Oh my !!!

Last night Tristen said she learned some new dance moves at church. She showed me how she now knows how to do the "sprinkler". And, BTW, it is really cute. But...um...oh...my...have times changed !!! Learning a dance move at church ??? Oh my !!! =)

Clunky ~ Groovy ~ Junk

We have been watching some old shows (total old school) and we have enjoyed them so much. My girls just found Little House, The Brady Bunch, and My Three Sons. Aside from the simple plot lines and the simple sets, we love the "slang". We crack up when Ernie describes some girl as clunky. Or when Marcia says something is groovy. And everyone uses the phrase junk or n'stuff to mean just about anything. We may just start this fad all over again.

Is it me???

Do I give off some kind of crazy magnetic vibe that causes compasses not work? Have you ever heard of this? Here's the deal...we use compasses for letterboxing and it has been hard for us to find a reliable compass. My mom had gotten the girls each one and we have used those but they haven't always worked. I thought maybe that had gotten to close to some kind of magnet or something. You know when you are pointing it, let's say East and it says North. So one day we were near a Gander store and I figured I could get a descent one there, it is a outdoorsy type of store. So I spent 10 bucks and got one (I know you are thinking way to splurge Cris, hey...I didn't choose the $2.99 one). On the way home I noticed it seemed funky. And we tried it out several place and it still wasn't consistent. So I have carted this compass around in our car for probably 4 months waiting to get back to that area (about an hour from our place) and exchange it for one that works.

I brought it in and told the lady that it didn't always work and she graciously let us exchange it for a different brand. I hunted all around and found one that seemed to point North. Did the exchange and headed home. You guessed it. It doesn't work either. Is it me? Is it the car? Is it the area we live in? Are we too close to some crazy power lines? Is it the cell phone to close to it? What is the deal? Any ideas? I am beginning to think it is me. I must give off some powerful magnetic vibe that I am unaware of. Maybe that is why Chuck is still attracted to me after all these years.

Step aside Goldilocks

So...I was at the mall the other night and got a call from my neighbor on the cell that there was a bear in the back yard of my next door neighbor. You heard me right...a BEAR. I was beyond surprised. She said that they (other neighbors) had all stopped in front of the house with cars still running and doors wide open to check out this site. He was up on the playset in the back yard.

My first thought should have been, how cool, the girls would have loved to see it. But Oh no, my thought was, Chuck is miles away in another state and I have to get home before it gets dark so I can water the garden with out running into our new neighborhood mascot. I am playing out the whole imaginary scene in my head. How would I ward off a bear with my garden hose and BB gun??? We quickly ended our trip and got in the car and headed home. All the while I was trying to down play the whole thing so the girls wouldn't be scared.

As soon as we got home I got my garden boots on to get out there and water those veggies. Just as I was another neighbor lady drove up in her golf cart to say she heard there was a bear over here and wanted to see if we had seen it. I am thinking to myself, the sun is going down and I need to get these plants watered so I can get inside, I don't have time for chit chat. Instead I say, come on into the garden and we can visit while I water. She does and we do. I turn around and notice the door on the guest house (above the detached garage) is WIDE open. First panicking thought...the bear is up there. So with my neighbor in tow, I climb the stairs (listening first) to check it out. Now I would be lying to you if I said my heart wasn't pounding just a little faster than normal. By now the sun is down and it is dark. I lean in and turn on the lights. Whew. I thought for sure I would find remnants of scenes out of Goldilocks and the 3 bears. I was just positive there would be the table thrown over to the side and the cupboards wide open and a big ol' black bear sleeping in the bed. But, nothing. No bear. No mess. The door must have swung open in the wind or something.

What a crazy night full of drama. I have enjoyed living out in the country. I guess it does have its ups and downs. I am all the more praying for out home to sell so we can reunite with Chuck. I mowed our 2 1/2 acres myself yesterday and felt pretty proud of myself for getting that done and being brave enough to investigate the possible bear in the guest house. And I am not sure what I would have done if I did come face to face with a bear sleeping in the bed. I hadn't gotten that far with my plan.

Here is a picture from my neighbor of the bear. He is cute, but look at those claws.

WAIT!!!!

Chuck drove off this morning unintentionally with my cell phone (ours match) and his cell phone. So I couldn't call him to ask him to come back with it. I grabbed the home phone (don't even ask why we have one, it is useless) to call him and quickly recognized, that we have no long distance on that phone (who needs it when you have it on your cell phone plan?). It is not a local call because we haven't switched our cell numbers since we moved. All this to say, I felt so stranded. So alone. Like I couldn't call anyone if I wanted or needed to. My only hope was that he would understand that he had it when an alarm went off to remind Tissy to take her morning medicine.

About 5 minutes later in walks my knight in shining armor with my trusty cell phone. Oh sweet technology.

Can you go to bed with dishes in the sink?

I admit I tend to be a bit "Monkish" about things. I tend to order the same thing at restaurants. I often make the same meals. I buy the same things at the deli every week, but I can go to bed with dishes in the sink. Not always by choice but what about when you are soaking a lasagna dish? Or what about when you just started the dish washer and it is packed full and you find a few more things in the kids rooms? Isn't it interesting how we have our quirks. Things that other people might notice and judge us for.

And other times I go to bed with the dishwasher empty and the sink full of dirty dishes just because I am too tired. And I know if I start to do the dishes it will wake me up and then I will have missed my sleep window. Or I might just choose to leave the dishes in the sink to fight off the OCD tendencies. Ohhh...I sound a bit twisted in this post. =)

CRAZY FAMILY

Just a crazy family fun night playing games. It's cold here and we are taking the opportunity to wear the hats. We are beyond silly. It started out fun and then got really goofy.

Beep

There is this beep that I can't find in the house. It goes off every 30 seconds or so. Real quiet. Must be a battery that is dying. But where is it? Not smoke detectors, watch, cell phones...what is it???? Chuck and I looked last night trying to follow the beep, but by 11:30 we had to give up. Just noticed it yesterday. Any ideas??? Where is it coming from???

COUNTRY FOLK

I think we have entered a new kind of stage...I think we are country folk. Understand what I mean, not "red neck" and not "white trash", but Country Folk. Our new home is on 2 1/2 acres and we have lots of trees and land and a garden and even an old chicken coop (minus the chickens). We are about 10 min. from town and there isn't too much around beside the quickie mart about 1 mile down the road. Every time we show up at Lowes for more home repair things (it seems like daily), I notice that we are looking a bit like we were ridden hard and put away wet. =) On our way into Lowes today, I noticed that Tristen hadn't brushed her hair and still had yesterdays pony tails in (which hadn't been combed after she went swimming).

The best example of being country folk, is when I saw Chuck driving down the street on his new John Deer lawn tractor, heading for a lemonade stand with both girls danglin' off the tractor. Not to mention the girls were both wearing their swim suits. It would have pushed us into the "white trash" zone if the girls were wearing cowboy boots with those swim suits and if Chuck had a beer in his hand.

Just call me "snake killer"

As I was taking out another bag of trash, I caught sight of the snake I killed yesterday. I know, I know, it sounds so...primal. But, let me explain. I saw him when I was getting out of the car and heading into the garage. He was sitting right next to all my boxes and I really don't want to "bring" him with us to our new home. I had the girls keep an eye on him while I went for my hoe (learned it from my grandmother). Since my garden tools are already tied up in bunches and not available, I had to grab a hatchet. After I was done and I was telling Chuck about it, I realized since we have been here, I am the one killing all the snakes, he hasn't killed any. It's only been about 3 or 4, but the most memorable one was the one I stomped to death while I was wearing Crocs in the garden.