Napping rut!

I've found that I really need to ditch this whole napping when I get home from work thing that I'm stuck in. Basically, I'll come home and do a little tidying up when I get incredibly tired. Naturally, I lay down on the couch...and then I end up sleeping. Usually between 5 and 6, but today I slept longer...till almost 7:00. Now it is 11:40 PM and I am wide awake while I should be in my cozy bed snoozing away.

Technically, I am in my cozy bed. I am not snoozing away, though. I'm typing this blog post instead. lol

Tonight I did some ironing that needed done. Do you iron anything? I try not to, but some of our pants and hubby's church shirts really do need to be ironed or we walk into work or church looking like we're Boxcar Willy or something. lol

I'm both pleased and saddened to report that our mouse has been "taken care of". lol I didn't see it, but hubby emptied the trap this morning. We've had no other victims yet. Time will tell if he was a loner or a family mouse.

I watched the Chrissa American Girl movie on You Tube tonight. It was really cute. I recognized the teacher immediately, but I couldn't place from where. At the end of the film, I caught his name in the credits, so I typed it into Yahoo and found out where I knew him from-- he used to be on a show I loved as a kid called SeaQuest, DSV. The show was...well, honestly SeaQuest was great for kids. As an adult, not so great. I think you know what I mean. It was on Sunday nights when I was about 13. I thought Jonathan Brandis was the bees knees! lol


This has been quite a week at the office. I think it's sort of showing in the lack of amount of stuff I've gotten done at home. Our servers were switched from Portland, Oregon to where are new headquarters in in Herndon, VA. Oh my. Talk about a pain in the neck. Today I was finally able to do most of the things that I normally do. Our poor IT guy is running around trying to fix everyone's computer since everyone has something wrong with theirs. A smooth transition it was not. Perhaps that is why I'm napping this week. I'm exhausted!

I am starting to think about autumn already. It's only the middle of July and I'm thinking about cool, crisp nights, big harvest moons, apples, pumpkins, and the like!

Do you start Christmas shopping early, or do you wait till closer to the season? Pretty much as soon as they start rolling out the warmer weather clothing, I start buying. We're not like destitute or anything, but we're certainly not swimming in wealth, either. If I start early and buy now, I can get most of it taken care of so that when we need all the odds and ends and stuff I forgot, it's not such a big deal. Just make a list of the people you buy for and start jotting down ideas. Keep it in your purse. When you're in the store, take a look around and see if there's anything you like (on sale is better yet) for those people.

I hope that today was a good day for you. Mine wasn't too bad. It was just sort of okay. I think it's very easy to get caught up in the "eh" days. Each day that we are here is an opportunity to learn and grow and get closer to God. Whether we take that opportunity or not remains to be seen. I'm afraid I didn't do all that well today. My mind was a million miles away. I did listen the Bible today at CBN, but other than that, I don't believe I've prayed much today. I will be sure and remedy that as soon as I am done posting. I will say a prayer for you, too, my friend and reader. Take care of yourself. :)

Mandy

Mouse in the house!

I'm just sort of experimenting what I can do with blogger. I am so envious of all of you out there that have beautiful blogs. If anyone would be so kind as to share how to gussy up my blog (or suggest websites with wallpapers or directions) I would be very grateful indeed. This photo is a picture of hubby and I after we took a ride on the "Hiawatha" boat in Williamsport, PA. We went again last weekend, when my mom and dad came out to visit us. It's a nice hour ride up and down the Susquehanna River. :)



So...on to my actual post for today-

Goodness gracious! I was just down in my kitchen putting away dishes that I had washed a little earlier when I thought I saw a small shadow out of the corner of my eye. As I looked over, rather warily, a small field mouse (you know- with the great big eyes!) popped up and stood on my toaster! I jumped back a step and said "Hey! You can't be in here!", to which he turned around and flew across the counter top, over the washer and dryer, and down the side of the rack where we keep our towels. He then decided to camp out under my washing machine, which was a pretty happy medium for both of us, as far as I'm concerned.

I went down to the basement, brought up the 2 traps we have, and scribbled a note to hubby. I feel bad killing him, but he just can NOT be in the house. It's just not an option. The first time I find his little mouse pellets, there will be no more sympathy. lol


I found a Nancy Drew book on my bookshelf yesterday and just for fun, decided to read it. What a find! Oh, I so loved Nancy when I was younger. I loved her adventures, her lady-like demeanor, and her knack for solving mysteries. I identified with Bess more than any of the characters- I am a scaredy cat, too! The book mentioned several delicious meals that the girls ate while solving the mystery, as well as good details about the clothing they wore. Part of why I loved Nancy when I was in my teens is that she was sort of dated. Even then, I loved the 50's and early to mid 60's clothing for women. Dresses were popular and although Nancy occasionally donned slacks, she more often than not was seen in a stylish dress on the arm of popular Ned Nickerson from Emerson college. Reading this one has inspired me to try and find my old collection and re-read the ones I can find. I remember especially liking "The Mystery of Shadow Ranch" so I'm hoping I still have it somewhere.

I am doing CBN's "Bible in a Year" and I'm in the middle of Acts. I like that Paul writes that the Athenians seem to do nothing except talking over the latest ideas. It makes me smile. It's funny when you can tie the Bible in so readily with something you remember from history class.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about God, and trying to please God this week, but I haven't actually been praying very much. I feel like I don't have much to say right now...just feeling quiet. Lots of other times, I'm sure he wishes I would just stop talking, already. lol

If you are new to praying, I would recommend you just start talking to God like you would talk to your friend- thank Him for the good things in your life, ask Him for help if you are worried or scared about something, and ask Him for guidance in your life. He wants you to talk to Him. Honest, He does! He cares about what you are thinking about, afraid of, and happy for. God loves hearing from His kids. :)

I hope your day was a good one and that your night is a peaceful one.

Bless you, my friends!

Mandy

Monday, Monday...

Another Monday has come and gone.

There are plenty of things I could talk about tonight, but what I really want to focus on this week is meal planning. Do you meal plan? It makes grocery shopping so much easier, as well as figuring out exactly what your family will be eating all week. It's really not so hard, especially if you have a few dishes you make pretty often and know what you need for them. Here is the menu I drew out for this week:

Monday- Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread and butter (I forgot to buy green beans so I settled for corn, which is another starch, but oh well lol)
Tuesday- Honey mustard chicken, rice mix, steamed broccoli
Wednesday- "stuffed" burgers (hubby's request- chopped up mushroom pieces and cheese mixed with ground beef and seasonings, then grilled) homemade baked fries
Thursday- red beans and rice with turkey sausage (Vigo mix- they suggested the smoked sausage to make it a meal) peas, and lots of water since that rice stuff is loaded with salt lol!
Friday- Salmon patties, mac and cheese, stewed tomatoes
Saturday- Grilled chicken sandwiches, salad
Sunday- Pork tenderloin (on the grill), corn and zucchini grilled in foil packets, texas toast, potato salad

Lunches for this week-

Turkey sandwiches, chicken salad or tuna salad sandwiches, "salad plate" (spinach, a scoop of tuna salad, a scoop of cottage cheese, strawberries and blueberries), or one of the TV dinners in the freezer.


If you take the time to plan what you're going to have, it really does make life so much easier. Sometimes I hate doing it, but I'm never at a loss for what to pack or what to make for supper when I do!

Take the time and give it a try this week!

You can do it!

God bless you! :)

Mandy

Sunday events

A bug just dropped off the ceiling and onto my monitor. Ordinarily I wouldn't mind, but it's dark in our bedroom with the exception of the light from the monitor. I wasn't amused by this long-ish beetle's surprise pop in. I gently gathered him in a tissue, wrapped him up, and thought "Good luck getting out of there, buddy." Ten minutes later, the same bug does the same thing and startled me again. When I say startle, I mean just that. I'm not really one to get bent out of shape over a bug...or a snake or bees or much of anything. I will give out a little holler if a mouse darts past, but it's not so much that I'm afraid of the mouse...it's just that I wasn't expecting it and I jumped. I think you know what I am saying.

At any rate, after he dropped in on me the 2nd time, I got the same tissue from the garbage can (he wasn't in there, I made sure that he didn't have a friend hanging around, too...lol) and squashed him. Sorry pal.

Our sermon in church today was about Joshua's leadership role after Moses died. Our pastor noted that the words strong and courageous are in the Bible a bunch of times. He noted that as Christians, that's what we need to be for Jesus- strong and courageous, pursuing him and allowing him to transform our lives.

He also talked about free samples...like when you go to Sam's Club. lol He said every time that something amazing and wonderful happens to you on Earth and you feel incredibly happy, it's like God giving you a free sample of what being in Heaven will be like (actually, I think he said it's like a shadow or a glimmer of what it will really be like) and that these free samples are to do what? To get us to buy the whole box- aka to get us to trust and love and accept Jesus as fully as we possibly can.

I really liked that analogy.


After church, we went out to eat for a "Farmer's Feast" at a nearby local farm market. It was soo incredibly delicious! They had fried chicken, baked chicken, oven browned potatoes, ham, homemade Italian sausage with peppers and onions, homemade (the best I've ever had) pierogies, mixed veggies, salad, coleslaw, pepper slaw, fruit salad, and fresh corn on the cob. There was ice cream and lemon pound cake for dessert. The price (which was a little less than 10 dollars) also included iced tea, lemonade, coffee, juice, water, and hot tea. It was an amazing value and the best meal I've had in a very very long time.

We came home and frankly just laid around like the stuffed pigs we were for an hour or so. After a bit of rest, we decided to go down and swim at my father-in-law and mother-in-law's house since they said we were welcome to go. It was so refreshing and relaxing!

After that, we popped in to drop my car off at the mechanic's house and then ran past Weis markets for some groceries.

I'm sure you are thrilled to read the play-by-play of my day. lol

Take care of yourself and I'll try to come up with some better reading material for tomorrow. :)

God Bless you!!!

:)

Mandy

Late night blogging

Well, despite whatever time the bottom of this post informs you that it is, allow me to assure you that it is rather late. 12:54 AM to be exact...making this post technically a Sunday post, however, I'm still awake from Saturday, so I'll stick with it being a late evening Saturday post.

Hubby and I just got home from night fishing up at a local park called Montour Preserve. We didn't have a whole heck of a lot of success fishing and his truck's transmission is slowly dying, so I was a nervous wreck going there, sitting in the boat, and then going home. The transmission slips going into certain gears. It leaves my heart in my throat every time. I feel that we shouldn't be driving it at all right now, but hubby assures me that even though it slips, we will make it there and back just fine. I refuse to believe him. lol

In all seriousness, though, I have such a hard time with trust. God wants us to trust Him. He wants us to not worry so much about our day to day lives. When we were in the boat, he even showed me an example.

There is a coal burning power plant close to the park- you can see the big cooling towers as well as the big smoke stack with the scrubber on it. There are 2 towers and 1 stack. One of the towers had steam rising out of it, the lights lit merrily, and the stack beside it was also busy chugging out steam. The tower on the left was cold, dark, and didn't have any steam coming out of it. It's parts were all there. It had the ability to function. But it wasn't! I saw myself in that tower- and you might be able to, too! God gives each of us gifts...the scrubber and the tower were using their gifts and working perfectly. The other tower...well he was afraid. "What if I don't do this right? What if I don't cool the water the right way? What will people think of me? How can I deal with that humiliation? No, I'd better not try."

Do you see the point here? If that tower was running, more electricity could be generated...more people would have something valuable in their lives. The same is true for you and I. Get out there and use those gifts that God has so richly blessed you with. You just need to trust that He will guide you and show you the proper way to use them. Pray for guidance. Actually...just pray for any and everything. God loves hearing from you. He loves you so much. :)

Well, I suppose that's all for tonight. I feel like I was supposed to write this post, however awkward it may have sounded. I hope that it will be of help to someone out there.

Good evening and have a blessed night everyone! :)

Mandy

A quiet day at home

You know, I think there is something to be said for a rather quiet day at home. Not all the time, mind you, but staying at home and getting caught up on chores and such really can make for an enjoyable day. Now, I'm not saying that I dance for joy when it's time to mop the floors, but I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when my home looks clean, tidy, and cozy. It seems like the day is a little sweeter and it's certainly nicer to be in a clean house than a dirty one.

I'm going to make up a schedule so things don't get done so sporadically around here. You know, like those old tea towels? Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday, etc. I don't plan on having a butter churning day and I really don't have THAT many clothes that need ironed. It's much more difficult for us to put the clothes away than it is to iron them.

Our closets here are sub-par to say the least. You know those little closets that old houses have with hooks in them? Well, that might have been plenty of room in 1915 when the house was built (I'm guessing here, we rent and I don't really know the exact building date) but in 2011, it's not quite enough space. I have 1 bar that's about 2 feet long to hang stuff on. I should say I "had" since hubby squeezed a tiny closet organizer into that space. Now I have 2 extra racks there are about a foot long each. It's not great, but it's better than that itty-bitty bar and a couple of hooks. (The hooks hold my nightgowns, by the way. They haven't gone to waste!)

I like bed spreads and quilts. When I see one I like, I really want to get it. Now, I don't need it, mind you, and certainly do NOT have the space for it...but that doesn't make me want it any less. I think I have 6 or 7 comforters right now. For 2 people with 1 bed. Now, granted, I mean some are much warmer than others...we used 1 in particular when we go camping only... Our home has exactly 1 closet other than the itty bitty ones in our bedroom. It is filled with coats...and board games and the vacuum, and...oh, well you get the picture. That poor little closet is nearly bursting with things we just didn't have place for. My comforters are on an interesting wire racking system that is supposed to serve (I think) as a pantry shelving unit. I think I need to get some space bags and throw them in the attic. The problem with that is that I tend to forget I own something unless I can see it in plain site. Maybe I need to make an inventory and hang that somewhere. lol

Something else I love? Scented candles. I love them. I am also very allergic to them. I burn them for half an hour and I'm sick for a week. Why then, do I keep buying them? Because they smell good! lol A glutton for punishment, am I. I just ordered some from Yankee Candle's "Jarnormous" sale. I think I got Cinnamon and Sugar, Country Lemonade, and uh...something else too. Oh, oh! Juicy Watermelon! That's it! Hopefully if I leave the windows open I will be able to burn some of these bad boys and make my house smell nice. Our house probably smells like...I don't know, dust or just plain bland air most of the time. Nothing warm and homey and nice like a scented candle. Of course, when my house smells bland I am also able to breathe easily and don't need to keep dabbing at my constantly dripping eyes, soo....

It's rainy out right now and a pretty comfortable temperature. Our neighbor's dog is barking. He's a medium sized dog, so it's okay. lol He doesn't bark a lot. My next door neighbors have 3 small and very yappy dogs. Ohhh. Those dogs drive me up the wall. They bark constantly when they are outside, which, thankfully, isn't more than an hour or so a day. I'm counting my blessings on that one. Some days I just want to turn the hose on them. lol

I watched 2 American Girl movies on You Tube today. Samantha's Movie and Molly's movie. I wanted nothing more than Kirsten, Molly, and Samantha as a kid. Unfortunately, my mom and dad just didn't have the means to provide me with one. My husband bought me a Kirsten doll when we got married back in 2004. It was a very sweet gesture, but since I'm all grown up now, I only get her out of the box occasionally. I still love her and am glad I have her. My hubby is thoughtful. :)

So, I think I started this out by saying I did some house work today...I did! I cleaned the bathroom (including dusting and all that jazz), swept and mopped the floor, scrubbed the tub, cleaned the toilet and sink, then moved onto the kitchen and scrubbed up the stove top, cleaned out the microwave, swept and mopped the floor, dusted the ceiling fan and all the other corners of the kitchen (thanks to my extendable "Webster" duster), did a load of laundry, swept of the front and side porch...and that's about it. I had a TV dinner for supper. Michelina's value-time-only-one-dollar-and-twenty-five-cents-special. Let me tell you. It tasted like it cost 1.25, too. lol

On that note, I believe I'll leave you all tonight.

Take care everyone, and God bless you!

:)

Mandy

It's been a long time!

It's been such a very long time since I've posted anything. I just went through about a half hour's worth of searching all my email accounts to figure out exactly which account I used and what magical password I made up to protect it! Whew.

I am going to try very hard to keep this little blog up. I've had a lot to say lately, and it seems like this might be a good place to write those random thoughts down.

I've been feeling very domestic this week- I've been cooking a lot, despite the house being hotter than the blazes! Tonight I made pan fried chicken slices with mushroom risotto. It wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. lol

I did, however, make an incredible pasta dish on Tuesday night, which I got from the Pioneer Woman. It was called Pasta with Blue-Cheese Tomato sauce and I believe it's under the April 28, 2010 post on her blog. It was muy bien, but a little goes a long way. It was very rich!

Other than cooking, I've been trying to keep the house in proper order. I stripped the bed tonight, washed and dried the sheets and the bedspread (I hung them out on the line and they smell so sunshiny fresh!) then changed the bedspread to a new one I picked up on clearance at Wal-Mart. It's a pretty patriotic red, white and blue with a big beautiful star in the middle of it. It's one of those Better Homes and Garden ones that comes in its own tote bag.

If you have one and want to remember how to fold it, it goes in half long ways, then in half again. Now fold into thirds (folding ends up to the middle) then it gets folded in half and jammed back into the tote bag. lol It'll fit, honest! I went ahead and bought the King size even though we have a queen bed. My hubby tends to tuck the covers under his arm and roll around, so I'm lucky if I have something on me by morning. Anyone else have that problem? lol

God has been blessing me in many ways- I've been pretty organized (well, for me that is) and have had a pretty easy time of keeping things on lists and getting the tasks on those lists done. Success!

I have a problem with a lot of drivers on the road. See, I go the speed limit. Always. It's not an option to not go the speed limit. People where I live seem to see the speed limit as a challenge... Maybe they're thinking, "I can go way faster than 50 here!" Or "I want to get home already! 50 isn't going to get me there fast enough!" Perhaps they are thinking, "Come on! I'm late for work already!"

My response has pretty much always been the same. I could care less. lol The law is the law and I'm not breaking it because you have an agenda. I get so tired of being tailgated day after day.

I actually get really angry some days. I want these people to wreck and crash their cars and understand what they are doing is WRONG. I want to make an example of them. What I need to do is try to be sympathetic and understanding and extend a gracious nod their way. It's really hard. Really really hard. I don't think anyone can understand how hard it is. lol But with God's help, I am trying with varying levels of success to be kind and not immediately get angry and annoyed. I'm making progress. Hopefully some day I won't mind a bit.


It's July and we're in the throes of fishing season which means I'm sitting in our 14 foot fishing boat quite a few weekends. We've had decent luck this year in our fishing. I must say, though, we are "catch and release" fisherman, for the most part. I'm not a huge fan of fish. I'll eat it, but I'm not a fan of eating something that I personally killed. I wouldn't last long as a pioneer woman.

We had a sermon a few weeks ago on fasting and how it doesn't necessarily have to involve food. I am planning on doing a TV fast in the near future. I think I'll start small- 1 day/week. After that, if I don't mind the quiet house too much (remember, my hubby works 2nd shift and I work 1st, so I'm home alone every night and the TV is my "company") I'll work up to 2 or 3 days per week as a regular thing.

Well, I believe that's about all for today. Again, I am going to try and update this little blog about 3 times a week so hopefully I'll be back soon with more to talk about.

Take care, God bless you, and have a great day!

:)

Mandy