Little ditty about Jack & Diane & ......Deb!

Anxious for Fall!

I do it every year! I am ready for Fall NOW! It's not time yet, I know. But you know I am ready because today I wore pants, socks and tennis shoes. Yes, I realize it was 92 degrees out today, I don't care.............I am ready for Fall! I'm going to get out my Fall box of decorations, my favorite Fall scented candles and ready or not..........it's going to be Fall at my house! I am tired of hearing a fan blowing 24/7.............I have started unplugging it in the morning, irritated by its constant hum. I am tired of trying to keep the house cool, tired of sweating, I'm even tired of wearing my flip-flops! (This annoyance will pass, as I do wear flip-flops all year round) I am ready for those crisp, Fall mornings, turning on some livingroom lights in the evening, new Party-lite candles burning some pumpkin spice scent, and eventually a fire in the woodburner. I love the colors of Fall! The whole town has a golden hue! Oranges, yellows, magentas.........absolutely breath-taking!! I love the cozy, warm feeling of Fall. I want to hide my arms in a longer sleeved blouse, I want to wear a sweatshirt, I want to look out my window and see some green grass and brilliant colored trees! Little minor problem, using our headlights at 5:30 at night, I do not see well driving at night! I drove home from Steph's the other night after shopping for school clothes and I was truly having difficulty seeing. I think I even mentioned "I'm never driving at night again!" Maybe I will need a chaueffer! Kristen? Are you available? Oh, and the baking! Banana bread, zucinni bread, pumpkin bread, potato soup! Those of you who know me very well are thinking, "I didn't know Debbie baked..........she barely cooks!" I plan on baking this year, some yummy Fall recipes! Can't wait! Anybody else share my enthusiasm for Fall?!

Fun at the Fair!

Saturday the boys and I headed to the Fair. We were volunteering at the Friends of Nevada County Military booth from 10-1, a Scouting service project. We dropped Rob at work with the plan of meeting up with him at some point during the day. He didn't know when he would be getting off work, so the "plan" was not really one at all.....
We hit our first snag when re realized we had left our backpack at home. We had some snacks, a book for me to read if I found myself waiting for them while they were on rides, camera and we were going to put their scout uniforms in there when they were done at the booth. Nope, forgot the backpack. Bummer was, I wanted to take a picture of my nephew Donnie who had two pictures hanging in the FNCM booth. We were done with our shift, boys took off their uniforms and put them in a Farmer's Insurance plastic bag and headed out to enjoy the fair.
We headed immediately to the ...............Midway (of course)! I quickly realized my energy was depleting............fast! I watched them go on a couple rides then came up with the idea: go on two rides then come to me............I'll be sitting on this bench over there, in the shade! Yep, that was me sitting on the bench along with some other elderly people. Sitting there people watching.........felt like my Grandaddy who always found a comfy place to sit and people watch as
me, Sandy and Nannie would shop! From time to time, I'd walk around with them until I found a new place to sit, bale of hay, foot massage chair, whatever I could find.
The boys were having a great time going on rides, their favorite was the Viper. They loved it so much that they decided to get right back on it. Mistake! Here's where we hit our second snag of the day. Sean got off the ride and within a few minutes his face was white as chalk. He was weak, his eyes were rolling around and he looked like he might pass out. This began our mission "trying to get Sean out of the Fair and to the car before he barfs"! It probably took us an hour, walking.....sitting.....Sean making a "run, or fast walk" for a bathroom....walking....sitting.....bathroom.....made it out the gate....more sitting.....walk a little more......oh-ow............that Farmer's Insurance bag came in mighty handy! There was Sean throwing up in the bag (I took out the boys uniforms first). We made it to the car and I got him home but not before he had to use that bag again! Poor guy! Got him cozy and was ready to hit the third snag of the day. Rob had already been dropped off at the fair, thinking he was going to meet up with us! How? We have no cell phone, we didn't have a plan! So, Rob was walking around for a couple hours looking for us, we weren't there! So, Josh and I had to head back to the Fair, pay for parking............and start looking for Rob. After an hour or so, we met up with him. Miracle! Josh went on a couple more rides and I got my funnel cake! Yum!
All in all it was a pretty good day..............Josh had fun............Sean had fun (until he got sick).........I had a good time............got to see Donnie's pics on the wall at FNCM booth, saw Jarrett's pics on a slide show that was being shown......spent time with nice people there at the booth.... ate funnel cake, ran into some friends and saw some kids I know ............ Can't wait for next year!

Dedicated to my eldest, Steph.....who loves spiders! NOT!!

The itsy, bitsy spider climbed in my momma's ear! Momma felt a tickle and flicked the spider dear. Plop on the floor the spider did fall, now it is dead and that is all! No, the spider was not itsy, bitsy............it was the size of a half dollar!................ok, the size of a quarter!
I was sound asleep in my bed and was awoke by a tickle feeling in my ear. I put my finger to my ear to give it a little scratch and lo and behold my fingertip felt something soft............I quickly gave a flick motion and must have sent the intruder to the floor. Now, I am awake..........I am wide awake!! What was in my ear!!?? I turned the light on and searched the floor near my bed. There lying on the floor, dead, was a huge spider! That is gross! I picked the spider up in a piece of toilet paper and set it on the bathroom counter. I couldn't wait for morning so I could show Rob. No one is going to believe this! He agreed, the spider was huge! I am still disgusted by this...............the spider is still on my bathroom counter, taunting me! You can bet I will check under my covers, the walls and ceilings tonight before I crawl into bed!

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

I must confess I have been in a "mood" for the last couple days. The Lord and I had a talk and I need to get out of the pit! I could give you a list of the crazy things tossed at me this week, but that would be wallowing and I'm sure you have your own craziness going on in your life. So, I will just say I am thankful for the new day He gives us each morning! Lamentations 3:22-24
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him."
Isn't that something to be thankful for?! Praise the Lord!
Not only are we given a new day, a fresh start but He will give me the strength to walk through the day! Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength". But in order to walk through this day in a manner that pleases the Lord, I need to look at Philippians 4:8 "Think on those things that are praise-worthy". That's where the trouble begins, with my thoughts! I've already had to give a bizillion thoughts over to the Lord and it is only 8:00................in the morning!
But, I'm ready..........ready for this new day!

Tennis shoes & froggy socks

What was I thinking or what mood was I in when I got dressed this morning! Let's start with the shoes, I am a flip flop girl pretty much the whole year round. There's even a picture of the kids on our front porch playing in snow that had piled up there and yep, those are my feet in flip flops!
Today I wore tennies and my froggy socks. I'm not sure why, just couldn't bear to wear the flip flops today. The froggy socks are my favorite. I wore a pair of capris that are 2 sizes too big with some sort of scarf belt that I have had for years and only worn a couple times. A sad side note on the capris; I was on the Atkins diet recently for a whole whopping 2 weeks. I felt like I had lost weight. One day I wore these capris and I was thrilled! I was swimming in these pants! I was so happy about it until I checked the label and the darn things are 2 sizes too big for me in the first place! Bummer!
When I realized how many fashion mistakes I was making this morning, I decided to wear one of my most favorite beaded bracelets just to bring the whole look together!
I've been having this thought more and more lately: "Hey, I'm 54 years old! I've earned these bad fashion days from time to time. I wanted to be extra comfy today!" If anybody wants to call "What not to wear" and give them my name, I'd be OK with that.

The Lord in nature

The Lord speaks to me in nature. My heart praises the Lord when I see the beauty that He has given for us to enjoy.
He has spoken to me in the flitting of yellow butterflies. He broke through my stubborn, angry mood one afternoon as I was backing out my driveway. Two butterflies were flitting around and just as sure as I know my name, I know the Lord was saying to me “I’m with you, I understand”. Now every time I see a butterfly , no matter what I’m feeling at the moment, my mind focuses back on the Lord and the fact that He is always with me.
He has spoken to me through blue wildflowers. Since I feel close to the Lord through nature, I was feeling very depressed about leaving our old house, one reason being I had beautiful views out every window, which I enjoyed looking out and thinking about and praising the Lord for the beauty that I saw. In spring the wildflowers were beautiful out our back windows, we had many different varieties except for one. There was a tiny blue wildflower that grew in a patch across the street, that’s the only place I had seen it growing in our vicinity. During my walks I would think to myself, “I wish I had that type of flower in our yard.” Well, the Lord blessed me with that particular wildflower at our new house! Isn’t that incredible! I knew they were from Him, just for me!
Lately the Lord has been blessing me with clouds! I love great big fluffy clouds against a blue sky, it’s just beautiful! I’ve been noticing lately these beautiful clouds and I’ll think, “Oh Lord, those are especially beautiful clouds today”. I’m driving up Highway 20 from Penn Valley on my way home and I will get just a peek of some incredibly fluffy white clouds. Like someone sprayed out a ton of shaving cream on a blue surface. Only a pre-school teacher would think in terms of shaving cream. As I drive further the clouds begin to move right in front of me, and soon….kaboom…there they are, a sky full of spectacular, fluffy white clouds. Absolutely beautiful, and I pause and I thank the Lord for the beauty he shows me. I have seen some gorgeous skies and it makes you wonder what heaven will be like. I am sure it will be breath-taking………..look what he has given us here on earth!

Hopefully we will celebrate Andrew's B'day tonight

I hope we are able to celebrate Andrew's B'day tonight. He started work on his B'day, July 19th. He's been working 12+ hours a day, he and Rob are even working today! He thinks he will be home by late afternoon so...........we just might be able to do it! He wants sushi for his B'day dinner and of course cake and ice cream!

A new look!

I've been working on this for hours. I am truly computer iliterate! I found where I could choose different designs so I searched and searched and I think I like this one best. I was trying to add a really cool sunflower picture I had found, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. So, I will stick with this design for now.
Let me know how you like it!

Thankfulness & Frustration

I am thankful this morning because Rob drove himself to work………this morning being Saturday morning. I’m sorry he has to work, but I don’t and I am thankful for the extra hours of sleep. Little did I know that what I am thankful for would later in the morning be a burden. You see, I am without a car……………my two boys are on a backpacking trip at Grouse Ridge with the Scouts. How do these two things come together at 10:30 this morning? Josh is feeling ill, our Scoutmaster is driving him towards home, calling us “could we please meet up so we can pick up Josh”. YES!! But, wait…………….I have no car. I can’t get hold of Rob because he has left the office for what seemed like an eternity!! Scoutmaster is loosing service………………still driving with Josh………..can’t get hold of Rob…………..we have no cell phone………….finally get hold of Rob………….he can’t get hold of Scoutmaster because he has most likely lost service. So, here I sit, thankful that Rob is now in charge of meeting up with Scoutmaster to get Josh but I haven’t heard another word (that’s a man for ya!) I’m wondering if Josh’s tummy ache is a legit sickness tummy ache or a “I’m missing home and uncomfortable” tummy ache. We shall see! Josh just walked in the door, apparently Rob met up with the Scoutmaster because he is the one who dropped Josh off at home. No details!! I like details, “when did you finally get hold of him, where did you meet up, how was Scoutmaster’s attitude, did you make sure you let Scoutmaster know we are so, so grateful”. I will have to get the details later. Josh says his tummy started hurting last night, he couldn’t get to sleep, he had pancakes this morning for breakfast but that made it worse. He is concerned if Sean can carry the tent, then he mentioned that Sean was trying to convince him to stay for one more night and Josh said something about carrying all that stuff up that hill for 5 miles! Hmmm……………gotta wonder!

Garbage Dilemna

Big families make lots of garbage! Except for a short period of time, Rob has taken our garbage to the dump. This is a bi-monthly outing all of its own! I'm sure each of my kids can tell stories about going to the dump with Dad. It was just recently that Andrew went to the dump with Dad and a man who has worked there forever said, "Hey, I remember you from when you were a little boy!" Rob took his Mom to the dump when she came out for a visit from Michigan. She thinks we have the most awesome view from their, especially when the mountains still have snow on them.
Well, the Furie Fam is truckless at the moment so we will not be able to make our bi-monthly trips to the dump. I had to call Waste Management today to see about starting garbage pick-up. We have 3-96 gallon cans, several big barrels and 1 "regular" size can. Waste Management will only pick up "regular" size cans or 96 gallon cans that have to be rented from them. So, even though I have 3 of my own, I will be renting a container from them. This will add $36.00/month to the Furie Fam budget.
I found myself checking out everyone's garbage cans on my way to town. "They only use 1 can, they've got 2-96 gallon cans, check out their recycling!"
We will begin some heavy duty recyclying of our own! We've got to get a weeks worth of garbage to fit in 1-96 gallon can!

Chunky Chips Ahoy!

Yes, it's true.............I just tip-toed into the kitchen, got the Chips Ahoy out of the top cupboard where I hid them and tip-toed back into the computer room. They're the chunky ones! Yum! Sean will be in here any minute, his eyes will light up and he'll say, "How many cookies do we get?" Because we are a large family, it is necessary at times to hide food to be eaten and enjoyed later. You've heard the saying "snooze, you loose"............well, that's how it is growing up in a big family....especially when it comes to food. Aha! Sean just walked in, sniffed and said, "what's that smell"?! Then he saw cookie crumbs on the desk, chocolate on my lip and finally caught sight of the package of cookies. Just like I said, his eyes lit up and he asked, how many cookies do I get?! I always start out my answering "2", this amount seems generous enough if I decideto stick to it, but a small enough that I can increase it by one or two if I am so inclined. Josh is in here now, but he hasn't spied the cookies yet!

Trial and Error

I am trying to get this looking nice, it is truly a work in progress! Those of you who know me well, know that I am computer iliterate.

I can't believe I have a blog! Now what do I do??!!