little pocket

Why is it that the thing you are looking for is always in the very last place you look for it?! I mean, seriously?

I don't just mean it like, since you found it obviously you would stop looking for it after that. Which would naturally make the last place you looked for it.

But. I was looking for something today. And I look Everywhere. Everywhere. In every single closet. In every single bag [well, except for one]. And in every single room. I looked a lot. And then, at the end of my rope I decided I would look one last place and if it wasn't there then I would stop looking and consider the said item gone forever. I looked in the big part of the suitcase that was far above my reach. Not there. I looked in the biggest pocket on the outside. Not there. Then. Then . . . I looked in the smaller pocket. And what do you know? Right there in front of my face. Or more like hand. I fished it out and then saw it was exactly what I was looking for.

I love finding things. But sometimes I don't like the looking so much. eh. what can ya do, I suppose the go hand in hand with each other.

Anyhoot.

return of the studd muffin

The Hubs came home. Finally. Boy is it nice to see him again. It was very quiet and lonesome while he was gone. I found myself frequenting Target more than I would like to admit. Just for something to do. Just for something to keep my mind busy - thinking about how cute this or that was and how I needed something or rother that I naturally never left the store with. But going gave me some interaction with people. In that I actually saw a real live person as opposed to seeing only pictures of people online or people in movies that I watched. Or only seeing and talking to Puppy.

Anyhow. When The Hubs came walking through the gate I was expecting [and prepared] to see my Hubs. You know, the hottie in jeans and a UK t-shirt or hoodie.

Instead, this guy walked out . . . 

 studd muffin, eh?

He told me he wore it special for me. oh, dear. He also told me that he got a lot of interesting, crazy, and weird looks while walking through the airport. Just cause he was wearing something a little untraditional to us Americans. eh, what can you do?

I didn't look at him all funny like. I just laughed at him. But he did too. So it was all good and fun. Cause it was like he told me later, he was just wearing it for fun. See? No hurt feelings.

ok. well. I just thought I'd let you all know he is back. And back to wearing his normal jeans and t-shirt clothes again. Not that you really care about that part.

Alrighty then. Happy Weekend to you all!

Water for Elephants

I finished reading Water for Elephants and I must say I quite enjoyed it. I had no idea what to expect before I started reading it. Oh wait, maybe I did. A guy is a vet and he joins the circus. That's pretty much it. But other than that, no idea. It was really good though. Parts were a little bit funny and I chuckled, "ha ha." Parts of it were intense. Parts were a little bit gross. And there were a few racy bits.

As is says on the back of the book:

As a young many, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and for Jacob the circus was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray home for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was ultimately their only hope for survival. 

 

I'd say that's a pretty good summary of the book. Somehow book covers always say it best : ) I would go into more details but I don't want to ruin it for any of you if you are reading it or want to. Apart from that it was entertaining and was the reason I didn't do dishes for about two days straight. Books will be the end of me.

The next book on my list is The Help, one of my friends has it so we are going to swap books! I'm so excited! Really. It's a little sad how excited I am about reading a book. I just can't help it. I LOVE reading!!

I heart baking

Baking = therapy : ) -which in my experience is waaaay cheaper than actually going to the doctor.

No matter what I've got going on in my little life baking is my therapy. It's true. If I'm stressed or worried about something, I bake. It's amazing how wonderfully relaxing it is to me. I love it. Today I had a bunch of stuff going on (well, kind of, I made myself have stuff to do) but then after the dishes were put away and everything else was in it's home, I pulled out my brown bananas and mushed em up, added some flour and sugar . . . and a few other things, and popped two little loaves into the oven. Then for an hour I had the sheer pleasure and delight of inhaling the sweet and comforting aroma of baking banana bread. There is nothing better. It smells like home when something is baking. Maybe that's why I bake so much, cause I love my house to smell like a home.

Some people like running, or exercising, or talking, or eating, or cleaning when they are worried or stressed. I bake. Not that I was really stressed today, but my heart rate was up and I was running around the house like a chicken with it's head cut off. Actually, that's not true, I've seen a chicken get it's little head chopped off and the running around that it does while headless. It is a frightening sight. And there is also quite a lot of blood and feathers involved. Thankfully there was none of that going on here today :)

I just wanted to share my love today. I like the tried and true too. You know, the simple stuff. The good hearty homey stuff. Nothing too fancy smancy.

Too bad you aren't here to enjoy the yummy smell of my bread . . . and maybe even eat a little piece of it. If you want some you should come over. I will share with you : )

ok.

better than Christmas.

Do you know what's better than Christmas?! Finding a treasure. 

It is true. 

Like this . . . 

I was going through a little (or medium size) bin I have in our hall closet. This bin holds the extras. You know: shampoo, soap, hair products, deodorant and such. The stuff that I sometimes find on mucho sale or I had a coupon for. Just a few odds and ends. Things that we use every day and some of which would be a terrible thing to run out of suddenly (for example: deodorant). Although, it wouldn't be that terrible, just a little inconvenient maybe. You would have to go to the store a hot smelly mess to get something to remedy that. So, ever since The Hubs and I have been married I have tried to have a few extras. Or at least one in the bin for when the other runs out. A very bad thing to suddenly run out of is contact solution. Although there are many others : ) 

But . . . I digress. Like I was saying, I was going through the bin. Looking to see what we had and kind of organizing it too. I tend to do that about once a month. But. Yes. I was looking through the bin and found two little treasures. 

Contacts! 

my little life eye savers : ) 

Fine. Don't think it's a treasure. But whatever, I know the truth. It is. A big one too. It's a treasure because I had just called the day before to make an eye appointment because my prescription had expired. You see, I had ordered some contacts. But then they told me my prescription was expired so I couldn't. Which meant I was going to have to pay for the eye appointment and then the contacts too. joy. Not that I couldn't use a little eye check up. Sadly enough I think my eyes have gotten worse in the past year and a half (thanks, Mom - I get my blindness from her. real sweet of her huh? : ) 

That is why finding boxes (of the current prescription) of contacts in your closet is better than Christmas. 

Almost. I really love Christmas. But is pretty dang exciting. I know, you all wish you had my life cause it is stock full of exciting times, huh? ; )

toodles.

 

lofty goals

Today I had two goals.

1. make a skirt.

2. do the laundry (including folding and putting it away).

Not too hard. Not that much to do. Shouldn't take forever. Not too lofty of goals. Right? Right.

Well, I forgot. I live with a puppy. Although, Puppy is almost not a puppy . . . but I still have another month or so.

Needless to say. The skirt did not get sewn (granted there are a few more hours to my day and it could happen, but I know that it won't so I won't even pretend like it will).

But thankfully by the time the clothes were fully dried Puppy was snoozing under the couch. Which allowed me plenty of time to fold and even put away the laundry. Obviously the more boring goal is the one Puppy allowed me to accomplish. Although, I suppose laundry is a little more important than sewing.

Maybe tomorrow Puppy will cooperate and I will be able to sew and snap a picture of my little creation. I sure hope so.

that's all I've got for today, y'all : )

"Choosing to See"

I finished reading Choosing to See the other day. What a story. In the pages of this book Mary Beth Chapman (the wife of Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman) opens up her heart and shares her life story. Parts of it made me chuckle at some unfortunate and embarrassing moments but for the most part I was pretty much blubbering, sobbing, and crying the whole time. This woman and her family have been through a tragedy I can't even fathom going through, and through it all they keep their hope and faith in Christ. It is incredible. You will be blessed when you read this book.

Mary Beth Chapman shares her journey from the time she was a little girl, to when she met Steven Curtis Chapman, the beginning of their marriage, children, adoption, and tragedy. She shares her life and through it God is glorified. 

Read it. You will see the power and grace of God and how He is the Creator and Father of us all. You will also cry, a lot. Guaranteed. I was just telling The Hubs about different parts in the book and he started tearing up. The Hubs does not cry. I told him to read it, but he said he didn't want to cry and after seeing me in uncontrollable tears while I was reading it he didn't feel so adventurous. But that should not stop you.

The Chapmans adopt and she shares this journey, I am grateful she did. Reading this book only reaffirmed my desire to adopt our children. The whole time I was reading (and after) all I could think about was how I want too, need to adopt. Even before reading this book I felt the calling on my life to adopt our children, but this was a definite source of encouragement and reaffirmation of that call. And it makes me want to start now. But we can't . . . so we will wait for the Lord's perfect timing.

sniffles and snot

Last week I was a little stuffed up. I mean, I'm normally a little stuffy, or sniffly, but this was a lot more than the normal. I couldn't sleep at night. At all. I was close my eyes to doze off into la-la land. But to no avail. My nose just wouldn't clear up and decided to cause me great troubles. joy.

While being snuffed up I can never tell if it is allergies or a cold. I have been told and have even read that The Hubs and I live in one of the worst cities when it comes to allergies. Great pick, huh? So, I'm sure it was allergies.

It's not uncommon for me to be sick a little bit, or stuffy. Actually being unstuffed is more uncommon for me. Especially when I worked with little kiddos. I love them . . . but man oh man. I never really realized just how allergic I am to childrens until I stopped working with little ones and began my semester of student teaching -8th grade. I wasn't sick once the entire semester. Oh, wait, yes I was, but that was on Spring Break. humm . . . strange.

Anyhow. Since I'm always snuffly or something of the sort, I always have about a dozen boxes of tissues around the house. As well as the entire contents of a drug store. Well, kind of. Not really. But almost. I also have lots of vitamins to take to make me better.

Well this time I was sick of it. So I went to the extreme. I got a nose sucker thingy:

terrifying, I know. 

I've known about these guys (and the more popular one at least among people I know . . . The Neti Pot. A little teapot you pour in your nose) for a little while now. But I've been a little terrified of them. I mean, I already can't breathe, at all, and then they expect me to shoot water up my nose. No thank you. I do not want to drown in a pool of my own snot. I'll pass. 

But I was desperate. I wanted to breathe. So I caved. And I even worked up enough courage to drown myself in my snot - three whole times. 

It works. It's crazy. It's disgusting. It's amazing. Holy moly. If only I had know my nose only wanted a little bath I would have tried this guy Forever ago. 

I will refrain and spare you the nasty snotty part of the story. but wow. crazy. 

If you find yourself unable to breathe, especially at night, try this little guy (who is ironically not so little). But hey, I slept the whole night through. Amazing. In my book. 

ok.  

Piggies

Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, I Loved pigs. Loved. Them. It all started one winter when I was walking around in the mall with my older sister. We walked past a store and I spotted it. her. It was true friendship. I pressed my little nose and hands against the outside window of the store and admired the pretty pink pig stuffed full of stuffing. Little hooves. Little nose that would be perfect for stuffing ones finger in. Little black eyes. She was perfect. In every way. I needed her. 

Well, not really. No one ever needs a stuffed pretty pink pig. But, oh, I wanted her so badly. Thankfully Christmas was right around the corner. I knew I was bound to get my pretty precious friend. I knew it. Well, not really. But I hoped. A lot. 

And I did. Christmas morning greeted my family with stockings, the story of Jesus' birth, presents, and a big breakfast - with a place set out for Jesus. Amid the excitement that is ever present on Christmas morning, especially in a household full of five children between the ages of 5 and 17 (or something like that, I'm really bad at remembering how old all of my siblings are, sorry guys : ), I met my new best friend. The pretty pink pig. Pricilla. She was perfect and lovely in every way possible. She had a ribbon tied around her neck (although I'm sure that didn't stay on for very long . . . obviously I had to practice my bow tying skills). I loved her then. And I love her now. She is actually snoozing on the bed in our workroom this very moment. It's true. I still love my Pricilla. 

Over time my love of all things pigs has mostly faded. I only have a few remaining piggy things from my younger years. They are in a box (sad I know, but true) in one of our closets. But there are a few pigs out and about. yes. yes. Like Pricilla.

see? her nose is perfect for hiding little treasures like Polly Pockets in : ) 

And these new little guys. Flour, Sugar, and Brownie. I. love. them. The Hubs got them for me for Christmas. Every time I walk into the kitchen I am greeted by their warm and happy pink bellies and ears. 

Other than these two (or four) piggies, I'm pigged out. ha. ha. couldn't resist. But seriously. I haven't been all crazy about pigs for a while. 

. . . until I saw this little guy at the store. 

how stinkin' cute is he? 

Meet Piggy Pillow Pet. How could you not Love that?! I mean, I have seen the other Pillow Pets: bumble bees, unicorns, lady bugs, puppies, and bunnies. But I had never ever seen one of these little lovelies until just the other day. At which point I promptly dropped everything I was carrying and walked over to the little pillow pet piggy and admired him for quite some time. So soft. So perfect. I need him. 

For the reals though. The Hubs and I are going on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic and we are supposed to bring our own pillow. This guy is the perfect size, plus, he would be perfect to cuddle with on the flight over. 

And no, I am not 7 years old. 

And no, I am not trying to sell or promote this line of creatures in any way. I just couldn't help myself. They are so stinkin' adorable. 'Specially Little Piggy here. 

Anyhow. That's that story. 

The End. 

tulips

When I came home from being out and about for a little while a long purple box greeted me on the door step. 1 800 Flowers was stamped on the box.

Now, who in the world would send me flowers? I hadn't the slightest clue.  So I opened the box. At which point a bright and cheery bouquet of tulips was smiling up at me. I fished around for the little card that comes with the flowers and found a note. From The Hubs.

He ordered me flowers from across the world. It was the very last thing I was expecting. It was also the most wonderful surprise to get. What a sweetie. I didn't think it could be him since he has been telling me that he hardly ever has internet access over there and that when he does he only gets to check his email. But I figured since he hasn't been responding to my emails that he must be out of luck as far as the internet is concerned.

Looks like I was wrong. And The Hubs was sneaky. Very sneaky. Although, I suppose you don't have to be super sneaky when you are on the complete other side of the world.

I love tulips. I love my hubs.

And now here are some tulips for you to admire.

Hannah

I try not to talk about my puppy too much. There are other things in my life that take up my time and energies. However, this has been bugging me for about five weeks now and I just have to get it out there. But that makes it sound like something is wrong or incredibly wonderful with / about my puppy. That is not the case. Puppy is dandy.

Let me start here, with some background: The Hubs and I thought a little while back that we might should take our puppy to get some schooling. Really, he is a pretty good puppy. All things considered. He potties outside. He eats his food. He plays. And he sleeps. A lot. He can even give you a high five. It's pretty darn cute if I'm allowed to say so. But I'm not going to gush about how wonderful my puppy is. No. The reason we thought we might take him to puppy classes is because he doesn't come every time we say "come" and that's not a good thing. Since, you know, he should and he needs too. There were some other reasons we decided it would be a good idea to take him too. But ya.

And just so you can see the puppy I am talking about . . .

what a goober.

So we have been taking Puppy to his little classes. And they are swell and all. He is coming better and better with every passing day. Wonderful. But here is my problem. There are other dogs at the class. Ok. That's not the problem. The problem is that one of the dogs at the class shares something of mine that I treasure dearly. My name. Yes. That's right. The dog's name is Hannah. Excuse me. That is my name. Not a dogs name. The real trouble with this pickle is the people with this pooch sit right across from me and Puppy most weeks (at times it's right beside us). It's just a little weird to look up and see their name tag "Danny" and then below "Hannah". And then to look down at my name tag and see "Hannah" and below that "Puppy." That's not right. Just a little uncomfortable. That's all. I mean, I'm sure Hannah doesn't care at all. But I do. I'm sure her people don't even notice or think it's strange that the person sitting right across from them shares their dogs name.

Oh, brother.

Now, my intention is not to offend some one, and I really truly hope you won't be (aren't). Offended that is. This has just been eating at me for quite some time now. Five whole weeks to be exact. If you have dogs or other pets with the name Hannah, that's fine. What ever floats your boat (obviously it floats Danny boat). It's a lovely name (I'm only slightly biased). But I just have a hard time seeing my name on Danny's name tag. Whatever happened to Fido or Daisy?

eh.

Thanks for listening while I rant. And really, I hope you are not offended, that was not my intent. But if you are maybe you might have a small inkling as to how I feel. incredibly offended. I am not a puppy.

love 

a book

I've been reading a lot lately. Probably a little too much. I only say that because I have neglected to do everything that I should and ought to be doing. It's a little problem I have. I'm working through it though. At the moment I'm not reading. My obsession with reading is probably why I haven't written anything for a few days. I'm too preoccupied with my book to even get online. oh my.

Anyhow. On Saturday I finished reading Sweetwater Run. I saw it at the library and liked the picture on the front. And since I try not to judge a book only by it cover . . .  I read the little summary on the back and thought I'd give it a read. It's about a girl (well, she's not a girl exactly, she in her 20s) and she lives in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky (or as The Hubs would call it, Paradise). Anyhow, it's set in the late 1800s and she is livin' with her hubby in their little cabin. But then her hubby is accused of stealing his own donkey. Crazy. I know. But that's the story. And so her hubby goes off to prison and it's the story of her struggling to make it on her own while he is away and finding her inner strength and faith. There are other characters in the book (obviously) but she's the main one. I quite liked the book. It is wholesome and has a good message. It's written by a Christian author and so throughout the book there is scripture and such. It's not too much, I think it's written just right. You should read it and let me know what you think.

Personally, I love reading books that are set back in the day and up in the mountains, I feel like if I weren't here now, I would have been there then, back in the 1800s. Living a simple little life. Growing things in my garden. Feeding my chickens. Chopping snakes heads off when they come inside my house. You know. Like that. Anyhow. That's probably another reason I enjoyed the book. You should give it a read : )

toodles 

left

The Hubs is gone. What oh, what am I going to do with myself while he is away?

I'll play with the puppy. A lot. Probably.

Read.

Write.

Sing. What? No. I don't sing.

Wander the isles of Target multiple times I'm sure. Since that is what I do when I am sad and lonely. Which I am and will continue to be for forever the next five months while The Hubs is away.

Sleep.

And I probably won't eat a real meal until he comes home.

It's funny. Any time The Hubs is gone I never really eat a whole meal. It's more like rice, eggs, poptarts, and English Muffins. Oh, and cheese. That's what I eat when I don't have to cook. Shame really, since cooking is a fun time. But for some reason, if The Hubs is away, so is my desire to fix a meal made of real food.

Anyhow. Time for dinner. What shall it be? ... poptarts?

oh, my. the choices. the decisions.

Also, I wish he didn't have to be gone for so long.

That's about all I've got, you know, The Hubs being gone and all I'm not really in a writing spirit at the moment . . . I'll have to chase it and get it back. soon.

Happy Weekend to you. Do somethin' fun : )

toodles! 

priorities

The Hubs is all packed up. You know, since he is leaving me and all.

I helped him pack.

He'll be gone a long time. 

He was sure to pack the necessities.

You know, what's really important. 

See?     

Obviously only the important stuff is going to make it all the way to Ethiopia. 

You know, like crackers, chips, cereal, teddy grams, oatmeal . . . 

I mean, one cannot live without food. Right? 

Right. 

And since it is an known fact that the people in Ethiopia never eat The Hubs is taking his own food with him. 

Actually, I hope you know that there is food in Ethiopia. There is.

The Hubs just wants to make sure that he will have food that is edible to him over the next month.

Can't say I blame him. He's a little bit picky like that. This way he will have some food he can eat before starving to death. 

So, The Hubs is packed up and ready to go. I'm not thinking about him leaving me. 

I don't like to dwell on good-byes. 

I'll wait till he's gone and then I'll cry my eyes out. 

True Story. 

Now, I've got to go and sneak my little notebooks and pictures into his carry-on. sneaky sneaky me. 

He won't even have the faintest idea. 

Too bad he won't have a phone so he can call and tell me when he finds it. 

Oh, Hubs. I'll miss you.