Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Happenings

Well, it's been an exciting two weeks.   I have been doing a lot over the last couple of weeks, and no time or energy to sit down and write about everything.  I've been doing a lot of visiting lately, and enjoying it greatly.  My cats have been thrilled to have company over!  Also, a couple weeks ago the mentoring program started at my church as part of the women's ministry, and I have been getting to know my mentor, Anne.  It's just amazing to me how good the Lord is, and how well He provides.  I love Anne dearly, and I have been learning alot from her.  But mostly, it feels like my feminine heart is finally flourishing-- it's like I finally feel okay with being a woman.  Which is kind of weird, because it's not like I thought I was a man or anything of the sort.

At the luncheon to mark the beginning of this year's mentorship, I also learned about something incredible- Peppermint Tea.  It is the most delicious thing I have tasted in a long, long time.  A couple of days later I went by the store and bought a box of it to enjoy at home.  David and I have started drinking it at night when we read together.  Although there was a new development a few days ago- we made our tea as usual, then gathered up our books and Trinket, and retired to the bedroom to read.  While David was reading, it was a monumental task trying to keep my little furry friend out of delicious warm drink.  No matter where I put her or my mug, she just about had her head in it.  Finally, I drank it down to a couple of drops left, and offered her a taste.  I was thinking that as soon as she tasted it, she would be put off.  Boy, was I wrong! She lapped it right up and then tried to raid David's mug for seconds.

Another thing that I have been doing lately is a new Bible study with Anne.  She has been going to a small Bible study for a while, and she invited me to go with her last Friday.  It's a neat group led by a lady who worked as a missionary to the Jewish community for over 40 years.  Each week they study part of a manuscript written by a messianic Jew (who the lady taught years ago and converted).  I greatly enjoyed it because of the richness of meaning gained from the writer's experience with Jewish culture and fluency in Hebrew.  It seemed to me that the Old Testament came alive in a way that it never has before.

Today I got together with another dear friend from church, and we baked pumpkin goods all morning, then ate lunch together.  We initially intended to watch a John Piper dvd, but we got busy talking about things and time ran away from us.  I wasn't too disappointed, though, because I think that sometimes talking about personal things with a supportive and Godly friend can be as spiritually nurturing as attending a sermon.  We weren't deeply in the word, but I still felt like we ministered to one another.  We each made a pumpkin pie, and then we also made some pumpkin scones (yum!)  David is going to be so spoiled for dinner tonight....

Yesterday was also a good day- I spent a couple hours yesterday with another friend from church and her little children- she has two girls and a baby boy. We took a nice, long walk around a nearby park, and got to talk a lot about all kinds of things.  I loved spending time with them because her children are so adorably well-spoken and say such funny things, and she herself is a great conversationalist and listener. She made homemade bread, and we made sandwiches with it for lunch.  It was So Good!! I hope she and I get together again soon and exchange recipes!

Monday was a great day because I had an appointment to go get a massage, as well as a chiropractic adjustment.  While I was at the office, I found out that the doctor wasn't in because his wife had given birth to their babies (they were expecting twins!).  I was pretty disappointed because my back was in pretty bad shape-- sore all over!  However, as I was getting my massage he came by to do a little paperwork, and I saw him when I was finished with my massage.  He mentioned that he had been out of the office for just under a week, and was dying to get back to work.  So, I asked him if he would like to pop my back, and he said yes!  God is GOOD! It turns out that I had several ribs out of place and almost every vertebrae needed to be adjusted. I was poppin' all over the place!  I went in for another treatment this morning and am now pretty much back to normal.

Another good thing I've been doing this week is exercising.  I have been on two bike rides this week! Woo hoo! I have really been enjoying the nice weather, and I have been really proud of myself for getting out and about.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Pretty Puppies

Sunday David and I got a lot done- we went to church, I helped with Children's Church (fun!), talked to a bunch of our friends, went out for Chinese, took the dogs to be groomed, mowed and raked the yard, sprayed the yard for bugs (fleas, spiders, wasps, mosquitos, ants, etc.), then went and picked up the dogs, got a rootbeer float from Sonic, and then came home.  And then we watched movies and cuddled puppies.  It was a full day!

We decided to take the dogs to be groomed because they just looked so sad and pitiful out on the back porch, and unhappy with their dirtiness.  They just wanted to come in and cuddle so bad!  I didn't want to cuddle them though due to the dirt and fleas.  So, when we got back from lunch, I started calling around to different places to see if they could fit us in.  I must have called 10 different Petco's and Petsmarts, and none of them wanted to take us.  Then I just did a search on Google for grooming in our vicinity, and came up with a shop that was walk-ins only a couple blocks away.  So we packed the dogs up and headed out. We actually ended up at a different grooming shop than the one we were looking for, but the guy who worked there was willing to squeeze them in.  We went back to get them a couple hours later, and they were fresh and clean as little poseys! The guy did a great job, and our fur-babies were so happy to get to cuddle the rest of the evening.










Mack's eyes go a little wall-eyed when she's super super excited! :)


Thursday, September 09, 2010

Laundry Day

Today has been a big day for laundry at Chez B--. It's not been without two little shadows everywhere I turn, however.  I piled all the clean laundry on the bed, and took a shower to cool off, and this is what I came back to:

Caught, red-handed!


A close-up of the perp.  Naughty, Gizmo!





Her Response?





Thursday, September 02, 2010

Cat Update

Guess who discovered a new hiding place last night?
When we first looked at this house, we predicted that Trinket would enjoy this spot.  We made it over two months before she discovered it.  She was hilarious.  She couldn't understand why we couldn't pet her when she sits on the edge like when she sits on the edge of the bed.







Gizmo is also doing good.  She seems like she has become fairly satisfied with our food choice for her as of late, but still has moments when she clearly is holding out for something from a can (tuna, anyone?).  Plus, even when she comes up and rubs your legs, if you try to pet her, she has an immediate duck-and-weave response.  Like she's thinking, "Ack! My head! My head will come off!"