Catching the Moment

The other day I accidently left our dog, Jake, outside while we went shopping. When I let him in, he was very hot and I was feeling very guilty. He walked two feet and laid down. I, feeling guilty, went and filled his water bowl and brought it to him. A little later, I heard the noise of splashing water. I was sitting at my computer at the time. I looked up and saw that Jake had come over by me. I then had the realization that someone other than Jake was in his water bowl. I walked over to discover that Aiden was playing in the water bowl. I rushed to grab my camera. While I took pictures of a very happy baby, Aiden decided to turn the bowl over. Needless to say, I then rushed for towels!

Wow! It's been a long time...

Wow! It's been a really long time since I blogged. I always felt that I had to have something important or at the very least entertaining to say. But who really cares about that? :-) Last night, Olen and I watched AFI's 100 greatest films. I don't know why, but I always love their countdowns. Olen figured out the top movie from the beginning. Citizen Kane won top honors. Apparently, they cut holes in the floor of the studio just to get some of their shots. It was fun to see where our favorite movies ended up. My favorite, the Lord of the Rings, ended up at #50.

Father's Day was a big success around here. I pretty much let Olen decide what a perfect day would be. We got up late. That's always a bonus for me! He decided that he really wanted to go to Galveston for a picnic. Now, if you don't remember the weather on Sunday, let me remind you: It was raining. Yes, I said raining! But Olen was determined. I decided that since it was his day that we would do whatever he wanted. So, we loaded the car with the baby, us, and the picnic basket. We made a stop at the grocery store for more needed items. Then, off we went through the rain.
By the time we hit the causeway, we had driven out of the rain. Apparently, it was only raining in the Houston area. Cool! Bonus...the temperature was cooler beacuse of the storms that were in the area. We actually had a nice picnic. Then we took Aiden out for his first look at the Gulf. He had a blast! Mommy and Daddy paid lots of attention to him. He thought that was loads of fun. We went for a long walk on the beach. We decided that it was time to head back when we heard thunder! We got back near the car right when it started to sprinkle down on us. Then, we drove around for awhile sightseeing. By the time we got back in close to Houston, the weather had turned into sunshine and blue skies. Now, that's a beautiful ending to a beautiful day!

Snapdragons

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

"Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

I always thought I was a flower! Somehow being a snapdragon seems really appropriate lately! I have felt a bit snappy lately. I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a dragon, but don't ask my husband what he thinks!

I actually like snapdragons. I saw some today and pointed out how pretty they looked. I've already been thinking of my gardens for this year. It's still too early to plant any. There's always one last frost before Easter. I still should start getting my flower beds ready though. The ones in the front yard need to be cleared of dead leaves. The one in the back yard needs to be doggy-proofed. Jake thinks it's his job to water the tree in the middle of that flower bed which makes for some unhappy plants. I've tried yelling at him, but he just looks at me like, "What's with her?" That'll make you want to snap.

Wicked!

Olen and I have been wanting to go to a play. I love going to the theater. My brother, Matt, was over last night along with another friend of ours. We all decided that we should go together. We looked up and saw that the play "Wicked" was coming to Houston. Now, Matt is going to be out of town for around three weeks so that limited which day we could go. The date we chose was a month away. I pulled up the site to see how much it would cost us. I discovered that the whole show was sold out...already. It's a month away!! I checked other dates. Same thing. So, being the resourceful person that I am. I thought, well, I'll just get on ebay and see if there's some tickets available. They started at $400. I'm starting to understand why they would call a theater production "wicked." $400 could be a car payment!

Another Addiction

I saw a keychain once that said, "I don't suffer from an addiction to David Caruso, I enjoy it!" I love the character Horatio Caine on CSI Miami. I count the days 'til each new episode. I love that show. Even when they stretch the bounds of reality, I still love them. One show recently showed Horatio walking into a bank and asking to withdraw a million dollars. He showed his badge and the teller somehow read his mind and put a tracking device in with the money. First, no banking center I know of would even have half that amount on hand without a few days notice. I once handled a half million dollar withdraw. It involved a three day notice for us to even get that much. The HPD worked as the security for the transaction. And we didn't have a huge canvas duffel bag available either. Funny how they just happened to have one! Second, How in the world would a teller read his mind about a tracking device just because he flashed a badge? I waited on many police officers who had simple transactions. Seeing a badge didn't turn me into a psychic, though many people assumed that if they handed me a check that I knew automatically whether they wanted to cash or deposit it. Maybe everyone lives in that fictional world where tellers just know why you came to see them... I still love them though.

Tired of being serious

oweirdo

I'm tired of being serious on my blog. I'm not as unfun as my blog would make me seem. Really! I think it's just been a good place to vent. So, today we will talk about my addiction. Doesn't that sound like fun?! It's to a computer game called Cake Mania. You click on customers, give them menus, bake cakes, decorate them, and get them to the customer before they get mad from waiting too long. I always did like baking!! I get a little involved though. My whole world goes into a little computer bakery. It's nice there. Plenty of sugar!! I took a quiz once that said that I had an addictive personality. It suggested that I get addicted to exercise. Exercise? Me? Exercise? Really? Now that's funny!

Who Are You?

gardnpondr

Recently, I was lying in bed thinking deeper thoughts than I probably should have been seeing as how I was supposed to be asleep. I began to picture a scenario in which I had to tell someone who I was in a nutshell. I had to sum up personality, character traits, dreams, disappointments, my entire existence in just a few words. At the time, my thought was to be associated with tea. After all, that's where I feel that I am at my best. Tea represents the hospitality and peace that I want people to feel around me. It also is an example of strength. Teacups look beautiful and dainty, yet most have a strength that can't be defined. They can go through hot water and come out looking better for the journey! I wish that I could say the same about myself.

The new year always brings thoughts of how we want to change our lives for the better. I usually don't make resolutions simply because I don't usually keep them. This year was no exception. I did start realizing that I felt like I was in a funk. I wasn't sure why though. I would go through each part of my life in sections. I had an absolutely wonderful husband that loved me. I had an adorably cute baby boy who is actually a pretty good baby. Aiden is a happy baby. He only cries when he's hungry, sleepy, or wet. I'm a stay-at-home mom which is what I wanted to be. The house stays pretty clean most of the time which is important to me. I have friends that I love. I love my church. So what was wrong?

I began to think that maybe I was needing to get out of the house more. I ended up having to get out for most of the week last week for a court case that I was testifying in. I got to hang out with people that I loved to work with when I did work. I thought maybe I'm missing working. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that I didn't miss my job. I just kept getting more and more depressed. It was to the point that I would just start crying over the littlest things. It was just so weird!

We were heading to my in-laws the other night when I just started crying not even knowing why. And no, it wasn't the thought of dealing with my mother-in-law. I started praying. Yes, I said started. It hadn't occured to me any earlier to ask God what was wrong with me. Like He wouldn't know or something?! I questioned whether deep down I might really miss work. There were aspects of the job that I downright loved. I loved keeping track of all the details. I loved making sure everything balanced. I liked when I worked in the back keeping everything running smoothly. Those were all things that I could transfer to being a homemaker. But for the most part, I didn't miss the rest of the job. Or so I thought. God started showing me that there was a part of my job that I missed desperately. When I did my job well, there were people around me to notice and comment on what a good job that I did. You don't get that from a four month old. He doesn't care that the floor is clean enough for him to play on or that he's on his third bottle when you haven't had time for even one bite of anything. There's no positive feedback. You're doing it solely because it's the right thing to do. The only one to know is God and last time I checked, God's not going to walk through the front door and say, " Oh, look how much effort you've put into keeping the house clean, the baby fed, and your husband's clothes clean. You've done a wonderful job today!" We go through our whole lives waiting for a "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Our whole lives for seven words.

Yikes! That's a long time to wait. I questioned God about this. Yes, I'm a questioner. I once heard a song titled "Honesty." It talked about how God's not afraid of our honesty. He's not afraid of the questions or afraid of our doubts. Anyway, I can't tell you the exact scriptures that He brought to my mind that told me He loved me. But I do remember questioning him about not having that human touch and affirmation from Him like we do in the world. And as I questioned God about not having His touch, my husband reached over and took my hand and began to pray for me. My husband didn't know what I was going through. All he knew was that he felt like God told him to pray for me.

In that moment, I realized that we don't wait 'til the end of our lives for seven words. God uses people everyday to say that He loves us and really does care for us.

My and Aiden's favorite show is the Rachael Ray talk show. The other day she had Montel Williams as a guest. She asked him what the worst and best advice he'd ever been given. I don't think that I'll ever forget what he said was the best. "You are the only person who owns the definition of who you are." I could be the depressed homemaker who needs constant affirmation of who I am. Or I could realize that I can be the best me that God can help me be. If I want to be a teacup, then I'm the one who has to turn to God to give me that strength. I have to start living like I want to be. I don't have to take anyone else's definition of who I am.

So, the question now is:

Who Are You?