Yards for Sale!

Well, I was going to add more photos but this one took about 25 minutes to load... hmmm, Network errors? Anyway, I spent my time perusing the yard sale tips and tricks articles on the web and feel a little more (and a little less) prepared for our big mom's group yard sale Saturday. Now since I've forgotten my original blogging intents, I'll yak about that. :)

I was and still am psyched to be doing this. (I pause to laugh because I typed 'psycho' at first.) I can't wait to get rid of all the baby stuff! And other random stuff too but mostly the big things like the two strollers taking up a chunk of the basement. It'll also be nice to make some $$$ but I'm not going to guess and figure this early on. I checked out those 'tips' sites and realized my to-do list needs shifting. Don't use a money box... so.... Yeah... I started making signs but as I saw a sight with images of good and bad yard sale signs and thought maybe doing all posterboard isn't the way to go. My next-door neighbor has some old shelves she's getting rid of... could use those boards...

Now I wonder if I have enough tables to share. I think my stuff might take up about 3 plus what I can get on the ground. I need to label things/prices and get a general inventory going so I know things were paid for and appropriately. I also might offer to share the dot stickers Jess picked up for me. They might help us know when something bog has been paid for.

My mind is walking through an imaginary yard sale and I'm already overwhelmed. I'm going to dedicate tomorrow night to getting a plan together. Tonight I need to dedicate to showering and sleeping... mostly the latter.

Catching up on catching up

It's been a little longer than I'd like since my last blog. It's like the old journal days... diary starts, going well, forgotten about; another starts, going okay, forgotten; year later another journal, soon forgotten as well. I've even forgotten about the letters to my kids I'd started. Really should get back to that. Seriously I've had a thousand journals and probably 8-10 currently on my desk. At least for now I have only one online log... for now...

Few things to mention. First, we've discovered our shack is the place all the cool cats want to be. Literally, all of Shadow's family keeps visiting this house looking for her and rubbing up against us and wondering what it's like inside. Kinda funny if you think about the cat conversation:
Shadow: Hey guys, you should see my pad. I have my own water fountain! Plus whenever I go inside, I get a kitty treat!
Elsie: I have to live with a dog!
Shadow's brother and sister are currently hanging out on our front steps while she sits by a window barely noticing. Is she a snob too?

She's the best cat, and that's saying something from me who happens to be a dog fan. I took the kids on a little jaunt around the small block across from our house. Shadow looked perplexed at the wondering of her lit'uns without a stroller or wagon. She followed us the whole way around!

Next Godin family fun fact: Jess and I are in love... with those little frozen pie shells! We've made quiche, chicken pot pies, and pumpkin pies, all single serving each. You better believe they'll be torts in our future this Christmas!

Further on the clean-up agenda: gate's gone from the laundry room for a few reasons. One, cat's getting bigger and got stuck a few times. Two, we're sick of tripping over/through it. Three, the kids are basically old enough to keep out of trouble, although VJ now has full access to the cheese balls. Also, rearranging toys and donating/selling baby stuff. Yard Sale Oct. 15th with the mom's group!!!Wish us money!!!

Now go figure that the ACs come out of the window and the temp rises with humidity. Hello Murphy? Get bent! Oh well, we survived a while with no ACs so a week or two now won't kill us. Think of the money saved on heat, not that we're currently paying the oil bill. <$$$ sux!>

Well, pumpkin and apple picking are complete, pictures uploaded for those on Google+ or who know our personal site. Can't wait to go through this fall/winter season with the kids older now! And I will try to keep blogging, but no promises!   :)

Moving on with Moving in

This weekend I found myself on my knees, surrounded in filth, bent into one of the lowest, unseen and unexplored regions... of my house. Yup, under the couch and in the basement. Under the couch I found enough toys to fill two plus buckets from their toy shelf, including three disgustingly dirty bugs (eyes missing on one but pipe-cleaners intact on all!) and several partial Easter eggs (the plastic kind), plus trucks, dolls, "doctor" kit stuff, Legos, and tons more I can't recall just now. As for the basement, well, let's just say it's like we hadn't been living here over 10 months yet.

So, shelves went up in the bedroom (and we now have printer access!), the bathroom (kitty's litter box no longer near her food), the laundry room, and basement which we were finally able to unpack. Now, it's a short basement so the shelf building and installation is another story, one for the BFF to tell I believe but it involved back-breaking feats of futility in part and eventual success. In other organizing news, we now have a portable closet downstairs to keep our dressy clothes as they literally hang over the shelves we have in the closet. So glad that's accessible now!

Where were the lit'uns in all this madness? With family! Yay! Time to do some clean-up, shelf-building, and organizing... and more cleaning! We're not even done but we did so much, including going out to dinner Friday night and bowling with a friend. We came home at 1AM Saturday morning for the first time in years, at least three! We did get to spend some time with them today, Labor Day, going to the zoo in Boston, so we didn't completely neglect them. ;)

We have so much more to do but who knows when the next opportunity will be? We can at least piece meal the rest as it doesn't involve as much up and down the dangerous stairs or pulling out a box of What-the-heck-is-that? or exposing ourselves to material that may or may not be hazardous. God only knows, we could get deathly ill in the next week or so. Did I mention previously that the house was built in 1929?

Be that as it may, we've come to a good resting place and I'm so grateful to the family who pitched in to watch the kids. They even slept over two of the nights which was a humongous help!! Plus they had an amazing time with their awesome aunt and uncle!!

Well, work never ceases and it's getting late. Back to laundry, dishes, baking, and whatever other chores we've set out to accomplish tonight. Mayhaps sleep will conclude? Tomorrow, it's back to the grime.

Ode to True Love: Happy Anniversary

Once upon a time... Actually about ten years ago, I went to a Christian festival called The Inside Out Soul Festival (now www.thesoulfest.com) on my own. I knew little to nothing about Christian Rock and had never worked a stage before in my life. God willing, entirely, I got on crew. I met so many people, two of whom have become family, many I still love today.

This was July 31, 2001, and on August 3rd, I declared I to my new friends that I, the aspiring photographer and adventurer that I was, would hike to the top of Loon Mountain at midnight and await the sunrise. Shockingly, no one wanted to come with me. Yet, behold! Jesse, mild-mannered (okay, thick-tempered at times) introvert, sees this foolishly outgoing girl ready to throw herself into the wilderness alone and speaks up, "I'll go." In hind-sight, I think the group may have smirked and taken an additional step back at the invitation. Honestly babe, in your head were saying, "WTF did I just agree to?!"

Well, the whole story is written out elsewhere, but that night Jess was my hero and still is today. We married five years later, August 12th, and I think we're more in love now than before. Cheesy yes, but true. I've already got my daughter saying that Daddy is Mama's best friend and that's the kind of person she should marry. My son, well, right now wants to marry either hockey or a motorcycle.

So buck up all you lonely-hearted! True Love still exists today! And buck up all you tiredly-married! It can still be what it was or something else, good and new and happy! And carry on all you Love Birds! I do have friends out there who are still in love years later! Raise your glass to True Love my friends! And I also raise mine to the love of my life, Jesse! No other guy could put up with me, nor could another have held my heart so long ;)

Feeling the Beat

We all need a little more Tobymac and Peter Fuller in our lives. Take it from someone who knows the power of positive thought. I had some pretty nasty 'down' times (and still have them occasionally) but I came through with prayer and focus on the positive. No grubby little status post of how much life sucks helped (although it did feel good to vent that way) nor did stewing to myself and reminiscing on all my problems and stress. No, seriously the best thing to pick yourself out of a stoop (besides having an amazing BFF <3!) is to plug into some positivity! I like 108 and 90-whatever the frequency is now, but jamming to the upbeats of Christian Rock really gets me in the right place.

I was bummed when we couldn't even make it to Soulfest (www.thesoulfest.com) for even a day visit, but it was heartening to see everyone's updates through social networks through load-in, during, and through load-out. I saw some friends pick up their usual banter into positive words, others simply proclaimed the joy of being there, and yet others gave thanks to each other for the generous work that made the event happen. I must say Jess and I had an amazing experience at Creation with Ron, but Soulfest, no matter what life brings, will always be our alma mater. I hope someday our children can experience that.

Yet even when I'm far from those wonderful Christian events and people, the beat lives on when I simply plug in a CD with worship or praise or any message that strums Christian values. I need only sing along to Toby or Jars or Newsboys or Peter to feel what I need to feel which contrary to what's felt everywhere else in the world: I belong and it feels good!

The world of music has its ups and downs in terms of lyrics and messages. We can only pray our children find the positive beat in the roller coaster of sounds as they grow. We Christians don't belong to the world; we belong to Christ and we are only here to minister to those who will listen. Make a good sound my friends.

God Bless.

Size Matters... At Least Sometimes

We, as humans, generally like things to fit, right? From shoes to jobs, we like things to fit just right, or at least good enough. I've certainly bought of pair of sneakers I loved even though they didn't have my exact size. Of course sometimes we have to make do with what we've got. For example, I'm sitting at my desk (which is about 30" high) on a little ottoman from the living room which serves as the only chair I've got (that will fit) and it's only about a foot high. Hooray for laptops! Although uploading photos to the iMac does get a bit cramping as that doesn't fit on my lap.Well we haven't had the time to reconfigure the living room to fit the desk top to get it off my desk and there just isn't room for a computer chair in our bedroom. I just have to make do, which is fine.

I feel like I'm always making do or making adjustments. My husband and I are not the same size. He's a decent height and broad-shouldered while I'm rather average for a woman in terms of height. We always have to readjust the straps on backpacks and diaper bags. I can't stand it hanging down my butt while he can't get his arms in after I've used them. I also have a hard time readjusting the mirrors in the truck, which I seldom drive. I have to reach so I'm off the seat to adjust the mirror and by the time I'm settled again it may or may not be where I want it yet. I also have to lift my heel off the floor to press the break all the way, but I'd be too close to the steering wheel if I moved close enough to not have to do that. The truck is simply not my size. I love my little car, though I'll admit we could use a slightly larger vehicle given the two kids and all we do. If only our budget fit that size requirement.

As for fitting into things like situations, how many jobs do people hold before they find longevity? I lost count of my jobs from high school till now, but there were a fair amount of trades involved before I found my current job. Even with it, Jesse and I had several schedule changes before we found the right fit between the two of us (in order to not need daycare, which also didn't fit the budget). It still isn't what we wanted but it works for now.

I never would have imagined myself in a house as tiny as we have, but I love the Love Shack! I've been saying lately that it's a good thing the house isn't any bigger because I already lose things on a regular basis and have a hard time keeping it clean. It's simply the perfect fit for us. That's another thing: I thought I'd found a good fit in men a couple times but when I found Jesse I knew I didn't want to do any more shopping around. Awww... Isn't that romantic? In all seriousness, it's true. We're honest-to-God best friends and there's no better fit.

Sure there's times when I wish I could reach above the fridge, or that the trunk of my car fit the double stroller a little more easily, or that we didn't have to stretch the budget so thin just to take the kids on an outing to the beach. We need one of those portable zipper closets to keep our dress clothes in the basement since there's no room upstairs. We play around with ideas for the kids' room when they get too old to share a bedroom, whenever that will be. What if we don't have the ability to expand and add a floor with more bedrooms? For now, they love sharing. Besides, what can we do right now? We have to make do with what we have.

Well, I've expended my night and still haven't folded laundry. That's a job the size of which I wouldn't mind cutting down. I guess I'll have to put my little laptop aside, shut down the desktop, and get folding. Hopefully I'll get a long, restful sleep tonight, a good fit for what the day brings tomorrow.

Do you have any idea who I AM?

So a coworker was asking me about my vacation and I mentioned Creation Festival which is a Christian festival which my friends all well know is more my passion than any other work I've ever done. Then she asked, "So how was your Christian... camp...?"

Let's get a few things straight: A Christian Festival does not mean we all hold hands and sing gay lovey songs and clap and wield our bibles around in some flowery, dainty little show of affection to God. I told her it was a festival of music, like... a music festival <shock face!> and we aren't all hands-in-the-air lunatics. We're music fanatics who use the medium to express Christian values. Many of us even grimace at the crazy-heads who skip around trying to save the saved... okay, All of us grimace at that kind. There's TONS of genres of Christian music. Pop, rap, reggae, metal, grunge... you name it! She was shocked. I was pleased. Conversation ended.

Before I am anything else, I am a Christian. I am not a good prayer. I am no good at Bible knowledge. I suck at times as a mother/daughter/friend/wife/etc. But what makes me more human is that I know it's okay because I have a God Who Loves me regardless and will lift me up and put me right back in place... sometimes painfully, sometimes begrudgingly, sometimes desperately. I know I can do better and I'm so hard on myself sometimes, but as depressed as I've ever been I've always known one thing without any doubt in any fiber of my being. The time in this world is short - nothing - compared to eternity. And because I have a God who loves me, as long as I continue to turn to Him in any situation, I don't have to work for it. He's already done all the work, all the Bloodshed, all the Sacrificing, all the Suffering. Mock me, shake your head, wonder at my faith, my words of certainty which many doubt. Fine. I'm so used to it. I know where I'm going.

So to those in the world, primping your hair and wasting money on your looks and caring about gossip and who does what for a living: Are you sure you have your priorities straight? Is your Gucci bag coming to the next life with you. Or a more short-term question: will it help you satisfy yourself and your self-image. If the answer is yes then you're missing the point. Often the things people see and hear and taste and touch miss the point.

We look to the horizon and long ago thought it was the edge of the world. We finally learned how to sail beyond and saw more than we'd ever imagined. Then we learned how to fly and saw another horizon. Soon we learned how to soar higher until we got the whole picture: the Earth, a sphere of life, held together by means we were barely discovering! Think we know much more than the horizon of our souls yet? Doubt it. For me, I'd like to place my trust in Someone Who Knows all about it.

Christianity isn't some silly little phase of humanity. It isn't some cute little gathering where we all cry about our little feelings in the big mean world. It's certainly not just a bunch of limitations and rules to punish people and control people. All those kinds of people are, again, missing the point. Christianity is putting your heart on Jesus and knowing that He'll guide you through this life and into the next. It's knowing that He's been there and knows the way and goes before you to prepare it. It's raw, unadulterated, unfiltered LOVE. It's about a God Who became Man and Bled and Died for us. That's not frilly people! That's solid heart-wrenching!

So for those who think our cute little Christian fests are a waste of time and the music is some quaint little love song with boring repetitious ballads and choir-like backgrounds, check out some Tobymac or Newboys or Jars of Clay. Yes there are melodic praise songs, but listen to the words and compare them to the crap lyrics on secular radio. What do you want your child singing along to?

_Stepping off the soapbox now._