It's All in a Hard Day's Work

Today I did several productive things.  First, we went to the vitamin store around the corner (oh how I looooove living in Garland instead of Lancaster....) and got the vitamins I was advised to get by my doctor (the special one).  I got Vitamin D, but I got the drops instead of the pills.  I felt that if it was in liquid form I might have an easier time absorbing it.  And, I got the calcium supplements as well.  Plus, for good measure I threw in a sublingual Vitamin B/ Folic Acid supplement.  They taste like cherry!

Then, we headed home. On the way, I spotted a garage sale sign, and we decided to drive by.  The third one on that particular street looked promising, so we got out to look.  David found a new lawn mower for 60 dollars! I got Kylie a pair of sparkly red sneakers for a dollar.

Then, we really headed home.  I got to work sorting books, toys, and teaching tools into a semblance of organization up in the girls' guest room, as well as choosing some to share with some of our friends at church who homeschool and have kids under the age of eight. Also, Mom and Dad came over and helped. Dad and David worked really hard moving book shelves up to the second story from the garage, and then hanging all the shelves and pictures in the guest room. At the beginning of today, the guest room was mostly empty, and here are some pictures after a full afternoon of work:

Mom hanging up some of the dress-up outfits.

The rest of the room, with not quite everything put away yet.

Notice the sleeping man... my dad worked Hard!!

The upstairs sitting area.  Where did the cats go you might ask?

Peekaboo! They found a cozy little corner to cuddle in.

Trinket: "Hey, I thought I had successfully ducked the papparazzi...."

My main man. ^.^

The entry, plus part of the dining area.

The view from the entry- love those arches!

I just love our new house. I picked out the colors on the walls, too (at least in the downstairs and the guest bedroom...)!  I like how they turned out. We have increased our living space by 250% by moving.  It's big enough that we each have lots of elbow room, but not so big that we could lose one another in it.  I feel like this house fits us better than anywhere else possibly could. Thank you, God, for our wonderful home! 

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today I went out for my first walk around the neighborhood.  I took Mackenzie with me, because I didn't want to feel weird- "Who's outside, honey? I don't know, just some strange lady walking along...." 

Mackenzie made a great, and very cute, walking buddy. She just so happy to meet everyone we came across, and just so HAPPY to chase a couple squirrels, at least to the end of her leash.  I also learned that Zenzi's bark of indignation penetrates the human ear up to a mile away.  I didn't want the first time I met the neighbors to include a suspicious little grey puff giving them the evil eye.  She really loves her people, but in her mind the jury is still out on the rest of the world, aside from small children- the jury has decided those are guilty of all crimes and must be avoided at all costs.

Also, yesterday was my first ever well-woman check up.  I was diagnosed with PCOD, which is why there are no littles to talk about still- aside from my beautiful and brilliant little neices.  I would so appreciate everyone who reads this to pray for me.  And, if you are related to me and are female, then you might want to get checked since it has genetic links....

Speaking of my neices, I might get to see Shayce and Kylie today- my mom was talking about bringing them over to visit later today, and I am uber-excited to see them.  Speaking of which, I must go work on organizing some more of the toys that are still sitting around in boxes....

The look of suspicion...

She's just So Happy!!!

Good Discipline

Gizmo got a whoopin' today for the first time in a long while.

Normally, she is our little irascible,rag-tag, touch-me-not grouch.  However, she has gotten into the bad habit of doing things that she knows are wrong as a way of getting our attention.  For example, clawing our feet or jumping up onto counters that she knows are off-limits.  Then, whenever we get onto her, she is belligerant about complying, and none the happier for the chastisement.

Today, I had enough.  Obviously, giving her love and attention whenever she was being sweet-natured have not been enough to nip this in the bud.  My philosophy has been to just redirect, and re-enforce the desired behavior.  But, this strategy has not been enough to foster an attitude of contentment in this one little kitty.  Sometimes we don't just need rewards for good behavior- we need swift and unambiguous correction when we err.

So, today when she was in the midst of her discontent, and expressed it by racing through the house and churlishly leaping up onto the wet bar, I fussed at her to get off.  Her reaction was not immediate. So, I grabbed her, and gave her two sharp taps on the rump while saying, "No!"

There was an immediate shift.  She actually seemed penitent. I told her she was a good kitty.  Then she sweetly cuddled up next to me and contentedly went to sleep.

I think that animals are much like us, in that they also find it hard to be happy whenever there are no clear boundaries.  We all need to know that we are loved enough to be disciplined.

Gizmo feeling sleepy...

More Happenings

This past weekend was restful and hectic all at once!  A lot has been going on- though more of the hecticness has been emotional rather than physical.  Last Friday, David and I finally went and saw the A-team movie!  Woo hoo!  It was really good!  The best part, though, was seeing how excited and how much enjoyment David got out of reliving his boyhood while we were watching it.  And, seeing them be "shot down in a tank" was pretty hilarious.  I really liked seeing the sequence about how they met at the beginning.

Then, after the movie, we went and had lunch at Freebird's, which is David's favorite burrito place.  I was psyched to try out a vegetarian burrito.  I splurged with some queso on my burrito, and I was impressed with their roasted garlic and grilled veggies.  It was delicious!

After lunch, we went shopping for groceries at Whole Foods, where I found several frozen vegan meat substitutes, and I was pumped about that.  I have been missing the flavors of fried meat particularly, and they had some breaded "chik'n" patties which are delicious.

Then, Friday night, my parents and neices came over.  The girls were very excited to get to see the guest room, and play with all of the toys that I had gotten out of storage.  We had dinner with them, and then visited a while and watched some tv, and then my parents took them home.

On Saturday, we slept in really late.  Then, we watched a couple of movies on tv, worried over finances (this is the hectic part), then my parents came over and we went shopping at the Salvation Army thrift store.  I found a wall unit there that I sort of liked, but David and I had agreed on a 20 dollar limit, and the manager didn't seem to think that was a good price.  So, we went along on our merry way.  We came back home, had dinner with my parents, and watched another movie.

Then, on Sunday, we had a very good day.  We went to church, and I was reminded how much I love my church family all over again.  I was very glad to see everyone, but very tired.  While we were there, we looked in the library, and I got to check out a book that I have been wanting to read for quite a while now,  "A Full Quiver" by Rick and Jan Hess.  David and I have been reading it together and enjoying it mightily.

After church, we came home and worked on the house for a while.  Then, one of our friends from church came by to pick up some of our moving boxes that we were finished with.  I was very happy to see them go, since they were taking up mucho space in my living room.  And, I was very happy to help out a friend.  Boxes can be expensive!

Then, it was time to get ready and go to my wonderful sister Carrie's house for the Fourth of July.  We had a cookout, played Loaded Questions (very fun!) and watched fireworks.  I am so thankful for my family!

Then, we came home, crashed in bed and slept, slept, slept.  We woke up pretty late on Monday.  Like, 1:00pm late.  I was cool with that- I'll enjoy being able to do that now before we have little people running around to wake us up.

Once we woke up, I packed up a picnic lunch and we headed down to Lancaster.  We had to check on the old house, and David had to mow the lawn.  We were blessed that it wasn't too hot, and David did a fabulous job.  I enjoyed watching my amazing husband at work!

Then, we headed home, read out loud for a while, and then had to go to the grocery store for some tortillas and salad.  I've been enjoying making quesadillas with my vegan chicken and cheese substitutes.  They are yummy!  So, we had quesadillas and salad for dinner, and watched a show on tv.  Then, we read out loud some more and went to sleep.

So, it has been a weekend full of activity and some good rest.  On Saturday we were feeling so worried and overwhelmed about finances, but then the message on Sunday at church was about leaning not on our own understanding, but on God's, and trusting Him to take care of us.  We were both so encouraged and comforted!  God has been really good to us in all of this, and I have faith that He will continue to work everything out.

Note to Self

Note to self:  The vacuum does not work too well on hard floors, no matter how bright or seductive the little settings are on its front.  The same action that delightfully beats the bejeepers out of a dirty carpet will turn a small amount of dirt on a hard floor into a sandstorm for your feet.  Also, should you think that you can just turn off the brush and go along on your merry way, we have already tried that, and you can't. 

Also, always check that the tool hose is connected before vacuuming up a large pile of dirt that you just spent ten minutes sweeping up.  Better yet, just use the dust pan!