A Plunger is No Match for Paper Towels...

So last night Haylee spilled some juice on the carpet.  Eric and I were playing a video game and paused it long enough for me to soak up the spill with some paper towels.  Since there was only a couple minutes left in the video game we were playing, I (stupidly) decided to lay my paper towels down on the floor next to me while we finished up.  After we were done, I was planning on throwing the towels away and then it was bedtime for us all.

As we were turning off the game system, Haylee came running out to me exclaiming, quite proudly, that she had gone "ducky" (her way of saying "poopy"...haha).  She drug me to the bathroom to show me her accomplishment and, sure enough...there was 'ducky' in the potty...along with the pile of paper towels I had used a few minutes earlier to soak up spilled juice. 

Before I realized what was happening, Haylee reached up and flushed the toilet.  You can imagine what happened next.  The toilet bowl filled up and came so close to overflowing I felt myself holding my breath and backed Haylee and myself toward the door.  Luckily all the goodies stayed put in the toilet where they belonged, but now we had a commode out of commission.  (Thank goodness our master bathroom was still functioning properly!  I'm thinking that three people and no toilets would be pretty disastrous!)

I grabbed the plunger and got to work, but to no avail.  I never quite realized just how much I was lacking in upper body strength until last night...  Eric came in and gave it a shot, but apparently paper towels are a lot stronger than plungers and men...  By this time we were all beyond frustrated and felt like we needed to call this guy in for reinforcements:

But we decided to let it sit overnight instead, thinking maybe the paper towels would have broken down by then and we could plunge our way to victory in the morning.  But victory didn't come in the morning.  After plunging for what seemed like forever yet again...our toilet was still clogged.  It was time to get out the computer and get to googling...  Eric used to make fun of me and my google obsession.  Any time we had a question about something, I would always reply with, "I don't know, but let me google it."  He now knows that, while it may seem comical, I can generally find an answer (or 10) to our problems. 

So this morning, when I was looking for ideas to unclog a paper-toweled toilet, I saw one that seemed ridiculously simple enough to possibly work.  It required squirting a bunch of dish soap into your toilet and then following it up with a big pot of almost boiling hot water.  I added the soap and filled up the biggest pot we had with water and waited for it to boil.  Since I had a pretty difficult time carrying our pot the short distance from our sink to the stove (I woke up in some major pain this morning and lifting that pot probably wasn't the best thing for me to do...haha), I figured it would be best to wait till Eric got home and let him dump the water in the toilet.

When he got home, I told him about my plan and he figured (as did I) that it was worth a shot.  He poured the pot of water in the bowl and we just sat there and stared for a minute or two.  Nothing seemed to be happening.  I remembered reading that some people had to pour a couple pots in before it worked.  There were others who thought it was best to let the hot water sit in the toilet for a little bit before trying to plunge.  We decided to let the water sit and see what happened. 

So while our toilet was taking a bath, we did some coloring with Haylee and ate a quick lunch.  Then back to the bathroom it was.  Still didn't seem to be much of a change, so Eric got the plunger and got to work.  After a couple minutes we thought it wasn't going to work, but all of a sudden we heard the lovely sound of our toilet flushing!  Now, not only is our toilet unclogged - but our bathroom smells wonderfully soapy as well...  When it was all said and done, Eric looked at the toilet, then at me and said, "So Dawn dish soap, huh?  Seems pretty handy to have..."

Yes, Eric.  Yes, it is.  Along with wonderful husbands who are willing to carry pots of boiling water to the bathroom....and plunge like their lives depended on it...

Our White Trash Christmas Tree

Do you have your Christmas Tree up yet?  Some people (like my husband and his family) put their trees up the day after Thanksgiving.  Some other people (like me and my family) put their trees up kind of as an afterthought and whenever they feel like dragging all the decorations out.  It's been interesting for my husband and I to meld our two worlds and completely different ways of doing things together - but it's been fun! 

We decided to go ahead and put up our tree the day after Thanksgiving.  But that's about all we did...  While we do have some other super cute decorations gracing our counter top, our tree....it's about as bare as bare can be.  Now, don't misunderstand - we attempted putting decorations on it, but our dear sweet 2 year old thought they looked better in her hands...and on the floor...and mixed in with her toys...  So back in their boxes they went and I now stare at our 6 foot white Christmas tree with nothing on it but a big red bow at the top and 1 ornament directly under it (apparently we missed that one...).  And we have no lights on it because....well, I'm just too lazy and get waaaay too frustrated when putting them on.  (Eric and I have already agreed that our next tree will be prelit.) 

While it may look a little silly to some, I actually enjoy the simplicity of our tree as it is.  But even still, we plan on doing something more with it eventually.  I actually found an idea online that makes your Christmas tree look like a snowman!  How cute would that be?!  And since our tree is already white, I figured this was something we just had to do!  But alas, doing so requires us to make a paper mache snowman head...which requires a stash of newspapers and such...which we just so happened to throw out recently...  So we are in the process of collecting more.  Hopefully we will have enough soon and I can post about how that whole ordeal turns out.  In the meantime, I'll tell you about our other 'Christmas tree.' 

Because we are expecting to move sometime in the next few months, we originally decided against putting any of our Christmas decorations up.  We figured it wasn't worth the hassle of putting up, just to have to pack them all up for our move...along with everything else in our house.  But my oh-so-wise husband shared with me how he thought we should bite the bullet and go ahead and decorate for our daughter.  She's at the age now where all the decorations excite and mesmerize her.  I knew he was right, which is why we now have a naked tree in our living room.

But before we decided to decorate, I was spending a lot of time trying to figure out alternative ideas (i.e. crafts that would keep the little one busy but also double as festive decorations).  It wasn't long before I found this Christmas tree alternative online.  I remember thinking that it looked so beautifully simple and that I had to make it.  The original one was made with coffee filters, I believe.  I, however, have a Keurig and do not own coffee filters.  And I couldn't see the point in buying a box of filters, just to use a few for a tree that would only be hanging on our wall for a month.  But Styrofoam plates I did have! 

Originally, I simply planned on trying to recreate what I saw in the picture, but Eric has never been big on all white and said he thought we should paint our plates green.  (You may be wondering why in the world we have a white Christmas tree if my husband doesn't like it.  The answer is simple: Eric knows that I like white trees....and it was majorly on sale at the time...haha)  So we took his painted plates idea and just ran with it.  We got a good two days worth of fun with the little one out of it! 

"Wait, you want me to stick my hands in THAT?!"

This was right before she decided to decorate her pants with a green hand print...haha

Mommy helped her paint a few plates as well, then we set them on the counter to dry.  The next day I set about making some ornaments for Haylee to decorate.  Eric had mentioned that we should have let her paint different colors on the tree as ornaments, but I had already cut a bunch of shapes out of computer paper and wasn't about to just toss em...  But I think his way would have looked super cute as well! 

I just drew some freehand shapes and cut them out.  Don't make fun...the Good Lord blessed me with many talents, but drawing was NOT one of them...  (The one on the bottom right reminds me of a potato...haha)

Then I decided to trace some mini Christmas cookie cutters that I had.  I thought these came out super duper cute, but Haylee seemed to enjoy coloring the bigger decorations a little bit more...

Perhaps my favorite method was cutting out ornament shapes on my Silhouette Cameo - which I absolutely LOVE!  Of course, this would require you to actually have one of these blessed machines (or at least something like it). 

Our decorating tools...

I think Haylee would have really enjoyed the glitter glue pens, but they just weren't working like I imagined they would.  I have to say, I was extremely disappointed since I figured they would add a nice 'pop' to the tree.  Even though the package stated that they had "no clog tips," three of the nine brand new pens came straight out of the package clogged...and they just so happened to be the most Christmas-y colors (go figure).  If that wasn't enough, the glitter all seemed to be settled at the bottom of the pen with most of the glue near the tip.  Nothing I did seemed to help the two mix and all we got was a lot of glue with very little glitter. 

The colored pencils would have been okay, but Haylee was coloring so lightly that we could hardly see her drawings...  The markers seemed to be her favorite option.  Crayons probably would have worked nicely, as well, but we couldn't find ours.  I could have sworn I got some pictures of Haylee coloring the ornaments, but apparently I didn't.  I did, however, get a shot of what happens when you attempt to stick a green marker in your mouth and move just a *tad* bit quicker than mommy and daddy can to stop you... 

She's so proud!  This was after daddy had already wiped some off.  It was much more vivid in color before that...haha

After the ornaments were done, Haylee gave the green plates to daddy in the order she thought they should be hung on the wall.  At first we only had green for the tree, but realized after the fact that we should have made a couple brown plates for the trunk, so daddy took care of that.  We only had brown markers, so they didn't show up as good as the paint, but I think it still came out well!  I have to say, it was a lot of fun and a great family activity! 

Our Christmas Tree in all of it's glory!

The Power of an Encouraging Wife

So, although you cannot see me, I can almost guarantee that I won't be able to get through this entire post without shedding some tears and this probably won't be a very 'happy-go-lucky' blog entry.  I apologize in advance for that.  But God has really been working on my heart lately when it comes to my duties as a wife.  I recently purchased the book My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife by Sara Horn.  This book is a lot like a year long journal, chronicling Sara's voyage as she attempts to be a Proverbs 31 Wife (or as she so affectionately refers to her: Martha 31). 

Reading this book really has me re-evaluating exactly how I believe God wants me to act as a wife.  It has me thinking of things I have neglected around the house that I should probably pay some sort of attention to (which I will probably talk more in-depth about in a later blog...).  It has me thinking of things I can do to make my husband's life a little easier.  But most importantly, it has me thinking of how I can better perform my 'spiritual' calling as a wife - more specifically, how I can be an encouragement to my husband.  Proverbs 31:12 says "She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life."  To me, one of the first things I thought of when I read this was how I could bring my husband "good" by encouraging him more often. 

You see, my husband has been in the US Army for 9 years.  It was always his dream to be in the military.  I hear stories all the time of how Eric would always 'play Army' as a kid, decorate his room in camouflage, and pretty much eat, sleep, and breathe military stuff.  So it wasn't a big surprise when he joined the military straight out of high school.  By that time, his dream had become a little more specific: become an infantryman.  Which he did.  From 2005-2006 he was deployed to Iraq and during that time sustained quite a few combat-related injuries.
 
Fast forward a handful of years...Eric's ailments have seriously affected, not only his life as a soldier, but his everyday life as well.  He can no longer meet most of the physical requirements a soldier has to meet.  Because of this, he is, more or less, being forced into a medical retirement.  I'm pretty sure that some people think this is something that could have been avoided and is only happening because we wanted it to happen - but nothing could be further from the truth.  We both planned and assumed that Eric being in the military would be a lifelong thing, so realizing that this dream was no longer an option was a serious blow to both of us. 

I've been told numerous times by my dad that Eric needs to try to stay in if at all possible and how the economy is absolutely horrible and finding a job is just that much harder....all things I know.  But I have chosen to be optimistic and try to keep my head up.  Why?  Because as hard as it is and as much as it sucks...I know that God has a plan for our lives and that everything will eventually be alright.  I sometimes think that people misinterpret my optimism for immature ignorance, but that's not the case at all. 

Eric, however, has a harder time staying optimistic.  I think that part of it is just because of his nature, but also feel that the majority of it has to do with the fact that he is the provider for our family and automatically has that much more pressure on his shoulders.  I know that a big part of him feels as though he is a failure.  I can't tell you how many times Eric has asked me if I was disappointed in him for not being able to stay in the Army - which is absolutely absurd!  I am so incredibly proud of my husband and how he has handled everything he has had to endure! 

It is extremely heart breaking to see him come home from work each and every day beaten down and dejected.  You see, Eric seems to be pretty harshly judged for the things he can't do, rather than the things that he can.  I've even heard close friends of ours make judgmental comments - as if this is all just one big charade that Eric is putting on - and as much as it irks me, I know it must bother Eric.  It is because of this that I have felt led to be as much of an encouragement to my husband as possible. 

We've known that this medical retirement was coming for quite some time now (probably close to 2 years) but it has just recently been kicked into high gear and we're estimating that we may very well be living civilian lives here in just a few short months.  While getting out of the military isn't something we wanted...after waiting for the inevitable for so long, we are honestly looking forward to closing this chapter in our lives and finally being able to move on to the next. 

But as with any change in life, we are met with a lot of questions and uncertainty.  Thankfully, we have been provided with a place to live - which was quite possibly one of our greatest concerns.  The new major concern: jobs.  Will Eric be able to get a job after we move?  He has bad hearing and is required to wear hearing aids (and the doctors say that they wouldn't be surprised if in the near future he winds up completely deaf), which means that another one of his dreams (being a pilot) is out of the question. 

Doctors have also told him that he is not allowed to lift over 20 pounds (try telling a proud and loving father that when he comes home from work and is met at the door by his daughter with her arms outstretched for him, that he probably shouldn't pick her up...just watch the sadness wash over his face) - that alone crosses a ton of job opportunities off of his list.  If he can't find a job, will I be able to?  I'm trained for nothing - will anybody really want to hire me?  While I am concerned about these things as well, I know that they weigh heavily on my husbands shoulders.

On my endeavor to be an encouragement to my husband, I took a closer look at Proverbs 31: 26: "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."  Where do I find my wisdom and faithful instruction?  The Bible, of course!  And while I have tried to never say anything discouraging to Eric, I know that sometimes saying nothing at all can be just as much of a discouragement.  So a few days ago, I decided to use Facebook as a way of encouraging my husband.  Each morning I plan on posting a scripture verse to his wall that I think will speak to him.  Today was day 4. 

When looking online for other ideas of how I can be an encouragement to the man who means more to me that anything on this earth...I found this 30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge from Revive Our Hearts.  I think I will add this to my Scripture-a-Day.  One of the challenges is to go the entire 30 days without saying anything negative to or about your husband.  This one really got me.  In my quest to be encouraging, I have felt myself becoming very cranky - especially the past couple weeks.  Last night was horrible.  Everything was making me upset and I was losing my patience very easily. 

Some people may say, "You're pregnant.  You're literally down to your last few weeks and your hormones are going crazy.  It's alright - you have an excuse..."  But while mere man may understand and justify my actions, I do not feel that God is pleased when I act this way.  I used to say all the time, "I can't help it!" when I was in a bad mood and would act accordingly.  My dad was always one to reply with, "Yes you can, you just don't want to."  (Yeah, smart guy, my dad...) 

The bottom line is, I still have control over how I react to things.  Eric has always told me that the only thing he cares about is making sure that his family is happy.  When I'm cranky, I know that Eric interprets my actions to mean that I'm unhappy, which in turn makes him feel like he's not doing a good job of being a husband, friend, and father.  So if I want to be an encouragement to my husband, I know that being grouchy is not a good way of doing that (whether I'm showering scripture on him or not). 

So pray for me.  Pray that I can be there for my husband the way that he has always been there for me.  Pray that my attitude will help to put him a little more at ease.  Pray that, with time, peace will come...for both of us.  Because, I have to admit: right now, at this moment, all that me and my optimistic self wants to do is crawl into the corner, curl into a ball, and cry....

Hey, we all have our moments... 

Say What?! Cauliflower Soup???

On one of my last posts I mentioned that cauliflower soup was on the menu.  It's yet another thing that I have discovered on pinterest.  I've never been real fan of cauliflower - I can get it down no problem, but it's not exactly something I have to have...  But, I figured the recipe seemed simple enough and looked to be more on the 'healthy' side, so why not give it a shot? 

The end result was something very unexpected!  I love love LOVE this soup!  I mean, it is seriously my favorite soup of all time, at the moment!  You can find the original recipe here.  I made some changes based on what I had on hand and the fact that I was too lazy to actually cook and add the bacon...  But even with the changes, it still came out 'oh-so-delish!'

Not much is needed for this recipe at all!  Just cauliflower, chicken broth, (and if you so choose) cheese and bacon!  First thing I did was steam my cauliflower in a countertop steamer Eric bought for me a couple Christmases ago.  You can always do it on the stove or even in the microwave if need be. 

The thing that really attracted me to this soup was the fact that they called it a "creamy" cauliflower soup.  I LOVE me some creamy soups!  The only downfall, however, is that most creamy soups call for cream (no, really?!) of some kind and that makes the calories go waaay up.  And they normally just don't taste the same when subbing milk instead.  When looking at the recipe, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was no cream needed at all, just chicken broth! 

So after my cauliflower was steamed I simply put it all in a blender and added my broth.  Now, I didn't have chicken broth on hand, so I just put some water and then sprinkled in some boullion powder.  Mine was actually beef flavored, I believe.  Add as much or as little water as you want to get your desired consistency.  Mine looked kind of like liquidy mashed potatoes by the time I was done. 

Now you can stop here, by all means, if you want!  I enjoyed the soup exactly how it was at this point, but I could still taste a little bit of cauliflower and knew that this wouldn't fly with the hubby.  So this is when I decided to add some cheese.  The original recipe called for some gorgonzola cheese as a garnish, but all I had was mozzarella.  I actually threw my cheese in the blender with the soup and pulsed it a few times.  The taste after my mozzarella addition: out of this world!!  I couldn't believe how much better it tasted simply by adding a little bit of cheese (but then, we all know that cheese makes EVERYTHING taste better... haha). 

As I said earlier, I was too lazy too cook up the bacon, so just left it out.  However, I did NOT see the tip on the original recipe that said you can cook your bacon in the microwave - I may have actually tried it if I had seen it!  If the cheese made it taste as good as it did, I can only imagine what the addition of bacon would have done! 

Anyway, when I was serving up the soup, I added some more mozzarella to the bowls and let it melt on top.  Unless you like a big stringy, gloopy mess, I do not reccommend this.  It was much better when it was simply blended into the soup.  (But I'm sure other cheeses would be just fine sprinkled on top...) 

Eric (somehow) managed to get by with only taking one bite of the soup.  (It was his birthday, so I let it slide...)  He said it wasn't his favorite, but it wasn't bad either.  I'll take it - that guy is almost impossible to please when it comes to food!  haha  =) 

I tried to give Haylee some, but her "that's-something-healthy-for-me" radar must have been going off cause she absolutely refused to open her mouth to take a bite.  But I (being the big, bad, horrible mother that I am) forced some in anyway.  After she painstakingly swallowed that tiny drip of cauliflower soup, do you know what her response was?

"More, more, more.  Pleeeeeeaaaaase?!"

I'm dead serious!  After that, I couldn't spoon the stuff into her mouth fast enough!  Eric thought it was funny.  I was regretting having her try it in the first place, cause the little stinker was eating all my soup - and FAST...  The next day, Haylee and I had some leftover soup at lunchtime.  She loved it, yet again.  No lie - after every bite she would say, "mmmmm, yummy!" 

So go try some cauliflower soup...and soon!  You won't regret it!  At least I'm pretty sure you won't.  And if you do...Haylee will always eat your leftovers...  =)

Homemade Miracle Cleaner

I’m not big on cleaning.  Don’t get me wrong, I love having clean things…but I generally get fed up with the amount of time, elbow grease, and/or money for cleaning products required to do the job. However, when I do take the time to clean something, I am overcome with pride and the feeling that I can conquer anything.  But that feeling soon fades when something else becomes soiled and I am faced, yet again, with the grueling task of scrubbing till my knuckles bleed.

I always felt that if I could simply find a cleaning product that was inexpensive, actually worked, and didn’t require much on my part…I might actually clean more often.  Well, on one of my Pinterest searches one day, I found what looked to be a very promising homemade cleaning concoction. 

Maybe you’ve seen it.  The mixture of Dawn dish washing liquid and hydrogen peroxide that claims to be one of the only spot removers you will ever need!  But if you’re like me, repinning the idea was about as far as you got and you have no clue if the stuff actually works or not.  If that is the case – wonder no longer!  I decided to actually try some of the things I had pinned on my boards and this spot remover was one of the first things on my list!

After doing a load of laundry the other day, I noticed that there was a cloth wipe that had some not-so-pretty spots on it. 

I won’t go into detail about what the spots were from…I’ll just tell you that I’m a cloth diapering mama and leave the rest to your imagination…  :)  While I’m sure the wipe was perfectly clean and sanitary, I shudder at the thought of having something that looked so…yucky!  Naturally, I deemed this a perfect time to try out my new recipe. 

1 part Dawn Dishwashing Liquid (the original blue kind)

2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide

Mix together and pour directly on the stain.

The website also says that if it is a big stain, you can always add the mixture to a bucket of hot water and submerse your stained item in it.  I actually chose to mix mine in a spray bottle and just squirt it onto my wipe.  I probably didn’t have to put as much as I did, but I didn’t want to go through the whole process just to find out I needed more…so I opted to douse the thing and let the mixture do its job. 

I’m not going to lie – I am a very impatient person and after about a minute or two of waiting, I decided to give the wipe a little rub to agitate the mixture and then rinse it out.  And since I am a big fan of “before and after” photos…

I was so excited!  Ecstatic!  Over the moon with happiness!  So much so, that I ran to the living room to get my daughter’s Princess chair.  She’s had it for over a year now and you can definitely tell that it is well loved.  From food stains, to milk stains, to “what-in-the-world-could-that-possibly-be?!” stains…this chair has definitely seen better days. 

I doused the entire chair with my miracle cleaner and then let it sit.  Because this seemed like it would be a harder job, I left it alone for a bit longer (albeit, just a little bit longer…).  After waiting for what seemed like an eternity (but was probably less than 10 minutes), I took a rag and started rubbing little circles on the soiled areas.  I have no clue if this is “proper” or not, but when I was finished I didn’t try to rinse it off in any way.  I just wiped off the excess foam from my light scrubbing, then sat back and admired the fruits of my labor.

It’s not 100% perfect, but by golly – it’s pretty close!  I’m thinking that another cleaning or two will have this chair looking like new!  I should probably mention that this is not the first time I have attempted cleaning this chair.  I tried a couple other things that seemed simple enough, but just didn’t deliver.  If anything, they made things worse.  I was planning on trying out a recipe I found that called for whipping Dawn dishwashing liquid in my Kitchenaid mixture until it took on the consistency of whipped cream…but that was just waaaay more work than I really cared to do. 

I can honestly say, however, that this new little combination has me thinking of other things I can use it on.  Those spots of fruit punch that have been on the carpet for the last year and a half…they’re next.  Along with the white shirt that me and my clumsy self splattered buffalo wing sauce all over.  I’m even thinking of attacking the dingy looking grout in our bathroom to see if maybe, just maybe, it will work on that as well.  I hate to say it but…I think I’m starting to like cleaning!!

The Only Mistake God Ever Made...

A couple weeks ago Eric got a bad (and I mean BAD) case of food poisoning.  I honestly don't think he went longer than an hour without running to the bathroom to toss his cookies - poor thing...  =(  After 12 hours of this (this all started at 6 in the morning), we finally decided to take him to the emergency room.  Don't ask why it took us so long to do the obvious - I honestly couldn't tell ya.  I just know that I regret not going sooner... 

Anyway, as I was rushing to get myself, Haylee, and two (yes TWO) rather large diaper bags ready for our trip to the ER (you never know how long you'll be there and/or what you'll need with a little one, after all!), I heard Eric's shaky call coming from the bathroom.  After running to the bathroom (actually, I'm not sure if you can call what I did running - it was probably more like a super brisk waddle), Eric informed me that he felt like he was about to pass out.  Knowing that there was no way possible that my big ole pregnant self would be able to lift him up and somehow manage to get him to the van, I told him that I thought we needed to call an ambulance.  I was very shocked and surprised when he actually agreed, since under normal circumstances he would come back with a "I'm okay, babe.  I'll be alright." 

So, long story short - after the ambulance arrived and carried him off to the ER, 2-3 hours of IV's and tests, and 5 stickers and a grape popsicle later (for Haylee of course... ;) ), we were told that my poor hubby was so severly sick and dehydrated because of food poisoning.  We were sent home with instructions on what to eat and what not to eat and a prescription to get filled.  Since it was late at night (and I wasn't about to make Eric wait till the next day to get his medicine), the only pharmacy open was at the Walgreens in Enterprise. 

So after fighting with Haylee to get her to go night-night (that little booger despises bedtime *sigh*), trying to make sure Eric had everything he needed for my not-so-long absence while I was at the pharmacy, and then frantically rushing about trying to remember where exactly I decided to put my keys when we walked in the door...I finally started making my way to the van. 

But that's when it happened. 

There, above the door (which has ridiculously large gaps between it and the door frame, I might add), sat one of the largest, ugliest, and most cockiest roaches I have ever seen in my life!  I suppose I should tell you that I absolutely DETEST roaches and I am seriously scared of the little boogers.  One of my biggest fears goes something like this:

There is a roach on the floor.  I step on it with my shoed foot.  But the nasty thing doesn't die and somehow squirms out from under my shoe and proceeds to climb up my leg. 

You may think it's stupid, but it's one of my fears all the same...  I realize that there is a reason for everything that God made, but I really can't figure out what a roach's purpose is.  I know God doesn't make mistakes, but I sometimes wonder what He was thinking when he made roaches. 

Anyway, you may be wondering why I said it was a cocky roach.  The reason: because, I could just tell!  That and the fact that the stupid thing cleverly decided to perch himself just out of reach...and it's like he knew how completely terrified I was of him and even more so terrified that attempting to whack him with a fly swatter would result with him jumping off the wall and onto me, which would then result with my husband waking up in the morning to find me dead on the kitchen floor. 

Normally, I would scream for Eric that there was a roach and he would coming running to my rescue (okay, more like casually strolling while laughing and rolling his eyes...same difference, right?).  This night, however, my handsome knight in shining armor was fast asleep in bed after an absolutely exhausting day and I probably wouldn't have had any luck rousing him.  (Is it horrible of me, that after all he went through, I was still tempted to try and wake him up so he could kill the big bad roach for me???)  So I did what I deducted I had no choice to do...drag out the step stool, grab the fly swatter, and attempt to kill the stupid thing. 

And attempt was all I did. 

After about 5 minutes of me shakily standing on the step stool, trying to figure out how close I needed to be while still being as far as way as possible, and letting out many many whimpers (how pathetic am I?), I finally mustered up the courage to take a swing at the thing.  Which ended up being a swing and a miss and resulted in me following the roach all around our kitchen and living room as he so cleverly stayed at the very top of the wall, making it that much harder for me to kill him.  Eventually, he made his way to a section of our house that made it impossible for me to even attempt to kill him.  After telling the roach exactly what I thought of him, I finally gave up and decided to just head to the pharmacy. 

I remember thinking how incredibly sad it was that as stressful, hectic, and tiring as our day was - it was the thought of a roach in my house that made me want to cry.  No, scratch that - not cry...I wanted to weep.  Great big body-shaking sobs!  As I fought back the tears, I couldn't help but think of 2 Timothy 1:7.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

Call me crazy if you want to.  I realize I wasn't being fearful of something 'big' like death or bankruptcy or a failed marriage - it was just a roach!  But the entire drive to the pharmacy had me playing images in my mind of how this roach would find me while I was sleeping (that is if I could even fall asleep knowing he was in the hosue...) and then crawl all over me...then crawl in my mouth, or ear, or nose.  *shudder*  Or he would crawl on the ceiling in our bathroom and then jump on me when I needed a potty break...  *shudder once again* 

After playing every possible scenario of what this (ultimately) harmless little bug could do to me, I started to think of how stupid it was that I was literally living my life in fear over something so silly.  But I couldn't help how I felt.  Then I realized (again, call me crazy if you want) that my fear of roaches was something that I had never prayed about before.  Maybe because I thought it would almost seem like a sin to waste God's time over something so small and insignificant.  But I had to remind me that God loved me and wanted me to share with him my fears and to ask for His help. 

So for the first time in my 26 years of living, while driving to the pharmacy, I prayed that God would take away my fear of roaches.  Simple as that.  Actually, it was probably more like begging God to take away my fear of roaches.  And do you know what I felt after praying?

Nothing.

There was no overwhelming sense of peace.  No voice from Heaven calling down to reassure me that everything would be okay.  No way whatsoever for me to know (really know) if God had answered my prayer or not.  I would simply have to wait till the next time I encountered a roach to know for sure (which wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to...). 

Fast forward a couple weeks...I was at home, chatting away on the phone with my sister, when I walked into the kitchen to get something.  There, on the wall, was a large, ugly, cocky roach!  Was it the same one as before?  I honestly couldn't tell ya, but he definintely had the same game plan as the first one - stay as close to the ceiling as possible to make it that much harder for me to kill him. 

So I'm sure you're wondering how I reacted, felt, and handled the whole situation.  If you're not...well, you sat hear and read my ramblings for this long, so I'm gonna tell you anyway!  ;)  I can honestly say that (while a little bit nervous) I was able to climb onto the step stool and calmly whack (and KILL!) the thing with a fly swatter!  All sans whimpering!  AND while still on the phone with my sister.  Talk about multitasking at it's best!  ;) 

Maybe it's not a big deal to you.  Maybe you think I need to be admitted to a psych ward.  But I can honestly say that I feel like God has answered my prayer!  Now, that's not to say that if/when I see a roach in the future, I won't assign my husband to the task of killing it...but I really think that I'm on the road to recovery! 

----

On a completely unrelated note: Today is the day that I mentioned in my last blog - Eric's birthday!  On the menu today is potato chip chicken (one of his favorites) with potatoes and cauliflower soup.  It's his day for Haylee and I to spoil him to pieces...and what did he have waiting for me when I stepped out of the shower?  A towel and robe that he warmed up for me in the dryer...Even on his birthday, he still thinks of me and does the sweetest things!

Gosh, I love him!  =)  *blush*

What I Love about the One I Love...

It’s November!  The month of turkeys, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.  The month of leaves changing colors and raining to the ground.  The month when people rush out for Black Friday and then dig around their attics for Christmas decorations.  But there’s something else very special about this month.  What is it?  This is the month that my dear, sweet, way too good to me husband was born!  (Didn’t see that one coming did ya?)  =)  Yes, it’s true.  Eric (that’s my hubby, for those of you who didn’t know…) is turning 26 in a couple of weeks!

I have recently been spending waaaay too much time on Pinterest.  (I know it seems like I just jumped from one topic to another, but go with me on this one…it’ll all make sense in a minute…haha)  I stinkin’ LOVE that site!  I now know what people were talking about when they said they had to allot a specific amount of time that they were allowed to spend on Pinterest…otherwise they didn’t get anything done. 

This was totally me the past few nights!  Either I wasn’t quite tired yet or (as was the case last night) I had to stay up to make sure Eric’s uniform was put in the dryer so he didn’t have to go to work sopping wet in the morning (apparently the Army looks down on that…).  I, naturally, deemed this a perfect time to do some pinning!  =)  It wasn’t long before I found a bunch of things that I thought would be perfect for Eric!  (See, I told you it would all tie in together!)  From gift ideas to cake ideas to activities I thought he would love to do with Haylee… 

**As a side note: Eric actually told me yesterday that when he gets home from work tonight, he would sit down with me and let me show him all of my pins on Pinterest.  I know he has absolutely no desire whatsoever to do this, but he’s willing cause he knows I love it…isn’t he just the sweetest?!  Yeah, I have the best hubby EVER!  ;)

As I was looking at everything, it got me thinking about everything I have learned about Eric over the past 5 years.  All of his likes and dislikes.  All of the little quirky things that drive me crazy, yet (at the same time) are the reasons why I love him so much.  This, in turn, got me thinking about the “About Me” lists that were going around on Facebook a while back.  You know the one I’m talking about!  The one that tells you to write “XX” amount of facts about yourself that others may not know about you.  Don’t roll your eyes – you know you filled out that list too…  ;)  Anyway, as I was making a mental list of all the little things that make my husband uniquely my husband…I decided to make an “About Eric” list.  =)  Call it a weird way of expressing my thankfulness to God for my hubby…(It is Thanksgiving time, after all!)  =)

So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to….My husband, Eric!

1.       His middle name is Daniel.

2.      He has brown hair.

3.      He has this callick/cowlick that makes his hair do something funky when it gets a little too long.  He hates it, I think it’s cute… =)

4.      I can count on one hand the amount of times in the 4 years that we’ve been married that he has gone out in public without shaving first.  He DESPISES leaving the house without first (1) taking a shower, (2) brushing his teeth, (3) shaving, and (4) putting on a pair of jeans or Khaki shorts and a polo or button up shirt.  Very rarely does he go out in public in a T-shirt…

5.      However, if you stop by our house unexpectedly…he will almost always be in a pair of starter shorts and a T-shirt.  (But if he knows you’re coming – he’ll quickly change…)

6.      While he doesn’t really care for seafood, he does enjoy shrimp (preferably fried), calamari, and tuna (provided it’s canned).

7.      I cannot express *just* how much he loves onions and scallions.

8.      He doesn’t really care for pasta too much (which can be frustrating since I could eat it every day…haha)

9.      I can (again) count on one hand the different fruits that he likes.  However, the only one that he will actually eat on his own without me telling him to is Watermelon. 

10.  I honestly think that it would be hazardous to his health if he were to go an entire day without joking in some way, shape, or form…  =)

11.  Once I joined Pinterest, I noticed I had a very odd obsession with wreaths.  Then Eric informed me that he doesn’t really care for wreaths…go figure!  Haha =)

12.  He would much rather stay at home and spend time with his family than go out with friends. 

13.  He loves guns and enjoys teaching me about them.  (“It’s not a silencer, babe.  It’s a suppressor.”)

14.  He is ridiculously good at playing the game Boggle. 

15.  He always makes it a point to pay attention and show interest in the things that I like.

16.  When I was a Premier Designs consultant, he would study the catalogs and remember the names of all the jewelry so he would know which piece I was talking to him about.  He was always so supportive of me and my business and would help me in any way he could. 

17.  He does not like cinnamon-y smells.

18.  He also hates the smell of vinegar.

19.  His favorite meals are: Potato Chip Chicken, Homemade Mac and Cheese, and Pad Thai.

20.  He doesn’t like the real, steeped-from-teabags, Iced Tea.  He does, however, love to drink that nasty powdered junk that claims to be tea… 

21.  He loves orange tic tacs.

22.  He doesn’t like to have his hands wet for too long because he can’t stand when his fingers get pruney…  haha

23.  He hates tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles, and mushrooms.  He loves broccoli, peas (yuck!), and corn.  He also likes green beans and carrots.

24.  He thinks that black pepper is spicy.

25.  When we go to Subway, he always always always gets a foot long Tuna on Honey Oat with lettuce and light mayo…

26.  His favorite thing to order at Chinese restaurants is Boneless Spare Ribs and Pork Fried Rice.

27.  At McDonald’s he always gets a Double Quarter Pounder.  He also always picks off his tomato and pickles and gives them to me, then puts a layer of fries on his burger before he starts eating.

28.  I am now a Scentsy Consultant and Eric’s process for choosing the scents that he wants is by picking out all of the blue ones since blue is his favorite color…haha  =)

29.  He is quite possibly the only guy I know that thinks mini vans are cool…

30.  He is currently working full time, going to school full time (majoring in Psychology), and taking another course on the side for dog training.

31.  When he talks in his sleep, he says the FUNNIEST things!  =)  He once rolled over in bed and said, “Chubby wubby, that’s where we’re at.  Chubba chubba.”  On another occasion, he asked me if his eyes were “poopilated.”  Hahahaha  =)

32.  Eric and Haylee have a hobby together – they love to look at the stars.  I think it’s so sweet!  =)

33.  His candy of choice is generally Peanut M&M’s.

34.  He has a soft spot in his heart for animals.  He will actually swerve to AVOID hitting a snake in the middle of the road.  (Yeah, he’s one of *them*…)  He will also stop to help a turtle cross the road to make sure it doesn’t get hit. 

35.  He cannot, however, stand spiders.

36.  I have to be very careful when I tell Eric about things that I would like to have in the future.  While I am just making conversation, He is taking mental notes and tries everything in his power to get me what I want in the very near future…

37.  When we were dating he would buy me plants instead of flowers because he said that flowers just die.  I, however, have never had a green thumb and the plants would die also.  So now, instead of flowers/plants he will bring me home other small things that he knows I like (Fiji water, Cheetos, candy…).  I actually find this to be much sweeter than flowers.  =) 

38.  When he brings something home for me, he always makes sure he gets something for Haylee as well.  He will usually get her a bottle of Chocolate Milk.  =)

39.  He likes to buy Haylee a piece of $1.00 candy or snack when we’re at the checkout counter.  We normally wait till we get home before we let her eat it and (more often than not) we forget about it and it sits unopened on the counter…haha

40.  When we were dating and during our first year of marriage, he hated sharing his food.  He always told me, “If you wanted one, why didn’t you just tell me?  I would have got one for you too!”  It doesn’t seem to bother him as much anymore, but I also try to stay away from his food now too…haha  =)

41.  If we ever go to a fast food burger joint, I always finish eating my fries before we get back to the house.  It used to drive him crazy, but now he will tell me, “Go ahead.  I know you want to eat them…”  =)  (In my defense, they taste better the hotter they are!)

42.  His friends know that they can count of him if they ever need anything.  He is always willing to help people out in any way that he can.

43.  He would much rather “give” than “receive.”

44.  Most cartoons will make him nauseous when he watches them (don’t ask – I ain’t got a clue…)

45.  He is one of those guys that says he likes “all kinds” of music…and actually means it!  He listens to everything: oldies, country, pop, rock, rap, r&b, heavy metal, classical, opera (yes, I said opera)…the list just goes on and on…

46.  Quite possibly one of his favorite things in the entire world is….a back scratch…  =)

47.  If he’s going to eat boxed mac and cheese – it has to be Kraft.  He doesn’t like the Velveeta brand.

48.  He doesn’t like cake, so it is pretty difficult to figure out what to make him for his birthday.  Our first year of marriage I made him a brownie and ice cream cake.  Last year I made him a Rice Krispie Treat Cake.  This year I want to ‘make’ him a Popsicle Cake…  =)

49.  Every year, around his birthday, a new Call of Duty comes out.  It now just goes without saying that this will be his birthday present…

50.  On our wedding night we forgot to pick up the basket of food they had waiting for us at the Church, so we ended up getting some McDonald’s.  We laugh about it now and will generally get McDonald’s at some point in time during our Anniversary month so we can ‘reminisce.’  Haha  =)

I could go on and on, but I figured 50 was plenty and probably about all you would want to read…  ;)  Call me crazy, but I love making lists like these – it’s a helpful reminder of all the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place.  He would probably be mortified if he found out I made an “About Eric” list but…he hardly gets online anymore unless he’s checking Fox News or doing school work so, he probably won’t ever know!  Haha  =)

What are some of the quirky things that you love about your significant other?  Single?  What things tickle you about your family?  I encourage you to take the time to really think, observe, and (ultimately) appreciate the people in your life.  What better month to do so than November – Eric’s birthday…I mean, Thanksgiving…month!  ;)

What Would You Do

My family used to listen to a lot of Country Gospel music when I was growing up.  My dad had tons of cd's and records that most kids my age would have hated to listen to.  Call me crazy, but I loved it.  I remember there were times when I was alone and I would sneak to my parent's "stereo system" which consisted of a radio (obviously) two cassette tape players (remember those things??  =)  haha), a (now) seriously dated 5 cd disk changer thingy-ma-bob, a record player, and some other stuff.  My dad was very protective of his records.  He was always used extra care with them, making sure they never got scratched.  I remember sneaking the records out to listen to.  I always made sure I was super careful cause I didn't want my dad to know I was messing with them.  Shame on me, I know...but I've repented since then - it's all good...  ;)  haha  I also remember filling the 5 disc changer up with various Country Gospel cd's and just sitting and listening. 

I always preferred the catchier upbeat songs (I WAS still a kid, after all!), but there were a few slower ones that I enjoyed as well.  One song in particular has always stuck with me.  It's an old song by Porter Wagoner.  Who is Porter Wagoner, you ask?  I ain't got a clue to be honest with ya!  haha  =)  I really don't know a thing about the guy except that he was a singer.  I couldn't tell you what other songs he sang, what his character was like, if he was a good husband or not...nothing.  What I can tell you is that this particular song has made a difference in my life.  The lyrics in this song are powerful, in my opinion! 

(What would you do

what would you do

if Jesus came
to spend some time with you)

 

If Jesus came to your house

to spend a day or two

If he came unexpectedly

I wonder what you'd do

 

When you saw him comin'

would you meet him at the door

With arms outstretched in welcome

to your heavenly visitor

 

Or would you need to change some things
before you let him in

Like burn some magazines and
put the Bibles where they'd been

 

Oh I know that you'd give your nicest room

to such an honered guest

And all the food you would serve to him
would be the very best

 

And you'd keep assuring him

that you were glad to have him there

That serving him in your home

was a joy beyond compare

 

But what about your family conversation

would it keep up its normal pace

And would you find it hard each meal

to say a table grace

 

Would you be glad to have him stay

forever on and on

Or would you sigh of great relief

when finally he had gone

 

You know it might be interesting to know the things you'd do

If Jesus came in person to spend some time with you

 

(What would you do

what would you do

if Jesus came

to spend some time with you)

The version my dad had also included the lines: "Would you be glad to have Him meet your very closests friends?  Or would you hope they'd stay away until His visit ends?"  Now, I don't know about you, but words like these really make me think!  On the actual YouTube page, the uploader of the video put a description that said, "Think about it, sinners."  I'll be honest - those four little words bugged me a little.  I know what he/she meant and the point they were trying to get across, but to me it seemed to hold more of a condemning tone than a loving one.  I have a hard time believing that I can truly reach out to people if they feel that I'm condemning and looking down on them...but that's another story entirely...

Anyway, when I hear this song, I don't think, "Oh this would be an amazing song for 'sinners' to listen to!"  No.  I actually think, "Wow, if only more BELIEVERS thought about things like this!"  The number 1 'complaint' (if you will) that I hear from 'believers in waiting'...  ;)  is that they were completely turned off by so called Christians because of the way they talked, acted, and treated others.  I have actually told Eric (talking about a non-Christian friend of mine) that the way she lived her life...she actually made a better "Christian" than a lot of real Christians I knew.  This was extrememly sad to me. 

Now, I don't mean - in any way, shape, or form - to sound judgemental.  Quite the opposite, actually.  What I want to do is to encourage you!  Speaking for myself, I know that there are many things in my life that I would change in a heartbeat if I knew Jesus was coming to spend some time with me.  I wouldn't say some of the things I do.  I wouldn't watch some of the movies I watch.  Shoot, let's face it - I wouldn't eat some of the things that I eat!  haha  =)  But you see, my choices don't just affect me.  My choices will affect my family.  My choices will affect my friends.  But most importantly, my choices will affect how people view Jesus.  I am supposed to be a 'representative' of the one I serve.  I am supposed to show others the love that Jesus has shown me.  I am supposed to strive to live the way that I think He would want me to.  I love to think about these lyrics and how I would truly act in certain situations if I had Jesus standing right next to me.  I think a lot of us would change numerous things in our day-to-day life if Jesus was right here with us.

But that's just the thing!  Jesus IS right here with us!  He will never leave us.  He will never forsake us.  He knows exactly how we act at every moment of every day.  He sees every little thing we do, even when we think we are alone.  He knows every thought we think, even before we think it.  He knows that I am a flawed human being.  He knows that I am a screw up.  He knows that no matter how hard I try, I will never get it all completely right.  He knows that the mistakes I made today, I am probably going to make again tomorrow. 

What do I know?  I know that, even though I make gigantic, horrible, what sometimes seem like irreversible mistakes....He still loves me. 

HE loves ME! 

The Creator of the Universe - the One who holds that very same Universe in the palm of His hand - THAT GUY....He loves me!  He takes me just the way that I am, flaws and all.  Am I a better person than I once was?  I'd like to think so.  Am I perfect?  Absolutely NOT!  But I walk daily with a God who helps me to make the right choices.  A God who guides and directs my path in life.  Do I always listen to him?  Unfortunately, no.  Sometimes I think I know better.  Sometimes I am defiant and want to do the opposite of what I know I should do.  Sometimes I even think that I *gasp* don't need Him and can take care of things myself.  But through it all, He is still there, He still loves me, and He still forgives me. 

I challenge you - think about what YOU would do if Jesus were with you in the flesh.  How would you act?  What would you change?  Try to live every day as if you can actually see Jesus sitting there on your couch right next to you.  But if you screw up - He doesn't expect you to be perfect.  He knows you will make mistakes.  And He is readily willing and able to forgive you. 

And remember that through it all - HE loves YOU!