Boo

Happy Halloween, Boo day to all!

This is My Life

I had a great post all lined up today with some exciting news, but the other website I need is not up and working yet, so I bring you this is my life, critter edition. DISCLAIMER: If you do not like gross things do not loo below.

AS you know I have been on the rodent rampage for well over a month and half. I have expended dollar upon dollar, nights of no sleep and lots of sightings. I have caught one and Monday night literally was face to face with the thing twice with no luck. I am exhausted, disgusted and just ready to pack up and move. Well then about 12:40 last night I heard some noise. I jumped up and ran to the kitchen hoping to see one caught mouse drowning in the trap le guy concocted. No such luck, nope there it was crouching in the corner of the kitchen.

I quickly grabbed  glue board and decided I could slide it under it and then hope it would be stuck. I did. It moved... I screamed, and jumped and squirmed. It was partially attached. I knew I needed to get it. So I grabbed the "ramp" from the water trap and bravely went where no woman wants to go... I took that ramp and pushed it nasty lil head into the glue. Oh it squealed. I yelled at it. Yes, I know it doesn't care, but its all I could think of and it seemed to keep it stunned.

I snapped a photo, total blogger moment and evidence for my exterminator and phoned a friend to come and dispose of my specimen.

10 minutes later he arrived to me, in my kitchen, in my pj's with a wooden stick screaming at a rodent. I was quite the sight.

He quickly bagged and disposed of the lovely creature and all was right in the world. Well, at least for the rest of the night....

Ok, avert your eyes if you can't handle this:



water trap built by friend (oh engineers)

lil sucker hiding in corner



yeah I know its no Fivel or Mickey

This Really Happened

One of the things I do for myself once a month (or when I have time) it get a massage. Its relaxes me, relieves tension, ya know its supposed to be quiet and you leave feeling all refreshed. I go to the same girl and I love her. So, Sunday when I showed up at noon and they told me she was sick, I was a little upset, but I had not been in a month and really needed this one so I took their replacement girl.

Things started off nice, she quickly found the ginormous knots in my back and shoulders and was really getting in there, and then she asked me what  I did. This inevitable happens when they realize I have HUGE knots in my back and hold all my stress in there. I told her I was an attorney and did civil work and thought ok then back to the quiet. And then she began to talk.

I hate a talking massage therapist. Ask me if the pressure is good, or if I am hot or cold, but I do not need to be engaged in conversation, this is not my nail place or the hair salon! But talk she did. And oh what I learned. It began innocently enough with her telling me her husband was familiar with law enforcement and the court system. Cop I figured. NO, no ladies, he is familiar because he is a criminal.

Yes for the next 80 minutes, 80! She told me about her husband's criminal past and brush with the court and penal system. How he shot a drug dealer in the leg because he owed him money. Oh and yes she did need to tell me it was in a "titty bar." Kid you not... she said those words during my message. I heard about his time in county lockup and his second offense for possession of a controlled substance. But perhaps the best part of this whole story was her recount of his time in the state penitentiary. She told me how he watched a guard have her throat slit from ear to ear, and about the psych evaluations that her husband received. Yes, this lovely therapist told me how her husband went in for a required psych evaluation and came out with a happy ending (though she was much more graphic than I was). Now, now ironically works for some company that refurbishes cop cars.

The whole time I am laying there, half-dressed nodding and  saying oh yeah?, umm hum, ok. I swear I felt like I was in some sort of TV show and Ashton was about to pop and out and say PUNK'D!. As I got up from the table I had no clue what to do. Do I tell management? Do I let it go? Do I tip her? And then I kept thinking, who tells someone all this and why me? Does my profession somehow warrant her to feel ok to tell me about her life story? So much for my relaxing 90 minutes, but hey I guess I know what they say about prison is true.

Have anything strange like this ever happened to you?

Monday Musings

Another weekend has come and gone. My weekend went something like this:

 

Friday night movies & sleeping puppy dogs

 

 

 Saturday: Raining TCU/UT game... let's just say the wrong horns won...

 

Sunday morning workout, church and desecration of my living room rug by one small, brown furry child who will remain nameless

 

And my Sunday ended with a rousing trip to Lowe's to acquire wire mesh, steel wool, foam and masonry nails... ya know so we can trap the critter inside my house and then attack them...

 

Happy Monday y'all!

Happies & Crappies

  Its Friday, thank ya Jesus! Time for a little happies & crappies with Stephanie and Amber!  

Happies

• TCU/UT football this weekend and a night game, finally!
• I started going to yoga again
• Got to hang out with two of fav people last night at an alumni event, drink beer (ok I watched them drink beer) and then have yummo dinner with le guy
• I enjoyed two pumpernickel bagels with pumpkin smear this week thank you very much
• Sunday I am treating myself to a massage before I have some pageant business to attend to
• I had a huge realization after RG Tuesday about letting go and forgiveness and desires and let me tell you... freeing experience! Can I get an Amen?!

Crappies

• I still have critters in my home.... they like to play at night... its not fun... I have an arsenal though to hopefully remove them
• I will be making an uber trip to Home Depot this weekend to seal all the potential entry points
• morning dew. yes I said it... that let's gets the grass just enough wet that it makes mud and the pup run around in it and then bring it in and onto the bed.... yeah umm not happy
• my ipod died... yes people, dead as a doornail... just crapped out on me at the gym Monday morning and those nano's are not cheap!

   

I'm Alright

Has anyone else heard this Jo Dee Messina song? If not, well ya should because its quite wonderful. And so am I! Yup, I mean other than a broken hot water heater, mice dancing around my laundry room and walls during the night and the occasional muddy-footed pup terrorizing my home (and white bedspread, who thought that was smart?) I am doing pretty good.

This realization came in a text yesterday. I left work and pretty much sped to yoga. Yup, I decided there was some much needed hot yoga in my future. I got out of class and saw a text from my wonderful friend K. She asked how RG group went and honestly I had to say good. It got me thinking that I am doing pretty ok these days. Sure, I have my moments from time to time (i.e. last week when I called M in a mice-induced fright), and work is busy (which is a good thing), but all in all things are looking up.

Its amazing at what happens when you stop focusing on the negative and look towards the future. I am continually amazed at the grace and power of God and His ability to heel all wounds. I am also quite amazed at myself. I had a small come to Jesus meeting with myself and it kinda did the trick. I realized I has been so focused on all the bad in my life, past, present and future, that I was being obsessed with it. I was so caught up in worry I could not see the amazing things He has been doing in my life. I had been asking Him all the wrong questions and expecting all the wrong actions.

So this is my lesson learned. I know I have so slacked on the 31 Days of Lessons. But, oh well, no one is going to die if I don't post it, there are no repercussions and its OK to not be perfect. Let Him work in your life and good things will come, I promise.

In other news: I am uber stocked for the TCU/UT game this weekend and I have some exciting news to share with you all soon. OK so two exciting things...

Have a blessed Thursday!

What's Cookin Wednesday

I am so excited to link up with Jenn today to share this awesome recipe with you all! I have been on the cooking and baking mood as of late and well what more could you want this time of year than pumpkin anything! Here is my healthier twist on pumpkin bread!

 

What You Need:

 

- 3.5 cups flour ( I used spelt, but plain ole All-Purpose will work)

- 1.5 teaspoons salt

- 2 teaspoons baking soda

- 3 cups sugar ( I used Splenda for a sugar-free option)

- 1 teaspoon nutmeg

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

- 1 can (16 oz) pumpkin

- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce for lower fat (or 1 cup oil)

- 1/3 - 2/3 cup water

- 4 eggs

 

 - 2/3 cup chocolate morsels

 

What You Do:

 

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (I did 325 on my convection oven)

 

2) Grease 2 loaf pans (or you will have one giant loaf)

 

3) Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl until combined.

 

4) Add remaining wet ingredients and mix until well blended. (I beat the eggs separately first and then added them). *start with 1/3 cup water to see how wet/dry your batter is, add a lil more if you feel like the batter is too dry

 

5) Fold in the chocolate chips

6) Place batter in prepared pans (approximately half full) and bake for 1 hour. 

 

Voila! Enjoy the smell and taste of pumpkin and chocolate!