
But I have something else, too. I haven't admitted it here, yet. I have always wanted to start up some kind of creative business. I have a friend who has now forced me (in the very best way) to do it.
My partner in ministry and crime, Becky, has asked me to create a line of spa products for a new retreat she has designed (she does women's conferences and retreats - for those of you who didn't know) for pastors' wives in New Orleans. She knew I'd always wanted to do something like that. She also knows about the affair I'm having with my bathtub. So, Isaidyes. There. now it's out in the open. Sorry - I had to type that fast so that I didn't change my mind. Becky outed me on the radio this week and on our blog today. So, I figured it was only right that I start admitting to this publicly.
So I have been doing so much research and smelling so many oils and stuff. It's taking up all of my brain now. Not that I don't enjoy it. As a matter of fact, I'd rather quit everything else I'm doing right now and just make bath stuff. But alas, life does not offer such things to downtown-bungalow-dwelling-married-mothers-of-two. Anyway, I'm not launching some huge business with a website tie-in and a store. Just having a little fun and seeing where it goes. Okay - following my heart and having TONS of fun. Hence, the bathtub photos of the kids (labels). I'll post pictures once I actually have something made and packaged!
Anyway, current excitement in our house revolves around the fact that the snails and worms that Emma brought home a few weeks ago are growing and possible have laid eggs. Swell.

DAILY BLISS: I saw a mamma cow and her baby curled up in the grass. She was licking its head. So sweet! I also am happy about artichokes and the fact that my kids like to eat them as much as I do.

<3 Christy

HumDrum

The most exciting thing that happened to me today was that I had to call the plumber twice while I was at work. That's not much excitement, granted, but it's something. We have a GED program that meets at the church. Those kids are pretty rough on toilets. Honestly - once our custodian found a pair of jeans clogging the toilet in the ladies' room. I don't really want to know how/why that happened.
It was a rushing afternoon and I was really glad I had yummy barbecue in the crock pot. We had to dash out the door as soon as I got the kids to choke it down. Drew is pretty good about eating whatever, especially if there is Easter candy tossed in as a bargaining tool. Emma, however, is slower than cold molasses even if she likes what is on her plate. It was excrutiatingly slow tonight.
We went to a seminar thingy put on by an FBI agent on internet safety for kids. S*@#! That's scary. We, of course, don't let our kids have internet access in their bedrooms, and really don't let them do anything online that could be construed as chatting or a "community." For now. I'm sure when they are older this will be much more of a concern. But anyway, my eyes are kind of stuck in a very wide-open, saucer-sized stare and I am terrified about having teenagers and tweenagers.
BTW, thank you to my friends from yesterday's post. I am feeling better today - especially after all of the nice things you said to me. It's nice to know that I can whine a little bit sometimes and still be liked!

DAILY BLISS: Listening to "Bolero" with Emma in the car. I enjoyed conversing with her about the music. I think she got it. I love the end of it every time! Oh - and also, Jack Bauer.

<3 Christy

Tears and Teeth

I have been suffering the terrible malady of Self Pity since I had my feelin's hurt a couple days ago. It's not worth the time to go into it seriously, but I guess I put that here so that I project an accurate picture of my life. I don't want anybody thinking it's all wine tasting parties and perfect children. So, I was tough for a couple days and then I cried a lot today. Sigh. It was rainy today, too, so that helped me to wallow a little bit.
But the wind kicked up and scared away the clouds, I went to a baby shower and was reminded that life goes on. Not everybody will like me all the time. Although I don't see why not. I'm perfectly nice.
Anyway, Emma's second loose tooth has just been barely hanging on lately. I told her tonight that it had become a safety hazard. It could have fallen out at any time during the night and choked her. Her eyes got very big at this last part. She really did not want ME to pull it out, though. She trembled and sobbed and turned away from me. So, I told her that she would have to do it, or I would.
She did it.
She actually pulled out her own tooth!
I am a little surprised that my six-year-old was brave enough to accomplish a bloody feat such as this without the aid of her trusty mommy. Maybe I'm just a little sad that she didn't think I was trusty enough to do the job.
Maybe I'm just a little too sensitive today.

DAILY BLISS: Spending some time at the top of the play set in our back yard - by myself.

<3 Christy

Drumroll Please.....

I cleaned my house today.
(pause for gasps and applause)
To many of you, this is a very ordinary, commonplace occurrence. Not so in my world. Not that I live in filth, mind you. My long-suffering husband sees to that. I just don't like to clean and am always able to come up with something on my list that is of a higher priority than scrubbing something. Many people do not know how dirty my house is, because it is usually pretty neat and tidy.
That does not mean that it is clean.
So anyway, I took out the vacuum and it just snowballed. One thing led to another and soon, my children were complaining about cleaning their rooms and I found a sizeable dust bunny lodged behind my ear.
This evening, then, after attending a wine-tasting party (unfortunately, I like all of the samples they poured, which meant I was the only one in the room that didn't dump out some of my wine), I came home to a CLEAN HOUSE and enjoyed it immensely.
That doesn't mean that I'll make a habit of it, though.

DAILY BLISS: Picking out a gift for a friend's new baby - with Chris and the kids. Chris was enamored of the quacking bath duckie!

<3 Christy

Today's Stuff

So, unless you want to know the silly details of my day, you can just leave now. Tomorrow, when you see me (or not, depending on how far away you live), you can just say, "it sounds like you had a nice day yesterday," and I will believe you read this. Well, probably not, since I told you to say that if you're not going to read it. Nevermind.
Interesting fact of the day: I lost a pinkie toenail. That happened last week actually. I didn't lose it in the misplacing sort of way, rather in the ripping-off sort of way. Yeowch. But back to today's fact: I scraped it on the curb. That really hurt. I was wearing fabulous red, strappy heels today and a red polka-dot skirt (I'm really in a polka dot phase right now....), and my poor little pinkie toe skin was just grated off, along with the remains of the toenail. This wrecks my theory that nothing bad can happen to you if you are wearing red shoes. I hold the same theory about pink ones. We shall see how it pans out.
Found out that, at least for another six weeks, my mom does not need serious medical intervention for her kidneys. That was incredibly good news! I have not shared much about that here, and I will not air any more of her bidness on my blog, but I feel like the joy of the news belonged enough to me that I could at least share that much. Mom, call me if you want me to edit that out of this post, 'k?
Also, I held a four-day-old puppy today. I will pause now while all the females who read this blog melt into a pool warm, liquid happiness. Perhaps a few of the boys will too. Need I say more?
Now, I'm off to see if I can find some sleep sometime before midnight. If I don't start now, it won't happen.

DAILY BLISS: Well, holding a newborn puppy. It's hard to top that.

<3 Christy

Wacky Weather

Yesterday's rain was so lovely. Today, then, turned out to be a sunny and overly warm day. Very few clouds in the sky. I went about my business, shlepping kids to and fro, had dinner at my mom's and came home. I put the kids to bed and cleaned up around the house. Pretty typical (and you wonder why it's so hard for me to come up with exciting stories every day! Ha! My life is quite mundane.). I switched some laundry and when I stepped outside, I noticed that the atmosphere felt "unstable." I know this sounds like I'm some kind of fraudulent weather divination expert, but I really do have some kind of weird sense about weather. Then I shook my head and thought to myself that the rain was yesterday and my little Weather Sense was off tonight.
I was minding my own business, having some tea in a beautiful rose chintz cup with matching tea pot, when my mom called me. "Grab the kids and come over here!" she suggested, nervously. There were apparently tornadoes a little bit north of me. I had not even known it was raining. I guess my senses weren't so off after all. Just as she called, the rain started to pour.
Well, I am all by myself with no Big Male Protector in the house this week. Normally I am secure and self-sufficient and like to make people think I'm sort of tough. But I like to be able to pull out the Female In Distress card when I want to. No such luck tonight. By this time, it was just too stormy to bother getting the already-sleeping kids in the car. So, I found a big, heavy flashlight (my dad makes sure there are plenty of Mag Lites in all of his children's houses) and cleared out a spot on the hall closet floor, just in case. There is no good place in my house to hide out in the event of bad weather. I even plugged in my celebrity meteorologist-approved weather radio. The lights flickered a bit and the wind chimes on my porch sang an alarmed sort of song that I could hear from my perch on the sofa.
But here I am. The storm has passed. Nothing terrible happened. And that's good. But I am feeling very prepared with no outlet on which to unleash my preparation. Too bad. I look pretty cute in pajamas and pigtails, wielding a china tea cup in one hand and a hefty Mag Lite in the other.
I guess I'll just go to bed.

DAILY BLISS: Hanging out with my brothers and playing cute Ferry Halim games on my computer. It's a waste of free time, I guess, but they're just so cute.

<3 Christy

Rainy Day

Today was such a gorgeously rainy day! It's been a while since we've seen some precipitation around here, and when it finally did come, it smelled and sounded sooooo good! My baby shrubs really were happy about the whole affair.
But that's not such good news for the Sun 'N Fun Fly-in that they have every year at the local airport, I guess. I only mention that because I always get a good smile out of the fly-in. It originated in OshKosh, Wisconsin, which is where I was born. As a matter of fact, my first real word was "airplane" due to the frequency of sightings around the time I learned to speak. So, it's my annual reminder that this really is a small world after all.
The Dear Husband is out of town this week. Andrew had his monthly night out with Grandma and Grampy. Emma and I were stuck alone in the house on a rainy evening. We made the best of it, though. We watched My Fair Lady and ate poached eggs and honey toast for supper. Then topped it off with Easter candy. Total girl night!
I suppose that's most of my day, summed up in three sadly short paragraphs. I guess we can't always have excitement and adventure.

DAILY BLISS: My theme song on the radio and the whole, king-sized bed to myself. Not that I want it to stay that way, it's just nice sometimes.

<3 Christy

Happy Easter!

I promise more content and less photos soon. Well, I maybe promise - sometimes it's easier to get the idea of what's going on in my life if you can just see it. Here are some photos of us all dressed up for church this morning. This is a photo op because it rarely happens. Our church meets in our living room, and we're lucky if we actually get the kids out of their pajamas, much less brush their hair!


And speaking of our little church, The Ledger (our newspaper) ran a story on us and a few similar churches in the area. We landed on the front page of the paper! Not the front page of the Religion section - the whole paper! Crazy! The living room in the photo is not mine - it's the other group's "sanctuary." Ha!

DAILY BLISS: Gorgeous weather - the most lovely, cool Easter that I can remember since moving to Florida! Also outside brunch, egg hunts an Easter sermon with anecdotes I've never heard before, and my wildly wonderful family.

<3 Christy

Rub-a-dub-dub

I took these photos of the kids in a salvage yard today. It was really fun. For me.




Easter thoughts here. Must....go....bed....up in.....four....hours....for..sunrise....service.

<3 Christy

Forver Six

I had lots of things I thought about posting today. I am still feeling a little off and thinking about going to the doctor if I'm not better by Monday. I noticed while I was listening to the radio in my car that it sounded like I had a plastic fish bowl on my head. Er....not that I've ever done that. Recently. In the bathtub. Playing with a rubber duckie.
Just kidding.
Anyway, lots of things, but one has overshadowed the rest and is worthy of its own post. My aunt and uncle came into town to celebrate Easter with us. When I got to my mom's house to greet them, I sat down. Pretty quickly, I noticed something different hanging on the wall. Much to my surprise, it was a painting of my daughter that my aunt had done! This was derived from a photo of her sixth birthday - the one where all the little girls dressed up like fairies and we rented ponies for them to ride in the back yard. The title of the painting is Forever Six. So, I don't need any more words - just look at how beautiful and special this is:


DAILY BLISS: Finding Beatrix Potter tea cups for the kids' Easter baskets. Benjamin Bunny for Drew and Mrs. Tiggy Winkle for Emma. I really like to say Mrs. Tiggy Winkle.

<3 Christy

The Makings of a Band Geek

I forgot to mention that Andrew came home from school and said they'd held fifth grade band try-outs yesterday! We've talked about him being in the band and talked about what instrument he'd want to play and all that. I was the ultimate band geek when I was in school, and I had high hopes that my kids would be too.
I guess they all got to try different instruments and were assigned to theirs based on early ability:)
Mr. Cheatwood, you will love this. My boy will be playing the baritone! He is really proud of himself, too.
I told him that I always thought brass players were the best kissers. I got a fantastic eye-roll and verbal protestation out of that one! The best part about being a parent is embarrassing your kids.

<3 Christy

Our Trip

Well, I think that I have recovered enough to remember that I just went on a trip. My husband's brother finally got married and all of us, well, except for me, were in the wedding. But that's okay. When I got there, I found out that I was the wedding coordinator. It said so in the bulletin.
I really enjoyed my flight up to Indiana. I don't think I could ever grow tired of seeing the clouds from the top! They are so much fluffier! Then again, looking at the everyday from a different perspective is kind of my hobby.
I don't like airports and crowds and delays and almost missing flights, all of which happened to me on this one trip. But really, I love flying.
I was wondering at that bit of trivia when it occurred to me that I also don't like wedding rehearsals and tense family members and picky brides - any of the general trappings of weddings, really. I worked in the wedding business for a few years, and I have many times since declared that I hate weddings. This is probably surprising to those of you who know what a romantic soul I am. But I guess, really, it isn't the whole thing that I hate - it's just the trappings and fluff that distract everybody from what really goes on. The wedding ceremony? Love it. No matter what happens during the planning stages and even during the five minutes preceding the ceremony, it always melts away when the groom sees his bride coming down the aisle. Always.
So, I'll get a little sappy here. I usually don't subject you to my sappy self, so if you must, just stop reading now. I warned you....it's not too late!
My faith is the same way. I really don't like the trappings and culture of Christianity. I don't like the stress levels and the politics involved in keeping a church afloat, and thus keeping up the public face of a religion. That is stating it pretty mildly, really. But my faith? It's beautiful. When you strip away the little clubs that have catchy acronym titles and the special, must-read books, the mediocre music, well...all of that stuff, what's left is something of which I will never tire.
Okay. Sappy paragraph over. Here's some pictures of us at the wedding:

















<3 Christy

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Here is my sweetie with his birthday cake:

We celebrated his big day with a chili feed - had my family over (the parts of it that are in town anyway) and had a loud time. We always have a loud time when we're in a confined space. My dad observed that my mom probably started that.

Yes, what better way for a man to celebrate his birthday than with a piping hot bowl of Man Food? I can think of none.

<3 Christy

A Good Man

I must be pitiful. I struggled through the Sudafed fog to make a grocery list, as we have been on vacation and have no food in the house. My husband said I should stay home. Then I cried at him. Mostly because I don't feel good, but partly because his birthday is tomorrow and I don't even have a card for him. I was thinking I'd make a grocery run and pick up at least a card. Anyway, he convinced me that, card or not, I had no business being in public in my condition. I wiped the snot off my lip and acknowledged that he was probably right. He took my list and off he went. When he came home, he had surprises for me.
The sticker on the flowers said they were "Funshine Yellow." How great is that? Plus, he brought me coffee. Sigh. What a good man.

<3 Christy

Bleah.

I caught some kind of virus on the airplane. Chills and fever and all. So, while I did enjoy my trip, the details will have to wait. I just can't think straight enough to put them in any comprehensible order!

DAILY BLISS: A good excuse to come home from work and take a nap.

<3 Christy