Flexibility (Nov '05)

Dictionary.com defines "Flexibility" as "1a. Capable of being bent or flexed; pliable. 1b. Capable of being bent repeatedly without injury or damage."

It is an innate belief of mine that remaining flexible throughout life will bring us all just a little more happiness and contentment. In our fast paced and self-absorbed world of "we do it your way", "instant personalization", "made when you order it" mantras it would be rather easy to get wrapped up in the thoughts of 'if I could just tweak it THIS way then I would be happy.' Or 'if I could just make it THAT way then I would finally be content.'

But I think this mentality has served to accomplish the exact opposite. Expectations are then built up that we can have it exactly how we want it ... and when it isn't that simple we get all bent out of shape. Our attitude goes sour and we start taking it out on others.

Flip the coin.... if we weren't raised in a world where "your wish is my command" then our expectations might be a bit different... a little less self-absorbed maybe?! And just MAYBE we'd be a little more willing to be OK with what was presented to us and completely grateful when someone goes out of their way for us ... instead of simply EXPECTING that of others ... Just a tad more appreciative, enthralled, respectful, fun to be around... you know...

Disclaimer to those who know me well: While I often move things off of "today's to do list"... I don't necessarily consider that "flexibility"... that's more like "procrastination"!

Belly Laughs (Nov '05)

There's a typical routine at the Tisdale house on Tuesday nights. It's Girls night (Gilmore Girls)! And the home is usually ringing with laughter... because the home has welcomed Debbie Russell-Graff. First we'll have dinner while getting caught up on each other's weeks, while also talking about family and friend news, then maybe looking at some of my recent pics or talking about work or doing a little stamping/card making and then moving into the living room for the 8 o'clock hour and Gilmore Girls!!!

This past Tuesday night was no exception. Well, maybe one exception. I was so caught by surprise with something Debbie said (not an unusual event) that I simply could not control myself. I had just taken a large swig of my vanilla coke ... and well, I laughed so hard that I sprayed Debbie with that swig!!! Of course the spraying then perpetuated more laughter... and most of the hard work she had spent on stamping was of course thrown in the trash because Debbie, our work table, and even the chairs behind her had been splattered!!!

As I sit back and think about the friends with whom I have shared true belly laughs I am blessed to be reminded of "the good times" and the hysterical moments of laughter (which quite often include embarrassing moments for yours truly). Some more of these moments:
- recently, in Oregon visiting the Childers (friends for over 25 years) where we had both resounding laughter and some painful tears
- while relaxing with friends at the "Cove" (SCC)
- on a road trip with my family as Mom, Loren and I sang to each other at the midnight hour and made Dad so mad he yelled at us
- with my co-worker and soon-to-be "friend" Julia Alter as we realized we were "kindergarten friends" (stealing chunks of chocolate from the cake we were taking back to the office after a retirement party)
- at Fat Ivor's with my girls Stephanie and Betty as they danced on the laminate floor while I karaoked my heart out to "Copacabana" for the first time
- every time I look at the picture of Lee and I (which Eddie snapped) where I am whole-heartedly slapping myself on the butt
- the afternoon Lee and I played with the distortion tool on Photoshop and created a very unique "family portrait" of ourselves ... we laughed so hard I almost pee'd and he almost quit breathing
- making Christmas cards last year with Kellye Wilborn, Lisa Powell and Debbie listening to Christmas music... and all of a sudden cats are meowing to "Jingle Bells"!
- that warm, summer Sunday afternoon with Julia and Lisa Medina-Kunitzer... more importatly later that evening when we went to Chili's and sat in the bar and pretended to be visiting from Texas (even donning the accent, new names and dressed for the part)
- anything that has to do with Loren and the rest of the boys "Beating Eggs"
- most family occasions where the Marshek cousins are present
- late nights of toilet papering with the youth group (even Mom got in on the action) and anything that has to do with Andy Mizerak or Kendra Groves-Hankins
- and with Debbie there are similar countless memories to recall ... that's what happens with roomies!

Belly laughs... good times... making friendships stronger, futures brighter and memories richer!

What would life sound like, look like, feel like without laughter?! All I know is, I don't want to know the answer to that one! Live well... Laugh often... Love much!

Fallen leaves... (Nov '05)

It's now November... and the trees have turned colors. And they've started shedding their beautifully adorned branches.

Evidence is the piles of leaves along the side of the road.

Just got back to Southern California from an autumn trip to Salem, Bend and Redmond, Oregon. There's some BREATHTAKING colors in them ther' hills!

How lucky was I... to be walking through Drake Park in Bend one afternoon when a large gust of wind picked up a pile of leaves... they tumbled across at least 100 feet of grass... and that noise (the rustling) just warmed my heart!

Can anyone tell this is my favorite time of year?!

What does Tuesday morning feel like?

On the Tuesdays when I'm doing my USUAL thing... it feels like silver. It's cold... at 4 am when the alarm goes off. But I slip right into the shower, then wisk through the kitchen and into the car w/ the cold leather seat at 5 am ... to hurry up and get on the freeway and dart my way through traffic to get to work. Then it feels like artichoke green... where I walk into the investment firm with carpet the color of money and sit down and do my thing.

BUT TODAY... it feels like blue. It's drizzling outside... and that makes me happy! It's 7:15 am ... and I'm still at home. Here I quietly sit... listening to Norah Jones and drinking my espresso from my favorite porcelain mug from Starbucks (which my dear husband so thoughtfully cleaned for me last night knowing I'd want it first thing this morning).

Today I fly to Oregon to spend a week with my parents, grandparents and lil' brother and sister-in-law. My uncle and his wife will fly in later in the week and we will bake and cook and most likely sing together and laugh like no family has laughed... and reminisce and share our life experiences... and hopefully the girls will all go out and get massages while the boys play tennis... and we'll go for country drives...

And then it will feel orange and rusty. And I can't wait for that feeling!

Katrina victim now a millionaire!

I was highly disturbed this am by the following blurb in the news "Hurricane Katrina evacuee Jacquelyn Sherman won $1.6 million Tuesday playing the slots on whim."

OK - so, great... she's set. Good for her.

But can I ask "WHY WAS SHE PLAYING THE SLOTS?!" She's lost everything! In fact, let me ask another question... "SINCE SHE LOST EVERYTHING, WHERE DID SHE GET THE MONEY TO PLAY THE SLOTS?!" And secondly, "WHY WASN'T SHE SAVING HER MONEY or LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB?!" Oh, I don't know... maybe she could even set the money aside for acquiring things she'd recently lost?

Instead she's gambling ... What kind of sign of false hope is this?! Are people taking their $2,000 debit cards from FEMA and gambling w/ the free cash-ola in hopes of making something of themselves?! Or are they buying a new wardrobe so they can get a new job in their new city? Or buying necessities for their children or family? Or paying for room and board at the places that have so generously opened their doors for them?!

Apparently some feel it's ok to gamble it away... and simply take for granted what's been given to them in their time of devastation and need. This makes me DOWNRIGHT SICK this morning!

But who knows, maybe I'm the only one who is so disturbed by this...

The problem with masks...

From one of the most inspiring authors of my generation...

"We are people of both dignity and depravity. The hurricane blew back more than roofs; it blew the mask off the nature of mankind. The main problem in the world is not Mother Nature, but human nature. Strip away the police barricades, blow down the fences, and the real self is revealed. " - Max Lucado

How ironic... the Mardi Gras being what it is with masks and other traditions. To then read this quote. For now, those masks have been taken away. What has been left? True human nature.

K is for Kindness...

I have to admit... the images on the news and the heart wrenching stories of loss have me angry. I'm mad that our high-tech 21st century communications failed so badly that assistance to the Southeast couldn't have been coordinated for days. But I'm also seething about the bashing of President Bush and our federal government and our aid groups. Every time I turn on the TV I hear our media searching out ways to point the finger in attempts to find someone to blame. Instead of focusing on the hope and the recovery and the good that is now happening in the southeast they point out the negative, the bad, the inhumane...

In fact, the article about how their initial sweep for corpses resulted in way fewer than they thought would be found was such a SMALL article... when the Mayor's initial guesstimate was 10,000... this is GREAT news! Why did it get hidden in the news next to the prediction of which movie would take the box office this weekend?!

Listen... it's not President Bush's fault that Katrina hit. Or that the levees were only built to sustain a category 3 storm didn't hold or that people drowned in their attics. It's not Bush's fault that the city did an emergency response test last year which resulted in enhancement suggestions that were never acted upon. It's not Mayor Ray Nagin's fault that anarchy reigned at the Superdome or that he never formalized the city's "state of emergency" status or that he couldn't coordinate better security at the Superdome or that he's not being the superb leader Guiliani was on 9/11. It's not the residents' fault for not evacuating after the numerous warnings - even though their city is BELOW sea level. It's not Sean Penn's fault that he couldn't rescue more people from their homes because he had so many of his entourage on his boat. It just is. It just is what it is... now let's move on!

How telling have the last fews days been - on both sides. The celebrities coming to the rescue because they felt no one else was. How about the afternoon talk show idol who has always sworn to never get politically involved - she finally has decided to join the crowd by throwing darts at the proverbial Bush dart board. Compare that to the directors of institutions and private business men in San Diego chartering their own planes to rescue evacuees. To the many churches in the New Orleans and Mississippi areas who last month were bickering with each other - who this week are working TOGETHER as ONE body of Christ to help those in need!

NO - it's not at all the media's fault that they have their own agenda or that they don't point out the hope and the grace and the people doing GOOD... instead pointing out who's NOT doing something. It's not Sean Penn's fault that he couldn't rescue more people from their homes because he had so many of his entourage on his boat.

So why are we wasting time pointing out fault and blaming people who aren't truly in control when there's work to be done? Send money, send medical supplies, send people... just send. PRAY and prepare for healing.

While we may not understand how God will bring something good from this disaster - we do know that God is sovereign. And while today we may not understand His master plan... I simply don't think we're supposed to. We should rely on His everlasting grace to restore dignity and humanity and peace and hope to all those in loss. Give to World Vision or Samaritan's Purse or Desire Street or Salvation Army or the American Red Cross or any other humanitarian group you feel is forthright... just don't point any more fingers and suggest that one human doesn't care for another human in their moments of despair.

I'm sick and tired of it.... and I don't think I'm the only one that feels that way...

If these walls could talk... (Aug '05)

I live in a quaint little neighborhood made up of homes built anywhere between the late 1800s to 1970 or so. The majority of our OLDER homes were built between 1920 - 1940. These are the homes I want to know more about... specifically mine!

When I fell in love w/ my home I was told it was built in 1940. However, last night I met a man by the name of Wes Boyle who says his grandparents lived in my home in the 1930's!!! No wonder this old house creaks and moans somedays!

I now have yet another project to work on. Who were the Wessels who lived here in the 1930's? What did they do with their lives? What kind of legacy did they leave behind? And do they know anything else about my house? What was the original floor plan and square footage? And when did they do all of these add-ons?

If these walls could talk... I'm sure I might find out way more than I ever wanted to know! Until then, I'm still in love with my 1400 square foot home - 3 bedroom/1 bath with the EXTRA large kitchen. This is the first HOME I ever fell in love with. What I love most is the den at the back of the house looking out over the treetops of Old Escondido! How relaxing it is to work on my photography, watercolor, make cards and do scrapbooking! Now, if I could just keep from looking out into the backyard to see all of the weeds creeping up between our beautiful flowers... which reminds me of yet another project...

Dedicated to all the great Communicators (July '05)

Today I deal with an internal issue which has recently had overwhelmingly outward affects. My own doubts about my communication skills. There was a day when I felt I had quite a bit of knowledge "under the belt" when it came to productive and effective communication (even having led some classes in communication and connecting with others). Today is not one of those strong days. The older I get the more I wonder how much I truly know.

No one has ever known me as an overly tactful, entirely politically correct or even gracious communicator. I'm more of your run-of-the-mill, just say what needs to be said, coincidentally stepping-on-some-toes-along-the-way type. And most of my friends have urged me not to change a thing.

But today is a day I wonder about self-improvement. In what I say, if my pure-hearted intent isn't clearly stated and it doesn't come across right... am I the one who needs to change? When in fact, my intent was misinterpreted by the listener (albeit the message being necessary and at times quite direct) - am I the only one at fault that it stung upon delivery? Am I the one communicating incorrectly? Or do the listening hears have any responsibility in how they interpret or understand the message?

I can remember having this conversation with someone many years ago. At that time I felt strongly that it was mostly the communicator's fault... that they weren't taking the signals that your message wasn't coming across right. Today as the situation is reversed and I'm the "faulty communicator"... I ponder other's responsibility in effective two-way communication.

Do I have an answer to this problem? No... I'm still working on fixing this problem which society has been fumbling through for so long. So stay tuned... I'm sure I'll have it all worked out someday and can solve all of our problems... until then... let's just keep the communication lines open...

"History Forgotten"... or Forbidden? (July '05)

I decided to check email this morning before blogging my 4th of July musings ... and I found this email/article which my Mom forwarded. She often forwards the daily emails which land in her inbox - sometimes I take the time to read them, sometimes I simply skim them and delete without a second thought. (Sorry Mom!) Today's touched me and it expresses better than I could what needed to be said on this day.

I hope Michael Powers from Heart Touchers is ok w/ me blogging his site and quoting today's email/article. If not, he can let me know and I'll remove it... and for the rest of you, if you don't like what the article says I challenge you to go do your own digging and see if this history is 'forgotten' or 'forbidden'?

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by Michael T. Powers

HISTORY FORGOTTEN

This is worth remembering, because it is true. It's familiar territory, but those of you that graduated from school after the early 60's were probably never taught this. Our courts have seen to that!

Did you know that 52 of the 55 signers of "The Declaration of Independence" were orthodox, deeply committed, Christians?

That they all believed in the Bible as the divine truth, the God of scripture, and His personal intervention.

It is the same Congress that formed the American Bible Society, immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress voted to purchase and import 20,000 copies of Scripture for the people of this nation.

Patrick Henry, who is called the firebrand of the American Revolution, is still remembered for his words, "Give me liberty or give me death"; but in current textbooks, the context of these words is omitted.

Here is what he actually said: "An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."

These sentences have been erased from our textbooks. Was Patrick Henry a Christian?

The following year, 1776, he wrote this: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great Nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here."

Consider these words that Thomas Jefferson wrote in the front of his well-worn Bible: "I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our creator."

He was also the chairman of the American Bible Society, which he considered his highest and most important role.

On July 4, 1821, President Adams said, "The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: "It connected in one indissoluble bond the principles ofcivil government with the principles of Christianity."

Calvin Coolidge, our 30th President of the United States reaffirmed this truth when he wrote, "The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal in our country."

In 1782, the United States Congress voted this resolution: "The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools."

William Holmes McGuffey is the author of the McGuffey Reader, which was used for over 100 years in our public schools with over 125 million copies sold until it was stopped in 1963. President Lincoln called him the "Schoolmaster of the Nation."Listen to these words of Mr. McGuffey:

"The Christian religion is the religion of our country. From it are derived our nation, on the character of God, on the great moral Governor of the universe. On its doctrines are founded the peculiarities of our free Institutions. From no source has the author drawn more conspicuously than from the sacred Scriptures. From all these extracts from the Bible, I make no apology."

Of the first 108 universities founded in America, 106 were distinctly Christian, including the first, Harvard University, chartered in 1636...

In the original Harvard Student Handbook, rule number 1 was that students seeking entrance must know Latin and Greek so that they could study the Scriptures: "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies, is, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3; and therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation for our children to follow the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."

James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution of the United States, said this: "We have staked the whole future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."

Today, we are asking God to bless America. But, how can He bless a Nation that has departed so far from Him?

Most of what you read in this article has been erased from our textbooks.

Revisionists have rewritten history to remove the truth about our country's Christian roots.

Let you and I share the truth of our nation's history and let it be told.

"The best service that can be rendered to a Country, next to that of giving it liberty, is in diffusing the mental improvement equally essential to the preservation, and the enjoyment of the blessing." --James Madison

"A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." --James Madison

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Daily e-mail/article by Michael Powers via web-site... www.HeartTouchers.com

In memoriam... 

Memories of my cousin Lonnie (July '05)

Lonnie left many footprints in my life. Even as a 9 year old I could see how highly he regarded the importance of solitude. Lonnie was an artist... we would often find him lost in his drawings. I'm convinced he created his own cartoon character so he could draw himself into the scenes along w/ the other well knowns. Lonnie was a musician... and "becoming one" with that guitar was one of his favorite pastimes. Lonnie was "cool"... he was quiet... he was a thinker... he had a gentle soul... he loved deeply... he dreamt big...

And when he was with us, his younger cousins, he laughed and played and was competitive and was loud and he pushed his luck while pushing the limits and disobeyed and was a bad example. He was a normal kid playing with the other kids and pestering the family dog and ...

These are my sweet memories of Lonnie... I remember a lot of laughter. I remember the games we would play in the upper room at Grampa & Gramma's house... the old-fashioned toys that were once our moms' toys. I remember the jokes he would tell and his excellent laugh. He had a smile that beamed confidence and exuberance. I remember the times he would hide from us simply because he needed some quiet time. I remember that his creativity and his imagination would sometimes surprise me.

And I remember feeling so much loss when I got the news that he was gone. Since he died 10 years ago no one has replaced or can take away what Lonnie left with me in our short time together. Lonnie... as the anniversary of your death is here, and then your birthdate shortly thereafter... we want you to know that your life is still affecting ours. You will always be in our hearts! Thank you for what you taught us in your 20+ years of living with us... we miss you every day!

"Wanna know the most annoying sound in the world?!"

Yes, for those of you who know the movie "Dumb & Dumber" like you wrote the script yourself... you know where this line comes from... and what noise is made next.

Tonight I whole-heartedly disagree w/ the writers of the movie... for I have found THE MOST annoying noise...

It's the neighbors' german shepherd barking blindly into the night ... in the same repetitive 3-yelp bark. Is she barking at leaves falling off the tree?

Gutsy Gutterpup (June '05)

So, I've often thought myself to have a bit of a morbid imagination... my mother tells me it's just that I'm a creative soul. I've often wondered how I'd react to a horrendous scene in an elevator when the doors open. Well, I can tell you EXACTLY how I would react... now that I've been scared to near heart attack! While it's not really "horrendous"... it was starting to look that way right from the start.

Around 5:45 am everyday I pull into the parking garage at work... and as usual, today I'm the first person to park on the lowest level of our mostly underground parking garage. I call the elevator... and the doors slowly start to open (the doors on this particular lift are slow as molasses)... and there is a body on the floor of the elevator. I jump back out of fear that something is horribly wrong! But as the doors open all the way it appears a transient is curled up in a ball in the fetal position (confirmed by the foul smell slapping me in the face). I cannot keep myself from gasping, stepping backwards and then screaming...

Keep in mind - this is all happening in slow motion... right?! As I scream the body still isn't moving. The doors are slowly closing and for a split second I wonder if the person is even breathing. Then the lifeless body (and my brain) jolts like an earthquake... it rolls over and I see a woman probably in her late 20s or early 30s - who looks much older than that. She is barefoot, wearing grimy jeans and a sweatshirt... with hair that looks like it hasn't been washed in months.

She crawls out of the elevator on her hands and knees, mumbling something unintelligible and I am still walking backwards out of shock. I seem to remember very loudly finding the words "You should probably go somewhere else!" and yelling them at her! She's still mumbling. I think I was a broken record at this point. And because I'm yelling at her she starts walking faster and faster towards me... Of course I'm aware of the fact that there aren't many other people in the garage this early in the morning, that my cell phone doesn't work this far underground, that even IF there WAS a security guard on site he probably wasn't close enough to help me if this person goes ballistic... and I'm certainly not entering the stair well if this is what I find in the elevator!

Back to what's happening w/ the vagrant... she's walking faster and faster towards me... my pace picks up and I decide the best thing to do is to turn around and walk up the three levels of the parking lot. I set out walking straight across the parking lot towards the nearest SAFE exit, looking over my shoulder (I am still yelling at her "You should probably go somewhere else!"). She's yelling back at me! Quite the sight, I'm sure! She followed me up a level and a half (it may have even been two levels) and finally she quit following me. I'm sure she went to hide in another corner of the parking garage... I'm wondering who she alarmed next.

Yes, yes... I reported the problem to my Facilities manager... and even to our Human Resources dept. Apparently she and a male companion have been hanging around in our welcoming garage for the past several weeks.

I have to admit... part of me wanted to hit her... part of me wanted to hug her... part of me wanted to bring food back down to her... part of me wanted to call the police to drag her away for being a public nuisance (what's police talk for "drunk in public"?)... part of me wanted to drive her to a shelter and give her a chance to get a shower and get her hair combed...

Needless to say, if I've made it inside and can post my blog... then I'm safe. And as I lay down to sleep I will have a roof over my head... and I will be wondering where she passes out tonight...

my crazy thing for the day... (June '05)

seems like i have something crazy happen to me almost daily... then again, maybe it's just the way i look at the world...

today? today it happened while i was sitting at a traffic light around the corner from my office. i noticed that water was flowing rather heavily on the road i was on... taking debris with it and clogging up the gutters, etc.

i look out my passenger window to see where this water is coming from... to my surprise, water is shooting straight up out of the ground. through 3 or 4 cracks in the asphalt... spouts about 8 to 12 inches high! as i sit there waiting for my light to turn green i wonder how safe i am sitting on top of a potential sink hole. luckily my light turned to green within moments.

before even sitting down at my desk at 5:45 am today, i called the City's Public Works Dept and reported what appeared to be a major underground leak.

now, at lunch hour... i look out the window and am sure all of the people sitting in traffic are thrilled that they are still sitting in traffic and late getting back to work from what was until now a leisurely lunch... 4 lanes of their road are completely blocked off. The City of San Diego's Pblic Works Dept has been hard at work since 6 am today... but I got here before they did!

what will happen tomorrow?!

Superhero Lori... signing out...

To have faith or not... (June '05)

This doesn't have anything to do with religion... no, it has to do with our court system.

My question today is "Do I have faith in the United States court system?" I will be working on that answer and get back with my decision.

Regarding Michael Jackson going free on all counts... I do know this, I firmly believe that whether or not he performed these horrendous acts on young children at any point in his life... the man needs prayer.

May God be with Michael Jackson and his future decisions.

Hairy Houdini (June '05)

The OTHER Houdini was Harry Houdini. But Lee and I know a Hairy Houdini... aka the Mouse residing in our kitchen. Read on for a quick recap of the adventure we've experienced in the last 10 days. Mousey escaped capture from two mouse traps, while still scoring the lure. THEN, Mousey escaped capture from two large rat traps, while AGAIN scoring the lure. So, we then purchased the sticky traps.

The sticky traps are basically this... a piece of long cardboard w/ about 1/8 inch thick VERY sticky glue adhered to the top. In theory, the lure is put in the middle of the board and basically the creature can't get away... "IN THEORY" being the operative words here!

BE AWARE: for those not interested in reading semi-gruesome and yet delicately worded animal tales... DO NOT READ ON!

So, Lee and I thought we were pretty smart when we taped two of these sticky traps together (making up approximately an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of very sticky glue). Placing the lure right in the middle REQUIRES Mousey to walk up onto the sticky stuff... therefore getting stuck. Is it real obvious that there is more to this story?!

I woke up one day this week to see that quite a battle ensued on the surface of that sticky trap. Evidence? Clumps of mouse fur stuck all over the entire surface to show that where he once was... he was no longer! Yes, you are reading this correctly... Hairy Houdini escaped once again. But there's more...

We were even further geniuses when we placed a large rat trap right next to that Ginormous sticky trap convinced that if Mousey somehow got free from the sticky trap it would be completely disoriented and walk right up onto that trap. Well, that almost worked.

Only Hairy's back leg got caught... AND he was still mobile... running from corner to corner of the kitchen trying to yank that rat trap into his little hideout spots... but of course his pathway was obstructed due to the size of the rat trap following closely behind.

I have to admit... I know this sounds a bit cruel. And I really wish he would just wander out the back door of his own volition - leaving our innocent kitchen alone. But when he's stealing my wooden spoons, forcing us to feel like visitors in HIS world, and making me jump with every little noise IN MY OWN HOME... that's when I retaliate. I want this Mouse dead!

Is there more? Of course there is! So, Lee and I were heading out for dinner two nights ago and I ran back inside to get a book to read... as I was walking into the living room I heard a large clatter coming from the kitchen. I glanced over and witnessed Mousey (ONCE AGAIN FREE OF RAT TRAP - how does he do this?!) slowly walking away from his last hiding place towards another corner of the kitchen. It appeared his back leg was broken... as he wasn't using it (yes, it was dragging behind him).

We really are truly at a loss of how to get rid of this guy. We've finally purchased the poison pellets... and have placed them very close to where he is currently hiding out - knowing he probably isn't going to be venturing very far on 3 legs...

The only thing I know for sure... is that once again, yet another house guest will NEVER be the same after staying at our house!

Mighty Mouse (June '05)

So, the Mouse Patrol continues. Lee thinks it's a rat... I think it's still up for debate! Still no pictures to prove either of us wrong.

The first set of medium size traps didn't work... somehow the traps sprung and caught NOTHING! We have now purchased the extra large rat traps and will keep our fingers crossed! And you are right to presume we are still grilling in the backyard or stepping out to get something for dinner.

And TODAY... well, today something happened that I am convinced should never happen in someone's kitchen!

Mighty Mouse was clinking around in the kitchen. I peaked in from the living room and witnessed him dragging a wooden spoon across the stove top towards his hiding place! Yes, you read that correctly! He was DRAGGING A WOODEN SPOON ACROSS THE STOVE TOP!

And no, I couldn't grab the camera in time. He dropped the spoon and went running!

We have figured out that he's crawling around in the compartment area of our stove... moving in and out of a small steel flap on the back of the unit. No, he's not INSIDE the oven... just the back paneling of the stove where the electrical components are.

Coincidentally, our power blew at some point yesterday as well... so we COULD have a half-fried mouse on our hands. Which MIGHT explain the extra boost of energy to drag a wooden spoon around...

Until later... wish us luck...

I'm not disturbed by very many things... (May '05)

But mice? Making themselves at home in my kitchen? THAT freaks me out!

It's been 1 hour and thirty three minutes since I discovered we had another surprise house guest. But instead of it being a dear friend, it's mom's revenge on every time I made fun of her for reacting the same way I just did in the kitchen!

And would you like to know how I've spent the last hour and a half?! Running from store to store to find the appropriate lure, trap, etc... talked to a kind man who is used to living w/ these guys (he lives out in the country and they are his biggest pets - but I think he meant more in quantity than in size)... and a poor mother of one also perusing through the variety of traps commenting on this being a popular reason to visit the store today...

My hero husband has already set up the trap and kindly offered to take it from here...

Me? Sick me has already grabbed the camera to mark this day down in history...

What does Saturday morning feel like? (April '05)

Breezes carrying scents of orange blossoms mixed with pink jasmine, melancholy tunes of Duncan Sheik, sipping espresso from my oversized mug while wearing an oversized fleece robe, green shade trees happily swaying back and forth, the sounds and sights of the neighborhood slowly waking up...

Today I will attempt my mother's recipe for banana bread again... I will run errands and attempt to conquer the world of clearance shopping while looking for some summer accessories for the home... I will meet with a lovestruck couple about doing their wedding and attempt to conquer the world of "selling" myself as the best photographer for their special day... I will attempt to stop the invasion of ants and the rest of the army they bring with them... I will attempt to find my green thumb while planting some seeds... I will attempt to revive the student in me by picking up that history book I've been wanting to get reaquainted with...

Will I be successful at any of these attempts? Who cares! It's the weekend ... I get to play! And this is how I chose to do so!

What does YOUR Saturday morning feel like?!