Amazing.

Today i am celebrating El-Ohim...another name for God. El means mighty, powerful, strong. Ohim (my favorite part) means The Creator - He who brings something into being from nothing.

In the last few days, El Ohim has made Himself known to me. One of my favorite things about the character of God is the element of surprise He places into ordinary everyday things. You know it's Him, because He twists up the order of things. This is my latest example:

I have been working quite abit for the Vote Yes for Life campaign. It's been on my mind, so when i woke up with a crazy thought in my head last saturday night, i was not that surprised. it was a headline, or a statement: Life is good. now, if you are in a creative field like me, you know that often ideas come this way. you wake up with them in the middle of the night, and the next morning you go, duh...and the idea seems silly.

I actually got up for about an hour on saturday when this headline woke me up. i sat at my computer and found a visual that i felt "went" with the headline. only thing was, i had no idea what i was going to do with it!! i decided on sunday morning, i might make myself a tshirt, or maybe do a blog post with that title. i figured that was the end of it, no big deal.

then, late yesterday afternoon i got the call. it was from a client of mine who is also working on the Vote Yes side of things. He said to me "Bobbi, i hate to call at such a late hour, but do you think there is any way i could get a FULL PAGE AD done by tomorrow morning?

Again, you almost have to know marketing to know how difficult this is...not necessarily to MAKE an ad, but to get approval. this particular ad would have to jump through the hoops of the Vote Yes legal office PLUS the 175 DOCTORS that were sponsoring the ad. nearly impossible.

immediately i remembered the silly "idea" that woke me up in the middle of the night...i asked my client if he liked that idea for his ad? and he immediately responded with "that's so perfect - YES!"

Long story short, i made the ad last night in no time at all. and we got approval this morning with NO CHANGES. So, God gave me the heads up on a quick rush job without me even knowing about it, and used me to create "something from nothing" for whatever reason He has!!!

wow. thank you El-Ohim.

See, God likes to knit too

As the election looms nearer, i have been thinking about specific scriptures that speak to us about life. i believe that all of God's Word affirms life, and choosing life at all costs. over the next few days i will post some of the scriptures as they lead me, this is my favorite one!!!

I pray the Spirit of the Living God will lay His hand over our state and all those in it today and in the future! We bless your name, Lord!

Psalm 139:13-15
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

me and my mags

you know, one of the good things about blogging is that it kind of forces you to think about where you spend the most of your time. there are several scriptures related to this, i think maybe Matthew 6:21 says it best: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So, sometimes my heart is in questionable places. For instance, at the end of a hectic work day, one of my favorite escapes is to my magazines. i am sort of addicted to magazines, there, i have admitted it. this has been the case for many many years, i guess i found them an affordable treat back in the days when i was young, and single and dreaming up a better life for myself.

somehow, the comfort of crawling up with a new magazine has really never stopped wooing me. i get excited when one comes in the mail!!! sometimes, i don't get to read them for a few days, or even a WEEK, but oh boy, i am happy when i finally sit down to a new one. To get the point across, here are the mags i currently subscribe to, in somewhat order of my favorites:

Country Living
Mary Englebriet's Home Companion
Better Homes and Gardens
How (a design magazine)
Print (another design magazine)
Cottage Living
Home
Every day with Rachel Ray

And as if getting EIGHT magazines a month is not enough, i also usually buy on the newstand:

Martha Stewart Living
Midwest Living (that's alot of living i'm doing)
Any gardening mag i see
Family Circle
Womans Day

And my mom gives me her old:

Good Housekeeping (which is difficult when you have 1700 magazines laying around)

i'm sure there are more. the thing is, i usually don't even read most of them. i look at the beautiful pictures, and daydream that i am in those perfectly kept, warm, cozy, yummy smelling, full tummy, craftily perfect surroundings.

oh Lord, someday won't you bring me there?

ahh. is it summer yet?

among the many things i love about summer, is that i actually take more lunch breaks when it's nice out.

not that i am a slave driver boss or anything, but somehow, when the weather turns yucky, i just sit here at the computer til i drop. oh, i EAT lunch, i just usually end up slurping soup on my keyboard, and surfing blogs...

but, today i decided to make a break for it, and go outside for a little bit. Been and i did a trek around the yard. i was dying to find something lovely to photograph, alas, the best things to look at are just sitting on the step :))

so, here is my ode to wednesday, october 25. it's a beautiful sunny day, birds are chirping loudly, and summer is just around the corner, in my dreams.

enjoy!

jammy day

my old co-workers back at the machine would laugh if they saw me today.

i am so happy, because it's "jammy day" - a very good day indeed!
here's what it consists of:

• A 32-page project that is due by Monday, i have a bunch of dvds with photos, a 30-page word document, and nothing but empty pages to fill :) yeah! that's what graphic artists love best!! the project is a farming brochure, so lots of photos of fields and corn and elevators. perfect for a back forty girl like myself.

• no need to go outside whatsoever. sure, i have to get a shower gift for a wedding shower i am going to tonite, but i can always pick something up "on the way" ;)

• coffee and snacks. i might even bake some apple bread later this morning. it will not take long, and hey, i'm the boss!

• the knowledge that a weekend is just around the corner. i can almost smell it already.

• my fave stretchy pants, stretchy socks, stretchy shirt, and even a semi-stretchy blanket ;)

happy friday everyone, whether you are in your jammies or not!

daily ritual

ummmmm, nothing like a good cat nap on a blustery day! actually, been takes his cat naps very seriously whether it is blustery or not - but pretty much every day when i peer over at the perch underneath the window, this is what i see.

he is living day to day now. several good days in a row are great for both of us! the bad days are coming more often than i care to think about, but somehow, the cat naps still seem to be pretty peaceful. he is coming up on the two year mark since i found out he has kidney disease, so every single day actually IS a miracle! and we have made a deal that he can go whenever he is ready, i will be okay.

i love him so. i swear, if i did not have so much to do i would just squish up next to him and take a nap right now too!

funny things to be happy about

okay, i must be going nuts. lately, housecleaning is just making me SO HAPPY!!

i guess i finally hit a wall with cat smells and dust and stuff falling out of the closet all of the time. i have been doing "fall cleaning" for a few weeks now, including my basement, which was absolutely atrocious.

so, i have a new discovery! i have been very loyal to the mop and a bucket of mr. clean, til the new man came along. yep, i finally gave in and bought a swiffer. phillip told me to do it LAST SUMMER and i chewed him out for needing a fancy schmancy mop, when an old-fashioned one is just fine.

until i tried it! my new one is purple, the first thing to love about it. secondly, you just velcro on the cleaning pad, so even i can figure it out. thirdly, it's so easy to use!! yeah, it's battery operated, and that is just insane for a MOP - but last night beener had his bi-weekly furball on the floor, and swiff!!! there it went.

it would be absolutely perfect, if not for the fact i had to hear phil tell me "told you so." :))

my new favorite thing!

i have had a new obsession this week ... i have been eating Hutterite popcorn for supper every night! yes, you read that right. The sort-of-long short story is that i bought this bag of popcorn at a fundraiser in Montrose in august for my friend out there with cancer. She taught part-time at a colony last year, and some of the Hutterites came to the benefit with produce to sell and donate to her! i ate the veggies i bought right away, but threw the popcorn in the cupboard because i had plenty of microwave popcorn to eat, and that is easier.

then, i ran out. so i decided to give this stuff a try. the biggest challenge is that you have to make it on the stove ... scary. but it was super easy, and it brought back memories of how mom made popcorn when i was growing up, before the air popper was invented (we had the yellow one). oh my goodness, it is SO YUMMY. soft and fluffy and buttery and just ... well, it shouldn't be a substitute for supper, but it is :)

now, the other favorite thing i am talking about is Hutterites. i admit to kind of fantasizing about being one. i mean, they look so happy when i see em. and the older i get, the more i wish i could just "lock myself in" to a safe haven where the cold, mean world cannot get me. but would i really make a good Hutterite woman? i did some research on the web to see what it is all about.

Women on Hutterite colonies are typically housewives, cooks, gardeners, teachers (German, English, and Nursery), seamstress, and secretary for different business.
Work in a Hutterite community is usually done together in large groups. For example, gardens cover a few acres. When hoeing, there are often in excess of a dozen women helping, so large jobs are made small. Cooking is done in weekly rotations, e.g. two women would be the cooks for the week, in addition to the head cook. Also, unmarried ladies often teach school on the colony. Some have teaching degrees, others take informal training. Older Hutterite women take care of children in the Kindergarten, teaching them religious songs, prayers and cooperation.

yeah. i think i would be good at being a Hutterite! i would get a little sick of the long dresses and hats, but as long as i had some in different colors, i think i could make it work. the only thing i am wondering is, do they have HGTV and blogs?

:)

save your time and just go here

today, i had lunch at the mall with a friend. not my idea, but since i had not been there in awhile, it sounded fun.

w r o n g . malls are bad now. i did one quick "buzz" up and down the main aisle and was preyed upon by no less than THREE of those people hawking crap from their kiosks. i don't know how much you earn to swoop down on a person and MAKE THEM TAKE YOUR HAND CREAM, but it would have to be alot. not fun, not fun at all.

so, i am just going to get everything i need at the places that i enjoy from now on. like good ole Target. you could live off stuff only purchased at target, i think. although i would still want to go to menards. and my sunshine downtown. and gordmans. and i really actually do like wal mart.

oh nevermind. shop where ever you want, just beware of the mall unless your hands are looking kinda crusty.

up then down then up then sort of down....

Ever notice how every day is completely unpredictable? i wish i were more free in spirit, because sometimes a simple day can make me crazy...

yesterday was kind of that way. everything started out pretty routine - had my coffee and blogs and emails and a fairly simple schedule of tasks to complete and meetings to attend. then the first "quirk" of the day, my computer went funky on me. it wouldn't print. then it wouldn't run programs. then it gave me messages like "serious errors have occurred. go to nearest store and purchase new machine immediately" or something close to that :))

so, i ran, not walked, to my nearest mac doctor and he guided me thru some repairs. in between meetings, i ran this and that software and did a few things to try to fix it. oh, and i scrambled in to buy a $180 250 gig external hard drive so that some of my projects could have a chance at life outside of this machine!! finally, it looked like all was well, and everything was back to normal.

then, in the nick of time, i went to see the Bebo/Aaron Shust concert at usf. it started kinda rough, with an inexperienced "MC" who told us with not much grace that Aaron would not be coming to sing tonite! arrrrrrrggghhh. yeah, his wife had a kid in Georgia or something and he had to go home, but what about ME?!!!

later tho, the show turned sweet because bebo has a really good spirit about him...and my company of friends was pretty sweet too. nothing like ending the day on a good note, literally.

then, this morning, i attempted to turn on my itunes to continue the mood with some bebo songs, and i get the message "itunes disabled" and cannot be located...or something like that.

hhhmmmmpppppffff. looks like another roller coaster day ahead!!

fe fi fo, BEBO, baby!!!

actually, i like aaron shust better :))

today i am listening to BOTH bebo norman and aaron shust on itunes, in hopes of getting in to see them tomorrow night at usf.

please, please, please, PLEASE God!!

i have "will call" tickets reserved, now i just hope a few Christians get the flu or something before tomorrow night...he he he.

just kidding.

happy holiday

i almost forgot today was a holiday. phillip had to remind me and was disappointed that i forgot, because he wanted us to spend the day together. That is the crazy thing about having your own business, nobody tells you when you officially have a "day off" and sometimes, although not often, you forget to take one.

that being said, i'm trying to be more deliberate about how i spend my free time. the older i get, the more i seem to have to do! so this weekend i was a careful watchdog of my time, and it was great.

saturday was a "me" day. i cleaned house and even went shopping - my semi-annual "let's redo the house again" spree :) I bought some pumpkins for the door, a new picture to hang in the bathroom, and a great new fuzzy throw that Been claimed as his own right away. it was fun, and i didn't spend a whole lot. mostly i just moved some stuff around until it seemed "new" to me, and now i am content. i also made MORE apple butter, still have a few apples left, but did away with quite a few of them in the last couple of weeks.

yesterday, i decided, would be a true sabbath day. so, i didn't make plans to get anything specific accomplished. i went to church, and came home for lunch, then met a couple of friends for the annual Life Chain here in SF...i had never done that kind of thing before, and it was not what i expected, but more than i hoped. the idea was to stand with other believers on 41st street and hold signs dedicated to the sanctity of life. sounded pretty easy, a little weird, but not a big deal. it was raining, but i have a cute fuzzy hat and a warm jacket, so no biggie. when we got there, we ended up standing by my church, which is at the extreme west end of 41st street. luckily for me, there were instructions on the back of the signage that told us how to conduct ourselves! the main message was "don't do anything, just pray" - so i started to dialog with the Lord, pretty casually and easy. oh, forgot to mention that about 10 minutes before the chain began, the clouds parted and the sun peaked thru, it was abslutely still and peaceful....ahhhh.

so anyway, here i was, standing out on a street corner, praying like i was in my back yard. it was glorious! God reminded me of my childhood, of growing up and playing in the sunshine, and being loved and happy. he reminded me of how grateful i am for my life, for the experiences i have had and the people i have known and loved. he reminded me of how precious every life is to Him, and how much He wants us to experience life as He meant it, not the fallen world stuff, certainly not "politics" or "religion" but the true meaning of living and being in relationship with Him!!

so for that brief hour, standing in the light on 41st street, regardless of what it looked like to anybody driving by or standing around, i had a great time with the Lord...what a blessing.

i guess that is what a real holiday is all about!

mama needs a new pair o shoes

i had a bunch of meetings today. i ended up with a half hour to spare and Gordman's staring me right straight in the face...what was i to do?

i am glad i stopped, cause look what i found! these slippers are probably something only a designer could love, but i am one, and i love em. they are basically mary janes made out of yarn!!! they had lots of colors, but i got a basic black pair and a funky pink/brown combo. the best part? $3.99 a pair. looks like my shoe wardrobe for winter is pretty much taken care of, unless i do actually want to step outside!

take a designer to work day

oboy, today i have to go out of the house. i agreed to be part of a "panel" that is speaking to some college students here in town. the other three panelists all own their own agencies - including my former boss, so i am feeling kind of out of my league.

the biggest issue isn't what to say, it's what to wear. this used to be of the utmost importance to me, since it's part of my job that visual things matter. i would pore over outfits in my closet and try on clothes endlessly, searching for just the perfect look.

these days, i wipe the grape jelly off my tshirt in the morning and say "good to go."

so, on the rare occasion that i have to be with "peers" i freak out. luckily, i was busy yesterday and last night, so i just had to pull something together this morning. wha la! i hope i did okay. i still had some knee high boots and tights left over from back when i worked in an agency. i think these might still be in style?!

i'll know when i get there. the last time i spoke at this particular college campus, a student was walking into the building right ahead of me (it was late november) and she was wearing big fuzzy pink slippers. not sure what i'm in for today!

lotsa luck

this morning i found a big cat whisker on the floor by my chair. a long time ago, i heard they were a sign of "good luck" so i kept them in a little tin. after a few years, i had a couple dozen, and it started to be kind of a weird collection. so i threw em out.

now, i am just thankful to still be finding them! been is having a good day, and obviously we are both "lucky" to still be together.

He and i are a bit alike, except that he is getting skinnier all of the time and i am not. His latest habit is like a "voluntary time out." he goes and inserts his head in the space between the doors to the outside. Since he cannot speak, he does his best to try and communicate to me that he wants OUT. ha. it works for now, but in a few months it will be kinda sad.

today though, i think we'll both get our wish and go outside for a little while :)

color my world

I was reading my friend Kirsten's blog, and she had a great picture of the afghan she is knitting. i got to thinking about how some brains totally think alike.

Kirsten and i are both addicted to color. we like to wander around craft stores, and just look at all the pretty color combinations. we like to think up new combos in our heads, and then look at them. we apply these color combos to everything we can, from our betta fish to our gardens and houses to our craft projects.

And then i started thinking about Heaven, since it's sunday and it would be nice to dedicate some time to the Lord. WHAT IF there are more colors than the ones we see? WHAT IF God has a whole new "palette" waiting just for us? Wouldn't that be just fantastic?

As much as I love all of the colors here on earth, I am secretly waiting for the day when there will be more :_)

happy sunday!
b

good day planned

yesterday was a good day (a good week, actually!))

i went home - my mom and i visited my aunt in brookings all afternoon. my cousin stopped by after work, and i figured out that the four of us are pretty good together. it was fun.

i also got a chance to pick apples with the family. um, should i say, i got to WATCH my family pick apples. boy oh boy, those apples were up there pretty high. i don't really like heights. so as my dad lifted my mom and i up in the tractor bucket to pick, i pretty much decided to hang onto the side of the tractor, while my mom bravely picked the apples for me to take home. I probably have a bushel or so of them, they look SO AWESOME! apple butter, here i come!

and then, as i headed out the driveway for home, i got to see the reason why we all like living here in SD, another beautiful sunset.

have a great weekend everybody!

what am i going to do when i'm not doing this?

I went outside this morning for a trip around the yard, these little guys are the most striking flowers right now. i am going to "redo" my pots on the steps this weekend, get a couple of pumpkins and maybe another aster like this.

i am kind of nervous about the upcoming months though. every year older i am, winter is longer and harder. this year, i've tried to battle it early on. i have a crock pot now, and grow lights in the basement and i have taken up knitting again.

but for the life of me, i cannot figure out what i'm going to blog about for the next six months, if i cannot go outside!!

does this mean i'm an addict?

so i have been pretty busy lately. about all i have really had time for in the past 2 or 3 weeks is eating, sleeping and making brochures. it's all good, but what does a girl do when she's got a little free time?

meanwhile, my friend kirsten asked me for a favor. when she was in rapid city earlier this month, she bought some cross stitch bookmark templates for $1.87 (set of 2). since they don't have hobby lobby's in minnesota (i know, that is crazy!!) i told her i would go pick some up for her this week, it would be fun.

well, that little errand WAS fun. $113 worth of fun to be exact. it was like i had never been let loose in a store before! not only hobby lobby, but also shopko which is practically in the same building :)

ha ha ha. i guess maybe it IS a good thing that i don't leave the house much anymore :)

recipe for relaxation

Ahhhh. finally, a good relaxing day. yeah, i know. it's a tuesday. i guess that just goes to show you (or me) that relaxation is not necessarily about weekends, or vacation, or down time. it is a tuesday, and a normal workday at that, but it was so good for me deep down inside. i figured out some essential ingredients for the kind of day we all need more of - thought it might be good to share.

1) beautiful scenery - yep. had that. it was nearly 80 degrees today, there was alot of gorgeous fall weather and landscape. i got to take a short roadtrip, it feels good to hit the open road. my destination? where else but SIOUX CITY...yep, you heard me right. sioux city is dang pretty this time of year folks, they have rolling hills and pretty neighborhoods and peaceful sounds. i like it there, who knew?

2) great community - i spent the day with a diverse group of midwesterners. well, let me rephrase that. i spent the day with alot of nice white people of all ages, and both sexes. it was sioux city after all. but seriously, this was just a great group, very kind and willing to pitch in and a couple of the cutest kids you ever saw thrown in the mix. good stuff.

3) loved ones - well, loved ONE. i spent the day with one of my bestest friends. you can't beat spending the day with one of your favorite people in the world, if you want it to be a great day. we talked, and worked some, and wolfed down a happy meal at lunchtime, and just you know...it was easy. thanks, c!

4) okay, also had the ABSENCE OF AN INGREDIENT OR TWO. no cell phones. no email. no voice mail. ahhhhhhhhh. i'm sure somewhere those things existed, but not in my world. not on this day. i liked that.

5) most important element? GOD hanging out with us. He had to be there, the day was perfect. the people were great. the work seemed effortless. the feeling i am left with is .... peace.

That's it. Five great ingredients to a wonderful day. Serves one.

:)

Alive and Well

I had a friend email me yesterday and ask if i was okay, because i have skipped a few days blogging (thanks for checking, D!)

So i guess i'll break a vow to not talk about work much, and tell you about what i have been up to!

i have been doing a few things for the pro-life camp as God leads. and He has been leading! some interesting things have come my way. This is the first thing, a campaign to go on every reservation in south dakota declaring that children are sacred. this is a commonly held belief in native american culture, so this stuff is just a "reminder." I liked it better before they removed the scripture associated with the artwork - “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” Psalm 127:4-5
anyway, i am so pleased and honored i got to do this, especially since i cannot draw a stick man, so my honey did the drawing for me and i think it's beautiful :))

now off to a great weekend everyone!

happiness in a tube

Nope, i haven't been eating cookie dough straight from the fridge again. this time, i'm talking fluorescent tubes. this weekend, i decided i wasn't willing that all of my summertime plants should perish.

so, i went to menards and bought a big grow light. i installed it in the basement, which was a double-edged sword, because that means i have to CLEAN the basement. I have no idea if these things even work, i spent alot less $$ than greenhouse lights cost, but these 48 inchers are called "grow lux" lights.

I think i'm going to buy one more. no, i am not really needing to save that many plants. but i am thinking that it might be nice to have a nice warm spot to plant MYSELF in a couple of months!!

happy tuesday.

soup and sweaters

I met a dear friend for coffee yesterday, she is moving to another state and we needed to catch up and keep up our friendship before she leaves.

i am so lucky to have such wonderful girlfriends. some of them are fellow designers, some are longtime, "knew you when" friends, some are church friends, some are friends of friend friends, but they are all very special to me.

this friend and i "play barbies" when we get together...see, we are both designers and that is a very different kind of friendship. mostly we talk about things that are pretty and sparkly and visual. we can do this for hours. husbands and boyfriends don't seem to get this kind of stuff, but that doesn't stop us for one minute.

yesterday, as the late afternoon sun came streaming into the coffee shop, and we both had shared all kinds of creative and yet to be created projects, we looked out the window at the Lord's glory, the pretty fall weather. My friend smiled and said "oh, sweaters!" and i chimed in with "oh yes, and soup!"

lucky for us, beautiful things can be found almost everywhere. i went home and made soup while wearing my turtleneck, dear, in honor of us :)) have a beautiful week!

mystery solved

okay, i had to dig around on the internet, but i was successful in finding out about my moth. he's a white-lined sphinx moth, also called a hummingbird moth! I guess they are found in lots of different habitats, and usually seen after a lot of rain! See my august 28th post for my first sighting.

these photos (not mine!) show what all the excitement is about. beautiful!

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4

fall friends

I wish that fall lasted alot longer than it does. it's an odd thing for a gardener to admit, but i feel like it's just a time to enjoy the yard, not necessarily work in it.

plus, there is a bunch of activity. it seems like creatures abound, from squirrels going crazy getting ready for winter, to cats on watch for birds and bunnies in the back yard.

plus, there are the smaller creatures. i bent down to pull a weed and came out with this little furry moth. i think he's the same one i photographed a while ago, that i thought was a bird at first! i wish i could have shown his wingspan, he is a very modern color palette! pink and brown, very very pretty. the thing was, he was afraid and sort of "froze up" and would not let go of my hand! i even brought him inside while i grabbed my camera. I gently sat him down in a flower pot to snap this shot, and noticed he was making a curious little "crying" sound...

then, suddenly, off he went! very neat.

the bees have been here all along, but are REALLY rocking on the sedum plants! yesterday i counted eight of them on one plant! must be good stuff :)

happy weekend all.

what kind of writer are you?

http://www.blogthings.com/whattypeofwritershouldyoubequiz/

ps, i'm a poet, but i don't write poetry. hmmmm.

happy thursday!

wow, it's been a busy busy time! that's why i need photos like this, to remind me that i still have a lot of things to experience in this life yet. i will not consider life complete til i hold one of these little dudes and get a really close look :)

hope that everyone can get outside for a bit today and enjoy our glorious fall!

can you see me now?

look what i just saw hanging (literally!) in the sunshine of my garden.

guess i'm not the only one who is happy that the sun is back again :))

LCDs are for sissies

So, i had a little trouble with the clock by my bed this morning. it's a cool vintage model called "big ben." i rarely use the alarm part, because #1 i rarely need to get up early and #2 i have always had an internal clock that tells me when i absolutely need to get up.

it was still dark out when i awoke to the sound of Been wretching right below my bed (getting to be a 17+ year old cat doesn't come without issues) and i grabbed ole ben, held him to my nose and saw that it was 6:10. time to get up anyway, so i took care of been, made coffee and sat down for my morning computer ritual.

i was sailing right along, til i looked at my computer clock and it says 3:10. that's AM, my friends. what the heck am i doing at 3:10 am drinking coffee and surfing the net, i asked myself?

after a bit of brilliant sherlock holmes-style thinking, i figured it out. ben said it was 6:10, or maybe it said 2:30 and i just got the hands mixed up...and it only took me 40 minutes to figure it out!

still, i am not willing to admit that digital clocks have anything on ben and i. only thing is, i hope he tells me i can take a nap pretty soon.

thought for the day

i need to work on my humility some, so this made me laugh.

I know that I know that I know

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. Deuteronomy 7:9

Wow. what an awesome weekend. i have been tired here for awhile, just all of the running around and stuff. but for a few hours yesterday, i was renewed and refilled, along with 6,700 other women who got to attend the Beth Moore conference at the arena.

thanks Kirst, for telling me about Beth Moore. she is a wonderful speaker. i have to admit that she was not the thing that got me going. i was there friday night, and it was good, clean entertainment. even tho i had a good time, i was secretly waiting for some of this hecticness to be over, to retreat to my little house, to be alone for awhile.

even saturday when i got up, i was still pretty unmotivated. yes, i was meeting some girls for lunch that i really really want to spend time with, but otherwise, not much motivation. the thing is, i know better. when God is involved, even when 6,700 people are going to be looking at Him for some attention, He doesn't forget about YOU. and He knew exactly how i was feeling.

long story short. He sent me EXACTLY the right woman to pray with, with EXACTLY the same situation that i have been feeling in my heart for about a week. that's God 101. He knows how to tell you something, go over it with you in review, and then throw it in once or twice more so you don't forget it :)

i was so blessed by Him this weekend. i love Him more and more every single day. i am sitting here today in thankfulness and awe and wonder for who He is and what He has done for me.

praise be to you, Lord!

Great yellow hunters

Uh oh, looks like another death in the family just happened. a minute ago i looked outside my window to find this site, Loco hauling off a rabbit that is almost bigger than him! He is my crazy boy kitty that comes to visit every day. now i know why. he keeps watch underneath my sunflowers, for bunny action in the garden.

i tried not to think about the fact that the bunny was still alive in this shot, but i guess i think that survival of the fittest is the way nature was designed.

the very best part of the whole deal is kitty #2. i have never ever seen him WITH Loco - but obviously they know each other. Notice that he was watching the whole scene very carefully from about 3 paces behind :)) bet he's hoping there are leftovers.

wha-lah

well, i got the armoire together fairly well. about 5 hours for this "fun and rewarding project." you know you're in bad shape, though, when you feel like you just ran a triathalon after you ASSEMBLED a piece of furniture. doh.

actually, it wasn't too bad. the doors are still kind of wonky, but i think they sort of look better than the ones in the store. maybe i could get a part time job as a display assembler at Target, now i have skills.

the 21-page instruction guide was easy to understand. i only have one leftover part, and the thing stands there just fine :) the tv fits with about 1/16" to spare, of course, the thought of getting a bigger tv sprang to mind immediately.

plus, i want to decorate AROUND the armoire now, everything is slightly "off"

oh my. it never ends. but for now, do-it-yourselfers rule.

ahhh. a nice slow start

finally, a nice relaxing day. even the weekend was kind of hectic, and yesterday i was out of the office most of the day, so it's nice to be home today. 8:57 and i'm still "playing" by making pictures of beener on the computer and reading gardening blogs!! santino and andrae are very active this morning too, must be the weather.

last night i got my Target armoire in the mail. wow. those boxes it came in were pretty small. i counted all of the pieces of wood, and it looks like everything is there, so tonight comes the task of fitting it all together. the box states "this will be a fun and rewarding project!"

i kind of think the fact that they have to encourage you on the box, means it's going to be a pain in the butt to assemble :)

anyway, it will be nice to finally cover up the kmart tv from 1995. i'm not exactly a techno wizard, but hey, it still works just fine.

wish me luck!

where's andrae?

you probably had to be there, but i finally got some inspiration to name my bettas. both of them are slightly flamboyant, very dramatically beautiful and more than a little anti social. just like bettas are supposed to be.

so, they kind of remind me of project runway. last season i got addicted to watching all the crazy designers, as they made amazing clothing and also made everyone in their paths mad at them. creative people seem to have trouble making friends, i've noticed.

anyway, back to the fish. the bright blue one is Santino, he was my absolute fave designer on the show. very talented and quite a show off. not shy at all.

and who else to go with Santino but Andrae, also very talented, but a little less "out there" - so i named the red/blue fish after him. The joke of the show was that Tim Gunn, the show's "teacher/mentor" had a crush on Andrae, and was always asking where he was. i about peed in my pants when Santino did his impression of Tim, in a very "fashionista" voice asking "where's andrae" and sneaking off for a tryst with him at Red Lobster.

ha ha. good times. i hope the fish don't mind the new names, but really, i think they are quite fitting.

yum yum yum

okay, here i go again with the amazing inventions.

yesterday i went to visit my folks for awhile, mom and dad have the most prolific set of apple trees ever. this year, the apples are a bit smaller than usual (hot weather?) but still, the branches are just loaded.

so, i took a few home to play with :)

i was going thru my canning books last night - WHAT TO MAKE? let's see, i love apple butter, apple sauce, apple jam, apple crisp, dried apples and apple pie in a jar. that's just for starters.

then i remembered that a number of years ago, i bought this gizmo at my friend's pampered chef party that was supposed to peel apples fast. i also remember where it is, because last summer phillip made me take all "unnecessary" kitchen items to the basement, so he had room to actually cook!

so, here's the deal. this thing MADE MY DAY...and it's really almost too soon for that, but wow, it is magic. basically, you just hook it up to the kitchen counter, stab an apple onto the thing, and turn a crank. not only does it peel the apple, it also cores AND slices the apple into perfect rings!!!!!! fun. yes, it's fun to use this contraption. the biggest trouble is getting the core off the "sticker" when you are done, but a butter knife seems to work pretty well.

so, i now have a big pot of applesauce brewing on the stove, and lots of day left to enjoy!!

thanks Kirsten, i want 2 more of these for my mom and my aunt :))

fall color

even tho the day is kind of drab, the garden has spots of wonderful color. it seems like the fall colors are the most intense, saturated colors...not sure why.

enjoy the glorious long weekend!
b