No . . . please, not yet . . .

Did someone mention the dreaded S word? Texas must've heard you - we are going to be creeping into the warm SUMMER-like 80's this week. But its not just that. . . something was waiting for me when I stepped outside this morning to get the paper. . . a familiar enemy, ah yes, humidity. And, on top of that, with everything blooming, the pollen count is off the charts . . . icky

I am trying to focus on the good things this week - like the Spurs winning by ten over the Orlando Magic last night, or more importantly, the wonderful BSF retreat this weekend in Dallas :)
But > > >
I just can't seem to shake my disappointment with the weather.

I really would rather be here right now. . .

Sigh ;)

Tea Time

For St. Patrick's Day, along with a sweet card, my dear grandmother sent me a couple of these Irish Breakfast tea bags - Delicious, and not quite as strong as English Breakfast tea - I think I have found a new favorite!

Sabotaged

Sometimes, you just CAN'T win . . .

I worked out this morning - an hour and 15 min. of good, slow burn; aerobics, pilates, and plenty of sweat.

Man, I felt strong - with a good heart-healthy breakfast, 2 tall glasses of water and 2 vitamins, I was off to work (felt like I was off to the races).

And then, today of all days, my dear co-worker decided to bring in a pan of fresh-baked, soft and cakey brownies . . .

Sigh . . .

Dirt Bomb

Yesterday was a strange weather day. We had a forecast of thunderstorms, strong winds and lots of rain.

Well, where I was at, I heard thunder maybe once, and it only rained about a 1/2 inch during the day - the weather man is a joke. . .

There were reports of tornadoes to the west of us, we thankfully got skipped. And then, a dust storm from the south decided to do the tango with the rain and covered the world in a dirty splash. . .filth covers my car; car washes will be chaotic today.

You know, I am thankful that these crazy storms are staying northwest of us so far - it'd be nice to see a little more rain here, to lift our burn bans, but oh well.

Milk & Toast

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. . .

Why?

Maybe because its so simple - a little something to start your morning that can give you energy to lunch.
It doesn't have to be elaborate - like pancakes, muffins, or eggs (although, I am a fan of these choices, on special occasions). You can just pop an english muffin in your toaster and in a minute or so you are spreading soft cream cheese on the tops and grabbing your mug of coffee (or, in my case, tea or milk).

Mmmm - so good.

I used to skip breakfast for coffee when I was younger, only to end up spent by noon. . . the kick of caffeine would last for a couple of hours, but then would wear off, leaving me cranky. I slowly weaned myself back into the thought of eating breakfast with a banana on the way out the door. It felt like a lump was in my throat, and all morning long, I could feel it slowly sinking into my tummy. Ughh. I tried oatmeal - apples - lowfat poptarts - cold cereal - bagels . . . I found my favorite to be boring old toast of all things. Toast is like a peanut butter staple (oooh, and it tastes sooo good with smooth and creamy peanut butter)- there is just something so wholesome about it, something so classic, so delicious.

MMMMmmmmm . . . . breakfast - and, can you guess what I am having this morning ;)

St. Patrick's Breastplate

I bind unto myself today . . .

The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this today to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spiced tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Marred and Dented

So, here's a little update on my traffic citation -

My fine was $192 smackeroos (EEEKK), so H and I both did some research on the thing, and found out that contesting the thing would hardly be worth it, as I would still end up paying miscellaneous fees. What a headache.

So, gritting my teeth and swallowing my pride - I gathered myself and paid the &*%# thing - even though I think it was completely UNCALLED for - and, right now, I am hating on small-town cops.

God is trying to teach me humility - which I am fine with - but can it not involve my wallet next time - please???

Bon Matin

Each new morning, we wake up to the sound of doves cooing. They roost in the oak tree outside our bedroom window. (That same tree shades Haven's truck and so he is not too happy that they roost there.) They make such a peaceful sounding call, it never seems to irritate me.

Its funny how plain the 'symbol of peace' is. Doves are incredibly humble - have you ever watched their interactions with other birds at a feeder? Little finches and mean jays shove their way to get to the seed. They toss the bird feeder about and scatter seeds everywhere. In the midst of this chaos, the doves sort of sit back and wait for everyone to finish. They end up picking up the seeds scattered all over after everyone leaves.


Our jasmine plants, which are vining around our front pillars have finally been slowly blooming this week. This has been a long time coming - for 4 months or so, we have watched how leafy and bushy each plant has grown, and we have eagerly anticipated the blooms. H got a little worried a couple of times that they weren't blooming yet. They just needed time. Then they started to bud - this budding lay still for about a week, and we keep waiting and watching for a bloom to pop - and then, spring came to our front door.

What is it about the shape and smell of jasmine flowers - how they enthrall us to the point that we have to stop and consume them with our noses. Their elegance, their simple beauty and class - right up there with the rose.

And they wait to inspire me, right outside my front door -

Sheesh Peesh

This afternoon, I made a stop to the ladies room. It is only normal to go after lunching, beveraging, and walking around in the park. I am not really one to want to chat it up with the other women I meet in the bathroom - after all, we go there for usually ONE purpose, and that purpose is to be privately done behind a stall door. But I will exchange polite smiles and hellos to people I see coming in and going out.

But then, its down to business.

Except when, which seems to be a greater frequency these days, that business concentration gets completely thrown when in walks some woman, jabbering on her cellphone.

She goes into the stall next door. You peek under the stall just enough to do the shoe check- yep, just one person, not two . . . one person with an ear extension.

So, she's talking - and your, well, peeing. . . its awkward. You don't want to be loud, you don't really want to flush. But its the place where this is done, not talking on your phone. She doesn't seem to mind doing her business and talking. . . but does that person on the other line know? Who cares, concentrate, hurry up.

You just keep concentrating, going, and then, take a deep breath, and FLUSH!!!

Done.

Wash your hands and try not to stare down the woman when she emerges from the stall, phone still intact. (Shouldn't she disinfect her phone too? Eww, Gross!)


Courtesy people. Courtesy. Talk OUTSIDE the bathroom.

Braggy ;)

Naturally, I am proud to my tippiest tip-toes of my hubby. Not only is he extremely goodlooking, God-fearing, and hardworking, but he's also incredibly intelligent.

We saw 10,000 BC the other night, a very captivating and interesting film. With a movie as creative as this one was, usually it takes me a good day or two to process. I wonder internally about things, but then I have to muse on them for a while before I spit them out.
But then there's my hubby. He has good brains, working overtime before, during and after a movie, a book, an article, a conversation, whatever it may be. . . He is able to articulate and bring to light things I never would get close to finding - you know, like a new set of eyes that finds all the missing items that you are looking for, except, in this case, you didn't even know that you were missing them) Well anyway, this movie was no exception.

I love how he thinks.

Here's his review:
http://www.thewaterspout.com/blog/?p=486

And Honey, do you know how much I love you? Well, now everybody knows ;)

Sicky

I am pretty sure that the flu-bug has been sapping my energy this week - I feel so sluggish, so tired, and have almost lost all of my appetite. Monday morning met me with a slap - vomiting, fever, and nausea kept me home from work. . . Tuesday I managed to go back, and eat a little (good ol' saltine crackers!). It was the day to feel better - something I was so thankful for, because it was my week to teach. Wednesday was pretty good as well.

And then today, I woke up so exhausted, but got myself to work for a couple of hours and then decided to throw in the towel. Me no workey this week.

On the plus side - I think I've lost about 6 lbs this week. . . nice but I am not really into this weight-loss method.

So, sleeping and drinking mass quantities of water have been the way of the land in this dominion.

Idols Update

It's so appropriate that this stupid show is named, "American Idol'. . . and ahem, after this admission, I will make no other comment ;)

But, since I am hooked I have decided that these are tops - - -

I would have to say that one of my favorites for the girls tonight was Syesha :) Asia'h was close second, Carly, and Ramiele. I am beginning to get tired of Amanda'a hoarse voice, although, it is original. I like Brooke but she didn't seem to bring it out tonight. The rest were, as Simon so bluntly puts it, 'forgettable'.

For the boys. . . I just love that David A - he is just so good. Michael really impressed me, as did Jason. David Cook was okay and Chikezie was alright. The jury is still out on David H. since I heard of a questionable vocation he was in (ahem) though, I cannot deny his vocals still yield great applause.

Wait a minute . . . what am I becoming, some tv-movie review blog or something????

Crank

(this is from last friday night - tid bit late in posting)

Last night began with a cheery start, as weazled my way through heavy traffic, home to my dear Hubby. We were raring to watch our Spurs take on the Mavs and so I fixed some super yummy burritos, beans and rice and we settled in for the exhilarating game that kept us on the edge the entire way through. Halftime came around, Spurs were up by one in this extremely close game and we both agreed that a trip to HEB for icecream was in order. What's a game without icecream? ;)

I was in the car in seconds. H stayed behind to play with the dog and clean the kitchen. A short drive down the road and as i was turning into the HEB parking lot a cop flashed his lights on me and pulled me over - for what??? I was NOT speeding. I had my lights on. I put my blinker on to get into the turn lane. What in the world???

A very large cop approached my car and I immediately asked, "um, hi, why did you pull me over?" "Well, you passed a car on the left in a turn lane."
Rewind here. Okay. There was a slow moving truck before me, but I stuck it out until about ten feet before the turn lane began for HEB. I did pass him, but I was just cruising up to the light in the turn lane, and not trying to get in front of him. I was going the speed limit, again, I must make that clear and known (to those of you who doubt my driving).
He asked for my insurance. Boy, did I tear that car apart trying to find our newest insurance card. I explained that this was a new car and I needed a little bit to open up the manual book and the glove compartment. He was fine to wait. I called my hubby in frustrated tears, asking where the insurance card was. I finally found it - right where it should be - in the glove compartment.

The cop was still not budging. . . so I got a traffic citation for this stupid 'offense' which I am baffled by. I am still wondering if I should contest it. It seemed like a completely ridiculous thing for me to get a citation for.


I was in a pretty irate mood in the store as I grabbed our ice cream essentials. I drove VERY carefully home and couldn't bring myself to watch our team struggle against the Mavs in the state I was in. I had to clean the kitchen first, and settle down. H informed me that we were winning, and so we got our icecream and finished off the cranky night with a Spurs win. WOHOO.

Life goes on. I admit, my attitude was not stellar, but I still feel like this was not fair. :( Kay, done with my pity party.

Of things lovely

I love scarves. I have many of them, in colors bright, soft, pale and patterned, bold and striking.
I wore them more in my college days, they worked well with pea coats and in my hair. . .

Unfortunately, these days they rarely have the opportunity to make an appearance outside of my closet.

There they hang, lifeless on plastic hangers. This tragedy struck me this morning when I was standing in my closet, scrounging for some clothes to wear to work. I wondered about how one might look, wrapped loosely around my neck with the black long sleeved tailor shirt I had picked out.

Hmmm.

But, for some reason, I didn't feel confident enough. Somehow, I needed to think this accessory option through more and I just didn't have the time.

But then again, spontaneity in accessorizing can sometimes be a lovely thing. So many options with these lovely things like broaches, scarves, headbands and bangles - we are blessed to have such things in our drawers and closets.

Now to have the confidence to wear them? Now that is a lovely thing.

News of the Weird

PHEW . . .

At least it was a terrier-chihuahua cross-breed

Python Eats Australian Family Dog

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

(02-27) 19:16 PST BRISBANE, Australia (AP) --

A 16-foot python stalked a family dog for days before swallowing the pet whole in front of horrified children in the Australian tropics, animal experts said Wednesday.

The boy and girl, ages 5 and 7, watched as the scrub python devoured their silky terrier-Chihuahua crossbreed Monday at their home near Kuranda in Queensland state.

Stuart Douglas, owner of the Australian Venom Zoo in Kuranda, said scrub pythons typically eat wild animals such as wallabies, a smaller relative of the kangaroo, but sometimes turn to pets in urban areas.

"It actively stalked the dog for a number of days," Douglas said.

"The family that owned the dog had actually seen it in the dog's bed, which was a sign it was out to get it," he added.

"They should have called me then, but (the snake) got away and three or four days later, I was called and went around and removed it" after the dog had been killed, Douglas said.

By the time Douglas arrived, all that could be seen of the dog was its hind legs and tail.

The zoo manager, Todd Rose, said pythons squeeze their prey to death before swallowing it whole. The 5-year-old dog would have been suffocated within minutes.

"The lady who was there threw some plastic chairs at the snake, but you've got to remember that this is about 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of aggressive muscle," Rose said.

Removing the half-swallowed dog could have harmed or even killed the python, Rose said, because dogs have sharp teeth and claws that could do the snake internal damage if it were wrenched out.

The snake was still digesting the dog at the zoo Wednesday. It will soon be relocated to the bush, Douglas said.

American Idols

Though I have yet to watch the girls compete tonight, I have narrowed it to six - the top being my favorite :)

Manners, please . . .

Sheesh - I have a rude dog.

Not only does he tip over his food bowl, scattering kibbles EVERYWHERE, but after breakfasting this morning, he proceeded to move upstairs in full barrel force only to plop at my slippered feet and emit a great "BURRP" in my presence. . .

And he didn't say 'excuse me' . . .

Wind-sweeping

Its about that time when I would (once upon a time, in a dedicated and disciplined moment) rise, and go sweat bullets at the gym. Then, greater wisdom called me back to bed; bodies need sleep too.

So I sleep. I woke this morning on the early side to find my dog snuggled on the bed at my feet (?!) and the sound of the wind was hollow and exciting outside. . . I couldn't let the moment escape me. After picking up my windswept garbage outside and re-stacking the cans for trash pick-up, I made some tea and here I sit - at 4:30 am.

A magical thing happened last night, and I am not talking about the Spur's win over the Hawks ;)

While the night lay in a quiet slumber, a bold front of cold air pushed away the 90 degree heatwave we were having. The early morning sky is streaked in wispy trails of clouds, and the strong winds did some earth-scattering around my neighborhood. The air turned crisp, cool and inviting. I might go back to bed and snuggle for a little longer, but this was certainly worth waking up for. . .

Rock Water

As I was perusing some liturgy readings this morning, one struck me as so appropriately perfect for my struggling attitude toward life right now. Exodus 17:1-7 - I am one to often compare myself to a rebellious Israelite, not compliant and willing to follow the leader who was chosen by God to guide them out of wilderness and into the Promiseland.
What a daunting task, to lead a grumbling nation who doubted you . . . Moses was doing what God had called him to do. He had no special wisdom, no super power in and of himself to even know where the next step would take them.

He didn't feel equipped to do it, but God was equipping him as he went. The people cursed him and balked his leadership. And yet, he trusted. He trusted the God of his fathers, and he believed that God would get them there.

I may not be a grumbling nation, but I can be a grumbling wife to my own Moses. When I complain and test my husband, I make his road harder. His is a road full of great responsibility and roadblocks that he has to overcome, and the desire of my life is to encourage him and strengthen him through this journey by serving him. But I am a poor example of this. I only fall on my knees once again and ask for his forgiveness and God's forgiveness.

And then I remember how faithful God is, to a grumbling nation -

All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin
by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but
there was no water for the people to drink. 2Therefore the people quarreled with
Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you
quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?" 3But the people thirsted there for
water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up
out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" 4So
Moses cried to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost
ready to stone me."

5And the LORD said to Moses, "Pass on before the people,
taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff
with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there
on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of
it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of
Israel. 7And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the
quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying,
"Is the LORD among us or not?"

**He, the faithful God who gave the Israelites water from the rock, is our Rock who sent his Son to be struck so that His saving blood would flow over us, cleansing and purifying our sinfulness and lack of faith.**

Cornbread

I love cornbread.

I could eat mounds and mounds of it, daily if I had a chance. (Good thing I don't! ;)

This recipe from allrecipes.com was so good, so sweet and yummy that it could even stand on its own two feet without butter and honey. But then again, I guess that's just my opinion ;)


Grandmother's (not mine, somebody's) Buttermilk Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.