Time's Up .... i think???

well, lets be real here. my house is a mess of dirt and boxes. we aren't thru packing, i still have laundry going and someone is coming to buy the washer and dryer at 6pm. aaaaccckkkkk! i had a panic attack this afternoon, but after resting, praying and drinking lots of water it has abated, for now ....

the uhaul place called to say the truck we have reserved is not in our little town, but in boise, the town where we are moving! luckily (???) we are driving up to boise tomorrow to sign the lease and pick up the keys so we will be picking up the uhaul truck there and coming back with it. but since hubby doesn't drive, we have to leave the car up there. ugh!

but we have sold a table and a chest of drawers, most probably the washer and dryer. and hopefully some more things by sat morning. if not, a friend has graciously offered to store some things for us as we keep trying to sell them. we have helpers on both ends of the move and we still have several hours of packing time left before we are in trouble!

i'm signing off now and probably won't be back on til sunday or monday. i'll update you then. as to how the move went, how we're doing in our new place adn whatever disaster strikes between now and then ....

you know what tho? i'm still excited! yes, EXCITED!!!!

special exposure wednesday

my favorite pizza lover. got to get every single yummy, lickin goodness!

this n that

i just have a smattering of stuff, so this may not be a very coherant post.

*** i'm so excited! remember when i was bemoaning that without cable i couldn't view my fav shows until after the move. well, hulu to the rescue. you say what? you don't know what hulu is? well, dear friend, hulu is a webpage that offers free viewing of tv shows and movies! you have to sit thru a few commercials just like regular tv, but otherwise its great! joe has watched "ice age" and "jonah" on it and last nite i was able to watch "burn notice"! yipeee. i haven't watched the 2nd or 3rd one yet, so don't spoil it for me, if you know. but what's up with fionna? i hope she doesnt' leave the show!!!

*** our yard sale on friday was a bust--ugh! there was an air show in town as well as other things going on. so we still have alot of furniture to get rid of. pray with us that the Lord will bring people who need what we have, k?

*** church was great today. its hard to imagine after going to this church for the last 7 years that we'll be searching for a new place to worship next week. but i'm looking forward to seeing what the Lord is doing in other churches. i will miss many of the people, the wonderful people who have worked with our son and his special needs with a cheerful heart and untold patience. we will miss pastor greg's preaching and corny jokes, and the worship service. but i know God has good things in store too.

*** its down to the last week for packing. time to start packing up the kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms. wow! its really happening.

*** i have a pedicure tomorrow! woowhee!! this is a treat. my feet get so rough here in the desert heat.

i'm going to try to post this week, esp on thankful thursday. but if i disappear you'll know where i am. under the piles of boxes!!!

6 Days & Counting ....

i feel like i'm a little girl again waiting for Christmas. i am so excited about this move. 6 days left: to get all the packing finished up, run some errands, a few more phone calls, and we'll be on our way.

and did you notice? i put up some new background paper on my blog. i like playing around with every once in awhile. i really like the black pattern (how do you say it? toille??) but would like to figure out how to narrow the sides a bit so more of my blog showed. anyone know how to do that? if you do, let me know! i'd dearly love your help.

A day in the Life ...

i have seen this on a couple of blogs and enjoyed reading the entries, so I thought I would give it a try.

Outside my window... it is another hot, sunny day. we are having our yard sale, i'm seeing lots of stuff for sale.

I am thinking...about our upcoming move and how i'm going to arrange everything in our new space.

I am thankful for... my husband, who has been doing the bulk of the packing. thank you sweetie!

From the kitchen... not much at the moment. trying to use up as many ingredients as possible before the move

I am creating... A MESS!!! but good things will come of it.

I am going...to collapse after the move is over. oh, that's not what they meant?

I am wearing...my blue jean capri's and my red tank top.

I am reading..." just finished the Lord of the Rings and am anxious to get started on the 2nd one, the Two Towers

I am hoping... we sell everything that we have put up for sale. everything!

I am hearing... road noise, my hubby and i chattering, the radio in the background

Around the house...lots of packed cardboard boxes! and misc stuff strewn across the floor

One of my favorite things...my son's gorgeous smile

A few plans for the rest of the week....more packing, some reading, some cooking and some more packing

Yard Sale Part 2

a month ago we had a yard sale to get rid of stuff and earn a little money before we moved. we had good success on the friday we did it, not so much on sat. so tomorrow we are hosting our 2nd yard sale. actually i think of it more as a moving sale, cuz whatever doesn't get sold is moving onto the thrift store.

with our move to boise and living in the student apts there at the school we have to really downsize. i'm looking at this as a good thing. its an opportunity to simplify our lives and our possessions. being in an apt we won't have to do any yard work so all our tools and yard stuff is going. one less thing for us to do. we also won't be owning the place where we live so no need to paint, wallpaper or do major maintenance projects. so only a small box with minimal screw drivers, hammer and nails will make the cut. i'm working on downsizing my craft supplies too. this is probably the hardest area for me. i have invested alot of time, energy and money into crafts throughout the years. plus its my stress buster, sanity break and therapy. cheaper than a pyschiatrist, don't ya think? i love to bless others with my cards, pictures, etc that i make as well. but i'm trying, really i am ...

we have gotton rid of a ton of books. i think we owned 8 bookcases of various sizes before i started selling off furniture. and we've gotton rid of about 30%- 40% of the books that were in those bookcases. my rule of thumb was if i could find it at the library i didnt' need to keep it, unless it was a true fav. that really helped me weed out alot of books, esp fiction that i knew i'd never read again, or self help books that i could get at the library.

we've also got some excess furniture we're trying to sell. an extra bookcase or two, a file cabinet, an oak buffet, a dropleaf table, and other misc items. i'm really hoping the furniture sells.

Thankful Thursday

Today i want to focus my thankful heart on being a Christian in America. we had the head of a ministry come to our church a couple weeks ago. he and his team minister to the refugees and displaced people in sudan and uganda. he shared what is happening over there which we never hear about in the western media. the awfulness is overwhelming.

then i think about how I, through no ability of my own, was born here in America, into a Bible believing, God loving family and have known the truth since a child. i am soooooooooooooooo blessed. i have soooooooooooooo much to be thankful for.

i want to burn this on my heart and soul forever and never forget. and allow it to spur me on to reach out to the rest of the world who need to know Jesus.

so what are you thankful for today? if you want to see more of what others are thankful for head over to Iris' blog. and you too can join in the fun. for as the veggie tale song says "...for a thankful heart is a happy heart ..."

I Really, REALLY Do Like to Read, Really!

before i had my son, i was able to read .... ALOT! i mean, i'm a fast reader anyway, but i would read a couple books a day and have 4 or 5 books in the hopper at all times. i loved fiction and non-fiction. it was my escape, it was my way to learn, it was my travellogue and it was my friend.

after my son came along, i found reading to be a joy that i didnt' have as much time or energy for. i read emails, magazines and sometimes i would surf the net. i did start to read a few books on special needs, but i wasn't up to the challenge. somewhere along the way i forgot what a good read was all about.

over a year ago i found blogging and the whole blogging community. the first thing i noticed was that many were readers. and they would post what they were reading and even some would write a review! wow. then i noticed that certain bloggers were participating in a seasonal read*a*long. wow. but i just knew that i couldn't do that. where was the time? between reading emails, other blogs, posting on my own blog, washing a load of laundry now and again, i just didn't have the time to spare.

some would read before they nodded off to sleep, others were able to sneak a few mintues during the kiddos' naptimes. but me, oh no! i couldn't find the time even tho my son no longer takes naps and is actually at school all day long. before bed, but what about falling asleep to the 10 o'clock news?

then this summer we cancelled our cable. yea, whose idea was that anyway? i found that i actually did have a few odd minutes here and there. i decided i'd make it easy on myself. i'd pick up something to read that i've wanted to read for awhile. i own the book so i dont' have to rush it back to the library in 3 weeks. (i actually still check out books from the library every month even tho i rarely read more than a page or two of them) and i had read it way back in jr high or high school so i knew i would like it. plus they had made a movie out of it and i wanted to see how the book differed from the movie.

yes, you guessed it, didn't you? i started reading, "The Fellowship of the Ring" book one of the trilogy. and you know what? after getting thru the very tedious, slow paced 1st half of the book, i really started to enjoy it. after dinner, #1 son and i would go outside. he to play in the dirt, or to push the lawnmower, or to sweep the sidewalks and i would take my book and sit on the lawn chair and read. sometimes i'd get in just a few pages, but other times i could finish a chapter or more. and after 479 pages, i finished reading it last night! i did, i really did! i read the whole thing (well, i skimmed alot of the travel scenes). if i was a writer i would definitely write it more like the movie portrayed it. lots of action and a little less "Budget Travel: $10/day to Mount Doom for a Week. See all the highlights along the Way."

the only sad part now that i'm done? hubby already packed up the 2nd and 3rd book in the trilogy so i have to wait 9 days OR MORE before i can start the next book.

so maybe there is life in this ol' girl afterall? and maybe i'll join one of those reading carnivals. i'm sure there is going to be another fall reading coming soon.

Danger, Cute Photo Ahead

over at 5 minutes for Special Needs the gals are hosting a new photo sharing thing. each wed we get to share a fav photo from our lives. go take a peek over at 5 minutes for special needs after you're finished reading my blog and see who else is participating.

my son loves nothing better than a water hose (turned on, of course) and a pile a dirt.

Try This Tuesday

5 minutes for Special Needs is hosting a new try it tuesday for families with special needs kiddos. what a great idea. most of my good ideas have come from other moms who have kiddos with issues. whether they have the same dx as my son or not, doesn't seem to matter. we all have alot in common.

so for the first post of try this tuesday, i am recommending the buckle boss. what, you say? the buckle boss is an ingenious invention for those kiddos who have the ability to get out of their seat belts but not the sense to know that driving down the highway is not the time to do so.

when my son was younger he learned how to push the seat belt button. he loved taking it off and then getting up in our van and wrecking havoc when mama was driving. we knew we needed something. an email list i was on had the answer, the buckle boss. you can only get them thru mail order from the small mom and pop company that makes them, and at the time they were $15. but it was worth its weight in gold. for several years we used it constantly, then we graduated to only needing it on long, boring trips. now we use it rarely.

but if you're in the situation we were in, and you need an easy way to keep your kiddo in his seat belted seat, get yourself a buckle boss.

(i'll try to find the website again and add it to this post later. for now, gotta run!)

edited: thanks to hollyjolly for coming up with the website www.buckleboss.com

this n that

i was just telling hubby yesterday how much i love blogging. AND I DO! but right now, i'm just so tired i don't feel like blogging at all. i think maybe the heat is getting to me ...

so here's a random sampling of incoherant thots:

GOT ALOT of packing done today! yippee! hubby is being so helpful and taking charge. i just love it.

no more news. our tv did something weird and now the one channel we were able to get without cable, only at night, went beserk. so no more 10 o'clock news. but in 11 days we'll have free cable and we'll be watching to our hearts content. i even had a dream that we had the tv on so much that i was getting sick of it!

i'm really trying to plan my meals around what we have left in the house and use up alot of foodstuffs so we don't have to lug a bunch of groceries up to boise. i'm proud of myself for doing this. i'm determined not to buy anything more between now and the 1st. we'll see how it goes.

we had a delightful drive yesterday. i have pics but haven't downloaded them yet. this would be a great post for tomorrow if i have some extra energy.

we're doing another yard sale this friday. i think we'll have almost as much stuff as the first time around. would be nice to make some more money for the bicycle fund for Josiah.

more later ...

i have nothing ...

i am brain dead, flumuxed, baffled, bewildered, and bamboozed ....

so i'm cheating and reposting my new years post. i figure its half way thru the year, what better time to take a gander at how i'm doing.

is anyone else having a hard time believing it is 2008 already? wasn't y2k just a while back? weren't we just partying like it was 1999 a few days ago? nope? me neither. i just have this feeling that the years are racing by, and i've been snoozing up in the grandstand.

but i am glad its a new year. i've always loved this time of year, and i love making new years resolutions, even if i don't keep them. i always have a bunch of resolutions and feel that at least by havign them, i get closer to the goal even if i don't accomplish them 100%.

for this year, nutrition and fitness are on the list again, along with praying for my family and friends. i started this in the fall and have really benefitted from the times i accomplish it. over the last month it got passed over way too often, so i'm hoping that by putting it on my list it'll become a priority again.

other than those, i'm still thinking and pondering on what to add to the list.

about 5 years ago, i also started choosing a word for the year. the first year i choose the word gratitude little did i know how appropo that word would be for me that entire year. God gave me lots of things to be grateful for. each year it has been awesome to see how the Lord has intertwined the word i've chosen into my life and shown Himself to me thru it.

this years word is freedom. freedom in Christ, freedom from bondage and slavery to the flesh. i'm excited to see how the Lord uses freedom this year in my life. what about you? have you ever chosen a word for a year? if not, what about this year? want to come along?

still like my word freedom, but am still waiting to see how it all plays out.

not doing so well on the nutrition and praying. need to make those 2 more of a priority for the 2nd half of the year.

hopefully on monday i'll have more for y'all.

Thankful Thursday

i have actually found who started the Thankful Thursdays and am joining in today with the rest of the bloggers. Thanks you Iris for starting this. Go over to Iris's blog at Sting My Heart (isn't that a great name?) and see what others are thankful for.

today i'm thankful for:

*** Free Boxes!!! as we pack up to move, i love finding free boxes.

*** My Helpful Husband, who is packing up a storm. I hate packing and would much rather unpack than pack. Hubby is a great packer.

*** My Lord and Savior, who is going before us on this move and making everything come together for us. We still have a few loose ends but I choose to trust in Him, that He has it all under control.


*** Air conditioning and popsicles during our heat wave.

So, what are you thankful for today?

Sanity Break

i was over reading at Julie's blog "the Clearing" about her sweet solitude. basically her b-day request for this year has been a weekend alone. she has 3 kiddos and a busy household. i can so relate. not to the 3 kiddo's but the busy household.

i left her a comment about my own weekends alone. i call them sanity breaks. and i thot this might make for a good post. you see, i'm a strong believer in women: wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, friends of the female kind taking a break.

after our son was born i spent many nights getting up 2 and 3x a night. sometimes i was able to fall back to sleep and sometimes i didn't. this went on for his first 4 years (can we say Sleep Deprived???) until we found a medicine that helped him sleep. then at the age of 2 we found out what we suspected all along. that he had a disability and our lives would not be normal. many demands: physical yes, but mainly emotional and mental were placed on me day after day. finally, i came upon the idea of getting away for a short time. i pleaded with the hubster (who did not have the same need to get away and didnt' understand what i was going thru), begged, tried to get him to understand logically what i was going thru, etc etc. i think he finally gave in not cuz he understood but becuz he loved me and wanted to make me happy. gotta love that guy.

i booked a room in a nearby B&B, packed a bag and breathed a sigh of relief. i brought my bible and my journal and another book or two. being an introvert i looked forward to time alone so i could read, write and pray. i looked forward to sleeping thru the night with no interuptions. i looked forward to a leisurely bath and doing the girlie things like facials, and lotion and my nails. i came home from that sanity break refreshed and ready to be a great mom and wife. i came back renewed. i came back happy. i took a few more of those sanity breaks over the years as money and hubby allowed. i haven't had one for awhile and would like to do another, but money is a factor, as it is with julie over at the clearing. i may just take a day to go to a coffee shop or library out of town some time and do an abbreviated break.

so how about you? have you ever felt the need to get away? have you ever done it, and if so, what did you do? what did it look like? did it refresh you and fulfill your need for some quiet time away from the family. i know some women are completely fulfilled and dont' need time away, but for those of us who do, go for it! dont' feel guilty. listen to your body and what it needs. and leave me a comment!

17 Days & Counting

This last year I have been endeavoring to declutter and get rid of things that are no longer needed, were never needed in the first place or downright junk. And tho I am proud of my efforts, I must confess that I am still a packrat.

It is interesting, when one packs with the spouse, how different the two of you can be. I am much more likely to hang on to stuff, just in case. Hubby is much more likely to take stuff out to the garbage bin without even telling me! The first couple days were a bit testy. We are getting into a better groove now tho. I am trying to say Yes, dump it, more often. And hubby is trying not to cringe when I say I want to keep this or that or the other thing.

The real test will be when we pick up the u-haul and load it up. Hubby is scared that we won’t have enough space in it for all our earthly possessions, and I’m confident that we’ve gotton rid of enough stuff that we’ll be fine. Anyone want to take bets?

Belated Anniversary Celebration

Saturday we went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. We missed the actual date, June 30th, cuz I was indisposed with the Vertigo visitor. So we took a rain check and celebrated when i was well. In our early years we would have planned a big hoopala, with flowers, special music, a fancy restaurant or even a few days at a lodge or fancy hotel. Now in our later years, we are more content just to be with each other over a nice dinner somewhere close to home. How the years have mellowed me out!

24 years ago I was saying “I Do” to my sweet, sweet man. We had dreams, adventures planned, hopes for the future. We had a firm foundation in the Lord together and we were ready to face whatever.

The years have been like a boat ride down the river, sometimes calm and peaceful, sometimes turbulent with rapids on the horizon. But we have been able to navigate down the river becuz we have the Lord. I won’t say we were prepared for everything, we probably weren’t prepared for 90% of what we experienced, but we were able to reach out to Jesus for what we needed. And we’re still learning and leaning on our Lord and Savior and loving each other.

Happy Anniversary Honey! Here’s to another 24 years~~~

have you stumbled yet?

i found this neat site called blog coach a few weeks ago. i have been wanting to improve my blog and know i need to learn a few things. well when i was over there last week she had a post about the site stumble upon. have you heard of it? if not, you are in for a treat, esp if you like to surf the web and discover new interesting sites. but i must warn you, it is very addicting!

basically, how it works is you put in your interests, you download their toolbar and then you hit the button that says "stumble". they take you to a site that is in your interest survey and you can click on "i like it" or "i don't like it" and they start to gather info on what kinds of sites you are interested in. i have found lots and lots of sites on graphics (photoshop, etc) tutorials, travel -- did you know that chile has the largest swimming pool ever built and its right on the ocean!, very cool. cooking, crafting, knitting and sewing sites i didn't know existed and some that are ol favs of mine.

of course, blog coach shows you how to use stumble upon to increase traffic to your own site, but i'm just addicted to surfing around and haven't got to that point yet. did i mention its addictive! plus you can invite friends to join you and they have a community of sorts where you can meet others and compare sites you like.

so go check it out, and if you're a member of stumble let me know and we can stumble together .... its' great fun!

this n that

here's a spattering of what has been going thru my mind of late:

Burn Notice! one of my new fav tv shows is launching into its 2nd season tonite and we have NO TV!!!! am i one sad puppy or what? when i told the hubster, who is also a fan, all he could say was "there are reruns!" ugh ... so i will be missing the next 3 weeks of my show.

we heard from daisy's new owner yesterday and she is doing great. she and the other jack russell are playing like old friends. she has settled right into her new family and they are loving having her. ahhhh, that makes me feel so much better.

i have to find more boxes .... and soon!

i'm working on a few more hand crafted cards before i pack up my craft supplies. i love being creative.

i put up a new pic on the blog. how do you like it? its of my lilac tree that we brought over 5 years ago from WA. i will miss my lilacs when we move. and my peonies, and the iris's. and the honeysuckle. and the tulips.

since i was indisposed with vertigo over our anniversary the hubby and i will be celebrating this weekend. 24 years! wowsie! i'll have a special anniversary post sometime soon.

prayers would be appreciated for getting some more furniture and stuff sold before our move. how does one accumulate SO MUCH STUFF? whatever doesn't get sold that isn't going with us is going to the thrift store or the dump.

Goodbye Daisy Mae

once we accepted a student apt in boise for this coming year we knew that we would have to find our daisy girl a new home. we found daisy 2 years ago thru a friend who had found her wandering around Home Depot. she has been a good dog, and become part of our family as only pets we love and cherish can do. but today, we had to say goodbye. a family from our church wanted to add another dog to their brood and after talking with them we decided that this just might be the right home for our daisy mae to join.

all day i kept thinking that this might be the last time daisy would be with us, but it wasnt' until they put her in their SUV and she turned and looked at me with those soulful brown eyes that i lost it. the sadness welled up within my heart even tho i knew this was the right thing to do.

we will miss you daisy. all your antics that made us laugh. your supercharged energy after a good belly rub, barking at me in the morning to get up already, snuggling under the blankets during the winter to keep warm, going for walks, chasing squirrels, and laying on the cool floors during the hot summer afternoons. we'll miss you cleaning up all the food joe dropped on the floor during dinner, we'll miss your kisses and licks on the ears. we'll miss your insistent nudges for a rub or a pet and your warning signal that someopne is at the door.

you were ours for a short time and we're thankful for that, but now you have a good home with lots of dogs, cats, chickens, horses and other critters to play with. a good family with 2 children who will take you for walks and love on you. we know you're in good hands and will have a good life. but for 2 short years you were ours and we will miss you!

A Sure Cure For High Gas Prices

after a week of vertigo, i have finally got back behind the wheel. i'm doing better tho i still don't feel "right" all the time. i'm hoping tomorrows trip to the chiropractor will put my equilibreum back to normal. anyway, i noticed that being sick for a week, i didn't go anywhere! and therefore, our gas tank doesn't need filling. i figured i saved $20 or more in gas and latte's alone. i don't recommend it to everyone, but if you're in a real pinch, being sick will help on the gas budget. at least for awhile ...

i'm doing a little better each day. i knew it could take a long time to get better, but i must say i'm a bit disappointed that it IS taking this long ... i told the hubster that i don't know if i'm getting any better, rather i'm just gettting used to walking like a drunk.

What Utensil Are You?

You Are a Fork

You are truthful, direct, and straight forward. People find your honesty to be a bit piercing at times. You are driven and wildly ambitious. You know what you want, and you take the most direct path to getting it.

What Utensil Are You?

Vewrtigo Update

One of the blessings/curses of having vertigo is having to lie down and not do too much. Kind of like bedrest when you’re pregnant. it’s a blessing in that I have the time to lay quietly, praying for those in my life that are going thru trials and hardships. it’s a blessing to be able to sleep more than I usually get time for. it’s a blessing to rest. But its also aggravating to have so much to do right in front of me that I cannot do while I’m in this condition. Its hard not to be anxious about the laundry that is piling up, the floors that need vacuuming, the errands that are overdue (or is that the library dvds).

I am dependent on others to help me. My hubby can help a little, but he has his own chores, work, and things to catch up on. Josiah can grab me the remote once in awhile but can’t really help me as I would prefer. I don’t have family around the area to call and ask those things of that you just know you can count on family to do, so I’ve been learning to relax in the state of chaos and wait for my health to return.

And did I mention that we don’t have any tv channels? That we haven’t had cable for several months and rely on netflix and dvd’s from the library. Only bad thing about netflix is that if you don’t return them, you don’t get any new ones! And while I was puking my guts out earlier in the week, the last thing on my mind was to return those movies so we would have some new viewing material for the holiday weekend. But I’m not whining, really I’m not ….

Did I mention that hubby is legally blind and doesn’t drive? So we are out of a substantial amount of basics in our house. Its been blinding hot here, but he’s been a trooper: walking to work each day and even walking to the pharmacy to get meds for me. Me, I’m curled up on the sofa with the fan blowing on me.

So I’m just saying that next time I take my health for granted, whack me upside the head and remind me of my lovely journey I had with vertigo. I hope never to cross paths with her again!

vertigo

i feel i should appologize for not being around the last few days, but i have a great excuse. i've been laying in bed, with a bad case of vertigo. for 3 days now i've been laying in bed only getting up for urgent necessessities. and even then it was never fun. i guess verigo can give you nauseau and make everything in your stomach come back up.

i finally went to the doc yestrday and he gave me somting for the vomitting. boy, has that made a difference. the only bad thing is that basically this'll go away by itself. no telling when that will be. so if this blog is a little empty, think of me on my couch, bored stiff. with the world whirling around i cant even read or watch tv to make the day go by faster. so i lay with my eyes closed, sleep a little, pray a little and bug my hubby to talk to me.

hopefully, i'll be back soon. i have lots to share with you, friends. until then ... be thankful your equilibreum works the way the Lord intented.