She's right.

I was talking on the phone to my friend, Jen tonight and I must confess, she's right, I need to update my blog more often. How can I hope that people will stop by and set a spell when I've given them nothing to read? I'll work on that. I've given Jen an outline for a post I'm going to do and she'll hold my feet to the fire, I'm sure! Until then, I just wanted to do a quick mini-post! The post involves finding old pictures and scanning them in and narrating them! Here is a picture of Jen back when we were roommates(the first time). She was instrumental in my salvation, and especially in my early Christian discipleship. She is greatly appreciated. Two nights of our recent vacation were spent at her and her hubby, Seth's house in Utah. The second picture is of her and Seth decorating for Christmas in the house Jen and Sarah and I shared for a short while in 1999.

Stay tuned for more . . .
A

A fish story . . .

I went fishing yesterday for the first time in years, proving that fishing is about dumb luck, not entirely dependent on skill! Here's what I caught. Dad said it was 15.5 inches. My dad, mom, and 2 cousins/friends of my dad's went out on Mom and Dad's new pontoon on Lake Wapogaset north of Amery Wisconsin. We didn't catch a lot, but we got some really large sunfish, and a keeper northern and a perch. The sunfish and my large mouth bass were the highlights of the day! They've headed back up there again today.

The redhead is my youngest Niece, who was grossed out and oddly fascinated by my catch(as was I!).

(I must confess, I did not take it off the hook, and only touched it to take this picture. It was cleaned this morning and is waiting for me in my parent's freezer. I hate touching wriggling slimy fish and worms. I did do a lot of worms, though. )

Tagged . . . much delayed!

A long long time ago I was tagged by Dorky Dad, a blogger whose blog I check regularly for a round of Chinese Freeze Tag to tell 10 things about myself. He's fun, in case you've never checked him out . . . I'm finally getting around to fulfilling the request. Part of what took so long is that this requires more thought than I usually put into a blogging session. My brain is challenged! Well, here goes! BTW- they have nothing to do with being frozen or Chinese.

1. I have a poor memory. I attribute this to too many head injuries as a child and my brain choosing to not remember some things. My sister hit me in the head with a baseball bat growing up, unintentional of course, but still very painful and a quarter inch downward or a wooden bat and I wouldn't be here to write this. I also flattened my face in a head-on collision with a drunk driver when I was 11 or so. I looked like a raccoon and my eyes swelled almost completely shut.

2. I have a guinea pig named Whirling Dirvish, aka Dervy, several fish (that I kill off frequently) and tons of plants(that I also kill off on occasion!). (No panicking Dani! Your plants are fine!)

3. I have a random eye for details, mainly concerning things that are out of wack or need to be fixed(leaks, crooked things, broken things). This is not true across the board, though. I do not see details in faces, clothes, makeup, the likes. I can not see something broken and not try to fix it. My friend was showing me her new house this weekend and I noticed a leak in her ceiling, two actually, and I unplugged her kitchen sink.

4. I hate science fiction of any sort and I have never watched all of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Braveheart, Hitchhikers Guide, etc. I dislike SciFi almost as much as I dislike cats . . .(most of my friends like both)

5. I am a romantic at heart. This may surprise some people who think they know me, though, because I tend to be a little rough. I grew up mildly bitter and cynical, but give me flowers and a chick flick and I'm over the moon! Most people in my past life were not allowed to know this privileged information!

6. I collect books. I LOVE books that give me useful knowledge, stain removal, hanging doors, gardening, etc. Have random questions? I may have random answers! If not, I can look them up in any number of books . . .

7. I am fairly reclusive and antisocial by nature. In the face of that though, I consider the gift of hospitality to be one God has given me. Figure that out. I love to be able to bless people by having them over to my home and making it their home(or something like that). I could work this muscle out more, though.

8. I became a Christian when I was 20 years old. I grew up somewhat religious, even being confirmed in my church at 15 or so. It wasn't until I went to college in Utah that I was challenged to find out what I believed and I truly asked God to come into my life. He was so gentle and patient with me. He has so carefully orchestrated our whole relationship. I can look back and see that he was courting me and I love him for it. I wouldn't have come if He'd been pushy. I can see the effort He put into my school choice, my roommates, the people on my floor in the resident halls, timing of everything. When I came back home to Wisconsin, He took such care to bring me to my current church home. He was there, ever eager to bless me and take me to the next level. He wooed me, and I've fallen head over feet.

9. My mom had a brain aneurysm in January of 2000. She is alive and we are so fortunate. She still has short term memory problems and severe depression issues. My sisters and I have taken over the mom role in our family. I miss her a lot .

10. I have this sick obsession with old things. I have several old tablecloths(2 great turquoise, blue and green floral, and a red and white handkerchief pattern), 3 kitchen stools(I don't think they make these anymore . . . ), my card table and chairs are army green and 3rd or 4th hand and I love them more than I ever love anything I could buy new(the table was a great birthday present!). I also have 2 record players(functioning!) and hundreds of old records. I prefer old worn copies of books rather than new ones. I have boxes of old, funky fabric waiting to be used in some(as of yet) unplanned manner. I am a garage-sale-aholic! A couple of my favorite possessions are my antique hand braided rugs that my best-friend-from-junior-high's great grandmother, Otilla, made. When Grandma Tilly moved out of her house, no one in the family wanted them, and so they gave them to me. They are amazing. I wish I could replicate them.

11. (BONUS!) My deep dark fears are cutting through my finger nails with a knife, walking in to a bathroom and finding someone dead in a stall(or being that person), and not finishing the course laid before me. To my knowledge I have never cut through my finger nails with a knife nor have I found anyone in the bathroom, although someone I knew once was found dead in the bathroom where my dad works. I worked with this woman for a summer, she helped me learn one of the big machines there. When walking into a multi-stall bathroom I always glance at the floor of the stalls. Sick, huh?


I don't think I'll continue the tag for now, because I'm not sure many people will have the time to continue it. If you want to continue this, consider yourself tagged! I am the weakest link! Thanks again Dad for the tag. I appreciate it!

I haven't forgotten . . . .

that I was tagged by Dorky Dad a while back. I was so looking forward to doing it, too, but sometimes life gets in the way, and time to think deep thoughts is a luxury. The ability to think deep thoughts is even a luxury! I will get to it, I promise.

I'm working on recovering from a sinus infection. I'm so grateful for antibiotics! I've been miserable with allergies for a couple of months, (I'm not the only one in bloggerland suffering, the Wife of Dorky Dad and Beverly, too!) finally culminating in the side-of-my-head's-gon-explode kind of sinus infection. It baffles me that even when the headache is gone, I was still struggling with absolute exhaustion. My body temp couldn't regulate itself, I'd feel hot and clammy and shaky after even the most minor of exertion! I was "fine" as long as I was on the couch. I stayed home sick on Tuesday, came home sick on Wednesday and missed my coffeehouse shift and church entirely Wednesday night. Thursday I made it through work at minimal level and even made tater tot hotdish that night, Friday a little bit better and then BAM! moving Angelly Friday night.

We moved and cleaned until 12:30 am. I am so glad that God has made us accepted in the beloved, has given us a great family to call upon for help! At 9:30 it was evident that we needed more help, so we called the Church House and Karla came to help with the moving and the cleaning and Aaron and Dave(of renowned Aaron's Tree Service if you ever need a tree cut or trimmed in West Central Wisconsin!) came to take one final load over to the new place. Angelly's boy passed out in the living room, curled up on a left over chair, not even waking when she moved his chair! He's happily watching TV in my living room right now, while Ang is sleeping on the couch. We'll be able to move them in tonight or tomorrow. Thankfully she'll have Monday to settle in! It may take longer for us to recover.

Perhaps Ang'll have time to update her blog? With going to college half time, working full time, raising the man child and preparing to move, she's been a bit busy! I think I'll refer to him as the man child now. He jumped in front of a moving trailer full of stuff to try to stop it from rolling. It had shifted off some logs and rolled forward just a bit. I can only believe that that is some man instinct in him that we women have yet to scare or reason out of him. All is well and safe, but we were all a little shaken!

BTW- this was my first time inserting links! Not as hard as I thought it would be!

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

A

Substitutions

I didn't get the job, but I think I got a sinus or ear infection instead. Fair trade?

I was talking to my friend this weekend on my bat phone and she reminded me that God's will for me right now is my allergies. It doesn't start when my allergies are cleared up. Hard concept to remember. Even this headache isn't beyond God's plan or control. (Although it sure seems ungodly!)

Have a good week all. I'll be back later . . . . A

Numbers.

10- the number of pairs of shoes located in various locations of floor in my little apartment.
3- rooms in my apartment(bedroom, living room, kitchen, not counting bath)
3- trays of half dead seedlings for my garden on my kitchen table.
2- pairs of jeans waiting for hemming to be complete now that I bought more needles.
12- hours since my interview this morning.
1000- things to get done before sleep.
5- new blog entries to read. (3 from Jen in ITALY! hope she's having fun!)

I'll write more soon.

A quick li'l post . . .

A quick little update to let you all know I'm still alive. Our retreat this weekend was fantastic, I really appreciated hanging out with my friends and getting some new friends better! Last night I was exhausted and trying to recover. I hung out with Angely's son until she finished her last Monday night of classes for the semester! (She anticipates returning to blogland soon!) I found out after work that my 13 year old niece's program was tonight. 45 minutes each way. I'd drive farther, but I'm glad I don't have to! 45 minutes is good . . . I'd drop most things and drive to see my girls. Now I should sleep! Wednesdays are long days for me. I get to work in our coffeehouse after work and usually come away spent.

See you soon,
A